diff --git "a/Data Analitics/Week 11/TU257-Lab11-2-Text-ML-Predictions.ipynb" "b/Data Analitics/Week 11/TU257-Lab11-2-Text-ML-Predictions.ipynb"
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+++ "b/Data Analitics/Week 11/TU257-Lab11-2-Text-ML-Predictions.ipynb"
@@ -0,0 +1,2919 @@
+{
+ "cells": [
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 1,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/html": [
+       "<style>.container { width:80% !important; }</style>"
+      ],
+      "text/plain": [
+       "<IPython.core.display.HTML object>"
+      ]
+     },
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "display_data"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "import warnings\n",
+    "warnings.filterwarnings('ignore')\n",
+    "\n",
+    "from IPython.display import display, HTML\n",
+    "display(HTML(\"<style>.container { width:80% !important; }</style>\"))"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "markdown",
+   "metadata": {},
+   "source": [
+    "## Text Mining with Classification \n",
+    "Demo Notebook for Text Mining and using with Classification (RandomForest)\n",
+    "\n",
+    "See blog post https://oralytics.com/2021/11/01/combining-nlp-and-machine-learning-for-document-classification/"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 2,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "import numpy as np\n",
+    "import re\n",
+    "import nltk\n",
+    "from sklearn.datasets import load_files\n",
+    "import pickle\n",
+    "from nltk.corpus import stopwords\n",
+    "\n",
+    "#Run the following the first time you run the notebook. After that just comment them out\n",
+    "#nltk.download('wordnet')\n",
+    "#nltk.download('omw-1.4')\n",
+    "#nltk.download('stopwords')\n"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 3,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#The dataset used for this demo can be downloaded from the Cornell Natural Language Processing Group. \n",
+    "#The dataset consists of a total of 2000 documents. \n",
+    "#Half of the documents contain positive reviews regarding a movie \n",
+    "# while the remaining half contains negative reviews. \n",
+    "#Further details regarding the dataset can be found at \n",
+    "#       http://www.cs.cornell.edu/people/pabo/movie-review-data/poldata.README.2.0.txt \n",
+    "\n",
+    "#Donwload & extract the dataset. \n",
+    "#Open the folder \"txt_sentoken\". Take a note of this directory as it will be used later\n",
+    "#The folder contains two subfolders: \"neg\" and \"pos\". \n",
+    "#If you open these folders, you can see the text documents containing movie reviews.\n",
+    "\n",
+    "#This dataset will allow use to perform a type of Sentiment Analysis\n",
+    "source_file_dir = r\"/Users/brendan.tierney/Dropbox/4-Datasets/review_polarity/txt_sentoken\""
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 4,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#The load_files function automatically divides the dataset into data and target sets.\n",
+    "#load_files  will treat each folder inside the \"txt_sentoken\" folder as one category \n",
+    "#  and all the documents inside that folder will be assigned its corresponding category.\n",
+    "movie_data = load_files(source_file_dir)\n",
+    "X, y = movie_data.data, movie_data.target\n",
+    "\n",
+    "#load_files  function loads the data from both \"neg\" and \"pos\" folders into the X variable, \n",
+    "#  while the target categories are stored in y"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 5,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "{'data': [b\"arnold schwarzenegger has been an icon for action enthusiasts , since the late 80's , but lately his films have been very sloppy and the one-liners are getting worse . \\nit's hard seeing arnold as mr . freeze in batman and robin , especially when he says tons of ice jokes , but hey he got 15 million , what's it matter to him ? \\nonce again arnold has signed to do another expensive blockbuster , that can't compare with the likes of the terminator series , true lies and even eraser . \\nin this so called dark thriller , the devil ( gabriel byrne ) has come upon earth , to impregnate a woman ( robin tunney ) which happens every 1000 years , and basically destroy the world , but apparently god has chosen one man , and that one man is jericho cane ( arnold himself ) . \\nwith the help of a trusty sidekick ( kevin pollack ) , they will stop at nothing to let the devil take over the world ! \\nparts of this are actually so absurd , that they would fit right in with dogma . \\nyes , the film is that weak , but it's better than the other blockbuster right now ( sleepy hollow ) , but it makes the world is not enough look like a 4 star film . \\nanyway , this definitely doesn't seem like an arnold movie . \\nit just wasn't the type of film you can see him doing . \\nsure he gave us a few chuckles with his well known one-liners , but he seemed confused as to where his character and the film was going . \\nit's understandable , especially when the ending had to be changed according to some sources . \\naside form that , he still walked through it , much like he has in the past few films . \\ni'm sorry to say this arnold but maybe these are the end of your action days . \\nspeaking of action , where was it in this film ? \\nthere was hardly any explosions or fights . \\nthe devil made a few places explode , but arnold wasn't kicking some devil butt . \\nthe ending was changed to make it more spiritual , which undoubtedly ruined the film . \\ni was at least hoping for a cool ending if nothing else occurred , but once again i was let down . \\ni also don't know why the film took so long and cost so much . \\nthere was really no super affects at all , unless you consider an invisible devil , who was in it for 5 minutes tops , worth the overpriced budget . \\nthe budget should have gone into a better script , where at least audiences could be somewhat entertained instead of facing boredom . \\nit's pitiful to see how scripts like these get bought and made into a movie . \\ndo they even read these things anymore ? \\nit sure doesn't seem like it . \\nthankfully gabriel's performance gave some light to this poor film . \\nwhen he walks down the street searching for robin tunney , you can't help but feel that he looked like a devil . \\nthe guy is creepy looking anyway ! \\nwhen it's all over , you're just glad it's the end of the movie . \\ndon't bother to see this , if you're expecting a solid action flick , because it's neither solid nor does it have action . \\nit's just another movie that we are suckered in to seeing , due to a strategic marketing campaign . \\nsave your money and see the world is not enough for an entertaining experience . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"good films are hard to find these days . \\ngreat films are beyond rare . \\nproof of life , russell crowe's one-two punch of a deft kidnap and rescue thriller , is one of those rare gems . \\na taut drama laced with strong and subtle acting , an intelligent script , and masterful directing , together it delivers something virtually unheard of in the film industry these days , genuine motivation in a story that rings true . \\nconsider the strange coincidence of russell crowe's character in proof of life making the moves on a distraught wife played by meg ryan's character in the film -- all while the real russell crowe was hitching up with married woman meg ryan in the outside world . \\ni haven't seen this much chemistry between actors since mcqueen and mcgraw teamed up in peckinpah's masterpiece , the getaway . \\nbut enough with the gossip , let's get to the review . \\nthe film revolves around the kidnapping of peter bowman ( david morse ) , an american engineer working in south america who is kidnapped during a mass ambush of civilians by anti-government soldiers . \\nupon discovering his identity , the rebel soldiers decide to ransom him for $6 million . \\nthe only problem is that the company peter bowman works for is being auctioned off , and no one will step forward with the money . \\nwith no choice available to her , bowman's wife alice ( ryan ) hires terry thorne ( crowe ) , a highly skilled negotiator and rescue operative , to arrange the return of her husband . \\nbut when things go wrong -- as they always do in these situations -- terry and his team ( which includes the most surprising casting choice of the year : david caruso ) take matters into their own hands . \\nthe film is notable in that it takes this very simple story line and creates a complex and intelligent character-driven vehicle filled with well-written dialogue , shades of motivation , and convincing acting by all the actors . \\nthe script is based on both a book ( the long march to freedom ) and a magazine article pertaining to kidnap/ransom situations , and the story has been sharply pieced together by tony gilroy , screenwriter of the devil's advocate and dolores claiborne . \\nthe biggest surprise for me was not the chemistry between crowe and ryan , but that between crowe and david caruso . \\ndug out from b-movie hell , caruso pulls off a gutsy performance as crowe's right hand gun while providing most of the film's humor . \\nryan cries a lot and smokes too many cigarettes , david morse ends up getting everyone at the guerilla camp to hate him , and crowe provides another memorable acting turn as the stoic , gunslinger character of terry thorne . \\nthe most memorable pieces of the film lie in its action scenes . \\nthe bulk of those scenes , which bookend the movie , work extremely well as establishment and closure devices for all of the story's characters . \\nthe scenes are skillfully crafted and executed with amazing accuracy and poise . \\ndirector taylor hackford mixes both his old-school style of filmmaking with the dizziness of a lars von trier film . \\nproof of life is a thinking man's action movie . \\nit is a film about the choices men and women make in the face of love and war , and the sacrifices one makes for those choices -- the sacrifices that help you sleep at night . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"quaid stars as a man who has taken up the proffesion of dragonslayer after he feels he is betrayed by a dragon early in the movie . \\nhe runs into the last dragon in existence , and there is a genuinely amusing battle between the two which results in a standoff where quaid is in the dragons mouth , but has his sword pointed at the dragons brain . \\neventually , they decide to call a truce , and they work out a deal . \\nsince he is the last dragon , he will pretend to die and quaid will be able to get paid for it . \\ntheir scam works at first , until they come to a town without any money . \\ninstead the town sacrifices a girl to the dragon , but of course , draco is a nice droagon , so he won't eat her . there is however a very amusing scene where draco is hitting on the young girl . \\nof course , as you can probably tell by the plot , this is a silly movie , but it does know when to take itself seriously at the right times , unlike eddie , which was serious all the time . \\nyou could probably call this a medieval comedy , because there are more laughs here than in eddie and spy hard combined . \\ndennis quaid makes a fine hero . \\npete posthlewaite provides some ghreat comedy as a monk who journeys with them . \\ndina meyer is appealing as the sacrificed girl . \\nbut lets face it , the movie is really about the dragon , and what an amazing creation he is . \\nconnery's voice and ilm team up to provide us with a truly magnificent dragon . \\nso , if you are going to see this movie for a strong hard core medieval epic , you are going to the wrong movie . \\nif you are going because of the dragon , you will not be dissapointed , and you will be provided with plenty of laughs that smooth out the boring parts in the script . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'we could paraphrase michelle pfieffer\\'s character in dangerous minds and say that beyond rangoon starts with an \" a . \" \\nthat\\'s fair enough . \\nall movies , like all school children , should be given the benefit of the doubt . \\nthe chance to succeed . \\nafter all , we like to think that the right combination of talent and effort can do wonders . \\nmountains can be moved , and good movies can be made . \\nyeah right . \\nchildren fail , as do films . \\nas does director john boorman\\'s latest . \\nthe success of beyond rangoon hinges on the believability of patricia arquette ( ed wood , true romance ) as the busty westerner-in-peril wandering about 1988 burma without a passport . \\nthough we can stomach the mild plot contrivances that get her there , it\\'s a tougher task to overlook the actress . \\nshe\\'s a lightweight . \\nas the first scene ( with narration ! ) \\ndemonstrates , she doesn\\'t have * nearly * enough range for the emotions that her character--a mother fleeing the memories of a murdered husband and son--is supposed to show . \\nshe may give a stronger performance than , say , keanu reeves in a walk in the clouds , by not by much . \\nbeyond rangoon is a very physically appealing film , thanks to the practiced craftsmanship of john boorman ( deliverance , excalibur , hope and glory ) . \\nhe keeps the narrative moving , no matter how muddy the story--or the heroine--gets . \\nwhy he chose arquette remains a mystery , though . \\nmaybe he was thinking that the dramatic weight of the story would overcome any casting deficiencies . \\nbut even after an hour of half-stated political statements and murky mass killings , we * still * don\\'t know enough of what\\'s happening in this country to feel distressed for the characters or their situations . \\nempty exoticism . \\nthe technical credits in beyond rangoon are a curious mix , combining lush jungle photography with bad blue-screen work . \\nalso odd is the obvious dubbing . \\ndone to make some of the foreign characters sound less foreign ? \\nand , is it my mistake , or do the same extras keep reappearing as different soldiers ? ? \\ndoo doo doo doo . \\n[ \" twilight zone \" theme , or opinion of movie . \\nyou be the judge . ] \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"kolya is one of the richest films i've seen in some time . \\nzdenek sverak plays a confirmed old bachelor ( who's likely to remain so ) , who finds his life as a czech cellist increasingly impacted by the five-year old boy that he's taking care of . \\nthough it ends rather abruptly-- and i'm whining , 'cause i wanted to spend more time with these characters-- the acting , writing , and production values are as high as , if not higher than , comparable american dramas . \\nthis father-and-son delight-- sverak also wrote the script , while his son , jan , directed-- won a golden globe for best foreign language film and , a couple days after i saw it , walked away an oscar . \\nin czech and russian , with english subtitles . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i don\\'t know how many other people have had the idea cross their mind that their life could be an ongoing television show watched by another world of people , but it\\'s something i used to wonder about when i was younger . \\ni can\\'t decide if i first thought it because i watched a lot of tv or because my brother hit me in the head with a baseball bat , but i\\'m pretty sure andrew niccol , screenwriter for the truman show , has had the same curious thought . \\nthe truman show is about a man ( jim carrey ) whose entire life has been engineered by a corporation and marketed to the public . \\nsince birth , he\\'s been living in the fictional island town of seahaven , fla . , which actually exists as a giant domed set just beyond the hollywood sign . \\nall the people in truman burbank\\'s life are actors , and the anonymous townfolk paid extras . \\npeople watch truman\\'s life 24 hours a day , live , with no commercial interruptions . \\nrevenue comes instead from product placement , a staple of contemporary hollywood , with truman\\'s friends and relatives describing their consumer items in cheerful and optimistic tones . \\nthe sun rises and sets on cue and everyone likes everyone else . \\neven if you haven\\'t seen the truman show , you\\'ve probably learned most of the crucial details from the commercials , the trailer and other promotion blitzes . \\nif anything i\\'ve written so far is a surprise to you , then i pity you for making me a primary source for your entertainment news . \\neither way , you should probably know the premise of the truman show going into it , because otherwise you\\'ll probably think it sucks . \\nit begins with jim carrey looking into a mirror , reciting the crucial \" eat me \" scene from alive , wishing his neighbors a good day , afternoon and evening , and living in domestic bliss with his wife ( laura linney ) . \\nbut weird things start happening . \\na stage light comes falling out of the sky , truman hears people tracking his movements on the radio and he swears he sees his dead father . \\nwe learn through a flashback that his father drowned when truman was a child , sailing through a rainstorm . \\nthe death was staged by director christof ( ed harris ) , who wanted to put a fear of water into truman to keep him from leaving the island . \\nsimilar cruel manipulations keep him from stumbling upon the truth , not the least of them truman\\'s best friend marlon ( noah emmerich ) , who assures him he\\'s not in on any conspiracy because the last thing he\\'d ever do is hurt him . \\nas truman\\'s trusting eyes tear over , christof fades up emotional synthesizer music for a worldwide audience of people who apparently never watch anything else . \\nthere\\'s even a daily behind-the-scenes update from harry shearer that captures the highlights of truman\\'s existence . \\nthe key to a movie like this is in finding the right balance between humor and drama , because a premise like this has its obvious implications in both directions . \\nand it all hinges on carrey , who has to balance comic naivet with a real sense of longing and drive to find out what the hell is going on . \\nhe\\'s come a long way from talking butt cheeks in ace ventura . \\nmost fundamentally , it\\'s just plain interesting to follow along as director peter weir shows us just how they can capture a person\\'s life without the person realizing it -- how they coordinate extras , hide cameras and feed automatic lines to actors . \\nthe most interesting thing about the truman show is that most of us can probably imagine some ambitious director pitching a show like this . \\nsure , the most interesting tv genre of the \\'90s has been reality programming and jerry springer\\'s popularity is through the roof , but those people deserve to be humiliated for turning their intimate details over to the airwaves . \\nand when news shows use hidden cameras , it\\'s done in the name of the greater good , not entertainment . \\nbut merge the two and you\\'ve got the truman show . \\nright now , it\\'s implausible -- i mean , the fcc won\\'t let you say the s-word on the air ; do you think they\\'d let you broadcast every detail of a man\\'s life to the entire world without his consent ? \\none day , though , it could happen . \\nand , even though it would mean the end of privacy , people would eat it up . \\nyou know they would . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : trippy , hyperspeed action machine from hong kong\\'s accomplished tsui hark . \\nvan damme and rodman have nice chemistry , the stunts are eyepopping , and stuff gets blowed up real good ; what more do you want ? \\ni admit i was all set to loathe double team ; it reeked of cheapjack timing-oriented marketing ( stick dennis rodman in a movie , quick , while he\\'s hot , and do something about jean-claude van damme\\'s flagging career while we\\'re at it ! ) . \\nsurprise -- double team transcends its dumb roots and turns out to be a mess of fun . \\nbring some friends , get some pretzels , and have a blast . \\nvan damme is jack quinn , an ex-agent who is brought back in for \" one last mission \" -- you\\'d think any spy worth his shoe phone would run like hell when he hears those words . \\nbut van damme\\'s character has a pregnant wife who\\'s also a sculptor , and some unpleasant pressure gets used to get him to come through on this mission . \\nhe\\'s been assigned to take down an old enemy , a terrorist named stavros ( mickey rourke , looking oddly subdued ) , who may be back up to his old tricks . \\nin the first showdown between quinn and stavros , the movie wears its ambitions proudly on its sleeve : nonstop action . \\nan amusement park , a hospital , a private \" retired spy \" \\'s retreat , most of rome , various houses , planes , cars and other modes of transport , and the coliseum ( ! ) \\nall become arenas for some of the most bone-rattling shoot-outs and punch-outs filmed . \\nthey are better seen than described and are reason enough to see the film : one jaw-dropping scene has van damme taking on a man who uses a switchblade with his * feet * . \\n ( van damme is a good , dextrous athlete and fighter , but he is often upstaged . ) \\nthere are other nice touches . \\nstavros and quinn both want the same thing : to retire in peace with their families . \\nthat ambition ties them together in various ways , and also humanizes them a bit . \\none of the things about hk action movies is that there\\'s always some form of human element , and that\\'s carried over into this movie as well . \\nit gives weight to scenes that would otherwise be forgettable . \\nalso good is dennis rodman , playing a weapons dealer named yaz -- a character who sticks out like a fistful of broken fingers and who is funny just standing there . \\nrodman is natural on screen ; he\\'s fun to watch , especially when slinging bad guys like basketballs , and deserves to get a movie of his own , based on what\\'s seen here : a lightweight , fast-moving entertainment that showcases all of its pieces excellently . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'gothic murder-mystery yarns are not a new conceit . \\nin fact , they\\'ve been around in books and on film for many , many years . \\nwithout the proper handling , they come off as old-fashioned , bland , and outdated . \\n \" the gift , \" directed by sam raimi , is a tried-and-true effort that surprises very little , and includes everything from a wide array of suspects and red herrings , to mansions in the deep south with moss trees out front , to the eventual discovery of a waterlogged corpse found in a nearby pond . \\nit\\'s fairly obvious who the killer is ; in fact , i predicted who it would be before the movie began and was correct in my preliminary suspicions . \\nthe film ultimately shouldn\\'t work , but it does , thanks to a sparkling cast that fills each character with so many memorable nuances , the most fun to be had is in simply watching the people interact with each other . \\nannie wilson ( cate blanchett ) is a recently widowed mother of three sons who makes her living giving psychic readings to the residents of her backwater southern hometown . \\nsome of her mainstay clients include valerie barksdale ( hilary swank ) , who is severely abused by her husband donnie ( keanu reeves ) , and buddy cole ( giovanni ribisi ) , an unstable mechanic who is confused by the nightmares he\\'s been having about a mysterious blue diamond that is somehow linked to his father . \\nfor annie , she does not give the readings merely for money , but uses it as a way of seeking solace in finding the good in everyone\\'s future . \\nher late grandmother ( rosemary harris ) told her as a child that it was a gift she was given , and she should always remember that . \\nwhen annie\\'s eldest son is involved in a fight at school , she meets the nice-guy school principal , wayne collins ( greg kinnear ) , whom she finds herself attracted to . \\nbut wayne is engaged to the wealthy jessica king ( katie holmes ) , whom annie immediately gets a negative vibe about . \\nat a party with her best friend linda ( kim dickens ) , annie stumbles upon jessica in a compromising position with lawyer david duncan ( gary cole ) . \\nsoon after , jessica has disappeared , leaving everyone in a frenzy over what could have possibly happened to her , and annie starts to have nightmares and apparitions linking jessica with the vicious redneck donnie barksdale , and the pond behind his home . \\n \" the gift \" may be cliched on a sheer storytelling level , but the performances and tight direction from raimi ( who has redeemed himself for his embarrassing last film , 1999\\'s \" for love of the game \" ) lift the picture up several notches . \\nslowly enveloping the viewer into the many intriguing characters and their individual plights , the disappearance of jessica at the 30-minute mark divulges the movie\\'s true intentions and transforms the proceedings into a taut , at times frightening , horror-mystery . \\nat the center of the film is the exceptional cate blanchett ( 1999\\'s \" the talented mr . ripley \" ) , who turns annie wilson from what could have been little more than a run-of-the-mill protagonist into a very exact , down-to-earth , realistic person with valid troubles and a caring attitude towards those around her . \\nblanchett takes the unextraordinary material and runs with it , giving the entire film a truly classy aura that it otherwise might not have had . \\nwe follow her at every turn because she is so mesmerizing , both as a character and an actress . \\nblanchett isn\\'t the only bright performer , as she is ably supported by one of the best casts of the year . \\nin her first role following her oscar win for 1999\\'s \" boys don\\'t cry , \" hilary swank is excellent as the confused valerie , who seeks guidance from annie , but is too scared to take her biggest advice of all : to leave the grossly abusive donnie . \\nas donnie , keanu reeves ( 2000\\'s \" the watcher \" ) makes an utterly convincing backwoods meanie , so much so that it is difficult to believe he is an actor at all . \\nfor the often-criticized reeves , whose acting abilities have never been the best , this is the biggest compliment he could possibly get , and it is also one of the better performances he has given . \\ngiovanni ribisi ( 2000\\'s \" the boiler room \" ) is heartbreaking as a mentally slow young man who sees annie as his only friend , and wants her to do nothing but help him understand why he is being plagued by bad dreams about his dad . \\nin the small , but pivotal role of the sleazy jessica king , katie holmes ( 2000\\'s \" wonder boys \" ) has turned in yet another stunning supporting turn . \\nher promiscuous role of jessica is one she has never played before , and she is radiant in her few scenes . \\nfinally , kim dickens ( 2000\\'s \" hollow man \" ) makes her usual strong impression as annie\\'s spicy best friend , linda . \\nthe other notable aspect of \" the gift \" is its moody atmosphere that lays such a thickly foreboding air over every scene it\\'s almost suffocating . \\nthanks to cleverly construed editing by arthur coburn and bob murawski , and the successful use of different eerie sounds effects and a very good music score by christopher young , the movie not only achieves a scary undercurrent , but one that is filled with dread . \\nhelped along by a strong screenplay by billy bob thornton and tom epperson , which makes the most of its setting and delightful cast , \" the gift \" is that rarest of thrillers that actually thrills , and offers up a fair share of chills , too . \\nit may not be groundbreakingly original , but it sure is an entertaining ride for the duration of its running time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"what i look for in a movie is not necessarily perfection . \\nsometimes a movie has such strong ideas that despite whatever flaws it may have , i will prefer it to a better-made film that is not as thought-provoking . \\nthe thin red line is flawed but it provokes . \\nterence malick returns to filmmaking 20 years after days of heaven and produces this meditative look at war . \\nunlike this year's saving private ryan , which dwells on war as a necessary evil and explores the moral ambiguities thereof , the thin red line simply says war is waste . \\nwhile that might seem obvious to some , only after experiencing the film do you realize how profound a waste it is . \\nsaving private ryan has an underlying and practical acceptance that war will occur and it has a great cost ; the thin red line says idealistically avoid this at all costs . \\none message is not necessarily more correct than the other . \\nit just depends on one's point of view . \\nin malick's film , war is set in a tropical paradise , and john toll's cinematography is beyond lush . \\nthe setting poses the question , why are we fighting in the face of such beauty ? \\nin saving private ryan , the capture of a german soldier presents the moral quandary of whether to let him go . \\nin the thin red line , the japanese present the moral quandary of war in the first place . \\nthey are just like the americans -- frightened and angry , grieving and praying . \\nall that separates them is war . \\nthe flaw in the thin red line comes in the voice-overs . \\nunbelievable as coming from the characters and sometimes pretentious , sometimes corny , the voice-overs tell us what the images before us already do and are completely unnecessary . \\ndispensing with them , malick could have achieved a tarkovskian grandeur . \\ninstead , he gets distracting self-consciousness . \\naside from that , malick's direction is stunning . \\nthe tracking shots across windswept hills and around transports speeding toward shore are extraordinary . \\nsean penn , elias koteas , and nick nolte give the best performances . \\npenn is subtle as a sergeant trying to hide his humanism , koteas is genuine as a compassionate captain , and nolte startling as a colonel whose blood vessels are about to burst if he cannot win his battle . \\njohn travolta and george clooney are the worst in cameo roles . \\nultimately however , the thin red line's interest is not in the characters and it is not in drama . \\nit has been frequently criticized for its lack of dramatic structure , but malick clearly has different things on his mind . \\nhas no one ever thought that getting dramatic entertainment from war is exploitative ? \\nwhat malick is working with is theme , and in that , the thin red line is most provoking . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the law of crowd pleasing romantic movies states that the two leads must end up together by film\\'s end . \\nif you\\'re not familiar with this law , then maybe you\\'ve seen the trailer for this film which shows that the two leads are together by film\\'s end . \\nnow if you\\'re a regular reader of mine , you\\'ve heard me say this countless times : you know how drive me crazy is going to end , but is the journey to get to that ending worth it ? \\nno , it definitely is not . \\nmelissa joan hart ( from abc\\'s \" sabrina , the teenage witch \" ) likes a hunky stud on the basketball team . \\nadrien grenier is her grungy neighbor who\\'s just broken up with his activist girlfriend . \\napparently he wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous enough to take him back , and she wants someone to take her to the big year end dance . \\nso the two pretend to date for some reason , but only after hart gives grenier a bath to turn him into a hunky stud . \\nwill grenier like his new popularity and turn on his friends ? \\nwill this crazy scheme work ? \\ndo i care ? \\nthe teen comedy resurgence of late has been surprisingly good in terms of comedy . \\nwhat makes movies like can\\'t hardly wait and 10 things i hate about you work ( and to a lesser extent , she\\'s all that and never been kissed ) is because the writers of those films seem to realize that high school is a joke and write their scripts accordingly . \\ni don\\'t know what the writer\\'s intention was with drive me crazy . \\nthere was some smart comedy in those films to make the obvious endings worth getting to . \\nhere there\\'s nothing . . . \\njust teens whining about who\\'s going to take them to the big dance . \\ndo me a favor kids , go get a job or something . . . \\njust shut the hell up . \\nin all honesty , the best part of this film is the end credits . \\nnow normally when i say that it\\'s followed with the joke \" . . . because the movie is finally over . \" \\nin this case though the end credits really are the most entertaining part of the film . \\nafter the obligatory second playing of britney spears\\' titular song , there\\'s a quick commercial jingle for a burger joint the kids in the film hang out in and a brief rendition of the school song for their high school . \\nnothing great , but more entertaining than anything in the 90 minutes which preceded them . \\nsci-fi fans take note : there are brief appearances from stephen collins ( star trek : the motion picture ) and faye grant ( the tv miniseries \" v \" and \" v : the final battle \" ) . \\n[pg-13] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s ironic that the best films in cinema history are invariably the original director\\'s cut of the film . \\nfilms such as aliens , the abyss , the wild bunch , blade runner , and terminator 2 are all prime examples of a filmmaker\\'s integrity , later chopped up or mucked with by the studio . \\nthe advent of the dvd format has provided a more accessible way to get these original cuts to the public and provide to film freaks like myself the ability to become further enraptured by the extension of such classic films . \\nthe dvd release of the original international version of luc besson\\'s 1995 masterpiece the professional , which is known as l ? on around the world , is a prime example of how a good film can become an instant classic as a director\\'s cut . \\nfor years , i have heard of an \" international \" version available only in laserdisc format , which has eluded me for years . \\ni even bought a laserdisc player from my uncle don for 100 bucks just to watch certain directors\\' cuts - including l ? on . \\nbut after countless searches in laserdisc stores , i could never find it . \\nuntil now . \\nthe film follows the story of l ? on , played by jean reno , a professional hit man for an italian mob crew run by danny aiello . \\nhe lives next door to a ferociously independent 12-year-old girl named mathilda - played by then newcomer natalie portman , whose father is involved in drugs and crooked cops . \\none day , a crew of the cops - lead by gary oldman in an over-the-top performance - kills her entire family while mathilda is out buying groceries . \\ntaking pity on her , l ? on hides her in his apartment when she returns to save her life . \\nmathilda learns of l ? on\\'s hit man profession and decides to follow in l ? on\\'s footsteps as a \" cleaner . \" \\nshe then falls in love with him and manages to reawaken emotions within l ? on he has kept locked away as part of his profession . \\nat this point , the differences in the american version and the international version really kick in . \\nthe international version contains an additional 24 minutes of footage that pertains directly to the relationship of l ? on and mathilda , footage that american censors deemed \" too explicit . \" \\ni assume that american censors feel that defining character development is too much for american audiences to handle . \\nthe best part of this extra footage is that gives better understanding of both mathilda\\'s and l ? on\\'s motivations pertaining to later actions involving oldman and his crew of bad cops . \\nthere\\'s even a previously unseen cameo by the great french actor jean-hugues anglade - star of queen margot , besson\\'s la femme nikita , and killing zoe . \\nwith these additional scenes replaced , l ? on and matilda\\'s relationship brings you emotionally closer to the film and draws stronger bonds between the characters that were murky in the american version . \\nthe most ironic thing about the international version of the film is that with the inclusion of the missing scenes , the film becomes primarily a heavy , emotional drama punctuated with big action scenes at the beginning and the end of the film . \\nthe film betters reflects the serious drama of french cinema but is laced with pieces reflecting the brutality of american cinema . \\nmy advice to everyone out there is to throw away your copy of the professional , throw down twenty bucks , and pick up this newly restored cinematic masterpiece . \\ndirector/writer : luc besson producer : luc besson , claude besson starring : jean reno , natalie portman , gary oldman , danny aiello \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"getting it right is a far far cry from the teenage sex comedy you might expect from a summer movie about male virginity . \\nthe film was directed by randal kleiser , who brought us such bubble-gum classics as grease and the blue lagoon . \\nbut thanks to kleiser's surprisingly good direction and an intelligent script , getting it right is a pleasantly quiet , moving , and memorable film--one geared strictly toward a sophisticated , adult audience . \\ngetting it right stars jesse birdsall ( emily lloyd's boyfriend in wish you were here ) as gavin , a painfully shy 31-year-old hairdresser who lives at home with his parents and who--gasp--is still a virgin . \\ngavin has no problem whatsoever making small talk with the elderly women who clamor for his services at the hair salon , but expose him to a single 30-year-old beauty and he's a mess . \\nmuch to gavin's surprise , the woman who finally brings him out of his shell and robs him of his virginity is joan ( lynn redgrave ) , a rich , married , and lonely 45-year-old . \\ngetting it right is the simple story of gavin's awkward and haphazard efforts to get it right ; that is , to find the right woman to fulfill his life . \\ngetting it right is one of those rare movies that devotes itself entirely to in-depth character development . \\ngavin's self-conscious voice-over narration of his experiences firmly thrusts us into his psyche . \\nwe observe his fascinating metamorphosis from shy and passive introversion to assertive and self-confident maturity . \\nbirdsall's superb , understated performance as gavin is the real backbone of the film ; he seems convincing and authentic throughout . \\nthe charm of getting it right also lies in the wide array of people who inhabit or invade gavin's life . \\ndespite her limited screen time , redgrave makes quite a splash in the movie as gavin's middle-aged seducer . \\nfor a supporting character , joan is unusually and impressively complex , thanks in large part to redgrave's magnificent performance . \\ngavin is also pursued , or perhaps plagued , by minnie , the totally neurotic daughter of a rich aristocrat . \\nafter minnie and gavin meet at a party , she takes great pleasure in disrupting his safe and simple life . \\nhelena bonham carter is delightfully pathetic and kooky in the role , and sir john gielgud , with his tongue in his cheek , embodies the height of arrogance as her father . \\ngavin's eventual love-interest is jenny , the adorable twenty-year-old single mother who assists him at the beauty salon ; london stage actress jane horrocks' fine performance yields a touchingly sweet character . \\npeter cook , the great british satirist , appears briefly in the film as gavin's uptight employer . \\nthe scenes of gavin's home life with his parents are also a treat . \\ngavin's over-protective mother ( pat heywood ) , whom even woody allen would find overbearing , almost steals the movie . \\nher life seems limited to just two activities : treating gavin like a 10-year-old and preparing exotic but inedible meals , such as scalding hot curry and baked chicken with chocolate sauce . \\ngavin and his father's attempts to avoid eating her meals are extremely amusing . \\ngetting it right , for the most part , is very well-crafted , except for two minor shortcomings . \\nfirst , the movie is about 15 minutes too long , and consequently it loses momentum at times . \\nsecond , the film includes an altogether extraneous subplot about the domestic problems between gavin's best friend , harry , and his unfaithful lover , winthrop . \\noverall , however , getting it right is quite memorable for its humor , depth , sophistication , and outstanding acting . \\ndirector kleiser and screenwriter elizabeth jane howard ( adapting her own highly acclaimed novel ) deserve praise for finding just the right tone for this tale of growth , maturation , and self-discovery . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : blond criminal psychologist sarah chooses to copulate with greasy tony the mysterious puerto rican rather than bearded cliff the wisecracking neighbor upstairs . \\nin the meantime , someone sends sarah rotting flowers , puts her name in the newspaper\\'s obituary column , and kills her cat . \\ncomments : never talk to strangers , a colossal waste of time , moves slower than molasses in winter to arrive at a conclusion which should be obvious to the audience 20 minutes into the film . \\none wouldn\\'t think that two genuine movie stars , antonio banderas ( evita ) and rebecca de mornay ( hand that rocks the cradle ) , and the acerbic comic genius dennis miller ( \" saturday night live \" ) would be involved in such a celluloid backfire as this turkey . \\nnot only are they in it , however , but de mornay executive produced it . \\nwhat was she thinking ? \\nnever talk to strangers centers upon sarah , a psychologist examining the ill-tempered max , a murderer soon to stand trial . \\nshe receives a sudden visit from her father which elicits flashbacks of some tragedy in her early childhood . \\ntwo men woo her ; tony the \" security consultant \" wins her over ( so they have passionate sex replete with cheesy saxophone music ) . \\na lot of psychobabble is thrown around about multiple personality disorder , but the movie asks its audience not to derive the obvious conclusion between mpd and sarah , and instead offers several male characters as red herrings . \\n86 minutes , the running time of this cinematic mess , thus , seem like 86 hours . \\na good chunk of never talk to strangers is spent upon sarah and tony . \\nwhy would the career-minded , professional sarah feel attracted to the walking steroid with a black hat called tony ? \\nthat\\'s one of the film\\'s mysteries which are never answered . \\nregardless of motive , de mornay and banderas strip down and have sex several times in what passes for eroticism . \\nthey also manage to go out before copulating occasionally -- in one of the stupidest scenes of the film , tony takes sarah to a carnival that\\'s * right outside * his dingy apartment ( that way , they can hurry back and have sex quickly ) . \\nalso , apparently , the weather changes quickly in their locale : they\\'re at this outdoor carnival one day before having sex ; the next day , they\\'re out playing in the snow before having sex . \\nthe filmmakers attempt to produce a suspenseful plot interspersed with tony and sarah\\'s \" character development . \" \\nsomeone is out to get poor sarah ( though most of the audience should have figured out who before any of this starts ) . \\nrotting flowers , a writeup in the obituary , and a beaten neighbor are just a few of the bad things which happen to her . \\nsuspense cliche number one also occurs : whenever someone is stalked in thrillers , by any means , if the stalked has a pet , that pet will die . \\noftentimes , to even further the cliche , the murdered pet is a cat ( suspense filmmakers , for some reason , just don\\'t like cats ) . \\nsarah , in never talk to strangers , receives a package and , lo and behold , discovers her mutilated cat within . \\nsuspense at its very derivative ! \\nas stated before , never talk to strangers is a poor excuse for a film whose sole purpose seems to be exploiting banderas and de mornay\\'s bodies as often as possible . \\ncomedian dennis miller is completely wasted here ( he\\'s not given lines that are suitable for his persona ) and doesn\\'t even appear all that much . \\nmaybe , in a way , he\\'s lucky for that . \\nearly on in the movie , sarah tells tony , after meeting him in a supermarket , that she had been advised to never talk to strangers . \\nallow me to advise that you never watch this stinker . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after enduring mariah carey\\'s film debut , glitter , i\\'m reminded of a bit from chris rock\\'s bigger and blacker . \\nin response to women saying that they can raise a child without a man , rock says , \" you can drive a car with your feet , but that don\\'t mean it should be done . \" \\nto that i say , you can give mariah carey a movie , but that certainly don\\'t mean it should be done . \\nsure , there are plenty of pop star film vehicles out there -- from the beatles\\' a hard day\\'s night to the spice girls\\' spice world -- but none have been so vapidly pointless or laughable as glitter . \\neverything about this complete tripe is ludicrous . \\nstart off with the story , which -- as gruesomely predictable as it is -- is the least offensive part of the movie . \\nthe film is inexplicably set in the 80s , a period piece that really shows no sign of its period except for a few chicks in leg warmers . \\nworse yet , everyone\\'s speaking late 90s hip-hop slang in what should be 1983 . \\nmeant to be partially autobiographical , carey plays billie frank , a young singer in new york who struggles to overcome a rough childhood and abandonment by her alcoholic mother . \\ninfluential club dj julian dice , a . k . a . \" lucky 7 \" ( max beesley playing a bad mix of puff daddy and robert de niro ) , hears her sing on a track , and decides to make her a star . \\nin predictably rapid succession , billie and dice fall for each other , she starts hitting it big , dice gets jealous and starts acting like an ass , and suddenly billie\\'s on \" the roller coaster of superstardom . \" \\nin the meantime , billie is on an emotional hunt for her missing mom . \\ni won\\'t give away the ending , but -- honestly -- just think of unicorns and rainbows . . . \\nyou\\'ll figure it out . \\nthe movie screams to be made with camp , and that could\\'ve been fun . \\nbut the filmmakers thought making the bulk of glitter weepy and dramatic would be better . \\nwhat a mistake . \\nthe brief attempts at comic relief -- as in a scene where an effeminate russian-sounding director gets wacky with filming billie\\'s first music video -- go over like lead balloons . \\ninstead , the audience at my screening tended to laugh loudest during mariah\\'s most dramatic scenes . \\nwhich brings us to the performances , of which there\\'s nothing good that can be said . \\nmariah is primarily seen with a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights look frozen on her face . \\nshe actually looks scared during her one love scene . \\nbut you have to wonder if the writing isn\\'t even worse . \\nso much of the dialogue is so hackneyed and watered down for carey\\'s virginal target audience that it\\'s probably impossible for any actor to pull it off with aplomb . \\neven the characters couldn\\'t have been written more absurdly . \\nthey\\'re all members of a barbie playset : the important film director who swoons , \" billie , i\\'d love to put you in a movie i\\'m making , \" and the big-time record executive who takes billie\\'s demo tape and says , \" oh , i\\'ll make sure the whole team listens to it in the morning . \" \\neveryone in the film is a device , and it\\'s painful to keep watching just to see another one appear . \\nto say more would be a waste . \\nthere\\'s so much wrong with this film . \\nand , it pains me that mariah carey -- with her ego and sanity in such fragile condition these days , as evidenced by her multiple hospital stays -- will have to suffer through all the negative reviews she\\'s likely to get . \\nbut , then again , i had to suffer through her movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'tim burton has now completed his evolution from the brilliant director of macabre stories about outcast individuals yearning for acceptance , and into a studio monkey whose name is used as part of multi-tiered marketing materials for crap movies . \\nand here he hits rock bottom , with planet of the apes . \\ni didn\\'t expect much from this latest \" interpretation \" of pierre boulle\\'s classic novel planet of the apes . \\ni mean , how could you top the force and impact of the original film , intelligently co-scripted by rod serling ( of twilight zone fame ) combined with the overbearing chuck heston growling and yelling at those \" damn dirty apes , \" in one of his best roles of his career ? \\nsadly , i sat down to watch burton\\'s version of planet of the apes and within the first 20 minutes , i was checking my watch and my girlfriend ( a big fan of the original film ) started to nod off . \\nthis time around , the story plays out like a cross between enemy mine , braveheart , and project x . marky mark wahlberg , who was enjoyable in boogie nights and the corrupter , plays leo davidson , a hot shot u . s . air force pilot . \\nleo and his crew are in search of some mysterious magnetic storms ( no real explanation given in the film ) and leo sends one of his genetically altered \" smart \" chimps into the storms to collect data . \\nleo and his crew lose communication with the chimp , leo hops in another ship to find the monkey , and then he\\'s thrown through some type of time-space wormhole which crashes lands on the twentieth century fox studio backlot , all mocked up to look like the amazon jungle . \\nleo ends up getting captured by a group of talking apes and is sold to a slave trader named limbo ( paul giamatti ) who in turn sells leo to a chimpanzee named ari ( helena bonham carter ) . \\nthe kind ari then helps leo and his fellow humans escape to the mountains to find leo\\'s ship . \\nalong the way , monkeys played by tim roth ( overacting his role of a vicious general named thade ) and michael clarke duncan ( who further enhances his career by playing another heavy in a bad action movie ) strive out to hunt down leo and his band of human savages , just like battlefield earth ! \\nin the end , it all culminates into another braveheart rip-off human versus ape battle scene . \\nwhile rick baker\\'s makeup work is amazing , the script is a pathetic hodgepodge ( courtesy of three writers ) , the acting is horrible , and the \" surprise \" ending feels like a swing from a ball-peen hammer into the temple . \\nwahlberg does not have the physical or mental presence of a chuck heston to carry the film or any of its action sequences . \\nthis remake , or re-interpretation , as tim burton has proclaimed it , is an insult to the intelligence and wit of the original film . \\nthe ethical arguments about the equality of species , fascism , and military buildup have been replaced by tremendous amounts of ridiculous dialogue , an unimaginative narrative structure , and a romance between a monkey and a human . \\neven chuck heston\\'s anti-gun tirade ( in the de rigeur cameo ) seems shallow and jokey . \\nbut the main element missing from this tim burton film is tim burton . \\neven though his name is plastered across every billboard in america , john badham could have directed this film . \\neven joel schumacher could have directed this film . \\nhe probably should have . \\nburton\\'s predominant themes of rejection , isolation , and the search for one\\'s place in the universe , as seen in ed wood , edward scissorshands , and pee-wee\\'s big adventure , are completely absent in this planet . \\ni suppose that\\'s what happen when a great director gets sucked through a wormhole . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'bill condon\\'s \" gods and monsters \" is a fascinating look into the last days in the life of gay director james whale ( ian mckellan ) , who made the horror classics \" frankenstein \" and \" bride of frankenstein . \" \\nsince i was unfamiliar of whale prior to viewing the film , there is no way to know how accurate the film is , but i suspect that much of it only came from whale\\'s inner fantasies and hallucinations . \\nwhale , who fought in wwi and then went on to become known for his work on horror pictures , decided fifteen years before his death at age 67 to quit filmmaking once a homosexual scandal broke out involving him . \\nas the film tells it , during the end of his life , whale , at his large home in l . a . , became infatuated with the tall , handsome , and much younger man , clayton boone ( brendan fraser ) , who was working as the gardener at his home . \\njames whale , we learn quickly was , what many people refer to him as in the film , \" a dirty old man . \" \\nin one of the opening scenes , a young film enthusiast visits whale\\'s home to interview him and whale agrees , on one condition : for every question he answers , the young man must take off an article of clothing . \\nbecause of this episode , we know exactly what it is whale wants when he asks clayton to pose for him for a painting , later making the excuse that his bright , white shirt is disracting only so he will take it off . \\nclayon agrees , and doesn\\'t really think much of this , much to the warnings of his friends , becoming more and more intrigued in the stories whale tells him about his past . \\ncertainly , the relationship between whale and boone is headed for a downfall , since whale starts to grow a deep love for this young man , even though boone is not gay , and whale himself realizes he is nearing the conclusion to his life , as he begins to seldom suffer mild strokes and moments of true catharsis . \\n \" gods and monsters \" is an intimate and seemingly respectful portrait of a director who was forced to become somewhat of an outcast , due to his sexual preference , and never got the recognition he would have liked , since he longed to be referred to as a \" motion picture director , \" rather than a \" horror director . \" \\nand in one heartbreaking scene , he attends a party with boone being his guest , held by director george cuckor , and finds that many of the other attendees do not recognize him anymore . \\nit is evident that whale\\'s first love in his life was making movies , and when his career ultimately fell apart , so did his passion in life . \\nas played brilliantly by ian mckellen , james whale comes off as a sad , but dignified man , and a person who was not afraid to stand out from others , just as long as he knew he was being true to himself . \\nhe never hid the fact that he was gay , however , even if it meant threatening his filmmaking profession , and it was this unblinking honesty that made him a great person . \\nthrough the complicated relationship that develops between whale and boone , boone , of course , only things of whale as a possible friend or someone he can talk to , while it means so much more to whale , who sees boone as sort of his salvation in life . \\nalthough boone is only in a dead-end job as a gardener of people\\'s homes , whale views him as the ideal man , not only one that is good-looking , even though it is this attraction that first begins his feelings , but one that will actually listen to him . \\nsince whale lives with only his loyal , but disapproving maid ( touchingly portrayed by lynn redgrave ) , it is boone that whale can talk to in his ultimate reclusion from the world , and the only reason whale finally decides to attend the gathering of george cuckor . \\nalthough an extremely fine and mature picture , a few small elements hold the film back from ultimate greatness . \\nit is appreciated that the film does not pull for any obvious or overly dramatic story developments , but it is a little thin , and the structuring of the \" on-again-off-again \" friendship at the film\\'s center is fairly predictable . \\nwe know early on where these two characters are headed , and we can guess that there will be a final confrontation between the two as the tension slowly builds . \\nin lesser hands , this set-up might have felt too calculated , but it is not in the surprisingly deft treatment and writing that helps the film to be much more than this . \\nalso , a subplot is briefly brought up between clayton and a waitress working at a bar ( effectively played by lolita davidovich ) , but abruptly dropped and never brought up again . \\nif the film was not going to follow up on this side story , then it , perhaps , should have been taken out altogether . \\n \" gods and monsters \" is a heartfelt and intelligent motion picture , impressively directed by bill condon , who , i sense , relates to or fully understands the meaning behind the curious relationship between whale and boone . \\nthe film also plays as a tribute to a fine man who met an untimely end . \\nwalking away from \" gods and monsters , \" it was ian mckellen\\'s marvelous and astounding performance that left the most impression on me , and i doubt there could have been anyone who could have stepped into the role more fully and believably . \\nit is a sad testament when a person\\'s true talent and love is unfairly taken away from them , based on the scrutinization and judgement of their personal life , which , ironically enough , is no one else\\'s business in the first place . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a big , busy boxing satire with a surprisingly paltry punch , the great white hype stars samuel l . jackson as a shameless boxing promoter whose plan to boost sagging pay-per-view revenues is to \" invent \" a white contender ( peter berg ) to challenge his black heavyweight \" champ \" ( damon wayans ) . \\n ( the logic is that people will pay more to see black vs . white than black vs . black . ) \\nhe may be right , in an absurdly accurate way , but the film doesn\\'t give us a reason to care . \\nas a scathing sports spoof , hype is just that : unfunny , unfocused , and , at times , just plain pointless . \\nas a commentary on race relations , it\\'s even * less * effective . \\nthe dialogue is the best of this mess , lines like jon lovitz exclaiming \" i cannot make caviar out of fish eggs ! \" \\nwriters tony hendra and ron shelton also do good on the street slang , though we never hear enough of it . \\nthe script isn\\'t strong enough , though , to support the aggressive camera work of director reginald hudlin ( house party ) . \\nhe comes across as absolute overkill . \\nthe great white hype * almost * turns around at the end , at the big match , when hudlin attempts an extended gag of rock-concert proportions . \\nwith costumed dwarfs , gangsta rappers , and the \" champ \" dressed as death , only then do we get a glimpse of the spoof that should\\'ve been . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the premise is simple , if not bizarre . \\na mad scientist ( trace beaulieu as dr . clayton forrester ) launches an average-joe ( michael j . nelson as mike nelson ) into space where he forces his subject to watch the most horrendous movies ever made . \\nwhy ? \\nit's torturous , it's maniacal , and it's just plain fun . \\nbased on the cult-favorite cable television series , mystery science theater 3000 : the movie isn't torturous , but as for being maniacal and just plain fun , it foots the bill quite nicely . \\nmike nelson , on a dog-bone shaped spacecraft , spends his days as any young man would dream - indulging in sarcasm and horseplay , and seeing quite a few movies . \\nthe catch is , these movies aren't the movies he chooses , but retched examples of film-making chosen specifically by dr . forrester in an attempt to break mike's will to live . \\ndr . forrester is convinced that one too many b- movies is all it will take to ruin a man , but with a couple of wise-cracking puppet buddies ( tom servo , voiced by kevin murphy , and crow t . robot , voiced by beaulieu ) , the torture becomes somewhat of a honorary party for all that is wrong in the world of cheezy cinema . \\nthe purpose behind mst3k is to exploit some of the worst films known ( even if by very few of us ) to man . \\nwe watch as the silhouettes of mike , tom , and crow sit in a darkened theater poking fun at the movie going on before them . \\nin this case , it's the 1954 sci-fi film this island earth . \\nwe basically watch as our three leads watch , only we get the pleasure of eavesdropping on their hilarious commentary . \\nthe plots behind the movies ripped apart are really quite irrelevant , but for the sake of those who might want to know , i'll explain this one . \\nthis island earth is the tale of two scientists , a man and a woman , who wind up aboard a spaceship whose crew intends to destroy the earth . \\ntogether the two fight to survive as well as save their home planet . \\nto make mst3k work , the film-within-the-film naturally has to be as horrible as possible , and although the tv-series introduced us to several worse films than this island earth , it's a bad enough flick to bring about some hysterical cruelty . \\nmst3k , which doesn't actually contain the complete this island earth , is a short 73 minutes , but this is a step very wisely taken . \\nas funny as some of their observations are , it can only go so long . \\noccasional breaks from this island earth also help the film tremendously . \\nalthough it takes a second to get back into the right mode after this premise has been left for a moment , it's better than overkilling the whole concept post haste . \\nmst3k lovers will likely hail the film greatly , but if you don't know what you're in for , it could be a jarring disappointment . \\nalthough i thought the sharp wit of this film was worth three stars , it is a movie to be seen on home video , late at night when your brain is not functioning to full capacity anyway , and with a large , saracastic crowd - new year's at midnight for example , which is when i saw it . \\nwarning : although mst3k has more to its end credits than most ( the three leads use the credits to poke some more fun ) , they are actually more annoying than most . \\nthe name slandering and asinine one-liners were extremely unfunny , and after laughing for about 70 minutes straight , it put a heavy damper on the overall experience . \\nmost people will likely stay to see what the smart-alec's have to say , but for me , it almost ruined an otherwise good film . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'no matter what you suspect , this isn\\'t your usual action thriller . \\nthe usual suspects is an intelligent crime mystery story from up-and-coming director bryan singer . \\nit\\'s one of those movies that , after everything is revealed rapid-fire at the end , you immediately want to rewind and watch again because earlier scenes take on a new light . \\nplot twists a-go-go are what you get here -- i gave up trying to figure out the mystery of keyser soze after awhile and just sat back and waited for them to reveal it to me . \\nkeyser soze is a name you\\'ll hear at least a hundred times if you watch the usual suspects and for good reason . \\nit\\'s not only the name of the mysterious ( and possibly even mythical ) crime boss in the movie , it also sums up the movie -- \" keyser soze \" in latin means \" an intelligent crime mystery story from up-and-coming director bryan singer . \" \\nor maybe i shouldn\\'t have bought a foreign-language dictionary from the same company that makes those 99-cent encyclopedias sold in supermarkets . \\nat the movie\\'s opening , a group of known criminals are brought in for a police lineup , including mcmanus ( stephen baldwin ) , keaton ( gabriel byrne ) , fenster ( benicio del toro ) , buckney ( kevin pollack ) and verbal ( kevin spacey , winner of the best supporting actor academy award{symbol 153 \\\\ f \" times new roman \" \\\\ s 10 \\\\ h} for his performance in the movie ) . \\nverbal is so-named because he frequently rambles on about anything or nothing . \\nhe also earns his name as the movie\\'s narrator , spouting memorable lines like \" the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn\\'t exist \" ( although , obviously , he does exist -- what else could explain kris kross having a comeback in 1996 ? ) while being interrogated by police detective chazz palminteri ( any actor with multiple z\\'s in their name is okay in my book ) . \\nwe see the story unfold as spacey retells it . \\nthe five felons , upon being released from the lineup , get their revenge on the police by exposing a corrupt taxi service -- whereby elite criminals pay to be smuggled through town in cop cars -- and stealing all the money and drugs in the car . \\nit\\'s a definite case of male bonding for the five criminals , who later find out they were brought together by the unseen keyser soze , who sends a minion to them with an offer they can\\'t refuse . \\nnamely , they have to destroy soze\\'s main competitors in organized crime by infiltrating a ship , shooting a bunch of people , burning all the drugs and stealing $91 million cash . \\nspacey does a terrific job of bringing his seemingly unintelligent \" cripple \" character to life and baldwin , byrne , palminteri and the rest make for a good supporting cast . \\nthe usual suspects is one of those movies that deftly mixes scenes of violence and explosions with an underlying sense of mystery and suspense , keeping the viewer guessing until the very end -- and then still leaving a few details open for scrutiny and discussion . \\ni suppose all that would be cleared up if i really had rewound the movie and watched it again instead of changing the channel and wondering in disbelief what the hell kris kross was doing on mtv . \\na different mystery , i guess , which may turn into a _murder_ mystery if that video ever comes on again . . . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when i first heard of contact , the hype was building it up as a sci-fi blockbuster . \\nnow , with that in mind , coupled with the knowledge of jodie foster\\'s involvement in the project , i thought \" what in the world is foster doing in a sci-fi blockbuster ? ? ? \" . \\nas it turned out , my expectations were completely nullified and turned topsy-turvy . \\nrobert zemeckis , back from the euphoria created by his last film , forrest gump , once again proves his mastery in fusing tales of adventure with along the endearing lines of human spirit . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , contact is sci-fi ? but with a definite difference . \\nbased on the late carl sagan novel of the same name , the story delves itself in questions on science and god ; fact and faith . \\nallie ( foster ) is a radio astronomer . \\nshe spends her time listening to the stars , via ultra-huge communication dishes in search of intelligent life beyond the solar system . \\nher passion for `long-distance communication\\' is the result of her younger days being spent avidly in front of a ham-radio system ( a hobbyist radio communication device ) which her late-father bought for her . \\na scene which particularly strengthens the audiences\\' view of the passion is when she asked her father whether she could contact her late-mother through the ham-radio system in which her father replied \" not even the most powerful radio in the world can do that , now \" . \\nallie\\'s research is based on the seti project ( search for extra terrestrial intelligence ) , in which she listens to radio emissions from other galaxies in the hope of finding one which would suggest intelligent manipulation . \\nher work has never been off the scrutiny of the us government , which considers it a waste of taxpayer\\'s money and politically unviable , her supervisor ( tom skerritt ) pulls the plug on seti . \\nundaunted , allie managed to gather a loyal group of `believers\\' and eventually found funding from a large private corporation . \\nthe following months were treacherous to their hopes and research as they are contantly pressured by the government but all that changed when one day , she caught an emission of a seemingly intelligent repeating sound-wave . \\nthe news of her find attracted hordes of alien believers , cultist , the media and of course , the government . \\nthe situation became intense upon her discovery of pictorial plans on building a form of transport which were embedded within the repeating sound emission . \\nas the world join forces to build this transport , allie is desperate to be the one to go . \\nshe enrols herself among a few hopefuls , to represent the world when the transport is ready for operation . \\nher eligibility for the spot failed when she is questioned on her beliefs in the existence of god by the president\\'s spiritual advisor ( mcconaughey ) ; allie , being an atheist , a result of her belief in fact and science , refuses to budge upon questioning . \\nat this point the movie plot thickens considerably as she is romantically involved with the president\\'s spiritual advisor . \\na strong point which propelled the movie is the depth of its main characters played by foster and mcconaughey . \\nfrom the very first meeting scene , it is obvious that the two of them was sort of kindred spirits but they were worlds apart in almost all aspects , foster being a person drawn to science and facts and mcconaughey being one who believes in faith , hope and the power of the unseen . \\nthe meeting of their worlds , added with the situation which they are put into makes the entire storytelling process near flawless . \\nmany people who read the synopsis of this film would find it a tad too ridiculous , but by actually immersing yourself in it , gives you an entirely different perspective ; one which is free from bias and pre-conceptions . \\nzemeckis and his team of screen writers have done a remarkable job in telling this tale through film . \\ncontact works by not delving in controversy but rather , touches the thinking audience , urging them to ponder upon the questions raised in the film concerning fact and faith ; whether one can actually find compromise within . \\ni consider contact as one of the must-sees for this year . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'hedwig ( john cameron mitchell ) was born a boy named hansel in east berlin . \\nas a teen seeking his \" other half , \" he reluctantly agrees to a sex change operation in order to marry american g . i . \\nluther ( maurice dean wint ) . \\nthe operation , performed by a hack surgeon , is botched , and the \" angry inch \" is all that\\'s left . \\nnow a \" she \" , hedwig comes to america , is abandoned by luther , forms a rock band and falls for her 17-year old lover/prot ? g ? , tommy , only to be rejected by him later , too . \\nshe and her band , the angry inch , shadows the now-famous tommy gnosis across the us ( for revenge ? ) , but hedwig is really in search of her lost other half in \" hedwig and the angry inch . \" \\nfirst time helmer john cameron mitchell , along with composer/lyricist stephen trask , created and starred in their acclaimed off-broadway production that has become the movie . \\nand quite a movie it is in its eclectic variety of songs , outrageous costumes , sets and makeup and , especially , a riveting performance by mitchell as the title character . \\nmitchell and trask have reinvented the movie musical and couple it with the underlying story of just whom hedwig is and what she is looking for . \\ni am , by far , not a big fan of musicals . \\nsure , there are exceptions , like bob fosse\\'s \" all that jazz \" and \" cabaret , \" but , for the most part , they are just not my cup of tea . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" is an exception , though , with its combination of humor , wit and a collection of tunes that covers musical styles ranging from \" the rocky horror picture show \" and meatloaf to david bowie to the sex pistols . \\nthe original songs , by stephen trask ( also appearing as one of the members of the band the angry inch ) , are full of energy and variety and , even though it\\'s not my kind of music , i found every one entertaining and fun . \\nthe audience i saw \" hedwig \" with thought so , too . \\nthe main attraction to this one-man/woman show is the presence of its star . \\njohn cameron mitchell gives a solid , sometimes fun , sometimes angry performance as a person searching for self-enlightenment and love . \\nas a young boy growing up in east berlin , hansel is abused by his g . i . \\nfather and raised by his german mother in a tiny flat so small that \" mother would make me play in the oven \" where he listened to pop music on armed forces radio . \\nlater , as a young man , he meets luther , another g . i . \\nand is swept off of his feet . \\nthe ensuing angry inch incident comes soon after . \\nflash forward to a trailer park in junction city , kansas , and luther is leaving hedwig for another boy . \\nfrustrated and broke , she takes on baby-sitting and the odd \" job \" to make ends meet . \\nshe also forms a band with four korean housewives and the musical talent of hedwig is born . \\nshe meets , falls for and loses young tommy , who steals her songs and goes off to become a rock sensation . \\njealous and angry , hedwig and her new band begins a campaign to shadow tommy\\'s tours and , with the help of her manager , phyllis stein ( andrea martin ) , is trying get a law suit going against the star for stealing her songs . \\nhedwig and the angry inch get gigs , not coincidentally , at a chain of seafood restaurants that just happen to be next to the forums where tommy gnosis is playing . \\nthings finally come to a head , so to speak , in new york city . \\nthe popularity of the off-broadway musical and its offshoots have garnered a ready-made audience base for \" hedwig . \" \\nthe wit , humor , music and search for identity has great appeal to young adults , but the charismatic presence of mitchell makes this a cut above what it could have been . \\nit is this one-man/woman show that casts its spotlight on its \" internationally ignored \" rock star and mitchell is outstanding in the role . \\nthere isn\\'t a lot going on with other characters , though there are amusing little sidebars , like hedwig\\'s backup singer/lover , yitzak ( miriam shor ) , deciding to break away from the band to join a polynesian road show of \" rent \" as a puerto rican drag queen . \\nthe low budget that the moviemakers have for the production belies the quality of the film . \\nattention to details - hedwig\\'s costumes and outrageous \" cabaret \" -like makeup ; the seedy trailer park setting ; and , the kitschy seafood restaurants - are loads of fun to watch and lend the appropriate air to the proceeds , all on what has to be a beer budget . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" may not be for everybody , but the energy of the effort , the songs , the imaginative sets and costumes and a fast steady pace make it a pleasure to watch . \\nif you\\'re a fan of contemporary , edgy music , it is an even bigger draw . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"near the end of frank capra's holiday classic , its a wonderful life , george bailey ( jimmy stewart ) is feeling down . \\nhe has devoted his life to others , and never fulfilled his dream of leaving his small supburb town , bedford falls . \\nstanding upon a bridge above stormy waters , he looks down , contemplating suicide . \\nhe has potential he hasn't fulfilled -- yet , he has done so much for others . \\nas a young chap , his ambition was to leave his hometown of bedford falls . \\nbut times and ambitions change . \\nthings happen , and he's stuck . \\nhis guardian angel is there , and shows him that . . . it's \\na wonderful life . \\nin a whirlwind tour of the town , george sees what life would be like without him . \\nhe learns the moral lesson , that to live is a gift . \\nhis earthly problems are solved . \\nthe climatic scene is a marvel . \\nfrank capra's film is a centenial classic -- watched and re-experienced by every generation . \\nwonderful life is one of the few pictures of times gone by that seems as fresh , maybe fresher , then it did when it was first released . \\nmany films of the thirties through seventies have aged poorly . \\nbut this one is a near flawless example of how well a perfect script and timing can mesh with first-rate acting , wit and suspense , glorious music , and terrific set peices . \\nthe only even slightly dated scenes are those at the begining in which god has a long chat with clarence , george's guardian angel . \\nthey aren't all that bad , but they remain corny and a little out of place . \\nnevertheless , this is one film that deserves its place in time , cinema history , and our hearts . \\nit can be equally appreciated by anyone of any age . \\nhere is one genuine masterpeice , a classic that reaches heights and ambitions near perfection . \\nthis crackling good mixture results in a film which is at once funny , exciting , moving and uplifting . \\nthe film itself is almost a reversal of the life of george bailey -- there isn't too much to it , but capra and the gang ( various screenwriters , composers , actors ) plumet the material to its fullest potential . \\nthe result is a film -- though not at first intended to be pigeon-holed as a holiday film -- that will always be remembered , celebrated , and loved . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' * * * be warned . . . \\nthe following review contains some harsh language * * * \\nthe blair witch project . \\nquite possibly the least scariest movie of all time . \\nif you want to see real terror on the big screen go back and watch any scene with jar jar binks in the phantom menace , because this movie is not scary or even remotely creepy . \\nmy colleague and friend chuck dowling wrote that if less is more , then the blair witch filmmakers must have thought that nothing is more . \\nand this worked for him . \\nwell , i\\'m sorry , but nothing . . . \\nis nothing ! ! ! ! ! \\nnothing is not more . \\nit\\'s nothiiiiiinggggggggggg ! ! ! ! ! ! . \\ni do not pay 5 dollars to see nothing . \\n \" nothing \" is free , available all around the world at a location near you . \\ni am absolutely in amazement that some people find this movie scary . \\ni could just discount them and say , \" well , i guess they are just pansy chicken shits who are probably scared of their own shadow . \" \\nbut i have intelligent friends who like this movie and so that doesn\\'t hold water . \\nthere must be some other reason . \\n ( then again , maybe my first thought is correct , i think i\\'ll try pointing their shadow out to them one day and test their reaction . ) \\nwhen i hear people praising this film , i never hear them talking about what makes up about 97% of this movie : three kids bickering with each other about being lost . \\nthey only talk about what might make up possibly 3 to 4 minutes of screen time . \\nthis being a few very short night scenes where the kids hear some unscary sounds and another where they shout \" josh ! ! \" \\nover and over . \\nthis film should not be called the blair witch project , it should more accurately be called three dumb and pisspoor filmmakers get lost . . . \\nand argue with each other . \\noh ladies and gentlemen you will be so scared when you hear them shouting \" josh ! ! \" . \\nand if you thought that was scary , wait till you see a pile of rocks , and then some tinkertoy lincoln logs , oh my dear lord you will be pissing in your pants with fear . \\noh yeah , and some goo on one of their backpacks . \\nyou\\'ve never seen terror like this folks , and you don\\'t want to . \\nthe chevy chase/goldie hawn comedy foul play is creepier than this film . \\n ( for current films , i highly recommend the sixth sense or a stir of echoes for a creepy filmgoing experience . ) \\nthis film is an example of marketing with no substance . \\nthe marketing was brilliant , and the whole nation is in awe of just the premise for the film . \\nthey want this film to be good . \\nand i think they are reaching and praising the wrong movie because they don\\'t have anything else to praise . \\nthat wonderful film that rejuvenates the horror genre may come along , but this is not it . \\nthis film could have been so much better . \\njust think , if maybe there had been only 10 minutes of arguing about being lost , and 80 minutes of nighttime stuff . \\ni saw this movie with a girl who was extremely pumped for it . \\nshe was sold on this film . \\nand then , at one point during it , she turned to me and asked \\' . . . are \\nwe supposed to be scared by this ? \\' . \\ni\\'ve heard one opinion that you \" have to use your imagination \" to create the fear in this movie . \\nwell , i thought that was what the filmmakers were supposed to do . \\nuse their imagination and create a good movie . \\ni mean anyone can use their imagination and not pay 5 bucks for it . \\nbut even if you like this idea , then what are you imagining ? \\nan entity called the blair witch ? \\nsome rednecks fucking with these kids ? \\nare either of these things really scary when you think about it ? ? ? \\ni\\'ve heard several people say that this movie makes them recall how scary it can be to be out in the woods and hear something . \\nwell sure thats scary in real life , but there are a lot of things that are scary in real life that are not scary in a movie nor even interesting . \\nyou could sit in your house and see a snake or a spider and it could be scary , but in a film it wouldn\\'t be . \\nand no , a movie does not need a big budget or cgi special effects to be scary or creepy . \\nactually the less the better ( see the equally awful remake of the haunting ) . \\nbut you have to do something . \\nyou cant just count on us all having nostalgic memories of how something like this could be scary , if it were real . \\nand by the way , about the shakycam filming in blair witch . \\naren\\'t these supposed to be \" filmmakers \" who should know how to point a camera and shoot something without shaking the camera constantly ? \\ni\\'m not even talking about the couple scenes where they are terrified , that\\'s justified . \\ni\\'m talking about the other 87 minutes of the movie where they can\\'t seem to shoot anything smoothly at all . \\nminor quibble there . \\nthere is a feeling in me that the people that like this movie are suckers . \\nthat the filmmakers are just laughing their asses off all the way to the bank . \\nand i think there is a good chance they will see this film again and say to themselves \" what was i thinking ? ? \" . \\nbut , if they don\\'t , then thats fine . \\nif it works for them then that\\'s okay i guess . \\ni just lament that by making this movie a hit , we are going to be subjected to more of the \" nothing is more \" approach . \\npretty soon we\\'re going to get some movies like this : just a still shot of a prison jail cell . \\nfor 90 minutes . \\nand we\\'ll have to use our imagination and think to ourselves , \" my god , wouldn\\'t it be scary to spend life in prison ? ! ! \\nthis movie is the scariest movie of all time ! ! ! ! ! \" . \\nor , a shot of a coffin , with some funeral directors arguing with each other . \\n \" man , do you know how scary it would be to die ? ? ? ! ! ! ! \\nnow this is the scariest movie of all time ! ! ! ! \" \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i can already feel the hate letters pouring in on this one , folks . \\ni loved the wedding singer . \\nbut it gets worse . \\nif i so much as mention titanic in the same sentence . \\n . \\n . \\nhell , same paragraph as the wedding singer , i\\'m bound to be lynched . \\nwell lynch me then , because i thought adam sandler and drew barrymore had the most convincing chemistry in recent memory , with titanic as the only exception . \\nright away , you\\'re ready to discount my review , aren\\'t you ? \\nyou\\'re thinking that i can\\'t possibly know what i\\'m talking about . \\nafter all , this is adam sandler right ? ? ? \\nwell , there\\'s more . \\n . \\n . \\ni actually got choked up , and more than once . \\nyes , the man who brought us billy madison and happy gilmore was able to bring sincere tears to my eyes . \\nbut before you shrug me off as an imbecile , i urge you to see the movie and see for yourself . \\nthe wedding singer is the story of robby hart ( sandler ) , a 1985 rock star wannabe whose soul achievement in life has been performing cover tunes at wedding receptions for the past five years or so . \\nbut when his own wedding results in a no-show for the bride ( angela featherstone as linda ) , robby begins to re-examine his life , and wonder why true love doesn\\'t exist for people like him . \\nin the process of performing at these receptions , robby meets a waitress named julia , played with wholesome sweetness by drew barrymore , whose reputation is anything but this character . \\njulia too is engaged , and when robby finds himself without a wife , his free time allows him to help her plan her own wedding , seeing as how her fiance , the \" miami vice \" loving glenn ( matthew glave ) , doesn\\'t seem all that interested . \\nas the time goes by , we learn the reason glenn is do dispassionate about the wedding - he\\'s merely marrying julia to prevent a breakup , something he wants to avoid even if he does sleep around with tons of other women . \\nit\\'s obvious that robby is going to fall for julia and feel a strong need to rescue her , but what is a lighthearted romantic comedy for ? \\nthis isn\\'t sleepless in seattle , but i\\'d actually compare it to that before i\\'d compare it to happy gilmore . \\nwhile the wedding singer maintains some of that post-snl cornball humor , its sincerity and charm carry it a very , very long way . \\nsandler is great in his role , and yes , if you allow it , you can take him seriously . \\nbarrymore seems perfect along side him , and although the two more likely represent gen-x moronism and party-girl ditzism ( respectively ) , the two go together like bread and butter as a mid-eighties couple . \\none scene in particular , where julia ponders the future in a mirror , is so well done , i was on the verge of tears . \\nunfortunately , sandler is going to make a lot of people shrug this one off as a no-brainer , but it\\'s got so much surprise substance packed inside that i\\'m encouraging everyone to go see it . \\nin fact , the entire theater applauded when the film ended , and laughs were so consistent , some jokes were probably missed due to the uproar . \\nthe 1985 setting was milked for everything it was worth , and for those of us that are old enough to remember it , it was a bodacious trip back ( and done very well ) . \\nsandler shows a new side to himself while maintaining all his original charm ( or is it anti-charm ? ) . \\nwhile the wedding singer only deserves three stars due to artistic merit , grading it on pure enjoyability would give this one four stars . \\nit\\'s hilarious , and it\\'s touching . \\nit\\'s got that great cheezy humor , but it also takes sandler to a higher level than anyone expected . \\nthis is one to see again and again . \\nis it possible the wedding singer could be one of the sweetest romantic comedies of 1998 ? \\nmy \" magic 8-ball \" predicts it is certain . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"accepting his oscar as producer of this year's best picture winner , saul zaentz remarked that his cup runneth over . \\none could almost say the same about his much-prized film . \\nrarely is the screen so overflowing with potent imagery , symbolism , ideas and metaphors , complex and literate storytelling , all possessed of an intelligence that invites -- even demands -- constant scrutiny , an acuity of perception and observation that must somehow yield the truth . \\nin short , the antithesis of all things hollywood . \\nyet this surfeit of signals is made to serve a rather pale and thinly realized love story whose emotional impact is as dry as a desert wind . \\nralph fiennes is the title character , an amnesiac burn victim whose gradual return to memory , and particularly the memory of love , is the ostensible focus of the film . \\nbut despite the use of numerous flashbacks to help put the pieces of this personal puzzle together , we never learn enough about the man to feel much empathy for him . \\nhis emotional life before the story begins is an essential clue that remains withheld . \\nthe same can easily be said for every other character in the film , of which there are too many . \\njuliette binoche's nurse comes as close as this film gets to an emotional heart . \\nat least we learn early on that she is scarred by the deaths of those close to her , and so we understand why she is eager to escape the company of her comrades in order to seek refuge in the convalescence of a mysterious , disfigured , dying stranger . \\neven this information is imparted so quickly and in such cursory fashion , however , that it verges on the comical . \\nwith so many characters enjoying so little screen time , the film's 160 minutes can be taxing . \\nyet there is something so captivating about the sensibility behind the camera that i couldn't help but feel that greatness was in the air . \\nhints of it were everywhere -- in a man who hates ownership but wants desperately to possess his lover ; in ancient cave paintings of swimmers copied casually by a modern-day swimmer in the sahara ; in the way the shifting sands of time obliterate everything more completely than a world war . \\nthere is enough latent meaning to supply college film students with paper topics for years . \\nbut ultimately the emotional truths writer-director anthony minghella was grasping for were never revealed . \\nin the end , i was left with the impression that i had witnessed quite an oxymoron : a haunting bore . \\nbore is perhaps too strong a word . \\nbut after drinking in the rich production values , the cup remains only slightly over half-full . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" if there\\'s a beast in men , it meets its match in women , too . \" \\nstarring sarah patterson , angela lansbury , tusse silberg , david warner directed by neil jordan written by jordan and angela carter , from a story by carter cinematography by bryan loftus \\nin recent years , there has been a trend in the field of fantasy : writers have been revisiting the fertile world of myth and fairy tale and reclaiming that world , investing it with new life and energy . \\nin modern times , fairy tales have become disneyfied and debased ; they have become trite adventures involving leering witches , friendly dwarves , and cuddly talking animals . \\nbut in their original forms , fairy tales have a dark , wicked edge . \\ncrows tear out the eyes of cinderella\\'s sisters , a gorier fate then they receive in the animated version . \\nhansel and gretel relish cooking the witch in her own oven . \\nwriters have become fascinated by the bloodier , morally ambivalent aspects of fairy tales , and are now modernizing the old stories while simultaneously going back to their roots . \\nbefore this trend was in vogue , angela carter--whose stories always have a dark , wicked , subversive edge--had been reinventing fairy tales for years . \\nin the company of wolves , she and neil jordan retell the story of red riding hood , enlivening it with werewolves , rolls royces , and a visit from satan . \\nthe story is structured as a dream , occurring in the mind of rosaleen ( sarah patterson ) , an adolescent girl about whose \\'real\\' life we learn very little . \\nwithin the dream , there are a number of inset stories , most told by dream-rosaleen\\'s grandmother ( angela lansbury ) , and these tales gloss the central story in intriguing , suggestive ways . \\nthe result is a surprisingly successful example of a sinister , contemporary fairy tale . \\ni say \" surprisingly \" because there are so many ways this film could have gone wrong . \\nand there are ways in which it does . \\nthe performances are mediocre , except for lansbury\\'s--she finds the right note for the prim , apple-cheeked granny , the wise and stern teller of cautionary tales . \\nthe soundtrack , synth-heavy , reminded me of bad 80s horror movies , as did the special effects in the shapechanging scenes . \\nprobably state-of-the-art at the time , they are now laughable . \\nbut jordan succeeds at what i consider the trickiest aspect of the film : he transcends the poor acting/music/effects and conveys a sense of the fantastic , of otherness . \\none of the problems in adapting full-blown fantasies is that fantasy is often best left to the imagination of the reader , rather than being subjected to the \\'realism\\' of the screen . \\npart of me would love to see an adaptation of \\'the lord of the rings , \\' but , on the other hand , i know that any filmmaker\\'s recreation of ents , hobbits , and balrogs is inevitably going to be really lame compared to what i picture in my mind . \\nthis makes jordan\\'s accomplishment here seem mighty impressive to me : he imbues the company of wolves with a genuine sense of magic and mystery . \\nthe somewhat ruritanian dreamworld becomes a kind of ur-reality . \\nthe sunshine is exceptionally warm and abundant . \\nthe nights are quiet and misty and eerie and ghostly . \\nthe peasant village is rustic and cozy , the woods old and hoary . \\nthis archetypal realm is the setting for a smart , subtle , literate script , a script which is as good as you\\'d expect from jordan ( himself an accomplished fiction writer ) and carter . \\nfor carter , the cauldron of story is a witches\\' brew , bubbling over with primal ingredients : mist-shrouded forests , ancient graveyards , virginal girls and wise women , wolves with glowing eyes . \\nshe adeptly blends them all together . \\nthere is a symbolic richness to the film ; everything is permeated with a sense of significance . \\nthe point of it all , i think , is to represent a girl\\'s rites-of-passage on an unconscious , primordial level . \\na night-journey through the forest , from the village to the grandmother\\'s home , is the crux of the company of wolves . \\n \" don\\'t stray from the path , \" rosaleen is told , again and again , and the path is both literal and figurative : the path through the forest and the path of life . \\nstaying on the path is the conventional approach suggested by rosaleen\\'s elders . \\ncarter and jordan , never conventional , explore what goes on when you leave the path . \\nthose who stray will supposedly meet with a dark fate . \\nthis fate is literalized in the dream as werewolves , but the werewolves connote many things : death , sex , knowledge . \\nif straying from the path leads to death , then it\\'s not a good idea--but if that\\'s what you have to risk to get sex and knowledge ( and therefore power ) , then maybe it\\'s worth the risk . \\nwhen you leave the path , the world becomes a dangerous , ambiguous place , but it\\'s full of potential . \\nand it\\'s certainly more interesting than the disney version . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i have a great idea for a movie , one that can\\'t miss . \\nsee , i\\'ve got coolio to do a song for the soundtrack , and about fifty athletes and celebrities to do cameo appearances . \\nit\\'s about professional basketball , so i\\'ll release it right around the nba finals to guarantee added publicity . \\nas for what the movie is actually about . . . well , that will all sort itself out eventually . \\ni figure it will be a comedy , so i\\'ll throw a half-dozen writers at it and take the best of whatever they come up with . \\nmaybe we\\'ll put a gender spin on it , see if we can get some women out to see it , too . \\neddie is one of those phenomenally lazy films that infuriates me more than any other kind . \\ntwister , as inane as the script might have been , at least required some creative technicians ; mission : impossible , overwrought plot and all , at least involved genuine effort . \\neddie just sits there , hawking up a formula story without any laughs , and makes every possible bad decision when a decision is required . \\nwhoopi goldberg plays eddie franklin , a new york limo driver and die-hard knicks fan who is suffering through a dismal season for her beloved team . \\ncoach john bailey ( dennis farina ) has lost control of his overpaid prima donnas , and the losses are beginning to mount . \\nthe dwindling attendance inspires new team owner wild bill burgess ( frank langella ) to try a publicity stunt in which a lucky fan will get to be an honorary coach of the team . \\nthe winner ( surprise , surprise ) is eddie , who becomes a fan favorite , and eventually the actual coach . \\nthe knicks continue to lose , but eddie has some sassy tricks up her sleeve to inspire her troops . \\nincidentally , the knicks eventually start winning . \\nplease raise your hand if that comes as a shock , and i will invite you to my all-night marathon of the bad news bears , major league , angels in the outfield , the mighty ducks , the big green , cool runnings and little giants . \\nawful teams in sports comedies make miraculous turnarounds ; it\\'s what they do . \\nthose teams usually involve kids , for a very sound comedic reason : it\\'s funnier when they screw up , and they\\'re more sympathetic . \\nthose which _don\\'t_ involve kids usually have actual actors in the lead roles , for another very sound comedic reason : they generally have developed some sort of comic timing . \\neddie was cast under the misguided premise that it\\'s easier to make basketball players look like actors than it is to make actors look like basketball players . \\nthis finds nba players like greg ostertag , dwayne schintzius , rick fox and malik sealy delivering punch lines as though they were reading them for the first time off a bazooka wrapper ( though sacramento kings center olden polynice has a nice moment describing a black hole to fellow players ) . \\nperhaps that all didn\\'t matter to anyone because there are so few punch lines , and because the whole film is one big casting gimmick . \\nsteve rash directs the spiritless script as though waving a flag of surrender and screaming , \" don\\'t blame me , i just work here . \" \\nperhaps it was patently obvious to him that eddie isn\\'t a movie -- it\\'s a cameo appearance that trips over a plot every once in a while . \\namong the notables who lend their faces to this travesty are donald trump , new york mayor rudolph giulianni , former new york mayor ed koch , david letterman , letterman regulars mujibur rahman and sirajul islam , espn broadcaster chris berman and knicks announcer marv albert , as well as dozens of nba players and several nba arenas . \\nand those are the real jokes in eddie . \\nnothing these individuals say or do is funny ; you are supposed to be laughing simply because you notice , \" hey , it\\'s donald trump ! \" \\nor \" hey , it\\'s mujibur and sirajul ! \" \\nit\\'s difficult to decide whether eddie is so bad because it was so shamelessly lacking in imagination or because it can\\'t even get the cliches in a cliche-ridden genre script right . \\nthe knicks coach who is eddie\\'s antagonist early in the film reappears at the end , but he isn\\'t given a chance to be the villain eddie desperately needs . \\nneither is frank langella , and none of the athlete-actors have the ability to give whoopi goldberg anything to play off of . \\nthat leaves her to do her street-wise miss thang routine , but with no character , no sharp lines and no help . \\neddie isn\\'t just a bad movie with a formulaic premise . \\nit\\'s a movie that makes you feel cheated and offended , because someone came up with a poster and a marketing plan to which they had to attach an actual movie , and you had the nerve to believe it was going to be a comedy . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'warren beatty returns to the screens in the funniest , craziest and hard hitting movie in his career . \\nbased on a story concocted by himself , and also written by beatty , bulworth gives a good insight of what beatty thinks of the american government system . \\nbeatty stars as senator jay bulworth , who\\'s going through a nervous breakdown . \\nafter hiring someone to kill him , he completely changes his campaign strategy and tells the honest truth about what\\'s _really_ happening in american politics , much to the annoyance of assistant dennis murphy ( platt . ) \\ninstead of everyone hating him , the american public love him . \\nhowever , inside his party , more people want to kill him than just the hired assassin . \\nand he also strikes a relationship with black girl nina ( berry . ) \\nit\\'s remarkable that this film was released at all . \\nmuch more open than the rather subdued primary colours , bulworth barely gives the american politic system a good name . \\nthe outrageous remarks bulworth makes to his potential voters are very funny , and also somewhat true . \\nit\\'s great that beatty isn\\'t afraid to let loose on a subject . \\ntalking of beatty , he\\'s excellent in the role of the demented senator , clearing having fun . \\nand seeing warren beatty have fun is a rare sight indeed . \\neven in dick tracy , he was the most straighten face actor . \\n ( then again , he was the only characters face we could completely see . ) \\nthe film gives an opportunity for the 61 year old beatty to indulge in some rapping , which he does with gusto ( and also quite well . ) \\nand seeing beatty as a \\'homeboy\\' has to be seen to be believed . \\nit\\'s nice to see that beatty can laugh at himself . \\nsecond best is oliver platt as the flustered , coke snorting assistant , who goes over the top when he finally snaps . \\nhalle berry is fine , and sexy , as the intellectual nina , who comes to like the senator . \\nalso popping up in the supporting cast is paul sorvino wit h a strange accent , laurie metcalf as the exact same characters she\\'s also played , and christine baranski of cybill fame as bullworths wife , who all contribute to the fun . \\nand , this being a political film , the ubiquitous larry king makes an appearance , as , * shock * , himself . \\nthe writing and directing , both by beatty , are above par . \\nthe direction is very nearly sitcom like , but suits the film perfectly , and both the politics are gangland parts are handled well . \\nthe script is funny , and the raps are actually well produced and humorous , and quite clever . \\nthey\\'re not cringe inducing , at least . \\nthe script makes many points about society in america today , and isn\\'t afraid to make any bold statements about what is a flawed system . \\nbest of all , the film is thought provoking , but directed and written in such a way that the film feels as light as a feather , and is very entertaining . \\nthere\\'s also a great rap soundtrack with some well chosen tunes . \\nbulworth is a film with many advantages , and few flaws . \\nperhaps it could be somewhat embarrassing to see a 61 year old man rapping , but beatty does it so well it\\'s irrelevant . \\nin fact , there\\'s very little against bulworth , except for the language which is very heavy , but then again it should be expected . \\nbulworth , then , is well worth watching . \\na david wilcock review ? 1999 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       "  b'14 years ago , national lampoon introduced us to a new family - the griswolds . \\nin 1983 , the griswolds embarked on a cross-country journey with the destination of wally world , a world-renowned theme park in california . \\nwe laughed our heads off as we shared the wild and crazy mishaps the family endured . \\ntwo years later , we watched again as they went to europe , and four years after that , we shared christmas with them . \\nnow , eight more years have passed , and the laughs have done more than die . \\nthey\\'ve been cremated . \\nvegas vacation brings back chevy chase as clark griswold , the good intentioned but ill-fated father of two . \\nthe premise is basically the same . \\nclark has a wonderful idea to take his family on a bonding vacation , this time to las vegas . \\nhis wife ellen ( beverly d\\'angelo ) and teenage kids rusty and audrey ( always played by different actors - this time around , by ethan embry and marisol nichols , respectively ) join him and they soon find themselves in sin city where casinos will make the backdrop for ninety minutes of slapstick . \\nof course a \" vacation \" movie wouldn\\'t be complete without good ole eddie ( reprised by randy quaid ) , the misfit cousin , showing up at all the wrong times . \\nthere isn\\'t too much of a plot here when it comes right down to it . \\nit\\'s really just a skit movie . \\nthere are a couple of ways to define a skit movie , which is not a real term as far as i know . \\nthe first would be a movie that basically has one running gag for two hours , therefore coming off like a two hour skit . \\nthe second would be a movie that seems comprised of about twenty shorter skits , each lasting about five minutes . \\nvegas vacation comes off like the first . \\na good example of the latter would be last year\\'s black sheep . \\nthe problem with this format is that it becomes old fast , and it doesn\\'t really fit into a movie mold . \\nin these cases , a \" plot \" , which is generally very thin , is used either as a shameless filler between scenes or to simply add convenience to the gags ( i . e . \\nhave a good vegas joke , make a vegas movie ) . \\nsuch is the case with this movie\\'s mini-plots . \\nclark gets gambling fever and begins spending all of the griswold\\'s money , ellen is on the verge of an affair with wayne newton ( ! ) , rusty has a fake id and is using it to his gambling advantage , and audrey is desperate for fun and winds up joining her cousin vickie ( shae d\\'lyn ) as an exotic dancer . \\nthe simple fact is : this movie isn\\'t funny . \\nat first , i did find myself chuckling heartily at a couple of little jokes , but when the movie got rolling , my interest suddenly stopped . \\nchase plays clark griswold really well . \\nhe made the character and he is the character . \\nd\\'angelo , to be quite honest , never was too impressive as ellen , and this movie doesn\\'t show any signs of redemption . \\nas for the two new griswold kids , the word \" blah \" comes to mind . \\nthe \" vacation \" series seems out to prove that anybody can play these two characters , the simple reason being that there is nothing to them . \\nthey\\'re so generic , you\\'ll expect the credits to read \" girl #1 as audrey griswold \" . \\nvegas vacation differs from the first three in the series by more than just laugh factor . \\nyes , it\\'s true that vegas vacation isn\\'t even close to being close to being as funny as the others , which were actually pretty fun in their own doofy ways , but there are a couple of other things that set this one negatively apart . \\nfirst off , why did they leave off the national lampoon\\'s heading on the title ? \\ni couldn\\'t find any reasons why , but maybe the fact is even national lampoon didn\\'t want to be associated with such a lame film . \\nthat\\'s saying a lot , especially when you look at what else the company has proudly presented : loaded weapon 1 , pcu , etc . if they expected this to be another hit , you would assume they\\'d be proud to tack on the notorious header , but for reasons only we can guess at , like the movie sucking , they didn\\'t . \\nthere is another difference here that makes an obvious impact . \\nthe first three films in the \" vacation \" series were written by john hughes , a talented writer who is behind several popular films of the 80\\'s including mr . \\nmom , sixteen candles , the breakfast club , weird science , pretty in pink , ferris bueller\\'s day off , planes , trains , and automobiles , and uncle buck . \\nwowzers ! \\nwhat a r ? sum ? ! \\nlooking at the names , you\\'d think this guy wrote everything that now stands as a movie icon for the 1980\\'s . \\nwell that\\'s not all . \\nthis guy also brought us 90\\'s hits including the home alone series , the remake of 101 dalmatians , dennis the menace , and the current flubber . \\nvegas vacation , however , didn\\'t have john hughes behind it , and the loss is very obvious . \\nthis time around , the script is in the hands of elisa bell , whose only credits thus far include four made-for-tv movies . \\nvegas vacation plays very much like one , and it would actually work much better as a made-for-tv sequel . \\nif this sounds like a wild idea , it\\'s not . \\nrevenge of the nerds third and fourth installments were both television movies , and they seemed like it . \\nvegas vacation would fit in well on the fox network as a 2 : 00 a . m . \\nsunday morning movie , but as a silver screen major motion picture , it\\'s quite out of place . \\nstephen kessler\\'s jejune direction doesn\\'t help things either . \\nhe only makes the film even more tv-movie-ish . \\neach consecutive \" vacation \" movie has suffered a drop in directing power . \\nwe started the series off with harold ramis , who also directed caddyshack and groundhog day as well as co-writing ghostbusters . \\nnot too bad . \\nthen we had national lampoon\\'s european vacation being directed by amy heckerling , who would go on to direct the hits look who\\'s talking and clueless , as well as having already directed the infamous fast times at ridgemont high . \\nlastly we had national lampoon\\'s christmas vacation , directed by jeremiah s . chechik , who went on to direct the charming benny & joon . \\nkessler , so far , has one title under his belt , the short film birch street gym , which received an oscar nomination in 1992 . \\ngranted that this was his first attempt at a feature length film , we can allow for some amateurish quality , but instead we get a movie straight from the text book - boring , bland , and deeply unoriginal . \\nif you loved the \" vacation \" movies , and i know * some * of us did , there still isn\\'t anything here worth seeing . \\nif you loved them , don\\'t ruin your good impressions of the series by indulging in this tragic example of cinema ala carte . \\nif you never did like the series , why the need to confirm why ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'like the great musical pieces of mozart himself , amadeus is a true work of art . \\nit is one of those few movies of the 80\\'s that will be known for its class , its style , and its intelligence . \\nwhy is this such a good film ? \\nthere are almost too many reasons to explain . \\nthe story : court composer salieri ( f . \\nmurray abraham ) feels waves of different emotions going through his head as wolfgang amadeus mozart ( tom hulce ) comes into his life as the young genius composer . \\nsalieri feels envy , and jealousy , but at the same time is fascinated with mozart\\'s brilliance and ingenious . \\nwe travel through mozart\\'s life as a composer , through his struggles , his triumphs , and ultimately , his demise . \\nthe acting : abraham is magnificient as salieri ; his acting range enables him to focus on each individual emotion and express it through his speech and body language . \\nthis performance earned him a well deserved oscar . \\ntom hulce is interesting as well as mozart , a quirky , annoying bratty kid with an annoying laugh . \\nhe\\'s strong , but weak at the same time , and must be aided by his wife ( elizabeth berridge ) , who is good in her role , but lacks dramatic depth . \\njeffrey jones , in a smaller , more dignified role than such roles in stay tuned and mom and dad save the world , is cast perfectly because of his noble charm . \\nthe movie : every element of this movie works . \\nthe costumes and makeup are very memorable , as well as its stunning art direction , and unforgettable scores ( adapted from mozart\\'s original music ) . \\nwhile wolfgang amadeus mozart was a genius at music , milos forman proves with his film that he is a genius of filmmaking . \\nthis movie is a classic that will be remembered for years to come . \\nad2am \" i almost lost my nose . . . and \\ni like it . \\ni like breathing through it . \" \\n-jack nicholson , chinatown \\n',\n",
+       "  b'that\\'s the question i asked myself when venturing nervously into \" the wedding singer , \" the latest film to star the saturday night live alumnus . \\ndoes he draw laughs from his sad , puppy dog expression and don\\'t-hate-me-for-being-a-simpleton observations ? \\nor do fans giggle when he screams at the top of his lungs at people ? \\nor is it just the fact that he sings songs with silly lyrics that bowl audiences over ? \\nwell , there\\'s a little bit of all of that in \" the wedding singer \" and while i exited the theater still not one hundred percent sure of mr . sandler\\'s thing , i did have a surprisingly good time . \\nthat\\'s because , in a nutshell , \" the wedding singer \" is one of the sweetest movies you\\'re ever likely to come across . \\nthat\\'s right . \\nsweet . \\nthe humor in the film runs the gamut from dumb to mildly amusing to laugh-out-loud hysterical but the tone ? \\nwell , it\\'s just lovely . \\ni have to admit i was half-expecting farting armpit humor , gratuitous nudity , superfluous , cloying subplots , and some nasty , unnecessary violence . \\ninstead ? \\nwell , i\\'ve said it before . \\nsweet . \\nthe year is 1985 and sandler plays robbie hart , the eponymous wedding singer , a job aspiring rock stars often settle for . \\nwhen robbie\\'s fianc ? e dumps him at his own altar , robbie gets depressed and turns to a plucky waitress called julia ( drew barrymore ) who has some problems of her own ( she\\'s marrying a hunky junk bonds dealer who , unbeknownst to her , isn\\'t that big on monogamy ) . \\nit isn\\'t giving anything away to say that robbie and julia fall in love . \\naww . . . \\nsandler and barrymore are a good match and they\\'re assisted by some terrific cameo appearances , including steve buscemi and jon lovitz , whose individual scenes are perhaps the funniest in the film . \\nwriter tim herlihy ( with uncredited assistance from carrie fisher ) keeps the story bubbling along to its predictable conclusion . \\nit doesn\\'t all work but it\\'s handled with such light-heartedness that robbie and julia coming together generates more smiles than groans . \\nherlihy and director frank coraci have done a great job of recreating the sights , sounds , and affectations of the 1980s . \\nthe soundtrack--an ever-present force in the film--is packed with wall-to-wall hits of the period , new wave upon new wave of songs from billy idol\\'s \" white wedding \" to the smiths\\' \" how soon is now ? \" \\nto culture club\\'s \" do you really want to hurt me ? \" \\nthe mix of music and fashion would make \" the wedding singer \" a great double feature with \" boogie nights . \" \\nif you grew up listening to the cure and a flock of seagulls and the psychedelic furs , then \" the wedding singer \" is bound to put a nostalgic hop in your stride . \\nif you\\'re a fan of the lovable , laughable adam sandler , well . . . \\nlet\\'s just say that \" the wedding singer \" might well be the only film in recent memory to make * me * want to rent \" happy gilmore . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'on re-watching italian writer/director dario argento\\'s much lauded murder mystery tenebrae , i was struck more than anything else by how many sins he commits as a storyteller and manages to get away with . \\nin emphasising style over matters of plot argento is somewhat notorious in cult film circles , but some aficionados still praise tenebrae as the greatest of his \" giallo \" murder mysteries . \\nwhile it\\'s certainly not perfect , repeated viewings reveal it to be nonetheless a densely plotted and terrifically stylish thriller . \\nthe story follows a promotional visit to rome by famous american mystery novelist peter neal ( anthony franciosa ) where he discovers that a serial killer is on the loose inspired by his latest book \" tenebrae \" . \\nwith the police on his back for leads , he decides to take a personal interest in the case and he soon becomes drawn into a mystery where all is not as it seems . \\nthe film benefits enormously from a fine central performance by franciosa . \\nhe brings grace , charm and a deceptive benigness to his character which provides an interesting foil to both the violence of the books he writes and the unfolding real-life horror around him . \\nthe film is awash with a fascinating psychosexual tension . \\nargento peels back the facade of showbiz and jetset lifestyles to reveal an amoral , ambivalent , shadowy world where desire in all its forms has become a dangerous business . \\ntenebrae is perhaps the most multi-layered of argento\\'s scripts to date and there is much bubbling underneath the surface here . \\nit may take at least two or three viewings to appreciate all the psychological themes at play . \\nin that respect it strongly recalls his previous giallo deep red/profondo rosso ( the full-length italian language version ) and fans will enjoy spotting the recurring themes . \\nneedless to say for argento fans , there is no denying the director\\'s brilliance as a stylist . \\nmany of the action and murder sequences are directed with his characteristic finesse and feature plenty of intriguing camerawork . \\nthey are all the more impressive for the fact that in this film argento creates mood by filling his scenes with light , rather than the dark shadows and deep rich colours of earlier works like deep red and suspiria . \\ninstead , tenebrae\\'s set design and lighting paints a sleek , clinical , chilly vision of a vaguely futuristic urban world . \\nand the soundtrack\\'s mix of electronic atmospheres and gothic rock by frequent argento collaborators goblin is the perfect accompaniment . \\nso tenebrae has much to recommend it , no question . \\nstill , constantly nagging at the back of this viewers mind is several lumps in the narrative . \\nsome critics argue that logic doesn\\'t matter in argento films , but damnit , it matters in all films to the point where viewers don\\'t deserve to feel cheated . \\nby the way , if you don\\'t want to know the solution to the mystery then skip the next three paragraphs . \\nabout an hour into tenebrae the story takes an unexpected twist which , properly handled , could have proved ingenious . \\nwe witness the murder of the serial killer himself by a man who , we later discover , is none other than the author peter neal . \\nhe is insane , apparently . \\nthe murders then continue for the remainder of the film as neal decides it\\'s time to settle some personal business involving his neurotic wife . \\nhe is finally revealed to us as this \" second killer \" in the film\\'s bloody climax . \\nbut argento muffs the twist , both technically and narratively . \\nyou see , we are supposed to be tricked into thinking that during this scene peter neal is actually an innocent witness who was crouching in the bushes nearby the whole time and spying on the killer\\'s house . \\nbut thanks to poor editing , its had to believe neal could have murdered the killer anyway . \\nbad cutting puts the timing way out . \\nin other words , he\\'s almost in two places at once . \\nduring this crucial scene we are also thrown a ridiculous red herring . \\nby the film\\'s end you realise that for the sake of an alibi neal must have self-inflicted a nasty injury in this earlier scene to make it look like he was attacked by a fleeing assailant . \\nthe injury ? \\nhe banged himself on the head with a bloody great rock ! \\nthus , the revelation of the \" hero \" as a killer ( and anti-hero ) in the final scenes may still prove shocking , but its all somewhat implausible by the time the end credits have rolled . \\nhelpfully , in the end we do learn that the bizarre flashbacks of personal humiliation and murder that have permeated the film belonged to neal all along . \\nbut there too is a problem , as the explanations offered for his motivations are psychologically fuzzy to say the least . \\nthe story owes us a better understanding of franciosa\\'s mind , his concealed madness and his sudden murderous rampage . \\ntenebrae is also marred by annoying little inconsistencies . \\nfor instance , a teenage boy and girl leave a hotel room and minutes later we see the girl riding off on the back of a motorbike . \\nwe would assume the rider is the same boy , but it turns out to be some male character we aren\\'t even introduced too ! \\nthat\\'s careless filmmaking , pure and simple . \\nwhy , you may ask , do i go on about the story\\'s flaws ? \\nbecause when it comes to visuals and set pieces , argento is one of the most exciting filmmakers in the world . \\ntake one of the extended scenes in tenebrae . \\nan upset girl wandering the streets at night needlessly taunts a guard dog to the point where - almost unbelievably - it jumps a high fence and chases her across town . \\nfinally , as she desperately seeks escape from this crazed canine , she accidentally stumbles on the serial killer\\'s lair . \\nit\\'s an absolutely masterful sequence , tense and exciting , and communicating a wealth of information through visuals alone . \\nand that\\'s exactly the kind of thing that makes the flaws so frustrating . \\ntoo often , it seems , argento\\'s films as a whole are less than the sum of their impressive parts . \\nmind you , if you love murder mysteries then tenebrae is still worth a look . \\nand if you\\'re a fan of argento\\'s unique style of giallo thriller then it\\'s essential . \\nsee the uncut widescreen version if you can and drink in some of the wonderful cinematography by luciano tovoli . \\nit\\'s a stylish , great-looking and quirky film despite the problem narrative . \\na shame , because it doesn\\'t have to be that way . \\ntake argento\\'s more recent stendhal syndrome ( 1992 ) , where with the aid of co-writer franco ferrini he fashioned a solid storyline without sacrificing any of his surreal weirdness or visual panache . \\nproof that he can do it , if he tries . . . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the idea at the center of the devil\\'s advocate , which is , thus far , one of the three or four best films of 1997 , is that no matter what decision is made , evil will triumph -- god is a trickster , satan is a humanist -- \" the last humanist \" . \\nhe appears in many guises , and seduces many men and women -- in his own words , \" vanity -- by far my favorite sin \" . \\nal pacino plays this role with relish , and gets to chew some delectable lines ( \" lemme givya a piece o\\' inside wisdom on god . . . \" , \" i have a million names . . . \" ) , as john milton -- the devil . \\nthe main idea -- that he can appear as anyone , in any form ( in this case , a buisness man ) , harkens mainly back to terry gilliam\\'s the time bandits . \\nbut the film , is something else , something original . \\npart of what makes it so very good , is that it never takes itself too seriously -- it dabbles with morality , vanity , death , and child abuse , but doesn\\'t try to become any profound study of power . \\nthis is a marvelous confection -- cocky , funny , thought provoking . \\nit is also entertaining . \\nthere is no way you could possibly predict the ending -- it pulls back upon itself , drawing purely out of the mind\\'s eye . \\nthe final shot is more creative , more daring , more challenging , then anything in cinema since the white sock in the coen\\'s fargo . \\nthe central themes are fascinating ( sometimes reminiscent of james\\' the turn of the screw , and oates\\' accursed inhabitants of the house of bly ) , and the product that is built around it really wows . \\nits nice to know that things like this are still being made . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'what\\'s shocking about \" carlito\\'s way \" is how good it is . \\nhaving gotten a bit of a bad rap for not being a big box office hit like pacino\\'s previous film , \" scent of a woman , \" and not having as strong a performance as he did in that one ( he had just won an oscar ) , \" carlito\\'s way \" was destined for underrated heaven . \\nthat\\'s what it is : an underrated gem of a movie . \\nand what a shame because pacino and de palma both do amazing jobs with it , and turn it into a great piece of a pulpy character study . \\n \" carlito\\'s way \" deals with , well , carlito brigante ( pacino ) , a puerto rican ex-drug kingpin , who gets out of a long jailterm when his coke-addicted , curly-haired lawyer ( sean penn ) points out a legal technicality . \\nof course , carlito was actually awoken in prison , and has decided to go straight , even if he\\'s really a crook at heart . \\ncarlito , like barry lyndon , is a man who is trapped by fate at every turn , and can\\'t escape into something he is not . \\ncarlito\\'s attempts at a clean , legal life are thwarted at nearly every turn . \\nwhen he first gets out , a friend of his ends up leading him into a big shoot-out , where he has to kill a couple people to survive . \\nhe\\'s constantly getting bugged by the government to see if he\\'s doing anything illegal , and his lawyer finds himself neck-deep in a pile of shit , needing him to try and help him out , which includes him doing some prison breaking . \\ncarlito , like ratso rizzo , wants to go to miami ( since , according to film logic , that\\'s where it\\'s at ) , but needs some funding . \\nbeing a legend , he is quickly able to get a nice job running a big dance club ( this is the 70s , by the way , and since some of this takes place in night clubs , we get to hear all sorts of 70s classics , including several k . c . \\nand the sunshine band tunes - my personal favorite ) . \\nhe gets a bodyguard ( the great luis guzman , at his best ) , and is soon running a pretty good business , even if he\\'s constantly attracting underworld young thugs , like benny blanco \" from the bronx \" ( john leguiziamo ) , who is more than once pointed out to be a young version of carlito . \\non the other side , the symbol of promise and hope , is gail ( penelope ann miller - what happened to her ? ) , his girlfriend from before prison . \\nshe\\'s a goregeous ballerina , and a stripper , and soon carlito is trying to get back with her , and take her with him when he finally leaves for miami . \\nwhile this relationship is never fully defined or anything , we get a sense of love between them , and they have some truly interesting scenes between them ( she never gives him addresses or locales - he always has to track her down ) . \\nall of these elements clash together at the end , in a brilliantly executed , emotional climax , which is inevitable . \\nwhen i say inevitable , i mean we see it at the beginning and then backtrack , putting a great spin on it . \\nsure , it\\'s going to eleveate some of the tension , but it gives the film a lot of depth , as carlito is seen trapped by fate . \\nwhat\\'s amazing is the big chase sequence ( amazingly done by de palma ) has a lot of tension and thrills . \\nlike \" apollo 13 , \" we know what\\'s going to happen , but we\\'re still thrilled by what happens in the middle . \\nit\\'s also very emotional , thanks to a great script by david koepp , and amazing performances by pacino and miller . \\nde palma is famous ( or infamous ) for lots of violence in his films . \\nhis earlier flim , \" scarface \" ( which starred pacino in the lead ) , has a ton of it , especially at the end ( and a nasty chainsaw scene towards the beginning which i\\'m still not over ) . \\nbut de palma actually reigns in more quieter scenes . \\nto me , the best scene in the film is when carlito is on top of a building , looking down into the room where gail is doing ballet . \\nthis is the most brilliantly done , and most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire film , and probably the best in de palma film history . \\nwith a gorgeous soprano duet in the background , and rain pouring down onto a trashcan lid covering carlito\\'s head , and a saddened , remorseful look on pacino\\'s face , it\\'s a tear-jerker ( well , for me , i dunno about you . . . ) . \\nthe acting from all is great , especially from the three leads . \\npacino was panned for his performance , chiefly because his accent wasn\\'t puerto rican enough and , well , it wasn\\'t as \" strong \" as his oscar-winning role in \" scent of a woman . \" \\nwell , his \" scent of a woman \" performance was great and all , but it was nothing really but , as comic kevin pollack said , a \" foghorn leghorn impression . \" \\nin \" carlito\\'s way , \" he\\'s emotional , and strong , despite the fact that he\\'s remorseful over his entire lifestyle , which he cannot change . \\ni felt more for carlito brigante than i did for the tango-dancing , insult-throwing blind guy in \" scent of a woman . \" \\nas i said , penelope ann miller is great , and she and pacino actually have very good chemistry . \\nand they\\'re scenes are well-written , with some good clever dialogue which adds some interest to an otherwise bland relationship . \\nand sean penn is amazing as the coke-addicted rat attorney . \\nevery scene he\\'s in , he has great energy , and even measures up to the greatness that is pacino . \\nin smaller roles , john leguiziamo and luis guzman are great . \\n \" carlito\\'s way \" is one of those films which you heard about briefly , but when you finally watch it , you\\'re absolutely blown away . \\nit\\'s a wonderful film , a highly underrated little masterpiece which was shelved after it didn\\'t do so hot . \\nbut trust me and check it out . \\nit\\'s a great little film , and proof that the residential critics and mass populus are not always right . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'disney\\'s 35th animated feature-- a retooling of the olympian legend crossed with , well , the superman story-- is surprisingly soft at the center . \\ngreat wit , great art , and a great villain ( james woods as hades , lord of the underworld and local lounge act ) can\\'t quite stifle the yawns induced by a bland hero , his colorfully monotonous sidekick ( danny devito as the satyrical trainer phil ) , and a largely unremarkable soundtrack . \\n ( none of the alan menken/david zippel tunes are particular- ly noteworthy . \\nsome lack lyrical snap . \\nothers need more memorable melodies . \\nboring ballads we expect , but boring production numbers , too ? ) \\nso , hercules is a bit of a long sit , but you won\\'t stay bored . \\nthe highlights include a nifty round of animated action ( herc battling a cgi hydra ) , a steady stream of anachronisms ( \" somebody call ix-i-i \" ) and pop references ( \" let\\'s get ready to rumble ! \" ) a la aladdin , and several long-overdue jabs at the mouse\\'s marketing and merchandising depart- ments . \\nwhile not as rock-solid as hunchback , it\\'s a still a new world of improvement over pocohontas . \\ndirected by ron clements and john musker , with voice credits including tate donovan , susan egan , bob goldthwait , matt frewer , samantha eggar , paul shaffer , and , as lighting bolt zeus , rip torn , who\\'s having a very good summer , also appearing in trial and error and men in black . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" mandingo \" has traditionally been seen as one of two things : either a much-needed revisionist look at slavery in the south , or in the words of film critic leonard maltin , \" a trashy potboiler \" that \" appeals only to the s&m crowd . \" \\nactually , i think \" mandingo \" is a strange combination of the two , although it fails on both fronts . \\nit\\'s too trashy to be good drama , but too dramatic to be good trash . \\nthe story takes place on a dilapidated louisiana plantation run by crotchety old warren maxwell ( james mason ) and his son , hammond ( perry king ) . \\none day in new orleans , hammond comes across a slave trader selling a mandingo named mede ( heavyweight boxer ken norton ) . \\nalthough the movie never explains it , a mandingo is simply the name for africans who come from the region of the upper niger river valley . \\naccording to the movie , mandingos were the rolls royce of african slaves . \\nhammond pays top price for mede and has to fight off others in order to get him . \\nhammond then spends his time training mede to be a fighter in money brawls with other slaves . \\nmeanwhile , hammond has married his cousin , blanche ( susan george ) , because she wants to escape her family and he is under pressure from his father to produce a grandchild . \\nhammond , however , is happier spending nights with his \" bed wench , \" the derogatory name given to female slaves used by their masters for easy sex . \\nit is quickly apparent that hammond , despite his overt racism , is more in love with his bed wench , a sensitive slave girl named ellen ( brenda sykes ) , than he is with blanche . \\nhammond considers blanche tainted goods because he finds out on their wedding night that another man had \" pleasured \" her before he did . \\nof course , it\\'s fine that he\\'s slept with numerous slave girls , but the fact that his wife , a \" white lady , \" had been with another man out of wedlock destroys his capacity to care for her . \\nso blanche is usually left lonely and sex-starved while hammond is sleeping with ellen . \\nblanche gets back at hammond by seducing the studly mede and bearing his child . \\nhammond and his father cannot stand the idea that blanche has given birth to a half-black child ( although it\\'s okay that ellen was pregnant by hammond ) , so warren kills the child by letting it bleed to death after birth , and hammond poisons blanche . \\nhammond then finds mede , shoots him twice in the shoulder , and pushes him into a giant cauldron of boiling water . \\nyes , you read right : the film ends with hammond getting his revenge by boiling mede alive . \\njudging only by the plot , \" mandingo \" is pure sexploitation . \\nthe main purpose of the film seems to be getting as many blacks and whites into bed together as possible , with only the slightest commentary on what that would mean in 19th century southern society . \\nwhen \" mandingo \" was released in 1975 , it was still a bit of a shocker to see miscegenation on screen in such a graphic detail ; this way the movie could revise cinematic history while attracting large audiences of curious voyeurs . \\ndramatically , \" mandingo \" is weak and unfocused , and historically it\\'s mostly confused . \\nif one were to judge history by this film , it would be easy to walk away with the notion that the entire system of american slavery was based on sexuality , not economics . \\nnot once in the film do we see any of the slaves working , except for a few house servants . \\nthe men spend most of the time sitting around , while the sole purpose of a female slave seems to be free sex for the owner . \\nthere is historical basis in the notion that slave owners often slept with their female slaves , but \" mandingo\\'s \" overwhelming emphasis on this aspect of slavery gives the movie the unpleasant taste of a cheap sex flick ( although there\\'s plenty of violence -- fights , vicious beatings , shootings , and the aforementioned human boiling sequence -- thrown in for good measure ) . \\nsome tried to write off \" mandingo \" as a blaxploitation film , one of a number of quickly-made , low-budget films appealing to black sensibilities in the early seventies , but it\\'s not that easy . \\n \" mandingo \" was studio-financed by paramount pictures , and produced by dino de laurentiis , the grandiose italian producer behind such notorious productions as \" the bible \" ( 1966 ) , the remake of \" king kong \" ( 1976 ) , and the ill-fated \" dune \" ( 1984 ) . \\nthe director was richard fleischer , a veteran who was best known for several special effects-laden action movies including \" 20 , 000 leagues under the sea \" ( 1954 ) and \" fantastic voyage \" ( 1966 ) , as well as such superior suspense films as \" the narrow margin \" ( 1952 ) . \\nthe script , based on the supermarket best-seller by ken ostott ( and the subsequent play by jack kirkland ) , was penned by norman wexler , who had been nominated for an oscar two years earlier for his work on \" serpico . \" \\njames mason , perry king , and susan george were well-known and respected actors ( mason already had three oscar nominations under his belt ) , and ken norton appeared to have a promising film career . \\nso why is \" mandingo \" so bad ? \\na number of reasons , including the fact that all those experienced filmmakers behind and in front of the camera did a lousy job . \\nwexler\\'s script is pure poor hokum bordering on the offensive ; it combines stereotyped slave-talk ( \" yessuh , massuh \" ) , stereotyped southern white trash talk ( \" fer whut\\'re you gittin\\' outta bed ? \" ) , and stereotyped contemporary militant black talk ( \" if you see me hang , you gonna know you killed a black brother ! \" ) . \\nfleischer\\'s direction is clumsy , especially during the fight scenes , and all the actors give weak performances , especially susan george whose constant shrieking finally becomes laughable . \\nnevertheless , credit should be given where credit is due . \\ndespite its exploitative nature , \" mandingo \" was one of the first hollywood movies to take an alternative look at slavery . \\nuntil then , there had been a kind of underlying racism in all hollywood films dealing with slavery . \\neven classics such as \" gone with the wind \" ( 1939 ) can be seen as inherently racist by its glossing over the subject matter . \\n \" mandingo \" reassessed the south , and showed that it wasn\\'t all beautiful plantations , green fields , and pretty sunsets . \\nbut all this is constantly undermined by the film\\'s negligible point-of-view -- it claims to see things from the black perspective , but the entire narrative focus is on the soap opera tales of the white owners . \\nwith a little more maturity and different handling , \" mandingo \" might have been an effective , worthwhile film . \\nwhile it portrays many sensitive aspects of slavery , it never deals with them . \\nthe issues the movie brings up are worthwhile , but wexler\\'s script refuses to move them beyond a surface level of trashily vicarious viewing . \\nthere is a great deal of potential in honestly exploring the nature of a sexual relationship between slave and owner , but \" mandingo \" never does it . \\nsteven spielberg touched on that same topic in \" schindler\\'s list \" ( 1993 ) , by looking at a nazi officer writhing in inner turmoil because of his feelings for a jewish maid . \\nthe difference between that film and \" mandingo \" is that spielberg dealt with the situation in a fair , unexploitive manner that focused on the inherent human dilemma . \\n \" mandingo \" is satisfied to simply show some skin , and because of that , its \" trashy potboiler \" nature overshadows any potential social good it might have accomplished . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'hilarious , ultra-low budget comedy from film school dropout kevin smith chronicles a day in the life of two convenience store slackers ( brian o\\'halloran and jeff anderson ) . \\nthey spend most of their day ignoring customers while discussing everything from fellatio to self-fulfillment . \\nthe premise is strictly sitcom and the photography is grainy as all get-out , but you could spend ten times the film\\'s budget ( a reported $27 , 000 ) and still not get dialogue half as good as this . \\noriginally rated nc-17 for language . \\nnot recommended for viewers with sensitive ears . \\nkilling zoe =========== \\nremake reservoir dogs as a french art film and you\\'re halfway to killing zoe , writer/director roger avary\\'s slow-moving story of a failed bastille day bank robbery . \\neric stoltz stars as an american in paris who gets in * way * over his head when hooks up with a band of nihilistic bank robbers . \\nhe\\'s the safecracker who\\'s blissful unaware that the bank job is a botch job from the word go . \\nthough intriguing on all fronts , the film is paced at half the speed of pulp fiction , which avary co-wrote with quentin tarantino . \\nin english and french . \\nthe road to wellville ===================== \\nbased on the novel by t . coraghessan boyle , the road to wellville doesn\\'t go very far . \\nbowels , bowels , and more bowels are explored by dr . john harvey kellogg ( a buck-toothed and bespectacled anthony hopkins ) , who , in the early 1900\\'s , advocated abstinence , vegetarianism , and frequent defecation . \\nhe also invented the cornflake . \\nreally . \\nchecking-in to kellogg\\'s battle creek sanitarium are matthew broderick and bridget fonda , just two of the many well-known faces in this failed comedy . \\nleave your laughter at the door and you can marvel at the unfunny antics of john cusack , michael lerner , lara flynn boyle , john neville , and dana carvey . \\nthe art direction is impeccable and some of the early sequences are amusing , but the novelty quickly wears off as writer/director alan parkers tries his darnedness to turn doo-doo into drama . \\nwhat he ends up with is something that i can\\'t print here . \\nphew ! \\nstargate ======== \\nlawrence of arabia meets star wars . \\nthis epic sci-fi film is more sheer spectacle than anything else . \\ndirector roland emmerich ( universal solider ) shamelessly rips off lucas and spielberg and just about any other cosmic cliche that he can lay his hands on . \\nthe film is overlong , the characters are cardboard , and the script is filled with some of the most laughable details in modern sci-fi history . \\nthat said , there\\'s still plenty to watch here . \\nsci-fi fans should enjoy the sculpted sands , the morphing headdresses , and a surprisingly spunky james spader . \\nhe plays the egyptologist who gets to prove his theory that that \" somebody else \" built the pyramids . \\nless interesting are co-stars kurt russell and jaye davidson of crying game fame . \\nstar trek generations ===================== \\ntrek fans may be more forgiving , but , for the rest of us , the sluggish star trek generations is a mixed bag at best . \\nthe story is interesting , but each scene goes too long . \\nthe cast is earnest , but the direction lacks punch . \\nand so on . \\n ( the best example of the latter is a klingon comeuppance that delivers none of the impact of a similar scene in star trek ii . ) \\noriginal enterprise captain james t . kirk appears on both ends of the story , though they cut the scene where shatner turns to the screen to plead \" get a life . \" \\nremarkably unremarkable . \\nmiracle on 34th street ====================== \\nin a season of the specialist and pulp fiction et al , maybe a remake of miracle on 34th street * is * necessary . \\njohn hughes certainly believes in santa claus and his les mayfield-directed production does nothing to tarnish the memory of the 1947 original . \\nthe romance between costars dylan mcdermott and elizabeth perkins doesn\\'t work too well , but the film makes a strong case that richard attenborough is the definitive kriss kringle . \\nhis chemistry with children can moisten any eye . \\nno claus for alarm . \\njunior ====== \\narnold schwarzenegger pregnant ? \\nsure , billy crystal did it before in rabbit test , but the sight of schwarz with a bulging belly is a casting coup comparable to dustin hoffman in tootsie . \\nwhat should be nothing more than a one-joke premise actually gets better as it goes along . \\ndirector ivan reitman ( dave , twins ) wisely keeps the farce to a minimum , so the first hour moves slower than you might expect . \\ndon\\'t expect too many yuks from danny devito , but you can\\'t beat those early romantic scenes between emma and arnie . \\nhow\\'s * that * for a collision of acting styles ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'senseless ( r ) marlon wayans is a very talented physical comedian , and it is that gift that brings senseless moments of life . \\nalas , moments are simply that , moments , which are not enough to lift this fantasy/comedy above its one-joke premise . \\ngranted , that one joke is initially amusing . \\nwhen wayans\\'s darryl witherspoon , an economics major at stratford university , hits some dire financial straits , he becomes a guinea pig for a experimental drug that heightens all five senses . \\nafter some initial side effects and problems controlling his superhuman senses , darryl learns to enjoy the benefits of his abilities and uses them to land a position at a highly esteemed corporate firm . \\nat this point , the film sounds more like senseful than senseless , but through some turns of the plot , darryl finds himself only able to use four of his five senses at once , essentially leaving him--yes--senseless . \\nthis sets up some showcase moments for wayans\\'s gift for physical comedy , especially when darryl loses his sense of feeling and his body goes completely , hilariously limp . \\nbut these gags , and the gag behind the entire movie , quickly grows stale . \\nonce darryl is shown without the use of all of the senses , instead of exploring any new comic territory , director penelope spheeris and screenwriters greg erb and craig mazin take the easy way out and simply recycle each form of senselessness . \\nwayans approaches each go-round with gusto , but by this point he\\'s simply treading water for the rest of the film\\'s unfunny duration . \\nsenseless would not be as problematic as it is if it didn\\'t strive to be anything more than a comic trifle . \\nhowever , the raucous and often raunchy comedy is wrapped in a blanket of bogus sincerity . \\ndarryl goes through the experiment in order to help his cash-strapped family , and this \" serious \" angle seems to come from an entirely different movie . \\nunlike wayans\\'s last starring vehicle , the surprisingly effective ( and serious ) the 6th man , the \" emotional \" content of senseless is forced and unconvincing . \\nany attempt at anything more substantial than broad comedy fizzles--darryl\\'s romance with janice ( tamara taylor ) , a young woman who yearns for a man who is true to himself , does not generate sparks of any kind . \\nonce his wb television sitcom the wayans bros . comes to an end , the genuinely funny marlon wayans has a promising big-screen future ahead of him . \\nbut if he continues to associate himself with projects as flat as senseless , his film career could go the way of his once-promising older brother , damon , who is now set to make his comeback--on television . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'at one point in this movie there is a staging of an opera that goes completely wrong . \\nbut one member of the crowd stands up and cheers , thinking the performance was planned , and applauding it for their efforts . \\nthat\\'s \" dirty work \" in a nutshell . \\na very different kind of movie . \\nthis is not a movie that i can easily review . \\nthe critic in me analyzes the structure , plot , acting , characters . \\n . \\n . and \\ntells me this movie is terrible . \\nbut the norm macdonald fan in me had me rolling on the floor laughing . \\nthis movie plays more like an hbo sketch comedy than a movie . \\nit\\'s a one note concept . \\nmitch and sam need $50000 in order to bribe a doctor to give their father a heart transplant before other more needy patients . \\nrealizing they are very good at revenge plots , they open a revenge for hire business , eventually running afoul of a rich businessman played by christopher macdonald ( who after roles in \" happy gilmore \" and \" veronica\\'s closet \" seems typcast in this role ) , who sends them to destroy a building that mitch learns is the home of his girlfriend\\'s grandmother , thus leading them to plot against the rich businessman on the night of the grand opening of a new opera house . \\nfirst the critic in me . \\nthe plot is the standard poor guy vs evil rich guy device , where the main character meets the girl of his dreams along the way . \\nhere\\'s the catch . \\nnone of the characters are sympathetic . \\nthey\\'re all selfish jerks who don\\'t care who they hurt in their attempts to do whatever they want . \\nthe jokes are juvenile , crude , appealing to the worst elements in people . \\nthere\\'s jokes about prostitutes , the homeless , beastiality , anal sex . \\nthere\\'s even a subplot that\\'s developed , it seems , only to make jokes about infidelity and incest . \\nand i loved watching it . \\ni was a huge fan of norm macdonald\\'s sarcastic , to-the-point comedy on saturday night live , and this movie is an hour and a half of it . \\nnorm macdonald takes a joke , strips it to the core , and tells it like it is with a dry wit . \\nlike the scene were he and his friend are learning the ropes at a new construction job . \\nthe foreman goes over the basics , which mitch and sam don\\'t understand . \\nhow do they get out of it ? \\nby admiting they lied on their resumes , and don\\'t know a thing about construction ! \\nand surprise , they get fired . \\nthe characters are incredibly mean-spirited . \\nthere\\'s a father who\\'s loud and obnoxious , a gambling addicted doctor played by chevy chase who tells sam of his father\\'s condition by saying \" if i were a gambling man i\\'d put a lot of money on death . \" \\nthe businessman cole who always has his dog spunky , and does who knows what with it . \\nand then there\\'s mitch and sam , who , thinking they can get $50000 by destroying a building , ponder how their actions would ruin the lives of the residents . \\n \" too bad we have to do it , \" mitch says . \\nhere\\'s a movie where every joke that is executed as it is set up , where you see every punchline coming , where every spot profanity could be used and then is used . \\nat least the film is honest , and makes no mistake that it is anything more than idiotic . \\nbut at least it isn\\'t dull , and it isn\\'t predictable . \\nand that\\'s the way it should be . \\nit\\'s sketch comedy , and if you\\'re a fan of norm macdonald , you\\'ll love it . \\nthe jokes are crude , the characters are mean to the core , the attitude of the movie is that it just doesn\\'t care . \\nif you don\\'t like norm macdonald , or stupid movies , then you probably won\\'t like this one . \\nthe jokes are crude , the characters are mean to the core , the attitude of the movie is that it just doesn\\'t care . \\nso before seeing this one , tune your mindset , and prepare for a slew of norm macdonald humor , gay animal sex , prison rape jokes , uncaring characters , and one last performance from chris farley . \\nthe critic in me says ( * ) but i give it an 8 ( * * * ) . \\ni just couldn\\'t stop laughing . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if anything , \" stigmata \" should be taken as a warning against releasing similarly-themed films relatively close to one another . \\nof the four supernatural horror flicks released this year , it is clearly the worst . \\ni suppose i should have seen this coming . \\nafter all , \" blair witch \" thoroughly creeped me out , \" sixth sense \" was mildly spooky , and then \" stir of echoes \" had its moments , but wasn\\'t anything i\\'d lose sleep over . \\nclearly , the quality of the horror this summer has slowly been dropping . \\nis it then any surprise that \" stigmata \" is the dullest , most horribly executed piece of mtv-influenced tripe i have seen in a long while ? \\nno , not really . \\npatricia arquette plays frankie page , a hairdresser from pittsburgh who receives a rosary as a gift from her globe-trotting mother . \\nas it turns out , the rosary belonged to a recently-deceased brazilian priest . \\nthe priest\\'s church had been under investigation by father andrew kiernan ( gabriel byrne ) because of the mysterious appearance of a bleeding statue . \\nfather kiernan is an investigator who has made a career out of disproving supposed religious signs , but this time he believes there is something to the bleeding statue . \\nhis investigation is soon called off , however , when the frankie starts exhibiting signs of the stigmata , in which a person is inflicted with wounds like that of jesus christ . \\nfather kiernan is initially skeptical of frankie\\' s story , considering she\\'s an atheist , but once he witnesses the stigmata attacks himself , he dedicates himself to finding out what is going on . \\nhe eventually begins to suspect that his boss , cardinal houseman ( jonathan pryce ) , is concealing something that could bring down the catholic church . \\nas it turns out , the dead priest had been working on the translation of a \" fifth gospel \" before they were excommunicated . \\nthe new rupert wainwright music video . \\n . \\n . \\ni mean film \" stigmata \" is the sort of film that starts off ok and only gets worse . \\nindeed , it would have been good if it were a music video , because it\\'s only interesting for about five minutes . \\ni\\'m not sure what wainwright is trying to prove with his endless parade of slow-motion , double-exposure , and extreme close-ups ( whoaaaaaa ! ! ! ! ) , other than the fact that he has the most swelled head of any director in hollywood and , yes , he has been to film school . \\nhis camera trickery is interesting for a little while , but eventually , it becomes headache-inducing . \\nwhat this film needed is a second audio track to be played over the dialogue ( such as it is ) , with wainwright screaming at the audience , \" see ? \\nlook at what i can do ! \\ni\\'m an ex-cellent dir-ect-or . \" \\nmaybe then he\\'d explain why he decided to start half of his scenes with slow-motion shots of water dripping in reverse , or why he included random superfluous shots as that of an egg frying ( ooh , scary ! ) . \\nif there was some underlying meaning behind all this camera trickery , i didn\\'t see it . \\njust when you thought it was safe to get involved in the story , here comes a double-exposure shot of two patricia arquettes collapsing into bed for no reason whatsoever . \\narrrrrrrghhhh . \\n . \\n . \\nthen again , the superfluous camera trickery wouldn\\'t bother me if \" stigmata \" had a story or characters that were remotely engaging . \\nthough wainwright\\'s vanity certainly doesn\\'t help , he does seem to have been given a nearly unworkable script . \\nwhere are plot continuity and character development when you need them ? \\ncase in point : frankie page is the character that ( i assume ) we are supposed to identify and sympathize with , but we aren\\'t given any back story on her character , or any reason to like her . \\nthe extent of her character development seems to be that she is a hard-working hairdresser ( who can somehow afford a cavernous apartment on the top floor of her building ) and she\\'s kind of cute , so let\\'s start the bleeding ! \\nthe fact that she\\'s clearly not the brightest bulb in the drawer doesn\\'t help , either . \\naccording to frankie page , what is the first thing to do after receiving mysterious wounds on your wrists and back ? \\ngo clubbing ! \\nsure , that makes sense . \\narquette , byrne , and pryce give it the old college try , but their characters are so one-dimensional that they just appear to be sleepwalking . \\nscenes between arquette and byrne that were probably supposed to be sexually charged fall almost embarrassingly flat , because the setup of the romantic subplot is so clumsily handled that it almost reaches the point of becoming laughable . \\neven though frankie page\\'s life is falling apart before her very eyes , she still finds the time to hit on a priest who wanders in to her hair salon . \\neven more curiously , he seems to be interested in her advances . \\nfather andrew\\'s religious doubt pops up so suddenly that it seems more silly than dramatic . \\nas for pryce , he may as well wear a curled mustache and cackle , \" i\\'ll get you , my pretty , \" for all the depth his cardinal houseman is afforded . \\ntrust me , i\\'m not revealing anything by telling you pryce turns out to be a villain . \\nwhat\\'s worse , after being faced with dull characters and the prospect of having annoying camera tricks and loud music jammed down our throats , we now have to contend with a story that starts off in one direction , veers off in another , then another , and ends up being totally incomprehensible . \\nfirst of all , the film doesn\\'t even bother to explain what should be very simple plot details . how does frankie get the stigmata merely by touching a rosary ? \\nhow come an atheist like her was chosen , since father andrew mentions that only very devout believers have ever received stigmata ? \\nactually , i\\'m not sure what frankie was posessed by . \\nsupposedly , stigmata occurs when one is posessed by the holy spirit , but the film later has her being posessed by the dead priest , and later by some evil spirit ( i think ) . \\nwhich one is it ? \\nthe answer to this question , of course , is very simple : the possessing entity in each scene is determined by whichever effects and flashy camera work mr . wainwright wants to use this time . \\nfurthermore , the ending is a ridiculously neat little wrap-up , and the filmmakers compound this problem by ultimately turning the film into a diatribe against the catholic church . \\nif you do any research at all about the gospel of st . thomas , you\\'ll find that it is not being suppressed by the church ( as the film seems to claim ) , but that it is readily available at your local library . \\nthere\\'s nothing the catholics need to worry about , though . \\n \" stigmata\\'s \" religion is so off-base that it can\\'t be confused for anything remotely resembling the real catholic church . \\nif they wanted to portray catholic priests as mobsters , they should have gone all-out and equipped them with sharkskin suits and tommy guns , which would have been far more interesting . \\ni\\'m not catholic ; in fact , i don \\'t care much for the catholic church , but its cartoonish misrepresentation in this film should not be considered realistic by any means . \\nit\\'s rare to see a film that fails on as many levels as \" stigmata \" does . \\nit\\' s not thought-provoking , though it would like to be , and it is definitely not scary , though it pretends to be . \\ni\\'m not sure why they tried to pass this off as a horror film , because there is absolutely nothing scary about the story . \\nmaybe it\\'s an attempt to cover up the fact that none of the scenes have any dramatic weight whatsoever . \\nthe initial shock of seeing arquette covered with blood is dulled by the fact that it happens over , and over , and over . \\nlike so many films of the mtv generation , this one suffers from overkill . \\nso much is overdone in \" stigmata , \" that it eventually has no effect on the audience , leaving us to pick out the film\\'s ( many ) flaws . \\ni\\'m also still trying to figure out why the quotation they take from the gospel of st . thomas is so earth-shattering . \\nwhen we finally hear it , the saying sounds like something every five-year-old learns on their first day of sunday school , which means that for all its flash , the whole film is really much ado about nothing . \\nthe dog days of summer usually produce one monstrous dog , and \" stigmata \" is it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'reindeer games is easily the worst of the three recent films penned by ehren kruger ( scream 3 and arlington rd are the others , each derivative in their own special way ) . \\nthe guy can\\'t seem to write believable dialogue ( sample from reindeer games : \" rule #1 : never put a car thief behind the wheel \" ) , create multi-faceted characters , or even engineer coherent plots but he sure knows how to pile on numerous nonsensical twists and turns ( no matter if each one deems the actual story increasingly unlikely ) . \\nhis screenplay for reindeer games turns the tables on the audience so many times that watching the film becomes something of a punishment with no reward anywhere in sight . \\ni can just envision kruger laughing behind his keyboard , \" oh you thought my movie was gonna go here , f * ck you jack ass , take that twist , decipher this mother f * cker ! \" \\nit\\'s almost as if the writer were angry at us for shelling out money to see his stupid movie . \\nand why the hell would anyone want to invest time in a movie when the screenwriter keeps changing his own rules for no reason other than to congratulate himself on how damn clever he is ? \\nauteur theory be damned ; it\\'s kruger\\'s \" style \" , not the director\\'s that winds up on screen . \\nkruger has obviously never paid much mind to the old chestnut \" sometimes less is more \" . \\nand his numerous twists can\\'t even claim to be originals ; arlington rd\\'s ending is a direct steal from the much better alan j . pakula thriller the parallax view , and in reindeer games we get this ol\\' gem ; character incriminates themself by saying something they shouldn\\'t know ( pronouns used to protect the gender of the \" character \" . . . grammar \\nbe damned ) . \\n \" how did you know that ? \" \\nthe stunned protagonist asks , suddenly realizing that the character was in on the whole thing all along . \\n . \\n . \\nsince twist endings are currently so in vogue , and seeing as how kruger\\'s screenplays usually come equipped with about three twists per ending , i guess it\\'s no wonder why he works so frequently . \\nhe\\'s quickly becoming miramax\\'s mickey mouse ; the company has already signed him to work on several of their upcoming projects . \\nthis is appropriate considering that miramax ( which used to place their label on some of the most artistically daring films ) has quickly become a grindhouse for coddling foreign imports ( life is beautiful ) and freddie prinze jr . vehicles . \\ntheir company\\'s current logo could be \" we ride the trends \" . \\nreindeer games stars ben affleck as rudy , a supposedly hardened criminal spending his days and nights behind bars with fantasies of pecan pies dancing atop his head . \\nalthough affleck is given some barbed wire tattoos to insinuate bad assness , he plays the role like steve guttenberg preciously mugging through a police academy flick . \\naffleck is such a puppy dog that it\\'s impossible to believe he could survive in a harsh prison environment without becoming nearly everyone\\'s bitch . \\nthe role itself is so badly written ( the character only grows balls when the plot calls for it ) , the twists so outrageous , and the directing so self consciously gritty that this is about as close to self parody as i can recall a recent \" serious \" movie getting . \\nit may have been wiser had the film makers simply went all the way in that direction , casting jerry seinfeld as the hardened criminal and howard stern as the sniveling bad guy ( who\\'s played here by gary sinise in yet another over the top villain performance ) \\njames frain is nick , rudy\\'s cellmate , a manslaughterer who\\'s found a pen pal in the gorgeous ashley mason ( charlize theron ) . \\nashley is a prison groupie who sends nick many cheesecake photos of her though she\\'s never seen one picture of him . \\nwhich works out fine since the character is killed in a near-riot , and rudy ( who was to be paroled on the same day as nick ) takes his place , which leads to a sudden and very frenzied sex scene between ashley and rudy ( so frenzied it kinda looks like rape ) and a surprise visit from ashley\\'s brother , gabriel ( gary sinise ) , who waltzes into their shabby hotel room flanked by his thuggish co-horts . \\nhe plans to rob an indian casino on christmas eve with the assistance of rudy who he thinks is nick who , according to what he wrote in the letters to ashley , used to work as a guard in the indian casino . \\nthough by the end , the film pulls the rug out from under us so frequently that everything i\\'ve described might as well be irrelevant . \\nthis is what you can expect should you chose to take this reindeer on ; several scenes in which , after catching his prey , the bad guy proceeds to stall interminably until the good guy has a chance to kill his captor and crack a stupid one-liner . \\nincluded : two ( 2 ) scenes of two ( 2 ) different bad guys explaining their motives to the hero when they should be killing him ( one following the other no less ) . \\nthough it\\'s an action film , the ending is more a talkfest where we get the whole movie explained to us by one flustered character actor after another while affleck looks on , incredulous as the audience . \\nthe flick was directed by john frankenheimer , a straightforward action director who lucked into the manchurian candidate early in his career , fell off the a-list following a string of flops and now , in his old age , is slowly climbing his way back up . \\nit would be a success story if he were choosing better scripts but his last major film was ronin ( one of those almost but not quite movies ) which followed the island of dr . morneau \\n ( you remember , the one with marlon brando in mime make-up and a not so flattering moo-moo ) , and now this . \\nhe films action sequences with a minimum of quick cutting which i like considering that nowadays action scenes are commonly comprised of millisecond flash cuts strung together and laid out for a brain-zapped mtv audience to pick apart . \\nproblem is these action scenes ( nearly all failed escapes ) serve no purpose in the story other than to further pad out the running time and to remind the audience that their watching an action movie rather than a filmed radio play . \\ncharacter problems abound ; rudy is made to shift between sweet boy next door earnestness and hard edged wiseacre , the latter of which is not ( at least at this point ) something ben affleck is capable of pulling off . \\nthe former he can do with ease and often the actor coasts on his lackadaisical charm while those around him growl and swear . \\nbut then suddenly affleck starts growling and swearing alongside them like the class clown imitating a tarantino gangster . \\ncharlize theron , an extraordinary talent , is , like affleck , playing whatever part the script requires her to play , whether it be vulnerability at one moment , anger at the next . \\nshe never has a chance to evince any charm or make much of an impression beyond her obvious physical attributes ( frankenheimer has her needlessly pop her top to further italicize this . \\ngary sinise has played this role frequently , and here , as in snake eyes , he does the snarling bad guy thing with such over the top vitriol ( the guy must be so incredibly bored of stomping through the same paces that going out of control is the only thing that keeps him interested any more ) , that it becomes more of an annoyance ( oh there he goes again ? ? ? ) than a threat . \\nthese are talented people who made the mistake of jumping on to a script with little but stock characters and a bag of tricks that it dully springs on its audience . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'most movies seem to release a third movie just so it can be called a trilogy . \\nrocky iii seems to kind of fit in that category , but manages to be slightly unique . \\nthe rocky formula of \" rocky loses fight/rocky trains/rocky wins fight \" is carried out to the letter . \\nalso the \\'tradition\\' of showing the last five minutes or so from the past rocky film is used as well . \\nthis movie begins with a series of clips showing how famous rocky ( sylvester stallone ) has become . . . \\neven showing a brief appearance on sesame street ! ! \\nthen it moves on with rocky being in a fixed fight with thunderlips ( hulk hogan ) . \\na mysterious bad-ass known as clubber lang ( mr . t ) trash-talks to rocky about his stupid decision to retire from boxing and that he \" pities the fool \" for not coming out and fighting him outright . \\nrocky\\'s trainer ( burgess meredith ) tells rocky not to fight , but the italian stallion doesn\\'t listen . \\nnaturally , he gets his ass kicked . \\nsomewhere along the line after this several things happen . \\nrocky\\'s longtime trainer dies , causing rocky to train with his former opponent apollo creed . \\nrocky\\'s wife complains to her husband that he should fight . \\nthe final fight ensues between clubber and rocky . \\nguess who wins ? \\nthe winner\\'s name rhymes with \\'smocky\\' . \\nthe movie is entertaning mainly because of clubber lang\\'s over the top performance . \\nthe dramatic aspect has been toned down considerably since rocky ii and now action seems to be the strong point of the film . \\nwhich is good if you like fighting scenes . \\nthe last match is quite decent actually . \\nif you liked the previous films , rent this one . \\nit\\'s well worth seeing if you are a fan of the series . \\nbut if you can\\'t stand rocky shouting \" adrianne ! ! ! \" \\none more time , see something else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the release of dolores claiborne into wide release this weekend adds another entry into the long list of film adaptations of stephen king's work . \\nthis slow-moving character study provides some outstanding acting performances by the principals , but suffers from a tepid conclusion , inconsistent direction , and may not have wide commercial appeal . \\nwhen the maid , dolores claiborne , is found brandishing a rolling pin standing over the bloody and dead body of her employer , it seems like an open-and-shut murder case . \\nupon hearing of the death via a mysterious fax , dolores' estranged and bitter daughter , esquire magazine writer selena st . george , returns from new york back to her tiny island village childhood home . \\nas the two clash horns , the story behind the mysterious death of dolores' abusive husband two decades ago , ruled an accident despite the protests of detective john mackey , is revealed . \\ndid dolores kill her husband ? \\nand did she kill her employer ? \\ndolores claiborne is certainly more of a character study than a suspense thriller . \\nconsequently , it is fortunate that their cast includes some of hollywood's finest character actors , such as bates , leigh and strathairn . \\nkathy bates plays the film's title character , and gives a sensational lead performance . \\ndolores claiborne is essentially a showcase for the talent of bates , as her character has a huge amount of screen time . \\nshe dominates the screen , producing a character that is compelling and arresting , as we watch the character go through two decades of history via flashbacks . \\nkathy bates' performance is award-calibre stuff . \\nthe rest of the cast is also very good . \\njennifer jason leigh plays the perpetually sour , bitter helena st . george well , and christopher plummer seems to be enjoying himself as dolores' ever-present nemesis , the determined detective john mackey . \\ndavid strathairn is particularly interesting and suitably smarmy and despicable as dolores' husband , joe st . george . \\njudy parfitt is fine as dolores' tyrannic socialite employer , vera donovan--it would have been interesting to see , say , meg foster in this role . \\nchild actor ellen muth is also worth noting as the young selena during the flashback sequences ; she is very impressive . \\nthe direction of dolores claiborne by taylor hackford wildly varies throughout the film , ranging from some parts which are quite clever in their own right , to parts which are embarrassingly hokey . \\nthe segues between flashbacks and the present are very hit-and-miss in terms of effectiveness . \\nthe pacing of the film tends to be numbingly slow , which tends to undermine any suspense which might be built up . \\nhowever , the cinematography by gabriel beristain is wonderful--i particularly like the chilling ice-blue hue permeating the present-day scenes , contrasting well with the many nova scotia ocean shots--and danny elfman provides a surprisingly understated score for the film . \\nit would seem that the commercial potential of dolores claiborne is limited . \\nnone of the performers in the film could be classified as a big draw , and its pacing may be a turn-off to those expecting a gripping suspense film filled with twists and turns and car crashes and axe-wielding psychopaths . \\nalthough being essentially the only film in its genre in release now , it may also be hurt by the negative perception of king works , even with the recent critical success of the shawshank redemption and the stand . \\ndolores claiborne suffers from a very unsatisfying conclusion , and moves very slowly . \\nhowever , the performances are uniformly excellent , particularly kathy bates , and the film has its moments . \\non my four-star scale , i give dolores claiborne three stars . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'so what do you get when you mix together plot elements from various successful sci-fi films such as close encounters of the third kind , 2001 : a space odyssey , apollo 13 and contact ? \\nwell , whatever it is , you\\'d sure as hell hope that it would be a thousand times better than this shoddy attempt at such a melange , considering the disastrous results we\\'re left with here . \\nthis is a film that takes a little bit of everything , but ultimately adds up to a lot of nothing ! \\nit\\'s like i said . . . this \\nmovie sucks . \\nplot : a rescue crew of astronauts is sent down to mars in the year 2020 , after an unknown energy force leads to a loss of contact with the previous gang of space aviators to visit the red planet . \\ncritique : extremely underwhelming is the best way to describe this movie . \\nuneven , would be another . \\nthe trailer for this movie actually showed some promise , the buzz around it had been so-so , and even the film itself starts off with a decent first twenty minutes , all leading you to believe that it\\'s actually going to go \" somewhere \" . \\nbut it isn\\'t long before the entire movie downshifts into neutral , features more space walks than anything interesting on the cherry-colored planet , tries too hard to get us into the \" pain \" of some its characters and unsuccessfully tosses some romance into the mix . \\nin a sci-fi movie ? \\nwell , i don\\'t know , much of it just seemed like a bunch of nerdies talking techie jargon for about an hour and a half , only to figure out some big secret in the end , a secret which practically had me yawning with excitement . \\nultimately , this is a movie that starts off with a decent premise , joins the crew in their \" misadventures in space \" for the main crux of its journey , and eventually settles down for one of the most anti-climactic endings this side of contact . \\nmind you , if you enjoyed that film\\'s shrug-of-the-shoulders ending , you might just enjoy this frivolous ditty as well . \\nof course , i don\\'t remember contact having such obvious and painfully distracting computer generated effects at its end of story . \\nugh . \\nwhat a friggin\\' mess . \\nfilms like this generally get me wondering about the brass in hollywood again . \\ndidn\\'t anybody recognize the crappiness in this script ? \\ndidn\\'t they read the bad dialogue , the cheezy lines , the obvious derivative nature of the work ( mind you , with a director like depalma at the helm , that ain\\'t saying much ! ) . \\nof course , you can\\'t really blame the brass for the inclusion of jerry o\\'connell in this fine crew of thespians . \\n\\'nuff said . \\nneither can you blame them for depalma cranking up the juice on the film\\'s musical score during the last fifteen minutes , presumably in order to wake the audience up ( okay , we get it brian , this scene is supposed to be powerful . . . wow . . . yawn . . . my \\nears hurt ! ) . \\nso is anything salvageable in this movie ? \\nsure . \\ngary sinise does another great job , as does cheadle , the film doesn\\'t completely bore you as much as it just moves along slowly without anything really interesting happening , and yes , the \" sand-twister \" effect that you see in the commercial is well done . \\nother than that ? \\ni guess i could say that i admire how filmmakers have become so much more devious in their product placement strategies . . . oops , \\ndid i say \" admire \" , i meant \" am disgusted \" ! \\nall in all , this movie delivers very little in actual substance , offers two-bit dialogue masked in a lot of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo , pretends to be deep when really it\\'s just sappy , and eventually just settles into an ending which , other than presenting us with a pathetic computer graphic as a part of the story , gives us little more to think about than how we might be able to get our money back for sitting through this rehashed dreck . \\ngo see the ninth gate . . . now \\nthere\\'s a great movie ! \\nand on a personal note , i think it\\'s time for depalma to stop worrying so much about his proverbial 12-minute uninterrupted film sequences , and start worrying more about how crappy his movies are getting . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'did you ever wonder if dennis rodman was actually from this planet ? \\nor if sylvester stallone was some kind of weird extra-terrestrial ? \\ni used to think that about my 7th grade english teacher , ms . carey . \\nbut after seeing this movie , they may have confirmed my suspicions . \\nas the story goes , at any time , there are over a thousand aliens living among us here on earth . \\nthe men in black ( mib ) are the watchdogs that oversee the cosmic citizens , guardians of our beloved planet from nasty-tempered aliens , and secret service to the stars . \\nbased in new york city ( where weird is the norm ) , the mib organization gives human form to our space-faring emigrants so that they may walk and live among us unnoticed . \\nbut to enforce the laws of earth , the mib carry weapons that are powerful enough to meet or exceed destruction quotas in one single blast . \\nthey carry other-worldly technology to erase people\\'s short-term memory when common folk see the mib in action . \\nand their best leads on cosmic things-gone-awry are the supermarket tabloids . \\nlittle do we know that there are much stronger battles of good v . evil going on in the depths of space . \\none of the aliens-as-human on this planet is an important diplomat that is carrying something very precious . \\nit holds the \\'key\\' , literally , to universal peace . \\na giant cockroach-like alien soon arrives on the planet and steals this \\'key\\' . \\nin the wrong alien hands ( flippers ? \\nmandibles ? \\ntentacles ? ) , it can be used as a weapon . \\ntherefore , it must be recovered and returned to it\\'s rightful owners . \\notherwise , to ensure universal safety , earth will be destroyed , along with the \\'key\\' . \\nnow , it\\'s the mib who must prevent this catastrophe . \\nthe mib agents on the case are \" k \" , played by tommy lee jones . \\nhe is crustier than burnt toast and even more serious than al gore . \\nthe stars in the sky no longer spark wonder in his eyes . \\nhe is accompanied by a flippant rookie , \" j \" , played by will smith . \\nbut , despite this shoot-em-up , protect-earth-from-destruction premise , this is nothing at all like a typical summer action movie . \\nand , this isn\\'t an independence day knockoff . \\nrather , this is a stylishly offbeat sci-fi comedy that pokes fun at what the government always denies ? that there are real aliens that live here , and that the government does its darndest to cover them up . \\nbut to give it some sense of excitement and to keep it within the parameters of the summer movie recipe , there must be some kind of earth-hangs-in-the-balance scenario . \\nyet , this movie is very appealing . \\nthe abundance of wierdness ( talking aliens , pee-wee atomizers , a mortician who \\'lives\\' for her work , and lots of yucky bugs and slime-splattering galore ) , is played straight , like as if this were normal ( of course , we are in nyc ) . \\nit gives it a deadpan feel , which makes it all the more funnier and odder . \\njones plays the venerable seen-it-all agent with seriousness and maturity . \\nsmith is likeable and makes a great comic partner to jones\\' straight man routine . \\nthey click like dorothy\\'s ruby red shoes . \\nthe look and feel of the movie is made even better with direction from barry sonnenfeld ( the addam\\'s family ) . \\nthis guy has a knack for \\'gothic\\' comedy , and successfully transfers his macabre sense of humor onto the screen . \\nand , an appropriate dose of special effects helps to bolster the oddness of their task without diverting attention from the human actors . \\nthe story moves well , and before you know it , the end credits are already rolling ! \\nthe result is 100 minutes worth of fun in the form of ewwwws and blechhhs , aaaahhhs and wows . \\nlet the men in black protect and color your world . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"terrence malick made an excellent 90 minute film adaptation of james jones' world war ii novel . \\nunfortunately , he buried it within an overlong and overreaching 3-hour long pseudo-epic . \\nthis is a shame because the film features an outstanding performance by nick nolte . \\nthe best scene is when nick nolte's character , lt . col . tall , is forced to deal with the direct refusal by capt . staros ( elias koteas ) to execute an order . \\nnolte's reaction and transformation may be the best work of his career . \\nhad terrence malick concentrated on the great performances of nolte and koteas as well as those by sean penn , woody harrelson , and john cusack , he could have made a truly great film . \\ninstead , malick saddled the film with plodding pacing , unnecessary flashbacks , and a voice-over narration all designed to telegraph the great philosophical underpinnings of the story . \\nthe narration was especially annoying as much of it sounded like very bad high school poetry . \\nwith a lot of editing , the core story could be transformed into a truly classic war film . \\nhopefully , the dvd version of this film will feature options to suppress the narration , and perhaps will even provide for an alternate , shorter version of the film . \\ni give this film . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'capsule : gal is a 50s-ish london cockney gangster who has retired to spain . \\nhis old associates want him for one last job and send the vicious don to give him an offer he can\\'t refuse . \\na standout performance by ben kingsley as don cannot save what is essentially a set of cliches recycled from old westerns . \\n , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) \\nroger ebert asks in his review of sexy beast , \" who would have guessed that the most savage mad-dog frothing gangster in recent movies would be played by . . . \\nben kingsley ? \" \\nmy response would be that anyone who has seen alan arkin in wait until dark , henry fonda in once upon a time in the west , or anthony hopkins in the silence of the lambs should have guessed it . \\nthey should know that the way for a film to create a really creepy sociopath is cast someone who generally plays mild , sympathetic , or even ineffectual character roles . \\nthe same characteristics that make an actor seem gentle in most of his roles can work in his favor when a role calls for him to be fierce and vicious . \\nthat is the principle that works for kingsley in sexy beast . \\ngary \" gal \" dove ( played by ray winstone ) has retired from a london career of crime and is living on a luxurious villa in spain . \\nlife has become a routine of sunning himself and relaxing . \\nbut his paradise is about to be shattered by a one-two-punch . \\nthe first punch is a boulder that comes rolling down the hill next to the villa . \\nthe second punch comes from gal\\'s past . \\nback in london gang boss teddy bass ( ian mcshane , tv\\'s lovejoy ) is planning to break into a safety deposit room in a bank and he wants gal . \\nhe sends his most rabid henchman don logan ( ben kingsley ) to fetch gal . \\ndon will accept any decision gal makes from \" yes \" to \" certainly . \" \\nhowever , if gal says \" no \" don will do whatever it takes to turn it into a yes including threatening guy\\'s ex-porn- star wife deedee ( amanda redman ) . \\nin the meantime don knows just how to get under everybody\\'s skin . \\nkingsley makes don a compact package of fury and nastiness . \\nthere are some serious problems in louis mellis\\'s and david scinto\\'s script that should have been caught before filming . \\nwhen we see the actual crime we have no idea why gal was so important to its success . \\nbeyond an ability to use skin-diving gear , no special talents are required of him . \\nany local hood could have done what gal is needed for . \\nadditionally the crime involves digging from a swimming pool to the bank vault , flooding the vault . \\nno only could they have let the water out of the pool and avoided the complication altogether , but there is by far too much water to be accounted for by what was in the pool . \\nin spite of the provocative title , the story is cliched and overly familiar . \\ni know i have seen all the plot elements of sexy beast in old westerns like the law and jake wade . \\nthe story is usually of the reformed outlaw , a robert taylor type , who has hung up his guns and is trying for a life of peaceful respectability . \\nthe old gang , however , wants to do one more job with their old buddy and sends a rabid richard widmark type to go and git ? im . \\nit is not a great plot . \\nin sexy beast even the plot twists have gray beards . \\nperhaps the film has a little more respectability because it was made not as a western but as a stylish british gangster film . \\nit is an old plot dressed up to look new . \\nif the plot is old , at least the style is creative . \\nthis is director jonathan glazer\\'s first film , but he has reputedly done some notable tv ads for guinness stout . \\nhis style does have some unexpected touches including some very odd dream sequences . \\ncinematographer ivan bird uses a lot of half lit scenes . \\nwe see one side of a person\\'s faces . \\nbut the other side fades into the darkness , a sort of metaphor for the half-world these characters in-habit . \\nhalf of everything that is happening is also kept hidden . \\nwe yanks will have a hard time with some of the dialog . \\nat least in my theater it was difficult to make out the words with the quiet speaking , the heavy accents , and the cockney language . \\nsexy beast is a very and familiar minor plot lent respectability in the us by being done in what is here a still somewhat novel genre , the london crime film . \\nthe plot may be new to british crime films , but it would be overly familiar as a western . \\nfurther respectability comes from ben kingsley\\'s high-powered performance . \\ni give it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'ve heard it called \" jaws with claws \" and that\\'s a fair summation of the plot , though that tag line does little to quantify quality . \\ndirector stephen hopkins ( blown away , predator 2 ) and screenwriter william goldman ( maverick , misery ) would have you believe that this is an epic historical drama about man against nature , based on what really happened in africa to the railroad workers trying to build a bridge to the 20th century . \\nthey\\'ve stacked the deck with two big stars ( val kilmer , michael douglas ) , a bigger production design , beautiful photography ( by academy award winner vilmos zsigmond ) , and a score so overblown that it makes the lion king soundtrack sound like chamber music . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t make a lick of sense , though , either as an epic or as your basic boo-fest . \\nin fact , some of the bits are so laughably ludicrous that you may think you\\'ve stumbled into the sequel to mystery science theater 3000 : the movie . \\nhow about the three guys with rifles , who trap a lion and then can\\'t even hit the damned thing ? \\nor the ham-on-wry acting of michael douglas , who chews more scenery than the animals ever do ? ? \\nor , my favorite , lions so agile that they can even climb onto rooftops ? ! ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'tempe mills cinema , az--this movie had us in non-stop stitches from beginning to end . \\nall those promotional clips that have been on tv for the past month came from the first five minutes of the movie . \\nif you thought they were funny , see the rest of the movie . \\nit\\'s hilarious . \\nhow does one go about making a movie about a couple guys whose only claim to fame is synchronized head-bopping on snl to exactly one song ? \\neasy . \\nwrite an interesting script around tried-and-true ideas , add some good lines and satire , and voil ? , you end up with an excellent , well-done , very entertaining flick . \\nwill and chris are idiot brothers forced by their father to work begrudgingly in the family flower business during the day . \\nat night they pursue their life-long ambition to loose their virginity in failed attempts to get into the roxbury in beverly hills , ca , the only disco act worth going to . \\nthe only problem , the place is so popular and the waiting line so long that by the time the brothers make it to the front door , the roxbury closes , all the while bearing witness to guys with one-hundred-dollar bills and movie stars like richard grieco who get past the doorman without fuss . \\nthe script authors ( steve koren , will ferrell and chris kattan ) cleverly devised a way for our boys to get into the roxbury . \\ntheir flower-shop van is rear-ended by richard grieco , who fears a law-suit and is surprised to see the idiots are too star-struck to think about the car accident they just had , but not about getting into the roxbury . \\ngrieco happily takes them in , even introduces them to the owner , which has the added benefit of enhancing the financial appearance of the idiot brothers in the eyes of a couple of gold diggers ( elisa donovan and gigi rice ) who bet their time and bodies on will and chris . \\nwhat follows are some of the best slap-stick dancing routines ever . \\nthe music is superb , and could have only been made better had the producers added patrick hernandez\\'s born to be alive . \\nthe choreography at times was a parody of an era gone by , for example , the bee gees and their stayin\\' alive . \\nit is nostalgic for those of us who remember that far back , and the technique is a clever adaptation that worked well in forest gump . \\none of the funniest scenes is when the gold diggers discover that will \\nand chris don\\'t have any mone y , and dump both on the spot , even expressing violence and anger that they gave sex away . \\nan art-imitates-life poke at shallow women . \\nit\\'s a scene that\\'s an approximate parody of the vinegar\\'s own rolf luedeke\\'s editorial this week national organization for men ( nom ) replaces now . \\nted \" unabomber \" \\nkaczynski , himself rejected for not having money , will identify well with this scene , if he ever watches the movie . \\nof course , the script wouldn\\'t be complicated enough without adding molly shannon , the girl next door who has had a crush on will since they were kids , and who will has had an aversion to in quest of good-looking disco blondes ( proof that men will turn down perfectly good women when there are bay watch babes always lurking nearby ) . \\nnevertheless , will\\'s father wants him to marry molly anyway , but thinks idiot chris is standing in the way and sends him into guest-quarter exile . \\nduring the wedding ceremony , will\\'s heart isn\\'t exactly into getting married , and when his brother appears on the balcony with a ghetto blaster and more head-bopping music , will thinks worse of the knot-tieing idea and runs to chris . \\ndefinitely an snl parody of the graduate where katharine ross changed her mind for the screaming dustin hoffman in the church balcony . \\ni found this scene a riot , however , it went over brandi\\'s head -- she was born seven years after the graduate first appeared . \\nthe scene has a good punch line when molly shannon marries , instead , the step-in buddy/weight-lifter ( who looks like he could pass for the son of gary busy ) and who has been lusting for a good-looker for a long time , but ready now to take anyone . \\nmore art-imitates-life stuff -- not even muscles can substitute for money in the real world . \\nthe idiots\\' mother is played by loni anderson , whose barbie-doll looks \\ndon\\'t play well anymore ( she\\'s a bit old ) , and whose cleavage looks like someone botched a tracheotomy too low down . \\ni recommend this movie for anyone who wants to have a lot of fun or in \\nneed of a lot of laughs . \\ngo with a date . \\nbrandi laughed non-stop , as i \\ndid , and a deaf-mute might have concluded i was tickling her continuously for 105 minutes . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"as with his other stateside releases , jackie chan's latest chopsocky vehicle , mr . nice guy , is contrived , blockheaded , and lacking in narrative logic . \\nbut also like those other films , it is a highly enjoyable ride . \\nonce again , chan's screenwriters ( here edward tang and fibe ma ) have taken the easy way out and named their star's character simply jackie , with no last name . \\nthis jackie is a world-class chef who co-hosts a popular cooking show on australian television . \\nof course , jackie also happens to be a talented martial artist , and these skills come in handy when he becomes involved in an ambitious reporter's ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) expose of a drug dealing ring . \\nother plot details , involving a videotape and a biker gang , are irrelevant ; in fact , as is the case with most chan films , the plot itself is just about irrelevant . \\nthe sole purpose of mr . nice guy's existence are chan's comic fight scenes , and those here do not disappoint . \\ndirector samo hung ( who has a cameo role ) , a longtime collaborator of chan's , does not waste any time putting chan in action , diving head-on into a wild chase/fight/shootout after a brief cooking show prologue . \\nother impressive set pieces follow , most notably a chase in a mall , which directly leads to some frenzied , if cliched ( can you say fruit cart ? ) , business involving a runaway carriage ; and an extended late-film sequence at a construction site , in which a hilarious pursuit through a maze of blue doors culminates in some exciting fights involving boards , cement mixers , and a deadly buzzsaw . \\nnone of the action sequences in mr . nice guy are as spectacular as supercop's thrilling helicopter-train finale or rumble in the bronx's daring leap between two buildings ; nor is anything as inventive as the ladder fight or air tunnel climax in first strike and operation condor , respectively . \\nbut the action delivers , even if the energy peters out before the film's end ( the finale , as spectacular as it is , is a letdown for fans of chan's athletic prowess ) . \\nfilmed almost entirely in english ( even so , the voices of some english-speaking actors are laughably dubbed ) , mr . nice guy hints at jackie chan's latest transition to hollywood productions ( he made ill-fated attempts with 1980's the big brawl and 1985's the protector ) ; next in the pipeline is rush hour , a stateside production co-starring chris tucker . \\nhopefully that film will be a mere diversion in tinseltown , and chan will continue with exuberant hong kong productions such as mr . nice guy , for his unique charm and reckless abandon are sure to be diluted by american hands , much like they have been before . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"to me , nicolas cage sounds like an ideal choice for the lead role in a martin scorsese film . \\ndespite the rantings that sean penn so rudely expressed , the actor remains a gifted and versatile screen presence . \\never since the big success of the action-thriller `face/off' in 1997 , the hollywood road has been a rocky one for mr . cage . \\nthe perpetually awful assassination thriller `snake eyes' was one of 1998's worst films . \\n`8mm' was a disappointing lost cause . \\nbut who better than scorsese to match cage's wit and intensity , which he does in miraculous fashion with `bringing out the dead' . \\ncage delivers one of his finest performances as frank pierce , a new york city emergency paramedic who is running on fumes from day-to-day . \\nafter five years of the stress-inducing job , frank basically just staggers onward , relying on heavy doses of caffeine and booze until his shift finally ends . \\nhe also begins seeing the ghosts of past patients who died under his care , namely a young girl named rose , who stares back at him with pale features at every street corner in new york . \\nfrank desperately wants to be fired , but his boss needs him to scour the city and help those in need ( `i'll fire you tomorrow . . . ' he promises ) . \\nfrank is accompanied by a fresh face every night in the ambulance . \\nthe first is larry ( john goodman ) , who always has food on the brain . \\nthe second is marcus ( ving rhames ) , a deeply religious black man who incorporates the power of jesus into a regular rescue operation . \\nand finally , tom ( tom sizemore ) is a deranged sociopath hungry for blood . \\ni found it unique how scorsese used each of these characters for a single shift with frank , but they never figured into the actual plot . \\neach is merely a colorful presence to help develop frank's character , because `bringing out the dead' is predominantly a study of his mind and detailed personality . \\nthe one character alongside frank that truly comes into play is mary ( patricia arquette ) , the daughter of a newly admitted patient who suffered from a severe heart attack . \\narquette , who recently received the wounds of christ in `stigmata' , performs well around real-life husband cage . \\nit's unfortunate that , after such intriguing character trials and tribulations , the relationship between frank and mary slips during a mishandled , ineffective finale . \\nthe movie belongs to the one-two punch of cage and scorsese , who were born to collaborate their efforts in an arrangement similar to `bringing out the dead' . \\nalthough it certainly lacks the grit and hard-edge of something like `goodfellas' , scorsese manages to hit a nerve with his latest picture . \\nthe incredible camera-work and photography represent stunning flashes of brilliance in an otherwise unspectacular conglomeration . \\nfans will be pleased to find the director has returned to his abrasive , darkly humorous roots after somewhat of a departure with 1997's `kundun' . \\ndoes `bringing out the dead' rival scorsese's finest work ? \\nonly occasionally . \\nsome of the film feels surprisingly limp , but there is enough energy in it's interesting material and breathtaking visual appearance to suffice . \\nthose expecting a grisly , risqu ? product may be somewhat disheartened at the fairly straight-arrow approach - but it's still a solid , admirable effort . \\n`bringing out the dead' was written by the acclaimed paul schrader , who collaborated with scorsese on such classics as `taxi driver' and `raging bull' . \\nschrader's script is full of moments - wonderful , sharply defined moments - that are sorted throughout the remainder of his meandering screenplay . \\nthe exceptional aspects of the film are it's astounding technical credits and the amazing cast . \\ngoodman and sizemore are both electric ( well , mainly sizemore ) , but it's the phenomenal ving rhames who deserves a second look . \\nwatch the actor's deeply inspired dedication as he resurrects a gothic band member , and you'll understand why he won a golden globe . \\n`bringing out the dead' is raw and electrifying often enough to mask it's certain flaws . \\nscorsese - and cage , for that matter - have done better , but their intentions are certainly admirable . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"review : a dog of flanders is the story of an adorable little boy named nello and his trials and tribulations in 19th century flanders . \\nliving with his grandfather jehan ( jack warden ) in poverty , nello finds happiness in his life in spite of difficult times ( they are renting a spare one-room cottage , and the greedy , malevolent landlord who owns it threatens to throw them `out of the house' if they don't pay the rent ) . \\nnello also has a rather creative talent for drawing some of the most beautiful pictures that i have ever seen , in either a movie or in real life . \\n ( his hero is peter paul rubens , the great flemish painter of the 17th century . ) \\nnot that these are the only things that make nello's life happy , however . \\nhe has a dog of flanders , whom he names patrasche , who is a heroic rin-tin-tin of the 19th century , whom he rescues from his cruel , unkind master . \\nin addition , he even has a best friend ( and future sweetheart ) in the lovely , wealthy aloise , whose father strongly disapproves of her hanging out with `lower-class' nello . \\n ( he thinks he's not good enough for her , and he would hate the idea of the two kids marrying . ) \\nbut then , he was a poor guy himself before he married ( as mentioned later on in the film ) . \\none day , nello encounters a mysterious , yet kindhearted artist named michel la grande ( played wonderfully by jon voight ) , who tells the boy to keep drawing from his heart , and that perhaps one day he might land a career in being an artist . \\nand every christmas , there is a contest on which is the most beautiful painting of the year ; the winner getting a lot of money . \\neager to save his home ( and his aging , dying grandfather ) , nello willingly decides to become an artist , asking aloise to pose for him . \\none night , the two travel to a circus , where they have their fortune told ? one of the film's most delightful scenes ? that great happiness is destined for them . \\nshe gives the kids a ring , whom nello places on aloise's hand . \\n ; ) afterwards , the two kids have a rollickingly good time dancing around in front of circus performers . \\nunfortunately , things are not all `la-dee-dah' in this tale . \\naloise's father finally becomes so angry with nello that he forbids him to ever see aloise again . \\nbad enough that they can't see each other ( although we know nello and aloise , don't we ? ) , but that's only the start of nello's troubles . \\naloise's farm is burned down , and nello is wrongfully accused ( by the landord of his cottage ) for starting the fire in order to take revenge on being forbidden to see aloise . \\nthis decreases nello's reputation around the town , save aloise and her parents , and a kindly miller , william , who is very sweet to nello every time he drops by . \\nmatters get much worse for nello when his grandfather dies , and he has to pay for his funeral . \\nbut then things really get nasty when the landlord exiles nello from his own home ( for not paying his rental ) ? permanetly . \\nthis means that nello and patrasche have to starve and walk out in the cold , freezing wind . \\nworst of all , the painting that he has desperately been working on during all this time , `the portrait of the princess' , fails to win the prize at the festival . \\nnow nello and patrasche are really depressed , and close to freezing to death . \\nwill nello be able to find any happiness in his life ? \\nwill patrasche save the day ? \\nwill nello make the fateful trip to join his mother and grandfather in paradise ? \\na dog of flanders is a delightful , heartwarming family film that is sure to entertain kids of all ages . \\neven older ones who consider themselves too `sophisticated' for kiddie fare will be surprised to hear that this film is for grown-ups , too . \\nthere have been other movies of this ilk ( boy and dog ) , and while this one falls into that category , it is mostly a story about overcoming difficulties and finding a good home for yourself . \\nmove over ? or rather , roll over ? old yeller , this dog of flanders is a heartwarming delight . \\nthe cinematography , courtesy of walther van den ende is beautiful , and really adds to the powerful drama of the film . \\nit also gives a feel of being in flanders ( the whole film was respectably shot in flanders ) . \\nthe music from richard friedman is also remarkable ; an evocative , poignant score that recaptures music from the 19th century . \\nthe opening song over the credits is very beautiful ( i hope the soundtrack is available ! ) , and there's a brief excerpt of `cheer up , charlie' from willy wonka and the chocolate factory ( sung by aloise , to nello , in another delightful scene ) . \\nthe cast is first-rate : jesse james and jeremy james kissner , who play nello , are some of the most endearing , adorable young stars i have ever seen in my whole life ( so are the girls who play aloise , madyline sweeten as the younger , and farren monet as the older ) . \\nnot that they are the only good stars , however . \\njack warden is ideal as jehan , eliciting just the right amount of humor and compassion required for the character . \\n ( the scenes involving him and nello are heartwarming , touching ones . ) \\nalso , bruce mcgill is charming as the kindly miller william . \\nhe's another one of my favorite characters in the film . \\nbut jon voight , as i mentioned before , is the perfect choice for michel . \\nhe brings a mysterious , yet gentle performance that makes us all feel good again when he reassures insecure nello that he * can * win the contest . \\nbut what makes this film fun to watch is how well-defined the characters are , and the pace of the story ( best of all , it has a happy ending ? though i will * not * give it away ; sorry ) is strong and powerful enough for us to identify with the characters . \\nfor the first time since the beginning of 1999 , there comes a film which doesn't rely on popular formula stuff , such as big-budget special effects , commercial rock soundtracks , or any of that stuff . \\nthis one relies on telling a fully character-oriented story , with just the right amount of heart , humor , and drama . \\nthat , to me , is what makes a dog of flanders all the more delightful . \\neleanor o'sullivan of `the home news & tribune' noticed this , and was kind and generous enough to welcome it : `for want of a better word , a glow surrounds a dog of flanders . \\nits heart is in the right place and it engages you . \\nyou can guess where the film is going because this is well-traveled territory , but with pros like voight and appealing young performers like kissner , an often-told story is well worth a revisit . ' \\nin addition , there were a couple of other enthusiasts , such as chicago-sun times and the washington post ( you should read their reviews ; they're really positive ) . \\nother critics , however , were not so kind . \\nstephen holden of `the new york times' had more than a share of beatings to lay upon a dog of flanders via pen writing . \\nhe found the film to be a `sea of sugary bromides' and condemned mr . voight's character as `hopelessly wooden ? adopts an accent even more indeterminate than the one he came up with for anaconda . ' \\nin addition , `entertainment weekly' slam-dunked the film , condemning it as `the worst family film of the year . ' \\nthere have been so many other bad reviews like this , too . \\nmy suggestion : disregard the critics . \\nthey just have a big problem with touching family films , and one should never pay attention to them . \\nthis dog of flanders may only be a little `family' movie ( it probably won't be a big hit in the style of titanic , but then again no other film has been since then ) , but that is not a bad thing in and of itself . \\nthis is a story that is sure to warm your heart , and that is what really matters about a dog of flanders . \\nit is also one of the better family films around this year . \\nnone of the other films i have seen this year ( though they were good ) have been so low-key and touching . \\nif you're looking for family-style entertainment , look no further than this charming boy-and-dog yarn . \\ngo see it while you still can , for as i mentioned , it might not be a big bow-wow at the box office for a long time . \\nsee it while you can . \\nthere is really no need to compare a multi-million dollar blockbuster such as star wars : episode i ? the phantom menace or tarzan , or even the iron giant with a tender , sweet little family movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" the watcher \" ( universal ) \\njust what we need : another lurid , trashy serial killer saga . \\nthis time , keanu reeves plays an elusive homicidal maniac who engages in a gruesome ticking-clock cat-and-mouse game with james spader , a burnt-out fbi agent who has suffered a traumatic nervous breakdown after too many years on the job with the lapd . \\nto taunt spader , who has relocated to chicago , reeves packs up his trusty piano wire and moves too . \\nbefore long , he starts mailing photographs of the lonely , unsuspecting young women who are his intended windy city victims , challenging spader , along with the chicago police department , to stop him within 24 hours before he strikes again . \\nin the midst of this murderous frenzy , there\\'s spader\\'s psychologist , played by marisa tomei , who is even less convincing as a medical professional than jennifer lopez in \" the cell . \" \\nwriters david elliot , clay ayers and darcy meyers , along with first-time director joe charbanic ( helmer of music videos for reeves\\' band dogstar ) , dwell on the warped thrill of the methodology and the chase , revealing , early on , exactly whodunit since the killer says he and the cop \" need each other to give meaning to our lives . \" \\nplus , as reeves explains , \" we\\'re all stacked right on top of each other , but we don\\'t notice each other any more . \" \\nafter that , it\\'s all sound effects and tricky camera-work , along with a muddled , discordant soundtrack . \\njames spader\\'s acting technique can be described as \\'wooden deadpan\\' while keanu reeves maintains his perpetually monotone \\'dude\\' persona which sometimes works , sometimes doesn\\'t . \\nchris ellis , as spader\\'s self-important colleague , is the only cast member who manages to be convincing . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" the watcher \" is an appallingly awful , amateurish 2 . the real torture is watching it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'godzilla is a nuclear freak . \\nhe is a lizard that has been mutated over the years and has become a new species , one that has a foot as long as this bus , and a claw as long as this sign . \\nthis aquatic creature made its first attack in the pacific islands . \\nhe tore up a ship that carried dozens of japanese men . \\none survived . \\nonly he was left to recount the terror that he had seen . \\nhe was merely able to repeat the words \" godzilla . . . godzilla . . . godzilla \" . \\nthe film then introduces us to matthew broderick , a biologist who has been studying the fascinating growth of chernobyl earthworms . \\n \" they\\'re 17% larger than they used to be ! \" he proclaims . \\nthe u . s . military pulls him off this three year project and assigns him to figure out what godzilla is . \\nand , boy , does he find out . \\nand , boy , does godzilla suck . \\ni hate to use such a word in a review , something that is supposed to inform my audience , but i really need to drive this one home and i refuse to use explitives . \\nit is unbelieveable to me how the producers of this movie saw the final cut and said , \" ok ! \\nit\\'s great ! \\nlet\\'s show this puppy . \" \\nroland emmerich needs a good horse whipping . \\nhis latest piece of trash makes id4 look like a masterpiece of modern american cinema . \\nand if steven spielberg had never made the jurassic park films , emmerich and his team of talent-challenged imbeciles would never have had a clue as to how the creature should look . \\nlet me give you a few examples of this terrible attempt at filmmaking . \\ni plan on giving some things away here . \\nbelive me , godzilla holds no surprises for anyone with an iq higher than their shoe size , so . . . no \\nworries . \\nhowever , if you are looking for that \" first time thrill \" and you refuse to let me do you this favor , by all means , stop reading now . \\na . ) godzilla makes his first ever attack in the pacific islands . \\nhe next strikes in new york city . \\num . . . anyone have a map handy ? \\nb . ) the mayor of new york city is a heavy set individual with parted gray hair and thick glasses . \\nhis name is mayor ebert . \\nhis assistant is named gene . \\ngene gives ebert a thumbs down at the end of the film . \\ni couldn\\'t make this up if i tried , folks . \\nc . ) stay with me on this one . . . \\nok . \\ngodzilla can out run torpedoes . \\nhank azaria can out run godzilla babies . \\n ( which look more like jurassic park raptors than the jurassic park raptors . ) \\nd . ) the u . s . military , upon realization that godzilla has disappeared after running rampant through the city , decides that he \" might be hiding in a building . \" \\ne . ) ( oh yeah , i can go all the way to e . ) godzilla strikes at manhattan . \\nmanhattan , an island approximately the size of san francisco holds three million people . \\nthey evactuate to new jersey in about one day . \\nno problem . \\nf . ) early on , they bait godzilla with fish . \\n ( he likes fish , you know . ) \\nthe thing is on an island . \\nthe atlantic ocean is three steps east , but pile a whole bunch of grouper on fifth and 57th . . . oh \\nhe\\'s gonna come running . \\ng . ) you know what ? \\ni\\'ll stop with the list now . . . the \\nalphabet isn\\'t big enough anyway . \\nthe dialogue makes me wonder if producer dean devlin had his five year old do a re-write . \\n \" the kid is good ! \" he must have said . \\nmaria pitillo is looking to become a name in hollywood by starring in this potential blockbuster . \\nbad move , maria . \\nacting doesn\\'t get much worse than her turn as broderick\\'s ex-flame . \\nmatthew broderick is a good actor , but you\\'d never give him a chance if godzilla were the only film of his you\\'d seen . \\njean reno needs to pick his american films a bit more carefully . \\nat times , godzilla seems to be headed toward a zucker , abrahams , zucker film . \\n ( airplane ! , naked gun . ) \\nthe jokes are indeed that bad . \\nbut just when you think the filmmakers are having fun with you , they take themselves seriously . \\nhow dare they ! \\ngodzilla would have been better if it had only thrown in visual sight gags and fart jokes . \\nat least then we would know we were supposed to laugh . \\neach and every character in godzilla is beyond stupid and i was really pulling for the beast to kill more of them . \\nemmerich did do one thing , though . \\n ( and i\\'ve no idea if it was intentional . ) \\nhe made me sympathize with godzilla . \\nhis attackers were so damn dumb that i felt sorry for him being pelted with bullets and missles . \\nbut what made me feel even sorrier for him was that his famous name will always be attatched to one of the worst films hollywood has ever produced . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the main problem with martin lawrence\\'s pet project , a thin line between love and hate , like any fatal attraction variation where the protagonist is a man , is that his character is an irresponsible jerk , and if that is the case , it doesn\\'t seem to do anything except justify the woman\\'s actions . \\nthat is especially the case in lawrence\\'s darnell wright . \\nhe is one of those macho guys with women lined up a mile long . \\nnow don\\'t think i condone this just because i\\'m male . \\nmy philosophy is , if you are one of the few heterosexual males lucky enough to get your hands on a beautiful , kind girl , you should treat her like a princess and respect her . \\ndarnell doesn\\'t think like this . \\nhe sleeps with these girls once and dumps them . \\nand by the period in the film he discovered that his newest target , beautiful , wealthy brandi web ( played nicely by whitfield ) who runs a successful real estate business , is out to kill him for dumping her for his childdhood friend mia ( king ) , i found myself thinking , \" i\\'m supposed to feel sorry for this guy ? \" \\nafter all , it is largely darnell\\'s fault . \\nif he is lining up all these women , you\\'d think he\\'d have enough common sense to think it would backfire on him one day , as his mother says it does . \\nbut he doesn\\'t , so you get the sense that he\\'s not only irresponsible , but also pretty dumb . \\nyou especially get this sense that he\\'s dumb after brandi tells him she killed her husband for allegedly abusing her . \\n ( i\\'d put my pants on in two seconds after that ! ) \\nnow , brandi is a psycho bitch , but it\\'s hard not to agree with what she says to darnell during the finale about guys like him treating her like garbage . \\none final flaw , though , is letting brandi fall for darnell to begin with . \\nbrandi is a classy , intelligent woman with an mba from harvard , who initally resists darnell\\'s \" immature play \" as she calls it , as any woman like her would in real life . \\nbut all of a sudden she says yes . \\nbut when you listen to darnell\\'s four letter word vocabulary watch his actions , you wonder why such an intelligent woman would fall for a guy like darnell period , much less have such an unhealthy obsession for him ! \\nlawrence can be good when he wants to , but in order to prove it , he needs to let other people write and direct his movies . \\nlook at this movie . \\nfour writers , as a result it\\'s too long ( two hours , when it could\\'ve easily worked at ninety minutes ! ) and it has a lot of subplots and characters that appear and disappear as quickly as they came ( which makes me think the writers didn\\'t get along ) , all of which isn\\'t necessary . \\nthere are some bright spots , though . \\nwhitfield , regina king , della reese , and bobby brown all do what they can with lazily written parts , and they help it out a lot . \\nand there are some funny parts ( like , for example , the scene where reese attempts to fight whitfeld for harrassing her son and damaging her property ) , but they\\'re just not enough to sustain the film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the plot of big momma's house is martin lawrence in a fat suit and a dress . \\nthat's not just the high-concept premise ; it's the fully-realized , all-encompassing plot . \\nsuch an emphasis is not unheard-of in the world of hollywood summer entertainment . \\none need merely look back to last summer , when the plot of big daddy was adam sandler being an incompetent surrogate parent . \\nthe trap inherent in such an approach is that the high-concept plot idea better be pretty well-realized , or rest on the shoulders of an extremely talented performer , because you can bet there will be nothing else worth a second of your time -- not a developed character , not a provocative theme , not a witty twist . \\nyou will get 90-plus minutes of martin lawrence in a fat suit and a dress -- nothing more , nothing less . \\nthose who find martin lawrence more than an occasionally amusing screen presence may have a shot at enjoying the one-note dud that is big momma's house . \\nothers will simply stare , mouth agape , at its sheer unapologetic laziness . \\nlawrence plays fbi agent malcolm turner , an undercover expert on a stakeout assignment with his partner john ( paul giamatti ) . \\ndangerous convicted bank robber and murderer lester vesco ( terrence howard ) has escaped from prison , and the feds think he's headed for his former girlfriend and presumed-but-never-proved accomplice sherry ( nia long ) . \\nsherry , however , has fled with her son trent ( jascha washington ) , possibly to visit her grandmother hattie mae ( ella mitchell ) , better known as big momma . \\nindeed , sherry appears to be on her way , but big momma is headed out of town without knowing sherry is coming . \\nthat leaves master of disguise malcolm to go under very heavy cover as big momma and find out what sherry knows . \\nbig momma's house's bloodlines are certainly traceable to mrs . \\ndoubtfire -- director raja gosnell edited that film , and the makeup effects were similarly created by greg cannom -- but there's just as strong a whiff of tootsie in the main character's attempt to use his alternate identity to get closer to a woman . \\nunfortunately , big momma's house makes a ridiculous decision neither of those other films made : instead of having the protagonist pose as a completely manufactured character unfamiliar to anyone elses , it places malcolm in the position of playing a friend and family member to several other characters . \\nsuspension of disbelief in big momma's house requires you to believe every other person in the film is blind and/or stupid , since no one notices that one big momma looks or sounds absolutely nothing like the other . \\nof course , laughs trumps logic every time , and big momma's house probably still would have worked in spite of its utter disdain for common sense if it had just managed to be funny . \\nand it misses its best possible opportunity for some great farce by ignoring the simple fact that the real big momma is set up as a foul-tempered beast , while malcolm has to be nurturing in order to get the information he wants out of sherry . \\nunfortunately , no one involved appears to have the faintest idea how to deal with the comic gold mine involved in one real person pretending to be another , very different real person , so they fall back on an endless parade of sight gags : malcolm reacting violently to big momma's explosive diarrhea attack ; malcolm-as-momma schooling a pair of cocky teens in basketball ; malcolm trying to avoid detection as various prostheses give way at inopportune moments ; malcolm delivering a baby because big momma is the town midwife ( one of the few sequences that works ) . \\nmartin lawrence can be likeable enough at times , but there's no reason to care a whit about his budding romance with sherry because malcolm is never an independently significant character . \\nhe's just big momma without the makeup on . \\ni won't waste time commenting on how ineptly the set-up of the escaped convict is employed , since it was clearly a waste of time to the film-makers . \\nthere are a few token scenes of lester looming as a threatening figure , but he's ultimately a distraction in a film that's really about its central visual incongruity ( and the accompanying lascivious glances at nia long's posterior ) . \\ni'm never prepared to underestimate how appealing that idea may be to other people -- several million of them apparently found adam sandler as an incompetent surrogate parent appealing -- but i know that when a film-maker tries to throw a concept at me and pretend that it's an entire film , i duck out of the way . \\nthe gross implausibility of big momma's house might have been tolerable if it was seasoned with more big , cleverly-constructed laughs . \\nits lack of big laughs might have been tolerable if its characters were at all relevant . \\nbig momma's house is ridiculous _and_ not funny . \\nit's just a sad exercise in the jaded presumption that any scene should be considered wacky and hilarious if it involves martin lawrence in a fat suit and a dress . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'miramax \" disinvited \" on-line media from press screenings of scream 3 . \\nthey ostensibly feared that folks like me would write spoiler-filled reviews and post them prior to the film\\'s february 4th release date-unsound reasoning . \\nyou see , \\'net critics established enough to be on any sort of vip list are professionals-miramax surely knows the difference between a member of the on-line film critics society ( ofcs ) and the type of fanboy who posts spy reports at ain\\'t it cool news . \\nno , the ? mini major\\' was afraid we\\'d let a bigger cat out of the bag than whodunit , that scream 3 is a dismal conclusion to the beloved ( by this writer , at least ) franchise . \\nsomething smells rotten in the state of california right from the get-go : cotton weary ( liev schrieber ) , the former lover and would-be killer of maureen prescott , sidney\\'s mother , is juggling phone calls in his luxury car . \\n ( once considered a danger to society , weary now hosts his own talk show , \" 100% cotton \" , a clever , if dated , jab at american pop culture . ) \\nof course , a new ghostface dials him up , and , with memories of scream\\'s unbearably suspenseful prologue in mind , we immediately wonder , where is the killer ? \\nthe backseat ? \\nthe next car ? \\nthrilling prospects , to be sure , but actually , ghostface is at the weary residence , waiting for cotton\\'s girlfriend ( kelly rutheford ) to finishing showering . \\nwhat\\'s missing from this sequence , and indeed scream 3\\'s remaining frights ( most disappointingly , the moment when an ingenue is forced to hide in a wardrobe room filled with ghostface costumes , one of which might spring to life ) , is an elaborate and attenuated payoff . \\nour other surviving regulars have become estranged . \\nsidney ( campbell ) is living a paranoid existence of electronic gates and password-protected locks , while dewey ( arquette ) acts as technical advisor on the second sequel to scream 2\\'s movie-within-a-movie , \" stab 3 \" , and gale weathers ( cox arquette ) headlines a gossipy news program . \\nmurder reunites them , as knife-wielding ghostface stalks the set of \" stab 3 \" , imitating its sadistic screenplay-and his/her/their own personal draft climaxes with sidney\\'s death . \\nthe appeal of ghostface\\'s villainy is that he/she/they could be your boyfriend , your classmate , your next door neighbour . . . or a combination of people . \\nscream was the first of its kind : a slasher mystery , with the guessing game not only entailing who will be next , but also who is/are the perpetrator ( s ) and what is/are his/her/their motive . \\nironic self-reflection aside , parts one and two stand out in a crowd that includes umpteen friday the 13th and halloween flicks because there\\'s at last articulate human beings behind the iconic costume . \\nwith scream 3 , the novelty of ghostface\\'s ever-mutating identity has worn off some , but the character remains conceptually potent . \\nconceptually . the execution of ghostface\\'s master plan this time around is creaky , because screenwriter ehren kruger has invented a new mythology for the world of sidney prescott far afield from what we\\'d come to understand in scream and scream 2 . the movie gets in the silly habit of saying \" all bets are off ! \" \\nin reference to the \" rules \" of a trilogy\\'s third act , but there\\'s a difference between rule breaking and cheating . \\nwith the departure of kevin williamson , who authored the previous screams as well as a tidy outline for scream 3 ( that , for reasons incomprehensible to me , was ignored , save the notion of \" stab 3 \" ) , kruger needed to be reined in tighter , and by wes craven . \\ncraven\\'s direction of scream 3 is lazy in most respects . \\nhow else to explain the jay and silent bob cameo ( the slacker duo of kevin smith movies ) , akin to seeing mickey mouse pop up in mulan and more distracting than funny . \\nit pains me to write this , but scream 3\\'s comedy is generally laughless , with the exception of well-timed performances by josh pais ( as a police detective possessed of the same personality he had as a persnickety teacher in craven\\'s music of the heart ) , jamie kennedy ( resurrecting film geek randy for the sendoff he was denied in scream 2 ) , and parker posey ( through sheer force of will as a b-actress ) . \\nthe visuals are much weaker in part three , as well-the occasional sweeping gesture of peter deming\\'s camera is a pale imitation of the stalking steadicam craven gave us twice before . \\n ( aside : in the wake of columbine , craven toned down the violence significantly for scream 3-why the sanctimony , when scream and scream 2 are still readily available on video store shelves ? ) \\nfinally , marco beltrami\\'s music cues the suspense too blatantly-do you recall the tense chase at the college radio station in scream 2 ? it\\'s mostly silent . \\nsting notes are a whole lot more effective if they spring from nowhere ; here , they act as the crescendos of an incessantly nerve-jangling score . \\ni look at scream 3 as coming from an alternative universe , the same place that birthed the godfather part iii and superman iii-woefully out of synch with its prequels , scream 3 is a nightmare instead of nightmarish , and will likely put the horror genre back in mothballs . \\nthe film unintentionally follows the unspoken rule of a trilogy to a t : ? part three must disappoint\\' . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'david lynch\\'s \" blue velvet \" begins and ends with colorful , bright shots of flowers and happy americans mowing their lawns in a seemingly perfect american town . \\nhowever , what lies inside this nominally safe atmosphere is a \" strange world \" of drug dealers , sadists , and murderers . \\nthe opening and closing shots are a wonderful contrast to the rest of the gloomy , disturbing film . \\nthey show not to make assumptions from first glance and that oddness is common in all places under all circumstances . \\nodd would be a perfect adjective to describe this film , its characters , its direction , and its story . \\nthankfully , the obscurity that \" blue velvet \" relies on is enough to make this film enjoyable . \\nsince its elements are so originally weird , you never know what will happen next . \\nthis is the main goal of a movie ; to be spontaneous and surprising . \\n \" blue velvet \" miracuously succeeds at this even though it contains mediocre acting . \\nlynch creates such a hypnotic world that it is hard to resist his style of story telling . \\nthe film starts off with the discovery of a severed ear by a college boy ( kyle maclachlan ) . \\nfrom this point maclachlan finds himself involved with a lounge singer ( isabella rossellinia ) who has lost her son and husband to a kidnapping . \\nthe plot is much more detailed than the aforementioned and this is what makes david lynch\\'s story telling so amazing . \\nmaclachlan becomes involved in a forbidden relationship , in another relationship that could have been taken straight out of a high school flick , and he is put into the shoes of a drug dealer who has some wild adventures with some wild friends . \\nthrough these multiple stories , maclachlan lives multiple lives and as we follow maclachlan , we are introduced to a variety of interesting subplots . \\nlynch masterfully builds these subplots but he does not piece them all together in the very end and make a convenient crowd pleasing conclusion . \\ninstead he leaves some ambiguity and forces those curious enough to get the real meaning to watch the film several several times . \\nlynch has been known to do this with a number of his films meaning he may be too esoteric for some hoping to get a hollywood ending where the good guy gets the girl and everything turns out fine . \\nhowever , for fans of odd difficult indies , \" blue velvet \" could be just what they are looking for . \\nit is very hard to discuss \" blue velvet \" without discussing the performance of dennis hopper\\'s sadistic frank . \\nmost of the other actors in the film were not very memorable . \\nkyle maclachlan lacked one important aspect for his role , a personality . \\nlaura dern was consistently annoying . \\nbut dennis hopper stole every scene he was in . \\nhis evil character was just plain old frightening in his mannerisms from his obsession to velvet to his incessant breathing from a gas mask . \\nfrank is a character that comes along once in a blue moon . \\nmany producers know this and have inevitably begun to typecast hopper as the bad guy . \\njust like his villain in \" speed \" , hopper is over the edge with cursing and screaming every chance he has to speak . \\nthis harshness is exactly what frank is , so weird and twisted that it is hard not to look at him , even if he theatens you to look away . \\n \" blue velvet \" has characters and stories you will never see in a movie again . \\nfor this sole reason it is recommended . \\nbut also see it to admire lynch\\'s obsession to avoid the norm . \\neven if this film is a little too weird for you , it\\'s hard not to congratulate a guy for trying something new and sticking to it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when bulworth ended , i allowed myself a sigh of relief : ? it is possible for me to enjoy political satire . ? \\nthere have been several recent political films that didn\\'t do a whole lot for me -- wag the dog , for instance , i found to be an intelligent but heartless film , while primary colors is unbearable and unwatchable in its awfulness . ? \\nbulworth is a far better film than these , both in its execution and lasting impression . ? \\nit\\'s a tremendously funny and intelligent picture , but it also has an emotional center -- writer/director/star warren beatty allows the audience to identify with his character , and , in turn , we like him and actually care about the story . \\n ? \\nbeatty plays incumbent democratic senator jay billington bulworth ; the film opens and we see bulworth sobbing as he watches his television spots over and over again . ? \\nhe hasn\\'t slept in days , nor has he eaten , and , almost instantaneously , he goes insane . \\n ? he\\'s not stark raving mad ( not outright , anyway ) , but he\\'s definitely bonkers . \\n ? it\\'s the final weekend of his campaign , and his assistant , murphy ( oliver platt ) has written him a speech to feed to a group of black people in a church in the ghetto . \\n ? bulworth begins the speech , but suddenly goes off track and just starts being honest . ? \\n \" you mean , \" one lady asks , \" the democratic party doesn\\'t care about the african american community ? \" ? \\n \" well , \" he shouts , laughing , \" isn\\'t that obvious ? \" \\nthe story is propelled by a device in which bulworth puts out a contract on his own life ( he muses later that it\\'s a bad thing to make decisions when you\\'re suicidal ) ; he keeps seeing a man in sunglasses ( graham beckel ) whom he believes to be the hitman . \\n ? bulworth also meets nina ( halle berry ) with whom he becomes infatuated . \\n ? suddenly , in the short span of this weekend , bulworth\\'s no-nonsense \" truth in politics \" methods become a national sensation , and he shoots ahead in the polls despite the fact that he\\'s appearing on television wearing gang clothes and spewing more profanity than coherent sentences . \\nbeatty\\'s work on both sides of the camera is excellent . ? \\nhis script and direction are both extremely sharp , as is the surprisingly strong characterization of bulworth himself . ? \\nhere is a man who\\'s reached his limit , and his way of lashing back is by screwing over the entire political structure . ? \\ni like that the film doesn\\'t take a clear shot at any of the political parties or affiliations , but at politics in general and how everything is run by the rich ( although the anti-rich sentiments do get a bit tiresome by the end of the film ) . ? \\nsome of the segments are simply hilarious , such as a lengthy rap that he delivers at a luncheon dedicated to him . ? \\nmuch of the film is completely absurd , but that\\'s the fun part about it . ? \\nit\\'s an angry , serious film at the core , but the package that beatty has created is so much more accessible than recent attempts in the genre . ? \\nwhat adds to this feeling is beatty\\'s portrayal of bulworth ; this is a performance that deserves recognition on a higher scale . \\n ? beatty is so much fun to watch here -- he\\'s always funny , but he\\'s also subtle in ways that flesh out his character without dialogue or hugely noticeable actions . \\n ? beatty is so good that bulworth , despite his shortcomings as a human being , is an entirely sympathetic and likable character almost from the beginning . \\nthe supporting cast is vast and colorful . ? \\nberry is luminous , as always , and adds to her repertoire of solid supporting roles . ? \\ndon cheadle has a good role as a drug dealer who uses gun-toting toddlers to do his dirty work . ? \\noliver platt is an actor who should be careful , for someday i fear he may induce a heart attack with the intensity of his acting ( though he\\'s very funny to watch ) . ? paul sorvino adds the southern accent to his list of mastered inflections . \\nis bulworth offensive ? ? \\ni suppose some may see it that way . ? \\ni wasn\\'t offended by the film , but then again , i hardly care about politics . ? \\ni think that people who find this film offensive will just be blindsided by the honesty of the story . ? \\nthe film isn\\'t perfect , of course -- the ending didn\\'t quite work for me , and the a few of the scenes between bulworth and nina feel forced ( although the eclectic dance sequence is fantastic ) . ? \\nbut these are minor quibbles about an otherwise brilliant film . ? \\nbulworth is a smart , uproariously funny picture that proves to me that political satire can scratch far deeper than the surface . ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'steven spielberg is now considered as one of the hollywood deities , because of the rare capability to deliver both huge commercial hits , like jurassic park , and \" oscar \" -awarded critical triumphs like schindler\\'s list . \\nhowever , in the 1970s spielberg built his reputation by creating works of art that could slip in both categories . \\none of them is close encounters of the third kind , extremely popular and influential science-fiction spectacle . \\nunfortunately , it had a bad luck to be released in the same year as star wars . \\nalthough both films have a lot in common ( ground-breaking special effects , brilliant score by john williams ) their future was different ; one became an unstoppable cult phenomenon , and another almost forgotten and stuck forever in its shadow . \\nwhen spielberg began work on that project , he was already established as a bright new hollywood star due to his previous commercial hit , jaws . \\ntogether with other young directors of his \" new hollywood \" generation , like kauffman , carpenter , hill and millius , he exploited the great creative freedom of 1970s , when even the mainstream producers dared to experiment . \\nironically , it was spielberg himself whose later commercial success would established new unwritten rules of \" blockubuster \" philosophy . \\nbut in the mid 1970s , many things were different ; spielberg was young and eager to use hollywood resources for his very personal and artistic movie . \\nalthough very personal , spielberg\\'s screenplay was partly based on the book \" ufo experience \" by dr . j . allen hynek and in many ways inspired by the popular urban mythology of extraterrestrial visitors to earth that began to grow in the world after ww2 . \\nspielberg was not only inspired by the mythology , but his movie also gave the mythology itself a huge boost , unmatched until the contemporary era of x-files and the roswell anniversary . \\nthat was partly because he made the movie very realistic using the authentic ufo-related incidents as the element of the plot . \\nthe story begins with one of such incidents - team of international scientists come to the sonorra desert in mexico to find the u . s . navy planes of who went missing decades ago during the famous flight 19 . \\nsuch events coincide with the ufo incident witnessed by roy neary ( richard dreyfuss ) , power company worker from muncie , indiana , who later becomes obsessed with his experience . \\nbecause of his obsession he loses his job , family and sanity , but his loss is nothing compared to the experience of jillian guiler ( melinda dillon ) , single mother whose son becomes the victim of alien abduction . \\nin the meantime , the scientists decipher the strange signals from outer space and u . s . government , in co-operation with the french , led by lacombe ( francois truffaut ) begin with the preparation for ultra-secret project . \\nwhen the news of the poison gas leak in the middle of wyoming reach neary , he finally sees some sense in all his visions and begins the perilous journey toward the centre of endangered area . \\nthere he is joined by jillian who shared the similar visions . \\ntwo of them must break through military pickets and reach their destination to find whatever is there . \\nspielberg here shows great mastery by using the very same techniques of jaws to make completely different effects . \\nthe slow , gradual yet very disciplined series of dramatic incidents - \" close encounters \" - is set in order to bring the viewer to the great revelation in the finale . \\nbut , instead of the fear and horror we had to endure during the jaws , we are now overwhelmed by the sense of boyish wonder . \\nthroughout the movie the viewer knows that something big , magnificent and wonderful is about to happen , and great magician spielberg delivers his promise in the end . \\nthe last sequence , with its , even in this age , impressive special effects by the great virtuoso douglas trumbull , would leave many mouths open . \\none of the great virtues of this film is its optimism . \\naliens , who almost always get portrayed as the monsters in science-fiction cinema , are here benevolent and harmless creatures and the first contact between them and humanity is a beginning of something wonderful . \\nit is very ironic , when we consider that the two classic sf movies that visually inspired spielberg actually told quite different story - howard hawks\\' thing and byron haskin\\'s war of the worlds presented extraterrestrials as the threat to the mankind . \\nspielberg\\'s humane approach and faith in the future also lies in great contrast to the pessimistic mood of its era ; the only hint of the contemporary gloom is post-watergate portrayal of government as conspiratorial towards the public . \\nbut , even such government is much more harmless compared to the murderous and chain-smoking men in black that became the stereotype thanks to x-files and its more cynical and disturbing visions . \\nthere lies the main , and probably the only flaw of this great picture - lack of conflict , and consequently , lack of drama . \\nthe movie has few excitements or even action scenes ( especially the last that may be an interesting homage to hitchcock\\'s north by northwest ) but generally , almost everyone - neary , jillian , government , aliens - are the good guys . \\ndespite such shortcomings , the actors were good and manage to bring multidimensionality to their simple roles . \\nrichard dreyfuss is very convincing as a ordinary , yet nice guy , who sinks into insanity only to rediscover himself in a grand finale . \\nmelinda dillon was , on the other hand , nominated for \" oscar \" as a struggling mother , yet she was overshadowed by teri garr as neary\\'s long-suffering wife ronnie . \\napart from visual wonders of this film , spielberg\\'s semi-official composer john williams again excels by his beautiful music , this time using the simple melody both as the element of a plot , and as the basis for his score . \\nthe aliens , who are the main subject of this film , were visually very convincing . \\ntoo convincing , one of my acquaintances in the ufo-researching circles said . \\naccording to him , the depiction of extraterrestrials as grey-skinned little people with big eyes was so accurate , that it managed to freak out powerful government figures interested in suppressing the truth about ufos . \\nso , they later approached spielberg and ordered him to make another movie with alien , this time designed to be anything but the real life . \\nthe result was e . t . , for many years the biggest commercial hit of all times , yet less inspirational for ufo enthusiasts . \\nanyway , whether the viewer believes in existence of extraterrestrials or ufos , close encounters of the third kind remains the great movie , and one of the rare uplifting experiences in modern cinema . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'according to the publicity material , with this movie the directors \" hope to restore good old-fashioned bowling to its rightful place in the mainstream of american consciousness . \" \\nhmm . \\nyou never know , they just might be on to something . \\nwhat with the rise of geek chic , lounge music and seventies fashion , the ever-contrary kids of the nineties might just latch on to bowling as another terminally unhip bastion of tackyana to claim as their own . \\nbut then , i doubt if kingpin will have anything to do with it . \\nit\\'s cheesy all right , but connoisseurs of bad taste will find this film exudes that bland smell of stale jokes rather than the invigorating stink of true kitsch . \\nthat\\'s a shame , because , in the first ten minutes or so the film promises to be a lot more . \\nwoody harrelson plays the hotshot bowler on the rise , roy munson . \\nthe movie opens in the fifties with roy\\'s dad dishing out the reader\\'s digest/gumpian wisdom in scoopfuls , shifting to the 70s for a hilarious spoof of saturday night fever . \\nthe sardonic tone of the proceedings is much enhanced by the presence of bill murray , as the delectably slimy big ern mcracken . \\nit\\'s thanks to murray that the first quarter of kingpin seems so good - he gives the wry , derisive edge to this otherwise rather unfocused comedy . \\nmccracken dupes munson into a hustling job , then abandons him to an angry mob who mangle roy\\'s hand . \\nthen it\\'s fast forward 17 years later when munson is a fat , balding loser with a prosthetic rubber hand . \\nhe\\'s hopeless until he meets ishmael ( randy quaid ) , an amish amateur bowler that munson takes on as protege . \\nso together they set out for the million dollar bowling tournament in reno , picking up pretty hustler claudia ( vanessa angel ) on the way . \\nwith the exit of bill murray , the filmmakers seem to have only one direction to go , and that\\'s . . . \\ndumb and dumber . \\nyes , indeed , kingpin is brought to you by those modern proponents of laxative humour , peter and bobby farrelly , the directors of the aforementioned jim carrey vehicle . \\nso , prepare for much slaparound comedy with flying rubber hands , distended nipples , ridiculous hair and bull semen . \\nget set for stock fish-out-of-water situations when city-boy roy puts on a beard and tries to blend in with the amish community , or when suaku straitlaced ishmael takes on smoking , striptease and unchristian neighbour-socking . \\nnow , don\\'t get me wrong , there\\'s nothing wrong with cheap humour , and i had my fair share of lavatorial laughs with woody and randy . \\nthe trouble is that these jokes aren\\'t bold or funny enough to drive a movie that bumbles along without much sense of direction . \\nit lurches from sports movie to amish-mocking to road-trip to sentimental melodrama , ( pausing for a broadside spoof of indecent proposal , and many shameless plugs for the accompanying pop soundtrack ) , never quite getting it all together . \\nsome gags fall flat from a lack of build-up , while there are bits and pieces in the movie that simply don\\'t do anything . \\nwhy the long , unfunny fight in the car park ? \\nwhy two of these ? \\nwhy does that guy wear mascara , or that guy have a glass bowling ball with a rose in it ? \\nthe film is full of these half-thought-through ideas that give the impression of any old gaffer , grip or makeup artist throwing in random stuff and saying , \" wouldn\\'t that be funny ? \" . \\nwell , no , actually . \\nthe actors don\\'t do the movie much favours either . \\nwoody harrelson comes off okay , plausibly acting dumb , smart , cynical or innocent when the implausible script calls for it , but randy quaid is a ceaseless ham , and vanessa angel has no talent ( like schwarzenegger , she seems more convincing playing a computer-creation than a human -- take the tv series weird science . . . please \\n ) . \\neven murray hams it up when he reappears in the movie\\'s climax . \\nall in all , a fairly useless attempt at comedy , and a certified no-hoper at kickstarting the bowling renaissance . \\nwe\\'ll have to look to a reinspired john waters , or perhaps somebody from down under ( \" strictly bowling \" , anyone ? ) for the definitive bowling comedy . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'of circumcision , psychic wounds and the family sitcom \\nthe opening segment is something of a foretaste of this film . \\nthere\\'s a guy\\'s voice telling us how he tries to imagine what his biological parents look like , and on the screen we see images of a variety of oldish men and women . \\nas his imagination plays o n , he ( and we ) picture these motley characters in a mix-and-match shuffle of unlikely marriages , businesswomen with bums , matrons with paint salesmen , the images coming on in a faster and faster frenzy . \\nit\\'s not just a witty , funny summing up of the film \\'s themes - you might not guess it yet , but it sets the pattern for the way the story goes on . \\nwhat starts out as a step in a fairly sensible direction , gets taken on a road trip , put through a detour or two and finds itself freewheeling towards an immin ent crash . \\nthat may not sound so different from the average family sitcom , and the general idea of the film doesn\\'t , at first , seem so wildly distant from standard-issue hollywood comedy : man who was adopted as a child ( ben still er ) sets out on a journey to meet his real parents , along with his wife ( patricia arquette ) , his baby , and a pretty psychology-researcher ( tea leoni ) in tow . \\nvarious mix-ups , shenanigans , oddball characters and , yup , disasters follow . \\nbut if you think you\\'ve been here before , the dialogue and the direction ( by david o . russell , who made spanking the monkey ) take it into another dimension . \\nthe dreaded t-name seems an inevitable reference point ( what with a drug overdose scene and the casting of arquette from true romance ) but really the point is that the foot-massage master hasn\\'t got a monopoly on plot twists and fast , funny , irreverent lines , or on the absurdities of ordinary speech . \\nwhether it\\'s about circumcision , psychic wounds , oral sex , carjacking , the beauties of the armpit area , or ronald reagan , the script never seems to run out of hilarious invention . \\nthe best thing is how these words aren\\'t just there for the punchlines , but are great precisely because they\\'re said in character , like tea leoni\\'s neurotically-charged psychobabbler who\\'s able to say under assault , \" it\\'s understandable if you find this threatening \" . \\nthe cast is excellent throughout , and , rather than singling out anybody , kudos are due to the fine ensemble acting , with the sometimes frenetically overlapping dialogue and the sense of a dozen different reagents colliding to the point of fission . \\nthere are some elements of a woody allen film in this ( not to mention the hand-held camera and loose , improvisational feel of some scenes ) . \\nlike allen , russell\\'s interests are in the volatile sexual politics of couples and the neurotic obsessions in both pare nts and children ( and everybody , really ) . \\nstill , if you\\'re expecting a privileged moment of revelation and emotional outpouring a la \" murphy brown \" / \" frasier \" / fill-in-the-blank-american-comedy , well , it won\\'t happen . \\nthe film sets up expectations like these , with the lead character\\'s search f or his origins and his hopes of self-healing , only to knock them down . \\nif the conventional sitcom structure is to put a slightly loopy family in catastrophic conditions only to rediscover their essential lovey one-ness , flirting with disaster\\'s charact ers embark on a journey to seek that essential state but find themselves only plunging into more weirdness and dysfunctional chaos the further they go . \\nand that , the film suggests , is the essential family state - and you better learn to love it . \\nsomehow , this is perversely feelgood cinema , right up to its manic end . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it's rather strange too have two computer animated talking ant movies come out in a single year , but that is what disney and pixar animation ; s latest film represents . \\nwhile a bugs life isn't nearly as deep as it's predecessor , dreamwork's antz , it is just as funny . \\na bug's life centers , appropriately , around the life of an ant , named flik . \\nflik , cutely voiced by newsradio's david foley , hates sticking too tradition and attempts too find new ways of harvesting food and other task . \\nwhen one of his inventions causes the offering too be completely lost , the leaders of the colony send him out on a mission too get him out of the way . \\nthe offering is food that a vile group of grasshoppers force the ants too harvest for them . \\nthe leader of the grasshoppers is hopper , who is fiendishly voiced by oscar winner kevin spacey . \\nwhen the offering is lost hopper is very upset and he vows to return shortly too retrieve double the amount of food . \\nwhen the leaders of the ant colony send flik out on his mission , they never dream he will be successful , they just hope they can get him out of the way so they can harvest the extra food . \\nflik's mission is too hire some warrior bugs too fight off the grasshoppers when they return . \\ninstead flik accidentally hires circus performing bugs , who he mistakenly assumes are warriors . \\nwhen he returns with the `warriors' , the town is ecstatic until they find out the truth about their heroes . \\na bug's life has animation that is simply stunning . \\nthe sheer uniqueness of the day to day bug life is very imaginative . \\ntogether with the great voice acting , this film is the perfect holiday family film . \\nits main weakness is that it couldn't beat antz to the theaters , making it seem like stale material . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'sometimes you just have to tip your hat to a film . \\nsometimes you just have to jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the ride . \\ni saw the truman show with an audience full of teenagers , most of whom were no doubt drawn by ace ventura himself and hoping to see his latest take on fart jokes . \\nsurprised , they may have been , when they realized that this picture actually had something to say . \\nbut by the attentiveness of the crowd i\\'d say they were won over - as was i . i can\\'t tell yet if truman really is that good , or if it only seems that good in comparison to the awful mountain of crap spewed forth from the bowls of hollywood so far this year . \\ntime alone will make that call . \\nbut by the end of the film we were all on truman burbank\\'s side . \\nwe were concerned for his well-being , and wanted him to win . \\nthat we felt as we did is a tribute both to the film and to jim carrey , who has achieved legitimacy at last . \\nthe truman show is a film best viewed cold , with as little foreknowledge as possible about the plot . \\nunless you\\'re under a media blackout , however , you probably know the basics . \\ncarrey stars as truman burbank , a capra-esque everyman insurance agent living with his beautiful wife meryl ( laura linney ) in the south florida island town of seahaven , which looks like michael eisner\\'s idea of the perfect american small town . \\ntruman would seem to live the perfect middle class lifestyle , complete with a working wife , a best bud , friendly neighbors and interesting co-workers . \\nthere is tragedy in his past - his father drowned in a horrible boating accident , leaving truman with a dreadful fear of water , and of travel in general - but overall , life is good . \\nbut then one day as truman leaves his house for work , a klieg light falls magically from the sky . \\nthis curious event may lead truman to discover what the rest of the world already knows : that he is a prisoner on the world\\'s biggest soundstage , that his wife , friends and relatives are all actors paid to interact with him , and that his life has , for over 10 , 000 days , been broadcast as the world\\'s most popular television program . \\nwhat makes the first hour of truman so enjoyable to watch is the magical verisimilitude painstakingly constructed by niccol and weir . \\nthe soundstage , we\\'re told , is \" only the second man-made structure visible from space . \" \\ntruman\\'s movements are tracked ceaselessly by 5 , 000 cameras scattered throughout the town : button cams , dashboard cams , mirror cams , wife cams , big cams and small cams . \\nweir cuts the film so we\\'re never quite sure if we\\'re watching truman through the camera of director weir or through the camera of the show\\'s omnipotent creator christof ( ed harris ) who oversees the show from a control room built into the man-made moon in seahaven\\'s sky . \\nthe second act offers a plethora of clues for truman as to the truth of his existence . \\nhis best friend marlon ( noah emmerich ) always has a six pack of beer with him . \\nhis wife seems to exist in an eternal commercial in which she is always endorsing the latest hot household product . \\nhe sees the same people walking in the same set patterns all over town . \\none wonders why he didn\\'t pick up on any of this earlier , but christof has an answer for this : \" people tend to accept the reality with which they\\'re presented . \" \\nnevertheless , truman begins to grow restless , and dreams of escape to fiji , where an old college sweetheart ( natasha mcelhone ) supposedly lives . \\nthis convincing reality of television as progenitor of reality is a magical and provocative concept ; the best thing jim carrey does is stay out of its way . \\nby underplaying truman , he allows the subtle manipulations of the film to take over . \\nthere is a particularly poignant scene in which truman confides his fears to marlon , and marlon answers with best-friend sincerity , \" i\\'d gladly step in front of a bus for you . \" \\nbut that line was fed to marlon through an earpiece by christof . \\nthe abject cruelty to which truman is subjected to hits home - and from that moment , we\\'re on his side . \\nthe truman show derives much of its success from playing to our own secret paranoid fantasies - haven\\'t we all , at least once , doubted our place in the world , doubted the sincerity of those closest to us ? \\nultimately , however , the picture rises above its own artifice to raise some real questions about the relationship of humankind and our creator . \\nwhat does god really think of us ? \\ndoes he resent our abandonment of paradise ? \\nwho exactly is watching us , up there in the sky ? \\nif you enjoy the picture as much as i did , credit weir for allowing the magic of the screenplay to work . \\nas for carrey - well , truman burbank is the kind of role that jimmy stewart was born to play . \\ncarrey is no jimmy stewart ; to his credit , he doesn\\'t try to be . \\nhe just tries to feel the way you or i would , if we suddenly found out that the whole world was watching us . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'instinct is the kind of movie that inexperienced moviegoers will undoubtedly label as \" powerful \" or \" touching \" . \\ni have a name for it myself : \" gross \" . \\nthis is the sort of film where somebody stands up to a bully , the bully looks at the \" rebel \" threateningly , about to hurt him , and then everyone else whom the bully has heretofore controlled stands up too . \\nhow that scene is still present in so many movies today appalls me : aren\\'t present day moviegoers beyond being \" inspired \" by something like that ? \\nthis is one example ( there are actually some more in instinct alone ) of filmmakers insulting the audience\\'s intelligence . \\ninstinct\\'s plot is brimming with potential : world-renowned anthropologist ethan powell ( anthony hopkins ) disappeared for two years whilst doing research in the jungles of africa . \\nhe was found and is coming back to the united states a convicted killer ; he murdered to african policemen who were allegedly trying to capture him . \\nafter committing a few more brutal acts of violence in the airport , the authorities stick him in a prison\\'s \" psychotics ward \" . \\nassigned to do an evaluation on powell is a bright ( or so we are told ) young psychiatrist theo caulder ( cuba gooding jr . ) . \\ncaulder starts out doing the evaluation merely for the purpose of furthering his career . \\nof course ( and no mainstream filmmaker would ever have it any other way ) he starts really caring for powell and he becomes fixed on helping powell prove that he is not a psychotic and that he should not be in prison . \\nand then there\\'s the inevitable \" heartless meanie \" character , in the form of donald sutherland who plays caulder\\'s mentor . \\nhe cares for caulder but does everything he can to discourage him from helping powell . \\nlet\\'s get one thing straight : dr . theo caulder is the most blatantly incompetent psychiatrist i have ever seen , on screen or off . \\nany good shrink will listen to what his patient has to say no matter the subject because any good shrink will learn a great deal about his patient that way . \\nnot good old theo . \\nno , he asks purposefully pointed questions and when powell dares to venture to another subject caulder says \" we need to talk about this right now . \" \\nthis is a flaw only in the sense that it detracts from instinct\\'s already dubious credibility ; unfortunately it\\'s also the least of its problems . \\ndirector jon turteltaub , who made the delightful john travolta vehicle phenomenon as well as the surprisingly above-par cool runnings decided to make this movie so shamelessly sentimental that , contrary to what this movie\\'s promotion would have you believe , it has much more in common with patch adams than with the silence of the lambs . \\nit\\'s not the kind of sentimentality that can almost bring tears to your eyes ( what dreams may come aptly demonstrated that ) but the kind that brings vomit up your esophagus ( excuse the graphic depiction ) . \\nit aims to \" inspire \" rather than to touch hearts . \\nas yoda would say , inspire it does not . \\nit is the ultimate sign of futility when a screenwriter ( the very experienced gerald di pego ) has to resort to literally telling the audience a movie\\'s story . \\nindeed , somewhere in the beginning of instinct , one of the characters actually reads aloud the film\\'s plot to another character . \\nthis , like the instance i mentioned in the first paragraph of this review , is a horrid insult to our intelligence . \\ni am forced to wonder whether turteltaub and di pego did not think that we could figure out what instinct is about simply from regular conversation . \\ni think that anthony hopkins is one of the greatest screen actors , and he chews the scenery in this movie , brilliant as ever . \\noscar winner cuba gooding jr . on the other hand is dreadful . \\nhis performance is at least part of what makes his character seem so incapable of being a shrink . \\ni liked the guy in jerry maguire as well as in as good as it gets but here he fails to project any shred of credibility or real feeling . \\ni love animals , and instinct\\'s prominent save the gorillas/live in harmony with nature theme is certainly something i could sympathize with . \\nhowever this movie\\'s execution is completely unacceptable . \\ntone down the violence and this will be a chick flick . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : big-breasted and dim-witted sculptress britt gets really mad at her grad student boyfriend because he spends too much time on his thought-transference experiments instead of her art showings . \\nelderly , evil scientist everett longstreet switches minds with britt\\'s boy , in the meantime , and goes completely mental . \\ncomments : naked souls opens with a naked woman , and the movie makes no illusion that it\\'s a sci-fi vehicle designed to show pamela anderson\\'s , um , talents . \\nif you are really interested in seeing anderson\\'s talents , however , i suggest you skip over this dud and watch the infamous pam and tommy lee honeymoon sex tape , now available on home video . \\nat least with that \" movie , \" you don\\'t have to go through the painful experience of watching pamela try to pronounce multiple syllable words like \" eclectic . \" \\na premise does exist in the movie . \\nbasically , while anderson wears skimpy clothes which barely contain her talents , she practices her art -- brilliantly slapping plaster of paris on naked women . \\nher boyfriend , meanwhile , spends 20 hours a day in a morgue trying to view the memories of dead prison inmates because this will \" make a difference to humanity . \" \\nwhatever . \\nthe movie fails to explain how these two hooked up . \\nbe grateful . \\nafter we meet the evil everett longstreet , lots of technobabble and mystical mumbo-jumbo get tossed about , pammy has sex replete with cheesy make-out music , and minds get transferred . \\nnever fear , though , pammy uses her sharp mental abilities ( ahem ) to save her boyfriend in the end . \\nunfortunately , no one saves the movie . \\navoid this would-be sci-fi thriller , unless you\\'re in for a good laugh or two . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you know something , christmas is not about presents . \\nit\\'s about over-hyped holiday films with lots of merchandising and product tie-ins . \\nat least that would seem to be the message of \" the grinch , \" which has been advertised since last christmas and whose logo is currently plastered all over stores . \\nhollywood expects us to ignore this cynical greed as the movie scolds us about losing the true spirit of the season . \\nyou know the plot : there\\'s this evil furry green guy called the grinch ( jim carrey ) who lives on a mountain overlooking whoville . \\ndown below all the whos are preparing for their whobilation , but the grinch is determined to steal their christmas . \\nthe movie is , of course , a live-action version of the beloved children\\'s book , which was previously adapted into a 1966 tv special by looney tunes animator chuck jones . \\nit\\'s rare that a big budget hollywood release is shamed by a thirty-year-old half-hour cartoon , but that\\'s the case when jones\\' version is compared to ron howard\\'s . \\nthe tv grinch hit all the right notes : boris karloff\\'s soft , deep narration ; thurl ravenscroft singing \" mr . grinch \" ; max the dog weighed down by the gigantic antler tied to his head ; and the grinch\\'s wide , toothless grin . \\nby contrast , the movie hits one sour note after another . \\nfirst , there are the numerous bad choices that jeffrey price and peter seaman made in padding out the short book into a 105-minute movie . \\nyoung wide-eyed cindy lou who ( taylor momsen ) is depressed about the misplaced priorities of her parents ( bill irwin and molly shannon ) during the holiday season . \\nshe begins to sympathize with the grinch , who turns out to be surprisingly sympathetic . \\ncindy lou discovers that the grinch turned tearfully away from whoville in grammar school when he was publicly humiliated while expressing his love for the prettiest girl in the class , martha may whovier ( played as an adult by christine baranski ) . \\nare we expected to like the grinch , hate the whos , and want him to steal christmas ? \\nthe grinch isn\\'t even the villain here ; that role is filled by the corrupt mayor of whoville ( jeffrey tambor ) who was the grinch\\'s rival for martha\\'s affection . \\nnot only are the characters needlessly complex , but the once-simple plot becomes so convoluted that the actual theft of christmas seems like an afterthought . \\nthe casting choices aren\\'t any better than the screenwriting decisions . \\njim carrey seems woefully miscast . \\nwhile his face is so supple that the rubber make-up seems superfluous , carrey brings nothing else to the role . \\nhis accent keeps changing ; i assume he was shooting for karloff , but he ends up sounding like a weird slurry of richard nixon , sean connery , and cartman from \" south park . \" \\nnot knowing what else to do during his many scenes alone in the grinch\\'s home , carrey falls back on his stand-up comedy and clowns around ace ventura-style . \\nneedless to say , his wise-cracking antics don\\'t quite fit the character of the grinch , who is an embittered loner filled with hate . \\nlittle taylor momsen brings little to role of cindy lou except big eyes and a cute smile . \\nshe would have been fine if cindy lou was limited to her original purpose in the seuss story ( finding \" santa \" in her living room stealing the tree ) . \\nhowever , the expanded script makes cindy as important as the grinch , and momsen is not up to the challenge . \\nbottom line : when you\\'re stealing christmas ( movies ) , leave this one behind . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the caveman\\'s valentine starring samuel l . jackson , ann magnuson , aunjanue ellis , tamara tunie screenplay by george dawes green , based on his novel directed by kasi lemmons \\n * * * for more film , dvd and books about movie reviews , plus annual coverage of the toronto international film festival , visit _film freak central_ - http : //filmfreakcentral . net \\n| now with search engine * * * \\na strange mixture of _shine_ , _basquiat_ , _angel heart_ , and grant morrison & dave mckean\\'s graphic novel \" arkham asylum \" , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a feverish tale of a homeless madman-cum-detective who , on the morning of february 14th , discovers a \" valentine \" just outside his new york cave : one of ella fitzgerald\\'s strange fruit , stuck in the crotch of a tree--a young male model murdered and frozen to a branch . \\nbelieving at first that his imagined nemesis stuyvesant , shooting evil rays into his mind from atop the chrysler building , is responsible for the murder , romulus ( samuel l . jackson ) is put on the trail of an avant-garde photographer in the mapplethorpe mould , david leppenraub ( colm feore ) . \\nhis minor sleuthing interrupted by the occasional delusional fit and bouts with an ecstasy of creation ( romulus was a brilliant julliard-trained pianist prior to his psychosis ) , romulus uncovers clues and harasses suspects on his way to convincing his police-woman daughter ( aunjanue ellis ) that even though he\\'s a nut , that doesn\\'t mean that he can\\'t solve a high-profile society murder . \\nevery moment an exhausting workshop of ideas , and every character the same , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a concept so \" high concept \" that it suddenly became clear to me that the film fits into the comic book genre of entertainment , with romulus\\'s \" caveman \" a slightly more mundane version of todd mcfarlane\\'s urban noir hero , spawn . \\nwith a long-vanished wife ( tamara tunie ) acting as a spiritual guide , the occasional social caste commentary , the secret base in a cave , a divergent genius personality with a network of informants and supporters , and a wickedly colourful arch-enemy , the film piles on the lurid comic book details and dizzying slapdash colours to such a lavish extent that i was vaguely surprised that the blue police cars weren\\'t inscribed with \" gotham pd . \" \\nthat being said , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ can only really succeed as a heroic fantasy , a frank miller graphic novel that has the audacity to portray the blood staining a field of virgin snow expanding to form the shape of a heart . \\nthe difficulties with the film spring from the misunderstanding that it somehow adheres to the conventions of a thriller or a police procedural when , in fact , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a superhero fable that takes on the cause of the homeless ( again like mcfarlane\\'s spawn ) while attacking the entrenched ruling classes in government and the arts . \\nit is no small detail that our hero , romulus , is not only named for a member of the ruling class who lived his life ( in legend ) without knowledge of his royal birth , but also that our romulus has turned his back on the comforts of the literati in favour of a mystical existence living in a cave in a park . in the romulus mythology , signs of romulus\\' royal blood is brought by twelve vultures , while in the film , the call to action for our hero comes in the form of not the carrion birds , but of the carrion itself . \\nwhether or not romulus of _the caveman\\'s valentine_ will found a nation , or , in the case of novelist george dawes green , upon whose novel his own screenplay is based , a franchise , the fact remains that _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is easily the most misunderstood film of 2001 thus far . \\nit , along with m . night shyamalan\\'s _unbreakable_ , is a mature cinematic extrapolation of the graphic novel format which has , since miller\\'s seminal \" the dark knight returns \" , redefined the comic medium as one suitable for mature ruminations on psychologically sticky topics . \\nreaders of sam keith\\'s brilliant \" the maxx \" comic series ( or of mtv\\'s short-lived animated adaptation of the same ) are already familiar with the idea of a homeless man placed in the position of knight errant and king of his own twisted demesne . \\nthe failure of both \" the maxx \" tv show and of _the caveman\\'s valentine_ ( not forgetting the initial backlash against _unbreakable_ ) suggests that the public may not be ready for america\\'s surprising contributions to dark fantasy . \\nluxuriantly lit , brashly saturated , and comic-panel framed with a virtuoso grace by cinematographer amy vincent ( _death in venice , ca_ ) , while inhabiting robin standefer\\'s ( _practical magic_ ) mesmerizing sets , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is an unremittingly gorgeous film . \\nkasi lemmons , following up her brilliant 1997 debut , _eve\\'s bayou_ , which played on similar themes of manufactured realities and mysticism , fulfills much of her immense promise with a tale of seraphs and lost boys , artists and suffering . \\n_the caveman\\'s valentine_ is an elegant and piquant expression of hope for justice in a tilted landscape . \\nclearly not for every taste , when approached with the correct paradigm , it is one of the most stunning and intensely fascinating films of the year : a redefinition of the hero archetype for a post-modern audience with urine-stained wool trench coats in place of blue tights and red capes . \\n_the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a fine and a courageous film , crazy enough to suggest that the delirious yammering of an idiot savant is the best and truest paladin of order in the chaos of eliot\\'s rat\\'s alley wasteland . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this film is extraordinarily horrendous and i'm not going to waste any more words on it . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" the 44 caliber killer has struck again . \" \\nstarring john leguizamo , mira sorvino , adrian brody , jennifer esposito , michael rispoli , bebe neuwirth . \\nrated r . \\nsummer of sam will be remembered as a waste of spike lee\\'s abilities . \\nlee is a great filmmaker , often exhibiting kinetic visual flair on par with brian depalma and martin scorsese and a storytelling ability comparable to steven spielberg . \\nbut here , he gets himself into a bind . \\nhis latest effort is a case of a director pretending he has something to say when in reality there is little of substance to absorb from his work . \\nthe summer of 1977 was an unusual summer in new york city . \\nit was the hottest summer on record . \\nto boot , new york\\'s first serial killer was on the loose : calling himself the son of sam , david berkowitz killed 9 people in the new york area and frightened the whole city population . \\nso it was understandable that when nyc was hit with a citywide blackout , people went berserk , causing billions of dollars in damage to the city . \\nthe movie\\'s focus is on a group of twenty-somethings during that fateful summer : vinny ( john leguizamo ) , a club-hopping , adultrous hairdresser , his benevolent wife dionna ( mira sorvino , looking young ) , ritchie ( adrian brody ) , a punk who becomes an outcast as well as a son of sam suspect , a gang of small time mobsters and a few more minor characters . \\nwe follow them through their roller coaster lives , thrown out of whack even more by the recent killings . \\nvinny and dionna have marital problems because vinny cheats and dionna tries to please him , make him stay faithful to her . \\nritchie gets shunned by his group of friends because he has started to become more and more \" eccentric , \" and has degenerated to the point of dancing in gay night clubs and making porno films with his girlfriend . \\ntensions build and conflicts arise as the anniversary night of son of sam\\'s first murder looms ; the night he promises he will strike again . \\na local gang with too much time on its hands makes a list detailing all of the people that its members think might be suspects . \\nat the top of the list is ritchie . \\nvinny , an unwilling part of the said group , is called upon to set a trap for his friend . \\nas we watch these proceedings , some of which are painfully graphic , the dreaded \" so what ? \" \\nquestion springs to mind . \\nfrom the way this movie is made , i\\'d have guessed that spike lee was trying to tell us something , but as i searched deeper it became clear that there is very little there to find . \\nlee touches on so much -- the media , the 70\\'s punk scene , the details of the actual killings , as well as the characters\\' very personal dilemmas -- but he doesn\\'t bring all of his topics together to form a coherent theme or make a discernible statement . \\nall is not lost if a movie turns out to be hollow ; it can be a saving grace for the film to be enjoyable . \\ntoo bad summer of sam doesn\\'t get any help here . \\nfrankly , it\\'s a bore , a redundant and repetitive two hour and twenty minute film that doesn\\'t entertain beyond its first half hour . \\nthere is no suspense because the film refuses to be fully about the murders and little involving drama because the film is too muddled and its focus too vague . \\nleguizamo\\'s turn as vinnie is annoying and whiny . \\nthe script makes it clear that we\\'re supposed to believe that his character is flawed , but still a good guy . \\nyou\\'d never guess from his performance . \\nadrian brody and especially mira sorvino fare better . \\nsorvino gives a riveting , touching performance in a banal movie ( i\\'m tempted to think that i liked her because nearly everything else around her was inane ) ; her character is affecting and her emotions true-to-heart . \\nbrody , too paints an effective portrait of a young guy desperate for attention who gets a little more than he bargained for . \\nsummer of sam has some superficial elements of a good film : it looks great , it has a few notable performances and i suppose it\\'s pretty well directed , in a purely technical way . \\nbut it\\'s also empty , pretentious and boring . \\nlike last year\\'s the thin red line , it\\'s a movie by a director who doesn\\'t know what he wants to say but goes ahead and says it anyway . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b' * * the following review contains spoilers * * \\n \" please someone stop joel schumacher before he vomits into a film canister again and tries to pass it off as a movie . \" \\n-- chuck dowling , the jacksonville film journal \\ni wrote the above sentence in my review for 1997\\'s batman and robin . \\napparently , no one heard my words . \\noh , how i wish you had heard them . \\noh how i wish someone had stopped him . . . \\nbecause he\\'s done it again . \\nthe plot of 8mm is similar to the 1977 paul schrader film hardcore , a surprisingly decent and engrossing tale . \\nin fact , it was everything that 8mm is not . \\nin the opening minutes of 8mm , we see private detective tom welles ( nicolas cage ) working on a case for a prestigious member of the u . s . government . \\nkeep this fact in mind , cage is trusted with an important case , which he solves . \\nhe returns home to his wife and new daughter , and even finds time to rake his yard ( keep that in mind too , it\\'s important as well ) . \\nhe\\'s hired by a rich elderly woman to solve a mystery . \\nafter her husband\\'s death she comes across a film in his private safe . \\nit appears to be snuff film , a sort of urban legend of the pornography industry in which someone is actually brutally murdered for the camera . \\nthe woman wants welles to locate the young girl in the film , hopefully to disprove that it is in fact a snuff film . \\nso he sets off on a journey into the sordid underworld of sleaze to discover the truth about the film . \\nthe main problem with 8mm is that the whole film is completely pointless . \\nwelles is actually selected for the case by the old woman\\'s lawyer ( anthony heald , an actor who always plays the same type of character , that being a bad guy ) . \\nwhen you first see him , your first instinct is that he\\'s behind the whole thing . \\nthe choice of casting does the film in . \\nthen , as welles begins his investigation , at times we will see a shadowy figure following him . \\nthe only person it could possibly be is the lawyer ( or someone sent by the lawyer ) because no one knows welles is even investigating anything yet . \\nso your first instinct has now been confirmed . \\nthen , when it is in fact revealed that the lawyer is a part of the whole thing , he tells welles that he was chosen for the case because he was young and inexperienced ( in one of those ridiculous \" since we\\'re going to kill you anyway , why not tell you the whole thing \" moments ) . \\nbut earlier when we see welles being hired for the case he\\'s told that he was hired because he comes highly recommended . \\nhuh ? \\nalso , when the lawyer reveals himself to be a part of the whole thing , his main goal is to get the film back . \\nso why did he give it up in the first place ? ! \\nthe lawyer had the film the whole time , then gave it away to the private detective thinking that he would just give up on the case and return the film ? ! \\nit\\'s totally absurd . . . \\nand this is the screenwriter of seven ? \\nlate in the film there\\'s a confrontation between all the main characters , and after a struggle one of the character\\'s guns ends up underneath a car . \\ncage , who has been handcuffed to a bed , is rapidly trying to get to his gun , which is on a table . \\njames gandolfini\\'s character goes for the gun under the car in what is supposed to be a scene of \" suspense \" . \\nyou see , the gun is just slightly out of reach from the side of the car he\\'s trying to reach it from , and so instead of going around the car to the other side ( where he can easily reach it ) he just keeps stretching . \\ngo around to the other side of the car ! ! \\nthis goes on for minutes . \\nthen , after cage gets his gun , gandolfini then decides it would be best to go around to the other side of the car . \\nboy , schumacher is really really getting on my nerves . \\ni think the final straw would be when cage returns home , devastated by everything that he\\'s seen on this case , and then is no longer able to rake his lawn ! \\nwe actually see a shot of him pathetically poking at leaves in his yard . \\nother things that bugged me about 8mm : one would be the music , if you can call it that . \\nwhenever the score starts up , it sounds like techno music , and then this awful indian or middle eastern type music will accompany it . \\nawful decision there joel . \\nanother is cage\\'s performance . \\nat this point he\\'s capable of a wide range of performances , either good or bad . \\nfor 8mm , he delivers a very wooden one , and only shines when he\\'s interacting with joaquin phoenix ( who gives a great performance as a porn shop clerk with a heart of gold who helps cage with his case ) . \\nyou\\'re capable of much better mr . cage . \\nnow as for you mr . schumacher . . . \\ni\\'m starting to doubt if you\\'re capable of anything else besides urinating onto the institution of american cinema . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : a science fiction allegory . \\nat the millennium a lethal contagious virus has hit taiwan . \\nofficials have cut off water and other services to the center of contagion . \\nlife there devolves and degenerates . \\na man in an apartment has a hole in his floor and with it harasses his downstairs neighbor . \\na slow but harrowing film to be missed if possible . \\n , low -1 ( -4 to +4 ) \\n- the taiwan virus is ravaging taiwan and the part of the city that is the center of the contagion has been evacuated of anyone who will go . \\none apartment building still houses people . \\na woman , formerly an office worker , ( yang kuei-mei ) is tormented by her upstairs neighbor ( lee kang-sheng ) who has a hole cut by a plumber in the floor and is using it as a drain . \\nneighbor runs a small failing grocery store . \\n- to make things more depressing , it is constantly raining hard . \\n- upstairs neighbor vomits through , pours water , etc . a small and almost entirely one-sided war starts . \\nallegory about callousness and selfishness . \\n- woman is living on a pile of rolls of toilet tissue . \\n- incongruous songs added to show downstairs neighbors dreams . \\nthese are the songs of popular taiwanese singer grace chang . \\n- apartment is falling apart . \\nwallpaper is separating from walls . \\nplumbing is failing . \\n- boredom shown by long cuts in which nothing happens . \\na lot of film seems to be used up . \\n- this story might have been done much better as a ten-minute animated film . \\n- stars are considered to be great dramatic actors by one reviewer . \\n- this film seems longer at 95 minutes most two-hour films . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i guess there are those who have never been kissed before ( a rare and dying breed ) , except if you're child ? in which case it would be called experimenting . \\nrarer still are those who have never been kissed before they reach the twenties . \\nhardest to believe still , is that drew barrymore has never been kissed . \\ndespite all these hard to believe tit bits , there are people out there who have never truly been kissed , and who are still waiting for that right person to give them the wet , sloppy warm feeling of tongues intermingling , reassuring them that their search for true love is over . \\nwell , this movie is about a girl waiting for the right boy to give her the kiss of her life . \\nand it's sweet . \\ndrew barrymore who shone in ? ever after' is wonderful as ? josie , grossy' , the high school dweeb who becase a professional editor , before being assigned by her paper to return to school as an undercover reporter . \\nit addresses the issues of how a dweeb , becomes a prom queen and finds the man of her life all in one sitting . \\nhard to believe , but possible . \\nthere may also be those who have been kissed before , but in fact , never truly been given the kiss . \\nso this movie can be watched by those who are waiting for true love or those who are still searching for it . \\neither way , it is one enjoyable sit , with a fairytale ending . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" you\\'ve got mail \" is the very definition of a \" cute \" movie . \\nit\\'s got cute stars , a cute story-line , and even cute pets . \\ndespite this over-whelming cuteness ( or maybe because of it ) , i loved \" you\\'ve got mail \" . \\ni know , i know . \\ni\\'m supposed to be a film critic . \\ni\\'m not supposed to love transparent and formula pictures like this . \\nbut darn it , somewhere along the way , \" you\\'ve got mail \" reeled me in , hook , line , and sinker . \\nthe movie stars tom hanks and meg ryan as two somewhat unhappy new yorkers who meet in an aol online chat room and quickly become close friends , without ever knowing each others identity . \\nas the movie progresses , though , they begin to discover that they have a lot in common with each other . \\nmeanwhile , in \" real-life \" , they are bitter competitors . \\nshe owns a quaint little children\\'s bookstore , he owns one of those gigantic super-bookstores that offer impersonal service and discount prices . \\nwhile his store threatens to run her store out of business , their online relationship grows stronger . \\n \" you\\'ve got mail \" is as artificial as movies come . \\neverything is nice and happy and by the end , all the characters have gotten exactly what they wanted out of life . \\nthere are no real conflicts , no major disappointments , no unresolved issues . \\nnevertheless , i quite enjoyed it . \\nin fact , i can\\'t remember the last time i had such a good time at the movies . \\ni think sometimes you have to be able to watch a movie and just get drawn into it . \\nthe fact that stars hank and ryan are at the top of their game does not hurt either . \\nin particular , hanks is at his best here , turning his \" charm-meter \" up to 11 . \\neverytime he was on screen , he had my full attention . \\nand despite the fact that he was driving little bookstores out of business , i was rooting for him . \\nit was good to see hanks back doing what he does best : playing the affable everyman . \\n \" you\\'ve got mail \" certainly won\\'t be winning any awards , but as an exercise in pure entertainment , it\\'s as good as it gets . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"as a hot-shot defense attorney , kevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) has a special talent for picking juries that will ultimately acquit his clients . \\nhe is also an excellent judge of character , knowing just which strings to pull to sway the jury while breaking down a potentially damaging witness's testimony . \\nand , on top of that , he's a damn good trial lawyer . \\nin the opening scene , it is obvious that the defendant that he represents is guilty , but it doesn't hamper lomax's desire to creatively squeeze his client through the doors of reasonable doubt , thereby getting an acquittal . \\nhis unblemished record of victories soon captures the attention of one of the most prestigious firms in the country , headed by john milton ( al pacino ) . \\nhe is brought to their headquarters in nyc , where he immediately impresses milton , and is subsequently offered a full-time position as head of their newly-created criminal law division . \\nlomax is soon given the case of his life . \\nhe must defend a real estate tycoon who has been charged with a triple homicide . \\nthe draw of fame and his desire to prove just how good he really is begins to isolate him in his own hell . \\nhe works late , defends the guilty , pledges his soul to his firm , and begins to neglect his smart but fretful wife , mary ann ( charlize theron ) . \\nbut what starts off as a promising john grisham-like story about conscience-stricken lawyers takes an abrupt detour as supernatural forces begin to tinker with the story . \\nit begins like a typical parable where a small-town boy makes it big , but then has to balance his sense of self against the allure of money , power , and greed . \\nbut milton is far more than just a corrupt partner of the firm . \\nquite literally , he is the devil in disguise , and as the movie progresses , he reveals some uncanny talents that one could have only if he had sold his soul long ago . \\nfreaky and frightening things begin to happen , and after much of the film has elasped , milton's horrifying intent is finally revealed . \\nthe movie tries to give us two separate and distinct acts . \\nthe first involves the comeuppance of lomax as a big-city trial lawyer . \\nthe second focuses on milton and his ulterior motive for employing lomax . \\nunfortunately , the two never mix well into a cohesive story , and what we get are two underdeveloped stories that rely too much on one shaky revelation to tie them together and an impressive production piece to give it an underlying atmosphere . \\ngranted , the film is very handsome-looking . \\nyou'll enjoy the final scene where the wall mural seemingly comes to life during a heated speech given by pacino . \\nyou'll also like the images of power and temptation expressed through the fleshy and flashy parties . \\nyou'll also feel the loneliness and insanity that sets in with mary ann , knowing that her husband is slowly drifting away . \\nthis was one of the better storylines , but unfortunately , is only a sub-plot . \\nas with all thing's involving the devil , you can expect nothing but the worst . \\nin the first few scenes , reeves anchors the film , but then slowly drifts into the background . \\nhis path from self-vanity to self-consciousness is never fully explored . \\nhis actions seem arbitrary , and his reasons for them not fully known . \\npacino's comical portrayal is spirited , but the vanity of his character begins to shift the focus of the movie . \\nthere is another plot or two that is introduced , but never gets revisited . \\nthe focus seemed inconsistent throughout , and the final payoff seemed quick and cheap . \\nthis movie tries to be horrifying , thrilling , and dramatic all at the same time . \\nhowever , while the devil's advocate strives to get noticed , ultimately it makes very little impression at all . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"a welcome cinematic trend over the past couple of years has been to make the works of shakespeare more accessible to the younger audiences who are the vast majority of moviegoers by contemporizing the bard and altering the settings to familiar surroundings . \\na prime example of this is 1999's 10 things i hate about you , which was basically the taming of the shrew in a high school . \\nless successful was last year's adaptation of hamlet with ethan hawke as the heir apparent of the denmark corp . here the setting was the corporate world of new york . \\nnow comes o , a faithful retelling of one of the most tragic of shakespeare's tragedies . \\nlike 10 things i hate about you , the stage is a high school - a private prep school where odin james ( mekhi phifer ) is the on-court general , the basketball team's standout player . \\njulia stiles , featured in 10 things i hate about you as well as performing ophelia in hawke's hamlet , plays desi brable , odin's girlfriend , whose father also happens to be dean of the institution . \\njosh hartnett ( pearl harbor ) is on hand for the villainy , playing the scheming hugo , who sets the tragic wheels in motion . \\no was actually filmed a couple of years ago , but was shelved because of the columbine high school tragedy . \\nthe movie , directed by tim blake nelson - best known for his co-starring role in o brother , where art thou ? \\n- and written by brad kaaya , is very grim . \\nan air of tragedy weighs it down from the opening scene to the closing credits . \\nand that is how it should be . \\nof all of shakespeare's tragedies , othello is the most harrowing , not because of any body count , but because of the psychological havoc wreaked by iago , whose motivation in the sheer pleasure of his treachery . \\nkaaya's profane-filled script - after all , these are high school kids - does offer hugo a subtle motive of sorts . \\nthe young man considers himself the basketball team's prime utility man who does a little bit of everything - pass , shoot , rebound - but is constantly in the shadow of odin . \\nplus his father , the team's coach - played with a ferocious intensity by martin sheen - showers more love and concern on his star player than on his own flesh and blood . \\nthe script follows the familiar lines of the classic . \\nhugo begins dropping hints to odin concerning desi's fidelity , eroding the star's confidence in those he considers closest to him , affecting both his relationships and his game . \\nit all ends in blood , of course , which is why the movie was originally shelved . \\nthe performances in o vary . \\nphifer is at first cocky and self-assured , emotions he handles with ease . \\nhe also does quite well displaying odin's darker side ; his defensive sensitivity about being the only black at the institution , his growing distrust of those he loved , his rage and the erosion of his belief system . \\nhartnett is appropriately cool and machiavellian as he weaves his deadly web of lies and deceit , turning friend against friend , and lover against lover . \\nstiles seems a bit stilted , but occasionally also rises to the occasion , moving from adoration to confusion to fear of her young knight . \\nthe film does contain a few missteps : a subplot involving hugo's theft of the school mascot is left hanging . \\nalso desi's actions concerning michael ( andrew keegan ) , odin's former teammate and best friend who was kicked off the team because of one of hugo's machinations , is puzzling . \\nwhy she would continually be seen with michael - however innocent the circumstances - when she knows her man suspects the two of cheating behind his back . \\nit is irrational . \\nbut these are minor carpings . \\noverall , o is a stylish and faithful adaptation . \\nif nothing else , it may encourage some people to read the original text , and that will counterbalance the severity of this feature . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\" ( dreamworks skg ) running time : 2 hours starring robert duvall , tea leoni and elijah wood directed by mimi leder the first of the two asteroid movies coming out this year ( the second is the macho armageddon ) is actually a dull affair . \\nelijah wood plays leo biederman , who during astronomy class discovers that a large asteroid is heading for earth . \\ntea leoni plays a ( rather crap ) news reporter , jenny lerner , who soon discovers about this asteroid through a very long winded and boring way , and robert duvall plays the leader of a space crew , spurgeon tanner , who are planning to blow the asteroid out of the path of earth . \\nalso featuring is morgan freeman as the president , and maximilian schell and vanessa redgrave as jenny's father and mother . \\nwhile many people will walk into the film expecting a big special effects fest with the asteroid blowing everything up ( as the trailers seem to promise ) , the film is actually more of a character study , if a very poor one . \\nthe main problem is that there are too many characters in the film , and not enough time to explore them all . \\nonly the space crew are given any depth , jenny lerner , leo and the president are surprisingly 2d , and we never get to know these characters . \\nand because i couldn't care for them , i didn't really give a crap if the asteroid killed them or not . \\nthe script by bruce joel rubin and michael tolkin is horribly simple , and never really makes any interesting statements . \\nmimi leder , the former er director and director of the average the peacemaker ( 1996 ) , again directs in a ho-hum style , and never really gets any emotion out of a scene , which is a shame . \\nthe cast are seemingly on autopilot , although tea leoni does gives a rather good performance , even if she acts a bit too dorky for her own good . \\nshe seems uncommonly stupid for a journalist . \\nrobert duvall is on autopilot with a underwritten role , he just seems to be in this film for the money . \\nelijah wood , one of the best child actors working today , is surprisingly average , although his choice of roles lately haven't exactly been brilliant ( i . e . \\nflipper , 1996 ) . \\nhis role is also vastly underwritten . \\nmorgan freeman , again , is utterly wasted with a ridiculously underwritten role . \\nlike duvall , he just seems to be in the film for the money . \\nthe supporting cast are all o . k , none making much of an impression . \\nok , so deep impact may have messed up character wise , but surely the special effects are good ? \\nwell , yes and no . \\nalthough the special effects should be impressive , with a massive tidal wave destroying new york , the special effects look like , well , special effects . \\nsadly , the waves looks like it's been drawn on computer , and doesn't look too good at all . \\nsurprising really , when the effects are done by industrial light & magic , who did the effects for the lost world and twister . \\nin the end , deep impact is a wasted opportunity . \\nwhat could of been a moving movie with good effects turns out to be a dud in both characters and effects . \\nthe 2 hours the film had could have been used to much greater effect . \\nonce again , dreamworks has churned out another average movie . \\nlet's hope armageddon is a bit better . \\noverall rating= review by david wilcock web space provided by geocities \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"nicolas cage comes up with an ingenious survival mechanism for his role in the wink-and-a-concussive-nudge bombast-o-rama con air . \\nthe opening credits sequence introduces us to cage as cameron poe , a gulf war veteran convicted of manslaughter and serving eight years in prison after an ill-fated bar-room brawl . \\nthe prison scenes are accompanied by voice-overs in which poe , in a languid southern drawl , describes prison life to his wife back home and offers simple homilies for the daughter he has never met . \\nif the scene gives you a tickle of familiarity , it probably should . \\ncage appears to realize that con air is going to be utterly dim-witted and ridiculous , and that he's going to have to do something to keep himself entertained . \\nand thus he slips into a familiar , surreal role as his own commentary on the proceedings -- cage plays cameron poe as a buffed-up version of raising arizona's h . i . mcdonnough . \\ncage should have known what he was getting himself into . \\nhe got a paycheck from jerry bruckheimer last year for the rock , and if there's one thing you can count on from a bruckheimer production ( even without his late partner don simpson ) , it's that you can count on seeing everything you saw in the _last_ bruckheimer production . \\nthe critical difference between the rock and con air is cage's performance . \\nin the rock , cage appeared to be having the time of his life jumping into the action fray for the first time . \\nthat sense of discovery has been replaced by a wry self-awareness . \\nwhile the plot of con air finds poe a parolee on board a hijacked prison transport plane whose goal is just to get home , cage's goal is different but just as simple : to get out of the film with some measure of dignity intact . \\naudiences , too , should know what they're getting themselves into with a bruckheimer production . \\nin fact , the marketing people are counting on it . \\nno one who loathed the rock for its swear-grunt-blast repetitiveness will be converted by con air ; no one who loved the rock for exactly the same reasons will be dissuaded . \\ndirector simon west ( yet another tv commercial auteur plucked by bruckheimer from the advertising equivalent of the schwab's soda fountain ) delivers exactly the kind of adrenaline/testosterone cocktail which could launch an endocrinology lecture ( it's perversely appropriate that one sympathetic con spends most of the flight nearing a diabetic coma ; like insulin , con air does the work of a gland ) . \\nwhat he doesn't deliver is a moment of suspense . \\na bruckheimer film has no use for hitchcock's notion that showing you the bomb under the desk creates a more interesting scene than just blowing up the desk ; a really , _really_ big desk and a really , _really_ big bomb will serve the purpose nicely . \\nif either west or bruckheimer were interested in genuine tension , they might have done something with con air's creepiest set-up . \\nat a desert stop for the plane-load of convicts , serial killer garland greene ( steve buscemi ) wanders of into a trailer park where he meets a little girl having a tea party in a drained swimming pool . \\ntheir tete-a-tete is eerie and menacing , providing a welcome shift in tone and giving buscemi a chance to stand out in a cast with too many villains ( danny trejo , ving rhames and a characteristically reptilian john malkovich among them ) . \\nin fact , con air usually opts for too much of something when the tiniest measure of restraint would have been an improvement -- too many characters , too much editing , too many dopey punch lines , too much of the cheap , ugly appeals to machismo which characterize too many bruckheimer efforts . \\nit is that kind of exhausting excess to which cage is responding with his detached performance . \\nwhile malkovich goes for the outrageous and john cusack ( as a u . s . marshal ) goes for earnest , cage looks like he just wants to go to sleep . \\nhis recycled raising arizona performance is a means of escape , his chase after a stuffed bunny a continuation of his pursuit of that big box of huggies . \\nit doesn't bode well for cage's appearance in face/off later this month ; perhaps he already realizes that all he can do in action films is more of the same over and over . \\nthere's a word for people like you , nicolas . \\nthat word is called recidivist . . . repeat \\noffender . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'film adaptation of hunter s . thompson\\'s infamous semi-autobiographical hallucinogen-fueled book of the same title . \\ndirector terry gilliam of twelve monkeys ( 8/10 ) and brazil ( 7/10 ) fame , took over the helm of this project after fellow director alex cox ( sid and nancy ( 7 . 5/10 ) ) \\n \" apparently alienated everyone associated with the movie \" , according to gilliam . \\nplot : writer thompson ( depp ) heads down to las vegas with his attorney dr . gonzo ( del toro ) to cover a motorcycle race . \\nduring their trip , they systematically consume \" two bags of grass , seventy-five pellets of mescaline , five sheets of high powered blotter acid , a salt shaker half-full of cocaine , a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers , downers , screamers , laughers , a quart of tequila , a quart of rum , a case of beer , a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls . \\nthe movie presents us with the results of that heavy drug use . \\ncritique : i have given this movie two separate ratings because i believe that the enjoyment of this psychedelic picture is highly correlated with the amount of drugs or alcohol that would be floating around in the viewer\\'s own mind , whilst inhaling this cinematic vision of excess . \\nif you are prepared to get high or intoxicated before watching this film , i would say that this is one picture that you will thoroughly enjoy on a multitude of colorful levels . \\nif , on the other hand , you decide to stray from the addition of nefarious elements to your system , i could not imagine you truly appreciating much of this drug-induced picture\\'s entire ride ( 5 . 5/10 for all those sober dogs ) . \\nnote : i have not read thompson\\'s book . \\nhaving said that , joblo did engage in an alcohol-based consumatory session before ( and during ) the viewing of this film , so his critique of the film should be appreciated on that level . \\nthis movie relies heavily on style and peculiar humour , rather than substance or plot . \\nit moves admirably from one scene to the next , without much basis of their being , while presenting us with the two days in the life of writer hunter s . thompson during which he seemed to consume more drugs and alcohol than anyone could ever imagine . \\nit was 1971 , and the times were apparently \" a\\' changing \" in the states . \\njohnny depp chews into his role like an overgrown child sucking on a chocolate lollipop . \\nduring the filming , depp apparently become fast friends with real-life writer thompson , and was known to wander off the set from time to time , for the sake of checking out the newest barmaid at the local watering hole . \\ni thought he did seem to exaggerate his walk a little bit too much , but then again , this movie is supposed to be a wild exaggeration of everything and anything , so who am i to talk . \\nthe one thing that did blow my mind was the actual physical transformation endured by actor benicio del toro for his role as dr . gonzo . \\ni couldn\\'t believe that this fat , samoan lawyer , was the same guy who played the slick mumbling criminal in the usual suspects ( 7 . 5/10 ) . \\nword on the street is that gained over 40 pounds for this role , and i must say that his look was deliciously reprehensible . \\nplenty of cameos also pepper this kaleidoscopic moving picture in the form of ellen barkin , christina ricci , tobey maguire and cameron diaz , along with a bunch of others . \\nother than that , the soundtrack was expectedly eclectic , the style was not as wild as i thought it would be , and the ending was certainly not much of a barn-burner , but then again , who really noticed . \\nthis movie is about visions of bats floating through your head , johnny depp looking goofy and being bald , and the cornucopia of drug-ravaged scenes filling your own intoxicated system with ideas of anarchy , rebellion and the lost american dream . \\nand for all those who plan on seeing this movie without the partnership of a mean drink or a mighty doobie , i suggest you move further down the aisle , buy yourself a ticket to godzilla ( 6/10 ) , and enjoy the visual fabrications manufactured for the unstimulated mind . \\nlittle known facts : depp and del toro snorted plenty of powdered milk instead of cocaine . \\nbill murray also portrayed a thompson-based character in the film where the buffalo roam . \\njohnny depp turned down roles in the three musketeers , speed ( 7 . 5/10 ) , and legends of the fall ( 7 . 5/10 ) , for smaller and quirkier roles in benny and joon ( 6 . 5/10 ) and what\\'s eating gilbert grape ? \\n ( 7/10 ) . \\nin 1988 , depp told rolling stone magazine that he\\'d tried every drug by the age of 14 . \\njohnny hung out with some of the members of oasis while filming the uncompleted divine rapture in ireland , and later played some slide guitar on the 1997 album , be here now . \\njohnny was born in kentucky , is a high-school dropout , has nicknamed himself \" mr . stench \" , has been engaged to four women until now ( including actress winona ryder , whose \" winona forever \" tattoo had to be altered to \" wino forever \" after their breakup ) , currently plays guitar in a band called \" p \" , and owns the viper room nightclub in l . a . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'as much as i wanted to like this film as i went into it , the more pleased i was when i left . \\nfirst , getting through all the usual lines of newspaper glitz : \" if you liked scream , you\\'ll love wild things ! \" \\n \" campbell gives a stunning performance ! \" \\n \" this twisty plot will have you dazzled for days ! \" \\n ( oh yeah , the day a newspaper uses these is the day neve campbell falls in love with me ) \\nnow , onto more serious stuff ( and with this film , i mean that in nearly a sarcastic way ) . \\nwild things has single-handedly broken down the rules surrounding the r rating from the mpaa . \\ni\\'m not saying that in a bad way , but when you see this film , you may be shocked by what you see . \\nhowever , perhaps the mpaa was pleased by the film\\'s charming cast and tricky plot , that they let the film slide with an r rating . \\nbeing mormon , i\\'m bound to hear an uproar from religious zealots warning me not to see the film . \\ntrouble is , i have already seen it . \\nand i like it ! \\nwild things is a film noir of the 90s , filled with 40s sensibilities , and yet breaking the rules and modern-day taboos of 90s culture . \\nthe style in which it is filmed is rich in color . \\nthe actors are all gorgeous people , seemingly drawn from the same gene pool and placed into this film . \\nsure , it\\'s all too good to be true , but ain\\'t it fun to watch ? \\nwhen movies like this come along ( sort of a better version of basic instinct ) there is bound to be people who either love it or hate it . \\nthere will be people who don\\'t want to admit liking what they see , but i tell you , most anyone who sees this will like it . \\nwild things begins at blue bay high school , the one high school in the world that any teenager would love to get into . \\nit\\'s almost as if students are put through entrance exams just for admittance ( totally based on looks alone ) . \\nof course , there are those select few who may look slightly ugly , but compared to the average person , they are gorgeous . \\nimmediately , the film finds its tone and the audience settles in for an enjoyable time . \\nwe can turn off our brains , right ? \\nwrong . \\nwhile you may be expecting one thing to happen , it certainly doesn\\'t turn out that way . \\nthe film begins in a classroom , with nearly all the main characters present . \\nthere\\'s sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) , a counselor for the students . \\nhe\\'s heading the class discussion . \\nthere\\'s also kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , a snobby rich teen who has fallen in love with sam . \\nteaching the class , however , are two policemen : ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) , who want to talk about \\'sex . . . \\n ( cheers ) crimes ( boos ) \\' . \\n \" what is a sex crime ? \" \\nray asks . \\n \" not gettin\\' any ! \" \\none student responds . \\nthis pretty much sets the tone of the film we are about to watch . \\nhowever , upon hearing this , one student , suzie toller ( neve campbell ) , stands up and leaves the room , commenting that they can both kiss part of her body . \\nand so , wild things sets into motion . \\nquickly , kelly begins hitting on sam , but sam doesn\\'t want anything to do with her advances . \\nkelly is stubborn and continues to pursue him . \\nshe even pleads with him to let her wash his jeep . \\nsurprisingly , that\\'s really all i can tell you about the plot . \\nany more would give away one of the many crucial plot twists . \\nand what\\'s more , these plot twists are actually unpredictable . \\ngoing along the way of scream , wild things maintains that film\\'s surprises , and then adds even more to them . \\nthere are more plot twists in this film than probably any i have ever seen . \\nand even though you think you may get tired of them , the surprises are so genuine that it\\'s rather pleasing . \\ngoing back over them in my mind , nearly all of them work , though some stretch the boundaries of belief . \\nthankfully , the convoluted plot doesn\\'t give us much time to think about each one , pouncing yet another twist on us before the shock of the previous one has worn off . \\nas for the critics who complain that the film is trashy--well , it is . \\nthis is pretty much just one trashy film . \\nhowever , it is the kind of trashy that isn\\'t hard to watch . \\nit\\'s good trash , in a sense . \\none , the screenplay knows that it\\'s not to be taken seriously , and it includes a lot of humor and satire into the story . \\nthis varies everywhere from kelly\\'s mother ( theresa russell ) , who is more of a caricature of rich people , all the way to an ambulance-chasing lawyer ( bill murray ) , who wears a neck-brace to cover an insurance scam he is running . \\nbill murray also provides the best character in the film , and most of the genuine laughs . \\nand two , the sex is more than gratuitous , although not unwelcomed . \\nwild things is supposed to have sex in it ( what film with that title wouldn\\'t ? ) , and this movie breaks the boundaries . \\ninstead of having heterosexual sex scenes , it also includes lesbian scenes between denise richards and neve campbell ( don\\'t worry . . . \\nit\\'s not as graphic as you might think ) . \\nthe heterosexual scenes are quite graphic , but the surprise shocker is kevin bacon\\'s full-frontal nude scene . \\nit\\'s very brief , so if you blink , you may miss ( ahem ) it . \\nand , for as long as i can remember , i don\\'t think i have seen an r-rated film show an erect one before ( it\\'s not completely , but judging from the audiences\\' reaction , it was more than they expected too ) . \\nalso , during one scene late in the film , there seemed to be a relationship brewing between bacon and dillon\\'s characters , but nothing came of it ( makes you wonder if the director had to cut it in order for the r rating , or if the actors refused to do it ) . \\nwhat first made me want to see wild things was its cast . \\nneve campbell , of course , has been one of my favorite actresses since the scream films were released . \\nhere , however , she turns every typical role she has done on its head and plays a gothic pothead . \\nthe closest role to this was her performance in the craft ( though even in that she was a nice girl ) . \\ncampbell is probably the best in the film and shows her wide range of talent . \\nyou can tell she will be around for a long time . \\ndenise richards will also be around for a long time , although she may be limited to the roles without much range . \\nhere , she gets to express more emotions than in her stiff ( yet effective ) performance in starship troopers . \\nhopefully one day she will land a very good role that can display her ability . \\nand then there is daphne rubin-vega , a newcomer to the movies . \\nshe gives a very good performance , although her character is mostly left to the background for the first hour and a half . \\ntowards the end she does get a bigger part . \\non the male side , matt dillon is probably the best , giving a subtle performance that surprises with every twist . \\nkevin bacon has a slightly wooden character , but he makes the most of it . \\nyou must have admiration , though , for what he did on screen . \\nand judging from many of the women\\'s reactions in the theater to that shot , they have grown a deeper appreciation for bacon ( yeah , right ) . \\nand then there is bill murray . \\nhis performance is the comic relief , and he nearly steals the film . \\nas a whole , the entire cast works wondrously together , and they seem at home , even when doing the menage a troi . \\ndirector john mcnaughton , who has previously done the critically acclaimed henry : portrait of a serial killer , has constructed a wonderfully twisty plot that works . \\nhis direction is smooth and stylish . \\nthe visuals are striking , filled with rich colors , and almost so realistic that we can actually breathe the humidity in the air . \\nhowever , he seems more at home when the actors aren\\'t talking . \\nhis fly-by shots of the swampy areas are brilliant , and his photography of denise richards\\' climbing out of the pool is a highlight . \\nthe cinematography is gorgeous in its details . its not often that you see a film like this , and we should watch it just to see how the camera can take pictures . \\nthen , there is the music . \\nthis was probably the most obvious thing to me , as it set the perfect mood for the film . \\nit\\'s hard to describe in words , so just see the film and listen to it . \\nit\\'s wonderfully composed and presented . \\nand be sure to stick around during the closing credits ! \\nmcnaughton has finally put the ending credits to good use ( while most comedies use it for outtakes ) . \\nhe has included some small scenes which help explain the preceding events . \\nsome may say that these are lame attempts to explain the convoluted plot , but it\\'s an entertaining way to finish the film . \\nplus , there are some shocking moments in these ending credits which just add to the fun . \\nwild things is appropriately rated r for strong sexuality , nudity , language and violence . \\nagain , the nudity is rather unnecessary , but let\\'s face it--people want to see it . \\nso why not give it to them ? \\nneve campbell , admirably , has a no-nudity clause in her contract , and the most you see of her is from behind as she takes her top off ( way to go , neve ! ) . \\nthe sex scenes are graphic , especially the first one we see , between the mother and one of her deck hands . \\none almost wonders how they got away with the r rating . \\nthe language is quite harsh too , ranging from sexual innuendo to your average , everyday profanity . \\nand i can\\'t stress it enough : don\\'t allow kids under 18 to see this film . \\nthe target age for the movie is the 18-24 range , and that\\'s who should see it . \\nit\\'s definitely not for those under 18 ! \\ndid i mention that this film is rated r ? however , for those that do get a chance to watch it , you will probably more likely be pleased , and may even take friends to see it the next time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"_soldier_ is hands down one of the worst movies a person could ever have to sit through that doesn't have jean claude van damme in it . \\ni could liken it to the sci-fi cheese that was the hollywood product-of-choice back in the early 80s , but that would be too much of a compliment . \\nif there is a movie theater in hell , this film is playing there 24 hours a day . \\nthe story , such that there is , revolves around todd ( kurt russell ) , an automaton of a man who has been raised from birth to be a merciless soldier in a not-too-distant ultra-conservative future ( is there any other kind ? ) \\nafter years of desensitization at a military academy full of other boys just like him , todd becomes a ground fighter in a series of wars all over the galaxy . \\nwho the enemies in these wars are is never revealed , but the few glimpses of todd in battle show that it doesn't matter , because innocent hostages are wiped out as indifferently as the bad guys . \\nafter ten minutes of this nihilistic trash -- yes folks , there's more -- we see todd as a buff , scarred adult , now so accustomed to the carnage that no confrontation at all causes him to break a sweat . \\nthere's a new wrinkle , though . \\ntodd and his brethren are declared obsolete , and a new batch of soldiers takes their place . \\nafter losing a sanctioned battle with _dragon_'s jason scott lee , the seemingly dead todd is dumped by a flying ice-cube tray ( well , that's what is looked like ) on a remote garbage planet . \\nif you predict that todd meets a bunch of outcast settlers on this planet , and that they band together to fight a bunch of bad guys coming to destroy them , you're way ahead of the game . \\nthe renegade society on this trash heap is so clich you half-expect tina turner and master blaster to come strolling into frame any minute . \\nit's surprising that _soldier_ is the brain-child of _blade runner_ co-writer david webb peoples . \\nunlike that mind-twisting classic , this film contains just barely enough dialogue to fill about three double-spaced pages . \\nadd into the mix the _mortal kombat_'s paul anderson inept direction , and it's easy to see how _soldier_ turned out so bad . \\nand the special effects ! \\nremember the flying steam irons in hardware wars ? \\ngary busey is in this movie . \\n'nuff said . \\n_soldier_ is proof that hollywood still has plenty of bad ideas sitting in its script vaults . \\nthat this sad film made it to the silver screen should encourage plenty of aspiring screenwriters out there that there is hope after all . \\nnow if you'll excuse me , i have to go weep for the future . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' * * * the following review contains spoilers * * * \\n \" it\\'s just . . . \\nthe way . . . \\nwe are . \" \\n--- a rapist ( matt frewer ) responds to supergirl\\'s ( helen slater ) query as to why she\\'s being attacked , an example of the mind-numbingly bad dialogue in supergirl . \\ni\\'ll admit it . . . \\ni love superman iii . \\ni know it\\'s hated amongst the superman faithful who dismiss it as nothing more than a vehicle for richard pryor , but i still think it\\'s a worthy addition to the man of steel franchise . \\nsupergirl , a spin-off film of sorts from the series\\' same producers ( alexander and ilya salkind ) , doesn\\'t even rival superman iii in terms of quality , let alone superman or superman ii . \\nsupergirl lost me from the opening scenes and went steadily downhill for the rest of its two hour plus running time . \\nas the film begins we see the residents of argo city , a commune like place consisting of refugees from krypton which resides in \" inner space \" , go about their daily lives . \\nok . . . \\nwhat ? \\nso these are exiles from krypton , which blew up right ? \\nwere they living there before krypton exploded ? \\nhow do you get to \" inner space \" ? \\nthis whole \" inner space \" notion is never explained , particularly in terms of how these people get information from the outside world . \\nhow do they know where superman went ? \\nhow do they know he took the name clark kent and now works at the daily planet ? \\nthese kinds of things frustrate the hell out of me . \\nargo city is kept running by a power source called the omegahedron . \\none day the founder of argo city , zaltar ( peter o\\' toole ) , gives the omegahedron to superman\\'s cousin , kara ( helen slater ) , for use as inspiration in her art . \\nkara uses it to create a bug-like thing which immediately crashes through the layer of \" whatever \" that protects the city . \\nin the chaos , the omegahedron sails out through the opening , dooming the argonians to death . . . \\nin three days time , or something . \\nkara then climbs into a pod which zaltar had designed for interdimensional travel and chases after the omegahedron to save her world . \\nthe power source travels directly to earth and lands in the bowl of dip belonging to a minor-league witch named selena ( faye dunaway ) who , immediately before her dip was ruined , announced her desires to rule the world to her sometimes warlock boyfriend nigel ( peter cook ) . \\nselena somehow knows that this ball from the sky will help her with her evil plans , and she sets out to achieve world domination . \\nselena is unaware of course that kara has also arrived on earth , and that she\\'s arrived as supergirl ( complete with appropriate costume ) . \\nsupergirl emerges from the bottom of a lake when she arrives . \\nok . . . \\nhuh ? \\nwhy does the omegahedron fall from the sky but supergirl shoots out of the bottom of a lake ? \\nattention movie : explain yourself ! \\ni\\'m sorry , i can only suspend disbelief so much . \\ni can\\'t buy into any of this nonsense just because the movie wants me to . \\nknowing that she needs a secret identity , supergirl basically \" wills \" herself into a school girl outfit ( complete with a different hairstyle ) , picks the alias linda lee and enrolls into school . \\nshe\\'s given her dorm assignment , and who happens to be her roommate ? \\nlois lane\\'s sister , lucy . \\nok , coincidence is one thing folks , but we\\'re getting really contrived now . \\nwhat follows are some generic all-girls school hijinks . . . \\ncomplete with evil bully girls ( mean for no reason , of course ) and even a shower scene ( ! ) . \\nbest moment though comes when supergirl decides to put a bra on over her school uniform and starts stuffing it with socks . \\nat this point i\\'m rapidly wondering why i\\'m bothering with this nonsense . \\nthere is some credit to give to the film however . \\none lengthy and elaborate sequence featuring an \" evil \" bulldozer destroying a small town in search of its \" prey \" is very well done . \\nalso , its commendable to see genders reversed in the film , whereas the women have all the power and the men are merely objects and tools . \\nhart bochner ( die hard ) is particularly fun as kara\\'s love interest , a lovesick landscaper who is under a spell cast by selena ( although he is unfortunately part of one of the film\\'s more ridiculous moments , when he has to be rescued from being tapped by some \" menacing \" bumper cars ) . \\nthen there were numerous little things that bothered me . \\nthe flying effects are never convincing for a moment . . . \\nit\\'s all too obvious that helen slater is hooked to wires . \\ninstead of having her look like she\\'s flying , the filmmakers wanted her to be \" graceful \" , so she poses a lot and does ballet-type maneuvers . \\nalso , who are the first two humans to meet supergirl when she arrives on earth ? \\na pair of truck drivers/rapists who immediately attack her and then meet a \" wacky \" demise . \\nthere is also some rampant product placement in the film , most notably for popeye\\'s , tylenol , and a&w root beer , with the latter actually putting its logo on the t-shirt of one of the rapists ( ? ! ) . \\nfinally , just one word : monsters . \\nfaye dunaway and peter o\\'toole ham it up unmercifully , however when o\\'toole overacts he\\'s entertaining and when dunaway does it she\\'s annoying ( her character actually says the line \" seize them ! \" \\nat one point ) . \\ndunaway\\'s henchmen ( played by peter cook and brenda vaccaro ) fare much better , with vaccaro coming off best as the equivalent of ned beatty\\'s otis character from the first two superman movies . \\nhelen slater effectively portrays supergirl as the innocent , naive character she\\'s written to be , as she\\'s able to gaze at flowers and bunnies with the right amount of genuine wonder to make it believable . \\nbelievability aside though , it\\'s still annoying . \\nnow despite all this negativity ( and i\\'m not alone here . . . supergirl is not a well liked nor a well respected movie in many circles ) , leave it to the good people at anchor bay entertainment to actually make people not only interested , but excited about its release on dvd ! \\nthey have released two separate editions of the film on dvd , to the delight of many people ( including myself . . . \\nyet i\\'m still unclear as to why , since this movie is so awful ) . \\nthe first and most widely available dvd release features the international version of the film which runs 10 minutes longer than the print which ran in u . s . theaters . \\nthe movie is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2 . 35 : 1 , is enhanced for 16x9 televisions , and has been remastered in full thx glory . \\nextras on the disc include : a full length audio commentary track with director jeannot szwarc and \" special project consultant \" scott michael bosco , the excellent 50-minute documentary from 1984 called supergirl-the making of a feature ( dig that workout montage ! ) , 5 trailers , 3 tv spots , talent bios , in-depth storyboards ( accompanied by score from the movie ) , and assorted still galleries . \\nthe transfer on this international version is incredible . . . \\nyou\\'d think you were watching a new release . \\nimages are sharp , colors jump off the screen , and the picture is free of scratches or artifacts . \\nonly some special effects sequences show the wear of time , and there just isn\\'t much that can be done about that ( unless you\\'re obsessive like george lucas ) . \\nthe new thx approved audio is loud and clear in all the right places , however you\\'ll be hearing absurd dialogue and a mediocre jerry goldsmith score ( which is completely unrelated to john williams\\' classic superman theme and sounds better suited for a cannon films\\' golan-globus production ) . \\nthe commentary track featuring director szwarc and project consultant bosco is a step in the right direction in the evolution of audio commentaries . \\nbosco seems to be an expert in all things supergirl and is there with szwarc to ensure that there\\'s no dead air on the track . \\nbosco probes szwarc for information on virtually everyone and everything that comes onscreen , and we learn a great deal more about the film as a result of his participation . \\nalthough , at times you can tell that bosco is looking for a specific response from szwarc , and is surprised when he doesn\\'t get that response . \\nwe learn some fascinating tidbits on the track , most notably the \" almost \" appearance in the film by christopher reeve . \\ngreat detail is given about superman\\'s proposed role in the original script before reeve ( wisely ) dropped out . \\nas it stands , superman is written off early on in the film when we hear a radio broadcast mention that he is billions of light years away on some sort of peace mission . \\nfor the sake of brevity , i won\\'t even get into that one . \\nszwarc also reveals that is was the conscious decision of the salkinds ( and everyone else agreed ) that supergirl needed to stand on its own , replacing the science fiction of the superman films with cutsy \" whimsical fantasy \" nonsense . \\nbosco also points out scenes not in the american release as they come along , claiming that had they been in the original release it would have been a hit at the box office . \\nagain , for the sake of brevity , i won\\'t even get into that one . \\nanchor bay has also released a limited edition ( only 50 , 000 copies pressed ) two-disc set . \\ndisc one contains everything mentioned for the regular release . \\ndisc two features the never before seen director\\'s cut of the film , which runs 138 minutes long . \\nthe additions mainly consist of scene extensions which don\\'t add much of note , except for a few moments which lengthen peter o\\'toole\\'s screen time ( particularly during his latter appearances ) . \\nthe print is rough in spots and the sound is only in mono , but fans of the film won\\'t care . \\none question though . . . \\nshouldn\\'t the director\\'s commentary be on the director\\'s cut of the film ? \\ni\\'d never seen supergirl before i sat down to watch this dvd . \\ni was nine when it was released to theaters , and even then i was smart enough to inform my parents not to take me to see it . \\nso when i popped the dvd into my player and sat down in my easy chair i had no idea what to expect . \\ni knew the film wasn\\'t beloved and i never had any interest in it before , but i was willing to give it a shot because of the impressive amount of work put into the disc . \\nas the disc began to spin i was rather impressed with the opening sequence , which made me sit up and wonder if my assumptions all this time could have been wrong . \\ncome to find out however it was just the chase digital stereo logo . . . \\nso i slunk back into my seat as the nightmare started . \\nat the end of the film , supergirl flies back into the lake with the omegahedron , and flies back to argo city . \\nugh , i give up . \\ni\\'m surprised i even made it to the end of the film not once , not twice , but three times to review these discs . \\nsupergirl is definitely a terrific dvd package , but a very lousy movie . \\n[pg] \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"synopsis : a man whose lover , paris , was murdered agrees to test out an experimental virtual reality home unit system . \\nthe subject escapes from the real world and his current girlfriend , laura , and becomes addicted to virtual reality , which , due to a design flaw in his unit , recreates the dead paris . \\ncomments : virtual seduction , executive produced by roger corman and lance h . robbins , serves as a cheaply-made precursor to strange days , a far superior film . \\nboth movies deal with desperate men who have trouble relating to their current lovers because they are ( ab ) using technology to be with former lovers ( in strange days , the technology utilized recorded dreams rather than virtual reality ) . \\ninterestingly , both films also take place a couple of years from now during the turn of the new millenium , though strange days uses the setting far more effectively . \\nthis exemplifies the problem with virtual seduction . \\nit's not bad for what it is : low-budget science fiction concerning the psychological dangers of virtual reality . \\nunfortunately , it's been done before and since in much better films , a fact which ultimately leaves the sci-fi fan bored by this movie . \\nvirtual seduction has many faults ( one of them is the fact that the video inexplicably has its own trailer before it begins ) . \\nthe film's script explores the possibilities of virtual reality interestingly at first , but its treatment of the subject matter gets heavy-handed and wooden as the movie progresses . \\nmany important scenes seem too dark ; the lighting could have been improved significantly . \\nthe cast , a collection of veteran b-movie actors and sitcom regulars , do only a mediocre job in their roles . \\njeff fahey , of the original lawnmower man , convincingly , though unenergetically , plays the lead character . \\ncarrie genzel plays paris , the vr lover , but ami dolenz , as the current love interest , seems like a much more interesting and attractive character with a caring personality , which doesn't lend credence to the film's premise . \\nmeschach taylor , of the once popular designing women sitcom , adequately plays a scientist working on the project , but his performance isn't something to write home about either . \\nvirtual seduction is one of those harmless movies to which you could do some light manual labor and not mind having it on in the background . \\nin other words , one could fold laundry while glancing up at it every now and then , but it's rather boring to just sit and watch . \\nthe movie is surprisingly not as violent as one expects from b-movies in this genre , but it is still an adult r-rated film due to sexual situations and a suicide attempt . \\nthis turkey , ultimately , isn't awful , but it's not particularly interesting or unique either . \\ndon't be seduced into watching this movie unless you've got several loads of laundry and nothing else to watch . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'in intolerance , d . w . griffith told four different historical stories at the same time , cutting from one to the other . \\neach of the stories builds to a fast-paced climax . \\nin magnolia , paul thomas anderson tells several stories each just tangentially connected to the others . \\nyet the stories and where they are going are all independent . \\nwhat is strange about these stories is that they are all synchronized . \\neach story builds to a tense moment ( or what appears to be intended to be a tense moment ) but then lets the tension dissolve . \\nwhile the tension dissipates one character starts singing a song and in each plotline the major characters sing along , even though they are not in the same scene . \\nthen toward the end the stories each build to a tense moment again . \\nit is almost as if the characters are somehow psychically linked . \\nthis creates some strange effects . \\nthe stories are about empty desperate people with dysfunctional relationships . \\nthe strands have varying degrees of bizarre content . \\nwe have the story of a dying man earl partridge ( jason robards ) wanting to get in touch with his son and make amends . \\nphil parma ( philip seymour hoffman ) is his nurse who is frantic to help partridge achieve his final goal . \\npartridge\\'s young wife linda ( julianne moore ) is getting more and more anxious as partridge dies , but for an unsuspected reason . \\nfrank mackey ( tom cruise ) runs the kinds of self-help seminar that businesses like so much , but he aims his at teaching disaffected men how to be real shit-heels in dealing with women in an angry backlash to women\\'s lib . \\nofficer jim kurring ( john c . reilly ) is a patrolman who has a need to feel he is making the world a better place . \\njimmy gator ( philip baker hall ) hosts a popular children\\'s tv quiz show that really exploits and destroys children as we see from the stories of current quiz kid stanley spector ( jeremy blackman ) and former quiz kid donnie smith ( william h . macy ) . \\nthe film juggles all these stories for over three hours , but even after all this time not one story is resolved satisfactorily . \\neach story moves toward a single bizarre common climax , but it is not one that seems to do much but derail each story . \\nthe common climax itself is ambiguous in many ways and it fails to really tie up any of the stories . \\nthe film seems to be built around strange events and weird history , but it really has little to do with the content of the stories , though they all are connected in part by one weird event . \\nmagnolia will probably bring some much deserved attention to paul thomas anderson , though in my opinion his two previous films , hard eight and boogie nights were better told stories . \\nit is interesting that one starts to look forward to actors from anderson\\'s company . \\njohn c . reilly seems to be a standard fixture . \\nparticularly notable is philip baker hall who gave a mesmerizing performance from the first scene of hard eight . \\nhere he several of the characters are mesmerizing , but that characteristic is not really used . \\nas studies of characters these stories are each worth following . \\nas well-rounded stories with a beginning , middle and end , they leave something to be desired . \\nbut the film is willing to do the unexpected and that helps make the film worth sitting through . \\ni rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nduring the strange climactic event of the film we get multiple messages from the filmmaker that the event we are seeing really does happen . \\nand in actual fact , it does . \\nsince biblical times rains of frogs have been interpreted as signs of displeasure of the gods . \\nit is , however , a perfectly natural , if somewhat unnerving , phenomenon . \\nthe cause is associated with whirlwinds . \\nwe know that tornadoes over land can rip up land and even objects of some size from the ground and hurl them into the air , holding them aloft . \\nthe reader may remember the unfortunate cow in twister . \\nsmaller objects can be hurled high into the atmosphere and then be kept aloft by the updrafts for surprisingly long periods of time much as hail and chunks of ice are . \\nwhen the whirlwind is over water , animals near the surface , frequently fish and frogs , may suffer the same fate . \\nessentially they are vacuumed up by the whirlwind , held aloft by updrafts , and finally dropped elsewhere . \\nso while the rain is possible , some doubts do creep in . \\nthe rain of frogs depicted in this film may be of greater scale than i had pictured for a rain of frogs . \\nit seems unlikely the frogs would still be alive when dropped . \\nit is not clear that geographic conditions are right for los angeles to have this sort of phenomenon . \\n ( frankly i have no idea on these points . ) \\notherwise the event was quite believable . \\nwhat we see in this film is much more credible than the phenomena we saw in volcano . \\nin the film it is left ambiguous if the rain is a sign from god since there are many references to exodus 8 : 2 . \\n \" and the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon thy people , and upon all thy servants . \" \\nhowever a rain of frogs , though it feels biblical , is most definitely not a biblical portent . \\nnote that the previous verse says \" and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly which shall go up . . . , \" \\nso the bible is referring not to a rain but to an infestation from the river . \\nthe only other reference to frogs in the bible is as a symbol for uncleanness in revelation 16 : 13 . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a frequent error is the categorization of a terrorist as a soldier or a common criminal . \\na soldier commits acts of violence sanctioned by one nation-state against another . \\na common criminal commits acts of violence for personal gain . \\na terrorist employs random violence as a means to a political end . \\nif the target nation does not affect the desired change in policy , the violence continues . \\nit is the fear resulting from the fact that the terrorist may strike at anyone ( even total innocents ) , anywhere , at anytime that gives the figure his label . \\nedward zwick\\'s the siege explores the possibility of this kind of violence taking place right here in the united states . \\nyou\\'d think the opening bit was ripped right from the headlines . \\narab terrorists kill american citizens abroad , and the u . s . responds by retaliating against the sheik whom supposedly ordered the attack . \\nhowever , unlike the real-life tomahawk cruise missile strike against bin laden\\'s camp and manufacturing facility , the film version depicts special operations troops kidnapping sheik ahmed bin talal . \\nin retaliation , the terrorists bring the fight to the new world . \\nunwittingly involved is fbi assistant special agent-in-charge anthony hubbard ( denzel washington ) , who works out of the bureau\\'s new york office at one federal plaza . \\nwhile investigating a series of bombings in the big apple , he encounters cia agent elise kraft ( annette bening ) , also trying to uncover information . \\ngenerally , the fbi is charged with problems inside the u . s . , while the cia takes care of problems in the international realm . \\neven spies from other countries are off limits to the cia as long as they are in our country . \\nhubbard therefore finds it highly unusual that an agency spook is nosing around what he considers his territory , but as the two form a tentative professional relationship , hubbard becomes more and more aware of an increasingly complicated series of allegiances and possibly illegal actions involving terrorism and the united states government . \\nthe original tagline for patriot games was , \" there has never been a terrorist attack on american soil . \" \\nhowever true , it was pulled before the movie\\'s release because it sounded too much like a dare . \\nrevisiting the scenario of foreign terrorists committing acts of violence in the united states , the siege is almost an invitation in itself , because it shows just what kind of turmoil could be produced if an effective terrorist network were to set up operations here in america . \\nadmittedly , the terror wrought upon new york is a bit excessive ( who\\'s going to believe that a few bombs are going to cause new yorkers to jump at the backfire of a bus or to curtail their shopping by two-thirds ? ) , but the basic premise is still valid . \\ni liked the fact that this film rises above the basic action-thriller fare of good guy g-men against bad guy terrorists by exploring some of the effects on society and law and order . \\nit provides a very possible hypothesis that violent activity on the part of a few arabs would escalate into a series of hate crimes against the arab-american population , and that in an effort to find the terrorists , the civil liberties of the minority may be violated by the government itself . \\nin fact , about halfway through the film , when the president authorizes the declaration of martial law within new york city , the liberties of all americans are put at risk . \\nalthough it may actually be a side effect of a terrorist campaign , the demise of social order in america is a scary thought and a goal which would not be beneath many international terrorist groups . \\nthroughout , the film maintains a conflict between hubbard , who wants to use the fbi to pursue the terrorists within the letter of the law , and general devereaux ( bruce willis ) , who is in command of the army and of the mind that the greater good would be better served by suspending the law and pursuing the terrorists more forcefully . \\nwhat results is a fascinating debate over the appropriateness and constitutionality of the declaration of martial law and the invocation of the war powers act , utilizing philosophy and historical examples to make points on both sides . \\nit actually gets rather heady at times , but it\\'s a credit to screenwriters zwick , lawrence wright , and menno meyjes that they don\\'t underestimate the intelligence of the audience . \\ni don\\'t know if it\\'s his tone or inflection or something else , but denzel washington has a way of spitting out dialog that makes whatever he says sound great . \\nthis , combined with his innate acting ability and his experience in playing the mid-level authority figure , makes his performance in the siege convincing and enjoyable . \\nannette bening gives one of the more assertive portrayals of a female character i\\'ve seen recently , and the chemistry she shares with washington is palpable . \\nit\\'s somewhat unfortunate that her character\\'s fortitude is broken at a certain point , but it allows us to watch bening play a little more range . \\nbruce willis is pretty much relegated to a tough-guy role , always standing straight , and with a permanent scowl fixed upon his face . \\nhowever , the tension that exists between devereaux and hubbard is a major drive behind the film\\'s development . \\nnotable is tony shalhoub who plays fbi agent frank haddad , a lebanese immigrant . \\nthe role calls for evidencing both a kind of filial pride for his heritage , and contempt for those of his own race who might interfere with his integration into the american society . \\ndifficult to say the least , shalhoub does it with a naturalness you can almost reach out and touch . \\nperhaps best known for his role as antonio the cab driver in the nbc sitcom \" wings , \" shalhoub gained notoriety for his dramatic abilities in the wonderful film big night . \\nwhereas denzel washington seems to be edward zwick\\'s favorite actor ( he directed washington in glory and courage under fire ) , james horner seems to be his favorite composer . \\ni therefore found it odd that zwick chose the prolific score-writer graeme revell ( seven films this year already ) over horner for the siege until i realized that this film contained a lot of arabian-themed music , and horner\\'s record has shown more of a propensity for scores either neutral in ethnicity or irish-sounding at most . \\nrevell does a good job at providing appropriate music to punctuate key scenes and allowing the score to enhance the movie as a whole . \\nit\\'s nowhere near as intrusive as in some of the other films we\\'ve been getting throughout the year . \\nmissteps in the siege can be found in a couple of the excesses it takes . \\nfor example , it\\'s pretty clear throughout that the film is meant to be more of thriller than an action flick . \\nunfortunately , there\\'s a scene where the army just cuts loose against some arab immigrants in a blatant display of firepower and explosions , obviously meant for the sole purpose of being eye-catching . \\nin the middle of the city ( and against no real opposition ) , zwick even has the army use a cobra attack helicopter to shoot rockets into a building no farther than 50 feet from friendly troops . \\nverisimilitude really goes out the window at that point . \\nthe film also gets a little preachy toward the end , focusing on the ability of different races to get along . \\na noble gesture , the film just puts the message across a bit too obviously . \\nthese flaws are glaring , but they don\\'t detract too much from an otherwise good film that makes you think about issues you may not have considered since history class . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s not a bad thing to update old stories . \\nit\\'s done all the time in the oral tradition . \\nthe difficulty with this film is not that the tale has changed , it\\'s that it\\'s dry . \\nthe new cinderella , danielle ( drew barrymore ) is not sitting around waiting for her prince to come . \\nshe\\'s a woman of the late twentieth century albeit situated in sixteenth century france . \\nwhen her father dies , she stays on in his house even though she is mistreated by her wicked stepmother rodmilla ( anjelica huston ) . \\nshe works by day , but reads sir thomas more by firelight at night . \\nalthough the story is updated , you know the plot . \\ndanielle meets prince henry ( dougray scott ) , goes to a ball disguised , is later found out and they live happily ever after . \\nthe movie is often like watching a filmed play . \\ntheater in real life is engrossing . \\ntheater on the screen is usually lifeless . \\nthere doesn\\'t seem to be much going on . \\nthe camera can be a star of films . \\nhere it\\'s a co-conspirator . \\ndanielle\\'s convictions are compromised . \\na socialist and a feminist , she pretends to be royalty to get her man . \\na kind woman , her last act in the movie is one of revenge . \\nthe most enjoyable characters are the most cartoonish . \\nthe fairy godmother stand-in , leonardo da vinci ( patrick godfrey ) is fun to watch as the eccentric old man who advises danielle . \\nhuston is enjoyable in her over-the-top wickedness . \\nin all fairness , my companion loved the film . \\nmaybe it\\'s one of those \" chick flicks \" that men don\\'t like . \\nit is certainly a date film . \\nnearly the entire audience was couples . \\noh well , maybe it\\'s good for something . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"modern audiences are more likely to be familiar with les misirables from the pop-broadway musical rather than victor hugo's original tome . \\nadapted several times for the cinema , this latest effort does a superb job of translating the characters , story , and heart of the novel to the screen . \\nliam neeson stars as jean valjean . \\nas a young man , valjean stole some bread to satisfy his hunger . . . and he was sentenced to 19 years of hard labor for his crimes . \\nprison hardened him , and on his release he seems doomed to a life of crime and squalor . \\nhowever , an unexpected act of compassion changes his outlook on life , and he vows to become a better man . \\nhowever , he runs up against one man who doesn't believe in reform . \\ninspector javert ( geoffrey rush ) is an obsessive law abider . \\nhe has no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules , even with benign intentions . \\nhe once served as a guard at the labor camp where valjean served , and after valjean breaks his parole , javert devotes himself to bringing him to justice . \\ntwo women also get caught up in the struggle . \\nfantine ( uma thurman ) is an unwed mother suffocating in an unforgiving society . \\nher daughter , cosette ( mimi newman , and later , claire danes ) , is her life , yet she cannot afford to raise her . \\ninstead , cosette is sent to live with a cruel foster family which extorts money from fantine , and forces cosette into a life little better than a slave . \\ndirector bille august manages to create a faithful adaptation of victor hugo's novel , which , though omitting some of the political undertones , remains true to the overall story and tone of the book . \\nhopefully you won't , as some clueless members of the audience did , wonder where all the songs went . \\nthe movie manages to be completely engrossing without the andrew lloyd webber flourishes . \\nthe experience is bolstered by strong performances throughout , though neeson and rush deservedly take center stage with their core roles . \\nneeson in particular deserves kudos for his portrayal of a man trying to do good , but continually haunted by his past . \\nthe supporting cast is also extraordinary . \\nthe only actor who dims in comparison is hans matheson , playing the revolutionary , marius . \\nthe film slightly loses its luster during his brief love affair , but it is transitory , and truly only distracting when contrasted with the rest of the film . \\nthe novel les misirables is , by any account , an epic , both in its scope and in its length . \\nwhile it would be nearly impossible to cram everything from its pages into a two hour movie , this latest attempt does an admirable job at the translation . \\nit , too , is an epic . . . and one worth seeing . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i have never been a \" star trek \" fan , and , to tell the truth , out of the five films in the series that i have seen ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 8 , 9 ) , i have disliked all of them . \\ni do , however , always go into one of these with an open mind , and the ninth film in the series , \" star trek : insurrection , \" is no exception . \\ndropping almost completely the hard-core sci-fi element of the previous one in the series , \" first contact , \" \" insurrection , \" tells the story of a planet that holds only 600 people , known as the ba\\'ku , as well as the fountain of youth . \\nat the start of the picture , the villagers go under attack by a second alien species , known as the son\\'a , who want to push all of the ba\\'ku out so that their own race will not die out . \\nalso attacking the ba\\'ku is data ( brent spiner ) , a robot from the star trek enterprise . \\nafter returning to jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the gang on their space ship , no one can understand why data was somehow taken over by another force . \\nso several of the star trek members travel down to the planet of the ba\\'ku , where picard meets up and starts to fall in love with one of the inhabitants , a sultry , kind alien woman ( donna murphy ) , who is over six-hundred-years-old , but looks to only be in her thirties . \\n \" star trek : insurrection , \" is a completely unoriginal and cheap-looking installment in the series , and is a big step down from , 1996\\'s \" first contact , \" which at least appeared to try to make something a bit different . \\nin , \" insurrection , \" however , it plays like a low-rent episode of the television show , due to the small-scale , generic storyline , and an emphasis on one-liners rather than excitement . \\nthe film was filled with nearly non-stop comedy , and worse yet , most of it fell flatter than a cartoon character that drops off a cliff . \\nmeanwhile , when there were action sequences , they were not at all interesting or inventive , relying on that old reliable ticking timer that counts down very , very slowly . \\nthis plot device , which is seen in just about every action film made nowadays , is getting old fast . \\nare filmmakers so bankrupt of ingenuity and ideas that they must always have a timer ticking away during the climax ? \\nanother element of , \" star trek , \" films in general is that picard seems to always have to have a love interest , but then she always miraculously disappears when the next film is made two or three years later . \\nalthough donna murphy , who falls victim to this thankless love interest role here , is actually one of the few characters that we get to know in the 103-minute running time , alfre woodard was far superior in , \" first contact . \" \\nshe should have returned for this one , but i don\\'t blame her for not wanting to waste her time with this movie\\'s disappointing and often lifeless screenplay , by michael piller . \\n \" star trek : insurrection , \" is perhaps the weakest film in the \" star trek , \" series , although i have not seen what is widely considered the worst , \" star trek v : the final frontier . \" \\n \" insurrection , \" is the type of \" safe \" sequel that will bewilder non-fans , since it is so low-tech compared to most of today\\'s blockbuster action films ( although most of these are honestly not very good , either ) , and should disappoint the loyal trekkies , since it could have easily been better if the makers had realized that the screenplay needed to go through a few more drafts . \\non second thought , they probably should have completely thrown the script out . \\nthat way , they could have come up with a story that at least had a sign of intelligence and freshness . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'adam sandler turns up the charm in his latest romantic comedy , the wedding singer . \\nunfortunately , that also has the effect of softening his edge . \\nhe\\'s nowhere near his peak of happy gilmore , not that it was much of one . \\nhe\\'s certainly not helped here by a rather frail plot . \\nthe year is 1985 , letting the whole film obsess with 80s nostalgia . \\nadam sandler is nice guy robbie , the titular wedding singer , who entertains at the local reception hall by belting out his interpretations of classic 80s hits . \\nrobbie\\'s life is thrown into turmoil when his fiancee , linda ( angela featherstone ) , leaves him at the altar . \\nhowever , things are looking up when he meets julia ( drew barrymore ) , a waitress at the hall . \\nshe\\'s the perfect woman , but for one small flaw : she\\'s engaged to be married to a slick junk bond king , glenn ( matthew glave ) . \\nso , most of the film deals with the slow realization by robbie that he and julia are in love , and his attempts to stop the wedding . \\nas far as plots go , it\\'s a pretty thin and tired one . \\nto fill the gaps , the wedding singer delivers heaping spoonfuls of 1980s nostalgia . \\nfrom boy george to michael jackson , from miami vice to dallas , from the first cds to the last rubik\\'s cubes , this film revels in all the minutiae . \\nand then there\\'s the music . . . \\nlearning a lesson from the successful soundtracks to grosse pointe blank , and romy and michele\\'s high school reunion , this film packs more 80s songs in the film than the running time will allow . \\nas a result , most songs get maybe a lyric or a half , but you can almost see the bright gleam in the record executives\\' eyes : the wedding singer vols . \\n2 , 3 , and 4 ! \\nwhile the nonstop 80s riffs get incredibly tiring , at least they distract you from the plot . \\nat least last year\\'s my best friend\\'s wedding stirred up the standard \" keep your true love from marrying someone else \" plot by making the rival a nice person . \\nhere , glenn is such a lowly rat of a man that you never see what julia saw in him . \\nbarrymore , on the other hand , is simply charming as julia . \\nwhich leaves us with adam sandler . \\nhe\\'s at his best in the film when his nice guy persona fades a little ( such as when he has a breakdown on stage during a wedding reception ) . \\nwhen he\\'s in full nice-guy mode , he\\'s more pathetic than endearing . \\nthe film boasts several cameos ( most notably by steve buscemi and jon lovitz ) . \\nbut none of them work well at all . \\nbuscemi\\'s role as a drunken best man simply fails to be humorous . \\nlovitz , on the other hand , as a rival wedding singer , makes you long for his good old days on saturday night live , where he was actually funny . \\nthe only cameo which has some appeal is a guest appearance by a classic 80s rocker during the film\\'s finale ( surprisingly , one of the only plot-related scenes which actually works . ) \\nadam sandler still has some work to do before he can become a dependable leading man . \\nwhile he attempts to change his image in the wedding singer , the end result is no net gain . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the title is taken from the writings of ralph waldo emerson describing the life of a traveler as \\'anywhere but here . \\' \\nthere isn\\'t one thing about this mother-daughter relationship melodrama that felt honest . \\nit relies on a contrived minor character to tell both mother and daughter what was obvious to do in order to straighten out their dysfunctional lives , as for some reason they couldn\\'t figure it out for themselves . \\nif the film looks familiar , that is because \" the slums of beverly hills ( 98 ) \" went over the same ground but was fortunate to be more comical and perceptive due to alan arkin and natasha lyonne performances , in which they were fortunate to have a much sharper script to work with . \\nalvin sargent\\'s script was weak and annoyingly claustral . \\nwayne wang\\'s ( \" the joy luck club \" ) inept direction made a weak script even weaker by his inability to tell the story unfolding without the voiceover relating what the action couldn\\'t convey . \\npushy mother adele august ( susan sarandon ) forces her 14-year-old daughter ann ( natalie portman ) to leave a small midwestern burg to go cross-country with her to beverly hills . \\nthe daughter resents her twice divorced , unstable but exotic , schoolteacher mother , bullying her to be an actress as a means of escaping a humdrum life . \\nthe daqughter doesn\\'t even like the used gold mercedes mother buys to drive to lala land in and can\\'t stand the beach boys records mom enjoys hearing on the car radio . \\nso it becomes a question of who knows best , as the ladies fight it out between them , until the predictable sweet ending comes in this yawner . \\nadele\\'s dream of greener pastures in beverly hills soon doesn\\'t look that good , as she lands a job in a slum school , has her precious car scratched by the unruly kids , and settles into a job she hates in order to financially survive . \\ndaughter pines for small town wisconsin and her friends there . \\nduring one of many arguments with her free-spirited mom , they go for ice cream and while mother is being ticketed , she runs away , only to be chased down by friendly traffic cop ( michael milhoan ) , who offers her wise counsel . \\nwith the cop\\'s zen wisdom passed onto the daughter , she will survive living in many different addresses in beverly hills until she reaches 17 and then she plans to get way from mom by using her good grades to go to brown university instead of ucla . \\nduring their stay in beverly hills , she grows from feeling awkward in beverly hills high to immediately having many high school girlfriends and even a high school rich boy admirer-- a t . s . \\neliot ( corbin allred ) reader . \\nbut the transition of her life into beverly hills had no feel of reality , as everything seemed staged and unemotional . \\nwhen she learns her cousin benny ( shawn hatosy ) , who happens to be her best friend dies in a traffic accident back in wisconsin , she returns for the funeral and in those reunion scenes it wasn\\'t clearly shown why she wants to stay there , and for that matter , it was never made clear why the mother wants to leave so badly . \\nthe film is one big battle of wills between mother and daughter over their dreams . \\ni guess what the filmmaker is trying to say , is that mom is a bad dreamer and the daughter is the observant one , able to recognize mother\\'s faults when not in growing pains and in need of parenting herself . \\nmother has a series of setbacks , like being dumped by her dream-boat dentist ( bochner ) she met on the beach , and witnessing her daughter mimic her whiny optimistic sayings when trying out for an acting part . \\nbut mother learns that her daughter has grown-up and is independent and that she has to stop living her life through her . \\nshe learns this when the same wise cop who told ann what to do , is about to ticket her and this time will remind the mother of the right thing to do . \\nthis of course results in the corny ending , showing that mom\\'s heart was always in the right place , only she went about it in the wrong way . \\nthis was just one of those films where you want to be anywhere but in the theater where this film is showing . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one of the responses those that enjoy \" detroit rock city \" ( probably kiss fans , mostly ) might have upon first glance at the rating i\\'ve given the film might be something like : \" oh , that casey\\'s gone and become a jaded critic on us . \\njust what did he expect out of a dumb teenage rock n\\' roll movie like this ? \" \\ni\\'m wondering the same thing . \\ni feel like i should have had a grand time with \" detroit rock city . \" \\nit\\'s the sort of movie i wish i could\\'ve had a lot of fun with , but i didn\\'t . \\ni just didn\\'t . \\nsurely this film isn\\'t trying to win any major awards , so should i have expected an oscar-caliber film ? \\nno , but i expected something . \\na funny joke . \\na clever prank . \\na plot development . \\nanything . \\nthe movie never delivers . \\nyou\\'ve got to marvel at how the filmmakers managed to come up with a movie that is truly about nothing . \\n \" detroit rock city \" is one of those films that you walk out of after the credits have rolled and realize that you just spent 90 minutes watching a movie in which absolutely nothing happened to justify the film\\'s existence , and it\\'s not a very satisfying realization . \\nthe film is about four teenage boys , all huge kiss fans from cleveland , trying to get into a kiss concert in detroit , michigan . \\nthat\\'s it . \\nthere is no big plot description in this review , because the movie has very little plot . \\nthe characters are hawk ( edward furlong ) , lex ( giuseppe andrews ) , trip ( james debello ) , and jam ( sam huntington ) . \\nthey have a garage band . \\nthey\\'re pathetic , like all garage bands , but they like kiss and they like rock n\\' roll , so i guess that means we root for them . \\nthey have tickets , they lose them . \\nthey get more tickets , they lose those too . \\nthey come up with crazy schemes to get tickets , most of which backfire . \\nthere\\'s not much more to it . \\nfrankly , it becomes a little less than exciting to see them try to get kiss tickets about halfway through the film , when a total of eight tickets have already graced the boys\\' hands , only to be lost because of their sheer stupidity . \\noh , and jam ( real name jeremiah ) has a really , really annoying ultra-religious mother who ought to be reported to the child welfare agency . \\nshe doesn\\'t want them to see kiss , if you hadn\\'t figured that out already . \\nit\\'s really quite disheartening to see such a fine soundtrack go to waste in a pointless movie like this . \\nwe\\'ve got plenty of kiss , along with some ac/dc , ramones , and thin lizzy . \\nthen again , \" maximum overdrive \" had an awesome soundtrack ( me being the big ac/dc fan that i am ) , but is probably one of the worst movies of all time . \\n \" detroit rock city \" doesn\\'t quite reach that level of ineptitude , but it gets dangerously close . \\nin fact , the music is the only thing that keeps this movie from being a complete failure in my mind . \\nbasically , the soundtrack has earned the film a full half-star , which means all the bands involved can pat themselves on the back ( except for marilyn manson , whose half-hearted cover of ac/dc\\'s \" highway to hell \" sounds like something my neighbor\\'s cat coughed up ) . \\nit\\'s also really sad to see the talents of the cast go to waste , because it\\' s evident that they\\'re all trying really hard to squeeze some life out of this dead turkey of a movie . \\nedward furlong has done far better work than this , and so has natasha lyonne , and so has lin shaye , but hey , they\\'ve got to make a living in hollywood . \\npeople wanting to see kiss , and lots of it will probably be disappointed , considering the band appears for about five minutes and plays one song . \\ntoo bad , they might have provided some energy to this mess . \\ndirector adam rifkin knows he hasn\\'t got much material to work with , so he takes a chapter from the michael bay book of directing and keeps his camera spinning . \\nwe get an endless parade of quick-cuts , split-screens , zoom-outs , zoom-ins , and rotating cameras , all in an effort to cover up the sheer stupidity of the script . \\nit\\'s fun for a while , but eventually it becomes disorienting . \\ni would recommend that those who felt seasick at \" the blair witch project \" stay far away from \" detroit rock city , \" because the witch has got nothing on this baby . \\ni haven\\'t felt such an urge to reach out and hold the camera still since \" armageddon . \" \\nand what about that script ? \\nit\\'s written by carl j . dupr ? , which sounds like as made-up a name as i\\'ve ever heard . \\nif it is , i can\\'t say i blame the writer for distancing himself as far from this script as possible . \\na plotless , pointless rock n\\' roll movie can be fun , if the jokes and gags are actually funny . \\nthe jokes in \" detroit rock city \" rarely are . \\nin fact , the only time i really laughed was when a priest gets stoned on a marijuana-laced pizza , and that was just because it was so surreal . \\nthe rest of the movie just seems like they just threw a bunch of vulgar stuff up on screen and called it \" comedy . \" \\nthere is no set-up , just a succession of punchlines that don\\'t provide for much in the way of chuckles , precisely because there was no set-up . \\nit\\'s as if they just whacked someone on the head , pointed at him and said , \" see ? \\nfunny ! \" \\nlook , that woman was so shocked by hearing loud kiss music that she spilled her drink . \\nsee ? \\nfunny ! \\nlook , that guy just got clocked by a telephone receiver . \\ntwice . \\nsee ? \\nfunny ! \\nlook , that kid has been vomiting for 20 minutes after drinking an inordinate amount of alcohol and is now about to perform an exotic dance for money . \\nsee ? \\nfunny ! \\na word of advice to mr . dupr ? : no , these things aren\\'t funny all by themselves . \\nthey must be preceded by a clever set-up so the audience hasn \\'t predicted them five minutes in advance . \\nthat\\'s it , i\\'ve said enough about this movie . \\nit\\'s a waste of time and money . \\ni liked the music , but don\\'t bother buying the soundtrack . \\ni hear it\\' s just modern bands doing inferior versions of the songs that are actually in the movie . \\nyou want to see this concept executed well ? \\ngo rent roger corman\\'s 1979 classic \" rock n\\' roll high school . \" \\nit features another late-seventies rock band ( the ramones ) and a far more interesting story about a girl trying to get tickets to their show . \\nyes , go rent that , and skip \" detroit rock city , \" which will probably bomb , and deservedly so . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : a young man who loves heavy metal music and especially the band steel dragon , to whom he\\'s devoted a tribute band in which he sings , gets launched into stardom when the real group get rid of their lead singer and call on him to take his place . \\ncritique : i\\'m a sucker for movies like this . \\na young man with a humble background and lofty dreams , works hard , devotes the time , the energy and the patience , and ultimately hits it big-time . \\nin the case of this film , our boy loves a certain heavy metal band and as luck would have it ( yup , luck always finds its way into these types of equations , although generally tied very closely to hard work ) , they need a new singer . \\nhis entry and adaptation to the whole \" rock \\'n roll \" lifestyle fills the rest of the film and is really fun to watch . \\nalthough i will preface this by saying that one thing that would definitely enhance your appreciation for this film is your own love ( or past love ) of heavy metal music and the whole scene around it . \\nmetal was one of my first loves as a teen and even though the genre of music isn\\'t that prominent anymore , i still check out my motley crue , twisted sister and anthrax cds every now and again . \\nthat\\'s not to say that you won\\'t like this film if you don\\'t like the music , but the music and live performances from the band , play a big part in the movie , and i for one , had a blast watching and listening to it all . \\nbut the even greater draw in this film is the standout performance given here by mark wahlberg . \\nwow , hand this fella some major props , as he totally becomes this heavy metal geek/god ( incidentally , metal god was the film\\'s original title , and a much better one if you ask me ) . \\nhe is this movie and i was quite taken by his character pretty much the whole way through . \\nhe came off like a regular guy with extremely passionate goals and work ethic , who was willing to do anything in order to fulfill his dreams . \\naniston was also surprisingly good as the girlfriend ( and the romance angle between them was sweet ) , but she didn\\'t pull me in hard enough during their emotional scenes . \\ni was also impressed by some of the \" real \" musicians who played in the film ( zakk wylde from ozzy osbourne , jeff pilson from dokken , stephan jenkins from third eye blind , blas elias from slaughter ) , but actor dominic west as kirk cuddy made the biggest impression among the band members . \\nit\\'s to note that this film was based on a real-life tale of a young man who used to sing in a judas priest cover band and then went on to become their actual singer ( their original singer also admitted to being gay , as in this film ) . \\njust for the record , i\\'m certainly not recommending this film for its originality or surprise elements , since most of this stuff has already been covered in some way or another in other movies , but because it\\'s a fun , uplifting , well-paced movie with a solid central showing by wahlberg and energetic live performances . \\noh yeah , and for those who dig the \" heavier \" side of music , the soundtrack also rocks ! ! \\nyou see . . . dreams \\ncan come true . . . \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nalmost famous ( 8/10 ) - blow ( 8/10 ) - boogie nights ( 9/10 ) - detroit rock city ( 8/10 ) - girlfight ( 6/10 ) - goodfellas ( 10/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i have no real tangible proof of this , but i swear that there are a lot of producers in hollywood who adamantly believe that if you take a bad script , written by a bad writer and give the project it to an equally bad director , then it is actually possible to make a good movie . \\nusing their logic , all that really needs be done to change the bad movie into a good movie is cast a bunch of super-famous actors and provide an almost unlimited production budget . \\nthis is the only way i can fathom how 20th century fox hired jon amiel in order to direct this eighty million dollar waste of my time ( not counting the time it took me to get to and from the theatre ) . \\nnow , before i continue to ferociously attack what\\'s wrong with this film , i just want to point out that one of the reasons it fails so miserably is because it does have the potential to be an exciting thriller . \\ncatherine zeta-jones plays virginia baker , an insurance investigator tracking down an infamous art thief named robert macdougal ( sean connery ) . \\nif you\\'ve ever seen any hollywood blockbuster before , i really don\\'t have to spend too much time on frivolous plot details : the two team up for various jobs , stealing various things for various purposes . \\nthe problem we come to is that we\\'ve all seen this a few billion times before and this film doesn\\'t break any new ground in the big-budget/hollywood/action genre . \\nthe result is that the entire production feels contrived . \\ni\\'m going to be completely honest here : pretty much the only thing keeping me awake throughout the run-time was looking at catherine zeta-jones . \\nnow while this may be a compliment for ms . zeta-jones , it certainly isn\\'t for either the writers or the director , who are not nearly as clever as they think they are . \\njust about the most profound thought they can inject into this film is when they have macdougal lecture baker on the semantic difference between \" entrapment \" and \" blackmail \" . \\nwith an eighty million dollar budget , you\\'d think that entrapment would at least feature edge-of-your seat action scenes or breathtaking special f/x . \\nwell , you\\'d be wrong . \\nthe action that is present in this film takes place in a huge skyscraper and is relatively unspectacular . \\nunfortunately for all those involved with entrapment , die hard narrowly beat it to the screen by ? 11 years . \\nthe reality is that after 15 minutes of watching this picture , you know exactly what\\'s going to happen , despite rather pathetic attempts in the screenplay to throw in plot twists . \\nmany scenes seem to exist merely as a reason to outfit zeta-jones in extremely tight-fitting clothing . \\none particular scene features baker crawling around trying to avoid laser-beams while she tries to steal an ancient chinese mask . \\nnothing wrong with that , but she entered the room from the floor and knew exactly where the mask was - so why didn\\'t she and macdougal tunnel in directly under the mask instead of the other side of the room ? \\ni\\'ll tell you why : because it\\'s a great excuse to photograph zeta-jones\\' posterior as it slides underneath those beams ( and it also allows a second scene of the exact same thing - the rehearsal ) . \\nving rhames also makes an appearance in this movie , and though he has great screen presence ( although so do connery and zeta-jones ) and the most interesting character in the film , not even he can rescue this film from the depths of the boring film abyss ( a concept i invented just to describe this picture ) . \\none last complaint : entrapment is littered of instances where macdougal will just slip into a shadow or behind a building , or he becomes obstructed by a moving vehicle and then in the next shot , he\\'ll spontaneously disappear in ninja-like fashion . \\ni can picture amiel patting himself on the back , thinking to himself \" it\\'ll leave the audience wondering for days : how did he do that ? \" \\nwe know jon , it\\'s called editing . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'seen august 8 , 1998 at 6 p . m . at rotterdam square cinemas ( rotterdam , ny ) , theater #6 , by myself for free using my sony/loews critic\\'s pass . \\n[theater rating : * * * : good seats , sound , and picture] \\nwar is a topic that can\\'t help but be glorified any way it is portrayed by the media . \\nmovies , documentaries , and even history books have a way of making the darker side of humanity exciting since the most general aspects are focused on , such as strategy , politics , and victory . \\nit\\'s easy to forget war , in its most basic form , is a battle of armies out to slaughter each other . \\nforgotten more easily is the fact that each soldier , no matter what his rank or importance , is a real flesh-and-blood person and not just a number . \\n \" saving private ryan \" is one of the few films that dares play up this aspect , especially in its unapologetic , realistic delivery . \\nit proves there\\'s a huge difference between battling and killing . \\nthe film opens with one of the most graphic , disturbing scenes in recent memory . \\nit\\'s world war ii , d-day to be exact , and the u . s . military is invading omaha beach where the nazis are more than ready for them . \\nspielberg uses many techniques to create for a total sense of reality . \\ninstead of positioned cameras , the footage here seems to have been shot by camera operators running alongside soldiers as if they were just as scared . \\nthere is no sense of stability , but of constant , anxious , and confusing motion , giving us the feeling of being in the middle of the battle , and just a vulnerable as the poor troops . \\n \" poor \" is a proper word to describe how pathetic and yet innocent the men fighting are . \\nthere is little to no dialogue throughout the loud battle and no prologue to define any characters . \\nwe don\\'t get the feeling these are handsome actors playing heroic roles , but that these are men about to kill and be killed for reasons beyond their understanding . \\nthe nazis are not portrayed as enemies to be hated , but as people that must be destroyed because they\\'re there . \\nin the movies , the good guys can run through a firestorm of bullets and bombs and not get a scratch , but in reality that wouldn\\'t happen . \\nthe men have nothing to shield or protect them besides some metal flanks and dead bodies . \\nthey are sitting ducks and we realize this through the perspective of the well-secured germans who can actually see who , what , and where they\\'re shooting , unlike the americans who must fire in a general direction to avoid getting their heads blown off . \\nperhaps the film is flawed by not providing any backstory on the war itself and who the men really are , but that seems to be part of the theme . \\nthe film seems to rely on the audience\\'s sense of patriotism , that the american military is \" right \" and good and that the nazis are \" inherently evil . \" \\nthe battle scene eventually focuses on a group of men who have miraculously survived and made their way close to the enemy stronghold ( a whole 50-foot progression ) , and begin to inflict some damage . \\ni have to admit that once the first glimpse of victory over the nazis sprang up , i couldn\\'t help but feel some sense of joy and relief . \\nto triumph against all odds is a cliche to be sure , but there\\'s nothing cliche about the graphic , detailed , atmosphere here because it really happened . \\none of the most surprising aspects of the film is how little story construction there is , and yet the events that take place make sense and are interesting . \\nthe plot is practically irrelevant since the film is more concerned with the reality of the war and the soldiers we meet . \\ntom hanks stars as captain miller , a relatively average man who happens to be the leader of a platoon . \\nhe\\'s never obsessive or any such generic , cartoonish characteristic that might dominate a character like this . \\nhe doesn\\'t want to be there any more than his men , but when he is given a mission he intends to carry it out . \\nthe mission the film is concerned with is , as the title states , saving private ryan . \\nthrough a series of command started by an ordinary clerical worker , it is brought to a general\\'s attention that three brothers from iowa have been killed in action and their mother will receive notices of each\\'s death simultaneously . \\nwhen they learn a fourth brother is stationed somewhere in europe , they make it a top priority to have him returned safely to his mother . \\nit\\'s easy to sympathize with this situation , after all , no one should have to lose all their children at once . \\nbut finding one man in this war is , as miller puts it , \" like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles . \" \\nthe saving of private ryan isn\\'t just a dramatic device , but a thematic one . \\nhis salvation represents the sense of innocence the country , the world even , was trying to convince itself it still had . \\nwhen miller\\'s company hears of the mission , they scoff at the idea assuming he is dead , but miller isn\\'t so quick to shrug it off . \\nhe knows the only thing that can really save soldiers from death is hope , and now he has the opportunity to make someone\\'s sense of hope a reality . \\nthe mission to find ryan gives miller\\'s group a destination , but not direction . \\nalong the way many things happen to them , both good and bad . \\na few battles are fought , not to be major accomplishments for the war , but because they encounter german soldiers and have no other choice . \\nthe act of killing itself becomes one of the film\\'s major philosophical metaphors . \\nthe soldiers don\\'t mind killing other soldiers in blind battle , but when they come across a lone survivor who begs them to let him go , they can barely stop themselves from killing him in cold blood as some kind of vengeance for their losses . \\nunfortunately , death is a fact of war , and most films try to avoid it when it comes to the main characters , but here spielberg doesn\\'t want us to think these men are invincible . \\nin fact , only a small amount of color and personality is sketched into each man , and the performances are good enough to make this method work . \\nalthough the characters are somewhat typical , the actors maintain control over the material at all time . \\nwhether they\\'re arguing with each other , telling stories of back home , or fighting the germans , they never go overboard and always seem believable . \\nsure , there\\'s a zinger here and there , but war doesn\\'t change the fact boys will be boys . \\nif and when one dies we too can feel the loss , even though we hardly knew them . \\nthe final act brings the story full circle with another tremendous , violent battle sequence . \\nprivate ryan has been found , but facing four to one odds , can the americans defeat the germans and keep ryan alive ? \\nthat\\'s not a premise for thrills , it\\'s symbolic of everything the film has worked for . \\nit would be wrong to say the film has either a happy or sad ending , it ends the way it must end . \\ni remember reading a \" calvin & hobbes \" comic strip where calvin asked his dad something like , \" dad , how do armies of men killing each other solve problems ? \" \\n \" saving private ryan \" is the adult version of that question . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this movie was one of the first american films done by director paul verhoeven . \\nhe has done films since then such as basic instict and starship troopers . \\nall of his movies have one main thing in common- they don't skimp on the violence . \\nin a verhoeven movie a guy doesn't get shot once in the chest- he gets shot many times all over the body . \\nrobocop takes place in detroit in the future . \\nthings are pretty bleak . \\nthe company ocp rules the city with an iron fist and is moving in on running the police force . \\npeter weller plays a cop who goes on a mission with his partner , nancy allen . \\npeter weller goes in an empty room alone and gets killed . \\nmeanwhile ocp has a failed demonstration of a ed-209 model robot crime fighter . \\nsomeone comes up with the idea of having a cyborg robocop so they use any parts worth scalvaging from peter weller and make him into the robocop the movie is titled after . \\nthe plot of this movie generally runs at a decent pace . \\nit drags a bit towards the end with robocop wanting to finish everybody off , but plot twists keep it exciting . \\nthe acting is bad from weller when he is human , but very good when he is robocop . \\nnancy allen does a decent job . \\nthis movie doesn't leave itself open for a sequel exactly . \\nbut they made one anyway . \\nenter . . . \\nrobocop 2 starring : peter weller and nancy allen directed by : irvin kershner \\ndetroit is in a more bleak state than it was in the first film . \\nocp is trying to develop an improved 'robocop 2' that will be more than a match for criminals . \\nmost of the police force is on strike due to ocp taking it over , leaving robocop to be the police force in the city . \\nthis film is pretty bizaare . \\nit has a 13 year-old drug-lord who curses as much as eddie murphy , even more violence than the original , and some more humor . \\nthe plot of this movie is pretty large , almost too much so . \\nthere are three or four plot lines weaving around that don't really match up . \\nthe effects are still decent though . \\nthis sequel isn't more of the same really , just a darker version robocop dealing more with drugs than with armed criminals . \\nif you liked the first one , watch this . \\nbut be dissapointed . \\nso later comes . . . \\nrobocop 3 starring nancy allen and robert john burke \\nocp is now owned by a large japanese company . \\nrobocop joins a band of rebels to counter-attack the evil empire , i mean ocp . \\nthe japanese send a cyborg-ninja to deal with robocop . \\namong other things . . . \\nthis movie is easier to follow than the last one . \\nwhich means the plot isn't quite as crowded . \\nthis movie isn't anything special though . \\njust more of robocop blasting things up in a more kid-friendly way . \\nreally not reccomended . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'truman ( \" true-man \" ) burbank is the perfect name for jim carrey\\'s character in this film . \\npresident truman was an unassuming man who became known worldwide , in spite of ( or was it because of ) his stature . \\n \" truman \" also recalls an era of plenty following a grim war , an era when planned communities built by government scientists promised an idyllic life for americans . \\nand burbank , california , brings to mind the tonight show and the home of nbc . \\nif hollywood is the center of the film world , burbank is , or was , the center of tv\\'s world , the world where our protagonist lives . \\ncombine all these names and concepts into \" truman burbank , \" and you get something that well describes him and his artificial world . \\ntruman leads the perfect life . \\nhis town , his car , and his wife are picture perfect . \\nhis idea of reality comes under attack one day when a studio light falls from the sky . \\nthe radio explains that an overflying airplane started coming apart . \\n . \\n . \\nbut then why would an airplane be carrying a studio light ? \\nthe next day during the drive to work , the radio jams and he starts picking up a voice that exactly describes his movements . \\nhe is so distracted that he nearly hits a pedestrian . \\nwhen the radio comes back to normal , the announcer warns listeners to drive carefully . \\nhis suspicion aroused , he wanders around the town square looking for other oddities . \\nthe world appears to be functioning properly until he enters an office building and tries to take the elevator . \\nthe elevator doors open up on a small lounge with people on coffee breaks . \\na grip sees truman him and quickly moves a paneled door , made to look like the back of an elevator , into place . \\ntwo security guards grab him and throw him out . \\ntruman is really suspicious now . \\nit gets even worse the next day when his wife , a nurse , describes an elevator accident in the building where he saw the lounge . \\n \" it\\'s best not to think about it , \" she says , trying vainly to change truman\\'s memory . \\ntruman becomes determined to see who or what is behind this apparently elaborate hoax at his expense . \\nat every turn he is stopped by an amazing coincidence that just happens to keep him in his own little town . \\nhis last hope is to quell his fear of the ocean and sail to the edge of the world . \\nyou know by now that truman\\'s life is the subject of a television program . \\nhis actions are \" real \" but everything else is carefully scripted , from the death of his father to the choice of his wife . \\ntruman is determined to find out what the big hoax is . \\nmeanwhile , christof , the all-seeing creator of truman\\'s world does his best to keep him unaware and happy . \\nit\\'s sort of like westworld told from the robots\\' point of view , or jurassic park from the dinosaurs\\' point of view . \\nwe root for the captive of the cage-world . \\nour protagonist is counting on \" chaos theory \" to help him escape his elaborate trap . \\nthe story , written by andrew niccol ( writer/director of gattaca ) , introduces some interesting questions , such as the ethics of subjecting a person to this type of life , or the psychological impact of learning that your entire life has all been fake . \\nalthough these questions came to mind , i don\\'t think the film itself asked them . \\nit certainly didn\\'t address them or try to answer them . \\ni was particularly disappointed that the film didn\\'t deal more with the trauma of learning one\\'s life is a tv show . \\ncarrey\\'s performance at the end showed a smidgen of truman\\'s pain , but i almost felt that he got over it too easily for the sake of the film\\'s pacing . \\nearlier in the movie i found myself wondering if it would be better for truman to find out the truth or whether i should root for him to be well . \\nthe two seemed exclusive of one another , but weir and niccol didn\\'t see it that way . \\nperhaps it\\'s not fair to criticize a movie for what it isn\\'t , but it seems like there were some missed opportunities here . \\nbut on its own terms , the movie is well made . \\nsight , sound and pacing are all handled competently . \\nmuch of the first part of the movie is the truman show . \\nthe scenes are all apparently shot from hidden cameras , with snoots and obstructions covering the corners of the screen . \\none hidden camera is apparently in his car radio , the green led numbers obscuring the lower part of the screen . \\nthe music is well-chosen and scored . \\nthe film opens with what sounds like family drama theme music , when truman\\'s world is still beautiful and perfect . \\nwhen the movie ends , the score sounds more like a frantic , driven , tangerine dream opus , while still keeping the same timbre . \\nphilip glass\\' epic music ( from powaqqatsi ) permeates truman\\'s scenes of suspicion and awakening . \\n ( glass has a small cameo as a keyboardist for the show . ) \\nand the pacing of the story was brisk . \\nthere was no unnecessarily long setup explaining the concept behind the truman show , just a few quick title cards , a few interviews , and then right into the show , and the movie . \\none of the first scenes is of the studio light falling ; there was no token scene of truman\\'s idyllic life before it falls apart , because it wasn\\'t necessary , we pick up the story at the first sign of trouble , and no sooner . \\nthere\\'s also no point in the movie where the plot slows down . \\nit\\'s a quick , straight shot to the movie\\'s end . \\nin terms of overall quality , i would compare the truman show to niccol\\'s gattaca . \\nboth films are well made with interesting stories set in interesting worlds . \\nbut neither film really felt like it capitalized on all the great ideas ; neither film \" clicked \" and became an instant classic . \\nnevertheless , i look forward to niccol\\'s next film , whatever it may be . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'tibet has entered the american consciousness slowly during the past few years and burst into the forefront recently . \\nthe dalai lama has made speaking tours , tibetan designs and artifacts are showing up in shops , the plight of the people has captured the imagination of major actors and artists and now there are two big budget films within as many months . \\n \" kundun \" ( \" presence \" , a name the monks call the young dalai lama ) opens in 1937 with the search for the 14th incarnation of the tibetan leader . \\na group of monks enters a village and a two-year-old child catches their attention . \\nthe young boy proves himself by identifying possessions of the previous holy man as \" mine \" . \\nhe and his family are then moved to a monastery in lhassa where he is to be prepared to take his position as the religious and political leader of the country . \\nhe is forced into difficult decisions when china invades the country in 1950 . \\nthe peaceful and isolated country is ill-equipped to fight off the intruders and diplomatic attempts over the next years yield no results . \\neventually he must make the painful choice to flee to neighboring india . \\ncomparisons to \" seven years in tibet \" are inevitable . \\nboth films cover much of the same ground although the earlier movie does so from a westerner\\'s point of view and features boxoffice draw brad pitt . \\n \" kundun \" features only native actors and is more of an insider\\'s story . \\nin some ways , this makes this film a superior concept , but it lacks the movement and spark that made \" seven years \" such an audience-pleaser . \\nthe actors contribute to the realistic feel of the movie ( filmed in morocco for obvious reasons ) . \\nthe only disappointment is chairman mao who looks like a wax dummy and moves as if he were a computer-generated character . \\non an intellectual level , it is interesting to see how two different approaches handle the same facts . \\nsome events are depicted differently and pitt\\'s austrian mountain-climber who was portrayed as a pivotal influence in the dalai lama\\'s life isn\\'t even mentioned here . \\nglossed over in \" seven years \" , the problems with the tibetan political system is hinted at here as the dalai lama muses \" we were just about to change things \" after the chinese attack . \\nthe film is magnificently beautiful thanks primarily to the cinematography of roger deakins . \\nhis lingering camera shows the exotic tibetan culture with luscious detail . \\nespecially striking is an extreme moving close up of a sand mandala grain by grain . \\nthe visual treats more than make up for the movie\\'s faults creating a poetic meditation for the audience . \\nwalking out of the theater you feel like you have awakened from a transcendental experience . \\nmartin scorsese , known for his dark tales of the underworld ( \" goodfellas \" , \" taxi driver \" , \" casino \" ) has shifted gears . \\nsomething of a thematic follow-up to his \" the last temptation of christ \" , this is his slowest film yet . \\noddly enough for a director with a history of graphic violence presenting a history filled with atrocities by the chinese , most of these events take place off-screen . \\nhis decision to not over-explain rituals is commendable . \\nthe stumbling oracle who spits out his prophecies while in a trance state is much more effective as a mystery than if we were spoon-fed interpretations . \\nphilip glass\\'s score is impressive although at times it is too overwhelming and distracting . \\ni talked to a tibetan i met outside the theater who had just seen the film and was walking back in to see it again . \\nhearing his description of how he escaped from tibet at the age of seven and how his father was one of the soldiers accompanying the dalai lama during his trip to india , i was struck by what was missing in the movie . \\nas grand as it looks and as historically accurate as it is , there is a distance between the audience and the movie . \\nthe film is more concerned with visuals and history and less so with human beings . \\nwith the exception of a few scenes , involvement with the characters is slight . \\none of those exceptions is the portrayal of the young dalai lama , shown as a mischievous boy who can\\'t resist being a kid sometimes . \\nan encounter with his older brother thubten j . norbu ( a retired indiana university professor ) who tells the young leader the chinese have ordered him to persuade him to accept communist rule or kill him is an outstanding moment , but there aren\\'t many of these . \\neven with its problems , the \" kundun \" experience is phenomenal , but one that i fear most will miss . \\nmany people who saw \" seven years in tibet \" will have a \" been there , done that \" attitude . \\nit\\'s likely that the film will miss a wide-spread appeal and public response will be the sound of one hand clapping . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'before the remake of psycho appears , we\\'ve got to suffer through this remake of an earlier hitchcock film , dial m for murder . \\nas usual , hollywood has filled it with glitz and big name stars , and it all amounts to a loud sounding nothing . \\nthe film opens with emily ( paltrow ) and david ( viggo mortensen ) \\'having fun\\' in an loft apartment . \\nthe problem is , paltrow is married to stephen ( douglas ) , who is not too happy when he discovers this affair . \\nif i was paltrow , though , i\\'d definitely go with mortensen . \\nless wrinkles . \\nanyhow , stephen approaches david with an interesting proposition : he\\'ll pay him to kill his lovely wife . \\nmortensen agrees , but the murder goes awry , and the twists keep on coming as the film progresses . \\nunfortunately , the film dosen\\'t progress very fast . \\nin fact , it moves like a tortoise with arthritis ( read : very , very s-l-o-w . ) \\nthe plot moves nowhere fast , and only becomes exciting in very short bursts . \\nnot too good for a \\'thriller . \\' \\nalso , the performances , apart from douglas , are below par . \\npaltrow , showing immense talent in se7en ( 1995 ) and sliding doors ( 1997 ) is strangely stilted , even unconvincing , in this movie . \\nmortensen is a little bit better , coming across as a younger douglas , but his role isn\\'t meaty enough to show all his talent . \\nwhich leaves douglas to waltz away with the film , which is does . \\nhowever , i doubt douglas finds it very hard to play a stogie smoking , drinking womanizer with a creepy underside . \\nalso popping up in the film is david suchet , playing a shifty looking detective . \\nagain , it\\'s not a character we\\'re seeing on the screen , it\\'s david suchet . \\nthe director , who bought us the fugitive , piles on all the flash techniques , such as zoom-in\\'s , quick cuts , etc . the lighting is also interesting . \\nhowever , looks can\\'t save this film from the depths of mediocre , and the film seemed to work better in a single set anyway . \\nthe screenplay is o . k , but there\\'s some hackneyed sub-plot about douglas being a ruthless player on wall street ( again ) and the ending is surprisingly stupid and cliched . \\nthe characters also make incredibly dumb moves , especially paltrow , and stephen appears to lose all intelligence in the last reel . \\nwith a combination of no tension , drama , or decent characters , a perfect murder is a failure all round , and an incredible disappointment . \\nthere are a few bright moments , but they are far and few between . \\nthe last thing a thriller should be is boring , and although the film just barely manages to keep your interest thanks to michael douglas , you wouldn\\'t be missing anything if you decided not to watch a perfect murder . \\noverall rating= \\nreview by david wilcock ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"so many students strive to get into schools such as harvard of princeton , but they just don't get the good grades . \\nso many students would do anything to reach their goal of getting into this schools . \\nlegend has it that if your roommate commits suicide , the remaining roommates will get an automatic 4 . 0 . \\nchris ( michael vartan ) and tim ( matthew lillard ) are two guys who really want the 4 . 0 to get into harvard . \\nhow far will they go to get their 4 . 0 ? \\nchris and tim are also roommates with rand , played by randall batinkoff . \\nthe two scheme to murder rand , make it look like a suicide , so they can supposedly get their 4 . 0 . \\nthey have heard this rumor many places , and they are willing to take the chance to find out . \\nrand is a very , very mean person . \\nhe treats his girlfriend natalie , played by tamara craig thomas , like she doesn't matter at all . \\nshe is very afraid of him , and she especially afraid now that she must tell him she is pregnant . \\nshe does tell him , and he becomes enraged . \\nthat night would be the last night of rand's life . \\ntim and chris give rand a bottle of rat poison , making him think that it is beer . \\nrand drinks down the poison , and then dies . \\nnow , tim pushes him off of a mountain with a suicide note near the site to make it look like he killed himself . \\nit does not take long until the suicide note is found , but the body isn't found . \\nthe police question chris and tim about rand to try and find any information . \\nfeeling extreme guilt , chris is having a very hard time , especially with his girlfriend , emma , played by keri russell . \\nshe wants to know more , but he will not even speak with her . \\nwill he give in ? \\nwill tim turn chris in ? \\nwill chris turn tim in ? \\nwill they turn themselves in ? \\nall of these questions were running through my mind while watching this slick suspense film . \\nthe events in the curve are very surprising , original , and fun . \\nthe plot sounds much like dead man on campus , but that is not the deal with this film . \\nthis film is a very serious one , with not many laughs . \\nthere are many twists and turns that make this film different from most films . \\nthe ending in particular is completely unpredictable and satisfying . \\nit is a terrific , suspenseful ending that i could never predict would happen . \\nhands down to dan rosen who wrote this wild ride . \\nthe sound really stood out in the film . \\nit is quite eerie and it really adds to the feel of the film . \\nthe way the movie is filmed is also great . \\nall of the technical aspects , as well as the acting and directing aspects are very well done . \\nthe performances in the curve are very good . \\nmatthew lillard gets to play another creepy role , just like in 1996's scream . \\n ( a+ ) he is very strange in this film as well . \\ni like him in this sort of role , rather than the roles he has been playing in comedies such as senseless and she's all that . \\nmichael vartan is fantastic as chris , who has extremely mixed emotions about the entire murder and the 4 . 0 . \\nmichael vartan was also superb in never been kissed , where he co-starred with drew barrymore as a teacher who fell in love with his student . \\nkeri russell also gives a great performance . \\nshe should be a good actress in the horror department of the film . \\ntamara craig thomas is also realistic , especially coping with the death of her boyfriend . \\nsome very strong supporting performances came from smaller roles , such as bo dietl and anthony griffith who play two detectives investigating the case . \\nthe bottom line- i might just have to curve that a- into an a . \\n * note- the curve premiered at the sundance film festival in early 1998 . \\nit was decided the film would not be released widely . \\nit is now available at blockbuster video only , and for rent only . \\nsee you at the video store ! \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'if there were a subject just screaming to be made into a film , it was studio 54 , the late steve rubell\\'s infamous new york discotheque , which came to symbolize the taboo-smashing excesses of the disco era\\'s heyday : easy drugs and even easier sex between everyone , all set to a thumping dance beat . \\nso when miramax started production on _54_ last year , the buzz of hype and resulting anticipation began : an edgy film as down-and-dirty as the club itself , written and directed by a promising first-timer ( mark christopher ) and starring some hot young talent ( salma hayek , neve campbell , newcomer ryan phillippe , and mike myers in his dramatic debut ) . \\nmy , how easily does the worm turn . \\nhype turned into damage control when word got out about 11th-hour reshoots ( wrapped only a month ago ) , a rash of studio-imposed edits that left virtually the entire cast and crew ( especially christopher ) unhappy , and the very likely possibility that miramax would not screen the finished film for critics . \\nat the last minute , though , miramax did decide to screen the film ( so hastily scheduled was the screening that myers\\'s last name was misspelled on the invitation , not to mention the numerous typos in the press notes ) for a media audience that came away noticeably less than impressed , myself included . \\nand with good reason--somehow , some way , the supremely disappointing _54_ has made the historically hip haven of hedonism . . . \\nboring . \\nalthough christopher has distanced himself from the finished film , he still must shoulder some of the blame for _54_\\'s lifelessness . \\n_54_ focuses , for the most part , on a tight-knit trio of employees at the club : coat check girl/aspiring disco diva anita ( a wasted hayek ) ; her busboy husband , greg ( breckin meyer ) ; and , most prominently , the fresh-from-jersey shane o\\'shea ( phillippe ) , who enjoys a quick rise from busboy to head bartender . \\nthese characters are about as generic as those descriptions . \\nin focusing on the hired help , christopher really missed the boat . \\nwith the exception of the flamboyant , always-woozy rubell ( myers , in a well-modulated turn ) , the meaty stories to be told at studio 54 are not the workers\\' but those of the people who went there to party ; not necessarily the numerous vip guests , but the wild eccentrics who managed to be picked from the crowd by the club\\'s famously hard-ass doormen and dance ( among other things ) the night away with the rich , famous , and infamous ( the only taste of the crowd comes by way of ellen dow\\'s feisty dottie , a disco- and drug-crazed granny , but she\\'s a peripheral character at best ) . \\nas such , aside from the expected overhead crowd shots , there is precious little actual _dancing_ in _54_ . \\nwhat is a disco film--especially one about the pinnacle of the movement--without the dancing ? \\neven whit stillman\\'s _the_last_days_of_disco_ , which wasn\\'t so much concerned with disco as it was witty dialogue within a group of hip-to-only-themselves club-hopping preppies , featured at least one extended dance scene . \\ndancing isn\\'t the only thing glazed over in _54_--so is the sex , but that may not be entirely christopher\\'s fault . \\nfrom what i\\'ve heard , his original vision was something considerably more dark and daring , starting with the shane character : he was conceived ( and actually filmed ) as a wild , morally ambiguous bisexual , which would have made an efficient springboard to cover the pansexual pleasure palace aspect of studio 54\\'s legend . \\nbut somewhere between principal photography and the final cut , shane was defanged and quite literally straightened out ; consequently , so was the film . \\naside from a brief glimpse of erotic encounters toward the beginning of the film , shane\\'s fleeting dalliance with seductive socialite billie ( sela ward ) , and an abbreviated bedhopping montage , the sexual dimension is just about ignored . \\nshane , in this incarnation , is sanitized to the point of blandness , an idealistic do-gooder who pines for a frequent guest at the club , julie black ( campbell ) , a worldly soap star with , yes , a heart of gold . \\nthis tacked-on \" romance \" would have been slightly less tedious if either campbell or phillippe made some connection with each other or the audience . \\nthey fail on both counts . \\nultimately , _54_\\'s failure comes down to three letters : f-u-n . \\nas in , there isn\\'t any to be had for the audience . \\ntoo much time is spent with the boring shane , and too little is spent on the club floor , where all the action took place . \\nanyhow , though , whatever time is spent on the 54 floor is not used very effectively . \\nwhen anita finally gets her big break and perform onstage at the club , it should be a euphoric height , for her , the crowd , and the audience ; however , the moment doesn\\'t get a chance to reach that level , for it is cut short by a moment of forced sentimentality , which also mars the film\\'s conclusion ( one of the last-minute reshoots ) . \\nstrangely upbeat and wistful , the resolution is wholly unconvincing and unsatisfying . \\nthere is an interesting portrait of studio 54 out there--two of them , in fact--but _54_ is not one of them . \\nthey\\'re on cable tv : a couple of documentaries produced by e ! and vh1 . \\nthese two fascinating looks at the club and all the sordid goings-on within it show that there\\'s still a great disco movie to be made . \\nthe problem is , after the critical and certain box office failure of _54_ , the subject may have run its hollywood course . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'let\\'s say you live at the end of an airport runway . \\nlarge jetliners continuously pass over your house , rattling your windows and allowing few moments of peace . \\nlet\\'s say the ground beneath your feet is also contaminated with toxic substances , and high voltage power lines run across steel towers only yards from your home . \\nnow let\\'s say an airport conglomerate wants to buy your property in order to lengthen the runway , and offers you more than it\\'s worth . \\nwouldn\\'t you jump in the air and have your bags packed before you landed ? \\nof course you would . \\nbut what if this bit of land was your idea of paradise , and the house your castle ? \\nthat\\'s what they are to darryl kerrigan ( michael caton ) , and although he\\'s happy that a multi-national corporation would like to buy his home , sorry , it\\'s not for sale . \\nunfortunately , the corporation wields quite a bit of influence over the australian government , which serves darryl and his family with what amounts to an eviction notice . \\nnot about to take this lying down , darryl enlists the help of his inept attorney friend dennis denuto ( tiriel mora ) and makes a determined , albeit pathetic , attempt to fight back . \\nthe castle , an australian comedy by rob sitch , is perhaps one of the simplest movies i\\'ve seen in recent memory , yet also one of the funniest . \\nin fact , it is this film\\'s reliance on simplicity which makes it so successful . \\nthe good guys and the bad guys are clear , the humor is straightforward , and the storyline is as uncomplicated as it gets . \\nit\\'s the perfect setup for a relaxing , hilarious good time , and as much as i hate to admit it , i liked the fact that i didn\\'t have to think all that much while watching this film . \\ni just sat back and enjoyed myself . \\nthe situation is one we\\'ve seen before : regular joe fights back against the government , or big business , or whatever . \\nwhat makes this film different is its characters . \\ndarryl thinks he\\'s got the best life in the world - he tells his family that living next to power lines is a constant reminder of the success of mankind , he asks who would ever want to go out and eat in a fancy restaurant when he\\'s got the meat loaf feast prepared by his wife sal ( anne tenny ) , and he swells with pride when his son dale ( stephen curry ) digs a hole in the yard . \\nsteve kerrigan ( anthony simcoe ) constantly combs the buy and sell ads looking for \" investments \" like jousting sticks and overhead projectors , while wayne kerrigan is in jail , as a result of dennis denuto\\'s incompetent courtroom maneuvers . \\nthe great thing about the kerrigans is that they aren\\'t so stupid that they get annoying . \\nthey\\'re just a group of simpletons whose naive nature is perfectly harmless and even endearing . \\nwe look upon them with a little bit of pity , but a whole lot of affection . \\nscreenwriters sitch , santo cilauro , tom gleisner , and jane kennedy pit this lovable bunch of unlikely crusaders against a stoic court system and a condescending business conglomerate , further polarizing the extremes and deepening our feelings for the kerrigans . \\nsympathy for their situation , the laughter they bring us , and the family\\'s wonderful characterization , simple as it may be , leaves us with a degree of emotional investment that causes us to actually care about what happens to them . \\ni suppose one might wonder how deep characterization can go when your characters are as inane as the kerrigans , but trust me , it works . \\ni particularly noted that the writers did not have to use slapstick in order to get laughs . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong - slapstick , when executed well , can be genius . \\nit\\'s just that too often , a film will resort to it\\'s use as a shortcut to amusing the audience , not always successfully . \\ninstead , the jokes in the castle are all hinged upon the dialog uttered by these people who have no idea that they are totally skewed to the rest of the world . \\nwhen they are by themselves , the are funny , and when they are with normal people , they are hilarious . \\none of the few problems i saw with this film was a detour taken about midway though . \\nthe kerrigans go out to a vacation spot for seemingly no reason other than to pack in a few more jokes and increase the film\\'s running time . \\nluckily , it\\'s a funny little detour that , while slightly distracting from the film\\'s main drive , is still quite enjoyable . \\nwith all the levity abound in the castle , the film still manages to take on a pretty heavy concept , that of the innate right of a citizen to keep his property , an issue which has been bandied about in courts across the civilized world with differing outcomes . \\ni\\'m not certain the courtroom monologue near the end of the film would actually hold up in real life , but it brings to the forefront the essence of the constitution ( of australia ) and certainly sounds impressive at any rate . \\nand , for that matter , it\\'s more than i would have expected out of a light hearted film like this . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'felix ( sami bouajila , \" the siege \" ) lives a contented life with his boyfriend daniel ( pierre-loup rajot ) in the little town of dieppe in northern france . \\nwhen he is laid off from his job , after discovering the address of the father who abandoned him before he was born , he decides to journey to marseilles , in the south , to find the man he never met in \" the adventures of felix . \" \\nwriters/directors olivier ducastel and jacques martineau made their debut with the musical comedy \" jeanne and the perfect guy , \" embracing that typically american genre . \\ntheir second effort , \" the adventures of felix , \" once again borrows from america with a tale of a young man who hits the road to find himself . \\nfelix is happy with his life in dieppe , but when the ferry company he works for falls prey to the economics of the chunnel , he is out of a job and at loose ends . \\nwhen he goes through his late mother\\'s papers he learns that the father he never knew is living in marseilles , hundreds of miles away . \\nfelix makes the snap decision to journey to the south , puts together a supply of \" cocktails \" for his hiv virus , kisses daniel goodbye and heads off on foot . \\nhe refuses to use trains and wants to avoid big cities as he hitchhikes across france to find his destiny . \\nalong the way , a series of chance encounters with various strangers teaches felix that family is not always made up of blood relations . \\non the road , he witnesses a race-related mugging that turns into murder and , frightened for his own safety , runs away without telling the police . \\nfollowing this harrowing experience , he has his first chance meeting that begins the unconscious construction of his ideal family . \\nhis journey brings him to rouen , and the film\\'s first title section , \" my little brother , \" where he meets jules , a young art student who becomes smitten with felix . \\nthey steal a car and develop a chaste , brotherly affection before felix must move on . \\nhe next meets elderly mathilde ( patachou ) , in the chapter titled \" my grandmother , \" and soon learns that she , too , has a fondness for the same tv soap opera that felix has grown addicted to . \\nshe wants him to stay with her , but he must continue on his way to find his father . \\nin the weakest chapter of felix\\'s road trip , titled \" my cousin , \" he meets a railroad worker ( philippe garziano ) and has a brief sexual encounter before heading off , once again , toward marseilles . \\nhe next helps a stranded lady motorist , isabelle ( ariane ascaride ) , and shags a ride with her and her three kids ( each with a different daddy ) in the sequence titled \" my sister . \" \\nhe is torn by the inner turmoil of not going to the police about the murder he witnessed and isabelle comforts him just as a sister would . \\non the final leg of the journey titled \" my father , \" he meets an older man , a fisherman ( maurice benichou ) , who enlightens him about the real facts of life and family while they fly felix\\'s kite , just like a father and son . \\n \" the adventures of felix \" has a number of things going for it as we follow felix on his journey of discovery . \\nfirst and foremost is the charming performance by sami bouajila as felix . \\nhe is a likable guy , fighting his hiv with his doses of \" cocktails , \" and lights up the screen as he makes the long walk , often with dance and song , to find his father and himself . \\nas he encounters each member of his new family , promising each that he will send a postcard when he arrives at his final destination , he grows a little bit more spiritually and emotionally . \\nbouajila does a terrific job holding center stage on the screen . \\nthe cast of characters making up felix\\'s new-found family are nearly as charming as the star , each in their own way . \\npatachou , especially , is wonderful as the grandma character and a kindred spirit to felix . \\nariane ascaride , along with her kids , gives a perf that really makes you think of her as the sister that the young man never had . \\nonly the \" cousin \" chapter lacks the emotional depth of the rest and feels like a perfunctory addition to felix\\'s \" family . \" \\n \" the adventures of felix \" does not reinvent the road movie , but it does provide a charismatic telling of a young man\\'s journey to find himself and , to his surprise , his discovery is dramatically different than he expected at the beginning . \\nit helps that cinematographer matthieu poirot-delpech\\'s crisp lensing compliments the story perfectly as felix moves across the french countryside . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'movie concepts are often pitched to producers with mathematical formulas involving successful films of the past . \\nso , undoubtedly one day someone said , \" \\'evolution ? \\' \\nit\\'s \\'ghostbusters\\' plus \\'men in black\\' plus \\'tremors . \\' \" \\nand so it is . \\nsum total none . \\nthe alienbusting begins when a meteor lands in glen canyon , arizona . \\ncommunity college science profs ira kane ( david duchovny ) and harry block ( orlando jones ) take some samples from the meteor and discover that one-celled organisms from inside it are evolving rapidly , doing in hours what took millions of years for life on earth . \\njust about the time i was wondering , \" hey , doesn\\'t the government usually come in and take over the whole area in these movies , \" the government came in and took over the whole area . \\nthe leader of the pack , gen . woodman ( ted levine ) , turns out to be an old nemesis of ira\\'s , and ira and harry are blocked from doing further research . \\nmeanwhile , the organisms continue to grow until they are large enough to start attacking people . \\nby this time , ira and harry have gained a friend in dr . allison reed ( julianne moore ) of the center for disease control . \\na country club poolboy , wayne green ( seann william scott ) , has also attached himself to the merry band . \\nbut can they find the means to stop the aliens in time ? \\ndirector ivan reitman seems to be revisiting his biggest hit , 1984\\'s \" ghostbusters , \" but \" evolution \" falls miserably short . \\none reason is readily apparent . \\n \" ghostbusters \" had three really funny guys as its scientists ( bill murray , dan aykroyd , and harold ramis ) , but \" evolution \" has one really funny guy ( orlando jones ) who can adlib and milk the comic potential of lines that prove useless in anyone else\\'s hands . \\nfor good measure , \" ghostbusters \" had the comic talents of rick moranis ; \" evolution \" offers seann william scott , who was much funnier in \" american pie \" and \" road trip \" than he is here . \\nscott has one amusing scene where he sings \" you are so beautiful to me \" to a dragon-like alien to draw it into a trap . \\nother than that , scott seems unable to make much of the thin material the writers gave him . \\nan actor in search of a forte , david duchovny looked for his gritty action hero side in \" playing god \" and his romantic side in \" return to me . \" \\nnow he wants to find his wacky comedic talent ; what we all find is that he doesn\\'t have any . \\nlook for him to be back on tv in five years or so . \\nanother sad case is julianne moore , who needs to be more selective about the offers she accepts . \\nshe\\'s a talented actress with an impressive list of credits and award nominations , so why is she trying to do slapstick comedy ? \\nher character has a tendency to trip over and bump into things , but the trait comes off as a pathetic plea for laughs . \\nthe sole saving grace of the film is jones . \\nhe\\'s at the center of the movie\\'s funniest scene -- where an alien bug invades harry\\'s body and has to be pulled out through his ass . \\njones is the only cast member who can take the comedic ball and run with it , but he can\\'t carry the whole movie by himself . \\nhe found himself in a similar situation in \" the replacements , \" where he was also the only comic talent in an ensemble cast . \\njones will eventually find the project that will make him a major comedy star , but this isn\\'t it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'seen december 28 , 1997 at 8 : 45 p . m . at the crossgates mall cinema 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #8 , with matt perreault and my sister jena for free ( matt paid using pre-paid passes ) . \\nif there\\'s ever been an exception to the perils of excessive cliches and non- stop action , the james bond films are it . \\nand if there\\'s ever been a james bond film that not only proves this , but does so by pushing it to the extreme , \" tomorrow never dies \" is it . \\nopening sequences almost always make or break action films . \\nwhen done properly , not only are they actually exciting , but they foreshadow things to come . \\nthis film starts off on the right foot by establishing the kind of atmosphere that could only be found in an action movie , but with a sense of the self-aware , enclosed universe where james bond movies take place in . \\nfirst there\\'s a high-tech , slightly complicated scene involving a british warship crossing into unfriendly , chinese waters . \\nthere\\'s definite tension as there seems to be an unknown , but certainly hostile , third party involved who is manipulating both sides . \\nwhen the scene ends in tragedy , it\\'s clear there\\'s some kind of powerful conspiracy going on , and who else to call on for such a case but james bond ? \\nthe film uses good judgment in the way it introduces us to bond ( brosnon ) . \\nas the enemy was portrayed as evil and mysterious , bond is clearly ( and obviously ) depicted as an out-and-out hero . \\nhe single-handedly takes out a small army of terrorists , and then must escape in the nick of time by flying away in a fighter jet while the co-pilot tries to strangle him and a terrorist in another jet tries to shoot him down ! \\nthis might sound like the kind of cliches films like this are notorious for ( over- ) using , but it works here because the film knows how to get our attention quickly . \\nit\\'s not about the payoff because it\\'s obvious bond will escape , instead , it\\'s the way it processes the action sequences by going over the top and not apologizing for it , all the while creating for witty , hysterical comedy . \\nit seems less emphasis is placed on the villains in thrillers anymore , because of political correctness , and just plain copping-out on behalf of the filmmakers ( even the term \" villain \" sounds passe ) . \\nwhat the film deserves kudos for is its ability to create a villain as heinous as they come , yet making him seem completely plausible . \\njonathon pryce delivers a perfect performance as the arrogant , cunning elliot carver , a media mogul whose goal is to take over the world , that is , through his massive media empire , not through nuclear weapons . \\nthrough some interesting detective work , bond and the english ministry of defense believe carver is behind the trouble brewing in the southern asian seas as a way to create and accurately cover his own news . \\nnot only is that an original idea for a conflict , but one which could carry over into reality . \\nsurprisingly , this is about as detailed as the story allows the specific plot to become . \\nthe film\\'s hook is the action , and of course those cool gadgets and we get plenty of that here as bond goes out to investigate carver and finds himself in a jam or two along the way . \\nthe story works much like bond himself - always on the run and concentrates more on the individual conflicts than any general plot . \\nsomehow a chinese agent , wai lin ( yeoh ) , bumps into bond a few too many times and they find themselves working together . \\nthe chemistry between brosnon and yeoh is rigid , but also works because of this , not in spite of it . \\nthe two are constantly on the run from carver and his goons , yet the film manages to balance the stunts and special effects with its clever story . \\nalthough \" tomorrow never dies \" is far from perfect , it is quite an impressive film in terms of its ability to be so cliche and cartoony and not make plausibility an issue . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" lake placid \" marks yet another entry in the series of \" predator pics \" that were a screen staple in the late 1970s ( post- \" jaws \" ) and were revived recently by the godawful \" anaconda . \" \\n \" placid \" claims to be a \" horror/comedy \" -it\\'s directed by the same guy who did \" house \" -but its attempts at humor are actually less funny than deadpan seriousness of \" anaconda . \" \\npaleontologist kelly scott ( bridget fonda ) is sent up to maine to examine a tooth removed from a body that had been bitten in half on the lake . \\ndiscovering that the tooth belongs to a crocodile ( which shouldn\\'t even be in this hemisphere ) , kelly goes croc-hunting with game warden jack wells ( bill pullman ) and sheriff hank keough ( brendan gleeson ) . \\nthey\\'re joined by an unwelcome guest , hector cyr ( oliver platt ) , a scholar who worships crocs and searches all over the world for them . \\nalong the way , the merry band meets mrs . delores bickerman ( betty white ) , a weird old lady who lives out on the lake . \\nyou know what to expect from this movie : lots of shots where the camera is the eyes of the predator ( croc cam ) swimming toward someone\\'s dangling legs while \" jaws \" -like music plays , one character ( hector ) who\\'s obsessed with the croc and stupidly endangers the rest , another character who insists that the predator can\\'t possibly exist . \\nunlike its slippery cousin \" anaconda , \" \" lake placid \" wants to present its formulaic plot tongue-in-cheek , which is self-defeating . \\nthe result is neither scary nor funny ; it\\'s just tedious . \\nwhile director steve miner has several horror films on his resume ( including two installments of \" friday the 13th \" and \" halloween h20 \" ) , screenwriter david kelley ( best known as the creator of tv series like \" ally mcbeal \" and \" chicago hope \" ) doesn\\'t seem to have the stomach for a chomp \\'em up flick . \\nthe body count is surprisingly low and doesn\\'t include any of the major characters , and most annoyingly kelly and hector insist that they capture the crocodile alive rather than killing it . \\n ( \" lake placid \" manages to have it both ways-i\\'ll let you discover how for yourself ) . \\nthe croc itself is mostly computer-generated , of course . \\nlike the snake in \" anaconda , \" the thirty-foot monster crocodile doesn\\'t seem real ; it moves too quickly and in ways that seem unnatural . \\n \" lake placid \" also offers little explanation for why a giant crocodile is in maine . \\nthere is a lot of semi-mystical mumbo jumbo about how \" we really don\\'t know much about crocodiles . \" \\nthey would have been better off going with something like the urban myth about alligators in the sewers . \\na movie like this doesn\\'t have to offer much of an explanation ( radioactive mutant ? \\ncreature from outer space ? ) , but it does have to give the audience something to hang their disbelief on . \\npullman and fonda seem to be plodding through the movie on auto-pilot . \\nmost of the time , they\\'re probably thinking about killing their agents or wondering if making this movie marks the end of their careers . \\nplatt and white , on the other hand , seem to be giving their best efforts , and they manage to squeeze a few chuckles out of this sorry script . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'what would inspire someone who cannot write or act to pen and star in a movie ? \\na better question , what would inspire a studio to produce said movie ? \\nif you have an answer , let me know . \\nfoolish , the new movie written by and starring master p is a jaw-droppingly horrible film , one with no redeeming value socially , cinematically or otherwise . \\ncomedically it has some potential , but only in its stand-up comedy moments , which i can turn on comedy central for . \\nmaster p stars as fifty dollah\\' ( beat that ! ) as a mobster ( i think ) who is trying to start a comedy club/act with his little brother foolish ( eddie griffin ) . \\nbut the two of them have to deal with an angry mob boss ( played by andrew dice clay , for the very first time entertaining ) , a stubborn club owner and family problems ( the latter in foolish is a perfect example of roger ebert\\'s \" idiot plot , \" if everyone here wasn\\'t an idiot , there would be no problem ) \\nso what does foolish have to offer beside a bunch of idiotic character names ? \\nnot a hell of a lot . \\nas i have mentioned , master p cannot act or write . \\nhe acts like the rapper that he is . \\nthe occasional despair that his script requires him to exhibit is excruciatingly forced , as are his warm and fuzzy scenes with his little bro . \\nas for his script -- well , i suppose he delivers what one would expect from a musical artist with no previous screenwriting experience . \\nif you haven\\'t yet figured it out , that is not saying much . \\nco-star eddie griffin ( really the star of the show ) is quite a different story . \\nthe fact of the matter is that griffin , whose most significant screen outing to date is probably the mildly successful tv show malcolm and eddie on the fledgling upn network , is an extremely talented comedian , stand-up and otherwise . \\nhe has much in common with chris tucker ( rush hour , money talks ) in how quickly and effortlessly his speech flows from his lips . \\nhe spouts profanity with impressive dexterity ( to the extent which that can be done ) , and while i hope that does not become his trademark it works in a few scenes in this movie . \\nand indeed , i laughed at a few stand-up scenes here , but from a feature-length movie i expect more . \\nfoolish provided me with no reason to care for these characters . \\nevery scene which has any potential for dramatic impact is effectively diffused by either a stupid joke ( in a scene where tension escalates between the two brothers , foolish blurts out towards his jewelry-sporting sibling \" you lay one hand on me and this cemetary is going to be a gold rush \" ) or something even more idiotic such as foolish smashing his own car ( to which i said , a bit too loudly for the occasion \" huh ? \" ) after getting slightly upset with his wife . \\nbelieve me when i say that there is nothing in foolish that warrants parting with your hard-earned $8 . \\nyou\\'ll get more laughs from watching 30 minutes of comedy central or any virtually any sitcom if you don\\'t have cable . \\neddie griffin fans may enjoy this derivative ( although offensive ) yarn , but everyone else should stay the hell away . \\n&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the love for family is one of the strongest driving forces in any man\\'s life , especially for those who have fostered their family under precarious circumstances . \\nthematically in cinema , love for family has been used frequently and emphatically to highlight more abstract aspects of characters ; it is rare , however , for it to develop as outstandingly as it does in roberto benigni\\'s neo-classic drama , life is beautiful . \\nthrough a central cast of father , mother , and son , benigni demonstrates the wonderful , undying love that a family shares in the best of times and the worst of times . \\nlife * is * beautiful for guido orefice ( roberto benigni , directing himself here for the sixth time in his career ) , an italian jew , master con man , and aspiring waiter extraordinaire . \\nliving in 1930\\'s italy , he lives a carefree life of good fortune ; it is made even better when he happens upon a pretty schoolteacher named dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . \\nalthough dora is already engaged , guido manages to sweep her off her feet and persuades her to marry him instead ; the two have a child named joshua ( giorgio cantarini ) . \\nunfortunately for the happy family , the third reich and its nazi minions occupy italy and imprison all jews in work camps . \\nit is after the movie takes this dramatic turn that the movie\\'s theme of family love becomes the strongest . \\nalthough prior to this turning point benigni plays guido with a sort of goofy charm , he relaxes the role to ensure his son\\'s happiness . \\nnow , instead of awkwardly seducing the sweet dora , he constantly reassures his son that everything will be all right . \\nbenigni\\'s performance is truly a well-rounded one , and certainly one of the more fluid turns all year . \\nthe supports are all strong as well , but the movie truly excels in its script . \\nlife is beautiful is a self-proclaimed fable , one which tells its story in grand , two-part fashion . \\nin certain parts it manages to sink to the level of a \" saturday night live \" spinoff -- a number of humorous skits connected by a token plot -- but in the movie\\'s second half the script\\'s circular nature becomes admirably obvious . \\ncharacters make reprise appearances in fine form , and certain events which are intially curious become critically linked to the plot\\'s outcome . \\nin all , fans of foreign film will see this as a memorable motion picture , and novice movie-watchers may take this opportunity to see their first \" artsy \" film . \\nlife is beautiful is an artsy movie by convention but easily accessible to everyone , and above all is a fine thematic picture . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"there is a scene early in soul food , george tillman's comedy-drama about a large african-american family and the ordeals they go through during a crisis , that caught me completely off guard . \\nduring a wedding , the groom is flirting with some tramp , and in an attempt to to prevent a scene , his mother in law , played by irma p . hall , comes to the rescue . \\nthe way in which she does this makes me think irma p . hall is one of the greatest actresses around right now . \\nhowever , this is just one magical moment in a movie filled with them . \\nvanessa williams , vivica fox , and nia long star as three sisters who have each gone their own way in life . \\nwilliams is teri , a successful lawyer , who is frustrated by her husband miles attempts at a music career . \\nfox is maxine , the strongest of the sisters , which can be confirmed by the stability of her marriage and the wisdom of her son ahmad , who narrates the film . \\nlong is bird , a hairdresser who is the last of the three to get married . \\nher husband lem is an intense passionate individual whose temper gets the best of him sometime but never stops loving . \\nat the center of everything is irma p . hall , as big mama jo . \\nevery sunday , the family gathers together for dinner at mama jo's house . \\nthere is lots of conversation , lots of laughs , and the occasional controversy . \\nmama jo presides over the family like all mothers should . \\nshe is stern and disciplined , but also caring and forgiving . \\neverything is going fine , until a tragedy befalls mama jo . \\nall of a sudden , a chain reaction of events begin to destroy the family . \\nit gets so bad , sunday dinner is even cancelled . \\nwithout mama jo's guidance , there is noone to keep the family together , which frustrates ahmad . \\nmiles and maxine's marriage begins to fall apart , as he focuses on his music and flirts with the troublesome faith . \\nlem's temper gets the best of him when his convict past starts to catch up to him . \\nand teri tries to prevent maxine's efforts to sell mama jo's house . \\nthe third act of the film deals with ahmad's attempts to patch things up . \\nhe decides to take over where mama jo left off , and tries to get the family back together for one more sunday dinner . \\nthe acting by everyone in the ensemble is outstanding , with special notices to irma p . hall and brandon hammond . \\nhall gives a performance that deserves to be recognized by the academy . \\nher mama jo is one of the most memorable characters i have ever encountered in a movie . \\nbrandon hammond is an actor with a bright future . \\nhe is wise enough not to play cutesy and shows an admirable range and depth , and speaks the final lines of the movie on the perfect note . \\ntillman obviously based this movie on his own memories of growing up . \\nevery scene in the movie is purposeful and convincing ( except maybe an odd flashback sequence ) . \\nthe dialogue is beleiveable and funny . \\nand then there's the food . \\ntillman gives us several close ups of the soul food , and it indeed looks very tasty . \\ni can see why sunday dinners became such a tradition for this family . \\nsoul food is one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" living out loud , \" is the type of motion picture we don\\'t often see : it is a film about mature , intelligent adults , instead of the usual american film , in which children basically dress up in grown-up clothing and parade around acting like immature seven-year-olds . \\njudith ( holly hunter ) , a fortysomething living in new york city , has been having a difficult time with life lately . \\nshe is extremely depressed about her recent divorce to her husband ( martin donovan ) , who had been cheating on her . \\nshe cannot sleep , haunted by terrible memories , often imagines off-the-wall things to try and make the world seem like a better place , and the only place she can really go to feel happy is to hear one of her favorite singers , liz bailey ( queen latifah ) , perform at a local club . \\njudith\\'s life does start to brighten a little when , one night when she gets home to her apartment late , strikes up a conversation with the elevator operator , pat ( danny devito ) , a lonely man in his fifties whom has lost his daughter recently . \\nboth of them create a sort of emotional connection with each other , seeking comfort with the other person , but while pat starts to form a deep love for her , judith only wants to remain friends . \\n \" living out loud , \" which was written by richard lagravenese ( \" the bridges of madison county \" ) , who is also making his directing debut here , is a wonderful film from beginning to end , one that is honest , genuinely funny , and poignant . \\nthe three central characters , that of judith , pat , and liz , are all written to be free-thinking , complex human beings , and are all likable , but flawed , people who are constantly interesting , as is the film itself . \\none highly original element of the film is that judith occasionally imagines things occuring in her mind in the way she wishes they would happen . \\nsometimes it results in comedy , and sometimes it turns out to be subtle and truly touching . \\none sequence that stands out is when judith is at a restaurant by herself , reading a novel . \\nan older woman comes over to her , mentions that that is a great book she is reading , and then goes over to join her own friends . \\nas the woman sits down , she looks over to see judith by herself , and motions for her to come join them . \\ninstantly , we realize this was simply in judith\\'s mind , as we see the same woman just sit down at the table and begin talking to her friends . \\nholly hunter and danny devito both give the performances of their careers here . \\nhunter , of course , was brilliant in 1993\\'s \" the piano , \" for which she won an academy award , but in this film she is even better , i think . \\nshe finds the right note for each scene and holds it . \\nand devito has never had such a humanistic role before , which i was surprised about . \\nusually he is used as the butt of a joke , or as a caricature , but in this film , has a living-and-breathing , sympathetic person to play . \\ntopping it all off is latifah , also a singer , who is quickly turning into a respectable actress herself , and has a juicy , natural supporting role as , in some ways , judith\\'s role model . \\nanother joy of the film is that it does not somehow form a contrived , \" happy \" ending , but , in staying with its realistic tone , manages to be upbeat , but truthful . \\nthe last shot is an especially powerful image . \\nnothing is said , but just the image of someone walking down a sidewalk says it all . \\nthe relationship that results between judith and pat is true-to-life and sincere . \\nas we watch these two people talk , and get to know each other , all that we wish for them both is to be happy , even if that does not include for them to become romantically involved . \\nand as , \" living out loud , \" which is one of the best films of the year , proves , sometimes a friendship is the strongest bond anyone could possibly ask for . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the corruptor is a big silly mess of an action movie , complete with pointless plot turns and gratuitous violence . \\nit's not abhorrent , or even blatantly unlikable , but it doesn't make a shred of sense . \\nand whose idea was it to have the director of glengarry glen ross direct an action film ? \\njames foley knows a lot about characters and acting , and those are the strengths of the corruptor . \\nbut the quiet scenes clash with the ludicrous action nonsense , and the result is less like a movie and more like a derailed train . \\nat least we have chow yun-fat in the lead role . \\nchow plays nick chen , a chinatown cop . \\nhe's a good cop , as the first few scenes establish , and he's very familiar with chinatown . \\nthat's probably why the powers-that-be decide to team him up with a rookie named danny wallace ( mark wahlberg ) . \\nnick and danny begin by stepping on each other's toes , but finally end up liking each other once they both get a chance to save the other one's life . \\nwhat happens after that is kind of a mystery to me . \\ni'm fairly certain that the villains are all part of the fukienese dragons , led by a young chinese psycho named bobby vu ( byron mann ) . \\ni'm also pretty sure that nick is on the payroll of henry lee ( ric young ) , a gangster dealing in prostitutes and other neat stuff . \\ni'm not quite sure why henry lee decides to employ danny , although this makes for some ridiculous ( albeit unpredictable ) plot twists along the way . \\nthere's also an interesting subplot revolving around danny's father ( brian cox ) , but it doesn't have much to do with the main story . \\none of the problems , as i said , is that the movie doesn't make any sense . \\ni don't blame this entirely on foley , because he's obviously a good director . \\ni'm more inclined to point my finger at robert pucci's script , which doesn't seem to be in tune to the way normal people act . \\none scene early on had me particularly annoyed : nick confronts his boss because he's angry about his new white partner . \\nhe's shouting and pointing his finger and stepping on the furniture , and i was thinking that i would have fired him if he had done that to me . \\n ( in addition , the film takes a bite into race-related issues , and never develops them at all . ) \\nthere are a lot of scenes like this one , and none of them are very coherent . \\nthere's also a considerable language barrier , given that chow and some of the other actors have thick chinese accents . \\nthe plot itself never straightens out . \\ni'm not sure who or what the fukienese dragons are , or why henry lee is associated with them , or what they do as a group . \\nthe corruptor is an action movie , and so all these weird plot developments are decorated with loud and violent action sequences . \\nthe sequences aren't bad , but they're not new ; how many car chases through chinatown have you seen ? \\non that note , how many chinatown cop movies have you seen ? \\none too many , i'd imagine . \\nfoley's strength is clearly in characterization , and he does a pretty good job here . \\nthe scenes between nick and danny are very good , and i actually got a feel for their characters ; a bond forms between them that holds parts of the film together . \\nchow and wahlberg are both good actors ; chow is a pro , and can do this kind of stuff in his sleep . \\nwahlberg seems less at home in this atmosphere , but he's still fun to watch . \\ni also liked the subplot involving danny's father ; brian cox's performance is powerful , and his character makes a compelling moral compass for danny . \\nbut the film ultimately fails , mostly at the hands of insane incoherence and overly-familiar action scenes . \\na complicated plot can be successful , but the story needs to make sense when it's over . \\nthe corruptor never manages to make any sense -- it just keeps spinning out of control until , finally , there's nothing left to hold on to . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"some concepts seem patently hopeless from the beginning , a live-action version of mr . \\nmagoo being a prime example . \\nthe cartoon figure mr . magoo , the bumbling blind man , can be quite funny , but only in small doses and only within the confines of animated images . \\nif you think naked gun star leslie nielsen is a dubious choice to play the role of the short guy who runs into walls , you are right , but there is an even more astonishing selection . \\nfor a director they tapped hong kong's stanley tong , whose resume consists mainly of a handful of movies featuring martial arts expert jackie chan . \\nthe story , such that there is one , is about a large , stolen ruby , which looks a woolworth reject . \\nmr . magoo gets it and , of course , does not realize he has it . \\nmayhem then ensues as the bad and the good guys chase each other with mr . magoo frequently oblivious to the fact that anyone is being chased . \\nlike home alone 3 but without any class , mr . \\nmagoo can only be described as painfully bad . \\nfifteen minutes of it feels like an eternity . \\nthe movie's humor is pathetically lame , and the pacing is way off . \\nwhen one is stuck in a theater for an hour and a half watching what claims to be a motion picture , one looks for some solace . \\nmr . \\nmagoo provides only three such moments . \\nthe movie begins and ends with the classic cartoon version of the character , who exudes his usual charm . \\nthe only other saving grave in the movie itself is angus , the sweet little bulldog . \\nangus demonstrates more genuine emotions and a wider acting range than any of the humans in the picture . \\nfinally , the ending credits contain outtakes of the movie , which have some of the genuineness and spontaneity that the movie badly lacked . \\nrather than attempt to adapt mr . magoo to a non-cartoon movie , nielsen makes the strategic mistake of trying to literally be a human version of the cartoon . \\nhe has trouble sustaining the squinting eyes and the affected voice , and even when he does it comes off as awkwardly unfunny . \\nmy wife managed to get some sleep during the movie , but i was not so lucky . \\nhopefully , this picture will force producers to think harder about which subjects have promise and which do not . \\nmr . magoo runs 1 : 37 . \\nit is rated pg for comic violence and would be acceptable for all ages . \\nmy son jeffrey , age 8 , said he thought the movie was good and really funny , but recommends you not choose it if you want an action movie . \\nhe said he liked home alone 3 much more . \\nhis friend maxim , age 9 , said that he thought it was good but very silly and parts did not make sense . \\nhis other friend nickolas , age 8 , said he'd give the movie * * * 1/2 , but that it was really silly . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i was originally going to give the spanish prisoner two and half stars . \\nfrom my first viewing , i noticed that david mamet\\'s film was intense and clever at times but boring and cliched at other times especially at the beginning . \\nfrom my second viewing however , i noticed that mamet\\'s script was actually a masterpiece . \\nthe spanish prisoner , like the usual suspects or chinatown , begs for the viewer\\'s complete attention . \\nmiss a scene or even a small detail , and you could miss the meaning of the entire film . \\nalso like the aforementioned films , it rewards its viewer for paying attention by delivering a surprising and memorable ending . \\nmamet is success doing again what he once tackled in 1987 when he wrote and directed house of games . \\nlike his past gem , the spanish prisoner fools the audience as much ( or even more ) than the victim . \\nbecause we were deceived just like the victim , we feel a strong attachment to the main character and consequently are more interested in the film . \\nmamet has the talent of not completely ending a film gift wrapped , but rather leaving some ambiguity towards the end . \\nthe power that he has in forcing the viewer to determine who the good guys and bad guys are once the film is over , without giving a right answer , is unique and ingenious . \\nthe spanish prisoner will leave you seriously puzzled and intrigued . \\nafter seeing the film again , i noticed that the details mamet uses are so incredibly accurate it is frightening . \\nhis direction is very subtle ; as he leaves so many clues explaining what is going on and who is who but it is still very difficult to tell what exactly is happening even if you see all of them , or think you see all of them . \\nthe story follows a young up and coming businessman , joe ross , ( campbell scott ) who has just created a mysterious and lucrative \" process \" that everyone is trying to get their hands on . \\nsoon ross does not know who he can trust or who is after his \" process . \" \\nthrough his journey ross meets a number of mysterious characters : the rich and popular jimmy dell , a secretary who has a huge crush on ross , and ross\\' boss mr . klein . \\nplayed by steve martin , rebecca pidgeon , and ben gazarra respectively , the supporting cast is very solid especially martin , who deserved an oscar nomination for his commanding and manipulative role . \\nthe most interesting character in the film , though , was campbell scott\\'s joe ross . \\nthe character\\'s transformation from an ingenuous and polite rookie to a paranoid veteran is very apparent and justifiable . \\ndavid mamet\\'s script is so interesting because we know people don\\'t actually talk like the characters in the film , yet we feel so connected to some of them . \\nhis beguiling style could fool any viewer up for the challenge . \\nthis is a must see , for those interested in solving a complex puzzle of a movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i saw this film on christmas day expecting an upbeat comedy . \\nboy was i in for a christmas dissapointment ! \\nafter an hour of the movie , i was ready to change rooms-into another theater ! \\nread on to see what i have to say . . . . \\nfour rooms : \\nstarring : tim roth , jennifer beals , antonio banderas , quentin tarantino , valeria golino , madonna , bruce willis , marisa tomei , alicia witt , lili taylor , and ione skye . \\npossible stars ) \\n \" four rooms \" was supposed to be one of the biggest hits of the year . \\nkey word here : \" supposed . \" \\nfour of the biggest directors in hollywood : quentin tarantino , robert rodriguez , alexander rockwell , and alison anders were all directing one big film with a big and popular cast . \\ni guess it was all just too much because this turned out to be the biggest flop of the year and it could of been great . \\nthe plot : it\\'s new years eve and it\\'s a bellboy\\'s first day on the job . \\nhe encounters many mysterious and kinky hotel guests as he tries to handle all his own problems . \\ntarantino told his directors this plot , and each of them wrote a script . \\nit turned out each of them had written a dark comedy . \\nanders wrote and directed the tale about a coven of witches ( madonna , valeria golino , alicia witt , and ione skye ) , which was the worst one out of all of them . \\nthe second room ( jennifer beals ) was better , but lacking in plot . \\nthis room was about a man who accuses every man of sleeping with his wife . \\nthe third room ( antonio banderas ) was the best roomm , about two rambunctous kids that trash a hotel suite . \\nthe final one ( tarantino , willis ) was about a movie star wanting the bellboy to chop off someone\\'s finger . \\nthe movie was just plain trash . \\nthere was nothing here that even makes up a quality film . \\nit was not funny , and i didn\\'t hear one laugh in the theater throughout the whole film . \\ntim roth is horrible as the bumbling and mumbling bellboy , and he ruins every joke in the film . \\nthe supporting cast loses meaning to the word support and the only mentionable actors/actresses are antonio banderas and jennifer beals . \\nmarisa tomei appears in a stupid cameo role . \\nthis movie is the worst film of the year and the film could have been great , perhaps like a more upbeat \" plaza suite , \" but it wasn\\'t . \\nas trashy as it was , some people will call it classic . \\ndo you call a man chopping off a finger with madonna\\'s chest showing a classic film ? \\nlook for more of ken\\'s kritic korner coming soon ! \\nplease check the newsgroups under the movie reviews section for updated reviews . \\np . s . \" four rooms \" made number 1 on my top ten worst list of 1995 . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mpaa : not rated ( though i feel it would likely be pg , for martial-arts violence . ) \\nwith three movies already ( re ) released theatrically in america , and at least three more on their way , jackie chan is one of the newest \" hot properties \" in action adventure stardom , and it\\'s just about time . \\nfor over twenty-five years , jackie\\'s been starring in martial arts and action movies in hong kong , thrilling audiences with both an incredible grasp of acrobatics and martial arts and a wonderful sense of comedy . \\n \" drunken master \" has the distinction of being the first jackie chan movie to \" make it big \" --this is the movie that supposedly set jackie up for big stardom in hong kong . \\ni\\'m not entirely sure why , exactly . \\nin many ways , \" drunken master \" is similar to most of jackie\\'s other early films , such as \" fearless hyena \" i and ii , \" master with cracked fingers \" , \" half a loaf of kung fu \" , \" spiritual kung fu \" , and others . \\nin fact , looking at all these early films together , one gets the impression that they were stamped out , cookie-cutter style , at a rate of four to six per year , all using the same casts and telling very similar stories . \\nto be honest , i think that early jackie chan movies are something of an acquired taste . \\nthey\\'re quite different from action movies as we know them in america . \\nthese films tend to be set in the chinese countryside in an indeterminate period sometime in the distant past , with fairly slow plots that often meander far afield and sometimes seem to exist only for the intention of stringing comedy and fight scenes together . \\n \" drunken master \" , though its plot is tighter than some , is no exception . \\n ( as an aside , \" drunken master \" was the first jackie chan movie i ever saw , and i saw it the way it was meant to be seen . . . in \\na movie theater in seattle , as part of an asian film festival . \\nat the time , i didn\\'t really think it was anything special . . . but \\nafter having seen more films like it , it\\'s kind of grown on me . ) \\n \" drunken master \" \\'s storyline is very similar to that of other early jackie chan movies , such as \" fearless hyena \" i and ii and \" master with cracked fingers \" --slacker martial arts student is taught the martial arts by a harsh-seeming master , and has a big fight with an evil bad guy in the end ( a formula that has been \" adapted , \" to put it kindly , by american films such as karate kid ) . \\nmore specifically , jackie chan plays the part of wong fei-hong , aka \" naughty panther , \" a fun-loving , practical-joking kung fu student who is too good at kung fu for his own good , but not _quite_ good enough . \\nafter embarrassing his instructor\\'s assistant by beating him roundly , then beating up a bully in a marketplace , wong fei-hong tries to hit on a pretty girl , but discovers that she , and her mother , can hit back , better than he can . . . and \\nis further chagrinned to discover that the two women are his cousin and aunt , respectively . \\nhis father , wong kei-ying , is unhappy about this , and is further annoyed when the father and brother of the bully show up to sue for damages . \\nkei-ying soon institutes a harsh regimen of punishment , which fei-hong does not like at all . \\nwhile escaping from this punishment , fei-hong meets up with a drunken old man , who proceeds to thrash him soundly , then take him on as a student and thrash him some more . \\nthis turns out to be su hua-chi , a legendary master of drunken-style kung fu . \\nhe assigns fei-hong a series of bizarre tasks , such as filling jugs with water while hanging upside down from a frame , cracking walnuts with his hands , and other such exercises , that seem like more pointless cruelty but are actually strengthening him up . \\nthen , when he\\'s ready , he teaches him the seven styles of drunken kung fu . \\nunfortunately , the lazy fei-hong only practices six of them . . . \\n \" drunken master \" features some wonderful martial arts sequences , with jackie winning some fights and losing others . \\nit\\'s been said before , but i\\'ll say it again--these fights don\\'t just _happen_ , they\\'re as carefully choreographed as any ballet performance , and it shows . \\nin his fights , jackie often makes use of objects found in his environment-- benches , jugs , cups , bowls , fruits and vegetables--often in new and surprising ways . \\nthe fight scenes , particularly those toward the end of the film , are unparallelled in most american films . \\nwhether jackie wins or loses , it\\'s really something to see . . . and \\nit\\'s often as funny as anything , too . \\nand funny is the other thing jackie chan is very , very good at . \\nthere\\'s very little that\\'s new in this movie--jackie winning fights , jackie getting beaten badly by a master , jackie going through punishment or training . . . these \\nschticks have all been seen before , in any one of several dozen similar jackie movies from the seventies and early eighties . \\nbut they\\'re still hilarious as ever . \\nlikewise , jackie has a _great_ supporting cast , many of whom were also in other early jackie films , and they\\'re often the source of plenty of hilarity on their own . \\nthe really big thing about \" drunken master \" , though , that inspired several copycats ( including a couple starring jackie himself ) and a sequel fifteen years later , was the drunken-style kung fu . \\ni\\'m not certain whether or not this is actually a genuine style of kung fu , but the principle behind it is to imitate the wobbly movements of a drunkard to lull the enemy into a false sense of security . . . and \\nit apparently helps if you\\'re drunk while you\\'re doing it . \\ngenuine or not , i have to admit , there\\'s just something incredibly fun about watching a fellow who looks utterly sloshed wading into a group of startled opponents and making mincemeat out of them before they even realize what\\'s going on . \\ncome to think of it , perhaps this element is what accounts for this film\\'s success over any of the other jackie films . . . it\\'s \\nnot just martial arts , it\\'s the kind of martial arts that makes you stop and go , \" whoa . . . \" \\non the negative side , the cinematography in this film is nothing special , the film stock is rather primitive , the plot is often rather slow , and the subtitles are sometimes extremely hard to read against the background . \\n \" gone with the wind \" , this isn\\'t . \\nstill , if you like martial arts films , or like what you\\'ve seen so far of jackie chan and want to see more , give it a shot . \\nit\\'s much more \" real \" than chuck norris or jean-claude van damme . \\nyou might very well like it . \\nanother interesting thing about \" drunken master \" has to do with its video availability in the us . \\n \" drunken master \" is the only early jackie chan movie that i know of that you can find in its original , letterboxed , hong kong subtitled form , commercially available on vhs ( from magnum video , in a gold box , for about $10 ) . \\nthere are plenty of other early jackie films around , but these are typically either in dubbed , pan-and-scanned form or else import tapes priced for rental instead of purchase . \\nthankfully , \" drunken master \" , at least , is available in the aspect ratio in which it was meant to be seen , at a very affordable price . \\nif you like \" drunken master \" , take a look at the numerous other early jackie chan films that are out there ( even the dubbed ones aren\\'t really _too_ bad . . . if \\nnothing else , you can enjoy the martial arts choreography while making fun of the dialogue ) . \\ni particularly recommend \" spiritual kung fu \" , \" half a loaf of kung fu \" , the \" fearless hyena \" movies , and \" snake & crane arts of shaolin \" . \\nalso , the mostly-unrelated-storywise sequel , \" drunken master ii \" , will hit theaters in american release sometime later this year ( though what its american-release title will be is still uncertain ) and comes _highly_ recommended by this reviewer . \\nalso , for a rather different interpretation of the character wong fei-hong ( who is in fact a popular figure from chinese folklore ) , i\\'ve been told to suggest the \" once upon a time in china \" series starring jet li ( though i haven\\'t personally seen any of them yet ) . \\nif you choose to watch \" drunken master \" , i really hope you enjoy it , and i hope it starts to open your eyes to the wonderful world of asian cinema that\\'s out there . \\nall in all , i give this film an . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"don't let the following quirks of this review , fool you into believing that this movie is anything short of an ultimate labour of love . \\nbut one can see the humour of roberto benigni when you see that ? \\nlife is beautiful , even though i'm a short , ugly looking man with an obnoxious laugh . \\nlife is beautiful even though i haven't amounted to much in life , except working out the finer intricacies of waitering . \\ni'm a lucky sort of a guy , especially when a beautiful woman strips away my venner of superficiality to find a new age , sensitive guy with the biggest heart in the entire world underneath - life is beautiful ! \\ni'm a jew , but life can still be beautiful . \\nthe nazis put me in a concentration camp , but life is still beautiful . \\ni love my son very much and that's what matters , and that's what makes life beautiful . \\nmy ability to entertain somehow convinces my son that living in a concentration camp is somewhat beautiful ? \\ni get shot for my efforts and the woman i love , but hey that's life and that's still a beautiful thing - so by jove don't give me any crap about it ! \\nby far the movie with the biggest heart this decade and well deserves every nomination and award that it has achieved . \\nwell done , there should be more film directors and actors like you roberto benigni . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" there\\'s nothing new under the sun \" is a phrase often used when the speaker actually means \" let\\'s find something to copy . \" \\nof course there are very few completely original ideas . \\neven earth-shattering concepts are built upon the vast body of human experience . \\nthere is , after all , no need to re-invent the wheel time after time . \\nrecently it seems that hollywood doesn\\'t feel the need to even re-write the script . \\nmy understanding of the word \" sequel \" is a continuation of the story . \\nthe film industry has defined the word to mean reshooting the original with minor changes . \\nhave an overwhelming desire to see an inferior version of brian depalma\\'s adaptation of the steven king novel ? \\nthis is your dream come true . \\nrachel ( emily bergl ) , a high school outcast , is beginning to notice weird things happening around her . \\ndoors slam shut by themselves . \\nglass globes blow up . \\nher mother has severe mental problems and her father is absent . \\na popular boy unexpectedly asks her out . \\nthe in-crowd conspires to embarrass her at a public event . \\nany of this sound familiar ? \\nonce the audience catches on that this is the same story as \" carrie \" , there\\'s little to do but wait for the inevitable ending . \\nthe effects are a bit better this time around , but the film doesn\\'t work nearly as well . \\nthere are a couple of minor plot differences . \\nrachel lives with foster parents because her mother is institutionalized . \\nthe boys at her school are portrayed as even more evil than in the original . \\nthey keep score of their scoring with points given for each conquest . \\nand , uh , there must be other story changes but none stand out . \\none nice touch is the casting of amy irving again as sue snell . \\nover 20 years ago she was the one girl who tried to help carrie . \\nnow a high school counselor , she befriends rachel , but her character\\'s potential is squandered . \\nthere\\'s too much about sue that doesn\\'t make sense . \\nafter the slaughter when carrie kills most of her classmates , sue is driven mad and spends time in the institution that rachel\\'s mother is in . \\nstill living in the same small town , the woman with a well-known history of mental problems is hired as a high school counselor ? \\nsue tells rachel that her telekinesis is a genetic disease . \\nthis may be the one original idea in the film , but the reasoning behind describing psychic powers as a \" disease \" is never explained . \\nsue\\'s eventual fate is an admission by director katt shea and writer rafael moreu that they had an interesting character but couldn\\'t figure out what to do with her . \\nblink and you\\'ll miss it . \\nsome of the events are filmed in black and white , but the rationale for this is unknown . \\nit doesn\\'t add anything and the choice of scenes appears somewhat random . \\n \" the rage \" retains some of the trappings of \" carrie \" without the meaning . \\nin the first film the color red was a motif connected to carrie\\'s onset of powers at the same time she began menstruating . \\nhere there\\'s an abundance of red , but for no apparent purpose . \\nthe casting of high school jocks and cheerleaders as villains is beginning to wear thin . \\none might be lead to suspect that most filmmakers were unpopular in school and the history of teenage films is an extended cinematic revenge of the nerds . \\nthe biggest mistake the film makes is including clips of the original . \\nseeing sissy spacek on the screen only points to the quality of that film - and the flaws in this one . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if there is one thing that bothers me about hollywood films it\\'s their predictable endings . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate has the atypical hollywood ending , when everything that should happen does . \\nunfortunately for the devil\\'s advocate , this ending nearly collapses in on itself , and ruins the entire film . \\nnevertheless , the film does provide two and a half hours of pure entertainment ( note to self : kill whomever was in charge of the previews for this film ) . \\ni don\\'t think i was quite prepared for this movie because the trailers made it appear to be some supernatural horror film about satan . \\nwell , it does contain this element , but what is not mentioned in the ads is the other plot elements ( and seemingly more interesting ones at that ) . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate begins in florida with an ongoing trial in session . \\nkevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) is the defense attorney , working for a client whom has been accused of raping a young girl . \\nhe ends up with a not-guilty verdict , despite an emotional testimony from the victim ( heather matarazzo ) . \\nhe leaves the courthouse with his lovely wife mary ann ( charlize theron ) where he is approached with an offer to travel to new york city to help choose a good jury . \\nhe accepts ( mainly after seeing the paycheck he will receive ) and he flies to new york with his wife . \\nafter proving his worth for selecting juries ( and his perfect winning streak in court ) , the head of the firm , john milton ( al pacino ) , asks him to work permanently as a criminal lawyer . \\nhe graciously accepts , where he is treated almost as a god . \\nhe is given an incredible apartment ( which is bigger than my entire house now ) , and a hefty paycheck . \\nhis life seems to be on the rise . \\nand of course , his life suddenly begins to waver and slowly decline . \\nhe is attracted to fellow employee christabella ( connie nielson ) , and his wife begins to feel very lonely in her large apartment . \\nmary ann takes up a friendship with a neighbor who always gives advice , especially if it is not wanted . \\nmeanwhile , kevin nabs a case surrounding alexander cullen ( craig t . nelson ) who apparently murdered three people . \\nhe spends hours upon hours with this case , while forgetting his loving wife , who may or may not be going insane . \\nall of this while john milton may or may not be the devil himself . \\nafter a while , things turn completely upside-down , as kevin\\'s wife claims to have seen monstrous images superimposed on her friends . \\na fellow employee is murdered in the park , and his mother ( judith ivey ) reveals information about kevin\\'s real father . \\nis it all just a big nightmare ? \\nor is john milton really satan , playing tricks with kevin\\'s life ? \\nthe devil\\'s advocate plays out fairly straight-forward , but for some odd reason , the screenwriters wanted to surprise everyone by giving us something we don\\'t expect . \\nis this surprise conclusion supposed to make us feel good and go home without feeling depressed or disturbed ? \\nif so , the devil\\'s advocate messes up completely , and ironically , i felt more depressed because of the ending as is now , than i would have if it had ended ten minutes early . \\ni went into the devil\\'s advocate expecting a shocking horror film , and that is exactly what i got . \\ni was settled in to be disturbed mentally and emotionally , and that is what i got . \\nbut what was the most disturbing and horrible aspect of the movie is the poor ending ( did i mention that i didn\\'t like the ending ? ) . \\nthe producers of this film take you on a thrilling roller coaster ride and just as it is ending , they pull the rug out from under you . \\nfilms like se7en and the usual suspects can survive with this surprise ending because it is expected , more or less . \\nwe know it is going to end in an unpredictable way . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate , on the other hand , ends unpredictably , not from us knowing a lot , but knowing nothing at all . \\nif that is confusing , i recommend watching the film , and then reading that again . \\nas for the film overall , i enjoyed the entire first two hours , being drawn in by a terrific character study and then adding the supernatural plot to increase the tension build from the character study . \\nthe film runs like a well-built clock , slowly building until finally exploding with a highly charged climax ( and an unpredictable one at that ) . \\nand then you settle in for a nice resolution , which does not occur . \\nit was at this point that i felt cheated . \\ntaking us on a terror ride of intrigue , we follow kevin lomax around , as he is the centerpiece of the film . \\neverything occurs from his perspective . \\nhe is our representation on screen ( sort of ) . \\nbut we are forced to witness a conclusion which makes most of the film seem like a game . \\ni don\\'t want to spoil the ending , so all i can say is go see the film and decide for yourself . \\nperhaps the most shocking thing about the devil\\'s advocate is the extreme amount of everything . \\nit earned its r rating for a reason . \\nthere is plenty of nudity , sex , violence , gore , and then you have gore , violence , sex , and more nudity . \\nthis film really isn\\'t subtle about anything , showing us everything . \\nit actually surprises me that this film did not receive an nc-17 rating , as it is quite harsh . \\nhowever , the movie does have its merits , and nudity and sex are among those . \\ni don\\'t condone sex and nudity in films , but if its there , i might as well enjoy it . \\nthe biggest merit of this film is also the most interesting to watch . \\nthe confrontations between kevin lomax and john milton are entertaining , but what stands out amidst this extreme hatred is the decline of the wife , mary ann . \\nportrayed by the extremely effective charlize theron , mary ann\\'s problems are incredibly intense , and i found myself wanting to witness her decline . \\nthis may sound uncaring , but i wanted to watch because i felt sorry for her . \\nshe is the most interesting character on the screen , who is forced into a world where she is not wanted . \\nsomething the devil\\'s advocate contained actually shocked me for reasons other than extreme violence and nudity , especially for a film of this nature . \\nthe story actually has something to say about humanity . \\nin one of the last scenes , john milton explains to kevin lomax the game god plays with his children ( he is satan , of course ) . \\nhe comments that it is human nature to lust and loathe in vanity . \\nthen , god sets up rules which contradict human nature . \\nthis semi-religious bashing is more humorous than frightening . \\nwhat milton says is so true about our society that i found myself laughing out loud , partially thinking it was funny , but patially realizing it was true . \\nthese moral dilemmas are present throughout the devil\\'s advocate , giving it an added depth many films skip over in their writing ( but i\\'m sure they came straight from the novel it was based on ) . \\nwhen a film has something to say about our society , it deserves to be watched . \\nthe cast of the devil\\'s advocate is one of the highlights , as we see memorable faces , and they put spins on those memorable faces we don\\'t expect . \\nheather matarazzo makes a brief appearance as the terrorized victim in the opening court case , and she does a great job . \\nprobably the big surprise of this film is keanu reeves . \\nhe has proven himself an uneven actor ( successes such as speed and bombs such as johnny mnemonic ) , but he tops himself with this performance . \\ni have never seen him more believable to date . \\nal pacino is of course the scene stealer . \\nhis devilish performance is equal to those of jack nicholson ( the witches of eastwick ) and max von sydow ( needful things ) . \\nhe could have easily gone too far over the top in many scenes , but he remains completely believable ( if that is the correct term ) . \\njeffrey jones ( mostly known as the principal in ferris bueller\\'s day off ) also gives a good performance as eddie barzoon . \\njudith ivey manages a credible performance as the mother who holds a secret to kevin\\'s past . \\nconnie nielson is very effective in her role , and she also appears naked several times . \\none familiar face with a twist was \" coach \" star , craig t . nelson , who gives a very good performance . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate is rated r for sexuality , nudity , violence , language , and some gore . \\nat 144 minutes , this film moves along fairly quickly . \\nfor the first two hours , i sat completely engaged in the good performances and strong characters . \\nthe technical quality is also remarkable , with great special effects and a good musical score . \\ndirector taylor hackford has managed to create a very disturbing motion picture , only to ruin a good chunk of tension with the final fifteen minutes . \\ni guess my biggest problem with the ending is the fact that i went into the theater expecting a disturbing film , and hackford gave me just that for a long time . \\nbut just before the end , he got jitterish and relied on the hollywood safety net in order to make his film more mainstream . \\npersonally , i would have preferred it ending fifteen minutes early . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"ahh yes . \\nthe teenage romance . \\nan attractive young cast is pitted into an unlikely scenario that could only happen in the movies , and in the end , the guy always gets the girl . \\nand with the arrival of the breakout hit `she's all that' last year ( followed by a long catalogue of imitators including `10 things i hate about you' and `drive me crazy' ) , the genre previously on life support is once again a hot commodity . \\nalong now comes `down to you' . \\nthe folks at miramax are obviously trying to capitalize on the rabid `she's all that' craze with their latest project , which has the studdly freddie prinze jr . attached and all . \\nonly `down to you' doesn't have the ? unlikely scenario' mentioned above . \\nit is an extraordinarily ordinary romance - a dull , unattractive teen comedy that sticks to the boring game plan that we're accustomed to . \\nthis is the kind of romance that only giggly 12-year old girls will find convincing . \\nin strictly textbook fashion , college sophomore and aspiring chef al ( prinze jr . ) meets freshman artist imogen ( julia stiles ) . \\nthey hit it off like a couple can only in the movies . \\nfrom here , it's the standard boy-meets-girl , boy-loses-girl , boy-drinks-entire-bottle-of-shampoo-and-may-or-may-not-get-girl-back story . \\nthe plot is conveniently assembled to suit the requirements of the main characters , who are frequently taking part in activities that . . . . \\nwell , only happen in the movies . \\nfortunately , the cast of `down to you' has a certain appeal . \\nfreddie prinze jr . and julia stiles are an adorable couple , and when on screen together , they radiate the sort of warmth and charisma that the movie should have centered around . \\nzak orth , as the newly realized porn star monk , shows an unmistakable flair with handling all of the film's intelligent dialogue . \\nrounding out the impressive ensemble of young talent are shawn hatosy ( `the faculty' ) , selma blair ( `cruel intentions' ) and ashton kutcher ( tv's `that 70's shows' ) . \\neven the fonz himself - henry winkler , the epitome of teenage angst and nostalgia - has a welcome role as al's dad , the host of the popular cooking program `chef ray' . \\nmaybe the concept of `down to you' looked good on paper to draw such a crowd . \\nas a feature film , however , the finished product is bland and tasteless fluff with only an occasional whiff of cuteness to keep the gears from stopping entirely . \\nperhaps worst of all , `down to you' is not funny . \\nthe jokes are drawn from obvious sources and the resulting humor is banal and uninspired . \\nthe characters on screen , often laughing at each other's goofy/embarrassing antics , seemed far more amused than the audience . \\neven the giggly 12-year old girls had grown restless toward the end as they waited impatiently for the formula to run it's course . \\nthe one mildly clever segment featured winkler and prinze jr . in a fantasy sequence called `cooks' , a `cops' take-off in which the father and son would storm houses and cook a decent meal for ? needy' families ( with the assistance of a fully-armed swat team , of course ) . \\nwhen this is the highlight reel , you know the remaining film could leave something to be desired . \\nin order to make a teen comedy work , you've got to have characters that show something by way of depth and identity . \\n`10 things i hate about you' actually featured characters who were more than walking flashcards , and the result was refreshing . \\nno such luck with `down to you' . \\nit's just a textbook romance where , despite absurd circumstances , everything is bound to work out in the end . \\nand at the end of the whole clich ? d ordeal , the nicest thing you could possibly say would be ` . . . . \\nonly in the movies' . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"in the first death wish movie , mild-mannered new york architect paul kersey , played by charles bronson , was avenging the death of his wife . \\nin the second , he was avenging his daughter . \\nin the third , he instigated small war in order to avenge the old friend . \\nfourth movie , on the other hand , begins with kersey doubting the point of his violent crusades and living the quiet life with his girlfriend karen , played by kay lenz . \\nhowever , since this is death wish movie , we know that sooner or later something bad is going to happen to the people kersey cares for . \\nthis time karen's teenage daughter dies of a crack overdose and kersey is forced to return to his old vigilante ways . \\nkersey's new targets , unlike the previous movies , aren't the ordinary street punks but rich , heavily armed and well-connected drug dealers . \\neven such unstoppable killing machine like kersey needs some support , and it comes from the publisher nathan white ( john p . ryan ) , determined to avenge the drug-related death of his own daughter . \\nwhite's plan is to make kersey kill major players in two rival drug dealing organisations and thus instigate the war between them . \\nthe plan begins to take shape , but kersey's actions bring attention of two police detectives - reiner ( george dickerson ) and nozaki ( soon teck-oh ) . \\nfourth ( and , unfortunately , not the final ) installment in the death wish series , will probably remembered as the typical movie of cannon group , production company responsible for some of the worst cinematic trash of the last decade . \\nhowever , although some critics might argue , death wish 4 : the crackdown represents slight improvement over the death wish 3 . paul kersey , one of the most intriguing ( and potentially controversial ) characters of the 1970s , is still being dumbed down by mediocre script , and charles bronson really doesn't feel the need to put much effort in his acting . \\nhowever , the hand of a veteran director j . lee thompson seems more capable of michael winner's and the action scenes seem slightly less surreal , although they still look cheap and repetitive and downright boring . \\nthere are some attempts for the movie to have a plot between the numerous scenes of violence , and one of such attempts is a potentially interesting plot twist at the end . \\nthe script even tries to fake some social conscience ( through criminally underused kay lenz's character ) and predates the war on drugs campaign that would inspire many hollywood products in next few years . \\nthere are even some half-hearted attempts of humour - both intentional and unintentional , like in a scene where kersey assassinates mob figures by a wine bottle - but the quality of this movie is still far away from bronson's 1970s classics . \\n ( special note to x-philes : mith pilleggi , the actor who plays ad skinner in the x- files , could be seen in a small role of cannery lab foreman ) . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'plot : a young french boy sees his parents killed before his eyes by tim roth , oops . . . i \\nmean , an evil man . \\nhe vows revenge on that man and is taught the ways of the musketeer by some old dude who used to be one himself ? \\nanyway , fourteen years go by and . . . arrgh , well , you know the rest . . . swish-swish-zzzzzzz ! \\ncritique : this is a pretty bad movie . \\nlet\\'s see , where should i start ? \\nokay , first of all , the story is just plain boring . \\nit\\'s not original , is entirely predictable and lacks energy . \\nokay , what\\'s next ? \\nacting , you say . \\nhmmmm , well , the main actor , justin chambers , is basically an uncharismatic version of chris o\\'donnell but with less range ( think about that ! ) , and mena suvari , is just plain off . \\nnot as bad as thora birch was in dungeons & dragons , but entirely miscast , with bad deliveries , awful sequences and a piss-poor accent that comes and goes . \\nnow i\\'m not sure if this was ms . suvari\\'s fault or the director\\'s , but i\\'ve definitely seen her at a much higher level than in this film . \\nthe only semi-saving grace actor-wise is tim roth as the irrepressible \" bad guy \" , but once again , it\\'s not something that we haven\\'t seen before . . . a \\nthousand times . . . by the same guy ! ! \\ntim , please . . . for the love of god , beg your agent to ask the marketplace for some modern day \" american roles \" for you as a \" nice guy \" in a romantic comedy or something . \\nstretch , dude . . . stretch ! ! \\nwe all know that you can do much better than this gunk . \\nalright , what else was bad in this film ? \\noh yeah , the score ! \\nyikes , how\\'s about taking it down a few notches there , fellas ? \\nthis thing blares in your ear whenever it feels the need to accentuate a certain scene , but actually does little more than annoy . \\ni think it\\'s important for the man behind the music to recognize that this film isn\\'t a \" real epic \" by any stretch of the imagination . \\nit\\'s a fluffy rehashed cake-walk created by some \" shrewd \" studio heads who decided to take advantage of the whole \" kung-fu \" phenomenon in films , and test it out on an old classic . \\ndudes . . . you \\nfailed all around ! \\n ( keep reading ) \\nthe editing is also pretty shoddy in this movie , the dialogue banal and stilted and the plot problems . . . plentiful ! \\n ( why does the guy on top of the horse carriage just stand there when his opponent takes forever scampering his way back to the top ? \\nwhy don\\'t they just cut the mouseketeer\\'s rope at the top of the tower , instead of jumping down on their own chords and fighting him while hanging ? \\nwhy doesn\\'t anybody look a day older , when the sequence says \" 14 years later \" ? \\n ( at least . . . change \\nyour shirt , man ! ) \\nkeep in mind that i have never strayed away from championing certain movies that are created simply for the sake of a \" fun time \" , but this flick just didn\\'t cut it for me . \\nit was boring for stretches , the acting was atrocious at times ( the \" romantic \" scene between suvari and chambers next to the lake reminded me of plays in high school which made you cringe ) , there was little reason to care for anyone and since when were the musketeers fat ? \\ni will give the movie this much , and that is that its main reason for being ( its \" raison-d\\'etre \" , as the french would say ) , its fight sequences , do come through despite the lack of their numbers in the film . \\ni was hoping that the movie would be packed with cool stuntwork as promoted in its trailer , but what you see there , are essentially the snippets from the two major ( and cool ) swashbuckling sequences from the film . \\nthe first comes right at the beginning of the movie , while the other essentially finishes the film off , hanging from the tower and juggling off ladders . \\nthe ladder sequence itself is a definite keeper but unfortunately the rest of the movie is just regurgitated crap . \\nand can anyone please tell me how catherine deneuve got her name placed at the top of this film\\'s credits ? \\nhullo ? \\nthe film is called the musketeer and stars a dude name justin chambers . \\ndeneuve is barely in this movie ! \\nugh , just another small thing that annoyed me about this trash . \\nnow say it together , gang : \" all for one , and one for all . . . we \\nvow to stay away from it all ! ! \" \\nthank me later . \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\na knight\\'s tale ( 7/10 ) - american outlaws ( 5/10 ) - crouching tiger , hidden dragon ( 7/10 ) - the matrix ( 8/10 ) - the replacement killers ( 6/10 ) - romeo must die ( 3/10 ) - shanghai noon ( 6/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i had been looking forward to this film since i heard about it early last year , when matthew perry had just signed on . \\ni\\'m big fan of perry\\'s subtle sense of humor , and in addition , i think chris farley\\'s on-edge , extreme acting was a riot . \\nso naturally , when the trailer for \" almost heroes \" hit theaters , i almost jumped up and down . \\na soda in hand , the lights dimming , i was ready to be blown away by farley\\'s final starring role and what was supposed to be matthew perry\\'s big breakthrough . \\ni was ready to be just amazed ; for this to be among farley\\'s best , in spite of david spade\\'s absence . \\ni was ready to be laughing my head off the minute the credits ran . \\nsadly , none of this came to pass . \\nthe humor is spotty at best , with good moments and laughable one-liners few and far between . \\nperry and farley have no chemistry ; the role that perry was cast in seems obviously written for spade , for it\\'s his type of humor , and not at all what perry is associated with . \\nand the movie tries to be smart , a subject best left alone when it\\'s a farley flick . \\nthe movie is a major dissapointment , with only a few scenes worth a first look , let alone a second . \\nperry delivers not one humorous line the whole movie , and not surprisingly ; the only reason the movie made the top ten grossing list opening week was because it was advertised with farley . \\nand farley\\'s classic humor is widespread , too . \\nalmost heroes almost works , but misses the wagon-train by quite a longshot . \\nguys , let\\'s leave the exploring to lewis and clark , huh ? \\nstick to \" tommy boy \" , and we\\'ll all be \" friends \" . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'so ask yourself what \" 8mm \" ( \" eight millimeter \" ) is really all about . \\nis it about a wholesome surveillance man who loses sight of his values after becoming enmeshed in the seedy , sleazy underworld of hardcore pornography ? \\nis it about the business itself , how , bubbling just beneath the surface of big-town americana , there\\'s a sordid world of sick and depraved people who won\\'t necessarily stop short of murder in order to satisfy their sick and twisted desires ? \\nor is it about those who can , those who are in a position to influence the making of the kinds of films sick and demented people want to see ? \\ni\\'m not talking about snuff films , supposed \" documentaries \" of victims being brutalized and killed on camera . \\ni\\'m talking about films like \" 8mm \" and its director , joel schumacher . \\nwith a recent run of big budget movies to his credit-- \" batman & robin , \" \" a time to kill , \" \" batman forever , \" \" the client \" --schumacher certainly has that kind of influence . \\nis \" 8mm \" something you really want to see ? \\nprobably not . \\nthe first two-thirds of \" 8mm \" unwind as a fairly conventional missing persons drama , albeit with a particularly unsavory core . \\nthen , as it\\'s been threatening all along , the film explodes into violence . \\nand just when you think it\\'s finally over , schumacher tags on a ridiculous self-righteous finale that drags the whole unpleasant experience down even further . \\ntrust me . \\nthere are better ways to waste two hours of your life . \\nnicolas \\' \" snake eyes \" \\' cage plays private investigator tom welles who is hired by a wealthy philadelphia widow to determine whether a reel of film found in her late husband\\'s safe documents a young girl\\'s murder . \\nwelles goes about his assignment rather matter-of-factly , and the pieces of the puzzle fall into place rather neatly , almost as if you don\\'t need any specialized skills or training to do this . \\nwelles certainly makes it look easy . \\nand cops , obviously , never look in toilet tanks for clues . \\nthe deeper welles digs into his investigation the more obsessed he becomes , like george c . scott in paul schrader\\'s \" hardcore . \" \\noccasionally , a little flickering sound whirs in his head like sprockets winding through a film projector , reminding him of his unpleasant task . \\nthere are hints that this is taking its toll on his lovely wife , played by catherine keener , who is frustrated by her husband spending all of his time in cleveland rather than in their ugly split-level home in harrisburg , pa . \\n \" 8mm \" doesn\\'t condemn or condone its subject matter , it just exploits it . \\nthe irony , of course , is that schumacher and \" seven \" scribe andrew kevin walker\\'s vision of life in the snuff lane is limited by what they can show in an r-rated , first-run hollywood product . \\nso we only see snippets of snuff , and a lot more footage of nicolas cage covering his face in horror . \\nlater it\\'s the turn of joaquin phoenix ( who\\'s quite good and by far the film\\'s most interesting character as adult bookstore flunky max california ) to cover his face as the horrid thing is screened over and over again . \\nall this to get to the familiar yet offensive \" revelation \" that sexual deviants are not , indeed , monsters but everyday people like you and me . \\nneither super nor standard , \" 8mm \" is shocking only in its banality . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after having heard so many critics describe \" return to me \" as an old-fashioned hollywood romance , i kept asking myself going into this movie : what exactly is an old-fashioned hollywood romance ? \\nwhat made \" return to me \" old-fashioned and old-hollywood ? \\nwas it the tunes from sinatra , etc . , legendary singers the senior citizens in the film constantly harp on ? \\nwas it the glamorous , sophisticated feel ? \\nthe charisma of the two leads ? \\neven now i can\\'t say that i have gotten any closer to the real answer , because i haven\\'t see that many old-fashioned hollywood romances . \\ni don\\'t think any of the romances i\\'ve seen have been classified as such . \\nwhich leaves me the option of vaguely agreeing with my fellow critics -- \" return to me \" was old-fashioned in the sense that it reminded me of the way the younger generation perceive venerated old hollywood magic , the way i perceive cinnamon spice and apple cider . \\nit was traditional , magical . \\nwe knew it couldn\\'t be too daring , or have any surprising plot twists that many cynical modern romances are apt to throw in . \\nit was a romance told with such endearing simplicity , tenderness , and love ( from director bonnie hunt ) that it couldn\\'t help but sparkle with charm despite its shortcomings . \\nthe film owes a lot of what it has to bonnie hunt\\'s direction . \\nfrom the very first bird\\'s eye view of chicago , zooming in slowly toward the insignificant bob rueland ( david duchovny ) , accompanied by the \" return to me \" ballad ( by whom ? ) , we can tell we\\'re in for something sweet . \\nthe scenes between the characters are endearing , truthful , with just a hint of fantasy . \\nreal people don\\'t act that way ; real people aren\\'t that nice . \\nwe know all this , and yet we want to believe in these folks\\' existence . \\nthe premise itself seems to have sprung out of a fairytale , but hunt\\'s rooting the fairytale in common chicago folk simultaneously lends credit to the scenario and tinges everyday urban life with a hint of the ethereal . \\neverything is ordinary--yet beautiful--in this film . \\n>from the festive little family restaurant to grace ( minnie driver ) and bob\\'s wardrobes . \\nfrom the eloquent , not-in-a-hurry to progress storyline to the dainty watercolors that grace paints . \\nfrom the animal stars to the way all the characters interact on screen -- the most beautiful part . \\n \" return to me \" has done an excellent job of assembling together a group of actors who blend in effortlessly as a family : the audience has no trouble at all believing that this rambunctious family actually does exist . \\nwe care for them , laugh with them , cry with them ; we\\'re concerned that the little boy will pick up cursing from his father . \\nwhatever hunt did , she brought out the naturalism in all of the actors . \\ndisappointingly , david alan grier\\'s charlie , however much i like him , was the most flatly-written . \\nduchovny here does a laudable job of shaking off his fox mulder persona -- with the help of his fellow co-stars rarely do we see any hint of special agent fox mulder . \\ninstead we have a normal guy who when he falls in love shows more delight than fox mulder will show over the span of an entire season of \" the x-files . \" \\nduchovny , who is excellent at understatement and self-deprecation as an actor showcases his considerable comedic talent on screen . \\nminnie driver is engaging as always as the sweet , innocent grace with nothing but a good heart to offer . \\nthough an unlikely pair , duchovny and driver gradually warm up to each other as the movie progresses . \\nwhile \" return to me \" functions remarkably as a laugh-out-loud comedy , a romantic scenic tour through chicago , and a tearjerker , the story is set up so the film ends up having nowhere to develop . \\nthe entire climax of the film hinges on when and how grace is going to tell bob that she actually was the recipient of his wife\\'s heart . \\nwe already know that there\\'s going to be a happy ending ; we feel like we spend the entire film , however enjoyably , in a straight line going towards that point . \\nas a result bob and grace click almost too quickly--yes , i know she\\'s supposed to have his ex-wife\\'s heart and everything--it seems too effortless . \\nthe main subject is a love story , and the family scenes i love so much unfortunately are overused and distract from the turmoil of the two main characters ( whose story might not have that much meat after all ) . \\nhowever , in the spirit of \" return to me , \" it won\\'t do to be too picky about how \" old \" hollywood tells its stories . \\ni loved knowing that this was a labor of love for bonnie hunt . \\nit shows . \\nthe bottom line : \" return to me \" is nothing remarkable , and yet its sweetness , sincerity , and charm might touch your heart in ways that you hadn\\'t imagined . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this is the kind of movie that makes one appreciate disney's live- action george of the jungle . \\ntarzan and the lost city , the latest attempt to bring edgar rice burrough's legendary hero to the big screen , is one of the most inept and ill-timed of any tarzan adventure so far . \\nbadly conceived and poorly executed , tarzan and the lost city appears headed for a quick trip to video store shelves . \\ni have no idea why the producers chose now to bring back tarzan ; it's not as if there are legions of new fans clamoring for his next movie . \\nfurthermore , it's even more curious that this film is rated pg , which , by definition , rules out any sex or explicit violence . \\nand , while i'm not advocating the excesses embraced by the 1981 bo derek version of the story , tarzan deserves a slightly more adult approach than the one used in the embarrassing production . \\nof course , no tweaking of the content to change the rating could have saved tarzan and the lost city , since the film's troubles originated with the script and were propagated all the way down the line . \\nimagine george of the jungle stripped of all ( intentional ) humor , and you have a fair idea of what this tarzan is like . \\nwith its uninspired action and tepid adventure sequences , the film barely registers a pulse . \\nanyone in search of a relatively entertaining , family jungle adventure should check out the 1994 version of the jungle book , which uses the same basic elements to much better effect . \\nthe only worthwhile element of tarzan and the lost city is the pretty scenery ( which , unfortunately , includes the two lead actors ) . \\nthe film doesn't attempt to re-tell the origin story ? the thinking is that it has been done often enough . \\ninstead , tarzan and the lost city introduces us to lord graystoke a . k . a . john clayton a . k . a . tarzan the ape man ( casper van dien ) several days before his marriage to lady jane porter ( jane march ) . \\nhe is living happily in england , enjoying the benefits of being a land-owning noble . \\nmeanwhile , in central africa , the dastardly nigel ravens ( steven waddington ) , a self-proclaimed scholar and explorer , believes he has found the way to the lost city of opar , which he calls the cradle of civilization . \\non the way there , he and his band of mercenaries do all sorts of nasty things , like burning native villages , to earn the wrath of the locals . \\none shaman , determined to stop ravens from unearthing opal , sends a mystical message to tarzan for help . \\nwith lady jane following close behind , he returns to the jungle where he was born . \\nits patently obvious that casper van dien ( one of the pretty-boy heroes of starship troopers ) was not hired on the basis of his acting ability . \\nwith his plastic facial expressions , monotone voice , and complete inability to make convincing animal noises , his range rivals that of steven seagal . \\nhis pecs , however , are impressive , and director carl schenkel makes sure that he is given every opportunity to show them off . \\njane march , on the other hand , has to keep her shirt on , which may be a first for her . \\nsome six years ago , march give a solid performance in jean jacques annaud's steamy the lover . \\nsince then , she made the career-killing decision of appearing opposite bruce willis in the color of night , which exploited her every acting defiency . \\ntarzan continues this trend . \\nmarch may be attractive , but , at least judging by this performance , she can't act . \\nmeanwhile , steven waddington has serious trouble summoning up the menace necessary to be a really detestable bad guy . \\ninstead , he turns out to be little more than a nuisance . \\nthe story line is pure formula , which has largely been true throughout the years for almost all of the tarzan movies . \\nthe problem is that this one seems so childish and lifeless . \\nthe romantic elements are all contrived ? in fact , lady jane's presence is necessary only so she can be captured and subsequently rescued by her buff fiance . \\nthe special effects are truly bottom-of-the-barrel ( including some laughably bad men in ape costumes ? apparently , animatronics were too expensive for this production ) . \\nand , of course , as with all jungle movies , there are the obligatory cute animals . \\nover the years , the legend of tarzan has been one of the most popular sources for film series material . \\nthe most famous ape man was johnny weismuller , but no less than two dozen other actors have essayed the part ( including gordon scott , who is widely believed to be the best actor to tackle the role ) . \\nweismuller made 12 tarzan features ; van dien will probably fall 11 short of that number . \\nand , having seen tarzan and the lost city , i would argue that the movie-going public would have been well served if he had missed by 12 . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'review : ghost dog : the way of the samurai ( 1999 ) \\ncast : forest whitaker , henry silva , cliff gorman , john tormey , gene riffini , victor argo , tricia vessey , isaach de bankole\\' , camille winbush director : jim jarmusch writer : jim jarmusch \\nrating : good shot ( stars ) \\nlanguid , yet pointed and focused , ghost dog : the way of the samurai sublimely savages our cultural fascination with the mafia and the sleek , ultra-cool , cinematic image of the hitman . \\njuxtaposing the samurai\\'s honor code of feudal japan against the tradition bound modus operandi of the american/italian mafia , it ceaselessly chips away with a sculptor\\'s precision at the archaic foundations of both as they lumber , dinosaur-like , to function in the modern era . \\ndirector jarmusch gleefully plays the iconoclast , ripping into mafioso precepts with splashes of acidic wit . \\nusing a palate of bleached colors , jarmusch lugubriously maintains a tone of desolation that belies the many sparks of laugh out loud humor punctuating the film . \\nhe doesn\\'t cater to audience expectations of hyper-colorized , stylized violence and gunplay where no one dies . \\nthe action is presented in flat , brutal codas . \\nbullets have permanence . \\ndeath has consequences . \\nthe movie rises beyond standard conventions to become a meditation on the concepts of honor and loyalty . \\nit is an anti-movie , of sorts . \\nthere are few photogenic , empathetic characters for the audience to fall in love with . \\nthis isn\\'t a film that lovingly holds your hand . \\nthere are dark , contemplative moments and the film firmly holds you by the shoulder , just so , asserting itself for all to see . \\nthe fulcrum for the movie\\'s thematic balancing act is ghost dog , a mafia hitman . \\na twist on the stereotypical image of the mob enforcer , ghost dog is a hilarious contradiction in terms . \\nunlike the sleek , muscular killing machines one is accustomed to , we are given an inner city black man who is overweight and slovenly , replete with chapped , dirty hands and rumpled clothing . \\nhe wears a hooded sweatshirt , which he often pulls over his head , giving him a monk-like appearance . \\nthere are no acrobatic back flips and shiny super guns in his arsenal . \\nhe uses old , worn weapons and simply goes about his tasks in economical , efficient and pleasureless fashion . \\nghost dog is a disciple of the old ways of the samurai , distilling the essence of his life through the filter of a book , which he reads daily , hagakure : the way of the samurai . \\nlife consists of simple pleasures for him : ice cream , warm rooftop naps and good books . \\nghost dog lives , as it were , by the basic tenet expressed by his book ; one should start each day considering oneself as dead . \\nliving atop an abandoned building , surrounded by his flock of pet carrier pigeons , ghost dog exists in a netherworld lacking creature comforts and friends . \\nhe craves nothing more . \\nas he puts it late in the film , \" i\\'ve seen all i want to see . \" \\nhe exists in a spiritual world of the mind , gaining moral sustenance from his readings . \\nghost dog wasn\\'t always as he is presented . \\nin several roshomon-like flashbacks , it\\'s shown how ghost dog was assaulted by racist white males and beaten nearly to death until the timely intervention of a good samaritan , that \" samaritan \" being a foot soldier in an aging crime family . \\nghost dog pledges his life to the service of the man , louie ( tormey ) , as repayment . \\nafter years of loyal service , ghost dog is sent , by louie , to kill \" handsome frank \" , a made man within louie\\'s organization who has run away with the crime boss\\'s daughter , louise ( vessey ) . \\nghost dog wordlessly executes his task , witnessed by louise , whom he spares , as she sits watching a betty boop cartoon , clutching a copy of the book , roshomon . \\nin a bit of synchronicity , louise loans the book to ghost dog . \\nupset that frank was taken out by someone not from the family , the mob bosses , in turn , put out a hit on ghost dog in a perverse twist of loyalty to their assassinated comrade . \\nthe rest of movie holds the dated value systems of both the mafia and ghost dog up to the light of a new millennium with many acerbic asides as the two come factions come into conflict . \\nthe theme of old cartoons flares up time and again , each time showing cartoon violence that is in sharp counterpoint to the reality of ghost dog\\'s world . \\neach time a character is shown watching a cartoon , it\\'s from the same era , betty boop , felix the cat , etc . , a reflection of days gone by . \\nnear the end , louise is watching a cartoon that\\'s a departure from the previously shown ones . \\nit\\'s a bit of audacity on jarmusch\\'s part that is nicely effective , despite it\\'s surrealistic nature . \\nas ghost dog floats through his world , his life is touched by two people . \\none is a sage little girl ( winbush ) who connects with ghost dog through their love of reading . \\nshe comes to symbolize a melding of the old ways and new sensibilities , just as louise ultimately does . \\nby film\\'s end , the fact that jamusch is so effective at illustrating the tenuous bond between the two is a testament to his skill as a writer . \\nthe other person in ghost dog\\'s world is an ice cream ( de bankole\\' ) vendor who only speaks french , yet intuitively shares a rapport with ghost dog . \\nthe vendor is the literal stranger in a strange land . \\njarmusch , through rapper/composer rza , underscores his film with rap and reggae music , which at first blush seems dichotomous , but its primal rhythms serve to strengthen the fundamental nature of the movie . \\nghost dog seems to draw some type of strength from the rap music he listens to as he negotiates the streets in various stolen cars . \\n ( which , in and of itself , presents another paradox about ghost\\'s dog\\'s sense of honor . ) \\nthe head mafioso is played by henry silva with a stone faced resignation . \\nof all the cartoonish mobsters , he is the only one who appears self aware of his state in the world . \\ngorman plays sonny , a lieutenant who respects the old ways , yet has a quirky affinity for rap music , a love comically shown in several impromptu displays . \\nruffini seems the truest reflection of the mafia . \\nhe is a husk of a man , assisted by two hearing aids , who barks out advice without truly hearing what he , or others are saying . \\nwhitaker carries the film by using what truly great actor\\'s use , his face . \\nghost dog is reticent to speak , often going for long periods without doing so . \\nthe fact that whitaker can convey such a wide range of emotion through a gesture or look is a remarkable talent . \\nalthough the film has a deliberate pace , some of the late night drives and walks taken by ghost dog dragged the momentum down . \\ntruly tragic is how ghost dog misinterprets japanese honor in his final confrontation with the mob . \\nhe reveals himself to be so desperate for spiritual guidance through the hagakure that he fails to truly adapt it to what is real and true in his world . \\ncarried on the shoulders of a remarkable performance by whitaker , ghost dog rises beyond being a characterization or icon , into a figure that garners sympathy , if not a bit of pity . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : a bunch of bad guys dressed up as elvis impersonators rob a vegas casino during a presley convention . \\nthe boys eventually get together to split the money , but as plans change , double-crosses occur , dealing and wheeling goes down and the crew set up for the road . \\nwho\\'s on the up and up , who\\'s the real bad guy and who\\'s gonna get to bang courteney cox are just a few of the questions which will be answered by the rest of this movie . \\ncritique : the funnest movie that i\\'ve seen so far this year ! \\nit\\'s got style , it\\'s got tough guys talkin\\' shite and it\\'s got plenty of bullets to go around . \\na definite hunk-a-hunk-a burnin\\' adventure ! \\na guy\\'s guy movie through and through , and one that\\'ll set your jollies to high if you dig on the rough stuff . \\nit\\'s not very original , it goes on for a little too long , but costner and russell make it happen , as two shite-kickin\\' elvis lovers , who don\\'t stop till they , more or less , drop . \\nthis movie\\'s got some pretty intensive shoot-out scenes , one of the coolest robbery scenarios that i\\'ve ever witnessed , featuring several elvises with guns a blazin\\' and the king\\'s music playing in the background , and a decent helping of double-crosses , sharp dialogue and funny moments . \\nin fact , even though the cast is filled with many name actors ( b-actors as they might be for the most part ) , most of them do their bit and succeed well in passing the torch onto the next victim . \\nbut the true glue that holds this film together , other than the spirit of elvis himself , is costner and russell , who play their badass characters to the t . sure , russell\\'s been down this road before , but costner surprised me with his nastiness . \\ni guess he\\'s pissed at all the box-office bombs that he\\'s been in of late , but he sure played a great unstable elvis impersonating robber here . \\nin the end , the bottom line with this movie is having fun , kickin\\' ass and making sure there\\'s enough bubblegum around to chew afterwards . \\nand smoke \\'em if you got \\'em , folks ! \\nthere is also this one really great show-down scene between costner and a cop , that\\'ll have you crackin\\' up and lovin\\' it all at the same time . \\nthe violent scenes in this movie are violent and the entire film is wrapped in a soundtrack that\\'ll kick your arse from this end of the theatre to the next . \\nit should actually come to no surprise to anyone that the director of this movie comes from a music video background , with plenty , and i mean plenty , of camera tricks , cuts and edits , but for this kind of flick , it actually works . \\nthe film is not perfect though , it starts off with a pretty big bang , but then pulls a way of the gun on us , and slows the pace down somewhat in the middle , while characters intermingle and disperse . \\ni was personally kept in the game despite some soft spots , and enjoyed the overall ride for what it was as well . \\nand did i mention that courteney cox looked mega-hot in the movie ? \\nno . . . okay , \\nwell i just did ! \\ni coulda done without her whole \" romance \" angle , but to be honest , it doesn\\'t take up much of the film , which is generally covered in blood , explosions , guts and elvis nods . \\ntry to see how many \" inside \" connections to the king you can guess . \\nof course , it\\'s no secret that i am quite a big elvis fan myself so please take this whole review with that grain of salt in mind . \\ni also like these types of \" guy \" movies a lot , and even though the film doesn\\'t bring much originality to the table , it does offer a pretty coherent story , some nice twists and turns , humor and a big ol\\' helping of whoop-ass coming straight from costner and russell\\'s respective boots . \\nprobably not a film for everyone , but definitely for those who enjoy the guns , the charismatic bad guys and a fun , if entirely disposable , adventure . \\nnow see how many elvis songs i\\'ve used to pun my way through this phony review below . \\nthe elvis songs also recommend this movie ! \\nso whether you\\'re lonesome tonight or any other night , remember to pack the teddy bear with bullets , leave your little sister at home , bring your bossa nova baby and rock out of that jailhouse , cause this movie ain\\'t one to return to the sender . \\ni really beg of you , whether you\\'re stuck in the ghetto or crying in the chapel , to slap this cinematic ring around your neck and love it tender . \\nand no suspicious minds either , folks , cause i got stung by this movie , i mean it really shook me up , and unless you\\'re the devil in disguise himself , i think you won\\'t be able to help falling in love with this lucky charm either . \\nso don\\'t be cruel , don\\'t turn away , don\\'t curl up with your latest flame tonite ( whether she be a hard-headed woman or not ) and surrender to the hound dog of movies that is this film . \\nit\\'s now or never , folks . \\ntrust me , i did it my way and the heartbreak hotel of crappy movies that i\\'d seen so far this year is far behind me . \\njoblo has now officially left the sanity of his mind and this building . \\nthank you . . . thank \\nyou very much ! ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nget carter ( 7/10 ) - heat ( 8/10 ) - honeymoon in vegas ( 9/10 ) - payback ( 8/10 ) - reindeer games ( 5/10 ) -reservoir dogs ( 9/10 ) - way of the gun ( 6/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"humanities quest for knowledge never ends . \\nso a team of scientists and film-makers travel to the amazon to search for a legendary indian tribe . \\nthe party consists of anthropologist steven cale ( eric stoltz ) and the camera team consisting of terri flores ( jennifer lopez ) , danny rich ( ice cube ) , gary dixon ( owen wilson ) , denise kahlberg ( kari wuhrer ) and warren westridge ( jonathan hyde ) . \\nearly on their journey they meet paul sarone ( jon voight ) whose boat is stuck on the shore . \\nthey agree to give him a ride to the next village . \\nhe claims to know the area well and can be useful locating the native tribe . \\nvery soon their friendliness backfires on the group because sarone turns out to be a snake hunter without scruples who only wants to catch a giant anaconda and sell it to a zoo . \\nwe don't have to wait too long for the giant snake . \\nshe just had a panther hors d'oevre and now is looking for the main course . \\nour heroes paddle around in the amazonas as if it were the pool in their own backyard . \\nno wonder giant animals mistake their splashing for a dinner bell . \\nour anaconda is a polite one and swallows the first victim in one big gulp . \\nenjoy ! \\nso much for the first attempt to catch her . \\nbut who would want to catch a giant snake with a fishing pole ? \\nour villain sarone shows his soft side when he stops terri from shooting the snake . \\ntoo bad that anaconda is just about to strangle another member of the expedition . \\none by one she goes after the others . \\neric stoltz is stung by a giant wasp right in the beginning and is mercifully unconcious for the rest of the adventure . \\nthe rest of the crew keeps entertaining the viewer although not the way the makers of the movie had planned . \\nhowever the scenes without the anaconda are rather boring . \\nwhenever the leading lady shows up we're in for a laugh . \\nthe snake reminds us of a favorite character of a famous animated movie even if she should be an awe-inspiring monster . \\nher attacks always follow the same plan : one last hypnotic look - she's looking at you , kid - then she speedily wraps herself around her victim and starts to gush it down . \\nmostly we don't see the act of devouring . \\nbut she looks nice when she wiggles away with her bulging middle part . \\nwhoever did the special effects on this movie may have wanted to go to a zoo first and study some real snakes . \\nmaybe then the anaconda model would have looked more real . \\nthe animatronics are somewhat more believable . \\nbut that didn't work for the strangling scenes . \\ndon't go see the movie for the f/x . \\nthey are everything but up-to-date . \\nthe viewer who likes to watch the end credits will see to his/her surprise that a snake expert was a consultant for the team . \\nwe may doubt though that he has ever seen the final result of his work . \\na well known american science magazine is also mentioned in the credits , but i will refrain from naming it here to avoid further damage to its reputation . \\nthe majority of viewer will have left the theater as soon as the credits start rolling , anyway . \\nwhat kind of audience is the target group for this movie ? \\nhard to say . \\nthis can't be a serious horror movie , or can it ? \\nsee for yourself . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'capsule : this is a film that avoids easy answers . \\nwilhelm furtwangler , then the world\\'s greatest orchestra conductor stayed in germany and cooperated with the nazis . \\nwhat were his views , was he a war criminal or a secret resistance fighter ? \\nhow much did he know about crimes against humanity ? \\nthe us government investigated him after the war and this film is a dramatization of that investigation . \\n , high +2 ( -4 to +4 ) \\nin my opinion one of the best films of the last few years is istvan szabo\\'s sunshine , a film that covers the fortunes of a jewish hungarian family under the reigns of three different regimes , hungarian aristocrats , nazis , and communists . \\nszabo\\'s follow-up film , a german production , is much more limited in scope . \\nit is about the post-war investigation of who criminally supported the nazis and who opposed them . \\nronald harwood\\'s screenplay ambiguously looks at the investigation of a great classical music conductor who stayed on in germany when the nazis took power and became the most popular conductor of the third reich . \\nmaj . steve arnold ( played by harvey keitel ) has been assigned by his superiors to investigate wilhelm furtwangler ( stellan skarsgard ) , perhaps europe\\'s greatest classical music conductor . \\nwhen other artists fled germany , furtwangler remained behind and conducted for the hitler and his henchmen . \\nafter the war is over arnold assigned to interview furtwangler and members of his orchestra and if appropriate to prosecute him for war crimes . \\nhe secretly is told by his commanding officer to find furtwangler guilty . \\nfrom there we follow him and learn a little about arnold and something about furtwangler and his orchestra . \\nas he interviews members of the wartime orchestra arnold starts noticing odd peculiarities that may or may not point to a conspiracy against his investigation . \\nthere is a certain sameness to the responses that he is getting . \\nperhaps any cooperation he is getting has been in some ways managed . \\nif so , perhaps he can never come to the truth . \\nin large part the film is about mind games that arnold uses to manipulate his interviewees and especially furtwangler . \\nwhere the script has problems is that in the end it is so ambiguous . \\nit has no obvious resolution and not much of a final act . \\nwhen it is over whether anything has been established is open to interpretation . \\nperhaps that is better than so many films that make it all to obvious what the audience should believe , but it is like watching a murder mystery and never finding out who the killer is . \\nwe are given clues to something but they are never tied up . \\nin the end we just know more about both arnold and furtwangler . \\nthe film is basically a stage play . \\nthe visual is not very important . \\ncorners are cut visually including touches like filling windows with photographs to avoid having to shoot on location . \\nas with a stage play , what this film centers on the dialog , and that is intriguing . \\ni rate the film an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n[there is one piece of sloppiness few people but me would notice . \\nat one point we clearly see arnold\\'s desk calendar say \" jan 16 tues . \" \\na quick mental calculation told me that combination could occur in 1945 and then not again until 1951 . \\nthe events had to take place in 1946 or 1947 . \\na possible date could be obtained from any world almanac . ] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'sometimes a stellar cast can compensate for a lot of things , and \" pushing tin \" certainly features some name stars who are going places : billy bob thornton , cate blanchett , angelina jolie , and oh yes john cusack who might not realize it at first , but he\\'s actually the * veteran * among this quartet of fine-looking people . \\nsometimes a terrific cast like this can compensate for a lackluster screen treatment of an idea that has \" hip comedy \" written all over it , compensate for workmanlike but uninspired direction , compensate for an obnoxious score that would have anyone but the tone deaf screaming for the exits , compensate for clich ? d characterizations , compensate for embarrassing \" you have to be joking \" situations . \\netc . \\nin \" pushing tin , \" thornton , blanchett , jolie , and cusack don\\'t have an earthly . \\nfrom the opening sequence the film is in big trouble : squiggly , \" quirky \" credits , fake-looking passenger planes circling new york , and anne dudley\\'s in-your-ear music making us wonder how she ever got that best original score nomination for \" the full monty , \" let alone won it . \\nbut i , for one , wasn\\'t ready to walk just yet . \\nso quickly we descend into a tightly-edited air traffic controllers montage which screams to us in large capital letters these people have a difficult job , yes , what with their frantic , mile-a-minute instructional personas , juggling planes and passenger\\'s lives like some huge , real , mid-air video game . \\nhip , cool , demonic auctioneer nick \" the zone \" falzone ( cusack ) is the best in the biz . \\nof course . \\nuntil some hipper , cooler , leather-clad flyboy assist in the guise of russell bell ( thornton ) shows up to challenge falzone\\'s finite air space . \\nboys will be boys and some heavy duty testosterone starts exuding , then the macho one-upmanship begins . \\nit doesn\\'t stop with seeing who can juggle three 747s within a cat\\'s whisker of each other . \\noh no . \\nthere are some broken hoop dreams , some wanna-see-how-fast-i-can-drives , and then the ultimate showdown : was that my wife i saw you with last night ? \\ndirector mike newell ( \" four weddings and a funeral \" ) must have read a different draft of this script because the one that\\'s being acted out up there between newark , jfk , and la guardia doesn\\'t have an ounce of subtlety , and newell has made some awfully good-and funny-movies before . \\nthe antics of these air traffic controllers will make you cringe . \\nthey\\'ll make you frown in disbelief . \\nthey\\'ll have you constantly looking at your watch . \\nbut wait ! \\nthere\\'s still 100 minutes to go ! ! \\nthe film\\'s only saving grace is blanchett , whose connie falzone is a spunky , brash , long island housewife who wants to better herself by taking art classes . \\nthis is a wonderful accomplishment for the fine actress who has previously played a red-headed australian gambler ( \" oscar and lucinda \" ) and a tempestuous british monarch ( \" elizabeth \" ) . \\nbut she\\'s not enough to save the picture . \\nthornton looks terrific and performs solidly but his character is a joke . \\njolie ( as russell\\'s knock \\'em dead wife ) isn\\'t bad , but the up-and-coming actress disappoints by allowing herself to be displayed like a plaything . \\ncusack cracks gum , dons shades , and acts hip throughout but , like everything else in the film , his performance is forced . \\nin the last ten minutes or so , for some inexplicable reason , things start coming together and you begin to get a sense of how this film might have been , like the trailer teases . \\nbut it\\'s too little too late . \\na fine cast aside , \" pushing tin \" is nothing more than an embarrassment . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"no , it is not a bad film , in fact it is so good in achieving its purpose , i actually wished for the film to end itself quickly . \\nevent horizon is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi film , i'm sure many who have watched this will agree with me . \\nit is not even original in that sense , and it does borrow heavily from films like alien , hellraiser and even blade runner . \\nthe magic of this film lies in its unorthodox setting and methodical build-up that makes it wonderfully horrifying . \\nthe story brings us to the year 2050 , where space travel have since enormously progressed . \\nthe event horizon is actually a ship built for a secret experimental purpose ; it has the ability to fold time and space thus making it possible for travelling distances not reachable in a man's lifetime . \\nthe ship disappeared as soon as it went into operation but after 7 years , it reappeared again within the orbit of neptune . \\na search and rescue team led by miller ( fishburne ) is given the task to check for survivors of the event horizon . \\nthe designer of the ship , dr . weir ( neill ) follows along to satisfy his curiosity on what actually happened to his otherwise technologically impressive ship . \\nevent horizon is a sci-fi horror film , much truer to the word than say , alien would ever be . \\nwhile in alien , the crew has to cope with a ferocious creature while encased within tight spaces , in event horizon , the forces which goes against the crew is undefined but yet so powerful and horrifying . \\nthe story unfolds itself slowly and the suspense buildup is superb , up till the point where i really felt like saying out loud `enough ! \\ni can't stand this anymore ! ' . \\nthere are more than enough jolts to send your adrenalin pumping overtime . \\nthe story in itself is not exactly something very exciting and also , the acting is only at most , average by most commercial standards . \\neven so , the essence of horror is carried out very well in this film , thanks to its well-paced storytelling , disturbing set designs and some really gory sequences ( which incidentally , has been quite generously removed by our censorship board ) . \\ndirector paul anderson ( who did mortal kombat ) and his team of `atmosphere' creators have done well in keeping event horizon within the bounds of the term `horror' . \\nthis picture did not do very well in the us box-office most probably for the dread-factor impact it has on most audiences ; people will not see it again and not many would recommend their friend to watch this . \\nalthough on the face of it , event horizon is mostly molded for mass-entertainment ; many thrills , spills and suspense to keep audiences in focus . \\nhowever , the offbeat horror element which it ultimately convey audiences is very disturbing . \\nmy friend and i could not say a word to each other for quite a while after going through the `experience' of event horizon . \\ni guess it was just the immense feeling of dread which the film had cast upon us . \\nbe forewarned , this film is not for the faint-hearted nor for pure entertainment . \\nbe prepared to be disturbed if you should decide to watch this film ! \\nevent horizon is highly recommended ? ? but at your own risk ! \\nit has been a long time since good-horror embraced the big screen , and event horizon is one . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"starring shawnee smith ; donovan leitch ; ricky paull goldin ; kevin dillon & billy beck the blob is the remake of the 1960's classic ( a term that i use very loosely to define the original ) about a really mean glob of goop that takes out anything that gets in its way . \\nnow the original version has the virtue of cheesy special effects which give it a kind of nostalgic campy feel . \\nthe fact that steve mcqueen was the star of the film doesn't exactly hurt it either . \\nfast forward to the late '80's . \\nsteve mcqueen isn't in the remake ( this might have something to do with the fact that he had been pushing up daisies for years ) . \\nnor is there any hollywood heavy hitters in the lead role . \\nthat is unless you count matt dillon's brother kevin as a hollywood heavy hitter . \\nthe other thing that works against this new blob is that special effects technology has improved dramatically since the original . \\nthe only things you need now to have great special effects in a movie are deep pockets . \\nit looks as if the produces of the new blob had a couple of holes in their pockets . \\nthe special effects in this movie are cheesy , like the original's . \\nunlike the original , they don't look campy , they just look cheap . \\none bright spot in the movie from a purely sexist point of view is shawnee smith . \\nshe is very attractive and can actually act , which is more than i can say about some of her costars . \\nin terms of plot , a little ball of pink goop falls from the sky . \\nseems this goop was an experiment that was being housed up on a satellite . \\nanyway , the pink stuff has a taste for humans . \\nthe more people it absorbs , the bigger it gets . \\nand it isn't the friendliest goop on the block either . \\nanyway , it attacks this little town and it's up to the attractive local teenage population to stop it . \\nnot really , but that is how it seems . \\nthis version attempts to recapture the camp of the original . \\nas i've already said , this new version of the blob comes off more as cheap , badly acted , and badly written than campy . \\nin the years since this film was made none of the cast have gone on to greatness . \\nalthough , star shawnee smith had a very tiny role in armageddon . \\nthe reason that we have never heard of any of them again is quite simple -- they all stunk out loud . \\nalthough some of the film's smaller roles are filled with some actors that , while not big stars , are doubtless people that you will recognize from their supporting roles in other movies and tv shows . \\nit also appears that the producers of the blob tried to compensate for the lack of a special effects budget by making the scenes in which the blob makes meals of the townsfolk as gory as possible . \\nsadly , it doesn't work very well . \\nif you want to see a big ball of goop terrorize a town , then i would say that you should skip the remake and rent the original . \\n ( although that isn't so hot either . ) \\nthis newest version is seriously lacking in any redeeming qualities . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"it was once said that in order to truly enjoy some of today\\x12s movies or novels , you must \\x13suspend disbelief . \\x14 \\nhowever , there is a distinct separation between opening your mind to ridiculous situations and believing a bunch of flat lies . \\nit came as no surprise to me to learn that huntingburg , indiana ( where the film is set ) , does not have a mcdonald's , a sears store , a statue of a man on a horse , nor even a dam close by . \\neven if you can ignore these somewhat \\x13white\\x14 lies ( even though the dam is crucial to hard rain\\x12s plot ) ; there is still a bunch of things that just don\\x12t gel . \\nfirstly , morgan freeman , possibly the greatest actor alive ( after such films as driving miss daisy , the shawshank redemption and se7en ) , was cast as a shifty goon intent on stealing enough money for a healthy retirement . \\nhe _should_ have played the town sheriff , an experienced and somewhat intriguing policeman . \\nas a massive flood started by a dam accident overwhelms huntingburg , its residents presumably flee as the water level steadily increases . \\ni say presumably simply because we never know what happened to them ; and it seems a tad strange that an entire town ( with the exception of some folk who get introduced along the way ) can vanish before the flood has actually started . \\nbut nether the less , armored guard couriers tom ( christian slater ) and his uncle are carrying three million dollars in the back of their van . \\nwith a heavy rainstorm causing depressing conditions and slippery roads , it doesn\\x12t take long for the van to end up stuck amongst mud and water off the side of the road . \\njim ( morgan freeman ) and a small gang of thieves locate the van and attempt to steal the three million dollars . \\nbut of course tom is more than willing to save the day , so he takes the money and hides it elsewhere in town . \\nthe local sheriff ( randy quaid , whom most will remember as the drunken pilot in id4 ) and a couple of police men investigate the situation , but their morals are soon overpowered by greediness as each character contemplates what he/she would do with their share of the three million dollars . \\ndirector mikael salomon has made sure that hard rain ends up turning everything topsy-turvy , and whilst the film may at first appear to be a definite \\x13goodies versus baddies , \\x14 there are numerous twists in it\\x12s plot that make this a slightly more enjoyable experience . \\nbut by the time these interesting changes occur , it\\x12s far too late in the film for them to have much affect . \\nhard rain\\x12s continuos corniness and lack of originality washes out whatever hope the script may have had ; and although it\\x12s cast is somewhat appealing most of its stars act well below par . \\nnot at one stage capturing what could have been a fabulous on screen battle between slater and freeman , we are left to reminisce on films that dared to do something different and achieved more than what was expected . \\nsuch titles as broken arrow ( slater and john travolta ) and face/off ( nicholas cage and john travolta ) come to mind as films that have mastered silver screen confrontations . \\nstrangely enough , they were both directed by john woo and both star john travolta . \\nwe can forgive morgan freeman for giving a slightly disappointing performance since he is newish to the action genre , but christian slater could have achieved so much more had the amount of crummy one liners been reduced and some personality added to his character . \\nif you had asked me whether slater could perform well enough to substantially boost a movie prior to the release of broken arrow , my answer would have been a definite no . \\ni now know that he has no excuse , and _can_ do better ( if you don\\x12t believe me rent a copy of broken arrow from your local video store ) . \\nalthough hard rain never really works from the start , i somehow felt feelings of missed opportunity when the credits filled the screen . \\nthe addition of an enticing sub-plot would have given the film time to breathe , rather than try to cram 96 minutes of action and disaster into a story that can\\x12t handle anything else . \\ndespite the fact that hard rain fails on almost every account , if your standards are low enough you may find this to be a mildly enjoyable film . \\nno creative flair and no inventive scenes means that hard rain does not stand up well against its many competitors , but it doesn\\x12t really matter since the last thing you would want to do after shelling about $8 . 50 is compare this to other films . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'georges polti once wrote a paper called \" the thirty-six dramatic situations , \" in which he asserted the fact that all drama could be defined by no more than thirty-six different situations . \\nthis may be the modern restatement of the biblical prophecy from ecclesiastes , \" there\\'s nothing new under the sun . \" \\nthe faculty , the latest movie by from dusk till dawn director robert rodriguez , certainly proves this in typical hollywood fashion . \\nthere\\'s not a measureable fraction of original material in this unworthy outing . \\ndrawing elements from both the puppet masters and invasion of the body snatchers , screenwriter kevin williamson ( of scream 2 credit ) gives us a horror tale set in middle america ( ohio ) one eventful fall . \\nmaking use of a cast of unusually stock characters , williamson designs an alien invasion that will not be done independence day-style but rather \" through the back door . \" \\nparasitic aliens take over the faculty of a run-down high school and soon have infested most of the student body , leaving it up to the ensemble of principal characters to win the day . \\nthe lack of gusto is the movie\\'s major stumbling block . \\neven though the genre has seen movies that have a lack for quality such as this , they\\'ve been saved by an energetic approach . \\nthis casts more than a shadow of a doubt on williamson\\'s ability , who enjoyed success with the wes craven-directed scream but couldn\\'t pull anything solid in for this outing or i know what you did last summer . \\nalthough he designs the faculty with more of a sci-fi bent than his typical slasher picture , it still comes down to the same results : throw the stock characters in a steel cage match and see who comes out alive . \\non that level , the main roles are played by virtual unknowns . \\nonly the recognizeable elijah wood ( deep impact ) is at the front ; other than that , the screen veterans are saved for the minor roles of the alien teachers . \\nperhaps williamson has it in mind to champion these up-and-comers to the fame that their scream and last summer counterparts achieved ; but to do that , they\\'d all need to star in their own wb television show about the horrors of puberty a la \" dawson\\'s creek . \" \\nneedless to say the acting is far from top notch , nor does necessity ask that it should be . \\nthere is a moment or two of genuine horror , but unfortunately williamson and rodriguez did not take the story far enough in the sci-fi direction to make any use of it . \\nin sum , the faculty was just one long shot that did not pay off . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'libby parsons ( ashley judd ) has the perfect little life -- a rich husband , a cute son , and a house on the ocean -- but when her husband nick ( bruce greenwood ) takes her sailing , she awakes to find him gone and her hands covered with blood . \\njust as she makes it to the deck and picks up the bloody knife lying there , the coast guard arrives in response to a distress call her vanished husband sent . \\nshe\\'s convicted of his murder , of course , and leaves her son matty ( benjamin weir ) with her best friend ( annabeth gish ) . \\ntime passes , and the friend disappears with matty . \\nduring their last phone conversation libby hears matty yell \" daddy ! \" \\nand realizes that her husband is still alive . \\nlibby serves six years , growing harder and driven by the desire to kill nick ( based on the theory that because of the \" double jeopardy \" amendment she can off him with impunity ) . \\nwhen she gets parole , she\\'s sent to a halfway house run by travis lehman ( tommy lee jones ) , a former law professor who ruined his life with a drunk driving accident . \\nafter a little breaking and entering and some destruction of property , libby jumps parole and lams it across the country looking for nick and matty . \\ntravis pursues , naturally . \\n \" double jeopardy \" is a watered-down version of \" the fugitive , \" with jones sleep-walking through his well-worn pursuer persona . \\nalthough libby never leaps from a bus that collides with a train , she manages to get into a few nail-biters -- chased down the beach by a jeep , chained to a car that plunges into the ocean , sealed in a coffin -- that add some much needed thrills to an anemic , slow-moving script . \\ncharacter development is thin . \\ntravis\\' intriguing backstory is mentioned a couple times but has no effect on the story . \\n ( i think they only made him a former law professor so that he could verify the double-jeopardy theory when libby gets the drop on nick . \\nit\\'s a long way to go for one line ) . \\nthere\\'s considerable sexual tension between travis and libby ( hey , there\\'s something \" the fugitive \" didn\\'t have ! ) , but it never goes anywhere . \\nlibby is a tv-movie everywoman , but judd\\'s intense performance draws us in and makes us forget that her character has no distinguishing characteristics . \\nthis is judd\\'s most prominent role to date , and she proves that she can light up the screen . \\nlet\\'s hope hollywood gives her more to work with next time around . \\nthe quality of director bruce beresford\\'s movies seems to depend on luck . \\nwhen he has a good script and a strong cast , he turns out oscar-caliber work like \" \\'breaker\\' morant , \" \" driving miss daisy , \" and \" tender mercies . \" \\nwhen he doesn\\'t . \\n . \\n . \\nwe get \" double jeopardy . \" \\nscreenwriters david weisberg and douglas cook previously collaborated on \" the rock , \" a script which probably benefited from the numerous uncredited rewrites . \\nbottom line : ashley judd tries hard but can\\'t save this predictable bore . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"so here is the second of 1999's remakes of classic horror movies . \\nthe first was the dumb , pathetic but ok remake of the classic 'the haunting' . \\nnow comes the highly awaited remake of house on haunted hill . \\nthe classic which starred vincent price as a man who pays a group of people 100 , 000 to stay in his house . \\nif they survive the night they get the money . \\nif not well you get the jurisdiction . \\nhaving not yet seen the film ( dvd on its way ) i wasn't sure if i would really like the remake . \\nbut sure enough it comes through and has a great storyline to fall back on . \\ngeoffrey rush ( in a fantastic role with an incredible performance ) is steven price , the owner of an amusement park destined to scare the wits out of people . \\nhis wife evelyn price is throwing a party with her friends . \\nsteven dismays at the idea and makes his own list . \\nsomehow someone , or something changes that list and five other people are invited to the party . \\neddie ( taye diggs ) an ex-baseball player , sarah ( ali carter ) an ex-assistant who can re-wire anything , melissa ( brigette wilson ) a talk-show host in sorts , dr . blackburn ( peter ghallager ) , and watson ( chris kattan ) a smart-mouthed humorist in ways . \\nwhat he is gonna do is pay these five people 1 , 000 , 000 dollars if they can survive through the night . \\nif they can they get the money , if not well they don't . \\nthe house on haunted hill used to be an insane asylum . \\nyears before mental patients broke out and killed the dr . there , forcing him to lock the place up because if he died , so did they . \\neveryone who was in there burned to death . \\nnow it is steven price's home and he is throwing this party for these five people . \\nwhat starts out as a seemingly normal night , turns into a horrifying , blood splattering night . \\nthe deep dark secrets of what really happened in that asylum and why those guests are actually there are revealed . \\none-by-one the people start to disappear . \\nconspiracies start to turn up , and steven price finds out that his house may be alive after all . \\nthe people find rooms , which once held mental patients . \\nrooms which once had people dying . \\nrooms which may still contain these people . \\nnow these five people must try and survive the night and try and survive the house , and they must survive each other with terrorfying results . \\nsince i officially haven't seen the original i can't say which is better . \\ni can say however i liked this movie . \\ngeoffrey rush gives a one in a million performance as the rich steven price , and does a great job doing a vincent price role . \\nfamke jansen as his wife was great and even kind of eerie at times . \\nali carter and taye diggs sort of become the main characters and ali carter who debuted in varsity blues gives a fantastic performance here as does taye diggs . \\nchris kattan gives us great comic relief and the movie contains a lot of comical lines . \\npeter ghallager and brigette wilson were great as well and gave commanding performances as potential victims . \\nthe plot was well conceived and was very absorbing . \\nthe movie has atmosphere the whole way through that is disturbing and creepy , and even sometimes downright scary . \\ni found even the opening credits to me a little ominous . \\none thing i knew not to expect was a 'haunting' type movie with special effects galore . \\neven though it had fantastic gore and special effects , the movie has only a 19 million dollar budget , which doesn's show all the way through but you can tell . \\nthe movie was written well , and it's only major flaw is the under-developed characters and plot holes that we are left with . \\nthe ending is quite clever and some may not even get it . \\ni must say house on haunted hill was a surprise . \\ni was expecting another haunting with special effects , no scares and a dumb ending . \\ninstead i found a good halloween movie with gore , scares and great acting . \\nhouse on haunted hill is one of those movies you really can't take seriously . \\nthough it is a well-made movie with a good storyline it still has some flaws . \\nbut besides that the movie is fun , smart and scary and makes us wonder why remakes like this can't be made all the time ! \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"disconnect the phone line . \\ndon't accept the charges . \\ndo anything you can to avoid the wretched , melodramatic sisterhood dramedy `hanging up' . \\ni figured i needed to get in touch with my feminine side , and `hanging up' seemed like an ideal opportunity to do so . \\nthe film features an incredible palate of female talent , and the capability behind the camera brought to mind such sparkling gems as `sleepless in seattle' and `unsung heroes' . \\nmeg ryan , diane keaton and lisa kudrow play a trio of sisters who , once separated by career judgments over family ties , must reunite when their father ( walter matthau ) is admitted into the hospital with alzheimer's disease . \\nwhile this may read like an optimum opportunity to rekindle their relationship and reflect with poignancy on the past , the script by sisters delia and nora ephron is exasperating , shapeless dreck teeming with emotional fakery . \\n`hanging up' has the overall effect of a tele-marketer pestering you for two hours , while you don't have the option of doing as the title suggests . \\nfor the first half-hour , the ephron sisters use telephone conversations for a basis of character development . \\nthis is an annoying and ineffective device . \\ncell-phones ring every five minutes , and everyone hurriedly rushes along , leaving marginal time for the frustrated viewer to relate to the sisters' issues and problems . \\nif `hanging up' was an apple pie , then i felt as if we were getting the mere crust of the story . \\ngranted , there are a few genuine and sincere moments in the film . \\nbut they only help to establish that the remainder of the strained emotions are nothing but inferior dramatic muck . \\nthe most outrageous strategy in `hanging up' is that , after a series of largely unrealized attempts at character development , we are expected to exhibit compassion and courtesy toward the sisters as they join for a melodramatic finale . \\nwe are able to identify with eve ( ryan ) , the most open and caring daughter , because she is the one who stayed by her father's side as everyone else moved forward to pursue a impending career . \\ngeorgia ( keaton ) , the eldest daughter , is celebrating the fifth year anniversary of her magazine called . . . . \\n`georgia' . \\nmaddy ( kudrow ) , the soap opera actress , spends time either contemplating her possible path to stardom or nursing her dog . \\nryan's convincing performance and diverting cuteness are two of the more agreeable aspects of `hanging up' . \\nkudrow , so delightfully eccentric as the off-kilter airhead phoebe in `friends' , is totally wasted . \\nditto for keaton , who is serving a double shift as co-star and director - a time slot that can be a difficult priority juggle . \\nher frenzy is apparent . \\nfor a chick flick , there is a distressing lack of chuckles . \\nthe reliable matthau is reduced to chaotic shtick that , given his character's situation , seems more depressing than amusing . \\neven so , the peak form of humor in `hanging up' is represented by some of matthau's nasty quips and ryan's eternal battle to have the aforementioned pooch swallow a pill . \\nthat about accounts for the three or four chuckles you will expel during the film . \\nmy curiosity has suddenly been tweaked to discover how such a promising and star-studded approach could turn so viciously sour . \\nbut really , it's no mystery . \\nthe predictable , melodramatic filth that is `hanging up' is certainly not the fault of these actresses . \\npin it on the screenplay , which attempts to clear up vital issues in three or four minutes , while spending the rest of the running time in an annoying flurry of phone conversations . \\nit's certainly a far cry from what one would label as a rewarding experience , but `hanging up' should have at least been enjoyable . \\nuh-uh . \\nit's a wrong number from the beginning . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'please don\\'t mind this windbag letting off a bit of steam . . . i \\njust want to warn all of y\\'all not to waste your hard-earned $$$ on anaconda . \\nit\\'s not even worth a 99-cent video rental . \\ndon\\'t listen to ebert on this one ( he has no clue what he\\'s talking about ! ) \\nbtw i accompanied my friend to this one because she was * required * to watch it on assignment ( she reviews movies for a local paper ) . \\nnow i\\'ll actually back up my huffing and puffing . \\nhere goes : \\nmovie : anaconda rydain\\'s bottom line : wait for it to come on usa up all night . \\neven then , i doubt it\\'s worth the price of jolt ( to help you stay up that late ! ) \\nwhy do i hate anaconda ? \\nlet me count the ways . . . \\nfirst of all , this movie gets way too many snake facts wrong . \\nas an ophiophile ( snake lover ) , i can tell you that a ) anacondas would never reach a length of 40 feet , b ) they\\'re scared of people , c ) cases of snakes eating adult humans are extremely rare because human shoulders are too wide to fit in a snake\\'s mouth , and constrictor snakes don\\'t kill what they can\\'t eat , d ) people can outrun snakes with no trouble , especially heavy ones like anacondas , e ) if an anaconda did eat a human , it would need at least 6 months of sitting on its butt to digest the huge meal , therefore it couldn\\'t run around gobbling up everybody else in the cast , and f ) snakes have no vocal cords , so they can\\'t make funny squealing noises . \\nwhew . \\ni was prepared to suspend reality if the movie would have been worth it . \\nunfortunately , anaconda was about as suspenseful and exciting as watching paint peel . \\nmy friend and i even successfully predicted who would live at the end . \\nanybody can tell the bad guy is going to die eventually . \\nthat was a pity because his character was one of the few reasons my friend and i didn\\'t give up and fall asleep . \\nhe was the most likable character in the movie . \\nwho wouldn\\'t enjoy somebody who looks like a deranged walt whitman ? \\nanaconda did have its cute moments : arguments between ice cube\\'s character and the british guy , for instance . \\nhowever , those small flashes of wit were not worth the other hour and twenty-eight minutes of boring schlock . \\nthe writers had - and blew - a multitude of opportunities to insert funny lines . \\ni was quite disappointed with a scene where a young guy tells a young lady that the jungle makes him horny . \\ndid she retort with a clever , ego-withering comeback ? \\nof course not ! \\n \" i\\'m trying to work ! \" \\ngee , that\\'s even dumber than the crap comebacks i come up with . \\nshe could have told him to go find a knothole or something . . . \\n ; p but i will admit , there was just one scene where i was surprised at the outcome ( hint : it involves the evil guy and miss crap comebacks ) . \\nas for the plot , i\\'m still trying to find one . \\nthis movie was basically an excuse to get a boatload of people into dangerous territory where they could get snarfed by ridiculous , computer-generated anacondas with the eyes and fangs of vipers and the faster-than-gravity downward acceleration of a harrier jet . \\n ( harrier snake ? ) \\nnot to mention instant digestion so they could go snarf countless other victims . \\nthe writers tried to throw in some sort of plot twist ( should i call it a plot knot because it made no sense ? ) in which the sick guy\\'s g-friend kisses the evil dude and suddenly everybody hates said evil dude and starts trying to kill him . \\nthat was about as clear and understandable as mission : impossible . \\n ( if someone could explain that movie to me , i\\'d be most grateful ! \\nall the old-guy double agents looked the same ! ! ) \\ni wasn\\'t inspired by the acting , save for the evil dude . \\ni can\\'t blame the actors , though . \\nit\\'s not their fault they had a cruddy script to work with . \\nthis concludes rydain\\'s diatribe on a shameless exploitation ( and perpetuation ! ) of public fear of snakes . \\ncomments , flames , anyone ? \\n-rydain the atomic cheese , fresh from chernobyl dairies ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" six days , seven nights \" is a summer movie that gets the summer movie experience deliciously right , a commendable achievement considering the season thus far has been littered with some pretty uneven fare . \\nhere\\'s a genuinely fun fluff piece that knows it\\'s fluff , recognizes it\\'s fluff and is admittedly proud to be fluff . \\nof course , the casting of harrison ford in the broadly comedic lead role plays a sizeable part in the movie\\'s success ; ford is such a concentrated dramatic actor that it\\'s easy to forget what a funny guy he can be . \\nas his female counterpart , anne heche also deserves a big pat on the back for her sweet , goofily charismatic performance . \\nthe age difference ( ford\\'s 56 , heche\\'s 29 ) matters not -- these two click in a charged way that\\'s hard to come by . \\nthe story is a no-brainer -- ford stars as gruff but loveable island aviator quinn harris , while heche is career-minded but loveable new york magazine editor robin monroe . \\nrobin , on a tropical vacation with fianc ? frank ( david schwimmer ) , gets assigned to supervise an emergency photo shoot in nearby tahiti , so she reluctantly hires quinn to fly her there . \\nthe plane crashes during a terrible storm , and they immediately find themselves stuck in a deserted paradise with few ideas on getting back to civilization . \\na series of unpleasant , often hilarious catastrophes leaves little choice but for both members of this unlikely odd couple to fall for each other . \\nmeanwhile , back at the resort , frank is tempted himself by quinn\\'s shapely female tagalong ( jacqueline obradors ) . \\nthat subplot obviously exists to get us rooting for the quinn-robin pairing , and while it makes for a few good laughs early on , it eventually becomes a contrived distraction from the far more engrossing misadventures of quinn and robin . \\nand since the film spends most of its time with the castaways , this flaw is only a minor inconvenience . \\ndirector ivan reitman keeps the pace brisk . \\nat a slim 101 minutes , \" six days , seven nights \" never wears out its welcome , where a lesser film could have felt like it was as long as its title . \\nmichael browning\\'s clever screenplay allows for plenty of notable one-liners ( my favorite , taken in context , is \" you mean _arrrgh_ pirates ? \" ) , and though it essentially boils down to one mishap after another , they\\'re all quite engaging . \\neven the movie\\'s more \" serious \" moments are played with a wink . \\nheche has been under undeserved fire over whether or not her private life with ellen degeneres would affect the \" believability \" of \" six days , seven nights \" \\' heterosexual pairing . \\n ( so she\\'s a lesbian . \\nso what . \\ndeal with it . ) \\nof course it doesn\\'t , and here , her naysayers are proved wrong in a big way . \\nin fact , her chemistry with ford is what really makes the film click ; these opposites attract with the utmost , endearing electricity . \\nat one point , when the two are discussing the likelihood of romantic interest , heche asks ford how old he is . \\nafter several wrong guesses ( \" forty-five ? \\n_fifty_ ? \" ) , he whispers his age to her . \\n \" you still look good , \" heche stammers . \\n \" i still _am_ good , \" ford replies . \\nshe\\'s good too , and together , they make \" six days , seven nights \" one memorable ride . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when considering david fincher\\'s latest film , \" the game \" , four words come to mind . \\n \" don\\'t believe the hype . \" \\nthis michael douglas vehicle , from the director of \" seven \" , isn\\'t nearly as clever or innovatively suspenseful as it would have us believe . \\nthe film draws us in with an intriguing concept ( aided no doubt by the riveting trailer ) where a jaded millionaire ( douglas ) is presented with the opportunity to enter into a living fantasy . \\nthis isn\\'t simply virtual reality . \\nthis is real life with a deadly twist . \\non his 48th birthday , nicholas van orton ( douglas ) is invited to dinner by his underachieving younger brother , conrad ( sean penn ) . \\nconrad has a special birthday present for his brother . \\nhe hands nicholas a gift certificate and tells him to contact a company called consumer recreation services . \\n \" they make your life fun , \" conrad tells him . \\nnicholas humors his brother , telling him he\\'ll call , but it\\'s clear he has no time for any foolish , \" fantasy role-playing , \" as he calls it . \\nthen , for reasons that are never really made clear , nicholas decides to go to crs and see what they\\'re all about . \\nhe ends up spending a whole day going through their screening process , which to me made no sense considering the tight schedule he keeps claiming to have . \\nnevertheless , when it seems nicholas has been rejected as a crs client , the weird things start happening . \\nof course , when we\\'ve only covered about 30 minutes of screen time , what else should we expect . \\ndouglas has built his modern career around playing powerful , violent and unlikable men being manipulated by unseen hands . \\none of those films , \" basic instinct \" , came from the creative minds of writer , joe eszterhas and director , paul verhoeven . \\nthe premise of \" the game , \" is not unlike the concept of another verhoeven film , \" total recall . \" \\nin that case , the premise was implanting someone else\\'s memories as a way to enhance one\\'s own life through a dream vacation . \\nyet , in both films , the real goal is to create a vicarious bond with the audience . \\nwe live the adventure along with the protagonist , reacting to each twist and turn . \\nin theory , the key to the suspense is not being to tell what is real and what isn\\'t . \\nall we can do is hang on until the end of the ride , when the truth is finally revealed . \\nnow , for those of you who forgot , let me say this again . \\n \" don\\'t believe the hype . \" \\n \" the game \" is not a thrilling roller coaster ride . \\nas a suspense-thriller , it doesn\\'t do much but spin in circles . \\nby the third reel , i was fighting back sleep and checking my watch as i endured the predictable plot . \\nis it any wonder douglas won\\'t be able to resist the charms of a mysterious , potentially life-threatening blonde ( ever heard of glenn close ? \\nno ? well , how about sharon stone ? \\nthought so ) . \\nif anything in this film surprises you at all , i would guess you haven\\'t seen that many films . \\nthere is no suspense here . \\ntrust me , i looked hard to find some . \\ni had to settle for contrived gimmicks and ridiculously implausible situations . \\nfincher aim\\'s for hitchcock but lands somewhere just north of joe eszterhas . \\nthere are those that might say \" the game \" is not intended to be viewed literally . \\ni would submit that is exactly the way i tried to view the film . \\nthe film simply does not have the teeth to bite into any real psychological issues . \\nthere is a moment early in the film where van orton , realizing his game has begun , smiles as he walks through the airport trying to figure out who\\'s in on the whole thing . \\nhe is charged by his paranoia . \\nhe is looking at the world through new eyes . \\nit is the last thought-provoking moment in the film . \\nfrom there on , the director only wants to stay a step ahead of us . \\nany significant archetype that is set up in the beginning of the film is simply turned into a plot device . \\nat the outset , we\\'re told each \" game \" is tailored to the individual . \\nultimately , this \" game \" is supposed to work like a crucible , trying this obscenely wealthy and emotionally detached aristocrat by fire , proving his soul . \\nyet , as douglas endures his personal gauntlet , we\\'re given very few pieces of the puzzle to illuminate us on who this man really is . \\ni wanted to like this film more than i did . \\ni look at it as just anothergreat idea , poorly realized . \\ni can think of at least two other superior films where watching the film didn\\'t mean we were seeing what was really happening . \\nbryan singer\\'s \" the usual suspects \" for one , a film that was truly unique in its ability to get you lost in the details before pulling back to show you the full masterpiece on the canvas . \\nalso , there is the underrated \" jacob\\'s ladder , \" with tim robbins , a film that really has to be watched twice before you recognize the significance of all its symbolism . \\nhere are two examples of films that don\\'t simply manipulate for manipulations\\' sake . \\nthere are films that use their labyrinth structure to lead us to a meaningful place . \\none major issue that comes up in \" the game \" is whether or not the whole \" illusion \" is just a highly sophisticated con game . \\nwell , i can tell you right now , after you\\'ve spent your $7 dollars , you may be asking yourself the same thing . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'battlefield long , boring and just plain stupid \\nbattlefield earth \\na film review by michael redman copyright 2000 by michael redman \\nin my mid-teen years , i had a horrendous re-occurring nightmare . \\nbehind the wheel of a car , i was driving down a straight road in the middle of a desert . \\nno scenery except the horizon line and the converging parallel lines of the highway . \\nno matter what i did , the view didn\\'t change : travelling but not getting anywhere . \\neach time i awoke in a sweat , terrified . \\nyou don\\'t have to be carl jung to understand that dream . \\npowerless to make changes , trapped in a boring situation with no hope of rescue , this is the stuff of nightmares whether we are asleep or awake . \\nthis is exactly how you will feel 15 minutes after \" battlefield earth \" begins . \\nfor all of its flash and style , l . ron hubbard\\'s science fiction epic is the earliest and best entry for the dullest summer film of 2000 . \\ndull \" and \" stupid . \\nin the year 3000 , the psychlo aliens have ruled our planet for 1 , 000 years . \\nhumans either work as slave labor in mining operations or live as barbarians . \\nthere\\'s no hope . \\nthe future is bleak . \\nthen the psychlo make a mistake and capture feisty jonnie goodboy tyler ( barry pepper ) who organizes a revolution against chief of security terl ( john travolta ) and the alien race . \\nit\\'s an archetypal post-apocalyptic plot full of promise . \\nconsidering some of the talent involved and all the millions thrown at the screen , it\\'s difficult to see how it could have failed so miserably . \\nbut it does . \\nthe story is so full of holes that it falls apart within minutes of the opening credits . \\nare we really supposed to believe that after a millennium of looking for gold , the psychlo never discovered fort knox ? \\nor that fighter planes are still in pristine condition after all that time -- and gassed up ? \\nor that the cavemen become such expert pilots in seven days that they can easily down the advanced alien ships ? \\nor that the psychlo spy cameras somehow don\\'t notice that their slaves are missing for days ? \\ntravolta prances across the screen hamming it up for all he\\'s worth and is almost entertaining . \\nalmost . \\nthe rest of the actors are wooden mannequins trying not to laugh while delivering lines that no person -- \" man-animal \" or not -- would ever utter . \\nsome of the film _looks_ good , but it also looks so familiar . \\na race of large hulking ape-like creatures has taken over the world while our cities lie in ruin . \\nsound like something charlton heston might be in ? \\nthe psychlo look like overweight klingons in gear from \" dune \" . \\nthe final air battle between the air force fighters and the psychlo ships in their high-tech city is something george lucas might have been associated with . \\nit\\'s too loud . \\nit\\'s too oppressive . \\nit\\'s too slow . \\nit\\'s too long . . . far \\ntoo long . \\nand on it goes . \\nthe list of the problems with \" battlefield earth \" is endless . \\nit\\'s difficult to find anything in the film that does work . \\noh yeah . \\nthe color scheme is nice . \\nthe real question is how this movie ever got made . \\ncould it have something to do with the fact that l . ron hubbard was the founder of scientology ? \\nand that john travolta is a member of the church . \\nthat might explain why travolta bought the rights to the novel years ago . \\nbut it doesn\\'t give us a clue as to why first-time screenwriter corey mandell\\'s atrocious script was used . \\nor why the high-profile project was entrusted with roger christian who had never before directed a major film . \\nor why no one looked at this thing before it was released and realized there might be problems . \\nthe one bright spot is that no longer will kevin costner\\'s \" the postman \" ( which i begrudgingly admit as a guilty pleasure ) be \" the \" big budget science fiction failure . \\n \" battlefield earth \" has the honor sewed up . \\noften reviewers will recommend that you skip mediocre films and wait for the video . \\nthat\\'s not the case here . \\nyou can act now and make the decision to not see it on the big screen or on the small one . \\ndon\\'t hesitate . \\nstrike now while the iron is cold . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'historical epic as a genre was almost banished from hollywood in early 1990s . \\nfor many critics , scholars and , most importantly , film producers , it was a thing of the past - something that could have attracted crowds only in the era of black-and-white television and non-cgi special effects . \\nbut in 1995 , same as in the case of dances with wolves five years ago , there came the man who decided to use of all his energy and talents of actor , producer and director in order to revitalise that particular genre . \\nand , same as in the case of dances with wolves , he was awarded for his effort with \" oscars \" . \\nthe name of the film was braveheart , and the name of its director and main actor was mel gibson . \\nthe plot chronicles the life of scottish warlord and folk hero william wallace ( 1272 - 1305 ) . \\nin his time , english king edward i \" longshanks \" ( played by patrick mcgoohan ) has almost completely subdued entire british isles , including scotland , whose proud inhabitants are now subjected by \" ius primae noctis \" and various other forms of humiliation and oppression by english knights . \\nalthough english had killed his father many years ago , young scottish commoner william wallace ( played by mel gibson ) doesn\\'t care about politics and wants only to have peaceful life with his new bride murron ( played by catherine maccormack ) . \\nmurron\\'s death changes that and wallace takes arms and , together with small but dedicated band of followers , begins guerrilla campaign that would systematically destroy almost every english garrison in the country . \\nthrough time , more and more people join his ranks and in 1298 wallace\\'s rag-tag army scores surprising victory against english knights in the battle of stirling bridge . \\nbut the newly won freedom is endangered by the internal squabbles between scots themselves , especially nobles under pretender robert the bruce ( played by angus macfadyen ) , who wouldn\\'t like to have a simple commoner as a national leader . \\nbraveheart was only the second film in the directorial career by mel gibson , so it wouldn\\'t be fair to compare it to the better known genre classics directed by david lean or anthony mann . \\nhowever , even when we apply such criteria braveheart is more than decent historical epic that takes new and refreshing approach to the genre . \\nthe most noticeable element of this approach is naturalism . \\nwhile older hollywood films set in medieval europe used to give fairytale-like vision of picturesque castles , splendid costumes and knights in shining armour , gibson shows us the extremely unpleasant world of poverty and feudal injustice where might made right and life was hard , short and brutish . \\nthis general unpleasantness is especially underlined in the scenes of battle , where hand-to-hand combat is naturalistically displayed in all its gory details , never seen since verhoeven\\'s ultra-naturalistic flesh & blood . \\ncompared with this naturalistic approach , most of old hollywood epics look like stage plays . \\nbraveheart also employs humour at the right places , not only to make bloody realities of medieval british isles more bearable to sensitive audiences , but also to underline its down-to-earth atmosphere , so different from previous historical epics . \\nwhat makes braveheart \" larger than life \" is his protagonist . \\nmel gibson obviously invested plenty of his energy and talent in bringing the mythical figure of william wallace and , as a result , character of 15th century poems is transformed into superhuman being that resembles late 20th century comic book hero . \\nwallace is more than superior to his enemies , both physically and mentally , yet he is able to show his sensitive , more vulnerable side . \\nnaturally , when the character is based on epic poems , most of historical accuracy is going down the drain ( which was the case with almost every historical epic from hollywood in 1990s ) . \\nhowever , even those who don\\'t particularly care about history or are willing to give poetic license to scriptwriter randall wallace might think that he went over the top in idolising wallace , especially in the second part of film when scottish superhero manages to seduce princess isabel ( played by sophie marceau ) and make her a child . \\nbecause of that the disbelief is hardly suspended , and final scenes aren\\'t as effective as they should be . \\nmel gibson as an actor is truly wonderful , and he is also helped by small army of very good british and irish actors . \\nmost memorable of them all is patrick mcgoohan , whose cold , calculated and evil medieval monarch is one of the most effective villains seen in contemporary cinema . \\nbrendan gleeson ( who would later become famous for his role in boorman\\'s general ) is also very good as wallace\\'s trusted companion , as well as ian bannen is effective as leprosy-stricken king john balliol . \\ndavid o\\'harra is very entertaining as wallace\\'s irish ally , and angus macfadyen brings a lot of anxiety into his conscience-stricken character of robert the bruce . \\nwomen in this film have rather thankless roles , especially marceau as one-dimensional french princess . \\ncatherine mccormack as wallace\\'s wife was more interesting , but she was eliminated from the picture early on . \\nfrom the technical point of view , the film is also very good . \\nphotography by john toll brings a lot of scottish natural beauty to the screen . \\non the other hand , the musical score by james horner employs too much of modern-day instruments for period piece set in medieval times . \\nalthough mostly welcomed by critics and audiences alike , braveheart was often criticised for homophobia and other forms of extreme conservatism . \\nthe main reason for that was the fact that gibson , among many historical facts , chose to be faithful only to those related to sexual orientation of \" longshank \" \\'s son prince edward ( played by peter hanly ) . \\nhe is not only presented as a villain , but also as one of the less competent in villain\\'s camp - and portraying of homosexuals as villains or inferior to heterosexuals is almost unforgivable sin in \" politically correct \" hollywood . \\nto make things even more obvious , good guys in this film are the total opposite of effeminate and incompetent edward - rugged macho men of mountains who are more practical and efficient because they tend to employ conservatives\\' common sense instead of fashionable theories of ivory tower liberals . \\nhowever , although the message of this film might look right-wing , it owes more to leftist ideology of various national liberation movements in 20th century . \\naccording to that ideology , oppressed classes ( workers , peasants ) are better suited to fight for national freedom because their members has less to lose in that struggle and , as such , they are more radical , less willing to make compromises and more efficient ; on the other hand , privileged classes ( aristocracy , bourgeoisie ) are more likely to betray the cause of freedom and be in cahoots with foreign oppressors in order to keep their privileges . \\nthis marxist worldview is presented in braveheart without any subtlety . \\nin the end , whether the audience is patient enough to discover hidden meanings or simply wants to enjoy entertaining historical epic , braveheart is more than adequate choice for all fans of this recently resurrected genre . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after seeing blaze and driving miss daisy , i was ready for some mindless fun--oh , maybe something like tango & cash . \\nmaybe not ! \\nmindless fun is one thing , but brain-dead slop is another matter altogether . \\ntango & cash has \" lowest common denominator \" written all over it . \\nthe movie stars sylvester stallone and kurt russell as rival undercover cops in l . a . russell plays cash , a reckless slob who dresses in jeans and tee shirts . \\nstallone plays tango , a wealthy investor who works on the force strictly for the thrill of it ; he doesn\\'t need the money . \\nin an effort to change his image , stallone goes for a yuppie , gq look in the film , wearing spectacles and three piece suits . \\nthe two detectives reluctantly become partners after they are framed for murder and have to break out of prison to clear their names . \\ntango & cash is unbearably noisy . \\nfor starters , there\\'s harold faltermeyer\\'s annoying synthesized score , which gets old after four notes . \\nto make matters worse , the filmmakers seem to think that when it comes to loud explosions and screeching cars , the more the merrier . \\nin fact , the movie begins with not one but two car chases . \\nthere\\'s nothing like a good old car chase to introduce the characters in a movie . \\nscreenwriter randy feldman\\'s brain must have gone to mush from watching too many cop shows on tv . \\nhis shockingly stupid screenplay undermines anything and everything the movie has going for it , such as stallone\\'s efforts to convince you that tango is an intellectual . \\nin a movie with the iq level of an amoeba , even a great actor is going to have trouble looking intelligent--and stallone is no lawrence olivier . \\nit\\'s hard to imagine anyone reading feldman\\'s script and thinking , \" i want to be in this movie . \" \\nthe film\\'s plot doesn\\'t have one original bone in its body , and--again--you have to point your finger at the screenwriting . \\nfeldman\\'s story line succumbs to every crime thriller cliche in the book , making tango & cash altogether generic and predictable . \\nthey simply could have called it \" action movie . \" \\nevery character , every twist and turn , is stolen from television or from other movies . \\nadding insult to injury , tango & cash is about as believable as a \" road runner \" cartoon . \\naction movies don\\'t have to be realistic , but they should absorb you enough so that you\\'re not thinking about the lack of realism . \\nthe only artistic aspect of tango & cash is the cinematography . \\nthere are some spectacular shots , especially during the rainy nighttime prison break in which tango and cash slide to safety on electrical wires . \\nthe film\\'s main draw is the chemistry between stallone and russell . \\nunfortunately , their relationship rarely progresses past macho competition as they endlessly bicker about who packs more meat in his pants . \\nthe dialogue consists of nothing but one-liners , and consequently the attempts at character development are embarrassing . \\nit\\'s a shame because with a workable screenplay , russell and stallone could have turned tango & cash into a charming \" lethal weaponesque \" adventure . \\ntango & cash tries to maintain a light tone , and you do laugh about once every five minutes . \\nseeing russell in drag is the movie\\'s funniest moment , but you probably already have seen it in the commercials . \\nfurthermore , the light tone does not sit well against the relentlessly brutal violence . \\nmachine guns and torture generally don\\'t mix well with comedy . \\njack palance appears in tango & cash doing what he does best : playing a sleazy , conniving villain . \\nhis character , however , is run-of-the-mill , except for his strange obsession with mice . \\nlike many movie villains , palance likes to play games . \\nin fact , he sets a ridiculously elaborate trap for tango and cash , a trap which sends the two detectives to prison so they can be beaten and electrocuted by some meanies in the boiler room . \\nyou have to wonder why palance doesn\\'t just shoot the detectives in the head ! \\nthe story would crumble if any of the characters were to do anything intelligent . \\nteri hatcher plays stallone\\'s sister and russell\\'s love-interest , and she is just as pretty as can be . \\nbut regrettably , hatcher\\'s acting is not on par with her exceptional beauty . \\nevery time she opens her mouth , you cringe ; corny dialogue and atrocious acting are always a fatal combination . \\nthere\\'s really very little , if anything , to recommend in the film . \\nand , more to the point , tango definitely isn\\'t worth a penny of your cash--so don\\'t bother . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'trekkies , roger nygard\\'s energetic and hilarious documentary , brings viewers into the world of the star trek conventions . \\nthe beauty of the film is that it is good old fashion fun for trekkies and non-fans alike . \\n ( the film generally writes off the trekkies vs . trekker polemic as not worth arguing about . ) \\nthe good-spirited movie trekkies easily forces even the most cynical viewer into fits of uncontrollable , loud giggles , yet the picture treats its subject matter with respect and a certain awe . \\ndenise crosby , who played tasha yar on \" star trek : the next generation , \" serves as the host . \\nin the opening credits the movie reminds us that trekkies are the only fan group listed in the oxford english dictionary ( oed ) . \\n ( the oed cites a february , 1976 caption in the \" new yorker \" as the first recorded usage of the word . ) \\nunless you\\'ve been to the conventions , i posit that you have no idea of the dedication of some of the fans . \\none pointed out , apologetically , that the stripe on his new uniform was slightly inaccurate . \\nothers talked about how many star trek conventions they had attended , several dozen being typical and hundreds not unheard of . \\nmy personal favorite fan is sir speedy photocopying worker barbara adams . \\narguably the most famous of all the trekkies , she wears her uniform every waking hour as many die-hard fans do . \\nher claim to fame is that , as a juror on the whitewater trial , she wore it in court as well . \\n \" every day i would walk past the reporters with a vulcan-like stoicism , \" she says , describing her way of dealing with the crowd of reporters who became obsessed with her obsession . \\nshe doesn\\'t quite understand all of the uproar . \\n \" i\\'m an officer of the federation 24 hours a day , \" she reminds us . \\nher fealty to her hobby approaches that of a religious faith . \\nalong with the laugher the show evokes , there is an equal measure of sincere appreciation for people with such loyalty . \\nand their infectious joy provokes a certain envy of their enjoyment . \\nfew other avocations could give this much satisfaction . \\nthese people are having the time of their lives . \\n ( for the record , i\\'m not a star trek fan although i have seen some of the movies . ) \\nthe film interviews the various star trek series\\'s stars as well as its fans . \\nthe stars had thought the convention idea was a lark and would soon fade , but over twenty years later , the conventions are still going strong . \\nfilled with anecdotes , the show talks about the happenings at the various conventions . \\nat one , the actor who plays q was so sick that he thought he would have to cancel . \\nafter appearing briefly , he drank some water and left . \\nthey decided to auction off his half-empty glass , joking that it had the \" q virus . \" \\nthe guy who won the bidding immediately drank the water and screamed to the crowd that he now had the q virus too . \\nwith dedication comes a certain amount of stupidity . \\nnot just flitting among people , the documentary takes the time to let you get to know the trekkies . \\none guy is a trekkie cross-dresser , another dresses her cat , and then there is the dentist . \\nthe dentist has his entire office made up to look like a star trek set . \\nhe , his oral hygienists , his receptionist , his wife , and his kids wear the outfits all of the time . \\nit appears that his workers are permitted to take them off when they go home , but not his family . \\nfor variety , he and his family do change characters from time to time . \\nhe says his patients like it . \\nwell , there was this one complainer , but he had a problem with his bill anyway . \\nthere are summer schools for klingon with ph . d . linguists to teach the language . \\nhamlet is now available in klingon , albeit perhaps not at your local bookstore , and they are working on translating the bible . \\nthey even sell united federation passports that are real enough that trekkies have used them to fool customs , even u . s . customs . \\nthe movie bogs down only briefly when it tries to argue the series\\'s larger meaning about diversity and humanitarian concerns . \\nsandwiched in-between the levity , the switch in tone doesn\\'t work . \\nthe incessantly up-beat film ends with a singing elvis impersonator . \\nhe fits right in . \\ntrekkies runs a breezy 1 : 26 . \\nit is not rated but would be pg for brief sexual references and would be fine for all ages . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"8mm is not going to enlighten your day . \\nit's a dark , grimy and disturbing portrait of underworld snuff films and filled with excessive violence . \\nnot only do you need the stomach to make it through this bloated mess , you'll require a lot of patience as well . \\nnicolas cage seems to be doing quite a bit of overacting as of late . \\nhe wore a bizarre get-up and did a lot of yelling in the terminally awful snake eyes , and here he attempts a performance that can relate to someone completely losing their grip on reality . \\ncage plays private investigator tom welles , praised for his secrecy and reliability . \\nat home , welles is a family man , with a wife ( catherine keener ) and a small daughter to take care of . \\nhis new assignment is a bizarre one : the wife of a formally deceased millionaire has hired him to solve a mystery regarding a film found in her husband's safe . \\nthe film appears to be some kind of cheap pornography involving a teenage girl and a masked man , until the girl is brutally murdered . \\nor so it seems . \\nwelles , of course , begins to burrow deeper and deeper to uncover the truth . \\nand the more he becomes involved in this disturbing case , the more he gets in over his head . \\nhe hires an adult book store clerk named max california ( joaquin phoenix ) to be his guide through the ugly underworld of pornography . \\nmax knows what welles is getting himself into , and explains , `you dance with the devil , the devil don't change . \\nthe devil changes you . ' \\nthese turn out to be very wise words . \\n8mm has a premise that begs for a better execution . \\nthe set-up is slick and well played , as cage uncovers the identity of the girl and travels to hollywood to locate her . \\nthis is where everything goes awry . \\nalthough director joel schumacher succeeds in frightening us with his grotesque portrait of the `real world' , he forgot to inject any interest or excitement to the formula . \\neverything about the movie becomes dull and lifeless , repelling the viewer like the effect of bug spray to insects . \\nalthough it had enormous potential , the third act of 8mm is a total bust , leaving intrigued audiences in a baffling state of extreme disappointment as the proceedings spiral out of control . \\ncage is the film's sole flame of energy . \\nhis performance is actually believable , but soon the director's demands start to weigh heavily on his shoulder and he begins stumbling along in desperation . \\nstill , you've got to give him credit for holding this project together as long as he did , for that is no easy feat when you consider the problems at hand . \\nwelles' trail soon leads him to a bizarre filmmaker ( played convincingly by peter stormare ) who is notorious for the hardest-hitting snuff films in the industry . \\nthis is where cage goes over the edge into a serial killer-like phase , in which he must take revenge on all those who murdered the innocent girl in the film . \\nhe tracks down the masked man responsible for the killing ( chris bauer ) , and they have a bloody brawl in the local cemetery , a fight sequence that would look more at home in a schwarzenegger movie . \\nwritten by andrew kevin walker , 8mm dissipates into a poor man's seven , with all the violence but little of the effectiveness that made the latter such a chilling masterpiece . \\nfurthermore , what has become of joel schumacher ? \\nthe director has recently experienced a major drought , slumming in the depths of dismal flop after flop ( batman and robin , anyone ? ) . \\nthis putrid thriller is certainly not going to revive his career , so perhaps schumacher should start exploring his lighter side . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s now the anniversary of the slayings of julie james\\' ( jennifer love hewitt ) best friends . \\nstill besieged by nightmarish memories of the man responsible for it all , she seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown . \\nshe can\\'t concentrate on her schoolwork , can\\'t get a good night\\'s sleep , and is even frightened by the shadows and the blinking strobe lights at a local dance club . \\neverywhere she looks , she sees visions of the man in a rubber slicker with the hook on his hand . \\nin the first movie , `i know what you did last summer\\' , julie and three of her friends accidentally kill a man , running him down while driving down a dark mountain highway . \\nto cover their misdeed , they dump the body into the ocean . \\nhowever , he never quite died and returned to hunt down julie and her friends . \\njulie and one other , ray ( freddie prinze jr . ) , survived only to make this dismal sequal . \\nneeding some desparate rest and relaxation , she is elated to learn that her college roommate , karla ( brandy ) , has won a trip for four to a secluded tropical island . \\naccompanying these two girls are karla\\'s overbearing boyfriend , tyrell ( mehki phifer ) and a potential beau for julie . \\nbut was this contest too good to be true ? \\nthe resort is filled with a skeleton staff that seemed like love boat rejects . \\nmeanwhile , the hotel is practically deserted as the storm season is about to begin . \\nthis presumably creates a venue where they will be secluded and will have no possible means off the island . \\neventually , they will be hunted down during power outages and chased around during intense lightning storms . \\nas you might have guessed , somewhere in the shadows lurk a mysteriously strange figure that is wearing a rubber slicker and wielding a hook . \\njulie tries to convince her friends that the killer is on the island ( an eerie touch is when she is singing \" i will survive \" at the karaoke bar and the words scroll \" i still know . . . \" ) , but her friends chalk it up to paranoia . \\nbut the body count soon starts to rise , and for julie , it\\'s going to be the worst vacation of her life . \\nthe funny ( yes , i used the word \\'funny\\' ) thing about this movie is that i heard more chortling and giggling ( maybe it was my giggling ) than i heard screaming . \\nthis movie boils down to a mindless slashfest that never conjures up any amount of wry wit or even a quirky campiness . \\nthere isn\\'t even any suspense that leads up to the deaths . \\nhere\\'s an appropriate example . \\nknock-knock . \\n \" housekeeping \" , says the diminuitive cleaning lady . \\nthe door suddenly opens up . \\nslash . \\nnext victim ! \\nis there any reason to go and see this movie ? \\nnot unless you want to see four uninteresting college kids run around in circles for about 90 minutes . \\nbut i do want to say one thing about this movie that satisfied me . \\ni was thoroughly irritated with tyrell , who incessantly ranted and raved about his sexual libido . \\ni secretly wished for him to get filleted . \\ndid he get \\'hooked\\' ? \\nwell , let\\'s just say that if he didn\\'t , i would give this film a grade of \" d \" . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i didn\\'t come into city of angels expecting greatness . \\ni\\'ve never seen wim wenders\\' wings of desire , the classic movie upon which city is loosely based . \\nthen again , i have seen enough stories which are based upon a similar plot device , with the little mermaid ( both the disney version and the original folktale ) being among them , that i had some high expectations about the possible power such a story of impossible love can hold . \\nunfortunately , city of angels ended up fulfilling few of them . \\nthe plot , for those that couldn\\'t tell from the previews , revolves around the angel seth , played with an almost creepy intensity by nicolas cage , who , in the midst of his angelic duties , falls in love with a heart surgeon named maggie ( meg ryan in her most endearing performance since when harry met sally ) . \\nof course , his being an angel prevents him from doing much about his love except appearing at random times to talk to her , watch her buy groceries , only to disappear in the blink of an eye . \\ntheir love must remain unrequited unless seth decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and become human . \\nusing this framework as a jumping-off point , the movie attempts to veer through some heavy philosophical ruminations on the nature of desire , the joys of being human , and the definition of perfection . \\nthe first half of the movie succeeds on most points . \\ncage excellently plays the eminently difficult role of an angel who doesn\\'t know feelings so can\\'t really express , preventing the character of seth from getting boring despite his limited repertoire of intent looks and hang-dog expressions . \\nunfortunately , cage takes the intensity too far sometimes , and then seth comes across as more creepy than sensitive . \\nas maggie , ryan manages to be convincing as a heart surgeon who has trouble coming to terms with her having lost a patient on the operating table despite having done everything right . \\nher beauty , unlike her unbearable cuteness in french kiss , is mature , intelligent , and winning . \\nlikewise , some interesting ideas float around at the beginning of the film . \\nwhen the camera pans through traffic jams and libraries and we get to hear the thoughts of the random people who flash across the screen , the audience experiences a little of what it must be like to be an angel . \\nthe beautiful camera work , shooting down onto the hectic world of los angeles from the improbable perches of the angels , also gives us a sense of the unique wonder angels feel . \\nthe film begins to lose its way , though , when the focus tightens more and more on seth and maggie . \\nthe grand , angelic perspective gets lost , except for some idly tossed lines about the incredible beauty of the world through an angel\\'s eyes . \\nthe movie devolves into an examination of how seth can\\'t feel the world or , more importantly , he can\\'t feel maggie : he can\\'t smell her hair , feel her touch , or taste the pears she eats . \\nthis change in focus attempts to capture the audience in seth\\'s intense longing , but in doing so , the conflict disappears . \\nif he wants maggie so badly , then why doesn\\'t her just make the leap and become human ? \\nafter all , what\\'s so great about being an angel ? \\nsure , you get to sit on marlboro signs , but what\\'s that compared to getting to be with meg ryan ? \\nand from there , once the yearning has been established and the romantic denouement must occur , it\\'s all downhill . \\nthe philosophy becomes heavy-handed , the dialogue pedestrian when it tries to be deep , and the plot twists simply attempt to yank a few more tears into the audience\\'s hankie . \\nit\\'s the last thirty minutes of the movie , then , that wrecks the film . \\ni feel like the writer , by pulling out all the melodramatic stops , has robbed me of what could have been a genuinely powerful movie experience on both the romantic and the philosophical level . \\ni came out feeling robbed , seeing so much possibility in a film becoming nothing . \\ni could go on longer , but i don\\'t want to \" ruin \" the end by revealing any of the cheap plot devices the film relies on . \\ncity of angels , then , is a paradox . \\nit\\'s a well-acted ( particularly look for dennis franz cutting against type-casting as a happy-go-lucky fallen angel ) , well-filmed , and based on a wonderful idea . \\nall these possibilities , though , are what make the film so unredeemable when the closing credits come up . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'wolfgang petersen\\'s latest , the perfect storm , is like a pineapple . \\nit only tastes good after arduous peeling and digging - if you try to eat the fruit , spikes and all , it\\'s going to hurt ? quite a bit . \\nok , maybe that was a confusing analogy , so here\\'s my main complaint about the latest man battles nature flick : there isn\\'t really much of a story to tell . \\nbasically , a massachusetts fishing crew goes out to sea on a small boat , called the andrea gail , and gets stuck in the middle of \" the storm of the century . \" \\nhow much time does it take for petersen to tell this story ? \\nnot nearly enough . \\nso he spends the majority of the film developing pointless side stories which all eventually become superfluous . \\naudiences want to see the storm , they want to see a fight for survival but what they get is a lot of cliched , maudlin drivel . \\nthe last quarter of the perfect storm is utterly perfect in every aspect , but just try lasting the first three-quarters . \\ni have yet to read sebastian junger\\'s the perfect storm , but from what i have heard it is an unforgettable tale . \\nbased on a true story , the book must have found some other way to introduce the characters because in the movie version , the approach is weak . \\nusing a wonderfully patriotic score by james horner , petersen almost hides the in-your-face banality . \\nright away the central characters are introduced : the gritty , determined captain ( george clooney ) , the ingenue ( mark wahlberg ) torn between his job and his girlfriend ( diane lane ) , the loving father ( john c . reilly ) , the comic relief who\\'s always trying to get laid ( john hawkes ) , the new guy ( william fichtner ) who immediately antagonizes a crewmate and the quiet , french guy ( allen payne ) . \\nso many problems strike the opening segment of the film that the remaining portions directly suffer . \\nit is not the all-star cast\\'s fault , just the characters designed for their portrayal . \\nallen payne\\'s character never speaks in the entire movie , not because he is mute , but because he\\'s never given any lines ! \\nare we supposed to root for a guy whose face and voice we are never given a chance to interact with ? \\nfichtner\\'s character is terribly underdeveloped - we don\\'t know what he\\'s doing there , where he\\'s from , or who he\\'s supposed to be . \\nthe remaining four fishermen are all cardboard stereotypes ( hawkes says to a female stranger in one scene \" you know what would look good on you ? \\nme ! \" \\nooooh real creative ) . \\nas the script advances and the andrea gail floats farther out into the waters , the crew continues to not feel human . \\nonly when the storm takes center stage does the movie jump out of its sleepwalk . \\nthe computer-generated images of gigantic waves crashing against a helpless boat are thunderously real . \\ni can only imagine if this was an imax film , this city kid would surely never go in the water again . \\nthis is loud , jolting entertainment - adjectives that completely negate the rest of the film . \\nthe perfect storm was unfortunately a disappointment . \\nthe maelstrom lived up to its potential but everything else failed to do so . \\ni guess i\\'ll stick to that other survival spectacle ? you know the one on cbs ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'roger ebert asks in his review of sexy beast , \" who would have guessed that the most savage mad-dog frothing gangster in recent movies would be played by . . . \\nben kingsley ? \" \\nmy response would be that anyone who has seen alan arkin in wait until dark , henry fonda in once upon a time in the west , or anthony hopkins in the silence of the lambs should have guessed it . \\nthey should know that the way for a film to create a really creepy sociopath is cast someone who generally plays mild , sympathetic , or even ineffectual character roles . \\nthe same characteristics that make an actor seem gentle in most of his roles can work in his favor when a role calls for him to be fierce and vicious . \\nthat is the principle that works for kingsley in sexy beast . \\ngary \" gal \" dove ( played by ray winstone ) has retired from a london career of crime and is living on a luxurious villa in spain . \\nlife has become a routine of sunning himself and relaxing . \\nbut his paradise is about to be shattered by a one-two-punch . \\nthe first punch is a boulder that comes rolling down the hill next to the villa . \\nthe second punch comes from gal\\'s past . \\nback in london gang boss teddy bass ( ian mcshane , tv\\'s lovejoy ) is planning to break into a safety deposit room in a bank and he wants gal . \\nhe sends his most rabid henchman don logan ( ben kingsley ) to fetch gal . \\ndon will accept any decision gal makes from \" yes \" to \" certainly . \" \\nhowever , if gal says \" no \" don will do whatever it takes to turn it into a yes including threatening guy\\'s ex-porn- star wife deedee ( amanda redman ) . \\nin the meantime don knows just how to get under everybody\\'s skin . \\nkingsley makes don a compact package of fury and nastiness . \\nthere are some serious problems in louis mellis\\'s and david scinto\\'s script that should have been caught before filming . \\nwhen we see the actual crime we have no idea why gal was so important to its success . \\nbeyond an ability to use skin-diving gear , no special talents are required of him . \\nany local hood could have done what gal is needed for . \\nadditionally the crime involves digging from a swimming pool to the bank vault , flooding the vault . \\nno only could they have let the water out of the pool and avoided the complication altogether , but there is by far too much water to be accounted for by what was in the pool . \\nin spite of the provocative title , the story is cliched and overly familiar . \\ni know i have seen all the plot elements of sexy beast in old westerns like the law and jake wade . \\nthe story is usually of the reformed outlaw , a robert taylor type , who has hung up his guns and is trying for a life of peaceful respectability . \\nthe old gang , however , wants to do one more job with their old buddy and sends a rabid richard widmark type to go and git ? im . \\nit is not a great plot . \\nin sexy beast even the plot twists have gray beards . \\nperhaps the film has a little more respectability because it was made not as a western but as a stylish british gangster film . \\nit is an old plot dressed up to look new . \\nif the plot is old , at least the style is creative . \\nthis is director jonathan glazer\\'s first film , but he has reputedly done some notable tv ads for guinness stout . \\nhis style does have some unexpected touches including some very odd dream sequences . \\ncinematographer ivan bird uses a lot of half lit scenes . \\nwe see one side of a person\\'s faces . \\nbut the other side fades into the darkness , a sort of metaphor for the half-world these characters in-habit . \\nhalf of everything that is happening is also kept hidden . \\nus yanks will have a hard time with some of the dialog . \\nat least in my theater it was difficult to make out the words with the quiet speaking , the heavy accents , and the cockney language . \\nsexy beast is a very and familiar minor plot lent respectability in the us by being done in what is here a still somewhat novel genre , the london crime film . \\nthe plot may be new to british crime films , but it would be overly familiar as a western . \\nfurther respectability comes from ben kingsley\\'s high-powered performance . \\ni give it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it's no secret in the motion picture industry that the relationship between a script and the actors involved often makes or breaks a movie at the box office . \\na poorly-written script can be bested by a superb acting corps , and a well-written piece can be mangled by a group of amateurs . \\nin directing his latest action-comedy , director brett ratner ( money talks ) takes a relatively mediocre piece of standup comedy and turns it into a funny as all get-out buddy cop movie . \\nin addition , rush hour serves as a first-class example of directing a movie with conservative attitude - a feature that is sure to draw in crowds of all types . \\nthe two lead names share equal screen time here , mostly because they spend it together . \\njackie chan , in his first completely american production , makes an impressive debut by mixing dialogue with martial arts . \\nthe other martial arts flick from a few weeks ago , knock off , stands no chance against the content of this one . \\nchan manages to make every fight scene exude grace and poise , and there's no doubt that a large percentage of video sales for this movie will come from viewers who couldn't believe their eyes the first time . \\nchris tucker , on the opposite side , relates a hilarious comedic approach which smoothes out the rough edges to chan's performance . \\nhe works perfectly with the script , and it's quite likely he lent scribe jim kouf a hand with some of his lines . \\nalmost essential to the action genre , the plot is nonexistent . \\nwe're quickly introduced to detective james carter ( tucker ) is a maverick officer for the lapd . \\ncut forward to another scene where the daughter ( julia hsu ) of the american chinese consul ( tzi ma ) is kidnapped by a gang of swarthy characters . \\nthe fbi is quick to the rescue , but the consul insists that one of his men , detective inspector lee ( chan ) , be brought on the case to help . \\nthe fbi resists , but then requests that lapd send a man over to babysit the chinese detective . \\nit's here that carter and lee hook up , and the two unwittingly solve the case while the fbi rushes in to back them up . \\nrattner does a fine job of going the extra mile to get his movie to move a step up , but it doesn't quite reach the top tier of action-comedies like last year's grosse pointe blank . \\nthere are moments where the plot strays too far off the straight line it sticks almost exclusively to , and if not for the comedic interactions between tucker and chan , this might be a major drawback . \\nalso , some supporting characters are almost entirely along for the ride , and others are there simply to look menacing . \\nhowever , none gives a standoffish performance and they mostly mesh into the background . \\nalmost every member of the cast displays some reservation at one point or another - whether it's tucker's toned-down routine or chan's tight rein on his action sequences - and that contributes greatly to this being a watchable movie for all types . \\na recommendable visit to the theater , indeed . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"usually when one is debating who the modern queen of the romantic comedy is they will bring up names like julia roberts or sandra bullock . \\nothers will mention meg ryan . \\nbut for me , it's not even close . \\njaneane garofalo is not only the queen of the romantic comedy , she is the best comic actress in hollywood right now . \\nand it's a good thing she's starring in the matchmaker , because without her presence the movie would be bland , unfunny , and dull . \\ngarofalo stars as marcy tizard , a top aide to boston senator john mcglory , who is suffering in the polls . \\nin an attempt to capture the irish vote , he sends marcy on a mission to a small irish town called ballinagra in search of other mcglory's that never moved to america . \\nunfortunately for marcy , her visit coincides with the town's annual matchmaking festival . \\nthings get off to a rocky start for marcy though . \\nshe has no hotel reservations ( for no rational reason ) and the tiny confined room ( tired old cliche' ) she has to stay in has a visitor in her bathtub . \\nhis name is sean , and marcy finds him repugnant at first , so you can obviously tell where this is headed . \\nthe movie runs into a few roadblocks . \\nfor instance , the story is very thin . \\nnone of the characters ( except the old local matchmaker ) are nearly as interesting as garofalo . \\nsome of the characters , like the political aide played by denis leary , have wandered in from a completely different movie . \\ni think the director realized this and decided to throw in numerous shots of the beautiful irish scenery , and several close-ups of garofalo's winning smile . \\nthe strange thing is that it works . \\ngarofalo's charm and the irish scenery could carry the thinnest of stories , and it carries this one . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"at first i was intrigued by the strange cast and odd creatures on the galaxy quest trailer , but that was before i saw the film . \\nnow my view has completely changed . \\nit's time to embrace for impact , because this is a very bumpy ride . \\nthe story begins with the cast of galaxy quest including : jason nesmith ( tim allen ) , alexander dane ( alan rickman ) , gwen demarco ( sigourney weaver ) signing autographs at a convention . \\nthey meet fans who dress up in costumes , fans who worship the ground they walk on , and a group of aliens called thermians who believe that they are the ultimate saviors against the dreaded alien colony lead by sarris ( robin sachs ) . \\nof course they are unaware of this until they actually begin performing their duties , and meet the ugly aliens themselves . \\nthus begins the long adventure to help save the thermians . \\nthe movie plays like a really bad star trek episode , in fact it's worse . \\ni don't even think trekkies will appreciate this weak spoof , because quite frankly it's just not funny . \\nall the jokes are basically collected observations from the series . \\none such continuous joke involves a simple crew member who believes he will die in space , because no extra on the tv show ever lives , as proven in the star trek series . \\ncreative jokes like this may seem like a clever idea , but not when they are used to death . \\na person can only take so much . \\nwe do not need to be tortured , especially when you have to pay for it . \\nit's pretty bad when even tim allen is pitiful . \\nit's not like i expected an oscar worthy performance form him , but a few laughs would have been helpful . \\nspeaking of acting , 2 fine talents were wasted as well . \\nsigourney weaver was here to show cleavage , well at least it worked . \\nit's pretty bad when the only entertaining value of the film is cleavage . \\nit just shows you how disgraceful the film really is . \\nalan rickman however was not so lucky . \\nafter his last hit ( dogma ) he embarrasses himself by doing this sloppy mess . \\nit's just a shame to see talented actors and actresses throw their ability away . \\nwhen the film couldn't get any worse , thankfully some nice special effects pop up . \\nlike many big blockbusters ( armageddon , the haunting to name a few ) they rely heavily on effects to help boost the film's box office results . \\ntimes it works , but unfortunately we have to shell out hard earned money and suffer through this junk . \\nwhen will it stop ? \\ni am getting tired of being suckered into seeing such trash . \\nit may look fine and dandy , but we need to at least have a story . \\nis that too much to ask ? \\nobviously it is . \\nwhen galaxy quest finally ends , it literally crash lands . \\naside from the impressive looking creatures from industrial light and magic , it's an embarrassment to the cast , and it's embarrassing to the science fiction genre . \\nit's not the least bit fun , nor was it entertaining . \\nthe only place where this movie belongs is to infinity and beyond . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"in 1912 , a ship set sail on her maiden voyage across the atlantic for america . \\nthis ship was built to be the largest ship in the world , and she was . \\nshe was also build to be one of the most luxurious , and that she was . \\nfinally , she was built to be unsinkable and that unfortunately she was not . \\nto get a ticket for this voyage you either : spent a life's savings to get to america to start life anew , were part of the upper class and had the money to spare , or finally were lucky enough to have a full house in a poker match by the docks like jack dawson . \\njack dawson makes the trip , and happens to be at the right place at the right time . \\nrose dewitt bukater , a first class passenger , climbs the railings at the aft of the ship with thoughts of jumping . \\nthus is started a tale of romance and intrigue , and a tale of death and tragedy . . . \\nthis movie is about a tragic event that took place a great many years ago , an even that should not be taken lightly as any other bit of historical trivia . \\nthe movie titanic shows what happened , maybe not with a 100% degree of accuracy , but it still shows it very realisticaly . \\nnow the titanic is both a story on its own and a backdrop for a story . \\nit serves as both admirably , brining forth an interesting story that although simple in its most simple premise is very captivating . \\nthis movie is very emotional simply because of what it is , but that alone is not enough . \\nthe story is brought out with a certain style that makes is so much more emotional and so much more effective . \\nmovies such as this will not be forgotten all too quickly and unfortunately then are not something that is produced by hollywood with any great frequency . \\nthe attention to detail that was paid is remarkable . \\nthe whole premise for the telling of the story is interesting , with the showing of brand new footage from the wreck of the titanic adding much flavor to an already good movie . \\npart of the magical chemistry behind this story is the acting , and for this movie its extremely good acting from the whole cast . \\nthe performances put in by the main stars is something to be admired . \\nthe characters were played out so memorably that both leonardo dicaprip and kate winslet should receive at the least nominations for their roles . \\nlooking at the acting done in the movie it seems as if they aren't acting but are actually the characters in the movie . \\nthe casting for the movie could really have been better , in my humble opinion that is . \\none character that will most likely not be mentioned by any other review or commentary about this film is that of the ship itself . \\nyes , you read correctly , the ship is a character . \\nhow is the titanic a character ? \\nyou ask well simple , a ship had a certain character about it and as most sailors and boats men will tell you . \\nthis character is everything about the ship from its specifications to its luxuries and the titanic was no stranger to this . \\nmr . cameron brings the ship to life in an almost literal sense . \\nall this adds to the movie in a certain way that most hollywood productions cant seem to grasp . \\nnow , to produce the effect that i mentioned above and to sink the ship itself are feats that are accomplished by special effects wizards . \\nthe effects in this movie range from marvelous costumes to beautifully rendered scenes of the ships sinking . \\nin some respects you cannot tell that the effects are there , you simply think that what you see is what happened or what is happening ( if your imagination is good ) . \\nthe technical wizardry done in this movie is just spectacular and actually getting new footage from the wreck of the titanic is unique . \\nthe movie will leave you amazed at the effects , and that is a feat since there is no monsters or aliens in this movie , just humans and an oversized ship . \\nthe movie will amaze you and it will pull on your emotions , the theater that i went to had a few people leaving with tears in their eyes . \\nnow that is not a feat accomplished by most movies , now the fact that the tragedy actually occurred is brought home with something of a punch , i wont spoil the ending and say what happens regardless it is an interesting movie from beginning to the very end . \\nthe historical value of this movie is quite high , and honestly is something that should be watched for the sake of seeing it and seeing the tragedy , for it is extremely well done . \\nthe method of telling the story is also good , maybe not totally unique but effective none the less . \\nregardless of anything mentioned above this movie is a grandiose production and the sheer size of the project undertaken is something to be marveled at . \\nthe simple fact that the movie is smashingly successful at what it aims to achieve is just astonishing . \\nif you get the chance to see this movie go ! ! ! \\nit might not be the best movie in the world . . \\nbut it ranks fairly highly and is well worth the time spent watching it . \\nduring none of the 3 hours and 13 minutes of the movie are you bored nor does your attention wane from the movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'what are the warning signs of a * terrible * movie ? \\nmaking it\\'s debut at the dollar theater ? \\nlocally , chairman of the board did just that . \\nhaving the annoying prop comic scott thompson ( better known as carrot top ) in the lead role ? \\nchairman of the board , once again . \\nhow about an overly exhausted , paper thin plot approached with utter incompetence ? \\ndid somebody say chairman of the board ? \\nthat\\'s right , carrot top\\'s long dreaded major motion picture debut ( at least for a starring role ) is poking up in a handful of theaters across the country . \\nchairman of the board stars the obnoxious , wannabe-zany king of redheaded standup comics as a lazy but creative , inventive but uneventful generation x- er named edison . \\nliving with a pair of surfer dudes in a small , rented house , edison bounces from job to job , always squandering away the money on his eccentric ( to say the least ) inventions and ignoring crucial responsibilities such as rent . \\nthis has the crabby landlady , ms . krubavitch ( estelle harris , best known as george constanza\\'s mother on \" seinfeld \" ) , threatening an eviction if past due expenses aren\\'t furnished post haste . \\nas luck would have it , edison soon meets armand mcmillan ( jack warden ) , an old surfer dude who just so happens to be president of the multi-million dollar mcmillan industries . \\nsharing a passion for more than just riding waves , armand is deeply impacted by the young inventor\\'s notebook of dreams and ideas , and when the old man dies soon afterward , edison learns he is named a benefactor in armand\\'s will . \\npredictably , edison acquires the entire corporation and has to maintain productivity with absolutely no knowledge of the business world . \\npredictably , there is a bitter nephew ( larry miller ) whose lesser inheritance fuels resentment that will lead to an elaborate sabotage plot . \\npredictably , there is an attractive employee ( courtney thorne-smith ) whose initial repulsion will transform into love for our doofy protagonist . \\npredictably , the man who knows nothing will fight against the odds and give the company it\\'s most profitable and successful turnaround ever , all because he ran things by common sense and not greed . \\nit\\'s as though writers turi meyer , al septien , and alex zamm ( meyer and septien also wrote leprechaun 2 together ! ) \\npulled a plot out of a hat and worked carrot top into it . \\nthe jokes , the \" surprises \" , the developments - all of them run such a predictable path , it may only be carrot top\\'s signature brazen red hairdo that sets this one apart from the myriad of similar films . \\na movie this bad speaks for itself . \\nwhat\\'s left to say when every element the movie possesses is a shameful retread of movies past ? \\nthe script is 100% recycled , the direction is hokey , and the acting is absolutely horrible . \\nit is only thorne-smith who seems to take her job seriously , an accomplishment which surely deserves the medal of honor . \\nshe certainly went beyond the call of duty - she has to kiss carrot top ! ! ! ! ! ! \\n ( barf bag , please ! ) \\nmovies like this give the audience nothing to do but ponder just how many synonyms for \" bad \" there really are . \\nchairman of the board , without a doubt , deserves each and every one . \\nthe only way this won\\'t end up on everybody\\'s \" bottom ten of the year \" list , is if they were lucky enough never to have seen it . \\njust because you can\\'t miss his outlandish fiery mane , don\\'t skimp on avoiding this abhorrent feature . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'vampire lore and legend has always been a popular fantasy element , substantiated by not only the sheer number of movies about the subject , but also the proliferation of cults and sects of adherents . \\nand , unlike any of the more outlandish myths , the vampire holds some real-world probability ( one study claims 1 , 000 bloodsuckers exist worldwide , and places 50 in los angeles ) . \\nbut lest the nasties be mistaken for simple comic book bad guys , john carpenter would like to remind us that they are - and always have been - a truly frightening element of the thriller genre . \\nand remind us he does in his latest film , vampires . \\nthere was some question , as halloween weekend approached , of how well vampires would do in comparison to new line cinema\\'s immensely successful blade , released in august . \\nthe two films take noticeably different stands on the vampire issue , and don\\'t even agree on some basic points of the slaying method . \\n ( for instance , blade\\'s main weapons are silver and garlic , whereas main character jack crow\\'s technique is a wooden stake to the heart . ) \\nblade also gives more of a face to the vampire civilization , while carpenter would like us to remain in the dark about how the pasties operate . \\nboth have their advantages , and here , carpenter\\'s style lends itself to a darker breed of suspense rather than the action movie that blade director stephen norrington delievered . \\nwhen it\\'s all said and done , though , the vampires still kill and die with a bloody flourish ; the level for gore is indeed set to maximum . \\nthis time , our hero is vatican-sponsored slayer jack crow ( james woods ) . \\nhe\\'s a cynical , battle-worn veteran , and the best of his bunch . \\nhe and his team are responsible for cleaning out the american southwest , and after exterminating a nest one night , they run up against a super-vampire ( termed a \" master \" ) named valek ( thomas ian griffith ) . \\nvalek kills all of jack\\'s team except for his partner , tony montoya ( daniel baldwin ) , and as the two regroup , they learn that valek is the original vampire - now over six hundred years old . \\napparently , valek and his minions have been sweeping the southwest for decades in search of a cross that will enable them to walk in the daytime . \\nso with the aid of a priest named adam ( tim guinee ) and a bitten hooker ( sheryl lee ) as bait , they track valek down for the final confrontation . \\nthe script for vampires , written by don jakoby and based on the john steakley novel , is perhaps the wittiest piece of screenplay to see production all year . \\ncrow , in particular , is a fun source of one-liners , and woods does every one of them with perfect stoicism . \\nbaldwin , lee , and guinee are all fine supports , adding to the character pool , but the other true highlight of the movie is thomas ian griffith\\'s bad guy . \\ngriffith\\'s intense expression is perfect for the role , and the only downside is that he\\'s got to talk sometime . \\nluckily , he\\'s got few lines , and manages to pull off a rather thrilling performance . \\nall said , fans will surely be impressed by this picture , and those who found apt pupil a bit limp will be excited by this one . \\ncertainly a worthwhile visit to the theaters . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'play it to the bone , the newest addition to ron shelton\\'s sports - themed repertoire fails in numerous ways . \\nlike most of shelton\\'s other great films ( bull durham , white men can\\'t jump ) , this dud unsuccessfully attempts to use athleticism as a method of connecting characters and creating interesting subplots . \\nshelton\\'s films are not considered sports films , but they do heavily revolve around a specific game to tell a story . \\nshelton has been so good in the past at using sports to analyze the structure of society that from his collection of films we are given an examination of different classes and races living in various different regions . \\nplay it to the bone is unsuccessful because not only is the boxing theme dull , but the side story of the two guys and a girl travelling across the country is even worse . \\nthe film has no social message like its predecessors . \\nthe relationship between the friends , two failed boxers who must face off against each other in the ring for 50 thousand dollars , is very confusing for a number of reasons . \\nthe whole film , since it is primarily a \" buddy picture , \" depends on the strength of the friendship the two characters have for each other . \\nunfortunately , it is a very weak bond for the reasons listed below . \\n1 ) we never see how cesar ( antonio banderas ) and vince ( woody harrelson ) meet . \\nthe two are so different from each other , that a scene of how this odd friendship developed should have been mandatory . \\n2 ) vince and cesar argue every moment possible on their trip to las vegas . \\nthere is not one convincing moment dedicated to seeing the characters laugh together or actually agree on something . \\n3 ) the third character on the trip , grace ( lolita davidovich ) stands in the way . \\nshe is in nearly every scene with them , making it impossible to understand the difficulty the two male characters are going to have when they fight each other . \\n4 ) there are two many interfering , irrelevant side stories . \\nvince is convinced that he sees jesus on a regular basis , cesar yells at the sky in spanish when he is angry , and grace tries to sell her inventions to hotel owner robert wagner . \\nthese boring tales only hurt the central plot . \\n5 ) when it comes to time for the two men to fight , they don\\'t even hesitate to pound each other . \\nwasn\\'t the whole point of the road trip to show that these two are friends who could never hurt each other ? \\nby the time the road trip part of the movie is over with , the film wants to be over . \\nshelton , on the other hand , continues to tell his story . \\nforty five painful minutes remain . \\nthe boxing scene between cesar and vince starts out very powerful and interestingly different from other boxing movies . \\nhowever , the fight goes on for way too long and becomes very repetitive and predictable after awhile , kind of like the whole film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" america\\'s sweethearts \" has an intriguing premise and a great cast , but it isn\\'t nearly as edgy or funny as it should be . \\nalmost all the problems with the project can be traced back to co-script writer billy crystal , who shows the same lack of discipline with the screenplay that he typically displays while co-hosting \" comic relief \" charity shows with robin williams and whoopi goldberg ( two other paragons of self-indulgence ) . \\ncrystal ignores a simple , but crucial , rule : for a screwball comedy to work , the characters must be placed into a rigid social setting , because only in that context will their unorthodox antics be humorous . \\n \" america\\'s sweethearts \" takes place at a press junket , where decorum must be maintained in front of the reporters . \\nit\\'s a promising set-up , but the screenplay quickly blows off the rules , thus dissipating the tension of the situation . \\nby the end of the film , all the lead performers participate in a huge fight with a room full of journalists looking on , but their outbursts are only mildly amusing because the structure has been destroyed . \\njohn cusack and catherine zeta-jones play eddie thomas and gwen harrison , a beloved acting duo whose marriage hit the skids when gwen began seeing hector ( hank azaria ) , a spanish actor with an ego almost as pronounced as his lisp . \\nof the last nine films eddie and gwen made together , six crossed the $100 million mark , but the prospects for their final effort , a space opus titled \" time over time , \" are far from rosy . \\nwhile eddie has spent many months in a new age rest clinic fretting over the breakup , gwen\\'s solo films have tanked . \\nto make matter worse , the director of the movie ( christopher walken ) , a \" visionary \" who purchased the unabomber\\'s cabin and had it moved to his backyard , is withholding the film from the studio , insisting that the first screening be held at the junket . \\ndesperate to win over the press , the studio elects to hire lee ( billy crystal ) , a recently fired publicist , to salvage the situation . \\nlee hopes to turn lemons into lemonade by convincing eddie and gwen to pretend to be on the road to reconciliation . \\nhe enlists the help of kiki ( julia roberts ) , gwen\\'s sister , personal assistant and whipping girl . \\nwhat lee doesn\\'t know is that kiki is in love with eddie , a fact that could temper her effectiveness . \\npress junkets are a haven for control freaks . \\nstudios fly journalists in from around the world and put them up in a plush hotel , with food and drink always at hand . \\ngenerally , on the evening of their arrival , writers are bussed to see the featured film , then ferreted straight back to the hotel . \\nthe next day , writers go to the studio suites and assemble in groups of five or six for roundtable interviews . \\nevery 30 minutes or so , a producer , director , writer or actor is brought into the room for a few minutes of questions , with a publicist hovering in the corner to keep an eye on things . \\nthe atmosphere is one of cordial oppression ? writers are free to ask what they want , but understand that if the studio dislikes a question , they may not be invited to future junkets . \\nrepresentatives from tv stations face even more restrictions . \\nthey get roughly five minutes to interview each member of the cast and crew , with the studio filming the exchanges . \\nthe \" reporters \" are notorious for tossing softball questions as they suck up to the stars , but to play it safe , the studios stand ready to erase the tapes if anything unpleasant occurs . \\nplacing two spoiled actors in a setting where image is everything is inspired , but the screenplay undermines the conceit . \\nthe junket is moved from the handsome , but highly confining , four seasons hotel to a plush resort near las vegas . \\nfor most of the film , the movie stars run around the sprawling grounds , completely safe from the eyes of the press . \\nwhen they do deal with journalists , the \" it is imperative that you be on your best behavior in front of the reporters \" premise is de-clawed . \\ngwen and eddie insult each other while the tv cameras roll , they scream at each other in a restaurant filled with the media and , at the screening of the movie , everyone connected with the film goes nuts , all without any repercussions . \\nlee certainly isn\\'t bothered by any of the infantile outbursts ; in fact , he makes arrangements for footage of even more inappropriate behavior to be delivered to the tabloids . \\nis the studio angry about his handling of the combative actors ? \\nhell no ? they feel lee is a genius for garnering so much publicity for the movie . \\nall of which underscores how billy crystal and co-writer peter tolan screwed up their own premise : the comedy in \" america\\'s sweethearts \" is based on barely-in-control people trying to contain themselves in the presence of reporters , except that it doesn\\'t matter because any publicity is good publicity . \\nand thus the very set-up for the film implodes , leaving smoke and dust in place of laughter . \\nso what about the cast ? \\njulia roberts , at her best playing the underdog , is utterly charming here , although i could have lived without flashbacks that exist solely as an excuse to show her in a fat suit ( and not a very convincing one , by the way ) . \\ncatherine zeta-jones makes a believable brat and john cusack fleshes out his obsessed character enough to make him vaguely sympathetic . \\nby casting himself as the publicist , billy crystal allows himself to do roughly the same thing he does on \" comic relief \" - stay on the sidelines of the action while tossing off cornball jokes and snarky remarks . \\nin supporting roles , hank azaria wears out his welcome fast with broad gestures and a spanish accent that speedy gonzales would have deemed \" too broad . \" \\nseth green is amusing as a toadie , stanley tucci is very good as a ruthless studio head and christopher walken plays the eccentric director with suitable flair , though he has little to work with . \\ncome to think of it , \" little to work with \" is the operative phrase for this movie . \\nas a hollywood satire , \" america\\'s sweethearts \" is toothless . \\nas a romance , it is at best a minor pleasure . \\nsuch a good cast , such a waste of their efforts . \\nhad it not been taken long ago , a better title for the film would have been \" much ado about nothing . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'even the best comic actor is at the mercy of his or her material , as this subpar submarine comedy proves . \\ndown periscope stars kelsey \" frasier \" grammer as an inept navy captain who is given command of his own ship as part of a corrupt officer\\'s ( james coburn ) plan to get him out of the navy . \\nlike any lame emsemble comedy , the officer assigns him to a group of misfits like the guy who wants to be kicked out , the fat guy who eats all the time , the beautiful woman who doesn\\'t belong there ( lauren holly ) , the second-in-command who does everything by the book ( rob schneider ) , the crazy old guy who freaks everyone out ( harry dean stanton ) and so on . \\nthen comes the transparent plotline . \\nfirst grammer has to fix up the delapidated korean war ship the navy has given him , and that comes courtesy a sad sight gag montage that includes a guy with a mop knocking schneider overboard . \\nafter the ship is fixed up come the early drills , where everyone seems completely inept , like the electrician who can\\'t connect wires so instead lets the current run through himself every time grammer gets on the phone . \\nfinally , and this covers the final hour of the movie , grammer has to lead his men ( and holly ) to overcome the other ships in a wargames exercise . \\nand he has to be a clever rebel to do it , in scenes that stretch all levels of believability . \\nfirst they\\'re singing \" louie louie \" like a bunch of drunk sailors to throw the radar of the other ship off , then thirty minutes later , they\\'re making whale mating noises to throw the radar of the other ship off . \\nthe whole while , evil captain coburn is overacting underwater , cursing grammer ( as most people watching the movie probably are too ) . \\nit\\'s all predictable without any original humor to redeem it . \\nthe jokes are right out of \" mchale\\'s navy \" and other cut-rate sitcoms of the past . \\nthere\\'s one scene where schneider looks through the ship\\'s pantry in disgust , holds one food can up and announces , \" this expired in 1966 ! \" \\ni yelled back at the screen , \" so did these jokes . \" \\ni watched this movie with the whole family and everyone hated it . \\nmy mom was so bored she brought out the coupon book midway through and , around the start of the second hour , i started writing my will . \\nthe blame can\\'t really be placed on the stars , though . \\nkelsey grammer is good in this , he just doesn\\'t have anything to work with . \\nhis character is said to have gotten so drunk one night that he had \" welcome aboard \" tatooed on his penis . \\ngrammer probably did something even worse -- got really drunk and agreed to appear in a movie he knew nothing about . \\nsame for holley ( save the penis part ) , who is likeable in down periscope just because she\\'s so gorgeous . \\nas for schneider ( whose character is downright annoying ) , there was nowhere to go but up after surf ninjas , although he\\'s still in the depths of the comedy ocean after jumping the \" snl \" ship . \\nmy theory is that down periscope is one of those movies that got the green light before the script was even written as a formula comedy ( \" okay , it\\'s police academy in the navy with frasier at the helm and the chick from dumb and dumber . \" ) and after everyone was signed on turned into a disaster . \\njudging from the video box , most other movie critics agree with me . \\nthe only quote the down periscope copy writers could dig up came from the prevue channel\\'s jim ferguson . \\ni guess even jeff craig from \" 60 second preview \" ( who said tank girl \" kicks butt ! \" \\nwithout ever seeing it ) didn\\'t like this . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"there may not be a critic alive who harbors as much affection for shlock monster movies as i do . \\ni delighted in the sneaky-smart entertainment of ron underwood's big-underground-worm yarn tremors ; i even giggled at last year's critically-savaged big-underwater-snake yarn anaconda . \\nsomething about these films causes me to lower my inhibitions and return to the saturday afternoons of my youth , spent in the company of ghidrah , the creature from the black lagoon and the blob . \\ndeep rising , a big-undersea-serpent yarn , doesn't quite pass the test . \\nsure enough , all the modern monster movie ingredients are in place : a conspicuously multi-ethnic/multi-national collection of bait . . . excuse \\nme , characters ; an isolated location , here a derelict cruise ship in the south china sea ; some comic relief ; a few cgi-enhanced gross-outs ; and at least one big explosion . \\nthere are too-cheesy-to-be-accidental elements , like a sleazy shipping magnate ( anthony heald ) who also appears to have a doctorate in marine biology , or a slinky international jewel thief ( famke janssen ) whose white cotton tank top hides a heart of gold . \\nas it happens , deep rising is noteworthy primarily for the mechanical manner in which it spits out all those ingredients . \\na terrorist crew , led by squinty-eyed mercenary hanover ( wes studi ) and piloted by squinty-eyed boat captain finnegan ( treat williams ) , shows up to loot the cruise ship ; the sea monsters show up to eat the mercenary crew ; a few survivors make it to the closing credits . \\nand up go the lights . \\nit's hard to work up much enthusiasm for this sort of joyless film-making , especially when a monster moview should make you laugh every time it makes you scream . \\nhere , the laughs are provided almost entirely by kevin j . o'connor , generally amusing as the crew's fraidy-cat mechanic . \\nwriter/director stephen sommers seems most concerned with creating a tone of action-horror menace -- something over-populated with gore-drenched skeletons , something where the gunfire and special effects are taken a bit too seriously . \\ndeep rising is missing that one unmistakable cue that we're expected to have a ridiculous good time , not hide our eyes . \\ncase it point , comparing deep rising to its recent cousin anaconda . \\nin deep rising , one of the creature's victims is regurgitated back into view , partially digested and still alive . \\nhe shrieks in horror at his freakish appearance and pain , in a moment a bit too disturbing to be laughable . \\nin anaconda , we also see a regurgitated victim , partially digested and still alive . \\nhe looks at another character . . . and \\nwinks . \\nmake no mistake , deep rising has anaconda beat all to heck when it comes to technical proficiency and pacing . \\nit's also gloomy , uninspired and not nearly enough fun . \\ni don't ask much of my monster movies , but i do ask that they act like monster movies . \\nyou don't have to show me a fantastically impressive , massive beast with tentacles a-flailing . \\njust show me the massive beast burping , and i'll figure you get the point . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'when i ponder childhood memories past , one of the things that always springs immediately to mind is watching the \" inspector gadget \" tv show with my older brother . \\ntruth be told , we were rabid fanatics ; our version of cowboys and indians was chasing each other around our coffee table to the theme tune , alternating who would get to be gadget and who would be stuck playing the part of dr . claw , the inspector\\'s arch nemesis . \\ni was never a biggie on nostalgia , but you just can\\'t help but have fond memories of something like that . \\nsometimes i even find myself up at 4am watching re-runs of my favorite episodes , trying to recapture some of that sense of wonder i felt as a kid . \\nat the very least , i was expecting the new film version of the classic television series to have at least some kind of similar effect on me . \\ndespite how horrid a film may be , the simple task of rekindling even a slight feeling of nostalgia is pretty tough to screw up . \\nso back i sat , with minimum expectations of what the movie would deliver ( let\\'s face it ; exactly how good can a live-action disney film really be ? ) . \\ni was wise enough to steer clear from the likes of mr . magoo and george of the jungle ( two previous disney adaptations ) , and i wish to god that i had been sharp enough to skip gadget as well . \\nrarely has a movie left me with such an utter feeling of emptiness . \\nas everyone else was getting up to exit the screening room after the movie had completed its assault on mankind , i was left sitting there , absolutely speechless and totally dumbfounded at what i had just seen . \\ncan something this awful truly exist in such an evolved world ? \\nright from the beginning , i knew i was in trouble . \\nin the opening scenes , each character is introduced as if their sole purpose is to just be , to simply serve as real-life duplicates of their cartoon clones . \\nwhen referring to them , people almost yell in fear that the audience will not catch on as to who a certain character is supposed to be ( \" oh , hi penny ! \\nis brain with you ? \" ) . \\ncreating one-dimensional replicas is one thing ; having mere names take the place of them is quite another . \\nthe \" plot \" , shall we call it , stays fairly in tune with the original series . \\nmatthew broderick stars as john brown ( how creative is that ? ) , \\na security guard who is horribly injured by a pack of ruthless businessmen headed by scolex ( why , rupert everett , for the love of god why ? ? ? ! ! ! ) , who himself is transformed into claw by an unfortunate chain of events . \\nbrown is then rescued and used as a prototype for a new law-enforcement technology wherein he\\'s joined with various machine parts and some nifty gadgets to form ( drumroll , please ) . . . \\ninspector gadget ! \\n>from here on out , the movie becomes a hodgepodge of stupid dialog and confusing situations ( although , to be fair , my confusion could have been caused by the virtual concussion the film was inflicting upon my fragile mind ) . \\nthere\\'s something about an evil gadget taking over the city ( his first crime must have been swiping matt dillon\\'s dentures from there\\'s something about mary ) and it all ends with ( what else ? ) a bunch of post-credit nonsense and a cameo by don adams himself . \\nto be honest , i wasn\\'t much paying attention to these \" treats \" . \\ni was just glad that it was over . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'john cusack is the kind of actor who seems to effortlessly slide into his respective film roles . \\nso effortlessly that people tend to forget he\\'s there , much in the way people rarely recall many of the great character actors ( anyone who can put the name james rebhorn with that actor\\'s face is invited to treat themselves to a product from one of my sponsors ) . \\nexample : the other day my mother asked me ( the expert , of course ) if there were any movies out worth seeing , never mind that our tastes couldn\\'t be more divergent--- i\\'ll never forget the day she recommended that i go see a night at the roxbury for god sakes , and to be fair she was mightily pissed at me for telling her that go ! \\nwas a lot of fun ( which it is ) , so i didn\\'t see this as anything more than a futile attempt at conversation . \\ni muttered , with a little trepidation , that she might enjoy high fidelity . \\nshe responded with her usual query , \" whose in that one ? \" \\nthis is a question whose answer that seems to immediately conjure up the kind of movie you went to see . \\nif the reply is julia roberts you probably assume it was something wispy and light , a sylvester stallone movie and you picture a bloodbath with few words and much involuntary bicep flexing , and a woody allen movie means hyper articulate white people ( usually of the jewish faith ) fretting about in some upper east side palace . \\nanyway , when i answered \" john cusack \" , she replied with a rather stunned \" who ? \" , as if it was unreasonable for her to know whom i was referring to . \\nnow i know for a fact that my mother has seen several cusack movies , most recently being john malkovich and pushing tin , but i suppose it\\'s understandable that she would not recognize the name , after all , for most , names are tougher than faces . \\ni showed her a picture of cusack\\'s mug in the paper hoping for an \" oh - him , yes he\\'s quite good \" instead i got a \" no - i don\\'t know him \" . \\nat this point i was way beyond frustration into a realm of nose hair yanking anger ( yes , filmic ignorance is all it takes to get me into the nose hair pulling zone ) , till i realized something : i doubt that much of america would recognize cusack\\'s relatively bland visage , or even the name which is rather bland compared to the coolness of a brad pitt or tom cruise , one-syllable names that glide off the tongue with the velocity of a speeding car . \\ncu-sack . cu-sack - no , not quite as cool . \\ni\\'m sure that twenty years from now cusack will forever be referred to as \" the guy from ( add in the cusack film of your choice ) \" . \\nhe\\'s not a brand name , and his movies usually aren\\'t big moneymakers , but in his own unassuming way he\\'s kind of a genius . \\nwith his pleasant , common man looks , and charming semi-articulate blatherings he has become one of the most likeable romantic leading men of the 90\\'s . \\nfrom the sure thing to say anything cusack has merged the talents of early tom hanks and early jack lemmon . \\ndespite the fact that nearly every character he plays is a variation of the character before it ( the schlumpy every man ) , he\\'s a constantly enjoyable screen persona , like albert brooks or woody allen . \\nand he knows how to chose scripts , while the stephan baldwin\\'s and val kilmer\\'s seem to put them selves in everything ( the former actually had the insight to follow up oscar winner usual suspects with a pauly shore vehicle , and judging from his latest projects it looks like he still has yet to fire his agent ) , cusack generally picks rewarding projects ( save for the unwatchable hot pursuit , a 1988 film also featuring a young ben stiller ) . \\nhigh fidelity is his second collaboration with hit or miss english director stephan fears ( the grifters , the hi-lo country ) , and it\\'s a hit . \\nit was also co-written by cusack , and some of his collaborators on the terrific comedy , grosse point blank . \\nit\\'s not quite as entertaining or as funny as that film , but as it progresses in its meandering fashion , the movie cast something of a spell over me . \\nhigh fidelity begins as a hipster ode to the non-committal rob , a vinyl record store owner , who opens the film by breaking down the fourth wall with much abandon and educating us in his \" top 5 break ups list \" . \\nthis is something cusack does the entire film a la ferris bueller\\'s day off . \\nat first the talking-directly-into-the-camera-schtick had me vaguely annoyed , mostly because it reminded me so much of the film body shots which used a similar conceit , but it began to grow on me due almost entirely to cusack\\'s witty delivery . \\nhe\\'s the kind of guy we don\\'t mind talking directly to us . \\ngradually the film settles into a shampoo-like tragi-comic character study , of a guy who must confront himself and his personal failures in order to figure out the true person he is ( yes it\\'s all very existential ) . \\nthough that plot-line is mostly enjoyable , the thing i liked the most about the film is how much pleasure it offers in introducing us to minor characters , all of whom ( now this is really something ) are terrific enough to warrant their own films . \\nthe best of which is jack black ( of the very funny show tenacious d , a program that sadly went the way of bruce willis\\' hair ? ? ? unfortunately that annoying smirk remains ) , an ardent record store employee who bullies customers into buying exactly what he wants them to buy . \\nhe\\'s the kind of guy i\\'m sure we\\'ve all met before , a blowhard who thinks he\\'s always right and will do anything in his power ( be it yell , argue , insult ) to hoist his opinion onto others . \\nbut i like this guy , because of how black plays him . \\nthe actor is portly with a round baby face and crazy eyes , but despite his size he leaps to and fro like a manic speed freak ( which might be a bit of a redundant description , seeing as how all the speed freaks i know are manic ) . \\nhe\\'s the kind of supporting character who would be impossibly annoying comic relief in most other films . \\n ( look at what that hack jan de bont did to poor phillip seymour hoffman in twister ) . \\nbut fears and black never let that happen . \\nthe character , for all his shucking and jiving is steeped in reality . \\nhe\\'s over the top , but in a way we can all probably relate to . \\ncatherine zeta-jones , in her brief role , gives a vivid portrayal of a women completely enamored with her own \" charm \" . \\ntim robbins registers in an even tinier part as a new age-type , a character played entirely for cartoon yuks , but still manages to work its desired comic effect . \\nthe one exception in the acting department is a bit of a doozy , the main love interest played by danish actress iben hjejle ( mifune ) , who completely obliterates any trace of a danish accent , replacing it with a stilted american phonation . \\ni give her kudos for attempting such a contradictory role , but instead of being likeable , she comes across as rather robotic , and as such it\\'s hard to see why cusack\\'s character would be so obsessed with her especially when he has a beautiful , intelligent writer ( natasha gregson wagner ) potentially waiting in the wings . \\nthis reminded me of say anything , where the charming cusack was paired with the charmless ione skye , and in midnight in the garden of good and evil where the poor bastard had to put up with alison eastwood ( whose unbelievably more wooden then father , clint for those \" special people \" whose wheels turn a little slower ) . \\nin fact cusack is rarely paired up with a personality that matches his , though i\\'d bet that if laura and natasha switched roles , the result would be more effective . \\nhigh fidelity works almost entirely on the strength of its characters and performances . \\nfears\\' direction is somewhat stilted , and the script is sometimes a little too ( and this is a word i\\'m beginning to hate to use but alas i must ) quirky for its own good ( i think i\\'ll blame that on scott rosenberg , who judging from what he did with beautiful girls , con air , and things to do in denver while your dead , has his fingerprints all over the most irritating bits of this movie ) . \\nbut cusack really does deserve an award , for being so damn ? ? ? cusackian . \\ni\\'m afraid that his talents are so understated that he may have to wait till his hip needs replacing to be offered such an award worthy of his considerable talent . \\nhis character , rob ( whose sort of like an older , more bitter lloyd from say anything ) is funny and tragic without being pathetic , and that cusack can do all this , and still not imprint himself onto the minds of most audiences , is something of an achievement . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the laserman : somehow the title of writer-director-producer peter wang's film conjures up images of superheroes , like ultraman and spiderman . \\nyou kind of expect an adventure flick about a crime fighter who can shoot laser beams from his fingertips . \\nas it turns out , the laserman _is_ about crime and about laser beams , but there aren't any superheroes . \\ninstead , wang's film is populated by a group of refreshingly off-beat characters living in the ultimate cultural melting pot : new york city . \\nthe laserman is a comic brew which celebrates ethnicity , eccentricity , and electricity . \\nthe film tells the bizarre story of arthur weiss ( marc hayashi ) , a chinese-american laser scientist whose life becomes incredibly hectic after he accidentally kills his lab assistant in an experiment . \\nhe loses his job but finds work with a mysterious company which secretly plans to use laser technology to commit dastardly deeds . \\narthur's professional life is cluttered with moral dilemmas . \\nhis personal life , on the other hand , is cluttered with colorful friends and quirky relatives . \\nin fact , arthur is by far the blandest character in the film , despite a charismatic performance by hayashi ( the san francisco-based actor whose films include chan is missing and the karate kid ii ) . \\nit's the auxiliary characters who give the laserman its unique spark . \\narthur's not-so-typical jewish mother , ruth , for example , is convinced that a chinese soul is trapped in her jewish body . \\nshe has dyed her red hair black , she takes herbal medicine daily , and she is perpetually cooking up strange delicacies , such as matzo balls in soy sauce--the ultimate fusion of jewish and chinese cuisine . \\nveteran stage actress joan copeland takes the part and runs with it , almost stealing the movie in the process . \\nshe plays ruth as a driven woman , determined to overcome her genetic heritage by immersing herself in chinese culture . \\narthur's girlfriend janet ( maryann urbano ) is a kooky free-spirit who would rather meditate than copulate ; her ultimate goal is orgasm through zen meditation . \\narthur's best friend , joey ( tony leung ) , is a small time thief who hustles everything from microwave ovens to machine guns . \\njoey is married to arthur's jewish sister , but he is also having an affair with a chinese immigrant who works in a whore house . \\narthur's 11-year-old son , jimmy , played by the amazingly adorable david chan , is--horror of horrors--bad at math ! \\nhe finds it impossible to meet his father's lofty expectations . \\nthe various people in arthur's life come together to form a rich tapestry of humanity . \\nlike wang's earlier film , a great wall ( about a san francisco family visiting relatives in china ) , the laserman revolves around cultural differences . \\nevery character in the film is , in some way or another , trying to find his identity--struggling to negotiate a balance between his native culture and the american way . \\nthe movie also offers a provocative look at technology . \\nwang appears in the movie as lieutenant lu , a detective who is fed up with machines , even though he relies on them to do his job . \\nthe film views technology with a wary eye , acknowledging its necessity while at the same time realizing its potential dangers . \\nwang raises the time-honored question of whether scientists should be held responsible for their inventions . \\nwas einstein responsible for the a-bomb ? \\nis arthur weiss responsible for his lasers ? \\nthe movie pits spirituality against technology , man against machine , and the result is a draw . \\naccording to the film , technology has its place , but we must employ it with great forethought and caution . \\nironically , by its very nature , the laserman is a triumph of technology--the technology of filmmaking . \\nwang's direction is exquisite , especially during the tense finale in which the director frantically cross-cuts between the various subplots , perhaps in homage to d . w . \\ngriffith . \\ncinematographer ernest dickerson , who has worked on all of spike lee's films , gives the laserman a distinctive , artistic look . \\nmason daring's score , which includes a send-up of bach , is right on target . \\nthe laserman is an ambitious endeavor , which is to be applauded , but it's sometimes ambitious to a fault . \\nwang serves up so many slices of life in the film that it's hard to digest them all . \\nfor instance , one character ( arthur's sister ) has negligible screen time , and consequently we just don't care about her marital problems . \\nin weaving his web , wang has included a few too many strands . \\noverall , however , the laserman is a charmingly eclectic concoction . \\non the surface , the film is a light and bouncy comedy-thriller , overflowing with whimsical humor and visual style . \\nthe heavier issues emerge only when you take a deeper look at the film . \\nyou can ponder the moral questions or you can just sit back and enjoy the absurdity of life in china town . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'note : ordinarily , moviereviews . org will not give away any critical plot points of a film that could be interpreted as \" spoilers . \" \\nhowever , being that music of the heart is based on a true story and that moviereviews . org \\nfeels the film can not be properly credited without such revelations , plot giveaways will appear in the following review . \\nif this bothers you , please note the 3 star rating of the film and stop reading now . \\n \" what does it take to play carnegie hall ? \\npractice . \" \\nit takes two hours for music of the heart to \" play carnegie hall , \" both figuratively and literally . \\nlike the children it portrays , the movie starts from the dark realms of awful cinema and works its way up to a show-stopping performance at the legendary concert hall . \\nroberta guaspari ( academy award winner meryl streep ) has two kids , a husband who left her and 50 violins she bought from a small shop in the mediterranean . \\nher life desperately needs a jump start and gets one when she meets a man who introduces her to a job as a music teacher at an east harlem elementary school . \\nshe soon finds her job is on the rocks as the men in her life continue to rotate through revolving doors . \\nthat is the pattern-like plot of this production . \\nultimately , the film chooses a zero-sum answer to these problems and finds her music career at an all-time high when the men in her life finally vanish . \\nthe first hour of music of the heart is rather painful . \\nroberta\\'s character lacks development and consequently seems to be flat . \\nalso lacking depth is the film\\'s \" bad guy , \" a narrow-minded music teacher ( josh pais ) who rejects roberta out of principle ( the movie never explains exactly which principle that is ) and conveniently comes and goes from the plot according to when it might be dramatic to have a villain around . \\nthe next 15 minutes of the film are mediocre . \\nthey are highlighted by one child\\'s return to roberta\\'s class ( coming after the great old hollywood scene where he explains be can\\'t be around anymore because \" my mom said . . . \" ) and a glowing concert . \\nnot knowing the running time , you may expect the credits to role at this point . \\nbut they don\\'t . \\ninstead the film uses the next 45 minutes to finish its journey from bad to mediocre to excellent . \\ndirector wes craven , known for his works of horror , uses some old sentimental tricks to get the audience tearing . \\none romantic break up scene is highlighted by the classic \" but . . . \\nlast night . . . \" \\nand roberta\\'s two children also have textbook conflicts with their single mother regarding their father\\'s absence . \\nthe city of harlem plays a strong role in the movie . \\nroberta\\'s mother is initially reluctant to see her daughter move to that part of town and the film does nothing to combat that stereotype . \\nthe noise tracks for these scenes are dominated by sirens ; predictably one of roberta\\'s students is gunned down and killed off screen . \\none thing the film does lack is subtlety . \\nthe fact that a little boy was playing \" we shall overcome \" on his violin after the aforementioned shooting was a cute and discreet reference . \\nthe fact that the entire orchestra begins to play it over and over soon after is an overdone reference that shows how little credit he gives the audience . \\n ( of course , in horror films the foreshadowing and between-the-line moments are meant to be overdone , so perhaps he too is just learning to play the game . ) \\neven with all its flaws , music of the heart is a beautiful film . \\nthat is not an excuse for the movie\\'s poor beginning . \\nbut as i watched the scenes in carnegie hall , i thought of some of the great acts that have taken that stage . \\nin december of 1979 a comedian named andy kaufman put on a show that will forever be remembered as one of the most original in theatre history . \\nthe performance included a dead-on elvis impression , robin williams in disguise and a moment at the end when kaufman announced he would take the whole audience out for milk and cookies . \\nso , how did this comic genius choose to open the show of his life ? \\nhe had a character named tony clifton take the stage for the sole purpose of irritating and angering the audience . \\nperhaps it is okay for music of the heart to start off rusty because just as kaufman had santa\\'s favorite food , this movie has an amazing finale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i relish those rare opportunities when a talented screenwriter can make me feel like a fool . \\ni spent the first hour of forces of nature slowly stewing over its grim attitude towards marriage , grousing to myself about its transparently planes , trains and automobiles plot machinations , and waiting for the inevitable hollywood denouement . \\nthis was a mass market romantic comedy , after all , a genre which has been taken over by teenagers and , even in its best days , worked hard to perpetuate the romance = infatuation paradigm . \\nthen marc lawrence did something wonderful , something which made the entire film click into place : he showed me a comic love story about grown-ups . \\nit certainly didn\\'t look that way from the outset , which introduces groom-to-be ben holmes ( ben affleck ) at his bachelor party , surrounded by friends and family whooping over his \" last night of freedom . \" \\nben loves his fiancee bridget ( maura tierney ) , but the doom-and-gloom pronouncements of everyone around him have him questioning the meaning of this \\'till death do you part business . \\nthen , on an ill-fated flight from new york to his wedding in savannah , ben meets sarah lewis ( sandra bullock ) , a free-spirited woman with a string of failed careers and relationships behind her . \\nas transportation troubles thwart them at every turn , ben and sarah begin a three-day southward journey in which their connection grows ever stronger , ben seeing in sarah the chances he\\'s never taken and sarah seeing in ben the stability she\\'s never had . \\nforces of nature gets off to a solid enough start , setting up the characters and the situations with plenty of witty dialogue . \\nben is an ideal role for affleck\\'s easy-going charm , and he plays the straight-laced straight man without forced exasperation . \\nsandra bullock , for her part , is more loose and appealing than she has been in her last half-dozen films combined , avoiding her recent habit of playing any semblance of character depth as moping . \\nthe two performances -- part of a great top-to-bottom cast -- are effective and connected from the start , yet the script\\'s apparent sympathy with the marital horror stories ben hears makes it difficult to enjoy the romance completely . \\nlively and funny though it may be on a consistent basis , forces of nature leaves a bitter taste that feels like self-justification . \\nthe kicker is that those acidic anecdotes serve exactly the opposite purpose , leading to a surprisingly emotional resolution . \\nforces of nature isn\\'t about a man developing a fear of commitment ; it\\'s about a man learning what commitment means _to him_ , learning that it\\'s not what he thought it was . \\nlawrence\\'s script feints and dodges before reaching its happy ending , an ending which is happy because people make the choices that make the most sense . \\nearlier scenes that might have felt like throwaways take on more resonance , and that bitter taste sweetens into something fresh and genuine . \\nthough one too many plot contrivances keep ben and sarah together through the film , and they do exchange the obligatory mutual character analysis of bickering screen couples , forces of nature wraps up so perfectly that you\\'ll end up remembering the humor and the simple wisdom . \\nthat is , provided you\\'re not put off by the ridiculously busy direction of bronwen hughes . \\nfor a brisk romantic comedy , forces of nature comes loaded with some of the most over-directed scenes of the year : teetering hand-held shots , why-not low or high angles , sweeping pans . \\noccasionally the hyper-real approach works , with cinematographer elliot davis creating a world of fantasy romance ; far more often , hughes refuses to let a scene be what it is , covering it with flourishes so thick you almost can\\'t find what\\'s underneath . \\na script this smart and mature deserved a more restrained director , but even hughes\\' excesses can\\'t spoil this unique concoction . \\nforces of nature may restore your faith in romantic comedy as something with the power to enchant , something that can make you happy to be proved wrong when you expect a tale for and about adolescents . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the booming introduction music finishes , and the camera sweeps over red mountains . \\nwe see two figures looking over a barren , and very red landscape . \\nthey kiss , then walk on . \\none of the characters ( schwarzenegger ) slips , and falls . \\nthe glass on his mask cracks . \\nhis face scruches up , and his eye's begin to pop . . . . . \\nthen doug quaid , played by schwarzenegger , wakes up . \\nit's all been a dream . \\nhe wakes up next to his beautiful wife , played by stone , and the film begins . . . \\ntotal recall is a typical sci-fi film wrapped around an intresting ( if far fetched ) plot . \\nquaid , who has never been to mars , keeps on having dreams of the planet , which has now been colanised . \\none day , while riding on a train , he's see's a ad for a company called 'rekall' , which implants memories of a holiday , instead of you actually going there yourself . \\nquaid chooses the 'secret agent on mars' memory , and then the s * * * really hits the fan . \\nthe implant goes wrong , and quaid really thinks he is an agent on mars for about two minutes , until he goes back to normal and can't remember a thing . \\nhowever , everyone he knows ( his workmates , his wife ) turn against him , saying how 'blabbed about mars' and 'blew his cover on the mission' a strange man , called richter , played by ironside , wants to kill him . \\nquaid , now hopelessly confused , follows the advice given to him , by a 'friend' . \\nhe get's his ass to mars . \\nmars is ruled by cohagen , played by cox , who charges people for air . \\nagainst him are the rebels , who are mainly mutants . \\nthe rebel's need quaid to defeat cohagen , because quaid knows ( but can't remember yet ) about a reactor that produces air . \\neventually , quaid kills cohagen , turns on the reactor , saves the planet , and goes away with a beautiful girl , just like the guy at rekall promised him . \\nthroughout this plot , there is huge explosions , thousands of deaths ( and i mean a lot of death ) swearing , sex , and everything else that make's a good verhoeven ( director of basic instinct and starship troopers ) movie . \\nnaturally , there's some pretty imaginative deaths , with arms getting ripped off , someone getting drilled , and heads exploding . \\nas you can tell , it's violent stuff . \\nbut it's done so stylishly , and of course arnie tones it down with a one liner , that's it excusable . \\nthe acting is variable . \\narnie , of course , is useless , but he goes has some good lines , and in the first twenty minutes , he even act's like a normal bloke , not like some action hero . \\nstone , of course , is useless , making a pretty poor wife , and a pretty poor action hero . \\nbut , she does sex scenes alright . \\nticoton ( most recently seen in con air ) , again , is ok , doing some good action , but getting her emotions all wrong . \\none minute she hates quaid , the next she loves him , and she never gets this tranisition right . \\nso , the good guys are awful . \\nbut , the bad guy's are excellent . \\ncox is basically reprising robocop , but he's still great in this , and he delivers the best line in the whole film near the end . \\nironside is superbly evil , with an utterly emotionless face . \\nthe supporting cast are fine , and not even the comedy sidekick ( this time in the form of a taxi driver ) is annoying . \\none disappointing aspect , though , are the special effects . \\nilm and dreamquest do some good work ( such as a subway station scene ) but the model work is not so good . \\nsome of the model heads look appaling fake , and quatto is a major disappointment . \\nanother irritating thing is the product placement . \\nthere are a lot of plugs ( and a good mars today gag ) however , the sets look great , and the special effects at the end of the film aren't too bad either . \\nthere's also a good soundtrack running through , by jerry goldsmith ( the omen , poltergeist , star trek : the motion picture ) \\noverall , then , total recall is a hugely violent , yet hugely enjoyable , action fest , with a reasonable plot thrown in there too , some great bad guys , and some imaganitive death . \\nfor a schwarzenegger movie , this is not bad at all . \\nin fact , it's very good . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'wyatt earp has a lot to tell and little to say . \\nthis story of the legendary lawman runs three hours and nine minutes and that\\'s too long for this epic-wannabe that plays more like a tv mini-series than a movie . \\nthe story opens on the earp family farm , with young wyatt ready to run away from home . \\nhe wants to fight in the civil war , but his dad ( hackman ) has different ideas and wants his son to study law . \\ntime passes and wyatt heads west , returns home to marry , and , after a spell , begins his career in law enforcement . \\nby the time he ( costner ) and his brothers ( madsen , david andrews , and linden ashby ) arrive in tombstone , wyatt has tried his hand at everything from hunting buffalo to dealing cards . \\nwyatt earp is very appealing in places-- such as cast , costumes , and cinematography-- but an overstated story and overpowered score deaden most of the emotional impact . \\nwho can be moved by scene after scene after scene of swelling strings and suffocating speeches ? \\nsomber is fine-- just ask clint eastwood-- but this film that boasts not one , not two , but three , count \\'em three , hammy death scenes ! \\nstill , a little bit of earp goes a long way and the life and times of the legendary lawman are from uninteresting stuff . \\nhis , uh , unusual relations with women , for example , are an intriguing contrast to his character\\'s credo of \" nothing counts as much as blood . \" \\nequally amusing is a buffalo-hunting ( and skinning ! ) \\nsequence that is decidedly non-pc . \\ndirector lawrence kasdan takes a refreshingly realistic approach to the gunplay . \\nthe infamous gunfight at the ok corral is both brutal and brief , devoid of almost any theatrics . \\ndon\\'t look for much glorified violence here . \\ndespite some large exclamation points in the story , the characters * do * come to life . \\nthe diverse cast includes everyone from betty buckley ( ! ) to mackenzie astin ( ! ! ) . \\nkevin costner is very good in the title role . \\ndances with whitney nevers get as steely as the role requires , though , but his transformation from lighthearted law student to stoic sheriff is fun to watch . \\nhe was tougher in a perfect world . \\nhis foil is dennis quaid , who pulled a deniro by losing 40+ pounds to play the tubercular terror doc holliday . \\ngaunt * and * gamely , he\\'s a scene stealer who\\'s seen too little . \\nother familiar faces include tom sizemore ( looking like bruce mcgill ) , bill pullman ( looking like jeff daniels ) , and lea thompson ( looking like someone other than lea thompson ) . \\nboth gene hackman and isabella rosselini appear and disappear like magic , while late entries catherine o\\'hara and jobeth williams are surprisingly solid . \\nthough the story and score should\\'ve tried \" less is more , \" all other credits are technical tops . \\nproduction designer ida random , art director gary wissner , and costume designer colleen atwood are some of the vips who helped spend what must\\'ve been an enormous budget . \\nclearly no expense was spared . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'writing a screenplay for a thriller is hard . \\nharder than pouring concrete under the texas sun . \\nharder than building a bridge over troubled waters . \\nand incidentally , a whole heck of a lot harder than writing a movie review . \\nthrillers are all variations on a theme . \\nyou have a smart , resourceful , and powerful bad guy , who has a goal he has to meet . \\nyou have a noble and brave good guy , who has to protect the innocent , kill the bad guy , and not get killed himself in the process . \\nthe trick of thriller writing is doing all of this in an interesting and novel manner . \\nthis simple formula can lead to classic movies like north by northwest , high noon , or silence of the lambs , or big summer blockbusters like men in black , the fugitive , or air force one , or it can lead to utter dreck like masterminds , event horizon , kull the conqueror . . . . \\nis anyone else getting depressed here ? \\npoint is , it\\'s not enough to follow the formula . \\nyou\\'ve got to throw in something extra , something good and new and better than the last version . \\nsomething to surprise and move all of us people who buy the tickets and the popcorn and the happy meals . \\nthis is a hard thing to do , but it is absolutely necessary in every way . \\nwithout that something extra -- whether it\\'s a great plot or a well-written screenplay , or great special effects or great locations or great casting or great performances or great big hungry dinosaurs -- the movie fails . \\nthat\\'s why the jackal , with all its starpower , with all its budget , with all its hype , gets a big fat f . \\nbruce willis is the bad guy , the jackal , a legendary killer for hire . \\nrichard gere is the good guy , a former ira assassin with a vendetta against the jackal . \\nthe jackal is trying to kill someone . \\ngere is trying to stop him . \\nwill gere be able to stop the assassination in time and kill the jackal ? \\n ( i\\'ll give you three guesses , and the first two don\\'t count . ) \\nthere are no surprises awaiting the audience in the jackal , no moment when you say to yourself , \" i wonder what happens next ? \" \\nthe script for the jackal isn\\'t ripped straight from today\\'s headlines . \\nit\\'s ripped off , straight from an episode of millennium . \\nthroughout the movie , we learn what the jackal\\'s plans are and how he intends to accomplish them . \\nno surprise . \\nthe fun of a movie like this should come from richard gere figuring out what the jackal\\'s plan is and developing a clever plan to foil the bad guy . \\ninstead , we get two ( count \\'em , two ) scenes where gere is sitting in an fbi conference room somewhere and instantly divines the jackal\\'s plan just as if he\\'s frank black ( or more likely , just as if he\\'s been handed a copy of the script ) . \\nand we never get more than a superficial clue as to why gere has had this flash of insight . \\nit\\'s like gere\\'s character is psychic , but neither he nor the fbi ( or the screenwriters ) seem to know it . \\nand just like in millennium , the bad guy has an overwhelming need to go after the people the good guy cares about , whether or not they are important to what he\\'s trying to do or not . \\nwhat\\'s more , in the last half of the movie , the jackal , supposedly a super-smart professional terrorist who never makes a mistake , comes down with a major case of the stupids . \\nas for the performances . . . \\nbruce willis manages to get through the whole movie without a wisecrack , which is a major achievement , but not enough reason to see the movie . \\nhis disguises are good , but not as good or as interesting as val kilmer\\'s in the saint . \\nrichard gere is made to talk the entire movie in an irish accent , which detracts from his otherwise lifeless and dull performance . \\nsidney poitier is probably the most disappointing element in a overwhelmingly disappointing movie -- not that his performance is bad or anything , it\\'s not , but it is sad that hollywood won\\'t use this talented actor in any part other than an fbi agent ( shoot to kill , sneakers ) . \\nwriting a good plot and a good screenplay , like i said , is hard , but it can be done . \\nit wasn\\'t done here . \\nit is our job as consumers to reward good screenplays and to denounce bad and uninteresting ones . \\ndo not go see this movie . \\nyou\\'ll only encourage the producers to make more just like it . \\ninstead , stay home and rent day of the jackal , or in the line of fire , or a fire safety video , for crying out loud . \\nanything other than the jackal , which lives up to its name by gnawing the dead bones of other , better movies . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in one scene from \" the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , \" the hustler magazine publisher appears at a self-staged free speech rally . \\nas graphic photos flash on a huge screen behind him , flynt strides confidently across the stage , delivering a rousing speech over what really constitutes obscenity . \\nthe spectacle was reminiscent of the scene in \" patton \" where the general spoke in front of a giant american flag . \\nboth scenes were stirring , larger than life , richly entertaining , and felt totally like contrived set pieces for big hollywood movies . \\noverall , that sums up \" the people vs . \\nlarry flynt . \" \\nthe film is a wildly entertaining hoot which , despite being based on fact , feels like a big , phony hollywood movie . \\nthe son of a kentucky moonshiner , flynt ( woody harrelson ) ran away from home and ended up operating strip clubs in cincinnati . \\nthere he met althea leasure ( courtney love ) , a bisexual stripper who became his fourth wife and the love of his life . \\nto bolster interest in his clubs , he started a sexually explicit newsletter that grew into hustler magazine . \\nflynt , along with the magazine\\'s rag-tag management team , headed by his brother jimmy ( played nicely by woody\\'s real-life brother , steak & shake commercial veteran brett harrelson ) , viewed playboy magazine with contempt . \\nthey mocked its slick articles and airbrushed photos , striving to keep hustler focused on \" what guys really want , \" explicit photos that would make a gynecologist squirm , and extremely crude humor . \\nthe film\\'s prime example of hustler\\'s attitude is a cartoon depicting characters from the wizard of oz in an orgy , giving the audience an opportunity to giggle at flynt\\'s \" naughtiness . \" \\ndirector milos forman conveniently ignores the magazine\\'s frequent attempts to derive humor from child molestation , racism , and endless scatological cartoons . \\nflynt\\'s rag labored in well-deserved obscurity until he published nude photos of jacqueline onassis , which brought the magazine international attention , big money and the attention of conservatives . \\nan obscenity bust followed , the first in a long series of battles between flynt and the law . \\nlawyer alan isaacman ( edward norton ) enters the scene , hired by flynt\\'s wife . \\nnorton , an exceptional actor , is wonderful as the beleaguered lawyer trying to navigate the legal system while dealing with flynt\\'s increasingly childish and bizarre behavior . \\nin court , we meet the sputtering conservatives , headed by citizens for decency leader charles keating ( james cromwell . ) \\nas keating blathers about flynt\\'s immorality , the camera slowly moves in for a close-up of his name tag , inviting the audience to gloat at the notion of morality being trumpeted by keating , who was later convicted in a $2 billion s&l fraud . \\nflynt\\'s other prime foe is rev . jerry falwell , who sues over a hustler parody involving him and his mother having sex in an outhouse . \\ntragedy strikes as flynt is shot by a would-be assassin , leaving him paralyzed from the waist down . \\na dark period follows , as flynt and leasure hole up in an l . a . suite , strung out on pain killers . \\nflynt eventually kicks drugs , but leasure succumbs to addiction , and later , aids . \\nafter watch falwell on tv , describing aids as a punishment from god , flynt directs his lawyer to take the falwell case to the supreme court , leading to the film\\'s climactic courtroom scene . \\n \" the people vs , larry flynt \" is at its weakest when moralizing on free speech and lionizing flynt . \\n \" if they\\'ll protect a scumbag like me , then they\\'ll protect all of you , \" declared flynt . \\nhe\\'s right , of course , but the director forman cheats in portraying the opposition as little more than hypocritical buffoons . \\nhe also cheats in casting woody harrelson as flynt . \\nharrelson is an attractive , charismatic man , and his strong performance paints flynt as a colorful folk hero . \\neven a cursory look at the real flynt , who is making the talk show circuit , and plays the judge in an early courtroom scene , shows a bloated , morose and bitter man . \\nan accurate portrayal of flynt would have made a more difficult film to watch , but a richer one . \\ndespite its flaws , \" flynt \" is a fast moving , rousing movie with some terrific acting , especially by courtney love , whose vibrant performance will likely garner an oscar nod . \\nthe story may be candy-coated , but it\\'s still delicious candy . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mike myers , you certainly did throw us a ? frickin\\' bone here in what you call ? the biggest austin powers adventure yet . \\' \\naustin powers : the spy who shagged me is the sequel to the 1997 smash comedy austin powers : international man of mystery . \\nmany are skeptical about sequels , saying that the sequel is never better or as good as the original , but austin powers : tswsm goes beyond the first film . \\naustin powers : the spy who shagged me stars mike myers in three different roles . \\nhe reprises his role as the title character , austin powers , the shagadelic spy whose body was frozen in 1967 , and unfrozen in 1997 to stop his long time nemesis dr . evil , also played by mike myers , from destroying the earth . \\ntswsm leaves off where the original stopped , with dr . evil\\'s ? frisch\\'s big boy\\' space capsule floating through space . \\ndr . evil returns back to earth by ejecting from his capsule , plotting to go back in his time machine to the year 1967 , in which he plans to steal austin powers\\' \" mojo \" , what keeps austin going with spy talents . \\nupon his return to his secret lair , which is now a starbucks coffee shop , dr . evil learns that his evil henchman , which includes the returning robert wagner as number 2 and mindy sterling as frau , have created a 1/8 size clone of dr . evil , which is later named mini me . \\nthe evil mini me replaces scott evil , played by seth green , as dr . evil\\'s son in the madman\\'s mind , because dr . evil thinks of scott to be only \" quasi-evil . \" \\ndr . evil has always wanted a son that is evil just like him , and now he has one . \\ndr . evil tells mini me , \" you complete me , \" in a loving manner . \\ndr . evil loving ? \\nwow ! \\nmike myers\\' third role is as fat bastard , a scottish henchman of dr . evil\\'s , who is sent to steal the mojo from austin powers\\' frozen body . \\naustin powers learns of dr . evil\\'s trip back into the 60s , and uses his own time machine to take him back to 1967 , to try to save his mojo before fat bastard gets a hold of it . \\nonce arriving in the year 1967 , austin travels to his \" pad \" , his smashing home/dance club , where he meets felicity shagwell , played by heather graham , a cia agent who is willing to help him in his journey to stop dr . evil . \\nas the film progresses , hilarious one liners are thrown at us , mainly by dr . evil , for example , \" don\\'t go there , girlfriend ! \" \\nto the president of the united states . \\nmany witty gags take place , note the entire tent scene , and just plain , funny scenes which are so stupid- they\\'re funny come a dozen per fifteen minutes . \\ntake for example , scott evil going on the jerry springer show complaining about how evil his father is . \\nthe way austin powers : tswsm uses its humor is clever , throwing a hilarious scene at you , followed by five minutes of one liners , followed by another outrageous scene , so you never stop laughing . \\nthere was honestly not one moment in austin powers : tswsm where i wasn\\'t laughing . \\nthe last film that i laughed so hard in , was well , austin powers ! \\nit is apparent that mike myers knew how funny this film was while writing it . \\nthe film even makes fun of itself in a line , something along the lines of , \" it\\'s funny how england and southern california look nothing alike . \" \\ntswsm was filmed in southern california , but was supposed to take place in england . \\ni can tell you one thing- he is having a lot of fun with this enormously popular character , which is all over television , newspapers , magazines , and the movie theaters . \\ni believe that dr . evil got more attention in the tswsm than austin powers did . \\ndr . evil provided more laughs , more memorable moments , and more interesting dialogue than austin did this time around , who seems to missing the funny touch that he had in the first film . \\ni felt that austin really did have his mojo taken away , but from screenplay writer mike myers , not fat bastard . \\nalso making a great addition to the series is mini me , who is played by verne troyer . \\neven though the midget actor is 30 years old , he is adorable by dr . evil\\'s side constantly . \\nthe first austin powers film had barely any sentimental quality , such as lack of character development , barely any detailed plot characteristics , and barely any good acting , but austin powers tswsm actually shows some quality behind the frequent humor . \\nmike myers , with his three roles , acts as eddie murphy did in the nutty professor , disguising himself completely in one of the roles . \\n ( fat bastard ) all three characters are different , and mike myers does do a good job handling each one of them . \\nheather graham made a great addition with her talent to tswsm , and does a much better job than elizabeth hurley did , who gave a very flat performance in the original , speaking her lines without any feeling or emotion . \\nspeaking of hurley , she can be seen in tswsm for a few brief moments . \\nhopefully , graham tags along for future austin powers adventures . \\nthe bottom line- a groovy sequel that mike myers put all of his mojo into writing . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"wonderland is a rather sugary romance film that is as subtle as a ton of bricks falling on you . \\nyou can see its plot developing from a mile away . you \\nare lured into its benign story of a single 29-year-old girl looking for a soul mate in boston , as that city is depicted as a mini-wonderland for singles . \\nthis is a star oriented film , and the star who carries the film is erin ( hope davis ) . \\nthat this is a dating film , about singles who for reasons of fate or luck , or whatnot , have not had a successful match and are now putting most of their energy into fulfilling their careers , is nothing new , this type of film has been done often and better many times in contemporary films . \\nthe fictionalized documentary unmade beds did it more provocatively and with more of a sense of urgency than this film . the \\nmain quirk in the plot here , is that hope's pushy mother ( hollan ) visits her in boston , sees her daughter's live-in relationship with a radical protester ( hoffman ) breakup and decides to put a personal ad in the newspaper for her harvard medical school drop-out daughter , who works as a nurse . \\nthis is done without her knowledge . \\nit is cornball sitcom stuff , but , at least , it is handled as best it could be by the actors and director . \\nit is easy to like erin , she is bright , caring , and attractively blonde . \\nit is equally easy to care for the soul mate she keeps missing contact with , the financially strapped , ruggedly handsome , intelligent 35-year-old alan ( alan ) , who no longer wants to work with his father as a plumber but is doing volunteer work at the aquarium and attending college to be a marine biologist . \\nof course , he comes across as being so good ( though , he does kill some fish in the aquarium ) , that it is hard to believe he's for real , or just some cardboard shining knight put into the story to give it an ideal to shoot for . \\nthe contrived story revolves around their near misses in meeting each other in such spots as , the subway , at a restaurant , or on the phone . \\nalan's brother answers erin's ad with a few of his pals , as they each try to respond to her ad in a phony way , making a bet that the first who gets to tongue kiss her , that the others witness , will win the bet . \\nthis sub-plot was as obnoxious to see take place as it is to hear told . \\nthat we have to see erin go through several dates to prove the point how ego sick these guys are , each one more annoying than the other , culminating in the most obnoxious one of all , that brazilian lover ( jose ) , who is about as charming as a snake-oil salesman , who is actually the one she nearly flies away with for a holiday in brazil , was not only incredulous but downright contrary to the rich presentation of her character that was the heart of the story . \\nanyway , as expected , all's well that ends well , for this watchable piece of fluff , that comes over on screen better than it does when relating its story-line . \\nthe dialogue was actually not bad , those dating erin or trying to flirt with her seemed to be uttering authentic things they would actually say in their situation . \\nand , oh , by the way , wonderland refers to the stop on the boston metro , it is where greyhound racing takes place . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'logical time travel movies are a near-impossibility . \\nconsidering that the skeptic\\'s best argument against the possibility of time travel is the idea of altered realities , writing a script that deals with this problem is an imposing task . \\noccasionally , we get a film that does manage it . \\nterry gilliam\\'s \" 12 monkeys \" was one such film . \\nbut more frequently , we get films that don\\'t much deal with it at all . \\nthere is one question to ask in this case : does the film have other virtues that override the existing logical inconsistencies ? \\nthe \" terminator \" films made up for them with exciting action , \" back to the future \" did it with an entertaining story , and the new film \" frequency \" pulls off the trick with a strong package of its own . \\nis \" frequency \" filled with plot holes ? \\nyes . \\ndoes it matter ? \\nnot really . \\nthe film opens in october of 1969 . \\nfirefighter frank sullivan ( dennis quaid ) puts his life on the line every time he suits up for his job , then goes home to his loving wife julia ( elizabeth mitchell ) and son johnny ( daniel henson ) . \\nthe double-pronged story flashes forward to 1999 , where johnny ( now jim caviezel ) is all grown up and working as a police detective . \\na strange occurrence -- the appearance of aurora borealis over new york city -- allows father and son to communicate through the same ham radio frank used in \\'69 and that john has found in the present day . \\nthough both are initially skeptical of the idea , john eventually takes this opportunity to warn his father against his impending death in a warehouse fire , and he succeeds in saving frank from certain doom . \\nnow flooded with memories of a full life with his father alive , john is initially overjoyed , until he discovers that the changes to the timeline have been disastrous : a serial killer that would have died has instead lived to kill seven more women . \\nfrank and john now must work together to set things right , with john using the information he has gathered in the future to instruct frank on what to do in the past . \\nthe premise of \" frequency \" is unusual , and requires getting over one very important mental hurdle to fully accept : john and frank are the only ones conscious of how the timeline has been changed as a result of their actions . \\nthis isn\\'t explained ; you just have to go with it . \\nwhen frank doesn\\'t die in a fire , john is the only one who remembers it differently , while everyone else remembers it the new way . \\nthe concept also runs into problems concerning just how synchronous the two realities -- 1969 and 1999 -- are to each other . \\nsometimes frank\\'s changing the past results in something happening right away in john\\'s world , and sometimes john gets the changes ahead of time . \\nnow , the filmmakers might have perfectly good explanations for this , and i could probably come up with something fairly convoluted ( but nevertheless logical ) if i thought about it hard enough ( for example , the reason john gets advance information of the serial killer\\'s murders was because the change had already happened in frank\\'s world , and john is only witnessing the * projection * of that change ) , but explanations aren\\'t really the point . \\nwhen \" frequency \" gets cooking , it\\'s a riveting little thriller , even if it is confusing . \\nwhat matters to a film like this is if the plot makes sense in the moment , and \" frequency \" works as long as it keeps moving . \\nthe film manages to be engaging despite the logical confusion . \\ndirector gregory hoblit and screenwriter toby emmerich structure \" frequency \" as good hollywood entertainment , establishing decent , likable characters , making us care for them , and setting up a goal to be reached and a conflict to be resolved . \\ni liked many of the creative touches : the split screens , allowing us to see how the universe is being affected in both realities , and the greater framework of baseball to drive the action forward . \\nit actually uses the 1969 mets-orioles world series ( the one that featured the amazin\\' mets ) to great effect -- frank uses john\\'s advance knowledge of the series outcome to convince his friends to believe him . \\n ( admittedly , this device may only be of interest to a baseball fan like myself . ) \\ni even liked the final scene , which features frank and john both fighting the same man simultaneously in different time periods . \\nsome may find this scene blindingly confusing , as the reality shifts start coming fast and furious , but it does make sense if you think about it ( and give the script a lot of leeway ) , and let\\'s face it : it\\'s a darn cool way to end the film . \\nthere are enough surprises and plot twists in \" frequency \" to keep you on your toes , and as a result the movie avoids growing stagnant . \\nthe other major thing to appreciate about \" frequency \" is the handling of the father-son relationship . \\nquaid and caviezel carry off their parts easily ; it\\'s a rock-solid job from both actors . \\nthe relationship is instantly credible because they find the human truth behind the high concept : how would one react to being able to communicate with a dead relative , or with a future descendant ? \\nwatching the exchanges between frank and john will give you a pretty good idea of how to answer that question . \\nthe credibility of the human relationship is absolutely crucial to the rest of the film ; if we don\\'t believe in the characters , we don\\'t care about the outcome of the thriller plot . \\nhere , we do care , because we like the lead actors . \\ni also liked some of the supporting cast members . \\nelizabeth mitchell gets stuck with two thankless roles , playing julia the doting wife * and * mother , but still performs admirably . \\nandre braugher , late of the television show \" homicide : life on the street , \" gives a nice supporting turn as frank\\'s best friend and future colleague of john . \\nhe has a lovely scene in a diner in which he tries to explain the situation to julia while frank\\'s world series predictions come true before his very eyes . \\nbraugher strikes the perfect facial expression here , simultaneously dismayed and amused . \\nperhaps the only thing i didn\\'t like about \" frequency \" is the overly sentimental coda , during which the camera\\'s focus goes a little too soft and the baseball theme gets carried overboard . \\nbut that\\'s only because the film had already earned a poignancy without resorting to cheap tactics . \\ni freely acknowledge that \" frequency \" may best work as a \" guy \" movie , since it focuses on the very male-oriented idea of father-son relationships ( echoes of \" field of dreams \" can be easily heard ) , but the underlying concept is universally applicable . \\nwho wouldn\\'t want to speak with a long-dead parent ? \\nor see how their children turn out ? \\n \" tell me about your life , son \" -- excuse me while i mist up . \\nand don\\'t call me a sissy . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'an 18-foot-high , 43-foot-long dragon is the computer-generated co- star of this strictly-by-the-numbers sword \\'n\\' sorcery flick . \\nas voiced by sean connery , \" draco \" is a surprisingly expressive creation who is well-deserving of his 23 minutes of screen time . \\nhe walks , talks , flies , fries , and even fakes his own death , all with the help of 96 computer-aided animators . \\ntoo bad that ilm ( industrial light and magic ) couldn\\'t spare some special effects for dragonheart\\'s * human * co-stars . \\na bearded black hole exists where dennis quaid should be . \\nhe\\'s a near-total loss as he growls glumly through his role of a disillusioned knight . \\ndavid thewlis\\' evil king has a high hiss factor ( hf ) , though he\\'s more of a mumbling oddity than anything else . \\noh , and there\\'s some redhead in a \\'90\\'s wig , who runs around either screaming or scowling , depending upon if the particular scene has her playing the woman in peril or the put upon peasant . \\nthe fringe flourishes include pete postlethwaite as a wandering monk with literary ambitions , julie christie ( ! ) as the good queen mother , a band of mercenaries that appear dressed for ye olde heavy-metal concert , and , believe or it not , the speaking spirit of king arthur . \\nbring out your dead ! \\nunfortunately , when we add it all together ( draco + fringe bits - quaid - thewlis ) , the sum total amounts to zero . \\ndragonheart is , well , too much of too little . \\ndirector rob cohen ( dragon : the bruce lee story ) has made a big , expensive movie that , while ambitiously plotted , is both murky and predictable . \\nand overscored . \\nand self-important . \\nand the list goes on . \\n ( i must ask : did screenwriter charles edward pogue intend that * every * character be stabbed , lanced , or sliced at least once ? \\nkeep that man away from the knife drawer ! ) \\nthe last five minutes of this movie are the worst , with some silly celestial nonsense that would be laughed out of any planetarium light show , much less a summer movie . \\nsave your money . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'countries and legal systems that take the rule of law principle seriously , had forbidden judges and juries to make judgements in all matters that could involve them personally . \\nluckily , movie reviewers aren\\'t burdened with such legislation . \\notherwise , small pool of very special movies would be forever ignored by this reviewer . \\nin case of star wars , 1977 science fiction epic by george lucas , the consequences would be even more severe , because that film is very special for tens of millions , if not hundreds of millions of fans . \\nin any case , objectivity is something seldom seen in star wars reviews , because undisputed majority of reviewers rate it as one of the best , if not the best film of all times . \\nthose who don\\'t usually have some difficulties in hiding their artistic snobbery . \\nthe author of this review must also concede his inability to use cold , objective standards in reviewing this film . \\nlike so many previous reviewers , i must note that i watched star wars for the first time twenty years ago , and that i remained enchanted by the experience ever since . \\nperhaps it was childlike fascination with , until then unimaginable , wonders that happened long time ago , in a galaxy far away . \\nor perhaps it was the rush i felt minutes before the opening shots , with my expectations already pumped up by serialised comic books and novelisation i had read before . \\nanyway , watching of star wars was one of the most important movie going experiences of my life . \\nand it was also unmatched for many years to come , because very few movies managed to have such a strong impact on me like george lucas\\' epic . \\nstar wars wasn\\'t just important movie for me ( or the millions of fans who probably share the same sentiment ) . \\nit was the defining moment in the history of modern cinema . \\nuntil than , american motion picture industry was in a limbo ; social turmoil in 1960s practically destroyed the old hollywood , and new authors filled the void , mostly by using hollywood\\'s financial and technical resources to create serious , \" personal \" or \" artsy \" movies . \\nas a result , audience , traumatised of dark reality of vietnam and watergate , didn\\'t want to see the same dark and serious content on the silver screen . \\ngeorge lucas with its science fiction epic was among the first to come into rescue . \\nthe audience responded with unprecedented enthusiasm , and huge financial success of the movie , later backed by supplement industry of toys , books , comics , role playing games and other merchandise , slowly began to change the face of hollywood . \\nserious , adult movies with artistic ambitions faded into oblivion , and were replaced by industrial products of \" blockbuster \" philosophy . \\none of the biggest casualties of that trend was the science fiction movie genre . \\nuntil 1977 , science fiction movies were mostly in b-production domain . \\nin late 1960s , bigger budgets for science fiction didn\\'t look so strange anymore , thanks to the great success of 2001 : a space odyssey . \\nbut the same success coincided with the surge of pesimism , and hollywood science fiction was as bleak as the rest of its production - mostly dark , dystopic movies . \\nhowever , in 1977 star wars showed once and for all that this genre can be inspiration for popular movies , even among the audience that usually doesn\\'t like it . \\nas a result , seriousness in cinematic science fiction began fading away , although some good , dark and cult quality sf and continued to be filmed until early 1980s . \\nafter that , science fiction continued to be considered a synonym for family entertainment . \\nironically , the man responsible for star wars was in its time considered to be member of \" new hollywood \" generation of young movie authors who made \" artsy \" and \" personal \" films in early 1970s . \\ngeorge lucas established himself with the dystopic sf movie thx 1138 , and nostalgic drama american graffiti . \\nboth movies were considered \" personal \" in its time , despite latter one becoming very popular . \\nin a sense , star wars is an also very \" personal \" film , and the thorny way to the final production shows that commercial considerations were against it , not for it . \\nbut unlike many \" personal \" movies of the era , its \" personality \" was in line with the wishes of the general audience . \\nthe plot , set \" a long time ago , in a galaxy far away \" , begins in a time of civil war . \\nthe evil empire is threatened by rebels who want to restore the old republic . \\nin order to quash any opposition , the empire had built death star , superweapon powerful enough to destroy whole planets . \\nthe information about death star , acquired by rebel intelligence , is being transported by princess leia organa ( carrie fisher ) when her ship gets intercepted by imperial cruiser . \\nprincess is arrested by imperial warlord darth vader ( played by david prowse and voice by james earl jones ) , but the information is being sent to nearby desert planet of tatooine via two humanoid robots - c3po ( anthony daniels ) and r2d2 ( kenny baker ) . \\nthose two robots are sold to the family of luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) , young restless man who wants to leave his farm and become space pilot . \\nhis adventure begins when r2d2 escapes , because the information must reach mysterious local hermit obi wan kenobi ( alec guiness ) . \\nold man is actually the last surviving jedi knight , member of the ancient order that defended republic through the use of mystical force . \\nafter some hesitation , luke agrees to join obi wan in his mission to save the princess , while the old man would teach him the ways of the force . \\ntheir small band comes to the colourful spaceport of moss eisely , where they hire the spaceship owned by rogue pilot han solo ( harrison ford ) and his furry sidekick chewbacca ( peter mayhew ) . \\ncritics who don\\'t like the movie , especially those who can\\'t forgive lucas for his contribution to the quashing of \" new hollywood \" , are prone to point the lack of originality . \\non the surface , they might be right ; lucas himself admits that he found a lot of inspiration in the lore of old hollywood - westerns , wwii aviation movies , old sf cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 1940s ; yet the most obvious element would be akira kurosawa\\'s samurai classic the hidden fortress . \\non the other hand , those who had spent last two decades studying the movie to death would say that the inspiration for star wars went even further - into collective subconscious of western civilisation ( hinted by some mild tolkien references ) . \\nthe others would find the author\\'s element within the story - star wars could be seen as an anti- establishment film ; young , long-haired , easy going , nature-loving heroes are fighting against old , uptight and oppressive forces who use supertechnology in most demonic purposes . \\neven out of its historical or social context , star wars is an impressive as a strictly technical piece of the seven art . \\ngeorge lucas\\' direction is very good , with the clever editing and a well-paced segments between action and dramatic buildup . \\ncharacters are well-drawn and deliver all the necessary ingredients , both for the space opera and hollywood blockbuster . \\nwe have a \" coming-of-age \" hero , damsel-in-distress ( somewhat toned down due to the popular feminist trends of the time ) , reluctant helper , benevolent mentor , diabolical villain and , finally , comic relief in form of two non-human characters . \\nsome of the actors are very good - alec guiness in his most famous role to date , james earl jones whose voice is enough to cause unease , peter cushing as an incarnation of pure evil in human form . \\nunfortunately , the same can\\'t be said for the main leads - among the main trio of mark hamill , carrie fisher and harrison ford , only the last one had the character three-dimensional enough to launch his further acting career . \\nthe thing that looked like the most important segment of star wars phenomena during its initial release was the new level of special effects technology . \\noften comparisons with 2001 : space odyssey , another ground-breaking sf film , were citing the sheer number of effects as a proof of the lucas\\' superiority over kubrick . \\nhowever , the special effects by john dykstra and john stears are indeed impressive , even after two decades ( although 1997 special edition did improve them significantly ) , yet they aren\\'t the most remembered trademark of the movie . \\nthat honour should definitely go to the \" oscar \" -winning soundtrack by john williams , whose work on star wars is probably the brightest gem in his brilliant career . \\nnewer generations of viewers might be somewhat deprived of the enchantment that still holds those lucky enough to witness star wars original release . \\nyet , even if they are immune to the george lucas\\' magic they should watch this film nevertheless , perhaps only to become familiar with something that is essential part of contemporary culture . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" something is fishy in the state of universal . \" \\nabout ten years back , with the unexpected success of mad max and the road warrior , post-apocalypse nitty-gritty survival yarns became popular at the movies . \\nwe\\'ve always had movies of this nature ; on the beach , the end of the world , damnation alley , the ultimate warrior , and so on . \\nto date , the most smoothly done were straightforward \" haircuts \" of the classic western plot , like the lone gunman who comes to town and protects the widow and the son against an evil organization , usually one in possession of some critical resource , like water , feed range , or a mining claim . \\nmost of these grew out of venerable , but solid hero yarns like the virginian and shane . \\n ( my personal favorite is a patrick swayze movie called steel dawn , which was fairly well made on a small budget . ) \\nnow we have waterworld , which again brings the traditional lone gunman to town to rescue the young widow and her daughter . \\n ( well , she\\'s not a widow , and the kid isn\\'t her daughter , but you get the idea . ) \\nthe lady is helen , played by the stunning jean tripplehorn , who isn\\'t given a chance to be stunning , or even interesting , by the mediocre and unimaginative script . \\nthe child enola , played by tina majorino , is living proof that a child actor need not be a bad thing to have in a movie ; she outshines her material all the way through . \\nin simple , the scene is earth , hundreds of years from now . \\nthe polar ice caps have melted , and somehow produced enough water to inundate the entire planet . \\nthe few remaining people live in boats and floating colonies , and survive by trade , theft , or piracy . \\nsomehow an oil tanker has survived the centuries , and its inhabitants , called \" smokers , \" are able to keep gasoline engines running despite the dearth of replacement parts and raw materials , so the bad guys have outboard engines , and fast-moving boats , airplanes , and jet skis . \\nenola , found at sea as a young girl , has a mysterious map no one can read tattooed on her back . \\nwe suspect early on that it is the way to the mythical \" dryland , \" the place where trees , crops , and animals grow , and what plot there is hinges on who has enola . \\nthe psycho ruler of the smokers , the \" deacon , \" is trying to get her and find his way to dryland . \\nplayed with typical self-lampooning , rug-chewing histrionics by dennis hopper , \" deacon \" is the only thing in the movie that\\'s close to amusing . \\nhis performance is * almost * laughable , but there just isn\\'t enough there to be funny . \\nthe star ( and a co-producer ) is kevin costner . \\nhe\\'s playing an un-named lone denizen of the sea , a man called the \" mariner , \" who turns out to be a gilled , water-breathing mutant with webbed feet . \\nvery little is done with this . \\nthe script ignores the ineffectuality of gills in supplying enough oxygen to support a human metabolism ; it ignores the fact that even with both ice caps completely melted , much of the earth\\'s surface would still be above water ; and it ignores the blatant impossibility of the cultures and technology shown . \\n ( canned meat does * not * last for centuries ; ammunition does * not * fire after it\\'s more than a few decades old ; and so on , and so on . . . ) \\ni\\'m quite fond of tina majorino\\'s previous work , very impressed by jean tripplehorn\\'s past accomplishments , and still speechless over costner\\'s dances with wolves . \\nbut this movie could destroy the careers of anyone associated with it ! \\nthis movie cost one hundred and eighty-two million dollars , and there\\'s * nothing * in it we haven\\'t seen before , done better on only a few percent of the cost of this turkey . \\nat 125 minutes of material , this movie cost over one point four million dollars per minute to make . \\nthe budget of this movie * could * have given us over thirty movies ; it could have paid for six years of a prime-time sf tv series with expensive fx work , or ten years of an sf tv series with good digital fx . \\nin sum , this movie is beneath contempt . \\nit has nothing new to offer , it has a script that could easily have been bettered by the people who write comic books for dc , and it spent more money than the national budget of a small nation . \\nif you * have * to go see it , see it on a four-dollar matinee . \\notherwise you\\'ll find yourself sneering at you every time you pass a reflective surface , for weeks . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'54 is dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\na greater writer might have created a lyrical sentence for each of those adjectives , flowing in lovely arangements with soaring metaphors . \\ni , however , would rather cut to the chase . \\n54 is dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\nthere is nothing in it -- not a glimpse of depth , nor a shimmer of intelligence or insight . \\nthere is no electricity in any of the scenes , or a moment of interest in the story or its subplots . \\nand it\\'s underdeveloped , and features an array of bland characters played by actors who think they\\'re in this year\\'s boogie nights . \\nthey are so wrong . \\nthe picture has been assembled by mark christopher . \\nbased on this film , i don\\'t know how he got a job in the business . \\n54 is supposed to be an amazing insight into the world of the dance club of the same name , which originated in the 70s and closed down in the 80s . \\ni don\\'t know if this film went into production after boogie nights was released , but christopher has managed to plagiarize paul thomas anderson\\'s brilliant work in every possible way , from the framework of the plot down to the style of the cinematography . \\nwhat it lacks is everything that made boogie nights great : depth , intelligence , energy , fascinating characters , and challenging themes . \\n54 can\\'t even measure up to the last days of disco , which is flawed , but still smart and entertaining . \\nit\\'s remarkably bad timing , i\\'d say , to release a film this tedious after a couple of noteworthy pictures of the same kind . \\ni have exaggerated , though : there is one interesting character , and one terrific performance . \\nthat character is steve rubell , played with more perceptiveness by mike myers than this limp production deserves . \\nsteve rubell is the owner of studio 54 , and if christopher had focused on him , then myers could have forced a good film out of this wreck all by himself . \\nalas , we are instead guided to endure the trials of a young man named shane ( ryan phillippe ) , a going-nowhere new jersey teen who gets a job in the club , thanks to rubell\\'s homosexual impulses . \\nit\\'s here that he meets his friends , the array of uninteresting characters : his co-worker , greg ( brecklin meyer ) , his wife , anita ( salma hayek ) , and , of course , the love interest , julie black ( neve campbell ) . \\nshane is just an innocent young fool in the beginning , and he has a reasonably sturdy home life . \\n ( some of the scenes with his father border on interesting , while heather matarazzo , who plays his sister , pushes phillippe off the screen . ) \\nbut he decides to envelop himself in the disco scene , and succumb to peer pressure and to drugs . \\nwhy his \" friends \" push him into drugs is never really explained , but the fact that they are \" friends \" is questioned only is superficial ways ( greg gets really mad at shane because he\\'s been elevated to bartender status ) . \\nthere isn\\'t a single conflict that takes center stage , except that shane has some kind of unexplored reservation with the business in which he works . \\nmost of the film is dumb , and most of the dialogue is inane . \\nthere\\'s a scene late in the film in which shane confronts julie black , and , in the next scene , they\\'re arm-in-arm without a bit of development . \\nthen , they\\'re kissing in a bowling alley ! \\nthis is five minutes of material , thrown into the picture at the last minute ( well past the one-hour mark , and this isn\\'t a long film to begin with ) . \\ncampbell is a talented actress , but she needs a role that gives her a little depth . \\nthis one doesn\\'t . \\nand phillippe has almost no presence whatsoever ; this performance pales in comparison to mark whalberg\\'s star-making role in boogie nights . \\nhe seems dumb and misguided , and his voice never changes tone . \\ni guess he was picked for the color of his hair and the shape of his body , but he seems pretty lanky to me . \\nhe\\'s all wrong for a lead role , but it doesn\\'t help that christopher has forgotten to develop his characters . \\nby the end of 54 , shane\\'s most notable trait is his stupid , fake accent . \\nthe rest of the performances are wasted . \\nhayek is an energetic , talented young actress , and does almost nothing here . \\nmeyer is endearing , but allowed to be no deeper than cardboard . \\nonly myers , by sheer force of talent , manages to rise above christopher\\'s wading-pool of a script . \\nrubell has been written just as depthless as the rest of the characters , but myers is good enough to inject subtleties that help round out the performance . \\nin fact , myers is the sole reason to see 54 , and all it really does is make you wish that the film had revolved around him . \\ni\\'ve read that studio 54 has been recreated down to the last detail . \\nfrankly , i don\\'t care . \\nit\\'s easy to recreate something technical like this . \\na fairly skilled production designer and a few carpenters can manage such a task . \\nbesides , christopher keeps the lights so low that the sets are invisible , anyway . \\naside from myers\\' performance , 54 is a complete failure . \\nit\\'s dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\nsome may find my comparisons to boogie nights unfair , but they\\'re so obvious to me . \\nin any event , 54 is pallid without the contrast . \\nit doesn\\'t even work as mindless entertainment : it\\'s so shallow that the most escapist viewers are likely to dismiss it . \\nso , don\\'t forget those key words : dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\neverything else i said was just padding . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you don\\'t look at a ren ? magritte painting and search for a deeper meaning . \\nyou likewise don\\'t look at one for 88 minutes straight . \\nsurrealist works are notable for their quirks , and they are fun , but looking at one quirk for an hour and a half is exhausting . \\nthat was my experience with i woke up early the day i died , a surrealistic , hyperactive comedy with no dialogue . \\nit\\'s not a silent movie ; there is lots of atmospheric music , occasional screams and weird sound effects , but nobody ever utters an audible word . \\nthough the film is distinctive , its unique style wore thin after about 20 minutes , and as it progressed , watching became a chore . \\nthe only reason the script ever got filmed is because it was written by the pseudo-legendary ed wood , the man behind such \" classics \" as plan 9 >from outer space and night of the ghouls . \\nthe joke , of course , is that his films are so bad , they\\'re good ; so humorous in their inanity that they become hits . \\ni woke up early the day i died , unfortunatly , is so bad that it\\'s really bad . \\nit stars billy zane ( titanic ) as a dangerous lunatic who overpowers a nurse , escapes from a mental hospital and proceeds to wonder around , stealing a car , clothes , and a load of money . \\nour thief reaches a cemetery , where he witnesses a bizarre ritual . \\nhe falls asleep and finds himself , literally , in a hole , with his money gone . \\nfor whatever reason , he is bent on getting his hard-unearned cash back ( considering how easily he stole it the first time , why didn\\'t he just go steal some more ? ) . \\nhe comes upon a list of the people who were at the mysterious ceremony and commences to seek out each of them and kill them if they don\\'t have what he is looking for . \\ni don\\'t think either director aris iliopulos nor ed wood realized that this would have made a glorious 20 minute short . \\nthe subject and the style seem to have been made for it . \\nunfortunately , twenty minutes worth of material is stretched out to more than four times that length , and the film simply overstays its already dubious welcome . \\nit grabbed my attention in the beginning and gradually lost it as it went on , up to the point where halfway through i was already weary . \\nit might seem odd that a film as furiously paced as this one can be so tedious ; but the surprise will wear off when you consider how repetitive it is . \\ni woke up early the day i died is a comedy , i guess , though it could have fooled me . \\nunlike most ed wood films , this one tries to be funny and fails , instead of the other way around . \\nthere\\'s nothing inherently wrong with that , in fact , i think it would only make sense for someone who has been so \" good \" at making unintentional comedies to take a stab at a real one . \\nwhether wood actually went for comedy in his script we\\'ll never know , but in either case , this is a failure . \\njonathan taylor thomas , christina ricci , summer phoenix , john ritter and others show up for short and pointless cameos . \\nricci , for example , plays a prostitute . \\nher role consists of dancing around with zane in his motel room and then being thrown out . \\nthomas is an astonished onlooker as a woman gets thrown off a cliff . \\nwas the home improvement teen heartthrob really that desperate for work ? \\nzane , meanwhile , occupies himself by making weird faces at the camera when he is not called upon to run around wildly and beat people up . \\nlack of dialogue makes him the ultimate caricature . \\nthe carnival side-show climax manages to demonstrate everything that is wrong with this no-budget production . \\nit\\'s desperately unfunny , but thinks it\\'s the funniest thing since plan 9 ; , it\\'s so spontaneously surrealistic it makes your head spin all while being confusing enough to make your head spin twice as fast in the other direction . \\ni hope another film is made from an ed wood screenplay for i woke up early the day i died is not a fitting send-off . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov &#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there is a striking scene early in \" city of angels , \" where all the angels who live unseen in our midst , gather at the beach to watch the sun rise . \\nthe camera moves above them , showing the endless rows of ethereal men and women , all garbed in black . \\nthen the camera moves in on the face of seth , an angel played by nicolas cage , and as the sun rises , he smiles and his entire face lights up . \\nyou see , the angels can hear music in sunrises and sunsets , but they cannot feel a human touch . \\nit is an important scene for several reasons . \\nfirst of all , it is one of many instances in the film that make angels seem thoroughly plausible . \\nthe film presents these fantastic beings as normal-looking people who drift amongst the inhabitants of earth , watching what goes on with little interference . \\nthere are none of the standard , hokey angel references used in recent films like \" angels in the outfield \" ( 1994 ) or \" michael \" ( 1996 ) . \\nthe angels here are stark and believable . \\nthis early scene on the beach is also an important scene of juxtaposition , for its shows how god\\'s angels can enjoy aspects of the earth that human cannot , and yet they are denied so many simple human pleasures , like feeling the sand on their feet or the waves lapping at their legs , or the smell of the salt in the air . \\nthere is an inherent tragedy in being an angel , although there is much beauty in it as well . \\nthey eternally walk the earth , listening to our thoughts , touching us in our pain , and leading the dying to heaven . \\nlike human existence , being an angel is often confused and unsure . \\n \" city of angels \" is essentially a love story , between seth and a human , a beautiful but sad heart surgeon named maggie ( meg ryan ) . \\nhe first sees her when he is in her operating room , waiting to lead the soul of her dying patient to heaven . \\nmaggie is distraught , doing everything in her power to stop the man from dying on her table , and seth is moved by her efforts and , more importantly , her overwhelming sadness when the patient dies . \\nangels have the limited power to soothe humans in time of misery and pain , and seth does what he can with his invisible touch , but it\\'s not enough . \\nhe wants to be with her and share her pain , not just stand back at a distance . \\nhe learns that the only way to fulfill his desire for human love and touch is for him to \" fall \" and become human . \\nhe learns this from another fallen angel , played by dennis franz ( \" n . y . p . d . \\nblue \" ) in a touching and humorous performance . \\nsitting at a diner together , franz tells cage\\'s character about how wonderful it is to be human - to be able to taste food , feel another person\\'s skin , smell the air , and most importantly , have a loving wife and children . \\nof course , there is pain to go along with all this , but for seth , it will be worth it . \\n \" city of angels \" is something of a reinterpretation of wim wender\\'s haunting 1988 film \" wings of desire . \" \\nwenders\\' film was more like a poem - it was the feeling , the emotion that truly mattered over what actually happened . \\nthe americanized version moves the location from divided berlin to broken los angeles , and the emphasis shifts onto the relationship between the immortal angel and the mortal human . \\nand , unlike most foreign films that are re-made into hollywood fare , it doesn\\'t suffer extensive damage . \\nthis may be because director brad silberling ( \" casper \" ) and screenwriter dana stevens ( \" blink \" ) wanted to make \" city of angels \" its own movie - inspired by \" wings of desire , \" but not an attempt to copy it . \\nand yet , \" city of angels \" is not a typical hollywood movie . \\nit is beautifully filmed in lush colors by cinematographer john seale ( \" the english patient \" ) , whose sweeping aerial shots and golden lighting make los angeles into an almost unrecognizable new world . \\nseale creates many striking visuals : in addition to the beach scene , there is a wonderful sequence in a circular library where all the angels appear at banisters all around , looking down at seth as he watches maggie walk by . \\nwhile the film travels along a charted plot , it takes time to develop its characters and situations ; it sheds light on the boundaries between what is earthly and what is heavenly , and shows just how thin those boundaries are . \\nboth cage and ryan give soulful , soft-spoken performances . \\nryan , who is usually so bouncy and energetic , truly embodies a sadness that can only be alleviated by a heavenly touch . \\ncage projects all his desire and longing to be human in simple , heartfelt gazes , and speaks with the comforting , knowing voice that only an angel could have . \\nwhat is most striking about \" city of angels \" is that stevens has added a new ending to the screenplay , which is both unexpected and challenging . \\nit\\'s not a formulaic hollywood ending , because it is both sad and uplifting at the same time . \\nit doesn\\'t give the audience what it thinks it wants at the end of a romance . \\ninstead , it offers something much better , something that speaks to the depths of what it means to be human and alive . \\n____________________________________________ visit \" charlie don\\'t surf ! \" \\nan eclectic collection of film reviews by james kendrick http : //www . bigfoot . com/~jimkendrick \\n|| e-mail : jimkendrick@bigfoot . com \\n',\n",
+       "  b'look ! the new version of \" psycho \" came out and the world didn\\'t end ! \\ni guess gus van sant really isn\\'t the bringer of the apocalypse ! \\nunfortunately , though , that \" psycho \" didn\\'t end the world as we know is the best thing that can be said for it . \\nvan sant\\'s controversial \" re-telling \" of alfred hitchcock\\'s classic 1960 film has polarized filmgoers everywhere ( even before it premiered . ) \\nwithout benefit of an actual viewing , many have said that the film will , at best , suck . \\nbeing an ( almost ) good critic , i waited until i actually saw it to decide that the film , at best , sucked ( and that concludes the use of the word \" suck \" and , hopefully , the thoughts that i am a brain-dead orangutan . ) \\ndirector gus van sant took the original hitchcock film and refilmed it , shot-for-shot , using the same , exact script ( with a few minor alterations . ) \\nthe inherent challenge was in making the film suspenseful and scary , even though a large group of the audience will know exactly what will happen at the exact time . \\nsuspense probably could have been attained if the actors had been able to create something new or different than the original . \\nsadly , that did not occur . \\nit is hard to be overshadowed by vera miles and john gavin ( from the original \" psycho ) , but that is what exactly happened to julianne moore and viggo mortensen . \\nin moore\\'s case , the film would have been helped if \" the x- files \" gillian anderson had been cast instead ; especially since moore goes through the entire film doing a scully impression ! \\nfrom the cold demeanor and expressions to her rigid way of forming a sentence , moore is scully ! \\nmortensen ( who i liked in \" g . i . \\njane \" ) opts to play sam loomis as a cowboy/hick , which would have been nice if he had gone past that starting point . \\nsam has a twang and a cowboy hat , but that\\'s about it . \\nmortensen turns in one of the most uptight performance in recent memory . \\nanne heche , in the janet leigh role , does a few good things in her brief time on screen . \\nat least her marion crane has a little life in her , which can\\'t be said for most of the rest of the cast . \\nthe best work , though , comes from vince vaughn , as the demented mama\\'s boy , norman bates . \\nhe\\'s not going to make anyone forget anthony perkins , but he is effective both in being naughty and nice . \\nthe best part of the film is the dinner scene heche and vaughn , where they simply talk . \\nthere is some solid acting there , something that is not carried through the rest of the film . \\nvan sant has made a boring film . \\nall the camera tricks that hitchcock so eloquently used in 1960 aren\\'t as eye-catching now . \\nwhat passed for brilliance then has been copied so many times by so many directors that they don\\'t impress or excite . \\nvan sant , in what i assume is a grasp at originality , decided to put some stream-of-consciousness images into a few famous scenes ( was that a lamb in the middle of the road ? ) \\nthese images , included with some questionable editing choices , took away from the scenes themselves and caused , at first , bewilderment and , later , laughter . \\ndefinitely not hitchcock\\'s intention ! \\nat least danny elfman had the good sense to not mess with bernard herrmann\\'s original famous and terrific score . \\nif a film like \" psycho \" does not frighten , then what\\'s the point . \\naside from norman , the characters are thinly drawn people who leave no connection with the audience . \\nthere are things van sant and company could have done to at least make their recreation interesting . \\nin the end , however , the new \" psycho \" is a noble attempt , but , alas , a dismal failure . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"adam sandler vehicles are never anything special , but continue to make a load of money . \\nwhich really goes to show the sad state of cinema today . \\nwhile good comedies like rushmore , to choose a recent example , gets limited release and doesn't make a lot of money , big daddy got a huge release and has made a lot of cash . \\nit's also nothing special and doesn't deserve the money it's making . \\nbut i digress . \\nsandler plays sonny koufax , a unemployed new yorker with a seemingly low mental age . \\nhis girlfriend makes a ultimatum to him : either wise up and get responsible , or she's leaving him . \\nby a strange set of events , koufax ends up with julian ( played by twins cole and dylan sprouse ) a five year old kid . \\nafter a failed attempt to impress his girlfriend with the child , koufax decides he wants to keep the child . \\nhowever , social worker mr brooks ( mostel ) finds out that koufax isn't the real father and wants to take julian back . \\nkoufax along with his new girlfriend layla ( lauren adams ) fight to keep the child . \\nbig daddy really isn't that good . \\nmany of the jokes revolve around toilet humour , and supposedly we are meant to find julian and sonny peeing against a wall to be funny . \\nthere's the occasional good one liner , but these are usually strangely delivered wrong and lose most of the humour . \\nthe film , after all these silly gags , then suddenly turns sentimental , and this is where big daddy really goes from bad to hideous . \\nthe court scene at the end of the film is useless and unbelievable , and not helped by the soppy overacting . \\nit's a poor attempt to win over the audience . \\nadam sandler basically plays the same role he has in his last few films ( except the wedding singer . ) \\njoey lauren adams is much , much better , and deserves a far better film than this trash . \\nsteve buscemi pops up in a funny cameo , and his scenes are pretty funny . \\nrob schneider is also funny as a crazy delivery man . \\nthe two twins who play julian are o . k , they start out rather well , but then becoming annoying and brattish halfway through and finally turn 'all american' wholesome goodness at the end of the film , where the tear juice is turned up high . \\nbig daddy is really nothing special , and is not even worth it for a few chuckles . \\nalthough it is actually well put together , with nice direction , good production design and even some montages , this professionalism can't help the fact that the script and characters are trash . \\nbig daddy is for die hard fans of sandler , and that's about it . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'if chris farley had strapped some fake mutton-chop sideburns to each side of his head , spoken with a thick irish accent , and tried his damnedest to play it straight , he wouldn\\'t have been nearly as funny as brendan gleeson in \" i went down . \" \\ngleeson , who\\'s not dissimilar to the late \" saturday night live \" alumnus in terms of physical attributes , plays a character named bunny kelly in this delightful irish film . \\nbunny is sent to county cork to \" retrieve \" one frank grogan for an irish gangster called tom french ( well dressed like all good gangsters should be and menacingly portrayed by tony doyle ) . \\nbunny is to accompany git hynes ( peter mcdonald ) , recently released from prison and obligated to tom for disfiguring one of his cronies . \\nthat tom french is a mean bollocks . \\nhe wants frank back . \\nand a small matter of some ? 25 , 000 that tom\\'s wife was supposed to have given to frank . \\nfor this he won\\'t break anyone\\'s thumbs . \\nmaybe . \\ninventively and engagingly written by conor mcpherson and directed by paddy breathnach , \" i went down \" follows the trials and tribulations of git and bunny as they knock around peat bogs , dimly-lit pubs , and seedy hostelries trying to stay alive and out of trouble . \\nmcdonald is a newcomer and a promising one at that , but gleeson has been in over a dozen movies , most recently as father bubbles in another film with a very irish accent on hilarity , \" the butcher boy . \" \\neven if you can\\'t comprehend half of what they\\'re saying , gleeson and mcdonald together make \" i went down \" a trip worth taking . \\nthe film is in many ways reminiscent of another \" little \" independent feature , 1991\\'s \" highway 61 . \" \\nthat film , too , was a road movie and it shares the same kind of wry dialogue and humorous situations as mcpherson\\'s tale : whimsical observations on life , carefully-crafted vignettes , deadpan conversational asides , and scenes that\\'ll make you laugh out loud . \\nwitness the episode in which our good-natured protagonists bind frank ( played by peter caffrey ) to a hotel bed , leaving him with only the tv remote for company . \\nthat sequence alone is on a par with satan locking himself out of his car in \" highway 61 . \" \\nwhat\\'s also charming about \" i went down \" is how the relationship between buddy and git develops . \\ntheir trip becomes an education for both of them , but the way it\\'s handled is neither sappy nor labored . \\nthe only thing in the film which approaches clunkiness is the culminating explanation , via flashbacks , of the relationship between frank and tom . \\nit\\'s a little too hollywood , and what makes \" i went down \" so refreshing is the fact that it rarely panders to traditional conventions of hollywood gangster movies . \\nsure it\\'s gritty--make that grubby--but it\\'s also pretty goofy . \\nalthough \" i went down \" emphasizes the comedic elements of dis-organized crime , there are a couple of fairly brutal scenes in keeping with the subject matter . \\ndon\\'t let these deter you , though ; \" i went down \" is a little gem . \\nit\\'s only playing at one philadelphia-area theater--and i suspect it won\\'t be there for long--so catch it while you can . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : the much anticipated re-adaptation of the pierre boulle novel comes to the screen as a dark and a little dreary film with lots of chases and fighting , but very little intelligence . \\nvisually there is much to like about this version , but the approach is to take an adventure after the style of gulliver\\'s travels and treat it as an action film . \\nthat makes it a film without much center . \\n , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) \\npierre boulle , author of the bridge on the river kwai , wrote planet of the apes ( a . k . a . monkey planet ) , the novel , as a social satire . \\nit reads a lot like a fifth book of gulliver\\'s travels . \\nhumans discover a planet in which the roles of apes and humans have been reversed , not unlike the roles of horses and humans on jonathan swift\\'s island of the houyhnhnms . \\nthe novel moves somewhat slowly to create some suspense in revealing all the things most film fans know to be true about the nature of the planet . \\nit seems to me there is also a statement about human cruelty to animals , but perhaps i was just looking for that . \\nwhen rod serling adapted the novel into a film released in 1968 , he added a number of serling touches , familiar from episodes of the twilight zone and changed the ending to make it more serling-ish . \\nthe final irony of the original version has become film history . \\nwithout it there could never have been a \" planet of the apes \" film series . \\ni can surmise only that serling ran into serious script problems in how to handle the tricky question of language . \\nin the book the apes had their own language and the human eventually learned that language . \\nthat could have been done in the film , but that would have required the entire film to be subtitled for the non-ape-speaking . \\nserling avoided this by having the apes speak english and , of course , there is some justification for that by the end of the film . \\njustifying why the apes spoke english may have even been the inspiration for his surprise ending . \\nbut serling never tackles the all-important question of why a supposedly intelligent human never shows any curiosity or even surprise that the apes speak his own language , a language they had no opportunity to ever hear . \\nfew viewers questioned this serious plot hole , however , and the film has become well respected in cinema history . \\npartial credit at least should go to jerry goldsmith whose extremely inventive score is one of goldsmith\\'s best if not his best . \\nwhen the film\\'s success called for sequels , the filmmakers turned up the violence and they added well-intentioned , though not very subtle , political messages about what was happening in the united states of the 1960s and 1970s . \\nwhile the first film had a little shooting of guns and what was there seemed a little half- hearted , by the second film , beneath the planet of the apes , there was a good deal more violence and from that point on the series had a lot of violence and chases . \\nthe series concluded with battle for the planet of the apes in 1973 . \\nnow director tim burton tries his hand at adapting the original book again . \\nfor those who thought that the 1968 version was not very faithful to the book , burton\\'s new version is even less faithful . \\nfirst , he does not really reverse the roles of the humans and the apes . \\nhe has them both be intelligent , articulate races battling for a dominance of the planet currently in the hands , uh , make that paws , of the apes . \\nthat could be a good story too , but it is not planet of the apes . \\nas with the mission impossible films and so many other cinematic homages to the third quarter of the last century , the title makes promises that the filmmakers have no intention of honoring . \\nin 2029 leo davidson ( mark wahlberg , not this world\\'s most expressive actor ) works on a space station increasing the intelligence and usefulness of apes . \\nthen a convenient time storm sweeps him up wizard-of-oz-fashion and drops him on an alien planet . \\n ( yes , he survives this storm , but then no storm is perfect . ) \\nhe quickly finds , not greatly to any surprise he shows , that on this planet apes rule and humans drool , but everybody talks . \\nand the language they talk is earth- english . \\napparently it does not even occur to leo that there is a mystery that needs to be explained about that . \\nthe fact it does not occur to leo and apparently didn\\'t occur to tim burton either is the heart of the real horror of this film . \\nboth just assumed that if apes were going to talk the language they would speak would be english . \\nin any case having one talking race dominating another makes this not a look at human-animal relationships and more one of the master-slave relationships . \\noutside of sudan and a few other countries this is a less relevant topic . \\nleo is captured to be used as a slave but also is discovered by ari , played by helena bonham carter . \\nari is an attractive ape with close ties to high political power . \\nshe is bent on making the world a better place . \\nperhaps in a previous draft of the script she was called hil-ari . \\nin any case with makeup that stifles her usual pout , carter is just about as attractive as she has ever been in a film . \\nshe may want to consider this to become her standard look from this point forward . \\nit is not long before leo escapes with some human and only a couple of sympathetic apes . \\nthis is a further abandonment of the source material . \\nthe chase severely limits the interplay of ape and human and the examination of each\\'s place in this reversed society , each important in the book . \\nwe cannot see how the society works because most of the screentime society has broken down . \\nwe see the humans either separated from the apes or fighting them . \\nburton chooses visceral thrills over cerebral ones at almost every turn . \\nthis is a miscalculation , as characters so lacking in empathy value are difficult ones to place much emotional investment in . \\nthey are basically chess pieces and the viewer has little reason to root for them to win . \\nthe 1968 script had little subtlety , with lines like \" i never met an ape i didn\\'t like , \" but at least we cared for what happened to taylor , the main character . \\nmost of what this film has to offer is in the visuals . \\nthe visual work is spotty but generally nicely done except that so much of the film takes place in the night or in fog . \\nthis tends to limit close looks at the makeup . \\nin general it seems much improved from 1968 . \\nthe makeup team is led by rick baker instead of john chambers , who did it for the 1968 version . \\nin 1968 chambers makeup was a jaw-dropper . \\nit was realistic enough to almost be believable but flexible enough to show emotion . \\nchambers is good , but if anyone had a chance to best him it would have to be baker . \\ntoday audiences have higher expectations ; baker\\'s visualization is really an improvement . \\nthese visuals work nicely . \\nwhat does not work is the wire- assisted leaps some of the apes make . \\nthey look like they were inspired by the physics- defying leaps of crouching tiger , hidden dragon . \\napes spring incredible distances . \\nsome of the best scenes are apes running into battle looking like they have ape posture , but when they start flying through the air the effect is lost . \\none final visual problem is that the film frequently shows its budget in what should be spectacular battle scenes the camera shows us only a small group of people close-up . \\nsince the days of lon chaney and boris karloff few actors have crossed over to stardom in a role that required heavy make-up . \\nthe one actor who has a shot is paul giamatti . \\nit is not that his lines are so good , most are silly jokes . \\nbut he delivers them very well . \\nhe was always a watchable actor , but has not yet made stardom . \\nas the ape-trader limbo he over-emotes to overcome his ape make-up , but does it very well . \\nin doing so he makes himself the most interesting thing on the screen . \\nhe is probably the best thing in the film and conjures up memories of peter ustinov\\'s performance in spartacus . \\nas an in-joke there are several lines in the script borrowed from the 1968 film and an old ape played by charleton heston becomes an allusion to the first film by itself . \\ndanny elfman\\'s score has a nice primitive feel , but jerry goldsmith\\'s 1968 tour de force score is a real classic . \\nthat score and the whole film will be remembered when the 2001 film is forgotten . \\ni rate the remake 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ladies and gentlemen , 1997\\'s independence day is here ! \\nit\\'s title : starship troopers . \\nand surprisingly , it is more entertaining than id4 . \\ni realize that i gave last year\\'s sci-fi hit a 4 star rating , but i was under the spell of the powerful first hour . \\nafter subsequent viewings , i feel that independence day really wasn\\'t as great as it seemed--though i still give it a positive review . \\nstarship troopers , on the other hand , has a mocking sense of humor , knowing perfectly well how ridiculous it may seem . \\nas a result , starship troopers is a more exciting , energetic , and lively science fiction film . \\nin fact , i probably could never get tired of watching this film . \\nstarship troopers is very reminiscient of star wars , another kick-ass space opera which reinvented the sci-fi drama altogether . \\nwhile starship troopers is no star wars , it comes quite close , and the easiest assessment would be to call this film : \" the \\'star wars\\' of the 90s . \" \\nam i being to generous to this film ? \\nperhaps , but when a science fiction film comes along that can mix humor and romance , effectively , into the warring races . \\nin essence , this is the science fiction equivolence of pulp fiction . \\nthe easiest way to write a review of this film would be to compare it to other science fiction films , and i may have to . \\nstarship troopers is not quite an original film persay , but director paul verhoeven gives the film a \" kick-the-aliens\\'-asses \" style . \\nid4 had this same style , except it was forced , most likely the cause of will smith having a major role . \\nthis new \" star wars \" has a very simple , basic plot : mankind vs . an alien species . \\nthe alien species in question here is the bugs , a seemingly advanced civilization of arachnid-type insects . \\nhowever , the underlying morals of starship troopers are fleshed out with deadly accuracy . \\nsometimes the morals are buried by the bloody violence and intense action scenes , but during quiet moments , we realize that starship troopers has something to tell us about our civilization . \\nmore than likely , these morals will be overpowered and quickly forgotten by the time the movie ends . \\nand they should be . \\ni doubt verhoeven intended this film to be a thought-provoking film . \\nthis is an \" event \" film , but surprisingly above average . \\nit is extremely refreshing to watch a sci-fi war film , and actually root for the human side ( something independence day never achieved ) . \\nstarship troopers begins with a satirical portrayal of those strange \" join the army \" ads . \\nmixing a web-based interface , these summations of events are refreshingly original . \\nstating , \" would you like to know more ? \" , \\nthese short news bulletins give the film an immediate sense of humor , and we know we should not take it seriously . \\nhowever , we also witness the murder of several troopers in battle , in a gory , yet funny , way . \\nafter witnessing the slaughter , the film jumps back one year , to setup what we just saw . \\nwe are introduced to johnny rico ( casper van dien ) and carmen ibanez ( denise richards ) . \\nrico flirts with carmen by sending her messages over computer terminals in school classrooms . \\nhowever , carmen isn\\'t as interested in rico as she is in becoming a pilot . \\nhowever , another classmate , dizzy flores ( dina meyer ) , has her eye on rico . \\nunfortunately , rico isn\\'t interested in dizzy . \\nthis setup is rather cliched , as is the result of the setup , but it still is fun to watch . \\ncarmen signs up to become a starship trooper , and as a result , rico signs up . \\nand as a result , dizzy signs up . \\neveryone is assigned a certain position in the academy : carmen gets the pilot position she wanted , carl jenkins ( neil patrick harris ) , a psychic , gets a position in the training program , and rico is left in the lowest class of the starship troopers : the mobile infantry . \\nthe main story follows rico through his trials and relationships . \\nin reality , i found myself watching a space version of \" melrose place , \" but with better special effects . \\nan hour into the film , the war begins . \\na sense of tension grew in the audience i watched this film with . \\nthe first hour may have been a funny ( sometimes unintentionally ) setup , but we grew to care for the flat characters , because no matter how hard i tried not to like the characters , their gorgeous looks won me over ( call me superficial , if you must ) . \\nfollowing the training sessions , which had many dramas in themselves ( too many to mention here ) , the troopers are sent to war . \\nthe bugs live on the planet klendathu , a planet which consists of dirt and rock , and pretty much nothing else . \\nmany dramas occur during the war , until finally the troopers realize that their is something behind the bugs\\' attacks . \\na sort of intelligence which masterminds the defense . \\nthe troopers are ordered to locate the \" brain \" and capture it . \\ni hopefully left the plot as vague as possible , because starship troopers is not about plot . \\nit\\'s about special effects and gory violence . \\ndirector verhoeven , most known for his nudie film showgirls and basic instinct , returns to his sci-fi days , which gave us good films like total recall . \\nverhoeven likes to push the envelope of the mpaa , but despite all the violence , the comic book feel gives the film a sense of falsehood . \\nstarship troopers is extremely violent , with more gore than this year\\'s event horizon . \\nthe r rating is well deserved , and hopefully parents will not allow their 12 year old children to see it . \\nmy guess is that verhoeven\\'s target audience is the 18 to 25 male group . \\nthe film has a testosterone level off the charts , with chiseled men and beautiful women . \\ndespite these superficial elements , starship troopers also creates a world which made star wars so successful . \\nwhile watching the film , we never second guess the character\\'s decisions because they seem perfectly clear . \\nthankfully , no hero is punching aliens in the face , which gives the flat characters some depth for which we can identify with . \\nthe cast of starship troopers is quite annoying to begin with , but they soon grow on you . \\ncasper van dien has the chiseled facial features and tan skin which will make most girls swoon . \\nto most guys , he will come across as artificial . \\nfortunately , van dien is the worst of the cast , despite how hard he tries to come off as a real character . \\ndina meyer does a much better job of fleshing out her character . \\nher dizzy is extremely likeable . \\ndenise richards also does a good job , and her scenes are very well done . \\njake busey , gary busey\\'s son , gives a wonderfully funny performance , and provides one of the biggest laughs of the film . \\nneil patrick harris ( remember , he was doogie howser ) is a little wooden , and slightly out of place with the rest of the cast . \\nhowever , he does give a good performance . \\nmichael ironside gives the best performance of the film as the teacher with one arm . \\nhis performance rises above the rest . \\nperhaps it is because his character is the most developed , but i think it is just ironside\\'s presence on screen . \\nunfortunately , no particular cast member gives a star-making performance , which is too bad because the material here could have made many of the cast members stars . \\ndirector verhoeven is the main star of the film . \\nhis direction is fast and unrelentless . \\nhe never slows down his pace , which makes for a wild ride . \\nwriter edward neumeier adapted the screenplay from the book by robert heinlein . \\nthe writing is usually very funny , and sometimes very corny . \\nthe dialogue is smart but not too smart . \\nwe aren\\'t required to know everything , but some plot holes are left unanswered . \\nthankfully we are not intended to notice , and we really don\\'t ( except for one which lingered in my mind for quite a while ) . \\namazingly , with all the wars and romance going on , the screenplay manages to include some surprising governmental issues . \\nin fact , these governmental changes seem fairly plausible , and this adds another layer to the story . \\nthe moral debate of the characters is quite surprising to find in a film of this genre , but what is even more surprising is the amount of humor included into all the carnage . \\ni haven\\'t laughed this loud , even in some comedies . \\noh , and the special effects are first rate . \\nstarship troopers is rated r for graphic sci-fi violence and gore , and for some language and nudity . \\nbelieve me when i say this : don\\'t take young kids to see this film . \\nit is extremely violent . \\nin fact , it is probably the most violent film out this year . \\nhowever , if you are old enough ( over 17 ) to see it , starship troopers is guaranteed to entertain . \\nit\\'s been a long time since i have cheered for the heros , while also cheering for the bad guys . \\nand still , it is my dream to see a sci-fi film in which the alien race destroys mankind , and take over the world . \\nnow that would be entertaining ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m an avid fan of the \" alien \" saga , so this review is obviously a tad biased ( at least i admitted it ) . \\nof course , that doesn\\'t mean that i\\'m gonna be giving this a four-star review or something , because \" alien : resurrection , \" the fourth film in the cool-as-hell series is not an absolutely amazing film , much like the first two were . \\nhowever , it\\'s a very good film which never fails to entertain , and consists of yet another mutation in the style of the series . \\nin short , i had a good time . \\n \" alien : resurrection \" leaves off 200 years after the last one , where our heroine protagonist , ellen ripley ( sigourney weaver ) , the science fiction genre\\'s answer to job , had killed herself after discovering that an alien was inside her body , waiting to pop out like it did to john hurt in the first one . \\nof course , the last one wasn\\'t very great or anything ( i liked it , though not as much as the first two ) , and more importantly , it wasn\\'t financially successful ( a tawdry 55 million bucks ! ) . \\nso back we are , with ripley back as a clone , which means we get another little satirical look at cloning ( not that that\\'s a bad thing , but it\\'s becoming a cliche ) . \\nso she\\'s cloned aboard an even more futuristic-looking ship called \" the auriga \" by some doctors ( including the necessary bad government guy , dr . wren , played by j . e . freeman , as well as the little-seen dr . gediman , played by none other than brad douriff ) , mainly because they have a version of her with the alien still inside her . \\nonce you get past the fact that you can\\'t figure out where they got her blood ( although i think it might have been from the blood samples taken by charles dance in the third one ) , the film\\'s okay . \\nalso on board are a band of mercenary pirates , including michael wincott , ron perlman , kim flowers , raymond cruz , dominique pinon ( a jeunet sytable ) and . . . winona ryder , who plays analee call , who turns out to have a bit of a secret ( i won\\'t state it , but unless you\\'ve been shacking up with salinger for the past two years , you probably know all about it - although it\\'s nicely covered up ) . \\nthere\\'s a bit of a non-sexual-yet-slightly-homoerotic relationship between her and ripley , but it\\'s never really deepened enough . \\noh well . \\nwell , as you might have guessed , the alien and its spawn escape and run around the ship . \\nand it pretty much does away with most of the people on the ship ( including some shocks - dan hedaya , for instance , who\\'s death is comical yet sad since , well , he\\'s dan hedaya ) , and the remaining people ( about 7 or 8 ) are left to try and escape and stop the aliens from doing any major harm since the ship is heading quickly towards earth . \\nof course , the plot is all balderdash , and just an excuse for some good old \" alien \" -brand fun . \\nthe real focus of the series seems to be on style , not really substance ( although there\\'s always a bit of it , most notably in \" aliens \" with the relationship between ripley and the little girl ) . \\nwhat\\'s interesting about the series is that each film is stylistically different in its approach . \\n \" alien \" is a claustrophobic exercise in quiet frights . \\n \" aliens \" is a wild , tense thriller . \\n \" alien 3 \" is a bleak , moody piece of semi-noir . \\n \" alien 4 \" is kind of like an off-beat french film , filled with lots of humor , and cool scares . \\njean-pierre jeunet ( without his usual directing partner , marc caro ) creates a ship filled with the kind of scares films like \" das boot \" has , with echoes hinting at a possible threat . \\nthe chills in the film are really cool , especially with the music , which is sometimes turned down completely for certain scenes ( there\\'s the most tense surgery scene since \" face/off \" towards the beginning ) . \\nand not every chill turns into a bloody mess or anything like that . \\nthis all combined with some good old humor makes this as interesting visually and stylistically as the others . \\nthere are even a couple scenes which just stick out afterwards as being brilliantly executed . \\none is the aforementioned surgery scene . \\nanother one takes place between call and ripley , which is just awesome . \\nthe underwater chase scene and the ladder scene afterwards is one of the most tense , thrilling , and jaw-dropping scenes in the entire saga ( with a small allusion to jeunet\\'s earlier film , \" delicatessen \" ) . \\nand the way they do in the final alien is hysterically cool ( with a lovely allusion to \" goldfinger \" ) . \\nbut the best scene in the entire film ( i\\'m sure i\\'m not the first to mention it ) takes place when ripley sees all the variations on her as they cloned her ( she has a an \" 8 \" tatooed on her arm ) . \\nit might be the most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire saga . \\nthe screenplay by joss whedon is not a great piece of work , as it never really deapens a lot of the characters . \\nhowever , it does make us care about most of them , so that when there\\'s very little of them , and it looks like one or more of them may become alien chow , we are pretty scared . \\nand , yeah , there are some very funny lines ( ripley : \" who do i have to fuck to get off this boat ? ! \" \\njohner : \" well , i can get you off . \\nbut not this ship . \" ) \\nthe acting is good all around , with stand-out performances from ron perlman as the male chauvenist pig johner , and leland orser ( the poor bastad in \" se7en \" who performed the \" lust \" sin ) as an anxiety-ridden wannabe woody allen who has an alien inside him . \\nwinona ryder is good , but not amazing like she usually is ( although she meshes well with the film ) . \\nof course , and as usual , sigourney weaver steals the show . \\nplaying a variation on the ripley character ( less emotional , and more rude and bitter ) , she pulls it off while still being utterly lovable . \\nshe\\'s not going to get an oscar nomination like she did for \" aliens , \" but she\\'s just awesome . \\noverall , it\\'s a thrilling , entertaining film which doesn\\'t really amaze like the first two , but is much more amazing than the third installment . \\nthe style is the best part of the film , which isn\\'t really a bad thing , but it being the best part takes away from a lot of the depth the film occasionally tries to apply . \\nbut it\\'s entertaining as hell , and it\\'s definitely fit for the \" alien \" series . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"eddie murphy has had his share of ups and downs during his career . \\nknown for his notorious late 80's slump , murphy has still managed to bounce back with a handful of hits in the past few years . \\nwith the exception of the dreadful holy man , he appears to be on pace for a full-fledged comeback . \\nlife was a great move on the part of murphy and co-star martin lawrence , because it's a great showcase for both actors that never resorts to slap-sticky drivel . \\ndirector ted demme is smart enough to realize that the two comedians can generate enough genuine laughs on their own , and doesn't insert a distracting plot to back them up . \\nlife is , in a sense , one great balancing act with murphy on one end and lawrence on the other . \\namazingly , the scale never tips in either's favor due to the marvelous chemistry and wonderful contrast that each actor allows the other . \\nas the movie opens , we're introduced to ray gibson ( eddie murphy ) , a two-timing pickpocket who schmoozes his way into a club . \\nthere he meets a successful businessman named claude banks ( martin lawrence ) . \\nsomehow , after multiple contrivances , the mismatched pair find themselves on their way to mississippi on a moonshine run . \\nwhen all is said and done , ray and claude have been framed for a murder that was actually committed by the town sheriff . \\nhence the setting of life : mississippi state prison , where the main characters come to realize their unlikely friendship is important , and become set on finding an fool-proof escape plan . \\nthe film takes us from the 30's all the way to the 90's , presenting a difficult task in showing how the aging process affects ray and claude . \\nluckily , rick baker handles the makeup effects of the two actors in a fantastic , academy award caliber manner . \\nnot only do we believe the characters look as if they're 90 years old , but they sound like it , too . \\nmurphy and lawrence are completely convincing in the lead roles , even as crotchety old cons bickering over a game of cards . \\nthis is just one of the pleasant surprises that the film has tucked up it's sleeve . \\nwhile the ads are marketing life as a straight arrow comedy , there is a hefty amount of dramatic material hidden at it's core . \\nbut the comedic aspects work wonderfully , wisely drawing strength from the talents of the two stars . \\nthe movie is more of a comedy than it is a drama , but in both senses , it's an overwhelming delight . \\ni could say a few bad things about the movie , but i don't want to . \\nit's such a nice surprise , such a great vehicle for eddie murphy and martin lawrence , that it warrants a huge smile as the credits begin to roll . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'at times , you\\'d think edtv would be an entertaining film . \\ni mean , who can resist the story of your average joe becomming a celebrity by having his life filmed every minute of every day ? \\nbut this average joe , ed perkuny , ( matthew mcconaughay ) , is a sappy , lifeless creation that wanders around , trying to solve everyone\\'s problems and settle his own . \\nmcconaughay is awful , especially because he is trying to pull off his usual hollywood charm with a 3 week beard and torn jeans . \\nfrankly , he had more charm in the devestating flop the newton boys . \\nhe overacts in every way : his overexaggerant body language , obsession with kissing women every second he gets the chance , and that cliched scene where he loses someone in his life , and drops to his knee and cries . \\nthe rest of the cast is very good ; especially martin landau ( as ed\\'s step-father ) , who plays a cute role as the close-to-death old guy that makes all the witty comments . \\njenna elfman is good , ( but a little overemotional ) ; her main problem is that she keeps getting sucked into bad films , i . e . \\ncan\\'t hardly wait , and krippendorf\\'s tribe . \\nwoody harrelson , as ed\\'s brother ray , does his usual egg-headed role , with his comic wit as well ( he wrote a book entitled , \" my brother pissed on me . \" ) \\nelizabeth hurley is perfectly cast as the easy slut , and dennis hopper , in a quick cameo as ed\\'s biological father , is a nice choice ( ironically coming after the role he turned down as christof in the truman show ) . \\nellen degeneres stood out as the executive who , after awhile , decides the show must not go on much to the opposite of the head exec , rob reiner\\'s opinion . \\ni hate to compare this film to the truman show , but the fact is , i was ashamed to see this movie . \\nit felt that i had dropped from college to kindergarten after seeing truman and ed . \\nedtv had no real wit or genius ; it was typical hollywood . \\nextracting the tv part of the movie , you have the simple plotline : man steals brother\\'s girlfriend , girlfriend leaves town , man gets new slut girlfriend to feel like he can move on , slut breaks up with him , real girlfriend comes back , and voila , you have a romance . \\ni got so restless during this movie , i almost walked out . \\nthe only reason it doesn\\'t drop below a \" c \" grade is because of the fine supporting performances . \\nad2am \" i almost lost my nose . . . and \\ni like it . \\ni like breathing through it . \" \\n-jack nicholson , chinatown \\n',\n",
+       "  b'set in the late 80\\'s at the height of yuppie excess and based on the book by bret easton ellis ( who explored the same themes in another book which was also made into a movie , less than zero ) , american psycho puts a new spin on the yuppie \" genre \" that ellis helped to create . \\nchristian bale is perfectly cast as patrick bateman , a high powered yuppie who hides a terrible secret from his fianc ? e and his colleagues . \\nit seems that bateman is a serial killer and , unfortunately for his contemporaries , his tenuous grasp on reality is starting to slip . \\nas he tries to balance his meticulous daily routines with slaughtering co-workers and prostitutes and hiding their bodies , his mental fabric slowly begins to unravel . \\ni was first introduced to the novel when i was still in high school . \\ni read an associated press article in our local sunday newspaper detailing the problems ellis was having getting his novel published due to the controversial violence in it . \\nas usual when anything is controversial i try to seek it out , but i soon forgot about the novel and didn\\'t end up thinking about it again until i stumbled across it a couple of years later at a bookstore . \\ni picked it up and read it , but was ultimately disappointed because it left more questions than answers . \\nthe movie has a similar effect , but at least it\\'s less cryptic than ellis\\' novel . \\nfor once , a film has actually turned out to be better than the novel it was based on . \\nboth the book and the film open with bateman describing his fastidious morning preparations ( down to exactly what facial scrubs and exfoliating creams he uses ) but the novel seems to concentrate more on these excesses throughout . \\nthe movie continues to touch upon these things but makes more of a point to immerse us in bateman\\'s impending madness than to detail things as painstakingly as the novel does . \\nas a result , the film is immensely more entertaining . \\nlions gate seems to be the studio champion of controversial films ( having picked up kevin smith\\'s catholic-rattling dogma ) and here with american psycho there is no difference . \\nscreenwriters mary harron and guinevere turner had the unenviable task of trying to take a novel about yuppies filled with graphic violence and sex and make a marketable film out of it . \\nsome cuts had to be made to the finished film to keep from getting an nc-17 , mainly involving a sex scene comprising bateman and two women , and initial reports said the film was unwatchable . \\nthankfully , it is watchable and harron and turner have made one of the most scathingly satirical films this side of south park : bigger , longer & uncut . \\nside note #1 : co-writer guinevere turner also makes an appearance in the film as an ill-fated acquaintance of bateman\\'s who , after bateman suggests that she start making out with a female prostitute , proclaims that she\\'s not a lesbian nor has any interest in it . \\nthe ironic humor of the scene stems from the fact that turner ( the writer/director of the film go fish and who also assisted kevin smith with parts of his script for chasing amy ) is a lesbian . \\nit\\'s a subtle in-joke and it\\'s one i found to be pretty humorous . \\ndespite having a rather high profile supporting cast of young up-and-comers ( including reese witherspoon ) , most of the roles are a waste and are the equivalent of extended billed cameos . \\nthe real draw here is christian bale and his over-the-top performance as patrick bateman . \\nwhenever i read a novel i always try to imagine what it would be like as a movie and who would be perfect to cast as the characters . \\ni always had a hard time trying to decide who i would cast as bateman , but i never thought bale would deliver a performance as perfect as his ends up being . \\nto say bale runs away with the character is a vast understatement and he proves that he\\'s as adept at chewing scenery as al pacino or rod steiger . \\none sequence in particular , involving bateman describing his love for huey lewis and the news\\' song \" hip to be square \" right before burying an axe in a co-worker\\'s head , features one of the most eccentric and kinetic performances i have ever seen on film . \\nside note #2 : despite the fact that huey lewis\\' \" hip to be square \" and a pair of phil collins songs appear in the film , don\\'t expect to see them on the soundtrack release . \\nhuey lewis expressly requested that his song , featured in a rather large set piece in the film ( much akin to the use of \" stuck in the middle with you \" in reservoir dogs ) , not be included on any soundtrack release . \\ni\\'m assuming that collins requested the same . \\non a similar note , whitney houston\\'s cover of \" the greatest love of all \" is also involved in a scene comparable to the other two and it is very obvious that it isn\\'t the houston version at all but merely an instrumental version culled from an unknown source . \\napparently , houston wasn\\'t as open about the use of her song as the others were . \\na bigger controversy than the violence and sex has been brewing since the film\\'s release : that of whether or not patrick has actually committed the crimes we have viewed during the course of the film . \\ndon\\'t look to the book for any answers because it will only serve to confuse you more . \\nseveral web sites have been dedicated to the subject but i\\'m still undecided . \\nthere is evidence both for and against but the most scathing evidence against comes from a scene near the end of the film where bateman goes on a killing spree taking out cops , old ladies , and cleaning staff with equal gusto . \\nthe scene seemed very dream-like and as absurd as the action films it suddenly seems to be parodying ( as an example , bateman blows up a police car very cinematically after firing several shots from a handgun in the general direction of the car ) . \\ni kept waiting for bateman to wake up and for the film to continue on from there , but bateman never does wake up and the whole sequence , though comic , throws the film off-balance ( which i suppose was the intention ) . \\nother than the few flaws i have mentioned , american psycho is an incredibly entertaining film ( although you may not leave the movie fully understanding whether or not what has just transpired actually occurred in bateman\\'s reality ) . \\ni think this movie is destined for greatness as a cult film and deserves the spot it will take as such . \\nit may not change anyone\\'s life , but it will certainly have an effect . \\ni know i will certainly hear \" hip to be square \" in a different context the next time i hear it . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'do you want to know the truth about cats and dogs ? \\ndo you ? \\nwell , as this movie shows us , they make good companions but pale in comparison to the joy and fulfillment romantic relationships can bring . \\nunfortunately , there\\'s a giant roadblock set up in our culture that only certain people can get through while the rest of us mill around outside , feeling sorry for ourselves . \\na checkpoint beautiful kind of thing , and janeane garafolo\\'s character abby relates to it well . \\nlike a certain oversized teenage movie critic , she is intelligent and has a great sense of humor but strikes out with the opposite sex because she sees herself as physically unattractive , and the men seem to be backing her up on that . \\nmeanwhile , her gorgeous neighbor nora ( uma thurman . . . \\numa being the only woman\\'s name worse than nora ) attracts men like flies . \\nas abby tells her , \" you burp and they think it\\'s cute . \\nyou barf and they line up to hold your hair back . \" \\nbut nora\\'s down on herself for being too shallow and superficial . \\nwe all have our prwhen a man calls in to veterinarian abby\\'s talk radio show wanting to know how to get the roller skates off his basset hound . \\n ( oh come on , any idiot knows how to handle that problem ! ) \\nhe likes her personality and professional demeanor and asks to meet her in person . \\nabby , though , knows her body doesn\\'t match her personality and that she probably won\\'t have a chance with him once he sees her . \\nso she gives him nora\\'s body description and stands him up . \\nnora happens to be in the studio the next day when the dog man comes by and abby asks her for a big favor . \\nshe goes along with the masquerade and the three of them head out for a night of fun , abby assuming the role of a goat cheese farmer named donna . \\nthe dog man finds out even though this girl is beautiful , she\\'s not quite as intellectual or confident about herself in person , but he doesn\\'t suspect anything , realizing he\\'s not living in a \" three\\'s company \" episode . \\nthe charade continues , with abby furthering the relationship over the phone ( including a decidedly unnecessary phone sex/masturbation sequence ) and nora furthering it in person , while eventually finding herself attracted to the dog man . \\nlike sleepless in seattle , this comedy/romance is predictable all the way through , but we care enough about the characters that we root them on and will the romance to blossom . \\nthe truth about cats and dogs isn\\'t quite as entertaining as i was expecting it to be , but it handles well a theme i could identify with . \\nthe thing is , i find janeane garafolo rather attractive . \\nshe\\'s no uma but i\\'m sure in real life she\\'d have no problems attracting men . \\ni , on the other hand , couldn\\'t attract a man to save my life . . . \\nand am rather proud of that fact . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"lean , mean , escapist thrillers are a tough product to come by . \\nmost are unnecessarily complicated , and others have no sense of expediency -- the thrill-ride effect gets lost in the cumbersome plot . \\nperhaps the ultimate escapist thriller was the fugitive , which featured none of the flash-bang effects of today's market but rather a bread-and-butter , textbook example of what a clever script and good direction is all about . \\nthe latest tony scott movie , enemy of the state , doesn't make it to that level . \\nit's a true nineties product that runs like greased lightning through a maze of cell phones and laptop computers , without looking back . \\nalthough director scott has made missteps in the past , such as the lame thriller the fan , he's generated a good deal of energy in pictures like crimson tide and top gun . \\nthat vibrant spirit is present here , shown in well-timed and carefully planned chase scenes that give the movie an aura of sheer speed . \\nenemy of the state also features an unprecedented use of amazing cinematography -- director of photography daniel mindel throws a staggering amount of different views , angles , lenses , and film stocks at the audience that goes a long way toward involving the audience in the movie . \\nenemy is truly a visual experience , and that's only one of the reasons it's such a fun watch . \\nthe movie lights up with an aging senator visited by nsa deputy chief thomas reynolds ( jon voight ) . \\nreynolds wants a new communications act passed to allow the government free reign in the use of surveilance equipment , but the senator plans to bury the bill in committee . \\nreynolds has the senator offed , but not before the murder is caught on a naturalist's camera . \\nby an extremist chain of events , the tape ends up in labor lawyer robert dean ( will smith ) 's posession , and it's not long before he's running from reynolds' cronies . \\nit's only with the help of an ex-spook named brill ( gene hackman ) that dean is able to get to the bottom of things . \\nthe acting is top notch , and the three principles - smith , hackman , and voight - are generally more mature and excellent all around . \\nsmith puts aside the wisecracking act and becomes a normal human being ; voight tones down the amount of sneer he puts into his character for greater ominpotence ; and hackman is simply over the top in the mysterioso role . \\nsmith's regular joe comes off particularly well , as he runs from authorties for reasons that he knows not . \\nthe supports are also in fine form , lending credibility to the main roles and advancing the plot in key areas . \\nthis is , for the holiday crowd , the hot ticket ; as well as anyone looking for a serving of genuine action in a market that is otherwise lacking . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"this talky , terribly-plotted thriller stars alec baldwin as dave robicheaux , an ex-new orleans cop who gets ensnared in a murder- mystery after a light-plane crashes into the bayou beside his fishing boat . \\nhe and his wife annie ( kelly lynch ) rescue a little salvadorian girl ( samantha lagpacan ) from the wreckage and that's when the trouble begins . \\nthe other major players include a local drug lord ( eric roberts ) , his scheming wife ( teri hatcher ) , a soused stripper ( mary stuart masterson ) , and a shady dea agent ( vondie curtis hall ) . \\neveryone knows everyone else and it makes for a collective that's curious but never compelling . \\nbased on the book by james lee burke , heaven's prisoners is so badly plotted that entire * scenes * seem to be missing . \\nearly on , we have no idea of why dave and annie keep the child to themselves . \\nnor how they eluded both the coast guard and the faa . \\nlater , dave is reunited with a drug-abuser who appears seemingly clean and sober and without any explanation . \\nhuh ? \\nthe whole movie is like this , perhaps the result of some unkind cuts that happened during the eighteen months that the film sat on the shelf . \\nwhatever the reason , somebody should tell director phil joanou ( final analysis ) to recut this mess . \\nin its present form , heaven's prisoners runs only two hours plus change , but it feels like four . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s amazing how a comedian can have the some of the funniest stand-up around but completely fall flat in the movies . \\ntake adam sandler . \\non the basis of his first two cds ( \" they\\'re all gonna laugh at you ! \" \\nand \" what the hell happened to me ? \" ) , \\nhe\\'s the best thing to hit comedy since robin williams . \\nbut when you put him in front of a camera , it just isn\\'t the same . \\ni kind of enjoyed happy gilmore and thought that it warranted a marginal recommendation , but his latest film , the waterboy is about as funny as a root canal . \\nseriously , i\\'m willing to wager than there were more laughs in saving private ryan than there are here . \\nin fact , i found this movie to be more depressing than comedic . \\nthe first half hour generated not one smile in me , with it\\'s scenes of emotional abuse towards adam\\'s character of bobby boucher not only by the cruel football players , but also by his very disturbed mother ( kathy bates - what is the world coming to ? ) . \\ngranted , after the film gets rolling , there are a few mild chuckles throughout ( i\\'m even willing to admit that it actually had me laughing once or twice ) , but not nearly enough to sustain the waterboy for it\\'s nearly hour and a half running time . \\nyou\\'re all familiar with the plot because you\\'ve seen it at least a million times before ; everyone picks on the hero until he shows a hidden talent and leads the underdog team to victory over the champions , in the process not only winning the respect of his teammates but also getting the woman he loves . \\nand believe me , i\\'m not giving anything away by saying that sandler\\'s team wins . \\nif you would actually feel any degree of suspense watching this movie , then god be with you . \\nthe only things that keep this bomb from getting the big banana are the winning performances from henry winkler as the insecure coach and the severely underrated fairuza balk as bobby\\'s love interest . \\ni mean , they should be lending their talents to some loftier purpose , but they do extremely well with what they are given here . \\nkudos to both of them . \\nmy advice to adam is to try and follow in the footsteps of veteran comedians like williams and steve martin , who made a very smooth and successful transition from stage to screen . \\nrely more on actual comedy rather than strange voices and rude noises to make people laugh . \\nor maybe even show what dramatic talent he might have , like jim carrey did with the recent truman show . \\nwith the obvious and considerable talent that he possesses , he just can\\'t keep going on like this . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'let me open this one with a confession : i love cop movies . \\ni adore them with such an unwavering , near foolish passion that i was actually one of the first in line to see 1998\\'s one tough cop starring the smirkiest of the baldwin brothers , steven . \\nwas it any good ? \\nwell , just about as good as baldwin\\'s steven seagal impression ( for those i\\'ve confused the answer is a resounding no ! ) . \\nnow let me clarify , i don\\'t love just any cop movie ; i\\'m not too keen on the smug buddy cop flicks that were so in vogue in the 80\\'s and now slowly ( gulp ) returning thanks to jackie chan and chris tucker . \\ni\\'m partial to those gritty , earthy cop dramas like serpico , donnie brasco , and the french connection . \\nproblem is these films come along just about as often as george w . bush makes a cogent point so whenever a \" true \" cop movie does hit multiplexes , i come running towards it like an eager puppy ? ? ? and inevitably i leave , head bowed , tripping over my squiggly tail . \\nso what is it about cop movies that transform me into a moron willing to shell out $7 . 50 for a movie called one tough cop ( which actually sounds a lot like a wiseguy spin-off , no ? ) ? \\ntruth is i\\'m a sucker for those barren streets , that gritty , graffiti strewn modernist jungle where dangerous criminals lurk and cops , like modern day knights , must shield us from their iniquitous clutches . \\nyes it\\'s all very corny and awfully boys clubish , which , i\\'m guessing , is precisely where these feelings come from . \\nas little tots us boys are brought up to create our own wars with gi joe\\'s , enact cops and robbers or cowboy and indian fantasies , etc . the best gritty cop films tap into those gleeful adolescent fantasies , and heighten them , turning it all into an existential nightmare of thin moral lines and psychological chaos . \\nas an adult my tastes haven\\'t changed all that drastically ; sure i can get a cerebral high from the emotional complexities of a krzysztof kieslowski film , but i still delight at the promise a \" guy \" film could potentially bring . \\nnow what if it\\'s the cops who\\'re the corrupt ones ? \\nooh that one really gets me going , these protectors using all that at their service , taking advantage of others for their own gain . \\nthrow a courtroom drama ( yech ! ) \\ninto the pot and you have the tremendously absorbing sidney lumet film prince of the city . \\nhow absorbing is prince of the city , you ask ? \\nso damn absorbing that when the film shifts from gritty undercover cop drama to courtroom drama ( a sub-genre i loath the way kristy swanson must loath sarah michelle gellar ) i remained completely and utterly involved . \\nthe film stars treat williams , who gives the kind of performance that should have skyrocketed his career up to the level that brad pitt currently resides at . \\nsince i was hatched a mere two years prior to the release of prince of the city , i cannot provide an answer as to why it didn\\'t . \\n ( though judging from his recent roles in tripe like deep rising and dead heat i would guess that it probably has something to do with quite a few bad career moves ) . \\nlike mickey rourke and eric roberts ( both of whom are currently doing time in direct to video purgatory ) williams is a talented leading man who didn\\'t make it to where he should have . \\n ( if there was any justice in this dog gone world keanu reeves would be the one banished to direct to video hell ) . \\nhere , the actor is given a role not all that dissimilar from al pacino\\'s in serpico ( also directed by lumet ) . \\nwilliams plays danny ciello , a member of an elite squad of police officers who take down drug dealers on the gritty pre-juliani streets of new york . \\nthey work without uniforms or hours much like paid vigilantes . \\nand that analogy is more than apt seeing as how the bunch are kinda sorta forced into using corrupt means to get the job done . \\nthe squad relies entirely on informants ( low level junkies ) to gain access to the big wigs , and in order to obtain the info they seek , they sometimes have to provide the junkies with the junk of their choice . \\ndanny has done this , and though he\\'s a fairly honorable guy , who took the job in order to do good , his intentions have gotten a bit skewed along the way . \\nhe seeks redemption and concludes that the best way to go about getting it is by talking to internal affairs who then convince him to go undercover as a \" double agent \" . \\nhe does so with one condition : he will not rat on his partners . \\nright away we know that that is exactly what he\\'ll have to do . \\nand watching the movie build to that is thrilling in the way that any great character driven story can be . \\nundercover cop films are almost innately exciting , even the kind that pull out all the cliches ( like in too deep ) . \\nhow can one not be moved by the issues of betrayal , ambiguity , and the danger in putting oneself in such a risky position ? \\nprince of the city takes all this and charges it with a perceptive , hard boiled script and taut unintrusive direction by old pro sidney lumet , as well as a handful of intense performances , most notably by treat . \\nlumet\\'s greatest contribution to the movie is how he lays back , and lets the camera soak up the action . \\nhis scenes transition rapidly from one to the next building layers of tension , and he rarely holds for reaction shots , instead he clicks away at precisely the moment a character stops yakking . \\nlumet\\'s worst tendency is one that many film makers ( especially oliver stone ) tend to overuse : he relies a little too heavily on actors shouting their lines at each other presumably in order to ratchet up the tension . \\nthis isn\\'t as much a problem here as it was in night falls on manhattan , lumet\\'s most recent cop \\\\ lawyer endeavor , a movie that nearly gave me an ulcer from just watching . \\nthough of late lumet has made several really awful career choices ( maybe he and treat should get together for a drink or something ) , the most recent a completely unnecessary remake of gloria , here he was on , sustaining tension in a film that runs for 167 minutes with not one dull spot . \\nsome of the formula pictures i like the best are the most simplistic . \\nhollywood often forgets how easy it is to make these kinds of pictures even tolerable . \\nof course cop movies aren\\'t popular anymore ( yes buddy cop flicks are popular but those are more like extended sitcoms with gunfire amid the punch lines ) , but just look at the average hollywood action movies , flicks so bloated and full of unnecessary fat like the boring love interest that serves no purpose other than to stall the action and demonstrate that our hero isn\\'t gay , the lame comic relief character who\\'s never funny , and on and on . \\nfor all its moral ambiguities prince of the city is a back to the basics cop \\\\ courtroom drama that leaves out all the crap and really thrills . \\nit focuses completely on its story , and its characters all of whom are completely believable from the cops to the lawyers to the junkies . \\nthere\\'s a great scene early on where an irate williams shouts at an ia officer and looks as if he\\'s about to go into one of those corny braveheart inspirational speeches , but instead he breaks down in front of the cop and begins sobbing . \\nthis is a scene that would never make it into a michael bay film ( even though bruce willis sacrifices his life at the end of armageddon , not one damn tear ) it would be cut out because the director would say oh that makes him too human , excuse me , weak . \\nin the very next scene danny speaks in a hushed raspiness , straining to get the words out . \\nhe\\'s lost his voice . \\ndoes that little itty bitty detail matter ? \\nmaybe not to most , but it sure made my night . \\nand in a sprawling epic of corruption , greed , betrayal and violence it\\'s nice to see that someone is paying attention to the little things . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'by now i figured i\\'d seen every alfred hitchcock film at least a half-dozen times -- not that i\\'m complaining . \\nto call him the \" master of suspense \" is an understatement . \\nthe paradine case ( 1947 ) , admittedly one of hitchcock\\'s lesser movies , turned out to be one i\\'d missed . \\nthis one , like all hitchcock films , is well worth savoring . \\nthe story opens with the rich mrs . maddalena anna paradine being arrested in her home for poisoning her blind husband . \\nas mrs . paradine , alida valli plays an aloof but alluring woman of the world . \\nto franz waxman\\'s stark and moody music , we see the prison guards divesting her of her luxurious garments and jewels . \\nstripped of her fine raiment , she becomes a commoner again , which , as it turns out , was what she was before she met her husband . \\n \" a brief skirmish , and you\\'ll be lunching at the savoy again , \" anthony keane , her ultraconfident attorney tells her in their first meeting , predicting a fast and easy trial . \\ngregory peck plays the successful and debonair barrister . \\n \" she\\'s no murderess , \" he argues simplistically , smitten by her beauty . \\n \" she\\'s too fine a woman . \" \\nhis attitude upsets his beautiful and increasing jealous wife , gay ( ann todd ) . \\nunlike most hitchcock movies , which are centered on the thriller and the mystery , this one is more a romantic melodrama . \\ntypical is the scene in which gay flings her head back and shakes her hair while bathed in light . \\nshe deflects her husband\\'s affections as she fears that he is beginning to fall in love with his client . \\nthe dramatic music then comes up high as the camera dwells on mrs . paradine\\'s portrait nearby . \\nin the relatively unsatisfying first half , little happens other than domestic squabbles and overtones of intense adulterous desires . \\nto the sound of sweeping violins gay tells anthony that he must get mrs . paradine acquitted because , if mrs . paradine dies , his heart will go with her . \\nif she is freed , he will be able to forget her . \\nas part of the soap opera , a mysterious louis jordan plays mr . paradine\\'s valet , who has had some not to be discussed relationships . \\ncharles coburn plays anthony\\'s legal partner , sir simon flaquer . \\nand charles laughton , who looks like coburn , is judge lord horfield . \\nthis being proper british society , they will all dine together at the judge\\'s house not long before the case begins . \\ncourt tv junkies will probably pick up the many differences , some subtle and others not , between the american and the british judicial systems . \\none , for example , of which i was not aware is that the barrister cannot speak to his own client during the recess if she is the process of testifying . \\none sometimes wonders what the academy is thinking when they make their oscar nominations . \\nas the judge\\'s wife , lady sophie horfield , ethel barrymore got a nomination for best supporting actress -- the film\\'s only nomination -- for an inconsequential part with which she did little of merit . \\n ( so the big question is when does hitchcock make his obligatory walk-on ? \\nat 37 minutes into the film , he leaves a train station carrying a large musical instrument case . \\ndon\\'t miss it . ) \\nin the second half the story finally comes alive when it gets into the courtroom . \\nthe great master shows his hand there as the tensions build as rapidly in the second part as they lay fallow in the first . \\nwatch how the camera angles are sometimes from the back and other times from way on high to set the exact tone for the trial\\'s action . \\nas anthony explains it , the simple case has only 3 possibilities : mr . paradine poisoned himself , mrs . paradine did it , or the valet did it . \\nthe end includes many devastating revelations and some nice twists so it is too bad the first half is so languid . \\nthe paradine case runs 1 : 53 . \\nthe picture is in black and white . \\nit is not rated but would be pg for mature themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up if they are interested . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'often similar to a little boy lost in a park that he had no right venturing into , the call of the oboe ( o toque do oboe ) is a disappointing film that seems to have wandered astray . \\nmany elements of the film are solid , and have potential far greater than director claudio macdowell will ever know , but they simply don\\'t convert into a solid work . \\nalthough a setting is never established , it becomes apparent . \\nthe film takes place somewhere in a latin american village in present day . \\nthe community is a dull one , where every day is a downhill slide from the last . \\nover time , the people have taken to themselves . \\nthe town cinema is closed , no tourist has passed through in years , and the daily funeral processions are accompanied by no one other than the grave digger . \\nso what happens when a \" tourist \" ( paolo betti ) does arrive one day ? \\nhe sends this routine and dull town into mayhem and shock . \\nit is revealed that he is a musician who plays the oboe as a hobby . \\nwhen he sits down in the park one day to give a solo performance , the entire community gathers around for their first bit of entertainment in countless years . \\nit is from that that the musician meets some of the villagers , and agrees to play at the local cinema in accompaniment to a silent film , thus opening the theatre for the first time in ages . \\nthe woman that talks him into this witty task is the cinema owner ( leticia vota ) who also happens to be engaged to the town\\'s police inspector , a figure who soon becomes suspicious of his fiance\\'s involvement with this musician . \\nthe rest of the plot closely resembles a freak show gone horribly astray . \\nit features a character who literally rises from his grave , a woman who has a phone conversation with god , and the aforementioned inspector who goes from an intriguing and serious character , to an almost humorous drunk . \\ntechnically , this film is a nightmare . \\nthe music score is poorly edited into the film , so it is often choppy , rough , and abrupt . \\nthe lighting is poor at best , which makes it increasingly difficult to focus on many scenes , and the english subtitles are full of misspelled words , and are often absent presumably on the assumption that the audience will be able to understand some simple portuguese and spanish phrases . \\nthis translation flaw is best highlighted at the beginning of the film when what seems to be a relevant fight is filled with dialogue , but the subtitles are limited to fewer than 25 words . \\nin addition , the pace of the film seems uneven . \\nit opens with a series of long panoramic shots that alone can test one\\'s patience . \\nthe film then moves into a faster pace , that again slows towards the end , as the director seems determined to reach the two hour mark . \\nthere was , however , potential for this film . \\nit is a piece exploring the beauty of cinema and music , and the re-unification of people . \\nthese are all topics that could easily fill a movie . \\nperhaps , if there were no freak show , and the technical aspects were to improve , there might just be a thing of beauty at the end . \\nmost importantly , though , the director would have to patch up the plot and make it flow better so that the two hours aren\\'t such a bore . \\nuntil then , there seems to be little more hope for this piece , than that boy has by simply crying out \" mommy \" while he wanders astray in a park . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the comet-disaster flick is a disaster alright . \\ndirected by tony scott ( top gun ) , it tells the story about an asteroid the size of texas caught on a collision course with earth . \\nand you thought that dinky little comet in deep impact was trouble . \\njeez . \\nafter a great opening , in which an american spaceship , plus the city of new york , are completely destroyed by a comet shower , nasa detects the said asteroid and go into a frenzy . \\nthey hire the world's best oil driller ( bruce willis ) , and send him and his crew up into space to fix our globel problem . \\nthat's like sending a mouse into a cat carrier , isn't it ? \\nthe action in armageddon are so over the top , nonstop , and too ludicrous for words , i had to sigh and hit my head with my notebook a couple of times . \\ni was not alone . \\nplus , to see a wonderful actor like billy bob thornton is a film like armageddon is a waste of the actor's talents . \\nthe film is just a reel to show off a bunch of snazzy fx shots . \\nthe only real reason for making this film was to somehow out-perform deep impact . \\nproducer jerry bruckheimer fails with armageddon . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i won\\x12t even pretend that i have seen the other 3 alien films . \\ni saw glimpses of alien and aliens and fragments of alien 3 , but i have by no means actually sat down and watched any of them . \\nso take my opinion from an unbiased and impartial perspective : alien resurrection is not worth the large bag of lollies i was munching into after a hard day\\x12s work . \\ni didn\\x12t just dislike it so much because the plot was awful ; most of the acting was very average or the special effects got tiresome after 5 minutes of painful viewing \\x16 but also the fact that every tedious ingredient thrown in attempts to give this pointless dribble some meaning . \\nsigourney weaver , who\\x12s role in alien earned her an academy award nomination , plays the character of \\x13ripley , \\x14 who died fighting against extraterrestrial scum in alien 3 . 200 years later , scientists\\x12 use a sample of blood found at the site of her death to recreate ripley - including the alien that was stuck inside her . \\nin no time they remove the alien from her body and separate the two ; yet ripley is now not completely human , possessing strange amounts of strength and being able to withhold greater pain than a normal being . \\ni\\x12m sure someone can explain exactly why this is so , but for now we\\x12ll just ignore it and move on . \\nwhy , you ask , would ripley and the alien inside her be recreated ? \\nwell , the smart little lab researchers believed that they would be able to discover many advancements in science from studying the alien creature . \\nthese were the same people who said they could control the alien and that their was no danger in their research . \\nthey ( yawn ) were wrong . \\nit doesn\\x12t take a genius to figure out that the rest of the film is a continuous cat and mouse chase between the humans who die off one by one and the aliens who open their mouths on every possible occasion to show off their frightfully scary un-flossed teeth . \\nthere\\x12s a little saying that goes something like this : \\x13if you\\x12re going to make a bad film , do it well . \\x14 \\ni have seen plenty of disappointing and underachieving movies , but they are not the ones that really bother me . \\nalien resurrection , a good example of a film that really gets up my nose , is not so much a discouraging experience but an off putting one . \\nthere is no way to describe why the australian ma rating was given to this film other than unnecessary and repulsive gore , which attempts to distract us from the wandering-but-not-going-anywhere plot . \\nin one scene my stomach churned as i witnessed a mawkish looking alien put its hand on a characters head and literally ripped most of his face off . \\nanother one featured ripley sticking a knife through her hand just to impress someone she was talking to . \\nfair enough if it were in a horror film or even if it bared any significance to the story , but this is unfortunately not the case , and this sort of bizarre gore is inexcusable . \\nif you think i\\x12m struggling to find one good aspect about the film , then you thought right . \\none exciting scene is a credit ( and the only part remotely worth seeing ) to the film , in which an alien chases two men ( one a cripple ) up a tall ladder with interesting results . \\nbut of course after that thrilling scene alien resurrection had no problem in returning to its pathetically low standard , and ends up crashing into the shores of movie dullness more often than japanese kamikaze jet fighters fall off their skis . \\nso in a film where the one liners come as bad as \\x13earth man , what a shit hole\\x14 and the primary means for one mans strategic attack is to bounce bullets off walls to hit an opponent , its no wonder why alien : resurrection turned out to be as off putting and clumsy as it is . \\noh , and in case you\\x12re wondering about my bag of lollies \\x16 the less i enjoy a film , the more i eat . \\nso all the lollies were gone in 15 minutes ; but however empty the bag turned out to be , it was still a long way ahead of the movie\\x05 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in life , eddie murphy and martin lawrence play two young men wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison . \\nafter about an hour of watching this movie , you begin to realize how their characters feel . \\nfortunately , for audience members there\\'s a chance to escape the nearest exit . \\nthis , undoubtedly , is eddie murphy\\'s worst movie and that\\'s an accomplishment . \\nremember the golden child , harlem nights ? \\ncompared to life , they look like citizen kane . \\nlife is long , predictable , foul-mouthed and only intermittently funny . \\nits 100-minute running time feels like 100 years . \\nrobert ramsey and matthew stone\\'s script basically consist of murphy and lawrence referring to everyone around them as \" motherf . . . s \" or \" n . . . . . \\ns . \" \\nyou lose count how many times both those obnoxious , offensive words are used . \\nand if that all it takes to write a script , than any illiterate jackass can sit at a word processor and compose a movie . \\nbut , like life , it will probably stink . \\nto be honest , the screening audience surrounding me in the theater yucked it up . \\nbut these were the same people who howled at all the flatulence and fat jokes as well . \\nlife is as sophisticated as a belch . \\nit\\'s crude and stereotypical . \\nyears ago , movies stereotypically portrayed blacks subservient , second-class people , good for being only maids and servants . \\nfor the most part , the lot of blacks and other racial groups have improved . \\nbut a new , more insidious stereotype is creeping into movies . \\nin many recent films , through actors such as murphy and chris tuckers , blacks are presented as fast-talking , conniving , scam artists or hip-hop , gun-crazy , sex-crazed youths . \\nboth sets of caricatures are demeaning . \\nand the fault does not rest with the actors . \\nthey have to eat , too . \\nit is with the people who write the scripts , the studios who green-light the projects and the audiences who accept these portrayals without protest . \\nlife\\'s only redeeming virtue is the artistry of makeup legend rick baker who flawlessly ages murphy and lawrence into 90 year olds . \\notherwise , life is an embarrassment , a blot on the resumes of those associated with it . \\nsee it at your own risk . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"making his directorial debut , actor jon favreau brings along his swingers co-star , vince vaughn , for this tale of two mugs on a career trajectory to nowheresville . \\nfavreau , who also wrote the script , is bobby , vaughn is ricky . \\nby day they are construction workers . \\nthey also are wanna-be contenders , but neither has had much success . \\ntheir last bout pitted them against each other and was a draw , leaving bobby's record at 5-5-1 . \\nthese two l . a . not-so-wise guys also work for max ( peter falk ) , a mid-level mobster , who is patient and understanding with bobby , but who hates ricky's guts . \\nmax has an easy job for bobby ; fly to new york and make a simple delivery to a gangster named ruiz ( a smooth and silky sean combs ) . \\nbobby , because of his lifelong friendship with ricky , pleads with max to give his pal another chance and let him tag along to the big apple . \\nagainst his better judgment , max agrees . \\nof course ricky , a motormouth who inserts both feet everytime he speaks , nearly screws up everything . \\nwhile bobby tries to stay calm and professional , ricky begins swaggering and throwing money around as if he was john gotti or tony soprano . \\nthe constrast in styles and the chemistry between favreau and vaughn is what makes made so enjoyable to watch . \\nfavreau with his hound-dog face and slow-burn personality could be a modern-day oliver hardy , only much wiser . \\nvaughn is like someone vaccinated with a phonograph needle , he just keeps yakking and yakking , unaware of the havoc he creates . \\nyet despite bobby's constant aggravation and agitation with his partner , a bond of affection and loyalty binds them . \\nthe contrast between the two friends is interesting to watch . \\nbobby is button-downed , tightly-wound , always waiting for the next shoe -courtesy of ricky - to drop . \\nricky is mostly oblivious to the problems he creates and is genuinely surprised when he comes under attack for his faux paus . \\nin new york , the two lackeys are like fish out of water , stumbling from one situation to another , trying to keep alive . \\ncombs is elegant , cool and low-key menacing as the gangsta they are sent to meet . \\nfalk is amusing in his small role , while famke janssen nearly breaks your heart as bobby's lowlife girlfriend . \\nmore than anything , made is a movie with heart . \\nit is loud , obnoxious and very talkative . \\nbut the cameraderie between bobby and ricky holds the key to its interest . \\nfavreau does a commendable job in his directorial debut . \\nhe is a player to be watched as he can only improve with experience . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" no man is an island , \" one character quotes john donne in apt pupil , effectively summarizing the movie\\'s themes . \\nwhile hardly a great film , singer\\'s ambitious adaptation of king\\'s short story * is challenging nonetheless ; perhaps the most shocking aspect of this inclement psychological thriller is that a major studio got behind it . \\napt pupil is a bleak picture destined to be misunderstood by the masses . \\n1984 . wonder-bred high school honours student todd bowden ( renfro ) conducts his own extracurricular investigation of kurt dussander , a nazi war criminal who fearfully fled berlin in the 1960s and was never heard from again . \\nbowden suspects arthur denker ( mckellan ) , the lonely german senior citizen who lives nearby , is actually a pseudonymous dussander-much research and dusting for fingerprints proves young todd\\'s theory . \\nbowden strikes a deal with dussander : in exchange for not revealing his identity , dussander must satisfy bowden\\'s intense curiosity by recounting the atrocities of the holocaust from the nazi point of view . \\nthe stories he hears keep todd up at night and haunt his daydreams , but like a bystander at a traffic accident , todd\\'s desire for gory details overrides his repulsion . \\nbowden revives in dussander feelings dormant since the end of wwii . \\nmarching in a mock uniform around his kitchen is wholly cathartic for dussander : it leads to his torture of a cat and the torment of his \" student \" , among other things . \\nbowden , who has taken on very hateful qualities ( he kills birds and doodles swastikas on his notebook ) , engages the veteran in an endless game of one-upmanship . \\ndussander stands to lose his freedom , and bowden his credibility-in effect , his post-secondary school future . \\nall of this winds down to a fairly unpredictable ( and unsettling ) conclusion , one which requires leaps of faith from its audience yet is more satisfying than the source material\\'s excessive climax . \\nsinger has yet to get keyser s ? ze out of his system . \\nhis the usual suspects and apt pupil are both about evil masquerading as innocence ( verbal\\'s tics and todd\\'s golden-boy reputation are plausible ruses ) ; they showcase morally bankrupt anti-heroes to whom telling the truth is not an option if they are to achieve their goals . \\napt pupil is a richer film than the usual suspects , a movie famous and popular partly because its plot machinations were not germane to the outcome-there was no way you could see the ending coming , as it was all a hoodwink , anyway . \\nthankfully , singer has gotten most of the usual suspects\\' film-schoolish geek theatrics out of his system . \\nsome scenes in apt pupil feel overdirected and/or obvious ( the dream sequences were extraneous ) , but the majority of the film is subdued-and singer\\'s handling of the violent scenes is boldly restrained for a film about a murderer and a murderer-in-training . \\nmckellan\\'s and renfro\\'s performances contribute enormously to the overall success of the film ; while most people will focus on british stage vet mckellan\\'s finely-tuned realization , i\\'d like to single out renfro\\'s daring work . \\nhe isn\\'t afraid to play someone largely unappealing and cold-hearted ; he strips his character of vanity , something many of his peers wouldn\\'t do . \\n ( can you picture kieran culkin or jonathan taylor-thomas in the same role ? ) \\nrenfro was recently charged with possession of cocaine-i hope he doesn\\'t continue down that path , because he has a big future in good movies waiting for him . \\nas guidance counsellor edward french , \" friend \" schwimmer also deserves mention . \\nhe wants to be the parent to todd that todd\\'s own well-to-do folks are not ( todd , like most modern kids-and only-children-has mom and dad wrapped around his pinky finger ) , and his sincerity makes the apt pupil\\'s blackening-heart even more apparent . \\nbut one of the film\\'s ultimate questions , are we born evil or do we learn evil ? , might be answered in french , whose motives are the slightest bit ambiguous . \\nno man is an island , indeed-we all have the capacity to make the \" right \" or the \" wrong \" choices . \\nschwimmer winningly plays one of a trio of fascinating characters who make the unconventional apt pupil laudible . \\n-october , 1998 \\n * the excellent collection king\\'s stories called different seasons spawned not only apt pupil , but the shawshank redemption ( originally titled rita hayworth and the shawshank redemption ) and stand by me ( originally titled the body ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it's actually not so bad that dreamworks decided to release the love letter at about the same time as star wars episode i : the phantom menace , because this way less people will have to sit through this dreadful little comedy . \\nand no , i really don't feel guilty about wishing this movie death at the box-office . \\nreally , i don't . \\nnot at all . \\nthe plot has been done before -- a mysterious , unaddressed love letter shows up in a small town , causing confusion for everyone who reads it . \\nthe center of the ensuing disaster is bookstore owner helen ( kate capshaw , and by the way , what is it with bookstore owner main characters ? \\nin the past year and a half we've seen them in life is beautiful , you've got mail , this movie , and the upcoming notting hill ) , who finds the letter in between couch cushions in the bookstore . \\nshe immediately starts testing other people to see who it might be from , and comes to the ( incorrect ) conclusion that the author of the note is a young employee played by tom everett scott . \\nhe , reading the letter himself , assumes that she wrote it for him . \\nafter a while , they fall in love ( well , duh ) . \\nkate feels guilty about getting in a relationship with someone more than twenty years younger than her , and she also feels guilty because at the same time she is also involved with the town fireman ( tom selleck ) . \\nto add to her turmoil , her mother shows up ( blythe danner , who apparently must have had her daughter when she was about 9 ) and her trusted bookstore manager ( deadpan ellen degeneres ) quits . \\nsupporting characters aren't called supporting for nothing . \\ntheir purpose isn't just to move the plot along , they're also supposed to give the storyline a backbone . \\nto do this , they must exhibit at least marginal depth and must also be interesting . \\nrarely can a movie work if it puts an interesting protagonist in the middle and surrounds her with hackneyed , dull , cardboard secondary characters , especially when at the core of the movie is the protagonist's various interactions with them . \\nthis is the love letter's damning error . \\ncapshaw's character is as good as i have seen present in recent romantic comedies , but the people that surround her are all either underwritten or purely one-dimensional . \\nbecause of that , the love letter is awkward and insincere . \\neven worse -- it's a bore . \\ni liked capshaw and her helen , but everyone else is painfully fake , undermining the little drama or sexual tension that has the potential to exist . \\nthere is nothing particularly hilarious about all this either -- and besides degeneres' wisecracks , there's little that is even a little amusing . \\nthis is not a completely thoughtless film and director peter ho-sun chan does a good job of portraying helen's yearnings and various subtle complexities . \\nbut it's far from profound . \\nthere isn't a common theme running through the proceedings , thus the movie seems thoughtfully pointless . \\nreally , this is a harmless little movie ; it's far from an abomination and it's not torturous to sit through . \\nbut bad , it is . \\nawful , it also is . \\nthe love letter is a failure , and an inane failure at that . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'with more and more television shows having gay characters , and even the infamous \" ellen \" sitcom being centered on the life of a lesbian , the movie industry too seems to be gaining more and more homosexual based plot lines . \\nthe birdcage was critically acclaimed , as was this years chasing amy . \\nthen along came in & out , and all three of these films are on my top ten list for the years in which they were released . \\nit\\'s also noticeable that this \" alternative lifestyle \" becomes less and less taboo as the years go by , and it seems that using comedy as a medium is proving a worthwhile effort . \\nwhile it\\'s a very serious issue to many , it is the comedies that people are flocking to see and that are gaining notoriety . \\nbut the way we\\'re using comedy to present homosexuality is also changing quite dramatically . \\nwhile the gay community was once very stereotyped and used to laugh * at * , it is more and more becoming something we laugh * with * , and when a movie like in & out comes along , it is something that both heterosexuals and homosexuals should be able to thoroughly enjoy . \\nit doesn\\'t poke fun at the lifestyle , it simply uses it to all it\\'s comedic capacity , just as love , sex , marriage , birth , death , and anything else has been . \\nthe idea for in & out was born the day tom hanks won his oscar for portraying an aids-afflicted gay man in philadelphia . \\nif you remember , during his acceptance speech , hanks gave a highly emotional tribute to the gay community , and even sighted a former gay teacher of his as a major inspiration in his life . \\nit\\'s a serious and touchy subject , but producer scott rudin viewed it as the setting for a potentially hilarious comedy , and pitched it to screenwriter paul rudnick . \\nit\\'s true that if this same film had been written by a heterosexual , it may have been more controversial , but because it was written by an openly gay writer , the prerogative was set . \\nkevin kline , who only seems to become more and more acclaimed , stars as howard brackett , a high school english teacher in the small , picturesque town of greenleaf , indiana . \\nafter a three-year engagement to fellow teacher emily montgomery ( joan cusack ) , a wedding date has been set , and the hubbub surrounding it is almost as big as that surrounding another huge story - greenleaf high graduate cameron drake ( matt dillon ) is up for a best actor oscar . \\nthe small town eagerly awaits both events , and both seem quite astronomical , but little does anyone know how much one will affect the other . \\nwhen cameron drake is announced the winner , the excitement is heightened as he pays tribute to his high school english teacher , mr . brackett . \\neveryone is cheering back in greenleaf - that is until cameron tacks on those three calamitous words , \" and he\\'s gay . \" \\nthe town becomes silent as the entire population joins in a simultaneous jaw drop . \\nthe thing is , nobody , including howard , can understand how cameron came to that conclusion , and such wild and unexpected news can only wreak havoc in such a conservative american haven such as greenleaf . \\nnaturally the questions pour from howard\\'s fiancee , parents ( debbie reynolds & wilford brimley ) , students , and the high school\\'s principal , tom halliwell ( bob newhart ) , and the evidence starts to become more and more obvious : howard is clean , neat , honest , sincere , a romantic , and perhaps the most incriminating fact , he loves barbara streisand . \\nthe frenzy isn\\'t helped any when camera crews from every conceivable news magazine and \" entertainment tonight \" wannabe show up at greenleaf high the very next morning . \\none particular reporter is peter malloy ( tom selleck ) of \" inside entertainment \" , who unlike the collage of other reporters , wants to spend a whole week in the life of howard brackett , including coverage of his wedding . \\nthe intrusion is all but welcome by howard , who is going more and more out of his mind with each passing minute . \\nit seems that no matter where he turns , a camera is being shoved in his face and questions regarding homosexuality are being tossed to him like frisbees . \\nthe dominoes begin to tumble as howard\\'s closest friends begin acting different and principal halliwell hints at a possible termination of employment should howard indeed be gay . \\nit all sounds very devastating , and it would be if it weren\\'t presented with near-perfection by one of this year\\'s most delightful ensemble casts . \\nkline seems only to improve with age , and he is downright perfect here . \\nthe great thing about this film is that every single character has a moment to shine , and they use it wonderfully . \\nevery single actor turns in one of their best performances ever . \\ndillon has never been so likeable , cusack has never seemed so perfect for a role , and brimley , reynolds , and newhart all provide huge laughs when they\\'re up to bat . \\nrudnick\\'s script is heavily laced with wit and humor , and you\\'ll likely find yourself laughing out loud for a solid ninety minutes . \\nwhile in & out doesn\\'t carry enough to give it four stars , it remains one of the best done films of the year , all-around . \\nthe script is exuberant , the actors are absolutely top- notch , and we\\'re allowed just the perfect blend of heart-tugging so as not to bog down the laughs . \\nit remains a solid comedy throughout its entirety , yet we\\'re still allowed a sappily touching ending . \\ndespite it\\'s subject matter , and one scene that comes almost too close for comfort on explaining gay sex , this is a movie that everyone could , and should , enjoy . \\nfrank oz , best known as a voice talent for muppets , directs this film quite delightfully , using all the potential rudnick\\'s script has to offer , which turns out to be quite a bit . \\ncheck this one out . \\nyou\\'ll have a gay old time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'brian depalma needs a hit * really * badly . \\nsince scoring big with the untouchables in 1987 , depalma has seen casualties of war , raising cain and particularly the disastrous bonfire of the vanities go down in flames . \\nconsequently , it would be easy enough to consider carlito\\'s way a shrewd commercial choice for depalma , reteaming with al pacino ( scarface ) and returning to the gangland ground which has yielded his two greatest box office successes . \\nit doesn\\'t hurt any that he has latched on to a solid story and brought out dynamite performances from pacino and sean penn . \\ncarlito\\'s way , while hampered by depalma\\'s characteristic excesses and stylistic cannibalism , is a truly tense and engrossing drama . \\ncarlito brigante ( pacino ) is a life-long criminal who finds himself unexpectedly given a second chance . \\nin 1975 , carlito is released from prison after serving only five years of a thirty year sentence when his conviction is overturned on a technicality . \\nhe declares himself reformed , tired of life on the streets and determined to fulfill his simple dream of buying into a rental car business in the bahamas . \\namong those who find this conversion hard to believe are david kleinfeld ( penn ) , carlito\\'s crooked attorney and childhood friend , and bodyguard pachanga ( luis guzman ) . \\ncarlito rediscovers old flame gail ( penelope ann miller ) , and seems ready to retire in peace . \\nold ways die hard , though , and old associates pull carlito step by step back into a life he can\\'t seem to shake . \\ncarlito\\'s way will probably make the strongest impression with the two outstanding set pieces which bracket the film . \\nin the first , carlito accompanies his young cousin on a drug buy which will have anyone with a pulse on the edge of their seat ; the film closes with an equally thrilling chase through the new york subway and grand central station . \\nboth highlight depalma\\'s gift for choreographed mayhem , and these are not the only occasions when the stage blood flows freely . \\nyet for all the viscera , i found the character study even more compelling . \\ncarlito brigante has a lot of michael corleone in him , an aging gangster trying unsuccessfully to go legit . \\nbut where the culmination of the godfather saga played like opera , there\\'s more of an immediacy to carlito\\'s way , an ever-present sense of doom launched by the title sequence which sets the flashback story in motion . \\nyou sense that there\\'s no way , after so many years , that carlito can stay out of trouble . \\nindeed , he observes that his attempt at the straight life is more a function of time than a change of heart : \" you don\\'t get reformed ; you just run out of wind . \" \\npacino captures carlito\\'s dilemma with surprising subtlety and the cautious observation borne of years of experience watching every corner for an enemy . \\nsean penn is even better , turning in his best performance to date as kleinfeld . \\na jew in the world of puerto rican and italian wiseguys , kleinfeld is an outsider with a huge chip on his shoulder . \\nhe could have been simply pathetic , a heavy drinker and cocaine addict playing tough with guys way out of his league , but penn invests kleinfeld with tremendous nervous energy and an overwhelming survival instinct . \\nhe shows a man moving steadily towards the brink , making the moment he goes over quite jolting . \\nas compelling as the narrative is , viewers may experience a profound sense of deja vu . \\ndepalma continues to steal shamelessly from other directors , this time adding scorsese to his repertoire with a point of view tracking shot and a copacabana scene with more than passing resemblances to goodfellas . \\nhe even recycles some of his own previous plagiarisms , like a 360 degree swing around a kiss ( vertigo via body double ) and the climactic shootout which will strike many as far too reminiscent of the train station sequence from the untouchables . \\nfrom a story standpoint , there\\'s an obligatory love story with a cliche\\'d long-suffering girlfriend character . \\npenelope ann miller is a good but limited actor who doesn\\'t do anything new with the role , and eventually she becomes just a distraction , never integrated fully enough into the story . \\nstill , it\\'s easier to be forgiving of superficial flaws when the backbone is so solid . \\nthe two principle characters held an iron grip on my attention , one all the cinematic thievery in the world couldn\\'t break . \\ncarlito\\'s way plays like a tragic novel : deliberate , confident and powerful . \\nthose willing to grant depalma his tendencies towards the extreme should find themselves well- rewarded . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'having not seen , \" who framed roger rabbit \" in over 10 years , and not remembering much besides that i liked it then , i decided to rent it recently . \\nwatching it i was struck by just how brilliant a film it is . \\naside from the fact that it\\'s a milestone in animation in movies ( it\\'s the first film to combine real actors and cartoon characters , have them interact , and make it convincingly real ) and a great entertainment it\\'s also quite an effective comedy/mystery . \\nwhile the plot may be somewhat familiar the characters are original , especially baby herman , and watching them together is a lot of fun . \\nthe story begins in hollywood in 1947 . \\ncartoon star roger rabbit is blowing takes and having trouble keeping his mind on work , so hard-boiled private detective eddie valiant ( bob hoskins ) is called in by studio head r . k . \\nmaroon ( alan tilvern ) to try to help get roger\\'s mind back on work . \\nmaroon thinks that roger\\'s wife , jessica\\'s , possible unfaithfulness to him might be the cause of distraction and tells eddie to get some photos of her in the act before it costs him any more money in reshoots . \\nvaliant takes some photos of jessica playing , `patty cake\\' with marvin acme ( stubby kaye ) , the owner of toontown ( where all of the cartoon characters live ) and takes them to maroon . \\nupon seeing them , roger is emotionally destroyed and soon after acme is found dead and roger rabbit is the prime suspect . \\nthe rest of the movie follows valiant and roger as they run around town ( and eventually toontown ) trying to clear roger\\'s good name . \\nalong the way they meet judge doom ( christopher lloyd ) a judge-jury-and executioner type who\\'s out to get roger and has discovered the one and only way to kill a `toon . \\' \\n`who framed roger rabbit\\' won 4 academy awards including a special achievement award for richard williams for animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters ( williams and his teams went through the film frame by frame and hand drew the cartoon characters in ) . \\ndirector robert zemekis must be given an equal amount of praise for overseeing the entire production , which included hundreds of animators . \\nalso bob hoskins\\' performance should be credited . \\nhe , in addition to the rest of the human cast , finds the right note to play in all of the scenes with his cartoon co-stars . \\naccording to the internet movie database , hoskins studied his young daughter to learn how to act with imaginary characters and i guess his hard work paid off . \\n`who framed roger rabbit\\' is a rare film . \\none that not only presented a great challenge to the filmmakers but one that can be enjoyed by the whole family ( although some very young viewers may be a little scared by judge doom ) . \\ndo yourself a favor and rent it , `p-p-p-p-please . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"my son and i share a perverse predilection for bad movies . \\nwe are amused and entertained by the cheap thrills , the corny dialog , the ludicrous premises and the bad acting . \\nsince other family members aspire to higher forms of entertainment , we usually wind up indulging our proclivity together . \\ni can't remember when we disagreed on the relative merits of a clunker until species 2 came along . \\nhe was not amused . \\ni on the other hand was able to easily suspend the applicable requirements in the usual manner and declare myself suitably entertained . \\nperhaps the evident skills that were brought to the process of producing a bad product was what prevented him from extracting fun out of mediocrity . \\ni on the other hand appreciated the fact that the producers and director knew exactly what they were doing : insulting my intelligence , and brought adequate movie-making skills to the project a movie does not have to be good to be well made , at least in terms of the craft . \\nthe movie could have been better if it were not so brusque . \\nthis movie slaps you with conception , pregnancy , delivery and young childhood in consecutive frames , without pausing for infancy . \\nthe producers of nescafe have nothing on this alien race in which a woman's womb balloons immediately after the male orgasm , and a few seconds later a young child tears its way out of her abdomen in a sloppy and gory version of an inside-out cesarean . \\nan autopsy scene in which a buzz saw cuts through the cranium was not the kind of indulgence that i condone , to say nothing of the fact that it was scientifically incorrect . \\nin a real autopsy the saw does not cut through the scalp ; it is used only after the skull has been exposed . \\nthe opening sequences of exploration of mars were very good . \\nthe writers showed excellent skills for ceremonial speech writing but the spontaneous dialogue would qualify for a subtitle : `as bad as it gets' . \\nas the movie progressed i vowed to remember the lines that made me cringe but only one stuck . \\neve ( natasha henstridge ) was cloned from sil , the original alien sexual predator , but her mating instinct was artificially attenuated , which was all that was needed to turn her into a noble and cooperative prisoner . \\nin a wistful display of resignation and understanding she tells her friend and jailer ( marg helgenberger ) : `i think of all the places that i will never see and all the people that i will never meet . ' \\nit's enough to melt the most callous heart . \\nat another point she protests : `i'm human too , you know . ' \\nshe is only half right . \\npeter medak , the director , knows his business . \\njustin lazard as the doomed astronaut does nothing to enhance his hollywood credentials . \\njames cromwell , his father , is perfect in a short role . \\nmarg heldenberger , the dna scientist is pleasant and beautiful . \\nnatasha is an exquisite ornament . \\ngeorge dzunza knew and delivered what was expected of him as the dumb general that messes things up . \\nmichael madsen was there . \\nblack buddies do not usually survive in this type of movie but mykelti williamson manages to stay around for the final credits , which is more that we can say for lazard . . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"chill factor is a carbon copy of speed with one notable exception : instead of a speeding bus , we now have an ice cream truck . \\nthe truck is driven by arlo ( cuba gooding jr . ) and mason ( skeet ulrich ) , who have been instructed by a dying scientist to transport a deadly chemical weapon to a military base by the name of fort mcgruder . \\nthis particular weapon ( nicknamed `elvis' ) must be kept below a temperature of 50 degrees , or else the shockwave will goo-iffy everything in a mile radius . \\nthat would be pretty nasty . \\nthe power of elvis is revealed in the opening scene , as dr . richard long ( david paymer ) conducts a test on an isolated tropical island . \\nlong accidentally melts 18 soldiers and defoliates virtually the entire island , due to an enormously miscalculated safety distance . \\nthe commanding officer , general brynner ( peter firth ) , is sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of his troops . \\nupon his release , the general is intent on tracking the good doctor down , snatching elvis , and selling the weapon to the highest international bidder . \\nprotecting the fate of the world is a drifting hamburger flipper ( ulrich ) and a feisty ice cream delivery man ( gooding jr . ) , who must elude brynner's men and get elvis to safety at fort mcgruder . \\nall the while , of course , they must keep the weapon below 50 degrees . \\nthis proves to be tricky . \\namong the wild adventures arlo and mason partake in is a trip down a tree-covered mountainside in a boat , and a fist fight on top of a moving vehicle . \\nthey also crack a few dozen witty retorts that we are supposed to find amusing . \\nto put it simply , i'll use a clever pun : chill factor should be put on ice . \\ndirector hugh johnson has mixed elements from speed , broken arrow and the lethal weapon series to create a lifelessly bland cocktail of a chase movie . \\nwhen there is some occasional action , the audience seems oddly detached from it . \\nperhaps that's because we've already waded through a pool of clich ? s and boring dialogue ; all material that's been used before , and with a lot more spice . \\ntake the villains , for example . \\nthey are typical stereotypes of every terrorist that has ever walked the silver screen . \\nthey speak lines that have been recycled profusely from one movie to the next , divulge important plot details while holding their enemies at gunpoint , and act in very predictable ways . \\nthe tag-team of gooding jr . and ulrich sounds much more exciting than it is . \\nfrankly , i'm not sure i can accept cuba as an ice cream man . \\ni suppose it's better than him dressed like a giant hot dog , selling jumbo frankfurters on a street corner . \\ngooding displays one single emotion in this movie , which is frequently on display in lines like `i'm gonna get on yo ass like last year's underwear ! ' and the incessant sputtering of `oh , sh * t ! ' \\nthis is virtually the same character he played in jerry maguire and as good as it gets . \\nbut where gooding was once an exciting actor , he now seems dull and endlessly monotonous . \\nat least he's a bit more captivating than ulrich , who has all the film's worst dialogue , but does nothing noticeable to enliven his character . \\nthe supporting cast , which includes every personality you expect to pop up , is also wasted . \\nto be fair , there are a few brief moments of serviceable action . \\nand i did chuckle a few times . \\none example is when ulrich ( an employee at `darlene's diner' ) is at the counter when brynner walks through the door . \\n`you own this place ? ' \\nthe general asks . \\n`yeah , ' ulrich says . \\n`they call me darlene . ' \\nthese little tidbits of humor are ( mainly ) welcome in this weak , disappointing wreckage of an action film . \\nas a speed clone , it could have benefited from a lot more suspense and perhaps ( god forbid ) even some decent writing . \\nsadly , i walked away from chill factor only wondering how much fun it could have been . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . \\nbe forewarned . \\nat the end of the day , those reflecting upon the debacle that is the avengers would do well to take note that warning clouds loomed on the horizon for the project well before warner bros . made the contentious decision to abandon preview press screenings and scrapped plans for a gala premiere . \\nthis highly-anticipated film rendition of the cult television show was originally slotted for an early june opening , where it would have gone head-to-head against the rival studios' heavy hitters ; its eventual demotion to a less potent mid-august opening was an obvious early indication of the studio's lack of confidence with the picture . \\nand with good reason . \\nthis is a joyless exercise of a film , held together by a barely coherent plot and lacking any semblance of excitement , thrills or wit . \\nremarkable in its banality and brutally uninvolving , the avengers is a catastrophic mess which immediately invites comparisons to last year's case study in style over substance , joel schumacher's much-loathed batman & robin . \\n ( indeed , both films even feature appalling , ridiculous sequences which find central characters dressed up in fuzzy oversized costumes . ) \\numa thurman , who takes on the salacious role of the catsuit-clad , karate-chopping emma peel immortalized by diana rigg , was the only bright spot in the aforementioned schumacher disaster , imbuing her poison ivy with a dose of sassiness and sly wit that gave audiences something to smile at amidst the cinematic carnage . \\nunfortunately , the same can't be said here , where she and cohort ralph fiennes ( our new john steed , taking over for patrick macnee ) demonstrate no appreciable chemistry whatsoever , fatally crippling the picture as they volley fizzling repartee back and forth and trade double-entendres with all the enthusiasm of two actors painfully aware that they're on board a sinking ship . \\nat this rate , usually-splendid actor mr . fiennes may never make the transition from arthouse apollo to mainstream leading man -- his tepid turn here will make as much of an inroad as his commendably seedy performance in the regrettably-neglected kathyrn bigelow film strange days . \\nthe duo * look * the part -- and admittedly the avengers is , more than most , heavily dependent upon style -- but they're no fun to watch , and i found myself growing increasingly distant and annoyed by the lack of spark between the two cheekily ironic characters as they navigated through the picture's caper-esque plot . \\nwhen not checking my wristwatch or shifting restlessly in my seat , i began to alleviate the boredom by considering how this all might have played out had the filmmakers chose to go instead with that erstwhile emma as our mrs . peel -- no , not kate beckinsale ( although the notion now intrigues me ) , but gwyneth paltrow , who was originally in the running for the part and can veritably handle a spot-on english accent . \\nif nothing else , it'd at least be highly entertaining for the incongruous sight of the vaguely twiggish young actress kicking butt . \\nthe story , such as it is , involves the ever-bemused tandem of steed and peel combating the malevolent sir august de wynter ( sean connery ) , an eccentric aristocrat threatening the safety of the nation with his climate-controlling contraption . \\n ( they also sip a lot of tea . ) \\noverlooking some goofy cloning nonsense and quirky hijinx involving our protagonists' superiors , it sounds far better than it plays , and is rendered almost indecipherable by blatant post-production tinkering ; it's clearly evident that the picture has been cut to shreds . \\nthe avengers was never about gripping drama , and our heroes accordingly never take villainous sir august very seriously , but given the lack of cohesion in the plot and the lack of menace conveyed by the buffoonish maniac , it's all decidedly uncompelling . \\nmr . connery , who's onscreen barely long enough to register an impression , approaches the role like a man fulfilling a contractual obligation , simultaneously chewing the scenery while unable to hide his disinterest . \\nat least it all looks good . \\nthis is a genuinely handsome production , with fine costume design by anthony powell and crisply shot by roger pratt . \\nin particular , the gleaming production design by stuart craig commands attention , adeptly drawing elements both old and new in order to depict this great britain . \\nthere are a handful of striking visual moments in the film , including an attack by a swarm of giant robotic bees and a nice shot of steed and peel finding a way to walk on water , but the film is so unremittingly dull that even these instances fail to stir interest or raise pulse rates . \\nby the time the film's climax had arrived , my interest was not with the sight of steed and sir august slugging it out amidst crashing waves and thundering rain , but with the quickest escape route from the theatre . \\nnot coincidentally , the enticing bits of visual bravura were the shots assembled into the movie's remarkable trailer , a savvy piece of work which ironically is infinitely more appealing that the feature film itself ; the first promo which made the rounds in early spring is probably my favourite studio trailer so far this year . \\nit's everything that the avengers is not -- saucy , clever , engaging , and entertaining . \\na crushing disappointment , the film is one of the worst outings of the year -- too drearily awful to be savoured as gleefully bad , too polished to overlook its deficiencies . \\nthere may be upcoming pictures that are even more lifeless than the avengers , but i sure hope not . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'why do people hate the spice girls ? \\n ? what exactly have they done wrong , other than perhaps offend the fashion police ? \\n ? so what if they are not \" great \" singers---they ain\\'t singing opera , folks , its pop music ! \\n ? who exactly is a \" great \" singer ? \\njudging by that opening paragraph it is obvious that i like the spice girls . \\n ? they do what they do--sing some catchy tunes--and they do it pretty well . \\n ? they are able to carry that into their first film , \" spice world \" . \\n ? \" spice world \" certainly isn\\'t a great filmgoing experience . \\n . \\n . \\nwhat it is what the spice girls are all about : fun , songs , and a lot of \" girl power ! \" \\ndrawing from a number of different films ( like the beatles\\' \" hard day\\'s night \" ) \" spice world \" chronicles the week heading up to the girls\\' first concert at london\\'s albert hall . \\n ? they get to tool around london in a big ol\\' bus ( driven by meat loaf ! ) and generally have fun . \\n ? in order to through a semblence of plot into the film , there is an evil tabloid publisher played by barry humphries , better known to americans , for about 15 minutes , as dame edna ( remember her ? ) \\n ? he wants to sabotage the girls\\' concert so he can sell papers . \\nof course , the point in a movie like \" spice world \" isn\\'t plot . \\n ? the center of the film is the spice girls themselves : ginger ( the recently departed geri haliwell ) , posh ( victoria adams ) , sporty ( melanie chisolm ) , scary ( melanie brown ) , and baby ( emma bunton ) . \\n ? each one has their own personality and , perhaps the best part of the film , look like they are having some honest-to-goodness fun , something that can\\'t be said for a lot of people in films today . \\nalong for the ride are richard e . grant as their manager , clifford , and various other characters making quick cameo appearances ( including teriffic british actors like richard briers and stephen fry ) . \\n ? and , every once and a while , roger moore pops up as the chief to spout odd koans ( added bonus : he gets to , in the words of craig kilborn , dance , dance , dance . ) \\nwatching this film was fun , for the most part . \\n ? there are a few slow segments , but overly , director bob spiers keeps things moving at a quick pace , with plenty of hummable spice girls songs in the background . \\n ? his camerawork is fairly pedestrian , though the final concert number is done quite well with effective use of editing . \\n ? \\nthe look of the film promotes the high fun , with the design of the spicebus being quite original and eye-catching . \\n ? add in wall-to-wall spice girls music and this film is lovable romp . \\n ? if you don\\'t like the spice girls , you won\\'t change your mind with this film . \\n ? but , if you find them at least tolerable , get ready to sit back and chill because the spice girls are here to entertain you . \\n . \\n . \\nand do it quite well . \\n ? \\n \" spice world \" ( 1998 ) . \\n ? directed by bob spiers . \\n ? written by kim fuller . \\n ? music by the spice girls . \\n ? with geri halliwell , victoria adams , melanie chisolm , melanie brown , emma bunton , richard e . grant , claire rushbrook , roger moore . \\n ? distributed by columbia pictures . \\n ? running time : 92 minutes . \\n ? rated : pg . \\n ? available on home video . \\n---- 29 june 1998 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'robocop is an intelligent science fiction thriller and social satire , one with class and style . \\nthe film , set in old detroit in the year 1991 , stars peter weller as murphy , a lieutenant on the city\\'s police force . \\n1991\\'s detroit suffers from rampant crime and a police department run by a private contractor ( security concepts inc . ) whose employees ( the cops ) are threatening to strike . \\nto make matters worse , a savage group of cop-killers has been terrorizing the city . \\non murphy\\'s first day of duty , after his transfer from another precinct , these cop-killers brutally murder him by shooting off his limbs one by one . \\n ( orion pictures had to edit this extremely graphic scene in order to get an r rating from the m . p . a . a . ) \\nafter the emergency room staff at the hospital cannot save murphy and declare him clinically dead , s . c . i . \\nrecruits his remains for their new \" robocop \" program . \\nusing the remains of murphy\\'s body as a foundation , their scientists build a cyborg , made of both flesh and metal . \\nthe cyborg ( robocop ) is half human ( murphy ) and half robot ; the s . c . i . \\nengineers have erased murphy\\'s memory and replaced it with a computer program ( or so they think ) . \\nwith his lightning quick reflexes , immense strength , and impenetrable armor , s . c . i . \\nenvisions robocop as an indestructible super-cop : the solution to detroit\\'s problems . \\nthe remainder of the plot follows robocop\\'s crime-foiling and vengeance on his murderers . \\nas a science fiction action-thriller , robocop is extremely effective . \\ndutch director paul verhoeven combines gritty action with suspense , shocking gore , and spectacular special effects . \\nseveral sequences in the film , such as the one in which robocop employs his extremely precise aim to stop a rapist , are destined to become cult-classics . \\nbecause robocop is so visually and emotionally rousing , it demands to be seen on a large screen with an audience--in other words , in a movie theater . \\nalthough the special effects and action are exciting , they do not by themselves set robocop apart from other films in the genre . \\nrather , robocop stands out for its accurate and biting satire of american society . \\nthe movie makes a mockery of the star wars defense initiative , terrorism , board games , and television news broadcasts with air-headed anchors . \\nthese news broadcasts , which are exceptionally clever , recur periodically throughout the movie and help to provide comic relief from the intense action and gore . \\nthe satire in robocop , however , is almost as frightening in its own way as the suspense and blood . \\n1990\\'s america , as portrayed in the film , may seem far fetched but is in actuality ( i think ) only a slight exaggeration of the current state of american society . \\nthe humorous satire in robocop is simultaneously credible and absurd . \\nverhoeven adroitly balances the satirical comedy with the gory action to create an entertaining and enlightening piece of science fiction/social commentary . \\nunfortunately , robocop possesses several flaws which prevent it from qualifying as a classic within the genre . \\nthe movie lacks the lasting impact of such films as the road warrior , the terminator , and aliens . \\nrobocop\\'s main problem , aside from its dumb title , is that it does not sufficiently develop murphy\\'s character . \\nwe never learn the degree to which murphy ( as robocop ) is human and the degree to which he is a robot . \\ndoes murphy have any human spirit or free will left , or is he merely a computer following a program ? \\nthe script halfheartedly raises these issues but then abandons them in its climactic flurry of gory action . \\nmoreover , it almost completely ignores the question ( and tragedy ) of denying a man his right to die in favor of turning him into a machine . \\nrobocop also contains several bothersome loose-ends . \\nas you watch robocop , you experience deja vu ; you feel as if you have seen the film before . \\nin many respects , robocop is reminiscent of several other films , including the terminator , return of the jedi , and even death wish . \\nhowever , to its credit , robocop easily has enough originality and unique personality to avoid becoming a cheap rip-off . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one year has passed since the last time we saw them , and but wayne campbell and garth algar are back but , they\\'ve moved out of their parents homes , and now have their own pad in an abandoned warehouse . \\nwayne\\'s still hopelessly infatuated with his girlfriend , cassandra , and of course garth is still having his own , personal growing pains . \\nthey guys are just finishing off one of their shows , and head off to an aerosmith concert where they run across cassandra and her new manager , a stereotypical industry slime not unlike the character rob lowe portrayed in the previous film . \\nagain , the promoter is not only after the money that cassandra\\'s talent can bring in . \\nthe storyline quickly degrades to a parallel of the original , \" guy loses chick , guy realizes mistake , and guy gets chick back . \" \\nfortunately , there is more to this movie than this somewhat sheer plot . \\nthe wit and humor in this film are surprisingly intelligent and fresh with many inside jokes on the film and music industries as well as just a lot of hilarious scenes of wayne and garth showing their true color . \\nhighlights of the movie include a spoof of jurassic park , garth\\'s seduction by a married woman , a surprise appearance by charleton heston , a 1960\\'s batman setup in the guy\\'s pad , and some pretty groovy chats with jim morrison and some \" naked indian guy , \" an unexpected lip-sync of ymca ( you could see that one coming a mile away ) and of course a hilarious parody of those badly-dubbed kung-fu movies we love to laugh at . \\nand if you\\'ve ever wondered why there\\'s always boxes of watermelons , chickens , and people walking plate glass in the middle of streets , you\\'ll find out here . \\nthis movie also explores wayne and garth a little more . \\ngarth has somewhat of a \" coming of age \" and wayne gets to learn a little about himself ( with a little help from our old friend , jim morrison ) . \\na few old jokes from the previous movie are explored here again , but this time with a few twists to keep them fresh , and luckily , few , if any of them are overused . \\noverall , the movie has plenty of continuity flaws ( especially in the fight scent between garth and cassandra\\'s dad ) , but these are easily overlooked as this is , after wayne\\'s world . \\nthe plot is flimsy but manageable . \\nthere are a few special effects , but they are fairly seamless , and fill nicely into the plot . \\nthe acting is good , for this sort of movie , but there are some very bright spots . \\nin the big picture , this movie is just plain fun . \\nthere is lots of intelligent humor that makes this film special . \\nduring the whole one hour and 40 minutes , i didn\\'t even think about looking at my watch a single time . \\nsilly , but riotous at times , this is an excellent movie even better than the original . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ever wonder what happened to gabe kaplan ? \\nyou remember , he was the title character in that 70\\'s sitcom , \" welcome back kotter . \" \\nalways trying to help out the sweathogs , frequently trying to dodge mr . woodman , ever wary of his wife\\'s tuna casserole . \\n \" so , \" you ask , \" where is he now ? \" \\nmr . kaplan actually spends much of his time these days playing professional high-stakes poker . \\nthat\\'s right . \\ni\\'m not sure if it\\'s his main source of income , but from what i\\'ve heard , the guy occasionally comes away with $20 , 000 at a time . \\nand there you were , thinking i was going to tell you he was doing off-broadway theater . \\nyou silly goose . \\nwell , gabe kaplan isn\\'t in the movie rounders , nor is the film about the actor come gambler\\'s life . \\nbut rounders is about poker , and gabe plays poker , and i thought that was kind of a neat connection . \\nsorry about the segue , or lack thereof . \\nmatt damon plays mike mcdermott , a law student who also has a singular talent for the game of poker . \\nhe\\'s been playing for a while , and more than being proficient , he has caught the bug . \\nhe goes to all the underground games in new york city , knows the regulars , and knows how to win . \\nin the beginning of the film , he\\'s built up a nice thirty grand nest egg , which he takes to the speakeasy-type gaming parlor where the big boys play . \\nmike is there to make his bid into the upper echelon by staking it all against teddy kgb ( john malkovich ) , an oreo-munching cardshark with ties to the russian mafia . \\nmike has the potential to take a large pot and go to vegas and buy into the world series of poker , but instead he loses it all in a single hand . \\nmonths later , he\\'s paying his way through law school by driving a delivery truck . \\nwhen mike\\'s best friend and poker buddy worm ( edward norton ) finishes his jail term for hustling some students , he wants to pick up right were they left off , working as a team to part others with their betting cash . \\nalthough mike has stopped playing cards as a promise to his girlfriend and fellow law student , jo ( gretchen mol ) , worm connives mike into playing once more , and mike , bitten again by the bug , slides down that slippery slope , risking his relationship , education , and reputation as playing poker again becomes the focus of his life . \\nto make a film about gambling , a filmmaker will usually have to play up the glamorous side to get the audience behind the characters . \\nthis is because few moviegoers will care a whole lot about some guy in a leisure suit or terry cloth shirt sitting at a folding card table with a stogie in his mouth . \\nrounders , however , seems to go more for the latter than the former . \\nthe card clubs mike and worm frequent aren\\'t very glamorous at all . \\nthere\\'s a basement , a lodge with elk heads on the wall , a goulash joint - these are the kinds of locales in which director john dahl sets his shots . \\nexcept for one brief instance when the two players visit atlantic city , the film is bereft of the flashing lights of the casinos or the pleasant color of the green felt table . \\nthe reason rounders still captures our attention is because it is less about the game of poker than it is about the personalities which enjoy and are slaves to it . \\nwe\\'re given a nice set of interesting characters with clear motivations , and good actors to play them . \\nmatt damon is very natural as mike , who struggles between his desire to play the straight and narrow by finishing law school , and answering what may be his true calling , playing professional poker . \\ned norton\\'s worm is truly a worm , always looking for the angle and playing everyone for what they\\'re worth . \\njohn turturro , who amazes me with his acting range , tones it down in this film by playing joey knish , a virtual poker prodigy in his time who now plays the underground games to make rent and child support payments . \\nhe\\'s both a friend and mentor to mike , and turturro\\'s low-key performance is totally convincing , just as john malkovich\\'s heavily-accented teddy kgb is imposing as an adversarial dragon mike must slay to prove himself . \\nmartin landau is also thrown into the mix as one of mike\\'s law professors , abe petrovsky . \\nwhile landau slips well into the role , his character , spitting out personal anecdotes about staying true to one\\'s self , facilitates the channeling of the storyline toward a predictable ending . \\nperhaps the weak link in the otherwise formidable line-up of acting talent , however , is gretchen mol who just didn\\'t seem to have much presence on screen . \\nshe\\'s a genuine peach to look at , kind of a cross between actress renee zellweger and singer jewel ( and i wouldn\\'t be surprised if the three of them formed some kind of blond-haired triumvirate and attempted to take over the world ) , but her delivered lines seemed very flat , and i found myself looking for matt damon\\'s reactions instead . \\na good thing about rounders is that it doesn\\'t get bogged down in the character development and statement making so much that it can\\'t find time for humor . \\nthe film is peppered nicely with scenes that both make you laugh and keep the pacing going , such as a sequence where mike and worm move rapidly around new york from one game to the next , in widely different locales . \\none game in a cigar club had me in stitches . \\n \" i love the sweetness of this dark maduro wrapper , \" says one of the players , clearly more interested in displaying his pretentiousness over the cigar in one hand than in the cards in his other . \\ni was hoping mike and worm would really take these guys . \\nwith all the poker being played , rounders had the potential to be very confusing . \\nyou might think you know a lot about poker , but think again . \\nluckily , we\\'re given a narration by damon during the more intricate moments to explain what\\'s going on . \\nthe narrations are more informative than intrusive , and apprise us of what the stakes are and why certain players want to do the things they do . \\nit\\'s nice that as the characters develop , so does our comprehension of their world . \\nas a film about success and survival in the realm of underground poker , rounders delivers in spades . \\nwait ! \\nas a film about the culture of cards , rounders is an ace . \\nhang on ! \\npacked with great acting and great characters , rounders is a full house . \\nokay , i guess that\\'s enough . \\noh , by the way , if you ever want to get into a game with ol\\' gabe kaplan , be sure to bring a note from epstein\\'s mother . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i know there were times during this movie that i laughed pretty hard . \\nthe problem is , i can\\'t remember them as i write this review . \\nthat\\'s not a good sign . \\nin booty call , jamie foxx is bunz , a character whom i can\\'t really describe , because i don\\'t know that much about him . \\ni only know that he likes to shoot dice on the sidewalk , and that he doesn\\'t like relationships , just \" booty calls \" at three in the morning ( no questions , no commitment ) . \\nbunz has a best friend named rushon ( tommy davidson ) , who seems to be bunz\\'s direct opposite : on the straight and narrow , and currently in a long-term commitment ( a whole seven weeks , wow ! ) . \\nrushon wants to finally sleep with his girlfriend , nikki ( tamala jones ) , but for a reason which is not totally explained , it\\'s going to happen after a double date with bunz and nikki\\'s friend lysterine ( vivica a . fox ) , who have never met . \\nto make a long story short , the two couples pair off and spend the rest of the evening having their attempts to do the deed spoiled by nikki\\'s obsession with safe sex . \\nfirst she wants condoms , so bunz and rushon go out and get them . \\noh , no , they have to be latex , not lambskin . \\nback to the store . \\nnow they\\'ve got to get dental dams , or there\\'ll be no foreplay . \\nwhy are both couples stopped each time nikki makes a demand ? \\nnikki phones lysterine , who lives across the hall , and tells her she\\'d better be making these demands , too . \\ntalk about coitus interruptus . \\nbooty call is a film that does not know whether it wants to be a regular comedy or one of those over-the-top comedies . \\nthe difference between the two is that in the latter , things constantly happen which are so far removed from reality . \\nin this category , for example , you have ace ventura : private eye on the mild side , and airplane ! \\nat the extreme . \\nthere are times during booty call where the film steps out of its shell and tries for this status , but then too often quickly retreats to the safety of convention . \\nit is disappointing , and even worse , distracting . \\nthere are also instances where the screenplay by takashi bufford and bootsie parker ( are those real names ? ) \\ndoes not live up to its potential , as jokes are left unexploited or even ruined by bad writing . \\nfor instance , there is a scene where our main characters are in a chinese restaurant . \\nbunz goes up to an asian gangster and speaks to him in fluent cantonese , much to everyone\\'s surprise . \\nhowever , when asked how he learned the language , he goes into this explanation of how he started picking up words from late-night kung-fu films , and soon gained mastery . \\nthis negated the ludicrousness of the entire scene . \\nif , on the other hand , when asked how he learned to speak chinese , bunz simply replied with , \" kung-fu movies , \" and then moved on , the joke would have been much more effective . \\nthis is because it would have been totally unbelievable , but funny because we know it is unbelievable . \\nby explaining the point and trying to make the ridiculous plausible , the film is not giving its viewers enough credit . \\nthe inconsistency and uncertain believability unfortunately also raise other questions . \\nwhy are two such disparate people like bunz and rushon best friends ? \\nwhy do rushon and nikki fix up bunz and lysterine ? \\nif nikki is so obsessed with safe sex , why doesn\\'t she have some condoms at her own apartment ? \\nthese questions are not answered by the screenplay , but are overlooked for the sole reason of moving the plot forward . \\na very noticeable quality of booty call is the prevalence of unnecessary foul language . \\nsome movies use a lot of swear words , but use them under very justifiable circumstances , as when they are employed consistent with a character\\'s pattern of speech . \\nother films , such as the recent jackie brown , use them in ways that almost parody themselves . \\nbooty call just sticks them in to get laughs , and it doesn\\'t work . \\nthey stick out like sore thumbs because there is almost no reason to use them . \\nhalf of the scenes seem to occur for no reason . \\nthe chinese restaurant , a holdup at a convenience store , and a trip to the hospital seem to have nothing to do with the story , and are in there for filler . \\nthis is surprising , considering that the film is less than eighty minutes long . \\nit\\'s too bad that the core of the film isn\\'t much better , since it is comprised of sometimes funny , but forgettable dialog . \\ni refer you to the first paragraph of this review . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" songcatcher \" in the midst of this summer\\'s fare of dinos revisited and romantic fiascoes , there are a few thoughtful movies - and this appalachian period drama is one . \\noscar nominee janet mcteer ( \" tumbleweeds \" ) stars as dr . lily penleric , an accomplished musicologist who , back in that pre-feminist era , was refused a full professorship at her university . \\ndetermined to prove her worth , she ventures deep into the rugged mountains of north carolina , where her younger sister elna ( jane adams ) runs a school . \\nthere in bear creek , she discovers a treasure-trove of traditional scots-irish and english folk ballads , given a unique interpretation by the insular locals . \\nexcited , she sends for recording equipment and persuades vinie butler ( pat carroll ) and other self-sustaining mountain folk to share their musical heritage on her edison phonograph cylinders . \\ntheir music , as she puts it , is \" as much a part of life here as the air you breathe . \" \\nthat\\'s the main thrust of writer-director maggie greenwald\\'s occasionally uneven culture-clash story , which is loosely based on olive dame campbell\\'s foray through the blue ridge mountains in 1908 , but there\\'s also some melodramatic romantic spice . \\nornery , bearded , banjo-picking aidan quinn falls for the statuesque , passionate \" songcatcher , \" while elna secretly engages in a lesbian relationship with a colleague ( e . \\nkatherine kerr ) . \\ni\\'m ready to buy the soulful soundtrack with vocalists like emmylou harris , iris dement , taj mahal and young opera star emmy rossum who plays a pivotal role as mcteer\\'s wide-eyed prot ? g ? . \\nrated pg-13 , there\\'s an intense scene of primitive childbirth . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" songcatcher \" is an intelligent , extraordinary 8 , transported by the transcendent power of song . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in this re-make of the 1954 japanese monster film , godzilla is transformed into a \" jurassic park \" copy who swims from the south pacific to new york for no real reason and trashes the town . \\nalthough some of the destruction is entertaining for a while , it gets old fast . \\nthe film often makes no sense ( a several-hundred foot tall beast hides in subway tunnels ) , sports second-rate effects ( the baby godzillas seem to be one computer effect multiplied on the screen ) , lame jokes ( mayor ebert and his assistant gene are never funny ) , horrendous acting ( even matthew broderick is dull ) and an unbelievable love story ( why would anyone want to get back together with maria pitillo\\'s character ? ) . \\nthere are other elements of the film that fall flat , but going on would just be a waste of good words . \\nonly for die-hard creature feature fans , this might be fun if you could check your brain at the door . \\ni couldn\\'t . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for 23 years and has seldom had a more disorienting cinematic experience than seeing both \" fear and loathing \" and \" godzilla \" in the same evening . ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'talk about beating a dead horse ! \\nwhen home alone was released in 1990 , it was a breath of fresh air , and the final box office tally indicated how much audiences appreciated a genuinely-funny family film . \\nthe unexpectedly high gross guaranteed a sequel , so , two years later , we were subjected to home alone 2 , which might as well have been called clone alone for all of the originality it exhibited . \\nfor john hughes , two home alone movies weren\\'t enough ? he began recycling the same kinds of villains and situations in almost every movie he was involved with , including a pathetic box office bomb called baby\\'s day out , last year\\'s live-action 101 dalmatians , and this year\\'s flubber . \\nnow , inexplicably , hughes has exhumed not only these worn-out plot elements , but the \" home alone \" name as well . \\nthe result ? 1997\\'s worst sequel ( edging out speed 2 and batman and robin ) , home alone 3 . \\nby changing the characters , hughes ( who wrote and co-produced the film ) , along with his co-conspirator , director raja gosnell , has attempted to inject new life into a series that is way past the point of cardiac arrest . \\nthe new kid , alex pruitt , is played by alex d . linz ( one fine day ) , and the only thing he has going for him is terminal cuteness . \\nhe\\'s not half as interesting as macaulay culkin once was . \\nthe villains , pale copies of joe pesci and daniel stern , are even less engaging than the pair of idiots in flubber . \\nin home alone 3 , there are four of them ( olek krupa , david thornton , lenny von dohlen , and rya kihlstedt ) , but all that means is an opportunity for twice as many pratfalls . \\nthis time , the kid isn\\'t left home alone because his parents have gone on a trip . \\ninstead , he has developed a bad case of chicken pox , so he can\\'t go to school . \\nhis dad ( kevin kilner ) is away on business and his mom ( haviland morris ) has to run errands , so , for the most part , he\\'s all by himself during the day . \\nthrough a series of coincidences too irritating to relate , a top secret u . s . air force integrated circuit comes into his possession . \\nit\\'s wanted by a gang of four international crooks who intend to break into alex\\'s home to retrieve it . \\nthe eight- year old , who is wise beyond his years , booby traps the house with all sorts of rube goldberg-type devices designed to humiliate and incapacitate the villains . \\nthe movie\\'s climax takes place during a raging snowstorm ? only none of the falling flakes looks remotely believable . \\npreviously , the most counterfeit-looking snow effects i can remember were in star trek iii . \\nthese are far worse . \\nin fact , the production values are so shoddy that there are some scenes in the midst of this near-blizzard when a shining sun can be seen . \\nif it\\'s a wonderful life could generate real- looking snow back in the 1940s , why can\\'t home alone 3 , which has a significantly larger budget and \\'90s technology at its disposal ? \\nthere has been an ongoing debate regarding the appropriateness of live-action cartoon violence for young children . \\nhome alone 3 will add fuel to the fire . \\nit\\'s one thing to see wyle e . coyote flattened by a 10 ton acme weight , but quite another to watch a running lawn mower fall on lenny von dohlen . \\nadults and even older children will recognize that this is obviously fake and intended to be humorous , but what about five and six-year olds ? \\nthe level of violence in home alone 3 is extreme ? many of alex\\'s schemes are nasty enough to kill . \\nbut , because this is a \" family film , \" no one dies , despite being electrocuted , falling thirty feet , and getting smacked on the head by a barbell . \\nnot only is home alone 3 unnecessary , but it\\'s offensive . \\nit\\'s an exercise in tediousness , and there isn\\'t a genuine laugh to be found from the beginning to the end ( unless , by some strange quirk of fate , you have missed every 1990s movie associated with john hughes , and thus haven\\'t seen this stuff before ) . \\ni can\\'t imagine anyone with a reasonable attention span being more than momentarily distracted by this pointless adventure . \\nmaybe that\\'s why the only ones laughing at the screening i attended were still in their thumb-sucking years . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m not sure if silvio horta wrote urban legend before or after the success of scream , but i\\'m guessing after just because it seems he may not have had time to write a second draft . \\nseriously , this idea--a psycho bumping off people in the style of urban legends--is a great one and i wish it could have been pulled off . \\nthe first sign of trouble comes with the painfully insipid dialogue . \\nan example : \" that [car crash] must\\'ve been awful . . . for \\neveryone involved . \" \\nyou can tell that the writer intended that something a little more airy was supposed to have been said , just no one figured out what . \\ni know in slasher movies there isn\\'t supposed to be a lot of great characterization and i myself don\\'t mind cardboard cutouts , but please don\\'t let the cutouts be so damn bland . \\none reason movies like scream , star wars and diva have become so treasured is because they feature charismatic actors playing interesting characters . \\naside from jared leto and joshua jackson ( who aren\\'t on the screen long enough ) no one in urban legend makes the grade . \\nalicia witt shows none of the acerbity or wit she displayed on cybill , rebecca gayheart actually looks unattractive ( not to mention as dumb as a post through 3/4 of the film ) and robert englund just cruises on auto pilot . \\ngood thing brad dourif is here , but wait . . . he\\'s only in the movie for five minutes _and_ he\\'s just redoing his good-natured stuttering character from one flew over the cuckoo\\'s nest . \\nwhich brings me to another aspect of urban legend : it\\'s unoriginality . \\nthe film most blatantly ripped off is scream ( another reason that makes me think silvio horta wrote this after craven\\'s and williamson\\'s great success ) . \\nurban legend tries to deconstruct modern-day folklore much the same way scream deconstructed slasher films , but it doesn\\'t quite succeed . \\nit\\'s best stab at self-reflexivity is poking fun at \" that girl in the noxzeema ad \" ( ie , rebecca gayheart ) we also have another killer-taunting-his-victim-on-the-phone routine in urban legend and quick , what movie is this exchange of dialogue from : \\nfemale protagonist : why ? \\nvillain : why ? \\nwhy ? ! ? \\ncongratulations to those of you who answered scream and/or urban legend . \\nlike i said , this movie could\\'ve been great . \\nif only silvio had worked or been allowed to work a little longer on the script . \\nstill , at least urban legend had some pretty cool death scenes and a somewhat realized whodunit angle which makes this slasher is waaaayyyyyy better than i know what you did last summer . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : it\\'s 1977 in a small italian american neighborhood in new york . \\ndisco music is popular , and the sexual revolution is on , but the people of new york are not happy . \\nin fact , they\\'re terrified . \\nas in spike lee\\'s do the right thing a heat wave has the city in its grip , and peoples\\' tempers are flaring . \\nthe cool of night offers no respite : the neighborhood is being terrorized by a nocturnal psychotic killer who calls himself the son of sam . \\nno one knows who the son of sam is , and no one is safe . \\nall around new york people are different . \\naside from cultural groupings and ethnic neighborhoods there are differences between individuals . \\nin the italian american section of town a philandering husband named vinny ( john leguizamo ) tries to hide his trysts and sexual behavior from his long suffering newlywed wife dionna ( mira sorvino ) . \\nvinny\\'s friend ritchie ( adrien brody ) hates disco , works at a gay strip club and doesn\\'t want any of the neighborhood folks to know . \\nritchie\\'s girl ruby ( jennifer esposito ) is trying to escape a reputation as a slut . \\neveryone\\'s different , but nobody in the film wants to be framed as \" alien \" to the community . \\nunfortunately , the killings help create a climate of suspicion pits neighbor against neighbor . \\nopinion : director spike lee\\'s summer of sam is not about a psycho killer . \\nnor is it about cops trying to apprehend him . \\nit\\'s about differences and how , given the right conditions , even close neighbors can fan the hostile flames of irrational suspicion . \\none thing i found interesting in summer of sam was the use of sex . \\nin other movies sex is glamorized . \\nfor example , james bond gets a sexual reward for winning . \\nor boring made-for-video \" suspense \" movies are spiked with gratuitous lingerie scenes just to keep the audience awake . \\nand every movie or soap opera character in these flicks seems to have expert sexual prowess . \\nnot so with summer of sam . \\nin a very gutsy move director spike lee shows sex without fantasy . \\nsex is there , but it isn\\'t gratuitous or titillating . \\nin fact , some of the main characters are downright lousy in bed . \\nsex is in the film because ( sexual ) deviance is part of the film\\'s major theme of \" difference \" breeding hostility . \\nin my opinion this kind of movie sex is cutting edge for 1999 , as rare and thought-provoking in american cinema as showing a spanking . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"at the outset of swordfish , john travolta's gabriel shear is pontificating about the status of american cinema today . \\nbasically , he says , it boils down to a lack of imagination among the majority of writers . \\nhow ironic , as travolta seems to be describing his latest venture . \\nswordfish is loud , violent and amoral . \\nit has the audacity to justify murder and mayhem in the name of sustaining our way of life . \\nand how does travolta's gabriel plan to do this ? \\nby robbing billions from his own government and using the funds to out-terrorize terrorists . \\nswordfish is a very cynical movie . \\nit relies on an audience's perception of our leaders as ineffectual and duplicitous and on terrorists as non-human , faceless entities not worthy of compassion or consideration . \\nthe movie's plot is preposterous with enough illogical leaps that if the film ever slowed down , you'd actually see how ridiculous it all is . \\nthis is a live-action road runner cartoon , moving so quickly that it's over before you can catch your breath to ask any reasonable questions . \\nthe storyline revolves around super hacker stanley jobson ( hugh jackman ) , recruited by gabriel to crack the government's computer codes so gabriel can gather billions for his anti-terrorist campaign . \\ntalk about whacked-out patriotism . \\nmy objections to swordfish are many . \\nthe body count is high , but that is expected in a movie of this sort . \\nit's becoming a bore watching anonymous soldiers , police officers and government agents blown to bits . \\nanother example is the family dynamics between stanley , his 10-year-old daughter and his ex-wife . \\nstanley , though having served time in prison for hacking , is shown as a loving and caring father , forbidden by his ex to see his little girl . \\naudience animosity is immediately created for his former spouse by showing her as a drinker and smoker who also sometimes stars in her new husband's adult films . \\nthus when she is found murdered late in the movie , neither stanley nor his daughter are allowed any time to grieve . \\nin fact , subconsciously , many in the audience are probably glad she was killed . \\nthen there is the sequence involving one of gabriel's henchman holding a gun to the head of stanley's daughter to coerce the hacker to download the key computer program for gabriel . \\nchildren as pawns have become a most unwelcome clich ? in recent films . \\nthere is enough violence in the real world involving children without having to make them on-screen victims as well . \\nyea , it's only make believe , but that doesn't mean you have to tolerate it . \\ntravolta is cool , deadly charming and flamboyant as the near-crazy gabriel . \\nhis character is reminiscent of his villainous characterizations in broken arrow and face/off . \\njackman looks dour through most of the proceedings . \\nhis only moment of any depth comes when he finally is able to create the worm to get inside the government database . \\nhis sense of joy and accomplishment is one any computer whiz can appreciate . \\nhalle berry is decorative and lovely as gabriel's assistant , while don cheadle is given little to do as the head fbi agent hunting gabriel . \\nswordfish plays like a comic book with a larger-than-life character in gabriel . \\nviewers align themselves with him despite their uncertainty if he is hero or villain . \\nand maybe that is the movie's underlying flaw : there is no real hero to speak of , only those doing their upmost to survive . \\nand that is not enough . \\nthis is one swordfish that should have been thrown back in the water . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'robin williams has the rarest of gifts : the ability to rise above the most inept material and suffuse it with his irreverent style . \\noverwhelmingly , his worst films are pleasantly diverting at worst and enjoyable at best ( with the notable exception of flubber ) . \\nso when i , the one person who has refused to abandon him despite patch adams , tell you that not even williams can save his latest project , you know it\\'s in trouble . \\njakob the liar is a confused , muddled little movie ; a generically \" uplifting \" film with a fundamental contradiction : the message it delivers is depressing as opposed to inspiring and the movie doesn\\'t realize it . \\nwilliams plays jakob haim , a jew imprisoned in a polish ghetto during world war ii . \\none night he wanders outside after curfew and is promptly sent to the office of a high-ranking german officer for his punishment . \\njakob gets off easy and he gets to hear approximately 30 seconds of a radio broadcast . \\nthe announcement ( in english , but punctuated by a triumphant \" heil hitler ! \" ) is that russian troops are only miles away from jakob\\'s ghetto . \\nliberation ! he thinks . \\nthe next day , jakob tells the news to his closest friend , a volatile prize fighter named misha ( liev schreiber ) , who despite being sworn to secrecy passes the message along . \\nsoon , it is a common assumption in the ghetto that jakob has a radio hidden in his home -- a crime punishable by death . \\nthis is absurdly false , but the more jakob tells the people of the ghetto this , the more convinced they become that he is abreast of the latest developments in the war that is to decide their fate . \\nthe danger , of course , is that the germans allegedly have informants throughout the ghetto , and rumors about the radio can get out and put jakob in great danger . \\nin a curiously irrelevant subplot , jakob finds a 11-year old girl who has separated from her parents and decides to hide her in his small home . \\napparently he is afraid that she will be discovered , and goes to great length to make sure of that -- just why the idea frightens him is never made clear . \\nhe and the girl build an uninvolving , generic relationship that never goes anywhere and is as irrelevant at the end as it was in the beginning . \\nthe moral of the story is that hope is the best medicine . \\nbut jakob the liar forgets that the hope that jakob brings to his ghetto is false . \\nsuch hope inevitably leads to expectations of its realization and when those expectations aren\\'t met , the results are far worse than if there was no hope . \\nthat\\'s the film\\'s biggest detriment : it is based on a false assumption and thus comes off as painfully false . \\nit\\'s never moving because it doesn\\'t give us anything to be moved by . \\njakob the liar fails to tug any heartstrings which destroys its purpose for existing . \\nrobin williams doesn\\'t inject the film with life , as a matter of fact , he seems a little out of it , as if crippled by his fake accent . \\nhe is stragely unenthusiastic ; his character is one who spreads hope but his performance is lifeless , hopeless . \\nnot since good will hunting has he abandoned his signature style to this extent ; this isn\\'t the robin williams we know and love . \\nin good will hunting he became a serious actor and won an oscar for it . \\nhere , he is more of a wannabe serious actor ; an impostor . \\njakob the liar will be compared with last year\\'s life is beautiful because it is being marketed as a \" holocaust comedy \" . \\nit\\'s not a comedy . \\nit tries , sometimes , but it rarely works . \\nis it a melodrama ? \\na war movie ? \\na character study ? \\nno , no , and no . \\njakob the liar is the kind of movie that can\\'t be placed into a category ; not because it covers so many different genres but because it fails at just about every one it attempts . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the film starts out with a creepy opening sequence to which has the now classic and creepy score by writer/director/producer john carpenter who in my mind is a brilliant director , he really is . \\nhe wrote this film , he directed this film , he produced this film and he made the excessively creepy score to this film . \\ni think he is and always will be famous for this classic which after 21 years has not lost it's popularity or it's ability to scare the wits out of people . \\ni think i have seen 'halloween' over 100 times and each time i find something new and brilliant , and each time i am scared even though i know what is going to happen . \\ni own three different versions of the film : a vhs regular version that came with a limited edition 20th anniversary t-shirt , a boxed edition vhs in a hardcover case digitally re-mastered with the original theatrical widescreen presentation , in a nifty plastic picture decorated box with a numbered snow-globe . \\nin other words i am completely and utterly obsessed with the film . \\nit has changed horror movies forever and spawned six sequels with only 2 , 4 , and 7 being truly good . \\nit also spawned several cheap imitations of the film that were offensive in some ways to a true halloween fan . \\nsince i heard about halloween being released on dvd in a limited edition of 30 , 000 copies , i knew i had to buy one no matter what ! \\ni did and man to me it's the best dvd ever manufactured with the brilliance of the film . \\nno words can describe the dvd . \\nin 'halloween' michael myers is a evil person whom killed his sister in cold blood 16 years ago in 1963 . \\nnow in 1978 grown up and in a mental hospital michael myers escapes to go back to his hometown of haddonfield , illinois , followed by his past doctor sam loomis . \\nthe person michael is targeting is laurie strode who is played by jamie lee curtis in her film debut . \\nwhy is he stalking her ? \\ncheck out halloween ii it explains it all . \\non this unholy night on october 31 , 1978 laurie strode and her two friends are going to have the time of their lives , which is trying to stay alive . \\nthe whole film is filled with terrifying moments most coming from just seeing michael myers walk . \\nnick castle who played the shape in the first movie did an incredible job , and no other person in any other halloween flick can do what he did . \\nwhat john carpenter did in 1978 is made a ground-breaking new film , with scares , wit , and style . \\nthe movie is flawless if not perfect . \\nno other movie or sequel has lived up to this one , and in my opinion never will . \\n'halloween' will be like 'psycho' and still be extremely popular even almost 40 years later . \\ni just hope someday 'halloween' will be released in a new dolby soundtrack with the 4 extra scenes on the dvd edition . \\n'halloween' isn't just another slice-and-dice horror flick , it's an intelligent , horrifying and best film experience ever made . \\nsee 'halloween' and be scared . . . . then \\nwatch it again ! \\nreviewed by brandon herring october 7 , 1999 . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" mercury rising \" has numerous flaws , but there is one that really stands out : its central plot device is unnecessary . \\nthat\\'s right . \\nthe major aspect of the film , that which is supposed to make it different from other routine government conspiracy / action flicks could be dropped from the beginning , and the movie would turn out exactly the same , if not better . \\nthis central device is the fact that a nine-year-old boy is autistic . \\nhis name is simon , and an evil government bureaucrat named nicholas kudrow ( alec baldwin ) wants him dead because he unknowingly cracked a supersecret government code slipped into the back of a puzzle magazine by its programmers just to see if someone could beat it . \\nsimon is intended to be the heart and soul of the film , and we are supposed to feel for him because he is a poor handicapped child thrown into a violent , unfair world against his will , with only a renegade fbi agent played by bruce willis to protect him . \\nthe fact that he is autistic does nothing for the emotional intensity or the plot necessities of \" mercury rising . \" \\ni suppose the original novel upon which the movie was based did much more with this aspect of simon\\'s character and his relationship with willis , but here it is lost . \\nmiko hughes , the young actor who plays simon , goes through the prescribed motions of being autistic : he walks slowly , drawls his words , kicks and screams when he\\'s touched , and has a hard time looking at other people . \\nit\\'s a difficult role for an adult , much less a young child , to play , and unfortunately hughes never convinces us that he isn\\'t playing like he\\'s autistic . \\nunlike dustin hoffman\\'s performance in \" rain man \" or leonardo dicaprio\\'s in \" what\\'s eating gilbert grape , \" we are always painfully aware that hughes is acting . \\nhowever , unlike \" rain man \" which used its character\\'s autism in unique and interesting ways to build a credible and touching story , \" mercury rising \" could go right about its generic , predictable plot with simon being simply a really smart but really shy kid . \\nhell , he doesn\\'t even have to be shy . \\nin fact , the movie might have been more interesting if he had had a more active role , rather than just being carted around under willis\\' arm . \\nwillis\\' character , art jeffries , is a disillusioned fbi agent who has been removed from undercover work and is now doing menial tasks like listening to wiretaps with rookies who are happy to be doing anything . \\nhe becomes involved with simon when he is called to check out a murder scene at simon\\'s house , where his father has apparently shot his mother in the back and then committed suicide . \\nof course , we know that isn\\'t the way it happened happen because we saw an evil , square-jawed government hitman with a mean-looking crew-cut knock off the parents . \\nsimon was able to get away , and jeffries finds him hiding in a secret compartment in a closet , which the rest of the chicago police department had overlooked . \\njeffries -- who is accused by several characters at different times of being paranoid although his actions never suggest it -- knows there is something more , and he makes it his personal mission to go against everything and everyone in order to protect simon . \\nthis is quite a task because that same hitman who knocked off simon\\'s parents is crawling everywhere , attempting to kill simon at the hospital , on the highway , and every other place he goes . \\nlate in the movie , jeffries is forced to enlist the aid of a pretty young woman named stacey ( kim dickens ) who he meets at a coffee shop . \\nof all the hard-to-believe aspects of the movie , this is the worst . \\ni can believe in the decency of the human heart , but stacey\\'s character is far too accommodating . \\nnot only does she agree to watch simon while jeffries runs off to solve the mystery , she lets him into her apartment at two o\\'clock in the morning when she knows the police is after him , and then lets him leave simon in her apartment which means that she has to forgo a business trip that is desperately needed to pay the rent . \\nthe grinding squeals of the rusty plot machine are almost overbearing at this point . \\nthe movie might have been redeemed by some good action sequences , but even here \" mercury rising \" doesn\\'t rise to the challenge . \\nthe movie was directed by harold becker , who has made some good suspense films including \" sea of love \" ( 1989 ) and \" malice \" ( 1993 ) , but his talent is nowhere to be found in this latest excursion . \\nthere is one fight on a streetcar between jeffries and another hitman ( played by peter stormare ) that is so ineptly directed , shot and edited , that i had no idea 1 ) exactly where they were on the streetcar , 2 ) who was hitting who , and 3 ) where this hitman came from and how he knew where jeffries and simon were . \\nthe grand finale takes place on the roof of a tall building , and features a harrowing ( yawn ) scene where simon walks along the very edge of the building , not because he has to , but because it\\'s more suspenseful that way . \\ntaken as a whole , \" mercury rising \" is an tepid , confused movie that lacks style , wit , and any traces of a sense of humor . \\nusually willis brings his personal brand of understated humor to his roles , but here he is too straight and serious . \\nthis is because the movie wants to be an action flick and a heartfelt drama at the same time , but it ends up failing on both fronts . \\nmaybe the book was better , but the way it\\'s handled here is a perfect case study in formula filmmaking guaranteed to bore . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'more than forty years ago , the \" sword and sandals \" genre of historical epic ruled the box office . \\nduring the 1950\\'s hollywood sought to give audiences a reason to turn off their televisions and go out to the movies by offering the grand spectacle of the roman empire in cinemascope . \\n \" ben-hur . \" \\n \" cleopatra . \" \\n \" the robe . \" \\n \" sparticus . \" \\n \" the fall of the roman empire . \" \\n \" quo vadis . \" \\nsometimes brilliant , sometimes campy , the roman epic was the technicolor funeral pyre of classic hollywood . \\nsince then , epics have appeared infrequently ( \" the last emperor , \" \" braveheart \" ) and some of the best have been small-screen affairs produced in the 1970\\'s ( \" roots , \" \" shogun \" ) . \\nyet , the phrase \" we who are about to die salute you \" has been absent until now . \\n \" gladiator \" begins in germania in a . d . 180 . \\nroman general maximus ( russell crowe ) has conquered yet another group of barbarians for his emperor marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) , and he is eager to retire to his plantation in spain where his wife and son are waiting . \\nhowever , the emperor is worried that his decadent weakling son commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) will prove a poor successor , so he wants to make maximus his heir as a transition toward rome becoming a republic again . \\nwhen commodus hears the plan , he strangles his father and orders maximus and his family murdered . \\nmaximus escapes from the executioners , but he arrives home too late to save his wife and son . \\na caravan of slavers pick up the wounded hero and carry him off to north africa . \\n ( why the caravan happened to be cruising by maximus\\' place is never explained . ) \\nan african named juba ( djimon hounsou ) treats maximus\\' wounds . \\nproximo ( oliver reed ) , a gladiator who won his freedom , purchases maximus and juba as fodder for the arena . \\nof course , maximus proves as able a gladiator as he was a soldier , and his fame spreads . \\nwhen commodus reopens the coliseum , proximo brings his troupe of warriors to rome to compete . \\nour hero wins the hearts and minds of the cheering crowds and finds that he has an ally in commodus\\' sister lucilla ( connie nielsen ) . \\nthe similarities to \" braveheart \" are obvious : an evil king , a determined warrior seeking revenge for his murdered family , the aid of a lovestruck princess . \\nalso , like mel gibson\\'s epic , \" gladiator \" has a primarily visceral appeal and is driven forward by the hero\\'s anger . \\nit\\'s a simple tale of good versus evil . \\nmaximus has all the manly virtues : nobility of purpose , courage in battle , loyalty to king and country , physical stamina , and devotion to family . \\ncommodus is his opposite in every way : a sniveling , selfish coward who is intended to disgust the audience . \\nthe opening night crowd in my theater was about 70% male , and that seems appropriate . \\n \" gladiator \" is a guy movie ( would the opposite of a \" chick flick \" be a \" dick flick \" ? ) . \\nthere\\'s much pumping of testosterone and chopping off of body parts in gruesome battle sequences . \\n ( those easily offended by gore should stay away . ) \\nlucilla is the only female character , and what sparks there are between her and maximus are dampened by his devotion to his dead wife . \\njoaquin phoenix gives an astounding performance . \\nin the scene where commodus kills his father , phoenix shows the pain of a son who has never had his father\\'s love or pride . \\nthroughout the picture , phoenix manages to give depth to a character who\\'s scripted as a caricature of evil . \\ni\\'ve been a russell crowe fan since \" romper stomper . \" \\nthis role doesn\\'t offer him the complexities of his parts in \" l . \\na . confidential \" and \" the insider \" -- essentially his job is to grunt heroically -- but his voice , which has a richard burton resonance textured by a clint eastwood rasp , is perfect for the genre . \\nthe late oliver reed gave us the best work of his career in his last role . \\ni hope it will be rewarded with an oscar . \\nmy only major quibble with \" gladiator \" is its stylized look . \\nseveral scenes are tinted . \\nwe\\'ve seen a lot of the tinted look lately , particularly in \" payback \" and \" the matrix . \" \\ni don\\'t get the appeal of the style , which makes feature films look like tv ads . \\nin \" payback \" it was merely annoying , but in \" gladiator \" it bleaches the color out of the grand spectacles that are the raison d\\'etre of the roman epic . \\n ( perhaps it\\'s meant to gloss over the imperfections of the computer-generated shots . ) \\nalso , the battle scenes are filmed in a strange herky jerky style that seems to be slo mo and fast forward simultaneously . \\n ( it reminds me of the way the flash runs in the comic books , leaving a half-blurred trail of images of himself behind . ) \\nwith a more realistic look , \" gladiator \" could be even more satisfying than \" braveheart \" because it has a tighter script and a more fulfilling conclusion . \\nbottom line : a rousing action film enriched by fine performances but tarnished by stylistic choices . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'senseless is a prime example of what can happen when you try to push a one-joke concept a bit too far . \\ndirector penelope spheeris is no stranger to this , having subjected audiences before to such tortures as the beverly hillbillies . \\nmarlon wayans stars as darryl witherspoon , a college senior vying for a lucrative job at a prominent brokerage . \\nhowever , he lacks the advantages of his chief opposition , scott thorpe ( david spade , in the smarmy sort of role he can deliver in his sleep ) : an athletic record , sponsorship by a fraternity , and , most of all , a wealthy family to back him up . \\nin fact , darryl has to work at four jobs simply to make ends meet . \\nbut there may be a light at the end of that tunnel . \\nhe signs up as a human guinea pig in a neurological experiment run by the university\\'s dr . wheedon ( brad dourif ) . \\nas a result , his senses are magnified tenfold . \\nusing his newfound abilities , he sets himself in complete pursuit of the job ( unaware that there may be some disadvantageous side-effects to having super senses ) . \\nnaturally , marlon wayans plays this comedy at full throttle , giving jim carrey-ish amounts of physical humor . \\nthe problem is , aside from a few genuinely inspired bits , there\\'s not much that\\'s funny here . \\nthe film has it\\'s one central gag , and pads out the rest of its length with rather obvious lowbrow humor . \\nthere obviously wasn\\'t much thought put into the plot . \\nthe entire job selection process is completely ridiculous . \\ni mean , why the emphasis on extra-curricular activities if the entire job is going to come down to a single-elimination quiz anyhow ? \\nand is this the only job being offered to economics majors this semester ? \\nto give it credit , senseless does try to create a secondary joke with darryl\\'s roommate , tim laflour ( matthew lillard ) . \\napparently , he is supposed to be faddish , but the film never does anything with him , leaving him in a piercing phase throughout the movie . \\nhis \" intervention \" scenes with darryl , however , do provide a rare , and welcome , laugh . \\nand then there\\'s the love interest which is always pathetically tacked onto comedies like this one . \\nin this case , the object of darryl\\'s amor is janice ( tamara taylor ) , a fellow student who won\\'t have anything to do with darryl until he gains his super-senses . \\nneedless to say , the romance is completely extraneous , and adds little to the film . \\nthis is a film that desperately needed something else . \\nbe that a good plot , more jokes ( or simply funnier ones ) , or a strong character or two , anything would have helped senseless get off the ground . \\nas it is , all the manic exuberant mugging in the world can\\'t help marlon wayans get this one off the ground . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in the interest of being generous , i want to start this review with the scene that i liked in meet joe black . \\nsir anthony hopkins , playing a super-rich media mogul , has gathered his family around him for dinner . \\nhis oldest daughter ( played by marcia gay harden from millers crossing ) , who has been obsessively planning his sinfully extravagant birthday party , presents him with three superbly decorated little cakes , which are supposed to be scale models for his big birthday cake . \\nthe daughter asks hopkins to pick the one he likes . \\nhopkins , frustrated by the weight of planning for the whole elaborate affair , does what any man in his position would do : he punts . \\nwhichever one you like , dear , he says . \\nand the daughter does exactly what any woman in her position would do : she cries . \\ni liked that scene for two reasons . \\nfirst , the cakes looked really cool . \\nsecond , it was , perhaps , the only scene in the movie where people acted as you would expect people to act . \\nmeet joe black is chock-full of odd performances , people doing things for no discernible reason at all , and doing them in slow motion over the course of three hours to boot . \\nit\\'s easy to watch meet joe black for the abundant eye candy of the palatial homes and the beauteous claire forlani , but it\\'s even easier to sleep right through it ( two people on my row managed it quite nicely ) . \\nthe difficult part of the movie is understanding the characters and their motivations and why someone thought three hours was an appropriate length for this overwrought mess . \\ni know my audience had problems with the movie , because they thought it was a comedy . \\ncase in point : everyone should know by now that brad pitt plays the angel of death in this movie . \\nhowever , the first we see of him is as a young lawyer in a coffee shop hitting on the glamorous claire forlani . \\n ( it\\'s not clear from the movie whether you need a law degree to become the angel of death , but it makes a certain kind of sense . ) \\nit shouldn\\'t take long for the observant moviegoer to realize that bad things are about to happen to mr . pitt . \\nand indeed they do ( after a hideously prolonged sequence where pitt looks over his shoulder at the retreating forlani and forlani looks over her shoulder at the retreating pitt ) , because pitt walks into the road without looking and suddenly gets squished . \\nwell , when that happened , the audience howled with laughter , and continued to laugh at every comment that was remotely humorous . \\nso , if you think that sudden violent death and sarcastic drawing-room humor are funny , i encourage you to go see meet joe black immediately . \\nanyway , the deceased lawyer\\'s body , no worse the wear from its massive injuries , is possessed by the angel of death and brad pitt takes over that role . \\nthe idea is that death ( given the pen name of joe black , so as not to disturb others ) wants to take a holiday and experience the world . \\nif this weren\\'t hollywood , we might get an interesting metaphysical discussion of life and death , but since it is , we get scene after scene of fish-out-of-water humor , just as if death is george of the jungle or crocodile dundee or some other poor schmuck who\\'s wandered in from the jungle or the outback or whatever and doesn\\'t know how to act in our society . \\nit also doesn\\'t help that the character of death is written so inconsistently . \\nhe claims to be on vacation , but he never does anything except hang around the seriously attractive claire forlani ( just try to get your travel agent to book that one ) . \\nhe speaks very slow and halting english but perfectly fluent jamaican patois . \\nhe knows everything about some characters , nothing about others . \\nand as played by brad pitt , he\\'s not especially menacing or charming or glamorous or intriguing , he\\'s just there . \\nit\\'s as if someone told pitt , \" never mind about acting in this picture , son , just stand there and look pretty . \" \\nit\\'s as if pitt is doing his keanu reeves impression throughout the movie . \\ni\\'ve used the phrase \" angel of death \" in this review very deliberately to contrast pitt\\'s performance with this year\\'s best angel performance , nicolas cage\\'s in city of angels . \\nwhere pitt is cold and unfeeling , cage is as warm and empathetic as the situation allows . \\nwhere cage is genuinely curious about the nature of man , pitt is aloof and arrogant . \\ncage struck instant chemical sparks with co-star meg ryan , where the chemistry between pitt and forlani is only understandable if you accept the notion that forlani\\'s character is so shallow that she can\\'t see beyond pitt\\'s good looks . \\nthe movie\\'s other top name is a much better actor , but that doesn\\'t save meet joe black . \\nsir anthony hopkins isn\\'t given much better material to work with , unfortunately . \\nhe plays one of these good-hearted multimillionaire media moguls that only exist in hollywood . \\n ( one wonders what might have happened if they had made hopkins\\'s character more realistically evil . ) \\nhopkins is marked for death due to a bad ticker , but death steps in and grants him some extra time in exchange for being his guide in the world . \\nof course , no one can be sure of how they will act when death taps on their shoulder . \\nbut i have to wonder ( and in this movie , you have a very long time to wonder ) how you or i would act in a similar situation , especially if you or i were a multimillionaire . \\nhopkins pretty much goes to the office -- and the major subplot revolves around who will control the corporation . \\nfans of corporate intrigue will be fascinated , i\\'m sure . \\ni stayed awake all the way through meet joe black , and i\\'m asking myself why . \\nmovies about death should encourage you to live life to the fullest , which is what i\\'m going to do now . \\ngo spend time with your family , go volunteer for a local charity , heck , go take a nap . \\ndon\\'t go see meet joe black , because all it will do is move you three long hours closer to death . \\n-- curtis edmonds \\n \" no children have ever meddled with the republican party and lived to tell about it . \" \\n-- sideshow bob \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" nothing more than a high budget masturbation fantasy \" \\nshowgirls ( nc-17 ) - contains graphic nudity , profanity , sexual situations and violence . \\nsome people , however , keep their clothes on . \\nyou do not watch porn films for their intellectual values , nor do you write reviews on them . \\nthat\\'s why this review will be short . \\nit seems that this film will end up in the porn section when it hits the video stores . \\nthere is no story , script , point or acting . \\nonly naked bodies , which is exactly the point . \\nhere is the so called plot : nomi , the 23-year-old with a dark past as a hooker , has hitchhiked from somewhere back east to perform in a show where a dancer doesn\\'t wear much more than a light coating of powder and a big , fake smile . \\nno one is twisting nomi\\'s arm . \\nno one is holding her grandmother hostage . \\nshe wants to do this . \\nand that is what she is doing till the end credits . \\nso what\\'s the problem then ? \\nwhat\\'s the point ? \\nwhat\\'s the film about ? \\nis there anyone whose aspirations could inspire less sympathy ? \\nthis film can be described in one sentence : obscene level of incompetence , excessive stupidity in the story line , gross negligence of the viewer\\'s intelligence , a prurient interest in the quick buck . \\nbelieve me , after an hour with these characters , acting and script , you\\'ll start hoping for someone to kill somebody . \\nelizabeth berkley makes a laughable try as the heroine of this film , that is bad even for eszterhas\\' script . \\nher character is the only one that is at least half written and she could really have done better . \\nher character denies the fact that she is a whore for the industry , selling her body to the hungry eyes of the horny public . \\n \" i am not a whore ! \\ni am a dancer \" , she screams , but does it in such an over dramatized way that you\\'ll start laughing . \\nin fact the acting in \" showgirls \" brings terrible to a new and previously unknown level . \\nnot one single achievement , besides the conventional cinematography , is worth mentioning . \\nit is a total waste of time and money . \\nthere is not a single moment of what you might call intelligence . \\nthe dialogue is structured of ancient stereotypes and cliches lined up one after another . \\nits attempt to even imagine to have half a brain results in a catastrophe . \\n \" in my films , \" writes director paul verhoeven ( \\'basic instinct\\' , \\'total recall\\' ) , \" i hold the mirror up to life . \" \\nwell , excuse me ? \\nhis attempt to go behind the scenes of las vegas , and as he put it \" show the naked truth \" , is simplified and unreal . \\noccasionally , between his collection of mistakes and logical irrationalities , screenwriter joe eszterhas ( the creator of some of the worst screenplays in hollywood history ) inserts some lines of deep morality , that sound something like this : \" hey , i see you . \\ni see that you\\'re hiding \" - \" from what ? \" \\n- \" from you \" . \\nyes , and even the only decent line in this film : \" nomi is what las vegas is all about \" can\\'t save \\'showgirls\\' from going under . \\nit\\'s a strange phenomena . \\nit\\'s not erotic , because it lacks sensuality . \\nnot dramatic , because it lacks the acting . \\nand not intelligent because it lacks a story . \\nit is simply verhoven\\'s bad excuse for making pornography . \\nyou want to see naked women ? \\nbare breasts ? \\nfull frontals ? \\nit\\'s nothing wrong with that . \\nbut in that case i suggest that you rent a porn film in your local video store , and not waste time surviving through eszterhas\\' pathetic dialogue . \\nb qualities , while it\\'s only a high budget porn-film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" the 13th warrior \" comes at the end of as summer where we\\'ve already experienced man eating sharks ( \" deep blue sea \" ) , man eating crocodiles ( \" lake placid \" ) and even a man hunting witch ( \" the blair witch project \" ) . \\nnow , \" the 13th warrior \" presents a tribe of flesh eating men who believe that they are bears . \\nthe story , if that\\'s what you want to call it , follows ahmed ibn fahdlan ( antonio banderas ) an arabian poet who falls in love with his king\\'s wife and is banished from his home land . \\nhe then travels to the land of the vikings and becomes an ambassador to them . \\neventually the vikings are called upon to protect the people of the village who are being hunted by the flesh eating men . \\nthirteen warriors are chosen to go on the mission , and as you guessed it , ahmed is chosen as the thirteenth . \\nhe\\'s not a warrior , and at first not well accepted by the vikings , but as the movie advances he\\'ll have to prove himself both on and off the battlefield . \\nthat\\'s basically the entire plot . \\nthere is also a romantic subplot that has been so badly mishandled and , one assumes , drastically cut that you begin to wonder why the filmmakers didn\\'t just edit out all of the scenes attaining to that part of the story . \\ninstead they chose to leave just enough of those scenes in to annoy the viewer . \\nthe film is basically non- stop action and when it pauses and tries to develop a story it becomes a laughing stock . \\nthe battle scenes , although well choreographed , are not involving and not the least bit exciting . \\nwe don\\'t get to know any of the characters and so we don\\'t care who lives and who dies . \\nthe film , which wants to be beowolf , comes across more as a failed action-adventure story aspiring to epic proportions but not achieving it on any levels . \\nit was directed by john mctiernan who\\'s , \" the thomas crown affair \" is also playing in theaters currently . \\nand it\\'s not that mctiernan worked simultaneously on both films but that , \" the 13th warrior \" was placed on the shelf for so long with the studio just waiting for a time to dump it on audiences . \\nit belongs back on the shelf . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'these days the lack of originality in hollywood reflects itself in the deluge of remakes . \\nbut , only a few years ago , before wes craven publicly made fun of the practice , sequels had been more popular among hollywood producers . \\nsequels also used to be popular among directors and movie stars whose careers went south . \\nthe way to regain popularity and prestige , they thought , was the use the same formulas , characters and story lines that brought them success in the first place . \\none of such celebrity was eddie murphy , black comedian of 1980s whose career was in big decline during the first part of this decade . \\nin order to return to the spotlight , he chose to resurrect the franchise created by his most popular film , beverly hills cop , 1984 action comedy that had already spawned the sequel in 1987 . \\nseven years later , for the third instalment , he used the directorial service of john landis , another fading star , with whom he successfully collaborated twice - in trading places and coming to america . \\nthis time , however , third time wasn\\'t the charm and beverly hills iii was failure . \\neddie murphy had to wait few more years for real comeback . \\neddie murphy here plays axel foley , fast-talking streetwise detroit policeman , who raids illegal chop shop . \\nthe routine police action ends in tragedy , when the criminals kill foley\\'s boss . \\ndetermined to bring the killers to justice , foley realises that their leader is ellis de wald ( timothy carhart ) . \\nwhen it turns out that de wald happens to be security chief for wonderland theme park in los angeles , foley goes back to los angeles . \\nthere , with the help of his old friend , local policeman rosewood ( judge rheinhold ) , foley would clash with money counterfeit ring . \\nten years has passed since the original and times are definitely different . \\nin this decade , the contrast between blue collar detroit and yuppie beverly hills , which provided a lot of gags in 1984 film , simply doesn\\'t work . \\nscreenwriter steven e . de souza provides another conflict , this time between the childish sillyness of the good guys and business-like professionalism of the bad guys . \\nsince foley belongs to the former , his character had to watch his language , and the tone of the film in general is more infantile . \\nunfortunately , this film still belongs to action movie genre , and there is too much violence for little children . \\nnice example is the humorous scene in the beginning , which turns into standard ramboesque bloodbath . \\nunlike donner with the lethal weapon series , landis simply can\\'t balance the comedy with \" regular \" action , and the result is a film that fails in both aspects . \\naction scenes are sometimes interesting , but not too spectacular ( at the end , scenery of wonderland is more fascinating than the action itself ) ; humour , on the other hand , falls flat . \\nto make even worse , some minor characters from 1984 film gets unnecessary and sometimes irritating overexposure ( especially art expert turned into arms dealer , played by bronson pinchot ) . \\nin the end , although the film provided some entertainment , viewers , at least critical ones , would probably be happy to know that there aren\\'t any plans for beverly hills iv . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"my giant begins with a monologue that's more funny than not and a distinctive `princess bride , ' medieval fairy-tale-in-the- ? 90s feel . \\ni was pleasantly surprised how sharp the comedy was , with very funny scenes occurring on a movie set in romania where talent agent sammy ( billy crystal ) is visiting a client and in the monastery where sammy ends up after being mysteriously saved when he accidentally plunges his car into a stream . \\nand when sammy meets max , his giant , mysterious savior played by gheorghe muresan , there is magic in the air ; albeit it a bit goofy , i loved every minute of it . \\nthe film , of course , plays on the size difference between the two , and at times you would almost swear it must be special effects . \\ni particularly enjoyed a shot of sammy dangling his legs from a max-sized chair as the two face each over an enormous table and eat from oversized bowls and spoons . \\ni also liked jere burns' ( from tv's `something so right' ) performance as the director of the film in romania . \\nat this point , the primary flaw in the film is that gheorghe muresan is incredibly hard to understand , particularly during his fast-paced first scene . \\nit is unfortunate that the script required him to speak quickly right out of the gate , as i did understand him more as the film continued and i became accustomed to his speech . \\nhowever , about the time muresan becomes coherent , the characters head to new york and the film takes a dive . \\noff the high board . \\nsuddenly , we are expected to believe sammy is a do-whatever-it-takes slime ball . \\nup until this point he was pursuing his own interests to be sure , but he didn't come off as a desperate jerk . \\nif he had , the first scenes could never have been so lighthearted and magical . \\nbut now , in new york , we are further introduced to his neglected wife and son , and his character is desperate enough to involve max in a disturbing giant vs . midgets wrestling match , which i found quite unpleasant and jarring within the framework of the film . \\nindeed , many scenes stuck out of this film like incorrectly placed puzzle pieces . \\nthis includes the scenes featuring steven seagal , when sammy gets max a role in a big , hollywood movie filming in las vegas . \\nwhile i enjoyed seeing seagal poke fun at himself , the scenes appeared to exist solely because of his participation , rather than because the film demanded it . \\nand the audience is required to take a huge leap to believe that max would win the role based on his quotations of shakespeare . \\nat this point i found myself thinking , `we're supposed to believe that someone would cast this guy in a film ? ' \\nthen i realized he was , and i was watching it . \\nin the final third , the film undergoes another transformation , this time to unbridled sentimentality . \\nnote : major plot points are revealed in this and the final paragraph . \\nmax went to america because sammy promised to reunited him with his childhood love , lillianna , who hasn't seen him since he was a normal-sized kid . \\nher refusal to see max ( unbeknownst to him ) leads us to an awkward `ends justify the means' scene as sammy's wife serena , played nicely by kathleen quinlan , poses as lillianna . \\ni found this scene offensive . \\nnot only did it rely on deception to induce warm , fuzzy feelings from the audience , it reduced max to someone we should pity and coddle , which i thought was quite undeserved . \\ni think max could have handled the truth , gratuitous illness and all . \\nlate in the film we learn max , and in fact all giants , have a heart condition which shortens their lives considerably . \\nthis could be an enlightening revelation , but the film seemingly presents it only to justify sammy's transformation into a caring , sensitive guy -- and hey , a great dad and husband , too ! \\n`my giant' suffers from a poorly constructed story line and undeveloped characters whose actions are determined by plot points rather than their own internal persuasions . \\na stronger story with more room for character growth might have been possible if the focus was on max's struggle to be accepted and cast in movies instead of sammy's struggles to get money and become a better person . \\nin this scenario , max's illness could have been a integral part of the film not a story motivator . \\nsentiment and emotion would have followed naturally . \\ninstead , we're apparently not supposed to like sammy until the end , but we're not allowed to focus on max . \\ncrystal and muresan give adequate and at times enjoyable performances , but in the end , `my giant' left me feeling like i'd been fed gruel from a giant spoon . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'when i first heard that disney\\'s next animated feature was going to be tarzan , i was almost horrified . \\ni was worried that disney was going to make another hercules ( sorry , jerk-ules ) . \\nthat effort was too overloaded with comedy ( and the hero was too boastful and pompous to be considered a sympathetic hero ) , and , after viewing it to this day , i find it a disgrace for disney animation . \\nwhen i saw the trailers , i was thinking \" hmm . . . \\nthis isn\\'t bad at all . \\nthis just might have potential . \" \\nwhen i bought the soundtrack , i was really quite surprised at how different it sounded from most disney features . \\ni have never really heard of phil collins , nor have i heard of mark mancina , so i was wondering , how would these two make this disney flick spin ? \\ni was pleasantly surprised : the music is top-notch . \\nphil collins\\' songs are terrific , percussion-heavy pieces of work that seem to break the formula for typical disney songs . \\nthe score from mark mancina was also neat ; it reminded me a bit of the lion king , but it was more original . \\nso , the soundtrack wasn\\'t bad at all , considering it was by two people i am not familiar with . \\nthis film could be good . . . \\nbut will it be ? \\nwhen i finally went to see it ( on opening day , as i tend to do with most disney animated features ) , my question was answered , in a complete turnabout of expectations for me : disney\\'s tarzan is surprisingly decent . \\nthe story starts out with tarzan\\'s parents surviving a shipwreck and finding a home on an island where apes live in peace . \\nhowever , one day , a vicious leopard , sabor , attacks and kills tarzan\\'s parents , leaving him ( at this time , a baby ) alone-until kala of the apes rescues him . \\nkala wants to raise the child as her own ( she lost hers previously to sabor ) , but her mate , kerchak is not too sure . \\n \" it\\'s not our kind , \" he says . \\nhe agrees , though , to let her take care of little tarzan , but \" that doesn\\'t make him my son . \" \\ntarzan grows up , vowing to be \" the best ape ever \" , but no matter how hard he tries or what he does ( at the guidance of his hilarious ape friend , terk ) , he just can\\'t convince kerchak that he is one of the apes , even when he defeats sabor in a battle . \\none day , a new animal shows up : humans . \\nthis is where jane comes into the picture . \\nshe is on an expedition with her father ( professor porter ) , and a despicable hunter ( clayton ) searching for gorillas . \\ntarzan rescues her when she is chased by baboons , and soon they get to know each other . \\neven though tarzan falls in love with jane , this causes things to go wrong . \\nclayton tricks tarzan into taking him , jane , and porter to see the apes , who are convinced that he has betrayed them . \\nworse , clayton has plotted to send the gorillas to london for money . \\nwill tarzan find out which family he belongs to and save the apes ? \\ni\\'m not gonna tell you , sorry . \\nyou\\'re gonna have to see for yourself . \\nand see it you should ; the animation is , as always , top notch , particularly when tarzan goes soaring through the trees ( read that , skateboarding ) . \\nthe deep canvas computer generated effect adds an authentic feeling to the jungle which tarzan lives in . \\nin fact , it seems similar to the computer imagery/cel animation combination in rival disney animted films , such as fox\\'s anastasia and dreamworks\\' prince of egypt . \\ncould it be that disney was actually taking ideas from their rivals ? \\nthe casting is fairly good . \\ntony goldwyn is emotionally believeable as tarzan ( and to my relief , the animators have succeeded in not making him another hercules . \\nnicely done ) , and glenn close is wonderful as kala ( she has a beautiful singing voice , too , by the way ) . \\nlance henrikson as kerchak somewhat reminds me of robby benson\\'s beast voice , which makes him all the more ferocious and gripping . \\nminnie driver had me a little worried at first as the voice of jane . \\ni thought she had the most annoying voice in the whole film ( when i first saw the trailers ) , but when i saw the film , i didn\\'t have a problem with her . \\ni take back my insult on driver . \\nit\\'s nice to hear nigel hawthorne do another voice for a disney animated feature ( he was fflewdurr flamm in disney\\'s most underrated classic , the black cauldron ) ; he is funny and delightful as professor porter . \\non the villiany side of the voices , brian blessed ( the guy who did boss nass in star wars : episode i-the phantom menace ) brings a pompous , and later on vicious , voice to the sinister clayton . \\nhe might not be the strongest character in the film ( he\\'s just a plain bad guy , nothing else ) , but blessed\\'s vocal work contributes greatly . \\nbut if there is any voice that i think steals the whole show , it should be rosie o\\'donnell , who is hilariously funny as terk . \\nshe also has a fiesty attitude ( \" i\\'m gonna kill ya ! \" \\nshe says , more than once ) . \\ni almost sung along with her during one of the film\\'s best moments , where the apes make a mess of the human\\'s camp , via song , er , scatting \" shoo-be-doo , da-be-dah \" . \\ni can see why she wanted to have a rock song for the film , she\\'s a good singer . \\nnot that she was the only funny character in the film , though . \\nwayne knight ( who played stan in space jam ) gives a whimsically funny style to tantor , an elephant who is especially worried about stepping into \" un-sanitary \" water . \\n ( thankfully , there is no real sound of flatuence-that would have killed the picture ) . \\nthe songs , as i said before , are decent , mostly sung by collins . \\nthis sets a new standard for disney animated films because for the first time , the characters do not sing . \\ni tolerate musical numbers from characters a lot more than some other guys would , but i found this to be a nice change of pace . \\nthe story does have elements of comedy in it , but they also load it with strong dramatic touches , which makes this film far better than the unbelieveably uninspired hercules . \\nif there is anything disappointing about tarzan , it might be the omission of the \\'n sync version of \" trashing the camp \" from the film . \\ni heard it on the soundtrack , and wondered where it was going to be . \\ni was upset that it wasn\\'t , because i had thought of taking a few friends of mine who like \\'n sync to see tarzan . \\noh , well . . . \\noverall , i was enthralled with tarzan . \\ni wouldn\\'t hold it high the way i do with mulan or the hunchback of notre dame ( my all-time favorite disney classics ) , but this film deserves a high place among disney\\'s greatest achievements . \\ni give a nod to disney for following up their spectacular * * * * * masterpiece , mulan , with this great animated adaption of egar rice burrough\\'s tarzan . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'cinematically speaking , gordon parks\\' original 1971 _shaft_ is not a great film . \\na bit slow at times and more than a little rough around the edges as it builds to its climactic explosion of violent action , this spirited but formulaic yarn that initially brought ernest tidyman\\'s \" black private dick that\\'s a sex machine to all the chicks \" to the big screen hardly qualifies as groundbreaking filmmaking . \\nyet nearly 30 years after its original release--and long after the genre it spawned , \" blaxploitation , \" died with that decade--the 1971 _shaft_ remains an extremely entertaining watch , never having completely escaped pop culture consciousness . \\nthe reason for this is the same one that explains the film\\'s connection with moviegoers far beyond the target african-american audience : the title character of john shaft . \\nwhile the fact that the strong , smart , virile , and superbly suave shaft is black is the primary factor for his historical and cultural significance , his broad-based appeal stems from an idea that transcends race : he is comfortable , confident , and proud about who he is , and anyone who had a problem with that could simply kiss his ass . \\nthis fact also explains why john singleton\\'s y2g revival of john shaft is as enjoyable as it is . \\nmuch like the film that started the franchise , this _shaft_\\'s plot doesn\\'t score points in the originality department , but the energy level and smooth attitude distinguishes it from standard crime thrillers . \\ncontrary to what has been reported over the past few months , this _shaft_ is not a remake of the original film , but more of a sequel/spinoff . \\nthe star audiences know and love from the original film and its first two sequels ( 1972\\'s _shaft\\'s_big_score ! _ and 1973\\'s _shaft_in_africa_ ) , richard roundtree , once again plays john shaft , who still runs a private investigation firm in new york city . \\nhowever , the focus of the film lies on his same-named nephew ( samuel l . jackson ) , who , as the film begins , is a cop whose take-no-crap demeanor constantly leaves him at odds with his superiors . \\nwhen a privileged young man named walter wade jr . ( christian bale ) accused of a brutal , racially-motivated murder is allowed to be released on bail , a disgusted shaft leaves the force and decides to take matters into his own hands as a p . i . \\nbut that\\'s easier said than done , for also standing in the way of shaft and his way of justice is peoples hernandez ( jeffrey wright ) , a dominican gangster who is hired by walter to rub out waitress diane palmieri ( toni collette ) , the only eyewitness to his crime . \\npeoples--or , rather , wright is also the big obstacle in jackson\\'s way toward commanding this film . \\npeoples is more of an outrageous comic character for most of the running time , and wright is insanely funny during these stages . \\nhowever , he isn\\'t so funny as to make the character come off as goofy and buffoonish , and peoples\\' eventual turn to more serious villainy is seamless and believable ( which probably would not have been the case had he been played by original casting choice john leguizamo , who bowed out before filming ) . \\nit\\'s no easy task to steal a film from the jackson ( who is his usual captivating , charismatic self here ) , but that\\'s exactly what wright does--and makes it seem effortless . \\nthen again , with such a talented ensemble surrounding him , it is not too surprising that jackson\\'s impressive star turn doesn\\'t quite tower over the rest ; he is strongly complemented not only by wright but all his other co-stars . \\nbale has already proven his ability to play an uppity killer in _american_psycho_ , so it only follows that his performance as a similar , less exaggerated character would be spot-on . \\ncollette lends the film some convincing and welcome dramatic weight as the frightened , conflicted diane . \\nbusta rhymes brings some good laughs as shaft\\'s sidekick rasaan . \\nregistering not as strongly--but through no fault of their own--are vanessa williams ( as tough narcotics cop carmen vasquez ) and a dismayingly underused roundtree ; they simply are given little to do in the script credited to richard price , singleton , and shane salerno . \\n ( jackson also has little to \" do \" in a sense ; some throwaway footage during the opening credits aside , his shaft doesn\\'t even have one sex scene . ) \\nthat singleton once again proves his ability with actors is an especially good thing since he\\'s not really an action director . \\nthis is not to say that he does a bad job with the numerous gunfights and the requisite foot and car chases . \\nthey move well ( as does the film as a whole ) and are reasonably exciting ; it\\'s just that there\\'s nothing terribly inventive about them . \\nthese set pieces are functional in the way the script is : they work well enough , but they\\'re unsurprising and conventional . \\nbut if there\\'s anything that a _shaft_ movie does well , it\\'s make the familiar look cool--and this _shaft_ keeps that tradition alive . \\nfrom the slick title sequence--scored , of course , to isaac hayes\\' ever-infectious oscar-winning theme song , which singleton wisely sprinkles throughout the film--on , the film looks great and easily sweeps the viewer into its world with its energetic bravado . \\neven a common visual trick such as employing fancy wipes for scene transitions not only feels unforced , it feels necessary . \\nstyle doesn\\'t exactly make for a great film , but when it comes to _shaft_ , that\\'s of little consequence . \\nwhat matters above all else is having a good time , and the latest _shaft_ should be just the first of many fun rides to be had with this bad mutha--shut your mouth . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'fritz lang\\'s first american film since leaving nazi germany , is an eye-opener about a lynch mob in a small town . \\njoe wilson ( spencer tracy ) is a regular joe , a hard-working stiff , a decent guy , who is living with his two brothers , tom ( walcott ) and charlie ( albertson ) , in chicago . \\nhe is engaged to katherine grant ( sylvia sidney ) , but can\\'t save up enough money to marry her . \\nshe takes the train west for a better paying job as a teacher . \\nbefore she departs , she gives him the wedding ring her father gave to her mother , sews up his ripped trench coat , corrects him when he mistakingly says the wrong word for memento , and kisses him goodbye . \\na year goes by and joe buys a car and tells katherine that he will meet her to get married in capitol city , that he has quit his job and hopes to open a gas station . \\ndriving through the rural backroads and camping out at night while going to met her , he arrives at a near-by town called strand . \\nbut the deputy sheriff \" buggs \" meyers ( walter brennan ) comes upon him waving a shotgun and arrests him . \\nhe accuses him of the kidnapping of a little girl . \\nthe sheriff ( ellis ) finds salted peanuts on him just like the kidnapper had in his pocket , he also has a five dollar bill on him that matches one of the numbers of the ransom money , and he fits the general description of the suspect . \\nlocked in jail , he waits for the district attorney to look at his claim of innocence . \\nin the local bar , the town citizens go into a rage when learning that an arrest has been made in the kidnapping . \\nfueled by angry talk about getting back at the kidnapper and of having the deputy inadvertently telling them of the ransom money found on the suspect , a mob storms the jail , burns it down and dynamites it when they can\\'t get through to the prisoner\\'s jail cell . \\nthe sheriff called the governor for the national guard , but one of his political advisers countermanded that request , saying it wouldn\\'t look right for the governor in an election year to call out troops for those he wants to vote for him . \\nsomehow joe escapes , but his dog rainbow dies . \\nkatherine hears what has happened on the radio and rushes to the neighboring town of strand only to see him engulfed by flames in his cell , and becomes convinced that he died . \\nthe next day the newspapers announce that the guilty kidnapper confesses . \\njoe makes his way back to chicago and tells his brothers , who are startled to see him alive , that he wants revenge . \\nhe thereby supplies his brothers with the names of the 22 leaders in the lynch mob . \\nan ambitious district attorney ( walter abel ) prosecutes the 22 for murder . \\nkatherine , not knowing he\\'s alive , remains in a state of shock , but is asked to be a witness that she saw joe burning to death . \\nthe defense claims that it can\\'t be a charge of murder without a corpse . \\nthe trial proves to be interesting , as the citizens in this close-knit , respectable community , lie under oath , providing alibis for each other to prove they couldn\\'t have been at the jail . \\nthe sheriff also lies , saying he can\\'t identify anyone in the mob . \\nbut proof comes by way of a newsreel cameraman who caught the whole incident on film . \\nas for proof of the corpse , an anonymous letter is addressed to the judge enclosed with the wedding ring katherine gave joe . \\nin the note , memento is misspelled , which makes katherine realize that joe is alive . \\nwhen the sentence is announced , 20 of the accused are found guilty of murder , but joe marches into the courtroom and gives a pious speech about what happened . \\nkatherine forgives him , and this very strong film ends on a weaker note than i think it should have . \\nbut don\\'t blame lang for all the changes in the film , of trying to take the town off the hook by introducing this wild revenge motive . \\nmgm couldn\\'t bear to have it made the way lang wanted it , that is , by having tracy die in the lynching . \\ninstead they wanted to stop short of condemning so many small american towns where lynchings actually do occur , and they thereby meddled throughout the entire script . \\nto lang\\'s credit , even if this film failed to be a masterpiece because of the interference , it still did not let the good citizens off the moral hook . \\nhis portrayal of the attempted lynching was powerfully done and was not compromised . \\nyou couldn\\'t help get the feeling that the citizens didn\\'t care that much that they almost lynched an innocent man , but cared more about protecting the reputation of their town and would do anything to keep their 22 vigilantes from going to jail , even perjuring themselves . \\ntheir reaction to seeing joe alive was satisfying only in that it meant they weren\\'t going to be convicted . \\nlang by no means implies that the town has learned its lesson from this incident . \\nhe does imply that a dark side to joe wilson has been exposed , and the innocent , jovial good-guy , seen in the beginning of the film , has been largely altered forever by this traumatic experience . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" . . . because i\\'m a scientist . \\nthat\\'s what we do ! \" \\n--- dr . alexander mccabe ( bob gunton ) , in response to why he created evil bats . \\nalright folks , stop me if you\\'ve heard this one : genetically altered animals wreak havoc on a town and a small band of locals , assisted by a specialist in the particular animal\\'s field , must team up to stop the mutant creatures before they can multiply and spread across the earth . \\noh yeah , the military is on their way to bomb the town as well , so they are running short on time . \\nsound familiar ? \\nsuch is the plot of the destination films release of bats . \\ndina meyer stars as the \" bat specialist \" sheila , who is pulled from her research ( along with her annoying sidekick , played with irritating deftness by leon ) in order to help a small texas town figure out why some local citizens and animals have been chewed to death recently . \\nwith the help of the local sheriff ( lou diamond phillips ) , a cdc official ( carlos jacott ) , and a scientist ( bob gunton ) , sheila discovers it is indeed bats ( who have been genetically altered by gunton\\'s character to be more aggressive and omnivorous , in order to be used as a military weapon ! ) . \\ni have to say here that i knew exactly what i was getting into going into this film . \\nthere\\'s not a frame of promotional footage i have seen for the film that would have led me to believe it was going to be any good . \\nin this respect , the film never disappointed me . \\nthis film reaches a level that transcends the \" so bad it\\'s good \" level and borders on the downright insane . \\nthe effects are awful , the script is contrived , and for most of the feature i was laughing at things that were supposed to be taken seriously ( i think ) . \\ni challenge anyone to sit through the scene , where a bat stalks a baby in a crib while another bat terrorizes a patron eating at a diner , with a straight face . \\nthankfully , the performances are as good as they can be considering the material the actors had to perform with . \\ndina meyer has always been the highlight of any of the films she has been in ( johnny mnemonic , dragonheart , and starship troopers . . . \\nthe latter being the only film out of that batch with any actual merit ) , and this one is no exception . \\nwhile one never really gets the impression that meyer\\'s character could be a bat expert in reality , one never really cares to doubt it either . \\nshe gives as good a performance as could be expected , plus she\\'s nice to look at for an hour and a half . \\nlou diamond phillips is also serviceable here , as the small town sheriff turned eventual hero . \\nalthough when we first meet his character he knows bats are the reason for what\\'s going on in town , for some reason later on he suddenly becomes amazed to learn that the actual cause of the deaths in town are because of bats . \\nthe only bad performance in the film is that of leon\\'s . \\nhe is relegated to the \" i\\'m not sticking around here ! \" \\ncharacter and proceeds to repeat variations of that line for the majority of the film even though he stays . \\nanyone who can\\'t immediately tell that bob gunton ( the bad guy in patch adams and countless other films ) is going to eventually turn on the gang and side with his creations before his eminent death will probably be surprised , but i highly doubt it . \\neven if he hadn\\'t been the villain in just about every film he\\'s ever been in , so many obvious hints are given to indicate the devious act that it holds no shock whatsoever . \\nin fact , his death is welcome , because it finally starts moving the plot towards the finale . \\nif the plot doesn\\'t sound ridiculous to you yet , then check out these little tidbits : a multitude of bats inexplicably disperses when a police officer cocks his pistol . \\nan entire town disregards the sheriff and doctor\\'s orders to stay indoors after a curfew is instigated , causing mass hysteria when the bats come out in full force , killing several townsfolk . \\na government official blows off shelia\\'s instructions ( to wait until dawn to install a cooling unit in the bats\\' cave that will kill all of them off ) by pulling a night job , resulting in the death of an entire military unit . \\na cavern full of bat feces never ignites when a phosphorus flare is lit right in the middle of it . \\nfinally , to top it all off , this little texas town is showing nosferatu in it\\'s single screen theater ( for reference , our town has over a million people in it with nearly 150 movie screens , and we\\'re lucky to even get kevin smith\\'s dogma ) . \\nthe most laughable part of the movie though comes from the ill-conceived bat puppets . \\nwhile the actual bat attack scenes are shot with rapid fire editing ( making the scenes nearly impossible to comprehend what\\'s going on ) , the scenes where a bat is called upon to interact with a live actor are usually shot more low-key . \\ntherefore we the audience get loving close-ups of the most unrealistic , rubbery bat puppets ever committed to film . \\nbeing able to see the puppeteer\\'s arms would be the only things that could have made these creations worse . \\nafter all of this , if you still decide bats might be the movie for you , don\\'t say you haven\\'t been warned . \\ntrust me when i say that it\\'s a lot more fun to trash than it is to sit through . \\ni just wish that dina meyer would be cast in more roles or at least choose better films to appear in . \\nshe\\'s definitely a talent that is going to waste in films like these . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" sometimes the \\'green mile\\' seems sooooo long . \" \\nindeed . \\nand any filmmaker with a three hour movie who ends it with that gem of dialogue should expect to see it quoted in a review . \\non a more positive note , let me add that sometimes the green mile is almost good enough to make us forget its length . \\nthe mile in question ( green due to its faded lime-colored linoleum ) leads from the prison cell to \" old sparky , \" the electric chair where executions were carried out at louisiana\\'s cold mountain penitentiary in 1935 . \\npaul edgecomb ( tom hanks , you\\'ve got mail ) is the head guard of e-block , otherwise known as death row . \\nkeeping his prisoners calm as they await the carrying out of their sentence is his primary responsibility . \\nit is a responsibility which he capably delegates to the other guards on his watch by insisting they \" talk to \" the convicts instead of yelling at them . \\nthis practice leads to an unusual camaraderie between the guards and the men behind their bars . \\ninto his charge comes one john coffey ( michael clarke duncan , armageddon ) , a seven foot tall gentle giant who has been convicted of the rape and murder of two young girls . \\nimmediately , paul senses something different about this prisoner . \\nperhaps its the way he asked for a night light because he is frightened of the dark . \\nor perhaps it is the mystical healing powers he demonstrates as he \" takes back \" paul\\'s bladder infection thereby restoring him to health . \\nbased on steven king\\'s 1996 serialized novel , the green mile does offer other characters who have stories to be told : eduard delacroix ( michael jeter , patch adams ) , is a frail cajun convict who befriends and trains a mouse to do circus tricks ; percy wetmore ( doug hutchison , a time to kill ) , is a young and sadistic guard sitting on a transfer to a more lucrative position because he has yet to see a prisoner \" fry \" up close ; and hal moores ( james cromwell , babe : pig in the city ) is the compassionate warden for whom , despite all the executions he\\'s witnessed , death never loomed as large as when his own wife was diagnosed with a tumor . \\nwhile it is mr . hanks \" everyman \" performance at the center of the film which gives it the anchor to hold our interest for 180 minutes , it is the performances of his supporting cast that are most worth noting . \\nall involved do credible work in their respective roles , most especially mr . duncan , who turns in an impressive , fully realized characterization . \\nif only the story were more credible . \\nwriter/director frank darabont ( the shawshank redemption ) has crafted a flawed fantasy/allegory of sorts ; one which is more spiritualistic than spiritual , relying on a preternatural mysticism rather than a genuine and godly spiritual power . \\nmr . darabont also overplays his hand considerably in the manipulation of our affection towards and association with his characters . \\nwas it an accidental omission that the first two inmates who walked the green mile were being punished for crimes never disclosed ? \\nby not knowing the reason for the condemned convicts\\' presence on e-block , the audience never gets the sense of the justice which is being carried out , making the death penalty appear cruel and unwarranted . \\nthis is especially true during the gruesome depiction of the second execution which was horribly botched . \\nmuch has also been made of coffey\\'s christ-like ability to heal but unlike the numerous healings which are recorded in the scriptures , coffey\\'s powers are shrouded in mystery , taking on the feel of a circus trick , coupled with a voodoo-like \" i feel your pain \" transference . \\nin contrast , there is no mystery associated with the healing that is from god . \\nthe genuine \" gifts of healing \" listed in 1 corinthians 12 is just one of the nine manifestations of holy spirit and can be operated by any spiritually instructed man or woman in accordance with the knowledge and wisdom of god . \\ntrue spiritual healing ( with few exceptions ) requires the committed believing of both the healer as well as the one being healed . \\nsuch believing comes not from the shrouded secrets of mysticism , but from the revealed word of god . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you think that these people only exist in the movies , but trust me , they\\'re as real as life . \\ni once talked to a guy who thought the united states government was putting satellites into orbit which could fry an individual person\\'s brain with microwaves . \\nthen i sat in a room full of people who believed that the government rigged state elections . \\ni even listened to a man who swore that nicotine was an additive that cigarette companies put in their products for the specific goal of getting people addicted . \\nthese people had what are known as \" conspiracy theories \" - ideas about how unseen forces work to deceive and control the public . \\na little imagination goes a long way . \\nin richard donner\\'s conspiracy theory , jerry fletcher ( mel gibson ) is a new york city cab driver who seems to have a conspiracy theory about everything . \\nhis latest , that nasa is trying to kill the president by causing an earthquake from the space shuttle , might sound outrageous to us , but is all in a day\\'s work for him . \\nhe combs the newspaper , looking for tidbits that leave telltale warnings about the goings-on behind the scenes , and from there jerry draws his conclusions . \\nupstanding citizen that he is , he tries to convince alice sutton ( julia roberts ) of the justice department that the president must be warned . \\nlucky gal , alice , who met jerry when he saved her from a couple of muggers and has had to listen to his theories during the six months since . \\nwhat she doesn\\'t know is that jerry\\'s interest in her is far more than , well , professional . \\nhe goes to great lengths to follow her around and watch her in her own apartment . \\nbut when some secret government types seem to take an interest in jerry\\'s ideas and his limited-circulation \" conspiracy theory \" newsletter , he finds himself in danger and in real need of alice\\'s help . \\none of the problems with conspiracy theory is that it tries to pass itself off as an action-thriller when it seems to have neither a whole lot of action , nor a significant number of thrills . \\npart of this is a result of the film\\'s slow pace . \\nit takes forever to set up the relationship between jerry and alice , and even once that is over with , the rest of the film seems to be a lot of boredom that every once in a while stops to take a break for excitement . \\nat over two hours , this film could have been significantly condensed and had it\\'s running time shortened by twenty minutes to half an hour , but even then , the action scenes would not be able to save the film . \\ninstead of truly exciting and engaging set pieces , we\\'re treated to a few of the generic scenes with the requisite \" black elements \" : black helicopter , men in black action suits and body armor , black vehicles - you know the drill . \\nthey come on down with all kinds of neat gadgets and weapons , but for some reason a guy with just a bunch of theories and some chick with no training somehow manage to elude them every time . \\nbig deal , we\\'ve seen it all before . \\nwatching the film , i wished donner had at least tried to use a little imagination , but i was out of luck . \\nnow , when i say it took forever to set up the \" relationship \" between jerry and alice , i completely mean what one person is relative to the other , and not romantic involvement . \\noh , donner and screenwriter brian helgeland would like you to believe that by the end of the movie , the two main characters will end up falling hopelessly in love with each other , but there seems to be no evidence of that ever occurring . \\nyou see , there were more sparks between gibson and danny glover in the lethal weapon movies ( also directed by donner ) than between gibson and roberts in conspiracy theory . \\nthe two just don\\'t click , and when you throw in a number of happenings that would cause alice to reject jerry altogether ( like finding out he\\'s been stalking her ) , the subsequent attraction is absolutely forced . \\nthe script in general also seems forced , like someone sat helgeland down and forced him to write it , then took it and forced it upon us . \\ndialog is undistinguished and rather unmemorable , to the point that i almost stopped listening . \\neven gibson\\'s usual gift for ad lib couldn\\'t punch up the film sufficiently to raise my interest , although one of jerry\\'s theories about oliver stone was mildly amusing . \\nunfortunately , much of what\\'s discussed in the film is not inherently important to what\\'s going on , but instead filler that starts out with potential , but ends up just being extraneous because it\\'s never followed through . \\nfor example , jerry professes that a man found drowned in his swimming pool was actually murdered by the government in a new york subway station . \\nhe even goes so far as to explain that the station was flooded at the time due to a water main break ( hence the water in a subway station ) , and that the coroner should check the man\\'s lungs for chlorine . \\nthis is convincing enough to alice that she seems to believe him . \\nyou know what happens then ? \\nnothing , zip , nada . \\nno follow-up whatsoever , so what\\'s the significance ? \\nokay , here\\'s another one . \\na couple of well known ( real life ) assassins were found to have possessed copies of the j . d . salinger novel \" the catcher in the rye \" . \\njerry also has a bunch of copies . \\nwhenever he goes into a bookstore , he has to buy one . \\nleaving out the question of whether or not this makes jerry an assassin , we\\'re never given a reason to believe why this would make him an assassin . \\nnot when we find out about his salinger collection , not when he goes to the bookstore , not later on when we get the answer to our first question . \\nthe point becomes totally extraneous . \\noh , did i mention that patrick stewart is in this film ? \\nyeah , he plays this government psychiatrist named dr . jonas who may or may not be a bad guy . \\nthat\\'s about it . \\nfor all the presence this usually marvelous actor has , he\\'s nearly forgettable in conspiracy theory . \\nyou can just lump him in with the supporting players , with the exception of cylk cozart who plays agent lowry of the fbi . \\nthis guy was really likable , and i wish he and his character had gotten more screen time . \\nokay , here\\'s my theory . \\nthis really started out as a great film , but some of its jokes were actually true ! \\nthe government came in and forced donner to make edits for the sake of national security , and this was what was left over . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if you\\'re into watching near on two hours of bored , foul-mouthed florida teens having sex , doing drugs , having sex , listening to eminem , having sex , playing video games , having sex , and killing one of their peers , then \" bully \" \\'s for you . \\nbased on jim schutze\\'s novelization of a true-life event , \" bully \" charts the story of a handful of disenchanted teenagers who , in 1993 , murdered their high school bully in cold , calculated blood . \\nthe film could have provided fascinating insights into what turned these aimless kids into premeditated killers . \\nin the hands of controversial director larry clark ( \" kids \" ) , however , it has less to say about its subject matter and more to say about the filmmaker\\'s pornographic proclivities . \\nin terms of the incident and what provoked it , \" bully \" stirs up nothing new . \\nthe high schoolers are presented as a uniformly screwed up lot--bored with life , not much ambition , promiscuous , profane . \\nthe bully in question , bobby kent ( nick stahl ) , is certainly an unpleasant piece of work but he doesn\\'t exactly tower over his colleagues in the pathological department . \\nhe hounds and harries and humiliates his \" best friend \" marty ( played by brad renfro ) and marty\\'s girlfriend lisa ( rachel miner ) doesn\\'t care for it at all and comes up with the idea of killing bobby . \\nsimply remove him from the equation . \\nmarty and lisa and a handful of their promiscuous , profane , and stoner friends , plus a recruited hit man ( ? ) , lure bobby to a swamp one night , stab him , beat him over the head with a baseball bat , and dump him into the canal where the sand crabs and the gators , presumably , finish him off . \\nthere\\'s no remorse--the next day they\\'re talking about it as openly as a homework assignment . \\nthey did it because they wanted to , and because they could . \\nwhat\\'s most troubling about the film , however , isn\\'t the unsettling subject matter and the matter-of-fact way these young people go about eliminating one of their own but the way in which clark is constantly distracted by his own material . \\nnot only is the nudity plentiful and graphic in \" bully \" but there\\'s also an uneasy , exploitative feel to it . \\ngratuitous crotch shots abound ( one of which makes the zipper cut-away in \" there\\'s something about mary \" look like the height of subtlety ! ) . \\nclark is so pre-occupied with his female ( predominantly ) leads that you forget , at times , what this movie is supposed to be about . \\nthe stripping bare , literally and figuratively , of these actors ( who are , after all , playing underage teenagers ) becomes harder to watch over time , as you begin to feel for them and question the motives of the man behind the camera . \\nthe conclusion of \" bully \" offers up literal snapshots of information about the sentences imposed on each of the protagonists for their involvement in the crime . \\nit\\'s a short sequence of stills--heather : 7 years ; ali : 40 years ; lisa : life imprisonment , for example--but it\\'s infinitely more telling than the 110 minutes of rampant unpleasantness that precedes it . \\n \" bully \" aims for truth , exploits it shamelessly , then bludgeons it to death . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"did claus von bulow try to kill his wife sunny in their newport mansion ? \\nthat is the question reversal of fortune asks you to consider as it opens in a hospital ward , with a comatose sunny von bulow . \\nshe is the main narrator of the film , in a narrative trick that was extraordinarily risky for schroeder . \\nthe dramatic trick works , as sunny von bulow narrates a compelling story of murder , sex , unhappiness , and a lawyer's moral dilemma as he takes a case he thinks he cannot win . \\njeremy irons is claus von bulow , in what is his finest role , and one of the most devastingly evil performances in history . \\nhe is as hated as any man alive , as cold as a cucumber . \\nhis remorse for his wife's comatose condition is nonexistant , and it is no wonder that even his children have difficulty accepting his version of what happened during christmas , 1980 . \\nthe background to the case is such . \\nduring christmas of 1979 , sunny von bulow fell into a deep coma from which she recovered and awoke . \\nthe same situation occured in 1980 , only sunny never woke , and probably never will . \\nwhen examined , it was found that she had 14 times the normal amount of insulin within her blood . \\nclaus von bulow is then accused of attempted murder by his stepson , convicted , and freed on bail . \\nhe immediately hires alan dershowitz , the renowed harvard law professor , to acquit him . \\nron silver is magnificent as a moral lawyer who cannot stand what has happened to him . \\nwe follow him through two very different cases ; the case of the johnson case , where two innocent kids are standing on death row for a crime they didn't commit , and von bulow , who he still hasn't figured out . \\ndershowitz doesn't know what happened to sunny , and he is extremely hesitant to take the case . \\nnevertheless , he does , based on certain things which happen during the investigative process that deeply upset him . \\ntogether with a group of law students , dershowitz concocts a defense and ultimately get the verdict reversed . \\nsilver's performance is one of a handful of solid roles in this deep film . \\nschroeder directs on many different levels , with multiple plot lines which blend in wonderfully in the mind of alan dershowitz . \\nthere are flaws ; at times , the film gets overly theatrical . \\nyet , due to glenn close's troubled and brutally honest performance as sunny von bulow , the use of her comatose body as a narrator works here fairly well . \\nthe flashbacks are good , but at times schroeder doesn't fill in the blanks . \\nthe movie could have benefited with the increased attention of certain developments during the film , and it could have used a better ending . \\nthe film progressed wonderfully before ending suddenly , without any intelligent conclusion . \\nthe supporting characters are often neglected , and dershowitz's team should have been allowed to grow character wise , but schroeder over-simplifies the story and the characters . \\nyet , for all these flaws , the film is deeply engrossing because of irons . \\nas von bulow , he is brutally evil . \\nanti-semitic , prejudiced , arrogant , protective , he is a rotten , lying monster , whose conviction may have been wrong legally , but morally he was to blame . \\nirons plays him to a cold perfection , with pathetic attempts to gain moral support for his claims to innocence . \\nhe is an adulterous liar and a cheat who in all likelihood committed the murder . \\nhowever , the genius of reversal of fortune comes in its distinction between moral culpability and legal responsibility . \\nthere is no doubt von bulow is responsible for his wife's death by years of neglect and coldness . \\nhowever , legally , did he do the murder ? \\nschroeder dares the viewer to make up his own mind . \\nwith all the character flaws , reversal of fortune is an engrossing puzzle because it is intelligent ; he wants the viewer to make up his own mind . \\nschroeder taunts the viewer with contradictory revelations , and then mentions that the answer to this compelling puzzle shall be revealed when we join sunny von bulow , in death . \\nfor all the failed dramatic theatrics , this is one that works beautifully . \\nwe don't know what happened . \\nthat sense of legal ambiguousness , along with von bulow's obvious moral guilt , is why reversalf fortune works . \\nin the end , von bulow is as sadistic as ever . \\nirons is haunting , and that is why reversal of fortune is so good . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'this has been an extraordinary year for australian films . \\n \" shine \" has just scooped the pool at the australian film institute awards , picking up best film , best actor , best director etc . to that we can add the gritty \" life \" ( the anguish , courage and friendship of a group of male prisoners in the hiv-positive section of a jail ) and \" love and other catastrophes \" ( a low budget gem about straight and gay love on and near a university campus ) . \\ni can\\'t recall a year in which such a rich and varied celluloid library was unleashed from australia . \\n \" shine \" was one bookend . \\nstand by for the other one : \" dead heart \" . \\n>from the opening credits the theme of division is established . \\nthe cast credits have clear and distinct lines separating their first and last names . \\nbryan | brown . \\nin a desert settlement , hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town , there is an uneasy calm between the local aboriginals and the handful of white settlers who live nearby . \\nthe local police officer has the task of enforcing \" white man\\'s justice \" to the aboriginals . \\nthese are people with a proud 40 , 000 year heritage behind them . \\nnaturally , this includes their own system of justice ; key to which is \" payback \" . \\nan eye for an eye . \\nrevenge . \\nusually extracted by the spearing through of the recipient\\'s thigh . \\nbrown , as the officer , manages quite well to keep the balance . \\nhe admits that he has to \\'bend the rules\\' a bit , including actively encouraging at least one brutal \" payback \" . \\n ( be warned that this scene , near the start , is not for the squeamish ) . \\nthe local priest - an aboriginal , but in the \" white fellas \" church - has a foot on either side of the line . \\nhe is , figuratively and literally , in both camps . \\nernie dingo brings a great deal of understanding to this role as the man in the middle . \\nhe is part churchman and part politician . \\nhowever the tension , like the heat , flies and dust , is always there . \\nwhilst her husband - the local teacher - is in church , white lady kate ( milliken ) and her aborginal friend tony , ( pedersen ) have gone off into the hills . \\nhe takes her to a sacred site , even today strictly men-only . \\nshe appears to not know this . \\ntony tells her that this is a special place , an initiation place . \\nhe then makes love to her , surrounded by ancient rock art . \\nthe community finds out about this sacrilegious act and it\\'s payback time . \\nthe fuse is lit and the brittle inter-racial peace is shattered . \\neveryone is affected in the fall out . \\nto say more is to give away the details of this finely crafted film . \\nsuffice to say it\\'s a rewarding experience . \\nbryan brown , acting and co-producing , is the pivotal character . \\nhis officer is real , human and therefore flawed . \\nbrown comments that he expects audiences to feel warmth towards the man , then suddenly feel angry about him . \\nit wasn\\'t long ago that i visited central australia - ayers rock ( uluru ) and alice springs - for the first time . \\nthe wide-screen cinematography shows the dead heart of australia in a way that captures it\\'s vicious beauty , but never deteriorates into a moving slide show , in which the gorgeous background dominates those pesky actors in the foreground . \\nthe cultural clash has provided the thesis for many a film ; from the western to the birdcage . \\nat least three excellent australian films have covered the aboriginal people and the line between them and we anglo-saxon \\'invaders\\' : \" jedda \" , \" the chant of jimmie blacksmith \" and \" the last wave \" . \\nin a year when the race \\'debate\\' has reared up in australia , it is nourishing to see such an intelligent , non-judgemental film as \" dead heart \" . \\nthe aboriginal priest best sums this up . \\nhe is asked to say if he is a \" black fella or white fella \" . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'since most movies about slavery shield us from the true horrors of what they\\'re portraying , it\\'s fitting to say that \" beloved \" come as a real shock as a film . \\nit\\'s confusing , bizarre , and as tough a film to watch as any film i\\'ve seen all year , and that\\'s not necessarily because of the three-hour running time . \\n \" beloved \" is challenging to watch , filled with tough and powerful poetry that takes us completely off guard , and instead of a straight-forward , hollywood-ized story about what happened to the slaves after they were freed , \" beloved \" comes off as a cry of anguish from all those who actually lived through what happened ( or , rather , toni morrison , who wrote the novel upon which this is based ) . \\n \" beloved \" tells the story of an ex-slave named sethe , played by oprah winfrey , who lives on a large farm in the north with her children . \\nwhen the film opens , her house is being terrorized by a poltergeist , which shakes things up , wounds the dog , and makes things generally uncomfortable for the family . \\nsethe is proud , though , and will not move . \\nher sons run away , leaving only her and her daughter , denver ( kimberly elise ) alone with the ghost which is there without any factual explanation . \\na couple years pass , and the ghost remains , and one day , a man named paul d ( danny glover ) , another ex-slave who knew sethe years ago when they worked on a plantation together , arrives , asking for lodging . \\nhe has been wandering around since he left the plantation , and when he enters the house , it turns red and becomes incredibly hot . \\nwhen he remarks about what he thinks is evil , sethe replies \" it ain\\'t evil . \\nit\\'s just sad . \" \\nsome more time passes , and paul d has become a fervent member of the household , and the ghost disappears . \\nbut when they return one day from going out , they discover a young woman sitting in the house . \\nher name is beloved , and as played by thandie newton , she has almost zero motor skills . \\nshe stumbles around , half-grabbing onto things and knocking them over , and when she speaks , she lets out a low guttural sound that eventually turns into baby talk . \\nthey let her into her house , and she begins to turn things upside down . \\n \" beloved \" acts like an incredibly difficult chamber drama paired with a ghost story . \\nmost of the scenes consist of people arguing in one claustrophobic , low-lit room , with the occasional flash to the past , where we see images of such horror that we thank god for modern-day psychoanalysts . \\nsethe and paul d have lived through such hellish times that they are forever implanted with the memories of their slavehood on the old plantation , which includes such images as sethe being raped by the white plantation hands , with her nipples being licked , prompting her to cry out to paul d when reminiscing about it , \" they took my milk ! \" \\nworst of all was the month after her freedom , when she was allowed to live like a free person , working with other blacks on a farm , and then seeing that her old plantation owners have arrived to presumedly take her and her children back . \\nshe runs to the barn near by , carrying her four children , and when her old owners burst in , they discover she has murdered one of them and is ready to murder the rest of them if they don\\'t leave them alone . \\nwhen she is inquired about this moment by paul d in a moment halfway through the film , she says she doesn\\'t regret it . \\nshe killed her daughter so that she would not have to live through the horror she did , and she has convinced herself she did the right thing . \\nof course , beloved is really her daugher materialized , though we aren\\'t flat out told that until later on in the film . \\nbeloved represents the pain and suffering the slaves went through and shows how difficult it was for them to deal with their freedom after being tortured for so long . \\nthus , \" beloved \" becomes a sorta-redux of the andrei tarkofsky sci-fi classic , \" solaris , \" where a cosmonaut discovers that his wife , who commited suicide years before , has materialized when he is orbiting over a planet with a complex brain system . \\nthat film spoke volumes about humanity and our memories , how we are constantly regretting what happened in the past , and when if it ever literally came back to haunt us , it would control us completely . \\n \" beloved \" moves along freely , without a lot of explanation , and for the most part , this is extremely respectable . \\nthe most interesting films are the ones that don\\'t explain everything for us , leaving gaps in the characters that we are supposed to fill in with how they act in the present tense . \\nsethe is never fully explained as a character , but we understand all her actions since she\\'s being played by oprah winfrey . \\nit\\'s been well over a decade since her last major performance in \" the color purple , \" but judging from these two films , i\\'ll bet she\\'s one of the best actresses working today . . . if \\nshe was strictly an actress . \\nher talk show , which i suppose is a great entity , has prevented her from becoming a noteworthy actress , and that\\'s a shame because she brings so much to this movie . \\nemotion . \\nsadness . \\nstrength . \\nwatching the strong sethe , who\\'s so afraid of the past that she\\'s built a rather strong protective coating around herself , break down when she discovers who beloved really is is what makes this movie really great . \\nshe makes it real . \\nthat\\'s not to say this is a perfect film . \\nin fact , i\\'d wager to say that the fact that it\\'s confusing and painful to watch is what prevents this from being the truly great film it is . \\nwhile oprah\\'s performance is powerful and easily sympathetic ( and i\\'m dying to see her win at least an oscar nomination this february ) , the structure of the film , which doesn\\'t show what happened to her children till halfway through the film , prevents us from really making a cohesive connection to the film . \\nit doesn\\'t necessarily move as though they\\'re memories of one particular character , and by the end , it has lost control over sethe , and as she takes to bed , we are unable to truly identify with her anymore . \\nbut despite its tediousness , perhaps that\\'s the point . \\nthe distancing by the end of the film may be just part of the way it has been built from the start , since they figure she has crossed over from being identifiable , and it needs to get back with reality . \\nand for the most part , this film seems like the cry of pain from the slaves that it really wants to be . \\njonathan demme\\'s direction is bizarre , in nature with the story , and he creates the right mood , making it a tough film to sit through , making sure that the audience feels as uncomfortable as the characters . \\nthere\\'s more to admire here , like the way that the flashbacks pop up freely and without real organization , just like they would be in real life ; and the way that the ending leaves it somewhat open to more pain and suffering , but laced with a touch of optimism . \\nthe acting , not only from winfrey , is amazing , and i anticipate not only she will get an oscar nomination . \\neveryone has been raving about thandie newton\\'s performance , and how it should be rewarded . \\nhowever , it must be noted that out of everyone , she had the easiest part . \\nact like a baby . \\nthrow things . \\nstumble around . \\nchew food with your mouth open . \\ni do think there\\'s another performance worthy of oscar conisderation , but it\\'s kimberly elise , as the daugher who has to stay sensible and sane , and has to carry the burden of her mother\\'s loss of reality towards the end . \\nit\\'s not that newton isn\\'t great : she\\'s as annoying and wacky as the role demands . \\nit\\'s just that elise has the tougher job and pulls it off even better . \\ndespite the fact that this film has winfrey written all over it , and not that of writer morrison or director demme , \" beloved \" has still not done well . \\ncosting , i think , around ninety million dollars , it has since grossed about twenty-two . \\nunfortunately , this film is a little too intense for viewers , even for me , and i can stand almost anything ( i recently viewed the 2 1/2 hour long epic \" caligula , \" the worst film i have ever seen in my life , and did it in a mere 2 sittings ) . \\nalthough i respect \" beloved , \" i can\\'t say that i really enjoyed it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the story of us , a rob reiner film , is the second movie this fall that touches the viewer in a way they are rarely touched by a film , as they can see their everyday lives in the usually once in a year films . \\nwell , 1999 has two of them , the other being the instant classic about a very dysfunctional family , american beauty . \\nthe story of us , a film about the highs and lows of marriage and family , is a well written , heartbreaking and insightful film that made the majority of the audience , including myself , cry . \\nthe story of us tells the story of ben ( bruce willis ) and katie ( michelle pfeiffer ) jordan , and asks the question , \" can a marriage survive 15 years of marriage ? \" \\nthe film is about two individuals who have come together , spent a good chunk of their lives together , and shows when our main characters are \" him \" and \" her \" ( during the bad times ) , and when they are \" us \" ( during the good times ) . \\nthe story of us is about their entire 15 years of marriage that is collapsing day by day . \\nben and katie now only see and live with each other because they don\\'t want to devastate their children with the fact that their parents no longer , or at least say they don\\'t , love each other anymore . \\nben , a cartoonist , and katie , a crossword puzzle writer , have grown apart during their fifteen years of marriage , as they have grown to follow different views on life , family , and marriage . \\nkatie is the more organized , sophisticated type , who wants to plan everything out , while ben is a spontaneous , adventurous individual who doesn\\'t mind doing things differently than they were planned . \\nthe story of us plays out nicely , as the film opens with ben sharing his story with a therapist , told to the viewer through flashbacks . \\nas the film progresses , it switches between ben and katie talking to their therapist , with their stories being told with flashbacks of their marriage . \\nthis method is highly effective , as we see the characters changing from year to year , slowly growing apart . \\nthrough the flashbacks , we get to see the story of them through both of the character\\'s eyes , and this gives us a strong sense of what their characters are really like , as the story of us has three dimensional , believable main characters . \\nthe screenplay , written by jessie nelson ( stepmom ) and alan zweibel ( dragnet ) , is a touching , down to earth work that hits a chord within the viewer , much like another one of nelson\\'s films , stepmom . \\nthe script has an open honesty and outlook on life , one that is so realistic , you feel uncomfortable at many times , because so many situations the characters are in are undeniably familiar , as most families these days most go through the hard times , as ben and katie must . \\nif it wasn\\'t for the first 15 minutes that the writers wrote , which are rugged and certainly flawed , the story of us would have been this year\\'s best picture . \\nbruce willis , a usual action/adventure star , has certainly turned himself around in the past year- he went from being a man who was being typecast to the same role in action movies , to a distinguished , sophisticated actor , as in last summer\\'s the sixth sense ; and now in the story of us , willis shows the world what he can really do if he is fed a good script . \\nalthough i wouldn\\'t pick willis as the choice actor for ben jordan , willis handles himself nicely , and shines in a few of the film\\'s most powerful scenes , enough that make his performance a definite contender comes awards season . \\nwhere to start about michelle pfeiffer ? \\npfeiffer\\'s performance is spellbinding and ultimately strong , as she brings her character to life with such charisma and emotion , you wonder how , how it is possible for someone to portray a real person with such realism . \\npfeiffer\\'s performance is one that if not recognized by the academy next spring , will be in the heart\\'s of any viewer that has watched this moving film . \\nthe story of us is one of 1999\\'s most real , yet funny films , as the razor sharp script evens out the laughs and the tears to keep the viewer hooked . \\nsuperb acting , direction , writing , story , and soundtrack that always sets the mood for the film , which is beautifully composed by eric clapton and marc shaiman , make the story of us a touching , unforgettable motion picture that will touch the hearts of viewers across the country- and will certainly become one of the most talked about movies of the fall . \\nthe film\\'s major high points are the fights between ben and katie , as the two constantly accuse of each other of whose fault it is that their marriage has collapsed , and although they also say things like \" it\\'s over , \" or \" i hate you , \" you can tell the two still share a deep connection , and that inside , somewhere , they are still an \" us . \" \\nthe bottom line : a wonderful , enchanting , and heartbreaking film . \\none of the most realistic , heartbreaking films in recent years . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there\\'s more to a quilt than fabric and thread--each patchwork design has its own unique story ( or stories ) to tell . \\nin how to make an american quilt , the first hollywood release from australian director jocelyn moorhouse ( proof ) , we come to understand how the tales of the seven makers imbue their creation with passion and vitality . \\nall the sorrows , joys , longings , sufferings , and loves of these women are sewn into their quilt and , as their bittersweet memories are given expression , one young woman applies these lessons of the past to her own uncertain future . \\nmotion pictures are filled with male bonding rituals ; how to make an american quilt presents a distinctly feminine alternative . \\nthe \" quilting bee \" consists of seven members : sisters gladys ( ann bancroft ) and hy ( ellen burstyn ) ; sophia ( lois smith ) , a woman known for frightening children ; emma ( jean simmons ) , the timid wife of a perpetually unfaithful man ; constance ( kate nelligan ) , who has been having an affair with emma\\'s husband ; anna ( maya angelou ) , the leader of the group ; and marianna ( alfre woodard ) , anna\\'s daughter . \\nthe project they\\'re busy with is the wedding quilt for hy\\'s granddaughter , finn ( winona ryder ) , who has just become engaged . \\nshe\\'s spending the summer with hy and gladys , and away from her fiance , to decide whether a lifelong commitment is really what she wants , and whether it\\'s better to marry a friend or a lover . \\none of the greatest pleasures of how to make an american quilt comes from watching an array of fine performances by an impressive ensemble cast . \\nfrom winona ryder , ann bancroft , ellen burstyn , and maya angelou to minor players like rip torn , claire danes , and kate capshaw , this film is overflowing with realized talent . \\nthe performances are good enough , in fact , to cover up many of the script\\'s weaknesses . \\nhow to make an american quilt is basically an unremarkable , if affecting , tale of love across the generations--a sort of truncated american version of the joy luck club , with a dash of fried green tomatoes added . \\nthere are probably too many characters . \\nso , instead of really getting to know a few of them , we are presented with quick glimpses into a single defining event in each of their lives . \\nwe learn about the root of the smoldering resentment between gladys and hy , and are told the reasons why emma stays with her husband and sophia is so irascible . \\nthere are other episodes as well : the love of anna\\'s life , marianna\\'s soul mate , and a look at the reasons why constance entered into an affair with her friend\\'s husband . \\nthe sum total of these tales is meant to provide the framework for finn\\'s story : whether to go forward with her marriage or dally with a hunky stranger . \\nthere is no emotional epiphany in how to make an american quilt . \\nthe stories are all well-told , but it\\'s difficult to really connect with the characters--their moments pass so quickly . \\nwhile we certainly feel something for each of the eight principals , our emotional investment is tenuous . \\nthere isn\\'t enough depth to pull the viewer in all the way , and many of the personalities and relationships feel half- formed , like a quilt with patches missing . \\nto put it bluntly , while i enjoyed watching this film , it didn\\'t \" do much \" for me . \\non the whole , how to make an american quilt is a nicely-understated drama that has a lot to say about love , passion , and monogamy in relationships . \\nfinn\\'s segment is by far the most compelling , because she\\'s the focal point : her actions are shaped by everyone else\\'s experiences . \\nthe other patches of this american quilt are successful only to varying degrees . \\nif there\\'s a disappointment here , it\\'s that the script doesn\\'t have more resonance , but the privilege of seeing such a fine cast in top form allows a viewer to enjoy this picture even if the story is somewhat conventional . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'with the exception of their surrealistic satire barton fink , the films of joel and ethan coen fit into two broad categories : quirky and sometimes darkly humorous takes on the \" film noir \" genre in which crime schemes go wrong and spin increasingly out of control ( fargo , miller\\'s crossing , blood simple ) , and off-the-wall comedies centered around an eccentric , scatter-brained lead character ( raising arizona , the hudsucker proxy ) . \\ntheir latest offering , the big lebowski , falls within the latter category , though there are elements of the crime-gone-wrong theme and even a touch of satire to be found in this film . \\nthe main difference , however , is that while the protagonists of raising arizona and the hudsucker proxy had lofty aspirations and ideals but didn\\'t quite have the brains to get it all together , the main character of the big lebowski seems like a fairly intelligent guy who\\'s wise to the world , but he doesn\\'t really want to do much of anything besides go bowling , smoke pot , and generally relax . \\nthat main character is jeffrey \" the dude \" lebowski ( jeff bridges ) , introduced by the film\\'s rambling narrator ( sam elliott ) as \" quite possibly the laziest man in los angeles county . \" \\nthe dude is unemployed , needless to say , and spends most of his time at the bowling alley with his two best friends , walter ( john goodman ) , a borderline-psychotic who\\'s in the habit of pulling a gun when he thinks somebody\\'s cheating in a bowling match ( \" has the whole world gone crazy ? ! \" he shouts at a suspected cheater ) , and donny ( steve buscemi ) , who\\'s always a few steps behind the conversation and is constantly berated by walter for it ( \" donny , you have no frame of reference here ! \" ) . \\nthese three seem to more or less live for bowling tournaments , and as the film begins they are anticipating an important match with rival bowler jesus quintana ( john turturro ) , who , when we first meet him , is doing a dance in the bowling lane to accompany a spanish version of \" hotel california \" and , if it\\'s possible , seems to be even more of a head case than walter . \\nif that doesn\\'t give you a good idea of this film\\'s absurdist tone , then perhaps this will : the entire scenario which drives the story is set in motion by two thugs mistakenly urinating on the dude\\'s rug . \\nthey\\'ve mistaken him for a millionaire of the same name who is also known as the \" big \" lebowski ( david huddleston ) and whose nymphomaniac wife bunny ( tara reid ) owes money to porn producer jackie treehorn ( ben gazzara ) . \\nthe dude goes to the big lebowski seeking compensation for his ruined rug ; he doesn\\'t have any luck , but when bunny is apparently kidnapped , the elder lebowski asks him to deliver the $1 million ransom . \\nunfortunately , walter gets involved and fouls up the drop-off , and before they can try again to get the money to the supposed kidnappers , the dude\\'s car gets stolen , along with the briefcase containing the money . \\nsoon , the dude is being harassed not only by the big lebowski himself but also by treehorn and by a group of german \" nihilists \" who demand the ransom money even though they may not have been involved in the kidnapping in the first place ; the dude and walter suspect that bunny may well have kidnapped herself in order to extort money from her husband to repay her debts to treehorn . \\nmeanwhile , the big lebowski\\'s daughter maude ( julianne moore ) , a feminist avant-garde artist who likes to make grand entrances swinging through the air naked , wants to recover the money for her family . \\nthe plot , however , is really just a vehicle for all these bizarre characters to run wild and wreak their own unique forms of havoc . \\nthe previews for the big lebowski feature creedence clearwater revival\\'s \" run through the jungle , \" and it fits : the coens see los angeles as a veritable jungle of oddballs and nutcases , with the sometimes bewildered dude left to run through it and try to avoid any more trouble ( usually unsuccessfully ) . \\nthe film doesn\\'t feature quite as many one-liners and sight gags as the coens\\' other comedies ( though there are a few hilarious moments of visual humor , particularly in the dude\\'s dream sequences and acid flashbacks ) , but it more than makes up for it with the sheer fun of watching these strange characters interact . \\nthe film sometimes seems a little disjointed as a result - you get the feeling that the coens have not only set their characters loose in this \" jungle \" but are also themselves running crazy through the jungle of their own twisted imaginations - but for the most part the characterizations are interesting enough to overcome the shaky plotting and what turns out to be a somewhat anticlimactic resolution . \\nthere\\'s also a noticeable ( but not too heavy-handed ) thread of social commentary in the big lebowski , which , incidentally , takes place just as the gulf war is about to begin ; at the beginning , we see george bush on television making his \" this aggression will not stand \" speech . \\nthe coens take aim at just about every elite l . a . subculture in the book : the egotistical wealthy businessman ( \" the bums will always lose ! \" \\nshouts the big lebowski at one point ) , the porn industry , the overbearing malibu policeman who berates the dude for disturbing their \" peaceful beach community , \" and so on . \\nby the end , we really start to admire the dude , who almost certainly harbors the least \" aggression \" of anyone in this story ; his passive resistance ( emphasis on \" passive , \" albeit ) to the elite emerges as something more than just another quirky characterization in a film overflowing with quirky characters . \\nhe also turns out to have a pretty well-functioning brain in his head , even if he doesn\\'t like to use it very much ; his sarcasm towards treehorn and the malibu policeman shows that he knows when he\\'s getting a run around , and he does manage to unravel the kidnapping mystery by the end . \\nthe coens certainly poke fun at the dude for his laziness , but they don\\'t just treat him as fodder for cheap shots either . \\ni think that , more than anything , is what makes the big lebowski a standout comedy : it manages to approach characters like the dude and , to some extent , walter , with genuine affection while still acknowledging that they are pretty scatter-brained . \\naudience members may find themselves surprised at how much they like the un-dynamic duo by the end of the movie , given that they seemed like nothing more than the butts of an extended joke at first . \\n \" it\\'s good knowin\\' he\\'s out there , the dude , takin\\' it easy , \" posits the narrator towards the end . \\ni dare say that truer words have seldom been spoken . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ladies and gentlemen , payback is the most expensive episode of \" the equalizer \" i\\'ve ever seen . \\ngibson plays porter , a burglar shot and left for dead by his wife ( deborah kara unger , in an all-too-brief cameo ) and partner ( henry ) after a successful heist . \\nas a morgue attendant sets about removing the bullets from porter\\'s back , porter miraculously springs back to life . \\nhe makes it his mission , as a walking dead man without a conscience , to exact revenge on those who screwed him and reclaim his share of the loot . \\n ( in a running gag , porter demands $70 000 , but everybody mishears him and assumes he\\'s after the entire $130 000 haul . ) \\nin his travels ( or travails ) , porter encounters several other one-named villainous cretins like fairfax ( james coburn as a white-haired , millionaire thief ) and carter ( kristofferson , as a brown-haired , millionaire thief-the kingpin of the obligatory \" operation \" ) . \\nhelgeland\\'s film ( which was recut by mel the producer ) is devoid of an imperative dime store charm . \\nthe novelty of seeing a big movie star mercilessly dispatching criminals wears off quickly : a ) because the bad guys can only be differentiated by their coifs , and b ) because mel\\'s schtick doesn\\'t evolve from act one-he\\'s the terminator stranded in a plot without a sci-fi hook to keep us interested after the initial sadistic thrill is gone . \\npayback should have been called playback : it\\'s a 102-minute loop of the same short sequence . \\n ( mel : \" i want my money . \" \\nanonymous villain : \" no . \" \\nmel shoots gun . \\nanonymous villain dies . \\nmel meets up with his hooker friend ( bello ) . \\nsecond verse , same as the first . ) \\nit\\'s not porter\\'s single-mindedness that robs the film of snap , crackle , and pop ; as a character who has already \" died \" once , he has nothing to lose and so much to gain . \\nthe movie lacks danger . \\nthe only thing porter is in jeopardy of is putting the audience to sleep . \\npayback has a gritty , metallic look to it that also becomes monotonous ; its cinematography would be more appropriate in one of those bleak urban psychodramas that come out of england every couple of months . \\n ( director of photography ericson core should have been fired early on for lighting bello , so va-va-va-voom in permanant midnight , to look like a potato in a gregg allman wig . ) \\nto analyze such mediocrity is to grant payback far more attention than it deserves . \\nperhaps only someone as experienced with antagonists-as-protagonists as tarantino-look what he did with the similar hero-less botched-robbery tale reservoir dogs-could have pulled off this material ( a loose remake of john boorman\\'s point blank ) . \\nthe movie presents us with the conventions of pulp fiction ( all women are femme fatales ; even the cops are in on it , etc . ) and crosses them with the conventions of cheesy tv crime melodramas ( death is never in the cards for the main character , etc . ) but transcends neither . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'as a revolutionary war hero in the patriot , mel gibson provides another macho man performance for hollywood audiences . \\nyou know the type : his shirt is always shredded , his face always scarred , he has a soft spot for his loved ones and a \" to kill \" list for his enemies . \\noscar-hungry director/executive producer roland emmerich did not intend to , but he made the stereotypical action hero for the 18th century . \\nas gibson delivers lines like , \" before this war is over , i am going to kill you , \" schwarzenegger in commando or stallone in cobra immediately come to mind . \\noddly enough , the patriot is as much an epic three-hour-tear-fest like gladiator , as it is a ninety-minute guilty pleasure . \\nat times absorbing , at others enjoyably insipid , this is good , bloody summer fun . \\ni probably would have despised this film had it not been released over the july 4th weekend . \\nsome of the images are so zealously americanized ( the flag is used as a lifesaving weapon for example ) , that independence day seems the only appropriate time of year to wholeheartedly accept it . \\nlike emmerich\\'s id4 , this is obvious propaganda where the americans are the hapless underdogs motivated by freedom for all . \\nsure it\\'s predictable and melodramatic , but for a moment after leaving the theater , i was dumbfounded with patriotism . \\nand isn\\'t that the point of the patriot ? \\ngibson plays benjamin martin , the lionized french and indian war veteran , who , at the beginning of the film , is emotionally suffering after his loving wife passed away . \\nhe is left to father seven children at his south carolina estate along with black servants ( not slaves ! ) . \\nas the revolutionary war rumbles miles away , martin swears to keep his family close and away from the battlefields . \\nbut when the oldest son enlists anyway and another is murdered by a wicked redcoat colonel ( jason isaacs ) , martin quickly decides to save the day ( or save the fate of america as presented by emmerich ) . \\nforming a band of aggressive farmers and using guerilla tactics considered unfair in the art of war , martin becomes the number one target of the british army . \\nthe best parts of the patriot are the scenes in which martin and his rugged militia men outsmart the british armies left and right . \\nevery time the farmers attacked the unsuspecting enemy , to see the disbelief on british general cornwallis\\' ( tom wilkinson ) face was priceless entertainment . \\nand as the tension gradually formulates with the running time , a final battle is inevitable . \\nas for the numerous battle scenes , they are expertly done . \\nclearer and more realistic than those of gladiator , the gruesome images are what give this film an r rating . \\nyou really get a sense of how warfare was performed during that time period . \\neverything is performed in an orderly ( but still quite gory ) fashion - one side shoots , then the other side , then the remaining soldiers charge . \\nit\\'s organized , strategic and , according to martin , ineffective . \\nthere is a very interesting contrast between the traditional battle style and martin\\'s take-no-prisoners method . \\nwhat drives martin to these supposedly unfair actions , are the originally brutal tactics of colonel tavington . \\nplayed wonderfully by jason isaacs , tavington is the type who loves to glare down from his horse at civilians , who nervously avoid eye contact . \\nthis character is viciously evil ; he kills women and children and then laughs about it on the way home ; even his eyes are evil . \\nhis portrayal has sparked some controversy in britain , some claim that he falsely represents his countrymen as \" cowardly \" and \" sadistic . \" \\ni disagree with this accusation . \\ntavington does not represent his country ; his unnecessary executions shock his own colleagues and even anger his general . \\nbesides tavington , the redcoats remain stick figures that are neither glorified nor patronized . \\nand stick figures make the easiest enemies in these kinds of movies - why give the audience a reason to love the bad guys ? \\nheck , why not spend the entire film glossing up the good guys ? \\nthe patriot is three hours of fictional fireworks . \\nwith an action hero seeking revenge and a comic book villain ready to take him down , it\\'s a lethal weapon for the colonial times . \\ngod bless america ! \\nand god bless the patriot ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"plunkett & macleane marks the directing debut of jake scott , brother of ridley and tony . \\nnaturally , this got me worried . \\nwould jake's talent be inherited from ridley or tony ? \\nif it was from ridley , than the movie would be a thoughtful suspensor with action thrown in . \\nif it was from tony , it would be wham bang drivel . \\nunfortunately , the latter is true for this worthless picture with little charm . \\ncarlyle and miller are the titular highwaymen , plunkett ( carlyle ) who is poor and unruly , and captain james macleane ( miller ) a clean cut gentleman . \\nas the tagline clearly wants to make known , they rob the rich and nothing else . \\nthe film basically follows the rowdy hold ups the two stage , along with romantic interludes with lady rebecca ( tyler . ) \\nhot on both their tails is mr chance ( ken stott ) who wants to see them both dead . \\nplunkett & macleane is an annoying little film that serves little purpose . \\nalthough undoubtedly slick and fast paced , there's very little merit contained in the film . \\ncarlyle and miller are fun enough as the foul mouthed pair , although their characters are criminally undeveloped . \\nit appears that much of the money has been spent on the expensive looking sets and costumes , but not on the script . \\nthe five ( ! ) screenwriters ( three credited ) have produced an still born movie : there's very little development in the story . \\nalso , major events , such as mr . cash finding out who plunkett and macleane really are , are so rushed that they barely happened . \\nthe story is a bit of a mess , frankly . \\nthe performances aren't bad : carlyle and miller are typical lads , but liv tyler is a huge disappointment as the love interest . \\nher irritable , stilted performance sticks out like a sore thumb , and i was quite unsure on what accent she was trying to put on . \\nshe looks nice , though . \\nmore interesting is alan cummings as the campy lord rochester , and although his character amounts to nothing more than a two dimensional comedy gay character , he hams it up well . \\nken stott is suitably evil as chance , but again he is nothing but a flat character . \\ni didn't particularly care when the predictable death sequence arrived . \\nalthough a disappointment in writing , and a minor success in acting , the film certainly look lavish , with good costumes , and wonderful sets . \\nbut production design alone can't save a movie , especially a movie as bad as this mess . \\njake scott would be more suited to directing a music video rather than this failed update of a period drama : the only update seems to be the fact that everyone must talk dirty , with 'f * ck this' and 'stand and f * cking deliver' splattered all over the place . \\nthe mtv editing and direction are flash enough , but in the end decidedly empty . \\nplunkett & macleane is a massive disappointment . \\nalthough somewhat enjoyable during parts , it's so light it could float off the screen if it wasn't just images on a reel . \\nthere's no thought , no development , no plot , just a series of manic edits and quirky camera angles to make this film appeal to gen-xers . \\nalthough it's a great idea : update a period drama to the mtv generation : it's execution is awful , and would more likely bore than excite . \\nsloppy and occasionally off puttingly tasteless , it's hard to recommend plunkett & macleane as a movie , but easy to recommend it as a overlong music video . \\ngive it a miss . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'for about twenty minutes into mission impossible 2 director john woo ( the killer , hard boiled , face off ) appears to have made an exciting , elegant , charming spy thriller , kind of a post millennium james bond adventure with a strapping american ( read : unsophisticated ) hero more willing to drop kick villains than out fox them . \\nsadly , as the picture progresses , the final product begins to bear a closer resemblance to a souped up , two-hour long episode of magyuver . \\nand not a particularly good one at that . \\nwhat went wrong ? \\nmi2 begins flashily enough , that initial flash leading us to believe that it\\'ll soon give way to something of a plot , but it only gives way to more flash , then digresses further into a presumably unintentional parody of itself with much slo mo posturing and countless action set pieces wherein bad guys seem to deliberately leap into the way of tom cruise\\'s firing gun just so they can die really cool . \\nearly on , during a car chase between soon to be lovers ethan hunt ( tom cruise ) and nyah nordoff-hall ( thandie newton ) , woo works some of his trademark magic . \\nin one hypnotic , though completely inexplicable sequence , the director slows the action down to a languid semi-stall as cruise and his stunning opponent stare into one and other\\'s eyes with come hither sexuality ? ? ? just as their respective cars smash and spin in accordance , coming ever so close to toppling over a neighboring cliff . \\nprior to this we see the famed trailer opener of cruise climbing a steep mountain , sans scaffolding , then leaping from one jagged rock formation to another . \\nwhy ? \\ni haven\\'t the foggiest . \\ni doubt even john woo could provide you with a logical reply . \\nwith mi2 woo has become a slave to the summer movie machine , the one that jettisons logic for gravity defying effects and story for more gravity defying effects . \\nit\\'s possible that these \" spies \" could be adrenaline junkies climbing mountains and crashing into each other as means to get off , though of course this is never explored . \\nthe scenes i\\'ve described are really only included to titillate , not to give any insight into character . \\ngod forbid . \\nwoo certainly knows how to make each set piece energetic , but they remain individual set pieces never connecting to form anything more than splices of beer commercial-like visuals . \\nstill in terms of crackerjack eye candy , the opening has much to cherish . \\ncruise and newton first meet during a vigorous flamenco dance featuring several welcome woo devices ( the graceful slow mo artistry of synchronized movement juxtaposed against the stage 1 romance of two attractive individuals discovering how attractive the other is ) . \\nbetween the frantic dancing , woo trains his camera on cruise and newton as they make with some sensuous eye contact . \\nthe scene is a little over the top in a bon jovi music video circa 1988 kind of way , yet it has style and something of soul , and woo casts a bit of a spell on us . \\nsure it\\'s all smoke and mirrors , but we can see that there happens to be a talented maestro behind this particular product . \\nthandie and cruise later meet in a bathtub in a scene that\\'s about half as playfully charming as the jennifer lopez \\\\ george cloony trunk meeting in out of sight . \\nthey flirt and exchange obvious double entendres . \\nnewton bats her eyes flirtatiously . \\ncruise grins a little too slyly . \\nthe cruise character , ethan hunt , has been drastically altered since the first film . \\nhere cruise plays him more as a hip , sexual dynamo than the square jawed robot he impersonated in part 1 . \\nhe\\'s cool and dashing , which is precisely the kind of role we want to see cruise in after watching him sleep walk through eyes wide shut ( which might just be the longest episode of red show diaries ever committed to film ) , and blustered his way through magnolia ( quite possibly the most overrated performance of the 90\\'s ) . \\nsadly as the film progresses we see less of cruise\\'s initial \" i\\'m the man ! \" \\ncharm and more slo-mo close-ups of his preening mug . \\nmi2 falls apart on nearly every level during its repetitious third act , which is essentially one hour long action sequence that just won\\'t stop . \\nthe whole thing commences with an utterly generic gun battle ( the first gun fight in the film ) , which really should be unheard of in a john woo film , but alas this particular battle could\\'ve been staged by anyone from renny harlin to joseph merhi ( of course excepting the \" symbolic \" pigeons who seem to find their way into every john woo picture ) . \\nwe\\'ve all seen guys slide across the floor in slo mo while firing a gun in each hand . \\nit isn\\'t done any differently here . \\nthe action is pure hard target \\\\ broken arrow theatrics with nothing to propel it but the apparent need to see tom cruise drop kick face less villains while his hair whips stylishly in the wind . \\nhe\\'s cool for sure but he\\'s made to be as empty as the movie . \\nthe actor isn\\'t used so much for his boyish appeal as for his chiseled looks ; he smiles narcissistically into the camera at literally any moment , be it during a gunfight , before one or after one . \\nwhen he\\'s not beaming away , he\\'s staring into the lens with cold eyes trying to look mad as hell , but woo\\'s editing seriously undermines the effort . \\nhe fetishizes cruise\\'s angular face with such glee that it turns into a naked gun style spoof . \\ni half expected cruise to peel off his facemask and reveal that he\\'s really austin powers . \\nin a classic woo action moment , ethan hunt struts past a fiery doorway glaring at the baddies within its frame like a pin-up boy angel of death . \\nthe gunfight turns into a daring escape which turns into a reckless mission which turns into a motorcycle attack in which bad guys seem to angle directly for cruise to kill them like some kind of mass suicide ritual ( one dumb bastard even jumps his bike over the gun toting cruise , basically inviting our handsome hero to shoot him in mid air which he does ) . \\nthe lead bad guy ( played by the appropriately british dougray scott ) and cruise face off in a mentally deficient game of chicken ? ? ? on motorcycles . \\nthough instead of jumping off to the side at the last moment , the two grown men leap directly into the other giving each other a mid air bear hug , only to fly about a hundred feet ( still in bear hug position ) , land on a beach below and begin a mano-e-mano fist fight that ends with the bad guy pulling a \" so you thought i was dead . . . \" . \\nnot to worry , cruise takes care of the problem without even breaking a sweat . \\nwhat a hero ! \\nyou may have noticed that i opted not to describe an iota of mi2\\'s plot . \\nmy reasoning is simple : i\\'m not sure of any good it would do . \\nthe film itself has absolutely no concern with story , only with hurtling forth to the next \" special \" effect . \\ni wasn\\'t kidding when i told a friend of mine that mi2 has less plot than the average aerosmith video . \\nnobody will go to this for the plot , and if they do they\\'ll surely regret it . \\nas summer movies evolve ( or devolve ) character and plot have become increasingly whittled down to nearly nothing . \\nin mi , the plot seemed to be built around brian de palma\\'s ( that film\\'s director ) stylistic flourishes , while in mi2 the plot only serves to give us an intermittent breather from woo\\'s non-stop masturbatory pandemonium . \\nit\\'s irrelevant in every sense , as is character . \\nall that ultimately matters are those pesky smoke and mirrors . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'two party guys bob their heads to haddaway\\'s dance hit \" what is love ? \" \\nwhile getting themselves into trouble in nightclub after nightclub . \\nit\\'s barely enough to sustain a three-minute _saturday_night_live_ skit , but _snl_ producer lorne michaels , _clueless_ creator amy heckerling , and paramount pictures saw something in the late night television institution\\'s recurring \" roxbury guys \" sketch that would presumably make a good feature . \\nemphasis on the word \" presumably . \" \\n_a_night_at_the_roxbury_ takes an already-thin concept and tediously stretches it far beyond the breaking point--and that of viewers\\' patience levels . \\nthe first five minutes or so of _roxbury_ play very much like one of the original \" roxbury guys \" skits . \\nwith \" what is love ? \" \\nblaring on the soundtrack , the brotherly duo of doug and steve butabi ( chris kattan and will ferrell ) bob their heads , scope out \" hotties \" at clubs , and then bump a select few with violent pelvic thrusts . \\nthere is one crucial difference , however--these guys speak . \\nthat little fact has been used as justification for the film\\'s existence , that the butabis\\' newfound capacity for speech would open up a whole new set of doors for the characters . \\nthe doors opened by director john fortenberry and screenwriters steve koren , ferrell , and kattan are new , that\\'s for sure , but they all lead to comic dead ends . \\nthere is no story per se , only a loosely structured and linked series of subplots . \\nthe brothers literally run into ( or , rather , get run into , as in by car ) richard grieco of _21_jump_street_ fame , and through him they gain entrance into the exclusive roxbury club . \\nthere , they meet a hotshot club owner ( chazz palminteri , conspicuously uncredited--can you blame him ? ) , who takes an interest in an idea of theirs . \\nmeanwhile , the bros\\' overbearing father ( dan hedaya ) wants them to stop clubbing . \\nwhen doug refuses and the dimwitted steve obeys his father , a rift is created between the two . \\nthe narrative messiness of _roxbury_ would have been forgivable if all that went on were the slightest bit funny , but virtually none of it is . \\nthe assembled press audience mostly sat stonily silent throughout the entire film , with the one big exception being a big laugh near the end . \\nalas , the joke--a rather lazy takeoff on _jerry_maguire_--will only strike a chord with people who have seen that film . \\ngranted , a lot of people _have_ seen _jerry_maguire_ , but the fact that the film\\'s best joke is completely dependent on one\\'s familiarity with another film says a lot about _roxbury_\\'s lack of inspiration . \\nthat lack of inspiration can be traced back to the insipid characters themselves . \\nlike too many of the skits on the current incarnation of _saturday_night_live_ , \" the roxbury guys \" is a one-joke sketch that never once suggests that the characters have enough comic life in them to survive outside of the sketch context . \\nafter watching one of the \" roxbury \" skits on snl , this is what you come away with from the characters : they bob their heads to \" what is love ? \" , \\nbump unsuspecting women , and . . . that\\'s all . \\nafter watching _a_night_at_the_roxbury_ , you\\'ll be left with exactly the same . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'words i thought i\\'d never write : the sequel to urban legend lacks the grace , wit , and power of the original . \\nput the gun to my head , pull the trigger , and put me out of my misery . \\nbetter yet , put the horror genre out of its misery . \\nwhen you\\'ve finished watching urban legends : final cut , you\\'ll share my same grim point of view thanks to the horrible acting , terrible script , and ridiculous directing which has become all too common today . \\nurban legends : final cut is a smorgasbord of stolen movie ideas ( mainly from the blair witch project and scream ) : fabulous people with perfect teeth and skin , one creepy film school , and a dog eating a freshly removed kidney from one of the movie\\'s hapless victims . \\nurban legends delivers a story about a bunch of film students working on their thesis films to win the coveted \" hitchcock award \" which guarantees the winner a director deal in hollywood . \\none female filmmaker ( jennifer morrison , the freaky dead girl from stir of echoes ) writes a fiction script based on a serial killer who kills his victims according to \" urban legend \" tales . \\nsuddenly , her entire crew starts getting bumped off with urban-legendary homicides , but the bodies are always missing and she is often the only witness to the killings . \\nthe killer wears a fencing mask and a long black overcoat , looking like a scorned olympian out to avenge his defeat in sydney . \\nwhy this is scary is never explained . \\nof course , the golden rule of sequels is that there must be least one recurring character for continuity\\'s sake . \\nurban legends has one minor , recurring character from the original who we never cared about anyway ( the security guard , of all people ) . \\nthe other central problem is that this character has already seen the urban legend killings once before , but she\\'s utterly clueless about what\\'s going on around her . \\ncall it suspension of disbelief . \\nthis film is also a prime example of how horror films are now completely dead in the water . \\nthe last decent horror film was the blair witch project , and that seemed more like a snuff film than fiction . \\nthe stalking killer with crazy motivation has become a tired clich ? , as everyone seems to have forgotten : real horror is not about what is seen but about what is unknown . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"an 80-year old woman jumps enthusiastically on her couch , wearing tight-fitting leather , as she cheers on her favorite tv wrestler by calling his opponent a `pump-bitch' . \\ntwo men messily eat fast food as their septic truck leaks raw sewage directly behind them . \\nand roughly 17 people are booted in the crotch . \\nwelcome to `ready to rumble' . \\njudging from the fact that potty-mouth adam sandler is the reigning box-office comedy champion , you realize -- albeit while shaking your head -- that yes , there is an audience for this sort of thing . \\nladies and gentlemen , i weep for society . \\nmind you , when executed with style and comic ingenuity , jokes like an alarming bodily fluid mistaken for hair gel ( `there's something about mary' ) and a laxative-induced attack of explosive diarrhea ( `dumb and dumber' ) can be extremely funny . \\nunfortunately , `ready to rumble' is not being helmed by the farrelly brothers , nor is it bolstered by a script that accommodates the viewer with anything even remotely clever or inspired . \\n`ready to rumble' is built around the dedicated fan-base of professional wrestling . . . . \\nwhich , in fact , sounded like a fine concept for a goofball comedy . \\nbut director brian robbins and screenwriter steven brill handcuff themselves , and limited to a stampede of asinine , humdrum bathroom humor , basically the only thing they manage is to evoke memories of pauly shore and `bio dome' . \\ngordie boggs ( david arquette ) and sean dawkins ( scott caan ) take pride in being hardcore wcw wrestling fanatics . \\nby day , they transport raw sewage . \\nby night ( particularly on ? nitro' monday ) , they pay homage to their personal hero and savior - jimmy king ( oliver platt ) , the undisputed leader of the professional wrestling community . \\nwith two tickets to an upcoming nitro performance , gordie and sean are psyched about witnessing the king defend his title first-hand . \\nbut unscrupulous boxing kingpin titus sinclair ( joe pantoliano , sporting long hair and cowboy boots ) has other plans . \\nsinclair is plotting to have diamond dallas page ( playing himself ) pummel the king into the tarp , thereby dethroning the dignified wrestler and embarrassing him in front of a bewildered auditorium full of fans . \\ngordie and sean are shocked , rioting madly while arguing `this isn't even a pay-per view event ! ! ' \\nthey take it upon themselves to track the king down and supply the encouragement essential for their fallen idol to make a come-back attempt . \\nalong the way , you can expect a lot of sh-- jokes as well . \\nyou may find something to like in `ready to rumble' if a ) you are a rasslin' aficionado yourself , or b ) you are a dedicated fan of the lowest of low-brow comedies . \\ni welcome low-brow humor with open arms - that is , if its fresh and resourceful . \\n`rumble' is nothing but a sloppy , frightfully unfunny swamp land of misbegotten retardation . \\nthe first half-hour is the ultimate test of patience . \\nluckily , the simple-minded events pick up steam , particularly with the well-choreographed wrestling action . \\ndirector robbins showed a knack for capturing the brutality and excitement of football in `varsity blues' , and when in the ring , he does professional work . \\nbut the violence is too excessive . \\nhaving the fake soap opera of wcw wrestling turn into a bloody skirmish brings back unfortunate memories of owen hart's tragic accident just last year , especially with one character's dive during a cage match . \\nthis is not something you want a comedy to be reminiscent of . \\noutside the wrestling action , the lewd jokes and puerile sight gags bring new meaning to the term ? scattershot' , while the dialogue fluctuates in on the vulgarity scale of 1 to 10 , with brill's extensive vocabulary ranging from `diddly' to `boob' and so on . \\nthe final tally : i chuckled a few times , groaned a lot , and indulged in one spirited belly laugh involving martin landau as a geriatric wrestling coach who fights pretty impressively for 105 . \\ncasting-wise , `ready to rumble' is an odd duck . \\noliver platt as a champion wrestling figure ? \\nhe's perhaps a bit chunky , but fellow wrestlers acknowledge this in the ring by calling him `fatty' , which dampens the blow i suppose . \\nrose mcgowan is fully disposable as a sultry wcw cheerleader ( `the nirto-est of the nitro girls , ' proclaims gordie ) , but extra pep is added with appearances by wrestlers goldberg , `macho man' randy savage and sting ( among others ) . \\nwcw fans are sure to appreciate these . \\nothers . . . \\nwell , won't . \\ni found merit in david arquette's bountiful energy as gordie , which brings me to my finishing . . . . \\nahhh . . . . \\n`praise' for the film : in `ready to rumble' , i have discovered something even more annoying than arquette's `at&t' television commercials . \\nnow there's a low blow for you . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"expectation rating : a bit worse than expected ( mainly because i found the middle part to be a bit dull ) . \\nroger ebert gave it a four star review , and while he is a critic that uses the full scale , and i often agree -- such as dark city being the best film of 1998 , he must have seen a better film . \\ni read the book about five years ago and hugely enjoyed it . \\nthe opening of a simple plan reminded me a bit of the sweet hereafter . \\nthe landscape is snowy and cold , and is filmed what i feel is in a rather crisp manner ( which also reminds me of fargo ( which i loathed ) ) . \\none can almost sense the cold . \\nbut the movie far from the eye popping delights of the quick and the dead , instead raimi has made a more constrained film -- which probably is for the better . \\nthis is probably not a movie that would have been improved by lots of odd shots . \\nthe movie also reminded me of affliction , as the lead characters all seem to be hoping for and seeing a possibility to lead a better life than their father , and they see a chance for such a dream to come true . \\nthis chance is uncovered in a snow covered field , where an airplane has crash landed . \\nin the plane three men find ? the american dream . . . \\nin a gym bag . ? \\naffliction too was set in a snowy landscape . \\nit really seems very simple . \\njust hold on to the money until spring , and if no one claims it , they'll be safe to spend it and their hope of experiencing the american dream can come true . \\nbut the snow melts , and so might several of the character's hopes . \\nas in ? return to paradise ? , some of the characters are presented with a chance to do the right thing . \\nbut doing the right thing might not result in a better result than something more selfish . \\nthe movie's biggest strength is that it fact makes sense . \\ni have seen many movies based on books that just seem like selected scenes from the book visualized , eschewing anything remotely resembling a coherent story -- for example clear and present danger . \\nthe biggest problem seems to over-familiarization with the story . \\nthe writer perhaps feels that he doesn't have to present scenes that are clear to him , but the lack of which only baffles an audience which has not read the book . \\nthis is definitely not the problem with a simple plan , even though the screenplay is by the book's author . \\nthe movie is always clear on where it's going , and always makes sense . \\ni'm sue a lot was cut , but really i can't remember what . \\neven a minor scene involving a man complaining that he has paid for too much grains is included . \\nthe man only comes in on mondays , but he claims that he has been charged for one purchase too many . \\nturns out . . . \\nwell , see the movie . \\none should be warned against seeing the trailer . \\nit reveals several scenes from the ending moments ( which yes , like in the book , it is a downer ) , several plot developments , and much of the beginning . \\nbut much of this is not spelled directly out during the trailer , so if you're lucky , you'll have forgotten about all of this when you see the movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'by starring in amy heckerling\\'s \" clueless \" two summers ago , alicia silverstone proved she wasn\\'t just another pretty , pouty ingenue , showing a buoyant comedic craftiness that blew all previous jobs -- namely a stint as the aerosmith girl and a silly turn as the lethal lolita of \" the crush \" -- out of the water . \\nher only work since that 1995 gem has been in june\\'s \" batman & robin , \" where she overcame the underwritten role of batgirl . \\nnow , she\\'s the star and producer of \" excess baggage , \" a hopelessly phony film that demonstrates how an ill-composed story can drag an otherwise solid performer down to its level . \\nsilverstone\\'s emily t . hope is stuck with a billionaire father ( jack thompson ) who neglects her emotionally . \\nin an outlandish plan to gain his affection , she fakes her own kidnapping -- emily uses an electronically disguised voice to call her dad and set a pricey ransom , ties her legs together and mouth shut with duct tape and locks herself in the trunk of her bmw . \\nbut before the police can \" rescue \" her , professional auto thief vincent roche ( benicio del toro ) jimmies the locks , hot-wires the engine and makes off with both the car and emily , who\\'s still trapped in the back . \\nwhen vincent discovers emily , the two don\\'t exactly hit it off -- she annoys him , he annoys her , and at the advice of his slimy car salesman partner ( harry connick , jr . ) , he decides to drive her out to the middle of nowhere and leave her there . \\nalong the way , of course , they get into a whole heap of trouble , and come to realize that being together is the only way to get out of their sticky , felony-studded situation . \\nit doesn\\'t help matters that emily and vincent are being trailed by cops , crooks and even her shady uncle ray ( christopher walken ) , who\\'s wise to his niece\\'s ploys for attention and has mafia connections . \\nfor at least a half-hour , \" excess baggage \" bounces along fast and efficiently . \\nduring this time , emily and vincent sport engaging personalities as well as a nice role-reversal twist -- she\\'s an awfully aggressive , combative victim and he\\'s quite the aloof , seemingly vulnerable captor . \\nbut once it\\'s past its set-up , the situation suddenly becomes uninvolving as the story tries to be too many things at once . \\na road movie , a teen comedy , a mob thriller , a drama about family relationships -- you name the cliche and \" excess baggage \" likely covers its territory . \\nof course a romance develops between the two leads , but it all seems forced , and thus characterization is manipulated to cause the finally happy outcome . \\n \" do you like my tummy ? \" \\nemily coos to vincent at one point in the film . \\nhuh ? \\ndid i miss something ? \\nthe hard-edged , foul-mouthed grrrl is suddenly gone and replaced with a pair of batting goo-goo eyes . \\nthen again , \" excess baggage \" becomes so weak in so many areas that the personality transplant is not a complete surprise . \\na supporting cast attempts to do what they can with colorful but empty secondary roles , but the movie isn\\'t game enough to use them all and therefore seems overcrowded . \\nmotivations keep shifting , resulting in an often confusing narrative . \\nscant existing story background confuses matters even worse and adds to the growing list of unanswered questions . \\n \" excess baggage \" has too many characters , too much plot and juggles with one arm behind its back and a remaining shaky hand . \\ni loved silverstone\\'s turn in \" clueless \" as an aloof , pampered beverly hills matchmaker inspired by jane austen\\'s \" emma . \" \\nlooking back at the skill she displayed for comedy there , it\\'s simple to justify any high expectation or enthusiasm that i had mustered for \" excess baggage . \" \\nsadly , however , \" excess baggage \" is no \" clueless . \" \\nbut , on the other hand , it is clueless . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'surrounded by hype , high hopes , and the promise of an over-the-top performance by clueless\\'s brittany murphy , don\\'t say a word looked full of promise . \\nhell , when i hear that \" i\\'ll never tell \" whisper on the tv commercial , goose bumps run up my spine . \\nalas , word is filled with little but disappointment , a kooky mix of girl , interrupted and ransom , with michael douglas and company collecting a paycheck to plod through a vapid and dull kidnapping thriller . \\ndouglas stars as nathan conrad , renowned new york psychologist , devoted father of jessie conrad ( skye mccole bartusiak ) , and loving husband to aggie conrad ( famke janssen ) . \\nafter a gang of jewel thieves , headed by sean bean\\'s koster , kidnaps his daughter , nathan is forced to extract from his new patient , the catatonic and violent elisabeth burrows ( murphy ) , the location of some hidden bank job booty that her father hid from the koster gang a decade ago . \\nbut with hard-nosed detective sandra cassidy ( jennifer esposito , doing her best j . lo impression ) tracking down koster and his gang of hoodlums , the stakes are raised as nathan races against the clock to crack the mystery of elisabeth\\'s head in order to get the goods inside . \\nthe catch - nathan only has until five o\\'clock to solve the puzzle ! \\nwhoa , the suspense is almost too much . \\ndon\\'t say a word loses the audience inside of 15 minutes . \\nmurphy looks and acts like linda blair from the exorcist during the first part of the movie , then turns around and reprises like her role from girl , interrupted . \\nand the only real \" crazy \" to be found in the film is director gary fleder\\'s ( things to do in denver when you\\'re dead ) staggering use of flashback sequences . \\noliver platt , famke janssen , and even sean bean are decent actors , but the stuff they are given here -- such as a bedridden wife fighting off the token black guy with her crutch -- is insulting and demeaning . \\nadditionally , the use of the surveillance cameras and laptops to track nathan\\'s every move is downright unbelievable . \\nhow do ex-cons fresh out of the big house afford all this equipment ? \\ndespite its flaws , don\\'t say a word is surprisingly some of the best mainstream film you\\'ll find this month -- and audiences will lap it up . \\namericans love lukewarm , half-baked thrillers starring big names and accompanied by cheap thrills . \\nsomeone get me my lithium ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'okay , bear with me y\\'all , cause first off i have to get this off my chest : \\nwhat the hell is up with that damn crab ? ? ? \\nwhew . okay . \\ncause that same clip shown over and over again was beginning to get on my nerves towards the end , as cute as the crab maybe . \\neven i know that you need more footage than * that * . \\nand that wasn\\'t the only thing getting on my nerves . \\nthe cutesy gimmicks , saccharine sweet score / soundtrack and the pretty young faces of sarah michelle gellar ( as amanda ) and sean patrick flannery ( as tom ) might have held some appeal during , oh , say the first 10 minutes of the movie . \\nat first the movie moves along at a quick , interesting pace . \\nit is speedily established that something magical is about to happen to amanda when she encounters a totally random fairy godfather type person on the street , whose aforementioned crab follows her everywhere and just * doesn\\'t * die . \\na ridiculous concept , yes , but at this point i\\'m willing to accept it because i\\'m willing to accept that this is how amanda\\'s life is changed , how her powers are received . \\nlater on , the movie can\\'t seem to decide whether these powers come from this fairy godfather or from amanda falling in with tom . \\nand this is why the clips of the crab were annoying ; they weren\\'t just repetitive , they were out of place and unnecessary . \\nthe plot stumbles along at an uneven speed , sometimes dwelling too long on a particular development ( amanda suddenly becoming a great chef , her falling in love with tom , etc . ) , sometimes moving on too quickly for its own good . \\nsome places the plot just doesn\\'t make sense , sometimes it\\'s way too contrived ( the crab bit , for example ) , and sometimes too corny ( peaches emitting dry ice . \\ncan\\'t beat that ) . \\nall in all the plot seemed fragmented , unconnected . \\nnot romantic at all , and only funny in some places . \\nso , okay , do the magic powers come from the crab ? \\nor the fairy godfather ? \\nshe can * float * now too ? \\nand all of a sudden , instead of just making dry ice come out of peaches , she can put her emotions into her food ? \\ntom all of a sudden just accepts amanda\\'s \" witchcraft \" in the end ? \\nwould people really dine in a restaurant that resembles life after death in tupac\\'s video ? \\nwhat the hell is up with that damn crab ? \\nit is unfortunate , because i liked the basic premise of the movie , until it became too fantastical and tiresome . \\nthe film seemed to skirt around a serious theme or at least * a * theme for a while , but towards the end it resolved to show us long flashback clips and 5 minutes of people crying at their tables . \\nthe humor was good in some places ( nolan gets the funniest bits , including that incomprehensible , totally random thing with the dolls ) . \\ngellar and flannery are qualified actors , and gellar has a particular charm , but i much prefer her playing the saucy buffy ( or even annette in the upcoming \" cruel intentions \" ) than this sorry excuse for a character . \\nit\\'s almost funny sometimes to see these two trying so hard to make the dialogue sound better than it is , or trying to make the relationship seem more plausible . \\nthe supporting character nolan was a highlight , though he reminded me a bit of kevin in \" you\\'ve got mail \" ( see footnotes ) . \\nand , as always , typical of a chick flick / romantic comedy , there\\'s a seemingly endless romantic soundtrack in the background , cued up at all the right places . \\nthis sort of got on the nerves after a while , too . \\n \" simply irresistible \" is not hard to understand , light , funny in some places , and generally disappointing because it can\\'t draw the line between romance and protracted sap , between humor and tired slapstick . \\nand how could i refrain from making a pun ? \\n . \\n . \\n . \\n \" simply irresistible \" is all too easy to resist . \\n ( first viewing , 2/6/99 ) \\n * did anyone else think this was a tad bit similar to \" you\\'ve got mail \" ( or \" the shop around the corner \" ) ? \\nbusiness rivals fall in love . \\nfemale counterpart\\'s business is in danger of being shut down . \\nfemale as mother- like figure guiding her . \\nthe annoying , hysterical ex-girlfriends . \\n * i _really_ like sarah michelle gellar\\'s wardrobe . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"capsule : one of the ten worst movies ever made . \\nchristopher lambert vs . evil ninjas in modern-day japan . . . \\nand nobody wins . \\nthe hunted is such a bad movie , so completely inept and so totally brain-damaged that i could almost feel affection for it . \\ni could see myself showing this movie to friends and getting a good jolly guffaw out of it , if it weren't also insanely xenophobic and insulting . \\nchristopher lambert plays a computer-parts salesman who's on business in japan . \\nhe meets a slinky young woman ( joan chen ) and has a torrid night of lovemaking with her -- and then manages to witness her death at the hands of an evil ninja clan and their leader ( john lone ) . \\napparently they had some unfinished business that could only be concluded with her getting slaughtered . \\nsince lambert is a witness , he's of course the next one to die . \\nlet's stop and think about this for a second . \\nif lambert were in real life being chased by fanatical devotees to a ninja secret society , he'd have a lifespan you could only measure with an atomic clock . \\nin this movie , the ninja manage to kill just about everyone except him . \\ni imagine the japanese gods smiled down on lambert and provided him with a goof field that radiates out about ten feet from his body . \\nyou know what a goof field is : that invisible zone in which anyone who has intent to do harm to you becomes a klutz no matter what their real dexterity is . \\nthis is , of course , only the beginning of the movie's problems . \\nlambert eventually finds pseudo-safety with a long-haired modern-day samurai ( yoshio harada ) and his partner -- yoko shimada , who you may remember as lady toda buntaro in shogun . \\nthey are the two best things in the movie ; in every scene they have authority and presence , and they actually look like they belong here , even when dressed in full samurai armor and wielding bows . \\nthe script doesn't know what the hell to do with them . \\nlone , as the bad guy , is zero-dimensional . \\nthe only bad-guy cliche he has to wallow around in is the one about how the bad guy always has exotic women dripping off of him . \\nin the hunted , this is elevated to the level of an insulting stereotype . \\nwhat's funny is that the peripheral characters in the hunted are not sterotypes -- there's a nice little scene with a tokyo cabdriver , and a girl in a pachinko parlor -- but many of the main characters are unsalveageably hateful . \\nalso , the phenomenal instrumental troupe kodo has assembled a superior soundtrack -- get the cd -- that manages to survive despite the drek it's been designed to accompany . \\nthere is an extended battle scene in the middle of the movie that is almost reason enough to watch the whole thing -- a gory , excellently staged fight on the bullet train that shows some real imagination for a moment , and then smothers it by trying to clumsily re-couple the whole thing with the movie's relentlessly stupid plot . \\nby the time we get to the final showdown , with lambert getting to wield his own sword ( which , judging from the ham-handed editing of one scene , was forged in seven hours or so ) , we no longer care . \\nwe're not even given any definitive information about whether or not one of the key characters lives or dies ! \\nsomeone once said that the key to good art -- good movies , good books , whatever -- is to start somewhere interesting , end up somewhere interesting , and show respect for the audience all along the way . \\nthis movie bungles two out of three , badly . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"i don't box with kid gloves . \\ni don't play nice , i'm not a nice guy , and i never , ever , go easy on a film . \\ni consider it to be a breech of some sort of code of ethics for a movie critic . \\nhowever , i do some favors , and these often come in the form of points that i hand to certain groups due to the artistic bravery . \\nrigormortis , the production company that has been my prime example of how money does not need to motivate filmmaking , gets several of these points each time . \\ni still , however , will not go easy on them . \\nthey recently sent me a vhs copy of their down with america trilogy ( which begins , quite wittily , with a disclaimer that they are not trying to undermine america with the making of this film . ) and i decided to spend an hour of my day watching it . \\nin the famous lines of many martyrs , i have no regrets . \\nwell , i do have some regrets , but that is not the point in the previous sentence . \\nthe point of it was that down with america was a film that , from a critical standpoint , did not entirely disappoint me . \\nsure , the risky use of vhs instead of super 8mm or 16mm was a pain , and the natural light was one of the most annoying things about public access films , but the movie itself was fairly enjoyable . \\ndown with america concerns a government agent , needless murder , and a book containing everything from the unabomber's manifesto to the 1995 apple computer profit report . \\nlike the previous films of rigormortis that i have reviewed , it displays an off-kilter humor and intelligence ? it succeeds in making me laugh where countless studio films fail . \\nthe best way to see this film would be as a parody of the countless conspiracy films that we have been drowned in since the paranoia of the 80s . \\na dying movement from the day they started , these paranoid `thrillers' had the government always covering up something and had the same favorite word : `roswell . ' \\nin down with america , the line `roswell' is highly absent . \\nwith an about ten minute running time , down with america effortlessly sidesteps every clich ? that the conspiracy films fell into , makes jokes at them at the same time , and provides us with funny and memorable characters . \\nagain , i have seen movies that have gone on two hours with characters i couldn't care less about . \\nthe film , as previously stated , concerns a federal agent ( peter roach ) , an obsessed librarian ( meri stevens ) , a mystery man ( joe kaczkowski ) , and two people obsessed with silence in the library ( robb sherman , kevin flowers ) . \\nthe plot : a book containing the secrets of all anarchists is hidden in ? a public library where it can be viewed by all . \\nfrom there we go into a delightful parody . \\nthe federal agent claims his sovereign right to alter the truth , the librarian goes on a diatribe about the sanctity of books . \\nwe spend our time laughing at fairly idiotic jokes that are performed much too well considering the lack of coaching of the cast . \\nalthough the actors and actresses are in small roles and give a whole new meaning to `no-name' , it ends up being the no-name people who do a good job , delivering better performances as comic villains than half the crap that hollywood turns out . \\nfor once , i don't have a url that i know offhand to give you as to where to locate the film online . \\ni can only say that you should find my previous reviews of l'auto and les x-files and look up the rigormortis productions site in and of itself . \\nit's almost as much fun as the film . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'bob the happy bastard\\'s quickie review : \\ni must admit , no doubt\\'s single \" new \" is quite catchy . \\nit was bouncy and energetic enough to get me to go see this new film from director doug limon , the man who had brought us the humorous swingers a little while back . \\nthe result ? \\na movie that\\'s just as good as that song , really . \\nit follows the lives of several individuals over the course of one weekend . \\nfirst we hear about a grocery bagger ( sara polley ) who runs into a monetary situation problem and ends up selling bogus drugs at a rave ( with bad results , as a drug dealer feels he\\'s been swindled by her ) ; then comes the story of an english grocery store worker ( same store ) who heads to vegas for the weekend with friends , where sex , gunplay , and stolen car trouble come into play ; then we see the story of two gay movie actors ( played by scott wolf and jay mohr ) who deal with a cop\\'s strange insurance presentation and hitting a girl ( sara ) with their car ; and , finally , we come to another grocery worker ( katie holmes ) who has a strange fascination with said drug dealer ( the one mentioned earlier ) . \\nreally , it\\'s all confusing to keep track of in review format , your best bet is to just , well , go . \\nthe movie features some very good acting from all angles , and limon adds the same humorous energy he had with swingers to this particular product . \\nthe dialogue is pretty snappy and the resolution is pretty well realized , not going for the sappy happy ending nor the dreaded bad ending . \\nthink of it as a , well , ending . \\nthe intertwining of stories is a particularly good element to the movie , as it\\'s never really confusing and tells different sides of the story , like sliding doors kinda did . \\nhowever , it\\'s better suited for the younger generation who want a little spice in their flicks , which sliding doors kinda isn\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'while screen adaptations of john irving\\'s novels have been disappointingly uneven , the films have all shared one particular strength : key casting . \\nwho can forget john lithgow as roberta muldoon , the transsexual quarterback of \" the world according to garp , \" or nastassja kinski as susie the bear in \" the hotel new hampshire \" ? \\na lot of good casting decisions have gone into the making of \" the cider house rules , \" an adaptation of irving\\'s poetic 1994 novel about a restless young man called homer wells . \\namong those sound judgments was the decision to have the splendid tobey maguire assume the pivotal role ; the decision to cast michael caine as his mentor and father figure , dr . wilbur larch , the ether-addicted head obstetrician of the st . cloud\\'s orphanage , maine ; and the decision to offer jane alexander and kathy baker supporting roles as his head nurses . \\nthen there are the brethren who populate the apple orchard where homer wells finds himself shortly after leaving st . cloud\\'s , including delroy lindo , oscar ? -worthy as the foreman of the migrant work detail that drifts up and down the coast as the seasons take them . \\nthere\\'s kate nelligan as the matriarch of the cider house , and charlize theron as candy , the lovely , lonely wife of a wwii bomber pilot ( paul rudd ) sent away on a mission overseas leaving candy to set lobster traps with homer wells , a man who\\'s never seen the ocean before let alone a lobster . \\nam i forgetting anyone ? \\nyes . \\nkieran culkin and paz de la huerta as dissolute orphanage residents who make you sit up and take notice every time they\\'re on the screen . \\nbut with \" the cider house rules , \" the good people decisions don\\'t end with the cast . \\nirving has written his own screenplay in order to get it right this time ( last year\\'s \" simon birch , \" loosely based on his \" a prayer for owen meaney , \" was a big-screen example of irving handled sub-standardly ) ; the author appears fleetingly as a stationmaster here . \\nrachel portman , a composer of such sweet and lyrical tenderness , provides a score that\\'s absolutely right for the project--sweet , lyrical , and tender . \\nthere\\'s impressive new england photography by oliver stapleton too . \\nlast but by no means least is \" my life as a dog \" director lasse hallstr ? m , who shows enormous skill in pulling this collective together and helping bring irving\\'s marvelously touching story to life . \\nfor the many beloved who pass away in \" the cider house rules , \" it\\'s an extraordinarily life-affirming story . \\nand now , thanks to these talented individuals , it\\'s an extraordinarily life-affirming film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'alchemy is steeped in shades of blue . \\nkieslowski\\'s blue , that is . \\nwith its examination of death , isolation , character restoration , and recovery from loss , suzanne myers\\' new independent film echoes the polish director\\'s internationally-acclaimed 1993 release . \\nlanguage aside , the principal difference between the films is that , while kieslowski took great pains to draw us into the main character\\'s world , alchemy keeps its viewers at arm\\'s length . \\nas a result , while we\\'re able to appreciate the film\\'s intellectual tapestry , it is emotionally distant . \\nalchemy is divided into three chapters : \" charity \" , \" faith \" , and \" hope \" . \\nwhile there are common themes and story elements running through all three , the single constant is the main character , a sculptor/russian translator named louisa ( rya kihlstedt ) . \\nwhen the film opens , she\\'s living with her painter boyfriend , whom she believes to be cheating on her . \\nfollowing his sudden death in an automobile accident , louisa\\'s life is thrown into turmoil . \\nevents swirls around her , and she can\\'t find a source of stability . \\nin her quest to make sense out of her loss , she befriends her late boyfriend\\'s mistress , visits her ill sister , and , eventually , abandons her old life by joining a \" back-to- nature \" cult . \\nalchemy successfully explores a variety of compelling issues . \\nin addition to asking the basic question of how a person should cope with the unexpected death of a loved one , it probes beneath the surface of concepts like the importance of faith in the healing process , the meaning of love , and the nature of art . \\ndoes personality restoration come through interacting with others or escaping from the familiar ? \\nare artistic epiphanies the result of focused solitude or of living life , with all of its various distractions , to the fullest ? \\nmyers\\' challenge is to make these subjects , art film staples , engrossing in a new context . \\nthrough louisa\\'s struggles , she succeeds . \\nwhile alchemy isn\\'t always emotionally appealing , it never loses its fascination . \\neven when we\\'re not connecting with louisa , who is often more of a locus for ideas than a fully-developed personality , there\\'s enough material on-screen to hold our attention . \\nthe cinematography is stunning . \\ncity scenes are tinted with blue , adding a cold , bleak dimension to the film\\'s early portions . \\nlater , when louisa reaches the \" wilderness \" , we\\'re treated to a dazzling array of autumnal splendor -- brightly-colored leaves in the trees and on the ground . \\nit\\'s a startling-but-effective visual contrast that emphasizes the changes taking place in louisa\\'s life as she travels the road back to emotional stability . \\nthe title refers to the practice of a group of mystical faith- healers who use \" alchemy \" to provide for the needs of the body and soul . \\nand , although louisa partakes of their peculiar brand of medicine , it\\'s ultimately love and companionship , not alchemy , that brings solace . \\nher pain is assuaged only when she lets go of the belief that the inherent safety of being alone is life\\'s ultimate goal . \\neven though louisa\\'s final transformation lacks the impact it could have possessed had she been a more vital character , it\\'s still an intriguing and enlightening process to watch . \\nalchemy isn\\'t pure magic , but , especially during its best moments , it\\'s close . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'eight years after its release , disney has decided to re-release the little mermaid theatrically for 17 days ( and 17 long nights ) only . \\ncoincidentally , it was reintroduced to theaters the same day fox\\'s animated film anastasia was released . \\nyou know disney , they can\\'t deal with the threat of any other studio getting even a small piece of the crust of the kiddie entertainment pie , so when someone else wants to make a little money , they counter with an old \" masterpiece \" from their vault and , you know what , i went to see this 1989 cartoon rather than the brand new one from fox . \\nlet no one say disney is losing its monopoly on the market . \\nthey still have hotels on boardwalk _and_ park place . \\nbelieve it or not , today , november 25 , 1997 , at 5 : 05 p . m . , i saw the little mermaid for the first time . \\nit took me a few years to get over an aversion to this movie that was caused seven years ago , when i stayed with one of my mom\\'s friends for a couple weeks . \\nthey had a young child who listened to the little mermaid soundtrack constantly and , over that two week period , i heard every song from the movie probably a hundred times . \\nby the time i got back home , i promised myself i\\'d never see the movie . \\nbut promises are made to be broken , especially when you\\'re looking at a 17-day , limited engagement . \\ndamn those shrewd disney marketers and their mind games . \\nthe little mermaid is based on a hans christian anderson fairy tale , but it\\'s disney-ized , which means lots of talking animals and bursting into song . \\nit also means the heroine is a total babe who shows off cleavage from a seashell bra at all times . \\ni never wanted so much to be a pair of shells . . . \\nthe heroine , of course , is ariel ( voice of jodi benson ) , a 16-year-old mermaid who is going through that rebellious phase . \\nshe skips her concert to explore a wrecked ship and hang out with a seagull that talks like buddy hackett , who tries to orient her to the mysterious world of humans . \\nshe\\'s also dealing with feelings she hasn\\'t had before -- which comes when you get scales in places you didn\\'t use to have them -- about a handsome prince ( no disney movie would be complete without one ) . \\nher father , king triton of the merpeople , strictly forbids such lusting after the ways of the \" savage \" humans , in a condemnation that reads as a not-so-subtle analogy about old- fashioned parents who forbid interracial dating . \\nwhat\\'s a king to do , though ? \\nthe girl\\'s in love and even total destruction of her little shrine to the human world doesn\\'t deter her . \\nariel saves the prince\\'s life when a hurricane rises up , and just has to meet him . \\nshe makes a deal with ursula , the sea witch ( voice of pat carroll ) . \\nyou know she\\'s evil because she has a huge potbelly and one of the worst asses in cartoon history . \\nshe also has octopus tentacles for feet ( something those dr . scholl\\'s corn pads will not fix ) and offers to help ariel out . \\nshe\\'ll make her a human for three days if ariel will give up her pretty voice ; ariel has three days to make that prince kiss her , or else she becomes a slave to the witch forever . \\nand if she pricks her finger on a sewing machine or eats an evil apple , she\\'ll fall asleep forever . \\nit\\'s a simplistic plot , yes , but the little mermaid was a revolution in the disney world , coming after such lackluster efforts as the black cauldron and oliver and company . \\nit ranks as one of the best disney cartoons , certainly since the \\'50s . \\nall the elements are there -- memorable songs like \" under the sea \" and \" kiss the girl , \" cartoon animals like sebastian and flounder , an evil villain who still has characterization and charm , and a fair amount of humor that caters to adults as well as children . \\nthe little mermaid is worth a big-screen ticket in 1997 , so hurry up , you only have five days left . \\nserving america for more than 1/25th of a century ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'\\'traffic violation\\' dr . daniel\\'s review of u-turn \\ndr . d\\'s rating : critical condition ( \\nokay , here\\'s the deal . \\ni\\'ll be the first one to grant that everybody needs a day off now and then . \\ni\\'ll even go so far as to say that a vacation is a necessary part of doing any job well . \\ni mean , hey , i\\'ve been known to stretch a weekend into a three-day outing , if friday looks to be a slow day . \\nand if monday ain\\'t looking like a pick-me-up , well , i\\'ve been known to give martha nell a call and say , \" do me a favor , sweetheart . \\nbump old man ferguson\\'s boil lancing to tuesday morning , and tell miss audrey that i\\'ll swing by her house monday evening and see if we can\\'t get her trick knee back in line . \" \\na simple sentence like that , and i\\'ve got a nice four-day fishing trip with the boys , or more often than not , a trip up to cherokee , n . c . , for jackpot bingo and assorted other mountain funnery . \\nbut the point is , if you take a day off , do something different . \\nif you\\'ve worked yourself silly for months , relax a bit . \\nsleep in . \\neat pancakes at noon . \\nmicrowave an egg in its shell . \\nwatch pro wrestling with the sound off . \\nlisten to some barry white records at high speed . \\nwhatever . \\nbut do not , under any circumstances , spend your vacation doing the same thing you do for a living . \\nand , if you do , don\\'t make the final product look ten times worse than it would any other time . \\nbecause i do not want to hear your sob stories , oliver stone . \\nyou apparently thought you needed a break from making \" important films . \" \\ncool . \\nso you found this hinky little book and decided to make it a movie . \\nthat\\'s cool , too . \\nbut , ollie , old sage , do not take a good story and a hot cast and make one of the most pointless and worthless films of the decade . \\ni\\'m just eager to meet you one day , so i can buy you a stoli , look you in the eye and say , \" what in the wide world of sports were you thinking with u-turn ? \" \\nand i\\'ll stand there staring \\'til i get a straight answer . \\nsean penn stars u-turn , as bobby , a drifter who\\'s had some troubles a while back . \\nhe\\'s heading cross the desert minus two fingers when his mustang ragtop blows a radiator hose , stranding him in superior , arizona , held there by an \" ignorant , inbred , turtleneck hick \" of a mechanic named darrell . \\nwhile darrell puts a new hose on the ride , bobby walks into town to see what\\'s cooking . \\nis it needless of me to say that superior , arizona , is not exactly the shiny scrubbed home of all things lovely ? \\nprobably not . \\nbobby meets up with grace ( jennifer lopez ) , who invites him back to her place , for drape-hanging and other domestic issues . \\njust as those issues are starting up , grace\\'s husband , jake , storms in , looking like check-out day of the elks lodge convention . \\njust beats bobby silly . \\nbobby takes to the road , only to meet up with jake again , and jake asks bobby to kill grace . \\na little while later , grace asks bobby to kill jake . \\nthem murderous arizonians . \\ngotta love \\'em . \\nif any of this sounds familiar , congratulations . \\nyou win a kewpie doll . \\nthe story is a straight shoplift of red rock west , a cult favorite a few years back from john dahl , maker of the phenomenal the last seduction . \\nbut the contest doesn\\'t end there , guys and gals . \\nwe get steals from russ meyer movies , where everybody in town is horny and sweaty . \\nwe get the town from bad day at black rock , minus the train , plus busty women who can speak . \\nlook at any schwarzenegger film , and you\\'ll see our hero , bobby , as bobby has a mudhole stomped in his keister a dozen times , has his ribs stove in at least fifteen times , gets bit by a tarantula , gets shot at , and ends up with vultures circling overhead , all the while getting up like he just got a shaving nick . \\nbobby as terminator ? \\nstretch it a bit , and we have a five-finger discount from doc hollywood , where the whole story occurs because of car trouble , forcing the main character to stay at the mercy of the town and the mechanic . \\nokay , he\\'s working from a book , so maybe ollie\\'s not totally to blame for blatantly copping these ideas . \\ni just expect a man who can make up an alternative history of the united states to be able to craft a few original ideas before exposing the negative . \\ni just wish he hadn\\'t brought a cast like this together for what amounts to a group toe-stub . \\nsean penn gives a great performance , and jennifer lopez and nick nolte are as on target as they can be , playing over-the-top caricatures of stereotype characters . \\nthe best thing about the movie is watching penn react to the madness around him and try to figure out exactly what the blankety-blank is going on . \\ntoo bad it\\'s not fun to watch when it\\'s happening to us . . . while \\nwe sit through this mess of a film . \\nu-turn is not a bad film if you\\'re a fan of technique . \\nit\\'s the oliver stone you\\'ve always known . \\nrobert richardson is his usual cinematographer , and rob and ollie know how to shoot a flick -- great camera angles , shifting viewpoints , wicked colors , nice looking pictures . \\nbut pictures of what ? \\ni think i\\'d rather stare at a xeroxed envelope for two hours than try to figure out the tilt-o-whirl point of this loser film . \\nplot twists are one thing , repetition is almost unforgivable , and this is dang near as unforgivable as any movie i\\'ve seen in the past five years . \\noliver , i know your body of work is nothing to sniff at . \\nyou\\'ve been nice enough to limit us to only one doors movie , and films like platoon , jfk , wall street and nixon give us plenty to dig on . \\nyour scripts are certainly respectable , your budgets are up there on the screen , and your actors don\\'t dog it . \\nand i know that , maybe , with u-turn , you were just kicking back , just having fun . \\nthat\\'s fine . \\nbut don\\'t do that with a movie with the potential of this one . \\ndo some police academy sequel ( imagine that . ) \\ndo a big comedy , like a remake of it\\'s a mad , mad , mad , mad world . \\nbut do not drop a limp u-turn out of your pocket and expect us to accept it as \" an oliver stone movie , \" and not question why it stinks like week-old snook . \\nthere\\'s a right way to have fun , and a wrong way to have fun . \\nthis was as wrong as you can get without going to jail . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'wong kar-wei\\'s \" fallen angels \" is , on a purely visceral level , one of the most exciting films i\\'ve seen in a long while . \\nunfortunately , wong seems more interested in experimenting with his camera than creating tangible characters for the audience to root for . \\nordinarily , that alone would be enough to sink a movie , but in the case of \" fallen angels \" , this is not so . \\nevery shot in this film is exciting just to * look * at . \\nwong does really interesting things with the camera , but he doesn\\'t allow the pyrotechnics to completely take over , as was the case with last years dismal \" knock off \" ( which contained a shot of a foot entering a shoe . \\nugh . ) \\nthe movie follows three pairs of lost souls as they struggle to find some meaning in their lives . \\ni can\\'t say much more than that as i didn\\'t really know what was going on most of the time . \\nin fact , it wasn\\'t until about halfway through the movie that i was able to distinguish between each character . \\nthe constantly moving camera doesn\\'t really allow for the audience to associate with any one character . \\nwe\\'re always kept at a distance from these people , i suppose in order to further add to the feeling of alienation felt by the characters . \\n \" fallen angels \" is a refreshing change-of-pace from most hollywood films , which never bother to try anything different , at least on a visual level . \\nin fact , i\\'d go so far as to say that \" fallen angels \" is more challenging visually than any mainstream hollywood film i\\'ve ever seen . \\nsure , there\\'s directors like robert rodriguez who enjoy turning violence into operatic orgies of death , but to see a filmmaker like wong who actually assaults the senses with images is truly something worth celebrating . \\nbut if wong wishes to become a legendary filmmaker , he needs to work on incorporating an actual story into those awesome images . \\nthere were far too many instances during \" fallen angels \" in which i asked myself , \" now who are these people again ? \\nis this that first couple or the second couple ? \" \\nit was impossible to keep track . \\nperhaps he could let the audience know right away which character is which , by introducing them to us with \" name cards \" , as in scorsese\\'s \" mean streets \" . \\nthat\\'s really besides the point , though . \\nwong kar-wei has proven himself , through very few films , that\\'s he\\'s a movie-maker to watch . \\nlet\\'s just hope that he hones his storytelling skills with his next few movies . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'casting \" doogie howser \" star neil patrick harris as mind-reading military intelligence is only one of the guilty pleasures of \" starship troopers , \" a hugely entertaining , mega-budgeted sci-fi yarn directed by paul verhoeven , who\\'s making quite a recovery from his 1995 g-string epic \" showgirls . \" \\nsure , \" starship troopers \" qualifies as cinematic junk food , but that\\'s forgivable when the junk food is this tasty . \\neveryone needs a high-calorie change-of-pace from fall\\'s onslaught of costume dramas and other assorted oscar bait , and \" troopers \" does the job admirably despite its flaws . \\nfor its first hour , \" starship troopers \" plays like a cheeky futuristic hybrid of \" saved by the bell \" and \" g . i . \\njane . \" \\nin the distant years ahead , high school grad johnny rico ( casper van dien ) signs up for federal service along with his girlfriend carmen ( denise richards ) ; he gets accepted into the mobile infantry but she wants to travel to the fleet academy to become a starship pilot , so the couple is broken up . \\nbut there\\'s temptation awaiting both of them -- johnny\\'s is in the form of an old friend ( dina meyer ) also in the infantry and still harboring a secret crush , while carmen attracts the eye of her flirtatious instructor ( patrick muldoon ) . \\npersonal rivalry and sexual jealousy carry over into the final 65 minutes , when an impending alien menace begins making good on its threatening presence and obliterates part of south america , killing johnny\\'s parents and destroying his home . \\nour weakening , lovesick protagonist is given new reasons to stick around the mobile infantry , and is dispatched with a group of fellow fighters to the aliens\\' home planet , where he will head up a ground assault to end the threat for good . \\nbut the enemy is far smarter , more diabolical and numerous than the good guys give them credit for , and after an initial walloping , they must re-examine their strategy . \\nthe exposition -- played like a futuristic soap opera -- is silly , but aware of its own ridiculousness enough to merit more smiles than groans . \\nonce we get past the campy character introductions and the numerous ( but never boring ) training sessions , \" starship troopers \" really kicks into high gear . \\nits last half is all gruesomely violent action -- a fury of severed limbs , decapitations , disembowelments , brain removal , explosions and other jolt-inducers that are really going to please the 13- and 14-year-old boys lucky enough to dodge getting carded or caught on their way into this deservedly r-rated show . \\nthe creature design and special effects are amazing as expected , and their interaction with the human actors are a realistic , imaginative high point . \\nit\\'s nice to see intergalactic beasties that aren\\'t too derivative of the titular menace from \" alien . \" \\nthese monsters are appropriately terrifying sights , especially the arachnids , a spider-scorpion-crab combo that\\'s all sharp talons and even sharper legs . \\nthey attack in packs of hundreds , and it\\'s a funny , scary sight to see these bugs take repeated hits and still crawl , jerk and struggle towards their intended victims in a determined , gooey mess . \\nit matters not that they actually have a laughable master plan in mind ( ask yourself if a species like this seems capable of carrying out such a plot ) ; these sequences of insect warfare are numerous , bloody and immensely satisfying . \\nthe occasional dramatic moments -- one cast member\\'s death , the final resolution to johnny\\'s love triangle -- are botched , a testament to how \" starship troopers \" fails to create any strong , outstanding characters . \\nthese bland ken-and-barbie archetypes serve the story adequately enough to keep any distractions at arm\\'s length , but restrain the film from achieving a higher ground a la \" star wars , \" where even the slightest aliens had definite personality . \\nthe acting is decent ( but never spectacular ) ; most of the performers hail from aaron spelling territory -- smallish roles on \" beverly hills 90210 \" and/or \" melrose place \" -- and it occasionally shows . \\nvan dien , for example , is limited but perfectly likeable . \\nin smaller parts are the afore-mentioned neil patrick harris as johnny\\'s best friend and jake busey ( gary\\'s son ) as johnny\\'s sidekick ; the latter excels at playing creeps ( see \" the frighteners \" or \" contact \" ) but seems off-kilter as a second banana . \\n \" starship troopers \" is based on the novel by robert heinlein , a sci-fi writer who hasn\\'t exactly seen any recent adaptation justice done to any of his books what with 1994\\'s howler \" the puppet masters . \" \\nbut the overall familiarity to the \" alien \" trilogy -- and the promise of great gobs of gore -- could act as a crowd-drawer . \\nits own possible influence , however , might well work against it when the franchise continuation \" alien : resurrection \" opens in a few weeks . \\nwe will know then which film to crown as the best summer movie of the fall . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"you may not have heard of lucas , or if you have , you might not think much of it . \\nprobably because it stars corey haim , or maybe because it's about a little geek who collects insects , or maybe because it doesn't feature slick one-liners or the chart topping soundtrack albums that were almost a requirement for teen films in the 80's . \\nhowever , you have been missing out on a true masterpeice , the best film of 1986 , and the best film about adolescent life ever made . \\ncorey haim stars as lucas bligh , a tiny 14 year old with scruffy hair , thick glasses , and an interest in insects and other outdoor life . \\none day he stops by the tennis courts and sees what must be an angel to him . \\nher name is maggie , a 16 year old who certainly is a beauty , with lovely red hair and a sweet , innocent complexion . \\nmaggie seems to be a little disturbed by this little kid watching her , but somehow he interests her , and soon they are talking and getting to know one another . \\nthey gradually become good friends , and spend the summer together doing various things , such as studying insects ( namely locusts , who come out of hiding once every 17 years ) , playing tennis , and listening to a symphony orchestra through a manhole cover . \\nlucas is obviously in love with maggie , and while she is charmed by him , it's clear that she would never consider him anything more than a very good friend . \\nthis is not clear to lucas , however . \\nhe still beleives that maggie is his soulmate , and he dreads the impending start of school because he knows what's about to happen . \\nwe soon find out why in a painful scene where lucas is humiliated by the jocks during a pep rally . \\nthey throw him on stage , right in front of his beloved maggie . \\nsurprisingly , he turns the tables on the jocks with some clowning around , but he takes it too far , and is embarassed in front of the entire school . \\nthe next scene is brilliant . \\nmaggie follows lucas outside of the pep rally . \\nshe tries to talk to him as if nothing happened . \\nhe rails back against her , in a cruel unfair fashion . \\nin lesser movies this would've turned into a confrontation between the two characters . \\nbut maggie is written smarter than that . \\nshe understands what lucas is feeling and knows exactly what to say to console him . \\nnext we are introduced to another great character named cappie ( charlie sheen ) . \\nhe is a jock with a typical cheerleader girlfriend . \\nwhat's interesting about him is that he sticks up for lucas and protects him from the other jocks . \\nof course anyone with a brain can tell what's gonna happen next . \\ncappie will cause conflict in maggie and lucas' relationship . \\nthis begins in classic scene in the school laundry room when cappie and maggie are alone . \\nshe's been assigned to show him how to operate the washer/dryer so he can clean his shirt . \\nmaggie is charmed by cappie's tender undertsanding demeanor , not to mention his shirtless body . \\nthis scene is so delicate and sweet , but cappie still has a girlfriend , preventing either one from acting on their desires . \\ndesperately trying to puncture the tension , cappie begins to kick basketballs around the room . \\nit's not long before cappie does break up with his girlfriend ( in the films only subpar scene ) . \\nlucas finally figures out what's going on when he tries to pick maggie up for the dance . \\nthis causes him to take severe actions to prove himself to maggie and himself , such as try out for the football team . \\nthe last third of the film revolves around this attempt . \\nwhile the idea seems cliched , the way it is executed is not . \\nthere are many surprises during the last half hour which lead to an ending so emotionally involving it should make the most heartless of cynics get choked up . \\ndave grusin's memorable score , played at the perfect moments , certainly helps . \\nlucas is filled with great performances . \\nforget everything you know about corey haim . \\nback in 1986 he had talent , and that is proven here as he delivers a perfect fully 3-dimensional performance filled with anger , humor , and pain . \\nkerri green is very appealing as maggie , showing us why she cares about lucas so much and why he is so attracted to her . \\nsheen's cappie is almost too good to be true , but sheen makes him beleivable , especially when he explains the reason why he protects lucas . \\nthere are other wonderful minor characters such as ciro popitti's ben , a friend of lucas , whose diminutive stature does not mean he will take crap from the jocks . \\nalso turning up in a few key scenes is winona ryder as rina , the girl who admires lucas from afar . \\nwhen people talk about the great teen angst films of the 80s , you hear john hughes this and john hughes that . \\nlucas seems to be lost among the crowd of his so-called classics . \\nbut hopefully , like with heathers and say anything , lucas can begin to find it's own loyal following and help people realize there were more to the 80s than anthony michael hall and molly ringwald . \\nit deserves more than that , but i don't want to be greedy . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"the stereotypical american male has an undeniable fetishistic love of sports cars . \\nproducer jerry bruckheimer plays upon that attraction with a movie so loaded with testosterone and laced titillatingly with shot after frenetic shot of powerful muscle cars , sleek foreign road huggers and iconic speed machines that many males will leave the theater in an orgasmic haze . \\ngone is 60 seconds is an orgy of maleness gone horribly awry . \\ncage is legendary retired car thief , memphis raines ( don't you love cute movie names ) , who must call upon his time worn skills to save his thick-headed brother ( ribisi ) from being killed . \\nseems a murderous crime boss ( eccleston ) with a fetish for wood ( insert your own joke ) hired brother kip to steal a ridiculous amount of expensive , exotic autos . \\nfifty cars , to be exact . \\npoor kip screws the pooch and bungles the job badly . \\nif the cars aren't delivered in three days , bossman has a casket carved out just for kip . \\nliterally . \\nif only someone could save him . \\nhmmmm . . wonder \\nwhat memphis is doing ? \\nin order to give the film some emotional heft , there are several subplots designed to tug at our heartstrings or give us the thrill of . . . yawn , excuse me , dramatic tension . \\nshadowing memphis is an old law enforcement foe ( lindo ) who's looking to send memphis away . \\nwill he catch him ? \\nthere's old flame sway ( jolie ) , who had her heart broken by memphis years ago . \\nwill they get back together ? \\nshortsighted , thrill seeker kip idolizes his brother , yet resents him for moving away from the family . \\nwill they reconnect ? \\nraines old mentor ( duvall ) has long since left the life of crime . \\nwill memphis get him finally caught as he pulls him back into the life , one more time ? \\ncan you answer all these questions correctly in 2 seconds without seeing the film first ? \\ni'll bet you can . \\nfollowing the opening credits , which fill you in on the accomplishments of the raines family through a montage of old photos , we was taken full throttle into the splendor that is memphis . \\nhe's first shown living the good life teaching young children to drive go-carts . \\nin a later scene , as misfit brother kip knowingly tells memphis he has the stolen car situation under control , all the while making breakfast , a metaphor is made of shakespearean proportions . \\njust as a pan of grease flares up with kip clueless to how to quell it , big brother memphis calmly and efficiently throws some salt on it . \\nlooks like everything might turn out alright after all . \\nyou know this because the music swells on the crest of violins . \\nthat's about as strong as the characterization gets , which is a shame . \\nbruckheimer has a real talent for loading his movies with an obscene amount of talent given the task at hand . \\nmonumentally underused jolie portrays an empty headed sexpot whose idea of sex revolves around cars and memphis . \\nor maybe it's just the cars . \\nduvall trots out his ornery , but sweet old codger outfit . \\ni'm sure he's still laughing at taking a paycheck for this one . \\nlindo projects a warm hearted , but tightly focused detective that almost transcends the material . \\nthe biggest waste of resources is vinnie jones , who plays a mute accomplice of memphis . \\nwithout saying a word , he is easily the most charismatic person in the movie . \\nlike a blast of nitrous oxide , he attacks each scene with a straightforward zeal . \\ntoo bad his minutes onscreen are so few . \\nsomehow , bruckheimer manages to attract top hollywood acting talent to high concept , poorly written movies , gussies up the film with lots of gold hues and pleasingly stylized action and they sell like proverbial hotcakes . \\nevery time something clever happens it's counterbalanced by something so overtly wrong that it jerks you back into realizing you're watching a movie . \\nthere's a innovative usage of black lighting that goes from being a novelty to a part of the plot . \\nit's counterbalanced by an extremely feeble attempt at humor by having an asian american repeatedly failing a driver's test . \\nimagine the yuks . \\nthere's a segment where one of the thieves shows another his cool fake fingerprint trick . \\nit's countered by the lame semi-subplot of a car being stolen with a bunch of heroin in the trunk . \\nthe ramifications are never explored . \\nthen there's the ridiculousness of the many cops who actually shoot at fleeing cars . \\nnot only is it stupid , but it's against the law . \\nthis is a movie made of pretty , but tepid car chases strung together by just enough character interaction to move the plot along . \\ngone in 60 seconds aptly describes how long it'll take for this marginally entertaining , but empty film to leave your memory . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" footloose \" has only one goal in mind : to reel in an audience with cheesy sentiment and feel-good antics . \\nand i hate to admit it ; i fell for it . \\nthe movie is about a teenager ( bacon ) who moves to a small town from the big city , and discovers that dancing has been banned by the local reverend ( lithgow ) . \\nhe ends up falling for the preacher\\'s daughter ( singer ) and showing the whole town what the magic of dance can do . \\nas mentioned at the beginning of this review , \" footloose \" is an extremely hokey and predictable teen drama . \\nthere are virtually no surprises , and the writing is second-rate . \\nso why did i enjoy it so much ? \\nfor one thing , the cast is great . \\nkevin bacon oozes charisma in an early role . \\nwe\\'re rooting for him right from the start , and , unlike most films of this genre , bacon doesn\\'t play him as the \" rebel without a clue \" sort . \\nyes , he does rebel , but he\\'s also polite when he needs to be . \\nand he never broods . \\nthe rest of the cast is equally impressive . \\njohn lithgow , seen here playing a normal guy for a change , is playing a man who would normally be a flat out villian . \\nbut lithgow plays him as a concerned father who is trying to do what he feels is best for his daughter . \\nby the end of the film , we feel a genuine sense of love and understanding between him and the lori singer character . \\nanother nice touch is the music . \\nwe see the parents of the kids complaining that the music they listen to is filled with \" sexual innuendos \" , but that\\'s not true at all . \\nthe title track , performed by kenny loggins , is upbeat and fun . \\nduring the final sequence , i was overcome with the urge to get off the couch and start dancing . \\nof course , i soon realized that would be a little pathetic . \\nanyway , \" footloose \" is a charming little surprise . \\ndon\\'t let the premise prevent you from watching it . \\nit sucked me in , and it\\'ll do the same to you . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'she was the femme in \" la femme nikita . \" \\nhe was the baldwin in \" backdraft , \" \" sliver , \" and \" fair game \" ( with cindy crawford ) . \\ntogether , anne parillaud and william baldwin conspire to make \" shattered image \" the biggest piece of hooey since the stallone/stone \" thriller \" \" the specialist . \" \\nthe film poses the question \" what if the life you\\'re living now is really a dream , and your dreams reality ? \" \\nit\\'s either about a woman who\\'s haunted by a recurring ( and recurring and recurring ) nightmare that she\\'s a hired assassin , or it\\'s about a hired assassin who\\'s haunted by a recurring ( and recurring and recurring ) nightmare that she\\'s honeymooning with william baldwin in jamaica . \\nit doesn\\'t much matter and believe me by the time \" shattered image \" runs its painful and pedestrian course you won\\'t care . \\nthese two lives , with parillaud looking like siouxsie sioux with a black wig , black emotionless eyes , and black leather clothing in the seattle-based assassin scenes , and moping around like karen carpenter in the jamaica scenes , play out endlessly throughout the film and the result is it\\'s now * twice * as boring as it might have been . \\nit\\'s not that complicated plots can\\'t be entertaining . \\nof course it helps if you have interesting characters , crisp dialogue , and a modicum of style . \\n \" shattered image \" isn\\'t complex , it\\'s just stupid . \\nand boring . \\nparillaud and baldwin , who aren\\'t exactly shakespearean material to begin with , are saddled with such leaden dialogue that their characters have zero chance of breaking free of their cardboard confines . \\nlines like : \\n \" you don\\'t beg , you insist . \\ni like that in a woman . \" \\nthat\\'s parillaud\\'s character talking . . . \\nto her cat ! \\nand : \\n \" you\\'re not the reason i couldn\\'t care less about you . \" \\nhuh ? \\nand this wonderful bathroom interchange early in the film : \\n \" if you give me a couple of minutes you know i\\'ll charm the pants off you . \" \\n \" i don\\'t have that kind of time . \" \\ntalking of pants , parillaud has her clothes off faster than you can say \" point of no return . \" \\nwe have come to expect this from billy baldwin , but it might have been nice to have learned something about their characters first . \\nbut there\\'s nothing to learn . \\nkaren is as interesting as a cereal box , a someone\\'s-out-to-get-me crybaby who imagines the voice at the other end of the phone , the stranger who sends her flowers , maybe even her husband himself , is her would-be killer . \\nsiouxsie is the chromium cool , tough-as-nails crack killing machine who shoots out a couple of mirrors in order to justify the film\\'s meaningless stock title . \\nbaldwin seems more interested in parillaud\\'s nest egg ( so that he can pave paradise and put up a parking lot ) than he does in her . \\neach time graham greene shows up he gets killed . \\nbarbet schroeder ( \" reversal of fortune \" ) co-produced and should be ashamed of himself . \\nevery now and again it\\'s fun to watch a really bad movie . \\nand every now and again , as \" shattered image \" makes agonizingly clear , it isn\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'saw an advanced screening of the movie sniper last night , and i have to say i wasn\\'t too impressed . \\nthis film is about an expert marine sniper , played by tom berenger , who is teamed with a hot-shot-young-no-experience-never-killed-a-man new partner to take out some drug-kingpins and military strong men in panama . \\nsound cliche ? \\nthat\\'s only the beginning . \\nbilly zane ( memphis belle ) played the rookie , and never seemed to get a handle on his character . \\nhe was so contrary and pig-headed in the beginning , you just wanted to smack him . \\nthen he goes \" crazy \" from the pressure , but seems to immediately snap out of it . \\ni\\'m not sure if the blame should lie with the directing , editing , scriptwriting , or acting . . . \\nbut it didn\\'t all come together . \\ni think berenger is a pretty good actor , and he looked great in the part , covered in camo , face painted , stalking through the jungle with his high-power rifle . . . \\nbut once again , his character was given some pretty bad dialogue , and didn\\'t react too logically to many of the situations . \\nthere was very little logical development in these characters . \\nmy biggest problem with this film was it\\'s tendency to put these two snipers in as * many * inches-from-death situations as possible . \\nthey began to resemble g . i . joes , the greatest american hero . \\nand of course their almost supernatural accuracy with their guns was called upon to get them out of far too many close calls . \\nnow a lot of movies are stamped out of this mold , in fact that\\'s what made die hard so much fun : the super-hero avenger type . \\nso some will enjoy the action hero heroics , but i didn\\'t think it fit with the nice tension that was built up in the earlier scenes , and the \" real life \" feel of covert operations in panama . \\na word must be said on the camera work , much of it was very nice . \\nthe jungles of panama ( or their stand-ins in this case ) formed a very picturesque background . . . \\nand the drama of speeding bullets was captured using some nice trick photography . \\nmany have seen the slowed down \" bullet-cam \" following the projectile to its target . \\nthis was used well in the beginning to show the feverish nightmares berenger gets when remembering the moment of the kill . \\nit was dramatic when used in flashback . . . but \\nit seems the director liked the technique so much he started inserting these shots ( pardon the pun ) into the real time action . . . then \\nit just seemed silly . \\nall in all , not a real dog : there is some nice action , good atmosphere , and pretty photography . \\nbut the plot is pretty lame , the acting didn\\'t form a cohesive whole , and far too much thisclosefromdeath heroics . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in recent years , harrison ford has been such a grave screen presence , scowling through the likes of tom clancy\\'s jack ryan series , _the_fugitive_ , and last year\\'s smash _air_force_one_ , that one wonders if the rogue charm that made him such a superstar had been completely drained from his system . \\napparently , it was just lying dormant . \\nwith ivan reitman\\'s enjoyable romantic comedy/adventure _six_days , _seven_nights_ , the lovable scoundrel is back , giving audiences a fresh reminder of why ford is one of the most enduring and popular modern screen icons . \\nford plays quinn harris , a carefree and slightly slobby ( endearingly so ) pilot in the tropics whose broken-down plane crashes in a storm , stranding him and his charter , new york magazine editor robin monroe ( anne heche ) , on a deserted island . \\nof course , the sophisticated robin and the salt-of-the-earth quinn are at odds long before the plane goes down , and all manner of hostile repartee is exchanged between the two from their first meeting . \\nwhile some of the lines fall flat , the formulaic motions work because of the unexpectedly electric chemistry between ford and heche . \\nboth actors , who have largely done serious works as of late , seem liberated by the lack of dramatic weight on their shoulders , and they deliver their zingers , as weak as they sometimes are , with beguiling abandon . \\nnaturally , there\\'s nothing like a life-threatening crisis to bring two people together , and quinn and robin\\'s warmup to each other is sped up even further by the arrival of some bloodthirsty pirates . \\ngranted , some conflict needed to be introduced on the island , but this tacked-on development from writer michael browning is a bit too obviously thrown in for the purpose of adding gratuitous action scenes . \\nbut the point is to get the two together , and their newfound affection causes complications for both , but mostly robin , who came to the islands on a vacation with her fiance frank ( david schwimmer ) , who frantically awaits her return on the home island . \\nreitman , and old , reliable hand at breezy comedies , keeps the pace brisk and capably handles the more action-oriented sequences . \\nhis big accomplishment , however , is bringing the old , smiling ford back . \\nas appealing and charismatic as he always is , ford hasn\\'t been quite this charming and affable in years ; he\\'s obviously having a blast , and the audience cannot help but have one along with him . \\nholding her own is heche , whose scrappy character never becomes the screaming ninny she initially promises to be ( as the plane goes down , she frantically pops stress pills ) . \\nshe can take her lumps , physical and otherwise , just as well as quinn , making her a formidable foil and ideal match . \\nformulaic and light as a feather , _six_days , _seven_nights_ could be cited as a classic example of the summer \" popcorn \" movie season\\'s lack of substance . \\nit\\'s certainly fluff , but it\\'s unpretentious , undemanding , and--most importantly--fun fluff that goes down as easily as a frothy pina colada on a balmy tropical beach . \\npass the popcorn . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : easily-angered , chainsmoking architect david encounters his homicidal first wife diedre five years after their divorce . \\ndiedre easily cons david\\'s not-so-bright new wife molly into believing she\\'s a child psychologist so that she can influence molly and david\\'s quick-tempered son , michael . \\ndiedre , at the same time , murders a bunch of people . \\ncomments : the ex is a very bad movie . \\ni haven\\'t seen a turkey of this magnitude in quite a while . \\ni kept vacillating , however , between giving the ex one star for its sheer awfulness and three stars for its campy humor ( ultimately , i decided to split the difference and give it two stars ) . \\nas summarized briefly in the synopsis , this is yet another spurned-psycho-lover-gets-her-revenge type movie . \\ni\\'m not sure how many films have been produced since fatal attraction which use this tired storyline , but it seems like 10 , 000 , 000 , 000 . \\nthe ex , however , though following many of the standard cliches of this thriller subgenre , differs slightly from the norm in that , at least , it doesn\\'t take itself too seriously like so many other duds do ( malicious and stalked are two examples which come to mind ) . \\nthose involved in the movie realize they\\'re in a turkey , apparently , and turn in hammy performances which compliment the ludicrous dialogue contained within the script . \\nthe ex\\'s storyline , as i said , incorporates many cliches predominant in films of its nature ; however , the plot is so overwrought and unbelievable that , after a while , the viewer must accept that logic does not operate in the realm of the movie . \\ndiedre , david\\'s first wife , kills and kills and kills , for example , without ever having to worry about police investigations and the like ( it\\'s not as though she\\'s bright enough not to leave fingerprints at the scene of the crime ) . \\ndavid and his new wife molly have an incredibly difficult time understanding why michael , their son , has emotional problems , specifically his inability to control his anger . \\nthough david smokes like tomorrow will never come and blows up at people every other minute in the movie , the connection between him and his son is not made . \\nmolly is easily swayed by diedre into believing she\\'s a child psychologist and allows the demented woman to spend time with her son . \\ntime and time again , things do not add up in this movie . \\nif a viewer can\\'t accept this fact , then he will definately not like the ex . \\nif , on the other hand , he can appreciate the movie for its campiness , then he\\'ll probably like it much better . \\ni don\\'t mean to necessarily suggest , however , that the ex is a memorable exercise in camp . \\neven when viewed from an it\\'s-so-bad-it\\'s-good angle , this movie isn\\'t all that successful . \\nthe ex does have its moments , though , almost all of which involve yancy butler ( the psychotic diedre ) and nick mancuso ( david ) . \\nthese two actors turn in decidedly hammy performances which , oftentimes , elicit chuckles from the audience . \\nthe truly awful lines written for them help this humor along . \\nbutler gets the larger portion of bad dialogue ; every time her character kills someone , she has a punchline that\\'s unbelievably inane . \\nwhen she murders a tenant of an apartment she wishes to use to spy on david , for example , diedre whacks the elderly lady with a crowbar and states \" i\\'m so sorry , your lease is terminated . \" \\nor how about when diedre takes out her therapist in another ridiculous scene ? \\n ( diedre\\'s therapist wishes to have her recommitted , so she decides to visit diedre , alone , in her new apartment -- never realizing , of course , that it\\'s not her\\'s . \\ntherapists typically are catatonically brain-dead in these movies ) . \\nhaving successfully snuffed the woman out , diedre looks at the body and says : \" what was it that you always said to me at the end of each session , dr . jones ? \\noh , that\\'s right . \\n\\'i\\'m sorry , but your time is up ! \\' \" \\nthis is what passes for humor in the film . \\nthe audience doesn\\'t necessarily laugh but groan ( the type of groan that suggests the audience can\\'t believe they\\'re watching this crap -- although watching it they are ) . \\nnick mancuso\\'s chainsmoking , nervous-wreck character does not have the cheesy lines that butler\\'s character delivers , but his ridiculously overdone performance provides for some better comic relief . \\nin between drags off his cigarette , for instance , in one of the movie\\'s best scenes , david tries to explain to his lawyer what a creep his ex-wife is . \\nin exaggerated exasperation , he nearly shouts \" the woman is a cuckoo-bird ! \" \\n ( trust me , it is funny in context . ) \\nand so , the movie continues until its painfully obvious conclusion . \\ni won\\'t reveal the ending specifically ( though anyone remotely familiar with thrillers of this type could probably guess the ending just from this film review ) , but i will say that the ex has one of the biggest fire hazards appearing recently in film . \\nmolly and david own a cabin that becomes engulfed by flames in approximately three seconds ! \\nmolly , at one point in the film , not-so-brilliantly observes , after discovering diedre has moved into an apartment across from her family\\'s to spy upon them , that \" she\\'s crazy . \" \\nyou\\'d be pretty crazy too if you\\'d rented this turkey . \\ni\\'d avoid it unless it\\'s on tv and you come across it . \\nif you do , you may want to watch it , groan at the bad punchlines and stupid plot , and feel good that you didn\\'t spend money renting it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'he has spent his entire life in an awful little apartment , raised and cared for and imprisoned by his domineering mother . \\nshe inspires his love and his fear , and instills in him a similar love and fear of jesus . \\nhe has a rudimentary grasp of language , mouthing monosyllables and repetitions of his mother\\'s phrases . \\nhe is taught that the world outside is fatally poisonous ; his mother dons a gasmask whenever she goes out the door . \\nhe is 35-years-old in body , but a child in mind and spirit . \\nhe is the premise for bad boy bubby , a defiantly original australian movie about a man called bubby ( nicholas hope ) who has spent his entire life in an awful little apartment , etc . , etc . then one day his father ( ralph cotterill ) appears . \\nhis father is a shabby down-at-heels priest who appears to have permanently misplaced his religion . \\nunsurprisingly , he is not thrilled with the way \" his \" boy has turned out . \\nhe is , however , rather pleased at renewing his acquaintance with the mother ( claire benito ) , and , more to the point , her ample breasts . \\nsoon they are copulating on the dingy couch , while bubby crouches , confused , in the next room , acutely aware that the mother who had devoted all her attention to him has a new interest . \\nbubby\\'s relationship to the world may be warped , but it is at least stable . \\nthe father\\'s arrival disturbs his precarious balance , causing an oedipal conflict which ends--freud would be pleased--in violence and , as a result , freedom . \\nbubby intuits from his father\\'s arrival that the air outside is breathable : he leaves the apartment , his past , his world , behind . \\nso far , so good . \\nthe first thirty minutes or so of bad boy bubby , which bring us to this point , are quite brilliant . \\nthe movie is at its best when its stays within the constraints of bubby\\'s hermetic two-room universe . \\nit follows through unrelentingly on the implications of its premise : bubby is used by his mother for sex , he unwittingly suffocates the pet cat with cellophane , he is terrifed by the notion that jesus will beat him senseless if he sins . \\nit is grim and savage and appalling , but also strangely tender--de heer , having imagined a life as bizarre as bubby\\'s , does not exaggerate for comic or grotesqe purposes , but simply empathizes . \\nhe observes what it might be like . \\nthe intensity of these opening scenes , with their minimalist mise-en-scene , immerses us in a claustrophobic environment which seems to be a decayed stratum of our own world , and owes much to david lynch\\'s eraserhead , not least the ambient industrial white noise of the soundtrack . \\nfor thirty minutes , the movie maintains the feel and mood of a reality that does not seem far removed from our own . \\nthen de heer lets bubby out , brings him into contact with our world , and the film never quite recovers . \\nour unlikely hero finds himself in port adelaide , where he wanders the streets and meets people , where he suffers and learns and survives . \\nhe is seduced by a young woman from a salvation army band ( how an anti-social half-wit with no sense of hygiene manages to get laid mere hours after his escape is not the sort of question the film encourages , wisely ) ; he is given free pizza by a sympathetic waitress ; he insults a traffic cop and is punched in the stomach ; he shares a few beers in the back of a truck with a rock group ; he is imprisoned and raped ; he becomes a translator for mentally handicapped people whose speech is impaired beyond comprehension ; he is loved by a motherly large-breasted nurse ( carmel johnson ) . \\n . \\n . \\nit goes on , by turns inventive , silly , tasteless , endearing , and sometimes all of these things at once . \\nde heer never seems to be sure how bubby should interface with the real world : the tone shifts , uneasily , from fable to realism to satire and back again . \\nthe scenes which try to touch base with a believable version of reality are the weakest ; the film is best understood as a kind of parable , and , indeed , the religious implications of bubby\\'s experiences are foregrounded : icons of jesus on the cross hang from the mother\\'s walls , bubby dons a priest\\'s collar stolen from his father , a church organ-playing atheist lectures him on the necessity of unbelief , the woman who redeems him is named angel . \\nthe manifold stresses of our world do not shatter bubby\\'s mind , do not fragment him into psychosis ; rather , the world accomodates him , and heals him . \\nalthough de heer\\'s touch is at times overbearing , bubby\\'s salvation is touching ; what seemd at first a harsh lesson in the damaging effects of the social construction of reality becomes a na ? ve humanist tale of improbable hope . \\na hapless rock group write a song about bubby and sing it for him and so give him the gift of community . \\nhe returns the favour when he steps on stage one night and becomes their frontman , turning the fragmented impressions of his experiences into performance art , and turning the band into a popular draw . \\ninnocence triumphs . \\nbubby becomes a holy fool , an idiot savant , and graces us with wisdom . \\nit\\'s a strange turn of events , but by now we shouldn\\'t be surprised , because bad boy bubby ain\\'t like other movies . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" the tailor of panama \" is a different kind of spy movie . \\ndespite the presence of pierce brosnan , there is nary a hint of james bond flash here . \\ninstead of big action scenes , leering super villains and empty-headed femme fatales , we get interesting characters and an intriguing situation . \\nbased on the novel by john le carr ? , who also co-wrote the screenplay , the film offers viewers something rarely seen in theaters this time of year : a solid , well-told story . \\nbrosnan plays andy osnard , a british operative walking on thin ice . \\nhis british superiors ship him off to panama , making sure he understands that he had better not screw up the placement . \\nosnard arrives in the tropics virtually oozing contempt for his new co-workers and his new home base . \\nwhen shown the bridge of the americas by a person marveling over the fact that , since the creation of the panama canal , the structure is the sole connection between north and south america , he barely keeps from yawning . \\nbrosnan clearly relishes the chance to be the antithesis of 007 , investing the suave spy with a distinct reptilian quality coupled with an air of indifference that irks his fellows to no end . \\nsearching for a way to get information on the government , osnard sets his sights on harry pendel ( geoffrey rush ) , an unctuous tailor serving the panamanian elite . \\nharry claims to be a transplant from britain\\'s renowned saville row , but osnard knows his secret : the tailor is an ex-con who served five years in prison after torching his uncle\\'s shop in an insurance scam . \\nhe also knows that harry is up to his ears in debt , having spent a fortune on an unsuccessful farm . \\nosnard offers harry a way out . \\nhe will pay for information harry has gathered from his upscale clientele . \\neager to comply , harry offers what he knows , then starts concocting tidbits to keep the money flowing . \\nbefore long , he is forced to spy on his loving wife , louisa ( jamie lee curtis ) , an aide to the canal director . \\nharry\\'s little lies build , eventually taking on a life of their own . \\nosnard turns in reports about the \" silent opposition , \" a group threatening to upset the balance of control over the canal . \\nthe bogus revelation proves explosive , leading to meetings in washington d . c . over how to best protect the vital waterway . \\nmeanwhile , osnard wallows in his newfound status , enjoying the best the city has to offer and wooing an attractive co-worker . \\nand harry grows ever more fretful , fearing the consequences if his clients , not to mention his wife , learn about his lies . \\ngeoffrey rush is wonderful as harry , fawning over his customers by day and savoring his rich family life in the evenings , all while playing secret agent in the off hours with his new benefactor . \\nrush makes harry a credible figure , presenting the various levels of the character so effectively that he remains sympathetic despite his duplicity . \\nafter gaining fame playing larger than life characters , rush flips everything around for this role , using his energy to depict the quiet desperation of a man slowly realizing that the solution to his troubles may be worse than the original problems . \\nalthough she gets far too little screen time , jamie lee curtis imbues louisa with a depth greater than the screenplay provides her . \\nof the central characters , she is the only one that exhibits maturity and genuine self-confidence . \\ncurtis is one of my favorite female actors ; whiplash smart , sultry and charismatic , she deserves more than supporting roles . \\nspeaking of supporting characters , there are some great ones here . \\nharold pinter is amusing as harry\\'s uncle benny , who pops up throughout the story in a number of creative ways . \\nalso shoring up the proceedings is jon polito as a corrupt banker and dylan baker , who is a riot as a united states general straight out of the dr . strangelove school of armed patriotism . \\nbut the most important secondary performers are leonor varela and brendan gleeson , both outstanding as two wounded activists . \\ntheir presence adds weight to the story , reminding us that beyond the charades of the leading men , there are real people that have suffered greatly over the politics connected to the canal . \\ndirector john boorman adds additional verisimilitude by shooting the film on location . \\ninstead of using panama city merely as a colorful backdrop , he adroitly weaves in footage of all aspects of life there . \\nthe metropolis , described by one character as \" casablanca without heroes \" pulsates with life , underling the folly of the two foreigners playing dangerous games that could have a disastrous impact on a great many people . \\n \" the tailor of panama \" succeeds because the principals behind it were bright enough to make it more than a simple entertainment . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : the best place to start if you\\'re a jackie chan newcomer . \\nroars along , never stops for breath , and frequently hilarious . \\nto talk about jackie chan as a \" stuntman \" is to miss a million things . \\njackie is not only one of the most accomplished and fearsomely unafraid physical adepts on the screen today , but also a very funny guy . \\nhe reminds me of the way arnold schwartzenegger * used * to make me laugh -- he\\'s funny just standing there , copping a look . \\nsupercop has jackie making us laugh , scream , duck , root , and gasp for breath , often all in the same scene . \\nit\\'s actually the third in a loosely related series of movies , each with jackie playing kevin chan , a hong kong policeman who has a knack for getting neck-deep into trouble and then karate-kicking his way out of it . \\n ( the others are also worth seeing . ) \\nit\\'s a little slow to start , but once it gets moving , it\\'s a field day . \\nthe movie has a fairly sophisticated plot for movies of this kind . \\nkevin is tapped for a dangerous dea assignment to be accomplished in mainland china , which requires him to collaborate with the attractive ( and ass-kicking ) chief fo chinese security ( played here by the ever-enjoyable michelle yeoh ) . \\nthere\\'s a fun chemistry between the two of them , especially in an early scene where she tries to brief him and he keeps making wondering comments about how great she looks in that uniform . \\nkevin is assigned to help spring a known gangster from jail -- all undercover , of course -- and have him lead the two of them to a noted drug boss . \\nthe drug boss , however , has problems of his own : his wife\\'s on trial for many of his own crimes , and she\\'s got the key to an account with all of his drug funds . \\nthis means , of course , endless trouble -- not the least of which is that kevin bumps into his girlfriend while he\\'s out in the field , and she sees him with this other woman , and . . . but that\\'s one of the movie\\'s unique pleasures : the way it crosses from action to comedy effortlessly . \\naction . there is , of course , non-stop action in this movie -- everything from one-on-one kung fu to all-out gun battles to a sppedboat with eight engines ( ! ) \\noutrunning the hong kong coast guard . \\nthere is also a virtuoso climax , which features , among other things , jackie danging from a ladder tied to a helicopter , a wrong-way freeway chase ( which requires michelle to do an awesomely difficult handstand stunt ) , a fight on top of a moving train that also involves the \\'copter as well as a motorcycle . \\nyou get the idea . \\nthis is to action movies what a burger with everything on it is to fast food : quick , enjoyable , filling . \\nwatch it with friends . \\nwhen they stop making movies like this , the world will be a tad greyer . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'director david fincher has such an eye for detail which is very rare in hollywood these days ( terry gilliam comes to mind as another one ) . \\nfilm is one of the best art forms because not only can you tell a story , but you can use the camera to capture the smallest detail and have it mean something . \\nbut most directors seem to go for action with the slightest ounce of a story . \\nso whenever a director uses the camera to its fullest potential , the film almost automatically deserves a good review . \\nand when they add a fascinating story to it , you have nearly perfect entertainment . \\nfincher\\'s the game is no exception to this . \\nthe game is one of the most interesting and complex films to come out of hollywood in a long time . \\nfincher hasn\\'t made a film since \" seven , \" his box office and critical hit which defied expectations and became one of the best movies ever . \\nso it is about time he made another film . \\nand what a ride it is . \\nthe game isn\\'t quite as powerful as \" seven , \" but in some ways it is better . \\noverall , the game could have used a little more clarity , or a little more uncertainty . \\nit walks a line of insanity and reality , but it never goes either way until the very end . \\nthe outcome is satisfying enough for the preceding events , and it makes a lot of sense once everything is set straight . \\nunfortunately , unlike \" the usual suspects , \" we are never given enough information to figure out for ourselves what is happening , whether it be true or false . \\nhowever , this also gives the film a frightening aspect which the game uses to the fullest extent . \\nthe game is told completely from its main character\\'s point of view . \\nnicholas van orton ( michael douglas ) is a high-strung and isolated businessman . \\nhe lives alone in his giant mansion , divorced from his wife elizabeth , and is celebrating his 48th birthday ; the same age at which his father committed suicide at , in the same mansion . \\nfor his 48th birthday , conrad ( sean penn ) , the rebel of the family , gives nicholas a gift certificate to crs : consumer recreation services . \\n \" it will make your life fun again , \" his brother promises . \\nas skeptical as nicholas is , he is somewhat intrigued , and annoyed by the lack of information--something this businessman hates . \\nseeing a billboard in an office , he decides to visit the mysterious company . \\njim feingold ( james rebhorn ) greets nicholas and guides him through the sign-up process , which consists of psych-tests , physicals , emotional responses , and other mind games . \\n \" each game is suited to each person\\'s emotional and psychological needs , \" explains feingold . \\none day , nicholas gets a call from crs and they explain that he failed the tests . \\neven more intrigued and now somewhat angered at the time he spent signing up , he starts asking around to see what people can tell him about the company . \\nwhat he doesn\\'t realize is that the game has already begun . \\nthe phone call is just the first of many strange events to be thrown nicholas\\' way . \\nhow he finds out that he is involved has to be witnessed because it is amusing and fun and visually impressive . \\nthe detail involved in fincher\\'s shots is incredible and almost requires a second viewing just to appreciate the effort that went into them . \\nwith \" seven , \" fincher had almost every single shot mean something . \\nhe also has the unique ability to make you look at exactly what he wants you to . \\ncompared to \" seven , \" though , the game is light and comical . \\nbecause of this film\\'s sense of humor and self-awareness , nothing can be taken quite seriously . \\nso don\\'t try to make much sense of what goes on in the game , because it doesn\\'t want you to . \\nwhat does make sense is the final revelation--when everything becomes apparent and clear . \\nif taken as it is , the game\\'s ending makes complete sense . \\nbut if you try and critique every minute detail , then you get yourself into plot holes and incredibility . \\nperhaps that is the reason i docked the film . \\nwhile trying to remain realistic and plausible , the plot is too unbelievable to create any real tension on screen . \\nwe don\\'t really care if douglas\\' character lives or not because it isn\\'t believable . \\nthe ending requires you to have believed anything that has happened previously , but if you suspend disbelief and take the film as it is , you can accept the game as an emotionally and psycholically disturbing thriller . \\nmichael douglas gives a terrific performance as nicholas . \\ndouglas has played lonely businessmen before , but here he adds another level to his performance . \\nhis character , who is normally level-headed and relies on facts , is forced to trust nobody . \\ncan he believe the waitress he bumped into ? \\nwhat about his brother who got him involved in the game in the first place ? \\ndouglas portrays this aspect of his character extremely well , and gives one of his best performances ( even better than his \" falling down \" persona ) . \\nthe supporting cast is essential in this film , and casting was critical . \\nsean penn is always good , and he gives yet another credible performance as douglas\\' brother . \\ndeborah kara unger ( from \" crash \" ) is the waitress he bumps into , and her performance is extremely good . \\nin fact , she almost steals the film from douglas . \\njames rebhorn portrays his character very well , and adds some confusion and desparation to douglas\\' predicament . \\nanother good performance comes from armin mueller-stahl ( from \" shine \" ) as the book editor . \\nbut considering that douglas is in every single scene of the game , he not only commands this cast , but makes this distant and lonely character come to colorful life . \\nthe game is rated r for language , violence , some gore , and some nudity and drugs . \\nwhat is essential for this film to work is the writing . \\njohn brancato and michael ferris have woven a confusing and compelling screenplay with witty dialogue , and some very funny moments . \\nthis screenplay will probably get an oscar nomination for best original screenplay because it does almost exactly the same thing the usual suspects\\' did . \\nhowever , the visuals of the game are enough to make the viewer enjoy the vexing plot . \\nand if you can get yourself to believe everything occuring on the screen , you will be thoroughly entertained by one of this year\\'s best films . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when andy leaves for cowboy camp , his mother holds a yard sale and scrounges in his room for old toys . \\none of these toys is wheezy , a penguin with a broken squeaker . \\nwoody ( tom hanks ) saddles up andy\\'s dog and rides out into the yard to rescue wheezy . \\nwoody succeeds in his mission , but doesn\\'t make it back to the house before al , the unscrupulous owner of al\\'s toy barn , recognizes woody as a rare collector\\'s item and steals him . \\nbuzz lightyear ( tim allen ) leads hamm ( john ratzenberger ) , mr . potato head ( don rickles ) , slinky dog ( jim varney ) , and rex ( wallace shawn ) into the city to find their friend . \\nmeanwhile woody discovers the reason he was kidnapped . \\nal has collected every piece of merchandising from the 1950\\'s tv puppet show \" woody\\'s round-up \" except for a woody doll . \\nnow that the collection is complete , al plans to sell woody and his round-up gang-bullseye the horse , jessie the cowgirl ( joan cusack ) , and stinky pete the old prospector ( kelsey grammer ) -to a toy museum in japan . \\nthe gang is happy about the move ; they\\'ve been in storage for years waiting for woody . \\nif woody doesn\\'t go with them , they\\'ll be closed up in a dark box again , possibly forever . \\ntrying to convince him to stay with them , jessie tells woody how she was abandoned when her owner grew up , and woody realizes that his days as a beloved toy are numbered . \\nwhile woody ponders whether to go to japan or to go home to andy , buzz and the boys invade al\\'s toy barn , where the buzz we know is replaced by another buzz who doesn\\'t know he\\'s a toy . \\nthe new buzz generates the movie\\'s biggest laughs as he leads the other toys in an assault on \" zurg\\'s fortress \" ( i . e . , al\\'s apartment building ) . \\nthe original \" toy story \" won me over because its central themes reflected a grown-up sensibility rather than the usual this-is-what-we-think-kids-want-to-hear . \\nwhile most kids\\' movies take the position that every person is special and has an extraordinary destiny to fulfill , in \" toy story \" buzz discovered that he wasn\\'t special , that he was just like everyone else . \\nbuzz sank into a suicidal depression , but woody showed buzz that being a toy was worthwhile because a toy is loved and a toy makes a child happy . \\nin other words , it\\'s okay to be ordinary if you have love and a purpose in your life . \\nmost of us probably come to the same conclusion when we realize that we\\'re not space rangers and we\\'re never going to be . \\n \" toy story 2 \" addresses the question raised by the conclusion drawn by the first movie . \\nwoody is forced to recognize that andy will grow up and forget him and that he will likely be discarded , abandoned , or sealed up in a dark box in the attic . \\nthis is another big grown-up theme : everything ends . \\nthe theme is introduced early in the movie when woody\\'s arm is torn and andy places him on a shelf rather than taking him to cowboy camp . \\non the shelf , woody meets wheezy , who\\'s dusty , broken , and forgotten . \\nthe other toys are shocked that woody has been \" shelved , \" and they worry that woody\\'s ride out to the 25-cent box at the yard sale is a suicide attempt . \\nafter he\\'s stolen , woody has to decide between a long life in a display case and an uncertain future with andy and his pals . \\nof course , in spite of the heavy themes \" toy story 2 \" explores , it\\'s also very funny . \\nmost of the laughs come from the toys\\' assault on al\\'s toy barn and on the apartment building . \\nthe brief substitution of a new , still delusional buzz was a welcome surprise ; i\\'d wondered how a sequel could be as funny as the original without the pompous attitude buzz displayed in the original . \\nmost of the vocal performances are first-rate . \\ntom hanks stands out for the level of enthusiasm he puts into his work . \\nhowever , one voice-over also stands out as horribly miscast . \\nkelsey grammer sounds nothing like an old prospector . \\nalthough he does a lot of voice-over work in commercials and on \" the simpsons \" ( as sideshow bob ) , grammer only makes slight variations on his own voice . \\nhe doesn\\'t have the range to pull off a role like stinky pete . \\nthe animation is even better than in the first . \\nespecially impressive were the textures of the figures . \\nwe can now see the difference between flesh and plastic ; in the first movie the people looked just like the toys , but now human skin looks soft and has a slight bluish tint . \\nwe can also see that bo peep is porcelain . \\nas you can tell from the long-winded phrasing common in the merchandising -- \" disney and pixar\\'s \\'toy story 2\\' \" -- this is pixar\\'s coming out party . \\nto celebrate they appended their first project , a hilarious short about two desklamps and a rubber ball , to the beginning of the movie . \\nthey made the short in 1986 , which is incredible when one considers the relatively primitive level of computer technology available then . \\non the downside , \" toy story 2 \" follows the formula of the original so closely that the sequel comes off a bit stale , and some sections tend to drag . \\noverall , though , i had a great time and found \" story 2 \" to be a worthy successor to the first \" toy story . \" \\nbottom line : this one really is fun for the whole family ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the characters in jonathan lynn\\'s \" the whole nine yards , \" yet another in an endless recent string of mob comedies ( 1999\\'s \" analyze this \" and \" mickey blue eyes , \" 2000\\'s \" gun shy \" ) , are rarely ever written as real people , but merely as one-dimensional caricatures . \\nwhen an added layer to one of their personalities is revealed , it is not to service the character development , or to naturally offer up instinctive characterizations , but to accommodate the convoluted plot . \\nin a lightweight comedy , you might say , it is not required to have perfectly realized figures , just as long as they get the job done . \\nunfortunately , for a comedy to work , it has to at least succeed at being funny , and if there was a laugh-o-meter available , i\\'d guess that it briefly ascended around 2 . 5% of the time for me . \\nsuffice to say , the comedy in \" the whole nine yards \" works about as well as the broken-down lawnmower in my backyard , and when a giggle surprisingly arises every twenty to thirty minutes , it is by sheer luck . \\nnicholas \" oz \" oseransky ( matthew perry ) is an amateur dentist living in the quiet suburbs of quebec . \\ntrapped in a hateful marriage with the conniving sophie ( rosanna arquette , delightfully hamming it up with a clearly artificial french-canadian accent ) , one day oz sees that someone is moving into the house next-door . \\nwalking over to greet him , he is horrified to discover it is jimmy \" the tulip \" tudeski ( bruce willis ) , a former contract killer for the mafia who has just been released from prison . \\nonce getting to know him and becoming his friend , oz is more comfortable with his identity , but for sophie , it means a possible hitman to do away with oz . \\nin her scheme , sophie sends oz to chicago to cash in by informing his old mob boss ( kevin pollak ) about jimmy\\'s whereabouts , but in the process , he falls in love with jimmy\\'s wife , cynthia ( natasha henstridge ) , who is being held hostage . \\nupon return to quebec , and with one contrivance after the next , oz\\'s dental assistant , jill ( amanda peet ) , is overjoyed to discover that he lives beside \" the tulip , \" and forces him to set up a meeting , since jill\\'s dream in life turns out being a contract killer herself . \\nhave you got all that ? \\nbecause there is more . \\nmuch , much more . \\nand this is a movie that , without credits , is little over 90 minutes and feels only like an hour . \\n \" the whole nine yards \" is an ultimately unsatisfying and empty-headed excursion into well-worn terrain already set by far superior pictures . \\nhow the cast , most of which are respectable actors , got caught up in such a cliched , deficient film remains a mystery , unless they thought it might aspire to match the congenial screwball zaniness of director lynn\\'s 1985 comedy classic , \" clue : the movie . \" \\ngoing into the theater , preliminary comparisons between the two movies were unavoidable , but by the twenty-minute mark , when i had chuckled once and laughed nary a single time , it was clear this production was in serious trouble . \\nsince the entire running time depends on the mechanisms of the plot , and the screenplay , inauspiciously written by mitchell kapner , collapses with every failing \" comedy \" bit , the film is an inevitable dead zone in the way of substance and , frequently , entertainment value . \\n \" the whole nine yards \" is neither facetious nor , aside from the subplot about jill\\'s shocking eagerness to become a professional hitwoman , inventive , and more often than not , just lies there , the film spinning drearily around and around in the projector , but never igniting any sort of spark . \\na few select actors do what they can with the material , while others make no impact at all . \\non the mediocre side are actually those playing the two central characters : matthew perry and bruce willis . \\nperry , innocuously enjoyable on tv\\'s \" friends , \" plays the same exact sitcom-style character in all of his movies ( from 1997\\'s \" fools rush in \" to 1999\\'s \" three to tango \" ) , and it has become a crushing bore . \\nmeanwhile , willis makes next to no impression , and because of the limited guise of his jimmy \" the tulip \" tudeski , oftentimes disappears into the background . \\ntheir three female counterparts fare noticeably better . \\nbest of all is natasha henstridge , far more radiant than in the exploitative \" species \" movies , who adds unanticipated depth and emotion to cynthia . \\nhenstridge has the talent , for sure , to break out of these countless throwaway roles , but first she must fire her agent . \\namanda peet has a lot of fun as the quirkily straightforward and giddy jill , and seems to know more about the art of comedic payoff than even perry who , thus far , has strived on a career based solely on comedy . \\nit is too bad , then , that peet is unnecessarily asked to disrobe in a climactic scene , with the obvious sole purpose being to show off her breasts . \\nfinally , rosanna arquette is awful as sophie , but something tells me that was her purpose , and her clear overacting only aids in brightening up her limited screen time . \\nalso popping up is michael clarke duncan , fresh off an oscar nomination for his role in \" the green mile , \" as jimmy\\'s largely built friend and fellow killer , frankie figs . \\nwhen \" the whole nine yards \" eventually sputters to its underwhelming conclusion , one is left pondering how such a film ever got greenlit . \\na great deal of movies of this type have been made in the past , and this one is nothing but a duplication of better films , so what was the point ? \\nwithout a passable screenplay or any notable technical accomplishments , \" the whole nine yards \" rests solely on the presumed charm of the cast , and half of the actors are not charming at all . \\nnow , what does that tell you ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the following review encompasses two versions of dune : \\ndune : the theatrical version ( 1984 ) runtime : 137 minutes capsule review : cut down to just over two hours by nervous studio executives , the theatrical version of dune is a spectacular mess and may be incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the book . \\nthe film\\'s visual splendour , mystical beauty and impressive action scenes only partly compensate for gaping holes in the narrative . \\ndune : the extended version ( 1988 ) runtime : 189 minutes capsule review : a bit of a throw-together assembled by mca tv special projects for cable television . \\nit was disowned by director david lynch but it\\'s considerably closer to his original vision by virtue of its improved characterisation and clearer storyline . \\nquality dubs of this version from the out-of-print japanese laserdisc release are available from various dealers on the world wide web . \\n * * * the review * * * \\nreleased in 1984 and made on a then mammoth budget of $40 million , the film of frank herbert\\'s cult novel dune was eagerly awaited by sci-fi fans . \\ndirector david lynch ( blue velvet , eraserhead , twin peaks ) was working on his biggest production to date , a mammoth undertaking filmed under trying conditions on location in mexico . \\nthe screenplay was lynch\\'s own , chosen after the script submitted by original author herbert was rejected . \\ndune is set in a universe ruled by powerful families overseen by a successive line of emperors . \\nthe key to cosmic power is the planet arrakis ( dune ) , a windswept desert planet that\\'s home to giant sandworms and the precious spice melange . \\nthe spice is the most valuable commodity in the universe . \\nit extends the life and expands the consciousness of those who consume it . \\nmost importantly , it allows the navigators of the spacing guild ( once human but now hideously mutated ) to \" fold space \" and navigate their spacecraft across mammoth distances instantaneously , enabling interstellar commerce and trade to flourish . \\nlynch\\'s film by necessity excises parts of the book while retaining the story\\'s two main strands . \\none is the long-standing rivalry between two families , houses atreides and house harkonnen , and their battle for lucrative mining rights on arrakis . \\nthe second strand is the emergence of young paul atreides as the reluctant messiah long-awaited by the natives of arrakis , the fremen . \\nthe deeply religious fremen want control over their homeworld , and young paul may be the fulfilment of their prophecy that a man would come from the outer worlds and lead them to freedom . \\nunfortunately , this epic story unfolds in a confusing and haphazard manner in the theatrical cut of the film , which runs 30 to 60 minutes shorter than what lynch originally intended . \\nthe thinking among universal\\'s oh-so-wise money men was that films over two hours in duration were not popular with audiences at the time and would not do well at the box office . \\nwith lynch\\'s initial cut running at closer to three or more hours , the studio demanded that further cuts be made . \\nwhat a great idea ! \\nwhy not trim down an already complex film so as to make it almost incomprehensible ? \\nthe most glaring consequence of this one-eyed stupidity is a hopelessly jumpy narrative , leaving us with badly underdeveloped characters . \\nthus their personalities are vague , their motivations unclear and , in the case of paul\\'s father duke leto , their demise rather meaningless . \\nthe end result is a distinct chill : we can\\'t warm to most of the cast and we don\\'t care much for them . \\nand it hardly helps that the voice-over narration is sparse and that the dune-esque language and terminology sounds like so much gobbledegook to those unfamiliar with the book . \\ndune is also a very serous film . \\nthe constant \" self-talk \" by various characters makes it so serious and self-absorbed at times that you may find it hard not to wince with embarrassment . \\nthe overall impression is a world full of people so intense that no one is allowed a joke lest the universe come crashing down around them . \\nhumour - or at least a gentle kind of humour as distinct from the harkonnen\\'s mad , sadistic kind - is hard to find . \\nyou may balk at the comparison , but as a writer lynch could well have done with some lessons from george lucus\\' star wars trilogy . \\nthe theatrical version is still some way from being a complete disaster , however . \\nit still possesses enough of lynch\\'s stylistic quirks and enough visual invention to sustain the interest of viewers with a taste for imaginative sci-fi . \\nspecial effects whiz carlo rambaldi\\'s giant sandworms are an awesome sight . \\nboth the production design ( anthony masters ) and costume design ( bob ringwood ) are striking and original . \\nand the magnificent score by toto and brian eno is one of the most underrated soundtracks of the last twenty years . \\nwith these elements in place and the benefit of freddie francis\\' lush cinematography , the film is at least a feast for the senses . \\nsee it in the widescreen format if you can . \\nand despite all the cuts , several cast members still make a strong impression , most notably kenneth mcmillan as the supremely nasty baron vladimir harkonnen . \\nsian phillips also registers strongly as the reverend mother gaius helen mohiam , leader of the bene gesserit religious order who\\'s secret aim is to manipulate paul\\'s destiny for its own shadowy ends . \\nas paul atreides , the young kyle maclachlan starts off somewhat shakily , but as his character grows in strength so does his performance and he emerges as a credible leader of the fremen crusade . \\nthe conclusion ? \\nany assessment of this film must take into account that frank herbert\\'s original novel is a complex piece of work and presents a tough challenge for any filmmaker . \\ndavid lynch took a brave stab at it and , partly due to forces beyond his control , ended up with an officially released version that fails in several key respects . \\ndune certainly confused and frustrated a lot of people on its release . \\nmany chose to stay away altogether , as the film\\'s disastrous box office showing attests . \\nthe extended version , however , is a rather different beast . \\nin 1984 lynch stated his intention to release his own special edition \" director\\'s cut \" of the film on home video , a clear indication of his dissatisfaction with the version that ended up in the theatres . \\nbut , alas , he failed to do so , choosing to move on to other projects . \\nin a way , then , it is partly lynch\\'s own fault that what appeared instead was an unauthorised extended version , put together in 1988 by mca tv special projects for airing on cable networks in the usa . \\nstung into action , lynch successfully petitioned the director\\'s guild to take his name off the credits and replace it with \" allen smithee \" , the standard pseudonym for directors who wish to disown their own work . \\nhe also had the screenwriting credit changed to the anonymous \" judas booth \" . \\ncertainly , looking at the results of mca\\'s handiwork there\\'s at least half a dozen instances that , for sheer technical sloppiness , are good enough reasons for the director to object . \\nbut these gripes must be considered in light of the improvements that the extended cut of dune offers in several crucial areas . \\nmost of the changes involve the restoration or extension of cut scenes and the addition of extra narration , both of which fill many holes in the original version\\'s storyline . \\npaul\\'s relationship with his father and associates is more intimate , with moments of humour and warmth lacking previously . \\nthe political skulduggery involving the emperor , the spacing guild , the bene gesserits and the two warring houses is far better explained . \\npaul\\'s initiation into the fremen way of life on arrakis is also fleshed out considerably . \\nand as further background , a new prologue has been added featuring narration and painted stills to give us a brief history of the dune universe . \\nas a piece of storytelling , then , mca tv\\'s version of dune is clearly superior . \\nas a piece of editing , however , it is at times surprisingly inept . \\nthe use of painted stills in the new prologue works well enough , but their occasional appearance once the action begins is inappropriate . \\nthere\\'s some sloppy cutting , too , and in a few instances shots even appear out of order . \\nand the use of repeated footage to fabricate certain scenes ( eg . \\nships coming and going , soldiers coming and going ) is at times clearly out-of-context . \\nthis is the kind of thing to which lynch objected , and rightly so . \\nit should also be noted that several questionable scenes and shots from the theatrical version were deleted to satisfy the censorship demands of u . s . television . \\nbut the most notable omission is a gratuitous piece of nonsense from lynch that wasn\\'t even in herbert\\'s book . \\nthe scene features baron harkonnen killing a beautiful young man in front of his slobbering henchmen by pulling out his \" heart plug \" . \\nits a surreal and disturbing episode that\\'s very lynch-esque but adds nothing to what we already know : the baron is a nasty piece of work . \\ndespite its own peculiar flaws , then , the extended version of dune is a generally superior film . \\nall up , it contains 35 minutes of restored footage and approximately another 15 minutes of either altered , fabricated or newly created sequences . \\nunless the idiosyncratic lynch has a sudden change of heart , the \" alan smithee \" version remains the closest we\\'ll get to what the movie should have been . \\non repeated viewings , one suspects it is closer than what lynch would be prepared to admit . \\nstill , as one of this century\\'s great science-fiction novels , some fans and perhaps the late herbert himself would argue that dune deserved a better fate in its transfer to the screen . \\nwith rumours circulating of a new six hour mini-series planned by production company new amsterdam entertainment in 1998 , it is unlikely that we have heard the last of the dune saga . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'isn\\'t it the ultimate sign of a movie\\'s cinematic ineptitude when you can\\'t think of much to say about it other than \" it sucks \" ? \\none of the first official year 2000 releases , supernova is such a movie . \\ni can\\'t seem to get past one-word adjectives with this one , although \" boring , \" \" stupid \" and \" absurd \" doesn\\'t amount to much of a review . \\na shame . \\ni would have been able to save myself the chore of desperately trying to elaborate . \\nbut c\\'est la vie . \\nhere goes nothing . \\ni\\'ll keep it short . \\ni suppose the first bad omen for supernova came when director walter hill ( 48 hours ) removed his name from the movie , requesting that it be replaced with the pseudonym thomas lee . \\nthe film\\'s fate was sealed in many minds when struggling studio mgm declined to screen it for the press , an event usually signifying a studio\\'s lack of confidence in a particular movie . \\nhill\\'s and mgm\\'s actions were prudent . \\nwhen the captain of medical space vessel nightingale dies in a tragic hyperjump accident , a reformed drug addict who is also the first officer , for some reason ( james spader ) is forced to take command . \\nthe ship picks up a distress call from a nearby planet and , on arrival , picks up one survivor from an apparent accident in an abandoned mining colony . \\none of the crew members ( angela bassett ) knows this passenger , who is played by peter facinelli , and has some bad feelings about it -- and we all know what that means . \\nthis intergalactic hitchhiker is carrying some mysterious cargo -- a jellylike substance the purpose of which is unknown , though it seems to bring some form of pleasure to whoever touches it . \\nanother one of the crew members experiences this first hand ; after spending a few minutes partially inside this glob of goo , he does some impressive handstand pushups . \\nevidently , touching this enigmatic egg-shaped thingie makes you younger and stronger . \\nhow ? \\nwhy ? \\nthe movie never bothers to explain . \\nsoon enough though , spader and bassett are running around the ship like mad , being chased by the all-of-a-sudden-superhuman facinelli . \\nto be honest , i don\\'t even remember exactly why . \\ni just remember that i didn\\'t care . \\nsupernova\\'s plot suggested some more or less interesting ideas , such as the ball of goo being an intergalactic time bomb , but they are all dropped before they have a chance to develop into anything truly intriguing . \\nin fact , everything is dropped just so the actors can have some fun running around what looks like an elaborate set . \\nwell , the effects are good , though there\\'s hardly a studio movie with bad special effects these days so i\\'m not sure whether that\\'s so remarkable an accomplishment . \\nthe performances are hardly worth talking about . \\ni\\'m not even sure i can call what\\'s here \" performances , \" though angela bassett sure is good at giving people the finger . \\njames spader is not a bad actor , but he proves to be one of the blandest action stars i\\'ve seen in a while , mostly because he isn\\'t given a character with a personality . \\nthe action scenes are just as bland , since they\\'re pretty much just rehashes of action elements that weren\\'t particularly entertaining the first time around . \\nand since the action scenes are everything to this movie , it\\'s pretty much dead in the water . \\nand for the life of me , i can\\'t figure out why it\\'s called supernova . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" you can\\'t have any of this . \\nit\\'s all mine ! \" \\n--- a twisted priest ( charles huevelman ) hordes his tasty fried chicken while dana ( angela zimmerly ) looks on uninterested . \\nan evil presence , appropriately named the presence ( dj vivona ) , rules over an alternate dimension where neither angels nor demons can touch him . \\nfor kicks , the presence likes to trick a human into rounding up five of his or her friends so they can all be sent to his dimension and be systematically slaughtered . \\nwhen something goes wrong and one of the presence\\'s recent victims escapes , the angels and demons are alerted to his existence and feel he is a threat that needs to be stopped . \\nthey enlist the help of alison ( ramona midgett ) , a recent suicide victim , to return to the flesh and follow the six new enlistees through the ice wall that surrounds the the nether-realm . \\nher mission is to melt away the ice barrier and allow the angels and demons access by reminding the presence of who he once was , an ancient court jester named abraham who lost his job when his king and queen were killed . \\nthe king\\'s sorcerer , amblyn ( who also lost his job ) , decided to take abraham under his wing as an apprentice . \\nduring the downtime in his unemployment , amblyn decided to create a new dimension where sorcery , evil , and torture ruled . \\nabraham wished to follow his master into this new realm , so he was asked to show his devotion to the evil wizard by murdering his one true love . \\nin this new realm , amblyn would allow abraham to pursue the sport of hunting and destroying the humans that would be brought to this realm . \\nafter each murder , abraham would become stronger , until his power surpassed that of amblyn\\'s . \\nbecause of the screw-up that allowed the recent escape , abraham was able to destroy his master and take control of the realm himself . \\nas alison quests to find abraham and show him the errors of his ways , the six new hapless humans are allowed to live out their worst nightmares and then be brutally murdered . \\nif there\\'s one thing i can\\'t stand when i see a film , it\\'s when the film is pretentious and arty just for the sake of being pretentious and arty . \\nfilms like eraserhead and begotten are two of the worst examples of this , and now ice from the sun can be added to this list . \\nthis film is essentially an 80 minute stalk-and-slash film ( following the dante\\'s inferno idea that your hell corresponds to how you lived your life or any one of the plots to nightmare on elm street 3 through 6 ) intercut with almost 40 minutes of strange and ( supposedly ) haunting images , many of which serve more to confuse than to further the plot . \\nif there aren\\'t bizarre images floating past the screen , then we get pointless shots of a suicidal alison staring at her breakfast for minutes at a time or contemplating whether or not she should answer her phone . \\ncompelling , but ultimately not . \\nthe opening credits sequence is designed like a music video for some unknown industrial band featuring various random images from the film interspersed with other random images . \\nthe credits run the entire length of the song which is almost five minutes and the actual cast listing and other credit information doesn\\'t pop up until near the end of the sequence . \\nwhen the opening credits began i thought my vcr had accidentally cut off and a interstitial from mtv2 had found its way to my tv . \\nat least the music in the film is pretty decent , made up of mostly industrial and hard rock music and even features a song by ramona midgett . \\nat the beginning of the film it is established that the presence possesses supernatural powers like shooting bullets out of the palms of his hands and decapitating people by waving his hand in front of them ( and he talks like a darth vader clone without the heavy breathing ) . \\nfor some reason though , he delegates all of his main stalkings to what seems like the supporting cast of deliverance . \\none over-alled cretin handles the presence\\'s gravedigging and likes to chop peoples heads off with his shovel , then there\\'s an inbred father ( dwight spurgin ) and his two inbred children ( mark kettler and jennifer poirrier-wallace ) that take care of a young woman who has been transformed into a half dog-half human mix with a shotgun , and of course a big truck driving guy that likes to tie people up naked to the back of his vehicle and drag them across stone roads before pouring salt all over their wounds . \\nwhy would you want to give responsibilities to a bunch of \" rednecks \" when you yourself had all of these cool powers ? \\nand how is it that the fellow that screws over all of his buddies is able to round up exactly five friends to complete the number of people required to enter the realm at exactly the same time ? \\ni can barely get more than two together all at once at any given moment . \\nthe most ridiculous segment though comes right before the aforementioned dragging/salting sequence . \\nthe character in question , dana ( angela zimmely ) , has her turn up to be killed and is standing at the front of a movie theater in which the presence is seated . \\na priest holding two naked dirty humans on leashes walks in and sits down next to a large platter of fried chicken . \\nhe picks up the entire platter and starts to enjoy the chicken , taunting dana as she looks on with no interest whatsoever . \\nwhen she starts to leave , the priest chides her for going before the performance starts and then something that looks like a either a creature from a gwar show or a terry gilliam animation from monty python come to life , walks out , and makes like it wants to be crucified by her . \\nthe presence starts to clap annoyingly ( which continues for the rest of the sequence ) until dana takes off with the strange creature following her . \\nwhen it finally catches up to her , she stabs it in its giant eyeball and is covered in slimy glop that spurts from the ruptured organ . \\nthe box for the film claims \" because of the horrifying nature of the motion picture , parental discretion is advised for persons under the age of 18 . \\ncontains nudity and graphic violence \" . \\nwhile both is certainly true , there doesn\\'t seem to be much of either in any large amounts . \\nbesides a loving close up of a spurting neck stump , a semi-graphic self-surgery scene , and two instances of head trauma ( one run over and one melting ) , most of the gore is just of the spraying blood or bloody wound covered body variety . \\nas for nudity , it is very sparse , but at least we get to see angela zimmerly ( far and away the most attractive cast member ) before her body is bruised , torn , and bloodied by the dragging incident . \\nice from the sun has been released on vhs by www . b-movie . com . \\nit has been presented in in full-frame only and the transfer ( for a film shot a good deal in 8mm ) is pretty decent . \\nbesides the decent soundtrack ( which is also available from www . b-movie . com ) , a making-of video is also available called on thin ice . \\ni haven\\'t had the opportunity to see the documentary , but i actually would have been interested to see what the set was like while all of the shots were being filmed , if only to see how director eric stanze ( director of a similar cult film called savage harvest ) , conducted the atmosphere on set . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'michael richards leaves his spot as kramer on the infamous seinfeld tv sitcom for a stint as a lanky , goofy best friend to jeff daniels\\' lawyer character in this ill-fated , and unfunny , \" comedy \" . \\nplot : richard the actor ( richards ) has to take the place of charles the lawyer ( daniels ) in a real court case , after charles is left unintelligible from a night of heavy drinking at his bachelor party . \\nthe film follows the antics of the two men as they try to get away with their tomfoolery . \\ncritique : this movie did not make me laugh once . \\nperhaps it was because i was tired when i watched it . \\nperhaps . \\nperhaps it was because i had seen richards perform most of the same schtick a thousand times on seinfeld . \\nperhaps . \\nperhaps it was because the movie just wasn\\'t funny . \\nabsolutely . \\nthe lack of humour wasn\\'t the only issue that i had with this film either . \\nthe movie attempts to weave a couple of love stories through its vision , but unfortunately , they are also lacking in conviction , believability and credibility . \\nthey are contrived and appear to be placed into the story for convenience sake . \\nthe actors were all adequate enough in their roles , but the problem didn\\'t lie in the acting . \\ni wish i could find one good reason for you to see this waste of time , but i can\\'t . \\nunless of course , you need something playing on your tv set while you waste some time around the house . \\noverall , this movie stinks . \\non the good side , charlize theron is darn cute , and the movie is no longer then 90 minutes . \\non the bad side , this movie is not funny , interesting or enjoyable in any which way possible . \\na person wouldn\\'t even enjoy his nachos while watching this emptiness . \\nplease skip it . \\nlittle known facts : jonathan lynn earned a degree in law from cambridge before becoming an actor/director . \\ncharlize theron grew up on a farm outside benoni , south africa , as the only child . \\nat the age of 18 her mother made her go to los angeles to try a career in the movie industry . \\nshe came to la without knowing anyone in the city but after two weeks when she was standing in line on hollywood boulevard an agent gave her his card . \\nafter eight months in la she got her first part . \\nsince then she has taken acting lessons and her career has skyrocketed , specifically in devil\\'s advocate ( 8/10 ) . \\ncharlize was narrowly beat out by elizabeth berkley for the lead role in the \" movie \" , showgirls . \\nshe was quoted as saying \" it was like i had some guardian angel . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'on june 30 , 1960 , a self-taught , idealistic , yet pragmatic , young man became , at age 36 , the first head of government of a newly independent african state , formerly the belgian congo . \\ntwo months later , he was ousted from his powerful position and hunted by government troops until he was captured and brutally murdered along with two aides . \\nthis little-known story of this meteoric rise and fall is told my international filmmaker raoul peck in \" lumumba . \" \\npatrice lumumba\\'s ( eriq ebouaney ) story has been told previously by helmer peck in his 1991 award winning documentary , \" lumumba - death of a prophet , \" virtually guaranteeing that his new , fictional account of a patriot remains true to its subject . \\npeck , with co-writer pascal bonitzer , begins at the end of the story of the young political leader . \\nwe watch as two white men perform the gruesome task of dismembering the bodies of three black men . \\nimages of hatchets , saws and fast-emptying whiskey bottles accompany the grisly image . \\njump back a few years to a meeting among the black leaders in the belgian-owned congo . \\na third class postal worker , lumumba , speaks his mind to heads of the most powerful tribes , proclaiming himself not tribal , not regional , but a national leader . \\nhis small , mobile party , the congolese national movement ( mnc ) is gaining prominence and patrice leaves his clerical job to sell beer , and get his face known , in the bustling capital , stanleyville . \\nat a time when the colonial empires are falling down around the world , lumumba is in the right place at the right time and , through political savvy and chess-like manipulation , achieves a position of leadership of the mnc . \\nas the date for independence approaches , he tactically positions himself to be the new nation\\'s first prime minister and defense minister , supporting the presidency of joseph kasa vubu ( maka kotto ) . \\nthe coalition he created soon starts to fall apart as the former belgian masters continue to exert influence on the struggling nation as they strive to maintain economic hold on the country\\'s vast natural resources of copper , diamonds , gold and more . \\nlumumba won\\'t seek the help of the us , knowing that they would try to create de facto american control of the fledgling government . \\nhis initial investigation into soviet assistance immediately tags patrice as a communist and his integrity is overshadowed by the cold war threat of russian domination . \\nthe situation goes from bad to worse as the army mutinies , the remaining whites begin to evacuate or arm themselves , belgian troops violently intervene , the lucrative katanga province succeeds under the leadership of rival moise tschombe ( pascal nzonzi ) and lumumba is refused access to his own country when he returns from a conference abroad . \\nthis tumultuous and little known period of modern african history saw a score of nations struggling for independence from the sometimes-odious colonialists who have ruled much of the world from their european seats of power for centuries . \\npeck focuses his story on familiar material that strives to give an honest portrayal of patrice lumumba , his friend and foes and the independence movements that gripped africa in the 50\\'s and 60\\'s . \\n ( during the time the story takes place , many new nations , including nigeria and somalia , were born , with varying degrees of success and failure , usually dependent upon which country colonized them . \\nsome colonial masters were better than others . ) \\nthe effort involved in \" lumumba \" is quite ambitious as peck and his crew before and behind the camera strive to bring to life this slice of world history that might have gone unexplored for decades , if at all . \\nproduction values are first rate on what must be a small , by us standards , budget . \\nthe period feel and realistic african settings are nicely maintained in a production that traveled from zimbabwe to mozambique . \\nthe screenplay covers a lot of ground and does yeoman\\'s work in providing a great deal of detailed history while trying to do justice to the story of lumumba\\'s life . \\nthe political side of things is evenly told in a linear , straightforward manner that teaches , not preaches . \\nit concentrates on the good deeds of the man , if a bit as a stalwart saint , but doesn\\'t embellish on a larger than life persona . \\nthe family side of patrice\\'s life is handled in several , perfunctory and brief interludes that show him talking to one of his children , embracing his wife or lamenting the death of his child . \\ni know the intent is to flesh the man out , but too short a shrift is given to the family man side of lumumba . \\nthe story , as such , has a lopsided feel about it . \\nhigh marks go to eriq ebouaney as the title character . \\nthe actor gives a convincing , charismatic performance as the multifaceted , politically deft patrice lumumba who has the good of his people and his country as the force driving his own ambitions . \\nin true docudrama tradition , the supporting cast does not outshine the star , complementing his good efforts , instead . \\n \" lumumba \" is a solid , interesting , educational and honest docudrama that should appeal to film buffs and politicos , both . \\nit has more intelligence in its telling than anything i\\'ve seen out of hollywood for months and i give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'conventional wisdom among collectibles retailers is that children\\'s items begin to dramatically escalate in price about twenty-five or thirty years after the item was made . \\nthat\\'s when the kids of that time have jobs , disposable income and a desire to re-visit the awe and wonderment of childhood that has disappeared from their lives . \\ncheck out the prices of toys from the late sixties and you\\'ll find that yogi bear lunch boxes are demanding big bucks . \\nthere\\'s a heavy nostalgia nowadays for the late sixties and early seventies and nowhere is it more apparent than on the big screen . \\nboomers are now mostly in their forties and fifties and have lived in the work-a-day world for a long time . \\nthey\\'d like to re-capture some of that fun they remember from days of yore . \\nhollywood seems more than eager to churn out product to help them . \\ndirectors are zealous to put their stamp on icons from that time . \\nand for the most part they\\'re messing it up . \\n \" mission impossible \" , \" lost in space \" , \" godzilla \" , \" zorro \" . \\nnone of these successfully capture the originals . \\nnone of these are even good films . \\nyou can now add \" the avengers \" to the list . \\nthe british television series began in 1961 . \\nsuper secret agent john steed ( then-patrick macnee ) and his third partner , emma peel ( then-diana rigg ) are the pair that the american audience fell for . \\nsurrealistic and witty , the series fit the mood of the times . \\nthe leather-clad rigg probably didn\\'t hurt the ratings either . \\nafter all it\\'s not a coincidence that you can\\'t pronounce her character\\'s name without \" appeal \" . \\nnow we\\'re in the nineties . \\nsteed ( now-ralph fiennes ) and peel ( now-uma thurman ) are battling evil genius sir august de wynter ( sean connery ) who is screwing with england\\'s weather . \\nthat\\'s about as much of a plot as we have . \\nthere\\'s some footage about a lot of other things that either don\\'t make sense or make even less sense . \\nwe get betrayal for some unknown reason . \\nevil clones appear and vanish and have no connection to the film . \\nremarkably ineffective giant flying robot wasps with machine guns in their belly come from nowhere for no good reason . \\nthere\\'s a high tech hot air balloon , but i have no idea why anyone\\'s in it . \\nthe spy agency is run by a man called \" mother \" who is in a wheelchair and a woman named \" father \" who is blind . . . at \\nleast in some scenes . \\nthere\\'s probably a reason for all of this , but we\\'ll never know it . \\nmacnee makes an appearance of sorts . \\nhe is the voice for an invisible man whose character goes nowhere in a scene that does nothing . \\na group of villains sits around a table , all clad in huge pastel-colored teddy bear outfits . \\nat first it\\'s humorous to watch the teddies waddle around , but then it becomes goofy . \\nthe movie is a medley of clutter , confusion and wrong decisions around every corner . \\nit feels like major portions of the film are missing . \\nthe storyline jumps rather than flows . \\nreportedly the film was re-cut several times . \\nthis is one of those times where the whole is less than the sum of the parts especially since some of the parts appear to be missing . \\nthere\\'s one good point where peel is running from one room to another in a house designed by escher . \\nother than that , the effects are second-rate . \\nthe weather threat is old hat as are the scenes of huge tornadoes . \\nthurman almost makes an adequate emma peel but it doesn\\'t work . \\nshe looks good , dresses in all the right fetish outfits but there\\'s no spark . \\nfiennes fares even less well . \\nmacnee\\'s steed was a witty man of the world with a sense of humor . \\nfiennes\\' agent comes across as a dour kid in grown-up clothes who has never been out of his home town . \\neven connery , one of the greatest living actors , doesn\\'t have much of a presence outside of a few fiery scenes . \\nthe action scenes are difficult to follow . \\ndirector jeremiah chechik ( responsible for the atrocious remake of \" diabolique \" ) somehow manages to put the camera exactly where it shouldn\\'t be . \\nthings happen , people move around , but even if , with the utmost effort , you were able to care about any of it , the scenes are bewildering . \\nthe primary allure of the original was the interaction between the two leads . \\nwitty banter and an underplayed sexual tension were a winning combination . \\nadmittedly there are a few humorous sexual puns in the film , but there\\'s no chemistry and the repartee is anything but clever . \\none of emma peel\\'s first lines of dialog is \" rules are made to be broken . \" \\nit doesn\\'t get any better . \\nadvance word alone should have been enough to scare off anyone . \\nthe release date was changed several times . \\nconnery refuses to promote the film . \\nthere was no screening for critics which may have been a good choice for warner brothers . \\nat least this way , they get something of an audience for the first weekend before the news gets out . \\nadmittedly i haven\\'t seen an episode of the television series for a couple of decades . \\nmy guess is that it would be severely dated now . \\nno matter how antiquated it might be , there\\'s no doubt that it holds up better than this film is at first viewing . \\nthere\\'s no reason to waste any part of the last few days of summer inside watching this movie . \\nno reason at all . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the first image in \" final fantasy : the spirits within \" is a computer-animated close-up of a human eye . \\nit\\'s a beautiful piece of work , remarkably detailed and quite convincing . \\nwhen the picture pulls back to reveal the owner of the eye , however , things change . \\nthe young woman has mesmerizing hair , although it hangs too artfully ? even by movie standards ? to be believed . \\nthe facial features are more detailed than any computer-animation seen to date , but the result is more reminiscent of a very well-crafted doll than anything human . \\nshe is pretty , but bland , and not nearly expressive enough to come off like a person . \\nall the characters in \" final fantasy \" are like that . \\nof the core group , the younger white men and women are all athletic , attractive and indistinct , like applicants for a tv reality show . \\nthe black man is taller and burlier , and the aging scholar is bald , with wrinkles and a beard . \\nnone of them appear to be based on individuals ; they all look like the products of general descriptions given a police sketch artist . \\nit gets worse when they talk and move . \\nwhy is the sarcastic voice of steve buscemi , he of the great twisted face and snaggleteeth , coming out of the mouth of some dreary ken doll ? \\nwhy , for every fluid physical gesture , do we also see herky-jerky puppet-style motions ? \\nmore to the point , who decided a full-length computer animated movie featuring \" hyperreal \" ( their term , not mine ) humanoids was a good idea ? \\n \" final fantasy \" is based on a phenomenally popular video game i\\'ve never played , with a story straight out of japanese anime , which more often than not leaves me bored and depressed . \\nif you\\'re a fan of either , please spare me your letters , as i will focus solely on the finished film and not its source materials . \\nwith an expression-challenged cast , \" final fantasy \" mixes turgid action scenes with heaps of mystical shit . \\nthe result is ugly , confusing and boring . \\nnote : the following reveals the basic plot . \\nif you want to have a fighting chance of making any sense of the movie , i suggest you read it . \\nearth is at war with aliens that appear to feed on human souls . \\nmost of our planet is devastated , with humans living in a few protected cities . \\nwhile the bulk of the survivors focus on military strategies , aki ross ( voiced by ming-na ) and her mentor , dr . sid ( donald sutherland ) , believe in a more organic approach . \\nthey operate on the notion ( quoting straight from the press kit ) \" that all life forms have signature spirit waves that can be identified and contained . \\naki and dr . sid collect a series of organic specimens whose spirit signatures combined will form a wave of equal and opposite intensity to the spirit wave of the alien force . \\nthe waves will , in effect , cancel each other out and disarm the foreign contagion . \\nthey have collected six of the eight key spirits needed to complete their wave . \\nthey are on a desperate hunt to find the remaining two spirits before their time runs out . \" \\nare you still with me ? \\nthere\\'s only a little more . \\naki is infected with the alien force . \\ndr . sid has developed a method of confining the contagion and keeping it from killing her , but the defense wall won\\'t hold much longer . \\nalready , the alien is communicating with aki through her dreams . \\naiding aki and dr . sid are the deep eyes , a group of hard-as-nails types that would have felt at home with the troops in \" aliens . \" \\ncapt . gray edwards ( alec baldwin ) heads the task force that consists of a wise guy ( buscemi ) , a tough woman ( peri gilpin ) and a gentle giant ( ving rhames ) . \\nthrowing a monkey wrench into the plans is the requisite dumb ass : in this case general hein ( james woods ) , who wants to use the zeus cannon to bomb the aliens back to the stone age , even if it destroys earth as well . \\nso there you have it . \\nlike most of the anime i\\'ve seen , the plot combines apocalyptic settings , lots of shooting and fuzzy spirituality , all wrapped up in a save-the-earth bow . \\nbut i\\'m bored with apocalyptic settings . \\ni understand why so many live-action films employ them ? they\\'re cheap ? but animated films can show anything , so why wallow in an industrial trash heap ? \\nthe action scenes and shoot-em-ups don\\'t satisfy either . \\nthe humans move oddly and their facial features are so muted that the talented voice cast can\\'t bring them to life ( in fact , their efforts merely emphasize what we\\'re missing ) . \\naki is especially disappointing ; with her lack of expression and flat delivery , she looks and sound like a brunet version of weena , the eloi girl from 1960\\'s \" the time machine . \" \\ndrab color choices and aliens that appear to have been created in jell-o molds sap the pizzazz from the big set pieces . \\nstudents of computer animation may be fascinated with the technology behind \" final fantasy : the spirits within , \" but i found it sub-par across the board . \\n \" futurama \" does more effective battle visuals , the kids in \" south park \" are far more expressive than these mannequins and any old episode of the contemporary version of \" the outer limits \" does better doom and gloom sci-fi . \\nso who needs this ? \\nnot me . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'\\'pleasantville\\' ( 1998 ) taps into hollywood\\'s lack of integrity with subtle messages that can be easily missed \\n ( www . pleasantville . com ) april 2 , 1999 ( friday ) \\ncast : tobey maguire , reese witherspoon , william h . macy , joan allen , j . t . \\nwalsh , jeff daniels \\nmpaa rating : pg-13 for sexual content and thematic elements \\ngenre : drama \\nin my opinion : \\nin short : it takes a lot of careful observation to see the true morals and lessons brought out in this film ; one can easily be misled as to what the real message is . \\nreview : in a literally colorless world with an almost mechanical population , there is no room for transitioning variety or even the customary happenings of everyday life , such as rain , fire , or emotions . \\nthe town of pleasantville has one adjective : pleasant . \\nthere is no sadness , no fear , no danger , no discomfort , no love , and no hate . \\nput simply , it\\'s a place alanis morissette could really work wonders for . \\nj one big note however is that it is only a 50\\'s sitcom that airs in reruns on an \" oldies \" tv station ? or is it ? \\ni had waited months to see this movie and after doing so on opening day i was not disappointed . \\ni found it quite intriguing and delightful and went back 3 more times in the period it endured at the box office . \\nbut it wasn\\'t until months later , when i slipped in for a small showing in one of those crummy \" dollar theaters \" after not having seen it for so long , that my eyes were opened to such a deeper meaning and perspective than i had previously experienced . \\nit is a far too feasible misconception that this is a film which forwards the idea that a world without some \" healthy \" immorality is not a world at all . \\ninstead , the actual message , which so far has not been recognized by many viewers that i know of , is that a world without immorality doesn\\'t give one the ability to discern right and wrong for himself , because everything is automatically right . \\nthere is no room for mistakes and growth and learning because there are no mistakes to be made , no space for growth , and never anything new to learn , and that is the key component to the entire purpose of the story . \\nnow i\\'m not saying that\\'s necessarily the way it was intended to be interpreted , but that is hands down the proper way in which it should be . \\nbesides a hidden symbolic depth and themes that go beyond what we can absorb from previews , this film has elements of physical wonder and strength that make it just so great to watch . \\nthe visual effects are indeed striking and what little color is revealed is impartially favorable . \\nafter spending the bulk of the movie staring at black and white , it\\'s hard not to identify and appreciate the fact that our own world allows for all that brilliance and more . \\na truly intelligent addition to it all , however , is the charming and ardently attainable cast that operates together like clockwork . \\nthat said , the plot goes as such . \\ndavid and jennifer are two very 90\\'s high school twins with the typical \" relationship \" outline of don\\'t-mess-with-my-life-and-i-won\\'t-mess-with-yours . \\nthey demonstrate the well-known teenage qualities of two of the common versions of adolescents today . \\ndavid is the shyer , subtler twin who would rather watch tv land than mtv , while jennifer is the wild , licentious one who spends her days at the mall and relishes in the pleasures of the offensive world of degradation . \\nbut when a freak accident enchantingly plops them smack dab in the middle of pleasantville as two of the main characters , they are forced to depend on each other to make it back home . \\nnevertheless , jennifer works her magic and introduces the town to a more unrestrained approach to life , and while david frantically tries to stop her and get them back home , he realizes that change was exactly what the town needed . \\nand , as said earlier , not to flip the town around into some corrupt society , but rather to give people the choice to decide between good and bad and to reap the results of their decisions and learn from them . \\nnot only were difficult choices being brought upon the town , but the simple accepted occurrences of ordinary existence also began to take place . \\npeople got hurt . \\nthey cried . \\nthey became afraid and happy and thoughtful and started to think for themselves , and that\\'s when their physical world turned colors as well . \\nthis can be looked upon as quite a controversial movie , but to me the message is finally clear . \\ni hope after reading this people can be more open to the film than they had been in the past , and realize that without choosing how our own lives will be run , we\\'ll never know what we could have done better . \\nuntil the next great movie i see , i remain sincerely , danielle flynn , imr \\n',\n",
+       "  b'that thing you do ! \\n ( r ) tom hanks\\'s screenwriting and directorial debut , that thing you do ! , has all the qualities you would associate with the most beloved screen actor of the moment : fun , lively , and oh-so-nice . \\nit is the latter quality , however , that becomes a hindrance , for this \\'60s nostalgia trifle is so nice and sweet that it teeters on becoming bland milquetoast . \\nthat thing focuses on the wonders , a teen rock band from erie , pennsylvania that is suddenly thrust into the national spotlight in 1964 when they score a major dance hit called , of course , \" that thing you do ! \" \\nthe group\\'s members are , naturally a diverse group : there\\'s brooding lead singer and songwriter jimmy ( johnathon schaech ) ; girl-crazy lenny ( steve zahn ) , the lead guitarist ; a goofy , geeky type known only as the bass player ( ethan embry ) ; and the film\\'s center , guy ( tom everett scott ) , the drummer who has aspirations in jazz . \\nalong for the wonders\\' ride to success is jimmy\\'s perpetually neglected galpal , faye ( liv tyler ) . \\nhanks proves to be a capable writer-director , deftly recreating the innocent spirit of 1964 , which hanks calls \" the last innocent year . \" \\nthe spirit is not only reflected in the period clothes and settings but also in the music , which , like the other recent period music film , grace of my heart , was expressly written for the film ; hanks himself had a hand in writing four of the tunes--but not the infectious title cut by adam schlesinger , which is guaranteed to stay in your head long after the end credits have rolled ( it\\'s still playing in my mind as i write this ) . \\nit should come as no surprise that hanks the director works well with the actors , eliciting charming , likable work from the entire cast , most notably hanks lookalike scott and tyler , who is remarkable in delivering the film\\'s biggest and best dramatic moment . \\nthe work of the young ensemble is so natural that they truly convince as teens of the early \\'60s ; they do not appear to be \\'90s grungers playacting \" retro . \" \\nyet for all the light , frothy charms of that thing you do ! , it\\'s nearly nice to a fault . \\nwhile this unbridled innocence in film is a refreshing change from all the sinful cinema around these days , there is not enough conflict to keep things consistently interesting . \\neveryone is so happy , basking in the glow of overnight success , marvelling at it all--except toward the end , but even then the tone quickly reverts to sweetness , ending on an appropriately feel-good note . \\nthere isn\\'t much of an edge throughout that thing--the only thing that is remotely edgy is hanks\\'s turn as the wonders\\' manager--and thus becomes in danger of being so nice it\\'s bland . \\nbut a little niceness goes a long way these days , and there\\'s no denying the entertainment value of that thing you do ! ; it\\'s just about impossible to hate . \\nit\\'s an inoffensive , enjoyable piece of nostalgia that is sure to leave audiences smiling and humming , if not singing , \" that thing you do ! \" --quite \\npossibly for days . \\nto paraphrase a passage from the song : though i try and try to forget that song it is just so hard to do every time they play \" that thing you do ! \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s an interesting premise . \\nour reality is only real to us because it is what we perceive to be real . \\nin truth , our entire existences are lived out in our minds as we are fed information through electronic inputs directly to our brains . \\nwhat we see , what we do , everything around us is nothing more than a computer-generated construct interlinked with the minds of others through a vastly powerful artificial intelligence . \\nour bodies , severely atrophied , are kept alive for the sole purpose of generating heat and electrical energy for a dominating order of machines which control the planet . \\nthe sci-fi realm has been waiting a little while for something new to come along . \\nthe matrix isn\\'t it - the idea of a war between man and a sentient computer network , a sham world , the ability to plug one\\'s brain into a computer , has all been gleaned from such sources as the terminator , dark city , and a few star trek episodes ( both classic and next generation ) . \\nwhat is new is the ability to weave all of these various elements together and succeed in producing a film that is both entertaining as well as thought-provoking . \\nkeanu reeves plays a computer whiz nicknamed neo , who is plucked out of the artificial world ( known as the matrix ) by a group of renegade humans who are clandestinely fighting to expose the fallacy of the computer-generated existence and free humankind from the oppression of the machines . \\nthe group\\'s leader , morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) , has chosen neo because he believes neo is \" the one \" who is destined to lead the attack against the artificial intelligence . \\n>from the beginning of the film , we are kept on our toes trying to figure things out . \\nthis , in a lesser movie would be annoying , but the matrix presents itself in an intelligent manner which makes the puzzle rather interesting and even fun . \\nwhat is reality ? \\nwhat is a sham ? \\nthe film turns our very perception of life on its side . \\nmore than once , we are also presented with the question of whether we would rather know the harsh truth of reality , or live a life of relative bliss , oblivious to the true nature of our surroundings . \\nas viewers , this is intriguing enough , so imagine what it would be like for neo . \\nand who to better play a bewildered person than keanu reeves ? \\nreeves , whom i\\'ve never really cared for as an actor , is competent in roles which require a lot of straightforwardness , and little subtlety . \\nhe was good in speed , for example , but laughably poor in a walk in the clouds . \\nneo is actually one of those roles which reeves slips into rather nicely , so much of my expectation was happily for naught . \\nin a couple of places , the script even capitalizes upon his wooden nature , and this is a heavy credit to writers/directors andy and larry wachowski . \\ni mean , since bill and ted\\'s excellent adventure , what movie could you say really \" utilized \" keanu reeves ? \\nmore interesting than reeves is fishburne , who\\'s morpheus nearly runs the gamut of emotions , and convincingly so . \\nvery surprising for a sci-fi movie . \\nfishburne also maintains a certain demeanor about himself throughout , as if he always knows what to expect . \\nthis helps to further the aura of his character\\'s proficiency and extensive knowledge . \\nhugo weaving as agent smith , one of the artificial intelligence\\'s anti-intruder programs , is also good playing his deadpan , no-nonsense , kick ass role , which requires him to show emotion at the appropriate time . \\nunfortunately , when weaving speaks for more than a few sentences in a row , the nature of his character\\'s speech pattern becomes a little more laughable than impressive . \\ncarrie-anne moss plays trinity , morpheus\\'s number one assistant who becomes somewhat of a love interest for neo . \\nalthough her character is somewhat inconsistent , moss nevertheless delivers an above par performance when fishburne isn\\'t in the picture . \\nthere were few expenses spared when it comes to the special effects . \\nmany methods of imagery are employed , from modeling to bluescreen to computer graphics . \\nof special note is the use of the \" freeze and turn \" effect where the entire scene is frozen , turned , then continued from a new angle . \\nthis is accomplished by using a large number of still cameras employed in a semi-circle , with motion picture cameras placed at the two ends . \\nthe motion cameras film the action , and at the appropriate moment all the still cameras fire at once . \\nplace each still image in a film sequence and you get a nearly seamless transition from the first motion camera to the second . \\npretty slick . \\nthe matrix drips with style . \\nfrom the clothing to the music to the action , we\\'re watching an exaggerated version of what we\\'re used to . \\nmuch of it seems like the combination of two genres of the hong kong action film - there\\'s a lot of kung fu , there\\'s a lot of gunplay . \\nwhen a character is letting go with an automatic weapon , much is made of the empty cartridges falling to the floor in slow motion . \\nthere\\'s also the element of the japanese action cartoon ( called anime by aficionados ) , especially in the way the sequences are filmed in sweeping pans and emphasized actions through special effects . \\ncombined , it\\'s really like no live-action film i have ever seen . \\nthe film is not without its faults . \\nsome of the scenes and ideas are \" borrowed \" a little too liberally from other films , and one component of the ending is decidedly disappointing . \\nsome of the lines are also pretty bad - in one instance , a supporting character incorrectly delivers a famous saying , and it wasn\\'t meant to be a joke . \\nhowever , these shortcomings detract little from what is an overall solid action sci-fi film that for once does more than merely entertain . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'jay and silent bob strike back , kevin smith\\'s swan song to his two most famous characters , is the best received comedy that i\\'ve seen since there\\'s something about mary , which is a tea party in comparison to the foul-mouthed humor in jay and silent bob strike back . \\nthe audience didn\\'t just laugh ; they went wild with boisterous laughter and heavy applause throughout . \\nin short , if you like really raunchy humor , you may find it , as i did , to be the funniest movie of the year . \\n ( on the other hand , if you are one of those who walked out in disgust with smith\\'s dogma , then jay and silent bob strike back is not the movie for you . ) \\nin one of the fastest paced movies of the year , the story has jay and silent bob ( jason mewes and kevin smith ) , a pair of card carrying drug dealers , traveling from their new jersey convenience store home to hollywood so that they can stop a movie . \\nit seems their comic book alter egos , bluntman and chronic , are being used in a movie without jay and silent bob\\'s consent . \\njason biggs and james van der beek are slated to star in it . \\njay and silent bob strike back has more and better used cameos than just about any movie that i\\'ve ever seen . \\namong others , they include carrie fisher as a bible-toting nun , mark hamill as a comic book version of his famous alter ego and gus van sant as a director too busy counting his money to yell , \" action ! \" \\nbest of all are ben affleck and matt damon who mock themselves and their movies . \\nthe film stops several times to make fun of itself and of the audience who was \" stupid \" enough to buy tickets to this movie . \\n ( actually , purchasing tickets to this film is extremely smart given that it delivers more laughter per dollar than anything in recent memory . ) \\nthe film even skewers people who write about movies on the internet . \\nguilty . \\nalthough it\\'s filled with inside jokes , you\\'ll still be laughing even if you only get some of them . \\nit\\'s easy to understand enough so that they are still funny . \\njay is a motor mouth who hasn\\'t met a subject that he couldn\\'t vulgarize . \\nhis favorite topic is oral sex , but , being an equal opportunity profaner , he\\'s willing to make crude jokes about absolutely anything . \\nbut it is his buddy , the aptly named silent bob , who is responsible for most of the movie\\'s success . \\nhis reaction shots , with his wildly exaggerated eye movements , are comedic gems . \\nthe story\\'s main subplot concerns four animal rights activists , justice ( shannon elizabeth ) and her three sexy buddies , sissy ( eliza dushku ) , missy ( jennifer schwalbach smith ) and chrissy ( ali larter ) . \\nthese charlie\\'s angels types give a ride to our heroes on their trek to lalaland to stop the picture . \\njay tries to put the moves on justice , but he doesn\\'t stay in command of the situation for long . \\none of the funnier sight gags has the women using a pink , clam-shaped , birth control case that contains high tech gadgetry . \\ngranted , it\\'s not the movie for everyone , but , if you like kevin smith\\'s brand of humor , you\\'ll find that this is his best . \\nand , as i said earlier , it\\'s the funniest movie of the year thus far . \\nno , wait . \\nforget , `thus far . \\' \\nit\\'s bound to be the funniest movie of the year . \\nin a time when almost every movie feels obligated to come in at pg-13 so that they can rake in the maximum cash , it\\'s great to see a filmmaker with the guts to target only a mature audience . \\njay and silent bob strike back runs a lightening fast 1 : 35 . \\nit is rated r and contains pervasive crude humor and language and sexual situations . \\nit would be acceptable for high school seniors and older . \\nthe film opens nationwide in the united states on wednesday , august 22 , 2001 . \\nin the silicon valley , it will be showing at the amc and the century theaters . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : side-splitting comedy that follows its own merciless logic almost through to the end . . . \\nbut not without providing a good deal of genuine laughs . \\nmost comedies these days have one flaw . \\nthey\\'re not funny . \\nthey think they\\'re funny , but they are devoid of anything really penetrating or dastardly . \\noccasionally a good funny movie sneaks past the deadening hollywood preconceptions of humor and we get a real gem : ruthless people , for instance , which established a microcosm of a setup and played it out to the bitter end . \\nliar liar is built the same way and is just about as funny . \\nthis is one of the few movies i\\'ve seen where i was laughing consistently almost all the way through : instead of a couple of set-pieces that inspired a laugh ( think of the dismal fatal instinct ) , the whole movie works like clockwork . \\njim carrey playes a high-powered lawyer , to whom lying is as natural as breathing . \\nthere is one thing he takes seriously , though : his son , and we can sense the affection that they have for each other right away . \\nbut his wife is divorced and seeing another man , and now it looks like they may move away together . \\nthe son goes with them , of course . \\nthe movie sets up this early material with good timing and a remarkable balance of jim carrey\\'s over-the-top persona with reality . \\nthen the plot springs into action : after being snubbed ( not deliberately ) by his father at his birthday , the kid makes a wish as he blows out the birthday candles : that for just one day , dad can\\'t lie . \\nhe gets the wish . \\nwhat happens next is sidesplitting . \\neverything turns into a confrontation : when cornered by a bum for some change , he shouts , \" no ! \\ni\\'m not giving you any money because i know you\\'ll spend it on booze ! \\nall i want to do is to get to the office without having to step over the debris of our decaying society ! \" \\nhe can\\'t even get into an elevator without earning a black eye . \\nand what\\'s worse , he\\'s now gotten himself into an expensive divorce settlement that requires him to twist the truth like abstract wire sculpture . \\ncarrey , who i used to find unfunny , has gotten better at his schtick , even if it\\'s a limited one . \\nhe uses it to great effect in this movie . \\nthere is a scene where he tries to test his ability to lie and nearly demolishes his office in the process ( there\\'s a grin breaking out across my face right now , just remembering the scene ) . \\nhe can\\'t even write the lie ; his fingers twitch , his body buckles like someone in the throes of cyanide poisoning , and when he tries to talk it\\'s like he\\'s speaking in tongues . \\nequally funny is a scene where he beats himself to a pulp ( don\\'t ask why ) , tries to drink water to keep from having outbursts in the courtroom ( it fails , with semi-predictable results ) , and winds up biting the bullet when he gets called into the boardroom to have everyone ask what they think of them . \\nthis scene alone may force people to stop the tape for minutes on end . \\nthe movie sustains its laughs and also its flashes of insight until almost the end . \\na shame , too , because the movie insists on having a big , ridiculous climax that involves carrey\\'s character flagging down a plane using a set of motorized stairs , then breaking his leg , etc . a simple reconciliation would do the trick . \\nwhy is this stupid pent-up climax always obligatory ? \\nit\\'s not even part of the movie\\'s real agenda . \\nthankfully , liar liar survives it , and so does carrey . \\nmaybe they were being merciful , on reflection . \\nif i\\'d laughed any more , i might have needed an iron lung . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there was probably a good reason that the warner bros . studio chose not to allow critics to view this steven seagal film when it first opened . \\nand , after seeing this piece of toxic waste , i now know why . \\nthis movie is by far the worst offering that has hit the screen since possibly those ernest movies years ago . \\nfire down below centers its story on a little mining town in god\\'s country , somewhere in eastern kentucky . \\nit\\'s beauty and natural goodness is being slowly destroyed by an uncaring mining magnate ( kris kristopherson , who constantly looks like he wants to kill his agent for getting him this role ) . \\nit turns out that he\\'s filling the mines throughout kentucky with toxic waste for a tidy profit . \\nseagal plays jack taggert , an aikido-versed , fighting machine , who is an agent with the epa . \\nno . . . not the cia nor the fbi nor the nsa . \\nit\\'s the environmental protection agency . \\ni had no idea that epa agents were trained to be killers ! \\ntaggert is sent to find the perpetrators and to bring them to justice . \\nwritten by someone named jeb , i could already envision the stereotypes of incestuous relationships , banjo-picking preachers , and dumb-as-nails rednecks . \\nbut the script puts seagal right smack dab in the middle of all of these scenarios as he tries to discreetly fit in . \\nseagal\\'s idea of a disguise is a long-length $1000 leather jacket . \\nbut to get closer to the kinfolk , he will fix people\\'s porches for free . \\nthat\\'s another great epa asset - teaching agents how to fix porches . \\nslow and plodding , this project is a total mess . \\nthe sometimes allure of watching seagal is watching him outmaneuver enemies that outnumber and outgun him like in under seige . \\nhere , his bravado basically turns into bullyness . \\ntownsfolk who are foolish enough to challenge seagal are quickly subdued . \\nfight scenes are quick and senseless and offers no enjoyment value whatsoever . \\nand his soap box message wears thin within the first 15 minutes . \\nthe most annoying moment comes when he barges into the middle of a sunday church ceremony , gets behind the pulpit , and beseeches the townsfolk to take control of their lives and to help clean up the environment . \\nbut the epitome of how moralistically mushy this film gets happens when the person responsible for the toxic dumping , kristopherson , meets up with seagal . \\nkristopherson asks seagal how much it will take for him to go away . \\nseagal gallantly replies : \" i\\'ll leave when you take the poison from the streams and the earth . \" \\ni was expecting patriotic music to start blasting and a show of fireworks in the background . \\nthis is truly nothing more than a pompous showcase for seagal\\'s righteousness and narcissistic arrogance . \\nseagal has been vanguard in trying to bring a new genre into the filmplace , that of the enviro-thriller ( on deadly ground ) . \\nhowever , the message will never come across through poorly developed vehicles like this . \\nstill , i believe in preserving mother earth , so save your $5 and please donate it instead to some worthy environmentally conscious charity . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" jaws \" is a rare film that grabs your attention before it shows you a single image on screen . \\nthe movie opens with blackness , and only distant , alien-like underwater sounds . \\nthen it comes , the first ominous bars of composer john williams\\' now infamous score . \\ndah-dum . \\nfrom there , director steven spielberg wastes no time , taking us into the water on a midnight swim with a beautiful girl that turns deadly . \\nright away he lets us know how vulnerable we all are floating in the ocean , and once \" jaws \" has attacked , it never relinquishes its grip . \\nperhaps what is most outstanding about \" jaws \" is how spielberg builds the movie . \\nhe works it like a theatrical production , with a first act and a second act . \\nunlike so many modern filmmakers , he has a great deal of restraint , and refuses to show us the shark until the middle of the second act . \\nuntil then , he merely suggests its presence with creepy , subjective underwater shots and williams\\' music . \\nhe\\'s building the tension bit by bit , so when it comes time for the climax , the shark\\'s arrival is truly terrifying . \\nhe doesn\\'t let us get bored with the imagery . \\nthe first act opens with police chief martin brody ( roy scheider ) , a new york cop who has taken an easy , peaceful job running the police station on amity island , a fictitious new england resort town where there hasn\\'t been a murder or a gun fired in 25 years . \\nthe island is shaken up by several vicious great white shark attacks right before the fourth of july , and the mayor , larry vaughn ( murray hamilton ) , doesn\\'t want to shut down the beaches because the island is reliant on summer tourist money . \\nbrody is joined by matt hooper ( richard dreyfuss ) , a young , ambitious shark expert from the marine institute . \\nhooper is as fascinated by the shark as he is determined to help brody stop it -- his knowledge about the exact workings of the shark ( \" it\\'s a perfect engine , an eating machine \" ) make it that much more terrifying . \\nwhen vaughn finally relents , hooper and brody join a crusty old shark killer named quint ( robert shaw ) on his decrepit boat , the orca , to search for the shark . \\nthe entire second act takes place on the orca as the three men hunt the shark , and inevitably , are hunted by it . \\n \" jaws \" is a thriller with a keen sense of humor and an incredible sense of pacing , tension , and horror . \\nit is like ten movies all rolled into one , and it\\'s no wonder it took america by storm in the summer of 1975 , taking in enough money to crown it the box office champ of all time ( until it was unceremoniously dethroned in 1977 by \" star wars \" ) . \\neven today , fascination with this film is on par with hitchcock\\'s \" psycho , \" and it never seems to age . \\nalthough grand new technology exists that makes the technical sequences , including several mechanical sharks , obsolete , none of it could improve the film because it only would lead to overkill . \\nthe technical limitations faced by spielberg in 1975 may have actually produced a better film because it forced him to rely on traditional cinematic elements like pacing , characterization , sharp editing , and creative photography , instead of simply dousing the audience with digital shark effects . \\nscheider , dreyfuss , and shaw were known actors at the time \" jaws \" was made , but none of them had the draw of a robert redford or paul newman . \\nnevertheless , this film guaranteed them all successful careers because each gave an outstanding performance and refused to be overshadowed by the shark . \\nscheider hits just the right notes as a sympathetic husband and father caught in the political quagmire of doing what\\'s right and going against the entire town . \\n \" it\\'s your first summer here , you know , \" mayor vaughn warns him . \\ndreyfuss , who had previously been seen in \" american graffiti \" ( 1973 ) and \" the apprenticeship of duddy kravitz \" ( 1974 ) gives a surprisingly mature , complex performance for someone who had literally only played kids and teenagers . \\nhowever , most outstanding is the gnarled performance by robert shaw as the movie\\'s captain ahab , a performance sorely overlooked by the academy awards . \\nbordering of parody , shaw plays quint as a grizzled old loner whose machismo borders on masochism . \\nhe\\'s slightly deranged , and shaw\\'s performance is almost a caricature . \\nhowever , there is one scene late in the film , when he and brody and hooper are below deck on the orca comparing scars . \\nquint is drawn into telling the story of his experiences aboard the u . s . s . \\nindianapolis , a navy ship in world war ii that was sunk by the japanese . \\nhis tale of floating in the water for more than a week with over 1 , 000 other men while swarms of sharks slowly devoured them them is actually more hair-raising than anything spielberg put on screen . \\nshaw delivers the story in one long take , and it is the best acting in the film . \\nof course , we can\\'t leave out the shark itself ; with its black eyes , endless rows of teeth , and insatiable urge to eat , it is basically the epitome of all mankind\\'s fears about what is unknown and threatening in nature . \\na shark is such a perfect nemesis it is real -- having survived sinch the dinosaurs , great whites do exist , they can be as large as the shark in \" jaws , \" and they are a threat . \\nevery one of spielberg\\'s subjective underwater shots makes us feel queasy because lets us see how we look to the shark : a bunch of writihing , dangling , completely unprotected legs just ready to be chomped into . \\nthe shark in \" jaws \" was actually a combination of actual footage and five different mechanical sharks ( all nicknamed \" bruce \" by the crew ) built to be shot from different angles . \\nmany have forgotten , but \" jaws \" was a sort of precursor to \" waterworld \" ( 1995 ) , a movie\\'s who soggy production and cost overruns had universal studios worried about a bomb . \\nbut , as we can see now , spielberg overcame all the obstacles , and delivered one of the finest primal scare-thrillers ever to come out of hollywood . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : annoyingly unentertaining , obvious and paper-thin buddy/cop/drug/sexy-witness movie . \\npresence of director michael bay shows none of the talent he demonstrated in the rock . \\ni\\'ve seen this movie already , i said , as i looked at the box art . \\nno , i haven\\'t even seen a trailer for the movie ; i don\\'t even know what it\\'s about , but i can look at the way they\\'re promoting it , and i know i\\'ve seen it already . \\ni thought : it\\'s about these two cops . \\nand they\\'re buddies , sort of . \\nthey\\'re at each other\\'s throats a lot , but they really do like each other . \\nand everyone else in their department hates them \\'cause they\\'re hot-shots . \\nand they have some kind of diametric opposition in their relationship . \\nand one day they\\'re in the middle of cop business as usual when they get mixed up in this plot that involves a really sadistic bad guy with lots of henchmen who can never hit anything with the billions of rounds of ammo they are always carrying . \\nand the bad guy is a drug lord . \\nand there\\'s a witness , and she\\'s this sexy thing who rubs both of them the wrong way . \\nand their supervisor wants their badges for breakfast when they blow up half the town bringing this guy down . \\ni only missed the bit about the badges . \\nthe rest i got dead-on . \\nand i hadn\\'t even left the video store yet . \\nthe cops in this movie are will smith and martin lawrence , and the bad guy is the immensely underutilized tcheky karyo . \\nsmith plays a cop who has a trust fund and is thus not a cop for the money ; martin l . is a family man ( shades of the now-tired lethal weapon dynamic here ) whose wife and he are at total odds . \\nthis leads to some strained scenes about lawrence\\'s \" not getting any \" , and some totally unneccesary bits with him skulking around his own house , thinking his partner is now his wife\\'s \" back door man \" . \\nnot funny ; tiresome . \\nbad boys gets some of its incredibly meager selling points from the presence of will smith and martin lawrence . \\nwill smith is a natural , and i\\'m happy to see him in movies like six degrees . . . \\nand men in black . \\nhe\\'s funny and charming without trying to be ; he really does seem to be enjoying himself . \\nmartin lawrence is a different story ; he\\'s so uptight and verbally constipated that sitting through his improvised riffs are a trial . \\nmovies like this are not about originality . \\ni know this . \\nthey are about style and energy and synergy between actors . \\ni know this , too . \\nand yet , while watching bad boys , which its glamorous photography and impossibly exact stunt choreography , i felt fed up . \\ni\\'d seen con air , which despite being completely implausible , was still great fun , because it tried however feebly to put some new life into the mix . \\nbad boys is a dry run -- and overlong , too , clocking in at just over two hours with a lot more by-play than i felt could be justified . \\ni could write this movie . \\nyou could write this movie . \\nmany people have . \\nmany people will continue to write this movie , over and over again . \\nother people will buy it from them , and make it , and we will pay money to see it . \\nmore the fools we all . \\nin a terrifyingly prescient line from his book a scanner darkly , phil k . dick once mused that the mcdonaldburger ( as he called it ) would eventually eclipse money as the token of cultural and financial exchange . \\none day we will all just sit in our living rooms and sell the same burger back and forth to each other . \\nthe same could be said about this movie . \\ni have the sinking feeling we\\'re going to see it again . \\nsoon . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i heard actor skeet ulrich discussing this film in a couple of interviews , and in both instances , he felt the strange compulsion to compare it a little series of films called lethal weapon . \\nnow , i personally remember those films as a ) starring a major motion picture star b ) being funny c ) having great action sequences d ) great chemistry e ) decent character development . \\nhmmm . . . . okay . . . now on to my review of chill factor . \\nplot : a graveyard shift regular working joe and ice cream truck driver fall onto a malicious plan by an ex-army general , to propose a nuclear device to international prospects . \\nwhen the device suddenly falls into their reluctant laps , they must keep it cool on ice , and rush it over to an army base , before the contraption ticks over 50 degrees fahrenheit , and kills millions of people . \\ncritique : \" speed on an ice-cream truck \" is probably the pitch that was used to sell this one-tone movie to its backers , but unfortunately , the only way that anyone could compare this film to that tension-filled , original two hours of cinema , is in its distinct honor of being the complete opposite of what that film , and the lethal weapon movies , stood for . \\nthis film is seasoned in cliches , with plenty of badly written dialogue , over the top acting from cuba gooding jr . , zero chemistry between the two leads , and horribly tacky bad guys , tossed in to complete an overall bad movie recipe . \\nmy friend and i enjoyed watching this movie to a certain extent , because some of the lines in it were so bad and obviously \" written \" , that we just had to crack up . \\nthat , and the formula for the film\\'s script which followed the proverbial 1-2- , and you guessed it . . . 3 scenario ! \\nand what about all those catchy , hip names to get us to relate to the characters . . . . \" elvis \" \\nand \" nighshift \" , oh what talent lies in the minds of these screenwriters ( and yes , it actually took two guys to come up with this regurgitated drivel ) . \\nit is unfathomable to me as to how actors skeet ulrich and cuba gooding jr . got involved in this one-week-old-blue-cheese-smelling project . \\ndid they actually think that it would boost their careers , or did they know that the script sucked , but discounted any fall from grace , knowing full well that the stack of cash in their back pockets would pad their fall ? \\nmost probably the latter . \\nhave you seen either fled or bulletproof ? \\nwell , despite the slight differences in plot , the essentials are basically the same here . \\nyou get a black guy and a white guy being chased by a bunch of people , having no choice but to work together to get somewhere , hating each other at first , but over time , learning to respect one another as individuals . \\nyawn . \\nadd to that , the fact that our film actually has bad guys who are all dressed in black , drive black cars and black vans , and run around with all kinds of telecommunicative devices sprinkled around their head . \\nnot too conspicuous , eh ? \\ncall me a party-pooper , but as much as i like a nice cheezy movie as much as the next guy , this film just doesn\\'t even try to do anything original or reasonably entertaining . \\none cool scene with a boat careening down a mountainside , and another with a nuclear device obliterating everything on an island , do not a fun , buddy-action flick make . \\nshow cuba the money , everybody ! \\n : ) \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : this is not a little known fact or anything , but damn , is it just me or does skeet ulrich look an awful lot like great-looking actor johnny depp ? \\nskeet\\'s real-life nicknames include chester , skeeter and mosquito . \\nhe stands 6\\'1 \" , was born in north carolina , and got married in 1997 to that sex-kitten actress from clay pigeons ( 7 . 5/10 ) , \\ngeorgina cates . \\nthey own a farm together in virginia and seven dogs . \\nskeet has a long scar on his chest from open-heart surgery done when he was 10 to correct a ventricle defect . \\nactor cuba gooding jr . was born in the bronx , new york . \\nin 1984 , he break-danced during the closing ceremonies of the olympic games in los angeles . \\nhe stands 5\\'10 \" . \\nactress hudson leick , who plays one of the \" bad guys/girls \" in his movie , is better known from her role as \" callisto \" on the popular tv series \" xena : princess warrior \" . \\nthis film reportedly had a budget of $40 million ? ? \\ni\\'m not exactly sure where all this money went , but it certainly did not register onscreen . \\ninterestingly enough , director hugh johnson , who makes his big screen debut with this film , was the cinematographer on the 1996 film white squall and the 1997 demi moore vehicle , g . i . \\njane ( 6 . 5/10 ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'by-the-numbers : a film which introduces characters , situations , dilemmas and developments that we\\'ve seen before in a parade of other films . \\na film which can easily be guessed out by the end of frame number one . \\na film which is packed to the cap with predictability , leading to very little tension , excitement , suspense or interest on the part of its paying audience . \\nin short , a clich ? -ridden formula film . \\nwelcome to my review of the general\\'s daughter . \\nplot : an undercover army detective and a rape counselor find themselves locked inside an investigation into some bigwig general daughter\\'s rape , torture and murder . \\nthey must delve through all of the unspoken army rules and the hush-hushes , to figure out the conspiracy behind the shocking murder . \\ncritique : by the numbers ( see above ) . \\nthis film is just there . \\nit sits there on the big screen for a couple of hours , floats around , goes away , hopefully never to be heard from again . \\nit is so predictable that even a blind man could see its plot points coming a mile away . \\nit\\'s as suspenseful as a leaf dropping from a tree . \\nit\\'s as action-packed as a canadian curling tournament . \\nget the picture ? \\ni sure did . . . it\\'s \\ntoo bad that it took my friend and i less than two minutes to figure out the entire plot , and to break down each scene before it was even completed . \\neasy as pie . \\nit\\'s unfortunate because james woods and john travolta actually have one extremely enjoyable scene together near the beginning of the film , but alas , t\\'was not to be ( that scene alone scored two of my four points allotted . ) \\nwoods chews it up in the few scenes that he\\'s in , travolta passes the test , cromwell plays , well , cromwell , and stowe is window dressing with a smile ( mia since 12 monkeys ( 8/10 ) it seems ) . \\nand this predictability isn\\'t reserved only to those who have seen films like courage under fire or a few good men , it runs deep inside every one of us who knows to suspect someone as soon as they see their obvious guilty mug on the big screen . \\nit\\'s like riding a bike . \\nother scenarios which sponge out any tension , suspense or interest from this film include every single character eventually \" breaking down \" to the investigators without much reason given , a ridiculously placed background relationship between two of the lead characters , as much action as my grandparents bedroom nightly , and a directorial style that can only reward director simon west with a solid nomination for the \" best poor man\\'s michael bay doing his best poor man\\'s impression of tony scott \" ( add two scenes with sunlight shining through some half-open shades for grit and integrity , and an all-out rainfall for the finale for further chaos , and you\\'re a great director . \\nyawn . \\nyeah , whatever tony . . . i \\nmean , simon . ) \\nand aren\\'t we all sick of hearing about these army \" bad boys \" and their overdone \" code of silence \" ? ! \\nenough already ! \\nnext subject , please . \\nsee it on video if you wanna fall asleep after seeing a much better movie like an officer and a gentleman ( 8 . 5/10 ) . \\notherwise , save yourself the trouble and go take a crap instead . \\nyou\\'ll feel much better afterwards . \\ntrust me . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : ironically , john travolta turned down the lead role in an officer and a gentleman , which eventually went to little dickie gere . \\nironically on james woods\\' part , he completed one of his earliest acting roles on tv\\'s \" welcome back , kotter \" , starring none other than john travolta . \\nactor james woods recently confirmed reports of his \" big dick \" on howard stern\\'s radio program . \\nunlike rocker tommy lee , woods is also alleged to have an iq of 180 . \\nhe apparently scored a perfect 800 on his verbal sats and a 779 on the math section . \\nwhat a man ! \\njohn travolta is married to actress kelly preston , and they have a son named jett ( travolta loves them planes ! ) . \\nword on the street is that the kid was apparently conceived during a weekend at demi moore and bruce willis\\' home . \\ndirector simon west\\'s first film was the jerry bruckheimer produced con air ( 6 . 5/10 ) . \\nbefore that , he directed tv commercials including the budweiser ad with the dancing ants . \\nyippee ! \\nveteran director john frankenheimer ( ronin ( 7 . 5/10 ) , \\nthe manchurian candidate ) portrays the character of general sonnenberg in this film . \\nthe imdb reports that when senator robert kennedy was shot at the ambassador hotel in los angeles on june 5 , 1968 , it was his good friend john frankenheimer who had personally driven him there that day . \\nclarence williams iii , who plays colonel fowler in this film , is known to some from his role as \" linc \" in the original \" mod squad \" tv series . \\nyounger folk may remember him as prince\\'s father in purple rain . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" the end of the affair \" is a dark and moody romantic period piece , that neil jordan exquisitely writes and directs . \\nalthough it\\'s slow and sometimes confusing to follow , it still manages to give audiences a moving experience . \\nbased on graham greene\\'s novel of the same name , the film mainly follows 3 characters . \\nthere\\'s maurice bendrix ( ralph fiennes ) who has an affair with henry mile\\'s ( stephen rea ) wife sarah ( julianne moore ) . \\nsarah finds henry to be a bore , because well , he\\'s just a normal guy . \\nit\\'s all work and no play with him . \\nwhile maurice on the other hand falls madly in love with sarah , and would do anything for her . \\nunfortunately the two break up . \\nthis is all witnessed in a serious of flashbacks , so that leads us to the present . \\nit\\'s a few years later , and they both still think of each other , so maurice hires a private detective ( ian hart ) to see what sarah is up too . \\nwhile this may sound straight forward it\\'s not . \\nit\\'s a deep dark tale of the jealousy that lies in the two men , unhappiness , and the ever lasting love . \\nall this may sound like a drag , but it really captures your interest . \\nwith great performances by ralph fiennes ( doing another english patient type of film , only this movie is better ) and julianna moore who definitely deserves an oscar because out of all 5 films she did in 1999 , i believe this was the role , she had the most passion for , and you can see why . \\nthe story was also well written thanks to neil jordan . \\neven though i didn\\'t read the book , there\\'s no doubt in mind that it was just as moving and descriptive . \\nwhat\\'s so moving about it you ask ? \\nthe tragedy of it all . \\nit\\'s not the typical romance , in which a guy finds a girl , they fall in love and all is well , this is more complicated and depressing . \\nit really shows the complexity of a relationship , because nothing is ever perfect . \\neveryone feels a different way and that is what tears us to pieces . \\nback to neil jordan\\'s script , it wasn\\'t only red roses . \\nthere were times when i felt it too be a little slow , but most romances are . \\nit also tended to be a bit confusing , especially at the start . \\nit keep jumping around from past to present , so it obviously took awhile to get a grasp of things . \\nalso a notable was the superb direction by neil jordan . \\ni\\'d have to say this is his finest achievement to date , because quite frankly i\\'ve never really found his work to be up to par . \\nit just never did anything for me , until now . \\nwhen it ends , it leaves viewers a little saddened , but provoked nonetheless . \\nthis is definitely one of the best films of 99 , and had some of the best acting , most notably by moore . \\nnot for all movie goers , but for those who are film buffs and want something of value . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'funny how your expectations can be defeated , and not in good ways . \\nthe ghost and the darkness promised ( at least , it seemed to me to promise ) a hemingwayesque showdown between men and nature . \\nwhat it delivered was mystery science theater 3000-level material -- an inadvertently hilarious story that made me scream advice at the characters . \\n \" get new jobs ! \" \\nwas one line , if i remember correctly . \\nat the end of the 19th century , col . patterson ( val kilmer , whose irish accent comes and goes like an african zephyr ) is an engineer who has been hired to build a british railway bridge across the tsavo river in uganda . \\nhe is having immensely stereotypical problems : the natives are restless , his boss is a jerk , and now two man-eating lions are stalking the work camp and killing people off . \\npatterson tries to handle the situation himself , incompetently , and then turns to charles remington ( michael douglas ) , a hunter of world reknown ( or something like that ) . \\nthe movie stacks the deck so heavily in favor of the lions , they should have gotten top billing and co-starred with siegfried and roy . \\nthey are nigh-invulnerable , as one comic book put it , and this is of course just the excuse the movie needs to have one native after another stepping forth to solmenly recite lines about the power of nature . \\ngive me a break . \\nthe movie hasn\\'t got the wherewithal to even begin to exploit such ideas ; it\\'s just trying to find convenient ways to stall us . \\neven the lion hunts themselves are idiotic . \\nget this : remington\\'s big plan is to build a large scaffold-like structure in the middle of the savannah , sit on it , and wait for the lion to show up . \\nhe does this , and then gets knocked off by a bird . \\nby the end of the movie , the blood vessels in my palm were all broken open from me pounding my forehead with my hand . \\nthe acting is forgettable . \\ndouglas does a good job of portraying a relatively cracked fellow , but it\\'s nothing he hasn\\'t done before . \\nkilmer looks like he wishes he were someone else , somewhere else , and the rest vanish into the cinematography . \\nthe camera , by the way , sometimes behaves so stupidly all by itself that most of the lion attacks are incoherent . \\nwhat did i expect from this movie ? \\ni dunno . \\nsome real excitement , i suppose . \\na sense that there were formidable forces on both sides of this equation . \\nno such luck . \\ni dug out my tattered copy of hemingway\\'s \" the short happy life of francis macomber \" and read that to get the taste of this movie out of my mind . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'writers : dennis feldman and jonathan hensleigh ( based on the comic book by chuck pfarrer ) \\nstarring : jamie lee curtis , william baldwin , donald sutherland , joanna pacula , sherman augustus , marshall bell , cliff curtis , julio oscar mechoso \\ni suppose i\\'m not extremely surprised that \" virus \" comes to us from a deciple of james cameron ( john bruno ) , and if i strain real hard , i could even say that it\\'s an obvious given , particuarly looking from the standpoint of mr . cameron\\'s early works . \\nin fact , \" virus \" is yet another in the long line of action/horror/paranoia thrillers from the \" aliens \" vein : a group of people are dropped into a mysterious situation only to find a mortally-threatening entity is out to get them , a textbook example hailing all the way back to the early talkies , and maybe even to the first pictures , albeit redeveloped by cameron in his 1986 blockbuster that earned him esteem and bigger budgets to come in his future . \\nno such thing will happen to bruno , whom i believe worked in some capacity on that quasi-landmark feature ; while bruno may have studied under cameron\\'s wing for years and years , i\\'m beginning to wonder at what capacity , and what exactly did he learn from him . \\nin fact , \" virus \" should at least be mediocre ; the fact that bruno could have worked under a man like cameron - a director who , if anything , just knows how to make a movie - and then make a film like \" virus \" is just another detraction fairly aimed at this z-grade schlockfest of a film , albeit a z-grade schlockfest with a respectable budget . \\nthe film seems to not only borrow it\\'s plot from last year\\'s similarly-fated \" deep rising , \" but also from a clunkish b-movie from the \\'80s called \" leviathan , \" an underwater thriller starring peter weller , richard crenna , hector elizando , and daniel stern about a group of miners who stumble upon an alien lifeform that was part \" alien , \" part john carpenter\\'s twisted remake of \" the thing . \" \\n \" virus , \" again , has a similar , uh , selling point : a group of sailors on a boat stumble upon a russian cruiser that is dead in the water . \\nthey get on . \\nthey break up into pairs and investigate . \\nand they find an alien lifeform on board that comes in the form of energy , has taken over all the machines on board , have meshed the machines with parts from corpses , and have deemed humankind their enemy because of a misquote in the dictionary ( ha ha ) . \\nnot that any of this is for a second scary or the least bit involving ; not only does this film start off with a chintzy bond-ian opening ( the destruction of the cruiser via a satellite transmission from mir ) , destroying any of the suspense in what could happen , but it also fails to bring us any interesting chracters . \\nof its motley crew , it only choses as its potentially eccentric cast of characters a lead woman skipper , a masculine potential-romantic-interest , a drunken captain , a black technician , a tatooed aborigine , a manic russian survivor , and a couple other candidates for alien food , none whom are the least bit interesting or more dimensional than a thin , plain piece of writing paper . \\nand it\\'s not the traditional argument for films like these , where you may in fact want them all to be eaten ( even \" aliens \" played with the karma of the arrogant soldiers , but this was more of a plus-side for the film as a whole than the opposite ) ; instead , as another cliche goes , you just don\\'t give a damn . \\ni almost don\\'t even have to say that the acting from everyone ranges from sub-par to horrific , the former being jamie lee curtis in the lead showing off what a strong female lead she is ( and she is , just not really here ) and the latter being - and it pains me to say this as he\\'s a particular favorite of mine - donald sutherland , who plays the captain so poorly and without a second of credibility that this will go down as the performance-of-which-he-should-be-ashamed . \\nlike anthony hopkins for \" legends of the fall \" ( the line \" scrooooooo \\'em \" has been thus embroidered upon my membrance ) . \\nor peter o\\'toole in \" caligula . \" \\ngreat actor , horrific performance . \\nit happens every now and then , and it only helps sutherland\\'s career that no one , except for an elite few , even bothered to see this film . \\nthough it has sat on the shelves of universal studios for about two years , waiting until it can be released and make as much money as it possibly can ( read : early january , when everyone\\'s still trying to catch up on the potential oscar-nominees ) , it does show that universal shelled out a pretty penny to make this film : it\\'s laden with complex machinery , boasts respectable production design , and it may even feature believable special effects . . . if , of course , i , or anyone else , could see them . \\n \" virus \" mostly takes place on a large , abandoned cruiser , and mostly at night until the dawn , and mostly without the use of lights , not so much for the productivity of the alien creatures in their pursuit of their human prey , but more so because , as the hollywood cliche seems to go , \" if it\\'s dark enough , then the special effects will be more believable . \" \\nand if you don\\'t believe me , go back and rent \" godzilla , \" and tell me if there\\'s even one shot where we see godzilla either a ) in his entirety in one wide shot , or b ) n the light so that we can at least see him ( well , you don\\'t really have to sit through it again ; just take my word for it ) . \\nbut all of this doesn\\'t matter since \" virus \" is basically just one loud , cluttered mess of a movie . \\nthe action scenes are muddled and as difficult to follow as any action movie i\\'ve ever seen ( my , um , favorite part was the scene where a trio of them end up somehow on the outside of the ship , during a five minute bouillabaisse of tidal waves , rain , and any other ocean-extremeties the film can cook up , then end up back in the ship when one of them is revealed to have apparently drowned - well , i must say , thanks for telling me afterwards because i sure couldn\\'t figure it out when i saw it ) . \\nimagine the first attack of the aliens in \" aliens , \" shot from the pov of the soldiers and then the authorities in the battle car if it was all hard to follow and done without any dramatic intensity , and that\\'s basically the whole of \" virus \" : one horribly-directed action scene after the other , capping it off with a proposterous gadget that saves the day and at least a couple of the original cast members . \\nand my god , it\\'s a long damn sit . \\nwith no interesting characters , no dramatic urgency , no tension , not one good moment of action , and no mesmerizing visuals , it\\'s a wonder that it even got made . \\nwe already know that big movie studios\\' mentality is shallow at best , and movies like \" out of sight \" and \" saving private ryan \" give you more faith in them , but movies like \" virus \" manage to drain a little more out of the pool . \\ni almost wish that instead of making this movie , john bruno had gone cinema verite and captured the meetings with universal heads when they gave this film a green light . \\nthey read the script , they knew they were entrusting millions upon millions of dollars into a director who might have very well been a cameron hack ( and he is ) , and they still went ahead with the project , only to have bruno and company shit back in their face . \\neven though i hold universal in contempt for making this horrible movie , i\\'d say even more contempt should be aimed at mr . bruno for making a movie that could be this bad . \\nin fact , shouts of \" egad , man , what were you doing when you worked for cameron anyway ? \" \\nare not only justifiable , but encouraged . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s been a good long while since we had a good old fashioned thriller , where mostly everything goes right for the audience and wrong for the characters , but it\\'s been even longer since i saw a thriller that actually * shock * cared for the characters , not merely judged them but actually allowed their human foibles , flaws , and strengths to emerge so radiantly . \\ni\\'d saw that it\\'s been at least a couple decades , even as far back to the great hitchcock thrillers , though i\\'m hardly comparing \" a simple plan \" to , say , \" rear window \" or \" strangers on a train . \" \\nyet it\\'s almost as good . \\nit\\'s simple , yet strangely complex , and astonishingly rewarding , because instead of moving from plot point to plot point , and merely laying out they-might-be-caught overtones , it instead concerns itself with the moral corruption and depths of greed that its protagonists can go to , all without ever judging them as either evil or even immoral . \\nelegantly directed by sam raimi ( yes , the same ) , \" a simple plan \" concerns itself with the discovery of a crashed plane and within a bag full of millions of dollars by an upright , moderately financially stable working man ( bill paxton ) , his dim-witted brother ( billy bob thornton ) , and his drinking buddy ( brent briscoe ) . \\nwithout anyone around , and the possibility that no one would come looking for it , the three debate and debate but finally reach the decision that yes , they will keep it , but until any authorities or possible owners of the cash come looking , and so they generally don\\'t flaunt anything they don\\'t want to flaunt , they\\'ll keep it stored away in the custody of paxton . \\nthe possibilites of this circumstance are much diverse : a ) they could endlessly play cat and mouse with the authorities ; b ) they could try to fight off the rightful owners , who are either villainous or just ; or c ) they could fight amongst themselves . \\n \" a simple plan , \" though borrows a little from each of these . \\na little tiff with the cops here , a subplot involving an alleged fbi agent ( a chilling gary cole ) there ) , and a bit of inside feuding over here . \\nbut , as austin powers would say , that\\'s not necessarily its bag ( baby ) . \\nwhat i most admired about this film , and what makes this a far superior and unique thriller is that it\\'s successfully able to have its cake and eat it too . \\nit effectively involves some of the traditional thriller cliches , like the ones mentioned above , but at the same time , it involves itself more deeply with the way the characters become morally corrupt and what price they have to pay to have what they think is happiness in a black duffle bag . \\nso while steps are taken to neatly cover things up , and these subsequent steps go miserably awry , the film choses to never loose the sight that in covering things up to the extent that these characters have to , they are slowly losing their souls and their humanity . \\nin one early scene , paxton and thornton have to make a trip back to the plane to return some of the money so it doesn\\'t look like it was all stolen ( not a bad idea ) , when thornton screws up ( as he does continuously throughout the movie ) , and paxton has to do some major covering-up ( read : homicide ) . \\ninstead of a quick murder and immeadiate hands-washing , raimi shows a lengthy , painful shot from a low-angle onto paxton\\'s face as he tries to sift through his emotions and reach a conclusion . \\nthere\\'s a similar shot afterwards of paxton watching the murder he\\'s committing and taking in all the horror which is also wonderfully effective , but the previous shot is even better : more morally complex and more gut-wrenching . \\nin short , probably the best piece of direction raimi\\'s ever done , demonstrating once again that sometimes the simplest way to do something yields the best results ( for further proof , watch \" persona \" \\'s \" sex scene \" and witness what may be the best scene ingmar bergman\\'s ever done ) . \\nbut the film hardly stops here ; it follows completely through and rarely loses sight of its characters humanity and the depletion thereof . \\nyet it also moves from step to step in such a graceful method that we never feel like the film is merely stamping out the plot points of the story . \\nwhen the time comes for paxton to start becoming selfish and thus diabolical ( with aid from his pregnant wife , played by bridget fonda , a pal to raimi ) , he does , and soon the horror of the situation is escalating to tragic heights . \\nthere\\'s at least two grand shootouts , and at least one of them may be one of the greatest shootouts in cinema history , and when they arrive , they don\\'t come with masochistic delight but with cringe-inducing horror . \\nduring the one , i was actually sinking into my chair , with the mantra \" they can\\'t do this , can they ? \" \\nstreeming through my head . \\nin fact , this film , which is getting many comparisons to the coen\\'s [superior , but forget about it] \" fargo , \" has many similar moments of manic insanity , attributed to the major amount of subtlety and restraint with which the directors direct what , in other hands , would be over-the-top distractedness ( imagine , i suppose , robert rodriguez directing this . . . then \\nagain , after seeing the \" evil dead \" films , i\\'d hardly assume raimi would be able to pull something like this off , although there are moments of the film which are easily dubbed \" raimi \" moments , a rifle-shot notwithstanding ) . \\ninstead , raimi directs with maturity and a gentle touch , easily letting the story and characters co-exist , while still letting some of the more traditional raimi elements come out , like some offbeat comic touches . \\nmost particularly , billy bob thornton\\'s character , jacob , is a brilliant creation . \\nhis dim-wittedness is often hilarious ( for most of the film , every line he uttered was greeted with howling laughter ) , but there\\'s authenticity to the performance that strangely enough makes sure that we\\'re not totally laughing at him . \\nthe chuckles he gets are not necessarily ones of full-condescension because thornton is so damn real . \\njacob\\'s a multi-dimensional character , and while being stupid , we see that as not so much a flaw , but a strength to his character : his simplicity is endearing and many of the acts he commits are out of a strong inner strength and belief system , primarily towards the middle where his bud and co-conspirator begins to make some heavy waves concerning the money . \\nthe final third of the film spends much time with him , and many of the touches upon his character , not only by thornton but also by screenwriter scott b . smith ( adapting his own book , by the way ) are just great . \\ni particularly admired a back story about an old high school girlfriend , told by thornton with such sincerity and acception that the cruel story is reversed to near-sweetness and further strength of his saddened character . \\nthornton is absolutely brilliant in this performance , by far the best performance he\\'s ever given and further proof that he\\'s the best character actor in contemporary cinema ( if you don\\'t believe me , go back and watch his wonderful performance in \" primary colors , \" a performance that would have been nominated for an oscar if this hadn\\'t been in the same year ) because he\\'s easily able to slip into a character , and make him completely and utterly believable . \\nhe brings so much weight to the film that , as it is with most character actors , it\\'s difficult picturing anyone else in the role . \\nthe rest of the cast is great too , from paxton\\'s declining working man to chelcie ross\\' amiable town sheriff . \\neven fonda shows off her talents nicely . \\nand if i had any complaints about the film , it\\'s that the plot is almost too simplistic , and that at times , it seems too much like an exercise , like a cruel test on humanity that still pays attention to the humanity involved . \\nand the occasional narration is , as it usually is , annoying ( narration should be used with extreme caution , especially when you\\'re trying to set things up and/or express emotions - didn\\'t raimi watch the first murder scene ? ) . \\nand , the thing that can most usually go wrong with a movie , the ending is basically amiss . \\ni won\\'t reveal it , but it\\'s way too cruel and too much of an outsider set-up , as if the appearance of a plane wasn\\'t already too much of that anyway . \\nfor a film that deals so much and so intimately with the humanity of the characters involved , this is the wrong ending . \\nimagine a character-controlled ending ; otherwise , it\\'s like if in \" crime and punishment \" if the police had caught him instead of him breaking down and confessing . . . not that i\\'m at all comparing \" a simple plan \" to dostoevsky . \\nthe ending does work , despite my protestations , but to me , there was something incessantly nagging and unsatisfying about it ; but if you had no qualms and were happy as a clam with it , then just ignore me and go about your day . \\nbut despite my mere claims , make no mistake that i was completely and utterly edge of my seat throughout , and even sometimes curdling up by the situations that occured , not because of any kind of gore factor ( which is , thankfully for this , very minimal ) , but because the film places its characters in situations and gives them such painful things to overcome that i\\'ve frankly not seen much like it in quite awhile . \\nat least not since the previous worthy hitchcockian masterpiece . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'most people fit into two different categories : you either love woody allen , or you hate his guts . \\nmy family , for the most part , hates him and his movies . \\ni think he\\'s very funny , but his shtick has gotten forced and contrived over the years . \\nso maybe taking his body away was the best decision any producer could have thought of . \\nunrestrained by physical boundaries , allen\\'s humor comes shining through . \\nthose who had problems with his physical appearance will be able to join the rest of us in laughing at allen\\'s intelligent observations of life . \\nthose who had problems with his verbal comedy may want to skip this one . \\nin 1995 , a film was introduced to audiences which sparked their imaginations and showed them something they\\'d never seen before . \\ntoy story used state-of-the-art computer technology and presented a world of toys who would come alive when no humans were present . \\nmany critics will call that a better film , but i believe they only say that because it was a completely original motion picture . \\nantz , however , has upped the ante considerably . \\ndisney\\'s a bug\\'s life isn\\'t due out for another two months , and dreamworks seems to have received the better end of the deal . \\nby beating disney out , they have satisfied the audience\\'s thirst for computer-animated films . \\nbut don\\'t let that fool you : disney is definitely not scared . \\nin the past two years , competitions have broken out between studios . \\nin 1997 , it was the volcano duel . \\nin my opinion , dante\\'s peak came out way ahead of its predecessor , both in time and in quality . \\nvolcano had an original premise , but destroyed that with some very ridiculous situations . \\nin 1998 , there are twice as many competing films . \\nfirst was the comet competition , and armageddon blew away it\\'s cheesily dramatic competitor deep impact . \\nbut now , it\\'s even more interesting , as one beloved studio ( disney ) goes up against the newcomer ( dreamworks ) . \\nwho will prevail ? \\ntime will tell , but i\\'m sure that mr . mouse has nothing to fear . \\nthis may sound like i didn\\'t like antz ; on the contrary , i\\'d put it up there with toy story . \\nbut due to it\\'s pg rating , many parents may be put off by some of the dialogue which shouldn\\'t appear in disney\\'s version . \\nsome of the dialogue in antz pushes the envelope for a family-oriented film . \\nsexual innuendoes and profanity pop up occasionally , which makes dreamworks\\' animated feature geared more for an adult crowd . \\nthe humor is also written especially for adults , though many kids were laughing in the theater i attended . \\nthis is the type of film that should be made for families more often : entertaining for kids and entertaining for parents . \\nantz begins with a hilarious monologue which seems a meld between woody allen\\'s shtick and franz kafka\\'s metamorphosis , the short story of a man who wakes up to discover himself as a bug . \\nz ( allen ) is a troubled ant , believing he was not made to be a worker . \\n \" when you\\'re the middle child in a family of five million . . . \" he comments about his neglected childhood . \\none night , z is sitting in a bar with his friend weaver ( sylvester stallone ) , discussing his pathetic place in life . \\nin walks princess bala ( sharon stone ) , whom no one recognizes without a crown . \\nbala asks z is he would like to dance , and they engage in a pulp fiction-esque dance while everyone else is following the leader . \\nafter discovering that she is the princess , z falls in love , but there\\'s a problem : bala is getting married to general mandible ( gene hackman ) , a ruthless leader who merely wants to control a better and stronger colony . \\nin order to do that , he must eliminate not only the queen ( anne bancroft ) , but the weakest of the colony , namely the worker ants . \\nbut to get rid of the queen , he needs to get rid of the loyal army ants who would be willing to die for her . \\nhe and colonel cutter ( christopher walkin ) come up with a plan to send the loyal ants off to battle , where they will surely be killed . \\nthe queen is reluctant at first , but decides it is best for the colony . \\nmeanwhile , z wants to meet bala again , and he asks weaver , an army ant , to switch places with him . \\nso z gets sent off to battle , but he manages to survive the slaughter by the termites . \\nthe battle sequence is absolutely stunning , though you may have flashbacks to starship troopers , which contained a very similar sequence . \\nhowever , antz and that 1997 film were both in production around the same time , so the similarities are merely coincidence . \\nthe second half of the film revolves around z\\'s kidnapping of bala , and their search for a mythical place called insectopia . \\nthere , an ant can be his own boss and have all the food he wants . \\nthe adventures z and bala get into are surprisingly high in tension , especially one involving a magnifying glass . \\nlooming over the targets like the spaceships from independence day ( in fact , i\\'m just going to assume that the producers referenced id4 intentionally ) . \\nthe ants look up in awe , and then a beam of fire blasts into the ground . \\nvisually , it\\'s an exciting rush of adrenaline . \\nbut don\\'t be fooled . . . \\nlittle kids shouldn\\'t see this , as they may just try and copy it . \\nafter seeing antz , i vowed never to intentionally step on an ant again . \\nhopefully , children will learn that killing ants is rather cruel . \\nas an animated film , antz is probably the best you will find to date . \\nvisually , it\\'s as stunning as what dreams may come . \\nthe best aspect of animation is the fact that the characters aren\\'t limited by gravity . \\nthey can take ridiculous situations and make them seem plausible . \\none great moment involves a mass of worker ants bunching up to form a wrecking ball . \\nthe animation is so perfect that you can virtually see every single ant on the ball . \\nhowever , the most exhilarating scene involves bala getting stuck to the bottom of a young boy\\'s shoe . \\nit\\'s truly a great example of film making at its finest . \\nwith computer technology , the animators have carefully made the ants\\' faces look similar to the actors providing the voices . \\nthe best example would have to be barbatus ( danny glover ) . \\nat one point , you can even see the pores on his face ( although , i doubt ants have pores . . . \\ndo they ? ) . \\nbarbatus also has a touching but rather gruesome scene as he has his final words with z without a body . \\nyoung kids may be disturbed by the site of a dismembered head , but a good deal of humor is derived ( more appropriate for adults , of course ) . \\ndisney\\'s a bug\\'s life looks good , but i don\\'t know if they will be able to best dreamworks\\' newest animated feature in terms of animation . \\nif not , then dreamworks will have done something no other studio could do : go head to head with the big mouse , and knock him down ( yes , anastasia was good , but not nearly as good as even the worst of disney ) . \\nvocal talent is always essential to an animated feature , and antz has one of the best line-ups seen since toy story . \\nin fact , it far exceeds that one . \\nwoody allen has always been funny , but here he transcends most of what he\\'s done in the past few years . \\nwithout a body , his comic timing is the most noticeable thing . \\nin fact , i\\'m pretty sure that the writers let him improvise a lot of his lines . \\nsharon stone as bala shows off some of her comic ability , though for the most part , stone works best as a dramatic actress . \\nsylvester stallone ( teamed up with stone once again ) is beginning to solidify his statement that he wants to be an actor , not a typecast action star . \\nafter a snub at the oscars last year , stallone is proving himself as the serious ( or comedic , as illustrated here ) actor that he is . \\ngene hackman is superb as the gruff-talking general , almost doing another take on his crimson tide persona . \\nchristopher walkin is probably more noticed by his voice , and so many people will remember him from such hits as batman returns . \\nanne bancroft has a minimal role , but she\\'s effective nonetheless . \\ndanny glover has a small role , but he does a very , very good job . \\ndan aykroyd and jane curtin also lend their voices as two lovesick , euro-trash bees--both are very unrecognizable , especially aykroyd . \\njennifer lopez plays a worker ant who falls in love with weaver , although most people won\\'t recognize her voice either . \\nmany people will recognize grant shaud\\'s voice as the foreman . \\nhe played miles on the tv show murphy brown . \\nthis is definitely a huge cast with some high-profile names , and it will definitely help it\\'s grosses . \\nof course , you can probably tell where a lot of the $60 million budget went to , also . \\ndirectors eric darnell and lawrence guterman are relative newcomers ( though guterman did direct a 1994 feature , headless ! ) . \\nbut both show an incredible talent for this type of a picture . \\ntense at times , and very funny throughout , the two hold this film together like professionals . \\nthe screenplay by todd alcott and chris weitz is quite simple in plot , but it contains a lot of subtlety that makes the film more suitable for adults . \\nkids will delight in the animation , while parents can laugh heartily at the humor . \\nmost of it will go over young children\\'s heads . \\ndoes that mean you shouldn\\'t take kids to see it ? \\nnot at all . \\nthey will have a lot of fun watching this one . \\nwhat is great is the themes that are given to us . \\npart social commentary , part romance story , and part moral drama , antz gives everyone something to talk about , whether it be the animation , or the discussions of individualism and community . \\nthankfully , it\\'s not subtle in either aspects . \\nantz is rated pg for mild language and some intense action . \\nsometimes the language can be pushing the limits for a family movie , but the violence is what should keep kids at home . \\nthe battle scene has ants melting in acid , and bugs being speared to death . \\nand the magnifying scene shows an ant disintegrate in the beam of sunlight . \\nbut other than that ( and some sexual innuendos ) , it\\'s a perfect choice for some wholesome fun at the theaters . \\ni doubt many children will understand the sexual innuendos unless they are old enough , but it\\'s still advisable to leave really young children at home . \\nhave i confused you enough ? \\nif you do take your kids , i recommend seeing the film with them , because more than likely , you\\'ll enjoy it the most . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'jessica lange is one of the most inconsistent actresses working today . \\nfrom time-to-time , she blows away audiences with powerful , intense performances . \\non the other hand , this is the same woman who made her jaw-droppingly awful feature debut in dino delaurentiis\\' king kong . \\nand , much as lange would probably prefer movie-goers to develop amnesia regarding that particular entry on her resume , every once in a while she does work that is reminiscent of it , if only in quality . \\nhush is one such example . \\nlange is so bad here that she might have been fun to watch if the rest of the film wasn\\'t such a prime example of motion picture tedium . \\nthe film opens , as many so-called \" psychological thrillers \" do , by posing as a light drama . \\nwe are introduced to jackson ( johnathon schaech , last encounter in tom hanks\\' that thing you do ! ) and helen ( gwyneth paltrow ) , a picture perfect young couple who are very much in love . \\njackson is taking helen home for the holidays so she can meet his mother , martha ( lange ) . \\nthe moment i first saw martha , i started looking for fangs . \\nsoon , the wicked witch of the east is plotting a way for her son to get helen pregnant ( this involves poking a hole in a diaphragm ) . \\nonce that goal is accomplished , she manipulates events so that the expecting couple moves out of new york city to the horse farm where she lives . \\nas long as she gets her way , martha is a perfectly amicable person , but when helen defies her , it\\'s a declaration of war . \\nhush has three very simple problems : it\\'s incredibly dumb , it\\'s incredibly boring , and it\\'s incredibly predictable ( at least up to the stupefying ending ) . \\nthis film has absolutely nothing to recommend it , with the exception of a couple of nice shots of snow-covered fields and a quick glimpse of gwyneth paltrow\\'s bare buttocks . \\nfrankly , it\\'s embarrassing to watch a respected actress of lange\\'s stature give a performance like this -- it\\'s like a bad blanche dubois ( the role she played in a 1995 tv version of a streetcar named desire ) . \\nmeanwhile , paltrow does her best to get through her dialogue without gaping at the stupidity of some of her lines , and schaech attempts a passable imitation of an inanimate object . \\nas in all psychological thrillers , the battle lines are clearly drawn . \\nhere , it\\'s mom and against wife , with jackson caught in the middle . \\nof course , since schaech\\'s character is poorly-developed and badly acted , it\\'s impossible to say how he feels about being in that situation . \\nmaybe someone should ask him if he\\'s familiar with oedipus . \\nmartha is , of course , the evil one . \\nhow do we know she\\'s evil ? \\nshe smokes cigarettes and drinks hard liquor -- two sure signs that the devil is at work . \\non the other hand , helen is a good girl . \\nthe evidence for this is that she\\'s nice to old ladies and treasures a locket with a picture of her dead parents . \\nthat\\'s about it for character development . \\nbeyond that point , hush is just a series of increasingly hard-to-swallow coincidences , contrivances , and moronic plot twists . \\nhowever , the first 85 minutes are just a warm-up for the ending , which is as anticlimactic as it is profoundly dissatisfying . \\ni can\\'t imagine anyone , no matter what they thought of the movie as a whole , liking this conclusion . \\neither there was some serious last-minute editing or someone left out a few pages of the script . \\nbefore the climax , i disliked hush ; by the time the end credits started , i hated it . \\nviewers invest something in every movie they watch , no matter how good or bad it is . \\ncheating them like this is offensive and unpardonable . \\nmost entries into this worn-out , worm-eaten genre aren\\'t especially good . \\nfilms like consenting adults , the hand that rocks the cradle , and single white female rely on stock plots and predictable twists to propel the narrative along . \\nin general , however , they\\'re directed with a degree of competence that assures a level of sustained tension . \\nthat\\'s not the case with really bad thrillers like this , which fail to generate even a momentary heart palpitation -- the characters are too bland and the plot is too uninvolving for anyone in the audience to care . \\nindeed , the title of this movie probably refers to what the producers hope viewers will do in lieu of telling their friends what they really think of this sorry piece of celluloid . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'm : i-2 , the sequel to mission impossible , is a james bond wannabe film , but it fails to even come close to that film in wit , humor , and entertainment value . \\nit tries to be a spy/romance movie , but without any suspense the film just looks like it\\'s an extended commercial for dudes who think they look cool in throwaway sunglasses . \\nit is a film that prefers techie gadgets to anything human . \\nthe coolest thing about this movie , was all the holes it had in its story and the most trite thing about the movie , was the usage of doves throughout as peace symbols . \\nthe film plays as if it was a wet fantasy dream about techie violence . \\nexcept for the choreographed action sequences , the film was dull for three-quarters of its time , filled with too many dead spots in its story to garner concern about its wooden characters or the superficial romance that developed . \\nas for the action scenes , they might look good to those who are converts to violence in their films , but their advertisement for sadistic responses , is nothing short of mindless cartoon violence , which makes it very difficult to sit back and applaud without feeling put off by the gratuitous cruelty seen . \\nm : i-2 opens and closes with fast-paced action scenes , but it is hard to get past the middle part which just drags on in banal dialogue . \\nthe film looks as if it had been invaded by a computer virus , at that point . \\nthe only thing that kept me awake , was the horrible music composed by hans zimmer that became very loud at any of the film\\'s supposedly momentous action scenes and seemed to make an uninteresting scene even more noticeable in the wrong way . \\nit\\'s a mega-buck film adapted from a popular high-tech gadgetry tv series . \\nbut its artistic success is an impossible task to accomplish because it hired the wrong director and actors to star in it , and it failed to produce a story that had any substance . \\njohn woo ( \" broken arrow \" / \" face/off \" ) is good at doing car chases , choreographed fights with midair flips and kung-fu kicks , slo-mo shots of two guns blazing , and of fire explosions , but he just can\\'t seem to handle dialogue and suspense . \\nthe star of the film and co-producer , tom cruise , and his romantic interest , thandie newton , are miscast . \\ncruise is no james bond and looks more like a yuppie than a superhero in his stylish long hair and innocuous smile , as he tries to carry off this macho role , while thandie is not an action-film girl , and seems like a fish- out-of-water in this one . \\ntheir romance didn\\'t work , not only was it tepid and not sexy , but it wasn\\'t convincing . \\nthe film opens with dizzying speed , perhaps with the hope that a befuddled audience is its best bet for success . \\nwe will be in three different locations instantaneously : sydney , the american southwest , and seville . \\nfirst , we are in sydney , australia , where a scientist with a muffled russian accent , dr . nekhorvich ( rade ) , mentions that he created a deadly killer virus called chimera and an antidote for it . \\nhe also mentions that every hero needs a worthy villain . \\nwhich explains the film\\'s mythic theme . . . as \\nwe enter the world of comic book myths on good and evil . \\nthe one who played the villain , dougray scott , does so in a one-dimensional gruff tone , which did not distinguish him in that role . \\nat least , if the film got the villain part right , it might have had some fun with this nonsense . \\nsoon the diabolical scientist is on a plane talking to someone he trusts called dimitri , but then the plane is taken over by terrorists who set it on automatic pilot and crash it into the rocky mountains . \\nbefore they crash the plane and parachute out of it , the one who was posing as dimitri , turns out to be sean ambrose ( scott ) , a rogue member of the imf , which is a cia-like clone . \\nhe steals the package with the antidote , peels off a latex mask , which is a replica of the hero of the story , ethan hunt ( cruise ) , who had posed as dimitri to the scientist before and had thereby gained his trust . \\nsean and his group of terrorists carry out this attack because they plan a virus plague on the world and then to sell the victims the antidote at marked up prices . \\nwe already saw the gimmick of peeling masks used in face/off and in the original mission impossible , which as convoluted a plot as that film had , it was still a superior film to this sequel . \\nwoo has run this peeling mask routine into the ground , as it is used so often in this film by both sides , so much so , that it blurs any ethical character differences between good guy or villain . \\nit makes it seem as if anyone could be another character , which distorts the reality of the film and makes it impossible for the film to make much sense . \\nnext we are in a mountain range in the american southwest , and ethan is on vacation , hanging by his fingertips while climbing and looking cool , when a helicopter with his boss anthony hopkins aboard , delivers via a rocket launcher , a pair of talking sunglasses . \\nhunt learns his next mission is to retrieve the chimera package and he is allowed to pick two regular imf agents to help , billy baird ( john polson ) and luther stickell ( ving rhames ) , with luther running a high-gadget computer , but he also must get a jewel thief named nyah hall ( thandie ) to join his team . \\nhe is told , as an incentive to recruit her , all her criminal charges will be dropped . \\nhopkins then signs off with the tag line : this message will self-destruct in five seconds . \\nactually , with the departure of hopkins , it was this disposable film that actually self-destructed at this point . \\nin seville , hunt recruits nyah into the team in the middle of a jewel heist and a subsequent car chase , where he nearly runs her audi sports car over the side of a mountain road . \\nhe also falls for her when this was only supposed to be a business deal , and learns that she is valuable because her ex-boyfriend was sean ambrose and that he still wants to f * ck her . \\nthe imf team then inject a location tracer chip into her to spot sean so she can go f * ck him , as she leads them to his hide-out in the seaside of australia in which he shares with his sneering villainous cohort , the south african , hugh stamp ( richard roxburgh ) . \\nrobert towne , the screenwriter , who contributed to the first \" mission , \" who is noted for doing \" chinatown \" -- writes a colorless , pedestrian script , one that fails even to be funny in a camp way . \\nthe terrorists , who aim to rule the world , are interested in owning 51 percent in a biotech company and in getting stock options , as they plan to infect sydney with the virus and have their company sell the antidote , insuring that they will make billions on the stock . \\nethan comes to the rescue of the world and of nyah , with his only conflict being who is more important to save first . \\nethan does this rescue against all odds , as he finds a way to penetrate a security tight biotech company , fight it out with sean and the other terrorists , and rescue nyah , who injected herself with the virus to hinder sean\\'s getting it , as the only way to transport the virus is through another person or from the vaccine needle . \\nethan rescues her by doing stunt riding on a motorcycle , using kick-boxing , winning a shootout , throwing a full john wayne supply of grenades at the terrorists , making some more use out of that peeling mask bit , and by being completely fearless and larger than life , while he kick\\'s everyone\\'s ass . \\nif i was only entertained by this . . . i \\ncould have lived with it . \\nbut this film was so badly made , that it was like watching a highlight film of a basketball game , seeing only the slam-dunks , but with the game itself being excluded from the telecast . \\nin any case , this is a critic-proof film , and will in all probability do well in the box office , as it was made to appeal to all the demographics who find commercial ventures like this one easy to buy into . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'take two old and dying men , a lifetime of regrets , a house full of sins , a thoroughly despicable man , enough lies , insecurities and other character defects to keep a team of psychiatrists gainfully employed , then add a inexplicable meteorological and amphibian-based phenomenon and you will have summed up magnolia , the newest film from paul thomas anderson ( boogie nights ) . \\nthe movie tells multiple stories , weaving them together , or overlapping them during the course of its three hour running time . \\nwould that the stories were worth the telling . \\nearl partridge ( jason robards , a thousand acres ) is dying of cancer . \\nbedridden , in much pain , it is obvious that his time is growing short . \\nhis much younger wife played by julianne moore ( an ideal husband ) is surprised to find herself struggling with his impending death . \\nhaving married for money , she discovers that she has actually fallen in love with the old guy and regrets having cheated and lied . \\nearl regrets having cheated on his first wife and estranging himself from his only son ( tom cruise , eyes wide shut ) , now a misogynist self-help guru who teaches men how to \" seduce and destroy , \" his sexual and vulgar perspective on male/female relationships is so over-the-top as to be utterly unbelievable . \\nmeanwhile , jimmy gator ( philip baker hall , the insider ) is also dying of cancer . \\nnot as physically incapacitated as earl , jimmy is still able to perform his duties as the lovable host of a long-running quiz show which pits adults against children . \\nthe current whiz-quiz-kid is stanley spector ( jeremy blackman in his film debut ) who is tired of the pressure of performing and is willing to call it quits . \\non the other hand , quiz kid donnie smith ( william macy , mystery men ) would like nothing more than to return to the spotlight when he was a \" somebody . \" \\nhis pathetic life is souring as he can no longer capitalize on his brief 15 minutes of fame which stanley is all too eager to relinquish . \\njimmy has his own family crisis as his drug-addict daughter ( melora walters , boogie nights ) refuses to have anything to do with him for reasons which are not disclosed to us until the end of the film . \\ngrabbing at one last attempt at happiness she reaches out to a softhearted cop ( john c . reilly , never been kissed ) even as she tries to push herself away from him because she deems herself not worthy of his affection . \\nthis dysfunctional group carries on for what seems to be an interminable two-thirds of the movie . \\nand then it gets worse , literally raining frogs . \\nyes , frogs . \\nassuming it to be an intended deus-ex-machina device , it is an ineffective one because it doesn\\'t seem to faze the characters much . \\noh , they may step gingerly around the splattered frog corpses littering the streets , but otherwise , the frog shower didn\\'t seem to change their behavior or pattern of living ( or dying ) . \\nthere is simply too much going on in this movie and most of it is distasteful to watch . \\nmr . anderson further obscures the film by incorporating a loud and intrusive sound track that often drowned out the dialogue , a character who apparently rapped a significant clue to a plot development which was completely unintelligble , and a heavy handed segment of \" historical \" occurances containing ironic twists which set up absolutely nothing . \\none of the recurring themes is found in a line donnie quotes : \" we may be done with the past , but the past is not done with us . \" \\nthis is an absolute lie . \\ngod is in the forgiveness business . \\nin fact , as we humbly ask for forgiveness and repent or change our offending mindset , god\\'s word says that he not only forgives , he also forgets . \\n \" i , even i , am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake , and will not remember thy sins . \" \\nisaiah 43 : 25 [kjv] \\nthe spiritual one who keeps bringing up our unrighteous past is the same one who wants to keep us in a state of condemnation . \\ndon\\'t let him . \\nnext time your spiritual adversary reminds you of your past , take great pleasure in reminding him of his future . \\nhe hates that . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i remember really enjoying this movie when i saw it years ago . \\ni guess my memory really sucks . \\nthere is very , very little that is funny in caddyshack . \\nthe laughs are few , and far between , and what there are really aren\\'t that great . \\ncaddyshack , as the name implies , more or less centers on one young caddy working at an exclusive country club . \\nmichael o\\'keefe plays said caddy . \\nwhy they cast this unknown , fairly untalented actor in the lead role is completely beyond me . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t seem to have a real plot , just a series of scenes that are little more than opportunities for the rest of the cast to mug at the camera . \\nthe only real story , if you can call it that , was a subplot involving the mentally disturbed greens keeper , bill murray , who is having his own private little war against a gopher who is ruining the course . \\nmost of the marginal laughs come from rodney dangerfield and ted knight mugging and overacting for the camera -- with painfully limited success . \\nbill murray is slightly amusing in places , but fairly wasted . \\nthe biggest waste of all is chevy chase , who didn\\'t even crack a smile on my face with his character\\'s lame zen-like approach to golfing . \\nthere are a few decent scenes involving the interaction between dangerfield and knight , but they are far too infrequent to carry the movie . \\ni guess that\\'s what you get for basing a story around an unknown kid . \\ni\\'m not sure what the writers of this thing were thinking of , but i really think it was something far removed from comedy as they were putting pen to paper . \\nnothing about this movie works . \\nit wouldn\\'t have taken a genius to figure out that this thing wasn\\'t going to fly . \\nmost of the scenes just couldn\\'t possibly be funny . \\nit\\'s as if the writers where off in their own little brain damaged world . \\ni\\'m sure scenes involving chevy chase and his oneness with the golf ball were supposed to be funny . \\nin reality , they were painfully embarrassing to watch . \\nthere is a scene at the club pool where all the caddies go wild for the \" hot babe \" of the movie walking by in her bikini . \\nolive oil would have filled out this swimsuit better than this girl . \\neverything about this movie was just completely implausible as far as the comedy was concerned . \\nmaybe if you were drunk out of you mind or high off some sort of illegal narcotic this thing might be funny . \\nbut for the rest of us , stay the hell away from caddyshack . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'chris tucker is one of those guys you immediately get a reaction from -- you either find his helium voice , crazy eyes and jerky mannerisms funny or annoying . \\ni think i fall into the former category ( i\\'m one of the few who thought his turn in \" the fifth element \" as a prancing , prince-like deejay was complete inspired lunacy and not the least bit aggravating ) , but his new vehicle \" money talks \" just doesn\\'t do him service . \\ntucker is good in the movie -- and this is the kind of film that , if people see it , could make him a big star -- but he\\'s also really the only thing good about the movie . \\nin fact , if you see \" money talks , \" it should shock you beyond recognition that two of \" toy story \" \\'s writers penned the sloppy script . \\ntucker\\'s role here is that of franklin hatchett , a petty los angeles con artist whose carwash scams get him dogged by investigative reporter james russell ( charlie sheen ) . \\nafter being busted on the job for some illegal business involving counterfeit passports , franklin finds himself on a bus to the county jail and handcuffed to slick international jewel smuggler raymond villard ( gerard ismael ) . \\nbut villard\\'s thugs blow up the bus in an attempt to free their leader ( never mind that the explosion could have instead killed him ) , and because he and franklin are joined at the wrist , franklin is allowed to escape as well , but not before overhearing some important information regarding a diamond stash that -- for some reason or another -- is being hidden in a vintage roadster waiting to be auctioned off at an upcoming auto expo . \\nthe local media mistakenly puts the prison break-out blame on franklin , which is where james comes back into the picture . \\nhe makes a deal to protect franklin if , in turn , franklin gives him an exclusive interview . \\nthis means james must present his new \" friend \" in the stickiest of situations -- a formal dinner party for he and fiancee grace ( heather locklear ) , also attended by her uber-rich parents ( veronica cartwright and nicely game paul sorvino ) . \\nand of course the bad guys track franklin down and try to knock him off , all the while he spars and forms an unlikely bond with james . \\n \" this ain\\'t no buddy movie , \" claim the print ads . \\nyeah , right . \\nactually , for the better part of , oh , 20 minutes , it appears \" money talks \" has the momentum to cover entertaining ground , and this is mostly due to the presence of spastic motormouth tucker . \\nthis is tucker\\'s first leading role , and if you imagine a slightly lankier , african-american jim carrey with a reliance on wild r-rated raunch rather than pg-13 physical comedy , you have a good idea of the conviction with which he assaults the role . \\nbut you realize all too quickly that tucker\\'s overstated liveliness is the only thing \" money talks \" has going for it . \\nand a lively actor alone does not a successful movie make . \\nit\\'s all too easy to pick out everything wrong with \" money talks . \" \\nthe plot is recycled buddy-buddy comedy-thriller tripe that seemed overused even when \" nothing to lose \" employed it last month . \\neverything is paint-by-numbers , especially the los angeles coliseum finale , which finds not one , not two , but three separate enemy factions firing at franklin as they pursue him through the bleachers . \\nthe villains , as many as there are , are dull . \\ncertain story elements are too coincidental . \\nand too much of the film\\'s dramatic agenda is played too straight . \\na scene where grace confronts james after learning franklin\\'s true identity ( \" you brought a killer into my parents\\' house ! \" ) \\nis extremely silly . \\nyou get the picture . \\nobviously , i did not have a pleasant experience at \" money talks . \" \\nbut the people around me appeared to be having a rip-roaring good time ( one gentleman several rows behind me chortled with such expressive conviction i began fearing for his health ) . \\nbut tucker , at least for me , is a pretty funny guy , and aces the movie\\'s best scene , where franklin passes himself off as vic damone\\'s son at james and grace\\'s engagement bash and toasts the couple with barry white lyrics . \\ntucker\\'s audience -- and he does have one -- will probably like \" money talks . \" \\nthose who he irritates , however , will have a more productive day staying home and scraping the gook out from under their toenails . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in 1995 , brian singer and christopher mcquarrie dreamed up a simple concept : the audience isn\\'t stupid . \\nfrom that , they went on and created the most plot-driven , intricately pieced movie in the last 25 years . \\nthe result : the usual suspects , one hell of a movie that redefines the word plot twist . \\nthe story is convoluted , and is really confusing to read , although easy to follow on screen . \\nspecial investigator kujan ( chazz palminteri ) grills \" verbal \" kint ( kevin spacey ) , a crippled con-man who is the lone survivor of an la boat explosion that claimed more than 20 victims . \\nkujan wants to confirm that his nemesis , the rogue cop keaton ( gabriel byrne ) , is actually dead . \\nkint relates the majority of the film in flashback , beginning with the fateful day when five shifty guys meet in a police-station lineup in new york city . \\nalong with dour keaton , kint encounters cheerfully sociopathic mcmanus ( stephen baldwin ) , mordantly sarcastic hockney ( kevin pollak ) , and fenster ( benicio del toro ) , whose speech is virtually incomprehensible . \\ntogether they plot to steal a small fortune in gems from \" new york\\'s finest taxi service \" --crooked cops who provide escort service for visiting drug kingpins . \\nwhat follows is a shell-game of violence and betrayal , all hinging on the identity of a mysterious villain called keyser soze . \\nthe film is brilliantly compact : its the shortest 90 minutes you\\'ll ever spend in a movie theater . \\nthe cast is exceptional . \\npalminteri shines , he is brutally honest , a true cop , one who is going after the whole story because its there . \\nbyrne is terrific , his brooding character , his seriousness is needed to supplement the hysteria of benicio del toro , who is a riot as fenster . \\ndel toro is brilliant , his lines are a jumbled mess , you can\\'t understand a word the man says , but it sure is damn funny . \\nbaldwin is also very good , he is careful , methodical , and cold , a chilling character with a nasty streak of hot-blooded sarcasm . \\npollak is also terrific as usual , a very good character actor . \\nhowever , this will be forever known as the film that launched kevin spacey . \\nspacey is simply breathtaking , he is a force on screen , giving a magnetic performance that jars the senses at the end of this twisting maze . \\nspacey\\'s performance will be remembered for years , for it is the best of his career , it may be the best supporting actor performance in the last 50 years . \\nverbal kint is a clever storyteller , weak , oppressed , and gleefully evil to the bone , yet pitiful , one who draws sympathy . \\nthe film is a good one , a decent film until the last 10 minutes . \\nwhat this film boils down to is the greatest ending in cinematic history , for me at least . \\nthe revelation of keyser soze , the closing gunfights , it is something wondrous . \\nyou have to see this movie about 10 times to believe what they do . \\nkudos to mcquarrie and singer for giving the audience a delightful , fast-paced , furiously plot-driven movie with quirky characters , phenomenal acting , and some hilarious moments stuck in the middle . \\nmcquarrie refuses to believe the audience is dumb . \\nwithout furnishing too many details , he concocts his story and lets it run , hoping the audience gets it at the end . \\nwe do . \\nthis might just be the finest cinematic puzzle ever created . \\nkudos also to singer and john ottman , who created the score . \\nthey both create what is a true film-noir setting , carefully setting up this intricate puzzle until the final , jarring ending . \\nthere are flaws : more questions raised than answers , lack of character development , and no strong female characters ( save one ) . \\nhowever , the plot , and that stunning ending , make up for all the flaws and more . \\nif you haven\\'t seen the movie , rent it . \\nwatch it . \\nthen rewind the tape , and watch it again . \\ntrust me , you\\'ll be amazed . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"according to hitchcock and various other filmmakers , isolated motels , diners , gas stations and similar establishments in american southwest can be rather dangerous place for weary travellers . \\nat the beginning of eye of the storm , 1991 german- american thriller directed by yuri zeltser , one of such places becomes deadly for their owners who get murdered during the stick up . \\nten years later their son steven ( played by bradley gregg ) , who was blinded during the incident , still runs motel together with his older brother ray ( played by craig sheffer ) . \\nhardly anything happens there until alcoholic and abusive william gladstone ( played by dennis hopper ) gets stranded there with his attractive wife sandra ( played by lara flynn boyle ) . \\ntheir unexpected presence creates the chain of the events that would end in bloodshed . \\nyuri zeltser , author of this film , was obviously inspired by hitchcock's psycho , but he chose to add some new and potentially interesting elements to the original plot . \\ninstead of norman bates we have two brothers - one of them traumatised physically , another mentally . \\nsexual tension between beautiful female patron and shy motel clerk is heightened with the presence of alcoholic husband . \\neye of the storm is impressive in visual sense , with photography by karl walter lindenlaub providing a lot of claustrophobic atmosphere . \\nthe acting is fine - hopper , gregg and boyle are comfortable with their roles , but sheffer at times overacts his psycho routine . \\nunfortunately , eye of the storm , which was supposed to be intense psychological drama , deteriorates into cheap and predictable slasher flick during melodramatic finale . \\nin the end , this film reminds us that original approach can't prevent filmmakers from wasting too many opportunities . \\n ( special note to the profiler fans : ally walker appears in the beginning of the film in the small role of killer's girlfriend . ) \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'if you\\'re the type of person who goes on the submarine ride every time you visit disneyland , you\\'re going to love the hunt for red october . \\nyou\\'ll also love the film if you enjoy cat and mouse military tactics , or if you\\'re a sean connery or alec baldwin fan , or if you admired director john mctiernan\\'s earlier films , die hard and predator . \\nin fact , the only people likely to be disappointed with the hunt for red october are those who have read the book , since films almost never live up to the novels which inspired them . \\nthe hunt for red october is an epic thriller , adapted from tom clancy\\'s best selling novel . \\nset in an era before glasnost , the movie revolves around a top-secret soviet submarine , called the red october . \\nthe nuclear sub has a revolutionary propulsion system , which makes the vessel silent and allows it to escape sonar detection . \\nthe red october embarks on its maiden voyage under the command of captain marko ramius , played by sean connery . \\nramius has strict orders just to test the submarine , but he has other ideas . \\nhe takes the sub and its crew and disappears into the atlantic ocean . \\nis he planning to start world war iii ? \\ncia analyst jack ryan doesn\\'t think so ; he\\'s convinced that ramius plans to defect to the u . s . ryan , played by alec baldwin , is given three days to prove his theory and find the missing sub . \\nthe characters in the hunt for red october are paper thin , but the performances , thankfully , are rock solid . \\nbaldwin and connery anchor the film with their customary vigor . \\nsam neil gives a sturdy performance as connery\\'s somber first officer . \\nit\\'s ironic to see neil and connery playing russians , since they are both best known for their roles as british agents , connery as james bond and neil as reilly , \" ace of spies . \" \\nthe large cast also includes scott glenn , james earl jones , tim curry , and joss ackland , plus richard jordan as the smooth u . s . national security adviser . \\nthe special effects are remarkable , but more than anything , the hunt for red october is distinguished by its water-tight plot . \\nscreenwriters larry ferguson and donald stewart have gracefully navigated red october through a story line full of twists and turns . \\nthey keep us involved in the action by unveiling plot strands at just the right moment . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t get as sweaty or breathless as die hard , because it would rather tell a good story than hit you over the head with non-stop action . \\nthe finale is rousing and suspenseful , but essentially , the hunt for red october is a superior potboiler . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'what do you get when you slap together a movie based on a story by the legendary george lucas , directed by virtuoso director steven spielberg , and starring one of the biggest box-office stars in the world , harrison ford ? \\nyou get one hot-fudge-rockin\\' good time , that\\'s what you get ! ! ! \\nplot : professor/archeologist indiana jones sets out to find the long-lost mystical ark of the covenant before the nazis get their grubby fingers hands on it . \\nadventures , snakes , romance and mucho action ensues . \\ncritique : astounding movie packed with non-stop action , stunts galore , an interesting story line , great one-liners , a solid cast , a catchy musical score , and all the fun and adventure that you could squeeze into a two-hour thrill ride . \\nif you don\\'t enjoy this film , then you just don\\'t like action movies , period ! \\nif you\\'re young , you\\'ll enjoy its humor , its cool action sequences and its gross-out factor at times . \\nif you\\'re a little older , you\\'ll appreciate the interesting plot line , the romance , and yes , the mountains of adventure . \\nwatching this movie made me feel like a kid again , dreaming and fantasizing about fighting the bad guys , travelling to different countries , making the impossible , possible ! \\nharrison ford is perfect as the every-man with the brains of a scientist and the brawn of an outdoors adventurer , and spielberg manages to achieve the ideal balance of action , fun , adventure and humor . \\nnow if you really want to have a good time , check into this movie on the same night as its two sequels , rent a jug of iced coke , truckloads of nachos and salsa , an adventure hat and whip , and prepare to gag yourself into a world of action-movie heaven ! \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : this picture was nominated for eight 1981 oscar nominations , including best picture . \\nit lost that award to chariots of fire , but did manage to win for best art direction , best special effects , best film editing and best sound . \\nactor tom selleck was originally cast as indiana jones , but was committed to his hit tv show , \" magnum p . i . \" . \\nin filming the well of souls sequence , the producers scoured every pet shop in london and the south of england for every snake they could lay their hands on . \\nhence there are snakes that are identifiable from many different geographical areas . \\nhowever , once all the snakes were on set , it became clear that there were not nearly enough of them , so spielberg had several hoses cut into lengths , and these were used as well . \\nlooking closely , you can tell which are the real snakes and which are not . \\nan early draft of the script had indy travelling to shanghai to recover a piece of the staff of ra . \\nduring his escape from the museum where it was housed , he sheltered from machine gun fire behind a giant rolling gong . \\nalso in the same script , indy and marion flee the chaos caused by the opening of the ark in a wild mine-cart chase sequence . \\nboth of these scenes were cut from the script , but ended up in 1984\\'s indiana jones and the temple of doom . \\nthis film begins with a shot of a peak in the jungle which is reminiscent of the paramount pictures logo . \\nthe same type of opening is present in its sequels . \\njock\\'s airplane at the beginning of the film has the registration number \" ob-cpo \" . \\nthis is a reference to obi-wan and c-3po from george lucas\\' star wars ( 9 . 5/10 ) . \\nalso , the hieroglyphics in the well of souls include engravings of r2-d2 and c-3po . \\nthey can be seen on a post to the right of indy and sallah as they remove the ark . \\nthe script originally included a long fight between a swordsman and indiana with his whip . \\nas legend has it , actor harrison ford was suffering diarrhea at the time , and asked if the scene could be shortened . \\nspielberg said the only way he could shorten it was if indy pulled out his gun and just shot the guy . \\nthe entire crew laughed and that\\'s how it was filmed . \\nwhen indy first falls in the well of souls and is face to face with the cobra , you can see the snake\\'s reflection on the glass dividing it and harrison ford , also some fingerprints and stuff like that . \\nwhen indy is dragging along the ground , hanging onto the nazi soldier\\'s truck with the ark inside , you can see the pad that he\\'s being dragged on . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'october sky is a rare oddity in cinema : a self-proclaimed \" uplifting \" film that is actually uplifting ! \\nbased on the autobiographical book by homer hickam , rocket boys , october sky tells the struggle of four boys reaching for their dream . \\nit\\'s 1957 , and for the boys of coalwood , west virginia , there\\'s not much hope of a rosy future . \\ncoalwood is a coal mining town , and , except for the few lucky ones who manage to escape on a football scholarship , most of coalwood\\'s boys are destined to work in the mine . \\nbut , in october 1957 , an event happens that sparks one boy to dream . \\nthe launch of the soviet satellite sputnik sets homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) to dream a future of rocketry and space travel . \\nof course , homer\\'s parents ( chris cooper and natalie canderday ) aren\\'t quite sure what to make of their son\\'s unusual interests . \\nhomer gets his strongest encouragement from miss riley ( laura dern ) , a teacher in his school who also informs him about the scholarships offered to the winners of a national science fair . \\nand so , with stars in his eyes , and thoughts of scholarships in his head , homer enlists the help of three other boys ( william lee scott , chad lindberg and chris owen ) and begins to build a rocket . \\nbut , do these four backwoods boys even have the slightest hope of escaping their destiny ? \\nthere is a lot that could have gone wrong with october sky . \\nnearly every sequence flirts with becoming syrupy and cliched . \\nhowever , miraculously , october sky avoids nearly all of these pitfalls , making the exact right moves at the exact right times . \\na film emerges which manages to be powerful and moving without slipping into the gauzy haze of nostalgia or sliding down the sugarry slope of sappiness . \\njake gyllenhaal is outstanding as the kid at the center of this film . \\n>from the outset of the film , he is immediately likable , and never seems too corny or brainy as to alienate the audience . \\nunfortunately , while october sky focuses on homer , the other three kids get the short end of the stick . \\nthey remain little more than placeholders reading \" insert friend here \" . \\nof the adults in the film , chris cooper is the most fully realized character . \\nthe film never paints him as merely the villainous parent standing in the way of his child\\'s dreams , but , instead , shows the multihued portrait of a man who wants the best for his family and town , but is too stubborn to realize what that is . \\ndirector joe johnson deserves much credit for successfully navigating the many obstacles that october sky manages to dodge . \\nhowever , there are still a few occasions when he allows things to proceed just a step too far . \\nscenes which were natural and inspiring start to become contrived and artificial . \\nhowever , these lapses are minimal , and johnson quickly steers the movie back on course . \\nthe problem with many so-called \" uplifting \" films is that they attempt to force their mediciney goodness down your throat . \\noctober sky never resorts to that level , and yet , manages to become a truly uplifting film purely on its own merits . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'steve martin is one of the funniest men alive . \\nif you can take that as a true statement , then your disappointment at this film will equal mine . \\nmartin can be hilarious , creating some of the best laugh-out-loud experiences that have ever taken place in movie theaters . \\nyou won\\'t find any of them here . \\nthe old television series that this is based on has its moments of humor and wit . \\nbilko ( and the name isn\\'t an accident ) is the head of an army motor pool group , but his passion is his schemes . \\nevery episode involves the sergeant and his men in one or another hair-brained plan to get rich quick while outwitting the officers of the base . \\n \" mchale\\'s navy \" \\'s granddaddy . \\nthat\\'s the idea behind this movie too , but the difference is that , as far-fetched and usually goofy as the television series was , it was funny . \\nthere is not one laugh in the film . \\nthe re-make retains the goofiness , but not the entertainment . \\neverything is just too clean . \\nit was obviously made on a hollywood back lot and looks every bit like it . \\nit all looks brand new , even the old beat-up stuff . \\nmartin is remarkably small in what should have been a bigger than life role . \\nin the original , phil silvers played the huckster with a heart of gold and more than a touch of sleaziness . \\nmartin\\'s bilko is a pale imitation . \\nthe only semi-bright spot is phil hartman as bilko\\'s arch-enemy . \\nit\\'s not saying much , considering martin\\'s lackluster character , but hartman leaves him in the dust . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a common complaint amongst film critics is \" why aren\\'t there more literate scripts available ? \" \\nquiz show gives signs of hope that the art of writing isn\\'t dead in hollywood and that we need not only look to independent films for thoughtful content . \\npaul attanasio\\'s script takes what could have been a tepid thriller ( the quiz show scandals of the late 50s ) and delivers a telling parable about the emptiness of the post war american dream and the golden bubble that surrounds and protects tv networks and their sponsors . \\nthe film is riddled with telling symbols ( e . g . \\na \\'58 chrysler , a radio announcement of sputnik ) but is never heavy handed . \\ndeft direction by robert redford and keen performances by ralph fiennes , john turturro and rob morrow dovetail perfectly with the carefully honed script . \\nredford departs from the usually overlight , \" cable tv quality \" sets and camera work so common in recent 20th century period pieces . \\nquiz show perfectly captures the colors and textures of the eisenhower years . \\nalthough i was only 4 years old when the \" twenty one \" scandal broke , enough of the 50s icons survived throughout my childhood for me to recognize the authenticity of redford\\'s almost tangible palette . \\nfrom plastic covered furniture to carefully coifed contestants , the images ring true from that era of rampant consumerism , of a generation that had gone through 15 years of depression and world war without \" disposable income , \" before the manifestation of its american dream . \\nthe film deftly weaves several themes together , from assimilation and exclusion of jews from \" the good life , \" to the lengths that a scion of a literary family will go to to match his father\\'s fame . \\nthough the 50s audience that is \" rocked \" by this scandal may initially seem naive to us , they should appear all too familiar , with our current national passion for the rise and fall of icons like michael jackson or tonya harding . \\ncharles van doren and herbie stemple were the overnight mega celebrities of their day . \\nthe tv audience is almost a fourth main character , always at the center of the decisions being made on their behalf . \\nat the film\\'s end , the credits roll past slow motion footage of that same 50s tv audience , mindlessly laughing at some piece of fluff . \\nlike the distorted mirror that captured a blurred swastika at the end of cabaret , this \" mirror \" may reflect an image we\\'re not all that comfortable with . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the start of this movie reminded me of parts from the movie stargate . \\npeople are looking around in an egyptian temple reading about some dangerous thing that is going to destroy earth in the future . \\nafter a sort of confusing bit involving fake-looking cyborg things , the movie jumps into the future and the movie improves by leaps and bounds . \\nthe basic idea behind the movie is that every once in a while ( make that every 1000 years or so ) an evil force comes to destroy earth . \\nthe things needed to defend against this menace are the four elements of nature plus the fifth element . \\nthe plot in this movie really isn\\'t that important to the thing though . \\nthis movie has very good special effects , for the most part . \\nthe techno-ish music in the background fits the mood very well . \\nbruce willis is an illegal taxi-cab driver in a futuristic new york city . \\none day a lady draped with a few bandages drops down into his trunk . \\nthis movie is about what happens . \\nthe plot twists are interesting and the movie never fails to present the viewer with a variety of different locations . \\nalso there is a fair bit of action in the film , particularly towards the end . \\nsome characters are just plain strange including a highly-energetic deejay in drag . \\nbruce willis does his normal job of blowing things away like he always does . \\nthe movie is definitely watchable and rarely slows down . \\nit is one of those sci-fi films where you\\'ll be saying \" cool \" followed by a \" what the hell ? ! ? ! \" . \\ni give the fifth element . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"not so long ago , men by the names of peckinpah , ford , leone , and eastwood made westerns . \\nreal westerns . \\nthese were some of the best films of the twentieth century . \\nthose days are gone . \\nnow we have crap like wild wild west to pass for the western . \\nand that record is not improved with the unbearable tale of american outlaws . \\noutlaws is yet another re-telling of the jesse james legend , courtesy of b-movie king james g . robinson ( producer of such classics as wrongfully accused and chill factor ) . \\ndelayed since the spring , this version stars the irish hunka hunka burning love colin farrell ( the best part of schumacher's tigerland ) as the bad-ass jesse james . \\nalas , any sense of his character has been left on the ranch , leaving us with only cute chicks like ali larter ( minus the whipped cream ) to watch . \\nthe spin this time around : fresh from serving as southern militiamen in the civil war , jesse james ( farrell ) , his brother frank ( gabriel macht ) , and his pal cole younger ( scott caan ) lay down their arms and head home to missouri to tend the family farms after the war has ended . \\nbut trouble is brewing in their small town of liberty when evil railroad baron thaddeus rains ( harris yulin ) and his cronies rollin parker ( terry o'quinn ) and allan pinkerton ( timothy dalton ) demand the boys turn over their lands to the railroads . \\nthe jameses and the youngers then join forces to fight the railroad -- by robbing banks up and down missouri , thus cutting off the railroad's financial surplus and playing robin hood to the local people . \\nalong the way , the boys squabble over who's the cutest of the gang , who's the most popular cowboy in the gang , and who ought to go on mtv's total request live . \\nthey rob numerous banks with identical interiors , always with the kindest of hearts , strutting in their grungy dusters as moby songs play in the background . \\nthe witty banter they share could be plastered within a hallmark card . \\nthe biggest disappointment here lies in the acting of colin farrell . \\nafter a great job in tigerland , farrell walks through this role easier then nicolas cage in gone in 60 seconds . \\nand his american accent rivals richard gere's irish accent in the jackal . \\ncombined with feeling like bonanza : the teen years , this homogenized production ( toned down to get the ever-popular pg-13 rating ) gives us an invincible jesse james that quickly grows tiresome and boring . \\nthe unbearable villains courtesy of timothy dalton and thaddeus rains spend the entire film proclaiming that everyone should be hanged , sucking out any energy left in the film . \\nnot to mention : the real story of jesse james and his gang bears no resemblance to the plot of american outlaws . \\ninstead , the movie is full of old , outrageous tales about the wild west -- tales which went out of style in 5-cent magazines about a century ago . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the swirling sick feeling hit me just a few minutes into \" heartbreakers . \" \\nray liotta\\'s character was making out with his secretary when his new wife knocked on the door of his office . \\nwhile scrambling to collect himself , he frantically shouted to her , \" just wait a sex ? er , i mean sec ! \" \\ni was struck by a wave of revulsion , thinking , \" geez , didn\\'t lines like that die when \\'three\\'s company\\' was canceled ? \" \\nover the next few minutes , as the barely double entendres and lingering cleavage shots grew more numerous , i realized that the mindset behind \" heartbreakers \" predated \" three\\'s company . \" \\nsuddenly , i had an out-of-body experience as my internal way-back machine swept me to the mid-1960s . \\nall across america , the counter-culture was growing like wildfire , but there was scant evidence of it on tv . \\nwhile young people were challenging traditional values on the streets , frustrated teenagers like me were stuck at home , sulking while our parents enjoyed the latest bob hope special . \\nwomen in skimpy bathing suits would prance onscreen while hope made growling noises and leered at their breasts . \\non another channel , dean martin made wisecracks about \" booze and broads \" and peter lawford , decked out in love beads and a nehru jacket , purred suggestive one-liners as he ogled the go-go dancers . \\nthe adults laughed and laughed . \\n \" heartbreakers \" reeks of that stagnant mentality , from its lingering shots of jennifer love hewitt\\'s vah-vah-voom breasts to its leaden screenplay , which paints women as haughty schemers and men as drooling buffoons too sex-obsessed to realize they are being manipulated . \\nin addition to liotta and hewitt , the cast includes sigourney weaver , gene hackman , jason lee , nora dunn and anne bancroft . \\ni can\\'t imagine what drew performers of their caliber to this project . \\nperhaps they thought it was a parody of the sniggering sex comedies of the \\'60s . \\nif so , they were sadly mistaken . \\nthe story revolves around a mother-daughter con-team . \\nit opens with the marriage of max ( weaver ) to dean ( liotta ) , a new jersey chop shop operator . \\nhaving withheld sex until the honeymoon , max pretends to pass out on their wedding night . \\nthe next morning , she feigns illness , sending a very horny dean off to the office , where he ends up in the arms of his new secretary . \\njust as the two are about to get overtly physical , max bursts into the room and catches them . \\nthe \" horrified \" bride dissolves the union , garnering a healthy cash settlement along the way . \\nof course , the secretary was really her daughter page ( hewitt ) and the whole thing was a set-up . \\nthe women move on , but an irs agent ( bancroft ) catches up with them and demands a huge amount of money to cover unpaid taxes . \\nin desperate need of funds , max and page head for palm beach to replay the scam . \\ntheir mark this time is william b . tensy ( hackman , in hideous make-up ) , a decrepit tobacco tycoon obsessed with the joys of smoking . \\nmax starts to put the game into action , but page is so repelled by the old man ( and angry with her mom ) that she slips off to enact her own score , targeting jack , a laid back young beach bar owner who is worth a fortune . \\ncomplications arise when page realizes that good-natured jack is stirring actual emotions in her steely little heart . \\nas if that wasn\\'t enough , dean reappears on the scene with revenge on his mind . \\nthe attempt to weld a romance onto a caper comedy served only to remind me of the infinitely superior \" a fish called wanda . \" \\ni won\\'t bother to compare the two . \\nsuffice to say that everything done right in \" wanda \" is done wrong here . \\n \" heartbreakers \" is soulless , inept and , at 123 minutes , at least a half-hour too long . \\nsigourney weaver and jennifer love hewitt throw themselves into their parts , but have nowhere to go with the metallic characters . \\ngene hackman is utterly wasted in a one-note , one-joke part that has him doing nothing but smoking , coughing and waxing rhapsodic about smoking and sex . \\npoor jason lee is stuck in the ingenue role and the normally charismatic actor comes off as merely bland . \\nray liotta manages to squeeze a tiny bit of humanity and humor into his walking clich ? , but only a bit . \\nthe low point in the film has weaver employing a russian accent bad enough to make boris and natasha wince , while doing half-assed slapstick with a broken off penis from a statue . \\nbear in mind , though , that this is merely the worst segment of a movie made up of nothing but low points . \\nif you remember bob hope specials with fondness , this might be your cup of tea . \\nas for me , i\\'m going to watch \" a fish called wanda \" now and try to forget i ever saw \" heartbreakers . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'with the sudden liberal emergence of personal privacy abounding in the news lately , what with that whole clinton thing going on ( you know , 100 million bucks to discover the president got boinked by an intern - oh , please , government , waste my taxes just a bit more , would you ? ) , \\nit\\'s about time tony scott helmed the newest action pic disguised as an important if not slightly ignorant social statement . \\nwith this and \" crimson tide , \" he\\'s created two successfully chilly films that are interesting , exciting , even pretty smart , but never totally riveting as cinema , and the problem i think with each of these films is that each film is too obsessed with its message to ever be really satisfying , and too obsessed with looking all cutting edge to ever be totally smart . \\nthat film dealt with a civil war inside a nuclear submarine over whether or not to follow rules or question them , and was appropriately scary and all , but never totally thrilling or overly brilliant . \\n \" enemy of the state \" is the same way : it\\'s engrossing for its entire running time , and it\\'s scary the way that it shows a man\\'s decent into kafkaism , but it\\'s too technical . \\nit\\'s too cold and not as fascinating or exciting as it could be . \\nit casts will smith , one of the better big budget leading men in movies these days because he\\'s charming and witty and never uninteresting , and hopes that his charisma can make up for his character not being well developed enough to really be a person . \\ni hate to do this , but last year\\'s film \" the game \" got it damn perfect : it casts michael douglas as a deeply flawed human being , a man who is cold and has cut off everyone from his life , and then pulls everything he thought he had as a security blanket away from him and watched what happened . \\nthe result was not only a film that was exciting and chilling , but also the best mindfuck of the entire year . \\nnot that i want every kafkaesque film to be \" the game \" ( this year\\'s \" the spanish prisoner \" succeeds with less thrills and chills ) , but it should be an example of what works and what doesn\\'t . \\nwill smith\\'s character is , frankly , too perfect , at least too movie perfect . \\nhe had an affair with another woman ( lisa bonet , ha ha ) , but his relationship with his wife ( regina king ) is basically fine regardless . \\nhe has a kid , and he\\'s raking in money as a lawyer , albeit a very good and reasonably moral one . \\nso he generally doesn\\'t have any real problems as a human being , and is therefore boring . . . except that he is played by will smith , who embodies him with about as much will smith charm as he can without entering \" id4 \" / \" men in black \" territory . \\nhe\\'s a good dramatic actor ( just see the first half hour of \" six degrees of separation \" for proof of this , not that he isn\\'t great the whole time ) , and here , he makes his character likable and sympathetic without any real strain on his character , which makes the film lack any real deep interesting qualities . \\nsmith becomes involved in a mass conspiracy involving the assasination of a senator opposed to a government law that would create world surveillance , extinguishing privacy as we know it from the world , under the pretense that it would make crime easier to control , when he is passed a disk of the event caught on tape by an outside party ( a nature observer played by , uh , jason lee ) . \\nthe government wants the disk , and is prepared to destroy his life to get it . \\nas smith\\'s plight is dramatized , we are introduced to the masterminds who surveillance him , sitting in vans disguised as other businesses , staring at computers and pulling out tricks faster than a speeding bullet . \\nthese guys ( played by jack black , jamie kennedy , and seth green ) are the most interesting part of this film because they\\'re , well , fascinating : they\\'re doing their jobs , which are evil , but the film doesn\\'t view them as such , and they almost become our friends . \\nwe like these guys for the sole reason that the film doesn\\'t automatically judge them as the villains . \\nthey\\'re also scary because we get the idea that they\\'re not fully aware of the impact their jobs have on the world . \\nit\\'s as if they\\'re obsessed with their jobs , not because they\\'re evil , but because , hey , it\\'s a fun job , and no one else can do it like them . \\nunfortunately , this also backfires a bit on the film : instead of being the flashlight in the darkened room that \" the game \" was , you see everything , and are thus not as freaked out because you know what is going on . \\nsure , you\\'re chilled , but you\\'re not exacty freaked out by what\\'s going on . \\nbut what do you expect from tony scott , the man who never met a five-second piece of film he ever liked . \\nhe\\'s a not-bad director because , hell , he is always interesting to watch ( if not occasionally moronic - exhibit a : \" days of thunder \" ) , but the reason he\\'s not great is because he\\'s too technical and calculated . \\nhis shots are perfectly executed , and leave nothing to the imagination , and they\\'re always making sure you\\'re paying attention . \\nthis is incredibly annoying , and it reduces \" enemy of the state \" to a mechanical mishmash of flashy images that never expand the mind at any great depths , but still manage to entertain without any real problems . \\ndespite never actually becoming great , it\\'s never actually boring and it\\'s always intriguing . \\nwatching the government set-up smith is endlessly fascinating , and since we care about smith\\'s likeable protagonist , we are set-up for a good two hours worth of tom clancy-esque entertainment . \\nadd the best big cast this side of the annual woody allen film ( everyone from gabriel byrne to dan butler pop up for cameos ) , and you\\'ve got a good old fashioned escapist drama which does all the thinking for you so that you never have to actually question the debate over personal privacy and so you can follow will smith\\'s plight without a minute\\'s worth of boredom . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in present day hanoi , three sisters reflect on their parents\\' relationship while trying to define their own in writer/director tran anh hung\\'s ( \" the scent of green papaya \" ) \" the vertical ray of the sun . \" \\nyoungest sister lien ( tran nu yen-khe ) greets the day with hai ( ngo quanq hai ) , the only brother whom she rooms and relentlessly flirts with . \\ntheir morning ritual of tai chi and lou reed precedes crossing the street to eldest sister suong\\'s ( nguyen nhu quynh ) cafe , where lien works , for breakfast . \\nthe three sisters lovingly prepare their mother\\'s memorial banquet of traditional delicacies , prepared as much for look as taste , while giggling over the differences between the sexes . \\nafter the family breaks from the banquet , we learn that suong\\'s young son \\'little monkey\\' is doted upon , but there\\'s a distance developing with her husband quoc ( chu ngoc hung ) , who\\'s leaving for one of his habitual botanical photography trips . \\nmiddle sister khanh ( tran manh cuong ) tells her writer husband she\\'s pregnant before he leaves on a trip to saigon to research tuan , a mysterious man in his mother-in-law\\'s past . \\nlien keeps crawling into hai\\'s bed at night , causing him to fall out of it . \\nthe initial serenity we witnessed starts turning into a soap opera before coming to full circle one month later , as the three women prepare their father\\'s memorial banquet . \\n \" the vertical ray of the sun \" is a contemplative piece where strong passions exist underneath calm exteriors . \\nsly humor , self deceit and harsh truths all exist in the cyclic screenplay . \\ntran anh hung and his cinematographer mark lee ping-bin ( \" flowers of shanghai \" ) linger over and repeat the small gestures of everyday life - a wife washes her husbands hands , a woman makes water dance in a bowl , a man pulls his lover to face him before they part . \\nsmall spaces such as rooms , alleys and courtyards create intimacy . \\nthe color green , symbolizing life and tranquility , is used heavily in the film\\'s visual styling , lapsing into yellowish hues and blues . \\nwriter/director tran anh hung\\'s film recalls ang lee\\'s \" eat drink man woman , \" another tale of three sisters of varying modernity coming together traditionally for a parent . \\nbut while lee\\'s more traditionally story-driven film resulted in radical changes for all concerned , \" the vertical ray of the sun\\'s \" characters strive for peaceful harmony . \\nwatching it is like trailing your fingertips in a stream on a cool spring day . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the classic story & the production which ruined it \\nmarking the centennial anniversary of the 1896 h . g . wells classic , new line cinema , armed with a stellar cast and expert make-up effects man stan winston ( alien , predator , terminator etc ) churns out yet another hollywood film based on the classic novel . \\nof course , the production is no doubt much more superior compared to the earlier 2 movies , one of which was made back in the 1933 and the other in the 1977 , under the title the island of lost souls ( sounds like a much better title . . ) . \\nthe story begins with edward douglas ( thewlis ) , a un representative sent to oversee a peace treaty somewhere in the south pacific , who is saved from the brink of death by montgomery ( kilmer ) after his plane crashes into the sea . \\ndouglas soon learns that montgomery is working for dr . moreau , who incidently , owns the island and also a reputable geneticist who has been awarded the nobel prize . \\nhis host\\'s reluctance to allow him to freely move around the island becomes clear when he stumbled into moreau\\'s lab , when a monstrous birth was in progress . \\neven worse , the other workers in the lab are not exactly normal \" people . \" \\ndouglas stumbles across yet another shocking discovery when he is led to the beast-people community , which considers dr . moreau their maker . \\nusing shock-therapy and the law , dr . moreau has long been able to keep his beast-people civilised to some extent but there are a few animal-men who are just too savage to be controlled . \\nthe island of dr . \\nmoreau questions the ability of men playing god . \\ndr . moreau is a man obsessed with creating a race of beings which is free from hate and violence . . . but the savage within every beast is not something one can suppress for long . \\nmoreau has no doubt a very interesting premise within its grasp . \\neven so , the production has failed to make the most out of it . \\nthere are too many characters to put your attention to and the worst thing is , the characters are not \" prioritized \" so when the audience is led to believe that a particular character is important , before they know it , he or she or it perishes . . . . rather \\nungloriously at times too . \\nperhaps there is some redemption in the development of the beast people , especially aissa ( balk ) , the most human of moreau\\'s creations . \\nthe two very important characters , montgomery and dr . moreau himself receive no development at all and it is in this area that the script fails miserably . \\nmore screen time could have been used for character interaction and development . \\ni really would have liked it better if , say , they delved more into dr . moreau\\'s obsession , montgomery\\'s purpose in the story and justification to as why the beast-people had to rebel . \\nmaybe the nature of the screenplay , which incidently , does not incorporate much action sequences in the film , forced the filmmakers to \" cut a long story short \" and make it more of an action film than anything else ( it\\'s still summer , and movies have to be \" marketable \" ) . \\nthe special effects too , are really nothing for anyone to shout about . \\nat most , i would say the beast-men looked just a bit more realistic than those apes in planet of the apes . \\nthis h . g . wells classic really has potential to be a good film . \\nunfortunately , after 2 adaptations , they still could not decide on how and what to focus their attention on to really bring out that important message which makes up the entire essence of the story . \\nas a third outing , the island of dr . moreau \\naccomplishes little and is nothing more than an inferior version of `the planet of the apes\\' . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the keen wisdom of an elderly bank robber , the naive ambitions of a sexy hospital nurse , and a partnership that blossoms between the two are the fine components that make up a modest , little caper adventure entitled `where the money is . ' \\nthe elderly bank robber is henry ( paul newman ) , a famous criminal that was only recently caught . \\nhe has pulled off dozens of successful heists and has probably stashed away a small fortune . \\nalways the shrewd thinker , he begins working on a plan to get out of jail . \\nthis involves years of studying buddhism and self-hypnosis . \\nwhen he is prepared to execute his plan , he uses what he has learned to fake a stroke . \\nnow a seemingly twitching vegetable , he is temporarily transferred to a state-run home . \\ncarol ( linda fiorentino ) is the nurse that cares for him . \\nshe's a very bright person with a good heart . \\nyet , her life is a miserable waste of time . \\nthe most exciting thing to do in town is to fix cars . \\nher days at the hospital facility are spent leading wheelchair calisthenics . \\nworse , she's in a dead-end relationship with high-school sweetheart wayne ( dylan mcdermott ) . \\nthey became a couple because they were king and queen of the prom . \\nto her , this made sense long ago . \\nbut now , it's a different story . \\nwayne seems equally bored with his life , but is content enough to stay put . \\nwayne's greatest ambition is to become a night shift supervising foreman . \\ncarol feels as lifeless as many of the other hospital patients , but she's never been anywhere else and doesn't see many other opportunities in life . \\nhowever , when henry falls under her care , her outlook begins to change . \\nthe medical reports may state that he suffered a massive stroke . \\ncarol , however , begins to grow suspicious that henry may just be faking it after all . \\nmaybe she can get through to him , and maybe she can learn something about the money that he has stashed away . \\nthe opening 30 minutes are filled with hilarious attempts of carol trying to bring henry ? back to life . ' \\nand what are some of carol's resuscitation techniques ? \\nperhaps an erotic lapdance might stir his senses . \\nif that fails , maybe she'll try a little shock therapy by pushing him off a 20-foot high pier into the cold lake below . \\nwhen he finally comes out of his state of self-trance , the movie's direction changes , though it remains equally if not more entertaining . \\ncarol sees that henry is filled with charisma and self-assuredness . \\nshe is invigorated by his commanding presence and refreshed by his vibrancy . \\nthis , of course , puts wayne in an odd situation . \\nhenry and carol's bond grows stronger when they enter into an agreement to rob an armored car . \\nhenry needs this heist because he is unable to retrieve his original stash . \\nmeanwhile , this is carol's ticket to a better life . \\nwayne is uncomfortable with the situation , but helps out nonetheless . \\nhowever , his lack of commitment threatens their success . \\nthe heist sequence is suspenseful , well paced , and casts the uneasy feeling that something will horribly go wrong . \\n`where the money is' does more to spotlight newman and fiorentino than it does to showcase a story about a nifty heist . \\nnewman is the real joy of the film , adroitly showing that at age 75 , he's still really hot stuff . \\nhe possesses a sly smile , displays a dominating attitude , and a projects a demeanor that is undeniably attractive . \\nfiorentino is also a fun presence . \\nyou root for her despite her sense of amorality . \\nsure , she wants to commit robbery and has little compunction about pushing a wheelchair-stricken man into a lake , but we can see that to escape her dead-end world , she needs to do something drastic . \\nwith two charismatic characters such as these , it's hard to ignore that `where the money is' is where the fun is . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"mr . nice guy is the latest jackie chan film , so you should know what to expect . \\na weak plot , terrible dialogue , very little acting ability , but some jaw-dropping action sequences that nearly make the rest of it worthwhile . \\nhowever , mr . nice guy lacks the sparkle of jackie's best efforts , and its weaknesses are more glaring than ever . \\njackie chan plays , who else , jackie . \\nthis time out , he's a famous chef who hosts an australian cooking show . \\nnot that it ever makes a difference in the plot . \\nthere are only two scenes of him cooking . \\nfor the rest of the film , somehow he mutates into jackie chan , supercop . \\nit never does explain why his character has such superb martial arts skills . . . perhaps he was in the same cooking class as steven seagal in under siege ? \\na tv newswoman , diana ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) , covertly tapes a drug deal involving kingpin giancarlo ( richard norton ) and a local gang of toughs , the demons . \\nalthough she only has one camcorder , somehow the result is full of close-ups and multiple angles . . . hmmm , \\nshades of broadcast news ? ? ? \\nanyway , the goons discover diana , and will do anything to recover the tape . \\nhere lies another crucial flaw in the story : doesn't anyone realize you can copy a tape ? \\noh well , no one ever said jackie chan movies had to make sense . \\nas luck would have it , diana runs across jackie , and , wouldn't you know it , jackie accidentally ends up with the tape . \\nthis leads to countless chase and/or fight scenes which look like they could have been lifted from rumble in the bronx or nearly any other jackie chan movie . \\nin a move apparently designed to woo american ( and other english-speaking ) audiences , the film uses english as its primary language . \\nhowever , that doesn't mean an end to the atrocious dubbing that has afflicted jackie's recent americanized releases . \\nstrangely , many of the characters speaking english are overdubbed with english , and poorly too . \\nwhether this is just a very bad case of looping , an effort to minimize accents , or a simple case of nostalgia , it does achieve the same level of distraction present in all of jackie's dubbed films . \\nthe plot in mr . nice guy is negligible , merely an excuse to have jackie on the run from various goons . \\nbut even though plots have always been second to the action in jackie's films , it seems odd that the filmmakers have stuck us with this tired retread . \\nlook , if you have jackie chan playing a chef , why not use that to your advantage ? \\nwatching jackie doing his stuff in a kitchen , beating the bad guys with foodstuffs sounds like the perfect setup for innumerable comic stunts . \\nthe action is a mixed bag here . \\nthere's really only one no holds barred fight scenes that have become the trademark of jackie's films . \\nit takes place in the arbitrary location of a construction site , apparently for the sole reason that there are lots of nifty things lying around that can be useful ala jackie chan . \\nthe action in the film is neither jackie's best nor worst , but you long for some more inspiration in the scenes . \\nthe film's gratuitous use of slow motion is distracting . \\nonce or twice , it may be useful to highlight a spectacular stunt sequence . \\nbut to slo-mo jackie running ? \\neither this is a nod to the six-million dollar man , or a pathetic attempt to disguise the fact that jackie may be slowing down . \\nif you've seen all of jackie's films and are in need of another fix , go ahead and see mr . nice guy . \\nhowever , if you're just in the mood for some good action , you'd be better off hitting the video store for some of his better work , such as supercop . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'plot : derek zoolander is a male model . \\nhe is also very dumb and impressionable . \\nfor that reason , he is secretly hired and trained ( so secret , that even he doesn\\'t know about it ) by an underground fashion syndicate to assassinate the prime minister of malaysia , who wants to abolish child labor in his country . \\nwill zoolander fulfill the dirty deed ? \\nwill zoolander ever grace the world his new \" look \" ? \\nis this a funny movie ? \\nfind out below . . . \\ncritique : there\\'s a place in our world for \" stupid comedies \" . \\nfilms which don\\'t pretend to take themselves seriously , are based on idiotic premises and filled with dumb jokes . \\nthere\\'s also a time for them and many would argue that this difficult period of our history , might be an ideal circumstance during which to \" relax \" by watching something so completely frivolous . \\nwell , if you\\'re in the mood for some seriously mindless entertainment , ben stiller and his cast of many have assembled one of the more original dumb comedies in some time . \\nof course , comedies as such are usually very subjective and i could see how some will see this film simply as stupid and unfunny , while others will grant them the \" stupid \" , but consider it funny instead . \\ni personally enjoyed it for the most part , cracked up loudly during a couple of specific sequences and loved the derek zoolander character and the unrestrained whipping they released upon the fashion industry . \\nsnap ! \\nit was also nice to see several real-life models with small roles in the movie , not taking themselves too seriously . \\nand if you\\'re the type of person who likes celebrity cameos in films , well , don\\'t look any further because dozens of famous faces show up here including vince vaughn , billy zane , winona ryder , christian slater , david duchovny , natalie portman and many , many others . \\ni especially liked andy dick\\'s complete make-over as the masseuse . \\nhi-larious ! \\nbut with all films of this type , there is bound to be some stuff that simply doesn\\'t work . \\na few particulars which didn\\'t strike my fancy included the bulimia and \" orgy \" sequence with christine taylor , the break-dance fighting , and i also never get why they use real countries in plots like this ( why not just \" make up \" a country , instead of zeroing in on a certain people ? ) . \\ni also could have done with less of the taylor character in general , since she wasn\\'t all that interesting and seemed to slow things down every now and then ( more zoolander , dude ! ) . \\nbut those few missteps were nothing compared to some of the more memorable scenes which definitely did work for me ! \\ni almost pissed myself during the \" gas station \" disaster , absolutely adored the \" walk-off \" contest ( with david bowie as the judge , no less ) and appreciated many of zoolander\\'s moronic one-liners ( \" i was a merman . . . a \\nmerman ! ! \" ) . \\nand i dare you to get his \" monkey \" photo shoot out of your head after seeing this movie ( \" you\\'re a monkey , derek . . . a \\nmonkey ! \" ) \\ni also really liked the soundtrack and the pace of the film , both of which zipped and zagged , and established a nice rhythm to it all . \\nagain , it\\'s to note that this movie is dumb and not for everyone , but my guess is that if you laughed at the trailer , you will likely enjoy many of the quips in the actual picture as well . \\nif you thought the trailer was dumb , skip this dodo bird and go rent austin powers again or something , a film from which there is an obvious influence here . \\nblue steel , baby . . . yeah ! ! ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\naustin powers ( 7/10 ) - austin powers 2 ( 7/10 ) - deuce bigalow ( 7/10 ) - dude , where\\'s my car ( 7/10 ) - freddy got fingered ( 5/10 ) - jay & silent bob strike back ( 8/10 ) - joe dirt ( 5/10 ) - meet the parents ( 8/10 ) - say it isn\\'t so ( 3/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : during a 10-week span in london in the fall of 1888 , jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never uncovered , committed five ritualistic , grisly murders of prostitutes . \\nthis film is based on the graphic novel which assembled a theory behind the century-old mystery . \\ncritique : awesome ! \\ni love dark movies , i love stylish movies , i love good mysteries and i love johnny depp . . . so \\nyes , i really dug this movie ! \\nthe hughes brothers are back with a vengeance , out to show the world that they are directors to be taken seriously , and this movie , my friends . . . is \\nvery serious ! \\nin fact , it\\'s also very gruesome and bloody and morbid and creepy and black as hell . \\nit ain\\'t for the kids , i\\'ll tell you that much . \\nand if any of those recent hack directors of two-bit scream-esque slasher flicks want some advice on effective \" kill scenes \" , do not look any further , because each one committed to this film is a cinematic stunner , especially when compared to their generic slice-and-dice contrivances . \\nin fact , most of this film\\'s structure is very creative , the actors , all solid , the atmosphere and \" feel \" of the picture , remarkably real ( gotta love those \" unfortunates \" ) , and the descent into darkness , well honed by the filmmakers . \\nyou can almost taste the seediness off the screen and quickly come to appreciate the politics of the time . \\nbut it\\'s also an impressive mystery film , based on the true-life tale of jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never discovered . \\nthe theory in this film is based on the graphic novel \" from hell \" written by alan moore and presents a compelling story , which despite being a little oliver stone-ish , did manage to tie up all of its loose ends quite nicely , and present us with an entertaining bowl of mayhem , sexual depravity , drug usage , insanity , murders and love ? \\nyes , the brothers even managed to slip a little \" love \" story in here , and despite not truly being developed , i guess it could\\'ve been much worse and taken up more time than was provided already . \\nthat\\'s right , there\\'s no real need to put any \" romance \" in a film about a mass murderer ! \\nbut that aside , you gotta give up the props to actor extraordinaire johnny depp , who once again possesses the strength in character and flawless acting abilities , to center this movie all the way through . \\nsure , he\\'s just playing a less goofier version of his ichabod crane character from sleepy hollow , but he does it so well and even added a michael caine accent to his mixed bag of tricks in this one . \\ni was also surprised at how little heather graham annoyed me in this film ( i was sure that her presence would ruin this movie , but she was fine ) and how little the dreams/fantasies of depp\\'s character had to do with the film\\'s development ( from what i had seen in the trailer , i thought the filmmakers were going to make this the crux of the story , but thankfully , it wasn\\'t ) . \\non the downside , the film doesn\\'t really explain the whole freemasons cult organization real well and lacks character development . \\nbut then again , a story about the most mysterious serial killer of all-time is probably not the ideal spot for character refinement . \\ni mean , the less i knew about each person , the more suspicious i became of each one\\'s motives , reasons , etc . . . \\nin fact , i was actually quite surprised by who was presented as the killer in the end , and that was in part , due to the distance to which i\\'d been held from the film\\'s characters . . . or \\nam i giving the filmmakers too much credit for something that might not have been their intention ? \\nperhaps . \\noverall , this is an extremely creepy production , with glorious cinematography ( reminiscent of coppola\\'s dracula and burton\\'s sleepy hollow ) , a grim score and solid acting . \\nbut it\\'s not for everyone . \\nsome may be utterly repulsed by the gory particulars of these tragic events , and even though the murders aren\\'t shown as graphically as you might think , there\\'s enough here to send the squeamish right out the doors . \\nbut i for one love movies that blend their eclectic visual style with an interesting mystery and palpable , gothic atmosphere , and this flick is just that and plenty more ! \\nand god knows that i will certainly not be surrendering the burnt image of jack the ripper\\'s haunting cape silhouette and gleaming silver knife from my mind anytime soon . . . brrrrr ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nthe crow ( 9/10 ) - dark city ( 9/10 ) - dracula ( 7/10 ) - jfk ( 9/10 ) - the nightmare before christmas ( 10/10 ) - the ninth gate ( 8/10 ) - the others ( 9/10 ) - quills ( 8/10 ) - shadow of the vampire ( 6/10 ) - sleepy hollow ( 8/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'director luis mandoki\\'s last film was the superb , serious 1994 drama \" when a man loves a woman , \" but his luck has ultimately run out with his latest picture , \" message in a bottle , \" which is the worst type of romance , a movie that tugs so relentlessly and violently at the heartstrings that it miraculously manages to dry out your eyes rather than tear them up . \\neverything that occurs can be telegraphed way in advance since this same type of story has been done many times before---and much better---so there\\'s an absence of suspense , and the film ultimately moves at such a very , very deliberate pace , as if it is trying to make great , \" meaningful \" statements and plot developments , that it just becomes a tedious bore to sit through . \\n \" message in a bottle \" begins with theresa osborne ( robin wright penn ) , a single mother and researcher at the chicago tribune , whom finds a bottle washed up on shore as she is jogging one day . \\ninside the bottle is an anonymous love letter addressed to a mystery woman named catherine , and theresa is so taken aback by its honesty and sweetness that she shows it around at her work and , to her objection , finds that her editor has placed the letter in the newspaper . \\nsoon , a heavy research is conducted to find out who wrote the letter based on the type of bottle and a ship logo on the top of the typed message , and after it is traced to a man named garrett blake , theresa finds herself traveling to the outer banks , a boating town in north carolina , to find out the specifics of the message . \\nof course , garrett turns out to be a handsome , rugged man around theresa\\'s age and played by kevin costner . \\nshe is immediately charmed by him , but hesitant to unveil the truth of why she is there , and finds that catherine was garrett\\'s late wife who died a few years earlier . \\ndo you think you know where this is headed ? \\nmost likely you do , and i wouldn\\'t call it giving away anything to say that by the picture\\'s end , the movie has fallen into deep , artificial melodrama that i didn\\'t buy for a second . \\nif there are any positive things to say about \" message in a bottle , \" it is that the performances by robin wright penn and paul newman , as garrett\\'s stubborn , but loving father , are far above par to be in such a wasteful , \" shaggy dog \" love story , and that the cinematography by caleb deschanel takes great advantage of the beautiful eastern coast , and paints chicago as an equally alluring city . \\nmeanwhile , costner has yet to redeem himself for some of the less-than-stellar films that he has made recently . \\nit seems that with such bad luck , he wouldn\\'t want to make another movie set near water , but here he is again with one of the main , and most ridiculous , centerpieces set on a storm-swept sea . \\nthe other actors are all , sadly , wasted , including illeana douglas , an underused actress who seems to always get stuck with the \" friend \" roles , here playing penn\\'s confidante and co-worker at the tribune . \\nthe first half of \" message in a bottle \" plays like a hum-drum , trite television movie for the lifetime channel , as theresa spends a great deal of time \" getting to know \" garrett , with dialogue that is not the least bit stimulating or entertaining . \\nusually , i am the type of person to practically salivate over dialogue-laden sequences since the film is no doubt trying to develop the characters and their relationships , but here it all rang with a resounding falseness since the dialogue felt \" written , \" and not as if people were really \" talking . \" \\nwhen the main characters of a film have very little of interest to say to each other , and are not particularly interesting themselves , you know immediately that you are in trouble . \\ni swear that while watching \" message in a bottle , \" i felt as if i had just read the screenplay in its entirety before arriving at the theater ( heck , in actuality i\\'m not even familiar to the novel this is based on , by nicholas sparks ) . \\nalways one step ahead of the characters , the movie ran so closely and tightly to the constraints of the tried-and-true hollywood melodrama , the film strip often seemed to almost be in danger of tearing . \\nnobody wins prizes for guessing that garrett will eventually find out theresa\\'s secret , and that several obstacles will come within their ways of living happily ever after . \\nthis same exact problem occurred in last year\\'s very , very similar ( watch this , and you will realize just how similar i mean ) meg ryan-nicolas cage romantic drama , \" city of angels . \" \\nalthough theresa is deeply touched by the \" heartfelt \" letter that she finds in the bottle , perhaps the filmakers might have been better off finding a message in a bottle of their own , preferably before filming began . \\nit should have read , \" memo to screenwriters : use you brain ! \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this is my first review that i post to this newsgroup , and i kind of feel like i have to say something negative about this film . \\nno one else seems to care that it takes certain liberties that should not be taken with a historical story . \\nhowever , even if one thinks of it as fiction , \" the prince of egypt \" remains shallow . \\nbut i\\'ll begin from the beginning . \\nthe biggest difference between the original , biblical story and this version is that moses has some semblance of divinity in the bible , whereas the animated version gives the impression of a reluctant hero . \\nmaybe it\\'s just me , but if i knew i had god on my side , i\\'d have a little bit more confidence . \\nthere are other differences as well , such as a lack of important female characters and the passing over of the original pharoah\\'s death like it\\'s nothing but a thing . \\nmost of all , though , the story\\'s focus has shifted . \\nrather than being a story about father-son , man-ethnicity , man-god , \" the prince of egypt \" is almost solely about the brother-brother relationship between rameses and moses . \\ni was originally excited about this story element until i saw the movie , where it came off as maudlin . \\nrameses and moses squabble like children and then , in the interests of peace , moses saves rameses\\' butt , even though moses was the one who started it . . . \\n * yawn * i didn\\'t care anymore by the time moses ran off for murdering an overseer ( which , of course , never happened in the original story - moses was exiled ) . \\nbut enough about the differences . \\nlet\\'s talk about the movie itself . \\nit features a moses who , in the interests of making the character more human , lacks any divinity whatsoever , which isn\\'t convincing at all to anyone who knows who god is . \\nit features a cookie-cutter \" i-wanna-please-dada \" rameses , who at least is given dignity by the voicework of ralph fiennes ( from schindler\\'s list , among other things ) . \\nthe film also features an extremely annoying character by way of the \" new-improved \" miriam , voiced by the ever-antsy sandra bullock , even though the most irritating thing about her is her tendency to burst into song for no apparent reason ( here bullock is replaced by a singing voice ) . \\nspeaking of which , it contains * very * annoying music . \\nit contains shallow writing . \\nit features extraordinary animation , which is one good thing i can say about this film . \\nmost of all , it contains an attempt to commercialize , homogenize , and mass-market a story about a manifestation of god . \\ni am not christian , but i got the impression of blasphemy . \\nthe writers and producers took a butcher knife and chop-chopped into the story . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you\\'d think that after awhile hollywood would stop trying to make movies out of video games . \\nit hasn\\'t worked so far . \\n \" street fighter ? \" \\n \" super mario brothers ? \" \\n \" wing commander ? \" \\n \" mortal kombat ? \" \\nnot a watchable film in the bunch . \\nstill i held out some hope for \" tomb raider . \" \\nafter all , the game\\'s premise is heavily influenced by the indiana jones trilogy and all the mummy movies , so there are cinematic elements imbedded in the concept . \\nhowever , despite the potential of the project , \" tomb raider \" proves to be yet another bomb . \\nthe plot is a convoluted accumulation of nonsense probably borrowed from a dozen bad movies . \\nthere\\'s a once-ever-5000-years alignment of planets coming up , and the illuminati have to find both halves of an ancient triangle that controls time in order to take over the world . \\nof course , the ancient folks who divided the triangle buried the halves in tombs on opposite sides of the world . \\nour heroine , lady lara croft ( angelina jolie ) , finds the key that opens the tombs in relics that her dead father ( jon voight ) dug up . \\nshe figures that if she gets the triangle , she can bring her dad back from the dead . \\nof course , no one was expecting much of a plot from this movie anyway . \\nin both video games and action movies , the plot is just an excuse for the action sequences . \\nhowever , the action in \" tomb raider \" shows little style or originality . \\nthere\\'s lots of shooting and some kung fu fightin\\' , but none of it progresses beyond the level of a cheap direct-to-cable flick . \\nthe other goofy archeologist flick of the summer , \" the mummy returns , \" was much better ; it had its flaws , but its action was creative and large-scale . \\nsince winning her academy award for \" girl , interrupted , \" jolie hasn\\'t taken any projects that would display her acting talents . \\n \" tomb raider \" seems to be more interested in displaying her breasts ; so much attention is drawn to them that it\\'s a shame there\\'s no oscar for best performance by a wonderbra . \\nwhile we don\\'t see much of her acting ability ( with the exception of a wonderful upper-crust british accent ) , we do get a hint of jolie\\'s less savory side . \\nconsidering the rumors of incest that hang over jolie and her supposed obsession with death , having lara be obsessed with resurrecting her dead father ( and uninterested in any of the living males around her ) seems a poor choice . \\nhaving jolie\\'s real life father jon voight play the dead dad makes it even creepier . \\ni haven\\'t decided what to make of director simon west yet . \\nhis first feature was the star-studded disaster \" con air , \" but my opinion of him improved with \" the general\\'s daughter , \" which was thick with sultry atmosphere . \\nnow this train wreck . \\ni hope he improves again because his next project is the big screen version of the cult tv series \" the prisoner . \" \\nhollywood has already screwed up \" the avengers , \" and \" the prisoner \" represents a chance for redemption . \\n ( by the way , speaking of british tv , \" red dwarf \" fans should look for chris \" rimmer \" barrie in his first major film role ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"a costume drama set in the 1500s , england , elizabeth is a lush , romantic , political masterpiece about the upset over the crossing of a protestant queen from a respected catholic one . \\nwhen the court and country are a whole after the passing of the queens , the royal family , so to speak , are upset that a protestant should be crowened , and not another catholic , plus , the new queen , elizabeth i ( cate blanchette ) , was the bastard baby of the previous queen mary's father . \\nthe persecution over catholics and protestants isn't the only majority in elizabeth . \\nelizabeth i must face the decision to give up personal pleasures , and her lover ( joseph fiennes of shakespeare in love ) , in order to rule , successfully , the country , which she did for 40 more years . \\nboth elizabeth and shakespeare in love are set in the elizabethian era , and both feature a queen elizabeth i ( judi dench plays her in love ) , or course . \\nyet , i found elizabeth more stimulating and involving than love , not just because elizabeth features a great deal more of elizabeth i , but because i found blanchette a more powerful , hypnotic sense for the role . \\nelizabeth , also featuring geoffrey rush and richard attenborough , is my pick for the best picture of 1998 award . \\nit's a dynamic , important , breathtaking film of loyalty , power , greed , and trust . \\nshakespeare would die for the book rights . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'who would have thought ? \\njim carrey does drama . \\nwhen i first saw the advertisement for the truman show , i thought , \" what a hilarious idea for a movie ! \" \\nhowever , it was an even better premise for a drama . \\nthe truman show takes us into a world that revolves around one man . \\nthat man is truman burbank ( jim carrey ) . \\ntruman has no clue what is really going on in his world and frankly , cristof wants to keep it that way . \\nchristof is the \" god \" of this made-up world . \\nhe keeps everything running and gives the actors their roles . \\nthere were a few attempts to tell truman about his world , but they failed and life went on as normal . \\nthe opening parts of the film introduce to truman\\'s world . \\nwe see what he is doing at his current age , then we get a flashback at his past . \\nit may seem a tad boring , but it is so intriguing that you will fall in love with the film right from the start . \\nthe film can be described in one word : weird . \\nit seems like such a simple idea , yet it is something that a majority of us would never think of , but andrew niccol did . \\nit seems like a warped idea , but it is andrew\\'s idea and he did wonders with it . \\njim carrey actually lived up to the hype . \\nthe hype , whether good or bad , always focused on carrey\\'s ability to do drama . \\nno one doubted how extraordinary this film could be , the only thing they doubted was carrey . \\nand he showed them all up . \\njim carrey was snubbed at the oscars . \\ni do not think he was the best actor , but he deserved the nomination . \\nhe plays truman burbank , the unsuspecting star of the most popular television show in the world . \\nhe has lived a normal life for almost thirty years , but then strange things start happening . \\nhe ventures into the wrong elevator . \\na light crashes in front of him . \\nhis father comes back and is then pulled away . \\nwe are constantly teased with all of this and we know it is a show , but truman does not . \\nand it is just a constant progression that never gets sluggish . \\ncarrey is able to shed his comedy to play a major role in a major drama . \\nlaura linney is magnificent as the camera hungry wife . \\nshe plays her role as advertiser and budding star to a point . \\npeter weir does not make the cast perfect , and their flaws eventually lead to truman\\'s escape . \\nthe story unfolds until the show becomes too big and everything crashes down . \\ndespite carrey\\'s greatness , the best performance in the truman show undoubtedly is turned in by ed harris , who plays the \" god \" of truman\\'s world . \\nhe displays the pressure he is under , the world he has created . \\nhe becomes so paranoid that he believes he is a god and that truman has him to thank for his sham of a life . \\nthe action moves at a good pace , and rarely gets sluggish . \\nbut , the main point of the film is how it looks like a television show . \\nit really makes you think . \\nmaybe your brother is an actor , maybe your best friend is in heated contract negotiations to stay on the show . \\nsome of the best parts of the film are when truman ventures into the wrong elevator and sees cast members drinking coffee and talking . \\nor when truman tunes into the wrong station and hears orders being said for truman\\'s arrival . \\nand when christof focuses in on truman and cues the dramatic music as marlon ( noah emmerich ) delivers his dramatic line . \\nall of these ideas are just perfect for the film and extremely innovative . \\ni was not only enjoying the film , i was overwhelmed by genius of it . \\noverall , the truman show is one of the freshest and innovative films to come out of hollywood . \\njim carrey shows that he is not just a man of a million faces , but a legitimate actor who could go down as one of the best . \\nandrew niccol is responsible for the screenplay and peter weir pulled it off to perfection . \\nthe truman show is a must see for anyone who likes movies in general because they will be thoroughly impressed by this creative film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the real blonde ( r ) a woman's face , an arm , some pumped-up pectorals , blond hair , a man's sad face , slender legs , a random hand here and there . \\nas the opening credits of tom dicillo's the real blonde unfold , these scattered , fractured glimpses eventually come together to form the image of a bikini brief-clad man on his knees clinging to a nurturing woman , his head concealing her unclothed breasts . \\nif only the rest of this formless , aimless ensemble comedy assembled so coherently . \\njoe ( matthew modine ) is a waiter/struggling actor too proud to take gigs in commercials or soap operas . \\nhe's feeling somewhat dissatisfied with his relationship with his live-in love , mary ( catherine keener ) , who holds some subconscious hostility toward the male gender . \\nmary , a makeup artist , regularly works on model sahara ( bridgette wilson ) , who is obsessed with the underlying messages in disney's the little mermaid . \\nthe bottle blonde has a turbulent on-again , off-again relationship with bob ( maxwell caulfield ) , a soap actor who yearns for the taste of a real blonde , which he finds in co-star kelly ( daryl hannah ) . \\nas the film unspools , a variety of other characters pass through : fashion photographer blair ( marlo thomas ) ; mary's shrink ( buck henry ) and self-defense instructor ( denis leary ) ; joe's casting agent ( kathleen turner ) and hardass boss ( christopher lloyd ) ; and a mystery woman ( elizabeth berkley ) who keeps on crossing joe's path . \\nwhere exactly does all this go ? \\nthat's a question best posed to writer-director dicillo , who doesn't appear to have the slightest clue himself . \\nhis meandering , largely unfunny script and direction are like hopelessly lost drivers , turning into dead-end narrative streets only to reverse course and hit another creative cul-de-sac . \\nand another . \\nand another . \\nat one point bob , frustrated with the soap scripts , complains to the head writer ( jim fyfe ) that his and kelly's characters keep on going in circles , with no hint of development or growth . \\nthat is most certainly the case here . \\njoe gets a job and ultimately botches things ; he and mary bicker ; they make up , only to have the pattern repeat itself . \\nunhappy with his bottle blonde , bob gets his real blonde but is unsatisfied ; he returns to the faux and is still unsatisfied . \\nif there is a point to all of this , dicillo dances around it , spending his time on apparent digressions that , as it turns out , aren't digressions at all . \\nthe real blonde is not without some amusements . \\nit does have the occasional funny line and situation ; leary , henry , lloyd , steve buscemi , and dave chappelle shine in their small roles ; keener is a likable , refreshingly earthy lead ; berkley's appearance is mercifully brief ( she receives outrageously prominent billing and ad placement for a ten-minute role ) ; and there is the irony of having caulfield play a wildly popular soap star who makes the ratings skyrocket ( last year , the actor was fired from the daytime drama all my children after a scant six months--due to lack of viewer interest ) . \\nbut on the whole , the real blonde is a frustrating sit that lives up to the stereotypes of its title--it may be glossy on the surface , but there's nothing going on inside . \\n ( opens february 27 ) \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the trailers and the beginning of the move sum up this plot very easily . \\nthree filmmakers venture into the woods of maryland to track down the legend of the blair witch for a documentary they are making . \\nthey disappear and their footage is discovered a year later buried underneath the foundation of a one hundred year old house . \\nfrom there , things become a little more complicated . \\ni can say , with absolute assurance , that no film has ever had quite the impact that this little movie has had on me . \\nalthough i know it was all a staged \" mockumentary \" , there\\'s no denying the psychological impact this film will leave on you . \\ni didn\\'t feel much upon initially watching it . \\ni just thought it was an interesting film with some pretty creepy parts . \\ni never even dreamed that thirty minutes after the film had ended i would be frightened out of my mind just discussing it with a friend . \\ni\\'ve gotten chills every time i\\'ve brought it up since then . \\nthis is not a movie that hits you right away . \\ninstead this is a movie that sits at the base of your spine , waits until you think everything is okay , then it slowly starts to creep it\\'s way up into your mind . \\nthis is truly the most frightening movie i have ever had the pleasure to watch . \\nthe film is comprised of home video and 16mm camera footage that the documentarians supposedly shot for their blair witch film , so don\\'t expect any steadi-cam shots or fancy camera work . \\nthis is as real as it gets folks . \\ni don\\'t recommend sitting too close to the theater screen though , because i guarantee you will get motion sickness from the constant movement of the camera . \\nthe performances of the three lead actors in the film are so real , you may find yourself questioning whether all of this has really happened or not . \\nthis is definitely a movie that warrants home video viewing , especially due to the fact that the bulk of the movie was shot with a standard home video camera . \\nthe reality of the images will strike frighteningly close to home when viewed as actual video instead of the tape-to-film transfer done for the big screen . \\nword has it that a special edition dvd with boatloads of extras ( hours of deleted scenes , alternate endings , commentary , the sci-fi channel special , and others ) is being planned for release . \\ni urge artisan entertainment to forge ahead with this plan and give us what could be the dvd to rival all dvd\\'s . \\ni know i\\'ll be first in line to buy one . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : in 2176 on the planet mars police taking into custody an accused murderer face the title menace . \\nthere is a lot of fighting and not a whole lot of story otherwise . \\njohn carpenter reprises so many ideas from his previous films , especially assault on precinct 13 , that the new film comes off as his homage to himself . \\n , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) . \\njohn carpenter apparently believes that action scenes in which people fight something horrible are the same as horror scenes . \\nfor a writer and director of horror films , supposedly an expert on horror , it is a very bad mistake to make . \\nghosts of mars is called a horror movie , but it is more just a drawn out fight between humans and a surprisingly low-powered alien menace . \\nin addition if anybody but john carpenter had made ghosts of mars , carpenter would have grounds to sue . \\nthis film is just chock full of pieces taken from assault on precinct 13 , the thing , and prince of darkness . \\nit is , in fact , surprising that carpenter managed to fit so many pieces of his previous work into this film in such an admittedly novel way . \\nbut that still does not make for a really good science fiction experience . \\nghosts of mars takes place in the year 2176 . \\nmars has been mostly terraformed so that humans can walk on the surface without breathing gear ( which is good for the film\\'s budget ) . \\nit is never mentioned , but the gravity on mars has been increased somehow to earth-normal , again making it easier to film . \\nsociety has changed a bit by that time , but it has advanced surprisingly little . \\napparently the culture has changed so that women are much more in positions of control . \\nand from carpenter\\'s view , women have really made a mess of things . \\nsociety has stagnated under female control so that beyond some minor technological advances society has changed less in 175 years than we might expect it to change in ten . \\nthe basic plot of ghosts of mars has much in common with that of assault on precinct 13 except that precinct 9 ( yes , precinct 9 ) has been replaced by a somewhat tacky looking rundown martian mining colony . \\ninstead of having the criminal \" napolean \" wilson , this film has the criminal \" desolation \" williams . \\ninstead of facing hoodlums with automatic weapons the police face , well , ghosts of mars . \\nbecause the ghosts are somewhat alien in nature they should behave in some alien manner , but they essentially behave as human savages , in another lapse of imagination . \\nthe story is told in flashback , flashback within flashback , and flashback within flashback within flashback . \\nghosts of mars takes place entirely at night and is filmed almost entirely in tones of red , yellow , and black . \\ncarpenter manages to give us a powerful opening scene , showing a mining train rushing through the martian night to the sound of music with a heavy beat . \\nsadly what follows is not really up to the buildup . \\nthe terror he creates looks a little too much like fugitive wannabes from the rock band kiss . \\nhis idea of building suspense is having a bunch of sudden jump scenes that sucker the viewer into thinking something scary is happening and then prove to be just something boring . \\nthese are standard haunted house film shock effects that require no great talent to give the audience . \\nsomewhat newer but also unimpressive are the cgi digital decapitations in some of the fights . \\nwithin a short stretch of time we have seen the release of mission to mars , red planet , and ghosts of mars . \\nafter mission to mars was panned by too many reviewers it looks better and better and better as time goes by . \\ni rate ghosts of mars a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nfollowing the movie i showed my wife , who liked ghosts of mars moderately more than i did , carpenter\\'s classic assault on precinct 13 . \\nher comment is that it was seeing the same film twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'of course i knew this going in . \\nwhy is it that whenever a tv-star makes a movie it\\'s always a romantic comedy , and then they say on entertainment tonight or something , that they were \" attracted to the characters . \\nthey were really original . \" \\noriginal ? ! let me give you a run-through of picture perfect : character a ) kate ( jennifer aniston , from tv\\'s friends ) , a smart , beautiful , professional woman wants two things she can\\'t have : a new job-title and the love of her co-worker kevin bacon . \\nher boss will only give her the job if she gets married and gets a mortgage and gets a lease on a german sportscar , and kevin bacon pnly sleeps with married or involved girls . \\nwhat does she do ? \\nshe invents a fiance ! \\nthen when everyone wants to meet him , she tells some poor schmoe she met at a wedding that she will pay him $1000 to pretend to be in love with her for a company dinner , and pick a fight with her at the end , thus breaking the engagement but still being able to keep her job , since the guy ends up looking like a jerk and she is the poor , defenceless female . \\nhe , of course , goes along with it . \\ngee , i wonder if they get together in the end . \\ni\\'ve seen more original stuff on the wb . \\nand better stuff too . \\npicture perfect also makes the mistake of being _wayyyyy_ too long at 100 minutes , and expecting us to like aniston\\'s character , who comes off as a cold , spoiled bitch . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in these days of overlong movies ( meet joe black , the thin red line , the mask of zorro ) it is a shame that films like waking ned devine can\\'t be longer than a paltry 90 minutes . \\nthis is just a cute movie , even through its mildly risque subject matter . \\nold friends jackie ( bannen ) and michael ( kelley ) try to find the lottery winner ( they deduce must live in their dinky town of about 60 ) so that they might kiss up to him and share the winnings . \\nthrough process of elimination , they find that it must be lovable old ned devine , who they find sitting in front of his tv , clutching the winning lottery ticket in his cold dead hand . \\nwhat results is thuroughly amusing , as jackie tries to convince his wife that not claiming it would be wrong , and that they could really benefit . \\nafter all , old ned won\\'t miss it . \\nrather than divulge the later twists and turns , i\\'ll stop here merely pointing out that jackie and michael get into all sorts of trouble in their little sleepy irish villiage . \\nbannen and kelly are a perfect pair . \\none slightly stout , the other as thin as a rail . \\nboth getting on in years , they make such a cute pair of old codgers . \\nwaking ned devine may even be seen as a \" full monty \" for the geriatric set , especially since kelly gets buff-o for one amusing scene . \\nwaking ned devine is by no means perfect , but it is so sincere and touching that it looks so much better than most films . \\nthe performances by everyone in the town are great , particularly the two leads . \\nthere is one twist at the end which i find unnecessary , but it hardly ruins the picture . \\nwriter/director kirk jones should be held up as an example to all those hollywood screenwriters . \\nscripts as creative and endearing as this should be the norm , not the exception . \\nperhaps it makes us appreciate this wonderful film even more . \\nhad i held off on my year\\'s best/worst list for another day , waking ned devine ( officially released in late november of 98 ) surely would have graced the short group of the year\\'s finest films . \\nit is light , but thought provoking and sweet . \\ni can\\'t think of anyone who shouldn\\'t see ( or wouldn\\'t enjoy ) this film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'studio expectations must not have been high for \" great expectations \" -- the film\\'s release date was pushed from late december to late january at what appeared to be the last minute , therefore putting any academy awards chances it has off until this time in 1999 . \\nit\\'s actually a smart move , because while this updated take on the charles dickens tale isn\\'t quite oscar fodder , it * is * strong enough to be distinguished from the cinematic dumping ground that usually makes up the first five or six weeks of any given year . \\n \" great expectations \" also demonstrates how to modernize a classic story right , especially after the excruciatingly wretched excesses of baz luhrmann\\'s \" william shakespeare\\'s romeo + juliet . \" \\n \" great expectations \" opens somewhere in 1970s florida ( the original story is set in 19th-century england ) , as eight-year-old finn ( jeremy james kissner ) meets a trio of people who will have a profound effect on his life in the future . \\nthere\\'s icy , 11-year-old estella ( raquel beaudene ) , a pseudo-playmate of finn\\'s ; ms . dinsmoor ( anne bancroft ) , estella\\'s auntie who\\'s quite off-kilter over a past romance that never took off ; and a mysterious prisoner ( robert de niro ) whom finn saves the life of . \\nfinn , who lives with his sister\\'s affable boyfriend ( lone star\\'s chris cooper ) , fancies himself an aspiring artist , and proves his prowess by whipping up an unusual portrait of estella using only ms . dinsmoor\\'s lipstick , eyebrow pencil and the wallpaper from her dilapidating mansion . \\nflash forward into the \\'90s ( after a brief stop in the \\'80s ) , and finn ( now played by ethan hawke ) , despondent over a strange hot-and-cold relationship with the elusive estella ( gwyneth paltrow ) , receives quite a bit of money from an unknown benefactor ; it\\'s enough cash to send him to new york to focus on a career in art . \\nthere , finn seems to gain everything he could ever want -- wealth , prestige and a high place in the glamorous art world . \\nwhen estella resurfaces -- albeit with an aloof fianc ? ( hank azaria ) -- finn also sees the chance to renew their mutual attraction . \\nbut she\\'s not the only ghost from finn\\'s past that\\'s going to be paying him a visit . \\ncomparisons with the afore-mentioned \" romeo + juliet \" seem inevitable since these films are the only ones in recent memory to plop classic drama into a current setting . \\n \" great expectations \" is a much better venture , though , because it treats its source with even-handed respect , where \" romeo \" was never quite sure whether to be a spoof , a homage or both . \\nthe movie is a visual banquet thanks to emmanuel lubezki\\'s sexy cinematography ; notably , he captures a revisited fountain kiss between the two leads with a luscious , erotic charge that\\'s steamier than the film\\'s ( surprisingly muted ) love scenes . \\nthe eclectic rock soundtrack compliments the on-screen action beautifully , especially new songs by tori amos , mono and duncan sheik . \\nacting credits are first-rate , often hiding the screenplay\\'s occasional slip-ups . \\nhawke is sincere and solid as a leading man ( something we also learned from \" gattaca \" ) , and his finn is quite a likeable guy . \\npaltrow\\'s estella , on the other hand , is rather underdeveloped . \\nwhile the actress is at her icily seductive best , we\\'re not told very much about her character , and as a result , it\\'s often hard to understand why finn would appreciate her beyond a physical level ( but , oh , * what * a physical level ) ; sometimes , we root for finn although we don\\'t quite understand why she\\'s fueling his fire . \\nrobert de niro is nice and sophisticated in the benevolent kind of role he rarely gets to play ; on the other end of the acting spectrum is bancroft , a macabre , throaty delight who mambos and sucks down cigarettes with an eerie enthusiasm that would make norma desmond jealous . \\nalfonso cuaron\\'s visually elegant direction helps to distract from the dry moments that pop up more frequently around the movie\\'s climax . \\nanother problem is predictability ; you can guess your way through the plot even if you aren\\'t familiar with the story . \\ndespite its script flaws , though , \" great expectations \" is undeniably romantic without being corny or gloppy . \\nand frankly , it\\'s nice to see a film that embraces softened sensuality other than explicit sexuality . \\nperhaps that renovated release date , awfully close to valentine\\'s day , will end up helping \" great expectations \" \\' seemingly average box office chances after all . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"okay , okay . \\nmaybe i wasn't in the mood to watch a mindless action movie ; i am the same person that liked lethal weapon iii , even while admitting that it wasn't as good as the others . \\nhowewer , the latest segal picture didn't look that bad , and since none of my friends would go see a woody allen movie even if i paid them , i went to see it expecting a mild die hard rehash . \\nboy , was i wrong ! \\nin the first half of the movie , we are already assaulted with segal's acting , ( he is not simply wooden ; he is like a wall ) , gratuitous violence , an incredible plot , sexist and even more gratuitous nudity , and bad lines that obviously were meant as jokes . \\nby the end , it is obvious that hundreds of navy men are no match for thirty armed special forces soldiers . \\nnot once in the movie did segal appear worried or undecided , which did not do much for increasing the unexistent suspense . \\nof course , in movies like these , there must be a sidekick , and a love interest . \\nin these one we are given a two for one package in the form of a playboy model ( in the movie ) , which only functions as a supposed comic relief ( by the way of extremely stupid unfunny lines ) , and to have watering eyes and look away every time something bad happens in the movie . \\noh , of course , she appears naked from the waist up , and , of course , segal kisses her at the end after no development of their relationship ; they did not even seem to be interested in each other . \\ni have never seen so little chemistry between two people in a movie . \\noften , the villain saves the movie ; unfortunately , the villains here are cartoonish , stupid and unfunny , unmenacing . \\nhow many movies have psycho ex-special forces bad guys ? \\ntoo many . \\ni was able to predict the action all throughout the movie , including the moment where the sidekick saves the hero from certain death , the scene where the bad guy can kill the hero but proceeds to explain his plan to him , the scene where we are shown the hero's superiors are stupid , the scene where the bad guy loses his gun and has to fight the hero hand to hand , etc . . . \\nsimply said , this is movie-making by the numbers , boring , and potentially offensive in going for the lowest common denominator of the audience . \\nmy recommendation : if you go see it , bring a watch . \\nyou'll be looking at it for most of the movie . \\nmy . \\nrent die hard . \\nread a book . \\nstare at the sky . \\ndo not waste your time on this worthless piece of celluloid . \\nthe real sad thing is that there are a lot of movies out that i would rather have seen ; once again , dragged in by my friends , which by the way , liked the movie halfheartedly . \\nthey probably like wrestling too : - ) . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'an astonishingly difficult movie to watch , the last temptation of = christ may be scorsese\\'s most important film , and yet his most = impossibly abstract as well . \\nscorsese presents the life of jesus = christ , through nikos kazantzakis\\' novel , which details the life of = christ from approximately 20 until the day of crucifixtion . \\njesus of = nazareth ( dafoe ) is a carpenter , who opens the film making crosses , so = that he can escape the fate he is subjected to , his destiny on earth . \\n= yet , he soon learns his evil ways for aiding in the deaths of others , = and subjects himself to a desert in exile , in hopes that he can reach = god . \\nbefore leaving , he asks for forgiveness from mary magdelene = ( barbara hershey ) , a prostitute who is also a childhood friend of jesus . \\n= =20 \\nafter going to the desert , christ learns his true purpose in life , = and what he must do . \\naided by judas ( keitel ) , he sets off on teaching = the world his message . \\nalong the way , he meets john the baptist , the = rest of the prophets , and tries to teach the world his message . \\nchrist = is also confronted by internal demons and self-doubt , as he tries to = find his true purpose throughout the entire film . \\nduring the story , = judas is the closese ally of jesus : his betrayal , argues the film , was = not out of hate , but out of love , in order to allow christ to die . \\n=20 \\nhe is eventually captured , and crucified as per the bibile . \\n= however , as he is about to die on the cross , he is saved by a girl , who = brings him to his marriage with mary magdelene . \\nthe girl is a guardian = angel who is from god , and who has saved him from his death . \\njesus goes = on to live a life as a man , as a carpenter , and does not die on the = cross . \\non his deathbed , in the final moments of his life , he is visited = by the prophets , and by judas , who denounces his master for \" not keeping = his end of the bargain . \" \\njudas reveals the angel to truly be the devil , = and the life jesus had lived to be the ultimate selfish act . \\njesus = escapes from his deathbed , and asks his father for forgiveness , for = succumbing to his last temptation . \\nvisually and aurally , the film is absolutely breathtaking . \\nno other = director has even come close to realizing jerusalem during the time of = christ\\'s life to the screen . \\npeter gabriel contributes a score than is = simply astonishing , with pulsing rhythms that capture the viewer . \\nthe = performances are simply exquisite , with dafoe leading the way with a = mesmerizing turn as jesus . \\nkeitel , although his accent is a problem , is = passionately brilliant , fighting through language to bring the character = to life . \\nthe visuals are also amazing . \\nscorsese frames his movie in a = harsh tone , leaving the impression that jesus truly is a man who is = having human frailties . \\nthe film , though , has many trouble spots . \\npaul schrader\\'s script is = one . \\nschrader uses modern-day new york english to tell the story , along = with new york words , new york mannerisms , and new york slang speech . \\n= the film also does not focus on the godly aspects of christ . \\nthere is = no underlying message behind the man\\'s words . \\nthe film fails to capture = the glory and splendor of christ . \\nhad it faithfully explored that = aspect , than the dichotomy of jesus\\' soul , his frailties and doubt mixed = with his unmistakable glory , would have been simply spectacular . \\nthe = message of christ is confused between love and violence , and the film = merely tells us jesus is great , instead of showing us his greatness . \\nthe film is also overlong . \\nit just drags in the middle , with = nothing truly happening . \\nchrist is a confused figure , in the sense that = the audience doesn\\'t know who he really is . \\nschrader forgets to give = jesus a message , to show that he truly is the messiah , to give him the = divinity . \\nwithout that , he is a rambling prophet , who the audience = themselves do not believe . \\nthere are several moments of accidental = hilarity , and most of them occur when jesus is attempting to preach . \\n= there are moments of brief awe and power , followed by moments of = confused hilarity . \\nthat said , the controversial temptation sequence is something to = behold . \\nit is a step in an unexpected direction , one that leaves the = audience puzzled , until the arrival of the disciples . \\nit is a simply = breathtaking scene , with jesus about to die as a mortal . \\nit is truly = one of scorsese\\'s finest moments . \\nit is unfortunate that scorsese = couldn\\'t make a film about christ as powerful as that one scene . \\n=20 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'contrary to the title , \" the boxer \" is not another rocky story only this time spliced with some cold hard politics . \\nit\\'s actually three movies in one : a political film , a boxing film , and a love story . \\nall of these work in their own respects and have some pretty decent balancing betwixt the three elements of the story , but somehow it seems kind of cliched and unoriginal . \\nwe\\'ve seen it all before , and we\\'re just not blown away with it like we should be . \\noh well . \\nit\\'s still an excellent irish story . \\n \" the boxer \" of the title is danny flynn ( jim sheridan staple daniel day-lewis ) , an ex-ira member who gets out of a belfast prison after 14 years , and finds out that his troubles are far from over . \\nfirst off , the ira is having a small civil war between its leader joe hamill ( brian cox ) , and one of its sub-leaders , harry ( gerard mcsorley ) , both having opposing views on getting many of their members out of jail . \\nwhile this is going on , danny and his old drunkard buddie , ike ( ken stott , who played the chief inspector in danny boyle\\'s \" shallow grave \" ) , re-open an old gym which allows the two opposing religios sects , protestant and catholics , to work together . \\ndanny not only begins teaching kids how to box , but has stayed in great shape whilst in prison , and is ready to start boxing real people again . \\nand danny runs into his ex-love , maggie ( \" breaking the waves \" \\'s emily watson ) , who hasn\\'t seen him since he went in . \\nthey don\\'t easily start up their romance again because she\\'s the wife of a prisoner whom she married during danny\\'s tenure in prison , and also has a son , liam ( ciaran fitzgerald ) , from him , whom liam is hoping will get out soon . \\nbut the two are slowly re-drawn to eachother again , and this begins to complicate things . \\nthe political story is nothing really special but works in itself . \\nwe\\'ve seen it many a time before , but it\\'s at least interesting , sometimes emotional , and even riveting at times . \\nthere\\'s a big riot towards the middle of the film which is frightening in its brutality and honesty . \\nthe boxing story is very minor to the story , but does represent people coming together to fight eachother fairly , and even with good sportsmanship . \\nthere are only a few boxing scenes , but they\\'re never like \" raging bull \" /let\\'s-strip-down-the-sport-to-its-bones brilliant . \\nthey\\'re more realistic , and instead of bone crunching , we hear the sound of the gloves hitting eachother , which is slightly unerving at times . \\nand i didn\\'t know daniel day-lewis was in such good shape . \\nbut the backbone of the story is the love one . \\nbecause these characters are given such horrible circumstances , and since the two leads have such great chemistry together , we really feel for their plight . \\nas the film goes on , and circumstances get worse and worse , the characters have to make real human decisions , and we can sympathize with them as humans not characters . \\nthis is how you write a love story - take note , hollywood . \\nthese elements are pretty much equally balanced , with each of the parts of the stories working hand-in-hand with eachother . \\ni loved how each of the different parts of the plot mattered , and sometimes spilled over into the next . \\nit made sure that we didn\\'t just care for one of them . \\ni\\'m not saying they\\'re all equally great , because the love story really carries the film , but at least they all work out respectively . \\nthe acting is amazing , with day-lewis and watson giving excellent performances and showing great chemistry . \\ni\\'m not sure if they\\'re oscar-nominee bound , but they\\'re very good . \\nin the supporting roles , billy cox is greatly sympathetic as the ira leader losing control of his daughter and his workers . \\nbut the film is stolen acting wise by ken stott as ike , who is just a great scene stealer . \\nthe direction and co-writing by jim sheridan ( with the other co-writing credit going to terry george ) is excellent , rounding out the characters well , but not pacing everything greatly . \\ni noticed that the first half was very leisurely ( yet fascinating ) , but the second half whirls by at a quick pace , and ends much too quickly . \\nmore time could have been spent thinking up the ending , since it does seem quite sloppy . \\nthough \" the boxer \" is a good film , it never achieves the greatness that it should . \\nsure , it\\'s a masterpiece compared to most of the hollywood drivel we usually get , but on it\\'s own , it just could have been better . \\nbut it still works out , gives us a great love story combined with a political and boxing drama , and features great acting . \\neven if it could have been better , this\\'ll do . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" from the director of \" the nightmare before christmas \" it said in the previews , which i\\'m guessing was said to get people to go see the movie , obviously it hasn\\'t worked since the $75 million dollar movie has yet to break $5 million . \\nto each it\\'s own however , since \" monkey bone \" is not only a bad movie all together , but technically well-made . \\na tragic waste of talent and incredible visual effects . \\nstu miley is the genius behind the new phenomena \" monkey bone \" a crude comic strip , that everyone wants to merchandise , they go to great links to get it as well , including dollars that let out fart powder . \\nwhen stu and his girlfriend , julie ( bridget fonda ) are in a freak car accident ( you\\'ll see ) stu goes into a coma , and while in his coma stu travels to i\\'m guessing dark town , where all the characters in dreams come to life . \\npeople are stuck in this town , with their nightmares roaming around them . \\nwhen stu spots monkey bone ( whom he really can\\'t stand ) he tries to keep him under control . \\nmaking a new friend kitty ( rose mcgowan ) he learns that if he gets an exit pass from death , he can go back up and live his life . \\nwhen monkey bone and stu steal a pass , monkey bone becomes a trader and takes it and goes into stu\\'s body . \\nnow monkey bone must get everyone to buy these dolls with nightmare powder , so everyone has nightmares . . . or \\nsomething like that . \\nrather complex ( in fact more than it needs to be ) \" monkey bone \" had potential in the script and even the story . \\nwhat is considerably noticeable is the gaping plot holes , and lack of character development . \\nfor instance we really don\\'t get to know who stu or julie are , so why should we even care ? \\nkitty played well by rose mcgowan ha a story behind her , but we are not given a chance to know her . \\nthe cast is decent however , brendan fraser seems to be enjoying himself in the role as stu miley , but becomes awfully annoying when monkey bone takes over his body . \\nbridget fonda is dreary and seems to bring the film to a screeching halt , her performance is bad and she seems miscast . \\ndave foley isn\\'t given enough to do , as well as \" will & grace\\'s \" megan mullally who can be funny . \\nthe standout performance is the voice of nick turturro as monkey bone himself , he is very funny and entertaining and really keeps the film from being a total bust . \\nthe special effects of \" monkey bone \" is what might really bring in some curious viewers , these special effects are highly effective , and nice to look at with the eyes . \\nsome of them are believable and some unbelievable . . . for \\nmonkey bone he seems to be like stuart little , you really don\\'t realize that he is animated . . . but \\non occasion it sneaks up on you . \\nthe direction by henry selick is good , but at times he doesn\\'t know what kind of film he wants to make , and the ending climax falls off the cliff . \\nit\\'s too bad really , \" monkey bone \" could have been a real good movie , but with it\\'s heavily done hack job , and lack of character development it just sinks when the end credits role . \\nfor those curious however , it might be worth the rental , but other than that avoid this one . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" big eden \" ( jour de fete ) \\nit\\'s utopia , this tiny town tucked away in the timberland of northwestern montana , where old codgers lounge on the porch of the general store to pass the time away and the local matchmakers ( nan martin , louise fletcher ) eagerly pair off the young people , regardless of sexual preference . \\nthere\\'s nary a homophobe or bigot around , much to the surprise of henry hart ( arye gross ) , a successful but lonely manhattan artist who returns home to care for sam ( george coe ) , the ailing grandfather who raised him . \\nand with the simultaneous re-appearance of his best-friend from high-school and object of his unrequited love ( tim dekay ) , now divorced with two young sons , the fact of his homosexuality must be faced . \\nto complete the triangle , there\\'s the tall , taciturn native american ( eric schweig ) who owns the general store and lovingly yet secretly prepares gourmet meals for henry and sam . \\nthis fable about home and family is a major debut for first-time film-maker thomas bezucha ( a former designer for coach and polo/ralph lauren ) who is meticulous about minding details , using ballads like \" welcome to my world \" and \" achin\\' , breakin\\' heart \" to set up the concept of our universal longing to find a place in which we can love and be loved . \\nin the paradise of big eden , what you are doesn\\'t matter as much as generosity of spirit , respect and kindness . \\nsure , the plot\\'s implausible but it\\'s a good-natured fantasy so allowances should be made . \\nand rob sweeney\\'s photography of glacier national park is spectacular ! \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" big eden \" is a charming , quirky , off-beat 7 . \\nit\\'s a heart-warming romantic comedy about a gay man who doesn\\'t die of aids or wind up alone at the end . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'those print and television ads trumpeting that \" \\'grease\\' is still the word \" are right on the money . \\nto celebrate its 20th anniversary , this quintessential movie musical is getting the royal treatment reserved for classics like \" star wars \" -- a well-deserved , red-carpet rerelease . \\nthat\\'s fantastic , especially when considering of all the classic characters and scenes the film has served up -- who can forget aspiring beautician frenchie ( didi conn ) being serenaded by her tell-it-like-it-is guardian angel ( frankie avalon ) ? \\nor the hard-nosed principal ( eve arden ) reminding the student body to \" be an athletic supporter \" by rooting for the home team ? \\nor national bandstand emcee vince fontaine ( edd byrnes ) flirting with marty ( a pre- \" empty nest \" dinah manhoff ) ? \\nand these are all probably considered minor moments . . . \\na very skinny john travolta and a very young olivia newton-john have the respective leads of danny zuko and sandy olsson , and their pairing still ranks as one of screendom\\'s most effervescently charming . \\nfor those eight of you who aren\\'t familiar with the story , here\\'s a brief recap : greaser bad boy danny and aussie good girl sandy are reunited for their 1959 senior year at rydell high after a brief fling during the summer ; both thought she was going to return to her native continent before school started , but both were wrong . \\nsandy tries to rekindle their relationship , but danny\\'s too cool a cat to fall for her wholesome appeal in front of his t-bird buddies ( including jeff conaway ) . \\nso sandy hooks up with a gang herself -- the pink ladies , headed by sassy , sexy rizzo ( stockard channing , just superb as an independent woman well ahead of her time ) -- and danny , who still really feels love for her , attempts a compromise of ideals in order to win her back . \\nthe drag race finale is yet something of a drag , and i never have thought much of \" greased lightening , \" the film\\'s big \" guy \" number ( that choreography -- ack ! ) , but \" grease \" \\'s flaws amount too few to carp . \\nthe movie\\'s first showpiece is \" summer nights , \" where danny and sandy separately recount wildly different versions of their fun-in-the-sun romance . \\nnot only is \" nights \" tremendously catchy , but it\\'s also a smart look at how men and women see the same events with varying eyes . \\nthere has yet to be a live-action musical sequence that rivals the one-two punch of \" you\\'re the one that i want \" and \" we go together , \" \" grease \" \\'s euphoric cappers . \\nall this and some of the most pleasing moments come from the smaller , quieter moments ; the oscar-nominated \" hopelessly devoted to you \" is a lovely showcase for newton-john , and channing\\'s lamenting ballad \" there are worse things i could do \" is one of \" grease \" \\'s most unjustly overlooked tunes . \\nthe soundtrack is remastered ( though travolta still hits that awful high note at the end of \" nights \" ) and the restored widescreen allows us to see previously pan-and-scanned-out choreography , but nothing else has changed -- no computer-generated backgrounds , no outtakes or new musical numbers , no jabba the hutt cameos . \\nand it\\'s a testament to \" grease \" \\'s timeless success that nothing needs to be changed -- it\\'s the same all-around blast it\\'s always been , with an appealing cast in a fun story told with great music . \\nto \\'90s viewers , \" grease \" will probably recall disco and bellbottoms as much as it made its original audience nostalgic for doo-wop and poodle skirts . \\nbut regardless of what decade it transports us to , we can all agree on one thing -- without a doubt , \" grease \" is still the word . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the summer movie season is always the biggest and brightest season for movies throughout the year . \\nwe are introduced to blockbuster hits that are usually trashed by critics , loved by the people , and make tons of money at the box office . \\nthis year , the tradition continues with an update on the universal 1932 classic , the mummy . \\ni have always been a sucker for this kind of monster movies , and i always seem to be the only critic who really likes them . \\nthat tradition continues as well with this fun special effects extravaganza . \\nin the mummy , the up and coming brendan fraser stars as the adventurous explorer rick o\\'connell . \\nhe teams up with a curious , clumsy librarian named evelyn , played by rachel weisz , to find the mysterious city of the dead , hamunaptra . \\nevelyn loves egypt , and would truly like to visit the city that people call a fable . \\nrick has claimed he has been to hamunaptra during a battle , and that\\'s why she chose him to lead her there . \\nalso tagging along on the journey to the city of the dead is evelyn\\'s brother , jonathan , played by john hannah ( sliding doors ) . \\nnow in hamunaptra , the three uncover \" the book of the dead . \" \\nthe curious evelyn unlocks the book , reads from it , and now the body of the ancient egyptian imhotep ( arnold vosloo ) becomes alive and is out to kill the ones who opened and read from the book . \\nalong with imhotep arising from the dead , the ten curses of egypt become in full effect , launching unbelievable forces against the three and another group who set out to find hamunaptra . \\nnot only is imhotep furious with those who awoke him , he is also out to restore the life of his girlfriend that lost her life long ago in ancient egypt . \\ndon\\'t expect huge things out of the mummy , but just expect to have a good time . \\nthis movie is extremely campy and plays out like an old horror film with beefed up special effects , which may turn off some viewers . \\non the other hand , this type of film is one of my favorites , but that\\'s up to you to decide . \\nthere is one thing that definitely not campy or corny about the mummy though . \\nthe state of the art special effects take you into a completely different world . \\nwe are dazzled by faces rising out of the desert , swarms of beetles and locusts , and even creatures crawling under a human\\'s skin . \\nthese may have been in other movies before , but not like in the mummy . \\nas of now , the mummy holds the title for best special effects of this year , but all this could change when star wars episode 1 : the phantom menace is released into theaters across the country . \\nin the past , brendan fraser has played mainly comedic roles . \\nwhen playing \" george \" in disney\\'s george of the jungle , he was mainly not known by anyone . \\ni would say that gods and monsters is the film that gave him a name , and now the mummy will give him a name amongst teens . \\nin the mummy , fraser gets to play an action hero , and i liked him in this sort of role over the comedic role , as in the films blast from the past and george of the jungle . \\nalthough brendan fraser is great , rachel weisz gives the best performance among the cast . \\nweisz really reminded me of a character from an old , horror film . \\nthe way she acts , looked , and talked all reminded me of someone not from this time . \\nevelyn is probably the only character that was likable , considering that the other characters , like john hannah\\'s , didn\\'t get much personal attention . \\nin many films , when different genres are mixed , the mixing usually works , and i like it for the most part . \\nin the mummy though , not all of the mixing works . \\nthere are some scenes that have a lot of potential horror , some with potential comedy , some with potential drama , and some with potential pure action , but the film tries to mix them together too often for the mixing to work . \\nthe mummy could have gotten an \" a \" rating from me if it had gone purely with one of these . \\ni didn\\'t mind the corny one-liners here and there during action sequences , but it certainly could have done without them . \\nthe cinematography is amazing in the mummy . \\nparticularly in one scene depicting ancient egypt , we are taken into a very fun portrayal of egypt , mummies , and the treasures left behind by the ancient egyptians . \\nthe costume design in the film is also up there with the great cinematography . \\nfrom ancient egyptians outfits to original troops outfits , the costumes are always top notch . \\nthe bottom line- with the mummy , the summer is off to its usually great start . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'national lampoon\\'s animal house , made in 1978 and set in 1962 , remains one of the -- no , fuck that noise -- * the * funniest movie ever made . \\nand this isn\\'t just my opinion , either ; everybody knows this , and that\\'s why about a gazillion inferior rip-offs have been made , trying to duplicate its success . \\n ( pcu anyone ? \\nand the first person to bring up glory daze gets decked . ) \\nanimal house takes place at the fictional faber college , circa 1962 , where the omega frat calls the shots . \\nthese guys are wholesome , clean-cut , model-citizens . . . \\ni . e . \\na bunch of assholes . \\ngreg , their leader , is going out with mandy pepperidge , but since the silly bastard doesn\\'t believe in pre-marital sex , their relationship never goes further than a quick jack-off under the stars . \\nneidermeyer is the supreme-bozo of the bunch , walking around with his dick out kicking freshman ass and trying to impress the muff . \\nalso hanging around these losers is babs , future universal studios employee and serious bitch . \\nnow let\\'s just take a peak next door , at the delta house . \\nover here , anything goes : you wanna throw shit out the window ? \\nokay . \\nyou wanna crush a bunch of beer cans on your forehead and pour honey-mustard all over your chest ? \\ngo right ahead . \\nthe frat\\'s leaders are otter and boon ( tim matheson and peter riegert ) . \\notter is the ladies\\' man , going out with another girl every night , and boon is the comedian . \\nhe\\'s got a steady-date , katy ( karen allen ) , but she\\'s sick of playing second-fiddle to a bottle of j . d . \\nthen there are the others : pinto , a wimp ; flounder , a blimp ; d . day , a biker ; stork , who may or may not have brain-damage ; and last but not least . . . \\nbluto ! \\nbluto , played by the late , great john belushi , is the man . \\nhe\\'s the kind of guy who slugs back entire fifths of whiskey then proclaim , \" i needed that . \" \\nthe kind of guy who puts a cream-filled snowball into his mouth , puffs up his cheeks and spits it out , and then says \" i\\'m a zit -- get it ? \" \\nthe story is as follows : the omegas are getting the deltas kicked off campus . \\nthe deltas , knowing that fighting the omegas is stupid , decide to go out with style , throwing a wild toga party and ruining the homecoming parade . \\nthis is the fucnniest movie int he history of the world . \\ndo yourself a favor and go see it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one of the most blatantly obvious signs that often-acclaimed director sidney lumet\\'s \" gloria , \" a remake of the 1980 john cassavetes film , had absolutely no effect on me occurred when i was driving home from the theatre . \\nsuddenly , i realized that since i had stood up from my theatre seat five minutes before , i had not thought once about the film i had just invested nearly two hours of my life in . \\nwhen a movie is over , aren\\'t we supposed to think about it for a while , and have a conversation about it with the acquaintances we have just watched it with ? \\ni thought so , but , for one , i saw this particular picture by myself , and #2 , even if i had been with someone there wouldn\\'t have been anything to talk about in the first place . \\nto be sure , \" gloria \" begins with a stirring , rather poignant prologue in which a seven-year-old boy\\'s family is brutally gunned down by mobsters , in search of a disc his father had with incriminating evidence on it . \\nright before the men broke in , of course , his father gave him the disc to escape with . \\neventually , the boy , named nicky nunez ( jean-luke figueroa ) , is caught by the mobsters , and taken back to their apartment . \\nmeanwhile , gloria ( sharon stone ) has just gotten out of prison for a crime she didn\\'t commit and returns to her ex-boyfriend ( jeremy northam ) to recieve the money he promised her for covering up his crime . \\nwhen he refuses to give it to her , and then hears the group of men talking about killing nicky , she leaves with him in order to save his life , but not before holding the men at gunpoint , stealing all of their money , and forcing them to strip nude . \\ngloria is the type of fast-talking , smart-mouthed new yorker who always seems to get involved with the wrong people , and she never expected to be stuck with a kid , but she has a heart of gold ( don\\'t they always in this type of movie ) and is only trying to protect the boy , whom she quickly begins to form a close bond with . \\nthe previous incarnation of \" gloria \" by cassavetes and starring the luminous gena rowlands , remains unseen by me , but was no doubt superior , even though i can\\'t really imagine how this considerably dull story could be transformed into an entertaining one , regardless of the director or stars . \\nthere is no doubt in my mind that director lumet has stuck closely to the original , but the film itself is simply lifeless , with only an occasional laugh popping up here and there so that it isn\\'t completely unbearable to watch . \\ni liked , for example , a very funny climactic sequence where gloria is deciding whether to leave the school she has left the boy at , and keeps turning the car around , then driving a little ways , then slamming on the brakes and turning around again . \\nthese bright moments , however , appear long and far between , and the majority of the film deals with the budding relationship between nicky and gloria , which is both painfully predictable and by-the-numbers . \\nthroughout , my mind was repeatedly asking the question , \" who really cares ? \" \\nas gloria , sharon stone has adopted an over-the-top brooklyn accent that honestly doesn\\'t sound realistic at all . \\nin the beginning , in fact , i was amazed at how amateurish stone\\'s performance was , but as the film progressed she got better . \\nalthough not one of her better turns , stone does have a comic flare that refuses to be ignored . \\njean-luke figeroa was fine as nicky and a little more natural than the usual child actors who are so precocious they make you want to gag . \\nall other actors who appeared were considerably wasted , none more than cathy moriarty , an entertaining actress in her own right , who is billed fourth and has all of one scene , as gloria\\'s friend whom she turns to for help . \\nsony , the studio that released \" gloria , \" obviously does not have any faith in the film , and i don\\'t blame them . \\nthey declined to screen the picture for critics , which is never a good sign , particularly with the high-profile people involved . \\nalthough how much money a movie makes does not determine how good it is ( just look at the spectacular \" in dreams , \" which failed to even make the top 10 last week ) , i have a suspicion \" gloria \" is going to vanish from theaters faster than \" ishtar , \" judging from the opening night 7 : 00 p . m . showing i saw it at , where there were about ten to fifteen people present , counting myself . \\nalthough stone can be an impressive actress ( just watch her in 1995\\'s \" casino \" or 1996\\'s \" last dance \" if you don\\'t believe me ) and sidney lumet can be a respectable director , there is no reasoning for why they thought the cliched story of \" gloria \" was worth remaking or , for that matter , why columbia pictures agreed to finance it when they could have been making a picture that actually looked like it might have an inkling of a chance to be successful . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it would be hard to choose the best american political thriller . \\nsome people would probably pick the manchurian candidate and others ( myself included ) would pick seven days in may . \\nboth those films were tense exercises in chills . \\nthe two films came out within two years of each other and both were directed by the same man , john frankenheimer . \\nbut that was 1962 and 1964 respectively . \\nfor most of the rest of his career frankenheimer has turned out some decent films , but has shown little of the promise that those two thrillers showed . \\neach of those films had memorable characters and a tense plot . \\nthey had almost nothing in the way of chases or gunplay . \\nthe thrills all came from the plot . \\nronin is like a film made by another man . \\nsomewhere behind all the shooting and explosions and car chases there are the rudiments ofa plot , but we see only tiny pieces of it . \\nwe get a clue here and one there as to what is going on but j . d . zeik's screenplay is a bit obscure . \\nthe film begins explaining that a ronin is a masterless samurai . \\nwhen a samurai has failed in the job of protecting his master from death , he becomes a ronin , much like a gunfighter in the american west . \\nif you miss the opening , do not worry . \\nthis film will explain again what a ronin is . \\nsam ( played by robert de niro ) is the modern equivalent of a ronin . \\nhe is a free agent who seems to have really good instincts about how to stay alive the world of a professional killer . \\nhe clearly was in a dangerous business at one time and now he seems to be drifting around on his own somewhere in france . \\nsam is recruited from a montmartre bar by dierdre ( natascha mcelhone of the truman show ) , an irish woman , to be part of an action to steal a mysterious metal case . \\ndierdre is very tight-lipped about what is in the case . \\nsam joins a team of four others : vincent ( jean reno of the professional/leon and mission impossible ) , spence ( sean bean , tv's richard sharpe , and also patriot games and goldeneye ) , and gregor ( stellan skarsgard of breaking the waves and good will hunting ) . \\nalso along is larry ( skipp suddeth ) . \\nthe group seems to know their business , particularly sam , but each is in his own way cold and professional with his own field of expertise . \\ntheir only human side seems to be in tensions among the members of the team . \\nthe story is not very easy to follow . \\nit is never clear who is double-crossing whom and who is working for whom . \\nsomehow russians ( who may or may not be the russian mafia ) and irish radicals are involved trying to get their hands on a certain metal case . \\nsome very good actors are involved in this film . \\none wonders what they saw in the script . \\nthe characters are mostly one-dimensional professional killers . \\nthey know their work , and seeing their thought patterns adds some interest to the film , but for this group deep feeling between two people is teaming up with another killer so that neither is killed . \\nby the end of the film we never really got to know anybody . \\nmaybe that is the secret of why such good actors took parts , since these are not very demanding characters to create . \\nin addition to the above characters the film also features jonathan pryce and michael lonsdale ( the latter of moonraker and of the superior thriller the day of the jackal ) . \\nas a revival of a sort of action film that was popular in the 1960s , i was hoping that there would be something here to grab onto and enjoy . \\nunfortunately there are no deep characters , and little to make us care who eventually ends up with the metal case or why they want it . \\ni rate ronin a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nnon-spoiler : incidentally , the tale of the 47 ronin has been filmed multiple times , usually under the title chushingura or as the 47 ronin . \\nalso one frequently sees in japanese art the image of a man breaking down a door with a huge mallet . \\nthis is the first blow of the 47 ronin . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"this is the worst movie i've viewed so far in 98 . \\nthe avengers = silly = man dressed in a bowler hat + woman wearing tight leathers > evil scientists dressed in teddy bear suits + greater evil , sir august de wynter wearing kilt . \\nthe question is what could have gone wrong with a potentially great idea with big name cast ? \\nthe same question was probably asked of last year's stinker batman and robin . \\ni feel the production got a little too smug , the script a little to smart and direction was somehow lost in the chaos of random events that collided together to form a movie . \\nmy greatest criticism rests on the fact that there was no chemistry between emma peel and john steed ( thurman and fiennes ) ? something that was a vital element of the 60's tv serial of the same name . \\nthe dialogue goes on and on about tea and other finer british perks , but does not allow much room for character development and interaction , except to perhaps grate on the viewer's nerves . \\none wonders why the dynamic pair bother kissing in the end except for pure english formality . \\nconnery as sir august , does not fair better than thurman or fiennes . \\nhis dialogue is as erratic as stormy weather , mostly embarrassing and poor quality . \\nif there is a movie you would prefer never to see , i believe the avengers would be a good choice . \\nfor one thing , you will not have to witness a product that is far inferior to the three high profile names that is associated with the title . \\ni cannot understand how something so poorly produced could have been released , but i put it down to one of those freak happenings in nature , like lightning you can't see it coming until it hits you . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"here's a concept -- jean-claude van damme gets killed within the first ten minutes of the movie . \\nnow if that isn't enough to get you to finally see a van damme movie , i don't know what is . \\nall sarcasm aside , it is certainly a different way to start a movie , of course a few minutes later we find out that the newly deceased had a twin brother -- so lucky us , we get to see more of jean-claude . \\nvan damme #1 works for the russian mafia in the united states and is killed by some of their operatives . \\nvan damme #2 is a police officer in france who finds out that he had a twin brother he never knew about after #1 gets killed in france . \\nthe remaining twin ( the french cop ) goes to the united states to find out who killed his brother and avenge his death . \\nonce there , he hooks up with his deceased brother's girlfriend , played by natasha henstridge , and the two of them set out to discover who the murderers are . \\njean-claude's acting abilities don't seem to be up to the usual lackluster standards in this movie . \\nin other words , just in case you missed the sarcasm , his acting is worse than normal . \\non the upside , natasha henstridge is in this film , and she does what she did best in species -- she gets naked . \\nsadly , this is probably the high point in the movie . \\nshe is actually a decent actress , but didn't improve as much as i thought she would after species . \\nthis is the typical van damme movie , with jean-claude doing a variety of high end martial arts moves on his opponents . \\nnothing new here , and certainly nothing we haven't seen in every other van damme movie . \\nsimply put , there is absolutely nothing new about this movie . \\nit has a retread plot -- this isn't the first time jean-claude has played twins . \\nhe still can't act . \\nwe all saw natasha's breasts in species ( although this is one repeat performance i'm not complaining about ) . \\nthis is pretty much like every movie that van damme has ever been involved in -- sub par . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"one of the most popular subplots in the entire science fiction genre is time travel . \\nthat concept , although many purists doubt its scientific credentials , spawned many interesting novels , comic books and films in the last century . \\nhowever , the big grand-daddy of time travels , h . g . wells' novel the time machine , wasn't written with the intention to speculate about that concept or its consequences . \\nthe author , h . g . wells merely used it as a convenient way to express his socialist views and condemn the great social gap between the rich , idle capitalist class and impoverished labour . \\nwhatever intentions wells had , the future generations of readers were less impressed by his political messages . \\ninstead they were fascinated by the idea that the strange new worlds could be explored without traveling trough space . \\nthe novel became one of great classics of science fiction genre and it natural for filmmakers to use it as inspiration . \\nfirst of them was george pal , who in 1960 directed film which would , through the years , become genre classic of its own . \\nthe plot revolves about george ( rod taylor ) , victorian scientist who discovered the way to travel through the fourth dimension - time . \\nat the eve of the new 20th century , george gathers his friends in order to present them his invention - machine that would enable him to travel through time . \\nthey are skeptical , but that doesn't prevent george from carrying out his plan and traveling into the future . \\nat first , he travels slowly , seeing london as it changes through the years and three world wars . \\nfinally , after witnessing world war three , he travels far into the future , hoping that he would cease to witness wars and senseless destructions . \\nwhen he finally reaches year 802 , 701 ad , at first glance , new world looks like utopia - humanity consists of young , beautiful , but idle eloi , people who are fed , clothed and taken care of by unseen machines . \\nbut , weena ( yvette mimieux ) , eloi woman , tells george about another side of the coin - in the night , her people is preyed upon by morlocs , humanoid creatures from the underworld . \\nthe time machine became the cinematic classic for the very same reason the novel became the classic in science fiction literature - the fantastic concept was a brilliant way for the authors to talk about burning issues and fears of their respective times . \\nfor h . g . wells it was frightening threat of class struggle ; for george pal and his screenwriter david duncan , who produced the film in the worst days of the cold war , it was the constant and more imminent threat of nuclear holocaust , underlined with the negative references to war throughout the movie . \\neven the modern audience , which would be tempted to discard the film as old-fashioned , could find some values in its universal messages , fit for each era . \\ncompared with the genre films of today , the time machine is even better , and could serve as a good example how to make intelligent , thought-provoking films . \\nof course , since this is hollywood product after all , the time machine delivers such concepts in the form of classic adventure , sometimes sacrificing plausibility for the sake of attractiveness . \\nfor example , it is hard to imagine that someone would be able to understand perfect english million years in future ; same is with morlocs degenerating into mutant monsters , while eloi remain undistinguished from the people of today . \\nsome of the final scenes , that turn victorian scientist into an action superhero , are also rather unconvincing . \\nbut , on the other hand , the film is very well directed , cleverly paced and the special effects , although definitely old-fashioned , are more than adequate for this kind of picture . \\nthe acting is good , with rod taylor in one of his most remembered roles , while in the same time alan young brings rather memorable performance as george's trusted friend filby . \\nyvette mimieux , who plays weena , on the other hand , would be remembered more by her looks than by the complexity of her role . \\nhowever , despite all those flaws , the time machine is a very good piece of cinema , something that connoisseurs of quality science-fiction films sorely miss these days . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'dead-bang , an action thriller starring don johnson , lives up to its dumb title , or at least to half of it . \\nalthough dead-bang is definitely dead , it is anything but a bang ; in fact , they should have called this one \" dead bore . \" \\nin the film , johnson plays . . . \\nyou guessed it . . . \\na cop . \\nthe role must have been really challenging for johnson since his character , jerry beck , is a gritty los angeles homicide detective , a real stretch from the slick vice detective johnson portrayed on \" miami vice . \" \\na la mel gibson in lethal weapon , beck is an emotional wreck , complete with violent outbursts , unscrupulous police methods , and a bleak outlook on life . \\nbeck\\'s wife has just divorced him , and she is cutting him off from their children . \\nshe will not even allow him to wish them \" merry christmas \" by telephone . \\nbut beck\\'s family and emotional problems take a back seat to the action and thrills in dead-bang . \\nbeck is investigating the brutal murders of a shopkeeper and a cop . \\nhis investigation starts in l . a . and finally culminates and climaxes in oklahoma , where he has a violent showdown with the killers at a white supremacist camp . \\nvirtually every aspect of dead-bang is inept and ineffective . \\nthe plot is incoherent and full of holes . \\nthe movie depicts beck\\'s investigation so clumsily that you never see the connections between his clues and his conclusions . \\nthe action sequences in dead-bang are strictly third-rate , and the movie has absolutely no momentum or suspense . \\ni certainly expected more from long-time director john frankenheimer who directed the classic political thriller , the manchurian candidate--as well as black sunday , seven days in may , and the french connection ii . \\nin all fairness to frankenheimer , however , i should note that most of dead-bang\\'s shortcomings seem to stem from its shabby script rather than from the direction . \\ndead-bang tries to don a mask of social relevance by incorporating themes of racism and white supremacy , but its efforts are nothing more than token gestures and nothing less than insulting . \\naccording to the movie\\'s production notes , dead-bang is based on the real-life experiences of still-active detective jerry beck . \\nyou would never guess this from watching dead-bang , however , since the film totally lacks credibility ; it is utterly unconvincing and unbelievable . \\nmost of the characters in dead-bang are either atrociously acted , underdeveloped , superfluous , or all of the above . \\nwilliam forsythe , for example , is painfully bad as arthur kressler , a wholesome by-the-book fbi agent who\\'s offended by beck\\'s foul language and unorthodox methods . \\nforsythe\\'s lame performance and corny dialogue makes his character unbearable . \\ndead-bang marks the motion picture debut of tim reid ( \" wkrp in cincinnati \" and \" frank\\'s place \" ) , but his talents are completely wasted in a cliched and contrived role ; he plays the chief officer of a squadron of black cops who help beck to nail the villains . \\nthe sole function of penelope ann miller\\'s character is to give dead-bang an excuse to include a gratuitous love scene between characters about whom you could not care less . \\ni guess the film\\'s title refers to this love scene since it\\'s definitely a dead bang . \\nthe only real virtue of dead-bang , believe it or not , is don johnson , who tries to overcome the limitations of the movie\\'s pitiful script . \\njohnson succeeds in giving his character a sarcastic sense of humor and a hint of depth , and his pessimistic wisecracks occasionally bring the film to life . \\nand i must admit that dead-bang does have one or two amusing moments . \\nthe funniest scene has johnson throwing-up all over a criminal as he interrogates him . \\nbut when barf is the highlight of a movie , you know the movie\\'s in trouble . \\nthe other amusing scene involves a psychological examination of beck , in which he can\\'t keep a straight face because the psychiatrist resembles woody allen . \\nbut two funny scenes and a couple good wisecracks do not a movie make . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'niagara niagara ( r ) bob gosse\\'s niagara niagara follows a blueprint not unlike a lot of young-lovers-on-the-road movies . \\nwild marcy ( robin tunney ) and calm seth ( henry thomas ) meet cute , literally running into each other while shoplifting at a local store . \\na mere couple of scenes later , the two embark on a journey to toronto from their small , unnamed american town in pursuit of a rare doll that marcy desperately wants . \\nalong the way , true love inevitably blossoms . \\nwhat sets niagara niagara apart , though , is that marcy is afflicted with tourette\\'s syndrome , a neurological disorder that causes sudden muscle and vocal tics . \\ntunney , displaying an acting range not hinted at in the teenage witch thriller the craft , delivers an astonishing performance that won her the best actress prize at last year\\'s venice film festival . \\nto term her work a tour-de-force is not to imply that she attacks the scenery ; tunney\\'s effectiveness lies in her modulation and vulnerability , which makes her depiction of marcy\\'s illness--which often causes her to act violently--that much more convincing and tragic . \\nshe and the nicely subtle thomas develop a sweetly innocent and beguilingly off-kilter chemistry . \\ntheir journey hits a few rough spots creatively along the way , mostly the fault of writer matthew weiss . \\na detour involving a kindly widower ( michael parks ) who takes the couple in brings the story to a screeching halt , and the key character of a trigger-happy pharmacist ( stephen lang ) is highly unbelievable . \\nbut these missteps do not blunt the power of tunney\\'s bravura turn , which carries niagara niagara to a level of poignance it would not have otherwise achieved . \\n ( opens march 20 ) \\n \" i didn\\'t know what to expect . \\nit\\'s like something you chase for so long , but then you don\\'t know how to react when you get it . \\ni still don\\'t know how to react . \" \\n--michael jordan , on winning his first nba championship in 1991 . . . or , \\nmy thoughts after meeting him on november 21 , 1997 \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" gattaca \" represents a solid breakthrough in the recent onslaught of science-fiction films -- it\\'s a genre picture that doesn\\'t rely on alien creatures or loud explosions to tell its story . \\nthe movie takes place in a futuristic world where babies are created through genetic tampering and not sexual reproduction . \\nthis allows parents to predetermine what kind of eye color , intelligence and life span they\\'d like for their child , and also eliminates most pesky chances of health defects . \\nthose made the old-fashioned way are labeled as \" in-valids \" and confined to the lower rung of society . \\nvincent freeman ( ethan hawke ) is one such person , born not too long before the genetic process was perfected and forced to grow up in a home with his petrie dish-molded younger brother anton . \\nfed up with being second-rate and enchanted by dreams of one day traveling through space , vincent leaves home and takes a janitorial position at the gattaca aerospace corporation . \\neveryday , he watches as \" superior \" folk make his fantasy a reality . \\ndetermined to do the same , vincent meets a dna broker ( tony shalhoub in a funny cameo ) who sells fake identities to in-valids . \\nhis counterpart for this scam is jerome morrow ( jude law ) , an ex-athlete left paralyzed in an accident and confined to a wheelchair for life . \\nfor a price and the promise of a caretaker , jerome supplies vincent with his identity , as well as blood , skin and urine samples for all of those pesky on-the-job tests and physical examinations -- this future is one where employees clock in by pricking their fingers instead of punching a time card . \\nbecause of his drastically improved status , vincent is quickly propelled to a high position in gattaca , and catches the eye of comely co-worker irene ( uma thurman ) on the way -- obsessed with her own minor heart defect , she\\'s enamored by his flawless persona she doesn\\'t know is a lie . \\nbut on the figurative eve of his upcoming planetary departure , the mission director is murdered . \\ntwo ardent detectives ( alan arkin and billy bathgate\\'s loren dean ) determine the killer is on the inside of gattaca , and the sole clue they find at the crime scene -- one of vincent\\'s eyelashes -- threatens to blow vincent\\'s cover and derail his goal . \\neven if \" gattaca \" were dramatically empty , it would still boast a sublime set of production credentials -- the film\\'s look is dazzling without ever being flashy . \\nfirst-time director/writer andrew niccol ( he also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming jim carrey drama \" the truman show \" ) demonstrates a keen eye for the stylish ; his collaboration with cinematographer slawomir idziak , production designer jan roelfs and costume designer colleen atwood result in a sophisticated composition that emanates classy , retro ambiance . \\nan opening credits sequence -- where skin , nail and hair fragments fall in slow-motion through a colored camera lens -- displays these combined talents uncannily . \\nniccol even utilizes voice-over narration ( a device almost always poorly-employed ) in an effective way . \\nwhen it comes to acting , the movie is also flawless . \\nethan hawke does magnificent work , proving his ability to carry a film and reaffirming his enormously high charisma level . \\nhis chemistry with thurman is a bit on the icy side , but needfully so , adding to the setting\\'s clinical chill . \\nas the bitter jerome , jude law has a star-making presence , and it\\'s his scenes with hawke that give the movie its fine emotional core . \\nin \" gattaca \" \\'s series of final shots , the fates of vincent and jerome are superimposed over each other , and the effect is sad , lyrical and beautiful . \\nthings get a little strange as the movie nears its climax , when vincent\\'s relationship with his brother comes back into view . \\nthe big dramatic culmination is a swim race , which is somewhat silly albeit beautifully photographed . \\nstill , the single most surprising aspect of gattaca is its use of backdrop -- it\\'s successful sci-fi without showy special effects , it\\'s a crisp thriller with character-driven thrills , it\\'s a futuristic fable without blood and guts . \\neven its murder mystery is relegated to a secondary subplot , ensuring that a smart story about smart people and smart science takes center stage . \\nalthough it\\'s portrayal of the upcoming century is grim , \" gattaca \" serves up one of the most thought-provoking societal forecasts ever depicted on film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it was with a huge lack of something to do that i decided to watch this on good old upn on sunday afternoon , when the only good things on tv are the second-rate movies they show ( some are good : they showed \" total recall \" before this one ) . \\nif you know me , i think seagal is probably the most boring action star to ever live . \\nand this includes keanu reeves . \\nwhat do i hate about seagal ? \\ni hate how he uses one facial expression for every single threatening and non-threatening situation ( the squint ) . \\ni hate those scenes in every movie where he goes around , bullying people up , saying stupid lines with a brooklyn accent more fake than burt reynold\\'s hairpiece in \" boogie nights . \" \\ni despise how he never gets a bruise in any of his fights . \\ni hate how every single plot twist leads to just a melodramatic fight between he and the chief villain . \\ni hate his non-satirical messages ( in the beginning of this one , he slaps on a quote from arthur miller , which has nothing to do with the film , except it\\'s about brooklyn where this film takes place ) . \\nand i hate how he\\'s so narcissistic that he thinks that he can actually fucking sing ( during the end credits , he has a good old hill billy rock tune sung and penned by him ) . \\nsure , the guy\\'s probably a nice guy in person ( i actually found him very non-threatening when he was on letterman not too long ago ) . \\nbut the guy makes worse films than reagan did . \\nso what\\'s the plot of this shit-terpiece ? \\nwell . . . something \\nabout him trying to catch a stupid-ass crook ( william forsythe ) who shot and killed his partner in broad daylight . \\ni couldn\\'t believe how bad this scene was - the guy was conveniently with his family so we get the maximum emotional effect ( ahem ! ) . \\nand forsythe even said some stupid lines to him before he took off . \\ni\\'m sorry , did anyone ever hear of concealing one\\'s self ? \\nso in comes ex-brooklynite seagal , who dedicates his life to catching this guy . \\nand i just wished he had caught him in the beginning , then ended the film . \\nbut noooo , this drags on , as he bullies forsythe\\'s family members ( including a stupid bar-owner , and none other than gina gershon as his other bar-owner sister ) . \\nand forsythe more than once threatens his family . \\nat one point , he actually comes to their house and stalks them like a non-threatening nicholson in \" the shining \" ( complete with them all hiding in the bathroom , but with an added bonus of one girl conveniently loosing her cool and screaming to give them away ) . \\nseagal paints himself as a lovable person , with a son , and a fiancee . \\nhe even shows him hanging with his son , checking up on his homework , and then about to take him out for a bit of \" catch , \" when he\\'s conveniently called away on assignment . \\ni dunno about you , but playing \" catch \" with seagal was one of my childhood nightmares . \\nhe also shows him as that bad-ass he wants to be , with scenes of him bullying crooks around , and taking out people who are stupid enough to attack him even after he\\'s unarmed a chinese guy swinging bats with a pool cue . \\nserves them right . \\nthis film , as some of his do , has an interesting supporting cast of actors who are actually talented , but don\\'t appear to be in this film . \\ni already mentioned gina gershon ( who\\'s pretty horrible in this one ) , as well as william forsythe , who over-acts terribly . \\ni know this guy can act : he was awesome in \" raising arizona \" as goodman\\'s partner in crime . \\nbut he\\'s just awful here . \\njerry orbach gives the only credible performance in the film as the police chief who checks up on segal after things have gone down . \\nwhy is he the only one who gives a good performance ? \\nwell , because his role is small enough and sporadic enough to not tarnish his credibility . \\nhe seems to be in here just to give it a cool \" law and order \" feeling ( even if it\\'s not a \" cool \" feeling ) . \\nand in cameos are b-rated erotic-thriller-cinemax-style stars , shannon whirry ( as \" terry malloy , \" which is more of a bad joke than a clever one ) and athena massey . \\noh ! \\nand \" er \" \\'s julliana margiulles has two scenes . \\n \" out for justice \" just proves once again that american action films just suck . \\ni know that there\\'s such a good thing as good action - he\\'s called john woo . \\nbut if you\\'re in the mood for some good old no-brainer , fun-yet-dumb action , don\\'t bother watching this . \\nit\\'s so stupid that it\\'s boring . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'urban legend surprised me . \\nbased on the last few films the genre has produced ( including but not exclusive to the likes of i know what you did last summer , disturbing behavior and the disappointing halloween : h20 ) , i was positive that i was in store for another mildly entertaining but silly and ultimately boring rehash of the scream phenomena . \\nthankfully , legend rose above it\\'s soggy premise to become not only a hip , scary and stylish entertainment , but also what will probably become one of the best films of the year . \\nyou\\'re all familiar with the plot ; a bunch of overly horny teenagers get systematically slaughtered by a masked maniac who\\'s identity is not revealed until the closing moments of the film when it turns out to be , you guessed it ; everybody\\'s favorite veteran of the whodunit flicks . . . the \\nonly person you didn\\'t suspect ! \\nhowever , just because legend doesn\\'t really break any new ground as far as literary or even technical achievements go does not mean that it can\\'t qualify as first-class entertainment . \\nit was , believe it or not , one of the funnest times i\\'ve had at the movies all year . \\nthe thing is , i\\'m not really sure what made this particular stab ( pardon the pun ) at the genre seem so fresh and alive . \\nmaybe it was the above-par performances by the movie\\'s two leads ( jared leto and \" cybil \" actress alicia witt ) . \\nor , it could have been the on- target direction by jamie blanks . \\nmore likely , though , it was because of the inspired premise . \\ni don\\'t think i need to tell you that a killer hacking people up ala urban folklore is much more frightening than a killer fisherman . \\nurban legend begins with a sequence that reminded me of the classic scream opener , not so much in plotting as in attention to detail that makes for an absolutely chilling teaser for the rest of the film . \\na pretty young coed is driving down a deserted road when ( gasp ! ) a gas problem ( hee-hee ) forces her to stop at an equally deserted gas station for a refill . \\none problem , though . \\nwould you want to stop at a station run by brad dourif ? \\ni thought not . \\npredictably , the attendant ends up coaxing her into the main building to sort out a problem with the credit card company . \\nit\\'s odd , though , when you pick up a phone to realize that nobody\\'s on the other line . \\nnaturally , the potential victim escapes into her car and drives off . \\nand the when we least expect it . . . whack ! ! ! \\na decapitation . \\nit turns out that the creepy looking attendant was just trying to warn her about the maniac in the back seat of the car . \\nso who is it this time ? \\nthe obvious candidate is the slightly off-kilter professor at the college the girl went to ( none other than freddy kruger himself , robert englund ) , who teaches a class on urban legends . \\na-ha . \\nor could it be the fame-hungry local journalist ( leto ) looking for a meaty story to put on his resume ? \\nlike all movies of this nature , one of the chief pleasures is trying to guess whodunit . \\nand it turns out to be , of course , the one you didn\\'t suspect . \\ni\\'m not going to pretend urban legend is anything more than it is , but i must give credit where credit is due . \\nand this flick definitely deserves credit for being what not many other recent horror films have been . . . fun . \\n * complimentary movie ticket courtesy of valley cinemas in lodi , ca \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"mr . bean , a bumbling security guard from england is sent to la to help with the grandiose homecoming of a masterpiece american painting . \\nthe first two words should have said enough to let you know what occurs during bean's trip to la , but if they didn't look out because you are in for a rather interesting if not odd ride . \\nheck depending on your humor you might end up laughing through the whole flick . \\neither way look out america bean is coming . \\nwell , what can really be said about this movie , there is very little discernible plot . \\nthat much is not hard to grapple with for it is a slapstick comedy . \\nit achieves that goal rather admirably , but because it is that , the plot is just screaming for help . \\nthe whole premise that the movie is based on is to say the least flawed . \\nthe movie had its funny moments but there was no real story line other than something that could be thought up on a whim and carried through and in many causes ad-libbed as you went . \\ndon't go into this movie expecting and theatrical masterpiece . \\nbut if this form of humor floats your boat then you will truly enjoy this movie , even if you don't like slapstick style humor you will end up laughing because something's are just so stupid . \\nthe movie goes out and accomplishes what it aims , or so it seems . \\nnow when you look at the acting in this movie you have to think about two things , first was there any real acting and how hard is it to act in the slapstick manner . \\nwell , there was no real acting in this movie but some of the slapstick wasn't the easiest i am sure . \\ni have to concede that mr . atkinson's acting in this movie is well done . \\nalthough the role isn't too demanding the slapstick is . \\ni think that the character could have had a bit more dialogue , it would have added quite a bit to the overall effect of the movie . \\nnow the rest of the actors in the movie , bad acting and poor casting . \\ni think that the role opposite bean could have been better , just seemed wrong for the movie . \\na different actor might have done a better job of it but i wont presume that wasn't what was trying to be achieved . \\none thing that i must say , simply to get if off my chest is that i think transferring a sitcom to tv usually produces rather disastrous results . \\ntv shows should do just that stay on tv , it will probably save some producers from getting ulcers . \\ni can only think of a couple examples of tv going to the big screen effectively , the best known of those would have to be star trek . \\nbean seriously fails to accomplish anything close to what that series gone movie achieved . \\nnow another thing that i have to state again is this movie has narrowed its target audience fairly tightly . \\nthe form of humor in this movie will not be liked by most people , these people will think like i did that this movie is stupid and pointless . \\nbut if you like the tv show you might actually like this movie . \\nbut to be on the safe side i am opting to recommend you save your money and not go to see this movie . \\nthere are many movies that are truly worth seeing unlike this one . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"billy bob thornton , who had a sudden rise to fame with 1996's sling blade after spending years as a virtually unknown actor and writer , is becoming one of the most versatile - and most accomplished - american actors around at the moment . \\nas jacob , the simple but at times very bright loser brother of bill paxton's hank , thornton gives a performance which should leave an indelible mark on all but the most hardened viewers . \\nthree men , hank ( paxton ) , jacob ( thornton ) and their friend lou ( brent briscoe ) stumble upon a plane wreck which , upon closer inspection , yields a rotting corpse and a bag full of money . \\njacob and lou want to pocket the cash . \\nhank , the smarter - and perhaps more naive - of the three , insists on leaving the money for the authorities to find . \\neventually , they agree to keep the cash safe until the plane is found , and then split the money three ways . \\nthings start going wrong , though , with greed and violence weaving their ways through their plan . \\ndisaster is sure to strike . \\ndirector sam raimi , of the evil dead and darkman fame , has made an excellent and thought-provoking film , worlds away from the comic horror films which made his name . \\nwhile there are a couple of moments which might remind one of his earlier work , raimi has made an intelligent and mature departure which will hopefully be a sign of even greater films to come . \\nscott b . smith's screenplay , based on his novel ( which i haven't read ) is a fine example of escalating tension . \\nwhile it does remind one of danny boyle's shallow grave without the abundance of black humour , it keeps the drama that should really be a part of such a story on morality , or the lack thereof , found in a film with this subject matter . \\nalar kivilo's cinematography reminds one of joel and ethan coen's fargo , with the bleak , snowy landscape almost becoming another character . \\ndanny elfman also does well with his moody , finely-written score . \\nif there's a flaw in the film , it's that it goes on for just a little too long . \\njust when we think that they are about to wrap things up , raimi and smith decide to let the film go on a little further . \\nwhile this isn't really a bad thing , it did become a little frustrating at times ( this may have been due to the fact that i had consumed a large sprite beforehand ) . \\nthe performances are excellent , with the usually annoying paxton in fine form and bridget fonda giving a scene-stealing turn as hank's scheming wife . \\nthis is an excellent showcase for thornton's fine skills as an actor and a great change in direction for raimi , who could very well have a career ahead of him as an accomplished director of dramatic films . \\nfingers crossed , though , that this doesn't stop him from making another evil dead sequel . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'after indecent proposal and up close and personal , redford was wise to direct himself in a picture at last . \\nredford may look great on-screen , but over the past few years , he\\'s proven himself a bigger talent behind the camera . \\nordinary people is one of the best films of the nineteen-eighties , and it was the first picture he helmed . \\nwhile the milagro beanfield war was only occasionally successful at combining magic-realism with . . . um , \\nrealism , and i\\'ve never been much of a fan of a river runs through it ( to the chagrin of many ) , quiz show was dazzling , energetic and convincing . \\nthe horse whisperer represents both his directorial return to nature films and the first time in that sub-genre redford seems equally concerned with humans and scenery . \\nscott-thomas plays annie maclean , an uptight but respected new york magazine editor whose daughter grace ( johanssen ) loses a leg and a good friend when an early morning ride climaxes with their horses colliding with a semi . \\ngrace\\'s horse survived , but barely , and has gone mad . \\nannie refuses to put the animal out of his misery , believing that if the horse heals it will mend grace\\'s newly-broken spirit . \\neventually , mother and daughter travel alone to montana to be with tom booker ( redford ) , a famed \" horse whisperer \" who has a gift of calming horses with simple looks and touches , leaving busy husband neill behind . \\neventually , they move onto the booker ranch with the rest of tom\\'s family , and annie finds herself falling in love with all things montana , including , naturally , tom , the wise and lonely trainer . \\nthe horse whisperer is delicately made . \\ni dare say lyrical , since to many people\\'s ear , that word is synonymous with boring . \\nhardly . \\nthe horse whisperer has little to offer in the way of surprise , but it does have an honesty that is refreshing and consistently enjoyable to watch , especially in the final third of the story . \\nscott-thomas and johanssen seem like mother and daughter , and you have no doubt believing that the mountain vistas would put these new yorkers under a spell , especially since d . p . \\nrobert richardson\\'s photography casts montana as heaven on earth . \\n ( a gimmicky but effective technique the filmmakers employ is a switch in aspect ratio from squarish to widescreen when the central location shifts from new york to montana . ) \\nthe underrated sam neill turns in perhaps his most heartfelt , emotive performance as the nice-guy husband , who is as authoritive and likeable as tom . \\nhe is indeed a refreshing change from the sexist , lout of a husband so many writers resort to as a short-cut for explaining away the cheating spouse\\'s motivation . \\nunfortunately , one of the horse whisperer\\'s only flaws is the chemistry between would-be lovers scott-thomas and redford . \\ni liked both of them , but i didn\\'t necessarily believe that redford would fall for such a cold fish , even if the countryside air thawed her slightly . \\nluckily ( and curiously ) , this is such a rich and textured movie that it doesn\\'t quite matter-their adultery seems like an afterthought , the obligatory sub-plot that ties many of the characters\\' complex relationships together . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mighty joe young blunders about for nearly twenty minutes before we actually get to see a great big gorilla . \\nhis entrance , however , is a grand one : out from the trees he leaps , gargantuan and imposing , sporting hands big enough to crush a volkswagen bug , and a pair of feet much larger than any pro basketball player will ever have . \\njoe bellows at the poachers before him , angry that they would like to kill him and sell him for millions of dollars . \\nduring this scene , i turned to my friend and said , \" wow . \\nthat\\'s some ape . \" \\njoe is quite a gorilla -- a big , digital gorilla . \\nhe runs around the fields , chasing cars and people . \\nhe picks things up and stares at them pensively . \\nhe breaks things on accident , because he\\'s just too big to avoid clumsiness . \\njoe , as a special effect , is an image that might hold your interest for five minutes . \\nas a character , he doesn\\'t quite register . \\nand the story he\\'s been put in is as limp as they come . \\nthe words \" family entertainment \" have never been a stamp of quality , but might joe young is just a silly special effects movie pretending to have a heart . \\nthe picture is a remake of the 1949 film . \\nit\\'s mostly just about the big gorilla , but , strictly as a formality , the movie also has a few human characters . \\nthe main one is jill young ( poor charlize theron , forced to waste her talent ) , a lover of gorillas . \\nas a child , she witnessed a group of poachers murder her mother ; now , she lives in the jungle to protect the wildlife . \\nspecifically , she\\'s out to protect joe , a giant gorilla who has been her friend since her childhood . \\nsoon , zoologist gregg o\\'hara ( bill paxton ) discovers joe ; he quickly realizes that poachers want to get joe and sell him to a big game hunter named strasser ( rade sherbedgia ) , who just happens to be the same guy who killed jill\\'s mother . \\nso , in an effort to save joe , jill and gregg take the big gorilla to a preserve , where it is instantly clear that he is not safe from poachers . \\nin addition , the space is way too small for him ( after all , he is a really big gorilla ) . \\nand , to add to the complications , strasser shows up under a benevolent pretext ( he tells jill that he has a preserve big enough for joe ) , and joe recognizes strasser as the guy who killed jill\\'s mother . \\njill , of course , doesn\\'t recognize strasser , even though he did kill her mother . \\nthis is just one of the many examples of stupidity in mighty joe young , a film that fulfills every stereotype that comes with a special effects film . \\nthe movie isn\\'t really offensive -- it has some competent actors , a few nifty sets , and a lot of scenes with a big , digitized gorilla . \\nbut the story is really dumb , there aren\\'t any characters , and the film isn\\'t satisfying on any level beyond its visuals . \\nthe movie also has bad dialogue . \\nif a critic says that a film has bad dialogue , it\\'s only fair to quote some of it , but most of the words spoken in this picture are phrases like \" joe isn\\'t happy ! \" \\nand \" joe isn\\'t safe here ! \" \\n \" we need to get joe out of here ! \" \\n \" joe is way too big for that cage ! \" \\ni don\\'t know if these phrases are word for word , but they\\'re close . \\nas i said , the characters here are only present as a formality : they do little more than state the obvious ( of * course * joe is too big for that cage ) . \\npaxton and theron are talented performers who deserve to work on a script that provides characters for them . \\nsadly , mighty joe young wastes them both . \\nthere are a few clever moments ( although none of them are surfacing in my memory at the moment ) , and , as i said , the digital effects held my attention for at least five minutes . \\nit\\'s certainly not a bad film for kids ; i doubt joe will give them nightmares . \\nbut adults in the audience aren\\'t likely to find much of anything interesting about the big gorilla . \\na big gorilla is only interesting for a little while ; after that , something needs to be done with the big gorilla . \\nnobody ever figures out what to do with the big gorilla . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the postman delivers but not first class \\nthe postman a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman \\n[warning : my opinion of this film is definitely in the minority of reviewers perhaps because it hits so many of my cinematic buttons : post-apocalypse stories , hope in a desperate situation , grassroots uprisings and kevin costner . \\neven worse , i thought that \" waterworld \" was watchable . \\nread the following with those particular grains of salt . ] \\nit\\'s the year 2013 and things have fallen apart . \\ndue to a world war in the late nineties , the resulting three-year winter and a devastating plague , life in the former united states has been reduced to isolated primitive fiefdoms . \\nalthough this is the future , it looks like a western . \\nas the film opens , kevin costner ( his character\\'s name is never revealed ) is wandering the utah wastelands with only his mule bill for company . \\ngiving extraordinarily bad shakespearean performances in exchange for food and lodging , costner is an outsider in a land of outsiders . \\nrunning into even worse luck , he is forcibly conscripted into the racially pure holnist army of general bethlehem ( will patton ) . \\nthe rag-tag retro-futuristic cavalry is the descendent of militia groups and is even called the \" clan \" \\nafter a brutal boot camp , he ( and you can see this coming a mile away ) escapes . \\ntaking shelter in a wrecked postal truck , he liberates the uniform and mail bag from the skeleton in the cab who no longer has a use for either . \\nonce he reaches oregon , land of beautiful women , bright youngsters and rock and roll ; he pretends to be a representative from the \" restored congress of the united states of america \" . \\nthis scam gets him inside the walled towns where the promise of mail delivery renews optimism in the hearts of the inhabitants . \\nfood and other opportunities come his way in the form of spirited abby ( olivia williams ) who wants him to father a child because her husband is sterile . \\nshortly her husband is killed by bethlehem and she and the postman ( as costner is referred to for the rest of the film ) become a reluctant item . \\nalthough the postman knows he\\'s running a fraud , the concept of renewed communications sets the kids\\' imagination afire ( especially ford lincoln mercury ( larenz tate ) , his second-in-command ) and they form a new pony express dedicated to getting the mail through . \\nthe revived postal service doubles as an army to fight the holnists\\' tyranny . \\nthe postman has become a symbol for hope in a rube goldberg manner . \\nalthough the movie appeals to my sensibilities , there are so many things wrong with it that they can hardly be counted . \\nit\\'s derivitive of costner\\'s own \" waterworld \" and clint eastwood westerns . \\nthere\\'s little here that we haven\\'t seen dozens of times before . \\nthe film is often down-right corny . \\na scene where the postman is on horseback and grabs a letter from the hands of a bright-eyed child is embarrassing in its slow-motion banality . \\nthe film\\'s final few minutes should have been left on the cutting room floor . \\ndespite the film\\'s excessive three hour length , several things are never explained . \\nwhat was the war about ? \\nhow did civilization change so rapidly ? \\neveryone has horses : where did all they come from ? \\nthe \" law of eights \" that bethlehem lives by seems to have its origins somewhere beyond the film , but where ? \\nare we to believe that the rest of the world is in the same shape and hasn\\'t made their way west to help or conquer ? \\nthere is some jumbled symbolism here that doesn\\'t appear to make sense . \\nthe tale is obviously saying that communication can defeat evil in much the same way that the internet has the potential to topple governments , but beyond that there are some oddities . \\nthe evil army is called \" holnists \" which sounds coincidentally like the new age \" holism \" , but why ? \\nis it another coincidence that it takes place in 2013 , just one year after many ancient prophesies ( including the ending of the mayan calendar ) predict a new world for mankind ? \\nwhy is the general named \" bethlehem \" ? \\nthere seems to be some reason for that , but what ? \\nsometimes the movie feels like a joke . \\nan army of postal workers armed with guns ? \\nconsidering the headlines of recent years , it takes a tremendous leap of faith to cheer for these guys . \\nit\\'s even more difficult to accept those re-powering the federal government as the heroes . \\ngiven the current climate of the country and the distrust of big government , it\\'s asking a lot for the audience to get behind the film\\'s nationalism . \\neven with its numerous flaws , the movie all comes together , if only for those who have the same weaknesses that i have . \\nit\\'s doubtful that \" the postman \" is going to find much of an audience , but a few of us are going to have a good time . \\nbesides we\\'re all awaiting the fall of civilization caused by the year 2000 millennium computer bug . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and would like to announce that the \" michael redman \" arrested near indianapolis last week for accepting an illicit package from federal express is , to the best of his knowledge , not him . \\nperhaps this similarly-named person should have used kevin costner\\'s postal service . ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the art of woo attempts to be one of those films like breakfast at tiffany\\'s in which the audience is rooting for some sweet , vulnerable , irresistible woman to work out her problems and to find happiness . \\nthe problem is that helen lee who writes and directs seems to have written alessa woo ( played by sook-yin lee ) as neither sweet nor vulnerable and she is quite resistible . \\nalessa is a young woman who happens to be a brilliant art dealer in the toronto art scene . \\nthis is some sort of alternate world art scene where people pay tens of thousands of dollars for paintings by talented beginners and dealers in these paintings fly back and forth to places like switzerland . \\none of the most knowledgeable of the art dealers is alessa . \\nshe also happens to be the center of adulation of her friends and every party has suitors camped outside her window . \\nnext door to alessa moves struggling genius artist and native american ben crowchild ( adam beach ) . \\nhe sees that behind the facade that there is really a sad little girl within alessa who really will not be happy with the rich art collector she is dating . \\nben gets emotionally involved with alessa . \\n ( as alessa so delicately puts it , \" we were bosom buddies , now we\\'re fuck buddies . \" ) \\nbut alessa will have to decide whether she wants love with ben or wealth with her rich suitor . \\nthe real problem with the film seems to be helen lee\\'s inability to decide what she wants to be saying . \\nshe undercuts nearly everything she wants us to believe about alessa . \\nalessa is looking for financial security but she makes decisions about large sums of money for her clients . \\nthis appears to be a high profile and well-paid job . \\nwe are supposed to care about alessa\\'s feelings , but she coldly refuses to visit her own ailing father . \\nalessa cannot be portrayed as sweet and vulnerable if at an art auction she turns into our man flint . \\nthis is a charmless romantic comedy that bets everything it has on the appeal of its main character and comes up double-zero . \\ni rate it a 3 on the 0 to 10 scale and a -1 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'has it really been two decades since walter matthau coached the bad news bears ? \\nnineteen years and two mighty ducks later , the formula is still going strong . \\npolice academy graduate steve guttenberg stars as a small-town deputy sheriff corralled into co-coaching the school\\'s hastily formed soccer team . \\nhis partner-in-crime is the new british \" exchange teacher \" ( olivia d\\'abo ) , a lively lass who has obviously seen dangerous minds and knows that the best way to gain the respect of a disinterested , outer-city audience is to teach them something neat . \\nlike soccer . \\nmost of the good-natured gags are of the fast-motion variety , such as runaway cows and out-of-control lawnmowers . \\nkids will laugh at the occasional belching bit , while their parents peacefully doze beside them . \\nother than letting a supporting character named newt go unscathed , what\\'s missing from the big green is a better integration of music and comedy . \\ninstead of a peppy pop score , which would arguably work to better effect , most of the action is set to a bombastic orchestral score that belongs somewhere else . \\ncomedy needs music . \\njust watch any old bugs bunny short . \\nthe marx brothers knew it . \\nmel brooks knows it . \\nunfortunately , the current trend is to \" overscore . \" \\nlush strings and booming brass in every scene , at every moment . \\nremember the simple strains of bizet\\'s \" habanera \" in the original bad news bears ? \\nthese days , it\\'s usually a bellowing fanfare that threatens to smother every scene in its path . \\nmuch like adding frosting to already frosted cake . \\nan awfully big adventure ======================== \\nthe reteaming of director mike newell and star hugh grant is about as far removed as you can get from the lightsome comedy of four weddings and a funeral . \\ntheir second collaboration is a downbeat theatrical drama about a young intern ( georgina cates ) struggling to survive in post-w . w . ii \\nliverpool . \\nhugh plays the gay director , an * extremely * unappealing character who may alienate whatever fans are left after the nonsense of nine months . \\nbleak make-up and thick accents conspire to make this a difficult story to settle into . \\nan awful adventure is not without * some * rewards , tho . \\nthe peter pan subtext is intriguing . \\nas is the diverse ensemble cast that includes peter firth , alan rickman , and prunella scales . \\nbasil ! \\ndevil in a blue dress ===================== \\nthe comparisons to chinatown are easy enough , except for the fact that this film isn\\'t nearly as gripping . \\nwriter/director carl franklin ( one false move ) is the force behind this accomplished-but-stiff adaptation of walter mosley\\'s crime novel . \\ndenzel washington is as sturdy as ever , but he\\'s burdened with a miscast supporting cast . \\ntom sizemore and scene-stealer don cheadle are both fine . \\nthe problems start with jennifer beales , who never registers as the plot\\'s femme fatale . \\nshe\\'s a pretty face and nothing more . \\nalso underweight are maury chaykin and terry kinney . \\nthey play opposing mayoral candidates in 1948 los angeles and neither actor commands enough authority to stifle giggles . \\njohn huston , we miss you ! \\nfine period detail and a strong sense of humor are a plus . \\nthey help to overcome a pace that\\'s too polite for mosley\\'s jazzy , swingin\\' story . \\nsteal big , steal little ======================= \\ni can\\'t say much about this one . \\ndirector andrew davis follows the fugitive with a wildly unfunny farce about twin brothers ( andy garcia ) with opposing moral codes . \\nthey\\'re fighting over their adoptive mother\\'s estate , a 40 , 000-acre ranch worth millions and supporting dozens of migrant farm workers . \\nso many different plots are trying to come together--feuding brothers , reconciling husbands , loan-shark hired hitmen--that you have to admire the director\\'s ambition . \\ntoo bad that almost every single person or plot-line is out of sync . \\nthat is , with the exception of alan arkin . \\nhe\\'s the best thing in a movie that--despite the work of four credited writers-- * still * manages to waste such diverse talents as david odgen stiers , kevin mccarthy , and joe pantolinao . \\nand what the heck does that title mean ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'perhaps the most dramatic changes in the motion picture industry in this decade have to do with special effects . \\nthere is no question that action-adventure and science-fiction/action movies are now judged by the character of their light and noise . \\nwhereas classic adventure pics of the last twenty years , such as raiders of the lost ark , were made in grand traditional fashion ; contemporary films like jurassic park are multimillion-dollar creations of computer technology . \\nthe latest in this visually awesome series of movies , the wachowski brothers\\' the matrix , is a testament to the skilled use of special effects and its ability to enhance a movie\\'s story . \\nunlike many sci-fi movies which promote themselves as effects-heavy blockbusters but fail to deliver on that promise , the matrix is a carefully constructed special effects event . \\nit runs 135 minutes in length and employs a countless number of computerized tricks which range from gimmick to grandiose , and the quality of the effects remains constant throughout the film\\'s length . \\ncontrary to popular trend , the matrix commits itself to being a spectacle of light and sound . \\nin this regard , the movie is something like a card sharp . \\nwith its flashy mass stripped away , the matrix would be quite shallow and untalented . \\nthe script is characteristically weak , and the dialogue suffers in lieu of a far more innovative visual approach . \\nbut , like the card sharp , the matrix wows its audience to such a high degree that actual content is irrelevent . \\nthe viewers don\\'t care about what the matrix has to say as long as the next special effects sequence is right around the corner . \\nand right around the corner they usually are , for the script tells a fast-paced , albeit frequently revisited story . \\nas the movie explains , the world as we know it is nothing but an elaborate computer program constructed by an artificial intelligence for the purpose of placating mankind . \\nbillions of human beings lie in this dormant state while the intelligence -- the matrix -- \" farms \" our life energy . \\nonly a select group of individuals knows of the \" real \" world , and a particularly ingenious squad of these rebels is led by ultra-cool morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) . \\nmorpheus and his crew recruit a computer expert named neo ( keanu reeves ) , believing he is a prophesied individual who will help them overthrow the matrix and return peace to earth . \\nthe cast plays out this story in stylish fashion . \\nthe set design is very dynamic , running the gambit between cramped and dreary to bright and airy . \\nthe costumes , as well as the actors who wear them , add to the roles . \\nfor instance , the manifested antagonists in the movie , a group of \" agents \" created by the matrix in its computer program , all dress in matching secret servicewear ; the rebel fighters , on the other hand , dress in rich hues of leather . \\nthe casting cannot be criticized , for the typically stoic reeves isn\\'t required to say much and laurence fishburne gets plenty of time to be so damn cool . \\nsupports in carrie-anne moss , joe pantoliano , and hugo weaving are all effectual . \\none of the best comparisons to thw matrix is last year\\'s science fiction masterpiece dark city , particularly if one ponders how this same premise would\\'ve worked from a different approach . \\nthe alex proyas film was far more dark and introspective , requiring a bit of thought before themes became clear ; here , the wachowski brothers have managed to construct a thrill-ride motion picture with little abandon and much noise . \\nthe better picture between the two depends on the viewer , but the key to the success of the matrix is that the noise did not get in the way of the fun . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'david cronenberg presents us with another strange tale crawling out of his impressively twisted head . \\nit is one of many science fiction films , released during the last year of this millenium , that tackles issues that will play an important role in our future . \\nthe story unfolds in a near future , where the line between reality and virtual reality blurs . \\nthe world of the future is an unfriendly place , where the scared inhabitants are \" hiding \" in virtual reality fantasy games to escape the uncertainty of the real world . \\nallegra geller ( jennifer jason leigh ) , the leading game designer in the world , is testing her new virtual reality game , existenz with a focus group . \\nas they begin , she is attacked by a fanatic assassin employing a bizarre organic gun . \\nshe flees with a young marketing trainee , ted pikul ( jude law ) , who is suddenly assigned as her bodyguard . \\nunfortunately , her pod , an organic gaming device that contains the only copy of the existenz game program , is damaged . \\nto inspect it , she talks ted into accepting a gameport in his own body so he can play the game with her . \\nthe events leading up to this , and the resulting game lead the pair on a strange adventure in a world where individuality doesn\\'t exist , as the \" players \" are forced to perform as characters in an unknown plot . \\nhere the reality and their actions are impossible to determine from either their own or the game\\'s perspective . \\ni don\\'t intend to reveal more of the film\\'s premise , which is structured as a computer game , with \" tasks \" that the characters must complete to win the game . \\nreleased after \" the matrix \" and \" dark city \" , \" existenz \" has some similarities and parallels that connect it to these films . \\nhowever , \" existenz \" is moving in a different direction , with a premise of its own . \\na combination of dazzling special effects , brilliantly coordinated action sequences and an intelligent and sophisticated plot , made \" the matrix \" a rare and entertaining science fiction experience , with some dark and frightening ideas hidden under its sparkling facade . \\n \" existenz \" has a completely different atmosphere , resembling \" dark city \" , which is darker , more serious and less entertaining . \\n \" existenz \" has the opportunities and potential , but the enormous possibilities are never quite explored . \\nafter the engaging beginning , it starts to falter . \\nwhile i was watching the film , many left the theatre during the first hour . \\nand indeed , \" existenz \" seemed as a complete failure : the actors seemed unreal , the plot and dialogue silly , unfinished relationships and unexplained events followed one after another . \\nbut the last fifteen minutes lifted the film on a complete different level , explaining all past events , the silly dialogue and the unreal performances within a few scenes . \\nand jet the film fails on several issues . \\nprobably the best written character in the story is a game designer , who would rather spend the rest of her life in a virtual world , than face real life . \\nthis is a great possibility to create a magnificent character , and jennifer jason leigh stretches cronenberg\\'s script to the limits , but fails because the advantages of virtual reality in comparison to the real world are never shown . \\nexistenz is not a world of which you might dream about in your fantasies . \\nit is not a world worth sacrificing your life for . \\nit\\'s a cold , dark place where the \" players \" are forced to interrelate with unreal characters , eat mutated creatures and even murder against their own will . \\nit doesn\\'t look like a place worth even thinking about . \\ndavid cronenberg has been the creator of \" the fly \" , \" videodrome \" and \" the dead zone \" , so it\\'s not so hard to guess that \" existenz \" is a violent and gory film . \\nbesides the regular murders of innocent people , the audiences can enjoy an autopsy of a two-headed mutated amfibium . \\nscenes like that have become a trademark for cronenberg and it seems that he can\\'t make a film without flowing blood and foul creatures . \\nthe way i see it , this is the film\\'s crucial failure . \\nit is impossible for cronenbergto create a beautiful world where time , space and problems of our everyday life do not exist ; a place of blooming blossoms , green forests and clear waters ; a place really worth sacrificing your life for . \\nbecause of its lack of three dimensionality , the film looses most of its possibilities , but stays afloat because of some interesting scenes , amusing performances ( especially by willem dafoe ) and one interesting and important thought , depicted in many different ways throughout the movie . \\nduring the film , the audience is as confused as the characters : detached from their everyday existence and no longer able to see the difference between the real world and the alternative reality that they have created . \\n \" the matrix \" , despite of its many dark and disturbing thoughts , ends with a light at the end of the tunnel . \\n \" existenz \" does not . \\nit is a one time experience , ending in blood , gore and madness - a rather frightening forecast for tomorrow . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'_dirty_work_ has a premise of deliciously mean-spirited potential . \\nmitch weaver ( norm macdonald ) and his lifelong best friend sam mckenna ( artie lange ) are losers in life : they were constantly picked on in school , and now they cannot hold regular jobs . \\nbut as the trailer goes , \" there is one thing mitch weaver is good at--revenge . \" \\nso he and sam parlay their unmatched skill in getting-even schemes into a marketable revenge-for-hire business called dirty work inc . \\nthis should be the groundwork for a wonderfully wicked black comedy , but for a film called _dirty_work_ , what ensues is rather clean of spirit . \\nin fact , what makes mitch and sam start up their business is not a giddy desire to give bullies a taste of their own medicine , but rather a more sappy reason : sam\\'s father ( jack warden ) needs a heart transplant , and in order for him to move at the top of the recipient list , his compulsively betting doctor ( chevy chase ) asks the guys for $50 , 000 to pay off his bookie . \\nso for all the scheming that goes on , beneath every underhanded plot is--gasp ! --a \\nheart , which undercuts the inherent nastiness of the premise . \\nnot that there isn\\'t a lot of nastiness on display--there is , but of a different sort . \\nthere are frequent sexual references , most prominently in the form of prostitutes and sam\\'s impotent father\\'s ongoing lust for them . \\nand for a film rated pg-13 , director bob saget ( yes , that bob saget , of _full_house_ and _america\\'s_funniest_home_videos_ fame ) and writers frank sebastiano , fred wolf , and macdonald himself , stretch the boundaries of good taste rather far--arguably a bit too much so ( was not one , but two separate instances of sodomy between animals really necessary ? ) . \\nbut the issue , of course , is not so much of taste as it is humor--as in , is it funny or not ? \\nthe answer is a resounding no . \\nit\\'s not that macdonald isn\\'t a funny guy . \\nhe was one of the more consistently funny performers on _saturday_night_live_ before his much-talked-about firing , and his dry brand of smartass wit translates well to the big screen ; it also doesn\\'t hurt that he\\'s a natural , likable screen presence . \\nhe is able to give some of his lines a nice acid touch , but , for the most part , the oneliners , as written , are flat , and the broad slapstick gags just don\\'t work ( one running gag has him being literally tossed out of buildings--a real riot ) . \\nstill , macdonald\\'s few shining moments are just about the only moments the film has . \\nthe late chris farley , as hysterical as he ever was , is amusing in a cameo role , but , as a whole , the supporting players are amateurish and seemingly free from any directorial guidance . \\nsaget tries to juice up the proceedings with kitschy cameos by gary coleman , adam sandler , and john goodman , but their minimal novelty value cannot prevent _dirty_work_ from sputtering to the end of its brief 81-minute running time . \\nthe film closes on a sad note of desperation , an indulgent reel of outtakes from which only those involved in the production would derive any amusement . \\ncome to think of it , i cannot imagine anyone but those involved in the production to find much amusement in the entirety of _dirty_work_ . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this movie stinks ! \\nalthough it is professionally crafted and there are some decent performances , the plot is so bad it drags the film into the abyss . \\ni knew i was in for trouble when , during the opening establishment shots , we see a detailed close-up of warrant officer paul brenner's ( john travolta ) military identification card and it is the wrong color . \\nthis might seem like a minor detail , but anyone who has spent anytime with the military knows that active duty identification cards are green and dependant cards are yellow . \\nand what about the senior military officer whose uniform shirt is so wrinkled he looks like he is a recruit on his first day of training . \\nor what about when brenner tells a suspect that , because he is in the military , he doesn't have the right not to answer his questions even though these rights were central to military law well before the miranda decision . \\nhow hard is it to get someone familiar with the military to check these facts ? \\nnow details like this could be overlooked if the underlying story held up , but this story is so full of holes it is painful to sit through . \\nfor example , at the beginning of the film , paul brenner , an undercover army investigator , gets into a gun and knife battle at his off-post houseboat and winds-up killing an arms dealer he had been investigating . \\nthe local police investigating the death are openly hostile to the military and they discover that brenner has been lying to them about the killing . \\nbut instead of arresting him , or at least take him into custody for further questioning , they release him . \\nduh ! \\nultimately , brenner gets assigned to investigate the murder and possible rape of the commanding general's daughter , a young captain also assigned to the post . \\nwhen brenner finds graphic sex tapes featuring the general's daughter , does he use them to generate a suspect list and begin grilling suspects . \\nno , his instinct is to suppress them because they might be potentially embarrassing . \\neventually , brenner discovers that this murder is related to a violent gang rape at west point eight years earlier . \\ni won't even go into the totally unbelievable rationale for the army's suppression of this horrendous crime . \\ni will just mention one final flaw . \\nbrenner is investigating a crime that occurred in georgia . \\nthe rape occurred in west point , which is in new york . \\nhe is under a very tight ( and totally implausible ) 36-hour deadline to solve this case . \\nhe needs to discuss the rape with a psychiatrist at west point . \\ndoes he phone the doctor ? \\nno , he travels ( via some unexplained very fast transport ) to new york to question the psychiatrist in person , and then he returns to georgia ( again by the miracle transport ) , without once worrying about the impact any of this will have on his deadline . \\nyou have been warned , stay away from this one . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'part one of \" the strangest movies ever made \" series at www . mediajunkies . com \\nby scott watson \\n[light spoilers , nothing you shouldn\\'t read] \\nexistenz has been called \" a gooey matrix \" , and while this is a correct description in some ways , in others it is completely off . \\nthe only thing the two films have in common is the idea of a virtual reality that is indistinguishable from normal , \" real \" reality . \\na major difference is that \" the matrix \" has a base reality that is obviously the true reality , while existenz does the impossible and makes us accept the most bizarre reality ever as true . \\nand oh what a reality it is . \\ndavid cronenberg has shown us before that he knows how to create strange movies ( naked lunch , crash ) , but this one is one of the strangest . \\nmaybe it\\'s because of how the mundane is mixed with the bizarre . \\ntechnology is organic , but only some of it . \\ncars are normal . \\ngas stations are the same . \\ncell phones are glowing bug like appendages . \\nyou jack into a virtual reality game using a quivering pink gooey animal like apparatus ( referred to simply as a \" pod \" ) . \\nhigh technology has been replaced with organic creatures , and it provides a truly surreal setting for the characters . \\na famous game designer , allegra geller ( a fine looking jennifer jason leigh ) , flees a demonstration of her latest game , existenz , after an assassination attempt . \\nshe is on the run ( from who , i\\'m still not sure ) , and has to save her pod by playing her game with \" someone friendly \" . \\nthat someone friendly is her dubious companion and security guard , ted pikul ( jude law ) . \\nunfortunately he is lacking a fundamental requirement for playing , a bioport . \\nsort of a hole in your spine ( ok , exactly like a hole in your spine ) , a bioport allows you to plug the vaguely entrail-looking wires from the pod into you , allowing you to play the game . \\nluckily a bioport can be installed easily ( they install them in malls ) , so off they go to get one . \\nafter a crazy series of events at the local country gas station , they are able to plug in and play existenz . \\nthe plot itself is a surreal melding of conspiracies , reality distortion , chinese restaurants , and multi appendaged amphibian things ( \" it\\'s a sign of the times \" ) . \\nbut the plot , while cohesive in it\\'s own creepy way is secondary to just trying to figure out what the hell is going on in this universe . \\ncronenberg just slaps this weird organic-tech world into the viewers lap , and it\\'s up to you to figure out how all these things work . \\nand that\\'s the true joy of this film , entering the vaguely nightmarish world in which existenz takes place . \\nyou learn a little bit piece by piece ( oh , they make pods out of those ) , and it\\'s just enough to get you to accept the world that is presented to you . \\nthere are all kinds of twists and turns as the characters wander around , including a fantastic scene in a chinese restaurant that will leave you trying to assemble something out of your moo goo gai pan for months afterwards . \\nalso the bioports are occasionally used for things other than porting into existenz , the specifics of which i will leave for you to discover . \\nthere\\'s lots of little things that set off the weird-o-meter , like the little tiny pods that you can buy in the video game store , the two headed amphibian creature , and why that guy at the gas station\\'s name appears to be \" gas \" . \\nit all adds up to a supremely far out trip , and given the choice i think i would rather live in the matrix\\'s virtual world . . . \\noh wait , i already do . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"while watching boiler room , i was constantly reminded of last year's masterpiece fight club . \\nboth films consist of a predominately male cast . \\nboth films follow young men as they illicitly fight the traditional system for their own desires . \\nand both films are seen through the eyes of one narrator , who eventually realizes that these men have to be stopped . \\nwhile boiler room writer/director ben younger does not get his point across as well as david fincher does for fight club , he does contribute another impressive work to a series of films aiming to represent the new generation . \\na generation which has seen the internet prosper and where everyone wants to be a millionaire . \\npaying homage to oliver stone's 1987 classic wall street , younger is almost modernizing the tale by using younger , hipper actors to play the greedy villains as opposed to the older , more experienced types . \\nas is true in real life , younger minds are becoming richer and richer from their knowledge of more standard technology . \\nboiler room dismisses the notion of ingenuity and shows that greed and desire for power come in all ages . \\nanother similarity with fight club is that both films are not action flicks . \\nsome people are convinced that an all-male cast automatically means there must be gory violence , here is proof that this is not true . \\nif you want to see an action movie starring ben affleck , go see reindeer games this weekend . \\nif you want to see a smart , insightful film with excellent acting and a clever script , see boiler room . \\ngiovanni ribisi gives an outstanding performance as the film's narrator , seth . \\nafter dropping out of college and running a lucrative gambling center for college students in his apartment , seth is offered a high paying job by a wealthy man ( nicky katt ) . \\nhe agrees to take the job ( in which you are guaranteed to become a millionaire within three years ) of selling stock to well-off americans from the mid-west over the telephone and begins to fit in quite well with his co-workers . \\nlearning tricky techniques to deceive innocent people into buying shares of a good in production , seth figures this is too good to be true . \\nafter stumbling into a room at the wrong time , he knows there is something no good about this company . \\nat this point , seth is left with the ultimate choice ; continue with the american dream and make millions or tell the authorities that something fishy is going on . \\nribisi is believable as seth especially when he shares scenes with ron rifkin , playing seth's dad . \\nthe two have perfect chemistry as a troubled father and son trying to impress each other and simultaneously impress themselves . \\nthe transitions from anger to sympathy that these scenes contain are the standout segments of the entire film . \\nthe supporting cast of greedy co-workers is also flawless . \\nben affleck shines in a short but sweet performance as a recruiter for the company , nicky katt is fabulous as the ostensibly friendly boss who eventually becomes extremely jealous of seth , and vin diesel gives his best performance of his career as the foil character of nicky katt . \\nthe energy of the cast as a whole makes boiler room well paced and never boring . \\nthe only major error in the film is that nothing major happens . \\nthere is no big plot twist or climatic point to make the film more memorable . \\ndue to the lack of a major event , boiler room never finds a suitable genre to fit into . \\nthe movie is not intense enough to be a thriller , the romantic segments involving seth and abby ( nia long ) are not properly finalized , and the dialogue isn't funny enough to make it a comedy . \\nin having trouble to characterize the movie as a whole , boiler room is slightly confused at times . \\nit doesn't seem to know which category to fit itself into . \\none satisfying concluding scene could have changed the whole film for the better . \\notherwise , the movie is fun to watch thanks to its lively cast of young actors . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'one of the more unusual and suggestively violent films ever made , \" se7en \" is just a few steps away from brilliance . \\nhowever , those few steps away are only a few steps from a level of evil and depravity that few people want to discuss . \\nthe film received mixed reviews upon release , but there\\'s an underlying sinister appeal and intrigue to this that many critics perhaps did not notice . \\nat times it gets preachy about the horrors it seems to be criticizing , but the script and the ultimate pay-off are excellent . \\nthe shocking conclusion is just as unpredictable as the endings of most films are predictable . \\nthis piece of work is 100% intensity . \\nit\\'s uncomfortable to watch , yet compelling . \\n \" i want not to look , yet i cannot turn away . \" \\nthe story creeps along slowly and deliberately , crafted by visionary director david fincher . \\nhe has experience in tantalizing his audience with information and visions , but not giving away too much too soon . \\nthis is the guy who directed the ominous \" alien 3 \" . \\n \" se7en \" is even more ominous because the threat is real . \\nit\\'s human and , while the script takes some artistic licence , the way in which the diabolical killer works here is actually realistic . \\nthat is , if a human being could be so intelligent , patient , wealthy , and disillusioned . \\nafter the most bizarre opening credits i\\'ve ever seen ( refreshingly different in editing style and musical accompaniment ) , the initial character development takes place . \\nmorgan freeman stars as detective william somerset , a knowledgeable veteran who is ready to give up on his job and the sickness of society . \\nbrad pitt co-stars as detective david mills , the young hotshot who is brand new to this unnamed city and full of fury to catch the bad guys . \\nthese two fine actors give the film its human qualities ( along with the appealing gwyneth paltrow , who plays tracy , mills\\' wife ) . \\nhowever , none of them stands out above the material . \\nno disrespect intended , but two other actors could have played these parts and the film probably would have been about the same . \\nan ironic note is that somerset has only a week ( or 7 , that\\'s seven , days ) left on the force to train his young protege . \\nthe title of the picture also refers to the 7 deadly sins , as chronicled by john milton in \" paradise lost \" --gluttony , greed , sloth , lust , pride , envy , & wrath . \\nincidentally , i wrote the sins in order of how each victim was found . \\nit\\'s the last two sins that are the most intriguing and shocking , but i won\\'t give that away . \\nas i said , this has a great ending and no one should spoil it . \\nanyway , the brilliant killer sets out to make a statement to the world that these sins will no longer be tolerated and he makes the \" sinners \" suffer for it . \\nthe two partners stumble over the corpse of a grotesquely obese man . \\nthey learn that he was murdered--forced to eat himself to death . \\nthe killer leaves small clues at this and other murders and , of course , somerset and mills are smart enough to stay with him all the way . \\nif they didn\\'t , it would be one short movie ! \\nthe deliberate pace allows for craftsmanship of detail and story . \\nwe see a lot of blood , but it\\'s not especially violent . \\nthe suggestion of what happens is far more disgusting than anything actually shown--like most of the violence in \" pulp fiction \" . \\n \" se7en \" is gory , graphic , and disturbing , but all the gore is post-death . \\nstill , if you tend to get queasy , don\\'t eat food during this film . \\nkevin spacey plays john doe , the avenging angel who claims that he\\'s the messenger who will right the wrongs with his teachings . \\nlike many crazy men , he has some fine ideas , but some sick ways of expressing himself . \\nspacey doesn\\'t appear until the final 30 minutes and also doesn\\'t receive billing in the opening credits . \\nhowever , it\\'s his appearance that turns this film upside down and for that he should have gotten an oscar nomination . \\na great villain manages to make you either root for him or feel compelled to listen to his ramblings regardless of whether you agree with him or not . \\nthis character is so well written that it\\'s hard to disagree when he says that what he is doing will be remembered by everyone . \\nno serial killer has ever been so creative . \\n \" se7en \" is blatantly unsubtle with its messages about the horrors of the world and it\\'s often a little too depressing . \\nwhat it lacks in those areas , it makes up for with believable dialogue , top-notch screenwriting , unexpected twists , and realistic characters . \\nthe technical aspects of the film are unobtrusive . \\nfincher uses lighting , music , and editing quite well , but his story is always the thrust of the film . \\nfortunately , we don\\'t find out what happens to mills and somerset after the closing credits ( which are run backwards up the screen ! ) . \\nit\\'s better to imagine what paths they will follow . \\nthis is not the kind of film you turn away from and quickly forget . \\nit\\'s got a sinister message and john doe is right about one thing--the evils of the world aren\\'t going to cure themselves . \\n \" se7en \" raises some tough questions and it\\'s intelligent enough to allow its audience to answer many of those questions for themselves . \\nuseless trivia--co-stars in 1995\\'s \" se7en \" , brad pitt and kevin spacey also competed for the 1995 best supporting actor oscar--pitt in \" 12 monkeys \" , spacey in \" the usual suspects \" ( for which he won ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the happy bastard\\'s quick movie review \\ndamn that y2k bug . \\nit\\'s got a head start in this movie starring jamie lee curtis and another baldwin brother ( william this time ) in a story regarding a crew of a tugboat that comes across a deserted russian tech ship that has a strangeness to it when they kick the power back on . \\nlittle do they know the power within . . . \\ngoing for the gore and bringing on a few action sequences here and there , virus still feels very empty , like a movie going for all flash and no substance . \\nwe don\\'t know why the crew was really out in the middle of nowhere , we don\\'t know the origin of what took over the ship ( just that a big pink flashy thing hit the mir ) , and , of course , we don\\'t know why donald sutherland is stumbling around drunkenly throughout . \\nhere , it\\'s just \" hey , let\\'s chase these people around with some robots \" . \\nthe acting is below average , even from the likes of curtis . \\nyou\\'re more likely to get a kick out of her work in halloween h20 . \\nsutherland is wasted and baldwin , well , he\\'s acting like a baldwin , of course . \\nthe real star here are stan winston\\'s robot design , some schnazzy cgi , and the occasional good gore shot , like picking into someone\\'s brain . \\nso , if robots and body parts really turn you on , here\\'s your movie . \\notherwise , it\\'s pretty much a sunken ship of a movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if you\\'re going to make a two-hour hollywood in-joke , why bother releasing it to the general public ? \\nif you\\'re going to create a film that will appeal primarily to big-name actors and people who know woody allen , then why waste the time of the rest of us peons by playing it in theaters ? \\nwhile watching celebrity , i realized that allen had only marginal interest in creating a story about real people . \\nwhat he really wanted to do was continue on his recent kick of conceited self-deprecation . \\ncelebrity is yet another film in which allen tells a story about himself , living in a world that he\\'s familiar with , dealing with people like the ones he actually knows . \\nallen recruited poor kenneth branagh to bumble through this picture , in an imitation of allen so perfect that it almost made me like the film more . \\nbranagh plays lee simon , a journalist-turned-screenwriter who divorces his wife , robin ( judy davis ) , shacks up with some hot women ( famke janssen , charlize theron , winona ryder ) , and goes about trying to get big stars ( melanie griffith , leonardo dicaprio ) to read his script about an armored car robbery . \\nthe usual elements of recent allen films are all here , including the sexual insecurity of the main character , lots of self-loathing women , and a tiring continuum of episodes that are only loosely related to one another . \\nunless you work in the film industry or know woody allen personally , it\\'s not likely that you\\'ll find a whole lot of interest in celebrity . \\naside from all the in-jokes , the story falls far short of compelling , and the characters are all empty and lifeless . \\nbranagh proves once again that he\\'s a superb performer , nailing his imitation of allen flawlessly . \\nthe problem is that he\\'s the same character allen always plays , a character who\\'s getting more than a little dull to watch . \\ni mean , come on , how many times have you seen this guy ? \\n-- he hates his work , and he can\\'t be satisfied by any one woman , and , at the end of the movie , nothing has been solved . \\nhe brings all of his problems upon himself ( crashing his car because he\\'s receiving fellatio , and other such stunts ) , so it\\'s pretty hard to care about him . \\nin addition , isn\\'t allen capable of creating characters who aren\\'t just like him ? \\ni know he is , but he didn\\'t do it in celebrity . \\nthe vacant emotional attachment with the main character is not recaptured in the supporting performances . \\ndavis , playing the same woman with low self-esteem that she played in deconstructing harry , has a few touching moments , but ends up the same despicable celebrity-type that fills the rest of the movie . \\nsome of the actresses are saved because of their beauty -- theron and ryder , especially -- but they\\'re not likable people . \\nonly famke janssen , as a book editor interested in simon\\'s new novel , has any life . \\nthe men in the picture don\\'t do much better -- joe mantegna is pretty dull as the man who remarries robin , while dicaprio , as a christian slater/johnny depp-type spoiled young actor , is funny but disengaging . \\nwhat\\'s really insulting about celebrity is how dull and standard its \" themes \" are . \\nallen seems to think that he\\'s making an insightful movie about the way \" normal \" people look at celebrities . \\nthe main problem with this is that the character with whom we\\'re supposed to identify , simon , is not a \" normal \" guy -- he\\'s just as entrenched in the hollywood image as the rest of the characters . \\nthe other problem is that the image we get of these celebrities is no more enlightening than the view the media gives us -- none of them register as realistic , interesting characters ; they mostly just function as set pieces for boring dialogue . \\nin addition , allen decides he needs a scene in which the theme is expressed explicitly ( robin , in this scene , says something like , \" it\\'s interesting to see the way we all look at the people we celebrate ! \" ) . \\ncelebrity is arguably allen\\'s biggest misfire to date . \\nit does have a few good scenes -- theron\\'s super-orgasmic model character is kind of funny , and the last scene might have been moving had the rest of the film shown us a character or two . \\nbut celebrity is a failure at the core , unless allen\\'s point was to make a self-indulgent movie about himself and his friends . \\nif he wanted to make his audience feel like they were on the outside of a big joke , then he succeeded in that . \\ni , for one , don\\'t enjoy feeling like an outsider . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'deep rising is one of \" those \" movies . \\nthe kind of movie which serves no purpose except to entertain us . \\nit does not ask us to think about important questions like life on other planets or the possibility that there is no god . . . screw that , it says boldly , let\\'s see some computer generated monsters rip into , decapitate and generally cause irreparable booboos to a bunch of little known actors . \\nheh ! \\nthem wacky monsters , gotta love \\'em . \\nof course , since we can rent about a thousand b movies with the same kind of story , hollywood must give that little extra \" oumph \" to get people in theaters . \\nthat is where deep rising fails , which is a good thing . \\nconfused ? \\nlet me explain : \\ndespite all them flashy effects and big explosions , deep rising is still , at heart , a good \\'ol b movie . \\nluckily , it\\'s a very good b movie . \\nthe worst cliches in movie history are a b movie\\'s bread and butter . \\ntherefore , things that would destroy a serious movie actually help us have a good time while watching a movie of lower calibre . \\nof course we know there\\'s a big slimy creature behind that door , that one person will wander off to be picked off by said monster and we always know which persons or person will make it out alive . \\nwe just don\\'t know when or how horrible it will be . \\ni went to see deep rising with my expections low and my tolerance for bad dialogue high . \\nimagine my surprise when i discover that deep rising is actually , well , pretty darn funny at times . \\na funny b movie ? \\nwell , that\\'s new . \\nthese flicks are not supposed to make us laugh . \\n ( except for a few unintended laughs once a while . ) \\nand before you know it , treat williams , wes studi and famke jansen appear on the big screen . \\nhey ! i know them guys ( and gal ) from a couple of other movies . \\ncool . \\nfamiliar faces . \\nso far so good . \\nour man treat is the hero , he\\'ll live . \\nwes is a staple of b movies , he is the token victim . \\nwe know he\\'ll buy the farm but he will take a few creeps with him on the way out . \\nfamke is the babe , \\'nuff said . \\nthere is also a guy with glasses ( the guy with glasses always dies ) a black person ( b movie buffs know that the black guy always dies , never fails ) and a very funny , nerdy guy . \\n ( ah ! \\ncomic relief . \\nhow can we possibly explain having to kill him . . . let \\nhim live . ) \\nafter the first fifteen minutes i felt right at home . \\ni know who to root for and who i need to boo too and a gum to chew . \\n ( please kill me . ) \\nsuffice it to say that for the next hour and a half i jumped out of my seat a few times , went \" ewwww \" about a dozen times and nearly had an orgasm over all the explosions and firepower our heroes were packing . \\ni\\'m a man , we nottice these things . \\nall in all , i\\'d recommend deep rising if you are looking for a good time and care to leave your brain at the door . . . but \\nbring your sense of humor and excitement in with you . \\nthe acting is decent , the effects top rate . \\nhow to best describe it ? \\nput together the jet ski scene from hard rain , the bug attacks from starship troopers , a couple of james bond like stunts and all those scenes from friday the thirteenth and freddy where you keep screaming \" don\\'t go there , he\\'s behind you \" and you end up with deep rising . \\nfor creepy crawly goodness , tight t-shirts , major firepower and the need to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes from seing all that water . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one of the contributors to the destruction of the batman film franchise chris o\\'donnell stars in this remake of buster keaton\\'s 1925 silent film seven chances . \\nnow i\\'ve never seen seven chances , as i\\'m more of a chaplin fan than a keaton fan , but i seriously doubt that the classic version could be as insipid as this . \\no\\'donnell plays jimmie shannon , the manager of a pool table manufacturing company . \\nhe also fears commitment , and despite dating anne ( renee zellweger ) for over three years , he\\'s unwilling to marry her . \\nhis reasons ? \\nwell he\\'s a guy you see , and well , guys are like stallions , and they apparently don\\'t like to be roped or something ( hey , that\\'s the movie\\'s explanation . . . \\ni\\'d marry renee zellweger in a second ) . \\neventually it comes time for jimmie to propose , and when he does , it\\'s the most absurd proposal ever uttered by a man ever . \\nhe essentially says to her , \" you win \" and hands her a ring . \\nthe audience should now hate this character . \\ni did . \\nthen the meat of the plot presents itself . \\njimmie\\'s grandfather ( peter ustinov , completely wasted ) dies and leaves jimmie his entire estate of 100 million dollars as well as ownership of the pool table business . \\nhowever , in order to get the money and save the jobs of the factory workers , jimmie must be married before his next birthday ( which is just over 24 hours away ) . \\nhaving blown his chances with anne , jimmie proceeds to track down all his prior girlfriends and suggest a \" business proposition \" . \\nthe movie wasn\\'t half bad by this time , surprisingly . \\nit wasn\\'t boring me , and even managed to read my thoughts at one point . \\nustinov\\'s character left a video will , and while he\\'s reading the ridiculous clause in it , i thought to myself \" what is this , brewster\\'s millions ? \" . \\nas soon as i thought it , hal holbrook\\'s character actually says \" what is this , brewster\\'s millions ? \" \\nit was quite surreal . \\nsomething happens though during the film\\'s final act that caused me to sharply drop the rating it was going to receive . \\nup to that point , all of jimmie\\'s prior girlfriends had turned down his \" business proposition \" which i felt was good . \\nat least the film wasn\\'t painting women to be cold hearted gold diggers . \\nwhen jimmie has no other options , his goofy friend ( played by artie lange , making a career out of playing the goofy friend ) places an ad in the newspaper that somehow becomes a front page story . \\nat this point , 100 , 000 women don wedding gowns and head off to persuade jimmie to pick them to be his bride . \\nthese women arrive at jimmie\\'s location and immediately start bullying him about what he\\'s looking for in a woman . \\nwhen he\\'s had enough of their unjustified attacks , he tells the angry mob that there\\'s been a mistake and he won\\'t be marrying any of them . \\nas a result , the women proceed to chase him around the city , in hopes of catching him and tearing his limbs off . \\nthis goes on for the rest of the film . \\nit\\'s just chris o\\'donnell running from 100 , 000 obnoxious , greedy , angry and stupid women . \\nmy groans of disgust could be heard for miles . \\nthe film finally ended ( thankfully ) , but to this day i\\'m still groaning . \\nthe bachelor is available on dvd from new line home video . \\nit contains the film in both full frame and in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 , cast and crew info , and special dvd-rom features . \\nthe original theatrical trailer is also on the disc , which contains scenes not in the film . \\napparently there was even more footage of the gang of brides chasing o\\'donnell around the city , and at one point o\\'donnell is leaping from the tops of buses . \\nso that was bad enough to be cut , but the other 30 minutes of bride shenanigans was good ? \\nugh . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"waiting at the train station near the beginning of fury , joe says : `after all , we're human . ' \\nin the context of events to transpire , joe's line is prophetic , foreshadowing the internal conflict of the protagonist in the latter half of the film . \\ndoes being human necessarily imply humane behavior ? \\nthrough the baseness of human character exemplified in the formation of a mob , fritz lang prompts the viewer to consider whether our inclination towards impulsiveness supersedes our civility . \\nexpressing his abhorrence towards the rise of nazism in his homeland , lang takes great care in creating a sense of discomfort during the scenes of mob hysteria . \\nin the scene prefacing the lynching , the mob achieves critical mass at the bar . \\ndeputy meyers is brought in as an exalted informant , but when he is unable to augment the mob's myth of joe , he is quickly renounced from his position as town gossip . \\nwe see in a shot where two bar patrons are arguing that the deputy looks around nervously at the growing monster and then carefully slips out of the bar . \\nwhat is quietly horrifying is the realization by both the audience and the deputy that the crowd no longer exists within the confines of reason and has succumbed to what the barber referred to as impulse . \\nwhat once was excitement to the deputy has turned into fear with the realization that he is now powerless . \\nto the audience , the deputy's quiet exit concurs with their own sinking feeling of uneasiness as the mob's delirium crescendos . \\nlang educes this discomfort not through movement of the camera , but rather its stillness . \\nthe shot's composition places the audience equidistant and directly across from the pair of arguing patrons and the deputy effectively becomes a mirror to our own apprehensions . \\nas the intensity of the mob closes around deputy meyers , it does so around the viewer as well . \\nthe stationary camera in this shot heightens our fears because when the deputy escapes , we are deserted by our reflection and the viewer becomes the sole proprietor of sensibility amongst a swarm of irrationality . \\nbecause the camera does not track the deputy's movement , we are left with an amplified perception of desertion and vulnerability . \\nas the bar scene progresses , the camera pans 180 degrees to reveal the fury of the mob . \\nthis shot is unique because it is a point-of-view shot where the audience , not a character in the film is the subject . \\nwhile a long , or dolly shot may objectively reveal the size of the mob , panning from the mob's belly distorts the audience's spatial reference and exaggerates the claustrophobia of the scene ; we feel we are at the epicenter of something infinitely large . \\nwe see close shots of people's faces , contorted by their rage . \\nwith the pivot of the pan being in the center of the mob and angry members within a short radius of the pan , lang offers the viewer a sense of what it feels like to be the subject of a lynching . \\nin this shot the audience is at the mercy of the mob ; lang's camera makes us feel vulnerable and powerless as joe must have felt in the jail . \\nin some greater sense , it must have been what lang felt when he saw his countrymen overcome with unjustifiable hatred towards their own humankind . \\nlang's observations of his fellow man succumbing to mob behavior left him with an indelible image of malevolent human behavior . \\nas joe faces his peril , trapped in his burning cell , his dog rainbow rushes to be by his side . \\nlang makes rainbow a martyr to contrast his humanity against the recklessness of his human counterparts . \\nusing his camera to create shots that elicit disturbing images of mob mentality , lang depicts man's volatility and `impulse' towards inconceivable cruelty . \\nreprising joe' s line at the train station , we are induced to question why our primeval impulses so easily transcend our humanity . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'every year , hollywood crowns a new \" it boy \" --a young actor pegged for major movie stardom . \\ninheriting the mantle from last year\\'s \" winner , \" matthew mcconaughey , is matt damon , and , like mcconaughey , he proves to be more than just a fresh young face , as evidenced in two radically different projects currently in release--john grisham\\'s the rainmaker and good will hunting . \\ndamon has his first major starring role , a la mcconaughey , in a john grisham adaptation--in this case , francis ford coppola\\'s take on the rainmaker . \\ndamon plays wet-behind-the-ears attorney rudy baylor , who , immediately after passing the bar exam , finds himself representing the mother ( mary kay place ) of a terminally ill young man ( john whitworth ) in a big-league suit against a negligent insurance company . \\nwhile rudy\\'s ( and the film\\'s ) main concern is this case , he also finds time to protect a young wife ( claire danes ) from her abusive husband ( melrose placer andrew shue , in a mercifully brief role ) . \\nwritten for the screen and directed by coppola , the rainmaker is the best grisham film yet mostly because it does not take itself too seriously . \\ncoppola\\'s most notable--and effective--contribution to the tried-and-true grisham formula is a sense of humor about itself , which largely comes in the presence of danny devito ( as rudy\\'s unlicensed co-counsel ) and golden globe nominee jon voight ( as the insurance company\\'s hotshot attorney ) . \\nthe inclusion of the battered wife subplot feels rather superfluous , but danes is as superb as always . \\nthen , of course , there is damon , who nicely juggles the weighty ( the insurance case , the spousal abuse ) and the humorous ( rudy\\'s often comical naivete ) requirements of his role without missing a beat . \\nas good as he is in the rainmaker , damon showcases the depth of his talent in good will hunting , directed by gus van sant and written by actor ben affleck and damon himself . \\ndamon plays the title character , will hunting , a troubled young construction worker/janitor at mit who also happens to be a supergenius . \\nin an attempt to steer this brilliant young mind in the right direction , an mit math professor ( stellan skarsgard ) taps his old college friend , community college psychologist sean mcguire ( robin williams ) , to counsel the abrasive , standoffish will and try to help him come to terms with his turbulent life . \\ngood will hunting is the touchy-feely enterprise its plot synopsis suggests , but to simply dismiss it as that would be to discount the true emotional chords affleck and damon\\'s intelligent script touches . \\neven though no one ( and , if so , _very_ few people ) can directly relate to will\\'s burden of superhuman intelligence , the insecurities he suffers are universal . \\nthe material is brought to life by the terrific ensemble of actors . \\nwilliams delivers a nice dramatic turn ; affleck , a hot up-and-coming actor himself ( chasing amy ) , turns up in a warm and charming performance as will\\'s best friend ; and the ever-appealing minnie driver shines as will\\'s harvard-schooled love interest . \\nthe clear standout in the cast , though , is damon , who bravely does not soften will\\'s prickly nature but has such a natural ease with the audience that it is hard _not_ to care for him . \\nso many names come and go with the fluctuations of the hollywood hype machine , but based on his impressive work in john grisham\\'s the rainmaker and especially good will hunting , it is a safe bet that matt damon is one name we will be hearing a lot more of in the years to come . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'retrospective : city of the living dead ( 1980 ) \\na film review by mike watson copyright 1997 mike watson \\ni once heard someone describe the films of italian schlock horror director lucio fulci as \" dim-witted \" . \\nand by golly , just about all other words fail me when confronted with a dog like city of the living dead . \\nalthough the late fulci managed some rather good thrillers in his career , this is not one of them . \\ntwo points in the movie\\'s favour - the impressive camerawork of sergio salvati and occasionally evocative score by fabio frizzi - keep things from falling totally into the abyss , but by and large city of the living dead is a failure . \\nand like most cinematic failures , it comes down to bad writing , dumb performances and lousy direction . \\nthe story starts in new york when , during a seance , a medium ( katherine mccoll ) sees a vision of a priest hanging himself in the town of dunwich , massachusetts . \\nfor reasons we won\\'t go into here , this opens the gates of hell which must be closed by all saints day or the dead will rise and walk the earth . \\nthe medium apparently dies of fright during the seance , but awakens in her coffin in the graveyard the next day and is rescued by a crusty old journalist ( christopher george ) . \\nthat scene in itself is a howler : why would you bust open a coffin with a large pick axe when you know someone is alive inside ? \\nand don\\'t cadavers have various things stuffed in them and drained out of them before they\\'re buried ? \\nanyway , off the two of them go to dunwich to save the world , where various grisly goings-on are already happening as all saints day approaches . \\nfulci\\'s graphic gore is in evidence once again , but here it only serves to further highlight the film\\'s flimsy script and plodding direction . \\nthe dialogue , in all manner of speaking , is unspeakable . \\nnot bad in the quotable sense , like an ed wood film , but bad in its sheer dullness or blatantly obvious \" lets explain the plot \" type approach . \\nmccoll doesn\\'t have a clue who her character is : deadly serious one minute , frivolous the next , she at times is genuinely hard to watch . \\nand the geezer ( the actor\\'s name escapes me ) who plays the town psychiatrist becomes even harder to stomach than mccoll as the film progresses . \\nchristopher george\\'s performance is salvageable , but he gets his brains ripped out in the end by a zombie and we don\\'t care . \\nin fact we don\\'t care for anyone in city of the living dead , though in other fulci films that hasn\\'t mattered so much when he was on form as a stylist and an ideas man , as he was in the beyond . \\nas a director , some of fulci\\' idiosyncrasies are incredibly silly and annoying here . \\nhe constantly uses extreme close-ups of people\\'s eyes , a ridiculous technique which suggests an attempt to convey the emotion that his dialogue and actors aren\\'t capable of . \\nand despite some gruesome violence , he barely manages a single scare in the entire film . \\nlong-time collaborator fabio frizzi , talented but always erratic , offers a patchy soundtrack that veers between eerie , gothic death marches and woefully inappropriate electro-pop that\\'s quite frankly embarrassing . \\nfulci\\'s other films of this period may be flawed - house by the cemetery , the beyond , the black cat - but they are nonetheless films with more inspiration , atmosphere and better dialogue than this turkey . \\nfor completists only . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"saving private ryan ( dreamworks ) running time : 2 hours 48 minutes . \\nstarring tom hanks , edward burns , tom sizemore and matt damon directed by steven spielberg already being hailed as the 'greatest war movie ever made , ' saving private ryan is an harrowing , saddening and riveting movie . \\nit may not be the greatest war movie in my opinion , but it's certainly one of the best war movies made , and one of the best of 1998 . \\ntom hanks stars as a captain who's troop has to find private ryan ( damon ) who has a ticket home because his three brothers have been killed in action . \\naction , drama and even some humour occur as the troop journeys through wartime france to find him . \\nafter the disappointing amistad ( 1997 ) spielberg has returned to form with this excellent movie . \\ni'm not the war movie genre biggest fan , but i found this film to be gripping , and very scary , thanks to the excellent cast , direction and terrifying battle scenes . \\ntom hanks is superb , straying away from his usually soppy dramatic roles , such as in forrest gump ( 1994 ) . \\nthis time , he plays the role with gritty realism , and is much better for it . \\noccasionally he overacts the sentimentally , but he generally delivers a fine performance . \\nedward burns , looking a lot like armageddon's ben affleck , also delivers a top notch performance , moving away from his roles in films such as she's the one ( 1996 ) tom sizemore makes less of an impact , but is still watchable , and matt damon reinforcing his position as one of the finest young actors working today . \\nspielberg directs very well , putting the audience right in the heart of the action of the battle scenes . \\nand what battle scenes they are ! \\nthey're truly terrifying , yet the audience cannot drag their eyes away from the screen . \\nthe battle scenes are filmed with a jerky hand-held camera , and the panic and confusion felt by the soldiers is emphasized by this technique . \\nthe gore and violence isn't spared either , which body parts flying , and blood spurting . \\nthis film is certainly not for kids and sensitive adults . \\nother factors help saving private ryan be a masterpiece of 90's film making . \\nthe cinematography is excellent , and the music score by john william's is also superb . \\nit is never intrusive , and adds to the drama on-screen . \\nbut while they are thousands of good things great about private ryan , there's one major flaw that detracts the genius of the film : the writing . \\nit is unusually flat , with many of the speeches strangely weak . \\nthe film never really makes any profound statements . \\nthis is not a major gripe , as private ryan is a film of action , not words . \\nstill , the script could of been a lot better . \\nthankfully , the actors help partly to rectify the situation with their great delivery of their lines . \\nsaving private ryan , in the end , is an excellent film , but not the 'greatest war movie' due to it's weak acting . \\nthis film should be viewed by everyone who has the stomach for it , as it's rewarding and extremely worthwhile . \\nit really shouldn't be missed , and dreamworks skg has finally found it's first hit movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"edward burns tackles his third picture with no looking back , and like his previous two , it is a working-class relationship picture . \\nhowever , unlike his previous work , the film dwells on a more personal story , and with a female protagonist . \\nand in no looking back , he stumbles , making a slow , boring film without the spark that enlivened his previous work . \\nclaudia ( lauren holly ) is a small town waitress who is feeling stifled by her life . \\nshe's at a turning point in her life , and feels as if she's going nowhere . \\nher boyfriend , michael ( jon bon jovi ) , is broke and in a dead end job . \\nif she were to marry him , she'd never get a chance to escape this town . \\nenter charlie ( edward burns ) , claudia's old flame . \\nhe skipped town several years before , without any explanations . . . even \\nfor claudia . \\nhe has come back to town to see her , and suddenly she is torn . \\nshould she stay with stable michael , and never escape her hometown . . . or \\nshould she ignore her instincts and fall for charlie again . \\npart of the answer lies in the character of her mother ( blythe danner ) , who fell for the wrong man . . . and has spent her life pining for claudia's father to return . \\nnow it seems that claudia is about to make the same mistakes . \\nat only a little past ninety minutes , no looking back is rather short for its genre . \\nunfortunately , it seems much much longer . \\nthe storyline is simple and uninspired , and there's a lack of energy to the whole proceedings , which makes the entire drama rather tedious . \\nedward burns makes a misstep by casting himself in the crucial role as the egomaniacal old flame . \\nthere's no one to restrain his ego , which reigns unchecked . \\nhe walks into the room and lauren holly swoons . . . yeah , \\nright . \\nlauren holly does what she can with her central character . \\nbut we never understand why her character makes such pathetically bad decisions . . . and \\nwe never really care . \\nbon jovi is the only sympathetic character in the whole movie . \\nhis acting talents are much greater than they might seem , but he is given a mostly bland and ineffective role to work with . \\nthere's not much to recommend in no looking back . \\nit's not that the film is bad . . . it's \\nsimply boring . \\nthere's no zest in any aspect of the film , and no reason to spend ninety minutes watching it . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'in my review of \" the spy who shagged me , \" i postulated an unbreakable law of film physics : every time a sequel is as good as or better than the previous film in the series , it is followed by a third movie that is a bore . \\nthe cause is probably complacency ; a studio sighs with relief when part 2 lives up to expectations and figures part 3 is a sure thing . \\n \" scream 3 \" provides the latest proof of this rule . \\nin los angeles production has begun on \" stab 3 : return to woodsboro , \" the most recent installment in the series of movies inspired by the murders surrounding sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) . \\nhowever , life soon starts imitating art , and \" stab \" cast members turn up stabbed . \\nsmelling yet another book deal , gale weathers ( courteney cox arquette ) comes to the set to investigate and finds her ex-boyfriend dewey riley ( david arquette ) acting as a technical consultant and getting chummy with jennifer ( parker posey ) , the actress playing gale in \" stab 3 . \" elsewhere , our heroine sidney is living in hiding under an assumed name . \\n . \\n . \\nuntil she gets a phone call from a familiar evil voice . \\nthe late randy meeks ( jamie kennedy ) makes a surprise guest appearance via video to explain the rules of a trilogy . \\nhe notes the third chapter in a trilogy has an overabundance of exposition and a huge backstory to contend with . \\nindeed , \" scream 3 \" tries to link its murders back to the one that started it all , the murder of sidney\\'s mother maureen before the beginning of the original \" scream . \" \\nat the scene of each murder in \" scream 3 , \" the killer leaves a photo of sidney\\'s mother maureen as a teenager in hollywood and even includes a note claiming to be her real killer . \\nto find out who the killer is , our intrepid investigators have to uncover what happened during maureen\\'s missing years when she was a starlet appearing in low-budget horror films . \\n ( even with that little information , you can probably already guess what the killer\\'s relationship to sidney is ) . \\nunlike its predecessors , \" scream 3 \" doesn\\'t have the guts to even suggest that the central characters might be the killer . \\nthe characters we do suspect are all undeveloped , so that by the end we don\\'t even care who the killer is . \\nthe jaded detective ( patrick dempsey ) ? \\nthe kinky producer ( lance henriksen ) ? \\nthe driven young director ( scott foley ) ? \\nthe ingenue ( emily mortimer ) ? \\nthe character who turns out to be the killer seems to be selected at random . \\nwes craven supposedly filmed three different endings to keep the real one a secret , so it\\'s quite possible the one in the final cut was randomly chosen . \\nthe series\\' trademark references to other horror films have become trite and obvious . \\npossibly it\\'s the absence of screenwriter kevin williamson , who penned the first two , or maybe it\\'s that the hip ironic stance eventually consumes itself and a series that parodies film cliches eventually becomes a cliche . \\ni groaned as an attack on sidney from the first \" scream \" was repeated moment-for-moment in the hollywood set of her home . \\nat some point , referencing becomes just a means to cover up a poverty of new ideas . \\n \" scream 3 \" also continues the tradition of having an eclectic set of cameos and familiar faces in small roles . \\nlook for jenny mccarthy , carrie fisher , patrick warburton ( puddy from \" seinfeld \" ) , roger corman , and jason mewes and kevin smith ( as jay and silent bob ) to walk through at some point . \\nall these bit players put forth more effort than the series\\' returning stars , who are probably saving their energy for the long post- \" scream \" job search . \\nanother prediction i made in a previous review has come to pass : more movies are copying \" the blair witch project \" \\'s web strategy . \\n \" scream 3 \" has three official websites that ( wink , wink ) pretend that the events of the movie are real and provide additional backstory information not covered in the movie . \\nthe sunrise studios site ( scream3 . com ) has trailers for other sunrise releases as well as the \" latest \\'stab 3\\' news . \" \\nthere\\'s also a gail weathers official site ( galeweathers . com ) and a sunrise sucks site that has more \" stab \" scandals the studio wants to cover up ( sunrisesucks . com ) . \\ncraven and company promise that this is the last installment in the \" scream \" series . \\nwhile i hope that\\'s true , i don\\'t hold out much hope-horror movie series are even harder to kill than their monsters . \\nthere\\'s a \" halloween h2k \" in the works , even though michael myers was beheaded in \" h20 , \" and a \" freddy vs . jason \" has been talked about for awhile , despite the fact that both characters were \" killed off . \" \\nthere\\'s bound to be a \" scream 4 \" someday , even if it starts over with a new set of movie-star wannabes . \\nbottom line : they should have called this one \" yawn . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"ingredients : neophyte lawyer , legal situations , corrupt insurance company , \\nsynopsis : rudy baylor ( matt damon ) is an ethical kid fresh out of law school who must juggle three legal situations at the same time . \\nrudy's girlfriend is attacked by her violent husband ; rudy's elderly landlady wants to arrange her will so that her children are excluded , and ; the family of rudy's friend with leukemia is suing the corrupt insurance company that wouldn't pay for a bone marrow transplant . \\nrudy is new to being a lawyer and is thoroughly outgunned , but luckily he is aided by a sleazy ambulance chaser ( danny devito ) who has failed the bar exam six times as well as by the kindly presiding judge ( danny glover ) . \\njon voight plays leo f . drummond , the intimidating and arrogant leader of the all-powerful insurance company's team of lawyers who will do anything to oppose justice . \\nwill rudy defeat leo ? \\nwill he enjoy being a lawyer ? \\nopinion : the good news is that this movie has a happy ending , and it features a guy trying to do the right thing . \\ndirector francis ford coppola does this film a little differently than the stereotypical law movie . \\nin the typical lawyer movie there's one big case and the movie focuses on solving it , and somewhere along the line surprise witnesses and motives turn up before the good guy wins ( after lots of gripping courtroom drama ) . \\nhowever , coppola's movie is deliberately more low key . \\n'the rainmaker' plays out like a personality sketch of young rudy as he gets emotionally involved with and tries to save various little quirky side characters . \\nin the background rudy's voice narrates his feelings and makes half-cynical jokes about the legal profession in general . \\ntwo factors combine to make this movie less heavy than it can be . \\nfirst , rudy's time is split juggling three cases , rather than concentrating on a single high-stakes case . \\nalso , rudy's use of voice narration in place of acting makes the film lose some of its dramatic edge . \\nthe end result is an entertaining low key law movie where the good guys win , and rudy narrates his way into coming of age . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" desperate measures \" was something i was excited about seeing back when it was originally scheduled to be released : summer \\'97 . \\nfor some reason , it was delayed until hollywood\\'s traditional dumping ground : january . \\nnow that it\\'s out , i see no real reason for that delay , as it\\'s a simple yet highly entertaining film . \\nmichael keaton stars as a maniacial murderer who\\'s bone marrow can save the life of the dying son of a san francisco police detective ( garcia ) . \\nkeaton agrees to the transplant , only so he can attempt escape . \\nhe succeeds , in a plan that of course could only work in the movies . \\nthe police force is now trying to kill keaton , while garcia is working against them trying to keep keaton alive in order to save his son . \\nthe film definately has it\\'s flaws . \\nthe plot is strictly tv movie of the week fare , but the acting and direction certainly boost it far above that status . \\nalso , after keaton\\'s escape , garcia\\'s captain barks at him \" how many men have to die to save your kid\\'s life ? \" \\nwhich the film treats as such an evil and insignificant remark . \\nthe thing is , it\\'s a vaild point . \\nhow many people have to be needlessly crippled , burned , and killed just to save this one child ? \\nwhat\\'s the greater good here ? \\nmany lives or one life ? \\nif movies really had guts nowadays , i would have loved to have seen this movie come down to a final choice for garcia\\'s character . \\nplace him in a situation where he knows that he has to kill keaton because keaton is about to kill someone else . \\nalas , movies these days generally have no such ambition to pull the audience\\'s strings in ways which might make the uncomfortable . \\ndespite a few silly moments ( and one or two really stupid ones ) , the good things about \" desperate measures \" outnumber the bad . \\nthe main highlight would be keaton\\'s performance . \\nthe character could have easily been an overacting , scene chewing freak , but keaton underplays it nicely . \\nhe\\'s not as menacing as he was in \" pacific heights \" or even as menacing as he was in \" batman \" ( yes kids , batman used to be a dark character ) , but you certainly get the idea that he\\'s evil . \\neven the final scene of the film , which normally i would just hate , seems strangely appropriate for this film . \\nso much so that i didn\\'t mind it in the slightest . \\nand another bonus : the film takes place in san francisco , which usually means a car chase on those hills that you\\'ve seen a billion times before . \\nand for a moment , it looked as though it was about to happen . \\nbut it doesn\\'t , and that\\'s creative . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : a wild jungle woman and an 11-story gorilla are discovered in tibet and taken to hong kong where the gorilla escapes and causes havoc . \\nthis is a laughable 1977 rip off of king kong ( 1976 ) , itself a rip-off . \\nproduction values are low and audiences seem to like the film mostly for derisive laughter . \\n , high -2 ( -4 to +4 ) \\n- directed by ho meng-hua . \\n- this film is provided to be a sort of laughing stock to finish the festival . \\n- an earthquake uncovers an 11-story tall gorilla in the himalayas . \\na hunter , chosen because he just broke up with his girl and is at loose ends , gets sent to find the ape and finds a sort of female tarzan who controls the ape . \\n- evelyne kraft is the jungle girl in a leather bikini that she is pasted into so she always looks on the verge of bouncing out of . \\n- gorilla actor has no idea how gorillas move and suit is terrible . \\nnice miniature effects , however . \\n- has almost a music video inside it of jungle girl playing with animals like chi-chi the leopard . \\n- several places there is narrative that is nearly incoherent as if there are missing scenes and the viewer has to guess what happened in the interim . \\n- actual location shooting in mysore . \\nape shown badly matted behind temple . \\n- combining of images usually pretty bad . \\nincompetent matching of film stocks . \\n- stock footage frequently used . \\n- gorilla brought to hong kong by greedy entrepreneur who really abuses the ape before it escapes and tears things up real good . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when the haunting arrived in theaters , all i kept hearing about was the overdone special effects and the fact that very often the unseen bumps in the night in a horror film are far scarier than those that you can put a face to courtesy of special effects . \\nwhile i agree that this remake of the haunting goes a bit overboard in the visual effects department , i don\\'t think that they are completely to blame for this movie\\'s failure . \\nit appears that some people have failed to take into account that the original haunting had the \" unseen \" terrors , and it was about as scary as a dust bunny . \\nso special effects or not , if the story isn\\'t the least bit scary , you aren\\'t going to end up with a very frightening movie . \\nthe thing that interested me most about this movie was the caretaker of this building played by bruce dern . \\ndern is always great , and even though he may have had only about 3 minutes of screen time he was still the most interesting element of the movie . \\nas i sat through the seemingly endless , albeit fairly impressive , special effects , i kept wishing that this movie was about dern\\'s caretaker and not the one dimensional characters that populated the cast . \\nnever a good sign when a bit player is the best part of the movie . \\nliam neeson plays a scientist who is conducting experiments on fear . \\nhe decides the best way to get results is to trick a group of fairly unstable individuals to spend a few days in a haunted mansion . \\nhe tricks them into participating by letting on that he is conducting an experiment on insomnia . \\nand he also fails to mention that the mansion has a reputation for strange goings-on . \\ncatherine zeta-jones , lili taylor and owen wilson play his subjects . \\nlike the original , taylor\\'s character is the star of the movie . \\nbut since she doesn\\'t quite have the marquee power of liam neeson and ms . zeta-jones , their parts did seem to be a big larger than in the original . \\nand let\\'s face it , probably half the people who see this movie will do so because of zeta-jones . \\ni\\'ll admit that i would have never seen this thing if she weren\\'t in it . \\nbut the real stars here is the special effects combined with the fairly overdone sets . \\nthey take over the movie as the supernatural elements of the house start to interact with our hapless insomnia patients . \\nthere really isn\\'t much of a story here . \\njust endless setups so director jan de bont can showcase all the nifty special effects that he got to play with . \\nand the special effects are great . \\nin many cases they are as good as you are likely to see anywhere . \\nin other cases they are overdone and obviously thrown in just for the sake of hitting the \" cool shots \" quota . \\nat no point in the movie do any of these things ever come close to being scary -- funny , maybe . \\nbut not scary . \\nthen we have the set . \\nwhen i first saw the house , i was very impressed with the very cool gothic look about it . \\nbut it only took a short tour by the characters around the place to see that the set designers obviously had as much money to burn as the visual effects people did , and decided to take the idiotically overdone route . \\nthis included a flooded hallway with books as stepping stones and a mirrored circular room that revolves . \\nwhat part did these rooms play in the story ? \\nabsolutely none . \\nthey were just there to take our minds off the fact that there was neither a descent story nor a single scare in the entire movie . \\nthen we have the actors . \\nlili taylor has never been one of my favorites . \\nand when the fact that her character is mousy and pathetic is factored in , she comes in around the average or slightly below mark . \\ni have no idea why liam neeson took this role . \\nhe basically reminded me of the ringmaster at an out of control circus . \\nhis character was in charge of this farce but it quickly got away from him . \\ni have no doubt that liam will want to lock all prints of this movie in a very secure vault along with all copies of darkman . \\nzeta-jones was cast because she is too hot for words . \\nthe fact that her character is bi-sexual is just icing on the cake . \\nall catherine has to do in this movie is look good . \\nfortunately that is something she does very well . \\nwhile she does have a fairly good size part , it is obvious that her only purpose in the movie was as eye-candy . \\nit\\'s too bad someone of her talents wasted them here . \\nany random supermodel pulled out of a fashion show could have easily filled her role . \\nthe haunting is the antithesis of another of 1999\\'s horror movies , the blair witch project . \\nthe haunting had a seemingly limitless effects budget , while blair witch relies on piles of rocks for its scares . \\nboth prove quite nicely that special effects are irrelevant to a horror film . \\nif the story sucks , it\\'s all downhill from there . \\nmy advice ? \\nif you are looking for special effects , go rent star wars . \\nif it\\'s scares you want , rent halloween . \\neither way , it\\'s probably in your best interests to skip the haunting . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in the past , tim burton has taken cinema by storm with the action packed batman , and the hilarious ed wood , but lately his films just don\\'t cut it . \\nsleepy hollow has some unique features , but the script is a terrible mess . \\nfor those who remember disney\\'s fantastic \" adventures of ichabod crane \" , it is actually superior to this . \\ndisney\\'s version was at least interesting , while burton\\'s film drags on far too long , without any suspense or frights . \\nwhile the stories are similar , the new version adds too much to the once likable story , and throws in some weak dialogue to top it off . \\nichabod crane ( johnny depp ) is now apparently a constable , who was sent to new york to investigate suspicious murders . \\nthe victims are headless , and no traces of evidence were found , until the murderer reveals himself , hence the headless horseman . \\nnow with the help of christina ricci and an orphaned boy , they must stop the headless horseman from a killing spree , that could destroy the whole town of sleepy hollow . \\nsure the headless horseman is an intriguing character , but the story has so many holes that even he nor depp can save this disaster . \\nin the original , the headless horseman was meant to be unstoppable . \\nno one could stop him , not even ichabod . \\nby the end of the film , it had audiences in deep thought . \\nburton however concentrates far too much on the atmosphere , and how to make the main characters heroes . \\nhe takes no risk what so ever , and this is where he fails . \\nanother pathetic element of the film was the script . \\nlike i said earlier , he just stuffed too much in at one time , and made it look real sloppy , kind of like the mess the headless horseman made with his victims . \\nhe completely butchered the story to pieces . \\nthankfully there are a few factors that i particularly liked . \\nthe acting by depp was quite notable . \\nhe took the nerdy character of the cartoon , and simply acted it out in a better manner . \\nif it wasn\\'t for his quirky one-liners , i doubt i could have remained awake , because quite frankly i was getting sleepy . \\njust when i thought christina ricci was getting to be a good actress , she winds up doing this . \\nit just goes to show no actress or actor can pass up a big blockbuster . \\nit\\'s too tempting to let go , even if the script is mush . \\nthe atmosphere too was quite involving . \\ni should have just gazed at the sets , and the eerie fog , rather than actually pay attention to what was going on . \\nat least burton\\'s films are eye candy , even if they are trash . \\nthe only real scenes of value were the tree full of heads , and the fight between the horseman , depp and casper van dien . \\nother than that , i wish i could just fast forward through all the gaping holes in the film , and just sit back and stare at the scenery . \\nby the end , i can only think back and laugh at how bad sleepy hollow developed . \\nthis is the biggest disappointment of the year , especially when such a talented director like burton handles a project like this . \\ndon\\'t waste your time or money , because your head will feel hollow . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"synopsis : two con artists find the perfect patsy in harry ( woody harrelson ) - - an inept former journalist who trips and bumps his head into a post , tries to slap a girl and gets poked in the eye , has ill-timed fits of coughing , and fails at everything he does . \\nthe story is told from harry's point of view . \\nharry always carries around a shot of whiskey although he swears he doesn't drink . \\none day harry is approached by the con girl rhea ( elisabeth shue ) , who is similar to harry in that she carries around a cigarette but swears she doesn't smoke . \\nseduced , harry agrees to participate in a money-making scheme involving faking the kidnapping of odette ( chloe sevigny ) , the teenage daughter of a rich man . \\nturns out , it's all part of a needless , very puzzling , extremely elaborate and convoluted scheme ( it involves hiring special impersonators ) by two cons in order to fool harry , a hero who barely has the intellectual capacity of a wooden post . \\nwhen the 'kidnapped' odette is found dead , the clues point to harry as the kidnapper/murderer , and the police are hot on harry's trail . \\nharry suddenly realizes he has been framed while others have taken the ransom money . \\ncan he get out of this mess ? \\nopinion : palmetto is a long , uninteresting film with all the wrong feel . \\nhero harry is an inept bungler who trips up often and consistently overestimates his own intelligence . \\nthis farcical kind of character works best in an entertaining naked gun action comedy or dragnet spoof . \\nbut palmetto is played like a dark , serious , detective noir drama , and watching harry's bumbling confidence amounts to an irritating distraction . \\nthere's a lapse in concentration in the middle of the movie as the camera goes wild on breasts , buttocks , short skirts , colored painted nails , and women's legs . \\neven when the focus is supposedly on harry and his dilema , you can always notice the side of elizabeth shue's breast forming a prominent foreground . \\ntowards the end , palmetto re-focuses on plot for the grand finale - - a confusing explanation involving impersonators , with woody harrelson handcuffed and suspended over a tub of acid as he hears the criminals' confession . \\nif you can imagine 'shemp' from the three stooges playing the detective hero of an hbo 'lingerie suspense' thriller , that's how out of synch this movie feels . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"to paraphrase a song title from an earlier disney movie , mulan is a whole new world . \\nthe mouse factory's latest feature is a treasure , featuring magnificent animation , a strong story and finely drawn characters . \\nmulan is the story of a fiesty , head-strong young woman who , unlike other disney heroines , isn't seeking her prince charming , \\nmulan's motivations are simple ; to save her father , serve her country and find a place for herself in a world in which females have no say . \\nthe story of mulan takes place in ancient china at a time when the huns have invaded the nation . \\nthe emperor has called for a conscription , one man from each family to join the army and defend the nation . \\nmulan's crippled father is called , but mulan sneaks off , steals his armor and takes his place . \\nmulan is a saga of courage and self-discovery . \\nyet , despite the grim backdrop of war , it is a lively tale of self-reliance and brain-over-brawn that even the smallest child can appreciate and enjoy . \\nthe movie utilizes a strong corps of asian-american talent as the voices for the main characters , including the wonderful ming-na wen ( the joy luck club ) as mulan , b . d . \\nwong as shang , mulan's commanding officer and later love interest , pat morita as the emperor and the veteran soon-tek oh as mulan's proud , but loving father . \\nalso adding to the proceedings is eddie murphy as mushu the dragon , sent by mulan's ancestors to watch over and help the young woman . \\nhis fast , wise-cracking , hip-talking mushu may seem out of place , but it's a crowd pleasing performance , especially for the youngsters . \\nthe movie features only a couple of songs , fewer than most previous disney animated flicks , but mulan's are winners . \\nthe music by matthew wilder and lyrics by david zippel fit nicely into the plot . \\nthe overall score by jerry goldsmith also is a plus . \\nmulan is a treat , more powerful than hercules , with more heart than the hunchback of notre dame . \\nat about 85 minutes , mulan moves rapidly , and will hold the attention of youngsters from beginning to the end . \\nmulan will set a new standard by which future animated efforts by disney and other studios will have to work hard to attain . \\nalso , it is hoped that the success of mulan , and there is no doubt that it will prove to be a popular vehicle , will spur an interest for more movies with oriential or asian-american themes so as to provide more substantial roles for the talented performers who gave their voices for this production . \\nit would be nice to see them on screen as well as hear them . \\ncommitted to lifelong learning through effective communication \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'in 1994 , an insider\\'s look at a scandal-ridden run for the democratic presidential nomination ( closely based on clinton\\'s 1992 campaign ) was written anonymously ( former newsweek writer joe klein later claimed true authorship ) . \\nnow , the book , primary colors , has been made into a movie , directed by mike nichols , and , in light of recent presidential scandals , seems to be more relevant than ever . \\nbut the film is more than a diatribe against , or a paean in praise of , the president . \\nit is a fascinating look at the political machinery , and the ethical quagmire , that surround modern politics . \\njack stanton ( john travolta ) is the governor of a small southern state running for the democratic presidential nomination . \\nhe is charismatic , but has several flaws which threaten to doom his campaign , and strains his relationship with his wife , susan ( emma thompson ) . \\nthe film is told from the point of view of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , grandson of a civil rights leader , who is swept away by stanton\\'s ideals and helps to organize the campaign . \\nhe joins political strategist richard jemmons ( billy bob thornton , looking an awful lot like james carville ) , and campaign advisor daisy green ( maura tierney ) . \\ngovernor stanton\\'s past repeatedly pops up to haunt him , a fact that his chief rival , lawrence harris ( kevin cooney ) , consistently uses to his advantage . \\nto help clean up the stanton campaign , jack and susan bring in an old friend , libby \" the dustbuster \" holden ( kathy bates ) . \\nthe acting throughout primary colors is superb . \\nit would be worth seeing the movie for bates\\' wild performance alone . \\nshe enlivens the atmosphere with energy in a truly boisterous performance . \\ntravolta does a fair clinton impersonation as governor stanton , although his accent does stray a little . \\nemma thompson delivers a strong performance as his suffering wife who can\\'t let anything show that might hurt the presidential run . \\nthe problem with political movies is that they tend to alienate over half of their audience by promoting one side or the other , or else the movie is vague to the point of boredom . \\nprimary colors treads lightly on this issue . \\nthough stanton is clearly portrayed as a democrat , and there are a few minor barbs thrown in the way of republicans , the movie touches on few actual political issues . \\nin fact , most of the \" bad guys \" are fellow democrats on the same road to the white house . \\nrather than issues , the film is primarily concerned about scandals and spin control . \\nalthough the film strays into some obviously non-clinton territory , it is difficult to completely separate it from reality ( particularly when certain scenes seem to highlight the president\\'s current troubles ) . \\nprimary colors\\' chief problem is its length . \\nit runs about 15 minutes too long . \\nthere are some scenes which could have easily been cut . \\nfor example , midway through the film , the candidate gives a speech to an assembly of laid off machinists . \\nthe scene\\'s only apparent purpose is to establish stanton\\'s character , which has already been done in similar scenes earlier in the film . \\nthe extra length isn\\'t long enough nor tiring enough to be annoying , but it mars an otherwise excellent film . \\nrepublicans , democrats , and political agnostics should all be able to find something to like in primary colors . \\nit\\'s a funny , and at some times shocking , look at the modern political process . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the tagline on random hearts reads \" in a perfect world , they never would have met . \" \\nin a perfect world , i never would have seen this movie . \\nthe biggest flaw is that 20 minutes into this film , kay chandler ( kristin scott thomas ) and dutch van den broeck ( harrison ford ) are the only two major characters alive ; resulting in little doubt that they will end up together at some point during the laborious two-hours-and-then-some production . \\ndutch is a sergeant in internal affairs at the district of columbia police department . \\nkay is a congresswoman from new hampshire . \\nalthough they both think they are happily married , their spouses are cheating with each other behind their backs . \\ndutch and kay are soon widowed when a plane goes down carrying their partners ; they subsequently discover the affair . \\nthe rest of the film is the pointless , unrealistic and often-times boring story of their researching the sexual relationship that they were blind to , and getting to know each other in the process . \\ntwo sub plots are of little help to the already problematic film . \\ndutch is trying to arrest a fellow officer , a task that seems rather ordinary for hollywood fare . \\nall the great stereotypes get pulled , including my personal favorite of the key witness that makes bail and is murdered soon thereafter . \\nkay\\'s distraction from the film\\'s primary focus is her campaign for re-election and attempts to shield her 15 year old daughter from the truth about the father she put on a pedestal . \\nthese sub plots could have made for semi-interesting points , but the film seems afraid to explore politics or mother-daughter relations in depth , and consequently suffers . \\nrandom hearts\\' two primary characters seem to live in shells . \\nalthough both kay and dutch are given their own sub plots , they seem to never deal with anyone other than themselves or each other . \\nthere is plenty of opportunity , dutch having a partner and kay having close friends and her daughter , but the movie shies away from exploring these relationships . \\nveteran actor and director of this film sydney pollack , and critically acclaimed up-and-comer dylan baker both have cameo roles , but be careful not to blink too much or you will miss them both . \\nother than its weak plot , it is hard to criticize random hearts . \\nhowever , it is also hard to compliment it . \\nhad the film taken some small risks and more fully explored its extra characters and plots it may have tasted more like a well frosted cake , rather than the dry one that equates to be . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"capsule : a ham-handed and over/underwritten morality play masquerading as entertainment , so muddled it doesn't even know what it's really advocating , if anything . \\na time to kill has been hailed as the best of the grisham adaptations , and it's easy to see why : it presents a strong , almost rancorously so , story ; it is full of good actors ( samuel l . jackson , matthew mcconaughey , sandra bullock , kevin spacey , charles dutton ) ; and it's ostensibly about some important social issue that we're all tangling with . \\nit is not , however , a good movie , and all of the reasons i've listed above have something to do with why . \\nright from the beginning , the movie is dead-set on stacking its deck as thoroughly and unrepentantly as possible . \\na pair of redneck whites , boozed and drugged out of their minds , kidnap a young black girl , abuse and rape her horribly , and leave her for dead . \\nafter their arrest , their father ( jackson ) takes an assault rifle and guns them down on the way to trial . \\nmcconaughey is then drafted in as his lawyer , and the rest is somehow strangely predictable courtoom movie dramatics . \\nthe acting is not quite what it should be , given the cast we have . \\nsandra bullock ( who is a good actress but not a serious one ) looks clueless ; spacey's accent switches itself on and off at random ( and he's given a totally thankless role to play as well , a role without an iota of depth ) ; and mcconaughey's role is stamped from the cardboard back of a cereal box . \\nthe most memorable role is donald sutherland's , and his is a bit part . \\ni always consider it an index of a movie's desperation when it is able to present shocking and outlandish events , and somehow not have them generate an ounce of impact . \\nthere is one scene -- a riot outside the courtroom -- that should have created incredible tension , but winds up playing out like a textbook exercise on how not to deploy a scene like this . \\nbecause the movie doesn't know what it's really about , it * can't * generate any genuine tension , and so it has to artifically inject tension through clumsy plotting . \\none of the ways it does this is by throwing in a whole subplot about a bunch of vicious kkk cross-burners -- which is tidied up so neatly that it borders on the nihilistic . \\ni was reminded of the despicable betrayed , which tried to tart up a fundamentally empty story by injecting vile , graphic acts of racism as little more than an attention-getter . \\nthe movie immolates an enormous amount of its potential by making a few critical mistakes . \\nfirst of all , the jackson character is not hard to judge ; there's no tension in his dilemma . \\nhe's self-admittedly guilty and should be sent to jail , no matter how moral his crusade . \\nthe old saw about how no court in the land would convict him , if he was white , is supposed to be the underlying theme of the movie , but it's never developed into an organic component of the story . \\nit just sort of floats around on top while the movie grinds away furiously with its plot mechanics . \\nanother mistake is in motivational logic : by not having the two white thugs arraigned first -- or maybe tried and then dismissed from lack of evidence , say -- we have that much less empathy for jackson's character . \\ni'm probably supposed to think that just because he had his daughter raped , we are * automatically * supposed to feel empathy for him , but that's precisely the kind of facile thinking that makes real justice impossible . \\n ( see the virgin spring for more on that note . ) \\nis jackson's character then simply insane ? \\nthat prospect isn't given terribly serious treatment either . \\none of the most aggravating things about coutroom movies is how little they seem to know about how the law works , or how lawyers get their information . \\nmcconaughey's character makes an important slipup late in the movie , when one of his witnesses turns out to have been convicted of a capital offense . \\nhow did the prosecution get this information ? \\nhow come he didn't get it ? \\nthe whole way these questions get handled are symptomatic of the movie's way of dealing with complex legal and moral questions in cheap screenwriterly slam-bang fashion . \\nthis is the biggest problem : the movie isn't about jackson's character , or his dilemma , or this case , or any of its ( frequently interesting despite the porcine writing and direction ) characters . \\nit's not ultimately about anything at all , except its stupid geared-down plot , which inches onwards in one unremarkable scene after another towards a totally contrived ending . \\nat two and a half hours , the movie is overlong and drastically overwritten : there's endless stuff about things which ultimately add up to nothing , and no writing about the material that should really matter . \\nit's all handwaving . \\nthe closing argument are also sneaky and underhanded , and underscored my suspicion that the movie is manipulative and unfair . \\nit's not easy to make a movie about something . \\nthe other day i saw kurosawa's phenomenal rashomon , a movie that is really about the way people deal with truth and reality ( or don't ) . \\na time to kill is as empty and ponderous a movie as i've seen in a long time . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"after a stylistic detour with mrs . \\nparker and the vicious circle ( which , despite its uncomfortable tone , was close to being a conventional movie ) , director alan rudolph has returned to his unique brand of film making with afterglow , a romantic black comedy about love , betrayal , and self-absorption . \\nwhile these may not be the most unusual themes to fashion into a motion picture , rudolph's atypical approach to the characters and their situations makes for an intriguing , if not always pleasant , movie . \\nit is said that rudolph is a polarizing director ? meaning that most viewers either love his work or hate it . \\nuntil mrs . \\nparker , i had not been overly impressed by his movies . \\ni found equinox , his last pre- mrs . \\nparker effort , to be irritating and frustrating . \\ni was somewhat surprised , therefore , to discover that i liked afterglow . \\nthere are several reasons for this , but the paramount one is that rudolph seems to have muted some of the most strident , mannered aspects of his approach . \\nthe characters here are more like real people with genuine problems , the story is absorbing , and the acting is top-notch . \\nin short , rudolph has created a world that it's worth spending two hours in . \\nafterglow introduces us to two unhappily married couples . \\njeffrey byron ( jonny lee miller ) is a cold , seemingly-heartless businessman who is sexually indifferent to his young wife , marianne ( lara flynn boyle ) . \\nfor her part , marianne is so obsessed with having a baby that she never attempts to interact with her husband on a human level . \\nall she's interested in is seducing him during those few days when she's ovulating . \\nafter he refuses to make love , she decides to find someone else to play the role of sperm donor . \\nthe other couple , lucky ( nick nolte ) and phyllis mann ( julie christie ) , are an older pair , but they're no more content than jeffrey and marianne . \\na mysterious fracture in their past relationship has driven them apart . \\nthey remain married as a matter of convenience , but , since phyllis won't allow lucky to touch her , they have an unspoken agreement whereby he can fool around as much as he wants provided that no lasting bond is established as a result of these affairs . \\nthe landscape of emotional pain between them is palpable . \\nthe four characters begin interacting when marianne hires lucky as a handyman to fix up the inside of the apartment she shares with jeffrey . \\nthe two of them are immediately attracted to one another , and it doesn't take long before they're lounging together , naked , in her pool . \\nmeanwhile , jeffrey , who is captivated by older women , runs into phyllis in a hotel bar , is smitten , and invites her to accompany him on a weekend retreat to the mountains . \\nthe romantic couplings of the characters are interesting in that they illustrate the multiple faces of love . \\nsex means something different to everyone ? to jeffrey , it's an unpleasant chore , a loss of control ; to marianne , it's a means to a maternal end ; to lucky , it's an enjoyable distraction that blocks out his marital troubles ; and to phyllis , it's a method of establishing or denying emotional closeness . \\nultimately , none of these characters appears to love anyone else as much as they love themselves . \\nthe greatest strength of the film lies not in the script , but in the performances . \\njonny lee miller is perfect as the selfish , callous , suit-and-tie businessman . \\nthose who recall him as sickboy in trainspotting will find that he is almost unrecognizable here as the image of conformity . \\nlara flynn boyle , who wasn't impressive in rudolph's equinox , is greatly improved , making marianne a jumble of sexiness and vulnerability . \\nnick nolte is delightful as the uninhibited lucky , and he manages to deliver some of rudolph's most pregnant lines with practiced ease . \\nthe clear standout , however , is julie christie , who is nothing short of delicious as the world-weary phyllis . \\nher often wry , occasionally cutting asides are the source of much of the film's humor , and there's hardly ever a moment when she doesn't steal the spotlight from her co-stars . \\ni don't know if afterglow is the film to convert rudolph- detractors , but it seems that this movie is a little more accessible than some of the director's earlier productions . \\nenough of his trademark style remains , however , to reassure his supporters . \\nafterglow is basically a four-pronged character study . \\nthe plot is not especially compelling , but the character interaction is , and that's the real reason to see this motion picture . \\nrudolph has painted an able picture of the non-romantic side of love -- the one that has more to do with tolerance and familiarity than with affection and attraction . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'when respecting a director , you must also respect the fact that they are not perfect . \\nwoody allen has made a couple less-than good films , and he\\'s my favorite . \\neven martin scorsese hasn\\'t had a perfect track record . \\nkevin smith , after a smashing debut with the classic \" clerks \" stooped as low to sell-out and make the dreadful \" mallrats . \" \\ni mean , so far the only director who\\'s made several films , none of which have been bad is richard linklater ( \" slacker , \" \" dazed and confused , \" \" before sunrise , \" and \" suburbia \" . . . all \\nwhich were great ) . \\nnow , i adore quentin tarantino . \\nhis first two films were classic films , the second one being one of the greatest films of all time . \\nbut 1995 just wasn\\'t that good of a year for him . \\nhe made way too many tv appearances . \\nhe mispronounced jackie chan\\'s name on the mtv movie awards . \\nand he made this film . \\n ( he was also awarded an oscar , so i guess that would be a grand exception ) . \\nrobert rodriguez is also a great director ; not a brilliant one , but a cool one . \\ni\\'ve never seen an alexandre rockwell or allison anders film , so i can\\'t comment on them . \\nbut in this crap ensemble director\\'s film , all four give pitiful efforts . \\npitiful for any director , too . \\nnow in all fairness , ensemble director pieces never really work out . \\ni\\'ve never seen all of \" new york stories , \" but have heard the first two films , by scorsese and francis ford coppola are crap ( i saw woody\\'s one , which was hilarious but not totally up to par ) . but i will rate each film individually and then report back to you on the overal average score of the film . \\nexposition : a simple one - a bellhop , ted ( the totally overdone tim roth , who\\'s a god and all , but not in this one , though he has a couple good moments ) is working on new year\\'s eve for his first shift ( ! ! ! ) in an old fancy hotel . \\nhe\\'s the only one there ( again : ! ! ! ) and he only has a couple rooms ( yet again : ! ! ! ) . \\nthe old bellhop ( the seemingly immortal marc lawrence - who hated pulp fiction actually ) hands over his cap to ted and he goes to his job happily . \\nas the night goes on , he becomes increasingly annoyed and hostile . \\nyea . \\n ( the short films are presented in order , btw ) : \\nthe missing ingredient writer/director : allison anders starring : sammi davis , amanda decadenet , valeria golino , madonna , ione skye , lili taylor , alicia witt \\nthis one starts it off horribly with no plot , no intrigue , and crap dialogue . \\nthe situation is so terrible that it\\'s physically painful to watch . \\nthe plot has something to do with a coven of witches needing sperm to bring back a godess who is ( gasp ! ) \\nstuck inside some object in their hotel room . \\nthe witch that was supposed to bring it ( ione skye ) calls up ted and asks him if she can perform fellatio on him to get it . \\nyeah , that\\'s what i said . \\nstupid plot , inane characters who aren\\'t interesting at all , etc , etc , etc . the only good thing about this is it has a good cast which , in turn , it wastes pitifully . \\nnot even actually funny for a second . \\nmy rating ( out of 5 ) : no stars ! ! ! ! \\nthe wrong man writer/director : alexandre rockwell starring : david proval , jennifer beals and laurence bender \\nanother bad little film with another stupid sex thing going on . \\nted stumbles into the wrong room or something and gets in the middle of a couple ( david proval and jennifer beals in her attempt at \" coming back \" ) who are playing sex games . \\nted tries to escape and we cheer him on so it will end soon . \\nbut at least this has a bit of comedy in it , just not that much . \\nand david proval has never overacted as much . \\nand it\\'s \" pulp fiction \" producer laurence bender who gets to puke from a window . \\na masterpiece compared to the first one , but still . . . \\nthe misbehavers writer/director : robert rodriguez starring : antonio banderes , tamlyn tomita , lana mckissack , danny verduzco , salma hayek \\nwould a robert rodriguez film be the same without salma hayek\\'s navel ? \\nnope . \\nluckily she\\'s on the tv dancing so we get to see her . \\nsurprisingly enough , when i read the screenplay ( about a year before actually seeing it ) , this one seemed to have the most potential . \\nit was fast-paced , funny , and well , funny . \\nbut when i watched it , it seemed anti-climactic and only seemed to gain any momentum towards the end when everything happened at once . \\nantonio overacts nicely and the two kids ( lana and danny ) are funny . \\nbut , as i said , it moves slowly and in that way , it\\'s more painful than funny . \\nbut the ending was stupid and funny at the same time . \\noh ! \\nthe plot : antonio is a supposed gangster ( assumed , really ) who leaves his two troubling kids home while he and his wife ( tomita ) go out to get drunk at a new year\\'s party . \\nantonio hires ted for a couple bucks to watch his kids all night long , but things go wrong . . . it \\nwas okay . \\nthe man from hollywood writer/director : quentin tarantino starring : quentin tarantino , bruce willis , paul calderon and jennifer beals ( again ) \\nironically , this one could be considered the best for a bad reason : it best represents what quentin has done with this film . \\nhe plays chester , a spoiled brat actor or something who has just had a huge box-office hit on his hands and is living it up by playing an anti-climactic game from a hitchcock tv episode starring steve mcqueen and peter lorre where they gamble to see if one of them can get light from his lighter ten times in a row . \\nthey\\'re drunk and need sober but nervous ted to hold the cleaver and bring it down if the lighter doesn\\'t light . \\nthey also pay him a lot of cash . \\nthis is so much exactly what this little film is about that it\\'s campy . \\ntim roth was probably payed a lot of money to do this stupid part in this stupid film made by a bunch of people who are high on themselves \\'cause they\\'ve had hits , major or minor . \\nit took quentin to realize that . \\nbut the thing is , it doesn\\'t seem like he realizes that . \\nif he did , i\\'d give this a good 3 stars . \\nbut this sucked . \\nit was anti-climactic and the dialogue wasn\\'t very good . \\nhe starts off with a very long steadicam shot then goes to flashes . \\nthat makes no sense . \\nit\\'s cool for a while , then he makes it uneven . \\nit\\'s long and it\\'s just not very good . \\nhopefully quentin never repeats what he did with this one . \\nconclusion : what\\'s the moral here ? \\nif you\\'ve made celebrated films , don\\'t do an ensemble piece . \\nthey should have re-watched \" new york stories \" and then stopped in their tracks . \\nnone of these have any point to them and they\\'re embarrassing to not only the writer/directors , but to the actors \\'cause they\\'re working with crap . \\nbut i will forgive everyone involved and i especially look forward to quentin\\'s next directing job ( even though he and rodriguez jumped back to the top immeadiately with the cool \" from dusk till dawn , \" which i found exhilerating ) . \\ni love quentin and i suppose it\\'s good he made \" the man from hollywood \" because it makes him seem more realistic and not some \" god of cinema . \" \\ni seem to respect directors if they aren\\'t \" gods \" and are actually human beings who make mistakes . \\n \" the man from hollywood \" is his big mistake and let\\'s hope he doesn\\'t return her continuously . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : a down-and-out girl moves in with some over-the-top models and falls in love with a goofy-but-loveable guy from across the street . \\naaaaaaaaah ! \\nthen one day , she sees him knock a woman upside the head with a baseball bat . \\nooooooooh ! \\nshe must then join together with her model-friends to find out whether or not this guy is really goofy-but-loveable , or a psycho killer . \\naaaaaaaaah ! \\ncritique : completely idiotic . \\nokay , so maybe i\\'m being a little too nice . \\nthis movie starts off dumb , moves into the ridiculous and eventually graduates to idiocy . \\nthere . . . that\\'s \\nmore like it ! \\nand how , you may ask ? \\nwell , it\\'s simple really . \\nfour of the dumbest stereotypical models in the world ( oh my god , i just found out that the actresses playing the parts are models in real life . . . yipes ! ) \\njoin monica potter ( in a role which can only be described as an obvious cry for help ) and freddie prinze jr . ( not the actor , but the character better known as freddie prinze jr . ) , in a plot so stupid and far-fetched , that you have to wonder once more , how crap like this gets by the hollywood bigwigs . \\nthis thing stinks to high-heaven . \\nit\\'s just plain embarrassing for everyone involved . \\ni even felt my iq dip below its usual low as toilet humor somehow worked its way into this so-called romantic-comedy-action movie ? \\nugh . \\nwhat a pile of dung . \\nhey , i\\'m actually starting to sound a little like harry knowles here , but i guess i could see where his frustration comes from time to time . \\nit\\'s sad really . \\na movie which actually had quite a few people in my audience laughing at its idiocy , including the over-used \" folks hiding in the bathroom while someone else comes in to take a crap and fart \" gag . \\nand how about that dumb blonde model who keeps running into things . \\npure hilarity ! \\nor maybe i\\'m just too jaded , too much of a critic , not relaxed enough to enjoy this fluff-piece . . . uuuhhmmm . . . naaaaah ! ! \\nthis movie sucks the big one . \\nit\\'s chockfull of stupid characters delivering inane dialogue fitting snuggly into a preposterous plot . \\nthis is the kind of movie that has one character inserting another character into a car headfirst to the floor only because . . . well , \\nit\\'s supposed to be funny , see ? \\nyou see , that person then has their legs swinging in the other person\\'s face as they drive and that distracts the driver , see , and well , that\\'s kinda funny , no ? \\nharumph . . . yeah , \\nwell . . . you \\nget the picture ! \\nanyhoo , freddie prinze jr . . . . nuff \\nsaid . \\nmonica potter , a bad career move , but we might forgive you if you keep up the julia roberts bit . \\nthe rest of the model girls . . . well , \\nthanks for being there so i had something to look at , but please apologize to the entire modeling community as a whole , for making them all out to be complete imbeciles ! ! \\nso why the three points out of ten , you may ask ? \\nwell , it\\'s simple really . \\none point goes to the russian model girl and that cool accent ( don\\'t ask me why , but it actually turned me on ) . \\none point goes out to all of the model girls for being in the movie ( nice window decoration . . . natch ! ) . \\nand one last point goes out to the makers of this film , who spared us any long sorted story , and made sure to give us the opportunity of leaving the theatre after only 90 minutes of manufactured garbage , so that we could run out as fast as we can , grab the next person that we see walking down the street and warn them of the devil that is . . . freddie prinze jr . . . i \\nmean , head over heels . \\nyou\\'ve been warned , good people . \\nps : didja notice how i didn\\'t even mention rear window once in my entire review ? \\ni didn\\'t want to taint the memory of the classic flick by having it uttered alongside this thing , but then again , i just did mention it , but i guess it doesn\\'t count in the ps section . . . or \\ndoes it ? \\nooooh , whatever . . . i have a headache ! \\n ( i think my brain is coming back to life ) \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\n10 things i hate about you ( 7/10 ) - coyote ugly ( 6 . 5/10 ) \\n- down to you ( 6 . 5/10 ) \\n- save the last dance ( 7/10 ) - she\\'s all that ( 6 . 5/10 ) \\n- the wedding planner ( 4/10 ) - you\\'ve got mail ( 5 . 5/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'here is a movie that sadly follows the hong kong-recipe of moviemaking and storytelling to the letter . \\nthese kinds of movies are marked by an eye-opening sequence that introduces us to the main characters ; a life-and-death plot in which these characters become involved ; the inclusion of a host of inconsequential characters ; ridiculous subplots , and sunglass-wearing henchmen . \\nthat is not to say that i don\\'t like hong kong influenced movies ; however , it is quite obvious that these moviemakers haven\\'t a clue that the american filmgoer needs more than hip-hop-talking thugs and stupid sight gags . \\nobserve the opening sequence . \\na band of hitmen are about to storm an apartment , led by melvin ( mark wahlberg ) and cisco ( lou diamond phillips ) . \\nthey are waiting for their partner to cut off the power so that they can storm the apartment with the help of infrared goggles . \\nhowever , their partner is unsure of which cable to cut . \\nhe is undecided . \\nthis happens for about 10 seconds . \\nthe audience finds some humor in his foolishness . \\nthe lights suddenly go out . \\ncisco is surprised and says : \" whoa . . . let\\'s \\ngo ! \" \\nand they storm the apartment in a very nicely executed sequence . \\nthe big hit of the title refers to a kidnapping that happens a quarter of the way through the film . \\nneeding cash , cisco devises a plan to kidnap the daughter ( china chow ) of wealthy japanese industrialist jiro nishi . \\nhowever , the daughter is also the god-daughter of paris ( avery brooks ) , who is cisco\\'s and melvin\\'s boss . \\ninfuriated and insufferable , paris commands cisco to uncover the mastermind of the kidnapping . \\nduring his \\'investigation\\' , cisco singles out melvin as the ringleader , and paris orders his capture and execution . \\nmelvin must now find a way to stay alive . \\nby the way , do you know how the investigation takes place ? \\ncisco\\'s partner makes the ransom phone call believing that his call will not be traced because of a trace buster that prevents tracing . \\nbut , mr . nishi has a trace buster buster . \\nto counter that , cisco\\'s partner has a trace buster buster buster . \\nbut nishi has a trace buster buster buster buster . \\nand so on . . . \\nthere is no doubt that this is an interesting world in which they live . \\nand there are lots of issues that we\\'d like to know more about . \\nhow does melvin justify his profession to his fiancee ? \\nwhat goes on among this clique ? \\nwhy is cisco at odds with melvin ? \\nthere is actually a lot of potential material that could have been explored , but it seems that no effort is made to go in that direction , and instead we are given a not-so-engrossing plot filled with one-liners , silly sight gags , extraneous sub-plots and tomfoolery . \\nand , i haven\\'t even mentioned his financee\\'s visiting parents who want them to separate , nor melvin\\'s mistress , nor the pimple-faced video clerk demanding the return of an overdue video and on and on and on . \\nif the big hit signals the future of hong kong style movies that are made for american audiences , then shoot me now . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"sydney lumet is the director whose work happens to be of varied quality . \\nhe is praised for some of the most important films of the previous decades , like twelve angry men , serpico or the verdict . \\nbut , in the same time , almost any of such pearls is followed by stinkers that hamper lumet's reputation . \\na stranger among us , 1992 rip-off of peter weir's witness , belongs to the latter category . \\nthe heroine of this movie is emily eden ( melanie griffith ) , tough lady cop who sometimes shows too much enthusiasm in battling bad guys on the streets of new york . \\nduring one of such actions , her partner nick ( jamey sheridan ) got hurt and as a result , she becomes depressed . \\nin order to help her recover , bosses give her rather easy task of locating missing jeweller who belonged to hassidic jew community . \\nemily starts investigation and soon realises that the case involves murder . \\nconcluding that the perpetrator belongs to community , she decides to go undercover . \\nthat isn't easy , because her modern manners are colliding with traditionalist ways . \\nthings get even more complicated when she develops feelings for young cabalistic scholar ariel ( eric thal ) . \\nusing peter weir's formula isn't the greatest flaw of this film . \\neven the lame and unispiring crime mystery subplot works to the certain extent . \\nbut the worst insult to viewer's audience is terrible miscasting of melanie griffith . \\nthe author of this review never liked this actress very much , but she was at least tolerable in some of her roles . \\nrole of emily eden , unfortunately , isn't one of them . \\nfirst of all , she can't pass for tough nypd street fighter , and her attempt to pass for orthodox jewish woman isn't much better . \\nscreenplay by robert j . avrech makes things even worse with some formulaic red herring subplots ( scene involving two italian gangsters was almost too painful to watch ) . \\nbut , on the other hand , other actors are more convincing ( lee richardson as an old rabbi , thal as ariel and charming mia sara as his intended bride ) , and the photography by andrzej bartkowiak very effectively creates atmosphere of warmth when the scenes take place in hassidic community . \\nalso , the film might educate viewers about hassidic culture . \\nthat is the only thing that prevents it from turning into total waste of time . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"damn those trailers . \\nhad it not been for the advertising of this film , which reveals far too much about its contents , i would have been glued to `under the sand' . \\nas it is , the film retains some value , thanks to an excellent performance by charlotte rampling , and a more mature francois ozon in the director's chair . \\nmarie ( charlotte rampling ) and her husband jean ( bruno cremer ) lounge on the beach . \\nshe takes a nap while he goes for a swim . \\nwhen marie wakes up , jean is nowhere to be found . \\nshe contacts authorities , but they can't find him either . \\ndid he disappear to start a new life ? \\nwas he killed by accident ? \\ndid he commit suicide ? \\nmarie still asks herself these questions a year later , and in order to move on with her life , she must find some answers . \\nit's a fine premise , and this little movie uses it to the limit . \\nthe film moves at a leisurely pace , a bit slow , but relaxing . \\nit's a very visual story , and you can pretty much just sit back without reading the subtitles . \\nthis is mostly thanks to the excellent camera work by antoine heberle and jeanne lapoirie , who shot the film in a dreamy haze , and the lead performance by rampling . \\nrampling is so expressive in her portrayal of marie , you connect with her character instantly , despite that she's delusional . \\nthe scenes where she interacts with her husband , who she still believes is alive , are heartbreaking . \\nshe can't quite get over him . \\nthey've been married for twenty-five years . \\nthe other actors , particularly jacques nolot , are excellent too . \\nthe sex in the film is rather unneeded , but compared to ozon's `criminal lovers' , it's the disney channel . \\nlikely to cause some discussion afterwards , `under the sand' is a fine movie going experience . \\nwhile it's hard to recommend as entertainment , it's a fine adult alternative about how we deal with loss . \\nozon seems to ask what you would do , and that's certainly a hard question to answer . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'making your first feature film ain\\'t easy . \\nassemble a decent , if not , strong cast , as writer/director robert moresco has done with one eyed king , and you\\'re already ahead of the game . \\nbut rehash old plot lines , tired dialogue , and standard clich ? s , and a well-intentioned effort such as this one could jeopardize your chance at a second feature film . \\nhow many more movies do we need about a rough neighborhood full of lifelong friends hopelessly turned to crime or worse ? \\nthe enormous catalog of such movies might dissuade a filmmaker from making yet another , but here we have it . \\nagain . \\nfive irish kids in nyc\\'s hell\\'s kitchen make an overemotional pact over some stolen rings on an anonymous rooftop . \\nwith teary music . \\nand slow motion . \\nin the film\\'s first scene . \\nthe kids grow up to be fairly worthless adults , unable or unwilling to make their way out of the heat of the kitchen . \\nleading the clueless pack is william baldwin as a good-hearted guy who watches out for his buddies and is in tight with local mob head armand assante . \\ni\\'d like to say that his character gets involved over his head in some sort of blah , blah , blah , but all we seem to get are little tastes of possible plot points . \\nhe\\'s concerned about buddy jason gedrick\\'s heroin abuse . \\nhe sticks up for jim breuer after he impregnates baldwin\\'s character\\'s sister . \\nhe looks into who might be pushing the most moronic-looking counterfeit cash ever made ( a genuinely funny touch ) . \\nbut none of this ever really amounts to anything . \\nit seems that moresco\\'s greater concern is to provide that intangible \" slice of life \" , that flavor of the neighborhood that everyone\\'s been trying to evoke since scorsese\\'s early work . \\nso , we get the drunk guys , hugging and singing together at the local bar , to prove to us that they really love each other . \\n ( do people actually do this ! ? ) \\nwe get a lot of tough street talk -- usually mumbled for effect -- and a whole lot of the f-word , whether it sounds like it fits or not . \\nwe also get a handful of good actors in small roles that seem to lack purpose . \\nbruno kirby , chazz palminteri , you know , guys you\\'ve seen in movies just like this one before . \\nassante is intelligent casting as the man that everyone fears , and baldwin\\'s performance is adequate , but most of the rest of the cast jump into the tough guy persona so thoroughly that it\\'s almost funny . \\nmoresco , a theater guy and sometimes tv writer ( including the series falcone ) , obviously labored over this one as anyone might a first child , but the content is probably too personal . \\nas a result , the movie\\'s style is heavy-handed , in need of a considerable amount of toning down . \\nnearly every time an action by the grown up gang recalls something they did as kids , moresco reminds us -- boy does he remind us . \\nwith slow dissolves to the earlier scene , running in slow motion , complete with dialogue from the present , just in case we don\\'t comprehend the link to the past . \\nmoresco needs to either trust his audience\\'s intelligence , or have more faith in his own presentation rather than beat us over the head with it . \\nhis next project should have a little more personal distance , and a lot more subtlety . \\nif he actually gets that chance . \\nreviewed as part of our 2001 boston film festival coverage ( feature story coming soon ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'garry shandling makes his long overdue starring film debut as an alien from a planet populated only by genetically created men , who are looking to take over the earth by propagating their own species there . \\nshandling is chosen for the mission , is given the name harold anderson , and is set up as a banker in seattle . \\nafter a few disastrous \" mating \" attempts , he figures his best bet will be susan ( annette bening ) , a former alcoholic who eventually tells harold that she won\\'t have sex again until she gets married . \\nthe leader of harold\\'s planet ( ben kingsley ) tells him to marry her , and harold is soon exposed to all the \" joys \" of married life . \\ndespite its title and premise which seem to imply that this is some jerry lewis vehicle from the late 1960s , what planet are you from ? \\nis a very funny movie . \\nthe plot ( which the film wisely doesn\\'t linger on the specifics of for too long ) is of course nothing more than framework for the jokes , most of which work very well . \\nthe material may be considered crude and tasteless by many , and i might have thought so as well had shandling not been the lead . \\nbut he brings a sort of pathetic charm to the role , and it\\'s his performance that makes the film truly funny instead of just offensive . \\nplus if you think about it , what planet are you from ? \\ncould have very easily gone the gross-out route ( considering that shandling\\'s character is given a detachable penis that vibrates and hums when he gets excited ) . \\nwe never see anything though , it\\'s all implied , which gives the film a touch of class amidst its crudeness . \\ni\\'m glad to see that someone in hollywood still understands the concept of \" less is more \" . \\nthe talented supporting cast certainly adds to one\\'s enjoyment of this film . \\nannette bening ( oddly playing a merged version of her real estate salesman character from american beauty and her ditzy spiritualist character from mars attacks ! ) \\ndoes a fine job keeping up with shandling and makes a good catalyst for his brand of humor . \\nshe even manages to pull off a potentially disastrous scene where she has to perform a rather goofy rendition of \" high hopes \" for a lengthy period of time . \\nben kingsley , john goodman and greg kinnear all fare well in their performances as well , and linda fiorentino . . . \\ngood lord , there should be some sort of law stating that no woman can be that sexy . \\neverything about her character in this film oozes raw sexuality . \\nwhat planet are you from ? \\nis available on dvd from columbia tristar home video . \\nthe disc gives you the choice of either watching the film full frame or in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( and enhanced for 16x9 televisions . \\nalso included on the disc as extras : a decent making-of featurette , an isolated score track , talent files for the cast and crew , and the film\\'s original theatrical trailer ( as well as trailers for wolf , men in black , bugsy and as good as it gets ) . \\nwhen i first saw that the disc featured an isolated score track , i actually laughed . \\nhow great could the music for a silly little comedy be for it to get it\\'s own isolated track ? \\nwell as it turns out , it\\'s a mighty fine score from carter burwell ( fargo , the hudsucker proxy ) that i enjoyed listening to again while i typed up this review . \\nkudos to columbia tristar for adding that feature to the disc . \\nwhat planet are your from ? \\nwas unjustly ignored in theaters , and i hope it finds its deserved audience on home video . \\nthis fine dvd is certainly a great way to see it . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'american pie acknowledges a cold , hard fact that most movies don\\'t : it is very difficult to get laid . \\nits four virgin heroes are jim ( biggs ) , a chronic masturbator , kev ( nicholas ) , who desperately wants to deflower his girlfriend ( reid ) , oz ( klein ) , a lacrosse player whose approach requires some fine tuning , and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) , a germphobe ( his crass nickname is hilarious , but i won\\'t spoil it here ) who pays a classmate to spread rumours about the size of his member . \\njim , kev , oz and finch attend a high school in suburban michigan full of so many impossibly beautiful women it\\'s no wonder they\\'re horny all the time . \\nafter a party at their studly friend stifler\\'s ( seann william scott , in the film\\'s sharpest performance ) house leaves them sexually unsatisfied , the quartet make a pact : to \" lose it \" by graduation-specifically , prom night , which is only a few weeks away . \\namerican pie is in the tradition of bachelor party or revenge of the nerds . \\nalmost every conversation these characters have revolves around makin\\' whoopee . \\nall women are there to be ogled . \\n ( alyson hannigan\\'s perky music student is the only memorable female of the bunch . ) \\nsituations abound that defy logic only to arouse and/or amuse its core audience , adolescent boys . \\n ( to arouse : nadia\\'s ( shannon elizabeth ) internet striptease-an unexpectedly raucous ( and guiltily pleasurable ) sequence . \\nto amuse : jim\\'s lusty encounter with a hot apple pie . ) \\nwhat differentiates american pie from those dirty eighties comedies , aside from a very nineties obsession with bodily fluids * , is a cast that\\'s light years more appealing than that of , say , just one of the guys . \\ntwo more standouts : klein and \" sctv \" \\'s eugene levy . \\nklein plays a kind-hearted athlete for the second time in a row , after alexander payne\\'s underappreciated election . \\ni hope to see more of this warm actor with the disarmingly honest face very soon . \\nlevy\\'s is the most crowd-pleasing performance , and indeed , it\\'s nice to see him back on the big screen in a role that makes wonderful use of that expressive brow . \\namerican pie also wants to emulate the teen flicks your parents _would_ let you watch growing up . \\nit skillfully employs a broad mix of pop tunes , much like john hughes\\' movies did , and even pays homage to the breakfast club a couple of times , most evidently when the prom band covers simple minds\\' \" don\\'t you ( forget about me ) . \" \\nthe picture ultimately has a healthy , if obligatory , attitude towards safe sex-even at their most libidinous , american pie\\'s protagonists first whip out a condom . \\nthe filmmakers prove that socially responsible raunch is possible . \\nfor its familiarity and for its charming leads , i recommend american pie , but the buzz on this film had me expecting something . . . fresher . \\nas far as the new teen cinema goes , it\\'s at the top of the heap . \\n * don\\'t say i didn\\'t warn you about the party scene . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"michael crichton has had a long career of writing novels , many of which are science fiction . \\nthe most profitable film adaptation of any novel was an adaptation of a michael crichton science fiction novel . \\nso in the logic of the film industry a good way to make a profitable film would be to make a big-budget adaptation of another crichton science fiction novel . \\ncongo failed , and i am afraid that sphere is probably not going to fare a whole lot better . \\nit a little better than just okay novel and it makes a film that is not even that good . \\nthe film is expensive , over one hundred million dollars ; is long , 133 minutes ; has a terrific cast , including dustin hoffman , samuel l . jackson , and sharon stone ; but has little that is really original and less that is exciting . \\nseveral years ago dr . norman goodman ( played by dustin hoffman ) was asked to write up a set of procedures for the government to follow if an alien entity was actually encountered . \\nthe plan he wrote was only semi-serious , but did explicitly define a team of experts who should investigate the alien . \\nnow that team has been assembled by a mysterious team leader named barnes ( peter coyote ) to study a spacecraft almost a half mile in length that apparently dropped into the pacific ocean in the early 1700s . \\nsuddenly norman's less than serious procedure has become an action plan for dealing with a real alien spacecraft . \\nincluded in the team to investigate are mathematician harry adams ( samuel l . jackson ) , biologist beth halperin ( sharon stone ) , and astrophysicist ted fielding ( liev schreiber ) . \\ntogether they travel to the deep pacific spaceship to understand its secrets . \\none major secret is the meaning of the huge sphere of gold-toned liquid metal at the heart of this spaceship . \\nwhat is disappointing about this film is that it does not have really effective performances . \\ndirector barry levinson is at his best with good actors rather than good special effects . \\nthe problem here is he is making a big-budget science fiction film . \\nit has some effects , but the most intriguing effect he shows only as an outline on a radar screen . \\nthe technique is to suggest rather than to show and let the actors and the viewer's imagination carry the film as robert wise did with the haunting . \\nthat could be a reasonable approach in a low-budget film . \\nbut that requires creating much more atmosphere than levinson can manage to muster . \\nit requires the actors to give really compelling performances and simply put , they don't . \\nhoffman's acting seems muted . \\njackson seems to laid back . \\nwe do not feel for these characters and do not get inside their heads . \\nlevinson paid big bucks for his actors and does not really get price performance . \\nand why we have queen latifah as a minor functionary on the expedition is anybody's guess . a \\ncast of unknowns could have delivered as much emotional impact at a fraction of the price . \\nlook how much more powerful a film like alien was with only moderate actors . \\nmost science fiction spectaculars these days have second-tier actors and first-tier special effects . \\nlevinson tries second-tier effects , and first-tier actors , but never makes that exchange pay off for the viewer . \\nperhaps sci-fi spectaculars are just not an actor's medium . \\nthe result gets a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" when it\\'s cold , molecules aren\\'t moving . \\neverything is clean . \" \\nthese are the essential words of mikey carver ( elijah wood ) , a young teenage boy living in 1973 new canaan , connecticut in the ice storm . \\nwhen mikey delivers these words to a bored science class , it is unlikely that anyone realizes how much they parallel mikey\\'s life and the lives that surround him . \\nhis father jim ( jamey sheridan ) is rarely seen and his mother janey ( sigourney weaver ) is having an affair with married neighbor ben hood ( kevin kline ) . \\nben\\'s wife elena ( joan allen ) suspects the affair , but doesn\\'t say anything . \\nmeanwhile , ben\\'s 14-year-old daughter wendy ( christina ricci ) continuously lures mikey and his younger brother sandy ( adam hann-byrd ) into sexual explorations . \\ntobey maguire plays paul hood , the 16-year-old narrator of the story who also happens to be the least prevalent character . \\nwe start the film with an interesting outlook on family from paul . \\nhe compares family to the fantastic four comic book , and even goes so far as to say that family is everybody\\'s own anti-matter ; something everybody will return to eventually , and the farther you go , the deeper you\\'ll return . \\nthe ice storm is a character piece that explores a dismal time both in america , and in the individual lives portrayed in the movie . \\neverything parallels everything else . \\nthe young teenagers trying to discover who they are thru drugs , sex , and alcohol is really almost identical to the parents trying to figure out the purpose in their own lives using the same methods . \\n \" when it\\'s cold outside , the molecules aren\\'t moving . \\neverything is clean . \" \\neverything is clean because nobody will admit what\\'s going on . \\neven the president is on tv denying his wrong-doings . \\nhow can you expect anything more out of a couple of suburban families riding the coattails of sexual revolution ? \\nall the sex and drugs is so obviously empty , and i think that\\'s the point of the film . \\nat first viewing , the entire movie might seem empty , but then why shouldn\\'t it parallel itself ? \\nyou don\\'t get to know the characters very deeply , but i think that\\'s because nobody in the movie knows each other either . \\nwe sadly watch two families go about their lives nearly oblivious to one another . \\nat first glance , you might think emotion is lost in the ending scenes because you haven\\'t gotten to know the characters well enough to sympathize - then you realize that just might be the point , and then you do feel the pain . \\nthe acting by all is quite good , but i particularly liked elijah wood . \\nhe doesn\\'t seem to be receiving as much recognition as the others , but i still found him to possess quite a real sense of being . \\nchristina ricci is being acclaimed for her part as the misguided teenage temptress who looks for something more to her life in the pants of every available boy . \\nstill , i say hats off remain to wood , joan allen\\'s subtle but believable performance as a lonely , unappreciated wife , and the always excellent kevin kline . \\ntobey maguire did a fine job , but his character which , perhaps , was the most intact , sensible person in the story , seemed a little lost . \\nhe was needed , but perhaps he should\\'ve been used more . \\nthe ice storm is being hailed by many as one of the best films of the year . \\ni hate to say that i don\\'t agree , but i don\\'t . \\nin fact , i can think of many other films that i would rank higher than this one . \\neven so , it is a very good film . \\nit takes a lot of retrospect to fully appreciate it\\'s art , but when you finally start seeing things in it that you didn\\'t before , you start to grow even fonder of the characters and the story . \\nperhaps this is one to see , ponder , and then watch again with different eyes . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"you've probably heard the one about the priest and the rabbi , but never with the same dosage of featherweight charm that is sprinkled over `keeping the faith' . \\nit's a fluffy comedy , thoroughly glazed with a sense of innocuous innocence and good cheer , regarding two moral topics -- love and religion -- and how a romantic triangle causes the two to collide head-on . \\nas youngsters , brian finn , jacob schramm and anna reilly were an inseparable trio . \\nwhile their friendship progressed , anna always had the compassion to shower them both with the same love and support , so neither would feel excluded . \\nbut tragedy soon struck , as anna was forced to move away . \\nnow adults , brian ( edward norton ) and jacob ( ben stiller ) hold similar but contrastive jobs . \\nthe likable and kind-hearted father brian is a catholic priest , while the spry and outgoing jacob acts as a jewish rabbi . \\non the basketball court , they refer to themselves as `the god squad' . \\nin the relationship field , brian abides by his catholic principle of celibacy , but jacob has reached the point where finding a jewish bride is practically mandatory . \\neverything changes when anna ( jenna elfman ) returns to new york to visit her childhood chums . \\nnow a workaholic , she devotes endless hours per week to her business , but does find spare time to reminisce with brian and jacob - both ecstatic about seeing their elementary school sweetheart once again . \\nwith these oddball ingredients tossed into one cocktail , there's bound to be some awkward romance between our three central characters . \\npredicting the outcome is not entirely difficult , but `keeping the faith' is open , entertaining and refreshingly relaxed as it travels en route from point a to point b . \\nedward norton has emerged as one of the finest , most flexibly versatile actors in hollywood - a success story sparked by his critically lauded debut in the 1996 thriller `primal fear' . \\nafter shockingly bitter roles in `american history x' and , most recently , david fincher's vicious `fight club' , a quaint romantic comedy might seem like a peculiar choice . \\nnot in the least . \\nnorton slips into the director's chair for the first time with `keeping the faith' , and here his incisive , resourceful approach helps add additional craft to a surprisingly perceptive screenplay by stuart blumberg . \\nweighing every aspect , it is unanimously an impressive directorial debut . \\nin addition , norton pushes all the right buttons with the sheepish sweetheart brian , generating a thoroughly likable screen presence . \\nstiller ( the zipper guy from `there's something about mary' ) is firm and funny , boasting a fully-ripened comic maturity . \\nelfman's perky repetition can grow tiresome ( such is occasionally the case on tv's `dharma and greg' ) , but she seems perfectly rambunctious here . \\nthe remaining cast members offer fine support , from anne bancroft as jacob's animated jewish mom to milos forman as an elderly priest quick to contribute intelligent advice . \\n`keeping the faith' is the perfect date flick . . . \\nthough perfection is not a word to associate with the film in general . \\nthere is turbulence during the process of lift-off , as numerous failed attempts at establishing the situation cloud the projected comedy ahead . \\nonce the film does settle in , it is often funny and always cheerful . \\nstiller , norton and elfman have created three enormously lovable personalities . \\nwe enjoy their interaction , understand their various dilemmas and feel humbled to realize everything rings perfectly true . \\nthis is excluding the ending , which is acceptable and all , but seems to lack the charm and spontaneity of the preceding romantic entanglements . \\nnonetheless , a narrowly mishandled finale certainly won't wipe the smile off your face , nor anyone else's in the audience . \\n`keeping the faith' is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy , although one that is more observant while surveying the questions of love rather than religion . \\naww , what the hell . \\nthe quality is not quite heaven-sent , but this little charmer could revive our `faith' in a potentially tired filmmaking genre . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s tough to be an aspiring superhero in champion city . \\njust ask mr . furious ( ben stiller ) , the blue raja ( hank azaria ) , and the shoveler ( william h . macy ) . \\nthey\\'re trying to break into the biz , but captain amazing ( greg kinnear ) , the city\\'s hero numero uno , hogs all the action . \\nthe good captain has his own problems . \\nbecause he\\'s all but eliminated crime , amazing\\'s endorsement deals are falling through . \\nthe public craves a major slugfest , so amazing engineers the parole of his one-time arch enemy casanova frankenstein ( geoffrey rush ) . \\nfrankenstein succeeds beyond expectations ; he captures capt . amazing before setting out on his scheme to destroy the city . \\nso , no one is left to save the day but our would-be superheroes , but their abilities are more \" little league \" than \" justice league . \" \\nthe raja hurls forks at foes , the shoveler hits them with a shovel , and mr . furious just yells at people ( stiller is doing essentially the same character he played in a guest appearance on \" friends \" ) . \\nafter a painful first strike , the guys hold auditions for teammates and add the bowler ( janeane garofalo ) , who carries her dead father\\'s skull in her bowling ball ; invisible boy ( kel mitchell ) , who can only use his powers when no one is looking at him ; the spleen ( paul reubens ) , who blows devastating winds from his rear ; and the sphinx ( wes studi ) , a mysterious figure who will teach them to fight . \\n \" mystery men \" boasts one of the most talented and eclectic casts ever assembled . \\nin addition to those already mentioned , the credits include lena olin as frankenstein\\'s evil shrink , comedian eddie izzard and the fugees\\' prakazrel michel as disco-themed thugs , singer tom waits as an inventor of superhero weapons , artie lange ( from \" mad tv \" ) as another thug , claire forlani ( from \" meet joe black \" ) as a waitress mr . furious is pursuing , louise lasser ( from \" mary hartman , mary hartman \" ) as the blue raja\\'s mother , and actor/magician ricky jay as capt . amazing\\'s manager . \\nthe cast includes four oscar-nominated actors ! \\nwhen i saw the list of players early last year , i figured the result would be a can\\'t-miss comedy . \\nyet , i must report disappointment . \\nthe script is probably the worst of 1999 . \\nnearly every joke misfires . \\nthe stabs at comic books are too obvious to be funny . \\n ( for example , no one can recognize capt . amazing in his secret identity because he\\'s wearing glasses . ) \\nthe fart jokes surrounding the spleen are surprisingly the only gags that work . \\nthe cast tries hard , especially hank azaria , whose character adopts an effete british accent while in costume , but the script is just too lame to run . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this feature is like a double header , two sets of clich ? s for the price of one . \\nnot only do we get the usual tired sports chestnuts , but the banal rich girl-poor boy love story is tossed in for good measure . \\nan original moment in this loser is as rare as a chicago cubs world series appearance . \\nthe screenplay by kevin falls and john gatins , based on a story by falls , merely lobs its plotline at the audience . \\nthis is a story that needed sent down for seasoning and more coaching . \\nsummer catch centers around ryan dunne ( freddie prinze jr . ) , a cape cod youth chosen to participate in the prestigious cape cod baseball league , supposedly a showcase for the best young amateur and college players in the country . \\nryan is a blue-collar kind of guy . \\nhe works with his dad taking care of the lawns of cape cod's rich and famous . \\nhe also , as we are informed early , his own worst enemy . \\nhe has the potential and the talent , but always seems to self-destruct at the crucial moment . \\nso , ryan tries to remained focused on baseball . \\nthen he meets tenley parrish ( jessica biel ) , daughter of one of the blue bloods whose lawn he manicures . \\ntenley , a name only a hack screenwriter could invent , is unlike her snobbish counterparts and falls for ryan . \\nif you can't figure out where all this nonsense leads , then you need a remedial course in film viewing . \\nas always prinze is pretty to look at , but his performance mainly consists of facial expressions : puppy dog love , heartbreak , frustration , self-loathing or determination . \\nbiel cries a lot , while bruce davison merely acts smarmy as her class-conscious father . \\nthe only beacon is matthew lillard's fun-loving billy brubaker , the team's catcher . \\nsummer catch borrows situations and stylings from other baseball movies , such as bull durham and the natural . \\nno curve balls here , no sliders . \\nevery pitch is predictable . \\na blind umpire could call this movie . \\nsummer catch is strictly rookie league moviemaking . \\nit has as much chance of making the movie hall of fame as the dodgers have of moving back to brooklyn . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it is with hesitance that i call \" apocalypse now \" a masterpiece . \\ncertainly , it had the pedigree to be one of the greatest films ever made , with a director known for producing masterpieces with ease , and some of the finest actors of the 1970\\'s . \\nthe plot , an adaptation of joseph conrad\\'s \" heart of darkness \" , was set in vietnam , and the timing of the film was supposed to be brilliant , coming on the heels of the end of the war . \\n \" apocalypse \" certainly has its moments , some of which are the finest in film history . \\nthe plot is fairly simple . \\ncaptain willard ( sheen ) , is a troubled soldier who came back to hanoi for a 2nd tour of duty . \\nhis mission is simple : take a boat up to cambodian territory , and destroy the command of renegade colonel kurtz ( brando ) \" with extreme prejudice \" . \\nalong the way , willard runs into a series of adventures , including one with lt . col . kilgore ( duvall ) , and a strange encounter with playboy bunnies . \\nwillard\\' s four person crew finally make it to kurtz\\' compound , where he discovers kurtz has set himself up as a god among the natives . \\nwillard\\'s experiences with kurtz take up the last half-hour , with a confrontation and eventual ending . \\nthe movie is visually breathtaking . \\nthe battle scenes are exquisitely done , and the score is brilliant , setting a murky mood of darkness that is first-rate . \\nthe collage of disturbing images that coppola presents is at times both astonishing and sickening . \\nthe vast amount of detail poured into every war scene is stunning , and there are many episodes that are deeply powerful which resonate through the entire movie . \\nthe journey to kurtz\\' camp is quite a ride , with psychosis setting in on almost every character . \\nthe most interesting one is kilgore , the lt . col . who cares more about the surf than about the mission . \\nit is at times revolting , psychotic , and incredible , and it is one hell of a movie . \\nthe scenes are bold , inventive , and powerful , and the acting is stunning , especially be sheen , duvall , and fishburne . \\nthe narration is exquisite , as is the mystery of kurtz . \\ncoppola sets about a hallucinatory ride through vietnam , kind of like \" saving private ryan \" on lsd . \\nthe film is jarring in its implications , and psychotic in its execution . \\nthe problems come when the film slows down . \\none of the major scenes in the film , where the boat arrives at the final army checkpoint before they start their search for kurtz , is a colossal mess . \\nthe dialogue is confusing , the lighting is atrocious , and the scene drags on for 10 terrible minutes of film . \\nthe true problems happen after the crew does come into the kurtz compound . \\nthe film slows down to a drag . \\nsheen seems forever captured by a madman , played by brando is a lazy performance that is not deserving of the accolades it received . \\nbrando is in the film for no more than 15 minutes , but is bathed in shadows the entire time , making the last half hour of the film visually pathetic . \\nthe scenes are poorly done , the dialogue is muffled , and the whole mess is utterly confusing beyond all belief . \\nsheen seems to adore this man , but why the viewers are never told . \\nthe entire journey is supposed to be a prelude for a stunning entrance of this god-like kurtz , but the scenes fall way short of expectations . \\ngranted , it has its moments , which are brutally horrific , but the general feeling is one of confusion . \\nbrando mumbles his lines in a incoherent stir , and my feeling was that this could never be a great man , this could never be a man who inspires hundreds to follow him , so why do they do it ? \\nthere are moments of brilliance , but the visual confusion dilutes the power of the scene . \\nthere are too many questions left unanswered with the character of kurtz to have a satisfying ending . \\nthe finest scene at the end is sheen\\'s escape , and his entrace into the temple . \\nhis rise out of the water , with the smoke coming off of his slicked head , is a brilliant 30 seconds of film . \\nyet , you cannot shake the feeling that there is so much more this film could have done . \\nthe psychotic ride is unforgettable at times , and indeed the film on the whole is very good . \\nit is a stunningly flawed expression of film , for it addresses major issues , such as man\\'s mental stamina during bouts of war . \\nbut one still cannot shake the feeling that this film could have so much more powerful , had the character of kurtz been more explored , and had sheen truly succumbed to the fate that the viewer thought he was destined for . \\nthere is too much good material in here not to be called a masterpiece , but it could have been so much more rewarding . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when 17 year old beau hall ( jonathan tucker , \" the virgin suicides \" ) gets in a car accident after drinking with his 30 year old companion , club owner darby reese ( josh lucas , \" session 9 \" ) , his mom , margaret ( tilda swinton , \" the war zone \" ) pays reese a visit to convince him to leave her son alone . \\ninstead , reese travels out to their lake tahoe home and lures beau out to the boat house where beau learns that his mother was right about reese . \\nthe next morning margaret discovers darby\\'s dead body on their beach and , suspecting the worst , weights it down in a distant part of the lake . \\nbut her troubles are just beginning , as she soon learns with the arrival of blackmailer alek spera ( goran visnjic , \" practical magic \" ) in \" the deep end . \" \\nthe incredibly pale , red-headed scottish actress swinton immerses herself into the role of the reserved american super-mom whose life revolves around serving the needs of her three children and live-in father-in-law jack ( peter donat , \" the game \" ) . \\nshe shows great strength while allowing other emotions to glimmer through - discomfort at challenging reese in his gay disco ( named the deep end ) , near panic at having to dive down to his body to retrieve car keys , or even wry humor when an attempt to get help from jack becomes hopelessly miscommunicated . \\ngradually her loneliness becomes apparent ( her husband\\'s a naval officer , usually away at sea ) when her attempts to email him her concerns about beau are deleted and later , when a most unusual , yet chaste , romance turns tragic . \\nit\\'s a terrific performance . \\nthe stendahl syndrome-like script , adapted from elisabeth sanxay holding\\'s 40\\'s noir novel \\'the blank wall\\' by directors scott mcgehee and david siegel , would be unbelievable if not for swinton and her costar visnjic . \\nalek spera is a wrong side of the tracks loser who arrives after reese\\'s body has been discovered . \\nhe shows margaret a videotape of beau having sex with reese and demands $50 , 000 or he\\'ll turn the tape over to the reno police . \\nsubsequent visits will turn his mind set upside down and backwards , though , as he comes to admire and even love the woman he set out to blackmail . \\nthere\\'s yet another problem , though - his partner nagle ( raymond barry , \" dead man walking \" ) is a harder cored criminal who won\\'t let up until his share of the money is delivered . \\nvisnjic\\'s dark , brooding turn has an interior shading to it that makes us believe he\\'s a victim of circumstance and environment . \\nhis turnaround is palpable as he witnesses margaret\\'s inherent decency and her workaday surroundings . \\nalso outstanding is tucker as beau , who has a terrific character arc and pas de deux with his mother . \\ninitially beau\\'s the typical sullen teen . \\n\\'you\\'re blowing this out of proportion , \\' he says of her concerns about reese , not comprehending that his mom has enough insight to have divined the true nature of the relationship . \\nas his mom gets in deeper and deeper trying to cover up a crime he didn\\'t commit , beau becomes suspicious of her actions and apparent new companion , turning tables . \\nhis early black eye becomes her later split lip . \\nwhile the two can never be completely honest with each other , their love for each other comes through strongly . \\nthe directors ( \" suture \" ) have a firm grip on their material and cast . \\nthe story builds perfectly with bold strokes amidst a myriad of subtler underpinnings . \\nwater imagery is constant ( an early shot of weirdly rushing green is revealed to be a young boy cleaning out an aquarium ) . \\ngiles nuttgens ( \" fire \" ) cinematography , which won the 2001 sundance festival award , is crisp and startlingly clear . \\nthe tahoe locations and production design by kelly mcgehee and christopher tandon provide a dual personality for the film , contrasting the calm , well off existence of the lake against the gambling city of reno . \\n \" the deep end \" is a complex story of domino deeds and shifting relationships . \\ntake the plunge . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'scream 2 isn\\'t quite as clever as its predecessor , but it fills the gap with a cutting wit . \\ndeath -- even gruesome , bloody death -- can be funny if handled the right way ( some will be offended by this statement , but you need look no further than pulp fiction for an example ) . \\nand , while there\\'s plenty of horror to go around in scream 2 , the latest \\'90s slasher flick incarnation , there are also a few laughs to be had . \\nscream 2 is a slice-and-dice movie for those who don\\'t take their horror too seriously . \\nthe success of the original scream took everyone in the industry by surprise . \\nthe unexpected blockbuster , whose gross soared over the $100 million mark during its six month release window , opened just about a year ago and turned into one of the most profitable horror films of all time . \\na sequel was inevitable ; fortunately , nearly the entire creative team has returned for scream 2 , including director wes craven , screenwriter kevin williamson , and actors neve campbell , courtney cox , david arquette , jamie kennedy , and liev schreiber . \\nas stipulated by one of the \" rules of sequels \" uttered by a movie- obsessed character in the film , the body count in scream 2 is higher than that in the original . \\nparadoxically , there\\'s a lot less gore . \\nthere is blood , of course , but nothing excessive by slasher-movie standards , and there are no depictions of spilled entrails . \\ncraven has remembered that scares are more important that graphic displays of human insides and bodily fluids . \\na second strength of scream 2 is that it features a gallery of legitimate characters rather than a group of cardboard cut-out stereotypes lined up for slaughter . \\nafter all , we\\'ve known some of these people for two movies -- it\\'s almost impossible not to care about them at least a little . \\nscream 2 opens approximately two years after the original . \\nas in the first picture , there\\'s a slick , self-mocking prologue . \\nthis time , the victims are jada pinkett and omar epps , whose characters are visiting a local theater for a preview screening of the movie stab ( which is based on the \" true life \" events of scream ) . \\nsome of the smartest dialogue comes during this sequence as pinkett bemoans the lack of african american participation in horror films ( it\\'s surely no coincidence that , in addition to pinkett and epps , scream 2 features two black characters ) . \\nshortly thereafter , she and her boyfriend have been gutted , signaling the beginning of a series of copycat murders . \\ncraven lets loose a burst of tongue-in-cheek creativity for the \" movie within a movie \" sequences . \\nthey give him an opportunity to openly parody scream -- an act that he accomplishes with great panache . \\nstab features heather graham in the \" casey becker \" role ( played in the original by drew barrymore ) and tori spelling as \" sidney prescott \" ( neve campbell ) . \\nsadly , we only see a couple of scenes from stab . \\nit would have been a little more fun , i think , had craven used joe dante\\'s approach from matinee and shown lengthy excerpts from his satirical production . \\nfollowing the prologue , we are re-introduced to sidney prescott , who has left her sleepy hometown to go to windsor college . \\nher friend randy ( jamie kennedy ) is a student there as well , and he\\'s just as knowledgeable about horror films as ever . \\nonce the double murder at stab becomes big news , the media converges on windsor , looking to interview the original victim . \\nat the head of the flock of vultures is gale weathers ( courtney cox ) , who has a little surprise for sidney . \\nshe has brought cotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , the man sidney falsely accused of murder , with her . \\nalso arriving at the college is deputy dewey ( david arquette ) , who is there to act as a big brother to sidney during this latest round of tribulations . \\nin addition to the survivors from the original scream , the field of potential victims is well-populated . \\nthere\\'s a blond co-ed named cece ( sarah michelle gellar , who has now appeared in two of williamson\\'s movies -- this one and i know what you did last summer ) ; sidney\\'s requisite boyfriend , derek ( jerry o\\'connell ) ; a local newswoman ( laurie metcalf ) ; gale\\'s new cameraman ( duane martin ) ; a british drama teacher ( david warner ) ; and several sorority sisters and would-be sorority sisters ( portia de rossi , rebecca gayheart , elise neal , marisol nichols ) . \\nultimately , there are lots of attractive corpses . \\nfrom the stab scenes to lines like \" brothers don\\'t last long in situations like this , \" craven and williamson are clearly having a lot of fun with scream 2 , and the movie is enjoyable , if a little overlong ( the livelier first hour is better than the second ) . \\ntheir resolution to the obligatory \" whodunit ? \" \\nis less of a letdown than it could be , and knowingly offers a wink and nod at past unmasking scenes . \\n ( \" nice twist , \" quips the killer . \\n \" didn\\'t see it coming , didya ? \" ) \\none senses , however , that , by the end of this picture , the overall concept of a hip , self-referential slasher film has been played out . \\nsupposedly , there\\'s going to be a scream 3 , but , if the film makers don\\'t come up with something radical , we could end up with a classic case of sequel overkill . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" i seem to have glued myself . . . \\nto myself . \" \\nstarring jason biggs , seann william scott , chris klein , thomas ian nichols , allyson hannigan , shannon elizabeth , natasha lyonne , tara reid , mena suvari , eugene levy , jennifer coolidge . \\ndirected by j . b . rogers . \\nrated r . \\namerican pie 2 reunites the cast members from american pie in a different setting ; instead of being high school seniors looking to score before they graduate , they are now past their first year of college and have gathered in a beach house to enjoy the summer of their lives . \\njim ( jason biggs ) is still an insecure geek looking to improve his performance , oz ( chris klein ) is still the sweetest guy on the block , having sickeningly saccharine phone conversations with his studying-abroad girlfriend , stifler ( seann william scott ) is still a horny stoner , kevin ( thomas ian nichols ) still has no personality and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) still longs for stifler\\'s mom . \\nhave i missed anyone ? \\nso , obviously , not much has changed . \\nthis is not a problem , provided that the movie boasts the rapid-fire hilarity and unexpectedly true sentiment of the original . \\nbut american pie 2 is the very definition of \" sequelitis . \" \\nit\\'s coarser , yes , and it pushes the envelope even more , but its heart isn\\'t in it . \\nit\\'s easy cash to capitalize off the first film\\'s success , but it would have been a worthier investment to prolong the franchise by coming up with something original . \\npart of the reason why the film doesn\\'t work , i think , is that while in the original the kids\\' quest for sex was a coming-of-age stepping stone as much as an outlet for their horniness . \\nhere , everything has been cheapened . \\nthey behave like those idiot frat boys who kill themselves drinking ; they have no motivation except for sex , sex , beer and sex . \\nthat\\'s not to say that you can\\'t make a decent comedy from that premise , but it is one of american pie 2\\'s undoings . \\nmissing , too , is the sweetness that permeated american pie , the this-could-be-you quality of the main players . \\nhere , the characters are too aware of themselves as pop-culture icons , and they\\'re even more one-note . \\nstifler and finch are now caricatures while jim , oz and kevin are forced to make awkward self-discoveries at arbitrary moments , none of them betraying what the writers think the audiences want to see . \\nand then there\\'s the soon-to-be-notorious scene where jim superglues \" himself to himself , \" which perfectly demonstrates yet another of the film\\'s ailments , one that also permeated say it isn\\'t so , director j . b . rodgers\\' debut . \\nthere\\'s a fine line between comedy and abject humiliation , and american pie 2 is on the wrong side of it . \\nit\\'s hard to laugh at the characters when you are profoundly embarrassed for them . \\ni shielded my eyes watching this more than i have watching any horror movie . \\nif there\\'s one redeeming factor to american pie 2 , it\\'s the inimitable eugene levy as jim\\'s dad , who pops in on jim as he\\'s about to score and utters lines like \" your mother and i have been known to get frisky . . . \\nnot so much anymore , but . . . \" \\nand then when the girl\\'s parents walk in , blurts out \" this must be your daughter ! \\ni didn\\'t get her name , but hopefully my son did . \" \\nif only the rest of the movie had the wit and wisdom of levy\\'s performance . \\nthis is an unworthy sequel to a gross-fest that brought back the raunchy teen comedy . \\nthe box-office of this onw should keep the genre going strong , which is disappointing . \\nthe genre needs a hiatus ; filmmakers are getting lazy . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : dumb dud of an entry in the body heat sweepstakes , and now something of a landmark for having spawned a jillion clones . \\nbasic instinct\\'s worst crime is that it\\'s not just a bad movie , but in many ways , an incompetent one as well . \\nit\\'s stupid in itself , and stupid to think its audience is as stupid as it is . \\nit\\'s supposed to be a thriller , but the plot is dead on its feet , and ultimately arbitrary ; it\\'s only put into the movie to jerk us around . \\nit\\'s also supposed to be sexy , but it\\'s instead got the unpleasant rawness of a teenager showing younger kids his collections of dirty pictures . \\nit\\'s a ripoff . \\nthe story opens with a rock star being murdered while in the throes of orgasm . \\nthe biggest suspect is an authoress , catherine tramell ( sharon stone ) , who wrote a novel in which the murder was eerily presaged . \\nor maybe it\\'s the work of a copycat ? \\nthese and other plot threads get fed to the detective who\\'s on the case ( michael douglas ) , who has a few problems himself . \\nlike we wonder if his elevator goes to the top floor . \\nwe can measure with a stopwatch the time from them setting eyes on each other to the moment they are doing the mattress dance . \\njoe eszterhas has written the screenplay , and he uses a device that he used before in the much better jagged edge : the killer\\'s identity is kept a secret until the movie\\'s final shot . \\nthis isn\\'t in itself a problem -- the problem is that up until that point , we\\'ve been given nothing to work with . \\nevery clue in the movie -- every clue -- is ambiguous . \\nthe whole thriller aspect of the movie is a shill . \\nred herrings , dead plot threads , violence , and kinky sexuality litter the movie like potholes in manhattan streets . \\nthey add up to zip , because they\\'re not happening to people we care about . \\ndouglas\\'s character is foulmouthed and bitter and that\\'s it ; stone\\'s character has an iron-on smile that never changes ; the rest are forgettable . \\nwhen we don\\'t even have the luxury of giving a damn about anyone in the movie , who cares what happens in it ? \\nespecially with an ending that is not only unsatisfying , but in many ways inexplicable ? \\n ( a friend of mine once came up with a rule of thumb about movie characters : \" if no one in the movie behaves like anyone you know , or would * care * to know , just leave ! \" ) \\none of the nastier things about the movie is the way it treats lesbianism not as an integral part of someone\\'s life , but as a kind of kink -- something to thrill men with . \\ni despair whenever i encounter this kind of stupidity in mainstream entertainment ; are we still so culturally neanderthal that the only way to include something like that in a big-budget hollywood film is as a hefnerism ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when people are talking about good old times , they actually want to make some bad times look better . \\nnice example of such behaviour is contemporary attitude of popular media towards the 1970s . \\nfor new generations , superseventies are the lost golden age of chic fashion , cult tv shows and sexual freedom unchecked by aids . \\nfor people who actually had to live in that period , it was the gloomy decade , marked by lost ideals of 1968 , rampant inflation and unemployment , international terrorism , fuel crisis and loss of faith in almost anything that previous generation stood for . \\nfeelings of despair and nihilism found its reflections in many films of that era . \\nmartin scorsese\\'s taxi driver , which symbolises both the glory and despair of the seventies , is most celebrated of them all . \\nthe movie\\'s protagonist is travis bickle ( robert de niro ) , 26-year old former marine who takes the job of taxi driver in new york city because he can\\'t sleep at nights . \\nthe job gets him exposed to the dark side of apocalyptic megalopolis , and travis gradually gets alienated from the rest of world . \\nthe only bright spot in his life is betsy ( cybil sheperd ) , attractive woman working in senator palantine\\'s presidential campaign . \\ntheir date ends as humiliating fiasco because travis makes fatal mistake by inviting her to porno movie theatre . \\nlosing his only link to better side of the world , travis gradually descends into psychosis , becoming convinced that his mission in life is to battle scum on the street . \\nhe purchases a formidable arsenal of guns and begins physical preparations for the inevitable conflict . \\nthat conflict finally comes when he takes personal interest in iris ( jodie foster ) , 12-year old prostitute who temporarily took refuge in his taxi . \\nas many great movies that got cult status through the years , taxi driver became the object of many interpretations . \\nfor some critics and scholars it is an exploration of universal subjects that date back to dostoyevski - loss of moral compass in a bleak reality of dirty , overpopulated industrial cities ; the story could have been set in 19th century same as in our times . \\nfor others , the movie uses raskolnikov-like figure in order to portray burning problems of 1970s america - its apparent inability to deal with the consequences of rapid social changes that occurred in previous decade . \\nbrilliant performance of robert de niro in role of a lifetime can give arguments for both sides . \\nhis travis bickle has a lot in common with most of the average viewers of today - many of us share his feelings of isolation , loneliness and outrage towards crime , drugs , prostitution and senseless street violence . \\nhis pathetic attempts to establish some kind of human connection with the people around him , sometimes in most unusual circumstances - like with secret service agents , pimps or job interviewers - make him a person too goofy to be the hero , and too pathetic to be the classic villain . \\nhowever , most of the average viewers are sensible enough to recognise the tin line that separate concerned citizens or troubled souls from fanatical madmen . \\nbut despite anything , average viewer at the end actually cheers for travis - his crusade against \" scum \" is something that average person wants , but doesn\\'t have a stomach/lack of brains to do it . \\nwhile de niro\\'s travis might come in and out of particular times and places , other persons that appear in the film ( mostly played by the character actors ) give it distinctively 1970s feel . \\nwizzard ( played by peter boyle ) presents the only link with america\\'s better past ; but only because he is the oldest taxi driver in company and therefore everybody assumes that he \" knows stuff \" . \\nhis obvious inadequacy in giving advice to troubled travis illustrates the inability of pre-1960s generations to find answers to the problems of gloomy decade . \\nother characters , on the other hand , show the bad side of new age . \\nmatthew \" sport \" ( keitel , who befriended real-life pimps in other to prepare for his role of a lifetime ) is dressed like a hippie ; iris found excuse for her escape to the world of drugs and child prostitution in a ideology of counterculture . \\nporno movies , that should be the element of new times of sexual freedom , are too much even for supposedly \" liberated \" betsy . \\neven the politicians , like senator palantine , are lost in post-vietnam and post-watergate mess ; his broad and senseless \" messages \" that cover the lack of any serious program can\\'t fool even such idiots like travis . \\nthe past is gone , the present is bad , and even the future seems bleak , and the feeling of pessimism can\\'t be washed away even by ironic happy end . \\ntravis and his world found themselves in a desperate situation , and martin scorsese uses the best of his cinematic skills in order to spill the gloom of schrader\\'s screenplay into the silver screen . \\nnew york city in the night is portrayed as a hell on earth , and the red light and steam coming out of sewers give it surreal , almost stygian atmosphere . \\nanother important element of the atmosphere is score of great bernard herrman , whose efficient use of jazz elements gives some melancholy that softens the brutality of motion picture . \\none of the greatest ironies of taxi driver is the fact that the movie was , same as his protagonist , famous for the wrong reason . \\ninstead of receiving cult status because of his artistic merits , for many years it was tabloid-fodder because of hinckley and his real-life re-enactment of events in the movie . \\nnow , more than two decades later , when some other \" life imitating art \" incidents get more attention , we can finally enjoy taxi driver in all its artistic glory . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"once again , the battle is dreamworks versus disney : earlier this year , the mammoth companies fought to the death with their end-of-the-world asteroid flicks , deep impact and armageddon . \\nhere we are now , just a few months later , and they're at it again with dueling bug movies , antz and a bug's life . \\nwhat i find so astonishing is that both pairs of movies are so inherently similar in both story and execution . \\ni mean , come on -- what were the chances of two studios both deciding to bring out computer-animated films about bugs ? \\nas was the case with the meteor movies , disney has come out on top : though antz is a likable movie , a bug's life is far superior . \\nin fact , this movie made me realize what was wrong with antz : i became immersed in the world of a bug's life , while antz just made me scrutinize everything . \\nbut it's not really fair to base an entire review on a comparison . \\na bug's life is a remarkable film in its own right , and deserves to be seen apart from any other computer-animated film about bugs . \\nin fact , it's one of the best films this year : it's smart , subtle , and funny , but it's also perfect family entertainment and relentlessly entertaining . \\ni haven't had such a good time at the movies in months . \\nit tells the story of an ant named flick ( voice by dave foley ) ; he's a nice guy , but he's also a troublemaker . \\nthe ants spend all season putting together the offering , a big pile of food that they provide for the grasshoppers . \\njust before the grasshoppers come , flick accidentally knocks over the offering , and ruins everything for the entire colony : the grasshopper's leader , hopper ( kevin spacey ) , is enraged , and tells them that the ants need twice the food by the end of summer , or they're all dead . \\nflick , feeling responsible for this , sets off to look for help -- he realizes that the only way to be rid of the grasshoppers is to fight them . \\nhe heads to the city ( the city being a house a few miles away ) , where he finds a colorful bunch of circus bugs : a ladybug ( denis leary , who is spectacular ) , a black widow ( bonnie hunt ) , a caterpillar ( joe ranft ) , a butterfly ( madeline kahn ) , a rhinoceros beetle ( michael mcshane ) , and a stick ( david hyde-pierce , also giving a hilarious performance ) . \\nflick doesn't know they're actors , and they don't know that flick needs them to kill a bunch of grasshoppers , so they return to the colony with flick and find themselves in an unusual position . \\nthe most obvious element of a bug's life is the quality of animation . \\ncreated by pixar , the same people who brought us toy story , a bug's life has some of the most amazing visuals i've ever seen . \\nthe bugs seem to inhabit a three-dimensional space , and occasionally there will be a shot that is indistinguishable from live action . \\nthis is a lush , colorful world , full of life and imagination : the way the animators insert the things all of us see in our daily lives ( matches , bottlecaps , tin cans , etc . ) and make them active objects in the bugs' world is innovative . \\nthe film is also mercilessly exciting , particularly in a superbly-staged scene involving our heroes' escape from a bird ( a little bird never seemed so huge and threatening ) . \\nbut the makers of a bug's life know where the importance lies : story and characters . \\nflick , with solid voice work from foley , is a great guy to lead the story . \\nbut the real treat comes with the circus bugs ; they're such a likable group of characters -- the standouts are the stick ( hyde-pierce is so good ) , francis the ladybug , and the big fat caterpillar . \\nall of these bugs have more than a token personality , which makes the suspenseful scenes work because we care about the bugs , and it also keeps the tear-jerking scenes from seeming obligatory . \\nin my review of antz , i said that the film is a clever cop-out because it presents a bunch of little humans reacting to an ant-like existence . \\nin concept , a bug's life is basically the same movie , except that i was never given enough time to find things that i didn't like about it . \\nwith such strong work in both animation and script , a bug's life is nothing but a joy to sit through . \\nit really is too bad that it had to come out so close to that other bug movie , but a bug's life is so good that i'm sure it will find its audience . \\nafter a slew of endlessly violent and cynical movies , it's downright refreshing to sit through an innocent picture like this and laugh without feeling guilty . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"the thirteenth floor is a bland , obligatory exercise in genre film-making . \\nif i hadn't recently watched the matrix and open your eyes -- both of which are similar but far superior -- i might have been a little nicer to this picture . \\ncraig bierko makes an adequate hero as douglas hall , the rich co-creator of a perfect human world simulation who is suddenly blamed for the murder of his boss ( armin mueller-stahl ) . \\neverything that was subtle and smart about the previously mentioned films is battered over our heads in this one , and characters stare at each other for maddeningly-long periods of time and refuse to communicate on any realistic level . \\nthe acting is okay , but the film suffers from every logical flaw one could think of , and features a script ( co-penned by director josef rusnak ) loaded with cliches and stock characters . \\nthere are individual scenes and ideas that work -- i like the thought of a sentient computer program -- but none of the film's strengths are recognized to any meaningful degree . \\nproducer roland emmerich , based on this and his previous directorial efforts , seems hell-bent on bringing us the ultimate standard in mediocre science-fiction . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the year is barely a week old , and there is already a candidate for the worst of 1997--the relic , a would-be chiller that\\'s more successful at making the audience laugh than scream . \\nin this ridiculous film from uberhack peter hyams ( whose last two pictures were dreadful jean-claude van damme vehicles ) , a creature that feeds on the hypothalamuses ( hypothalamii ? ) of humans and animals goes on a killing spree in a chicago museum . \\nhow did this creature come into existence , and why does it feed on hormones ? \\nthe \" scientific \" explanation cooked up by the four--yes , four--credited screenwriters ( amy holden jones , john raffo , rick jaffa , and amanda silver ) takes \" suspension of disbelief \" to new heights , even by monster movie standards . \\nbut as cockamamie as the science is in the film , it isn\\'t quite as hard to swallow as the casting of the clueless penelope ann miller as a brilliant molecular biologist who specializes in evolutionary genetics . \\nmiller acts as if she wants an oscar nomination , turning every scene that requires the slightest display of emotion into an overblown oscar clip , complete with piercing wails and glycerine tears . \\ngive it up , penelope--it\\'s a _monster_movie_ . \\non the flip side , tom sizemore just phones in his performance as a police lieutenant , but his role is so thankless that it\\'s hard to imagine it being played any more effectively . \\nit\\'s quite funny to see a film indulge , with the straightest of faces , in all those cheesy horror movie cliches that wes craven lampooned so well ( and so recently ) in scream . \\nfor example , in one early scene , a museum security guard goes into a bathroom stall late at night . \\nok , we all know what\\'s coming , but as if we didn\\'t need any more confirmation , he pulls out a joint and starts puffing away . \\neveryone knows what happens to people who do drugs in a scary movie . \\nand later , miller frantically runs out of a museum exhibit after she hears some suspicious heavy breathing . \\ndoes she make a beeline for the front door ? \\nof course not--she runs into the ladies room and cowers in a stall . \\nwith all the cliches , it is only fitting the film\\'s climax offers what is perhaps the most overused one in recent film : that of someone outrunning a fireball . \\nif the relic is truly \" the next evolution in terror \" as the poster states , then the horror film--and humanity--is in even worse shape than we thought . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : when a meteorite crashlands in the arizona desert , community college professors ira kane ( duchovny ) and harry block ( jones ) are first on the scene . \\nthey discover that an alien lifeform has arisen from the rock and is evolving at an amazing rate . \\nsoon the army , advised by dr allison reed ( moore ) , moves in and forces kane and block out . \\nbut when the aliens begin to menace society , it may take the scientists\\' combined efforts to stop them before they terminate the evolution of another lifeform : humanity . \\nreview : \" evolution \" certainly has the ingredients for a decent comedy . \\nit\\'s directed by reitman , clearly trying to parlay his \" ghostbusters \" success into a twenty-first-century counterpart . \\nit stars duchovny , and although one might question his judgment in lampooning his \" x-files \" character so soon after leaving the tv series , it should certainly provide him with plenty of ammunition . \\nand then there\\'s moore , who may not have much prior experience in comedy , but who has certainly proven her ability as an actress . \\na shame , then , that it all deteriorates into such a hopelessly unfunny morass . \\n \" evolution \" is a movie more concerned with its special effects ( which are quite good ) than anything resembling a consistently funny script . \\nit has its moments ( a scene in which jones\\' body is invaded by an alien is particularly entertaining ) , but there are embarrassingly long stretches that are utterly devoid of humour . \\nmoore is totally wasted , her clumsy shtick getting very old , very fast . \\nduchovny has stunningly little in the way of material to work with . \\nand the story is so formulaic , it could have been written by monkeys . \\npart of what made \" ghostbusters \" so wonderful was a combination of a great script and characters the audience could root for . \\n \" evolution \" is so mind-numbingly tedious that it\\'s difficult not to start cheering for the aliens . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it was only a matter of time before a dilbert-esque office comedy hit the screens . \\nhowever , rather than coming from dilbert creator scott adams , office space is instead based on the work of another animator , mike judge , creator of beavis and butthead and king of the hill . \\nin his live-action directoral debut , judge aptly spoofs corporate culture . \\nthe story is certainly not very involved , but there is plenty of truth and humor to fill the gaps . \\npeter ( ron livingston ) is a programmer working at the initech corporation . \\nevery day in his mundane life is worse than the one before . . . in \\nother words , every day is the worst day in his entire life . \\nhe's stuck in a boring job with eight different supervisors , all obsessed with administrative trivialities . \\nhe's smitten with joanna ( jennifer aniston ) , a local waitress , but hasn't the guts to even introduce himself . \\neverything has simply made him a complete , nervous wreck . \\nbut all of that changes when , after an unintentionally over-effective visit to a hypnotherapist , peter loses all of his inhibitions . \\nhe realizes his lifelong dream : to do absolutely nothing . \\nhe begins to blatantly disregard the nonsensical instructions of his boss , bill lumbergh ( gary cole ) , doing whatever he feels like . \\npeter's friends and co-workers , samir ( ajay naidu ) and michael bolton ( david herman ) . . . no , \\nnot that michael bolton , are perplexed by their friend's sudden change in attitude . \\nbut , they have larger things to worry about : rumors about that initech is about to begin downsizing . . . \\nas bleak as much of this sounds , let me assure you that office space is a comedy , and quite a funny one . \\nalthough it shares the same absurdist office humor of the dilbert comic strip , office space is actually based loosely on the series of milton cartoons which aired on saturday night life . \\neach mundane detail , taken by itself , seems completely , regrettably , plausible . \\nyet , when combined into a whole , the picture which results is absolutely surreal . \\nron livingston tackles his role straight-faced , and becomes much funnier because of it . \\nhis character isn't simply being a clown lampooning around the office , but rather seems possessed by a zen-like clarity . \\nhe is operating on a higher plane , where everything suddenly makes sense , and from this vantage point , he allows the audience to smirk at the absurdities of life . \\nanyone who has had to deal with the inefficiencies of corporate bureaucracy , or who has ever been frustrated with the technology of modern life , will recognize many of the characters and situations in the film . \\nin fact , in addition to being wildly humorous , the film may actually prove to be cathartic . \\nthe animated roots of office space show in the film's lack of complexity . \\nmost of the characters in the film can be quickly summarized by a particular personality quirk . \\none employee , milton ( stephen root ) , is practically a flesh-and-blood cartoon . \\nhowever , despite their simple nature , the characters still manage to be surprisingly funny . \\nit's not required to have a corporate background to enjoy this film ( though the situations may seem exceedingly far-fetched if you are unfamiliar with just how close to reality they really are ) . \\nthe film is flimsy and absurd , but also very funny . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : valerie , a high school junior who doesn\\'t look a day under 22 , writes bad poetry , complains about how much she hates school , fantasizes about a young guy on trial for raping and murdering six women , chooses him as a pen pal , and plays hooky to see him in court . \\nafter a jailbreak , the killer puts on big sunglasses , wears a half-buttoned jacket , and uses his fatal charm to go after valerie . \\ncomments : \" alan smithee \" directed fatal charm , which should have been more appropriately titled \" fatal bore \" or \" fatal crap \" . \\nif you find out that a film you\\'re about to see is directed by \" alan smithee , \" then you should seriously , seriously , seriously consider watching something , anything , else . \\n \" alan smithee \" is a pseudonym which a number of directors have used when they produce something really bad . \\nfrankly , i\\'d be embarrassed if i had directed this turkey , so i think i understand why the director might have picked the \" alan smithee \" moniker for this film . \\nwhere to begin with this painfully poor thriller ? \\nlet\\'s start with the acting . \\nit\\'s pretty bad . \\namanda peterson plays valerie and shows at least some talent ( the rest of the cast don\\'t ) , even though her performance isn\\'t exactly stellar material . \\nshe\\'s also miscast ; she seems way too old to still have a year of high school to complete . \\nher scenes with valerie\\'s mother , played by mary frann , are a joke . \\nthe two look as though they\\'re a couple of coworkers going out to lunch together , rather than a daughter with her mother who just doesn\\'t understand . \\nchristopher atkins , a handsome enough actor who plays the killer , adam , looks like a clown in the second half of fatal charm . \\ntrying to appear malicious and dangerous , he wears large sunglasses and a half-buttoned jacket . \\nif disney decided to do a zany comedy caper about the unabomber , atkins would probably be a perfect candidate for the lead , but he doesn\\'t cut it here . \\nearly on in the movie , a number of scenes occurs in a courtroom . \\noutside of the laughably poor performances given by the actors portraying lawyers , the people sitting in the benches provide the silliest effort at drama in the film . \\nthey constantly shift and turn and arc their heads in mock interest in what has got to be one of the worst perfomances that a large group of people have given at one time ever . \\nfatal charm\\'s storyline , such as it is , inspires more yawns than thrills . \\nthe script belabors a red herring , early on , about a second suspect who may have committed the murders for which adam ( atkins ) is charged with . \\nthis suspect , however , turns up strangled and drowned halfway through the film : an obvious plot fault . \\neven for the idiots who didn\\'t consider the movie\\'s title as valerie and a blond newsreporter commented how innocent and charming the defendant seemed , it becomes quite obvious that adam is dangerous when the other suspect washes up . \\nso , the audience must wait ( if they haven\\'t already stopped watching ) as the necessary details fall into place and the killer goes after the heroine in the drawn-out finale . \\nthe video box for this dud describes fatal charm as an \" erotic thriller \" . \\na thriller it isn\\'t , and neither is it particularly erotic . \\ni can\\'t imagine , if someone were in the mood for something \" erotic , \" that he\\'d be happy after watching this fluff . \\na few erotic moments occur in the film ; they take place in a van with little lighting and are filmed out of focus ( see , they\\'re supposed to be valerie\\'s fantasies -- how creative ) . \\non a personal note , i was disturbed by the ludicrous english literature class shown in this film which valerie had to suffer through . \\nit\\'s no wonder why she hated high school so much . \\nas an instructor of english myself , i have a hard time accepting the fact that in a course emphasizing great literature , a teacher would stoop to reading a student\\'s bad poetry ( of course , it\\'s valerie\\'s ) about boyfriends out loud and then embarassing its author in front of class with questions about the poem\\'s inspiration . \\ni guess the public school system is still setting dubious standards for its students . \\nfatal charm won\\'t charm anyone , unless there\\'s someone that\\'s charmed by boring , lifeless , insipid , suspenseless thrillers . \\nif you happen upon this turkey , just keep moving on . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"mugshot ( director/writer/cinematographer/editor : matt mahurin ; cast : belinda becker ( stella ) , michael williams ( rumor ) , robert knepper ( joe/chris ) , robert walker ( random ) , willie lassic ( young brother of rumor ) , maxine joiner ( rumor's mother ) ; runtime : 87 ; mortal films ; 1995 ) \\nreviewed by dennis schwartz \\na bleak indie film about a stolen identity . \\nthere's not much more to this visually stylish film than what meets the eye , as it relies on shock to tell its story of a prolonged vicious mugging . \\nit falls into the category of being a pretentious art-house film , leaving a bitter taste in one's mouth as it stereotypes its characters and unintentionally further inflames the racial issues . \\nit tries to make a heavy-handed point about disenfranchised black youths trapped by their environment , with their only way out being crime . \\nbut the story is so filled with violence and its nyc setting looks like hell , that it's hard to enjoy this film and to follow what the logic in the story is supposed to mean . \\nthe relationship between the black mugger and his white victim is a cloudy one , which the film never determines what it wants to say about it . \\nmatt mahurin is virtual one-man crew in putting this film together ( director/writer /cinematographer/editor ) , who is a still photographer in his day job . \\nthe film works best as a visually challenging piece , as each shot looks like a photograph carefully telling the story unfolding . \\na white photographer ( robert knepper ) is mugged by a black gang while he's on a freelance assignment to take a photo shoot of harlem at night . \\nhe becomes a victim of amnesia and his head is bloodied as he's left in a deserted harlem building , as the gang leaves him for dead ; but , one of the muggers , rumor ( michael williams ) , comes back and pretends to help him . \\nhe's a would-be photographer , who keeps a scrapbook entitled mugshots in the project apartment he shares with his mother and younger brother . \\nkeeping his victim in the dark about who he is by calling him joe and not telling him what's happening , he becomes the photographer for a few days . \\nhe enters the photographer's stylish greenwich village apartment and steals his expensive camera , and decides to hold the mugging vic for ransom when he finds out he has a black girlfriend , stella ( belinda becker ) . \\nshe's the only one in the film who could act . \\nthe film is stuck with a clumsy dialogue and an overuse of symbolism , as it ends with nothing more to tell after the shock and the violent situation it created except to beat it into the ground . \\nit could only be commended for how appealing the film looks , as if it's a scrapbook of still photos put together to celebrate a mugging . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'this is crap , but , honestly , what older american audience is going to be able to resist seeing jack lemmon and james garner as bicker- ing ex-presidents ? \\nespecially when their supporting players in- clude dan aykroyd as the current commander in chief , lauren bacall as a former first lady , and john heard as the dan quayle-ish vice president . \\nyup , you\\'re talkin\\' pre-sold property here and , for warner brothers , the perfect fit into their now-ritual grumpy old men holiday slot . \\nfor the non-discriminating viewer , my fellow americans is fine . \\nthe raw star power alone will have audiences applauding this atrocious political- thriller road-comedy . \\n ( they did in mine , heaven help us . ) \\nfor the rest of us , the movie is immediately tiresome . \\nthe tone is terrible and the banter is worse . \\nforget wit-- lemmon and garner merely exchange profanities through most of the movie . \\n ( has anyone counted the number of first penis references ? ) \\nsure , some of the bits are absurdly funny , including a men\\'s room macarena joke , the appearance of an elvis impersonator on a trainload of tarheels , and an all dorothy marching band performing \" over the rainbow \" at a gay men\\'s march . \\nthe get there from here , though , you have to submit to one of the most offensively overbearing musical scores of all time . \\njudas priest , is there a single moment of silence in this film ? \\neven the dialogue gets drowned out . \\nwhat a waste . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when critics attack seemingly well-intentioned films like patch adams or more recently pay it forward as i am about to do , their opinions are often greeted with a backlash of angry e-mails , sometimes even mock death threats from those who ( i suppose ) like to be shamelessly manipulated by their entertainment . \\neven politicians ( ! ) \\ntend to dismiss film critics as heartless cynics for occasionally dumping on good-hearted films while praising \" filth \" like pulp fiction . \\nthese [fill in the derogatory term that you are comfortable with] tend to forget that a film critic\\'s job is to review the movie , not the message , however sweet and endearing that message may be . \\nthusly patch adams isn\\'t a bad film because it\\'s about a doctor who cares for his patients ; it\\'s a bad film because it\\'s a calculated piece of brazen audience exploitation . \\nsimilarly while pay it forward may have its heart in the right place ( though i even doubt that , stay tuned , an explanation is forthcoming ) , it\\'s still an unpleasantly maudlin mess . \\nthe picture is about an emotionally guarded 5th grade history teacher ( a somewhat similarly guarded kevin spacey ) , with a burn scared face and equally singed attitude , who gives his class the seemingly impossible assignment of doing one thing over the course of the semester that will change the world . \\n12 year old trevor ( haley joel osmet ) , a disneyfied do gooder who takes care of his alcoholic mother ( helen hunt ) , comes up with the notion to pay it forward ; this entails a person doing one good deed ( call it an uber favor ) for three others , then telling them to do the same for three others and before long we\\'re all living in a frank capra movie . \\nmeanwhile in a parallel story , a weasely reporter ( jay mohr ) tracks the \" movement \" which has apparently begun to grow . \\npay it forward has odd ideas about tone ; at certain points it hurls a smattering of unnecessary cynicism at us as if that would be the appropriate antidote to the unrelenting sappiness at its core . \\nit\\'s as if director mimi leder didn\\'t have the confidence to make pay it forward the way she intended , and compromised out of fear that her film wasn\\'t \" gutsy \" enough to earn the acclaim it has clearly been made for . \\nso the picture adds grit ( a child molester propositions trevor , a homeless man returns to heroin after being \" saved \" , a character is knifed while doing a good deed , etc ) though it seems shallow , incorporated into the proceedings because the film itself isn\\'t quite sure if it\\'s ready to buy into its own utopian blather . \\npay it forward offers \" crowd pleasing \" elements for general audiences ; jay mohr\\'s umpteenth variation on the waspy sleazeball , angie dickinson\\'s earthy alcoholic bag woman , and the jive-talking \" black hoodlum with a heart of gold \" ( coming on the heals of the black , god-like inmate embodied by gabriel casseus in bedazzled , this may just be the beginnings of a brand new guilty white liberal clich ? . \\nhurray for hollywood ) who actually calls the mohr character a \" nigga \" and says things like \" can you feel me ? \" \\nleave it to pay it forward to happily include a little minstrel act for our further enjoyment . \\n ( maybe spike\\'s flick wasn\\'t so misguided after all ) . \\nthese scenes feel as if they belong in a dopey comedy with feel good aspirations rather than the irritatingly saccharine drama that you\\'ll find yourself trapped in should you not heed my warnings . \\nwhile the filmmakers have stressed in interviews that they actually hope this is a film that could make the world a better place , to me the final product has the oily feel of a cynical politician contemptuously reciting cookie fortune slogans to a hopeful audience . \\nit\\'s a picture that looks to be tailor made for academy consideration , with the main players ( all previous oscar winners or nominees ) given big emotional scenes that are practically variations on their most lauded turns . \\none scene in which a slightly de-glamed helen hunt ( de-glamed here means that not only is she a fashion victim [her look is somewhere between goth queen and trailer park mama] , hunt\\'s hair is also natty and badly bleached ) verbally castigates spacey , feels right out of her as good as it gets oscar clip . \\nspacey , of course , responds in his cultured monotone , that could be straight from his low key american beauty performance . \\nmaybe the actor should get an award for coming off the least self consciously irritating ; though how can he not , even when he\\'s emoting spacey seems somehow shielded by a wry indifference . \\nthe usually talented helen hunt is the worst offender . \\nin one atrocious touched by an angel moment hunt slaps osmet , immediately covering her mouth with the guilty hand in that very same stroke , and with said hand still on said mouth , she actually begins convulsing ( dry heaving really ) , then ( and i\\'m not making this up ) she scurries to the kitchen tearing the place apart in a frenzied search for alcohol . \\nthe scene is so hokey it could very nearly be construed as a parody of hackneyed tv movie blow-ups ; it\\'s all very theatrical , especially hunt\\'s performance , which feels like a pathetic plea to the academy for another oscar . \\npay it forward has the dubious distinction of being a film that could be used as an argument for why actors shouldn\\'t get academy awards . \\nthe picture unknowingly affirms that oscars transform nuanced talent into overwrought expressionists . \\neven haley joel osemt , the wunderkind who was nominated for an academy award for his unforced performance in sixth sense , seems more divisive about his expressions and inflections . \\nhis acting has become broader , less intimate ; it\\'s as if we can make out the little munchkin\\'s thoughts : \" boy this outta floor em \" . \\nnaturally osmet is made to play one of those only-in-the-movies children , a martyr-figure who cleans up after his mother , lectures her on the ills of drinking , and even fixes her up on a date with his intellectual teacher . \\nnever mind that the two couldn\\'t be more dissimilar ; his mother is trailer trash dopey , and the teacher is one of those dennis miller-ey intellectuals who hides his insecurities behind a vast vocabulary . \\nnevertheless this little nudnik goes out of his way to bring the pair together in a scene that recalls parent trap-ish cornball antics . \\nbut oh how we love bright , articulate , self-sacrificing children who pick adults up by their bootstraps and guide them through life . \\nthey\\'re so adorable . \\nof course the blame can\\'t all be hoisted onto the actors ( though with the exception of the little kid , they probably should have known better ) , instead the brunt of it should be passed on to mimi leder , who directed one of the most thrilling episodes of er , then went on to make two awful genre films in a row . \\nthe first being the peacemaker , a witless post-cold war george clooney vehicle , and deep impact , one of the two films of 1998 to squander the premise of earth\\'s possible demise by a crazed meteorite . \\nthe first flick was sunk by an over reliance on clich ? s , and a complete absence of any kind of emotional involvement , not aided by an ending which actually centered around the diffusing of a ticking time bomb complete with digital read out ( apparently present for an invisible audience ) . \\ndeep impact has more in common with pay it forward ; it\\'s a movie that treats earth\\'s impending destruction in awfully simplistic terms , completely ignoring the havoc that would so obviously take place if the world believed its planet would be a goner within days . \\nthe film was full of inspirational speeches where people really said nothing , though the sappy score swelled up to make it appear as if they were being profoundly touching . \\nin pay it forward leder continues in this vein with her intermittent dollops of cynicism seeming almost like a rebuttal : \" see my movie isn\\'t as na ? ve as you might think \" she seems to be saying . \\nno , it\\'s just horribly confused . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'let me just start this review off by saying i am a huge fan of professional wrestling and have been for fifteen years . \\ni am not too fond of ted turner\\'s world championship wrestling , however , and i am even less fond of it now after seeing this ridiculous excuse for a wrestling movie tonight . \\nthe plot concerns two losers named gordie boggs ( david arquette , aptly cast as a neandrathal ) and sean dawkins ( scott caan ) who are so obsessed with professional wrestling that they believe everything they see on wcw monday nitro is something more than a flashy show . \\nwhen they finally get to see their hero , wcw world champion jimmy king ( played by oliver platt . \\ni personally would have gotten a wrestler to play king ) , he ends up getting screwed over by evil promoter titus sinclair ( a wasted palitaliano , in a role originally meant for real-life wcw president eric bischoff before he was fired and rehired six months later , and if anyone reads this who knows bischoff , they will agree with me that the role of sinclair had his name written all over it ) , they embark on a quest to find him and help him get his title back . \\nwhen they find him , they discover in horror that jimmy king\\'s real life is nothing like it is on wcw tv . \\nking is a drunken atlanta native rather than an english king . \\nafter convincing king that they don\\'t care that his persona isn\\'t real , gordie and sean sneak him back onto wcw monday nitro , after which sinclair agrees to book him in a main event steel cage match for the wcw title and his job back in las vegas at wcw\\'s pay-per-view . \\ngee , whiz , there are so many things wrong with this movie , i don\\'t know where to begin . \\nyes , i do . . . \\n1 . the characters of gordie and sean show you what eric bischoff , wcw president who thought up this project , thinks of wrestling fans . \\nhe thinks of us as idiots who take everything wrestlers do seriously . \\nhe actually thinks wrestling fans are dumb enough to believe this is meant to be taken seriously . \\ni got news for you , eric : nobody above the age of four is dumb enough for that , this is 2000 , you know , not 1985 ! \\ni know he\\'ll probably cover arguments up by saying it isn\\'t meant to be taken seriously but it is , because that\\'s how big an ego bischoff has . \\n2 . there was a documentary made in 1998 , wrestling with shadows , that documented the owner of the world wrestling federation , vince mcmahon\\'s screwing bret \" the hitman \" hart out of the title . \\nthis movie\\'s storyline is basically a comic rip-off of that plot with the poor man\\'s wayne and garth thrown in . \\neric bischoff is trying to make vince mcmahon look bad with the character of titus sinclair , but any wrestling fan knows titus is more like bischoff than mcmahon , and that vince did what he had to do to bret hart . \\n3 . \\nthe movie\\'s main wrestler , jimmy king , has an english king gimmick and the audience cheered big for him . \\nno wrestling fan actually enjoys characters like that in this day and age , we want bad asses today ! \\n4 . why make this a comedy , instead of an emotional , rocky-style drama ? \\ni know wrestling isn\\'t a sport , but you can still get behind a guy who struggles as a wrestler and finally makes it in the end . \\n5 . \\nin the movie , gordie starts up an ill-fated romance with nitro girl sasha ( the lovely rose mcgowan . \\nwhat she sees in that freak marilyn manson i\\'ll never understand ) , only to find that she has hospitalized king\\'s trainer for sinclair . \\nwouldn\\'t it have been easier to just have them fall in love instead of doing the typical spy-girl-for-the-bad-guy cliche ? \\ni hate that . \\n6 . \\nlast , but certainly not least , there was not one single moment in this movie that i could not predict would happen , nor did i laugh once either . \\nthe world wrestling federation should have been the wrestling company to make the movie , for these reasons : \\n1 . they\\'re the better promotion . \\n2 . they have better and younger talent , performers and wrestlers . \\n3 . \\nthey give their fans what they want and don\\'t treat them like idiots . \\n4 . they\\'re winning the ratings and they\\'re the promotion everybody cares about . \\n5 . simply put , they could make a movie a hundred times better , and they could do a wrestling movie the right way . \\nthe only good thing about this movie was they played outtakes at the end . \\nand if i spoiled it for you , good , i saved you from wasting seven dollars . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the thought-provoking question of tradition over morals is the subject directly at the core of \" leila , \" a powerfully articulated and subtle drama from famous iranian director dariush mehrjui , that is his first motion picture in a prosperous thirty-year career to gain u . s . distribution , thanks to first run features . \\nalthough unfamiliar with mehrjui\\'s previous directing efforts , perhaps the reason for this is that , while the predicament at hand is no doubt exclusive to its own country , the heartbreaking and solely truthful emotions of the characters can easily be understood by all viewers . \\nset in modern-day iran , \" leila \" begins on the birthday of the title character ( leila hatami ) , after a brief prologue in which we are shown the first encounter between leila and her future husband , reza ( ali mosaffa ) . \\nas leila and reza set off to visit his parents , and then hers , where a birthday celebration has been planned , things seem rosy for the couple on the outside , but for leila , life isn\\'t quite as sweet . \\nearlier , on that very same day , leila had gone to see her physician , and has ultimately discovered that she holds very little chance of ever conceiving a child . \\nwhen all of the conditions are ruled out , and leila passes up the possibility of adoption , reza firmly and lovingly tells her that he married her , and doesn\\'t care at all about having children . \\nnonetheless , leila is ashamed that she will never be able to give him a baby , which is the societal norm , and her self-esteem is not helped at all by her domineering mother-in-law ( jamileh sheikhi ) , whose hopes to carry on the sacred family name vanishes once hearing the news ( reza is her only son ) . \\nbluntly explaining to leila that reza has always wished for children and , in a country where polygamy is an accepted tradition , she suggests that he take a second wife to bear a child with . \\nleila hesitantly agrees , and while she and reza are able to shallowly laugh afterwards about the hopeful womens\\' inadequacies , reza finally does meet a woman whom he claims to like , even though he refuses to go through with the marriage if leila doesn\\'t give her full blessing . \\nthere are no easy answers to be found within \" leila , \" a film that thoughtfully examines the central character\\'s unfortunate plight , as well as the inner workings of leila herself , told through matter-of-fact narration . \\nalmost completely taken over by her own shame , she has no option but to agree to her forceful mother-in-law\\'s requests , even though she is unsure of how she will react if reza really does end up marrying another woman . \\nmaybe because \" leila \" is from iran , the film will unquestionably be shocking for american audiences , since the concept of polygamy is looked upon by the characters as a more or less everyday occurrence . \\nleila , however , is unable to come to terms with the idea quite as easily , but feels it is her duty to make her husband happy , no matter what the circumstances . \\none of the strongest aspects of the film is in its portrayal of the relationship between leila and reza , who married only three months after their first meeting , but obviously love each other very deeply . \\nit is this relationship that is the key ingredient to making what follows the opening scenes all the more powerful , and director mehrjui has succeeded just about as well as possible . \\nalthough seemingly unimportant at first glance , an early sequence where leila and reza are eating dinner and both are laughing , nearly uncontrollably , actually is one of the most vital moments in the first half , as it unmistakably sets the boundary for their unrequisite love for one another . \\nditto for another scene in which reza gives leila a large stuffed animal for her birthday , and then reveals a beautiful necklace he has also gotten her . \\nthese \" small \" moments are the perfect contrast for the solemn , outraging sequences in the latter half , in which reza drops leila off at the side of a busy road , and then zooms off to go on a date with another woman . \\nleft there to ponder her quickly diminishing marriage , foolishly unbeknownst to reza , leila prays each time that the date will not go well , so she will be able to keep her husband to herself for a little while longer . \\nrefusing to stay over at her parent\\'s house , the film inevitably leads up to the second wedding night between reza and another woman , and in a sequence of extraordinary sorrow and potency , leila finds her whole being emotionally torn apart , as she is closed up in an upstairs bedroom as the marriage proceedings are going on down below . \\ndespite her initial agreement to such a thing , leila realizes how much she has been betrayed by reza , whom she believed cared for her as much as she did of him . \\nsure , the whole second marriage was his mother\\'s idea , but if he really did believe what he initially had told her about not wanting any children , then he could have still easily backed out , couldn\\'t he ? \\nin the pivotal role of leila , who appears in every scene , leila hatami is nothing short of remarkable , injecting her character with an equal measure of startling strength , unavoidable vulnerability , and utter despair . \\nunlike most american films , in which everything always has to be spelled out for audiences , hatami says much more with just an elusive expression on her face than could possibly have been conveyed by words . \\nevery bit a perfect match for hatami is ali mosaffa , as reza , a man who , i believe , does hold an unbreakable bond with his wife , but is too naive to realize what he will be doing to leila if he marries someone else . \\nfor all of its strong aspects , \" leila \" isn\\'t a perfect film . \\non a technical level , i found many blatant punctiation and spelling mistakes within the subtitles that need to be fixed . \\nand concerning the plot developments , the final five minutes ring false when compared with everything that has come before . \\nmehrjui\\'s decision to use an extremely stylized approach to the ending was the wrong choice , particularly in his almost comedic way of wrapping up the character of the spiteful mother-in-law , played memorably by jamileh sheikhi . \\ndespite these minor missteps , \" leila \" is an important motion picture that should definately be sought out upon its limited may 16 release at new york\\'s cinema village , and then on may 21 in la . \\nthe thought-provoking questions that the film deals with is balanced evenly with its uneasy morales , and when the climax arrives , leila\\'s self-worth is startlingly stripped away to reveal a victim led into complete devastation , to which there is no return . \\nit\\'s difficult to not consider how leila\\'s culminating interior demise could have been so simply avoided , had the other characters taken a second out of their own selfish lives to consider what leila , the major pawn in the unforgivable scheme , was going through . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'quentin tarantino seems to have a knack for giving his stars big careers . \\nafter his pulp fiction , many actors began receiving many offers for jobs . \\njohn travolta made his come-back and is now one of today\\'s most bankable stars . \\nbruce willis proved his acting chops and is now considered an actual actor . \\njackie brown , on the other hand , boasts quite a well known cast , except for the main lead : pam grier . \\nmost likely you have heard of her and seen her in films , but she\\'s never really had a breakthrough performance ( her first film was in the roger ebert-written beyond the valley of the dolls ) . \\nthat is , until now . \\njackie brown is a highly anticipated feature film from quentin tarantino , whose last film was the huge hit pulp fiction . \\nafter mediocre acting jobs , tarantino returns to what made his name a household one : directing and writing . \\njackie brown is the result , and it is fantastic entertainment . \\ndespite excellent direction from tarantino , the cast steals the film , giving one good performance after another . \\npam grier gives a stunning performance as jackie brown , and she is supported by an incredible mix of talent--samuel l . jackson , bridget fonda , michael keaton , robert de niro , and robert forster . \\nmore than likely , you will see a few of these names in the oscar pool come oscar nominations . \\ndescribing a quentin tarantino film is very difficult , as you really can\\'t say much or you spoil it for everyone else . \\ni will tread lightly . \\njackie brown opens with an impressive shot of jackie brown ( grier ) in a blue outfit walking through the airport . \\nthe camera tracks along with her , and ends up revealing her occupation . \\nwe are also introduced to ordell robbie ( jackson ) , who sells illegal guns to interested buyers . . . \\nfor a hefty price . \\nms . brown carries the money from buyer to ordell in order to keep the cops away . \\nhowever , an fbi agent ( keaton ) and a local l . a . cop ( michael bowen ) are out to find ordell and catch him while taking the money . \\nthey try to reach him through beaumont livingston ( chris tucker ) , one of ordell\\'s buyers , but he mysteriously ends up dead . \\nthey try again through brown , but she is hesitant to admit to any wrong-doing . \\nbut after unknowingly carrying some drugs for one of ordell\\'s friends ( fonda ) , she is caught and sent to jail . \\nordell pays her bail through a bail bond agent , max cherry ( forster ) , and then wants to find out what she told the cops . \\nafter she claims to have said nothing , she reveals the fact that she will tell them about ordell in order to stay out of prison . \\nordell doesn\\'t like this , but they both come up with a scheme to throw the feds and cops off their track . \\nthis scheme seems to be going as planned , but unexpected occurances may or may not foul up their goal . \\nrevealing more would spoil the fun of jackie brown , and that\\'s the biggest reason to go see a tarantino film . \\ntarantino seems to have a fascination with hitmen and unusual predicaments ( and slang terms ) , but they are always done very well and believably . \\nhis hitmen are normally cruel , but pleasant , in that nasty sort of way . \\nthey talk like normal people , except for when doing business , and they are rude to their girlfriends . \\nof course , this is a tarantino film , and you know you can expect some awkward situations to arise . \\nand perhaps the biggest flaw with jackie brown is the slow middle section in which the pace begins to drop . \\nof course , tarantino fixes this by moving onto the climax of the film , adding a lot of his reservoir dogs-style storytelling to it . \\nthings are told from one person\\'s perspective , and then from another , and then from another , each time learning more and more . \\nthis all leads up to a very interesting conclusion , which decides who is on whose side . \\non the technical side of jackie brown , quentin tarantino directs it with the same style as he did with his 1994 film . \\nhowever , this time around it isn\\'t as nearly as impressive or original . \\nthe writing , on the other hand , is quite good , although i do find tarantino\\'s use of slang terms offensive . \\nthe story jumps back and forth in time as in pulp fiction , but it\\'s much more easy to understand . \\nhis previous film needed a second viewing in order to understand the time differentiation , but jackie brown is very simply to follow , especially considering that the time is given during the \" leaps \" in time . \\nperhaps this is a result of the screenplay being written from the novel \" rum punch \" by elmore leonard . \\nthe dialogue is pretty much intelligent , and all the characters are fully realized . \\nthe cinematography is very well done by guillermo navarro ( who has worked with tarantino on previous films ) and the editing is very good . \\nand as with pulp fiction , the music is a highlight , bringing back memorable songs from the 70s and 80s . \\nthe acting side of jackie brown is unforgettable . \\nthe performances are incredibly rich , with hidden meaning behind every characters\\' actions . \\nnothing is quite as it seems , and you can\\'t really tell which side one person is on . \\nthe real treat , of course , is pam grier who gives an astonishing performance as jackie brown . \\nher poor living conditions are superceded by her superior wits , which play an important role in the film . \\nwatching grieg , i could tell what was going through her mind , even if i didn\\'t know what she was thinking . \\nher face portrays a lot of emotion that you can tell when she is sad , happy , or in deep thought . \\nbridget fonda gives a very good performance as a druggie couch potato . \\ni didn\\'t even realize it was fonda until i saw her name in the final credits ( her performance actually reminded me of heather graham\\'s in boogie nights ) . \\nmichael keaton comes across very well , as does michael bowen . \\nchris tucker has a small , but effective performance . \\nsamuel l . jackson is very good , but it seems to me that he was replaying his jules winnfield character from pulp fiction ( although much less cynical ) . \\nbut no matter . . . \\njackson is very strong in his role . \\nrobert de niro is actually a little annoying at times , but overall he does a good job as one of ordell\\'s perspective clients and friends . \\nrobert forster gives one of the best performances in the film , as he has one of the most developed characters . \\nhe is present throughout most of the film , and he holds his own against jackson and grier . \\njackie brown is rated r for language , sex , violence , drug use , and some offensive remarks . \\nas a film by itself , jackie brown is a terrific piece of entertainment , with a complex plot to draw viewers in . \\nhowever , one can not help but compare it to tarantino\\'s pulp fiction , and expect great results . \\nwhen compared , it comes up short , but not that short . \\nit\\'s a worthy effort , with terrific acting and some impressive writing from elmore leonard and tarantino . \\nperhaps the best thing about jackie brown is the discovery of pam grier as a major hollywood actress . \\ni can\\'t remember seeing her in anything ( except for a small role in mars attacks ! ) , but hopefully she will get many more roles from this one . \\nexpect to see her name floating around the oscar nominations ( and hopefully she will even be able to nab one ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'gun wielding arnold schwarzenegger has a change of heart by the film\\'s end and becomes a believer in god instead of a skeptic , going through an amazing transformation by having a christian epiphany in the final scene as he becomes someone who can now beat the devil by his faith alone . . . this is after two hours of throwing people out windows and shooting more people than your average serial killer . \\nnobody can save this bomb from it\\'s own stupidity and arrogance in filmmaking and arrogance in believing that this is a positive religious-type of film . \\nit\\'s just a pile of dreck . . . an \\nill-conceived exploitive project , a pyrotechnical film . \\n \" end of days \" aims to be an apocalyptic thriller . \\nit features an idiotic script , a hack director , and a one-dimensional star who is past his prime . . . which \\nmakes this film dumber than dumb , plus it\\'s not funny , not campy , or is it in the least bit entertaining . \\nit\\'s just dreary and unwatchable . . . a \\nbig-budget slasher film . \\narnold plays an alcoholic security guard who finds his new mission in life is to stop satan ( occupying gabriel byrne\\'s body and possessing a wall st . bank account ) from destroying the world . \\nthe film opens in vatican city , roma 1979 -- where the pope is alerted by a young visionary priest tomaso , looking out at the night sky and seeing a comet whiz by , who proclaims after looking at his scrolls -- that\\'s the sign for the \\'eye of god , \\' which reveals that a child has been born who is being prepared to give birth to satan\\'s baby ( the anti-christ ) in the hour before the new century begins , when satan will fuck her and open up the gates to hell on earth . \\ntomaso has some twenty years to find this woman and save her and the world from doom . \\nbut some in the pope\\'s circle want to kill her if found , even though the pope insists on having faith and letting her live , as he lectures them : \" even in the world\\'s darkest days -- doing evil doesn\\'t stop evil , but brings on more evil . \" \\nwe saw the girl being born in nyc in 1979 , which seems to be the \\'logical\\' place to look for satan according to the astrology charts of the visionaries . \\nthe chosen woman is christine york ( robin ) . \\nit is now a few days before the new year celebration for 2000 and arnold and his wise-cracking security guard partner kevin pollack are hired to guard a wall street turd , and when he is fired upon by a renograde priest , thomas aquinas , arnold saves him and through a ridiculous chase captures the tongue less priest who fired the shot . \\nhe , nevertheless , can speak and tells arnold an \\'end of days\\' is coming as prophesized in revelations . \\nbut satan gets to him in his hospital room and nails him to the ceiling while scribbling latin warnings of \\'the end of the world\\' on his body . \\nit is now up to arnold to save the world and find the chosen woman . \\nhe quickly finds christine and does everything to protect her from all the evil forces around her , as the film includes ludicrous helicopter rescues , people jumping out of windows , satan taking a piss and dropping a match to kill arnold\\'s partner as the piss explodes like gasoline , satan being fired at . . . resulting in his sometimes experiencing pain and sometimes nothing , as if the director forgot which way he wants to have it . \\nthere is nothing spared in nyc from fire bombs -- including the subway , churches , and luxury buildings . \\nthe only trouble with all these high-budget action sequences , was that it lacked purpose and even entertainment value . \\nthe story was so terrible and inaccurate , that it did not have an iota of value or credibility . \\nmercifully the movie drags to a final confrontation in times square , trying unsuccessfully to build tension to the countdown toward the year 2000 . \\nwhy is the end of 1999 considered to be the devil\\'s number \" 666 , \\'\\' well ! \\n . . . \\nsatan\\'s numeral is actually \" 999 , \\'\\' which is upside down of \" 666 . \\'\\' \\naccordingly , you just put a \" 1\\'\\' in front of it-- and bingo -- you get \" 1999 . \\'\\' \\nwith logic like that , this film might even think it pulled the wool over the viewer\\'s eyes and got away with such a febrile explanation of the occult . \\nthis film should become a classic used by film schools in how not to make a horror film . \\ni highly recommend seeing it for that purpose . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in chocolat , a chocolate shop owner tells her customers to look into a spinning object of obscure textures , patterns , and lines , hoping she\\'ll be able to foresee the kind of chocolate they\\'ll most enjoy . \\nsome scoff the idea , but everyone who gazes into the complexity of the spinning object winds up seeing something different than the next , revealing personality traits which the person may not have known they had before . \\nthis can easily stand as a model for chocolat as a whole : on the surface , it appears to be a light , fluffy fable with no depth or true worth , but when one takes a second , deeper look , chocolat\\'s true colors begin to shine through . \\nmaking a bold statement about organized religion and those who practice it , lasse hallstrom\\'s chocolat is flawlessly acted and meticulously crafted-not to mention one of the best films of the year . \\nwhat gives chocolat its magic , much like hallstrom\\'s 1999 winner of two academy awards , the cider house rules , is its willingness to say what\\'s on its mind without holding back to prevent offending audiences . \\nthe bold and honest message hallstrom conveys with chocolat will no doubt outrage a select group of viewers , but those who are willing to suspend their bitterness because they feel they are being intimidated or attacked should find themselves to be in agreement with what the film says about narrow-mindedness . \\nchocolat centers its story around the small french village of lansquenet , where majority rules , and the majority lives by only one law : religion . \\nthe bulk of the townspeople ( with few exceptions ) are preparing for the sacred time of abstinence , lent , but when the independent thinking , seemingly non-religious vianne rocher ( juliette binoche ) and her daughter anouk ( victoire thivisol ) make the village their home , the people will be tempted beyond belief by the mouth-watering confections in the chocolate shop vianne opens . \\nmany are predictably opposed and deeply offended by vianne\\'s opening of the chocolate shop just in time for lent , especially the mayor , comte de reynaud ( a cartoon-like alfred molina ) , who will stop at nothing to put her out of business . \\non the other hand , the shop is a delight to others , including the cranky armande voizin ( judi dench ) , who sits day by day in vianne\\'s shop , telling the single mother about her unfortunate detached relationship with her grandson ( aurelien parent-koening ) , which comes as a result of his mother ( carrie-ann moss ) believing armande is a bad influence , as she does not hold the same , strict religious beliefs that she does . \\nalso a fan of the chocolate is the nervous wreck josephine muscat , whose husband is constantly beating her , to whom vianne offers a home and befriends . \\njuliette binoche is charming and honest as vianne , genuinely capturing her character\\'s determination to turn the narrow-minded townspeople into more happy , independent human beings , but most of chocolat\\'s success is unquestionably a result of the remarkable performances of the supporting actresses . \\nlena olin , previously nominated for an oscar in 1989 , deserves her second nomination for her earnest , moving portrayal of a lost , scared woman torn between staying true to her battering , manipulative husband or leaving him to live the life which for which she longs . \\njudi dench is sharp , incisive , and occasionally greatly touching as armande voizin . \\ncarrie ann-moss , in what is likely to be her first largely noticed ( and acclaimed ) role since the matrix , shows a more solid side of her acting skills not previously seen , crafting a character that the viewer both sympathizes with and despises simultaneously . \\nvictoire thivisol shows much promise as anouk , a young girl hoping her always-on-the-move mother will eventually settle down . \\na trade ad for chocolat sums up best the power the actresses have on screen with the tagline : \" five extraordinary women , one extraordinary movie . \" \\nthat\\'s not to say the men don\\'t do their share , though : alfred molina makes for a sly and utterly repugnant antagonist , hugh o\\'conor adds quite a bit of comic relief as the priest who seems to not even know why he is who he is , and johnny depp gives a strong performance as the pirate roux , who enters the film late in the game and sparks the romantic interest of vianne . \\nthe technical aspects of chocolat are strong across the board : lasse hallstrom directs his enchanting fable with great care , perfectly balancing the elements of each genre to be found within the film . \\ncinematographer roger pratt brings an atmospheric , fairy tale look to the film , and rachel portman\\'s masterful score is her best and most memorable since the cider house rules . \\nchocolat , adapted by robert nelson jacobs from the joanne harris novel , is a wonderful little treat of a film , one that will most likely win over the hearts of audiences and the votes of academy members this winter , and the aggressive backing of miramax films assures the latter . \\nwhile not as powerful as the cider house rules , lasse hallstrom\\'s chocolat is a film which works on all levels-as a drama , a comedy , a fable , a romance , and a fairy tale . \\nand it even lives up to its name : it is delicious to savor the taste of , easy to digest , and , like all excellent chocolate , it is memorable for days afterward . \\nthe bottom line : chocolat is pure pleasure . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" session 9 \" ( usa films ) \\nsometimes you just get more than your bargained for . . . like when boston-based hazmat elimination , run by scottish actor peter mullan and his trusty assistant , david caruso , assures a town engineer ( paul guilifoyle ) that they can remove insidious asbestos fibers from a victorian hospital facility in a week . \\nerected in 1871 , deserted and decomposing since 1985 , the danvers mental hospital , is one of the most malevolent \" locations \" ever chosen for a film . \\nthe structure is so massive - with its labyrinth of rubble-strewn corridors , collapsing floors , stagnant pools of water , isolation cells , and ominous surgical chambers where experimental pre-frontal lobotomies were performed - that their task seems impossible within that time frame . \\nand each member of their inexperienced crew ( stephan gevedon , brandon sexton iii , and josh lucas ) is coping with his own personal demons as , one by one , their minds seem to be affected by the grim areas in which they\\'re working . \\nthe film\\'s title is derived from salvaged reel-to-reel audio-recorded sessions involving the demonic possession of a young woman who is suffering from multiple personalities . \\nby the time session 9 occurs so do dreadful disasters . \\nfilmmaker brad anderson obviously envisioned this as a gruesome chainsaw-massacre-type ghost story but the script lacks structure and isn\\'t particularly scary . \\nthe conclusion is more ludicrous than convincing . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" session 9 \" is a dark , gloomy 4 . silly me . . . at \\nfirst , i thought that the original name of the danvers lunatic asylum bore some reference to mrs . danvers , the creepy housekeeper played by judith anderson in alfred hitchcock\\'s truly terrifying \" rebecca \" that also involved a cavernous mansion called manderley . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" the perfect storm \" ( warner bros . ) \\n \" more people die on fishing boats , per capita , than working in any other job in the u . s . . \\nevery journey a fishing boat makes can be an all-or-nothing risk . \\nit is life at its most exhilarating and its most terrifying , \" says director wolfgang petersen ( \" das boot \" ) . \\nand that\\'s just what he captures in this true story of struggle and humanity aboard a swordfishing boat , the andrea gail , sailing out of gloucester , massachusetts , in late october , 1991 . \\nearly in bill wittliff\\'s screenplay , based on sebastian junger\\'s best-seller , we meet the crew of six . \\nthe veteran captain ( george clooney ) is frustrated because he can\\'t find fish on the grand banks , yet a rival skipper ( mary elizabeth mastrantonio ) brings in huge hauls . \\nhis right-hand man ( mark walhberg ) needs money to build a new life with his girl-friend ( diane lane ) . \\nthere\\'s a devoted dad ( john c . reilly ) with an estranged wife and son , a free-spirited jamaican ( allen payne ) , a lonely guy ( john hawkes ) , and a last-minute replacement with a bad attitude ( william fichtner ) . \\nthe skipper\\'s convinced he can change his bad luck streak in remote flemish cap , and he does . \\nbut then trouble begins . \\nthere\\'s a rogue wave , a man overboard and the ice machine breaks - with 60 , 000 lb . \\nof fish that could spoil . \\nbut that\\'s minor compared with a deadly monster storm approaching which a boston meteorologist describes as \" a disaster of epic proportions \" that also threatens the lives of a coast guard helicopter rescue team trying to save three people stranded on a sailboat on the high seas . \\nit\\'s formulaic and there are cliches , but the walls of water , created by fluid dynamics simulating real-life phenomena , are awesome . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" the perfect storm \" is a terrifying , suspenseful 8 . \\nhang on for the white-knuckle thrill ride of the summer ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'its a stupid little movie that trys to be clever and sophisticated , yet trys a bit too hard . \\nwith the voices of woody allen , gene hackman , jennifer lopez , sylvester stallone , and sharon stone , this computer-animated yak-fest ( think toy story [1996] filled with used merchandising ) is one for the ant-eaters . \\nthe main story is the independence of a worker named z ( allen ) . \\nhe wants more to life than just digging away underground for the colony . \\nwhen he finds out about ``insectopia , \" a mythical place where all insects can run free , z , along with his colony\\'s princess ( stone ) , journey out into the world to find a meaning for life . \\nabout 15 minutes into the picture , i began to wonder what the point of the film was . \\nhalfway through , i still didn\\'t have an answer . \\nby the end credits , i just gave up and ran out . \\nantz is a mindless mess of poor writing and even poorer voice-overs . \\nallen is nonchalant , while i would have guessed , if i hadn\\'t seen her in the mighty and basic instinct , stone can\\'t act , even in a cartoon . \\nthis film is one for the bugs : unfunny and extremely dull . \\nhey , a bug\\'s life may have a good time doing antz in . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there\\'s a scene early on in \" jawbreaker \" where a character utters the unintentionally prophetic line , \" that is * so * not funny \" . \\nhow right she was . \\nthis pathetic tale of three high-schoolers who accidentally kill their best friend in a birthday kidnapping prank gone horribly awry is never even remotely funny . \\nor fun . \\nor original . \\nnot content with the too-obvious \" heathers \" heisting , the filmmakers proceed to lift freely from a staggering variety of sources , including \" carrie \" , \" bride of frankenstein \" , \" blue velvet \" , and even shaw\\'s pygmalion , itself recently remade as \" she\\'s all that \" . \\n \" jawbreaker \" is a pastiche , and not even an enjoyable one . \\ni find it extremely telling that the most engaging part of the film is the credit sequence , a jawbreaker factory montage inexplicably backed by veruca salt\\'s \" volcano girls \" ; serving as a blueprint for the rest of the film , the song has absolutely nothing to do with the footage we\\'re watching . \\njust close your eyes and pretend you\\'re listening to an alt-rock station ; you won\\'t be missing anything . \\nthe blame for a mess this big has to be spread around among the principals . \\nrebecca gayheart , following roles in \" scream 2 \" and \" urban legend \" , should have known better than to take yet another role in yet another teen body count movie . \\npam grier has totally wasted any credibility she might have gotten from her role in quentin tarantino\\'s \" jackie brown \" . \\nand rose mcgowan should just quit acting . \\nshe has no charisma , no presence , and no acting skills other than rolling her eyes and looking disaffected . \\nmcgowan manages to be upstaged by her real-life boyfriend , rocker marilyn manson , whose fifteen second role here is far more interesting than anything any of the \" real \" actors are doing . \\nmanson , sans trademark makeup & contact lenses , and with an obviously fake moustache , looks eerily like nicholas cage ; who woulda thunk it ? \\nthat crack about direction by committee wasn\\'t merely a pithy sound-bite . \\nstylistically , thematically & narratively , \" jawbreaker \" is all over the map , varying wildly in tone & content from scene to scene . \\nthough credited solely to writer/director darren stein , one gets the feeling that no two scenes here were actually guided by the same hands . \\nif stein was indeed responsible for the whole of this atrocity , someone needs to get the man some drugs , pronto . \\nprozac , lithium , kava , ritalin , something , anything . \\nhe\\'s quite obviously in desperate need of chemical help . \\n \" jawbreaker \" is a monumental waste of effort and resources , and quite likely one of the single worst films i\\'ve ever seen . \\nto call \" jawbreaker \" garbage would be to insult garbage . \\nbad flicks for the rest of the year are safe ; i\\'ve already got my pick for worst film of \\'99 . \\n \" jawbreaker \" runs approximately 90 minutes , though it feels longer than \" titanic \" , and is rated r for language , sexual situations and graphic violence . \\nnot recommended for kids , teens , or anyone else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when you go to the movies as much as i do , you unfortunately end up seeing certain movie trailers one too many times . \\nsuch was the case with frequency . \\nevery time i went to a screening , there was the frequency preview . \\nit looked awful . \\nit looked cheesy , sappy and ridiculous . \\nit looked like a flop . \\nwell , whoever put that trailer together should be fired , because in terms of pure entertainment , frequency is one of the best of the year thus far . \\nfrequency boasts a compelling story line . \\nan occurrence of freakish solar activity allows police detective john sullivan ( james caviezel ) to speak to his fireman father frank sullivan ( dennis quaid ) through a ham radio , despite the fact that frank has been dead for 30 years . \\njohn is able to give his father information that prevents his death in a warehouse fire , but by doing so causes other changes . \\nsomehow , a serial killer\\'s reign of terror , which in the original timeline had been stopped at three murders , extends to ten victims . . . \\nincluding john\\'s mother . \\nthis is director gregory hoblit\\'s third film ( the other two being primal fear and fallen ) . \\nwith all three , he\\'s managed to attach himself to great scripts ( this one by toby emmerich , whose only previous movie experience was as a music supervisor on numerous new line films ) and add equally great direction . \\nalso , he apparently likes to have his films wrap up with a kick-ass ending . \\nfrequency is no exception , the ending is unpredictable and incredibly satisfying . \\nhoblit is three for three , and i hope he can keep it up . \\nnow everyone can argue logic this and logic that all you want with the sci-fi elements of frequency . \\nbut the fact of the matter is that time travel has never been achieved . \\nwho\\'s to say how something works and how it doesn\\'t when it\\'s never happened ? \\nis it because we\\'ve become accustomed to time travel \" laws \" from other places like \" star trek \" and the back to the future trilogy and \" quantum leap \" ? \\nyes , if you sit down and think about it , certain plot elements in this film probably won\\'t make any sense . \\nmost films are like that . \\ndon\\'t let that dissuade you from seeing this fantastically entertaining film however . \\nwhen frequency was over , it made me wish i had seen it with my father so i could have given him a hug ( okay okay , shut up ) . \\nwhen you break it down past all its sci-fi elements and serial killer antics , frequency is simply a movie about a father and his son and the bond that they share . \\nit\\'s touching , it\\'s sincere , and it\\'s what ultimately makes this movie work . \\n[pg-13] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'billed as a \" feminist sex fantasy \" , this spirited , imaginative and thoroughly engaging film by the award-winning canadian director cynthia roberts , is destined for extreme reactions . \\ncamille paglia enthusiasts will no doubt champion this heart-felt tale of the title character bubbles galore ( nina hartley ) , a porn-actress-turned-porn-producer who faces an uphill battle in her quest for sexual and economic independence . \\nhowever , those in the andrea dworkin camp , will no doubt loathe the film\\'s decidedly pro-porn stance . \\npolitical considerations aside , however , this is a delightful lesbian love story as the film takes us on a whirlwind tour of bubbles\\' romantic entanglements with a naive and virginal young porn starlet dory drawers ( shauny sexton ) . \\nin the backdrop , however is bubbles\\' loyal assistant vivian klitorsky ( tracy wright ) who pines longingly for the affections of her bubbly boss . \\nthis femme-butch-femme triangle is what provides the film with considerable humanity * and * sensuality . \\nin addition to the romantic aspects of the story , bubbles is being stalked and terrorized by her ex-boyfriend godfrey montana ( daniel macivor ) , a slimy porn mogul who wishes to make her life as miserable as he can possibly make it . \\nwhen his plans to sabotage her latest film fall through , he snaps and psychotically decides to kill her . \\nthese proceedings are presided over by a most heavenly presence . \\ngod herself - yes , in the world of this film , god , is most definitely a \" her \" - and a chorus of undulating , scantily-clad angels , have their most watchful and lustful eyes on the events as they unfold , adding a lovely fantasy element to this frothy concoction . \\nthis bright , colourful and deliriously sexy film is chock-full of great performances . \\nmaking her dramatic debut , after appearing in over 300 triple x adult films , porn star nina hartley takes command of her role with considerable assurance and a screen presence which puts many other contemporary \\'straight\\' actresses to shame . \\nhartley has overwhelming star power , and one wonders why other non-triple-x producers haven\\'t used her bountiful talents . \\nit is also interesting to note that hartley appears in the recent release of \" boogie nights \" , a film which takes a far more traditional doom-and-gloom approach to the porn industry . \\nmaking a cameo appearance in the role of god , former porn actress annie sprinkle , a true artist in her own right - gives the entire film an earthy , sensual glow and certainly solidifies and , by her very appearance , downright justifies the themes of the movie . \\nthe other performances are equally solid . \\ndaniel macivor appropriately chews up the scenery as the villainous godfrey and tracy wright lends able support with her complex role . \\nshauny sexton , an erotic dancer and pin-up model , makes an impressive screen debut . \\noverall , bubbles galore is a film which wears its politics on its sleeve and very proudly indeed . \\nat one point , the title character declares that \" instead of trying to save women from the sex trade , we should be working to ensure that the sex trade is a safe place for women to work \" . \\nthe direction by cynthia roberts is daring and subversive . \\nroberts is not afraid to plunge the otherwise straight-ahead and simple narrative into extended and extremely avant-garde montage sequences . \\nthe love scenes between the women are especially beautiful . \\nthe musical score by nicholas stirling blends cool jazz and lounge stylings , while the skilful cinematography by harald bachmann terrifically captures a blend of garish 70\\'s porn and psychedelia . \\namazingly , this film appears to have received a good deal of its funding from a variety of canadian government cultural agencies . \\nthis speaks volumes towards the importance of state funding for culture , as one cannot imagine such an entertaining , original and vital film being made in a traditional setting where conformity and formula rule the day . \\nbubbles galore seems to be making the film festival rounds and does not , at present , appear to have any traditional distribution in place , so keep your eye on the alternative film listings for this one . \\nit\\'s funny , sexy and subversive . \\nand it shouldn\\'t be missed . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'elizabeth is a potent historical drama set in england in the mid-1500s . \\nit is a time when stately royal ceremonies are as commonplace as public burnings . \\ninternally , the catholics wage war against the protestants . \\nmeanwhile , spain , scotland and france strategize their next moves in the struggle for power . \\nlittle does england know that a young woman named elizabeth ( cate blanchett ) will be their greatest hope for survival . \\nthe film charts elizabeth\\'s tumultuous struggle to gain true power over her kingdom . \\nas a protestant , she is the last person any of the catholic royalty would want to be queen . \\nbut her half-sister queen mary ( kathy burke ) , deathly ill and unable to conceive a child , pleas with elizabeth to take over the throne . \\nmary gives her her blessing on only one condition : that elizabeth renounce her faith and uphold the teachings of catholicism across the land . \\nonce declared queen , elizabeth immediately finds herself under assault , both by her own subjects ( including the duke of norfolk , played with steely-eyed grace by christopher eccleston ) and by forces abroad . \\nslowly but surely , the neophyte ruler takes england by its reigns and forges a new path for her kingdom . \\nelizabeth is surrounded by a keenly drawn cadre of subjects and advisers . \\nher closest ally is the mysterious sir francis walsingham ( geoffrey rush , in a perfectly subtle performance ) . \\nalso on her side is sir william cecil ( sir richard attenborough ) , her well-meaning but misguided chief adviser . \\nwith few people she can trust , elizabeth must prove her self-worth any way she can , even if it means being the iron-fisted ruler she secretly despises . \\nblanchett deserves an oscar for her performance as elizabeth . \\nshe portrays the young queen with just the right balance of gawky self-consciousness and shrewd charisma . \\nthough not a classical beauty , blanchett is able to entrance the viewer with just a coy smile or an impish smirk . \\nshe is at home with her character\\'s playful tendencies , particularly in one scene where elizabeth dances unabashedly with childhood friend and lover lord robert dudley ( joseph fiennes ) . \\nwhether fending off unctuous suitors or \" playing \" the houses in court , blanchett\\'s elizabeth radiates a confidence which impossible to dislike . \\nalmost as interesting as the character of elizabeth are shekhar kapur\\'s visual delights . \\nhe and cinematographer remi adefarasin have crafted a film with a rich color palette that is a feast for the eyes . \\nrolling green hills , extravagant ceremonial galas , dark and foreboding corridors -- all are depicted with a real sense of artistic appreciation . \\nthe castles and cathedrals of europe have rarely been doted on so lovingly as they are here . \\nthough writer michael hirst\\'s script gets a little murky at times , and his injections of humor get a little overplayed , elizabeth pulses with the right amount of dramatic and cinematic verve to make it just deserving of a theatrical viewing . \\nas a whole , the story survives because elizabeth\\'s struggle is one which deserves attention . \\nby the time she makes her shocking ( but very sensible ) final declaration , we\\'re ready to bow to elizabeth as our own queen . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'at first glance , i thought that the sword and the sorceror had promise . \\nits plotline goes like this : the evil king cromwell , desiring to take over the world , resurrects an evil , ancient sorceror , xusia for power . \\nhe attacks the kingdom of eh-dan and kills young prince talon\\'s parents . \\ngiven a triple-bladed sword ( which can shoot bad guys , like a gun ) by his dying father , talon vows for revenge . \\neleven years later , when he\\'s established his own army , the mercaneries , he vows to take back his kingdom . \\nalong the way , he meets up with alana , whose village is attacked by drunken guards and her brother is kidnapped by cromwell . \\ntalon vows to help , and , after a series of minor escapades , eventually ends up rescuing alana\\'s brother ( and several other prisoners ) , only to be captured himself ( in other words , put on a cross to be crucified ! ) . \\nfortunately he frees himself , rescues alana from marrying cromwell , defeats xusia , and then cromwell , all with his triple bladed sword ( during the final battle , the blade breaks , but talon finishes cromwell off by using a hidden dagger in the blade ) . \\nthen , everything ends happily . \\nunfortunately , the sword and the sorcerer is not even half as good as it sounds . \\nwhat would have been a great film is completely destroyed by uneven plot jumping , bad acting , and gruesomely gory , bloody scenes . \\nnever once does the story seem to connect together , it just jumps around repeatedly . \\nthis problem is extremely noticeable in the opening scene where cromwell resurrects xusia . \\nafter telling him that he needs his help , he leads the warlock out into daylight , but then stabs him and sends him careening off a cliff afterwards . \\nwait a minute , didn\\'t the plotline say that he needs the help of xusia in order to invade eh-dan , which he cannot do by military force ? \\nif that is the case , why does he dispose of xusia after resurrecting him ? \\nand why does he manage to take over eh-dan anyway ? \\nthese questions are just never - no , never - answered in the film . \\nanother example is that one moment we see talon fighting for his life , another moment we see him just about to be crucified during alana\\'s wedding to cromwell ( ! ) , and finally at the end , instead of settling down with alana , he just tells her to \" wait \" , and then he just rides off ! \\nin addition to the extremely bloody scenes , this uneven plot jumping completely destroys what would have been a great fantasy adventure . \\neven some attempts to make it exciting , a few fire scenes , battle scenes , don\\'t work . \\nit just completely fails altogether miserably . \\nthe only good thing about this film is its musical score , contributed by david whittaker , who had an ( extremely ) short music composing career . \\nthe score is boomy and adventurous , powerful , and a billion times better than this film is . \\nmy suggestion : steer the hell away from this bloody mess and buy the soundtrack album instead ( if you can find it ) . \\nironically , though , before the film\\'s credits roll , there is a message indicating that a sequel , tales of the ancient empire , would follow . \\nto my relief ( and delight ) , it never got into production , because the sword and the sorcerer laid an egg at the box office , grossing only $39 million . \\ncritics were right on in slamming the sword and the sorcerer , all right . \\nleonard maltin rightfully called it \" second rate in scripting , and acting \" and at-a-glance film reviews called it \" a confusing , stupid , unimaginative , unengaging , bloodfilled bore \" . \\ni totally agree with these reviews , all right , and i hope that this piece of #$% ! \\nwill be forgotten about . \\nthere are far better fantasy movies than the sword and the sorcerer . \\ni hope you get a good laugh out of this review , but i am not laughing . \\nin fact , my insults don\\'t even come close to the gruesome sickness that this film gave me throughout its 100 minute running time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in the wake of the smashing success of \" rumble in the bronx , \" it\\'s looking more and more likely that more jackie chan films will see american release . \\nrumor has it that one of these films will be drunken master ii . \\nthe version i have is a copy from the laserdisc ; it\\'s widescreen and bilingually-subtitled , as are most hong kong films these days . \\navailability over here in the united states is very limited ; these films must either be purchased via pirates or sought out from asian distributors such as tai seng . \\nthe subtitling on the copy i have is slightly hard to read ; the letters are white and a bit small . \\nalthough the american release will almost certainly be dubbed , this review is of the subtitled version , so please keep that in mind if you\\'re reading this review to help you decide whether to go out and see it . \\nto be fair , i must admit that i\\'ve never been very fond of \" period-piece \" martial arts movies--the ones set in some nebulous china of the distant or not so distant past . \\nperhaps it\\'s because most of those i\\'ve seen were filmed on inferior stock , with either butchered dubbing or all-but-illegible subtitling , or perhaps it\\'s because their plots all tend to be very similar to each other and , in many cases , all but nonexistant . \\nin fact , many of them get so wrapped up in their subplots that they seem to forget their main plot entirely until only a few minutes before the end . \\nor , for that matter , it might be because the jackie chan films with more modern settings ( armour of god , rumble in the bronx , etc . ) tend to have more spectacular stunts , often involving large motor vehicles and large explosions , whereas period pieces simply have the martial arts . \\nhaving said that , i must now turn right around and say that drunken master ii is a remarkable exception to all or most of the above , is one of the better martial arts films i\\'ve seen , and i quite enjoyed it . \\nsurprised ? \\nwell , so was i . \\ndrunken master ii is about a young man named wong fei-hong ( played by jackie chan ) who is a master of the drunken boxing style of kung fu . \\nwhere he learned this style is uncertain , as his father , wong kei-ying ( ti lung ) is steadfast in his opposition to fei-hong\\'s practicing it rather than some more normal style of kung fu . \\napparently , fei-hong is some sort of figure from chinese folklore , rather like paul bunyan is for americans , but i\\'ve heard very little about this , and could quite well be wrong , so i\\'ll leave analysis of that to the people who know it better . \\none of my friends points out that the character of wong fei-hong is also featured in the \" once upon a time in china \" movies , but i have not yet seen those . \\nthe plot of drunken master ii is somewhat hazy , as are the plots to many such films , but if you\\'re watching a jackie chan film , odds are you aren\\'t expecting something on the order of \" war and peace \" . \\nthe story seems to revolve around those evil foreigners who are spiriting away ancient chinese relics ( and hence , china\\'s cultural heritage ) while overworking , underpaying , and beating up chinese workers in a nearby steel mill . \\nhowever , this plot merely serves as a framework for the other main story of the film--fei-hong\\'s perpetual struggle to win his girlfriend , supplicate his father , keep his ( pregnant ) mother ( played by anita mui ) from fighting , and keep from getting beaten up by evil foreigner thugs . \\nthe macguffin that drives the plot ( s ) is a precious antique jade imperial seal which is being taken away by the evil foreigners . \\nin the beginning , fei-hong accidentally steals it while trying to recover an identically-wrapped box containing the medicinal ginseng his father was bringing back for a customer . \\nin the process , he clashes with another thief , who is himself trying for the seal but ends up instead with the ginseng . \\nafter fei-hong narrowly avoids getting caught with the seal by the evil foreigners\\' lackies , thanks to some timely intervention by a general\\'s son ( a cameo appearance by andy lau , who would later take on the starring role in drunken master iii ! ) , comedic chaos ensues back at the wong household when fei-hong and his mother attempt to come up with a replacement for the missing ginseng . \\nand so it goes . \\nand the plot thickens later on , such as when fei-hong\\'s girlfriend maneuvers him into a kung fu match with a rival , or when fei-hong and the thief , now revealed to be a loyalist manchu officer trying to recover the seal and stop the evil foreigners , are attacked en masse ( another grand kung-fu movie tradition ) , but i think i\\'ve already spent more time on the plot than it really deserves . \\nlet\\'s move on to the real draw of jackie chan movies . . . the \\naction . \\nthere\\'s plenty of martial arts action to be found in this movie . . . of \\ncourse , in a kung fu film , that\\'s to be expected . \\nhowever , this isn\\'t just another kung fu movie ; this one has jackie chan doing the fight and stunt choreography , and jackie chan is a genius . \\nthe primary martial arts \" style \" featured in the film is drunken boxing , a form of kung fu which attempts to draw the adversary off his guard by making it seem like the fellow using it is drunk . \\nfurther , for the purposes of this film at least , drunken boxers fight better when they actually _are_ intoxicated . . . but \\nthere\\'s a fine line between just drunk enough and drunk into a stupor . \\nunder normal circumstances , the idea of someone staggering around looking sloshed but managing to fight effectively and even incredibly might seem rather stupid , but jackie pulls it off with flair . \\nthe kung fu sequences are so intricate in their staging and execution that it is pointless to try to describe it on paper , so i\\'ll just say that the fights--especially the big climactic fight at the end--in themselves make the movie worth watching . \\nanother thing drunken master ii has going for it is the stunt work . \\neven without motor vehicles ( well , not counting a train ) , there are some remarkable stunts in this film . \\namong other things , jackie dives off a balcony into a table and crawls across hot coals ( not once , but at _least_ twice , if you count the outtake shown during the credits ) . \\n ( quicktime movies of these stunts can be found through the www movie database . ) \\nunlike in american films , these stunts are _not_ faked . \\ndrunken master ii stars several veteran actors of the hong kong movie scene , including jackie , ti lung ( \" a better tomorrow \" 1 & 2 ) , and anita mui ( the \" heroic trio \" series , \" rumble in the bronx \" ) . \\nthe performances are first-rate , especially when it comes to the comedy parts of the film . \\nthe scene where fei-hong and his mother conspire literally behind fei-hong\\'s father\\'s back to cover up for the missing ginseng root is hilarious , as is the scene where fei-hong\\'s mother , having just revealed that she is pregnant , is threatening to hurt herself ( in order to draw her husband\\'s anger away from fei-hong ) . \\njackie has developed his knack for physical comedy into a sort of mastery over the years , and he\\'s in fine form all through drunken master ii . \\nas far as cinematography is concerned , it certainly works for this film . \\nit\\'s nothing spectacular , but is at least a dozen times better than all those old kung fu movies of the 70s . \\nthe picture is crisp and clear . \\none thing i find particularly worthy of mention is that , at least in the copy i have , the screen was wider than any film i\\'ve ever seen on videotape before--almost a whole 1/3 of the screen was blocked out above and below . \\n ( watch this on a bigscreen tv or movie theater if you can . ) \\nit will be an utter shame if this film is eventually pan-and-scanned for american video release . \\ndrunken master ii shows the full potential of \" period piece \" kung fu movies , and it\\'s good enough to overcome even my usual distaste for such movies . \\nthe plot does meander a bit , but that\\'s to be expected in this type of film . \\nif you like this kind of movie , you\\'ll love this movie , and if not , well , give it a chance anyway . \\nif nothing else , the martial arts and stunt sequences are by themselves worth the price of admission or rental . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'hey , i\\'ve got a great idea for a movie ! \\nok , here it is : we\\'ll get tim allen to pull angry faces for about two hours or so ! \\nwhat\\'s that ? \\nsounds too boring ? \\nok , how about this then : we still have tim allen pull faces for about two hours , but half of them are angry looks and half of them are \" i\\'m in pain ! \" \\nlooks ! \\nwhat\\'s that ? \\nthat still doesn\\'t sound funny to you ? \\nhow about if we through in some \" ewwwww ! \" \\nlooks ? \\nstill not funny ? \\nif you answered \" no , that doesn\\'t sound funny \" , then ( ding ding ding ! ) \\nyou\\'re absolutely correct ! \\nfor richer or poorer is a moronic farce about a rich married couple ( played by tim allen and kirstie alley ) who seek refuge in an amish community after their bumbling accountant ( wayne knight , best know as newman on tv\\'s \" seinfeld \" ) gets them in trouble for tax evasion . \\nwhat ensues is a badly scripted and horribly directed 114 minutes of cinema hell . \\nwhat makes this all wrong is that nobody seems to have what the film needs . \\n . \\n . \\nnamely , talent ! \\nbacking up , the married couple is brad and caroline sexton ( allen and alley ) , a popular snobby duo who seem totally in love to everyone else , but in reality are on the brink of divorce . \\njust as their marriage seems to be hanging from it\\'s final thread , brad discovers that his accountant , bob lachman ( knight ) , has been engaging in illegitimate deals in the sexton\\'s names . \\nthe irs catches on , but since everything points back to the sexton\\'s and not lachman , there is nothing much to do . \\n . \\n . \\nexcept run away and join an amish community . \\nfirst time screenwriters jana howington and steve lukanic give us a couple of chuckle-out-loud moments , and even some decent laughs here and * way * over there , but there is so much to cringe at in this horribly made film that you\\'ll likely miss the laughs while regurgitating popcorn . \\nalley is absolutely unwatchable , and the chemistry between her and allen is about as believable as my chemistry homework from tenth grade ( which , i inform you , was total b . s . ) . \\nallen and alley are in no way convincing as tycoons , nor are they very convincing as an amish couple ! \\nthis entire movie is one bad ill-conceived notion that should have been curtailed from the very beginning ! \\nthe amish in this movie are also flimsy and unconvincing . \\nit\\'s such a trite , stereotypical script that i imagine the actors that were cast ( noticing that they\\'re all predominantly tv figures ) were probably the only ones they could get ! \\nbryan spicer\\'s directing doesn\\'t help one bit , either . \\nin fact , listing spicer\\'s filmography ( which includes the first \" power rangers \" movie and the big screen adaption of mchale\\'s navy ) is more of an insult than a r ? sum ? ! \\nnow that i\\'ve pretty much run for richer or poorer into the ground , i will let you in on the best thing about it . \\nit bumped seven films up a notch on my \" worst of \" 1997 movie list . \\nthat\\'s right , thanks to this film ranking at number 3 for the year\\'s worst , six films are now not seemingly as bad , and a smile like yours , previously inhabiting the number ten spot , now doesn\\'t have to suffer the ridicule of making my bottom ten list . \\nif you look at it in that respect , for richer or poorer will end up making someone happy after all ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i was fortunate enough to attend an advance screening for the upcoming thriller conspiracy theory . \\nthis was , of course , a big deal for me because reviewing movies is basically just a hobby for me and i never get a chance at something like this . \\nnot only did i get to see an advance screening , i was able to see an advance screening of a * very good * movie . \\nthe very fast-paced film stars mel gibson as jerry fletcher , a fast-talking , witty , comical taxi driver in new york city . \\ngibson\\'s performance is terrific , and his character is similar to that of martin riggs in the lethal weapon films . \\ngibson again teams up with richard donner , as he did in the lethal weapon films and maverick , and this time around , the combination works even better . \\nthe character of jerry fletcher is indeed unique . \\ntry to imagine a toned-downed version of travis bickle who , this time around , is a jittery guy with knowledge of government conspiracy cover-ups . \\nif you can imagine that , then you\\'ve basically got jerry fletcher . \\nin many ways , i was surprised by this movie . \\nto begin with , i was surprised at how good it was . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , it\\'s not going to be accepting any gold trophies next spring , but it was a very enjoyable movie . \\nsecondly , i was surprised at mel gibson\\'s performance . \\nhe provided a fantastic performance . \\nthe previews of this film led me to believe it was an all-out action flick , which after viewing , it was almost the opposite in a certain sense . \\ngibson\\'s character has an almost uncountable number of one-liners , hilarious situations , and his character is one that the audience tends to side with throughout the film . \\nfor instance , jerry\\'s apartment ( and especially his security ) is memorable . \\nand last , i was surprised at how good the plot is . \\nwriter brian helgeland has created a terrific story , and when watching this film , you are left to wonder if all of jerry fletcher\\'s far-fetched ( or so they seem at first ) conspiracy theories are helgeland\\'s own opinions . \\nmel gibson isn\\'t the only stand-out in the film . \\njulia roberts is very good in her performance as alice sutton , the department of justice employee who can\\'t seem to stay away from jerry fletcher , who continually visits alice in hopes that she will do something about his theories . \\nhe also seems obsessed and in love with her . \\nbut whenever he approaches her with another one of his theories , she shrugs him and his beliefs off , continually noting that one day she is going to slap a restraining order on him . \\njerry , obviously determined to continually seek out the truth , continues to research information for his next conspiracy theory , which will be printed in his newsletter ( same title as the movie ) . \\nalthough he only has five subscribers , he puts a large amount of time and effort into his work , and publishes his next edition . \\nvery soon after he does so , he is abducted and tortured by a sinister man who refers to himself as dr . jonas ( patrick stewart ) . \\nafter barely escaping alive , jerry is forced to turn to the only person he can trust : alice sutton . \\nthe remainder of the film is almost always fast-paced and full of action and suspense , with jerry\\'s life being constantly put into jeopardy . \\nand more along the way , the audience ( and alice ) learn more and more about jerry\\'s life . \\nmany things are explained throughout this film , both to the characters and to the audience . \\nfor instance , the meaning of the book \" the catcher in the rye \" and its ties to assassins , the reason lone gunmen have three names ( e . g . \\nlee harvey oswald and james earl ray ) , and the real truth behind the grateful dead . \\nmake sure listen closely throughout the film , as jerry is constantly throwing out interesting tidbits such as the above . \\ndefinitely , when conspiracy theory hits theaters august 8th , make sure you are standing in line to see it . \\ni am nearly positive everyone should enjoy this film , especially if you are into an action-thriller with witty dialogue and numerous suspenseful situations . \\nand even if you aren\\'t , you should still like this film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"8mm , written by seven scribe andrew kevin walker , has an interesting idea which is ruined by hollywood formula to become a bog standard murder mystery . \\nnicolas cage plays family man detective tom welles , who is asked by upper class toff mrs . christian ( myra carter ) to investigate an movie found in her recently deceased husbands safe . \\nthe movie happens to be an mythical 'snuff movie' , where the girl featured in the film appears to get brutally slashed . \\nall mrs . christian wants to know if the girl in the film was killed or not . \\nwelles agrees , and soon gets pulled into the seedy underworld of porn movies , with video clerk max california ( phoenix ) as his guide . \\nalthough the 'snuff' industry hasn't really been examined in mainstream cinema , 8mm still makes a rather plodding thriller which just seems to be a bit sicker than most . \\nthe snuff movie within the movie is certainly disturbing , although the jerky camera angles and grainy image takes some of the shock away . \\n8mm has the problem of not wanting to shock too much , and apart from a few moments , most of the action in the film is nothing you haven't seen from another standard thriller . \\nthe cast help towards the entertainment , apart from an hideous performance by the increasingly lazy nicolas cage . \\nwhile he was fun and breezy in earlier films such as raising arizona ( 1987 ) , ever since leaving las vegas ( 1995 ) , cage has lost much of his acting talent and appears to be on autopilot , such as in the terrible snake eyes ( 1998 . ) \\nhere , in 8mm , he's boring , uninteresting and has a dull monotonous voice . \\nand in this overlong thriller , these virtues do not help keep the suspense up . \\nonly when cage is onscreen with the excellent phoenix does the film start moving , as phoenix is a true talent . \\nhis performance is a great break away from the gloom , and he's just purely enjoyable to watch . \\ncatherine keener is completely wasted as cage's wife , although she delivers a far better performance than her character deserves . \\nher character , though , is hugely underwritten , one of the most wasted characters of the year . \\nalso fun is fargo's peter stormare as the wildly over the top snuff film director . \\nas this film is written by the person behind seven , 8mm is filled with doom and gloom , and no-one appears to know how to use an light switch . \\nunlike seven , 8mm isn't too clever , and the twist is pathetic and startlingly obvious when it arrives . \\nlacking the strong characters seven featured , 8mm ultimately becomes uninvolving plot wise , and relies on the graphic scenes to provide any entertainment . \\nbut director joel schumacher , the completely wrong guy for the job , puts style over content , and while the direction and look are good , it's just not very disturbing . \\nschumacher also has no idea how to shock and audience , and though we are meant to be looking at the 'dark belly' of the porn industry , it doesn't exactly leave an haunting impression on the viewers mind , which misses the point . \\nalso , the last 20 minutes are so hackneyed , so cliched , it's amazing to think it's the same film you're watching . \\n8mm is far from an success , a 'snuffed' opportunity . \\nwith a boring lead character , 'controversial' scenes that manage not to be controversial , and a director obsessed with looks , what could have been one of the most shocking films of the year is a dumb thriller . \\nultimately , 8mm is probably worth renting on home video , unless your desperate to see what the snuff film within the film looks like . \\nand trust me , the rest of the 2 hours are not worth it . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"errol morris , critically acclaimed director of the 1997 documentary fast , cheap and out of control , vaults to new heights with mr . \\ndeath . \\nthis film , an examination of the life and work of controversial execution equipment designer and revisionist historian fred a . leuchter , jr . , is sure to draw audiences out of their malaise , stunning even the more jaded minds among us . \\ndon't let the film's cheesy dissuade you . \\nfollowing this sideshow of horror-lab special effects we are plunged quickly into a non-stop exploration of the weirdness that is leuchter's life and mind . \\nmorris follows the trail of leuchter's madness with appalling lucidity , revealing in a surprising and frightening way what most of us could have guessed to begin with : this leuchter guy is seriously messed up . \\nvirtually raised within the american penal system by a father who worked within prison walls , leuchter seems to have come somewhat naturally into his profession ; designing and maintaining execution equipment for state penitentiaries , in spite of his lack of credentials . \\nafter a moderately successful career making electric chairs and designing gas chambers and gallows , leuchter came to the attention of neo-nazi and revisionist historian ernst zundel , who was facing criminal charges in germany for publishing his `theory' that the holocaust never happened . \\nmorris's interviews are surprisingly congenial , drawing the subjects into a carefree banter that gives them more than enough rope with which to hang themselves . \\nzundel speaks to the camera as though it were his mensch . \\nleuchter seems completely at ease , sometimes jovial . \\npart of this effect may be due to morris's new interviewing machine , called the interrotron , which is responsible for creating eye contact between the subject and the interviewer . \\nthis was the first time morris had used the device , and the results are startling . \\ncombine the irony of these interviews with leuchter's reenactments and reels of creepy stock footage of his trip to auschwitz and birkenau , not to mention a haunting clip of thomas edison electrocuting an elephant , and you've got one compelling and disturbing documentary . \\nwhile this film isn't for the feeble-minded or weak-hearted , it is a valuable addition to the cultural landscape . \\naside from a few dragging minutes toward the end of the piece , morris has given us a fresh look at a dismal subject and i , for one , feel bettered by the experience . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'reading the cast and director for the new mobster comedy , \" analyze this , \" i asked myself , \" how could this miss ? \" \\nrobert de niro ( \" taxi driver , \" \" raging bull \" ) , billy crystal ( \" city slickers \" ) , lisa kudrow ( \" the opposite of sex \" ) , and director harold ramis ( \" national lampoon\\'s vacation \" ) . \\nthese are usually reliable filmmakers ( well , okay , crystal has been in a sizable slump lately ) , and tellingly , the first half-hour of \" analyze this \" was very funny . \\nunfortunately , as the running time ticked away , i began to think that the first thirty minutes had , unbeknownst to me , been rewound and were being replayed another two-and-a-half times . \\nthe film has obtained a clever premise , but does not have any idea what to do with it as it progressively becomes more and more repetitive until i finally stopped enjoying or caring about what was happening on the screen . \\nmiddle-aged psychoanalyst ben sobel\\'s ( billy crystal ) life is finally going very well . \\nalthough he has never gotten along with his own uncaring parents , especially his father , who is also a psychiatrist , ben has an easy-going teenage son ( kyle sabihy ) and is about to travel down to miami to get married to his tv news reporter girlfriend , laura ( lisa kudrow ) . \\nin little but a flash , however , ben suddenly sees his plans ruined when he accidentally hits the car of the mob and subsequently gets paid a visit from famed mafia guy paul vitti ( robert de niro ) , who desperately wants counseling , even though he himself won\\'t even admit to having anxiety attacks . \\nben tries to help paul , mostly so he will get him off his back , but the plot gets more complicated when paul follows ben to his wedding , which ends with a man dropping eight stories to his death . \\nit seems to ben that no matter what he does , paul vitti will not go away , and the more they become involved , the more ben\\'s potentially happy life gets into danger . \\n \" analyze this \" has a few laughs sprinkled throughout ( mostly in the first half ) , but i always had the nagging thought that what director ramis and writers peter tolan , ramis , and kenneth lonergan had done was thought of one joke ( robert de niro lightly spoofing his serious past mafia roles , while terrorizing and becoming buddies with comic billy crystal ) and then tiresomely recycled it for the duration of the 106-minute running time . \\nadmittedly , de niro is very funny here ( and i can\\'t remember the last time you could use that adjective to describe him ) , and crystal is in top-form , but the whole movie is weighed down directly on their shoulders with nothing else to support them , including a substantial plotline . \\nsince \" analyze this \" bills not one , not two , but three writers , you\\'d think that they would have been able to work together to fix the noticably large flaws , but they must have all been on auto-pilot . \\none of the most disappointing and wasted opportunities in the film is the way the movie deals with the supporting characters , all of which have next to nothing to do and aren\\'t even given multi-dimensional characters to attempt to develop . \\ncoming off of her oscar-caliber work in two of last year\\'s best films , \" clockwatchers \" and \" the opposite of sex , \" lisa kudrow\\'s throwaway \" girlfriend \" role is an incredible step down . \\nsure , kudrow\\'s fellow \" friend \" jennifer aniston did the same thing two weeks ago in \" office space , \" but at least we got to spend a little time with aniston . \\nkudrow , meanwhile , mostly just stands around , no doubt wondering why she agreed to appear in this film in the first place . \\nchazz palminteri , as rival gangster primo , fares even worse , in a role that plays more like an afterthought than an actual character . \\nfinally , molly shannon ( rising film star and cast member on \" saturday night live \" ) has a rousingly hilarious one-scene cameo right at the beginning as one of crystal\\'s patients and then completely disappears . \\ntoo bad , considering that the supporting actors surely have proven that they have the abilities to support de niro and crystal . \\nonce \" analyze this \" approached its second wedding scene leaving kudrow\\'s laura standing alone at the altar once again , i had become thoroughly annoyed by where the story had gone , and had mostly lost respect for the character we were supposed to sympathize with the most , ben . \\nafterwards , the climactic scene with ben posing as a fellow mob boss in place of the depressed paul , became a real laugh-free dead-zone , losing its last remaining comic punches . \\n \" analyze this \" proves that talent can certainly help any film out , but when the written material isn\\'t up to their level , what we are virtually left with is a vacuum of thin air . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" idle hands \" is distasteful , crass and derivative . \\nif an original thought found its way into this horror-comedy it would die of loneliness . \\nplus , you have to question the judgment and sensitivity of studio executives who would green light the release of a movie dealing with the slaughter of innocent teen-agers the week after the tragedy in littleton , colo . \\nthe movie is insulting to horror film fans and teen-agers . \\nthe plot , what little there is , deals with anton ( devon sawa ) , a high-school slacker who\\'s hand goes on a murderous rampage after becoming possessed . \\nalong the way the hand kills anton\\'s parents and his two best friends . \\nthe friends , also slackers , are so lazy that they return from the dead because the walk into the light was too far for them . \\nthat is the level of this\\'s atrocity\\'s humor . \\nthe movie treats death as a joke . \\n \" idle hands \" is gruesome and morbid . \\nthe performances are stereotypical and cartoonish . \\ni realize this is supposed to pass for comedy , but recent events have surpassed what is on the screen . \\nit is not the fault of the filmmakers that real life has overtaken reel life . \\nand i can only presume that the writers of \" idle hands , \" terri hughes and ron milbauer , were trying to make some statement about today\\'s young people and their values in a satiric vein . \\nhowever , it\\'s hard to laugh at death these days , especially ones involving young people . \\nwith the real horrors of the world put before us on television , a stale pastry such as \" idle hands \" should be held from release for a few weeks or months to give us time to catch our collective breaths . \\n \" idle hands \" is bad , no matter the circumstances in the world outside . \\nbut the context of recent events only heightens its shortcomings . \\nthe time is not right for this type of movie . \\nand as far as \" idle hands \" goes , the time may never be right . \\nthis is a movie that shoud be consigned to the trash bin of cinema . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'attention moviegoers : you are about to enter a meaning-free zone . \\nshould the sound system malfunction during your viewing of 200 cigarettes , do not panic . \\nthe film will work just as well as a silent movie . \\nchronicling the meaningless lives of vain , yuppie types , the movie covers the same ground as the wilt stillman films ( last days of disco , barcelona and metropolitan ) but without any of his acerbic wit and the inviting style of his writing . \\nfirst-time writer shana larsen makes the mistake of creating a couple of dozen characters and not giving any of them any depth . \\nthere isn\\'t one of these characters worth caring about . \\nthe movie features such a cornucopia of hot young stars that it looks like a celluloid version of \" people magazine . \" \\namong others , the movie features : ben affleck , casey affleck , david chappelle , janeane garofalo , gaby hoffmann , catherine kellner , courtney love , jay mohr , martha plimpton , christina ricci and paul rudd . \\nand unlike people magazine , the people speak , not that they have anything interesting to say . \\nit\\'s new year\\'s eve in 1981 , and monica ( martha plimpton ) is preparing her big party . \\nstructured as a series of relatively unrelated stories about her guests on the way to the party , director risa bramon garcia flits back and forth among her stars . \\nmonica\\'s apartment is in \" noho , \" an area that one of the guests describes as \" so cool , all of the poor people live there . \" \\ntypical of the shallow couples in the movie are kevin ( paul rudd ) and his friend and would-be sexual partner lucy ( courtney love ) . \\nthey argue about whether lucy is a slut or not since she sleeps with everyone , except him , of course . \\nshe dares him to go immediately to a bathroom stall and have sex with her , which turns out to be neither erotic , funny or successful -- rather like the rest of the story . \\nthe movie gets its title from the carton of cigarettes that lucy gives kevin for his new year\\'s eve birthday . \\n \" cigarettes are a shield against emotional interaction with other people , \" kevin later tells lucy in a snippet of dialog that sounds profound only outside the context of the movie . \\nanother character , played by jay mohr , has a problem with his sexual triumphs . \\nevery woman he beds falls deeply in love with him by the next morning . \\nwhen his latest conquest tells him of her affection for him , his response is \" i like a lot of people . \" \\nas the movie finally draws to a close , the characters awaken from their post-party game of musical beds . \\nsome have passed out early from alcohol abuse and remember little , while others actually have some clue as to what happened . \\nthe movie itself is so forgettable that by the time you reach your car in the parking lot , all trace of the film will have vanished from your mind , which is probably the best thing that can be said about the movie . \\n200 cigarettes runs 1 : 40 . \\nit is rated r for profanity , sex and one dope smoking scene and would be acceptable for older teenagers . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ingredients : london gal , fate , true love , running joke about monty python\\'s spanish inquisition \\nsynopsis : american actress gwyneth paltrow with dark hair , playing a londoner ? \\nbelieve it . \\nsliding doors is a love \\'what if\\' story . \\nthe gimmick is that it\\'s really two stories : the film follows the life of helen ( gwyneth paltrow ) down two directions . \\nin the beginning , likeable gal \\'helen\\' ( gwyneth paltrow ) gets unexpectedly fired from her advertising job . \\nso she goes into the subway train station meaning to return home early to her apartment and her sleeping live-in lover gerry ( john lynch ) . \\nhelen doesn\\'t know it , but she is at a fateful junction in life : 1 ) if she enters through the sliding door of a london subway train her life takes one path with one future 2 ) if she stays on the platform her life takes another path with a different future . \\nthe film shows what happens in both paths , switching back and forth between intertwined , parallel stories . \\nin story one , helen meets a charming and talkative monty python fan named james ( john hannah ) on the train . \\narriving home early , she discovers that her live-in , gerry ( john lynch ) , is having sex with his former lover lydia ( jeanne tripplehorn ) . \\nthis leads to a life where helen moves out . \\nhelen\\'s winsome new friend james helps her recover from a broken heart , and encourages her to start her own business . \\nin story two , helen experiences a different fate . \\nshe misses the train , never meets james , and doesn\\'t get home early enough to discover gerry\\'s infidelity . \\nin this new life , helen takes up odd menial jobs , and faces the constant sneaking suspicion that all is not right with her relationship with gerry . \\nwill the truth of the heart finally work its way through a number of problems and setbacks in both scenarios ? \\nopinion : rejoice all ye monty python fans , gwyneth paltrow fans , and watchers of quirky romance flicks . \\nat last here\\'s proof that there\\'s still creativity in 1990s filmmaking . \\nsliding doors is refreshingly different from anything this year . \\nnot only is it a well-acted , heartwarming film , but it\\'s also easily gwyneth paltrow\\'s best recent performance . \\nwhen helen ( paltrow ) screams that her unfaithful boyfriend is a \\'shagging wanker , \\' ( a british phrase better left untranslated ) she sounds like she knows what she\\'s talking about ! \\nnor does sliding doors go overboard with formulaic true love or other stereotypes . \\nnobody scrambles around in danger , screaming , \" i will find you no matter what , my darling ! \" \\nwhen helen finds herself on a boat in the starlight with james , she doesn\\'t take the easy way out and leap into his arms , since she\\'s supposed to be recovering from heartache . \\nand handsome live-in boyfriend gerry isn\\'t the stereotypical screen hunk ( either a stud or a snob ) . \\ninstead he\\'s a nervous and indecisive , almost helpless hunk . \\nanother example : when one of the protagonists lies wounded in a hospital , sliding doors gives us neither the \\'hospital miracle\\' nor a maudlin tragedy but surprises us with a third variation . \\nin other words , all of the characters seem non-stereotyped , human , and local . \\nthere are minor inconveniences . \\nsince sliding doors switches back and forth between two possible fates , it\\'s occasionally difficult to distinguish between the two . \\ndistinguishing between the two stories isn\\'t a problem in the scenes containing paltrow , who sports two different hairstyles . \\nbut in scenes containing only lydia and gerry , who look the same in both stories , it\\'s slightly confusing . \\nalso , quite a few snappy comebacks referring to american pop culture ( seinfeld , woody allen , etc . ) are spoken by the british characters . \\nbut these seem slightly forced , given that the remaining dialogue is predominantly british slang . \\npossibly an attempt by the screenwriter to balance the british so that american audiences can feel more comfortable ? \\nsliding doors is a charming , quirky , original , happy romance with a little \\'philosophy of fate\\' thrown in . \\nmonty python and the meaning of fate , anybody ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'alexandre dumas meets hong kong action with newcomer justin chambers reprising the oft-played character of dashing swordsman d\\'artagnon in director peter hyam\\'s adventure \" the musketeer . \" \\nfor some reason that i may figure out later , i don\\'t know why the time , money and effort were put into the making of \" the musketeer . \" \\nit may be that someone had the clever idea of combining the dumas characters and story with the current enamor with the action work of hong kong imports like this film\\'s xin-xin xiong ( \" once upon a time in china \" ) and yuen woo-ping from \" crouching tiger , hidden dragon . \" \\nthe result is a mix of genres that don\\'t mesh well . \\nelements of the ritz brothers-style comedy ( for those few who remember that comedic troupe from the 1939 \" the three musketeers \" ) , the man with no name from \" a fistful of dollars \" ( d\\'artagnan demands that the bad guys apologize to his horse in a direct ref to the clint eastwood spaghetti western ) and hong kong action choreography are all utilized in the original script by gene quintano . \\nthe result is an action flick that bears little resemblance to its source material while it makes contemporary that material in an effort to grab the \" matrix \" crowd . \\nalexandre dumas may well be rolling in his grave if he knows what was done to his classic oeuvre and characters . \\nthe real problem with the \" the musketeer \" lies in the casting of the two lead , romantically intertwined characters , d\\'artagnan and francesca ( mena suvari ) . \\nchambers has the boyishly handsome good looks for the character , a la chris o\\'donnell , but lacks any onscreen charisma . \\nsuvari has the doe-eyed , pretty looks as the chambermaid who has the ear of the queen , but she , too , does not have the chemistry to command the screen . \\nif \" the musketeer \" makes them any money , they should invest in acting lessons . \\nstronger performers may have helped to raise the bar on this one . \\nthe supporting cast is , on the surface , impressive . \\ncatherine denueve plays the queen of france and lends her character an air of royalty , dignity and humor , especially when she plays off of d\\'artagnan\\'s mentor , planchet ( jean-pierre castaldi , who reminds of andre the giant in \" the princess bride ) . \\nstephen rea looks good in the part of the conniving usurper cardinal richelieu , but is given very little to help flesh out his character . \\ntim roth is the kind of bad guy you love to hate as the cardinal\\'s chief henchman , febre . \\nhe is so bad he makes simon legree look like a boy scout . \\nthe rest of the players , particularly the three musketeers aramis ( nick moran , \" lock , stock and two smoking barrels \" ) , porthos ( steve spiers ) and athos ( jan gregor kremp ) , are background fodder whose role is to come to d\\'artagnan\\'s aid when needed . \\npeter hyam\\'s does double duty as director and cinematography and may be too stretched to do both well . \\na stronger hand at the helm could have helped the mediocre performances of the leads and better utilized his veteran thesps . \\nphotography is straightforward action fare that goes through all the appropriate action flick motions - d\\'artagnan takes on a tavern full of thugs and bests them single-handed ; he fights a gang of febre\\'s henchmen aboard a speeding coach to protect the queen ( with the obligatory branches hanging over the road ) ; he goes one on one with his lifelong enemy , febre , who murdered d\\'artagnan\\'s folks years before . \\nit is all routine stuff . \\nthe renowned wire work developed by the hong kong action masters is used to artificial effect as the players leap , defying gravity , up walls and from horse to horse . \\nit works in a sci-fi film like \" the matrix \" or in a classical fantasy like \" crouching tiger , hidden dragon \" but just calls attention to itself in \" the musketeer . \" \\nat one point i could swear i saw the stunt wire being used . \\nit did not make me a believer and i am very disappointed . \\nwith a run time of 106 minutes it should have been more like 80 and i give it a d . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'hedwig and the angry inch ( 2001 ) john cameron mitchell , miriam shor , stephen trask , michael pitt , theodore liscinski , michael aronov , andrea martin , maurice dean wint , ben mayer-goodman . \\nanimation by emily hubley . \\nadapted from the stage play by john cameron mitchell and stephen trask . \\nmusic and lyrics by stephn trask . \\nwritten and directed by john cameron mitchell . \\n91 minutes . \\nrated r , stars ) \\nhad \" hedwig and the angry inch \" came out in the \\'70s , right after david bowie\\'s \" ziggy stardust , \" it likely would now be regarded as one of the most popular rock musicals of all time . \\nreleased in the 500 channel , sensory overload world of 2001 , however , the big screen adaptation of the acclaimed off-broadway musical must do battle with countless other productions clamoring for attention . \\ni almost missed it . \\nevery august , the major studios try to squeeze the last few dollars out of summer moviegoers by dumping all of their shakier offerings on the marketplace at once . \\ni was so busy trying to keep up with national releases like \" summer catch \" and \" bubble boy \" that i passed over any independent film that looked like it would only have a short local run . \\nbut an e-mail from a reader asking why i hadn\\'t reviewed the movie prompted me to make a late evening trip to the theater . \\nthank goodness for readers like him . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" is a gender-bending glam-rock spectacular packed with great songs . \\nstylistically , the hook-laden tunes are reminiscent of bowie , \" bat out of hell \" era meatloaf and \" the rocky horror show , \" without ever seeming like imitations . \\nas with \" tommy , \" \" hedwig \" tells a story of isolation , pain and defiance , but without the bloated feel of that beloved , but overrated rock opera . \\nwriter-director-star john cameron mitchell and composer-lyricist stephen trask have cooked up a real winner . \\nmitchell stars as hedwig , a singer from east berlin touring a chain of u . s . coffee shops with her pan-slavic band , the angry inch . \\nwhile the patrons of the run-down restaurants look on in shock , and sometimes horror , hedwig boldly tells the sad story of her life in song . \\nshe was once a boy named hansel ( ben mayer-goodman ) , living with his mother ( alberta watson ) and listening to rock and roll on american armed forces radio . \\nlife is an exercise in duality for hansel . \\na wall splits his hometown into two parts . \\nmother describes love as the emotion that comes when you find your other half . \\nas hansel grows up , the duality becomes more pronounced . \\nafter initially mistaking him for a girl , a gi from the states ( maurice dean wint ) falls in love with hansel and wants to marry him . \\nalas , hansel will never pass the mandatory physical . \\nmother helpfully suggests a sex change , but the operation goes bad , hence the references to \" the angry inch \" ( yes , i know this part is squirm-inducing , but stick with me - it\\'s worth it ) . \\nseveral years later , mr . right is long gone and hansel becomes hedwig , decked out in a farrah fawcett-style wig and fronting a band made up of korean women . \\nhedwig finds a new love in tommy ( michael pitt ) , a beatific lad with a unique take on christianity . \\nbut tommy does hedwig wrong , stealing her songs and becoming a superstar . \\ncut to the present . \\ntommy gnosis\\' stadium tour is thriving and hedwig is suing him . \\ndespite warnings from her manager ( andrea martin ) that she could easily be labeled a stalker , hegwig and her new band , the angry inch , continue their coffee shop tour , shadowing the thief by playing whatever city he is in . \\nif this sounds like a bizarre premise for a rock musical , take a few seconds and consider the plotlines of \" tommy \" and \" rocky horror . \" \\nas hedwig , john cameron mitchell does a magnificent job taking a character that could have simply been a caricature or an icon and turning her into a compelling human being . \\nmitchell has world-class style and vocal chords to match . \\neven though the backstory is unusually strong , mitchell never forgets that the production is first and foremost a rock musical . \\neverything is propelled by one terrific song after another and , trust me , these are full-fledged rock songs , not the over-processed fluff that passes for rock in most musicals . \\nwhile mitchell remains in the center of the stage throughout the film , there is much of interest on the sidelines . \\nmiriam shor does fine work as yitzhak , hedwig\\'s lover and bandmate , conveying a great deal through expressions alone . \\ndecked out in a bandanna and a surprisingly convincing beard , she makes a mighty attractive man . \\nas always , \" sctv \" veteran andrea martin is a welcome presence onscreen and michael pitt is beguiling as tommy , the angelic-appearing little rat . \\nartist emily hubley adds to the magic with a string of dandy animated sequences that charm the eye while underlining the central themes of the musical . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" surrounds a weird , funny and touching story with a knockout series of songs performed by an exceptional cast . \\ntrue originals do not come along very often ? don\\'t let this slip out of town without seeing it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the obvious reason for producing a sequel to an immensely popular movie is to acquire continued profits . \\nthe rationale is sound , but in many cases of this and recent years , the sequel is a shoddy product that\\'s exposed for the cash-milking vehicle it really is . \\nlast year\\'s speed 2 and scream 2 , as well as this year\\'s species ii have all been products that have been decisively less than satisfactory . \\nin some cases , a sequel can even discredit its predecessor , as with the latest neo-slasher flick , i still know what you did last summer . \\nwhatever uniqueness the original might\\'ve had now seems trite and overplayed when paired with this abominable thriller . \\njulie james ( jennifer love hewitt ) and ray bronson ( freddie prinze jr . ) are back from the original to star in i still know , reprising their roles in typical fashion . \\njulie and ray experience a rather predictable falling-out at the beginning of the movie , leaving the door wide open for newcomer will benson ( matthew settle ) . \\nwill and julie hit it off , and along with friends karla ( brandy norwood ) and tyrell ( mekhi phifer ) , the foursome heads off to a radio station-giveaway vacation in the tropics . \\nunfortunately , things aren\\'t so peachy once they arrive , and with a regularity you could set your watch by , the infamous fisherman ( muse watson ) is back with his hook . \\nit\\'s another bloody showdown , complete with cliffhanger ending . \\nthere\\'s not much that\\'s original about i still know , and with the market saturated by gen-x thrillers like this one , it\\'s unlikely that i still know will get any recognition other than that of a bad sequel . \\nfor die-hard fans of the genre , this will be required viewing material , but the bottom line is that the material here is just recycled from the original i know what you did last summer . \\nthe aura of thrillerism surrounding the plot isn\\'t heightened by skillful scripting or camera work , but rather a tense , string-based score and manipulative editing . \\nthe man with the hook ends up becoming very belittled this time around when the script gives him too many lines of dialogue -- he goes from being a scary figure to a nutcase in a few short and painful moments . \\nmuch of the mystery is dropped for the sake of getting the point . \\nthe whole reason the plot exists - julie and karla must guess the capital of brazil in order to win the trip from the radio station - is a dead giveaway , lessening suspense and creating a hurry-up-and-wait timing problem . \\nand , whereas the killer\\'s identity might\\'ve been a question in the first movie , it\\'s almost a given here , which changes the dynamic of the movie drastically . \\nthree or four teens run automatically from a man in a rain slicker they nonchalantly refer to as \" the killer . \" \\nthey\\'re almost used to it , and the performances show it - not hewitt , nor prinze , nor brandy , nor phifer give a decent show . \\nand so , in the end , it\\'s left wide open for a third movie and - most likely - a brand new supporting cast . \\ngod help us . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'for a good ten years or so , super cool chow yun fat has enjoyed god hood status in the hong kong action scene . \\nnow , he has followed in the footsteps of director john woo , ( who launched chow\\'s super stardom in the acclaimed \\'a better tomorrow\\' ) by moving to hollywood . \\ni had some reservations about this move and it would seem i was right to have them . \\nchow plays a hitman who is doing jobs in order to repay a debt . \\nhis final job requires him to kill a policeman\\'s seven year old boy . \\nthis he refuses do and runs . \\nhowever , he is forced into a violent confrontation when his family are threatned and replacement killers are brought in to do the job . \\ncue around 80 minutes of various and quite frankly tedious shoot- outs which take place in various locations . \\nsome thought had gone into making them a bit different but unfortunately they end up being just plain boring . \\nthe car wash scene , i found myself laughing at how stupid it looked . \\ntut tut . \\nthe emphasis during the constant action seemed to be on the accompanying music , ( i could have sworn one piece was ripped out of a bruckheimer movie ) and not on the content . \\nmia sorvino ( a passport forger ) is dragged into the affay and also provides a lame love interest as well as being rather handy with a gun . \\ndirector antoine arqua has clearly not observed chow\\'s excellent acting capabilties and simply requires him to mutter a few lines of broken english and look flash as he stands and shoots . \\nchow\\'s trademark of twin pistol shooting is saved for the finale ( which in fairness is quite good ) and there\\'s not even a toothpick in site . \\nand as for making chow shoot like a cop , well that\\'s damned unforgiveable . \\nto round up , the replacement killers is a pretty darned lame first outing for chow . \\nit would appear he has left asia for a 90 minute pop video . \\nthis is not what we wanted at all , considering john woo was the exec producer . \\n ( did he have no say so at all ? ) \\nwatch \\'the killer\\' again and weep at the difference . \\nreview by chris hill . \\n \" there\\'s room at the top , they are telling you still , but first you must learn how to smile as you kill , if you want to be like the folks on the hill . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" rebel without a cause \" is such an important film in american history because it is a true analysis of youth in america that everyone of all ages can relate to . \\neveryone feels that they are different in some way , that they don\\'t belong in some places and \" rebel without a cause \" successfully shows on screen these universal emotions . \\nno matter what generation you belong to , these feelings are present . \\nthis is why james dean is admired by america , because in this film he represents us all and his actions are actions that we would also execute . \\nin our minds , we just try to do the right thing just like dean\\'s jim stark does . \\nnot only does \" rebel without a cause \" display these universal emotions for all to relate to but it also shows that america has suffered a uniqe pattern in its social structure . \\neach generation looks at its past generation without a strong connection . \\nthis is because times change and in response people change . \\nno matter how popular you were once , as your generation grows older , newer breeds look at you in a different light . \\nthis is why stark and his friends never could form a strong relationship with their parents . \\neven if their parents insisted that they were also rebellious and troublesome in the past , the teens could not believe this . \\nin one humorous scene , stark , his girlfriend judy ( natalie wood ) , and his pal plato ( sal mineo ) pretend they are adults . \\nthey use upper class british accents and in their conversations they make it out to appear that kids are no good and should be ignored . \\nthis scene shows that what was once cool in a past generation is the complete opposite in another . \\nspeaking on behalf of my generation , i feel that dean has lost a lot of his coolness from our perspective as the years have grown by . \\nthe only ones who seem to still lionize him are those members of his generation . same \\ngoes for brando , redford , even deniro . \\ni can only imagine how vaguely matt damon , ben affleck , and brad pitt will be viewed at the mid point of the twenty first century . \\nwill dean even be remembered when these newcomers are forgotten ? \\nany film that sparks this kind of thought is certainly a milestone in american film . \\neven if \" rebel without a cause \" has some ridiculous scenes ( the game of chicken - did people really act this way ? ) , an unbelievable conclusion ( how did everyone end up at the abandoned mansion at the end ? ) , and a silly romance ( wood declares her love for dean after talking to him for a couple hours ) it still is a fabulous film . \\nthe acting is so believable that it is no wonder that dean was considered the epitome of cool . \\nnow , however , the coolness is fading . . . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i know what i would do with $4 . 4 million if i found it in a previously undiscovered airplane crash site , especially if i were with jacob and lou . \\n ( huh ? ) \\nwell , in any event , that is the situation hank ( paxton ) finds himself in . \\nhe and his dim-witted brother jacob ( thorton ) and tubby friend lou ( brent briscoe ) come upon a large bag of cash inside a plane wreck . \\nagainst his better judgement , hank decides to go along with the idea of keeping it rather than going to the authorities . \\nthe rest of the film is a question of who is going to die to keep this a secret , and is it worth it ? \\na simple wish lies along the lines of very bad things , clay pigeons and even fargo , and is kind of wrapped all into one little dark bundle . \\noh , and its much better than any of those . \\nsam raimi took a departure from his normal freak-show horror-monkey films and made this stylish and intriguing picture . \\nhe really lets the audience sit back and watch the events unfold rather than force them down our throats as many directors prefer to do . \\ni think raimi knew he had a winner on his hands and decided to direct the picture on a natural flowing course . \\none of the film's components can be linked to a recurring theme in terrence malick's the thin red line . \\nin malick's three hour bore-a-thon , he makes an interesting attempt to link mother earth to his war story . \\nit seemed nothing more than an occasional pretty cut to a field of flowing grass , a small bird , or a flowing body of water . \\nsure , there were obvious metaphorical connections , but there was no subtlty to his efforts . \\nraimi does a fine job of tying in a fox in a chicken coop and birds of prey to signify the future of the characters . \\ni think most viewers may miss the comparison , but it is a very intriguing ingredient in the film . \\nand then there's billy bob thorton , who is proof that the independent film industry is vital to the life blood of hollywood . \\nif it can continute to produce people like thorton , hollywood will be ok . \\nhe gives a fantastic and devastatingly deep performance here . \\nit is not as engrossing as his carl childers character in slingblade , but is is just as complex , if not more so . \\njacob is slow and simple , and yet we so often see him deep in thought . \\ni wondered if he was thinking about things that he would never say ( or didn't know how to say ) or if he was just taking a long time to think about the thing he just said . \\nhere he really proves his worth as one of the best character actors in the industry . \\nthough the plot is somewhat unoriginal , it has a very appealing new twist in its characters . \\npaxton gives one of the better performances of his career as the straight and serious leader of the group ( a far cry from chet in wierd science ) . \\nperhaps bridget fonda is miscast as his advice-giving wife , but she certainly doesn't do anything ruin the picture . \\na simple plan can be included in the group of recent small hollywood films that is just dark and pretty un-redeeming . \\nbut at least this one has an important message , unlike so many of its counterparts . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' * this review contains spoilers * as with most of her films , director amy heckerling\\'s latest , loser , seesaws between unpleasant and artificial , and is sometimes both at once . \\nwhen she tackles big issues , such as abortion in fast times at ridgemont high , it\\'s impossible to tell whether she\\'s being matter-of-fact or glib about them ( they carry an almost documentary starkness ) , but whatever the case , she continually refuses to comment politically . \\nsuch is the sitcom tendency of her work : to jeopardize the innocence of her characters and then hit the reset button . \\nthis fear of drama soured me on fast times . . . , look who\\'s talking , clueless , and now loser , in which ms . heckerling also demonstrates , for the first time , zero affinity for the milieu . \\nhas anyone , for instance , ever met a girl in the stylistic vein of mena suvari\\'s dora ? \\nattired in black thrift , her eye shadow smeared to racoon chic and her bangy red hair barely contained by girlish clips , she accepts the label of goth , but no self-respecting goth girl ever admitted to digging , as dora does , those geriatric rockers everclear , nor willingly went anywhere with a six-pack-wielding fratboy stranger . \\nthe mechanics of loser\\'s tired old introvert-boy-falls-for-extrovert-girl plot drive its protagonists into cultural non-specificity , so that they become even less than stereotypes . \\nthey become walking wardrobes . \\nsmall-town transplant paul ( a strangely static jason biggs ) , our eponymous hero , always wears his woolly hunter\\'s cap with flaps covering the ears , and beneath it rests a parted moptop that couldn\\'t scream \" shemp \" ( the lame stooge ) wig louder . \\nhe has three smug-looking roommates ( the one-dimensional trio is not supposed to be brothers , but they share similar facial features , including and especially mouths ) , and their fashion sense is incomprehensibly glam . \\nthough they\\'re not overtly transvestites , heckerling seems to be equating flamboyance with villainy ; how very cruising of her . \\n ( the dormies conspire to evict paul and regularly molest women they have drugged . \\ndora ignorantly downs one of their date rape potions . \\nunfortunately , either heckerling or the studio is too cowardly to admit if she was subsequently violated . ) \\nwhen paul rescues dora from said narcotic scare , he learns that she is dating their unctuous european lit professor edward alcott ( superb greg kinnear ) . \\nalthough paul\\'s already in love with dora by this point , as is bound to happen to losers when pretty girls address them by name , he gets altruistic and pretends the flowers he bought her are actually from alcott . \\nshe\\'s thrilled , but nevertheless spends a few days at paul\\'s to recuperate ; the two bond over emergency kitten surgery and a broadway play ( \" cabaret \" ) , and just when paul\\'s got in his head that she\\'s starting to love him back in that non-friendly way , she decides to become alcott\\'s live-in girlfriend . \\ncue precious hommage to the graduate , shots of paul drifting around berkeley--er . . . \\n ( aside : simon & garfunkel\\'s \" parsley , sage , rosemary & thyme \" should never have been allowed in another motion picture . ) \\nheckerling has a lot in common with nora \" you\\'ve got mail \" ephron , the only other prominent chick directing comedies today , in that neither has any use for strong-willed women . \\nmen continue to trod on dora until the bitter end ( in the final scene , she gives paul a big smooch after he blurts out his feelings in what amounts to a creepy ultimatum ) , and dora ultimately shrugs off being drugged against her will--mere hours after paul hints to her that she was poisoned , she\\'s cheerily redecorating his apartment . \\n ( heckerling is so laissez-faire about the issue in general that she reserves the comeuppance of the would-be rapists for jokey epilogue titles . ) \\ngoth veneer aside , there are an awful lot of girls out there who behave as erratically as dora , and enough angry young dude filmmakers to make movies about them . \\nheckerling misses her shot at having dora transform herself into a role model , and while such arcs may not be heckerling\\'s social responsibility , it is a privilege i would have taken advantage of if i were in her shoes . \\n ( consider , too , that dora is the film\\'s sole female principal . ) \\nnot that loser is worth contemplating this seriously--god knows heckerling didn\\'t . \\nthat is her hallmark . \\n ( --- for more first-run , dvd , and books-about-movies reviews , plus contests and the proverbial \" more ! \" , \\nvisit \\'film freak central , \\' @ http : //filmfreakcentral . net \\n--- ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i recall the trials and tribulations of my high school years . \\nit was a period that would mercilessly force me to exit boyhood and thrust me into the unwelcome arms of adulthood . \\nbut of all the experiences that i collected throughout those tender years , i can honestly say that the toughest and the scariest thing that i had to cope with was my raging hormones and my crazed curiosity about girls and sex . \\nyes , more scarier than my seventh grade english teacher and even scarier than the bullies that constantly hounded me , trying to deal with my personal wonderment about sex was like trying to fight an invisible monster . \\nfor all teenagers , it's almost like a rite of passage . \\nand what we did was sometimes downright nasty , sometimes funny , and sometimes shocking . \\nand all of that is terrifically and shamelessly brought to light in what might be the funniest movie this summer . \\n`american pie' is a comedy about four sexually frustrated seniors that enter into a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the school year . \\njust how great are their hormones raging ? \\none of them notes , after watching disney's the little mermaid , that ariel is soooo hot . \\nthe four schoolmates are kevin , oz , finch and jim . \\nkevin is the only one with a steady girlfriend , but doesn't want to have sex until the time is just right . \\nbut what is the perfect time ? \\nthere is just no way to know , and that frightens him . \\noz is the big jock who decides that the way to score with the girls is to listen to them and to be more sensitive . \\nhe joins up with a jazz choir and discovers that getting in touch with his feminine side has some tremendous advantages . \\nfinch is the phobic hermit who doesn't stand a chance with any girl . \\nso , he pays someone $200 to start spreading rumors about his prowess . \\nsuddenly , girls are lining up to go out with him . \\nbut among these friends , it is jim that is the most curious and the most fearful . \\nwhen he has a chance to romp with a pretty exchange student , his inexperience comes shining through . \\nhe has much to learn , and will do anything to seek out this kind of knowledge . \\nthis may include watching scrambled porn channels or experimenting with mom's apple pie in a scene that is completely shocking , raunchy , yet unbelievably funny . \\nthe one thing that i want to say about this film is that it well deserves its `r' rating . \\nthere is stuff in here that is completely gross in the same manner that `there's something about mary' was gloriously ribald . \\nin fact , at first this film received a sinful nc-17 rating before a couple of more cuts finally brought it down to a teen-accessible rating . \\nbut i guess after seeing the no-holds-barred coarseness of south park , this seems tame by comparison . \\nteens and anyone who can still remember their acne years are the ones that will laugh hardest . \\nbut unlike many teen sex comedies , there is a genuine intelligence at work here . \\nthese are four normal boys who have a natural curiosity about sex . \\ntheir plans of action are thoughtful and they think about the consequences . \\nthey know what they want , yet temper it with responsibility . \\nbut almost always , it's impossible to know how to fight the invisible monster , and it's these episodes that make `american pie' such a carnal delight to watch . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'gregg araki\\'s the doom generation was possibly the very worst film ever made . \\nso why did i see his latest teen bisexual angst opus ? \\nfirst of all , some of the reviews were fairly positive . \\nalso , the cast , consisting of cameos from dozens of washed up ex tv stars ( including christopher knight , eve plumb , shannen doherty , and david leisure ) was promising . \\nlast of all , i wanted to give arraki one more chance . \\ni mean , the guy can\\'t be that untalented , can he ? \\nthe answer to that question is three letters long . \\nnowhere follows the character dark on his wild and odd journey through los angeles . \\nsince arraki doesn\\'t know how to make anything coherent , it\\'s hard to describe the plot . \\nlet\\'s just say that dark spends the bulk of the movie whining that his girlfriend won\\'t make a commitment to him and jealous because she sleeps around with other guys and girls . \\nthe only remotely compelling storyline involves sarah lassez as a teen who has a chance encounter with a famous tv star . \\nhe turns out to be a nice guy who doesn\\'t care for fame and wishes he could walk down the street without being mobbed by fans . \\nthis story has a shocking twist and a tragic end that i did not see coming . \\nit is the first time i ever felt any compassion for a character created by arraki , and this can be attributed to the appealing performance of lassez . \\ni thought maybe arraki was improving in his craft . \\nhe works better with the camera this time around , especially in the early scenes . \\nhalfway through the film , i didn\\'t necessarily find myself enjoying the film , but it seemed like a considerable improvement on the doom generation . \\nthen as the movie went on , arraki loses all sensibility and introduces us to exploding heads , twisted sex games , and alien abductions . \\nit\\'s sad , because he almost actually had some decent material here , but he ruined it with his usual in your face \" i\\'m such a renegade maverick filmmaker , look what i can do \" attitude . \\nthe performances are generally better than in the doom generation , which isn\\'t saying much . \\nat least we don\\'t have to suffer jonathan \" i am the most hideous man in america \" schaech . \\nwe are , however treated to another round of james \" i\\'m more wooden than keanu \" duval . \\nsarah lassez gives the best performance in the film , and kathleen robertson ( formerly of 90210 and now arraki\\'s wife ) and rachel true are talented actresses caught up in this mess . \\nof the tv star cameos , john ritter is the most interesting as a deranged right wing tv evangelist . \\nif i prefer nowhere to the doom generation , it is only in the way that i would prefer being assassinated than receive constant physical torture . \\nmaybe greg arraki doesn\\'t want you to like his characters . \\nmaybe he wants to laugh and make fun of those of us who try to care about them . \\nmaybe he just wanted to piss me off . \\nif so , he was successful . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" the red violin \" is a cold , sterile feature that leaves you uninvolved and detached . \\nit\\'s a movie that seems almost clinical , as it traces the 300-plus-years history of the legendary musical instrument of the title . \\nopening in the 17th century , the story shows how violin-maker nicolo bussotti created the instrument as a gift for his unborn son . \\nbut when tragedy strikes , the violin becomes the personification of its maker\\'s grief . \\nfrom there the violin comes into the hands of an orphaned child prodigy at an austrian monastery . \\nagain , tragedy strikes as the child is struck down at the moment of his triumph . \\nwe follow the violin through the centuries as it finds a home in england and in mao\\'s communist china before being discovered by expert charles morritz ( samuel l . jackson ) , who mounts a painstaking investigation to prove its authenticity . \\nthe violin becomes morritz\\'s obsession , just as it is for all those who converge on a montreal auction house to bid on it . \\nmorritz , however , is the only one who knows the secret of the instrument and can understand and appreciate its creator\\'s intention . \\n \" the red violin \" could have been a touching , inspirational story , as soaring as a beethoven symphony . \\nhowever director francois girard fails to make any emotional connection with the viewer . \\nhere is a story that could have made use of various camera angles and lighting to heighten its impact . \\ngirard , for some unknown reason , uses mostly master shots , keeping his camera - and thus us - at a distance . \\nwe get no feel for the miracle that is the violin . \\nit\\'s resonance , its purity of sound are not emphasized enough to make an impression . \\nnor are any of the performances memorable . \\nit\\'s as if girard wanted all his actors to play second fiddle to his violin . \\n \" the red violin \" promises much , but delivers little . \\nit is dull at times , a bit pretentious and a might murky . \\nthe movie\\'s music soars over its story and performers . \\nand that is its only saving grace . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'let\\'s get this one over with as quickly as possible . \\nif there was a possibility to receive a refund , this review would not be forthcoming . \\nbut as it is , \" godzilla \" is without a doubt the loudest , longest , and ultimately most amateurishly written film ever released through a major studio . \\nproducer dean devlin and director roland emmerich should be ashamed of themselves , and as penance be forced to return to film school to watch \" last year at merienbad \" until they can grasp the idea of content and plot . \\nno amount of hype , no amount of money can hide the fact that these filmmakers are the 90s equivalent to william beaudine ( billy the kid vs . \\ndracula ) . \\n \" godzilla \" opens with stock footage of the bikini atoll nuclear tests interspersed with footage of iguanas playfully swimming and nuzzling their eggs . \\nwe are then introduced to the crew of a japanese fish canning ship ( a questionable enterprise considering that tuna processing is supposed to be supervised to eliminate the netting of dolphins ) . \\nwell , the ship is attacked and sunk by an unseen creature . \\nlater , a group of frenchmen led by philippe roache ( jean reno ) interview the sole survivor . \\nin a state of shock , the only thing the man can utter is the word \" gojira \" ( the japanese name of the famed beast ) . \\nwe are then introduced to dr . nick tatopoulos ( matthew broderick , with a moniker obviously taken from the effects designer of the film ) . \\nhe is currently studying the effects that the chernobyl disaster has had on the local earthworm population . \\nhe is immediately drafted by the u . s . military and taken to panama where he is shown the huge footprints of a creature . \\nin a short amount of time , another fishing boat ( loaded with canned tuna from the u . s . and korea for some reason ) is found grounded in jamaica . \\nwell , it seems that whatever is eating these ships is headed for new york . \\nwhen the beast finally appears , he tears up one building , stomps a couple of trucks and makes life hell for the incumbent mayor ebert ( thumbs up for new york ) . \\nthe military , with dr . tatopoulos\\'s help , have two tons of fresh fish dumped in the middle of new york to lure the beast out of its hiding place in the new york subway system . \\nit finally comes crashing through the city streets and has a cute face to face with dr . tatopoulos who snaps the beast\\'s picture . \\nthe monster eats the fish , the military starts shooting , and the chase is on , with the army causing 90% of the ensuing damage . \\nworking from a hunch as to why godzilla has decided to come to the big apple , dr . totopoulos buys a few home pregnancy kits from a local drugstore that has chosen to remain open ( even though new york has been evacuated ) . \\nwell the test proves that the monster is a hermaphrodite and is pregnant . \\nneedless to say , no one believes the good doctor about his discovery , so he must join up with the renegade french secret service agents and find the monster\\'s nesting site and destroy the eggs before the mayor starts letting the populous back into the city ( even though the monster isn\\'t dead yet ) . \\ni sincerely hope that i\\'ve completely spoiled any interest anyone might have of seeing this film . \\ni gave away the relevant plot so that i could spare those of you courageous ( or foolish ) enough to drop down an hour\\'s wage on this tripe . \\neverything about \" godzilla \" reeks almost as bad as the piles of rotting fish used to trap the beast . \\nthe script ( and let\\'s be clear here ) by devlin and emmerich is so full of plot holes and non characters as to be sure to be the recipient of next years \" razzie \" award . \\nthe dialogue between maria pitillo ( as audrey timmonds , dr . tatopoulos\\' estranged girlfriend ) and mr . broderick is so adolescent , it makes teenagers giggle in disbelief ( as happened during the screening i witnessed ) . \\nthe film could be enjoyably campy if it didn\\'t take itself so damn seriously . \\nbut to what end , as there is no commentary on humanities foibles against nature , nor is there any reference about godzilla being some sort of retaliation against mankind . \\nno . godzilla is just a big dummy that got knocked up by some french immigrants and decided to let the state of new york pay for it . \\nthe film is bleak and ugly looking . \\ntaking place at night during a rain storm , the movie has little or no depth . \\neverything is ugly and dark . \\nnew york has never looked so inhospitable since \" death wish \" . \\nin an attempt to give the film some color , audrey timmonds carries a bright red umbrella which is unique in that everyone else in the film carries the standard gray issue . \\nthe only moment of composition and color is during the brief scenes on jamaica , where dr . tatopoulos finds himself standing in a giant footprint . \\nthe scene is nicely photographed but poorly set up . \\nyou know from the outset that nick is standing in a footprint . \\nfor a scientist , this is very poor observation . \\nlet\\'s look at some of the more interesting plot holes in the film ( this activity , is becoming almost as popular as the kevin bacon game ) : \\n1 . ) why does the french nuclear tests only affect one clutch of iguana eggs , and how do those eggs fuse into one beast ? \\n2 . ) why would a cold blooded creature choose a cold climate ( such as new york ) to nest ? \\ni don\\'t think iguana\\'s have a habit of migrating . \\n3 . ) how can godzilla crawl through the new york subway system , slice a submarine in half , yet be unable to extricate himself from some thin ( in comparison ) steel cable on the brooklyn bridge ? \\n4 . ) the brooklyn bridge is the only suspension bridge in existence that does not need it\\'s suspension cables . \\n5 . ) did godzilla carry all two hundred eggs in her belly ? \\nif so , then radioactive mutations surely are wondrous creatures . \\n ( note : each egg is 10 feet tall and almost as wide . \\ngodzilla would have to be over 1 , 000 feet tall to carry them all ) . \\n6 . ) godzilla can crush ships and eat helicopters , but new york cabs are made of stronger steel . \\n7 . ) godzilla can out maneuver helicopters , bullets , torpedoes and missiles , but can\\'t catch you on foot . \\n8 . ) taxis can out maneuver godzilla . \\n9 . ) godzilla can burrow through the subway system but can\\'t tear through the park avenue tunnel . \\n10 . ) why was nothing else mutated by the nuclear test as quickly as godzilla ? \\nmaybe a giant hermit crab in the sequel . \\n11 . ) galapagos iguana\\'s actually live in the french polynesian islands ? \\n12 . ) why was dr . tatopoulos brought in by the military if they were not going to listen to him anyway ? \\n13 . ) how did they evacuate new york island in less than a day , and how did they convince those new yorkers to go to new jersey ? \\n14 . ) new york television stations use vhs tape for both filming and broadcasting . \\nnew yorkers hate beta cam . \\ni could go on and on , but that would only serve to make the film seem more enjoyable than it is . \\ndon\\'t be fooled , this film has less gray matter than any episode of \" america\\'s funniest home videos \" . \\nthe performances in the film are singularly bland . \\nnot one performance belays any awe or fear in the face of this two hundred foot tall terror . \\nthe characters , in the midst of the onslaught , have time to stop and discuss the lack of good coffee , failed relationships , career choices . \\nthe only common occurrence that doesn\\'t take place here is having one of the characters have a bowel movement , but then that would have made them believable . \\ngodzilla for the most part is okay . \\nthe design of the beast is funky , if not very memorable . \\none thing that comes to mind-- the major redirection of godzilla in this film is to remove his most familiar trademark , namely his atomic breath . \\nnow , i for one can\\'t quite fathom how you can call this monster godzilla without that little trait . \\na good comparison would be to make a superman film and eliminate his ability to fly . \\nthere is so much wrong with this film that i can\\'t really recall anything recently that has left me this cold hearted ( except for my divorce ) . \\nany film that can have a two ton lizard slipping on gum balls has got to be envisioned under the influence of prozac . \\nthe addition of the baby raptors ( ah , i meant godzillas ) , are nothing but a direct rip off of \\'jurassic park \" , but with none of that film\\'s suspense or tension . \\nsuffice to say that , \" godzilla \" is without a doubt the most brain dead motion picture of the decade . \\nthis is a film that needed the hype . \\nwith the current level of writing and directing , nothing else about the film succeeds . \\nif you\\'ve seen the trailers , you\\'ve seen the best parts . \\nmy only suggestion for mr . d and mr . e . is that they could always go back to selling shoes . \\n . this film could be the next \" rocky horror \" . \\nonly it\\'s not funny ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"in some regards , making a movie is like trying to stretch a rubber band as far as you can without breaking it . \\ntry too hard , and it snaps ; but too much reservation means someone else will come along and pull it farther . \\nin simon birch , director mark steven johnson shows us just how to master the technique : he takes advantage of caution and poise , but also risks his movie with a few bold steps . \\nin the end , he's not only holding an unbroken band , but he makes the audience appreciate the lengths he went to direct such a fine feature . \\nthere's no doubt about it : the film that johnson has crafted is rich . \\nhe chooses for his setting the quaint town of gravestown , maine - leaves turn bright orange in the fall , the grass is a lush green , pure white snow falls in the winter , and the sky goes on forever . \\nthe characters continue that turn : our two leads are simon birch ( ian michael smith ) and joe wenteworth ( joseph mazzello ) . \\nsimon is the smallest baby ever born within the records of the local hospital , and by age twelve he's only two feet tall . \\njoe is the bastard son of rebecca ( ashley judd ) , and by age twelve he's ready to know who is father is . \\nnaturally , the two outcasts become good friends and share many adventures together , from disrupting sunday school to doing community service to playing little league baseball . \\nin a wonderfully executed performance by ian michael smith , simon birch is convinced that he's god's instrument , and there must be a reason he's so small . \\njoe doesn't quite buy it , but he sticks by simon ; the two tough it out through the worst of times and are each other's only true friends . \\nearly on , the two meet up with ben goodrich ( oliver platt ) , rebecca's new boyfriend , and although the bond isn't immediate , ben and the two boys develop a liking for each other . \\nboth platt and judd give solid performances that lend their characters a deep likeability . \\nthe audience cares about them as much as they do about joe and simon , a testament to the acting jobs of both . \\nfinally , jim carrey gives a cameo as the adult joe in the present day , and his few minutes here are relatively more impressive than his entire performance in the truman show . \\nmark steven johnson's sense of drama and writing is fantastic . \\nthe script is loosely based on john irving's novel , a prayer for owen meany , but it's so far off the source material that irving actually requested the credits be changed from 'based on' to 'suggested by . ' \\nalong those same lines , it's almost unfitting to compare the two ; johnson uses tension , humor , atmosphere , and suspense to create an original drama of forrest gumpian proportions . \\nby no means has he developed a project of similar popularity - gump made over 300 million dollars while birch ought to pass out of sight in a few weeks - but the winning idea remains the same . \\nsimon birch is a different look at a different life , and one that will most likely be studied in film school classes in decades to come . \\nin the present , however , it's an enjoyable little picture that everyone ought to take a look at . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the small-scale film , in limited release , \" waking ned devine \" is a pleasant excursion to a time and place which allows the audience to absorb the full texture of a small town . \\nfilled with breathtaking scenery , \\'characters\\' , and delightful music , the movie would be interesting even without a plot . \\nthe story contains several surprises which are best left unmentioned in a review . \\nthe film starts out with a sharp opening , which gives us a taste of what is to follow : country folk with an inclination for a bit of larceny . \\nwhat gets things going is the fact that a winner of the lottery is apparently one of the residents in the small town ( pop 52 ) of tullymore . \\nwho that person is , and how to share in the good fortune is the mission of two longtime friends jackie ( ian bannen ) and michael ( david kelly ) . \\npart detectives , part scalawags , they have to stay alert to the changing circumstances they face as the story unfolds . \\nthe village consists of several amusing characters . \\na clueless pig farmer , temporary priest , and a witch . \\nthere\\'s also the lotto man who must be satisfied that everything is on the up-and-up . \\nthere are no hollywood touches to this film - except for the outer space introduction [ ! ] . \\npacing is right . \\ntowards the end , it runs a bit out of steam , but that\\'s okay because for most of the 90 minutes we\\'ve been interested in the goings on . \\na mixture of laughs and ( occasional ) sentiment - all the right emotions are engaged . \\nin one brief dream sequence - you\\'ll know it when you see it - a fantastic combination of color and music transports the characters to a place you really hope exists . \\none of the key moments in the film . \\nthe music , available on cd ( london 289 460 939-2 ) follows the same arc as the movie and is well worth considering . \\na fine film that\\'s for everybody except action fans . \\nsomewhat like \\'the englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain , \\' . . . \\nbut livelier . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'titanic is , without a doubt , the best movie i\\'ve seen all year . \\nand believe me , i\\'m not an easy critic to impress : the english patient was too long , men in black was over-hyped , and several of the \" big summer releases \" were dead in the water . \\nthank god this film got delayed until december . \\nit\\'s my christmas present . \\ntitanic is in the tradition of the old hollywood epics of years-gone-by , and it is truly a stunning film . \\nwhile watching this picture you are completely mesmerized , never taking your eyes off the screen , nor checking your watch to see how much longer it\\'s gonna last , despite its 3 hour plus running time . \\nas a friend of mine , who\\'s a true titanic-buff , said \" if someone doesn\\'t like this film , it\\'s because they didn\\'t want to . \" \\ntruer words are hard to come by . \\nof course , it doesn\\'t hurt that this film comes from one of my favorite directors , james cameron , who is unarguably the greatest action director of all time . \\nif you wish to argue that point with me , look at his list of credits : the terminator , aliens , the abyss , terminator 2 , true lies , etc . still care to disagree ? \\nnot only has cameron helmed the directorial duties of this film , he also wrote , produced , and edited it . \\nand to show his true faith for the project , he renenged all directing fees and percentage points to ease the budget costs . \\nit\\'s obvious he truly loves titanic . \\nthe film opens with footage , both real and fake , of an underwater excursion by special submarines to the bottom of the atlantic , where a team of explorers lead by bill paxton are searcing for a diamond called the \" heart of the ocean \" , which , according to bill paxton\\'s character , would be worth more than the hope diamond today . \\ntheir search turns up , dissapointly , no diamond , but instead a drawing of a young woman wearing the diamond . \\nthis picture is broadcast on cnn and is seen by a 101 year old woman named rose , who claims to be the girl in the picture . \\nshe is flown out to sea to meet bill paxton and to tell them about the diamond . \\nalmost all of the rest of the movie is her narration of the past . \\nrose\\'s narration shows us how she was an unhappy young girl , engaged to a rich man named cal hockley ( billy zane ) that she didn\\'t want to marry . \\nher mother is pushy and obnoxious , and cal hockley is arrogant . \\nthey are boarding the titanic , which is sailing to america , and this is where she is to marry cal . \\nmeanwhile , a young man named jack dawson ( leonardo dicaprio ) and his italian friend ( danny nucci ) win two 3rd class tickets aboard the titanic in a poker game . \\nthey are overjoyed , and rush aboard just as the boat is leaving . \\nfor them , this is their ticket to america , to a better life . \\nfor rose , she is sailing to her doom . \\nthe first hour and a half or so of titanic tells the story of how rose dewitt ( kate winslet ) and jack dawson fall in love . \\nit\\'s the classic wrong-side-of-the-tracks story , and does sometimes resort to a few cliches . \\nbut as i said above , the love portion isn\\'t sappy and doesn\\'t \" weigh the film down \" , as some critics have said . \\nit\\'s sweet , and it didn\\'t make me restless at all , despite the fact that i usually hate love stories . \\nof course , it might help that cameron introduces some pretty interesting characters to help keep our eyes glued to the screen . \\nmost of these people actually were passengers on the titanic back in 1912 , including the enigmatic molly brown ( played by the talented kathy bates ) , the captain of titanic ( bernard hill ) , and so on . \\nall of these characters add an extra depth to the film , and make it that easier to watch . \\nof course , things really start to get going after the hour and a half mark , where the titanic strikes the iceberg and begins a slow sink to the bottom . \\nthe sinking is depicted realisticly , and the effects are truly amazing . \\nit is not told in a heroic fashion sense either , as people are portrayed as panicking , pushing others aside to get on the limited lifeboats , and drowning and dying horrible deaths . \\nthe best part of the movie , in my opinion , comes at the very end , when we flash back to the future . \\nthe crew , who at first had been skeptical of rose\\'s story , now are totally aborbed by her . \\nrose goes out onto the ship\\'s ledge , and we then learn a secret about her that catches us off guard . \\nwe then see a dream of rose\\'s , in which she returns to the titanic and is dancing with jack dawson . \\nmost people i talked with after the movie saw this as only a dream . \\nhowever , i think it symbolized more ; i think it meant that rose had died , and is going to a sort of heaven , which would be the happiest part of her life : her and her one true love , jack . \\nif anyone has seen the movie and would like to voice an opinion about this , e-mail me at venom8@hotmail . com . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" saving silverman \" is a good example of a good comedy gone bad . \\nas a love story it is good , however as a comedy it falls flat on it\\'s face . \\ni think throughout the short 90 minutes i laughed a total of seven times . . . and \\nthose were just chuckles at the most ! \\nthe movie doesn\\'t have the oomph to make it a great movie , and doesn\\'t have the script to make it a funny movie . \\nwayne lefessier ( steven zahn ) , j . d . mcnugent ( jack black ) , and darren silverman ( jason biggs ) have grown up all their lives together , they have been best friends forever and vow to stay close till the end . \\nwhile in a bar after doing a show with their band , based on their love of neil diamond , darren meets a young woman named judith ( amanda peet ) whom he instantly falls for . \\nwayne and j . d . however think differently and when judith tells darren that he can never see his friends again , it\\'s up to wayne and j . d . to try and begin saving silverman . \\nthe performances are topnotch and surprisingly , they are what keep the movie afloat . \\njason biggs right off the flop \" loser \" does an ok job playing silverman , but he is stale and flat at times . \\nsteve zahn is perfect in the role of wayne lefessier , and even though the movie is about silverman , lefessier is really the main character and the narrator of the movie itself . \\njack black is well jack black , and he does an all right job as j . d . but he isn\\'t as funny as he has been in the past . \\namanda peet plays the ultimate bitch as judith , and neil diamond plays neil diamond ( he\\'s better at singing than acting ) . \\nanyway the performances in the film are good , but it\\'s too bad the script isn\\'t . \\nspeaking of script , hank nelkan\\'s choppy script is not only badly written , but not funny enough even for an episode of sesame street . \\nthe trailer for the movie , as with most movies gives away everything that happens in the movie , especially the funniest parts . \\nsomewhere \" saving silverman \" was meant to be a good movie , and it could have been , but alas in the end it wasn\\'t . \\ndennis dugan\\'s direction is all right , he adds a few directorial touches here and there , nothing special being a simple comedy . \\n \" saving silverman \" is a perfectly bad movie in more ways than one . \\nit has a great cast , a good director and a sweet story . . . it\\'s \\njust too bad it has a bad script and is all together a bad movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : a mentally unstable man undergoing psychotherapy saves a boy from a potentially fatal accident and then falls in love with the boy\\'s mother , a fledgling restauranteur . \\nunsuccessfully attempting to gain the woman\\'s favor , he takes pictures of her and kills a number of people in his way . \\ncomments : stalked is yet another in a seemingly endless string of spurned-psychos-getting-their-revenge type movies which are a stable category in the 1990s film industry , both theatrical and direct-to-video . \\ntheir proliferation may be due in part to the fact that they\\'re typically inexpensive to produce ( no special effects , no big name stars ) and serve as vehicles to flash nudity ( allowing them to frequent late-night cable television ) . \\nstalked wavers slightly from the norm in one respect : the psycho never actually has an affair ; on the contrary , he\\'s rejected rather quickly ( the psycho typically is an ex-lover , ex-wife , or ex-husband ) . \\nother than that , stalked is just another redundant entry doomed to collect dust on video shelves and viewed after midnight on cable . \\nstalked does not provide much suspense , though that is what it sets out to do . \\ninterspersed throughout the opening credits , for instance , a serious-sounding narrator spouts statistics about stalkers and ponders what may cause a man to stalk ( it\\'s implicitly implied that all stalkers are men ) while pictures of a boy are shown on the screen . \\nafter these credits , a snapshot of actor jay underwood appears . \\nthe narrator states that \" this is the story of daryl gleason \" and tells the audience that he is the stalker . \\nof course , really , this is the story of restauranteur brooke daniels . \\nif the movie was meant to be about daryl , then it should have been called stalker not stalked . \\nokay . so we know who the stalker is even before the movie starts ; no guesswork required . \\nstalked proceeds , then , as it begins : obvious , obvious , obvious . \\nthe opening sequence , contrived quite a bit , brings daryl and brooke ( the victim ) together . \\ndaryl obsesses over brooke , follows her around , and tries to woo her . \\nultimately rejected by her , his plans become more and more desperate and elaborate . \\nthese plans include the all-time , psycho-in-love , cliche : the murdered pet . \\nfor some reason , this genre\\'s films require a dead pet to be found by the victim stalked . \\nstalked is no exception ( it\\'s a cat this time -- found in the shower ) . \\nevents like these lead to the inevitable showdown between stalker and stalked , where only one survives ( guess who it invariably always is and you\\'ll guess the conclusion to this turkey ) . \\nstalked\\'s cast is uniformly adequate : not anything to write home about but also not all that bad either . \\njay underwood , as the stalker , turns toward melodrama a bit too much . \\nhe overdoes it , in other words , but he still manages to be creepy enough to pass as the type of stalker the story demands . \\nmaryam d\\'abo , about the only actor close to being a star here ( she played the bond chick in the living daylights ) , is equally adequate as the \" stalked \" of the title , even though she seems too ditzy at times to be a strong , independent business-owner . \\nbrooke ( d\\'abo ) needs to be ditzy , however , for the plot to proceed . \\ntoward the end , for example , brooke has her suspicions about daryl . \\nto ensure he won\\'t use it as another excuse to see her , brooke decides to return a toolbox he had left at her place to his house . \\ndoes she just leave the toolbox at the door when no one answers ? \\nof course not . \\nshe tries the door , opens it , and wanders around the house . \\nwhen daryl returns , he enters the house , of course , so our heroine is in danger . \\nsomehow , even though her car is parked at the front of the house , right by the front door , daryl is oblivious to her presence inside . \\nthe whole episode places an incredible strain on the audience\\'s suspension of disbelief and questions the validity of either character\\'s intelligence . \\nstalked receives two stars because , even though it is highly derivative and somewhat boring , it is not so bad that it cannot be watched . \\nrated r mostly for several murder scenes and brief nudity in a strip bar , it is not as offensive as many other thrillers in this genre are . \\nif you\\'re in the mood for a good suspense film , though , stake out something else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'certainly no one would rent ed wood\\'s glen or glenda ? \\nexpecting to see a good movie , but this screwy discourse about transvestitism betrays a level of incompetence that i didn\\'t know was possible . \\nin fact , wood\\'s infamous plan 9 from outer space actually seems pretty tame by comparison . \\nwatching glen or glenda ? \\ni found myself occasionally wondering if wood had originally made two or three separate movies and accidentally edited them together ; as a result , it is actually quite entertaining in that it is unintentionally hilarious . \\nthe movie starts out as what mostly seems like a bad documentary , with endless , repetitive narration about transvestites , how difficult it is for a transvestite to look at his girlfriend\\'s clothes without being able to wear them , how transvestites are not necessarily homosexuals , and how the main character , glen/glenda is ( as it reminds us probably half a dozen times ) \" not half man and half woman , but man and woman at the same time . \" \\nthe camera work is terrible-occasionally the camera lingers on , say , a closed door while the characters talk off-screen , or inexplicably zooms in on someone\\'s ear or nose . \\nwood also makes copious use of mostly irrelevant stock footage , which leads to voiced-over non-sequiturs like , \" yes , our world is a busy and frightening place , with so many people driving their automobiles . \" \\nfinally , there is occasional commentary from bela lugosi as a sort of omniscient being who seems to inhabit a frankenstein-style laboratory , delivering pointless lines such as , \" people . \\n . \\n . \\nall with their own thoughts . \\n . \\n . \\ntheir own ideas . \\n . \\n . \\n . \" \\nwhile lightning crackles quasi-ominously overhead . \\nhad wood continued in this vein , glen or glenda ? \\nprobably would have been remembered as nothing more than a poorly done documentary with the occasional inappropriate horror-movie touch . \\nunfortunately , he then wanders so far off into left field that you have to wonder if he had been eating some funny mushrooms when he wrote the script . \\n \" pull the string ! \\npull the string ! \" \\nannounces an alarmed lugosi as stock footage of buffalo appears . \\nthere is another crash of lightning before lugosi returns , this time warning us , \" beware . \\n . \\n . \\nbeware the big green dragon that lurks outside your door ! \\n . \\n . \\n . \\nit eats little boys . \\n . \\n . \\nand puppy dogs\\' tails . \\n . \\n . \\nand big fat snails ! \" \\na bizarre nightmare sequence , which is probably meant to be symbolic but instead is just incredibly stupid , ensues , during which glen/glenda finds his fiance trapped under a fallen tree-in the living room . \\nsomeone who is apparently intended to be the sinister \" green dragon \" ( but looks more like a klingon from the original star trek series ) appears to be orchestrating all this , though the film is far from clear on this point ( to put it kindly ) . \\nnear the end of this scene-and here i must confess that wood lost me completely-is a violent sexual encounter on a couch that features two characters who do not even appear in the rest of the movie and is scored by goofily upbeat folk music . \\nafter this scene ends ( not a moment too soon ) , glen or glenda ? \\nreturns to its documentary style , but at that point any lingering sense that wood had the slightest idea what he was doing is pretty much gone . \\nthe film wanders to a dumb happy ending that also seems to abandon much of what it was trying to say about transvestitism , but at that point it didn\\'t matter much what happened . \\nas soon as the aforementioned sex scene was over , glen or glenda ? \\nhad pretty much cemented its place in my mind as the most incoherent film i had ever seen . \\ni honestly think that if i picked up my camcorder and deliberately tried to make the worst movie i possibly could , it still might not match glen or glenda ? \\nfor sheer cinematic disaster . \\ni am giving this movie an f , but i\\'m not sure that quite does it justice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in times of crisis people are driven to desperate measures . \\nof course what constitutes a crisis differs from person to person . \\nwhat may be a disastrous situation for one , may be seen as a challenge to another . \\nas deepak chopra is known to say , \" it\\'s not the ride , it\\'s the rider . \" \\nunfortunately clear-thinking is not always the reaction to problems . \\nwall street wheeler dealer steven taylor ( michael douglas ) is a man with troubles . \\nhe\\'s sunk his money in illegal financial activities and it\\'s blown up in his face . \\nin a matter of days he will lose it all . \\nhis wife emily ( gwyneth paltrow ) is a highly-placed un interpreter and is not happy with her life either . \\nher marriage is cold and unfulfilling . \\nunknown to her , her new lover david shaw ( viggo mortensen ) is not only a painter , but an ex-con with a history of bilking wealthy women of their money . \\nemily is a prime target : she\\'s worth over $100 million . \\nsteven\\'s solution to his predicament is to offer david half a million to kill his wife . \\nthe artist accepts and the movie is underway . \\ndrawing from frederick knott\\'s play and loosely based on hitchcock\\'s dial m for murder , this is all-too typical of summer releases . \\nall style and no substance . \\nand there\\'s really not much style . \\ndirector andrew davis ( the accomplished witness and best-forgotten other films ) has made exactly the wrong choices at almost every turn . \\ndouglas and paltrow have both shown us that they are skillful actors in previous films . \\nmortensen showed promise in the past . \\nhere all three are walking uninterestingly through their roles with oddly waxen faces . \\nthe only person who shows any sense of life is david suchet as new york detective mohamed karaman . \\nhe\\'s only on-screen long enough to make you think that there might be a likable person in the film and then he disappears . \\nthe first concern of a suspense film is to create suspense . \\nsurprises are important . \\nin this movie the audience keeps waiting for something to happen . \\nand nothing ever does . \\nnearly every event is telegraphed in advance . \\nclose-up on this object or that action and it\\'s easy to guess what\\'s going to happen . \\nas the film plods towards its inevitable conclusion you keep expecting a plot twist to make the movie worthwhile . \\nit\\'s a hopeless quest . \\nthe story doesn\\'t make much sense . \\nsteven\\'s wife is loaded . \\neven with unfriendly relations , you\\'d think that he could have talked to her about his difficulty rather than deciding to kill her . \\nwhen he does decide on the dire plan he makes an unreasonable choice . \\nif you were going to hire someone to kill your wife , would your first choice be her lover ? \\nno matter how sleazy he is , i would think there might be a chance that he would turn down the opportunity . \\nwhy would steven plan the murder as a break-in in their apartment ? \\nwhy not just take her out as she was walking to david\\'s loft in a bad neighborhood ? \\nwhile deciding among the numerous summer films , you might do well to skip this one . \\nyou\\'ll find more suspense than this movie offers by watching the weather channel . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when i arrived in paris in june , 1992 , i was surprised to find france plastered with posters twin peaks : fire walk with me , since the movie wasn\\'t scheduled to open in the u . s . until late august . \\nhappily , the film--the prequel to david lynch\\'s cult television series--was playing in a fancy , thx theater . \\nunfortunately , the theater was far more impressive than the movie , which absolutely stinks , much like a french lavatory . \\nworse , actually . \\nfire walk with me ( directed by lynch ) will be completely incomprehensible to anyone who has not seen the tv series or read \" laura palmer\\'s secret diary . \" \\nfor \" twin peaks \" junkies , like me , the movie is only marginally improved . \\nthe plot is jumbled and illogical , not to mention excruciatingly sluggish . \\nthe first 30 minutes , which have almost nothing to do with the main story line , feature chris isaak and kiefer sutherland as fbi agents investigating a murder in portland , oregon . \\nthe movie then stops in philadelphia for a nonsensical cameo by david bowie and a brief appearance by kyle maclachlan as dale cooper . \\nlynch then drops this plot strand altogether and abruptly shifts the setting to twin peaks , washington--one year later . \\nah , twin peaks : \" familiar territory , \" you think to yourself as angelo badalamenti\\'s distinctive musical score chimes in . \\nwrong ! \\nthe movie proves that you really can\\'t go home again , or at least lynch can\\'t . \\nonly about a quarter of the characters from the tv series appear in the movie : leland palmer , bobby briggs , james , shelly , leo , the log lady and a few others--mostly in meaningless cameos . \\nthe rest of the \" twin peaks \" cast is nowhere to be seen , and consequently , lynch fails to recreate the spirit and flavor of tv\\'s most enigmatic town . \\ncast members michael ontkean , sherilyn fenn , piper laurie , and richard beymer are sorely missed , not to mention lara flynn boyle , who has been replaced by lackluster moira kelly in the crucial role of donna . \\nthe movie concentrates solely on laura palmer ( sheryl lee ) as she suffers through drug abuse , prostitution , and incest , during her miserable last seven days on earth . \\nthe night of laura\\'s death , which is truly terrifying , is the film\\'s only remotely effective sequence . \\nwe finally get to see exactly what happened to laura after she jumped off james\\' motorcycle and ran into the woods at that lonely traffic light in the middle of nowhere . \\nher murder unfolds just as agent cooper reconstructed it in the tv series , which is gratifying for faithful \" twin peaks \" viewers . \\nbut it\\'s an awfully small reward for sitting through a painfully awful movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'based on the novel set in 1914 by joseph conrad , victory spins a tale of a pair of lovers , heyst ( william dafoe ) and alma ( irene jacob ) , who seek refuge on heyst\\'s isolated island . \\nhowever , their idyllic world begins to crumble upon the arrival of mr jones ( sam neil ) , martin ricardo ( rufus sewell ) and their servant , pedro ( graziano marcelli ) , who have come to steal heyst\\'s rumoured plunder . \\nwhile the novel is largely complex in characterization , the film sadly transposes conrad\\'s characters into lacklustre leads , the most disappointing being heyst himself . \\nconrad\\'s heyst adheres religiously to his late father\\'s ways of detachment and isolation . \\nhis ascetic lifestyle is thrown into question when he meets alma , a helpless orchestra girl who charms him with her voice . \\nthe struggle to embrace the arrival of alma into his solitude , however , is lost in mark peploe\\'s ( director and writer ) diluted version of heyst . \\nwithout properly establishing the crucial details of heyst\\'s character , all that is left of conrad\\'s main character is a very shallow treatment of his internal conflict between detachment and human involvement . \\non the one hand , actualizing the subtext is a mammoth task ( though not impossible ) , but on the other hand , dafoe\\'s flat acting cannot be excused as an attempt at stoicism . \\nin the end , we are supposed to witness heyst renounce his philosophy and finally come to an understanding of what it is to love another . \\nthe final transformation , while perceptible , lacks the cathartic revelation which is undeniable in conrad\\'s novel . \\nits absence in the film is unforgivable . \\nthe film seems more concerned about moving the plot along when so much has yet to be said about the relationship between the two complete strangers . \\nalma is supposed to have overcome great emotional barriers in the relationship , namely heyst\\'s underlying philosophy of detachment , which heyst himself grapples with . \\nthe struggle against heyst\\'s ignorance of true human involvement accounts for much of the greatness of alma\\'s love for him . \\njacob , fair-skinned , gentle and yet passionate , handles the role with precision , detailing nuances where possible . \\nunfortunately , she is let down by a superficial script . \\nthe couple\\'s relationship develops too hastily , leaving all subtlety effaced and replaced with a blatant show-and-tell approach . \\nall we know of the characters are mostly explained by their lines alone . \\nthis is unsatisfactory when so much of the turmoil experienced by the two stem from their buried thoughts and emotions . \\nthe sketchy handling of their relationship stands out as sorely as dafoe\\'s american accent ( an inappropriate one since heyst spent most of his life in london ) . \\nthe other characters such as schomberg ( jean yanne ) , the owner of a hotel , and mr jones ( sam neill ) , also fall short of conrad\\'s meticulous characterization . \\nwhile schomberg should have been more menacing and vindictive , mr jones should have been portrayed as something more of an enigma . \\nsam neil\\'s caricature of a slightly stout , effeminate and soft-spoken gentleman-at-large nullifies the effect intended by conrad who describes mr jones as \" an insolent spectre on leave from hades , endowed with skin and bones and a subtle power of terror \" . \\npoor characterization aside , kudos goes to rufus sewell for his excellent portrayal of ricardo , secretary to mr jones , a reckless ruffian capable of murder . \\nsewell , with his cockney accent and large expressive green eyes , becomes the true terror of the unholy trinity , masterminding deceitful plans behind jones\\' back . \\nat the same time , we are entertained by the foolhardiness of his plans . \\ndespite the authentic setting and marvellous cinematography by bruno de keyzer , very few images are left behind for us to savour after the film has ended . \\nsourabaya and its surrounding islands and volcanoes may have their charm , but mean nothing once the film fails to capture the essence of an epic , which is what victory deserves to be . \\nthe delicately inter-woven complexities in the love story are lost to an inadequate production . \\nat the end of the film , we are told that perhaps alma\\'s victory was in teaching heyst how to love . \\na hollow victory indeed . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'hav plenty , as we are told in the beginning and reminded during the film , is a true story . \\nlife itself is a series of true stories , but most are not movie material . \\nas scripted , directed , and acted by cinematic newcomer christopher scott cherot , hav plenty limps along at best . \\nits dialog is so stilted - \" you know what they say , \\'no women ; no cry . \\' \" \\n- that the actors are content to read the screenplay rather than invest much energy in trying to act it . \\nin the story , lee plenty ( cherot ) is a 28-year-old author and teaching assistant . \\nthe movie , which happens mainly over the new year\\'s holiday , consists of a series of incidents in which various single and married women try to kiss lee or take him to bed . \\nsince he consistently refuses , caroline gooden ( tammi katherine jones ) figures that he must be gay . \\neventually he and havilland \" hav \" savage ( chenoa maxwell ) get together , proving that he wasn\\'t gay after all , just picky . \\nsexy women can sit on his lap and ask him to go to bed with them , but he will not even kiss them . \\nhe\\'s a man who knows his mind , which he frequently shares directly with the audience in a series of trite and overly cute monologues . \\nfilled with wealthy african-americans , the story is closest in tone to love jones , which was better . \\nhav plenty\\'s story doesn\\'t go anywhere . \\nat the end it subjects us to lee plenty\\'s new film , which is a movie of the movie we\\'ve just seen , but with even worse acting . \\n \" remember folks that , as outrageous as this all seems , this is a true story . \" \\nhav tells the camera , but the problem is that it\\'s not outrageous at all or even the least bit interesting . \\nhav plenty isn\\'t so much a bad film as it is a total waste of the audience\\'s time . \\nhav plenty runs 1 : 32 . \\nit is rated r for profanity and would be fine for most teenagers . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"last summer , a feature-length version of the avengers hit theaters to the tune of a unanimous critical panning . \\nbased on the famous 60's television show , the film was an enormous box-office flop and a huge disappointment for warner bros . a year later , the studio is up to their old tricks again , with the unnecessary revival of the robert conrad program the wild , wild west . \\nbut it sounded promising : the same tag-team of star will smith and director barry sonnenfeld , who both contributed to make men in black such a financial success , is at the reins again . \\nand co-star kevin kline is attached to the project , as well as a substantial budget to spice up the special effects . \\ni mean , what could possibly go wrong ? \\nthe answer is just about everything . \\nwild wild west is a cinematic abomination - a film that was so entirely pointless to begin with that it is never given a proper chance to get out of the gate . \\nthere are a lot of fancy special effects , and a handful of distinguished actors who try desperately to tunnel through the inane plot and make a lasting impression . \\nbut the script is so deliriously uneven , the entire movie so off course , that no human being or technical achievement has a chance to salvage it . \\nat square one , we have a bizarre case of casting . \\nwill smith plays james west , a renegade cowboy who was originally played by white actor robert conrad in the tv series . \\nmy guess regarding the casting of african-american smith is a simple one : the actor + a cozy summertime release = big bucks for all those involved . \\nsmith is a very talented performer who usually brings swift assurance to any comic relief material , but this is not an ideal role for him . \\nhe's too much of a joker . \\ni heard that initial casting included george clooney in the lead role , and frankly , that sounds a lot more plausible . \\nwhat makes matters worse is that smith goes through the role with such self-assurance in his eyes ; you can practically sense his contentment with the fact that he knows wild wild west will be a huge hit at the summer box office . \\nthe plot involves west and cross-dressing government agent artemus gordon ( kevin kline ) , who are assigned by the president to recover a group of kidnapped scientists . \\nthe trail leads to the diabolical dr . arliss loveless ( kenneth branagh ) , a man with no lower body who speaks in a dry , witty southern accent . \\nloveless has taken the country's top technical minds hostage so that they can assist in his deranged plan of total government control , using lethal superweapons to destroy entire towns . \\none such weapon is an 80-foot mechanical tarantula , bearing eight spindly legs of thrashing metal and spewing enormous fireballs left and right . \\nthe visual effects that bring this metallic bug to life are spectacular , seamlessly blending computer-generated imagery with the western surroundings . \\nunfortunately , all of these effects seem so detached from the story , and can do little to support the film's plot deficiencies , which are undoubtedly the main problem . \\nwild wild west is a running gag that never truly works . \\nmost of the jokes , usually care of smith , die on arrival . \\nif it's one thing that could possibly be the saving grace , it's the performances , and even they are mostly off-kilter and poorly delivered . \\nkline is admirable , but he has little to do but invent silly devices on the spot . \\nsalma hayek is wasted as the romantic interest , because she is viewed as little more than that - window dressing to look pretty and create conflict between west and gordon . \\nbranagh , an esteemed shakespearean actor and director , adds marginal enjoyment to the film . \\nbut even he is so utterly weird and over-the-top . \\nrarely is a film so lost in itself as wild wild west is . \\ni suppose there's always one turkey of the summer season ; a highly anticipated , big-budget release that manages to completely disappoint . \\nwild wild west is such a movie , and will probably go down as one of the biggest disappointments of 1999 . \\nbut it is highly unlikely that this will go down in defeat at the box office . \\nperhaps after this , audiences will be less assured when they see will smith's name stamped on a summer movie . \\nafter such hits as independence day and mib , wild wild west is not an impressive addition to the resume . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'as the twin surfer dudes , stew and phil deedle , lay bandaged and unconscious in the hospital , phil comes to first and chooses the coolest way to wake his brother . \\nyanking out his iv , he uses it like a water pistol to soak his brother\\'s face . \\nthis bit of lame physical humor is typical of disney\\'s meet the deedles , a movie more to be endured that watched . \\n ( i stopped looking at my wife during the screening , since every time i did , she\\'d start sticking her finger in her throat . \\nand she\\'s right , it is that bad . ) \\ndirected without any imagination by steve boyum , whose long background in film is mainly in stunts and in second unit direction , the film limps along at best . \\nboyum attempts to keep the pace moving by staging stunts , stunts and more stunts . \\namazingly for someone with his background , he seems incapable of finding any fresh ones , and we have a car go off the road five different times -- maybe more . \\nbut who\\'s counting ? \\nand then there is the script by james herzfeld , whose only other film , tapeheads from a decade ago , was so awful that it is considered a cult classic . \\nmeet the deedles , however , is painfully bad rather than laughably bad . \\nit will probably be in and out of the theaters like a tornado and is in no danger of becoming a classic anything . \\nherzfeld treats us to gratingly abysmal dialog that includes \" your geyser\\'s a geezer , \" and \" i\\'d like to put a deedle in her haystack . \" \\nas the movie opens , the twins , who at one point describe themselves modestly as \" a walking kodak moment , \" are celebrating their 18th birthday . \\nas they ride a parasail high above the waters of waikiki , a truant officer pursues them on his jet ski . \\nas heirs to the fabulous fortune of the deedle empire , the boys are sent by their father to camp broken spirit at yellowstone to transform the two laid-back beach bums into men . \\nas they arrive in their wetsuits in yellowstone , they\\'ve got their surfboards , skateboards , and a hawaiian drink machine the size of an armoire . \\ntheir camp has gone out of business , but they are mistaken for new park rangers . \\nthe rest of the movie has them fighting the park\\'s overpopulation of prairie dogs as well as a deranged ex-ranger , played by dennis hopper , who is out to stop old faithful before its billionth birthday celebration , scheduled for later in the week . \\nhopper , who has made some wonderful movies , carried away being a recent favorite , does have a propensity for choosing some truly odoriferous material . \\nthis isn\\'t his worst acting , but meet the deedles is arguably the worst movie he\\'s ever been in . \\nsteve van wormer and paul walker , as stew and phil , give lifeless performances . \\nthe only actor in the movie with any demonstrable talent is a cute little prairie dog named petey . \\neven the cinematography by david hennings is so prosaic that it manages to make yellowstone look dull . \\nto add insult to injury , hennings is fond of inappropriate close-ups , which only serve to remind us of the inanity of the dialog . \\nput a ten-foot pair of lips on the screen , and you naturally pay extra attention to what is said . \\nalthough boyum says in the notes that he is proud that his film is appropriate for families , one wonders how many skateboarders will attempt the movie\\'s stunt of lying on your back on a skateboard while negotiating a busy and twisting mountain road . \\nthey make it look like so much fun that i\\'m sure many will try some variation of the stunt . \\n \" how could this possibly be worst , \" asks phil . \\njust when you suspect it can\\'t , the movie takes a turn further downhill . \\nits low point may have you looking for an airline barf bag . \\nafter phil\\'s girlfriend digs up a big mount of moist soil , they suck in a long worm . \\nlike the two dog lovers eating spaghetti in lady and the tramp , their lips finally meet in a kiss . \\nas they pull back , their faces are full of the dirt that encased the worm they have just ingested . \\nmeet the deedles runs about an hour and a half . \\nit is rated pg for a little bathroom humor and would be acceptable for kids around 6 and up . \\nmy son jeffrey and his friend nickolas , both almost 9 , gave the show * * * . \\nthey both thought the scenes with petey were among their favorites . \\nnickolas also mentioned the scene in which the circus bear drives a jeep , and jeffrey especially liked the one in which the circus elephant was referred to as dumbo . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'lauded as a genius by many , stanley kubrick commands a superlative filmography that includes such critically-acclaimed films as \" 2001 : a space odyssey , \" \" a clockwork orange , \" \" lolita , \" and \" dr . \\nstrangelove , or : how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb . \" \\nnow , sadly , he\\'s added \" eyes wide shut \" to that impeccable body of work and his final film is the first and only blot on his near-flawless copybook . \\nkubrick , alas , should have quit while he was ahead . \\nthis much-publicized psycho-sexual tease-a-thon , with its star billing of real-life marrieds tom cruise and nicole kidman , is nothing more than one long ( two-and-a-half hours long ) boring exercise that features kubrick operating with talent wide shut . \\nkubrick , faithless to arthur schnitzler\\'s 1926 novella \" dream story , \" has confused eroticism with nudity . \\nhe has confused intellectualism with talking slowly . \\nhe has confused profundity with pretentiousness . \\nin addition , the director has made some strange casting choices , leaving sydney pollack in and leaving accomplished performers harvey keitel and jennifer jason leigh out . \\npollack , the director of such box-office hits as \" tootsie \" and \" out of africa , \" is normally solid in his occasional acting stints but here he\\'s miserably out of his depth . . . \\nand there isn\\'t much depth to begin with ! \\nunhappily , there\\'s not likely to be a director\\'s cut of this film to determine whether the decision to exorcise keitel and leigh was the right one . \\nin fact , with the exception of the stark black-and-white credits , snatches of baroque music on the soundtrack , and many , many grainy tracking shots down lavishly-decorated corridors , there\\'s none of kubrick\\'s trademark brilliance in this film . \\nit doesn\\'t help that the story , as delivered , is ridiculous . \\ncruise and kidman , who bring little more than marital torpor to the project , play well-to-do new yorkers bill and alice harford . \\nhe\\'s a doctor and she\\'s an unemployed art gallery director and they share a central park west address . \\nat an opulent party hosted by their friend victor ziegler ( pollack ) , alice gets a little tipsy and starts dancing with a jeremy irons-like hungarian , who\\'s singularly determined to get her in the sack . \\nbill , too , is seen arm-in-arm with a couple of models before he\\'s pulled away to deal with an overdoser . \\nback home , bill and alice smoke a little pot before alice\\'s aggressive jealousy kicks in . \\nas retribution , she confesses to her husband that she once had deep feelings for a naval officer she eyeballed at a hotel where she and bill once stayed . \\nthis hurtful admission sends bill into a tailspin ; he pounds the streets of the village in his heavy black overcoat struggling with black-and-white images of alice in the grip of a horny midshipman . \\nit\\'s all way too much for him . \\nfor revenge , bill almost has sex with a hooker . \\nhe almost has feelings for a underage girl he sees in a costume store . \\nthen he almost does the hooker\\'s roommate . \\nand he\\'s almost involved in an overblown rococo orgy when an old college chum of his tips him off to a mysterious , password-protected party where everyone wears masks and \" the women are incredible \" ( i . e . , naked ) . \\nthis \" erotic \" set piece , a cult-ish bacchanal complete with chanting , incense , and lots of strategically-placed partygoers covering up the dirty , might impress the likes of hugh hefner , but it\\'s a lot less shocking than it\\'s intended to be . \\nwhat\\'s the big deal ? \\nbill doesn\\'t exactly * do * anything ( other than throw his money and credentials around ) , and alice only ever lusted in her heart . \\nwhoop-dee-doo . \\nstill , they make up at the same agonizingly slow pace--was kubrick , notorious for multiple takes , paying them at an hourly rate ? \\neven geniuses have their bad days . \\n \" eyes wide shut \" just happens to be kubrick\\'s bad day , an unerotic , disappointing , and altogether pointless end to an otherwise memorable career . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'catherine deane ( jennifer lopez ) is a psychologist who has been hired to participate in a project where she can enter the minds of comatose victims and try to interact with their subconscious in an attempt to wake them up . \\nshe has been experiencing moderate success with a young boy in a coma , but the boy\\'s parents aren\\'t happy with the apparent lack of progress and the toll of her job is having adverse affects on her regular life . \\nas if trying to assure the boy\\'s parents wasn\\'t hard enough on her , a new development arises that furthers the strain on deane\\'s mental faculties . \\na vicious serial killer named carl stargher ( vincent d\\'onofrio ) has been kidnapping women , locking them in an automated cell that drowns them slowly in a matter of days , then soaking the corpses in bleach to turn them into life-sized dolls . \\njust after kidnapping his latest victim and locking her in the cell , stargher has a traumatic experience that triggers a schizophrenic virus in his brain and causes him to sink in an eternal catatonia . \\nthe police , led by fbi agent peter novak ( vince vaughn ) are able to locate stargher by some clues he left while dumping his previous victim\\'s body , but they feel all hope is lost for his current victim due to his vegetative state . \\nin a last ditch attempt , they ask deane and the scientists that created the project to undergo the frightening task of entering stargher\\'s mind to try and find the location of the victim locked in the deadly cell . . . \\na cell which will completely fill with water in the next 40 hours ! \\ninitial reports about this film described it as a cross between the silence of the lambs and the matrix . \\nwhile it does share some characteristics with both films ( particularly the first forty minutes , which seem almost like a condensed version of lambs ) , the cell also seems to contain elements of dreamscape and brainstorm . \\nthe buzz around this project is that first-time feature film director tarsem singh ( who won many awards for his video of r . e . m . \\'s \" losing my religion \" ) wanted a script that he could fashion images out of instead of a cohesive story , and a good portion of this film supports that theory . \\ndespite the borrowed elements from the aforementioned films and a script that contains several logically questionable moments , the cell does feature some remarkable imagery . \\nall of the sequences where we delve into someone\\'s mind are incredibly beautiful ( including the dank mind of stargher , whose thoughts are reminiscent of an h . r . giger painting come to life mixed with a tool music video ) , proving that singh is as adept at filming strange and wonderful images as his acclaim would lead us to believe . \\nthe first sequence that takes place in stargher\\'s mind is by far the best , featuring one of the most ingenious traps i\\'ve ever seen in a film ( involving a horse , which no one seeing this film will probably forget ) , a zoo-like display of stargher\\'s victims which are animated like marionettes , and stargher himself in a giant purple cape that spans the walls of his mental throne room . \\nif the film had continued within this dirty monstrous world i would have deemed the film brilliant , but alas , the sequences only become more silly as they go along ( despite a painful nipple ring removal later in the film ) . \\nthe cast is basically just an excuse for there to be some moderate plot semblance during the parade of images , but at least vincent d\\'onofrio turns in his usual bizarre and psychotic performance ( magnified by ten , thanks to the environment in which the film has been placed ) . \\nin my opinion , d\\'onofrio was one of the best creepy actors i have ever seen in a film , but his film choices as of late have been so completely awful ( i . e . - \\nthe newton boys , feeling minnesota , the thirteenth floor , and the velocity of gary ) that i have begun to rethink my initial assessment of him . \\nthe character of stargher is an excellent role for him though , and will probably lead to a bit of typecasting for him . \\ndetractors of violence and disturbing images will want to stay far away from this film , as it contains heavy doses of both . \\nbesides the nipple ring removal i mention above , there is also stargher\\'s penchant for hanging suspended off of the floor by the rings that pierce his back and legs ( prior to his catatonia and capture ) which will have audiences recoiling . \\na sequence where catherine enters stargher\\'s mind and finds him recreating the disemboweling of his first victim is also pretty disquieting . \\none moment also features a character having his intestines slowly removed from his body by an old fashioned hand cranked spit-like device . \\nas a narrative film , the cell is sorely lacking . \\nas a collection of images though , the cell is extremely well done . \\nalthough the latter sequences in the film contain fewer disturbing imagery than the first half , singh has done what he supposedly set out to do : make a film solely for the purpose of stringing some remarkable images together . \\nunfortunately , a well-written script should have been considered too , because without it the cell just seems like any other music video we could see on mtv ( provided , of course , that mtv allowed for the use of graphic violence and language in music videos ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if beavis and butthead had a favorite movie , from dusk till dawn would probably be it . \\nscripted by quentin tarantino and directed by robert rodriguez ( desperado ) , the movie panders to the very worst in sex and violence -- and is incredibly fun to watch . \\nit starts off as a pulp fiction-type crime story , with criminal brothers george clooney and tarantino robbing a convenience store . \\nbecause this is a tarantino movie , however , it\\'s not just a case of pull the gun and take the loot , it\\'s a case of a hole being shot through someone\\'s hand , a man on fire jumping out behind the counter and the entire store blowing up as they drive away . \\nthe opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie -- everything overdone and nothing as it seems . \\nclooney and tarantino bring a hostage to the motel and then hijack an rv with a family in it . \\nharvey keitel plays the backslidden ex-preacher and juliette lewis his daughter , whom registered sex-pervert tarantino eyes endlessly . \\nyou know you\\'re mentally unbalanced when you find lewis the least bit attractive , although she\\'s not nearly as obnoxious as usual in from dusk till dawn . \\nthe first half of the movie has the criminals and hostages trying to get to and through the mexico border , clooney\\'s strategy involving hiding in the rv shower while lewis is on the toilet . \\nit does its trick ; the border guard takes one look at lewis relieving herself and immediately goes blind , never noticing clooney or tarantino . \\nonce they get to mexico , it\\'s time to wait at the rendezvous point , a topless bar called titty twister where we\\'re once again reminded tarantino wrote the movie as he drinks champagne off the foot of a stripper . \\nfinally , after about ten minutes of intercut boob shots and clooney forcing keitel and lewis to drink with him , the stripper turns into a vampire . \\nsoon half the people in the bar are vampires and the other half fall or fight back . \\nthat\\'s right , we\\'ve come all this way to see a vampire movie . \\nbut like everything else , tarantino takes this age-old genre and twists it to his own ends to produce over-the-top entertainment . \\nso we get holy water condom balloons , heads rolling , quadruple impalement on an overturned table and keitel getting bitten by a vampire and announcing he only has a few minutes left before he becomes \" a lap dog of satan . \" \\nthe from dusk till dawn dialogue is 100% tarantino , hovering between absurd and disgusting ( as when they\\'re entering the nightclub and cheech marin announces the main attractions of the titty twister ) , but always entertaining , and is a huge reason the movie is so much fun to watch instead of being one more second-rate gorefest . \\nclooney , keitel and especially tarantino are so over-the-top with their delivery that the dialogue is that much more hilarious , ensuring not one second of from dusk till dawn is taken the least bit seriously . \\nstuff like this would be terrible in any other movie , but tarantino and rodriguez know exactly what to do to entertain people , even if there\\'s absolutely no message or meaning to from dusk till dawn . \\npulp fiction had the vulgarity and violence for a reason , but this movie just throws it out for cheap entertainment . \\nfrom dusk till dawn isn\\'t the classic of modern cinema that pf is , but is does prove you can do a good job making a really bad movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"synopsis : in this cultural exploration , a chinese american computer engineer named fang ( peter wang ) decides to take a month-long vacation to visit his sister mrs . chao ( shen guanglan ) , her husband mr . chao ( hy xiaoguang ) , and their teenage daughter lili ( li qinqin ) in beijing after 30 years of separation . \\nfang brings his asian american wife grace ( sharon iwai ) and his college-aged son paul ( kelvin han yee ) along , both of whom don't speak chinese . \\nthe encounter between the two families allows the audience to compare the eastern and western cultures as well as the ambitions of individual characters . \\nopinion : sometimes a film is plot driven . \\nsometimes it's a character sketch . \\na great wall ( 1986 ) can be called a culture sketch , as opposed to a character sketch because it gently compares a chinese american family to a beijing family . \\nfang's family is thoroughly americanized . \\nfang is an upper middle class professional who enjoys jogging and argues with his boss . \\nhis wife can't cook chinese . \\nhis son has a white girlfriend and complains of racism when fang encourages him to befriend an asian girl . \\nmeanwhile fang's beijing sister advocates absolute loyalty to the 'work unit . ' \\nher husband is a retired official who has heard rumors of american depravity ( homosexuals running the streets ) , and her daughter lili longs for american freedoms in a youth culture where studying for college entrance exams is the most important thing in life . \\nthe two families spend a month slowly learning about each other . \\nthere is no ultimate 'answer' or final comprehensive understanding after the month-long vacation . \\nthe film is neither here nor there ; it's a neutral , meandering , gentle , portrait of life on both sides . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"one of the funniest carry on movies and the third with a medical setting . \\nthe main story is about dr . james nookey ( jim dale ) who is disliked by his superiors , frederick carver , head of the hospital ( kenneth williams ) , and dr . ernest stoppidge ( charles hawtrey ) who seems to dislike everyone . \\nthey attempt to cause him as much trouble in the hospital as possible and all the blame is laid on nookey . \\ncarver learns of a possible job opportunity from wealthy ellen moore ( joan sims ) on a distant tropical island and gets nookey trannsferred there . \\nwhen nookey arrives at this island , he meets gladstone screwer ( sid james ) who has lived on the island just about all his life . \\nscrewer is in possession of a wonderful slimming drug made from natural ingredients . \\ndr . nookey returns with the drug to england and sets up a new slimming business with ellen moore's financial backing . \\nhowever , nookey and moore face opposition from screwer who goes to england to cash in on the drug , and carver and stoppidge who want to know the ingredients to create a rival drug . \\nthe performances are all very commendable . \\nsid james has a slightly ambiguous character to play this time and he excels in his role . \\nkenneth williams , as usual , plays the unpopular and cunning head of the hospital . \\njoan sims is entertaining as the wealthy benefactor and jim dale should really head the cast with his excellent portrayal of bumbling nookey . \\ncharles hawtrey plays an 'out-of-character' role as dr . stoppidge , the nasty and evil practitioner who wants to knock nookey off his perch . \\nsome critics have said that this combination of hawtrey and stoppidge does not work well , but i think that it at least gives hawtrey a new part to play instead of the usual dimwit characters . \\nas a matter of fact , hawtrey is suitably cunning in the part . \\nother regulars in the movie include hattie jacques as the matron yet again ( but this part is probably her most boring 'matron' ) and barbara windsor as nookey's love interest and unofficial 'women's lib' campaigner , goldie locks . \\nboth jacques and windsor play their parts well . \\npatsy rowlands appears briefly as miss fosdick , and there are very small cameos from wilfrid brambell ( from 'steptoe and son' fame ) and peter butterworth . \\nthe jokes are mostly very funny , the story is quite appealing , and the regulars seem interested in what they're doing . \\nalthough it is another medical carry on movie and some of the jokes are borrowed from previous movies , it still comes out on top ( it is the best medical carry on ) because of the above factors . \\na must-see carry on movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the \" disney stick-to-what-you-do-best \" rule states that disney\\'s animated features will invariably be sublime but whenever they try their hand at live-action kids\\' entertainment , they will fail miserably . \\nthis goes double for occasions when they try to make a live-action adaptation of a popular cartoon ( remember the 1996 version of 101 dalmations ? \\ni\\'m still trying to forget ) . \\nthat rule proves more dependable than ever with inspector gadget , an insulting , despicable and , worst of all , expensive piece of trash trying to pass itself off as a viable children\\'s film . \\nit will bore anyone over five and should prove unbearable for adults , even at its relatively skinny running time of 80 minutes . \\nit\\'s films like this that make me want to go to my local blockbuster and rent something from the days when brains were more important than budgets and wit compensated for lack of fancy effects . \\njust as matthew broderick began to convince me that there is hope for him as an actor yet , his career takes a nosedive to hell with his \" role \" as john brown , a depressed security guard with a big heart who hopes that one day he can become a real policemen and help the people around him . \\nhe dreams of heroic deeds and the subsequent admiration of his long time crush , dr . brenda bradford ( joely fisher ) . \\nbut after a few bizarre coincidences it seems that he has to dream no longer . \\njohn breaks every bone in his body while trying to save dr . brenda\\'s father . \\ndr . brenda has been working on a \" gadget project , \" which would make a half-man half-machine super-policeman to fight crime . \\nfeeling indebted to john she decides to save his life by making him the subject , realizing his dream of becoming a policeman . \\nnow , when he says \" go go gadget [insert name of gizmo here] \" he can use all kinds of nifty gadgets to capture crooks , bang up bandits and mangle murderers . \\nin the meantime , the evil claw ( rupert everett ) , the man responsible for the murder of the good doctor\\'s father is building a gadget of his own : a carbon copy of our inspector gadget except evil and john brown\\'s worst nemesis . \\nclaw has plans of world domination , which leaves it up to the inspector and his gadget mobile ( voice of d . l . \\nhughley ) to save humanity from his wrath . \\nstate of the art effects fly at a mad pace in this $90 million dollar movie and yet director david kelogg never sets up a convincing atmosphere . \\nhad they replaced all the fancy gizmos with dollar bills they would have wound up with the same effect . \\nwhat we see on the screen is like the raw ingredients of a meal : all of the expensive f/x amounts to nothing . \\npart of the charm of the tv series was its sly irreverence which has gone down the toilet in the condescending movie . \\ncan kids really admire a hero so goody-two-shoes that he screams \" hey ! \\nyou ran a stop sign ! \" \\nwhile hanging off the back bumper of a quickly moving vehicle ? \\ni think that today\\'s children will respond better to somebody dashing , someone ultra-cool . \\nthey ( probably ) receive enough preaching from their parents and its an insult to their intelligence to assume that they want to go to an action movie to see a father figure kick butt . \\nin addition to the more complex complaints above , there\\'s also the simple stuff : inspector gadget is boring , formulaic and achingly implausible . \\nthere\\'s no feeling that the director really cares about his story : more than any other film i\\'ve seen this year , this one really feels like it was made on an assembly line . \\nthere\\'s a popular commercial ( for sprite , but that\\'s irrelevant ) running in movie theaters before features that spoofs the way major studios deal with projects . \\nit consists of studio suits discussing a fictitious ( thank god ) movie called \" death slug \" . \\neach executive gleefully presents a different merchandise tie-in ( slug taco ! \\nslug on a stick ! ) . \\nat the end one of them asks \" what about the movie ? \" \\nanother answers : \" well , we don\\'t have a script yet , but we can bang one out by friday . \" \\nthey probably could have replaced \" death slug \" with inspector gadget . \\nthis film contains the sort of logical contradictions and blatantly obvious adherence to formula that could have been eliminated had any attention been payed to the script . \\nit\\'s no coincidence that most good children\\'s entertainment these days comes from animation . \\nanimated features take so long to maker that it becomes a labor of love for the filmmakers and they put care and pride into their work . \\nthese kinds of films are banged out quicker and a good percentage turn out worthless , sloppy and impersonal . \\nthe studios are becoming factories and films their assembled products . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mars attacks ! \\n ( 1996 ) - c : jack nicholson , glenn close , annette bening , martin short , danny devito , rod steiger , pierce brosnan , sarah jessica parker , michael j . fox , jim brown , pam grier , joe don baker , natalie portman , christina applegate , lisa marie , tom jones . \\nthis is director tim burton\\'s finest film to date . \\nmany will compare this tale of martians who invade earth to independence day , but even though the stories are similar , they really are two distinctly different films . \\nhowever as a whole , mars attacks is much more entertaining than id4 , and i loved id4 . \\nyou really have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this film . \\nit is completely wacked-out and unlike anything you\\'ve ever seen . \\nonce the silly tone of the film is set , it\\'s easy to just sit back and throw logic out the window because logic and comedy just don\\'t mix . \\nthe plot is simple : martians invade the earth . \\nbut it\\'s different than any other invasion film . \\nusually it\\'s the evil aliens versus the heroic humans . \\nthis time however , it\\'s the goofy aliens versus the equally goofy humans . \\nthe martians , who are all computer generated , are just about the funniest things i\\'ve seen in a long time . \\nthey look funny , they move funny , and their \" language \" is hilarious . \\nand about the special effects . \\nthe effects in mars attacks ! \\nare just about the most flawless ones i\\'ve seen to date . \\nthe computer animation of the martians combined with the goofy personalities they are given makes them seem 100% real . \\nthere are just a couple of scenes that don\\'t work , mainly those involving sarah jessica parker and pierce brosnan on board an alien ship . \\nalso , glenn close overacts tremendously in her ( thankfully ) very limited screen time , so much so that i actually applauded silently when her character meets her demise . \\nbut there are many big laughs in the film , as i said , if you are in the right mood . \\ncould it have been funnier ? \\ncertainly . \\nwas it funny enough ? \\nyes . \\nwas i entertained ? \\nabsolutely . \\non a personal note , i\\'d like to thank whomever cast rod steiger ( my favorite actor ) in the film as war-crazy general decker . \\nfinally , after many very small parts in direct to video garbage and minor tv roles , steiger is back on the big screen in a real movie that many people will see . \\nwhile he\\'s not given the type of role that you can give a real \" performance \" in , he does the job well and has some good lines of dialogue . \\nthe preview audience i saw the film with really seemed to enjoy him . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"seen may 19 , 1999 at 5 p . m . at the crossgates cinema 18 ( guilderland , n . y . ) , theater #1 , with my brother john for $8 . 50 . \\n[theater rating : * * * * : excellent seats , sound and picture] \\n ( critic's note : this review is the longest i've ever written and still only scratches the surface . \\ni'd recommend this be read only by those who have seen the film as a form of critical analysis . ) \\nas my friend and fellow film critic ted prigge said in his review of `the phantom menace' - how do i even write this review ? \\nnever mind the fact that i've been waiting for a new `star wars' movie since i was seven years old . \\nnever mind the fact everyone on the internet had already dissected and discussed the movie before it was even released . \\nnever mind that there's so much going on in this movie in terms of plot , action , special effects and long-term story that to analyze every aspect would take a lot of time and energy and still wouldn't cover everything . \\nand also like ted does in all of his reviews , i'll try to review this in a way different from my usual reviews and instead write as casually as possible as if i was talking directly to you , the reader . \\nbefore we can begin analyzing the specific aspects of the film , many of the most general and most significant factors must be considered ( to get the specifics of the film , skip this and the next four paragraphs ) . \\nas has been made obvious for the last several years , another trilogy of films will be produced to account for the [missing] initial three installments of the `star wars' series ( the first of the films was actually episode four , not one ) . \\ngeorge lucas , the creator of the series , has probably just assumed most people know the first-produced trilogy ( `star wars , ' `the empire strikes back' and `return of the jedi' ) is actually the second trilogy , chronologically . \\nin media interviews in the past he has explained why the movies were made out of order , but i can't recall his reasons . \\nwith this new film he as writer and director has also assumed viewers are at least vaguely familiar with the storylines and significant plot points of the first trilogy ( err . . . \\nsecond trilogy . . . \\nwell you know what i mean ) . \\nand in order for this review to be thorough many of those significant points must be mentioned which , unfortunately , may serve as spoilers so proceed with caution . \\n[critic's note #1 : it is one my personal policy not to intentionally analyze spoilers because i would like my reviews to be able to make sense to the reader both before and after viewing the film reviewed , but it would be nearly impossible to do the film justice here without breaking the rule . \\ncritic's note #2 : reviewing this film also breaks the universal critics' law of reviewing movies , which as roger ebert coined , `it's not what a movie is about , but how it is about it . ' \\nbecause so many outside factors come into play in the film's plot and significance as part of a trilogy , and just considering modern society , it again would be difficult , if not impossible to simply review the film as a completely autonomous story . ] \\nfirst of all we have to catalog what we know about the film before even going into it . \\nwe know that young anakin skywalker will grow up to become the evil ruler darth vader who is also the father of luke skywalker , who will lead a successful revolution against him and his empire . \\nwe know obi-wan `ben' kenobi was the trainer of anakin in the ways of `the force' in attempts to become a jedi knight , but would fail and thus anakin would fall to the `dark side . ' \\nwe also know something about `the force' itself , that it is some kind of universal force which determines fate and can be manipulated by those whose minds are expanded enough to believe in it and feel it ( the jedi ) . \\nwhat we don't know for sure is the history of the ruling of the galaxy , which is most likely much longer and more complex than any government we have had here on earth . \\nto me , this was one of the most fascinating aspects of the first three films because there seemed to be a subtle , definite order to all the complexity . \\nalso , it seems that we're supposed to be familiar with a few other details about the story which have come out of the thousands of comic books and paperbacks published in the years since the movies ended . \\nmost notably , details regarding the emperor from `empire' and `jedi , ' and that he was once a senator and his last name is palpatine . \\nfor those who haven't kept up with all the `star wars' paraphernalia over the years , there is still a way to know these details simply by recognizing an actor ( or his voice at least ) . \\nwith `the phantom menace' being the first chapter of a long saga , one would assume the basic groundwork would be laid , including the history behind all the major factors of the series , especially `the force' and the jedi knights . \\nunfortunately , this film does more of the opposite as it simply builds on top of what must be a history so long and detailed it could never be explained . \\ni didn't liked that aspect to this film and is one of the reasons it falls just short of greatness . \\nif you're going to tell a story from the beginning - tell it from the beginning ( is it possible that after this trilogy is complete there could be another trilogy of episodes -1 through -3 to clarify the back story even further ? ) . \\nbut i digress . \\ni've said so much and yet i haven't even touched on the specifics of the film itself . \\nall these necessary `disclaiming' elements should go to show just how vast the story of the `star wars' series is and this individual film itself . \\nwhat we get here is a movie not unlike any of the other three we've come to know and love since the late 1970s . \\nits similarity to the other films helps to keep the spirit of the series familiar , but at the same time seems to be a flaw in the filmmaking process itself since it sometimes rings of unoriginality . \\nthe basic story is rather sorted , complex and even confusing at times . \\nwe're told that an army known as `the trade federation' has set up a blockade around an seemingly insignificant planet called naboo . \\nwe're not given too many details to clarify the back story of what the federation is and what their purpose is , instead the film opts to get its story moving quickly . \\nwe're introduced to two jedi , the master qui-gon jinn ( neeson ) and his apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( mcgregor ) . \\nthe two are acting as ambassadors of some sort in hopes of ending the obvious hostility between the federation and the planet's queen , amidala ( portman ) . \\nthe leader of the federation , an alien called viceroy , is following the orders of a strange , mythical character - an older human man whose face and body are covered and shadowed by the black robe and hood he wears . \\nhe is referred to as lord sidious but considering his appearance , and especially that creepy evil voice of his , he is a obviously one of the most significant characters in the series . \\nsidious communicates to viceroy only through digital transmissions and never in person . \\nclearly his actual whereabouts are something he wants to keep secret because that would also reveal his identity ( which is never openly revealed in the film , but should be clear to most viewers . \\ni have a feeling we'll delve into his background in the next two films ) . \\nbut it doesn't take the film long to spring into action and within minutes our hero jedi are fighting for their lives and the film's story begins to move along . \\nthe film doesn't have one specific plot and works in the same manner as the other films in the series where as what we get is one mini-plot and adventure on top of another . \\nthere are so many of these mini-plots-within-plots in this film i would not describe them all because it is what gives the movie its hook . \\nthe other films have relied on this type of storytelling , but because of the limits of the technology at the time , the films' screenplays were also limiting . \\nthe sense of limitlessness here is what gives `the phantom menace' its unique traits . \\nas we already know , the film takes place at least a generation or two before the original `star wars' trilogy which means a lot of the background which was unclear and/or unexplained may be cleared up here as it is the beginning of the vast epic story . \\nand here the most significant storyline is that involving the discovery of 10-year-old anakin skywalker ( lloyd ) , by qui-gon jinn and his introduction to the jedi council . \\nto briefly summarize the story , jinn stumbles upon skywalker in an attempt to buy parts for queen amidala's spaceship which was damaged in efforts to free her from the federation . \\ntheir meeting on tatooine is mostly chance but of course jinn chalks it up to the will of the force . \\njinn can feel that skywalker has a great natural power in the force , and through another sub-plot involving a bet on skywalker in a fantastic race he will enter , more and more details of his significance begin to reveal themselves . \\nthis also provides for a new elaboration and explanation of the force which has never been mentioned before . \\nin fact , it seems to be something so important it is upsetting it has never been mentioned before . \\nthe element seriously undermines the mystical aspect of the force and transforms it into something more physical and scientific which is completely unnecessary . \\nby the film's third act all the major significant elements become tied together in a rather familiar execution of the plot . \\nit's funny how the reality of the `star wars' world seems so embedded in mythology , new age-like philosophy and religion and yet the solution to all the major conflicts in the series has been violence . \\nnot that this technique hasn't been used in movies and in real-life situations countless times throughout history . \\nand at least it's all in the spirit of the ultimate powers of good versus evil in a fun and exciting matter . \\nit does border of the cartoonish sometimes , but that's just the film appealing to our inner child , which is the basic reason the entire saga exists and has become such a big part of our modern society . \\n`the phantom menace' delivers exactly what you'd expect from a `star wars' film which is why it succeeds as well as it does but is always why it never truly achieves greatness . \\nso many things in the film we've seen before and done with more heart because the filmmakers concentrated just a bit more on story and character because they were limited . \\nbut this film is far from bad because it at least embraces the spirit of sheer fun at the movies . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m going to start this review off with a hypothetical question . \\nlet\\'s say you\\'ve just been in a car accident , and the driver of the other vehicle is unconscious . \\nyour friends have left to go get help , and you\\'re waiting to see if the victim wakes up . \\na tow-truck comes along , and the driver hops out of the truck to see what\\'s going on . \\nhe then proceeds to kill the unconscious victim by snapping his neck . \\ndo you : \\na ) run away screaming for your life , staying away from the main road , \\nb ) run away ( but not too fast ) and stay on the main road even when the madman in the truck starts following you , * stop * to catch your breath , try to negotiate with the psycho , and when that fails , start running away again , all the while * staying on the main road * ? \\nif you answered \" a \" , you are far more intelligent than the screenwriter of \" texas chainsaw massacre : the next generation \" and will likely hate this movie . \\nhowever , if you answered \" b \" , prepare to enjoy a film made with idiots like you in mind ! \\n \" texas chainsaw massacre : the next generation \" is being called a sequel , but it\\'s really more of a remake of the original . \\nthere\\'s a few changes here and there , but it\\'s essentially the same ( even the infamous \" meathook \" scene has been re-created . ) \\nthe story opens with four teenagers hitting the road on the night of their prom , and somehow ending up in the middle of nowhere . \\nneedless to say , they soon encounter leatherface and his nutty family . \\nmuch carnage ensues . \\nto call this movie inept would be putting it mildly . \\nin addition to the laughably idiotic situation i mentioned in my hypothetical question , there is a moment towards the end of the film where one of the baddies is killed by an airplane that literally comes out of nowhere . \\nit just swoops down and kills him with its wheel . \\nno explantion is given as to who was flying it or why he/she is going around killing people with the planes wheel . \\nthe dialogue is even more atrocious . \\nzellwegger , who is kidnapped by \" the family \" early on , keeps trying to have normal conversations with these people . \\nwhen you\\'re surrounded by maniacs wielding chainsaws and dead corpses , i would think that rationality would go out the window . \\nspeaking of going out the window , there is a scene in which zellwegger jumps out a window . \\napparently , the stunt double had a little trouble , because she visibly gets stuck in the window . \\nthe director quickly cuts to a wide shot where the stunt double * doesn\\'t * get caught in the window . \\nthis was one of many glaring inconsistencies . \\nthere are so many , in fact , that if i were to name them all , this review would be several pages long . \\nthe only reason i am giving this movie one star instead of no stars is because of matthew mcconaughey . \\nhe plays a member of \" the family \" with a hydraulic leg ( home-made , i might add ) and is so completely over-the-top , you can\\'t help but be amazed by his performance . \\nhe obviously had a lot of fun with this part , and it really shows . \\nhe makes jack nicholson\\'s portrayal of the psychotic inn keeper in \" the shining \" look restrained in comparison . \\nfor a horror movie , \" texas chainsaw massacre : the next generation \" contains surprisingly little gore . \\nin fact , in contains none . \\nthere\\'s a little blood here and there , but that\\'s as far as it goes . \\nwhich leads me to believe that the budget must have been * astonishingly * low , and it shows . \\neverything about the movie looks cheap , from the sets to the costumes . \\nespecially leatherface . \\nonce frightening and nightmare inducing , he\\'s now as terrifying as dame edna . \\ndo yourself a favor and take a pass at this remake . \\ncheck out the far superior original instead . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it was easy to fear the worst . \\nbegin with a classic 1960\\'s television series , add a big budget and an a-list star in the lead role , and stir . \\nscript , you ask ? \\nwho needs one , kid . . . \\nwe\\'ve got ourselves a formula . \\nthat was my fear : a bloated monster without any sense of direction . \\nthen , much to my amazement , everything that could possibly go wrong . . . \\ndidn\\'t . \\nthe fugitive is as lean , taut and tense as anything the action genre has produced in the last several years . \\nunder the direction of andrew davis ( 1992\\'s under siege ) , the fugitive grips you by the throat from the outset and never lets go . \\nexpect box office to go through the roof , deservedly , and expect an academy award nomination for tommy lee jones . \\nthe premise is a simple one . \\ndr . richard kimble ( harrison ford ) is wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife after struggling with the real killer , a man with an artificial arm . \\nafter an escape attempt by some other prisoners during a transfer goes awry , kimble finds himself on the run . \\nhis one goal : to find the one-armed man ( andreas katsulas ) before u . s . marshall sam gerard ( tommy lee jones ) finds him . \\nwhere the fugitive surprises the most is the script , by jeb stuart and david twohy . \\nin a genre where one is almost always asked to allow leaps of logic , the script repeatedly astonished me with its intelligence , its attention to detail and its respect for the audience . \\nin an early sequence , kimble sneaks into a hospital to shave of his beard , slick back his hair and change into a lab coat . \\non his way out , a police officer jokingly tells the man he doesn\\'t know is kimble to zip up his pants . \\nit\\'s a small moment , but it punches home the urgency of kimble\\'s situation , and exactly what a man concerned about not being recognized might easily forget . \\nlater , while trying to lose himself in a parade , kimble thinks to drop his overcoat , the most likely way he\\'d be recognized from behind . \\nit\\'s these details which convince us that when a colleague of kimble\\'s tells gerard that he\\'s too smart to be caught , he may just be right . \\ncredit must also be given to the special effects and stunt coordinators . \\nthe bus crash which allows kimble\\'s escape is a spectacular sequence , as is a leap from a dam into the water below . \\nthe action is crisp and brutal , and never romanticized . \\nspecial kudos go to director davis for maintaining a relentless pace which underscores the single-mindedness of the two leads . \\nand what a pair of performances those leads are . \\ntommy lee jones is nothing short of brilliant as gerard , because he manages an incredibly challenging feat . \\nfor the first third of the film , there is really no * villain * per se ; kimble is on the run , and gerard is out to find him . \\nit would have been very easy to turn gerard into a malevolent , vindictive inspector javert , but that never happens . \\ninstead jones plays him as a sharp , committed man who\\'s just doing his job , so that when he responds to kimble\\'s comment , \" i didn\\'t kill my wife , \" with a matter-of-fact , \" i don\\'t care , \" we know exactly what he means . \\nit\\'s not his job to determine guilt or innocence . \\nit\\'s his job to bring in a fugitive . \\nthis is a well- written character played with relish by an actor at the top of his form . \\nthe only unfortunate thing about jones\\' stunning turn is that it\\'s likely to overshadow harrison ford , and that\\'s a shame . \\nfor his entire career , ford has been underappreciated as an actor due to his pigeonholing as an action hero . \\nhowever , he does a fine job with the less flashy part of kimble , always keeping at the forefront the advantage this man has because of his intelligence . \\nthe fugitive could only work to its fullest if the two protagonists always seemed to be on equal footing , and ford is up to the task . \\nthis summer has been loaded with action/suspense films , and most of them have been doing brisk business . \\nhowever , it\\'s time for clint , sean , and various dinosaurs to step aside . \\nthe chase is on . \\nmy advice is to catch it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"staring , george clooney , arnold schwarzenegger , chris o'donnell and uma thurman with alicia silverstone . \\nwell to start this off i'd just like to say a couple things . \\nfirst is , i miss michael keaton , i miss tim burton and would much prefer to think that these last two batman films are all like a dallas dream sequence . \\nnot even from the first film was batman really the 'star' though he was damn close in the first couple anyway . \\nin 'batman forever' and now in 'batman & robin' he's almost pushed to being a bit player . \\ni can't really say if clooney ( who regardless was better than kilmer ) was a very good batman or not . \\nhe's given next to nothing to do at all , he might as well not have been there and it wouldn't have made much difference . \\nnow , joel schumacher has said that he refuses to bend to the masses that have hated his films and cheered for the return of buton that he wont make batman brooding and dark . \\nfine , i mean granted 'batman returns' while being an awsome film was a bit to dark sometimes . \\nyet his bright neon , campy style is just killing anything this series meant to me . \\ni'm usually very easy on films . \\ni loved 'con air' and other films some critics have slammed . \\ngranted that film really was paper thin , cliche ridden , except for one thing , it was fun . \\nthere is virtually no fun in this film at all . \\ni couldn't have cared less . \\nit'll thrill the little ones as theres no violence really , none everyone comes out fine in the end like those old tv shows where it ends with everyone laughing . \\nschwarzenegger is awful , i mean really , really bad . . . \\nand this is coming from a regular fan of his work . \\ni love his movies most of the time and the basic reason is he never says much in any of them . \\nhe talks all to often in this movie . \\ni would have much prefered to have seen patric stewart in the roll . \\ni believe to truely like a film you have to care about at least someone in a film . \\ni liked alfred but the reason behind it is a cheap shot . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'as you should know , this summer has been less than memorable . \\nwith a total of 4 decent films , it\\'s not a surprise that these big budget failures keep appearing . \\nwith that said , you can pretty much predict what my opinion on \" the 13th warrior \" will be . \\nthe film is based on the michael crichton \" eaters of the dead \" , in which ahmed ibn fahdlan is banished from his country for looking at a wife of a king . \\nafter tarveling for many months , he comes across a gang of norsemen , who are forced to pick 13 men to protect a town from mythical monsters who travel in the fog . \\nso , they start picking men , and are left without 1 , thus ahmed is choosen . \\nso far it sounds interesting right ? \\nnot when all of this takes place in 15 minutes . \\nafter that , they basically run around killing . \\nthat alone shows how much a script is needed for a film , because once your story is introduced , you have the rest of the film to start developing it . \\nobviously that\\'s not the case here . \\neven if you are going into the film expecting an action packed adventure , you will be disappointed . \\nsince all the action takes place in fog , it is constantly hard to see a scene clearly due to those circumstances , and to poor camera work . \\ncan\\'t the camera men sit still ? \\ni\\'d like to actually watch a film in focus , but again , they failed to deliver that as well . \\nthe film moves on and on until the point , where you can care less about anything but the popcorn you\\'re eating . \\nwith corny dialogue , that the characters laugh at for some odd reason , a script that goes nowhere , dull action sequences , a predictable ending , and worst of all weak characters , there\\'s basically nothing to like here , except for maybe the set designs . \\nthat\\'s the only thing that honestly caught my interest . \\nwhen i heard that john mctiernan , the director , wanted his name kept out of the project , that made me wonder why ? \\nwell now i know . \\ncrichton\\'s greed forced mctiernan to edit his finished product , which led to a big arguement . \\nwhat\\'s there to argue about anyway ? \\nthe film couldn\\'t be saved , no matter how much they spent or casted . \\nseeing films like the haunting and big daddy making money , i wouldn\\'t be surprised to see \" the 13th warrior \" become a hit . \\nplease do me a favor and save your money at all costs , or else you will be lost in the fog , like the film itself . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'preposterous religious action film ( produced by the trinity broadcasting network ) about a code hidden within the text of the bible that when deciphered will lead to the end of the world ( nice of those bible authors to put a doomsday code into the most read book ever eh ? ) . \\nmichael york plays a millionaire diplomat who breaks the code and sets out to become god on earth and fulfill the doomsday prophecies , while casper van dien ( terribly miscast and giving an awful performance as a result ) plays the atheist motivational speaker who must stop him . \\nmichael ironside ( great as always , despite the silly film surrounding him ) plays a fallen priest and right hand man to michael york\\'s character . \\nhere\\'s some subtle character development you may have missed pertaining to ironside\\'s character . \\nnow despite the fact that we see him murder a man in the opening scene , the filmmakers aren\\'t quite sure if their audience will understand that he is evil . \\nhow do they fix that ? \\nmake specific efforts to show that his character is the only one in the film who smokes ! \\nthere are lots of ominous shots of michael ironside smoking . . . \\noooooo scary . \\nbut even that wasn\\'t enough for the filmmakers apparently , as they later have to infer that ironside\\'s character is gay ! \\nit comes out of nowhere and just makes no sense . \\nmy main problem with this film is that , despite the silly story ( which could have been pulled off . . . \\nanything can be made believable if executed correctly ) , the events of the film aren\\'t shown with any sense of urgency or importance . \\nfor example , at one point york\\'s character is declared chancellor of the world or something , and we see one brief , cheesy news report about it . \\nthe movie keeps telling us that the apocalypse is coming , but it never seems that way . \\nthere\\'s no \" world reaction \" to anything . \\nthe omega code is available on dvd from goodtimes home video . \\nit contains the film in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 , and includes the original theatrical trailer , a documentary on the making of the film , production notes , and cast and crew information . \\nthe documentary runs about 25 minutes and is actually surprisingly good ( it looks as though it was made for broadcast on tbn ) , and it does a comprehensive job of interviewing practically everyone in the cast and crew ( with the exception of michael ironside , unfortunately ) . \\nthe best thing about it is that whenever crew members are interviewed , they do an excellent job of explaining their profession and exactly what it is they do on a movie set . \\nmost documentaries tend to overlook this . \\ndoomsday expert hal lindsey is even interviewed ( you\\'ll remember his documentary from the 1970\\'s called the late great planet earth , where lindsey speculated that jimmy carter might actually be the antichrist ) . \\nhowever , at the very beginning of the documentary the producers of the film managed to get on my bad side . \\nwhen interviewed they actually have the nerve to say \" ever see raiders of the lost ark ? \\nwell , our film is like that ! \" \\nno it isn\\'t . \\nnot by a long shot . \\n[pg-13] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'some movies i should just skip . \\nmy daughter and i had a really vile time at my favorite martian a few weeks back , and here comes another disney effects-filled live-action flick based on an old tv program . \\ntrue , the probgram is only 15 years old this time , and it\\'s a cartoon . \\nbut it\\'s a cartoon i liked , and i was understandably reluctant to see what disney had done to it on the big screen . \\nbut my daughter really wanted to go , and how bad could it be ? \\nturns out i was right , mostly . \\ninspector gadget , oddly enough , follows almost exactly the same format as my favorite martian , down to the jive-talking side-kick . \\nat first i thought it was done by the same people , but imdb informs me that ig was directed by david kellogg and written by dana olsen and kerry ehrin , where mfm was directed by donald petrie and written by sherri stoner and deanna oliver . \\nthis odd similarity between the two movies may best be explained by the studio that produced it , where \" formula \" isn\\'t just business , it\\'s a way of life . \\nthe producers who obviously micromanaged the two projects should get prominant screen credits . \\nin some parts you can just hear them saying \" more zany ! \\ni want more zany here -- and -- here . \" \\n \" let\\'s have a really painful sexual reference for no reason right here -- make it really painful . \\ni want the audience squirming in their seats . \" \\n \" ok , that\\'s fine , but i want you to add bug guts . \" \\n \" what does this scene do ? \\ncharacter depth ? \\nbut where\\'s the zaniness ? \\ni don\\'t see zany here . \\nif you can\\'t make it zany , cut it ! \" \\nthe latter is the only explanation i can come up with for the absence of the thoroughly charming michelle trachtenberg for most of the movie . \\nmichelle ( who plays penny , gadget\\'s niece ) shines in every scene she\\'s in , but unfortunately she only gets about nine minutes of screen time . \\nmy guess is that the rest is on the cutting room floor . \\ndabney coleman\\'s comedic talents are utterly wasted as chief quimby . \\ni kept expecting him to say or do something really funny and somehow save the film , but instead , he does the best he can with some really poor lines in a few unexceptional scenes . \\nhe is thoroughly upstaged by cheri oteri as the \" gidget bitch from hell \" town mayor . \\noteri\\'s overly enthusiastic and continually self-congratulatory speech patterns and mannerisms were so much like portland , oregon\\'s own manic mayor vera katz that i had to wonder if the studio wasn\\'t poking fun at our fair town . \\nor , maybe all career politicians are like that . \\ni must say , matthew broderick does not stroll through inspector gadget as he did godzilla . \\nhe appears to have some fun with the film , especially as the evil gadget . \\nrupert everett is entertaining as the maniacle claw . \\njoely fisher does fine as the zany scientist and even better as the zany carbon copy of herself . \\nher performance is one of the few things worth watching in the film . \\nd . l . hughley plays the shuckin\\'-and-jivin\\' vehicular side-kick , in a role that firmly sets emancipation back 20 years . \\nthe dialog is . . . let\\'s face it , it\\'s pretty bad . \\nthe tag-line after a major set-piece battle is a faux pas that makes no sense in context . \\na lot of the lines ( especially hughley\\'s ) appear to be made up as they go along , by people with little gift for ad-lib . \\nabout three-quarters of the film is a somewhat unnecessary origin story for both gadget and claw . \\ngadget then spends the latter third of the movie trying to locate claw and having various altercations ( not really \" battles \" ) with the evil gadget . \\npenny does about a minute and a half of the detective work her character did every week in the cartoon . \\nlet me rage here just for a minute . \\nmichelle trachtenberg was an excellent choice for the penny character . \\nshe\\'s utterly charming , and has excellent experience ( harriet the spy ) for the part of the pint-size detective . \\nwhy she is so underutilized in this film is a real mystery . \\nthe film loses a star for casting brilliance coupled with scripting ( or editing ) stupidity . \\ninspector gadget is missing the long , long stretches of potty humor that ( among other things ) made my favorite martian so unbearable , but it\\'s a very short movie , so perhaps something was cut at the last moment . \\nprobably the best scenes in the film occur during the end credits . \\nthe \" evil sidekick support group \" is especially worth seeing , and has an amazing number of cameo appearances for the few seconds it\\'s onscreen . \\nall in all , another bad live action film from the premere studio for bad live action films . \\ni wonder if disney uses the revenues for it\\'s generally money-making cartoons to produce these losers . \\nbut if true , why ? \\nif they\\'re trying for another mary poppins , they need to find a team that can produce one , and then give them a chance to do it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'summary five liberal iowa graduate students share a house and carry on a tradition of a large sunday dinner . \\nfor a year now they have been inviting a guest for dinner and discussion . \\non this occasion one of the roommates , pete ( ron eldard ) , brings home a stranger who picked him up when his car broke down . \\nthe stranger is zack ( bill paxton ) who appears like a decent enough good samaritan . \\nnothing could be further from the truth . \\nafter some dinner conversation it appears that zack is , among other things , a racist \" you know my grandfather once said that if he knew you coloreds were going to be so much trouble we\\'d have picked the damn cotton ourselves \" , and an anti-semite . \\nan argument escalates at the dinner table and leads to violence . \\nafter zack assaults marc ( jonathan penner ) and pete , zack is killed . \\nthe roommates are at odds with what to do . \\nmarc , pete and paulie ( annabeth gish ) immediately wish to call the police . \\nluke ( courtney b . vance ) and jude ( cameron diaz ) suggest something different . \\nafter more discussion they agree to dispose of the body and cover it up . \\nthey do not want to be sent to jail for what they feel was a justifiable homicide . \\nwhen it is done the roommates realize that it was easier than they thought . \\nso easy in fact that they decide that every sunday their dinner guest would be someone who opposes of their views . \\nif they all agree that the guest deserves to die , they will poison them and bury them in the back yard . \\nthe back yard fills up rather quickly , its\\' victims including ( among others ) a right to life extremist , an anti-environmentalist and a homophobe . \\nby the time the roommates get to their tenth victim they begin to question their methods . \\nare they giving the guests a chance ? \\nare they even giving them good food anymore ? \\nthis film is what i like to call a \" hidden treasure \" . \\nthis film is such a pleasant surprise . \\na well written , devilish satire that is funny , sexy and original . \\nthis film should be a hit , but i guess the fact that it apparently had no marketing wouldn\\'t give it much of a chance . \\ni had never heard of it until i saw a copy at my video store . \\nstacy title does a wonderful job directing . \\nshe somehow finds the time to give all of the characters enough screen time to develop a distinct personality . \\n>from the five members of the house to other key characters including sheriff stanley ( nora dunn ) , the local law closing in on the truth , and the dream dinner guest , norman arbuthnot ( ron perlman ) , a rush limbaugh clone who should be the roommates easiest kill . \\nperlman gives the films\\' best performance . \\nhe finds the right note as the right wing big mouth who simultaneously offends and gains followers , and may just inadvertently talk his way out of death . \\nthe other actors are convincing as well , as all of the roommates deal with their murderous ways . \\nsome of the characters appear to be heading down the road towards insanity , while others grieve their decisions . \\nwhen friends ask me to recommend a movie , this is usually the first one i think of . \\ni am not saying that this is my favorite movie ( although it is in my top ten ) , but because the film was such a wonderful surprise , i have a fondness for it . \\ni also try to recommend films like this : ones that have not been seen by many people , but should . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'for any groom on the verge of proposing marriage to his girlfriend , there are certain rules that he needs to follow . \\nfirstly , fill her life with happiness and romance during the courtship . \\nsecondly , buy her a beautiful ring that glitters as brightly as her eyes . \\nthirdly , find the perfect moment and location to propose . \\nfinally , the groom-wannabe should probably get her parent\\'s blessing . \\nof these four , the last one can be a nightmare . \\nmeeting parents is a rite of passage , fraught with unexpected questions , bouts of nervousness , the reality of being disliked , and the inability to make a positive impression . \\nif you\\'re lucky , things will go smoothly . \\nbut , if you\\'re greg focker ( ben stiller ) , everything will go wrong . \\nand with a name like that , how could it not ? \\nwhen greg first meets his fianc ? e\\'s father , jack byrnes ( the grimacing robert deniro ) , greg immediately feels overwhelmed and is put on the defensive . \\nwhen he tells jack that he\\'s a male nurse , the incorrigible dad shoots back , \" not many men in your profession , huh , greg ? \" \\nit\\'s definitely not a good start . \\nbut greg is determined to win him over , and it\\'s this desire that fuels the movie . \\nhe first takes small steps such as agreeing to say grace before dinner . \\nit doesn\\'t matter that he\\'s jewish . \\nif daddy byrnes asks him to say grace , then that\\'s what he\\'s going to gamely do . \\n \" oh god . . . you\\'re \\nsuch a good god \" , he moons . \\nhis discomfort at trying to force out a simple prayer will make you chuckle , but when jack gives him the \" deniro squint \" ( that familiar , unsettling gaze that gives deniro that aura of invincibility ) , it\\'s pretty hard not to grin . \\nthings get progressively worse for greg . \\nand that\\'s too bad because he\\'s a genuinely likable guy with a romantic heart . \\neventually , he begins to try so hard that he starts to mess everything up , committing a host of gaffes that embarrass , humiliate or injure other people . \\nit\\'s a never-ending ordeal of missteps , miscues , and mistakes . \\nhe buys some champagne , but uncorking the bottle leads to disastrous circumstances . \\nhe tries to find jack\\'s missing cat . \\nbut his method of solving the problem leads only to more trouble . \\nand there are several other episodes , each one trumping the next in outrageousness . \\nthe more our well-meaning beau screwed up , the more the audience groaned in sympathy . \\nwe liked greg . \\nand , we liked this movie . \\n \" meet the parents \" is a farcical comedy that certainly has its moments . \\njust sit back and watch greg get into trouble . \\nno matter what the situation , whether its playing a harmless game of water volleyball or sneaking a smoke on the roof of the house , things will horribly go wrong . \\nwe laugh at greg\\'s expense , but love often makes a person do dumb things , and ben stiller has the knack of playing the romantic fool . \\ndeniro is also affable , tough on the outside yet sentimental on the inside . \\ntheir tug-of-war is often funny , the slapstick is elaborate , and there are several topical throwaway gags ( mostly targeted at the airline industry ) to make this film an amusing yet smart lampoon about future in-laws from hell . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : this movie takes place over one day . \\nit\\'s a rookie cop\\'s narcotics training alongside a seasoned police veteran . \\nthe rookie doesn\\'t know much about \" street justice \" , so the older cop teaches him about the way things work in the \" real world \" . \\nhow even cops like themselves have to \" bend the rules \" and \" break the law \" every now and then , in order to catch the really bad guys . \\ncritique : a pretty intense little movie with solid acting across the board , some ups , some downs and a thrilling ending , despite a couple of small flaws . \\ni really enjoyed this movie because it followed two extreme characters and put them in situations which had me wondering about what i would do if i were in their place . \\nthe film gets right into the \" dirty \" side of , well . . . the \\ndirt on the streets , and proceeds to teach the rookie cop ( and us , the audience ) how things really work down there . \\nof course , we\\'re receiving this lesson from a man who has put away a lot of scum in his time , but the things he seems to be doing aren\\'t exactly on the up-and-up either . \\nand therein , lies the fun of the film . \\ndo you agree that you yourself would need to break a few small laws in order to put away the people who break the really big ones ? \\nwell , as the film moves along , we\\'re given two points of view in respect to this predicament , and to me , both sides made sense at some point or another . \\nand you gotta give a lot of credit to the screenplay for that , the director , who builds the film up wonderfully ( with the darkness of the day leading to the darkness in the script ) and the two actors who deliver their parts in spades . \\nhawke , first off , because he rarely plays these \" commercial \" roles but does so perfectly here , with a vulnerable side which has you feeling for the bastard right off the top . \\nand denzel , well , what can you say about mr . washington that hasn\\'t already been said before ? \\nhe comes through as per his usual high-level style here , and gives the audience a completely different side to his talent , of which , i personally would like to see more . \\nhe\\'s nice , he\\'s not so nice , he\\'s smart , he\\'s not so smart , he\\'s caring and he\\'s a dog all the way . \\nthe few problems that i did have with this film included the redundant nature of the whole thing at some point ( okay , we get it . . . you \\nhave to be nasty in order to deal with these nasty people . . . move on ) and this one really major \" coincidence \" which involved a bathtub , that saved the day for one character , but seemed a little too \" convenient \" for my taste . \\ni also never really understood how washington\\'s character got out of a certain dire predicament , only to be seen driving his car in the very next scene . \\nbut obviously these small flaws didn\\'t taint my overall enjoyment of this tense drama , a film that gets you right into the streets , into the nooks and the crannies , and into the moral dilemma which lies between the justice system and the day-to-day drug busts . \\nsee it if you want to wrestle with some of these issues yourself , see it if you want to see denzel and ethan strike up a palpable chemistry on-screen , and see it if you like holding on to your seat-handles real tight during a movie . \\nin fact , see it for the scene in which ethan hawke plays cards with a host of gang-bangers alone . . . dang , now that\\'s intense ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nthe corruptor ( 7/10 ) - crimson tide ( 9/10 ) - l . a . confidential ( /10 ) - lethal weapon ( 8/10 ) - requiem for a dream ( 8/10 ) - seven ( 10/10 ) - shaft ( 7/10 ) - traffic ( 8/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there is a scene in patch adams in which patch is in the center of a courtroom , surrounded by people who are giving him a lively standing ovation because of his strong-worded attack on a group of stoic doctors . \\nwhen i noticed that the audience with whom i saw this film was reacting the same way , i realized that i was going to have a hard time finding someone who agrees with me about the quality of the picture . \\nyou see , patch adams revolted me beyond all boundaries . \\ni hated this movie for every second that i sat watching it , and i actively hate it now , days later , with the simpering , superficial , nauseatingly sentimental images forever plaguing my memories . \\ni hate every element of the film , beginning with tom shadyac\\'s shameless direction , and all the way up to the misguided and mishandled themes that the screenplay wants so desperately to convey . \\nthe badness of patch adams is stupefying . \\nit\\'s confounding . \\ni can\\'t believe a film can be this bad . \\nand yet , it\\'s based on a real man who probably has a good point to make . \\nin the film , patch is played by the undefeatable and indefatigable robin williams , in a performance of such insulting pathos and sledgehammer sympathy that i wonder now if he is even human . \\nin the beginning of the film , patch commits himself to a mental institution because he doesn\\'t want to kill himself . \\nwhile there , he notices that the doctors don\\'t care about the patients , and that the best way to get through to the patients is to treat them like human beings . \\nso , patch goes on a crusade to be a great doctor who actually talks to his patients . \\nhe goes to medical school , where he meets truman ( daniel london ) and convinces him that it\\'s good to help people . \\nhe also meets carin fischer ( monica potters ) , the anti-male med student who just wants to go through the motions and be a successful doctor . \\nnaturally , the dean of the medical school ( bob gunton ) hates patch , and wants to thwart his plans , even though patch gets the highest scores on all of his exams . \\nso patch decides that he\\'s going to build a free clinic in the middle of nowhere to help people with any problem they may have . \\nand that , my friends , is the synopsis for what is easily the most abhorrent picture of 1998 . \\non a superficial level , the film is not particularly bad : i wouldn\\'t say the cinematography bothered me , and most of the performances seem to be exactly what shadyac was aiming for ( i actually liked potter\\'s performance , even if she is wasted ) . \\nbut the film fails fundamentally in execution . \\nevery scene swells with grand , \" emotional \" music , played at maximum volume just to get us all to cry real hard . \\ntake , for instance , the first scene , which shows patch sitting on a bus . \\nwe don\\'t know patch yet , but there\\'s sad music , and it\\'s supposed to make us really sad that he\\'s sad . \\nlater on , patch makes a lot of progress : he helps a dying patient ( peter coyote ) to enjoy the last days of his life , and the music as patch is pushing the patient recklessly through the halls of the hospital is very lively . \\nand when that patient finally dies ( spoiler alert ! ) , the music is very very sad . \\nbut the problem with all of this is that the music should not be the center of the emotions . \\nreal drama is character-based . \\nyou grow to like someone , and then something bad happens , and you feel it . \\nwe don\\'t ever grow to know the dying patient ; he\\'s simply a vehicle for patch\\'s greatness . \\nreal drama doesn\\'t seem forced , or present just to make the audience cry . \\nthat\\'s why patch adams is not real drama . \\nit goes for every cheap tear imaginable , wringing tired and overbearing sentimentality out of every scene . \\neven scenes that have very little impact on the overall film are drowning in marc shaiman\\'s sickening musical score . \\nsentimentality like this is indeed bad . \\nbut it\\'s not as bad as half-baked , simplistic themes . \\nyou see , patch is a really great student . \\nhe aces his tests without studying , and does it so effectively that people think he\\'s cheating . \\nbut patch doesn\\'t think that memorizing facts is the way to become a good doctor . \\n \" why don\\'t we see patients until the third year ? \" he bursts out every three seconds . \\nwell , patch , that might have something to do with the fact that you need to learn something before you go treating patients . \\nnot everyone has the capability of memorizing facts with no effort . \\nmost of us have to study . \\nand a doctor who really wants to help , but doesn\\'t know a toe from a finger , probably won\\'t be too successful in preventing death . \\noh wait , i almost forgot : the point of doctors is not just to \" prevent death , \" but to \" improve the quality of life ! \" \\nyes ! \\nthat is true ! \\nand you can not do that without studying . \\nyou can not do that without going to medical school . \\nwhat patch never seemed to understand was the possibility that maybe , just maybe , it is a good idea to study first and talk to patients later . \\nfollow the rules ? \\nbah ! \\nwho needs the rules ! \\nonly uptight doctors follow the rules . \\nthe real saviors are the ones running around the hospitals with big red spheres on their faces and sporting baggy yellow pants . \\nand then there\\'s the free clinic issue , which i find shockingly , frighteningly idealistic . \\na free clinic . \\nin the middle of the forest . \\nwhere patients can be taken to be helped . \\nfor free . \\nhow will patients be transported to the free clinic ? \\nwill it have an emergency room ? \\nor is it just for mental patients ? \\nand who , may i ask , will pay for it ? \\nthe film does give some token attempts to question patch\\'s motives ( i think another character asks him how he\\'s going to pay for it , in addition to a little bit of meaningless blather about hmos and medical insurance ) , but they certainly don\\'t explore or challenge patch\\'s ideas to any meaningful extent . \\nreader , please understand this : i am not making any kind of judgment on the real patch adams . \\ni know nothing about him . \\nif his beliefs mirror those of this film character , then i might like to have an intelligent discussion with him about them . \\nbut regardless of what the real patch adams believes , the themes put forth in this film are simplistic and phony . \\nand in the last scene , the big , obligatory courtroom scene that forced my lunch halfway up my esophagus , patch does a lot of shouting . \\nactually , robin williams does a lot of shouting . \\nhe shouts a lot about helping people , and a lot of people cry because they are moved by his words . \\ni won\\'t tell you that you can\\'t be moved by his words , because i , too , was moved by his words . \\ni was moved in such a profoundly negative way that i was reminded of how cheap and phony a cinematic experience can be . \\npatch adams is the cheapest of them all . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one fun activity for parents during the holidays is to suggest an old film and see if they can interest their kids . \\nalthough black-and-white films are frequently viewed as suspect , ones in color are greeted with more of an open mind . \\nand if you can find a colorful action film , even if it is from six decades ago , then there is a real possibility of a take home hit . \\nso it was in our family when we wandered over to the classic section of our local video store the other day and picked up a copy of the adventures of robin hood , a high spirited version of the walter scott story . \\nnominated for the 1938 academy award for best picture and winner of three oscars for erich wolfgang korngold\\'s melodramatic music , ralph dawson\\'s fast paced editing and carl jules weyl\\'s lush sets , the film is probably best remembered for errol flynn\\'s charismatic acting as sir robin of locksley , a . k . a . robin hood . \\nflynn , with his handsome figure and toothy smile , charms the audience while clearly having a high old time himself . \\nlet me cut to the chase and say that the tape was indeed popular in the rhodes household . \\nthe littlest rhodes , jeffrey , age 8 , liked it so much that he viewed it at least three times and maybe more . \\ni\\'ll let him discuss his fascination with the picture in his usual section at the end of the review . \\nsimply stated , the film derives its success from being one of the best of its genre , the swashbuckler . \\nrobin , with a smile from ear-to-ear , fights off a hundred men without a scratch . \\nalthough the picture can be considered as little more than a 1930\\'s james bond , the production values and the acting raise it above that level . \\nrobin hood is a classic story of rich and poor . \\nrobin steals from the rich and gives to the poor as every schoolchild knows . \\nin this movie , however , he seems much less interested in income redistribution than in fighting for his king and country . \\nrobin , with his courage and athletic skills , serves as a role model for kids . \\nand with the lovely olivia de havilland playing the dreamy-eyed lady marian fitzswalter , the story has heavy romantic overtones . \\nfilmed in the typical , richly oversaturated colors produced by early technicolor , the flesh tones are overly pink and there few color subtleties , which match perfectly the wonderfully exaggerated acting of the players . \\nin scene after scene the picture charms the audience . \\nwho wouldn\\'t fall for robin as he shows up incognito to win the archery contest , even if the outcome is so clearly preordained . \\nand , of course , he doesn\\'t just win , he does so by splitting the other man\\'s arrow . \\nwatching the picture today does provide some jarring moments . \\nsherlock holmes as the villain , sir guy of gisbourne , for example , just doesn\\'t seem right , even if basil rathbone did have a real-life identity outside of his most famous role . \\nand then there are those wigs from the makeup department -- so bad , they look like rejects from a mel brooks comedy . \\nas was popular in the cinema of that era , people die with the most gentle prick of the sword and without any nasty , bloody holes to spoil the wardrobe or the looks . \\nbad guys are banished rather than killed , and lovers go off hand-in-hand , doing nothing more explicitly sexual than kissing . \\nthe result is a wonderful fairy tale of a movie with delightful , cartoonish figures . \\nhollywood rarely makes such high quality family films like this anymore , so try to savor the old ones when you can . \\nthe adventures of robin hood runs 1 : 42 . \\nit is not rated , but containing absolutely nothing offensive , it would get a g rating and is fine for all ages . \\njeffrey thinks the film is \" great \" and gives it * * * * . \\nhe recommends the movie particularly for people who do not likely bloody pictures -- he hates the sight of blood in movies . \\nhis favorite parts are the battles and the ending , and his favorite characters are robin and king richard ( ian hunter ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : cro-magnon ayla loses her mother to an earthquake and escapes certain death by a lion . \\nreluctantly rescued by a neanderthal clan who likes to have sex doggy-style , ayla grows up to become a blond , feminist supermodel who challenges the neanderthal patriarchy by throwing rocks and giving birth without a mate . \\ncomments : allow me to state for the record that i find daryl hannah an appealing presence in movies . \\nshe proved quite charming as the intelligent astronomer in the romantic comedy roxanne and equally creepy as pris in the sci-fi classic blade runner . \\nthe clan of the cave bear clearly tries to capitalize on hannah as a selling point : the poster art bears a striking closeup of hannah in tribal paint and the video box prominently features her name in lettering the same size as the title . \\nnot even her starring role in this turkey , unfortunately , can save it from being an unbelievable exercise in cheese . \\nit\\'s so uniquely bad ( a film dealing with prehistoric man that actually tries , and miserably fails , to be serious ) that it\\'s oddly fascinating . \\nthe ridiculous attempt at drama here leaves the audience somehow transfixed , wanting to see how this dud plays out . \\nthe clan of the cave bear is based upon a popular novel by jean m . auel . \\nto this day , the book possesses a loyal cult following . \\ni remember a dear friend of mine had a dog-eared copy of the novel she had read as a child with all the so-called dirty parts blacked out with marker by her grandmother . \\ni have never read this book , but i sure hope it\\'s 10 , 000 times better than its film adaptation . \\nif not , then i\\'m at a complete loss to explain its popularity . \\nthe clan of the cave bear immediately opens with a comically absurd scene . \\na young ayla , looking much like drew barrymore in e . t . , \\ntramps about in the woods . \\nwith her cute little ponytails and fur wrapped about her , the audience\\'s expectations of a convincing portrayal of prehistory are immediately shattered . \\nwhat follows is a laughably choreographed sequence in which an earthquake swallows up ayla\\'s mother ( a blonde with fur pants . . . er , \\nleggings ) . \\ntearful ayla looks on as the cameraman shakes the camera . . . well , \\nas the earthquake slowly recedes . \\na hungry lion becomes interested in her for lunch , but the screaming six-year-old manages to outrun the king of the wild and find a safe haven . \\ni won\\'t detail the story any further ; this seems enough to illustrate my point . \\nthis movie is really stupid . \\nit never even gives the audience a chance to suspend their disbelief . \\nalso , the obvious comparison between the appearance of cro-magnon man in prehistory and the rise of feminism in our century is about as subtle as burning a wonderbra in front of charlton heston . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t just suggest this message ; it whacks the message into the audience with a two-by-four . \\na blond , gorgeous woman challenges the social laws of a bunch of people in gaudy brown wigs . \\nshe\\'s of the \" new people \" ; they\\'re of the \" old people \" with \" the memories . \" \\nyep . \\nwe get it . \\nwe get it . \\nthe clan of the cave bear apparently received an academy award nomination for best make-up , which surprises me . \\nthe movie depends upon a lot of make-up obviously , but much of it is unconvincing . \\nas stated before , daryl hannah is daryl hannah here ; she looks like she just stepped out of the shower all the time . \\nthe rest of the characters have dark make-up of some sort smeared over them to look like dirt . \\nthe face-painting that\\'s occasionally seen is perhaps the only notable work here in my mind . \\nthis movie also suffers from its new age trappings . \\nmaybe the music sounded a lot more fresh or original during 1985 , but now it sounds dated and cliched , like poorly conceived elevator music . \\nadd to this the film\\'s faux-mysticism , including spirit animals and dream visions , and a narrator who sounds like a psychic you\\'d expect to hear on a 1-900 number , and you get a movie that has serious problems being serious . \\nthe clan of the cave bear is rated r , though it\\'s probably one of the most inoffensive offensive films i\\'ve seen in quite a while . \\nit contains several scenes of sex sans nudity . \\nthe violence mostly consists of hunting scenes . \\nthe funniest moment of the movie occurs when a neanderthal in love with ayla attempts to rescue her from a ferocious bear . \\nthe bear bites his head off and the audience sees it rolling about . \\nalthough this may sound gratuitous , i\\'m sure , it\\'s so cheesy that it probably won\\'t bother most people . \\nthe clan of the cave bear is a bad movie . \\nhowever , as i wrote at the beginning of this review , it does have the distinction of originality . \\ntypically when i think of bottom-of-the-barrel films dealing with early man , fantasy movies involving dinosaurs ( who did not exist at the same time as man ) and raquel welch come to mind . \\nthe clan of the cave bear tries so hard to be serious that , though it\\'s so bad , the audience is still interested by the unique setting and characters of the movie ( which is why i awarded this turkey two stars ) . \\ni have to think that fans of the book would be disappointed with this film version ; however , i\\'m only basing this observation on the fact that the book is almost invariably better than the movie . \\ni shudder to think that it could be otherwise . . . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'frequency n . , \\nthe number of times a specified phenomenon occurs within a specified interval as the number of repetitions of a complete sequence of values of a periodic function per unit variation of an independent variable ? etc \\ndon\\'t worry . \\nwhen watching the thriller frequency , you won\\'t have to know what the heck frequency means . \\nthe premise , although it may sound complex , is very basic on the big screen . \\na new york cop , john , ( jim caviezel ) finds a radio in his house , which allows him to communicate with his new york firefighter father , frank , ( dennis quaid ) who died thirty years ago . \\nimmediately john warns his father that he will die trying to stop a fire in an abandoned warehouse . \\nwhen frank takes his advice and survives the accident he wasn\\'t supposed to , the two eventually realize that by changing that one moment in the past , they have created a whole new future in which a serial killer murders john\\'s mother and nine other women . \\nit is now up to john and frank to use their special connection and save thirty years ago to make present time a better place . \\n ( i told you that wasn\\'t confusing ? ) . \\noverall , i was very pleased with frequency . \\nit\\'s occasional sappy moments perfectly synchronized with its suspenseful serial killer scenes . \\ni usually don\\'t buy those cheesy \" i love you dad \" segments in movies , but this one surprisingly satisfied me . \\nmaybe because the plot is so creative and universal that i believed that this is how most people would act when talking to a dead relative . \\nfrequency\\'s creepy premise left me thinking once the film ended , what if ? \\nwhat would i do ? \\nwould i help my own family or save a historical figure from being assasinated ? \\nor stop some kids from shooting other kids ? \\nor buy stock from yahoo ! ? \\n ( a character in the film does the latter with humorous consequences ) . \\nfrequency also reminded me of the fantastic back to the future . \\nboth share that \" change the past slightly , and you\\'ll change the future heavily \" warning . \\nthe changes between the present and the past , such as different newspaper headlines or people disappearing and reappearing in photographs , are very similar . \\nboth are also wonderful feel-good family films that can attract to a number of generations . \\nthe only difference worth noting is that frequency\\'s final scene doesn\\'t set up a possibility for a lucrative sequel already in the making . \\nthere are some problems with the film though . \\nfirst , there is a major flaw in the story towards the end that is somewhat distracting ( email me if you have seen the movie and want to know what i think it is ) . \\nthe plot must have confused even the filmmakers who frequently ( no pun intended ) switch from 1969 to 1999 while telling the story . \\nanother problem is that the supporting cast , including noah emmerich and andre braugher , are underused . \\nwhile in the film , which is not enough , the aforementioned actors steal every scene they are in . \\nfrequency was a pleasant surprise for me and the audience i saw it with who cheered at the end . \\neven if you know what is going to happen or if you think the preview ruined the movie for you , like it almost did for me , check this movie out . \\nyou may be surprised as well . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if anyone had been able in 1983 to forsee a late-night cable show hosted by gilbert gottfried showcasing some of the worst films of the 80\\'s , they\\'d agree d . c . cab is the quintessential \" usa up all nite \" movie . \\nit\\'s one of those childish r-rated movies that kids would love but can\\'t see until it\\'s edited for tv . \\nit\\'s also one of those pointless , almost plotless movies with hardly any laughs . \\nand , strike three , it pairs mr . t with gary busey . \\ni heard gilbert say d . c . cab had \" an all-star cast , \" but i\\'m still hoping there was some degree of facetiousness in that statement . \\nwhen third-billing goes to a two-minute appearance by famed flashdancer irene cara \" as herself , \" you can\\'t say a damn thing about all-star casts . \\nlikewise for token appearances by marsha \" roz \" warfield , paul rodriguez and \" politically incorrect \" host bill maher , before he was somebody . \\nappearing in d . c . cab pretty much had the opposite effect on everyone else , especially irene \" i\\'m gonna live forever \" cara . \\nd . c . cab is an ensemble comedy from joel schumacher ( who would go on to direct batman forever ) about a bunch of misfits who drive cabs . \\nyou get the feeling if the police academy cadets had made a different career choice , this would be the result , except here you have such interesting characters as the \" token white guy \" ( busey ) who wants to get in tight with the blacks now before they take over the world , the token jive talker named tyrone ( charlie barnett ) who wears his hair in rollers and uses the word \" honkey \" as much as possible , the tough guy with the mohawk and gold chains ( mr . t -- a real stretch for him ) , the aspiring musician waiting for his big break ( maher ) , the mexican gigolo ( rodriguez ) , the woman who actually wants to drive cabs for a living ( warfield ) and the guy who wants to own a cab company for a living ( adam baldwin ) . \\nwe\\'ve all seen dozens of bad comedies from the 80\\'s . \\nsome are fun to watch and some are actually funny . \\nthis one is more or less neither . \\nyou\\'d think plenty of comedic sparks would fly from the assemblage of talent ( whatever ) , but d . c . cab more or less falls flat on a continual basis , culminating in the usual contrived hollywood finale as baldwin is kidnapped and the other cabbies have to go to rescue him . \\nit\\'s a shame no one was able to rescue this movie from the depths of stale jokes and unoriginality . \\nd . c . cab has rightly earned its position on \" usa up all nite . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"a sci fi/comedy starring jack nicholson , pierce brosnan , annette benning , glenn close , martin short and other stars . \\na warner bros picture \\nthe martians have landed in this hillarous tim burton movie . \\nbefore entering the cinema , i was initially a little bit nervous about what this film would be like . \\nmany people were saying that this film was silly rubbish , and there was no point to it all . \\nhow wrong they were . \\ni left this film feeling much happier than i was before i entered the cinema . \\nthe story is about martians attacking earth . \\nusing ray guns ( hooray ! ) \\nthey generally cause havoc around the u . s and other countries . \\nnicholson plays the president who must try to stop invasion , and also taking advice from his loopy officials . \\nbut , basically , its a load of set pieces showing the martians destroying earth . \\nthe way people are killed by the ray guns is great , they is a hillarous ( and mildly disturbing scene ) involving a martian lady , a mad general who just wants to nuke the aliens away , ( and ends up getting squashed by an aliens foot ) and a gory finale involving lots of alien heads exploding . \\nbut , most of all , this film is fun . \\nthe martians are full of character , the performances are spot on , and the all star cast help make the film more enjoyable . \\nthe film is a million times better then the dire independance day , and is a real tribute to the tacky '50s invasion movies . \\nthey are is a great score by danny elfman , and lots of laughs . \\nthis has to be the best invasion i've seen for a long time . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'if you have ever seen fox tv\\'s special car chase programs , you\\'ll have a good idea about the content of ronin , the new action \" thriller \" from director john frankenheimer . \\nthe film involves a mysterious briefcase , that several groups of terrorist want to get their hands on . \\nan irish women , dierdre ( played by the truman show\\'s natascha mcelhone ) , hires a group of mercenaries to assist her in getting the briefcase . \\namong the people she hires are sam ( robert de niro ) , vincent ( jean reno ) , and gregor ( stellan skarsg ? rd from good will hunting ) . \\ndierdre\\'s groups assignment is too seize the briefcase while the current owners are transporting it . \\nthey accomplish this task , but a traitor is in the bunch and the briefcase is soon on the run again . \\nthe briefcase stays on the run , as the movie leads the viewer through several plot twists that are badly executed . \\nthe writer seemed to be attempting to make a smart action movie , but failed to understand that just because there are surprises , it doesn\\'t add too the credibility of a senseless script . \\nthe plot twists get no reaction because they come at a time where no one cares what is going on , after the apparent climax of the film . \\nbut to add to the excitement , as i mentioned earlier , there are endless car chase scenes . \\nthey are unrealistic and fail to add anything to the story . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , i love car chases , but they were overdone and too long here . \\nwe never do find out what\\'s in the briefcase , but i doubt anyone cares by the time they finish sitting through this two hour long attempted thriller . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'while alex browning ( devon sawa ) waits at jfk to leave for a school trip to paris , bad omens seem to surround him . \\nas soon as he buckles into the plane , he has a vision of the plane exploding seconds after take-off . \\nwhen the vision begins to come true , alex bolts for the door , dragging several students and a teacher in his wake . \\nthe plane takes off without them and explodes just as alex predicted . \\nhe becomes an object of fear and suspicion among the community , and the tension only increases as the survivors begin to die . \\nalex and another survivor , clear rivers ( ali larter ) , investigate the suspicious \" suicide \" of a friend , and a mortician ( tony \" candyman \" todd ) clues them in to the truth : alex interrupted death\\'s design by saving people who should have died in the explosion , and death will want to claim its rightful victims . \\nin order to save himself and the others , alex will have to figure out death\\'s new plan and thwart it . \\nof the countless horror films that have competed for a piece of the \" scream \" audience , \" final destination \" is the best so far . \\ntalented young screenwriter jeffrey reddick offers a fresh variation on a familiar formula . \\nwe\\'ve seen hundreds of movies where a group of teenagers are murdered one-by-one by a faceless slasher , but reddick cuts out the hockey-masked middle-man and makes the villain death itself . \\nfirst-time feature director james wong made the most of that premise . \\nevery scene is permeated with creepiness and foreboding , reminding us that death is everywhere , can come at anytime . \\neveryday objects and events vibrate with menace . \\nthe most amusing harbinger of doom : john denver\\'s \" rocky mountain high , \" which is played several times in the movie before someone dies . \\n ( the link is that denver died in a plane crash , and the song includes a line about fire in the sky . ) \\nthe performances are stronger than those usually elicited by teen horror . \\ndevon sawa , who previously starred in another horror flick , \" idle hands , \" gives a frantic and convincing lead performance . \\nkerr smith is carter hogan , an antagonist of alex\\'s whose quick temper causes him to pulled off the fatal plane . \\nsmith plays carter as filled with anger and confusion that constantly threatens to bubble over into violence . \\nseann william scott , who\\'s also in theaters right now in \" road trip , \" plays the somewhat dim billy hitchcock and provides a needed counterpoint to the intensity of alex and carter . \\ntony todd\\'s one-scene cameo is delicious but all too brief . \\nbottom line : watchable teen fright flicks are few and far between , but this destination is worth visiting . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when a someone journeys to the theater to see a comedy , he always risks having to sit through inanity such as what we recently saw in films like edtv and office space . \\nit really is too bad that comedies are so hit- and-miss , because when a moviegoer goes in a theater expecting to be amused , it really is a shame when the alleged comedy fails to deliver . \\nbut weep not , dear readers , because the latest comedy out of the hollywood movie mill is nothing less than a sure bet . \\naustin powers : the spy who shagged me is one of the funniest things i\\'ve had the pleasure to see in a long time ; a completely looney , delightful parody of the often pretentious james bond flicks . \\nif all comedies ( or even half ; or - - what am i saying ? \\n-- even a fifth of them ) could be this consistently hysterical , i would take up residence at my local multiplex . \\neven more to this movie\\'s credit is the fact that it is a sequel to the 1997 sleeper/cult hit austin powers : international man of mystery . \\nthe original came out of nowhere ; it was a low-budget , eccentric movie that many expected to flop like a leslie nielsen parody . \\nall of a sudden it was being quoted by teenagers all over america . \\nironically , powers\\' \" yeeeeah baby , yeah ! \" \\nhas almost become an icon of the late 90s . \\nthus another installment was inevitable , but it\\'s also undoubtedly welcome . \\nthe spy who shagged me is one of the most unrestrained , over- the-top comedies i have ever seen in my entire life . \\nit brings back most of the characters from its predecessor ( even if only briefly ) and adds new ones . \\naustin powers ( mike myers ) , a swinging hipster from the 60s transported into the 90s has to go back to his own time to get back his mojo ( oh , you\\'ll figure it out ) , which dr . evil ( meyers again ) has stolen . \\nhe enlists the help of a gorgeous secret agent felicity shagwell ( now that his prior sidekick vanessa has been properly disposed of in a hilarious opening sequence ) , played without much distinguishable gusto by heather graham and together they go back to the 60s to defeat dr . evil yet again . \\nsurprisingly , the real star is dr . evil rather than austin . \\nhe gets most of the screen time because he was so popular in the first movie . \\nperhaps this is true because he is portrayed and written so affectionately . \\ninstead of being the scheming , villainous mad scientist we might expect from a character like this he is a bumbling , often sweet mad scientist wannabe . \\nthe spy who shagged me has much of the same stuff we saw in the original , but that\\'s okay by me because the original left us wanting more . \\nby the time that one was over we haven\\'t had nearly our share of shag jokes , crude puns and powers\\' antics and this sequel satisfies our appetites . \\neven by its conclusions , i\\'m still not sure i\\'ve had my fill of bits like \" do you smoke after sex ? \" \\n \" i don\\'t know , baby , i never looked . \" \\nthis may seem awfully immature of me , but understand that the austin powers series , unlike most of the crap hollywood feeds us these days , is genuinely funny . \\ni don\\'t know if i\\'ve ever laughed harder at any movie than i did during the jerry springer send up or the indubitably hilarious \" just the two of us \" rendition by dr . evil and his new miniature clone named \" mini-me \" . \\ni don\\'t have any pretensions that this is particularly smart social satire or anything of the sort . \\nindeed there is little beyond the joy a viewer feels when he sees something that is able to entertain him as much as this movie did . \\nbut as far as i\\'m concerned , that is enough . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov &#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i know that \" funnest \" isn\\'t a word . \\n \" fun \" is a noun , and therefore cannot be conjugated like an adjective . \\nbut that\\'s the word that came to me right after viewing \" chicken run . \" \\nno wonder : this is the kind of movie that reduces you to childish expressions , like \" that was the funnest movie i\\'ve ever seen ! \" \\nso to hell with webster\\'s -- \" chicken run \" is one of the funnest movies i\\'ve seen in a while . \\ni can\\'t remember the last time i\\'ve seen anything funner . \\nthe chickens at tweedy\\'s farm are up to something . \\nliving in a concentration camp-like atmosphere , they are led by one plucky hen called ginger ( voice of julia sawalha ) who continually comes up with plans for escape -- and always gets caught , subsequently spending day after day in the coal box . \\none night , a brash american rooster flies in over the fence , calling himself rocky ( mel gibson ) , famous flying rooster and circus performer . \\nrocky promises to teach the chickens how to fly , and the situation grows more desperate as the nefarious mrs . tweedy ( miranda richardson ) decides to abandon the farm\\'s egg-selling plan for a pie-selling plan . \\nshe orders a huge pie-making machine , cackling , \" chickens go in ; pies come out . \" \\nwhat sort of pies ? \\nchicken pies , of course . \\nco-director nick park and his studio , aardman animation , produced three oscar-winning short films : \" creature comforts , \" \" the wrong trousers , \" and \" a close shave . \" \\nthe latter two were the second and third installments of a trilogy starring the delightful team wallace & gromit , a man and his dog famous for getting themselves into increasingly peculiar adventures . \\npart of what made the \" wallace \" films brilliantly entertaining was park\\'s uncanny ability to make an old story seem new . \\n \" the wrong trousers , \" for example , pulled out a lot of old hitchcockian suspense tricks , and \" a close shave \" owed a great deal of inspiration to classic detective stories . \\nbut in the hands of park and his team , the stories felt fresh and inspired , and not the least bit contrived . \\nnow teaming with co-director peter lord , park has created a similar creature in \" chicken run . \" \\nthe plot is largely lifted from \" the great escape \" ( watch for a quick reference to the ball-bouncing scene ) , with some spielberg-inspired action sequences providing the excitement . \\nthing is , the film doesn\\'t feel like it\\'s been lifted from somewhere else ; \" chicken run \" feels fresh , alive , like nothing else ever done . \\npart of it is the original idea : who in the world came up with the idea to make a prisoners-of-war movie starring chickens ? \\npark and lord milk the incongruity for all it\\'s worth : the characters treat their situation as if it were dead serious , and to them , it is . \\nbut they\\'re * chickens * , so it\\'s funny to us . \\nanother thing that helps \" chicken run \" ( and most of park\\'s films ) succeed is the animators\\' subtle way of giving nods to the very films they\\'re cribbing . \\nthere are references to \" the great escape , \" obviously , and \" stalag 17 . \" \\nthe chase sequence inside the chicken grinder parodies both \" raiders of the lost ark \" and \" indiana jones and the temple of doom . \" \\nthere\\'s even a nod to \" the blues brothers , \" if you can believe it , and the filmmakers even get in a little light-hearted ribbing at the expense of their star voice actor , taking a couple of very subtle jabs at mel gibson\\'s nationality and film history . \\nthe \" braveheart \" reference is a hoot if you catch it . \\nwhen you consider just how fine a line resides between a funny parody and a redundant one , \" chicken run \" is downright brilliant in its execution . \\nconsider this : since july of last year , i\\'ve seen dozens upon dozens of \" blair witch project \" parodies , on television , on the radio , and online . \\nout of all those , maybe one or two were amusing , the rest tiresome . \\nwhy ? \\nbecause once you got past the thought that \" they\\'re parodying that \\'blair witch\\' movie , \" most of the parodies had nothing to offer -- no insight , no original idea , no greater purpose . \\nthey were only funny if you had seen the movie ; otherwise , you got nothing . \\nconversely , \" chicken run \" doesn\\'t lean on its parodies -- the film references are never the sole focus of any scene . \\nif you\\'ve never seen \" indiana jones , \" the chase sequence is still fun . \\neven if you have no idea who mel gibson is , rocky remains an interesting character . \\npark , lord , and screenwriter karey kirkpatrick realize that an audience does not need a parody shoved in their faces before it\\'s understood , and as a result , \" chicken run \" is filled with visual and verbal jabs that are never too obvious , but not quite vague either . \\nenjoyment of this movie doesn\\'t require knowledge of film history , but if you\\'ve got it , \" chicken run \" is that much richer . \\nthe voice cast turns in uniformly lively performances , and the characters they play are given so many subtle nuances that it\\'s hard not to fall in love with every one of them . \\nginger is perfect , spunky and opinionated , but with a soft heart that forbids her to leave her companions behind , and julia sawalha ( known as the cute mousy girl on \" absolutely fabulous \" ) nails it . \\nshe has warm , human chemistry with gibson , whose rocky hides his personal doubt under a brash gung-ho veneer . \\nthe characters\\' inevitable romance doesn\\'t feel contrived , but sweet . \\npoor mr . tweedy ( tony haygarth ) suspects the chickens are organizing in some way , but his limited intellect prevents him from figuring things out , and his overbearing wife certainly isn\\'t any help . \\njane horrocks delivers a lovely voice characterization as tragically optimistic babs ( a hen that runs away with most of the best one-liners , all while perpetually crocheting a sweater ) , and two supply-trading rats that seem to have walked straight out of a monty python sketch nearly steal the show during the lively central swing-dancing sequence . \\nthey even come up with an inspired riff on something that\\'s baffled scholars and theologians alike for decades : the chicken vs . egg dilemma . \\none might have expected this inevitable joke to come off as wearisome , but as with most of \" chicken run , \" it comes as a delightful surprise . \\nthe film manages to cross all barriers ; it should be accessible to both children and adults , brits and yanks , rats and chickens . \\nthe animation is first-rate . \\nremember that this was all done the old-fashioned way , with actual humans moving clay figurines around on a tiny set bit by painstaking bit , and you see just how truly remarkable \" chicken run \" really is . \\nthis movie possesses that same quality that makes pixar studios\\' animation great : precise and unwavering attention to detail . \\nas in such top-notch family fare as \" a bug\\'s life \" or \" toy story 2 , \" \" chicken run \" has something to offer in nearly every frame . \\ncertainly a passive viewer can enjoy it as a straightforward story with a worthwhile moral and some surprisingly touching scenes , but a active , attentive viewers will enjoy it even more because they\\'ll catch all the details . \\nanyway , the movie\\'s just a boatload of fun . \\nfunnest damn movie i\\'ve seen all year . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in the year 2029 , captain leo davidson ( mark wahlberg , \" boogie nights \" ) is training \\'his\\' chimp pericles to pilot a pod from the usaf oberon space station . \\nwhen an electromagnetic storm is encountered and pericles\\' pod is lost , davidson sets out unauthorized and lands thousands of years in the future on the \" planet of the apes . \" \\nmaybe if 20th century fox had set the proverbial 100 chimps in front of typewriters they would have gotten a better results than this adaptation of the pierre boulle novel by william broyles jr . ( \" cast away \" ) , and lawrence konner & mark d . rosenthal ( \" mighty joe young \" ) . \\ndirector tim burton\\'s unique look and style are nowhere to be found in this silly , pointless remake . \\ndavidson no sooner lands than he finds himself being swarmed by savages running in terror , whom he wisely joins . \\nhowever , he\\'s rounded up with the lot of them by the apes which rule this plant and handed over to slave trader limbo ( paul giamatti , \" duets \" ) . \\nari ( helena bonham carter , \" fight club \" ) , daughter of the illustrious senator sandar ( david warner , \" titanic \" ) and simian bleeding heart , believes humans should live with apes on equal standing , an unpopular notion . \\nshe takes a liking to leo , who she deems \\'unusual . \\' \\ngeneral thade ( tim roth , \" lucky numbers \" ) is of the opposite opinion , wishing for declaration of martial law that will allow him to annihilate the race . \\nhe\\'s sweet on ari . \\nit\\'s relatively easy to see where this \\'new\\' story is going from the onset , yet its ultimate revelation has gaping logic holes . \\nthe much ballyhooed \\'surprise\\' ending is a nonsensical let down . \\nan attempt at a love triangle , conveyed by ari and the human daena ( estella warren , \" driven \" ) giving each other \\'back off\\' looks over leo , fails because he never develops a relationship with either of them . \\nthe lone sex scene is some hilarious foreplay between elder orangutan senator nado ( glenn shadix ) and his trophy wife nova ( burton\\'s squeeze , lisa marie ) . \\nguffaws will also likely greet charlton heston\\'s cameo as thade\\'s father , the one ape harboring a firearm ( ! ) who sputters some very familiar lines before dying . \\nthe only real success of the 2001 \" planet of the apes \" is rick baker\\'s makeup , and even that\\'s an iffy affair . \\nno attempt was made to change the human whiteness of the actors\\' eyes , a real distraction amidst some otherwise impressive work . \\nroth , warner and michael clarke duncan ( as thade\\'s right hand man attar ) are given the most impressive makeovers . \\ngiamatti looks more like a skull than an ape and the female apes are too humanized to be given sexual appeal . \\ntim roth delivers the most impressive acting job by getting the body language right - his nasty chimpanzee character leaps about , most spectacularly when mounting his steed , but even\\'s he\\'s undone by some obvious wire work . \\nbonham carter delivers a goodly range of emotion from behind a stiff prosthetic , but is undone in turn by the silliness of the writing . \\nmost of the film has a set bound look which no amount of mist can cover . \\nthe ape\\'s city resembles a dank complex of tree houses . \\nthe apes\\' military costumes ( colleen atwood , \" sleepy hollow \" ) as well as their field tents are reminiscent of eiko ishioka\\'s work on coppola\\'s \" dracula . \" \\nthat oriental flavor is also found in danny elfman\\'s tribal , percussive score . \\n \" planet of the apes \" was the last blockbuster hope for the summer of 2001 , a dismal movie season that\\'s going to the dogs . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'here is a film that is so unexpected , so scary , and so original that it caught me off guard and threw me for a loop . \\nokay , it isn\\'t quite original , considering it is a sequel to the box office hit species , but it certainly is smart . \\nmost films of this genre are reminiscent of those cheesy b-horror films from the 50s and 60s , and some even become them . \\nhowever , as we learned with the 1995 small-budget horror/sci-fi film , sometimes expectations can be shattered . \\na lot of criticism has gone against this film ( from what i have read so far , anyway--yep , all two reviews ) , and it makes me wonder why these types of films are automatically dismissed as gory , laughable pieces of trash . \\nbut , the thing is , it isn\\'t . \\nit\\'s well made , well acted , and quite intelligent . \\ni can see most of the critics now complaining about the level of gore or the level of sexuality in the film . \\nbut the species series isn\\'t about the lack of these elements . \\nit\\'s about how much it can get into one film . \\nand yet , behind it all , it has this basic premise that allows it to get away with doing so . \\nspecies ii begins in the present day , though it seems to be an alternate universe . \\nmany films ( especially sci-fi ones ) create similar timelines as our realistic one , but change it to fit the film\\'s needs . \\nspecies ii begins with the arrival of an american spacecraft , the excursion , landing on the surface of mars . \\naboard is patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , a very bright and very handsome astronaut . \\npatrick is the son of senator ross ( james cromwell ) , who just wants patrick to succeed . \\nwell , it would seem that he has succeeded . \\nlanding on the surface of mars , he is the first human being to ever do so . \\nof course , he isn\\'t the first ever . \\nabout a billion years ago , an alien species supposedly landed on mars and destroyed the perfect living conditions that were able to sustain life . \\nnow , of course , the red planet is cold and rocky . \\nno life lives on it . \\nthat is , no visible life . \\npatrick , upon leaving the spacecraft and landing on the red soil , collects samples from the ground . \\nhe takes them aboard , and puts them in storage . \\nunfortunately , one of the samples contains a form of life , and it gets loose when it is heated aboard the ship . \\njust prior to heading back to earth , this life form creeps along the floor and inhabits the earthlings . \\nthey pass out for approximately seven minutes , and then shrug it off as nothing , because they can\\'t even remember . \\nthey blame it on a technical malfunction . \\nback on earth , patrick begins to have strong urges to mate with as many women as possible . \\nas we know from the original , this is because the alien wants to breed and take over the planet . \\nhowever , the children that are bred are half-human , as their father is . \\npatrick is really looking for another alien to breed with , and he finds it in eve ( natasha henstridge ) . \\neve was cloned from dna taken from sil , the original alien . \\nhowever , this time around , most of her \" alien \" urges have been either decreased dramatically , or lie dormant . \\nthe project is led by dr . laura baker ( marg helgenberger , reprising her role from species ) , and her motives seem respectable . \\nsince she was involved with the original alien attack , she wants to learn how to stop the alien should it come again . \\nand it has . \\nstory-wise , species ii is much stronger than its predecessor , but it is also much stronger than , say , aliens ( hey , i love the film , but you can\\'t tell me it was strong on story ) . \\nwhat surprised me the most with this film was the incorporation of historical facts into the screenplay . \\nin my search for extraterrestrial intelligence course in college , we learned about a piece of rock from mars which landed in one of the poles . \\nthis piece of rock contained fossils which may have been proof of life on mars ( later , it was proven that it was not a living creature that created it ) . \\nthe script uses this effectively , but also manages to provide a well-balanced plot . \\nbeginning with the first man on mars ( something i have always dreamed of seeing ) , i was hoping that the film would turn this element into a useful starting point for the movie . \\nand it does it quite well . \\nthe characters are all smart , and they know what to do and what not to do . \\nthe only character that seems a little cliched is the general ( george dzundza ) , and yet , he remains logical in everything he does . \\nthere are the obvious flaws of course , mostly lying in the technical aspects . \\nthe special effects are only mediocre , and some are just plain bad . \\nbut for the most part , they remain believable ( i even noticed a homage to the alien series when the mothers gave birth to alien children ) . \\nalso , the most realistic ones are usually the goriest , ranging from people being torn open , or someone\\'s head being blown off . \\nhowever , some plot elements also may elicit laughs from the audience , including a menage a troi that is all but necessary . \\nmany people dislike the species series because all it is is an excuse for sex , nudity , and gory violence . \\nhowever , i tend to disagree . \\nwhat were the alien films about ? \\nand , if an alien species ever did come to earth , and their sole purpose was to destroy us , wouldn\\'t you mate as quickly as possible with as many people as possible ? \\nmy only gripe with this is during the scene where patrick goes searching for a mate in a grocery store . \\ni didn\\'t realize that aliens were that picky on choosing women to mate with ( i just assume it is his part-human side looking for the most beautiful one ) . \\nthe acting is quite good for this kind of film . \\nit is a vast improvement over the first film , at least . \\nthe acting is the key element to this film : if it was bad , it would have lowered itself into camp ; if it was good , it would have asked for comparison with films like aliens . \\nokay , so it isn\\'t that good . \\ngeorge dzundza is probably the most obvious mistake on casting , as his over-the-top impersonation of a general makes him annoying and distracting . \\nnatasha henstridge is limited this time around , as she is usually enclosed in a cage . \\nhowever , she does manage a very impressive performance with this aspect hindering any of her talent . \\noh yeah , and she\\'s quite fun to just plain watch . \\nmarg helgenberger is immensely better this time around , and her performance is probably the best in this film . \\nmichael madsen is so-so , but he isn\\'t annoying , and he soon becomes rather appealing ( with his nice cynic personality ) . \\njames cromwell has a small part , but he makes it much better than what it could have been with a more incapable actor . \\nas i say , any film with james cromwell dramatically increases in likeability . \\nmykelti williamson gives an enjoyable performance , and he gives the film a more down-to-earth feel . \\nand , of course , justin lazard . \\nlazard has so far been ridiculed for his performance , but i think he is effective . \\nsure , he is wooden , but isn\\'t that what his character is like ? \\nthe moment when he touches the glass separating henstridge from him was extremely well done , due to the couple\\'s acting . \\nspecies ii is rated r for strong sexuality , sci-fi violence/gore and language . \\nthis is definitely an r rated film that young kids should not see . \\nmore than likely , they would probably have nightmares and never have sex for the rest of their lives . \\nhell , i don\\'t even know if i will . \\nwhat is sure to be a critically lambasted film turns out to be the surprise film of the year . \\ni probably won\\'t see another film where i was expecting so little and got so much for quite a while . \\ndirector peter medak has crafted a very suspenseful , and sometimes very scary movie out of a mediocre series . \\nmedak has also mastered the wonderful \" jump ! \" \\nmoments , and has probably the second scariest moment i have ever seen on film ( scream still has the first ) . \\nstrong acting , smart dialogue , intelligent plotting , and a sure-handed director , species ii is exactly what these films should be : entertaining . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'not since oliver stone\\'s natural born killers has there been a movie this incendiary , and not since david cronenberg has a so-called mainstream director been this willing to repeatedly tiptoe the fine line between pointed social commentary and outright social irresponsibility . \\nwhile fincher\\'s films have never suffered from a lack of shock value ( his major character killings in both alien 3 and seven are fine examples ) , fight club marks the distillation of his pitch-black comedic sensibility ( see 1997\\'s the game ) into something like a definitive statement . \\njack ( norton , acting as both narrator and protagonist ) is your typical cubicle clone , whose disillusionment is amplified by a seemingly incurable insomnia . \\non the offhand advice of a doctor , he sits in on group-therapy sessions for everything from blood parasites to testicular cancer . \\nhere he meets bob ( marvin lee aday , aka meat loaf ) , a cancer-emasculated eunuch with profound gynecomastia . \\nstrangely , the release he finds while sobbing on bob\\'s breasts allows him to sleep at night , at least until a fellow group-therapy \" tourist \" named marla singer ( carter ) comes along to ruin things for him , forcing a grudging compromise that recalls monty python in its dark hilarity . \\nlater , he meets tyler durden ( pitt ) , a soap salesman with a decidedly subversive outlook on life . \\none night , after his ikea- furnished condo explodes ( don\\'t ask-- you\\'ll just have to see the movie , awright ? ) , he is goaded by tyler into a fight , and damned if it doesn\\'t feel good . \\nit is pure , raw existence , a brief moment of clarity and purpose that makes his dreary workaday life pale in comparison . \\nhe moves into tyler\\'s squalid abandoned mansion , and they form the titular organization , an underground therapy group where men bond with bare-knuckle savagery and very few rules , the first two of which are \" don\\'t talk about fight club . \" \\narmed with charisma and an attractive anti-corporate philosophy , tyler assumes leadership of the burgeoning membership of white-collar slaves and dead-end mcemployees . \\nresentment creeps into jack\\'s heart , made worse by the fact that tyler is also regularly and noisily boffing the hated marla . \\nfunded by a frivolous lawsuit , tyler begins molding his devotees into an army dedicated to mischief and mayhem . \\ntheir initially juvenile pranks ( like pissing in food and putting spike belts on roads ) quickly evolve into something more like sedition , and jack fears that things have gone sour . \\nit is after this point , when you are plenty uncomfortable and wondering just how far fincher will go to say something original , that the film uncorks a disappointing plot twist . \\nit is so contrived-- and so conventional compared to what precedes it-- that everything which follows ( including the ending ) becomes far less interesting . \\nit\\'s a major ( though not fatal ) flaw , and for a director as notoriously unpredictable as fincher , it feels like a cop-out . \\nfight club is going to be misconstrued by a great many people . \\nin the early going , it has a downright dangerous feel ; it seems to be saying that violence and civil disobedience are good for the soul , and this is undoubtedly the message that a few moronic punks are going to take from it . \\ni\\'ll be mightily surprised if imitation fight clubs don\\'t spring up here and there , and i\\'ll be even more amazed if fincher isn\\'t vilified for it by the same humorless witch-hunters that are currently after oliver stone . \\nthey needn\\'t bother , because fight club is less a message movie than fincher\\'s elaborate attempt at a joke . \\ntyler durden , for all his dionysian allure , is really nothing more than the logical ( and far less hypocritical ) extrapolation of all those self-help gurus who constantly show up on oprah to preach their me-first gospel of self-actualization . \\nin this context , the joke works , but like the latest columbine joke , some people will get it and enjoy a good laugh , and others won\\'t . \\nhopefully , though , their silly moral outrage won\\'t spoil the joke for the rest of us . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the police negotiator is the person with the entirely unenviable job of going into ground zero and attempting to talk a dangerous criminal out of doing whatever he or she intends to do . \\nlives are often at stake , and the criminal is usually armed and most likely mentally unstable , prone to turn on the negotiator at a moment\\'s notice . \\nthe negotiator must therefore be something of an actor , psychologist , and sham artist , in addition to being a police officer ; he must be able to think on his feet and either work toward the goal of ending the confrontation without violence , or failing that , must be prepared to facilitate the conclusion of the crisis through firepower . \\nmost of all , the negotiator must be able to enter a situation with as little intelligence about the scenario as possible , and quickly gain control of the situation , dominate the conversation , and influence the perpetrator into thinking that the end of the conflict is what he really wants . \\nit takes a pretty smart person to do that . \\nbut what if the hostage-holding criminal is just as smart ? \\nwhat if he\\'s also able to think on his feet ? \\nin fact , what if he also knows all the tricks to turning the situation to his favor ? \\nit is this circumstance which forms the basis for f . gary gray\\'s the negotiator . \\nin this film , police negotiator danny roman ( samuel l . jackson ) is tipped off by his partner to corruption within the chicago police force . \\nwhen his partner turns up shot to death and internal affairs finds incriminating evidence in roman\\'s home , roman becomes the prime suspect of both embezzling from the police disability fund and murder . \\nfaced with the scorn of most of the police department , and under close scrutiny by the media , roman is forced to turn in his badge in one of those typical scenes in the captain\\'s office . \\ni don\\'t quite remember if the captain actually said , \" i hate to do this , but . . . \" , \\nalthough it wouldn\\'t surprise me if he did . \\nluckily , the film soon shakes off the conventionalism and concentrates on the interesting premise mentioned above . \\nafter being offered a take-it-or-leave-it deal by the district attorney , roman resolves to prove his innocence by walking into the office of internal affairs inspector niebaum ( j . t . \\nwalsh ) , taking him and others hostage , and proclaiming he has been framed . \\nalthough roman\\'s actions seem forced due to the compressed nature of his motivational build-up , gray redeems himself by involving us with the negotiations between roman and fellow police negotiator chris sabian ( kevin spacey ) which soon ensue . \\njackson , while a superb actor , is miscast in the role of roman . \\nthe actor has become so popular , and so often identified as a protagonist ( notable exceptions can be found , such as in jackie brown ) , that we as an audience have a difficult time believing he will carry out his threats . \\nthe script also clearly sets him up as the good guy who is only trying to prove his innocence . \\nhow can we believe he\\'s going to shoot a hostage , no matter if the hostage tried to kill him earlier ? \\nunfortunately , this preconception saps the film of some of it\\'s would-be suspenseful moments , and anything good left in those scenes is largely attributed to jackson\\'s acting ability . \\nalmost every time he\\'s in a scene , jackson steals it without looking back . \\nwhen spacey appears , the film has already run about a third of its course . \\nhis is an interesting character . \\nmade out to be some kind of negotiating superman , our first look at him has him hopelessly trying to get his family moving to set out on vacation . \\n \" i can talk a man out of blowing up the sears tower , but i can\\'t talk my wife out of the bedroom or my daughter off the phone , \" he says . \\nwhen he gets the call to action , however , he quickly changes gears and becomes the man we expect him to be . \\nsoon , his character has to negotiate not only with roman , but also with the swat commander ( david morse ) who is itching to send in a team to take roman out , all the while keeping wary of the fbi agents who are waiting to take over the operation , should negotiations fail . \\nthis complex set of pressures are reflected well in sabian the negotiator and spacey the actor . \\nas the second protagonist , spacey measures up nicely . \\ngray really lucked out with this cast . \\ndavid morse as commander beck , ron rifkin as commander frost , and john spencer as police chief al travis are all more than competent , and can hold their own in scenes with jackson and spacey . \\nthe only problem is the bit of typecasting that results from these choices : morse played a similar role in the rock , rifkin played the d . a . \\nin l . a . confidential , and spencer played a police detective in cop land . \\nwith the level of acting , however , this can be forgiven . \\nalso in the supporting cast , paul giamatti as rudy , one of the hostages , is notable for the comic relief he provides . \\nhis character is initially so slimy , and giamatti himself just looks so shifty , that you expect to laugh before he even says anything . \\nfortunately , this doesn\\'t distract from the seriousness of the rest of the film , but instead provides some nice breathers from the level of tension which gray manages to sustain throughout . \\nj . t . walsh , as the suspicious internal affairs inspector , clocks in with one of his final performances . \\nsadly , the talented but underrated actor passed away in late february of this year , and the soon to be released pleasantville will mark his last film . \\nwalsh appeared in dozens of movies such as good morning vietnam , backdraft , and nixon . \\nfor one of his best performances , check out sling blade , in which he plays a mental patient sharing a ward with billy bob thornton . \\nwhen jack nicholson accepted his best actor oscar in march , walsh was one of the men to whom he credited his success ( the actors performed together in a few good men ) . \\nthe negotiator is actually dedicated to walsh , and while inspector niebaum may not have been his best role , it certainly characterizes the type of character for which walsh had become most famous for playing . \\nin the end , the negotiator has a plotline that parallels it\\'s reality . \\nwe\\'re served with the premise that two equally deft negotiators are battling each other to resolve the conflict in the manner which will suit each of them best . \\nas an audience , we\\'re also given a situation where two wonderfully talented actors are thrown into a movie , and we\\'d like to see if one will dominate the film . \\nboth provide some pretty good entertainment . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"big courtroom thrillers have always captivated america . \\no . j . \\nsimpson , tom capano , the menendez brothers . \\nall these names are synonymous to americans and courtrooms . \\nand , of course , courtroom dramas are not a new topic to hollywood . \\nwhether it be john grisham's thrilling novels or television's famous dramas , the courtroom has always provided big bucks . \\nso when i rented a civil action , i was expecting the film to be like the rainmaker , a brilliant law film that kept viewers on the edge of their seat . \\nhowever , what i saw in a civil action was far different from what i expected , a major surprise , but fortunately , a pleasant one . \\njohn travolta always seems to come up big when you least expect it . \\nno one expected him to light up the screen in grease , nor in saturday night fever . \\nbut , whenever he gets knocked down , he always seems to come back fighting . \\na civil action is not john's best performance , but a strong one that could rival any performance in 1998 . \\ntravolta proves that a normal and believable performance can vault a film into oscar nominations . \\nhis performance is not flashy , nor memorable , just solid . \\nif he delivered the only solid performance , this film would still be average . \\nluckily , he has a strong supporting cast . \\nwilliam h . macy is probably one of the most underrated actors in hollywood . \\nhe continues to deliver great performances one after the other , but he is still regarded as a secondary actor . \\nin a civil action , he delivers yet another great performance as travolta's paranoid and greedy accountant . \\nhe is not a lovable character , but a character who stands out in your mind whenever you think of the film . \\nhe is not one of the big time lawyers , just a measly accountant . \\nbut , he delivers one of the best supporting roles of 1998 , but there is actually someone better in a civil action . \\nrobert duvall is also an underrated actor . \\nhe gets many leading roles , but is never heard when you hear of big box office draws like tom hanks , brad pitt and jim carrey . \\nduvall has a supporting role in this as a lawyer of the co-defendant . \\nduvall is magical in this role . \\nhe is the wise teacher , who not only battles it out in the courtroom , but also manages to teach every major player a lesson , in his own twisted way . \\nin many non-comedic films , directors are always trying to find a way to implement a touch of comedy , to keep the audience on their toes . \\nunfortunately , they usually just key in on one character whose main objective is to be funny ( jar-jar binks , anyone ? ) . \\nhowever , this usually backfires because the character is never fully developed . \\nthis is not the case in a civil action . \\nthey have comedy coming from all sides . \\nwhether it be duvall's inane questions or macy's sharp anger , the laughs come in a steady pace . \\ngranted , it's not roll in the aisle funny , but it provides a nice addition to the film . \\nthe plot is terrific- somewhat . \\nthe setup is nice with the film actually starting with a victory in the courtroom . \\nthen the case that will make or break jan ( travolta ) 's career rears its ugly head . \\nthey find out the goldmine involved with the case and wind up taking it . \\nhowever , budgets soon flounder and jan finds himself in deep debt . \\ni will not spoil the rest , although i must speak of the one downside to the film . \\nthe courtroom debates are great , but the actual problem they are fighting for is never fully explored . \\nit left me somewhat confused , although the rest of the film is terrific . \\nall in all , john travolta is back yet again in this great film . \\nhis supporting cast , consisting of macy and duvall , turn in tremendous performances , which ease the load on travolta . \\nthe film is smart , witty and thought provoking . \\nnot only does it gauge in-court battles , but also the various tolls it can take on the major players . \\na civil action provides everything a drama lover craves . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the u . s . army utilizes a number of books known as field manuals which stipulate the specific way in which almost every action imaginable must be done . \\none particular field manual is known as the fm 22-5 , which among other things , covers the practice of saluting . \\nunder the \" saluting \" section is a sub-section which covers how a salute is rendered by a military work detail in the presence of a superior officer . \\nthe salute is rendered by the highest-ranking individual present when the superior officer comes within six paces of the detail , and is dropped when the officer passes six paces from the detail . \\nin any event , the salute is rendered only by the man ( or woman ) in charge , rather than by the whole group . \\nalmost at the very beginning of the general\\'s daughter , we see a general\\'s motorcade passing a work detail . \\neveryone salutes . \\nit looked impressive , but it just wasn\\'t right . \\nthat little bit showed me that someone either didn\\'t do the appropriate research , or made the conscious decision to go with style over substance for the scene . \\nin fact , this would serve as a metaphor for the rest of the picture , as it seems director simon west tried so hard to craft a film with atmosphere and flash that he forgot a coherent story and good characterization are also crucial to a good movie . \\nwhat results is a film that looks good , but like that one scene , just isn\\'t right . \\nthe first fifteen minutes of the film is a good example . \\npaul brenner ( john travolta ) is an agent for the army\\'s criminal investigation division , undercover at a georgia army base to investigate an illegal arms sale . \\nprior to the transaction , the buyer gets a whiff that brenner isn\\'t the unscrupulous supply sergeant he\\'s supposed to be , and later that night attempts to kill him by shooting up the houseboat on which brenner is living . \\nso ensues a cat and mouse action sequence which ends like a certain scene in raiders of the lost ark ( we\\'ll just say that it involves propellers ) . \\nbrenner then receives new orders when the commanding general\\'s daughter , captain elisabeth campbell ( leslie stefanson ) , is found naked , bound , and dead on one of the base\\'s training ranges . \\nhe is teamed with rape investigator sarah sunhill ( madeleine stowe ) to uncover the truth about the peculiarly gruesome murder . \\nwhat i want to know is why the whole action scene with the arms buyer was even necessary . \\nit gives no insight into brenner , other than the fact that he\\'s a little cocky . \\ndoes the arms subplot turn up later ? \\nno , so why add this extra running time to the film ? \\nthe answer : it looked cool . \\nor how about the \" atmosphere \" ? \\nthe beginning of the general\\'s daughter presents us with imagery of the deep south - thick trees , dirt roads , sultry colors over water - all backed up with bayouesque music . \\nnice immersion in the setting , but it soon doesn\\'t matter , for when the film\\'s plot shifts over to the murder investigation , so does the entire mood . \\nno attention is paid to the location of the story , and the music is altered to fit a very generic thriller theme . \\ndid the filmmakers start out thinking they were making a different movie ? \\ninstead of creating a cohesive atmospheric theme for the entire film , we get the distraction of one of theme followed by another , just because the director thought he should show off some of the countryside . \\nthe above examples also serve to illustrate that inconsistency is another problem with this movie . \\nas i\\'ve already mentioned , an entire section of the film doesn\\'t jibe with the rest , and the characterization only adds to the difficulty . \\nbrenner , who comes across as a man with little respect for authority , suddenly snaps to in the presence of general campbell ( james cromwell ) and utters some of the corniest \" yes , sir \" s i\\'ve ever heard . \\nhe even delivers an emotion-charged monologue about why he will work so hard to catch the person who killed the general\\'s daughter , even though he was totally flippant about the whole thing just a couple of minutes previous . \\nsunhill , who initially comes across as a professional investigator , utilizes a couple of blatantly illegal methods to obtain information , and even revels in her ingenuity . \\nboth characters are protagonists , but it\\'s hard to get behind them when their personalities are all over the place , and in some cases , simply unappealing . \\ni could imagine that during filming , west would shoot a scene , then take the actors aside and tell them , \" let\\'s do it again , but this time , i want more . \" \\ni say this because although travolta and stowe are normally very good , in this film they overact in most of their scenes . \\nan even worse offender is clarence williams iii as the general\\'s aide , colonel fowler . \\ni swear the guy says all of his lines from the position of attention . \\na far cry from his days as linc in \" the mod squad \" , i can\\'t help but think he was acting from west\\'s direction . \\na couple of side characters including a west point psychologist ( john beasly ) and a young female private ( ariyan a . johnson ) make their scenes nearly impossible to bear . \\nthe only two actors who seem to have escaped west\\'s influence are james woods , who provides a good performance as colonel moore , elisabeth\\'s mentor at the psychological operations unit , and timothy hutton as colonel kent of the military police . \\nwoods relishes the role of a man whose job is playing with people\\'s minds , and does so without ever taking it over the top . \\nhutton just kind of hangs around , but at least he wasn\\'t overacting . \\ni haven\\'t read the nelson demille novel on which this movie was based , but i\\'ll bet more than a few dollars that the story was better in book form . \\nthe movie version has got characters which come and go with little or nothing to do except fill up space , or provide bits of information which seem to neither mean anything in terms of advancing the story nor reveal any significance once the whole story is finished . \\nevery time we\\'re presented with some new aspect to the case , west gives us more of that flash by playing it up like it\\'s the most momentous discovery ever , but the information is not used by the investigators at all . \\ninstead , when conclusions are drawn , they are such tremendous leaps of faith that you wonder if successful investigations are not based on facts , but lucky guesses instead . \\nthe army should have saved time by bringing in brennan and sunhill , letting them play a game of twenty questions with the suspects , then letting them guess who the killer was . \\nwould\\'ve been over in a half hour . \\nthe film finishes with a sort of bookend , featuring the same style and southern scenery as the very beginning . \\nliterally during the closing credits , we get to see brennan get in his car and drive off , then we get to see sunhill get in her car and drive off . \\nthey both seem kind of happy . \\nmaybe they were driving away from simon west . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'tectonic plates is an incredibly painful motion picture experience that nearly prompted me to walk out 20 minutes into the movie . \\nthe film ( which opened in canada during 1992 but was never released in the united states ) is based on a 1988 stage play by canadian auteur robert lapage , and , while it\\'s evident that this could be a fascinating live production , the translation to the screen is a creative disaster . \\nenduring tectonic plates is like sitting through a filmed version of performance art -- lifeless and tedious . \\nthe qualities that make it captivating when seen in person are effaced in the motion picture medium . \\ntectonic plates has a storyline , although the narrative is developed in a decidedly non-traditional fashion , with shots of the stagebound play intercut with more typical cinematic sequences . \\nit\\'s not an inherently uninteresting way to present a movie ( despite the valid complaint that it is pretentious , all-but-screaming , \" look ! \\nart ! \" ) , \\nalthough it keeps the audience distanced from the characters . \\nbecause we\\'re constantly made aware that we\\'re watching a play or a movie , it\\'s impossible to accept these individuals as anything more than mouthpieces for the writer\\'s ideas . \\nthey\\'re not real , sympathetic , or believable . \\ni\\'m willing to give director peter mettler credit for trying something different , but this particular experiment is not a success . \\ntectonic plates opens by introducing us to madeleine ( marie gignac ) , an art student studying in montreal who has fallen in love with her professor , jacques ( lapage ) . \\none day , he disappears , and , fearing that he left because she was undeserving of his love , madeleine travels to venice to kill herself . \\nwhile preparing to commit suicide , she encounters drug addict constance ( celine bonnier ) , who causes madeleine to re-think her decision . \\nmeanwhile , jacques has moved to new york city , where he starts cross-dressing , calls himself jennifer , and becomes a successful counter-culture talkshow host . \\nwith settings that shift from paris to venice to montreal to manhattan to scotland , supporting characters that include a topless goddess and a deaf/mute , and cultural references that point to chopin , george sand , and jim morrison , tectonic plates is unique , if nothing else . \\nhowever , as interesting as the film sounds ( and i was excited to see it because the synopsis is promising ) , it never really delivers . \\nthe tone is soporific , the supposedly-intellectual prattle is inane and uninteresting , the plot meanders in a pointless and irritating manner ( although it doesn\\'t take long for the viewer to determine that the story is largely unimportant ) , and the symbolism is obvious . \\ntectonic plates is trying to show that human interaction is as volatile as unpredictable as the shifting of the earth , but it takes one-hundred minutes to get across this transparent point . \\nthere are some worthwhile moments , such as a silly sword fight between jacques and the topless goddess and an entertaining discussion in both french and english about the differences between the two languages ( although the fine points will certainly be lost on those who aren\\'t bilingual ) . \\nthe only people likely to enjoy tectonic plates are those who feel a strong need to praise something this rootless and boring because ( a ) it\\'s different , ( b ) it\\'s not like anything they\\'ve seen before , and ( c ) it\\'s pretentious . \\nfor everyone else , it\\'s not only a waste of time , but a poor introduction to the work of robert lapage . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'warren beatty , diane keaton , goldie hawn and gary shandling star as a pair of married couples whose complacent lives are about to be shaken up in director peter chelsom\\'s version of the classic romantic , screwball comedy in \" town & country . \" \\nthe drawing room farce of the 30\\'s dealt with sexual innuendo and relied on wit and a great deal of commotion and noise to place the viewer in the thick of the duplicitous romantic action . \\nback then , impossibly wealthy scions of society , with too much free time , would get themselves wrapped up in all sorts of sexual peccadilloes with spouses and lovers , only to have everything come out all right in the end - see \" the philadelphia story \" for a great farce . \\n \" town & country \" has the impossibly wealthy protagonists with too much free time - the kind of people that have jobs but never seem to work - and sexual misconduct on several levels . \\nbut , there is almost no life to original script by michael laughlin and buck henry and this is \" t&c\\'s \" downfall . \\nthere is , obviously , a great deal of hollywood talent , in front of and behind the camera , involved in \" town & country , \" but , without a likable or , at least , interesting story to carry through their efforts , it is all for naught . \\nand , that\\'s what we get here - naught . \\nporter stoddard ( beatty ) is a high-powered new york architect with a very good life indeed . \\nhis 25-year marriage to ellie ( diane keaton ) appears , on the surface , to be perfect . \\nbut , there are cracks just below this pristine surface . \\nhis wife is suspicious of his whereabouts , his kids don\\'t need him and his best friends , griffin ( garry shandling ) and mona ( goldie hawn ) , are in the midst of a divorce . \\nporter tries to get control of his life before it is too late , but like a man fighting against quicksand , his struggle just sinks him deeper . \\nat the 90-minute mark of \" town & country \" i asked myself , \" what\\'s the point ? \" \\ni wasn\\'t entertained , i laughed three times - over silly little pratfalls - and spent most of the film marking time \\'til the end . \\nwarren beatty wanders around with his character in a bewildered fog , making problems for himself by thinking with a part of his anatomy other than his head . \\nkeaton\\'s ellie is an empty headed flake who can\\'t see the obvious as porter screws around on her . \\nand , as you get to know them , who would want friends like griffin and mona ? \\nthe supporting cast is given nothing to do and , sometimes , does harm to the film , given the material they are forced to use . \\nnastassja kinski plays a cellist with whom porter has a fling . \\nthe actress , who has , eerily , failed to age over the years , is miscast as the air-headed musician and the character doesn\\'t belong , anyway . \\njenna elfman is a sweet , but smart , ditz who joins porter and griffin on one of their tacked on misadventures . \\nandie macdowell is absolutely painful to watch as a wealthy heiress ( is there any other kind in this movie ? ) \\nwho comes on to porter . \\nthe saving grace is a pair of quirky perf\\'s by charlton heston and marian seldes as macdowell\\'s very strange parents . \\nglib rationalization of infidelity , like , \" if he doesn\\'t speak english , it doesn\\'t count , \" are a staple for the screenplay . \\nthe morality of the film seems to be , if you can get away with it , go for it . \\nthe cast of characters are mostly people you wouldn\\'t want to know , never mind befriend . \\nthe actors do their best , but are hamstrung by the weak material . \\nhelmer chelsom , who made the outstanding , offbeat comedy \" funny bones , \" is mired in the mess of a script and never puts his imprint on \" town & country . \" \\nthe production values are high , as one expects from a big budget hollywood film . \\nbut , the opulent sets by caroline hanania , lavish wardrobes by molly maginnis and top-notch photography by william fraker cannot save \" town & country . \" \\nthe film has had a long list of production and distribution problems and it might have been better , for me anyway , if hollywood just said no to this movie . \\ni give it a d . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"phew , what a mess ! \\nfor his fifth collaboration with director rich- ard donner ( lethal weapon i-iii , maverick ) , mel gibson plays a motormouth , maybe mentally ill new york city cabbie , jerry , whose wild conspiracy theories are all but ignored by alice ( julia roberts , acting all serious ) , the justice department employee that he has a crush on . \\nshe not interested , but another person is : a cia psychiatrist ( patrick stewart ) who promptly kidnaps him . \\nis one of jerry's conjectures correct ? \\n * is * the metal strip in the new $100 bill being used to track your movements ? \\nis oliver stone still alive , because he cut a deal with george bush to spread * dis * information ? \\nis this movie really about * any * of the crazed cabbie's theories ? \\nno , no , and no . \\nas it turns out , there's some other nonsense going on here , involving and revolving around jerry's background . \\n ( hint : pay attention to an early scene where jerry blacks out and flashes back , in quick succession , to images of an interrogation room , hypodermic needles , and ms . roberts herself . ) \\nthe * initial * premise is pretty good and is played , for a while , at a delightfully dizzying clip . \\nmel is wider-open that we've ever seen him and , if his character's relationship with roberts' initially strains credibility , their combined star power is blissfully intoxicating . \\n ( the highest wattage of the summer , perhaps ? ) \\neven when the plot contrivances begin to intrude , the two remain a randy dandy screen pair . \\nthere's a great scene in jerry's fortress , er , apartment , with alice trying to act casual as her hyperactive host tries to remember the combination to a locked coffee bean container . \\n ( which he stores in another locked con- tainer , his fridge . ) \\nother hilarious moments , of which there are many , include a trio of memorable convention-breakers , where alice ditches a tail , jerry cold-cocks someone , and , later , eludes a foot pursuit , each in a uproariously unexpected fashion . \\n ( that's donner's own ladyhawke playing in the theater , btw . ) \\nlet's see , other pleasures include . . . \\na brilliant title sequence , a jazzy score from carter burwell , and the worth-paying-to-see sight of roberts pumping lead into one bad guy and slamming another's head into a wall . \\noh , pretty woman ! \\ngetting to the latter , however , requires slogging through an increasingly overburdened and ultimately unappealing story . \\nthe last hour of conspiracy theory devolves from tolerable to torturous to almost unwatchable . \\nmore stuff happens of the stupid shit variety than is worth mentioning here , except , perhaps , for a late sequence that has alice locating jerry in an abandoned wing of a mental hospital by hearing his voice carrying through the air ducts . \\nand here i thought it was wabbit season . \\ngood god , who rewrites these movies ? \\nand do they arrive in nondescript black vehicles ? \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"the ring is probably one of the creepiest movies i've seen in years . \\nbut then again , i've always had this phobia of asian born horror films . \\ni remember when i was a kid i was scared as hell with those green faced , long-haired floating ghosts donning their white gowns\\x05\\x05euuugh . \\nthe ring really brings back those memories and its grips me long after the movie has ended . \\nunlike the horror films coming from the west , i'm pretty much used to the gore and visual effects , so much so , they become rather bland nowadays . \\nthere's really no scary movie from the west for a long time . \\nif you have something in mind , please tell me . \\nthis japanese flick is supposed to be based upon stories written by `the stephen king of japan' , which is also ( i heard ) televised over the air in japan . \\nthe film revolves around a mysterious videotape which will bring death for sure to the person who watches it , one week prior to viewing . \\na journalist and her husband , stupid enough , tests the so call `urban legend' and ends up having a week before she meets her doom . \\nshe and her husband then goes on a search for the origin of the videocassette , to get to the root of the whole curse with the hopes of freeing themselves . \\nthe ring plays on the senses like no other horror film today . \\nvisual subtlety , minimal music and an intriguing plot puts the audience within an aura of suspense throughout the entire film . \\nvery well done indeed , especially for a film that does not have a single trace of violence and gore . \\nnow , that\\x12s something budding horror film-maker wannabes should consider looking into . \\njust an idea of how visually powerful the film is , it is in japanese and subtitled in chinese ; both of which , i can't understand at all ( ok , i had a friend who gave me a gist prior to watching , but he revealed very little ! ) . \\nthe twists in the plot , leading to an unforgettable climax ( will definitely leave an impression on the audience ) will have you at the edge of your seat . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'vampire films , as well as other horror films , are usually dumb and predictable b-movies , meant to scare us by cliches and simple shocks . \\nit is therefore interesting to watch neil jordans recent film that is not only visually stunning , but has also a plot worth making movies about . \\nbased on anne rice\\'s novel , \" interview with a vampire \" is a long , dark trip to hell . \\nthe film opens with gothic quire and dark streets of present-day san francisco . \\nthe camera slowly find particular window . \\na shape of a young man is visible in the darkness . \\n \" so you want me to tell you the story of my life ? \" . \\nthe mysterious man is louis ( brad pitt ) , a two-century old vampire , telling his story to a fascinated interviewer ( christian slater ) . \\nhis tale opens in 1791 louisiana , just south of new orleans , where louis falls victim to the vampire lestat ( tom cruise ) . \\ngiven a choice between death and eternal life as one of the undead , louis chooses the latter , a decision he will forever regret . \\neverlasting life and eternal youth , promised to him by lestat , turn instead into never ending suffering , damned to eternal hunger for blood and longing for peace . \\nlouis cannot kill with the impunity of lestat , but , to sate his hunger , he must feed , and the blood of animals is not enough . \\neventually , he pierces the neck of a grief-stricken young girl named claudia ( kirsten dunst ) , whom lestat then curses with his unholy form of resurrection so that she can be a surrogate daughter to both himself and louis . \\nfor a while , they are one \" big , happy family . \" \\nbut all things end , and claudia\\'s growing resentment of lestat fuels a bloody confrontation . \\nwhen luis and claudia break loose from lestat , they travel to paris , where the euro-vamps santiago ( stephen rea ) and armand ( antonio banderas ) , who introduced them to a bigger world of the damned . \\ndirector neil jordan ( \" the crying game \" ) together with the talented director of cinematography philippe rousselot and composer elliot goldenthal has created an incredible atmosphere . \\nas the film begins , there is an incredible palette of colors , beautiful sunrises , lush golden fields , green forests , inky-blue clouds and blending sun . \\nwhen luis is \" born to darkness \" , everything suddenly changes to dark velvet , lit only by the silver moonlight . \\nthe beautiful production design by dante ferretti , wonderful costumes and art direction by malcolm middleton re-create the multiple historical periods in the film . \\nfrom the renaissance new orleans and the beautiful rococo paris of the 18th century , to our present days . \\nthe casting is likewise good , involving some of the most famous and beautiful stars of hollywood , ireland and spain . \\nthe controversial casting of tom cruise as lestat is incredibly effective . \\ncruise is energetic , sinister , charismatic , wild and bloodthirsty . \\ncruise\\'s lestat likes to seduce young women before exacting his dark red sustenance . \\nwith alarming swiftness , the victims switch from sexual excitement to outright horror , as his murderous purpose becomes clear . \\n \" . . . kill them mercifully , but do it . \\nyou are what you are . . for \\ndo not doubt , you are a killer ! \" \\nthat is how lestat is teaching luis . \\nbut behind that furious facade is anger and loneliness that he carries through the centuries and tries to smother with nightly rampages . \\nbrad pitt is equally convincing as the \" vampire with a human soul \" . \\nantonio banderas and stephen rea are effective , but since they play more or less secondary characters , their performances are almost invisible . \\nthe greatest performance in the film comes suprisingly from the young kristen dunst , who manages to create an incredibly emotional and believable character . \\nthe world is changing around the little child , but she does not . \\nshe remains unchangeable - a child for all eternity . \\nonly her wise , dark eyes reveal her age . \\nironically the film\\'s only miss is the script . \\nanne rice\\'s novel is a very interesting read , and her script is rich , colorful and emotional , but it is also tiering and too melancholic , at times resembling a soap opera : \\nclaudia : \" . . . . is that what i should do ? \\nlet you go . . my \\nfather , my luis , who made me . . . who will look after me , my dark angel , when you are gone ? \" \\nluis : \" everything will be alright . . \" \\nclaudia : \" do you really believe that ? \" \\nand then they hug emotionally . \\nmoments like those displayed above and luis\\' self-pity is a bit tiresome . \\nhowever rice\\'s script is otherwise strong and well structured , bringing up humor and comic episodes , that were more or less hidden in the book . \\nwhen lestat finds claudia\\'s dead dressmaker , whom she has killed , he cries out : \" who will make you that dress now ? \\nbe a little practical . . . . never \\nin the house ! \" \\nmoments like that are both entertaining and appealing . \\nneil jordan\\'s direction is beautiful and sensual as he plays with interesting issues like eternity , homosexuality , love and loneliness . \\nhis gothic saga is not meant to scare , but to display these issues differently . \\nwrapped up in mystery , his new , original picture brings vampire-films to a new height . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'deserves recognition for : achieving the near-impossible task of making a grander monument to self-love than steven seagal\\'s on deadly ground . \\ncapsule review : a question : after the floating baby ruth that was waterworld , what in the @$&% were the hollywood execs who gave kevin costner the money to make another post-apocalyptic movie thinking ? \\nin this 3 hour advertisement for his new hair weave , costner plays a nameless drifter who dons a long dead postal employee\\'s uniform and gradually turns a nuked-out usa into an idealized hippy-dippy society . \\n ( judging by the costuming at the end of the movie , the main accomplishment of this brave new world is in re-inventing polyester . ) \\nwhen he\\'s not pointing the camera directly at himself , director costner does have a nice visual sense , and it is undeniably fascinating to see such an unabashedly jingoistic film in the trust-no-one 90\\'s ; but by the time the second hour rolled around , i was reduced to sitting on my hands to keep from clawing out my own eyes . \\nmark this one \" return to sender \" . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'drew barrymore is beginning to corner the market on playing the girl outside - the one who\\'s the awkward klutz or the spunky do-it-yourselfer ; the one who just doesn\\'t fit in with the others . \\nshe has perfected these characters in movies such as \" the wedding singer \" and , most notably , \" ever after . \" \\nnow she\\'s back , starring in what could be called a modern-day cinderella fable - \" never been kissed . \" \\nyou know it\\'s a fable because she plays a copy editor at a newspaper who has her own office as well as a secretary . \\ntrust me on this one , no copy editor has seen the inside of a private office since gutenberg ( and i don\\'t mean steve ) invented the printing press . \\nthe premise is simple . \\nbarrymore\\'s josie geller , at 25 the youngest copy editor ever to be hired by the chicago sun-times , is assigned to go undercover and return to high school to do an expose on what today\\'s teens are feeling and doing . \\njosie ( she says she was named after the \\'70s cartoon character ) was a geek in high school , so she jumps at the opportunity for a second chance . \\nthis time , she thinks , she will get it right and be accepted by the in-crowd . \\nnow , what kind of adult - with a good job and a successful career - would actually look forward to reliving the hell that was - and is - high school and adolescence . \\nthese are among the many problems that plague \" never been kissed . \" \\nscreenwriters abby kohn and marc silverstein cannot get a handle of josie . \\ntheir script has her capriciously switching from confident adult to ditzy , blubbering woman-child at the least provocation . \\nand the fact that an adult would put so much stock into trying to become tight with the vapid airheads who are supposedly south glen high school\\'s most popular girls leads you to question her maturity and mental stability . \\nok , so \" never been kissed \" is not a sociological expose of today\\'s high school scene . \\nhowever , certain rules should apply to film , and one of those is consistency of character . \\namong the movie\\'s problems is the ill-conceived conceit that josie would seriously strive to climb the high school food chain and , in the process , lose focus on her assignment . \\nany competent editor would have tossed her ass out the door quicker than you could say \" get me rewrite . \" \\nto be fair , barrymore is very appealing , but she is given very little to work with . \\nshe tries valiantly to get a firm grip on her character , but the script continually undermines her . \\nbarrymore comes off best in the physical comedy aspects of the script in which she tries to walk , talk and act like a cool , hip high schooler . \\notherwise , she is left foundering on a cliched sea of teen-age stereotypes and situations . \\n \" never been kissed \" is entertaining and funny in fits and starts . \\nit lacks consistency and a firm grasp on what it wants to accomplish . \\nthe movie\\'s main bright spot is provided by leelee sobieski as aldys , the outsider who befriends new student josie . \\njosie sees a lot of her former self in aldys , yet still abandons her to hang out with the popular girls . \\nreal mature . \\nand that is the main deficiency with \" never been kissed . \" \\nit\\'s illogical , unrealistic , uneven and undemanding . \\nit has some warm and humorous spots , but not enough to overcome its many obstacles . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in a typical cinematic high school , the football jocks have sex with the girls and then dump them , but not before the boys\\' scores are dutifully recorded in their little black books . \\nas the sexual acts take place , the other guys hang out nearby , guzzling beer and grunting like pigs . \\nin the rage : carrie 2 , robert mandel\\'s terminally bland sequel to carrie , there isn\\'t a single original moment . \\nonly amy irving returns from carrie , and the talent of the rest of the sequel\\'s cast is impossible to determine given the stupefying mediocrity of rafael moreu\\'s script . \\nas rachel , the horror story\\'s lead , emily bergl gives one of the least scary performances in recent memory , but it isn\\'t exactly her fault . \\nthe director asks for little from his actors , which is precisely what he gets . \\nsporadically in this lame and lifeless movie , rachel will cause school lockers and windows to fly open , but generally she just mopes around looking like a victim . \\nher fellow students delight in tormenting her . \\nof course , she will get her revenge in the obligatory ending bloodbath in which she will decapitate and castrate the boys and crush the girls with burning timbers . \\nas the movie marks time until its big finale , it throws in some repugnant scenes , hoping to turn audience\\'s stomachs . \\nrachel\\'s girlfriend commits a horrible and realistic suicide after the boy who made \" love \" to her the night before spurns her . \\n ( he gets major points in his black book for this , but his buddies say he would have gotten more if he had had sex with her after her death . ) \\neven a helpless puppy is run over , and we see his poor , little body flipping over and over under a truck . \\nthe teenagers in the movie are completely blas ? about it all . \\n \" doesn\\'t it offend you that some girl offed herself yesterday , \" asks one of the few kids with a conscience . \\n \" why ? \" \\nresponds his nonplussed girlfriend . \\n \" she wasn\\'t anybody . \" \\nremarkably devoid of any energy , especially for a horror flick , the movie makes one yearn for a fast forward button on the theater\\'s armrest . \\nwith material this bad , the film\\'s only hope is to go for parody , but it isn\\'t smart enough to realize it . \\neven the mandatory epilogue is as pointless and predictable as the rest of the movie . \\nthe rage : carrie 2 runs 1 : 45 . \\nit is rated r for graphic violence , teen alcohol abuse , sex , nudity and profanity and would be acceptable only for older teenagers . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'written by david j . schow and john shirley , based on the comic book series and comic book strip by james o\\'barr . \\ncast brandon lee , ernie hudson , michael wincott , david patrick kelly , rochelle davis , and jon polito . \\nmpaa rating \" r \" ( presumably for rape , language , and violence ) \\nrunning time 100 minutes \\n \" looks like he zigged when he should\\'ve zagged . \" \\n- ernie hudson , as a police officer commenting on a suspicious death . \\ncomic book translations are notorious tricky-- anyone up for a double-bill of the punisher and captain america ? -- and the crow proves no exception . \\ndespite a gross of good intentions , brandon lee\\'s final film doesn\\'t fly very high . \\nthe story opens on halloween eve , better known as devil\\'s night . \\nwilmington-as-detroit is in flames and the police are tending to at least * one * murder : young rock-musician-turned-pavement-artist eric draven ( lee ) , found on a sidewalk six-stories below the apartment he was thrown from . \\nthe cops are also upstairs , administering aid to his fiance who was assaulted and raped and not necessarily in that order . \\nshe dies , the perps . \\nescape , and , exactly one year later , draven rises from the grave to wreak revenge . \\nsound familiar ? \\nunlike charles bronson , whose only known superpower involves an inability to refrain from filming death wish sequels , lee\\'s character has supernatural strength and amazing agility and can even reheal from gunshot wounds faster than robert patrick in terminator 2 . by his side is his crow , the presumable source of his powers as related in the narration . \\nwearing what appears to be alice cooper\\'s leftover make-up , lee is plopped into an underlit urban landscape that was obviously modeled after batman and blade runner . \\nbut no number of red-lit , rain-soaked streets can compensate for cheap fx that make the crow seem closer to darkman than batman . \\n ( the glaring miniatures should show better on video , though . \\n : ) \\na nod to darkman is an insult to sam raimi , though , because alex proyas can\\'t film a decent action scene to save his life . \\nhis two \" best \" set-pieces-- some banzai board-room butchery and a cool church- roof sword fight-- are also undercut by the awful editing of dov hoenig and scott smith . \\nblame said editors for the film\\'s frightful flashbacks , as well . \\nbut the pace is quick , thank god , and every good-idea-turned-bad is over before it begins . \\nthe cast is better than it should be . \\nernie hudson is a good choice as a friendly policeman and he gets off most of the film\\'s funnier lines . \\nnewcomer rochelle davis does well as both the narrator and draven\\'s scrappy ward . \\njon polito has a small , succulent role as pungent pawnbroker . \\nand michael wincott makes a distinct impression as a long-haired mr . big whose collection of ancient-swords makes him seem like he walked into the film from the trailer to highlander iii . \\nthere can be only one . \\nfinally , there\\'s brandon lee , son of bruce lee , and a 28-year-old rising-star who was fatally shot during shooting . \\nlee had four films to his name-- kung fu : the movie , laser mission , showdown in little toyko , and rapid fire-- and the crow would\\'ve been a nice feather in his belt and that\\'s about it . \\nthere\\'s nothing great from him here-- just a good performance that owes as much to presence as ability . \\nwhen the echo of that gunshot finally fades , watching the crow should prove an even * less * remarkable experience . \\ndespite a healthy dose of humor and some surprising sincerity , the crow is still just a couple notches above its straight-to-video brethren . \\nfor now , maybe it\\'s an appropriate eulogy to an actor who could only get better . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i don't know what movie the critics saw , but it wasn't this one . \\nthe popular consensus among newspaper critics was that this movie is unfunny and dreadfully boring . \\nin my personal opinion , they couldn't be more wrong . \\nif you were expecting airplane ! -like \\nlaughs and agatha christie-intense mystery , then yes , this movie would be a disappointment . \\nhowever , if you're just looking for an enjoyable movie and a good time , this is one to see . \\nhonest , it is . \\nthis story is about a 4th network , wbn , taking to america's airwaves in 1939 . \\npenny henderson ( mary stuart masterson ) , the station owner's secretary , must deal with her overbearing boss , an unimpressed sponsor and writers ready to quite on a moment's notice , partly due to the fact that they haven't been paid in weeks . \\namong the mayhem , she must also deal with her soon-to-be ex-husband , roger ( brian benben ) who desperately wants her back . \\nunfortunately , her problems only get worse as the night goes on and the body count rises without explanation . \\nwhile trying to woo penny back , roger must deal with the police and try to find the killer that lurks at wbn . \\nmary stuart masterson does well in her role as penny ( i'm trying to be unbiased so i won't tell you how amazing she looked ) , although brian benben gets most of the screen time . \\nalong with the two leads , are several recognizable faces , including corbin bernsen ( l . a . \\nlaw ) , michael mckean ( laverne & shirley ) and bobcat goldthwait . \\nthe special effects are amazing , and fooled me ( which some may argue isn't very difficult to do ) in many scenes . \\nalthough the movie sometimes goes overboard with the physical comedy , it more than makes up for those mistakes throughout the movie . \\noverall , i gave it , or an , depending on what system you use . \\nsome comments collected from friends : \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"starring william baldwin ; cindy crawford & steven berkoff all right , the first problem that fair game has is the casting of supermodel cindy crawford in the lead role . \\nnot that cindy does that bad , it's just that anyone who watches this film knows from moment one that that little bit of casting was not done because of cindy's extraordinary acting skills , but for her extraordinary ability to look drop dead gorgeous in any situation . \\nand in fair game most situations tend to find cindy either soaking wet or very hot and sweaty , but i'm sure that that is just a coincidence , no doubt that these situations were essential to the plot and the fact that cindy looks great wet , well , that's just a happy coincidence . \\nsure . \\nwilliam baldwin isn't a bad actor . \\nunfortunately , he just doesn't demonstrate it at all in this movie . \\ni'm not sure if that's because most of his lines were just so hokey , or if he was trying to make cindy's acting look good . \\nif it was the latter , it worked . \\ncindy does a surprisingly good job here in her first movie . \\nwhich is not to say that she doesn't have room for improvement . \\nalthough to be fair to cindy , her lines were kinda cheesy in places . \\nso right about now you are no doubt asking yourself what sort of movie does cindy crawford , arguably the most beautiful woman on the planet , chose for her foray into the world of cinema ? \\nwell , i'm glad you asked that question . \\ncindy plays a lawyer who by some convoluted plot twists becomes a target for former elite kgb agents . \\nwhy woud they target someone as likable as cindy , you ask ? \\nby the end of the movie you won't care . \\nthe story is so contrived it isn't funny . \\nanyway after cindy gets blown out of the window of her house , without getting so much as a scratch i might add , she is placed into protective police custody under the watchful eve of william baldwin . \\nwho's character , max kilpatric , a police detective , seems to possess the skills of some sort of fighting machine ( my guess is that the writers have seen way too many of steven seagal's early films ) . \\nthe point is that the idea of the crawford and baldwin's characters of the run from these killer russians isn't all that bad of an idea , it's just everything around that basic idea which kinda stinks out loud . \\nthe supporting cast members are nothing more that over acted stereotypes . \\nif i was baldwin , i'd hope this film disappears . \\nas for crawford , she may indeed have some acting ability . \\nunfortunately , any she does have is obscured by writing that goes beyond bad . \\nthis movie was obviously written with cindy in mind , since the writers spend most of their time finding ways to capitalize off of her looks . \\nit's too bad they hadn't spent more time on a half decent plot , since ms . crawford is more than capable of looking just fine all by herself thank you very much . \\nunless you are a huge fan of either baldwin or crawford this is a movie that will only disappoint you . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"even if i did not know that director and co-writers james wong and jeffrey reddick of the creepy final destination helped create the hit television show the x-files , i would have inevitably made a connection . \\nthe similarities are very apparent from the inexplicable phenomenon- like plot , to the mysterious characters , to the overall dark , ominous settings . \\nit would have been perfectly fitting to see fbi agents mulder and scully investigate this case , they witness stuff like this on a weekly basis ( in fact mulder and scully would have been a much more welcome change to the bland one dimensional fbi agents seen in this movie ) . \\nanother more important similarity , is that both succeed in entertaining and thrilling at the same time . \\nthis is a great accomplishment for a teen horror movie , especially when compared to some of the trash , of the same genre , released in the last couple of years ( urban legend and i still know what you did last summer are classic examples from the bunch ) . \\nwhat helps final destination is its unique premise . \\nunlike your average horror flick in which some invincible psycho with a knife chases blonde cheerleaders , the villain presented is unusual , it's the grim reaper . \\nthis being already has predestined when and how you will die . \\naccording to the brief history lesson given in this film , everyone was meant to die at a certain time , some people at 100 , others at 17 , whatever death chooses . \\nwhat is unique about death is that it's already dead , so you can't really kill it . \\nthe only way to defeat death is to cheat it ; the question is how do you do that ? \\nthis dilemma is what faces alex and a group of teenagers . \\nalex has been having some dreams that the airplane which will take his class on a trip to paris will crash , leaving no survivors . \\nalex begins to realize that his dreams are a little too real and eventually gets himself and six others kicked off the plane right before it takes off . \\nshortly after , the plane does indeed crash leaving some of the seven survivors confused and others feeling immortal . \\nhowever , death isn't through with them yet . \\nit gradually kills off the seven one by one , leaving those currently still alive frantically trying to trick death again . \\nthe plot allows for some of the most creative , original death scenes i have seen in a while . \\nsome scenes build up the perfect amount of tension until an elaborate climax , others are so unexpected they will leave your jaw wide open in shock . \\ncreativity and originality are two adjectives lacking in most horror films nowadays but final destination is not like most horror films . \\nsure , it has your traditional share of jerks and outsiders ( ali larter's character is particularly annoying ) , but the shocks , from the beginning to the end , are extremely entertaining . \\nalso director wong has the sense not to take the movie too seriously . \\nhe knows its just another entertaining guilty pleasure that won't win any academy awards ( not even a golden globe ) . \\nthe myriad of inside jokes and gags ( the characters are named after famous horror directors , one character who plays a jerk is named carter , like x-files creator chris carter , and a song by john denver , who died in a plane crash , plays whenever death is near ) show this movie is a bunch of guys having a good time making a movie . \\nand from this , i had a great time watching the movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"directed by : pixote hunt , hendel butoy , eric goldberg , james algar , francis glebas , gaetan & paul brizzi conducted by : james levine composed by : ludwig van beethoven , ottorino respighi , george gershwin , dmitri shostakovich , camille saint-saens , paul dukas , sir edward elgar , igor stravinsky rated : g scripture references : 1 samuel 16 : 23 , ephesians 5 : 19 , 1 chronicles 15 : 15-16 \\nin 1940 , walt disney released a filmed experiment . \\nfantasia was a blend of two art forms : classical music and animation . \\nwhile it was not immediately popular with the audiences of its day , it has since become recognized as something of a classic . \\naccording to the program notes , it was mr . disney's intention to have fantasia be a continual work in progress . \\nsixty years later , thanks to the ongoing efforts of walt's nephew , a new fantasia is being released . \\nit was not only worth the waiting , it is evidence to just how far animation has come during the past half-decade . \\nwith seven new sequences and one old favorite , fantasia 2000 exhibits an imagination and respect for its art form that is absent from most other feature films . \\nlike the original , fantasia 2000 will more than likely bore the very young , although there is more narrative appeal in this newer version and the segments appear to be substantially shorter , perhaps a nod to the shorter attention span of the studio's primary audience . \\nranging from the silly to the sublime , each segment is preceded by a short , humorous introduction or interstitial by a guest celebrity host , steve martin ( bowfinger ) being the first and most effective . \\nthese are quickly forgotten as conductor james levine leads the chicago symphony orchestra through the musical program which , along with the images drawn by the disney team of animators , is thoughtfully and beautifully brought to a stunning synthesis . \\nfantasia 2000 is being released exclusively in the giant-screened imax theaters , making for a unique viewing experience . \\nthere is enough variety in the program to provide something enjoyable for everyone and surely , people will exit the theaters with their own personal favorites . \\nfor me , that would have to be the jazz age story of four unconnected and discontented people living in nyc who , unknowingly , help each other realize their dreams . \\ndrawn in the style of caricaturist al hirschfeld and inspired by george gershwin's rhapsody in blue , the music and images are blended perfectly resulting in a product greater than the sum of its two parts . \\nchildren will like the short piece set to carnival of the animals by camille saint-saens . \\nhere , a goofy looking flamingo irritates the rest of the flock with his yo-yo playing antics . \\nthey will also giggle as donald duck , playing noah's assistant , tries to load the animals into the ark to the familiar strains of pomp and circumstance by sir edward elgar . \\n ( while the depiction is not biblically accurate , it is entertaining and might be excuse enough to familiarize ourselves with the true record by reading what is written in genesis 7 . ) \\na positive note is that the studio has avoided any segment which is as perversely dark as nihgt on bald mountain upon which the original film ended . \\nthere are some images based upon fantasy such as the flying whales in respighi's pines of rome or images which have their roots in mythology such as the ethereal creatures which tell the story of nature's cycle of life , death , and rebirth in igor stravinsky's firebird suite . \\nbut the stories they tell are uplifting , containing nothing too frightening for our younger children . \\nthe darkest segment , spiritually speaking , actually belongs to the only holdover from the original fantasia , mickey mouse in the sorcerer's apprentice by paul dukas . \\nbut overall , the emotions evoked from fantasia 2000 are positive ones , being full of hope and promise . \\nmusic has an impact which can be undeniably felt , capable of leading the listener to emotional peaks and inspirational highs simply not attainable through other mediums . \\nit is no wonder that the levites , as the priestly tribe of the old testament , were also the appointed musicians . \\nif fantasia 2000 is able to introduce a new audience to music which inspires and exalts , it will have done an incredible service . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'because the press screening of \" planet of the apes \" was one day past last issue\\'s deadline , i was afforded the opportunity to see the film a second time , listen to audience reactions and read a heap of reviews before writing this piece . \\nthe chief complaints of those who disliked the futuristic adventure appear to be that the movie focused on visuals instead of substance , that the story was thin , that mark wahlberg\\'s character was colorless and that the surprise ending sucked . \\nto those people i would like to say ? what the hell did you expect ? \\nthis is a tim burton movie , boys and girls . \\ntim burton movies have great art direction and thin , clunky stories . \\nfor the blissfully nasty , disjointed and underrated \" mars attacks ! \" \\n ( jonathan rosenbaum of the chicago reader and i were two of the only critics in america to praise the movie ) burton reportedly tossed vintage \" mars attacks ! \" \\ntrading cards onto the floor and based his story on the ones that landed face up . \\nburton\\'s re-imagining of the 1968 story of an astronaut that lands on a planet where apes rule men looks great . \\nthe apes , courtesy of make-up magician rick baker , are dazzling and ape city is a wonder to behold . \\nlike astronaut leo davidson ( wahlberg ) , the film hits the ground running , whisking viewers through a head-spinning series of solid one-liners and engaging vignettes and establishing a sense of thrust that carries us through the more traditional fight scenes that come later . \\nas for wahlberg , consider what burton does with his character . \\nfrom his start as a filmmaker , burton has shown his fascination with colorful misfits ( pee-wee herman , the joker , ed wood , the ack-acking martians , etc . ) and lack of interest in standard issue heroes . \\nso leo davidson spends most of the movie getting the living shit kicked out of him before the biggest guilt trip in history is dropped on his shoulders . \\nas for lack of color , remember , leo only launches into space to get his monkey back . \\nhe doesn\\'t want to lead humanity and he isn\\'t looking for romance from a pretty , but dull human ( estella warren ) or a dynamic ape ( helena bonham carter , terrific as an equal-rights activist ) . \\nas a man who just wants out , wahlberg is focused , subtle and sly . \\nthe surprise ending provides the requisite shock ( and some more dandy visuals , particularly of the approaching authority figures ) , but admittedly isn\\'t nearly as satisfying as the one in the original . \\nfor the original ending to work , we only had to make one simple connection , for this one , we have to write a whole new screenplay . \\nthe 1968 \" apes \" boasted a handful of great scenes , cool looking monkeys , a deliciously hammy performance by charlton heston ( who appears uncredited here as an aged chimp on his deathbed , re-delivering a classic line ) and a killer ending . \\nbut viewers had to suffer through numerous dull stretches punctuated by social and political messages delivered with the grace of a wrecking ball . \\nthe 2001 \" planet of the apes \" offers a different set of great scenes , much cooler looking monkeys , fine acting from wahlberg , bonham carter , paul giamatti and tim roth , and a not so good ending . \\nit also gives us another chance to experience the skewed vision of tim burton and that\\'s nothing to complain about . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : private detective tom welles is hired by a wealthy widow to uncover the origins of a snuff film owned by her late husband . \\nafter uncovering the authenticity of the film , welles descends into an underground world of perverse pornographers seeking vigilante revenge on the filmmakers . \\ncomments : 8 mm is one of the more disturbing mainstream movies i have seen in a long time . \\nthough it doesn\\'t present a snuff film ( a movie which documents a person\\'s murder for real , usually during or after some form of sexual act ) as explicitly as the cult classic mute witness and violence as shockingly as , say , natural born killers , 8 mm stays in your head long after you see it . \\nit is not fun to watch ; see something else if you get upset by realistic , sadistic violence . \\nthis film\\'s violence and perverse sexuality skirts closely into nc-17 territory . \\nfor those with strong stomachs , however , 8 mm is an intelligent , worthwhile thriller , especially during its second hour . \\nnicolas cage , after a couple ho-hum movies , returns to material which allows him to utilize his strong acting abilities . \\nas tom welles , a private detective and caring family man to a wife and newly-born daughter , cage skillfully and convincingly portrays a decent man whose unwavering energy slowly transforms into obssession and violence as he is pulled into a nightmarish world of underground pornographers and brutal sexual deviants . \\nserving as a guide to this world is joaquin phoenix , who plays a struggling songwriter named max california . \\ncalifornia , despite his name , is a surprisingly intelligent and complex character , and phoenix does a very good job at slowly pulling the audience to sympathy for the character . \\nthe real star of the movie , though , must be peter stormare . \\nstormare played the \" really , really evil guy \" in fargo , and his character , dino velvet , in this movie seems about ten times more evil and unpredictable . \\nhis performance is very chilling . \\n8 mm\\'s success may hardly be surprising . \\nit was directed by joel schumacher , who , hopefully , saw this film as an apology for the absolutely dreadful batman and robin . \\nbefore directing the last two batman duds , however , schumacher was responsible for several well-made horror flicks : lost boys , flatliners , and falling down . \\n8 mm certainly joins the rank of these minor classics and is perhaps most reminiscent of falling down in that both films present an average man who self-destructs before the audience\\'s eyes . \\n8 mm was written by andrew kevin walker , who also penned the academy award-winning thriller seven a few years back . \\nlike seven , 8 mm is full of dialogue which haunts you well after leaving the theater . \\nwelles is searching for answers . \\nhow could anyone possibly drug and then slowly , methodically , sadistically kill a teenaged girl to make a film ? \\nwhen confronting one of the perpretrators at the end , the murderer responds that there are no reasons . \\nhe just enjoys it . \\nthat , walker seems to suggest , is where the real terror lays : not in the crime itself but in the fact that rational motives do not exist . \\na couple minor faults led me to my four-star rating ( five stars is the highest rating i give ) . \\none , i found it a little difficult , early on , to accept the fact that a hardened private detective would get physically disgusted when first seeing a snuff film . \\nyes , snuff is a horrible thing , but a detective of welles\\' caliber has probably encountered awful things before . \\nsecond , some of the clues welles gathers are too convenient . \\nhe discovers , for example , the victim\\'s diary in her private bathroom , despite the fact the the police , the fbi , and her own mother have all investigated the room before . \\nfinally , the closing scene seemed trite and improbable considering the rest of the film . \\ndespite the above criticisms , 8 mm is an engrossing story . \\none of the best scenes in the film occurs toward the end as a crazed welles , who no longer seems like a hero , brutally beats one of the pornographers responsible for the snuff film . \\nhe pulls a gun on the man and , for a relatively long amount of time , struggles to decide whether or not to kill him . \\nhe then leaves the building and calls the victim\\'s mother , in the middle of the night , to basically see if she would support the action . \\nthe entire scene is tense , unpredictable , and emotionally charged . \\nrarely , anymore , do horror films or thrillers provoke suspense in me as 8 mm , with scenes like this , did . \\n8 mm is most certainly not for the faint of heart . \\nthis is a graphic , oftentimes unflinching , look into the darkness which resides in both ordinary and extraordinary people . \\nif you\\'re prepared for a film of this nature , i give it an enthusiastic recommendation . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"`we run tings . \\ntings don't run we . ' \\n-sound advice from capone ( paul campbell ) to his squaddie ( or partner ) , floyd ( winston bell ) . \\njamaican film , shot entirely on video , featuring a standard cop movie plot mixed with a dash of john woo-styled brotherhood morals ( and a little gunplay ) . \\ncapone , a tough as nails super cop , gets a transfer back to his hometown of kingston after successfully taking down some gangsters that have broken into his home ( while he was with his lady ) and killed his partner in front of him . \\nwhen he arrives , he discovers that the ghetto where he grew up has gotten worse , thanks mainly to the crime boss wonie ( jamaican film veteran carl bradshaw ) , so named because his left hand has been amputated and replaced by a grasping hook ) . \\ncapone discovers that wonie has been smuggling guns inside shipments of charity supplies for the area churches and , much to his disappointment , also finds out his childhood friend ratty ( mark danvers ) has been helping him . \\ntorn between doing his job and protecting his best friend , capone must make some hard decisions in order to make things right again . \\ndirected deftly by first time jamaican filmmaker chris browne ( assistant director for such american films as how stella got her groove back and instinct ) , one hardly notices the film was shot on video after a while . \\nshots are handled so efficiently that they quickly take on the nuances of the aforementioned john woo films , although the action isn't as hyperkinetic as most of woo's films are . \\nthe action scenes are handled with a kind of flair though , and eventually begin to take on a life of their own ( beyond the hong kong films that they are obviously patterned after ) . \\nthe make-up effects are particularly good in these scenes as well , with flawless squib work on display from the effects team . \\nthe cast is superb and listening to their dialogue , spoken with thick jamaican accents ( half of which have to be subtitled because of their extensive use of slang ) , just adds to the interest . \\npaul campbell , as the `loose cannon' capone , essays his role perfectly , displaying the right amount of menace and compassion at the right times . \\nmark danvers evokes sympathy as ratty , the part-time gun smuggler who is also trying to help the community by building football fields and organizing block parties to bring people together . \\nunfortunately , carl bradshaw is given the least to do and his character as the crime boss seems ineffective ( largely because his underlings seem to run all over him ) , but then again , that could be the way his character was intended to be portrayed . \\nthe music in the film is composed of all reggae songs , and the soundtrack was produced by grammy award winning artists , sly and robbie ( who have worked with the likes of the rolling stones , maxi priest , bob dylan , james brown , grace jones , herbie hancock , bootsy collins , and carly simon among others ) . \\nthe end credit song , `we run tings' , by the group red dragon , is pretty decent and carries on the theme of the movie established early on by the quote that opens this review . \\noddly enough , desmond ballentine ( who plays the character deportee ) is well known as a pioneer in the realm of `gangsta' reggae as the performer ninjaman , and he doesn't contribute a single song to the film ( that i could see ) , which is virtually unheard of here in the us . \\nat the time of this writing , third world cop has been put into limited theatrical release in the us , coming off of a six-month box-office breaking run in jamaica , where it holds the position as highest grossing film of all time ( bringing in $21 million in jamaica , which is roughly $500 , 000 us ) . \\npalm pictures ( the company that released the offbeat , but entertaining six-string samurai ) is the company releasing the film and considering that their main focus is the dvd market , i can imagine that a disc will be available once the film has left theaters . \\nchris blackwell , founder of palm pictures , was also involved in the production of another jamaican box-office smash in 1981 entitled countryman , so i'd say he has a pretty good track record . \\noverall , third world cop is a pretty entertaining homage to the films of john woo , ringo lam , tsui hark , and many other action films by directors from hong kong . \\nif action films are your thing and you don't mind intermittent subtitles , then you can't go wrong with this film . \\nthe performances and the story are solid ( if only a little cliched ) and the action is tight . \\ni'm not sure what the other jamaican films released in that country are like , but apparently third world cop's honors are well deserved . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"take a look at the following equation . . . . \\na christmas carol+ghostbusters=scrooged \\nyes , scrooged is the odd mixture of sentiment , comedy and horror you would get if you mixed those two elements toghether . \\nscrooged is alternatively sick , gross , funny , and then sickly soppy . \\nbill murray plays frank cross , a t . v executive with a horrible personality . \\nhe's evil to secretary , actors , crew , everyone , except the t . v's station's boss , of course ( played by the late robert mitchum ) however , he is then visited by a very dead exec , who warns cross that he will be visited by three ghosts , past , present and future ( who is called the ghost of yet to come , for some reason ) sure enough , they arrive , show cross how much of a s . o . b he is , and he changes his way . \\nhowever , throughout this simple plot , we've got to suffer outlandish special effects , poor comedy , and an very , very mean performance from bill murray . \\nfrank cross isn't 'funny' mean , he's just mean . \\nhe also isn't very good at emotional scenes , and totally destroys the last ten minutes of the film , with an utterly desperate speech saying how great christmas is , and how he has changed . \\nhowever , the supporting cast are ok , with good performances from mitchum , allen ( who plays his girlfriend ) and john glover ( who plays cross's 'partner' ) the ghost of christmas past isn't that bad either . \\nsadly , though , the audience has to suffer 25 minutes of 'home alone' style violence from the ghost of christmas present , played by carol kane . \\nwhoever thought smacking that kane smacking murray in the head with a toaster was funny , should be fired straight away . \\nand the audience also has to suffer bobcat goldthwait ( the guy with the annoying voice in police academy 3 , if i remeber correctly . . . . ) \\nwho , thankfully , dosen't say much . \\nthe script is horrendous . \\nmichael o'donaghue churns out terrible , bad taste jokes ( which i guess is the whole point really ) then changes direction completely to emotional scenes . \\nand he must of been on some drug when he wrote the final ten minutes , which are awful . \\nthe special effects look nice , but do nothing for the film . \\nthere's some impressive make up effects also . \\nthe music is also good , which is scored by danny elfman . \\nbut great effects and make up don't make a great film . \\nscrooged is an appaling attempt to inject some christmas spirit into the audience , seeing as the first 1 hour 20 minutes of the film are so depressing anyway , and the last ten minutes had to make up for it with an godawful speech . \\nwhy didn't cross just look out his exec window , and ask a young boy to buy a goose for him ? \\noverall , then , you'd have a much better christmas if you avoid this film like something that should be avoided ( perhaps a plague ) \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'finding the courage to face life full-on is a difficult task . \\nsummoning up the audacity to fall in love is a harder job . \\nif you\\'re a total jerk like melvin udall is , the odds are even more against you . \\nmelvin ( jack nicholson ) is a successful romance author who is just the opposite of what you would expect someone in that profession to be . \\na solitary man hidden away in his new york apartment with no human interaction and not even a hint of ever having been in a passionate relationship , he avoids the outside world as much as possible . \\nhis obsessive-compulsive disorder rules his life as he uses several different bars of soap to wash his hands and refuses to step on a crack on the sidewalk . \\n ( there\\'s a great scene when he has to cross a floor made of mosaic tiles -- _very_small_ mosaic tiles . ) \\nmelvin has some great lines . \\nwhen his publisher\\'s receptionist asks him how he writes women so well in his books , he responds \" i think of men and i take away reason and accountability . \" \\ndon\\'t get him wrong , he\\'s not merely a misogynist . \\nsetting his sights higher than that , he\\'s also a homophobe , racist , anti-semite , xenophobe , animal-hater and intensely dislikes people who talk in metaphors . \\nwhen we first meet him , he\\'s busy dumping a neighbor\\'s dog down the garbage chute . \\nhe\\'s an equal opportunity bigot . \\nhe does venture outside his apartment every day to eat breakfast at a local cafe . \\nmelvin is such a grouchy curmudgeon that waitress carol connelly ( helen hunt ) is the only one willing to wait on him . \\nand she\\'s none too happy about it . \\nwhen carol doesn\\'t show up for work , melvin\\'s routine is shot and he\\'s determined to do something about it . \\ntracking down her address , he shows up at her place begging her to come back to work so that he can eat breakfast . \\nthe fact that she\\'s a poor single mother caring for a chronically ill son doesn\\'t appear to phase him , he wants his food . \\nmuch more upsetting is that his gay artist neighbor simon bishop ( greg kinnear ) is brutally attacked during a robbery . \\nthis doesn\\'t upset melvin much ( \" don\\'t worry , you\\'ll be back on your knees in no time \" ) but when he is bullied into taking care of simon\\'s dog , his life is turned topsy-turvey . \\nmelvin is sequestered because he\\'s afraid of what\\'s out there on the other side of his apartment door . \\nhe has to make sure it\\'s ritualistically locked three times to keep the world on its proper side . \\nwhen he brings the dog home he reluctantly grows fond of it , talking to it and taking it everywhere he goes . \\nthis little crack in his emotional armor opens him up . \\nhiding behind his need for carol to return to work so she can serve him , he pays for a specialist to treat her son . \\nhe even develops a friendship with simon . \\nall three people are heavily damaged . \\nmelvin has retreated from life in his apartment . \\ncarol has devoted herself to her son , convinced that she has to give up her life for him . \\nsimon is estranged from his parents and his friends disappear when he is hospitalized and his money runs out . \\na more unlikely trio to form relationships , you\\'d rarely see . \\nand in the midst of it all , there are some wonderful moments . \\nmelvin is hilarious in his grouchiness and touching as he attempts to be nice . \\n \" you make me want to be a better man , \" he tells her . \\none of the best aspects is that even as he opens up , he is still a curmudgeon . \\ncarol , afraid that his monetary contribution to the wellness of her son hides a hidden agenda rushes over to his apartment in the rain to explain in no uncertain terms that she will never sleep with him . \\nit only takes her a second to realize that she is delivering that statement while looking as if she just left a wet t-shirt contest . \\nthere\\'s hardly anything left to say about jack nicholson . \\ni don\\'t remember ever seeing him in anything less than a stellar performance and his over-the-edge melvin is no disappointment . \\nnicholson may be the best actor working today . \\nhunt does a commendable job matching nicholson\\'s energy . \\nshe isn\\'t afraid to be seen as something less than a babe and her portrayal of exhausted run-down carol struggling with seemingly overwhelming obligations is top-notch . \\ntheir on-screen chemistry is a bit odd . \\neach does a wonderful job with the character , but together , there\\'s something a little off . \\nit\\'s a minor problem : they do work well together , but that missing element is what prevents this from being a four-star film . \\ndirector james l . brooks ( \" terms of endearment \" , \" broadcast news \" ) has a movie that is picking up awards by the bucketsful ( nominees for all the top golden globes , winners from the national board of review , inevitable oscars ) and has a winner on his hands . \\n \" as good as it gets \" isn\\'t exactly the quality that the title says , but it\\'s pretty darn close . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and as soon as he finishes this one , he\\'s off to an annual 12 night celebration typically held in freezing weather during a snowstorm . \\nthis year it\\'s in the sixties and raining . \\nthat wacky el nino . ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there\\'s no reason to doubt that donnie brasco is based , as its opening credits proclaim , on a true story . \\nbut if it\\'s an accurate picture of life on america\\'s mean streets , than cinematic depictions of organised crime have had a much stronger basis in reality than i would have previously thought . \\nfor from the film\\'s outset , when a group of hoods jocularly trade differing opinions on the merits of various automobiles ( not unlike a number of movie lowlifes who recently gave a madonna song a close reading ) donnie brasco resembles more than passingly a few gangster flicks once believed to be works of fiction . \\nour eponymous hero ( johnny depp ) is not the cheap crook he first appears to be . \\nbrasco is joseph pistone , an undercover fbi agent who has the task of chumming-up to lefty ( al pacino ) , a seasoned hood who tutors pistone in the art of being a \" wiseguy \" . \\nregrettably , pistone learns his lessons all too well . \\nhis concern for lefty , who is burdened with a heroin addicted son , exacerbates his own family troubles : his children resent his lengthy absences and his wife fears that her husband\\'s gangster persona is becoming a little too convincing . \\ntrue , the focus on pistone\\'s family life does deviate from the typical gangster-flick formula , but this subplot never rises above its television drama origins . \\nthe unhappy couple trade predictable lines and engage in drawn-out domestic squabbles ? including an ill-advised marriage guidance routine ? that slow the film down unnecessarily . \\nthe biggest problem with donnie brasco , however , is that its wiseguy attitude and style lacks the flair of its many predecessors . \\nthe awkward use of an occasional disco tune momentarily reminds us its the 70\\'s , but not with the consistent and blindingly tacky style ? i loved those fluoro coloured suits ? of scorces\\' costume drama casino . \\nmore importantly , pacino\\'s presence triggers memories of his earlier movie triumphs in which similar territory was covered far more effectively . \\ndonnie brasco\\'s take on american values , for instance , is feeble and obvious . \\nlefty rambles out dreams of material betterment to the accompaniment of grating inspirational music . \\ninexplicably , lefty\\'s horatio alger inspired gush is supposed to move us . \\nit doesn\\'t any more than his family troubles do , which are dealt in the same saccharine and obvious manner as pistone\\'s . \\njust think a minute on how these themes were explored in the godfather movies and scarface . \\nin these pictures pacino\\'s dedication to a peculiar and bloody hyper-capitalism was twisted and confronting , while his dogged application of macho wiseguy procedure meant that his relations to friends and family was intriguingly dark ? neither were spared bloody retribution for breaching wiseguy regulations . \\ndonnie brasco\\'s tawdry little crime , therefore isn\\'t so much its repetition of familiar gangster themes , but the shameless way in which it sanitises them . \\n ( oh and by the way , i forgot to mention that the script also sports a startling subplot : pipstone\\'s superiors are obstructive incompetents who are infuriated by his constant insubordination ? is that a \" damn you mcbain ! \" \\ni hear from springfield way ? ) \\nso the movie is cliched . \\nbig deal , what do you expect from a gangster-flick ? \\nwell you expect quality action sequences and bravado performances in abundance if its going to be a decent example of the genre . \\ndonnie brasco fails on both counts . \\nthe action scenes never rise above the ordinary and depp\\'s woeful performance tends to smother the good-work of his comrades . \\nadmittedly , pacino does nothing new and michael madsen ( sonny ) simply smirks his way through the picture like a slightly subdued mr . white , but both possess an unmistakable sly charm . \\ndepp usually exhibits a bit of class himself , but regrettably , being in the presence of one of his betters must have left him star-struck , for he is completely hell-bent on mimicking pacino\\'s well-earned high style . \\nthe consequences are painful to watch . \\nits no exaggeration to say that the film\\'s credibility is seriously strained by the sight of the pistone family\\'s uncanny ability to keep a straight face in front of their breadwinner\\'s phony brooklyn accent . \\nperhaps we should take pity on the makers of donnie brasco . \\nmaybe a scrupulous adherence to pinpoint accuracy demanded tiered dialogue and scenarios weakly reminiscent of classic gangster flicks . \\nif this is indeed the case , surely the makers of donnie brasco could have explored the fascinating possibility that america\\'s underworld is committed to emulating , albeit in heavily attenuated form , their movie namesakes . \\ndepp could have poignantly played a simple cop who becomes a hideous parody once he is forced to mimic big-screen gangster greats . \\nwho knows what insights into the criminal psyche could have arisen ? \\nbut then again , perhaps donnie brasco isn\\'t so true after all . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"2 days in the valley is more or less a pulp fiction knock off . \\nit basically involves how a bunch of quirky characters in the los angeles area end up having their lives become intertwined in some very unusual ways . \\ni'm not going into much greater detail than that , since it would take forever to explain , and quite frankly , i'm not willing to spend any more time on it than the 2 hours that i've already wasted . \\nwhile it tries very hard to be pulp fiction , 2 days in the valley falls way short . \\nthis is quite a condemnation considering the cast includes danny aiello , james spader and jeff daniels . \\nwhile the story isn't much , and the dialogue and characters rate only marginally better , 2 days in the valley does have a couple of bright spots . \\njames spader's character , while not much better than the rest , is at least fun to watch in a sick sort of way . \\nand we do get to see a nice cat fight between uber babes teri hatcher and charlize theron ( in her first role ) . \\nyou know a movie isn't that good when the highlight is a brawl between two women . \\neven if they are both gorgeous . \\ni will give the writers some credit for the fairly clever ways in which they managed to intersect the lives of this group of characters that would have otherwise never interacted . \\nbut marveling at that ingenuity is a far cry from actually enjoying the result . \\nwhile some of the characters and their respective stories are fairly interesting , they inevitably are brought down as they intersect with the other half of the characters that i really cared absolutely nothing about . \\nif i were to put a number on it , only about half of the story and half the characters in this movie were particularly interesting or otherwise enjoyable to watch . \\nthis is the sort of movie that only a huge fan of one or more of the cast members should rent , and even then prepare for disappointment . \\nnot even charlize theron being naked would get me to sit through this movie again . \\nor at least not all of it anyway . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i must admit i\\'m going to be a bit biased in my review of the new romantic comedy serendipity , because that also defines how i met my current girlfriend . \\nthe magic and mystery of our fated encounter is also embodied in the quirkiness and freshness of the very funny and very romantic serendipity . \\ni am not a big fan of the romantic comedy genre , but something drew me to this film . \\nmaybe it was the casting of the underrated jeremy piven in a supporting role , and the hilarious eugene levy . \\nmaybe it was my hope that john cusack would get the redemption he justly deserves after such crap as high fidelity , con air , and pushing tin . \\nbut maybe it was because i feel as giddy as a school kid right now with this whole romantic thing currently in my life . \\nthe story of serendipity is simple . \\ntwo people , john trager ( john cusack ) and sara thomas ( kate beckinsale , looking ever so hot ) , have a chance encounter over a pair of gloves -- with buck henry smack dab in the middle . \\ncharmed beyond repair , these two knuckleheads grab a sundae together at a caf ? called serendipity , talk about that irresponsible thing called fate and the avenues it leads people down , and spend a few hours at the local ice skating rink . \\nbut with each of them already involved with other parties , sara has john write his name and number on a $5 bill and she writes her name and number on a copy of love in the time of cholera . \\nsara declares that if this \" thing \" -- let\\'s just call it love -- is destined to happen , fate will bring them together in the future . \\nyears later and on opposite coasts of america , john and sara -- both engaged but still unsure whether they have found their soul mates -- decide to seek each other out to rest their doubts . \\nwhat happens then is an enjoyable and often hilarious cat-and-mouse game with the fates - involving such items as mistaken identity , a graduate homage , john corbett as a freaky new age musician , and eugene levy as an irate and crazed salesman -- to find out if that \" thing \" was right after all . \\nfortunately , first-time screenwriter marc klein has sketched strong , well-rounded , characters to propel a predictable and corny narrative . \\ncoupled with deft directing by michael chelsom ( director of the very unfunny town and country and the very funny funny bones ) and the use of time-lapse camera work to illustrate the passage of years -- the film comes off with genuine believability and sincerity . \\nboth piven and molly shannon make nice sidekick characters \\non the flipside , films such as you\\'ve got mail , made in heaven , and even high fidelity are the quiet inspirations for the film\\'s main journey at hand . \\nbut it\\'s what happens to the unexpecting characters left behind in the romantic wake after john and sara find happiness this is the most unsettling part of the picture . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"capsule : the verma family is having a wedding and all the relatives will come for the multi-day festivities . \\nmira nair's film is pleasant enough with a little human drama , a few family secrets , some sadness and some happiness . \\nyou have seen it all before , but perhaps not from india . \\nthe photography is colorful and the music is very agreeable . \\n , low +2 ( -4 to +4 ) \\nmira nair previously directed salaam bombay and mississippi masala . \\nher newest film , written by sabrina dhawan , is very similar to previous films like betsy's wedding but it is set in new delhi . \\na wealthy family is having a wedding . \\nan indian wedding is a multi-day affair as much a family reunion as a nuptial . \\neven more than in the us , it is an excuse for a lavish and extravagant family get-together . \\nthe film shows us what the family does together and at the same time follows several family members' individual story lines . \\naditi verma is marrying hemant , an indian engineer working in the us . \\nshe had previously had a relationship with vikram , her supervisor . \\nlatit , her father ( played by naseeruddin shah ) , is juggling many problems , not the least of which is worrying about the caterer has hired pk dubey . \\ndubey is a rather eccentric man with a taste for eating the marigolds he uses for decoration . \\neven dubey will soon be romantically entangled when he becomes interested in alice , one of the family servants . \\nseveral family members arrive giving rise to several plotlines involving sex , family secrets , or both . \\nthere are heartbreaks and there are people falling in love . \\nsome of the subjects covered are probably near taboo for indian films . \\nwestern audiences will appreciate a look at unfamiliar indian customs like women painting their hands with henna . \\non the other hand it was not clear ( to me at least ) if scenes like the family singing together are typical of indian culture or if they are a convention of indian musical films . \\nthis seems a particularly westernized family with the father wearing american designer sweaters and the family speaking mostly english . \\nthe latter will , however , help with an international release . \\nsabrina dhawan's screenplay is vibrant with witty dialog . \\nwe have seen films with plotting very much like this , but the indian setting makes a great deal of difference . \\ndirector mira nair calls the film an affirmation of life . \\ni rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'capsule : combine one quart of raiders of the lost ark , a dash of a jackie chan movie ( sans jackie ) , two teaspoons of gun- and swordplay , and a dollop of cgi . \\nsimmer for 100 minutes . \\nyields : zilch . \\nthe phantom is a depressing and tired retread of so many earlier , better movies that after the fifteen-minute mark i started cataloguing them out loud . \\nit\\'s hard to make a good action-adventure movie that doesn\\'t simply recycle its predecessors , and i\\'ve seen movies that even at least did the recycling gracefully . \\nthe phantom , allegedly based on the long-running comic of the same name , doesn\\'t even bother to be graceful . \\nit\\'s a stupid and incompetent movie in too many ways to list , but i\\'ll try . \\nthe film opens up with a \" prelude \" sequence that looks like it was slashed to ribbons in the editing and then given a heavy voice-over to compensate for whatever got thrown out . \\nwe go from there to a jungle sequence that , i swear to god , recycles the truck-chase scene from raiders of the lost ark note-for-note , possibly even shot-for-shot , right down to the moment where indy wrenched open the door and slung one of the drivers out into the brush -- and then goes on to rip off the rope-bridge scene from \" sorcerer \" as well ! \\nsorcerer , as you may well remember , was a remake of a french movie , the wages of fear , in which a bunch of lowlifes were paid piles of money to drive a truck loaded with nitro through horrible jungle terrain . \\nboth versions of that movie were far more interesting than this flick , but i\\'ve got my job to do , so back to the salt mines we go . \\nanyway , the cinematic theft doesn\\'t stop there . \\nor at least the lack of inspiration . \\nthere isn\\'t a single thing here we haven\\'t seen , and it\\'s not given to us in a way that remotely evokes our interest . \\nwe have ( where\\'s my list ? ) \\na bad girl , a tough good girl , a secret cave hideaway ( which seems inspired more by dr . \\nno than anything else ) , a boardroom meeting that drips with greed and venality , magical artifacts of terrible power , and cary-hiroyuki tagawa wasted in another stupid role where he gets to wear a fu manchu mustache and sneer a lot and generally humiliate himself . \\nwhat else is there ? \\nthe plot is a waste of time . \\nthe sets alternate between big but hokey -- and tiny and still hokey . \\nthere are lines in the script that are just begging to be mst3ked -- and i\\'m sure once mike and the \\'bots get the cash , they\\'ll stick it on their sked . \\nthe only thing in the movie worth noting is billy zane -- he\\'s a good actor , and he tries very hard , even when the script is sending him down one dead alley of a scene after another . \\nall i can say is that i pray this isn\\'t the beginning of the end for him -- although it sure looks like the final nail in the coffin for the comic-book super-hero movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i've got to admit it . . . \\ni'm a huge jim carrey fan . \\ni loved the first ace ventura , as well as the mask and dumb and dumber--and even in batman forever ( which was a pretty awful movie ) , carrey was one of the few people to come off looking reasonably good . \\nuntil i saw ace ventura 2 , i had no idea how people could find the guy annoying . \\nsadly , ace ventura 2 shows just how irritating and annoying carrey can be . \\ncarrey goes through the same schtick he went through in the first ace movie , but this time it is no longer funny--it is just a rehash of many of the same jokes used in ace i . \\nthe plot sees pet detective ace ventura retiring after failing to save a raccoon ( in a reasonable cliffhanger spoof ) . \\nsoon he is called out of retirement to find a bat which was kidnapped and , if not returned in four days , will cause two warring african tribes to destroy each other . \\nonce again , it's up to ace to save the day , using his uncanny detective skills . \\nthose who have been disappointed by carrey's more restrained roles in the films following the first ace ventura may be glad to see him over-acting to the best of his ability , but some may be disappointed by the fact that this sequel doesn't capture the feel of the original . \\nthe original benefited from what looked to be carrey's constant hyped-up improv sequences , which were hysterically funny . \\nhere , however , the tighter script ( which is reminiscent of the old disney telemovies ) takes the improvised material from the first , and shamelessly recycles it in the new movie , giving carrey little chance to improvise . \\ninstead , his extremely funny manner has been reduced to just walking around stupidly . \\nbut one of the biggest problems i had was with the character of ventura himself . \\nin the first movie , he was always cool , and one step ahead of every one else--perfect for carrey's off-the-wall approach . \\nbut here , ventura is made to look a lot stupider , and is often made out as the straight guy--a role which is definitely not carrey's style . \\nthere are definitely some very funny moments , but they are few and far between . \\nthey are also nowhere near as funny as anything carrey did in the first ace ventura , or even dumb and dumber . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the tagline for this film is : \" some houses are just born bad \" . \\nso i didn\\'t expect too much from this . \\nbut i had preserved a little spark of ope as i entered the theatre . \\ni thought : liam neeson , cathrine zeta jones and jan de bont . \\ni thought , mabe it will be fun ? \\nand in fact the beginning was rather intriguing . \\nbut by the end of it i thought : why liam neeson and cathrine zeta jones , jan de bont ? . \\nthese great actors are basically helpless with this muddled mess that defies any rationality . \\nhere is the story : in the monstrously over-decorated mansion known as hill house , visitors are tricked by an unknown doctor ( liam neeson ) into being guinea pigs in a fright experiment under the guise of an insomnia investigation . \\namong them is a sophisticated bisexual ( cathrine zeta jones ) , a cynical dope ( owen wilson ) and a gentle and emotional lady ( lily taylor ) . \\nactually , the doctor is researching the \" primordial fear reaction \" and intends to plant disturbing ideas in his subjects and watch ! \\nwhat happens . \\nbut he gets unexpected help from the house itself . \\nit rumbles , hums and belches forth remarkable sights . \\nportals become veiny stained-glass eyeballs . \\na fireplace guarded by stone lions gapes like a sinister mouth . \\nfilmy cherubic spirits take shape under sheets and billowy curtains . \\nbut the computerized spooketeria rarely feels real , placing an emotional wall between audience and screen . \\nthe second half of the film is basically about the main heroine running back and forth from the sinister lamps and evil furniture . \\nis that exciting or what ? \\nthe worst thing about it is that it didn\\'t have to be bad . \\nit\\'s based on a great book , ``the haunting of hill house , \\'\\' by shirley jackson . \\na 1963 adaptation of the book was scary and intelligent . \\nit played with the greatest fears of our sub conscience . \\n \" the blair witch project \" , that cost less than an old car , managed to shock and terrify the audiences from their senses . \\nand with a $70 mill . \\nbudget , de bont and screenwriter david self make hash out of a perfectly lovely piece of terror . \\nde ! \\nbont has a style of filmmaking so out of line with the material that it is , in itself , frightening . \\nhe is the master of the extravagant special effect and the big visual adrenaline rush . \\nbut why give him a more serious material ? \\nin the end \" haunting \" will only haunt its fledgling studio ( dream works skg ) and de bont\\'s career as a director . \\nyet it wouldn\\'t be fair to say that everything is bad . \\nthe effects are truly impressive and the house is wonderfully decorated -- beautiful , mysterious , magical and spooky . \\nbut this is where the good things end . \\nthe music is blaring , the floors moving , the ceiling morphing and the pictures on the walls screaming -- and all of this , every second , every moment of screen time , is absolutely without life . \\nit\\'s nothing more than a special effects-extravaganza ; visually impressive , but intellectually hollow thriller that simply doesn\\'t engage . \\nat first you do not know what\\'s going on . \\nis this part of the experiment ? \\nare these hallucinations ? \\nprojections of the subconscience ? \\nparanoia ? \\nbut in the end it shows out that this is actually happening . \\nthe house is actually possessed . \\nit is at that point when all your hopes for a good entertainment disappears out of the window . \\nfor ever , i sat in anticipation for a decent climax and that\\'s what i got ? \\ni believe hichock once said that \" it\\'s ! \\nbetter to wait for a climax , than to see one \" . \\nthis may be true , and it might actually work , but there is only one problem -- jan de bont is not hichock and the things that he shows are not scary , only stupid . \\nthey are impossible to take seriously . \\nany paralells that you might have heard before , linking this picture to kubrick\\'s \" the shining \" , are absolutely baseless . \\n \" shining \" had class , style , story , acting , but most of all talent and originality . \\n \" haunting \" has only special effects and art direction to boast of . \\nand those elements alone are not enough to make it a good film . \\ncasting good actors for small , pale parts only makes things worse . \\nbut i guess that no matter what i or other critics say or write , most of you will see this film anyway , even if the tagline would say : \" some films are just born stupid \" . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'bad . bad . \\nbad . \\nthat one word seems to pretty much sums up beyond the valley of the dolls . \\nif that summary isn\\'t enough for you , how about t&a , t&a , t&a ? \\nstill haven\\'t got the point ? \\nother than director russ meyer\\'s predilection for casting attractive large breasted women who ultimately expose the afore-mentioned anatomical areas , there is really only one other reason to recommend even taking a look at this movie . \\nthat is the fact that it was co-written by famed film critic roger ebert , who also was responsible for the screenplay . \\nafter watching this movie you will never be able to sit through another one of his reviews where he gives a movie a thumbs down for bad writing with a straight face . \\nthis movie stinks out loud . \\nquite frankly , this movie deserves a . \\nbut there are parts of it that are so bad they are almost funny . \\nso i\\'m giving it a . \\nand maybe that is too generous . \\nright from the opening credits , i knew that i had a class-a bomb on my hands . \\nnot only are the way the credits actually shot distracting , but the first scene you see includes a big breasted young woman being chased by a guy in a nazi uniform . \\ni had absolutely no idea why the hell that was happening ( it does get explained later ) and as soon as the first scene is over , we cut to a completely unrelated scene . \\nto be honest , as i sat through this movie mesmerized by just how incredibly awful it was , i actually forgot about the seemingly out of place opening until it popped up again later in the film . \\nwith the quality of the writing during the rest of the film , it wouldn\\'t have surprised me if the opening had never been explained . \\nso what is this movie about ? \\nyou ask . \\nlike it really matters . \\nok , here goes . \\nthis all-girl band headed by kelly macnamara ( dolly reed ) and her friends go to hollywood to try to gain a foothold in the music industry . \\nonce there , they do manage to find success ( due as much to their hooters as anything else ? it sure wasn\\'t for their brutally bad singing voices ) , and the movie chronicles how their lives change for the worse as the pressures of fame get to them . \\neverything from big egos , to booze and drugs to free flowing sex sends them on a downward spiral . \\nthere are a couple of other idiotic subplots thrown in for good measure , but the fame is the one that pretty much sums up this thing . \\n>from a creative standpoint there is nothing redeeming here . \\nother than the above-mentioned obsession with big knockers that russ meyer seemed to have . \\nthe dialogue is so incredibly bad that it literally is funny in parts . \\nmr . ebert has generously thrown in helpings of \" hey man \" , \" dig \" and my all time favorite -- \" this is my happening , and it freaks me out \" . \\nnow i ask you , with lines like that how can you go wrong ? \\nebert had tried to inject as many big words as possible into the dialogue . \\nmaybe he thought it would make the movie seem smarter . \\ni don\\'t know , but all the big words in the world wouldn\\'t be able to disguise the bad writing and even worse acting . \\nbut the wretched dialogue goes along well with the wretched quality of everything else in this movie . \\ni\\'ve seen home movies directed better than meyer managed with this turkey . \\nin fact , there is one scene -- the one in which they are in a van driving to hollywood to make their fortunes -- during which i really had to question if meyer or his editors had just suffered serious head injuries . \\nadd to the directing and writing the music in this movie . \\ni almost got up to check my sound system to see if it was broken , there was such a pile of crap emanating from the speakers . \\nthen we have the cast . \\nfirst lets start david gurian who played harris , the manager of the band . \\nthis has got to be the goofiest looking guy that has ever set foot in front of a motion picture camera . \\nsadly , his acting doesn\\'t come close to making up for his looks . \\nif you have been following along up to this point , this shouldn\\'t surprise you . \\nmeyer\\'s stable of well endowed girls also have the benefit of being fairly attractive to go along with their other assets . \\ndolly reed plays kelly , the leader of the band . \\nand no surprise here , she was cast for her cup size , not her talents . \\nand yes , she does loose the shirt a few times and display her impressive talents . \\nsadly , her ass is almost as large as her chest . \\nhey , it a sexist movie , so i\\'m writing a sexist review . \\nthen we have former playboy playmate cynthia myers in a fairly small role as casey , one of the other band members . \\nthis goes along with the rest of the idiotic thinking in the movie . \\nmeyer casts a gorgeous playmate with a rack to kill for and who obviously has no acting talent at all , but her nude scenes are the biggest disappointment of all . \\nsure russ , now is the time to get artsy and throw in some well placed shadows . \\non the up side , she does have a fun lesbo scene . \\ni sound like i\\'m writing a review in a porn magazine . \\nbut hey , i\\'ll admit it ; the only reason that i actually managed to sit through this damn movie was to catch a look at cynthia myers naked . \\nand since that was a huge disappointment , i pretty much wasted two hours of my life on this turkey . \\nthe only thing that i can say about this movie is that you should stay away from it . \\nunless of course you want to feel good about yourself by knowing that even a pulitzer prize winning film critic like roger ebert has screwed up at least once in his life too . \\nand if you are thinking of checking it out for the double d\\'s -- you are better off just downloading nude cynthia myers pictures off the internet . \\nthis is a movie that should be avoided at all costs . \\nan even better idea might be to require video stores to place a warning on the box of beyond the valley of the dolls -- beware : this movie is extremely hazardous to your common sense . \\nproceed with extreme caution . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : leonard shelby ( pearce ) is a former insurance investigator on the trail of the man who killed his wife . \\nleonard has only a few clues to the murderer\\'s identity ; to make matters worse , he suffers from a condition which inhibits the creation of short-term memories , meaning that leonard is always forgetting what happened just minutes earlier . \\nbecause of this , leonard is forced to rely on notes he leaves for himself . \\n \" memento \" traces the investigation back in time from its apparent culmination . \\nreview : \" memento \" is the sort of movie i wish i\\'d written ; i can think of no higher praise than that . \\ni am envious that nolan has concocted such a brilliant , involved , original movie as this . \\nan instant film noir classic , \" memento \" is virtually flawless . \\nthe script is unlike any i have ever seen -- a notable achievement in these days of recycled hollywood homogeneity . \\nalthough the idea of starting at the \" conclusion \" of the plotline and then moving backward in time to the \" start \" is not entirely new , never before have i witnessed it executed with such flair and coherence . \\n \" memento \" is endlessly exciting and inventive , a rare story which keeps the viewers guessing during the film itself , and mulling over its connotations long after leaving the theatre . \\nand it is not merely an exercise in cerebrality ; there is plenty of action and an unexpected dose of humour to keep the proceedings lively . \\nnolan\\'s direction is equally effective , never losing its crispness and clarity despite \" memento \" \\'s challenging gimmick . \\nand to top everything off , all the performances rise to the occasion . \\npierce is terrific as the troubled leonard ; moss shows great range as enigmatic natalie ; and pantoliano\\'s teddy achieves a splendidly affable yet sinister quality . \\n \" memento \" may be the year\\'s best screenplay , and is certainly amongst the top theatrical attractions of 2001 . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"ingredients : possessed plastic dolls in love , plastic dolls having sex \\nstarring : jennifer tilly , voice of brad dourif , katherine heigl , nick stabile , john ritter \\nsynopsis : this is the fourth film in the chucky series , which debuted in the late 1980s . \\nbasically , chucky is a plastic doll that can walk and talk because it is possessed by the spirit of a slain murderer . \\nin bride of chucky , chucky's longtime girlfriend tiffany ( jennifer tilly ) dies and her spirit inhabits a female plastic doll through voodoo . \\ndolls tiffany and chucky get married and embark on a quest to reach a cemetery in new jersey , where a mystical gem might enable them to be humans . \\nthe dolls stow away in the back of a vehicle driven by a newly eloped couple , so in the side plot , the couple suspects each other of being a murderer . \\nopinion : bride of chucky is an attempt at horror with humor , but doesn't succeed . \\nsomehow , chucky moaning about mid life crisis , and how he should have gotten married does not make for a very scary chucky . \\nand tiffany harping about mid life crisis , and how she should have gotten married does not make for a very scary tiffany . \\nthe suspenseless bride of chucky relies mostly on jennifer tilly's cleavage to keep attention during the first half , and on occasional puns to keep attention during the second half . \\nthe best that can be said about bride of chucky is that it is sarcastic . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it seemed like the perfect concept . \\nwhat better for the farrelly brothers , famous for writing and directing comedies with offensive subject matter , than to make a movie about a guy with a split personality ? \\nit\\'s exactly the sort of thing the brothers relish : poking fun at something serious ( in this case mental illness ) , throwing all care to the wind to get a laugh . \\njim carrey\\'s signed on too ? \\neven better . \\nthe national alliance for the mentally ill even helped out by levying complaints against the brothers\\' new film before its opening , claiming it was misrepresenting the condition of split personality , labeling it incorrectly as \" schizophrenia , \" and so forth . \\nsuch a protest seemed like just the sort of thing that would , of course , only add more fuel to the farrelly brothers\\' fire , proving that some people just couldn\\'t take a joke , and that the farrellys would be helping the more enlightened viewers to yet another dose of their brilliantly subversive comedy . \\nyes , it all seemed perfect , but one thing went wrong : their movie isn\\'t funny . \\nit\\'s not for lack of trying . \\nthe farrellys utilize in \" me , myself & irene \" their most high-concept premise ever : carrey plays charlie baileygaites , a man who after being dumped by his wife for a midget limo driver , decides to bury all his aggressive feelings deep down inside and never release them . \\nthis , of course , means all his neighbors exploit his entirely too-forgiving nature , making his job as a rhode island state trooper increasingly difficult . \\nsoon enough , charlie\\'s repressed aggression manifests itself into a second , independent personality named hank , a deep-voiced , boorish ogre unafraid of taking the assertive actions his predecessor had been unable to muster . \\nthis guy isn\\'t above crashing a car through the wall of the barber shop in which he\\'s been insulted , or holding a little girl\\'s head underwater because she refused to stop jump-roping in the street . \\nthen things start getting lost in the most complicated plot the farrellys have ever attempted , and the film runs off its tracks . \\nsome have suggested that this isn\\'t a problem , because the farrelly brothers\\' brand of humor doesn\\'t require plot to work . \\nthey\\'re wrong , of course : plot was greatly instrumental in building up the kind of rollicking comic energy that infused the farrellys\\' last effort , 1996\\'s \" there\\'s something about mary . \" \\n ( 1999\\'s \" outside providence \" was technically an earlier project . ) \\nthe brothers\\' earlier film wasn\\'t funny merely because it contained outrageous gags ( despite what some newsmagazine articles would have you believe ) , but rather because its most outrageous gags were entirely unexpected . \\nin \" mary , \" the farrellys managed several times to pull off a neat sleight-of-hand trick : they\\'d have you thinking the story was going one way , then reveal its real direction in delightfully surprising fashion . \\n \" me , myself & irene , \" by contrast , seems to have been made by folks who looked at \" mary \" and saw only the surface grossness , missing all of the subtle machinations that really made it work . \\nhaving been produced by the same guys who made \" mary , \" \" irene \" seems like an even bigger disappointment . \\nthe brothers pile on the offensive humor , taking shots at race , midgets , albinos , mental illness , and all manner of bathroom jokes . \\nbut they haven\\'t come up with a way to make any of it fresh ; most of \" me , myself & irene \" comes off as rote , by-the-numbers , adolescent comedy . \\nthe plot , with carrey forced to drive alleged fugitive irene p . waters ( renee zellweger ) , who\\'s in more trouble than anyone knows , back to new york , has an ending that\\'s entirely predictable from the get-go . \\n ( think charlie and irene will fall in love ? \\nyeah , me too . ) \\nthe farrellys then introduce scores of different characters , and none of them ever manage to do anything you haven\\'t already expected them to do , no matter how outrageous their actions might be . \\ncompared to the curveballs the farrellys are used to throwing , this stuff is almost entirely soft-tossed , presenting an obvious problem : when gross-out humor loses its shock value , it\\'s no longer funny , merely gross . \\nthe jokes that do work are milked over and over until their effectiveness runs dry . \\ntake , for example , the subplot involving charlie\\'s three black sons ( anthony anderson , mongo brownlee , jerod mixon ) . \\nthe incongruity of it all is funny for a while , with three burly black men discussing higher math in ghetto language and white-bread carrey mouthing said language with an entirely too-pleasant smile on his face . \\nbut by the end of the film , they\\'re still doing the same schitck ; it hasn\\'t been elevated to another , funnier level , and it hasn\\'t been dropped either . \\nthat\\'s too bad , because it ceases to be amusing about halfway through . \\n \" me , myself & irene \" reeks of wasted opportunities . \\nthere ought to be more focus on how other people react to charlie\\'s new personality , and on how charlie deals with the consequences of hank\\'s actions . \\nthis doesn\\'t really happen ; nearly every supporting character learns about charlie\\'s condition early on , so they don\\'t have any opportunity to be surprised by it . \\nthe film throws what looks like a patented farrelly curve in a scene towards the midway point ( involving an albino companion charlie and irene pick up called , appropriately , \" whitey \" ) , but the script doesn\\'t go anywhere with it , instead leaving the thread twisting in the wind before awkwardly tying it up during the climax . \\njim carrey is a gifted comedian , both physically and vocally , but he\\'s left with nothing much to do here except contort himself in a manner similar to steve martin in \" all of me . \" \\nit\\'s a great showcase of flexibility and split-second role-shifting , but none of it is terribly funny . \\ncarrey doesn\\'t pull any stunts we don\\'t expect him to pull , and the farrellys\\' script doesn\\'t give him anything else to pull : the situations in which he must perform the role-shifting aren\\'t set up in any meaningful way . \\nperhaps carrey can take solace in the fact that his supporting actors fare no better . \\nzellweger\\'s irene is not a strong female lead ; mary in \" mary \" may have been part adolescent fantasy , but she was also intelligent and strong-willed . \\nirene is nothing in particular , as the film never makes clear whether she\\'s ditzy , clever , or neither . \\nas such , she gives us nothing to latch onto as the only \" sane \" person in the film . \\nchris cooper is stuck playing exactly one note as a corrupt fbi agent , and his character is entirely too straight-laced for a movie like this . \\nhe , like the others , does absolutely nothing unexpected . \\nafter viewing the shapeless mess that \" me , myself & irene \" eventually dissolved into , i was stuck wondering whether or not the farrellys had outsmarted themselves . \\nmaybe their kind of comedy can only work for so long until audiences get wise to it and stop being shocked . \\nbut i don\\'t believe it -- good filmmakers find ways of surprising their audiences even after people have grown attuned to their style . \\nif the farrellys are indeed good , smart filmmakers ( and i still think they are ) , they\\'ll rebound just fine . \\neven after that happens , though , i\\'ll still consider \" me , myself & irene \" to be a high-caliber misfire . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"those of you who frequently read my reviews are not likely to be surprised by the fact that i have not read victor hugo's novel les miserables . \\ni don't know if a lot of people have , though i imagine many are familiar with the popular musical based on the novel . \\ni haven't even seen that . \\ngoing into this film , i had almost no knowledge of the story or its characters ( i even expected the film to be a musical ) . \\nwalking away from it , i'm kind of glad i had no prior experience with the material . \\nwriter/director bille august's film version is a straightforward , beautifully told film . \\nliam neeson stars as the miserable jean valjean ; in the beginning , he has just been released from a 19-year prison sentence . \\nhe is allowed to stay in a convent by a kindly priest despite his rude and destructive behavior . \\nthe priest's words of wisdom influence him , and he makes a vow to change himself . \\nnine years later , we are informed that he is now the mayor of a town called vigo ; nobody knows his real name , and that he is wanted for skipping his parole nine years ago . \\nconflicts arise when inspector javert ( geoffrey rush ) is assigned to vigo . \\nvaljean remembers javert as one of the prison guards who constantly beat him , and javert remembers jean to be a convict . \\njavert is hell-bent on upholding the law , and he does everything in his power to bring jean to justice . \\nalong the way , valjean meets and falls in love with a peasant woman , fantine ( uma thurman ) , and vows to take care of her daughter , cosette ( played later by claire danes ) . \\nles miserables is visually a solid and often striking picture . \\nthe production design by anna asp is authentic and vast , and the sets don't look like sets ( they look like real towns and villages ) ; gabriella pescucci's costumes are noticeably spectacular . \\nbasil poledouris' soundtrack is thick and usually well-placed ( though it does get a bit heavy at times ) . \\nmany scenes in the film have a memorable photographic quality , such as the climax , which takes place next to a dark river in the grey obscurity of early evening . \\naugusts keeps the story simple ( which i hear is a good thing , since the novel is so complex ) and easy to follow . \\nhe manages to develop the main characters and most of the subplots adequately . \\ni was also impressed that he didn't go overboard with flash and style , which is something so many directors seem to be doing to classic stories these days ( such as baz luhrmann's vicious tragedy william shakespeare's romeo + juliet ) . \\nthis film feels solid and whole , and each scene has a certain amount of importance and vigor that keeps the audience interested . \\nliam neeson is terrific in the main role ; neeson is the kind of actor who does solemn desperation extremely well , and valjean is certainly a man who clearly fits that adjective . \\nthurman , in her small role , is very good , and proves that she has a lot of range and can perform in a very non-glamorous role such as this one . \\nrush is absolutely incredible as javert ; i don't remember ever feeling so strongly about a villain as i do here ; he adds depth and complexity with subtle glances and nuances , and effortlessly makes each of his scenes intense . \\ni can't be as charitable for danes , however ; though i know she is a talented actress , here she tends to overact when it might have been better to underplay the character a bit . \\nles miserables is , as i've said , a solid , intelligent motion picture . \\nmy only complaint is that it feels a bit too easy , and perhaps too staged . \\neach scene is grand and huge , and exploding with poledouris' score , but i didn't always want them to be . \\nfor the most part , les miserables is not a subtle or deep picture . \\nit's a good movie , and tells its story well , but august tends to hand-feed us themes and scenes that would have worked better had they been more subtle . \\nhowever , in a film this exciting and well-produced , a few minor flaws are easily overlooked . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"well , as i check my score card for what i've done this holiday weekend , it reads good ideas : 0 and dumb ideas : 1 . \\ni don't know what i was thinking when i decided to watch this movie . \\nbut in my defense , i can only say that it was someone else who urged me to see this with him . \\nthe film that i'm talking about is `a night at the roxbury , ' one of those offerings based on a saturday night live skit . \\nwayne and garth , these two are not . \\nrather , we meet doug and steve butabi ( the actors' names are not worth mentioning ) , two eternal partyers whose greatest ambitions in life seem to be finding a way to get into the hottest night club in the city , the roxbury . \\ndriving in their dad's bmw and donning metallic disco suits right out of miami vice , they try to bribe the bouncer to get into the club . \\n`have you met my friend washington and his friend roosevelt , ' they confidently say as they pull out spare pocket change . \\ntheir second greatest ambition seems to be oozing out as many silly pick-up lines as is humanly possible in order to start a conversation with a girl ( `let me see that label . \\njust as i thought - made in heaven , ' says one of the brothers ) . \\nand , like the losers that they are , they fail to do either for much of the film . \\nhowever , as fate would have it , an accidental meeting with `what-ever-happened-to' richard grieco gives them the all-important ticket to get in . \\ntheir sad lives take on a whole new direction . \\nthey make an important contact with the club owner who believes that these two brothers have uncanny insight into the club scene . \\nand they are mistaken as rich swingers by two voluptuous young women . \\nbut their newfound popularity does not impress their father , who has other plans for them . \\nthe unfortunate thing about this film is that this is a one-joke movie , and the brothers are the joke . \\nactually , there's about 10 mintues worth of tolerable stuff . \\nalas , too long for tv and way too short for a feature-length film . \\nthus , there just isn't enough material to sustain the 83-minute movie . \\nthere's no plot to be found and everything that these two do seem to culminate in an opportunity to execute their trademark move of snapping their heads in unison to the funky beat of haddaway's europop song , what is love . \\ni was amazed that none of the two suffered from whiplash . \\nto take up more film time , there is a subplot involving the daughter of the businessman next door who wants to marry doug . \\nthis creates not only friction between the brothers , but their unlikely pairing will also agitate audience members as well . \\nshe's educated and a forebearing witch . \\nmeanwhile , doug is a complete loser . \\nhow did these two ever get together ? \\ni suppose that if i can ever figure out the answer to that question , i'll have figured out why i decided to go and see this movie . \\nif you're looking for entertainment , you won't find it at the roxbury . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'for those interested in the true spirit of moviemaking - or what\\'s left of it in mainstream hollywood - movie which are star vehicles are terrible things . \\nas a rule , the ignore general principles of cinema because they are not made to advance the media but rather to advance the career of a particular actor . \\nan actor might be chosen on the up-and-up , to give him exposure ; or he might be chosen on the way down to hand him a paycheck . \\ngenerally , though , the actor doesn\\'t matter , and soldier , the latest from the beleaguered warner brothers , exemplifies this : the picture lacks pizazz . \\nthe star for the vehicle in this case is kurt russell , otherwise known as the man of thirty words or less . \\nrussell plays todd , a human trained from birth in the ways of waging war and becoming emotionally distanced from the carnage he has wrought . \\nthe movie lets us see this degenerate process , but by the time the real plot starts , we\\'re into todd\\'s later years . \\nhe\\'s about to be replaced by a new breed of soldiers , ones who , instead of being trained * from * birth , are genetically selected * before * birth . \\nthe pride of this class - caine 607 ( jason scott lee ) - will be our villain , and you know he\\'s the villain because he has a staring contest with our hero near the movie\\'s start . \\nbetween the two leads , less than a full typed page of dialogue is spoken , and it\\'s possible to imagine a script which is ninety percent stage direction . \\ndirector paul anderson , who helmed last year\\'s icy thriller , event horizon , doesn\\'t show any inventiveness here and instead is content to let the actions play out on screen ad nauseam . \\ntodd , upon being replaced , is left to die on a garbage planet ; but in order to stretch the running time out , the villains return to the garbage planet on a \" routine patrol \" and set the stage for the final firefight . \\nevents are predictable from the time that the setups are made , and neither anderson nor scriptwriter david peoples attempts to show any creativeness here . \\nthe most annoying plot facet is the reason that the whole of the movie comes to be : todd fails to show physical superiority against caine - in fact , not even todd and two of his companions can best the baddie - but near the end of the movie he shows remarkable prowess with automatic weaponry . \\nit\\'s not as though todd undergoes any significant character changes throughout the plot of the story , and so the plot has a very canned feeling about it . \\nthe best route through this disaster is to take it lighthearted in spirit , and treat it as a parody of typical action fare , like universal soldier . \\na strict interpretation , however , reveals an unmistakeable and unforgiveable lack of style , class , or substance ; and by next year , a large percentage of the people who have seen this will have taped it off of network television . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'for timing reasons having to do with baby sitters , we recently went to a multiplex and saw undercover blues . \\ni would give it one half of a star for guts . \\nanyone in a movie this bad would have to have guts . \\ni later read a ny times review that said kathleen turner and dennis quaid had gotten so plump they looked like they had the mumps in the show . \\nthe script was the worst part . \\nthey had characters who talked with funny accents in an attempt to make you laugh . \\nthey had lots of \" great \" sight gags like two people trying to go in a door together and therefore bumping shoulders against the door . \\nturner and quaid both kept smiling like some idiots on a game show . \\nthe good news is that we were smart enough to vote with our feet and left . \\nbuy some tickets and give them to your worst enemies . \\ntell them the show is great and smile a lot . \\n * * * * = one of the top few films of this or any year . \\na must see film . \\n * * * = excellent show . \\nlook for it . \\n * * = average movie . \\nkind of enjoyable . \\n * = poor show . \\ndon\\'t waste your money . \\n0 = one of the worst films of this or any year . \\ntotally unbearable . \\nreview written on : september 29 , 1993 \\nopinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer\\'s . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'and just when you thought joblo was getting a little soft around the corners , not rating anything lower than your standard \" this movie sucks \" , along comes this cinematic atrocity and he\\'s forced to take out his secret weapon and spray it with a stench so thick , even the bravest movie-goer would think twice about seeing this waste of time . \\nyes , despite being a third sequel to a successful original movie , the latest highlander doesn\\'t seem to have anything going for it . \\noh stinky movie , let me count thee ways . . . \\nplot : ( from what i understood ) a really bad highlander dude comes to the present looking to whack out the nice highlander dudes in order to gain their power and become the mightiest immortal . . . or \\nsomething along those lines . \\ncritique : a complete and utter mess . \\ndisjointed , incoherent , boring , corny , filled with bad dialogue . . . and \\nthat\\'s just the first thirty minutes ! \\nthis film doesn\\'t seem to know what to do with itself . \\nit\\'s confusing to anyone who doesn\\'t know the series ( i include myself in that group ) and apparently idiotic to those who do know the series ( i include die-hard highlander fan the arrow in that group ) . \\nthe film doesn\\'t explain anything about itself . . . it \\njust goes from one inexplicable situation to another . \\none moment they\\'re in the present time , the next moment , they\\'re in italy in the 1600s . \\nwhy ? \\nwho knows . \\nwhat are they talking about ? \\nno idea . \\nflashbacks mixed in with the present , mixed in with a few spontaneously cheesy fight sequences every now and again , and i even remember seeing one flashback scene which went even further into its own flashback scene ! ! \\nhullo . . . ? ! ? \\nconfused yet ? \\ni was and i basically stopped giving a crap about anyone in the film when i realized that neither the writer or director was interested in presenting me with any kind of semblance of a story . \\nrandom swordplay , mad max-like dudes showing up in motorcycles in the 1800s ? \\nor were they in the present at that time ? \\nwho knows . . . and to be honest . . . who \\nseriously cares ! \\nthis series should have been shot in the head and put out of its own misery a long time ago , but sadly , someone at the studio decided that it still had a little life left in it . \\nplease , please . . . for the love of god and all that is holy in the world of movie-making , and mostly out of respect for those who loved the original film , put this series to bed and end it ! \\neven christopher lambert knew enough to play second fiddle to adrian paul in this one . \\nthe director also tries to do the best he can with the muddled material , but all he could come up with is plenty of slo-mo action , some fast-motion fight scenes and lots of smoke everywhere . \\nand is there anything spectacular about the sword-play or fight scenes ? \\nnope . \\nand i think we all could have done without all those zooming lambert face close-ups . . . yipes , \\nthe man is not aging gracefully , is he ? \\noh boy , and i haven\\'t even gotten around to the greatest piece of over-acting that i\\'ve seen in years . \\nthe man who plays kell in this movie , bruce payne , should get a ham trophy for literally chewing up every piece of scenery that he gets near . \\noveracting is not a hobby for this guy . . . it\\'s \\na living ! \\nhe\\'s also very funny , not purposely though . \\nall in all , the movie stinks . \\nnuff said . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the muppet movie is the first , and the best movie among the ever-growing list of muppet movies . \\nthe muppet movie tells the story of how our hero , kermit the frog , came to be a star . \\na delightful movie for all ages , the muppet movie is * bursting * with cameo appearances by countless hollywood stars of the 80\\'s and today . \\nthe muppet movie begins in a movie theater , where all of the muppet stars are anxiously awaiting the first showing . \\nonce everyone is settled down , the movie inside of the movie begins . \\nit starts out with kermit in a swamp , playing his banjo and singing ( this shot required jim henson to spend hours underwater ) . \\nkermit is discovered by bernie , a big-time hollywood agent who happens upon kermit by accident . \\nbernie believes that kermit holds much potential to become a big star in hollywood . \\nkermit ponders the idea of becoming a big movie star , where he could \" make millions of people happy \" . \\nkermit decides to leave his swamp and make the trip out to hollywood . \\nalong the way , kermit befriends his now famous muppet companions , beginning with fozzie bear , who had been spending his days doing stand-up comedy at the el sleezo cafe , owned by james coburn . \\nthe two decide to team-up and continue on their way to hollywood . \\nbut , doc hopper ( charles durning ) , the owner of a chain of french fried frog leg restaurants has a different idea . \\nhe wants kermit to be his spokesman , but kermit is humiliated at the idea and spends the movie avoiding him and his assistants . \\nthe trip continues , with kermit and fozzie meeting miss piggy , rowlf , gonzo , the electric mayhem band , and more muppets who all share the same wish : to make it to hollywood . \\noh , and even more celebrities continue to appear . \\nkermit and miss piggy continue to get to know each other a little better , including a rather funny scene at a restaurant with steve martin as the waiter . \\neventually , kermit and the group make it to hollywood . \\nthat is , after kermit is finally able to elude doc hopper and proclaim his freedom . \\nlord lew , a big-time hollywood producer portrayed by orson welles , gives kermit his shot at stardom and gives him the go-ahead to produce a movie . \\nthe muppet movie is definitely a movie that is fun for all ages . \\nit is also a sure-deal as one parents can watch , and enjoy along with their kids . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i like movies with albert brooks , and i really like movies directed and written by albert brooks . \\nlost in america and defending your life are two of my favorite comedies . \\nhis humor is of a kind that is not very prevalent in movies today , inundated as we are with films which revel in their aim toward the lowest common denominator . \\nyou will rarely see any slapstick in an albert brooks film , while the dialog will not be as oppressive as in some of the independent \" talk films \" which are finding their way into theaters . \\nthe situations in which his characters find themselves are ones we can often identify with , but even if we can\\'t , brooks has the talent to make them comfortable , and therefore we laugh . \\nteenagers and jim carrey fans probably won\\'t find an albert brooks movie very funny , but people who look for more than what we could find on television probably will . \\nput simply , brooks\\' comedy is intelligent . \\nmother is albert brooks\\' latest film , and it does not disappoint . \\nbrooks plays john henderson , a middle-aged science fiction writer just coming off his second divorce . \\nhe makes an attempt at dating , but fails miserably . \\nhe then has dinner with his brother jeff ( rob morrow ) , a successful sports agent who seems to live the ideal life . \\njeff has a good job , a loving family , and most of all , a warm relationship with their mother beatrice ( debbie reynolds ) . \\nafter dinner , john witnesses a telephone conversation between jeff and beatrice , and is at the same time amazed and sickened by how hunky-dory the dialog is . \\nin comparison , beatrice always hints at a fault in john and his career every time she talks with him , and john gives it right back to her . \\nat the end of one of their conversations where beatrice has just picked apart john\\'s life , she says , \" i love you , \" and john replies with , \" i know you think you do . \" \\nthe thing is , beatrice is not overt with her criticisms , but instead gives them in that mothering way which is tantamount to nit-picking and guilt loading . \\nit\\'s the kind that goes something like , \" yes , dear , i think you do that wonderfully , but . . . . \" \\nit seems as though nothing he does makes her happy . \\nthere\\'s always the big but . \\njohn believes that his mother is somehow connected to his failed relationships with women , either because of his flawed self-esteem caused by his need for validation , or perhaps because he tends to unconsciously seek out women who remind him of his mother in an oedipal manner . \\nhe comes to the conclusion that since his problems are rooted in his boyhood home , he should move back in with his mother for a while just to see what kinds of feelings come out , and by that be able to sort out why his life is the way it is . \\n \" a great experiment \" , he calls it . \\nbrooks\\' own brand of humor really shines in this film , especially in the interaction john has with his mother . \\nthere\\'s a scene where john has just arrived at his mother\\'s house , and after having driven from los angeles to sausalito , and having explained to his mother about the \" great experiment \" , beatrice asks , \" now explain to me again why you don\\'t want to stay at a hotel . \" \\nshe still doesn\\'t get it , and it is absolutely hilarious . \\nin the same scene , we get little glances at the life his mother leads when she tries to feed him food that is no longer fresh . \\nshe apparently buys in great quantities and refrigerates it until the lettuce is wilted and the sherbet is iced over . \\nwhen john points out the ice on the sherbet , beatrice tells him not to worry about the protective glaze . \\n \" you\\'ve named the ice ? \" \\nasks john . \\nhe\\'s also surprised at the variety of items beatrice keeps in the refrigerator , such as a twenty-pound block of cheese . \\n \" the freezer was a good invention , \" says john , \" but it\\'s not supposed to be used for everything . \\nthat\\'s why it\\'s smaller than the refrigerator . \" \\nit\\'s something most of us find strangely familiar . \\nbrooks is also a master at employing the non sequitur . \\nfor example , in defending your life , his and meryl streep\\'s characters are in a comedy club having a discussion . \\nwhen they\\'re finished and walk out , brooks cuts to the comic on stage who is just at the point of delivering his punch line , \" and so the moral is , if you have to fart , go outside ! \" \\nyou don\\'t know what the joke was because you couldn\\'t hear him during the entire scene , but i must have laughed for the next five minutes , it seemed so out of context . \\nin this film , brooks uses the same trick a couple of times to open or close a scene . \\ni don\\'t want to give them away , but suffice it to say they work just as well as they have in the past . \\njohn\\'s purpose for staying with his mother is to learn , and we as the audience learn right along with him . \\nhis mother is not the fascinating type to begin with , but as john spends more time with her , we learn things about her personality and her lifestyle that give her depth . \\nwatching the character of beatrice unfold is every bit as enjoyable as the humor that accompanies it each step of the way . \\non screen , brooks does an excellent job playing this kind of character : you get the feeling he often believes he is the only sane person in an insane world . \\nin a way , he\\'s very much like yosarian of catch-22 , expect with something of an attitude . \\ncasting debbie reynolds as beatrice is perfect . \\nshe assumes the part with ease , even moving and speaking a little slowly , and is just so adorable it\\'s hard to get mad at her character . \\nthis only helps the audience to share the frustration john feels when dealing with her . \\nas his first choice , brooks originally wanted to lure nancy reagan out from her acting retirement to play beatrice , but the former actress and first lady could not leave her husband , who was beginning to show symptoms of alzheimer\\'s disease . \\nthat may be just as well , since reynolds lends a softness to the character which enhances it immensely . \\nrob morrow also does a good job at playing the younger brother who has always been mother\\'s favorite and , for all his success in his job and family , is slowly exposed as a mama\\'s boy . \\nthe only things that hold this movie back from being better are a couple of plot holes . \\na solid connection is not really made between john\\'s troubles and his reasons for living with his mother . \\nadditionally , the end results of the experiment do not necessarily jibe with the stated goals , and although this may have been sloppy screenwriting , how can you be mad at the guy who also wrote this ? : \\nbeatrice : you must think i\\'m some kind of moron . \\njohn : no , i think your someone who thinks i\\'m a moron . \\nbeatrice : well , it takes one to know one . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"martin scorsese's triumphant adaptation of edith wharton's the age of innocence is a stunning film for the quintessential new york filmmaker , the man who brought the streets of taxi driver and mean streets to life . \\nit seems like an odd choice for scorsese to do a period piece in the early 1900's , but the fact that he pulls it off so brilliantly is a wonder , and a testament to the greatness of scorsese as a filmmaker . \\nthis is a gorgeous visual experience that it surely one of scorsese's finest . \\nnewland archer ( day-lewis ) is a prestigious lawyer who is engaged to may welland ( ryder ) , a somewhat empty and shallow new yorker , who belongs to a prestigious family and is quite beautiful . \\nthe marriage is one which will unite two very prestigious families , in a society where nothing is more important than the opinions of others . \\non the day that archer is to announce his engagement to may , countess ellen olenska ( pfeiffer ) , cousin of may , walks into archer's life . \\narcher is immediately captivated , and finds himself in love with ellen . \\narcher is also bound by the limits of new york society , which is an intrusive as any other in the world . \\narcher finds himself having a secret love affair in his mind with countess olenska , attempting to keep her in his mind while trying not to lose his social status . \\nthe film's subject matter may seem alien to scorsese , but the theme is definitely not . \\nit is a theme of forbidden romance , guilty pleasures , and the consequences causes because of those actions . \\nthere is a painstakingly flawed hero , and his choice between the life he wants , and the life he is destined for . \\nin truth , it is a film about a society the audience doesn't know about , but wants to find out more , much like the society of goodfellas or even kundun . \\nthe performances are absolutely breathtaking . \\nday-lewis portrays more mental anguish in his face than one man should be forced to take . \\npfeiffer is marvelous as countess olenska , a mix of passion and beauty that the audience would die for as well . \\nryder is probably the gem of the group , for it is her quiet presence that overwhelms the plot , and slowly pushes day-lewis closer and closer to his eventual ending . \\nthe supporting cast is also wonderful , with several characters so singular that they are indelible in one's memory . \\nscorsese definitely has a passion for filmmaking . \\nhis lavish and sumptuous set design and marvelous recreation of new york is a wondrous sight . \\nhe literally transports the viewer to another world with incredible imagery . \\nhis script is also excellent , slow in buildup , with a rapid conclusion and a fantastic ending that has to be seen to be believed . \\nit is difficult to make a period piece gripping : scorsese , however , does it beautifully . \\nthe famous cameras of the legendary director are also everywhere . \\nhe is patient , but he films everything and anything remotely important . \\nthe cameras sweep , pan , track , and do more than they've ever done , but they are so subtle , one doesn't realize he's watching all the scorsese hallmarks until a 2nd viewing . \\nthe central tracking shot is probably longer and more complex than the famous goodfellas shot , but the viewer doesn't notice it , because we want to see more of this gorgeous world . \\nthere are a few deft touches of filmmaking that are simply outstanding , and joanne woodward' narration is exquisite . \\nnot a fast film like goodfellas , this shares more in common with kundun than anything else . \\nand like kundun , this is a slow-starting film that truly shines , when given the chance to fully breathe and bloom in the end . \\na beautiful film by a director continuing to challenge himself year after year . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the jekyll and hyde story told from his maid\\'s point of view is , in a word , \" dark \" . \\nyou wouldn\\'t expect something bright and cheery based on robert louis stevenson\\'s novel , but the film is surprisingly dreary and dismal . \\njekyll/hyde ( john malkovich ) is terminally depressed and desperate . \\nmary reilly ( julia roberts ) is a victim of monstrous child abuse and the anti-woman sentiment of the times . \\ndirector stephen fears\\' version of the london slums makes us marvel that anyone survived them . \\nthe lighting level is exceedingly low throughout the movie : it almost appears to be filmed in black and white . \\nthe direction and cinematography are brilliant and liquid . \\nscenes flow into the next scene like honey oozing off a strawberry . \\n ( except there\\'s no red , of course . ) \\nthe look is so moody and melodramatic that you\\'ll be shocked when you leave the theater . \\ni saw it at a matinee and took quite a while to adjust to the sunny skies afterward . \\noften the jekyll and hyde archetypes are viewed as splitting a whole person into components of good and evil or perhaps cerebral and emotional parts . \\nhere the doctor is intellectual and perhaps good , but certainly powerless . \\nhis alter ego is forceful and totally without conscience . \\ntwo parts that make up a whole . \\nneither are capable of functioning without the other and once separated , disaster is inevitable . \\nthe differences between the two characters would be more effective if it were accomplished by demeanor and attitude . \\nwhen we finally see the transformation , the special effects thrust the story into the realm of science fiction , not the psychological horror that the tale demands . \\nroberts and malkovich are skillful in their roles . \\nboth are suitably melancholy , fitting in with the rest of the film . \\nthe only flash of life and color comes from glenn close ( and her lips ) as the madam of a whorehouse where hyde lives , and surprisingly , jekyll apparently frequents . \\nlife and color maybe , but this is not close\\'s best role . \\nshe seems little more than a cardboard cutout character . \\na beautiful film in its own dreary way . \\nyou\\'ll appreciate the filmmaking craft , but don\\'t expect to leave in an upbeat mood . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" the closet \" ( miramax films ) \\nin this hilarious french farce , a shy , boring accountant ( daniel auteil ) named francois pignon discovers he\\'s going to be fired from his job at a condom factory . \\nlonely and distraught , he contemplates suicide . \\nbut then he runs into belone ( michel aumont ) , an elderly homosexual neighbor , who suggests a \" sex discrimination \" lawsuit to intimidate management . \\nas evidence , belone concocts provocative photographs of pignon locked in a leather-clad embrace with another man and mails them anonymously to pignon\\'s boss . \\nwhen the racy snapshots start circulating around the factory , not only does pignon get his job back but he suddenly finds himself the focus of attention as an openly gay man . \\nhis lusty supervisor ( michele laroque ) is so intrigued that she wonders if , perhaps , she could change his sexual preferences . \\neven his ex-wife ( alexandra vandernoot ) and indifferent teenage son ( stanislas crevillen ) drop their disdain . \\nbut not everyone is enchanted . \\na mucho macho co-worker felix ( gerard depardieu ) , a self-righteous homophobe , is stunned and repulsed when he\\'s forced by the pr director ( thierry lhermite ) to grovel and court pignon\\'s friendship or risk losing his own job . \\nwriter/director francis verber artfully milks the farcical comedy as he dissects the hypocrisy of political correctness , veering off-track only occasionally into pedophilia . \\ndaniel auteuil ( \" the widow of saint-pierre \" ) is delightful - particularly with a blown-up condom perched on his head , riding on a float in a gay pride parade - and gerard depardieu delivers one of his most restrained , and effective , performances . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" the closet \" is a frankly sexual , adult 8 . \\nit\\'s so clever , in fact , that hollywood is already planning to re-make it in english , like \" la cage aux folles . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ingredients : man with amnesia who wakes up wanted for murder , dark science fiction city controlled by alien beings with mental powers . \\nsynopsis : what if you woke up one day , and suspected you were not on earth , and instead were part of an experiment in a giant space terrarium manipulated by intergalactic alien zookeepers ? \\nin dark city john murdoch ( rufus sewell ) has this problem . \\ndark city starts out like a 1940s noir amnesia detective mystery . \\npoor john wakes up with amnesia in a hotel room with a dead dame in one corner . \\na mysterious phone call tells him to get the heck out of there , and soon enough john is chased all over town by a murderous army of pale people in black trench-coats , as well as by the police , and the dogged inspector bumstead ( william hurt ) . \\nis john a murderer , and what can his missing memories tell him ? \\nhe searches through his own wallet for possible contacts and clues . \\nbut when the clues don\\'t fit , it doesn\\'t just confuse him ; it causes john to go so far as to question the whole nature of reality in the dark city . \\nto john , something is fishy , and very unreal about this city . \\nhow come it\\'s always dark , and nobody seems to remember what they did this morning ? \\nand how come nobody seems to remember how to leave the city , or how to get to nearby shell beach ? \\nevery night , around midnight , john notices that the whole city enters a state of suspended animation , and at this time , creepy alien experimenters known as the \\'strangers\\' come out and do nasty things like inject fake memories into people\\'s heads with big hypodermic needles . \\nthe strangers have the ability to \\'tune , \\' or warp reality using telepathic powers . \\nturns out , the city is not on earth at all . \\nand the reason why john doesn\\'t fall victim to the nightly suspended animation , is because he is a human mutation that possesses the same god-like reality-warping abilities as the strangers . \\neven with the help of scientist dr . daniel schreber , can john take back the dark city ? \\nopinion : director alex proyas ( he also directed the crow ) mentions this in the dark city press kit : in films , science fiction is always \" used to have big spaceships blow up cities . \\ni think we\\'re a little tired of that . \" \\naccording to director proyas , probably the most interesting thing about dark city is its layers . \\nit\\'s designed so that you can watch the film over again , and examine it from the perspective of a main character other than murdoch . \\nit\\'s a philosophical piece . \\ncinematic science fiction is basically a thinly disguised shootout between the good humans and the bad aliens ( whether they be klingons , giant bugs , or proponents of the dark side of the force ) . \\nbut science fiction in books reaches beyond the \\'shoot-em-up\\' level and targets the big questions , questions like who are we ? \\nwhat is the human condition ? \\nwhat is ethical ? \\nwhat would a true human being do ? \\nfar from comic book style on the order of spawn , batman , or the mutant ninja turtles , dark city not only features the showdown between good humans and powerful aliens , but it also asks questions worthy of films such as brazil or blade runner . \\ndark city is what philosophers would call an existentialist screenplay . \\na little more than 200 years ago , the world was filled with unhappy peasants - - unhappy because nearly every aspect of their lives was controlled by totalitarian , military , conformist , medieval regimes . \\nthe people took refuge in religion , the idea being that earthly life was a time of suffering , but after death , heaven would be available . \\nmeanwhile , the state used these same ideas to prop up their regimes ; the king was often head of the religion and therefore sanctioned by heaven . \\nwhen science finally overturned religion , the medieval dictatorships came tumbling down and were replaced by democratic governments . \\nbut the new fear was that the power of science and experimentation would be used to create a world order as darkly totalitarian as the old . \\nthis is the time period when writers and philosophers such as freud , kant , kafka , nietzsche , and dostoevsky pondered what society should be , and what place the individual had in it . \\nthe existentialists\\' in particular wrote about the power of the lone individual against what may be a hostile , indifferent , or alienated universe . \\nin dark city , when the last dying , defeated alien asks john murdoch why the aliens\\' scientific experiments on the human beings\\' brains failed , murdoch replies , pointing to his head , \" because the human condition isn\\'t located in here . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'satirical films usually fall into one of two categories : 1 ) long-term satire where everything , including the jokes , is somehow related on a large scale ( i . e . \\n \" dr . \\nstrangelove \" ; 2 ) situation satire in which the comedy and themes are derived moment by moment and scene by scene ( i . e . \\n \" men in black \" ) . \\nwhat\\'s unique about \" wag the dog \" is that it doesn\\'t necessarily fit either of these descriptions , and yet is both at the same time . \\nthe result is a clever comedy based on an original , smart premise , even if the focus does tend to wander a bit . \\nif there\\'s anything that affects americans the most it\\'s politics and showbusiness . \\nin this age of information and technology , we\\'ve been so conditioned by the media and the entertainment industry in our ways of perceiving things , it\\'s gotten to the point that we are practically controlled by it . \\nwe need the media to bring us the most up-to-date news , but we also need the escapism of hollywood to counter all that thinking . \\nthis film starts off well by quickly establishing these ideas , and then presents an interesting scenario : if politics , the media coverage of politics , and the entertainment industry are so closely related , couldn\\'t someone with the power and authority to manipulate one of the aspects manipulate them all ? \\nthat\\'s the idea conrad brean ( de niro ) , a professional washington spin doctor , comes up with in order to restore the president\\'s good name who has been accused of child molestation just weeks before the election . \\nbrean , along with the president\\'s top advisor , winifred ames ( heche ) , fly to california to meet up with hot-shot movie producer stanley motss ( hoffman ) . \\nthey pitch him an idea to \" produce \" the image of a war with albania ( it\\'s a country no one\\'s heard of so they people will buy it ) . \\nsoon the wheels are in motion and the film\\'s riffing satire comes into play . \\nwe\\'re inundated with the hollywood mind set as motss brings in a number of experts to help manage the situation , such as a folk singer , visual and sound effects technicians , and a modern style expert known as the fad king ( leary ) . \\nthe initial atmosphere is rich with numerous pop culture references where everything somehow relates to something on tv , in the movies , or in the news . \\nthe characters\\' dialogue is witty and funny , although some of the actual jokes and gags seem rather sitcom-esque . \\nfor example , one scene shows motss and brean\\'s production crew filming an actress portraying a poor albanian refugee . \\nmotss ordered a kitten for the girl to carry , but instead wound up with a dozen different dogs . \\nsince it\\'s all computer-enhanced anyway , she ends up cradling a bag of tostitos with the kitten to be inserted later . \\nthis demonstrates the film\\'s ability to take a relatively ordinary situation and make it smart and funny just through the premise . \\nbut then there\\'s the gags and one-liners that , although are humorous , seem a little gratuitious in the long run such as motss not being able to remember the actress\\'s name , or , whenever a problem emerges , always responding with , \" this is nothing ! \" \\nby the time the film makes it to the midpoint , everything that is going to happen in terms of plot happens . \\nthe first act is quickly paced , while the second act contains most of the jokes and is the core of the film . \\nevery ten minutes or so a new problem crops up that motss and brean must deal with , and it\\'s always fascinating to see what they do and how they do it . \\nthe screenplay provides good characterization and actually deals with most of the problems head-on in realistic manners . \\nhowever , it does have a tendency to avoid things and shift its focus from the election campaign and false war smokescreen to something a bit off the subject . \\nas the third act rolls around the satirical nature becomes more concerned with the situations and less so with the big picture . \\nwhat had started off as a brilliant , somewhat harmless conspiracy to fool the general public begins to seem more like something that would happen in a movie . \\nstill , the situation comedy is quite funny , especially a montage showing the entire country flinging old shoes into trees to honor sgt . \\nwillie schumann - a war hero motss and brean concocted . \\ntruly great satire manages to create for an entertaining story that makes you laugh at the time , but think about afterwards and \" wag the dog \" at least succeeds in this respect . \\nhowever , in retrospect it seems like so much more could have been done , namely by extending the running time and filling in the plot holes . \\nthen again , it\\'s a valiant effort . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after hearing reviews for woody allen\\'s upteenth movie in history , \" celebrity , \" range from terribly boring to just so-so , my heart lept when the opening images of the film closely resembled that of \" manhattan , \" my personal favorite from my personal favorite director of all time . \\nwoody allen\\'s films almost never rely on visual flair over textual flair , so when one of his films closely resembles the one time that these two entities fit hand-in-hand ( \" manhattan \" really is one of the best-looking films i\\'ve ever seen , beautiful black and white photography of the city\\'s best areas , etc . ) , a fan can\\'t help but feel visibly moved . \\nthe film opens up , with the usual credits with plain white font over black backgrounds , and an old ironic standard playing on the soundtrack , but then the screen fills with a gorgeous dull gray sky , with the word \" help \" being spelled with an airplane . \\nbeethoven\\'s 5th blasts on the soundtrack . \\nthe city seems to stop to take notice of this moment , and it\\'s all rather lovely to look at . \\nand then we cut to a film crew , shooting this as the film\\'s hilariously banal key moment in the film , where the lead actress in the film ( melanie griffith , looking as buxom and beautiful as ever ) has to realize something\\'s wrong with her life or whatever . \\nit\\'s a terribly stale scene for a woody allen film , with the great opening shots or without , and my heart sank and i soon got used to the fact that once again , a new film of his was not going to be as great as his past works ( though , for the record , last year\\'s \" deconstructing harry \" came awfully close ) . \\nwhat the hell has happened to him ? \\nthe man who once could be relied on for neurotic freshness in cinema has not become less funny , but his films have become less insightful and more like he tossed them together out of unfinished ideas . \\n \" bullets over broadway , \" though wonderful , relies on irony to pull a farce that just never totally takes off . \\n \" mighty aphrodite \" is more full of great moments and lines than a really great story . \\n \" everyone says i love you \" was more of a great idea than a great film . \\neven \" deconstructing harry \" is admittingly cheap in a way , even if it does top as one of his most truly hilarious films . \\nif anything , the reception of \" celebrity \" by everyone should tip allen off to the fact that this time , it\\'s not the audience and critics who are wrong about how wonderful his film is : it\\'s him . \\n \" celebrity \" is , yes , a good film , but it\\'s only marginally satisfying as a woody allen film . \\ninstead of creating the great woody allen world , he\\'s created a world out of a subject he knows only a bit about . \\nand he\\'s fashioned a film that is based almost entirely on his uninformed philosophy of celebrities , so that it plays like a series of skits with minor connections . \\nit\\'s like \" la dolce vita \" without the accuracy , the right amount of wit , and the correct personal crisis . \\nwoody , becoming more insecure in his old age , choses to drop the woody allen character in on the world of celebrities , and then hang him and all his flaws up for scrutiny , and does this by casting not himself but brit actor kenneth branagh in the lead . \\nmuch has been said about his performance - dead on but irritating , makes one yearn for the real thing , blah blah blah - but to anyone who actually knows the woody allen character knows that branagh\\'s performance , though featuring some of the same mannerisms ( stuttering , whining , lots o\\' hand gestures ) , is hardly a warts-and-all impersonation . \\nbranagh brings along with him little of the woody allen charm , which actually allows for his character\\'s flaws to be more apparent . \\nwoody\\'s a flawed guy , and we know it , but we love him anyway , because he\\'s really funny and really witty and really intelligent . \\nbranagh\\'s allen is a bit more flat-out bad , but with the same charm so that , yes , we like him , but we\\'re still not sure if he\\'s really a good person or not . \\nhis character , lee simon , is first seen on the set of the aforementioned movie , hits on extra actress winona ryder , then goes off to interview griffith , who takes him to her childhood home where he makes a pass at her , and she denies him . . . sorta . \\nwe then learn , through flashbacks , that lee has been sucked into trying to be a celebrity thanks to a mid-life crisis and an appearance at his high school reunion . \\nhe has since quit his job as a travel journalist and become a gossip journalist of sorts , covering movie sets and places where celebrities congregate , so that he can meet them , and maybe sell his script ( a bank robbery movie \" but with a deep personal crisis \" ) . \\nas such , he has divorced his wife of several years ( allen regular judy davis ) , and continues on a quest for sexual happiness , boucing from girlfriend to girlfriend and fling to fling over the course of the film . \\nafter griffith comes his escapades with a model ( charlize theron ) who is \" polymorphously perverse \" ( glad to see allen is using new jokes , ha ha ) , who takes him for a wild ride not different from that of the anita ekberg segment of \" la dolce vita . \" \\nfollowing are his safe relationship with smart working woman famke janssen , a relationship that almost assures him success , and his continued escapades with ryder , whom he fancies most of all . \\nhis story is juxtaposed with that of davis , who flips out , but stumbles onto happiness when she runs into a handsome , friendly tv exec ( joe mantegna ) who lands her a job that furthers her career to national status . \\nwhile lee is fumbling about , selfishly trying to ensure his own happiness , davis becomes happy ( \" i\\'ve become the kind of woman i\\'ve always hated . . . and \\ni\\'m loving it . \" ) \\nwithout doing a thing . \\nthe result is a film of highs and mediums . \\nthe mediums are what take up most of the film , with sitations and scenes which don\\'t exactly work but you can\\'t help but pat allen on the back for trying . \\nbut other places are really great scenes . \\nthe opening . \\nthe sequence with theron , which is so good that i wished it hadn\\'t ended . \\na banana scene with bebe neuwirth ( droll as ever ) . \\nand , perhaps the best sequence : a romp with hot-as-hell teen idol , brandon darrow , played by none other than leo dicaprio , who is so un-dicaprio-esque that if any of this fans could sit through this film , they\\'d never look at him the same way . \\nhe ignites the screen with intensity , and spares nothing in showing his character as narcissistically tyrannical , and totally heartbreaking for lee , who comes to him to talk about his script that he has read , and finds himself on a wild all-day ride with him . \\nthey go to atlantic city to watch a fight , they gamble , and they wind up in his hotel room , where darrow gets it on with his flame ( gretchen mol ) and he lends him one of the leftover groupies . \\nallen\\'s writing in these scenes are so good that just for them , i\\'d almost recommend the film . \\nalmost . \\nbut what i really liked about this film is despite the fact that it\\'s a mess , despite the fact that what this film really needs is a good old fashioned rewrite by allen himself , it\\'s still a smart and insightful film . \\nthough some of the jokes are either stale or misplaced ( some seem too cartoonish , even for this environment ) , allen still manages to get across that this film is not exactly about celebrities , as it may seem to be ( if it were , it\\'d be extremely out-of-touch ) , but about those who want to be celebrities , and how they equate celebrity-hood with happiness . \\nwe never get close enough to the actual celebrities to see if they\\'re really happy ( they may appear to be on the surface . . . ) , but we do get close enough to lee and davis\\' character . \\nlee is obsessed with the phenomenon , while davis takes is at arm\\'s length , and never gets too involved in what it is , and soon becomes one herself . \\nbesides , it\\'s witty , and it does have the one thing that no other film has but allen\\'s : that great woody allen feel . \\nit may be not exactly fresh and lively or totally brilliant in its depiction of its subject , and yes , as a part of woody allen\\'s oeuvre , it\\'s merely a blip ( no \" annie hall \" but it\\'s no \" shadows and fog \" either ) , but it goes to prove that no one can make a film like him , and only he and maybe godard could possibly take a totally horrible metaphor , like the one in the beginning , and make it work not once but twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'paul verhoeven , the dutch auteur who dragged his violent , sexually aggressive aesthetic into american film , has never been what i\\'d consider a thoughtful director ( though some of his films , notably starship troopers , have been lauded as artistic achievements ) , but he is the kind of hollywood film maker who\\'s managed to , no matter what the budget , make his films distinctive and even sometimes smuggle stimulating themes into the lavish high concepts on which he toils . \\nstarship troopers was essentially a b-monster movie remake of his enthralling dutch war film soldier of orange ( a great film that\\'s nearly impossible to find on video , yet showgirls is everywhere ) , in which he cast a troop of stunningly attractive mannequins ; the square jawed casper van dien and denise richards ( who may actually be 45% silicone ) , in what feels like an american propaganda picture set to monotonous scenes of graphic carnage . \\nit\\'s not a completely successful film , but as a failure it\\'s certainly an interesting ( and mostly entertaining ) one . \\nmy favorite verhoeven films were the ones he made before he hit our shores ; spetters , a dark near pornographic coming of age film set within the sub-culture of drag racing and the aforementioned soldier of orange ( haven\\'t yet gotten around to seeing the 4th man or turkish delight ) . \\ni believe his best hollywood film to be robocop , a bleak super-hero satire with a robotic hero that\\'s as touching as schwarzenegger\\'s in t2 . \\nthat movie was violent but not in the overdone cartoonish manner of more recent verhoeven pics . \\nits violence seemed to be there for a purpose , namely to create an atmosphere of unpredictable dread , not to simply titillate an attention deprived audience . \\nthere\\'s a jaw-dropping scene within the first ten minutes of robocop wherein the lead villain toys with a cop before snuffing him . \\nhe tortures the officer by taking glee in his victim\\'s every fearful tic . \\nit\\'s a startling moment of barbaric , maddening violence that effectively sets the tone for the film that could be designated as splatter punk-noir . \\nin hollow man kevin bacon brutally slays a dog because it just won\\'t shut up , he impales a co-worker , drowns another and so on . \\nbut why ? \\nhis character is introduced as a smug genius , the kind who\\'s always impeccably dressed and races a sports car while generic rock tunes blare from his stereo for the world to hear , sort of like a scheming uber villain from dallas or melrose place , though once the character becomes invisible , this film has him pull a 180 shift into a psychotic movie monster . \\nthe kind who just won\\'t die . \\nhollow man\\'s protagonists are the completely bland but beautiful scientist linda ( elizabeth shue , acting as if she were rebecca of sunnybrook farm ) and her lover , a hunk of beef scientist played by josh brolin who\\'s saddled with the film\\'s worst lines ( \" i\\'ve lost cohesion again ! \" ) . \\nthey\\'re a typical aaron spelling couple , good-looking but as vacant as george w . bush\\'s republican national convention speech ( i . e . \\nbush referring to clinton ; \" ? ? ? so much promise ? ? ? but to what end ? \\nto what end ? \" -- \\nthis actually got applause ! \\nsuddenly warren beatty doesn\\'t look so absurd ) . \\nthe rest of the film\\'s characters are all well past thirty , though act like annoying high school party animals insulting one and other with a series of strained one-liners ; is it just me or have labored insults become big budget hollywood\\'s new character developing technique ? \\nahh , what a cynical time we live in ? ? ? \\nas the picture opens we meet cain ( kevin bacon ) , an egocentric scientist working with the crew of aforementioned irritating scientists on a top secret ( so top secret the government has only provided them with a dilapidated warehouse in which to perform their extensive experimentation\\'s ) project with the goal to make invisibility a possibility ( for what purpose is never hinted at ) . \\nthey\\'ve performed several experiments on animals and have nearly solved the quandary causing caine , in a twist worthy of the film\\'s 1950\\'s late show origins , to impulsively experiment on himself . \\ncaine neglects to let the pentagon in on his plans and somehow gets two of his co-workers to lie for him so the rest of the crew will think the pentagon gave the go ahead . \\nour mad scientist is turned invisible ( after several fx-heavy complications ) , then he inexplicably ( it\\'s hinted that the process of invisibility has made the animals into more savage creatures , but this is never explored , and if that was the case why the hell would anyone be stupid enough to test this out on a human ? ) \\nbegins raping , assaulting and murdering anyone he pleases , always with a lame wisecrack ready a la freddy krueger . \\nit grows abundantly clear with each new release that it\\'s verhoeven\\'s films that have become hollow . \\nlike the rest , this one is cold , heartless , and full of contempt for humanity , but in addition to all that it lacks any trace of wit , insight and makes no statement other than \" audiences will pay for anything these days \" . \\nit\\'s an affront to anyone looking for something stimulating on an intellectual level , or even those hoping to spend a saturday night with a fun , thrill-a-minute ride . \\nverhoeven has instead served up an utterly routine mad slasher flick with nobody to root for and no reason to care . \\nthe previews make hollow man look like an irresistible flick . \\nhow can one not have a good time at a film that utilizes state of the art fx to illustrate an invisible man getting down and dirty with his bad self ? \\na couple weeks ago , after seeing the trailer , a bunch of friends and i got into a long discussion of how invisible man flicks never go so far as to have the invisible individual indulging in their newfound ability . \\nhollow man looked like the first film to do so and whoa , in a serious manner to boot . \\nbut oh yeah , it is directed by paul verhoven not atom egoyan or peter greenway . \\nverhoeven delivers the sleazy \" goods \" , but not in a watchable or thrillingly disturbing manner , here it just feels icky and uncomfortable . \\nthe director keeps his camera trained at his nubile actresses , caressing their breasts with his lens all while faux-psycho music strains in the background . \\nit\\'s plainly obvious that verhoeven isn\\'t exploring voyeurism ( like in the classic peeping tom ) but exploiting it and not even doing that very well . \\nit\\'s funny that with all the technology $90 million can get you verhoven is stuck at trying to figure out how to show a woman\\'s naked breast manipulated by an invisible hand . \\nmost vexing is that the invisibility aspect is used simply as gimmick in yet another slasher movie wherein characters do stupid things just so the villain can pop up for more attacks . \\nin fact it\\'s largely irrelevant that bacon is invisible since , by the end , most of his potential victims don infer-red glasses that track his body heat . \\nas in every mad slasher film we get the killers pov ( a scene where he spies on his neighbor while she undresses triggered unpleasant memories of slumber party massacre ) , and lots of scenes where people are unknowingly stalked . \\nthe film only provides one moment that i found genuinely creepy . \\nit happens when a lab assistant ( kim dickens , who looks like she stepped out of playboy ) in the middle of a chit chat with an invisible bacon , suddenly pauses . \\n \" are you looking at me ? \" , she queries , obviously haunted . \\nit\\'s a little moment in a big film with nothing to offer but ground breaking special effects set to a plot that should have run its course by 1982 ( the apex of the mad slasher craze ) . \\nthose special effects are so stunning they alone keep this from being as bad as urban legend or i still know what you did last summer . \\nand they\\'re the only reason to check out hollow man , preferably as a mid-week bargain rental . \\nyou\\'ve been warned . \\nbut you probably won\\'t listen , will you ? \\ntis\\' a pity ? ? ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the premise of wag the dog is so simple that it\\'s adequately explained by the commercials . \\nwith 11 days to go until the election , the president ( who we never see ) calls in political dirty-tricks artist robert deniro to distract attention from a burgeoning sex scandal . \\ndeniro enlists hollywood producer dustin hoffman to produce a \" pageant \" , a phony war against albania , fought on the blue screens of hollywood and the recording studios of nashville , with woody harrelson as the reluctant , psychotic hero . \\nand if there wasn\\'t anything more to the movie than this , it would be a second-rate heist comedy at best , enlivened by great actors -- like sneakers goes to washington . \\n ( a heist comedy ? \\nyup . \\ndeniro and hoffman are \" stealing \" the election , so to speak , and the movie is more about how they do it -- and the fun they have doing it -- than anything else . ) \\nwag the dog succeeds because it\\'s based one great truth : the american people are stupid . \\nok , maybe it\\'s not \" love thy neighbor as thyself \" or even \" two plus two makes four \" , but a truth nonetheless . \\n ( any average person who thinks that they\\'re really smart about the two things this movie satirizes -- moviemaking and the political process -- is invited , nay , challenged , to spend a week either watching a movie actually being made or 48 hours straight watching c-span when the house is in session . ) \\nand because we\\'re so utterly , predictably stupid , hollywood knows that a certain percentage of us will go see hard rain or magoo , washington knows that we won\\'t notice a few million dollars spent here and there on porno art grants and cigar subsidies -- and deniro\\'s character knows that american geography skills are so weak that we won\\'t be able to locate albania on the map . \\nthe beauty of wag the dog is that it isn\\'t a light , meaningless comedy about politics ( like speechless , the michael keaton - geena davis picture ) or from the level of light-hearted politcal satire to near-greatness . \\nnor is it a hard-edged cynical look at the manner in which a morally-deprived , ethically challenged baby-boomer connives his sleazy way into the white house ( like primary colors -- and yes , i am a little disappointed in the way the last two elections turned out , thanks for asking ) . \\ninstead , david mamet\\'s script strikes that delicate balance between comedy and cynicism needed for satire . \\nit does this by keeping us in a fantasy world where most of the schemers\\' schemes come off beautifully , and fail only in entertaining and humorous fashion . \\ndeniro is playing a variation on his al capone character from the untouchables , without any of the violent rages . \\nit\\'s all : \" what do i love ? \\nwhat is it that brings me joy ? \\nbaseball , \" minus the savage bloody beating with the bat . \\nhe threatens a lot of people , mind you , but he\\'s doing it in a very nice , polite way . \\nit\\'s a very mellow , restrained performance , which fits in with the air of gamesmanship in the script . \\nhoffman , on the other hand , is giddy , exuberant and joyous . \\nthis kind of thing is what his character lives for , and he\\'s so excited that he can\\'t even shut up . \\neven on the edge of disaster , he\\'s bright-eyed ( behind oddly tinted sunglasses ) and positive . \\ninsiders note that he\\'s basing his character on some powerful-but-anonymous producer -- which may or may not be true , but hoffman still exudes the kind of lets-put-on-a-show electricity that you figure a producer needs to have . \\nthe best part and the most frustrating part of wag the dog is in the supporting cast . \\nthe characters are so well drawn and so well acted that we want to see more of them , listen to them talk in that wised-up mamet dialogue , get to know them better -- which we don\\'t . \\nanne heche , is dead-bang-on in her portrayal of a political press aide -- cool and composed on the outside , panicked and frenzied on the outside . \\ndenis leary ( one of my favorite actors -- see the ref ) is the \" fad king \" , who handles the profitable \" back-end \" -- t-shirt tie ins and shoe contracts and other creative , innovative ways to separate a fool from his money . \\nthey could make a whole movie , just about the fad king , and i\\'d go see it . \\nwillie nelson and merle haggard handle the musical end of things fabulously , from the upbeat gospel chorus theme song , to the weepy country waltz , to the hilarious \" ballad of the green berets \" parody . \\nwoody harrelson has a brief , but memorable part as the overmedicated \" hero \" of the albanian conflict . \\ncraig t . nelson , as the opposition candidate , and the ever-reliable william h . macy , as a wacky cia agent , are given surprisingly short shrift . \\n ( one of my small gripes is that we never see what the spin doctors on the other side are doing . ) \\nwag the dog is a funny movie about serious problems : the trivialization of american politics , the role of the press in dumbing down the issues , the impact of hollywood in creating campaign commercials , the reduction of all things political to soundbites and sidebars -- the list goes on . \\nwe can solve most of these problems by taking a greater role in our national life and educating ourselves as voters and citizens . \\nwag the dog reminds us of what can happen if we don\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when i saw the trailer for this film , i laughed harder than i had in quite some time . \\nwhile i was therefore pretty well psyched to see it , i was ever mindful that a trailer can make even the most mediocre film look good . \\ni\\'m happy to say that there\\'s something about mary is not one of those trailer let-downs . \\nin fact , watching this film was quite a fine way to spend two hours . \\nthe film opens up in flashback to 1985 , at a high school in cumberland , rhode island . \\nted stroehmann ( ben stiller ) is a social reject who can\\'t seem to get a date to the upcoming prom , until he comes to the defense of the mentally retarded warren ( w . \\nearl brown ) , who\\'s being harassed by one of the school jocks . \\nit seems warren\\'s sister is the campus queen , mary jensen ( cameron diaz ) , who is impressed with ted\\'s willingness to stand up for her defenseless brother , despite a very real chance of getting beaten up . \\nmary takes an immediate liking to ted and asks him to the prom . \\nted was just flattered that she even knew his name . \\nunfortunately , prom night is ruined when ted has an accident with his zipper ( at which every man in the theater will wince ) , and is sent to the hospital . \\nfast forward to the present , where ted has cleaned himself up , now writes for a magazine , but has weekly therapy sessions in order to deal with his obsession of the past 13 years : mary , whom he hasn\\'t seen since that fateful day . \\nwith the help of his friend dom ( chris elliott ) , ted hires slimy private investigator pat healy ( matt dillon ) to track down his only love . \\nhowever , when pat finds mary , he falls for her too , and soon the both of them are competing for her affections . \\nthere\\'s something about mary is directed by bobby and peter farrelly , who brought us dumb and dumber and kingpin . \\nnot exactly intelligent comedies , they are of the guilty pleasure variety where you might not want your friends or co-workers to think you had such a great time watching them . \\nwith their current film , the farrelly brothers have come up with something you\\'ll not only enjoy , but also won\\'t mind talking about the next day at the water cooler . \\nthe film succeeds in employing a pretty wide range of comedic styles , from the subtle to the ridiculous , and while a few of the gags might be offensive to some ( seeming like residuals from the farrelly brothers\\' last two films ) they almost all work . \\ni have not seen many movies in the recent past that shoot for the mark and so often hit it dead on . \\none minute you\\'ll be laughing at something ted says , and the next you\\'ll be howling at the sight of a dog dragging him across the floor of mary\\'s apartment . \\none of the great things this film has going for it is ben stiller . \\nhe is perfectly cast in the role of ted , because he\\'s a guy who just looks awkward in almost every situation . \\nted\\'s a nice fellow and tries to do his best , but for some reason or another things just don\\'t always work out . \\nit\\'s comical , but also has that kind of appeal where you really feel for the him and want him to come out on top . \\nactually , i\\'ve liked stiller since he did a short which aired on saturday night live back in the mid-eighties . \\nthe film was like a theatrical trailer for a spoof on the tom cruise/paul newman film the color of money , entitled the hustler of money . \\nin it , stiller played wince ( not vince ) who is taken under the wing of an older man ( played by john mahoney ) to become a big-time bowling hustler . \\nit was parody at its finest , more of which showed up in the short-lived \" the ben stiller show \" on the fox network in late \\'92/early \\'93 . \\nlike \" the critic \" ( which aired on abc , then fox ) , i still mourn that show\\'s cancellation . \\ncameron diaz is absolutely enchanting for most of the film , although her character seems obsessed with perfection in the men she dates , and some of the qualities she looks for make mary look paper-thin at times . \\nhowever , diaz pulls the role off with such panache and charm , that you can still see why she\\'s got guys just falling over each other to be with her . \\nheck , i even found her laugh to be cute , even though i thought it was annoying during an appearance she made on the tonight show last week . \\nmy girlfriend remarked that matt dillon doesn\\'t change , and you know , it\\'s really true . \\nhe and ralph macchio must hang out or something . \\nmaybe they live in dick clark\\'s pool house . \\nanyway , here\\'s another good piece of casting , as dillon slips beautifully into the role of the guy who tries to worm his way into mary\\'s heart . \\nthe supporting performances are also good . \\nchris elliott has a bigger part than in the abyss ( yes , check it out next time ) , and less annoying than in cabin boy . \\nlin shae , who plays mary\\'s neighbor magda ( and also appeared as the landlady in kingpin ) , provides some good laughs , especially in scenes with her benji-like dog , which acts as the focal point for a few of the funniest moments of the film . \\nlee evans , as mary\\'s friend tucker , displays a flexibility in acting and accents which surprises and contributes to an interesting plot twist . \\nthe farrelly brothers and scriptwriters ed decter and john j . strauss keep the comedic pacing going so that there aren\\'t any noticeable times where the film drags . \\nthe only problem i saw was their use of a couple of musicians who provide segues between several key scenes . \\nthey appear out of nowhere and actually sing plot-relevant information right toward the camera . \\nit\\'s a device which was amusing for about three seconds when they opened the film . \\nafter that it got a little annoying , and it\\'s unfortunate that those spots interrupt what would otherwise be a smooth flow . \\nfortunately , filled with sight gags , humorous lines , and solid comedic acting , there\\'s something about mary will still have you laughing after you leave the theater . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it should have been a classic . \\na great cast of respected supporting actors . \\nan interesting premise of loser comic book characters . \\nhowever , \" mystery men \" proved to be one of the great disappointments of 1999 . \\nthe jokes were bland and hackneyed from talents who have previously made audiences laugh with their unique rituals . \\nthe number of cliches and shallow characters made the film difficult to sit through seriously hurting its attempt of having a fast paced premise . \\nthe script tried to deliver a series of small jokes throughout the film but without a big laugh-out-loud joke and mediocre small jokes , it failed miserably at being entertaining at all . \\nthe jokes were not funny for a number of reasons . \\nthey had been used a number of times before in previous films , the best ones , which were mediocre to begin with , were ruined in the trailer , and the expectation of laughing at clever , unique gags from clever unique comedians when there were none to laugh at greatly damaged the film . \\n \" mystery men \" might have worked if it was an ensemble cast of newcomers trying to break into the business . \\nbut with veterans doing this kind of junk , it really questioned whether their other work was as funny as originally thought . \\nthankfully most actors in this movie will appear in five other movies before the new year arrives to help viewers forget this little movie . \\nthe film follows a band of wannabe superheroes living in a wannabe gotham city who are ridiculed by their fellow citizens and villains because of their clumsiness and failure to save they day and capture the bad guy . \\nthe fact is these pathetic losers are not needed because their city already has a successful superhero , captain amazing , who has recently captured every evil-doer in the city . \\ncaptain amazing ( played terribly by an uninspired greg kinnear ) , because of his success in the past , is worried that he will lose popularity . \\nafter freeing one of the most notorious bad guys in the city ( geoffrey rush , overacting just a bit too much ) to keep himself busy , things get out of hand when captain amazing is captured . \\nit is up to the wannabe superheroes to save the day . \\nby the time this section of the plot is finished , the interest for what happens ( if you haven\\'t already figured it out ) is very low . \\nthere are very few scenes which catch the viewers complete attention . \\nthe first scene in the film , which shows the wannabes trying to save the day , feels like it was seriously edited down . \\nright when it was beginning to become slightly funny seeing these actors get humiliated at an old folk\\'s home by some masked goons , captain amazing comes in and saves the day ? or ruins the movie . \\ninstead of editing this scene , more editing should have been done in areas such as the unnecessary romance between mr . furious ( ben stiller ) and monica , a waitress ( claire forlani ) or the vast majority of the film , which is the heroes talking at a coffee table about how their day was . \\na simple rule : more silly action is needed in order to make a silly action movie work . \\nanother major problem with \" mystery men \" is that every actor in it seemed very uncomfortable and consequently gave terrible performances . \\nthe film depended on its cast to work fluently together , like a bunch of old friends working together in an amiable reunion . \\nhowever , most characters seemed like they did not even want to be in this film or at least the script made it seem this way . \\nto pull one of the actors in this film randomly out of a hat , paul reubens , who disappeared from acting to everyone\\'s joy , returns here leaving very little to be impressed about . \\nas a wannabe who uses flatulence for a weapon , all of his jokes must therefore be fart jokes . \\nfart jokes that have all been heard before and will inevitably be heard again in future films thanks to the success of \" american pie \" and \" there\\'s something about mary . \" \\n \" mystery men \" drags on towards the end to a point where anything else in the world is more entertaining . \\nanyone with a brain knows each one of the heroes is going to be successful at their talent in the end and each one is going to contribute in a helpful way . \\nso why continue to watch ? \\nthis film is far from a worthy guilty pleasure . \\n \" mystery men \" indeed does this and every time a character succeeds another one congratulates him and says \" i knew you could do it ! \" \\n \" mystery men \" fails in every category it attempts to pass . \\nwhat makes this film so bad is that it had the potential to be wonderful and unforgettable . \\nterrible acting , terrible script , and a terrible waste of time changes opinions about all of these actors . \\n \" i\\'m unpredictable ! \" \\nan overexcited ben stiller shouts out . \\nno ben , you\\'re the complete opposite . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'by phil curtolo \" madonna - antonio banderas - jonathan price - in an alan parker film - with music from andrew lloyd weber - and lyrics by tim rice - evita . \" \\nnow i have to admit , the trailer for this rock-opera-turned-major motion picture is almost breath-taking for some . \\nthe soundtrack is wonderful to listen to . \\nso why wouldn\\'t the movie be wonderful to see . \\nsimple , a little over 2 hours of constant singing can almost drive you insane . \\nthe story of eva duarte ( madonna ) , evita is full of drama that\\'s trapped inside by all the notes and chords . \\nshe was an orphaned child who ends up becoming a hooker , then goes into the field of acting , and finally meets juan peron ( price ) , the soon-to-be first president of argentina . \\nthey fall in love and eventually marry . \\nsounds pretty good , doesn\\'t it . \\nwell the story gets better , as eva goes on the \" rainbow tour \" across europe , trying to win respect . \\neva duarte was a wonderful lady . \\nhowever , all of the drama-packed moments above were never understood because the actors and actresses sang to fast to be understood . \\ni went into theater 4 at magic cinemas with the attitude that evita was going to be terribly boring and i left with happy , because i was right . \\nthey only thing that kept me awake during the movie was the loud bangs of the drums and strums of the guitar . \\nalthough it did come off as dull , the beautiful cinematography is eye-catching , as was madonna\\'s performance . \\nas the \" spiritual leader of argentina , \" madonna would have definitely been an oscar-contender had she spoken a single line . \\nbut her chance was taken away with the stubbornness of making an exact replica of the broadway musical a film . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong and don\\'t look at my grade . \\ni am not a big fan of musicals on the big screen . \\nif you\\'re going to pay to see a movie , you want to see a movie . \\nnow i have to admit , it\\'s a lot cheaper to pay $5 than $200 plus to see the play , but that\\'s what did me in . \\nall this review contains is my opinion and my grade was set before i even saw the movie . \\nnow you may be saying , \" what kind of critic is he ? , \" \\nand you\\'re right . \\nas a critic , i should have given the movie a chance . \\nbut as a 17-year old quentin tarantino fan , it was way too hard . \\n , \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the heist of a flawless , 84 carat diamond , fixed bare knuckle fights , irish gypsies and a dog are just some of the goings on in director guy ritchies\\'s sophomore feature , \" snatch . \" \\n \" lock , stock and two smoking barrels \" intro\\'d helmer/scripter ritchie with a hyper-kinetic , in your face underworld comedy that grabbed the viewer\\'s attention from beginning to end . \\nhis protagonists were innocents set adrift in a see of sharks to swim or be eaten alive . \\nwith \" snatch , \" the director doesn\\'t remake his first work , but he does delve more deeply into the criminal underbelly of london , mining a rich collection of characters in the process . \\n>from the very beginning , \" snatch \" tosses you into the action with the theft of the fabulous diamond , the desire of new york gangster avi ( dennis farina ) . \\nen route from antwerp , diamond thief and courier frankie four fingers ( benicio del toro ) stops in london to make a separate deal with avi\\'s partner and cousin , doug \" the head \" ( mike reid ) . \\nfrankie\\'s addiction to gambling tempts him into making a bet on an illegal boxing match for boris \" the blade \" ( rade sherbedgia ) , a ruthless russian mobster . \\nthe bet turns out to be a setup for a robbery by a trio of bumbling incompetents - vinnie ( robbie gee ) , sol ( lennie james ) and portly tyrone ( ade ) - that goes miserably awry . \\nmeanwhile , a couple of young toughs , turkish ( jason stratham ) and tommy ( stephen graham ) , are trying to break in to the boxing game with the help of local villain brick top ( alan ford ) , who also owns a pig farm . \\nwhen their first fighter is put out of action , with one punch , by a wild irish gypsy named mickey o\\'neil , they figure to put the loose canon in as the contender in a fixed fight . \\nmickey proves less than reliable and goes against turkish and tommy\\'s deal . \\nbrick top , impressed by mickey\\'s performance , decides to gives them another chance - after calmly explaining that it takes 16 pigs about eight minutes to completely devour a corpse . \\nwhen avi doesn\\'t get his precious rock , he jumps on a plane for london and hires a local legend , \" bullet tooth \" tony ( vinnie jones ) , to find frankie and the diamond . \\nthings spiral out of control as all these forces head on a collision course of double-cross and double-deals - and a dog that ate a squeaky toy . \\nguy ritchie ( mr . madonna to some ) is an extraordinarily talented auteur who has a wonderful knack for pulling together his unique collection of cast and crew and feeding them funny and gritty dialog that spews out of the characters\\' mouths like machine gun fire . \\nthe helmer marshals his large ensemble actors in a frantically paced caper comedy that makes you laugh and feel queasy at the same time , the above description by brick top being just one example . \\nthe assemblage of actors and non-actors in rough-and-tumble settings gives \" snatch \" an earthy feel in its depiction of london\\'s criminal underworld . \\nthe cast of characters is too large to credit here , but two of the performances - first among equals , you might say - are worth noting . \\nalan ford is brilliant as the ruthless , evil brick top . \\nwhen he refuses sugar in his tea because \" i\\'m sweet enough , \" it makes you shiver , even as you laugh . \\nhis is one of the best gangster characters i\\'ve seen in years . \\nthe other outstanding perf is given by none other than brad pitt , the name actor the movie\\'s popularity may hang upon , at least initially . \\npitt , as mickey o\\'neil , is hard drinking , hard fighting , highly unreliable and nearly incomprehensible with a unique irish brogue and dialect of the pikers , the irish travelers of europe . \\nthis gypsy brigand would steal the fillings from your teeth , especially if it would benefit his beloved mum ( sorcha cusack ) . \\nwhen brick top threaten the safety of mickey\\'s family , he makes an enemy that cannot be stopped . \\npitt puts a credible spin on his character and does some incredible physical stuff , too , as a bare-knuckle boxer . \\nthe production team behind the camera includes ritchie alumni , producer matthew vaughn and lenser tim maurice-jones , and other talented technical artist that bring the hyperactive imagination of the author to visual life . \\nthere is a patent feel to the look of \" snatch \" and \" lock , stock and two smoking barrels \" that reeks of \" signature \" for ritchie , but i\\'m not sure how this will translate in his future works . \\nthere is so much talent in the filmmaker that i would like to see him branch out in other directions . \\nnonetheless , \" snatch \" is terrific sophomore effort , a darn good action comedy and a hoot to boot . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the ads for \" batman and robin \" scream \" the event of the summer is here \" and that\\'s the problem . \\nthe producers were apparently so intent on creating a spectacle that they forgot to put an actual movie inside of it . \\n \" batman and robin \" is 126 minutes of lavish sets , flashy costumes and big , confusing fight scenes with barely a hint of substance . \\nit\\'s like one of those cheesy kings island stage shows ; bright , busy and visually diverting , but not very much fun . \\nit wasn\\'t always this way . \\ntim burton\\'s \" batman \" was an epic story of obsession and duality , of darkness and revenge . \\nthe film , while far from perfect , was a striking mood piece with an otherworldly feel . \\nbatman was a creepy , brooding creature of the night . \\nthe joker , brilliantly overplayed by jack nicholson , was at once charismatic and repellent . \\nbatman and the joker were opposite sides of the same coin , battling inner demons and one another over gotham city\\'s breathtaking gothic skyline . \\nthose days of the dark knight are gone , replaced by a psychedelic ice capades run amuck . \\n \" batman and robin \" has far more in common with the campy 60\\'s batman tv show than with tim burton\\'s tale of darkness . \\nthe blame lies with director joel schumacher . \\na former window-dresser , schumacher is adept at decorating sets and dressing people in exotic costumes . \\nunfortunately , when it comes time to have those people walk and talk , he hasn\\'t the faintest notion of what to do . \\n \" batman and robin \" is overstuffed with intricately choreographed fight scenes so poorly edited that it\\'s often difficult to tell who\\'s whacking who . \\nwhile the characters flail at each other , one-liners and bad puns are tossed about like confetti . \\na few carefully placed jokes can set an action movie sailing , but too many wisecracks can undermine the momentum of a film . \\n \" batman and robin \" doesn\\'t merely lose momentum , it stalls out completely on several occasions . \\nit\\'s rare to see an action flick as sluggish as this one . \\nironically , the parts of \" batman and robin \" that work are the ones showing the characters in street clothing , and most of those succeed because of george clooney as bruce wayne . \\neasily the best batman yet , clooney\\'s expressive eyes and weary smile gives the character a sense of depth that the script doesn\\'t even hint at . \\nthe film\\'s most effective scene is a tender , quiet exchange between clooney and alfred ( michael gough ) , bruce wayne\\'s butler and surrogate father . \\nas for the other heroes , chris o\\'donnell\\'s robin is enthusiastic , perky and horny as hell , while pudgy alicia silverstone is hard to accept as an athlete in her debut as batgirl . \\nin a movie filled to the brim with major characters , the decision to add the entirely unnecessary batgirl and elle macpherson as bruce wayne\\'s girlfriend is puzzling . \\ni suspect the producers inserted the women in an attempt to convince audiences that two guys who run around in rubber suits with built-in nipples , shapely buttocks and huge codpieces are actually straight . \\nof course , the real stars of a batman film are the villains and that\\'s where \" batman and robin \" really suffers . \\nas mr . freeze , arnold schwarzenegger gives his worst performance in years , spitting out a stream of lame catch phrases in wooden fashion . \\nlaboring under a ton of appliances , schwarzenegger looks as if he\\'s having trouble even moving in his suit , let alone trying to act . \\numa thurman fares somewhat better as poison ivy . \\nshe overacts terribly in the early establishing scenes of her character ( it\\'s apparently a rule in the batman series that before a person becomes a villain , s/he must be a cartoonish , bumbling nerd ) . \\nonce thurman transforms into the eco-psychotic poison ivy , she does a nice mae west impersonation as a classic vamp who can seduce men with her breath and kill them with a kiss . \\nthurman fails to maintain the character\\'s maniacal sense of style though , and ends up merely sputtering her way through the latter scenes of the film . \\nthe biggest lesson to be learned from \" batman and robin \" is that more is not better . \\njoel schumacher fills the screen with eye candy ; but the technicolor overkill merely emphasizes what a trifle the film really is . \\nsome critics suggest that the batman series has run out of steam . \\ni don\\'t think so . \\nmy prescription ? \\nfire joel schumacher ( but offer him a ticket to a rubber fetishist\\'s convention so he\\'ll understand that there\\'s no hard feelings ) . \\ngive alicia silverstone her walking papers , while keeping clooney , o\\'donnell and michael gough . \\ncall jack nicholson and michelle pfieffer and beg them to reprise their roles as the joker and catwoman . \\nthen , ditch the campiness and , for the love of pete , lose the \" event \" mentality and make a movie instead of a spectacle next time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'poster boy for co-dependency needs patching \\npatch adams a film review by michael redman copyright 1999 by michael redman \\nmediocrity is a pox on civilization . \\nin our heavily consumer oriented society , there is an enormous demand to churn out \" stuff . \" \\nwhat would happen to our economy if we didn\\'t feel the need to have more things ? \\nto make us buy more , businesses need to produce a ton of product . \\nthe sheer volume of items necessitates that most of them are of dubious quality . \\nthe film industry is like any other . \\nin order for studios to survive , they have to make money . \\nthe prevailing attitude is that more films equal more profit . \\nsome movies obviously exist only to put wares on the screen and to do that , less talented people are used . \\nthere aren\\'t enough great directors and actors to create the number of films necessary . \\nfor some reason , it\\'s never crossed anyone\\'s mind that the real equation is quality films = more profit . \\noften , mediocre films are more of a pain for the audience than the horrendous ones . \\nat you can have a good time making fun of bad movies . \\ni\\'m not suggesting that \" patch adams \" was tossed out just to rake in the bucks . \\nmy guess is that someone was asleep at the wheel . \\nit features an accomplished actor and a potentially engrossing story , but it\\'s as dull as could be . \\nhunter \" patch \" adams\\' ( robin williams ) desire to become a doctor has an unusual genesis . \\nchecking himself into a mental institute after a suicide attempt , he discovers that he can help the other patients by clowning around . \\npatch could be a poster boy for co-dependency . \\nhe explains that he likes devoting himself to others because then he doesn\\'t focus on his own problems . \\nhe decides that he wants to be a physician , leaves the place and a couple of years later enrolls in the medical college of virginia . \\nas a med student , patch\\'s antics at the school\\'s hospital catch the attention of his soon to be arch-enemy , straight-laced dean walcott ( bob gunton ) . \\nthe dean is so opposed to the goofiness that he wants patch kicked out of school although he\\'s one of the top students . \\nhe writes in patch\\'s academic file that he shows \" excessive happiness . \" \\ni walked into the film knowing little about its history and wondered about its odd mechanical pacing . \\nthere also seemed to be no reason that it is set in the early seventies . \\nthen it struck me . \\nit must be based on a true story . \\nthe movie is an adaptation of a book by hunter adams who founded the gesundheit institute , a free clinic . \\nrobin williams is an amazing actor . \\nwhile he is adept at dramatic roles , his forte is over-the-top free spirits . \\nthat\\'s what makes his failure here so remarkable . \\npatch is exactly the character he should be best at , yet even the scene where he and another mental patient are battling fierce imaginary squirrels falls flat . \\nsomething holds him back . \\nmost of the rest of the cast is two-dimensional . \\nfor a film that champions seeing patients as human beings , it\\'s curious that the ones here are cardboard characters . \\npeter coyote as a man dying of cancer is refreshing because he seems like a real person . \\nunfortunately he\\'s in the film for only about two minutes . \\nthe audience is blatantly lead by a ring in its nose from scene to scene . \\nwe\\'re not left to our own emotional decisions : we\\'re hit over the head with them . \\nshaved-headed children with cancer , an elderly woman whom patch makes laugh , a beautiful woman who can\\'t love because of her abusive history . \\nwhen a group of students fix up an old house to use as a clinic in the andy hardy \" hey , let\\'s put on a play ! \\nwe can use the barn and my mom can make the curtains ! \" \\nmode , they laugh and roll around while painting each other . \\nthere might as well be giant signs flashing : \" feel good now ! \" \\n \" feel bad now ! \" \\n \" patch \" is a good title for the film . \\nit is a patchwork of every manipulative scene you can think of . \\nthe full-of-life student fights stodgy establishment types . \\nthere\\'s a touching death . \\nthen there\\'s another . \\nthe film doesn\\'t trust us to get it the first time . \\nthe dean tries to kick patch out and later he tries again . \\nworst of all is the final courtroom bit . \\nscary-looking old men sit in judgment of a man who only wants to help people . \\nthe room is packed with patch\\'s supporters . \\nwilliams makes a supposedly impassioned speech about the humanity of all . \\nit has as much emotion as his earlier statement \" humans are the only animal that kills members of its own species \" contains truth . \\nmost of the blame must be placed with the director tom shadyac and screenwriter steve oedekerk . \\nshadyac also directed the first \" ace ventura \" movie . \\noedekerk directed the second one . \\nneed i say more ? \\nthe real adams is to be admired for his devotion to treating patients as people rather than diseases . \\nthe film has a number of worthy messages about the state of the modern medical business with hmos and managed care . \\nthe \" doctors are not gods \" theme will resonate with a number of people , but it\\'s so poorly produced that no one will care . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i have to say it . \\ntim burton\\'s retelling of planet of the apes is more fun than a barrel of monkeys . \\nok , that\\'s off my chest . \\nno more monkey puns , i promise . \\nseriously , though , planet of the apes is one rip-roarin\\' summer outing , filled with thrills , action , adventure , wit and bits of funny ( dare i say , monkey ) business . \\ni know , i know , i promised . \\nand for those film buffs who are fond of the original , burton\\'s version includes a couple tips of the hat to that movie . \\nmark wahlberg stars as capt . leo davidson , a deep-space pilot whose ship gets drawn into a magnetic field and hurled into the future . \\nhe crash lands on a planet where apes are the dominant species and humans are hunted , captured and sold into slavery . \\ndespite being darker than the original , burton\\'s film is not as heavy handed nor as sanctimonious . \\nsome of the movie\\'s flashes of humor are surreal as well as typically burton : an organ-grinder ape with a midget or an elderly ape taking off a wig and removing false teeth as he prepares for bed . \\nthen there are the parents who buy a little girl as a pet for there young daughter . \\nthe seller advises the parents to get rid of the girl before she reaches puberty : \" one thing you don\\'t want in your house is a human teen-ager , \" he says . \\nyou don\\'t have to be an ape to realize the truth in that statement . \\ntouches such as these are what stamps this movie with burton\\'s brand . \\nlines that hearken back to the original movie are sprinkled throughout : the first words spoken by an ape to davidson as the astronaut is regaining consciousness and grabs the simian\\'s foot to try righting himself are : \" take your stinking hand off of me , you damned , dirty human . \" \\nanyone familiar with the first version of the film will , of course , recognize the irony in that piece of dialogue . \\nanother of burton\\'s in-jokes is to have charlton heston , star of the original , play the chimpanzee father of tim roth\\'s gen . thade . \\nthe young chimp goes to visit his dying father . \\nboth have one thing in common , a hatred of humans . \\nwith his dying breath , the elder spews out his vile : \" damn them , damn them all to hell , \" he says before expiring . \\nthat is the famous line heston\\'s taylor shouted at the conclusion of the original after discovering the planet\\'s terrible secret . \\nthe performances throughout are top-notch . \\nwahlberg plays davidson not as some gung-ho hero , but as a confused and somewhat frightened explorer who only wants to return home . \\nhe is reluctant to lead the human rebellion ; his only objective being to find a way off this upside-down planet . \\nthis hesitation is what makes his character believable and vulnerable . \\nroth is ferocious , cunning , cruel and savage as the fascist chimp who wants to rid his planet of all vestiges of humanity . \\nhe leaps and bounds as if he had springs on his feet . \\nit is a masterful turn . \\nhelena bonham carter is ari , the chimp who believes that apes and humans can live in peace and as equals . \\nhers is a smart , compassionate characterization . \\nmichael clarke duncan is big and brutal as attar the gorilla aid to thade who blindly follows his leader until his faith is shaken . \\na fine comic outing is given by paul giamatti as limbo , the ape slave trader making a living off the misery of the humans he captures . \\nas the battle between apes and humans looms , the cowardly limbo pleads , \" can\\'t we all just get along , \" echoing the words of rodney king . \\nmuch of the success of planet of the apes goes to burton\\'s technical crew , especially production designer rick heinrichs and the legendary rick baker who created the ape makeup . \\nburton\\'s musical collaborator , danny elfman , provides another fine score , though it is not as memorable as his work on batman or sleepy hollow . \\nthe movie\\'s only letdown comes at the very end where burton tries to outshock the finale from the 1968 original . \\nhe comes close , but falls short . \\notherwise , planet of the apes is what a summer movie should be : an amusement park ride filled with lots of action , stunts and a few laughs . \\nthis is one feature in which the expectations lived up to the pre-release hype . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'sandra bullock in high heels and wielding a chainsaw ? \\nyup , it\\'s gotta be summer . \\njust when you thought the pointless sequel had gone the way of franchise films and direct-to-video releases , into port slams speed 2 : cruise control , the gloriously godawful follow-up to the 1994 sleeper about a bus rigged to explode if it slowed below a certain speed . \\nthe gimmick , this time , is an ocean liner rigged to , well , crash into stuff . \\nsound exciting ? \\ndennis hopper\\'s disgruntled bomb squader , the villain of the first film , has given way to willem dafoe\\'s disgruntled computer programmer , a maniac whose main beef has something to do with having to use live leeches , i kid you not , as a self-treatment for copper poison- ing . \\n ( and said poisoning induced by prolonged exposure to electro- magnetic fields , no less ! \\ncalling dean edell . . . ) \\nso , he overrides the boat\\'s computer , convinces the crew to abandon ship , and sends the remaining passengers , those who couldn\\'t evacuate in time , on a col- lision course with destiny . \\n ( oddly , no one thinks to just . . . \\njump off the back of the boat . ) \\nwith keanu reeves electing not to return-- perhaps he read the script ? -- \\nthe job of john mcclane goes to jason patric ( sleepers ) , as the * second * la cop and swat team member that that bus drivin\\' babe annie ( bullock ) has dated . \\n ( what are the odds ? ) \\nthey\\'re on this caribbean cruise for pleasure , as are a handful of requisite stock characters , including a deaf teenager ( ! ) who has a crush on the hero ( ! ! ) who also knows how to sign ( ! ! ! ) . \\n ( and you thought the raptor slam was a cool summer movie move ? \\nwait till you see the feats that * this * little girl can do , when stuck on a shipboard elevator ! ) \\nbullock is her pesky , perky self , though she ends up with far less screen time than her top billing suggests . \\n ( those paying attention to her bikini- and tank- tops probably won\\'t complain , however ) patric is the main man in motion and that\\'s damn good , \\'cause when he stops to talk , he\\'s only slightly less monotone than his predecessor . \\n ( his first lol line is to ms . bullock : \" i\\'d like to boogie with you . \" ) \\nof course , nobody in front of the camera embarrasses themselves quite the way that returning director jan de bont does . \\nhe also produced this mess , which is insulting even by the most lax summer standards . \\n ( con air , buddy , father\\'s day , romy and michelle\\'s high school reunion , murder at 1600 , 8 heads in a duffle bag , anaconda , vegas vacation , meet wally sparks , metro , bevery hills ninja , the relic , all is forgiven ) . \\nworse , he\\'s spent a hundred mil on a premise that doesn\\'t even live up to its title ! \\nthere\\'s no sweat-inducing motion of the ocean here-- just two hours of shaky handheld camera work and a handful of cross-cut exteriors , all leading up to the big slam , when the love boat sideswipes an oil tanker and then plows into a harbor town . \\n ( oh , how far we\\'ve come in twenty years . \\nremember the simple fun of seeing a locomotive smash into railway station in the silver streak ? ) \\nadmittedly , either of the aforementioned sequences is worth the price of admission . \\nit\\'s just the rest of the movie-- the other hundred or so minutes-- that\\'s pure nonsense . \\nand wonderful nonsense at that . \\ni know he didn\\'t intend to , but de bont has done one thing right : he\\'s created the hands-down funniest film of the year . \\nso , now , allow to present a few more things that made me laugh : \\no a box with a big label : \" fiber optic converter \" \\no plain english , whole-sentence computer instructions \\no an entire sequence devoted to opening a fire door \\no jason patric\\'s character walks onto the bridge and immediately understands everything that\\'s happening \\no a ships\\' navigator who speaks in a scottish accent and actually gets to say \" i canna override it ! \" \\no willem dafoe\\'s amazing arm-mounted keyboard \\no two living , breathing adults ( bullock\\'s character and the first mate ) who have to be told , step by step , how to disconnect a trip wire from the pin of a hand grenade . \\nduh \\no \" no wait ! \" \\nscreams the ship\\'s intercom \\no yet another damn dog in peril \\no fishing reel . \\npontoon plane . \\nmemories of weekend at bernie\\'s \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"along his carreer , mel gibson has collected several successes , not only from an economic point of view but also from an artistic point of view . \\nfor all that , i think no one could guess the skills and abilities now disclosed in braveheart . \\nthe australian actor decided to produce and direct a film about sir william wallace , a popular scotch hero of the 13th century , where he would also perform the principal role . \\naccepting so huge challenge , mel gibson run the risk of stain all his work of years , with a suppoosed failure , just to see recognized , by everyone , all his potentialities and , that way , to consolidate his position in hollywood . \\nit was , definitely , an enormous risk but i'm sure mel knew exactly well what he was going to face . \\nbraveheart is , in fact , a magnificent and magisterial film . \\nfor three hours we are completely absorbed by the narrative's rhyitm which never gives place to a single moment of monotony or uninterest . \\nthe william wallace's story is the story of so many others brave liberty's defenders who fought and gave the life for that essential value , along the centuries . \\nseeing himself and his people victims of injustices and violent repression , william wallace dares to face the powerful edward i , king of england , in a war by the autonomy of scotland . \\nas the victories succeed the number of fighters with wallace goes growing up . \\nhis courage and inteligence are admired by everyone , including the princess isabelle of wales , wife of edward's son . \\nhowever , william wallace was also surrounded by enemies and some of them were closer than he thought . \\nbraveheart may not be an historically corrected movie but the nature of its message make us think about the importance that we give to liberty , nowadays . \\nmel gibson directs with a lot of brilliancy a brilliant cast . \\npatrick mcgoohan has a very nice performance as edward i , the king longshank . \\nthe scene when he waits for the death and loses his voice is really good . \\nsophie marceau , as princess isabelle , has along the movie no more than fifteen minutes of performance but mel gibson gave to those minutes such a very special treatment that princess isabelle soon becomes one of the major characters in braveheart . \\ni also liked the performances of angus macfadyen , as robert the bruce , and , of course , mel gibson , as william wallace . \\nhowever , i think this time the mel gibson's work as director was much better than his work as actor . \\nthe excellent music composed by james horner is another thing that helps braveheart to be the success that it really is . \\nwhen we join that music to the beautiful scotch landscapes , view by the camera of john toll , then we realize all the beauty of this film . \\nbraveheart is , in my opinion , one of the best movies of 1995 ! \\ni've heard some people saying that mel gibson is gonna be a new david lean . \\nfor now , let's see if braveheart equalizes the 6 oscars of lawrence of arabia . \\nit won't be easy ! \\nit's gonna be one more challenge for mel gibson . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'richard gere is not one of my favorite actors . \\nhowever , i like courtroom dramas , and this film looked good enough to take a chance on . \\ni wasn\\'t disappointed . \\nit wasn\\'t a great film , but it was interesting , and took several unexpected turns . \\none thing : what\\'s with the title ? \\nnot only is it extremely forgettable , it doesn\\'t really have much to do with the film , as far as i could determine . \\nin the long run , it will probably hurt the film , as people won\\'t be able to think of or remember it . \\nmartin vail ( richard gere ) is a grandiose defense attorney . \\nhe loves the money and the fame that go along with defending ( successfully ) rich scum , such as mafia men and drug-dealers . \\nonce he sees that the accused killer of a prominent chicago archbishop is a baby-faced alter boy , he wants in on the case , presumably for the press he\\'ll get . \\nwe soon find out that the prosecutor assigned is a former lover , janet venable ( laura linney ) . \\nvail himself is a former prosecutor , and quit because of tensions between himself and the district attorney , played very well by john mahoney ( frasier\\'s father on the tv series ) . \\nthere is an underlying theme of dichotomy in the movie : people have public faces , and private faces . \\nwe see this in the murdered archbishop , in the accused , and , most strongly , defense attorney martin vail . \\nrichard gere does a fairly good job . \\nat first , he appears to be a money- and attention-grabbing lawyer , with no consideration of the truth . \\nbut we see another side , as he becomes a seeker of justice , and comes to believe in his client . \\nalfre woodard , as the judge , is capable , though somewhat wasted in a standard role . \\nlaura linney also does journeyman work ; nothing spectacular , but acceptable . \\nher relationship with vail is believable ; their verbal fencing adds to the film . \\nthe actor who playes vail\\'s investigator ( unfortunately , i don\\'t remember his name ) is quite good . \\nhis female assistant ( she looked very familiar , but i can\\'t remember where i\\'ve seen her ) was also capable , but unspectacular . \\nthe best performance in the film was by edward norton . \\nhe was excellent , as the timid altar-boy turned alleged \" butcher boy of st . mike\\'s \" . \\ni was impressed by the depth of the plot ; there are red-herrings , and dead-ends , that in a lesser film would lead to a predictable ending . \\ni liked the plot twists the film took , and most of the supporting characters , thus i give primal fear a respectable b+ rating . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after 1993\\'s \" falling down , \" i hoped that joel schumacher would mature into a great director . \\nsince then he has offered us two so-so adaptations of john grisham novels ( \" the client \" and \" a time to kill \" ) and two batman movies that lowered the standards of that franchise . \\nalthough these disappointments dampened my enthusiasm for schumacher\\'s potential , the publicity for his latest release , \" 8mm , \" raised new hope . \\nit promised to be something unusual . \\nit wasn\\'t . \\nthe plot goes like this : tom welles ( nicolas cage ) is a private eye who is hired by a wealthy woman , allegorically named mrs . christian ( myra carter ) , to investigate an 8mm movie found among her late husband\\'s belongings . \\nthe movie appears to be a snuff film in which a teenage girl is raped and murdered by a man in a leather mask ( who reminds me of bane in schumacher\\'s \" batman & robin \" ) . \\nbecause murders can be realistically simulated in movies , mrs . christian wants tom to discover if the girl is alive or dead . \\nby combing through missing persons reports , tom finds the girl\\'s name and tracks her to los angeles . \\nwith the aid of max california ( joaquin phoenix ) , a video store clerk ( and another symbolic name ) , tom wanders through the underworld of pornography in search of snuff . \\nthe plot bears an obvious resemblance to paul schrader\\'s \" hardcore , \" in which a father goes deeper and deeper into the industries of porn and sex to find his missing daughter . \\nboth films are modeled on dante\\'s \" the inferno , \" of course ; \" 8mm \" makes that connection overly obvious by casting max as virgil and having him constantly tell tom that they were heading toward a meeting with the devil . \\n \" hardcore \" is a much more subtle and meaningful film . \\n \" 8mm \" had a lot of promise . \\nin its better moments it\\'s an examination of violence as entertainment and of the beast within even a nice guy like tom . \\none moment of the first sort : when we first meet max he\\'s reading truman capote\\'s \" in cold blood \" underneath the cover of a porn novel . \\n \" in cold blood \" was the father of the true-crime genre , which is the literary equivalent of snuff films . \\nmax promises that we will see examples of the second theme when he tells tom , \" dance with the devil and the devil don\\'t change ; the devil changes you . \" \\ntom does change-i\\'ll let you discover the specifics for yourself-but not permanently . \\nschumacher and screenwriter andrew kevin walker didn\\'t have the guts to take tom so far down the dark tunnel that he couldn\\'t come back . \\n ( walker\\'s \" seven \" did a much better job on that theme by refusing to compromise ) . \\ncage tries hard to pull it off , but the script doesn\\'t give him enough to work with . \\nphoenix walks away with the movie-he\\'s smart , charming , and funny . \\nother cast members include \" fargo \" \\'s peter stormare camping it up as porn auteur dino velvet and \" the sopranos \" \\'s james gandolfini as a soulless porn merchant who pushes tom too far . \\nin the last analysis , since \" 8mm \" falls short of its pretensions and its promise , its just another private eye story in the raymond chandler/ross macdonald tradition of having the detective uncover the depravity behind the glossy facade of wealth and privilege . \\nhowever , unlike other predictable fare in the genre-last year\\'s \" twilight , \" for example- \" 8mm \" is especially disappointing because it could have been much more than it is . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'eddie murphy has a lot riding on harlem nights . \\nas the movie\\'s writer , director , executive producer , and star , murphy will shoulder all of the blame if harlem nights fails . \\nbut at the same time , he\\'ll receive all of the credit if it succeeds . \\nshould you sacrifice your hard-earned cash to support murphy\\'s risky gamble ? \\nwell , that depends on whom you trust more : me or eddie murphy . \\nhere\\'s what murphy thinks : \" i think the audience is expecting a good time . \\nthey gonna get sexy . \\nthey gonna get funny . \\nthey gonna get drama . \\nthey gonna get all of that . \\ni think it\\'s the best movie i\\'ve done \" ( paramount radio network ) . \\nhere\\'s what i think : harlem nights is charmless , unoriginal , disappointing , and almost without question , the worst film of the actor\\'s career ( i haven\\'t seen best defense ) . \\nand guess who\\'s to blame ? ! \\nthe movie\\'s problem is not murphy\\'s direction : harlem nights is a fairly good looking film . \\nno , the project was probably doomed even before the cameras rolled . \\nmurphy\\'s awful script is the culprit . \\nlet\\'s count the mistakes he makes in his first attempt at screenwriting : \\n ( 1 ) murphy shatters the record for the most profanity in a motion picture . \\nyes , he even outdoes his own work in raw . \\npractically every line of dialogue in harlem nights contains at least one four letter word . \\nand after 15 minutes , it gets irritating . \\n ( 2 ) murphy wastes the talents of his fine cast . \\nrichard pryor , redd foxx , michael lerner , and della reese face the impossible task of carving out credible characters from a script riddled with stereotypes . \\neach of them shines occasionally , but basically what we have are good performers stuck in a bad vehicle . \\n ( 3 ) the movie demeans women by depicting them solely as sexual objects and as pawns in power struggles between men . \\nmurphy has admitted in interviews that he is weary of women in his private life , which is really neither here nor there . \\nbut when murphy puts his bitter feelings on 3 , 000 movie screens across the country , it\\'s another matter altogether . \\nyou\\'re forced to swallow some pretty gruesome stuff . \\nfor instance , murphy punches della reese in the stomach . \\nand he shoots jasmine guy in the head . \\nthis is a mean-spirited movie , folks ! \\nlovely newcomer lela rochon gets off easy in her role as a common whore , but only because she doesn\\'t have any scenes with murphy . \\nthank god : he might have run her over with a bulldozer . \\n ( 4 ) murphy has written for himself perhaps his blandest role to date . \\nthe loveable eddie murphy charisma emerges only once or twice during the film . \\nmurphy would rather give his character a spiffy wardrobe than a spiffy personality . \\nsometimes it seems as if murphy made harlem nights just so he could wear fancy suits and look debonair . \\n ( 5 ) the plot is a shameless rip-off of the sting . \\nif you\\'re going to make another sting movie , you\\'ve got to do something original . \\nmurphy\\'s tale of warring nightclub owners in harlem ( circa 1938 ) fails to add anything new to the formula . \\n ( 6 ) to get laughs , murphy makes fun of stuttering . \\nyou know a comedy is digging deep when it resorts to ridiculing the handicapped . \\n ( 7 ) murphy\\'s idea of drama is a scene in which his character apologizes for the first time in his life . \\nfor what ? \\nfor shooting reese\\'s little toe off ! \\nneedless to say , murphy shows little , if any , promise or imagination as a screenwriter . \\nin all fairness , however , a few rays of sunshine do manage to break through the gloomy cloud surrounding the movie . \\ndanny aiello is fun to watch as a dirty cop on the take . \\naiello stands out in the large , ensemble cast : he obviously relishes the opportunity to play such a nasty character ( a racist detective with mob ties ) . \\naiello\\'s zesty performance gives harlem nights some much needed spice . \\nanother bright spot is arsenio hall , who has a hilarious , show-stopping cameo as a cry-baby gangster ; hall virtually steals the spotlight from murphy . \\nin fact , hall\\'s ten minutes on screen are the funniest ten minutes in the movie . \\nunfortunately , his character is completely irrelevant to the plot ; murphy should have given hall a much bigger role . \\nof course , i\\'ve already mentioned that i didn\\'t care for murphy\\'s character , but i have to admit that i did love his neckties . \\nthey are simply spectacular--almost worth the price of admission . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the rich man\\'s wife is one of those movies like final analysis or body double , where the story and characters are so one-dimensional and contrived that you know you shouldn\\'t be enjoying yourself . \\nbut somehow , the movie just tries so hard that you begin to forgive it and get into the swing of things . \\nnot that it\\'s bad , it\\'s just that it\\'s been done before ; and better , in my opinion . \\ni realize that this is going to sound pretty bizarre , but it\\'s probably the best analogy that i can come up with right now ; you know how when you see a spider or something in your toilet , striving helplessly to get out , and instead of just flushing him , you end up kind of rooting for the little guy ? \\nthat\\'s basically how i felt about this movie . \\ni mean , it\\'s not very good , but it\\'s not completely bad either . \\nthe wife of the title is josie potenza ( played nicely by halle berry ) . \\nshe is married to tony ( christopher mcdonald . . . you \\nknow , the guy who looks like joe piscapo ) , a really stressed-out businessman who drinks way to much and doesn\\'t give josie the attention she deserves ( * cough , cough * ) . \\nthus , she is driven into the arms of another man , jake golden ( clive owen ) . \\nnear the beginning of the film , josie decides to try and work things out with tony by dumping jake and going on a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods . \\nonce there , however , tony has to leave almost immediately due to business details ( i\\'m still not quite sure what line of work he\\'s in ) . \\nmaking the best of her situation , josie stays there and begins making the rounds at the local bars . \\none night , she meets a stranger named cole ( peter greene , finally getting a meaty role ) . \\nthey have dinner together , and eventually , both josie and the audience start to realize that cole is homicidal . \\nafter learning that she is not happily married , cole offers to \" take care \" of the problem . \\nmanaging to escape from the psychotic maniac , josie returns home and starts a reconciliation with her estranged and very wealthy husband . \\nbut then one night , cole shows up . . . \\nand here is where the fun begins . \\nfrom this point on , it\\'s going to be a no-holds- barred cliche-fest , ripping off every movie from strangers on a train to the usual suspects . \\nthis is why most critics panned this movie when it first came out . \\nand for the most part , they\\'re right ; the rich man\\'s wife has nary one original bone in it\\'s body . \\nbut who cares ? \\nif you\\'re looking for good ol\\' dumb suspense movie , you can\\'t do much better than this . \\nand if you suspense buffs aren\\'t already sold , it has a killer of an ending too . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'close your eyes for a moment , if you will , and imagine the sound of stephen rea\\'s gaelic brogue , silky smooth and irish like a pint of guinness . \\na lackadaisical , naughty little schoolboy voice that flirts and gambols . \\nan acerbic , sing-song metered voice that evokes the startling imagery and language of anthony burgess\\' \" a clockwork orange . \" \\na voice that deliciously conjures scenes both porcine and puerile , like those out of \" delicatessen , \" or \" the tin drum . \" \\nimagine all of that , and you\\'ll get a good sense of what you can expect from \" the butcher boy . \" \\nimagine that and more . \\nneil jordan\\'s latest film \" stars \" rea in more ways than one . \\nrea , the accomplished irish actor most notable from his star turn in jordan\\'s \" the crying game , \" contributes a restrained and managed performance as da brady , a small town drunk in an unnamed irish community in the 1960s . \\nbut it\\'s his wall-to-wall narration as the butcher boy of the title , da brady\\'s son , francis , that makes rea\\'s \" performance \" worth watching , worth listening to . \\nand that\\'s only half the fun . \\nplaying the young francie brady is newcomer eamonn owens and he is , without a doubt , a revelation . \\nfor as much as rea\\'s voiceover permeates almost every scene of \" the butcher boy , \" owens commands virtually every frame . \\nit\\'s impossible to take your eyes off him . \\nwith his crop of carrot-colored hair , ruddy complexion , and overall grubby appearance , francie brady is an unlikely hero , refusing to be done in by his alcoholic , trumpet-playing father , his depressive , suicidal mother , or the neighboring , bespectacled monster known as mrs . nugent ( fiona shaw ) . \\nin fact , everything was ok until \" the nugent \" came to town . \\nnow , she poses as much a threat to the safety and security of town bully francie and his best pal joe ( alan boyle ) as the looming commie menace ( \" the butcher boy \" is set at a time when the fear of nuclear obliteration is first and foremost in the minds of many ) . \\n \" pigs ! \" screams mrs . nugent at the brady menagerie . \\n \" you\\'re all pigs ! \" \\nit\\'s the start of many a related image . \\nafter ma brady is shipped off to the \" garage \" for psychiatric observation and da brady downs one bottle of whiskey too many , francie finally loses grip of his fantasy world of cowboys and indians , the lone ranger , and other comicbook characters . \\nsquealing like a stuck pig , francie does \" the likes o\\' that \" on the nugent\\'s living room floor , and is himself whisked away to a very catholic remand home for \" boney arsed bogmen , \" where his ever fertile imagination--and clever chicanery--runneth over . \\ndirector jordan\\'s vivid treatment of pat mccabe\\'s nightmare novel produces a sometimes disturbing , dark comedy littered with surreal touches ( such as sin ? ad o\\'connor playing the virgin mary ) . \\nit\\'s not as outlandish as the trailers make out ; instead , this remarkable film focuses on the effects external influences have on the friendship between two boys ( schoolboy chums in real life ) , allowing us to empathize with their plight in the presence of extraordinary behavior . \\nit\\'s bleak and it\\'s black but it\\'s fundamentally very funny . \\nrea talks us through it , beautifully , and owens drags us though it , admirably , and , in tandem with jordan\\'s sure hand , theirs are contributions to make \" the butcher boy \" a film worth savoring . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you don\\'t want to be like mike . \\nmike has been doing badly . \\nembarrassingly bad . \\nhe broke up a six-year relationship six months ago to move from n . y . to l . a . and he\\'s still not over her . \\nas a result , his jokes fall flat when he tries to impress , and he\\'s a comedian . \\nwell , an unemployed comedian , one of hollywood\\'s little fish , and it has gotten so bad he\\'s asked for an application at starbuck\\'s . \\nactually , the starbuck\\'s thing gets even worse . \\nand worse . \\nyou won\\'t fail to like mike , however , played endearingly by jon favreau . \\nswingers revolves around mike\\'s half-hearted and awkward efforts to get back in the social swing of things . \\nto this end he is enthusiastically assisted by his equally underachieving twentysomething actor friends , such as trent ( vince vaughn with the film\\'s most animated performance ) , who has the gift of gab bordering on the disturbing side of motivational speaking , gun-toting sue ( patrick van horn ) , and rob ( ron livingston ) , who once played hamlet but now longs to work as goofy in disneyland , but doesn\\'t succeed because of his lack of \" theme park experience . \" \\ntogether they talk about women - how to make eye contact , which involves avoiding it , and when to call so as never to appear desperate , two days being \" industry standard . \" \\nafter talking the talk , they walk the walk , strutting like the cool swingers they aspire to be , always to laughable effect . \\nto get mike out of his funk , his friends persistently convince him to get outside , whether it be to a quickie night trip to a seedy vegas casino or a cutthroat hollywood party with the beautiful people or a 50s swing lounge . \\neverywhere they encourage mike to look for a replacement \" honey \" and then keep vigil over his progress , or lack of it . \\nlike dotty doting parents , mike never leaves their company without being the recipient of their confidence cheerleading ( \" you\\'re money , mike , and the honeys know it . \" ) or equipped with their eccentric dating philosophies , such as an analogy of flirting with the bear and the bunny . \\nwith the unwavering support of friends like these , maybe mike\\'s not doing too badly after all . \\nfavreau also doubled as the film\\'s screenwriter , and he proves he has the gift for creating engaging characters and witty banter that goes beyond today\\'s bon mot . \\nthere is a reassuring honesty to the friendships , even when it hits its low points and the friends commiserate . \\nwhen mike gets the gumption to look for love , you will join his cheerleading section as well . \\nswingers is light , unassuming fare , sweet candy you will want to bust your gut with - laughing - again and again . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'for a movie with such deep religious and spiritual undertones , it is surprising to find the messenger : the story of joan of arc such an ungodly mess . \\nin the early to mid 1400\\'s , there was little in the way of spiritual light to be found shining from the heart of a man or woman . \\nthe church was a dismally dark and oppressive place . \\nfrance was involved in \" the hundred years war \" against england . \\nthere was no strong political leadership in the country . \\nmorale was low , there being little hope for the future . \\nit was within this setting that a young french girl began hearing \" voices \" and seeing \" visions . \" \\nconvinced that these were messages from god , she brazenly demanded to see the dauphin in order to deliver the message directly to him . \\nthe message : if he would give her an army to command , she would deliver to him the crown . \\nhe does . . . \\nand she does . \\nthen , once seated on the throne , he abandons her to her english captors . \\ndirector luc besson ( the fifth element ) may have co-wrote the script but he never appeared to have a proper handle on the material . \\nthe inconsistencies of the cast , the confusing blur of the violent battle scenes , the inappropriate musical score , and the lack of a vibrant life force at the center of the film adds up to a largely disappointing end product which is oftentimes unintentionally laughable . \\nhis biggest miscue was to cast his wife , milla jovovich ( the fifth element ) in the title role . \\nms . jovovich , looks spectacular as joan , clad in battle armor , astride a similarly protected horse . \\nif looks were enough to fully convey a character , she would have been brilliant . \\nsince it isn\\'t , she tried ( and failed ) to act the part . \\nher joan is unbalanced , \" inspiring \" the troops merely by screaming stridently and waving her banner or sword over her head like a woman possessed . \\njohn malkovich ( being john malkovich ) fares a bit better as the dauphin , who joan would see on the throne as charles vii . \\nan easily manipulated man , his weakness of character foreshadows the betrayal of joan which would lead to her death . \\nfaye dunaway ( the thomas crown affair ) gives a strong performance in minimal screen time as the dauphin\\'s mother-in-law and chief advisor . \\nthe army under joan\\'s command are comprised of comical figures , more stooges than soldiers . \\nthe one exception would be tcheky karyo ( la femme nikita ) as dunois , the man who was leading the attack prior to joan\\'s arrival . \\ntrying to plan a systematic campaign , he sees his leadership authority negated by joan\\'s insistence on following her \" visions . \" \\ndustin hoffman ( sphere ) has a small inhuman role as joan\\'s conscience which begins speaking to her while awaiting trial . \\ndressed like cloaked monk , he leads her to doubt herself and her \" revelations . \" \\nas well she should . \\nscriptures do speak of revelation . \\ngod , via his gift of holy spirit , is able to communicate to men . \\nthree of the nine manifestations of holy spirit listed in 1 corinthians 12 deal with receiving revelation . \\nthey are : word of knowledge , word of wisdom , and discerning of spirits . \\neven the scriptures themselves are a result of god giving revelation to his \" holy men . . . \\nwho spake as they were moved by holy spirit ( i . e . \\nby revelation . ) \" \\nbut the scriptures also caution us : \\n \" beloved , believe not every spirit , but try the spirits whether they are of god : because many false prophets are gone out into the world . \" \\n1 john 4 : 1 [kjv] \\njoan\\'s end , ( being burned at the stake at the age of 19 ) , the frenzy ( mob rule ) and blood lust her inspiration wrought , and the death , pain , or suffering which followed her campaign all point to a devilish influence rather than a godly one . \\nwhile her conviction and intense believing remains an admirable quality , she was , as others have been before and since , misled by the spiritual master of deception . \\nas a messenger , she was quite effective . \\nshe was just confused as to whose message she was carrying . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"vampires starts out almost in the style of a spaghetti western with an attack on a small homestead in new mexico . \\nthe house has a nest of vampires and jack crow ( james woods ) is leading a team of vampire hunters in to clean them out . \\nwhile the initial imagery is a little over-dramatic , it gives way to what is a fairly decent action sequence . \\nthat is enough action to last us a while and we could , director john carpenter would let us , get to a story line . \\nbut it is not very long and there is not much plot until the next big action scene . \\nthen there is only a bit more of plot before the next action scene after that . \\nthe plot is kept to a minimum and the interesting ideas in the plot really get the short end . \\nand that is something of a pity because the film , based on the book vampire$ by john steakley , gives us a myth for the origins of vampires and explains why vampires are so intertwined with religious imagery . \\nthis could be an interesting departure from the standard vampire film , but carpenter decides to tell us about it rather than to show it . \\nwhat carpenter saves his serious screen time for a sequence of spectacular fights between hunters and vampires . \\nthere is a lot of fighting and lots of gore . \\nanything intriguing is kept to a minimum to so it does not get in the way of pleasing the action film fans . \\nthis has not always been carpenter's style . \\nhis 1981 version of the thing has action but also challenges the viewer to do a little thinking about the film's central science fictional question . \\njack crow heads a vampire swat team , cleaning up nests of vampires with high-tech spears and crossbows . \\nin the early part of the film his team is wiped out by a particularly mean vampire valek ( thomas ian griffith ) who has been tipped off to who crow is . \\nnow crow team is gone and he is down to himself and his sidekick tony montoya ( daniel baldwin ) . \\nto make matters worse , he does not know the people on his own side , tony and his backers , he can trust . \\nmeanwhile jack is sure the vampires are looking for something that must be hidden somewhere here in new mexico . \\nif this is sounding like a very tired police corruption plot with a few obvious substitutions , that's exactly what it is . \\nthe same story looks just as well with two partner cops looking for a gang of hood who are themselves looking for a packet of heroin . \\nbut carpenter goes against a familiar principle of film : show people , don't tell them . \\njust about everything in the plot other than the fights we are told about in the dialog and not shown . \\nfundamental questions in the plot like where does crow get his funding , why are the vampires in new mexico--what do they want and why do they want it , what is the connection of the vampires and the catholic church , how did crow come to be a vampire hunter and why devote his life to it ? \\nthe answers to any of these questions could have been dramatized , but instead are revealed through dialog . \\nnow if all this was not bad enough , carpenter misuses the james wood persona . \\nwoods plays a particular sort of cool lowlife very well . \\nbut carpenter leads off the film by having woods do some sergio-leone- style mythic posturing . \\nwhile his crew prepares for an attack he stands staring fixedly through shades at the house that will be his target . \\nwoods does not work as a larger than life mythic hero . \\nthat is not his style and it just does not work very well . \\nthere are some simple things that carpenter should be looking for as director that he misses . \\nin one scene we are looking at a motel room with dead people on the floor . \\none female corpse is on the floor in front of a chair so that there is about an inch of daylight between her and the chair . \\nas the actress breathes the gap widening and narrowing makes it obvious her arm is moving up and down . \\none also wonders how the existence of vampires is kept secret . \\nthese vampires do not maintain a low profile . \\nthere are arguably logical flaws in the film . \\nthere is some question in my mind whether carpenter has a consistent policy on what effect bullets have on vampires . \\nit would take some rationalization to explain why in some scenes sunlight has a dramatic effect on vampires , yet in a scene toward the end a vampire can walk under a burned roof that lets him be swept by beams of sunlight . \\ni suspect that the book on which this film was based was better thought out . \\nwhile i might recommend this film to an action audience i would say that what i look for in a vampire film vampires rates a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nperhaps i will read the book . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'sometimes a movie comes along that falls somewhat askew of the rest . \\nsome people call it \" original \" or \" artsy \" or \" abstract \" . \\nsome people simply call it \" trash \" . \\na life less ordinary is sure to bring about mixed feelings . \\ndefinitely a generation-x aimed movie , a life less ordinary has everything from claymation to profane angels to a karaoke-based musical dream sequence . \\nwhew ! \\nanyone in their 30\\'s or above is probably not going to grasp what can be enjoyed about this film . \\nit\\'s somewhat silly , it\\'s somewhat outrageous , and it\\'s definitely not your typical romance story , but for the right audience , it works . \\na lot of hype has been surrounding this film due to the fact that it comes to us from the same team that brought us trainspotting . \\nwell sorry folks , but i haven\\'t seen trainspotting so i can\\'t really compare . \\nwhether that works in this film\\'s favor or not is beyond me . \\nbut i do know this : ewan mcgregor , whom i had never had the pleasure of watching , definitely charmed me . \\nhe was great ! \\ncameron diaz\\'s character was uneven and a bit hard to grasp . \\nthe audience may find it difficult to care about her , thus discouraging the hopes of seeing her unite with mcgregor after we are immediately sucked into caring about and identifying with him . \\nmisguided ? \\nyou bet . \\nloveable ? \\nyou bet . \\na life less ordinary was a delight and even had a bonus for me when i realized it was filmed in my hometown of salt lake city , utah . \\nthis was just one more thing i didn\\'t know about this movie when i sat down with a five dollar order of nachos and a three dollar coke . \\nmaybe not knowing the premise behind this film made for a pleasant surprise , but i think even if i had known , i would have been just as happy . \\na life less ordinary is quirky , eccentric , and downright charming ! \\nnot for everyone , but a definite change of pace for your typical night at the movies . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the yet-to-be-released krippendorf\\'s tribe is being marketed as a family comedy , but buyer beware . \\nthis movie can\\'t make up its mind . \\nis it a family comedy with vulgar references to both the male and female bodies , menstruation , circumcision , and sex that would make any parents squirm at the thought of having their child next to them ? \\nor is it an adult comedy approached with such immaturity that only adolescents will appreciate the effort ? \\neither way , \" unbalanced \" is the word to stamp on this hit and miss and miss and miss effort . \\nthe premise is catchy - widowed anthropology professor james krippendorf ( richard dreyfuss ) has spent the past two years \" getting over \" the death of his wife , neglecting key research and squandering grant money on personal living expenses . \\nnow it\\'s time to show what he\\'s achieved in those two years , and he has absolutely nothing to show for it . \\nwith a fabricated tale of studying a previously undiscovered tribe in new guinea , krippendorf petitions for new funds while hiding the fact that the previous $100 , 000 grant was spent on trips to mcdonald\\'s . \\nbut when his \" discovery \" becomes the latest craze among colleagues , the professor finds he must do more than talk about the tribe - he must create it . \\nwith the aid of his three children , the headstrong teen shelly ( natasha lyonne of everyone says i love you ) , the slightly younger mickey ( gregory smith ) , and the nine-year-old edmund ( carl michael lindner ) , the \" shelmikedmu \" tribe ( named from the first half of each child\\'s name ) is born , and videos quickly produced in krippendorf\\'s backyard are passed off as stunning documentary footage of the newly found new guinea tribe . \\ndespite the professor\\'s wishes , the buzz surrounding his discovery only grows , due in greatest part to veronica micelli ( jenna elfman ) , an overly vivacious ( and voluptuous ) anthropologist who barges her way into the discovery and basically deems herself krippendorf\\'s main assistant . \\nhungry for recognition , micelli sets up interviews , lectures , etc . in an effort to make this the biggest sociological event in history , a sure fire way to go down in the history books . \\nkrippendorf , on the other hand , is seeing himself go down a jail cell corridor , not in history books , and with each new lecture , he must come up with something impressive to unleash about the tribe - mating habits , domestic structure , etc . thru fumbling improvisation , and often some quick thinking from his oldest son , krippendorf makes it thru each new lecture , but only creates more and more interest in the highly unique tribe . \\non the opposing end is krippendorf\\'s arch rival , ruth allen ( lily tomlin ) , an arrogant professor whose jealousy drives her on a mission to disprove the existance of the non-existent tribe . \\nit\\'s a cute idea , and approached with a more subtle ( and mature ) style , krippendorf\\'s tribe could\\'ve been a real winner . \\nsadly , the mostly-misfired toilet humor , overly comical musical score ( by bruce broughton ) , and sugar coated sentiments ( all the key ingredients of a \" family comedy \" ) just aren\\'t the right tone for this film . \\ncut that crap out , add some razor sharp dialogue and witty sociological perceptions and you\\'ve got a good start . \\nat the state it\\'s in now , you\\'ve got something along the lines of medicine man meets mrs . \\ndoubtfire meets dumb & dumber , and that\\'s not a concoction anyone should be overly anxious to try . \\nthe overall product here is a highly forgettable cup of \" average \" , with a few laugh-out-loud moments and a great big gap in between them . \\nmost of the characters are surprisingly two-dimensional , and the only one who seems to exhibit any real acting effort ( lyonne ) seems to go greatly unappreciated . \\ndirector todd holland has gone about making this film in all the wrong ways . \\nit\\'s stuck in limbo between disney family fare ( jungle 2 jungle ) and potentially hilarious adult comedy ( a fish called wanda ) . \\nit\\'s this unbalanced structure that really knocks it down a grade , and it\\'s a brutal drop . \\na strong warning to parents : forget the impression given by advertisements , do you want to take your kids to a film that has a woman asking a man if he finds her attractive merely because she\\'s holding his penis ? \\nyes , it\\'s put that bluntly ! \\njust be warned - this is merely one example of the many shocking subjects to be brought up in the film , and others might not be as tame . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : lifelong friends rafe ( affleck ) and danny ( hartnett ) join the us air force and are stationed at pearl harbor , hawaii . \\nrafe goes to england to fight alongside british pilots and is seemingly killed in action . \\ndanny falls in love with rafe\\'s girlfriend , evelyn ( beckinsale ) , but rafe survives and returns to confront his former friend . \\nmeanwhile , the japanese sneak attack is imminent . . . \\nreview : \" pearl harbor \" is a perfect example of movies as product rather than as art . \\nit is little more than a crassly-calculated attempt to woo the masses , enticing them with big stars , big effects , and a big setting -- but no heart . \\nit is difficult to criticise the actors , because they do everything the movie demands of them . \\nsadly , this amounts to barely more than reciting dialogue of such sheer banality that it makes one eager to see the script randall wallace wrote with his right hand at the same time as he was writing \" pearl harbor \" with his left . \\nthe plot here is pure cliche , and the wartime setting simply a convenient backdrop . \\nthere is no genuine exploration of what pearl harbor meant to the united states , and no insight into its vital role in inciting that country to join world war ii . \\ninstead , there is just an assembly-line love triangle , some empty patriotic rhetoric , and a laughable attempt to placate japanese viewers via the inclusion of some reticent imperial commanders ( when one intones , \" i fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant \" , i nearly fell out of my seat ) . \\nto the movie\\'s credit , it does include a fantastic portrayal of the attack itself , an exciting and dizzying hour which plunges viewers into the war . \\nif only the remaining two hours had been crafted with such skill , perhaps this memorial day non-event would have been worth watching . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'sometimes , when i decide to write a short story or a poem , i think of a title first , and then think of a subject to go with it . \\nit seems that the makers of disturbing behavior had a similar train of thought when it came to the title sequence . \\ni wouldn\\'t be surprised if a couple of guys got together and created the opening credits , and then someone saw it and made up a story to go along with it . \\nthe title sequence is so good , so ominous and original , that it had me engrossed before the picture even began . \\nof course , my attention dwindled shortly into the film . \\ndisturbing behavior , like so many thrillers , starts off interesting and ends up laughably ridiculous . \\nit\\'s a teen horror film with no interesting violence or sex . \\nit\\'s a suspense film with no suspense . \\nit\\'s an evil small town story with no story to speak of . \\nit\\'s a disaster , a listless and uninspired disaster , that just barely misses one-stardom because of a few good sequences , a mercifully short running time , and one terrific set of opening credits . \\nour main man is a fellow named steve clark , blandly played by jimmy marsden . \\nhe moves to a small town with his family after , tragically , his brother shoots himself . \\nsteve is very upset about the untimely death of his brother ; we learn this through strange home-video like nightmares that he has occasionally . \\nthe big trial for steve is , of course , to fit in at school and make new friends . \\nmarsden looks like your stereotypical jock down to the last detail , so he seems a poor casting choice for a social reject . \\nas a social reject , he falls in with some pretentious dope-smoking philosophers , gavin ( nick stahl ) and rachel ( katie holmes ) . \\ngavin informs steve that the local group of jocks , known as the blue ribboners , are actually a bunch of zombies , assimilating new members into their group , while sporadically killing innocent people . \\nso , it\\'s up to our group of mismatched protagonists to 1 ) solve the mystery , and 2 ) do something about it . \\nby the end of it all , something has happened and things have been explained , but the film still doesn\\'t make any sense . \\ndisturbing behavior was written by scott rosenberg . \\ni\\'ve seen his name around recently ( he was one of the toucher-uppers on the armageddon script ) , and i imagine that , for the most part , he knows what he\\'s doing when it comes to screenwriting . \\nhe did , however , have a complete lapse in judgement when he got the idea for this film , and then decided to actually take the time to write it out . \\nevil small town films are pretty common ( the last one , phantoms , is also a dismal failure ) , but it takes a lot of skill to make the formula work . \\nrosenberg\\'s script is a complete mess , lacking in even the most basic attempts at characterization . \\nand it makes no sense , nor is their any purpose when things are finally \" explained . \" \\nthere is supposed to be an element of surprise when we see what is happening to the jocks , but the film never explains exactly what * is * happening . \\nthey get strapped to chairs , a microchip is inserted into their eyes , and -- poof -- they become sex-crazed , superviolent , machine-like creatures . \\nthe doctor responsible for all this , dr . caldicott ( bruce greenwood ) , must be pretty nuts for thinking that this kind of behavior is a step up from the way high school jocks actually behave ( or , perhaps , this is the only realistic element in the film ) . \\nmuch of the writing is simply bad , and rosenberg has no intuition when it comes to the way high school kids act . \\nin one terrible scene , gavin explains to steve all of the high school cliques , while pointing them out in the cafeteria . \\nup front , i should say that , in four years of high school , i did not eat in the cafeteria even once . \\nthat aside , the various social groups he points out are general , uninteresting , and poorly-shown . \\nfor instance , he points to the \" nerds , \" who are all wearing glasses and playing with their laptops . \\nit\\'s such an obvious cliche that i can\\'t believe rosenberg even bothered . \\nmost of the dialogue is forced ( no one says , \" bite me ! \" \\nanymore ) , and none of the scenes have any degree of wit . \\nthis picture is not inspired , and most scenes flop from one to the other , with no sense of momentum or energy . \\nthe blame for this can be placed on director david nutter , who apparently likes his films dry . \\nhorror films should at least exploit violence , but this one is shockingly timid . \\nthere are a few good scenes , though , such as an interesting trip through an insane asylum ( this is , however , the most forced scene in the film , for how our heroes get there or why they bother are things we never learn ) . \\ni also liked the school janitor character , played by william sadler . \\nhe has a few lines that are surprisingly thought-provoking . \\nthe acting is largely a waste of talent . \\nmarsden is , as i said , bland ( thought not particularly bad ) . \\nbruce greenwood is shamelessly wasted . \\nstahl and holmes both show they have talent , but the direction isn\\'t good enough to hone in on their skills ( stahl\\'s performance seems more like a parody of high school potheads ) . \\nnone of these characters expand beyond their one dimension , and , frankly , watching cardboard cut-outs of human beings run down hallways while screaming just isn\\'t all that cool . \\ndisturbing behavior is a wreck of a film , and it started out a wreck before shooting even began . \\ni\\'m surprised there were producers who read this script and thought that it would make a good film , or that it would make a lot of money at the box office . \\nit\\'s not boring , or even blatantly awful , but it\\'s an uninspired lump of a film . \\nit sure starts off nicely , but the regression into total absurdity is so consistent that the very last scene is outright laughable . \\nso , if you go to see this film , take my advice : appreciate the credit sequence , and pray it never ends . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"`oh behave ! \\nfelicity shagwell is one shagadellic babe . \\ndo i make your horny ? \\nfemale fembots with breasts that require gun controlling . \\nanything that resembles bananas and two balls of icecream . \\nthe nut-biting finale between mini me and austin . \\nall that body hair is a real turn on , it's a pity more leading men don't wear it on screen . \\nanything that vaguely resembles sausages and eggs . \\nfat bastard . \\nthe love scene between felicity and fat bastard , that redefines sex . \\nthe wrongly implied love scene in the tent that redefines anal sex . \\nthe love scene between austin and ivana humpalot , that redefines chess and oral sex . \\nthe love scene between dr . evil and frau farbissina , that redefines weird sex . \\nthe love affair between austin and felicity , that does not happen , because his mojo goes missing . \\nthe relationship between dr evil , himself and mini me which redefines a solo love affair . \\nthe unique relationship between dr evil and his son scott www . com . zip , that says a lot about our relationship with our children nowadays . \\nweanies , johnny , richard , dick etc . ' \\nthis movie is every bit as silly and crazy as the first . \\nthere are moments that will make your sick , which are probably best forgotten , but overall mike myers has redefined what it means to be an international spy and leading man . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'if you\\'ve ever perused my college comedy diary \" another year in the life of a nerd \" ( i never run out of cheap plugs ) , you know i didn\\'t get along with my first-semester roommate too well . \\nin fact , during the three-week period between thanksgiving and christmas break , i said a total of four sentences to him . \\nso when i saw in the residence hall cable listings a movie called roommates , i envisioned 90 minutes of conflict between a couple of bickering young adults trapped in a 10 x 13 foot dorm room . \\nthen i saw that the star of roommates is peter falk . \\nscratch that idea . \\nbut i still say someone should film the story of two college roommates whose relationship is less than ideal . \\nof course , in my case it would be a silent picture . \\neven without the college element , i still decided to watch roommates because i had absolutely nothing to do , unless you count studying for final exams ( and who does ? ) . \\ni\\'m glad i did . \\npeter falk\\'s performance was actually what made the movie . \\nand this is a guy i never considered a real actor , more like someone who went around in a trenchcoat solving prescripted mysteries . \\nfalk pleasantly surprised me here , permanently earning my respect , so all you \" columbo \" fans who think i live to insult the guy can just falk off . \\nfalk plays rocky , a 107-year-old polish baker who raises his grandson after both the kid\\'s parents die . \\nthe movie begins with the mom\\'s death and the son moving in with his grandparents . \\nafter a couple stops along the son\\'s journey to manhood , roommates progresses to the present day , with the grandson a surgeon and rocky in a condemned house he refuses to leave . \\nthe surgeon reluctantly offers the only possible solution -- rocky will have to move into his place , the basement of a building rented by a group of chinese students ( \" communists ! \" ) . \\nthe movie spans nine more years of rocky\\'s relationship with his grandson , and the trials posed when the grandson meets and falls in love with--gasp--a woman , and starts spending all his time with her . \\nso , in his grandson\\'s absence , rocky turns his pursuits to professional boxing , achieveing the world heavyweight title in a climactic fight with apollo creed . . . \\nor am i confusing movie plots again ? \\nroommates has an almost epic feel to it , covering several generations of a family with one fiesty immigrant who refuses to die . \\ndeath , though , knocks at the door of almost every other major character in the the movie . \\nroommates has about as many casualties as the first halloween . \\nthe number can\\'t be counted on one hand , unless of course you\\'re the victim of some hideous genetic mutation . \\nand you can probably guess who says farewell to planet earth at the end of the movie ( no , not duran duran ) . \\ni won\\'t come out and say it . \\ninstead , i\\'ll just sit here and hum \" eye of the tiger \" until each and every one of you figures it out . \\nroommates plays on all the major emotions . \\nit knows when to make you laugh and when to make you cry . \\nmovies that can perfectly mix comedy and drama are always hits with the audience , even though this one bombed at the theaters . \\nmy point ? \\nthere are no absolutes . \\nor , another possible point , peter falk just isn\\'t such a great box office draw . \\neither way , this is still a good movie and you should give it a chance like i did , whether you hate your roommate or not . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" have you ever heard the one about a movie so bad that it made a guy run out of the theatre screaming ? \" \\nobviously the producers at columbia tristar did not think that we suffered enough from the first installment , and so to finish us utterly , they have now released \" urban legends : final cut \" . \\nthis is another \" scream \" -like feature , consisting merely from the recycled materials of rip-offs from the most pointless movies of all time . \\namy ( jennifer morrison ) is a film student who is attending a film school filled with uninspired film students who do not have a clue about what to do . \\nbut just as she reaches the halfway mark of her final semester at prestigious university\\'s film program -- where each year\\'s best thesis production takes the coveted hitchcock prize , a virtual one-way ticket to hollywood success -- she has a chance encounter with campus security guard reese ( loretta devine ) , whose tale of a series of murders based on urban legends at another university inspires amy to try her hand at a fictional thriller organized along similar lines . \\nsoon enough , fake -- and real -- blood starts to flow , and amy is being chased around by scary killer , while her cast and crew get slain , one by one . \\nis the culprit the original urban legends murderer , just some random psycho , ! \\na member of the faculty , one of her competitors for the hitchcock , or is there something even more stupid going on ? \\nthis is another one of those tiring , pointless teen slasher flicks : neither scary , funny , or interesting . \\nit simply lacks the ability and the story to entertain . \\nthe body counts and screams continue to grow , as the weak level of intelligence sinks rapidly . \\nin fact watching films like that after having watched \" scary movie \" is impossible keeping a serious face . \\nseveral times i tried to prevent myself from laughing , without succeeding . \\nand then i realized that practically the whole theatre was laughing . \\nit\\'s the same thing that has been told and told and told over and over again as if it was the revelation of the century . \\nhow many times must we tolerate the same clich ? s that have haunted the slasher genre since its birth ? \\nit has been so many films about masked killers that most of us have developed an allergy for them . \\nthey are the most stupid , meaningless , predictable and soulless films in existence . \\nhowever , director john ottman manages to make \" urban legends : final cut \" into one of the worst achievements of this godforsaken genre . \\nwhat was done with a sense of redemption for past failures and irony in \" scream \" , ottman takes seriously . \\nfor that reason alone , it is worth a look , just to realize how bad a movie can be . \\nit\\'s tough to find comparisons for such an achievement , and we have to dig in ancient history to find a movie that would match its intellect . \\neven movies like \" lost in space \" and \" mission to mars \" seem spectacular in its shadow . \\nwe have not seen such waste of t ! \\nime and resources since \" showgirls \" ( 1995 ) . \\nno matter how hard i tried to find positive elements in this so called production , i came up with nothing , except the way the killer was dressed . \\nhere i feel that i have to compliment the costume designers trysha bakker and marie-sylvie deveu , that have wisely replaced the well known scream-mask with a very elegant fencing mask . \\njennifer morrison ( \" stir of echoes \" ) is all right , and the other actors\\' best achievement is keeping a straight face when pronouncing the words from the script . \\nin fact the only thing that is terrifying about this film ( with the exception of its screenplay ) is its portray of film schools . \\nif these graduates will be the directors of the future , then hollywood\\'s golden days are over . \\nrumors are already spreading through the internet that columbia tristar is already developing a third installment . \\nlet\\'s just hope and pray that it\\'s just an urban legend . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'assume nothing . \\nthe phrase is perhaps one of the most used of the 1990\\'s , as first impressions and rumors are hardly ever what they seem to be . \\nthe phrase especially goes for oscar novak , an architect who is the main focus of three to tango , a delightful , funny romantic comedy about assumptions and being yourself . \\nnovak ( matthew perry ) , a shy , clumsy , chicago based architect , along with openly gay partner , peter steinberg ( oliver platt ) , fights for projects day in and day out . \\none of these is the job of restoring a popular building for charles newman ( dylan mcdermott ) , a rich , well-known businessman . \\ncharles immediately takes a liking to oscar , as he enjoys his personality and sense of humor . \\nseeing oscar as someone he could trust , charles asks him to watch his girlfriend , an unpredictable , adventurous girl named amy post ( neve campbell ) , who makes a living by blowing glass . \\ncharles wants to know who she talks to , what she does , and where she goes . \\nthe point ? \\nto make sure she\\'s not seeing someone else , of course . \\noscar gladly takes the job , and meets amy at an art show of hers , and sparks fly between the two from the get go . \\noscar feels he has found the one meant for him , and he is content with the idea of being with amy . \\nwell , another popular phrase of the 90\\'s is \" all good things must come to an end , \" and this stays true for oscar as well . \\ncharles walks in on amy and oscar having a drink one night , as oscar and amy have become great friends , but he doesn\\'t seem to mind . \\nwhy is this ? \\nhe thinks oscar is gay . \\nhe\\'s not afraid to share this with him either . \\noscar stands in shock after the words , \" i swear if you weren\\'t gay oscar , i\\'d have to kill you , \" are muttered flamboyantly from charles\\' mouth . \\nthe word spreads instantly through town . \\nwill oscar \" come out \" of his supposed gayness , or will he tell everyone that he isn\\'t ? \\none would immediately think he would deny the fact , but numerous occurrences come to oscar , which result in the fact that if he denies the fact , he could lose his job with charles . \\nmatthew perry doesn\\'t escape his character as chandler on the already classic t . v . \\ncomedy \" friends , \" as both oscar novak and chandler are clueless , shy , and sensitive . \\nnonetheless , perry is hilarious here , and shows that he can handle drama , as obviously , his character suffers quite a bit here . \\nit\\'s wonderful to see neve campbell outside of a horror movie , ( she was the star of scream 1 and 2 , and the upcoming scream 3 ) as she handles comedy superbly here . \\nher voice , smile , and personality are more than perfect for romantic comedies- stay with this genre , neve . \\nneve is delightful as her conflicted character , who feels love for oscar , but knows , based on rumors , that he is gay . \\nas usual , campbell is likable as her likable character . \\nunlike the other two leads here , dylan mcdermott is flat in his dialogue , and is never convincing . \\nwhen his character his present , mcdermott sets a dull tone to the scene with his horrible acting . \\nstick to the t . v . \\ndrama , the practice , dylan . \\nthe major weak spot in three to tango is the direction of damon santostefano . \\nno originality or technique is used whatsoever . \\nthree to tango is lucky that the script is so edgy and that perry and campbell are wonderful in comedy , or else the film would have been a disaster , as it is just plain boring to look at . \\nthree to tango is a film done many times before , as the plot is suspiciously close to 1998\\'s the object of my affection , but the plot has never been completed so well . \\nthree to tango\\'s script , written by rodney patrick vaccaro and aline brosh mckenna is fun , fast , and funny , delivering not only original , hilarious gay jokes ( not your run of the mill material ) , but a certain snappiness in the dialogue between characters that always keeps you smiling . \\nunlike last summer\\'s south park : bigger , longer , and uncut and 1997\\'s in & out , three to tango is a comedy in which the gay element is not crude or vulgar . \\nthe script is wise to take this route , as gays can\\'t ( i don\\'t think so , anyway ) be offended by this light , playful comedy . \\n ( to prove this , a gay couple was in the audience who were laughing constantly . ) \\nthree to tango\\'s climax is a hilarious , clever scene that is pure irony based on the outcome of most romantic-mistaken identity comedies . \\nthree to tango is a gem . \\nthe bottom line : three to tango is a light , sharp , snappy romantic comedy with a superb ending , and great stars . \\none of the better romantic comedies of 1999 . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'jarvis cocker of pulp once said that he wrote common people after noticing mike leigh box-sets on the video shelves -- he had a feeling that economic deprivation was becoming a tourist experience for the well-off . \\nmaybe it\\'s a classic case of displacement : it\\'s easier to see jarvis\\' own lyrics ( obsessed with acrylic and wood chip on the wall ) as a fetishization of lowlife , rather than leigh\\'s films . \\nbut it\\'s worth being reminded that drab interiors and a couple of working-class characters don\\'t make for a guarantee of \\'authenticity\\' , let alone a good film . \\nit\\'s the triumph of secrets & lies , then , that it goes beyond gestures of sympathy for the common people into a probing of just what it means to seek \\'authenticity\\' and honesty in everyday lives . \\nfollowing her adopted mother\\'s funeral , hortense , a young black optometrist , sets out to find her birth mother , and is disturbed to find out that she is white . \\nit is cynthia , a factory worker who lives in a shabby house with her perpetually moody daughter roxanne . \\ncynthia\\'s younger brother maurice is a successful photographer who has not seen his sister for ages , largely because of his wife\\'s animosity towards her . \\nhortense calls up cynthia , who initially breaks down in tears and refuses to see her . \\nbut their mutually suspicious meeting gives way to a warm friendship eventually . \\ncynthia invites hortense to come along to a party , which maurice is hosting . . . \\nsecrets & lies has a simple enough theme at its heart -- as one character puts it , \" best to tell the truth , isn\\'t it ? \\nthat way nobody gets hurt . \" . \\nbut if the film delivers much more than a trite message , it\\'s because we are also shown how hard it can be to face up to ugly truths , even while the evasions and unspoken grievances slowly choke us . \\nhence , cynthia\\'s difficulty with acknowledging ( first to herself , then to others ) that hortense is her daughter . \\none of her first reactions to seeing hortense is a sincere denial that she has ever \" been with a black man \" , before a long-suppressed memory seizes her . \\nat the party , cynthia\\'s pretense that hortense is her factory co-worker leads her to ever more convoluted lies , as agonizing as they are funny . \\nlittle lies seep into every corner , like maurice pretending that he\\'s \" just dropping by \" when he visits cynthia after much deliberation . \\nmaurice\\'s job as a photographer gives the film opportunities for side comments on the main theme - a sad-looking bride that maurice coaxes to smile , a couple who pose awkwardly with a prominent wedding ring and argue about his spectacles . \\none of the most startling images is of a beautiful woman with large scars on her face : she says she needs the photo to look \" as bad as possible \" to collect insurance money , yet the short scene leaves you wondering about what untold story lies behind the scars . \\nthere are occasionally hilarious moments , as when cynthia attempts to give her daughter some unwelcome advice on contraception , \" i\\'ve got a dutch cap floating about somewhere upstairs \" ; or when cynthia stares at her own rather pedestrian legs and tells roxanne , \" if you\\'ve got it , flaunt it , is what i say . \" \\nas played by brenda blethyn , cynthia comes close to being a caricature , with her nervous , somewhat disconnected way of talking . \\nbut she\\'s really just right for the role of someone who inspires sympathy and yet strains the tolerance of those around her , precisely because she\\'s so needy of love , perhaps . \\nindeed , the whole cast gives warmly rounded , detailed performances . \\nthe script was developed partly through improvisations , and the fusion of cast , script and director shows best in the party scene - seemingly everyone is talking at the same time , and yet many subtle observations are being made throughout . \\nin a very different way , but also using a long single shot , the scene of hortense and cynthia\\'s first meeting in a lonely caf=8a achieves a touching intensity , all the more for their reticence and unspoken feelings . \\nthe film\\'s climax - with all the secrets and lies finally spilled out in ibsen-esque revelations , and everybody hugging each other - is the one thing that seems false about this film . \\nhowever , it\\'s a film that truly earns its happy ending after the misery and repression of the character\\'s lives . \\nwhen cynthia says near the end , this is the life , innit ? , you get the sense that , following the cynicism of his last film naked , leigh has rediscovered that life can be sweet after all , without comforting illusions . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this independent film written and directed by eric bross has the look and feel of all those other troubled blue-collar youth films that have inundated the market in recent times . \\nit is hard to tell what is independent about this film ; it might as well have been made in hollywood or on a home videocam . \\nit is the debut film for the director , who tells his personal story about italians growing up with heavy new jersey accents and remaining tight with each other as they grow into young adults , a tale which could have been rewarding to see in the 1950s , where the mind-set of all the characters depicted is grounded , but to see it in the 1990s is a different story : it is old news . \\nthe love story between the simple girl waiting to get married and her luckless boyfriend turning nasty on her doesn\\'t mean much , since their relationship remained undeveloped . \\nthe introduction of the wise-guy angle and the loyality among buddies bit , are not moving enough emotional experiences or intelligent enough dramatics to elevate this film above its limited story line despite the tour-de-force performance by the star of the film , adrien brody as ray . \\nray is the only son of a low-level mobster once arrested for running an illegal casino operation out of his bloomfield , new jersey , suburban basement . \\nray sr . ( vincent ) is now trying to make a go of it by running a small scale home-repair business . \\nhis son lives with him and works unhappily as a shoe salesman , dreaming of getting rich quickly so he can open a business and marry his long-time waitress girlfriend joanne ( sybil ) . \\nthe title of this film refers to the shoe size of paul newman-10b , which really has nothing to do with explaining anything about the film . you \\nshould be aware that there are a lot of things about this film that don\\'t make sense : its constant brainless chatter between the buddies , their uneventful growing pains , and the despair of their lives , make it very difficult to feel any empathy for them . \\ndesperate to make his dream come through , ray goes to a loanshark , humorously and menacingly played by james e . moriarty , and borrows 10 grand to bet on a \" sure thing \" at freehold raceway . \\nthe horse loses and now ray has big problems , as the loanshark comes after him with his muscle to get his dough . \\nthere is nothing i have seen so far to like about ray . \\nhe is undependable , mean-spirited , and stupid . \\nso when his best friend mike ( gallagher ) , the narrator of the film , gets a chance to sleep with his girlfriend--who cares ? \\nthe director must be kidding himself if he thinks we do . \\nas for ray\\'s gambling debt and his dilemma of how to pay it off , the story is too predictable for anything other than what you would expect to happen . \\nhis buddies , the college student mike and the dependable butchie ( gillan ) , and his old man , who he has this love/hate relationship with , rally to his aid . \\nand the film ends on an obligatory artistic note of ambiguity , that seems to be the way it is for all those wannabe artistic films , as ray is off to florida all by his lonesome self to try to put his life together . \\nthere was just no energy or spark or anything relevant in this superficial film to keep it interesting , though adrien brody showed signs that he could be a future star . \\nbecause of his intensity and looks , he reminds me of sean penn . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'cashing in on the success of white men can\\'t jump and the failure of most of their solo vehicles ( including the cowboy way and drop zone ) , wesley snipes and woody harrelson have reteamed , hoping that they can strike up the same success . \\nsadly , if this dismal , cliche ridden and mind-numbingly boring action pic is anything to go by , they haven\\'t got a chance in hell of even coming close . \\nthis time out , the duo play foster brothers who are transit cops . \\nfollowing several run-ins with their tyrannical boss ( robert blake ) , who is obsessed with the \" money train \" --a train which carries all the subway\\'s takings--and will let nothing stop it ( now * there\\'s * an original plot device ) , harrelson\\'s character decides to try and take off with the cash . \\nalong the way , both of them fall in love with the same woman--another transit cop who also hates her boss . \\nthis leads to the typical sibling rivalry crap that you usually find in a film of this standard ( \\'you were always the better brother\\' etc . etc . etc . ) , and doesn\\'t help to add anything to the film . \\ngiven a better script , better performers in supporting roles and a shorter running time ( the film almost went for two hours--or did it just feel like it ? ) , this film might ( and i mean * might * ) have turned out okay , but as it is , it is stocked with the worst action film cliches , whose only purpose appears to be to pad the film out to its painfully long running time . \\nrobert blake , who plays the evil boss , has got to be the most pathetic bad guy in film history ! \\nhe sounds like wayne newton , and appears to think the best way to appear evil is to have your eyes bulging as though they are about to burst out of their sockets ! \\nbut this is only one of money train\\'s problems . \\nif you look at the script as if it was an action film , it lacks originality and suspense . \\nbut if you try to look at it as if it were a heist film , it is even worse . \\nthe final robbery sequence is almost trivialised and the characters definitely ain\\'t butch and sundance . \\nthe film isn\\'t all bad though . \\nsnipes and harrelson , when they aren\\'t using the dumb cliches that the script gives them , make an agreeable duo , and some of the stunt-work is indeed excellent . \\nbut good stunt-work cannot save a bottom-of-the-barrel action movie . \\nif you\\'re a really undemanding action freak , there\\'s a chance you\\'ll like this . \\nbut if you\\'re looking for something original , or suspenseful , try somewhere else--i doubt you\\'ll find it here . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the king and i , a warner brothers animated , musical feature , recycles the classic story of a woman who challenges the heart of a king , with obvious results . \\nwhen anna ( miranda richardson ) , a british schoolteacher , travels to saim to educate the king\\'s ( martin vidnovic ) children , she learns that the king is treating his people unfairly , and must say something to the greedy ruler . \\nmeanwhile , the king\\'s prime minister ( ian richardson ) , the stereotypical villain , plots to overthrow the king , taking the throne . \\nthe last , and most predictable , main subplot deals with the king\\'s son ( allen d . hong ) , and his love for a servant , tuptim ( armi arabe ) , and how he conflicts with his feelings , and the ancient laws of saim . \\nnot even the lone strong character of anna can save the unbelievably horrible waste of talent , as the king and i\\'s problems could fill the blank pages of a journal . \\ni will only note the major difficulties , for it would take pages to elaborate on every detail . \\nthe screenplay , written by arthur rankin , peter bakalian , jacqeline feather , and david seidler , which is based upon the play written by richard rodgers and oscar hammerstein , has some of the worst dialogue written in a film within recent memory , as every time the obnoxious king would shout , \" etc , etc , etc , \" i would cringe . \\nliterally . \\nspeaking of cringing- i did quite a bit of this during the rather short film , which is a classic display of terrible filmmaking . \\nbesides the repetitive dialogue from the king , on the whole , the songs seem out of place , and unlike the lyrics , are unmagical . \\nthe sole song which is used cleverly is \" getting to know you , \" which is used as anna shows the children the great outdoors , which they have never been exposed to . \\nunlike disney animated features , the king and i\\'s songs don\\'t add to the film , and are as uneffective as could be . \\ntake the following scenario as an example , as the sheer horror of the king and i\\'s music is at its worst . \\nyou\\'re being hunted by a dragon ! \\nwhat do you do ! ? \\nsing a happy song ! \\nmartin vidnovic voices the king without effort or emotion- you hear the saying two negatives don\\'t make a positive ? \\nbelieve it ! \\nwith the terrible dialogue that the king has , along with his awful voice track , the king is completely unbelievable , only shows mild signs of any personality , and the only thing that changes in the king is that he says \" etc . , etc . , etc . , \" more and more as the film progresses . \\nno personality at the beginning of the movie , none at the end . \\nand where does this character\\'s personality change ? \\nhey , i thought anna was supposed to change him ! \\nisn\\'t that the whole plot ? \\nthe prime minister\\'s hideous sidekick ( darrell hammond ) brings his share of cringes as well - oh no ! \\nanother one of his teeth fell out ! \\nhardy-har-har ! \\nhe is supposed to bring laughs for the kidlets , but even at age five i would have cringed while watching him . \\nby the way this review is going , you may think the reasoning for my hate for this film is due to not liking animated films- hence why i hate this movie , because the king and i is a disgrace to animation . \\nanimated films , such as 1994\\'s the lion king and 1998\\'s the prince of egypt , are among my favorite movies of all time . \\nthe animation team does design their share of well animated settings , so this makes it easier to take my mind off of the annoying king , until i realize that day and night switch back in fourth within seconds . \\ni have not read the play , or seen the oscar winning , 1956 film adaption , but from what i can tell , the screenplay for the 1999 version completely butchers the play , for the king and i is never magical , nor interesting . \\nif it wasn\\'t for miranda richardson , who voices anna with feeling , the king and i could earn the title , \" worst movie of the decade . \" \\ninstead , the king and i will just go down as among the year\\'s worst . \\nthe bottom line- avoid this movie at all costs . \\nnot even young children , the target audience in this film , will enjoy it . \\nnot the slightest bit . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this sunday afternoon i had the priviledge of attending a private screening at the sony astor cinema in new york city , of james cameron\\'s most heralded film , titanic . \\npostponed from last summer , with an escalated budget that makes it the most expensive movie in history , this was one film i was eager to preview . \\nso , is this movie going to sink or swim this holiday ? \\nmy best guess . . . . it will sink , though with many awards attatched to its hull . \\nno doubt , titanic is the most elaborate disaster movie ever made . \\nit boasts the most amazing effects that i have ever seen done to date . \\nto see a ship fall apart , with actual people running across the ship , flying across the deck , and falling to the water , is just amazing to look at . \\nthe effects are so stunningly realistic , you would swear you were looking at actual footage . \\nbut titanic is more than a disaster movie , and that\\'s where the problem lies . \\nthere is a love story attatched that nearly ruins the entire premise . \\ni\\'ll give a capsule summary of the story without spoiling anything for you : \\nthe film begins with a modern day excavation of sorts of the sunken titanic . \\nwe see actual footage of the sunken ship , as cammeron had set up special cameras to film the wreckage on the ocean floor . \\nbill paxton leads the expedition , in search of sunken treasure . \\nwhat he finds instead , leads him to a mysterious old woman who recounts her tale of the titanic voyage . \\nwe meet rose ( kate winslet ) , a young woman , who comes from an upper-class family . \\nrose is to be wed to a man she does not love . \\nwe meet jack ( leonardo dicaprio ) , a young man , who comes from a poor financial background , and wins a ticket aboard the titanic , in a poker game . \\nthe two meet under interesting circumstances , and the love story begins . \\nadd in a jealous fiance , and a not-so-nice law officer played by david warner , and you have a story that , well , gets a bit overplayed and oversappy . \\ni must add , at this point , that the most likeable character in the movie is played by kathy bates , as a woman with \" new money \" who is a lot less uptight than the other rich folk on the ship . \\nshe is a pleasure to see on screen . \\nwhen the ship does hit the iceberg at exactly 1 : 40 into the film , and eventually sinks , you never really feel for any of these characters . \\nthe film is just loaded with unlikeable rich snobs and other folk you never really get a grasp on . \\nthe effects are tremendous . \\nfrom the roars of gears and pumps in the engine room , to a doomed ship cracking at the seams , this is an effects picture that looks and sounds like no other . \\nwe saw titanic in dolby digital surround , and by far , it is the best sounding movie i have ever seen . \\nmy friend commented it was the best sound mix he has ever heard . \\nwhen people are in the water , at film\\'s end , you are surrounded by the voices of lost soles . \\ntitanic runs far too long . \\nthe movie is 3 hours and 15 minutes in length . \\nand , while most of the first 2 . 5 hours runs very fast and well-paced , the final 45 minutes almost comes to a sudden stop , and you realize that this sappy love story has to finish itself out before the movie finally ends . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong about titanic . . . . it\\'s \\nnot a bad as i am making it out to be . \\nit really is an exceptionaly well-made film . \\nthe costumes and sets are incredible , and true to the time period . \\nthe ship is painstakingly created exactly true to form , as we see actual pictures of the modern-day wreckage , transformed into the movie depiction . \\nthis film will certainly win on effects , costume , set design and sound . \\ncameron has certainly made his best film to date . \\nunfortunately , titanic is not a best picture candidate . \\nit just doesn\\'t have a strong supporting story . \\nit\\'s an exceptional disaster film with sappy filler inside . \\nit just doesn\\'t have the emotional impact that i suspect mr . cameron was shooting for . \\ni predict that titanic will open to likeable reviews . \\nit is a film worth seeing . \\ni predict that it will only do moderately well at the box office . \\nwith its extreme running time , and lack of enough robust to get substantial word-of-mouth , i expect that it will do even better on home video . \\nthis will certainly be the definitive ac3 movie for all you home theater enthusiasts . \\ntitanic opens december 19th , and is released by paramount pictures and twentieth century-fox . \\ni give titanic 3 stars ( . \\nthat\\'s not bad . \\nron epstein \\nriginally posted in home theater forum === \\n',\n",
+       "  b'deuce bigalow ( rob schneider ) cleans fish tanks . \\nyeah , i didn\\'t know that was a real job either . \\none of his customers is antoine leconte ( oded fehr ) , a successful gigolo . \\nwhen antoine has to go to sweden for three weeks , he lets deuce use his house to look after an ailing $800 fish . \\nfooling around , deuce sets fire to the kitchen and smashes a $6000 fish tank . \\nafter taking a try at one of antoine\\'s clients and earning $10 , deuce decides to prostitute himself to raise the money to replace the fish tank before the fiery-tempered antoine returns . \\nenter t . j . ( eddie griffin ) , a pimp for \" man-whores , \" who arranges for deuce to service an assortment of women whose imperfections keep them from dating . \\nthere\\'s an enormous woman ( played by transvestite porn star chi chi la rue ) who hides food in her clothes . \\nthere\\'s claire ( gail o\\'grady ) whose narcolepsy causes her to fall asleep every few minutes . \\ntina ( torsten voges ) is so tall her face doesn\\'t fit on the screen , and ruth ( amy poehler ) has tourette\\'s syndrome and shouts obscenities without warning . \\nfinally there\\'s kate ( arija bareikis ) whose sorority sisters secretly paid her fare . \\nshe seems perfect , and deuce quickly falls in love with her . \\n ( she does , we discover later , have an imperfection , but deuce decides it isn\\'t important . ) \\ndeuce\\'s life is complicated by a bothersome cop ( william forsythe ) looking for information on antoine and by kate\\'s discovery of his man-whoring . \\nhowever , neither threat generates much suspense . \\nthe formula is so familiar that we know how it will end from the start . \\n \" deuce bigalow \" is the first project from adam sandler\\'s company happy madison , the formation of which assures that we\\'ll be seeing the sandler style of comedy mass-produced at an increasing rate in years to come . \\nbe afraid . \\nbe very afraid . \\nthe good news is that sandler doesn\\'t actually appear in \" deuce \" and that rob schneider and eddie griffin are funnier than sandler . \\nschneider has a sweetness that makes the clueless but good-hearted deuce believable . \\ngriffin\\'s delivery is dead-on , especially in the coining of \" technical terms \" for t . j . \\'s profession , as in \" don\\'t make me he-bitch man-slap you ! \" \\nthere\\'s the expected amount of toilet humor in \" deuce . \" \\n ( for one thing , deuce\\'s dad is a men\\'s room attendant ) . \\ndoes anyone over the age of eight actually find bowel movements that funny ? \\nfor most of us , i think that childhood fascination with bodily functions disappears when we hit the far-side of puberty and discover how funny sex is . \\ni , for one , will be glad when the toilet trend is finally flushed . \\nbottom line : \" deuce \" doesn\\'t offer anything new but it is intermittently funny . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"in our time . \\nin our modern world , where the cool rule , it's hard to imagine that shakespeare is becoming 'the man' . \\nand yet - film after film , after film , is based on his everlasting magic . \\nin warner brothers' latest production , shakespeare is kicking ass to a rap beat , while his magic and intelligence slowly fades away . \\nthough the producers of the matrix have vaguely based their picture on william shakespeare's 'romeo and juliet' , its title sequence with a frightening rap song and a black limo making its way through the dark streets of new york , is very hard to associate with shakespeare's poetry . \\nthe film takes place during a silent war between the two major mafia families in the city - the afro americans against the chinese . \\nthe youngest son of a chinese mafia chieftain is found murdered . \\nthe afro-americans are immediately suspected , but a peace treaty is signed between the two godfathers . \\nit is at this point that han ( the romeo of the story ) finds out about his brother's death . \\nescaping from a prison in china , he returns to united states to avenge his brother's fate . \\nbut before he can restore justice with his kung fu kicks , he falls in love with a mysterious beauty . \\nthe only problem is that she is the daughter of his enemy . . \\nthere's only a weak echo of shakespeare's talent in this disappointing production . \\nand there are more problems besides its title . \\nof course we don't call it a deformation of a great masterpiece . \\nwe call it 'modernization' . \\nit seems that the producers fear that the audience will not respond to lyrics , without any car chases and gun fights . \\nthis lack of respect for the audience i find very disturbing . \\nkenneth brannagh has already proven that shakespeare doesn't need to be updated , because his tales are grounded in the basics of life and human nature . \\nand as long as love , hate , honesty and corruption do exist , everyone will understand and embrace shakespeare . \\ni must admit that i found 'rome must die' very confusing . \\ni can forgive andrzej bartkowiak , since it is his first attempt at directing . \\nhe manages to create an incredible atmosphere and directs with a firm precision . \\nunfortunately he completely forgot about character- and story developments . \\nhis latest picture is therefore visually impressive , but intellectually hollow . \\nthe love story between han ( jet li ) and trish ( aalyah ) , and the mafia intrigues are undeveloped and simplified . \\njet li is one of the most amazing fighters to ever hit the silver screen and aalyah has a magical voice . \\ntheir achievement save this film from being completely braindead , but they are not actors , and therefore can not act . \\nthey are nothing more than two celebrities put together . \\nthe other actors , including isaiah washington , russell wong , henry o and dmx all give the standard mediocre performances . \\ndelroy lindo is the only one that projects a coherent image of reality . \\nbut there's more than acting to worry about . \\neven with li's incredible skills in martial arts , the action scenes ( though technically excellent ) are too long and story updates simply embarrassing . \\nto make a long story short : 'romeo must die' is not intelligent enough to be a thriller , not sensual enough to be a love story and too serious to be a fun action film . \\nit is certain that bartkowiak would be much better off with o this embarrassing and completely unnecessary parallel to 'romeo and juliet' , so the film is completely stuck - not sure of what to be . \\nand in the end it's nothing . \\nthere are no performances worthy of notice , no interesting character- or story surprises . \\nso again , the only good thing about it is its technical achievement . \\nthis film can boast of great sound , fast paced editing , solid cinematography and some very well coordinated action sequences . \\nthe music is another factor that prevents you from leaving the theatre . \\nit is mostly provided by aalyah's enchanting voice and several carefully inserted rap songs by various artists , that create a kind of 'ghetto feel' to it . \\nbut when i think back , it's not much i remember from this 'production' . \\nas in almost every summer movie , there are some interesting scenes , but most of the moments that i remember are associated with massive special effects . \\nit is not a film that will get any attention for its artistic qualities , simply because it doesn't have any . \\nfor someone who has never read shakespeare , it's another popcorn film . \\nfor those of us who has , it's a waste of money , time and brain cells . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" america\\'s sweethearts \" ( columbia/sony ) \\nwhat a waste of a talented cast ! \\nbilly crystal and co-writer peter tolan have concocted a sly , provocative premise and , as the opening credits roll , it\\'s obvious that they\\'re attempting an old-fashioned romantic comedy . \\nthe story involves a veteran publicist ( billy crystal ) who is summoned to orchestrate a press junket in las vegas when an arrogant director ( christopher walken ) holds a megabuck movie hostage in his editing room , refusing to show it to anyone . \\nhe figures that by giving the journalists juicy hints of a possible reconciliation between the film\\'s once-married-but-now-estranged stars , gwen and eddie ( catherine zeta-jones , john cusack ) , they\\'ll be so distracted that they won\\'t remember they didn\\'t see the movie or it wasn\\'t what they expected . \\n ( and crystal thought of this long before a sony exec concocted the phony critic/david manning quote scandal ! ) \\nfor help , he turns to gwen\\'s personal assistant/sister ( julia roberts ) . \\nbut the laughs are few and far-between . \\ncrystal\\'s glib , cynical flack isn\\'t wickedly funny enough with a few amusing one-liners . \\nafter six months under the care of a depak chopra-like guru ( alan arkin ) , cusack\\'s character\\'s too emotionally fragile , lacking the necessary charisma . \\nzeta-jones\\'s vain , narcissistic diva is undeveloped and one-dimensional . \\nonly hank azaria , as zeta-jones\\'s much-macho spanish lover , and stanley tucci , as a studio exec , and roberts manage to whip up any farcical froth . \\nbasically , we don\\'t like these ego-driven , stereotypical characters , let alone root for them to unwind their romantic entanglements , and joe roth\\'s direction is predictable , formulaic and telegraphic . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" america\\'s sweethearts \" is a contrived , shallow 4 . as a screwball satire , it\\'s strictly superficial . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the reunion film is not an original idea in any way , shape , or form . \\nit\\'s been done throughout film history over and over again , and has become one of the many sub-genres , like the prep school sub-genre , the angst-filled teen sub-genre , and the slasher sub-genre . \\nwhat makes \" peter\\'s friends \" so remarkable is not how it doesn\\'t follow the rules of this sub-genre , but how it follows it so well , and creates characters that i wouldn\\'t mind hanging with . \\nwhat are the rules of the reunion sub-genre ? \\nwell . . . . \\n1 . you need a group of friends , most of them married or at least dating , and sometimes even married or dating eachother . \\n2 . you need to have them brought back together over some sort of a crisis . \\n3 . they are not to have spoken together much since they split apart . \\n4 . the reunion has to come in intervals divisible by 10 . \\n5 . they all have to be slightly to highly neurotic . \\n6 . the reunion has to bring them together , seperate them with little crises , then bring them back together because , after all , they\\'re friends . \\n7 . there has to be some sex or at least some making out either between the friends or with other people that are there or were invited . \\n8 . eightly , they\\'re all unhappy or marginally so . \\n9 . there\\'s some sort of sexual tension amongst some of them that\\'s built up over the years . \\n10 . the friends are all wildly successful in the world of entertainment and the arts , sometimes internationally so . \\n11 . the film is filled with nostalgic radio hits from the time when they were friends , sometimes causing them to get together in dance/song . \\nsince it follows these rules so closely , it will probably be ( and has been ) coined off as just a \" british \\'big chill . \\' \" \\nand in some ways it is . \\nboth follow the rules , as i said , and both feature lots of bitching , big confessionals , and broken relationships . \\nbut while \" the big chill \" was , at least to me , a tad too whiny and unsatisfying , \" peter\\'s friends \" hits its mark , making this film funny , dramatic , and poignant . \\nthe friends of peter\\'s were all in the same theatre group back in \\'82 , performig wildly outrageous british acts for people far too stuck up to enjoy them ( the opening scene has them all dancing in tux tops and tutus ) . \\nafter peter\\'s ( stephen fry ) wealthy father ( richard briers , hardly on screen enough to register , but oh well ) dies , leaving a giant mansion to him , he has to decide whether or not to keep it . \\nnot sure what to do with it immeadiately , he decides to throw a giant reunion party , inviting back all his old chums . \\nof course , all or most of his chums follow the tenth rule . \\nandrew ( kenneth branagh , also directing here ) is an actor who\\'s unhappily married to a tv star , carol ( co-writer rita rudner ) . \\nmaggie ( emma thompson ) is a successfuly publisher of self-help books , but looks like she needs them more than her customers , as she is lonely and unhappy . \\nroger and mary ( hugh laurie and imelda staunton , who were also married in \" sense and sensibility \" ) are married , and are the most successful creators of jingles in the uk , but have suffered a tragedy as one of their newly born twins has recently died . \\nand sarah ( alphonsia emmanuel ) is as promiscuous as ever , having a new boyfriend as of two weeks named brian ( tony slattery ) who\\'s married and wants a divorce because of her , giving her doubts . \\nas for peter , things seem okay . . . \\nthe film features lots of inner-friend jokes , and even some old theatre anecdotes ( which i at least find a lot of fun in , as i\\'ve done lots of theatre myself ) . \\nand there are big confessions , brawls between the friends , and by the end , almost everyone is unhappy , even though some have resolved their problems long before the end ( which i kinda dug ) . \\nthe final twist would seem forced an anti-climactic , but for some reason , i felt the same way the rest of the friends did . \\nmaybe it\\'s because the people in this film are so likable that i just wanted to join their clique . \\nthat\\'s really what makes \" peter\\'s friends \" so lovable : the way you just want to hang with a group of friends who can be so dysfuntional sometimes , but when someone\\'s in crisis , can come together wonderfully for one another . \\nit\\'s when you have a giant crisis like this and people want to selflessly help you out instead of subtely pushing you away that makes you realize you have true friends , and these people are true friends . \\nnot to mention kenneth branagh is able to make the film seem nostalgic for the 80s ( a decade i grew up in , unfortunately ) without taking us outside of the 90s . \\nthere are some 80s classics and anti-classics like tears for fears \" everybody wants to rule the world , \" but unfortunately no stupid/fun 80s songs ( i think if i ever did an 80s reunion film , i\\'d put some crap go gos song on , or at least some good old \" come on eileen \" ) , but this is the british 80s we\\'re talking about . \\noh well . \\nbut anyway , the direction is pretty good , although nothing amazing . \\nbranagh\\'s forte is really making shakespeare fresh and magical , but at least he\\'s very good with making a less ambiguous film like this . \\nthe writing is good from rita rudner and martin bregman , with lots of good one-liners , and even some really bad but good puns ( to mock the fact that andrew lives in l . a . , peter , while cutting some logs , asks him is he has wood in l . a . , and andrew says , \" no , but we have hollywood \" - punishment like that ) . \\nthe actors , as in most speaking movies , are better than their material , though , with some stand-out performances to the six friends , as well as the outsiders like slattery , rudner , and phyllida law as the old housekeeper of the peter\\'s mansion . \\na little note should be made about hugh laurie\\'s performance , as he looks like he took some massive doses of prozac before doing this - i mean , i\\'ve never seen him actually act this dramatically . \\n \" peter\\'s friends \" is a really enjoyable film which makes people like me pine for some sort of future reunion , although i don\\'t know what kind i\\'ll have ( like most people , i don\\'t look forward to my high school reunion ) . \\nbecause of the way these friends are still able to maintain the same amount of care they have for one another and after such a long period of seperation , i just look forward to the day when i can have friends like that . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : al simmons , top-notch assasin with a guilty conscience , dies in a fiery explosion and goes to hell . \\nmaking a pact with malebolgia , a chief demon there , simmons returns to earth 5 years later reborn as spawn , a general in hell\\'s army donning a necroplasmic costume replete with knives , chains , and a morphing cape . \\nsullen , wise cogliostro and flatulating , wisecracking violator vy for spawn\\'s attention . \\ncomments : when todd mcfarlane left marvel comics ( where he had made a name for himself as a first-rate comic book penciller on the \" spider-man \" titles ) to join the newly-formed , creator-owned image comics , a new comic book legend was born : spawn . \\nmcfarlane\\'s \" spawn \" immediately became a commercial and critical success and a defining comic book series of the 1990s . \\nmcfarlane created a hero who was not only original but visually intricate , allowing mcfarlane to utilize his knack for artistic detail to the max . \\nthe early \" spawn \" issues brilliantly capture mcfarlane\\'s genius at illustration and show his early attempts at writing . \\nwith the popularity of \" spawn \" and the success of the current warner bros . \\'s batman film franchise , a movie version of some sort seemed inevitable for spawn . \\nin the summer of 1997 , hence , new line cinema released spawn , a live-action film based on the groundbreaking series . \\nthis topheavy exercise in violence and special effects unfortunately topples quickly and leaves fans of the comic book , like me , numbed by how much spawn misses the mark . \\nwhat happened ? \\nwhy is spawn so bad ? \\ntodd mcfarlane himself executive produced this disappointing misfire and even appears in a cameo . \\ni don\\'t think , however , that his presence necessarily hurt ( or helped ) the film . \\ni place the blame , in part , on the recent hollywood trend , fueled by public demand apparently , for special effects blow-out movies utilizing the latest computer technology . \\nthese films focus upon the effects at the expense of everything else : character , plot , dialogue , etc . spawn , reflecting this trend , shows the audience one gratuitous scene after another populated with morphing characters and filled with unnecessary pyrotechnics . \\nhardly a minute goes by in this film without fires , explosions , knives and chains appearing out of nowhere , glowing eyes , or constantly transforming demons . \\na lot of it is visually interesting and technically solid , don\\'t get me wrong , but , because the script and cast aren\\'t engaging , spawn ultimately comes across like overwrought wallpaper ( the surface may capture the eye , but nothing exists underneath ) . \\nspawn\\'s translation of the comic book suffers the most at the storyline level . \\nmcfarlane\\'s spawn was a tortured hero . \\na mercenary by trade , al simmons was nonetheless a warm man in love with the beautiful wanda . \\nhaving died and journeyed to hell , he made a pact to return to earth to be with wanda . \\nsimmons , however , discovers that his memories are fragmented , his body a creepy mess , and his wife married . \\ndespite his sometimes violent nature , readers couldn\\'t help but feel sympathetic toward his plight as the spawn of the underworld . \\nspawn attempts to show all of this but does not spend nearly the time it should to do so . \\nwhen the characters are developed , they seem absurd rather than touching . \\nthe cartoonish dialogue and implausible subplot ( a general possesses the antidote to a supervirus called heat-16 which he wishes to unleash to enslave the world ) do not help matters . \\nspawn , in an apparent attempt to duplicate the success of batman , also unwisely spends too much time on a villain , the violator ( batman favored the joker over batman ) . \\njohn leguizamo , like jack nicholson in batman , receives top billing in the cast as the violator ; michael jai white ( al simmons / spawn ) is second . \\ni ordinarily find leguizamo an intensely annoying presence in films which seems to make him a perfect candidate for the violator . \\nthe film , however , spends so much time on the violator\\'s offensive antics that they grate on the nerves . \\napparently meant to be the comic relief in the film ( as nicholson was in batman ) , especially when contrasted with the sullen spawn , the violator\\'s lines are oftentimes grotesque and unfunny , leaving the audience wishing he would leave . \\nleguizamo does a satisfactory job in the role , but he is seen far too often in the film . \\nmichael jai white , a relative newcomer to theatrical releases , seems to be an appealing actor , and he handles his role adequately , but we see little of him without various masks on . \\nmore time needed to be spent on white\\'s character before he became spawn for the movie to pull at the heartstrings . \\na special note should be made about martin sheen as the over-the-top , obnoxious , evil general wynn . \\neasily the hammiest performance in the movie , it\\'s hard to imagine how sheen mucked up his role so much ; after all , he played a vietnam assasin brilliantly in the great apocalypse now . \\nsheen\\'s excessive demeanor do not help the audience accept him as a mastermind villain and comes as a surprise considering his extensive career in film . \\nmany other elements conspire with the disappointing script and abundant special effects to drag spawn down . \\nmtv-style , jerky , in-your-face editing is one of them . \\nflames , for example , roll across the screen sometimes to announce a shift in setting . \\ncogliostro , unlikely wannabe guide for spawn , serves as a poor narrator for the film . \\nhe goofily tells the audience , at one point , that \" how much of [spawn\\'s] humanity is left remains to be seen , \" as if the audience really cares as one violent sequence leads to another . \\nthe music , finally , assaults the audience as much as the manic violence and offensive dialogue . \\nloud and obnoxious hard rock fused with drum loops dominate some scenes . \\nto be fair , however , marilyn manson\\'s \" long hard road out of hell \" effectively compliments spawn\\'s return to earth , while filter and the crystal method\\'s \" ( can\\'t you ) trip like i do \" proves a surprisingly fitting theme song . \\nfor as good a comic book as it is , \" spawn \" did not spawn a good movie . \\nspawn , instead , suffers from too much pomp and circumstance , and too little plot and character development . \\nit receives two stars for its technically well-done special effects . \\nmany other films , though , have equal , if not superior , special effects and are much better . \\nrated pg-13 , spawn seems more violent than many r-rated movies and probably wouldn\\'t be appropriate for the very young . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i remember hearing about this film when it first appeared at cannes over a year ago , picking up the grand jury prize at the festival . \\n\\'holocaust comedy receives standing ovation\\' , the headlines read . \\nintrigued by this statement , i looked up information on the film and found that , sure enough , life is beautiful is in fact a comedy about the greatest atrocity of the last thousand years . \\neven though the movie was extremely well-received by critics and public alike , i couldn\\'t help but be disgusted at this notion ; human tragedy is not something i feel should be celebrated . \\nonly now do i see the error of my ways . \\nafter finally viewing the film for myself after avoiding it for some time , it became clear that it is not , as the headlines proclaimed , a \" holocaust comedy \" ; on the contrary , life is beautiful does not even really depict the graphic events that took place in nazi deathcamps . \\nrather , it focuses on the relationship between a father and his son , who he is trying desperately to shield from the horrors of their situation . \\nroberto benigni ( who also wrote and directed the movie ) stars as guido orefice , a chaplin-inspired clown and all round jolly guy who , as the film opens , is vying for the affections of an attractive school teacher ( nicoletta braschi , benigni real life spouse ) . \\nthrough the course of the first hour or so , we see guido striving to get the attention of this \" beautiful princess \" , as he calls her . \\nemploying the magic of laughter , the italian comedian wins her heart and together , they raise a young boy named giosue ( child actor giorgio cantarini ) . \\nlife treats them well until hitler\\'s minions rise to power , and the family is whisked away to a german camp , where guido becomes convinced that he must upholds his son\\'s innocence no matter what the sacrifice . \\ngranted , it contains some uproariously funny moments both in and out of the concentration camp , but it does not pull a \" hogan\\'s heros \" and make light of the slaughtering of some six million innocent jews . \\nsomehow , it achieves hilarity without disrespecting it\\'s gravely serious subject . \\nso , we\\'ve established that life is beautiful is not a \" holocaust comedy \" . \\nbut , there is another complete misrepresentation of this material that really disturbs me . \\nthe film , despite critic\\'s declarations of it being a \" triumph of the human spirit \" , is no such thing ; not in my eyes , anyway . \\nsome have called the story an \" affirmation of the beauty of life \" , but i say it is a very dark and bleak statement about man\\'s capability of denial masquerading as an endearing comedy . \\nthe film\\'s ending has been recognized as the most entirely uplifting moment of any film released recently , but i found it to be truly discerning and upsetting . \\nessentially , life is beautiful is quite possibly the greatest hoax in the history of film . \\nhowever , i am not denying the movie\\'s greatness . \\nbelieve me , it\\'s fantastic . \\ni\\'m just saying that i think benigni did something different than what most people are interpreting it as . \\nbut perhaps i\\'m reading more into the movie than is really there . \\nmaybe the film\\'s brilliance relies on the idea that the viewer can interpret the meaning of it in any way they see fit . \\nin fact , maybe roberto benigni has made a film that is the sole argument for the old saying that you get out of a movie exactly what you put into it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mulholland drive did very well at the cannes film festival . \\nas you can see from the rating it did not do very well from me at the toronto international film festival . \\nit may not be clear to the viewer why i am so negative on this film for most of the running time . \\nin fact it is an interesting mystery story told on the backdrop of the hollywood film industry . \\ntoward the end of the film i think everything that has been built falls apart . \\nthe film was to be a pilot for a tv series but writer and director david lynch did not sell his tv pilot and i think he decided that he wanted to do something else with it . \\nsomething else is what he did . \\nthe film opens with a woman ( played by laura harring ) about to be killed in a car when a car crash saves her life . \\nshe crawls away from the accident with a concussion and finds herself a bungalow with an unlocked door to sleep . \\nmeanwhile young vivacious betty ( naomi watts ) arrives in hollywood from canada . \\nshe wants to build a career as an actress . \\nbetty is a little surprised to find a woman sleeping in the borrowed bungalow . \\nshe does not know who the woman is . \\nshe is even more surprised when the woman awakes and does not herself know who she is . \\nthey fix on a name rita for her , but are not sure if this right or not . \\nmeanwhile local director adam kesher ( justin theroux ) has problems of his own . \\nhe is trying to cast one actress for his new film and is getting pressure from the producers and from crime figures to cast someone else , cammie rhodes ( melissa george ) . \\nthese two threads are joined by a third one in which there is a strange and comic murder that goes terribly wrong . \\nthere is also a strange character called the cowboy ( monty montgomery ) adding to the confusion . \\nin what was probably intended for the television pilot the film opens with a great vibrancy showing dancing 60s style under the credits . \\na lot of mulholland drive starts out fun . \\nlynch wants you to know he could make an enjoyable stylish film . \\nhe just chooses not to . \\nas with any david lynch film there is strange material added for little reason . \\nthere are no earthworms , but there are some decidedly strange david lynch touches . \\nthe film is a little long for the subject matter . \\ntoward the end it gets into some heavier violence and sex scenes , clearly not intended for the tv pilot . \\nunfortunately some of the most important comments to make about this film would be spoilers . \\ni will not mention them in the main body of the review but i give mulholland drive a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nmulholland drive spoiler warning . \\ni have rated this film fairly low . \\nyou should read this only after seeing the film or deciding that you will not see the film . \\ndavid lynch is in large part a dark satirist . \\nmost of his work is done in familiar genres but in some way shows their underside . \\nin mulholland drive i think he is having a laugh at the expense of the crime film genre . \\nwhat he does with this film is ( are you sure you want to read this ? ) \\nplaying off the audience expectations that there will be a simple explanation for what is going on . \\nthe first 80% of the film he tells a simple multi-thread crime story with clues sprinkled throughout . \\nthen suddenly at the end he turns the story on its ear with a large number of clues that appear that they should add up to something . \\nthe audience expectation is that they will add up . \\nbut he has given clues that are self-contradictory . \\nlynch wants the audience to argue about what they have seen afterward and come up with theories . \\nin fact , the pointers are noticeably contradictory and until i hear a better explanation , i think lynch is merely playing a joke . \\nthere is a visual curiosity that was popular in the sixties . \\nmad magazine called it a poiuyt . \\nother sources called it a tri- pronged u-bar . \\nlook at small portions of it and makes sense . \\nlook at the whole figure and it does not . \\nthis film is , in my estimation , the cinematic equivalent of a tri-pronged u-bar . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'how many of us would become strippers ? \\nfor those of us who wouldn\\'t , is it a moral reason , or purely a lack of confidence ? \\nthat\\'s probably not a fair question , and for a lot of us , it could very well be for neither of those reasons . \\nas you watch the full monty , however , you may begin asking yourself these kinds of questions . \\nwould you be willing to grin and bare it to bring in some much needed dough ? \\nin case you haven\\'t guessed , the full monty is about stripping , but striptease it ain\\'t . \\nit\\'s actually quite a charming comedy that uses its ideas with a great deal of tact and sophistication . \\nit is the story of six out-of-work , out-of-shape blue collar brits whose recent job losses have left the boys penniless , but not without need . \\nwhat to do ? \\nit hits our main character gaz ( robert carlyle ) as he notices the large crowds of women who pour into a local male strip club on a regular basis . \\nit seems that simple : take it off and bring in the cash . \\neventually , gaz is able to convince his friends to join him in starting their own exotic dance routine despite their initial reluctance . \\nthese include the overweight , confidence-lacking dave ( mark addy ) , the uptight , overly-officious gerald ( tom wilkinson ) , the once suicidal lomper ( steve huison ) , and two additional fellows who gain their place among the group by audition : horse ( paul barber ) , an older gentlemen chock full of graceless energy , and guy ( hugo speer ) , a young well-endowed looker who compares himself to cary grant . \\nwhen the sextet is complete , we\\'re given a hefty dose of physical comedy . \\nwe watch the bumbling middle-aged men choreograph pseudo-sexy dance numbers , all the while proving why none of them were strippers in the first place . \\nas if there anti-appeal wasn\\'t enough , they decide to boost interest in the group by promising \" the full monty \" on opening night , which for us americans , means baring it all . \\n . \\n . \\nand i mean * all * . \\nthe movie actually ends on opening night ; a hilarious applause worthy ending i might add . \\nit\\'s sure to leave nothing short of a big smile on your face as you leave the theater . \\nwith the subject matter , you might not expect the fully monty to be such a feel-good , almost inspiring film , but it surprisingly turns out that way . \\nthe amount of light , touching drama also comes as a nice surprise , never feeling off-balance from the otherwise highly upbeat moments of the film . \\nthere\\'s a lot more to this movie than you might think in other words , and the ensemble cast couldn\\'t be better . \\neach character is completely individual , interesting , funny , and most importantly , real . \\nthe full monty is never offensive , a very impressive attribute since its subject matter alone could\\'ve easily fallen prey to tastelessness . \\nit\\'s one of those movies that is best described as a solid piece of entertainment , perfect for a great night on the town , or as a saturday night movie rental . \\neither way you see it , it shouldn\\'t let you down in the slightest . \\nand , pun heavily intended , when it\\'s all said and done , you\\'ll be smiling from cheek to cheek . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'call it touched by a demon . \\ngregory hoblit\\'s fallen is a serial killer movie with an unusual , horrific twist . \\nif marketed properly , this film could have crossover appeal for both those who appreciate supernatural tales like the prophesy and those who crave grim , dark thrillers like silence of the lambs and seven . \\nin fact , there\\'s even a little twin peaks to be found here , albeit with the lion\\'s share of the weirdness distilled out . \\n ( remember bob ? ) \\nthe biggest failing of fallen is that , although it\\'s consistently interesting , it\\'s not always as edgy and suspenseful as one might hope . \\na serial killer ( elias koteas ) has been on the loose in philadephia , but detective john hobbes ( denzel washington ) , the noblest man on the police force , has brought him to justice . \\nnow , during his last hours on death row awaiting his inevitable date with the gas chamber , the mass murderer cryptically tells hobbes , \" what goes around really goes around . \" \\nshortly thereafter , he begins to sing \" time is on my side \" as he\\'s taken on his last walk . \\nminutes later , the state of pennsylvania has carried out the execution and edgar reese is dead . \\nbut for hobbes , the nightmare is just beginning , because reese wasn\\'t a normal psychopath ? he was the host body for a mythical dark angel named azazel . \\nand , with reese\\'s death , azazel is free to hop from body to body , murdering and wreaking havoc at will . \\nonly hobbes and a pretty , female theology teacher ( embeth davidtz ) have an inkling of what they\\'re up against . \\nthe rest of the cops , including hobbes\\' partner , jonesy ( john goodman ) ; lou ( james gandolfini ) , a newcomer to the department ; and lieutenant stanton ( donald sutherland ) , don\\'t have a clue , and , as a result , they are in mortal danger . \\nas depicted by hoblit ( primal fear ) and cinematographer newton thomas sigel , philadelphia is a dark , dreary place ? a gothic city rather than a modern one . \\nno skyscrapers or other monoliths of current architecture or technology are shown . \\nthe most famous landmark to appear isn\\'t the liberty bell or independence hall ; it\\'s geno\\'s steaks . \\nshadows and night scenes abound . \\nthe days are cloudy and unpromising . \\nthis is the kind of setting where it\\'s easy to believe that fallen angels walk among men . \\nfallen\\'s plot is brimming with potential , not all of which is realized . \\nsomehow , i would have expected a more frightening tale to emerge from something with this kind of premise . \\nbut the level of terror , like that of gore , is kept in check . \\nnevertheless , there are several creepily effective scenes as the spirit of azazel moves from body to body when people bump against each other on crowded city sidewalks . \\nthe film also boasts a chase sequence of a kind that can best be described as unusual . \\nof the several dozen actors to play azazel , the best is by far elias koteas ( exotica , crash ) , who , despite only being on screen for about ten minutes , gives a fantastically charged performance . \\njohn goodman also seems to be enjoying himself , although his role for most of the film is relegated to that of a burly sidekick . \\nsadly , however , these two are the only ones who excel . \\neveryone else , including denzel washington , is boring . \\nwashington\\'s flat performance is the most disappointing surprise of the film . \\nit\\'s not that he\\'s bad per se , but he\\'s not very interesting . \\nthere\\'s no real sense of vulnerability or desperation in the way he portrays his character , and that keeps us distanced , however slightly , from hobbes . \\nas circumstances become progressively more dire for the cop , and as his life-or-death chess game with azazel approaches the point of checkmate , i expected to be more on the edge of my seat than i was . \\nwashington\\'s subdued approach is part of the reason for this ; i never felt a sense of urgency . \\nhowever , at least washington was believable , which is more than can be said for embeth davidtz ( schindler\\'s list ) and donald sutherland . \\nto be fair , the flaws in their characters aren\\'t all acting-related ; neither stanton nor gretta milano are well-written . \\nthat said , however , there\\'s nothing inspired about either davidtz\\'s or sutherland\\'s work . \\nboth appear to be sleepwalking their way through the parts , as if they know that their contribution to the film is one of advancing the plot rather than developing a multi-dimensional individual . \\nnarratively , fallen has a few glaring weaknesses . \\nalthough the plot proceeds with a convoluted , game-like structure , it uses a denzel washington-supplied voiceover to overexplain matters . \\nat times , this is actually helpful , and it has a use beyond the obvious , but there are occasions when ponderous lines like \" i like the night ? sometimes you come face to face with yourself \" become a little hard to swallow . \\nin addition , fallen is saddled with the same kind of disgustingly bland , generic theology embraced by numerous movies and tv shows like touched by an angel . \\nhowever , despite the negatives , i\\'m still recommending fallen on the strength of its complex plot and especially its ending , which i loved . \\nthe final scenes are startling , audacious , and unexpected . \\nit\\'s not often that a plot development takes me by surprise the way this one did . \\nat a time when most movies fall apart in the last ten minutes , fallen manages to buck the trend and redeem itself . \\nthis is not a great motion picture , but , considering how bad most january releases are , it\\'s a reasonably entertaining way to spend two hours . \\nand , whatever you do , don\\'t walk out on the film before the end credits have begun to roll . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" knock off \" is exactly that : a cheap knock off of an action movie . \\nit\\'s also the worst movie i have seen thus far this year . \\ni figured it would be at least a couple of months before i saw the worst film of 1998 , but alas , it has already been found . \\njean-claude van damme stars as ( i think ) a designer jeans executive who discovers his half-brother has been supplying him with cheaper goods . \\nrob schneider plays van damme\\'s partner , and rochon plays . . . \\nactually , i have no idea who rochon was supposed to be . \\nshe just sort of popped up halfway through without an explanation as to why she was there . \\nmany things are not explained in this film , but i do know that for some bizarre reason , van damme seemed to be doing a jackie chan impression throughout the flick . \\nwhere chan comes off as endearing in his \" normal guy \" character seen in many of his films , van damme just comes off as a wimp . \\nwe\\'re never given any clear explanation as to the basis for many of his actions . \\nto be more clear : i did not even know who he was supposed to be until about an hour into the movie , and even then , it was not made too clear . \\nthe film has been directed in the style of some strange film experiment gone horribly wrong . \\ntsui hark ( who directed van damme\\'s last movie , the bad , but not nearly as bad as this , \" double team \" ) never lets the camera rest for a second , and that\\'s no exaggeration . \\nwe are even treated to a five second shot from the point of view of van damme\\'s foot entering a shoe . \\nfabulous ! \\nseriously , though , i have no problem with directors who want to play around with film conventions , as long as they don\\'t get carried away . \\nfor example , look at sam raimi . \\n \" army of darkness \" , one of his best movies , features some of the most inventive camera work i have ever seen , but raimi never lets the special effects get in the way of story . \\nthat\\'s a concept that tsui can\\'t seem to grasp . \\nthe special effects and outrageous camera angles * rule * \" knock off \" to the point where the audience doesn\\'t have a clue as to what\\'s happening any more . \\nanother problem with the film is that it looks cheap . \\nthe film stock used is of such low caliber that i thought i was watching one of those chinese films shown really late at night . \\nand for some inexplicable reason , everyone\\'s voice seems to have been dubbed . \\neven the stars . \\nand even the special effects , seemingly the only aspect of the film the director actually cared about , are inconsistent . \\nfor example , there is a scene in which van damme drives a car out of a window . \\nthe car slams into the ground , and the left wheel is completely destroyed . \\nseconds later , the car drives off at full speed . \\nhey , i have no problem suspending my disbelief in an action movie , but a line must be drawn somewhere . \\nfinally , the acting . \\nnobody gives a good performance in this film . \\nvan damme , an actor i usually like , is way off the mark playing \" everyman \" . \\nand schneider , here to provide comic relief i assume , is totally unfunny and over acts his way through every scene . \\neven the usually solid paul sorvino gives a terribly over-the-top performance as . . . \\nonce again , i have no idea who he was supposed to be . \\nin case i haven\\'t yet made it clear enough , \" knock off \" is the worst movie of van damme\\'s career and possibly the worst movie of the decade . \\nand it\\'s not even one of those movies that\\'s so bad it\\'s funny . \\nit\\'s too inept to be funny . \\nthere are no redeeming factors in \" knock off \" and i seriously hope that every print of this film is burned to a crisp and that somehow my memory of watching the film can be erased . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when it comes to the average teenage romantic comedy , i expect negative reviews from critics left and right . \\npredictable , unoriginal , and forgettable will most likely be the three adjectives to haunt the down to you\\'s and the drive me crazy\\'s released by the dozens these last couple of years . \\nwhat i really look for in this kind of movie is the entertainment value while i\\'m sitting in the theater . \\nam i enjoying myself ? \\nis this a comfortable break from my week of finals ? \\nthis is why i have given films like final destination or road trip high marks ; i had a party of a time wasting my money on something i won\\'t remember next week . \\nso last week i opened up the new york times - and , no surprise , boys and girls got a negative review . \\ndaily news ? \\nnegative . \\nreelviews ? \\nnegative . \\nepinions . com ? \\nnegative . \\nthis was nothing new . \\namerican pie , final destination , road trip didn\\'t get such hot reviews and i loved those guilty pleasures . \\nsame goes for she\\'s all that , a formulaic but enjoyable pygmalion adaptation that got unjustly pounded . \\nsince boys and girls reunites she\\'s all that director robert iscove and actor freddie prinze jr . , i predicted d ? j ? vu al over again . \\nbut , still curious , i asked around my school and from the one or two people who had seen it , the reactions were far from positive . \\ni had made up my mind ; i\\'ll catch it on video or cable in a couple of years . \\nbut , soon after , following a series of unexpected events ( we couldn\\'t get into shaft because it is rated r ) , i found myself watching boys and girls . \\nwhoops . \\nboys and girls is about a \" nerdy , smart \" boy named ryan ( prinze jr . ) and a \" popular , flirt \" girl named jennifer ( claire forlani ) . \\nbriefly meeting as pre-teens and now attending the same college , the two bump into each other so many times that eventually they become best friends . \\nbut in the movies , a male and a female cannot be friends without having that nagging feeling of attraction for each other . \\nwith advice from their roommates ( amanda detmer , jason biggs ) , ryan and jennifer attempt to discover the true meaning of their relationship . \\nthe film definitely lives up to the dreaded three adjectives - and mindless entertainment is nowhere to be found . \\ni could hardly sit through the 93 minute running time for several reasons . \\nthe dialogue is probably the worst i have ever seen in any movie , mainly because the whole movie depends on the boring script and the ridiculous words these characters use is what hollywood thinks kids can relate to . \\nit is almost offensive . \\nan example of an insightful conversation : \\n \" you\\'re dumb . \\ndumb , dumb , dumb , dumb . \" \\n \" no . \" \\n ( followed by a mandy moore-esque tune background ) \\n ( well it\\'s not as bad as wing commander i guess ) \\nthe supporting cast is also painfully useless . \\ndetmer and biggs stand in the way for anything interesting to happen with their own boring , pointless subplots . \\nand although this is supposed to be from both perspectives of the human sex , prinze jr\\'s ryan dominates the screen while forlani\\'s jennifer simply acts as a dilemma for him to work with . \\nwe never learn anything about jennifer which is a shame too because forlani is the only actor to bring any life into her character . \\nteenager or not : you\\'ll hate this movie , i guarantee it . \\nmaybe i should rent she\\'s all that again . \\nis it really as good as i think it is ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'gordon fleming ( peter mullan ) is in a bind . \\nhe has a new , unexpected baby and his business , hazardous material removal , is in danger of going under . \\nwhen he and his crew get a job opportunity at the long-abandoned danvers state hospital , he underbids the competition to secure the contract and promises to get the three-week job done in one . \\nit will prove to be a fateful week for them all in \" session 9 . \" \\ngordo gets the job to remove asbestos and other hazardous materials from the spooky old mental hospital in preparation for relocating town offices there . \\ntheir guided tour of the facility by a local official , bill giggs ( paul guilfoyle ) , brings them through some of the creepier parts of the former asylum . \\nbut , a job is a job and , if they finish in a week , as promised , there is a $10000 bonus in store . \\nas they get down to their work , things , normal and not so normal , begin to happen . \\ngordon hears a disembodied voice beckoning him . \\nphil ( david caruso ) is conflicted working with a guy , hank ( josh lucas ) , who is seeing his old girlfriend . \\nmike ( co-screenwriter steven gevedon ) has discovered a cache of audiotapes and transcripts from old psychiatric sessions ( hence , the title ) with inmate mary hobbs , a multi-personality patient with a dark secret . \\ngordo\\'s nephew , jeff ( brendan sexton iii ) , suffers from night phobia and is afraid to venture into the dark bowels of the hospital . \\nas the agreed upon week draws to an end , hank mysteriously disappears from the workplace after a nocturnal confrontation with someone ( something ? ) in the hospital . \\ntensions mount and distrust build among the rest as they watch their chance for the bonus start to slip away . \\nbut , there is more , much more , at stake as the hospital and its history of insanity weigh on them all . \\ni don\\'t want to give away too much of the story of \" session 9 , \" so i\\'ll stop there . \\nwhat we have here is a spooky horror flick that uses none of the jump-out-at-you-from-the-dark cheap shots that have become part and parcel with horror films since the advent of \" halloween \" and \" friday the thirteenth . \" \\nthere is no cat leaping out of the dark or the shock of suddenly seeing oneself in a strategically placed mirror . \\nwith the exception of one shadowy and chilling image at one point spooky interlude in the film , there is little that you can get your arms around as far as what , specifically , is \" frightening . \" \\nas i watched \" session 9 \" i became aware of the subtle things that built up during the story that make it a true horror movie . \\nthe striking high-definition video camera work by uta briesewitz ( who worked with the director , brad anderson , on his \" next stop wonderland \" ) helps to build up tension with close-ups , fluid camera movement and odd angles in a way that would make alfred hitchcock proud . \\nmusic , too , is used to intense effect , joining with the camera to make simple scenes frightening , even horrifying . \\ncouple these tech feats with an intelligent story that uses elements of \" the shining , \" \" the blair witch project \" and , even \" the texas chainsaw massacre \" and you get a decent , intriguing horror flick . \\nadditionally , the brilliant decision to shoot at danvers state hospital gives the film another starring character , the institution itself , which lends even more chills to the equation . \\nacting is another factor that raises \" session 9 \" above the usual dreck presented in recent horror hits like \" scream , \" \" i know what you did last summer \" and their sequels . \\nthose films took good-looking , though generic , young actors and actresses and put them to use to build up a body count , substituting mayhem for real horror . \\nanderson opted , instead , to use mature , experienced actors like peter mullan and david caruso to fill his characters\\' shoes and the difference in casting quality is notable . \\nmullan , in particular , puts an arc on his character , gordon , as the troubled guy who slowly and inexorably falls under the pressures of family , job and , finally , danvers state hospital . \\nthe rest of the small cast fit the bill as people , not just fodder for the mayhem . \\ndavid caruso , as gordo\\'s senior man and near equal in the business , shows just how good an actor he is . \\nhe made the jump from tv\\'s \" nypd blue \" to film far too soon and his decisions in the roles he took ( i\\'ll never forget the horrendous \" jade \" ) were less than star making . \\nhe rolls his sleeves up and does the job well here . \\ngevedon , lucas and sexton are more than fodder , too . \\nthe only problem with \" session 9 \" lay in the uninspired ending . \\nit takes on a fairly conventional finale that covers old ground and is a bit of a disappointment after the terrific ( and inspired ) build up . \\nthe pleasure is getting there and i wish that anderson and gevedon had kept up the steam they had so ably built during the bulk of the film \\n \" session 9 \" is an unusual feat . \\nit is scary , doesn\\'t use cheap tricks and raises goose bumps with its intelligently rendered , subtle horror . \\nbecause of the local interest of danvers , it should do well with the northeast crowd . \\ni hope it gets the national distribution it deserves . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in china in 1982 i turned the tables on our national guide and asked him if he had any questions about america . \\ni guess i was expecting some sort of political question . \\ninstead , i was dumfounded by what was most on his mind . \\n \" in america , do wives and their mothers-in-law get along well ? \" \\nhe assured me in china that they did , but i am certain if that were true he would not have asked . \\neven in china people seem to have problems relating to in- laws . \\nperhaps some of life\\'s most difficult relationships arise when families are suddenly artificially joined by marriage . \\na man trying to relate to his new prospective in-laws and vice-versa could be the basis of a very strong comedy . \\nmeet the parents does not demonstrate that fact , however . \\ngreg focker ( played by ben stiller ) has been dating and in love with pam byrnes ( teri polo ) for ten months and is now ready to propose to her . \\nhe will do it during a weekend visit to meet debbie\\'s family and to attend her sister\\'s wedding . \\nfrom the beginning the relationship is awkward between greg and jack and dina byrnes ( robert deniro and blythe danner ) . \\nthrough no fault of his own , the airline has lost greg\\'s luggage . \\nand he has to ask to borrow clothing . \\nit is the beginning of a game of one-upmanship in which greg is nearly always one-down . \\nas the games go on greg is more and more uncomfortable and uneasy which only contributes to the mistakes he makes . \\ngreg is playing a game he does not understand , in a league he is new to . \\nbut perhaps along the way he will discover some unexpected secrets about his father-in-law . \\nthis film had potential in its tale of one-upmanship . \\nit has hit on a situation that many in the audience may find familiar--one that has not been done overly frequently in films . \\nbut the script by jim herzfeld and john hamburg is a little too contrived . \\ntoo many coincidences in the story work against greg . \\nthe script could not decide if the main character was incompetent or simply unlucky . \\ncertainly he does not help his situation by doing everything wrong he possibly could , but even when he is trying to do the right things nature conspires against him . \\nthere is an uneven mix of slapstick sequences and human comedy . \\ncertainly the last part of the film feels awkwardly written . \\nthe main reason to see meet the parents is to see robert deniro\\'s performance . \\ndeniro plays the suspicious and not a little fascistic father as tightly wound and threatening as he can . \\nthe little judgmental expressions on his face are a show in themselves as greg digs himself deeper and deeper into his insecurities . \\nbut we do not really see much of that digging . \\nben stiller is an affable presence in the film but is not really stretching himself by playing the role as the nebbish to whom so many bad things happen . \\nit is nice to see blythe danner again on the screen . \\nbut her character has a basic conflict between a basic decency and her love for her husband and the script should have given her more to do with that . \\nrandy newman has written a playful score . \\nin the first few seconds of the film it does something creative i have never heard a film score do before . \\nthere is a lot of source music that is popular music of the 1960s . \\npresumably that is what the upper class listens to at least in somebody\\'s imagination . \\nhumor is subjective and some this film has been getting some favorable comment . \\nbut this is a comedy that works only occasionally for me . \\ni would have to rate it 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : captain picard and the crew of the starship enterprise disobey federation orders and defend a peaceful community of 600 , the ba\\'ku , from the evil admiral dougherty and ru\\'afro . \\nthe enterprise crew , in the meantime , experience the rejuvenating qualities of the ba\\'ku homeworld : lt . worf grows a pimple , data sings opera pieces , picard scores with a ba\\'ku chick , riker shaves while sharing a bubblebath with troi , and the enterprise women note their firmer breasts . \\ncomments : \" star trek : the next generation \" was a hugely successful sequel tv series to \" star trek , \" a science fiction series which developed a devoted fan following in the 1970s . \\neven though it still enjoyed high ratings , \" star trek : the next generation \" ended production after seven years so that the cast could replace the original \" star trek \" \\'s cast in paramount\\'s film franchise centering on the voyages of the starship enterprise . \\nstar trek : insurrection is the ninth \" star trek \" movie and the third to focus on the \" star trek : the next generation \" crew . \\nstar trek : insurrection qualifies as one of those movies star trek fans , such as myself , would rate somewhere between \" okay \" and \" good . \" \\nafter star trek v : the final frontier , a nearly awful movie almost as bad as the repugnant \" star trek : voyager \" tv series , \" star trek \" fans could probably swallow anything paramount throws out in the trek film franchise . \\ni don\\'t wish to spend this review comparing insurrection to the eight other trek movies . \\nmost people reading this probably haven\\'t followed \" star trek \" anyway , so a comparison would seem tedious at best . \\nlet me , thus , make my comparisons briefly so that it\\'s out of my system : star trek : insurrection is not as good as the previous installment , star trek : first contact ; star trek : insurrection\\'s comic tone may be best compared to star trek iv : the voyage home ; star trek ii : the wrath of khan is still the best trek movie . \\nokay . let\\'s move to the movie itself . \\nstar trek : insurrection infuses a basic science fiction premise , humanity\\'s exploration and colonization of space , with a lot of lowbrow humor and witty oneliners . \\nthis combination works well more often than it fails , but when it does fail , the humor really seems cheesy . \\nmuch of this film appeals to trek fans\\' nostalgic fondness for the starship enterprise\\'s crew . \\naudiences unfamiliar with trek lore may miss the significance of some plot points and may even become confused at times . \\nstar trek : insurrection begins with scenes of the tranquil life on the ba\\'ku homeworld . \\nforget the actors and special effects , the beautiful setting of this movie , with its snowy mountaintops and verdant valleys , steals the show . \\nthis tranquility , however , is broken by data , an android , who reveals to the ba\\'ku that they are being secretly monitored by the federation and their alien allies , the son\\'a . \\nit seems that this world is a veritable fountain of youth , sustaining its inhabitants indefinantly in a young , healthy state . \\nthe enterprise crew , led by captain picard , investigates data\\'s actions and uncovers a conspiracy between the son\\'a and an enterprise admiral to relocate the ba\\'ku and plunder the planet\\'s youth-restoring properties . \\nsound pretty heavy ? \\nit is , though this plot , anything but unique and groundbreaking , is undermined by the film\\'s constant barrage of humor . \\nwhen going after data , for instance , picard sings an opera piece with him ( this is supposed to be cute and humorous ) . \\nin a much more funny sequence , work grows a large pimple on the side of his nose as a result of his exposure to the ba\\'ku homeworld , a pimple which his crewmates , try as they might , cannot avoid looking at . \\nthe acting in star trek : insurrection is , for the most part , pretty good . \\nsince they\\'ve been playing these characters for years , those portraying the enterprise crew reassume their roles effortlessly enough . \\nthe terrific actor patrick stewart plays captain jean-luc picard and delivers a moral speech , picard\\'s trademark , with his usual aplomb . \\nbrent spiner , another fine actor , plays the android data well enough again and provides the best moments of comic relief in the film ( though the old android-wishing-to-be-human motif will tire some trek fans familiar with the routine from the tv series ) . \\nthe supporting cast who appear in this movie alone are also pretty good . \\ndespite many other critics\\' negative opinions , f . murray abraham ( the winner of an academy award for his performance in amadeus ) plays the major villain ru\\'afro well enough . \\nru\\'afro reminds me , somewhat , of the baron harkonnen in the 1984 film version of dune . \\nlike the baron , ru\\'afro continuously has his skin looked after : it is stretched and stapled by servants . \\nin one particularly memorable scene , ru\\'afro becomes very agitated , and his facial skin splits open and bleeds . \\nru\\'afro is no khan from star trek ii--the best trek villain ever--but he is much better than the forgettable dr . soran from star trek : generations . \\n ( okay , i promise , no more comparisons . ) \\ndonna murphy must also be noted as a ba\\'ku woman , anij , who picard falls in love with . \\nmurphy is not a young woman with a supermodel body ; she is a mature woman with an attractive countenance . \\nthis is the type of woman whom picard , for those who know the character well , would be enchanted with . \\nin fact , the chemistry between murphy and stewart works very well here . \\na particular plot point involving anij\\'s ability to slow time down , an ability which she shares with picard , becomes one of the most intriguing parts of the movie . \\nfor as good as the actors and setting were , star trek : insurrection\\'s special effects were surprisingly disappointing . \\nthey proved adequate , sometimes barely , for a 1990s mainstream science fiction film , but they fell way short of the standard trek movie and paled in comparison to those seen in the trailer for star wars : the phantom menace ( a trailer which reportedly preceded many showings of insurrection ) . \\nthe space battles involving the enterprise and sona ships , in particular , seemed trite and unsuspenseful , and the final confrontation between picard and ru\\'afro took place on a completely unconvincing interior of a satellite . \\nthe new enterprise itself , only seen in this film and its predecessor , remains largely unexplored , though its exterior doesn\\'t look quite right for a reason i cannot explain . \\ndespite star trek : insurrection\\'s frequent comic goofiness and occasional substandard special effects , i enjoyed the film . \\nit maintains roddenberry\\'s largely optimistic view of the future and rejects the gritty violence of its predecessors , particularly star trek : first contact ( though , don\\'t get me wrong , the dark tones of trek films like first contact can work very successfully ) . \\ni\\'d recommend insurrection as a matinee film for a saturday afternoon , especially for fans of trek or science fiction in general . \\nrated pg , i can\\'t see this film being objectionable to the viewing audience , young or old . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the year is 1962 and the military is conducting nuclear testings . \\ninvolved in these tests is hank marshall ( jones ) , an army colonel who is critical of the above-ground tests that are being done . \\nhe urges below-ground tests which no one will consider at the time until it is learned that the soviets have conducted underground tests of their own . \\nmarshall is also troubled by a turbulent marriage to carly ( lange ) who is topless on the base\\'s beach in full view of the entire personnel . \\nhank\\'s reaction is one of amusement . \\nhe\\'s been here before and he deals with it in the only way he knows how . \\nthe problem is carly is a manic-depressive and when she isn\\'t flirting with any man who happens to be near her , she\\'s fantasizing about a fictious world where she\\'d rather be . \\ntypical of the mental illness , she also is promiscuous and foul-tempered . \\nthe mood swings are quick and violent and the torment she puts her husband and their two daughters is considerable . \\nfrom hank\\'s reports which state his opposition to the army\\'s methods of testing , he is transferred from hawaii to alabama . \\ncarly patterns herself after movie stars and tries to become marilyn monroe , bleach-blond and all . \\nthe new home in alabama is pretty run-down and depressing and sets carly off on a violent tantrum . \\nafter meeting his new commanding officer ( booth ) , hank sees an all too familiar pattern begin to repeat . \\ncarly openly flirts with the co . hank tries to deal with the situation , but his only resort is to carry her off and throw her into a nearby pool . \\narguments ensue . \\nthe family becomes even more alienated . \\nthe co is very interested in pursuing an encounter with carly and sends hank off to observe an underground test which causes the irradiation of two local ranchers , much to the vocal objections of hank , who spots them but is unable to cancel the detonation of the bomb . \\nback at home , the two girls try to hold things together but they wonder why their father can\\'t deal with their mother\\'s problems . \\none daughter says , \" he\\'s blind and she\\'s crazy . \" \\nthe other answers , \" they\\'re perfect for each other . \" \\nit reaches the breaking point when the older girl ( locane ) and a boy , the co\\'s son ( o\\'donnell ) see her mother and the co making love in an abandoned shed . \\nshe forces her mother to tell hank and get it all out into the open . \\nhank returns home and finds his wife in the middle of a musical put on by the military wives , including the co\\'s wife ( snodgress ) . \\nhe confronts the c . o . \\nbut not about carly . \\nhe is upset over the coverup surrounding the accident during the testing . \\na fight breaks out between the two when the co accuses hank of not being able to satisfy his wife . \\nhank is arrested . \\nwhat follows is manipulation and revenge on the part of the co . he convinces carly to commit hank to a hospital for observation . \\ninstead , they fill him with so many drugs that he can barely cope . \\nhe foams at the mouth and cannot even finish sewing a leather wallet as presents for his daughters . \\ncarly is determined to free her husband from the clutches of the army and succeeds in doing so only by being the strong one in the family for the first time . \\nthe film has an upbeat ending with hope that the family has found a way to deal with its problems . \\nthe performances are solid throughout . \\njones is sympathetic and loving and is most effective in those quiet moments when he tries to deal with his wife\\'s rage . \\nhe comforts her and offers protection . \\nlange gives a strong and spirited portrayal of a woman on the edge who draws up the courage to try and put things right for her family . \\namy locane is very good as she fights to keep her family together while struggling with her own doubts as to whether she even should . \\nblue sky is based on the story of the stagner family . \\nthe screenplay was written by rama laurie stagner ( with arlene sarner and jerry leichtling ) . \\nthe film marks the final work of tony richardson who died shortly after its completion in 1991 . \\nhe had made such classics as look back in anger ( 1958 ) and tom jones ( 1963 ) . \\norion pictures underwent bankruptcy and caused the film to sit on a shelf for three years . \\nthe film joins an alread promising fall line-up of films and is well worth catching for the performances alone . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'like the wonderful 1990 drama , \" awakenings , \" starring robin williams and robert de niro , \" at first sight , \" directed by irwin winkler , is inspired by a true story documented by physicfirst sight , \" directed by irwin winkler , is inspired by a true story documented by physician oliver sacks . \\nsince \" awakenings \" was so very good , and made my top ten list the year it was released , \" at first sight \" is not quite as strong since it is not directed with as sure a hand as penny marshall , but is still an intelligent and vibrantly-acted drama . \\nthe film begins as amy ( mira sorvino ) , a stressed-out new york architect , decides to take some time off and travel upstate to the country . \\nat the hotel she is staying at , she makes a massage appointment and after a long , soothing session which ends with her crying as a release of emotions , she strikes up a conversation with the handsome masseur virgil ( val kilmer ) , only to find out later that he is actually blind . \\namy doesn\\'t really care if he has a handicap or not , and begins to spend time with him more and more until they finally start to fall in love . \\nonce she has returned to new york , amy begins to research on virgil\\'s certain type of retinal blindness , which he has had since three years of age , and out of a stroke of luck , comes into contact with a doctor ( bruce davison ) who believes he can repair virgil\\'s sight , even though there have only been thirty similar cases in history . \\nat first reluctant , virgil finally travels with amy to nyc and agrees to the surgery , much to the hesitance of his overbearing , but loving older sister ( kelly mcgillis ) . \\nultimately , the surgery is a success , but problems arise since virgil cannot relate to what he sees , since he has never visually seen anything before , only touched objects . \\nhe moves into amy\\'s apartment and she is eager to stand by him , but virgil\\'s maladjustment begins to put a strain on their relationship . \\non the basis of the overall story , \" at first sight \" is indeed a film that has been done many times before , and owes a great deal to its predecessor , \" awakenings . \" \\nwhat will happen throughout the film can also be easily telegraphed in advance . \\nhowever , what helps \" at first sight \" rise above this predictability is in the mature and intelligent relationship that develops between virgil and amy . \\nusually , romantic pictures are of the shameless puppy-dog sort ( the recent tom hanks/meg ryan-starrer \" you\\'ve got mail \" immediately pops to mind ) , but with this film , i grew to care more about the characters and their plight . \\nthe film starts off noticably well as amy travels up north and first meets virgil . \\nthe massaging sequences were strangely erotic , maybe even more so than the later actual \" love scenes , \" and as their romantic involvement quickly developed , the film was both entertaining and sweet , and there was clearly a lot of chemistry between the two . \\nthese joyous moments early on balanced out well with the later scenes in which their relationship is seriously tested due to a contrast in the life styles that they have always known , with virgil completely used to being blind and having a comforting , peaceful life in the country to amy\\'s eventful life in the \" big city . \" \\nthe other major compliment that must be given to the film are the nearly flawless performances across the board . \\nval kilmer , usually cast in the \" macho \" type of role , was always believable as a blind person , and playing his character was probably a little more tricky than it appears . \\nit was up to kilmer to not come off as someone to pity , but to sympathize with , and he pulled it off . \\nmira sorvino , who made a spectacular debuting splash in 1995\\'s hilarious woody allen comedy , \" mighty aphrodite , \" for which she won a well-deserved oscar as a kind-hearted , but ditzy hooker , is a standout here . \\nalthough she has made some mediocre film choices since then ( 1997\\'s \" mimic , \" 1998\\'s \" the replacement killers \" ) , she always has managed to come out unscathed , and it is with \" at first sight \" that she finally has another juicy role to play . \\nin a truthful climactic scene set in amy\\'s apartment between she and virgil , sorvino proves to be one of the most gifted young actresses around today , and has a flare for both comedic and dramatic pieces . \\nkelly mcgillis , who could have easily come off as the \" bad , \" one-dimensional sister , instead is also given an unexpectedly multifaceted character to play as a woman who may be overly protective but simply cares for her brother . \\nfinally , nathan lane , who is usually a little too over-the-top , is appropriately restrained as a vision therapist . \\nthe one misstep of \" at first sight \" is in its treatment of the medical procedure done on virgil . \\nvery little is ever said or discussed concerning it , and when the surgery occurs , it is so briefly glimpsed at that it is impossible to see what is being done to his eyes . \\nperhaps the reason this aspect of the film was not more in-depth was that the makers were afraid it would gross out audiences , but i would personally take realism , even if it is graphic , any day over simply giving the explanation of the surgery the cold shoulder . \\nin \" awakenings , \" the patients and illness were far more satisfyingly portrayed . \\nbecause of how strong the screenplay , written by steve levitt , is in the way it deals with the main relationship , and because of the fabulous performances from kilmer and sorvino , the film\\'s few problems can be swept over to the side . \\nthe adult way that the romance is depicted by director irwin winkler is , no doubt , in respect to the real-life couple that the film was inspired by , who are still together after many years ( even though the setting of the film was changed to new york ) . \\nsince january is usually the time of year that is known as the dumping ground from bad movies , \" at first sight \" comes as a refreshing and sophisticated change of pace . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the original _babe_ was my favorite movie of 1995 , a sleeper hit that transcended its target audience . \\nbeing a surprise commercial and critical success , it had no marketing tie-ins , which limited its final take . \\nthus , babe 2 arrives , with a budget greater than the money made in babe 1 . \\nplush dolls , vending machines hawking t-shirts , and macy\\'s thanksgiving day balloons arrive for holiday money-grubbing . \\ntoo late . \\nthis is a sad review to write , because babe 2 not only does _not_ live up to the original , but it doesn\\'t even come to a fraction of it . \\ni shouldn\\'t expect that sequels to modern fairy tales to match their predecessors\\' magic , but this film tries too hard , and loses its charm . \\nconsider a driver applying the accelerator with great intensity , unaware that his car is in neutral . \\nimagine with me , if you will , _scream_\\'s jamie kennedy , explaining the \" rules \" for sequels like babe 2 . \\n ( 1 ) there must be _more_ talking animals . \\n ( 2 ) there must be _more_ slapstick comedy . \\n ( 3 ) there must be _more_ songs for those mice to sing : that\\'s cute . \\n ( 4 ) keep the story cards to break up the action : that\\'s cute too , even though \" the pig gets wise \" made no sense , given the context of that story partition . \\n ( 5 ) there must be action , however illogical , that will conjure up pivotal scenes from the original : the trademark song that nobody remembers the words to , the baa-ram-ewe secret code , the \" that\\'ll do , pig . \\nthat\\'ll do . \" \\nnow throw in the limitations : ( a ) james cromwell , now a hot commodity , has limited time on the set ( or maybe he didn\\'t approve of the script ) . \\n ( b ) christine cavanaugh , the voice of the original babe , demands more money ( $200 , 000--paltry considering the $80 million budget ) . \\nout . \\ne . g . \\ndaily comes in with noticable results . \\n ( c ) george miller , the director , is more well-known for his dark futuristic mad max films and his twilight zone segment , not for kiddie fare ( and no , he didn\\'t direct that _andre_ film in \\'94 ) . \\n ( d ) the special effects are impressive , _but limited_ . \\nbabe talks , but most of the time from a single shot , repeated over and over again . \\n ( babe is center screen , looking straight into the camera , with a happy smirk--regardless of whether he\\'s happy , or scared , or tired ) . \\nseason now with the \" original \" elements , which , as we will find out , are straight from the screenwriting-is-hell bin . \\n ( i ) change the venue into \" the big city \" . \\nthis has been praised as wildly original . \\nexcuse me : didn\\'t _home alone_ do this several years ago ? \\nhow about the muppets ? \\neven _the bad news bears_ travelled to tokyo . \\nsorry . \\nno dice . \\nside note : to give the city a fairy-tale look , george miller crafted a fantastical fantasyland that merges the landmarks of the world\\'s great cities , and yes , it _is_ impressive . \\nbut this too is over-used , repeating the same view over and again on multiple occasions . \\nand , for the most part , babe _remains in the hotel_ . \\n ( ii ) given the limitations of cromwell , the human element is taken over by \" the boss\\' wife \" played by magda szubanski . \\ns-t-r-e-t-c-h . \\nshe\\'s not a lead actress-type , she\\'s not funny enough in her physical comedy , and she\\'s simply embarrassing in some of her pratfalls . \\n ( have her arrested falsely on drug charges ! \\nhave her accidentally incite a riot with biker dudes and scantily clad babes ! \\nhave her bounce around on a bungee cord at a prestigious benefit dinner ! ) \\ni was hoping for a little smirk during these scenes , but i felt sorry for the embarrassment that she put herself in . \\ni am restraining myself from talking about the dark nature of the film , the violence , the scene where a pit bull dangles from the bridge , head submerged underwater . \\neven the best fairy tales have a bit of the macabre in it , as the brothers grimm have demonstrated . \\nno . . . my problem is with the story , or lack thereof . \\n_babe_ is sent out to save the hoggett farm , but once in the city , that story is forgotten . \\nbeing a good-natured pig in the midst of the cynicism of his environs is nice , but , other than rescue that aforementioned pit bull , what did babe actually _do_ ? \\nwithout giving the ending away , the farm is saved from a left-field quirk that had nothing to do with the pig . \\nspeaking of \" pig \" , or , \" pig-pig-pig-pig-pig ! \" . \\nthe word \" pig \" is so overused , had they changed it to an expletive , and had the pig be al pacino , i could have been watching _scarface_ . \\nthis is screenwriting ? \\nfurther , i cannot explain the deep gnaw at my gut in the many scenes where accidents happen to good people in fantastically elaborate setups . \\nhad it been a cartoon , and the victim be an equivalent of elmer fudd , maybe my reaction would have been softened . \\nbut to farmer hoggett ? \\nhis wife ? \\nan elderly mickey rooney ? \\nmuch too irreverent . \\n ( \" quick ! \\nsplice those singing mice into those scenes ! \" ) . \\nthe film isn\\'t a colossal failure . \\ni did like glenne headley\\'s schmoozy chimpanzee . \\ni liked the pink poodle . \\nthe dog on the cart , who momentarily thinks he\\'s in dog heaven . \\nand a weird looking guy who may have been doubly-cast as an airport employee and a judge . \\nbut most of the time , i was looking down , in boredom , or in embarrassment over the hacked-up script . \\nthem singing mice , those chapter partitions , the proficient acting of the animals-- none of these can compensate for a story . \\nlet me spoil the final scene : farmer hoggett looks at pig , proud , says \" that\\'ll do , pig . \\nthat\\'ll do . \" \\nthat\\'s it . \\nhope i didn\\'t ruin it for you . \\nbut tell me this : what the heck did that pig _do_ ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this movie is written by the man who is deemed to be \" one of the hottest writers in hollywood \" . \\nhe wrote the groundbreaking screenplay for scream ( 8/10 ) , then added the successful i know what you did last summer ( 7 . 5/10 ) \\nscript to his mix , and also created the popular tv series \" dawson\\'s creek \" . \\nso when he asked to direct his first movie , based on his first ever script written , everyone and their grandma said \" sure , go for it ! \" . \\nuhhm , my question is . . . did anyone bother reading this stupid script ? ? ? \\nplot : ace student leigh ann watson is mistakenly caught with some cheating papers by the bitchiest teacher in the west , mrs . tingle , and set to lose her scholarship to college . \\nwhen she and her friends visit the teacher at home in order to explain their side of the story , they end up tying her up , and slowly trying to talk some sense into the hardheaded woman . \\ncritique : it\\'s not so much that this is a bad movie , than the fact that it sucks . \\nthis movie is chock-full of one-dimensional characters , contains no actual humor that i was able to zone in on , zero tension or thrills , plot holes the size of my big ass , lame pop tunes played to mask nothing going on in the movie , and molly ringwald , vivica a . fox and lesley anne warren tossed away in throwaway roles . \\ni was primed for this film as its interesting premise had me thinking misery ( 8/10 ) and 9 to 5 , but unfortunately for williamson , he went nowhere with the bright foundation , making references to the exorcist and dr . \\nzhivago , which i doubt many in his target market will appreciate . \\nhe also forgot about suspense , with all of his characters based on incomprehensible decisions , unbelievable motivations and simply boring us with all of their trite dialogue . \\nsure , katie holmes is cute , and her co-star , marisa coughlan , did a reasonably amusing impression of the exorcist ( worth two points out of my three on ten ) , but how can we forgive the biggest one-dimensional character in any film , holmes\\' rival in the film , mrs . tingle\\'s complete unprofessionalism being let go by all others around her ( are teachers allowed to behave that way nowadays ? ) and a transparent romance between holmes and some long-haired dude , hired to be the poor man\\'s version of skeet ulrich ( who himself is a poor man\\'s version of johnny depp ! ) . \\nall in all , this movie was laughable for me , provided me with no insight into anything , demonstrated williamson\\'s genuine lack of directorial skills alongside a juvenile script , and provided helen mirren with a great role to chew into , unfortunately forgetting to give her character any believability , humanity or capacity to comprehend . \\nno hip lines , no cheap thrills , just a dull time at the movie theater . \\nif you want to see a funny teenage movie , go see detroit rock city ( 8/10 ) , and thank my drunken , sorry ass in the morning . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : kevin williamson\\'s father was a fisherman . \\nkevin used his knowledge of fishing hooks and winches when creating the killer in i know what you did last summer ( 7 . 5/10 ) . \\nhe is also a huge fan of steven spielberg and coincidentally , so is dawson leery on tv\\'s \" dawson\\'s creek \" , a show kevin created . \\nhe was once an aspiring actor . \\nin fact , he even landed a bit part on tv\\'s \" another world \" . \\nalso , williamson has gone on record to say that an unsupportive english teacher who once told him that he would never amount to anything was the inspiration for mrs . tingle , which is also loosely based on the book \" killing mr . griffin \" by the writer of i know what you did last summer ( 7 . 5/10 ) , \\nlois duncan . \\nhe has also come out and said that he is a gay man . \\nhelen mirren was born in london , england under the name ilynea lydia mironoff . \\nshe is married to director taylor hackford , whose works include devil\\'s advocate ( 8/10 ) and an officer and a gentleman ( 8 . 5/10 ) . \\nthis film was originally titled killing mrs . \\ntingle , but was changed after the columbine high school shooting incident . \\nactress marisa coughlan will star in kevin williamson next tv project called \" wasteland \" . \\nthis is actor barry watson first full feature film . \\nhe has played the character of \" seth \" on tv\\'s \" malibu shores \" several times . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"a highly intelligent life form that is completely electronic in nature , beams itself onto a russian science vessel . \\nwell , this is the point where the movie strays from becoming a decent and original movie and simply becomes a predictable sci-fi thriller . \\nanyhow , this life form takes control of the computers on the russian vessel then starts creating highly advanced robots to help it in its gruesome task of exterminating the ? virus' known as man . \\nthe original crew of the russian vessel is all but exterminated , and then a hapless crew on a tug discovers the derelict ship and tries to salvage it . \\nno more needs to be said as to what happens and where the conflict lies , the movie is that predictable . \\nthe story is full of very shallow characters that don't do much other than subsist . \\nthe captain of the tug , played by donald sutherland , makes irrational choice after irrational choice leaving the audience wondering as to how he has survived long enough to reach his age ( looks to be in his 60's ) . \\nto add to this we're shown this motley crew that at times seems to be highly skilled in specific fields , and at others seems barely capable of basic tasks . \\nsome of the supposed capabilities of the characters leads one to wonder what they are doing on a tug transporting cargo in the middle of the pacific , in a typhoon no less . \\nnone of the characters seem to work together at all ; they are always bickering and vying for some form of control . \\nthis makes no sense what so ever and only takes away from the story , a story that is full of holes and is extremely predictable . \\nall the flaws of the actual story are only helped along by the special effects . \\nthe waves that are generated to be part of the typhoon make it look like boat was is small model sitting in a tub and someone is simply creating waves . \\nit looks genuinely fake , granted trying to recreate a typhoon or hurricane cannot be easy by any stretch of the imagination but having the storm approach in a style similar to the huge wave of deep impact only ends up looking corny and amateurish . \\nalso on the topic of flaws , the robotics that the advanced life form creates seem to move extremely slowly , why ? \\nif this life form that is so advanced as to be able to create these robotics , should it not be able to create them move faster ? \\nregardless , the special effects in this movie in many cases take away from the film rather than add to it . \\nas to the actual casting for the movie , finally there is nothing to complain about . \\nthe actors were superb , but then again it is highly doubtful that chimpanzees would have had difficulty acting the roles . \\nhaving the cast that was present probably saved this movie from being an absolute catastrophe . \\nwatching these actors act this story out made it bearable , if barely . \\nthe one saving grace of this movie is that it was highly action packed and there always seemed to be something happening . \\nso if you are going into this movie not expecting to see anything grand and are only going to kill some time and watch a mediocre sci-fi thriller then you won't be too disappointed . \\nas the movie is but the latest in a genre that was originally created by aliens , it does little more than try to cash in on that aspect . \\nthis movie would be best left for video and even then you might be advised to simply wait for one of the major networks to air it on tv . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s always a bad sign when the core audience of a film -- children -- are either walking out early or are half-asleep when the credits roll at the end of a film . \\nthat about sums up the dreadful ugliness of 102 dalmatians , a cold pea soup of cute animals , stupid home alone antics , a boring puppy love subplot between dumb humans , and glenn close reprising her best joan crawford impression . \\nindeed , walt disney is rolling over in his grave again , cursing john hughes\\' name for making the original live-action 101 dalmatians , one of the worst kiddie flicks of all time , and now its sequel . \\nthe main culprit behind the hideousness of 102 dalmatians is its predecessor , 101 dalmatians . \\nthe original made more than $100 million dollars at the box office , spawned a torrid collection of \" collectible \" items that ended up months later in the discount bins of wal-marts across the country , and generally made every kid on the planet want a damn dalmatian pup for christmas . \\nwell , it\\'s been about four years since then , and dalmatian fever is coming back , and this time it\\'s digitally enhanced . \\nhere\\'s the story . \\ncruella de vil ( glenn close ) is released from prison due to the \" cure \" of her puppy homicide urges by one dr . pavlov . \\n ( oh , how witty . ) \\nshe rejoins the world as a dog lover and is assigned to a probation officer , who oddly turns out to be her victim from the original film . \\ncruella then becomes ella -- dog lover -- until the plot twists , like a dog with his leash caught on the back of a moving truck , and she becomes the evil vixen again . \\na kidnapping plot unfurls again as cruella decides she still needs her dalmatian coat , but she now needs 102 dalmatians instead of the commonly used 101 dalmatian formula . \\nat this point , i was envying those kids filing out of the theater . \\nhow low have glenn close and gerard depardieu ( as the film\\'s villain ) sunk in the film business ? \\nit\\'s almost laughable in a sadistic way to watch close walk around in costumes that seem to be pulled from the wardrobe of flash gordon . \\nand depardieu . . . \\nhow can a french guy have a bad french accent ? \\nand never mind the toilet brush haircut . \\nthe only minutely positive selling point i can even think to point out is the talking bird with a british accent ( courtesy of eric idle ) that thinks he\\'s a rottweiler . \\nnow that\\'s funny . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"not since 1996's shine , which starred geoffrey rush as pianist david helfgott , has a movie so defiantly laid bare the lives of world-class musicians . \\nin fact , if one were to watch these films together , it would almost certainly stand as a convincing argument that a life of music naturally leads to all varieties of social ills . \\nyet hilary and jackie , the sophomore effort from director anand tucker , has something more to say -- it softly but strongly explores the complex relationships of sibling rivalry and love in a very compelling tale . \\nemily watson and rachel griffiths are the leads in this tale , playing the sisters du pr ? . \\nboth musicians from childhood , hilary ( griffiths ) is renowned flutist while jacqueline ( watson ) is easily as skilled on the cello . \\nthe two comepete for and win many honors as children and as young women , both together and seperate . \\ntheir careers as musicians surpass and then bow to one another's , and although their lives take very different paths -- hilary settles down to marriage and a family while rachel skips across the globe on a world concert tour -- they are bound together by their deep family love . \\nthe performances of watson and griffiths are excellent in style and substance . \\nthey contrast each other wonderfully , and while watson's portrayal of jackie du pr ? is at times eccentric and perhaps unsympathetic , both characters are charged with emotion . \\nthe frank cottrell boyce script , which is based on the book by hilary and piers du pr ? , brings a great deal of depth to these characters as well . \\nthe script is also to be commended for its well-polished dual nature . \\ncottrell boyce adopts a style which one might expect to see in a mystery thriller ( which was in fact the case with david koepp and robert towne's script for mission : impossible ) and skillfully molds it to the story of two rising musicians on different courses to fame . \\nthe latter parts of his script are controversial to say the least , and the rather depressing ending takes the wind out of an envigorating story . \\nsome will leave this movie feeling disenfranchised . \\nnevertheless , hilary and jackie is a movie that reaches an upper echelon of contemporary cinema through solid fundamentals and is a decent watch all around . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"in some respects , rush hour is the ultimate exercise in cliched filmmaking . \\nthe hero is the renegade cop that prefers to work alone . \\nthe cop in question cannot solve the case until he gets in trouble . \\nall chinese people are somehow involved in the criminal element . \\nthe duo must always be completely mismatched . \\nthe hero has to say some smart-assed comment before ( and after ) shooting someone . \\nhowever , that doesn't necessarily make for a bad film . \\nrush hour is jackie chan's first major hollywood film since the dismal the protector ( 1985 ) . \\nproving once again that hollywood can learn many things from foreign film markets ( ie : hong kong ) , jackie chan is given much more free reign than before . \\nstill , some die-hard jackie chan fans may be disappointed , as even chan himself has voiced displeasure over the length of the fight scenes ( which he views as too short , according to one interview ) . \\nthis film takes a familiar theme of east meets west . \\njackie chan is lee , the straight laced inspector who is imported to help deal with a kidnapping case , while chris tucker is carter , the loudmouthed , destructive cop that is `promoted' to the fbi to help him . \\nor , at least , so he thinks ( also another classic notion in action films : the fbi must always get in the way of our heroes ) . \\ndespite the necessary conventions of action films , rush hour is some of the most fun you'll spend and hour and forty minutes watching . \\njackie chan continues to be one of the most exciting martial artists on the big screen , continuing to perform his own stunts and dazzling audiences with his flashy kicks and punches . \\nchris tucker , familiar from his whiny , annoying role in the fifth element is more palatable , complementing jackie chan's straight-laced character . \\nhowever , jackie chan still maintains his comic-slapstick edge , as expected of him and his films . \\nperfectly downplaying the `fish-out-of-water' routine through his character's attempts at mixing into american culture , he makes up for the down time his character experiences . \\nwhen he is in action , however , you'll be amused and dazzled . \\nstill being inventive in the use of objects to beat people up ( in this case , a steering wheel , a serving tray , and a barstool ) , jackie chan proves to be the pioneer of slapstick kung fu . \\nchris tucker's character may come across as irritating , yet is also humorous . \\nsince he's not a physical actor to the level of jackie chan , he uses his main weapon : his mouth ( hence , the tagline , `fastest hands in the east meets the fastest mouth in the west' ) . \\nwhile dialogue is not necessarily shakespeare , it is appropriate for the film and still very funny . \\nwhile not necessarily poignant , attempts at character development and growth between characters come off surprisingly well . \\nlee's `knowledge' of american pop culture ( `that's the beach boys ! ' ) \\nwhen contrasted against carter's lack of knowledge of chinese culture makes for an interesting scene where lee teaches carter the kung fu disarming trick , while carter teaches lee hip-hop dance moves . \\nwhile rush hour is not at the same level as police story 3 and 4 ( known in north america as supercop and jackie chan's first strike , respectively ) , it more than makes up for the poorly received films operation condor and mr . nice guy . \\nwith its appropriate mixture of high kicks and lots of laughs , it makes for a fun film . \\nas well , it is a true departure from jackie chan films , as it is missing one common element : a whiny female co-star . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'when a pair of films from the same director gets released just three weeks apart , it could mean one of two things : that the recently overworked individual is due for a well-deserved rest , or that either of these movies has been sitting in a studio safe for a while and the timing is merely a coincidence . \\nthe latter\\'s the case with john mctiernan and \" the thirteenth warrior , \" which finally hits theatres a year and counting after its original spring \\'98 opening - and fast on the heels of mctiernan\\'s \" the thomas crown affair \" remake , a flick that got good reviews . \\nyou don\\'t have to believe superstitions to wager a guess that \" thirteenth \" won\\'t be so lucky . \\nreportedly shelved following skirmishes between mctiernan and producer michael crichton , whose \" eaters of the dead \" novel provides \" warrior \" \\'s source ( and its initial title ) , this messy melange of culture-clash drama and brutal warfare feels empty and sluggish - sorta like \" braveheart \" without any of the passion . \\nbut the bloodshed certainly remains : there\\'s enough carnage on display here to satisfy those in search of purely visceral thrills , though please note that the admittedly pungent battle sequences containing all this death and dismemberment alternate with talky passages interminable in their dullness . \\nthese circa-10th century clashes involve a roving band of cannibalistic creatures capable of decapitating opponents with their bare hands and a dozen norse soldiers out to stop them from terrorizing the viking countryside . \\nthe good guys are loud , crude , often unintelligible and - judging from their highly icky hygiene habits -- pretty smelly to boot , which makes them perfect foils for the dignified arab ambassador ( antonio banderas ) who tags along quite reluctantly . \\nthey\\'re also so hard to tell apart that it hardly matters when a few of them meet violent demises . \\nyou\\'ll wince , you\\'ll groan , you\\'ll grouse , \" haven\\'t we seen this guy killed twice before ? \" \\nbanderas stands confused amidst the chaos , partaking mostly from a distance as savages in darth maul facepaint and draped in the latest animal-skin fashion run amok . \\nhe\\'s not the hero - his soulful eyes and lean build don\\'t exactly herald a champion of shwarzenegger proportions - and \" the thirteenth warrior \" wisely doesn\\'t pretend he is , allowing his foreign and physically imposing co-stars to step into the spotlight when the going gets rough . \\nlet the characters interaction sans swords and shields , however , and there\\'s still a struggle - for the audience to follow or even care about the story . \\nit isn\\'t the end until audiences have witnessed a half-baked romance , murky political intrigue , veteran actor omar sharif ( \" funny girl \" ) dropping by in a cameo role and a climactic \" indiana jones and the temple of doom \" -esque chase through the villains\\' underground lair . \\nall this clutter receives stunning visual treatment courtesy of cinematographer peter menzies jr . , but the collaboration between \" die hard \" -helmer mctiernan and \" jurrasic park \" -creator crichton should have yielded more than sumptuous sights , graphic action and unintentionally telling moments . \\nheard during \" the thirteenth warrior \" \\'s final scene : a dog whimpering . \\nhow appropriate . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it was a rainy friday afternoon in columbus when i persuaded a friend to see a matinee performance of mst3k : tm . \\nhe had never seen any episodes of the show , and i have watched a scant few , due to its unsocial airtime on comedy central and the uneven nature of many of the episodes . \\nfor those of you not familiar with the premise , dr clayton forrester ( beaulieu ) wishes to take over the world by finding the worst film ever made and unleashing it upon an unsuspecting public . \\nto achieve this , he ( in the words of the tv series\\' theme , which is missing in the movie ) \" bumped [mike nelson ( nelson ) ] on the noggin and then shot him into space \" , and is monitoring nelson\\'s reactions to the movies he is forced to endure . \\nrather than succumb to the sheer awfulness of many of the movies , nelson spends his time making wisecracks with the help of his two robot companions , tom servo and crow t . robot . \\nthe format of the show consists of nelson , servo and crow making their comments while silhouetted against the movie being watched , and breaks every 20 minutes or so for segments set on the satellite of love , the ship on which our heroes are marooned . \\nonly two things are different in the movie : the absence of forrester\\'s sidekick , tv\\'s frank , and the slower pace of the jokes . \\nthis latter change is presumably deliberate to avoid the viewing audience missing some of the best lines while laughing from the previous joke . \\nfor their big screen outing , the producers have chosen \" this island earth \" , a 1954 classic , and one of the first sf films to have a special effects budget larger than the average grocery bill . \\nunfortunately for that film ( but making it ideal mst3k fodder ) , acting and dialogue appear to have taken a back seat to the effects which , by today\\'s standards , are less than impressive . \\nnelson & co . make jokes about everything from japan\\'s dominance in the world market , to star trek , to the state of disrepair of seattle\\'s kingdome , and most of them work . \\nunfortunately , the segments set outside the satellite\\'s movie theater seem out of place and aren\\'t particularly funny , but at least they\\'re fairly short . \\nthe big question about this movie though is : why ? \\ni presume it was an attempt to gain a larger following to keep support behind the series ( rumours of its impending demise circulated for some time before the plug was eventually pulled a few months ago ) , but the format gains nothing from its transition to the big screen -- there are no special effects to dazzle you , no action sequences to keep you on the edge of your seat , and no use of digital surround sound . \\nso , it seems pointless to spend $8 per person to see this movie when in a few months it will be out on video and you can watch it for $3 , and not have to sit in a room full of popcorn addicts . \\nnevertheless , mst3k : tm provides more laugh-out-loud opportunities than any film you\\'re going to see this year , and i thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a pulse . \\ngiven its uniqueness , i hesitate to grade it against other films , but it fulfils its claims and so in the class of \" unsubtle comedy films whose laughs come at the expense of bad b-movies \" it does well . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'well arnold has completed the seemingly impossible task . \\nhe has made three consecutive unsatisfactory action films . \\nin a domain that he owns , it is very surprising that this goliath of an action star can not tell a good action script from a bad one . \\neraser , back in 1996 , was a confused film that made no attempt at all to make sense . \\nbatman and robin , in 1997 , was the black sheep of the batman series with ridiculous acting , idiotic action scenes , and painfully flashy costumes . \\nnow in 1999 , \" end of days \" ( not \" the end of days \" ) is the third strike in a tough at bat for arnold . \\nis this the end of a powerful action star\\'s long-lived career ? \\nwill arnold ever give us another unforgettable performance in another unforgettable classic like those in the past ( \" terminator \" , \" terminator 2 : judgement day \" , \" predator \" ) ? \\nor an unforgettable performance in a great guilty pleasure like those in the past ( \" commando \" , \" red sonja \" , \" true lies \" ) ? \\nit doesn\\'t look that way . \\n \" end of days \" begins with the birth of a baby girl in 1979 who inexorably , due to the formation of the stars on that night , will be the carrier of satan\\'s baby the hour before new year\\'s of 2000 . \\nfortunately for the movie\\'s sake , the girl grows up and now resides in manhattan with skyscrapers , subway trains in dark tunnels , and a myriad of inept nypd officers . \\nit\\'s an action film\\'s dream come true when the director is given tons of cool stuff to blow up . \\nimagine if the girl had lived in anytown , usa , where the only thing to destroy is a dairy queen and a post office . \\narnold schwarzenegger ( jericho cane ) , in a series of boring events finds himself in the middle of a religious battle between the church , who is trying to hide the girl ( or in some cases trying to kill her ) , and satan ( gabriel byrne ) who is trying to make her pregnant . \\nif the devil is successful , the world will no longer exist as we know it . \\njericho feels it is his duty to protect the girl from everyone because 1 ) he once had faith but no longer does and 2 ) his wife and daughter were killed and he feels responsible for it . \\njericho cane is your cliched , by-the-numbers hero right up to his name . \\narnold fittingly plays the character as cliched as he can . \\nhe shouts at everyone , from cops to priests , to the devil . \\nin one truly hilarious scene , which was supposed to be the ultimate dramatic high point , jericho screams to the devil ; \" you are a @#$^% ! & \\nchoir boy ! \\nyou are a choir boy ! \" \\nthose two lines marked the high points of this film . \\na movie can still be enjoyable when the supporting cast is more effective than the main actor . \\n \" end of days \" fails to contain any memorable performances with the exception of gabriel byrne . \\nbyrne , playing a man who has been made the manifestation of the devil , seems to be the only one who is having fun in this whole movie . \\nhe wonderfully plays a manipulative villain with the power to control everyone at any time . \\nthe annoying thing about his character , however , is that he has the power to kill any human with a simple punch in the face , yet he finds it impossible to seriously hurt jericho . \\ni can not count the number of times he could have killed jericho and taken the girl from his custody . \\nthe other actors in the film give very weak and unconvincing performances . \\nkevin pollak , who plays the partner and close friend of jericho , is the supposedly funny character in the film ( every action movie has one ) . \\nthe one problem is that pollak does not deliver one funny line . \\nrobin tunney plays the chosen mother of satan\\'s baby with extreme annoyance . \\nshe gets no sympathy from any of the characters in the film , except arnold who pretends she is his wife and daughter , or any of the viewers in the audience . \\nin one unnecessary scene , tunney walks out of her room and takes her top off . \\nis this her job in the film ? \\nthe actors are not to blame entirely because the script is terrible . \\nyou can tell a script is terrible when you are able to predict what will happen minutes before it does . \\nthis little prediction game is a very fun exception to trying to sit through this nonsense of a movie . \\nin a last attempt to make this movie good , special effects are used to try to entertain the audience . \\nbut without a memorable action scene in the whole film , the director has not done his job successfully . \\nthis film would have gotten a c+ if arnold stood in front of a camera and shouted \" you are a ! $@^@ * ^ \\nchoir boy ! ! \" \\nfor two hours . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'my filmcritic . com \\ncolleague norm schrager nailed session 9 , brad anderson\\'s throwback to spooky horror films from the 70\\'s . \\nit worked as an eerie homage without being self-referential or smugly postmodern . \\ngenre aficionados will acknowledge the similarities in tone to stanley kubrick\\'s the shining and george romero\\'s dawn of the dead without being taken out of the engrossing narrative ( i . e . , a psychologically addled waste management team clears out an abandoned lunatic asylum ; unspeakable dread ensues ) . \\nin a double-whammy for 2001 , anderson shoots and ( mostly ) scores again with his eclectic riff on time-travel episodes from the twilight zone , appropriately titled happy accidents . \\nmuch like session 9 , the cards are played very close to the vest here . \\nis boyish , eccentric \" sam deed from dubuque , iowa \" a futuristic voyager from the year 2470 or just your run-of-the-mill psychologically disturbed nutcase let loose on the present-day streets of nyc ? \\nas played by wonderful character actor vincent d\\'onofrio ( full metal jacket ) , it\\'s up in the air whether or not we should accept his detailed monologues about life after the polar ice caps have melted . \\nthe question proves to be moot , at least for a time . \\neven if the whole thing proves to be a creative delusion , one agrees with the character judgment passed down on him by his new girlfriend , ruby ( marisa tomei ) : \" he\\'s a freak , but he sure tells a good story ! \" \\nneurotic ruby thinks she may have found true love after a series of nightmarish dating disasters ( the junkie , the fetishist , the artist , the frenchman , etc . ) , but isn\\'t quite sure how to handle \" sam deed \" when he starts explaining the barcode on his arm , his elaborately constructed fake identity , his pathological fear of dogs , his ability to speak five different languages , and his mission to change a crucial moment in time that may have ramifications on time\\'s alternate realities . \\n ( don\\'t ask . ) \\nit\\'s all a bit much to take in . \\nruby\\'s close friend gretchen ( cuz ya can\\'t have a love story without the token friend , though nadia dajani invests the thankless role with warmth ) chalks it up as a sexy role-playing game , but her cautious therapist ( holland taylor ) warns her that co-dependency is rearing its ugly head again and she\\'s in over her head with yet another doomed relationship . \\nwho ya gonna believe ? \\ndespite her winning an academy award , marisa tomei has always struck me as an annoying and unwelcome screen presence , one that undermines the pleasure of watching happy accidents . \\nher brassy new yawk attitude never really meshes with her desperate desire to appear \" cute \" to her adoring fans . \\nbeing loud and flashing a ( disingenuous ) smile does not necessarily equal \" substantial and sexy . \" \\nit takes more than a crack team of hair and wardrobe people to imbue her with personality . \\nthen there\\'s that damned voice , which strains to be oh-so-adorable . \\nlook , this stuff is purely subjective . \\nsome people feel this way about richard gere , others cannot bear to watch robin williams\\' hyperactive schtick . \\nfor my money , it\\'s m . tomei with a bullet . \\nhappy accidents is a romantic comedy filtered through twelve monkeys ( or , more appropriately , chris marker\\'s la jetee , especially with those still framed \" memory \" photographs anderson employs as a stylistic device throughout ) . \\nmodern manhattan is filmed with an otherworldly , vaguely alien eye with a color scheme oddly reminiscent of logan\\'s run . \\nas the stranger in a strange land , d\\'onofrio walks slightly out-of-step , wonderfully affable but often inscrutable with his wayward expressions and bemused detachment . \\nthis is science fiction told mainly via the power of suggestion ( though it often falls into the sci-fi trap of having entirely too much forced exposition -- we want deeds , not words ! ) \\nat least twenty minutes too long , happy accidents eventually gets around to a race-against-time scenario that puts \" sam deed \" to the ultimate test . \\nno movie can live in ambiguity forever , but anderson seems terminally unable to provide satisfactory conclusions to his otherwise well structured recent narratives . \\n ( let\\'s pretend the loathsome and predictable next stop wonderland never happened , shall we ? ) \\nthere are also some slow , repetitive stretches as ruby and sam go over the same arguments again and again over whether or not he\\'s crazy . \\nthe premise is strong enough to sustain interest , but it\\'s enough to throw a nod in the general direction of rod serling for wrapping up his ideas in half-hour time slots , commercials included . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it's been a long time since walt disney has delivered us a classic along the lines of the little mermaid or beauty and the beast . \\nsure , there have been delightful outings like last years hercules . \\nbut nothing entirely groundbreaking . \\nwith the release of the studio's newest feature length film , a remake of edgar rice burrough's creation tarzan , disney has plunged into new waters with both maturity and animation techniques . \\nit's no classic , but this new tarzan represents exactly what a family film should be . \\nthe plot is loyal to the original storyline , as tarzan's parents are forced to abandon their ship which has caught fire , and find shelter in the jungles of africa . \\nbut , they are killed ( offscreen ) by the snarling cheetah sabor , leaving baby tarzan alone and unharmed in his crib . \\nfound by kala ( voiced with effective gentleness by glenn close ) , a kindhearted mother and member of a gorilla pack , tarzan is taken into the primate group and raised as one of their own . \\nwe follow the young boy through the years , as he partakes in various adventures with his loud mouth gorilla friend terk ( a very brash but funny rosie o'donnell ) and clumsy elephant tantor ( wayne knight ) . \\nof course , in any disney film we are given some kind of goofy sidekick or humorous chum for the hero . \\nin tarzan , these characters fill that space rather inconspicuously . \\ngags that were magnified in other family films are kept quite minor here . \\nmost of the characters are amusing without being forced . \\nas tarzan grows to manhood , the suspected antagonist stumbles into the picture . \\nhere , the notorious bad guy is the big game hunter clayton ( brian blessed ) , who's accompanying a hapless professor ( nigel hawthorne ) on an expedition through the jungle . \\nof course , there's the professor's daughter , jane ( nicely vocalized by a cheerful minnie driver ) who will help supply the romantic quotient of the movie . \\nthe thing that blew my socks off about this version of tarzan is the stunning animation . \\ndirectors chris buck and kevin lima have applied a breathtaking 3-d element to the movement of the athletic title character , and the fast-paced editing is absolutely a marvel . \\nas tarzan carries jane through the treetops , narrowly escaping a pack of nasty baboons , he slips and slides like a daredevil snow boarder or star surfer riding the big wave . \\nyour eyes can barely keep up ; it's a fantastic accomplishment . \\nthe subject matter here is also a notch or two above animation average . \\nthere are important questions raised about tarzan's place in the world , and all are handled exceptionally well by the screenwriters . \\nthere is no shred of doubt left to ponder afterward , which is a surprising plus that i wasn't expecting to find here . \\nsuffice to say , this film will have both adults and children thoroughly entertained . \\nthe grown-up tarzan is voiced by tony goldwyn , who made a name for himself as the `big mean jerk' from ghost . \\ngoldwyn is effective playing someone who's not aware of his world's dangers . \\nglenn close is also memorable as his gorilla mother , and lance henriksen ( from tv's millennium ) is terrific as the silverback father unsure of how to accept the presence of a human child . \\nas the movie's villain , there is nothing particularly special or catching about the character of clayton . \\nit helps that brian blessed supplies his voice with game enthusiasm , but he is nothing compared to james woods' hilarious hades from hercules . \\na burley guy with a big gun who just wants to capture the gorillas does not quite constitute for an all-together noticeable screen presence . \\nstill , this is one great thrill-ride that disney has constructed . \\ni never expected rice burrough's work to be transformed so successfully from live action to animation , nor with so much emotional depth . \\nparents , along with all the kiddies , are going to find much to like in tarzan . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'there\\'s a good , and timely , story trapped deep within the excess of murder in the first , a new movie about the abuses of our prison system . \\nwith a country wrapped up in feverish debate over the crime issue and the rights of the accused and the incarcerated in jeopardy , this expose would offer something rare to recent american movies--a point of view . \\nbut director marc rocco makes it clear from the beginning that pretentious , often nauseating , camera movements and slick , mtv- style lighting and editing are far more important . \\nthere\\'s not a moment in the picture where he surrenders technique for pure storytelling . \\nand everything suffers . \\nchristian slater and kevin bacon star as defense attorney and alcatraz inmate , respectively . \\nafter spending an unprecedented amount of time in an isolated cell for attempting to escape , bacon murders another prisoner and faces trial . \\nhis young lawyer ( slater ) is fresh out of law school but determined to \" put alcatraz on trial \" for the abuses of it warden ( gary oldman ) . \\nthe result is the usual courtroom theatrics- imagine a stanley kramer production shot by hyperactive film school students . \\nthere\\'s very little to praise here outside of kevin bacon\\'s earnest overacting and the appropriate story . \\nthere\\'s a lot of overacting from everyone--you know you\\'re in trouble right away when r . lee ermey ( the drill sergeant in full metal jacket ) is cast as a judge , the center of reason and moderation . \\nslater has never been convincing and certainly isn\\'t here and oldman is on a bad streak of hammy performances . \\nbut the worst feeling you get while watching murder in the first is that the man behind the camera could care less about telling a good story . \\nthere are long exchanges of dialogue where the camera is not even moving near the characters , let alone with them . \\nhow frustrating it must be for actors to work under these conditions . \\nif there\\'s anything that has alway distinguished american films over the rest of the world , it is our ability to tell a good story . \\nhave we forgotten ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i had an epiphany today . \\nit occurred to me while i was watching \" house on haunted hill . \" \\nit is as follows : if a trailer makes the film it\\'s advertising look like a trashy , stupid movie , well guess what ? \\nchances are , there * is * truth in advertising . \\ntoo bad i didn\\'t trust my own instincts when something-or-the-other possessed me to see this movie . \\ni blame it on my sudden craving for a scare and my anticipation of \" sleepy hollow . \" \\nthat and \" dogma \" started too late in the afternoon for my schedule . \\nan hour of \" angel \" or \" buffy \" is scarier than this doozy that tries to be scary and shtick but falls flat on its face . \\ni wish i\\'d seen it when it was halloween . \\nat least i would have been forgiving . \\nhey , tis the season . \\nthe movie was scary ( albeit very confusing , dizzying , and nauseating ) at first , but soon the horror got repetitive and downright laughable because the film obviously wasn\\'t going anywhere . \\nnow i truly appreciate films like \" scream , \" \" halloween , \" or any old hitchcock film where the scariness stems from situations that are at least somewhat realistic . \\nthat\\'s what spooks people out , the fact that it could happen to them or someone they know . \\nthere has to be a logical precedent for the situations they want to scare us with . \\nsure , utterly unpredictable is good , too , but that\\'s different from utterly nonsensical . \\nhohh ( house on haunted hill ) , on the other hand . \\n . \\n . \\nwell let\\'s just say i about fell off my chair laughing when they oh-so-cleverly revealed that everyone who got invited to the party was related to the psycho doctors who died in the house a couple of decades ago . \\nriiiiight . \\ny\\'know , that just sends chills down my spine . \\nyeah . \\njust like i wet my pants when they told me the house is evil . \\nooooooo . \\nhint : blood and guts only work a few times . \\nsooner or later people start to tell themselves that it\\'s just ketchup and props and you\\'ve got to come up with something better than that . \\nthere were just too many things in this movie that we\\'ve all seen before ; from the inevitable \" plot developments \" of strangers unwittingly trapped together ; strangers turning against each other ; the evil manifesting itself ; the dead coming back for a last scare . \\neach was more predictable than the last . \\nwhy didn\\'t these fools just stay together in one place anyways ? \\nsheesh . \\nwas i grossed out ? \\nyes . \\ndid i get spooked a few times ? \\nyes . \\nbut why ? \\ni get really disturbed when there is no why . \\nwhen there weren\\'t random scares that were there for no other reason than for the visual effect ( which wasn\\'t that good either , trust me ) and the scare , the film was filled with drab , laughable dialogue . \\nthe characters were incredibly flat and cliched . \\nnot to mention downright annoying . \\nyou\\'ve got a bunch of people going nowhere in their lives ; of course they\\'re dumb enough to go to a party some stranger invited them to provided they win a million dollars if they survive the night . \\njeez , i thought no one fell for those \" you may already be a winner \" things anymore . \\nand of course , all three gals are babes . \\ni wonder how on earth the geoffrey rush of \" shine \" ended up in this movie . \\nkeep that up , geoff , and you\\'ll qualify for the next batman venture . \\nthe only single person i enjoyed was chris kattan because , well , he just cracks me up . \\nand famke jansen ( sp ? ) \\nbecause she reminds me of the delectable brosnan . \\npierce brosnan ( hey , i willingly endured \" dante\\'s peak \" three times for him : ) . \\nall right , i concede . \\nthere were a couple of things i enjoyed . \\nthat perverted little amusement park at the beginning . \\ni probably won\\'t ride a rollercoaster for a while . \\nand the machine they used to drive geoffrey\\'s character mad ( see , i don\\'t even remember their names ) . \\nthe machine , not that stupid fishtank with naked wimmin in it . \\ni kept waiting and waiting for that inevitable twist at the end of the movie . \\nit wouldn\\'t have redeemed the film , but at least it would have made me feel better . \\nbut no , they opted for the beautiful sunrise ending . \\nthank god they didn\\'t add a kiss at the end or i would have puked . \\ngod , there is no hope . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s terribly unfortunate that \" stir of echoes , \" tautly written and directed by david koepp ( who made one of 1996\\'s unsung treasures , \" the trigger effect \" ) , should be released little more than a month after \" the sixth sense , \" which is still going strong at the box office . \\nthese two films are undoubtedly going to be compared ( judging from practically all of my fellow audience members last night ) , and although they have eerily similar storylines , \" stir of echoes \" is more of a straightforward psychological horror film , while \" the sixth sense \" is closer to a psychological drama . \\nadditionally , while \" the sixth sense \" had a shocker of an ending that undoubtedly has been one of the major factors in its recent repeat business , \" stir of echoes \" is more conventional and predictable in its final twist . \\nand where \" the sixth sense \" was disturbing , \" stir of echoes \" is just plain scary . \\ni have a feeling most viewers are going to come away unimpressed because of the unavoidable similarities , and will foolishly forget to judge this film on its own respectable merits . \\nadapted from a novel by richard matheson that was written some forty years ago , \" stir of echoes \" opens with a cute six-year-old boy named jake ( zachary david cope ) who is taking a bath . \\nhe is speaking directly at the screen , but we immediately have a feeling someone else is there . \\nfinally , he asks , \" does it hurt to be dead ? \" \\napparently jake sees the ghosts of dead people , but unlike \" the sixth sense , \" this young child isn\\'t the focus of the picture . \\ninstead , tom witzy ( kevin bacon ) , a chicago lineman , is our protagonist . \\njake is his son , and maggie ( kathryn erbe ) , whom has just discovered she is six weeks pregnant , is his hard-working wife . \\none night while at a party with their closest friends , tom convinces maggie\\'s new-age sister , lisa ( illena douglas ) , to try and hypnotize him . \\nit unexpectedly works , and before long , tom is seeing things he wouldn\\'t normally see , including a deceased teenage girl ( jenny morrison ) in his house who happens to have been missing for the last six months . \\nseeking help from lisa , she tells him that , while he was under hypnosis , she told him that after he awoke , his mind will remain clear and free , like an opened door . \\nshe didn\\'t expect it to work , but it did , and the only way to stop it is for tom to somehow find a way to help this girl he sees . \\n \" stir of echoes \" isn\\'t a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination , but in the thick , atmospheric mood it conjures up , it is a terrifically eerie domestic horror-drama , and is not only effective on a technical level , but is impressive in its portrayal of a struggling working-class family . \\nkevin bacon and , especially , kathryn erbe ( 1997\\'s \" dream with the fishes \" ) , are top-notch and exceedingly believable as a loving married couple who nonetheless have their fair share of problems . \\nafter tom is hypnotized and starts seeing ghastly visions , he is completely taken over by his desire to solve this mystery of the disappearing girl whom he has seen lurking in his house , and instead of maggie not being understanding , she instead believes what tom says , and aside from being a little worried by what he is going through , does not try to stop his pursuit . \\nbacon and erbe are not traditional hollywood stars like tom cruise and julia roberts , and therefore , are easier to relate to and always plausible as a struggling couple who have to work overtime at their jobs just to make ends meet . \\nin a masterfully-done , entrancing sequence , tom is hypnotized by lisa , but instead of watching him , we instead see what he sees , starting from his view as he closes his eyes into darkness . \\nlisa tells him to visualize being in an empty movie theater , and so , we , as audience members , are watching a movie screen from inside a theater , which is also showing a movie screen in a theater . \\ntelling him to move closer and closer to the screen as a fuzzy word in black letters pops up on the screen , we begin to float closer and closer to the front of the theater until we see that the word is \" sleep . \" \\nnever before have i seen a hypnotism scene as mesmerizing and brilliantly-construed as this one . \\ntruthfully , this set-piece , and another in which tom wakes up from a nightmarish dream only to quickly discover he is reliving what he has just dreamt , are worth the full price of admission alone , just to see them on the big screen . \\nhaving loads of fun with her small role as maggie\\'s sister , lisa , illeana douglas ( 1995\\'s \" to die for , \" her last great character ) is a delight , but rarely used to her full advantage in feature films . \\nfunny and enjoyably offbeat , douglas gets to utter the best line in the film : while talking to maggie about tom\\'s visions of the girl , she remarks , \" i wouldn\\'t be worried about him seeing another girl , although the fact that she\\'s dead gives one pause . \" \\nalso of note are jenny morrison ( 1994\\'s \" intersection \" ) , who is truly poignant in the last half of the film when we flash back to see what really happened to her missing character , and liza weil , remarkable in 1998\\'s \" whatever , \" as morrison\\'s grieving teenage sister , debbie . \\nif the resolution of \" stir of echoes \" does not live up to its obviously frightful full potential ( and it doesn\\'t ) , what comes before is both involving and appropriately gritty . \\nthe music score , by james newton howard , and unsettling use of whispers and ghostly sound effects , successfully compliment and foreshadow the off-kilter frame-of-mind that tom is put into , and director david koepp proves once again that he is a director with a knack for creating almost unbearably tense situations that revolve around realistically-written characters . \\n \" stir of echoes \" isn\\'t as good as \" the sixth sense , \" but why should it need to be ? \\nboth films are fully capable of standing on their own two feet , and \" stir of echoes \" really is a spinetinglingly good horror film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the rich legacy of cinema has left us with certain indelible images . \\nthe tinkling christmas tree bell in \" it\\'s a wonderful life . \" \\nbogie\\'s speech at the airport in \" casablanca . \" \\nlittle elliott\\'s flying bicycle , silhouetted by the moon in \" e . t . \" \\nand now , \" starship troopers \" director paul verhoeven adds one more image that will live in our memories forever : doogie houser doing a vulcan mind meld with a giant slug . \\n \" starship troopers , \" loosely based on the robert heinlein novel , is the story of an interstellar war between humans and giant insects . \\nin the hands of verhoeven , the mammoth sci-fi battle flick is one of the most astonishingly bad films ever made , a monument to inept filmmaking on a colossal scale . \\nto put it simply , it\\'s a bug bomb . \\nin \" robocop \" and \" total recall , \" verhoeven displayed a gift for creating an entertaining mix of violence , special effects and social satire , and \" starship troopers \" starts off in similar fashion , with a tongue-in-cheek futuristic military recruitment ad that shows promise . \\nthings go downhill fast , though , as we meet our heroes , a group of buenos aires teens preparing to graduate from high school . \\ninexplicably , johnny rico , carmen ibenez , dizzy flores and xander barcalow are played by square-jawed anglo kids who look like they just stepped out of a mountain dew commercial . \\nit\\'s a veritable \" alpha centuri 90210 \" as we watch the love-smitten teens squabble in the name of love . \\nmichael ironside plays their teacher , who waves around a cheesy fake severed arm while lecturing about civic responsibilities . \\neventually , the kids join the military , with dreams of glory in their addled little minds . \\none of their classmates , carl jenkins ( \" doogie houser\\'s \" neil patrick harris , ) snags a job in military intelligence because of his strong psychic abilities . \\nhe displays his gift by psychically ordering a pet ferret to crawl up his mother\\'s leg . \\na long , dull boot camp sequence follows , enlivened only by an extended coed shower scene where the recruits swap snappy banter as the \" showgirls \" director\\'s camera roams over their buff bodies . \\nfinally , a full hour into the film , the war finally starts and we meet the enemy . \\nthe bugs hail from klendathu and colonize planets by hurling their spores into space . \\nthey attack starships by spinning around and firing deadly plasma blasts from their rears . \\nyes , incredible as it seems , the bugs actually kill with cosmic farts . \\na phenomenally large amount of money was spent creating the computer animated insects and the results are mixed at best . \\nsweeping distant shots depicting hordes of giant bugs racing to attack are both impressive and scary , but the close-ups are a different matter . \\nthe insects have an odd , artificial look , like origami creations with a mottled plastic coating . \\nthe attack scenes are intensely violent , as one would expect from verhoeven , but the overall look is too phony to generate any real tension . \\nwhile the action is frantic , the military strategy , wildly illogical even by hollywood standards , grows tiresome quickly . \\nverhoeven tries to spice things up by throwing in more satiric news coverage , but the faux-jingoistic scenes of children \" doing their part for the war effort \" by squishing roaches on a sidewalk aren\\'t enough to make up for the long stretches of sheer dreck . \\none can only guess what paul verhoeven was trying to do here . \\nhis customary one part satire , two parts ultra-violence formula is way out of whack , and most of the film just flounders . \\nin \" showgirls \" fashion , some scenes are almost bad enough to be good . \\nan intergalactic kegger party , with jake busey playing \" dixie \" on a green plexiglas fiddle , has a certain bizarre appeal . \\na sex scene between two of the teens achieves a smarmy charm , enhanced a few minutes later when the female receives a fatal jab from a bug , but tells her hero that she doesn\\'t mind dying . \\n \" it\\'s okay , \" she gasps , \" i got to have you ! \" \\nand then , of course , there\\'s doogie\\'s mind meld with a bug . \\nit\\'s possible that verhoeven was attempting to create an homage to the era of the original novel . \\nheinlein\\'s pre- \" stranger in a strange land \" books were aimed at adolescent males , and \" starship troopers \" has the antiseptic retro-future look of late 50s/early 60s sci-fi . \\nthe one cityscape shown is a jetsons-like gleaming metropolis , with flying cars whizzing past an obvious matte painting . \\nthe hairstyles are retro too , straight from the frankie avalon , annette funicello school of fashion . \\nultimately , verhoeven\\'s motives are irrelevant . \\nhe has produce a gargantuan film that fails as an action film or as a social satire . \\nit even fails to be an entertaining bad movie . \\navoid \" starship troopers \" at all costs . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'guilt . guilt is something i felt while watching basic instinct for the ninth time ; the penultimate t & a thriller , basic instinct made my last few teenage years worth living . \\nbut i know so well that it\\'s a terrible film , made by a terrible director incapable of feeling guilt . \\nverhoeven went on to make the even more offensive showgirls and , on november seventh , 1997 , unleashed starship troopers to innocent moviegoers like me , who cannot control the urge to see giant bug movies . \\nthe pic begins with the most unintentional laugh of the year . \\na simple , white on black title card reads \" starship troopers \" -my friends and i speculated that the night before the prints were shipped , verhoeven realized he forgot the credits . \\nis this how a hundred million dollar movie should open ? \\nwere the rest of the film that subdued . . . \\nstarship troopers is about a group of white , blond-haired himbos and bimbos who all have spanish last names . \\nthey graduate high school , join the military , and then , rather curiously , decide to travel to an alien planet and destroy all lifeforms on that planet . \\nthe story is so incomprehensible , and told so bombastically , it\\'s akin to 129 minutes of someone screaming punishments at you in a foreign tongue . \\n ( aside , club lovers will be happy to know that dance music hasn\\'t changed in the future . ) \\none plus : starship troopers contains some very funny sequences , specifically the newsreels of the future . \\nhysterically funny , actually . \\nbut the cynicism of these reports left me curious as to whether verhoeven felt pessimistic about the story in between . \\nthe storytelling lacks focus , to say the least . \\nthe politics of the film are scary . \\nthe actions of the major female characters are dictated by their out-of-control libidos . \\nthere\\'s even a creepy sex scene : the lovely dina meyer makes out , nude , with the sickening van dien while half her face is covered by her opaque sweater , just the way he seems to like it . \\ni use the term sickening because van dien is the least appealing actor i\\'ve encountered in a big budget picture ; all chiseled features and machismo , he even barks a eulogy at a funeral like military orders . \\nof course , verhoeven\\'s probably the one to blame , and perhaps i\\'m jealous because i\\'m so disgusting . \\nat any rate , a movie called starship troopers shouldn\\'t be about sex . \\nexactly ten years ago , verhoeven made robocop , which was about nothing but skillfully made and oddly moving . \\nand r-rated , despite its goofy premise . \\nmaybe it\\'s asking too much for verhoeven to make a pg-movie , then-he\\'s a master of insipid violence . \\nhowever , ten year old boys would adore starship troopers if they could see it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'we\\'re back in blade runner territory with this one , conceptual artist robert longo\\'s vision of a william gibson-inspired future where information is the commodity to kill for . \\nfront and center is johnny ( keanu reeves ) , a \" cyber-courier \" who smuggles data via a \" wet-wired \" implant . \\nhe\\'s ready to quit the biz and get a portion of his long-term memory restored , but , first , he has to finish one last , dangerous job . . \\nthe pressing problem in johnny mnemonic is that keanu reeves seems to have forgotten how to play an action hero since his stint on speed . \\nhe\\'s walking wood in a forest of stiffs that includes henry rollins , ice-t , and dina meyer . \\n ( dolph lundgren\\'s street preacher is in an acting category all its own . \\n : - ) without a believable performance between them , all we can do is sit back and watch the atmosphere , which is pretty good in places . \\nthe vr sequences are way cool , but the physical fx--such as miniatures and mattes--leave a lot to be desired . \\nwatch out for those bad blue-screens ! \\nwe wouldn\\'t mind a minute of johnny mnemonic if the action played better . \\ntoo bad the debut director isn\\'t very strong in this de- partment . \\nhis big finale is a sloppy , silly mess that runs twenty minutes too long , which is way past the time that most of our \" wet- wired \" processors have already shut down . \\nbottom line : yatf ( yet another tortured future ) . \\nskip it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the heartbreak kid ( reviewed on aug . 26th/1998 ) \\nstarring charles grodin , cybill sheppard , eddie albert \\nin \" the heartbreak kid \" , charles grodin plays one of the most unbelievably obnoxious characters i\\'ve seen on screen in a long time . \\nhe\\'s a guy who spends virtually the entire running time of the movie bullshitting his way from one situation to another . \\ni doubt he ever expressed any genuine feeling at all during the film . \\nas the film opens , he has just gotten married , and is on the way to miami beach for his honeymoon . \\nhalfway there , he begins to resent his bride . \\nby the time he arrives at his hotel and has met the cybill sheppard character , he is ready to divorce his wife . \\nas played by grodin , this character is the type of person that nothing will ever be good enough for him . \\nthe phrase \" the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence \" was practically written with him in mind . \\nhowever , if he finds something he really wants , he will pursue it for as long as it takes . \\nthe only problem is , once he has it , he immediately loses interest . \\nthe end of \" the heartbreak kid \" is both hilarious and sad for that very reason . \\ncharles grodin is at his smarmy best here , and sheppard is quite appealing as the object of grodin\\'s desire . \\nhowever , the real scene stealer is jeannie berlin , daughter of director elaine may , as grodin\\'s whiny bride . \\nshe owns every scene that she\\'s in , and makes you almost want to root for what the grodin character is trying to do . \\n \" the heartbreak kid \" was written by neil simon and it shows . \\nsimon loves to deconstruct and analyze human relationships , and he\\'s at the top of his game here . \\nas maddeningly obnoxious as the grodin character is , he\\'s the type of guy that everyone knows . \\nthe character of george costanza on \" seinfeld \" seems to have been modelled after him . \\nthe only problem with the film is that it\\'s not that funny , and it\\'s billed as a comedy . \\nas much as i could see the realism in the characters , it would have been nice to have a chuckle here and there . \\n \" the heartbreak kid \" is not a date movie . \\nit has an extremely negative view of relationships , so seeing it with a girlfriend/boyfriend , could be hazardus to your health . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'my first exposure to the nightmare on elm street series of films was not this one , but in fact the third installment ( it was the first to gain a national theatrical release ) . \\ni didn\\'t see the first film until much later . \\nso looking back , the original didn\\'t hold a lot of great memories for me , since i didn\\'t think too much of it when i initially saw it . \\nwatching it now for a second time confirmed that it\\'s an overrated horror film that ultimately makes no sense whatsoever . \\nyou all know the story by now : child murderer freddy krueger ( robert englund ) returns from the grave by haunting the dreams of the children of those who burned him alive years before . \\nthis first installment does an adequate job with it\\'s low budget , but there\\'s some absurd dialogue and conceptual problems with the story . \\nplus the movie\\'s ending ( understandably the result of the studio wanting the end of the film to have a \" hook \" for a sequel ) renders the rest of the film pointless . \\nand does anyone understand what happens to nancy\\'s mother at the end of this film ? \\ndon\\'t get me wrong though . . . \\nit\\'s not as if a new generation of horror films have spurned me away from the classics . \\nmost horror movies released today are just as inane as this film is . \\nhorror is a difficult genre to pull off credibly , and a nightmare on elm street just doesn\\'t cut it . \\na nightmare on elm street is available on dvd from new line home video . \\nit is available both as a single disc and as part of the nightmare on elm street collection box set . \\nthe film is presented in both pan and scan and it\\'s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 78 : 1 ( although on the disc that comes in the box set , only a widescreen transfer is provided ) . \\nthe film has been digitally remastered and includes two options for audio : a mono mix and a new dolby digital 5 . 1 mix . \\nalso included on the dvd is a full-length audio commentary track with writer/director wes craven , stars john saxon and heather langenkamp , and the film\\'s director of photography . \\nother extras include the \" jump to a nightmare \" feature ( i\\'m sure you can figure that one out ) , the usual cast and crew bios ( which are from the film\\'s original press release kit , and notably leave out robert englund and johnny depp ! ) , and the film\\'s original theatrical trailer . \\nsome dvd-rom features are also included , but since i don\\'t have dvd-rom capabilities i can\\'t really get into that . \\nthe commentary track is entertaining and informative , but nothing spectacular . \\nthe first thing of note is that it\\'s the same commentary track that was on the special edition laserdisc from a few years ago . \\ni\\'m not saying that\\'s a negative thing , just pointing it out . \\neveryone seems enthusiastic about being there , with the possible exception of john saxon , who just doesn\\'t say much at all . \\nmost of the time you\\'ll forget he\\'s even there . \\neveryone else talks really quietly though for some reason , as if because they\\'re commenting on a scary movie that they need to stay as quiet as possible . \\nthe bonus disc with the boxed set called the nightmare series encyclopedia features about 45 minutes worth of interviews relating to the first film of the series . \\nalso included is the original theatrical trailer and two alternate endings to the film . . . \\nhowever you can only access one easily . \\nthe other is hidden in what\\'s called \" the labyrinth \" , which might possibly be the most annoying feature of a dvd ever created . \\nbasically , it\\'s an interactive game of sorts where you wander through different nightmare locations looking at objects which give you access to extra little snippets of footage , interviews , etc . somewhere in the labyrinth is the second alternate ending to the film . \\nfinding it though is both a chore and a bore . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in roger michell\\'s romantic comedy notting hill , william thacker ( hugh grant ) leads a rather dreary life maintaining his flagging travel bookshop in the quaint section of london which lends it\\'s name to the film\\'s title . \\none day , american movie superstar anna scott ( julia roberts ) walks in to purchase a book on turkey . \\nquickly enamored of each other , the two embark upon an on-again , off-again love affair replete with romance , humor , and the occasional lump in the throat . \\nthe film opens with a non-verbal cue to anna\\'s stardom as the title credits appear over a montage of slow motion sequences featuring the actress\\'s appearances in films and at premieres - coming out of limousines , walking the red carpets and such . \\nwithout words , this sequence gives us a background to her character . \\nfollowing , however , is a set-up narration by william indicating what he does and where he lives . \\ni don\\'t know why the filmmakers chose to go with a narration which tells us nothing we couldn\\'t have figured out by watching the first ten minutes of film , and which never resurfaces after the movie\\'s beginning , but there it is . \\nif there were ever a clear case for \" less is more , \" this would be it . \\nthe film is told nearly first person from william\\'s point of view , as he is in every scene . \\nby nature of this arrangement , we get a very definite sense of what he is all about , and his nice guy personality wins us over easily . \\nin fact , much of notting hill\\'s strength lies in the great dialog written for this character by richard curtis . \\na scene where william is still in shock over the fact that he\\'s even talking to a silver screen goddess is made golden by the way bumbles through his attempt to offer her some honey-soaked apricots from his refrigerator . \\nor take an instance where anna kisses william and asks him never to tell anyone for fear of the incident hurting her image . \\nwilliam assures her he wouldn\\'t say a word , then adds , \" well , i\\'ll probably tell myself now and then , but i\\'d never believe it . \" \\ngreat stuff . \\nthe downside to spending so much time with william is that we don\\'t get to see enough of anna to make their relationship whole and plausible . \\nwe\\'re constantly exposed to william\\'s thoughts , feelings , actions and desires , but don\\'t actually get the sense of how much anna really feels for him . \\nthere are a couple of instances where she declares her obvious interest , but they nearly come out of nowhere due to the fact that we\\'re not sure what she\\'s been thinking all the times in between . \\nthis , combined with the sheer iniquity of screen time between the two , makes this hugh grant\\'s film hands down . \\nhe gets the great scenes ( look for one in which he has to portray an interviewer from horse and hound magazine in order to speak with anna ) , the great lines , and gives an overall wonderful performance . \\njulia roberts fans will probably be disappointed by the actress\\'s top billing and subsequent lack of involvement in the film ( ala sandra bullock in a time to kill ) along with her detached performance which is only worsened by her character\\'s unpredictable behavior . \\nanna doesn\\'t get a lot of our compassion . \\nthis romantic comedy leans a little more toward the comedy than the romance , much of it supplied by grant himself , but with considerable help from the supporting cast . \\nmost notable is rhys ifans as spike , william\\'s eccentric roommate , who is in the film for no other purpose than to make us laugh . \\nhugh bonneville , emma chambers , james dreyfus , and gina mckee bring up the guard as william\\'s friends and family , particularly shining in a scene where william brings anna to his sister\\'s birthday dinner , and we get to see how these common folks react to the presence of a movie star in their midst . \\nit\\'s a scene most of us will probably think would play out in our own living rooms were we faced with a similar situation . \\nroger michell\\'s use of visuals doesn\\'t sweep us off our feet , but does give us more than your typical movie of this type . \\nfor example , there are a couple of instances in this film where large amounts of time pass . \\nwhereas some films are content to simply put in a caption saying \" eight months later , \" michell presents us with more interesting cues , such as william\\'s walk though his neighborhood while the seasons change around him . \\nanother memorable shot occurs in a park where the camera is lifted from ground level to a couple of hundred feet in the air . \\nwe\\'re generally used to scenes where our point of view is lifted from the earth to treetop level or so , but in this case , the camera just keeps going up and up until we have a bird\\'s eye view of the ground below . \\nmusic is used rather glaringly as an enhancement to many of the film\\'s scenes , and some of this might have been better toned down , but in other areas it works to full effect . \\nit\\'s kind of a mixed bag , but still fares better than many of today\\'s lighthearted movies which are so influenced by the mtv fare that the film becomes one long music video . \\nat least this film has some pretty good music that for the most part remains relevant and appropriate . \\nnotting hill\\'s grant and roberts will not go down in history as one of the all-time greatest film pairings , but the chemistry is decent and the comedic aspects of the movie more than make up for it . \\nfor a couple of hours , you should expect to laugh more than cry , and that\\'s not so bad , now is it ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a movie about divorce and custody in 1995 seems about as timely as a movie about mood rings . \\nfamily breakups have been an all too familiar part of the american landscape for nearly thirty years , and countless dramas have told stories of acrimonious court battles in hand-wringing detail . \\nstill , i can\\'t recall a comedy about the subject before bye bye love . \\nand after it , i still can\\'t . \\nbye bye love is rarely funny , more often a weak and melodramatic retread of common tv-movie fare . \\nonly a few moments which have nothing to do with the film\\'s main premise offer big laughs instead of cliched emotion . \\nbye bye love follows one weekend in the lives of three divorced fathers who get weekend custody of their children . \\ndave ( matthew modine ) , a father of two , is an inveterate womanizer having difficulty staying faithful to his latest girlfriend ; vic ( randy quaid ) is a foul-humored father of three about to go on a rare date ; donny ( paul reiser ) pines for his ex-wife and has trouble relating to his teenage daughter emma ( eliza dushku ) . \\nover the course of the weekend , the three men face various crises , including vic\\'s blind date from hell ( janeane garofolo ) and donny\\'s growing estrangement from emma . \\nthe three lead actors form a rather unlikely combo , and the quality of their performances is of widely varying quality . \\nrandy quaid is the best of the three , bitter without being irritating , gleefully spiteful without being frightening . \\nhis run-ins with is ex-wife ( lindsey crouse ) are a bit over-played , though , and his confrontation with a pompous radio psychologist ( rob reiner ) is gimmicky and implausible . \\nhe does get bye bye love\\'s best sub-plot , a hilarious dinner date with a gloriously demented janeane garofolo , and he does a great slow burn . \\npaul reiser really has only one character , his slightly befuddled , uptight nice guy \" mad about you \" persona , but he does it well . \\nas a personality , he is appealing , but as a character , he becomes pretty boring here . \\nmatthew modine , is , quite simply , terrible . \\nthis isn\\'t a performance good enough to be called mailed-in ; he even forgot to put a stamp on it . \\nmodine lacks any charm in an appallingly under-written role , looks bored most of the time , and gets stuck with a trite little speech about how it\\'s all his father\\'s fault he\\'s such a cad . \\ncarolco\\'s executives , whose entire future is resting on modine\\'s bankability for the upcoming cutthroat island , must be sweating buckets right now . \\nbye bye love basically comes off as a very confused movie , because it spends far too much of its time on the new relationships of its main characters instead of on the relationships between the fathers and their kids , making it just another \" dating in the 90s \" movie . \\nwhen the movie does deal with the children at all , it is to have one of them scream out an accusation and/or cry , perhaps to be resolved later by a sensitive talk and a hug , perhaps not . \\neven more confusing is a sub-plot featuring the late ed flanders as a widower who goes to work and a mcdonald\\'s and befriends a troubled youth . \\nit is a sad end to flanders\\' career , getting caught up in a truly annoying over-use of mcdonald\\'s as a location , a plot device and , apparently , a major advertiser . \\neven if bye bye love had decided to spend its time focusing exclusively on the parent-child relationships , it still would have been pretty difficult to pull off , because ultimately there is very little humor one can wring from family break-ups and their effects on children . \\nany way you slice it , it is a bad situation for kids , and the makers of bye bye love mostly go for the heartstrings when dealing with the single parenting issue . \\nit is left to the dads\\' romantic fumblings to probide what little humor there is , and it isn\\'t enough . \\nthere have been comparisons between bye bye love and parenthood , but parenthood was both genuinely funny and genuinely touching . \\nbye bye love is a genuine shame . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" practical magic , \" is a film that is so misguided in so many ways that it makes you wonder how such talented and high-profile actors would even get involved in an embarrassing clap-trap like this one . \\nthe film stars sandra bullock and nicole kidman as sally and gillian owens , two sisters whose family comes from a long line of witches , spanning back 200 years . \\nat the start , their parents die when they are still children , and they go to live with their two zany aunts ( stockard channing and dianne wiest ) . \\nswitch to the present day , gillian , who is the stronger , more rebellious sibling , leaves home , and meets up with a dark , abusive guy ( goran visjnic ) , while sally stays in their hometown , meets and falls in love with a sweet , caring man , has two children , and then is devastated when her husband is hit by a truck and killed ( come to think of it , she\\'s not too devastated since she gets over it in about two minutes ) . \\nwhen gillian calls sally to come get her after having another abusive spat with visjnic , they accidentally murder him , and in desperation , bury the body in the backyard of their aunts\\' house . \\nadd to this wildly convoluted story subplots involving the dead rising and an exorcism , not to mention a spattering of \" light-hearted whimsy , \" and you have a pretty good idea how messy \" practical magic \" is . \\nafter seeing the film , i reflected that there was not even one scene , or element , that i liked or enjoyed . \\nit is a comedy , to be sure , but all of the humor falls astoundingly flat , and the occasional dramatic moments are the least bit touching . \\nit is not charming or entertaining in any way . \\nand then to top it off , we\\'ve got this dark , but bird-brained story of an evil spirit taking over gillian\\'s body . \\nwhatever . \\nthe characters are handled terribly , and actually , most of the actors do not have the fortune of even getting to be what you could call a character . \\nthere is no reason why channing and wiest should have decided to be in this film , and in every scene involving them , they are always standing side-by-side . \\nno attempt is made to flesh them out into actual people . \\nthe same goes for aidan quinn , as a handsome police investigator , who has the misfortune of being the romantic lead opposite bullock , even though he comes into it at around the 70-minute mark , and once again , there is no attempt to develop their relationship , or his character , in any way . \\nin fact , every line of dialogue in the film is in service of moving the plot along , rather than getting to know the people saying the lines . \\ni should have know i was headed for trouble during the opening credits , when i found out the screenplay was written by the deeply hated akiva goldsman , who managed to destroy the \" batman \" series with \" batman forever \" and \" batman and robin . \" \\n \" practical magic \" is directed by griffin dunne , primarily an actor , who last year made the contrived , clumsy romance , \" addicted to love , \" with meg ryan and matthew broderick . \\ni disliked that movie quite a bit , but since \" practical magic \" is even worse , that can only give you a taste of what a talentless filmmaker he is . \\ni\\'d tell him to quit while he\\'s ahead , but in these last two years , he\\'s ultimately already buried himself . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : wealthy cuban landowner luis ( banderas ) gets more than he bargained for when he sends away for an american bride . \\nnot only does his new wife turn out to be the beautiful julia ( jolie ) , she also harbours a secret past of dubious merit . \\nsoon , julia has absconded with both luis\\' fortune and his heart , and as he pursues his wife through the cuban underworld , luis begins to realise that , for him , there is no turning back . \\nreview : given the absurdism of its would-be plot , it\\'s unlikely that \" original sin \" could have been turned into a reputable piece of filmmaking , regardless of writer , director or stars . \\nthis is , at its heart , b-movie junk : a lurid melodrama which appeals to neither the brain nor the heart but to the nether regions . \\nthat said , \" original sin \" could at least have become enjoyable junk had the filmmakers embraced its trashiness and indulged in it . \\ninstead , cristofer seems to have mistaken this for a serious production , and directs it as such . \\nthe result is a vapid , uninteresting morass of obvious crosses and double crosses , as likely to incite a yawn as a thrill . \\nconsider the initial sex scene between banderas and jolie : brightly-lit and mostly filmed from above , it looks like an excerpt from an amateur soft porn show . \\ncristofer doesn\\'t even manage to capture the allure of cuba ; instead of portraying his setting as a steamy , sensuous island paradise , it appears bland and lifeless . \\nat least banderas and jolie manage to inspire some interest ; there are hints at times that they want to have more fun with the script , but aren\\'t being given the chance . \\nthe same cannot be said of jane , whose billy is nebbish and transparent . \\nalso unwise is the jolie framing sequence , which practically gives away the film\\'s denouement . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : suprisingly more of a comedy than a straight action flick , which isn\\'t necessarily a bad thing . \\nnot exactly oscar caliber , but one helluva bullet-riddled good time . \\nextended review : you know , i remember when hitmen were evil , murderous scum . \\nalas , the times are a-changin\\' . \\nin a recent string of movies , hitmen are suddenly wise- cracking , fun-loving killers-with-hearts . \\nthis brings us to hong kong director kirk wong\\'s first american feature , the big hit . \\noddly enough , about the same time last year a similar film , grosse point blank , was released . \\nadvertised as a quirky comedy with hints of action , it turned out to have a suprising dosage of it . \\nthe big hit is quite the opposite . \\nit was hyped as \" the new film from producer john woo \" , so one would it expect lots of stylized killing and action . \\nhowever , there\\'s a sore lack of it , which is about the only thing wrong with the big hit . \\nthe film starts out with mel smiley and his cohorts doing a job on a white slaver . \\nmel , played by mark wahlberg in a dopey , milquetoast role , is a killing machine ; he flips , spins , even breakdances whilst popping caps . \\nsadly , he doesn\\'t get a chance to do much of it . \\nexcept for the beginning set piece and the last 20 twenty minutes or so , the film is in comedy mode . \\nthe action , at least what there is of it , is prime cut stuff . \\nwong , after numerous hong kong features , makes quite a nice u . s . debut . \\nhowever , his pacing is a bit off , with the action sequences only bookending the movie and not lasting long enough . \\nthey start off electrifying and fresh , but just kinda stop . \\nnormally , this would hamper a movie to the point of being unenjoyable . \\nluckily , we have ben ramsey\\'s screenplay , a bitingly funny piece of work . \\nthe only problem is there might be too much humor , one joke makes you laugh so hard you miss the next few . \\nsome of best gags include an oriental film maker down on his luck and one of mel\\'s hitmen pals that has just discovered onanism . \\nthe only problem is how some of the minor characters are handled , some being there only for a laugh , which sometimes works , sometimes doesn\\'t . \\noverall , the big hit may have it\\'s flaws , but it makes up for them in a stylishly directed , gut-wrenchingly funny joyride . \\ndefinately one of the better ways to spend two hours . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it is movies like these that make a jaded movie viewer thankful for the invention of the timex indiglo watch . \\nbased on the late 1960's television show by the same name , the mod squad tells the tale of three reformed criminals under the employ of the police to go undercover . \\nhowever , things go wrong as evidence gets stolen and they are immediately under suspicion . \\nof course , the ads make it seem like so much more . \\nquick cuts , cool music , claire dane's nice hair and cute outfits , car chases , stuff blowing up , and the like . \\nsounds like a cool movie , does it not ? \\nafter the first fifteen minutes , it quickly becomes apparent that it is not . \\nthe mod squad is certainly a slick looking production , complete with nice hair and costumes , but that simply isn't enough . \\nthe film is best described as a cross between an hour-long cop show and a music video , both stretched out into the span of an hour and a half . \\nand with it comes every single clich ? . \\nit doesn't really matter that the film is based on a television show , as most of the plot elements have been recycled from everything we've already seen . \\nthe characters and acting is nothing spectacular , sometimes even bordering on wooden . \\nclaire danes and omar epps deliver their lines as if they are bored , which really transfers onto the audience . \\nthe only one to escape relatively unscathed is giovanni ribisi , who plays the resident crazy man , ultimately being the only thing worth watching . \\nunfortunately , even he's not enough to save this convoluted mess , as all the characters don't do much apart from occupying screen time . \\nwith the young cast , cool clothes , nice hair , and hip soundtrack , it appears that the film is geared towards the teenage mindset . \\ndespite an american 'r' rating ( which the content does not justify ) , the film is way too juvenile for the older mindset . \\ninformation on the characters is literally spoon-fed to the audience ( would it be that hard to show us instead of telling us ? ) , dialogue is poorly written , and the plot is extremely predictable . \\nthe way the film progresses , you likely won't even care if the heroes are in any jeopardy , because you'll know they aren't . \\nbasing the show on a 1960's television show that nobody remembers is of questionable wisdom , especially when one considers the target audience and the fact that the number of memorable films based on television shows can be counted on one hand ( even one that's missing a finger or two ) . \\nthe number of times that i checked my watch ( six ) is a clear indication that this film is not one of them . \\nit is clear that the film is nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the teenage spending dollar , judging from the rash of really awful teen-flicks that we've been seeing as of late . \\navoid this film at all costs . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'with the opening scene of a young couple in a van pulling up , loading their guns , kissing each other and uttering what sounds like \" rock and roll ! \" \\n ( actually , it\\'s \" lock and load \" ) , you can\\'t help thinking tarantino . \\nand of course with its storyline of a crazy girl and boy in love who turn to violent bank robbery , the film unapologetically takes its place alongside all those other films from bonnie & clyde to natural born killers . \\nbut if most of those movies have their roots in pulp fiction , exploring a modern myth of the doomed rebels on the run , normal life takes a much more psychologically realistic look at the phenomenon . \\n \" inspired by true events \" -- we\\'ve heard that one before , and yet in no other tale of violent couples has it seemed so solidly demonstrated . . . \\nor so strangely poignant . \\nfor this is a story of real people whose lives take on a steadily unreal quality , who in their search for a normal life find themselves increasingly unhinged . \\nbeginning with their final arrest , the film goes back to trace the relationship between chris ( luke perry ) , a policeman , and pam ( ashley judd ) , a factory worker . \\nthey fall in love and marry , but pam\\'s increasingly erratic behaviour ( going on spending sprees , slashing herself with a knife after an argument ) begin to trouble the solid and stable chris . \\nwhen chris gets sacked , they find themselves heavily in debt and near breaking up . \\nthen , chris begins to rob banks . . . \\nluke perry accomplishes the not-inconsiderable feat of making us nearly forget that he was ever in beverly hills 90210 or buffy the vampire slayer . \\nmoustached , with a tough paternal look and yet a voice and eyes that suggest sadness verging on exasperation , he is perfectly cast as the long-suffering husband . \\n ( it\\'s another of john mcnaughton\\'s coups of casting-against-type , after transforming robert de niro into nerd and bill murray into gangster in mad dog and glory ) . \\nbut it is the character of pam who commands centrestage , and ashley judd rises to the challenge with great alternating currents of ferocity and tenderness , making pam into a fascinating yet often infuriating person . \\nif the performance falls short of greatness , however , it is perhaps because the role of the mad woman has been done so often before it is virtually a staple of cinema , whether it\\'s in betty blue , tom & viv or georgia . \\nas in those movies , there\\'s the danger that the performance seems mannered , a collection of screwy tics and tantrums designed for the oscar presentation piece . \\njudd doesn\\'t entirely avoid this pitfall , but pam\\'s \\'craziness\\' is best and most movingly presented in counterpoint to the more \\'normal\\' chris . \\nwhen pam reacts to her father-in-law\\'s death by showing up at the funeral in rollerblades and blaring headphones , chris\\' face is the picture of pained restraint . \\nof course , it\\'s the question of what is \\'normal\\' that is asked in normal life . \\nmcnaughton constantly offers up the ironies of the aspirations for the average domestic life and its kinship with insanity . \\nit is the rational chris that loves guns ( \" shooting is about precision , control \" ) and the \\'crazy\\' pam that loves astronomy and yearns for a dog ( who is then called chaos -- \" chaos and you and me . . . \\nwe\\'re a real family \" , she notes wryly ) . \\nit is chris\\' methodical mind and his knowledge of police procedure that allows him to be such a successful bank robber ( his well-planned disguise as a bearded , roaring man of terror is another piece of method in madness ) . \\nin the carpark where he sets out for his first robbery , a huge sign on a shopping mall stands out in the background : \" buy-more \" -- the perfectly respectable consumption-crazy american dream that has driven pam to her extravagant purchases , and both of them into desperate situations . \\nit\\'s not a perfect film . \\nsome of the dialogue is a touch too banal ( perhaps intentionally ? ) . \\nthe use of the punk hardcore soundtrack in pam\\'s crazed scenes comes rather too close to making emotional disturbance seem glamourous and sexy an image which only detracts from the rest of the film . \\nindeed , as in mcnaughton\\'s seminal film henry : portrait of a serial killer , it is the avoidance of glamour or sensationalism , the denial of some of the standard thrills of the outlaw film genre , that gives this determinedly unflashy , moving film its great strengths . \\nmcnaughton has filmed this story with a quiet , coolly \\'realistic\\' method that works far better than any nbk theatrics at unsettling the viewer . \\nthe suburbs , with their miles of white-fenced houses and identikit malls , take on a sense of claustrophobic blankness . \\nin its very different way , this makes for as haunting a backdrop as the wide open spaces in terence malick\\'s badlands . \\nwhile pam shares the yearnings of malick\\'s heroes to escape from ordinary life , chris takes up crime precisely so that they can lead a \\'normal life\\' - their little house on the suburbs is financed by his violent robberies . \\nbut these are dreams defined by , constrained by , and even doomed by , the limitations of the \\'normal\\' , conventional world . \\npam\\'s final scene takes place at the edge of the suburbs , where wild bushes grow -- symbolically the frontier , the outer limits of her society , but also quite literally the end of the road , where there is nowhere left to go but to the final tragic denouement . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the characters in \" palmetto \" collectively sweat enough to fill lake erie , and it\\'s just the right way to capture the film\\'s ripe atmosphere of sensuality , tension and even farce . \\nthis humid florida-set thriller nurtures a modestly absurd edginess that often winks at itself , which is very much a good thing since the actors and director are in on the joke . \\nas far as set-up is concerned , the movie is nothing we haven\\'t seen before , but be patient -- \" palmetto \" spins some pretty wicked story twists that we really don\\'t see coming . \\nit\\'s not a classic by any means , but it sure is quite an engaging surprise . \\nharry barber ( woody harrelson ) is fresh out of prison , where he\\'s served a couple of years for a crime he didn\\'t commit . \\neven though he harbors animosity towards the obtuse local officials , harry\\'s first order of business is to return to his home town of palmetto to be with his sculptor girlfriend nina ( gina gershon ) . \\nwhile searching for work , he catches the eye of rhea malroux ( elisabeth shue ) , the mysterious sexbomb wife of a palmetto millionaire . \\nrhea proposes a scheme that\\'ll get harry $50 , 000 easy -- to play a small part in the staged kidnaping of her jailbait stepdaughter odette ( chloe sevigny ) . \\n \" you do like risks , don\\'t you , mr . barber ? \" \\nrhea alluringly coos . \\nboys , form a line behind me . \\npart of \" palmetto \" \\'s success can be attributed to the performance of elisabeth shue , who demonstrates here that her oscar-nominated turn in \" leaving las vegas \" might merely be foreshadowing great things to come . \\nshue\\'s a seductive , campy delight , and pulls off a barbara stanwyck-gloria swanson combo with admirable relish . \\nthe other actors form a solid ensemble around her , including sevigny ( \" kids \" ) , tantalizingly slutty as a teen tease , as well as the ever-likeable gershon , cast a far cry from her extreme roles in \" bound \" and \" showgirls . \" \\nharrelson is still doing fine follow-up work to \" the people vs . larry flynt . \" \\n \" palmetto \" does have its share of grievances . \\nharrelson\\'s narration is needless , i suppose , and gershon\\'s nina cries to be meatier than she ultimately is . \\none of the plot\\'s unexpected angles -- that harry is asked by the police to become the press liaison for the very crime in which he\\'s involved -- could have been played a little better . \\nthere are moments when you question the tone , but it\\'s never so unstable that it deserves the reproach it\\'s been receiving from most other critics . \\nif \" palmetto \" didn\\'t want to be laughed at , would it really have tacked on a climax that plays like a live-action \" who framed roger rabbit \" ? \\nalthough a few elements can be questioned , the movie works well on its own terms . \\nthanks to a juicy cast -- especially shue -- and the nifty material approach from director volker schlondorff ( you remember him from last summer\\'s suddenly re-popular \" the tin drum , \" right ? ) , \\neverything runs smoothly . \\nand for fans of revelation-heavy endings , this film\\'s got a few shocks in store that i won\\'t even dream of revealing . \\n \" palmetto \" is a generous amount of fun to watch , and that\\'s all you need to know . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"written by mark rosenthal and lawrence konner \\nstarring charlize theron , bill paxton , david paymer \\nas reviewed by james brundage \\ni'm beginning to get fed up . \\nover my four years as a critic , the thing which has kept me going is the moderate balance of films . \\nthe good balances the bad . \\ni try to see both in equal proportions . \\nbut disney's mighty joe young remake marks the fourth week in which i haven't seen a truly terrible movie . \\nit's a backwards machismo , i suppose , the urge to see the things which you so loathe ; but i need to see a bad film every once in a while . \\nand , you know what , mighty joe young doesn't qualify . \\nfar from being bad , mighty joe young is actually a family fun movie . \\nit's enjoyable , appropriate , cute , cuddly , and all of those other things that i've been seeing in every movie since a bug's life . \\nmighty joe young tracks a 2 , 000 pound gorilla in the wilds of africa that is taken to a reserve in . . . \\ncalifornia ? \\n . . . \\nfor safe-keeping . \\nokay . \\na little unrealistic , but who ever said a kid's movie had to have the slightest hint of realism . \\nthe first half of the movie is a gorillas in the mist-esque hatred of poachers woman-of-the-wild motif . \\nthe second half is a straight up parody of king kong , awestruck onlookers and all . \\nmark one down . \\ni'm feeling relaxed . \\nit is , as a point of fact , an extremely un-creative movie . \\nbut , as a vetern , i can say quite honestly that creativity doesn't count for as much as it should . \\nso that saves mighty joe from my wrath , although my colleagues and cohorts and surely bashing this film at this very moment . \\nthis is not the film to take a girl on a date to . \\nit's not the film for you . \\nit's the film for you and your family . \\nwhen you're right alongside your kid , all of the normal rights and wrongs slip away . \\nthe same thing happens when you watch a horror movie or an action flick . \\nit becomes fun . \\nall you have to do to enjoy mighty joe young is shut up and watch . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'even though i have the utmost respect for richard dreyfuss as an actor , his presence in a motion picture does not guarantee any particular level of quality . \\nlike everyone else , dreyfuss has bills to pay , so he occasionally accepts big paychecks for prominent roles in bad movies . \\nconsequently , while his career highlights include jaws , close encounters of the third kind , stakeout , and tin men , his resume is dotted with titles like moon over parador , let it ride , and now krippendorf\\'s tribe . \\nlet me start out by saying that krippendorf\\'s tribe is occasionally funny ( although never riotously so ) , but that\\'s about its only asset . \\nthe best word to describe this film is \" asinine . \" \\nthe target audience would appear to be recent nursery school graduates if not for the numerous sexual innuendoes , which are aimed at someone going through puberty . \\nkrippendorf\\'s tribe tries to be a zany , off-the-wall comedy , but the film makers have forgotten three important rules . \\nthe first is that some minimal level of plot credibility has to exist . \\nthe second is that viewers should be able to identify with , or at least care about , a character or two . \\nfinally , and most importantly , more than 5% of the jokes have to work . \\nonce upon a time , james krippendorf ( dreyfuss ) was a respected professor of anthropology at little bounderby college . \\nhe and his wife obtained a grant to seek out a \" lost tribe \" somewhere in the wilds of new guinea , a goal which they never accomplished . \\nshortly after their return from the failed trip , krippendorf\\'s wife died and he was left with the herculean task of raising three children -- shelly ( natasha lyonne ) , mickey ( gregory smith ) , and edmund ( carl michael linder ) -- on his own . \\nnow , over a year later , the college wants to see the results of the money they gave krippendorf ( which he has spent not on research , but on things for his family ) , so they send a new member of their faculty , professor veronica micelli ( jenna elfman ) , to inform him that he has been scheduled to give a lecture on his findings . \\nwhen he arrives at the college for the momentous event , rather than telling the truth and risking being sent to jail for misappropriating school funds , he fabricates a tale about a mythical lost tribe , the \" shelmikedmu \" . \\nto provide video footage , he films his children dressed in native garb . \\nsoon , much to krippendorf\\'s surprise , the shelmikedmu are a national phenomenon . \\nbut one disaffected professor ( lily tomlin ) is determined to prove that the tribe is a fraud . \\nthe only way krippendorf\\'s tribe works is if you assume that all of the characters ( not to mention the viewers ) are dumber than dirt . \\nunfortunately , it\\'s impossible to like or sympathize with a bunch of putzes like this . \\ndirector todd holland completely fails to develop any character into something more substantial than a device to implement various dubious gags . \\nmeanwhile , attempts at satirizing the shallowness of american culture ( i . e . , how easily the public can be fooled into jumping on the bandwagon of the latest trend ) come across as feeble and derivative . \\nthe acting in underwhelming . \\ndreyfuss has definitely not given his \" all \" to the role of james krippendorf . \\nalongside him , jenna elfman , the spunky co-star of tv\\'s dharma and greg , radiates perkiness and little else . \\nthis quality , while fine for a 22-minute television program , quickly becomes irritating in the arena of a feature-length movie . \\nno one in the supporting cast -- lily tomlin , david ogden stiers , natasha lyonne ( woody allen\\'s daughter in everyone says i love you ) -- excels . \\ni know that a movie\\'s in trouble when it\\'s half the length of titanic , but seems much longer . \\nmost of what comes on screen is generic sit-com level material -- the kind of slop that people will absorb while dozing off in their favorite easy chair in front of the television set . \\nif there\\'s any upside , it\\'s that i don\\'t see much box-office support developing for this lame , ill-marketed miscue . \\nkrippendorf\\'s tribe will quickly become extinct . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this is one of the worst big-screen film experiences i\\'ve had for a while . \\nwith this film , plus `showgirls\\' and `basic instinct\\' , paul verhoeven has stamped himself as currently one of the worst blockbuster directors . \\nhis celebrated film `total recall\\' was ? i admit ? successfully scripted , but it nonetheless contained directorial flaws . \\nobviously nobody wanted to invest too much money in a production from someone like verhoeven , the result being that much of the special effects in `starship\\' seemed fake . \\nbut not everything bad in the film was the director\\'s fault , even though he was one of the guys who employed the actors . \\nit is surprising that none of the actors received nominations for the razzie awards ( i expected five for the acting categories ) . \\ncasserole vanity devoid , dense ribald , dingy miasma , and jackass bushy are in serious need of acting school . \\nno , they have to pass primary school drama classes first . \\nwhile `total\\' was written well , `starship\\' is purely pathetic . \\nall right , it is supposed to be a fast-paced entertainment film , and you\\'re supposed to turn off your intellect ( completely ) and enjoy the action sequences and special effects ( that is , guts and gore ) . \\nas a matter of fact , i found the activity incredibly boring , a complete waste of more than two hours . \\nhalf of the film was a bad episode of `beverly hills 90210\\' ( dina meyer was in \" beverly hills \" ) , while another quarter was simply nothing ( things like presenting irrelevant information in an irritating way on the web ) , and the rest was a display of humans fighting computer-generated images . \\nthe battles were all the same ? jumping around , shoot or get stabbed ? and on barren planets that only had giant insects . \\nthere weren\\'t even any stunts , which i consider slightly more exciting than pictures running around . \\ni wonder what the insects eat , if there\\'s nothing but them on the planets ? \\nthere is so much laughable treatment in this film , and it is frankly not amusing when jokes are intended . \\nthis type of story is obviously aimed at 10-year-olds , who can\\'t see it anyway because of the violence and some sexuality . \\nbut then , there are always 16-year-olds who have that frame of mind . \\nthe pointless plot begins when johnny\\'s ( vanity devoid ) girlfriend carmen ( richards ) decides that she wants to join the troopers to fight the insects who are throwing asteroids at earth . \\njohnny then signs up as a trooper also , after an overacted argument with his parents . \\nbut there is another girl , dizzy ( meyer ) , who likes johnny and then there is another boy who likes carmen , which results in a love quadrangle , which isn\\'t better , because it means augmented worse-than-stereotyped soap opera , increased bitchiness , and more bad beverly hills + melrose . \\nand the result of this love quadrangle at the end is also rather stupid . \\nanyway , getting back to the thing you might call plot , johnny is too stupid to be a pilot and has to join the infantry , while his girl and the other dude are in the same league . \\ndizzy comes chasing johnny and joins the infantry also . \\nthey then start training , which contains what roger ebert calls ips ( idiot plot syndrome , moments when only an idiot would have made such obvious mistakes ) , then real combat . \\nand guess what ? \\nthat\\'s about as complex as it gets . \\noh , and one of their friends , carl ( neil patrick harris a . k . a . doogie howser m . d . ) , becomes involved in war intelligence , and his abilities at the end are really corny and make me want to spray insecticide on someone for it . \\nhe\\'s my fifth nom for a razzie . \\nthe troopers fight , fall in love , die , kill , and try to act . \\nnaturally , they win , or sort of half-win . \\nof course , in between ( and at the end ) there are soldiers chatting and smiling while carrying grievous wounds caused by bug legs . \\nthe bugs also suffer from ips : why would you release hold of your captive before killing it ? \\nisn\\'t it also amazing that earthlings haven\\'t invented better hand-held weapons by then ? \\nthe only question that remains is why i gave it one star instead of zero . \\nwell , maybe a-quarter ( of a star ) for the originality of the co-sex shower scene and the ( very ) brief moments of suspense , another quarter for copying `zulu\\' and letting the good guys ( the bugs ) win , and half a star for the sucking-out of the brain of one of those people who call themselves actors ( but there should have been more , the troopers deserved to die ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"there are movies that pose a question in its first five minutes and spend the rest of the time trying to answer it . \\nthen there are movies that spend the whole time posing questions and try to answer it all in the last five minutes . \\nwriter-director john herzfeld's two days in the valley falls into the latter category . \\nweaving together a grabbag of seemingly unrelated characters , herzfeld's tries very hard to keep the audience guessing with a altmanesque series of parallel stories . \\nhitmen lee ( james spader ) and his partner dosmo ( danny aiello ) pop a guy in bed while leaving his drugged wife becky fox ( teri hatcher ) lying next to him showing the audience where on her behind she got nicely pricked . \\nan understandeably shocked becky runs out of the house the next morning before hailing down a couple of vice cops , ( jeff daniels ) and wes ( eric stoltz ) . \\na murder is not vice territory , flirting with asian prostitues is , but wes would rather play inquisitive detective . \\nmeanwhile , washed-up director , teddy ( paul mazursky ) is about to end his life . \\nbut before he can do that , he must find a good home for his dog . \\nenter nurse audrey ( marsha mason ) , who takes the dog and teddy for a ride . \\nstuffy art dealer , allan hopper ( greg cruttwell ) has kidney stones . \\nwhile struggling about his fancy house , he switches between moaning in self-pity and dropping condescending hints about his loyal secretary's ( glenne headly ) plain appearance . \\ndon't be surprised if you find yourself asking more than once just what the hell is going on . \\nyou might like that feeling of cluelessness . \\nherzfeld does answer all the questions in the course of time and pieces it all rather neatly in the last five minutes . \\nthe jigsaw puzzle assembled isn't stunning by any means though . \\nthe characters lack the stature or moral complexity of altman's real-life heroes in short cuts , even though they are interesting and funny . \\nfunny , that is if you aren't comparing them to the likes of tarantino's pulp chcaracters . \\nthe tie-up is tidy but nowhere near the squeaky clean resolution of ( director's name ? \\nguy who also did last seduction ) red rock west . \\ntwo days isn't a bad movie but there isn't much else to it than the screenplay novelty of the linkage of seemingly unrelated characters . \\nit'll keep you guessing alright but you won't remember the answers five minutes after the credits . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'so much for sweet returns . \\nafter smart horror films were starting to be made again after the exploitative 80\\'s slasher movies , starting with 1996\\'s \" scream , \" and followed by \" scream 2 , \" \" urban legend , \" and the original , \" i know what you did last summer , \" a film like , \" i still know what you did last summer , \" was bound to be made sooner or late . \\nit is a perfect example of the exact reason why horror films temporarily burned out , and that is because they reached for the lowest-common-denominator in filmmaking , favoring non-stop deaths and gore for suspense , and trading in fleshed out , likable characters for one-dimensional nitwits . \\nit has been exactly one year since julie james ( jennifer love hewitt ) suffered through the ordeal of being terrorized by ben willis , a psychopathic fisherman whom her friends and she accidentally hit in the middle of the road , and then , thinking he was dead , dumped him into the ocean . \\nsince then , julie has relocated to boston university , and although often paranoid and haunted by bad dreams , she has been able to put her life back together . \\nwhen julie\\'s friend , karla ( brandy ) , is called up by a radio station and answers correctly what the capital of brazil is , she wins a vacation to the bahamas for four people , which also includes karla\\'s horny boyfriend , tyrell ( mekhi phifer ) , and will ( matthew settle ) , who karla sets julie up with after her own boyfriend , ray ( freddie prinze jr . , also returning from the original ) , doesn\\'t show up . \\nwhen they reach the secluded island , they discover it is the last day of the open season , and will be stranded there for the 4th of july weekend with a few employees to fend off a violent storm headed for them . \\nof course , julie , her friends , and the workers aren\\'t the only ones there , as the murderous ben willis , dressed in fisherman garb , returns to seek revenge on julie once and for all . \\nit is a sad state of affairs when a movie like , \" i still know what you did last summer , \" is made . \\ni am a very big fan of horror movies , and so it is especially disheartening to find out that this sequel to \" ikwydls , \" which i am a fan of , is almost an exact replica of a \" friday the 13th \" movie . \\nwhile the original focused more on the story and characters , as well as genuinely suspenseful moments , thanks to the screenplay by kevin williamson ( who didn\\'t return to write the sequel , and it shows ) , \" i still know . . . \" \\nhas no story to speak of , and is so vacuous of ideas , that the filmmakers , were forced to have a murder occur every five minutes just to keep the audience interested . \\nalso gone are any signs of character development , and since every single character died before i got to know them , all i was left with was to stare at the screen , indifferent to what was going on . \\nwhile i cared about the fates of the characters in the original , it made no difference to me in this sequel who lived and died . \\nthey were all paper-thin and pointless , except to become victims to the lethal hook of the fisherman . \\nanother element that made the original so memorable were some superbly crafted set-pieces , like the store sequence with sarah michelle gellar , but there are none to speak of in this sequel ( although they do come close at one moment with brandy ) . \\nsince so many people were killed every couple minutes , the suspense and scares evaporated faster than salt in water . \\nalso of note is the mystery of the second killer , and accomplice to ben , but it is obvious from the first frame who it is , and so i couldn\\'t even have fun at that , like i did in the \" scream \" movies and , \" urban legend . \" \\nit figures that just as slasher films were starting to get some recognition again , a film would come along and ruin it for everyone else . \\nmaybe the people who made , \" i still know what you did last summer , \" should have realized that in order to make a good movie , you must have a screenplay---or at least one that isn\\'t such a black hole for thoughts and ideas . \\nthe ending of the film inevitably leaves the door wide open for a third part , but judging from this amazingly lackluster first sequel , everyone involved should have quit while they were still ahead . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"tim robbins and martin lawernce team up in this road movie comedy . \\nrobbins plays an exec who discovers his wife having sex with his boss . \\nhe goes into depression , and drives around his neighbourhood until he arrives inside the usual 'ghetto' side of every american city . \\nthere , lawernce attempts to steal his car , but to no avail , and is dragged along with robbin's on a trip to arizona . \\nthere , they hold up a store , are mistaken for two other robbers ( just like in my cousin vinny ) and are chased by the police , and the other robbers . \\nof course , there's gags along the way , usually from lawernce . \\nalthough the film is midly funny , and quite watchable , there's something so horribly familiar about it all . \\nthis film should really be called beverly hills midnight run there's lawernce with his wisecracking and heavy profanity , just like eddie murphy in beverly hills cop , and pratically the same idea as midnight run . \\nit's full of all the road movie cliches , and even has a 'comedy' car chase , which just seemed so eighties . \\neven the credit sequence seemed to be out of a steve martin , or chevy chase , eighties comedy . \\nthere also isn't much chemistry between robbins and lawernce . \\nin planes , trains and automobiles , there was real chemistry between steve martin and john candy . \\nin nothing to lose , there is hardly chemistry at all . \\ntowards the end the chemistry seems to work , but for the bulk of the film , there is hardly any , \\nthe director directs the film in a workman like fashion , but gets the jokes across . \\nand although there is no chemistry between the two leads , they give good performances on their own . \\nlawerence gives a good eddie murphy performance , and robbin's is alright aswell . \\nhowever , robbin's performance is nowhere near as good as the characters he played in jacob's ladder , and the player . \\nin fact , if you want to see robbin's do comedy much better than in nothing to lose , i suggest you rent out the hudsucker proxy , where he is much funnier . \\nnothing to lose does have some funny moments in it , however . \\nthe humour isn't particulary sophisticated , but if you enojyed dumb & dumber , you might enjoy this . \\nthe characters in arizona are funny , and there's also a good scene where robbin's asks a shopkeeper which 'threatening approach' was better , lawerences ( which consisted of lawerence threatening to shoot the shopkeeper's ass , and swearing a lot ) , or himselfs , ( which was speaking in a deep , scary voice ) but the gags are predictable , the lack of chemistry infurating , and the ending too far-fetched and 'perfect' \\nnothing to lose then , is robbin's first 'bad' movie ( and hopefully his last ) , and suggests that odereick should twice before making another film . \\nhe nearly ruined carrey's career with ace ventura : when nature calls , let's hope he hasn't ruined robbin's ( or even lawerence's ) with nothing to lose . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i cried during _babe_ . \\ni admit it . \\nthe special effects , the story , the great dialogue were woven together so delicately and successfully that my mind lost track that this was a \" children\\'s film \" --so much so that , yes , i got a little overly sentimental . \\nsuch , my friend , is the power of cinema . \\nwhen word came out that they were using this newly developed f/x for a doctor dolittle update , in which eddie murphy plays the title character , and many great comic actors supply the voices , my anticipation rose to great expectations . \\nthey can\\'t possibly drop the ball on this one . \\ncan\\'t miss . \\ncan\\'t possibly miss . \\nthey missed . \\nwhat went wrong ? \\nafter much thought , i supply three general rules . \\n ( 1 ) don\\'t let a television actress-turned-comedy movie director near an urbanite script ( i . e . , penny marshall\\'s dreadful \" preacher\\'s wife \" ) . \\nbetty thomas worked wonders with \" the brady bunch movie \" , but the same sitcom-airiness doesn\\'t quite work here . \\nit\\'s as if she lifted a generic sitcom , and iced it with light doses of modern r&b . \\ntake away the black cast , take away the atrocious soundtrack , and you have the residue of some mid-80\\'s kirk cameron show . \\n ( 2 ) the greater the cast , the less the individual cast-member has to do ( i . e . , \\n \" con air \" ) . \\nit is great to have the comic voices of jenna elfman , garry schandling , john leguizimo , ellen degeneres , and gilbert godfried in your lineup , but they have nothing to do but improvise their underdeveloped , stereotyped characters , one-line-at-a-time . \\nit\\'s even worse , because sometimes their voices are so unrecognizable that you don\\'t get the satisfaction of linking the voice to the comedian until the credits . \\nnow there are three character actors who do get special treatment : albert brooks brings dignity to nearly every project he\\'s in , and the scenes as a depressed tiger do resonate a certain poignancy . \\nnorm mcdonald fares nearly as well , as a stray dog who learns to bond with dolittle . \\nbut there\\'s little humor here . \\nthat rests on the shoulders of chris rock , sorely miscast and unfunny as the voice of their wise-ass guinea pig . \\neven the mouth is ill-synched . \\n ( 3 ) don\\'t let the special effects technicians walk away with the script . \\nthere\\'s a certain timing that\\'s mandatory in comedy . \\nto have this timing usurped by the brilliancy of computer generated mouths or lifelike creations of jim henson\\'s creature shop , is a travesty . \\nthis is not to say that special effects filled comedies or muppet movies aren\\'t well-timed laughfests ; with the right director , they can be and have . \\nhere , betty thomas is clearly over her head . \\ni wish i could commend the special effects , but they\\'re merely average . \\ncount the number of times where the animal\\'s mouth is turned away from the camera , or too far to notice , or ill-synched . \\nthis is less a \" babe \" and more of a \" look who\\'s barking \" clone . \\nyou may be wondering , \\'how does eddie murphy fare ? \\' \\nwell , he came back with the exceptional \" nutty professor \" , and i don\\'t doubt he can come back again . \\nhere , he\\'s tied into a straight man and given little to do . \\nthe exceptions are when he fears he\\'s going crazy : a far cry from his smarter-than-you\\'d expect routine that he\\'s more adept at . \\nit\\'s unfortunate that he is where richard pryor was ten years ago , making lame comedies without the same bite he had given in his early years . \\nafter all this , what\\'s left ? \\nbutt jokes . \\na _lot_ of butt jokes . \\ni guess for kids that may be funny , but i was stone-faced . \\nif there\\'s a lesson the film may be telling us , is that animals have feelings too , and they care way too much for your butt . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'for those of us who weren\\'t yet born when the 1960\\'s rock \\'n\\' rolled around , monterey pop affords an affectionate glimpse of the music that influenced our parents to be hippies . \\nfrom otis redding to jimi hendrix , janis joplin to the mamas and the papas , and jefferson airplane to the who , this documentary is jam-packed with contagious energy . \\nbut i give fair warning that i will reveal the ending , which does not do the rest of the film the justice it deserves . \\nshot in 1969 at an outdoor concert that precluded woodstock , the film defies the stereotype of the general population at the time . \\nsure , some have painted their faces and smoke joints , but d . a . \\npennebaker ( the war room , moon over broadway ) surprisingly chooses to show a broad spectrum of the audience . \\nno matter who is watching , it all comes back to the talented musicians that stir your soul . \\nthe excitement starts before the music even begins . \\na young girl is cleaning thousands of seats and when asked why by an interviewer , she replies that she feels lucky to do so . \\nthere are moments of organized craziness as john phillips , leader of the mamas and the papas and one of the concert organizers , tries to get in touch with dionne warwick . \\nand when one band is tuning up , a member remarks , \" finally , a decent sound system ! \" \\nyou can tell just by watching these first few moments that this show isn\\'t about vanity , it\\'s about playing the music you love to those who have an appreciation for it , a two-way street . \\nthis interaction between audience and performer continues throughout the film and becomes infectious to the audience . \\nit\\'s impossible to tear your eyes away from janis joplin as she belts out her ballad about love being a ball and chain . \\nand while the lyrics to \" wild thing \" may not be all that complicated , watching jimi hendrix mime having sex with his guitar is as captivating as otis redding singing about love . \\neven if you don\\'t recognize every band you see on stage , you can imagine being as enthralled by their work as the public sitting in those seats . \\nthe only drawback to the film is the ending , which unfortunately i must reveal . \\nall the other bands , big names then and still today , got approximately 7 to 10 minutes of screen time . \\nin contrast , the last band on camera , a wholly forgettable one , gets an entire 18 minutes of screen time . \\nfor a film that\\'s only 78 minutes long , that\\'s too large of a chunk , especially when previous acts are much more stimulating . \\nall in all , monterey pop is a precious , rare look at a time period that still holds sway over us . \\nthe variety of music , as well as the beautifully shot performances , are easy to become immersed in . \\nif there was ever any question as to why most of these bands were so popular , this is quickly dispelled . \\nit\\'s almost depressing to think that music this moving doesn\\'t get made much anymore . \\ninstead we\\'re stuck with * nsync , the backstreet boys , and jennifer lopez , all of whom should have stuck with modeling . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the relaxed dude rides a roller coaster \\nthe big lebowski a film review by michael redman copyright 1998 by michael redman \\nthe most surreal situations are ordinary everyday life as viewed by an outsider . \\nwhen those observers are joel and ethan coen , the surreal becomes bizarre . \\nwhen the life is that of jeff \" the dude \" leboswki , the bizarre falls over the edge into the world of \" what\\'sgoingonaroundhere \" . \\nthe marvelous sound of \" the stranger \" ( sam elliot ) \\'s voice-over introduces the film . \\nat least it does until he forgets what he was going to say and gives up . \\nthe dude ( jeff bridges ) is described as the \" laziest man in los angeles , possibly the world \" , although he\\'s not so much slothful as he is relaxed . \\nspending the last 30 years with a roach clip in one hand and a white russian in the other , he doesn\\'t have much of a life , but he\\'s having a good time . \\nwhen asked what he does for fun , he responds \" bowl , drive around and the occasional acid flashback \" . \\nlebowski\\'s passion is bowling . \\nwhen he\\'s not rolling the ball down an alley towards a strike , things just happen to him . \\narriving home one night , he\\'s beaten by thugs attempting to collect money that his wife owes them . \\neven worse , they urinate on his rug . \\nthe problem is that the dude doesn\\'t have a wife . \\nhis assailants realize that their target is a different lebowski when they glance around at his apartment . \\nthe \" big \" lebowski ( david huddleston ) is a multi-millionaire and his dudeness lives in two-room squalor . \\nthe next day , our ragtag hero visits his namesake\\'s mansion attempting compensation for his soaked rug . \\nthe carpet is important to him because it pulls the room together : not surprisingly since it\\'s virtually the only object there . \\nwhen he\\'s denied any money , he picks up a replacement rug off the floor . \\non his way out , he runs into lebowski\\'s trophy babe wife bunny ( tara reid ) who offers to perform a sexual act that , according to rumor , is one of bill clinton\\'s favorites for a thousand bucks . \\nthe penniless dude wisecracks that he\\'s heading for the cash machine . \\nlater he gets an unexpected phone call enlisting his aid in being the bag man to deliver a ransom to bunny\\'s kidnappers . \\nthis begins the trademarked coen brothers crimes-gone-wrong sequences . \\nthe kidnappers are impossibly inept . \\nthe dude and his cronies are even worse . \\nevery plan goes awry . \\nyou can almost see lebowski\\'s brain churning in slow motion as he tries to figure out the clues . \\nthat\\'s the story , but to tell the truth it doesn\\'t much matter . \\nthere could be almost any plot and the film would be just as entertaining . \\nthe narrative only exists so we can watch the offbeat characters and the quirky predicaments they fall into . \\nthe dude\\'s bowling buddies walter ( john goodman ) and donny ( steve buscemi ) look like people you\\'d see on the street but , like everything else in this film , they\\'re not quite what they seem . \\nwalter is a vet as stuck in vietnam as the dude is in the sixties . \\neverything that happens reminds him of a situation in the nam . \\nwhen a fellow bowler crosses the foul line but won\\'t admit it , walter pulls a gun on him until he marks a zero on the score sheet . \\ndonny gets precious few words in between walter\\'s screaming and the dude\\'s rambling . \\nwhen he does , walter shouts him down with horrendous albeit seemingly unintentional bowling puns . \\ndonny is \" out of his league \" and doesn\\'t \" have a frame of reference \" . \\nthe film is peppered with people for whom the term \" character \" would be an understatement . \\nthe big lebowski\\'s daughter maude , an avant-garde \" vaginal \" artist , paints while swinging naked in a leather apparatus like an s&m mary martin . \\nthe kidnappers are german techno nihilist bikers . \\nbunny lebowski is a high school cheerleader turned porno star . \\nmost impressive is john turturro in his far too small role as a hispanic bowler . \\nas the flamenco music swells , we see him putting on his lavender hose . \\nthe camera pans up to an all-purple skin-tight bowling outfit with \" jesus \" ( pronounced with a \" j \" , not an \" h \" ) embroidered on the pocket . \\nhe addresses the lane with intense seriousness and one painted fingernail . \\nhis tongue slowly snakes out and lovingly licks the glowing bowling ball . \\nbridges works the dude as if he had been living him for decades and maybe he has . \\ni can\\'t think of anyone else who could have done a better job . \\nbuscemi has a limited role , but he plays it perfectly . \\nthe more that i see john goodman the more convinced i am that he\\'s one of the treasures of our time . \\nit\\'s odd to think that most of the world knows him only as roseanne barr\\'s television husband . \\nmore like the coen\\'s \" raising arizona \" than their hit \" fargo \" , \" the big lebowski \" demands an open mind and even more open eyes . \\na mark of the coen brothers is that even with all wonderful dream sequences and the broad slapstick physical comedy on the screen , much of the humor is subtle and easy to miss . \\nthere\\'s so much going on that frequently it disappears before you can see it . \\nwalking out of the theater , i felt that the film had something important to say . \\non further examination , i wasn\\'t sure exactly what it was . \\n \" if you meet jesus at the bowling alley , it\\'s not going to be what you expect \" ? \\n \" when the going gets weird , the weird go bowling \" ? \\nmaybe there\\'s no real message . \\nperhaps it\\'s just a roller coaster ride through a hilarious world . \\nmaybe that\\'s enough . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for 23 years and just realized that he was so taken with the dude that he ran out of space to talk about \" the man in the iron mask \" starring that favorite of 14-year-old girls of all ages . \\nredman@bvoice . com is the eaddress for estuff . ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'before even seeing a single frame of the film , it would be easy to snicker at deep impact , in which a comet on a collision course with earth threatens the existence of all life on the planet . \\nit is the latest entry in this decade\\'s dubious revival of the \\'70s disaster film , and the first of two \" the sky is falling \" flicks to hit screens this year ( the other being this coming july\\'s armageddon , in which a meteor is the threat ) . \\nits tagline , \" oceans rise . \\ncities fall . \\nhope survives \" is not as cornball as that of the utterly ridiculous collapsing tunnel thriller daylight ( \" they came in alone . . . the only way out . . . \\nis together \" ) , but it\\'s every bit as treacly . \\nthe opening moments of deep impact offer more to snicker at . \\nthe cheesiness is not confined to the disaster movie conventions , such as the usual opening \" roll call , \" in which all the major characters and their personal problems are introduced . \\nthe most prominent of the \" personal \" stories is that of ambitious tv news reporter jenny lerner ( tea leoni ) , who is distraught that her father ( maximilian schell ) left her mother ( vanessa redgrave ) for a younger woman ( rya kihlstedt ) . \\nwhat is just as snicker-worthy is how this co-venture between paramount and dreamworks skg aggressively pushes another high-profile corporate collaboration , microsoft and nbc\\'s cable news network msnbc , which employs jenny , who is the film\\'s ostensible main character . \\nin the vision of america presented here , msnbc is the television news source of choice in every home , when in reality it only reaches a fraction of the country . \\nthe initial signs point toward something along the lines of a volcano or dante\\'s peak , but there\\'s one thing about deep impact i underestimated : the skills of director mimi leder . \\nshe won an emmy for her helming work on nbc\\'s smash er , which is essentially a weekly disaster movie , each episode featuring a new set of guest stars with their own personal and medical crises . \\nthe challenge presented by this format to the director is twofold : ( 1 ) to make the audience care for these guest characters , regardless of how briefly seen or thinly written they are , and ( 2 ) powerfully tug at the emotions without being heavy-handed or overly melodramatic . \\nhaving passed the \" er challenge \" in numerous episodes and showed a flair for creating suspense in the peacemaker , leder could not be a better fit to bring michael tolkin and bruce joel rubin\\'s rather formulaic disaster screenplay to screen . \\nas the countdown to impact progresses , the ominous feeling of doom is palpable , leading the final act to take on a surprisingly convincing and affecting emotional dimension . \\nthere\\'s nothing here that will profoundly move anyone , but the fact that anything manages to touch the heart is high achievement in a genre generally more concerned with effects . \\nsituations that initially feel contrived , such as jenny\\'s familial crisis and the teenage romance between sarah hotchner ( leelee sobieski ) and comet discoverer leo biederman ( elijah wood ) , achieve some poignance ; and even the more vaguely drawn characters , including u . s . president tom beck ( morgan freeman ) , astronaut spurgeon \" fish \" tanner ( robert duvall ) , and his rather faceless crew ( ron eldard , jon favreau , mary mccormack , blair underwood , and alexander baluyev ) aboard the comet-bombing spacecraft messiah , have their share of touching moments . \\nthe latter fact owes a debt to the actors , who all do a solid job and are well-cast , with the possible exception of leoni ; she delivers a decent performance , but her trademark unconventional speech rhythms and line delivery make her somewhat hard to buy as a star news broadcaster . \\nalthough its catastrophic theme and impressive special effects work ( the giant ocean waves are particularly spectacular ) place deep impact in the same category as the likes of twister , it is the first of the \\'90s disaster films to successfully marry the advanced film technology with emotions that ring true--a film that makes a genuine impact , even if it isn\\'t as deep as hoped . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one never quite knows what one is going to get with a mamet film . \\nhis american buffalo is a set-bound piece that has very little plot . \\nsometimes he will tell a story that really moves . \\nheist is mamet doing his most entertaining work . \\nunlike his the spanish prisoner , there are no lapses in credibility . \\nheist is probably the best mamet thriller since house of games . \\nit is the kind of plot with which you are never sure who will double-cross whom , and frequently it is mamet double-crossing the viewer . \\nwatching the film\\'s team getting around security the viewer is frequently asking himself either \" what the heck are they doing ? \" \\nor \" why didn\\'t anybody think of that before ? \" \\nappropriately enough heist opens with a very clever jewelry store job . \\nit is so clever that one wonders if mamet really thinks up all these ideas himself or if he has help from professional magician and con expert ricky jay , now a regular actor in mamet films . \\nthis is a robbery that works like a well-oiled machine . \\nthere is just one problem and it is enough to get joe moore ( played by gene hackman ) filmed on a security camera . \\nnow joe has to get out of the business . \\nit was coming time anyway . \\njoe\\'s team including bobby blane ( delroy lindo ) , fran moor ( rebecca pidgeon ) , and pinky pincus ( ricky jay ) is going to split up and go separate ways . \\nbut crime boss bergman ( danny devito ) is pulling the strings and he says that joe and his people have to manage one more robbery . \\nand he has to take along a young kid , the short- fused jimmy silk ( sam rockwell ) . \\nimmediately it is obvious that there is more going on than meets the eye . \\nmuch of what distinguishes heist is mamet\\'s dialog . \\nremarkably it serves a double purpose . \\nthe robbery team sounds at once very professional and at the same time it has mamet\\'s special feel for dialog . \\nhackman has lines like \" everybody needs money . \\nthat\\'s why they call it money . \" \\nmamet\\'s timing is perfect in the direction but terrible in the production . \\nthe plot is coincidentally a lot like the plot of the recent the score , which is , in fact , a very similar story . \\nboth are good films , perhaps for some of the same reasons . \\nbut at least on a high level they are much the same story . \\nthe other problem with the timing of heist is that it involves airport security and clever ways to get around them . \\ni saw the film at the toronto international film festival on september 12 , 2001 . \\nthat made the subject matter just a little too timely . \\nmy understanding is that the release will be delayed . \\nmy biggest problem with the film is that rebecca pidgeon\\'s acting at times seems very poor . \\nit is some kind of mamet trademark i do not understand to have women talk without inflection , as if they are just reading the words for the first time . \\nit is an irritation and distracts us from what is otherwise a very good thriller . \\nit is one i rate an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : sullen julie james , still haunted by nightmares of the killer ben willis from i know what you did last summer , perks up when her new best friend karla wilson wins a trip for four to the bahamas . \\narriving at the start of the hurricane season , julie and karla run around in very tight clothing and realize they\\'ve walked into a trap set by the rainslickered slasher with a huge hook for a hand . \\ncomments : i may be showing some pop culture illiteracy here , but i have never seen an episode of the fox tv series \" party of five . \" \\ni am only vaguely aware of the show\\'s premise , and my knowledge of it comes from brief commercials i half-paid attention to while watching the tube . \\n \" party of five , \" i do know however , seems to be the starting ground for actresses in the teen horror genre . \\nneve campbell , scream queen of the 90s and star of scream , scream 2 , and the craft , is a regular of the show . \\nso too is jennifer love hewitt . \\nlo and behold , following in the footsteps of campbell , hewitt now has a horror franchise of her own : the i know what you did last summer line . \\nthough the original film , released last year , was watchable enough , this insipid sequel had me looking at the theater\\'s glowing red exit sign longingly throughout . \\njennifer love hewitt is a very good-looking young leading lady ; however , unlike neve campbell , hewitt struggles with acting . \\nshe just isn\\'t convincing in this film ( and she wasn\\'t in the original either ) . \\nthis puts many young males , including myself , in a paradoxical quandary : she\\'s very attractive , but the annoying , spoiled , valley girl-type character she tries to play here is annoying to the extreme and ruins many of the scenes which emphasize , exploitatively , her figure . \\nadd to the mix the equally pleasant yet irritating brandy , another rising teen tv star , and you get one frustrated male audience . \\ni\\'ve spent so much time on hewitt and brandy for a reason . \\ni still know what you did last summer , though cashing in on the success of the original , ultimately serves as a vehicle for these two young actresses . \\nnothing else here is original or interesting . \\nthis movie , in fact , makes other recent so-so horror films like urban legend and john carpenter\\'s vampires seem like stunning works of high art . \\ni still know relies heavily on tired slasher film cliches : an isolated location , a storm , parentless teenagers , false alarm nightmares , lots of blue-lighted darkness scenes , a garbed slasher who walks around in the background without the characters seeing him , knives and other sharp instruments lying around everywhere , etc . you get the picture . \\nthe entire audience knows all the secondary characters introduced in the film are going to receive the business end of the killer\\'s hook . \\nthey may as well have huge targets painted on them . \\nlike scream and its numerous knockoffs , these secondary characters are supposed to serve as comic relief . \\nunfortunately , i still know\\'s characters aren\\'t all that funny . \\nin particular , one character , a chain-weed-smoking guy , is obnoxiously annoying and certainly doesn\\'t die soon enough . \\nthe death scenes , by the way , are relatively violent for a theatrically released horror film . \\nseveral of them are uncomfortable to watch , and they reminded me of the sickening gore scenes in hellraiser : bloodline , a truly sadistic movie . \\nthis , too , did not help the supposed humor i still know was shooting for . \\nand what is the deal with the slasher himself ? \\ni know that the slasher film is not a particularly intelligent genre , but ben willis has got to go down as one of the most silly slashers in mainstream horror . \\ncome on , the guy looks like the gorton\\'s fisherman , and his gruff voice makes him sound like a disney pirate . \\nthough his lightning-lit appearances ellicited much-needed laughter in the theater , his appearance borders on the absurd in the horror film , and that\\'s * really * saying something . \\nso , all that\\'s left to talk about here is jennifer love hewitt and brandy . \\nboth prance about in tightfitting , revealing outfits or in various states of undress , yet neither of them ever actually do a nude scene . \\nhewitt , however , does do a post-shower scene in which her thin bathrobe is quite . \\n . \\n . titillating . \\nthis scene alone made this one-star turkey earn two stars under my rating system . \\notherwise , hewitt and brandy both grate on the nerves . \\nearly in the film , for instance , brandy wins the trip to the bahamas . \\nshe and hewitt jump around and scream and screech for what seems like forever . \\ni needed extra-strength tylenol after that part . \\noh , and the film\\'s conclusion , talk about repetitive ! \\npeople who saw i know what you did last summer will predict i still know\\'s ending at least 5 minutes before it happens . \\nboring ! \\ni saw this movie with my brother at the local downtown movie theater . \\nadmission is only one dollar on wednesdays , and we often go see bad movies on these days just to ridicule them . \\nit\\'s usually a fun thing to do along with the rest of the audience , who don\\'t seem to mind participating in a mass \" mystery science theater 3000 \" -type viewing . \\ni still know what you did last summer , however , produced several lengthy uncomfortable silences from the audience , underscoring how bad it * really * is . \\nif it weren\\'t for the main actresses\\' revealing wardrobes , i\\'d have had a very , very hard time sitting through this lame sequel . \\ni can\\'t imagine trying to watch it on video ( horror films seem 10 times better in a theater because they rely heavily on audience participation ) and wouldn\\'t recommend it to people , unless they\\'re horror film fanatics or huge fans of hewitt and brandy . \\ni read on a website somewhere that another sequel is already in the works . \\nwhat a depressing thought . \\nhewitt apparently needs to spend more time on tv figuring out how to act . \\nrated r , this film contains lots of violence , several gory scenes , and a couple nubile , horny teenagers--though the sex act itself is always thwarted . \\ni\\'d say this is unsuitable for kids , but teens wouldn\\'t have a problem sitting through it , especially since they obviously compose the film\\'s target audience . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'since their film debut in 1984 with the tightly wrought texas thriller \" blood simple , \" joel and ethan coen have been one of the most eclectic , original , and downright fascinating creative teams in modern hollywood . \\ntheir films are highly stylized , deeply embedded in a particular time and place , and their characters are more often than not everyday people who get caught up in highly unusual circumstances . \\nin \" the big lebowski , \" their first cinematic offering since the multiple academy award-winning \" fargo , \" the action takes place in los angeles during the gulf war , and the hero of the story is jeff lebowski , aka the dude . \\nthe dude is played by jeff bridges -- one of hollywood\\'s most underrated actors -- in the best stoned performance since sean penn stumbled through the halls of ridgemont high . \\nthe dude is a simple man who has never quite made it out of the sixties . \\nhe has shaggy , shoulder-length hair , a grizzled goatee badly in need of a trim , and he wears mostly stained tee-shirts , long shorts , and gellies without socks . \\nhe smokes a lot of pot , drinks a lot of white russians , and is more than content to spend the majority of his time bowling with his two buddies , a slightly psychotic vietnam vet named walter sobchak ( john goodman ) and donny ( steve buscemi ) , one of those guys who always wants to be part of the conversation , but never quite makes it in . \\none day , the dude is confused with another jeff lebowski ( david huddleston ) , this one being a millionaire philanthropist whose trophy wife , bunny ( tara reid ) , owes a lot of people a lot of money . \\nthe main plot and all its accompanying side-plots and coenesque diatribes are far too complicated to get into here . \\nsuffice to say that the dude becomes deeply involved with the big lebowski when bunny is kidnaped and the dude is asked to be a courier for the ransom money . \\nby the time all is said and done , walter has become deeply involved , as has the big lebowski\\'s daughter , maude ( julianne moore ) , a feminist performance artist , a pornographer named jackie treehorn ( ben gazzara ) , and a group of german nihilists led by peter stormare , who was so great as the silent but deadly kidnaper in \" fargo . \" \\n \" the big lebowski \" plays like an amalgam of all the coen brothers\\' earlier efforts . \\nit shares their previous films\\' strong sense of time and place , as well as their send-ups of movie genres and political and cultural ideologies . \\n \" lebowski \" has the same kind of crazed caricatures that made \" raising arizona \" such a hoot ; it has surrealistic dream sequences ( one of which involves a busby berkley-like dance number ) that characterized the ending of \" barton fink \" ; and it has the same kind of cartoonish look and feel that pervaded \" the hudsucker proxy . \" \\nthe film was shot by veteran cinematographer roger deakins , who has worked with the coens on three other films , \" barton fink , \" \" the hudsucker proxy , \" and \" fargo . \" \\ndeakins always gives the coens\\' films a distinctive visual style , and here he does a brilliant job of capturing the bright colors of seedy los angeles in the early nineties , whether that by the obnoxious blue bowling suit worn by the dude\\'s main competitor jesus quintana ( john turturro ) , or the strikingly manic dream sequences , one of which involves the dizzy spectacle of watching a strike from a bowling ball\\'s point of view . \\nif \" fargo \" was the coen brothers\\' most restrained effort in years , \" the big lebowski \" marks their return to over-the-edge filmmaking . \\nit is overflowing with style and attitude , which helps make up for the scattered plot fragments that never quite come together in the end . \\nthe coens fill the screen with lighting , set design , music , and hilarious performances from all the leads , especially bridges and the always reliable john goodman , who shows real comic timing in his untimely \\'nam-inspired outbursts and his intense dedication to his adopted judaism . \\nwith joel directing , ethan producing , and both writing , the coen brothers seem limitless in their capacity to turn our world inside out . \\ntheir talent lies not in their ability to reflect the norms of reality , but in their potential to dig out the darkest corners of life and bring them to light . \\nthe coens rejoice in the oddballs of the world , and they put them center-stage to show that it\\'s not just guys like the dude who are nuts , but the entire planet . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : a group of asbestos cleaners get a job removing the gunk from an old insane asylum . \\nas each day passes , the crew members begin to discover things about the place and themselves which set other things in motion . \\nsaying anything else about the plot would be a crime . \\nhave fun . . . \\ncritique : \" i feel like shooting myself in the head \" are the first words that came out of my mouth after seeing this movie , a good indication as to what kind of film to expect here . \\nthis ain\\'t your average \" happy go lucky \" kind of picture . \\nthis is a deliberately slow-paced mystery-horror film drenched in atmosphere , with a very creepy insane asylum ( in which most of the film takes place ) , very few clues up-front and lots to talk about afterwards . \\nwill it bore some people to sleep ? \\nyou bet it will ! \\nis it made for the scream audiences of the day ? \\nabsolutely not ! \\ni guess you can describe this film as a horror movie for the \" cerebral crowd \" . \\na film that patiently unwraps itself frame after frame , giving away very little with each step and each sound , unwinding itself until its final scenes offer up a world of revelations and plenty more to discuss later . \\ni\\'ve always loved movies that have me talking about them afterwards like the shining and lost highway and this film fits right into that group . \\nin fact , i guess i can pussyfoot around the actual word all i want but the best way to describe this kind of movie is a \" mindfuck \" . \\nif you feel like watching a movie that moves very slowly , gives you a handful of characters with divergent backgrounds , tosses a few very ambiguous and supernatural cookies your way and is extremely disturbing once you put it all together , well , then this movie is definitely for you ! \\nit\\'s the kind of film that you actually have to see twice to fully appreciate ( damn , i missed that whole \" peanut butter \" thing ! ) and one that will likely creep the shit out of you if watched alone in the dark . \\n \" brrrrrrrrr . . . now \\nwhat was that sound in the basement ? \\nhoney , can you go check ? \" \\nand one thing this film doesn\\'t have , unlike its hollywood-ian counterparts like the haunting , is special effects . \\nin fact , that\\'s one of the greater things about this movie : it feels real because it looks like it\\'s actually taped on video with very credible actors in very credible circumstances ( i did some research and it was , in fact , shot on digital video . . . ah-ha ! ) . \\nanother great thing about it is that it\\'s actually very gory and somewhat violent in theme , and yet we rarely see anything of the sort on the big screen ( it\\'s mostly implied , kids ! ) . \\nand as clich ? d as it might be to say . . . it\\'s usually much scarier when stuff is left to our imagination or implied in movies as such . \\nother films that this one reminded me of include henry : portrait of a serial killer and the blair witch project , with that same real sense of dread , brooding and terror . \\nthe film does however move awfully slow and if you really don\\'t get \" into \" it completely ( you really need to concentrate here ) , you will lose the motion of the story and the pent-up tension might be released . \\nbut overall , this film is yet another great example of the horror genre making a very cool comeback this year with no tight tanktops in sight . \\nand with david caruso acting like the king hotshot like only he can , how can you go wrong ? \\ndefinitely not a film for everyone but a must-see for anyone looking to throw themselves into the psyche of the disturbed ( count me in ! ) . \\nstanley kubrick would be proud ! \\noh yeah . . . so \\nwhere\\'s that gun again . . . ? \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nthe blair witch project ( 4/10 ) - blair witch 2 ( 7/10 ) - the haunting ( 3/10 ) - the house on haunted hill ( 7/10 ) - lost highway ( 10/10 ) - the pledge ( 6/10 ) - the shining ( 9/10 ) - the sixth sense ( 8/10 ) - unbreakable ( 8/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b' ( dimension films , \" scream 2 \" \\'s distributor , has asked press to say extremely little -- if anything -- about the film\\'s twisty plot . \\nthat\\'s no easy task considering the wit that deserves to be mentioned here , but i will do my best to be vague ( now , there\\'s a first ) . ) \\n \" the first one was [good] , but all the rest sucked , \" said a cinematically-savvy teen in last winter\\'s wes craven thriller \" scream , \" her statement referring to the films of the \" nightmare on elm street \" series but really putting down franchise overkill in general . \\nthe comment certainly carries clout : for every truly great sequel , there appears to be a couple of duds , making one wonder if writers are better off sticking solely with fresh ideas . \\nbut like it or not , along comes \" scream 2 . \" and believe it or not , it\\'s a doozy -- a slick , sinister , madly subversive good time at the movies , as intent on sending up hollywood\\'s sequel syndrome as much as its prequel poked fun at slasher conventions . \\n \" scream 2 \" is definitely that rare movie thing -- a follow-up that can stand along side its original with pride . \\nit\\'s been two years since a pair of overzealous horror movie fans clad in edvard munch-esque get-ups carved their way through the young populace of woodsboro , california . \\nthose surviving the ordeal have gotten on with their lives . \\nplucky heroine sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) is a drama student at the midwestern windsor college ; her pop culture-whiz pal randy meeks ( jamie kennedy ) has tagged along . \\ntrash tabloid reporter gale weathers ( courteney cox ) has written a best-seller based on their ordeal , the basis of which has been turned into a ( very bad ) movie called \" stab . \" \\nand dewey riley ( david arquette ) , still suffering from wounds inflicted during \" scream , \" has left his job as a police officer for a while . \\nlife is tranquil . . . \\nat least for a while . \\nseveral sudden murders bring sidney , randy , gale and dewey together again , but with suspicious eyes cast on each other and most of those in their surroundings -- if these four people learned anything from the past , it\\'s to trust no one . \\nthus , the possible victim/potential killer list includes said quartet , as well as : derek ( jerry o\\'connell ) , sidney\\'s new beau ; cici ( sara michelle gellar ) , a chatty sorority gal ; joel ( duane martin ) , gale\\'s cameraman who\\'s not too thrilled with her blood-soaked past ; hallie ( elise neal ) , sidney\\'s sassy roommate ; debbie ( laurie metcalf ) , a local reporter who gives gale some not-too-friendly competition ; and mickey ( timothy olyphant ) , randy\\'s good friend and fellow film student . \\ncotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , the man sidney wrongly accused of her mother\\'s murder in scream , also shows up on campus -- but why ? \\nlike the first scream , craven and screenwriter kevin williamson inaugurate things with a bang . \\nthis time , it\\'s an extended sequence that finds an african-american couple ( jada pinkett and omar epps ) attending a sneak preview of \" stab , \" making sly references about everything from sandra bullock to the lunchmeat non-roles of blacks in slasher cinema . \\nbefore tragedy ensues at the screening , the movie-within-a-movie setup allows for plenty of jokey moments , including a scene from \" stab \" which turns scream\\'s now-famous drew barrymore prologue on its ear . \\n ( \" b---- , hang up the phone and star-69 his a-- ! \" \\npinkett yells at the screen . ) \\nit\\'s funny , creepy stuff ( i don\\'t think i\\'ll ever feel safe in a movie theater again ) that effectively foreshadows the ratio of smart scares and spoofy laughs down the road . \\nanother flawless example of this is a riotous cell phone-assault of the killer on randy , dewey and gale in broad daylight ; it builds comedically and ends with genuine terror because of the emotional investment made on these delicious characters . \\nthere are other superb set pieces , but explaining them risks ruining their effect . \\nthere are more players this time around as to provide both a higher number suspects and a staggering body count . \\nit\\'s something of a trade-in -- the new characters are too large in number to be as fully-developed as the original \" scream \" gang , but this movie packs in knowing performances ( especially by kennedy and cox ) and more death for your dollar . \\nit can be argued that , while the original might outclass it by a tad , scream 2 is both scarier and funnier . \\nit certainly doesn\\'t skimp with shocks -- a major one being the killing of one cast member very near and dear to my heart ( i actually questioned craven and williamson\\'s judgment here , considering how much this person has added to these films ) . \\nsometimes you wish that more could have been done with stab -- the two scenes we\\'re shown are dead-on -- but for film fans , there are plenty of subtle nods to movies like \" the usual suspects , \" \" aliens \" and \" the empire strikes back . \" \\nstill , \" scream 2 \" does so many things right , it\\'s petty to quibble . \\nits penchant for parody is irresistible , discussions of the merits of film sequels and all . \\nthe attractive , solid cast is a definite bonus . \\nand the denouement ( while not as shocking as \" scream \" \\'s ) is priceless ; the film\\'s final revelation incorporates bits of a particular horror film prominently referred to in \" scream \" with one of the best bad guy motives ever put on paper . \\nall this and a \" scream 3 \" is in the works . \\nknowing the series\\' tendency for self-reference , perhaps one of its characters will again discuss the concept of sequel justice . \\nmentioning \" scream 2 \" \\'ll help them in their argument . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'much ado about nothing . \\nah , how sweet the irony ! \\nit\\'s accepted wisdom in some circles - among english literature nuts , mainly - that whenever a critic knocks shakespeare they are only doing so through ignorance . \\nhe just doesn\\'t \" understand \" shakespeare , you will hear them say . \\nthe bard\\'s work is apparently beyond criticism . \\nwhat a load of old cobblers . \\nif these arbiters of public taste think kenneth branaugh\\'s film of shakespeare\\'s \" comedy \" much ado about nothing is comedy in any modern sense of the word , it\\'s time to get a life . \\nget monty python . \\nget woody allen . \\nget john waters . \\nwhatever . \\njust get a real taste of some clever , witty , risky comedy . \\nand banish this nonsense to where it belongs . \\ndrama and tragedy was shakespeare\\'s strength . \\nto my sensibilities - and i\\'m no stick in the mud - much ado about nothing resonates with no spark whatsoever . \\nno kidding : this film ranks among the most embarrassing two hours i have ever spent in a cinema in my 20 years of movie going . \\nthe only thing that stopped me walking out was loyalty to my lady friend , as this was our day out and i hadn\\'t seen her in ages . \\nbut boy , does she owe me one ! \\ni won\\'t spend too much time on the plot . \\nbasically , we follow the trials and tribulations of two would-be couples - one young , the other older . \\nthere\\'s some dark treachery amongst all this , but everyone is so awfully jolly that you\\'d hardly know it . \\nmind you , there\\'s nothing wrong with the basic story . \\ngood romantic comedies based on similar premises abound . \\nnothing wrong with most of the cast , either . \\nbranaugh , emma thompson and denzel washington are all talented performers . \\nthe problem is the script , or more accurately , shakespeare\\'s original text . \\nlight comedy shouldn\\'t be complex . \\nyet wrapped in elizabethan english , the dialogue becomes difficult to comprehend . \\nfor this alone it will be a problem for modern audiences unschooled in shakespeare and in search of nothing more than a good , undemanding laugh . \\nthe only laughs to escape my belly were brought on by the gloriously inept performance of keanu reeves , the actor once again miscast as a jealous half-brother or something . \\nbut when dissected and understood , what it all boils down to is that this stuff is just so goddamn lame . \\nthis is comedy so clean and nice and corny and so devoid of danger that it leaves this viewer totally cold . \\nho , ho , ho , boy likes girl ! \\nho , ho , ho , men are such klutzes ! \\nho , ho , ho , she\\'s so awfully clumsy ! \\noh please ! \\nthere\\'s wit in here somewhere , i\\'m told . \\ni call it pretentious . \\nsomething lightweight striving to be something sophisticated through clever wordplay . \\nin the end , it\\'s cringeworthy . \\nwatching some of the cinema patrons around me collapse with laughter made much ado about nothing a very weird movie going experience . \\ncomedy ? \\nbah , humbug ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"an american werewolf in london is john landis' groundbreaking feature about an american tourist who gets himself bitten by a werewolf in jolly old england . \\nthe groundbreaking part of the movie is the special effects . \\nmore specifically , the makeup used for the transformation of a man into a werewolf ; and for the ghosts that haunt the main character . \\neven twenty years after its release , that part of the movie is still impressive . \\nalthough , i would have to say that it really is the only part of the movie that could be considered impressive . \\nthe rest of the movie is a run of the mill werewolf flick with some extra gore thrown in for good measure . \\nif it weren't for the cutting edge makeup effects used in the werewolf transformation it is most likely that this is a film that would have gone largely unnoticed when it was released back in 1980 . \\nand with good reason -- the acting isn't great and neither is the writing . \\nwell ok , we don't actually expect either of those things to be great in a horror film . \\nbut one other important element is lacking here too -- it isn't scary . \\nwith no exception , you know what is going to happen before it happens . \\nyou don't even need the obligatory scary music to give you a hint . \\ni will give director john landis credit for this being one of the best looking horror films that i have ever seen . \\nbut john , it just wasn't scary . \\ni didn't know if this was intended to be some sort of romantic drama and the whole werewolf thing was just thrown in to get people to come to the theater to see it , but it didn't work for me . \\nactually , it was intended as a sort of a spoof on horror films . \\nbut the mix of the comedic moments with the melodrama was so bad ; the intended humor was lost on me . \\nit's never a good sign that you don't realize a movie is supposed to be funny until after the movie is long over and you read it in the background material . \\ncall me crazy , but you shouldn't have to do research on a movie to enjoy it . \\ni'm not even going to get into the plot of the movie that much , since the title pretty well sums the whole thing up . \\nwerewolf bites boy ( david naughton ) . \\nboy ends up in hospital where he is tended to and eventually falls for pretty nurse ( jenny agutter ) and then strange things begin to happen to boy . \\nincluding , and i must admit this is a very nice touch , visits from his friend who was killed in the same werewolf attack that ended up with him in the hospital . \\nthe neat thing here is that his buddy is a rapidly deteriorating corpse . \\ni know it sounds strange , but it actually works . \\nthe scenes between david naughton and the dead buddy ( griffin dunne ) are really the best parts of the movie . \\nas i said , probably the only reason that this film was a hit was because of the special effects . \\nwhile they are still impressive today , they aren't impressive enough , or plentiful enough to warrant watching this film . \\nand since they are more or less the highlight of the film , there are far better choices out there if you want a scary movie to curl up with your sweetheart to watch . \\nactually , the 1998 sequel , an american werewolf in paris , is more entertaining since it doesn't take itself as seriously and actually provides a few more laughs along the way . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'starring ben stiller , elizabeth hurley , maria bello , janeane garofalo screenplay by david veloz , based on the novel by jerry stahl directed by david veloz \\npermanent midnight is a pretty bad movie , though it took me a few days to conclude this . \\nthe film is more masturbatory than bleak , with its main character intent on confounding us with his stupidity . \\n ( he has a $6000 a week drug habit . ) \\nultimately , as adapted by veloz , jerry stahl comes off as one of those playground braggarts who chainsmokes at the age of twelve ; you are less mystified by his self-destructive nature than bored into a stupor yourself . \\nben stiller plays stahl , a young author who arrives in l . a . with ambition and a nasty drug habit . \\nhe eventually gets a gig for $5000/week writing for a sitcom called mr . chompers ( a thinly veiled stand-in for \" alf \" : chompers looks just like alf except he\\'s blue ) , marries a producer ( hurley ) so she can get a green card , and hooks up with a spanish mother ( liz torres ) , who shoots heroin with him in the afternoons . \\ninsert proverbial downward spiral here . \\npermanent midnight is structured mostly as a flashback , with recovering addict bello meeting stiller ( at a fastfood restaurant , where stiller works the drive-thru as part of rehab ) , taking him back to a hotel , and between bouts of serious screwing , listening to his life story . \\ni\\'ve spent the last week trying to figure out why stiller never seemed to find the frighteningly gorgeous hurley attractive-worse , i\\'ve been trying to figure out why hurley did find stiller attractive . \\nas stahl , stiller displays none of the charm or wit one would expect ( post-there\\'s something about mary ) of either the actor or a comedy writer . \\nwhat separates stahl from the hundreds of other hollywood punk-junkies , it seems , is that stahl wrote a book about his idiocy . \\nwatch stahl shoot heroin next to a baby ! \\nwatch stahl spoil numerous pitch meetings with smack-fueled babble ! \\nstiller gives a technically flawless performance : the film could double as a documentary on how to be a junkie . \\nbut permanent midnight is mostly soulless . \\nwhen the movie poses the question will stahl be saved ? \\nand then answers it in the form of bello\\'s character ( basically a shrink in black panties ) , could a person care less ? \\nin the film version of his autobiography of the same name , stahl doesn\\'t need saving , he needs someone who will sit there and listen to him go on about himself . \\nif you learn anything about the other characters in this movie , it\\'s that they are the most incredibly tolerant hollywood-types known to man . \\n ( stahl also seems to be the only person at schmooze parties doing drugs . \\nis this hollywood . . . california ? ) \\ni learned very little about the entertainment business from permanent midnight and a whole lot about an egotistical lunkhead . \\nof course you know that stahl triumphed because he lived to talk about his problems . \\nso , basically , his drug habit got him a book deal , a movie based on his life , and now he\\'s apparently collaborating with stiller on future projects . \\nso much for the moral of that story . \\ntemporary midnight is more like it . \\n-bill chambers ; september , 1998 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'new address . \\nsame old attitude . \\ndon\\'t forget to recommend a film , read the journal , or send me some of that nasty hate mail . ) \\nstarring bruce willis , billy bob thornton , liv tyler , ben affleck written by jonathan hensleigh and j . j . \\nabrams directed by michael bay \\nit rocks-actually , lots of rocks fly at us or from us , in slow or fast motion , at several points in the film . \\nthey seem like dangerous rocks because they kind of twirl through the air instead of just propelling forward , and when they land-once in a while , when we need a break from the space sequences-they cause damage enough to destroy the chrysler building and the like . \\n ( nary a mention of these apocalyptic events is made after they occur . ) \\nthey also just might be the most interesting element of armageddon , a steroid user\\'s answer to deep impact . \\nbruce willis stars as harry stamper , a famed oil-driller commissioned by the white house and nasa to stop a giant asteroid before it travels beyond \" zero barrier \" and destroys our planet . \\nwhy an oil driller ? \\nthey require someone experienced with deep-core mining to plant a nuclear missile into said asteroid . \\n ( in one unintentionally ( ? ) \\nhilarious sequence , nasa asks harry to inspect a deep-core driller they built based on his own blueprints ; it is poorly constructed-harry criticizes almost every aspect of it . \\nwe trust nasa to build space shuttles that can land on twirling asteroids ? ) \\nharry assembles the obligatory \" ragtag \" bunch of \" cowboys \" , including a blond guy , a fat guy , a black guy , a wiseass , and the man who is sleeping with his daughter ( affleck ) . \\nonce they reach space , we experience sequence after sequence of something going wrong-perhaps the fact that they sent a bunch of nincompoops into outer space has something to do with it ; i cannot count the number of times they almost fail the mission on all my fingers and toes . \\nwhether or not they save the day , i will not reveal . \\nnor will you care . \\ni will say this : you know you\\'re in trouble when deep impact dwarfs your asteroid movie in terms of emotion and scope . \\nwillis has barely a chance to come alive ; ditto for affleck . \\ntheir big scenes are mostly reserved for the third act , in a last minute-and futile-attempt to inject warmth into the material . \\nsteve buscemi\\'s character-the wiseass-is exceptionally problematic . \\n \" rockhound \" , as he\\'s called , is sarcastic and foolish , so they tape him to a chair , where he spends most of the film . \\nso why did they bring him up there to begin with ? \\nrather , why write him into the film ? -give \\nhis almost-witty one-liners to serious willis , who scowls and mopes and demonstrates psychotic tendencies : at one point he chases after affleck with his shotgun for screwing his daughter , firing often and causing significant damage to his oil rig . \\ni\\'m guessing he qualifies under nasa guidelines as someone unfit for space travel , at least in my world where the sky is blue . \\nliv tyler is pretty and humourless , as always ; suspiciously , four of her father\\'s band\\'s ( \" aerosmith \" ) songs grace the soundtrack . \\ndirector michael bay lays the visual and sound effects on thick , like ketchup , eventually drowning the movie on-screen . \\n ( the middle hour is a non-sensical , pyrotechnic assault on the average primate\\'s brain . ) \\nwhenever someone dies in this movie , a crew member inevitably yells out \" we lost ( insert dead person\\'s last name here ) ! \" \\ni must admit that not once could i distinguish a dead oil-guy-cum-astronaut from a live one , and close-ups of the corpses\\' faces beneath cracked helmets provided little assistance , as their skin was often covered in fake blood . \\narmageddon is not as terrible movie as godzilla . \\nit looks nicer , and has fewer plot-holes within its equally ludicrous framework . \\nit has a vivid soundmix . \\nbut at almost two-and-a-half hours , i could not believe how little actually happened over the course of the story . \\nthe love story has been played up in the ads , perhaps hoping to catch people before they recover from titanic-fever . \\nbollocks ! \\nthe lovers in the film are miles apart throughout-erase all thoughts of nude sketching or car-sex and replace them with obligatory shots of liv tyler tearing up while ben affleck dicks around in a moon-crawler . \\nremember a little film called jaws ? \\nin this film , three independent-minded men suddenly found themselves on a fishing boat in pursuit of a deadly shark . \\nthey didn\\'t much like each other at first ; eventually , they started to respect one another . \\none of jaws\\' great scenes involved the would-be-ahabs drinking and singing songs and telling stories . \\nthis is the sort of male-bonding foreign to bay or his producer , jerry bruckheimer , who throw too many characters into the mix and expect we\\'ll care about them on the grounds that the world is about to end . \\nnot once do we get the feeling that these characters are even acquaintances-i\\'d be surprised if these actors bothered to introduce themselves to one another before \" action \" was called . \\na male friend who loved the film suggested to me that perhaps i cannot relate to a bunch of men who don\\'t bare their souls , who believe in dying macho concepts like heroism and a kind of chest-beating bravery . \\nto this , i will respond that the boys in armageddon are neither heroic , nor brave , nor smart , even : this team couldn\\'t build a birdhouse . \\nand if i get no respect for disliking a movie with all the synthetic feeling of a trailer-a trailer for a movie written by a team of body-builders and greeting card authors-i\\'ve never been a prouder wimp my whole life . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i am a steven seagal fan . \\ni only say this now because \" mufti splenetik \" isn\\'t my real name and because i probably need to explain why i went into this film expecting great things . \\nany proud seagal fan worth his beans will tell you that the seagal formula is something you can depend on . \\nseagal films can always be counted on for minimal dialogue , heaps of expendable baddies with extemely crunchable bones ( which we\\'ll always hear when seagal does his limb-twisting thing ) , rarely a female co-lead in sight ( unless it\\'s a real-life model-wife who hasn\\'t worked since weird science ) and , usually the worst possible titles you can imagine . \\nnot to mention very straightforward plots , generally all-round bad dialogue and mr implacable leather-face himself in that same black outfit he\\'s been in since nico doing his \" my hands are sharp , nimble knives \" thing , seagal the stoic , sir petrified ponytail , duke of dull . \\nin the glimmer man , seagal breaks out of this formula : he gets a * sidekick * , attempts to banter , and puts on a new vest . \\nhe\\'s also put on quite a lot of weight . \\nsmall potatoes , you may say , a man should be able to accessorize and banter if he wants to , but damnit , if it ain\\'t broke , why fix it ? \\n ( more on this disappointed person\\'s dashed expectations later ) . \\nas jack cole , seagal is a homicide detective with a questionable past . \\nwhile he and his partner ( played by keenen ivory wayans ) are investigating a series of ritual killings , cole himself becomes a suspect , especially when a background check run by campbell reveals practically nothing on cole . \\nit turns out that cole is a former trained government assassin ( you just can\\'t trust these homicide detectives ) , someone whom victims used to catch just a glimpse of in the jungle before he pounced on them , and hence , well , you know , that \" glimmer man \" thing . \\nan increasingly fishy homicide investigation in the present soon leads to the gradual uncovering of a larger , more threatening conspiracy that involves a crooked businessman ( bob gunton ) , cole\\'s former cia boss ( brian cox ) and deals involving chemical weapons . \\nthe glimmer man plot is pretty standard stuff , drawing ( as with his other films ) elements from the hotter films of the year ( eg , se7en ) . \\nit\\'s the other changes that disappoint . \\nfor example , although there\\'s a fair amount of violence in this movie , there\\'s also the disastrous pairing of seagal with keenen ivory wayans , probably the best known of the wayans tribe ( how many are there , exactly ? ) from television\\'s \" in living colour . \" \\nwayans plays whiney straightman to seagal\\'s bead-adorned and brocade-draped cole , keeping up his \" are you crazy \" part of the dialogue with wasted zest . \\nas campbell , wayans confines himself to bemoaning his new partner\\'s eccentric habits , but the chemistry between the two is minimal , and seagal\\'s wooden comebacks make for painful watching . \\na cook in under seige 2 , seagal is now a buddhist who speaks chinese and wears prayer beads and intricate silk jackets over his normal black ensemble . \\nhe chants , refuses to fight unless truly provoked and introduces campbell to powdered deer penis to cure his allergies . \\nagain , a benign ( if trite ) plot device except for the fact that these new character traits require seagal to speak more than usual . \\nheck , he has to deliver punchlines and carry a steady conversation with someone other than himself for a large part of the film . \\nis that a lot to ask of the seague ? \\ntoo much . \\nseagal\\'s best characteristic used to be that he knew his purpose in this already complicated world of movies : to crunchily snap off bad guy appendages , and to do it silently , and alone . \\nnot for seagal , the snappy one-liners of arnold and stallone , nor the attempts to show that he can act , much less think . \\nno kindergarten cop , no oscar , just simple , unadulterated deathblows . \\nthat\\'s really how it must have started : like-minded fans who knew what they wanted streamed in to watch the seague do his thing , knowing that never in the seagal universe would they ever have to see him do anything else . \\nwe trusted him . \\nwe got to know him . \\nnow , betrayal . \\ni don\\'t know if i can watch another seagal movie without that little niggling doubt that he\\'s going to try to be funny again . \\ni\\'ll try , but it won\\'t be easy . \\nif you haven\\'t watched the glimmer man yet , you might want to wait for the video to come out . \\nit\\'s easier to just fast forward the dialogue parts and linger on the action sequences . \\nafter all , if we can\\'t depend on our fantasies , what can we depend on ? \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\nmufti spelenetik is still a steven seagal fan . \\neverybody makes mistakes once in awhile . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the truman show ( paramount pictures ) running time : 1 hour 42 minutes starring jim carrey and ed harris directed by peter weir after a long wait , jim carrey\\'s dramatic debut finally makes it to the big screen . \\nin case you\\'ve been asleep for the last few months , the plot centres on truman burbank ( carrey ) who leads an seemingly idyllic life in the beautiful town of seahaven . \\nhis life seems so perfect , however , because it\\'s controlled by christoff ( harris ) creator of the truman show , the program burbank is unwittingly the hero of . \\nthat\\'s right , burbank\\'s life is being broadcast live to the american public , and seahaven and all it\\'s inhabitants are inclosed in a massive sound stage . \\nthe film takes the jerry springer format one step too far . . . \\nwith an idea so different , it would be easy for the director and screenwriter to dumb it down and appeal to the lowest common denominator . \\nluckily , the film remains sensible enough to appeal to all ages , yet never seems to be a dumb carrey movie . \\ntalking of carrey , he\\'s perfect in this movie , enjoying the best role in his career . \\nhis character is a re-inforced stanley ipkiss from the mask ( 1994 ) and is completely suited to carrey\\'s persona . \\nhe occasionally falls into ace ventura mode , shrieking and being silly , but generally the audience is watching subdued carrey . \\nhe\\'s not completely dramatic like the film promises , however . \\ned harris brings an extreme intensity to christoff , the megalomaniac creator of the show . \\nquiet and well spoken , he burns an image into the viewer . \\nunfortunately , he\\'s barely in the film , and for the first hour dosen\\'t appear at all ! \\nalso disappointing is natascha mcelhone\\'s character sylvia . \\nshe plays the role well , but her character is sadly underwritten and is pushed to the sidelines just when the audience is used to her . \\nthe supporting cast is excellent , and the town of seahaven looks delightfully perfect , so perfect it\\'s creepy . \\nthe philip glass soundtrack is also superb , and is used to great effect during the film . \\npeter weir keeps the film going , clearly having fun . \\nthe film is far more upbeat than his previous films dead poets society and green card . \\nalthough it is slightly slow to begin with , about half an hour into film the pace really picks up , and when christoff is introduced fully the film is on a roll . \\nsadly , though , the film is practically over when the film is in full steam . \\nalso , concerning the ending , it is slightly too ambiguous , which was disappointing . \\nthe screenwriter , andrew niccol , who bought us gattaca ( 1997 ) delivers an entertaining script , and manages to keep the plot in trim . \\nwhile christoff\\'s plans to keep truman in do get increasingly silly , they never go over the line , which would have been easy for niccol to do . \\nalso , there\\'s some funny gags involving product placement and the people who watch the show . \\noverall , the truman show is excellent entertainment . \\ncertainly different from the usual crap hollywood produces , it should be viewed by everyone . \\nit offers something to every member of the audience , and you would almost certainly not come out disappointed . \\noverall rating= \\nreview by david wilcock ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the first species was a moderately-successful science fiction yarn that diverted audiences with some nifty special effects , a few well- paced action sequences , and frequent views of model-turned-actress natasha henstridge sans clothing . \\nhowever , it was definitely not a movie that cried out for a sequel . \\nand , considering the quality of species 2 , it\\'s obvious that mgm should have stopped while they were ahead . \\nthe only thing that distinguishes species 2 is how awful it is . \\nif you throw away the plot , which is characterized by a blatant disregard for intelligence , logic , coherence , and consistency , species 2 actually has a few things to recommend it to a select audience . \\nof course , that audience is primarily comprised of teenage boys ( who , at least in theory , shouldn\\'t be able to get into an \" r \" -rated film ) and connoisseurs of bad movies . \\nthere\\'s enough blood , gore , simulated sex , and bare flesh in species 2 to prevent it from ever becoming boring . \\nthis is a grade z exploitation flick that\\'s ripe for the mystery science theater 3000 treatment . \\nsomewhere , someplace , i recall hearing species 2 described as \" erotic . \" \\ni would love to know who used with that adjective for this movie , because he ( or she ) has a peculiar notion of eroticism . \\nsure , there\\'s a lot of sex and nudity , but it\\'s almost always accompanied by the ripping open of a woman\\'s abdomen as an alien baby claws its way free , splattering blood and gore in all directions . \\nanyone turned on by that is not someone i would care to be sitting next to in a theater . \\ni suppose the main attraction in species 2 is natasha henstridge ( and , to get the obvious question out of the way -- yes , she does remove her top , but only once , and only briefly ) . \\nalthough the character she played in the original species is dead , government scientists still have the dna , and , out of what can only be described as a suicidal impulse , they decide to create another clone . \\nthis creature , dubbed \" eve \" by its creator , dr . laura baker ( played by marg helgenberger , reprising her role ) , is genetically engineered to be kinder and more docile . \\nmeanwhile , man has finally set foot on mars . \\na team of three , led by patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , has traveled to the red planet , but when they return to earth , they bring something with them . \\nross has become a half-human/half-alien hybrid , and he\\'s soon mating like crazy , collecting the blood-soaked children that are the result of each sex session . \\nhis intention is obviously world domination . \\nstanding in his way is that indomitable soldier of fortune from the first film , preston lennox ( michael madsen ) , and one of patrick\\'s fellow astronauts , dennis gamble ( mykelti williamson ) . \\nbut when patrick learns about eve , a female of his kind , there\\'s no damping his ardor . \\ni\\'m not sure what the budget for species 2 was , but a significant portion of it must have gone into paying handsome salaries to several recognizable actors ( as opposed to being diverted into the special effects ) . \\nmichael madsen and marg helgenberger , both back for a second round , are clearly on hand to do as little as they can , grab the money , and run . \\nditto for james cromwell , who plays patrick\\'s father -- \" underused \" is too kind a word to describe his involvement ( \" invisible \" would be more like it ) . \\ngeorge dzundza gets to do a little scenery- chewing as an angry-but-inept general . \\nmeanwhile , justin lazard\\'s performance as patrick is so flat that he makes natasha henstridge\\'s limited abilities look good by comparison . \\nthe only one in the whole production with any energy is mykelti williamson , who is cast in the part of the wisecracking black sidekick . \\ncomplete with cheesy special effects , bare breasts around every narrative corner , and dialogue capable of producing howls of laughter , species 2 has been dumped into the marketplace without advance screenings for critics . \\ndirector peter medak , a journeyman film maker with a significant list of mediocre movies on his resume , has added another forgettable title , but at least he appears to have had fun doing it , which is more than can be said of anyone trying to take this film with even a scintilla of seriousness . \\ndo i recommend the movie ? \\nabsolutely not , but i will admit that species 2 is dopey enough that it didn\\'t try my patience to the degree that some pseudo-intellectual bad movies do . \\nhere\\'s hoping there\\'s no species 3 . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : silly and inane adaptation of gibson\\'s short story , which is nowhere in sight . \\ngibson\\'s script only adds insult to injury . \\njohnny mnemonic is an awesomely bad movie . \\ni say \" awesomely \" because it\\'s one thing to fail , but another thing entirely to fail so completely that even the chances for camp value are sabotaged . \\nkeanur reeves ( who is terrible ) stars as johnny , an \" information courier \" who can carry dozens of gigabytes of data in his head . \\nhe is given \" one last job \" ( whenever you are in a movie and you hear those words , run ) , which involves him shoving so much data into his cranium that it could be lethal . \\none of the neater touches that the movie brings in is that the only way he could make such an arrangement work was by ditching all of his childhood memories , but it\\'s only followed up on in a token fashion . \\nfor his trouble , johnny gets chased by the yakuza , who seem to be the new bad guys in all the high-tech thrillers . \\nwhat\\'s funny is that if you watch gangster movies made * in * japan , there are whole gobs of details about genuine yakuza behavior and ethics , but of course there\\'s no room in this movie for any of that . \\nthe yakuza are simply used to point guns , wave swords , flaunt tattoos , and grimace menacingly . \\n ( i could go on about how gangsters and criminals of many other ethnicities have gotten thoughtful examinations in the movies -- bound by honor , sugar hill and american me come to mind -- when asians remain perpetually stereotyped . \\nbut that\\'s another essay . ) \\nanyway , johnny runs and eventually winds up in newark . \\nwhy newark ? \\nmaybe because it was cheaper to fake a future newark than a future new york , that\\'s why . \\nthere , he meets an assortment of odd characters ( ice-t , dolph lundgren and henry rollins play a whole gallery of weirdos ) . \\nthe script deals with them with all the depth of pieces of furniture . \\nit turns out ( what else ? ) that the data in johnny\\'s head could save a lot of people , but of course johnny only wants it out of his head so it doesn\\'t kill him . \\nhandled right , this could have been absorbing , but the script manages to mangle any chance of real sympathy for johnny at every opportunity . \\nthe details about the look and feel of the future are all phoned in from other , better movies -- blade runner and brazil come to mind . \\neverything looks run-down and scummy , everyone dresses like they\\'re punk rockers , and videophones are commonplace . \\nsnore . \\nthe only really interesting flourish is an extended depiction of the way the internet might work in the future ( complete with vr goggles and feedback gloves ) , but i kept thinking that it was more like what some relatively un-technical fellow would * think * it would look and behave like . \\na hacker of johnny\\'s caliber would be blasting away with one command-line function after another , instead of wasting all this time twiddling with holograms , but of course that\\'s not cinematic . \\nwhatever . \\nwhat went wrong with this movie ? \\ngibson wrote his own screenplay , which i guess is part of the problem : what works as a short story doesn\\'t work in a movie . \\nhis ear for dialogue is terrible and the plot doesn\\'t advance , it convulses . \\nfrom the script on out , it was probably all downhill . \\nrenting the movie to make fun of it is sort of pointless ; there\\'s no fun in kicking a wounded dog , is there ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there\\'s a 1 , 000-foot tidal wave at the end of deep impact . \\ni\\'d say it pretty accurately represents the towering flood of the last two years worth of disaster movies , which are getting more irwin allen- esque with every release . \\nthe early wave of this revival , while just as cheesy and laughable , at least knew to include thrills every five to ten minutes . \\ndeep impact tries to disguise itself as a human drama , with endless filler comprised of disaster prevention plans the country keeps taking . \\nthe repeating cycle is as follows -- the president ( morgan freeman ) will go on tv and tell the country that there\\'s a remote chance a comet will strike the earth , but that the nation\\'s crack scientists and astronauts have some brilliant plan to stop the problem . \\nthen we get to see the plan in action , in some sequence utterly lacking suspense . \\nthe mission will barely fail , and freeman will tell the country that the comet is still headed toward earth , and there\\'s a remote chance it will strike , but that the nation\\'s crack scientists and astronauts have some brilliant plan to stop the problem . \\nit goes on and on throughout the movie , but every time freeman goes on tv , we know his plan is going to fail . \\nhow do we know this ? \\nbecause we\\'ve seen the tv ads for deep impact , ads that feature freeman telling the nation that \" the comet is still headed right for us \" and show disaster shots of the comet striking earth and the giant tidal wave spreading . \\nladies and gentlemen , that is the movie . \\nsuccessful disaster movies have the main disaster toward the beginning and more little disasters that follow , but deep impact saves its one disaster for the end and discloses all in its 30-second tv spots . \\ntelevision is what\\'s wrong with deep impact . \\nthe main character , played by tea leoni , is a low-level broadcast journalist for msnbc ( and that\\'s the mere tip of the product-placement iceberg ) who stumbles upon a huge government conspiracy . \\nshe thinks it\\'s an instance of an ex-secretary of something or other ( james cromwell ) resigning because of a mistress , and that maybe he took the fall for the president in the same area . \\nwhen she goes nosing around cromwell , he begs her to keep it under wraps . \\n \" i know you\\'re just a reporter , but you used to be a human being . \" \\nshe figures out what\\'s really going on after getting roughed up by some fbi men and doing an internet search , where all good journalists learn the difference between a mistress and an extinction- level comet . \\nupon a top-secret meeting with president freeman , leoni agrees to keep the story under wraps until the president can hold a press conference , at which she gets to ask the first question . \\nand everyone knows , if you get to ask the first question , baby you\\'re a star . \\nleoni ends up in the anchor chair , broadcasting every step of the comet\\'s collision course with earth . \\nand i\\'m sure it\\'s comforting for her to know that , even though the world\\'s ending in a matter of months , she\\'s a cable news personality . \\nso there she is , narrating the six-astronaut mission to blow the comet up . \\nsuch personalities as robert duvall , jon favreau and blair underwood cash their paychecks and go through the motions of this dragged-out process . \\nbut as anyone who\\'s seen the commercials knows , the astronauts fail . \\nthey only end up breaking the comet into two pieces , which means even more destruction to the earth . \\nyeah , thanks , nasa . \\nthat\\'s when freeman has to come on tv for the last time and say goodbye to all the people who aren\\'t picked to live in the missouri cave site for two years . \\nthey even have animals , two by two , ready to climb into the cave . \\nif the focus had been on people living inside these caves after the world had been destroyed , deep impact could have been a far more interesting movie . \\ninstead we watch as a lovestruck elijah wood defies all odds to chase down his young wife , while people pack the highways out of town . \\nthe reasoning is , of course , that if a comet is going to strike , they might as well be out in some scenic rural location . \\nand , amusingly , the highway is spotted with people in u-haul trucks . \\ni\\'m sure it\\'s comforting to know that , even though the world\\'s ending in a matter of minutes , the u-haul people are doing the most business of their lives . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" book \" should have remained in shadows \\nbook of shadows : blair witch 2 \\na film review by michael redman copyright 2000 by michael redman \\ncertain things in our lives are inevitable . \\ndeath , sorrow , love , heartbreak , pain , joy . \\nwe expect these events . \\nwe know they\\'re going to happen and some , we even look forward to . \\nit\\'s part of the human condition . \\nwe have also become accustomed to inevitable occurrences in our society . \\nas we near the fall election , several of them are hitting us in the face . \\npoliticians exaggerate their own importance . \\nour side is always right ; theirs is always wrong . \\nin the end , voters are usually forced to choose the lesser of two whocares . \\nin hollywood the one indisputable inevitable is that if a film makes big money , there will be a sequel . \\neven if the original story doesn\\'t merit one . \\neven if the first film is complete in itself . \\neven if success is a fluke . \\n \" the blair witch project \" was made with a budget of $1 . 75 and exploded on the screen , raking in huge profits . \\nthe concept was brilliant . \\nthe filmmakers created a remarkable buzz that the story might be real . \\nthe film itself was even more convincing . \\nthe movie _must_ be authentic . \\nwhy else would such amateurish footage be on the big screen ? \\nthe first film caught lightning in a bottle . \\nthe sequel proves you can\\'t pour that old lightning into a new bottle . \\nyou have to give this effort some credit . \\nit would have been easy to have made the same movie again with a new group of kids . \\nit would have been easy , but of course , it wouldn\\'t have worked . \\ninstead \" book of shadows \" acknowledges the first film as a movie and concentrates on the hysteria following its release . \\nit\\'s a great scheme and possibly the only entertaining way to do a sequel . \\nunfortunately it doesn\\'t work either . \\nfive kids spend the night in the woods at the scene of the first film . \\nweird stuff happens and they retreat to an old factory where one of them lives . \\neven weirder stuff happens . \\nsome people die , there\\'s blood and knives and none of the characters have a lick of common sense . \\nwhile supposedly doing serious research , the group sets up a circle of surveillance cameras in the ruins of the old house in the woods and vows to stay alert all night awaiting a visitation . \\nthen they proceed to get totally trashed on drugs and alcohol and party down with very loud , very obnoxious heavy metal music . \\nit\\'s a bad plan . \\nthe cast shows some early promise . \\na couple is doing research on a \" blair witch \" book . \\nthe tour guide is a former mental patient turned ebay aficionado . \\na goth amazon princess adds a bit of comedic relief . \\nthe obligatory hot babe is the 2000 spiritual cinematic descendent of the cute hippie chick , the cute rock and roll chick and the cute disco chick : the cute wiccan chick . \\nthe first film\\'s unaccomplished actors came across as real people in a real situation because hours and hours of video were shot during days in the woods . \\nthis time , these unaccomplished actors just come across as unaccomplished actors . \\nthere\\'s not one character you care about when they start shouting for no reason . \\nalthough what passes for a plot starts out with a solid idea , it\\'s ruined by poor execution . \\nthe follow-up to one of the most successful horror films ever is nothing more than a bad slasher movie . \\nthey\\'re trapped in an old big weird house . \\nthey stupidly separate into various rooms . \\nthere are strange noises , they see scary apparitions and people disappear . \\never see this movie ? \\nseasoned documentary director joe berlinger should know better . \\nthe film features mostly cheap tricks and unnecessary gore . \\nfor a storyline filled with surprises , it\\'s oddly predicable . \\n \" the blair witch project \" was a rare triumph of style over substance . \\n \" the book of shadows \" is a triumph of tedium over promise . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"once upon a time jean-claude van damme was a decent action hero . \\nthe muscles from brussels bursted into the hollywood market with mindless adventure films , boasting his spectacular martial-arts ability . \\nsome of these excursions were fun . \\nbut now it seems like watching a van damme movie has become a painful chore , with no rewards but the virtually guaranteed helping of mind-numbing action . \\nand when the action goes sour , what is there left to enjoy ? \\ni'll explain . \\nknock off is about a pair of counterfeit jeans salesmen working out of an office in hong kong . \\nmarcus ray ( van damme ) , a babe-magnet and stylish dresser , heads up the company with an annoying weasel of a partner ( rob schneider ) . \\nthey become part of a plot involving microbombs implanted in counterfeit jeans , seemingly by a mole in the business . \\ni'm going to reveal about everything in the next paragraph , so if you want a review devoid of spoilers , skip onto the next one . \\ni'm not quite sure who gives a crap , but i'll issue a warning anyhow . \\ntommy is really working with the cia . \\nhis boss ( a very hammy and flat paul sorvino ) is the mole , and he wants to cause carnage with these tiny but immensely powerful super weapons . \\nhe even stoops so low to put them into children's toys . \\nif you thought this plot outline sounded intriguing , then you probably will enjoy knock off . \\nif you think that this ridiculous set-up couldn't even fill five minutes of screen time without causing you to roll over laughing , this might not be your cup of tea . \\nknock off sucks . \\nit stoops to ridiculous levels that most individuals could only conjure up in horrific nightmares . \\nit amazes me how far these producers will go to sell something , simply because van damme is the star . \\nthe plot is pathetic garbage strung together by inane action sequences that will baffle your mind , the performances are so wooden you could use them to row a canoe , and the action itself is an absolute catastrophe . \\ndirector tsui hark ( who teamed with van damme in the superior , but still lame-brained double team ) is at the helm , and he would rather attempt to dazzle us with fantastic camera angles than engage us with the plot . \\ni suppose i enjoyed some of the camera work , but the incessant desperation of it all made me rather nauseous . \\nthe picture freezes in the middle of an action sequence , speeds are altered consistently , and the camera tricks mostly apply to traveling up gun barrels as the weapons are fired . \\nit all sounds very cool . \\ntrust me , it isn't . \\nas much as it scars me to say this ( har , har ) , van damme is terrible . \\nsure , he does lots of fancy kickboxing moves and dodges giant crates with the greatest of ease . \\nhe looks like he's doing a bad impersonation of jackie chan , and his performance is stiff and tired . \\ni hate to say it , but perhaps it's time for mr . van damme to give up his day job . \\nit's really a test of endurance watching knock off . \\ni suppose there's some enjoyment derived from schneider's character , who is extremely annoying , but provides the film's better moments . \\nand what is the beautiful lela rochon doing in this movie ? \\nhopefully she grabbed her paycheck and then fled the premises like an olympic sprinter . \\nknock off doesn't even stand strong as a mindless but entertaining action film , like a handful of van damme's others . \\nno , this movie is an embarrassment to the entire action genre of modern filmmaking . \\nand considering how low hollywood has stooped as of late in that department , that is certainly not saying much . \\nnote to self : avoid universal soldier 2 : the return upon release in august ? 99 . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"dr dolittle ( 20th century fox ) running time : 1 hour 25 minutes starring eddie murphy directed by betty thomas riding high on the success of the nutty professor ( 1996 ) , murphy returns in this abysmal comedy . \\nhe plays doctor john dolittle , who as a child had the ability to understand animals . \\nhowever , after being 'exorcised' he loses this ability , and we fast forward to see dolittle in a crummy job surrounding by crummy people ( most notably dr mark weller , played by oliver platt . ) \\nhowever , with a bonk on the head his ability to understand animals returns , and 'comedy' is ready and waiting to happen . \\nexcept comedy never does happen . \\ndoctor dolittle , even with the excellent premise , rarely manages to raise a laugh . \\npoor old murphy looks bored stiff throughout the whole movie , and his performance suffers . \\nthe manic murphy we saw in the 80's is gone , his more mature ( and more boring ) twin appears to be getting all the work in the 90's . \\nthe voices of the animals , which include albert brooks , chris rock ( the 'new' eddie murphy ) and norm mcdonald as 'lucky' the dog are marginally better , and at least they put enthusiasm in the movie . \\nsadly , most of their lines are pretty dumb . \\nand they're not 'funny' dumb , like dumb & dumber ( 1994 ) , but just boring dumb . \\nthe film even succumbs to fart jokes halfway through , in a desperate attempt to raise some laughs . \\nthere are a few good jokes in the script , but they are few and far between . \\nif i had to choose a favourite performance , it would probably be albert brooks tiger , who has a certain charm about him . \\nsadly , he's barely in the movie , and rock's really annoying hamster is given far too much screen time . \\njoke wise , we are thankfully , spared the mocking and insulting type of jokes that featured heavily in the nutty professor . \\nthe director , betty thomas , has , well , done better films . \\nshe bought us private parts ( 1997 ) and the brady bunch movie ( 1995 ) which were , sadly , much better than this . \\nthe scenes lack any charm , she just gets the job done . \\nthe animals themselves , are reasonable realistic , although most of them are obviously puppets . \\nthere's an impressive looking tiger , however , and the lip sync is pretty good . \\nyou'd have no problem guessing that most of the close up's are puppets , however , with their jilted movement . \\ni was hoping jim hensons workshop , who created the furry friends , would have done a better job . \\ndoctor dolittle , in the end , is a disappointment for everyone involved . \\nmurphy has done much better movies ( i . e \\ntrading places ) the director has seen better days , and even the creatures aren't that good . \\nthe target audience , aged between 7-13 , who are undemanding , will probably like it however , thanks to it's dumbed down humour . \\neveryone else , however , should give doctor dolittle a miss . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s a curious thing - i\\'ve found that when willis is not called on to carry the whole movie , he\\'s much better and so is the movie . \\neven though , in the sixth sense he is the \" name \" , he doesn\\'t have the pivotal role . \\nthat honour goes to haley osment who plays cole sear ( cute pun , seer ) a 9 year old boy who can see ghosts . \\nif osment was cute or precious , the director going for the maudlin , this would be nothing more than a movie-of-the-week , thankfully , osment is not only better than that , but in some instances , blows everyone else off the screen in a bravura performance . \\nwe get to see his fears , vulnerabilities , strengths and intelligence which makes the sixth sense one of the best movies i\\'ve seen this year . \\nthe whole cast matches him in quality , with willis giving a fairly low key performance that matches the subject matter . \\none thing about this movie , its target . \\nthis isn\\'t a sfxfest like the haunting or a gorefest , this is more what i\\'d call a supernatural drama , more interested in characters than in dazzling you with makeup . \\none caveat : there\\'s a lovely twist in the movie , something like the usual suspects , where you end up replaying the movie in your head rethinking what you have just seen . \\ni was extremely lucky to see it as a sneak preview in toronto , before any hype or critical reviews were out , so i went in with no biases . \\nif anyone want to talk to about the movie before you see it , don\\'t let them . \\nlet the director explain on his own pace and you\\'ll enjoy the movie vastly more . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'movies about teenagers and teenage culture rarely prove to be either interesting , entertaining or convincing , because of one fundamental reason : movies are made by adults and not teenagers . \\noccasionally , however , films like say anything , dazed and confused and the breakfast club will break the mold and offer genuine insight into the lives of those bizarre creatures which surround us called \" teenagers . \" \\ncan\\'t hardly wait , however , does not . \\ninstead , the writing/directing team of harry elfont and deborah kaplan manages to take every clich ? found in the teenage genre , strip it completely of perception , intelligence and wit - and turn it into one of the most nauseating cinematic experiences i have ever been subjected to . \\ncan\\'t hardly wait follows a group of characters as they attend a house party on the night of their high school graduation . \\nthe main characters are such perfected stereotypes that no analysis needs to be provided to perfectly understand them : there\\'s the average male protagonist preston ( ethan embry ) , prom queen and cheerleader amanda ( jennifer love-hewitt ) , football star mike ( peter facinelli ) , white rapper wannabe kenny ( seth green ) , computer geek william ( charlie korsmo ) , and brainy outsider denise ( lauren ambrose ) . \\ni couldn\\'t stand any of those characters . \\nwhether it was william getting drunk and signing along to heavy metal songs or kenny proclaiming \" yo , i gotta have sex tonight ! \" , \\nall i could think of was how elfont and kaplan possibly managed to con columbia pictures out of ten million dollars to fund their film . \\napparently , can\\'t hardly wait is supposed to be a comedy , but it tends to fail in this respect because of the fact that it\\'s not funny . \\nin all honesty , elfont and kaplan should be forced by their employers to attend remedial classes in humour . \\nand when i say \" forced \" , i mean it . \\nthey should be strapped down to a chair and have their eyes wedged open in a similar fashion to alex in a clockwork orange . \\nthis is how desperately they need to be educated about the concept of humour . \\nfor instance , can\\'t hardly wait features a foreign exchange student who is instructed to repeat absurd statements such as \" i am a sex machine . \" \\nfor some reason , elfont and kaplan believe that if this character repeats it enough , eventually it will be funny . \\nif only elfont and kaplan could recognise the irony that they actually got paid for making this junk - now that\\'s funny . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the verdict : spine-chilling drama from horror maestro stephen king , featuring an outstanding , oscar-winning performance from kathy bates . \\ngeez , french and saunders had a field day when they set to work on parodying this ! \\nsorry , non-british readers may not be familiar with french and saunders - my apologies . \\nthe pair are british comediennes ( jennifer saunders later went on to become edina monsoon in \" absolutely fabulous \" ) , who did a series of film spoofs a few years back , including alien , the exorcist and misery . \\nneedless to say , amidst her chucklesome impersonation of kathy bates ( the resemblance was quite uncanny ! ) , dawn french got pretty nasty with her sledgehammer when in reach of jennifer saunder\\'s legs ! \\nbut despite the lingering memory of their sketch , and although i\\'ve now seen the film a couple of times now , that \" hobbling \" scene was no less disturbing ! \\ni\\'m still left screaming at the telly in revulsion ! \\nthat may be the most memorable scene , but it\\'s certainly not the only worth watching . \\nstephen king , whose film and tv adaptations tend to vary in quality , strikes gold with this simple yet strikingly compelling tale . \\nit\\'s a nicely crafted psychological horror , which effortlessly succeeds in drawing you into the plight of writer phil sheldon ( james caan ) . \\nrescued from a car accident by annie wilkes ( bates ) , who introduces herself as the writer\\'s \" number one fan \" , he soon becomes her prisoner . \\nboth the script and kathy bates\\' beautifully masterful performance ( for which she won an oscar ) work arm-in-arm as we quickly begin to realise that beyond her bubbly exterior the woman is basically as nutty as a fruit-cake ( or is that fruity as a nut-cake ? ) . \\nbates relishes her demanding role , and her performance is nothing short of a masterpiece . \\nat times she seems like an innocent victim of her own obsessive behaviour , at times she\\'s a rather tragic character , and more often than not she\\'s just damned scary ! \\nthis is basically a very simple tale , but it achieves a large degree of eloquence in its simplicity . \\nit\\'s an involving , engrossing experience - and considering it\\'s basically a two-hander , mainly set in one locale , it\\'s a remarkable piece of cinema . \\nthere are no jazzy special effects or cheesy action sequences - this one relies solely upon rob reiner\\'s stylish directing and the wonderful performances of bates and caan . \\noh , i haven\\'t really mentioned caan yet - he does a good job as the writer who\\'s a prisoner of his own success ( annie is obsessed with him and his books ) . \\nbut , as you no doubt gathered from the above - bates is well and truly the star of the show . \\nalong with the pig , of course ! \\nanyway , the tension is built-up with masterful aplomb , and some scenes are almost agonisingly tense . \\nthere\\'s the dinner scene where seldon goes to nerve-shattering lengths to poison her wine . \\nhe succeeds , but . . . she \\nknocks the glass over ! \\ni bet you threw a pillow at the screen as well ! \\nin the immortal words of homer j . simpson - \" d\\'oh ! ! \" \\nother nerve-wracking scenes include the bit where annie has gone off to town and sheldon starts snooping around the house . \\nwe cut to annie in her car - she\\'s on her way home . . . he \\nrealises this and tries to get back to his room . . . cut \\nto the car again , she\\'s getting near . . . will he make it ? \\nok , so these sequences aren\\'t exactly original , nor perhaps unpredictable - but they work ! \\nboy , do they work ! \\nif a film has you on the edge of your couch , biting your nails and shouting at the screen in suspense , then it\\'s doing something right ! \\nof course , the most nauseating sequence is the aforementioned \" hobbling \" ! \\nannie realises her captive has been out of his room , and she\\'s going to stop him once and for all . \\ncue a block of wood placed strategically between his ankles and a huge sledgehammer , and . . . i feel ill just thinking about it ! \\nnasty . \\nit all builds up nicely to the final scene where sheldon finally gets the upper hand , and once and for all tries to kill the crazy psycho ! \\nand then we\\'re given one of the most ridiculously over-the-top fight scenes i\\'ve ever seen . \\nshe gets hit over the head with a typewriter , set on fire , head smashed against the wall - and she just won\\'t die ! \\nsheldon isn\\'t in terribly good shape either . \\nif it weren\\'t so gorey it would almost be laughable . \\nbut it\\'s a terrifically effective film , and therefore the daft climax is easily overlooked . \\nmisery is a tight , tense , intense and chillingly entertaining thriller . \\nthe directing is first-rate , and the performances - bates in particular - contribute to making this a suitably nightmarish little gem . \\nwonderful stuff . \\n ? - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - for more regularly-updated film and tv reviews , check out my site ! \\nhttp : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/bungalow/4960 \\n- * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - \\n',\n",
+       "  b'roman emperor marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) chooses his trusted general maximus ( russell crowe ) as his successor . \\nhowever the emperor\\'s evil son commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) murders his father before the announcement can be made , and maximus ( as well as his family ) is sentenced to be executed . \\nmaximus is able to escape his executioners , but is later captured and sold as a slave to proximo ( oliver reed ) . \\nproximo is looking for gladiators to earn himself money ( he being a former gladiator himself ) , and maximus reluctantly uses his skills to prove himself a powerful gladiator . \\nwhen emperor commodus announces that new games will be held in the colisseum , proximo takes his gladiators there to do battle . \\nmaximus sees this as his chance to exact revenge on commodus . \\ngladiator begins with a great battle sequence between the roman army and germania , and actually is able to maintain interest during the now required \" 40 minutes of exposition after a kick ass opening sequence \" style of moviemaking . \\nthe only downfall of the opening sequence is the editing style used . . . \\nit\\'s choppy slow-motion which is unsettling and distracting . \\nit\\'s similar to the opening sequence in saving private ryan , but nowhere near as effective . \\nthe actual gladiator battles are thrilling , but also a bit disjointed . \\nmany times it\\'s unclear as to exactly what\\'s going on . . . \\nall the audience can tell is that blood is being spilled . \\nwe\\'re not sure who\\'s blood or by who\\'s hand though . \\nthere\\'s an instance of this earlier in the film too that\\'s disappointing . \\nit\\'s comes when maximus escapes his executioners . \\nsome flashes and a few quick cuts later and maximus is free . . . \\nbut i still don\\'t know exactly how he did it . \\nrussell crowe should have become a major star after his gleefully over the top role as a computer generated serial killer in 1995\\'s virtuosity . \\nfor whatever reason his stardom never arrived . . . \\nbut he should have it now . \\nfrom here on moviegoers should now be able to say , \" let\\'s go see the new russell crowe movie \" . \\nhe gets the best scene in the film ( and one of the best moments of all recent movies ) when he reveals his identity to commodus in the colisseum . \\nit\\'s both rousing and chilling . \\njoaquin phoenix does a very effective job of making commodus a person and not just a cartoon character ( which could have easily happened ) . \\ncommodus is conniving , sneaky and whiny , but phoenix never lets the character get silly . \\nit\\'s a very good ( and very creepy ) performance . \\noliver reed died during the filming of gladiator , and it\\'s a huge loss to the acting world . \\ni\\'ve always been fascinated with reed . . . \\nhe\\'s one of those very talented performers who once had a fine career but ended up in direct to video junk during his twilight years . \\nit\\'s ironic that this film probably would have gotten him back into real movies again , as he gives a fun and sincere performance . \\nthe film is dedicated to him , and he will surely be missed . \\nreed\\'s death presented the filmmakers with an obvious problem , as he still had scenes to be completed . \\nrather than recast the role ( and end up reshooting a great deal of footage ) , a digital version of oliver reed was created at a reported cost of 2 million dollars . \\nironically , that was probably more money than reed ever earned for a single film . \\nanyway , this digital effect is only used in one scene that i am aware of ( for about twenty seconds ) and if you aren\\'t looking for it you won\\'t even be able to tell . \\nsome of the other digital effects are less convincing however . . . \\nand like i always say , noticable digital effects take me out of a movie immediately . \\nit\\'s sad that such a good film has these distractions . \\nmovies like the fall of the roman empire and spartacus seemed to do okay without the use of computer effects . \\nkeep in mind that gladiator is based on real people and real events , but is entirely a work of fiction . \\nhowever it\\'s a work of fiction that\\'s great entertainment , and another film to add to the list of damn fine flicks released in 2000 a . d . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"there ? s nothing quite like a gory anime . \\nreally , and this is the truth , no other genre in film gets away with such violence without a word being said in the media about it . \\nwith anime , a common shot is watching a body getting quickly cut in two , and the rest of the insides falling out seconds afterword . \\nthis is a standard practice in anime , or at least the half dozen or so titles that i ? ve seen . \\nvampire hunter d is a gory , gory film . \\nif they ever made a live version of the film , it would be banned in several countries and given a rating somewhere below xxx . \\nit ? s not that it ? s gore is unique - it ? s just like other gory animes - but this one was supposed to stand out because of the complexity it ? s story , characters , animation , etc . . . \\nit really didn ? t . \\nit was disgusting and gruesome , which overshadowed the story , what little of it there was . \\nit seems that in the not too distant future vampires and evil control the world , because god knows that our local police force just can ? t seem to get a handle on vampires in the movies . \\none evening , a blond peasant girl , drawn to look 17 and innocent ( a foreshadow that we will see her naked , i guessed early on it would be in the shower or in a rape scene ) is out fighting evil in her local forest preserve when she stumbles onto the private property of a ten thousand year old vampire ( insert strom thurmand joke here . ) \\nof course , he never put a ? no trespassing ? sign on his yard , so one can ? t really blame her , but he ? s upset anyway and demands retribution . \\nshe gets the obligatory bite on the neck ( aren ? t there other places to get blood from ? \\nit seems like a bite in the elbow would do well enough . \\nif it's good enough for doctors to draw blood from , then why do vampires stray from that sight ? ) \\nto fight the spell , she enlists the help of a mysteriously tall , dark and handsome vampire hunter ( you guessed it , his name is d ) . \\nthe vampire hunter is torn between fighting vampires , being attracted to the 17 year old peasant girl and finding reasons not to talk too much . \\nyou see , like all heroes in these kinds of stories , he ? s a brooder , who ? s sole purpose in life is to remain really , really silent . \\nwhen he speaks , it ? s in cliches . \\nheroes like this are bad when they ? re live , even worse when animated . \\nlater the vampire hunter storms the castle to meet the big bad vampire , who wants to marry the peasant girl because he ? s bored after 10 , 000 years of living ( the only clever vampire insight made in the movie ) , will vampire hunter d rush to save her in time ? \\nwill we see blood and intestines spattering on every place imaginable ? \\nin it ? s defense , the animation , when focusing on being original rather than recycling anime slicing , could at times be original . \\nthe talking hand was clever - and i think the inspiration for a skateboard-related logo . \\nand that ? s the best defense i can think of . \\ni understand that vampire hunter d is supposed to be a fave among anime fans , but i really don ? t see it . \\nit ? s an excuse to watch blood dripping from teeth , blood exploding out of eye sockets and horses necks , and most importantly , like all violent anime , it is an excuse to see animated breasts . \\nwhy ? \\nwhat is the point of that ? \\nmaybe i have to understand the genre and look past the obsessive gore and mysogny . \\ni ? m not a prude , i just don ? t think it ? s warranted . \\nit puts itself so far out in front of the movie that everything else gets lost . \\nis there a neccesity in seeing a 17 year old in the shower ? \\nof course not ? it ? s done for shock . \\nit ? s tasteless and despicable . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'note to screenwriters and self : when you hit the big time , and the studios come knocking for those scripts that are sitting in your bottom drawer , tell ? em all to hit the road . \\ngilligan wrote the arbitrarily-titled home fries ten years ago ; it was shelved until he found success as one of \" the took a second look at gilligan\\'s \" comedy \" - they read it again wearing rose-tinted glasses . \\ndrew stars as sally , a dim ( but sweet ) , pregnant waitress at a small town burger joint located somewhere in the southern united states . \\nthe father of her child is dead , the victim of a severe heart attack brought on by sadistic torture from his two stepsons - these flyboys scared him with their low-flying helicopter . \\ndorian ( wilson ) and angus ( busey ) were getting even for his philandering ways on behalf of their anguished mother ( o\\'hara ) . \\ntrouble is , sally picked up some interference on her drive-thru headset , and angus worries she may have heard conversations that took place in the helicopter prior to the accidental killing . \\nso dorian goes undercover as a burger-flipper ; before you can say \" with cheese \" he falls for the mother-to-be . \\ntoo bad mom and angus have homicidal plans for sally . \\ndoes this sound like a movie you want to see ? \\nwithout a doubt , the best thing about home fries is barrymore ; at the risk of sounding sexist , she\\'s never looked better than here , as a curly redhead with twinkling eyes . \\nshe is winning in a role that requires her to do absolutely nothing except look apple-cheek cute and gawk at wilson , her real-life boyfriend . \\nbut the plot and the situations are so off-putting that nothing could save it . \\nthis movie desperately wants to get mentioned in the same breath as the coen brothers , but home fries\\' brand of laboured hipness would be foreign to geniuses like ethan and joel . \\nit\\'s raising arizona without babies , without charm , without laughs , without human characters , and without intelligence ; worst of all , it\\'s creepy . \\nwhat\\'s funny about threatening to gun down a pregnant woman with a machine gun ? \\n ( unless the woman in question is a spice girl . ) \\ntake out the helicopters , the quasi-incestuous relationship between the mother and her sons ( it is absolutely illogical , within the movie\\'s framework , that dorian still lives with his mother and brother ) , and the scenes of murder ( attempted and otherwise ) , and what are you left with ? \\nthe story of a single woman with child who works at a fast food joint ( but dreams of becoming a country singer ) . \\nthat could turn out to be the most boring movie ever made , but it\\'d be better than home fries . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'every year--every year at the festival , i wait for that film to come along , that one that just pulls me out of my seat , sticks its face up next to my nose , and roars \" sur-prise ! \" \\ninto my bewildered visage . \\nit\\'s almost always a surprise . \\nit sure as niflheim was this time . \\namazing grace and chuck is being advertised as a modern fairy tale , of a boy in montana who quits his little league team for a very unusual reason . \\nand , in the hands of anyone less careful than the creative staff of this film , it might very well be nothing more than a fairy tale , where we roll our eyes occasionally , smirk to ourselves , and maybe get a forced tear out of the eyes and a \" boy , i wish that could happen \" sigh out of the lips upon exiting the theater and tossing the empty pepsi cup into the trash . \\nanother e . t . \\nanother short circuit . \\nthis film floored me , for the simple reason that while it has a fairy tale concept , the rest of the film takes itself seriously enough , and presents itself well enough , to make it more of an american folk tale , with characters who are both icons and real people at the same time . \\namerica has always had its mythical heros , its paul bunyans and john waynes ; this film presents us with more general , but still universal , ideals : the honest , innocent children who have their own inner wisdom ; the athletes who seem to be amalgamations of courage , honor , and love for their respective sport ; the venerable elected official who leads with kindness and understanding , but has the grit to get things done when they need doin\\' ( does the latter sound familiar ? ) . \\namazing grace and chuck is a showcase for these characters , but it never leaves you with the feeling that it\\'s artificial , that it stands behind glass , or that any sharp breeze--or , more importantly , sharp thought--will shatter the wax facade of the panorama . \\nthis is a very sturdy scenario . \\nthe principals are always given dialogue , and always give performances--always ( it just blows me away ) -- which made them seem real , yet enforces their particular mythic role . \\nthe writer/producer , david field , seems to literally take all the \" yeah , but in real life , this would have happen \" thoughts you get in your head , sticks them in the movie and uses them to bend the plot around to his original heading , in a stronger way then before ! \\nastounding ! \\nhe uses obstacles to the plot to * enforce * it ! \\ni am truly impressed ( indeed , envious ) with the skill in which he wrote the story and screenplay ; it\\'s so very unusual , especially in a hollywood film . \\ni don\\'t want to give too much away , but the basic premise is that chuck ( joshua zuehlke ) , the little league pitcher , decides to give up baseball because of nuclear weapons . \\nhis decision begins an unlikely series of events that involve another athlete , a boston basketball player ( alex english ) , \" amazing \" grace smith , and , well , i\\'m leaving it at that because i wouldn\\'t spoil this film for you for the world . \\nlet me just say this , though : i am not recommending this film because i think it has a great message or because of any political positions it might imply . \\ni don\\'t give a rat\\'s ass for the political point-of-view this film expresses , one way or another ; i\\'m recommending you go see this film because , and only because , it\\'s an excellent story , told with excellence . \\nno , i don\\'t believe what happens in this film could happen in real life ; while i tend to believe the arms control policy of this country is stilted , i believe in careful negotiations , mutual verification , etc . screw what i think . \\nthe point is , this film is able to suspend my disbelief and tell a story that is one of the most finely crafted pieces of american dream i have ever seen on the movie screen . \\nthis is the natural and more--all the mythic qualities without the pretentiousness or the forced feeling of the conclusion , and a much better script to boot . \\nit carried me into the beliefs and ideals of my boyhood--and , more importantly , without any bumps or jolts that would snap me out of the trance with some hint of self-consciousness . \\nspecial kudos to : both zuehlke ( a real-life little league pitcher who was picked for the part ) and english ( a forward for the denver nuggets ) for their seamless personification of their characters ; jamie lee curtis , who takes a surprisingly small role and makes it exceedingly memorable as amazing\\'s manager and friend ; william l . peterson ( in a * big * change from his role in to live and die in l . a . ) as a father who shows principles without having to stand up and wave a flag doing it ; and gregory peck , as the guy we wish ronald reagan really was ( and who some numbskulls still probably think he is \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"wow ! what a movie . \\nit's everything a movie can be : funny , dramatic , interesting , weird , funny , weird and strikingly original . \\nyep that pretty much describes this movie . \\nit starts out like a regular movie and ends up being one of the weirdest , funniest most original movies i have ever seen . \\nit boggles the mind and some have to wonder why we cannot get movies like this more often . \\nbesides being one of the best films of the year , being john malkovich may as well be one of the best movies ever . \\nperiod . \\nthen again there are so many good movies , that one cannot pick an all time favorite . \\njohn cusack plays a puppeteer craig schwartz a man out of a job , in search of a job . \\nhis wife lotte schwartz who is played by a completely un-noticeable cameron diaz who looks like something off the streets is an animal lover and has about every kind of animal you could think of . \\ncraig finds a job as a file at the 7 ? floor of a business building . . . you \\nhave to pry open the elevator doors open before it reaches floor eight , the 7 ? floor is just a floor between 7 and 8 . \\nhe is hired by his 105 year old boss ( orsen bean ) to be a filer . \\nin his office , he discovers a little door , to which was boarded up and hidden . \\nto his curiosity he opens it and starts to crawl toward it , he then gets sucked to the end and ends up in john malkovich's mind . \\nfifteen minutes later he is shot out onto the side of the new jersey turnpike . \\nhe returns to tell his co-worker maxine ( catherine keener ) that he has found a portal that will lead him into john malkovich's mind , she doesn't believe him but after she sees it it changes her mind . \\nlotte also finds out about the portal and discovers that being someone else is good after all . \\njohn malkovich of course has no idea what is going on , and by the end of this bizarre film there are so many twists and turns , that we don't know what really happened . \\njohn cusack is outstanding and utterly believeable in a role only he himself could play . \\nhe fits the role perfectly and to me was brilliantly cast . \\ncameron diaz is outstanding and utterly one of the world's most prettiest women , is made up here unnoticeable and very unattractive . \\nshe however gives a very comic performance and this could easily be her best role to date . \\ncatherine keener is very funny and sexy as maxine and of course the best thing of the movie is the magic himself john malkovich who is very brilliant and this movie plays big time homage ? to the master himself . \\nthe whole group combined gives us a wonderfully funny movie that is also smart and clever . \\nspike jonze ( three kings ) makes his fabulous directing debut , and did a fantastic job of directing this new classic film . \\nhe lets the viewer go on the trip as well as let the viewer know they are watching a movie . \\nby the time the ending rolled around my head was spinning from disbelief of how good this film was . \\nthe screenplay written by charlie kaufman was hilarious and often thought-provoking . \\nthe film also had a soft side to it and even though the ending is very surprising it is also a little sad and heart-warming . \\nthe whole movie was fantastic and had me rolling in the isles . \\nfrom cameron diaz's appearence to john malkovich's explorations i laughed very hard , and it may as well be as funny as as good as it gets ( the funniest ! ) . \\nthere isn't a slow point in the movie , or an overused idea . \\nthere are no cliches except for the fact that this is the most original , inventie , witty , and smart movie i've seen in a long time . \\ni found myself amazed by everything : the direction , acting , writing and the whole idea of the movie . \\nby the end i had to wonder why hollywood doesn't want to make movies like this anymore . \\nor why they don't . \\nall filmmakers watch this movie and get some ideas of movies to come out . \\nthis was a surprise hit as was american beauty . \\n'being john malkovich' is in the top 5 movies of the year , and in the top 10 best films ever made . \\nit has something that no other movies playing now has . \\nin fact it may as well be the best movie out right now . \\ni highly recommend 'being john malkovich' and have no doubts you will be disappointed . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'by trying to satisfy every kind of viewer , it\\'s possible that sphere may end up pleasing no one . \\naction lovers will be bored by what they will see as an interminably boring setup . \\naudience members who crave more intellectual fare will be disgusted by the film\\'s sudden collapse into mindless storytelling and by the ending , which is an insulting cop-out . \\nsomewhere out there , maybe there\\'s a small cadre of film-goers who will appreciate sphere\\'s dubious charms , but i\\'m not among them . \\ni sincerely hope the novel is better than the movie ( i no longer read anything by either michael crichton or john grisham ) , because if the finished motion picture product is anything to go by , it\\'s hard to understand why the rights were optioned . \\nsphere is the kind of first- class mess that only a top-line director with an a-list cast can create . \\nwith expectations high ( and how could they not be , considering that another barry levinson/dustin hoffman collaboration , the excellent wag the dog , is still playing in theaters ? ) , \\nsomething this bad can\\'t help but look even worse . \\nthe last time a big-name , big-budget film displayed this level of ineptitude was last year\\'s batman & robin , and everyone knows how that movie was received . \\nsphere starts out a little like an amalgamation of contact and james cameron\\'s the abyss , but , somewhere along the way , it collapses into the cellar with another recent science fiction effort , event horizon . \\nscience and philosophy , which are used to good effect during sphere\\'s first hour , give way to mindless , confusing action sequences . \\nattempts at characterization fall apart . \\nintelligent writing , which is evident early on , is replaced by hackneyed drivel . \\nspecial effects take over as the plotline devolves into incoherent silliness . \\nbut all that is just in preparation for the ending , which is inexcusably awful . \\nthis is the time-honored deus ex machina device used to its worst effect . \\ni left the theater feeling cheated by the way crichton and his screenwriters had chosen to end the film . \\nthere is some promise , but it\\'s all in the setup . \\nwe\\'re introduced to norman goodman ( dustin hoffman ) , a psychologist who once wrote a $35 , 000 report for the government about what to do in the event that a crashed space ship is discovered . \\nwhen one is found in the middle of nowhere , 1000 feet below the surface of the pacific ocean , norman is called in to be part of the welcoming committee . \\non the team with him are beth halperin ( sharon stone ) , a biochemist who was once his student and lover ; harry adams ( samuel l . jackson ) , a mathematician who earned his first doctorate at the age of 18 ; ted fielding ( liev schreiber ) , an astrophysicist who is awed by the opportunity to explore alien technology ; and harold barnes ( peter coyote ) , the government operative in charge of the mission . \\ntogether , the five descend into the bowels of the ocean , where they rendezvous with a temporary sea base on the ocean floor from which they will attempt to make first contact . \\nfor a while , sphere had me fooled into thinking it was going to take an astute approach to the man-meets-alien situation . \\nthe overall scenario is not without promise and several plot twists ( such as the revelation that the enormous craft is actually an american space ship , apparently from the future ) offer intriguing possibilities . \\nthen , right around the one-hour mark ( that\\'s the time to sneak into the theater next door and check out whatever\\'s left of titanic ) , the virtually non-stop action begins , and , once it starts , the script becomes superfluous . \\nthis might be acceptable if director levinson generated some legitimate tension , but , instead , he relies on loud , overbearing music , strange camera angles , and quick cuts to make things \" exciting . \" \\nadditionally , because none of the characters are well-formed ( a common failing in anything penned by crichton , who\\'s more interested in technology than people ) , viewers don\\'t develop much of a rooting interest . \\nit makes sitting through sphere a frustrating and pointless experience . \\nwhat about that a-list cast ? \\nnot surprisingly , the most energetic performance is given by samuel l . jackson , but his harry isn\\'t a person ; he\\'s a walking plot device spouting occasionally-witty dialogue . \\ndustin hoffman isn\\'t lively or particularly good -- it\\'s ironic that this , which may be his worst work in a decade , has arrived in theaters on the heels of his best actor nomination ( for wag the dog ) . \\nsharon stone and peter coyote are both flat . \\ntheir characters exhibit little evidence of emotion ; automatons would have been as effective . \\nthen there\\'s queen latifa , who , despite getting fifth billing in the credits ( ahead of liev schreiber , who boasts at least quadruple her screen time ) , has less than a handful of lines and almost nothing to do other than inflate the body count . \\ni like to think that levinson and hoffman , recognizing how uninspired this movie was likely to be , chose to make wag the dog as a sort of penance ( the low-budget picture was filmed during sphere\\'s lengthy pre-production phase ) . \\nif that\\'s the case , forgiveness is granted . \\ni\\'m less inclined to look favorably upon crichton , although he has a few enjoyable titles on his resume ( jurassic park and the levinson-directed disclosure come to mind ) . \\neven if his novel was butchered in the adaptation process , crichton\\'s credit as a producer disallows him absolution . \\nhe was a willing participant in a creative travesty . \\nno wonder sphere is being released in february , in the midst of the early year\\'s cinematic wasteland . \\nit deserves no better than to get sunk by the unstoppable titanic , which should plow sphere under on its way to a ninth-consecutive weekend atop the box office heap . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'available for rental - october 12 , 1999 \\n10 things i hate about you is an update of the classic play , the taming of the shrew . \\nthat said , drop any pre-conceived notions of what shakespeare\\'s work is supposed to be like and welcome yourself to padua high school , home of a student counselor ( allison janney ) who obsesses over the male penis ; a slightly too hip and racist african-american english teacher ( daryl mitchell ) ; a new kid named cameron ( joseph gordon-levitt ) ; a model named joey ( andrew keegan ) , the subject of cameron and joey\\'s crushes ; bianca ( larisa oleynik ) ; and bianca\\'s sister - the shrew ( julia stiles in a marvelous performance ) - whose name is katarina , kat for short . \\nwith movies about high schools similar to these running through projectors like water down the nile , it would be quite easy to write off 10 things i hate about you as just another doltish comedic-romance . \\nyet , you must realize that the story is timeless , and a few hundred years later it is equally as witty and comical as when elizabeth gleefully looked on , groundlings below and stuffed brassieres on stage . \\nthe first reminder of the original scribe can be found in katarina and bianca\\'s last name : stratford . \\ntheir family is run by walter stratford ( pretty woman\\'s larry miller ) , a doctor who is all too familiar with teenage pregnancy and guards his children accordingly . \\nin what he thinks to be a moment of ironic humor , the family \" no dating \" policy is amended to \" bianca can date . . . when \\n[katarina] does . \" \\nwith prom just ahead , bianca\\'s fate is grim ; unless , of course , she can tame the shrew . \\ndon\\'t think this mission to be a simple one , as bianca kindly points out , her sister \" . . . is a particularly hideous breed of loser . \" \\ngetting katarina to date is complex and oftentimes confusing . \\nwhen cameron , who likes bianca , learns of her father\\'s new rule , he is quick to consult a friend for advice . \\nthe scheme they dream up is to fully exploit \" someone with money . \" \\nin this case , that is joey - the other guy with a crush on bianca . \\ncameron\\'s friend , a loser by teenage verdict , convinces joey to pay someone who has enough guts to take the shrew out . \\nthe solution lies no farther away than the second blatant reminder of the master scribe : patrick verona ( heath ledger ) . \\nthis verona is far from fair ; rumor has it that he previously laid his scene in prison . \\nmoreover , katarina openly opined to the aforementioned english teacher that \" hemingway was an alcoholic who hung around picasso , hoping to nail his leftovers . \" \\nthe laws of high school cinema inexorably turn patrick and katarina into romeo and juliet . \\nproviding a constant reminder of the fact that this isn\\'t exactly what shakespeare had in mind are the elements obligatory to a high school comedy : a party polluted with liquor , a best friend\\'s betrayal , and prom . \\nit is the latter that has become infamous for closing films like drive me crazy , american pie , never been kissed , carrie , she\\'s all that , and can\\'t hardly wait . \\nyet surely even these practices have roots in shakespeare ; falstaff was a drunk , romeo and juliet met at a party , and caesar learned about loyalty the hard way . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"larry flynt is a self proclaimed smut pedlar and the owner/publisher of the multi-million dollar hustler publications company . \\nthe people vs . larry flynt is the story of larry flynt's fight for the freedom to circulate and sell his pornographic magazine , hustler . \\nbased on a true story , the film is almost a documentary in that it's a very vivid and detailed look at larry flynt's life . \\nwoody harrelson gives an excellent performance . \\nhe conveys flynt's peculiarities and his character with depth and focus . \\nby the end of the film the audience actually finds themselves , somewhat grudgingly , liking larry flynt . \\nthis is some feat given flynt's apparent lack of any morals or ethics and his extremely smutty and childish behaviour in court . \\nhowever , flynt has a number of things going for him , he's rich , he's funny , and most importantly , he says exactly what he means . \\nlarry flynt's wife , althea leasure is played by courtney love . \\nlarry meets althea at one of his clubs , and they fall in love ( a very sexual and open love ) . \\nboth of them indulge in a world of too much sex , and eventually too much drugs . \\nflynt had been taking an excessive amount of pain killers after being paralysed from the waist down ( which was especially upsetting for him ) by an assassin . \\nalthea had joined him in taking the drugs . \\nfollowing an operation flynt decides to stop taking drugs , althea does not have any such plans , nor the determination to follow them . \\nas the film progresses we see her become increasingly frail and sick . \\ncourtney love obviously has a great understanding for althea's situation , as she is brilliant in portraying althea in every respect . \\nit's extremely sad to watch althea literally wither away . \\nedward norton plays flynt's lawyer , alan isaacman . \\nagain , this is a solid performance . \\nthe audience finds it easy to sympathise with isaacman who somehow puts up with flynt's courtroom antics . \\nflynt is not only childish in the courtroom , but downright rude to the judges , and lands himself in a lot of trouble ( and even in a mental institution ) because of it . \\nisaacman is very easy to like , and great at proving ( in quite clever ways ) his points to the court . \\nmilos forman has done a great job in directing the people vs . larry flynt . \\nit is not really an exciting or thrilling film , but instead a highly interesting portrayal of a true story . \\ndue to larry's character it is also , at times , a very funny film . \\nhowever , it is much more than that . \\nit is about the fight for freedom of speech , anti-censorship , and the right to be able choose for oneself what to see and buy . \\nan excellent look at flynt , his life , and his story . \\nkeep a look out for the real larry flynt who makes a cameo as judge morrissey . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'robin williams , this time without a beard , returns to drama in this sloppy , sickly sweet fantasy with few redeeming features apart from the incredible effects . \\nhe plays chris nielsen , who meets annie ( annabella sciora ) and promptly marries her . \\nthey have two great kids , who sadly die in a car crash . \\njust when it couldn\\'t get any worse , chris gets killed in a car crash , and goes to heaven where he meets his guide albert ( gooding jnr . ) \\nannie can\\'t take the grief anymore , and kills herself . \\n ( all sounding like good fun so far ? ) \\nthe \\'penalty\\' for suicide is to go to hell , and chris goes on a mission to try and rescue her using the help of the traveller ( max von sydow . ) \\nbased on a novel by twilight zone writer richard matheson , what dreams may come is clunky , manufactured material doused with a extra load of sugar . \\nthis is the worse spielberg film spielberg never made . \\neverything is wrong about this movie : the performances are forced , and the audiences fail to relate to any of the characters . \\nwilliams puts on a convincing upset face , but that\\'s all it is : a face . \\nthere\\'s no emotion behind it . \\nsciora\\'s performance is lazy , and bogs down the whole film . \\nshe may look pretty , but she can\\'t act . \\nmax von sydow is o . k as the traveller , if nothing special . \\ncuba gooding jnr , thankfully , adds some bounce to his performance , and is certainly the best performer in the film . \\nit\\'s a shame that his character is so flat and 2-d , and offers no room for improvement . \\nall the performers have to work with a soppy script , that tries it\\'s best to get some emotion going , but never takes off the ground . \\nthere are _some_ scenes which could be real heartwarmers , but the faceless characters don\\'t help to get anything out of the performers . \\nwhile films like e . t used great actors , music and direction to pull of a masterful heart-tugging scene , what dreams may come is haphazard , expecting the emotion to come out of the scene automatically . \\ninstead , it\\'s all rather boring . \\nsure , the music is pretty ( by michael kamen ) and the cinematography isn\\'t bad ( by eduardo serra ) but there\\'s something lacking . \\nthe script doesn\\'t help , filled with hopeless romantic clich ? s , and dud speeches . \\nrichard matheson can write some awesome science fiction stories , sadly this novel would look embarrassed in a bargain bin , let alone being converted into a $70 million vehicle for robin williams . \\ndespite being set in heaven , what dreams may come is mightily depressing . \\nthe film rushes a happy ending , but everything before this is very , very sad and black , which just adds to make the ending even more hopeless and stupid . \\nbut there\\'s one redeeming feature about this failure of a movie : the special effects . \\nheaven and hell are truly incredible places , and the actors fit perfectly with the virtual sets . \\nbut despite this , what dreams may come , proves to be nothing but the biggest disappointment of 1998 . \\ninstead of raising questions about existence , it raises boredom . \\nsadly , i recommend you give this film a miss . \\nbetter luck next time , robin . \\na david wilcock review ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       "  b'some movies ask you to leave your brain at the door , some movies ask you to believe in the impossible to really have a good time . \\nplaying god asks just one simple , eensy , teensy thing so it can fully entertain you , it\\'s accomplished in just four easy to follow steps : crack open your skull , scoop out your brain , squish it under your foot several times and reverse steps two and one . \\ncongratulations , you now have all the necessary requirements to fully enjoy a whole lot of nothing . \\nsome movies fail at the box office but you manage to see why the producers thought it could have been a good movie , others are simply good ideas that are badly executed . \\nthen there\\'s playing god , which enters the esteemed category of movies which seem to have grown from the union of a drunk director , actors satisfied in the knowledge that this horrible flick will have no lasting impact on their careers and a bunch of rip-offs ( or homages as they like to call it ) from other , better movies that end up looking like an unflushed toilet . \\nharsh ? maybe . \\njustified ? \\nhell yes ! \\nthis is a movie that is not just satisfied in ripping off other movies but feels the need to remind us of that fact every ten minutes . \\nfor example , a gunman bursts into a garden with the two guns in his hands firing away . \\nthis does look moderately kool , but the camera lingers on the actor for so long you can almost hear the director yelling : \" oooh , look look ! \\njohn woo ! \\ntwo guns blazing ! \\nslooooow motion ! \" \\nand if that wasn\\'t enough , you can also hear the script grunting under the effort it must take to try and make every single line of dialogue sound like something deep and meaningful like in a tarantino movie . \\npoor timothy hutton gets to deliver most of the corny lines , you have to admire the effort he puts into it , this guy deserves better . \\nunlike most movies this one does not suffer from \" stupid bad guy \" syndrome , just to make things a little different this time we get stupid heroes . \\nexample : duchovny manages to distract a bad guy by making him go into the bathroom to get some bandages . \\nnow the bad guy is , like , stoned , man , so he leaves his shotgun next to our hero . \\n ( term used as loosely as possible ) \\nsurvival instincts and a good dose of common sense seems to suggest grabbing the shotgun , which our hero does , but only after contemplating it for about thirty seconds . \\neven when he does grab it he seems unsure how to hold it , going so far as to actually wonder if he should place a finger near the trigger . \\nmind you , i\\'ve never fired a shotgun in my life but believe you me that the bad guy would be missing most of his vital organs , be he stoned or not . \\nsome will argue that our hero does not have a killer instinct , the hell with that ! \\ntwo fbi guys have just been shot in front me , along with one bad guy and the other looks like he might go ballistic at any second . \\nsolution ? \\nboom ! \\ni\\'ll take the time to feel sorry about it later thank you very much . \\nanother prime example of the idiot hero syndrome : \\nour boy duchovny needs to reach his girl before something bad happens to her . \\nhe knows the head bad guy has her on the tenth floor of a building and that he might be running into a room full of people with itchy trigger fingers . \\nhe still has his shotgun , bring it along you say ? \\nno thanks , i\\'ll just ditch it in the back of my car . \\nand the real kicker is this : when he reaches the room and people start shooting at him he has the nerve to look surprised ! \\nwhile we are on the subject of getting shot , why in hades were those fbi guys sitting with their backs to the door ? \\ni\\'ve got no formal training but even i know you never sit with your back to the door . \\nask mr . wild bill , the first and only time he did not sit with his back to a wall cost him his life . \\nthis is the major problem with this movie , any mook could have thought of a hundred ways to make it better . \\nis it so much to ask that hollywood actually put a little common sense into their characters ? \\nfor instance : \\nour heroes hide at duchovny\\'s summer home , now the bad guys could come knocking at any moment . \\nok , this time our hero does get himself a gun and has it at his side most of the time . \\nbut see , our hero is a drug addict and guess what ? \\nhe chooses now to go clean and suffer through dt . \\noh sure , he\\'ll be really impressive when the bad guys come calling . \\ngoing clean is really honorable of him , but i would have waited until i did not need to be conscious or being able to fire a gun . \\nfor an enjoyable performance by timothy hutton , plot holes the size of godzilla , getting our intelligence insulted and several \" oh come on ! \" \\nmoments . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mimi leder is probably best known for her stunning work as a director of the hit tv-show er . \\nher mast famous episode , \" love\\'s labour lost \" , dealt with the ordeal of doctor mark greene as he tried his best to save the life of a pregnant mother and her child . \\nthe way she moved the camera and created tension throughout every scene was amazing . \\nthere was more excitement and adrenaline rushed suspense than just about any of hollywood\\'s big blockbuster movies . \\nso it\\'s only natural that leder would get to direct her very own hollywood blockbuster . \\nand i have to say , after a shaky beginning , she does not disappoint . \\npeacemaker deals with the theft of nuclear weapons by terrorists , which is obviously nothing new . \\nthe first half hour goes into detail , way too much detail , about how the weapons are stolen . \\ndespite a few good images , including a train collision and a very impressive explosion , none of this was very coherent . \\nit\\'s long and drawn out , and i would have settled with a more implausible beginning that would have moved the story along better . \\nonce george clooney and nicole kidman enter the picture , it begins to take off . \\ngeorge clooney is an air force colonel with connections all over the world . \\nhe has a nice sarcastic wit and the rough edges that you expect from most clooney characters . \\nnicole kidman is head of a white house team on weapons smuggling . \\nthere is the usual flirtatious banter between the two , but that is dispensed with quickly . \\nthe story takes clooney and kidman across the globe , trying to figure out who has the weapons and where they are going with them . clooney \\ngoes through bouts of sarcasm , frustration , determination , and revenge while kidman works against her own insecurity and self-doubt . \\nthis is when leder starts to show her true stuff . \\nshe starts us off with a nifty little car chase as an appetizer . \\nthen we get clooney doing heroics in and out of a helicopter . \\nthen that leads us to the brilliant final showdown on new york city\\'s crowded streets , and a madman with a nuke walking among them . \\nmimi leder is a natural at creating suspense . \\nshe reminds me of wolfgang petersen in her ability to make the most routine action sequences exciting and breathtaking . \\nnicole kidman is an intelligent female action hero . \\nyou\\'re not gonna find her falling down so clooney can come back to save her . \\ngeorge clooney is a real movie star . \\nmany of you may have hated him as batman , but this guy is for real . \\nhe has a natural screen presence , and an ingratiating personality . \\nhe\\'ll be around for a while . \\ndreamworks is off to a satisfying start with peacemaker . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'every once in a while you see a film that is so effective in delivering the goods that it is easy to forget , and forgive , its glaring imperfections . \\nsuch is the case with ? good will hunting ? , a subtle character study about a socially inept mathematics genius who struggles to find his path in life . \\ndespite some serious character problems , this is still a very good film . \\nyou probably know about the plot so i ? ll make it quick . \\nwill hunting ( damon ) is a janitor at m . i . t . , he ? s really smarter than einstein but nobody knows it . \\nhe likes to go out with his friend chuckie ( affleck ) and their other working-class buddies and drink beer . \\nhe ? s good-looking , charismatic , and witty but has a terrible time with authority and stiff college folk . \\nafter getting into a tiff with the law , a distinguished professor ( skarsg ? rd ) discovers will ? s genius and offers him a chance to clean up his record and avoid jail time , at a price : he must attend weekly sessions with a therapist and work on various mathematical problems ( that have stumped the academic elite ) with the professor . \\nafter outsmarting and scaring the hell out of a couple of different psychologists he meets his match when hooked up with a once-promising therapist named sean maguire ( williams ) who has his own problems . \\nin the meantime will meets a british medical school student ( driver ) and they begin to fall in love . \\nthe story starts out well enough and is a pretty original basis for a film . \\neven though we ? ve seen movies about misunderstood , erratic prodigies before ( ? shine ? ring a bell ? ) , the script here creates a complex narrative that doesn ? t just focus solely on one character . \\nalas though , this is not a perfect film , as much as you feel like it could ? ve been while watching it . \\nthe one real problem i had with it is the unrealistic nature of the main character . \\nis it possible for a lowly janitor to be this intelligent ? \\nof course . \\nis it possible for him to be estranged from any deep , human relationships ? \\nusually , yes . \\nbut , is it possible for him to also be so handsome , funny , quick with the tongue , and city-street tough ? \\nnot very likely . \\ncome on , usually these guys are total nerds who can ? t even buy their own shirts , much less talk down a harvard student in a hip pub while picking up phone numbers from pretty med . -school \\ngirls . \\nwill is just a little too perfect , and in order to accept the character your disbelief suspension needs to be in excellent working condition . \\nthe heavy-handed , anti-war statement made by will at a government job interview late in the film is also boorish , overlong , pompous , and completely unnecessary . \\nall this sounds pretty bad , but the film somehow makes up for it in other ways . \\ndamon ? s acting overshadows the fact that the character is slightly unbelievable , his performance is truly extraordinary . \\nwhich leads me to the really good part of the review . \\nthe strength of this movie can be summed up in one single word : acting . \\ni can ? t recall seeing a film recently that was so well-acted from top to bottom . \\nfrom minnie driver ? s frustrated lover to ben affleck ? s laid-back best friend , and all the small roles in between , the performances are magnificent . \\nrobin williams ? skill is a given as a bereaved psychologist who could ? ve had a legendary career but was knocked off the path somewhere down the line . \\nthe real gem though is stellan skarsg ? rd ? s turn as professor lambeau , an award-winning mathematician who feels reduced in comparison to a younger , smarter will hunting . \\nthe scenes between williams and skarsg ? rd , as two old college pals who ? ve been brought back together by this enigmatic kid , display some of the best acting i ? ve ever seen . \\nwhen i say delivering the goods , this is what i ? m talking about . \\nwatching these two work is what going to see movies is all about . \\ngus van sant ? s ( to die for , drugstore cowboy ) cold , urban direction is right on , as well as danny elfman ? s sauntering musical score . \\ni highly recommend ? good will hunting ? . \\ndespite its faults , it is still an intriguing and fascinating film and you are not likely to see a better acted one this year . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"-- comedy , rated pg , runs about 1 : 40 -- starring : john goodman , kathy moriarty , and a bunch of teenagers -- directed by joe dante and written by charles hass -- \\nsummary : lawrence woolsley ( john goodman ) brings his new horror film mant ! \\nto premiere in key west during the height of the cuban missile crisis . \\nhe hopes to capitalize on the tense moment by providing an escape for the town . \\nwe see most of the events through the stories of four teenagers and how life affects them . \\nquick and easy review : i really enjoyed matinee . \\nthe mixture of comedy and tension blended nicely . \\nunlike many comedies this film tries , and succeeds , in getting past the stage of doing anything for a laugh . \\nthe makers of the film also cared about telling an intelligent story . \\nthe performances of all the principals are right on the mark , particularly john goodman as the schlock master . \\nso i would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a light hearted , yet interesting way to spend a couple of hours . \\nlonger , more detailed review : [beware of spoilers] \\nthe primary reason i enjoyed this film was , that while being a comedy , the film also had an intelligent story to tell . \\ntoo many comedies today subscribe to the the notion that a comedy need only make you laugh . \\nyou watch the movie , laugh a lot , leave the theatre and take nothing with you . \\nmatinee is not like that . \\ni left the picture thinking about what i would do faced with the cuban missile crisis . \\ni found myself wondering what would happen to the characters of the film . \\nbut most importantly , i found myself caring about what would happen to the characters . \\nthe comedy of the film centers around goodman , his character , and the film he brings to key west . \\ni believe that goodman is one of the finest comedic actors in the business today . \\nhe is highly expressive both physically and vocally . \\ni felt he at least deserved an oscar nomination for his work in barton fink . \\nthe other characters are often lost in a scene with him due to his commanding nature , however , while the star , goodman is actually not at the center of the film . \\nthe movie is really the story of the four teenagers , discovering who they are and what they want , against a background where at any minute it could all end . \\ni thought the kids reaction were highly realistic . \\nthey tried to block it out , they tried to escape from the concerns of their world . \\nunfortunately it kept creeping back in , particularly with the fear , and the chaos of the time . \\nwhile the comedy centered on goodman , and the drama on the teens , there was a great deal of overlap . \\nseveral aspects of the panic are shown in a humorous light . \\none example is a scene where people are fighting each other for the the last cans and boxes of food in a grocery store . \\nif you think about it the threat of nuclear annihilation seems hardly to be the backdrop for a comedy , but it works here . \\nanother reason i like this film is that i like b- science fiction movies . \\none of my favorite films to go watch is plan 9 from outer space . \\n ( note i did not say it was one of my favorite movies , but one of my favorite to see . ) \\nwhile mant ! \\nnever got made , many films like it were , and mant ! \\nserves mostly as dante's homage to the b-films he loves . \\nso again i would like to recommend matinee to anybody looking for a good , humorous story . \\nthis isn't a gag film like many other comedies but an intelligent , well-thought out , film about real people with real problems told in an often hilarious way . \\nenjoy ! \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"i remember making a pact , right after `patch adams' , to not be easily be suckered by movies dripping with sentimentality . \\nbut darn it , `music of the heart' is just layered with feel-good material and bright characterizations . \\nit's hard to dislike a movie that uses such skill with it's manipulation . \\nin addition , it's also a terrific family film . \\nthis is the true story of violin teacher roberta guaspari , who fought the school board to keep the musical program active in a handful of inner city harlem schools . \\nit could also be described as `mrs . \\nstreep's opus' . \\nyes , meryl streep brings her dramatic clout to the demanding role of guaspari , and that brings both good news and bad . \\nout of the gate , possibly because of her distracting star power and the rushed writing , it is relatively difficult to identify with roberta's character and grasp her academic point-of-view . \\nshe is very strict with her students , but what insight does that create into the story ? \\nslowly but surely , we begin to recognize the intentions of the character , and show admiration for the thoughtfulness and human feeling that streep has once again applied . \\none thoroughly interesting fact about `music of the heart' lies with the unlikely presence in the director's chair : horror veteran wes craven . \\nafter leaving an impression with the `scream' films and the original `nightmare on elm street' , craven has attempted a precarious cross-over to drama . \\nat first , his inexperience with the genre is fairly obvious , but as the film progresses craven finds a surprisingly comfortable niche with directing this material . \\nit doesn't carry the heart-warming courage of `mr . \\nholland's opus' , but `music of the heart' is casually assured and filled with little morsels of dramatic truth . \\nthe tag team of streep and craven works better than you would anticipate . \\nyes , oscar could come calling once again for meryl streep , but it's the solid ensemble cast that makes `music of the heart' work . \\nangela bassett displays her usual forceful stamina as janet williams , the principal at an inner city school who initially doesn't hire roberta because of her lack of experience . \\nblue-eyed adian quinn is endearing , as always , playing a new love interest . \\ngloria estefan also delivers in the tiny role of a supportive second-grade teacher , and the three lead actresses together produce a flaming fireball of estrogenic force . \\nit's like a schoolteacher's version of `thelma and louise' , in a restrained but effective manner . \\nthe movie tackles more issues than just guaspari's teaching of violin . \\nthere's some powerful moments between roberta and her two sons , who must cope when their father leaves them for another woman . \\nin it's dramatic build-up , the movie manages to produce some authentic moments of feeling and warmth . \\nit's a good movie for anyone to see , although missing out on the experience would not be a life-altering decision . \\nit's commendable of wes craven to be attempting such a difficult cross-over , and also for achieving his intricate goal . \\nwatching this heartfelt chick flick about morals and musical instruments , who may ask yourself : this is the guy who directed `scream' ? \\nof course , when the third installment of that series comes around in february 2000 ( with craven directing ) , you may find yourself wondering : this is the guy who directed `music of the heart' ? \\nmission accomplished , wes . \\nthankfully , there is no layer of artificial sentiment covering the film . \\nin it's entirety , it's a wholesome and agreeable movie for the whole family , despite the periodic flaws that surface every once in awhile . \\nthe child actors are cute and perform up to par , even if some of their problems are clich ? d and predictable in the extreme . \\nthe mother who doesn't want her son to be learning `white man's music' , the unexpected casuality . . . \\nbasically everything is there . \\nit doesn't strike the perfect chord , but `music of the heart' is highly convincing . \\nthe uplifting true story of roberta guaspari could have been told better , but `music of the heart' is still edifying enough to properly divulge her morals . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'wow , a film without any redeeming qualities whatsoever . \\ni\\'m amazed that someone thought this was a story that must be told on screen . \\nmany blacks in hollywood complain that they are not nominated for awards based on their race . \\ni think first they need to concentrate their energy on themselves , and stop making movies which makes them look like nothing more than sex-crazed buffoons . \\neven i\\'m offended by it . \\nbill bellamy is a \" player \" which means he sleeps with a lot of women and lies to them . \\nwhat a pleasant main character . \\none day , his friends decide that they want to find out how to be a player . \\nwhy they decide this \" one day \" i have no idea . \\nhow many years have they been friends and why all of a sudden would they want to learn ? \\nanyway , bellamy agrees to teach , and his wonderful lesson to his friends consists of letting them ride in his car while he rides from house to house having sex with women . \\nthis is the bulk of the film folks , guys riding from house to house , one keeps getting out to have sex , while the others sit in the car . \\nsince russell simmons is producer , and since the official title of the film is \" def jam\\'s how to be a player \" , i was ready to be jumping up and down and stomping my feet and beating the person next to me because of the comedy . \\namazingly , aside from gilbert gottfried\\'s 90 seconds of screen time , there was no comedy in the film for me to express myself in such a manner . \\ninstead of jokes , there\\'s just an endless stream of profanity and naked breasts ( and naked breasts aren\\'t so bad , but naked breasts alone don\\'t make a good movie ) . \\nbe sure to bring along your ebonics to english dictionary as well . \\ngilbert gottfried\\'s character serves as one in his very brief appearance , asking for explanations as to what is being said . \\nthey should have brought him along for the entire film . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in my opinion , a movie reviewer\\'s most important task is to offer an explanation for his opinion . \\nbut with soul survivors , i\\'m so full of critical rage that this review is liable to turn into a venomous , uncontrollable rant , obligations damned . \\nhowever , protocol forces me to do otherwise . \\nsoul survivors tells the story of four college-bound friends : cassandra ( melissa sagemiller ) is sweet and innocent . \\nparty girl annabel ( eliza dushku of bring it on ) is dating world-weary harvard student matt ( wes bentley ) . \\nmatt still has feelings for cassie , who is now dating sean ( casey affleck ) . \\ndriving back from a creepy , gothic party , the quartet gets into a horrific car crash . \\nsean dies , leaving cassie crestfallen and guilty , made worse because sean saw matt kiss cassie just minutes after sean revealed his love for her . \\nas cassie mopes through her classes , she sees the ghost of sean all over the place , urging her to follow him . \\nalong with being plagued by other ghastly visions , cassie is also followed by thugs from that strange party . \\nannabel and matt try calming her down , but no one shares cass\\'s visions . \\nshe has to figure out this purgatory all by herself . \\nrarely have i seen a director so thoroughly mishandle material . \\nin his directorial debut , steve carpenter does nothing to provoke the audience into feeling any emotion . \\nwhen the movie\\'s camerawork isn\\'t pedestrian , it\\'s clich ? d . \\ncarpenter\\'s need for close-ups , his camera following sagemiller from behind , drain the movie of any anticipation . \\nwe already know what to look for , so why should we be surprised ? \\nand the sense of scary atmosphere , which was recently done so well in the others , is nowhere to be found here . \\ncarpenter\\'s script relies on random twists and turns with a minimum of logic and loads of laziness . \\nthis is a movie where the ending features one character providing an explanation about the plot to another character , which is one of the lamest screenwriting devices around . \\nthe second lamest device , of course , is the , \" oh , it was all a dream \" resolution . \\nand guess what ? \\nthis movie has both ! \\nnot that the main body of the film , which has sagemiller constantly running in fear or having a nervous breakdown , is anything worthwhile . \\nsince there\\'s no captivating dialogue , no character chemistry exists anywhere . \\nthat\\'s a huge problem , since the four main characters are supposed to be couples . \\ncarpenter can\\'t even get the smutty scenes right , which are becoming more prevalent in pg-13 movies like bring it on and get over it . \\n[the film was recently re-cut from an r rating to get more kids in the seats . \\n-ed . ] \\nwhen sagemiller and dushku dance together at a club , he rarely shows them in a full shot and he never keeps the camera on them for longer than a second before relating to some michael bay-style quick cuts . \\nand when sagemiller and dushku take a shower together after getting covered in paint , they\\'re fully clothed . \\nregardless , any sexiness in that scene is undercut by its stupidity . \\nwhy wouldn\\'t they wash the clothes in the sink or in the washing machine ? \\nwhy would they shower in their clothes ? \\nwhat if they weren\\'t covered in latex paint ? \\nthe cast , which will see better material in the future , would be wise to leave this one off their resumes . \\ni felt sorry for affleck , who i\\'ve liked in other movies , and bentley , who was great in american beauty . \\ndushku , who possesses an alluring femme fetale quality , has got to stop taking roles belonging to rose mcgowan . \\nas for sagemiller ( star of the aforementioned get over it ) , i want to see her in a movie where she plays a person , and not an object for gawking . \\nand i\\'m not even getting into luke wilson\\'s role as a priest . \\nat least he\\'s friends with wes anderson . \\nbottom line : soul survivors is so awful i feel compelled to knock on doors and warn people about it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"let's face it : since waterworld floated by , the summer movie season has grown * very * stale . \\nwith no new eye-candy for four weeks straight , we've had to sustain ourselves on the quasi-nutritional value of cheatin' husbands , traveling chocolate salesmen , and computer- generated serial killers . \\nsigh . \\nthank god for desperado . \\nthe freewheeling sequel to el mariachi--director robert rodriguez's notorious $7000 debut--stars a cool antonio banderas as the returning guitarist with no name . \\nhe's a man in black with revenge on his mind , and an arsenal in his case . \\n ( the woman he loved was killed in the first film . ) \\nso , he spends the entire story shooting drug dealers ; sort of a tex-mex version of the punisher , if you will . \\nthere isn't much of an emotional core to desperado . \\nrodriguez is having too much fun finding new and innovative ways to pay homage to john woo . \\n ( and sergio leone . . . \\nand sam peckinpah . . . ) \\nsome may wince at the body count--at least 100 graphic killings is a fair estimate--but it's all played for laughs . \\nbig , broad , hispanic laughs that , for me , recall the physical comedy of blake edwards and his pink panther films . \\nsick , slick fun . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'only a year after the initial release of \" scream , \" the horror send-up from veteran horror director wes craven and screenwriter kevin williamson that seemed to breathe new life into the slasher genre , the inevitable sequel \" scream 2 \" has arrived in our theaters . \\nwhile the tongue-in-cheek , parodic element is still noticeable in this film , it\\'s really a sideshow to a broader commentary on violence and the media and a more conventional horror story . \\nthe first film , while often violent and gruesome , was mostly lacking in genuine scares because almost every scene was played for camp value and the discussion of the quirks and cliches of horror movies was nearly constant . \\nthe premise of \" scream 2 \" is that a series of copycat killings begin when a movie called \" stab , \" based on a book written by opportunistic reporter gail weathers ( courtney cox ) about the events in \" scream , \" is released and two audience members are killed during the opening screening . \\ni had heard about this scene before i went to see the film and was surprised to find this sequence largely lacking in camp comedy . \\nits conclusion , in which a bleeding , wounded woman stumbles in front of the screen and dies in front of an audience that cheers on because they think it\\'s a publicity stunt , is more surreal and disturbing than anything else . \\nthe satire in \" scream 2 \" thus takes on a broad focus and gradually evolves into an exploration of media perceptions in general . \\nalthough resident horror film geek randy ( jamie kennedy ) is back with fresh dialogue about sequels ( and , interestingly enough , how they are usually inferior to their predecessors ) , the characters in this movie are drawing from other entries in the pop culture encyclopedia as well . \\neverything from \" friends \" and \" saved by the bell \" to \" showgirls \" and \" terminator 2 \" is referenced here ; horror is only one of many genres available for lampooning , and there aren\\'t any \" wes carpenter \" jokes this time . \\nmore importantly , this film portrays characters willing to go to disturbing lengths for media attention as well as characters whose perceptions have clearly been warped by what they have seen on tv and film . \\nthe killings are clearly an imitation of the previous murders from \" scream \" ( in fact , the culprit even plans to use the influence of horror movies as a courtroom defense ) , weathers exploits the situation for her own notoriety , and one man seems willing to save the heroine\\'s life only if it will earn him an interview on the today show . \\nunderstandably , \" scream 2 \" does not go so far as to actually blame the movies , but rather shows that those who do imitate horror movies are already sick and twisted . \\ncouple that with the fact that several of the characters , most notably the lead character sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) , are fairly well-developed and that there are some genuine moments of spine-chilling suspense , and what we have is a pretty darned good horror movie in its own right . \\nwe don\\'t just get the horror of scary masks and graphic gore - we also get the horror of sympathetic characters who seem helpless as their friends are slaughtered ( and , in one case , a significant character who was an audience favorite even bites the dust ) and whose lives have been reduced to constant fear of a crazed murderer lurking around the corner . \\nwhile i have not seen any of his other work , it\\'s easy to see why craven is generally touted as the most sophisticated \" slasher film \" director , as he clearly cares about something more than just the actual acts of slashing . \\nunfortunately , \" scream 2 \" occasionally reverts to the time-honored horror tradition of throwing logic out the window . \\nfor example , several characters seem quite clearly dead and inexplicably turn up alive later - there has been a running gag in both movies about the villain being able to pull off this particular trick , but it also happens with other characters and in an even less believable fashion . \\nthere are also a few scenes in which the killer suddenly appears behind the next victim in a situation such that ( s ) he clearly would have been seen moving in that direction . \\nas for the question of whether or not \" scream 2 \" is yet another sequel not as good as its predecessor . \\n . \\n . \\nwell , it\\'s hard to say . \\ni gave the first \" scream \" 3 1/2 stars as well because it worked pretty consistently as a light-hearted send-up . \\n \" scream 2 \" bounces all over the place stylistically , but it does a better job delivering the genuine scares and asking the questions about media violence that were only hinted at in the first installment . \\ni\\'m not sure which is the better movie , but i did leave the theater convinced of one thing : sequels , however much randy might argue , do not necessarily suck . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"cinema has been around for about a hundred years now . ? \\nit's not my job to recap this century every time i talk about a new film , but i'd like to think that i'm beginning to understand the art more as i watch more films from before my time . \\nrecently , i've seen the films of hitchcock , capra , fellini , godard , kurosawa , chaplin , lang , and many others . \\n ? those men were talented artists , and their films reflect their genius . ? \\nthey are likely to be remembered for . \\n . \\n . \\nwell , quite a while . ? \\ni like this film , too . ? \\nyes , it's a disaster-slash-action movie . ? \\ntrue , its budget is a lot more money than i'll ever see in my lifetime . ? \\nand there's not a doubt in my mind that the only reason it was conceived was to make a lot of money . ? \\nin fact , i bet the producers of armageddon would have worked towards a lousy film , had they thought it would've been more profitable . \\ni certainly don't care what their intentions were , because michael bay ( the rock ) is such a skilled director that i doubt he'd ever make a film that is difficult to sit through . \\nof course , skillful direction doesn't complete the package , but the rest of armageddon manages to keep everything together . \\nthe story is well-thought out ( and perfectly paced to provide for an abundance of action sequences that never feel out of place ) , the acting is terrific , the script is sharp , and -- get this -- there are characters . \\nyes , you read that right . \\narmageddon actually has characters you can care about ! \\nif you don't like this film , then you have a problem with the genre itself : armageddon is as good as a film like this can be . \\nif you've seen deep impact , then you know the basic framework for the story . \\nit turns out that an asteroid the size of texas is going to strike the earth eighteen days from the start of the film . \\nso , it's up to the u . s . government to stop it . \\n ( why the u . s . is always exclusively saddled with these problems is never fully investigated . ) \\ntheir plan -- to send a group of experienced oil drillers up to the asteroid , drill down several hundred feet , and detonate a nuclear warhead within . \\nthe head driller is harry stamper ( bruce willis ) . \\nhis group of men is a colorful bunch , including a . j . \\n ( ben affleck ) , chick ( will patton ) , and rockhound ( steve buscemi ) . \\nthere's also an interesting triangle formed between a . j . , harry , and grace ( liv tyler ) , who is harry's daughter . \\na . j . \\nand grace are , of course , romantically intertwined , and dad isn't too happy with the situation . \\nit's absurd to wish for a complicated story in an event movie or a special effects movie or whatever it is you'd like to call armageddon . \\nit's not about story -- it's about viscera and action , and thrills-a-minute , and all that stuff . \\nit's incidental , really , that the story is cohesive and even remotely believable , because most people will be too wrapped up in the explosions to give two seconds' thought to what actually happens . \\nbut bay is the one to congratulate in this case , for he has made a film so entertaining and so visually sharp that i doubt any director could have done it better . \\ni think most of the budget went to cameras alone , because bay films every action sequence from about thirty or forty different angles . \\ntake the spectacular opening scene , for instance , in which a meteor shower obliterates new york . \\na meteor flies out of the sky and crashes into a building , which sends fireballs erupting into the air and cars spinning like tops upon other cars . \\nthe action itself might take five seconds in real life , but bay edits so quickly that we get the same scene in six different ways . \\ni like his quick-edit style , because it's abrasive and exhausting to watch . \\nit's also very loud , and obnoxiously noisy at times . \\nbut it's fun to be obnoxious sometimes . \\nthe special effects in this film put every other 1998 blockbuster to shame . \\ndeep impact , visually , has absolutely nothing on armageddon , and to offer a comparison between the quality of this film and godzilla is simply laughable . \\nspecial effects are very important in a film like this : if they're not good , then the image is not convincing , and the film doesn't work . \\neverything here looks bright and explosive -- from the little meteors bursting through skyscrapers , all the way to the shots of the earth through the jutting rocks on the ominously approaching asteroid . \\nthe effects that don't look totally real are still a pleasure to behold , and i credit everyone involved for creating the first blockbuster so nice-looking that it actually qualifies as art . \\nof course , all of this would add up to little more than an above-average light show , if i didn't get the feeling that bay cares as much about his characters as he does about his action . \\nthe film is two and a half hours long , and not all of that is spent submerged in numbing action . \\nmuch of the film is dedicated to developing the various characters' subplots . \\ni won't suggest that these are complex characters , but their problems are real , and the emotions aren't put forth in a sentimental and overbearing way . \\nin fact , there are three or four scenes here that had me pretty choked up , and that's a lot more than i can say about deep impact , which was banking on the feel-good parts of its story . \\nbruce willis is terrific , and i'm glad to see him bigger than life again ( recent turns in films like mercury rising have been very disappointing ) . \\ntyler and affleck are great together , and make a convincing couple -- all of the scenes between them work on a comfortable level . \\npatton , who is a magnificent actor , thankfully is not wasted here , and the minor subplot revolving around his ex-wife and son is very moving . \\nthe comic relief from buscemi and peter stormare ( who plays a crazy russian astronaut ) is nifty , and keeps the film lively and funny . \\ni wasn't challenged to think real hard while watching armageddon , and i don't mind too much . \\nbut the film doesn't insult my intelligence -- it's pitched perfectly to entertain , which is what all it really wants to do . \\nit's not mindless and escapist , but well-crafted cinema . \\nit might have been created for the wrong reasons , but men like michael bay have my respect for showing me that they are interested in making something good , in spite of the producers and the budget . \\ni'm not saying that films like this are risky moves . \\nwhat i am saying is that armageddon is a big , loud , expensive motion picture that reminds me that art often comes in the strangest of forms . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'that is , unless you\\'re one of those people who have seen the preview a thousand times on tv or in the theaters . \\ni can tell you one thing now : they gave the entire movie away . \\nwhy someone would want to base an entire movie on one premise and then give that crucial detail away in the trailers is beyond me . \\nhowever , if they * hadn\\'t * given it away , the film would\\'ve still been suprisingly devoid of suspense given its subject matter . \\nobviously , the producers thought they could remake \" the deep end of the ocean , \" throw in tommy lee jones and a couple of cliches and call it an action drama . \\n \" double jeopardy \" offers solid acting from ashley judd and tommy lee jones , who got first billing even though he didn\\'t see to be on screen half as much as judd did . \\nit also offers some genuinely funny , clever , or full-of-tension moments ( my favorite : judd waking up in the coffin ) , but none of that can salvage the film from its insanely predictable plot . \\nhalf the time i\\'m wondering whether i\\'m watching one of those overhyped tv miniseries , which always turn out to be less exciting than advertised . \\njudging by the beginning , end , and a huge chunk of the middle , i might have been watching a special hallmark presentation too . \\nthe movie\\'s stretching for an almost two hour long film with only 30 minutes worth of material . \\nimplausible material , no less . \\nloose interpretation of one of the amendments aside , too many times in the movie i thought , \" that is * not * possible * . \" \\nthat kind of stuff is excusable in popcorn movies , but not one like \" double jeopardy \" that tries to pass itself off as serious drama . \\neverything seems dragged out , overplayed . \\nwhen they should\\'ve kept us in the dark , they let the cat out of the bag too early . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : token director alan smithee steals the only copy of his film \" trio \" from the studio , after they complete the \" final cut \" without him . \\nhe threatens to burn the film reel if they do not allow him to keep his vision . \\ncritique : wow . \\ni really can\\'t remember the last time a movie sucked on so many levels ! \\nthe \" comedy \" in this film is pathetic , obvious and dated ( oj simpson jokes galore ) . \\nthe plot is uninteresting , boring and bad . \\nthe structure of the film is annoying , repetitive and pretentious . \\nthe acting is pretty bad , especially jackie chan , who can\\'t act to save his life . \\nthe cameos are lame and seem forced , and the ending blows chunks . \\nall in all , this movie believes itself to be a clever , humorous and edgy look behind the closed doors of hollywood , but comes across as a boring , stupid and completely unentertaining piece of shite . \\ni love to see movies about hollywood shenanigans , but this one bites the big one . \\nsee it if you like to watch really bad movies , otherwise skip it , because it will just have you hating every star that makes an appearance in it . \\nluckily for us all , this mess only lasts about 80 minutes , and miramax honcho harvey weinstein plays a lead-faced detective . \\nby the way , is there any reason why the studio or the producer couldn\\'t have cut another version of the film by the way of all the filmed stock that was left over ? \\nwho knows , who cares , this \" satire \" sucks the bag . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : ironically , the original director of this film , arthur hiller , also requested his name be taken off the credits and replaced by the dga\\'s alan smithee moniker . \\nthis was after the film\\'s production company , cinergi pictures , preferred the cut made by producer/writer joe eszterhas to his . \\nthe original script of this film included arnold schwarzenegger and bruce willis . \\neszterhas announced through the media during post-production that cinergi pictures didn\\'t have the money to pay for soundtrack . \\nhe said that he would finance the soundtrack from his own money and asked to submit tracks for it to him . \\nhe received 9 , 200 cds and cassettes from mostly unknown and unsigned artists , listened to all that was sent ( at least a couple of tracks from each record ) and compiled the soundtrack . \\nthis film practically swept the \" razzie awards \" in 1999 , given out to the worst of all movie categories of the year , with no less than the \" worst picture \" award , the \" worst screenplay \" ( joe eszterhas ) , the \" worst supporting actor \" ( joe eszterhas ) , the \" worst new star \" ( joe eszterhas tied with jerry springer ) and the \" worst original song \" ( \" i wanna be mike ovitz ! \" \\nas written by joe eszterhas ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'is jimmy stewart the greatest actor of all-time ? \\nit\\'s quite possible . \\nhis career spanned over 40 years , and he acted in more movies than most actors ever could . \\nyet , when he is talked about in the media , he is generally thought of as an actor who played one type of role : the nice guy . \\nand that\\'s really a shame . \\n \" the naked spur \" features jimmy stewart in a role completely different than what people would expect from him . \\nit\\'s a western , which stewart specialized in around this period , and it casts him as a desperate man out to collect a bounty on a man who used to be his friend . \\nbefore he finds that man , though , he runs into two men who agree to help him , thinking he is a sheriff . \\nwhen the criminal is eventually caught , the two men discover stewart\\'s secret , and decide they want a piece of the action too . \\nthe rest of the film is a suspenseful journey in which each man suspects the other constantly . \\nalso featured is the woman travelling with the criminal , well played by janet leigh . \\nwe\\'re never too sure who\\'s side she\\'s really on until the end . \\nleigh is an actress probably best known for her role as the \" shower lady \" from \" psycho \" , and that\\'s unfair . \\nshe gives a strong performance as a woman who is pulled between these two men . \\nstewart gives a performance unlike anything i\\'ve ever seen from him . \\nhe usually keeps cool no matter what occurs , but here , he gets downright hysterical at times . \\ni think perhaps he took this role to prove to the public that he was more than just a \" nice guy \" . \\nhis performance borders on psychotic at times , but i loved watching every second of it . \\nit\\'s roles like this one that make me admire him as much as i do . \\nhe was an actor unafraid to take chances , and even ruin his public image . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" american pie \" alums jason biggs and mena suvari star in this summer\\'s attempt to capitalize on the youth market looking for a comedy about young people they can relate to that combines generic hollywood cute couple-ness and zany comedy . \\nit\\'s about an a+ student ( biggs as \" paul \" ) who gets a scholarship to some college in new york city who sticks out like a sore thumb and falls for dora ( suvari ) a ditzy heroin-chic goth chick who has no ambition or self-respect whatsoever and allows herself to be pushed around just like \" hick-boy \" paul is . \\nso we\\'ve got a fish-out-water formula mixed with meet-cute romantic comedy which ideally should make for a good movie . \\nunfortunately the atrocious screenplay and boring direction by \" clueless \" auteur amy heckerling successfully manages to screw up everything about the film . \\nthese characters are totally unrealistic and unbelievable - it\\'s as if everyone under age 30 is a stoned raver . \\nthere\\'s no background or details to anyone or anything , it\\'s just a bunch of cartoon characters running into each other . \\nnot to mention the story itself which is virtually non-existant and contains so many plotholes it\\'s like swiss cheese . \\neven the basic editing is bad . \\nif you\\'re looking for a romantic comedy stay far away from this one because it is neither romantic nor funny . \\ni saw this in a packed cinema on opening night and the audience barely laughed at all . \\nif you\\'ve seen the commericials you\\'ve seen all the \" funny \" parts ( which are all from the first five minutes ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m really starting to wonder about alicia silverstone . \\nsure , she is one of the most beautiful creatures on god\\'s green earth ( second only to that movie critic at large guy ) , but when it comes to choosing what movies she stars in , she always strikes out . \\nthe crush was a slow-moving , predictable piece of fluff . \\nhideaway was a horrific novel adaptation alicia had only a minor role in . \\nclueless was an annoying , unfunny waste of time . \\nand people have e-mailed me too , saying clueless is a good movie and that i\\'m the only one who doesn\\'t like it . \\none girl said if i\\'d seen the movie with \" an open mind , \" i would have enjoyed it . \\nnothing could be further from the truth . \\ni went into the theater expecting to love the movie . \\nthe preview looked good and of course i\\'m crazymadinlove with alicia , but the movie was a bunch of bad jokes coming from whiny , unlikable characters . \\nalmost everyone i saw the movie with felt the same way . \\nwhen we were walking out of the theater , one guy ( and it wasn\\'t me ) yelled out , \" that was the worst f$&#in\\' movie i\\'ve ever seen \" and the rest of us had to laugh in agreement . \\nso last night i walked into the video store and saw alicia\\'s pretty face on the cover of some made-for-video thriller called the babysitter . \\ni knew it would be bad but some inner compulsion i\\'ll probably never understand made me rent it anyway . \\nwhat i got was 90 minutes of regret--the worst alicia silverstone movie ever . \\nand you already know from the last paragraph what the competition is like . \\nwhere to begin in criticizing this movie ? \\nthe plot is a thin shred that moves slower than a glacier , the writing could have been done ( and for all we know it was ) by a ten year old , alicia is the star and she\\'s still wasted in a movie that has no appeal whatsoever . \\nthere is zero humor , zero suspense , zero drama and zero action , until the last ten minutes , when the story is needlessly and pointlessly concluded with a violent sequence . \\nzero plus zero plus zero plus zero equals zero . \\nso why does this movie get one star out of me ? \\nwell , alicia spends twenty minutes of the movie in the bathtub . \\nand if it wasn\\'t bubble bath , the babysitter would have instantly joined the ranks of our other four- star features , but you settle for what you can get . \\nalicia plays a babysitter who\\'s spending friday night looking after two kids whose parents are out getting drunk at a cocktail party . \\nand of course anyone as beautiful as alicia automatically spends their friday nights at home ( at least that movie critic at large guy does ) . \\nas the movie trods along , we discover she\\'s not only the mostly-silent star of the movie but also the object of every male character\\'s fantasies ( and probably every male viewer\\'s too ) . \\nthe drunken father thinks she\\'s just the thing to recapture his lost youth , her boyfriend lets his imagination run wild while spying on alicia from outside , even the prepubescent boy looks in on alicia through the bathroom keyhole while she\\'s taking her bubble bath . \\nthey even throw in the middle aged wife\\'s fantasies about a male counterpart at the party . \\nnot that any of us asked or ever even thought about seeing this 200+ pound woman in a black silk teddy . \\nat least none of the sex fanatasies ever leave the realm of the pg-rated . \\nin fact , i could imagine the babysitter becoming a cinemax late-night staple if not for the fact that there\\'s absolutely no nudity in it . \\nso you can\\'t call it a sex flick . \\ni\\'ve already pointed out that it can\\'t fall under drama , comedy , thriller or action , so what do you classify the babysitter as ? \\nbad . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a cinematic version of one of john irving\\'s novels is always cause for celebration even if , as in the case of \" simon birch , \" the treatment is merely \" suggested by , \" rather than strictly based on , the book . \\nsuggested means that irving , author of the acclaimed \" the world according to garp , \" sold the rights to his novel \" a prayer for owen meany \" to the disney machine for $1 million , but wouldn\\'t grant them permission to use either the title or any of the character names . \\nthat\\'s an odd decision--irving claims it\\'s to protect both himself and the novel--but it\\'s one that doesn\\'t unduly harm the finished product . \\nirving\\'s books are rich and complex works , full of intriguing , colorful characters . \\n \" a prayer for owen meany \" is no exception ; it tells the story of an unusual boy--called simon birch in the film version--who is uncommonly small in stature and possesses a high-pitched falsetto voice , \" like strangled mice . \" \\nsimon believes himself to be \" god\\'s instrument , \" placed on this earth to somehow effect god\\'s plan . \\nsimon is played by ian michael smith , who suffers from a rare enzyme disorder known as morquio syndrome which , among other things , prevents bones , ligaments , and joints from developing normally . \\nsmith\\'s debilitating disease makes him an obvious physical choice for \" simon birch \" ; however , the producers unwisely favored form over function--smith\\'s acting abilities are limited at best . \\nanother drawback is that in the book , simon\\'s condition is described the way irving describes any of his characters--in careful , loving detail . \\nwatching \" simon birch , \" however , creates a different feeling altogether ; the audience is forced into a voyeuristic relationship with the character , surely something irving would not have intended . \\nsimon himself tends to be too cute and irritating , a combination of smith\\'s rookie status as an actor and the precocious one-liners he\\'s forced to deliver , courtesy mark steven johnson , the film\\'s director and screenwriter . \\nfortunately , simon birch isn\\'t the real star of the film that bears his name . \\nsimon is more of a catalyst , allowing his co-stars to shape the story , and the actors who fill those roles to turn in outstanding supporting performances , saving the film from an obsequious , manipulative destiny . \\nfirst and foremost is joseph mazzello ( \" jurassic park \" ) , who is nothing less than remarkable as simon\\'s best friend , joe . \\nmazzello turns in a wonderfully layered performance for a 14 year old , ripe with laughter , pain , and tears ; he is certainly an emerging talent . \\nashley judd positively beams in her role as rebecca , joe\\'s single mother , and oliver platt is warm and tender as her boyfriend , ben . \\ndavid strathairn and jan hooks play the town\\'s reverend and sunday school teacher respectively and their contributions uphold the high standards set by the others . \\nthere\\'s even a surprising yet effective uncredited cameo performance from . . . \\nwell , that would be telling . \\nperhaps \" suggested by \" the novel is the appropriate way to go after all , since \" simon birch \" only focuses on one chapter , one year , of simon\\'s extraordinary life . \\nthe film also changes the book\\'s ending to one that is more melodramatic , yet necessary given simon\\'s lot . \\nthe flavor of irving\\'s original novel remains , however--the passions , friendships , and insecurities that come with a change of seasons to the little community of gravestown , maine , and the engaging oddballs , both big and small , who reside there . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there should be a requirement that a potential viewer be under a certain film iq in order to see \" mission to mars . \" \\nthere are probably quite a few people who are going to enjoy it , and most of them will probably be those who have seen very few films of its kind . \\nbut there are those who will not , and those will most likely be people who have already seen one or more of the following movies : \" 2001 : a space odyssey , \" \" armageddon , \" \" apollo 13 , \" \" the abyss , \" \" close encounters of the third kind , \" \" e . t . \\nthe extra-terrestrial , \" \" alien , \" and \" aliens . \" \\nwhy ? \\nbecause there is not one original idea in \" mission to mars . \" \\nall of it is cribbed from other films ( and in most cases , better films ) . \\nif this is the sort of thing you don\\'t mind , you might like the film . \\nof course , there are other reasons not to like \" mission to mars , \" the main one being a script written by people who seem to assume their audience is filled with people who haven\\'t used their brains in some time , and who don\\'t intend to start during the film\\'s running time . \\n \" mission to mars \" manages to be both stupid and boring at the same time . \\nthe plot , cribbed greatly from \" 2001 , \" concerns a team sent to mars , the first manned trip ever made to the red planet . \\nluke graham ( don cheadle ) leads the team , jointly formed of americans and russians . \\nthe team encounters a mysterious monolith that emits a strange pulse ( this being nothing like the pulse-emitting monolith in \" 2001 \" -- that one was on the * moon * ) , but when they try to study it , a giant sand tornado comes out of the top and swallows them ( all except luke , who survives long enough to send a garbled message back to the rotating space station , which looks strangely like the rotating space station in \" 2001 \" ) . \\na rescue mission is planned with husband & wife team woody blake ( tim robbins ) and terri fisher ( connie nielsen ) , obligatory pilot with a troubled past jim mcconnell ( gary sinise ) , and extra crew member phil ohlmyer ( jerry o\\'connell ) along for the ride . \\nafter some zero-gravity dancing , they run into problems when one of their engines is blown , forcing them to attempt a desperate landing aboard a supply vessel . \\nnow stranded on mars with minimal supplies , the team must decide whether or not it can risk entering the monolith or if they should return home . \\nafter all , that monolith just might contain information about how life originated on earth . \\n \" mission to mars \" is one of those films that makes a critic wonder where to start when talking about all the things that are wrong with it , so let\\'s start with one of the things that does work : director brian de palma manages to create some eerie tension in a few scenes during the middle of the film . \\nthat\\'s it . \\neverything else fails . \\nthe failure isn\\'t de palma\\'s fault ; he\\'s working from an atrocious script . \\nonly during the sequence aboard the ship ( looking an awful lot like the jupiter vessel in \" 2001 \" ) where the rescue team\\'s air begins running out and they must frantically search for the hole and patch it up does \" mission to mars \" come to life . \\na scene where they attempt to save a comrade floating away into space also provides some tension , until you realize that the entire danger/more danger/attempted rescue sequence has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film ; it\\'s just a contrived way to generate thrilling scenes . \\ntake it out , and the plot isn\\'t affected in any way . \\nthe sequence also suffers from a few plot holes ( as does the rest of the film ) : why is the ship\\'s computer ( which sounds strangely like hal from , uh , \" 2001 \" ) able to detect a hole in the main chamber but not one in the engine ? \\nwhy did tim robbins\\' character have to go outside the ship when the solution easily presented itself from inside ? \\nshouldn\\'t the astronauts be better trained to deal with a hull breach ? \\nwhy are the characters such idiots ? \\nbecause the script makes little attempt to properly develop them . \\nall the \" conflict \" is clumsily delivered in excruciatingly obvious exposition in the opening scene ( which rips off orson welles and robert altman by utilizing a long opening tracking shot ) during which the characters repeatedly tell each other about things all of them should already know : \" jim , it\\'s too bad you can\\'t go on this mission because you were determined \\'psychologically inadequate\\' because your wife died right before you were to go on the mission together \" -- does anyone really talk like this ? \\ncan\\'t we find out these things in a less grating matter , like maybe in a flashback ? \\nthe whole film is like that . \\nthe filmmakers are not content to merely show us something and assume we know what\\'s going on ; they must * tell * us exactly what we\\'re looking at * every * time . \\nsample dialogue from the film : ( shot of mars ) astronaut a : \" look , there\\'s mars \" astronaut b : \" you sure that\\'s mars ? \" \\nastronaut a : \" yeah , that\\'s mars all right . \" \\nastronaut c : \" hey , are you guys looking at mars ? \" \\nthat exchange isn\\'t actually in \" mission to mars , \" but i wouldn\\'t be surprised if it were . \\nfor all their cribbing from kubrick , spielberg , james cameron , and even ron howard , the makers of this film haven\\'t learned to do something all those directors did very well : show and don\\'t tell . \\nde palma used to know how , but seems to have forgotten . \\nthis is mentally-challenged filmmaking ; they assume the audience won\\'t get what\\'s going on , so they explain everything five times over . \\nfourth-graders may appreciate this , but more learned viewers will have their intelligence insulted . \\nthe principal actors sleepwalk their way through \" mission to mars , \" never managing to do away with an apparent \" i\\'m just here to get a paycheck \" attitude . \\ncheadle stumbles over his awkward lines . \\narmin mueller-stahl manages to thoroughly embarrass himself in an unbilled cameo . \\nrobbins puts his game face on and phones in his standard \" decent guy \" performance . \\nand sinise hams it up with \" wistful \" facial expressions while watching tapes of his dead wife ( played by kim delaney , who only has one scene during which she still manages to deliver some ridiculous dialogue in a heavy-handed monologue about the meaning of life ) , and especially during the stolen-from-no-less-than-three-movies ( a lollipop to whoever names them ) conclusion , which combines endless , obvious explanation and sub-par cgi effects with gagging sentimentality and is sure to alienate any viewers who had been enjoying the show up until then . \\nand of course , these aliens from mars who facilitated the evolution of life on earth are entirely different from the aliens in \" 2001 \" who facilitated the evolution of life on earth ; those aliens were from an * unknown * world . \\nit could be said that fans of brainless action films might enjoy \" mission to mars , \" but such a comment ignores the fact that the film is also incredibly slow-going . \\nleisurely pacing might have helped a film with a little more substance to it , but all of the substance of \" mission to mars \" has been stolen from other films , and those other films dealt with their ideas in a much more thoughtful fashion and generally contained more engaging characters . \\nsupposedly we\\'re intended to choke up when one character decides not to return home at the end of this one ( totally different from the one-character-decides-not-to-return ending of \" armageddon \" ) , but i suspect most people will either be laughing or groaning . \\nme , i alternated between the two . \\nthere is only one good thing about the way \" mission to mars \" finally ends : the fact that the movie is over . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'based on the relatively unknown ( in comparison to spider-man ) marvel comic book , blade tells the story of half-vampire half-human ( played by wesley snipes ) who was born of a vampire\\'s latest meal . \\nnow swearing vengeance against all vampires , blade hunts them all . \\nhis latest challenge is his biggest though . . . he \\nmust stop the vampire deacon frost ( played by stephen dorff ) from summoning the blood god and turning the rest of the world into vampires . \\nadmitedly , comic books are one of the least appreciated mediums , often viewed as juvenile by most standards , even seen as illiterate by some . \\njudging by a series of poorly recieved ( financial and critical ) comic book based films ( such as batman and robin , steel , barb wire , the crow : city of angels , and the list goes on ) , one would come to the conclusion that comic books are the worst medium to translate into film . \\nto some degree , i agree with this sentiment . \\nhaving read comic books since the age of nine ( i\\'m 21 right now ) i can count the number of good comic book based movies ( not including japanese manga ) one hand : 1 : the crow ( 1994 ) , 2 : batman ( 1989 ) , 3 : superman , 4 : the mask , and now , #5 , blade . \\n ( \" men in black \" is not on this list because it is an extreme deviation from the original comic book ) \\nwhy is this ? \\nfor the most part , it is because the filmmakers understand \\nthe comic book medium and come up with an appropriate atmosphere to match . \\nthe crow and batman comics call for a dark gothic atmosphere , which the director provided . \\nthe mask features a wacky superhero with off the wall antics , which the casting and cg effects reflect . \\nsuperman \\nis not over the top with colour and flash , and the film reflects this . \\nblade uses common notions of vampires and incorporates them into the film , creating an appropriate atmosphere . \\nthis is in stark contrast to joel schumacher\\'s contrived vision in batman and robin , reflecting the dated atmosphere in the 1960\\'s television show . \\nbatman and robin proved that the director failed to realize one fundamental fact : comics have grown up , and so has the audience ( i\\'m working on a scathing review of batman and robin and will post it up when i\\'m ready ) . \\nwhich brings me back to blade . \\nalthough he may be a familiar character to some , due to his appearances in the spider-man animated show on fox , one will find no single trace of the warm-and-fuzzy vampire hunter as depicted in the cartoon . \\nthe film depicts a vicious vampire killer that \\nuses every single means at his disposal to reach his ends . \\nthe end results are not pretty by any means . \\nthe story elements work very well -- for a comic book story . \\nscreenwriter david goyer ( who also wrote the crow ) incorporates interesting elements of vampire lore , using science to explain many of the ideas often dismissed in vampire films . \\nthis is presented through karen , a hematologist portrayed by n\\'bushe wright . \\nthis leads to inventive use of standard medical treatments to kill vampires . \\nadd this \\nto the neat little gadgets that blade uses ( including a titanium sword complete with an \" anti-theft device \" ) , and one has an interesting premise . \\nhowever , the film works best as an action film . \\nactor wesley snipes has \\nan extensive background in martial arts ( most of which comes from capoeira , a brazillian form incorporating flashy kicks ) , choreographing every single move . \\nproving that quick , flash cutting edits are no substitute for choreographed fight sequences ( see batman and robin for a \\ngood example of that ) , wesley snipes dazzles the audience with some incredible fight scenes . \\nregardless , this film is far from perfect . \\nthe film suffers from at least one major plot hole , regarding the summoning of the blood god . \\nthe ritual requires that a number of pure blood vampires are standing on \\nmarked squares , yet one of them is viciously murdered , allowing the ritual to pass ( and the murdered vampire is later shown standing on the square ) . \\nobvious continuity errors also surface , especially during a scene where deacon frost takes a drag on his cigarette and is not exhaling it in the next frame ( there is no trace of smoke either ) . \\nmuch of the special effects are not that spectacular either . \\nwhile vampire disintegration scenes are intriguing to watch , other cgi ( computer generated imagery ) effects are almost slapped together , which is surprising when given the amount of time the film was given to be released ( the film\\'s release date was pushed back multiple times ) . \\nscenes with computer generated blood look extremely fake , knocking the believability factor down a few notches ( but then , i\\'m really hard to impress ) . \\nthe film\\'s r rating comes from gory violence , but the lack of \\nrealism made me wonder why it got such a rating ( for realistic violence , \\nwatch \" saving private ryan \" ) . \\nthe overuse of cgi in films has made me yearn for the days of director george romero and makeup wizard rob bottin , both pioneers in the art of gore without extensive use of cgi . \\nstill , scenes involving non-cgi special effects do surface ( and look much more impressive ) , such as one particularly gruesome scene where a vampire tries to use blade\\'s sword without deactivating the \" anti-theft device \" . \\nwesley snipes is the saving grace behind what would have otherwise been a muddled mess . \\nwhile not talking much , he is a grand physical presence , leaving other comic book superheroes in the dust . \\na decent ( by comic book film standards ) storyline also helps . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m not really sure what to think about \" crash . \" \\non the surface , it\\'s a cold , boring , unerotic porn with name starts , a name director , and some cool camerawork . \\ni mean , it left me completely bored , unsatisfied , and generally kinda weirded out . \\nbut then again , not every film\\'s supposed to leave you entertained . \\n \" crash \" is structured to play like a porn flick , but with significantly more plot and dialogue . \\nwhile we see several extremely taboo scenes of weirdo sex , we also have a skimpy little plot going on ( mostly towards the beginning ) , and maybe just a hair of characterization . \\nnot to mention the acting is generally pretty good , and we don\\'t really see a lot of the actors completely exposed . \\nbut what makes it supremely different from a porn is the fact that this is not an erotic experience . \\nthis film does not posess the erotic hypnotism of \" henry and june \" or the just plain horniness of , say , \" deep throat \" ( not that i\\'ve seen it ) . \\nif one was to be made completely hot by this film , it would probably mean they were also into the whole \" auto eroticism \" thing . \\nthe film leaves you cold erotically ( and maybe in many other ways ) , but what it does is present a group of people who live on the edge . \\nthe film opens up on a woman , catherine ( deborah kara ungar , of \" the game \" ) , pressing her bare breast up against a car in a public air hangar . \\nsuddenly , a man enters the frame and begins to take her from behind ( the film doesnt\\' show all this though , even if it is nc-17 ) . \\nthe next scene has a film director , james ( james spader ) , having sex with a camera woman ( alice poon ) in an office on the highly-populated set of his movie . \\nthe next scene has the two coming together , revealing to us that they\\'re husband and wife , and them sharing in one another\\'s escapades . \\nwhile the two are arguably freaky people , we at least know they love to live on the edge . \\nsoon afterwards , james is driving down the road at night , reclessly of course ( he\\'s reading something ) , when he drifts into the other lane , and then hits another car face on . \\njames is not killed , but the passenger in the other car flies into his seat ( obviously dying ) , leaving the driver , helen remington ( holly hunter - in a porn ? ) , also alive . \\nthe two go through therapy together , and when getting out , they run into eachother again . \\nwhen james gives her a ride home , they almost get into another accident , and immeadiately afterwards , they go to an unbusy parking lot , and have a little quickie , as they were aroused by the accident . \\nyou wouldn\\'t think there would be many people who shared this same kind of fetish , but they run into a freaky guy named vaughan ( elias kosteas ) and his crutch-carrying girlfriend , gabrielle ( rosanna arquette ) , who are also into it . \\nvaughan is into living on the edge as they are , but he takes it to another level : he loves to recreate famous car crashes . \\nin one scene , he and a friend , colin seagrave ( peter macneill ) recreate james dean\\'s car crash without any padding or safety belts , and suffer some concussions , but nevertheless get a rush ( and the attention of the police ) . \\nsoon , these five are all having sex with one another , be it straight , gay , or lesbian sex . \\nwhile this is admittingly all a bit comical ( the film is almost like a black comedy ) , the film does do a pretty awesome portrayal of people who\\'s main fetish is living on the edge . \\ni\\'m sure somewhere there are people who get aroused by car accidents , but i personally don\\'t see a connection between car crashes and sex . \\nthe main connection cronenberg shows us that both give a definite rush . \\nhis car crash scenes are quick and exciting mini-masterpieces : we\\'re at first not sure if they\\'ll take place , but everytime it looks like it may occur , we gasp . \\nthen when it happens , we hold our breath . \\nthe same thing happens with sex , although not in the same fashion . \\nthese people are merely taking it to another level . \\nthe only problem with the film is that it\\'s a tad redundant . \\na normal porn lasts from an hour to an hour and a half . \\nthis goes on for about 100 minutes , and it just seems a little too long . \\nthe sex and car crashes are far between one another , and the time between them are a tad on the boring side . \\nthere\\'s no characterization , although it could definitely be argued , that hey , it\\'s a porn , and we\\'re not here to sympathize . \\nbut still , they coulda cut it down a bit . \\nbut the film is saved with its presentation , as well as some other elements . \\nthe atmosphere is very dark and forboding , creating a kind of cool weird feeling . \\nand there are several scenes are just amazing . \\none scene has catherine and james having sex , while she softly asks him questions about being with a man , which sounds almost erotic the way she says it . \\na sequence involving one character\\'s death is filled with all the edgy disjointment that the film needs . \\nand the final shot is shot perfectly , creating an image of a car crash , and a couple having sex in front of it , despite the fact that she\\'s wounded . \\nthe acting is also pretty good , especially for what is almost a porn ( ousting linda lovelace as best actress in a porn ) . \\nwhile james spader is pretty boring ( he\\'s usually pretty intense ) , deborah kara ungar is amazing . \\nshe speaks all her words in almost zombie-like hushes , and when she\\'s having sex , she has a blank look on her face , not showing the viewer whether she\\'s enjoying it or not . \\nin one scene , she actually looks dead while someone is having sex with her . \\nholly hunter , who gets extra credit just for appearing in something like this , is pretty good , and so is rosanna arquette ( who adds a kinda cool kinkiness to her role ) . \\nbut the film is stolen by elias kosteas who plays his character so intensely that he almost upstages everyone . \\nhe often speaks as he is out of breath , showing a definite affinity for his way of life . \\nhe has a great deal of energy in several scenes , especially one scene where he\\'s taking photographs of a picture , and a later scene where he\\'s getting a freaky tatoo . \\nhe and spader share sexual chemistry in several scenes , foreshadowing a later scene . \\nkosteas is a little known actor ( his biggest role was casey jones in \" teenage mutant ninja turtles \" ) , but here he shows a deniro-like presence , hinting that he\\'s capable of bigger roles . \\nwhile i hardly enjoyed \" crash , \" it\\'s still a pretty intriguing portrayal of a group of people who , if the exist , are some of the strangest and most bizarre people in the world . \\nthese people are able to share a rush between two completely different entities , and the film , which doesn\\'t exactly pain them in a negative light , is sucessful in bringing them to light , even if it leaves the viewer unnerved and generally freaked out . \\ndespite the hardcore nature of the film and the subsequent nc-17 rating ( there\\'s also an r-rated version , but i wouldn\\'t even go near that thing ) , anyone looking for a quick turn-on should just rent a regular porno . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when i first saw the preview for cruel intentions , i turned to my friend and said , \" dangerous liaisons for kids ! \" \\nit was clear to me that the film would be an obvious chunk of plagiarized nonsense , owing everything it is to stephen frears\\' 1988 masterpiece . \\nimagine my surprise to see that writer/director roger kumble has given credit to his source material : choderlos de laclos is recognized for his novel les liaisons dangereuses in the opening credits . \\nand i was impressed . \\nin fact , i was much more impressed with this recognition than with the actual film , which is an appalling excuse for a movie . \\nit\\'s kiddie-porn hackwork , complete with earthy sex-talk and fully-clothed hand-jobs . \\ni suppose this kind of movie was inevitable ; with all the teen high-school angst movies coming out , there was certainly room for a pretentious and laughable movie about a bunch of teenagers who think they\\'re smarter and more beautiful than all the other people on earth combined . \\ncruel intentions is a mess in every possible way , and it fails primarily in the way i expected it to : i hated all the characters , and i hate everything they do . \\ni also hate ryan phillippe , so perhaps my opinion is not as objective as it could be . \\nphillippe plays ( check out this name ) sebastian valmont . \\nwow . \\nisn\\'t that a memorable name ? \\ni could just say it over and over again . \\nsebastian valmont . \\nit kind of rolls off the tongue , in the spirit of phrases like sanguine vapors and velvet sandwich . \\nsebastian valmont is the coolest guy who ever walked the earth ; there is no woman he can\\'t have , no material object out of his reach . \\nhe has all the money , all the sex -- all at his fingertips . \\nand , luckily , his parents never enter into his life -- no , in the world of cruel intentions , adults don\\'t really exist . \\nthe ones who do are irritating . \\nsebastian valmont lives with his stepsister , kathryn merteuil ( sarah michelle gellar ) , the bitch-queen of the universe , and also the woman every man wants . \\nsince these two rich kids are so bored , they only thing they can do is challenge each other with meaningless sexual liaisons . \\nkathryn wants sebastian valmont to de-virginize cecile caldwell ( selma blair ) , a naive dork-chick who has somehow wronged kathryn . \\nbut it\\'s too easy for sebastian valmont -- he wants to nail annette hargrove ( reese witherspoon ) , the \" paradigm of chastity and beauty . \" \\nso , sebastian valmont and kathryn make a deal ( which is too explicit to state here ) . \\nbut -- dear god ! \\n-- sebastian valmont actually begins to fall for poor annette hargrove . \\ndangerous liaisons is a great movie because the characters are all believable , and because of its masterful acting . \\ncruel intentions is bad for many reasons , but it lacks both believable characters and masterful acting . \\nkathryn merteuil is simply a hateful witch , a girl so loathsome that i would probably enjoy pouring hot lead on her . \\nshe is supposed to be mean , but glenn close gave the character some depth in dangerous liaisons . \\ngellar , while aesthetically pleasing , is one-dimensional and utterly repulsive . \\nwitherspoon has a truly beautiful face , but her character isn\\'t the moral staple she\\'s supposed to be : sure , she won\\'t have sex until she\\'s in love ( is this really a * moral * issue ? ) , but she does some things in the last few scenes that are more than a little reprehensible . \\nbut i can\\'t forget mr . phillippe , who continues to exceed my expectations with his impenetrable , invulnerable blandness . \\ni have to give him credit and say that he did , in fact , manage to change his facial expression about three times during the course of cruel intentions . \\nand there\\'s one point in the film in which he shouts , thereby defeating my hypothesis that he is vocally monotone . \\ntrue , he is bad , but it doesn\\'t help that he has no character to work with . \\nkumble has drained all the interesting aspects from this character , leaving us with a sex-crazed lunatic who is supposed to be sympathetic because he falls in love with a moral flower and shuns the wicked bitch . \\nthe film fails in every other way , too . \\nfirst of all , nobody talks like this . \\neven the \" intellectuals \" i know don\\'t bother with this kind of pointless and pretentious yammering . \\nfor a while , the movie looks like it might play itself for laughs , but it ends up taking itself so seriously that there\\'s no way we can join it . \\ncruel intentions also manages to come off as soft-porn in more than one scene . \\nearlier i mentioned a fully-clothed hand-job ; this occurs between kathryn and sebastian valmont , both of whom are intended to be hateful at this point in the movie . \\nso , if we hate them , then what\\'s the point of an extended sex scene ? \\ntitillation , of course . \\nit can\\'t even work under the pretense of \" meaningful love scene , \" because we hate the characters . \\nit\\'s interesting to note some of the parallels between cruel intentions and dangerous liaisons . \\nkumble is clearly familiar with the earlier film ; many of the scenes have a similar tone , and there are moments in frears\\' film that kumble imitates almost completely ( such as the last scene , in which [spoiler warning ! ] the antagonist is humiliated in front of her peers ) . \\nbut kids don\\'t act like this . \\nnobody acts like this . \\nin his translation , roger kumble forgot character development and sympathy -- some pretty crucial elements . \\nthe result is a picture of confounding badness , a kiddie-porn mess that thinks it\\'s really deep and profound . \\ni\\'ll give cruel intentions credit for realizing its influences , but that doesn\\'t change the fact that it\\'s awful . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"dear god , this is a fantastically bad film ! \\nregardless of what i say about knock off , you can't grasp its awfulness from my words . \\nyou have to see it and experience it for yourself . \\nhere's the kicker , though -- i suggest that you do so . \\nyes , this is a bad film -- easily one of the most incompetent films of the year -- but it has a certain misguided charm that makes it a unique kind of disaster to endure . \\nin fact , i enjoyed myself for most of its brief running time , despite the dreadful acting and a completely incomprehensible story . \\ndon't get me wrong : i'm not excusing knock off . \\nit reaches an unacceptable level of badness ; it's so incoherent that i wonder if it was hacked up worse than the avengers was . \\nit also features some truly terrible performances from lela rochon , michael wong , paul sorvino , and -- of course -- jean-claude van damme . \\nit does , however , have the entertaining presence of rob schneider , and the excessively inventive and pretentious direction of tsui hark . \\nas i watched it , i occasionally wondered if it was aware of its own awfulness . \\nnow , in retrospect , it seems clear that it wasn't , but it's still a fascinating kind of mess . \\ni don't like writing plot descriptions ( it is , by far , the most boring part of writing a review ) , but , in this case , i'm off the hook : there is no way i could write an accurate synopsis for knock off . \\nfor the sake of comparison , i had no trouble understanding the usual suspects during my first viewing . \\ni paid closer attention to knock off , and the only thing i am able to say about it is that van damme plays a dude named ray , and is accused by the cia ( i think ) of selling knock off products ( knock off products are , of course , products that look like name-brand materials but are generic and cheap ) . \\ni don't know what any of this has to do with martial arts , but there are lots of martial arts in the film . \\nray is good at martial arts , so when he has to beat up bad guys , there's no problem . \\nrob schneider plays his sidekick , although i had no idea who he really was by the end of the film . \\nlela rochon is just some woman who accuses them of stuff , while paul sorvino is both the good guy and the bad guy at once ! \\nin fact , every character goes through so many shifts from good to bad that the end provides absolutely no insight into what any of them really do . \\nin that order , knock off is completely incoherent and makes absolutely no sense . \\nbut what a strange mess it is . \\nit was written by stephen e . de souza , who also wrote die hard and 48 hours . \\ncan this be the same man ? \\ni don't see how , unless , of course , huge chunks of the film have been removed for the sake of running time . \\nknock off seems to have an interesting premise ( as far as action films go ) , but there's no semblance here . \\nfor instance , van damme is introduced , and then seconds later he's running a chariot race through the streets of hong kong . \\nwhy ? \\nwho knows . \\nwhat are the implications of this ? \\ni have no idea . \\nmost action films abandon depth in favor of action , and this is normally a problem . \\nknock off , however , is the first film that i would have preferred to see with all of the talky sequences cut . \\nthe acting is embarrassingly bad : rochon , in particular , delivers each of her lines with stiff and talentless insincerity . \\nsorvino , in addition , deserves better than this . \\nvan damme is bad , but he's charming in that bad way , and so i can't say that he's hard to watch ( although i rarely understood what he was saying ) . \\nthe only exception is rob schneider , who is actually quite funny a lot of the time . \\ntsui utilizes so many tricks that he makes john woo look tame by comparison . \\nthey're all pointless gimmicks though , such as shots of the inner-workings of a knock off running shoe . \\nbut his action scenes are never boring : one particular piece inside of a fruit factory ( a fruit factory ? ) is well-choreographed . \\nlots of the scenes are pitched well to comedy , such as our heroes' first encounter with the rochon character . \\nbut did tsui know that his film is beyond ludicrous ? \\ni hope he did , for the alternative is a frightening thought . \\nknock off has the feel of a truly terrible exercise in camp mania . \\nif it were boring , i'd give it zero stars . \\nbut it's not boring : it's loud and excessive and completely incoherent . \\nit's also funny , even when it isn't meaning to be funny . \\na bad film that succeeds as entertainment doesn't deserve to be fully lambasted . \\ni recognize knock off for its irrefutable badness , but i can't deny it's zany , useless charm . \\noh , i know , they're just action scenes looking desperately for a real story , but they're fun action scenes amongst a crowd of laughably inane concepts . \\nit's fun to admire the awfulness of a film like this , but that doesn't excuse the fact that it is , indeed , awful . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the original babe gets my vote as the best family film since the princess bride , and it\\'s sequel has been getting rave reviews from most internet critics , both siskel and ebert sighting it more than a month ago as one of the year\\'s finest films . \\nso , naturally , when i entered the screening room that was to be showing the movie and there was nary another viewer to be found , this notion left me puzzled . \\nit is a rare thing for a children\\'s movie to be praised this highly , so wouldn\\'t you think that every parent in the entire city would be flocking with their kids to see this supposedly \" magical \" piece of work ? \\na tad bewildered , but pleased to not have to worry about screaming kids and other disruptions that commonly go along with family films , i sat back for 97 minutes and watched intently and with a very open mind , having great expectations for the film . \\nlooking back , i should have taken the hint and left right when i entered the theater . \\nbelieve me ; i wanted to like babe : pig in the city . \\nthe plot seemed interesting enough ; after the events that took place in the original , babe the sheep-pig has become a legitimate national phenomenon . \\nbut after a fateful encounter with a water well , arthur hogget ( james cromwell , who the movie could have used alot more of ) has been rendered bed-ridden for a number of weeks and the farm begins to go under financially . \\nthe only solution that his wife ( magda szubanski , going from delightfully charming to downright annoying ) can come up with is to make an appearance with their new celebrity pet at a national fair ( i think ) and to use the money they earn to pay off the bank ( set aside for the moment the fact that they could get more than enough cash from donations if they just made their case known to the public ) . \\nproblem is , the fair is being held in the middle of the dreaded \" city \" , a completely foreign place to both the pig and his companion . \\nsetting the main plot in motion , mrs . hogget and babe travel to the unnamed city and shack up with a sweet lady who just happens to love to help animals , despite the law that you cannot keep them in hotels . \\nit is here that we meet an array of eccentric characters , the most memorable being the family of chimps led by steven wright . \\nhere is where the film took a wrong turn . \\nup until this point , i had being having a rather enjoyable experience . \\nthe beginning featured some smart writing and funny situations involving the farm animals from the first one and even an inspired moment at the airport where mrs . hogget is accused of smuggling drugs . \\nunfortunately , the story wears thin as we are introduced to a new set of animals that reside at the hotel , none of them being even one-tenth as interesting as the characters from the previous babe . \\nthe main topic of discussion surrounding babe : pig in the city is the question of whether or not it is to dark and disturbing for small children , and i believe it is . \\nat one point , a dog is hung from his neck and slowly starts to drown . \\nat other times , we are treated to surrealistic flash-backs to mrs . hogget\\'s full cavity search at the airport . \\nin fact , the overall tone of the movie is rather bleak and depressing . \\nhowever , that is , as they say , neither here nor there because kids will probably not like the movie anyway . \\nthe animal characters and their plights were simply not intriguing enough to sustain my interest for an hour and a half , let alone entertain a child . \\nanother problem i found with the film was it\\'s sudden change of pacing and tone near the end of the story . \\nif you\\'re going to make a darker and more sinister sequel , fine . \\nit may not be my cup of tea , but at least it is a noble ambition . \\nbut to go from the downbeat feel of the rest of the movie and all of a sudden have slapstick finale with mrs . hogget swinging from wall-to-wall of a ballroom in elastic overalls ? \\nit just didn\\'t feel right and was more painful to watch than it was funny or entertaining , and the same goes for the rest of the movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'life is beautiful is a rare treat : a lighthearted comedy that tackles a very serious subject without committing the sins of being disrespectful , or , even worse , humorless . \\nit combines a charming romance with a dash of farce , stirs in a little poignancy , and ends up a very enjoyable movie . \\nit\\'s an italian film , but don\\'t let that discourage you . \\nsubtitle-phobes will be missing a wonderful experience . \\nlife is beautiful opens as a sweet romantic comedy , with the clownish , but good natured guido ( roberto benigni ) arriving in a rustic italian town to work as a waiter for his uncle . \\nthe year is 1939 , and guido literally stumbles into the girl of his dreams , dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . \\ntheir romance seems to be picture perfect , with only one stumbling block : she\\'s already engaged to another man . \\ncan guido overcome the odds and win his girl ? \\nwhat do you think ? \\nhowever , five years later , things have taken a turn for the worse in italy . \\nthe fascists have stepped up their race initiatives , which is bad news for the jewish guido and his new son giosue ( giorgio cantarini ) , who are rounded up and shipped off to a concentration camp . \\nunable to protect his boy in any other way , guido attempts to shield his young son from the horrors of the labor camp . \\nhe pretends that everything is all an elaborate game , with points awarded for such tasks as hiding , being brave and being very very quiet . \\nas you can tell from the description , life is beautiful has two very different tones , but manages to excel at both of them . \\nas a romantic comedy , it is sweet and funny . \\nas a bittersweet tale of hope amid despair , it is touching . \\nroberto benigni\\'s work here has been compared with some of the best of chaplin\\'s , and it is easy to see why . \\nhe is able to run the gamut of comic expression , from slapstick to farce , with a warm-hearted feeling that celebrates his downtrodden hero\\'s \" triumph of the underdog \" spirit . \\nlife is beautiful treads a thin line when it turns its attentions to the holocaust . \\nhowever , it is able to successfully navigate the minefield , without demeaning the gravity of the horrors involved , nor without losing its humorous edge that allows you to smile through the tears . \\nwith life is beautiful , benigni has created a triumphant , but bittersweet comedy . \\nit\\'s quite simply one of the most enjoyable times i\\'ve had at the movies this year . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"my fellow americans is a movie that at first glance looks to have little substance ( or a movie that we've all seen a million times ) , two lifetime rivals thrown together and then the fun begins . \\nthis is exactly what happened in this movie , but fortunately , they managed to do it in an interesting and funny way . \\nthe movie starts with a quick ( and i do mean quick ) glance of two presidents russell kramer ( jack lemmon ) and matt douglas ( james garner ) . \\nwilliam haney ( dan aykroyd ) and ted matthews ( john heard ) are the new president and vice president . \\nthere is a scandal that arises involving a kickback from a contractor and haney is positive that he buried that years ago . \\nhe finds a scapegoat in kramer and now everyone wants kramer and douglas dead . \\nthis movie was exceptional for many reasons . \\none being that they found people ( lemmon and garner ) that have good chemisty together . \\nthey worked very well as a unit and they mirrored each other perfectly , one being a ladies man and one being the old man ( i'll let you fiqure which is which ) . \\nalso , they found people that know their parts as govenment officials well . \\nit seemed to me that garner played almost exactly the same role that he played in the distinquished gentleman ( except then he was a congressman ) . \\nexperience counts for a lot ! ! \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i tried hard not like this movie without succeeding . \\nit contains parts of bringing up baby , any hepburn/tracy film , part of the plot of war games , cary grant and rosalind russell in his girl friday , elevator shaft action , train action , and murder . \\nit is cute , funny , suspenseful ( a little bit ) , sexy ( a little bit ) . \\none of the bad guys was a surprise . \\nthe pace is fast enough , there are some \" action \" scenes . \\ni think that this is a reasonable family summer movie for families with older kids who have already seen maverick . \\njulia roberts and nick nolte are fine separately and together . \\ni really identified with the julia roberts character ( wishful thinking , i know ! ) , but i do have better hair ! \\nher hair , a very dull dark brown , has no color . \\nshe could use some highlights . \\nthey both do fine with their roles : he\\'s a bored columnist with the chicago chronicle and she\\'s a hotshot \" cub \" reporter with the chicago globe . \\nthey have great fun trying to out scoop each other to solve one case throughout this movie . \\ni like the one story focus . \\nother actors include charles martin smith as roberts\\' boss , olympia dukakis as nolte\\'s coworker , nora dunn also with the chronicle , and marsha mason as a congresswoman . \\nbasically this movie is reasonably fun . \\nthere is a serious mystery to solve , and i enjoyed following a fun couple solving the mystery . \\nit is a pleasant change of pace from movies that take themselves seriously . \\ni do give successful comedy high marks . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"starring arnold schwarzenegger ; danny devito ; emma thompson & frank langella the only thing that you can say about junior is that it is a disappointment , and a big one at that . \\njunior brings together arnold schwarzenegger and danny devito with director ivan reitman . \\nthese are the same men that brought us the very funny twins . \\nso foolish me , i was hoping for something that would at least come close to the level of quality of twins . \\nso much for hopes . \\nschwarzenegger and devito play two scientists ( doctors hesse and arbogast ) who are working on a new drug that will reduce the possibility of miscarriage in pregnancy . \\nunfortunately , due to circumstances beyond their control , they are denied permission to test this new drug on humans , and subsequently lose their funding . \\nstill believing that their drug will work , they decide to test it anyway , on hesse . \\nso , dr . hesse ( schwarzenegger ) artificially inseminates himself and begins taking the drug . \\ntheir theory is that if the drug can prevent a man from miscarrying , surely it will work on a woman . \\ndoes the thought of arnold schwarzenegger pregnant sound funny or humorous to you ? \\nwell , it must have to the producers of junior . \\nadmittedly , schwarzenegger has the comedic talent to pull it off . \\nperhaps if it had been done differently it might have actually been funny . \\nbut it wasn't , schwarzenegger pregnant is goofy at best . \\nthe sight of schwarzenegger running around going through the hormone imbalances that come with pregnancy , and the accompanying emotional swings , is not funny . \\nschwarzenegger comes very close to embarrassing himself with these antics . \\ni kept thinking to myself , with the time arnold wasted making this turkey he could have been making an action picture . \\nbetter yet , with schwarzenegger , devito and reitman all in the same place at the same time , why didn't they make a sequel to twins ? \\nanything would have been better than this mess . \\ndanny devito is wasted in this movie . \\nhis part could have been played by any joker they pulled in off the street . \\n ( after seeing the movie , if i was devito , i probably would have wished they had pulled someone in off the street . ) \\nemma thompson is wasted here as well . \\nwhile thompson is best known for her jane austin adaptations , she is also a fine comedian . \\ntoo bad she didn't get to use any of that talent here . \\nam i being too hard on this film ? \\ni don't think so . \\nschwarzenegger and devito are two of my favorite actors in film today , and ivan reitman is one of the more talented directors in hollywood . \\nwith a supporting cast of emma thompson and frank langella , the filmmakers really have to be trying hard to make a bad film . \\nthey certainly managed here . \\nmaybe it was well intentioned , but unfortunately this is a movie that never should have been made . \\nif you are tempted to see this film , do yourself a favor and go rent twins , a film that truly takes advantage of arnold schwarzenegger and danny devito's comedic talents . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the promotion for fear and loathing in las vegas ? has made the film out to be a comedy , and for about the first hour or so it seems like it might be one . \\nit\\'s 1971 , and the hippie movement has left behind quite a few wash-outs , among them journalist raoul duke ( johnny depp ) and his \" attorney \" dr . gonzo ( benito del toro ) . \\nthese two spend most of the film in a drug-induced stupor , having strange hallucinations , trashing their hotel rooms , and either annoying or scaring almost everyone that crosses their path . \\nduke is first assigned to cover an outdoor desert motorcycle race in las vegas , but gets lost in a blur of drugs , beer , and flying dust , and ends up wandering around with no clue who won . \\nhe leaves vegas briefly before he is sent back , in what can only be described as a strangely appropriate twist of fate , to cover a drug enforcement conference . \\nfear and loathing has been misinterpreted by some as glorifying the use of drugs . \\nit doesn\\'t , even in the beginning--while the pair\\'s antics are sometimes amusing and relatively harmless at first , the humor here is still fairly dark . \\ndirector terry gilliam views them with a rather satirical eye , and even when we\\'re laughing , we\\'re laughing at them rather than with them . \\nthey spend most of their time paranoid , angry , or just plain befuddled , which is probably an understandable reaction to seeing the entire room suddenly fill up with giant reptiles . \\nthe black comedy may be entertaining to watch onscreen , but it\\'s probably not something most other audience members would want to experience first-hand . \\nall this aside , i was starting to grow a bit restless as the film drew near its one-hour mark , thinking to myself that i wanted something more out of this than just an off-kilter satire of drug culture . \\nthankfully , the script delivers it before too long , as duke , in a rare moment of lucidity , stops to recall how he was once an enthusiastic hippie , \" riding the wave \" of something that seemed special and important . \\nnow it\\'s six years later and the wave has finally broken , as he puts it . \\nmaterialistic culture is still alive and well and , for most of this film , right in his face in las vegas ; the \" american dream \" of which duke occasionally speaks is still just as shallow and phony as ever . \\nthe social protesters have lost , and the more questionable aspects of the movement have turned ugly and left casualties such as duke to drift in a sea of drugs and disillusionment . \\nin many ways , fear and loathing is gilliam\\'s most reality-based film ; all of his others , with the exception of the fisher king , have made use of some sort of fantasy or science-fiction plot elements . \\nyet it is his off-the-wall masterpiece brazil ? to which this film bears the most visual resemblance . \\nthe protagonist of brazil found himself alternately surrounded by a plastic , soulless society and the constant chaos of totalitarian police inspections and terrorist attacks , and similarly duke\\'s world is composed of the artificial , empty glam of las vegas and the bizarre anarchy of his drug hallucinations . \\nunlike the protagonist of brazil , however , duke is not a particularly admirable figure , and neither is gonzo . \\nduring the latter half of the film , their trips turn nastier and the consequences worse , eventually building up to an incident an a diner in which gonzo crudely frightens and humiliates a waitress , while duke , though he doesn\\'t seem to approve , doesn\\'t do anything to stop it either . \\nby the time this scene takes place , they don\\'t seem like hippies or peaceniks or protesters or anything of the sort any more ; they just seem like a couple of stoned jerks in a diner . \\nduke seems to realize at some level that he\\'s become something he doesn\\'t like , but he\\'s either too apathetic or too defeated to do anything to change . \\nthis film has taken a critical drubbing from many who view it as an essentially pointless film that simply throws one trip scene after another at the audience . \\nwhile gilliam may have overdone it in a few places , i think he and his co-writers deserve more credit than that . \\nthere\\'s plenty of substance here , particularly in the second half ; its observations about the broken and defeated rebels from the \\'60s and the objects of their rebellion just aren\\'t usually very pleasant . \\nunlike , say , brazil ? or the fisher king , both of which feature a character who dares to let himself dream in a repressive environment , fear and loathing in las vegas ? shows us someone who\\'s given up on his dreams and resorts to the quick fix of drugs . \\nin its own psychedelic , whacked-out way , it\\'s sad and regretful , but i think it\\'s also a bit of a kick in the pants , a challenge to find an alternative between chemically-induced withdrawal and the equally addictive drug of vegas-style materialism . \\nindeed , duke himself admits at one point that he\\'s never learned to accept that you can get higher without drugs than with them . \\ni\\'m not sure if he\\'s any closer to accepting it by the end or not , but i suspect the audience will get the idea . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'no film in recent has left me with such conflicted feelings as neil jordan\\'s harrowing , humorous , horrifying adaptation of patrick mccabe\\'s novel about young lad francie brady\\'s ( eamonn owens ) descent into madness in 1960s ireland . \\non one hand , it was difficult for me to become invested in francie\\'s story because he is such an unsavory character , unjustifyably venting his rage at his nosy but otherwise harmless neighbor mrs . nugent ( fiona shaw ) . \\non another hand , i found it difficult to laugh at some of francie\\'s darkly comic shenanigans because he obviously is such a sick , needy child , having been raised by a drunken father ( stephen rea ) and a suicidal mother ( aisling o\\'sullivan ) . \\non yet another hand , i also found it difficult to completely sympathize with francie during his more emotional scenes because some of his , for lack of a better word , \" bad \" deeds are so incredibly shocking in their brutality and the malicious glee in which he performs them . \\nhowever , the butcher boy\\'s power is undeniable , and the film as a whole is unforgettable--perhaps because it is so disturbing . \\nwhat makes it so unsettling is the francie\\'s overall wink-wink yet matter-of-fact attitude about everything , expressed in a cheeky voiceover narration delivered by the adult francie ( rea again ) . \\nthink heavenly creatures played largely for laughs , and you\\'ll sort of understand . \\nanchoring the whole film is the astonishing debut performance of owens ; love francie or hate him , you cannot take your eyes off of owens . \\nthe butcher boy truly is a twisted , unusual film that is bound to make just about anyone uncomfortable . \\nin the lobby after the screening , i overheard one man raving about how great yet disturbing it was ; i also heard one particularly offended woman say with disgust , \" that movie was so unfunny ! \" \\n \" i didn\\'t know what to expect . \\nit\\'s like something you chase for so long , but then you don\\'t know how to react when you get it . \\ni still don\\'t know how to react . \" \\n--michael jordan , on winning his first nba championship in 1991 . . . or , \\nmy thoughts after meeting him on november 21 , 1997 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'few films in 1999 have divided the critical consensus as sharply as alan parker\\'s adaptation of frank mccourt\\'s memoir angela\\'s ashes . \\nmany dismissed it as an humorless , sentimentalized , uninteresting version of the hugely popular novel ; others hailed it as a heartfelt , sincere portrait of the human spirit . \\ni\\'m somewhere in between , leaning strongly towards the latter . \\nit\\'s certainly well-made and it never becomes tedious like some literary adaptations have a tendency to be . \\nbut i have a feeling that parker filled the movie with pseudo-lyrical shots of rain falling on the homely streets of ireland just so it can have the two-and-a-half hour running time that screams \" i\\'m important ! \" \\nmccourt\\'s book of the same name was about him and his family moving from the us to ireland in the early 1900\\'s , a time when most people were desperately trying to get into the us . \\nas he comments , \" we were the only irishfolk to say goodbye to the statue of liberty . \" \\nin ireland , frank ( played by joe breen as a small child ) , his 3 brothers , his mother angela ( emily watson ) and his father malachy ( robert carlyle ) get financial help from angela\\'s mother , a stereotypically strict catholic who chides her daughter for marrying a northern irishman . \\nshe helps them get a rat-infested apartment and malachy goes looking for a job . \\npositions are scarce and when he does finally find one , he is unable to hold on to it because of his fondness for drinking . \\nmeanwhile , frank goes to an uptight catholic school , where the instructors beat students with blunt wooden objects as often as their heart desires . \\ntwo of frank\\'s brothers soon die , crippled by the dreadful living conditions and malnutrition . \\nas if the poverty and the suffering weren\\'t intense enough as it stood , malachy and angela have another baby , worsening the situation further . \\ni imagine this doesn\\'t sound like much of a plot . \\nthat\\'s probably because it isn\\'t one . \\nthese are people . \\nthis is their story . \\ndirector alan parker ( the commitments ) knows how to tell a good story and angela\\'s ashes , despite its relentlessly literary tone remains interesting . \\nthough the film occasionally indulges too much in its gloomily picturesque irish setting , it avoids looking like a glorified travelogue . \\nsupplementing parker\\'s able direction are the engaging , often poignant performances of the leads , some of them seasoned thespians , others relative beginners . \\ncarlyle , the charismatic british actor who has shown astonishing range by hopping from the lead in a rowdy slapstick comedy to the villain in a james bond movie and now to sentimental melodrama , perfectly portrays his rather pathetic character . \\nwe empathize with the guy , but we don\\'t like or admire him . \\nemily watson turns in a heartfelt , sincere supporting performance . \\nit is mostly she who implants that lump in our throats . \\nalso worthy of mention is little joe breen , whose face graces the film\\'s superb poster . \\nit is breen\\'s first feature film and he\\'s extraordinary as young frank . \\nnot unlike sudden oscar darling haley joel osment of the sixth sense , you can peer into the character\\'s soul through breen\\'s sad eyes . \\non the flip side , one thing that could have vastly improved angela\\'s ashes is a more decisive editor . \\nwhile gerry hambling sure makes the most of the scenery , he and parker also leave in at least a half an hour of unnecessary footage . \\nthe first half , especially , could have been trimmed down , bringing the film to a more reasonable running time and doing our bladders a favor in the process . \\nthings pick up at about the halfway point , sort of dismissing a lot of the criticisms i accumulated during the opening hour , but i maintain that the aggressively deliberate pace parker and co . set in the first half was ludicrously unnecessary . \\n * spoiler warning ! \\nskip next paragraph if in suspense ! * \\nthe film\\'s final message is somewhat conflicted , as frankie , in effect , leaves his family famished in ireland while he himself goes back to america . \\nwhat , exactly , are we supposed to make of that ? \\nhis mother doesn\\'t seem to mind because she wants the best possible future for her son , as any mother would , but it still seems inconsiderate of him . \\ni haven\\'t read the book , but i\\'m sure that mccourt justifies his actions therein ; therefore , i\\'m suspicious . \\nanother thing that\\'s never made clear in the movie is the meaning of the title , which , i\\'m sure , is also explained in the memoir . \\nif seen as a film onto itself , rather than an adaptation , angela\\'s ashes stands tall . \\ndespite a few minor setbacks , it is a captivating story of people forced to live in the trenches by an merciless society where those of weaker character are shoved to the bottom of the financial ladder . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'vikings v . bears ? \\nno , this isn\\'t the lineup for monday night football . \\nrather , these are the two opposing forces that will battle to the death in \" the 13th warrior , \" a film that is as dramatically flat as it is gratuitously gory . \\nbased on michael crichton\\'s book , eaters of the dead , this viking saga tries to evoke the mysticism of fabled norsemen and the glorious battles that they fought . \\ntheir strength and honor would eventually etch their place in history among the greatest warriors that ever picked up a sword . \\nluckily for the vikings , however , their warring abilities were not as clumsy as this film . \\nantonio bandaras is ahmed , a travelling ambassador . \\naccompanied by his friend ( omar shariff in a cameo ) , they eventually come across a small viking village . \\nwe see that the vikings are an extremely proud group whose greatest strength is their fortitude . \\nthey laugh heartily , revel in their arrogance , and sing songs of battles won . \\nbut their festivities are about to be halted when a messenger boy arrives to tell the village leader that a great evil is threatening their land . \\nhelp is needed quickly . \\nan elderly , fortune-telling witch arrives . \\nafter a brief incantation , she proclaims that 12 warriors and one more \" not of norse blood \" are needed to ensure victory . \\npersonally , i always wonder why people believe these oracles when they look so haggardly and on the brink of insanity . \\nnonetheless , 12 men eagerly accept their place while ahmed becomes the pivotal 13th . \\nthe group then sets out to do the greatest battle of their lives . \\nof course during their ride , ahmed becomes the target of fun for the other 12 burly viking warriors . \\nbut he ably shows that it\\'s not the size of the dog in the fight but rather the size of the fight in the dog . \\nhe is able to overcome the proud arrogance of the vikings , but will his skills ( and that of the group ) be enough to defeat whatever evil is menacing the countryside ? \\nit does not look promising . \\nthese creatures , resembling bears , are strong and have high morale . \\nthey are fearless and display a desire for decapitating the heads of their enemies . \\nthey attack by the hundreds and the next strike will come soon . \\nthe warriors prepare their defenses and pray to their gods . \\nthey are ready to sacrifice their lives . \\n \" this is a good way to die , \" says one of the fallen warriors . \\ndespite the larger-than-life battle sequences , i was unmoved by the entire experience . \\nat many points , i was even confused . \\nfor example , somewhere in the middle of the film , a sub-plot creeps up involving the prince of the threatened land . \\nhe seems to have an agenda to elevate himself to greater power during this crisis . \\nhowever , the sub-plot never fully materializes , and we are left scratching our heads as to the purpose of its inclusion . \\nthere are other questions that i had , but the real problem was that the story ( little of it that there was ) offered no characters to love or hate . \\nthe leader of the viking warriors had the most charisma . \\nhowever , banderas\\'s role is completely underwritten and it is unclear why being the 13th warrior makes him so special . \\nan entire rewrite of the ahmed character is in order . \\nalso , much of the action takes place during torrential downpours or at night , which made battles very difficult to follow . \\ni would have preferred more time looking at the viking culture and how their beliefs shaped their decision to do battle against the enemy . \\nas it stands , the film manages more confusion than intensity . \\nit would make thor cry . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ah , and 1999 was going along so well , too . \\n \" she\\'s all that \" has the dubious distinction of being the worst movie i\\'ve seen so far this year . \\nand quite frankly , i doubt i\\'ll see anything equally bad . \\n ( at least , i * hope * i don\\'t see anything equally bad ) . \\n \" she\\'s all that \" tells the story of the most popular guy in school ( played by freddie prinze jr . ) who accepts a bet to transform the geekiest girl in school ( rachel leigh cook ) into the most popular . \\nthat , right there , is problem #1 . \\nhow many times have we seen this storyline ? \\nas cook comments near the end of the film , \" it\\'s kind of like \" pretty woman \" , except without the prostitution \" . \\nof course , had the filmmakers attempted to try something new with this material , the well-worn storyline would have been a device to propell the movie forward . \\nas it is , though , \" she\\'s all that \" relies * completely * on the lame and overused formula to push it ahead . \\nthere\\'s not one original or interesting character in the film , either , and if that wasn\\'t bad enough , there\\'s not one good performance featured . \\nthe star of the movie , rachel leigh cook , is simply horrible . \\ni usually don\\'t like to get so personal , but in this case , i think it needs to be said . \\ncook wears the same expression throughout the flick and looks to be having as miserable a time as i was . \\ni was never convinced that she was a \" nerd \" , and her transformation was unconvincing and unnecessary . \\nthe movie seems to be saying it\\'s better to be popular than to be who you are . \\nas for freddie prinze jr . , an actor i ordinarily enjoy , he too is quite bad here . \\nhe coasts through the film on so-called charm , and never establishes a real character . \\nkieren culkin is here , too , as the brother of cook . \\nand for some indiscernable reason , he\\'s got hearing aids . \\nno explanation is given and they\\'re never brought up . \\nwere we supposed to feel * sorry * for him just because he wore hearing aids ? \\ni don\\'t think so . \\nthat single element of the film was one of the most offensive things i\\'ve seen in a movie in a long time . \\n \" she\\'s all that \" sucks . \\nthat\\'s what it boils down to . \\nit\\'s not entertaining , and it\\'s not even a good time passer . \\nthe hour and a half running time goes by slower than a 5 minute hair-removal system informercial . \\nand what\\'s worse , it sends out a bad message to teens . \\nit appears to be telling them , \" hey , it doesn\\'t matter if you\\'re happy the way you are . \\nthat\\'s unimportant . \\nif you want to * truly * be happy , dress in the latest fashions and act like a bubble-headed moron . \" \\nugh . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'contrary to popular belief , not every single foregin film released to an american market is a masterpiece . \\nsome of them aren\\'t even good . \\nsome examples of this principle are the aboslutely dreadful \" un indien dans la ville \" ( presented as \" little indian , big city , \" and remade into that crap tim allen flick , \" jungle2jungle \" ) , and this . \\nwhat could have been a clever little sex comedy turns into one mess of a french flick . \\n \" french twist \" ( the \" cool \" american title , not the real one , which was \" gazon maudit , \" literally meaning \" twisted ground , \" or something like that ) deals with a married couple with kids , and the intrusion of a stranger who kinda screws things up for them . \\nloli and alain chabat ( victoria abril and alain chabat ) are not exactly happily married . \\nalways on business trips , alain chabat more than once cheats on her , and she eventually finds out . \\nand one day , she meets a butch mechanic , marijo ( the co-writer/director josiane balasko ) , and they two kinda hit it off . \\nso she decides she will get back at alain chabat by doing the obvious : sleeping with marijo . \\nbut she soons starts to not only fall in love with marijo , but she\\'s also realizes she\\'s still in love with alain chabat . \\nso , of course , she does the obvious from that : she decides to keep them both . \\nshe\\'ll be ( and sleep ) with each of them for 3 days each , then on sunday , she\\'ll rest by herself . \\nafter all , she needs it if she\\'s gonna have more sex than sylvia kristel . \\nthe film goes on for over an hour and a half , through stupidity after stupidity , moronic twist after moronic twist , and soon there\\'s the little ironic ( ! ! ! ) \\nending . \\ni know it\\'s a completely different culture , and i\\'m quite familiar with the french and their cinema , but this is just bad . \\nnone of the characters are more intelligent than peter stormare in \" fargo \" ( a movie where stupid characters were backed up to make a point ) , and any action they do is pretty much just to get a hopeful chuckle from the audience . \\nwhat\\'s shocking is this was not only one of france\\'s biggest hits , but it was nominated for a lot of cesars ( french equivalent of oscars ) . \\nthe writing and directing is really the big problem with it . \\njosiane balasko does a good acting job with her role , but her little sex comedy isn\\'t very humerous , entertaining , or even deep at all . \\neven woody allen\\'s not-very-good \" a midsummer night\\'s sex comedy \" is intelligent , well-written , and possesses some depth . \\nthis is shallow , unfunny , and pretty annoying to watch . \\nthe film moves at the pace of a snail , and is damn-near painful to watch . \\nthank god for the fast forward button . \\nthe acting , however , isn\\'t bad at all . \\nthe actors do the best they can with the bad material , and victoria abril is pretty likable despite the script ( and the fact that she\\'s stupid enough to try to divide herself over two people when she has kids ) . \\nand alain chabat has some funny moments as the neurotic husband . \\nbut \" french twist \" is just pretty lame . \\nit\\'s not overly horrible , and has a couple very , very , very brief moments . \\nbut it\\'s just a really crap film , and an example of an ill-advised distribution of a foreign film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : bleak and point-blank -- just the way it should be . \\nmakes its case with cold-blooded precision and intelligence . \\n \" serial killer chic \" is a relatively new entry to the cultural vocabulary , and one of the more stomach-turning ones . \\ni\\'ve never found someone automatically admirable or even interesting because they killed creatively or in great numbers , and because of that i had apprehensions about seeing henry . \\ni wasn\\'t sure i wanted to see the story of multiple murderer henry lee lucas portrayed as some kind of nihilistic hero/antihero . \\nthankfully , that\\'s not the way henry works . \\nthe director , john mcnaughton , took a small budget and a gallery of actor friends and created a chilling and intelligent piece of work . \\nit doesn\\'t provide cheap-jack explanations for henry\\'s behavior : it shows him up for what he is , an unrepentant and un-idolizable man who killed when the mood struck him . \\nat the film\\'s opening , henry\\'s friend ottis toole has a sister , who comes by to stay while she tries to find work in chicago . \\nin a viciously riveting scene , he admits matter-of-factly to having murdered his own mother , and she covers his hand with hers . \\nthey are damned together from that moment on . \\nhenry and ottis eventually begin to kill for fun . \\nthe movie is especially good at showing how they seem to have drifted casually into it : there\\'s a scene where the two go to buy a new tv . \\nthe pawnbroker they talk to goads henry with ugly words , and henry responds by stabbing the man to death with a soldering iron . \\nno preface -- it smashes into us as suddenly as it does the broker . \\nin a scene which many damned the movie for , unseen , they steal a video camera and film the murder of a whole household , playing it back over and over again for their own enjoyment . \\nthe movie itself , however , does not glorify the killings , but shows instead that henry feels no joy at his work , only irritation . \\nhenry succeeds thanks to excellent writing and direction as well as acting . \\nmichael rooker is credible as henry from the first frame , just standing there , and the rest of the cast works by being unaffected and casual as well . \\nthe producers had originally comissioned a slasher film from mcnaughton , but he decided to give them something more memorable , and consequently the film nearly didn\\'t see release . \\nthe film does not glorify or justify -- it just shows us , with unflinching coldness , what henry was . \\ni\\'m hard pressed to see how anyone can see this and consider henry any kind of \" victim \" or \" hero \" . \\nthen again , probably , so would henry . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this review contains spoilers , but believe me , i don\\'t say anything you can\\'t guess 10 minutes into the movie . \\ni * did * go into this one with high expectations . \\ni had been exposed to media reports that this film would signify a departure from the slasher flicks . \\ni sort of expected another exorcist or the shining . \\ni even put aside my general rule of not seeing this type of film . \\nboy , was i wrong ! \\nanother garbage slasher flick , the only difference being that * this * one has a story ! \\nthe story , you ask ? \\nwell , a scumball buys a chinese puzzle from a guy in an arab souk . \\nhe takes it home , somehow getting it past customs : - ) and starts fiddling with it in his attic . \\nlo and behold , after he takes it apart , three demons appear and start taking him apart , but with meat hooks . \\nwhen they\\'re finished , his gizzards are hanging from the ceiling . \\nthey botch up their cleanup job , however , and manage to leave his heart ( or some gland ; i didn\\'t really recognize the organ ) under a floorboard . \\nthe guy\\'s brother and his brother\\'s wife appear at the door soon after , and decide to move in . \\nthey throw away scumball\\'s belongings , and set up house . \\nturns out that wife is a bit of a nympho , and screwed around with scumball right before her marriage . \\nshe starts having some wild hallucinations . \\nlater , hubby spills some blood on the attic floorboards ( slow-mo special effects of the buckets of blood hitting the ground--all from the tiny cut on his hand ) . \\nsaid blood is eagerly sucked up by scumball\\'s organ . \\nthe organ grows into a thing that requires yet more blood in order to complete the regeneration into a really ugly thing . \\nit establishes mind contact with wife , who agrees to help him get more blood , because she really wants to be screwed again . \\nso , she helps him kill three businessmen . \\nscumball , at this time , gradually gets his strength back and grows all his organs back . \\nproblem is , he doesn\\'t have any skin , and even after three or four corpses , still doesn\\'t get any skin . \\nhe finally gets some , though , but strangely enough , he ends up looking like his brother . \\nguess they couldn\\'t get the original actor back . \\nwho knows . \\nscumball ( whose name is frank ) is not a nice guy . \\nhe describes his torture by the demons fondly , as the \" ultimate pleasure and pain , since at that level there is no difference between the two . \" \\nsomehow , i don\\'t see getting torn apart by 90 fish- and meat-hooks a lot of fun . \\nthis guy is * so * bad ( \" how bad * is * he ? \" ) , \\n * so * bad that the * rats * cower in a corner in fear . \\nfor good reason , too ; he crucifies two of them for fun , and carves a third while the nympho\\'s horsing around with hubby . \\nanyway . hubby\\'s daughter ( who , if course , is not * wife\\'s * daughter ) starts to suspect something is wrong after she sees wife going into the attic with one of her johns and the ensuing screams . \\nthe dumb bimbo meets scumball , and is not impressed . \\nshe manages to escape with the chinese puzzle , and brings out the demons . \\nat any rate , the demons are pissed off that they screwed up their cleanup ; they\\'re normally quite meticulous about that type of thing . \\nthe story boils down to the demons trying to correct their mistake . \\nthe demons are not , however , the good guys . \\nthe dumb bimbo\\'s the good guy . \\nshe somehow not only gets them to take care of frank , but also banishes them to hell or oblivion , we\\'re not too sure which . \\nnot too shabby for someone with single-digit iq . \\nthis is basically a \" bad jinn \" story . \\nit is an * awful * movie . \\nawful acting , bad focus in the photography , many scenes of skin being penetrated by meathooks , which is really unrealistic , and looks like the latex that it is . \\ncontinuity ? \\nwho cares . \\nacting ? \\n * terrible * . \\nscript ? \\nhorrible . \\nsounds canned . \\nunrealistic . \\nstory is so-so , but the impact is lost long , long before the film ends . \\ni do think the * rat * acting was quite good . \\ni have never seen rats look afraid . \\nthey should get nominated for an award . \\nreally good acting there , the best in the movie . \\n \" the envelope for best furry rodent , please . . . \" \\na \" \" rating would be far too generous . \\na \" 1/10 \" rating ( or -4 in the -4 to +4 rating system ) is far more accurate . \\nthis movie is so bad that people in the audience were laughing , chortling at the bad acting and crummy dialog . \\ni can see this film turning into the next rocky horror picture show . \\npeople were getting so fed up they were yelling warnings up to the characters on the screen . \\nhad to have something to do . \\ndumb , dumb , dumb movie . \\ni was embarrassed that i spent money to see it . \\nit goes without saying that i disagree with the other reviews on the board that attempt to review the film for itself . \\nlots of slime and red-dyed corn syrup does not constitute \" horror , \" in my opinion . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : back-up quarterback moxxon becomes starting quarterback midway through his senior year of high school , even though he\\'d rather read \" slaughterhouse five \" than the playbook . \\nevil football coach kilmer throws away moxxon\\'s book , though , while the evil team physician injects painkillers into the players . \\nin the meantime , moxxon\\'s kid brother forms a cult , and a bubblegum-blond cheerleader smears whip cream on herself to seduce the new star quarterback . \\ncomments : since i usually review horror and science fiction films , i feel a little out of my league discussing this teen football movie . \\n ( pun intended . \\nthank you ! ) \\nvarsity blues was produced by mtv , and it really shows . \\nseveral extended scenes allow for a continual soundtrack of mediocre pop songs meant to appeal to the adolescent male audience this crap was intended for . \\nthe teenagers all have reasons for their melodramatic angst . \\nthe adults all have problems , of course , and , as one-dimensional characters , they are all fanatically obssessed with how their local high school football team performs . \\nyes , this movie represents high school life in mtv-land . \\nthis is a land where your health teacher is also a part-time stripper , your ice cream store attendant girlfriend wears an egyptian ankh around her neck , your kid brother forms a \" cute \" cult , your football coach is an uncaring , obssessive madman , and your friends\\' lives consist of nothing but getting laid and driving around in cop cars naked . \\nall you , as the main character , want to do , however , is read \" slaughterhouse five \" and attend brown university in the fall . \\nwell , at least this is a little more realistic than mtv\\'s \" the real world . \" \\nvarsity blues stars james van der beek , this week\\'s teen tv star making the leap to the big screen . \\nhe plays the hick moxxon adequately , though some of his emotional dialogue will make people chuckle . \\n ( \" you dawn\\'t own mah life ! \" \\nwho would want to ? ) \\njon voight , the stock evil guy in countless other movies , is , surprise , the stock evil guy here . \\nbut is he really evil , or is he a product of society ? \\nafter all , everybody , young and old , in this movie has no life whatsoever and do nothing but obssess over high school football . \\nmaybe the pressures of the 90 screaming fans at the football field drove evil coach kilmer evil . \\nthe film\\'s screenplay never answers this burning question . \\nat times , iliff\\'s story does show glimmers of touching or humorous scenes , but , before the audience gets their hopes up that there might be something redeeming in this movie , they get trashed with another lengthy party sequence or overwrought football game . \\nthe movie\\'s pacing is slow , and the plot turns are mindnumbingly obvious from start to finish . \\ni suppose i\\'m being a little hard on varsity blues . \\nmaybe i\\'m just a little miffed that i had to pay 3 bucks to see it , even though it was dollar night at the cinema . \\nsomething about a request from the studio made the theater charge more money . \\ni found the film oftentimes ludicrous and boring . \\nthree guys in front of us smuggled beer into the the theater . \\ni wished i had thought of that . \\nalcohol , lots of it , may have helped the viewing experience . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'cradle will rock is the latest effort from director/actor tim robbins . \\nwhile he may have had an oscar worthy film back in 1995 ( dead man walking ) , he gets a little overconfident and sloppy here . \\nthe story is confusing , and filled with many subplots , so i\\'ll try my best and explain it as simply as possible . \\nthe film is based on a \" mostly \" true story about a federal theater in the 1930s , that produced a play ( the cradle will rock ) that apparently was offensive to some , so the government shuts it down . \\nit\\'s during the time of the depression , and all this theater wants to do is entertain and cheer up those who do not have jobs , or are poor . \\nbetween this conflict lies what seems like 10 subplots , about those who work in theater , or those associated . \\nalso along the way are some other messages mashed together to create an even more overwhelming experience . \\ntim robbin\\'s just keeps piling on political views , and characters , that we just give up on the film , or in some cases walk out . \\nfor robbin\\'s it may be a nice achievement , but to me it seemed more like a friendly get together with slightly more sophisticated dialogue , and fancy outfits . \\ni thought the main reason for seeing the film would be for the outstanding cast , unfortunately are all uninteresting , except for a few . \\nlet me recap what each important character does , so please bear with me ( it\\'s the least you can do , especially if you were considering seeing this ) . \\ni\\'ll begin with those involved with the play . \\nthere\\'s orson welles ( angus macfadyen ) who of course is the director of the play , the producer john houseman ( cary elwes ) , marc blitzstein ( hank azaria ) the writer of the play , emily watson , a woman who gets her break by playing the main part in cradle will rock . \\noutside the play there\\'s the : ventriloquist ( bill murray ) who wants a relationship with a federal theater clerk ( joan cusack ) , another subplot involving a painter diego rivera ( ruben blades ) who\\'s unhappy that his painting is too be destroyed by nelson rockefeller because he feels it to be an outrage ( john cusack ) . \\nthere\\'s a few other actresses and actors who have their own stories ( susan sarandon , philip baker hall too name a few ) but those that i mentioned , were the most significant to the story . \\nanyway , most of these talented hollywood stars were completely wasted , except for emily watson , who does another great job , and one of my personal favorite actors john cusack , who always delivers through thick and thin . \\nnow although most of the film was weak to say the least , there were some nice moments and some involving subjects , but all this is overblown . \\nsure the free speech segment was a nice feature , but not when it becomes repetitive . \\nthe whole film is like this , and it\\'s basically nothing but a headache . \\non the brighter side , tim robbin\\'s direction was masterful . \\nhis camera direction seemed reminiscent to the works of paul thomas anderson\\'s latest magnolia , only smoother in my opinion , but even that can\\'t make a movie that much better . \\nalthough it has it\\'s moments ( not many of them , but they\\'re there ) , cradle will rock stays true to it\\'s title , because the cradle rocked too far and tipped over . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a pseudo-intellectual film about the pseudo-intellectual world of art magazines , high art is as wasted as its drug-addled protagonists . \\nin the only notable part of the movie , ally sheedy and radha mitchell deliver nice performances in the two leading roles , not that lisa cholodenko\\'s script or direction makes you care much about either character . \\nliving in a world of heroin induced highs , they float along until they fall in love with each other . \\nthis uninviting picture , full of pretentious minor characters , has a receptionist that reads dostoevski and a woman in the restroom line who is a certified genius , having recently been awarded a prestigious mcarthur grant . \\n24-year-old syd ( radha mitchell ) , who has a rather bland , live-in boyfriend , was just promoted to assistant editor at the artistic photography magazine \" frame . \" \\nalthough the receptionist is impressed , syd is mainly a gofer for her boss until she meets famous photographer lucy berliner ( ally sheedy ) . \\nfor her to do photos for \" frame , \" lucy demands that syd be promoted to editor and assigned to her since lucy fancies her . \\nlucy lives with her current lover , a washed up german actress named greta , played with a frequently indecipherable series of mumbles by patricia clarkson . \\nthe two of them and their friends wile away their time snorting and shooting up dope , usually heroin . \\nthis does not happen in a single episode , but becomes more commonplace than sleeping in the picture . \\nsyd , who lives in the apartment below them , joins in on the fun and becomes a member of the zombie club . \\nlucy seems pretty happy with her life of drugs , which apparently is funded by her mother . \\nlucy quit working professionally 10 years ago since she thought she was being \" pigeonholed , \" and , since her mother has money , we can only assume that that\\'s how lucy supports her habit and procures her living expenses . \\na typical scene has the editors arguing about whether a potential photographer\\'s work is transcendental or merely classical . \\nthat no one has a clue as to the dogma they are spouting becomes obvious but not particularly funny . \\n \" your work has a cultural currency that is important now , \" is the artist-speak that the frame\\'s manager uses to convince lucy to show her pictures in the magazine . \\nwhen the big scene comes in which lucy puts the moves on syd , her idea of a romantic line is , \" i want to get high with you . \" \\nin lucy\\'s world , sex and drugs come hand-in-hand . \\nand the movie , except for the obligatory scene of someone almost overdosing , shows drug usage as being a hip and natural part of the art scene . \\nthis vacuous picture throws in a standard downer ending in an attempt to manipulate our emotions . \\nin another movie , it might have worked , but in this one the reaction is likely to be decidedly muted . \\nhigh art runs 1 : 36 . \\nit is rated r for explicit sex , pervasive drug use and language and is not appropriate for those younger than college age . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'richard linklater\\'s \" slacker , \" made in 1991 for a budget of only $23 , 000 , immerses itself in the twentysomething , college-town culture of austin , texas . \\nmost of these characters are either unemployed or work jobs that are apparently too menial to be worth mentioning . \\ntheir lifestyle is a sort of passive resistance to the idea that people should go out and actively pursue a career after graduation ; they seem content to sit around spouting off about the inadequacy of american democracy , the pervasiveness of slave morality , the subtle messages in pop culture , and such . \\nask them what they\\'ve been doing lately , and they\\'ll more likely than not reply , \" oh , you know , just hanging out . \" \\nlinklater uses an interesting technique to examine these characters : the camera follows one person for a few minutes , then someone else walks by and the camera follows that person , who walks into a diner just as another person is walking out the door . \\n . \\n . \\n . \\nit\\'s certainly a lot of fun listening to these characters talk : some of them are clearly very intelligent and have some genuinely insightful ideas , some of them are just plain weird , and some of them think their ideas are a lot more profound than they really are . \\nthe opening monologue , delivered by linklater himself to a taxi driver , tosses around ideas about alternate realities that nicely set up the meandering structure of the film . \\nother characters along the way offer observations about everything from dating relationships to the history of anarchist philosophy , while groups of pseudo-intellectuals kick around ideas about the nobility of sitting around and doing nothing or the subtle bribery-based morality in \" scooby-doo . \" \\nfor the most part , however , the best moments are the ones involving the slightly unhinged types . \\nnear the beginning , a paranoid man follows a pedestrian for several blocks , warning him about government conspiracies involving everything from global warming to secret colonization of mars . \\nanother man seems to be collecting televisions , keeping at least fifteen sets running at the same time and playing tapes of a graduate student who recorded himself having a nervous breakdown and destroying the camera . \\nand in a scene that drew a big laugh from everyone present when i saw the film , a man tries to achieve closure after a failed relationship by reciting poetry on a bridge and then throwing a typewriter into the creek below . \\nthe only problem with \" slacker \" is that it starts to run out of steam towards the end . \\nsince linklater only spends a few minutes with each character , the introduction of the new characters gets repetitive after a while . \\nthere are only so many times you can hear , \" hey , what\\'s going on ? \" \\n \" not much , what are you up to ? \" \\n \" nothing really , just hanging around , \" before it gets on your nerves ; the film might well have benefited from a slightly slower pace and a little bit more characterization . \\nand the dialogue in the second half of the film is by and large not quite as interesting as that in the first half ; a jfk buff , for example , seems like a pale imitation of the previous conspiracy theorist , and many of the characters just generally aren\\'t as weird or unique . \\ninstead of depicting a city populated by mostly normal people and then showing us the strangeness that we might not have noticed at first , linklater shows us the oddballs first , then stops and reminds us that ordinary people live there too . \\n \" slacker \" is a good film and a wonderfully offbeat and entertaining comedy , whatever its flaws , and its status as a cult classic is well-deserved . \\ni just can\\'t help but think it might have been even better if linklater had slowed down a little bit and filmed these scenes in reverse order . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i admit it . \\ni thought arnold schwarzenegger had a knack for comedy when he made twins and true lies . \\nwatching him in jingle all the way , i wondered why anyone ever thought he could carry such a lame movie targeted at susceptible kids . \\nit was one thing to scare the crap out of kids with the pg-13 kindergarten cop , but parents who let small children see this movie will have to explain themes of violence , alcohol consumption , burglary , racism and child molestation . \\nand you know they\\'ll burst out in tears when arnold punches one of santa\\'s elves . \\nhe later decks a reindeer . \\nhey , man , why don\\'t you just kick the easter bunny in the nuts while you\\'re at it ? \\njingle all the way is formula crap that follows the if someone falls on his ass , it must be funny school of thought . \\narnold , sinbad and phil hartman crash to the ground more times in this movie than a special olympics hockey team , and the movie dredges up more cliche and less believability with each successive scene . \\nwhat can you expect from a movie whose entire premise is that two parents can\\'t find a rare toy on christmas eve , and will do anything to get one ? \\narnold is , of course , one of the parents , a crack salesman who is never there for his son . \\nhe races from the office to his son\\'s karate game , only to find out he missed it . \\nand his kid distrusts him because he\\'s never around . \\n ( gee , we haven\\'t seen that in a movie before . ) \\narnold the absentee father becomes convinced that the only way to buy back his son\\'s affection is to get him a turboman doll , which his wife ( rita wilson , who will never be the breadwinner of the hanks household choosing roles like this ) told him to get weeks ago . \\nso arnold sets out to find a turboman , which turns out to be more rare than the tickle me elmo was when jingle all the way came out . \\nlet me back up for a minute here -- arnold\\'s kid is totally obsessed with this turboman character , which is unhealthy beyond belief . \\nwatches the show , eats the cereal , sleeps on the freakin\\' turboman sheets . \\ni\\'d try to discourage any further obsession myself , lest any kid seeing this movie think it\\'s a wonderful thing to con your dad into racing out to buy you any toy you want . \\nbut nooooo , the climax of jingle all the way has arnold dressed up as turboman in a parade , exonerating himself of all wrongdoing in the eyes of wife and son , who don\\'t recognize him until the last minute . \\nthis is a sad movie all the way through , but it only gets worse after the opening scenes of arnold and mailman sinbad stampeding through a store , racing off to the mall and hooking up with a santa ( jim belushi ) who runs a bootleg toy factory . \\nmost painful to watch is a scene at a radio station , where sinbad holds off the cops with a letter bomb after beating up the deejay ( an embarrassed martin mull ) who said he was giving away a turboman doll . \\ncapitalism has produced some pretty evil things ( chia pets ) , but this ode to excess and violent consumerism is one of the most shameful . \\nnever mind the subplot with perfect neighbor phil hartman trying to seduce wilson while arnold is off shopping ( \" your cookies are incredible \" ) , it\\'s the main plot of the movie that sends the message that it\\'s okay to do whatever it takes to get your hands on what you want . \\nmaybe that\\'s what christmas is like at the schwarzenegger house , but not at mine . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"anna and the king strides onto the screen in full regalia , wearing a brilliant suit of sumptuous landscapes , deep , vibrant colors and an epic storyline . \\nit's true beauty comes from it's subtle ruminations on the politics of power , whether it's between governments , or the interplay between a man and a woman . \\nanna ( jodie foster ) is a widowed british schoolteacher with a touch of wanderlust trying to grasp her quicksilver feelings concerning the recent death of her husband . \\nwith son in tow , she takes the employ of king mongkut ( chow yun-fat ) to tutor his son in the english language . \\nmongkut sees the strength of the british and correctly surmises that his country's future lies in opening itself up to the ways of the western world . \\nanna function is to help provide that link . \\nthe core of the film , of course , deals with the blossoming love between anna and mongkut as it attempts to germinate in the unfriendly soil of a shifting political climate . \\nfoster plays anna with equal parts clenched jaw and wide-eyed wonder . \\nshe is assertive , yet , respectful of the king as she initially tries to impose her western sensibilities upon him . \\nit is one of foster's strongest performances since silence of the lambs in a role she could not have played earlier in her career . \\nshe brings a mature self- awareness and determination that might not have come across from a younger foster . \\nit's a joy to watch her cagily bargain for her own measure of influence within the realm of mongkut's monarchy . \\nwhen she makes her entrance into a politically charged banquet mid-film , she exudes a hypnotic beauty that is deepened by her textured performance . \\nchow-yun fat's king mongkut is every measure of foster's anna , perhaps even more so . \\nthis is the chow yun-fat that hong kong cinema has been in love with for nearly twenty years . \\nhe is imposing , yet vulnerable , playful , but stern . \\nit is an impressively assured and nuanced performance . \\nprecious time is stolen from the movie's 155 minutes running time by an unengaging subplot involving one the king's concubines ( bai ling ) and her love of a commoner . \\nit strikes with the subtlety of siam's fabled white elephant as it stomps through the leisurely paced story . \\nsome may be put off by the action filled climax of the movie . \\nalthough a bit inconsistent in tone from the rest of the film , it fits within the established subplot of a perceived siege by neighboring burma , a country backed by the british . \\nanna and the king transcends being a predictable , traditional love story by avoiding mawkishness . \\nit shows a seduction of intelligence . \\never mindful of each other's positions , anna and king mongkut negotiate a maze of social customs , conflicting world views and lost loved ones to connect on a level that ultimately proves deeply satisfying , if not achingly bittersweet . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'labelling is sometimes everything . \\nin original mad max , the opening title set the plot of the movie in near future , thus making it one of the science fiction classics , despite the future world being almost exactly like our own . \\nwalter hill wanted the same opening title for his action classic the warriors . \\nproducers weren\\'t thrilled by that idea and consequently the movie lost all of its futuristic overtones . \\non the other hand , producers were right on the mark ; walter hill was accused of actually promoting some disturbing trends that were quite visible in contemporary america . \\nto make the movie even more distant from future , plot was loosely based on anabasis , historical book written by xenophon , greek mercenary soldier who had described his adventures in ancient persia 2400 years ago . \\ninstead of ancient persia , movie begins in contemporary coney island , where cleon ( dorsey wright ) , leader of the warriors , local youth gang , gets invitation to the great gathering of all youth gangs from the city . \\nthe gathering , organised by gramercy park riffs , most powerful gang in the city , is taking place in bronx . \\nthat is far away from warriors\\' home territory , but small and unarmed delegation of the warriors gets there safely thanks to the general truce . \\non the gathering , cyrus ( roger hill ) , charismatic leader of the riffs , announces his grand plan to unite all the gangs and take over the city . \\ncrowd is enthusiastic , but the small gang of rogues , led by psychopathic luther ( david patrick kelly ) uses the opportunity to assassinate cyrus . \\npolice simultaneously raids the gathering , and in the commotion warriors get blamed by the killing , and their leader gets killed by riffs . \\nthe remaining eight , led by cleon\\'s lieutenant swann ( michael beck ) , must now try to get to coney island , but this time unprotected by truce and instead being chased by all the gangs . \\nupon its release , despite the controversies and even some youth riots that were allegedly inspired by it , the warriors enjoyed immense popularity and very quickly received some kind of a cult status . \\nhowever , despite being one of the best movies of that year , and being directed by talented action director walter hill at the peak of his career , the movie failed to leave as strong impression to the future generations as some other cinematic achievements of that same year . \\nthe reason for that probably lies in a fact that this movie aged very quickly . \\nif walter hill\\'s idea was to warn the public about problems of urban america , he failed miserably . \\nthe future was much worse than his vision . \\nthe youth gangs , as presented in the warriors , are far from shadowy armies , able to take over entire cities . \\ntheir members seem more interested in unorthodox fashion and their little petty feuds than such prosaic , and for the public more annoying , matters like crime . \\nin their vocabulary , word \" arms \" is reserved for small knives and blunt objects , and only few of them use heavy artillery like handguns . \\nthey even have their own , very strict and detailed laws , upheld more strictly than some governments do with their own . \\nmany people in american cities would be more than happy to see their young criminals behaving like those in the warriors . \\nsome of the critics who accused hill of actually praising youth crime had a lot arguments in their favour . \\ndespite those objections , the warriors have all the elements of a very good film . \\nthe plot is simple , and serves as good basis for numerous action scenes . \\nthe fights are brilliantly choreographed and quite realistic , although there isn\\'t much bloodshed or gore in the movie . \\nediting is superb , events happen at quick pace , with the exception of middle , when boring moralistic exchanges between swann and his would-be-girlfriend mercy ( deborah van valkenburgh ) drag the plot from straight action to social drama territory . \\nthe soundtrack by barry de vorzon is very suggestive and recognisable . \\nyet , the trademark of this film are the actors who showed great talent , although most of them later sunk into anonymity . \\nbest known of them is david patrick kelly , whose superb and original performance in this film later subscribed him to the roles of psychopathic villains . \\nmichael beck as cool , almost statesman-like leader of a gang , is also very good , and james remar gives good contrast as his hot-shot contender for top spot . \\nall in all , this movie is perhaps dated , yet in its hour and half can give a lot more entertainment than most of the contemporary movies . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" jack frost , \" is one of those dumb , corny concoctions that attempts to be a heartwarming family film , but is too muddled in its own cliches and predictability to be the least bit touching . \\nthis does not come as a surprise , since the studio that made it is warner brothers , who is on a current streak of one bad film after the other . \\njack frost ( michael keaton ) is a struggling middle-aged rock musician who loves his wife , gabby ( kelly preston ) , and 11-year-old son , charlie ( joseph cross ) , but doesn\\'t spend nearly enough time with them . \\nwhen he receives a call from a music label that wants to hear him play , he has to cancel his planned family outing up in the mountains for christmas . \\nhalfway there , jack has second thoughts , but on his way back home , is in a car accident and dies . \\nswitch forward a year , christmas is approaching once again , and charlie and gabby are still having a difficult time coming to terms with jack\\'s death . \\nwhen charlie begins to play the harmonica his father gave him the night before he died , the snowman outside the house is taken over by jack\\'s spirit . \\njack wants to spend some time with his son before the upcoming warm front melts him , but charlie desperately tries to prevent his melting demise . \\n \" frosty the snowman , \" is a classic cartoon , and the idea of a snowman that is alive works splendidly when animated , but as a live-action film , it doesn\\'t work at all . \\nafter a somewhat promising prologue in which the frost family is established , \" jack frost , \" quickly goes downhill , especially once the snowman comes into play . \\nsince jack has been deceased for a whole year , you would think there would be many questions to ask him , such as , \" what happens after you die ? \" \\nor , \" how does it feel to be a snowman ? \" \\nbut instead , the film focuses on a snowball fight subplot and an inevitably oversentimental climax that could be telegraphed before i even sat down to watch the movie . \\nthe performances are respectable enough , but no one deserves to be punished by appearing in a silly film like this . \\nmichael keaton at least got off easy , since he disappears after the first twenty minutes , but what exactly does he think he is doing with his career here ? \\ni have always liked kelly preston . \\nshe is clearly a talented , charismatic actress , but has never been given a good role in her life , usually having to settle for a one-dimensional supporting character , as in , 1997\\'s , \" nothing to lose , \" and , \" addicted to love . \" \\njoseph cross was probably the highlight in the cast , since he believably portrayed a boy suffering the loss of a parent . \\nin one of the only subplots that actually works , due to its wittiness , henry rollins is highly amusing as a hockey coach who becomes terrified and paranoid after seeing the live snowman . \\nthis brief hint of cleverness is pushed to the side , however , by the tried-and-true main plot at hand , which is the sappy story of a father and son . \\nsince i knew what was going to happen by the time the conclusion came around , i had no choice but to sit there and listen to painfully insipid , cringe-inducing lines of dialogue . \\nsome of my favorites was an interaction between the son and father : \" you da man , \" says charlie . \\n \" no , i da snowman , \" replies jack . \\nor how about this little zinger , coming from a school bully that miraculously becomes friendly towards charlie and tries to help him out : \" snowdad is better than no dad . \" \\ndo people really get paid in hollywood for writing pieces of trash like this ? \\nthe snowman , created by john henson\\'s creature shop , is more believable than the snowman from last year\\'s unintentionally hilarious direct-to-video horror flick , also called , \" jack frost , \" but it still was difficult to tell if it was a person in a suit or computer effects . \\neither way , it was an awful lot of work to go through , just to come up with a final product as featherbrained as this project . \\nas a seasonal holiday picture , \" jack frost , \" is pretty much a clunker . \\na better christmas film from this year is , \" i\\'ll be home for christmas . \" \\nbetter yet , my suggestion would be to stay home and watch a quality film , such as , \" it\\'s a wonderful life , \" \" a christmas story , \" or , \" prancer . \" \\n \" jack frost , \" is an earnest , but severely misguided film , and children , as well as adults , deserve better . \\ni doubt they would want to see a movie about the death of a parent , anyway . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plunkett & macleane is a period piece mired down by modern mtv pretentions . \\ni have nothing against the mtv approach to filmmaking -- used properly it can save a movie ( see stigmata ) -- but it ruins this one , making a muddled , incoherent mess out of a potentially interesting premise . \\nthere are certain genres that just don\\'t go together . \\nthe film opens with a sequence that i still don\\'t understand . \\nit involves some sort of prison outbreak , a robbery , and a gem that keeps being eaten . \\nin any case , the caper ( whatever it may be ) brings together plunkett and macleane ( robert carlyle and johnny lee miller , respectively ) , two happy-go-lucky brits with no way to make a living . \\nthey make a pact to steal money from the rich and give it to themselves until they earn enough money to buy a ticket to america . \\ntheir first heist involves a young debutante named lady rebecca ( liv tyler ) ; a woman macleane was especially friendly with at a party just earlier . \\nhis decorum when stripping her of her valuables earns our two crooks the name \" gentleman highwaymen . \" \\nlady rebecca also happens to be the niece of the lord chief justice , a glaringly arrogant man nearing the end of his political career . \\nhe demands that the robbers be caught and punished immediately , leaving the job in the hands of the devious chance ( ken stott ) who has a few more things on his mind than catching criminals . \\nmeanwhile , macleane falls in love with rebecca infuriating the businesslike plunkett , who doesn\\'t want his plans to be foiled by his partner\\'s mindless romantic travails . \\ndirector jake scott , son of ridley scott ( alien , blade runner ) , has his father\\'s knack for setting up atmospheric shots but none of his skill in actually moving the camera . \\nmost of the action scenes are filmed in such a rapid , jerky way that it\\'s impossible to comprehend what\\'s going on . \\nthe camerawork is even more nauseating than in the purposefully dizzying the blair witch project due to its lack of fluidity . \\ninstead of utilizing panning shots to impress upon us the scope of the events scott uses attention-deficit-disorder edits . \\nhe barely ever holds a shot for more than ten seconds and during the faster scenes it seems more like a couple frames between each cut . \\nthe weird , almost defiant lack of dialogue ( there are no -- no -- conversations lasting over , say , 20 seconds ) undermines character definition and our two protagonists come off as ciphers rather than characters . \\nthe love affair between macleane and rebecca is no different , emotionless and unrealistic . \\nwhen the script calls for macleane to decide between going to america and going to meet his lover , there is no reason for us to believe it would be worth it for him to abandon his goal ; he and rebecca barely even speak to each other throughout the film . \\nplunkett and macleane wants desperately to be a triumph of style over substance but since its style , quite frankly , blows , the film has no hope of succeeding on any level . \\ni wanted to appreciate this movie on the basis of its admittedly kinetic pace but i couldn\\'t -- it was so kinetic it gave me a headache . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there\\'s a thin line between satire and controversy , and mike nichols ( the birdcage , wolf ) has directed a sharp and very honest look at a us presidential election . \\nbased on the book written by \" anonymous \" ( actually former \" newsweek \" writer joe klein ) , john travolta plays governor jack stanton . \\nbut he doesn\\'t actually play stanton . \\nhe plays bill clinton ; just the same as emma thompson no doubt plays the first lady and billy bob thorton is the campaign manipulator james carville ( although the credits will of course say otherwise ) . \\nthe film is taken from the perspective of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , a morally correct and somewhat hesitant new advisor to stanton . \\nhe searches for justice and dignity in the ugliest possible situations , and whether it be keeping the history of his boss\\' pants under wraps or contemplating digging up dirt on another politician , he approaches his work with a keen desire to skillfully serve his country and his fellow workers . \\nrichard jemmons ( billy bob thorton ) and daisy green ( maura tierney ) team up with henry as the would-be president\\'s advisors , and hire lesbian veteran libby holden ( kathy bates ) as the campaign\\'s eccentric \" tougher than dirt \" incriminator . \\ntogether they face all sorts of sexual allegations , the irritatingly discourteous media and other witty politicians in the election race . \\nin its satire and controversy , primary colors is a similar film to wag the dog : they both are not afraid to wipe their noses in the nitty-gritty and take a bold look at something that will never has honesty as a virtue . \\nbut whereas wag showed us how much affect a few people can have on the media , primary colors is much more concerned with fleshing out it\\'s characters , letting us understand what they want and why , and making us truly appreciate the humanity and rectitude that they graciously represent . \\nseeing john travolta play bill clinton so confidently and justly is enough to make the film more than worth a look . \\nand the rest of the cast also make superb performances - adrian lester sharply portrays the intellect of henry whilst kathy bates is perfect as the robust and energetic libby holden . \\nat occasions , you can\\'t help but feel that these terrific characters are going to waste . \\nthere are long slabs of time where john travolta ( unquestionably the most interesting to watch ) is missed from the screen ; and since it is awkwardly structured as henry\\'s story we are often forced to watch scenes that perhaps are not so necessary to the central plot - or even the point of the film . \\nhaving said that , make no mistake - primary colors is always enjoyable to watch . \\nbut frequently we have to ask ourselves - exactly what are we watching ? \\nmost of the first half of its duration is a lightheaded look at melodramatic confrontations that seem so genuine we cannot help but laugh , but the way primary colors chooses to finish tackles aspects that are very contrary , and almost unsuitable , to the rest of the film . \\nbut as i mentioned before , there is a thin line between satire and controversy - and for the most part , primary colors delivers an entertaining indulgence of political matters combined with a far-from-overpowering look at winning the public\\'s opinion . \\nalthough at occasions the film may jump around a little too freely , focus is never lost on how important and vulnerable the subject matter really is . \\nthankfully , it is clear to make the distinction on what is entertaining movie cosmetics and what is a provocative documentation of something so really it\\'s scary . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in this year\\'s summer movie preview issue of _entertainment_weekly_ , theresa connelly described her writing-directing debut , _polish_wedding_ , as \" a child that did not quite become the child i thought it would . \" \\none wonders what exactly she originally had in mind for this jumbled film , a comedy-drama that appears doomed at its most basic elements . \\nthe family at the center of _polish_wedding_ is the pzoniaks , which consists of mother jadzia ( lena olin ) , father bolek ( gabriel byrne ) , sole daughter hala ( claire danes ) and four sons of varying degrees of facelessness . \\nit\\'s a large family , but there\\'s not a sympathetic one in the whole bunch , certainly not in the primary trio . \\njadzia takes pride in building and maintaining a home and family , but she\\'s kind of a hypocrite since she\\'s carrying on an affair with a businessman rade serbedzija ) . \\nher excuse for her affair is neglect from bolek , who is such a passive wimp that one cannot connect with his sadness and frustration . \\nalso , how could he possibly pay so little attention to the saucy , sexy jadzia ? \\nhala is a spoiled , self-centered high school dropout whose reckless sexual experimentation predictably leads to pregnancy . \\nwith such an unappealing set of characters , it\\'s no surprise that _polish_wedding_\\'s plot complications are far from involving . \\nnaturally , jadzia and bolek would like hala to marry the young cop , russell schuster ( adam trese ) , who fathered the child , but he refuses to make such a commitment . \\nho-hum . \\nanother complication , involving the decidedly un-virginal hala being selected to crown a statue of the virgin mary , is first played for laughs and then , inexplicably , as a profound statement in the film\\'s climax--which , ironically , is funnier than any of the film\\'s lame attempts at humor , such as a painfully labored slapstick attempt where jadzia leads her sons in a charge to beat up russell . \\nthat scene is but one in a number of writing miscues by connelly . \\nthe jadzia-bolek conflict is resolved in an overly pat way not unfamiliar to sitcom viewers . \\nthe hala-russell conflict isn\\'t resolved in as contrived a manner , but their ultimate resolution will leave viewers wondering if they had missed something . \\nand then there\\'s some atrocious dialogue , which i am sure was not supposed to be as ridiculous as they sound : \" look at all these pickles . \\njust looking at them gives me such great sadness . \" \\nas misguided as _polish_wedding_ is , the affair is something of a letdown , considering the strong performances by byrne , danes , and especially the fiery olin . \\nthey obviously believed in connelly and her material--a faith that audiences will be hard-pressed to share . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'airplane ! is considered among many to be the epitome of satire film-making . \\nafter all , it\\'s brought to us by one of the best known satire writing/directing teams . \\neven if most people don\\'t recognize the names behind the films , they are bound to recognize the titles : airplane ! , top secret , the naked gun , and hot shots to name a few . \\nbut although the zucker/abrahams/zucker team was first introduced with the kentucky fried movie in 1977 , airplane ! \\nremains the true cornerstone of their work , and their directorial debuts . \\nin the seventies , disaster films seemed to be at an all time high . \\nfilms like earthquake , the towering inferno , and the poseidon adventure were big hits . \\nthere was also a series about the disasters that can arise when traveling by plane - a series that spanned the entire decade . \\nand so , in 1980 , we were introduced to a new airplane disaster film . \\nthis time the disaster had nothing to do with a maniacal hijacker or crashing into the ocean . \\n . \\n . \\nit had to do with bad fish . \\nairplane ! is the story of ted striker ( robert hays ) - an ex-fighter-pilot who has never gotten over the fact that a decision he had to make in the midst of war led to the death of six , er , seven comrades . \\nunable to stop living in the past , ted\\'s world fell apart . \\nhe spent his time moving from city to city without ever having a stable job , and eventually , as we begin this film , is getting dumped by his lover , flight attendant elaine dickinson ( julie hagerty ) . \\nin a desperate attempt not to lose her , ted buys a ticket for the same flight elaine is working . \\nunfortunately , she is unsympathetic and even criticizes ted for following her , which leaves him wallowing in self-pity . \\nin the midst of it all , something happens . \\nsomeone gets sick . \\nthen another . \\nthen another . \\nsoon , the whole plane is full of deathly-ill chicago-bound people . \\n . \\n . \\nand when the pilots get sick ( played by peter graves , kareem abdul-jabbar , and frank ashmore ) , who will save the day ? \\n ( gee , i wonder ) \\nof course the main draw here is the non-stop \" whiz-bang \" comedy , with a hefty dose of both visual and spoken gags . \\nalthough i had seen this movie a few times before , i was still laughing thru the entire thing . \\nthe most fun character by far is the doctor , played by leslie nielsen . \\nhe\\'s a dry , subtle , sterotypically straight-faced doctor that ends up saying some of the funniest lines of the film . \\nin a film like this , you\\'re not really expecting an elaborate production , so one can\\'t complain about the amateurish quality . \\nwhat you can complain about is the absolutely annoying johnny , played by stephen stucker . \\nthis character is pointless , nauseating , and very unfunny . \\ni don\\'t know why he was put in there , and i don\\'t think anybody will find a good excuse . \\nand when the film nears an end , it slows down quite a bit , almost getting old . \\nyou gotta give it to a movie that only runs 88 minutes and can feel two hours long . \\naside from that , airplane ! \\nis really a top-notch spoof that will likely forever be known as a spoof classic . \\nit would be a good choice to pop in the vcr with a group of friends , especially if they haven\\'t seen it . \\nand if they ask what the plot is , just tell \\'em \" it\\'s a synopsis of the basic storyline of the film , but that\\'s not important right now . \" \\nif you\\'ve seen the film , you\\'ll understand ; - ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the one question that eats at me after seeing corky romano is why touchstone spent so much money marketing this throwaway film . \\nsince june , i haven\\'t been able to turn on the tv or go to the movies without getting hit by some ad depicting chris kattan as the spastic corky , shrieking out a-ha\\'s \" take on me \" in his yellow miata . \\nwhy would disney sink so much cash into the corky hype machine ? \\nhonestly , i was hoping that all the goofball ads were actually a front for a decently funny movie . \\nman , was i wrong . \\ncorky romano is one of those throwaway , clich ? -ridden tv-star-to-film vehicles built upon the most rickety of plots . \\nfortunately for chris kattan\\'s precariously positioned career , corky does have some good laughs , even if most of them are of the lowest-brow variety . \\nkattan plays the title character , the unsinkable assistant veterinarian corky who has a penchant for sunshiny \\'80s tunes , bright ties , and banal coffee mug slogans ( \" you don\\'t have to be crazy to work here , but it sure helps . \" ) . \\nwhen his mob boss dad ( peter falk ) is about to be put away on murder charges , his bungling , lughead brothers ( peter berg and chris penn ) rope in innocent , black sheep corky to infiltrate the fbi as an agent and steal the evidence . \\npredictably , hijinks ensue . \\nif the basic plot sounds bad , wait until you get into the inner-workings of this clunker . \\nthe writers will amaze you with the depth of their inanity . \\ncorky\\'s fbi agent identity is named corky pissant ( \" that\\'s pronounced pees-ahn . \\nit\\'s french . \" ) . \\nhe becomes a first-rate agent by accidentally stumbling mr . magoo-style onto the proper clues and talking his way in and out of situations , which plays like something out of a sitcom . \\nand not a good sitcom , i mean . \\nthe romano family brothers even insult each other by farting in each other\\'s face . \\nand in a scene taken straight from there\\'s something about mary , corky gives a dachshund mouth-to-mouth resuscitation . \\nbut it\\'s not a complete disaster . \\nthe manic kattan does occasionally rescue some comic moments , including a bit featuring a cat in a fat suit named jesus and another involving schoolchildren , a german shephard , and a kilo of cocaine . \\nplus , berg -- whose career has obviously gone downhill since the last seduction and chicago hope -- gives a great turn as the illiterate brother paulie . \\nand , it\\'s nice to see that richard roundtree of shaft fame is getting work . \\nunfortunately for those out there who can\\'t truly appreciate animal or fart jokes , corky won\\'t have much to offer you . \\nso the next time one of those pesky ads appears on your tv , asking , \" who is corky ? \" \\nyou can simply reply , \" who cares ? \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" i know what you did last summer , \" the first high-profile slasher thriller to be released after 1996\\'s \" scream , \" and written by the same screenwriter , kevin williamson , is a stylish , effective horror film that became 1997\\'s biggest hit of the fall season . \\nwhile \" scream \" was a more knowing film about the genre , \" i know what you did last summer \" is more reminiscent of a straight-forward slasher flick , but it is far more intelligent than such bottom-of-the-barrel guilty pleasures as all nine of the \" friday the 13th \" films ( well , okay , \" jason goes to hell \" was pure hell to sit through ) . \\nthe film starts off with four talented , aspiring teenage friends who have just graduated from high school in their small boating town of southport , n . c . \\nit is the 4th of july , and they will soon be heading their separate ways . \\nkind-hearted julie ( jennifer love hewitt ) , and outsider ray ( freddie prinze jr . ) will be headed off to college , while helen ( sarah michelle gellar ) , who has just been honored croaker queen in the town , and her ignorant jock boyfriend , barry ( ryan phillippe ) , are going to new york to become an actress and football player . \\nwhen the four of them travel to a nearby mountain-side beach for the evening , they are dismayed after hitting a man in the road on their way home . \\ndistraught and confused , they decide they can\\'t go to the police because they will be charged with manslaughter , so they devise a plan to throw the apparently dead victim off a peer into the ocean , in hopes no one will find him . \\njulie is apprehensive about it , but is forced into it by barry . \\nswitch to exactly a year later , julie , still unable to come to terms with what she did , reluctantly returns home from college to find that all three of her old friends are still in the town because their career plans did not work out . \\nalmost immediately , julie recieves an ominous letter that simply reads , \" i know what you did last summer , \" and that is the start of their problems as they find themselves being terrorized by a mysterious figure dressed in fisherman gear and yielding a giant hook . \\n \" i know what you did last summer , \" is a successful horror film for a number of reasons . \\nthe cinematography by denis crossan could very well be described as hitchcockian , as it put shadows , fog , steam , and other clever devices to add atmosphere to the proceedings . \\nthe characters , particularly julie and helen , are realistically written , and the film amazingly deals with their broken relationship in a few scenes , which is largely uncharacteristic in films of this sort . \\nand last , the film creates a few dazzling and scary set-pieces that are some of the most memorable i\\'ve seen in a horror movie , particularly the suspenseful , superbly shot sequence involving helen at her family\\'s store with the killer inside with her . \\nperhaps the best character is that of missy egan ( anne heche ) , a lonely backwoods woman whose brother was the one julie thinks they hit . \\nheche\\'s performance is a standout , as she is able to create a full character in only about ten minutes of screen time . \\n \" i know what you did last summer , \" could have been a great horror movie if not for a few problems . \\nprinze jr . gives a performance to be desired here , and much of his dialogue sounds wooden coming out of his mouth . \\nalso , the climax of the film almost completely loses its frightening grip after it unveils the mystery killer , who is a decidedly bad actor and should not have been given any lines . \\nluckily , the penultimate scene saves the disappointing finale , which includes an expertly crafted \" jump-in-your-seat \" scare . \\nin the main roles , hewitt and gellar are highly talented , and hewitt , especially , is one of the best screamers i\\'ve ever heard . \\nshe honestly could give jamie lee curtis a little competition for the best \" scream queen . \" \\nand gellar is touching as a young woman who , in the course of one year , finds her dream of being an actress ultimately shattered . \\nalthough not up to the level of either \" scream \" movies , or the more recent , \" urban legend , \" \" i know what you did last summer \" is a respectable , smartly-scripted slasher film that firmly proved good horror movies were once again being made . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" we are grateful that we have the songs of grace chan to comfort us . \" \\nstarring lee kang-sheng , yang kuei-mei directed by tsai ming-liang written by tsai and yang ping-ying cinematography by liao peng-jung \\ntaiwan , 24/12/99 . \\nthe millenium approaches . \\nan incessant downpour batters an unnamed city . \\nsectors of the city are being sealed , quarantined due to the onset of a mysterious virus . \\nthe virus causes people to act like insects : they crawl about on all fours , hide from bright lights , huddle in damp corners . \\nthe water supply to the quarantined zones will be cut off in a week\\'s time . \\nresidents are advised to evacuate the area , asap . \\nthis premise--kafka by way of cronenberg--is the background for the hole , which could have been a great movie , but , sadly , ends up as a waste of good ideas . \\nthe quick sketch above suggests a dark , absurd , hallucinatory near-future parable of life in the late 20th century ; in execution , however , it is nothing like that . \\nthe virus , the evacuation , the visual possiblities of the deluge : these are all relegated to the background . \\ninstead , the hole focuses on the lives--for want of a better word--of a man ( lee kang-sheng ) and a woman ( yang kuei-mei ) who live in the same apartment building , and who have no personalities . \\nthe entire movie taks place in settings that are uniformly ugly and sterile : the charmless rooms and corridors of a post-industrial apartment complex , photographed to look as dim and dingy as possible . \\nit\\'s a vivid setting , but an unappealing one , especially with the monotonous hiss of falling rain and the gurgle of drainage pipes in the background . \\nthe man lives in the apartment directly above the woman\\'s . \\none day , a repairman investigating a leak leaves a small hole in the floor of the man\\'s living room , opening into the ceiling of the woman\\'s living room . \\nthis hole--symbol of the solitary opening in the character\\'s lonely , compartmented lives--allows them to interact in unusual ( and mostly non-verbal ) ways . \\nexample : the man , suffering from the onset of the virus ( or so i assume--everything is obscure in this movie ) vomits through the hole . \\nthe woman , wandering around in the dark , accidentally puts her hand on his vomit , and then cleans it up . \\nthis is what passes for meaningful communication . \\nand they say romance is dead . \\nmuch of the film does not even focus on their interactions , such as they are . \\nthere is almost no dialogue and we learn next to nothing about these people . \\nthey are ciphers . \\ninstead , we are treated to long takes in which we witness their miserable lives ; we watch , for instance , as the woman boils some water , pours it onto some noodles , then eats the noodles . \\n ( this is as fascinating as it sounds . ) \\noffered as counterpoint--or perhaps relief--to these dreary sequences are a series of musical numbers , fantasies in which the woman lip-synchs to pop songs by grace chan ( popular , so i\\'m told , in 1950s\\' china ) . \\nshe prances around in grimy hallways and grungy stairwells , incronguously lit by cheerfully bright spotlights . \\nsometimes , in these fantasies , she is joined by the man . \\nthese scenes are presumably intended to be bright and fanciful , sharply contrasting the dreariness of reality , but they fail . \\nwhen the man and the woman dance , it seems half-hearted and listless . \\nastaire and rogers this is not . \\neven in imagination , these people are numb , weary , boring . \\nthe hole is part of the \\'collection 2000\\' series , a group of films commissioned by french tv station la sept arte on the subject of the millenium . \\nothers include canada\\'s last night , brazil\\'s midnight , and american hal hartley\\'s the book of life . \\nthe book of life is the only other one that i have seen , and it is infinitely superior to the taiwanese entry . \\nwitty , energetic , humane , it makes the the hole seem ( ahem ) empty . \\namerican movies with nothing to say try to disguise their lack of content with flashy movements , quick cuts , superficial emotions . \\nforeign movies with nothing to say do what the hole does : they point the camera at something of minimal interest for unbelievably long periods of time , and call it art . \\nthe hole is self-evidently a film about alienation , and perhaps director tsai ming-liang wants the audience to share in his characters\\' alienation . \\nif so , he succeeds . \\nperhaps it is a challenge : he dares us to enjoy this movie , despite his best attempts to ensure that we don\\'t . \\nif it was a challenge , i wasn\\'t up for it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a slight romantic comedy with a feminist bent , but one with no edge to it . \\nit turns out to be a conventional film filled with the usual clich ? s and stock characters of this genre . \\nthough it\\'s a well-written and well-acted fluff piece , it still does not have too much to say that is surprising . \\nit\\'s made for the gentle art-house set , those who don\\'t want something too disturbing to think about . \\nit\\'s about a critically successful writer husband , alec ( pryce ) , who is so self-absorbed that he\\'s threatened by his department store floor-walking model wife , kate ( bouquet ) , who wants to be a writer . \\nshe meets his crass publisher , vanni corso ( walken ) , another self-absorbed man , and a predictable relationship occurs . \\nthe fireworks occur because she outgrows her husband\\'s first impressions of her as someone who was impressed with his genius and worships at his feet . \\nshe now wants her own identity and her independence . \\nthe film looked like the usual sitcom stuff , and is plagued with the cheap set design features reserved for a tv movie . \\nthe film sagged in the middle of the story from the weight of its tedium , and eventually landed on its rear end with its unspectacular climax . \\nit\\'s set in london , and it opens as model kate rebuffs sexual advances by a wealthy american shopper , vanni . \\nshe later meets him as her hubby\\'s new upstart publisher who seeks to have her intellectual author husband in his stable in order to give him credibility as a publisher of quality , and he quickly wins favor with her by publishing her vanity novel . \\nalec who is an obnoxious grouse , someone whom it seems it would be impossible to live with , tries to do everything to stop his wife from having her book published--which only pushes her into the grasping arms of vanni . \\nthe publisher is proud that he\\'s a mamma\\'s boy who never married and is a self-made man who has earned millions . \\nhe has recently acquired a failing old london publishing house and plans to revitalize it , as he proudly tells kate : \" if my father could sell pizzas in harlem , i could sell culture in europe . \" \\nthe only thing that couldn\\'t be sold , is this stiff story and tired plot line . \\nthe mystery to me , is how the lovely kate could like either man unless she was an insensitive dummy . \\nshe soon divorces the beleaguered alec and marries the soon-to-become-beleaguered vanni . \\nwhen she writes a second novel , he rebuffs her the same way her first hubby did . \\nit ends with the same results that happened to hubby number one , as its story of ambition and lust winds down in a whimper . \\na business affair was loosely based on the real-life literary and romantic travails of married authors barbara skelton and cyril connolly , in their celebrated 1950s love triangle . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"woody allen is one of the most successful artist-directors in hollywood , but he is becoming less and less reliable as a filmmaker . \\nin his early years of film-making he mastered the simple comedy . \\nfrom there he went into a second phase and took risks experimenting with different approaches and styles . \\nsome of these work better than others . \\nzelig and crimes and misdemeanors are the work of a creative and intelligent artist . \\ndeconstructing harry goes to the other extreme and is a bizarre experiment demanding more of the viewer than it gives back . \\nharry block ( allen ) has in his life only two drives . \\nhe wants to have sex with as many women as possible and when he makes a mess of his life and those of his lovers he wants to retreat into his writing . \\nthe story of this static and highly unsympathetic character is told with a number of often clumsy stylistic experiments . \\nperhaps the most irritating device is to express the disjointedness of harry's life by editing harry's scenes putting in cuts in the middle as if to show missing time with something edited out . \\nas a writer , harry puts his friends into his books in the thinnest of disguises . \\nthe film dramatizes incidents from these supposed books and cuts between his real story line and fragments from harry's books with different actors playing the real and fictional people in harry's life . \\nthese fragments are frustrating in their lack of completion , but even more frustrating is the bringing of the characters out of the fragments into scenes with the real characters . \\nit is up to the viewer to keep track not just who is fictional and who is real but also to keep straight who is the fictional doppelganger of which real person . \\nif that sounds complicated , it is . \\nthen as another device in one of the stories , an actor seems to have the peculiar property that he has gone out of focus and can only be seen in blurry image . \\nharry sees this as a metaphor for his own condition and himself goes blurry for a short time . \\nas if these touches did not create sufficient confusion , the story is told out of chronological order . \\nif allen were giving the audience a story that was worth decoding , any and all of these stylistic touches could be excusable . \\nbut allen puts the audience through all of this to give us a portrait of harry block who is a selfish manipulator who is not worth the effort to understand . \\ndeconstructing harry is set at a time when harry's old college , the one that expelled him when he attended it , wants now to honor him for a lifetime of writing achievement . \\nharry is searching among his friends to find one who will go with him . \\njust why someone who is so unwilling to commit to a relationship with anyone suddenly needs the support of someone else is unclear . \\nharry tries his current girl friend fay ( elizabeth shue ) only to find that she is about to marry harry's old friend larry ( billy crystal ) . \\nblock would like his son hilly ( eric lloyd ) to accompany him , but hilly's mother , previously first harry's psychiatrist and more recently his wife , refuses to let her son see his father . \\nanother friend richard ( bob balaban ) would go but has health problems . \\nharry also considers bringing a prostitute cookie ( hazel goodman ) . \\nit is interesting that allen should introduce another likable prostitute so soon after mighty aphrodite , but cookie is considerably different--black and a lot brighter than mira sorvino's character in the previous film . \\nwhile the comedy sequences are never complete , a few are elaborate and some quite funny . \\nthe centerpiece of the film is a journey into hell with allen playing a sort of orpheus rescuing fay from the clutches of the devil , who looks a lot like larry . \\nthat story also is left uncompleted , perhaps to show harry's unwillingness to commit even to telling a story . \\nthe linchpin that was needed to tie together the stylistic quirks of this film was a central character who changes and who gives us something about which to care . \\nthat character is patently not the one allen creates in harry block and not the characters around harry as seen through his acerbic eyes . \\nallen can do much better than deconstructing harry . \\ni rate it a 3 on the 0 to 10 scale and a -1 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'plot outline - wendy ( samantha press ) , a jazz singer , loves mack ( hugo race ) a criminal and wanna be rock singer who\\'s planning a bank heist . \\nmack is also being tailed by a couple of cops , one an inexperienced rookie ( dominic sweeney ) , the other ( john flaus ) a worn out veteran who frequents wendy\\'s jazz club . \\nthey\\'re tailing mack , because he has an audiotape that may show evidence of governmental corruption . \\nmeanwhile wendy\\'s sexually awakener , fifteen year old sister ( rebecca elmaloglou ) has moved in with her , and is secretly watching mack and wendy\\'s late night love trysts ? much zaniness ensues \\nthe review : main problem first - about 2% of rood rock star to actor conversions in filmdom ever really work . \\nunfortunately , trying to cast hugo race as a violent , sexy criminal falls into the \" what the hell where they thinking \" category that takes up 98% of the rest . \\nbut , hell , it\\'s not as if he\\'s the only problem in this well-intentioned but ultimately below average aussie thriller . \\nleads , race and samantha press are wooden and dull , hampered by some unfortunate attempts at sexy dialogue early on . \\nthough they do manage some heat later in their love scenes , helped , no doubt by them keeping their mouths shut . \\nthe film suffers every time the story shifts back to these two . \\nwhich is unfortunately , the other main story isn\\'t any great shakes either . \\nthe second part , concerning two cops , political corruption and that elusive tape is incredibly muddled . \\nat many points during the movie i had no idea what was going on , a situation that didn\\'t improve on repeated viewing . \\nthere is no doubt that this film\\'s achilles heel is its script . \\nas for the rest of the cast , it\\'s a mixed bag . \\njohn flaus , one of australia\\'s most criminally underused actors , is in top form as the withering , alcoholic jazz fan cop , who may or may not have sold out to the highest bidder . \\nalthough he falters at one point , when the script calls for him to get up on stage and deliver a drunken beat sermon , but believe me , they way it was written , no one could have pulled it off . \\ndominic sweeney is fine , though he seems to be uneasy in front of the lens but he really isn\\'t given a whole lot to do . \\npre home and away elmaloglou is pretty good as the inquisitive jojo , but her character seems extraneous to the story , well , at least until the final scenes . \\ni must admit , in too deep does have some impressive qualities , not the least of which is it visual element . \\ncinematographers mark gilfedder & peter zakharov have achieved the almost impossible by making melbourne look like a sweat drenched tropic city , which is akin to turning london into san paolo . \\nthe bar is an oppressive red , like all of it\\'s patrons are being baked while they drink , outside it hazy orange by day and cool blue by night . \\nif only deborah parson\\'s script could have supported this idea better . \\nhaving two director\\'s ( colin south & john tatoulis ) doesn\\'t help either , the most glaring example of which is the final retribution/fight scene , where for some reason the camera pulls away from the onscreen action , and more importantly it doesn\\'t pull away to anything else . \\nit just stays static as the fight happens in the distance . \\nit has no reason to it ; it\\'s just bad direction . \\nand , ultimately , that is what sums up in too deep , it\\'s tries to be good , and you want it to work , but , it\\'s just lacking the talent behind it , that it needs to succeed . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'because no one demanded it : david duchovny in a romantic comedy ! \\nat last , both his romantic magnetism and his comedic brilliance are mined for all their resources ! \\nthe choice of duchovny may have something to do with the plot , which could be fodder for a valentine\\'s day episode of \" the x-files . \" \\nbob rueland ( david duchovny ) loses his wife elizabeth ( joely richardson ) in a car accident . \\nat the same time , grace briggs ( minnie driver ) is in the hospital , waiting for a heart transplant . \\ngrace gets elizabeth\\'s heart , and it leads her to bob . \\nit\\'s the romantic equivalent of all those horror films where someone gets a transplant from a serial killer and then is driven to slaughter people . \\nfour writers are credited with contributing to the story . \\nthat doesn\\'t seem possible . \\ndespite being a solid two hours long , \" return to me \" adds little to the \" boy meets girl / boy loses girl \" formula and , as a result , is terribly tedious and slow-moving . \\nduchovny and driver seem unable to generate any sparks , and i kept wishing for a fast-forward button to move their scenes along . \\nsince driver has managed to work well in romantic roles before , i blame duchovny . \\nhe\\'s out of his element without the manufactured and static sexual tension of his tv series ( and i\\'ve always thought that the relationship between mulder and scully on \" the x-files \" comes off more sibling-like than hot-and-bothered ) . \\nthere\\'s something about duchovny that makes me uneasy . \\nregardless of the role he\\'s playing , he comes off as a weirdo . \\nthe only redeeming quality of \" return to me \" is its hilarious supporting cast . \\nthe circle of friends and relatives around bob and grace is constantly playing matchmaker , and they generate the only laughs in the movie . \\ncarroll o\\'connor is grace\\'s grandfather marty o\\'reilly . \\nwhen bob comes into marty\\'s restaurant after hours , marty immediately begins quizzing bob about his marital status . \\nwhen marty discovers that bob is a widower , he invites bob to join his poker game and introduces him with the declaration , \" this is bob ! \\nhis wife is dead ! \" \\nthe poker buddies are just as desperate to find a mate for grace and greet bob enthusiastically when they hear the news . \\nalso funny : bonnie hunt as grace\\'s best friend megan and james belushi as megan\\'s husband joe . \\nmarried with children , megan and joe provide a useful counterpoint by showing the mundane results of romance . \\nalthough it\\'s rare to see him in a movie that premieres in a theater , belushi delivers his lines with great comic skill . \\nrounding out the impressive supporting cast are david alan grier as bob\\'s best friend and robert loggia as marty\\'s brother-in-law angelo . \\nin only the lead actors lived up to the standards set by the rest of the cast . \\nbottom line : if you are compelled to see this movie , watch it on video so you can fast-forward to scenes with carroll o\\'connor and james belushi . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'confession time : i have never , ever seen gone with the wind . \\ni don\\'t know why , really . \\nhaven\\'t wanted to check it out on video , haven\\'t been at home the nights it was on network tv , and it was too far to drive the last time it was on the big-screen . \\nso right up front , i\\'ll admit that i don\\'t know what the heck i\\'m talking about , but here goes . . . \\nis titanic the gone with the wind of the 1990\\'s ? \\nmaybe that\\'s going a little bit too far . \\nas good a job as leonardo dicaprio and kate winslet do in this movie , they\\'re no clark gable and vivien leigh . \\nbut . . . \\nthe parallels are there . \\ngwtw was the first movie to take real advantage of the most revolutionary technology available -- technicolor . \\ntitanic takes revolutionary steps forward in seamlessly integrating computer graphic design with actors . \\ngwtw places america\\'s greatest tragedy in the background of a classic love story , titanic does the same with the atlantic\\'s most legendary tragedy . \\nthey both have strong-willed redheaded heroines , they both exploit the class differences between the aristocracy and the slaves/steerage bums , they were both incredibly expensive and popular . . . \\nok , maybe that\\'s not enough parallels . \\nso titanic\\'s not in gwtw\\'s league . \\nno matter . \\ntitanic is a great movie in its own right , complete with spills , thrills and ( especially ) chills . \\nmuch has been made of the humongous cost of the production , and all of the care than went into making the huge luxury liner come alive again . \\nthe money was obviously well-spent . \\nthe costumes look great , the sets look great , the cgi graphics look great . \\ni especially liked the expensive little touches , like spending tons of money on authentic titanic china only to break it all on the floor as the ship sinks . \\nbut writer/director/producer james cameron\\'s real challenge in writing/directing/ producing titanic wasn\\'t just costuming and set design and special effects . \\ncameron\\'s major headache was keeping the audience interested in a tale where everybody knows the ending going in . \\nhe succeeds masterfully . \\ncameron does two things that work incredibly well . \\nfirst , he shows us modern-day salvage operations on titanic ( that\\'s just \" titanic \" , not \" the titanic \" , mind you ) . \\nthe first glimpse we get of titanic is the ship in its present state , corroding slowly away under the hammering pressure of the north atlantic , from the window of a minisub piloted by treasure hunter brock lovett ( bill paxton ) . \\ntelevision coverage of the exploration of titanic intrigues 101-year-old rose calvert ( gloria stuart ) , who survived the wreck in 1912 . \\nstuart does a phenomenal job in a brief role , narrating the story of her experience to a stunned paxton and his roughneck crew . \\nsecondly , cameron keeps the storyline focused almost exclusively on the rose character , and the romantic triangle between rose ( winslet ) , her bastard millionaire fiancee cal hockley ( billy zane ) and the irrepressible young artist jack daswon ( dicaprio ) . \\nthe way that big-budget disaster movies usually go wrong is to have an all-star cast , so we see the impact of the disaster on a wide group of people . \\ncameron wisely chooses to stick with rose and jack , while paying scant heed to the celebrities on board . \\nthe supporting cast is professional , but mostly anonymous -- other than kathy bates as the unsinkable molly brown , there\\'s no moment when you stop and say , oh , yeah , i know him , what\\'s he been in . \\n ( although i would like to have seen colm meaney in a white star uniform , or even as the ill-fated engineer . ) \\nthe love story itself is rather conventional . \\ni think some reviewers found it weak , and that may be a fair criticism . \\nthe performances are the key here . \\nzane has the meatiest part in the movie , and he plays the arrogant , condescending steel millionaire to the hilt . \\nhe\\'s smooth , he looks great in a tuxedo , and he\\'s a convincing enough jerk that the winslet-dicaprio relationship looks plausible . \\nat the moment when he sees a little girl too frightened to get aboard a lifeboat , you can hear the wheels in his mind turning , saying not \" can i save this little girl ? \" , \\nbut \" can she help me get on a lifeboat ? \" \\ndicaprio is a revelation . \\ni hadn\\'t seen him before in anything , and didn\\'t know what the heck to expect , really . \\n ( honestly , i expected a bad irish accent , but cameron evidently decided that was a bad idea , so dicaprio plays a poor american artist who wins a ticket in a poker game . ) \\ndicaprio exhibits an infectious joy at being alive , and being on the titanic , that it\\'s hard not to like him . \\nfrom the moment that the ship leaves port until it hits the iceberg , dicaprio has to carry the movie and keep our interest , and he never falters . \\nwinslet\\'s character grows up a lot during the movie , and so does her performance . \\nat first , she\\'s not required to do anything but wear period clothing and look drop-dead gorgeous . \\nwe know from the narration that she\\'s monstrously unhappy with her arranged marriage to zane , but there isn\\'t any expression of these feelings until she encounters dicaprio . \\nwinslet and dicaprio develop a chemistry that manages to propel the movie along until the ship hits the iceberg . \\nit\\'s at that moment where winslet\\'s character really comes alive . \\nfaced with real danger , she drops her spoiled-rich-girl mannerisms and does a splendid job . \\nas rose and jack race around the doomed ship , looking for shelter from the freezing water and cal\\'s fiery temper , winslet turns in a superb acting performance , mixing courage and compassion and anger with sheer shrieking terror . \\nof course , the most interesting character is the ship itself . \\ncameron has clearly fallen in love with titanic , and shows her in every mood -- as a deserted wreck , down in the boiler room , up on the bridge , down in the hold , at the captain\\'s table , down in steerage -- and manages to bring the great ship back from the dead . \\ncameron\\'s greatest gift is that he allows us to fall in love with titanic as well . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there are certain people in the world who have some talent that very few people have , but they chose not to take advantage of this for some personal reason . \\n \" good will hunting \" is about one of those people . \\nthe will hunting of the ( horrible ) title ( let\\'s face it , this film would be a bitch to title ) , played by co-writer matt damon , is a mathematical genius . \\nhe can do almost any mathematical connundrum in about the time it takes to brew a cup of irish cream cappuccino . \\nand he works at mit . . . as the janitor . \\none day , the professor of one of the most challenging courses , proffessor lambeau ( \" breaking the waves \" \\'s stellan skarsg ? rd ) , puts a big problem on the board for his students to attempt to complete . \\nthe next day , it\\'s already done on the board , but no one in his class claims to have done it . \\nso lambeau puts another problem on the board , this time one that took he and his colleagues over two years to prove . \\nand , duh , it\\'s done again . \\nof course , they catch the guy who did it red handed - will . \\nbefore lambeau can find will again ( he ran away when he caught him ) , will has gotten into a fight with a bunch of punks on a basketball court , and struck a police officer , so lambeau gets him out on probation with two agreements : a ) he work with him on math , and b ) he get some therapy . \\nafter going through some therapists whom he psyches out in one way or another ( for a hypnotist , he fakes being under his spell , then launches into an impromptu performance of the 70s classic , \" afternoon delight \" ) . \\nfinally , lambeau\\'s old college roomate , sean mcguire ( robin williams ) , a psych professor , agrees to treat him , and the two begin a rocky relationship , as sean tries to get will to open up . \\nturns out will had a rough childhood , being abandoned , and placed in foster homes and what not . \\nit also turns out that will does not want to do simple mathematics all his life ; he wants a challenge . \\nand that is to hang out with his buds ( including the other co-writer , ben affleck ) , and do honorable jobs , like construction . \\nis it right to make this genius follow in the footsteps of einstein and kasinsky ? \\nshould this guy be forced to do something he doesn\\'t want to do ? \\nthis appears to be one of the million questions in this film , which is jam-packed with greatness , but does not have the totally brilliant whole it should . \\ni\\'m not saying \" good will hunting \" is a bad film at all . \\nit\\'s a very enjoyable film with tons of great moments , and lots of great things about it . \\nthe acting is amazing , with two oscar-nomination-worthy performances from damon and williams , who have amazing chemistry together . \\nwe also get some great support from stellan skarsg ? rd ( great name ) , ben affleck , and from minnie driver , who plays will\\'s love interest , skylar . \\nthere are tons of individual moments that i adored . \\ni loved all the comedy in the film , especially a scene where damon proves a schmuck out of a college student who is quoting a historian to impress some chicks , his various attempts at therapy , and of course , my favorite scene in the entire film , the one where he delivers a long , exstensive rant to some nsa agents about the downside of working for them . \\ni liked the relationship between some of the people , like will and skylar , will and sean , sean and lambeau , and will and his friends . \\nthere are scenes between them which are just amazing to watch . \\nand there are even moments in the film which are so honest in their portrayal , that i felt rightfully uncomfortable . \\nlike the break-up scene between will and skylar , will and sean\\'s first meeting , a bar scene between sean and lambeau , and a scene where sean tells in detail how he doesn\\'t regret meeting his first wife , who would later suffer a slow , painful death , and leave him lonely and slightly bitter . \\nhowever , the main flaw of the film is there\\'s too much of everything , and not enough of it either . \\nthe film tries for deeper relations between the characters , but they\\'re sometimes either overwritten or underwritten . \\ntake for example the relationship between sean and will : the film gets an interesting father/son as well as doctor/patient relationship going with out any problems , but when it tries to show them as equals , it falls on its face . \\nwe hear how they went to the same town , and there are even scenes where the film shows how hypocritical both of them are at times . \\nbut this never takes off like the other parts of their relationship do . \\nalso , will\\'s relationship with his best friend , chuckie ( affleck ) , has a nice climax , but not enough rising action . \\nwe see them joking around , but when chuckie arrives at a decision between the two of them , it seems more like a superficial reasoning than a more selected one . \\ntheir relationship never goes beyond \" just best friends , \" and his decision just seems to be a generalization of any two best friends instead of something more . . . human . \\nmaybe it was just me . \\nand it also goes for a parallelism with the relationship between sean and lambeau , but that , again , is underwritten . \\nand , of course , as in most films like this , the girl/boy relationship is pretty underwritten . \\nwe never understand what they see in each other , so when skylar confesses that she loves him , it seems more like it\\'s there for plot details that anything else . \\nminnie driver is interesting , though , and breathes life into her character . \\nthe writing is a bit at fault here , but what makes all this worthwhile is the little moments in the film where it acheives true awesomeness . \\nsure , it feels overstuffed , but it\\'s extremely enjoyable . \\nthe dialogue that affleck and damon have written is amazingly fresh , and seems extremely human . \\ni think that they should get a nomination for their script chiefly because of the dialogue , which is amazing . \\nwhile this is probably director gus van sant\\'s most conservative film ( you\\'d hardly know it\\'s the same director of \" to die for , \" the only van sant film i\\'ve seen , really ) , it\\'s still a pretty remarkable film , albeit a tad overrated ( what\\'s this \" best picture \" deal ? ) . \\nand if a film puts a smile on my face despite posessing a lot of flaws , i have no problem with reccomending it to anyone . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'back in february at the monthly los angeles comic book and science fiction convention , new line cinema put on a lavish presentation for its big-screen update of the cult 1960s sci-fi tv show lost in space , complete with in-person appearances by cast members mimi rogers , matt leblanc , lacey chabert , jack johnson , and even gary oldman . \\nthat should have set off my warning alarms--the last time such an extravagant film presentation took place at the convention was nearly five years ago , when none other than arnold schwarzenegger made an in-person cameo to peddle . . . \\nlast action hero . \\nbut no , like millions of others , i bought into the hype and \" got lost . \" \\nif only i had gotten lost--literally--on the way to theatre and spared myself the tedium of this sloppily slapped-together blockbuster wannabe . \\nyou may find yourself wondering if director stephen hopkins and screenwriter akiva goldsman were lost themselves when they made the film . \\nat the convention , goldsman claimed to be a rabid fan of the original television series , and if that really is the case , i\\'d hate to see what he does with concepts he only has mild interest in . \\nto say that his script lacks narrative cohesion is to imply that there is a narrative to begin with--which there most certainly is not . \\nafter the setup , in which the robinson family--father john ( william hurt , looking and sounding as spaced out as he does in interviews ) , mother maureen ( rogers , wasted ) , daughters judy ( heather graham , ditto ) and penny ( a heavily made-up chabert , looking like a junior version of neve campbell in wild things ) , and son will ( young newcomer johnson , making the best of it ) --and pilot don west ( leblanc , doing a bad han solo impression ) find themselves lost in space after their ship is sabotaged by evil stowaway dr . smith ( a watered-down but still-lively oldman , cashing a paycheck and loving every minute ) , the script\\'s \" stream \" of events becomes so fragmented and random that it seems to be made up as it goes along--and hopkins does little to make what does go on the slightest bit interesting . \\nthey encounter another ship . \\nthey board it . \\nalien spiders attack them . \\nthey return to their ship . \\nthe other one explodes . \\nthey land on a deserted planet . \\nand so on . \\nan attempt at a plot involving time travel occurs in the third act , but goldsman doesn\\'t seem to understand the rules that come with using such a story device ; when one character\\'s past self dies , the future incarnation inexplicably lives on . \\nthe look and effects should be lost in space\\'s ace-in-the-hole , but hopkins even manages to botch that . \\nfor a big-budget film , the visual effects are incredibly shoddy . \\nin one composite background shot , i could see the blue outline around oldman ; the various digital effects for the space battle scenes look like . . . \\ndigital effects . \\nbut nothing in those shots is as jaw-droppingly unconvincing as blawp , a monkey-like space creature that becomes penny\\'s pet . \\nentirely computer-generated and every inch showing it , blawp looks like it was lifted directly from a sony playstation game . \\napparently hopkins thought the same and tried desperately to hide it ; how else can one explain the graininess of blawp\\'s composite shots with the human actors ? \\nbut in doing so , the seams are that much more obvious . \\nyou have to be severely visually impaired to not be distracted when a grainy shot of penny and blawp is immediately followed by a crystal-clear solo reaction shot of judy . \\nnew line is hoping lost in space will become a big franchise much like the long-running star trek cash cow at paramount . \\ni don\\'t think so . \\nin a few years , the lost in space movie will likely live on not as a series but as the obscure answer to a trivia question : what film ended titanic\\'s 15-week reign at the top of the weekend box office ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'on the basis of this film alone , i never would have predicted that , in two years , quentin tarantino would become the country\\'s biggest hotshot director . \\nreservoir dogs has hints of the tarantino brilliance that emerged in pulp fiction , but is a much less substantive , more conventional crime story than the big pf . \\nhere\\'s what the two movies do have in common . . . \\n--scenes of intelligent , amusing dialogue with no relevance to the plot --a story that jumps back and forth in time rather than going in a logical , chronological sequence --graphic yet necessary violence --an engaging crime story --dialogue liberally spiced with swear words and racial/gender slurs --three of the same actors ( harvey keitel , tim roth and steve buscemi ) --a mexican standoff ending , although this one is considerably less optimistic than pf \\nreservoir dogs is an entire hour shorter than pulp fiction because it\\'s only got one story to tell rather than three . \\ncrime lord joe cabot ( veteran actor lawrence tierney ) has assembled five criminals who have never even met each other to pull a diamond store heist . \\nthe five are instructed not to reveal their real names or personal details or anything the cops could use if one of them was captured and interrogated . \\ninstead , they are all given code names off the color chart -- mr . white ( keitel ) , mr . pink ( buscemi ) , mr . orange ( roth ) , mr . blonde ( michael madsen ) , mr . brown ( tarantino ) and mr . peach ( tarantino\\'s chin ) . \\nmost of the movie\\'s running time is spent with mr . white and pink waiting at a warehouse for the others to arrive . \\nmr . orange , meanwhile , is on the floor , dying from a gunshot wound . \\nthe police had arrived at the scene of the crime way too soon , leading white to believe one of the five was an informant . \\nthe story\\'s background unfolds through a series of flashbacks , of the crime itself and the meetings between joe and the criminals prior to the crime . \\neventually , blonde arrives with a police officer hostage , and what follows is a truly brutal , uncomfortable torture scene . \\nlet\\'s just say picasso would be inspired by what blonde does to the cop\\'s ear . \\na lot of the time , reservoir dogs seems like your typical gangster heist-gone-wrong movie , but there are a few sequences that are uniquely tarantino . \\nthe opening scene in the coffee shop starts the movie off on a high note the rest of it doesn\\'t live up to , as the criminals plus joe have a conversation on , among other things , tipping philosophies and their interpretations of madonna\\'s \" like a virgin . \" \\nanother scene involves roth\\'s lengthy manufactured story about running into a group of cops and a police dog in a bus station bathroom while carrying a giant bag of marijuana . \\nneither of these have much plot relevance but are given ample time to develop , like the captain koons gold watch speech in pulp fiction , only here these sequences are more enjoyable than the rest of the movie . \\nreservoir dogs is good but it\\'s no pulp fiction . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the central focus of michael winterbottom\\'s \" welcome to sarajevo \" is sarajevo itself , the city under siege , and its different effect on the characters unfortunate enough to be stuck there . \\nit proves the backdrop for a stunningly realized story which refreshingly strays from mythic portents ( \" platoon \" ) , racial tumultuosness ( the risible \" the walking dead \" ) or a tinge of schmaltziness ( \" schindler\\'s list \" ) . \\nthe two leads , stephen dillane as a reporter and emira nusevic as an orphan with a plight few can identify with , are extremely believable ; not one moment with them involved rings false . \\nthe question is not what went right . \\nthe question is what went wrong . \\nfor one , the film fails to provide a political overview of the war as it progresses ( the dillane characters reports an american plane departing from sarajevo as it departs , and that\\'s about it . ) . \\nthe assortment of high-profile supporting actors , ranging from woody harrelson as a yankee reporter \" into \" liquor and cigarrettes to marisa tomei as a huggable children\\'s aid or somesuch are incapable of rising above the sketchiness of their characters , albeit they strive . \\nthe interrupted use of authentic war footage somewhat hampers the rest of the film , it makes the fictional characters seem powerless by comparison . \\nstill , winterbottom eschews mawkishness through flashy , frantic editing and imaginative use of music . \\nand it\\'s a plus , because he doesn\\'t toy with our emotions with sentimental blandness . \\nhe wants us to know that in war , no one is victorious . \\nthe sweet hereafter \\nstarring ian holm , sarah polley , bruce greenwood , tom mccamus , gabrielle rose , arsinee khanjian , alberta watson , maury chaykin , caerthan banks . \\nproduced by atom egoyan and camelia frieberg . \\nscript by atom egoyan ( based on the novel by russell banks ) . \\ndirected by atom egoyan . \\nrunning time : 110 mins . \\nrated r . __________________________________________________________ \\natom egoyan\\'s powerfully meditative \" the sweet hereafter \" is as anything as haunting and transcendental as i\\'ve seen this year . \\nit not only explores the aftermaths of a terrible tragedy with magnificent subtlety , with cold , and stunning shots of the backdrop of this mistfortune but also by telegraphing the sense of devastation that has permeated the small town with an enormous amount of dignity and respect for each and every soul affected . \\nian holm as the somber , lonely lawyer seeking compensation for the townspeople , has a decency and a restraint uncommon with lawyers , he\\'s a lion for the wrong reasons : the pain for having lost his daughter ( she\\'s a druggie who frequently calls him begging for money ) is reflected on the town . \\nand in some mesmerizing flashbacks , we witness how she lost her purity . \\nit\\'s one of the most strikingly breathtaking takes on the loss of innocence i\\'ve ever seen . \\nbut the most astounding part goes to sarah polly , the peaceful , benevolent girl who , in contrast to the other characters , remains the most mentally stable during past , present or future . \\nher ability to convey concealed pain and unconditional love is the opposite , yet near-revolutionary role that won emily watson an oscar nomination for \" breaking the waves \" . \\nboth women are torn apart by an extraordinary incident but it is only then that we truly see , truly feel , their wordless , omnipotent love . \\n \" the sweet hereafter \" though , is atom egoyan\\'s movie and as of now , he is emerging as the definite face of independent cinema . \\nafter surging to worldwide recognition with 1994\\'s \" exotica \" , \" the sweet hereafter \" makes him something few people in this industry can call themselves : an artist . \\nhe interweaves time with a delicacy and sees a soul with a purity that is just not common . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"curdled is a deliciously dark and witty black comedy , but its humour won't appeal to everyone . \\nto be specific , let me give you an example . \\ndo you know in pulp fiction where jules and vincent go on brain detail after marvin and his head accidentally get separated ? \\nif you thought that was completely tasteless and unfunny , don't see curdled . \\non the other hand , if you found that sequence to be pretty funny , you have the sense of humour that curdled is aimed at . \\nour film's heroine , gabriela , played by angela jones , is a woman obssessively curious about murder and serial killers ; she even keeps a scrapbook of news articles . \\nluckily for her , miami is being plagued by a serial killer rampage - her scrapbook is getting pretty big . \\nthe killer's nickname in the press is the blue blood killer , because he preys on older rich socialite women , and he's played by william baldwin ( this is not a spoiler ) . \\none particularly striking m . o . \\non the blue blood killer is his propensity to decapitate his victims . \\ngabriela is watching television one day when she spots an advertisement for a firm whose line of work is perfectly attuned to her interests . \\nshe immediately quits her job , and signs on with pfcs , which stands for post-forensic cleaning service . \\nno points for guessing what they do . \\nher workmates are confused by gabriela's fascination with murder ; to them , it's just a day job . \\nthere's a hilarious locker room scene where they debate whether decapitated heads can talk , and what they would say . \\ngabriela's partner , elena , played by mel gorham , is particularly perturbed by gabriela's wide-eyed fascination , and becomes really upset when gabriela volunteers them to clean up the blue blood killer's latest scene - they're the messiest , you see . \\nunbeknownst to them , the last victim left something on the scene which would id the blue blood killer , so he's also heading over there . . \\nthe comparison to pulp fiction earlier on was not accidental - quentin tarantino executive-produced this film , which began life as a short film he saw at a film festival . \\napparently tarantino was so impressed that he helped braddock convert this into a feature-length film . \\nthere are other parallels - the star of curdled is angela jones ( the top billing goes to william baldwin , but really , jones is the central character ) , who's probably best known for her role as esmerelda villalobos , the death-obssessed taxi driver in pulp fiction . \\nthat role was written specifically for jones based upon her similar character in the aforementioned short film , curdled jr . \\njones is great in curdled - she's wonderfully funny and maintains an amusing wide-eyed naive curiousity about murder without compromising her character's innocence or likeability . \\nshe can express so much with one lift of her eyebrow . \\nit's a great performance . \\nreb braddock's direction is extremely sharp and clever , toeing the line between black humour and bad taste . \\nthe best scene in the film is an outrageously funny sequence involves jones and dancing - any more than that would be a spoiler . \\nthe opening credit sequence is also inventive and amusing . \\nof course , it's impossible to really take this stuff seriously , but then again you're not really supposed to - braddock knows the audience is in on the joke , and makes it a fun little romp as a result . \\nthe one drawback of curdled is that it was based on a short film , and it feels like it ; the material is just stretched too thin in order to fulfill a feature length running time , and some parts just seem to drag . \\nwhile its running time is already a short 94 minutes , it could really stand to lose twenty minutes or so to give it better pacing . \\ncurdled seems destined to be a nice cult film for miramax . \\nit'll be interesting to see if it will appeal to mainstream audiences as well . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'movie reviewers have an obligation to see the good , the bad , and the despicable . \\ni originally wrote this review for my college newspaper back in \\'95 , but i wanted to re-write it because not all retro reviews should be about the classics . \\nwe need to be warned about some truly awful films , too . \\nthis picture was so bad , it inspired the description for my 1/10 rating ( see ratings chart below ) . \\nthe only thing saving it from a 0/10 rating is that being able to rent a movie like this is slightly less embarassing than renting a porno . \\nso , it does indeed have some plusses . . . \\nin fairness , elizabeth berkley is certainly worth seeing in the buff . \\nand her ability to whine and irritate us , even while nude , was appropriate in her role as selfish temptress nomi malone . \\nthis character is not smart , not interesting , and ( deliberately ? ) \\nfar too annoying far too often . \\nlike in 1998s \" bulworth \" , when the movie was over i didn\\'t care one little iota about the main character . \\nat least warren beatty tried to make a statement with his dreary and overrated film , though . \\n \" showgirls \" is too stupid to make a statement . \\nsome people claim that the story is based on the legendary \" all about eve \" of all things ! \\nif exploitation expert joe eszterhas was half the screenwriter that joseph l . mankiewicz was , he\\'d be . . . well , \\nhe\\'d be a good screenwriter . \\ninstead , this project may have sunk his career . \\nhe wrote the ( ha ha ! ) \\nscript and the usually reliable paul verhoeven directed . \\nthe same team who created a good sex-film in 1992 ( \" basic instinct \" ) struck out here with their occasional violence , gratuitous x-rated sex scenes , and numerous ( and quite unnecessary ) lesbian overtones . \\nthe predictable storyline revolves around nomi streaking into las vegas to make it big as a dancer . \\nafter the supposed street-smart young \" lady \" gets conned out of her suitcase by a slack-jawed yokel in the opening sequence , she befriends a tailor of the glamorous stage production at the \" stardust hotel \" . \\nnomi doesn\\'t take advantage of this contact to break into the big-time of dirty dancing right away . \\nfirst , she becomes a lap dancer at a scummy strip club . \\nshe sells her hot little wares at \" the cheetah \" for a short time , turning on the fictitious customers and the actual theatre audience . \\nhey , i never said she wasn\\'t a hot number . . . \\nmaybe it\\'s that , her body , which gets her into the big-time when the star of the \" stardust hotel \" , crystal connors ( gina gershon ) stops into the strip club ( it certainly isn\\'t her brains or pleasant disposition ! ) . \\ncrystal requests a private lap dance for her boyfriend ( kyle maclachlan ) . \\nhe also happens to be the pleasure-seeking worm who runs the big show . \\ncrystal gets nomi onto the \" stardust \" team and , after an interminable amount of time , nomi \" earns \" the role of crystal\\'s understudy . \\nthe slut then deliberately injures and hospitalizes crystal . \\nit was almost laughable that nomi had the guts to claim that she\\'s \" not a whore \" . \\nthat\\'s a phrase we hear a few different times and it\\'s completely ludicrous . \\nof course she is ! \\nshe sells her soul to make it big , but in the end we\\'re supposed to believe that she\\'s a better person than that . \\nwe\\'re supposed to root for her . \\nno way ! \\nshe\\'s a tramp and a back-stabber who deserved nothing--least of all vindication in the . . . ahem . . . climax . \\nshe is not a good person and they take over two hours to explain that the audience should think that she is . \\nthe sub-plot with a male dancer ( glenn plummer ) who claims to see talent in nomi is just a gratuitous opportunity to let her dance naked a little bit more . \\nit sure ain\\'t character development ! \\nplummer also appeared in \" speed \" in \\'94 in a smaller , yet better role . \\nthis sub-plot goes absolutely nowhere except maybe to deliver an unsubtle hint that fornicators should practice birth control . \\nkyle maclachlan must have been promised a big pay-day or his standards have dipped since appearing in \" blue velvet \" . \\nthat picture was weird , but some critics claim it\\'s one of the best movies of the \\'80s . \\nnow ol\\' kyle can say that he acted in one of the worst of the \\'90s , too . \\nhis sleazy character is important to \" showgirls \" , but we don\\'t learn anything about him . \\nhe uses people to get what he wants , but that only means that he fits in well with the other characters in this movie . \\nis he a villain ? \\nwho cares ! \\nultimately , this movie is as tiresome as it is explicit . \\neveryone must know by now about the soft-core acts of copulation , especially the riotous romp between berkley and maclachlan in his pool . \\nwhat few reviewers take issue with is how mean-spirited this movie is . \\neveryone\\'s either having sex , exacting revenge , or wishing they were having sex or exacting revenge . \\nit\\'s just too hard to take ( especially for over two hours ) . \\nif we must be exposed to the evils of the vegas world , why couldn\\'t verhoeven have also made a point of highlighting the whispers , grunts , and other sounds during the dance numbers ? \\nit\\'s hard to care about these people if we can\\'t even appreciate what they\\'re capable of doing on-stage . \\nberkley may have a future in hollywood because she can dance and she has a great body . \\nafter all , the world of porn is still an active , dishonourable profession . \\nperhaps berkley could join their ranks and leave the real acting to pauly shore and cindy crawford . \\noops , they\\'re bad actors , too . \\nwell , at least , they\\'re not selfish and contemptable like good ol\\' slutty nomi malone . \\nuseless trivia--ironically , elizabeth berkley played virtuous and \" holier than thou \" jessie on the teeny-bopper tv show , \" saved by the bell \" , before breaking onto the big screen . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'let\\'s face it : the $100 million-plus smash that was \" goldeneye \" was not a good film by any means , and as a bond movie was only marginally better than , say , \" a view to a kill \" or either of the timothy dalton pictures , by virtue of nice pacing . \\nbut it did revive the series , and granted the producers some new directions in which to take the it ( ie . \\nthe new \" m \" is a woman ) . \\n \" tomorrow never dies \" is the picture \" goldeneye \" should have been ; it\\'s also the most entertaining bond outing since \" the spy who loved me \" . \\nthe new picture opens with china considering war with britain after a standard military operation is misconstrued as a hostile threat from an english submarine . \\nas an attack occurs , the front-page headline is already being prepared , courtesy of carver media . \\ncarver ( pryce ) the man is a deluded magnate , a sort of hybrid of ted turner , bill gates , and peter sellars\\' german scientist from \" dr . \\nstrangelove \" ( physically , pryce even recalls sellars in his kubrick days ) . \\nit\\'s up to james bond to take him down , with assistance , of course , from a wealth of gadgets ( including a multi-purpose cell phone ) , and beautiful women . \\nenter michelle yeoh , fresh from \" supercop \" , as a chinese secret agent with her own agenda ; with effortless grace , she cat burgles , dispatches baddies seemingly with the ease of preparing pasta , and refuses the advances of our philandering hero . \\nthey make a great team . \\n \" tomorrow never dies \" is a surprisingly entertaining and efficient film , given that at the helm is none other than the director of \" turner & hooch \" . \\nspottiswoode has crafted some breathtaking set pieces , each much more intricate and impressive than , for instance , the tank scene in \" goldeneye \" . \\nmoreover , brosnan has at last settled into the role some feel he was born to play ; last time out , the fate of the franchise rested on his shoulders , and there was noticeable discomfort in his body language . \\nreturned in brosnan\\'s eyes has some of the playfulness he demonstrated for so many years on tv\\'s \" remington steele \" , as has his deadpan wit . \\nand though carver\\'s motives are muddy ( when carver explains that \" genius is insanity with some success \" , screenwriter fierstein is taking a lazy shortcut ) , pryce makes an agreeable , memorable villain . \\nin the future , they should pursue actors as talented and experienced as pryce to breathe life into these cardboard figures . \\nthere a few too many explosions in \" tomorrow never dies \" , perhaps so many they qualify as dialogue . \\nand it could have used a sharper script , though i was amused by the double entendres , none of which i will reveal here . \\nas it stands , the plot suffers many holes ( i\\'m not taking about implausibilities ) , and the dialogue tends towards the hackneyed . \\nnow that the elements are in place : modern special effects and stunt work , cool pierce brosnan , kickass female allies . . . \\nit\\'s time to put them to use in something truly special . \\nthere\\'s no mistaking , however , that \" tomorrow never dies \" is ideal holiday escapism , and for the first time in perhaps years , you\\'ll walk out wanting more bond movies . \\n-reviewed december 17 , 1997 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this summer , one of the most racially charged novels in john grisham\\'s series , a time to kill , was made into a major motion picture . \\non january 3 of this year , director rob reiner basically re-released the film under the title of ghosts of mississippi . \\nbased on the true story of 1963 civil rights leader medgar evars\\' assassination , ghosts of mississippi revolves around the 25-year legal battle faced by myrlie evars ( whoopi goldberg , sister act ) and her quest to have her husband\\'s obvious assassin and racist byron de la beckwith ( james woods , casino ) jailed . \\nso she turns to assistant district attorney and prosecutor bobby delaughter ( alec baldwin , heaven\\'s prisoners ) to imprison the former kkk member . \\nghosts sets its tone with an opening montage of images from african-american history , from slave-ship miseries to life in the racist south of the 1960\\'s . \\nbut all too soon , the white folks take over , intoning lines like \" what\\'s america got to do with anything ? \\nthis is mississippi ! \" \\nas beckwith , james woods , with his head larded with latex most of the time as an old man , teeters between portraying evil and its character . \\nmeanwhile , goldberg turns in a very serious and weepy performance as the wife who wouldn\\'t let her husband\\'s death rest until she got the conviction . \\nboth deserve serious oscar-consideration . \\nthis brings us to the dull performance of baldwin . \\nlet\\'s face it , trying to match matthew mcconaughey\\'s wonderful acting in a time to kill is basically impossible . \\nand baldwin is living proof of this , as no emotions could be felt . \\nit seemed as if he actually had to struggle to shed a single tear . \\neither poor acting or poor directing , but something definitely went wrong . \\nanother strange mishap was the fact that goldberg\\'s facial features didn\\'t change , as she looked the same in the courtroom as she did holding her husband\\'s dead body 25-years earlier . \\nyet woods\\' was plastered with enough make up to make him look like goldberg\\'s father . \\nat least the make-up was realistic . \\nwith some emotional moments in the poorly written script , ghosts of mississippi lacked in heart , when its predecessor , a time to kill , brought tears to everyone\\'s eyes . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , the movie wasn\\'t all that bad , but if you\\'ve seen grisham\\'s masterpiece , then don\\'t expect this one to be an excellent film . \\n , \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i went to blair witch project 2 : book of shadows with the highest of hopes . \\nthe original film , released last summer , was genuinely scary and terrifying ; i hoped that this movie would live up to its predecessor . \\nunfortunately , my hopes were soon dashed . \\nas the movie opens , the audience is shown pseudo-documentary clips of burkittsville , maryland residents being interviewed about the sudden tourist influx to their town as a result of the original blair witch project movie . \\nit\\'s a mostly humorous , self-aware poke at the media hype and hysteria surrounding the first film . \\nduring this segment , we are introduced to the protagonist , a young man who sells blair witch-related memorabilia from his website . \\nthe movie then cuts to a title that informs us that what we are about to see occurred one year previously . \\nwe see the same young man that was selling blair witch paraphernalia , but now he is confined in a mental institution the sort of which one only finds in bad horror movies . \\nwe see him having some sort of disgusting white goo unconvincingly forced down his nose while a cigarette-smoking doctor luridly leers above him . \\nwe see him throwing himself wildly around a padded room ; we see him cowering naked in a shower stall as a fire hose is turned on him . \\nno explanation is provided for why he is in the mental institution ; in fact , these scenes are barely referred to again . \\ni had a sinking feeling during these opening scenes ; generally , a hospital scene that is set with poor lighting , filthy interiors , and evil doctors is a sure sign that you are in the throes of a truly horrible movie . \\nthe movie cuts again , this time to the present . \\nthe young man , whose name is jeffrey ( played by jeffrey donovan -- as in the first movie , the character names are identical to the actors\\' names , although this movie admits up front that it is fictional , so there\\'s no reason for the practice this time around ) , is rounding up a group of people that he will be leading into the woods that weekend for the \" blair witch hunt , \" which is a promotional gimmick he came up with and sells on his website . \\nwe meet tristen and steven , a young couple who are writing a book about the blair witch experience . \\nsteven is a skeptic , believing the whole thing to be the result of mass hysteria . \\ntristen , on the other hand , believes that there may be some truth to the rumors of supernatural occurrence . \\nshe is wan and soft-spoken ; she complains that the radio is playing too loudly . \\n ( she also complains that she feels nauseated ; i knew immediately that the character was pregnant , and my intuition was confirmed a few scenes later when kim psychomagically susses it out . \\nhow did i know ? \\nbecause in bad movies , nauseated women are always pregnant . ) \\nthe fourth member of their party is erica , a wiccan with flowing hair and wide eyes who wants to prove that the blair witch was a good witch , not evil . \\nthey pick up the fifth and final team member in a cemetery . \\nkim is dressed completely in black , has extreme goth-style makeup on , and occasionally displays seemingly psychic abilities , but otherwise seems to be the most intelligent and reasonable person out of the entire bunch . \\npresumably she wanted to be picked up in the cemetery just for dramatic effect ; it\\'s never explained . \\nthe party of five heads off into the woods as promised . \\nthey reach the crumbling ruins of the foundation of rustin parr\\'s house and set up camp , complete with extensive video equipment with which to record the night\\'s events . \\nthere is a brief encounter with a rival blair witch tour group who had planned to camp at that site as well , but after a few words are exchanged , the rival group huffs off and makes camp elsewhere . \\nthe movie veers off at this point to spend many long , long minutes showing the drinking party that ensues after the sun goes down . \\nsexual innuendoes are tossed around , much hard liquor , beer , and pot is consumed , and nothing much else happens . \\nthis would be a great point to get up and go to the bathroom if necessary . \\nthe next day , the team wakes up and discovers that their camera equipment has been completely trashed , and that steven and tristen\\'s manuscript paper is fluttering down from the sky in shreds , like snow . \\nthe videotapes are missing , but thanks to a psychic intuition from kim , they discover the videotapes buried underneath the foundation of the house , \" right where the original blair witch tapes were found ! \" \\nooh . \\nspooky . \\nthe team goes back to jeffrey\\'s house -- a creepy old civil war-era warehouse in the heart of the woods -- to regroup and review the tapes . \\nthey soon discover that the tapes mysteriously skip five hours of the night . \\nwacky hijinks ensue . \\ntristen starts having weird dreams in which she is the blair witch , everybody starts finding these weird rune-like burn marks on their bodies , steven and erica have some highly disturbing mutual hallucinations , and everything pretty much goes to hell in a handbasket . \\nthroughout the entire ordeal , jeffrey and the others continue to scrutinize the videotapes , which seem to have some kind of weird images on them at about the point that the time jumps ; eventually tristen wanders in , mutters something about \" reverse , \" and from this they somehow realize that they have to play the tapes backwards . \\nwhen they do this , they discover what really happened during the five lost hours . \\n ( one of the things they see on the videotape is footage of themselves burying the videotapes . \\nokay , if the videotapes were being buried , then how were they recording themselves . . . oh , \\nnevermind . ) \\nthis movie was awful . \\nsimply awful . \\nthe characters are broadly-drawn caricatures that are never allowed any depth or development . \\nerica is the nature-loving wiccan . \\ntristen is the weak and sympathetic woman . \\nsteven is the overbearing asshole . \\nkim is the antisocial goth girl . \\nold , tired cliches were used to illustrate these caricatures . \\nhow do we know tristen is weak and sympathetic ? \\nbecause she\\'s pregnant ! \\nhow do we know kim is an antisocial goth girl ? \\nbecause she wears a lot of eye makeup ! \\nhow do we know the local sheriff is a bad guy ? \\nbecause he has jagged teeth and talks like he\\'s straight out of \" deliverance \" ! \\nthis is weak storytelling at its worst . \\nrather than taking the time to flesh out the characters and make them truly sympathetic , the writer chose to give each one a few stereotypical characteristics , in an attempt to use some cinematic shorthand and thereby skip straight to the action . \\nit didn\\'t work . \\non top of being poorly developed , most of the characters were either seriously unlikable or patently stupid . \\n ( \" honey , you just had a miscarriage out in the woods and got medical attention at a hospital that looks like it belongs in a bad slasher movie . \\nlet\\'s get on a plane home . \" \\n \" no . \\ni am having these bizarre nightmares and seeing strange visions and i want to find out what\\'s going on . \" \\n \" ok . \" ) \\nfrankly , by the end of the movie , i was rooting for the witch . \\ni also felt that there was simply too much blood \\'n\\' gore in this film . \\nthe first movie worked by never showing us the horror . \\nthe witch was a palpable presence in that movie , but we never saw it ; we never saw anything , in fact . \\nthe horror was all off-screen , and thus our imaginations worked overtime to envision what it might possibly be . \\nthis is the hallmark of a truly creepy and disturbing horror movie . \\nblair witch 2 dispensed with such niceties and went straight for the gross-out . \\nthis was evident from the opening scenes of the mad doctors forcing white goo down jeffrey\\'s throat , and continued throughout the film as the audience is treated to occasional confusing and disorienting footage of what appears to be a ritual massacre of some sort . \\nknives plunge into flesh , bloody fingers trail off into the darkness , and none of it is explained until the very end , when it was too late for me to care . \\nthis movie didn\\'t stop with showing us the gore , either ; it went for broke and showed us everything . \\nby the end of the movie , there are no questions remaining about the missing five hours . \\nit is all explained ; in fact , it is all shown on-screen in loving detail . \\ni confess to being someone who prefers horror movies in which you never see the monster , or see only brief glimpses , mere suggestions of what the monster is ; it is not because i find the monster so terrifying , but because i find the absence of the monster to be infinitely more terrifying . \\ni have seen interviews with the director in which he suggested that there is no \" monster , \" that all of the evil was perpetrated only by the human mind . \\ni found this to be a miserably poor explanation ; if it was in fact the director\\'s intent , then he needs to have some words with the writer , because it was not made clear at all . \\n ( i know a lot of people who like to go to parties and get drunk and stoned out of their minds ; none of them has ever gone on a murderous rampage and then experienced mass hallucinations with a group of other people for the next week or so . \\nand if there was no witch , then what about the vanishing tree ? \\nthe snowfall of manuscript paper ? \\nhm ? ) \\nblair witch 2 : book of shadows was a horrible movie . \\nfrom the poorly-written characters to the implausible story to the plot inconsistencies to the gross-out shots , it was a bad effort through and through . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'andrew lloyd webber\\'s musicals , preferably his early work with lyricist tim rice , present a musical which is totally unlike any musical before its time . \\nwebber and rice do not subscribe to the gaity of such musicals as \" oklahoma ! , \" or the slapstickness of shows like \" a funny thing happened on the way to the forum . \" \\nthey instead tackle hot issues from our past , and view them differently , and pack them together with redundant , catchy music , as well as thoughtful lyrics . \\nlike \" jesus christ superstar , \" which examined the rise and fall of jesus in his last days from a fame perspective ( in the cool tune \" superstar , \" a dead judas comes back from the dead to ask jesus why he didn\\'t spread his message wider ) , \" evita \" takes an inventive stance on its topic , this time being the famed wife of argentinian dictator , juan per ? n , eva , who slept her way to the top and became famous chiefly because she got attention , much like the woman playing her : madonna ( although i think madonna did rise to the top for her musical talent , among other things ) . \\n \" evita \" deals with the rise and fall of eva per ? n , a woman who captured the heart of the nation after marrying juan ( jonathan pryce ) , then died at the young age of 33 , creating an international stir of mourning not unlike that of princess di ( the two do share a bit in common , although it wasn\\'t like di slept to \" the top \" ) . \\nwebber and rice sure chose bizarre topics for their musicals , but they always have a point for doing it . \\nhere , they wish to expose her for what she is , but still show that despite all of her many drawbacks , her lying , and covering up for her fascist husband , but show that she was still a good woman with fairly good intentions , and her death was very sad . \\nit\\'s also a musical , with almost no words not unsung . \\nthe film plays like a rock opera , much like their \" jesus christ superstar , \" with many giant musical sequences just like the old musicals , even if they do possess very intelligent lyrics , which create not only an intellectually enlightening experience , but also a very entertaining one . \\nafter all , this is a musical , and webber\\'s musicals never undermine this . \\nthey are a balance of energy and intellectual depth , walking on a fine line between the both , and never stumbling on either side . \\nthis is why the beginning of \" evita \" is kind of a let-down . \\nokay , it is a let-down . \\ni\\'m not saying the opening moments are bad , because they\\'re pretty good . \\nbut what comes after is a lifeless , un-entertaining , and totally unrewarding sequence where she cons a singer ( jimmy nail ) into taking eva to buenos aires after a one-night stand . \\nin the musical , it\\'s a fun , energetic sequence , culiminating in the show stopper , \" buenos aires , \" which is also lifeless . \\nthen a punch is pulled as we see eva being screwed over by the singer , instead of her leaving him , where she ends up singing the sad tune , \" another suitcase in another hall , \" which was meant for a later character , screwed over by eva . \\nthe portrayal of eva in the beginning is too soft , seeming like parker and oliver stone , who adapted it for the screen , are afraid to present her for what she is , even while it\\'s being narrated by a hater of eva\\'s , the omnipotent ( antonio banderas ) , who presents her in a negative light . \\nfor a while , it looks like alan parker can\\'t pull it off . \\nhowever , the film pulls itself together in a flash , and after that song is over , and the giddily nihilistic song \" goodbye and thank you , \" where we see eva go through a long line of lovers who help her ascend , is magnificent , darkly comical , and just gleeful . \\nfrom this point on , the film is hypnotic , satisfying , and satirical . \\nno more punches are thrown , and the basic outline of the original musical are in tact . \\nwe see eva woo and marry juan , get him out of jail , rise to stardom , falter a bit , come back , and then gradually die of cancer ( i think it was because of cancer ) . \\nmore importantly , many of the themes from the musical carry on with this , as well as some filling-in-the-gaps reconnassaince work . \\njuan , who is pretty underwritten in the musical , is given some extra scenes , and exposed as what he was for eva : an accessory . \\na muted scene where he tries to visit her respective room but is shunned allows us to learn more about juan , and understand his sadness more than we did before . \\n>from the \" goodbye and thank you \" number on , the film shows eva trying to cover up for the horrible government by doing cheap and petty things which wooed a nation , and saved a government , even while it left the nation\\'s people downtrodden . \\nbut despite this , the nation still loved eva , and when she slipped into death , the world mourned her because she was a star . \\nthat\\'s when our narrator , ch ? , comes out to show that she wasn\\'t the great woman she really was , and expose her fame . \\ndescribing this character is difficult , mainly because he has no real realistic background ( he\\'s said to be based on the revolutionary ch ? guevera , but the two probably could have never met , like they do in the film ) , but he serves as a perspective on eva , but even his perspective can\\'t help us from feeling bad when eva dies a pathetic death . \\nalan parker , no stranger to bizarre musicals ( he\\'s done \" fame , \" \" the committments , \" \" bugsy malone , \" and \" pink floyd the wall \" - the latter which is absolutely brilliant ) , nails the film , exposing everything for what it is . \\nwe cry for evita at the end because we feel we should , by the way it is presented . \\nhis direction is manipulative for a reason : to show the mourning for what it is . \\nand there is energy throughout , with lots of bright colors , and scenes which are cinematically entertaning , as well as enriching and deep , such as the balcony scene where she sings \" don\\'t cry for me , argentina , \" and her death sequence , which is poignant becuase of how sad it is . \\nmadonna\\'s golden globe winning performance is much like the movie : starts kinda downhill then goes up quickly , remaning there for the rest of the film . \\nat the beginning , she looks like she\\'s too busy concentrating on her singing to act , but she eventually gets it right , though never really getting the presence of , say , patti lupone ( who did the role in its american premiere back in the late 70s ) . \\nher death , though , is brilliant . \\nher singing could be better though . \\ni know she took lessons to improve her range and all , but it still sounds like she\\'s trying to hard . \\nshe sounds way too soft in several places where she should be comanding ( like . . . patti \\nlupone - i heard her sing on an old \" evita \" cd , and you could just feel her stage presence without even seeing her ) . \\nbut it\\'s generally very good , although not up to the brilliance the role really requires . \\nantonio banderas , who is almost like a guilty pleasure these days ( i\\'m one of the few people who thinks he rocks ) , is extremely comanding in his performance , presenting a lovable narrator . \\nhis singing is very good , though nothing compared to the original , mandy patinkin . \\nhe does have a pretty good singing voice , and a great range . \\nand jonathan pryce is pretty awesome , although very brief at times , in his role as juan , seeming to put on a poker face for his melancholy facade . \\nalthough it gets off to a rocky start ( \" rocky \" \\'s polite for what it really is ) , it soon picks up and becomes a wonderully poignant musical . \\nlike the other musical released in \\'96 ( woody allen\\'s \" everyone says i love you \" ) , it\\'s a reminder that the hollywood musical may be dead , but it can come back every now and then for a brief performance . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : something about a bunch of kids going into a haunted house and playing out parodies of other horror and non-horror movies . \\noh yeah , there\\'s also something about a ghost possessing the mansion and shit , but trust me , you won\\'t care much about the \" plot \" in this film . . . \\ncritique : parody movies either work or they don\\'t and this one just doesn\\'t work ! \\nthe laughs aren\\'t as pronounced this time around , the energy level , the gags and all of the characters just seem to be going through the motions here . \\nit\\'s like they were all in a hurry to finish the film or something ( wink , wink ) . \\nand the scariest part of it all ? \\ncheck out the number of screenwriters it took to pen this puppy : seven ! \\ni say again , it took seven people to write 82-minutes worth of fart jokes , half-assed stunts and spoofs of films other than horror . \\nnow i\\'m not exactly sure if each of the writers wrote their own parts separately or just tossed \" funny sketch \" ideas out there while smoking the chronic themselves , but the end result is a film that basically plays out like an extended skit on \" saturday night live \" . \\nthere are a couple of funny one-liners , but mostly just rehashed one-joke scenes , a lot of dead silence and lame gags . \\nadd to that the very unoriginal title and movie poster and you gotta start asking yourself if anybody was even trying here ( the film\\'s website isn\\'t even up yet ! ! ! \\nwhat the f * * * ? ! ? ) . \\ni do however have to give it up to james woods , the man who opens up this movie with the funniest parody of them all ( the exorcist take-off-- miss this and you\\'ve missed any reason to see the flick ) . \\ni especially liked his one-liner as he walked in to see the possessed woman\\'s head turning . \\nvery funny ! \\nunfortunately , the film plummets straight down after that , with dumb parodies of many teen flicks that have nothing to do with horror such as save the last dance and dude , where\\'s my car , and other action movies like charlie\\'s angels and mission impossible 2 . now help me figure this one out , will you ? \\nisn\\'t this supposed to be a parody film of horror movies ? ! ? \\n ( or maybe that\\'s just the title of the film f-ing with my head ) . \\nwell , i\\'m sorry to have to say this but the only horror in this film is its lame-ass script ! \\nthe wayans brothers should have known better than to look towards the weinstein brothers ( money ) instead of the zucker brothers ( comedy ) for this sequel . \\nunfortunately for us , all we\\'re left with here is a skeleton of a film which might\\'ve been funny , had it been worked over a few more times , tightened up here and there , and been injected with more solid laughs . \\nbut as things stand now , there is no doubt in my mind that the obvious greed to capitalize on the success of last year\\'s film has led everyone down this path , so screw them for not trying as hard ( critically speaking , of course ) . \\nyou should all be ashamed of yourselves for not putting enough \" real \" effort into this chop-job and for not providing your fans with the ultimate of your talents . \\npooh on you ! \\n ( that\\'s telling \\'em , joblo ! \\nsheesh ) \\nbtw , i\\'m allotting one point alone to actress kathleen robertson , whose massive breasts and skanky g-string had me chompin\\' at the bit . \\nyou go , girl ! \\neveryone else . . . stay ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nairplane ( 10/10 ) - airplane ii ( 10/10 ) - galaxy quest ( 8/10 ) - hannibal ( 7/10 ) - the haunting ( 3/10 ) - mafia ( 5/10 ) - naked gun ( 8/10 ) - scary movie ( 8/10 ) - top secret ( 9/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'dr . alan grant ( sam neill , \" jurassic park \" ) is becoming disillusioned . \\npaleontology is no longer the sexy science it once was since the ingen corporation cloned his subject matter . \\nhis lectures bring people interested in his adventures on isla nubla rather than his research and funding dollars are drying up . \\nwhen the kirbys ( william h . macy , \" fargo \" ; tea leoni , \" the family man \" ) ask him to be their guide for an anniversary flyover of isla sorna ( the notorious site b of \" the lost world \" ) he\\'s disdainful , but once they wave their checkbook , he reconsiders . \\nhowever the kirbys haven\\'t given dr . grant their real agenda in \" jurassic park iii . \" \\nof course , we , the audience , have been tipped off , given that the film begins by showing us eric ( trevor morgan , \" the patriot \" ) , a young boy , and ben ( mark harelik , \" election \" ) going for a paragliding adventure off that same island that goes awry ( and looks like cheesy rear projection ) . \\ngrant\\'s established back home with a new right hand man , billy brennan ( alessandro nivola , \" love\\'s labour\\'s lost \" ) on site at a dig in montana sorely lacking funds . \\nhe also pays a visit to old flame dr . ellie sattler ( laura dern , \" jurassic park \" ) , now married to another with a young son who calls grant \\'the dinosaur man\\' apparently for the sole purpose of dredging her up again for the film\\'s poorly imagined finale . \\ngrant takes billy along on the kirbys trip , which is really an illegal gambit to save their son , that young paraglider . \\nthe couple aren\\'t millionaires , making grant\\'s check bogus , and they\\'re separated as well ( eric was with amanda\\'s new boyfriend , not that that makes much sense ) , meaning we\\'re in for some gooey family dynamics while waiting for the dino dining . \\nthe kirbys hired hands ( and obvious bait ) are a threesome led by mr . udesky ( michael jeter , \" the gift \" ) . \\n ( didn\\'t anyone consider that casting michael jeter and william h . macy together and not having them be related was a little odd ? ) \\nas directed by joe johnston ( \" october sky , \" \" jumanji \" ) ( spielberg only produced this one ) from a risible script by peter buchman and the \" election \" team of alexander payne & jim taylor , \" jurassic park iii \" is nothing more than a quickie monster flick with a couple of new dinos ( a spinosauraus , which goes head to head with the t-rex , and pteranodons ) . \\nthe plot , as it were , is a series of coincidences combined with extreme leaps of faith and a trifecta of stupid cell phone tricks . \\nthe effects are no longer new , and , as shot by television cinematographer shelly johnson , rather murky looking at times . \\nfilm editing by robert dalva ( \" october sky \" ) was presumably done by machete , to keep this down to a 90 minute run time . \\ni know of no other reason to explain the ridiculous ending which features the survivors confronting a pack of raptors , then being saved by the most ludicrous of logic jumps within a few minutes . \\n\\'original\\' music by don davis just repeats john williams\\' original themes . \\nwhile neill and young morgan attempt to inject some humor and humanity into the proceedings , the rest of the cast are plodding unexceptional . \\n \" jurassic park iii \" will probably provide some quick entertainment for those who go into it knowing what to expect , the same crowd who maybe liked \" the lost world : jurassic park . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"long ago , films were constructed of strong dialogue , original characters , memorable plot points , and solid acting . \\none of the best examples that hollywood now completely ignore these qualities is found in the new film where the heart is . \\nthis opus about the power of love and the redemption of family follows the tragic , and i mean tragic , life of novalee nation ( natalie portman ) . \\nhitting the road with her hick , guitar-playing boyfriend in a rusted-out gm , novalee dreams of the blue skies of bakersfield and sipping chocolate milk beneath a plastic umbrella with her unborn baby , due in a month . \\nstopping off at a nearby wal-mart for a quick rest , novalee's boyfriend decides to take off and leaves her there . \\nnovalee then decides to secretly hole up in the wal-mart ( because she's not the brightest bulb in the stagelights ) . \\na wacky librarian ( keith david ) comes to her rescue when she goes into labor one night while she is camped in the outdoors section of the store . \\nthen the she moves in with a family , befriends everyone in town -- including ashley judd's character ( who has five kids and still can work part-time as a nurse ) -- fights off religious freaks , survives a tornado , breaks the heart of the wacky librarian that saved her , receives an inheritance , builds a martha stewart-esque house , becomes an award-winning photographer , and manages to always look like she stepped out of a cosmo shoot , all while not once doing anything with her kid . \\nthis film is terrible . \\nthe directing is awful : it seems director matt williams had an index card with six angles written on it and used every one of them , over and over and over again . \\nwe get pathetic and ugly acting by natalie portman , who can do good work . \\na disjointed pacing of key scenes and a time structure so confusing that it would throw steve prefontaine off . \\na subplot that actually validates the actions of the boyfriend who abandoned novalee in the wal-mart parking lot . \\nan embarrassing display of emotions by the characters , making the audience ill . \\ntaking two great comedic screenwriters , babaloo mandel and lowell ganz , and forcing them to write drama on par with oprah's book club . \\naltogether , it has the feeling of being trapped at home , watching a very bad television mini-series and wishing it to end , only the remote is broken . \\nhowever , the main problem with the film is that it never answers the most poignant question brought up : where is the heart ? \\nno one ever seems to find it in this piece of junk . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the last line ( or near to that honor ) is the great butler , alfred ( the ubergod , michael gough ) saying , \" i think we need a bigger bat cave , \" or something to that note . \\nthat\\'s exactly what this film is - too big for its own good because it has too damn much . \\ncut batgirl out . \\ncut one of the villains . \\nit\\'s too much to handle in one dosage . \\nit\\'s so much that characters get left behind . \\npoor elle gets a mere 3 scenes and a subplot which is introduced but never finished in any way , shape or form . \\nand elle deserves better . \\nthis is the fourth in the gigantic film series and the second from director joel schumacher . \\nit\\'s also the fourth worst in the series ( and second worst from joel ) . \\nthe series has been declining since its stunning debut , followed by the almost-as-stunning sequel and then the anti-climactic third one ( first by joel ) . \\nthis one\\'s not anti-climactic - i knew it was gonna suck . \\nit\\'s up to joel to make it fun though . \\n \" batman forever \" was fun . \\nthis is a big bore of over-produced action sequences and shallow characters . \\ni mean , this one bit . \\ni\\'m gonna put all the plot in one paragraph : mr . freeze ( ah-nold ) , who\\'s wife was dying of some disease , has become the new big villain these days . \\nhe\\'s a huge ex-scientist who fell into some weird liquid ( hello ? \\njoker ? ) and now has a body temperature of a big fat zero and has a blue body . \\nbatman ( george ) and robin ( chris ) fight him a bit but find they\\'re growing apart . \\nmeanwhile , another villain shows up , poison ivy ( uma ! ) , who was a dorky scientist chick working on flowers in south america with a twistet scientist ( john glover ) who kills her when she finds out he\\'s used her research to develop an uberman , bane , who is basically a man pumped with chemicals which probably killed any personality he ever had . \\nshe emerges from her chemicals ( don\\'t ask \\'cause i can\\'t tell ya ) as a sexy woman ( the real uma ) who\\'s poison when or if you kiss her and has some aphrodiasiatic scent she blows at people . \\nshe starts to tear away at the dynamic duo . \\nmeanwhile , alfred\\'s dying of the same disease mr . freeze\\'s wife has ( but in an earlier state than she ) , and his niece , barbara ( alicia ) , comes all the way from oxford without an english accent to get him away from the butler trade , but soon ( well , not really soon , it takes her 2 hours ) becomes batgirl . \\nmeanwhile , in an unfinished subplot , bruce ( batman\\'s alter-ego , if you forgot ) has been dating the lovely julie madison ( the even lovlier elle macpherson ) who wants a commitment after a year but he says nothing . \\nend of her for all we know . \\nmr . freeze ultimately teams with poison ivy and they want to freeze the world and then take it over growing new plants as their population ( don\\'t ask ! ! ! ) . \\nthe trio must team together \" as family \" to beat them . \\nthere ya go . \\nnot the whole story but no big context clues . \\ntoo much , right ? \\nright ! \\nthe films seems patched together of nice little ideas which would have made for a couple good sequels . \\nhowever , while tim burton nicely balanced the villain/batman storyline ( although not wonderfully ) , joel seems to do almost nothing with batman in this one . \\nhe gets some corny speeches , a couple clever lines and that\\'s it . \\nmaybe some stunts . \\nfor all this , i can\\'t even comment on george clooney as batman - i hardly saw the guy ! \\nand when i did , he had horrible dialogue to say . \\ni think michael keaton is the quintessential batman but val kilmer was too robotic and fake as batman in the last episode . \\ngeorge is in between them . \\nhe\\'s not quintessential , he\\'s not horrible , he\\'s good . \\nbut i\\'m sure next time when they decide to renovate the series since they\\'ll be critically murdered for this sorry effort , we\\'ll get a good script and clooney will shine ( if he still has the job ) . \\nthe villains are the only interesting part of the series according to schumacher . \\nlast time , we had the brawn of two face as played by tommy lee jones and the brains/comedy supplied by the riddler as realized by jim carrey . \\nthis time we have a somewhat sympathetic and somewhat hatable villain ( the same guy ) , mr . freeze . \\nwe feel bad for his mental/physical collapse but does he really need to kill everyone for plants ? \\narnold isn\\'t very good - too hokey but kinda sympathetic at some points . \\nwhen he watches old movies of his wife , he actually looks somber . \\nwow . \\nbut uma makes the most of her seductive character , getting the right point between hamminess and seductiveness . \\nit\\'s like she\\'s almost parodying herself in \" pulp fiction \" at points . \\nshe\\'s incredibly hot and makes the movie pretty much a star better . \\nas for the lower bat-people , chris is the same as he was in \" batman forever , \" although i think his work in these is too hokey when he\\'s best at quieter parts in \" scent of a woman \" or just plain cool parts in \" fried green tomotoes . \" \\nalicia - i love the girl but she\\'s not particularly good in this film . \\nshe can hypotheitically act , we all saw that in \" clueless , \" but her lines kinda sound weird . \\nand it isn\\'t the mushy-mouth this time . \\nbut in all fairness , she has virtually no part . \\njoel gets around to her occasionally and when she\\'s on , she does stupid stuff . . . although \\ni know i\\'m not the only one who loved the catfight between her and uma . . . \\nand poor elle . \\npoor , poor elle . \\ni love that woman and she can also hypothetically act ( for those of us who saw \" sirens \" ) . \\nbut she has no part ! ! ! \\nit seems like joel had so much footage that he had to edit almost an hour out of the final product . \\nthere are no \" couch \" scenes ( like my best friend noticed ) . \\nnow listen to me on this one - in every \" batman \" flick , there\\'s a couch scene . \\nin the original , it was with vicki . \\nin \" returns , \" it was a good make-out scene with selena . \\nand in the last one , it was a chat with nicole . \\nthis one , it\\'s nothing . \\nand batgirl does next-to-nothing in this film till the end when she\\'s suddenly \" part of the family . \" \\nfortunately , we get a lot of alfred . \\nhe\\'s the always reliable butler , in case you didn\\'t know , who has been with bruce all his life . \\nhe\\'s a god . \\nhe\\'s a father figure . \\nhe\\'s also dying . \\nthis got to me . \\ni love alfred almost as much as bruce and to see him in a robe , not in his tux , and freaking dying just gets to me . \\nwe also get the idea that he might have been unhappy the whole time . . . but \\nthis is never answered , as this film is too cluttered . \\nbut in defense , it does have some good parts , other than uma . \\nfor one , george is a good batman but unfortunately gets nothing to do . \\nand there are some nice touches . \\nwhen they show the asylum at one point , they show the patient\\'s belongings in a room and we see the riddler\\'s costume . \\ni laughed . \\nand during a biker scene ( involving robin and batgirl - another subplot never handled past initiation period ) , we not only see coolio but a bunch of bad-asses dressed as \" droogs \" from \" a clockwork orange . \" \\ni laughed at all these . \\nthe film falls apart around the five-minute mark during an enormously long action sequence which must last around 20 minutes . . . or \\ndid it just feel like that ? \\nthe film should serve as another in the long-line of films which demonstrate that we need more intelligent films nowadays . \\npeople are fed up with stupid films . \\nthat\\'s why the word of mouth killed \" the lost world ! \" \\nthat\\'s why last year , indy films grossed more than ever . \\nthat\\'s why this will have a strong box-office initative from people who just want to see it , like me , but will die after a week or two when the word around the grapevine kills it . \\nthat\\'s why the next two big-budget aciton pics are john woo\\'s \" face/off \" and barry sonnenfeld\\'s \" men in black , \" both which are the first two to catch on to the wave early on . \\ni like joel schumacher more as a person than an artiste . \\ni like some of his films ( \" flatliners , \" \" a time to kill \" ) but a lot of them suck . \\nhe\\'s a really eccentric person and i loved one of his quotes about how he admits to being a mediocre director and that\\'s what makes him great . \\nbut his costuming for woody allen\\'s \" sleeper \" was more interesting than this one ( and his costuming was cool - look for the nazi number ) . \\ni love the \" batman \" series . \\nthe first two rocked and i did like the last one . \\nbut this one is not going to be one that i watch repeatedly like the other three . \\nhopefully , this will also serve as a springboard to a better batman next time . \\nand maybe they\\'ll get smart and bring back catwoman . \\nand michael keaton . \\nbut we can only hope . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"one can not observe a star trek movie and expect to see serious science fiction . \\nthe purpose of star trek is to provide flashy , innocent fun . \\nsometimes the stories are compelling . \\nsometimes they're not . \\nbut , with the exception of the first film in the series ( which provides little more than endless shots of amazed faces ) , i've never been bored by any of the enterprise's numerous missions . \\nstar trek : insurrection is no exception . \\nthe film has gotten some negative reviews ( a friend of mine actually thinks it's the worst in the series ) , but i'm not really sure why . \\nit's an exciting , often hilarious movie that engaged me and left me ready for the next star trek film . \\nsome say it's a bit too light , and more of a long episode than a film . \\nothers say the special effects are cheesy and that it's boring . \\ni simply enjoyed the film . \\ninsurrection , which is the second film to feature strictly the next generation cast , introduces us to a race of people called the ba'ku ; the ba'ku are very old ( most of them are about three hundred years old ) , but they actually appear younger with age due to strange radiation in the rings of their planet . \\nof course , these peaceful people can't horde this fountain of youth all for themselves ? leave it up to their archenemies , the son'a , led by ru'afo ( f . \\nmurray abraham ) , to mess everything up . \\nthe son'a , who are horribly disfigured and rely on daily reconstructive surgery to be aesthetically acceptable , strike a deal with the federation to move the ba'ku elsewhere and exploit the secret to keep their race from dying . \\nthat's when captain picard ( patrick stewart ) steps in : he realizes that moving the ba'ku would kill them ( it also helps that he falls in love with a ba'ku woman ( donna murphy ) ) . \\nso , with his trusty crew , picard defies the federation to keep the ba'ku in their natural habitat . \\nwhen dealing with a series with as much history as this , it's not entirely necessary to re-introduce your characters with each episode . \\nthis is why i believe non-fans have a hard time getting into star trek ; in order to enjoy it , one has to understand how to approach it . \\ninsurrection , however , does a surprisingly good job of us new aspects of the characters . \\nstewart is bold as always , a magnetic screen presence and perfectly capable of holding an entire film together . \\njonathan frakes , who also directed , is funny as commander riker ; a subplot with data ( brent spiner ) discovering his lost childhood is fairly interesting ; and abraham makes a perfect star trek villain , overacting like crazy . \\nfrakes showed similar aptitude for direction in first contact ; insurrection is an exciting film , with some really attractive special effects and a lot of good action . \\nthis is apparently the first star trek film to utilize computer animation , and the result is very pleasing to the eye : particularly in the climactic scenes , in which the son'a employ a giant space ship to suck up the rings of the ba'ku planet , the special effects have a clean , impressively sharp look . \\nif i have any complaint about the film , it's that it tries to take a moral stance when it's not very appropriate to do so . \\ni don't think it's that big of a deal that the federation wanted to move 600 ba'ku in order to save the lives of thousands . \\nbetter yet , why couldn't they have co-existed ? \\ninsurrection feels a little to light to spring these kinds of big moral questions on the audience . \\nwith it's inherent camp factor , the star trek series doesn't seem well-equipped to deal with issues like this . \\ni prefer to just enjoy the spectacle . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'since 1990 , the dramatic picture has undergone a certain change of style . \\nnow , instead of emphasizing feel-good stories replete with characters of noble virtues , the screenplays and direction point toward human struggle and sorrow . \\nthis realist tendancy can be inspiring at times , as 1993\\'s schindler\\'s list shows . \\nmost of today\\'s mainstream drama , however , creates an overabundance of emoting that can turn off members of the audience . \\nthat\\'s why pictures like october sky , which are a throwback to the good ol\\' dramas of yesteryear , are such a welcome relief in contemporary cinema . \\nthe movie is based on the true story of homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) , a teenager in the 1950\\'s company town of coalwood , west virginia . \\nit\\'s a well-known fact that the only boys to make a name for themselves are the ones that get out of the town on football scholarships ; the rest grow up to work in the coal mine . \\nthe mine , which is run by homer\\'s father ( chris cooper ) , is not the place for homer , however . \\nafter watching the soviet satellite sputnik shoot across the october sky in 1957 , homer feels a connection with the outside world -- as he puts it , \" anyone in the world could look up and see the same thing i did . \" \\ndrafting two of his best friends and the brainiac outcast , homer begins to construct rockets . \\nwith the help of their history teacher , miss riley ( laura dern ) , and several mine workers , the four are soon bound for great things . \\noctober sky is a skillfully crafted film , and most of that credit must go to director joe johnston . \\njohnston -- whose career in the film industry includes everything from directing well-known titles like jumanji and the rocketeer down to an uncredited role as a death star trooper in star wars -- certainly knows what he\\'s doing here . \\nhe molds characters which are true to life and also fun to watch into a plot that is straightforward and robust . \\nhe does not push any barriers , but instead adopts a conservative style of filmmaking which enhances the film\\'s charm . \\nhis finesse brings out elements which might otherwise be lost -- such as the relationships between homer and various mine workers , or the silent struggle between homer\\'s mother and father . \\nthe cast is well chosen , although the true bright spots are the supporting roles . \\nlaura dern ( jurassic park ) lends a strong performance in the role of the history teacher , giving the boys the support and guidance they need . \\nher role is instantly likeable . \\nchris cooper ( the horse whisperer ) , as homer\\'s father , is less likeable -- even downright despicable at times -- but his turn here gives gravity to the movie . \\nhe\\'s definitely a driving force in homer\\'s life , and his more humane moments give the piece a certain dynamic that is commendable . \\nthe script is generally cheerful , projecting the boys\\' endeavors in a lighthearted manner . \\nthere are moments when it becomes predictable -- such as the train tracks scene -- and there are moments when it sacrifices orginality for the need to come up with an emotional plot twist . \\nit highlights the essence of youth , however , and for its exceptional job at this it can be forgiven other missteps . \\noctober sky should be a success with audiences . \\nalthough it doesn\\'t have the appeal of current teen flicks like varsity blues or she\\'s all that , it certainly holds an undeniable quality that older crowds will lean towards . \\nit\\'s a welcome change to the dramatic genre , and one that everyone should see . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it seemed wholly appropriate that at a weekend screening of \" the horse whisperer , \" the start of the film was delayed some twenty minutes due to \" projection difficulties . \" \\nrobert redford\\'s film version of nicholas evans\\' best-selling novel was supposed to have been in theaters last december , going head-to-head with \" titanic , \" but is only now making its much anticipated debut . \\nthis ( strategic ? ) \\ndelay has allowed \" the horse whisperer \" to compete , sans fanfare , against some smaller , unassuming movies during a relatively slower time at the box office . \\nno matter . \\nredford\\'s film stands head and shoulders above james cameron\\'s ocean-going tragedy , especially in the writing and acting departments . \\nwhatever the reasons for its postponement , \" the horse whisperer \" supports the old adage \" better late than never . \" \\nredford has taken evans\\' book and given it the big screen treatment . \\nwhile parts of \" the horse whisperer \" are epic in scope and vision , especially the aerial \" travelogue \" that maps out this great country of ours , its real strength lies in the subtleties it uses to paint the fragile alliance between man and beast . \\nwhen her daughter , grace , is involved in a terrible riding accident , hard-driven fashion editor annie maclean ( kristin scott thomas ) devotes herself to rehabilitating both grace and grace\\'s beloved horse , pilgrim . \\nrefusing to have the hideously disfigured animal put down , annie researches every possible source of information about equine cures before discovering an article about a faith-healing cowboy of sorts called tom booker ( redford ) , who has a way with horses and , perhaps , with people too . \\nundeterred by tom\\'s initial reluctance to get involved , annie drives grace and a sedated pilgrim across country to meet him , and finally persuades tom to work with the uncontrollable animal . \\nredford\\'s film unfolds slowly and lovingly , echoing the patience required in healing both physical and psychological wounds . \\nthe film\\'s a little long and , even if you haven\\'t read the book , it\\'s pretty obvious where it\\'s heading--but these are minor complaints . \\nredford and thomas are strong and convincing as the couple drawn by a mutual affection for the great outdoors and each other , but it\\'s scarlett johansson as grace who shines in a more difficult role . \\ndianne wiest , chris cooper ( \" lone star \" ) , and sam neill--better than i\\'ve seen him before--round out the respectable supporting cast . \\nand the director\\'s respect for horses is clearly in evidence . \\none word of warning , however : while brilliantly shot , the accident scene , involving an out-of-control truck , is extremely disturbing . \\nredford\\'s canvas is huge and exquisite . \\nhe doesn\\'t hesitate to incorporate vast , sprawling vistas of the american northwest : spectacular , snow-capped mountain ranges , azure skies , and shimmering fields of wheat--all are resplendent in cinematographer robert richardson\\'s viewfinder . \\nveteran english composer john barry was originally signed to score the film but left the project which is a pity , since \" the horse whisperer \" is \" dances with wolves \" by way of \" out of africa \" ( oscar winners both for barry ) . \\nfortunately , barry\\'s replacement , thomas newman , contributes a fine score that nicely balances the majesty of montana with the delicate , human conditions--sonorous , string-laden passages that swell with pride playing counterpoint to more poetic , introspective movements ripe with nuance . \\n \" the horse whisperer \" is that rare kind of movie : it looks good , it feels good , and by golly it does you good . \\nthe wait , it turns out , was well worth it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the disney studios has its formula for annual , full-length animated features down so pat that it\\'s hard to remember which one you\\'re watching at any given moment . \\n \" mulan , \" their 36th animated adventure , is the latest case in point . \\nonce again we have a tale focused around a strong central character ( female as usual ; disney is one of the few studios whose heroines--ariel , belle , pocahontas , and now mulan--get equal screen time with their heroes in recent years ) . \\nadd the requisite love interest and a wise-cracking sidekick or two , pep up the soundtrack with a handful of strategically placed show tunes ( an introspective number by a pool or looking in a mirror , a rousing anthem , a cutesy , montage-backed crowd pleaser ) , pose a few threats to our engaging lead , and tie things all up neatly by the closing credits . \\nbob\\'s your uncle ! \\nbetter make that walt\\'s your uncle . . . \\nkids will no doubt go ga-ga over \" mulan \" ( or at least the fast food tie-ins ) , but familiarity can , after a while , leave grown-ups--this reviewer included--wishing for a little more . \\nmaybe an animated feature without--shock ! \\nhorror ! --the \\nsongs , for example ? \\nor maybe a film in which a cheeky chihuahua called pepe longs to become a matador from trinidad ? ? \\nhow about simply ditching the sidekicks altogether ? \\nit isn\\'t gonna happen . \\nlike disney\\'s previous entries , \" mulan \" is slow to make its mark . \\nthe animation tends to suffer from some slackness in the early going and the humorous element , a madcap dragon wannabe ( in the guise of a loquacious lizard with a case of dry mouth , courtesy eddie murphy\\'s animated vocal talents ) , plays like an inappropriate if necessary ( formula-wise ) afterthought . \\nhowever , after about an hour everything comes together and the formula , like it or not , clicks . \\nhighlights include a spectacular cavalry charge on a snow-covered pass ( which , due to the sophistication of today\\'s computer-generated imagery , is hard to tell from the real thing ) , a memorable , show-stopping musical interlude ( \" i\\'ll make a man out of you , \" penned by matthew wilder and david zippel ) , and last but not least , mulan herself . \\nvoiced by ming-na wen , mulan is disney\\'s strongest female character to date . \\nwhen hordes of huns pour over china\\'s great wall and threaten to overthrow the imperial palace , the emperor decrees that every family in the land dispatch one man to serve in the imperial army . \\nsince mulan\\'s father is infirm , but proud , the high-spirited mulan steals her father\\'s armor and , incognito , signs up to face the mongolian menace . \\nattracted to , but not distracted by , her commanding officer shang ( b . d . \\nwong ) , mulan outmatches her fellow combatants in smarts , wit , and physical ability . \\nshe\\'s a woman of the \\'90s a couple of millennia ahead of her time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" when you get out of jail , you can kill him . \" \\nstarring ashley judd , tommy lee jones , bruce greenwood . \\nrated r . \\ndouble jeopardy is a lurid , prepostrous thriller that\\'s also one of the year\\'s most enjoyable . \\nit\\'s an uncompromisingly brutal , cheerfully anarchic , hyperactive actioner that has a mission and never diverts from it . \\nthere is not a moment here when the events on screen don\\'t have a direct bearing on the plot ; once the film gets going it never stops . \\nit has been branded as the female version of the fugitive and that\\'s probably a correct assessment of the plot , but the film itself has little in common with the 1993 andrew davis/harrison ford collaboration besides the presence of star tommy lee jones . \\nnot even bothering with character introduction , director bruce beresford floors the gas pedal from the get-go and never finds the brake . \\nwe meet , rather hastily , libby and nick parsons ( ashley judd and bruce greenwood , respectively ) a seemingly happy married couple , with a son matty , age 4 . they go out on a sailboat one night , and after a period of some rockin\\' sex , they go to sleep . \\nlibby hears a strange noise , wakes up and discovers that she is covered with blood . \\nshe follows a red trail to the upper deck , where she finds a knife and , out of astonishment , picks it up . \\nat that convenient moment , the coast guard shows up and libby is arrested . \\nher lawyer , a friend , puts up a defense in court , but though we know she is innocent , the evidence against her is too compelling . \\nher friend adopts her son and she goes to prison . \\nonce in prison , she makes a phone call to her friend . \\nher friend gives her son the phone . \\nnick walks in the room . \\nlittle matty screams \" daddy ! \" \\nthe phone goes dead . \\nlibby realizes that the man she is imprisoned for killing isn\\'t even dead . \\nshe gets some advice from a prisoner/former lawyer , who tells her that since the state already convicted her of killing her husband , they can\\'t convict her of the same crime again , meaning that when she gets paroled she can kill him and they can\\'t touch her . \\nafter a weirdly short amount of time , she gets out of parole . \\nshe is sent to live at a house with other recent parolees , under the command of parole officer travis lehman ( tommy lee jones ) . \\nshe sets out on a mission to find her husband and get her son back , which turns out to be much more difficult than anticipated . \\nshe winds up tracking him all the way to new orleans where she finds out that he has long killed his girlfriend and her son\\'s \" adopter \" . \\ndouble jeopardy is based on an assumption that is legally false . \\nthe law stating that nobody can be convicted twice for the same crime assumes that it is the same crime : same time , same place , same circumstances . \\nit\\'s not like it matters . \\nthis is a rollickingly good thriller ; intense , exciting , fast and furious . \\nit\\'s silly alright , but this is the kind of film you just don\\'t question . \\nin some films , plausibility is everything . \\ndouble jeopardy , however , is not concerned with making sense : its sole purpose is to entertain , and it does . \\njudd helps the film tremendously in a difficult role . \\nthis is her breakout box-office performance , and she is terrific . \\nshe brings some emotion to what could have been a one-dimensional role , giving the movie a little soul to go along with its effective chase scenes and action set pieces . \\ntommy lee jones basically just reprises the role for which he won an oscar in the fugitive , but the movie makes good use of his stone-faced wit . \\nthankfully , too , double jeopardy refrains from developing a romance between libby and travis ; a subplot which doubtlessly would have interfered with the film\\'s story . \\nthis is one of those movies where cops are the bad guys , and i took a sort of sick pleasure in that . \\nthe sheer anarchy of the proceedings was nothing short of wonderful , as ashley judd kicks the crap out of every authority figure in the book . \\nafter all the idealistic hollywood features featuring hero cops , deft fbi agents and the virtues of the american legal system , it\\'s great to see a movie that doesn\\'t so much demonstrate their fallacy as it delights in their failure . \\ndouble jeopardy is really good , but it isn\\'t the kind of good that is remembered or recognized with awards . \\nit\\'s one of those movies better viewed with the brain turned off , otherwise , your brain will be busy ruining your experience . \\nthis is a thriller that isn\\'t concerned with being smart or plausible . \\ninstead it diverts all attention to the action , which , this year , is second to none . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'wyatt earp details thirty-five years in the life of same from around 1865 to 1900 . \\nafter seeing the movie speed twice recently , i kept thinking that i was seeing wyatt\\'s life pass before my eyes in real time . \\nthis movie was boring , slow , boring , and slow . \\nthere were a few scenes that tried to be great scenes that tried too hard and just fell flat . \\nthe script happily woman-bashes but also tries to sound like an 80s movie . \\nthey cannot have it both ways . \\n \" i now pronounce you husband and wife . \" \\nsure , they said that in the 1800s . \\n \" entrepreneur . \" \\nsure . \\nevery bit of male-ego-stroking dialogue that wyatt\\'s third wife speaks to him made me sick to listen to it . \\n \" oh , the script was written by two men ? \" \\n \" no kidding ! \" \\nthe movie is torture to sit through . \\nthe scenery is boring . \\nthe fades were either awkward or cliche or to self important . \\ncan you say poor editing ? \\neveryone looks ugly in this movie . \\nwhen you shoot people from under their chins , they look like they have double chins . \\nkevin costner has never looked worse . \\nhe should sue . \\nhe looks like he gained the 43 pounds that dennis quaid lost . \\ndennis quaid is marvelous . \\nif you have to see this movie just for his performance , go into the theatre at the movie\\'s halfway mark . \\ndoc holliday ( quaid\\'s character ) shows up at about the 90-minute mark . \\ngene hackman is very good . \\nis he in the credits ? \\ni don\\'t remember seeing his name . \\nmare winningham makes the best of a small role as wyatt\\'s second wife . \\nannabeth gish is good as wyatt\\'s first wife . \\ni though that jamie gertz played wyatt\\'s third wife , but i later heard that her name is joanna going . \\nshe looks great but her dialogue sucks . \\nshe also seems way to young for costner . \\ncostner seems way to old for 90% of this movie . \\nin his first scene he is supposed to be about 19 years old . \\nyeah , right . \\ncatherine o\\'hara and jobeth williams are always good and totally wasted here . \\nthis is the worst movie that i have seen in years . \\nthe last action hero was better that this . \\ngo see maverick if you want to see a western . \\nbullets for dennis quaid\\'s performance only . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this christmas , little ralphie parker ( peter billingsley ) wants nothing more than a red ryder bb gun under the tree . \\nalthough cautioned by many that he will ? shoot his eye out' , ralphie remains optimistic , conjuring up a detailed scheme to get on the good side of his parents and teachers . \\nit could be possible that no one has ever wanted anything with more passion than ralphie wants this bb gun , and the story of his eternal struggle is a charming one . \\n`a christmas story' is a favorite among many during the holiday season , and boy , it is certainly easy to see why . \\nralphie's endless desire for the bb gun may transport you back to your childhood , when you were craving a certain gift for christmas and the anxiety was almost indescribable . \\nevoking pleasant childhood memories is only one of the many things `a christmas story' does so well . \\nhere are a few features that make this film such a charming little package for everybody during the holiday season : \\n1 ) period detail . \\nthis film is based on the memoirs of late humorist jean shepard , who shares his experiences as a young boy living in the 1940's with loving detail . \\nshepard narrates from a first person point-of-view , divulging his various adventures one snowy december , in which visions of taking aim with his new bb gun replaced that of sugarplums dancing in his head . \\nshepard's first-hand commentary of several situations is not only downright hilarious , but also witty and warm , with various metaphorical meanings that ring perfectly with the essence of comic timing . \\non top of that , young billingsley's stupefied reactions to each predicament is absolutely perfect in contrast with the narration . \\ndirector bob clark captures the look and feel of the era with wonderful technicality . \\ni can hardly imagine a more accurate depiction of what christmas for young ralphie must have been like . \\n2 ) mom and dad . \\nboth melinda dillon ( as mom ) and darren mcgavin ( as ? the old man' ) are perfect in their roles . \\nit's hard to fathom a more agreeable pair for the requirements of a story like this one , with each possessing at least one memorable trait that instantly separates them from the wooden caricatures that could have been featured . \\nfor instance , he is a bloodthirsty turkey hound , and she is forgiving and understanding when it comes to some serious issues . \\nin portraying the writer as a persistent but mild-mannered young lad , peter billingsley has struck quite the chord . \\nhis performance is richly textured , making all of the humorous situations he stumbles into radiate with flavor and enjoyment . \\nwhich brings us to . . . . \\n3 ) the comic situations . \\nthere are plenty of memorable moments in `a christmas story' . \\nmoments that undoubtedly will improve in comic potency upon each new viewing , with so much more to explore and to cherish . \\ni am particularly partial of the ? f-word scene' , in which ralphie blurts out the shocking four-letter obscenity while helping the old man in the yard . \\nagain , shepard's method of handling this amusing scenario is nothing short of comic wizardry . \\nthe numerous sequences that stick in one's mind include , of course , the famous department store santa scene - in which billingsley has some problems in telling old saint nick what he wants under the tree . \\ni could go on , but i'll finish on this note : `a christmas story' is a standout among holiday movies , because it captures so much in a meager 90 minutes . \\nnot only is it funny , it's often genuinely hilarious . . . . not to mention warm , fluffy and touching in all the appropriate places . \\ni plan on making `a christmas story' a christmas tradition . \\nwhy don't you ? \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'much ballyhoo has been made over this new version of \" lolita , \" made in a time when one would think that a faithful adaptation of the infamous novel could be made , over its use of pedophilia , and as such , it\\'s important to address it straight-forwardly , before any other ideals such as goodness and themes can be discussed , as this film has been in film limbo for a number of years , lying around in vaults san a distributor , and having critics waiting to either hail it a masterpiece or call it anticlimactic horseshit . \\nwhen seeing this film , after all the hoopla , keeping in mind that there are people , namely me , who are fans of the novel , who have been eagerly awaiting this flick since its creation . . . well , \\nyou just have to wonder why no one really picked it up for distribution . \\nwhat\\'s even worse is that seeing this \" lolita , \" especially the first time and if you\\'re familiar with anything \" lolita , \" is admittingly very anticlimactic . \\nthis is a real pity because when you really sit down to watch this film , ignoring all the crap that has preceeded it , it\\'s really quite a film , perhaps the best film by director adrian lyne ( although , really , look at its competition : \" flashdance , \" \" fatal attraction , \" and \" indecent proposal \" ) , at least besides \" jacob\\'s ladder . \" \\ni\\'ve seen this \" lolita \" twice : the first time , i wasn\\'t so blown away . \\nit seemed overly dramatic and surprisingly unaffecting . \\nthe second time , not really thinking about how i\\'ve waited for what seems like forever to see it and how i\\'m seeing it on a tv set on a premium cable channel and not a giant movie theatre , it really affected me emotionally . \\nthe story itself is a surprisingly heartbreaking one , which is why it\\'s such a good novel , and why this is such a good film . \\nthe story of a pedophile obsessed with a young 14-year old girl named dolores a . k . a . lolita is great because it\\'s not trash for the perverted but because it\\'s about human obsession with things that are out of one\\'s reach . \\nits protagonist , the comically-named humbert humbert , is not your average pedophile , but a seriously wounded human being who embodies how we are all destroyed by our sick obsessions and idosyncrasies . \\nthe character of lolita is almost a symbol of the forbidden apple in christian mythology , something that will destroy us but that we can\\'t live without . \\nthese ideas are all worked into this film nicely , but done in a way that is not heavy-handed at all , but instead lyrical and emotionally devastating . \\nthe focus of this film , and the reason for making it , it seems , was to really penetrate the emotional depths of the novel and bring them to life on the screen in beautifully dramatic images , and scenes which are blatantly over-stylized . \\nthe tone of the book is a comical one , but it\\'s also a tragic one , and humbert , telling the story from his perspective , blows every single thing out of perspective . \\nhumbert exists in a fantsy world of his obsessions and desires , and this reflects the way the entire film has been designed . \\nwe get a sense that perhaps it\\'s by doing this that humbert has really trapped himself into a fate that will ultimately leave him haggard and destroyed . \\nhe weeps uncontrollably and never lets himself get over his original 14-year-old love , and allows himself to embody her as lolita . \\nhe lets his feelings for her navigate all his decisions , and by the end , he has nothing but overly-dramatic feelings for her . \\nthe story recognizes the extreme of this , almost out of a test , seeing if the readers will really sympathize with someone who is socially deemed a pervert , and one almost wonders while reading the book if the author , vladimir nabokov , wrote the book as a means to bring into focus his own sick obsessions , and perhaps bring them to peace . \\nthe weirdest thing about this film is that by the end , when humbert has reached the finale of his obsessional journey , we can easily sympathize and even identify with him . \\nthe opening and final images of the film are the same , and who hasn\\'t done a similar action , that is wandering about without any sense of reality or anything else but a deep sadness in us ? \\nthis is the second time the novel has been adapted for the screen , the first time being filmed in - shock - 1962 , by stanley kubrick , who couldn\\'t possibly have brought the novel to the screen with as much faithfulness as lyne has been able to do , but did the next best thing : he economized for everything and came up with a droll black comedy about obsession in general . \\nin that film , he used the traps of society as benefits . \\nthe studio demanded the final scene , that of a heinous murder , come first in the film so to portray humbert first as a murderer and second as a pedophile . . . and \\nwhen you see it , it gives the film depth of a man trapped by obsession . \\nthe censors wouldn\\'t allow anymore than a couple glances and subtle dialogue to show the , um , relationship between humbert and lolita , so kubrick decided to play it as comedy , but still allow the tragedy to seep through . \\nlooking at these two versions , especially after reading the novel ( and we all know that when we\\'ve read a novel and see a film adaptation , we are bound to be angered by any size differences ) , it\\'s really impossible to compare them . \\nthey both go for different things , and one has a lot more room to be as sexually frank as the novel was . \\nand although it\\'s true that several scenes are similar , and are thus up for comparison , overall it\\'s unfair to say which one is better and which one is worse . \\ni have never been one for saying the level of greatness of a film adaptation of a novel is deemed by how faithful it is , and i won\\'t say that here . \\nhowever , this film is pretty amazing , mostly because hey , i loved the book , and this film nearly reminded me of it . \\nit doesn\\'t have nearly as much wit ( a couple comical scenes , and even a lot of good chuckles , but just not totally witty ) , but it does have the same emotional toll that the novel had . \\nsome of that is in the casting of the two leads . \\njeremy irons , with his deep , soft british voice and gentle look , is an amazing humbert . \\nhe\\'s droll in a very unique way , and , well , no one can look distraught the way he does . \\nhe brings a wonderful sympathy to the role that goes beyond pathos and really comes up as being easy to identify with the audience . \\nand when he looks at lolita with love , and she looks at him with lust , you know that he\\'s her prisoner for as long as he lives . \\nand dominique swain , who plays the title character , is rather incredible . \\nshe pulls off the tough role even better than sue lyon did in the original , wonderfully balancing the qualities of seduction , bratiness , and self-centeredness that marks the character . \\nit\\'s easy to see why she surrenders to humbert : she loves the attention , and knows that she can have her way with him at any time . \\nwhen he denies her something , she blackmails him effortlessly ( a scene involving a rocking chair and a little foot action is damn near classic ) , and when he stands up to her , she weeps and runs away , leaving humbert to follow her . \\nthere are two other minor characters in the film , one who\\'s a road block in the beginning , and the other who\\'s a reappearing threat to the relationship . \\nthe former is charlotte , lolita\\'s mother , played by melanie griffith . \\nin the book , charlotte is a monster of a woman : overbearing , constantly scolding her child , overly-religious , and ultimately selfish . \\nand she\\'s the one obstacle humbert has to overcome to obtain his goal , at least in the beginning . \\nas played by shelly winters in the original , she represented all these qualities ; as played by griffith here , she\\'s about half of them . \\nit\\'s annoying to watch a film and play a game where you try to see who could have done the role way better than the one on screen without mentioning the actor who played them first . \\nand even though griffith is not really bad , persay , she\\'s nothing more . \\nthe other is clare quilty , the writer who is also trying to seduce lolita , and succeeds , but at a price . \\nlangella takes a totally different direction than the one peter sellars took in the original . \\nquilty was a comic character in the original : a threat in the form of many forms , popping in states of rambling , german , proning , and eventually drunk . \\nlangella takes the other route , allowing all of the creepiness to be unearthed , and the result is a character who exists in shadows and low shots , and who meets a wonderfully ironic ending , the exact opposite of what we thought of him . \\nas you can see , most of these are not improvements or mistakes done on the part of lyne and his screenwriter , stephen schiff , but just parts of a whole new look at the novel , at least cinema-wise . \\nthis version is beautiful , and perpetually saddening . \\nthe camera movements are stylized , and each shot is breathtakingly rich . \\nthe acting is for the most part wonderful , and when we watch it , we really get a sense that for humbert , who is telling the story , the only two people on earth most of the time were humbert and lolita . \\nmore importantly , it takes us right up the brink of emotion , then jumps right over it . \\nby the end , with humbert sadly driving recklessly in his car , following what he says is the only part of his life he doesn\\'t regret , we feel that we all lose to something we can never have . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in \" gia \" , angelina jolie plays the titular character , the first so-called supermodel . \\nand right there you have the biggest hurdle this movie had to overcome ( in my eyes , anyway ) . \\ni just don\\'t see how the life of a model is worthy of a two hour film . \\ndespite this , i kept an open mind when i began watching the movie . \\nsadly , though , my fears were realized . \\nit\\'s just not possible to make an interesting , full-length film about a person who spends their days wearing different clothes . \\nthe movie follows the rise and fall of gia ( no last name ) , a tumultuous woman who doesn\\'t particularly enjoy the world of fashion . \\nshe becomes famous more quickly than she can handle , and finds herself hooked on drugs and on a woman she cannot have . \\nthe last hour of the film is just one scene after another of gia getting high , losing a job , and going into rehab . \\nthis formula is repeated several times , and i really got tired of it . \\nin general , i tend to dislike movies featuring heavy drug use . \\nno because it offends me or anything like that ; it just bores me . \\nquite frankly , i don\\'t see the appeal , so when a director shows me a point-of-view shot of a junkie , complete with tipsy camera angles and echoing voices , i am left somewhat unimpressed . \\nthe first hour of the film , though , was actually quite engaging . \\nwe see gia as she is discovered and moves to new york with her boyfriend . \\nthese early scenes were interesting . \\nwe\\'re shown the fashion world through a newcomers eyes , and it was a perspective i hadn\\'t seen before . \\nthe movie begins to go downhill , however , once gia becomes an established model . \\n>from that point , i lost all interest in the movie and was counting the minutes before it would end . \\nit all seemed so excessive . \\nfine , so gia had a drug problem , does this really need to dominate the film ? \\ncouldn\\'t the same effect have been had with a five or ten minute montage of scenes featuring gia experimenting with drugs ? \\nor perhaps this film is meant to be a warning to aspiring models not to get into the drug world . \\nquite possibly , although since i have no desire to become a model , this warning is lost on me . \\nas i stated at the beginning of this review , i simply don\\'t see how the life of a model is worthy of a feature-length motion picture . \\nwhat do they do that warrants a movie ? \\nstrut their stuff for thousands of dollars an hour ? \\ni suppose the same could be said about making movies about baseball players , for example , but at least somebody like lou gehrig led an interesting life . \\ngia did not . \\nand by the end of the film , all i knew about gia for sure was that she hated modelling , was bi-sexual , and was heavily into drugs . \\nnot exactly a meaningful contribution to society , as far as i\\'m concerned . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the army comedy genre has never turned out a truly good movie ( if you don\\'t count neil simon\\'s biloxi blues ) . \\nyear after year , more predictably cliched military movies come out -- most recently sgt . \\nbilko -- and none of them ever manage to be anything more than a rehash of the last . \\ni thought stripes would be different . \\nwith ivan reitman as director , bill murray as star and harold ramis as co-star and co-screenwriter , it seemed like it would be ghostbusters in the army . \\ninstead , it was a bunch of unfunny crap in the army . \\nmurray , about as funny and sophisticated here as he was in meatballs , plays a loser cab driver who sees the army as his only chance for success , and convinces his friend ramis to enlist with him . \\nso he does , and we get the obligatory drill sergeant from hell , head-shaving and marching/singing sequences , more mind-numbingly stale here than ever . \\nthe characters are even less original , ranging from underachieving slob john candy to incompetent captain john larroquette . \\nall the big name stars in stripes ( and even larroquette ) fall victim to the lame , rehashed material and are never really likeable , murray in particular . \\nhe only gets a few decent lines in , although those barely-funny one liners pale in comparison to the hilarious peter venkman character he played three years later in ghostbusters . \\nhe was even better in caddyshack , for crying out loud . \\nas with a lot of the late 70\\'s / early 80\\'s comedies , stripes is a completely juvenile movie only a child would like but is so sex- obsessed no child should be able to watch it . \\ni\\'m sure it seems funny on paper to have candy pay over $400 to mud wrestle five beautiful women , but while watching it all that was coming out of my mouth was the admonition \" dear god ! \" \\nevery few seconds . \\nstripes isn\\'t the playful kind of sex comedy , either . \\nmost of the time it seems downright misogynistic , as when larroquette uses his telescope to peer into the women\\'s showers or murray lifts a female m . p . \\nonto the stove and , with an i-know-what-you-like look on his face , says he\\'s going to give her the \" aunt jemima treatment , \" which means shoving a spatula under her butt repeatedly . \\nyou don\\'t want to stick around as the scene progresses and he uses an ice cream scoop on her genital region . \\n \" i\\'m not enjoying this , \" the woman protests . \\nmy sentiments exactly . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a movie like mortal kombat : annihilation works ( and must be reviewed on ) multiple levels . \\nfirst , there\\'s the rampant usage of randian subtext that pervades the entire movie . \\nbut occasionaly , almost as if making an ironic , self-depreciating remark , the movie tosses in clearly marxist imagery . \\nno no . . . \\njust kidding . \\nhad you going there for a moment , didn\\'t i ? \\nin all seriousness however , and to be fair to the movie , it * is * necessary to provide two viewpoints : that of a movie watcher unfamiliar ( or only marginally familiar ) with the whole mortal kombat phenomenon , and that of a fan of the first movie and/or a fan of the games . \\nthe first movie ( mortal kombat ( 1995 ) ) concerned itself with a martial arts tournament that would decide the fate of earth ( and it\\'s 5 billion inhabitants ) . \\nthe mortals won , and in theory this should have prevented the emperor shao khan from taking over the earth . \\nunfortunately , shao khan was a poor loser , and the very final scene in mortal kombat showed him arriving anyway , ready to take over the planet , as our heroes assumed a fighting stance . \\nthe first movie was extraordinarily entertaining for those ( like myself ) who are fans of the game . \\ni\\'d even go so far as to say that many folks who didn\\'t know about the game probably enjoyed the movie . \\nthe writers and directors knew the limitations of both their cast and of the basic story itself , and they didn\\'t try to overachieve . \\nthere were a lot of really cool fight scenes ( with really cool accompanying music ) , intersperesed with some distracting ( but ultimately non-intrusive ) bits of fluff passing itself off as a plot . \\nand , as we know , the movie was a smashing success at the box office . \\nmortal kombat : annihilation picks up precisely where that movie left off , with some introductory exposition to clue in those who may not have seen the first movie . \\nshao khan has decided that he\\'s going to take over the earth * anyways * , and to hell with some silly rule about mortals winning the tournament . \\nthereafter follows approximately 85 minutes of film that alternates between being confused , being trite , being silly , and being just plain stupid . \\none gets the general impression that the producers of the movie thought \" hey , that last movie was such a success that we can get more money and make a * real * movie now . \" \\ntoo bad they didn\\'t simply stick with the formula from the first movie . \\ni could write volumes about the things that are wrong with this picture , but here are the high points : \\n * the acting is truly bad . \\nsandra hess ( playing the sonya blade character ) is particularly execrable , especially in scenes where she tries to convince us that she loved johnny cage ( a character from the first movie who gets greased at the beginning of this movie ) . \\n * in one of the worst pieces of mis-casting i think i\\'ve * ever * seen , james remar plays raiden , the god of thunder . \\nin the first movie , christopher lambert played raiden and played his character as though he was in on the joke : a french actor playing a japanese thunder god being revered by chinese mystics . \\ni generally like it when actors are cast against type ( tim \" tiny \" lister , jr . being cast as the president of the u . s . in the fifth element , for example ) , and remar has always been one of my favorite \" utility \" actors but he\\'s so totally wrong for this part that he doesn\\'t even have the luxury of amused self-awareness . \\n * there are too many characters that are introduced as being potentially important , but then never seen again . \\n * there are a number of completely meaningless story sidetracks , including a muddled scene where liu kang ( robin shou ) seeks out nightwolf ( litefoot ) , has a mystical hallucination , and then wanders off with jade ( irina pantaeva ) . \\nfor these reasons ( and many others ) , i can only give the movie a 2 . . . \\n . . . unless you\\'re a huge fan of the games and/or the first movie . \\nin that case , the following critiques also apply : \\n * sandra hess , while being an even worse actress than bridgette wilson ( who played sonya blade in the first movie ) , is much more convincing as a fighter . \\nwilson looked like she was simply mimicing some movements taught to her by the fight choreographer . \\nhess looks like she actually knows some martial arts , and puts together a much more believable fight scene . \\n * in the fights , each of the characters does at least * one * thing they do in the game ( and often more ) . \\nsonya does her \" kiss of death , \" jax does his \" earthquake , \" liu kang does his \" animality , \" and so on . \\na big bonus for those of us who were looking for similar moves in the first movie and found them only rarely . \\n * there aren\\'t as many fight scenes in this movie as there were in the first , because the folks making the movie mistakenly try to hang a more robust plot in between . \\nsilly , silly folks . \\nand the lamest fight involved two of the women in what turns into a mud-wrestling match . \\nlame and so obviously sexist even i ( politically incorrect , for the most part ) noticed and remarked upon it . \\n * the special effects are generally better , except for the final fight scene between the emporer and liu kang in which both perform their \" animalities . \" \\nmotaro and sheeva are both more convincing and lifelike than goro was in the first movie . \\nfor folks like myself who loved the first movie and enjoy the games , i give this a 5 . \\nyou\\'ll probably like it , but not nearly as much as you liked the first one . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'john von neumann , progenitor of the computer age and critically important mathematician on the manhattan project , pointed out long ago that there is a great way to explore the cosmos , even without recourse to faster-than light travel . \\nyou send out self-replicating robot ships which explore and radio back information . \\nit may take decades , centuries , or millennia , but it can be done with achievable technology , and doesn\\'t require a magical faster-than-light drive . \\nin the fifties , british astronomer fred hoyle improved on this plan by suggesting that it would be better to radio plans for a complex computer and a program for it ; any civilization capable of receiving the transmission could build the computer , which would then engage in a real-time dialog with the aliens , exchanging information and technologies , and hopefully arranging to send back what it had learned . \\nabout thirty-five years ago , the bbc contracted with astronomer/writer fred hoyle and writer frank elliot to create the scripts for a mini-series called a for andromeda . \\nafa concerned the reception of a hoyle transmission , the construction of a huge computer , the computer\\'s analysis of life on earth , and its creation of an apparently human intermediary to facilitate communication . \\nshe was played with ethereally inhuman perfection by the then-unknown julie christie . \\naudience response was so strong that the bbc contracted for a sequel , andromeda breakthrough , which played to equally high ratings . \\ndennis feldman , whose previous credits include the golden child , has never been noted for coherent , well-structured movie scripts ; they start out great , and then disintegrate into a morass of chase and action , mitigated only by the presence of the obligatory beautiful girl . \\nfeldman writes good scenes , but has no idea how to tell a story or write a movie , even with a previous version to use as a model . \\nnow , in species , we have a mundane retread of the andromeda plotline , derailed by a preoccupation with removing the clothes from the leading lady and further ruined by a mediocre attempt to emulate several recent horror films in terms of splatter , gore , and chases . \\nspecies features ben kingsley , who is completely wasted in a badly-written portrayal of a feebly amoral scientist . \\nforest whitaker and alfred molina are also served poorly by the script . \\nthe species story is relatively simple ; we have been radioing information about ourselves and our dna out into space since 1971 , and have been receiving answers for two years . \\n ( note that , in the 1970\\'s , we really didn\\'t know diddly about the human genome structure , and were hardly in a position to radio out a set of blueprints for human beings . \\neven today , all we can do is give information about dna and how it works , not a copy of human dna , because we don\\'t have it analyzed yet . ) \\nthe answers we get from the unknown alien source are plans for recreating a member of the alien race , and doctor xavier finch , played by ben kingsley , is placed in charge of the attempt . \\nthe script begins to go off the deep end at this point , when the result is a beautiful young girl who can shape-shift into any of several ugly alien life forms . \\nthe first half of the film has something to offer , as \" sil , \" the alien girl , struggles with her multi-form existence , changing from beauty to lizard to giant cockroach and back again , all while trying to understand her own place in the cosmos . \\nshe seems oddly knowledgeable about human society , with glaring gaps where her social skills should be . \\nher instincts are to mate and procreate , and some of the best scenes deal with her attempts in this area . \\nescaping from her birth laboratory in utah , sil is pursued by a team of drafted civilians with orders to find her and kill her . \\nshe goes on an eating binge , spins herself a cocoon , and emerges as an adult , played by natasha henstridge , who goes a long way toward re-creating the sheerly inhuman beauty julie christie achieved in 1960 . \\nthe pursuers : michael madsen is an assassin/exterminator ; forrest whitaker is a convenient empath/psychic , just as though the u . s . government actually had such people on call . \\nneither is able to do much with the writing and directing provided . \\nwhitaker\\'s role seems to be aimed at making whitaker a male copy of star trek : the next generation\\'s \" counselor cleavage . \" \\nthe other members of the strike team are played by marg helgenberger and alfred molina . \\nkingsley and whitaker are both consummate professionals , too good to not work to the best of their abilities ; but the performances donaldson elicited from the rest of the cast are disappointing and bland , and it is apparent that the direction was a bit weak . \\nh . r . giger\\'s design for the main form of the alien creature is actually a bit boring when we finally get to see it , although previous digital effects were done quite smoothly . \\nthe main fault of species is lack of originality ; it starts out with a wonderful , albeit borrowed , premise , and then doesn\\'t live up to it . \\nall we get are chase scenes and a few nice sex scenes , with a few monsters tossed in . \\nthere is no buildup of tension and suspense , no climax worthy of the name ; species is just a sequence of \" scare \" scenes stuck together . \\nthe movie is carried by its chase and sex scenes , but not rescued by them . \\non the other hand , as an exercise in sci-fi action/ adventure , it certainly beats the ichor out of judge dredd . \\nspecies earns an extra rating point or two for having ben kingsley and natasha henstridge on board , but by and large , it\\'s fun only for those of us who really like this sort of thing . \\nmy personal rating is three stars , but knock one or two of those off if you don\\'t enjoy pretty unclothed ladies and bloodthirsty alien monsters . \\nmpaa classification : r ( violence , gore , nudity , sex , language ) \\nstars : ben kingsley , michael madsen , forest whitaker , alfred molina , marg helgenberger , natasha henstridge directed by : roger donaldson produced by : frank mancuso jr . and dennis feldman typed by : dennis feldman cinematography : andrzej bartkowiak music : christopher young run time : 108 minutes aspect ratio : 2 . 35 : 1 from mgm , opens 7 july 1995 \\n',\n",
+       "  b'with the success of the surprise hit alien , directed by ridley scott , a sequel was inevitable . \\nin fact , after watching the first film , a sequel was wanted , particularly by this reviewer . \\nhanding over the director\\'s chair to recent box office gem james cameron , who had only made two films previous to this one ( pirahna ii , a surprisingly dull film , and terminator , making cameron a household name ) , the alien series got a face-lift of immense proportions . \\ninstead of being a suspense/science fiction film , cameron alters the series and changing it into an action picture . \\nwhat results is one of the most terrifying films ever created . \\na film like aliens comes along only once in a while , and when it does , audiences are usually unprepared for it . \\ni never saw this movie in theaters , but i wish i could have . \\nthe terror and fright must have been unimaginable , most likely with audiences members literally shrieking in fear . \\naliens is an action film unlike any i have ever seen . \\nwith a science fiction plot , cameron gives aliens added testosterone , pumping up the action and fire power from the original film . \\nin fact , aliens is one of those few sequels which tops the original . \\nperhaps what makes the alien series so impressive is the hero--or heroine , as the case may be . \\nnever have we had a more sympathetic hero in an action film , and never have i seen such an impressive acting job done by the main character . \\nsigourney weaver is possibly the only actress who could play this character and make her realistic enough for us to care about . \\nplacing a woman in these situations would sometimes seem unusual , but because of weaver\\'s presence , a woman is the only suitable hero . \\naliens begins 57 years after alien ended . \\nlieutenant ellen ripley ( weaver ) is discovered in hypersleep on the nostromo and is awakened . \\nshe explains how she is the only survivor of her past encounter with the aliens , but \" the company \" is doubtful . \\nthey explain that a colony of families is flourishing on the same planet from which she just left . \\ndespite stern warnings from ripley , the company remains rigid and won\\'t call the families back . \\nhowever , when the company loses contact with the colony , ripley\\'s story seems much more feasible . \\none of the company\\'s directors , carter burke ( paul reiser ) , wants to gather a team to travel to the planet . \\nthis team includes a buff private vasquez ( jenette goldstein ) , a questionable corporal hicks ( michael biehn ) , and a loyal android bishop ( lance henriksen ) . \\nburke tags along with ripley as they fly to the planet in order to locate the members of the colony . \\narriving on the planet , the team finds most of the human life extinguished in a cocoon-type environment . \\nthe only survivor is 12 year old rebecca \" newt \" jorden ( carrie henn ) . \\nripley finds this a chance to be the mother she never had the opportunity to become , and she becomes newt\\'s surrogate mother . \\nripley and newt are the only ones who knows what has happened , and soon , all hell breaks loose . \\naliens not only multiplies the thrills and suspense from scott\\'s version , it also multiplies the number of aliens in general . \\nalien focused on one alien in particular which systematically killed each crew member , except ripley , who managed to jettison the alien out of the nostromo . \\naliens focuses on an entire race of these aliens , and as a result , the chills are incredibly heightened . \\nthen again , this is james cameron , the guy who has given us true lies and terminator 2 : judgment day . \\nhe is the best action director out there ( topping renny harlin , who directed cliffhanger ) , and only he could create something as terrifying as this film . \\nit seems that every alien film seems to have some memorable scene or scenes , and aliens has the motherload . \\nwith perhaps one of the most astonishing endings ever created for an action film , aliens climax never seems to hit until the viewer is nearly pushed to extreme exhaustion . \\ni can\\'t recall another film ever to sustain this level of intensity throughout , never dropping for a moment . \\njust when you think the movie is over , something else will occur , and it starts right back up again . \\nwith a seemingly endless conclusion , aliens ends with one of the greatest moments in film history . \\nthis scene is usually the one remembered most from the film , as lieutenant ripley steps into one of the lifting machines to fight the alien queen . \\nusing flawless special effects , the climax is exhausting , leaving any audience member drained from extreme anxiety . \\nof course , for a film of this genre to work properly , the technical aspects must be realistic enough for us to believe what we see . \\naliens is completely realistic , even a decade after its initial release . \\nthe special effects are wonderfully seamless , with a terrifying alien to go with them . \\none of the most overlooked aspects of this film is the music , composed by cameron-regular james horner . \\nhorner has created a terrific score , receiving an oscar nomination for his work . \\nnot only that , horner has also created one of the best scores for any action film , or science fiction film ever ( and that includes 2001 : a space odyssey , which was mainly a compilation of well-known composers ) . \\nin fact , the climax music is also some of the most recognized of film music . \\nthe production design is incredible , which also happened to snag a nomination from the academy . \\ndark corridors lit by red lights are very impressive , but more impressive is the amount of terror which arises from well-lit locations . \\nnormally a film will be very dark in order to scare a viewer ; aliens uses lights to scare the viewer . \\nthen , of course , is the cinematography , which uses point of view shots , along with video feeds in order to build suspense . \\nsome of the scariest scenes involve the perspective of ripley . \\nsurprisingly , the acting is not only above average for this genre , but some of the best . \\nsigourney weaver received an oscar nomination for her portrayal of ripley , incorporating the right amount of sympathy into her hard-edged persona . \\nweaver soars above the rest in this film , but she is supposed to . \\ncarrie henn gives an above average performance for a child , developing a three-dimensional character from her quiet attitude . \\nlance henriksen is terrific as bishop , showing that androids don\\'t always have to be flat characters . \\njenette goldstein shows a fair amount of enthusiasm with her role , and steals several scenes of her own ( though her personality becomes slightly annoying when she isn\\'t fighting ) . \\nmichael biehn gives a very nice performance in the most obligatory role of the film . \\nhowever , biehn does a good job , making it seem original again . \\npaul reiser may seem like an odd choice to play the sleazy corporate director , but reiser manages to pull it off quite well ( however , i still see him as paul on tv\\'s \" mad about you \" ) . \\na very good cast ( which also includes bill paxton and william hope ) highlights this action film , making it stand out from others . \\naliens is rightfully rated r for violence , gore , language , and terror . \\naliens is sort of the redefining moment of the science fiction genre , as alien was more of a suspense/horror film . \\naliens pumps up the stakes , and cameron directs it with professional quality . \\ncameron certainly knows how to make a good action film , but here he proves how he can create some truly horrific moments on screen . \\ntechnically astonishing , aliens\\' only flaw is small characters who are only there to get killed . \\naside from this , you probably won\\'t experience anything like aliens for quite a while . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i'm a dedicated fan of writer kevin williamson's work . \\nhe always finds a clever way to spice up old material with witty dialogue and fresh ideas that stem from his inventive brain . \\nwith teaching mrs . tingle , his directorial debut , williamson has reached the end of his rope . \\nwhat used to be intelligent about his films is hopelessly stale here . \\nthe components are all there , including an encouraging premise that all high school students can relate to . \\nbut where are the thrills ? \\nthe laughs ? \\nboth are supposedly absent from this draggy exercise in elaborate revenge . \\nand what a shame that is . \\ni loved the scream films - heck , i even enjoyed the sci-fi goofiness of the faculty . \\nkevin williamson was the reason horror films were such a big draw at the box office . \\nteaching mrs . tingle , a black comedy that will leave a gaping void in his optimistic followers , may put an end to his reign . \\nor perhaps it will encourage him to spend more time perfecting a script than to worry about his directing duties . \\ni still have my faith , but i fear the name of kevin williamson may soon be a forgotten echo of the past . \\nthe title character of his pet project is a vicious , uncaring history teacher who is played deliciously over-the-top by british actress helen mirren . \\nmrs . tingle is basically every student's worst nightmare : a heartless human being bent on distributing poor marks to even the most hard-working of her pupils . \\nthe principal ( michael mckean ) is horrified of her , and she is unanimously despised among her fellow staff members . \\ni enjoyed the fact that everyone in the hallway quickly steers out of her way . \\nmirren's performance is one of the very few delights in this distressingly hollow black comedy that goes down like a flat soft drink . \\nin other words , it's a poor substitute for williamson's best work . \\nthe plot is a big problem here . \\nmaterial that could have been enjoyable is rendered totally ridiculous by poor handling on the part of the director . \\nthe likable katie holmes plays leigh ann , an over-achiever hoping to get a college scholarship . \\nbut typical mrs . tingle says her history project , which she worked on for countless hours , is laughable . \\nlater on while studying in the gymnasium , a classmate ( barry watson ) offers her a photo-copied duplicate of mrs . tingle's final exam . \\nleigh ann's best friend ( marisa coughlan ) encourages her to use it . \\nalas , the old hag herself finds the three scheming , and snatches the test , and prepares to talk to the principal in the morning . \\nin the morning . . . \\nhow convenient ! \\nthe three students head to mrs . tingle's house , attempting to set the facts straight and clear leigh ann's name . \\nthings get out of hand , and the teacher gets knocked unconscious in a tussle . \\nthe plan is to tie her to a bed and try to get some reasoning out of her . \\nof course , not everything goes entirely to plan . \\nbesides pointless sub-plots involving the football coach ( jeffrey tambor , horribly wasted ) , there is little by way of actual progress . \\nthere is no urgency to the situation ; little tension or laughs are involved . \\nthe humor is completely inconsistent . \\nafter many of the jokes , the theater was so silent i could have heard a fly sneeze . \\nyou continue to await some momentum in the story , something that could possibly revive the slow pace . \\na moment like that never arises . \\nwilliamson also does a handsome job of wasting some of the key supporting players , including the talented mckean and larry sanders' vet tambor . \\nand the beautiful vivica a . fox has one lifeless scene as a caring guidance counselor , and then williamson disposes of her character entirely . \\non the plus side , holmes and coughlan are admirable ( with the latter giving a frighteningly believable exorcism impression ) , and molly ringwald has an amusing cameo appearance as a substitute teacher . \\nwhile everything is pretty lifeless , teaching mrs . tingle remains watchable . \\nthere are a few promising ideas that pop up now and again , but anything remotely interesting is squandered by the inane script . \\nmirren is easily the best reason to keep watching . \\nshe is convincingly evil and fun to watch , but even her gifted delivery can't save individual scenes that flounder in boredom . \\nif there is one word for the movie surrounding her , it would be `disappointing' . \\nbasically , kevin williamson is his worst enemy here . \\nhis uneventful direction prevents any aspects of his screenplay to be appreciated ( not that his writing here is especially good ) . \\nwe will see , when rookie screenwriter ehren kruger writes the third installment in the scream franchise this christmas , whether williamson is for real . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"the happy bastard's quick movie review \\nholy man \\nmore like holy crap . \\nthe film stars eddie murphy as a mystical-ish figure named g on a strange journey of some sort when he comes across two network execs ( jeff goldblum and kelly preston ) with a flat tire on their hands . \\nsomehow he ends up in their car and on their channel , a line-up of infomercial programs featuring the likes of betty white , morgan fairchild , and a slew of other celebrities and nameless figures . \\nit's here that he seems to hit his stride , speaking of life instead and somehow boosting sales . \\nat this point in the movie , of course , morality comes into play , particularly on goldblum , who suddenly feels he can market the magical g into megabucks to get in good with his boss ( robert loggia ) . \\nit doesn't take long for the movie to unfold into sappy mush , with realizations taking place left and right and poor plot points . \\nonly a real zippy sequence involving frying morgan fairchild's face seems to have any interest in the movie . \\nmurphy lends nothing to his character and poor goldblum looks as if he'd rather be someplace else . \\nsome may argue that the movie has a message , but all that came across to me is that i could probably get more entertainment watching that informercial with the guy in the question mark coat . \\nat least he has something for us to laught at . . . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"from dusk till dawn ( director/editor : robert rodriguez ; screenwriters : quentin tarantino/robert kurtzman ( story ) ; cinematographer : guillermo navarro ; cast : quentin tarantino ( richie gecko ) , george clooney ( seth gecko ) , juliette lewis ( kate fuller ) , harvey keitel ( jacob fuller ) , ernest liu ( scott fuller ) , salma hayek ( santanico pandemonium ) , tom savini ( sex machine ) , fred williamson ( frost ) , cheech marin ( border guard/chet pussy/carlos ) , michael parks ( texas ranger ) , brenda hillhouse ( hostage gloria ) ; runtime : 108 ; dimension films ; 1996 ) \\nreviewed by dennis schwartz \\nit's a love it or hate it film . \\ni simply hated it . \\non its menu for fun , is a violent feast served up as charm and done in a tongue-and-cheek manner . \\nit's a serial killer/horror film farce of nonstop over-the-top action and sleaze , involving decapitations , vampires , biker fights , extended gun play , and an array of gore that has to be seen to be believed . \\na film that regales in its vulgarity and campiness for blood-and-gore , as it goes out of its way to gloss over the clich ? s of the conventional b-films . \\nit's geared only for the cult film crowd , and will make its mark there one way or the other . \\nthe plot involves two psychopath brothers , the older professional bank robber and killer seth gecko ( clooney ) and the perverted psychopath killer , richie ( tarantino ) , who kills for pleasure and is also a rapist . \\nthey escape jail and go on a killing spree in wichita and then flee to a liquor store in a small texas border town . \\nthey have just robbed a bank and killed a number of cops , they have also taken a middle-aged bank teller as a hostage . \\nin the liquor store they kill a texas ranger and the store clerk , and burn down the store . \\nstopping off in a flop-house motel , richie rapes and slaughters the hostage . \\nthese scenes are all done with an eye for comedy and parody , if that's possible . \\non the tv news , it says they have killed 16 so far and most are texas rangers . \\nthe brothers plan to get to mexico and meet carlos ( cheech ) , who will give them a place of sanctuary for thirty percent of their illegal take . \\nwith road blocks and car searches at the border , the brothers commandeer a motor home of a vacationing family who stopped at their motel so that the father could sleep in a real bed . \\nthere is the father , jacob fuller ( keitel ) , who just resigned as a minister because he lost faith ever since his wife died in a car accident ; his sexy 20-year-old , innocent daughter , kate ( lewis ) ; and , her shy brother scott ( liu ) . \\nit's not explained how he happens to be chinese . \\nthe story really becomes bizarre when they get across the border and get ready to meet carlos in a bar/whorehouse for truckers and bikers called the titty twister . \\nthe place is open from dawn to dusk , thus the film's title . \\nhere's where rodriguez has a chance to throw convention out the window and have some absurd fun , as the place turns out to be a vampire hangout . \\nit sells sex to its patrons , and has exotic stripper santanico pandemonium ( hayek ) do her alluring strip before turning into a vampire . \\nthe brothers and their hostages have to fight their way out of the place , as the vampires keep coming and the killings become the film's staple . \\nthis supposedly clever script did nothing but turn me off , though there were a few funny moments in a film that was dripping with special effects and spent most of its script in finding novel ways to showcase its killings . \\ni'll take a pass on this one , it's just not my style of a film . \\nthe characters were as empty as the story , and the film was an easy one to forget . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the most popular trend of the last couple of years has been the twist ending . \\nwatching one of these movies , everything seems to make sense until suddenly you are blown away by an unexpected surprise . \\nwhen the film ends , there is a moment of confusion , then recollection , then some more confusion , then possibly a second viewing for clarification . \\nthis is a description of an ideal twist that perfects everything it sets out to do and more . \\ngood surprises make movies fun to watch . \\nthen there are the bad twists . \\nyou either know what is going to happen ten minutes into the movie ( i\\'m talking about you reindeer games ) or you did not guess the ending because it is so outrageously stupid . \\nscrewed perfectly suits the latter description . \\nwhat starts out as a dumb guilty pleasure which should be fun to mock with a group of friends ends with a complex finale with way too much going on . \\nby the writers of man on the moon and the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , scott alexander and larry karaszewski leave milos forman behind and take a stab at film directing . \\nwhoops . \\nscrewed is an inane christmas carol gone berserk with few genuine laughs and many acting embarrassments . \\nnorm macdonald stars as willard filmore , a hard working chauffeur who just wants a little respect from his rich , old , insidious boss , miss crock ( elaine stritch ) . \\nwhen he overhears her plans to fire him on christmas day , willard is convinced by his best friend rusty ( dave chapelle ) to kidnap crock\\'s beloved dog and hold it for a ransom of one million dollars . \\ntoo excited to pay any attention , the hapless losers\\' plan goes awry when the dog escapes and returns home . \\nnow crock thinks willard has been kidnapped and the two friends , realizing they can make even more money , decide to stage the fake kidnapping . \\nof course , everything that could go wrong does . \\nthe first forty-five minutes of screwed is harmless entertainment - a guilty pleasure that should be enjoyably bad . \\nbut the convoluted script eventually builds into a disaster that is impossible to bear . \\nthe more idiotic these characters get , the more reckless the script becomes . \\nat one point , i wanted to get out of my seat and yell at these characters : \" no , you idiot ! \" \\ni\\'m not just talking about willard and rusty , who were extremely annoying , i\\'m also talking about the cops in this film . \\na monkey could have solved this case within an hour but these guys ( headed by murder one\\'s daniel benzali ) were just too clueless to forgive . \\nthey give real cops bad names . \\nalso poor danny devito apparently does not know how to turn down a role these days . \\nlooking almost identical to his penguin in batman : returns , every time he appeared on the screen i had to shake my head in disbelief . \\nhe just didn\\'t belong in this movie . \\nmacdonald and chapelle are veterans at these kinds of movies but devito made the film much worse than it already was , gross out humor is certainly not his forte . \\nif you\\'re a fan of norm macdonald\\'s other chaotic comedy , dirty work , you might actually love this near-sequel . \\notherwise , don\\'t get screwed out of your hard-earned money . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'scream 2 has a titillating little scene that lays down the unwritten law of horror movie sequels quite well . \\nduring a film-class discussion , windsor college students articulate what these inevitable laws are , and why sequels never live up to the originals . \\na few rare exceptions are noted , but they left out one . \\n . \\n . \\nscream 2 ! \\n1996\\'s surprise horror blockbuster scream became an instant hit and developed an obsessive coterie of fans which included almost every teenager in america ! \\na sequel was unavoidable , but luckily the re-teaming of writer kevin williamson and director wes craven gives us nothing to fear in the way of lost entertainment . \\nin fact , at the risk of sounding sacrilegious to all the adorning fans of scream , i would say that scream 2 might even be the better film ! \\nsidney prescott ( neve campbell ) , the sinuous heroine who survived a series of murders in woodsboro , ca in the original scream , is now two years older and off to college , majoring in theater . \\nmeanwhile , tv journalist gale weathers ( courtney cox ) , who covered the murders in the first film , has since written a book about the dreadful events ; a book titled \" stab \" , which has been developed into a major motion picture . \\nas scream 2 opens , a crowd of overzealous teenagers are piling into a crowded movie theater for the premiere of \" stab \" , and before long , a young couple are butchered to death , unnoticed in the midst of hysteria . \\nthis marks the beginning of a new murder spree as an unknown \" copycat \" sets out to repeat what\\'s been done . \\n . \\n . \\nand finish what hasn\\'t ! \\nof course the killer is just as obsessed with movies as the killer in the first film , and yes , movies play a huge role in the bizarre psychological outlook the murderer holds as he/she goes about slaying an assortment of gorgeous twenty year olds , but this * is * a sequel , and without deviating from the original groundwork we are still given a fresh outlook on horror movies . \\nthis is in large part due to williamson\\'s deliciously written script , which will easily leave you satisfied . \\nas much as the film condemns the use of cliches , it is riddled with them , but it is done so effectively , and with skillful direction by craven , that you\\'re not bound to complain . \\ni will note , however , that the \" whodunit ? \" \\ndid wind up being the first person i suspected , but believe me , i kept changing my mind as i tried to stay one ahead of the movie . \\nall the actors outdo themselves here . \\nwe\\'re not talking oscar performances , but cambell , cox , david arquette as dewey riley , and jamie kennedy as randy all give surprisingly satisfying performances that go beyond their last outing . \\nthe characters remain true to their roots , and yet show a clear sign of development over the last two years . \\nwe can see how the events in the first film has affected them , but we don\\'t lose any of the luster that made them such a delight to watch in the first place . \\nthe nice thing about scream 2 is that it doesn\\'t seem off-kilter from it\\'s predecessor . \\nit\\'s a natural , smooth , and believable ( as far as horror films go ) transition from film to film . \\nwe skip two years , but there doesn\\'t seem to be any holes or shortcuts taken in connecting the two flicks . \\nit flows so well that you feel more like you\\'re reading chapter two of a book ( long chapters , eh ? ) \\nthan just revitalizing a cast of familiar faces . \\nwhile main characters are usually the only connection in sequels , scream 2\\'s entire plot structure correlates * completely * with the first , making for immediate fondness and absorption . \\nas i said before , scream 2 easily lives up to , if not surpassing , it\\'s precursor . \\nthe only reason scream will likely be hailed above scream 2 is because it was the first . \\nthis doesn\\'t mean that it overcasts the unique , whimsical humor or overall caliber of it\\'s sequel , it just means that scream will forever be known as the movie that mocked it\\'s own while maintaining it\\'s sought-after qualities . \\nif ever a film followed it\\'s original so well , it would be scream 2 , and it makes this a definite must-see for all those unbridled scream fans out there . \\nscream 2 fits snugly alongside scream , and will hopefully receive as many high remarks . \\nit would top off the series quite well , if it weren\\'t for the fact that two movies don\\'t really make a series . \\nit\\'s unlikely to assume that a scream 3 won\\'t appear in the next few years , but if they do decide to turn this into an undeniably acclaimed horror-trilogy , let\\'s hope they can keep up the fantastic work . \\nlike they say , don\\'t mess with perfection . \\n . \\n . \\nbut when a money-making smash-hit is almost guaranteed , who\\'s gonna listen ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'august and september are a wasteland when it comes to children\\'s films , and october is a dumping ground for munchkin movies the studios don\\'t want to see slaughtered against family-oriented thanksgiving films . \\nlast year , the benevolent studio gods gave us digimon , and this year , they bestow max keeble\\'s big move on delighted moviegoers across the country . \\nparents will be thrilled because they\\'ll finally have something to drag little austin and kayla to see that doesn\\'t smell nearly as much like ass as digimon did . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong - keeble , which is actually only a \" ment \" away from being a fetish film , isn\\'t that entertaining . \\nin fact , you\\'d be better off waiting to blow your disposable income when the real kiddie pics ( monsters , inc . , harry potter ) come out next month . \\nbut if dubya dubya iii tells you to go out and spend money to stimulate the economy , then you\\'d better do it ( because gassing up the minivan twice a week just isn\\'t going to cut it ) . \\nwe first see young max keeble ( alex d . linz , home alone 3 ) as a pint-sized superhero , delivering newspapers with the pinpoint accuracy of a david beckham cross , foiling the diabolical plans of the evil ice cream man ( jamie kennedy , jay and silent bob strike back ) and landing the neighborhood honey ( brooke anne smith ) , who , by the way , is the hottest chick in a disney film since emmanuelle chriqui played claire boner in snow day . \\nthe scenario is , of course , a dream . \\nmax is really a doofus and he wakes up on his first day of junior high school with a pessimistic attitude , no luck with the ladies and only two friends , both of whom can kindly be described as social outcasts ( and who were both in snow day ) - the perpetually robed robe ( josh peck ) and a clarinet-playing cutie named megan ( summer catch\\'s zena grey ) , who harbors secret feelings for max . \\nthings don\\'t get any better for max when he arrives at school . \\nhe has to contend with , among other things , a red-hot science teacher ( amber valletta , family man ) , a pair of polar-opposite bullies ( noel fisher and orlando brown ) , and an illiterate principal ( larry miller , the princess diaries ) who\\'s secretly diverting the school\\'s last dime into the football program . \\nwhen max\\'s father ( grownup nerd robert carradine ) unexpectedly announces the family is moving to a new town at the end of the week , max decides this is the perfect time to exact revenge on everyone who pisses him off . \\nwhoa - don\\'t worry , parents . \\nhe doesn\\'t do it klebold-harris style . \\nit\\'s all pretty tame stuff , but max ends up in hot water when dad nixes the move , leaving his son dangling in the wind like so many tampon strings . \\ndirector tim hill ( muppets from space ) adds a few nice touches , like max\\'s voiceover character introductions for the film\\'s main characters and a flashback scene that\\'s pretty funny , but there isn\\'t too much else happening here stylewise . . . unless \\nyou count some farting , a little puking , and a couple of bizarre cameos from tony hawk and lil\\' romeo . \\n1 : 30 - pg for some bullying and crude humor \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" pokemon 3 : the movie \" has a lot of bad things in it . \\nfirst of all it\\'s a plot heavy mess that has bad voice talents , badly written script and fantastic animation . \\nthe first film came out the end of 1999 and was a huge hit grossing almost $90 million domestically . \\na sequel soon followed and even made $45 million . \\nwarner has released their third movie based on the immensely popular video game and tv series and its a waste of time and celluloid . \\nthis time ash ketchum and his friends are on their way to the johto battles ( which my little brother told me the new spinoff is \" pokemon : the johto journeys \" so go figure ) anyway he comes in contact with a young girl who\\'s father has disappeared after trying to discover the unown . \\nthey are small pokemon with a powerful punch and have great psychic abilities . \\nthe unown bring together their psychic abilities and create entei a powerful legendary pokemon who barriers young molly\\'s house and creates every wish she wants . \\nnow it\\'s up to ash and his friends to stop this pokemon entei and show him to be a good pokemon rather than a bad one . \\ntoo bad really that this is a bad movie , surprisingly the first movie was entertaining and somewhat absorbing , the second was a piece of trash and this one is almost in between . \\nit has some good qualities ( animation , message in the end ) but the flaws seem to overpower the goods . \\ni\\'m still not sure what the big thing is about pokemon , they are ugly little animals who speak their own name for their language ( besides meowth , my personal favorite ) and you don\\'t understand what they are saying . \\nmy little brother just thought the movie was amazing , and i kept leaning over and asking him happened , or what pokemon that was . \\nhis response was a big lecture of how this is that , and that is this . . . he \\nsure did put me in my place . \\nwith the second and third movie being bad , i have a feeling pokemon 4 : the movie might be a total bust as well . \\n \" pokemon 3 : the movie \" has some redeeming qualities for the kids , and the pokemon fans will dig every minute of this film . \\nfor those parents and/or brothers and sisters who have to sit through this . . . bring a pillow . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'lisa cholodenko\\'s \" high art , \" is an intelligent , quiet drama . \\nits strongest quality , aside from the top-notch central performances , is the perceptive way in which the film , also written by cholodenko , observes its characters . \\nthey are all flawed people , some more troubled than others , but they are not judged . \\njudging the characters in this picture would be a creative misstep on the filmmakers\\' parts , because no one , no matter how bad off they are , deserve to be negatively judged if they are involved in some serious problems that they cannot break free of . \\nsyd ( radha mitchell ) , a 24-year-old woman living with her longtime boyfriend james ( gabriel mann ) , has recently been awarded an ideal job at the high-profile photography magazine , \" frame . \" \\nshe very much enjoys where her career is headed , but is often not taken very seriously by her managers , who are always giving her petty jobs to do , when she knows she could be doing more important things . \\none night , while taking a bath , syd notices a leak coming from the apartment above hers , so when she goes up there to inform them of it , she meets lucy beliner ( ally sheedy ) , a thin , worn-out , and unhappy woman , who lives with her drug-addicted german girlfriend , greta ( patricia clarkson ) , a pathetic former actress who is usually so out-of-it that she often is in and out of conciousness . \\nsyd quickly strikes up a conversation with lucy , and discovers that she used to be an acclaimed photographer ten years before . \\nlucy claims she doesn\\'t want to get back into the profession , but syd manages to convince the \" frame \" editors to do a piece on her work . \\nall the while , syd begins to grow deep feelings for lucy , even though she has never previously been attracted to a woman , and lucy starts a battle with her personal demons . \\n \" high art , \" is such an effective motion picture because it is never suger-coated or idealized , but instead an honest and convincing portrait of a handful of unhappy people whose lives are going nowhere , while syd\\'s luck begins to rise . \\nthe film in no way is about lesbianism , but about love , which was a refreshing change of pace from the usual stereotypical portraits of homosexuality . \\nas lucy and syd grow closer and closer together , we really do believe that they are falling in love with each other , even if the relationship might be doomed . \\nwith this picture , ally sheedy\\'s star has risen once again , thanks to her touching , nearly flawless portrtayal of lucy , a woman who , in the course of a decade , has found her life consumed almost entirely by drugs , which has taken away her once-blossoming career . \\nher characted really is tragic , and one particular scene involving lucy and her mother , in which lucy admits to her that she has a drug problem , and her mother matter-of-factly responds by saying she can\\'t help her , is heartbreaking . \\nalthough not autobiographical , sheedy has had drug problems in her past , and i suspect she brought that knowledge of already being in lucy\\'s footsteps to her role . \\nalso very good is radha mitchell as syd , who previously starred in the slight 1997 australian comedy , \" love and other catastrophes , \" wh caught me by surprise with her performance . \\neasily being able to pass as christina ricci\\'s older sister , mitchell obtains the same natural charisma that has made ricci so popular recently . \\nas accurate as almost every detail is in , \" high art , \" i wish the relationship had been more tightly written involving syd and james , who , played by gabriel mann , is left with a throwaway role . \\nby the time he finds out about syd and lucy , he disappears from the film , and i wish there had been another scene where they confronted each other . \\nthis is a very minor fault , however , in a film that is full of riches . \\nalthough many of the characters are stuck in a hopeless pit of despair , syd and lucy are intelligent people who recognize their problems . \\nthe character of dominique ( anh duong ) , the \" frame \" editor who decides to give syd a chance with her ideas , was also written to be far more mature than expected . \\nand the one sex scene in the film was beautifully and originally done . \\nfor once , it did not invlove steaminess , or violent sexual activity , or gratuitous nudity , but focused on the actual characters , who love each other , and their insecurities involved in making the decision to actually have sex . \\n \" high art , \" which won the screenwriting award at the 1998 sundance film festival , marks the superior feature film debut of cholodenko , as well as sheedy\\'s strongest , and best , role to date . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"unfortunately it doesn't get much more formulaic than one tough cop . \\nthere's the renegade cop with the loser partner who has to many problems to explain . \\nthe renegade has to prove his good name and is trapped between the good guys , the bad guys and some woman who really has nothing to do with the story other than being there for the purpose of providing sex for the hero in the middle of the film . \\nbo dietl ( pronounced deedle , baldwin ) is one tough cop , a guy who is being investigated by hardass fbi agents due to his association with the ny mafia . \\non top of that problem , he has a drunk , gambling addicted partner ( penn ) who has a penchant for collecting parking tickets ( i guess cops aren't immune ? ) . \\nthen , throw into the mix the femme fatale ( gershon ) . \\nright there you have plenty of ammo for a decent cop drama . \\nbut right in the middle of the film , they throw in a completely un-related plot point . \\ndietl and his partner duke try to solve a case that they have been warned to stay away from . \\nthe film spends over half an hour tracking the case of a nun who was beaten and raped to near death . \\nonce the case is solved , the film shifts focus back to the mafia issue . \\nwhatever neat mesh the screenwriter wanted to create between the two stories failed miserably . \\naside from being asked to accept michael mcglone as a mafioso ( an insult if you ask me ) the performances were pretty good . \\nbaldwin , though he occasionally slips into an impression of his brother alec , does a fine job as one tough cop . \\npenn , who also slips into an impression of his brother sean , is even better as a loser tough guy cop . \\nwhat one tough cop lacks is originality . \\nthis film offers nothing new . \\nnothing that you can't get from any cop film . \\nit screams sidney lumet all over the place , perhaps because it was produced by marty and michael bregman , producers of lumet's dog day afternoon and serpico . \\nbut even the masterful sidney would not have been able to make one tough cop into a good film . \\ntoo much else is lacking . \\ni also saw the boom mic pop into the top of the frame twice early on in the picture , something that i almost never notice . \\nbut once i saw that , i had it in the back of my mind every time i saw a medium or long shot . \\nat times , i was hoping to see it . \\none tough cop isn't laughable , nor is it a terrible film , but it just isn't unique . \\nit is a classic example of a film that didn't need to be made . \\nbut one thing is for sure , it could really use a better title . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'this remake of \" la cage aux folles \" features a gay couple pretending to be straight in order to pull the wool over the eyes of their son\\'s future in-laws . \\nthe couple ( robin williams and nathan lane ) are about as archetypal , or as the less kind might put it ? stereotypical , gays possible . \\nwilliams owns a nightclub featuring drag queens where his partner performs as the featured star . \\nthey live above the club in what could not possibly be mistaken as a heterosexual abode . \\nwilliams is excellent as should be no surprise . \\ngene hackman as right-wing potential father-in-law is refreshing in one of his few comedic roles . \\nthe real star is lane . \\nhis attempted transformation from one of the most obviously gay men in the world to the straight-shooting uncle is hilarious . \\nperhaps it is a personal failing on my part , but the crying and screaming drag queen faux high drama just grates on my nerves and the first few minutes of this film are filled with it . \\nluckily ( for me at least ) , it doesn\\'t last long and the rest of the story focuses on the relationship between the men , their son and the deception . \\nthe question of stereotypes is a touchy one . \\nthese guys personify the homophobic gay image . \\nyou can almost hear the swishing . \\nif you think that they are supposed to be representative of every gay man in the world , you\\'ll be outraged . \\nbut if you can accept the view is that this is a movie about gay individuals , you\\'ll love it . \\nyour choice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'confucius once said , \" governing a nation is like cooking a small fish -- don\\'t overdo it . \" \\nhis maxim might be easily applied to writing a comedy script , for quantity over quality is one of the worst mistakes an amateur scribe can make . \\ngranted , mike judge , writer-director of the workplace satire office space isn\\'t exactly an amateur ( his most infamous work , the mtv series \" beavis and butt-head \" was pure gold for its network ) . \\nbut unfailingly , judge manages to make some rather inexcusable mistakes in office space by spreading an iffy plot over too much ground . \\nthe iffiness in judge\\'s plot -- a group of coworkers plan the downfall of their despicable boss -- is not in its appeal . \\nin fact , based on the popularity of scott adams\\' cartoon \" dilbert , \" which will soon have its own television series , a satirical view of the american workplace is a hot item in hollywood . \\nunfortunately the concept lends itself to skit-length sequences which would be more at home on the set of \" saturday night live \" rather than a full-length feature . \\nthe most convincing evidence of this are the trailers for office space , which feature almost all of the movie\\'s top content ; this leaves the actual picture appearing very deflated . \\nother evidence of office space\\'s failure to work are its lack of good jokes . \\nthe comedy is marginally funny at best , but not enough to get a packed house of theater-goers to laugh out loud . \\nthe material in the movie is on-key for an older demographic than judge is used to targeting , and this could partially explain his work here . \\nhowever , the movie is loaded with too many misfires -- including the token plot -- to allow for any excuse . \\nthe plot centers around three or four cubicled engineers , headed up by peter gibbons ( ron livingston ) , at a company named initech . \\nafter the movie elaborately establishes the miserable working conditions at initech , the movie introduces us to two consultants ( john c . mcginley and paul willson ) which are in charge of \" downsizing \" the company\\'s payroll . \\nwhen peter and his gang learns of this , as well as the reason behind it -- so their smooth talking boss bill lumbergh ( gary cole ) \\'s stock will go up -- they set about creating a plan to see his downfall . \\nthe circumstances that follow were obviously intended to be hilarious but they come out as anything but . \\na sympathetic cast and a muddled jennifer aniston-as-love-interest subplot are all that keep this one together , but it\\'s definitely missable in lieu of something more intelligent . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"a couple of criminals ( mario van peebles and loretta devine ) move into a rich family's house in hopes of conning them out of their jewels . \\nhowever , someone else steals the jewels before they are able to get to them . \\nwriter mario van peebles delivers a clever script with several unexpected plot twists , but director mario van peebles undermines his own high points with haphazard camera work , editing and pacing . \\nit felt as though the film should have been wrapping up at the hour mark , but alas there was still 35 more minutes to go . \\ndaniel baldwin ( i can't believe i'm about to type this ) gives the best performance in the film , outshining the other talented members of the cast . \\n[r] \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'recently one night a young director named baz luhrmann couldn\\'t sleep . \\nhe tumbled out of bed and moved over to the television where he watched mtv for an hour . \\nthen he moved to his kitchen where he spent the same amount of time eating spoiled food . \\nthen he took down a volume of shakespeare\\'s work and read it cover to cover - never really paying attention to the words or plot . \\nand then , as a climax , he took out his video camera and pressed the \" on \" button . \\nthe result ? \\nwilliam shakespeare\\'s romeo + juliet - the worst film ever made and a complete failure . \\nthough , to be fair , an interesting complete failure . \\nthe idea at the film\\'s core is to make shakespeare appealing to the crowds . \\nthis is done by moving the camera around at a rapid rate so that we can\\'t see what is going on . \\nand filming the dialogue in voice over . \\nand shooting leonardo dicaprio like a calvin klein model . \\nand making the frame go still while flashing the character\\'s name at the bottom . \\nand filming long tedious action sequences in slow motion . \\ni mean , man , this is the 90s , dude . \\nhowever i\\'ve seen terrible films that are fun to watch . \\n ( examples are batman and robin and the island of doctor moreau . \\n ) that rule doesn\\'t apply here . \\nthis is a film that takes itself seriously . \\nthat is it\\'s major fault . \\nanother problem was pointed out by my friend , alex ( who was singing songs by leonard bernstein throughout . \\n ) ; the original play is a powerful piece of work because the author remained neutral and didn\\'t take sides . \\nhere it\\'s clear that we are supposed to side with romeo . \\n ( just look at the way they film him . \\n ) from the begining he\\'s our hero and this doesn\\'t work . \\nand dicaprio\\'s awful performance doesn\\'t help . \\nluhrmann never decides if he wants to entertain us or enlighten us . \\nthe result is a mess . \\nyou can feel him striving to be something he isn\\'t . \\nhe tries to pull of a mix in which drag queens are filmed from purposefully arty angles . \\nhe tries very hard . \\nkey word : tries . \\n \" oh look , he\\'s filming above water action from below . \\npretty . \\nwhat does it represent ? \" \\nwhy do people do ugly things ? \\ni scrambled away from my tv set feeling guilty as if i could never read the play again and keep a straight face . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'jamaica is a hot vacation spot . \\nthe exchange rate encourages delusions of wealth ( approximately 30 jamaican dollars to one american ) , the sea is a brilliant blue , the air is warm but lacks humidity . \\nand as tourism is unfortunately jamaica\\'s biggest trade , foreigners enter and leave with a sense of relaxation . \\nlife and debt takes a brassy look at life inside this impoverished country . \\nwhile normal documentaries take the sally struthers approach of underlying scenes of starving children with tearful music , this film guides the viewer with a sarcastic voiceover that brings the troubles home without begging tears to the surface . \\nthe voiceover is written by acclaimed author jamaica kincaid . \\nit guides the audience along a tourist\\'s journey and the story of the native inhabitants . \\ninstead of telling you what you are already seeing on screen , it quips , \" you don\\'t see what happens after you flush the toilet . \" \\nthis engages a viewer to see and think about devastation instead of merely being told it is there . \\nthis strong , sparse storytelling approach runs throughout the film . \\nstephanie black is also intelligent in how she chooses to disclose the problems faced by the locals . \\nthis isn\\'t just another talking head show of people moaning about their horrible lot in life . \\npeople are interviewed from all sectors of occupation , from field to factory , as well as social theorists and the banking organizations that continue to invest in the country . \\nthe variety of discussion perpetuates a compelling internal dialogue with any viewer , whether they are seeing jamaica for the first time or not . \\nof course , as can be expected , the united states is slammed , owing to its involvement with the international monetary fund and the world bank . \\nofficials look moronic as they explain why their plans for jamaica\\'s economy will help the country back on its feet , but only if they are willing to follow the advice word for word . \\nthe next moment we see why and how each of these initiatives has failed , usually due to imports being cheaper than local labor or whether or not the soil is appropriate for the next agricultural trend the u . s . is forcing on the citizens . \\nadmittedly , some of the back and forth between the business-minded organizations and the failures they produce gets repetitive , but it also drives home the impact ignorance can have on both sides of an international argument . \\nbut jamaica isn\\'t against the united states , and this documentary does not accuse the u . s . of being the sole perpetrator of its grief . \\nif anything , it begs for a better understanding of the nature of jamaican society before stepping in to change it based on foreign regulations . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" gordy \" is not a movie , it is a 90-minute-long \" sesame street \" skit , and a very bad one at that . \\nthis movie is so stupid and dumb that it\\'s depressing to think that some hollywood executives actually gave this the green light , and even more surprising is the fact that this is a disney movie . \\ni\\'m sure children are the target audience of this movie , but only kids under the age of five may be able to tolerate it . \\nit is the story of a farm a piglet named gordy ( voiced by garms ) , whose family has been taken away to \" up north , \" which we know means death . \\nof course we can hear the animals talk to each other , and they actually went to the trouble of attempting to sync the voices with their mouths but it comes out terrible . \\nactually , it\\'s almost funny in a way . \\nthe only remotely interesting and likable character soon appears , a little girl named jinnie sue macallister ( young ) who sees gordy on the back of a truck and essentially steals him . \\njinnie is a country singer and the film goes off on a huge tangent to show her little concert and the people dancing to it . \\nwhat is the point of this ? \\nmaybe she is one of the producer\\'s relatives and they wanted to show her on camera to promote her or something . \\nwe then cut to a huge social gathering and drop in on another young kid named hank royce ( roescher ) who is sad because his divorced mother is dating . \\nhe leaves the party and meets jinnie sue , but he accidentally falls in a pool ( probably because he was sitting on the diving board with a $200 suit on - nah , didn\\'t see that one coming ! ) , \\nstarts to drown , and is miraculously saved as gordy pushes an inflatable float over to him and saves him . \\nif this had not been insanely stupid already the story quickly changes when jinnie gives gordy to hank who then ends up becoming the ceo of a food processing corporation when hank\\'s grandfather , the original ceo , dies and leaves his fortune to hank . . . \\nand gordy ! \\nof course there must be a villain , but even this villain ( donadio as sipes ) isn\\'t that evil . \\nhe never raises his voice or becomes angry , and of course he has the typical idiot goons kidnap gordy but this is just so beyond stupid and cartoony we are constantly two steps ahead of the story . \\nit\\'s hard to tell whether the overall corniness and cheesiness to the movie is intentional because it is a family film , or if the filmmaker\\'s are just this untalented and stupid . \\nat times \" gordy \" is tolerable to watch , thus earning it one star and not the dreaded \" z- . \" \\nbut it\\'s just so unbelievably boring , cliche , dumb , unfunny , corny , and just plain bad it may scare children , it certainly disturbed me . \\n ( 4/21/96 ) ( 1/29/97 ) ( 6/13/97 ) [see also : \" babe \" ] \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"you've got mail is a timely romance for this impersonal , computer-driven decade . \\ntwo people who've never met confide in each other via e-mail without revealing their true identities . \\nnora ephron's contemporary update of the shop around the corner retains the basic plot : two people who despise each other unwittingly become enamored with each other through their anonymous correspondence . \\nephron , who co-wrote the film with her sister , delia , as well as directed it , knew what she was doing by reteaming tom hanks and meg ryan as the at-odds couple . \\nryan is kathleen kelly , owner of a small children's bookstore , while hanks is joe fox , who heads up a chain of mega bookstores ( think barnes & noble ) . \\ntheir charm and chemistry are the glue that binds this film , even through some of the script's rough spots . \\nfor the ephrons invested so much effort in their protagonists that they give short shrift to the talented supporting cast , including parker posey , greg kinnear , jean stapleton and steve zahn . \\nyet no one is really going to complain because the ephrons know their audience - and what the paying public wants is hanks and ryan . \\nand the two are kept busy . \\none , the other or both are in nearly every scene . \\nhanks has his decent guy routine down pat , yet each time he does it , it seems effortless , spontaneous and fresh . \\nryan smoothly moves between spunky and vulnerable , with a sexy touch of winsomeness added to the brew . \\ntheir scenes together sparkle , even though they lack the nostalgic romanticism of sleepless in seattle . \\nand the shadow of that earlier hit hangs over you've got mail like dried-up mistletoe . \\nthe sparks created by the earlier movie are , by necessity , not evident here . \\ntrue , these are two people seeking true love , but you've got mail is more comic and less poignant than its predecessor . \\nthe ephrons' script is witty and sharp . \\nhowever , as a director nora ephron is a bit uneven . \\nsome scenes drag , while others , especially when hanks and ryan are revealing their souls via e-mail , are crisp and tidy . \\nalso , the script gets sloppy toward the end with characters merely disappearing from the story . \\na nice , romantic soundtrack adds to this date-night special . \\noverall , you've got mail is a lush and cute outing , taking advantage of the star appeal of its two leads . \\nit's a nice holiday movie , one for holding hands and snuggling . \\ncommitted to lifelong learning through effective communication \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"you've got mail works alot better than it deserves to . \\nin order to make the film a success , all they had to do was cast two extremely popular and attractive stars , have them share the screen for about two hours and then collect the profits . \\nno real acting was involved and there is not an original or inventive bone in it's body ( it's basically a complete re-shoot of the shop around the corner , only adding a few modern twists ) . \\nessentially , it goes against and defies all concepts of good contemporary filmmaking . \\nit's overly sentimental and at times terribly mushy , not to mention very manipulative . \\nbut oh , how enjoyable that manipulation is . \\nbut there must be something other than the casting and manipulation that makes the movie work as well as it does , because i absolutely hated the previous ryan/hanks teaming , sleepless in seattle . \\nit couldn't have been the directing , because both films were helmed by the same woman . \\ni haven't quite yet figured out what i liked so much about you've got mail , but then again , is that really important ? \\nif you like something so much , why even question it ? \\nagain , the storyline is as cliched as they come . \\ntom hanks plays joe fox , the insanely likeable owner of a discount book chain and meg ryan plays kathleen kelley , the even more insanely likeable proprietor of a family-run children's book shop called , in a nice homage , the shop around the corner . \\nfox and kelley soon become bitter rivals because the new fox books store is opening up right across the block from the small business . \\nlittle do they know , they are already in love with each other over the internet , only neither party knows the other person's true identity . \\nthe rest of the story isn't important because all it does is serve as a mere backdrop for the two stars to share the screen . \\nsure , there are some mildly interesting subplots , but they all fail in comparison to the utter cuteness of the main relationship . \\nall of this , of course , leads up to the predictable climax . \\nbut as foreseeable as the ending is , it's so damn cute and well-done that i doubt any movie in the entire year contains a scene the evokes as much pure joy as this part does . \\nwhen ryan discovers the true identity of her online love , i was filled with such , for lack of a better word , happiness that for the first time all year , i actually left the theater smiling . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'one-sided \" doom and gloom \" documentary about the possible annihilation of the human race as foretold by the bible . \\norson welles narrates and appears in the film in which he , along with best-selling author hal lindsey , discusses various prophecies from the bible and relates them to recent ( well for 1976 anyway ) events . \\nthe film is dated badly , as many things that are supposed to happen in the \" future \" never do . \\nfor example , the planets of the solar system were supposed to line up in the year 1982 and cause chaos here on earth . \\nwe\\'re still here . \\nthe arms race between the soviets and america was supposed to kick-off the apocalypse . \\nwe\\'re still here . \\nsome of the more ludicrous moments come when it\\'s alluded to that people like jimmy carter and henry kissinger may actually be the antichrist ( ! ) . \\nalso , there\\'s ten minutes of stock footage at the end of the film meant to give us an idea of what the battle for armageddon might be like . \\nif it\\'s anything like it\\'s depicted as here then it\\'s going to be incredibly boring . \\nthe late great planet earth is available on dvd from vci home video . \\nit contains the film in standard form ( aspect ratio of 1 . 33 : 1 ) , although some moments of stock footage are letterboxed . \\nalso included are brief bios on orson welles and hal lindsey , as well as a trailer for another recent vci home video release , chariots of the gods . \\naudio is mono dolby digital , and the video is fair to good for a film like this . \\ni believe this is the first appearance of this film on any home video format so any condition at all is fine with me . \\ncertainly i never expected a remastered print . \\ncuriously , the menu screens on this dvd look nothing like the menu screens pictured on the back of the case . \\nbut they\\'re menu screens . . . \\nso who really cares ? \\n[pg] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'sean connery stars as a harvard law professor who heads back into the courtroom , by way of the everglades , to defend a young , educated black man ( blair underwood ) . \\nthe guy is on death row for the murder of a white girl , and says that his confession was coerced from the region\\'s tough , black cop ( lawrence fishburne ) . \\nwatching connery and fishburne bump heads for two hours is amusing enough , but the plot\\'s a joke . \\nthere\\'s no logic at work here . \\ntone is also an issue--there is none . \\ndirector arne glimcher never establishes exactly what his film is trying to say . \\nis it a statement on human rights ? \\nis it a knock-off of silence of the lambs ? \\nglimcher never tells . \\ninstead , he forces his characters to jump through hoop after hoop , over drawbridge after drawbridge , hoping that the audience won\\'t notice what\\'s missing . \\njust awful . \\nthe madness of king george 107 min . \\n/ not rated ========================== \\nstill wondering who nigel hawthorne is ? \\nthen check out his oscar- nominated work in the madness of king george , still playing in both raleigh and chapel hill . \\nstage director nicholas hytner , in a remarkable screen debut , has adapted alan bennett\\'s 1991 tragic comedy to fine effect . \\nsumptuous-looking and only mildly stuffy , the film charts the madness that plagued king george iii ( hawthorne ) almost 30 years into his reign . \\na man of no importance 98 min . \\n/ rated \" r \" ====================== \\nin suri krishnamma\\'s a man of no importance , albert finney disappears so deeply into the role of a lovable dublin bus conductor that it\\'s a shame when the film gets so serious around him . \\nhis character is a conductor with a passion for oscar wilde . \\nhe reads to his riders , and once a year , with their help , he tries to stage one of the author\\'s plays . \\nthis year it\\'s \" salome . \" \\nfor about an hour , there\\'s a sweet magic behind finney and his troupe of working-class stiffs . \\nconflict arises , but it\\'s small stuff--an administrator from the bus company here , an outraged catholic pork butcher ( michael gambon ) there . \\nbut with finney at the wheel , so to speak , the film rolls smoothly over these plot points--just like the gorgeous leland double-decker bus in the story . \\nwhere things get serious is toward the end of the film , when the plot takes a turn that the bus never would , and the story heads down a very dark alley that marks the end of an enjoyable ride . \\nthe twist makes sense--and helps paint a complete picture of finney\\'s character--but the trip to get there betrays the light , airy atmosphere of what had come before . \\nit\\'s not a fatal misstep , mind you , and it doesn\\'t send the story soaring into the realms of incredulity . \\nit\\'s just a turn off . \\ndr . strangelove 93 min . \\n/ not rated =============== \\nmein fuhrer ! \\nthe most fun that * i * had last month was in durham , at the carolina , at a mid-week screening of stanley kubrick\\'s pitch-black comedy dr . \\nstrangelove ( or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb ) . \\nthe 1964 film stars peter sellers ( in three roles ) , george c . scott , sterling hayden , and slim pickens . \\ntheir antics brought the house down , which , to my surprise , was packed by an audience younger than the film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i rented this movie with very high hopes . \\nthis movie got praise as one of the best films of 1998 , and unfortunately , was not as good as i hoped , but was still very intriguing and thought provoking . \\nfirst of all , the casting for this film is great . \\ntobey maguire and reese witherspoon are the future of hollywood . \\nthey play their roles as the parker brother and sister perfectly . \\nwith a plot as unbelievable as this film , you need chemistry and honest acting from your cast . \\ntobey and reese ( bud and mary sue parker ) play their roles perfectly and display their characters with honesty and believability . \\nwilliam h . macy , an actor i have grown to love over the past year , turns in another great performance as the tv dad who is torn over his wife , a \" colored \" person and his friends , the \" non-colored \" ones . \\nhe also displays believability and must display a certain lack of chemistry with his wife . \\nhe does this perfectly and yet again shows why he should be one of the top actors in hollywood . \\njoan allen is equally great as betty parker , the ideal tv mom . \\nher character is the most ambitious . \\nshe is very na ? ve , and must display this well to make her character believable and she does just that . \\nher lack of chemistry with macy , which the role calls for , and her developed chemistry with jeff daniels is terrific , and if daniels would have been as stellar as the rest of the cast , then this film would even been even better . \\nas said before , jeff daniels gives a bad performance . \\nhis character displays the change going on throughout the town , yet he does not display it with enough conviction . \\nhis character is very confusing and he is not very believable . \\nthis film could have been elevated to a whole new level had daniels been able to give a better performance . \\nthe movie is very provocative . \\nit challenges the issues of racism that existed in the past and that still exist today . \\ni really was not expecting all of the elements they brought up , but they pulled them off with such flair that it was mind blowing . \\nthey demonstrate the racism issue without a hitch , but do it in a slow pace . \\nthe only major flaw in the film besides the performance by daniels is length . \\nsome films are not meant to be that long . \\npleasantville is one of those films . \\nthis film could have been so much better had they not moved so slowly to it . \\nfirst , they are amazed by the implementation of color . \\nthen they want to have it . \\nthen they do not want to . \\nthen the war ensues between the colored and non-colored . \\nthis is all strung out over two hours , which was way too long . \\nsome movies need a lot of time . \\nsaving private ryan was a little bit under three hours long and i thought it could have used more time . \\nthis film is only two hours long , and seems much longer . \\nlength is everything in films . \\nif you can nail down the perfect timing and pace , you can win half the battle . \\npleasantville can move at a good pace at times , but it is not consistent enough . \\noverall , pleasantville is a very pleasant and provocative departure from the predictability of most films these days . \\ni went in expecting a light-hearted film about change . \\ni left learning an important lesson about racism and the way things change . \\nluckily , pleasantville teaches this lesson in such a way to make it appeal to all audiences . \\nonly if it could have done in a shorter amount of time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" spawn \" may be somewhat of an older film . \\nin fact it will probably be on video before anyone who hasn\\'t seen it will finally get to see it ( that is , if they see it ) . \\nbut i managed to catch it before it made it\\'s way out of theaters and into the world of rentals and , god forbid , video cassette purchasing . \\nit wasn\\'t the worst film of year by any means . \\nit isn\\'t even on the top 5 of the worst films of the year . \\nbut it did manage to top the bottom five of the bottom ten , which , in simpler terms , means it comes in at number 6 on my \" worst of 1997 \" list . \\nthe only reason it doesn\\'t come in lower is thanks to the special effects , which might actually have been some of the best of the year . \\nperformances , however , were either wooden or , for the most part , unforgivingly campy . \\nin fact , this film shows no signs of attempting to avoid campiness ! \\neven the editing seemed to boast a campy quality . \\ni don\\'t know how to explain that one ; it wasn\\'t exactly choppy , but something about it seemed . \\n . \\n . \\nwell , annoyingly unprofessional . \\njohn leguizamo almost makes it as clown , but not quite . \\nhe is the only character who provides the audience with any laughs that can honestly be called intentional . \\nbut the main problem i found with \" spawn \" , as with most films that wind up on my \" worst of \" lists , is that it was just plain boring . \\ni wouldn\\'t even say there was a climax to the film . \\nsure , it had the big battle scene at the end , but the only excitement felt was that the movie might be nearing a conclusion . \\nnever too soon , the movie did conclude in a very simple , disappointing way . \\neven though it\\'s one of the shorter movies i\\'ve seen this year , it\\'s one that i would definitely not want to subject myself to sitting thru again . \\nlike i said , the special effects are the only reason that this film should have any sense of pride , no matter how small . \\ni was impressed with the opening sequence , so long as i didn\\'t allow the melodramatic voice-over and lobotomizing editing to get to me . \\nand batman has nothing on the spectacular visuals spawn\\'s outfit created . \\nbut even the effects got tiresome during the final scenes , which looked quite a bit like a modern video game . \\nwho knows if \" spawn : the video game \" wasn\\'t part of the plan from the beginning ? \\nkeeping in mind that the film was based on a comic book makes it somewhat more approachable , and in a very small amount , makes up for the cheeziness of it all . \\nbut none of this movie\\'s saving graces can it make it something i\\'d recommend seeing , no matter what the price of admission . \\nthis movie is definitely not for young children , which shouldn\\'t really be a problem seeing as how only teenagers , if anyone , would likely find it appealing . \\nif you really want to catch a movie , there are many better ones out there , no matter what your tastes might be ! \\ntrust me ! \\n \" spawn \" has very little to offer even the most avid moviegoers ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"one of the biggest cliches of any serial killer film is also one of the most believable . \\nyou know , the one where the detective looks at a wall of pictures and other police information , and suddenly spots the clue which reveals who the killer is . \\nsure , it's been used over and over , but for some reason , it is always fun to watch . \\nthis cliche pretty much describes the level kiss the girls works on : overused , but always fun . \\none of my personal rules about watching a film is not how original the film is , but how it goes around giving its story . \\nthis rule applies highly to kiss the girls . \\nthere is something psychologically stimulating in a well-crafted serial killer movie , and kiss the girls is certainly well made . \\nhowever , the whole film screams of unoriginality , and so it relies on the power of its actors and the technical detail to pull it through . \\nwell , not only are the actors capable of pulling it through , but they add so much to the film that nearly every flaw is covered up . \\nunfortunately , one of the most revealing and rather insulting choices by the filmmakers ( one that seven , a film a lot like this one , knew not to make ) was to put the name of the killer in the opening credits . \\nthat may give the actor credit for the role , but throughout the film , hidden in my mind , i was waiting for him to appear on screen , which spoiled the mystery . \\nhowever , credit must be given to the director for suspending this knowledge through most of the film . \\nplotwise , kiss the girls shows almost no originality . \\nwe are introduced to detective alex cross ( morgan freeman ) , a forensic psychologist , and immediately we are given the cliched scene establishing him as the hero . \\nhe gets a call about a woman who has shot her husband and is now threatening to kill herself . \\nobviously cross succeeds at getting the gun , but this scene is quickly forgotten during the next scene . \\nat his house , cross is told that his neice , naomi ( gina ravera ) , has been missing for four days . \\nthis provides the motivation for cross to find the killer , but we are never given a chance to establish the relationship between the two , and as a result , we can't sympathize with detective cross . \\nhowever , what makes kiss the girls slightly original is the introduction of one of the abductees . . . \\nbefore she is abducted . \\ndr . kate mctiernan ( ashley judd , the actress of the judd family ) is a smart , athletic woman , and because of these traits , becomes a target for casanova--what the serial killer likes to call himself . \\nbecause of these character-developing scenes , we care for mctiernan , making the abduction scene all that more suspenseful . \\nafter being abducted , mctiernan wakes up and finds herself in a cell somewhere in the woods . \\nremembering that the killer gave her certain rules , she decides to break one of them by calling out . \\nwhen casanova comes to punish her , she breaks out and escapes by jumping over a waterfall . \\nafter she is found , she begins to help cross find his neice . \\nfrom this moment on , kiss the girls takes on the form of every other serial killer film , as the two leads search for the rest of the victims held captive . \\nmany people will compare this film to 1995's seven , another killer film starring morgan freeman , but i presume that the similarities are intentional . \\nthe screenplay , by david klass , is adapted from the novel written by james patterson , and yet i don't quite see how this story could have worked in novel form . \\nwhat makes kiss the girls so good is the acting and the technical and visual impressiveness . \\nthe cinematography , by aaron schneider , is reminiscient of seven , and sometimes i felt that many of the shots were trying too hard to impress us . \\nsometimes a simple shot is the best one . \\nhowever , many of the shots are stunning , and unlike seven , most of them take place during the day , in sunlight . \\nthe scene when ashley judd is running through the forest is extremely well done , in more than one way . \\nthe camera work is terrific , but the editing makes this scene work so well . \\nthe chaotic and mtv-type cutting gives the audience a sense of confusion and unawareness , exactly what judd's character is experiencing . \\nhowever , the best aspect of kiss the girls is its actors . \\nmorgan freeman is one of today's most powerful and believable actors . \\ndetective cross is a very good character for him , although it is just a similar one to the character in seven . \\nbecause of freeman's powerful presence , he carries half the film by himself . \\nthe other half is carried by ashley judd , one of today's most promising dramatic actresses . \\nin fact , her performance is better than freeman's , if that is even possible . \\nher character is more original than freeman's , and she handles it wonderfully . \\nwe finally have a female character in a movie like this who does more than just scream . \\nthe supporting cast is highly underdeveloped , but the cast members do as much as they can with it . \\ncary elwes portrays a cop in north carolina , and unfortunately has scraps for a character . \\ntony goldwyn fairs slightly better , but we don't really get to know his character either . \\ngina ravera gives a good performance , but again she isn't in many of the scenes . \\nso as a result of all these small supporting parts , the weight of the film lies on the two leads , and they do a phenomenal job . \\nsome of the best acting of this genre , and some of the best acting of the year . \\ntwo other essential aspects of the film are quite good . \\ndirector gary fleder does a good job of controlling his actors , but the second half of the film loses believability , especially during the revelation of the killer . \\nhe also doesn't handle the suspenseful scenes as a better director would have , losing a lot of tension during many scenes . \\nhowever , to his credit , he does manage a terrific first half . \\npart of the blame falls on david klass . \\ni'm sure the book developed many of the lesser characters more , but klass focuses on the two main parts . \\nwhile this may give the two leads more screentime , many of the small characters are one-dimensional , and the killer , when revealed , is extremely implausible . \\nthanks to the smart dialogue adapted from the novel , kiss the girls always seems intelligent . \\nnone of the conversations are laughable , and all move the plot forward without seeming forced . \\none of the biggest problems i had with the movie was the motive of the killer . \\ni blame this mainly on the casting director , because the killer's motive is because of rejection from women ( or so i assume from the opening monologue ) , but the killer himself is very attractive ( one of my friends is a , shall we say , big admirer of the killer ) . \\nkiss the girls is rated r for terror , violence , language , and suggested sex . \\nwith all the implausibilities of this film , and with the mediocre second half , kiss the girls somehow manages to thoroughly entertain . \\nin fact , i had the urge to see it again just for the performances . \\nthe cinematography adds a lot of mood to the already creepy tone , and the script is usually smart . \\nthis is clearly one of those movies which rely on the acting to pull it through . \\nmorgan freeman is possibly today's most convincing actor , and ashley judd adds another notch on her acting belt . \\ni must also say that i loved the ending . \\nthe showdown between good and evil was quite tense , and the resolution of the scene makes almost anyone cheer . \\nperhaps it may not be possible , but most of the film isn't anyway . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'first , i am not a big fan of the x-files tv series . \\ni have nothing against it particularly , i just don\\'t happen to watch it . \\nhaving said that , i can now say that i liked the x-files pretty well . \\nfor us non-fans , there\\'s nothing big going for it , but there are a lot of little things . \\nthe movie opens on an ice cave in north texas in 35 , 000 b . c . \\ntwo proto-humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside . \\nthe alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien . \\nthe movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy ( lucas black , from sling blade ) is captured by the same black ooze . \\nwe then cut to fbi agents scully and mulder ( gillian anderson and david duchovny ) , who have been pulled off of their previous assignment ( investigations into the paranormal ) and put onto the bomb squad detail . \\na caller has threatened a federal building in dallas , texas . \\non a hunch , mulder checks out the building across the street , and , wouldn\\'t you know it , he turns out to be right . \\nthe fbi finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse . \\nfive people die in the blast , and when mulder learns who the victims were , a light bulb goes on over his head . \\nthe two agents team up to investigate , against fbi orders , the links mulder has made . \\ntheir search leads them back to the north texas cave , all across the country , and even to antarctica as they get closer and closer to \" the truth . \" \\nthe plot , and \" the truth , \" are uninspired . \\ni got the feeling that what i learned was supposed to shock and amaze me . \\nit didn\\'t . \\nthe possible existence of aliens on earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them . \\nbut the point of the x-files is not what the truth is , but the extent to which it has been hidden . \\nit\\'s a slightly more interesting angle , but it still raises expectations about that \" truth \" too high . \\nif this were the whole film , i would say the movie was mediocre , perhaps even boring . \\nbut there are other qualities that make me like this movie well enough to recommend it . \\nthe pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest . \\nbefore the audience can get tired of one location , the agents follow a hot tip to another location , and so on and so forth . \\nthe locations are not all computer-generated sets , either . \\nthere are some artificial settings , but the desert night of nevada , the edge of suburbia in texas , and the endless fields of snow in antarctica ( actually somewhere in north america . ) \\nmake this fantastic film feel more real . \\nward russell\\'s cinematography is very good . \\nthe overall look is dark and ominous , appropriate to the intended tone of the film\\'s plot . \\nrussell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding . \\nwhen the movie is set in darkness , the picture quality is still rich and detailed . \\nfinally , and specifically , there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera crosses the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train . \\ni don\\'t know if the shot is faked in any way , but it looks dangerous , and it looks great . \\nthe movie\\'s soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film . ( skip \\nto the next paragraph if you have yet to see the movie - there is a spoiler in the following sentences . ) during the opening prehistoric sequence , a howling wind dogs the soundtrack , never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound . \\nin one of the movie\\'s most effective sequences , metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees . \\nthe visuals of the scene are good , but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound . \\nthere was no question as to who the movie\\'s stars would be . \\neven so , duchovny and anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination . \\nboth are easy on the eyes and together , they have some good timing , banter , and energy . \\nthere is a hint of chemistry between them , but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship . \\nthey are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street . \\nthere might be some romantic interest , but for now they\\'re more interested in their environs than they are in each other . \\nno single element really makes this movie outstanding - not even the sense of paranoia that makes the tv show so popular . \\nbut enough things were done right that the x-files is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it has been three long years since quentin tarantino stunned the cinema world by claiming the cannes film festival\\'s palme d\\'or , a $100 million-plus box office gross , and an oscar nomination ? all for his sophomore outing , pulp fiction . \\nsince then , the talented film maker has been virtually invisible , surfacing briefly as a co-director of the wildly uneven four rooms and the screenwriter of the gory vampire-fest , from dusk till dawn . \\nin between , he has moonlighted as an \" actor \" with several decidedly unmemorable performances . \\nnow , with much fanfare and anticipation , tarantino has returned with his third directorial effort , jackie brown . \\nand , while this motion picture , adapted from elmore leonard\\'s novel , rum punch , offers solid entertainment , those expecting another bravura outing from tarantino will leave theaters disappointed . \\nfor the most part , jackie brown is a pretty ordinary crime movie . \\nthe story , which starts out slowly , develops into a twisty affair , with double-crosses and triple-crosses . \\nand the movie is littered with occasional tarantino trademarks : witty dialogue , unexpected gunfire , \\'70s pop tunes , and close-ups of womens\\' bare feet . \\nyet , for all of that , the production is something of a letdown . \\nthe sheer , in-your-face exuberance that marked reservoir dogs and especially pulp fiction is absent . \\nthe mostly-straightforward chronology of jackie brown doesn\\'t match up favorably to the non-linear style of tarantino\\'s previous efforts ? an approach that added tension and edginess to the narratives . \\nand there aren\\'t nearly as many deliciously offbeat conversations this time around . \\nthere\\'s a samuel l . jackson monologue about guns , a jackson/chris tucker argument regarding the merits of hiding in a car trunk , and a jackson/robert de niro exchange that recalls some of the jackson/travolta material from pulp fiction , but that\\'s about it . \\njackie brown\\'s lone \" innovation \" is its presentation of a crucial sequence from three different perspectives . \\nthis isn\\'t exactly an original technique ? it has been done numerous times before , most famously in akira kurosawa\\'s rashomon and most recently in edward zwick\\'s courage under fire . \\nhowever , while in those two movies ( and others ) , there was a legitimate plot reason for the multiple points-of- view , tarantino\\'s sole purpose for using it appears to be because it\\'s unconventional . \\nhad the scenes in question been shown from only one of the three vantages , nothing would have been lost . \\nas a result , this aspect of the film is little more than a curiosity . \\nfor the second picture in a row , tarantino is attempting to revive the career of a \\'70s icon . \\nthis time around , instead of john travolta , it\\'s blaxploitation queen pam grier ( foxy brown has become jackie brown ) . \\nin one of many nods to the most famous segment of grier\\'s career , tarantino uses a \\'70s song to accompany her first appearance during the opening credits . \\nthere are also several instances during jackie brown when the director offers a sly wink towards certain conventions of the blaxploitation genre ( although grier never does any butt-kicking ) . \\ngrier is jackie brown , a flight attendant who gets caught transporting drugs and money into the united states . \\nshe\\'s working for gun dealer ordell robbie ( samuel l . jackson ) , but she keeps her mouth shut under questioning , despite pressure from ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , a federal official . \\nno longer sure whether or not he can trust jackie , ordell arranges for a bail bondsman , max cherry ( robert forster , tv\\'s \" banyon \" ) to post the necessary $10 , 000 , then plans to shoot jackie if she proves disloyal . \\njackie passes ordell\\'s test , however , and soon the two of them are plotting a way to smuggle $500 , 000 of ordell\\'s money into the united states without tipping off the feds . \\nsoon , just about everyone is after that money , including jackie , max , ray , ordell\\'s perpetually oversexed and drugged-out girlfriend , melanie ( bridget fonda ) , and his right-hand man , louis ( robert de niro ) . \\nunsurprisingly , the most memorable performance is turned in by samuel l . jackson , but ordell isn\\'t nearly as invigorating or compelling a character as jules from pulp fiction . \\nin addition to looking fantastic , pam grier is also quite good , although hers is not an oscar- caliber performance ( although she might get a nomination ) . \\nrobert forster and michael keaton are solid in their tough-guys-who-rarely- smile roles . \\nbridget fonda is around for three discernible reasons : to look sexy in a bikini , to provide a little twisted comedy , and to satisfy tarantino\\'s foot fetish . \\nrobert de niro is criminally underused in a part that could have been played equally well by any grungy- looking , middle-aged actor . \\nthe film , which clocks in at several minutes over the two-and-a- half hour mark , is probably too long for the material , but the plot is convoluted enough to keep us guessing throughout ( although the payoff is a letdown ) . \\ntarantino keeps things moving along nicely , with a heavier dose of humor and less violence than in pulp fiction , but , on the whole , this movie seems more like the work of one of his wannabes than something from the director himself . \\nwhen it comes to recent caper films ( like the grifters and bound ) , jackie brown is a second-tier effort . \\nit\\'s an entertaining diversion , but not a masterpiece , and certainly not an oscar contender . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"let me first say that the conditions that i was forced to watch the matrix under were less than ideal . \\nso i have tried to be as fair as possible considering that my viewing experience was significantly less than ideal . \\ni watched the matrix in a theater that is in serious need of upgrades at the best of times . \\nunder no circumstances , should it have ever been allowed to show a big budget special effects laden film like the matrix . \\nthis theater , owned by the parent company of one of hollywood's biggest studios , hasn't even graduated into stereo sound yet . \\nthe mono sound that the audience was subjected to sounded as if it was coming out of a speaker that was many years past mandatory retirement age . \\nin other words , the sound sucked . \\nas someone used to digital sound in a movie theater , bad sound doesn't do anything to add to a film . \\ni'm not even going to go into the horrible splicing job that the projectionist did putting this film together . \\nthere , i've had my rant , now on with the regularly scheduled review . \\nwhich sadly won't include commentary on the film's sound which i'm assuming was spectacular , but i'm just guessing . \\nmy guess on the sound seems like a fairly solid one considering the visual quality of the matrix . \\nit is nothing short of stunning visually . \\nsadly , the rest of the film , while pretty good , doesn't quite measure up to the obvious effort that was expended on making this film look so darn good . \\nthe matrix has at it's core a good concept , although it strays into the confusing side more often than i would have liked . \\nkeanu reeves plays a computer hacker who is drawn into the frightening realization that reality is just a hoax . \\nit turns out that that many years ago the world was devastated by some sort of disaster . \\nnow machines run the planet and humans spend their lives in a sort of incubator , plugged into a computer network . \\nthe computers are generating a virtual reality world which is a representation of the earth before it was destroyed . \\nthe population of the planet never realizes that their entire life is a hoax and that they really spend their entire lives as comatose . \\nthat is except a small band who have discovered this horrible secret and have escaped their virtual prisons . \\nthey now spend their lives combating the computers in an effort to expose this lie . \\nreeve's character , neo , is recruited by this band of rebels led by morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) . \\nnewcomer carrie-anne moss and one of hollywood's most underrated actors , joe pantoliano , join fishburne in the band of freedom-fighters . \\nthe action sequences are nothing short of spectacular . \\nthis can be attributed as much to the amazing special effects as to many of the actor's extensive pre-production training in martial arts . \\nthis lends itself to some of the best martial arts sequences that you are ever likely to see in a film . \\nwhen you add this to some of the wild effects in the computer generated world , it all adds up to an eyeful . \\nas i already said , the visuals far outpace the rest of the film . \\nacting in the matrix is not bad , but it certainly isn't real good either . \\nkeanu reeves gives his usual fairly emotionless performances . \\nalthough to his credit , it is one of his better performances . \\nlaurence fishburne on the other hand often seemed to forget that he was in a sci-fi action film . \\nmore than a few times he delivered his lines as if he thought he was performing in some sort of shakespearean drama . \\njoe pantoliano was a little under used in this film but he made the most with what he had . \\ncarrie-anne moss turned out a surprisingly good performance for this her first feature film role . \\nit's nice to see that she was cast as much for her talent as for her breathtaking looks . \\nyou have to give all of the main actors a healthy dose of credit for the work that they obviously put into the physical training for their roles in this film . \\nit was clear that no small effort went into getting the moves down perfectly for the fighting sequences . \\ni also put much of the blame for the somewhat strained performances in the matrix on the dialogue , which was terrible at times . \\nin more than a few places it got way too existential for my liking and at other times it was just plain weird . \\nit almost seems as though the writers were having a difficult time trying to figure out how to explain the concept for the movie . \\nso they decided to make the dialogue as obtuse as possible so that no one could figure out what the heck they were talking about . \\nthereby covering up any leaps of faith that they may have had to make in the departments of logic and believability . \\nmy other major complaint with the matrix was with the very unsatisfying ending . \\nthe setup for it was hokey and frankly used in many a bad film before . \\nthe ending itself was just plain strange . \\nthe main reasons to recommend the matrix are the visual effects and computer animation which make this a real treat to watch . \\nwhile the rest of the film ( acting , dialogue and to a degree plot ) detract from the high production values , they don't detract enough to prevent me from recommending the matrix as a fun way to spend an evening . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'wild things is a way to steam up an otherwise dreary early spring day ? provided , of course , that you\\'re the victim of a frontal lobotomy . \\nthere is , in fact , no doubt about who this motion picture is aimed at : movie-goers in their late teens and early twenties -- the most lucrative target group . \\nthis is film noir for the mtv generation : fast-paced , slick , flashy , gleefully mindless , and hollow to the core . \\nwild things is easily one of the five dumbest movies to arrive in theaters during the first eleven weeks of 1998 . \\ni\\'ve seen more convincing drama ( with nearly as much bare flesh ) on that pinnacle of narrative quality , baywatch . \\nwild things wants to dupe viewers into thinking it\\'s a thriller with a real story . \\nwhat it is , however , is a series of increasingly- improbable and shockingly predictable plot twists . \\neverything in between those serpentine moments is filler -- a flash of a breast , a spatter of blood , and some of the most idiotic dialogue this side of a steven seagal movie . \\nthe film tries so hard to surprise its audience that the twists end up being easy to guess -- just take a stab at the most unlikely thing to happen , and that will probably be it . \\nusing this approach , i was right three times and wrong only once . \\nthat\\'s not a good average for a production that wants to keep viewers in the dark about what\\'s around the next corner . \\nthe ad campaign uses two things to sell this movie : the hot , young cast and the old standby , sex . \\nboth have an abundance of screen time , although i\\'ll admit that the film\\'s erotic content is somewhat less impressive than i expected . \\nnothing about wild things is exceptionally risqu ? . \\nthe soft-core sex sequences are generic , and don\\'t generate much heat . \\nthe lesbian kisses can\\'t hold a candle to those in bound . \\ntheresa russell and denise richards have only token topless appearances ( neve campbell , possessing an iron-clad \" no nudity \" clause in her contract , keeps her clothes more or less on ) . \\nthe film\\'s greatest curiosity is a full frontal shot of kevin bacon climbing out of the shower . \\nmaybe a few girls will skip seeing a fully-clothed leonardo dicaprio for the thirteenth time in titanic to catch a glimpse of what kyra sedgwick ( mrs . \\nkevin bacon ) is familiar with . \\nthe director of wild things is john mcnaughton , whose last effort was the finely-tuned psychological thriller , normal life . \\nthat movie featured copious sex , a pair of real characters , and a powerful script . \\nit\\'s difficult to believe that something this shallow could come from the same film maker . \\nbut i suppose we all need to put food on the table . \\nmcnaughton appears to have completely lost his way here , in what is obviously a stab at mainstream success ( his previous wide-release picture , mad dog and glory , was a box-office disappointment ) . \\nquick cuts and pretty sunrises can\\'t even begin to cover up this movie\\'s flaws . \\nthe main character ( and i use that term lightly , since no one in wild things shows more than an occasional flash of personality ) is sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) , a guidance counselor at florida\\'s blue bay high school . \\na student , the deliciously curvaceous kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , has a crush on him . \\none afternoon , she comes to his house to wash his car , and , when she leaves , her clothing is torn . \\nafter confessing to her mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped , she goes to the police station , where she tells her story to detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) . \\nthey are skeptical about here claims until another girl , suzie toller ( neve campbell ) , comes forward with a similar tale . \\nmeanwhile , sam , convinced that he\\'s being set up , goes to a shyster lawyer ( bill murray ) for help . \\nthe acting in wild things isn\\'t very good , but none of the principals have much to work with . \\nthis is definitely not a character- based motion picture . \\nnot only does the ludicrous screenplay ignore the possibility that someone in the audience may have a triple-digit i . q . , but it doesn\\'t bother to give any of the on-screen individuals even a hint of depth . \\nthe men and women populating the picture are there to look nice , but nothing more . \\nmatt dillon is given plenty of opportunities to flex his biceps . \\nneve campbell gets to model the slutty look . \\ndenise richards strikes a fetching pose in a see-through , one-piece bathing suit . \\nand nothing in the film gets a rise out of kevin bacon . \\nthe only one who\\'s even remotely interesting is bill murray , and he seems to think he\\'s in comedy , not a thriller ( maybe he\\'s got the right idea ) . \\ncolumbia pictures has specifically requested that critics not reveal the film\\'s ending , which prompts the question : which ending do they want kept secret ? \\nwild things has no less than three ( one occurs during the end credits , so stay seated ) , all of which are jaw-droppingly absurd -- a feat that joe eszterhas ( the writer of basic instinct and showgirls ) would be impressed by . \\nthanks to jeffrey kimball\\'s polished , kinetic cinematography , wild things always looks great , and george s . clinton\\'s score keeps it pulsing and throbbing . \\nbut , no matter how shiny the superficial sheen is , this is still trash , and , like all garbage , it stinks . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'seen september 13 , 1998 at 4 p . m at rotterdam square mall cinema 6 , theater #2 , with chris wessell for free using my sony/loews critic\\'s pass . \\n[theater rating : * * 1/2 : good seats , average sound , picture unstable] \\n \" rounders \" is exactly the kind of movie parents don\\'t want their kids to see . \\nit\\'s not that it\\'s a drunken orgy of sex and violence , but because it\\'s a film that flat-out says you can make a career out of gambling . \\nand to take make things \" worse \" it proves this through its original , fascinating story . \\nthere have been countless crime films both past and present that evoke the \" noir \" mood , that is , the dark , shady atmosphere where the vices of the world become more fascinating on screen than they would in real life . \\nthis film starts off in the tradiational noir style , introducing us to the underworld of modern gambling where the stakes are high and so is the price for losing . \\nmatt damon stars as mike mcdermott , a 20-something law student in present-day new york city who tells us how the game of poker is really played . \\ndamon narrates throughout the film , but the entire opening scene is voiced-over so perfectly to completely and totally define the setting . \\nmike\\'s about to go up against teddy kgb ( malkovich ) , a russian gangster who looks like a serial killer . \\nbut then again , he practically is one and the film does everything to convey that sense - the look in his eyes , his slow movements , his intricate mannerisms - all combined with the classic noir cinematography of isolated brightness within the darkness of the underworld ( literally ) . \\ndamon in the flesh might seem a little out of place with his expensive clothes and perfectly-groomed features , but his narration is what brings it all together . \\nhe never sounds like he\\'s reading from a script , nor that he\\'s trying to embellish anything , it just comes natural to him . \\nthe screenwriters use the right words and phrases to describe the mood , from the smell of the air , to the logic involved in reading the other guys\\' faces and cards , and all without sounding remotely trite . \\nimmediately we get the sense that poker isn\\'t for gamblers , but for near- geniuses with nerves of steel . \\nthe game is a quiet war , with strategies just as complex and the same sense of honor among the soldiers . \\nthe gangsters mike plays against are the same ones that might kill someone for scratching their car , but when it comes to the game of poker , all respect is due to the winner because he is truly the better man . \\nthe film does an excellent job in establishing its atmosphere during the first act . \\nit concentrates so much in this aspect that the background and the progression of the story stumble a bit . \\nwe learn only a little about mike , both past and present . \\npresently we know he has a girlfriend named jo ( gretchen mol ) who he constantly argues with over his gambling . \\nthey go through a few break-up/make-up cycles until mike\\'s childhood pal and fellow rounder \" worm \" ( norton ) is released from prison . \\nit\\'s not at all surprising worm owes thousand of dollars to the mob , but what is surprising is how the film is able to take such a predictable element and execute it the way it does . \\ntechnically , the plot isn\\'t unlike many children\\'s sitcoms in which the \" good \" kid\\'s \" bad \" friend gets the good kid in trouble and yet the good kid remains friends with the bad kid . \\nwhat this film does is use a different medium to tell that story . \\nmike and worm have been in over their heads their entire lives , but both share a passion for out-thinking the other player who is trying to do the same to them . \\nwhere as worm prefers to go the sleazy route of cheating ( hence his jail time ) , mike always takes the cards he\\'s dealt and works with them . \\nsometimes they pay off ( i . e . \\nhis ability to pay his way through law school on his gambling money ) , but other times they don\\'t ( i . e . \\nthe fact he takes himself out of the game and works a steady job after dropping $30 , 000 on a single hand ) . \\nonce things start happening the film is able to expand and develop its plot into an intricate web of detail and mood . \\nmike and worm bob and weave through all kinds of games at all kinds of places , from socialites\\' mansions , to taking the tourists at atlantic city , to outwitting the gangsters that control it all . \\neverything they come into contact with is a big poker game in that everything\\'s a battle against the cards destiny deals . \\none scene demonstrates this perfectly in which mike is told by a judge ( martin landou , in a perfectly cast and performed role ) that destiny is everything and yet nothing at the same time . \\nmatt\\'s good at gambling but he\\'s also got potential to be a great lawyer . \\nhe could go professional as either , but with one he could lose everything or win big , but with the other there\\'s stability but not much risk involved . \\ncan someone who\\'s gambled his entire life really cash in his chips and leave ? \\nif the film had been just a subtle lesson in poker-playing , then the ending is our test . \\neverything is told from mike\\'s perspective , but we\\'re finally able to recognize some things on our own . \\nthis makes the final , against-all- odds showdown seem like just that . \\nit works just like the game it revolves around - showing us some of the cards , but still evokes the element of the unknown , and the consequences thereof . \\nwhat separates \" rounders \" from most other films about games is the fact the challenge and the skills are more important than winning in the end . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the grandfather of italian horror the late mario bava has credits in nearly 100 films and tv movies produced in italy between 1939 and his death in the early 80's . \\nmore practiced as a cinematographer than a director , bava nonetheless sat in the director's chair for beyond the door ii , the project which turned out to be his last full-length feature film . \\nalongside the appalling zombie schlock of hacks like lucio fulci , beyond the door ii is simply a revelation . \\nin his day bava was considered by most to be no great filmmaker , yet here he fashioned one of the finest italian horror movies of the 1970's . \\n ( note that the film has no connection with the 1975 exorcist-rip off behind the door , but for some unexplained reason was given this related title for release in the usa and australia . ) \\nthis story focuses on dora , a women set upon by a malevolent spirit that channels itself through her young son marco . \\nthe film opens with dora , her son and second husband bruno returning to a house by the sea that was the scene of her first husband's suicide and her subsequent trauma 7 years earlier . \\nthey hope to put the past behind them , but as small accidents start to befall dora - usually while bruno is away on business - she starts to suspect that marco ( played with uncanny ability by 8 year old david colin jr . ) is somehow involved in the strange goings on . \\nto reveal any more of the story would be unfair . \\nsuffice to say that this artfully paced study of a woman suffering a nervous breakdown offers an intriguing plot , loads of atmosphere and solid acting , though the dialogue is somewhat weakened by the dubbing into english . \\nbava coaches a surprisingly good performance from the usually wooden daria nicolodi , wife of famed italian horror director dario argento . \\nher character is invested with sufficient depth to allow the audience real empathy with dora's troubled soul . \\nthe music by italian ensemble libra is also effective , mixing odd-sounding 70's rock with classic gothic piano sequences . \\nand there is at least one moment - brilliantly engineered by bava - that is guaranteed to lift you ten feet out of your chair . \\nyet for italian horror , the bloodletting here is surprisingly minimal . \\nlamberto bava and francesco barbieri's script is more concerned with deeper , psychological terrors , with themes of guilt and suffering , with the notion that what we sow will shall - somewhere , somehow - eventually reap . \\nscholars of the genre take note : beyond the door ii is stylish , chilling , and essential . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'this three hour movie opens up with a view of singer/guitar player/musician/composer frank zappa rehearsing with his fellow band members . \\nall the rest displays a compilation of footage , mostly from the concert at the palladium in new york city , halloween 1979 . \\nother footage shows backstage foolishness , and amazing clay animation by bruce bickford . \\nthe performance of \" titties and beer \" played in this movie is very entertaining , with drummer terry bozzio supplying the voice of the devil . \\nfrank\\'s guitar solos outdo any van halen or hendrix i\\'ve ever heard . \\nbruce bickford\\'s outlandish clay animation is that beyond belief with zooms , morphings , etc . and actually , it doesn\\'t even look like clay , it looks like meat . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the rest of the crew of the u . s . s . \\nenterprise are back for their third outing in the ninth film based on the 1960's series , star trek . \\ngone are kirk , spock and mccoy and in their wake in the very able and very talented cast from star trek : the next generation . \\nas usual , a crisis is brewing and it is up to the crew of the enterprise to make the galaxy safe again . \\nthis time out the united federation of planets and an alien race led by f . murray abraham are trying to move some colonists off a planet against the colonist's will . \\nit turns out that this planet is the fountain of youth and the federation and their alien buddies feel that is should be used for the good of everyone and not just a few hundred colonists . \\nof course picard feels that this sort of treachery is wrong , so he disobeys direct orders and vows to help protect the colonists . \\ninsurrection is a lighter movie than the last two star trek films . \\nthe film focuses on the lofty question of whether the rights of society as a whole outweighs the rights of a small group . \\nin this respect it gets back to the roots of star trek by disguising social commentary as science fiction . \\nit doesn't do a bad job , other than it tries to inject too much humor into the story line . \\nmany of the jokes are your typical inside star trek-fan-only jokes , while many of the others just fall flat . \\nthe other criticism that i had with the story was that it ignores common sense . \\nthere are only a few hundred people on this whole planet , why do they have to be moved ? \\nthe explanation is that the planet has to be bombarded with deadly radiation so that this fountain of youth effect will be strong enough to help heal f . murray abraham's aliens who number only a couple of dozen . \\nso the basic story line is bad enough in that we have a few hundred being booted out for a few billion , at least that's plausible . \\nbut in reality we have a few hundred being moved for the benefits of a few dozen , which makes no sense whatsoever . \\nthe other little hiccup in logic is the inclusion of worf ( michael dorn ) , the trusty klingon . \\nworf was on star trek : the next generation , so they want to include him in the films . \\nno problem so far . \\nworf is now a character of star trek : deep space nine , so the writers have to find a way to have him show up . \\nin the last star trek movie , first contact , the included worf in a credible fashion , in this one , the writers are so lazy that the completely gloss over why he is even in the movie . \\nwhat little explanation they do give is so small that you would have missed it if you weren't hanging on every word on the screen . \\nmy minor problems with the movie aside , star trek : insurrection does have an overwhelming number of good points as compared to its bad ones . \\nwhile many of the jokes do miss the mark , many are pretty good , even for non-trekkies . \\nthe special effects are among the best for the star trek series . \\nthe action is plentiful and well done . \\nthis is a very good-looking movie . \\nit should come as no surprise to anyone who ever watched star trek : the next generation that the acting is first rate . \\nit is very obvious that these actors have been working together for over a decade . \\nthey interact with each other with a skill that few other ensemble casts can muster . \\nmost star trek fans probably will not be disappointed with this latest film in the series . \\nif you've always hated star trek , there is nothing here that is going to change your mind . \\nstar trek : insurrection is not the best film in the series , but it is good enough to dispel the long standing tradition of the odd numbered films in the series being far inferior to the even numbered ones . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' * * * the following review contains some harsh language . . . \\nbut what did you expect when you clicked on this title ? \\n * * * \\ncast : kristen holly smith , danica sheridan , alex boling , michael dotson , sonya hensley , janet krajeski , sabrina lu , dionysius burbano , calvin grant , jeff b . harmon written and directed by : jeff b . harmon running time : 97 minutes \\n \" the thought of losing you makes me all vomity inside . \" \\n--- blatz balinski ( danica sheridan ) laments the fact that her lesbian lover , april ( kristen holly smith ) , has just received a telegram from her ex-fiance . \\nisle of lesbos is an incredibly offensive musical comedy about april pfferpot ( smith ) , a resident of the small town of bumfuck , arkansas who is about to get married to high school sweetheart and football hero dick dickson ( michael dotson ) . \\nwhen april gets extreme cold feet she runs home , sticks a gun in her mouth , and pulls the trigger . \\ninstead of killing herself , she is magically transported through her mirror into the isle of lesbos , an alternate dimension where lesbians rule and no men are allowed ( except for lance , the homosexual toilet cleaner/slave ) . \\napril loves her new home and friends , but dick and her parents are not so ready to give her up . \\nmr . and ms . pfferpot ( director jeff b . harmon and janet krajeski ) decide they need medical help so they enlist the aid of dr . sigmoid colon ( also jeff b . harmon ) , who claims he can cure homosexuality . \\nin actuality , dr . colon is homosexual as well and begins his special \" treatment \" on dick dickson ( unbeknownst to dick ) . \\nwhen april turns down dick\\'s demand for her to return to bumfuck , he decides to take matters in his own hands and attack the isle of lesbos rambo-style . \\ninstead of leveling the place he falls in love with lance ( alex boling ) and the two of them , along with april and her lover blatz , get married . \\n ( note to the filmmaker : why did the character of lance make asides to the camera followed by silence that i\\'m assuming was inserted for the purpose of waiting until the laughter of the audience had subsided ? ) \\napril\\'s parents , feeling like there is no recourse , call in a favor to president clinton and send a nuclear bomb ( whose circuitry inexplicably is made up of a homosexual performer ) their way . \\nthe bomb is a dud thanks to the work of the \" circuitry \" and they re-wire it and send it back to washington d . c . , destroying it . \\nmr . and ms . pfferpot give up trying to get their daughter back and instead decide to join her as they have some alternative sexual practices of their own . \\ni\\'m not sure if writer/director/co-star jeff b . harmon was purposely trying to offend people because he believes in some of the ideas his movie presents or if he was just going for cheap laughs . \\neither way , he manages to present some of the most offensive material i have ever seen in a movie . \\nthe film opens with a preacher running a small african-american child out of town , and then later moves on to the hanging of a michael jackson impersonator by the ku klux klan ( during a jaunty musical number ) , preceded by remarks about \" gays and straights finally being able to put their differences behind them and work together to hate others , such as the jews \" . \\nif harmon was merely trying to point out how idiotic society can be , then i apologize for being so harsh on elements of his film , but it is presented so mean spiritedly that i can\\'t help but feel like he had some serious intent . \\nas for the entire central theme of the movie , i\\'m afraid that it\\'s one that i just don\\'t get . \\ni tried to keep an open mind while watching it , but the homosexual elements were just too prevalent for my tastes . \\nit was hard enough to watch them bash other races and sexes without them preaching about the virtues of being homosexual and accepted by society . \\nhow does one expect to be accepted if they are just as guilty of non-acceptance ? \\ni\\'m not prone to judging anyone and i believe that people should be free to explore whatever avenues they wish free from the scornful eye of society , but don\\'t force your particular rhetoric down my throat if you aren\\'t going to show the same respect for my preferences that you wish from me . \\nagain , maybe i\\'m missing the satirical point that harmon is trying to make , but if so , i think it could have been handled a little more tactfully . \\nas far as musical comedies go , isle of lesbos is no trey parker and matt stone musical , but a good portion of the songs are maddeningly catchy . \\ndespite the disturbing visuals , \" mom and apple pie \" stuck with me for the rest of the day . \\nspeaking of disturbing visuals , \" wedding bells ain\\'t ringing \" could have been a decent song , but the accompanying visuals of spousal abuse are more harrowing than this film should be displaying . \\n \" i\\'m a lesbian \" ( which is touted in the press release as being particularly popular ) is also pretty good , but a good portion of that could be due to the stellar singing voice of ms . smith . \\nit\\'s mainly on her excellent vocals that my rating of this film is based . \\nthe other performers are decent , save for the rosie o\\'donnell like performance given by danica sheridan . \\ni have no inherent problem with her character ; it is just her singing voice that leaves little to be desired . \\none particular musical number , \" lesbian rock \" , was one of the lowest points i have ever experienced in my film-going life thanks to a strained and lackluster vocal job by sheridan . \\nthe film ends about twenty minutes before the credits actually roll . \\nthe remainder of the running time is padded out with a few more songs ( \" lesbian rock \" included ) and the ridiculously presented anti-nukes message tacked on to the end for no reason other than to make it a feature length film . \\nonce the \" isle of lesbos reprise \" was reached , i felt the story had already been wrapped up well enough to end it all . \\nwhy was the film needlessly stretched out past its obvious end ? \\nisle of lesbos is available on videocassette from www . indie-underground . com . \\nthe transfer is pretty clean ( and all the detail of the wrinkled cloth and paint backdrops are readily apparent ) and the film is letterboxed at approximately 1 . 85 : 1 . \\nin many respects , isle of lesbos has incredible cult potential ( like a rocky horror for the new millennium ) . \\nthis film is by no means my cup of tea , but i know there are those out there who will enjoy it . \\nif you think it might be for you , then by all means seek it out . \\ni , on the other hand , will be cleansing my palette with a good action film like gladiator . . . \\nwait . aren\\'t gladiator films considered to be . . . \\noh , never mind . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'three things i learned from \" being john malkovich \" : when getting on the elevator for your first day of work on the 7 1/2th floor of a building , always bring your crowbar ; don\\'t stand in the way of your wife\\'s actualization as a man ; and , whenever entering a portal into the mind of another human being , wear old clothes , because , hey , it\\'s muddy in there . \\n \" being john malkovich \" is the most original film to come down the pike in a very long time . \\nwildly surrealistic , yet presented in a down-to-earth , funky style , this is the kind of movie that sticks in your head . \\nafter savoring the sheer inventiveness of the storyline , you roll around the wealth of ideas contained within it . \\nfrom the ethics of relationships and politics of immortality to the very nature of identity itself , there\\'s a lot to think about here . \\njust don\\'t forget to have fun . \\nclearly , all parties involved in the making of the film certainly did , starting with writer charles kaufman . \\n \" i wrote \\'being john malkovich\\' without an outline , \" he explains in the press notes , \" blindly , with no sense of direction or purpose . \\nit\\'s important to me that i don\\'t have a map before i start . \\nthis allows me to surprise myself , stay engaged , discover things , and , hopefully , allow the unconscious to surface . \" \\nspike jonze ( mark wahlberg\\'s na ? ve buddy in \" three kings \" ) takes it from there . \\nthe white-hot director of the beastie boy\\'s \" sabotage , \" an award-winning parody of \\'70s tv cop shows , as well as numerous other music videos and commercials , eschews typical mtv flash for his feature film debut . \\njonze wisely realized that a storyline this unusual is most effectively presented in a low-key style . \\nhis flat , matter-of-fact approach works perfectly . \\nand then there\\'s the cast . \\njohn cusack plays control freak craig schwartz , a street performer who periodically gets decked by parents objecting to his remarkably expressive , but decidedly erotic puppet shows . \\nover the years , his marriage to obsessive pet store employee lotte ( cameron diaz ) has devolved . \\nonce passionate lovers , the two are now little more than courteous roommates . \\nfinancially strapped , craig takes a job as an entry-level file clerk at lestercorp , located on the 7 1/2th floor of a manhattan building . \\nnavigating around dr . lester ( orson bean ) , his 105 year-old boss and floris ( mary kay place ) , lester\\'s dotty secretary , craig tries to settle into his new position , but two things keep him distracted . \\nfirst , there\\'s the beautiful and imperious maxine ( catherine keener ) , who delights in tormenting craig over his obvious lust for her . \\nand then there\\'s the hole behind the file cabinet , which turns out to be a portal into the mind of actor john malkovich . \\ncraig learns that anyone who enters the portal gets whooshed into the subconscious of malkovich , where they can experience life from his point of view ( with enough concentration , you can even influence his actions ) . \\nafter 15 minutes , the visitor gets ejected and unceremoniously dumped in a ditch on the side of the new jersey turnpike . \\nthen things get a little weird . \\nby the way , if you\\'re concerned that i gave away too much of the plot , rest assured - - i barely scratched the surface . \\none of the most satisfying aspects of the fable is that kaufman is not content to simply milk laughs from his bizarre set-up . \\ninstead , he crawls into the dark premise as completely as craig crawls into malkovich , rummaging around and toying with the various philosophical implications of compromising another person\\'s identity . \\nhe also examines the consequences of the malko-visits to craig , lotte , maxine and , of course , john malkovich himself . \\nthe performances are superb . \\nmalkovich ( best known to mainstream audiences for his work in \" dangerous liaisons , \" \" in the line of fire , \" and as head psychopath in the guilty-pleasure \" con air \" ) tweaks his own image in a dandy self-deprecating turn . \\nfar from his effete , vaguely reptilian persona , this malkovich is just another schlub , drinking with his pals and trying to get laid ( incidentally , charlie sheen also plays himself in a hilarious parody of his well-earned bad boy reputation ) . \\nas always , john cusack nails his part , handily pulling viewers along even as craig\\'s actions become unconscionable . \\nthe big surprises come from catherine keener and cameron diaz , both playing against type . \\nkenner , usually cast in icy subordinate roles , is terrific as a highly intelligent , extremely manipulative femme fatale . \\ncameron diaz , barely recognizable under a mess of brown , curly hair , sheds her perpetually sunny smile and draws big laughs as a woman thrown into extreme sexual confusion after taking a ride in malkovich . \\n \" being john malkovich \" stumbles towards the end , as jonze and kaufman try too hard to resolve the various subplots . \\nadditional characters and increasingly complex explanations lead to a cluttered finale . \\nregardless , this contemporary \" alice in wonderland \" is a real treat . \\ni enjoyed watching \" being john malkovich , \" but only later , after reflecting on the film , did its resonance fully hit me . \\nat one point , craig says , \" do you know what a metaphysical can of worms this portal is ? \" \\ntruer words were never spoken . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'long time buddies and neil diamond tribute band members wayne ( steve zahn , \" happy , texas \" ) and j . d . ( jack black , \" high fidelity \" ) watch in horror as third mate darren silverman ( jason biggs , \" american pie \" ) disappears under the thumb of his new fiance judith , ( amanda peet , \" the whole nine yards \" ) a controlling psychiatrist . \\nthey\\'re doubly troubled when the return of darren\\'s \\'one and only love\\' sandy perkins ( amanda detmer , \" final destination \" ) returns to their home town but doesn\\'t cause a ripple in darren\\'s devotion to judith . \\nthere\\'s only one thing wayne and j . d . can think of doing - they kidnap judith and fake her death in \" saving silverman . \" \\nwritten by hank nelken and greg depaul after seeing a friend engaged to the wrong woman , \" saving silverman \" is directed by \\'hit comedy director\\' dennis dugan of such films as \" big daddy , \" \" brain donors \" and \" problem child . \" \\nit\\'s a dismal , third-rate farrelly brothers rip off that attempts to milk humor from such inspired bits of whimsy as having darren\\'s love interest come from a family of circus freaks and be about to become a nun . \\ngross out gags include a visualization of darren getting butt cheek implants . \\n \" saving silverman \" is almost saved by stars zahn and black . \\nthese two are so comically talented they can take bad material and still deliver the goods . \\nthey\\'re in \" animal house \" mode while the rest of the film trawls along and comes up empty . \\njason biggs can attribute his entire career to the luck of having been cast in the smash hit \" american pie . \" \\npeet shows some physical moves but no flair for comedy here while detmer slaps a brave , sweet smile onto her face and soldiers through . \\nr . lee ermey ( \" full metal jacket \" ) is one note in an embarrassing performance as a psychopathic ex-football coach . \\nneil diamond appears at the film\\'s climax as himself and miraculously enlivens the proceedings by belting out some of his old standards . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in 1977 , something never though possible happened . \\nthe film star wars was released , with extraordinary , never seen before techniques of special effects . \\nthe film set a new standard for special effects in film . \\nnot only did it set a standard for the special effects , it set a standard for film itself . \\nthe plot is one of the most creative i heard ever . \\nthe legend of star wars starts long ago with the jedi . \\nthe jedi were warriors who were wiped out by the dark side . \\ndarth vader is the leader of the dark side . \\nben obi-wan kenobi , played by sir alec guinness , was one of those jedi who is still alive today . \\ndarth vader was once a jedi , until he turned to the dark side . \\nyears after the killing of the jedi , darth vader is still around causing trouble . \\nr2-d2 and c-3p0 are both what we call \" driods \" , or robots that are of assistance to humans . \\nwhile an attack on the ship that princess leia , played by carrie fisher , is aboard , she inserts a message to r2-d2 , who is also on the ship . \\nto obi-wan kenobi pleading for help . \\nthe princess is captured by vader , but r2-d2 and c-3p0 get away on an escape pod that eventually lands them on the remote planet of tatooine . \\nthe jawas , or small creatures who sell droids , pick r2-d2 and c-3p0 up to sell . \\nthey are bought by luke skywalker\\'s ( mark hamill ) family . \\nwhile luke is cleaning the droids , the message from princess leia is found . \\nluke finds this obi-wan kenobi , and learns that obi-wan was a friend of luke\\'s father , who is now dead . \\nluke also learns his family was a jedi . \\nafter luke\\'s family is killed by tropps from the dark side , ben decides to put luke through training to stop the dark side and destroy them once and for all . \\nben wants to create a new jedi . \\nfirst , the two must find princess leia and serve her . \\nhan solo , played by harrison ford , and his sidekick chewbacca , played by peter mayhew , are consulted about providing a ship to complete the tasks necessary . \\nafter meeting up with leia , the film really picks up . \\nluke continues his training as a pilot and to become a jedi , ben kenobi confronts darth vader , and many other interesting events occur . \\nstar wars is an amazing epic . \\nthe plot is so original and amazing , i cannot believe it . \\nthe special effects , especially for its time , are wonderful and realistic . \\nthe space scenes in particular are the most fun to watch . \\nthe ships flown by all are very unique and creative . \\nthe costumes are also out of this world . \\nthe scenery is so different from anything i have ever seen before . \\nthere are a variety of different very memorable set pieces that will stay with me forever . \\nthe entire premise of star wars is amazing . \\nthe creatures and droids that we see throughout the film are one of a kind . \\neven the human characters are different . \\nevery character is extremely likable and different from characters from other sci fi films . \\nthe acting on everyone\\'s part is great , especially that of sir alec guinness\\'s . \\neven though the concept is not realistic at all , it is pulled off very nicely . \\nthe acting , setting , effects , costumes , and sound make it work . \\nif any of these were messed up , star wars would have come off as one huge joke . \\nthe ending works very well , and left it very open to the sequels that came afterward . \\nin early 1997 , a special edition of star wars was released . \\nthe film was re-mastered so it looked better than it did in 1977 . \\na few creatures were added here and there , and even an entire deleted scene with han solo and jabba the hutt ( seen in return of the jedi ) was added to the film . \\nthink that\\'s enough ? \\non may 19 , 1999 , star wars episode i : the phantom menace will be released , followed by two more films that will reveal what went on before a new hope . \\nwith this , star wars is bound to become the greatest tale told in our time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a hotshot lawyer gets an obviously guilty child molester acquitted , and shortly after during the victory celebration gets offered an opportunity to show his prowess in new york city . \\nthe lawyer , kevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) is not offered a job yet , he is asked to simply pick a jury . \\nhe accepts . \\nthe jury he selects work out well and before long he is offered a job with the firm . \\nmaking his decision easy is the fact that not only is he offered big money , but a gorgeous apartment . \\nhe convinces his wife , mary ann ( charlize theron ) to make the move to new york . \\nthe first case given to him is a big test ; a \" winless \" case concerning a man who sacrifices animals in his basement . \\nthe charge was health code violations and kevin once again shows his skill and earns an acquittal . \\nhis new boss and partner in the firm , john milton ( al pacino ) is quite impressed and takes kevin under his wing , explaining many of his philosophies on law , women and sex , and angles the promise of a blissful , wealthy life . \\nkevin\\'s next case is a dream case , given to him by milton himself ( much to the chagrin to his colleagues ) , defending a triple murder suspect who has had a history of problems with the law . \\nalthough kevin\\'s career is taking off , his home life is not doing very well . \\nmary ann is starting to have numerous problems . \\nshe is experiencing severe depression over kevin\\'s long hours , and before long is having horrible dreams and hallucinations of people turning into ghouls , their faces becoming horribly disfigured . \\nkevin does not help matters by dismissing his wife . \\nhe does not spend more time with her as he explains to milton that he needs to spend as much time on the case as possible to get it over with , then focus all of his attention on his wife . \\nnot helping matters is the fact that kevin is having ideas about a possible affair with a sexy lawyer ( connie nielson ) also working with the firm . \\nmary ann falls deeper into her madness as kevin spends more time away from home . \\nkevin eventually looses control of his life and has to institutionalize his wife , and gets disturbing news from his mother ( judith ivey ) about the mystery concerning the identity of his father . \\nhe also starts to lose control of his case . \\nkevin learns that all of his problems have been caused by the work of one man . \\nthat man is his boss , mr . milton , a truly evil character who just may be the devil himself . \\nkevin must somehow confront milton and thwart whatever diabolical plan he has in store . \\nbut how do you defeat the devil ? \\nwhy is it that most courtroom scenes in the movies are absurd ? \\ndo filmmakers really believe that \" normal \" courtroom drama doesn\\'t fit the bill and they have to juice them up ? \\nthe courtroom scenes in this movie would never happen in a real courtroom , which wouldn\\'t have been too bad if it weren\\'t keanu reeves trying to pull it off . \\ni give reeves credit for trying hard , but throughout the movie i never saw the kevin lomax character , just an actor trying very hard to play kevin lomax and coming up short . \\ncharlize theron defines the term \" over-the-top \" in her performance as mary ann lomax , a disappointment in contrast to her good performance in \" 2 days in the valley \" . \\nthe only good performance in the movie is by al pacino , but i kept asking myself what the heck he was doing in this mess ? \\nmaybe he felt it would be interesting playing the devil , and you can tell he is having fun doing so , but his skill as an actor cannot save the poor performances and lackluster script that surround him . \\nit\\'s pretty standard stuff , including the fact that the hotshot lawyer appears to be the only competent person on the planet who can do anything right in the courtroom . \\nplease read no further if you do not want the ending spoiled , but i have to get something off of my chest . \\nin 1986 i remember watching a movie called \" wisdom \" with emilio estevez and demi moore , and the ending of that film did the worst possible thing that a movie could do . \\nwhat i like to call \" guess what , it was all a dream \" scenario . \\nin \" wisdom \" the two lead characters are killed at the end , only to have one of the characters \" wake up \" from an apparent and say \" gosh , i\\'m glad that didn\\'t really happen ! \" . \\ni considered it inexcusable the way the audience was toyed with . \\nwell , the same thing happens in \" the devils advocate \" , and although arguments could be made surrounding whether it was actually a dream ( perhaps milton went back in time to try a different route for his plan , since it failed and he is the devil ) , but the point is that the last 90% of the film didn\\'t happen . \\ni know it\\'s a stretch , after all it is a movie and nothing really happened , but i just get annoyed to get toyed with like that . \\nof course , the dream ending could almost be forgiven if the story that precedes it was at least an interesting one . \\nas i recall , \" wisdom \" was a decent film . \\n \" the devil\\'s advocate \" is not . \\nthe devils advocate \\ndirected by taylor hackford john milton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . al pacino kevin lomax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . keanu \\nreeves mary ann lomax . . . . . . . . . . . charlize \\ntheron mrs . lomax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . judith \\nivey eddie barzoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jeffrey jones christabella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . connie \\nnielson \\nwritten by randy turgeon , march 18 , 1998 . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the full monty is a whole lot of fun , its wacky , witty , and original . \\nit\\'s written and directed by relatively unknowns , simon beaufoy and peter cattaneo , who both turned up oscar nominations . \\nhow did this movie with a budget under 10 million gross over 175 million worldwide ? \\nits been rumored that this film may be the second most profitable movie of the year ! \\nand to think its about male exotic dancers , and not sinking ships . \\nsix steel workers who have been recently been laid off and are all looking for jobs . \\ninspired by the success of a chippendale\\'s production , gaz ( robert carlyle ) decides they should all put on a strip show to make some money quickly . \\nas the six team up to put on the show of their lives , they run into a few problems . \\nfor instance , dave ( mark addy ) is worried about his weight , horse ( paul barber ) thinks he may be inadequate , and gerald ( tom wilkinson ) is worried about his reputation and timing . \\nso when the night of the show comes , will the men be able to do the \" full monty \" ? \\nas i said before this is a fun movie , and not just that its really artistically good . \\nthe writing and direction are great . \\nthe acting is appealing , all the performances have a human quality to them , so you can relate to at least one of the characters . \\nthe full monty received four oscar nominations including best picture . \\nwhich left me wondering one thing , why didn\\'t trainspotting get a best picture nomination last year ? \\nwhile the full monty is a great lighthearted comedy , it doesn\\'t carry the social impact of the brilliant trainspotting . \\nstill , the full monty is a great film , a must see ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"one way of telling if a film is good or not is by the length . \\nif a film is only 90 minutes , but feels like 300 minutes , then it's crap . \\nbut if a film last 2 1/2 hours , and feels like 90 minutes , then it's excellent . \\nboogie nights falls into the latter catagory . \\nthe director , anderson , delivers a funny , hip , yet sometimes violent film , which flies along . \\nmark whalberg , a . k . a \\nmarky mark , plays eddie adams , a seventeen year old with a certain 'gift' in the midriff area . \\njack horner ( reynolds ) is a adult film director , who decides that eddie would be great in the adult movie business . \\nafter running away from home , eddie joins jack , changes his name to dirk diggler , and starts making erotic movies . \\nin the movie business , dirk meets a whole load of characters ( which the film introduces very quickly and slickly ) such as scotty ( phillip seymour hoffman ) , rollergirl ( graham ) amber ( moore ) and floyd ( phillip baker hall ) , and little bill ( william h . macy ) all the characters are well written , well played , and the audience gets to know them pretty well , thanks to the excellent script . \\nwe learn about ambers grief about not being able to see her child due to a divorce , rollergirls hard time at school , and little bills wife , who sleeps with everyone except her husband . \\nbut the best thing about the excellent boogie nights is paul andersons direction and writing . \\nthe direction is fast , thrilling , and never holds up . \\nthere are some great shots , some lovely steadiocam and handheld camera sequences , and lots of other neat directional touches . \\nthe writing is fabulous , with some intelligent dialogue , some funny dialogue , but none of the dialogue is crap , like most hollywood films ( such as the lost world : jurassic park ( 1997 ) , or tommorow never dies ( 1997 ) . ) \\nboogie nights really is a spectacular feat of direction and writing , on par ( and sometimes betters ) quentin tarantino's films resevoir dogs ( 1992 ) and pulp fiction ( 1994 ) \\nthe soundtrack is also excellent . \\nlike american graffiti ( 1973 ) , the film features some great old songs on the soundtrack , which heightens the atmosphere , and gives the film an extra lift . \\nalso , the costumes are great . \\nthe clothes really do look like what people wore in the seventies and eighties . \\nthe film , although excellent , does have some flaws . \\nfirstly , wahlberg , although excellent , cannot do highly scenes which require him to be angry . \\nin both scenes where he has to act angry , his acting is so 'off' , the scenes tension and anger is lost . \\nbut the rest of the cast are excellent . \\nburt reynolds is brilliant , julianne moore shows real emotion , and william h . macy is great aswell ( but he always is . ) \\nanother flaw with the film , though , is that the ending seems a bit tacked on . \\nit seems anderson saw the film was going on a bit , and needed to wrap up quickly . \\nit's a shame , really , as the rest of the film is perfectly paced . \\nbut they're small niggles really . \\nboogie nights is an excellent film . \\nsuperb directing , writing , acting and music , all combine to make one spectacular film . \\nwhatever you do , do not miss out on boogie nights . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"melvin udall is a heartless man . \\nhe spends his days inside of his spacious manhattan apartment writing romance novels . \\nit also seems that melvin will never change . \\none day he dines ar his favorite restaurant , and is a little too mean to his normal waitress ( the only waittress that will serve him ) , carol ( played to perfection by a lovely and sexy helen hunt . ) \\nshe threatens not to serve him if he doesn't shut up about her asthmatic son . he does shut up . \\nto make matters considerably worse , melvin has obsessive compulsive disorder . \\none day his gay artist neighbor simon ( greg kinear , of talk soup fame , in an oscar-worthy role ) 's dog threatens to dismiss himself at melvon's door . \\nthe dog meets the garbage chute . \\nsoon simon is sadly beaten by thieveing burglars , and ray ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , simon's agent , takes the dog , verdell , to melvin , so that melvin can dogsit him . \\nand through the dog and a rather heartwrenching car trip that involves simon , carol , and himself , melvin learns to emerge from his cantakerous shell . \\njack nicholson gives yet another oscar-caliber performance as the film's cynical lead , and is back at work , not playing a goofy u . s . president or a comic book villian , but instead playing jack nicjolson , and playing him full force . \\nall of this adds up to this year's funniest comedy , a creative , witty , and scathing film from james l . brooks , and brooks gets award-worthy performances from the entire cast . \\na winner in every aspect , and a truly delicious slice of cyncial life . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it is an understood passion and an understood calm . \\nbud white walks into the home of lynn bracken , a prostitute \" cut to look like veronica lake . \" \\nhe\\'s one of l . a . \\'s finest investigating the murder of fellow cop , and one of the leads takes him to her home . \\nit\\'s understood that he is quiet thunder , a guy who\\'s calm voice is more powerful than his arms . \\nit\\'s understood that she\\'s supposed to be beautiful , but underneath her face is pain and scraped out lines that say her life could have been so much more . \\nyou know without having to be told . \\n \" you\\'re the first guy who hasn\\'t told me i look like veronicca lake in under a minute , \" she says . \\n \" you look ten times better . \" \\nhe says it without thinking . \\nlike he knows without her having to say anything . \\nwhite\\'s face doesn\\'t turn , it doesn\\'t blush . \\nyou see his eyes , and you believe him . \\nit\\'s a perfect moment in a near perfect movie . \\nl . a . confidential is the best movie of the year . \\nit is grace and poetry ; a richly layered work of pure entertainment . \\nit is a portrait of police and morality as it works it\\'s way through characters that are so real on screen that you believe that they might have a soul . \\nin a phrase , it is everything . \\nit is funny , it is exciting , has enough action and adventure and mystery and grace and suspense . \\nit is the pinnacle of a movie , a complete work , a flawless film . \\nit\\'s hard to tell you about the plot , because it\\'s about so much more than plot . \\nbesides , there\\'s too much to describe . \\nsure , it\\'s about police and searching for corruption and who fights for the right reasons and the definition of justice . \\nbut it\\'s also about what you feel when you look into the eyes of the characters in the film . \\ndirector curtis hanson has perfectly framed each character , letting you see into them , rooting for them one moment , doubting them the next . \\nthe actors work with their lines , but in this movie their most important weapon is their eyes . \\nyou can tell what each person is feeling just by looking into their eyes for one moment . \\nrussell crowe plays bud white , a muscle cop with a beef for wife beaters . \\nhis movements are fierce . \\nwhen he strikes , you jump , when he\\'s calm , you know it won\\'t be for long . \\nhis intensity oozes out of the screen . \\nyou follow his character through the movie afraid of him , but in sympathy of him , because you know how good his heart is . \\nhe\\'s looking for a way to solve crimes , you\\'re just never sure how he\\'s going to do it . \\nhis counter is ed exley , played with a chisselled face by guy pierce . \\nyou feel for him , for his character , because of all the cops in the movie he\\'s the one that\\'s actually trying to do the right thing by going by the book . \\nyou know that he must face the reality of breaking the book , and you love the way he gets there . \\ni\\'ve seen l . a confidential twice , immediately after it was over , i wanted to hit the rewind button and watch it again . \\ni didn\\'t want the theater experience to end . \\nit\\'s been a long time since i actually experienced a movie , feeling like i got something after i walked out . \\nthat\\'s why i love movies ; the great ones can be too rich and powerful to describe . \\nwatch l . a . confidential : after you leave the theater , you feel like you just watched a classic movie . \\nthat\\'s why la confidential stands as the best movie of the year . \\nl . a . confidential ( directed by curtis hanson . \\nstarring russell crowe , guy pierce , kevin spacey , james cromwell , and kim basinger . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'tommy lee jones chases an innocent victim around america who is trying to prove that she did not kill her spouse . \\nthe fugitive ? \\nnot quite ? this is the plot for double jeopardy , another fugitive copycat without the action , excitement , and good acting that the original had . \\nthere are other slight differences besides one movie being bad and the other good ; this time tommy lee jones plays a parole officer not a us marshall , clever huh ? \\noh and the fugitive ashley judd was framed by her own husband ( bruce greenwood ) who needed to collect two million dollars in life insurance money not a one armed man . \\nboth movies are on video . \\nmake the wise choice and pick the fugitive . \\nthere are so many flaws in double jeopardy , it is laughable . \\nwhile serving time in prison , libby parsons ( judd ) discovers that she can never be charged for committing the same crime twice . \\nlearning that her husband is still alive , she decides to serve her time in prison , find him , retrieve her son , and kill her husband if necessary . \\nwhen the strict parole officer travis lehman ( jones ) stands in her way , libby decides to break the rules ( who knows why ? ) and continue her plan , despite the fact that if she gets caught , she\\'s going back to jail . \\ndirector bruce beresford spends way too much time trying to convince the audience that libby misses her son . \\nevery other scene , we are given a shot of libby staring and crying at his picture . \\nin an action movie like this , valuable time wasted on these shots takes away more opportunities for libby to get up and do something . \\nall that is needed in this type of movie is a short scene in which libby tells herself or a friend \" i miss my son . \" \\nnothing more , nothing less . \\ndr . kimble of the fugitive didn\\'t look at one picture of his dead wife , his primary concern was to save himself . \\nlibby at times shows this same determination but not nearly enough . \\nashley judd and bruce greenwood both are excellent actors but if they continue to do movies like this , they will be typecast for the rest of their careers , kind of like their doomed co-star tommy lee jones . \\nwinning an oscar for the fugitive must have convinced jones that audiences will never get tired of his i-do-my-job-whether-they-are-innocent-or-guilty roles . \\npeople still pay to see his movies and he makes plenty of money so i guess he was right . \\nthough i don\\'t think he will win another oscar again . \\nthe ultimate mistake in the script is what eventually becomes of libby parsons . \\neven if she was excused for disobeying her parole officer , the number of other crimes she commits while on the run are too numerous to count . \\nburglary , assault , grand theft auto are some of libby\\'s slipups . \\nthe message of the movie is you can break all of the small laws as long as you\\'re innocent of the major crime . \\nhopefully criminals won\\'t use double jeopardy as a reference in court for why they are innocent . \\nthat would just be plain stupid . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'to put it bluntly , ed wood would have been proud of this . \\na totally ridiculous plot is encompassed with bad humor , hokey drama , zero logic and a crap screenplay . \\nalso , a beautifully anti-climactic ending . \\nnot to say it didn\\'t look intriguing when i saw the previews . \\nso much for truth in advertising . \\nroland emmerich , who\\'s later \" independence day \" would look like \" the 400 blows \" compared to this , co-writed and directed this inane sci-fi film which uses the cliche of there being some connection between eqypt and aliens . \\nin a useless opening sequence , men find a stone in 1914 with hieroglyphics on it . \\nit wouldn\\'t be till present day ( \\'94 ) till they would actually figure it out . \\nthey\\'re decipherer ? \\na slightly-neurotic scientist ( nice twist ) , dr . dan jackson ( james spader , doing his best outside of erotic thrillers and some indy fare ) who\\'s life sucks so much that people walk out of his lectures after the third word . \\nwhy do they use him to decipher what no one else could ? \\nso there is a hokey ending ! \\nduh ! \\nhe figures it out in about a minute . \\nyea . \\nand then they get a suicidal colonel or something , \" jack \" o\\'neill ( kurt russel , with his wyat earp locks in the beginning then a flat-top that would make howie long snap into a fetal position ) . \\nwhy a suicidal colonel ? \\nfor the ending ! \\nyou\\'ll get the hang of this . \\nthey open the stargate , a bunch of them go through it with a bomb to blow it up if they find anything bad . \\nafter an overdone special effects thing , they\\'re . . . inside a goddam pyramid . \\nso they went to egypt , right ? \\nwrong . \\nthey\\'re on another planet that was filmed in egypt . \\nthey discover a cilvilization ruled by ra , the sun god ( the androginous jaye davidson , with a voice modifier to make him sound like barry white with asthma ) , and there are fights , explosions and a kiss between two people . \\nyea . \\nalso melodrama , stupidity , hokey scenes and a bizarre language . \\nan anti-climactic ending ends with stupid lines ( \" say hello to king tut , asswhole ! \" \\n- the quintessential line , lemme tell ya ) and some convenient pesudo-pseudo-pseudo-character development . \\nby the end , you just wanna go home and watch , i don\\'t know , the \" outer limits \" or something . \\nthe script\\'s terrible . \\nthe special effects are okay , but nothing great . \\nthe story\\'s so weak that it\\'s almost opaque . \\nthe whole experience just isn\\'t worth it unless you\\'re so bored that you\\'d consider watching a \" full house \" marathon . . . or \\nthis . \\ni\\'d pick this , obviously , but still , it\\'s just not fun at all . \\nand i can\\'t wait for it to premier on mst3k . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the lives of older people in the twilight of their years attempting to come to grips with their shared histories and possible futures is a fascinating topic . \\nfinding an all-star cast for such a film is a stroke of genius . \\ncombining all that with a three-time oscar-winning director ( robert benton of \" kramer vs . \\nkramer \" ) and creating a decidedly mediocre movie is the stuff of disappointment . \\nin yet another noir mystery set in hollywood -- how many of these have we seen during the past few years ? \\n-- the atmosphere is moody , the actors enjoyable to watch and the story goes nowhere . \\nover-70 harry ross ( paul newman ) is a washed up cop-turned-private eye-turned man friday trying to figure out how to live what remains of his life . \\nhe\\'s screwed up things pretty well ( \" i had a wife and daughter . \\nnow , i\\'m a drunk ) and is at a crossroads . \\na couple of years ago , he traveled to mexico to bring back mel ( reese witherspoon ) , the under-age daughter of jack ( gene hackman ) and catherine ( susan sarandon ) ames and now lives with them . \\nthe ames are former movie stars , past their prime and the three have become fast friends . \\none gets the impression that ross is just hanging out waiting for something to wake him up . \\nto fill his time , he does odd jobs for jack and falls in love with catherine . \\njack is in even worse shape than harry . \\nhe\\'s dying of cancer with only a year to live . \\nthings do turn more exciting when jack asks harry to drop off a sealed manila envelope for him . \\ninstead of the routine errand that ross expects , he walks into a barrage of bullets from the gun of another ex-cop who is , himself , full of bloody holes . \\nthis unsettling event gives the former detective a project to throw himself into and launches an investigation that revolves around the mysterious disappearance of catherine\\'s first husband 20 years before . \\nthrough a series of very complex and convoluted plot devices that involve murder ; blackmail ; guns ; mel\\'s mexico traveling partner and his parole officer ; ross\\'s former cop buddies , ex-lover and would-be sidekick , the tale finally ends up exactly where everyone expects it to . \\nit\\'s a film noir tradition that the story twists and turns down side roads for an unexpected finale , but here the journey meanders towards an ending that no one cares about . \\nthe only surprises are exactly whose face fits which role in the scenario . \\nby the time they show you , it doesn\\'t matter . \\nthe storyline gets goofier and goofier exemplified in ross\\'s relationship with rubin ( giancarlo esposito ) , a partner wannabe . \\nthese scenes are obviously designed to be comic relief , however they are neither . \\nrubin and ross have some past relationship but either it\\'s not explained or i didn\\'t care enough at that point to remember . \\na running joke about where harry was supposedly shot while in mexico is probably meant to mirror his questions about whether he is still able to perform . \\nit\\'s also not funny , doesn\\'t connect and keeps on showing up long after it has run its course . \\non the positive side , it\\'s often enjoyable to watch the seasoned actors on the screen . \\nthe three leads all have well-deserved academy awards and turn in accomplished , if not extraordinary jobs . \\nnewman is a grand actor , but doesn\\'t seem quite suited to the dark film style . \\nhe is a bit too clean and understated to come across as desperate and down and out . \\nhackman , also low-key , is believable but lacks sparkle . \\nsarandon comes across well as an sultry older babe although she is one-dimensional . \\nthe actors do what they can with lame dialog , but they can\\'t pull the film out of the hole it\\'s dug for itself . \\njames garner who plays ross\\'s old buddy ex-cop raymond hope is always a treat , but even he half-heartedly struggles through lines like \" i\\'m glad they didn\\'t shoot your pecker off . \" \\nthe best part of the film is the look at old friends , how their relationships change over the years and the difficult choices they must make . \\nthe genuinely easy and casual interactions among the actors hint that being on the set was much more interesting than what ended up on the screen \\nthe film doesn\\'t run very long before the audience realizes that it\\'s hopeless . \\nthe only reason for watching is the actors . \\nit reminds me of disaster movies such as \" towering inferno \" where the star power is supposed to make everyone ignore the film\\'s problems . \\nin a better world , there would have been second-rate actors in this second-rate movie and the ones here would have been saved for something better . \\nof course , we don\\'t live in that better world , but you could make yours a little nicer by choosing a different movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the most depressing thing about the depressingly pedestrian james bond film \" the world is not enough \" is its final frame : white letters on a black background proclaiming \" james bond will return . \" \\noh i certainly hope not . \\nwith pierce brosnan in his third and reportedly last go-round as james bond 007 , \" the world is not enough \" is the best example to date that \" \\'enough \" is enough . \\nin this , the 19th chapter in the seemingly-endless franchise featuring ian fleming\\'s debonair british secret agent who likes his martinis--and his nemeses--shaken not stirred , the sub-inspired screenwriters have chosen to rehash all of the setups , stunts , and sexy encounters of the previous 18 bond flicks rather than coming up with anything the slightest bit original . \\nwe\\'ve got previously-used speedboat chases , ski chases , and sticky situations aboard nuclear submarines . \\nwe\\'ve got a couple of hot-to-trot babes without an ounce of acting ability between them . \\nwe\\'ve got a post-cold war megalomaniac bent on world domination slash destruction ( here played by a skinheaded robert carlyle with mean , lean panache ) . \\nand , as has been the case since 1977\\'s \" the spy who loved me , \" we\\'ve got a plot that has nothing whatsoever to do with anything conceived by mr . fleming . \\nwe\\'ve also got a main title song by garbage to which , with very little effort , you can fit the lyrics to * both * songs from \" tomorrow never dies . \" \\nwhile originality was never the series\\' strong suit , the films were almost always fun , with at least some thought going into the nonstop stunts . \\ni can\\'t think of one memorable set-piece in the entire--and very dull-- \" the world is not enough . \" \\nin addition , michael apted ( yes , the respected director of such films as \" coal miner\\'s daughter , \" \" nell , \" and the \" 28up \" documentary series ) takes embarrassing advantage of the full range of bond clich ? s . \\nyou get the \" talking killer \" plot device--you know the scenario : the bad guy has the good guy at his mercy yet waxes poetic just long enough to die of old age . \\nand you get a slew of high-priced assassins who can\\'t hit a barn door at 20 paces : in the film\\'s opening minutes ( of an endless 128 ) , bond chases a sultry sniper along the thames and the leather-clad lovely fails to hit bond\\'s souped-up \" fishing boat \" with a bazooka when he pulls within a few feet of her . \\nlater , she takes off in a hot air balloon with bond dangling from a guy rope beneath her but is still unable to take him out . \\nthese reliable absurdities are more frustrating than usual since there are no distractions other than occasional ads for luxury automobiles , vodka , or credit cards . \\nin and among the rampant product placements , brosnan grapples with carlyle , \" braveheart \" \\'s sophie marceau ( as former kidnap victim slash heiress elektra king ; she\\'s terrible ) , \" wild things \" \\' denise richards ( as a nuclear physicist lord help me ; she\\'s laughable ) , and judi dench as m . dame judi brings the only shred of dignity to a series that has long since jettisoned its self-respect ( about the time roger moore inherited bond\\'s walther ppk ) . \\nbrosnan goes through the motions with the grace and charm you\\'d expect of the former \" remington steele \" star , but even he has to be thinking there\\'s more to life than an easy paycheck . \\nhe\\'s given plenty of wiseacre asides to deliver , but only one of them-- \" i don\\'t know any doctor jokes \" --made me chuckle ( although \" i thought christmas only comes once a year \" is more in keeping with the series\\' penchant for grown-worthy puns ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"while i am not fond of any writer's use of cheap , easy puns , i am not completely above using them myself when the situation merits it ( witness my review of _pecker_ from a couple of issues ago ) . \\nso here goes : the juvenile , college-set black comedy _dead_man_on_campus_ is dead on arrival . \\nstrait-laced med student josh ( tom everett scott , who manages to remain somewhat likable throughout ) 's blemish-free academic record breaks out into fs , thanks to the influence of his ever-partying roommate , cooper ( mark-paul gosselaar ) , who introduces josh to the sex- and booze-filled nights that come with university life . \\nwith the threat of losing an academic scholarship ( josh ) and a life cleaning toilets for his dad looming ( cooper ) , what are two good-hearted slackers to do ? \\neasy--look for a loophole , which they find in the form of an unbelievable rule in the school charter that states that if a student's ( or students' ) roommate commits suicide , the surviving student ( s ) shall receive straight as . \\nso instead of studying , josh and cooper attempt to seek out the most depressed student out there , move him into their dorm room , and drive him to suicide before the semester ends . \\ndirector alan cohn and screenwriters michael traeger and mike white ( working from a story by anthony abrams and adam larson broder ) take their sweet time to build the head of steam that comes with josh and cooper's diabolical plot . \\nuntil then , the usual boring cliches of college life ( booze , sex , more booze ) fill the time , which is made to feel longer by _saved_by_the_bell_ alumnus gosselaar's sitcom-bred mugging . \\nthat said , once cohn and company do build some comic momentum , they mishandle it . \\nthe introduction of the manic , psychotic cliff ( lochlyn munro ) , a potential roommate for josh and cooper , brings some demented life to the uninspired proceedings before being hastily written out in favor of two less interesting candidates : paranoid nerd buckley ( randy pearlstein ) and british death rocker matt ( corey page ) . \\none wishes that cliff would reappear , but , as they say , be careful what you wish for . \\nnot surprisingly , he does resurface , and it then becomes clear that this is a character that is best taken in a small dose ; almost immediately , his extended boorish and sociopathic antics loses its novelty . \\nthe same can be said about all of _dead_man_on_campus_ . \\nwhatever morbid appeal the far-fetched premise has quickly evaporates , and the self-absorbed characters , especially cooper , pretty much grate from the get-go . \\n_dead_man_ doesn't grow tiresome ; it already _is_ once the clever opening titles are through . \\nas it slogs along to a cheesy , happy-for-all-parties conclusion , _dead_man_ lives up to its title and then some--not only does the movie grow even more tired and die , it still insists on going on . . . \\nlike a zombie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" you leave little notes on my pillow . \\ni told you a million times i can\\'t stand little notes on my pillow . \\n\\'we are all out of corn flakes - f . u . \\' \\nit took me three hours to figure out that \\'f . u . \\' was felix unger . \" \\n--- a frustrated oscar madison ( walter matthau ) running down a list of his complaints against his roommate felix unger ( jack lemmon ) , in the odd couple . \\nthe classic neil simon comedy ( based on his own stage play ) about suicidal felix ( lemmon ) , who is persuaded by his poker friend oscar ( matthau ) to stay with him in his apartment after felix\\'s wife throws him out and files for divorce . \\nthe hook : oscar is messy and likes his apartment that way , while felix is an obsessive/compulsive neat freak . \\nthe two men , despite their friendship , instantly clash . \\nmovies just aren\\'t as delightfully funny as this one is . \\nevery line of neil simon\\'s dialogue flows like comedic poetry , and all the actors are just perfect in their performances . \\nlemmon is at his best as the anxiety ridden felix , but it\\'s matthau who shines brightest as oscar , whose world is being invaded and rearranged , mostly against his wishes ( the type of character i always enjoy identifying with ) . \\nand who can forget that catchy score by neal hefti ? \\nthe best thing about the film ( and this is a testament to the quality of the writing ) is that it\\'s a comedy with substance . \\nthese two men , even while at each other\\'s throats , genuinely care for one another as friends . \\nwhen they clash , it isn\\'t cartoonish hatred being displayed , but genuine frustration with the fact that they are such good friends but just cannot manage to co-exist . \\nmovies nowadays , take grumpy old men for example , just don\\'t have that extra spark there . \\nthese days it\\'s just animosity for the sake of comedy . \\na television series followed ( starring jack klugman and tony randall ) , which i\\'ll admit i\\'ve never seen an episode of in its entirety , and neil simon even scripted the sequel , the odd couple ii , which was released in 1998 . \\nneither of them compare to this comic masterpiece though . \\nit\\'s one of the best comedies of all time and easily earns its spot in my top ten favorite films . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the general\\'s daughter will probably be the cleverest stupid film we\\'ll see this year -- or perhaps the stupidest clever film . \\nit\\'s confusing to a critic when so much knuckleheaded plotting and ostentatious direction shares the screen with so much snappy dialogue and crisp character interaction . \\nthat , however , is what happens when legendary screenwriter william goldman takes a pass at an otherwise brutally predictable conspiracy thriller . \\nthe punched-up punch lines are ever on the verge of convincing you the general\\'s daughter has a brain in its head , even as the remaining 75% of the narrative punches you in the face with its lack of common sense . \\nour hero is warrant officer paul brenner , a brash investigator for the u . s . army\\'s criminal investigation division . \\nhis latest case is the murder of captain elisabeth campbell ( leslie stefanson ) at a georgia base , the victim found tied to the ground after an apparent sexual assault and strangulation . \\ncomplicating the case is the fact that capt . campbell is the daughter of general joe campbell ( james cromwell ) , a war hero and potential vice-presidential nominee . \\ngeneral campbell wants to keep the case out of the press , which gives brenner only the 36 hours before the fbi steps in . \\nteamed with rape investigator sarah sunhill ( madeleine stowe ) -- who , coincidentally enough , once had a romantic relationship with brenner -- brenner begins uncovering dark secrets from the late captain\\'s past that make the case ever more sordid . \\nif only the sordidness were the worst of the general\\'s daughter\\'s problems . \\nscenes of sexual degredation do linger much longer than necessary , their negligible dramatic value overwhelmed by filtered-light sleaze . \\ndirector simon west likely thinks he\\'s covered himself by juxtaposing these images of violence with sweet flowers , but all he does is prove himself dependent on visual cliches , which is the film\\'s fatal flaw . \\nit\\'s a trend he continues for two hours , taking the story\\'s few virtues and slapping a coat of moron-proof obviousness over them . \\ncharacters who may ( wink wink ) turn out to be villains are photographed in ominous shadow ; cutaway inserts of the captain campbell\\'s still-living face after the corpse is uncovered insure against five-minute attention spans . \\nwest just can\\'t help himself from overdirecting every minute of the general\\'s daughter . \\nhe even turns a scene of footage shown on cnn into an excuse for slow-fade edits . \\nbubbling up from this overcooked stew are enough tasty lines to distract you from its smell . \\nthe slickest scene finds brenner squaring off with captain campbell\\'s mentor , a psychological warfare expert named moore ( james woods ) . \\nthere\\'s something invigorating about watching two smart actors playing smart characters firing honesty at one another . \\nindeed , travolta gets to sink his teeth into dozens of choice lines based on his delight at provoking authority figures ( to the local sheriff of the georgia county : \" shouldn\\'t you be out night-sticking the colored folk ? \" ) . \\neven the lame device of brenner and sunhill\\'s sexual history provides a few winning zingers . \\ngoldman\\'s dialogue can serve up a bigger laugh than you\\'ll find in most so-called comedies . \\ndialogue , unfortunately , just isn\\'t enough to make a quality script . \\nit\\'s difficult to take a movie about a criminal investigation seriously when the investigators are both too stupid to solve it sooner ( an idiotic inability to recognize the nature of the crime scene ) and too lucky for it to last any longer ( not one but two occasions where brenner catches a vital piece of evidence out of the corner of his eye ) . \\nby the time the general\\'s daughter wanders towards its over-wrought , psycho-in-the-rain finale , west\\'s heavy hand has obliterated most of what made the film occasionally fun . \\nit\\'s silly and pretentious film-making , but at least it provides a giggle or five . \\ngoldman should tear the 15 decent pages out of this script and turn them into a stand-up routine . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'being the self-proclaimed professional film critic that i am , i am somewhat embarrassed to admit that i had not seen lawrence of arabia ( coming soon to dvd ) until only recently . \\nafter all , it\\'s considered by just about everyone to be the masterpiece epic of director david lean , who also directed films such as bridge on the river kwai , and doctor zhivago . \\nso one day , a friend of mine loaned me a copy of the video and i sat down and watched it . \\ni was initially skeptical that something made almost 40 years ago would be able to keep my attention for the butt-numbing 3 1/2 hours of its duration . \\nbut now i fully understand why this has become the film that other epic films are judged against -- the winner of seven academy awards in 1963 for best picture , director , editing , cinematography , art direction , music , and sound . \\nafter watching the film again , i am convinced that it is simply one of the finest works of cinematic genius to ever illuminate the big screen . \\nbased on the autobiographical writing of british officer t . e . \\nlawrence during world war i , lawrence of arabia depicts lawrence ( played by then-unknown actor peter o\\'toole ) as a lieutenant lacking any sort of military discipline whatsoever . \\nbored with his assignment of coloring maps for the british army in a dimly lit headquarters building , lawrence jumps at the opportunity to be re-assigned as an observer for an arabian prince fighting against the turkish army . \\nlawrence quickly sees just how caring and great these desert dwelling people can be and ends up rallying the various tribes together to fight the turks and help the british turn the tide of world war i . \\nshot in panavision\\'s famed super 70mm format , the film beautifully illustrates the definition of the word epic . \\nit is absolutely breathtaking . \\nusing stunning cinematography , costuming , and direction , shot in the most uninhabitable location on the face of the earth , i can only imagine what it must have been like to sit in a theater in 1962 and watch this story unfold before my eyes . \\nevery shot is choreographed as a portrait -- a living tribute to a great land . \\ndavid lean put his reputation on the line to get this film completed , and the fact that it was even greenlit in the first place says something about the ideology of the motion picture industry at the time , a far cry from its pathetic , uncreative existence today . \\nafter watching the film , the first thing that came to my mind was , \" i\\'ve got to do a remake of this film ! \" \\nbut then i thought about trying to pitch the idea to a modern-day movie executive : \" okay , it\\'s going to be almost four hours long and shot over three months on location in the sahara desert . \\nwe are going to need to blow up a full-size train because computer-generated effects probably wont do it justice . \\nand we are not going to use any big stars , and won\\'t have any female actors since there\\'s no love story . \" \\nyes , my friends , the velvet curtain fell on the golden-era of hollywood a long time ago . \\nbut at least we still have the proof to show all would-be producers and directors out there just how good a film can be . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" showgirls \" is the first big-budget , big-studio film to receive an nc-17 rating . \\nand its release last year came at a time when senator bob dole and other politicans chastised the entertainment industry for promoting sex and violence . \\nbut if \" showgirls \" is any indication of hollywood\\'s future , the folks in washington should focus their attack on a more dangerous threat to american values--bad moviemaking . \\n \" showgirls \" is a relentlessly exploitive look at the las vegas strip scene , and the film turns out to be just as trashy as its subject matter . \\ndirector paul verhoeven and writer joe eszterhas , who collaborated on another shock-value project , 1992\\'s \" basic instinct , \" follow the plight of a young woman ( teen tv star elizabeth berkley ) determined to make a name for herself as a topless dancer . \\nit\\'s a hackneyed premise to begin with , so not surprisingly , all of the stock characters are trucked out . \\nthere\\'s the demanding producer . \\nthe loyal friend . \\nthe bitchy competitor . \\nlest i forget the scummy club owner . \\nof course , any attempt at character development or a coherent storyline is just window dressing for the film\\'s main attraction--an endless parade of full-frontal nudity . \\nunfortunately , \" showgirls \" doesn\\'t satisfy in this department . \\nverhoeven\\'s slam-bang , in-your-face style of direction proves neither arousing nor erotic . \\nto make matters worse , you\\'ll be forced to sit through the movie\\'s clothed scenes , which don\\'t cover up for laughable acting and some of the most absurd dialogue ever spoken in film history . \\nverhoeven and ezsterhas deserve credit for trying to break ground , but if it\\'s adult entertainment you want , stay home and watch the playboy channel . \\nyou\\'ll be the wiser for it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" through a spyglass , i could see everything . \" \\nking louis xvi was beheaded on january 21 , 1793 , but instead of visualizing this act of regicide , legendary auteur eric rohmer\\'s the lady and the duke observes from afar . \\nconsider it a view to a kill made abstract . \\na proper british ( yes , british ) gentlewoman , grace elliott ( lucy russell ) , and her loyal maidservant gaze from a lofty terrace in meudon at the glistening city of paris , where raucous crowds seem tinier than ants . \\nthe maid narrates what little she sees of the execution through her telescope ( often muttering , \" i don\\'t know , \" ) as the sound of cheering patriots and revolutionaries echoes through the air . \\nwhat we don\\'t see might not be able to hurt us . \\njust close your eyes and think of england . \\nduring times of revolution , the aristocracy may feel a false sense of calm in their parlor halls , discussing tumultuous events over glasses of sherry until the walls cave in on them . \\nadapted from elliott\\'s memoirs , journal of my life during the french revolution , rohmer\\'s latest artistic tour-de-force may seem far removed from his domestic comedies ( tales of the four seasons , etc . ) , a period film set during the most violent changes in french history . \\nresisting the temptation for grand-scale theatrics , much of the lady and the duke is about quiet , decisive moments between members of the cultural elite as they determine how to proceed as the world implodes . \\ngrace elliott makes for an unlikely protagonist : a headstrong , snobbish blueblood , one unprepared for the machinations of history that sweep her along . \\na foreigner who accepts the french king as her own , grace\\'s life seems defined by fancy attire and lively political debate with her former lover , the king\\'s hot-blooded cousin , prince philipe , duke of orleans ( jean-claude dreyfus ) . \\nthe times are changing , though , and the gears inch ever closer toward violence . \\nduring the september massacres of 1792 , she is encountered by a procession of rioters brandishing the head of the duke\\'s sister-in-law on a stake . \\nrohmer makes a harsh transition from tranquil , old fashioned , almost stagy parlor scenes to the swell of an angry mob . \\nin doing so , he achieves what braveheart and the patriot could not : the face of death . \\nwhen grace sees her friend\\'s disembodied head on a pole , rohmer\\'s attention drifts from the societal change to one woman\\'s reaction shot , laden with hot tears . \\ngrace finds herself taking in a fugitive from justice , sheltering him from the mob . \\nthrough her relationship with the duke , she seeks a passport for this one activist\\'s escape . \\ngrace doesn\\'t even understand her own actions ( and the duke reacts in stunned disbelief at how she places herself in such danger ) . \\nshe endures persecution from robespierre and his gang of thuggish equalizers , ceaseless police monitoring , house searches , even a brief imprisonment for harmless international correspondence . \\nmaintaining her stiff upper lip and pampered life ( her imperious attitude to the servants never changes ) , she becomes a heroine through circumstance . \\nthe events themselves are intrusions upon her person , her home , and therefore her values . \\naristocracy proves a glass house , one that can barely withstand the upheaval of stones . \\nthe duke is called to vote on the king\\'s punishment , and despite his hours of deliberation with friends and advisors , talk means nothing in the face of bloody action ( or futile inaction ) . \\nthe episodic structure creates a wobbly , jarring detachment from the events of the french revolution , which serves as metaphor but also disconnects potential audience identification . \\nlazy viewers ( and critics ) may also complain that knowledge of french history is required for enjoyment of the lady and the duke . \\nthat\\'s foolery , but brings up the valid criticism that rohmer\\'s characters occasionally become didactic . \\nrohmer\\'s imperfect but assured push toward the future remains staunch and notable for casting a cautious eye upon the past while taking bold steps forward into an uncertain future . \\nwhat may arouse interest in the lady and the duke outside of foreign film enthusiasts with literary and historical passions is rohmer\\'s use of cutting edge digital technology as a means of exploring the theme of artifice as safety net or coping mechanism . \\nthe actors were filmed against a bluescreen , then placed against painted backdrops recreating the vastness of 18th century paris . \\nthis recreation calls attention to itself in every shot , a technicolor dream of fanciful buildings and wide-open streets . \\nit looks as phony as titanic , but unlike james cameron\\'s debacle , the lady and the duke plays with the notion of false security in those walls of stone . \\nwhy ? \\nthey aren\\'t real . \\nthe very foundation rohmer\\'s characters stand upon is false , and in their groundlessness they must discover themselves , in all their insubstantial glory . \\nscreened at the 2001 new york film festival ( feature coming soon ) . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you know , i never really wondered what the tarzan films would have been like had tarzan been an old man . \\nwhile watching instinct , i couldn\\'t help but acknowledge the way the film carelessly rehashes the well-explored themes of those earlier movies . \\neven beside the tarzan comparison , instinct just isn\\'t a very good film . \\nit\\'s painfully idealistic , manipulative , and silly . \\ni didn\\'t hate it -- it\\'s simply impossible for me to hate any film starring anthony hopkins ; furthermore , most of the acting is quite good . \\nbut i can recognize instinct for what it is beyond my subjective admiration for the actors involved . \\ni can also recognize reasons for wanting to make instinct , and it\\'s pretty clear that this could have been a good film with a massive script overhaul and a director less interested in imitating movies like patch adams . \\nthings start off in the predictable way , as director jon turtletaub introduces us to our hero , theo caulder ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , an ambitious , young psychiatrist under the supervision of an experienced , old psychiatrist ( donald sutherland ) . \\ncaulder soon finds himself involved in the case of his life , the one he thinks will make him famous . \\nthe subject is ethan powell ( hopkins ) , an anthropologist who has been living among gorillas in africa for the past two years . \\npowell has been charged with the brutal murders of several men in africa , and it\\'s now caulder\\'s job to find out of he\\'s mentally competent enough to stand trial . \\nthrough a series of short sessions , caulder tries to put together the complex psyche of powell . \\neven though it really is an old man version of tarzan , much of this central idea is rather interesting . \\nas i said , hopkins is captivating for every second he\\'s on screen ; he has a way of convincing us that he\\'s not acting , that he\\'s actually a man who has just spent two years of his life living with a family of wild gorillas . \\nthe character himself isn\\'t very interesting -- he\\'s just an anthropologist who really likes gorillas -- but hopkins makes him interesting with subtleties both in speech and action . \\ngooding jr . does strong work opposite hopkins , playing caulder as an intelligent and flawed individual . \\nthe screenplay , written by gerald di pego and \" suggested by \" a novel by daniel quinn , gives us no background information on caulder , but that seems to be the point ( he has no time for friends because he\\'s obsessed with his work ) . \\nnonetheless , these two actors are essentially the entire list of things that are good about instinct . \\nunfortunately , filmmaking this inept can mangle the effect of even the best acting . \\nturtletaub and di pego are both guilty of instinct\\'s artistic failure , for they work together to make the dumbest , most cliche-ridden environment in which their characters are to live , and they do so by means of brainless subplots . \\nfirst , we have the prison warden subplot . \\nthe prison warden is evil and wants to stop caulder\\'s progress at any cost ; if this means taking caulder off the powell case , then that\\'s fine . \\nthere\\'s also the prison guard subplot . \\nthe prison guard is played by john ashton ; the prison guard seems to enjoy mercilessly beating upon the psychotics under his supervision , and he\\'s instrumental in helping the story along to its obvious conclusion . \\nthen there\\'s the daughter subplot , in which maura tierney ( playing the daughter ) must look very upset a lot of the time ; after all , she is the daughter of a deranged man . \\nif some of this stuff sounds familiar , that\\'s because they\\'re all devices that have been used and reused in countless other films . \\nthe evil doctor in patch adams is not unlike the evil warden here . \\nthe offensive caricatures of mental patients lack the depth that the similar portrayals in one flew over the cuckoo\\'s nest had . \\nashton\\'s evil prison guard pales in comparison to clancy brown\\'s in the shawshank redemption . \\nhopkins\\' performance will undoubtedly remind audiences of his turn in the silence of the lambs . \\nand then there\\'s the whole tarzan thing , which is more than a little bit obvious through the entire film . \\nperhaps what irritates me most about instinct is the half-hearted attempt at philosophical depth . \\nthe message powell brings back from the wild is not a subtle one : he thinks that humans are \" takers , \" that they expand and kill and that we should all just live like gorillas . \\ni can sympathize with that , but only when it\\'s in a compelling film . \\nthis is the kind of stupid movie -- just like patch adams -- in which a big group of characters ( psychotic inmates , in this case ) rise against the evil forces oppressing them by tearing up playing cards . \\nwhat does any of this have to do with a man who has just spent two years of his life with gorillas ? \\nif all the subplots of instinct had been left on the cutting room floor , we would have had a thirty-minute movie far superior to the two-hour one that i watched today . \\nif the central idea had been developed beyond the old man tarzan premise , then we would really have had something interesting -- a movie that doesn\\'t rely on the strength of its actors . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after the recent animated debacles of , \" a rugrats movie , \" and \" a bug\\'s life , \" i am seriously considering raising my highly negative rating on dreamworks\\' other insect film from october , \" antz . \" \\ni hated that movie , and yet , it is so much better than these latest two excursions . \\n \" a bug\\'s life , \" is the second animated insect film in the last two months , and i hoped for the best , considering it was done in the wonderful style of pixar\\'s last film , 1995\\'s \" toy story , \" but in no way does , \" a bug\\'s life , \" even remotely match up to that . \\nflik ( david foley ) , an ant , who along with his many comrades , has the job every year of gathering up the seasonal harvest , only to have to give half of it away to the dominating grasshoppers , led by hopper ( kevin spacey ) . \\nflik , however , feels all alone and unwanted in the world , especially after he accidentally loses all of their food , and the ants are threated by hopper to gather up a whole other season\\'s load by the time the last summer leaf falls from the trees . \\nbanished from ant island , flik leaves the colony in search of some strong reinforcement to help out , but through a misunderstanding , returns with a handful of helpless circus bugs , including a walking stick ( david hyde pierce ) , a dung beetle ( brad garrett ) , a gypsy moth ( madeline kahn ) , a male ladybug ( denis leary ) , and a caterpillar ( joe ranft ) . \\n \" a bug\\'s life , \" has one thing going for it . \\nonly one thing . \\nwith its glorious , bright colors , the computer-generated animation is a spectacle to look at . \\nthe film itself , unfortunately , is a lifeless , unamusing contraption without any of the flair or excitement of , \" toy story . \" \\nthe characters in , \" a bug\\'s life , \" are an assortment of either unlikable or dull insects without any charm or personality , other than to stand around and recite arbitrary and thoroughly unfunny one-liners . \\nthe thin story was also stretched out to a nearly unbearable 94 minutes , and it often felt as if they ran out of ideas throughout , and so they made up pointless scenes to pass as time-filler . \\nafter giving such scathing reviews to the animated films from this year , i was beginning to think that i had simply outgrown them , but then i realized this is just not so . \\ni still adore almost all of the older disney films , and many of the newer ones , such as 1989\\'s , \" the little mermaid , \" 1991\\'s , \" beauty and the beast , \" 1993\\'s , \" the nightmare before christmas , \" and yes , 1995\\'s , \" toy story . \" \\nmaybe this has just been a bad year for children\\'s films , and hopefully , the upcoming , \" the prince of egypt , \" will not be a disappointment . \\nas for , \" a bug\\'s life , \" i did not enjoy anything about it . \\nnot the story , not the characters , and not even the voiceover work , which was far more lively in , \" antz . \" \\n \" a bug\\'s life , \" goes down as yet another failure for disney , and it is a sad state of affairs when their best film in the last two years has been the minor jonathan taylor thomas picture , \" i\\'ll be home for christmas . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'films adapted from comic books have had plenty of success , whether they\\'re about superheroes ( batman , superman , spawn ) , or geared toward kids ( casper ) or the arthouse crowd ( ghost world ) , but there\\'s never really been a comic book like from hell before . \\nfor starters , it was created by alan moore ( and eddie campbell ) , who brought the medium to a whole new level in the mid \\'80s with a 12-part series called the watchmen . \\nto say moore and campbell thoroughly researched the subject of jack the ripper would be like saying michael jackson is starting to look a little odd . \\nthe book ( or \" graphic novel , \" if you will ) is over 500 pages long and includes nearly 30 more that consist of nothing but footnotes . \\nin other words , don\\'t dismiss this film because of its source . \\nif you can get past the whole comic book thing , you might find another stumbling block in from hell\\'s directors , albert and allen hughes . \\ngetting the hughes brothers to direct this seems almost as ludicrous as casting carrot top in , well , anything , but riddle me this : who better to direct a film that\\'s set in the ghetto and features really violent street crime than the mad geniuses behind menace ii society ? \\nthe ghetto in question is , of course , whitechapel in 1888 london\\'s east end . \\nit\\'s a filthy , sooty place where the whores ( called \" unfortunates \" ) are starting to get a little nervous about this mysterious psychopath who has been carving through their profession with surgical precision . \\nwhen the first stiff turns up , copper peter godley ( robbie coltrane , the world is not enough ) calls in inspector frederick abberline ( johnny depp , blow ) to crack the case . \\nabberline , a widower , has prophetic dreams he unsuccessfully tries to quell with copious amounts of absinthe and opium . \\nupon arriving in whitechapel , he befriends an unfortunate named mary kelly ( heather graham , say it isn\\'t so ) and proceeds to investigate the horribly gruesome crimes that even the police surgeon can\\'t stomach . \\ni don\\'t think anyone needs to be briefed on jack the ripper , so i won\\'t go into the particulars here , other than to say moore and campbell have a unique and interesting theory about both the identity of the killer and the reasons he chooses to slay . \\nin the comic , they don\\'t bother cloaking the identity of the ripper , but screenwriters terry hayes ( vertical limit ) and rafael yglesias ( les mis ? rables ) do a good job of keeping him hidden from viewers until the very end . \\nit\\'s funny to watch the locals blindly point the finger of blame at jews and indians because , after all , an englishman could never be capable of committing such ghastly acts . \\nand from hell\\'s ending had me whistling the stonecutters song from the simpsons for days ( \" who holds back the electric car/who made steve guttenberg a star ? \" ) . \\ndon\\'t worry - it\\'ll all make sense when you see it . \\nnow onto from hell\\'s appearance : it\\'s certainly dark and bleak enough , and it\\'s surprising to see how much more it looks like a tim burton film than planet of the apes did ( at times , it seems like sleepy hollow 2 ) . \\nthe print i saw wasn\\'t completely finished ( both color and music had not been finalized , so no comments about marilyn manson ) , but cinematographer peter deming ( don\\'t say a word ) ably captures the dreariness of victorian-era london and helped make the flashy killing scenes remind me of the crazy flashbacks in twin peaks , even though the violence in the film pales in comparison to that in the black-and-white comic . \\noscar winner martin childs\\' ( shakespeare in love ) production design turns the original prague surroundings into one creepy place . \\neven the acting in from hell is solid , with the dreamy depp turning in a typically strong performance and deftly handling a british accent . \\nians holm ( joe gould\\'s secret ) and richardson ( 102 dalmatians ) log in great supporting roles , but the big surprise here is graham . \\ni cringed the first time she opened her mouth , imagining her attempt at an irish accent , but it actually wasn\\'t half bad . \\nthe film , however , is all good . \\n2 : 00 - r for strong violence/gore , sexuality , language and drug content \\n',\n",
+       "  b'driving miss daisy takes its sweet time to tell a small , intimate story . \\nit\\'s a quiet film , a slow film , a deliberate film . \\nbut if you\\'re patient with it , the movie offers innumerable rewards , such as a pair of self-assured performances by morgan freeman and jessica tandy . \\ndriving miss daisy is based on alfred uhry\\'s pulitzer-prize winning play of the same name , which first opened in new york four years ago . \\nthe play has garnered international acclaim with productions in chicago , los angeles , london , vienna , norway , and the soviet union . \\nuhry himself wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of driving miss daisy ; he also penned the wonderful sleeper , mystic pizza . \\nthe film , like the play , is set in atlanta , georgia , and it revolves around two people in their twilight years : a cranky , 70-something jewish widow who feels guilty about her wealth and a 60-something black man who becomes her chauffeur . \\nthe movie relies on character , rather than plot , to propel the action . \\nin fact , the movie has no discernible plot in the traditional sense ; it doesn\\'t present a linear story in which all the scenes flow together . \\nrather , driving miss daisy is made up of the routine activities of everyday life : shopping , listening to the radio , visiting the cemetery , eating fried chicken , and so on . \\nthe film also incorporates into the story line actual events in atlanta\\'s history , including the 1958 bombing of the temple ( the city\\'s oldest jewish congregation ) and a 1965 ceremony honoring the reverend dr . martin luther king , jr . \\nthe story begins in 1948 with daisy ( tandy ) crashing and wrecking her packard as she pulls out of her driveway . \\nthe insurance company cancels her insurance , and her son , boolie , decides to hire her a chauffeur . \\nfreeman , reprising his role from the play , plays the chauffeur , hoke . \\nthe film chronicles the warm friendship that slowly but surely blossoms between the chauffeur and his reluctant passenger . \\ndriving miss daisy is a movie about human nature , aging , prejudice , and a great many other things , but more than anything it\\'s about a relationship : one that spans 25 years , 4 cars , the advent of civil rights , and one gravely important 33 cent can of salmon . \\ndaisy is strong-willed and set in her ways , and , from the outset , she is utterly opposed to the idea of having a chauffeur . \\ninitially , she treats hoke with contempt , refusing to let him drive her anywhere . \\nonce she does get in the car , daisy is the ultimate back-seat driver . \\nto make matters worse , she is extremely self-conscious about what others might think if they were to see her being escorted around town by a hired hand . \\neventually , however , daisy is worn down by hoke\\'s good-natured charm and infectious cheer ; she softens and opens up to him . \\ntandy plays the part of daisy exceedingly well , but unfortunately this feisty , cantankerous character is just a smidgen too commonplace . \\nwe\\'ve seen this woman countless times before in other incarnations , from on golden pond to cocoon . \\nnevertheless , tandy manages to put enough of a personal stamp on the familiar character to make it her own . \\nfreeman , as hoke , on the other hand , gives the more distinctive of the two performances . \\nthere is something profoundly moving about the way hoke maintains his pride and dignity in a society which forbids him from using public rest rooms because of his skin color . \\nhoke is uneducated and illiterate , but freeman always suggests that there is something more to this man , an inner strength beneath the simpleton exterior . \\nboth freeman and tandy seem to be in their element , in full command of their natural charisma . \\nthey flirt with the camera and dominate scenes without overtly calling attention to themselves . \\nthey bring a light touch to their humorous banter and to the movie\\'s gentle humor . \\nat the same time , tandy and freeman provide more than a few moments of truly poignant drama . \\nin his first dramatic role , dan aykroyd is surprisingly chubby and unexpectedly effective as boolie , tandy\\'s loving and patient son . \\ndrama seems to agree with aykroyd ; taking a break from comedy seems like a good move for the actor , especially when you consider the wretched comedies he has made recently ( ghostbusters ii , the great outdoors , my stepmother is an alien ) . \\nthe only other significant characters in the film are daisy\\'s housekeeper , idella , marvelously played by esther rolle ( \" good times \" ) , and boolie\\'s pretentious wife , played by patti lupone . \\nunder the direction of bruce beresford ( crimes of the heart , tender mercies ) , driving miss daisy seems a bit stagey now and again . \\nbut fortunately , beresford never forgets he\\'s shooting a movie , and accordingly , he offers plenty of striking cinematic touches , such as gorgeous shots of flowers , trees , and tomatoes . \\nin adapting driving miss daisy from the stage to the screen , the filmmakers have achieved a delicate subtlety . \\nuhry understands that what his characters do not say can be just as important as what they do say . \\nberesford wisely exercises restraint in the film\\'s dramatic moments . \\nthe movie tugs at your heart , but it never goes for the jugular . \\nthe only sap in driving miss daisy is in the trees . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" shagadellic ! \" , \" groovy , baby ! \" \\n \" smashing ! \" \\nadorn the 1/4 page ad for this movie tabbed as \" the #1 comedy in america \" as of may 8th . \\ndid we attend the same movie ? ! \\nat 87 minutes it seemed overlong , like a snl skit on steroids , and at any length it seemed unfunny . \\nyes , the sets and costumes were an interesting exaggeration of 60s pop frills , and yes , the concept , dealing with a 60s secret agent/pop icon ( played by myers ) awakened from his cryogenic slumber to battle his arch enemy ( dr . \\nevil , also played by myers ) in the present day , had a great deal of potential . \\nfun costumes and scenery and potential do not a movie make so lets throw in a hefty dose of bathroom humor . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , i like a good \" bubbles in the bathtub joke \" as much as the next person , but to have this type of humor be the funniest thing about your movie is a waste of yuor talent and my money . \\nbut , the way things work these days in the movie business , all a film has to do is call itself the funniest and people will believe it . \\ni do give this film stars because of the sets , costumes , and sadly , unmet potential . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after watching \" rat race \" last week , i noticed my cheeks were sore and realized that , when not laughing aloud , i had held a grin for virtually all of the film\\'s 112 minutes . \\nsaturday night , i attended another sneak preview for the movie and damned if i didn\\'t enjoy it as much the second time as the first . \\n \" rat race \" is a great goofy delight , a dandy mix of energetic performances , inspired sight gags and flat-out silliness . \\nhands down , this is the most fun film of the summer . \\nthe movie begins with zippy retro-style opening credits that look like they were torn straight out of a \\'60s slapstick comedy , featuring animated photos of the cast attached to herky-jerky bodies bounding around the screen . \\nthen comes the setup . \\ndonald sinclair ( john cleese ) , the extremely rich owner of the venetian hotel and casino in las vegas , enjoys concocting unusual bets for his high rolling clients . \\nto that end , he places a half dozen very special tokens in his slot machines . \\ngathering together the lucky token holders , he explains , \" today you have a chance to play a game where the odds of winning are one in six . \" \\nthe competition is simple : each contestant gets a key that opens a locker in silver city , n . m . , containing $2 million in cash . \\nthere is a transmitter in every key , so that sinclair and his cronies can keep track of who is ahead . \\nthe race has no rules ? whichever contestant reaches the locker first gets the money . \\nsince it would be wrong to spoil any of the jokes , let\\'s use the next few paragraphs to profile the racers . \\ndecked out in flashy , trashy clothing and sporting big hair , vera baker ( whoopi goldberg ) is in town to reunite with the daughter she gave up for adoption as a baby . \\nshe finds that grown-up merrill ( lanai chapman ) is erudite , conservative and more than a little bit wary of this stranger trying to jump into her life . \\nthrown together , it becomes clear that both women share a fierce competitive nature . \\nowen templeton ( cuba gooding jr . ) is currently the most hated man in america . \\nan nfl referee , he cost gamblers all over the country enormous amounts of money by blowing a call in a high-profile game . \\nafter escaping from a vengeful cab driver , owen gets to new mexico by masquerading as the driver for a busload of lucy ricardo impersonators heading to a convention . \\nmr . pollini ( rowan atkinson ) is a cheerful , odd little italian man on holiday in america . \\nhe also is narcoleptic and falls asleep at the most inopportune times . \\npollini hitches a ride with zack ( wayne knight ) , a hyper-tense ambulance driver carrying a human heart across country for a transplant operation . \\nrandy pear ( jon lovitz ) promised his wife beverly ( kathy najimy ) and two kids a fun-filled vacation in las vegas . \\nfearful that beverly will be angry over his involvement in the race , he claims that he must travel to silver city for a job interview . \\nbeverly insists the family stay together , so they hop in the mini-van and tear off into the desert . \\nbrothers duane ( seth green ) and blaine ( vince vieluf ) cody are young , crooked and stupid . \\nblaine has a speech impediment due to his poorly self-done tongue piercing , and duane is the only person who can come close to understanding him . \\nthe boys will stop at nothing to reach their goal . \\nfinally , nick shaffer ( breckin meyer ) is a no-nonsense lawyer-in-training who recruits helicopter pilot tracy faucet ( amy smart ) for the journey . \\nat first glance , they seem blandly wholesome , but all that changes when tracy buzzes the home of her boyfriend shawn ( dean cain ) and spies him swimming with another woman . \\ndirector jerry zucker ( \" airplane , \" \" ghost \" ) leaps from racer to racer , periodically returning to las vegas where sinclair and mr . grisham ( dave thomas ) , his personality-impaired right hand man , continue cooking up bizarre bets for the gamblers . \\nas with any zucker production , a few jokes fall flat , but the momentum of the comedy zooms past those missteps . \\nhigh points for me include a bit involving kathy bates as a roadside squirrel salesperson and an intricately set up gag that carries jon lovitz and family from a bizarre museum to an outdoor rally , with an utterly tasteless and screamingly funny pay-off . \\nhad i been part of the filmmaking team , i would have ditched a joke where a key is dropped into a baby\\'s clothes and instead had the key get lost in the cleavage of a dozing society matron . \\nit would have drawn the same laugh without the squirm-inducing hint of child molestation . \\ni also would have selected a different band for a concert sequence . \\nmy god , do we really need yet another movie with smash mouth performing \" all star ? \" \\nbut enough carping . \\n \" rat race \" is a riot , with terrific no-holds-barred performances from the diverse cast . \\nsee it , see it again and when the dvd comes out , buy it , because a movie this hilarious will surely have outtakes to die for . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if this keeps up , jane austen ( sense and sensibility , pride and prejudice ) may have to apply for posthumous membership to the screen writers guild . \\nyet another novel of hers has made the transition to the silver screen . \\nmansfield park is a turn of the century ( 18th century going on 19th ) story about love among the classes as well as an examination into proper society and family ties . \\nten year old fanny price ( hannah taylor-gordon , jakob the liar ) , taken from her mother and father and the poverty in which they dwell , is sent to live with her aunt and the privileged class at mansfield park , under the stern patriarchal hand of her uncle , sir thomas bertram ( harold pinter , mojo ) \\nspending her days reminded of her lower status , she also invents and writes fanciful stories during her private times . \\nfanny eventually grows to become a beautiful , intelligent , and engaging heroine ( quite unlike the original character which ms . austen originally penned in her novel . ) \\nwriter/director patricia rozema ( when night is falling ) is responsible for the textual changes . \\nfrom a purely dramatic perspective , the revision makes perfect sense and improves the film\\'s audience appeal . \\nwhat ms . rozema has done is to infuse the main character with much of ms . austen\\'s own personality by including excerpts from the author\\'s journals , giving that dialogue to fanny . \\nthe result is a central character that is immediately appealing . \\nas the grown fanny , australian actress frances o\\'connor ( all about adam ) does wonderfully textured work . \\nat times , ms . rozema has fanny address the camera directly to communicate many of the novel\\'s more introspective observations . \\nthis is a difficult device to work seamlessly into a period film and it is to ms . o\\'connor\\'s credit that it works as well as it does . \\nthe central theme which gives the story its legs in an old one . . . \\nwhether it is better to marry for love or for social standing ? \\nfanny has fallen in love with her cousin edmund ( jonny lee miller , plunkett & macleane ) who appears fond of her as well . \\nhis attentions are soon divided as the stylish and socially acceptable mary crawford ( embeth davidtz , bicentennial man ) enters the picture along with her equally acceptable brother henry ( alessandro nivola , inventing the abbotts ) who eventually sets his romantic sights upon fanny . \\nwhile mary and henry are evidently less than sincere in their affections , their presence does provide the movie and the main characters with the necessary conflict that keeps our interest until the film\\'s appropriately austen-like ending . \\nother thematic devices include a awkwardly inserted reference to the source of the wealth of mansfield park . . . \\nthe slave trade . \\nthere is also a hint of both lesbianism and incest but neither is carried very far and is soon forgotten . \\nthe motivation for marriage remains the primary thematic thrust . \\nfanny\\'s cousin , maria bertram ( victoria hamilton , persuasion ) is an example of one making a poor match , marrying a well-to-do fool who is able to make her comfortable , but never happy . \\nfanny\\'s own mother , trapped in her chosen life of squalor warns fanny by admitting that her situation is due to the fact that she \" married for love . \" \\nfanny , given those two terrible examples , and faced with the same choice is understandably indecisive as to which way to lean . \\nthe spiritual answer , of course , lies in the middle of those two extremes . \\nmarriage is not a cold , calculating decision based upon self-preservation . \\nneither is it a senseless decision made in the warm afterglow of a passionate embrace . \\nin the purest sense , marriage forms an insoluble union whereby two people agree to function as one . \\n \" and said , for this cause shall a man leave father and mother , and shall cleave to his wife : and they twain shall be one flesh ? \" \\nmatthew 19 : 5 [kjv] \\nlove and logic can be combined . \\ngod\\'s word contains both . \\nso does a marriage based upon his truth . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the andromeda strain is the greatest science fiction film ever made . \\ni know that is very sweeping statement , so i\\'ll qualify it by adding that the andromeda strain is one of the few films made that genuinely deserve the label of \" science fiction , \" stories in which speculative science is at the core of the plot . \\n2001 : a space odyssey is probably a better film , but it really only qualifies as science fiction if you consider metaphysics to be a science . \\nmost all other films we normally classify as science fiction , or sf , are really just fantasy , action or horror stories set in a futuristic setting . \\nthe andromeda strain starts out with two soldiers in a high-tech ( for 1970 ) van looking for a crashed satellite in a tiny new mexico town . \\nsomething bad happens to them . \\npictures from a reconnaissance plane show a shocking sight . \\napparently everyone in the town is dead . \\nthe authorities call a \" wildfire alert , \" summoning four scientists , all but one of them somewhat reluctant , to a super-secret underground germ warfare laboratory in nevada . \\ntwo of scientists , stone and hall , fly directly to the town in space suits and find a town where almost every single resident literally dropped in their tracks , their blood turned to powder in their veins . \\nsome went insane before they died and two of them , a baby and an old wino , are miraculously still alive . \\nthey take the survivors and the satellite back to the lab , where stone pressures the white house to call up a \" directive 712 , \" an executive order to cauterize the area around the town with a nuclear bomb . \\nwhat they find on the satellite when they get back to the lab is andromeda , an organism that defies all the normal rules of earth-like life and mutates as it grows . \\ntheir only hope to cure it is to find out what a perfectly healthy baby boy has in common with an old derelict . \\nwhat they find out is that organism feeds directly on energy and that detonating the a-bomb over the town would only spread it across the entire planet . \\nthey barely call off the bombing in time . \\nbut then the organism mutates into something that threatens to eat through the labs defenses and break out . \\nthis triggers the lab\\'s last-ditch defense mechanism , an atomic bomb . \\nto those raised on the brainless action fare that pollutes movie theaters these days , the andromeda strain will probably seem interminably slow . \\nmuch of the film is a lot of people standing around looking at video screens and computer readouts . \\nbut what the characters see on those screens ratchets up the tension with every turn of the screw . \\nthe performances are universally fine , with the actors keeping things low-key and restrained , just like scientists . \\nto me , the real appeal of this film is the fact that it shows scientists acting like scientists and makes it seem exciting . \\nwe follow the logic of their deduction step by methodical step , puzzling like they do every time andromeda behaves in a way we don\\'t expect . \\nthis film is only available on wide screen on dvd and that is the way to see it . \\nit was originally rated g when first released but it now carries the pg rating , mostly for very mild nudity and one scene in which a body\\'s wrist is slashed , spilling its powdered blood . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one of the sweetest tales to ever be made , it\\'s a wonderful life isn\\'t perfect , but its good natured charm and beautiful performances light up the screen with glorious results . \\nprobably the greatest \" feel-good \" film of all time , it\\'s a wonderful life aims for the heart , and strikes with a golden arrow . \\non christmas eve , george bailey ( stewart ) is being prayed for by many in the small town of bedford falls . \\nyou see , george is in trouble , and he has always helped others who needed it . \\nthis one time , however , god answers his prayers , and sends down the lovable guardian angel clarence ( travers ) to try and save george . \\nclarence has got his own problems , however . \\nclarence is an angel without his wings , and each time the bell rings , the wings pass him by . \\nthe bailey case is a way for him to earn those magical wings and become a true angel . \\nbut before clarence can save george , he first has to go through a cliffs notes version of george bailey\\'s life . \\nwe see george sacrificing his hearing to save his brother\\'s life , sacrificing his college education to save the family business , sacrificing his dream of living far away to support his brother , and even sacrificing his life to make sure his brother is happy working somewhere else . \\nwhen the bank his family owns is in trouble , george gives away his honeymoon money to make sure the bank isn\\'t sold to the evil mr . potter ( barrymore ) , who wants nothing less than to get the baileys out of bedford falls . \\none christmas , potter gets his chance . \\nuncle billy bailey ( mitchell ) loses $8 , 000 of the bank\\'s money . \\nwithout the money , the bank must close down . \\ngeorge is stuck in a tremendous bind , and contemplates suicide . \\nclarence , the faithful servant , is there just to pick him up , and to show him what bedford would be like without george . \\nthis is all a lead-in to the very famous last scene , where george finally sees what true happiness is about . \\nit\\'s a wonderful life does have its faults . \\nthe movie is beginning to feel dated in the details , especially in the treatment of women and men . \\nthe sex roles in the film are weirdly out of place in the 90\\'s , like something out of a revisionist look . \\nall the men drink too much and slap their wives too much during some portions of the film . \\nthere are , however , endearing moments in all of this . \\ncapra puts in just enough humor mocking the sex roles of the 50\\'s to make the movie remarkably enjoyable . \\nthe story is hackneyed , and the ending feels , well , a little too sugarish . \\nthere\\'s this uneasy feeling of sugar over everything , especially the sequences where george is either in trouble , or helping somebody . \\nit\\'s a little too nice for my liking , at times . \\nthere is , however , enough humor , enough wit , and enough of jimmy stewart to get the movie through the middle part , which would be the most difficult . \\nbut watching it\\'s a wonderful life is never boring or difficult : it\\'s always interesting , right until the finale , which , for all its sugar , makes delightful sense and is beautifully done . \\ncapra does have his monumental cliches , but the actors relish them and overplay everything to perfection . \\ndonna reed is perfect as the loving , obeidient wife , and lionel barrymore is gloriously grump as mr . potter . \\neveryone else is magnificent , including bert and ernie ( ward bond and frank faylen ) . \\nthere is a general sense of goodness , as if everyone in the film knows that they are making a great film , and they relish that . \\nstewart , however , is the king of all of this . \\nhe is sometimes awkward , especially when saying \" merry christmas \" to all objects , animate or inanimate . \\nbut he is james stewart , and he\\'s lovably delightful throughout the film . \\nhave i complained ? \\ni shouldn\\'t have . \\nthis is a really good movie . \\nno , this is a great movie . \\nbetter yet , this is a phenomenal movie . \\nthere is a reason classics are invented : to make sure that people will always have great movies to aid them in their quest for living life . \\nthis is one of those films . \\nit is a \" feel-good \" movie , something people complain a little too much about . \\nbut capra\\'s reworking of \" a christmas carol \" is the greatest christmas movie of all time . \\nthere , i\\'ve said it . \\ni have to admit , the first time i saw this , i saw it with my family , including my 11 year old kid sister . \\nthey all loved it . \\nthey loved george , his wife , his troubles , and the beautiful ending . \\nis it a little too sugar-coated ? \\nmaybe . \\nno matter . \\nthis is a film that should be watched time and time again , with families around a coffee table , and eggnog on the plate . \\nit is a film that just makes you feel good about life , family , and hope . \\nit is the perfect christmas film , flaws and all . \\nit is frank capra\\'s greatest acheivement , and that really does say a lot . \\nfor about 121 out of 129 minutes , this movie is flawless . \\nthe rest can be excused : no film is perfectly flawless . \\ni can\\'t get over how much i love this movie , and how much you will , after watching it , digesting it , and sitting with your family , appreciating how special life really is . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the premise of the new teen-targeted horror film `final destination' causes a recollection of a memorable `simpsons' halloween episode . \\nafter attempting to repair a malfunctioning toaster , lovably ignorant patriarch homer realizes he has created a portable time-machine . \\nafter a trek into the cretaceous period , homer observes that any minor alteration made there will erupt into a starling chain of events and seriously modify the present world . \\nagain and again , homer toys with the master plan and pays dearly for it . \\nthe characters of `final destination' have also tampered with the blueprint schematics of their existence - their `design' . \\nsomeone is after them with the strict intent of correcting the mistake . \\nthat someone is death . \\nyou see , alex browning ( devon sawa ) and six others have cheated the grim reaper . . . . \\nbut the dude has got some tricks up his sleeve . \\nfor a high school excursion , alex's french class is traveling to paris by airline transport . \\nalex , tense and neurotic , has a shocking premonition after boarding : he sees the plane , and every passenger on it , spontaneously explode in mid-air . \\nin a panic of sheer lunacy , alex charges his way through the aisle and demands removal from the aircraft . \\nafter a handful of others ( including one teacher ) follow and are denied admittance back onto the plane , the unwitting ? survivors' watch in horror as the plane actually explodes in the drizzling night sky . \\nthe loony vision alex experiences does actually materialize . \\nbut death won't be cheated so easily , and one by one , the survivors of flight 180 are offed in mysteriously gruesome circumstances . \\nthe grisly murder count baffles the local officials and fbi . \\nbefore i delve into the meat of the review , i'd just like to confer . . . . \\nis that one helluva premise , or what ? \\n`final destination' , creepy beyond rational comprehension , probably reads more like an unsettling `x-files' episode than `the simpsons' - therefore , the surprise is minimal when you discover the mutual creators behind both are glen morgan and james wong . \\non familiar turf , the task of establishing footing is not difficult for morgan and wong , and the opening 20 minutes of `final destination' reflects that . \\nunlike most thrillers , the set-up is crisp and cool . \\nyou just deeply , sincerely hope that the momentum won't unspool , leaving us with a second-string effort with nothing but cheap , derivative shocks . \\nyoung viewers have a palpable reason to expect this kind of formula deterioration , what with `i know what you did last summer' and sequel , `idle hands' and -- a movie with a nifty premise that just plunged like an anvil -- `urban legend' . \\nafter the set-up , when i remained slouched apprehensively in my chair , i started to really have fun with `final destination' . \\nlow and behold , a teen thriller that is actually unsettling , actually suspenseful and -- yes -- actually intelligent . \\nsome splotty logic and a heap of characteristic genre flaws aside , this film is among the most refreshing and all-out enjoyable horror movies to submerge since the cutting-edge `scream' in 1996 . \\n`final destination' stimulates the nerves and offers a exhilarating retaliation strike against all the blood-spattered slasher crap we've endured throughout the past few years . \\nnot that the characters are that good . \\nsawa is game as alex , a connect-the-dots personality that we never fully comprehend . \\nin addition , the survivors are endearing geek tod ( chad e . donella ) , jocky control-freak carter ( kerr smith of `dawson's creek' ) , carter's ditzy girlfriend terry ( amanda detmer ) , the none-too-subtly named billy hitchcock ( seann william scott , supplier of lukewarm comic relief ) and a lone teacher - the emotionally delicate ms . lewton ( kristin cloke ) . \\naside from alex , the primary center of interest is intended to be ali larter ( `varsity blues' ) , playing an abstract character named clear rivers ( what were her parents thinking ? ! ? ) . \\nthe personality of clear is written with such a vague , nebulous definition that she resembles a walking flash-card saying `hello , i am the offbeat character designed to identify with the main character's plight ! ' \\ntoss a few stereotypical fbi agents ( daniel roebuck and roger guenveur smith ) and a . . . . ummm . . . \\n`spiritual' mortician ( former `candyman' tony todd ) into the mix , and you have what could be another generic teenage frightfest with slicing , dicing and assorted disembowelments . \\nnot so . \\n`final destination' has no slicing and dicing , or at least none dealt by a human killer , and the thought of death itself as the unseen stalker is unique and frightening . \\nthe extra dimension of disconcerting irony rejuvenates the decaying ? murderer-on-the-loose' concept , with assistance from a shrewd , intelligently paced screenplay by morgan , wong and jeffrey reddick . \\nthe plot twists are fun and clever without toppling into utter absurdity ( listen up , `reindeer games' ) . \\nbut i suppose the most satisfying aspect of `final destination' is the murder scenes . \\ncreative , resourceful and breathlessly inventive , the death sequences involve an unlikely string of events leading to a character's demise . \\nwhat will trigger the accident ? \\nwill it be the john denver record , just put on to play `rocky mountain high' ? \\n ( yeah , sick humor ) . \\nwill it be the leaking toilet ? \\nthe falling fishing reel in the corner ? \\nthe murders are startling and largely unforeseen , including one surprise incident that made the audience jump out of their seats and giggle nervously for roughly a minute afterward . \\na sense of giddy unpredictability is added with this inventive approach . \\nit gets sorta tasteless and cheap sometimes , but who cares ? \\nit's fun . \\nin that simple regard , `final destination' is my cup of tea . \\nthis stylishly executed thriller , although tagged with laughable circumstances and the occasional snippet of lame dialogue , is an immensely entertaining jaunt to the dark side . \\nafter the show , it will also have an frightening impact on you . \\nwhen will your ? design' expire ? \\nis death waiting around the corner ? \\nthe `final' effect is a major case of the heebie-jeebies . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'well , i\\'ll admit when i first heard about this film ( which was before dante\\'s peak ) i could just smell what \\'twister\\' had started . \\nso now it seems that we\\'re in a full fledged return to the \\'70\\'s disaster film era . \\nwith \\'twister\\' , \\'dante\\'s peak\\' , \\'volcano\\' and soon \\'flood\\' and james cameron\\'s extremly expensive \\'titanic\\' \\ni\\'ll say first off i enjoyed \\'volcano\\' much more than i did \\'dantes peak\\' . \\npart of that is just being biased as i usually enjoy anything that tommy lee jones appears in . \\ni\\'ve been reading a lot about the movie being \\'cheezy\\' or \\'hokey\\' and really didn\\'t see or think that once during the entire film . \\ni get bored easily and this film didn\\'t bore me for a minute . \\nanother thing , and boy am i bitching today ! , that bothers me is when critics and such go on about \" well thats not really possible . \" \\nyou know what ? \\ni couldn\\'t give a bloody damn if it\\'s possible or not , really i couldn\\'t . \\nit\\'s a freaking movie and i don\\'t want reality thrown in my face . \\ni want to be able to see the impossible , the all might \" what if \" to many reviewers have seen one to many movies ! \\nthe special effects are the second star to this feature . \\nthey are so amazing that i found it hard sometimes to believe they were indeed fx and la was was not burning to the ground . \\nthey did an incredible job and come oscar time ( if they remember ) some notice better be thrown there way . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"lengthy and lousy are two words to describe the boring drama the english patient . \\ngreat acting , music and cinematography were nice , but too many dull sub-plots and characters made the film hard to follow . \\nralph fiennes ( strange days , schindler's list ) gives a gripping performance as count laszlo almasy , a victim of amnesia and horrible burns after world war ii in italy . \\nthe story revolves around his past , in flashback form , making it even more confusing . \\nanyway , he is taken in by hana ( juliette binoche , the horseman on the roof ) , a boring war-torn nurse . \\nshe was never really made into anything , until she met an indian towards the end , developing yet another sub-plot . \\ncount almasy begins to remember what happened to him as it is explained by a stranger ( willem dafoe , basquiat ) . \\nhis love ( kirstin scott thomas , mission impossible ) was severely injured in a plane crash , and eventually died in a cave . \\nhe returned to find her dead and was heart-broken . \\nso he flew her dead body somewhere , but was shot down from the ground . \\ndon't get the wrong idea , it may sound good and the trailer may be tempting , but good is the last thing this film is . \\nmaybe if it were an hour less , it may have been tolerable , but 2 hours and 40 minutes of talking is too much to handle . \\nthe only redeeming qualities about this film are the fine acting of fiennes and dafoe and the beautiful desert cinematography . \\nother than these , the english patient is full of worthless scenes of boredom and wastes entirely too much film . \\n , \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i didn\\'t realize how apt the name of this movie was until i called the mpaa ( the motion picture association of america - the folks who decide what\\'s g , nc 17 , pg , r or x ) to ask why the preview was rated r . so that we can make some sense of their response , let me tell you about the movie itself . \\n \" the celluloid closet \" is a documentary about how homosexuality has been portrayed in the movies over the past several decades . \\nit\\'s brilliant , funny , naughty and extremely poignant . \\nit tore at my heart to watch a gifted lesbian screenwriter explain that , as a rule , gay audiences hunger for any hint of homosexuality on screen . \\nregardless of how veiled - or how sordid - the presence of a gay or lesbian person allows others to lessen their sense of isolation and makes them feel as if they\\'re not quite so invisible as america seems to want them to be . \\nthe movie itself is rated r - and for good reason . \\nit contains scenes of bloody , violent gay bashing and graphic , uninhibited , sex . \\nas with any movie , i appreciate knowing about these things ahead of time , so i can decide for myself whether to see the movie with a friend , a date , my 11 year old niece , alone or not at all . \\nbut , that\\'s the movie . \\nnow back to the preview . \\nprior to this film being theatrically released ( it was originally filmed as a documentary for hbo ) i had seen the coming attractions trailer for it at least six times . \\nthere was no nudity , no violence , no bad language , nothing that i could see that would be offensive or inappropriate for a general audience ( okay , whoopi goldberg did refer to someone \" boning \" someone , but the last i knew that wasn\\'t one of the seven words you can\\'t say on tv ) . \\nexcept for a scene of two fully clothed men kissing . \\nhmmmmm . \\nwhen i inquired about the rating on the trailer , a very nice woman at the mpaa quoted from \" the handbook \" that a trailer approved for all audiences could contain \" no homosexuality or lesbianism and no going down on someone . \" \\nhello ? i was in the office and it was the middle of the day . \\nbravely , i pursued . \\n \" i\\'ve seen that trailer , oh . . . \\nprobably half a dozen times , \" i gulped . . . \\n \" and i don\\'t remember that scene . \" \\n \" well , \" she chirped . \\n \" it\\'s there . \\nour little eyes are trained to see that . \" \\nno really . \\nin the words of dave barry , \" i am not making this up . \" \\nthey are \" trained \" to \" see that ? \" \\nwhen someone who was shocked at the rating the first time and made a note to watch it carefully the following five times or so managed to let it slip past her ? \\ngosh , i certainly don\\'t mean to question the mpaa , or \" the handbook \" . \\ni would , however , like to suggest that it\\'s they who are in the closet on this one . \\nand the light ain\\'t good in there . \\nbut , having seen \" the celluloid closet , \" and being one of a handful of straight people involved in a primarily gay and lesbian weekly bible study ( email me and i\\'ll give you the details ) , none of this was any big surprise . \\nthe point of the movie was that homosexuality , even in the politically correct 90s , is ridiculously perceived as a threat to a mostly heterosexual society . \\na point well made in this candid and honest film . \\nnow , i could go off on the mpaa\\'s ruling that a trailer must contain \" no homosexuality or lesbianism \" and ask how that is defined , particularly in light of some of the things , both sexual and non-sexual , that i\\'ve watched straight people do in trailers . \\ni just don\\'t feel the need to go there , because it seems so obvious . \\ni\\'ll instead suggest that the mpaa re-evaluated their evaluation criteria . \\nlet the ratings reflect not subject content , like \" sex \" and \" violence \" . \\nlet them reflect attitude content . \\nin the future , i\\'d be interested in knowing whether the movie is rated d for disrespectful or s for stereotyped . \\nthen i\\'d truly be able to make an informed decision about how i spent my time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it was with great anticipation that i sat down to view braveheart last week as it premiered on american cable . \\nthe academy award winning film had been highly acclaimed . \\nit also featured the music of one of my favorite film composers , james horner . \\nwhat i was in for was a disappointing and overlong film which was anything but the best picture of 1995 . \\nwhat drags braveheart down is its screenplay . \\nit abounds with high production values : john toll\\'s award-winning cinematography ( which also graced edward zwick\\'s 1994 legends of the fall ) , a gorgeous score by horner , and the sort of logistics that make you wish assistant directors were household names . \\nbut this does not save a misguided script . \\nthe film wishes to paint its central character as a hero , but the viewer\\'s only response to his \" heroism \" is intellectual : william wallace ( producer-director mel gibson ) is fighting for freedom and against tyranny , so we have to root for him . \\nbut wallace\\'s actions paint a different story . \\nhe speaks of freedom and acts of vengeance . \\nthough one intellectually realizes wallace is on the right side , the film paints an unconvincing emotional portait , in which wallace is just not as bad as the english king . \\nwallace speaks of freedom , but his acts point toward vengeance . \\nafter kicking the english out of scotland , he decides to invade england . \\nthis is evident of a \" spartacus complex \" , and this example applies both historically and cinematically . \\nthe historical spartacus at one point moved from liberating slaves to sacking roman cities ; the film spartacus , like braveheart , has high production values and competent performaces and is dragged down by an awful screenplay . \\nit is a shame that such an excellent score is part of such a terrible film . \\nhorner\\'s score tries to make emotional connection , but the performances and the script do not help . \\ngibson portrays wallace in such a way that the audience cannot relate to him or identify with him . \\nthis drags down any emotional connection to the film\\'s plot , and turns three hours into a total waste of time . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'slavery is bad . \\nafter hundreds of years , we\\'ve finally figured that one out . \\nthis almost universal belief is the both the strength and weakness of director steven spielberg\\'s latest \" serious \" film . \\nduring the late 1830s , a portuguese slave ship carries a cargo of black men and women kidnapped from their home on africa\\'s west coast to cuba to be sold into slavery . \\nfifty-three of them are stuffed into the \" la amistad \" ( from a spanish word for \" friendship \" ) by their new spanish owners . \\nfreeing himself from his chains , senge pieh ( djimon hounsou ) , renamed cinque by his masters , leads a bloody revolt . \\nafter killing most of the crew , the africans force the remaining sailors to return them to their home - or so they think . \\ninstead the ship heads up the coast to the united states . \\nthe amistad is boarded by an american naval ship and the revolutionaries are put on trial in connecticut for murder and piracy . \\nthe legal question becomes are they free men fighting justly for their freedom or are they property . \\nif they are property , who do they belong to ? \\ntheir masters ? \\nthe spanish government ? \\nsalvage rights of the officers who captured the ship ? \\nthe us government ? \\nthe defendants are pawns in several games . \\nabolitionists theodore joadson ( morgan freeman ) and lewis tappan ( stellan skarsgard ) want to free them , but tappan sees them primarily as a means to further the cause . \\ntheir lawyer roger baldwin ( matthew mcconaughey ) views the case as a simple one of property rights and a chance to make his share of legal fees . \\nsouth carolina senator john c . calhoun ( arliss howard ) pursues the case for the political advancement of the southern states . \\npresident martin van buren ( nigel hawthorne ) is willing to force the result towards his own political ends . \\nwhen the verdict looks to free the africans , van buren replaces the judge with one more sympathetic to his wishes . \\neven that doesn\\'t work and the new judge frees the kidnap victims . \\nat the urging of calhoun , the president then appeals the case to the supreme court , populated by a majority of slave-owners . \\nthis little-known ( try finding it in any history text book ) incident from america\\'s past would have gone down a darker path were it not for former president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) who is persuaded to argue the case before the supreme court . \\nthe slavery issue is easy pickin\\'s for spielberg . \\nmuch like his \" shindler\\'s list \" ( which followed \" jurassic park \" as this follows \" lost world \" ) , the moral sides are not difficult ones to choose . \\nnazis and slave traders : both treat groups of others as less than human . \\nit\\'s not hard to see who the bad guys are . \\nwithout that question to ponder , the director\\'s job is more difficult . \\nhe has to make the story interesting . \\nspielberg succeeds for the most part . \\nthe visual aspect of the film is beyond reproach . \\nwhere the movie falls down is a bit more subtle . \\nthere are very few _people_ in the tale . \\nin fact , cinque is the only character who is fleshed out . \\ntappan and joadson are \" abolitionists \" : symbols but not humans . \\nvan buren is a weak politician but nothing else . \\nthe rest of the \" slaves \" barely exist other than dressing for the set . \\nlike many other films about people of color , almost all the major players are white . \\nthe film\\'s salvation lies in the acting strength of everyone involved and the powerful presence of hounsou . \\nthe former model\\'s first major role is a winner . \\nwithout speaking more than five words of english , he conveys more emotion than most actors with a thousand lines of dialog . \\nthe other stand-out is hopkins who seems to be making a career out of portraying american presidents ( he also played the title role in \" nixon \" ) . \\nthe impassioned speech by the doddering old man who phases in and out of rationality is among the best court-room drama ever on the screen . \\nthere are some other great moments . \\nespecially impressive are the african\\'s struggle to understand what is going on in the strange land . \\ntheir interpretation of the bible based solely on the pictures and their own experiences is poignant . \\nas grand as the epic is , it would have more impact had it focused more on the experience from the point of view of the africans . \\nmore humanity in the fight for humanity would have made it a four-star film . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for a real long time and is just now getting around to seeing some 1998 films . ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" soldier \" , by director paul anderson , is a film in which any presence of originality is fleeting . \\nthe best moments of the film are in the opning scenes where kurt russel\\'s character todd is shown growing up under strict military supervision . \\nbrutality through the eyes of the innocent and stripped of it every single day growing up is something that has a lot of emotional potential power behind it , and the opening scenes tap into it a little . \\nthen it goes nowhere with that idea . \\nthere is perhaps one rather fleeting scene afterwards that deals with the potential trauma of this dehumanization , and the rest of the film is just some of the biggest action movie cliches i\\'ve ever seen . \\nthe whole idea of the inhuman , soldier-type character gaining some degree of humanity by defending a potential female love interest and family from his evil counterpart out to kill her is done , and it\\'s been done much better . \\ni was able to predict the plot of the _whole_ story , which wouldn\\'t be so bad if other aspect of the film somewhat interesting . \\nbetween the action sequences , it tries to deal with the aforementioned issues of humanity through the performance of mr . russel in the film and the tiny little window to his soul that is his eyes , since his dialog is extremely limited . \\nhis performance in that way isn\\'t all that bad , but certainly is not enough to carry this film . \\nother performances in this film are really not worth much mention at all , and they generally are about as weak as their characters . \\nbut enough of this stuff about plot and character , right ? \\nisn\\'t the most important part of an action film , well , the action ? \\neven in this aspect the film is a disappointment . \\nin mortal kombat ( 1995 ) , director paul anderson proved that truly engaging use and choreography of action in a film can override problems with plot and produce something entertaining . \\nhowever , he fails to repeat that in this film . \\nthe combat scenes , particularly the big one at the end , is incredibly unimaginatve . \\nfighting and combat scenes are supposed to bring about thrills in this type of movie , a point which even an otherwise unimpressive film like starship troopers seemed to realize . \\nbut instead of reaching for something truly interesting to end the film with , it goes for the old , shoot-em up , one guy vs . an army type of cinema that i thought died with the military action films of the 80s . \\nif the film went with some of the ideas it opened up with the introduction more seriously , it could have been a rather engaging science fiction film . \\nhowever , it utterly failed to go in any new directions after that , making the film a big disappointment . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'capsule : earthy , experimental , difficult , shockingly frank ( even for 1997 ! ) , and ultimately refreshing story of a black man on the run from the cops . \\nthe first few minutes of sweet sweetback\\'s baad asssss song ( yes , i checked -- that\\'s the correct number of ss ) are without dialogue , just eerie montages of sounds . \\na young boy , obviously malnourished , is taken in and fed up by several loving mother-surrogate figures . \\nthen one of them takes the boy to bed for a sexual initation ( underneath the title credits ) that\\'s far more confrontatory and shocking than any ten basic instincts -- probably because it has the directness and clumsiness of real life , something we\\'re not used to seeing on screen . \\nthis is one tough movie to swallow , no matter who you are , but that probably reflects more on how pallid and unchallenging movies have gotten lately . \\n ( i suspect the sex scenes in movies like el topo and salo would probably melt the synapses of most modern audiences . ) \\nthe plot is simple but not simpleminded . \\nsweetback , hassled by two white cops who are apparently just looking for an excuse to beat up on a black man , breaks his bonds and runs like hell . \\nalong the way he moves through a good many of the kinds of environments that we are only just now being seen in a more serious light in the movies -- or at all , for that matter : the slums , the missions , the ghetto . \\nin other , lesser , movies , sweetback would be machine-gunning everything in sight and the end credits would roll over a pile of bodies ; in this one , we get taken on a kind of a tour of the depressing and anarchic world that sweetback takes for granted . \\nssbas first appeared in 1971 and was promptly rated x ( \" by an all-white jury \" , as director melvin van peebles crowed in his legendary ad campaigns ) , and it\\'s hardly surprising why . \\nthere\\'s a good deal of sex in the movie , but it\\'s handled in a way that\\'s unsettlingly frank -- a frankness that spills over into the rest of the movie . \\nin one scene , sweetback visits a friend\\'s house in the hope of getting sanctuary there , and the other man chats him up while on the toilet . \\nwe\\'re not used to coming this close to people in real life , let alone in the movies -- especially not people who are not made out to be glamorous . \\nthe movie is also full of experimental stylistics that are relatively unused today , but probably because of that seem curiously fresh and new in van peebles\\' hands . \\none scene , in which a man is interrogated by the cops , is loaded full of menacing energy as they fire off a gun inches from his ears , and suggest his deafness through a cleverly edited soundtrack . \\nanother note : ssbas is not so much anti-white ( that would be too easy ) as anti-authority , and as the movie goes on to demonstrate , authority exists in many forms -- governments , churches , and even the paranoid inside of one\\'s own mind . \\nssbas is ultimately about thirsting for freedom -- and it looks like we could use a little more of that in our movie diet , god knows . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"now , lets first look into the history of shark films . \\nthere was the unforgettable jaws . \\nthe exciting jaws 2 . the rather flaky jaws 3d and sometime in the late 90s another film of the same genre that i can't seem to recall ( about the son of jaws returning to wreak revenge or something like that ) . \\nnow , with the magic of cgi , one shark is simply not enough ; in deep blue sea , there are 3 big , mean and really smart ones ! \\nrussell frankiln ( jackson ) visits aquatica ( a sea-bound research center ) , where a research is being conducted on the extraction of a hormone substance found uniquely within the shark brain that can cure and reverse the effects of alzheimer's disease . \\nthe substance is small in quantity and because of this , lead researcher dr . susan macalaester genetically alters the shark dna and grows them twice the size with brains as big as humans , naturally producing more of the much treasured hormones . \\nas sure as the sun sets in the west , a shark breaks lose and wreaks havoc within the facility during a hormone extraction procedure . \\nwith the flexibility offered by cgi , the sharks get more full-length screen time as their predecessors did in those remote-controlled rubber suit days . \\ngone are the days of people getting pulled under the water with the water turning red right after . \\nthis time , we get to see the entire gobbling action , with floating limbs and all . \\nso-so acting , expected in most of your average action film . \\njackson ( fresh from his jedi master role in the phantom menace ) , takes on the dark-side force of a different kind and fits well with his wise-cracking lines . \\nll cool j's cook role as preacher , does for this film what steven seagal's cook could only dream to achieve in his two under siege films . \\ndeep blue sea does not offer any of the psychological thrills that jaws has to offer . \\nit does however , prove to be a refreshing follow-up within the genre , full of visual thrills , suspense and believe it or not \\x05 humour ! \\nits like jurassic park under water . \\nnothing too stressful , pure entertainment . \\nrenny harlin , you are forgiven ( for making cutthroat island ) . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" an intimate , character-driven drama about a troubled youth at a crossroads in his life , \" read the press notes for _reach_the_rock_ . \\ni\\'m not really sure what film that statement is describing because those words bear little resemblance to the slow , completely uninvolving bore i saw--at least , it certainly does not describe what goes on for most of the film . \\nalessandro nivola plays robin fleming , a troubled , directionless 21-year-old who has a penchant for breaking storefront windows in a small town . \\npolice sergeant phil quinn ( william sadler ) takes him in , and what ensues for the first 70 minutes is a tedious series of sneak-outs and sneak-ins where robin slips out of his jail cell , breaks a window , then returns , all without quinn ever noticing . \\nalso added to the pointless proceedings is some would-be humorous shenanigans involving quinn\\'s dimwitted deputy ernie attempting to engage in clandestine patrol car sex with his girlfriend donna ( karen sillas ) . \\nwith a half hour ( if even that long ) remaining , director william ryan and writer john hughes ( yes , john hughes of \\'80s youth films and _home_alone_ ) finally approach something close to a point . \\nturns out robin still pines for his high school sweetheart lise ( brooke langton ) , who has long gone on with her life , and hughes\\'s main concern at long last reveals itself as a tired \" live in the present and for the future \" message . \\nmost moviegoers , however , will likely be asleep by that time . \\nwide awake , however , is the cast , who individually tackle their showcase dramatic scenes with energy and skill--thus revealing the _real_ purpose behind this listless enterprise : to serve as a series of acting exercises . \\nsuch a glorified workshop may have its rewards for the actors , but it leaves audiences with a booby prize . \\n ( opens october 16 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"stendhal's syndrome : a condition where , in the presence of art , a person becomes engulfed in a painting and hallucinates and may afterwards suffer symptoms such as depression , suicidal behaviour and personality disorder . \\ngrim stuff , to be sure , but the subject of a remarkable film from italy's master of the horror thriller dario argento . \\nboasting an unforgettable soundtrack from the grandfather of film music ennio morricone , the stendhal syndrome is a quite magnificent return to form for argento . \\nit follows his disappointing american debut trauma ( 1992 ) , the patchy opera ( 1987 ) and several mediocre films he produced for young italian director michele soavi in the late 1980's . \\nbased on the novel by graziella magherini , the film stars argento's daughter asia as young roman police inspector anna manni in pursuit of a brutal rapist-killer . \\nvisiting florence to follow up several leads , she is lured by the killer alfredo ( thomas kretschmann ) to an art gallery , a favourite haunt where he hopes to identify exactly who is on his tail . \\nat the gallery anna is overwhelmed by a painting and faints . \\nposing as a bystander , alfredo briefly comes to her aid and having now identified his pursuer , a strange game of cat and mouse begins . \\na gripping story evolves , and a coherent one , too , which may surprise those familiar with argento's often lumpy narratives . \\nthe stendhal syndrome is not a simple cop-hunting-killer scenario . \\nit is a disturbing and often compelling study of the central character's psychological disintegration . \\nthe script explores its psycho-sexual themes with intelligence and candour , perhaps too much so for more sensitive viewers . \\nbut as dark as its themes are , the stendhal syndrome emerges as one of the most artful and effective european thrillers of the last ten years . \\nargento is once again working in his native italy , and he fully exploits the opportunities to use art and architecture for both symbolic statements and as departure points for several brilliant hallucinogenic sequences . \\neffects whiz sergio stivaletti serves his director well here , and the cinematography by giuseppe rotunno is consistently excellent . \\nthe film's opening 20 minutes segues between hallucination , flashback and real-time with tremendous style . \\nproof that , at his most inspired , argento remains one of the world's most exhilarating filmmakers . \\nthe cast is generally good , though marred at times by dubbing into english that renders speech all but emotionless . \\nasia argento's performance is by turns risky , awkward and fascinating . \\nit's a difficult role , and given her relative inexperience on screen she deserves applause for her efforts . \\nthomas kretschmann is chillingly effective as alfredo , and marco leonardi ( of cinema paradiso , and possibly the most gorgeous looking man in italy ) does okay as anna's work colleague and increasingly confused love interest . \\nbut perhaps the stendhal syndrome's single most striking element is ennio morricone's soundtrack . \\nactive since the 1960's , morricone has scored over 100 films in his career and this must rate as one of his finest efforts . \\nit's mostly a variation on the one theme : a slow circular melody for strings and wordless female vocal possessed with an extraordinary , haunting beauty that lingers long afterwards . \\nit's been three decades since argento and morricone worked together . \\nthis is a long welcome reunion . \\nif the film has a fault , it is that the last half hour drags a little and the film doesn't quite reach a completely satisfying climax . \\nbut by the closing scenes , the stendhal syndrome has already offered us enough to qualify as one of the very best films of dario argento's career . \\n * note : see the uncut print from japanese laserdisc if you can . \\ndubs of this version are available from various video dealers on the world wide web . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'barb wire , pamela anderson lee\\'s first foray into films , highlights the fact that her only talent lies in her silicone enhanced assets . \\nbeing the only notable member of the cast , the camera lingers lustily o n her body at every opportunity , making her character\\'s catch line , \" don\\'t call me babe , \" sound very ironic indeed . \\nfrom the very opening of the movie , we are treated to a striptease routine from anderson , ending in her hurling her stiletto smack between the eyes of a lusty male who happened to call her babe . \\nthroughout the movie , there is ample footage of enormous breasts and cleavage , if not of anderson\\'s , then at least of the female extras . \\nthis alone is enough to retitle the movie babe wire . \\nfor a plot , barb wire rehashes the casablanca storyline . \\nit is 2017 , the middle of the second american civil war , and barb wire , a former resistance fighter , runs a joint in steel harbour called hammerhead ( ! ! ) . \\nknown for attracting resistance fighters an d characters of all sorts , the bar attracts the attention of the government forces who appear dressed in nazi-style uniforms . \\nin between bashing up helpless males and showing off her trademark breasts , barb wire has to help a former lover and his wife get to the airport on the other side of the town , past the government-controlled areas , and to freedom . \\neven the airport looks like the one in casablanca , except that the plane in the background is a modern , private jet . \\nthere are hardly any significant moments in this film , and one gets the impression that it was designed for young teenagers familiar with the dark horse comics version of \" barb wire . \" \\nif anything , one leaves the film with the confirmation that anderson di d not do her own stunts . \\nwho could fight and jump in a skimpy , strapless leather top , and yet keep her breasts from spilling out ? \\nonly a stuntwoman . \\nnot pamela anderson lee . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it is easy to label something sentimental or tear jerking when one has not experienced the heartache of losing a child ? whether that may be in life or in death . \\nafter having said that , i will also say that this movie does all of the above very well . \\none gets that choking sensation in the throat ( because of grief ) when one brother forgives another for a costly mistake , or when a husband hugs his wife after a long estrangement . \\nthere is no ocean , no drownings and it does not conjure up memories of yet another ? ordinary people' . \\nin fact the only thing remotely connected to the ocean is probably tap water and the toilet flushing ( not that this literally happened in the movie ) . \\nso what are the lessons learnt : 1 . \\ndon't take your children to class reunions . \\n2 . don't leave them alone in the lobby , not even for a second . \\nmichelle pfeiffer once again plays the role of a highly-strung wife and mother , a trend that started with ? a thousand acres' and ? one fine day' . \\nmy comment is that she is exceptionally fine strung in this movie , so much so that when she has a nervous break down , the veins on her temples bulge impressively . \\nwhoopi golberg also puts in an understated performance , playing a lesbian cop , with a name that makes one want to reach for a lollipop . \\nlastly , who are the ideal companions for this sort of movie ? my grandmother comes to mind . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'there are those of us who think of leslie nielsen as the bumbling , hapless straight man from the hysterical \" naked gun \" films , crack an immediate smile and forgive him of whatever wavering movie spoof he\\'s committed himself to starring in since . \\nthe wavering movie spoofs , however , are less forgivable . \\nto be fair , \" wrongfully accused , \" the send-up in question and nielsen\\'s third parody since the last \" gun , \" isn\\'t quite as excruciatingly humorless as his \" dracula : dead and loving it \" or \" spy hard , \" which is a mighty good thing . \\nnielsen is still in tip-top comedic form , able as ever to deadpan his way through even the most horrible puns , but he really needs a screenplay that plays off his talents instead of relying on them , and he needs one very soon . \\n \" wrongfully accused \" meshes together the premises of \" the fugitive \" and \" patriot games , \" casting its always game star as ryan harrison ( get it ? ) , a master violinist who is drawn into an affair with a married temptress ( kelly le brock ) . \\nshe , however , sets harrison up to take the rap for the murder of her husband ( michael york ) - a crime actually committed by a one-armed , one-legged , one-eyed man ( aaron pearl ) . \\nharrison is arrested , found guilty and sentenced to death , but escapes from a prison bus , of course , and then is pursued by a determined u . s . marshal named fergus falls ( richard crenna , unnecessarily riffing off of tommy lee jones\\' already smirky oscar-winning role ) . \\nthere\\'s also a mystery brunette ( melinda mcgraw ) and an assassination subplot involving the u . n . secretary general , but like any of it matters . \\n \" wrongfully accused \" gets off to an assured start , with an in-concert nielsen , touted \" lord of the violin \" by bare-chested posters , pulling a jimi hendrix on his musical instrument as hundreds of tuxedo-clad mosh in front of the stage . \\nnice touch . \\nmost of the scenes that follow , however , never top the opener . \\n ( hysterical exceptions : the mentos and \" baywatch \" goofs . ) \\nmovie parodies are crammed in at an almost-subliminal rate , but most are empty . \\nwhen a giant snake lunges onto the screen and snatches a cast member a la \" anaconda \" or baseball players disappear into a \" field of dreams \" -esque cornfield , there\\'s really nothing to laugh at . \\nother moments , like an interlude in a fishing shop , are so unfocused that you\\'re not sure what you\\'re supposed to be laughing at . \\nthere seem to be more cheap references than frenzied send-ups here , so it\\'s possible that director/writer pat proft , by bombarding the viewer with a careless mixture of the two , guarantees something is sure to stick . \\nand what does stick sticks well , particularly the jabs at genre conventions like stylized flashbacks and hard-boiled dialogue , what those \" naked gun \" s ( which proft collaborated on ) did great ; these bits are so on-target that they allow you to remember \" wrongfully accused \" as an almost-halfway-there spoof instead of a lame-brained failure . \\nthe movie might have been cursed to begin with , opening fast on the heels of \" mafia ! \" , from proft colleague jim abrahams , and \" baseketball , \" from proft colleague david zucker , but it\\'s a strong possibility that nobody is going to be accusing \" wrongfully accused \" of being nielsen\\'s funniest . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'romeo is bleeding wants to carry the unusual flavor of reservoir dogs or bad lieutenant . \\nwith director peter medak , whose previous credits include the good films let him have it and the krays , and top-notch character actors gary oldman and lena olin , they seemed likely to be a successful combination . \\nthose mentioned films , however , brought something to the screen that romeo is bleeding did not : a solid , well-written screenplay . \\ncall me cynical , but the jobs of writer and producer don\\'t seem to mix well . \\ngary oldman plays jack grimaldi , a good cop turned bad , selling information to the mob and cheating on his wife . \\nhis cheating is obvious enough to obtain his nickname , although the name doesn\\'t provide any insight or analogy to the shakespearean character . \\njack has become addicted to \" feeding the hole \" , a hole in the ground where he stores his payoff money . \\nwhen he realizes his colleagues are being shot , he feebly attempts to get out . \\ngary oldman\\'s performance is disappointingly weak ; he seems nearly bored . \\nin the process , he also gets tangled-up with mona demarkov , a russian mobsterette who wants to take over the territory from top boss falcone , played adequately by roy scheider . \\ndemarkov , played by lena olin , is a tough but tremendously sexy woman with seemingly no problems maneuvering within the mob world . \\nthis character is combination of both linda hamilton and arnold schwarznegger from terminator 2 . i can\\'t remember seeing a character quite like her . \\nafter being shot , handcuffed , and thrown in the back seat of a car , she still manages to cause an accident , kick out the windshield with her legs , grab a suitcase full of money ( plus some important documentation ) , climb through the rubble , land on her shot leg , and still succeed at running for safety . \\nwhat a woman ! \\nlena olin\\'s performance is the only glimmer in this dismal film . \\nanabella sciorra is wasted in her role as romeo\\'s wife . \\nthere is little insight into her character . \\nshe\\'s depressed , she makes obvious references , she mopes around the house . \\njuliette lewis , as romeo\\'s girlfriend , is treated with the same cliche attitudes , although ms . lewis\\' portrayal certainly didn\\'t improve it . \\nboth women were anything but sexy or attractive . \\npoorly developed characters aside , the screenplay also suffers from several logistical problems . \\nit is so discouraging to watch a film and want to shout at the main character ( not ) to do something . \\nfor example , jack and his friends attend a funeral to hang in the background to scope-out the mob scene . \\nfine . \\njack spots the big boss with his goons by the gravesite . \\nfine . \\nwhat does jack proceed to do ? \\nhe brushes his friends off by telling them he isn\\'t feeling well , then strolls over to the boss . \\nwhy ? \\nthe boss had all ready threatened him ; falcone simply takes the opportunity to issue more threats by ordering his goons to take off some of jack\\'s toes by the gravesite . \\ni guess they weren\\'t worried about any federal agents lingering around after the funeral . . . . \\nor here\\'s another : demarkov set-up her own death by cutting off her arm with a circular saw . \\nshe proceeded to set the place on fire . \\nwouldn\\'t the flames burn off the fingerprints ? \\naren\\'t dental records more important ? \\nas bright and resourceful as she was supposed to be , couldn\\'t she come up with a better plot ? \\n ( and it took her no time at all to get a good-fitting , functional prosthesis . ) \\nlack of attention to detail certainly adds up in a film . \\nthis film doesn\\'t even add up the large details . \\nthere is little or no consistency in the story-line . \\nnot much makes sense . \\nthe direction lacks cohesion , surprising from a director whose previous credits are impeccable . \\nthe moods shift , the styles shift , and no one can seem to decide if it is a serious film or satire of one . \\nso while it certainly isn\\'t reservoir dogs , it certainly isn\\'t diva . \\nthere\\'s plenty more to tear apart in this film . \\nmy advice to someone who hasn\\'t seen it to to wait until it comes on video . \\nthere are some quotable lines that would provide a campy evening if not taken seriously . \\nit\\'s not a boring film , just not a good one . \\nor an intelligent one . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'absolute power , the new film produced and directed by clint eastwood , attempts to be a thriller set in the world of hypocritical presidents and their murderous political staff . \\nit is about as thrilling as a lecture on the mating habits of the south american grasshopper . \\none can only wonder how an utterly absurd script like the one written by william goldman could have ever interested eastwood . \\nnot only is the plot unbelievable and contrived , but even the writing itself lacks any consistency or intelligence . \\ncontinually underestimating the audience , the film gives us information we already know or dont even need . \\ndetails essential to the story are so improbably convenient they are annoying ( like why would two unprepared secret service men carry two night-vision goggles in their car ? ) . \\noddly enough , the initial setup for absolute power offers interesting possibilities . \\na masterful jewel-thief ( played by clint eastwood ) witnesses the murder of the wife of a powerful millionaire ( played by e . g . \\nmarshall ) . \\nwhile robbing one of marshalls mansions , he is forced to hide in the bedrooms vault . \\nthere , through a two-way mirror , he sees the wife and another man engage in passionate foreplay . \\ntheir game of love quickly turns into a violent struggle as the man starts beating the woman . \\nin self defense , the woman grabs a letter-opener and stabs the man in the elbow . \\nshe raises her arm to stab again when she is fatally shot by two secret service men . \\nthe man ? \\nhe is the president of the united states of america . \\nwhere does the film go wrong ? \\nit cannot be the acting . \\nclint eastwood , ed harris and gene hackman as the president give type-cast , but decent performances . \\nthe cinematography is sufficient ; wild and erratic during action sequences , dark and mysterious during psychologically suspenseful scenes , and calm and warm during dramatic dialogue . \\neven the music is not as bombastic as it usually tends to be in the thriller/suspense genre . \\nthe fault clearly lies in the screenplay , and the screenplay alone . \\nwhile setting up a story about misuse of power , about the true possessors of that power , and about intrigue and double-crossing , it does not resolve it . \\nnot one buildup of suspense is resolved by an exciting climax . \\nrather , the tense situations are left dangling at the end , giving the viewer an uneasy sense of incompleteness . \\nan example of this is a very promising and tense buildup of a scene : in an attempt to arrest clint eastwood , the police have set up a trap at a small restaurant . \\npolice officers are everywhere , incognito of course . \\nat the same time , not one but two hit men are preparing to kill clint eastwood when he arrives . \\nall three parties are unaware of each others presence . \\nthis scene is tremendously exciting and the audience is wondering how clint eastwood , who might suspect this is a trap , will get himself out of this difficult position . \\nhe will probably have a brilliant plan , involving ingenious preparations . \\nhowever , when he arrives at the trap , both hit men miss ( how convenient ) and in the confusion eastwood simply walks away . \\nthe buildup of this scene took about ten minutes . \\nten minutes of close ups of the hit men loading their weapons intercut with the police preparing for the trap . \\nthe scene was resolved in less than 20 seconds . . . \\nparallel to the story line of catching the real killer is a cliche emotional tale about the estranged relationship between father eastwood and his daughter . \\nthe daughter blames her father for never being there for her , because he was either in jail or robbing a house somewhere . \\nof course their relationship takes a turn for the better during the adventure and they end up a happy family . \\nagain , it is commendable that absolute power tries to deviate from the mainstream suspense film by giving room for a dramatic subplot . \\nhowever , trying is simply not enough ! \\nthe second story line should be subtle , original and preferably unpredictable . . . \\neverything this film is not . \\nhow could a screenplay like absolute power ever get the funding to be produced ? \\nhow could eastwood , who has successfully produced and directed many outstanding films such as the brilliant unforgiven , ever believe in a project like this one ? \\ni am sad to say that my respect for the actor/director/producer has diminished substantially due to this film . \\ndirector quentin tarantino once said : \" i can make a good movie out of any bad script . \" \\ndirector clint eastwood obviously cannot . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'there have been merchant-ivory costume dramas with more of a pulse than \" the mod squad , \" a self-consciously \" hip \" cinematic rendering of the old tv series still looked upon fondly by so many baby-boomers . \\nwell , said \" squad \" certainly won\\'t be a pleasant viewing experience for them or anybody else , maybe even the teen target audience the movie has been geared towards . \\na contemporary take on this decidedly \\'70s show doesn\\'t exactly seem unwarranted , but one wonders if the mold it accumulated while waiting on the shelf didn\\'t transform into a full-blown case of botulism . \\nhow curious that the film begins by defining both mod and squad , insisting that the latter is a group of people working together and then contradicting this definition by keeping its titular trio apart for a sizeable chunk of the running time . \\nthey are julie , pete and linc , reformed delinquents working undercover for the lapd ( exposition put out of the way so fast that you\\'re likely to be lost from the opening moments on ) , and they are respectively played by claire danes , giovanni ribisi and omar epps , talented actors each deserving of better than this . \\ntheir plight involves standard cop-corruption stuff , as our would-be protagonists catch wind of an internal cover-up after their superior ( reliable dennis farina , one of the best things here and gone so quickly ) gets killed and framed for drug trafficking . \\nthey pout a lot and eventually get cracking to expose this convoluted conspiracy using surveillance tactics that would impress the hardy boys and linda tripp but few others . \\nwhen you\\'re supposed to be asking , \" what\\'s going to happen next ? \" , \\nyou\\'ll instead entertain thoughts like \" who are these people and why should i care ? \" \\nor \" aren\\'t thrillers supposed to contain thrills ? \" \\nnot that danes , epps and ribisi don\\'t give it a shot . \\ndanes can do the troubled teen thing in her sleep , as evidenced by \" my so-called life , \" but she\\'s saddled with a mysterious-boyfriend ( josh brolin ) subplot so see-through you begin to seriously question her so-called intelligence . \\nditto for ribisi\\'s ( \" saving private ryan \" ) looney loose cannon , though at least he performs with a wild-and-crazy vigor that occasionally demands attention . \\nbut epps - poor epps . \\nepps ( \" higher learning \" ) is so short-changed he\\'s reduced to literally waiting around for a bad guy to chase him . \\nall this sloppiness can be attributed to the screenwriters , one of whom , scott silver , is also the director . \\nthey must think that if they dress up their stupid story in such spiffy trappings ( the look of the film is really quite impressive ) , it\\'ll somehow pay off , but this \" mod squad \" plods anyway . \\ncharacters are non-existent ; present are just some good-looking young things modeling cool levis and cooler attitudes . \\nplot hardly escapes confusing convention . \\nand the one genre element you\\'d think would be show up in generous portions - a few nifty explosions , some fights , any kind of action whatsoever - only rarely makes it to this dull gabfest . \\nall those quick to put down last month\\'s inept but serviceable \" my favorite martian \" update need to take a step back . \\nhere\\'s a small-to-big-screen translation that really should\\'ve stayed in its former incarnation , \" mod \" or not . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"`the skulls' is a laughably bad thriller , a teen-orientated doppelganger of `the firm' so blazingly ridiculous that it caused me to drift into a hypnotic stupor . \\ncertain moments are so preposterous that i nearly herniated myself in an attempt to stifle laughter . \\ni chuckled incessantly , all the way home . \\nlet me share . \\nthe skulls is a secret society conceived inside the walls of yale ( designed , i'm sure , to mirror the actual skull & bones from the same college ) . \\nluke mcnamara ( joshua jackson ) , a townie and local varsity rowing championship victor for the third consecutive year , highlights the latest skull scouting report . \\ndespite some anxiety and caution from others , luke accepts entry into the organization . \\nsoon after , he finds himself surrounded by beautiful women , driving a new car and marveling at the $20 , 000 that somehow surfaced in his bank account . \\nyeah , dude , pretty good deal eh ? \\nbut luke soon learns that the membership is somewhat suffocating ; when circumstances become extreme , there is no way he can leave the society - except maybe as a drooling vegetable . \\nthe premise , although lacking in originality , certainly offers its share of potential intrigue and suspense . \\nunfortunately , `the skulls' is neither intriguing , nor suspenseful , nor anything else you would associate with fresh or exciting . \\nit's just another abysmal teen prototype that has the soundtrack , the stars . . . . \\nbut not the script . \\n`the skulls' is so bad it attains a certain level of entertainment value , with the screenplay , by jon pogue , immediately becoming the basis for a slew of unintentional howlers . \\nfirst off , upon their initiation into the skulls , each new member has to have a skull branded onto their arm . \\nafterward they are supplied with a wristwatch that conveniently covers up the scar . \\nwill they never take this watch off ? \\nand what if they forget it by their bedside ? \\nperhaps their ? secret' society was being a little too conspicuous when they decided to brand new members like cattle on an area of the body that is easily exposed . \\non top of this , they are each given a rulebook and a key to headquarters . \\ngee , why not member t-shirts ? \\nbut my favorite bit is this : the voting committee for the skulls does not bother with individual ? agree' or ? disagree' notions when making collective decisions . \\nthey are given official skull paddles . \\nwhen flipped to one side , they indicate the member agrees with the proposal . \\nfacing the opposite way means a disagreement . \\nwouldn't they merely express themselves verbally ? \\nhell no . \\nthey have to retrieve the paddles for a proper vote , and maybe afterward they can play ping-pong . \\ni'm still chuckling about these ludicrous details , but the humiliating dialogue is enough to send one into arrest . \\nthe cast , meanwhile , combines a pinch of veteran talent with a dash of the `dawson's creek' crowd , and fuses the two together , ensuring that the embarrassment will be a mutually shared union throughout . \\nbut not entirely . \\naccomplished actors like craig t . nelson ( as skulls chairman judge litten mandrake ) and william peterson ( as fellow board member senator levritt ) are dealt pathetic villain caricatures , and look suitably embarrassed handling them . \\nand then there's christopher mcdonald , who has the capacity to be a fun , exciting actor . \\nmcdonald's charisma is totally diminished here as he sleepwalks through another perfunctory bad guy role ( yes , pogue makes it a hat-trick ) . \\ni pray it was a `snatch-the-paycheck-and-run' exercise for all these actors . \\nthe young troupe of performers involved fair moderately better . \\nlet's cut the talented canadian lad joshua jackson some slack for maintaining believability within the confines of his character . \\npaul walker , the strapping quarterback from `varsity blues' , is bland but passable as caleb mandrake - the judge's son . \\nwalker preserves a straight face , even when dealt the silliest dialogue in the movie ( `dad , i just killed a guy in the ritual room ! ' ) . \\nsome actual spark is generated by leslie bibb , who plays luke's longtime chum chloe , and manages to successfully pull off some convincing dramatics . \\nit really boils down to the actors attempting to puncture the surrounding plastic bubble of absurdity that cages them from minute one . \\nor maybe not minute one , thanks to a decent set-up from director rob cohen , who films early sequences with a sense of atmosphere and style . \\nit makes you wonder why he didn't flee indefinitely from the project , because while enjoyable cheese like `dragonheart' and the moderate stallone thriller `daylight' aren't superior cinema , they belong on the afi top 100 list when compared to this degrading trash . \\naside from unintentionally humoring the audience , `the skulls' gets little accomplished . \\nthe thrills and action are lazy and mechanical . \\nthe story is stuffed with ridiculous , formulaic plotting that sheepishly overlooks the cool potential of a secret underground society flick . \\ninstead of gaining knowledge about the skulls as an organization , we are thrust into a lame video surveillance conspiracy that has developed barnacles from excessive usage . \\nwe've seen it all before , and better . \\n`the skulls' is a feeble little circus of stupidity , so miscalculated that -- while it would serve as a clever pun -- a term like ? boneheaded' seems just too generous . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" come on , silent bob ! \\nwe\\'re going to hollywood . \" \\nstarring jason mewes , kevin smith , will ferrell , shannon elizabeth , seann william scott , chris rock , jason lee , ben affleck . \\ndirected by kevin smith . \\nrated r . \\njay and silent bob strike back is a dumb movie disguised in a smarmy interior . \\nkevin smith , coming off the wonderful , challenging dogma , fills it with sub-road trip gross-out jokes and expects us to buy it because he\\'s just oh-so-ironic . \\nbut when a movie is so self-aware it becomes about nothing but itself , we can hardly be expected to pay for admission . \\njay and silent bob , two new jersey stoners who hang out at the doorstep of convenience store selling pot , have appeared in almost all of smith\\'s movies but , if i\\'m not mistaken , have not starred in one until now . \\nthey find out that there is a movie based on the comic book that is based on them being made in hollywood . \\nthis presents two problems : a ) they haven\\'t received a penny in royalties and b ) nerds on the internet ( \" what\\'s the internet ? \" ) \\nare talking trash about them . \\nwhat is there to do except go to hollywood and stop this movie from being made ? \\non the way -- they\\'re hitchhiking , because who knew you needed tickets to take a bus ? \\n-- they run into a group of hotties who pretend to be with an animal-rights group , but are really jewel thiefs who parade around in charlie\\'s angels-style outfits . \\nof course , they set jay and silent bob up to look like the thieves , so that there is a massive manhunt going on during the second half of the film . \\nwill ferrell , who again proves himself incapable of doing anything but sketch comedy , shows up as the wildlife marshal inspector who thinks the two have stolen a monkey . \\nthe movie will probably please only smith\\'s die-hard , undiscerning fans ; everyone else will be critical of this mind-bogglingly stupid effort following some the sophisticated cinema that he churned out in years past . \\nany appeal the movie has will come from the \" in \" jokes , most of which i think i understood , but the movie is \" in \" to the point of absurdity . \\nthere needs to be something holding it together other than its own smugness . \\nonce jay and silent bob get to hollywood , the movie abruptly switches gears from gross-out comedy to ridiculously broad hollywood satire . \\ncountless \" hot \" movie stars and personalities make an appearance , from smith veterans matt damon and ben affleck to wes craven , but jay and silent bob strike back resorts to such low-brow gags as another scream sequel with a monkey as the killer . \\nget it ? \\nthey\\'re so desperate for another movie , they ran out of ideas and used a monkey ! \\na monkey ! \\nas often happens with writers who are working below what they are actually capable of , most of the really good lines are throwaways , while the big , painstaking gags mostly fall flat . \\none of the funniest lines in the movie flies by : when asked to comment on the clitoris ( don\\'t ask ) , jay responds : \" the female clitoris ? \" \\nkevin smith is a talented writer ( though i agree that his films would be better off if he\\'d let a real director take the helm ) , and jay and silent bob strike back holds true to his promise to make a more facetious film . \\nunfortunately , it\\'s also shapeless , pointless and largely unfunny . \\nsmith\\'s \" verbal trampoline , \" as ben affleck once called his distinctive dialogue , takes a back seat to his dubious instincts as a populist filmmaker . \\nthis was supposed to be the movie that didn\\'t offend anyone , but it\\'s offensive because it\\'s terrible . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'call it a road trip for the walking wounded . \\nstellan skarsg ? rd plays such a convincingly zombified drunken loser that it\\'s difficult to spend nearly two hours of screen time in his smelly , boozed-out presence . \\nyet this ever-reliable swedish actor adds depth and significance to the otherwise plodding and forgettable aberdeen , a sentimental and painfully mundane european drama . \\nplaywright august strindberg built his career on families and relationships paralyzed by secrets , unable to express their longings until the hour is far too late . \\nthat\\'s an accurate reflection of what aberdeen strives for , focusing on the pairing of an alcoholic father , tomas ( skarsg ? rd ) and his alienated , openly hostile yuppie daughter , kaisa ( lena headey , gossip ) . \\nthey haven\\'t spoken in years , and wouldn\\'t even be making the long trip from norway to aberdeen , scotland by automobile if it weren\\'t for kaisa\\'s mother ( charlotte rampling , under the sand ) rotting away in a hospital bed from cancer . \\nin a soap opera twist , mother has only a few days to live . \\n ( only in the movies , right ? ) \\ntoo blitzed to even step foot on a plane , tomas hits the open road with kaisa . \\nloathing each other all the while , they make periodic stops for tomas to puke on the dashboard or pass out -- whenever he isn\\'t muttering what a rotten kid she turned out to be . \\ndespite his sloshed viewpoint , tomas recognizes that the apple hasn\\'t fallen very far from the tree . \\nkaisa gets nosebleeds from snorting coke , sabotages her personal relationships through indifference , and is unable to restrain her quick and vindictive temper . \\nain\\'t they a pair ? \\nunable to find true notes of unspoken familial empathy in the one-note and repetitively bitchy dialogue , screenwriters kristin amundsen and hans petter moland fabricate a series of contrivances to propel events forward -- lost money , roving street hooligans looking for drunks to kick around , nosy cops , and flat tires all figure into the schematic and convenient narrative . \\nby the time they reach the hospital , it\\'s time to unveil the secrets from a dark past that are not only simplistic devices that trivialize the father-daughter conflict , they\\'re also the mainstays of many a bad strindberg wannabe . \\nthis revelation exists purely for its own sake . \\naberdeen doesn\\'t know where else to go . \\nweak , unimaginative casting thwarts the pivotal role of kaisa . \\nif lena headey were a stronger actress , perhaps aberdeen could have been able to coast on the performances and moody , haunting cinematography ( rendering norway into its own pastoral ghost world -- the reference to a certain superior american indie flick intentional ) . \\nheadey\\'s too busy acting , using her face and furrowed brow to convey every last twitch of insouciance . \\nif she were paying any attention to skarsg ? rd , maybe she\\'d figure out that doing less can reveal so much more . \\nit\\'s worthwhile to compare aberdeen to an earlier film released in 2001 , jonathan nossiter\\'s captivating signs & wonders . \\nit\\'s not just because skarsg ? rd and rampling played disturbed parental figures in both films ( they\\'re not bound by ceremonial wedlock in aberdeen ) . \\nthe differences in the way their characters were presented is significant . \\nin aberdeen , rampling is a luminous diva , preening and static in her hospital bed . \\ndespite skarsg ? rd\\'s solid performance as tomas , his pathetic drunk is never given much of a chance to emote anything besides catatonic sorrow . \\nthere\\'s genuine ferocity and sexually charged frisson during their understated confrontations in signs & wonders , allowing them to suggest a gray zone of complications that accompany torn romance and years of stifled curiosity . \\nnossiter\\'s film thoroughly explores this neurotic territory in addition to delving into the americanization of greece and the use of mysticism as an illusion to deflect pain . \\nif signs & wonders sometimes feels overloaded with ideas , at least it\\'s willing to stretch beyond what we\\'ve come to expect from traditional drama . \\naberdeen is never half so ambitious , content to sleepwalk through the rhythms and timing of other movies . \\nwhen did character driven stories stop paying attention to the complexities of real life ? \\nthe depressing answer can be found in lawrence kasdan\\'s trite but occasionally useful grand canyon , where steve martin\\'s hollywood mogul pronounces , \" all of life\\'s riddles are answered in the movies ! \" \\neven foreign films are taking that advice to heart . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"depending on your degree of cinematic acumen , last man standing is either a ) a prohibition-era remake of akira kurosawa's 1961 classic yojimbo ; b ) a prohibition-era remake of sergio leone's 1964 classic a fistful of dollars ; c ) a prohibition-era action drama with a completely original story-line . \\nnew line is certainly counting on the fact that there are far more potential viewers in category ( c ) than in the other two combined , much as the recent remakes of diabolique and the vanishing counted on avoiding such comparisons . \\nthe fact is that there is yet another way of looking at last man standing , which is as the first film version of the story which nods to the _real_ source material , the dashiell hammett novel _red harvest_ . \\nit also shows that kurosawa and leone knew better what to do with that material than hammett himself . \\nthis time around , the man with no name is played by bruce willis , a fellow with a shady history of an undefined nature who rolls into the texas border town of jericho one day on his way to mexico . \\nby all appearances , jericho is well on its way to becoming a ghost town , with the few remaining inhabitants generally belonging to one of two bootlegging operations fighting for control of liquor coming over the border . \\none is headed by an irishman named doyle ( david patrick kelly ) ; the other is run by chicago-connected italian mobster strozzi ( ned eisenberg ) . \\ncalling himself john smith , the man decides that there is money to be made from the conflict , and hires himself out as an enforcer to doyle's side . \\nbut smith's allegiance is as uncertain as his name , and he begins to play the two sides against each other while trying to stay one step ahead of both of them . \\nviewers familiar with both previous incarnations of this story will find virtually nothing radically changed from a plotting standpoint , and that alone should make last man standing somewhat more respectable than other recent hollywood remakes-cum-bastardizations . \\nthere is the happily ineffectual lawman ( bruce dern ) , the unhappily detained object of one of the bosses' affections ( karina lombard ) , the barkeep who becomes our anti-hero's only friend ( william sanderson ) , suspicious lieutenants ( christopher walken and michael imperioli ) to question the bosses' trust in smith , a brutal beating , and a big fire . \\ndirector walter hill gives the proceedings his usual injection of steroids , including a pair of guns for willis which have the ability to propel an assailant backward with sufficient thrust to achieve escape velocity , but at least he doesn't try to turn the story into a slasher film or a buddy picture . \\nwhat he _does_ do is nearly as big a mistake , and that is to provide a running voice-over narration by willis which rings of the standard hard-boiled style of pulp detective fiction . \\nyes , that narration is full of cliches , but those are are not particularly troubling . \\nthe problem is that both yojimbo and a fistful of dollars succeeded largely on the inscrutability of their lead characters . \\nthey were a mystery , to the other characters in the film and to the audience , their motives never entirely clear even after they have acted , and that quality contributed to their almost mythical status . \\nwith john smith's voice chattering on in the background and allowing us into his every thought , he becomes more mundane , just another tough guy trying to stay alive . \\nit feels like a hammett novel , all right , and hill can plead faithfulness to his text for his choice , but it simply doesn't work . \\nthe narration allows the man with no name to take us into his confidence , and the man with no name takes _no one_ into his confidence . \\neven if you walk into last man standing as a blank slate , i can't imagine it being much more than a heavily armed minor distraction . \\nwillis tones down his macho swagger as the taciturn smith , but there is still a level on which he always seems like he is counting on being tougher than everyone else rather than smarter than everyone else . \\nchristopher walken plays doyle's brutal henchman as a slight variation on his gallery of soft-spoken psychos , and there isn't another single character whom makes even the slightest impression . \\nwith no compelling antagonist for smith , there is no build-up towards the expected showdown , and when it does come , that showdown is over so quickly you wonder what all the fuss was about . \\ncinematographer lloyd ahern ( who also did the only noteworthy work on hill's 1995 flop wild bill ) creates some nifty sunburned vistas , but his work is only to keep the eye distracted between the spurts of gunfire and the next bit of counter-productive narration . \\nsometimes when someone sees a lackluster remake of a revered original , they'll wonder what all the talk was about . \\nin the case of last man standing , it is those who know the originals who will wonder what all that talking was about . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'after the average mouse hunt , the silly small soldiers and the entertaining antz , dreamworks try again with the children\\'s film market with this stunning adaptation of the moses story . \\nas the film warns us at the beginning , it\\'s not the full story , and some liberties have been taken , but generally this the bible story we all know and love , featuring burning bushes , the plagues and the parting of the red sea . \\nthe only thing missing is charlton heston . \\ninstead , we get val kilmer voicing moses , an hebrew who is placed in a river by his mother and rescued by the queen of egypt ( helen mirren . ) \\nwe flash forward several years to see moses and brother rameses ( fiennes ) all grown up . \\nmoses soon finds out from brother and sister miriam and aaron ( sandra bullock and jeff goldblum ) that he isn\\'t really the son of the pharaoh seti ( patrick stewart ) and that it his destiny to free the hebrews from the egyptians tyrannical rule . \\nhe soon sets about this , along with his wife tzipporah ( michelle pfeiffer . ) \\nrameses and his two wizard friends ( voiced by steve martin and martin short ) try to stop moses completing his task . \\nwhile the plot is familiar and somewhat exciting for adults , for children reared on aladdin and hercules , this film could be the most godawful thing they\\'ve ever seen . \\ngone is the quick fire humour and standard , easy to follow plot . \\nbut , spectacularly , and to dreamworks credit , nearly every child in the audience was captivated by the story and events happening on screen . \\njeffrey katzenberg , who produced this film , certainly knows how to keep a child interested . \\nhe\\'s included some songs in the film , plus some comedy , and a exciting chariot chase , to keep the children interested . \\nand somehow , himself and the directors still manage to get all the drama and intensity of the story across , without ever being boring . \\nit\\'s a remarkable achievement . \\nalso remarkable is the animation , which puts hercules , an almost \\'slap dash\\' effort , to shame . \\nrelying on hand drawn and computer animation , the backgrounds and characters are amazingly detailed . \\nthe film seems a little caught up with it\\'s amazing visuals by showing a lot of sweeping visuals and \\'moving\\' shots , but they _do_ look incredible . \\nthe final \\'plague\\' where god kills every first born child , and the parting of the red sea have to be seen to be believed . \\nkudos to the animators . \\nthe vocal talent is also very good . \\nval kilmer does a fine job as moses ( although he doesn\\'t sing ) and ralph fiennes is superb as rameses ( and he _does_ sing . ) \\nsandra bullock and jeff goldblum are great , and steve martin and martin short are very good , but not in the film long enough . \\nfinally , michelle pfeiffer does excellent work as moses wife . \\nkudos also goes to the voice of god , who instead of booming and bombastic is quiet and subdued . \\nsadly , he is uncredited , and i couldn\\'t quite work out who the voice was . \\n ( but e-mail if you do . ) \\nthe songs are good , ranging from the usual love sonnets to the traditional big production number . \\nthey don\\'t disturb the movie , and while not particularly memorable , they are nice to listen to ( they\\'re well sung aswell . ) \\nthe musical score is suitably epic , with some beautiful tunes . \\ncoupled with the superb visuals , the prince of egypt is a visual and aural treat , backed up with a great story . \\nentertaining both for kids and adults , this film is a must see . \\na david wilcock review ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       "  b'city of angels is the kind of love story that i enjoy the most : thought-provoking , moving , and completely unsentimental . \\ni find it interesting that this film has been released the same day as my giant , which is a film that is undone completely by its wretched sentimentality . \\ncity of angels is a wonderful film , enhanced by interesting and well-rounded characters and some of the most immersive imagery of the last couple of years . \\nit\\'s a love story that takes the familiar angel themes and makes them new and necessary to the story , and avoids most of the cliches we\\'re so used to seeing in films like this . \\ncity of angels is an apparently loose remake of wim wenders\\' 1988 film wings of desire . \\ni have yet to see wings of desire , so i am , unfortunately , unable to make a comparison of the two . \\ni have heard , however , that city of angels is dissimilar from the original in numerous ways , which makes me glad that this film isn\\'t a rip-off of its source material . \\nnicolas cage stars as seth , an angel who , like all of his angel counterparts , is present to lead the dying to heaven ( or somewhere just like it ) . \\none day , he is forced to take the life of a patient of dr . maggie rice ( meg ryan ) , and his attention is called to her . \\nthe angels can make themselves seen to humans , but they can\\'t experience any of the senses ( most importantly , touch ) . \\nhe shows himself to maggie , and she falls for him , unaware that he is slightly unavailable because of his apparition status . \\nseth wants to become human so he can feel her . \\nthat\\'s when he meets nathaniel messinger ( dennis franz ) , \" former celestial messenger and recent addition to the human race . \" \\n ( as a side note , i found messinger to be the most fascinating character , for i can only imagine how incredibly liberating it must be to live knowing what lies beyond death . ) \\nmessinger explains to seth that it is possible for angels to become human . \\nseth manages to convince maggie that he is an angel ( i know , it sounds ridiculous , but the scene in which she finds out is exceptionally well-done ) ; after much deliberation , she tells him that she could only be with a man who can feel . \\nthis , of course , is when seth decides to take the plunge ( literally ) from a building ; when he wakes up from the fall , he is human , and happy to feel what it\\'s like to have a split lip and blood oozing from his forehead . \\nsince i love this film so much , i\\'ll make a minor note that it certainly isn\\'t perfect . \\nalthough it is original and mesmerizing , it does fall prey to a few of the cliches of the genre . \\nthe plotting of the story by writer dawn steel is rather formulaic ( though the details are what make the story excellent , and steel has done a great job with them ) . \\nthe ending , too , could have been more powerful and less predictable . \\nthese elements are minor , though , and barely detracted from my overall enjoyment of city of angels . \\nthe acting is superb from everyone involved . \\nthis is perhaps my second-favorite performance from cage ( my favorite being the rock ) . \\nhe\\'s quiet and pensive , and his eyes are engaging when he speaks his softly-toned words . \\nhe\\'s perfect for a role like this , and at the same time he reassures us he\\'s not bound by playing the psycho ( though he is good at it , as he shows in face/off ) . \\nmeg ryan is a powerful , enticing , and appealingly-chirpy actress , and her work here is some of her best . \\ndennis franz , however , steals all of his scenes as the energetic former-angel . \\nwhat i admire most about city of angels is its overall presentation . \\ndirector brad silberling is a talented man , and he knows that a story like this is driven by the characters , rather than forced sentimentality . \\nhis direction is steady , and he shows this in just about every scene : near the beginning , maggie has to tell a mother and her two children that their father is dead . \\nthere is no music or elaborate camera work ; we simply see the reactions of the characters to the information . \\nthis is the way stories should be told , and the strength of scenes resonates more completely when the emotions are real . \\nthe film also appeals to the senses in a way that few love stories do . \\ncinematographer john seale ( the english patient ) provides some of the most stunning images i\\'ve seen on the big screen : hundreds of black-clad angels stand on a dim beach in the early morning hours ( just as an example ) . \\nthe music , by gabriel yared ( also of the english patient ) , is perfect for this film : it\\'s quiet and moody music ( but not sentimental ! ) , and adds to the atmosphere and tone nicely . \\nthe visual presentation of city of angels is easily the best of 1998 so far . \\nall of this adds up to a film that is instantly set apart from other members of this genre . \\nit\\'s a film that relies on character development and imagery to get the story across--the excellent actors and the professional production values make city of angels one of those rare films that both entertains and instigates thought simultaneously . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'will hunting ( matt damon ) is a natural genius . \\nfor a movie character , that\\'s usually a death sentence . \\nit\\'s a trait associated with what my brother calls \" too good for this world \" movies , like phenomenon or powder . \\nforgive me for spoiling the ending , but will doesn\\'t die . \\nthis is no formula movie . \\nin fact , it\\'s quite fresh and original . \\nit\\'s a character study more than anything , and that\\'s not surprising , considering it was written by two actors : damon and co-star ben affleck . \\nwill works whatever kind of job he can get . \\nfirst he\\'s a janitor , then he works construction . \\noff-screen he speed reads books on any academic subject that interests him . \\non-screen he hangs out with his friends , picking fights in robust , romanticized-hemingway fashion . \\nlambeau ( stellan skarsgard from breaking the waves ) , a math professor , learns that the janitor ( will ) is a genius with a special talent for advanced mathematics . \\nhaving confirmed he\\'s not a fluke or a savant , he does what he can to get will into the education system . \\nhe is firmly rejected . \\nfinally , will lands in jail for one of his fights . \\nlambeau can get him probation instead of prison time as long as will agrees to therapy sessions and to discussing mathematics with him . \\nwill ( barely ) decides to go for the therapy over prison . \\nlambeau treats will like a son . \\nhe\\'s proud of , and amazed by , will\\'s accomplishments in mathematics . \\nhe encourages will and tries to give him structure , knowing that , with a little discipline , he could be bigger than einstein . \\nwill isn\\'t really interested in academia . \\nhe knows he would be the best in his field , and therefore spend all of his time in an office , explaining math to people like lambeau . \\nhe would rather work construction , which breaks lambeau\\'s heart . \\nmeanwhile , will attends his mandated therapy sessions . \\nit\\'s not long before he shreds all the therapists on lambeau\\'s \" a \" list . \\nwill has read enough psychology to know the tricks of the trade , and how to keep them from affecting him . \\nshrink after shrink refuses to return after will\\'s mockery . \\nlambeau\\'s last hope is his old college roommate , now a psychology teacher at a small-time community college . \\nknowing that will is going to try to shred him too , sean ( robin williams ) agrees to take him on as a favor to lambeau and for the chance to meet this next einstein . \\ntrue to form , will finds sean\\'s emotional weakness and attacks . \\nbut unlike the other shrinks , sean knows what he is in for and continues the sessions . \\nlike a foster mother with a fussy child , sean knows that the attacks are defensive and is able to take them in stride . \\nlike the foster mother , sean knows that time and quiet patience is the only approach . \\nrobin williams is excellent in this role . \\nhe\\'s not an actor with a great range , but in the right roles he has great depth . \\nin this movie , as in awakenings , there comes a point when the quiet , shy man accomplishes something of great personal importance , and a smile of pure joy spreads up to his eyes . \\nwilliams is the only actor i can name who can make an audience cry just by smiling . \\ni have compared will to a foster child and that\\'s not entirely fair . \\nemotionally , he has a lot to learn , but he is not a child . \\nhe has thought about his life and made rational decisions about what he wants . \\nsean , his girlfriend , his pals , and lambeau all help him grow , but he didn\\'t start out asking for , or particularly needing , help . \\nhis exceptional gift singled him out , and those who love him kept pushing him in the right direction . \\nif i had to say anything bad about good will hunting is that it walks the line between drama and melodrama . \\nit\\'s too sentimental and uplifiting for a straight drama , but the emotions are too subtle for melodrama . \\nit is emotionally engaging , but it\\'s not quite larger than life . \\nthis isn\\'t a problem per se , but at times i didn\\'t know quite how to take it . \\nbut this is a relatively small complaint about a very good movie . \\na good movie allows its characters to learn and grow . \\nit doesn\\'t just happen ; it takes a good script , good acting , and good direction . \\ngood will hunting has all three . \\nif you are at all inclined to see it , by all means , go . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'john boorman\\'s \" zardoz \" is a goofy cinematic debacle so fundamentally misconceived and laughably executed that it takes on a bizarre enjoyment quality all its own . \\nnot since the rampant bumblings of one edward d . wood jr . has a movie been so silly and so serious at the same time . \\nof course , wood\\'s career can be explained by two things : he had no money and he had no talent . \\nboorman , on the other hand , cannot court such excuses to explain \" zardoz \" ( or his follow-up film , the equally awful \" exorcist ii : the heretic \" ) . \\nboorman obviously had a sizable budget , a matinee idol movie star ( sean connery ) in the lead role , and although you wouldn\\'t know it from this film , boorman does indeed have talent . \\nthis is the man who made the slick modern masterpiece \" deliverance \" ( 1972 ) , as well as the autobiographical world war ii drama \" hope and glory \" ( 1987 ) , the slightly over-conceived arthurian epic \" excalibur \" ( 1981 ) and the father-son jungle adventure \" the emerald forest \" ( 1985 ) . \\nhis films all show that boorman is never lacking in imagination , but sometimes that comes at the cost of coherence and taste . \\nif boorman is anything , he\\'s ambitious , and when he succeeds , it\\'s in grand fashion . \\nunfortunately , the bigger they are , the harder they fall , and when boorman falls , the resounding impact can be heard for miles around . \\n \" zardoz \" is meant to takes its place among the grandest of mystical movies , an obsession of boorman\\'s . \\nhis screenplay tries to elicit the same mythological connotations of the arthurian legends or even \" the wizard of oz , \" a book which figures into the movie\\'s plot . \\nbut , despite all this reaching , the resulting movie is more unintentionally funny than intentionally enigmatical or compelling . \\nthe events take place in the distant year 2293 , but there is little of the typical futuristic movie-ness to be found . \\nin fact , things seems to have moved backwards , with people riding horses , shooting old-style guns , and living in large victorian mansions . \\nit\\'s more middle ages than space age . \\nthe world of \" zardoz \" is divided into two distinct hemispheres : the outlands , where all the poor , pathetic people live , and the vortex , where a select group of wealthy intellectuals live in comfort and everlasting life . \\nthese immortals never grow old , they never engage in sexual activity , they possess psychological powers , and they live in a sort of quasi-utopian marxist society where everyone is equal , and everyone contributes equally to the society . \\nhowever , if one breaks the rules , that person is punished by being aged so many years . \\nif someone breaks the rules enough , he or she is aged to the point of senility , and imprisoned to an eternal existence in a geriatric home with others aged criminals . \\none of the immortals , arthur frayn ( niall buggy ) , a squirmy man with a mustache and goatee tattooed on his face , is charged with keeping order in the outlands and forcing the residents to farm so the immortals can be fed . \\nlike \" the wizard of oz , \" he adopts a god-like status among the people by flying in to their part of the world in a giant stone carved like a menacing head . \\n ( this flying head is one of the movie\\'s opening images , and it\\'s a dead giveaway of the lunacy to come . ) \\ncalling himself zardoz , frayn gathers a bunch of outlanders and makes them into a group called the exterminators , whose purpose is to kill most of the other outlanders so they can\\'t procreate and take up more resources . \\nfrom inside his giant , stone head , zardoz bellows seriously laugh-inducting statements like , \" the gun is good . \\nthe penis is evil . \" \\nthat line alone is worth the movie\\'s cult following . \\none day , an exterminator named zed ( sean connery ) , sneaks into zardoz\\'s flying stone , pushes frayn out , and goes back to the vortex . \\nonce there , the immortals label him a \" brutal \" and study him like a lab rat , taking great , perverse care in exploring his sexuality , which is a mystery to them . \\nthey seem especially interested in his ability to gain an erection , and there is one downright hilarious sequence where a bunch of scantily-clad female scientists show zed erotic footage on a video screen in an attempt to determine what gets him worked up . \\ni say \" hilarious \" because that is exactly what \" zardoz \" is . \\nit is obvious that boorman did not intend it to be so ; he made this film with the straightest of faces , although i have a hard time believing that as production moved forward , he didn\\'t get even the slightest inkling of how patently ridiculous it was becoming . \\njust looking at connery is enough to give one the giggles - he spends most of the film running around in a red loin cloth that resembles a diaper , a mane of hair braided halfway down his back , a wyatt earp-style handlebar mustache , and a pair of thigh-high patent leather boots that would look more appropriate on a cheap hollywood hooker . \\nboorman made the film right after the critical and financial success of \" deliverance , \" which is the only reason i can imagine a studio would green-light this effort . \\nhe attracted some rich talent on both sides of the camera , including cinematographer geoffrey unsworth ( \" 2001 \" ) , whose striking visuals are about the only good thing in \" zardoz \" besides the inadvertent humor . \\nsean connery had made his last james bond film in 1971 , and perhaps he was looking for a change in pace . \\nhe got exactly that in \" zardoz , \" and it\\'s a wonder it didn\\'t end his career . \\ni\\'m sure boorman intended for this movie to make some grand statements . \\nis it a treatise about the infallibility of eternal life ? \\nis it a condemnation of those who consider growing old to be a bad thing ? \\nor is it a social statement , something about the inherent negativity of class distinctions and the violence it creates ? \\nkarl marx might like it if he were more like timothy leary . \\ncome to think of it , maybe boorman made it as an extended lsd trip . \\npeople high on illicit substances are the only ones i can imagine enjoying this asinine silliness as anything more than a completely unintentional comedy . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"when i was asked to see this movie with a friend , my initial reaction was ? not hugh grant ! ' \\ni was perhaps wrong to be so harsh , but after his insidious flirtation with a street hooker , i just could not picture him in any romantic lead . \\nwhat makes this movie a wonderful experience is not the fact it stars hugh , but because it stars julia and carries with it a brilliantly written script . \\nthis writer richard curtis , whose exceptional first work ? four weddings and funeral' shows us that he is a master in the domain of the romantic comedy , with splashes of drama thrown in between . \\nhugh and his hair , is almost identical to the character that made him famous in ? four weddings' . \\nhe plays an ordinary guy who is down and out on his luck . \\nunfortunately , he is type cast in this role , but fortunately it works well for him in this movie . \\nif only he would dither a little less . \\njulia knows this role well . \\nthe glamorous movie star who is searching for true love . \\nthere are moments in this movie , that you almost weep for her pain felt loneliness . \\nhow sad it must be to be so wealthy and beautiful , but to have no one to share it with . \\nthe writer deals with difficult issues of love and social class on various levels . \\nhow differences in social standing can make it almost impossible for love to grow in such a harsh environment . \\nhow the media can be as cruel as it can be attentive , and how fulfilment in life and love can be found in forgiveness and sacrifice . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'there was a huge crowd - so many over 100 people could not be admitted - at a premiere screening of \" the nephew \" ( first screening with a major general audience admittance ) . \\nthis was a movie premiere at the santa barbara international film festival . \\npierce brosnan ( 007 ) , produced his first movie with beau st . clair . \\nit was a constantly mind-moving and personal movie with lovely scenes of ireland . \\nchad ( hill harper , beloved ) is a cute 17 year old mixed race ( african american and irish ) nephew , who\\'s irish mother died . \\nhe comes \" back to ireland \" , living with the curmudgeon uncle , tony egan ( donal mccann ) . \\nhe meets pierce brosnan\\'s character , mr . o\\'brady ( or just brady ) , because he falls in love with the beautiful daughter . \\nthere are many scenes ( ah , character scenes ) to laugh at , others pull some tears . \\nthe three mentioned above were at the premiere in the flesh , with the director eugene brady . \\nafter the movie they took questions . \\nthe movie was very good , it not fantastic . \\nthe nephew has not been \" picked up \" in north america but has been in the rest of the world . \\nthe nephew is generation secrecy of a \" titanic \" proportion . \\nlet\\'s hope the rest of america will be able to see the nephew . \\ncontact given in the program guide : \" print source : irish dream source , inc . , tel : ( 310 ) 449-3411 \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'one night , during a torrential downpour that flooded the streets , we went to see -- what else -- hard rain . \\n \" so , are we all going to die ? \" \\nthe sheriff ( randy quaid ) asks in the story\\'s opening line as he evacuates his flooded town . \\nthe answer is pretty much yes , but not nearly soon enough . \\nand to add insult to injury , the supposedly dead , regretfully , often turn out not to be so . \\npopulating this bad tv-movie-of-the-week material are a host of talented actors . \\none can only hope they were rewarded handsomely for acting in this hopelessly muddled picture . \\nbesides the obvious hardships of acting most scenes while dog paddling in the water , they will all receive black marks on their records for appearing in this dismal movie . \\ngraham yost\\'s script serves up one cliche after another for the actors , who thankfully managed to mumble quite a few of the lines . \\ndirector mikael salomon\\'s staging is so confusing that you may have trouble figuring out what is happening . \\nthe befuddled presentation is exacerbated by peter menzies , jr . \\'s dark and ugly cinematography . \\nthe plot concerns an armored car that gets stuck in the raging water . \\nonboard are guards tom and his uncle charlie . \\nchristian slater , who is much better in his tender roles as in untamed heart , plays tom . \\nedward asner drops by briefly to take on the role of the soon to be dead charlie . \\ncoming to their \" rescue \" is a gang headed by jim , played on autopilot by the great actor morgan freeman . \\nhe views the loot , three million dollars worth , as his retirement plan . \\nthe entire movie is one big watery chase with the sheriff and his posse tracking jim and his gang , who are in turn after tom . \\nalong the way , tom picks up a love interest in the person of a crucifix-weapon wielding woman named karen , played in a totally wasted performance by minnie driver . \\nthe action sequences are repetitive and without much interest . \\nthey do feature lots of explosions and gunfire to keep you awake . \\nchristopher young\\'s emotionless score for the film has a single trait , ear-shattering loudness . \\nthe plot holes are as big as the ones in the dam that breaks , submerging the town . \\nthe characters have an infinite number of bullets and rarely do they have to bother reloading their guns . \\nthe weapons and the ammunition spend most of the time under water or being rained on but always fire perfectly . \\nwhen one of the bad guys drops a gun into the water , it stays in the same place until much later when tom swims to get it , even though the swift water is so strong it is uprooting large trees . \\ncounting these improbabilities is one of the more enjoyable ways to spend your time as you wait for the characters to kill each other . \\nthe show has a single , but unprintable , good line . \\nbetty white plays an incessantly bossy wife , and , when her hen-pecked husband finally told her off , our audience roared with laughter . \\nthe show concludes with a sickening set of twists . \\nthe best that can be said of the picture is that it is merely stupefyingly awful as opposed to laughably bad . \\nhard rain runs 1 : 37 . \\nit is rated r for violence and would be fine for teenagers . \\n ( the two families behind us shockingly had a half-dozen preschoolers among them . ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'many people dislike french films for their lack of closure . \\nwhile possibly shallow , i\\'ve often had a desire for a sense of epiphany , or at least a resolution , in the films which i view . \\nthere is no revelation in un coeur en hiver in the traditional ; however , the film is incredibly successful in its passionate dramatization of a passion-denying protagonist , stephane ( daniel auteuil ) . \\nstephane ( daniel auteuil ) is a master violin maker . \\nhe is passionless about all that which surrounds him except his craft and the music which his craft is responsible for producing . \\neven the relationship between he and his boss , maxime ( andre dussollier ) is a controlled , and almost manipulated association , highlighted by the fact that stephane permits maxime to win close squash matches . \\nin the beginning of the movie , stephane is a closed , solitary individual and the audience is carefully left to wonder about the depth of emotion behind this enigmatic man . \\ncamille kessler ( emmanuelle beart ) is a master violinist and the new love of maximes . \\nmaxime is so much in love with camille that he plans to and does leave his wife . \\nlike stephane , camille is outwardly very controlled and reserved , sacrificing all thought and emotion to her violin and the music which emerges . \\nwhen stephane and camille meet , there is a recognition of a bonding by both individuals . \\nhowever , whereas camille submits to the wild interplay of emotions which she now feels for stephane , stephane only admits that camille is attracted to him . \\nstephane ignores his feelings for camille , which the audience cannot help but to see is present . \\nas the movie progresses , the two characters become more and more polarized in their views and emotions for one another . \\nthese two people , with very similar approaches to life initially , react to their new circumstance very differently . \\nstephane becomes even more rational and controlled , while camille becomes more tempestuous , until she almost borders on suffering a nervous breakdown due to the inability to consummate their relationship . \\nhowever , their approach to each other is perhaps not surprising considering their vocation . \\nthe audience is led to believe that stephane may have been a genius as a violinist as well , due to his relationship with a master violin teacher . \\nhowever , apparently , he could not be a violinist due to his intolerance for flaws in his playing . \\nconsequently , stephane becomes a precision craftsmen with the instrument and no longer plays . \\nin contrast , camille had almost given the violin , years earlier . \\nhowever , with the aid of her manager , she has progressed to being almost one of the world\\'s finest , successfully submerging herself to her playing . \\nduring the course of the movie , we see both characters evolve as they struggle to meet the challenge of their new emotions . \\nstephane attempts to remain unchanged . \\nhowever , we do see subtle hints of his transformation . \\none of the most obvious is when he defeats maxime in squash . \\nthe development of all of the characters , many of which is not included in this synopsis , is incredible . \\namerican movies , with rare exceptions , have not and i would daresay cannot approach foreign films in character development . \\nin its essence , this movie is about the development and growth of the characters , camille and stephane . \\nthe portrayal of all the other characters in the movie , including a death , is to further the development of camille\\'s and stepahne\\'s characters . \\ni am not sure why berardinelli says , \" at times it becomes difficult to determine whether stephane should be pitied or vilified , and it is to auteuil\\'s credit that he manages to maintain this uncertainty . \" \\nthis movie is not about judging stephane\\'s actions as being right or wrong , but about viewing their growth and accepting the characters as who they are . \\ni find the ending appropriate ; unfortunately , i found the last ten minutes which led up to the final scene to be very unfulfilling . \\nthis portion of the film is where the \" sense of closure \" could have been successfully accomplished . \\nunfortunately , there is a hurried and almost a soap opera-type surge of emotions from all of the characters . \\nwhile ravel may not be quite as accomplished as schubert or mozart , ravel has his day in this film . \\nthe synergism of the tension of ravel\\'s music and tension on the screen is the best i have ever seen . \\nthe directing in this movie is wonderful . \\nthe actors and actresses are excellent , each playing their part with great sincerity and warmth . \\nemmanuelle beart\\'s personality is beautiful . \\nand needless to say , i must say that emmanuelle beart , herself , is beautiful . \\nbesides the near ending , the only other criticism of the movie which i have is that the movie is almost too cerebral . \\ni almost left with the sense little happened because almost all the changes which occur in the movie happen in deep in their psyches and little in their personalities or the situations which they end as part of . \\nthe one question which i am left with is while they have accepted their lot , has their attitude towards love changed ? \\ni have several possibilities which i believe the movie hints at , but i am unsure of which the director is espousing . \\nin summary , this movie is solely about the character growth of two characters who almost develop a relationship . \\nin the process , we see their attitude towards life and other people . \\nin itself , i do not believe un coeur is a complicated movie . \\nwhere it does become complicated is when we juxtapose the scenes of the movie into the greater walk of life where we , as americans , have preconceived american notions of relationship , love , and people . \\ni do wonder how the movie translates when viewed within its native french culture . \\nhowever , i , bringing my american preconceptions , enjoyed the film . \\ni would welcome any comments about this movie from any who have seen it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the happy bastard\\'s 30-second review \\nnotting hill \\na cute romantic comedy from the writer of the hit comedy four weddings and a funeral , notting hill stars julia roberts as anna scott , a very popular actress with a $15 million asking price for movies . \\none day she wanders into a travel book store owned by a simple london resident ( played by hugh grant ) , and sparks somehow begin to fly . \\nsure , there are points of turmoil , such as putting up with grant\\'s slightly disgusting ( but very hilarious ) roommate spike , anna\\'s pesky ex-boyfriend ( alec baldwin in a humorous cameo ) , and , on top of all that , those damn press . \\nit\\'s a fresh sort of complexity to see in a romantic comedy , very different from , say , a stubborn father or \" not the right time \" like as seen in usual flicks . \\nroberts is terrific as the astonishingly beautiful actress , and grant is surprisingly good as the straightforward guy still trying to get a hold of what has actually happened with this girl . \\nin short , a sweet romantic comedy that has a lot of good laughs , particularly provided by spike . \\none tee-shirt really says it all about him . \\nin an attempt to turn on a woman , he shows the front of the shirt , which says : \" you are the most beautiful woman in the world . \" \\non the back ? \\n \" fancy a f * * k ? \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"jonathan demme's _beloved_ , based on the book toni morrison , is a study in skillful literary adaptation . \\non the one hand , the film manages to recreate key moments from the novel , evoking morrison's pragmatic narrative style without using her authorial voice . \\non the other hand , beloved omits the some of the finer details of the book , favoring an ambiguously defined back story upon which to build the story's main events . \\nthis choice is a smartly made one , for it creates an open space in which the story's wide range of emotions can gestate and grow . \\nindeed , the impact of the film is so protracted that much of it cannot be felt until long after the end credits have rolled . \\n_beloved_ takes place in the second half of the 19th century , during the so-called reconstruction era after the civil war . \\nfor newly-freed slaves , it is a time of confusion and turmoil . \\noprah winfrey is sethe , a slave who escaped a kentucky plantation and took her children to an ohio farmhouse , where she hoped the terror would end . \\nwhat she did not know was that it would follow her there , and remain with her long after the physical threat had vanished . \\n_beloved_ ultimately tells the story of sethe's search for forgiveness , one long-hampered by an unforgettable sin . \\nthe film starts off on a dreary day ten years after sethe's escape , as a violent , unseen energy rocks her dilapidated farmhouse . \\ninvisible hands terrorize her family , flinging objects across rooms , shaking tables , rattling floorboards . \\nsethe's sons run away , perhaps for good , leaving sethe and her daughter denver to fend for themselves . \\ndemme's matter-of-fact handling of this supernatural element is just one of _beloved_'s intriguing aspects . \\nall of the characters take for granted that ghosts are real . \\nwhen paul d ( danny glover ) -- a former slave who escaped kentucky along with sethe -- arrives at the house eight years later and is confronted with the ghost's hellish visions , he doesn't run in terror . \\ninstead , he asks who the ghost is . \\nas in morrison's novel , demme quickly establishes that the horror of the story will not come from the fact of the ghost itself , but from the terrifying past in which the ghost was created . \\nsethe is the one being haunted , but the ghost in the house is the least of her fears . \\nin fact , the ghost is one of the reasons she chooses to stay . \\nthe story takes an bizarre turn with the appearance of beloved ( thandie newton ) , a young black-clad woman who appears on sethe's front lawn , leaned christ-like against a tree stump . \\nsethe and denver immediately take to the rasping woman and try to nurse her to health . \\nthey know not who she is , but that doesn't matter . \\nonly paul d is suspicious of the stranger . \\nlittle does the family know that beloved will bring about many changes , and force sethe to release a guilt she has held onto so urgently for eighteen years . \\nwinfrey is arguably beloved's greatest asset . \\nshe inhabits the role of sethe so convincingly it is hard to believe this is the same woman who shines brightly on a tv talk show . \\nlisa gay hamilton does an impressive job in the emotionally demanding role as the younger sethe , whose appalling actions make her the disturbed woman we see eighteen years later . \\ndanny glover is affable as the sympathetic paul d , as is kimberly elise as denver , sethe's wanderlusting daughter . \\nas sethe's sage-like mother-in-law old baby suggs , beah richards authoritatively commands every scene in which she appears . \\nthe film's least palatable choice of casting is unfortunately that of the role of beloved herself . \\nthandie newton plays the glassy-eyed girl with a demented fervor which is endearing at first , but which becomes off-putting and unintentionally laughable by the end . \\ndeparting from the honed aesthetic he used in such films as _the silence of the lambs_ and _melvin & howard_ , director demme has used a bit of dramatic overstatement to get across the vivid descriptions in morrison's novel . \\ntotemic camera shots and color-saturated scenery are decidedly uncommon in demme's films , but the few he uses here work to the film's benefit . \\n_beloved_'s most memorable scenes are those of baby suggs' gatherings in a forest clearing , where the bright yellow-greens of nature entrance the viewer as much as suggs' words do . \\nfor the most part , though , demme maintains his trademark directorial neutrality . \\nthis , combined with morrison's equally frugal method of storytelling , may make _beloved_ somewhat of a challenge to watch , even to those familiar with the book . \\nthough the film compliments the book extraordinarily well , it falls short in allowing the sort of accessibility one usually expects from a film . \\nnothing is spoon-fed to the viewer . \\nmorrison's novel is just as enigmatic , but unlike a movie , a book can be put down to allow the various undercurrents and themes to churn and absorb . \\nthe movie begins like _poltergeist_ , and ends like _the color purple_ , with shades of _the scarlet letter_ and _little women_ somewhere in the middle . \\ntaken as a whole , beloved is a disquieting , one-of-a-kind experience , one to be viewed with guards down and spirits in abeyance . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'seen at the 21st portland international film festival \\nfilm title : supermarket woman director : juzo itami country : japan 1997 cinematography : yonezo maeda music : toshiyuki honda cast : nobuko miyamoto , masahitko tsugawa , shiro ito , yuji miyake , akiko matsumoto super features : typical itami film . . . \\nfunny and pointed in its own way . \\nif you don\\'t care how and what the food you buy goes through in your local supermarket , then this film is not for you . . . . \\nmaybe it is better to ignore it , as this strong and biting satire , as only juzo itami can deliver , will give you an insight as to what some foods go through . \\nhaving , in the past , made films that pulled every punch imaginable , from the family traditions ( the funeral ) , to taxes ( a taxing woman & a taxing woman returns ) , to the diabolical gangsters ( minbo ) , to hospitals ( the seriously ill ) , juzo itami , this time takes on the supermarkets\\' own war , to get the consumers . \\nand while this film has its funny side , in the crazy situations that it creates , it also shows another side , which is very much the attitude of a corporate structure that is more concerned with its profits than it is with any customer . \\ngoro has a supermarket . \\nand a competitor comes into the neighborhood , trying to take him out of business by providing less expensive prices for everything that is sold in the supermarket . \\nbargains galore , its name , has in mind the closure of goro\\'s humbler venue , so that in the end it can mark up its prices in any way it can . \\ngoro hires hanako , a housewife whose talents seem to be better suited to management , than they are in anything else . \\nhanako , as she gets familiar with the operation , discovers many of the tricks of the trade , done by many of the elders in charge of each section of the market . \\nand the procedures , are not always \" fresh \" food , but a new packaging and a new date , to try and convince the customers that quality is on the shelves . \\nhanako\\'s ideas take hold , starting with a few of the women that work in the supermarket , being that they do not even shop there at all . \\nand hanako discovers along the way that a few giveaways here and there make a bit of a difference . \\nif not cause some serious problems in the running of the store . \\na price error , forces them to give away eggs for very low prices , and causes the store a few hassles , but , it brought the people in , and everyone knows that these customers will buy a few other things . \\nas the operation gets stronger , the competition also has trickery up its sleeve , and it has been undermining much of the operation by paybacks to one of the store managers , as well as the meat and fish elder supervisors . \\neventually these people are found out , and hanako has to tread slowly and carefully , until in the end they all have a showdown . \\nand here , the truth and honesty win out , and even one of the elders decides to stay rather than go to work for the corrupt opponent . \\nin the process , they also find that \" freshness \" ( with some very funny jokes on this word as well ) becomes a much more important tool than they imagined . \\nwith some very nice performances , in this hectic , and fast paced film , this film gives us a sitting of two hours that is satisfying in many ways , although a failed love story between goro and hanako does not come off much , even though towards the end it is suggested . \\nbut this would take away from the satire and its strengths . \\nwith food gags all over the place , the film lets you have it . \\nand what fun it is . \\nworth seeing . \\n ( editorial ) the director of this film , juzo itami , died shortly after the film was finished , and he left behind a legacy of comedy and satire that is rare , and uncompromising . \\nwe would wish that he had been able to make one about film making , of which he must have had a few stories to tell , but we will have to do with much of the japanese society , and its many errant ways . . . . \\nnot to say that these things do not happen anywhere else . . . . \\namerica is no less guilty of any of these subjects at all , should anyone have the guts to tackle it . . . \\nwe could learn something along the way , too . . . . \\nworth seeing , specially , is a taxing woman and its follow up a taxing woman returns . \\nthe funeral is also good , although not as funny as the later films . \\ntampopo is also very enjoyable . \\nall four of these films are available in video , which means your best local site for foreign film may have them . . . \\nask for it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" the fighting sullivans \" contains a major plot development in the last ten minutes that every movie guide has seen fit to give away . \\nthere was no dramatic tension for me while watching the film , as i knew exactly what was going to happen . \\nand that\\'s the worst thing that can happen before viewing a movie . \\nbecause of this , i will tread lightly so i don\\'t ruin it for anyone reading this review , and it would be very advisable to avoid all other material regarding this film until after you have seen it . \\n \" the fighting sullivans \" revolves around a family that consists of a mother , father , sister , and five brothers . \\nthe brothers are very close , despite the occasional disagreement . \\nthey are inseperable , and never stray from one another . \\ntheir friendship and loyalty is the foundation of this picture . \\nthe first half of the movie follows the brothers as young children , and their various adventures . \\nwhen four of them get into a fight with some local boys , the youngest sullivan , who is inside a church at the time , comes running out to assist , but not before properly exiting the chapel . \\nif i\\'m being awfully vague about details , it\\'s because what i have told you is essentially the first hour and a half . \\nall i can say is go watch this film , because it is a fine portrait of a family that sticks together , through the good and the bad . \\nand after you see the movie , you will understand why this review has been written the way it has . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"it's wednesday , march 27 , and a murder investigation is underway in charlotte , south carolina . \\nthe crime : a young prostitute , elizabeth ( renee zellweger ) , has been brutally slain . \\none half of her severed body was found in a bag at the train station . \\nthe other half was discovered in a trunk at the harbor authority , miles away . \\nthe police duo of braxton ( chris penn ) and kennesaw ( michael rooker ) are strapped for leads . \\nat the moment , they have only one possible suspect : wayland ( tim roth ) , a wealthy , unemployed genius who graduated summa cum laude from princeton and appears to be the least likely character to commit such a heinous act . \\nthat's the premise for deceiver , a new thriller from the pate brothers , jonas and josh , who made their mark on the film world two years ago at sundance with the movie the grave . \\ndeceiver plays out like a mind game between the intellectually superior wayland and the two not- so-bright cops ( captions early in the proceedings let us know that wayland's iq is 151 ; by contrast , kennesaw's is 122 and braxton's is 102 ) . \\nthe setting is a police interrogation room where a lie detector test is about to be administered . \\nover three days , as wayland returns to answer more questions , the drama and tension among these three characters gradually escalates until , inevitably , it boils over . \\nother plot elements are thrown in for good measure . \\nwayland suffers from a peculiar kind of epilepsy that can , in stressful situations , render him virtually catatonic or extremely violent . \\nbraxton , a compulsive gambler , is deep in debt to a local syndicate . \\nand kennesaw is haunted by a dark , abusive side that delights in terrorizing women , especially his wife ( rosanna arquette ) , whom he suspects of being unfaithful . \\nthe foibles and failings of these three are brought into the open as the mystery around elizabeth's death deepens and it becomes unclear who has the upper hand : the suspect or his questioners . \\ndeceiver , which mostly transpires in a dimly-lit room and involves a lot of smart dialogue , has the feel of a david mamet play : edgy , claustrophobic , and tense . \\nthe atmosphere is explosive , and some of pivotal moments of confrontation are riveting . \\ndeceiver has the power to grab an audience . \\nunfortunately , in the end , it succumbs to the need to throw in one last , unexpected twist , and this is its undoing . \\nfor , while this surprise will certainly shock most viewers , it also stretches our credulity too much , and raises more questions than it answers . \\nit's only an effective wrap-up if you don't think too carefully about its full implications . \\nof course , the film as a whole plays fast and loose with reality and logic . \\npolice procedure is totally ignored and it's almost impossible to accept that any criminal investigation would or could proceed in this manner . \\nbut the real focus in deceiver is on character interaction , not plot details . \\ndeceiver only occasionally gets out of the police station , and those instances occur primarily during flashbacks featuring the prostitute . \\nthe pates employ a number of interesting techniques to present vignettes from elizabeth's final days and hours . \\nthe most intriguing of these is to use an unreliable narrator while underlining the discrepancies in his voice-over by visually showing what really happened . \\nmoments like this are too effective to be dismissed as gimmicks . \\nthe movie , obviously fashioned in the manner of classic film noir , drips atmosphere . \\nthere are some fascinating stylistic touches ; for example , although the setting is contemporary , all of the telephones are old-fashioned , rotary models . \\ncinematographer bill butler is given an opportunity to use unconventional camera work to liven up deceiver's look . \\nsome of the things he tries ( mostly those that involve the contrast between light and shadow ) work exceptionally well , while others ( like any of several lazy susan shots ) seem more like unnecessary visual tricks . \\nas wayland , tim roth gives the film's top performance , despite occasionally treading the tightrope between acting and overacting . \\nroth makes us believe that wayland is both as brilliant and as troubled as he's supposed to be . \\nthe other two leads , chris penn and michael rooker , aren't as effective . \\nboth play their characters like familiar types . \\npenn's performance is uninspired ; rooker's lacks subtlety . \\nsome of the best work is turned in by the supporting actors . \\nrenee zellweger , in a role that's miles away from her star-making turn in jerry maguire , brings a note of vulnerability and humanity to a part that could easily have become a caricature . \\nrosanna arquette is solid as kennesaw's wife , and michael parks delivers several wonderful scenes as a psychiatrist who's entrusted with evaluating wayland's condition . \\none of the best things about deceiver is that it never talks down to the audience . \\nplot points aren't hammered home , and , although the ending has its weaknesses , everything isn't spelled out in bold letters . \\nthe pates give audience members credit for having brains , which is an increasingly rare characteristic for film makers . \\noccasionally gripping and never uninteresting , deceiver is a fine noir effort . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'phaedra cinema , the distributor of such never-heard-of classics as \" soft toilet seats , \" \" trailer : the movie , \" and \" the one armed boxer vs . the flying guillotine , \" has sneaked its latest release , \" the sculptress , \" into a few theaters this weekend hoping to cash in on a handful of halloween holidaygoers looking for a right good scare . \\n \" the sculptress \" is a scary proposition all right , but not in the way its producers intended . \\nfrom the outset it\\'s easy to see why some of the larger , more reputable chains aren\\'t carrying it : the film looks like a straight-to-video release from the early \\'80s that\\'s been dusted off ( not very carefully ) and re-issued in theatrical format . \\nthat staple of schlocky z-movies jeff fahey ( \" the lawnmower man \" ) plays a washed-up shakespearean actor lacking in some basic people skills . \\nwhen he\\'s not reliving his glory days in his ramshackle nob hill apartment , screaming scotch-induced \" hamlet \" soliloquies well into the night , he\\'s out and about on the streets of san francisco stalking loose women . \\nfahey\\'s dobie sizes up his victims ( actually just one , a peep show performer name of sylvie ) dressed like one of the guys from kraftwerk , and approaches them in the ridiculous attire of a bavarian count replete with a cane , dark glasses , and a false beard ( just in time for halloween ! ) . \\n \" do you have a castle ? \" \\nsylvie asks dobie seductively when he flashes the bulging contents of his wallet outside a coffee shop . \\n \" jah . \\nwith ze many turrets \" is dobie\\'s perplexing reply . \\nthe real \" star \" of the film ( and i use that term extremely loosely ) is katie wright , who plays the sculptress of the title . \\nsarah is new in town , studying at the prestigious sf art institute under the mentorship of a \" genius \" frenchman , played by the beret-wearing patrick bauchau . \\nthat\\'s convenient , because sarah would one day like to live and work in paris ( you won\\'t believe the film\\'s final shot , with its cheesy eiffel tower backdrop and \" rosemary\\'s baby \" -inspired imagery ) . \\nbauchau\\'s character criticizes sarah\\'s work publicly ( her clay busts keep turning into gargoyles--perhaps she\\'s possessed . . . \\nby an incubus ! ! ? ) but he still manages to talk her into dinner . \\nwhereas wright does a decent english accent , her talents pretty much end there . \\non the other side of the wall , dobie\\'s troubled past is succinctly summarized in a scene in which he thumbs through an old scrapbook of newspaper clippings with headings like \" actor delivers a stunning macbeth , \" actor courted by hollywood studio , \" \" actor renounces hollywood for priesthood , \" and \" prostitute fingers priest in sex scandal . \" \\nthe film\\'s plot could have been just as easily condensed . \\n \" artist moves in next door to shakespearean psychopath . \" \\n \" yawns ensue . \" \\nso dobie rants and raves and sarah chips away at large blocks of granite till way past their bedtimes . \\nlate in the film , their paths finally cross with mind-numbing results . \\nnobody else in the apartment complex appears to mind all the racket , but one old dear does go ballistic when sarah\\'s bathtub overflows . \\nno , we don\\'t see wright in the tub ( or fahey for that matter ) , and the gore quotient is virtually nil , so for a horror film \" the sculptress \" is surprisingly lacking . \\nthe only thing worth looking at is san francisco , and writer/director ian merrick manages to make even it look dreary , windswept , and deserted . \\n \" the sculptress \" isn\\'t even bad enough to be fun . \\nluckily , a limited release has made it easy to avoid . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"originally titled 'don't lose your head' , this parody of the scarlet pimpernel story was the first carry on to be produced by rank film productions . \\ntwo english fops , the 'powdered , be-wigged , be-ribboned' sir rodney ffing ( sidney james ) and his counterpart lord darcy pew ( jim dale ) decide to travel to revolutionary france in an attempt to rescue their fellow french royalists and aristocrats from losing their heads by the guillotine . \\ndue to a series of machinations and disguises , they are largely successful . \\nffing becomes known as 'the black fingernail' because he leaves a calling card behind which shows two fingers sticking up , one with a black fingernail . \\nafter the fingernail rescues a prominent royalist the duc de pommfrit ( charles hawtrey ) , citizen robespierre ( peter gilmore ) orders the head of the secret police citizen 'the big cheese' camembert ( kenneth williams ) and citizen bidet ( peter butterworth ) to follow the fingernail to england and do away with him . \\n ( in fact , darcy and ffing are their coachmen ! ) \\nonce at calais , the fingernail meets jacqueline ( dany robin ) and they fall in love instantly . \\nhe tells her his identity and gives her his locket . \\nwhen camembert realises that the fingernail is nearby , he searches the inn at calais and captures jacqueline , thinking that she is wearing a diguise and is really the fingernail ! \\njacqueline is imprisoned in the bastille and camembert , his love desiree dubarry ( joan sims ) , and bidet all travel to london in pursuit of the fingernail . \\nthey pretend to be of noble stock , calling themselves the duc and duchesse de la plume de ma tante ( with bidet their assistant ) and are invited by darcy to a ball held by ffing . \\ndesiree finds out that ffing is the fingernail by wearing the locket around her neck , but she ends up falling in love with him . \\nffing attempts to stall camembert so that he can return to the bastille to rescue jacqueline , camembert has her moved to the 'chateau neuve' , and a climactic sword-fight decides who will lose their heads at the end of the film ! \\na more complex story than most carry ons , this film enjoys good production values ( sets , costumes ) and an on-form cast . \\nsid james is excellent as the english fop and black fingernail , kenneth williams excels as the evil camembert , and peter butterworth expertly plays the substantial part of camembert's thick-witted crony . \\nother acting honours go to joan sims who is perfect as desiree and charles hawtrey who is excellent as the french aristo pommfrit . \\nalthough it suffers from a disasterously over-long sword fight at the end of the film , it is largely successful due to the performances of the main stars , its slick and professional production , and its better-than-usual script . \\ndefinitely one of the best of the series and a joy to watch . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'sometimes i find 19th century british costume dramas a little hard to relate to . \\nit\\'s not the time or the distance , it\\'s the rules and conventions of a social class that deserves resentment rather than sympathy . \\nyet somehow , the movies are all well made and i always get caught up in the story . \\nthe wings of the dove fits the pattern . \\nkate ( helena bonham carter ) and merton ( linus roache ) are in love . \\nmerton , a newspaper writer , would like to marry kate . \\nbut kate\\'s \" job \" , if you will , is to be a member of the british upper class . \\nher father lost all of her family\\'s money , but a wealthy aunt agreed to take care of her until she married a nice rich man . \\nnaturally , a newspaper writer\\'s wages don\\'t count as \" rich . \" \\nkate leads him on , but she always ends up giving him the cold shoulder , ultimately because he\\'s not marriageable . \\nkate\\'s american friend millie ( alison elliot ) stops in for a visit on her way to venice . \\nat a party , millie catches a glimpse of merton and likes what she sees . \\nkate realizes that if merton were introduced to millie , he might forget about her . \\nit appears that she is trying to spare him from the heartbreak of their inevitable breakup . \\nmerton sees what kate is doing and resents her for it . \\nhe is still in love with kate , and will accept no substitute . \\nthe three of them , along with a fourth friend ( elizabeth mcgovern ) end up on holiday in venice together , where their interactions are quite complicated . \\nlet\\'s sum up : millie has fallen for merton . \\nmerton has no feelings for millie because he is still in love with kate . \\nkate loves him but can\\'t marry him , so on the one hand she\\'s trying to match him up with someone who will make him happy , but on the other hand she\\'s jealous of them as a couple . \\na clear solution presents itself to kate when she realizes that millie is very sick - dying , in fact . \\nat this point she decides that merton should marry millie until she dies . \\nmillie will leave her money to merton , who will then be rich enough to marry kate . \\nshe lets merton know of her schemes and , since it will help him win kate , he reluctantly agrees . \\nkate leaves venice so that the two m\\'s can be alone together . \\nmerton finds that pretending to love millie is a lot like actually loving her . \\nhe\\'s not sure he can separate the two . \\nkate finds that she\\'s not so sure she really wants her merton falling in love with and marrying anyone else . \\nthe brilliant scheme proves to be painful to all involved . \\nwithout revealing the details , suffice it to say that the situation ends badly . \\nthe title refers to the object of merton\\'s vain hope that something might lift him from his predicament . \\none is left with feelings of regret and despair . \\nwhat started as such a promising relationship was damaged by greed , anger , and jealousy . \\nan interesting thought struck me after the movie was over , and that is that the wings of the dove almost fits the story line of a film noir . \\na couple conspires to cheat someone out of their money so they can live happily ever after . \\ntheir involvement in the deception makes each less attractive to the other , and after a few things go wrong , the whole idea seems like an awful life-ruining mistake . \\ni wouldn\\'t call the wings of the dove a film noir , but the comparison is interesting . \\nas i have acknowledged before , i am not a wonderful judge of acting , but i liked the performances from roache and elliot . \\nroache successfully conveyed his character\\'s ambivalence toward millie : near the end , he hugs her , at first staring into space , as if he\\'s thinking about his plan with kate , then giving that up to fully embrace millie . \\nmillie\\'s part didn\\'t require as much range , but elliot gave her the necessary bubbly personality that made her irresistible . \\ni will probably file away the wings of the dove in the same low-traffic corner of my mind as sense and sensibility and persuasion . \\ntheir settings are far removed from my personal experience - geographically , historically , and socially . \\nstill , the movies are well made and the stories inevitably win me over . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"warner brothers ; rated pg-13 ( mild violence , sexual situations ) ; 132 minutes \\ndirector : luis mandoki \\nscreenplay : gerald di pego ( from the novel by nicholas sparks ) \\ncast : kevin costner , robin wright-penn , paul newman , illeana douglas , robbie coltrane , jesse james , john savage . \\nreview by : geoff berkshire \\ni'm not an overly cynical guy . \\nthere have been many glossy hollywood romances that have carried me away with their romanticism over the years . \\nhowever , i have my limits and i also have standards . \\nthis brings us to the subject at hand : message in a bottle , the big ticket romance that warner brothers' unleashed upon the movie going public just in time for valentine's day . \\nthe story , what little of it that there is , involves boring chicago tribune reporter theresa osborne ( robin wright-penn ) dealing with her recent divorce and trying to raise her young son jason ( jesse james ) . \\nduring a brief stay somewhere in new england she finds the titular message in a bottle while on a morning run by the ocean . \\nthe letter , written to a mystery woman named catherine , instantly captivates her . \\nupon her return , theresa shares it with her best friend lina ( illeana douglas ) , her boss charlie ( robbie coltrane ) , and the entire city of chicago ( the newspaper publishes an article about it ) . \\nit turns out that the message was written by grieving widower garret blake ( kevin costner ) and so theresa travels to north carolina and tracks him down . \\nhe turns out to have a colorful father ( paul newman ) but is otherwise perfectly dull and overly obsessed with sailing . \\nthis is somehow attractive to theresa and the two begin their awkward courtship . \\nof course she doesn't tell him that she found his letter , she wants to but the rules of this type of film require him to find out later ( preferably right after they first make love ) . \\nthis way garret can get very angry and the relationship can be threatened . \\nthe discovery of the message and garret's discovery that theresa discovered the message are really the only two noteworthy events that happen during the nearly two and a quarter hour running time of this film . \\nthere's a truly lame subplot about garret's relationship with his dead wife's family ( he gets into a bar fight with her brother , played by john savage ) and then the necessary tear-jerking ending . \\na fun way to pass the time is to take bets on exactly who will die , although it becomes pretty clear by the second reel . \\nthe actual death sequence is one of the most ridiculously forced , and unintentionally humorous , sequences filmed since . . . \\nwell , since costner's the postman ( 1997 ) . \\nmessage in a bottle is one slow moving film . \\nlast year audiences were offered endurance tests such as the horse whisperer and meet joe black but both of those films resemble jerry bruckheimer productions next to this . \\nthey also had redeeming qualities in the form of quality performances and some stand out technical work . \\nmessage in a bottle has a decent enough cast but they're fighting the material all the way , and losing badly . \\ncostner and , especially , wright-penn are both likable and attractive enough to cheer for but their characters are simply too boring . \\nthey also fail to generate any kind of real romantic chemistry . \\nthe supporting players are given very little to do . \\nthe reliable douglas is particularly wasted . \\nold pro newman gives his all and occasionally threatens to kick some life into this dead horse of a film . \\na confrontational scene he has with costner near the end is especially well played . \\nhowever , too frequently he just reminds us how unexciting our lead characters are . \\nthe film is very polished on the technical side to be sure but it only works to undercut the story . \\ngabriel yared , who previously set the romantic moods of the english patient ( 1996 ) and city of angels ( 1998 ) with his scores , overdoes it a bit here . \\ncaleb deschanel's camera makes everything look a little too beautiful . \\ndo the offices of the chicago tribune really need to look heavenly ? \\nthe editing by steven weisberg is troubling not only considering all that could have been cut out but is also simply messy at times . \\nthe real offender here is screenwriter gerald di pego . \\nworking from a best- selling novel by nicholas sparks ( which i have not read but have been told is on the same literary level as the bridges of madison county ) , di pego creates one of the most uninspired scripts of recent times . \\nits strict adherence to clich ? s brings to mind such disasters as i still know what you did last summer ( 1998 ) . \\nthere simply isn't an original scene in this film . \\nthe dialogue is rarely better than laughable and this is only accentuated by the excessively long pauses every character takes while speaking . \\nthis is director mandoki's first film since when a man loves a woman ( 1994 ) , the solid meg ryan/andy garcia romance . \\nhe's simply going through the motions with this . \\nmessage in a bottle is easily the worst of the several romantic offerings available in theaters at the moment and vies with what dreams may come ( 1998 ) as one of the most misguided romances of the decade . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"john carpenter directed this stylish and gory vampire flick to which has it's good side and it's bad . \\nit's held up by some good performances and dazzling special effects leading up to an ending that's pretty satisfying . \\njames woods gives an outstanding performance that almost covers up the movie . \\nthe good side : some neat scenes of vampires and violence . \\nthe bad : no scares . \\nyes that's right , even though being directed by one of horror's most cherished directors , 'vampires' is the least bit scary , if not at all . \\njames woods stars as jack a vampire hunter out to stop the plans of the 'master' vampire valek played by thomas ian griffith whom wants vampires to walk in the daylight . \\ndaniel baldwin plays his sidekick montoya , a wise-cracking guy who really isn't that funny . \\nin the opening scene jack along with montoya and the team of vampire hunters , find an abandoned house to which vampire occupy . \\nof course we all know sunshine kills vampires , and that is just how they kill these vampires : hooking them to ropes and dragging them outside letting them burn to death . \\nafter throwing a party for what happened , the vampires that did not die come back to trash it . \\nthey kill almost all of jack's team , leaving only a few alive . \\nsheryl lee plays a prostitute katrina who was bitten by valek , but not yet turned into a vampire . \\nshe is rescued by jack and ? flees with them on their search for valek . \\nthey have to fight they're way against vampires , leading up to a finale that is well-done with great special effects . \\n'vampires' definately could have been done better . \\nthe make-up , special effects and story are first rate , but there is no scares or terror that the film could have had . \\nit to me had more humor than horror , almost being compared to 'fright night' with the mix of violence and comedy . \\njohn carpenter does a great job of directing this film . \\nhe eases through some tough times and saves the flaws , which are noticeable but forgettable . \\nthe script is clever and funny , with many lines that make us laugh out loud . \\ni much enjoyed 'vampires' with a few exceptions . \\nit's one of those films you see but don't take to heart . \\nyou enjoy the time you spent and go on . \\nthe recently released 'psycho' is the same way , it's not as good as you'd hope but it is fun and entertaining . \\n'vampires' is a good horror flick with no scares but plenty of other content to please the viewer . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'one of the first films of 1999 is this mtv pictures release which marks the first leading feature role for james van der beek , the star of the wb\\'s runaway hit dawson\\'s creek . \\nfollowing in the foot steps of mtv\\'s two other live action films , joe\\'s apartment ( 1996 ) and dead man on campus ( 1998 ) , varsity blues is a bad film and is unlikely to cause much of a sensation in the marketplace . \\nset in west cannan , texas , the film examines the small town obsession with high school football through the eyes of second string quarterback john \" mox \" moxon ( van der beek ) . \\nwe know he\\'s smart because he reads kurt vonnegut instead of the playbook . \\ncoach bud kilmer ( jon voight ) has been around so long there is actually a bronze statue commemorating him . \\nthe star quarterback , lance harbor ( paul walker ) , is a handsome , blonde , hero who has his own billboard in his front yard and dates the sexy head cheerleader , darcy ( ali larter ) . \\nalso on the team are an enormous guy ( ron lester ) with some health problems and the token african-american team member ( eliel swinton ) whose only real dialogue scene deals directly with the color of his skin . \\nwhen lance is seriously injured , mox gets his chance to shine and he runs with it , undermining kilmer with his unusual playing strategies . \\nhis relationship with his dutiful girlfriend , jules ( amy smart ) , is threatened and there\\'s a big game at the end . \\nguess who wins ? \\nnothing about varsity blues is inspired and the whole film simply moves through the sort of conventional motions that coach kilmer would love . \\nthere\\'s a chance for some smart satire on small town obsessions but the humor here is decidedly lowbrow . \\nvan der beek does a decent job of carrying his first film although a silly accent trips him up sometimes . \\nalso , the role isn\\'t very much of a stretch from his dawson leary character . \\nhe\\'s still a pseudo-intellectual , whiny , nice guy , except here he also happens to be a jock . \\nvoight is a terror as he chews up every single piece of scenery and spits it out . \\nthe other adults are all notably awful while the younger performers don\\'t fare much better . \\non the positive side , walker is a charismatic actor who is due for a breakout role following this and his supporting turn in pleasantville ( 1998 ) . \\nscott ( son of james ) caan has some lively moments as tweeder , the team\\'s wild man . \\nlarter , as a gorgeous seductress looking for a one way ticket out of texas , gets to show off the film\\'s most interesting costumes , including a very eye-opening \" whipped cream bikini . \" \\nit\\'s interesting to note that the film definitely earns its r-rating with a lot of harsh language , alcohol abuse and an unusually high amount of nudity ( including a gratuitous trip to a strip bar that reveals a not very surprising surprise ) . \\nall this is likely to come as a shock to the young female fan base of dawson\\'s creek , presumably the target audience for the picture . \\ndirector brian robbins previously helmed the kids feature good burger ( from nickelodeon films , a sister company of mtv ) and changes directions here a bit but still fails to make much of an impression . \\nthe look of the movie is as bland as the town and characters who populate it . \\nthe football scenes are generally unexciting and the entire film looks a bit washed out . \\nthere\\'s an ok soundtrack featuring music from collective soul , foo fighters , green day and aaliyah but it\\'s not as impressive as one would expect from a mtv film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i guess it\\'s a credit to jackie chan and the general likeability of the franchise that rush hour 2 could not be ruined even by the nauseating \" comedy \" of chris tucker . \\ni\\'m a fan of jackie chan in just about any medium , and this movie lets him not only do his impressive-as-ever martial arts schtick , but show off his comic timing as well . \\nit would have worked better if he was the only name above the title . \\nthe plot is your basic martial arts flick clothesline for stunts and special effects . \\nthis time around , the evil smugglers are led by ricky tan ( john lone ) , who makes his fortune by shipping counterfeit money into the united states ( i\\'m still not sure how you can make a fortune doing that : is there a place where one can exchange fake bills for real ones ? ) . \\nthe only way to tell the phony money from the genuine article is to set it on fire and see what color it burns . \\nof course , it\\'s up to hong kong detective lee ( chan ) and trash-talking lapd detective james carter ( tucker ) to take the bad guys out and the authorities , to the extent that they even exist , stay out of their way . \\nrush hour 2 turns the tables on the first film in that here it\\'s carter who gets the two of them into trouble and lee who winds up having to get them out . \\ni guarantee that my rating would have been at least a half of a grade higher had anyone other than chris tucker been cast as the foil for jackie chan . \\nhe refuses to shut up . \\nnot only did his voice feel like a jackhammer on my head , but his jokes just aren\\'t funny , a pathetic mixture of sub-par eddie murphy fasttalking blather and wannabe chris rock white-man-black-man jokes that wind up being more offensive than funny . \\ni realize that in a movie like this some of the biggest laughs come from letting the actors ad lib beyond what the script dictates , but didn\\'t anyone realize how irritating tucker\\'s incessant ranting and raving was ? \\nif this is all the comedian has to offer then i don\\'t care to see any more of his films . \\nfortunately , chan makes for a marvelous straight man , and he redeems the fledgling comedy completely . \\nit\\'s not often that one actor can so completely save a movie , but there is no other name for what he does ; whenever he\\'s on screen , rush hour 2 comes to nearly breathtaking , often hilarious , life . \\nmuch of it hinges on the dubious value of how cute it is to watch chan try to be a \" player , \" but who cares ? \\ni can think of few high concepts that are funnier . \\nthe movie ends with outtakes that , as usual , show that chan isn\\'t perfect , and that it does , indeed , take him a few tries to get some of his incredible stunts to look seamless . \\nchris tucker botches some lines as well , and his mistakes are funnier than anything he says in the whole movie . \\na lot of people have pointed out rush hour 2 isn\\'t very different from its predecessor in tone or style . \\nbut i liked the original , and i like the sequel , though a certain sidekick seems to have done his best to ruin it . \\ndirector brett ratner ( the family man ) keeps it moving at an entertaining pace and manages to keep the laughs coming despite the fairly miserable hit to miss ratio of the jokes ( i guess sometimes the shotgun approach works ) . \\nit\\'s not great jackie chan , but it\\'s jackie chan , and that\\'s enough . \\nup next : jay and silent bob strike back \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" it\\'s not good to know too much about someone , charlie , \" charles warns his niece , charlie ( margaret welsh ) , with a devilish grin . \\ncharlie is infatuated with her namesake uncle , her \" soul mate \" as she calls him since her mother gave her his name . \\nthere\\'s a lot to know about charles , not the least of which is that he strangled 3 widows back east . \\nmark harmon , who looks like anything but a killer but specializes in playing them , plays charles , the merry widow murderer in the 1991 hallmark hall of fame remake of the 1943 hitchcock film , shadow of a doubt . \\nand to avoid any questions about his guilt , we see charles in action in the opening scene with his last victim . \\nthe story takes place in the early 1950s in the small town of petaluma , california , where charles heads to avoid the police . \\njohn gay\\'s script uses most of the original screenplay by sally benson , alma reville , and thornton wilder . \\nkaren arthur\\'s direction is certainly no match for the great master , but on an absolute scale , the movie maintains a high level of suspense . \\nwhen supercilious and deceitful charles comes to pay a visit of indeterminate length with his sister and her family in petaluma , they don\\'t know about his nefarious activities . \\nhe showers them with elaborate gifts to buy the love they had already given him anyway . \\ntwo mysterious and exceedingly clean-cut writers for a magazine show up to take pictures of the family for a spread on the \" average american family , \" but their interest is focused on uncle charles , especially on taking his picture and learning about his background . \\ncharlie , who first welcomed her uncle\\'s visit , begins to feel more and more uncomfortable with him and suspicious of the disingenuous magazine reporters . \\nthe picture advances with a delicate power using small details such as the newspaper article that the uncle tries secretly to remove and that charlie discovers . \\nthe beauty of the story is the pas de deux between uncle and niece as they try to out psych each other . \\nshe wants him to leave , and he doesn\\'t want to go , what with a local , rich widow as a prospective victim . \\nwill charles kill charlie first , or will she get him out of town . \\nharmon is wonderfully creepy and smug , and welsh is tough but trapped . \\nwith a deft touch the director sets up each scene , several with thunderstorms , and tom neuwirth\\'s sepia-toned cinematography makes the movie feel as if it were filmed in the 50s . \\nmy only quibble is the director\\'s awkward staging of the final scene on the train . \\nis hitchcock\\'s version better ? \\nof course . \\nis this one worth watching as well ? \\nactually , yes . \\nshadow of a doubt runs 1 : 40 . \\nit is not rated but would be pg for adult themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"with his successful books and movies , michael crichton is doing well . \\nwith early successes with westworld ( 1973 ) and coma ( 1978 ) , and recent films such as jurassic park ( 1993 ) , his films have been entertaining . \\nhowever , he seems to taken a wrong turn somewhere with sphere . \\nthis $100 million mess by good director barry levison ( disclosure ) is dull , long winded , and a huge disappointment . \\nconsidering the huge budget , the all star cast , and a story by crichton , sphere is majorly disappointing . \\nthe film opens with norman goodman ( hoffman ) , a psychologist who thinks he is visiting an airplane crash to console the survivors . \\nhowever , when he arrives , he his told by supervisor barnes ( peter coyote ) that he is actually investigating an spacecraft . \\nalong with goodman is mathematician harry adams ( jackson ) , biologist beth halperin ( stone ) and ted fielding ( liev schrieber . ) \\nthey investigate the spaceship , find a massive sphere inside , meet an alien intelligence called jerry , and basically weird crap happens . \\nunfortunately , something went wrong along the way with sphere . \\nthe film starts off entertaining enough , but throughout this very long movie , it just gets sillier and sillier . \\nthe film jaunts along from scene to scene , never fully explaining what is going on . \\nthe actors and directing don't help , either . \\nhoffman is on autopilot ( and almost seems embarrassed ) throughout the movie , churning out dull lines , and probably wondering what the hell he is doing in this movie . \\nstone is useless , displaying no emotion , and fails to convince the audience that she has any feelings for hoffman . \\nthe only person who seems to be having fun in this movie is jackson , who's funny as the mathematician who slowly goes crazy and entering the sphere . \\nbut he's hardly in it , and by the end of the film he is just as dull as hoffman and stone . \\nthe same goes for peter coyote , who hams it up as the officer , but is then killed off halfway through . \\nthe director , barry levinson , who directed the better crichton adaptation disclosure ( 1994 ) messes up with the drama and the action . \\nthe drama scenes are , quite frankly , boring , and the action scenes suffer from overkill , with levison throwing the camera all over the place ( much like the godawful speed 2 , 1997 ) \\nthe writing doesn't help much , either . \\nalthough crichton is great with plots , he's terrible with dialogue , and practically every line in sphere is a dud . \\nthe speech is too simple , i was hoping it would be a bit more intelligent . \\npractically every line is just stating the obvious . \\nnone of it is smart . \\nalso , where the hell did the budget go ? \\nthe sphere itself is impressive , and there's a few nice special effect shots , but where the $100 million went is anyone's guess . \\nthere's a giant squid attack in the picture , but not once does the audience see the squid , even though the film has a massive budget . \\ni assume the picture was trying to build up tension by not showing the squid , and if handled correctly it probably would . \\nbut the whole scene is done badly , and i was just hoping we could see the stupid squid . \\nfinally , the film has no idea what genre to be . \\nlevison can't handle his own plot . \\nit leaps from hokey sci-fi , to horror , and finally the shining/event horizon psychological thriller . \\nand , of course , the film is very much like the abyss ( 1988 ) , although in it's defense , crichton did write sphere before the abyss was released ( and is far superior to this rubbish . ) \\nit's not all that bad though . \\nthe plot is all right , there's a few jump scenes ( although nothing very scary ) and there's the occasionally interesting bit . \\nbut overall , sphere is a big waste of some fine talent , a lot of money , and a potentially good movie . \\nnot really worth seeing . \\noverall rating= review by david wilcock \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'wesley snipes is a master of selecting bad action roles . \\nmurder at 1600 , u . s . marshals , money train , drop zone , boiling point , and the ultimate camp film - passenger 57 . \\nthe art of war is another entry in this very ugly and unique category . \\nultimately , it is little more than a ridiculous action film with a plot as believable as the warren report , ugly violence that would have made peckinpah cringe , and terrible acting by b-list actors like michael biehn and anne archer . \\noddly , it feels like the undiscovered sequel to another snipes \" masterpiece , \" rising sun . \\nthe movie revolves around the convenient story of a special un operative caught up in a secret murder conspiracy involving a chinese ambassador , the chinese triad brotherhood , a rich chinese businessman ( played by ? that bad guy from rising sun , cary-hiroyuki tagawa ) a chinese un interpreter , and , inexplicably , donald sutherland . \\nthe film ends with more confusion than a boatload of chinese immigrants trying to register at ellis island . \\nor should i say the film ends with the most blatant ripoff of both the matrix and all of john woo\\'s hong kong films combined . \\ni am really at a loss to figure out why wesley snipes had the gumption to not only star in this action dud but also act as one of the producers of the film . \\ni usually enjoy snipes\\' movies - though his dramatic roles better show off his creativity as an actor than the flashiness of his action films . \\nsimply , i am amazed by the how inane the script was , filled with terrible cliches and extremely violent action sequences . \\ndirector christian duguay ( screamers ) has a strange attraction to the viciousness of violent acts -- showing splattering brains , people impaled with broken shards of glass , and lots of gargling and gagging as blood sprays everywhere . \\nit also sickens me to know that oliver stone , one of the greatest directors working today , had his hand in producing this monstrosity . \\ni guess snipes sold stone on the conspiracy angle and stone chose not to read the script , watch the dailies , be involved in casting , or anything else -- or else he\\'d be filing a court order to remove his name from the credits . \\nit\\'s also seems evident that with the russkies as our new bosom buddies and the middle eastern terrorist angle being beaten to death in the last couple of years that the new international enemies in hollywood are the communist chinese . \\ni\\'m sure over the next couple of months , even more \" chinese conspiracy/martial-arts action flicks \" are going to be popping up in your local multiplex . \\nhopefully they won\\'t include wesley snipes . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"i must say from the outset that i have never been much of a kurt russell fan . \\ni've seen some of his films ( silkwood , backdraft , unlawful entry ) and while he gave adequate performances , i have never been impressed with his work . \\nbreakdown , then , is something of a surprise . \\nrussell gives a fine performance , as do most of the cast , one that is not upstaged by the action orchestrated in the second half of the film . \\nto say that he holds the film together would not be completely true , but he does it no harm . \\nrussell plays jeff , one half of a married couple travelling with his wife amy ( kathleen quinlan ) cross country to san diego to start a new job and a new life . \\nwhile journeying through the desert their car breaks down and , left helpless and stranded , jeff waves down a passing truck driver ( j . t . \\nwalsh ) who offers to take them to a nearby diner to call for a tow truck . \\nbecause of a nasty incident earlier with a couple of ruffians , jeff decides to stay with the car while amy gets help . \\nthat , it seems , is the last time jeff ( or anyone else ) sees her . \\nbreakdown has been compared to several movies : george sluizer's the vanishing ( the original , hopefully , not his appalling hollywood remake ) , steven spielberg's duel and any number of hitchcock films . \\nas with these , breakdown does not , for the most part , stray down the conventional path of the american action-thriller . \\njeff does not become a gun-toting vigilante on the hunt for his wife , but instead becomes a scared , confused everyman who has no idea what the hell is going on . \\nwhen we do find out what has happened to amy , it does come as a slight disappointment , if only because it's too early in the film ; i for one could have done with an extra twenty minutes or so of mystery and bewilderment , but this affects the film little . \\nrussell , as mentioned earlier , is very good in his role , and kathleen quinlan is nowhere near as annoying as she was in apollo 13 . \\nj . t . \\nwalsh , as the possibly evil truck driver , is terrific ; he is one of the best of the fine batch of character actors hollywood doesn't seem to know what to do with , but director jonathan mostow is on the right track here . \\nthe reason he makes such a great villain is that he actually looks like a real person , one anyone would be able to trust , which makes the plot that much more believable . \\nbreakdown is what hollywood doesn't make enough of , a great thriller with believable characters and scenes that do , indeed , have viewers on the edge of their seats . \\none of the most genuinely exciting films i've seen in a long time . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'for a film touted as exploring relationships and black sexuality , trois is surprisingly tame . \\ndespite it\\'s lurid subject matter and it\\'s passing nod to fatal attraction , it moves along with flat , uninspired dialogue as it sets up a surprising climax that tries mightily to overthrow the considerable dead weight of the rest of the film . \\nfreshly moved to atlanta , jermaine ( dourdan ) and his wife , jasmine ( moore ) , have the trappings of a perfect life . \\nthey have a beautiful house in suburbia . \\njermaine is a lawyer on the fast track at his firm . \\njasmine is his supportive wife , who is finishing up her college degree . \\nin an opening montage via a home video of the pair , we see the unremarkable story of their marriage and early marital triumphs . \\nthis is a couple that has it all . \\ninto this eden slithers the lure of lust . \\ndespite his outward appearance , jermaine reveals himself as selfish and covetous of his wife more as a possession than a person . \\na glimmer of his true nature peeks out during an early sex scene with his wife as he goes about his business , oblivious to jasmine\\'s concerns . \\nwe also find that he has been relentlessly asking jasmine to participate in a menage- a-trois , much to jasmine\\'s dismay . \\nas jermaine puts it , \" don\\'t you want to be sexually free ? \" \\njermaine shares his desire with co-worker terrence ( smith ) , who obligingly sets jermaine up with a woman who might be interested in just such an encounter . \\nthe woman , jade ( palmer ) is a direct counterpoint to jasmine . \\njade , at one point was a college student , too . \\nunlike jasmine , she found herself pregnant , dropped out of school and now struggles to make ends meet . \\nto further reinforce their differences , it\\'s revealed that jade is involved in a custody battle over her son . \\ninevitably , through liquor and a touch of duplicity on jermaine\\'s part , the forbidden act is consummated . \\nthe aftermath of the encounter sidesteps into fatal attraction territory as acts of violence are perpetrated upon jermaine\\'s property with the hint that the violence may escalate . \\nby this point , trois shows itself to be a soap opera without the requisite melodrama : a fatal attraction without the social significance . \\nthe exploration of relationships is strictly superficial and stereotypical . \\njermaine comes off as insincere , sexually driven and selfish . \\njasmine is bland and subservient . \\njade comes off a bit sympathetically , but that is negated by her moral bankruptcy . \\nyet another tale of a sexually aggressive \" dog \" of a man who imposes his will upon his accommodating , innocent mate . \\nthe last 10 minutes will undoubtly throw you a curve , but by this point , will you even care ? \\nif the rest of the movie was as dynamic as the ending , perhaps there could have been some freshness to it . \\nas it stands , trois is pretty standard fare . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i must admit that i was a tad skeptical of \" good will hunting \" , based both on the previews and the first fifteen minutes of the film , in which the main character will hunting ( matt damon ) , an mit janitor in his early twenties , is discovered to be an einstein-level closet genius when he solves two extraordinarily difficult math problems overnight . \\nthe only problem is that will is a tough street kid who\\'s had his share of run-ins with the law , and before long he\\'s being hauled in for assault after a parking lot fight . \\nprofessor lambeau ( stellan skarsgard ) , who had brought up the math problems in his lectures , tracks him down and strikes a deal with the police : will is to be released , provided he works with lambeau on his math research regularly and attends therapy sessions . \\nthis sounds like the formula for mildly charming fluff , but \" good will hunting \" rises above its fairly mundane premise to deliver a poignant and clever drama . \\na conflict gradually emerges between lambeau and will\\'s therapist sean mcguire ( robin williams ) - lambeau wants to get will to use his brain , while sean wants him to listen to his heart , both of which he has been largely neglecting . \\nwill finds that the former is much easier than the latter , so much so , in fact , that he gets bored with it and grows increasingly resistant to lambeau\\'s attempts to recruit him into the academic lifestyle . \\nhe also has his share of problems with his girlfriend skylar ( minnie driver ) , an mit student who is moving to california at the end of the school year and would like a reluctant will to come with her . \\nwhat makes \" good will hunting \" work so well , aside from the strong performances ( especially from damon and williams ) , is the depth of characterization and the representation of the conflicts in will\\'s life . \\nthe script\\'s sympathies seem to lie more with sean mcguire than with lambeau , but neither of them is presented as completely right or wrong . \\nlambeau , while he may seem a little cold at times , is still written well enough that we like him as a character even when we\\'re not sure if we like what he has to say . \\nand sean , for all his warm-heartedness , has , as lambeau and later will point out , not lived up to his full intellectual potential either ; the therapy sessions turn out to be just as revelatory for sean as they do for will . \\nwill\\'s reaction to this situation , and the way in which he slowly becomes more receptive to skylar and to sean , is presented in a believable fashion and in a way that forces the audience to consider all the characters\\' opinions , rather than setting up an obvious \" right \" and \" wrong \" side and beating them over the head with it . \\nfor a film with such an extraordinary character , \" good will hunting \" presents itself as remarkably ordinary ; it achieves the difficult task of making the next albert einstein into an everyman , a character to whom the audience can easily relate and who must make choices similar to those that almost everyone faces at one time or another . \\nthis film gives us real drama when it so easily could have given us merely melodrama , by having the government kidnap will to use him in covert spy missions or introducing some other equally far-fetched situation . \\n \" good will hunting \" also has its share of fun humor , such as when will , in an early therapy session , pretends to be hypnotized and smoothly parodies the alien abduction scenarios that have become so well known in popular culture . \\nand in the one scene in which government agents do in fact appear , will blows them off with a hilariously scathing accusation of human rights violations in africa . \\nwill\\'s relationship with his friends , most notably chucky ( ben affleck ) , is usually rather amusing , if somewhat crude ( the film has 100+ uses of the \\'f\\' word , which was most likely the reason for its r-rating ) , and lends itself well to the development of will\\'s character . \\nadd all this to the fact that \" good will hunting \" even manages to pull off an uplifting happy ending without getting excessively sentimental , and you might be wondering why i haven\\'t given this film four stars . \\nwell , for one thing , no matter how well damon and affleck , who wrote the screenplay , and director gus van sant pull it off , the story is still rather contrived and not particularly original . \\nthere are also a few scenes that did feel a bit formulaic , including one that was supposed to be emotional but really just seemed like the obligatory crying scene for any movie involving therapy sessions . \\nstill , \" good will hunting \" takes its premise a lot farther than i thought it would , and is definitely one of the better personal dramas i have seen in the last few years , and as of right now it stands as one of the top five on my list of \\'97 films . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the thirteenth floor , the third in what i would call \" the reality check movie series \" , is very similar to the other reality check movies released this year , the matrix and existenz . \\nall three made you think , made you wonder what is real , what isn\\'t , and if our world is just a huge game . \\nthe thirteenth floor doesn\\'t reach the level of originality , creativity , and curiosity sparked by the matrix and existenz , but it certainly gives a great shot at it . \\nin the matrix , we were told that the humans are simply a virus . \\nin existenz , we learned that our life could be just a game . \\nin the thirteenth floor , we learn that we are just electronic devices , living under another world of electronic devices . \\nthere is just one world on top of another , and everything in them are fake and electronically generated . \\nthe thirteenth floor took a huge , risky turn that i didn\\'t expect it to take , and i\\'m not very sure it was such a great turn to make . \\nrather than focusing just on the reality parts of the film , the thirteenth floor becomes a murder mystery that ends up tying in with the different worlds . \\nafter the mysterious murder of computer program designer hammond fuller , played by armin mueller-stahl , douglas hall , played by craig bierko , a man that worked under fuller for many years , must travel through an electronic computer device that fuller was using , to the year 1937 , which consists of computer generated characters only . \\nthe simulation of 1937 is just like it was back in the olden days . \\nall of the people involved are just characters , or are they ? \\ndouglas strongly believes that a character traveled through the transport from their world to ours , and killed fuller . \\nalong the way , douglas interacts with many different potential suspects , and a woman who claims to be the daughter of fuller , jane fuller , played wonderfully by a talented young actress , gretchen mol . \\nthe thirteenth floor is a plot driven movie from the time the film gets going , and doesn\\'t use spectacular special effects and big sound to keep the viewer\\'s interests . \\ni was worried that this film would be too much like the matrix and existenz , and i wouldn\\'t enjoy it , but there were enough twists and turns to keep me thinking and attentive to the film . \\nunfortunately , many potential would have been great scenes were thrown away with predictable content , letting the viewer know the outcome of the scene long before it happened . \\nthe scenes that aren\\'t original or interesting seem to go absolutely nowhere , leaving you wondering , \" what is the point of this ? \" \\nsometimes it was hard to believe that this story , with terrible dialogue , some bad acting , especially from craig bierko , and scenes that go absolutely nowhere , are actually true . \\ni know this isn\\'t a true story or anything , but a film should be able to make you think that it is . \\non the plus side of acting , we get to see the missing from main character action since the film masterpiece shine in 1995 actor , armin mueller-stahl . \\nin the thirteenth floor , he is back and is still giving believable and amazing performances . \\nanother plus is gretchen mol\\'s realistic performance , creating her character with depth , not just staying in the one-dimensional phase . \\ndon\\'t expect the intensity of the matrix or existenz to come out of the thirteenth floor , just expect another film that messes with your mind for awhile , and shuts you down like any other movie would . \\nthrills , chills , and spills aren\\'t what you will get in this film , but you will just get another trip to send your mind on , scrambling it until you\\'ve had enough . \\nthe bottom line- let\\'s hope this is the last of the \" reality check \" based movies for awhile . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the previews for the movie are pretty good . \\nthey show a little plot , all the characters , and the emotional highlights , all spliced together to give a general impression of the script . \\nunfortunately , the full movie adds nothing but 115 minutes . \\nthe residents of mystery love hockey . \\nmystery and hockey go together like texas and high school football . \\nthe townsfolk love hockey so much that they even acquit a player who\\'s guilty of shooting another man ( yes , that\\'s one of the movie\\'s jokes . ) \\nevery saturday , the best players pair off for a game , and the whole town comes to watch . \\nthe town\\'s prodigal son charlie ( hank azaria ) wrote an article on the weekly game for sports illustrated . \\nmystery\\'s national fame has the town abuzz . \\na week later , charlie actually shows up in person , and he brings with him an offer from the nhl . \\nthe new york rangers will come to mystery to play the locals . \\nthe mysterians see this as both good and bad . \\non the one hand , they\\'d love to have the fame and the money of such an exhibition . \\non the other hand , they don\\'t want to turn up as the butt of leno and letterman jokes . \\nthe movie follows a handful of lives that are affected by the proposition . \\nbiebe ( russell crowe ) has just been retired from the team and is asked to coach the boys , including his new replacement . \\nhe\\'s already resentful , and to top it off charlie has been making eyes at his wife . \\ncrowe is not given a lot of room to act in this film , so he\\'s just kind of stuck with constantly brooding . \\ncharlie , meanwhile , is resentful of having born in a town where hockey is the only measure of a man\\'s worth . \\nhis \" gift \" of the feature story , and of the new york rangers , was his way of compensating for not being a better skater . \\nhe hoped it would earn him some respect and merit , but the townspeople find reasons to continue disliking him . \\nburt reynolds could have been interesting as walter , the judge whose courtroom was befouled by a moronic jury of hockey fans . \\nwalter actually has some experience with collegiate hockey , but he actively tries to put it behind him . \\nhe wants his son to take the game more seriously , but he wants his community to just get over it . \\nreynolds could have been good , but sloppy writing and/or editing keep walter in the corner , and so reynolds never really gets to pull his performance all together . \\none character actually was interesting . \\nbiebe\\'s wife ( mary mccormack ) , like the judge , understood that there was more to life than hockey . \\nbut unlike him she has come to accept the skewed view of the community . \\nshe chose the town and her husband with her eyes wide open . \\nher unique insight is verbalized once , and it lasts only a scene before it is gone , but her performance carries the hint of some deeper wisdom . \\nmysterty , alaska follows a handful of other characters , but none are well developed or worth mentioning . \\nthe biggest problem with this movie is that there is no real heart to the story , no underlying thing that the movie is really about . \\ninstead , roach and screenwriters david e . kelley and sean o\\'byrne try to cram the entire human condition into this sports comedy . \\nthey try to make you laugh and cry , to feel outrage and pride . \\nthey present the framing and cadence for jokes , but there\\'s nothing truly funny . \\nthey show appropriately staged scenes of sadness , but they give you nothing to be really sad about . \\nas columnist molly ivins would say , it\\'s all hat , no cattle . \\nthe perfect opportunity arises for roach to say what this movie is really about . \\nthere is a funeral scene , played with appropriate gravity and somber music . \\nit is a chance for the characters to reflect on their lives and decide what\\'s truly important . \\nrussell crowe steps forward to speak , about to spell out the movie\\'s metaphor for us . \\nhe says that what really matters in life is \" community . . . . \" \\nthen adds \" and hockey . \" \\ni guess these mysterians really are as shallow as they appear . \\nonly mildly bad , mystery , alaska probably deserves 2 stars . \\ni even laughed out loud , genuine laughs in places . \\nbut i docked it an extra half star when mike myers , a friend of roach , turned up in a role that didn\\'t suit him . \\nmyers is a comic character actor . \\nhe puts on masks , becomes an outrageous caricature , and is funny . \\nhe\\'s great as austin powers , dr . evil , or any of his scottish characters . \\nnobody else in mysterty , alaska is a comic caricature . \\nall the other people have the feel of dramatic characters in semi-serious roles . \\nfor roach to bring in myers for a few cheap laughs shows incredible contempt toward the rest of his cast , toward his audience , and indeed toward the film itself . \\nit\\'s an acknowledgment by the director that the film is not worth taking seriously . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"keep cool , a chinese film directed by semi-accomplished filmmaker yimou zhang , was one of the kickoff films for this year's hawaii international film festival . \\non the day it premiered , lines of eager moviegoers stretched around the block , some anticipants having queued up well in advance to get a good seat in the theater . \\nthey need not have wasted their time . \\nthe movie is billed as a comedy , but is surprisingly bereft of humor . \\nthere are noticeable attempts at laughs , but very few tries actually click . \\ni wondered if there were jokes that i wasn't getting because i'm not from china , but unfortunately my conclusion was that this lack of humor couldn't be attributed to the cultural barrier either . \\nkeep cool just isn't very funny . \\nthe prelude to the film was a visit by keep cool's producer who , with the help of an interpreter , regaled us of how in order to get the print to the festival in time , an assistant hand carried it on the plane from china to hawaii . \\nalthough the print made it , the assistant's luggage was lost . \\ntoo bad that story wasn't in the movie , because it got a big laugh . \\nqu ying , the film's female lead , was also on hand to give a few comments . \\nhowever , whereas the producer politely made regular pauses in his dialog so the interpreter could bring us up to speed , ms . ying saw fit to say everything she had to say in one , fast-paced , incredibly long tirade . \\nit was dizzying ; good foreshadowing for the film . \\nyou see , keep cool is filmed almost totally with a camera handheld by a man with a bad case of the shakes . \\nat least that's the way it seems , since the camera is constantly moving . \\ncinema verite is one thing , but panning and shaking around until your audience has a headache is another . \\nalthough some might consider it a form which helps give the viewer an idea of the anarchic state into which chinese youth is slowly growing , i found it thoroughly distracting , and after a while , quite annoying . \\nheadache , as i said . \\nthe film is about a young bookseller ( wen jiang ) who is after a young woman ( qu ying ) . \\nthey used to be romantically involved , but the woman grew tired of him and left the relationship . \\nthe first half of the film is about the young man's plan to win her back . \\nof course the thing is , she doesn't want to be won back , and has a nightclub owner friend of hers rough him up a bit . \\nin the fight , the young man grabs a laptop computer belonging to a bystander and attempts to use it to fend off his attacker , but only ends up smashing it against a lamppost . \\nwe later find out that the laptop belongs to an older man who wishes to get his damaged computer replaced . \\nthere is a funny scene ( the only one in the film ) where the young man tries to use some twisted logic in order to get the older man to seek out the nightclub owner ( baotian li ) in order to recoup his losses . \\nthere is no sense to be made out of the young woman's behavior ; cold one minute , caring the next , so we feel no sympathy for her character . \\nthe bookseller would be better off without her . \\nalthough the second half of the film causes us to lose a lot of sympathy for the young bookseller as well , who is obsessed with chopping off the nightclub owner's hand as revenge for the beating he took , it also offers us some nice interaction between the bookseller and the older man . \\nwhile the bookseller is blinded by his thirst for revenge , the older man is the voice of reason and tries to rationalize each situation . \\nhis quest to end the dispute peacefully and equitably is the one we identify with , but it is frustrating to see that he seems to be talking to a brick wall half the time . \\na friendship develops between the two men , but it occurs too late in the film for the audience to appreciate . \\nalthough only an hour and a half in length , keep cool contains extraneous material . \\nthe whole plot of how the bookseller is after the young woman could have been taken out , since we don't see her from the midpoint on . \\na case of mistaken identity or some other device could have served as the point of conflict between the bookseller and the nightclub owner , and would have saved us from the bookseller's boring pursuit during the first half . \\nbut of course , this would have shortened the movie to less than an hour . \\nthere are a few things that keep cool does right . \\nas mentioned before , the interaction between the bookseller and the older man is generally pretty good . \\nalthough it grows tiresome , the reasoning with the unreasonable is a nice exercise in logic , and represents the differences in thinking between generations . \\nin one scene , for example , the bookseller quotes confucius to get his point across , but the older man claims the quote was misinterpreted , and that it means something entirely different . \\nalso effective is the way zhang sets up tension within a scene , such as when the bookseller is getting ready to cut off the hand of the unwitting nightclub owner . \\nthe nightclub owner is counting out money , slapping each bundle of currency on the table . \\nwith every shot of his hand , we can hardly stand the interminable wait before the bookseller is going to pull out his cleaver and exact his revenge . \\nunfortunately , these crumbs are not enough to overcome the rest of the film's shortcomings , and weren't enough to prevent that headache from lingering after i left the theater . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i read the new yorker magazine and i enjoy some of their really in-depth articles about some incident . \\nthey will take some incident like the investigation of a mysterious plane crash and tell you what happened in detail . \\nit becomes a real education in what agencies get involved and how theories are suggested , and what kind of pressure the investigators are under , and just about any other aspect you can think of . \\nfrequently i get the feeling that the article sounded exciting , but i am being told in more detail than i really wanted to know . \\noften i get to the middle of a story and say , ok , it sounded good but i now have invested more time than i am willing to spend on this subject . \\nfilm is a different medium . \\nit is a visual medium . \\nthat slows down the telling of stories much more than people realize . \\ni frequently am surprised to find out how short a film script is and how much of the pages are empty space . \\nthe magazine article and the film script are two very different media . \\nthe insider is a film adaptation of the vanity fair article \" the man who knew too much \" by marie brenner . \\nit is too much an adaptation of a magazine article slowed to the pace of a film . \\nit really verges on being tedious at least at times . \\nfor years the seven big companies knew that they dealt in an addictive drug that caused a host of unhealthy side-effects . \\nbut they pretended for the public that it was unproven and they did not really believe it . \\nthe business was incredibly profitable and the proceeds translated into the political power to squelch and discredit any political movements against big tobacco . \\nthe tide turned when a former vice-president of one of the companies was convinced by the cbs 60 minutes news team to tell the public how much the tobacco companies really knew about the health effects of smoking . \\nthe resulting pressure to stop the story created a small civil war at cbs . \\nwho were the major people involved , what were their motives , how was the story almost killed , how did it get aired anyway ? \\nthat is the story covered in surprising detail by the insider . \\nthis all could have been enthralling , but it is not the sort of thing that a stylist like michael mann would be likely to do well . \\nand in the end , he failed . \\nto make a long story short , the film needed a director who knew how to make a long story short . \\nthe film opens with the cbs 60 minutes team in iran with the assignment to interview a terrorist . \\nwe get a taste for their personal style and how they get the upper hand . \\nthey go from being one newsman blindfolded at the hands of the terrorists to the actual interview with mike wallace ( played by christopher plummer ) . \\nthere the news team under producer lowell bergman ( al pacino ) are ordering around the terrorists and getting away with it . \\nthis seems to have nothing to do with the main line of the story , but later when the tobacco industry is so much harder to manipulate than committed terrorists , we have a wry irony on who really has clout in the world . \\nterrorists can grab the headlines , but the tobacco companies have the real position of power . \\nincongruously intercut with the iran interview sequence we see jeffrey wigand ( russell crowe ) dejectedly returning from work to his home . \\nwe discover that he has been fired and his career brought to a complete halt unexpectedly . \\nhe had been a very profitably rewarded vice-president in charge or research and development at brown and williams tobacco ; now he was unemployed and needed money to support his family . \\nrather than support him his wife liane ( diane venora ) demands of him what are they supposed to do for income . \\nmeanwhile the 60 minutes team trying to do a story on fires started by cigarettes have obtained some data they do not understand . \\nthey offer wigand $12 , 000 just to interpret the data . \\nwigand\\'s severance agreement swears him to secrecy about anything he knows about tobacco dealings , but he is reluctantly he stretches the severance terms . \\nhe is willing to read some documents from another tobacco company and interpret them for bergman . \\nin spite of the secrecy , wigand\\'s former employers seem immediately to know wigand is talking to 60 minutes and he is warned off by former boss thomas sandefur played michael gambon in an all too brief but deliciously sinister role . \\nand so the game begins . \\nwigand is irate at his negative treatment for what he still considered continued to be loyalty to his agreement and his former employer . \\nmeanwhile someone is playing very rough with wigand and his family . \\nthe film examines wigand and the pressures placed on his family as they are caught between two powerful giants . \\nwigand has always wanted to make tobacco safer and has natural sympathies with getting the story out . \\nhe and his family are assaulted psychologically and financially by the giant tobacco industry that had never lost a legal fight . \\nal pacino is given top billing but the wigand family is the core of the insider . \\nthe story is told slowly and in just a bit too much meticulous detail . \\nthe film is 157 minutes and is an extremely demanding film for the audience . \\nthe musical score by pieter bourke , lisa gerrard , and graeme revell is one of the worst in recent memory . \\nit puts ominous chords under some scenes and using voice in ways that become a distraction that gets in the way of the storytelling . \\nalso disturbing is the casting of christopher plummer as mike wallace . \\nplummer and wallace are such different types and wallace is too well-known for even so good an actor as plummer to play him convincingly . \\nthis film might have been a really engaging experience under another director\\'s control . \\nmichael mann was the wrong person to helm this film and the insider lacks intensity because of his style . \\ni rate it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'everyone knows someone like giles de\\'ath : stuffy , arrogant , set in his ways , and at war with anything that could in any way be associated with \" progress . \" \\ngiles is a writer , but the product of his typewriter is the kind of scholarly stuff that is immediately put onto library stacks where it can gather dust until some graduate student needs another reference for his or her thesis . \\nhis house looks like an immaculate museum ? with no television , microwave , word processor , or other technological gadgets , only the electric lights betray that he\\'s living in the twentieth century , not the nineteenth . \\nthis is the kind of role that could easily be turned into a flat stereotype , but john hurt , in what is certainly his best performance in a decade and possibly the most impressive of his long and distinguished career , turns \" erstwhile fogy \" giles into a three-dimensional human being . \\ndespite his tunnel vision , it\\'s impossible not to like the man , especially after his entire being is transformed by that singular affliction to which no one is immune : love . \\nand , as giles discovers during the course of this amusing , warm-hearted motion picture , it\\'s possible to find the object of one\\'s affection in the most unusual places . \\ngiles , who is a widower and a recluse , does not frequent the cinema , but when he learns that an e . m . forster film is playing at the local theater , he screws up his courage and decides to go . \\nwhat he doesn\\'t realize is that the movie house is showing two films : the forster adaptation and a teen exploitation flick called hotpants college ii . \\na nonplused giles ends up sitting in a darkened room watching buff male and female bodies in various states of undress . \\njust as giles is about to leave , however , he notices ronnie bostock ( jason priestley ) , and , suddenly , it\\'s love at first sight . \\ngiles is enraptured , and the moment hotpants college ii is over , he beings to scour stores for bostock memorabilia , including teen magazines and video tapes . \\n ( in order to watch those tapes , giles must buy a vcr , but he initially doesn\\'t realize that he needs a tv to use the vcr . ) \\neventually , not satisfied with being the world\\'s foremost authority on bostock , giles boards a plane and travels to long island , where his idol\\'s home is located . \\nbostock is away when giles arrives , but the wily englishman manages to befriend ronnie\\'s supermodel girlfriend , audrey ( fiona loewi ) . \\neventually , the actor arrives home and , impressed with giles\\' demeanor and intelligence , he begins to rely on the older man\\'s advice . \\nbut , while giles\\' affection runs deep , ronnie\\'s feelings are less constant . \\nlove and death on long island is a comedy , and a very funny one at that . \\nin fact , for its first half , the film is nearly-perfect . \\nit suffers a fall-off once giles reaches new york , and the ending , with its none-too-subtle homosexual overtones , is a little too overbearing for the lighthearted material that precedes it . \\nin his gently satirical approach to popular culture and movie stardom , writer/director richard kwietniowski , adapting from the novel by gilbert adair , is 100% on- target . \\nin the process , he not only creates a truly likable and memorable character in giles , but says a few things about the transforming power of love , even if it is unrequited . \\nfrom start to finish , this is clearly hurt\\'s movie ? he\\'s in almost every frame . \\nit\\'s a role that the veteran actor must have relished , because he makes giles an unforgettable motion picture figure , and does so by means of dialogue delivery , body language , and ever-changing facial expressions . \\njason priestley , cashing in on his beverly hills 90210 image , is surprisingly effective as the shallow ronnie . \\nhe is charismatic , and it\\'s not hard to understand why giles is attracted to ronnie . \\nmeanwhile , solid support is provided by the appealing fiona loewi and the always-reliable maury chaykin . \\nlove and death on long island is many things wrapped into one : a social commentary ( it tackles the thorny issue of film as pure art versus film as mindless entertainment ) , a buddy picture/love story ( ronnie and giles have one of the most interesting relationships found anywhere on a movie screen these days ) , and a \" fish out of water \" tale ( victorian relic giles forced into the modern world ) . \\nyet , despite the many laughs love and death offers , it never takes cheap shots . \\nit has a vibrant , beating heart ? and that makes the comedy all the more worthwhile . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m not sure who the genius is who came up with the idea of comparing \" disturbing behavior \" with \" scream . \" \\nmaybe it\\'s because they\\'re both horror films ( kinda ) , both have hot young stars , both have an annoying alternative soundtrack , and both are aimed at the teenage crowd , which i guess includes me . \\nbut this is not the next in line with the \" scream \" flicks as well as the \" i know what you did last summer \" soon to be flicks . \\nit owes less to \" halloween \" and more to kafka and orwell , which , in my book , makes for a more interesting feature . \\nand it should have been . \\nthis is basically a rehash of \" the stepford wives , \" the great 70s film i never saw starring katherine ross and dealing , as i\\'ve been told , with a bunch of women who are programmed to be perfect housewives . \\nor something like that . \\n \" behavior , \" starring katie holmes of \" dawson\\'s creek , \" deals with a bunch of teenagers , deep in angst , who are being programmed to be perfect teenagers . \\nsuck-ups . \\npreppies . \\nit actually , at least to me , sounds like it would work , and with scott rosenberg , that witty penmen who has written stuff like \" beautiful girls \" and \" things to do in denver when you\\'re dead \" ( as well as \" con air \" ) , it actually sounds like it may be pulled off with the right amount of frights and satiric wit . \\nalas , it\\'s not , and it plumets into that little group of movies known as \" the movies with potential that blow it . \" \\ni remember a film called \" white man\\'s burden \" which dealt with a reversal of blacks and whites in society that did nothing with it\\'s potentially brilliant premise . \\nhere\\'s another one . \\nit could be a brilliant satire on how teenagers need to go through teen angst in order to find themselves . \\nit\\'s a stage , and this film does in fact realize that . \\nit gets its message across and it does it effortlessly . \\nnow it just needs to work as a film . \\nwhich it doesn\\'t . \\nit\\'s too sloppy and too contrived . \\nit paints a bleak portrait of high school life . . . then \\nlets it lie . \\nit brings us a bunch of scary monsters who are all a bunch of disgustingly icky kiss-ups who do food drives and hang out at a 50s diner drinking milk shakes . . . then \\ngives it a cheap twist : when they get horny , they become homicidal . \\nisn\\'t it scary enough that they\\'re like this , and can\\'t the real terror in the town be that you could be next to be just like them - not that you could be next to die ? \\nthe film introduces us two three different characters who , in the beginning , are considered outsiders because they\\'re not ( yet ) part of this clique : the new kid , steve ( james marsden - dull dull dull dull ) , who\\'s having trouble at home because he hasn\\'t gotten over his brother\\'s ( ethan embry , in quick flashes so you don\\'t recognize him - i did ) suicide ; the renegade girl , rachel ( katie holmes , from \" dawson\\'s creek \" ) , who\\'s chief personality trait is her prominent nose ring ; and by far the most interesting kid , gavin ( nick stahl , the kid from \" the man without a face \" ) , who\\'s the most interesting because he\\'s the only character who\\'s given some dimension . \\nin the film\\'s best scene , he introduces steve to every single clique , nailing each one\\'s fetishes and hang-ups , and it\\'s the best scene in the movie because it\\'s witty , satirical , and interesting - something the rest of this film isn\\'t . \\ngavin suspects there\\'s something awry with the preppie kids , known as the blue ribbons , and in the tradition of all conspirators , and even when he actually shows hard pure evidence to steve , he\\'s only treated as a typical raving conspiracy buff . \\nhere , we have another case of \" the idiot plot , \" where not only could steve had done something about gavin and what happens to him , but he may have saved this film from being the dreary , dull film that it is without gavin , who gives it life and humor . \\nthe only other half-interesting character is the school janitor , played by william sadler as a retarded , scary guy who may not be what he seems to be . . . but \\nreally , we don\\'t care anyway . \\ni probably shouldn\\'t mention that this was directed by david nutter , who\\'s works for \" the x-files , \" because that would probably tarnish his reputation . \\nlike the show , he\\'s good at setting up weird conspiracies , and creating a general creepy feel . \\nmost of this film is shot at night and with dark eerie shadows for the maximum creepy effect , and some of it works . \\nbut what this film is not so good at is coming out with a good payoff . \\nhe keeps too much inside , so much that when the characters journey to a mental institution in the third act , you wonder why they just don\\'t get the hell out of there . \\ni think what happens to gavin is proof enough that there\\'s something rotten in the state of teen angstdom . \\nwhat this film needs to be is a lot longer , a lot more colorful , and a lot creepier . \\nif the best villain they can come up with is a guidance counselor ( played by bruce greenwood , an atom egoyan regular obviously just trying to pay the rent ) who still thinks he can get away with it even when most is revealed , then they need to come up with a tougher , smarter villain . \\nif he\\'s so villainous , then why could two dense teenagers who couldn\\'t figure out there was something going on until it was way too late find information on him in a couple minutes ? \\nthe film , which runs about 80 or so minutes , just needs to work on these things , and become a lot less sloppy . \\nat such a short running time and with such lame , boring characters as these , it\\'s pretty much obvious that leaving this film leaves a horribly unsatisfied taste in one\\'s mouth , especially mine . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"warning : contains what the matrix is . \\nrated r for sci-fi violence . \\nstarring : keanu reeves , laurence fishburne , joe panteliano \\nsome may be disappointed with the matrix . \\ni'll tell you i was . \\ni sat there and sat there and sat there waiting for something to happen . \\nnow wait wait , i know most of you loved it , and i'm not saying i didn't like it . \\nwhat i'm saying is the first half was extremely slow . \\nnow seeing the trailer it makes you think the whole entire movie is one big special effects show . \\ndon't be fooled , this movie has a big story . \\nand big chunks of talky moments . \\nbut i will admit the special effects and the acting were above par , deserving the rating above . \\nok now to the story . \\nwell this may take a while . \\nok first of all , our world we live in now , is not the real world , actually we live inside a computer generated world known as the matrix . \\na man played by keanu reeves is about to find that out , when is kidnapped and almost coaxed to go into the real world . \\nhe does so , and finds out that he can do anything , be anything he wants to be . \\nbut he has to fight a 'matrix skipping' bad guy , who wants to send him back to his own world or destroy him . \\nlaurence fishburne , his guide of sorts plays his character well as does keanu reeves . \\nbut i sat in the theatre for over and hour wondering where all the special effects were . \\nyeah there were some in the first half but not enough . \\nthe trailer for this movie was really decieving making people think that this was a special effects laden movie . \\nnow for the second half , it is explosive , and saves the movie . \\nsome of the special effects and fighting were breathtaking . \\nthe sound , the music , and all the effects were effective , and the last hour kept us entertained . \\nbut with a running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes , this movie is at least 40 minutes too long . \\none would have wished for a better 'matrix' , but i do have to say , i did like it and i was entertained . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'one of kyle mclachlan\\'s earlier cinematic features , this movie has had an obvious influence on such films as the terminator ( 8/10 ) , species ( 7/10 ) and the more recent , fallen with denzel washington . \\nplot : a science-fiction picture set in modern times , this thriller follows the exploits of an \" entity \" from outer space , who likes to inhabit human bodies , use them up until they are completely worn out , and then switch over to the next available receptacle . \\nfbi agent ( mclachlan ) and local top cop ( nouri ) are charged with the capture of this \" thing \" before it\\'s too late . \\ncritique : this fast-paced , urban equivalent of the thing ( 8/10 ) , checks in on all cylinders for ultra-violence ( god knows how many people died in this movie ) , action and an overall rock \\'n roll attitude . \\nthen again , how can you go wrong with an \" alien \" that likes the ferraris , guns , heavy metal music and sexy girls ? ! \\ngranted , the plot isn\\'t the most elaborate of tales ( alien bad , find alien , kill alien ) , but i can honestly say that i was never once bored during the viewing of this entire picture . \\ni wouldn\\'t recommend it to those who don\\'t like car chases , murders , and bland acting , but for all the rest of you out there , those who enjoy putting away their brains every now and again , sitting back , slamming back some salsa\\'d nachos , and relishing in the cheeze some call film . . . \\nhave a blast ! ! \\ntwo scenes to watch for are both within the first ten minutes of this gore-fest . \\nthe opening sequence is one of the most rockin\\' scenes to open any action movie , and the subsequent extra-terrestrial \" transformation \" is another eye-catcher . \\neven the late 80\\'s special effects were okay . \\nfollowed by the hidden ii in 1994 . \\nlittle known facts : this film was kyle maclachlan\\'s first non-david lynch foray into the world of feature films . \\nhis first two movie appearances were in lynch\\'s wretched dune ( 4/10 ) and the sensational blue velvet ( 8 . 5/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"meteor threat set to blow away all volcanoes & twisters ! \\nsummer is here again ! \\nthis season could probably be the most ambitious = season this decade with hollywood churning out films like deep impact , = godzilla , the x-files , armageddon , the truman show , all of which has but = one main aim , to rock the box office . \\nleading the pack this summer is = deep impact , one of the first few film releases from the = spielberg-katzenberg-geffen's dreamworks production company . \\nfollowing = the rather dismal showing of their previous two releases ; mousehunt and = amistad , deep impact shines with elements which could just make it one = of the biggest movies of the year . \\ndeep impact begins with the discovery of an earth bound comet during a = school astronomy outing by leo beiderman ( elijah wood ) which = subsequently stirred up the political community of the world . \\nkeeping = the information under wraps to prevent widespread panic , president beck = ( morgan freeman ) took it upon himself and his subordinates to execute a = highly secretive space project to destroy the comet before it hits = earth . \\nwhile pursuing a sex-scandal story amongst the presidential = ranks , ambitious up and coming reporter , jenny lerner ( tea leoni ) = unfolds the wool that president beck has pulled over the citizens of the = world . \\nas if the knowledge of the imminent annihilation of mankind is = not enough , jenny has to come to terms with her father ( maximillian = schell ) leaving the mother for a younger woman . =20 \\npresident beck announces the discovery and preparations to destroy the = comet exactly one-year later , with so much confidence that it left no = trace of panic within the american community . \\nachieving fame from = announcement of the comet wolf-beiderman en-route to earth ( the name of = its discoverers ) , leo beiderman continues life in his small town as a = young celebrity . \\na team of astronauts , led by the ageing veteran = astronaut spurgeon tanner ( robert duvall ) , was secretly trained to carry = out the mission to land on the comet and create and explosion with a = nuclear device , with the hope of blowing it out of its current path = towards earth . \\ndespite him being the most experienced in the team , the = younger generation of astronauts in the team doubts tanner's ability due = to his age . \\nbut these are just problems of individuals . \\nlife on earth = goes on as any other day , confident that the comet will be destroyed . \\nwhen the attempt to avert wolf-beiderman's path failed and caused the = comet to split into two : comet wolf and comet beiderman , the president = unfolds his contingency plan to evacuate part of the population , leaving = the rest to die . \\ncitizens are randomly chosen to live underground for 2 = years prior to impact , when the dust due to the impact around earth have = settled , by then all life on the surface would have died . \\njenny and leo = were picked but many of their loved ones were not , only a handful of = earth's population will be saved from destruction . \\n=20 \\ndeep impact's moving moments occur in the least special-effect laced = scenes . \\nwhile the effects are fantastic , they only form a small part of = the film , which indulges itself in the development of its main = characters ; leo , lerner and tanner . \\nleo's struggle when he learns that = his girlfriend is not part of the population to be saved , lerner's = dwindling relationship with her father and her pain for the mother's = loneliness , tanner's strive to gain the respect he deserves from his = crew and his ultimate sacrifice , all form the backbone of deep impact's = moving moments . \\ndeep impact smells suspiciously like the previous year = release contact despite vivid differences . \\ni think its probably because = they both delve in a story of global proportions and indulges in the = premise of hope , faith and life itself . \\nboth do not depend heavily on = eye-candy in the form of cgi effects . \\ndirector mimi leder ( who won = numerous awards directing television series , and made her debut with = peacekeeper last year ) is definitely a director to watch . =20 \\ndespite this being the first of the two meteor movies this summer ( the = other being armageddon ) , i think there will be stark differences in the = approach to the subject matter . \\nwhile the premise of both may be the = same , execution and focus of the films will in fact show that deep = impact has more focus on human elements than armageddon , which is done = by the team which brought us bad boys , crimson tide and the rock . \\n=20 \\ndeep impact should be able to satisfy a variety of audiences ; from the = most action-craving to those who just want to immerse into its = manipulative but nonetheless dramatic premise . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'as african american detective vergil tibbs questions a suspected white murderer inside a jail cell , there is a wonderful , eye-catching shot which instantaneously presents the main message of the entire film . \\nthe shot has tibbs\\' face completely covered by the shadows of the prison bars . \\nto see these bars blocking his face , we see how separated tibbs is from the rest of the characters in the film . \\nas a black detective conducting an investigation in a southern town full of violent white bigots , no matter how innocent tibbs is , he is still seen by these bigots as a threat simply because of the color of his skin . \\nthe bars show that tibbs has not been given a fair chance to show exactly who he is , instead others have chosen him as different and dangerous . \\nthis one shot amazes me because it captures a whole theme in a matter of seconds . \\nit perhaps may be the most powerful image i have seen in a film . \\n \" in the heat of the night \" was the first and the best of the three films norman jewison directed concerning racism in america . \\njewison has a very keen style of displaying various cases of racism as he is neither pedantic nor overly sentimental . \\nin these three films he does an excellent job creating very detailed equal analyses of characters from the abused to the abusers . \\nhe is also not afraid to tell the absolute truth about how corrupt society was in the past and is in the present . \\npreceding the very original \" a soldier\\'s story \" and the recently released \" the hurricane , \" \" in the heat of the night contains some classic lines and some very memorable characters . \\nthe film , which won best picture in 1967 focuses on vergil tibbs , played superbly by sidney poitier as a fearless african american police officer from philadelphia who refuses to give up on an investigation in a white town where is he not wanted . \\ntibbs is a man who rarely loses his temper and that is worth mentioning because he is constantly facing abuse from those around him . \\nas a hero who is not afraid to face off against five men with chains , tibbs is the perfect protagonist . \\npoitier also gives an excellent , noteworthy voice to his character . \\nnever nervous and always commanding , his speech patterns are very manipulative as they range from stentorian to soothing . \\nhowever , unlike \" the hurricane \" where denzel washington dominated over the rest of the cast , poitier shares the spotlight with rod steiger , who won best actor for his excellent performance . \\nas a sheriff who helps tibbs and warns him of the dangers around him , steiger shows a great amount of skill in his role . \\nhe starts off as racist and blind as the other townspeople . \\nhe would refer to tibbs as \" boy \" and would always suspiciously keep an eye on him . \\nas the film progresses though , there is a very gradual change in the sheriff . \\nhe begins to see the hardships tibbs faces and he sees the foolishness of his own neighbors . \\nwhat i really enjoyed about steiger\\'s character was that he did not completely abandon his friends or connect with tibbs at the end of the film . \\nhe still could not refer to tibbs as mister tibbs or officer tibbs but rather settled for virgil . \\ninstead , it was apparent that he was eventually going to see the world differently in the future . \\nmost movies would have a character reversing all of his beliefs and influences in a matter of minutes . \\nthis action would not have been realistic at all since it is nearly impossible for someone to believe something one day and believe something else the next day . \\njewison\\'s determination to make this film as realistic as possible is very obvious here and also very appropriate . \\n \" in the heat of the night \" shows the difference between the north and the south or a major city and a small town in the united states during the 1960\\'s . \\nit displays this perfectly . \\nhowever , the actual investigation , although it is not the main focus of the film , lacks interest . \\nit seemed rushed especially towards the end as if jewison had given his message about racism and did not feel like giving a credible explanation involving the murder victim . \\nthere were way too many characters added during the last fifteen minutes and some of the scenes during this time period were inane ( police officer sam being a suspect was not needed ) . \\nalso , it is given that tibbs is a vigilant homicide detective who is the best at what he does , but some of his discoveries came out of nowhere and how he found out some of the important case details towards the end were never answered . \\nthe rushed ending was the only mistake of this otherwise memorable jewison classic . \\n ( a congratulations has to be given to actor scott wilson . \\nhe managed to be in the two best movies of 1967 , \" in the heat of the night \" and the even better \" in cold blood . \" ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" remember what the mpaa says : horrific and deplorable violence is ok as long as you don\\'t say any naughty words . \" \\nfeaturing the voice talents of matt stone , trey parker , mary kay bergman . \\nrated r . \\nfilmmakers jump on real-life controversies faster than austin powers on felicity shagwell . \\nthe debate on whether cinema is to blame for teenagers turning into hoodlums has only begun to heat up , and already someone\\'s made a movie about it , and it\\'s not , thank god , a tragic account of a family ripped apart by the effect violence in films had on a teenage boy . \\ninstead we get a sharp , biting satire that takes no prisoners and leaves no conservative point of view unscathed . \\nbased on a popular ( and controversial ) cable tv show , south park : bigger longer and uncut can finally break loose of the shackles placed on the show by television restrictions and take bad taste to brand new heights . \\nthe movie is about a group of kids who sneak into a canadian r-rated movie and learn some naughty words . \\nwhen they exhibit their new knowledge to their moms , they decide to \" blame canada , \" wage war against the neighbor country and execute \" terrence and phillip , \" the flatulent actors in the obscene film . \\nthe kids form an alliance they name \" la resistance \" ( with the accent on the third syllable of \" resistance \" ) to save their favorite thespians , in a hilarious spoof of ( tribute to ? ) \\nles mis ? rables . \\nin a subplot , one of the characters ( kenny , who else ? ) \\ndies and goes to hell where he meets satan . \\nsatan and saddam hussein are lovers , you see . \\nsatan is a benevolent soul , while our favorite eastern ruler can only think about sex . \\napparently , too , if terrence and phillip are executed it will be the final sign of the apocalypse and satan can emerge from the deepest bowels of the underground kingdom to rule the earth . \\naside from being a brilliant satire , south park is also an all-stops-out musical , with unforgettable numbers like \" shut your f * * * ing face uncle f * * * er \" and \" cartman\\'s mom is a big fat bitch \" . \\nalmost invariably it\\'s funny stuff : often juvenile but always funny . \\nthe same can be said for the rest of the movie : it\\'s intelligent but delivered in a sophomoric manner ( i . e . \\ntoilet humor , endless profanity , etc . ) . \\nnot that there\\'s anything wrong with that : vulgarity , when done right , is my bag , baby . \\ntrey parker and matt stone , the twenty-somethings behind the film and the show , paint a bulls-eye on the motion picture association of america and proceed to be the first to start trying to hit it . \\ncruelly mocking the fact that the mpaa\\'s rating system will allegedly tolerate grotesque violence as long as obscenities aren\\'t uttered , the auteurs throw some nasty one-liner insults their way . \\nthe ratings-a-plenty association isn\\'t the only target of this unsparing banter : people who favor censoring movies over gun control are equally fair game , with the \" blame canada \" plot being a not-so-cheap shot at them . \\nthe distinctively low-tech \" cardboard \" animation is oddly effective , even more so than the state of the art \" deep canvas \" technique aptly demonstrated in the recent tarzan . \\nit\\'s more pleasant to look at , less intimidating up on the screen , and most importantly it doesn\\'t detract from the film\\'s concept as much as disney\\'s admirably awe-inspiring work does . \\nthe show\\'s popularity has been waning as of late , and perhaps this movie is just the thing to boost its ratings . \\nperhaps not . \\nhaving seen the show on numerous occasions , i can say that it\\'s not nearly as smart or as funny as this movie . \\nthe series may be better off simply continuing on the big screen every couple years . \\nparker and stone have outdone themselves to the point where i am forced to ask : must the show go on ? \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . \\nbe forewarned . \\nmilos forman's first film since the ill-fated valmont , columbia's the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , is a vastly entertaining ( if not particularly enlightening ) biopic of hustler publisher and self-made millionaire larry flynt , who became an unlikely champion of freedom of speech rights in the united states in the late 1970s and early 1980s . \\nthe film unweaves its tale in a chronological order : we open with young and dirt-poor larry flynt and his brother jimmy , peddling jars of water in true entrepreneurial spirit out in the rural outback of kentucky . \\ncut to forward in time , where the two flynt brothers , now young men , are running the struggling hustler go-go clubs in cincinnati . \\nthe strip clubs are in a dire financial state , and in a last-ditch effort to salvage the operations , flynt decides to go to a print shop and churn out a promotional newsletter . \\nthis evolved into the adult periodical _hustler_ magazine , creating larry flynt a vast financial empire , and the rest is history . \\nwhat sets flynt apart from other publishers is his struggles against those who would have him cease publication of his adult material , and who railed and preached against him - flynt spent time in incarceration and was paralyzed by an assassination attempt - and his driven , single-minded insistence to buck the system and fight for his freedom of expression , regardless of personal cost . \\nthe people vs . \\nlarry flynt also weaves in the bittersweet story of flynt's true love , althea leasure , whom he meets as a dancer in his club and later marries , and who devotedly stands alongside him throughout his trials and tribulations . \\nconsidering the serious nature of the film's theme - the importance of the united states' first amendment - the people vs . \\nlarry flynt is surprisingly and wonderfully light-hearted and humourous . \\nmuch of the comedy is elicited from larry flynt's outlandish stunts at his courtroom appearances - some of his chosen apparel is hilarious - and for the most part these elements of the film work far better than some of the more dramatic points , such as an uninspiring flynt monologue set at a free speech rally in front of an enormous american flag dealing with the subjectivity of obscenity . \\nthe film's focus is on the flynt's many battles over first amendment rights and freedom of speech , but the heart of the people vs . \\nlarry flynt is the touching love story between flynt and althea . \\nlarry flynt is shown as being occassionally gruff , harsh , and overtly aggressive with his friends and colleagues , but with althea , we see his loving , affectionate side . \\nthere's a scene where flynt tenderly takes his ill wife on a ride on his wheelchair that is heartbreaking . \\nultimately , the emotional power that the film hits at its conclusion comes not from his achievements from his battles against censors , but from the strength of flynt and althea's love for each other . \\nwoody harrelson is entirely engaging in what must be certainly a career-topping performance as the irrepressible larry flynt . \\nharrelson plays flynt with the right mixture of outrageousness and confident stubborness to make him endearing and entirely sympathetic to the audience , and a very compelling protagonist for the film . \\ncourtney love plays althea leasure in a startling turn , completely raw and impulsive . \\nit's a very solid performance , brash and naturalistic , and love is extremely compelling ; it's difficult to take your eyes off her onscreen , and her chemistry with harrelson is dead-on . \\nedward norton , as flynt's straight , level-headed lawyer is often upstaged by his flashier co-stars in the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , much as his counterpart lawyer alan isaacman was upstaged by flynt during many of the courtroom scenes , but norton shines in his big scene where he addresses the supreme court in the climactic scene of the film . \\none can sense the frustration that norton's character feels when harrelson's free-talking flynt sabotages trial after trial on him by openly speaking his mind , and this results in a heightened emotional punch when norton's isaacman has the opportunity to sway the supreme court judges . \\nmilos forman keeps the film moving - although it runs over two hours , it never drags - and his direction of the film is very effective , eliciting a great deal of empathy for a subject which could be construed by some as extremely sordid and unsympathetic . \\nthere's also a great visual technique which forman uses to indicate the passing of time in one shot , which is both clever and extremely entertaining . \\ntwo minor quibbles with the film - it certainly seems like the people vs . \\nlarry flynt is in a rush to get to its main theme , with flynt battling against authorities and the system for his freedom of speech . \\nconsequently , the first thirty minutes of the film , introducing and setting up the characters , seem unduly rushed ; perhaps it is merely due to the fact that these characters are so interesting , but i felt it would have worked better if this route was taken in a more leisurely fashion . \\nit also felt like there was a distinctive lack of insight into the inner workings of these characters - the film clearly shows what flynt , althea , isaacman , and rev . jerry faldwell did , and on a superficial level some of their motivations , but it never seemed like one could really understand the characters on a deeper level . \\nfor example , why larry flynt was compelled by ruth carter stapleton ( president carter's sister ) to be born-again is a mystery to me . \\nthen again , perhaps it was to him as well . \\nthese two points don't detract greatly from the film . \\nthe people vs . \\nlarry flynt is certainly among the very best studio-released films of 1996 , and works both as a ringing political statement about the importance of freedom of speech and the depths to which larry flynt would go to advance the cause of free expression , and as a touching love story . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the premise of the new james wong film , final destination , is that alex browning , the protagonist , prevents six of his friends from boarding a doomed airplane , thereby cheating fate . \\nhowever , fate is not so easily bested , and alex\\'s friends soon begin dying in unusual circumstances . \\nessentially , this premise is a clever-way to make a slasher-flick without the slasher . \\nunfortunately , this is practically the only clever thing about the film . \\nas far as teen horror flicks go , final destination is better than many . \\nthere is enough shocking death , graphic gore , and requisite black humor to provide the essential \" roller coaster \" type thrill at the heart of the average horror flick . \\nunfortunately , this film also suffers from the worst characteristics of this genre . \\nthe relationships between the main characters are tenuous and their motivations are meaningless except as excuse to set-up the next death . \\nthe scene where two of the characters break into a funeral home to view the body of their recently killed friend is suppose to be scary and dramatic but features some of the dumbest dialogue i have witnessed . \\nif you are looking for a saturday night thriller to scare your date , this film might do the trick . \\nother than that , wait until it goes into heavy-rotation on cable . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after sixteen years francis ford copolla has again returned to his favorite project , making the third installment in the godfather-trilogy . \\nthis new film has been underrated for no reason . \\nit is as intellectual and majestically made as copolla\\'s pervious films . \\nit is also more psychological , pessimistic and more tragic than the first two . \\nthe only regret is the unconvincing performance by the newcomer sofia copolla and some \" unfinished \" developments of some characters . \\nthe film elegantly begins with nino rota\\'s recognizable musical score , the beautiful skyscrapers of new york and michael\\'s voice as he is writing a letter to his children : \" the only wealth in this world is children . \\nmore than all money and power on earth , you are my treasure \" . \\nthe year is 1979 and michael corleone has used the time since the ending of \" part ii \" to make his father\\'s dream come true - making the corleone family legitimate . \\nmichael sold all his casinos and invests only in gambling . \\nconstantly haunted by the past , his only reason to live is his children . \\nthe family has amassed unimaginable wealth , and as the film opens michael corleone ( al pacino ) is being invested with a great honor by the church . \\nlater that day , at a reception , his daughter announces a corleone family gift to the church and the charities of sicily , \" a check in the amount of $100 million . \" \\nbut the corleones are about to find , as others have throughout history , that you cannot buy forgiveness . \\nsure , you can do business with evil men inside the church , for all men are fallible and capable of sin . \\nbut god does not take payoffs . \\nthe plot of the movie , concocted by coppola and mario puzo in a screenplay inspired by headlines , brings the corleone family into the inner circles of corruption in the vatican . \\nthere is a moment in \" godfather iii \" where michael says : \" all my life i have been trying to go up in society , where everything was legal . \\nbut the higher i go , the crookier it becomes . . \" \\n . \\nvisually this film is as spectacular as the first two . \\ngordon willis\\' rich cinematography , carmine copolla\\'s beautiful composition and alex tavoularis\\' wonderful art direction could not be better . \\nbut copolla\\'s first two godfather-films were more famous for their deep , intellectual plots , tree dimensional characters and incredible acting , than for their visual perfection . \\nthe third installment has only the plot and visuals . \\nsome characters could be much more developed and the acting , although good , never accomplishes to reach the same height of the first two films . \\nthe biggest miscasting is sofia copolla , who is so unconvincing and unemotional that she manages to ruin several scenes throughout the movie , that could have been grander and more emotional . \\nthe best performance comes unsurprisingly from al pacino , who should have got a nomination for best actor at the oscars . \\nandy garcia is powerful as sonny\\'s son , strong , focused and loyal . \\nviolence is natural to him . \\nhe suffers no pangs of conscience when he takes revenge on his family\\'s behalf , and in this he is supposed to be strong in the uncomplicated way don vito corleone was . \\nhowever both kay ( diane keaton ) and connie ( talia shire ) are useless . \\nand characters like vito corleone and tom hagen are really missed . \\nthe good part is that michael is again reunited with old friends , that you remember from the first and second films . \\nin the third film michael has become almost like his father , vito in the first film and vincenzo resembles michael when he was much younger . \\nthis parallel could be more interesting if vincenzo\\'s character was more developed . \\nmany have pointed out that making the third film , was unnecessary . \\ni disagree . \\nit is a beautiful film of great importance , completing the tragic saga of the corleone family . \\nthe first film showed some horrible results of corleone\\'s life . \\nit showed michael making a choice ; the second showed a man damning himself for his choices and feeling the impact of changing times . \\na man desperately trying to keep his balance , focus , family and sanity , while everything is crashing all around him . \\nthe third film is a terrifying conclusion - a result of michael\\'s life . \\nthe life he chose for himself is like quicksand - one wrong step and you are doomed . \\nthere is no turning back . \\nand no matter how hard you try to get out of it , to free yourself , no matter how powerful and wealthy you are , you are helpless - sinking deeper and deeper till it swallows you completely . \\nthe beautifully directed last sequence is also the powerful climax of the film , when michael is sitting alone in his chair , left by everyone , surrounded by emptiness and memories of his friends and family members long dead . \\nhere he dies - alone , miserable and unforgiven \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"well i'll be damned . . . \\nthe canadians can make a good movie . \\nthe world is coming to an end . \\nwe don't know why or how , but apparently there is no way to stop it . \\nthe world has had this information for months , as most of the rioting and other assorted chaos has passed and governments have shut down operations . \\nyet for a handful of toronto citizens , life goes on . \\nthey aren't going crazy or attacking people in the streets . \\ninstead they are simply preparing themselves for the end . . . \\nsome engaging in activities they've always wanted to do , some gathering with family and friends , and others just seeking to be alone . \\nthese people's lives however all intersect during their final six hours . \\nwriter-director-star don mckellar has crafted a highly unique and emotional film . \\nall of the main characters are compelling as they try and do whatever it is they need to do on their last night on earth . \\ncraig ( callum keith rennie ) tries to fulfill all his sexual fantasies , a gas company employee ( david cronenberg ) calls every customer letting them know the gas will be flowing until the very end and thanks them for their business , and patrick ( mckellar ) just wants to be by himself but isn't having much success . \\neven minor characters keep popping up where you least expect them to , tying everyone even closer . \\nthings seemed a little hokey towards the beginning of the film , but ultimately everything comes together nicely ( although it's not a happy film . . . \\nsome moments are understandably gut-wrenching ) . \\nthe story is enhanced by some unexpected humor and very realistic performances , particularly from sandra oh , whose character is just trying to get home to her husband before the end . \\ni have absolutely no problem that the reason for the end of the world is never given , nor does it bother me that the world is ending at exactly 12 midnight ( in toronto anyway ) . \\nbut i do wonder why the sun never sets . \\ncome midnight , the sun is still shining brightly . \\nmaybe the sun is crashing into the earth . . . \\nwho knows . \\nalso , it's comforting to know that in mankind's final moments on the planet , people will still gang up on the street for the sheer purpose of pushing over a car or a bus ( that's not a shot at this film mind you . . . \\ni know people are just stupid and truly would be out in the street tipping over cars ) . \\nlast night is available on dvd from universal home video . \\nit contains the film in fullscreen format and includes the original theatrical trailer . \\n[r] \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the cryptic teaser trailer has been unspooling in moviehouses for quite sometime now : \" it mu5t be found . \" \\nso what , exactly , is the fifth element ? \\nafter seeing luc besson\\'s ambitious , much-shrouded-in-secrecy science fiction fantasy , i could not help but be let down by the actual answer , which is not nearly as exciting nor clever as one would think . \\nbut what is far from a letdown is the film as a whole , a wildly imaginative feast for the senses that does what all the best science fiction films do--create a universe unlike any other presented on the silver screen . \\nthe biggest irony of the fifth element is that the one thing that has been kept under such tight wraps--the actual storyline--is the most conventional , dismayingly so , element ( pun intended ) of the film . \\nspeaking in the vaguest possible terms , the basics of the plot are as follows : in the year 2259 , a great force of evil threatens to consume the earth , and only the four elements--earth , wind , fire , and water--united with a fifth element can stop it . \\nfiguring into all of this are new york cabbie korben dallas ( bruce willis ) ; a shady , southern-drawling entrepreneur by the name of zorg ( the hilariously hammy gary oldman , picking up where he left off in besson\\'s the professional ) ; a priest ( ian holm ) ; and a mysterious creature named leeloo ( milla jovovich ) . \\nall of the pieces come together in a tidy and somewhat underwhelming--and unsurprising--fashion , but there is no denying that this basic story holds some intrinsic interest . \\nwhat remains interesting and exciting , however , after brief glimpses is the fascinating world besson has created with production designer dan weil , director of photography thierry arbogast , visual effects supervisor mark stetson , and the crew at digital domain . \\nthe look is absolutely mesmerizing right from the opening moments to the last . \\nthe frenzied cityscape of new york , with its vibrant day-glo colors , tall buildings penetrating high into the clouds , and the swarm of cars , cabs , and other vehicles flying through labyrinthian skyways , is absolutely breathtaking to behold , especially in a wild car chase sequence early on in the film . \\nbut it would not have been a completely captivating vision if the people inhabiting the settings weren\\'t equally as interesting , and are they ever . \\nin addition to the exotic menagerie of alien creatures that populate this world , from bulky robots to dog-like mangalores , the humans are outfitted in costumes by eccentric designer jean-paul gaulthier , best known for creating madonna\\'s pointy bustier get-up in her blonde ambition tour . \\ngaulthier\\'s outlandish creations , such as a number worn by leeloo made entirely out of white straps , feel more at home in besson\\'s futuristic vision than on any fashion runway in the world ; they add to the sense of otherworldliness about the film . \\nwhile besson\\'s bold vision is the biggest virtue of the film , it also could be its biggest obstacle to reaching a mass audience . \\nfor all its imagination , certain things about the film may be a bit too quirky and bizarre . \\ni really do not know what middle america will make of the most outrageous character of the film , ruby rhod ( chris tucker ) , a flamboyant disc jockey who makes dennis rodman look conservative--he makes a raucous entrance dressed in an animal print dress , sporting a blonde hairdo in the shape of a hair dryer , speaking in high pitches at rapid fire speed . \\nat first this character\\'s hyper energy is funny , but the act wears out its welcome very quickly . \\nnot irritating , but just as strange , is a musical number by blue-skinned alien chanteuse diva ( maiwenn lebesco ) , who sings--and dances--an aria that is an unlikely blend of classical opera and techno . \\nthe tune , as with the entirety of longtime besson collaborator eric serra\\'s innovative score , is haunting , but it is also completely jarring . \\nthen there are the campy touches of humor besson and co-scripter robert mark kamen sprinkle throughout , which too often are silly and forced ; a comic sexual encounter between ruby rhod and a flight attendant is highly distracting and not very funny , to boot . \\nthe story\\'s weakness shines through in the climax and conclusion of the fifth element . \\nwhile still visually and aurally spectacular , the events detailed are not as exciting nor powerful as they should be . \\nthe big , serious dramatic climax was met with more than a few snickers , and it ambitiously strives for a profundity which the film had not even begun to work toward . \\nas such , at the end there is a sense that there was something bigger at work here , that there was still more left to be said about this story and these characters . \\nthis suspicion was confirmed by besson himself , who told me in the lobby following the screening ( imagine that , the filmmaker watching the film with the \" enemy \" --the critics ) that what had made it to the screen was really just the first half of the lengthy original fifth element screenplay and that the second half--now titled mr . shadow--is still waiting to be made . \\nstill , despite the story problems , the fifth element is an artistic triumph for luc besson ; rarely does a filmmaker\\'s original vision come to the screen in all its audacious , undiluted glory . \\nit is a fascinating example of how of one artist\\'s fervid imagination can transport an audience into an intoxicating fantasy world generally seen only in dreams . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'every now and then a movie comes along from a suspect studio , with every indication that it will be a stinker , and to everybody\\'s surprise ( perhaps even the studio ) the film becomes a critical darling . \\nmtv films\\' _election , a high school comedy starring matthew broderick and reese witherspoon , is a current example . \\ndid anybody know this film existed a week before it opened ? \\nthe plot is deceptively simple . \\ngeorge washington carver high school is having student elections . \\ntracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) is an over-achiever with her hand raised at nearly every question , way , way , high . \\nmr . \" m \" ( matthew broderick ) , sick of the megalomaniac student , encourages paul , a popular-but-slow jock to run . \\nand paul\\'s nihilistic sister jumps in the race as well , for personal reasons . \\nthe dark side of such sleeper success is that , because expectations were so low going in , the fact that this was quality stuff made the reviews even more enthusiastic than they have any right to be . \\nyou can\\'t help going in with the baggage of glowing reviews , which is in contrast to the negative baggage that the reviewers were likely to have . \\n_election , a good film , does not live up to its hype . \\nwhat makes _election_ so disappointing is that it contains significant plot details lifted directly from _rushmore_ , released a few months earlier . \\nthe similarities are staggering : \\ntracy flick ( _election_ ) is the president of an extraordinary number of clubs , and is involved with the school play . \\nmax fischer ( _rushmore_ ) is the president of an extraordinary number of clubs , and is involved with the school play . \\nthe most significant tension of _election_ is the potential relationship between a teacher and his student . \\nthe most significant tension of _rushmore_ is the potential relationship between a teacher and his student . \\ntracy flick is from a single parent home , which has contributed to her drive . \\nmax fischer is from a single parent home , which has contributed to his drive . \\nthe male bumbling adult in _election_ ( matthew broderick ) pursues an extramarital affair , gets caught , and his whole life is ruined . \\nhe even gets a bee sting . \\nthe male bumbling adult in _rushmore_ ( bill murray ) pursues an extramarital affair , gets caught , and his whole life is ruined . \\nhe gets several bee stings . \\nand so on . \\nwhat happened ? \\nhow is it that an individual screenplay ( _rushmore_ ) and a novel ( _election_ ) contain so many significant plot points , and yet both films were probably not even aware of each other , made from two different studios , from a genre ( the high school geeks revenge movie ) that hadn\\'t been fully formed yet ? \\neven so , the strengths of _election_ rely upon its fantastic performances from broderick , witherspoon , and newcomer jessica campbell , as paul\\'s anti-social sister , tammy . \\nbroderick here is playing the mr . rooney role from _ferris bueller_ , and he seems to be having the most fun he\\'s had since then . \\nwitherspoon is a revelation . \\nit\\'s early in the year , it\\'s a comedy , and teenagers have little clout , but for my money , witherspoon deserves an oscar nomination . \\nand once campbell\\'s character gets going , like in her fantastic speech in the gymnasium , then you\\'re won over . \\none thing that\\'s been bothering me since i\\'ve seen it . \\nthere is an extraordinary amount of sexuality in this film . \\ni suppose that , coming from mtv films , i should expect no less . . . \\nbut the film starts off light and airy , like a sitcom . \\nas the screws tighten , and the tensions mount , alexander payne decides to add elements that , frankly , distract from the story . \\nit is bad enough that mr . m doesn\\'t like tracy\\'s determination to win at all costs , but did they have to throw in the student/teacher relationship ? \\neven so , there\\'s no logical reason why mr . m has an affair when he does . \\nthere\\'s a lot to like in _election_ , but the plot similarities to _rushmore_ , and the tonal nosedive it takes as it gets explicitly sex-driven , mark this as a disappointment . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the ultimate match up between good and evil , \" the untouchables \" is an excellent movie because it looks deeper into an already examined rivalry . \\nbased on the 1959 television show of the same title , \" the untouchables \" may be an exaggeration of the real life events that took place , but it fits together perfectly with some beautifully filmed action sequences , some excellent acting , a memorable score , and a clever script . \\nthe film takes place in chicago during the prohibition era where mobsters led by the ruthless al capone run an underground market of liquor to the demanding public . \\nelliot ness and a small force of men known as the untouchables attempt the impossible by trying to stop capone and trying to maintain peace and order . \\nhowever , as ness soon learns , in order to stabilize peace , you have to bend a few laws . \\nthe fact that capone is evil is very apparent from the first few scenes . \\nthe film begins with capone , played perfectly by deniro , declaring that he is not a violent man and he is a firm believer in following all laws . \\nthe film then quickly transfers to the next scene in which one of capone\\'s men bombs a restaurant that contains many innocent people including a little girl . \\nfrom this point we know capone is evil , not only because he kills without hesitation , but also because he is a lying bastard . \\nright from the first five minutes of the film , de palma has created a hatred towards capone and he shows that this man must be brought down at all costs . \\nthis developed hatred is before the film\\'s hero , ness , is even introduced . \\ni found this approach to be very clever because in a small duration of time there is a great amount of admiration for ness and an equal amount of hatred for capone . \\nthe film only gets better from this point . \\nwith the formation of the untouchables , there is a group of men wearing long , dark overcoats and hats . \\nthey walk in unison and they only look forward . \\nas they walk down the streets they are observed and feared by citizens . \\nholding shot guns and pistols in their hands to stop criminals , this image of vigilantes must have influenced future films . \\none that comes to mind is \" the matrix \" when neo , morpheus , trinity , and the rest of the gang first come into the virtual world . \\nwearing more futuristic outfits of the same 1930\\'s style , the similarities between these two are countless . \\n \" the untouchables \" has some of the hippest , bravest heroes in any action film . \\nthe four members were the only ones willing to go against capone\\'s army . \\neach member of this special group also had their own characteristics that separated them from others . \\nelliot ness , played with perfect ingenuity by kevin costner , is a character that surely grows during the course of the film . \\nhe begins as a man who is determined to follow all laws no matter how unfair they may be . \\nhowever , as the film develops so does ness . \\nhis beliefs involving the law are shattered when he realizes that those he trusted are actually members of the other side . \\nhe also begins to lose his stability when his adversaries begin to murder his friends . \\nhis anger becomes so thunderous that he can no longer hold it in . \\nsean connery , who won an academy award for best supporting actor in his role , plays malone , an aging cop who decides to make one final run as a member of the untouchables . \\nmalone acts as a mentor to ness . \\nhe teaches him \" the chicago way \" to do things ; when they attack with a knife , you attack with a gun . \\nconnery plays his character with the exact amount of wit and experience needed . \\nandy garcia does a wonderful job as george stone , a young man who is just becoming a police officer . \\nas ness grows , he begins to teach stone some valuable lessons that malone once taught him . \\ncharles martin smith is also fantastic as the final member who attempts to use an income tax offense against capone . \\nsmith is perfect for his role as he adds some valuable comic relief to the film . \\nthe action scenes are also some of the most beautifully choreographed i have ever seen . \\nalso very similar to \" the matrix , \" they are exciting and intense . \\n>from a western-like battle to the famous confrontation at the train station steps , the scenes are well thought out and well executed . \\nthe score during these scenes ingeniously adds to the excitement . \\nits pounding drum beats act as a rhythm for the actors . \\nthe combination of image and music is very impressive and also very effective . \\nalthough the real life untouchables may have been excessively glorified , this film is pure entertainment and contains a unique blend of great acting , great directing , and great action . \\nsome scenes ( capone and the baseball bat , the train station ) have stuck in my mind for years and seeing them again will only make them more vivid . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"in the series of the erotic thrillers that flooded the videoshelves in the early 1990s came this french-canadian co-production by max fischer . \\nthe movie is set in paris where its hero , struggling american author david mirkine ( judd nelson , at the time specialised in playing losers and people at the edge of sanity ) suffers a terrible writers bloc . \\nhe manages to overcome crisis after beginning romantic relationship with beautiful model anabelle ( laurence treill ) . \\nunfortunately , she hangs out in jet set circles , which gradually makes mirkine pathologically jealous . \\nher connection with powerful david caravan ( pierce brosnan ) would make mirkine step the line between reason and sanity and put in motion whole series of violent and tragic events . \\nalthough few pseudoerotic scenes and some elements of the plot do indeed make this film an erotic thriller , drama would probably be more appropriate genre label . \\npacing of the film is simply too slow to thrill the viewers , and those patient enough to sit through its entirety have to wait a long time between any interesting or significant developments . \\nlow budget also becomes painfully visible , and physical attributes of laurence treill are the only thing worth watching in this film . \\nunfortunately , this film has too little of those supposedly erotic scenes , so those who wanted to watch erotic thriller have all the reasons to feel disappointed . \\ninstead , they would have to settle with pointless , slow scenes involving nelson , brosnan and laurence treill's attempts of serious acting . \\nall of those definitely not worth spending hour and half of someone's precious time . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'when the mediums in question are video game and feature film , has there ever been a respective here-to-there transformation that achieved any ground higher than noodle-headed mediocrity ? \\n \" super mario bros . , \" \" street fighter \" and \" mortal kombat \" were silly stinkers all , and now the empty , execrable \" wing commander \" joins their lowly ranks . \\nenduring this spectacularly bad bit of sci-fi , easily the worst of its kind , is like watching someone futz around with a video game for 100 minutes - that is to say , there\\'s little fun to be had when you\\'re not the one holding the joystick . \\nthe movie , then , is a missed opportunity for director chris roberts , who created the original , groundbreaking pc incarnation of \" wing commander \" back in 1990 . \\nhow an interactive brainchild so revered could end up such a cinematic pile of junk under the helm of the same guy is a head-scratcher . \\n \" wing commander \" \\'s story , credited to roberts and screenwriter kevin droney , is clueless chaos melding incoherent narrative and unoriginal ideas . \\nit rips off the finest films of its genre , top gun and , in one scene , even those spiffy \" stereoscopic freeze \" gap commercials . \\nset in 2654 , \" wing commander \" stars freddie prinze jr . as a daredevil cosmos cowboy who hopes to be a great fighter pilot like his father before him . \\nalong the way , he plays kissy-face with his stoic superior ( saffron burrows ) at the new galaxy hangout where he\\'s posted , comes to terms with bigots who resent him for his \" pilgrim \" heritage ( don\\'t ask ) , and goes on a top-secret mission involving the \" jump coordinates \" ( what , no death star plans ? ) of a nasty alien race known as the kilrathi . \\nor something like that . \\ngiven the immensely confusing activity , it\\'s hard to tell . \\non the other hand , what\\'s easy to see is that \" wing commander \" is a big old mess . \\nthe lame dialogue strains , filled with such original lines as \" don\\'t you die on me ! \" , \\n \" battle stations ! \" \\nand repeated ( and frequently unanswered ) calls for a \" medic ! \" \\naction sequences fizzle . \\nthe character conflict garners unintentional giggles . \\nthe sole source of suspense here is what these kilrathi creeps look like , as they\\'re kept out of view until the concluding 15 minutes . \\nimagine bearded siamese cats crossed with something from a ? 50s roger corman cheapie and you\\'ve got a good idea . \\nlittle but techno-babble happens for an hour , and then it\\'s as if \" wing commander \" tries to do too much at once ; when it appears as though the movie\\'s about to show signs of a pulse , it instead provides a hilarious touch of human drama culminating with a use for a bulldozer that has probably never been seen in this kind of space camp before . \\nmatthew lillard , featured prominently in said sequence , is cast as prinze\\'s hotshot partner , and though the two are fine young actors - recently paired in the hit \" she\\'s all that \" - they\\'re fighting more than otherworldly evil here . \\nrumor has it that \" wing commander \" was slated as a later-in-the-year release , bumped up to capitalize off this hot casting coup as well as the premiere of the new \" star wars : episode i \" trailer . \\nbut in my audience , there were no females present to make goo-goo eyes at prinze or lillard , and many a member exited after the much-ballyhooed sneak peek . \\nsince most cineplexes won\\'t be granting refunds to the latter contingency , \" commander \" might rake in some dough , but be warned : the high wears off as soon as the coming attraction gives way to the feature presentation . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'available in an all new video edition from arrow entertainment ( $29 . 95 ) , with an introduction by david carradine , written & produced by wayne j . keeley \\nf . w . murnau\\'s career ended sadly and prematurely . \\nthe german director of such classics as \" sunrise \" and \" the last laugh \" died in a car accident shortly after signing a deal to make american pictures at paramount . \\nmurnau was reportedly a giant man , well over six feet , a towering figure probably incapable of anything but a grand entrance . \\nwhich brings us to \" nosferatu : a symphony of horror \" : surely he felt a kinship with his title character , the looming vampire embodied by intimidating max schreck ; in one of the most indelible images in film history , silent or otherwise , schreck rises from his grave , gnarled hands outstretched , and he\\'s so big that part of his head is cropped by the top of the frame . \\nthe plot of \" nosferatu . . . \" \\nis lifted--unauthorized--from bram stoker\\'s \" dracula \" . \\nthe british hutter is an eager real estate man assigned to visit and discuss future living arrangements with count orlock of transylvania . \\nhe leaves behind girlfriend emily , only to discover orlock\\'s secret--he\\'s a bloodsucker--and struggle to return to england before the nosferatu reaches his lady love . \\nin addition to schreck\\'s performance , the cinematography and effects are outstanding . \\narrow video\\'s digitally remastered version of the classic is something of a mixed-coffin . \\nthe cover art features a red-tinted , hairy , goateed vampire staring straight at you , his fanged mouth agape , while the bodies of two sexy , writhing women entice you below . \\ntrouble is , murnau\\'s monster is pale-faced , bald , pointy-eared , and non-goateed , and there isn\\'t a single sexy , writhing woman to be found in his movie . \\nthis sort of misleading packaging makes little sense when one recalls the countless number of ghouslish scenes in the film from which cool cover art could have been extracted . \\nadditionally , notifying the viewer that this is in fact murnau\\'s film seems like afterthought since his name and the genuine title are written in small print below our goateed vampire . \\nthat said , a good mastering job has been performed on the film itself . \\nthe original elements are not in the best condition--non-studio silents were unlucky in their preservation-- so we\\'re still dealing with a slightly washed out , scratched , jittering image . \\nbut at least the day and night scenes are tinted sepia and blue , respectively , especially helpful to an audience who may question nosferatu\\'s waltzing around during what seems like sunlight ( it took a lot of light to expose stock in the twenties ) . \\nthe title cards have been redone , and they are legible , accurate , and digitally altered to flicker--a very nice touch . \\n ( even the opening copyright warning flickers ! ) \\nthe score has been replaced by music from type o negative , a hard-rock group , arguably gothic , and their songs underscore the film nicely-- certainly the coolest video a band can ask for . \\nwhen our hero , hutter , first steps onto the doomed carriage to count orlock\\'s castle , we hear a well-timed \" now you\\'re dead ! \" \\nfrom lead singer peter steele . \\ndavid carradine makes an appropriately vampiric host ; he fiddles with a blade and cane while introducing the film . \\nafter the feature , which runs about 63 minutes , is included a new music video from type o negative , the black-and-white fang-fest \" black no . 1 \" . \\nof course , \" nosferatu : a symphony of horror \" is the main attraction , and while my latest viewing raised questions ( why is the woman called emily in the title cards but \" mina \" --as bram stoker called her--in hutter\\'s letters ? , for instance ) , it made me realize how much this movie has inspired and been stolen from . \\ncoppola\\'s 1992 \" bram stoker\\'s dracula \" owes a great stylistic debt to murnau\\'s masterpiece , but the one thing it couldn\\'t thieve was the original\\'s abstract charms . \\nthis latest incarnation from arrow will probably- -like the rescored \" metropolis \" a few years back--turn a silent film into more palpable entertainment for the latest generation of film freaks . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i had been expecting more of this movie than the less than thrilling twister . \\ntwister was good but had no real plot and no one to simpithize with . \\nbut twister had amazing effects and i was hoping so would volcano \\nvolcano starts with tommy lee jones at emo . \\nhe worrys about a small earthquake enough to leave his daughter at home with a baby sitter . \\nthere is one small quake then another quake . \\nthen a geologist points out to tommy that its takes a geologic event to heat millions of gallons of water in 12 hours . \\na few hours later large amount of ash start to fall . \\nthen . . . . it \\nstarts . \\nthe volcanic eruption . . . . \\ni liked this movie . . . but \\nit was not as great as i hoped . \\ni was still good none the less . \\nit had excellent special effects . \\nthe best view . . . the \\nhelecopters flying over the streets of volcanos . \\nalso . . . there were interesting side stories that made the plot more interesting . \\nso . . . it was good ! ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'showgirls is the second major outing for the production team of pual verhoeven , director , and joe eszterhas , writer . \\ntheir last effort , basic instinct , played like the most sumptuous of classic hitchcock , with a dash of raw sex and sensuality that made it come across with a hit like curry-spiced tabasco sauce ; a dish not to everyone\\'s taste , but certainly a well-crafted movie . \\npossibly that movie\\'s greatest strength was that the most important events happened offstage , prior to the movie , during the movie , and after the movie . . . \\nand that , after bringing all the plotlines together neatly , it left the viewer with full knowledge of what * would * happen in the characters\\' future , so there was no need to film it . \\nthere was actually about four hours\\' worth of screen story there , but eszterhas found ways to get it all on-screen in two , by leading his audience into analyzing what was really going on ; and by still holding their interest with clever misdirection and false trails . \\nthe major elements that made basic instinct work so well are present in showgirls . \\nwe have attractive , sympathetic , but still highly repellent characters ; we have shows for the eyes and the ears , plotlines that play on several levels , we have beautifully delineated characters who are drawn from life and very believable , and we have a story of an innocent ( who may not be so innocent ) who\\'s trying to play straight , trying to improve her station in life , who slips into behaving the way those around her do . . . \\nbut recovers with a flourish , and quits a winner . \\nin this sense , the movie is a bit of a departure for verhoeven , who\\'s not known for treating his characters well ; but nomi , the part played by elizabeth berkley , definitely opts out of the game in a positive way , and we\\'re left feeling good about her future . \\nthis is not one of the great movies , but it\\'s far better than we\\'d been led to expect by all the negative pre-release publicity . \\nverhoeven got his first oscar nomination in 1971 , and in the last quarter-century has pushed farther and farther , experimenting with the socially-acceptable limits to movie-making . \\nhis most recent three movies , robocop , total recall , and basic instinct , have been a progression of back-door access to american culture , moving from the fantastic through the merely psychotic to the underlying basic drives ; and now he\\'s exploring the sleeze . \\nthis movie may be the first movie ever made for which the director\\'s contract contained a specific provision that he would not have to deliver an r rated movie . \\n ( verhoeven had to cut several parts of basic instinct to get an r rating , although his original version is available on video . ) \\nmany reviewers have taken the politically-correct stance that any movie which uses naked ladies as scenery is a bad thing ; but they miss the fact that this movie is not about naked ladies , it\\'s about people in an environment where naked ladies are common , and why such an environment should exist . \\nit\\'s about the scum who use other people as power-trip toys , and the need to escape their power . \\nit\\'s about a world where sex is nothing and normal human values don\\'t pertain ; and the lack of sexual excitement and passionate heat in even the most blatant scenes is something of an accomplishment . \\nan nc-17 movie which isn\\'t sexually exciting says a great deal about the phoniness and emptiness of a social stratum where sex has been robbed of any kind of beauty , power , or value . \\nthe one scene in the movie that * could * have been a good sex scene , berkley and maclachlan in a swimming pool , is not exciting , because by then we already know his character is a callous manipulator . \\nif anything , it\\'s a rape scene with a victim who\\'s been duped into cooperation . \\nyou don\\'t make a movie about the history of black people in america without using a few black actors ; you don\\'t make a movie about world war ii without a few guns going off and a few people getting killed ; and you don\\'t make a movie about las vegas showgirls without showing a few las vegas showgirls . . . \\nand in an awful lot of vegas shows , an awful lot of ladies wear very little clothing . \\nthis is a legitimate portrayal of a rather seamy side of the entertainment industry , in a town where sex is simply a negotiable commodity . \\nshowgirls de-glamorizes the las vegas show and sex industries with great effectiveness . \\nnomi is played , in a very good performance , by elizabeth berkley , who gives us a solid picture of a woman with limited talents who\\'s at the end of her rope , desperate to live a life better than the one she\\'s known . \\nshe has nothing to market except her body and her limited dancing ability , and is trying desperately not to to be a hooker , trying to be something better than she seems destined to be . \\nwhen nomi realizes she\\'s gone too far for too little , she catches herself just in time to save the most essential part of who she wants to be . \\ngina rivera plays molly , a dressmaker and costumer who befriends nomi , providing her with what may be the one solid , positive relationship in nomi\\'s entire life . \\nmolly is the one who makes the difference , and provides the role model and framework nomi needs to verify the value system she\\'ll be using for the rest of her life , and nomi\\'s feelings for molly are the spur that forces nomi\\'s decision . \\ngina gershon plays cristal , an aging , but still very attractive starring dancer , a reflexively competitive manipulator who\\'s become a villainess by internalizing the ethos of the crooks and scum around her . \\ngershon plays cristal as a cross between ava gardner and raquel welch ; a fading talent made bitter by self-awareness . \\nher character is very well drawn and performed ; in a major scene in a hospital room , she acknowledges what she is , and , in essence , passes the torch to nomi . \\nthe relationship between the two of them is the most honest one in the movie , and provides part of the impetus nomi needs to follow a different path . \\nit is no accident that the three important parts in this movie are women of different stripe ; molly is an honest , hard-working person who means well , and nearly dies because she confuses the glitter and the image with reality . \\ncristal is a talented dancer who\\'s compromised her ideals and sold herself to be a co-operating part of the system , exchanging self-respect for the species of stardom that can be had in las vegas . \\nnomi believes she can make it without selling herself , succumbs to a degree , and then realizes she can make it without selling herself , and doesn\\'t need las vegas or its brand of \" stardom . \" \\nthe male parts in this movie are simply props ; they exist only to demonstrate and explicate the cultural milieu against which showgirls exist . \\nkyle maclachlan , whose single best previous work was as an inhumanly emotionless cop in the hidden , gives us a nicely reptilian bit of pond scum on two legs , camouflaged as a nice guy . \\nglenn plummer plays a dancer who\\'s working as a bellboy , and provides a bit of alternate perspective . \\nplummer\\'s character is the only one in the movie who\\'s maintaining an interest in dance as a performing art , but even he\\'s succumbed to the cult of manipulation . \\nplummer\\'s character is the closest thing to a sympathetic male character in the whole movie . \\nsome of jost vacano\\'s cinematography is fantastic , and one particular delineation of nomi\\'s character alteration , a no-dialog scene using nothing but color changes in the lighting , is utterly terrifying . \\nthis movie is rated nc-17 due to language , sexual situations , full frontal nudity , violence , and probably the costuming as well . \\ni don\\'t see a way this particular story could have been told well without it , and i regard it as a legitimate exercise in movie-making . \\nbut don\\'t go see it if you\\'re not in a tough mood ; the only person it\\'s possible to like in this movie ends up in an i . c . u . \\non life support , and there is probably not one character in this movie you\\'d enjoy meeting in person . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'at first glance , daylight would seem like your typical disaster movie . \\non second glance it looks that way too . \\nalthough , as typical disaster movies go , daylight isn\\'t that bad . \\nadmittedly , it seems to rip off a great deal of its plot devices from disaster flicks of days gone by ( think poseidon adventure ) . \\nbut the decent dialogue and surprisingly good acting make up for the \" haven\\'t i seen this scene somewhere before ? \" \\nfeeling that creeps up all too often during the film . \\nsylvester stallone stars as the recently fired head of new york\\'s emergency response team . \\nby sheer luck , he is in the right place at the right time when disaster strikes the unaware inhabitants of this little film . \\n \" what disaster is that ? \" \\nyou ask , as you inch ever closer to the edge of your seat . \\nglad you asked . \\nthrough a whole sequence of entirely probable events ( about as probable as hitting the lottery ) a large explosion takes place in the lincoln tunnel running under the hudson river in new york city . \\nthe explosion results in the tunnel collapsing at both ends , which causes not only massive loss of life , but traps a dozen people inside the wreckage of the tunnel . \\ngood old sly , who is only feet away from entering the tunnel when it collapses , offers his services to the rescuers , who gladly accept it . \\nsly then enters the tunnel through a vent shaft ( think judge dredd ) which he can only go in , and not out off , and proceeds to try to rescue those trapped inside . \\nso begins the fun , but the fun has to be quick , because this tunnel has started to spring a leak . \\nthe acting is about what you would expect of a stallone movie . \\nnot superb by any means , but far above some of his other films ( think judge dredd again ) . \\ndaylight\\'s acting is probably average , or a little above , in terms of this sort of genre , starring this particular star . \\namy brenneman is the only actor of any note , and she does a pretty good job as stallone\\'s reluctant helper . \\noh yeah , stallone\\'s real life son , sage , is in this too . \\nsage -- nice name . \\ni guess it could be worse , he could have been named nutmeg or parsley . \\nnote to sage -- you are still young . \\ngo to school and get a good education -- you don\\'t have a future in acting . \\nthe plot runs along the same lines as the acting -- interesting , but predictable . \\nmostly due to the fact that it was pretty well recycled from a dozen other action flicks . \\nthe biggest problem with a film of this nature is that they try to cram too many things into the movie . \\nas soon as the cast clears one seemingly impossible hurdle , another one seems to pop right up , even worse than the last one . \\ni realize that it wouldn\\'t be much of a movie otherwise , but it does make the movie a bit predictable . \\nadding to the predictability is the cast of characters , which of course , has to include at least one or two difficult people who want to do things their own way and think the qualified guy ( in this case stallone ) doesn\\'t know what he is doing . \\nwhy is it in disaster movies we can never have everyone agree with each other and all work together ? \\nwould this be too much to ask ? \\ncan\\'t we all just get along ? \\nspecial effects weren\\'t bad -- but i\\'ve certainly seen better . \\nsome of the scenes , while fun to watch , were such blatant rip-offs that you had to wonder if scripts from old movies were just copied verbatim . \\nespecially all of the scenes that involved anything underwater ( the tunnel , of course , starts to flood ) . \\ni really expected gene hackman , roddy mcdowell and ernest borgnine to appear at any minute -- i wasn\\'t sure if i was watching daylight or the poseidon adventure . \\ni suppose if you have to rip off a movie for good ideas , the poseidon adventure is a good one to use . \\nthe underwater sequences ( aside from the deja vu ) were very well shot and worked fairly well . \\nthey were the best part of the movie by a long shot . \\nbetter than average stallone flick . \\ni realize that\\'s not saying much when the man has judge dredd on his resume . \\nbut certainly not up to the standards of cliffhanger . \\ndaylight is a fun movie , and as long as you aren\\'t expecting a whole lot you might even be pleasantly surprised . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"summer movies are , by nature , dumb affairs that are usually made for some quick enjoyment and to make money . \\nwild wild west , the latest will smith affair , follows much the same formula , except that it is dumber and less enjoying than most summer movies . \\nwill smith plays jim west , a black sheriff with a nice line in sunglasses . \\nhe is called by president grant ( kline ) to go on a mission to find out why top government scientists are disappearing . \\nwest is paired up with scientist artemus gordon ( kline again ) and the two track the missing scientists to a legless mastermind , named dr . loveless ( branagh , with a zany moustache . ) \\nbefore i pile on with the many negatives in this sorry affair , i'll give it a chance with the positives . \\nthere's a nice credit sequence , the production design by bo welch is pleasing to the eye , and the special effects are decent enough . \\nthere's also a pleasant soundtrack . \\nburied deep in the dross are one or two amusing jokes . \\nand salma hayek pops up as the female interest , which is always nice to see . \\napart from these factors , though , nothing else in wild wild west works . \\nfirstly , there's little chemistry between smith and kline , who appears to be in it purely for the money . \\none would expect zingers passing between the two : none arise . \\nboth of them plod through the below standard plot , knowing that there is a pay cheque waiting at the end . \\nnot even kenneth branagh provides much entertainment : although he is over the top , the material doesn't present much opportunity for branagh to be truly crazy . \\ntherefore , he just comes across as loud as obnoxious . \\nthe only enjoyable performance comes from the sexy salma hayek , who is given so little screen time it's embarrassing . \\nshe appears to be in the film to merely show off her body , and be ogled at by kline and smith . \\nher character also changes at a whim to fit the mechanics of the script , and there is no sense of realism about the character . \\nthe 'humour' in the film is also very off . \\nwill smith put a little spin to his daft lines in men in black , here , not even smith could save the humour on display . \\nthe script largely boils down to insults that aren't very funny , and one-liners that barely raise a smirk . \\nit's also somewhat racist , although it doesn't intend to be , with one scene with jim west trying to wisecrack his way out of a lynching , and actually says slavery is good to save himself . \\nit's not a funny scene , and the whole thing comes off rather uncomfortably . \\nthe film also makes the tragic mistake that a man ( in this case kline ) in a dress is automatically unfunny , it isn't , but the wild wild west makes this joke even more painful to watch through pure ineptness . \\nthere's also problems with the plot . \\njim west and artemus gordon get caught up in all kinds of sticky situations , but the way they get out of them are always unsatisfying , and rely purely on luck , rather than audience pleasing skill . \\nplot elements are introduced into the film , and then thrown away just as quickly . \\nthe main piece of the story , a 80 foot mechanical , steam driven spider devised by loveless looks rather impressive , but there's no particular reason why it should be built . \\nwhy not loveless build a great big tank , instead of an ungainly , fragile piece of machinery that's just begging to be blown up ? \\ndirector barry sonnenfeld always has a breezy look to them , with some nice camera tricks , but even this is missing from this stilted affair . \\nwild wild west could have benefited from sonnenfelds whacked out style of directing , but not much of it is evident , making this film drag out even more . \\nit's a sad thing when _four_ ( credited ) screenwriters , a talented director and a willing star can't make a film work , and eventually wild wild west collapses under it's sexist , mildly racist , unfunny weight . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'now that \" boogie nights \" has made disco respectable again ( well , fashionable at least ) , we shouldn\\'t be surprised to see more films glorifying that dubious era . \\nthe latest art house interpretation is whit stillman\\'s \" the last days of disco . \" \\nstillman , who made \" metropolitan \" and \" barcelona \" using some of the same actors , uses disco\\'s final hours to highlight what is another conversation-heavy movie that benefits from typically astute writing from the director . \\nthe young , upwardly-mobile professional ( don\\'t call them yuppies ! ) \\nmen and women of \" the last days of disco \" frequent a prestigious new york city nightclub pulsating to the bass-pounding rhythms of earth wind and fire , amy grant , and andrea true connection . \\nhere they talk and talk and talk , intellectualizing about such things as dating , success , and being liked , accepted , and admired . \\nif talk is cheap , \" the last days of disco \" must surely have been an extremely inexpensive movie to shoot . \\nwhat makes the film so entertaining is that this preppie , harvard-educated jet set actually have something to say and say it with wit , perception , and style ( including , at one point , a riotously inventive deconstruction of \" the lady and the tramp \" ) . \\nna ? ve alice ( chlo ? sevigny ) and sophisticated charlotte ( kate beckinsale ) are recent college graduates who work as assistant editors for a new york publishing house . \\ncharlotte is confident and outspoken--perhaps a little too outspoken ; alice is shy and introverted , \" like a kindergarten teacher . \" \\nthe two friends often doll themselves up and head out to the nameless nightspot , looking good and looking for excitement ( and that ms . beckinsale sure looks good on a dancefloor ! ) . \\nhere they meet , or re-meet , a variety of eligible men , many of whom they knew in college . \\ndes ( played by stillman favorite christopher eigeman ) is one of the club\\'s managers whose job is on the line for sneaking his ad agency buddies in the back . \\ndes has reached a crisis point in his life : he just found out--last wednesday , in fact--that he\\'s gay . \\nwhether it\\'s true or not , it makes for a convenient excuse to dump his latest girlfriend ( jennifer beals in a small but soul-baring turn ) . \\ncharlotte observes cattily that the only gay thing about des is his mouth . \\njimmy ( mackenzie astin ) is the advertising exec who , by the end of the picture , winds up heading for a new job opportunity in spain ( visions of \" barcelona \" ? ) . \\njosh ( matt keeslar ) is an assistant district attorney who dreams of being able to say , just once , \" book this clown ! \" \\nand robert sean leonard plays another one of alice\\'s revolving suitors ; the two have an amusing exchange about the true definition of virginity . \\nany film that can make robert sean leonard palatable is worthy of respect in my book . \\nin fact , the entire ensemble is appealing in that well-spoken stillman way . \\nwhile the eschewing of \" ferocious pairing \" is a favored topic of conversation in the film , the protagonists tend to slip in and out of love , lust , and trouble with each other in an emotional merry-go-round that cleverly develops its characters through the \" preferred \" dynamics of social group interaction . \\nmore mature than stillman\\'s previous two films , \" the last days of disco \" is as consistently droll as it is stimulating . \\nit\\'s a movie you should definitely get on down to . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" take a number , fill out a form , and wait your turn . \" \\nstarring kati outinen , kari v ? ? n ? nen , sakari kuosmanen , elina salo ; written & directed by aki kaurism ? ki ; cinematography by timo salminen \\nit might be possible to call drifting clouds a satire or a black comedy , but that would imply a sense of anger , of vitriol , of energy ; drifting clouds is what you get when the rage and vitality are gone . \\nit is the sad , slow story of lauri and ilona , a married couple caught between the wheels of capitalism as it grinds inexorably onward . \\nhe loses his job as a tram driver , because everyone drives cars nowadays . \\nwithin a couple of months , she loses her position as a head waiter , when her restaurant is bought out by a chain and the entire staff replaced . \\na conversation early in the film reveals a lot about their situation . \\nlauri has surprised ilona by buying her a tv , which she greets with little enthusiasm . \\nshe notes that they haven\\'t finished paying for the bookshelves or the couch yet . \\nhe says that in four years the payments will be done and then they can buy some books for the shelves . \\nit would pass as deadpan humour if it wasn\\'t spoken with such resigned weariness . \\nthis sets the tone for the rest of the movie . \\nthere is humour and idiosyncracy at the periphery , but at the centre there is frustration and futility , and sorrow for the ways in which the logic of profit reduces people , until their worth is equated solely with their earning capacity . \\nthere is an element of political commentary in this critique of the mechanisms of capitalism and the stultifying social environment it creates , but in drifting clouds the political is subsumed by the personal : the movie is about two people and what happens to them , and nothing else matters . \\nlauri and ilona live lives starved for friendship , respect , culture , passion . \\nthey go to the movies , and walk out past old posters for l\\'atalante and l\\'argent , but the movie they have just seen is a pointless , violent , unfunny comedy . \\ntheir house and workplaces are uniformly unpleasant , painted and upholstered in lifeless colours ( ugly greens , dull reds , insipid blues ) , full of inelegantly functional objects and appliances . \\nthe art design is impeccable in its tawdriness , and director aki kaurism ? ki often matches the colour of characters\\' clothes with the background colour and/or lighting , so that it seems as if they are almost physically fading into the environment . \\nthere is no suggestion of sexuality in the relationship ; ilona and lauri sleep in separate beds and their gestures of affection lack the heat of desire ; their lives are now bound by something more complex and desperate than love . \\ntheir downward , downsized , downtrodden lives have a momentum that is almost comic , as one setback succeeds another , bottoming out when lauri stakes all their remaining money on the spin of a roulette wheel . \\nit must have been tempting to play the story for more laughs , more farce , more deadpan wit , but the film\\'s great strength is the sober , empathic manner in which it observes lauri and ilona\\'s misfortunes . \\nirony would be an injustice . \\nsituations and settings are broad and exaggerated--this is not realism--but they are not distorted . \\nthe emotions are authentic . \\nif it is difficult to laugh at anything that happens , despite the droll performances , the laconic humour , that\\'s because kaurism ? ki brings such compassion and understanding to the manifold indignities that are suffered . \\nhe shows us how humiliating it must be for a woman of thirty-eight , who has worked long and hard to win a respectable position , to be forced to accept a job as a dishwasher in a two-bit restaurant ; how humiliating it must be for a man nearing 50 to confront his wife\\'s former employer , demanding the rest of her wages , only to have the crap beaten out of him , unable to land a single punch , when the employer and his cronies refuse to give him the money . \\nall this is observed keenly , with great economy : every cut , every line of dialogue , is judicious . \\nif most films are novelistic in their telling , this one brings the focus and concentration of a short story to bear . \\nbut what is gained in nuance and acumen is rather undermined by the sense that the material barely accommodates the 96-minute running length . \\ni have seen many movies far less profound , less humane , less necessary than drifting clouds , but they filled me with an urge to watch them again , and this one did not . \\nit does not need to be seen twice : its every detail and implication can be absorbed in one viewing . \\nit is not a movie that will be seen by a large audience , because it cannot be pitched to one . \\nthere is no selling point . \\nit is all understatement , restraint , melancholy . \\nthe characters are unremarkable , their best years behind them , their dreams dissipated ; it takes all the effort they can muster just to pay the bills . \\nthis does not make them less fascinating , merely less marketable , which is a shame , because this is a movie which should be seen , precisely because it pays attention to people and emotions that most movies prefer to ignore . \\nit engages us and touches us and resolves--surprisingly , and movingly--into something resembling a happy ending . \\nthe only thing greater than the ill-luck that governs the characters\\' lives is their refusal to give in to despair . \\ntheir persistence is rewarded with what might be called a \" feel-good \" ending elsewhere , but not here , because this ending differs in kind from most such endings : this one has truly been earned . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it is often said by his fans that hal hartley movies are an acquired taste . \\nindeed . \\nwhile perhaps less dangerous than tequila shooters or bungee-jumping , they require no less amount of physical stamina and concentration . \\ni felt rewarded at the end of henry fool ; this movie creeps up on you-at a slow 139 minutes , i mean creeps-and despite the final shot\\'s ambiguity , i left completely satisfied . \\nhenry fool ( \" used to have an ? e\\' \" ) arrives at garbageman simon grim\\'s house , claims the vacant basement apartment , and almost instantly inspires simon ( urbaniak ) to take up writing-henry ( martin donovan look-alike ryan ) is an ex-convict , a once-great author who has been \" exiled and marginalized \" by the publishing community because of his criminal activity . \\nsimon\\'s poetry turns him into a local sensation , as it causes mute women to sing , high-school girls to swoon , and councilmen to rile against its \" pornographic \" content . \\nmeanwhile , henry seduces both simon\\'s dependent mother ( porter ) and immature sister ( sundance queen posey ) with philosophical babble ( which is by turns brilliant and inane ) and breathy animal lust . \\nthese story elements result in climaxes both inevitable and unpredictable ; the teacher-student relationship formed between henry and simon eventually reverses itself . \\nhenry fool is sprinkled with hartley-ian flourishes : simon drinks milk from \" udderley\\'s \" ; the big teen hang-out is called \" world of donuts \" ; simon wears his garbageman\\'s uniform throughout ; the editing style is decidedly elliptical . . . \\n ( which is key to the conclusion\\'s said ambiguity ) . \\nthe performances by the three leads are abrasive at first , self-consciously \" quirky \" ; the introductory scenes are a chore . \\nthese people do grow on you because they convey genuine passion , a belief in themselves , and because they have long-term goals ; henry and simon may drink a lot of budweiser and hang out on the streetcorner , but they aren\\'t pop slackers . \\nthe story is rather classical : the tutor is a better talker than a doer , raised on books ; the timid tutee has innate talent his master only dreams of . \\n ( shades of film school . . . ) \\nthe finished film is epic in its proportions for a story so small , and the final third does test one\\'s patience , yet henry fool is tight , hardly excessive in its length . \\nhow refreshing to see a movie this long in 1998 devoted entirely to character . \\nand unless i nodded off , not a single building exploded . \\nthis , hartley\\'s seventh feature , is contemplative about \" the artist \" ; fortunately , we never get a sampling of simon\\'s work , and it\\'s a testament to the actors and the screenplay that by the end we can surmise what sort of thoughts would pour from these writers\\' pens . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'almost a full decade before steven spielberg\\'s saving private ryan asked whether a film could be both \" anti war \" and \" pro-soldier \" , john irvin\\'s hamburger hill proved it could . \\nlost in the inundation of critical acclaim that greeted oliver stone\\'s platoon , this excellent film was dismissed as \" too militaristic \" . \\nit\\'s hard to understand exactly why---unless irvin , in assembling his motley collection of young men who for predictable ( and often naive ) reasons \" chose to show up \" for the vietnam debacle , ---has refused to present us with the stone killer , drug-stoked psycho and ruthless opportunist who have become to vietnam war epics what \" the polack , the hillbilly and the kid from brooklyn \" became to wwii movies . \\nhamburger hill , based on a true story , is not an easy film to watch . \\nthere is a scene that will have graying anti-war activists squirming in their seats , or moved to genuine tears . \\nand the climactic final assault on the \" hill \" in question is visually confusing . \\ngristly realities are presented in brief flashes , as if the brain dared not acknowledged what it had encountered . \\nand in the mud and smoke officer and enlistee , veteran and \" newbie \" , black soldier and white , become almost indistinguishable from each other , as they do in the chaos of actual combat . \\nthe acting throughout is solid with an absolutely stellar performance rendered by courtney b . vance as doc--in a role that will have many flatly disbelieving that this is same actor they cheered as \" seaman jones \" in mctiernan\\'s red october . \\nif you\\'ve seen private ryan , you owe it to yourself to see hamburger hill--if only to determine that the all the valour and horror of spielberg\\'s vision was as present in the ashau valley as it was at omaha beach . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you\\'ve heard all the hype . \\nyou\\'ve seen all their faces - natalie portman ( the professional ) as queen amidala , liam neeson ( schindler\\'s list ) as qui-gon jinn , ewan mcgregor ( trainspotting ) as obi-wan kenobi , and jake lloyd ( jingle all the way ) as young anakin skywalker . \\nif you\\'ve read any reviews , you\\'ve also probably heard that this movie fails to live up to the magic and humanity of the first trilogy . \\nyou also may have heard that this one\\'s too kiddie-friendly , and doesn\\'t have enough content for adults . \\nbelieve the hype . \\nthe effects are stunning , the digitalized creatures are amazingly realistic , the lightsaber duels are amazing , and queen amidala\\'s sumptuous robes are fit to be worn by queen elizabeth . \\nbut there\\'s something missing here , and it isn\\'t budget or effects - it\\'s everything money * can\\'t * buy . \\nthe actors struggle as best they can to flesh out broad-stroked and flat characters . \\nthe most successful at this is liam neeson who , as qui-gon jinn , a jedi master to young obi-wan kenobi , has quiet dignity and a wise , commanding presence . \\nhe is the anchor to this movie , as he is the one character who george lucas apparently spent some time fleshing out . \\nportman\\'s queen amidala and mcgregor\\'s obi-wan kenobi don\\'t fare nearly so well . \\namidala , the future mother of luke and leia and the queen of a peaceful planet being invaded by the trade federation ( ? ! ? ) , comes off as stoic , stilted and caricatured ( it appears as though she was a vulcan geisha in a former life ) . \\nand obi-wan , although mcgregor makes him very endearing , has so little screen time that he\\'s nothing but a robin to qui-gon jinn\\'s batman . \\nhowever , mcgregor does struggle manfully to infuse this surprisingly small supporting role with a spark of genuine insight and humanity , and he does a good job . \\nhe also absolutely nails alec guiness\\' ( obi-wan in episode 4 - 6 ) scottish accent , and that really makes his presence in the film more profound than it might have been otherwise . \\nin fact , lucas seems to bank on that preexisting knowledge quite a bit , and that\\'s one of the problems with this film . \\ni would never call myself a \" star wars \" fan - especially not considering what it means to be a fanatic these days - but i\\'ve always enjoyed the films along with everyone else in america . \\nhowever , if you are the one person in america who * hasn\\'t * seen the films at all or even recently , or who doesn\\'t bother to brush-up on the names of obscure characters , you may be hopelessly lost . \\nfor example , one of the film\\'s main ( nefarious ) characters is senator palpatine . \\nfor those of you not recently steeped in \" star wars \" trivia , emperor palpatine is that scary hooded apparition who was darth vader\\'s master in \" return of the jedi \" and \" empire strikes back . \" \\nso , obviously , his appearance in \" phantom menace \" is meant to stir some echoes of his later role in the series , thus making his role here more meaningful . \\na lot of the movie is like that . \\nr2-d2 and c-3po make token appearances , and it\\'s obvious that lucas is banking on the audience\\'s pre-existing fondness for them . . . \\nbecause he doesn\\'t do much to add to it in any way . \\nsame goes for jabba the hutt , who doesn\\'t look as much mean here as he does corpulent and lazy . \\neven * planets * make foreshadowing guest appearances in this film - tatooine ( the desert world where luke grew up ) , coruscant ( the cloud city from \" empire strikes back \" ) , and alderaan ( leia\\'s home planet - which we never actually see - that gets blown up in \" star wars \" ) show up or are mentioned briefly in passing . \\nwhat\\'s the result of tying so many plot points and characters to future films ? \\nthe answer is that this one seems surprisingly empty . \\nthere\\'s no meat - no substance - that makes you want to love the characters as they are , not as they will be . \\nanother problem is that there are actually * too many * alien characters in the film . \\ni was distracted by the fact that two of the main evil characters - strange looking aliens who looked like gila monsters - had mouths that barely moved , making them look more like muppets than actual characters . \\nand jar jar binks , a silly roger rabbitish amphibious character , is intended as comic relief , but what he really becomes is annoying - and fast . \\nunlike chewbacca and c-3po , who got their humanity ( if you\\'ll pardon the expression ) from their interactions with the human characters , jar jar is often left to interact mostly with others of his kind , at times making the movie seem like nothing more than a very expensive \" teenage mutant ninja turtles . \" \\nfurthermore , the dialogue is often stilted and corny , and sometimes downright infantile , thereby rendering some characters into nothing more than bystanders to the plot . \\noddly , this isn\\'t just * my * judgment - lucas has said that he designed this film for kids . \\nwell , he\\'s done a good job . \\nthe hero of this film , of course , is young anakin , but it was very hard for me to feel any kinship or identify with an eight-year-old boy . \\nthat\\'s not jake lloyd\\'s fault , though - he does a good job of being a cute kid , which is apparently all lucas asked of him . \\nthat\\'s another mistake , of course , because the cute tyke becomes darth vader . \\nwarning : spoilers ahead ! ! ! ! \\nin my opinion , there was not nearly enough foreshadowing of anakin\\'s future evil in the film . \\nthe boy is all blond flowing hair and rosy cheeks , and there\\'s nothing more than a spark of aggression in him throughout the entire movie . \\nhe has a doting mother ( pernilla august , making her first english- language film ) and is a slave to a gross flying gnome on tatooine . \\nbut the only indication the audience gets that this kid isn\\'t all hearts and roses is yoda\\'s hesitation in allowing him to train as a jedi under qui-gon jinn . \\nhis explanation ? \\n \" his future is clouded . \" \\n ( warning : major spoiler ahead . \\nenter at your own risk . ) \\nof course , the noble qui-gon dies at the hand of darth maul , a scary-looking sith lord who excels at the jedi arts , but has turned to the dark side . \\nthis dude has maybe two lines in the entire movie , but he establishes his presence through his amazing moves with his double-sided lightsaber , and his scary facial makeup . \\nbecause qui-gon never gets a chance to train the young anakin in the ways of the force , obi-wan , qui-gon\\'s young padawan apprentice ( one level below knightdom ) , must take over the training himself . \\nso , at the end of the movie , we end where the saga actually begins - with obi-wan kenobi and his young apprentice , anakin \" darth vader \" skywalker . \\ndid this story need to be told ? \\ni would say no . \\nbut is it a worthwhile movie to see ? \\nabsolutely . \\nif you don\\'t enter the theater with jedi-size expectations , and you simply want to be treated to an enjoyable visual spectacle , then this is your movie . \\nthe tatooine pod races are a triumph of effects and computer animation . \\nthe digitalized backgrounds on some of the planets are an astonishing sight . \\nand yoda and young obi-wan are worth seeing for their origins in a simpler , happier time . \\nabove all , this is a fun movie . \\nnot deep , not meaningful , and not profound . \\nbut fun . \\nmaybe next time , lucas will hire lawrence kasdan to co-write the script , and the guy who directed \" empire \" will direct . \\nbecause if lucas does the next one himself , it will be lacking the one thing it needs the most - potential . \\n : ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'armageddon , in itself , symbolizes everything that is wrong in modern filmmaking . \\nstories have been replaced with special effects ; character development gets overshadowed by bad dialogue ; plotting consists of a bunch of shit getting blown up . \\narmageddon is as stupid , as loud and as shallow as any movie you\\'ll see come out this summer , or maybe even any other summer . \\nbut i loved every freaking minute of it . \\nbelieve me , i\\'m just as shocked as you are . \\nhell , i don\\'t even know why i went to see it in the first place . \\nthe previews were so annoying that i predicted this was going to be the worst film of the year , or at least in the running . \\ni\\'m sorry , but \" somebody dial 911 ! ! ! \" \\nisn\\'t quite the tagging that\\'s going to sell a movie . \\nit isn\\'t too wise either to market the film using the movie\\'s stupidest lines ( \" beam me up scotty \" - yeah , that sure is great writing . . . ) . \\ni mean , let\\'s face it ; armageddon\\'s previews rival the truman show\\'s as being some of the worst of the year . \\nneither of them even come close to doing their respective films justice . \\nof course , you all know the story . \\nwhen the earth is threatened with total annihilation via an asteroid the size of texas , nasa calls in the us\\'s top oil drillers ( ! ) to go into space ( ! ) and implant a nuclear device eight-hundred and someodd feet into the asteroid ( ! ) . \\nin the coarse of all this mayhem , we are introduced to some interesting - and not so interesting - characters . \\nbelonging to the former group is rockhound ( steve buscemi ) , a horny little womanizing genius who\\'s always full of wisecracks , even when flying into space at a huge amount of g\\'s . \\nalso , there\\'s the always cool-as-hell billy bob thornton as dan truman , the bigwig at nasa who recruits all the drillers . \\nhe kind of reminded me of ed harris in apollo 13 , only without the intensity and great lines to deliver . \\nthen on the flip side of the coin is the tired , contrived character of harry stamper ( bruce willis , who does the whole movie employing with annoying accent i can\\'t quite place ) , the leader of the pack as well as liv tyler and ben affleck as the token lovers you must have in any summer movie . \\nbasically , that\\'s about it . \\nas i said , this is hardly a film about plot . \\nit\\'s another summer blockbuster with plot points that are beyond unbelievable and dialogue and characters that are mostly completely wooden . \\ncase in point : nasa doesn\\'t know that there is even an asteroid on it\\'s way until eighteen days before impact - huh ? \\nanother example : at one point in the movie , two children are playing with toy space shuttles in front of a poster of kennedy . \\nhow pretentious is that ? ? ? ! ! ! \\nwant another one ? \\nokay ; before the oil drillers blast off into space , one of them starts singing \" leaving on a jet plane \" , and soon , all the rest join in . \\ndid michael bay attend the school of sappy filmmaking before he made this picture ? \\nbut naturally , all this sappiness , melodrama and special effects accumulate to one bitchin\\' time at the movies . \\nand don\\'t get me wrong - despite all of the things i found wrong with armageddon , i still very much enjoyed it . \\nso even if you don\\'t win one of mcdonald\\'s free tickets , it\\'s still definitely worth checking out . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'gere , willis , poitier chase each other around the world \\nthe jackal a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman \\nwhen the soviet union imploded , the western countries lost their shadow . \\nwith the united states friendly with the russians , we no longer had an entity to blame for the world\\'s problems . \\nthis showed up in hollywood films as the communist government was no longer the easy bad guy . \\nit\\'s time to rejoice because we\\'ve found our new villain . \\nnow it\\'s no longer the russian government who sends killers out into foreign lands , it\\'s the russian _mafia_ . \\na perfect solution , it combines the dread of organized crime and the still-present uneasiness with the former eastern block countries . \\nbest of all , the villains are still foreigners : fear of the other always plays best . \\nso it is a crime lord in moscow that sends legendary hitman the jackal ( bruce willis ) to assassinate a highly placed us government figure in retaliation for the death of his brother during a nightclub raid . \\nthe fbi is at a loss as to how to protect the target from someone they\\'re not sure even exists . \\ncoming to their rescue is former ira operative declan mulqueen ( richard gere ) who is temporarily released from prison to assist fbi agent carter preston ( sidney poitier ) and russian major valentina koslova ( diane venora ) . \\nmulqueen\\'s ex-girlfriend basque terrorist isabella ( mathilda may ) is the only person who has seen the elusive jackal . \\n ( presumably there is an exclusive international terrorist club somewhere where the three met . ) \\nthe film follows two parallel tracks as the jackal prepares for his $70 million hit and mulqueen attempts to locate him while preston makes sure that the irishman doesn\\'t slip away . \\ncrossing numerous borders and donning various disguises for both himself and his mini-van , the killer is always one step ahead of his pursuers . \\nbeing very loosely based on the same book the 1973 thriller \" the day of the jackal \" , comparison between the two films is inevitable . \\nthere is no doubt that the original is the better movie , playing the story for suspense rather than the current action/adventure . \\nas a mystery , \" the jackal \" has enough holes in it to ruin the tale , but if you can accept it for what it is , there\\'s entertainment to be had . \\nholes ? let\\'s see ? a pivotal clue for mulqueen is so obscure that he must possess psychic powers to pick it up . \\nfor a 20-year veteran that can command the big bucks , the jackal is an incredibly poor shot . \\nthe final scene between gere and willis occurs in a location that should be mobbed with police , but it\\'s just the two of them . \\nwillis\\' disguises usually look like bruce willis and are just as interesting as val kilmer\\'s in \" the saint \" . \\n ( and lest you misunderstand , that\\'s not a compliment . ) \\nbut the three stars are fun to watch . \\nit\\'s good to see gere in something other than a business suit . \\nwillis has a mixed history in picking projects , but his characters are always watchable . \\npoitier is by far the superior actor , but has limited screen time . \\nthe problems in logic are flaws , but don\\'t ruin the experience . \\noccasionally there are movies that transcend their blemishes . \\nthis is one of them . \\n[the appeared in the 11/20/97 \" bloomington voice \" , bloomington , indiana] \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"let me start off by saying that leading up to the release of the latest bond film , i really wasn't looking forward to it as much as i have with some of the previous films . \\ni'm not sure if it was the fairly lackluster trailers or the ever-present dread that the next film will fall back into the miserable ways of the timothy dalton years . \\ni'm happy to report that any doubts were erased after about the first 10 minutes of the film . \\nby that point , it was evident that mr . bond was back with a vengeance . \\nall doubts would have probably been erased sooner except for the fact that the first ten minutes of the film weren't exactly a pleasant experience . \\nit seems that nobody told the geniuses working at the theater that the house lights are supposed to be turned off when the movie starts . \\nit took a reminder from an audience member to clue them in . \\ni guess they can be excused though , taking tickets and cleaning up popcorn between shows is extremely taxing on the brain . \\nanyway , after somebody remembered what the light switch was for , i settled in for bond . \\ni think the most noticeable aspect of this , the 19th film in the series , is that it really goes back to the almost tongue in cheek style of the roger moore films . \\nthere were probably more one-liners in this movie than in the last several combined . \\nand bond's last one-liner in the film is about the best of the series . \\nthe world is not enough also contained perhaps the most action of any movie of the series . \\neverything from wild boat chases to the usual assortment of cool bond gadgets trotted out just when there seems to be no way out for 007 . \\nfor the most part , the action sequences worked very well . \\nalthough , there were a couple of times that i thought some things were a bit over the top , even for a bond film . \\ni think some of the blame can be laid at the feet of director michael apted . \\nwhile he did a good job for the most part , there were points in the movie , specifically during action sequences , that he seemed to loose site of the fact that he was making essentially an action film . \\nmost noticeably sequences on a snow covered mountain and one involving bond getting through a closing door looked like apted thought he was filming some sort of high brow art movie . \\nhe almost seemed like he didn't know what he was doing . \\nbut they were brief scenes and really shouldn't take away from the otherwise solid job that apted did in directing . \\nif you have ever seen a bond film , you won't be shocked to learn that plot has never been their strong suit . \\nthe world is not enough is no exception . \\nthis time we have yet another over villain that bond has to stop for the good of the world . \\n007 matches wits with the terrorist renard ( robert carlyle ) , a man who has a bullet lodged in his brain that makes him impervious to pain . \\nwhy this point is included is beyond me . \\nthey took great pains to explain his condition , but it only came up later in the movie as a scene that can only be described as looking like an afterthought . \\nanyway , renard , like the typical terrorist that he is , is bent on some harebrained scheme involving a mid-east oil pipeline . \\ni guess world domination just isn't as attractive to terrorists as a money making venture anymore . \\nbond is brought in to protect the pipeline's owner , elektra king ( sophie marceau ) , who is the daughter of one of renard's recent victims . \\nalong the way , bond has to enlist the help of a nuclear scientist , dr . christmas jones ( denise richards ) , and his old rival valentin zukovsky ( robert carlyle ) . \\nlike all bond films , you basically just have to suspend disbelief over the plot , since it is ridiculous beyond words . \\nmy biggest complaint would be that it was about the most disjointed of any of the bond films . \\nthere was at least one point that i had to stop and try to remember why bond was where he was and why he was doing what he was doing . \\nthe buddy that i saw the movie with was completely confused over an earlier kidnapping of marceau's character . \\nit was alluded to earlier in the movie briefly -- although not included in the film . \\nlater , it became a big part of the story and left him with the distinct feeling that he had missed something . \\nbut because it is a bond film , the beautiful women and nifty gadgets seem to make you forget about script problems quite quickly . \\nafter all , it isn't shakespeare . \\nhow about the cast ? \\nbrosnan seems to get better with each of his appearances as 007 . \\ni grew up with the roger moore version of bond , so i really enjoyed the lighter style that brosnan brings to the character . \\njudi dench , as m , had a bigger role in this film than in her two previous appearances in the role . \\nshe brought the talent with her that one would expect from an oscar winner . \\nrobbie coltrane was easily one of the best parts in goldeneye , so it was nice to see his russian mobster character revived in this movie . \\ncoltrane gets more screen time , which simply leads to him stealing even more scenes . \\nthen there are the bond girls . \\nsophie marceau might be one of the most beautiful actresses working today . \\nthere is just something about her breathtaking eyes that makes her a natural to play the innocent victim . \\nthose that saw her in braveheart know she is more than just a pretty face . \\nmarceau may be the most talented actress to ever play a bond love interest . \\nthen we have denise richards . \\nthere was no doubt in my mind that she was cast exclusively for her looks . \\nand after you see the outfits she wears , you won't have any trouble guessing what part of her anatomy caught the producer's eyes . \\ni was pleasantly surprised to find that she really did a good job playing a nuclear scientist . \\nadmittedly , there was one point that the audience snickered a bit at one of her technical lines of dialogue , but other than that she stacks up ( no pun intended ) to her bond girl predecessors nicely . \\ni must say that the biggest disappointment was robert carlyle's character . \\nwhile carlyle did a fine job with the material that he had , his character just never worked for me . \\nthe producers tried very hard to add more complexity to his character , but it just never quite got off the ground . \\ni guess i was hoping for a bit more regarding the whole impervious to pain aspect of his character , but the writers decided to play up the emotional side of his character . \\nthis might have worked well in another movie , but i don't go to see bond movies for their deep characterizations . \\nlast , but not least , we have desmond llewelyn as q . this is the 17th appearance for llewelyn as bond's gadget guy , and he is as good as ever . \\nalthough his screen time has grown far more limited in the past few films , he is still a treat to watch . \\nrumors abound that this may be his last appearance in the role . \\nhe says future appearances are up to a higher power . \\nthe producers have introduced his protege and future replacement , a bumbling and somewhat pompous character played by comedy master john cleese . \\nwhile we don't see much of him in this film , i think it is fair to say that desmond llewelyn's legacy , whenever it is passed on , will be in very capable hands . \\nso how does it stack up ? \\ndespite some problems , the world is not enough is a very entertaining movie . \\nand , all things considered , what problems it does have are small compared to some that have plagued earlier bond movies . \\nthis is easily the best of the brosnan films . \\nit may even be the best of the entire series , certainly in the top 3 . \\none thing is for sure , even after 19 movies , there is still plenty of life left in the james bond series . \\nhere's looking forward to bond number 20 . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'after a successful run in australia last year , and with much critical praise heaped upon it , muriel\\'s wedding opens into medium release this weekend in north america . \\nmuriel heslop is a withdrawn , overweight young woman living in porpoise spit , australia . \\nshe is often the target of her father\\'s frequent rants at the family , and drowns out her feelings of inadequacy with abba music and fantasies of marriage . \\nher self-loathing is such that only being wed shall she prove herself to be a success ; marriage will transform her into a new person who is respected and admired . \\nafter her four cliquey friends dump her , muriel plots to follow them to a resort where they are celebrating the honeymoon of one of the girls , and muriel\\'s wedding unfolds from there . \\ntoni collette plays muriel in a winning performance , conveying both the sadness of her character and her desperate eagerness to be accepted . \\ncollette gained a frightening 43 pounds in order to play the chubby title character . \\nshe has a natural screen presence and exudes charisma , easily winning the audience over with an honest , painful performance . \\ncollette basically carries the film , appearing in almost every scene . \\nmuriel\\'s father , bill \" the battler \" heslop , is portrayed by bill hunter as a slick politician/developer . \\nwhile chumming around with young fans and crowing \\'you can\\'t beat progress\\' ( his slogan ) , bill labels his family as worthless and embarrassments . \\nrachel griffiths plays rhonda , who becomes muriel\\'s cheeky new friend in the film . \\nshe has good chemistry with collette , and the film suffers when griffiths is off-screen . \\nmuriel\\'s tormenters , played by pippa grandison , rosalind hammond , belinda jarrett and sophie lee , are two-dimensional caricatures , all saucy , vain and bumblingly spiteful , though that is probably due to hogan\\'s scripting \\nmuriel\\'s wedding is essentially a genre teen comedy with more intelligence and a lot of charm . \\nhogan\\'s use of abba tunes ( which virtually comprises the entire soundtrack ) is interestingly appropriate , although its repetitiveness tires after awhile . \\nhogan\\'s script is right on the mark in terms of proportionately mixing comedy with muriel\\'s earnest quest for acceptance , and the gorgeous scene with muriel window-shopping beautifully illustrates the wonder that marriage has for her . \\nthe glaring pastel colours worn by the performers is an interesting touch . \\nmuriel\\'s wedding features a fine performance by toni collette and a charming , if a bit too straightforward and conventional story by p . j . hogan . \\non my four star scale , i give muriel\\'s wedding three stars . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" deep rising \" gives you that sinking feeling both literally and figuratively : not only does the movie take place on a cruise ship slowly being immersed into the middle of the ocean by a squid-like menace , but the unfolding story is artificial , silly and almost completely derivative of countless other ( and , for the most part , better ) films . \\nwhile dumb monster movies can at least be decent guilty pleasures -- take , for example , the schlocky mountain highs of last spring\\'s \" anaconda \" -- \" deep rising \" has no tongue to put in its cheek . \\nfolks , we\\'re only a month into the new year , and already here\\'s a candidate for one of its stinkiest releases . \\nmost of the action takes place on the argonautica , a luxury liner in the middle of its maiden voyage ( uh-oh -- if these people had seen \" titanic , \" then maybe they\\'d have known to stay home ) when it\\'s attacked by a giant , tentacled sea creature . \\nthe only survivors are slinky jewel thief trilian ( famke janssen ) , argonautica owner canton ( anthony heald ) and a few other crew members . \\na mercenary team , lead by resourceful captain john finnegan ( treat williams ) , board the argonautica looking for assistance after their own boat breaks down nearby . \\nbut what their search of the ship uncovers is something blood-soaked , hungry and not very helpful . \\nthe main problem with \" deep rising \" is its overt familiarity ; the movie makes absolutely no attempt to differentiate itself from most sci-fi/horror films in recent memory . \\nthe concept is \" leviathan \" meets \" titanic , \" with a dash of \" speed 2 \" thrown in for good ( or is that bad ? ) \\nmeasure . \\nthis monster is equal parts \" 20 , 000 leagues under the sea \" and \" the relic , \" knows how to open doors like the raptors from \" jurassic park \" and even gets to expel a half-digested victim ( a neat effect , admittedly ) a la the giant snake in \" anaconda . \" \\nsome of the attack sequences are straight out of \" jaws \" and \" alien . \" \\na scene where the remaining survivors have to travel under water to escape death is right out of \" alien resurrection . \" \\nthere\\'s even a jet ski chase like \" hard rain . \" \\nand the list goes on . \\nwatching \" deep rising \" \\'s cast battle the beast is a murky chore in itself , because none of them have well-developed characters , nor do they seem to project even the slightest sense of fear when facing their enemy . \\nwilliams is affable enough , but his finnegan just isn\\'t believable . \\nan interesting supporting cast is thoroughly wasted ; pretty famke janssen , best known as \" goldeneye \" \\'s killer thighs , is trapped in a forced romantic interest with williams , while kevin j . o\\'connor , as finnegan\\'s mechanic , provides comic relief with screechy manic shtick that gets old fast . \\ndjimon honsou , who received raves for his performance as a noble slave in december\\'s \" amistad , \" pops up in a brief part . \\nhe needs to stay away from the water . \\nthe movie\\'s final shot is a groaner , as is the 11th-hour regurgitation of a subplot involving an on-ship saboteur . \\nas if a cast deserving of their snack food-fate isn\\'t bad enough ( when you taunt the monster , you\\'re really asking for it ) , \" deep rising \" is a slow , stupid slog through a story without a single bright spot . \\nand since we all know that the higher the casualty rate is , the closer we are to the end of the movie , rooting for this overgrown squid to swallow the whole ship isn\\'t out of the question . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'mickey mouse had better watch his back -- there\\'s a new critter in town , and he\\'s the nameless animal attraction of \" mouse hunt , \" dreamworks skg\\'s clever first foray into family fare . \\nalthough it runs out of steam towards its end , this live-action comedy still boasts enough energized slapstick and inventive set pieces to best disney\\'s entire 1997 non-animated , kiddie-oriented catalog . . . \\nbut consider that list includes dismal tripe like \" air bud , \" \" flubber \" and \" that darn cat , \" and it\\'s really not such a difficult feat to pull off . \\nstill , throw the two rodents in a boxing arena , and i\\'ll be hoping that the mouse from \" mouse hunt \" knocks some sense back into mickey . \\nnathan lane ( robin williams\\' significant other from \" the birdcage \" ) and lee evans ( last seen as a nervous bellhop in \" the fifth element \" ) play ernie and lars smuntz , befuddled brothers who have just inherited two unwanted assets from their late father ( william hickey , in his last role ) -- a dilapidated old string factory and a dilapidated old mansion . \\nalthough lars made a deathbed promise to upkeep the former , he and ernie decide to sell the latter for big bucks after learning it was designed by a famed architect . \\nbut there\\'s a lone obstacle in their way -- a single mouse lives within the walls of the house , and he\\'s not about to give up his place of residence without a fight . \\nmovies aimed at young audiences are rarely this visually exquisite . \\nthe effects blending the talents of 60-some live mice , one animatronic mouse and one computer-generated mouse are pretty seamless . \\nthe splendid production design seems to be straight out of tim burton\\'s mind ; the smuntz\\'s architecturally-unsound mansion is like something straight out of \" the nightmare before christmas , \" and the vortex of bizarre machinery in their factory resembles some of vincent price\\'s warped contraptions from \" edward scissorhands . \" \\n \" mouse hunt \" is a pretty dark movie -- even some of the humor can be grim -- but it\\'s hardly ever mean-spirited . \\nthe star of the show is neither the top-billed lane nor the titular mouse . \\nit\\'s lanky british comedian evans , whose hysterical bodily antics suggest a cleaned-up jim carrey without the obnoxious overkill ( note a toned-down but nonetheless outrageous impromptu striptease ) ; evans\\' banter with the ever-affable lane is funny stuff , too , and holds its own against the movie\\'s more flashy physical shtick . \\nvicki lewis ( beth from \" newsradio \" ) is solid in a supporting role as lars\\' money-grubbing wife . \\nand in a nifty bit of novelty casting , christopher walken is a macabre delight as a spooky exterminator who takes his job a little too seriously , popping a dropping into his mouth and noting to his tape recorder that the mouse has a \" calcium deficiency . \" \\nblech . \\na basically one-joke idea -- a mouse outsmarts a couple of bumbling humans -- is given a rather engaging execution . \\ntheir sparring is imaginatively realized ( i don\\'t think i\\'ll ever forget the sight of that tiny little mouse making his getaway on a rolling wheel of gouda ) , and although you really never fully root for either side , that\\'s okay -- a warm-and-fuzzy union between the two parties is practically promised from the first frame they share . \\n \" mouse hunt \" may take a while to get going ( the rather lengthy set-up could test the patience of some of the younger children , although i rather liked it , much in part to lane and evans ) , and the climactic sequence is allowed to play out for a bit too long , but this appears to be one family movie that most members of the family will be able to find agreeable , not unlike the original \" home alone . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"synopsis : in this movie , steven spielberg , one of today's finest directors , attempts to spice up the 1800s story of a long courtroom battle over the fate of prisoner cinque ( djimon hounsou ) - - a young angry man from sierra leone who was kidnapped into slavery - - and his fellow prisoners . \\ncinque and friends have landed a ship on the shores of america after escaping spanish slave traders , but since the americans don't speak cinque's language , the black men are hauled into court to determine whether or not they are legally slaves . \\ntechnically , since the international slave trade was outlawed at that time , people like cinque couldn't be kidnapped into slavery ; one had to be born a slave to be legally considered a slave . \\nlawyers baldwin and adams ( matthew mcconaughey and anthony hopkins ) must prove cinque and the others were captured into slavery , rather than born slaves , in order to get them out of prison as free men . \\nthree lengthy court cases are portrayed with spielberg's trademark panache - - flashy beginning , lots of facial close-ups , big music , and dramatic imagery . \\na final speech by adams is followed by an anticlimax where subtitles show what eventually happened to the various characters . \\nopinion : making a fictional movie is easier than making one about real life . \\nin fiction , one invents purposeful , clear-cut good guys and bad guys , puts the fictional characters in conflict , and takes the tale to its exciting conclusion . \\nreal life , however , consists of long stretches of boredom with a few dramatic moments and characters who stand around , think thoughts and do nothing , or come and go before events are resolved . \\nspielberg gives us a visually spicy and historically accurate real life story . \\ndjimon hounsou and anthony hopkins turn in excellent performances . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'for those who associate italian cinema with fellini and \" high art , \" the son\\'s room is an inventive , subtle alternative . \\nwritten by , directed , and starring nanni moretti , it takes us through the slow , complicated path of bereavement . \\nslow is the best description for the film at first . \\nit takes its time in establishing the habits of what appears to be a normal , happy family . \\nfather and mother both work but still find the time to support their son and daughter through homework and after school activities . \\nthey laugh , spend free time together , and reprimand the kids for innocent wrongs with a sigh and soft pat on the shoulder . \\nyou get the feeling there is open communication and unconditional love amongst the foursome . \\nbut suddenly , the son is found to be dead after a diving accident . \\nthe family dynamics begin an unpredictable descent that gives the narrative strength when you least expect it , but can also be trying on the attention span . \\nthough the film drags and even repeats itself , this can be somewhat excused as influenced by the process of grieving . \\nthough nanni moretti wore several hats for this production , it doesn\\'t come across as a vanity piece . \\none might wish he hadn\\'t picked the profession of analyst for the father , giovanni ( which he stars as ) , if only because this makes his character\\'s reactions so predictable . \\nwhat saves it is a well written script , with spare dialogue and an eclectic variety of human interaction . \\nthe potency of the film lies in the recreation of the tiny details of everyday life that alter due to the death of a close relative , or that remind a depressed person of loss . \\nyou start to take notice of the cracked dishes , ignored when familial bliss was in full swing . \\nyou remember bonding during the routine jogs around the block , and not necessarily huge events like graduation . \\neven better are the role reversals that take place within the household . \\nwhile giovanni and paola ( laura morante ) do check up on their daughter irene ( jasmine trinca ) , there is a sense of being on autopilot . \\nnot only does irene begin to take care of her own needs more , she\\'ll make her parents breakfast in an attempt to crack their new shells to life around them . \\nthese scenes provide interesting portrayals of various coping mechanisms , frequently crossing a boundary as to how much you can help yourself versus others during drastic , unexpected change . \\nrespectfully , gender issues never enter the picture . \\nself-propelled isolation is universal in terms of dealing , so moretti intelligently uses this tool to separate the family . \\nthough giovanni does stop paolo from discussing andrea at a party with friends , there is never a sense that he or she is more stoic , or more correct in the search to restore a sense of a balance to their lives . \\nmost films that broach the topic of death utilize annoying melodrama , speeches , and conciliatory issues to get the waterworks flowing . \\nin contrast , the son\\'s room captures a more realistic depiction of the effects of death on a family by graciously flowing among the five stages of mourning ( denial , depression , anger , bargaining , acceptance ) through each of its main characters . \\nit\\'s not the most engaging 100 minutes , but it is certainly easy to relate to . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i have a confession . \\neven though i am a movie junkie-i saw eye of the beholder and yet i still watch movies-i\\'ve never seen any of the original godzillas . \\n ( note that godzilla 2000 is not a sequel to the u . s . godzilla released in 1998 ; it\\'s the american release of a 1999 godzilla flick called gojira ni-sen mireniamu . ) \\nso , part of me was excited as i drove to the local multiplex to see godzilla 2000-the latest entry in an almost 50-year old franchise . \\nthis was a long-awaited treat . \\ni was expecting a goofy good time , complete with bad dubbing , science fair level sets and a ludicrous plot line . \\nthe last thing i expected was for the movie to be so ? boring . \\ni can only imagine what the theatre full of kids i saw this with felt . \\nyou do get all of the \" so bad they\\'re good \" traits so normally associated with the franchise . \\nbut you have to sit through a snoozer plot that has the organization of a rorschach blot . \\nit\\'s a deal i wasn\\'t willing to accept . \\nhiroshi kashiwabara and waturu mimura\\'s script crams in way too many details , and in many cases , fails to follow up on them . \\nthe maneuver is not only disconcerting , but gives the movie a permanent logy , weighty feel . \\ngodzilla starts off destroying power plants and then just stops . \\nwas it a whim ? \\na bold political statement ? \\ni don\\'t know . \\nits foe , an ancient meteor that looks like prudential\\'s logo , doesn\\'t just fight the beast from the far east . \\nno , it\\'s got to have life-saving powers , a plot to erase \" the data \" from japan , a desire to clone and the ability to become a spaceship and then some kind of tentacled space creature . \\nthere\\'s a battle between the head of the godzilla prediction unit ( takehiro murata ) and a slimy government official ( hiroshi abe ) over the handling of godzilla , and personal issues . \\nand then there\\'s the plucky news photographer and blah , blah , blah . \\nit\\'s like watching magnolia all over again-except without the good writing , keen sociological insight and aimee mann songs . \\nwhat a waste . \\nwhen the talking and the plot points stop hurtling at you , godzilla 2000 does the job-it\\'s entertaining and goes down easy . \\nthe action scenes are cheesy in their grandeur though a little sluggish . \\nthe dubbing is nice and awful , with murata sounding like he\\'s in constant need of a cough drop . \\nas for the dialogue , one line summarizes the goofiness factor : \" did anyone see that flying rock go by ? \" \\nthis movie also marked the first time since the three stooges that i\\'ve heard the word \" imbecile \" used in casual conversation . \\nthough the summer movie season is drying up and godzilla 2000 has its moments , i wouldn\\'t take kids to see it . \\nthey\\'ll probably end up asking more questions than charlie rose . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"everything in the phantom you have seen many times before and there is nothing new presented here . \\nwincer displays absolutely no skill in setting up an exciting action sequence . \\nbilly zane is wooden as the hero . \\nkristy swanson is given very little to do , and does very little with it . \\ntreat williams , looking like rhett butler but sounding like mickey mouse , is one of the worst villains i have ever seen in a movie . \\nonly catherine zeta jones , as one of williams cohorts turns in a good performance . \\nshe has energy and spunk , which the movie needed much more of . \\noh yeah , the phantom also has a secret identity but this is so poorly played out you won't even care . \\nabout the only things i can recommend are a good performance by jones , and some colorful scenery . \\nhowever , if youre looking for a fun family movie , go watch the underrated flipper . \\nthis is not a good movie . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"ingredients : down-on-his-luck evangelist , church \\nsynopsis : sonny dewey ( robert duvall ) is a tireless texas pentecostal preacher who unexpectedly catches his wife ( farrah fawcett ) in bed with another guy . \\nin a regrettable crime of passion he takes a baseball bat to the guy's head , and suddenly finds himself a fugitive for murder , and estranged from his wife and two kids . \\nto atone for his sins , sonny flees to a rural bayou town in louisiana and baptizes himself as a new creature - - the apostle e . f . as the apostle e . f . sonny's main mission is to revive an abandoned church community and preach the gospel at the local radio station . \\nsoon he sets about resurrecting the one way road to heaven holiness temple . \\nbut sonny knows his time is short ; one day the police will find him . \\nopinion : this movie is a thought-provoking look at an evangelist in real life terms . \\ni believe that robert duvall ( who is the producer , director , writer , and main star of the apostle ) deserves an oscar for his performance as sonny the religious crusader - - a performance which is so complex and realistic it ranks as one of the finest acting performances on film . \\nduvall's portrayal of a true believer is authentic , superb , and inspired ; it offers the audience a completely honest look at southern religion , as well as a portrait of a fallible , complicated man driven by his beliefs . \\nincidentally , in real life duvall was just as 'driven' in getting the project underway . \\nsince no major hollywood studio wanted to risk financing a complex movie about an evangelist , the apostle as a project lay dormant for almost 13 years before duvall was able to get it done , paying for its production with his own money ( about five million dollars ) . \\nin terms of hard-hitting realism and character portrayal the apostle would rank as one of the best movies of this decade , and i emphatically recommend the apostle for connoisseurs of stage and fine acting on film . \\nsimilarly , those with a steep background in pentecostal christianity would find the apostle a thought-provoking experience . \\non the other hand , the apostle's main strength - - duvall's preaching - - is also what limits the apostle's target audience . \\nin terms of plot and pure entertainment value , the apostle is definitely not for everyone . \\nteenagers , action fans , comedy fans , and people who find church completely boring should stay far away from this movie , since three quarters of the film is watching sonny preach at church . \\nin other words , the apostle is a four star performance , but with a very limited audience . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" desperate measures \" is a generic title for a film that\\'s beyond generic . \\nit\\'s also a depressing waste of talent , with the solid team of michael keaton and andy garcia unthankfully thrown thankless lead roles , not to mention once-cool director barbet schroeder sadly continuing his string of not-cool flicks -- this thriller is more \" before and after \" than \" reversal of fortune . \" \\nthe movie is a big disappointment , and yet it\\'s somewhat easy to see what motivated such big names to attach themselves to it -- the premise is both promising and intriguing . \\ntoo bad the execution\\'s all wrong , though , because the set-up of \" desperate measures \" boasts some rather enticing elements that deserve to be put to far better use . \\nsan francisco cop frank connor ( garcia ) is a single parent with a troubling dilemma -- his son matt ( joseph cross ) is stricken with cancer which only a bone marrow transplant can push into remission . \\neven worse , the only compatible donor is violent sociopath peter mccabe ( michael keaton ) , currently serving a life sentence for multiple murders and other various crimes against society . \\nconnor tries his best to convince mccabe to go along with the surgery ; he\\'s at first reluctant , but reconsiders after he realizes he can plan his escape at the hospital . \\nwhen he does make a run for it , connor offers close pursuit , but for different reasons than his superiors ( including the crusty brian cox ) -- they want to take mccabe down , while connor needs to keep him alive , or all hope is lost for his little boy . \\none misstep \" desperate measures \" makes is in its underdevelopment of matt\\'s illness . \\nwhat\\'s needed are more details as to exactly why mccabe is the only bone marrow match that works ; there would seem to be other possible contenders somewhere in the country , and thus many of the ways that connor endangers the lives of himself and those around him by attempting to keep mccabe alive are just a little too hard to swallow . \\ntake , for example , a scene where mccabe is trying to make a getaway by climbing over an elevated passage tunnel connecting two sections of the hospital . \\nthe police have their spotlight and guns aimed right on him , and what does connor do ? \\nhe shoots the spotlight out so that mccabe can continue his flight . \\nconnor knows very well what dangerous deeds this guy is capable of , and yet never seems to think that mccabe will eventually get to and try to harm his son . \\nwhatever . \\nto be fair , though , the lack of story background is the least of the movie\\'s problems . \\nfirst and foremost is how cheaply \" desperate measures \" trades the potential of it\\'s opening scenes for the routine action ballistics of its final hour . \\nonce mccabe escapes , the film becomes the fugitive in reverse and with no thrills . \\nthere are countless scenes where the good guys catch up to keaton only to have him grab a hostage and get away . \\nalso , the movie is so intent on giving you a hoot-inducing , lip-smacking villain ( the ads have compared peter mccabe to hannibal lechter , natch ) that it completely casts garcia\\'s frank connor by the dullsville wayside ; \" desperate measures \" appears to like its antagonist so much more than its protagonist , and the movie\\'s head-scratcher of a send-off confirms this . \\nthere is some good to be found amongst this mess , particularly in the acting department . \\ncast against type , michael keaton\\'s understated menace is highly effective . \\nalthough he\\'s not given much believable to work with , andy garcia plays off a taut emotional chord . \\njoseph cross , as garicia\\'s ailing son , is surprisingly unsentimental , and marcia gay harden lends solid support as a doctor who becomes a major player in the unfolding chaos . \\nthis cast does its best to camouflage the sorry plot as it chugs towards an inevitably happy ending , but most is lost . \\nit goes without saying that \" desperate measures \" needs an operation of its very own . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"martin scorsese's kundun , which chronicles roughly the first twenty years of the life of the currently exiled dalai lama , has been criticized for its lack of narrative structure . \\npersonally , i don't think it needs one : it works perfectly well as a study of tibetan buddhist culture and how communist china . \\nscorsese views the dalai lama the way many tibetans probably do , as a larger-than-life symbol of buddhist spirituality and political leadership : the only glimpses into his head come from several interesting yet oblique dream sequences , but his portrayal is appropriate for a film that concentrates on the political and spiritual rather than the personal . \\nthe set design and cinematography are outstanding , and while scorsese occasionally seems to get carried away with the spectacle , it helps to augment the cultural contrast when the dalai lama travels to china to meet chairman mao . \\npolitical art sometimes succumbs to the temptation to start shouting slogans , kundun does not : it succeeds in delivering its message in an artistically interesting way and without being overly manipulative . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'yet another brainless teen flick , this one is about , surprise , drugs and sex . \\nstars katie holmes and sarah polly couldn\\'t look more bored . \\ntheir characters are cardboard cut-outs of every cliched teenager out there . \\none thing you need to know is i really hated this movie . \\neverything about it annoyed the hell out of me . \\nthe acting , and script , the plot , and ending . \\nthe director ( of the fluke hit swingers ) could have very well directed a bunch of no-name actors and had a watchabe film . \\nthe \" big \" stars of go pretty much drown the project of any originality . \\ni felt like i was watching dawson\\'s creek episode 200 . \\nalthough the film still would have stayed at red despite its cast . \\nthe \" surprise \" ending was sooo predictable . \\nsince when is a male character\\'s sudden outing of the closet considered a surprise in hollywood anymore ? ? \\ngo is dawson\\'s creek + varsity blues - she\\'s all that = go home and watch something else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" it was not scary . \" \\nthese are the first words that came to mind after it was over . \\nwhen a movie is called _vampires_ , \" not scary \" aren\\'t words that should be associated with it . \\nbut that wasn\\'t my only gripe . \\njohn carpenter is a name associated with cutting-edge cinema , as in the intense scares of _halloween_ , _the thing_ and _the prince of darkness_ , or the offbeat action of _they live_ and _escape from new york_ . \\nunfortunately , the only thing that is cutting edge about _vampires_ is the level of boredom the movie is able to reach . \\nwith an anemic plot and not-quite-kosher special effects , _john carpenter\\'s vampires_ has barely enough substance to slake the thirst of even the least discerning genre fan . \\nthe film is at first concerned with a group of roaming vampire slayers , led by james woods , of all people . \\nlike some sort of holy a-team ( they even have their own souped-up van ) , the bunch invade and wipe out a nest of vampires in a new mexico shack . \\ntheir method is amusingly innovative : the blood-suckers are reeled out with harpoons so they can flare up in the sun like matchsticks . \\nto commemorate their victory , the loutish band decorates a motel room with hookers and parties the night away . \\ntheir celebration is short-lived , however , as a master vampire named valek ambushes and single-handedly destroys most of the team . \\nwoods\\' jack crow and buddy montoya ( daniel baldwin ) escape with their lives , along with a woman named katrina ( sheryl lee ) . \\nalthough the woman has been bitten , montoya and crow decide to keep katrina for her psychic link to the master vampire . \\nthe rest of the movie is concerned with the boys\\' hunt for valek ( thomas ian griffith ) , a freaky marilyn manson-type who\\'s on a mission that dates back 600 years . \\nalong the way they pick up a priest named guiteau ( tim guinee ) , a character who serves pretty much the same purpose as the jittery cpl . \\nupham in _saving private ryan_ . \\nsome stuff happens in the middle of the movie , but i can\\'t remember most of it , because i often found a twitching hair in the corner of the frame more interesting than what was happening on screen . \\n_vampires_ finally starts to pick up about 90 minutes into the mix , as crow , guiteau , and montoya assault an abandoned prison-turned vampire nest . \\nonly then does the film begin to even resemble a carpenter flick . \\nbut it\\'s too little too late . \\nwe get the inevitable final confrontation , but it seems tacked on and rather anti-climactic ( come on , we\\'re dealing with _the_ master vampire here ! ) \\ninterestingly , last summer\\'s vampire actioner _blade_ was derived from a comic book , and _vampires_ from a novel , yet the latter seems more steeped in campy cheesiness than the former , a more deliberate superhero flick . \\nwoods\\' jack crow spouts glib off-the-cuff one-liners and strolls away from exploding buildings with that oh-so-cool stride . \\nand his motive for killing vampires ? \\ntake a wild guess . \\n ( hint : a ______ killed his _____ when he was just a _____ . ) \\nat least _blade_ had decent action and slick stylishness . \\n_vampires_ lacks even cheap thrills to mask its gossamer-thin plot . \\nto make up for this , the movie resorts to other \" shocks , \" such as its generally condescending attitude towards women ( crow slaps them around for the fun of it ) and an overplayed contempt for religion ( crow teases guiteau incessantly about whether his vow of celibacy has made him prone to \" getting woodies . \" ) \\nit can be argued that maybe i wanted too much from this movie . \\nif not scary and gory , i wanted tense , relentless , and exhausting . \\n_john carpenter\\'s vampires_ is none of these . \\ni can only recommended it for the hardcore carpenter fan . \\nfor the rest of you looking for a good scare , beware : _vampires_ is a film with no teeth . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'notting hill\\'s trailer is awful : a laughless , schmaltzy montage . \\nthe movie was desperately marketed to the anti-phantom menace crowd , the same lovelorn females who ignored the love letter . \\nand it apparently worked . \\nperhaps the presence of julia roberts-whose allure beyond those perfect teeth still escapes me-had a lot to do with notting hill\\'s opening weekend success , but the film\\'s staying power is based on word of mouth . \\nallow me to spread some more good buzz for notting hill . \\ngrant stars as william thacker , a travel-bookstore owner who works and resides in a tiny english district called notting hill . \\ninto his shop one day wanders famous actress anna scott ( roberts ) . \\na common thief , some spilled orange juice , and some stilted conversation leads to their first , highly impetuous ( or is that improbable ? ) , kiss . \\ndays later , william sneaks into her hotel suite under the guise of a magazine journalist , and so begins a passionate , albeit surreptitious , affair . \\n ( aside : notting hill\\'s portrayal of press junkets is deadly accurate . ) \\nonly anna\\'s celebrity-or william\\'s lack thereof-threatens to drive a wedge between them . \\nrichard curtis has tapped into fantasy we all have considered , and for at least its first half-hour the picture\\'s \" beauty and the beast \" -like scenario is ( romantic ) escapism of the highest order . \\nas with groundhog day or pleasantville , while watching the high-concept comedy notting hill one constantly imagines him/herself in the lead ; it\\'s william\\'s ordinaryness that entices the spoiled and bored anna . \\ncurtis ( who previously penned four weddings and a funeral ) is also smart enough to know that the unlikely couple\\'s situation is not enough to fuel two hours\\' worth of entertainment , so some of notting hill\\'s finest moments revolve around william\\'s eccentric friends and family . \\nby now , dear reader , you\\'ve probably heard a lot about rhys ifans\\' performance as william\\'s imbecilic welsh flatmate . \\nyes , he\\'s a crowd pleaser , a walking sight gag , but his character is not nearly as involving as the wheelchair-bound ( and appropriately named ) bella ( mckee , the anguished waitress of naked ) or max ( tom mcinnerny ) , her lousy chef of a husband . \\nin the movie\\'s best sequence , william , anna , and company sit around bloated from max\\'s latest concoction and hold a contest : the last brownie on the table goes to the diner with the saddest life . \\nthe scene ends only as a british writer would end it . \\nif anything , fantastic bits like these dull the main plot\\'s dramatic impact . \\nroberts and grant , especially , are appealing , but their relationship is convolutedly interrupted too many times ( four weddings\\' suffered similar flaws ) , and william and anna ultimately only have one thing in common : they\\'re lonely . \\n ( worth noting in roberts\\' and grant\\'s favour : the ubiquitous \" i\\'m just a girl , standing across from a boy , asking him to love her \" episode is not nearly so syrupy as it appears in clips , and it features some of the best emoting either actor has ever done . ) \\nnotting hill is nonetheless enjoyable ; on the visual side of things , i especially appreciated michell\\'s playful changing-of-the-seasons number . \\nif only ( and this is a surprisinly minor gripe ) he had lopped off the egregious epilogue ; for a story that thrives on what we bring to it , the filmmakers work too hard to tidy things up , leaving our imaginations in the lurch . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" with all that education , you should know what happiness is . \" \\nstarring sylvia chang , teresa hu , hsu ming , li lieh , mao hsueh-wei ; directed by edward yang ; written by yang and wu nien-chen ; cinematography by christopher doyle and chang hui-kung \\nevery country has , eventually , its new wave . \\nfrance had its nouvelle vague , brazil its cinema novo , china its fifth generation , and on and on . \\nsome waves just take longer than others , before they wash over us , cleansing us with the balm of discovery . \\ntaiwan\\'s new wave came in the 1980s , in the work of directors like hou hsiao-hsien , wan jen , and edward yang ; that day , on the beach--yang\\'s first feature--is central . \\nit created a new language for young taiwanese directors , even if the first attempts to speak that language were hesitant and faltering . \\nlater works refined the techniques that yang first explored here , giving taiwan a distinctive international presence . \\nthat day itself is long and frustrating , the document of a nation\\'s attempt to find a voice . \\nit does not lack ambition . \\nit anatomizes urban life in modern taiwan , in the manner of antonioni , elaborating the alienation that the westernized white-collar middle-class feel as their lives are shaped by old-fashioned roles--dedicated career men , loyal housewives--that they find unfulfilling . \\njia-li ( sylvia chang ) is the focus , but the film brings others into its compass--her husband , her brother , friends from her college days--as it charts her discontents . \\nno one is happy . \\njia-li married her husband , we-lei , at a young age . \\nat the time , her brother had been urged into an arranged marriage , despite his affection for another woman , and so jia-li\\'s marriage seemed , in comparison , a good one : she chose we-lei of her own free will , they loved each other . \\nbut it goes wrong . \\nthat day dutifully presents all the clich ? s : we-lei becomes absorbed in his career , indulges in an affair with a co-worker ; jia-li feels restless and trapped , bound by a choice she made while young , but which no longer seems wise . \\nthe film never redeems these clich ? s by conveying the feel of authentic experience , the intensity of lived pain , and much of it seems trite and belaboured . \\nit unfolds , awkwardly , as a series of flashbacks , told during a luncheon in vienna , where jia-li meets her brother\\'s old flame ( teresa hu ) , now a concert pianist , whom she has not seen since college . \\nboth women seem rather sad , and resigned to their sadness . \\ntheir circumstances ( and those of jia-li\\'s brother and a college friend ) suggest not so much that they have made the wrong choices--married the wrong man , chosen the wrong career path , etc . --but rather that the choices available to them were inadequate . \\nit is not that jia-li married the wrong man ; she didn\\'t . \\nthe problem is that she needed to marry at all--and that if she did not marry , she would still be just as unhappy . \\nfor a woman in modern taiwan , that day tells us , the cards are stacked , the dice are loaded : she can play the game , but the house always wins . \\nthe film\\'s sympathetic feminist implications are presumably the reason it caused such controversy upon its release in taiwan . \\nseen now , it does not seem provocative . \\nindeed , it\\'s hard to imagine anyone having felt passionate enough about the film to generate any controversy : it may be ambitious , it may be innovative , but it is also terribly , terribly dull . \\nand what was new for taiwan was not necessarily new for the rest of us : yang adopts methods established years before by antonioni and others , and his use of those methods is fumbling , uncertain , undisciplined . \\nnor does he bring anything new--other than the locale--to the material . \\nthere are moments when that day takes on some of the emotional richness it strives for--in a young couple\\'s first kiss , in the awkward meeting of a woman and her husband\\'s mistress--but they are brief . \\ntoo often , yang devotes needless time to mundane scenes--grocery shopping , flower-arranging--in which nothing happens , little is said , no emotion imparted . \\nperhaps , if the film were content to focus on such reflective , inward moments , leaving us to guess at thoughts and feelings , it might have been ambiguous , suggestive , insinuating . \\nbut jia-li and her disaffected companions do not only brood in silence : they talk about their problems , at length , in detail , redundantly , and eliminate all subtleties . \\nat two hours and forty-five minutes , it all seems exorbitantly long , indulgently long-winded . \\nconsider the defining moment for jia-li , the titular day on the beach . \\nthe thrust of the whole film explains , easily enough , what we are to think of that moment , what it means when she walks away from a particular situation . \\neven so , the film has not one but two characters explain it for us verbally , in case we may have missed the point . \\nneedless time is devoted to expressing what should have remained unexpressed , and that is the problem throughout . \\nthe look of the film is as tedious as the drawn-out narrative . \\nit was the first feature shot by christopher doyle--at least , it\\'s his name in the credits--who is now rightly regarded as one of the world\\'s leading cinematographers . \\nin the freewheeling expressionism of his work with directors like chen kaige and wong kar-wai , he seems incapable of fashioning a boring image . \\nyou would never know it from watching that day , which , due either to doyle\\'s inexperience or yang\\'s humdrum direction , is almost perverse in its insistence on making the physical environment seem as drab and banal as possible . \\nin scrutinizing the long decay of a marriage , that day manages to capture the ennui of the experience , but none of the damage , none of the heartbreak . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a number of critics have decided that it\\'s open season on freddie prize jr . , slamming the young actor as an utterly talentless pretty boy on career cruise control in sound-alike , disposable teen fluff like \" head over heels , \" \" boys and girls , \" \" down to you \" and \" she\\'s all that . \" \\nwhile the prinze oeuvre is hard to defend , his talent is not . \\ni first saw him in the independent dark comedy \" the house of yes , \" where he gave a subtle , impressive performance as the younger brother in one of america\\'s freakiest families . \\nprinze has the acting chops ; he just needs to take a few supporting roles in some grown-up movies to show the non-believers that he has what it takes . \\n \" summer catch \" certainly won\\'t help his case . \\ninoffensive , but utterly generic , the baseball-related romantic comedy does little more than kill time . \\nthe story deals with the love affair between tenley ( jessica biel ) , a wealthy cape cod girl and ryan ( prinze ) , a local boy from a working class family who dreams of becoming a big-time baseball star . \\nryan\\'s preoccupation with his new honey-bunny drives her elitist father ( bruce davison ) crazy and endangers his position as pitcher with a cape cod summer league team . \\nit\\'s a wonder the kid has any time to pitch , as his time is occupied with making out with tenley , fighting with her dad , bonding with his own dad ( fred ward , who deserves better than this ) , fighting with his brother ( jason gedrick ) and carousing at a neighborhood bar with his teammates . \\nthe filmmakers desperately want to make a quirky , character-heavy baseball movie like \" bull durham , \" but haven\\'t got a clue how to get there . \\nand so they glide from one clich ? to the next for 108 minutes . \\nthe only bit of originality comes from marc blucas in a minor role as a center-fielder from texas . \\nin an early barroom scene , blucas , best known as demon-fighting riley finn from \" buffy the vampire slayer , \" hears a young woman compliment a guy on his ass , then turns to teammate matthew lillard and states , \" he does have a nice ass . \\na bubble butt . \" \\nwhen lillard gives him an \" are you insane ? \" \\nlook , blucas calmly says , \" it\\'s nothing sexual , \" then goes on to evaluate the hind-ends of some other players , including lillard\\'s . \\nspeaking of asses , prinze does not bare his in the movie . \\nthe actor has a no nudity clause in his contract , so two stunt-butts were employed for a couple of semi-nude shots . \\nblucas , whose character secretly dates a large woman throughout the story , gets another unique moment late in the film . \\nsick of hearing teammates make \" fat chick \" jokes , he climbs on top of a table and loudly declares his love of amply-sized ladies . \\nwhile his speech still ends up objectifying women , it remains a nice change of pace in a numbingly ordinary movie . \\ntrivial tidbit : \" summer catch \" marks a scooby doo summit . \\nmarc blucas appears in \" jay and silent bob strike back \" as fred from the scooby doo gang , while freddie prinze jr . plays the same character in the upcoming big budget film version of the old cartoon . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"who knew that in 16 years eddie murphy , who made such a brash , raucous big-screen splash in _48_hrs . _ , \\nwould become . . . \\ncuddly . \\nthe disconcerting trend begun in this summer's cutesy , largely laugh-free _doctor_dolittle_ continues with this earnest-to-a-fault dramedy . \\nalthough he is top-billed , here murphy is merely support for jeff goldblum , who plays ricky hayman , the programming director at a home shopping network . \\nsales are way down , and ricky's job hangs by a thread until he meets g ( murphy ) , a mysterious spiritual guru whom a desperate ricky puts on the air . \\nwhile sales skyrocket and g becomes an overnight sensation , the reinvigorated ricky's greed grows , endangering his budding romance with a goodhearted media research consultant ( kelly preston ) . \\nwriter tom schulman has some promising ideas , satirizing home shopping and infomercials and the nature of instant celebrity . \\nbut these ideas would have more bite if stephen herek had invested any energy into the direction of the film . \\nthe sluggishly paced _holy_man_ is not only slow and overlong ( 113 minutes ) , but an unfunny bore , and murphy can do little to juice up the proceedings ; cleansed of both the attitude _and_ comic sensibility that made him a star ( g is , for the most part , a straight man ) , he is a curiously lifeless presence . \\ngoldblum is actually quite good , but it's hard for the audience to sustain much interest in his character and spiritual journey when the director doesn't seem to be much interested , either . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"this is the movie not the perfume . \\na slow moving , stylish psychological thriller in imitation of hitchcock's vertigo . \\nit is adapted from an original story by brian de palma and paul schrader , and is directed by de palma and scripted by schrader . \\nset in new orleans , 1959 , it shows the wealthy michael courtland ( cliff robertson ) sitting on top of the world , celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary with a party in his mansion , as his lovely wife elizabeth ( genevi ? ve bujold ) and young daughter amy ( blackman ) , both look up to him beaming with joy . \\nhis real-estate development partner bob la salle ( john lithgow ) proposes a toast to him and to their prosperous business , while his high society friends give him their best wishes . \\nupon retiring for the night , his daughter and wife are kidnapped in their bedroom and he is left with a ransom note to deliver $500 , 000 tomorrow or they will be killed . \\ninspector brie ( stanley reyes ) comes up with a plan to put in phony money and a transmitter in the briefcase exchange , as that will lead them to the kidnappers . \\nbut the kidnappers burst out of the house surrounded by the police , taking the two victims with them and in the pursuing police chase , the kidnapper's car explodes and goes over the bridge , where none of the bodies were found . \\ngrieving the loss of his wife and child , the guilt-ridden michael builds them a tomb on the expensive land they were to develop . \\nsixteen years later he goes with his partner bob on a vacation and he revisits florence , italy , where he met his wife . \\nwhen he goes to the church where they met , he sees a young girl who looks exactly like his wife . \\nher name is sandra portinari ( genevi ? ve bujold ) and she's working there restoring art that is decaying . \\nhe falls instantly in love with her and doesn't heed bob's warnings that she might be a gold digger and decides to take her back to new orleans and marry her . \\nsandra becomes his second chance to prove his love , as he thinks he can finally put the past behind him . \\nthe surprises to come weren't really all that surprising , as the beauty in the storytelling is almost exclusively in the understated acting by the soul stricken cliff robertson , the emotionally impactful performance by genevi ? ve bujold , and the competent acting of john lithgow . \\nit plays too much like a rehash of the master's work , to break any new ground , yet it is still thrilling in its own way . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i swear i have seen the edge before . \\nin fact , it reminded me of the bear , the river wild , and other various films mixed into an entirely different film . \\nhowever , the edge has done something that most action films should do , and that is add heart and characters we like to the plot . \\nin doing so , the edge draws many more suspenseful moments out of cliched scenes than , say , the peacemaker . \\nunfortunately , because of those overused moments , we can pretty much guess the outcome of the film . \\nbut leave it to screenwriter david mamet to add humor and a few surprises to mess with your head . \\none surprise , in particular , left me smiling just because mamet actually had the guts to add it to his script . \\naction films are a dime a dozen in hollywood , and while they are somewhat successful at entertaining us , they lack the one thing which would make them a more respected genre : intelligence . \\neven horror films have learned this , a genre which is probably the least respected of them all . \\nthe river wild was one of the best action/suspense films i have seen from the 90s . \\nthe intelligence of the screenplay , and the suspense drawn from the realistic characters is nearly unmatched to this day . \\nthe edge has the intelligence and smart characters , but this time the lack of originality is the downfall . \\ni must admit that it was very suspenseful , and had an original third half , but the first hour and a half is riddled with cliches and plot holes . \\nthis is an example of the final act saving the film , instead of the other way around ( as in the lost world ) . \\nif only the screenplay had maintained the final thirty minutes\\' intensity , it could have become a great action film ( and i use the term loosely ) . \\nthe edge is pretty much a survival-of-the-fittest film . \\nbut taking scream\\'s lead , the edge makes fun of the genre\\'s cliches , and then uses them ( though not quite as effectively ) . \\ncharles morse ( anthony hopkins ) is the main character , a rich and very intelligent man who wonders what the accumulation of all this knowledge has brought to him . \\nfor once , we don\\'t immediately care for the main character . \\ninstead , we like bob ( alec baldwin ) , a photographer who is going to take pictures of charles\\' wife , mickey ( elle macpherson ) , out in the wilderness . \\nthey board a plane and head to a cabin somewhere in the arctic . \\ncharles\\' birthday is the same day , and he receives a gold watch from his wife , and a pocket knife from bob . \\nas action films go , these items do have importance to the rest of the story , but quite a bit more than we first expect . \\nsoon , however , bob wants to find a native to shoot pictures of because of his \" personality . \" \\ncharles , bob , bob\\'s assistant steve ( harold perrineau ) , and the pilot head off to find him , and as shown in the previews , hit a flock of birds flying south for the winter . \\ndown the plane goes , the pilot is killed , and the three are left to survive in the wilderness . \\ndirector lee tamahori is aware of the silly plot which is about to follow , and therefore has to create original ways to approach the situations . \\nhe succeeds often enough for us to enjoy the film . \\ntake , for instance , the entire man-hunting bear plot . \\nthis has been done many times in films with different animals , and even bears . \\nbut given the charles\\' intelligence , and bob\\'s uncertainty , many of the cliches are given fresh twists . \\neven charles himself seems to have seen these action films before . \\nmy favorite line of the film comes from charles : \" most people die in the wilderness because they didn\\'t do the one thing that could save their life . . . \\nthinking . \" \\ndespite the predictability of the main plot , a subplot develops late in the film which took me by surprise , and made me smile when i realized that everything isn\\'t as it seems anymore . \\ni have to write cautiously as to not reveal this surprise , so instead i will avoid it entirely . \\nthe first two-thirds of the edge have many humorous moments to push it along , and some of charles\\' survival techniques seem possible , even making fire from ice . \\ntamahori is able to create a lot of suspense from the stalking bear , but whenever the bear is present , the characters lose all sensibility . \\ni have always wondered why characters in films walk over a log to get across water . \\nwhy not do what an intelligent person would and crawl across ? \\ni guess getting chased by a bear makes your thought process turn off for a while . \\nthankfully , we already have begun to care for the characters , and so we let this small detail slide . \\nbut some of the technical details are awkward , such as the nice stitching done on the fur coat that charles and bob make ( where did they get thread and needles ? ) . \\nthe acting of the film is highly above average for a film of this nature , and borders on phenomenal . \\nanthony hopkins gives a terrific performance , creating his most likeable and layered character since remains of the day . \\nhopkins usually brings greatness to his roles , but here he exceeds at gaining the audiences\\' sympathy , something he definitely did not do in silence of the lambs . \\nalec baldwin gives one of his best performances i have ever seen ( it sure is better from his fair game ) . \\nbaldwin can be a good or a bad character , and here he succeeds at both in a way . \\nyou can never quite guess if he is a nice or a vllainous character until the end , and baldwin is able to handle the double-natured photographer . \\nelle macpherson gives a good performance , albeit slight . \\nshe isn\\'t in the film all that much , but for the scenes she does have , she handles as an actress , not as a model . \\nharold perrineau is a good actor , and his scenes are nice and underplayed . \\nhe is eliminated early , and i reveal nothing by saying this because it is inevitable and predictable . \\nthe edge is rated r for graphic violence , some gore , and language . \\nsome of the violence is a little too disturbing , even for me . \\nthis film is a nice change from the mindless action most of us are used to , but too many cliches bog it down . \\ndirector tamahori has created a very smooth and suspenseful action film out of recycled parts . \\ndavid mamet\\'s script , though , has a lot of humor to keep the first hour afloat , and the acting is solid . \\nthe best thing about the script is the ending which doesn\\'t end with the normal high-strung action sequence , but with a small detail involving a certain gift . \\nit\\'s a nice touch considering what we have had to go through with the bear . \\nand by the way , most people laughed when the film faded to black due to a large credit to bart the bear . \\nway to go , bart . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this is the last carry on film with its almost intact regular cast and it is the swansong of hattie jacques and sid james . \\ndick turpin ( sid james ) and his gang which includes harriett/harry ( barbara windsor ) and tom \" doc \" scholl ( peter butterworth ) , terrorise the countryside by staging highway robberies : \" stand and deliver ! \" \\nowing to the increased occurrence of turpin\\'s robberies , captain desmond fancey of the bow street runners ( kenneth williams ) and his sidekick sergeant jock strapp ( jack douglas ) visit turpin\\'s area of influence to bring him to justice . \\nthey are under the express orders of sir roger daley ( bernard bresslaw ) . \\ntheir intellect does not count for much and when they increasingly become suspicious of reverend flasher aka dick turpin ( sid james ) , whom they confided in earlier , they still cannot believe that the rector has any part in these robberies . \\nhowever , once they catch harriett and put her in jail , and sir roger daley takes complete charge , it seems that there is no hope for dick turpin . \\nthen again , sir roger has assigned the dimwits fancey and jock strapp aswell as the old dithering constable ( kenneth connor ) to keep an eye on their prisoner ! \\nthere is no doubt that this is a \\'sid james\\' carry on movie . \\nhe excels in double roles ( as in \\'carry on- don\\'t lose your head\\' ) and his performance as flasher and turpin is hilarious . \\nbarbara windsor is also funny as harriett the sex mad housemaid and member of the gang , and hattie jacques\\' small but effective role as the rector\\'s housekeeper martha hoggett is played to perfection . \\njack douglas plays a milder version of his excruciatingly annoying on-screen persona and kenneth williams is given a rather mundane part . \\npeter butterworth is not allowed to shine in his boring performance as tom , and bernard bresslaw\\'s character appears only briefly in the film . \\nthe only notable performance from the support cast comes from joan sims as madame desiree , who is travelling around the country escorting her starlets the \\'birds of paradise\\' and sporting a fake french accent . \\nwhen her girls and her are robbed by turpin , she is determined to catch him and helps the reverend to find the culprit ! \\na carry on by the numbers , this movie is only notable for the great performance by sid james in his last carry on movie . \\nthe jokes are bluer , the script is poorer ( it is the last script written by talbot rothwell ) , but the music is a marked improvement . \\nalthough nearly all the regulars appear , they seem to be just going through the motions . \\nnone of the high spirits of the earlier films are apparent here . \\njust a selection of crude jokes and repititive double-entendres . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'bad movies described as \" a swift descent into sinful pleasure , decay , and debauchery \" are hard to watch . \\nbad 2000\\'s movies that resemble bad 1980s films are even harder to watch . \\nshadow hours falls into the latter category , a mish-mashed train wreck of b-movie actors ( including michael dorn , aka star trek\\'s worf ) , an uninteresting plot , vain attempts at capitalizing on the \" underground \" scenes of seedy los angeles , and really , really bad directing and horrendous music video-esque ballistic editing that was taught to me in film school right before i decided to drop out . \\nthe film revolves around the life of michael holloway ( balthazar getty ) who is trying to restart his life with his one-dimensional wife chloe ( rebecca gayheart ) after a nasty bout of drug and alcohol addictions . \\nmichael takes a job of working the graveyard shift at the local gas station and is bombarded by the ugliness and weirdness of the nightlife of l . a . one night , he meets a strange gent named stuart ( mr . buckaroo banzai , peter weller ) . \\nhe drives a porsche , smokes french cigarettes , and drones on about life , eventually coaxing mike into exploring the \" underbelly \" of l . a . together , a tour of punk bars , s&m clubs , and bare-knuckle fights . \\nthe film then throws in a murder mystery with a cop played peter greene , acting like he wants to get the chance at a reprisal of his role in the mask 2 . the film then simply dissolves into a cheap rip-off of dante\\'s inferno mixed with an old stephen j . cannell television pilot . \\nthe pace of the film is jarring and utterly without focus . \\nother horrors include the endless montages of people pumping gas and the charlie sheen , johnny depp , richard grieco-esque acting of balthazar getty . \\npeter weller clearly knows his career is completely gone and doesn\\'t give two shits about it . \\nand after the cheap exploitation of bondage clubs , dance clubs , and brothels - damn , isn\\'t anyone safe any more from the ugly eye of hollywood ! ? \\nway back in 1984 , a great but crazy director named abel ferrara made his worse film and called it fear city . \\nshadow hours reminds me of an almost perfect sequel . \\ndirector/writer : isaac eaton producers : peter alevey , andrea mia , shon greenblatt , balthazar getty starring : balthazar getty , peter weller , rebecca gayheart , peter greene , frederic forrest , brad douriff , michael dorn \\n',\n",
+       "  b'how do films like mouse hunt get into theatres ? \\nisn\\'t there a law or something ? \\nthis diabolical load of claptrap from steven speilberg\\'s dreamworks studio is hollywood family fare at its deadly worst . \\nmouse hunt takes the bare threads of a plot and tries to prop it up with overacting and flat-out stupid slapstick that makes comedies like jingle all the way look decent by comparison . \\nwriter adam rifkin and director gore verbinski are the names chiefly responsible for this swill . \\nthe plot , for what its worth , concerns two brothers ( nathan lane and an appalling lee evens ) who inherit a poorly run string factory and a seemingly worthless house from their eccentric father . \\ndeciding to check out the long-abandoned house , they soon learn that it\\'s worth a fortune and set about selling it in auction to the highest bidder . \\nbut battling them at every turn is a very smart mouse , happy with his run-down little abode and wanting it to stay that way . \\nthe story alternates between unfunny scenes of the brothers bickering over what to do with their inheritance and endless action sequences as the two take on their increasingly determined furry foe . \\nwhatever promise the film starts with soon deteriorates into boring dialogue , terrible overacting , and increasingly uninspired slapstick that becomes all sound and fury , signifying nothing . \\nthe script becomes so unspeakably bad that the best line poor lee evens can utter after another run in with the rodent is : \" i hate that mouse \" . \\noh cringe ! \\nthis is home alone all over again , and ten times worse . \\none touching scene early on is worth mentioning . \\nwe follow the mouse through a maze of walls and pipes until he arrives at his makeshift abode somewhere in a wall . \\nhe jumps into a tiny bed , pulls up a makeshift sheet and snuggles up to sleep , seemingly happy and just wanting to be left alone . \\nit\\'s a magical little moment in an otherwise soulless film . \\na message to speilberg : if you want dreamworks to be associated with some kind of artistic credibility , then either give all concerned in mouse hunt a swift kick up the arse or hire yourself some decent writers and directors . \\nthis kind of rubbish will just not do at all . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i remember seeing the trailer of the black cauldron on the pinocchio video . \\nit really scared me , and i didn\\'t want to go see it . \\nhowever , after i heard about how wonderful it was , i wanted to see it . \\ni didn\\'t get a chance to do so , until now . \\nthe film , disney\\'s 25th animated feature , opens with a menacing shot of a great black cauldron unshrouded by mist as a narrator begins to tell the tale : a long time ago in the land of prydain , there was a king so evil , that his spirit was captured in the cauldron . \\nit has been hidden for centuries , and whoever possesses it will have the power to conjure up an army of deathless warriors , and with them rule the world ? and destroy it . \\nthen , we meet a farmer-wizard , dallben , and his young apprentice , taran . \\ntaran dreams of being a warrior instead of being a `pig-keeper\\' ( they have a pig named hen-wen ) . \\none day , as he gives hen wen a nice warm bath , the pig goes crazy , and dallben then realizes , after watching hen wen\\'s thoughts through a bucket of water , that taran must hide hen wen in the forest . \\nan evil ruler known as the horned king is searching for the black cauldron , and only hen wen has the power to show its location . \\ntaran leads hen wen into the forest , but of course , he loses her , and tries to go find her . \\nalong the way , he meets up with a mischievous little creature named gurgi , who desires `munchings and crunchings\\' , much to his dismay ( besides , he stole an apple that taran was trying to use to bring back hen wen ) . \\nwhen he hears hen wen\\'s squeal from far away , though , he races to her rescue ? only to see her get kidnapped by dragonlike gwythants . \\ntaran chases after the gwythants and finds himself staring at the horned king\\'s castle from far away . \\ntaran climbs the castle walls , and brings himself into the castle , where he attempts to rescue hen wen . \\nhe manages to do so , but he is himself captured and thrown into the dungeon . \\nthere , he meets princess eilonwy ( and her magic bauble , another thing which the horned king was hoping to use to find the cauldron ) , and the two escape through the deep castle walls . \\nalong the way , taran finds a sword in a burial chamber , and they rescue a comic bard named fflewdurr flamm , who has a harp whose strings break whenever he tells a lie . \\nthe three manage to escape the horned king\\'s castle , but not before taran realizes that his sword is magic . \\nas they rest in the forest , gurgi reappears , claiming to have found hen wen\\'s trail . \\nhe leads taran , eilonwy and fflewdurr , by way of `pig tracks\\' , to a whirlpool . \\nsuddenly , they all get sucked under , and they meet the fairy-like fairfolk . \\ntaran is reunited with hen wen , and informed that the black cauldron is hidden in the land of morva . \\nhe then devises a crazy idea that if they can destroy the cauldron , it would prevent the horned king from destroying their world . \\nwith the help of a grumpy fairy named doli , the four travelers manage to find themselves at a mysterious cottage . \\nit turns out to be no ordinary cottage ; three comically strange witches inhabit the place . \\nwhen taran tells them that they are searching for the black cauldron , they agree to let him have it ? in exchange for his sword . \\ntaran agrees , much to eilonwy\\'s horror , but at least they get the black cauldron . \\nbut ? the cauldron can\\'t be destroyed , only its evil powers can be stopped . \\nthe only way to do so is for a living being to climb into it of his own free will ? never to return alive . \\nthings take a turn for the worse when the horned king\\'s henchmen capture taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr , along with the black cauldron , and lead them back to the castle . \\ntaran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr watch in horror as the horned king unleashes the supernatural powers of the cauldron to ressurect his army of deathless warriors ( this is the most horrifying scene in the film , because here , a dead army comes alive ? ) . \\njust when all seems lost , though , gurgi reappears , and rescues taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr . \\ntaran is about to jump into the black cauldron , but gurgi stops him , not wanting him to throw his life away . \\ngurgi then jumps into the black cauldron , and the deathless warriors decay . \\ntaran tries to find a way to rescue gurgi , but he is forced to do battle against the horned king . \\nhe kicks the horned king away , who is then magically sucked into the black cauldron , where its powers immediately destroy him completely . \\ntaran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr manage to escape from the horned king\\'s castle just as it self-destructs . \\nthe witches then reappear and attempt to take the now useless black cauldron away , but fflewdurr stops them , saying that they `never give anything away , they bargain\\' . \\nin response to this , the witches offer taran his sword back , but taran instead has a new trade : the cauldron for gurgi . \\nthe trade is made ; gurgi\\'s seemingly lifeless body reappears before the heartbroken group . \\nas taran cradles him in his arms , though , gurgi stirs-he is not dead after all ! \\nthe happy group then returns home , where hen wen ( brought home by the fairfolk once the dangers are past ) , dallben , and even doli , await their triumphant return . \\nas spectacular as it sounds , the black cauldron really suffered a lot in its past times . \\nbefore ron miller was fired from his position as chairman of walt disney productions , he had bought a novel by lloyd alexander called the black cauldron , a sword and sorcery tale for the studio . \\nbringing this book to the screen was the studio\\'s fondest dream . \\nmiller , who entitled himself as the executive producer , promised that they would do so after they had proved themselves on other projects . \\nwhen micheal eisner and his executives arrived at the disney animation studio , the animators were struggling to complete the black cauldron . \\nby this time , things had gone really rocky for the animation department . \\nmany of the studio\\'s old men had retired or died . \\ntherefore , the animators suffered a hard time making this film . \\noriginally budgeted at $25 million , the costs raised to $40 million because of constant changes on everything ? and when it was finally released on june 24 , 1985 , the black cauldron was greeted by praising reviews from some critics , but somehow the film flopped . \\nthe film was rated pg and the film , although `disneyfied\\' from lloyd alexander\\'s chronicles of prydain ( which is what this film is based on ) , was much more scarier and darker than disney\\'s other previous efforts , such as the rescuers and the fox and the hound , which is probably why so many people considered it too scary and stayed away from it . \\nin addition , other critics rejected it for having `no heart\\' and `unmemorable\\' , compared to other disney animated features . \\nbut whatever the real reason , the black cauldron was a financial disaster , grossing only $21 million . \\nthe failure of the film grounded the studio\\'s animation department , and exiled the animation team to annex buildings in nearby glendale , and it seemed like animated features would no longer become a part of the studio\\'s reputation . \\nthe next two disney animated features , the great mouse detective and oliver and company , although a little more lighthearted than the black cauldron , didn\\'t do much better ( although oliver and company grossed much more than the black cauldron and the great mouse detective ) . \\nonly with the little mermaid did the studio regain its reputation for successful animated features . \\nas for the black cauldron , it was rereleased in some cities for a temporary time under the title taran and the magic cauldron . \\nfinally , the studio locked the film in the film vault and denied that it ever even was released . \\nbecause of all this , you might ask yourself , was the black cauldron really such a bad movie ? \\nthe people who had seen the film didn\\'t think so . \\nin fact , many people had calls to buena vista home video requesting for the film , but of course , they denied it . \\nfor a while , it seemed like the black cauldron would never be released to video ? until september 1997 , disney released the black cauldron to video in the united kingdom . \\nfew people imported the video from england and converted to ntsc ( including me ) and for those who hadn\\'t seen the film yet ( i am included here ) , they got quite a treat . \\nbut people who had bootleg copies of the black cauldron noticed that in the scene where the horned king raises his army of deathless warriors , about 12 seconds of ghoulish looking skeletons were slightly trimmed so that the film would get a u rating ( in the uk , the u rating means universal : suitable for all ages , kinda like their own version of g ) . \\nsomewhere online , a team of diehard the black cauldron fans signed a petition that said , `bring back the black cauldron ! \\' , and because of that , disney finally decided to release the video to the united states . \\nbefore that time , rumors online had been made that the video would be trimmed , like the uk video , so that it would get a g rating , and that they would add in songs . \\nthose rumors were put to rest when the walt disney company announced that the black cauldron * would * be released in its pg rated version . \\neven still , when it was finally released to the us , some reaction was mixed . \\nsome felt that it was indeed cut , but some felt that it wasn\\'t . \\nbut these where only minor criticisms which seemed laughable , since a film that was absent for thirteen years was finally available . \\nas for myself , when i saw the movie for the first time ( on converted ntsc video ) , i didn\\'t expect much at all . \\nin fact , i had heard so many mediocre things about it , that i didn\\'t think the film would ever be such a good film . \\nmuch to my surprise , when i saw the first few minutes of the film , i was asking myself , \" this is the same film everyone saw ? \\nthe one that flopped at the box office ? \\nthe one that critics and filmgoers alike called \" a bad movie \" ? \\nthis doesn\\'t seem like all of the above . \\ninstead , it\\'s a classic in its own right . \\nthe film has a wonderful cast of characters . \\nthere\\'s taran ( grant bardsley ) , an assistant pig keeper who would rather be a warrior than a pig-keeper , the story\\'s hero . \\nthe critics have said that taran is not likeable at all , but the opposite is true . \\nhe is brave , loyal , and eventually learns a lesson about friendship later on . \\nthere\\'s a likeable character here ! \\nnot that he\\'s the only likeable character in the film . \\nthere\\'s gurgi ( john biner ) , a lovable little , uh , thing who remains loyal to taran , even though they don\\'t quite hit it off at first . \\nbut another likeable character is the bad guy comic henchman , a dwarf named creeper ( phil fondacairo ) , who is loyal to the film\\'s imaginative and sinister villain , the horned king ( voiced gruesomely by john hurt ) , yet he also fears his neck . \\nthe other characters , including the sidekicks , a spunky , but sweet princess named eilonwy and the comic bard fflewdurr flamm , and three comically wicked witches who hide a dark secret , although pleasant and likeable , aren\\'t quite as well rounded as they should be . \\nthe story itself is an adventurous one , a quest involving the mystical pig , hen wen , the black cauldron itself , and an army of deathless ones with everything : a hooking opening to a spectacular finale . \\nelmer bernstein\\'s music also tells the story perfectly , in a dark , yet calming manner . \\nthe animation itself is surprisingly good considering that this film was created in the darkest time of the studios . \\neven though there are some occasional effects that are not quite good , like the ground opening when the black cauldron rises out of the earth , the animation overall is top notch . \\noverall ? this film is an entertaining endeavor . \\nfans unfamiliar to the lloyd alexander chronicles of prydain will get a kick out of this one , except young kids . \\nthere are some extremely scary scenes which are more darker than disney\\'s other films ( although some consider the stampede sequence from the lion king and frollo observing esmeralda in the fires of hell in the hunchback of notre dame are just as scary ) , which is the main reason why this film is rated pg . \\nfans familiar to the lloyd alexander series will recognize the differences between the novel and the movie . \\neven though it doesn\\'t have all of the ingredients of a true disney film , this film is a classic in its own right , and deserves a far better chance than what it has been given . \\nthat better chance has finally come . \\nwhatever reason about why the black cauldron was such a big failure seems to have disappeared , and the film has finally achieved its place among disney\\'s most proudest achievements . \\ni can\\'t help but think though , whatever would have happened if the black cauldron * was * a box office success ? \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the rapid-fire formula that worked so well in airplane ! , the \" police squad ! \" \\ntelevision series , top secret ! , three naked gun films , and two hot shots ! \\nmovies has finally reached a desperate dead-end with spy hard . \\neven ezio gregio\\'s the silence of the hams is arguably funnier than this over-extended spy- and action-movie spoof . \\nleslie nielsen stars as secret agent wd-40 , who returns from retirement to battle his old nemesis , general rancor ( a cackling andy griffith ) . \\nthe jokes fly in every direction and with hardly a hint of restraint , timing , or tact . \\nmost the movie is comprised of recycled airplane and naked gun gags , recreated movie sequences , and soggy star cameos . \\nyeah , maybe we * do * need ray charles driving an l . a . bus bound for a speed bump , but did mr . t , hulk hogan , and dr . joyce brothers also have to appear in the same movie ? \\nleslie nielsen plays it straight with his usual dopey flair . \\nthere is something oddly inspiring about the sight of nielsen wearing a nun\\'s habit , even the resulting sister act spoof is silly . \\nas are the bits directly lifted from home alone , pulp fiction , true lies , etc . etc . ( adolescent males might enjoy this mess , tho . \\nthe butt shots , breast peeks , penis pokes , flatulence gags , and related innuendo are right up beavis and butthead\\'s alley . ) \\nbeyond the hilarious title sequence with \" weird \" al yankovich performing the theme song , spy hard is barely the stock that it\\'s printed on . \\nmy recommendation : duck in while you\\'re waiting for another movie to start . \\nstay long enough to see the camera dart inside of weird al\\'s nostril and then leave . \\nyou won\\'t miss a thing . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'as we see the terrible events that unfold before our eyes in the middle east at the moment , hollywood doesn\\'t loose the oppertunity to get involved , by telling stories and expressing opinions . \\nthis film centers on a relationship forged throughout the adult lifetimes of two marine colonels , hays hodges ( tommy lee jones ) and terry childers ( samuel l . jackson ) . \\nthey fought side by side in vietnam , where childers saved hodges\\' life by shooting an unarmed pow . \\nthat\\'s against the rules of war but understandable , in this story anyway , under the specific circumstances . \\ncertainly hodges is not complaining . \\nyears pass . \\nhodges , whose wounds make him unfit for action , gets a law degree and becomes a marine lawyer . \\nchilders , is now a respected and much-decorated hero that has served his country with his life and sould . \\nbecause of his excellent record , childers is sent to yemen to rescue the american ambassador ( ben kingsley ) , cowering in the embassy under assault from violent demonstrators and snipers blasting from rooftops . \\nchilders does what he has to do : evacuate the family and protect the men under his command . \\nafter three marines die and the colonel thinks he sees ground fire , he orders his troops to shoot into the firing crowd . \\nmore than 80 yemeni men , women , and children are mowed down . \\nchilders is immediately accused of ordering his men to fire on a crowd and murder of unarmed civilians . \\nhe persuades his old friend hodges to represent him in the courtroom drama that occupies the second half of the film . \\ndid childers violate authorized u . s . military rules of engagement ? \\nor are there simply no rules in war ? \\nthe answers to these stereotypical questions are obvious , but the inconsistent plot immediately raises all sorts of other questions . \\nthe murder of 83 \" innocent civilians \" has to result into something greater than a simple trial in the u . s . where is the accusations from the arab leaders ? \\nwhere is the u . n . ? \\nthe film ends without even telling the most interesting story : what happens on the international arena ? \\nthis film ( in a way akin to films such as \" a few good men \" ) has already been accused of breaking the rules of morality and ethics and even of racism . \\nthese accusations are pretty heavy , but also unfair . \\nwhat director william friedklin truly broke was the rules of decent filmmaking . \\none of the earliest apparent problems with \\'rules of engagement\\' is its lack of credibility . \\nthe entire operation in yemen may remind us about what happens in the middle east right now , but is overdone , contrived and unrealistic - as if a chain of events had to happen in a particular manner in order for the plot to proceed . \\na lot of it is so cheesy that no one could possibly accept it as reality . \\nthat is precisely why it\\'s not offensive . \\nit is completely unobjective . \\nmany stories are started and never finished . \\nmany questions are asked , but never answered . \\na lot of parallels are referring to nothing . \\nit seems that neither the director , producers or the screenwriter can make up their minds about the contents of their film . \\nis it about arab mentality ? \\namerica\\'s foreign policies ? \\namerica\\'s role in the world ? \\ncorruption in the higher circles ? \\nit goes on and on . \\nit consists of countless stories , but not a definable plot . \\nit tries to be everything for everyone and ends up being nothing for no one . \\ni think that it is ironic , because director william friedkin\\'s probably most acclaimed film was \" the exorcist \" which had a silly story , but became a rather effective film . \\nin this case you have a strong story with many possibilities and the result is a silly film . \\nthough several scenes bare the mark of professionalism ( such as the impressive battle scenes ) , his latest film does simply not engage . \\ni believe that friedklin is a director that is absolutely depended on great scripts and talented producers in order to succeed . \\nit\\'s obvious that he has neither and the result is therefore a catastrophe . \\nthe characters feel designed , unreal , merely shadows , with no life outside the conflict . \\neven the actors can not save this film from going under . \\nthough both jackson and jones act admirably , with performances that are as good as you get with a script like this , it is not something that these great actors can boast of . \\nthey have roles that they could play blindfolded with their hand on the back . \\njackson is gray and jones uninteresting . \\nthe rest of the cast , including ben kingsly , blair underwood and guy pearce are simply waiting for their paychecks . \\nthe time has come for the verdict . \\non the charges of complete lack of objectivity , i find this film guilty . \\non the charges of breaking the rules of reasonable filmmaking , i find it guilty . \\nbut on the charges of racism i find this film not guilty , because of it\\'s inconclusive and often silly plot that lacks objectivity everywhere , not only when concerning the arab population . \\ni must admit that the film is dangerously near the line of being racially offensive and i do think that screenwriter stephen gaghan went a bit too far , portraying the yemeni people almost as stereotypical hollywood bad-guys . \\nthis is very sad , since in a time like this it is crucial to not lose objectivity and proclaim the truth . \\nhowever , it is absolutely necessary to remember that the muslim terrorists are responsible for most of the terrorist activity in and outside the united states . \\nand that it\\'s not a coincidence that u . s . residents in the middle east , including yemen are on constant maximum alert . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"on april 12th , 1912 , the most astonishing shipwreck in the history of the world occurred . \\non that fateful night , the titanic sunk . \\nnow , more than 50 years later , a film has been made . \\nand what a film that is . \\njames cameron's newest movie is a landmark in storytelling , emotion , and special effects . \\nit starts in the present , where bill paxton and his band of scientists explore the depths of the ship's wreckage . \\nexploring an old chest , paxton comes across a nude drawing of a young woman . \\nthe drawing is televised and the woman ( gloria stuart ) whose portrait the painting is of comes forward and slowly but surely , the ship's story is told . \\nleonardo dicaprio stars as jack dawson , a young man with a sketch book , a heart of gold , an intelligent mind , and not much else . he wins his ticket aboard titanic in a poker game , and is the perfect match for rose dewitt bukater ( kate winslett ) . \\nshe grows to love jack , but seems unable to escape the slimy clutches of her arranged fiance' , cal hockley ( billy zane ) . \\nthe film takes its time , and by doing so , makes us care about its characters , and shows us the full aspects of human emotion . \\nthe leads shine ; there is no bad performance ; in fact , these do not seems like performances at all , but genuine people , trapped on the doomed vessel , facing certain death . \\nwatching this film , i was amazed at how vivid and real these situations feel : the time rose and jack spend together at a third-class-party ; the naivety that jack feels when he skecthes rose nude ; the terror felt by all onboard , as certain doom turns people into both cowards and heroes . \\nthis , the most expensive movie ever made , $200 million , is destined to make its profit back , and then some . \\nit also has more emotion and warmth than any other film this year . . even this decade . \\nit is also yet another first : the first $200 million dollar romance , and every critic in this country will agree that it was indeed , money extremely . . very \\n . . well \\nspent . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b' \" the world on land -- it\\'s just too big for me . \" \\nstarring tim roth , pruitt taylor vince , bill nunn , clarence williams iii . \\nrated r . \\nthe legend of 1900s is the year\\'s most absurd movie , a rambling , nonsensical piece of seafaring garbage that goes nowhere fast . \\nit stars thespian extraordinaire tim roth , looking wistful as ever , as a guy named . . . \\n1900 . \\nyou heard right . \\nhis name is , in all actuality , 1900 . \\nhe was born on an ocean liner on 1/1/1900 ( uh , hence the name ) , abandoned and adopted by danny , a ship crewman . \\n1900 spends most of his early years hiding in the bowels of the ship because of danny\\'s fear that he might be taken away from him because of \" visa matters . \" \\nwell , when 1900 is about 9 or so , he starts wondering all around the ship . \\none day , he discovers a grand piano . \\nhe sits down and starts playing . \\nmiraculously , what comes out is beautiful . \\na group of onlookers gathers to watch this stunning prodigy make such amazing music at such a young age . \\nwhen one of the people who knows 1900 tells him that his playing the piano like that without permission is \" totally against regulations \" 1900 replies \" f * ck the regulations ! \" \\nho ho ho . \\n1900 grows up never setting foot on dry land . \\nwhen he\\'s about 30ish and can play the piano like nobody\\'s business , onboard comes another musician . \\nhis name is max ( pruitt taylor vince ) and he plays the trumpet . \\nafter 1900 catches max barfing everywhere during a storm , he sits him down on the piano next to him , takes the piano\\'s braces off and plays while the piano flies all around the hall , taking them with it . \\nhow the chair they\\'re sitting on and the piano don\\'t separate , i don\\'t know , but this apparently isn\\'t the kind of thing we\\'re supposed to ask . \\nafter that , 1900 and max become friends . \\nmax is determined to get 1900 off the ship and discover what he is missing on land , but 1900 has no intention of doing so . \\nwhat\\'s more , he doesn\\'t even want his music to go anywhere without him : when a record company hears about his talents , they come on board to make a record of his music , but after finding out that -- gasp ! \\n-- they\\'re going to make millions of copies , he breaks the record . \\nthe conflict of the movie is that after max , unsuccessful in his endeavor to get 1900 off the ship , gets off himself , he stumbles upon a record of 1900\\'s music in a store . \\nthe record shouldn\\'t exist because a ) 1900 never stepped on dry land and b ) the one record that was made on the ship was broken . \\nladies and gentlemen , it\\'s a mystery ! \\nthe story itself is ludicrous and uninteresting and so are its elements . \\nwe\\'re supposed to be roused by a climactic . . . \\npiano duel ? \\nthere isn\\'t anything in this movie with the potential to compel . \\n1900 comes off as a whiny , brooding , extremely unlikable man : i can\\'t recall a single word he said that was not some sort of depressing pseudo- meditation on life . \\nditto for max , who doesn\\'t seem to have a life outside his friendship with 1900 . \\ntim roth plays 1900 with about as much panache as a fig leaf ; there\\'s no spirit , no gusto to the character . \\nhe insists that he leads a happy life on the ship , but to us he is dead . \\npruitt taylor vince is a little more palatable , at least providing a moment of comic relief here and there to liven things up a bit . \\nthe highlight of the movie would have to be the eminently amusing clarence williams the iii as the arrogant , leering \" king of jazz \" who challenges 1900 to the aforementioned piano duel . \\nthe legend of 1900 was made by giuseppe tornatore , whose 1988 cinema paradiso is considered a masterpiece by many . \\nthis effort is utterly limp and lifeless . \\nat once ridiculous , boring , narrow-sighted and pointless , this is one movie that should be -- and will be -- quickly forgotten . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the question isn't why has grease been reissued . \\nthe answer to that one is easy : to celebrate the movie's 20th anniversary and to make more bucks for paramount's coffers because john travolta is once again a hot commodity . \\nno , the question that ought to be asked is : should grease be reissued ? \\nthe answer is not an easy one . \\ngrease is a fun movie , an entertaining fantasy of the '50s , embodying all the cliches of that era . \\nthe music is lively and the dance numbers , choreographed by patricia birch , are energetic and high-spirited . \\ntravolta was at his pinnacle as a sexual icon , cool , but non-threatening . \\nbut grease didn't break any new cinematic ground . \\nit was not a milestone in movie history such as citizen kane or easy rider . \\nwhat grease is - or has become - is the highest-grossing musical in film history . \\nok , let's not be a spoilsport . \\ngrease is a fun and entertaining movie , even though it stretches credulity to see such performers as travolta , olivia newton-john , taxi's jeff conaway and the multi-talented stockard channing try to act like high schoolers . \\nit's nostalgic to recall how good a dancer travolta was , and it's sad to think of what could have been had not a few missteps sidetracked his career . \\nhe could have become a musical comedy star in the tradition of gene kelly . \\ncinematically , the musical comedy has basically gone the way of the dinosaur . \\nbetween grease and 1996's evita . , you can probably count the number of movie musicals on one hand . \\ntwo reasons have contributed to the demise of the genre : the first is that movie audiences have become more sophisticated , no , make that cynical and jaded . \\ntoday , if a character began to dance and sing with no orchestra in sight , he or she would probably be hooted off the screen . \\ntoday's audiences lack the innocence , that belief in movie magic that is required for a musical to succeed . \\nsecondly , a lack of talent . \\nperformers with the charisma , the style , the larger-than-life panache of fred astaire , gene kelly , ginger rogers and judy garland are gone . \\nmost singers and dancers remain on the stage , and those who do succeed in movies usually wind up in serious dramatic parts . \\na good example is gregory hines , one of the greatest dancers in the world . \\nhe danced a bit in the cotton club , tap and white nights , but those were essentially dramatic vehicles . \\nso , perhaps the reissue of grease can serve a purpose . \\nif audiences show enough interest , meaning if the re-release earns the studio enough revenue , it may spark a revival in movie musicals . \\nperhaps not original musicals such as singin' in the rain , an american in paris or seven brides for seven brothers , but for broadway properties that have been in the planning stages for film adaptations for several years . \\nat one time or another , according to the industry rumor mill , hollywood has been set to create an animated version of andrew lloyd webber's cats , a filming of the popular phantom of the opera as well as les miserables and chicago , the latter reportedly to star madonna . \\nso , let this grease be the forerunner of an armada of movie musicals . \\nlet grease be the word that sparks this revival . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'frank detorri\\'s ( bill murray ) a single dad who lives on beer and junk food with no apparent understanding of sanitation or hygiene , much to the dismay of his preteen daughter shane ( elena franklin ) . \\nwhen he uses the \\'10 second rule\\' to retrieve a hard boiled egg from a chimp\\'s cage at the zoo and downs it , he introduces a lethal bacteria into his system . \\ninside his skin , the city of frank is in turmoil thanks to the vote-pandering of mayor phlegmming ( voice of william shatner ) , so it\\'s up to one frank pd white blood cell ( voice of chris rock ) to save the day in peter and bobby farrelly\\'s \" osmosis jones . \" \\nthe city of frank is a brightly animated ( animation directed by piet kroon and tom sito ) cellular municipality where osmosis jones is a typical rogue cop looking for another chance . \\nhe\\'s inadvertently teamed up with drix ( voice of david hyde pierce , tv\\'s \" frasier \" ) , a cold capsule with 12 hours worth of painkillers to dispense . \\nthis quarrelling duo are about to go on a \" fantastic voyage \" in order to hunt down thrax ( voice of laurence fishburne ) , the virus intent on shutting down frank . \\nwhile the animation is certainly colorful to look at , osmosis jones\\' story is a hackneyed one . \\nthe story cries out for puny puns , but we only get occasional sprinklings of wit or bodily humor ( drix graduated phi beta capsule , he departs on a bus headed for bladder ) . \\nneither the hero or villain is particularly interesting ( thrax looks like an animated \" predator \" ) , although hyde pierce is a delightful sidekick . \\nadults can desperately keep their eyes peeled for small amusements the animators dot along the landscape . \\nmeanwhile , back in live action land , bill murray is reduced to nothing more than a walking gross-out joke . \\nthere\\'s no particular enjoyment to be found watching him vomit on molly shannon ( she plays shane\\'s teacher , mrs . boyd ) or hoisting his ingrown toenail onto a restaurant table . \\none must wonder how the climatic flatlining of a child\\'s father will play to the family audience as well . \\nrest assured , the whole enchilada is wrapped up with a fart joke . \\nwhile far less offensive than the farrelly\\'s last effort \" me , myself and irene , \" that film at least spiked some comic highs with jim carrey\\'s hijinx . \\n \" osmosis jones \" will probably be ok for the kids , but the farrellys playing for the family audience is like watching marilyn manson croon a phil collins tune . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'plot : two sister witches have to live with a curse placed upon their family , which prevents them from ever enjoying a full life with a lover . \\nthe hex invokes the eventual demise of their loved one . \\nwhen one of their past loves comes back to haunt them , they have to figure a way out of their eternal dilemma . \\ncritique : i\\'ve been waiting for a good witch movie for a while now , but hold on to your brooms and incantations , cause this puppy is far from being it ! \\nfor a film that has the word \" magic \" in its title , this movie contains very few moments of magic . . . or \\nhumor for that matter , drama , suspense , or romance . \\nwell actually , there is some manufactured romance within a plot that is so muddled , it never lets you in on whether it\\'s a comedy , a drama , a horror show , or a murder mystery . \\nor maybe it\\'s a romance , eh ? \\nit doesn\\'t really matter , cause the characters in the film are so boring and uninteresting , that you have absolutely no basis on which to care for them , or the film as a whole . \\nif only the filmmakers had spent as much time on the plot as they did the sinfully obvious soundtrack , this film might\\'ve had a chance to be more than what it is now . \\nwhich is an unentertaining , crappy film that uses the witch angle as a diversionary tactic to weave us away from its grab-bag of stupid voice-overs , overdone songs , melodramatic romance , undeveloped story and uneven acting . \\ni only wish that i could make that one hour and forty-five minutes of my life re-appear , but alas , it is lost in the spiritual world of \" interesting ideas gone wildly awry \" . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : this film is based on the novel written by alice hoffman . \\nco-screenwriter akiva goldsman also wrote the screenplay for 1997\\'s batman & robin . \\ndirector griffin dunne is known mainly as an actor in such films as an american werewolf in london and after hours . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the premise of this movie is , well , pretty far-fetched . \\ntom berenger plays shale , a mercenary who is temporarily out of work ( those fools at the cia have denied his existence just because he and his buddies botched a job in cuba ) . \\nfortunately , his girl friend ( diane venora ) , a teacher at christopher columbus high school in miami , gets her knee cap broken by a disgruntled student , creating a job opening for shale as a substitute teacher . \\nnot telling his girl friend , who might object on pedagogical grounds , he creates a number of fake higher degrees for himself ( from yale , harvard , princeton , et al ) and begins his tenure as a high school teacher . \\nthe students ( junkies , drug dealers , gang members , sleazy sluts , ice-pick wielders . . . you \\nget the picture ) don\\'t really take to him right away , so he hits one in the face with a can and breaks a few fingers . \\nthis gets their attention to a certain extent , so he tells them the story of the vietnam war : \" see , some homeboys from the north tried to muscle in on the turf of the homeboys from the south . \" \\noh yeah , now they can dig it ; the problem is just that nobody ever explained it properly before . \\nbut wait ! \\nthere are drugs being dealt in the school itself ! \\nand behind the whole scheme , in cahoots with the head gang , the kod ( no , not \" cod \" , but \" knights of destruction \" . . . really ! ) , is none other than . . . the \\nupright , ex-cop principal , played by the forgotten ghostbuster , ernie hudson ! \\nso shale does what any good teacher would do . \\nhe gets his buddies together , they gather together a bunch of bazookas and other major weapons , explosives , and cool stuff like that , and they have a big showdown against the drug dealers and kod at the high school . \\nok , so the premise is not just far-fetched , it\\'s downright dumb . \\nif this were a hong kong action comedy , we might just accept it , but it takes itself far too seriously to be truly fun . \\noh , it has its moments ; how one can truly hate a movie in which huge ( really huge ) amounts of cocaine are delivered in school busses ? \\nand to be fair , it is almost never really boring , as the action is interrupted by only short sequences of actual story . \\nbut over all , this is pretty much a made-for-tv movie with more ( and bigger ) explosions and more foul language . \\nin fact , it reminded me of \" miami vice \" without the production values , babes in skimpy bikinis , and pastels . \\nif you can sneak into the theater without paying , go for it . \\notherwise , wait for video . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'annie wilson ( cate blanchett ) , a widow who struggles to raise her children in a small town in georgia is asked for help by local authorities in solving the case of a missing woman . \\nannie is something of a psychic , she has involuntary bouts with the supernatural where she can see the past and the future and physically feel the actions happenning to her she envisions . \\nher \" gift \" leads to the arrest of a nasty wife beater who may or may not have killed the pretty rich girl found in the swamp on his property . \\nin an ultra conservative backwoods town will her testimony based on her psychic visions hold up in court ? \\ndo they even have the right man ? \\nwhat\\'s good about it : \\naside from keanu reeves giving one of the best performances of his career as the loathable redneck donnie barksdale , there is little else going for the film . \\nwhat\\'s not so good about it : \\nlame , unoriginal screenplay . \\npredictable ending . \\nsuspense scenes that are just plain boring . \\nridicously trite characterization makes the entire south out to be ingnorant , hateful goobers . \\nrelentless in its emotional sensationaliztion . \\noverall critique : \\n \" the gift \" is one of those movies that makes you wonder where you\\'ve seen this story before . \\nit\\'s a collection of every cliche and stereotype of the south ever made , and coming from a yankee like me who dislikes the south that\\'s really saying something . \\nfor an established , talented director sam raimi is unable to provide any kind of originality to this film . \\nit\\'s predictable from the first scene , the screenplay is written like a rip-off of a photocopied bootlegged play . \\nyou know that as nasty as the murder suspect is he didn\\'t actually do it . \\nit\\'s no surprise either who the real villain turns out to be and what their motive was . \\nsigh , how trite . \\nfor a supernatural thriller this is neither scary nor intense because it\\'s so cliche . \\n \" the gift \" is basically a glorified b-movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"there must be some unwritten rule that states , one gets enlightenment not in the way one expects to get enlightenment but in the commitment given to seeking wisdom , even if it is a foolish road one is on and it seems to be leading nowhere . \\nin the exotic morocco of 1972 , a 25-year-old english hippie mother , julia ( winslet ) , of two sweet young girls , the 6-year-old lucy ( carrie ) and the 8-year-old bea ( bella ) , has arrived for a year's stay , with the self-absorbed mother oblivious to how her daughters might be adjusting to this foreign experience while she is searching for a change of life from her unfaithful poet husband ( she is not officially married to him ) and her cold one-room london flat , and is sort of looking for the eternal truth in the sunny climate of marrakech . \\nat least she says she is , as she is making some attempt to contact a sufi sheikh there who has all the answers . \\nshe has not planned things out too carefully , having no money , and the trip doesn't seem like it's much fun , more like a misadventure , with some romance with a local moroccan thrown in . \\ndrugs , a world-wide youthful phenomena during this period , where many westerners came to morocco to smoke the good hashish found there and to live the 'good life' cheaply , and to be in a spot where they did not have to worry about being hassled by the local authorities , even though drugs are illegal there . \\nbut this is not shown as one of her reasons for being here . \\nin this film , the subject of drugs is never broached , only hinted at in an off-handed but slurring way , as the hippie commune is shown in a negative light , strumming on their guitars and bragging about the hits of acid they have taken . \\neven the ones coming here for spiritual reasons , to follow the mystical sufis , seem lost following a culture that is far different from where they were coming from . \\nthe film is based on the novel that contained the autobiographical experiences of sigmund freud's grand-daughter , esther freud , who traveled here in the 1960s with her mother and sister . \\nit is written by the director's brother , who has previously directed regeneration , the playboys , and trojan eddie . \\nthe title of the film comes from the squealing giggles that saying hideous kinky gives the little girls . \\nwith julia strapped for cash and not receiving a needed check her husband often forgets to send her , she is prevented from seeing the greatest living sufi who is located in algeria ; so instead , she meets an acrobat street performer in the bazaar , bilal ( said taghmaoui ) . \\nhe becomes her lover , taking the place of her husband as a father figure for the girls . \\nthe girls readily accept him , and there is no big-to-do made about their openly sexual relationship , but the girls really don't know what to make of the relationship . \\nit especially bothers bea , who is embarrassed by her mother's loose attitude and wants to go home . \\nthings go surprisingly sour when bilal takes them to stay in his small village . \\nit seems only that bilal's charm is matched by his shiftlessness , as he has a wife who still lives there . \\nthis scene didn't make too much sense as to why he would take them there knowing the situation , unless the uneducated man was totally uneducated in the customs of his people , also . \\nbut i doubt that . \\nthe family is now stuck without money in a backward area trying to decide what to do next , as they hitch a ride away from there with a truck driver who nearly kills them when he falls asleep by the wheel . \\nlucy takes it all in stride and has a good disposition for travel , while bea just wants to go to a school and learn something and be a 'normal' girl . \\nthe beauty of marrakech is matched by the terrific performance of kate winslet , as the film accurately encapsulates the timeless city and its bustling street scenes , expansive views , illustrious mosques , and grand sunsets . \\nkate enacts the feel of what it was like to be a westerner , living out the countercultural experiences while awaiting to gather her sensibilities again and was fortunate enough to be able to go home the better off for her experiences , as many a drop-out reluctantly had to do after their stay ran out of money and purpose . \\nthe background music from groups like america and jefferson airplane , provided further nostalgia for this easy to look at and easy to grasp film . \\nthe only hope was that the two innocent girls would not be permanently harmed while on this sojourn , a venture that should be reserved only for those of college age or older who choose to go there for themselves . \\nthe family's travel , which is on the edge , has julia waking up screaming from dreams that are bleakly haunting ; but , when she gets up , all there is , is this splendid emptiness all around her and a vacuous life that is starting to bother her . \\nthat marrakech is disarmingly gorgeous and that london is old hat to her , is starting to wear thin in her thoughts . \\nit will dawn on her , when bea takes ill , as she reflects on what the sufi guru tells her , whom she finally meets and is driven to tears in his presence . \\nhe is the guru who replaced the one she wanted to see but who died before she got a chance to see him . \\nthe new guru is grounded in reality , something she is not grounded in , and seems to tell her what she couldn't comprehend from anyone else , even comforting her , by telling her that her tears are memories- a gift from god . \\nthe film's weakness was the empty feeling i got from watching the story unfold in its risk free tenor ( she was there basically to be just escaping from her situation ) and how unappealing the love affair seemed between bilal and julia . \\nthe storyline about a helpless single parent , detracted from the vibrant experiences many others of her same baby-boom generation had during their trip to morocco , who were taken in by the mystical culture of sufism , a teaching that has a lot to offer its followers , contrary to the impression the film might give , seemed to pass her by . \\nher knowledge of that trip is only surface deep , at best . \\nshe perhaps would have been better off not taking the kids along , smoking some hashish , and have been less assured of herself but to have behaved more like a hippie and she wouldn't have been so uptight all the time and had some fun on her journey . \\nafter all , the mystical trip is the journey . \\nthe film's strength is in how all the characters are shown for what they are , and no one is that good or that bad , or judged too harshly for their shortcomings . \\nbilal is unreliable but is capable of generosity . \\nthe little girls are precocious but they are lovable . \\njulia , the cornerstone the film is built on , is a mother who cares about the children but doesn't know how to take care of them without unintentionally harming them . \\nshe was trying to escape from reality and that by returning to london , she has another chance to see if she can find the key to this world or whatever world she is looking for and should no longer have nightmares about where she's at . \\nthis is a very freudian way to look at things , as this sudden realization , that things are not right puts an an end to her eastern hippie odyssey , at least , for the time being . \\nand , after all is said and done , who's to say if the children are also not better off for surviving their experiences , just like she probably was ! \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'denzel washington is among the many actors this holiday season to give very impressive milestone performances . \\nthis perhaps may be washington\\'s very best to date . \\nhe joins matt damon and jim carrey in having the talent , this season , to become his character , copying mannerisms and personal styles perfectly . \\nhis very believable performance makes the long and uninteresting \" the hurricane \" a much better film than it actually is . \\nwhen his rubin \" hurricane \" carter feels pain and is tormented by racism , he creates for the audience a great sense of sympathy , disgust , and maybe even some embarrassment from the fact that this is our very own country that is breaking laws to support silly prejudices . \\nthe horrific true events carter suffered from all of his life are slightly more disturbing and terrifying because they only took place a few decades ago . \\nthe powerful expressions of denzel washington alone , as his tortured carter , sum up the troubles of racism in america\\'s history . \\nhe is that amazing . \\nthe problem with \" the hurricane \" is that when compared to washington , all of the other actors are not nearly as memorable in their roles . \\nmainly because the script focuses so much on carter , that it leaves little interest or room for the other actors . \\nthis is , without a doubt , washington\\'s movie but in order for any film to be completely satisfying , it must utilize everyone in the cast to their highest potential not just the stars . \\ndenzel washington is the only reason to see this film for his inspirational and very depressing tour de force performance . \\nas rubin carter , we see a black man whose existence has been a punching bag for the white american court system . \\n>from the age of eleven to twenty one he was sent to a juvenile prison for a crime he did not commit . \\nthen after a successful marriage and boxing career , he was harshly imprisoned again for life after being framed for a triple murder . \\ncarter\\'s second term in prison seemed almost inevitable when faced off against jealous , powerful white men who refused to let him succeed . \\nfrom these past experiences in jail , carter realized that he must make his case heard for all of america . \\nafter several court appeals , an autobiography , and many public marches for his freedom , carter remained locked in prison . \\nit was not until a young black boy from brooklyn being educated in toronto read carter\\'s book in the 1980\\'s , that a serious battle for freedom took place . \\nthe young boy and his three canadian guardians decide to dedicate all of their time to the case until carter is released . \\nthe greatest scenes in the film are when carter begins to lose his mind after spending three months in isolation . \\nwashington really shows the breakdown of carter when after swearing he would never go to jail again , he is unfairly framed at the height of his innocent career . \\nthe devastation in washington\\'s eyes show a man who has struggled to do the right thing his whole life only to be punished for it . \\nin the hole , carter attempts to maintain emotional balance but he cannot . \\nhis anger is heightened to a point of no control . \\nwe see multiple carters , a violent angry one , a silent passive one , and a mediator . \\nwe see an emotional boxing match inside carter\\'s head . \\nfrom this point in the hole to the end of the film , this fight continues . \\nit is very apparent at times which side is winning the battle and in some scenes there is a direct switch from angry to caring or the opposite . \\nwhen carter sees that white canadians want to help him get out of prison , the angry carter at first erupts . \\nwhite people have been trying to hurt him his whole life , this reminder leads to anger in his head . \\nhowever , as the film continues and the canadians continue to help carter we see the calm side him . \\nhe realizes that society is changing . \\nthat racism is decreasing and now carter wants to leave jail immediately and become a part of this world . \\nvery rarely have i seen such determination to perfect his role as washington has done here . \\nif only the other actors had this same determination . \\ndan hedaya , ridiculously plays the man who sends carter to prison twice by forcing witnesses to lie and switching evidence around . \\nit felt like his character was taken straight out of a \" scooby doo \" episode ; he would have gotten away with it if it wasn\\'t for those annoying little kids . \\n \" the kids \" in this film are the three canadians who are terribly underused making their relationship with carter underdeveloped and unbelievable . \\nthe lawyers who help release carter also are underused , as is clancy brown as a kind prison guard ( the complete opposite of his character in \" shawshank redemption \" ) . \\nthere is a great amount of talent in this supporting cast but it just never appears . \\nhedaya was superb in \" clueless , \" same for david paymer in \" get shorty , \" harris yulin in \" ghostbusters \" and liev schreiber in \" the daytrippers . \" \\nit is a mystery how this many actors signed on to such shallow roles . \\non the other hand , it is absolutely no mystery why denzel washington agreed to play rubin \" hurricane \" carter . \\nthis role is about as far off from shallow as you can get . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ingredients : james bond , scuba scene , car controlled by cellular telephone \\nsynopsis : warped media tycoon elliot carver ( jonathan pryce ) plots to start a war between britain and china in order to boost ratings by using a \\'stealth ship\\' to fire a captured british missile at the city of beijing . \\nsuper-agent james bond ( pierce brosnan ) uses trick gadgets , pluck , and charm in order to foil carver\\'s scheme . \\nthis time bond teams up with top female agent wai lin from china ( michelle yeoh ) . \\nthe film contains fights , chases , gadgets , and comedic moments . \\nopinion : it does not have a casino scene or a ski scene , but tomorrow never dies is nevertheless a solid , enjoyable bond movie . \\nit neither stands out nor disappoints . \\nin old bond movies bond sometimes teamed up with american cia agent felix leiter . \\ntomorrow never dies introduces a new character in the form of chinese agent wai lin . \\nlike leiter\\'s character , wai lin would be a sure bet for a cameo in a later bond movie . \\nstars : michelle yeoh was born a leo in the western zodiac in the year of the tiger on the asian astrology calendar . \\ni don\\x12t believe in horoscopes . \\nbut at an airport i once browsed an astrology book with a section on leo tigers ( lts ) . \\n \" leo tigers prefer enough solitude to grow at their own pace . \\nlts are unbelievably courageous when facing adversity . \\nthe lt is also classy , and has an excellent sense of refinement , but she sees herself as an adventurer , and prefers freedom of movement rather than flashy status symbols . \\nthis person loves family and friends with a fierce loyalty . \\nshe delights in siblings , nephews , nieces and extended family - - but she must have her personal freedom to come and go as she pleases . \\nsometimes annoyance at injustice drives her to take up one or two causes . \\nin love life , the lt has an unfortunate mental block against committing to any partner who is less powerful than she . \" \\nin real life , michelle yeoh is asia\\'s top female star . \\nlike jackie chan , she does her own stunts . \\nshe was born in malaysia - - a country of many languages - - and her primary language ( the language she speaks in her sleep ) is english . \\nshe was taught malay in school , and learned cantonese from bilingual parents . \\nas an athlete michelle represented malaysia internationally . \\nshe enjoyed squash , diving , swimming , and rugby . \\nshe studied ballet at the royal academy of dance in london , but switched to drama after a spinal injury . \\nin 1983 she won the miss malaysia pageant - - without really intending to , since a family member had entered her in the contest without her knowledge . \\nnotoriety from the contest led eventually to a movie career as an action heroine . \\nmichelle has survived a divorce with asian retail tycoon dickson poon ; a nearly fatal stunt accident falling from a freeway overpass which put her in the hospital for three months , and ; a retirement from the movies . \\nher comeback from retirement , supercop ( 1992 ) became the top grossing film in asia that year . \\nit is not clear what michelle\\x12s martial arts style is , but it may be a theatrical version of wing chun . \\nof her character wai lin in tomorrow never dies , michelle says , \" wai lin is the first bond girl who is on a par with bond , someone who can match up with him mentally and physically . \" \\nmy own opinion is that casting michelle yeoh as agent wai lin was an excellent choice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"this was the last carry on movie ( if you discount 'carry on columbus' as a carry on movie ) and was made by a new production company . \\nbased in central london , this movie is about the attempts by emmanuelle prevert ( suzanne danielle ) to bed her husband emile the french ambassador ( kenneth williams ) . \\nwhen he seems unwilling , she is given his permission to bed anyone she likes , such as the prime minister and the u . s . ambassador . \\nher antics get her into trouble and the british press spread these rumours all over their front pages . \\nshe is invited to talk on television to set the record straight but only confirms the rumours instead . \\nmeanwhile , theodore valentine ( larry dann ) is in love with emmannuelle after a chance encounter in the toilet of the concorde and is determined to marry her . \\nhowever , she is only interested in restoring her husband's ardour which seems a little difficult after emile's accident with a church spire ! \\nthis film is the second worst carry on movie , the worst being 'carry on england' . \\nit is embarassing to see some of the remaining regulars struggle through this diabolical script by lance peters and try to pull off some of the crude and tasteless jokes that he has written . \\nnewcomers suzanne danielle and beryl reid ( as mrs . valentine ) are mildly funny , but larry dann as theodore is excruciatingly bad . \\nkenneth williams only appears in a few scenes and his lacklustre performance is warranted , given the script . \\nthe small parts for jack douglas as lyons the butler , joan sims as mrs . dangle , kenneth connor as leyland the chauffeur , and peter butterworth as richmond , are worthless and embarassing . \\nin fact , all four parts are surplus to requirements . \\nhowever , the only humourous scene in the film is when the four of them and emmannuelle talk about their most amourous escapades . \\nan awful script , a terrible collection of jokes , very poor production values ( especially the scene where emmannuelle takes her clothes off at st . james palace ) , a ludicrous and cringeworthy musical score , and a non-existent plot or storyline . \\nits just a succession of awful set pieces about who emmannuelle will bed next ! \\njack douglas is not so annoying but is more boring , joan sims and peter butterworth are wasted , and kenneth connor and kenneth williams put in some poor performances as leyland and emile . \\na complete waste of time , this movie was trying to catch up with the new sexually permissive seventies . \\nit was a certificate 15 film but by 1978 , there was little interest in this kind of film and it flopped at the box office and was only given its premiere on uk terrestrial television in april 1998 ! \\navoid at all costs ! \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'defending your life is an imaginative vision of the afterlife from the twisted mind of writer-director albert brooks , who also stars in the comedy . \\nafter dying in a car crash , on his birthday of all days , brooks wakes up in judgement city , a satirical rendition of purgatory where higher beings evaluate the lives of newly deceased earthlings . \\nbrooks has five days to convince two judges that he\\'s worthy of passing on to higher plains of existence . \\nenter rip torn as the slick lawyer who defends brooks in court against prosecutor lee grant . \\nduring his \" trial , \" brooks must view episodes of his life on a movie screen , and these scenes are both hysterically funny and painfully poignant . \\nit\\'s impossible to resist chuckling ( and cringing ) at brooks as he and torn try to explain away his cowardly behavior on earth . \\ntorn , in particular , is in vintage comic form , and he walks away with the picture . \\nthe movie also features meryl streep , appealing as the love-interest , and shirley maclaine , who pops up in a hilarious cameo . \\nwhile the film is uneven , many of its gags are price less . \\ntake , for example , the food in judgement city : it\\'s always the most delicious you\\'ve ever tasted . . . \\nand it\\'s also calorie-free--so chow down ! \\n',\n",
+       "  b'towards the middle of \" the sweet hereafter , \" a crowded school bus skids on an icy road surface as it rounds a bend , careens through the steel guard rail , and disappears out of sight . \\nthen , in long shot , we see the vehicle slowly sliding across what looks like a snow-covered field . \\nit pauses for a moment before the \" field \" cracks under the bus\\' weight and the bright yellow vehicle vanishes in an effortless moment , a single smooth second of time . \\ncompare that scene , if you will , to the last eighty minutes of \" titanic , \" when the behemoth sinks slowly and spectacularly to its watery demise , and you\\'ll appreciate the futility of comparing greatness in films . \\nthe scene in \" the sweet hereafter \" epitomizes all that\\'s right with independent canadian director atom egoyan\\'s film . \\nit\\'s not sensational . \\nwe don\\'t see the inside of the bus with its payload of screaming , terrified children being bloodied and battered about . \\nthe bus doesn\\'t explode or break into a thousand tiny pieces . \\nit simply leaves the road and silently slips beneath the surface of a frozen lake . \\nit\\'s a horrifying sequence made all the more so by calm and distance . \\nusing a non-linear approach to his narrative , egoyan shifts back and forward in time , connecting us with the inhabitants of the small british columbian town who have been severely affected by this tragedy . \\nfourteen children died in the accident , leaving their parents and the town itself paralyzed with grief . \\nthe catalyst at the center of the film is ambulance chaser mitchell stephens ( a wonderfully moving performance by ian holm ) , who comes to sam dent to persuade the townsfolk to engage in a class action suit . \\nstephens , who \" doesn\\'t believe in accidents , \" functions as a concerned , involved observer , scribbling details in his notebook and providing the parents with an opportunity to reach some kind of closure in the harrowing aftermath . \\nwhile stephens\\' initial drive may be financial ( one third of the total settlement if he wins ) , his involvement provides him more with an outlet to come to grips with his own loss . \\nhis self-destructive , drug-addicted daughter has been in and out of clinics , halfway houses and detox units for years . \\negoyan\\'s attention to detail and ability to establish mood are so impeccable that even the sound of a kettle boiling resonates like a plaintive cry . \\nmychael danna , who composed the shimmering music for \" the ice storm , \" contributes another memorable score that shivers and tingles . \\nequally impressive is paul sarossy\\'s cinematography , capturing the imposing canadian mountainsides and low-hanging fogs as splendidly as his shadowy interiors--in one scene a bright wall calendar serves to illuminate portions of a room . \\n \" the sweet hereafter , \" while undeniably grim , urges the viewer to grab onto life with both hands and not let go . \\nit\\'s a film of generous subtlety and emotion . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i\\'m currently accepting all future names for drew barrymore characters . \\nin _the wedding singer_ , she was julia gulia . \\nin _never been kissed_ , she\\'s josie grossie . \\nfuture db character names include : janet granite , janey grainy , and for that nc-17 project in the works , jo-jo . . . \\naw forget it . \\ni\\'ll stick to my day job . \\nthis is a teen movie , all right , except the main characters aren\\'t teens . \\ndrew barrymore is a copy editor at the chicago sun times who gets her big break as a reporter , only it\\'s very clear from the onset that she lacks the toughness and the pushy extravertedness that marks the best of reporters . \\nthe story she\\'s covering is not really a story , but a story in the making . \\nshe is to return to high school as a student and explain what\\'s really going on . \\nthe irony is that drew\\'s character , was such a dweeb first time around , that she is terrified at going back . \\nwhen she does , she says the wrong things , wears the wrong clothes , and projects the \" i know the answer \" in class that popular kids ( or at least popular kids in the movies ) reject . \\nat least she befriends nerdy aldys ( joan of arc\\'s leelee sobieski--watch for her ) , who turns out to be more beautiful than those who are \" supposed \" to be more beautiful than her . \\nwhat works : drew\\'s geeky old-self . \\nafter a start in films that was headline driven , and a nadir of roles that had her play the sluttish character , it\\'s a surprise to see her with bad hair , big glasses and braces . \\nit\\'s very funny . \\nwhat doesn\\'t work : drew\\'s geeky new-self . \\ncome on . \\nnobody dresses as bad as she does . \\ncouldn\\'t she just go to _the gap_ and take suggestions ? \\nhad she dressed like princess leia it would have been better . \\nthe comedy is supposed to progress when drew\\'s younger brother ( played with zest by david arquette ) reenlists to jump-start his baseball career . \\nnow , how in the world can somebody as nerdy ( but in a funny way ) as he can be the most popular kid in the school . . . \\nin a day ? ! \\nthe dialogue in the film is , well , an embarrassment . \\nher co-workers ( molly shannon , john c . reilly and gary marshall ) are in terminal hyper-drive . \\nher teenage peers ( except sobieski ) are so inept and stupid that there\\'s little bite from them . \\ncouldn\\'t the filmmakers watch _heathers_ first ? \\nlastly , i am proud to say that i caught a significant gaffe in the film . \\nif you see the film , you\\'d know what i\\'m talking about : \\ndrew walks into a bar , has her hand stamped , and over the night associates with some rastafarians with some delicious , um , cake . \\nshe goes wild , sleeps in late . \\nwhen she wakes , she rushes off to school , without showering , without noticing that her head , lying on her stamped hand all night , has transferred part of the stamp\\'s image to her forehead , spelling \" loser \" . \\nfunny , eh ? \\n . . . except that the hand would have transferred that image backwords . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'glory--starring matthew broderick , denzel washington , and morgan freeman--is the true story of the 54th regiment of massachusetts , the first black fighting unit recruited by the north during the civil war . \\nbroderick plays robert gould shaw , the young white officer who led the black soldiers into battle . \\nshaw , the son of well-to-do abolitionists , hailed from boston high society . \\nthe letters he wrote home to his parents during the war are on display at harvard , and were , evidently , the inspiration for glory . \\nas the film begins in 1862 , shaw is a captain in the northern forces . \\nlike private eriksson ( michael j . fox ) in casualties of war , shaw initially is naive and idealistic about the war--that is , until his company is attacked by enemy forces . \\nshaw experiences first hand the horror and chaos of battle , witnessing mass slaughter and receiving a minor wound himself when a bullet grazes his neck . \\nsoon after his recovery , shaw is promoted to colonel and assigned to enlist and train blacks in the war effort . \\nglory is the story not only of colonel shaw , but also of the black soldiers who laid down their lives to free their brothers from slavery . \\nthe film periodically jumps between shaw\\'s point of view and the perspective of the black soldiers . \\nthe movie introduces us to a handful of black recruits , and we follow them from their enlistment through basic training and finally into action . \\nthe large black cast is uniformly outstanding , especially washington who is electrifying as a runaway slave with a big mouth . \\nhe is brash and pushy , always getting into trouble and always looking for a fight . \\nhis bitter , tough guy facade is really just a mask for his loneliness and vulnerability . \\nwashington provides much of the film\\'s intensity and emotional power . \\nin one heartbreaking scene , he is whipped for allegedly deserting the army . \\nwhen he removes his shirt to receive the punishment , you cringe at the sight of his back , which is riddled with ugly scars from his days as a slave . \\nit makes your blood boil . \\nthe humiliation of the beating is far more traumatic than the actual physical pain it brings ; a tear rolls down washington\\'s cheek--and will probably run down your cheek as well . \\nthe episode becomes even more tragic when we learn that washington wasn\\'t deserting the army at all ; he left camp to look for shoes because his feet were covered with oozing sores . \\nfreeman is , as usual , a strong presence , even in a small supporting role . \\nhe plays a grave digger who has buried more white soldiers than he cares to remember . \\nhe quickly becomes a leader among the black soldiers , holding the group together and serving as a liaison to the white officers . \\ncolonel shaw recognizes freeman\\'s leadership ability and promotes him to sergeant major , making him the first black officer in the army . \\nandre braugher makes an impressive film debut in the role of thomas searles , a free black who is one of shaw\\'s close childhood friends . \\nsearles is educated and refined , like a white man , prompting washington to nickname him \" snow flake . \" \\nthe burning question is whether searles is tough enough to survive basic training and to kill in combat . \\nthe road from marching drills to battle action is a bumpy one for the black regiment . \\nthe soldiers suffer innumerable hardships , but somehow they never lose their morale . \\nthe army treats the black soldiers like second class citizens , subjecting them to racism and discrimination . \\nthey are paid only $10 a month , whereas their white counterparts earn thirteen , and , for a long time , they have to go without shoes , guns , or uniforms . \\nto make matters worse , the white military hierarchy is extremely reluctant to allow the blacks into action , preferring instead to use them for manual labor . \\neventually , however , the regiment receives its boots , uniforms , rifles , and right to fight , thanks to the stubborn resolve of colonel shaw . \\nshaw has absolute faith in his soldiers , and he fights tooth and nail to get them what they deserve , even if it means threatening a general with blackmail . \\nbroderick , in fact , is most convincing in the scenes where shaw stands up for the regiment . \\nunfortunately , however , broderick\\'s uneven performance is , in many respects , the weak link in the movie . \\nin an effort to look more mature , broderick sports a mustache and a goatee , and throughout the film he slips in and out of a phony boston accent . \\nhe is never altogether convincing as shaw since much of the time his emotions seem forced . \\nthe film places too much weight on broderick\\'s character and not enough on the black soldiers , who are more intriguing . \\nglory regains lost ground with its harrowing depiction of war . \\nthe movie shows the devastation of war without resorting to the unnecessarily graphic gore which marred born on the fourth of july . \\nglory does not try to rattle you with nauseating blood and guts . \\nexcept for a few bullet wounds and one exploding head , the film , for the most part , leaves the gore to your imagination , which is not to say that the battle scenes in glory are timid . \\nto the contrary , they are chaotic and horrifying ; it\\'s just that director edward zwick ( the co-creator of \" thirtysomething \" ) films them with far more subtlety and restraint than oliver stone could ever muster . \\nthe key to glory is the group dynamic among the black soldiers . \\nthe movie depicts some of ( but not enough of ) their customs and rituals . \\nin one scene , for example , the soldiers motivate themselves by singing prayers around the campfire . \\neach man has a chance to relay a few words of inspiration . \\na couple of the movie\\'s most touching moments involve young black children looking up to the black soldiers with awe , disbelief and pride . \\nthe regiment\\'s greatest triumph comes when the soldiers distinguish themselves in battle , thereby earning the respect of their white peers and earning the honor of leading the climactic assault on fort wagner . \\nlike any war film , glory has its share of gloom and despair , but ultimately it proves to be a truly uplifting experience and an important history lesson , a valuable reminder that despite what the history books say ( or , more precisely , what they do not say ) , blacks played a critically important role in the north\\'s victory over the south--forever changing the evolution of america . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'as bad as \" mimic \" was , it definitly scared me . \\n \" mimic \" continued the frightening hollywood trend of taking a foreign director who shows a lot of creative ingenuity and style , and completely flushing it when he comes to america to make a movie . \\ndirector guillermo del toro was recently imported from mexico after he made the award winning and inventive horror film \" cronos . \" \\nthat movie worked because it took an unconventional story , unique characters and well written plot and dialogue to create a truly scary movie . \\nin \" mimic \" , del toro doesn\\'t bother to give us anything original . \\nthe plot is a stupid combination of \" aliens \" meets \" species \" meets \" jurassic park . \" \\nthe characters have been recycled from a few hundred other movies . \\nthere\\'s nothing new in \" mimic \" . \\nit\\'s just a bunch of old tricks that rarely work . \\nat the end of the movie , you\\'re stuck wanting your money back . \\nmaybe the worst thing about the movie is that del toro followed another annoying trend of recent movies : he forgot to turn the lights on . \\ni don\\'t understand why suspense movies lately have to follow the \" seven \" trend and be set in dark , dank areas . \\nwatching \" mimic \" i was tempted several times to yell at the screen \" turn the lights on ! \\nthe switch is to your right ! \\nuse common sense ! \\njust do it ! \\nyou\\'ll be able to see the monster in the corner ! \" \\nthere\\'s a scene where mira sorvino is standing in subway station while the lights are flickering on and off . \\nit looked like the light operator was having a seizure , and sorvino didn\\'t even notice - she just stood there looking like she was having deep thoughts . \\n \" hmmm . . . . \\ni think bean soup would be good for dinner tonight . \" \\n \" mimic \" has a lot of incidental shock tactics ( boo ! \\njust kidding ! ) and follows them up with the real scare , but nothing in this movie scares you . \\nthe audience in the theater never jumped during suspenseful moments ; i think they were bored , too . \\ni shouldn\\'t blame del toro . \\nhe isn\\'t the first successful foreign director to come to hollywood and make a bad movie . \\nhong kong director john woo made two of the best action films of all time , \" the killer \" and \" hard boiled \" then came to america to make the stupid \" broken arrow . \" \\nfrench directors luc besson ( \" la femme nikita \" ) and george sluizer ( \" the vanishing \" ) followed woo\\'s lead and made dumbed down versions of those movies . \\nrobert rodriguez , who directed the terrific low budget \" el mariachi \" came to hollywood and directed the horrible , high-budget \" desperado . \" \\ni don\\'t know why a foreign director who shows such talent in his country can\\'t make a good american movie . \\nwoo finally broke through and made \" face/off \" , but it still isn\\'t up to par with his earlier films . \\ni get the feeling a hollywood producer sits in his office , chews on a big smelly cigar and says to the director , \" welcome to america ! \\ni bet you must be tired after being on that boat for so long . \\ndo you speak english ? \\nnow , i know you think you\\'ve made good movies in the past , but now you\\'re in america , so things are a little different here . \\njust remember what the american audience always wants , and you\\'ll be fine . \\nthey want to see at least one big breasted woman , characters that they\\'ve seen a thousand times before ( because change scares americans ) , and you always need a cheesy feel-good ending to wrap things up . \\nif you don\\'t make that kind of movie , you\\'ll be shining my shoes in no time . \" \\n',\n",
+       "  b'time bandits , from director terry gilliam , is a very different fantasy action/adventure movie about a group of time-traveling dwarves , led by randall ( david rappaport ) , who have stolen a map of the universe . \\nthis map contains time hole , that , if exploited , enable the men to travel back and forth through time . \\nthe supreme being of the universe ( ralph richardson ) is the former employer of these treasure-seeking bandits , and he wishes desperately to regain the map . . \\nduring the travels , he appears as a ghostly face , demanding that they return the map that they have stolen . \\nbut , according to randall , they are just \" borrowing \" it . \\nkevin , a young boy who seems quite bored with his life , is unexpectedly brought into the schemes of the little men when they appear in his room , which has a portal for time traveling . \\nhe joins up with the men and becomes part of their gang , following them on their robberies . \\ntheir first victim is napoleon ( ian holm ) , whom they rob during a battle that he is commanding . \\nfrom here , the group travels to the middle ages , meeting up with robin hood himself . \\neventually , kevin is separated from the group and travels to an egyptian time where he is taken in by king agamemnon , played by sean connery . \\nkevin accidentally saved the king\\'s life , and the king wishes to have kevin as his son . \\nbut the group of bandits find kevin and transport onto the deck of the titanic . \\nmeanwhile , the evil genius ( david warner ) is watching the group from fortress of ultimate darkness , attempting to find a way in order to bring the men , and the map , to him . \\nwhen randall learns of the fortress of ultimate darkness , which supposedly contains \" the most fabulous object in the world \" , the dollar signs seemingly appear on his eyes , as he is convinced that they must travel there . \\nonce inside the fortress of ultimate darkness , it is unclear as to if any of the men will make it out alive . \\ntime bandits is a fantastically made film that caters to the imagination of anyone . \\nwith a terrific soundtrack , courtesy of george harrison , whom also was an executive producer , time bandits is sure to be a very surrealistic , time-traveling adventure with unforgettable characters that is sure to entertain anyone . \\nterry gilliam , however , does not utilize that greatly his trademark ability in moviemaking during this film , although this does not affect the film that greatly . \\nand finally , if you liked labyrinth , you\\'ll love time bandits . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'your first clue that something isn\\'t gonna be quite right with the movie you\\'re about to see : it\\'s heavily christmas-themed and its release date is , oh , say , at the end of february . \\nyour second clue that something isn\\'t gonna be quite right with the movie you\\'re about to see : charlize theron , one of the movie\\'s dubious stars , makes an appearance on the daily show in which , when asked if her new movie\\'s any good , she replies with the equivalent of a verbal sigh . . . \\nassuring us that , yeah , it sure is a movie , all right ! \\nand there\\'s some scenes like those you\\'d expect to find in a movie , and there\\'s some action . . . \\nand there\\'s other . . . \\nstuff . . . \\ntoo . \\nhow to immediately grab my attention : open your movie with five dead guys in santa claus suits . \\nthen show a caption reading \" six days earlier . . . \" \\nya know , i was honestly interested to find out what killed all those poor santas . . . \\nhow to immediately lose my attention : follow your opening scene with a terminally dull nice-guys-who-don\\'t-deserve-to-be-in-prison scene . \\nwrite a line for the one of prisoners like \" i just want to go home and eat christmas dinner and watch some ball with my dad . \" \\nthen , have ben affleck actually say that line , on film , and forget to leave it on the cutting room floor . \\nfor good measure , throw in a poorly motivated prison riot and have affleck\\'s best buddy stabbed . . . \\naw . . . \\nand just two days before his release , too . \\nalready the cliches are piled on thick , and when it rains , it pours . \\nhow to take my attention , dash it violently against the rocks , and make it so that i\\'m contemplating my strategy for calling \" shotgun \" about an hour before i know the credits will roll : deny your characters the ability to think . \\nhave ben affleck , for some reason i\\'ll never understand , pretend he\\'s his dead prison buddy so that he can get his girlfriend , played by charlize theron . \\nhave gary sinise show up and force the two of them to participate in a poorly planned casino heist . \\nthe villains\\' big idea ? \\nkidnap affleck because he used to be a security guard at the casino , force him to tell you where all the doors in the place are , then dress up in santa suits , create some \" diversions \" and rob the place . \\non paper , it seems like the stuff of a potential caper comedy , but veteran director john frankenheimer wrongly picks up that piece of paper and thinks he\\'s looking at the makings for some sort of clever action-crime thriller . \\nit\\'s not like the man isn\\'t capable . . . \\nfar from it . \\nhe\\'s the man responsible for classic political thrillers like the manchurian candidate and seven days in may . \\nhe wowed me with some the most memorable car chases i\\'ve ever seen in last year\\'s ronin . \\nbut he\\'s certainly guilty of churning out some certifiable losers . . . \\nput reindeer games on the shelf of shame with his 1996 version of the island of dr . moreau . \\nstep one in making your movie as easily forgotten as possible : cast ben affleck in the role of the world\\'s most generic hero . \\nhe gets no good one-liners , he doesn\\'t get to shoot or implode anything in new and interesting ways , and all we know about him is that he regrets his past as a car thief and wants a cup of hot chocolate and piece of pecan pie . \\nhis name is rudy ( short for rudolph , in all likelihood . \\nsee , it\\'s called reindeer games . \\nget it ? \\nget it ? \\nshut up . ) \\nin the past , affleck has been at his best as a supporting actor , and reindeer games does nothing to further his viability as a leading man . \\nstep two in making your movie as easily forgotten as possible : gary sinise\\'s villain dresses and looks like the most standard movie crook a filmmaker could have some up with . \\nhe\\'s dirty and potty-mouthed , he\\'s got long , scruffy hair and a goatee , and i fully expected him to walk out of the casino carrying sacks with giant dollar signs on them . \\nhe\\'s also extremely inept at what he does . \\nhe thinks garish cowboy costumes and santa suits make acceptable disguises , and he trusts affleck\\'s character to pull through even after , time and time and time again , he tricks him and lies to him and nearly kills him . \\nbut instead of tapping into the comic possibilities of this role , sinise seems to think he\\'s playing some sort of tough , smart , and smooth criminal mastermind , rather than the complete moron that was obviously written into the script . \\n[on a side note , gary sinise wins this week\\'s \" title ! \" \\naward , as he\\'s the one who gets to awkwardly cram the name of the movie into one of his lines early in the proceedings . \\nlast week\\'s winner was natasha henstridge for the whole nine yards . ] \\nhow to take your bad idea and make things worse : include two or three plot twists that , instead of making the apparently stupidity of the plan seem suddenly intelligent , make the plan seem even more ridiculous and unlikely . \\nthis is a bad movie . \\nand what\\'s worse is that , except for a few moments near the not-so-stunning conclusion as the preposterous is replaced by the ludicrously preposterous , reindeer games never really gives us the satisfaction of being laughably bad . \\nif they\\'d done that much , at least i would have been entertained . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"seen may 31 , 1999 on home video ( rented ) . \\none of the best things about the movies is that they can make you really start to wonder and analyze things in your own , everyday life that you might not have thought much of otherwise . \\nwith some films it might be just a secondary issue , but with `dark city' what we get is nearly an entire film committed to philosophizing and theorizing about human memory and how it defines who we are , which is a poignant theme made through an absolutely beautifully-constructed film with the kind of story and setting that could only happen in a movie . \\nthere's an old role-playing computer game called `d ? ja v ? ' wherein the player takes on the role of a man who can't remember who he is , where he is and how he got there . \\nthe goal is to gather as many clues as possible to figure that out and along the way overcome a conflict . \\nthe premise to this film is not unlike that game , only this time we don't have control over the protagonist . \\nwe begin by meeting a seemingly ordinary man living in an extremely dark and dirty city ( actually , it's more than just the city , it's the whole reality ) that isn't just that neo-gothic look ( a la `batman , ' `blade runner , ' ) , but is so fully developed it's almost a different genre completely . \\nlater he will learn that his name is john murdoch ( sewell ) , but for now he has no idea what's going on other than the fact something is not right . \\nthe fact there's a dead body in the corner goes to enhance the feeling of paranoia and a mysterious , hurried call telling him to leave immediately is also very chilling . \\nthis opening scene alone goes a long way to define the setting of the film and its bizarre , horrific tone . \\nthe man doesn't know who he is nor where he's going and it's interesting to follow him since we the viewers have no idea either we can sympathize and identify with him . \\nin fact , this is the way all stories begin since it's impossible to know the history of a character , their feelings , values , morals , etc . until after we've observed them for a while . \\nbut in this case , the total feeling of amnesia is an excellent tool towards characterization , developing the mood and outlining the story . \\neventually , some semblance of a plot begins to unfold as it appears that john is a serial killer wanted by the police . \\nwe met inspector frank bumstead ( hurt ) , a quiet , unemotional , soft-spoken deadpan man who appears to have been on the trail of the killer for some time . \\ntwo other important characters are also introduced : dr . daniel p . schreber ( sutherland ) , a neurotic psychiatrist who claims to be john's doctor ; and emma murdoch ( connelly ) , a jazz singer dolled up to look like a caraciture right out of the old dick tracy serials or any given leading lady of the old film-noir movies . \\nit was schreber who contacted john for reasons that are continually revealed throughout the course of the film . \\nhe also contacts emma , which further helps the film reveal what is seemingly a complex , mysterious back story . \\nbut absolutely nothing is as it appears to be in `dark city , ' which is what makes it so fascinating throughout its continual scenes of confusion and vertigo . \\neverything the filmmakers want us to see has some significance - considering how intricate the detail is to every single shot , its lighting , art direction and overall production design , they don't seem to be able to afford any gratuities . \\nhowever , that might also be what's keeping it from reaching its maximum potential . \\nby continuing to follow john as he wanders around this strange place , so much unlike the real world we know , we come to realize that it's all a hoax . \\neveryone in the city is the subject of an experiment being conducted by a race of aliens to understand what makes humans tick in their efforts to somehow save themselves from extinction . \\nbut , as the film's tagline says , `last night , one of us went off . ' \\nfor reasons that are never clearly explained , it appears that john possesses telekinetic powers to can do pretty much whatever his mind can conceive ( a process known as `tuning' ) . \\nthe aliens , which look like very old bald human men with pasty skin , also possess the power en masse and use it to change the city every night at midnight . \\nat the same time all the humans fall asleep and after the changes are made , they awake and either continue where they left off or begin a new life they have no idea they did not have until then . \\nthis premise certainly is interesting and director and co-screenwriter alex proyas is able to keep the film consistently mysterious in this regard . \\nhe does provide some explanations such as that dr . schreber is an assistant to `the strangers' because he somehow could synthesize memory into chemical form . \\nthe aliens mix and match the memories of the city's population to see who will change and who will not . \\nin the process this creates for a good deal of deep , thought-provoking philosophies that could be applied to the real world . \\nhowever , where the film errs is by not playing up the idea of memory versus the human heart as to what makes a person who he or she is . \\nthe main characters are all closely intertwined within the seemingly complex murder mystery which never actually happened , yet when they start to go through some of the expected emotions it comes off as distant , static and cold ( mediocre performances by hurt and connelly don't help either ) . \\nfor example , john realizes emma is not and probably never was his wife so he does not feel an emotional bond to her , yet in some scenes crucial to the film's plot , we are expected to believe they do have a genuine love for each other , which is also part of the film's climax and ending . \\nand that's what proyas seems to be inferring with the film , but never quite manages to convey in its fullest sense . \\nironically , this is what made his first film `the crow' work so well , which had a similar theme of struggling to find hope and the human spirit within a nearly identical , dark twisted world . \\nwith `dark city' the messenger seems to be mistaken for the message . \\nstill , the film is by no means bad and is consistently entertaining and enjoyable . \\nthere's a lot to like here , most notably the sheer visual look and style of it all which accounts for at least half the reasons the film is able to tell the story it does . \\nthe story as a whole is one of the most original to come out of hollywood in years . \\n`dark city' is what the movies are all about - the escape from the real world . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" two can play that game \" ( screen gems ) \\nsince the success of \" waiting to exhale , \" there have been several romantic comedies about african-american professionals . \\nthis female revenge fantasy , vivica a . fox plays shante smith , a stunning ad exec who seems to have reached the pinnacle of success : a mansion , a sporty car and an idyllic relationship with a hunky , hot-shot lawyer , morris chestnut . \\nshe\\'s at a point in her life when she dispenses advice to her grateful girl-friends ( mo\\'nique , wendy racquel robinson , tamala jones ) . \\n \" when your man messes up , no matter how small it is , \" she smugly decrees , \" yuh gots to punish him . \" \\nso when she catches her hot man dancing at a bar with a smart and sexy rival , gabrielle union , she devises her own version of \" the rules , \" a 10-day \" tough love \" emotionally punishing plan to get him back . \\nunfortunately , writer/director mark brown ( \" how to be a player \" ) breaks the cardinal rule of romantic comedy : you have to like the protagonist - and shrill , self-congratulatory shante smith is a smirking , superficial , spiteful shrew who doesn\\'t realize that rational rules cannot always be applied to love . \\nhaving her talk directly into the camera gets stale very quickly and the \" day one , \" \" day two \" title-card device underscores the tedium . \\ncomic anthony anderson scores as chestnut\\'s boisterous best-friend , and singer bobby brown does a cameo as a scuzzy mechanic who\\'s given a smooth makeover by ms . robinson . \\nbut the out-takes over the closing credits contain more humor than the film itself . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" two can play that game \" is smarmy if slick 4 , filled with misogynistic attitude and blatant product placements ( coca-cola , miller genuine draft ) but little else . \\nin this r-rated ( for explicit sexual language ) , pseudo-hip battle of the sexes , the audience loses . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'remember back in the mid 1990s when crime and macabre movies were all the rage ? \\n \" pulp fiction \" and \" fargo \" both managed to get oscar nominations for the best picture , and not surprisingly , a slew of rip-offs followed in the years thereafter . \\nthat fad seems to be over but here comes christopher mcquarrie writing and directing \" the way of the gun \" that at first glance looks like another of those wanna-be\\'s but upon closer inspection doesn\\'t look like anything comprehendable . \\nit\\'s a crime story so wrapped up in its own little world it has a claustrophobic atmosphere - a film that won\\'t allow the story much room to expand outside its handful of characters and somehow still manages to turn a simple premise into something so complex its ridiculous . \\ncomplexity should come as no surprise to anyone who\\'s familiar with mcquarrie , he wrote \" the usual suspects , \" which has become a cult favorite despite little critical acclaim . \\nthat film had a great story and was well directed but had such an elaborate , confusing screenplay it leaves many viewers scratching their heads after repeated viewings . \\nyou have to wonder if mcquarrie really had everything mapped out or if he was going for the hollywood idea that \" if it\\'s really confusing and about criminals and cops that makes it fascinating . \" \\nwith \" the way of the gun \" mcquarrie seems to be capitalizing on the same idea , but this time the story is far less commercial - a shame because maybe that would have helped . \\nthe film tells the story of two drifters with no ambition and barely a reason to live but aren\\'t hell-bent on death either ( played by ryan phillipie and benecio del toro ) . \\nthey get lucky when they hear about a scheme between a big-shot exec guy and his trophy wife who are going to have a baby through in vitro fertilization . \\nthey figure they can kidnap the surrogate mother ( played by juliette lewis ) and get a nice ransom . \\nalong the way we continually learn of the shady dealings between the exec , his wife , their hired goons and the \" bag man \" ( played by james caan - the only actor in the film who looks like he knows what he\\'s doing ) . \\nthe exec is some kind of money launderer so he obviously can\\'t call the authorities for help . \\nhis goons and the bag man are on the kidnappers\\' trail and each make different offers to get the mother back . \\nthe exec\\'s son is a doctor who also gets pulled into the fray and wants to make sure his patient is all right . \\nmeanwhile each of these characters has something hidden up their collective sleeves and the double-crosses , secret love affairs and torrid pasts come as no surprise even though little of it has any relevance at all . \\nmcquarrie doesn\\'t know the meaning of the word simple . \\nhe seems to be more interested in showing us how clever he is than making a good movie . \\neverything has to be complicated and confusing , so much so that it\\'s to the point of surrealism . \\nnothing is what it seems in this reality , it\\'s one of those movies where you get dropped right into the middle of the criminal world and are expected to know most of the industry\\'s rules and regulations . \\nevery scene with caan\\'s character exemplifies this perfectly - the kidnappers already know who he is and even chat with him , getting into conversations about \" the business \" and how it works and we\\'re hardly given a clue as to what they\\'re talking about . \\nthese characters are probably supposed to be great criminal sketches but they\\'re more like ideas ripped-off from sketches found in david mamet\\'s trash . \\nno one here really acts like a real person , and the story is even further removed from reality . \\nit\\'s like a dream without any appeal . \\ntake the opening scene for example ; the phillipe and del toro characters are in a parking lot across the street from a bar or a club counting their money and stuff . \\nthey sit on a brand-new mercedes and the car alarm goes off , the owner is waiting in line and yells at them to get away from his car but they don\\'t move . \\nthe guy and his loud-mouth , potty-mouth girlfriend and about 20 other people cross the street and gang up on them . \\nyou\\'d think phillipe ? and del toro are ? going to pull out guns and scare them away but they don\\'t , instead phillipe throws one punch and the two get beat down by a mob . \\nthere\\'s a lot of things i didn\\'t understand about this scene : first of all the owner of the mercedes isn\\'t some yuppie or old rich snob , he\\'s like a hippie straight out of the 60s . \\nsecondly , the two main characters seem to believe that they can actually take on the mob unarmed . \\nlastly , it serves no purpose in the long run because later in the film the two are packing more artillery than a small country\\'s army . \\nif they were suicidal they wouldn\\'t have gone on the kidnapping job in the first place ( and where they get all those guns is never explained either ) . \\nthere\\'s a lot more i could pick apart about this film but that would be an exercise in futility . \\nwhat it all comes down to is that nothing here is what it seems - which would be great if this movie were about pretty much any other story than what it is . \\nabsolutely none of the characters are likable or believable . \\nand it\\'s all coated with a thin layer of black comedy which is good for a chuckle here and there but this film is definitely not a flat-out black comedy and its use of such seems like a desperate attempt to kill screen time . \\nwith any film you see , whether you like it or not , you can at least understand what the appeal was to it , why someone would want to make it and why someone would want to see it . \\ni can\\'t say either for \" the way of the gun , \" because it has very little going for it and i can\\'t imagine anyone intelligently defending it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a movie that\\'s been as highly built up as the truman show , with reviews boasting , \" the film of the decade ! \" \\nand \" a breakthrough ! \" \\ncan only be leading up to letdown . \\nthat\\'s no doubt -- it seems any movie with critical acclaim makes you think you\\'re going in for the ride of your life , that you\\'ll end up changed on the other side , and you come out of the theater going , \" eh . . . \\n * that\\'s * what all the fuss was about ? \" \\nso , naturally , the truman show was building up to what was going to be a dissapointment . \\nand i convinced myself , as i nestled into my uncomfortable movie theater chair , actually to try not to enjoy it . \\nlet me tell you , that is an impossibilty . \\nthe truman show is truly \" the film of the decade \" and \" a breakthrough \" and more . \\nand you will come out changed on the other side . \\nsuch a movie comes around only once in a lifetime , where you find yourself feeling everything that the character is feeling , and this , friends , is it . \\njim carrey shows that he doesn\\'t need to talk out of his butt to entertain us ; that he can be as dramatic as any of hollywood\\'s leading men . \\nthe film has a difficult premise to tackle , trying to set us up thirty years into the \" truman show\\'s \" run , but tackle it it does , and perfectly . \\nwith flashbacks actually being flashbacks on the television show , you get the sense that you are viewing a * real * prime-time hit . \\nand the way the camera constantly takes the forms it would in the \" real \" truman show is clever and well-done . \\npeople , rejoice ! \\nthis is the first oscar-worthy film of not only this year , but of the last five years . \\nnot since \" schindler\\'s list \" has a movie captured human spirit and true despair so well . \\nthis is a classic in the making , and ( to borrow a line from esquire\\'s review ) it stars jim carrey . \\nnothing in his career to date and nothing he can do in the future will ever be able to top his role as truman burbank ; mark my word . \\nfor , as i said , this is the movie of a lifetime and the role is of the same calibre . \\nforget special-effect ladden summer fodder . \\ndrop your romantic comedies in the trash . \\ntoss your thrillers and teen flicks on the pile . \\nyou need nothing more than \" the truman show \" to carry you through the summer , or for that matter , the year . \\noh ! and in case i don\\'t see you , good afternoon , good evening , and goodnight . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if i were one of those arrogant critics who thinks his review has some great impact on the success or failure of certain films , i might say that i review movies that don\\'t look particularly good because i\\'m doing a service to my readers by warning them against seeing it . \\nif that were true , i could put a banner at the top of my site that reads : \" shay casey : seeing bad movies so you don\\'t have to . \" \\nbut i know that\\'s bunk-you\\'re going to see whatever movies you want to no matter what i say . \\nso i have to tell the truth : every once in a while i get a nasty , masochistic urge to see a bad movie . \\nyou know the feeling , when you\\'re sick of seeing all these damn academy award contenders and you want to see something you can have a ball trashing mercilessly . \\nsometimes i think that\\'s why anyone goes to see pauly shore movies , ever . \\nadmit it : sometimes you like seeing bad movies . \\nso do i . \\nso i saw \" supernova . \" \\ntruth be told , \" supernova \" wasn\\'t quite as bad as i thought it might be . \\nmaybe i just felt sorry for the actors , or maybe i thought it could have been decent if the studio hadn\\'t started tinkering with the director\\'s ( walter hill ) final cut , causing him to want his name removed . \\nmaybe i\\'m becoming a softy . \\nin any case , i didn\\'t find \" supernova \" as bad as the advance buzz would have me believe . \\nbut it\\'s still bad . \\nthe film takes place aboard the medical space vessel \" nightingale . \" \\nthe crew includes captain a . j . \\nmarley ( robert forster ) , his new second officer nick vanzant ( james spader ) , head medical officer kaela evers ( angela bassett ) , medical technicians yerzy penalosa ( lou diamond phillips ) and danika lund ( robin tunney ) , and computer technician benj sotomejor ( wilson cruz ) . \\nthere are some attempts at \" characterization , \" but all that means is that nick has a shady past involving a drug addiction , which puts kaela on edge , yerzy and danika have a relationship that requires them to make kissy-faces at each other every five minutes , and benj ( apparently gay ) is in love with the computer ( apparently female ) . \\ndon\\'t expect any more explanation , because you won\\'t get it . \\nanyway , the crew gets a distress call from a location deep in space to which a failed mining operation had been sent . \\nduring the dimension jump ( i think that\\'s what it\\'s called , but don\\'t hold me to it ) , the captain is killed and the man who sent the distress signal ( peter facinelli ) is brought on board . \\nhe calls himself troy larson , making him the supposed son of a man kaela once had a relationship with . \\nthen a bunch of really predictable stuff starts happening . \\nhave you seen \" alien ? \" \\nhave you seen \" event horizon \" ( a lame movie in its own right ) ? \\ngood . \\nthen you\\'ve seen \" supernova . \" \\npost-production cuts or not , there is nothing original about this screenplay , and nothing unpredictable either . \\nafter all , no one\\'s going to think for a second that troy won\\'t turn out to be a villain . \\nbut the bigger problem with \" supernova \" is that it can\\' t just stick to the simple plot it\\'s afforded . \\nnumerous re-writes ( the script may be credited to three people , but it\\'s a gross underestimate ) have crammed this lean 90-minute film with tons of extraneous plot threads that all remain underdeveloped . \\nwas there something about a limping robot shaped like a fighter pilot ? \\ndid the ship\\'s computer learn something about humanity ? \\nwhat was that glowing lava lamp artifact troy brought on board with him ? \\nand just what does the film\\'s title signify , if anything ? \\nas far as i can tell , it refers to a very small plot detail that isn\\'t developed , just like the rest of these unnecessary story elements . \\ncharacter relationships in this film also make very little sense . \\nfor some reason , every person in this film keeps having sex . \\nwe get an unusually early sex scene between phillips and tunney within the first 10 minutes . \\nbassett and spader\\'s characters start off hating each other . \\nfifteen minutes and one bottle of pear brandy later , they\\'re engaging in some hanky-panky . \\nwhen troy the creepy stranger shows up on the ship , of course both female crew members will fall in love with him . \\nevery single shift in character interaction happens extremely suddenly , which is only one of the many obvious clues to how much this film has been cut . \\nthe most prominent example , however , may be the fact that when the film starts , there are no opening credits ! \\nfurthermore , the end of the film looks like they took what were originally intended to be the opening credits and spliced them in right before the real end credits . \\nmaybe that\\'s why the film\\'s title is mentioned twice during the end credits , right between james spader and robert forster . \\nright after you get over the shock of not being told what movie you\\'re seeing ( lest you decide to walk out upon making that discovery ) , you might notice that the movie seems to have dropped you right in the middle of a scene , with little-to-no introduction to any of the characters or situations . \\nthe rest of the movie feels like they skipped over the middle stuff in the character changes ( you know , where they explain things ) and just went from point a to point b . point a : danika is thoroughly enamored of yerzy and is ready to have his baby . \\npoint b : tunney is now shagging troy and yerzy is unusually obsessed with the lava lamp thing . \\ndoesn\\'t make sense . \\nsince i didn\\'t understand anything about these characters\\' motivations , did i care when troy abruptly starts murdering them one-by-one ( and he does , knocking off three of them in about 10 minutes ) ? \\nnot a whit . \\nit\\'s a shame , because this cast contains a lot of talented actors looking for something to do . \\nthey don\\'t find it . \\nbassett and spader say every line in the same monotone voice with the same blank expressions on their faces . \\nsexual tension ? \\nmore like constipation . \\nmaybe they\\'re just embarrassed at having to utter such howlers as \" this thing was made by someone more powerful than god and a whole lot less nice . \" \\nnot that we ever find out who that is , mind you . \\nthe climax of their relationship ( taking place in a transport pod ) is probably the film\\'s biggest forehead-slapper . \\nas troy , peter facinelli inhabits the most obvious villain in history that no one ever suspected . \\nhe\\' s awfully one-note , but it\\'s not as if he\\'s given any more notes to work with . \\nthe rest of the cast does even less . \\ntunney stands around looking cute , then scared . \\nphillips broods . \\ncruz flirts with the computer . \\nthen they all die and a star blows up or something , but i really wasn\\'t paying much attention by then . \\n \" supernova \" is pretty awful , but i\\'m cutting it a little slack merely because i expected less than what i got . \\nthat\\'s it . \\nif you expect it to be good ( for whatever reasons you may have ) , you\\'ll probably hate it more than i will . \\neven the special effects are fairly unimpressive , nothing you haven\\' t seen before , and suffice to say the script isn\\'t going to save the film . \\nhonestly , though , what do you expect from a film with about a dozen writers and a director who had his name removed and replaced with a pseudonym ? \\nit usually results in a bad movie , and that\\'s what \" supernova \" is . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"books could be , and indeed have been written about the star wars trilogy , and rightfully so . \\nthis is a set of movies that shattered all expectations of what science fiction could be in the late 70s/early 80s , inspiring literally dozens of clones , from battlestar galactica all the way up to stargate and independance day , and one could argue revitalizing the whole science fiction genre . \\nthe special effects were groundbreaking , revolutionary for their day and still eminently watchable well into twenty years later . \\nliterally millions of people have seen the star wars trilogy and been touched by it . \\nand now , george lucas brings it back for a new audience to enjoy . \\nmuch has been and is still being made of the fact that mr . lucas has gone back and revised his trilogy for rerelease now . \\nsome fans are angry that he has dared to meddle with what they consider perfection , while others are thrilled by the idea of seeing yesterday's star wars updated with today's special effects wizardry . \\neither way , the special edition release means that star wars is back on the big screen , where it rightfully deserves to be seen . \\ncan there be anyone in the world who doesn't know what star wars is about ? \\nin a way , star wars is so much a part of our cultural heritage that it feels silly and almost artificial to try to summarize it . \\nit's a story about a young man's coming of age , a fight for freedom against an oppressive empire , a tale of swashbuckling and derring-do the likes of which haven't been seen on the silver screen in decades , strange new worlds with strange alien creatures and weird surprises around every turn , and the yearning within each of us to realize our dreams and make a difference in the world . \\nit's high adventure , incredible special effects , and . . . well , it's just an _experience_ . \\nsomething about this movie sparked the imagination of a generation . . . and \\nit's about to do so again . \\nthis new release of star wars comes as no surprise to many of the film's devoted fans , who have been trading rumors and bits of information about it for quite some time now . \\ninterviews , trailers , leaks from within lucasfilm . . . all of these have been collected , collated , and placed on webpages for people to see ( pages such as http : //www . islandnet . com/~corona/films/details/sw4 . html \\nor , my personal favorite , http : //leopard . cs . latrobe . edu . au/~koukoula/ \\n ) . \\npictures of before and after have been placed side by side . . . even \\nmonths before the movies were released , fans were making comparisons . \\nin some cases , the changes were nothing less than phenomenal , and this can be seen from the comparison shots even before you go into the movie theater . \\nthe digital matte effects that were little more than a toy in forrest gump are put to excellent use here , unnoticeably sprucing up scenes that that george lucas was unsatisfied with in the original . \\nfor instance , in my personal favorite example , the ancient temple on yavin that was formerly a flat stone edifice now has deep , moss-covered carvings and etchings . \\nand mos eisley spaceport is now a bustling , booming city , with more surprises and things going on in the background than you can notice on the first viewing . \\nall the starships and fighters are now computer-animated , getting rid of glitches and artifacts of the special effects processes used when the film was originally made--and they look _fantastic_ . \\nfour and a half minutes of new or missing footage have been added , including a scene with jabba the hutt that had originally been shelved because the state of special effects in 1977 simply couldn't do it justice . \\nhowever , much of the ten million dollars that was spent on the star wars special edition restoration went into restoring the quality of the film itself . \\nthe negatives , badly damaged by the ravages of time , were brightened and returned to their original splendor . \\nthe audio tracks were remixed and reprocessed , with reworked sound effects by effects maven ben burtt , into glorious , booming , theater-shaking full-thx dolby digital stereo . \\nand _that_ , more than the added scenes or new special effects , is where the real value of this new version lies . \\nit's really true what they say in the commercials : star wars loses _so much_ on the small screen . \\neven letterboxing doesn't make up for the decrease in size and definition . \\nin regard to the star wars special edition , and to the other two films of the trilogy which have yet to be released , i'll make this final recommendation : go and see it . \\ngo and see it more than once . . . it \\nmay be another twenty years before it comes back to the big screen after it's gone this time . \\ntake along the youngsters who've never had the big-screen star wars experience--you'll enjoy seeing it through their eyes as much as they will enjoy it for the first time . \\nthere's magic in this movie--special edition or no , there can be no denying that it's still star wars , and still has the power to thrill and enthrall children of all ages , from four to four hundred . \\nlet's all return to that time long ago , and that galaxy far , far away . . . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'the uncompromising nudity bared throughout petrice chereau\\'s intimacy has already garnered much notoriety , but it\\'s in the naked faces of fearless actors mark rylance ( angels & insects ) and kerry fox ( welcome to sarajevo ) that the tender ache of emotional resonance is discovered . \\nwith sharp , intelligent eyes that reflect experience and maturity , rylance and fox are refreshingly detached from the false glamour of hollywood idols . \\ntheir sex scenes together are bracing in their raw honesty , in the acceptance of flesh and messiness . \\nless apparent , but no less remarkable , are the astute observations of behavior revealed through those carnal beats of haste and hesitance , often without a single line of dialogue . \\nnot aiming for the spiritual poetry of in the realm of the senses or the philosophical transgressions of crash , chereau keeps his sexual odyssey firmly grounded in terms of straightforward character development . \\nthat may be the very reason why intimacy seems unerringly impressive but never particularly significant on more than a tactile , sensory level . \\nthe themes of human isolation are barren and obvious , a science project devoid of any especially groundbreaking hypothesis . \\nintimacy does manage to stand out from lesser portraits of \" human interconnectedness \" and pinter-esque rummages through psychological dirty drawers ( okay , kill me ) . \\nshallow though it might sound , it\\'s amazing how much is filled in through an inspired cast , perceptive camerawork , and imaginative ways of treating the love scene . \\nthose ingredients are too assured and confident to merely dismiss as icing on the cake , especially since they are the substance of the cake itself . \\nadapted from a pair of short stories by british novelist hanif kureishi , intimacy weaves desperate lovemaking between two strangers in london . \\nevery wednesday , jay ( rylance ) and claire ( fox ) meet in his cluttered , dank apartment for an hour or two of sexual release from their uninspired lives . \\nhe\\'s been head bartender at a posh restaurant for over six years . \\nshe\\'s a mystery to him but her glum workaday appearance reveals a similar dissatisfaction . \\nthey\\'re both married , but his relationship has curdled into an embittered separation . \\nas the weeks draw on , jay obsessively takes it upon himself to uncover claire\\'s personal routines . \\nin his attempt to gain a fuller semblance of who she is , he opens wounds that hadn\\'t existed before by single-handedly corrupting the fantasy . \\nif it weren\\'t for a few unnecessary subplots involving jay\\'s brother and his bevy of disgruntled co-workers , this minimalist premise might be described as a modern fable on the perils of wish fulfillment . \\nchareau\\'s restless camera ( once again wielded by superb and ever-attentive cinematographer eric gautier ) is less appropriate here than in his family transit-oriented those who love me can take the train . \\nthe scenes that linger are the still ones where rylance and fox separately , pensively attempt to carry on with their makeshift household routines . \\nthese are often captured in lingering , unblinking wide shots that view them stranded amidst their drab workplaces and homes . \\nseparation proves haunting in a melancholy series of intercut shots as rylance and fox undress on opposite sides of the room , crawling across the floor to meet in the center . \\ndespite being as restless as a fly during the hyperactive restaurant scenes ( all the better to blend in with a hustling crowd of gabby trendsetters ) , you\\'d be hard pressed to find a single uninteresting image . \\nintimacy takes an interest in its sordid world of the lower-middle class , with lonely pubs and busy shopping streets -- it also understands the people who inhabit those spaces , viewing them with sympathy scraped raw . \\nan evaluation would be incomplete without highlighting the great timothy spall ( the robust scene-stealer of many a mike leigh collaboration ) . \\nas claire\\'s cuckolded husband , this jocular heavyweight plays out his handful of bitter pill scenes with the unforced menace and self-effacing embarrassment of his imposing bulk . \\nbangs in his eyes , his mouth forming into quizzical pouts and dry smirks , he may seem the fool in his barroom encounters opposite a sarcastic , gleaming mark rylance ( whose jay has arrived on the scene looking to stir up some trouble ) , but spall is no one to trifle with . \\nhis overreaching best pal demeanor suggests a mind abuzz with secret passageways of guile , his pointed questions only na ? ve if you choose not to read into their crafty insinuations . \\nin his unassuming way , spall\\'s carefully etched interpretation of hostility buried under a mountain of surface propriety may become one of the most criminally underappreciated performances of the year , but maybe also one of the best . \\nhe\\'s that good . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'let me begin by saying that this is easily the worst movie in the entire official ( and even unofficial ) james bond series . \\nit is so full of self-parody and silly characters that you would almost believe you were watching a spoof . \\nan omen of what is to come is provided by the pre-credits sequence , a dull affair featuring a confrontation between a man ( it\\'s difficult to give a better description since no mention of him is made elsewhere in the movie ) and the assassin of the title . \\na song with woefully terrible lyrics follows , and the rest of the movie is even worse . \\nthe plot might have been a pleasant change from the usual rule-the-world so often found in the james bond movies of the 70s , but here we get a confused mismash about a fabled assassin , francisco scaramanga ( christopher lee , putting in a performance which is one of the rare saving graces of this movie ) who someone has apparently payed one million dollars to in order to remove roger moore\\'s 007 . \\nthere is also a flimsy connection with the energy crisis and a missing solar cell with 95% efficiency . \\nit\\'s as much of a mess as it sounds . \\nbond is \" helped \" in his task by mary goodnight ( ekland ) , whose character couldn\\'t possibly be any closer to the stereotypical bimbo . \\nduring the course of the movie she gets locked in both a closet and a car trunk , blunders around a control room accidentally setting off a laser and serves no purpose in enhancing the plot whatsoever . \\nmaud adams ( later to star in octopussy ) is a much more stronger and useful character , but she hardly features in the movie . \\nscaramanga\\'s lackey is a dwarf called nik-nak , who rather fittingly is also possibly the silliest henchman in the series , serving up annoyance and weak dialogue in equal measures . \\nworse still is an almost total lack of action throughout the whole movie . \\nthere is but one fight sequence about fifteen minutes in ( not counting a ludicrous scene where two teenage girls beat up several dozen trained martial artists -- another misguided attempt at humour ) . \\nthe solitary car chase might have been a highlight , but the \" action \" is interrupted on a frequent basis by a redneck sheriff ( j . w . \\npepper , played by clifton james of live and let die \" fame \" ) yelling stupid comments out of the passenger window . \\nhe is easily the most irritating character in a james bond movie . \\neven his presence could have been made bearable by one of the most impressive car stunts in cinematic history , a 360 degree twisting loop jump over a broken bridge -- could have been , except somebody got the idea to dub a mocking whistle tone over the final print . \\non top of that debacle , the whole end of the film is an anticlimatic sequence in scaramanga\\'s \" funhouse \" . \\nthe only good thing that came out of this movie was that the producers had to make the next film in the series ( the infinitely superior \" the spy who loved me \" ) a great film in order for the bond franchise to survive . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"set in the wild west , this carry on centres around the arrival of the rumpo kid ( sidney james ) and his cronies in stodge city . \\nhis dodgy dealings and summary shootings aggravate judge burke ( kenneth williams ) so much that he asks sheriff albert earp ( jon pertwee ) to drive rumpo out of town . \\ninstead , the rumpo kid shoots the sheriff dead . \\ntherefore , judge burke sends for a law marshall to come in and clean up the city . \\ndue to a misunderstanding , an english sanitary engineer called marshall p . knutt ( jim dale ) is assigned , without knowing it , as the law marshall for stodge city . \\nhe arrives at the same time as annie oakley ( angela douglas ) who is seeking revenge for her father , the sheriff's murder . \\nwhen marshall arrives at stodge city , he soon becomes aware of the misunderstanding and due to his rather limited intellect , he is manipulated by the rumpo kid and always ends up getting things wrong . \\nin the end , there is a head-to-head between rumpo and marshall . \\nwith the rumpo's past experience , it would seem that marshall is out of his depth , but using his sanitary skills and learning the ways of the west from annie oakley , he at least stands some chance ! \\nsid james , with an american accent , is perfect as the rumpo kid , a part which suits him down to the ground . \\njim dale provides one of his best carry on performances as the stupid sanitary engineer , and angela douglas is very effective in her role as the revengeful daughter . \\nother regulars that appear in this movie include charles hawtrey and bernard bresslaw ( in his debut ) as big heap and little heap respectively . \\nbig heap is the local indian leader and the crazy casting of hawtrey for this part is very amusing , as is his performance : - he steals every scene he is in even though he does not enter the film until thirty minutes past . \\njoan sims provides useful and amusing support as belle , the local bar owner who takes a fancy to the rumpo kid . \\nhowever , the part of doc played by peter butterworth and sheriff albert earp played by jon pertwee are not really necessary , and pertwee's performance is rather poor . \\nkenneth williams uses a new voice but struggles with the weak part of the 'judge' . \\neven so , this carry on was sid james and kenneth williams' favourite . \\na very different carry on film , in that it is played more seriously by the actors and possesses more realism than any other carry on . \\nthe death count is the highest of any carry on film . \\nsets , costumes and action sequences are all very commendable . \\nthe songs that are included in the movie ( the title song and annie's song ) are very impressive . \\na strange but therefore very interesting carry on film . \\nnot the best of its kind but it is certainly the most distinctive film of the series . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'a movie laced with a good blend of action , comedy , and a heavy dose of musical celebrity guest appearances sounds pretty gourmet , but even the best ingredients can be thrown together in the wrong way , creating a dismal and unsatisfactory product . \\neighteen years after the blues brothers hit theaters , blues brothers 2000 is being unleashed , minus half of its original duo ( the late john belushi ) and nearly all of its original charm . \\ndan aykroyd reprises his role ( as well as his co-writing credit ) as elwood blues , the sharp dressed con man who wreaked havoc on a self-proclaimed \" mission from god \" along with his brother jake and their blues brothers band nearly eighteen years ago . \\nas we begin , elwood is being released from a state penitentiary along with the news of his brother\\'s death in prison years ago . \\ncompletely on his own , elwood decides to trace his roots back to the orphanage where he spent his childhood , only to discover that everyone he has ever known has passed away . \\nbut elwood isn\\'t completely without family . \\nit seems he has a half-brother of sorts - not a real brother mind you , just the illegitimate child of his bluesman pseudo-father curtis ( cab calloway from the first film ) , who has also passed on . \\ndespite inklings from mother superior mary stigmata ( kathleen freeman ) to do otherwise , elwood seeks out his only remaining family in an effort to start up an all new blues brothers band . \\nworking as a police commander , cabel chamberlain ( joe morton ) , has an immediate disliking for elwood , who nonchalantly fills cab in on his mother\\'s affair years ago and then goes on to steal his wallet . \\nfollowing elwood around is the lonely orphan buster ( j . \\nevan bonifant ) , who quickly learns to become a mini-elwood . \\nwhen bartender mighty mack mcteer ( john goodman ) joins the group , the blues brothers band is complete , and once again , the group travels the country , crashing cars , blowing things up , and obstructing peace with more than just solid blues rock . \\nmeanwhile , cab\\'s personal vendetta against elwood leads him on an impassioned manhunt for his next-to-next-of-kin . \\n>from this point , the movie turns into a series of music videos with a few bits of acting in between . \\nthose hoping for an interesting and/or funny yarn are given too many musical interludes while those heavily interested in the music are given too much of a story . \\nonly the extremely avid blues fans should attempt getting thru these two hours . \\nfor those people , it may be worth it , for luckily there is much more music than shoddy attempts at acting , but when the story does intrude upon the festivities , the film is heavily bogged down with unfunny jokes , musicians turned stiff actors , and the pointless 10-year- old buster attempting to add some sort of home alone cuteness to the whole thing . \\nappearances by musical legends such as aretha franklin , james brown , eric clapton , and a whole slew of others are the high points of the film , but they also confirm why these people are musicians and not actors . \\nblues brothers 2000 is deserving of one whole star simply because if you really , really love this kind of music , you might kind of , sort of like this movie . \\nmany , many scenes are nauseatingly unfunny , and if you don\\'t have a passion for very deep blues/rock , you\\'ll be bored out of your skull . \\nmuch of this film seems nothing more than aykroyd\\'s self-serving vanity project , but no matter how much fun aykroyd may be having with this , none of the excitement is passed on to the audience . \\nand seeing three guys in three-piece suits goofily dancing around with poker faces can only be funny for so long . \\nunfortunately , those two seconds are over about fifteen minutes into the film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in , \" the muse \" albert brooks plays steven phillips , a hollywood screenwriter who after winning a humanitarian award for his work is dumped by his studio . \\nthey claim that he\\'s lost his edge and his agent is quick to agree with them . \\nhe knows that he needs to write something fresh and original and quick or else his career will be over . \\nso he turns to his \" best \" friend , jack ( jeff bridges ) another screenwriter who\\'s enjoyed success after success . \\non the way over to jack\\'s house steven sees jack helping an attractive woman ( sharon stone ) into a cab and begins to think : is he having an affair ? \\nwhen confronted , jack relunctently tells him that this mystery woman is , in fact , a muse , a mythological figure who is believed to have inspired all creativity , and has helped him garner his success . \\n \" she doesn\\'t do any actual writing , \" he is told , \" but inspires you . \" \\nsteven is excited by what he\\'s hearing and asks jack to call her up to see if she\\'ll take steven on as a new client . \\njack arranges a meeting between the two and suggests that steven bring her a present , preferably something from tiffany\\'s . \\nafter the meeting the muse , sarah decides to take on steven , but at a price : she wants a suite at the four seasons and wants steven to perform odd tasks for her ( like bringing her salads in the middle of the night . ) \\nsteven\\'s wife ( andy macdowell ) sees him at a food store and questions him about why he has tampons in his wagon . \\nsteven confesses everything and , although at first suspicious , she later allows sarah to move into their guest room and eventually into their life . \\nthe only question for steven is if the muse is worth all the trouble he\\'s going through for her . \\nand that\\'s a question only time will tell . \\n \" the muse \" is albert brooks\\' sixth film as writer/director/actor ( he co-wrote with monica johnson ) and although it\\'s a good movie it\\'s not up to the level of his best works ( \" defending your life \" and \" mother \" ) . \\nthe problem lies in the script , and for a movie that relies on its dialogue for its humor , there aren\\'t nearly as many laughs as they are chuckles despite a few good one-liners . \\nit has a great premise but doesn\\'t deliver up to it\\'s full potential . \\nbut , i like albert brooks in this film and i think that we can all identify with steven phillips a little bit . \\nhe may whine and complain , but he just wants to support his family and be happy . \\nand i like sharon stone in this movie too ; it\\'s a nice change of pace for her . \\nand i also enjoyed the cameos featuring the likes of rob reiner , james cameron and martin scorsese . \\nand although \" the muse \" doesn\\'t have as much to say about hollywood as robert altman\\'s \" the player \" i still left the theater feeling good . \\nand that\\'s something i wish i got out of more movies . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'whether or not i would be considered a trekker probably depends on whom you would ask . \\ni have been a fan of both the original series and its recently retired follow-up , as well as the even- numbered entries in the film series . \\nhowever , i have never been one of those folks who store away trek minutiae and get into debates over the relative merits of spock vs . data . \\nsomewhere along the line , the \" star trek \" film series began to seem more and more directed at those in the latter category , and star trek : generations may be the natural conclusion of this direction . \\nits production values may be high , but the writing is frequently appalling , and instead of a script has a collection of references , in-jokes and ill-defined characters . \\ngenerations opens in the late 23rd century , where members of the original enterprise crew , including captain james t . kirk ( william shatner ) , are present for the christening of the latest ship to bear that name . \\nno sooner is it out on its maiden voyage than a distress signal brings them to the nexus , a mysterious ribbon of energy . \\namong those rescued from the nexus is long-lived alien dr . soran ( malcolm mcdowell ) , but he is none-too-pleased at being back in the real world . \\nseventy-eight years later , soran is still trying to get back to the nexus , and again encounters an enterprise , this one led by captain jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) . \\nsoran\\'s plan involves destroying a star with an inhabited planet , and the only hope for saving 230 million people is the historic meeting of two enterprise captains . \\ni don\\'t think it is an insult to fans of \" star trek \" to suggest that to a certain extent , the particulars of a plot are not really the most important elements in a \" trek \" film . \\nit\\'s about a chance to visit with old friends , and if they are involved in a truly interesting story it can be considered gravy . \\nbut even that interpretation assumes that characterization has to be consistent , and in generations that just doesn\\'t happen . \\ndata ( brent spiner ) is particularly victimized by this sloppy writing . \\nin the film\\'s major sub-plot , data decides to use a chip which will give him human emotions , a chip he has had in his possession for over a year . \\nwhat is his motivation for taking this drastic and perhaps dangerous step ? \\nhe doesn\\'t get a joke . \\nonce the chip is in place , spiner gets to have a lot of fun with data\\'s new emotions , but the point is that he\\'s no longer the data we know . \\nif the rest of the \" next generation \" cast fares any better , it\\'s only because they\\'re on the screen so little that they\\'re simply window dressing . \\nbut then again , this story isn\\'t really about the new crew . \\nit\\'s about kirk and picard , the cowboy and the politician , sharing the screen . \\nthe huge surprise is that william shatner blows patrick stewart away . \\nperhaps because he knows this is his last go-round in the part that made him a legend , shatner looks like he\\'s having the time of his life ; stewart , on the other hand , borders on the deferrential , and is saddled with the same lackluster motivations as everyone else in the cast . \\nstewart\\'s edginess is indicative of what may be a very bad sign for paramount\\'s hopes to turn the new cast into the same kind of franchise the original cast was : these are clearly the not ready for big screen players . \\nby contrast , the prologue which features scotty ( james doohan ) and chekhov ( walter koenig ) is the highlight of the film . \\nthese characters have become part of the popular mythology , and when they take over the enterprise in a moment of distress , it\\'s a moment of high energy . \\nonly thirty years of history can create a moment like that , and that\\'s time this new crew doesn\\'t have . \\nit certainly doesn\\'t help that the plot they are stuck in is so convoluted and badly constructed that you need to leave a trail of bread crumbs to find your way out again . \\nit\\'s also loaded with little gags all aimed at those who are familiar enough with the series to turn to all their friends in a shared nudge of recognition . \\ni wonder whether anyone who is coming in cold to the \" trek \" universe at this point would be anything but baffled and bored by what is going on . \\nand what a waste of malcolm mcdowell , who could have been a great monomanical villain but should have been given a much more compelling reason for his obsession . \\nthere are plenty of details both scientific and of continuity to pick at , but to do so would be to ignore generations\\' major flaws . \\nhowever , i would like to make one recommendation : seatbelts . \\nnot just for the enterprise crew , although you\\'d think by the 24th century space travel wouldn\\'t involve rolling around on the floor during a battle . \\nno , i think the audience might need them more . \\nthis journey is one bumpy ride . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"well there goes another one . \\nsadly this like other movies this year wasn't good . \\nthis one being almost as bad as 'the omega code' but not quite . \\nfrom the opening credits i had a good feeling this would be bad , and well i guess i was right . \\nwith bad excuses for acting , a horrible screenplay and straight-out bad direction 'the bachelor' is a terribly unfunny movie that doesn't work on any levels accept that fact that rene zellwegar who does give a good performance . \\nthe two cameos by brooke shields and mariah carey are also good with brooke being the best . \\nthe movie is troubled from the start because chris o'donnell is hugely miscast and gives one of the worst performances to date . \\nhere is the stupid plot : chris o'donnell plays jimmie shelton a man who has just broken up with his girlfriend , he meets anne ( rene zellwegar ) they instantly hit it off and are together for three years . \\njimmie decides that he wants to bring their relationship a little bit up . \\nhe really doesn't realize that anne thinks he wants to marry her ( what he wants i never did catch ) . \\nso he proposes in a really bad way , and she shoots him down and is very mad . \\nhe of course tries to apologize but nothing seems to help any . \\nthen his grandfather dies and he learns that he has left jimmie 100 million dollars . . . . as \\nlong as he marries before the next day at 6 : 05 pm . \\nnow jimmie must find anne and try to marry her to get the money and because he loves her , or get married to someone else to get the money itself , leading to an un-funny and predictable ending that leaves a bad taste in our mouths . \\nok so maybe this could be one of the dumbest , cliched , silliest romantic comedy to date that has no real big laughs . \\neven the supporting roles of artie lange , hal holbrook and ed anser aren't even good . \\nthe plot was a good idea , but the script would have to have been written in less than five minutes and by a five year old . \\nthe choppy dialogue and bad directing don't help things any . \\neven though chris o'donnell gave an ok performance in the two batman movies , he does not give even a remotely good or funny performance here and i wanted to boo and throw my pop at the screen to get rid of him . \\nrene zelweggar is a different story and gave a charming , sweet and likable performance ( as usual ) and really was the only thing that saved this confused movie from being a total huge washout . \\nher sister played by marley shelton is also good and the two have good chemistry onscreen . \\nbrooke shields showed up in a funny little performance as a big-headed mogul who after a while became routine and old . \\none really can't help but think that we have seen this stuff before . \\nit's not like this is an original idea and in the end , everyone knows what is going to happen due do its cliches and typicalness . \\n'the bachelor' works on no good levels and in fact doesn't work at all . \\ned anser and hal holbrook were wasted in terrible roles and mariah carey can not act to save her soul , and this could be the only film of her movie career dispite her terrific music career . \\nchris o'donnell is not as bad an actor as casper van dien but that is not saying a great deal . \\nhe seems held back and really doesn't get into his character much and after even the first 30 minutes gets annoying and old . \\nartie lange just to me seems like he is trying to another chris farley and was completely unfunny and un-nerving . \\nwhy the filmmakers would want to waste such a cast in such a bad movie , with such bad acting and dialogue is a question only they will know . \\nmaybe they thought it would become a hit or a critical success , and sometimes i don't agree with other critics on movies , even from the trailers for this film they made it look bad and showed all the mildly funny parts . \\nits based on the 1925 silent film 'seven chances' which i am sure is very better than this mess . \\neven though some may think of this as a good date movie , most who see this will want to pull out thier hair and scream for thier money back . \\nbesides being a terrible movie , 'the bachelor' is well a terrible movie . \\nit has nothing worth recommending therefore i really can't recommend this movie . \\ni did not have a good time and i laughed only three times . \\nthe running time of the movie is 106 minutes which is wayyyy over time and needs to be shortened at least thirty minutes . \\nparts of it seems to go on forever and parts of seem to not last enough time . \\nbeing one of the worst movies of the year , we can be sure that i hope they will not make anymore stupid unfunny romantic comedies , and if they do they i give up on filmmakers . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : a maniac , crazed by virulent microphage , slaughters more than twenty people , including a street gang and heavily-armed troops , with a small knife . \\neven with a handgun , however , he can\\'t take out the two cops who are after him , despite having shot one of them a total of seven times . \\ncomments : the most notable aspect of adrenalin : fear the rush is that it marks a striking career move for natasha henstridge . \\nnot only does she manage to keep all her clothes on ( her trademark in earlier films such as species and maximum risk was to strip naked as often as possible ) , but she actually puts on even more clothes as the film progresses . \\nthis will probably disappoint many henstridge fans , but i welcome the change because henstridge is an attractive , capable actress who deserves less exploitative roles ( though , i admit , it doesn\\'t show in this mess ) . \\nhenstridge , just like every other actor in the film , delivers a wooden performance in this monumental turkey . \\n ( the cast also includes christopher lambert , who has appeared in the highlander and mortal kombat films . ) \\nhow on earth this movie got two big-name stars to appear in it is beyond me . \\nadrenalin : fear the rush is set in boston ten years in the future ( 2007 ) . \\nboston has changed dramatically in those ten years . \\nit is now home to a bunch of interred foreigners and policed by cops who drive around in small cars with \" policia \" printed on their doors . \\nsome guy has a really bad virus , and he\\'s killing people because of it . \\nso , the brave good guys ( lambert and henstridge ) go after him . \\nthat\\'s it . \\n76 minutes never seemed so long . \\nthis is a drawn-out chase scene through dimly-lit abandoned buildings turned into an entire movie . \\nthe plot development is nil ; we learn absolutely nothing about lambert\\'s character and very little about henstridge\\'s character . \\nthe dialogue is littered with unnecessary obscenities and concerns mindnumbingly idiotic arguments over who will go down the next dark corridor/tunnel/airduct next and who will carry the flashlight . \\na subplot does exist involving henstridge\\'s character\\'s illegal attempt to get her son out of boston . \\nin her opening monologue , a monologue which sounds as though henstridge was reading from cue cards , we learn that she has gone to great lengths to secure a fake passport for her son . \\ntwenty minutes into the film , i wondered if the movie would have been better if it focused on this plot . \\nin a defining scene of the movie , however , i changed my mind . \\nthis fake passport drops to the ground . \\nlambert\\'s cop immediately recognizes it as a fraud from six feet away . \\nmust not have been a good fake . \\nthis emphasizes another fault with the film . \\nthings just defy common sense . \\nlambert\\'s cop , for instance , is shot seven times , yet he is still able to talk and slide about . \\nadrenalin : fear the rush ends in a trite manner that doesn\\'t seem to even fit the mood that the filmmakers were trying for . \\ni found myself rather bored with this film , which will disappoint both sci-fi/horror fans and fans of henstridge and lambert . \\ndon\\'t fear the rush . \\nfear the movie . \\nwatch something else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i still can\\'t figure out why people went in droves to see this movie . \\nnow before you go assuming i\\'m some sort of high brow snob , who can\\'t appreciate a little dumb humor , let me say that i love cheap humor . \\ni thought there\\'s something about mary was one of the funniest films that i have ever seen and it was certainly one of the best films of 1998 . \\nlow brow adolescent humor can be a lot of fun , the problem with the waterboy is that it is just low brow and adolescent , there is no humor component . \\ni wanted to like the waterboy , i really did . \\ni think i only laughed maybe 2 or 3 times throughout the entire movie . \\nactually , i smiled a couple of more times on top of that . \\nnot a great record for a 90-minute film . \\nthe problem with the waterboy is the same as most other adam sandler movies . \\nthose responsible for this mess seem to think that the sheer fact that sandler walks around using a goofy voice and playing dumb the entire movie is a substitute for actual funny material . \\nnothing could be further from the truth , as matter of fact , sandler\\'s idiot voice started to get on my nerves at points in this film . \\nit\\'s really a shame too , because this film had the potential to be very funny . \\ni personally believe that sandler is probably a very talented comedian , it\\'s just that so far he hasn\\'t been able to find the right film to showcase his talents . \\nif his only talent is making goofy voices and playing morons , my guess is that his career in the movies will go down the same road as the vast majority of the former stars of saturday night live . \\nmost of whom are now happily no longer in the entertainment industry . \\nsandler plays a 31-year-old , somewhat mentally challenged , waterboy for a college football team . \\nthe team\\'s somewhat mentally disturbed coach ( henry winkler ) realizes that his waterboy has a great deal of pent-up rage , which , if harnessed properly , would make him a force to be reckoned with on the football field . \\nyou can figure out the rest from here . \\nsandler joins the team and this once lowly waterboy becomes a football star . \\nas i said , the film had a great deal of potential . \\nthe idea was a decent one , but the main potential of this movie is a result of the cast . \\nall of whom are very good , just hamstrung by really , really , lousy material . \\neven sandler , annoying goofy voice and all , has enough charisma and natural comedic ability to overcome some of his bad material . \\neven as unfunny as his character is , i still found myself rooting for him throughout the film . \\nbut it is the supporting cast that i feel most badly about . \\nif their material had been just a bit better , this film could have been such a funny movie . \\nfairuza balk plays sandler\\'s leather-wearing biker-chick love interest and does a great job playing sleazy and sexy at the same time . \\nwinkler is great as the coach who uses a \" coaching for dummies \" -style book to help him get through games . \\nthe real standout though , is kathy bates . \\neven with some of the worst material of her career to deal with , she is still a treat to watch in her role as sandler\\'s overprotective and overbearing mama . \\neven with the performances of bates and winkler , there is absolutely no way i would recommend this movie . \\nalthough i get the distinct impression that without them , this film would have ranked in negative numbers for me . \\nwhich is sad , because i can\\'t really put my finger on a particular element of the movie and single it out as the cause of the disaster that it became . \\nit\\'s obvious that those involved , specifically the actors , tried very hard to make what they thought was going to be a funny movie . \\nit\\'s just too bad that 99 percent of all of the jokes fell flat . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'nosferatu the vampyre ( germany 1979 ) \\na film review by mike watson copyright 1999 mike watson \\nthis extraordinary re-telling of bram stoker\\'s \" dracula \" by german filmmaker werner herzog deserves the most prominent of places in cinematic vampire lore . \\ninspired by f . w . murnau\\'s 1922 silent film of the same name , herzog\\'s film is a work of exquisite bleakness , an oddly touching tragedy with a beautiful and uniquely haunting quality that lingers long afterwards . \\nthe original full-length english and german language versions of nosferatu have at last received a video release by u . s . distributor anchor bay entertainment , and in gorgeous widescreen prints . \\nuntil now only a shortened english language version of the film was available on video , and only in europe . \\nboth of these re-releases restore the film to its full length , but viewers should still be wary of the english version due to its often stilted dialogue . \\napparently the english dialogue coach herzog had on the set during filming was incompetent , and some of the voices also seem to be dubbed . \\nthe german version with english subtitles remains the definitive one . \\neveryone knows the story of dracula . \\nor do they ? \\nhis story has been so bastardised on film over the years that a brief reminder of the basic plot certainly won\\'t hurt . \\njonathan harker is a young lawyer sent to the gloomy castle dracula in transylvania to do business with a creepy count ( played by klaus kinski ) who wants to buy a house in harker\\'s hometown . \\nupon seeing a photo of harker\\'s wife ( the radiant isabelle adjani ) he instantly falls in love with her . \\nlocking harker up in his castle , he sets off on a long journey to meet this woman whose beauty so bewitches him . \\nupon divining his identity as a vampire , adjani seduces the count and lures him to his death one morning as the sun rises . \\nthat is a story familiar to millions , but herzog has elevated stoker\\'s tale into the realm of - and i use this term a tad reluctantly - cinematic art . \\nnosferatu is as much a meditation as it is a film , shot through blue-ish and white filters and peopled with characters who perform as if they were half hypnotised . \\nthe film\\'s surreal , dream-like quality is utterly mesmerising . \\nthere is much to enjoy , but i\\'ll limit my praise to a few key points . \\nholding the film together is kinski\\'s remarkable performance as count dracula . \\npast screen portrayals , including bela lugosi\\'s famous turn , have largely been one dimensional and tended towards camp . \\nbut kinski . . . oh boy , this is something far more compelling . \\naided by a startling make-up job , he portrays dracula\\'s vampirism not simply as pure evil but as some sort of loathsome disease . \\nthis man is dreadfully lonely . \\nhe lives in utter solitude , shunned by the locals for his hideous appearance and reputation for bloodlust . \\nkinski\\'s portrayal of the count is both creepy and deeply affecting . \\nwhen he dies , you almost feel as if this man\\'s tortured soul has been freed at last . \\nthen there\\'s the unforgettable soundtrack , largely composed by german group popul vuh . \\nit is so eerily beautiful and evocative that it\\'s quite impossible to imagine the film without it . \\npopul vuh are longtime herzog collaborators and play an ancient-sounding kind of spacemusic using piano , chants , and exotic instruments . \\nwhen i first saw this film some years ago i was so impressed i tracked down and bought a number of their albums . \\nthe one i still listen to the most is \" tantric songs \" , from which most of the music in nosferatu is taken . \\nit\\'s a testament to the music\\'s depth that it is as powerful without the pictures as it is with them . \\nthe album is still available on the highly respected ambient and world music label celestial harmonies . \\nthis is a timely re-release by anchor bay . \\nafter francis ford coppola\\'s unscary and woefully overblown version of bram stoker\\'s tale in 1992 , it is a joy to go back to herzog\\'s film and see the amazing things he has done with what is now a century-old story . \\nto some aficionados , nosferatu is quite simply the greatest vampire film ever made . \\nwithout a doubt , it is an unmistakable classic of the genre . \\ndon\\'t miss it . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'wizards is an animated feature that begins with a narration of epic proportions . \\nover black and white drawings , we are told that the earth is destroyed in an apocalyptic nuclear exchange , sending the remnants of humanity through generations of radiation-induced mutation . \\nthe \" original \" inhabitants of the earth , fairies and elves , return to populate the globe , along with their evil , mutant counterparts . \\none day ( and i say \" one day \" not to be trite , but because that\\'s exactly how it happened - no advance notice ) , a fairy queen gives birth to twins , one good and one evil . \\nthe twins grow up to be powerful wizards , the good one embracing magic , and the bad one utilizing technology to attempt to expand his evil empire . \\nwe are given the notion that an ultimate battle must occur between the forces of magic and those of technology . \\nas unoriginal as the premise is , i was still somewhat interested in how this story would play itself out . \\nthere\\'s a lot you can do in an animated fantasy world , after all . \\ni soon learned , however , that the fantasy was the expectation of a decent film . \\nonce the transition was made from still art to color animation , an entirely different feel takes precedence . \\nrather than the epic saga promised by the narration , we get a goofy-looking world of a saturday morning cartoon . \\nnot just the look , mind you , but all the zany sounds like >honk boing \\nfor years , blackwolf has lost his battles against the magical forces of good , since his armies of ogres and other mutants would get dispirited or distracted soon after battle is joined . \\nhowever , blackwolf now has a secret weapon : nazis . \\nyup , adolf hitler , the luftwaffe and the wehrmacht . \\nokay , not the real things , but an archival film his minions dug up . \\nprojected into the sky for all to see , it inspires his own army while shocking the enemy into submission long enough for the ogres to hack them up . \\nbefore you know it , there are dead elves everywhere . \\nthis is just as well . \\nthe characters are so bad that the viewer doesn\\'t care about any of them . \\nthey\\'re either silly , sappy , or both . \\nthe dialog gets much of the credit for this . \\nan example is when avatar nonchalantly says , \" well , looks like my brother and i begin our final battle . \" \\nnot very formidable when he\\'s also the guy who says , \" this is the biggest bummer of a trip i\\'ve ever been on . \" \\nmy favorite line was from a sideline fairy who is asked by her child why good can\\'t fight back against the nazi-charged evil . \\nher response is , \" they have weapons and technology . \\nwe just have love . \" \\nsuffice to say , the characters are strictly two-dimensional , and we therefore don\\'t expect anything more than the obvious to happen . \\nwhich it does . \\nthe only unexpected occurrence is the way the final battle between brothers is played out , which is anticlimactic and disappointing . \\nplease note that it is the action that is unexpected . \\nthat it is disappointing is not . \\nthe film couldn\\'t settle on a particular mood . \\nit seems to move from dark to light with the cuts from scene to scene and even angle to angle . \\nscenes which are seemingly meant to contain deep meaning are ruined by acts of levity . \\nthe dramatics , which seem to occur at random , are overly staged and overly acted , detracting from any kind of value or even enjoyment which could otherwise be gleaned . \\nralph bakshi , the director , makes an obvious attempt to get a message across in this film : hitler and the nazis were bad . \\nso who doesn\\'t know this already ? \\nwell , maybe children . \\nokay , so you might say that this is a movie for children . \\nit\\'s not . \\nin the scenes where good fights evil , there\\'s a lot of violence and gore that children should not be seeing if they\\'re watching a cartoon . \\nso is the film for adults ? \\nif so , we probably don\\'t need to be bashed over the head to get the point . \\nwhy not have the bad guys be symbolic of the nazis instead of using old propaganda in a seriously disjointed attempt to show us something we already know ? \\nwizards gives us a lot of footage of nazi tanks and airplanes , and hitler giving speeches . \\nhowever , we don\\'t see any reason why they should be considered bad . \\nwe see no atrocities being committed , not even any real battle footage . \\nthere is absolutely no connection made between the armies of evil and the third reich , and we\\'re not even given a cursory explanation as to why this stuff is inspiring in the first place . \\nthis needed to be thought out much more thoroughly if a point were to be made , since subject matter such as this deserves better treatment . \\ni\\'d like to assume that bakshi was trying to say that the same nationalist movement that drove the nazis could happen anywhere , at any time , and we must therefore be vigilant . \\nhowever , i\\'m not sure if i want to give him that much credit . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"running time approximately 1hr 40mins \\nreviewed by jack choo \\nrating : \\nthe movie starts with a rather se7en-ish opening sequence , rather cool and sets the mood for things to come . \\nthe story propels the audience into a neo-reality ; somewhat very close to conscious reality but laced with weird tinges of blue and red . \\nexistenz is actually the name of a new virtual-reality game . \\nsupposedly , vr games are highly popular as is considered a legal-drug in this neo-reality . \\n * * * * ( leigh ) is the ultimate game creator and introduces her ultimate game-experience in the form of existenz . \\nplayers are required to have bio-ports embedded in their spine , which plugs to a game-pod in order to enjoy the immersive experience . \\nduring a secretive beta-testing-cum-teaser meeting for this new game , an assassination attempt on * * * life occurs and she runs off with fellow bodyguard * * * ( law ) . \\n * * * is more of a realists than anything else , afraid that he'll lose reality if he begin to play these games but * * * requires his help to immerse together with her into existenz to check if the program is still functioning properly after the assassination attempt . \\nas they soon discover , they are transported between realities within existenz uncovering more than they initially expected . \\nexistenz has all the cronenberg-gore that is expected of him . \\neven so , this film is no-where near his cult classics such as videodrome or scanners . \\nnot even half as suspenseful as the commercially successful the fly . \\nexistenz can probably be looked upon as his 90's version of videodrome , even so , it is a poor follow-up . \\nwhile in most of his famed films , his penchant for gore always hit the right note with theme of the film and plot . \\nin existenz , the gory sequences are no more attached to spirit of the film and seem to be an act of over-indulgence than anything else . \\njennifer jason leigh and jude law , both commendable actors , looked aloof and miss-directed throughout the entire film . \\nthe scripting and acting barely pulls the film out of the b-grade category . \\nit was obvious that cronenberg worked on a really tight-budget and it seems that he handled that pretty well in the production design and values created for this film ( the opening sequence , though , probably formed a considerable portion of the budget ! ) \\nwhich is actually quite good . \\nexistenz is too predictable and cliched in these times . \\n10 years ago , it would have been another classic for cronenberg . \\ncronenberg fans however , ( those people who enjoy seeing friends getting queasy over mutilation on film ) should not give this film a miss as some form of appreciation can still be offered by you . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'susan granger\\'s review of \" american outlaws \" ( warner bros . ) \\nthomas edison\\'s \" the great train robbery \" ( 1903 ) was the first western ever made and \" jesse james under the black flag \" ( 1923 ) first introduced the outlaw folk hero . \\nnow , more than 20 similarly-themed pictures later , jesse james and his notorious gang of outlaws ride again in a banal mtv spin on an american legend . \\nthe story begins as jesse ( charasmatic colin farrell ) and his brother frank ( gabriel macht ) , cole and scott younger ( scott caan , will mccormack ) and trusty comanche tom ( nathaniel arcand ) , after four years of fighting for the rebs in the civil war , return to liberty , missouri - only to discover union troops are occupying their hometown . \\nand an avaricious east coast railroad baron , thaddeus rains ( harris yulin ) , is forcing farmers to sell their land at less than true value , aided by allan pinkerton ( timothy dalton ) and his infamous detectives who , back then , were just thugs who provided security . \\nbut when ma james ( kathy bates ) becomes one of their victims , jesse and the rest of the guys ( gregory smith , ty o\\'neal , joe stevens ) form the james-younger gang to wreak revenge by attacking the railroad\\'s supply lines , sabotaging track and robbing the banks where the payroll is kept . \\nplus there\\'s romance - between jesse and a spunky hometown gal , lee mimms ( ali larter ) . \\nworking from a politically-correct , clich ? -drenched , sanitized and revisionist screenplay by roderick taylor and john rodgers , director les mayfield keeps the action fast-paced and goes for lightweight laughs when he can . \\nthe choppy editing hurts but russell boyd\\'s cinematography , luke reichle\\'s designer duds and trevor rabin\\'s music lend authenticity . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" american outlaws \" is a galloping , formulaic 3 . \\nit\\'s the wild west re-visited as a date movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'warning : this review contains some spoilers for the 1964 film \" fail-safe . \" \\nif you haven\\'t seen the film yet , proceed with caution . \\nnutshell : a relevant , intelligent , suspenseful drama . \\nstill powerful today , even after the end of the cold war . \\n-------------------- \" fail-safe \" ( usa , 1964 ) drama , 111 minutes \\nscreenplay by walter bernstein based on the novel by eugene burdick and harvey wheeler produced by max e . youngstein directed by sidney lumet \\nreview by jamahl epsicokhan -------------------- \\nthe most ironic aspect of nuclear war is that it doesn\\'t have a winning side and a losing side . \\nin a nuclear confrontation , everybody loses , and the aftereffects have devastating effects that impact the entire world--assuming the world survives . \\nthe idea--and perhaps the only real option--is to avoid war at all costs . \\nthis is the theme of sidney lumet\\'s \" fail-safe , \" a fictional drama based on the novel by eugene burdick and harvey wheeler . \\n \" fail-safe \" takes place during the heart of the cold war ( the actual film was released two years after the cuban missile crisis ) , when the united states and the soviet union were in static discord over an issue that can be summarized in a single word : communism . \\nthe premise centers around a combination of accidents and operation flaws . \\nfive u . s . bombers carrying nuclear warheads are ordered to set a routine course for moscow after an unidentified aircraft is spotted heading toward america . \\nthe unidentified aircraft turns out to be a commercial airliner , but a mechanical failure strikes the military base that commands the bombers . \\nsuddenly out of contact , and with standing orders to remain on course until receiving new directives , the bomber pilots cannot be recalled , and they proceed to moscow with the intention of destroying it with a nuclear strike . \\na great deal of \" fail-safe \" \\'s plot follows various characters as they attempt to devise ways of stopping the u . s . bombers from reaching russia\\'s borders--at any cost . \\nthe plot is compelling , and the story creates urgency and dread by painting the grimmest of worst case scenarios . \\nthe reality sets in quickly as one attempt to turn the bombers after another fails . \\ngeneral bogan ( frank overton ) , taking orders directly from the president of the united states himself ( henry fonda ) , is powerless--the fate of the world lies in the hands of an automated , pre-programmed system that may not be stoppable , simply because the creators of the war machines were too efficient in their task to make a no-win situation winnable . \\nthe events in \" fail-safe \" are fascinating because they\\'re anything but predictable , but the real reason \" fail-safe \" works is because it understands more about nuclear war than what exists within the confines of its plot . \\na key ingredient to the film is its ability to create an ongoing polemic about nuclear war , communism , the cold war , and the united states\\' role in all of it . \\nmost of this is through the film\\'s use of the character groeteschele ( walter matthau ) , an arrogant civilian theorist of nuclear weapons use who , incidentally , is on the president\\'s advising staff for analyzing the statistical plausibility of waging a nuclear war . \\nmany of the film\\'s most pointed messages arise from discussions where groeteschele is one of the key voices . \\nearly in the film , he hosts a dinner party where he explains the importance of \" strategy \" in a nuclear assault to \" minimize \" casualties . \\n \" what\\'s the difference between 60 million and 100 million dead ? \" \\na guest asks impatiently . \\n \" forty million , \" groeteschele responds wryly . \\nthe problem with groeteschele\\'s mindset is that he * believes * nuclear combat to be a viable method of war . \\nthe only difference to him between nuclear armageddon and conventional warfare is the raw data and the casualty totals . \\ngroeteschele realizes that these weapons can destroy the world several times over . \\nyet his answer to the arms race is not to slow down and try to cool the situation off , as general black ( dan o\\'herlihy ) has often recommended . \\non the contrary--according to groeteschele , that would lead to russia having * more * nuclear weapons than the u . s . , which would clearly put america at a disadvantage . \\nsuch a stance was perhaps the central paradox and misguided practice of the arms race . \\n \" fail-safe \" clearly sees it as one of the central issues of the cold war , and , likewise , it becomes a central theme in the film . \\nwhy continue to build such machines of mass destruction while already possessing enough of them to destroy the world several times over ? \\nis it wise ? \\nis it even logical ? \\nno , not really . \\nalthough \" fail-safe \" is more about the issue of nuclear weapons than it is about the political ramifications of communism , there is a scene in the film that deals with communism in an intentionally superficial , one-sided sort of way . \\nagain , this is achieved through groeteschele , who is easily the film\\'s most important character in terms of the larger-theme significance . \\nin addition to providing the central \" pro-nuclear war \" voice that the film warns against , he also makes key remarks about communists that show just how much fear and resentment people of the period were prone to when it came to communism . \\nthe context the film uses suggests that this hatred was often glib . \\none of groeteschele\\'s \" logical \" trains of thought ventures so far into fantasy theoretical prediction that it\\'s merely absurd . \\nhe labels the average marxist an \" unfeeling , calculating machine \" that will do whatever it takes to preserve itself . \\ngroeteschele takes it so far as to say that if the u . s . drops the warhead on moscow , the soviets will * instantly * surrender , for to retaliate would invite counter-measures that would further destroy russia\\'s home soil--which must be preserved at all costs . \\ngroeteschele seems to forget these people are human beings with emotions ; general black quickly reminds him that the soviets would attack out of revenge--as any normal person would . \\nthe irony here is groeteschele\\'s own mechanical theorizing . \\nhe is so quick to judge the enemy that he doesn\\'t even realize his own seemingly programmed thought patterns . \\nonce the film makes it evident that turning the u . s . bombers will be impossible , the question becomes what the * consequences * of destroying moscow will be . \\njust how will the soviet union\\'s leader react , and what can the president do to convey his best intentions ? \\n ( just * how * does one pass off the deaths of millions of people as an * mishap * ? ) \\nwith the help of his translator buck ( larry hagman ) , the president negotiates at length with the soviet leader , in scenes that prove amazingly taut and powerful in their simplicity , with lumet\\'s long takes of fonda and hagman in the same frame , exchanging the dialog between the president and the soviet leader . \\nwithout getting into too much detail , i will say that the compromise they ultimately reach is very costly , yet necessary and as sensible as possible under the circumstances . \\n ( that is , as sensible as a nuclear \" incident \" can probably be . ) \\nit does accomplish what it must : it avoids an all-out war , something that simply isn\\'t possible because of its all-too-real consequences . \\ndramatically , the ending is quite powerful , and the use of o\\'herlihy\\'s character as the symbolic \" matador \" ( providing a bookend to the film by ending the story while tying into his dream sequence from the film\\'s opening ) , is particularly appropriate . \\n \" fail-safe \" is a production of a major hollywood studio ( released by columbia pictures ) , and it has the structure of a high-tension suspense thriller that one might expect from a hollywood film . \\nnevertheless , under lumet\\'s direction and walter bernstein\\'s intelligent adaptation of burdick\\'s and wheeler\\'s novel , the film continues to have a lasting effect even after the events on screen have unfolded . \\nthe film often warns that the automation of war is something that may make nuclear holocaust an unintentional consequence of such mass arming . \\nbut it was the conscious , human choice to * initialize * this automatic arming that \" fail-safe \" also finds dangerous . \\nin retrospect , the arms race seems to be one of the most puzzling exercises in futility of the century . \\nit\\'s just fortunate that both sides were finally able to come to their senses and slow down , rather than continuing groeteschele\\'s dangerous approach of speeding up and causing a possible meltdown . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ok , i admit it--i find camp amusement with the spice girls . \\nyes , the same spice girls of the gimmicky individual \" identities , \" they of the annoyingly infectious bubblegum pop hooks and cheesy unifying mantra of \" girl power . \" \\nbut not even their guilty pleasure appeal isn\\'t enough to carry their big screen debut , a junky mess which would be more aptly named shite world than spice world . \\nthe film begins amusingly enough , with a cheeky 007-esque title sequence in which the british quintet-- \" scary \" ( melanie brown ) , \" baby \" ( emma bunton ) , \" sporty \" ( melanie chisolm ) , \" ginger \" ( geri halliwell ) , and \" posh \" ( victoria adams ) --are introduced one by one ( to , much to my surprise , excited and only slightly mocking cheers from the press audience ) as they croon the silky ballad \" too much \" ( a tune that would sound right at home in an actual james bond film ) . \\na few minutes and an elton john cameo later comes an introductory tour of the numerous plotlines that run through the film : ( 1 ) the spicy ones go on a european publicity tour leading up to their first live concert at london\\'s royal albert hall ; ( 2 ) a film producer ( george wendt ) and a screenwriter ( mark mckinney ) pitch various film ideas to the girls\\' manager , clifford ( richard e . grant ) ; ( 3 ) a documentary film crew follows the girls ; ( 4 ) a pregnant \" mate \" ( naoki mori ) of the group rapidly approaches her due date ; and ( 5 ) a tabloid publisher ( barry humphries ) attempts to destroy the group with the help of a sneaky shutterbug ( richard o\\'brien ) . \\ncapped off by a live rendition of the girls\\' bouncy hit \" say you\\'ll be there , \" a wealth of laughs and merriment is sure to follow , right ? \\nwrong . it\\'s all downhill from there as spice world collapses into a series of misfired comedy sketches . \\ni must give the girls credit for their refreshing willingness to make fun of themselves , but writer kim fuller and director bob spiers can barely come up with a funny joke between them , much less a organized framework for all the \" wacky \" goings-on . \\nspice world jumps from vignette to vignette , subplot to subplot with no direction and little sense , at one minute having the girls meet with aliens ( no joke ) and at another having them stage a daring rescue of two young fans who fall into the water during a boat ride . \\nwhile a decent joke slips through the cracks here and there--during a \" dance bootcamp \" scene , the girls sing the lyric \" we know how we got this far/strength and courage and a wonderbra \" --much of the material is not even funny on the chuckle level . \\nsome gags are just plain pointless , such as roger moore\\'s recurring role as the mysterious chief , who dispenses cryptic , metaphor-heavy advice to clifford . \\nthe only reason why i can think anyone would find that funny is the fact that moore once played james bond . \\nha ha . \\nas weak as the script is , i think there\\'s one insurmountable problem with even attempting to make a spice girls movie , and that is the girls themselves . \\nthe point is not that they can\\'t act ( and , for the record , they really _can\\'t_ ) but that their individual personas , which works as a gimmick over the span of a four-minute music video , are too thin to survive outside of the truncated , video bite mtv world . \\nposh ( who garnered the most enthusiastic cheers during the introductions ) comes off best by default because her persona ( rich bitch ) most easily translates into character in a film . \\nbaby\\'s persona ( young innocent ) , to a lesser extent , also works , but the remaining girls\\' identities are a little harder to flesh out . \\nthere really isn\\'t much to do with sporty besides having her exercise every so often ( which is _exactly_ what fuller and spiers do ) , and , after all , what exactly entails being \" ginger \" or \" scary \" ? \\napparently , just their wardrobes . \\nspice world manages to pick up some steam in the late going following a flashback performance of the spices\\' signature hit , \" wannabe . \" \\nthe song is as grating as ever , but the energy of the number gives the proceedings a much-needed shot in the arm , setting the stage for a wave of self-referential humor stemmed from the screenwriters\\' film ideas ( the film almost mirrors robert altman\\'s the player in the way the film snails into itself ) . \\nthis section of the film , involving all manner of derring-do involving a speeding bus , is perhaps its most effective , but it also points up how all the other storylines ( the publisher , the documentary crew ) lack a satisfactory payoff . \\nspice world is harmless entertainment suitable for the entire family , and it will please the spice faithful . \\nbut this sloppy enterprise surely won\\'t win them any new fans , which is what the group sorely needs to bolster its rapidly waning girl power in the states . \\nonce the hype disappears , spice world will likely serve as the the spices\\' final hurrah in america . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the kids in the hall are an acquired taste . \\nit took at least a season of watching their show on hbo before i became a believer . \\nmaybe after watching a half dozen kids in the hall movies , they would grow into the big screen . \\nmy recommendation is that , unless you are a big fan of the kids , skip the film . \\nas it is , their first--and most likely only--attempt at a full length film lacks the qualities that made their comedy work on tv . \\na big-budget and glossy production can not make up for a lack of spontaneity that permeates their tv show . \\nthe kids go through the motions , but you get the feeling that they arent really having fun doing so . \\nand this makes it more difficult for the audience to enjoy their antics . \\nbrain candy is a bunch of skits tied together by the story of a pharmaceutical company that develops a new drug to cure depression . \\nin typical sketch-comedy tradition , each actor plays several roles . \\ndoctor cooper ( kevin mcdonald ) and his team create the drug . \\nthen , under pressure from don roritor ( mark mckinney ) , founder and president of roritor pharmaceuticals , dr . cooper releases the drug into the marketplace . \\nthe ensuing distribution of the new happy pill throughout the populace drives the rest of the film . \\nat about 90 minutes , brain candy still seems long . \\nthe best thing about sketch comedy--and the kids are no exception--is the ability to quickly deliver the laughs , then go on to another quick skit . \\nbut with the additional set-up necessary in telling a longer , coherent story , the laughs just dont come fast enough . \\nstrangely , the show is even more tame than it was when on cable tv . \\nthe movie makes several attempts at risqueness--mostly by pointing up the gayness of one of scott thompsons characters--but they seem almost forced ; as if they have to live up to a pg rating . \\none of the best bits , though , does make use of thompsons naked buttocks ; we see him charging into battle--going to have sex with some guys taking a shower . \\nin the classic of this genre , monty python pulled off this delicate balancing act between plot advancement and punchline delivery for most of the holy grail . \\nthe kids , unfortunately , are not up to the task . \\nthere are some amusing moments , to be sure , but not enough to make the experience an enjoyable one . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'this movie is based off the wildly popular video-game series of the same name . \\nbefore this film , the game had a few spin-off cartoons- which were ok . \\nbut the idea of doing a movie is insane . \\nit should have been animated , if it should have been done at all . \\ninstead the people do the best they can with a talented cast . \\nyet it still fails . \\nthe plot is completely different from the game\\'s plot- i\\'m not complaining about that . \\nthe story involves the mario bros . having a plumbing business in brooklyn and having to compete with a rival company . \\neventually they find a construction site by their nemesis , which happens to be enviromentally un-safe . \\nso , due to luigi\\'s ( john leguizamo ) girlfriend - princess daisy - they go and investigate . \\nthey get transported to a blade runner-esque world lead by king koopa ( dennis hopper ) . \\nsomehow a plot dealing with all the dinosaurs being mutated and transported to an alternate futuristic mega-city jumbles in . \\nthe plot is fine- better than the movie deserves . \\nthe acting is ok . \\nthis seems to be more of a visual film . \\nthe special effects are good , especially on the robotic yoshi . \\nhowever the film drags and is no fun . \\nand it leaves itself open to a sequel , which probably won\\'t ever be made . \\nthis movie begins sort of promising , but ends up leaving a weird taste in your mouth . \\nso if you want to watch a sort of odd movie starring the excellent dennis hopper , then watch super mario bros . : \\nthe movie . \\nyou could do worse . \\nbut you could definitely do better . . . \\n . \\nstreet fighter : the movie ( 1995 ) starring : raul julia and jean claude van-damme \\nthis movie was based off of a series of never ending sequels to a game called street fighter 2 . it has all the characters from the game in a reasonable plot . \\nit is more like a \" movie \" than it should be . \\nyes , it\\'s watchable . \\nraul julia does a good job , considering this was his final film . \\nwhile the game had non-stop fighting sequences , this movie is a hodge-podge of action scenes and flashy sets and costumes while trying to show off a plot at the same time . \\ndoes it work ? \\nsort of . . . \\nthe plot involves the evil shadowloo organization run by m . bison ( raul julia ) . \\nguile ( jean claude van-damme ) takes his troops to attack bison\\'s main base in an attempt to liberate the innocent villages he has taken over . \\nin a short amount of time , the movie introduces several characters well . \\nit catches your attention . \\nbut it ultimately seems like a showcase for fans of the game so you can point out things like \" there\\'s chun li ! ! \" \\nor \" look at that fire-ball ryu did at vega \" . \\nit hits the bases by presenting the characters in a plot with good sets , but goes no further . \\nthis movie needed more action in the first place . \\nthe action scenes that are here are short and not very exciting . \\nif you like light-hearted action flicks , or if you liked the game , watch this one . \\nit is even worth watching if you want to see raul julia\\'s last performance , or if you can\\'t get enough of van damme . \\nother than that , you could find better action flicks . \\n . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'bruce willis and sixth sense director m . night shyamalan re-team to tell the story of david dunne ( willis ) , a stadium security guard who has been having some problems at home that are affecting his relationship with his wife and child . \\non a return trip from new york where he was trying to get a job , dunne is in a horrible train accident that he is the only survivor of . \\nto make things even stranger , dunne has also escaped the accident completely unscathed . \\na comic book art dealer named elijah price ( samuel l . jackson ) , who was born with a degenerative bone disease that causes his bones to be so brittle that they break constantly , has been seeking out someone like dunne his entire life . \\nprice felt that there had to be someone exactly the opposite of him . . . \\nsomeone whose bones would be so strong that they would never break . \\nprice contacts dunne and convinces him to come down to his gallery for a talk where he suggests that dunne could quite possibly be something akin to a superhero from the comic books price used to read when he was a child . \\ndunne doesn\\'t believe him at first , but price assists him in discovering his \" powers \" and helps him hone his craft until he discovers what his true calling really is . \\nwriter/director m . night shyamalan had a tough act to follow with his sleeper hit the sixth sense . \\nhow exactly does one follow up on one of the biggest and most popular thrillers in recent years ? \\nfor shyamalan , the answer must have come as easy to him as nuclear physics does to kindergartners . \\ndoes this new film measure up to his breakthrough box office smash , though ? \\nthe answer to that question is not a very easy one , either . \\nas far as pacing goes , the sixth sense seemed almost interminable . \\nit wasn\\'t until the surprise ending was revealed that i realized the film was actually intentionally ( and perfectly ) paced in order to give the audience ample time to re-connect all of the information they had seen once the climax had been reached . \\nfor unbreakable , shyamalan gave the film a much more satisfying pace which , in many ways , blows away the film that had come before . \\nthe story moves along at a steady pace and shyamalan\\'s direction is excellent , with the camera almost constantly moving . \\nthere are tons of great shots in the film , not least of which is a conversation that opens the film between willis\\' character and another train passenger . \\nthe shot seems as though it were filmed like we were watching the two talk from between the train seats and the camera steadily glides back and forth between the two actors as they speak . \\nalso very impressive is the film\\'s score by james newton howard ( who also scored shyamalan\\'s sixth sense and the similar film stir of echoes , as well as this year\\'s dinosaur ) . \\nseveral of the scenes are driven by a very catchy beat and help to increase the tempo of the film . \\none of the best examples of this is a scene in which dunne goes into a train station to \" exercise \" his powers . \\nthe music , in combination with the stellar visuals , really go a long way towards making this an incredible movie . \\nif there was any one soundtrack i would make a must purchase this year , this one would be it . \\nthe film also boasts some great performances , including a precocious child actor trying to vie for the oscar throne left vacant by haley joel osment . \\nwillis turns in a great performance as the sad sack dunne , who just can\\'t seem to figure out why he\\'s been depressed for the last few years . \\nhis character almost seems pathetic when we first meet him , but he eventually grows into his own under elijah\\'s tutelage . \\njackson is one of the better actors of our time , and here he turns in yet another great performance as the ever injured elijah . \\nthough his hairstyle is absurd , jackson seems to infuse such a great deal of pain into his role that the mortar board hairdo can easily be overlooked . \\nrobin wright penn\\'s role seems slightly underwritten , but she still manages to get across the intense hurt of her character\\'s need for love from her husband and her desire to make things work again . \\nspencer treat clark , as the dunne\\'s young son jeremy , shows that shyamalan still has a knack for picking young actors , and he turns in one of the most competent performances in the film . \\nout of all the characters , jeremy\\'s is perhaps the most emotional , and clark does a great job with the role . \\nwhere the film does lose points though , is during its \" surprise \" ending . \\nshyamalan has said in interviews that he was going to do an ending that blew away the one presented by the sixth sense , but i found myself saying \" that was it ? ! \" \\nwhen unbreakable revealed its own ending . \\nit\\'s not that the ending is bad , it\\'s just that the ending doesn\\'t quite have the emotional punch that the other film\\'s did . \\nplus , it almost seems like it sets itself up for sequels ( and i won\\'t reveal the ending here , but you\\'ll understand what i mean when you see it ) . \\nessentially , what all of this means is that shyamalan has made another good film with unbreakable . \\nthe only real problem is that the ending doesn\\'t quite fill the shadow left by its predecessor . \\nas long as it isn\\'t held to the standard that sixth sense set ( which it ultimately will be ) , it should be a remarkably well liked film . \\none thing seems clear , though . \\nshyamalan definitely has an affinity for comic books that he would like to share with the world and many comic book fans will also delight the vision he presents in this film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'we share the descent into darkness of a talented boy pianist . \\nyears later we see his subsequent resurfacing ; in the mid 80\\'s a damaged man walks out of a rainstorm and back into the world . \\nthe movie charts the causes of his mental breakdown . \\nbased on the life story of david helfgott , this australian film is a rich exploration of the pressures drilling in upon a child-genius , compounded by the looming shadow of a domineering father . \\nin the 1950\\'s helfgott emerged as a child prodigy . \\nthe film traces his relationship with his father , whose encouragement comes at the cost of demanding david have no life beyond that of the black and white keys . \\ndavid is offered places in the usa , but his father refuses to let him leave australia . \\nthe effect this has upon helfgott is cleverly told via a single reverse tracked shot ; david is sobbing on the front doorway of his music teacher\\'s house . \\nhe is well lit via the external house lights . \\nhis teacher isn\\'t home . \\nwe pull back and see that the dark front room\\'s window has it\\'s curtains open . \\nthere , in a pool of blackness , is a grand piano . \\ndavid\\'s fall over the dark cliff has begun . \\ninstead of being told in a linear mode , shine jumps around in time , ala \" pulp fiction \" . \\nthis narrative device works well ; we see david as a boy , teenager in london and mental-patient in various snippets . \\nthe film then neatly loops back for its uplifting conclusion . \\nadult-helfgott\\'s return to the light is told in linear fashion . \\nthe lead role is played by 3 different actors , with the teenage-david ( taylor ) and adult-david ( rush ) standing out . \\nwhilst rush is known for his tv work in australia , i think this is his first major cinema work . \\nhis david , whilst clearly damaged - he keeps quoting his \" daddy \" in a babbling word torrent , cuddles strangers and grabs women on the breasts - is both touching and funny . \\ntaylor\\'s teenage-david is the more sympathy producing role . \\nwe are mute witness to his gradual breakdown as the pressures just keep on building . \\nhis father wants him to play the very demanding rachmaninov\\'s 3rd , whilst his teacher wants to start him with a simple mozart . \\ntechnically this is a beautiful film and a lot of thought has gone in to the production . \\ni particularly like the use of slow motion and sound effects . \\none scene has adult-helfgott happily babbling in a car in the rain . \\nthe sound of the windshield wipers fades up over his voice . \\nwith a clever subtlety , the wiper sound appears to morph into a rhythmic thumping , but of the same beat . \\nthe image dissolves and we realise the thumping is the slow motion applause of a crowd . \\nbut it\\'s us being clapped . \\nwe are young-david walking up to the stage for our first public show . \\nthe music , as you would expect from a film of this subject matter , is critical . \\nand it works very well . \\nthe \\'miming\\' of the actors piano playing is faultless ( apparently rush didn\\'t mime ; he really did play ) \\nhelfgott\\'s life is certainly not without it\\'s sympathetic people . \\nindeed his return to the \\'normal\\' world is accelerated by his chance meetings with two very special women . \\nhis ultimately uplifting story is a magic piece of theatre craft . \\nit shows that with the \\'help of god\\' we can all find our way back home . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'jerry springer has got nothing on \" wild things . \" \\njohn mcnaughton\\'s new thriller tackles more tawdry themes in less than two hours than springer\\'s notoriously sleazy talk show broadcasts in two weeks -- bisexuality , threesomes , poolside catfights , slutty rich bimbos , even redneck gator-wrestling , they\\'re all part of the movie\\'s raucous , complex storyline . \\nbut even trash tv topicality can\\'t drag \" wild things \" down -- this crazy campfest plays like something you\\'d find late-night on the usa network , only infinitely more palatable and with a solid ensemble cast . \\ndespite a smattering of needless scenes ( most of them sexual in nature ) , there\\'s wicked fun to be had here . \\n \" wild things \" would be a guilty pleasure , only there\\'s no guilty feeling involved in having a good time with it . \\nhigh school guidance counselor sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) is well-liked in the town of blue bay , especially by pretty , popular kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , whose family name is among the florida yachting enclave\\'s most financially prominent . \\nhoping to take her crush to a physical level , kelly seductively slinks into lombardo\\'s house after washing his jeep for a fundraiser , but , the very next day , tearfully admits to her trollop mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped . \\nbefore long , blue bay detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) are listening to similar allegations from kelly\\'s rebel classmate suzie toller ( neve campbell ) . \\nlombardo , who maintains his innocence , hires neck brace-sporting , opportunistic lawyer ken bowden ( bill murray ) to defend him in court . \\nthe previews give away the following revelations , so if you haven\\'t seen any of the movie\\'s spots on the television or in the theater , you might want to skip to the next paragraph . \\nwhile cross-examining suzie on the witness stand , bowden gets her to break down and admit that the alleged rapes never took place -- that kelly had concocted this entire scheme because she was angry that lombardo was sleeping with her mother and not with her . \\nto pay lombardo for the damages , kelly\\'s mother breaks her daughter\\'s trust fund and gives him $8 . 5 million . \\nbut lombardo , kelly and suzie are actually all working together , and plan to take the money and run as fast as they can . \\nduquette and perez , however , begin to suspect that there\\'s more afoot to the case than just false accusations . \\nif there\\'s a major drawback to \" wild things , \" it\\'s that it\\'s oversexed to a fault . \\nthe much-talked-about hotel room menage-a-trois between dillon , campbell and richards is a turn-off . \\nit\\'s also cut short ( sorry , guys ) , and should have been cut shorter -- the movie grinds to a halt for pure titillation once too often . \\nwhat we don\\'t see is far more effective than what we do . \\nanother example of this is kevin bacon needlessly going the full monty in a shower scene . \\ner , no thanks . \\nalso , bacon\\'s duquette feels simultaneously underdeveloped and overwritten . \\ndaphne rubin-vega , from broadway\\'s \" rent , \" tries to compensate for a superfluous character . \\ntheresa russell is just plain wooden . \\nand when , in the end , all is out in the open , ask yourself if certain scenes involving these three were really necessary . \\nbut what keeps the movie from being throwaway junk is an engaging chain of surprises ( some predictable , some not ) that never seems to end . \\n \" wild things \" has more twists than a crate full of corkscrews , and most are so gleefully , over-the-top nasty that you can\\'t help but be charmed by their absurd showmanship . \\na great deal of amusement also comes from watching bill murray in a supporting part that appears to have been written for his sly comedic talent ; murray\\'s a stitch , especially when pulling up beside the van ryan limo after winning lombardo\\'s case and flipping them off . \\nand don\\'t leave when the closing credits hit the screen , or you\\'ll miss the film\\'s best part -- four bonus flashbacks that smooth over plot holes while offering a few more tiny turns , plus a final scene that caps everything off with a great stunner of a bombshell . \\nspeaking of bombshells , denise richards , who plays almost every scene in a blue bikini top , does the teen tease thing with a malicious allure that she was never allowed to flaunt in \" starship troopers . \" \\nmatt dillon flexes his sleepy-voiced sex appeal , and pulls off personality changes with chameleonic precision . \\nneve campbell , lovely as ever except when sporting a blond wig , gives suzie a vengeful vulnerability that makes her the most interesting member of the conspiring trio . \\nre-edited and toned down a bit , the dynamics between these three actors could have carried the film to greater lengths . \\nbut what we\\'re given works well enough . \\n \" wild things \" is highly entertaining and , indeed , very wild . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'do film critics have morals ? \\nare there any unwritten laws an ethical movie critic would or should follow ? \\nnaturally we don\\'t want to go into a film with any preconceived notions , which is pretty tough but something we all have to accomplish . \\nsecondly , and along the same line , we can\\'t prejudge a film because of it\\'s stars , director , etc . the difference ? \\nwell , in the first one , we\\'d go into a film thinking it\\'s going to be dumb or it\\'s going to be good , and that would affect our viewing ( that movie sounds and looks dumb , so i\\'m not expecting much ) . \\non the second hand , we\\'re simply assuming it will be bad or good because of a personal \" grudge \" against the film company ( it\\'s made by disney ? \\noh , it\\'s just a merchandising ploy then ) , the actors ( jim carrey\\'s in it ? \\nit\\'s gonna stink ! ) , or the director ( who ? \\ncan\\'t be that good ) . \\nthis is more of a biased viewpoint as opposed to a first impression viewpoint . \\nmake sense ? \\nok , but what about comparing ? \\nisn\\'t that kind of along the same lines ? \\nwhen we compare a certain actor or director or even composer\\'s credibility in one film to another they were involved in , is that really fair ? \\nsure , in sequels you can expect and accept comparisons a lot more , but what about jackie brown , for example ? \\nis it fair for me to take the review and turn it into a comparison of pulp fiction , just because quentin tarantino directed and wrote the screenplay for both ? \\ni think it is , and i\\'ll tell you why . \\na good critic should be able to view the film from the \" average joe ( or jane ) \" viewpoint , while still taking into account the artistic integrity behind the film . \\nsometimes that can be tough . \\n \" the acting was superb , but i was bored \" or \" i loved it ! ! \\nit was sooooo cheezy ! \" \\nmight be used to describe a film . \\nthese are contradictions , and a critic has to weigh both sides and come to a suitable balanced critique . \\nbut which is more important ? \\nand which is better ? \\nan extremely well shot and acted film that is boring , or a really amateurish film that you wanna go back to again and again ? \\ngetting back to the point , my philosophy on comparing films being fair works because we\\'re reflecting what the public wants to know anyway . \\nevery average person out there who\\'s interested in this film is likely to ask \" how does it compare to pulp fiction ? \" \\nand so , as a critic , i\\'m already responsible to ask that same question . \\njackie brown stars pam grier , the \" blaxploitation \" heroine from the 1970\\'s , who is likely to make a big comeback thanks to her role as the title character . \\ntarantino\\'s pulp fiction is in big part responsible for john travolta\\'s sudden revival in the movie industry , and with talks of an oscar nomination , the same is likely to happen for grier . \\n ( we\\'ve made it thru comparison #1 ! ) jackie is a 44-year-old airline stewardess who brings in extra cash , and probably her main revenue , by smuggling large sums of money into the united states for ordell robbie ( pulp fiction\\'s samuel l . jackson and comparison #2 ) . \\nordell is in the illegal firearms business and has enlisted the aid of louis gara ( robert de niro ) , a bank robber who just got out of prison after serving four years , to help him accomplish a scheme worth a half- million dollars . \\ntrouble arises when jackie is stopped by atf agent ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) and taken into custody for possession of narcotics , as well as having more money than is allowed in an airport without being claimed . \\nnaturally this proves an obstacle to ordell\\'s plans and , not as friendly intended as we\\'d hope , he posts jackie\\'s bail after she is put behind bars . \\nthe thing is , ordell is in this for no one more than himself , and as we learn from his previous actions , he\\'s willing to kill anyone who stands in the way . \\njackie finds herself in a tight squeeze . \\nordell won\\'t think twice about taking her out if she fails to help him as she\\'s always done , yet at the same time , a compromise with the authorities would be in order if evidence against ordell was provided . \\nit comes down to a simple question : would jackie rather face ordell or prison ? \\nwhat ensues is a rich and intriguing example of storytelling as we question who jackie is really out to help : the law , ordell , or maybe just herself . \\ncoming into play is another 70\\'s veteran , robert forster as jackie\\'s bail bondsmen max cherry . \\nmax\\'s obvious fondness for jackie will become a major benefactor in her fight to beat both sides of the system , and forster plays him with subtle charm that adds depth to unbrewed romance . \\nalso involved is ordell\\'s \" surfer girl \" girlfriend melanie ( bridget fonda ) , a ditzy sun- bleached babe who spends her time watching tv with a bong in hand . \\nfonda does the best she can with an essentially thin role , but there\\'s nothing more to her , and therefore , she becomes a tossable addition to an otherwise flourishing bouquet of characters . \\nde niro is also wasted in his role as a quiet nobody crook out to score a few bucks for himself . \\nde niro is a brilliant actor , but a character who hardly ever speaks doesn\\'t need a de niro to play him . \\ncompared to pulp fiction ( comparison #3 ) , the characters in jackie brown and very thin and replaceable . \\nin pulp fiction , even the small , seemingly irrelevant characters were wonderful , complete , and lifelike , whereas jackie brown has such common figures that it wouldn\\'t have suffered much with a lesser talented cast , the exception being grier . \\ntarantino wrote this script with grier specifically in mind , so to say that she is made for this role is a reversed truth . \\nsadly , grier too could have received a bit more attention , especially when the story is all about her newly-jarred perception of life . \\njackson teams up with tarantino again , but the chemical reaction isn\\'t as awesome as the first time . \\njules was the rambling , bible-quoting hitman in pulp fiction , and jackson is the only person who could have pulled it off . \\nand although jackson is really , really good in jackie brown , i don\\'t think he\\'s quite as irreplaceable . \\nin fact , maybe a new face would have been better . \\njackson could\\'ve remained tarantino\\'s jules , and a new guy could have become ordell , forever to remain so in our memories . \\nsadly , these characters are too much the same , except ordell just isn\\'t as impressive , and putting this in the hands of jackson once again is only going to deter from our fond recollections of jules . \\nanother problem is that ordell is way too focused on in the beginning . \\nthis is grier\\'s film , so why spend so long getting to know a man who will become more of a supporting character as the film progresses ? \\nit not only makes the movie feel a little too slanted , but it makes for a slow beginning because we have to take longer getting to the meat of the story . \\nit is likely that those pouring into the theater to see this film are going to be those anxious to partake of tarantino\\'s quirky dialogue and eccentric directing style , and not so much those interested in seeing a silver screen adaption of elmore leonard\\'s novel \" rum punch \" . \\nfor those movie-goers , don\\'t expect another pulp fiction and you\\'ll be satisfied , for the script oozes with the familiar brash qualities that has made tarantino an icon of 90\\'s film- making . \\nthe directing has toned down a bit , however , yet we\\'re still reminded that this is tarantino\\'s movie thanks to odd split-screen story-telling devices and scenes being replayed multiple times from different viewpoints . \\nso getting back to the question that i began with , this isn\\'t pulp fiction at all . \\nit\\'s good , but it isn\\'t anything that made pulp fiction such a revolutionary effort in the first place . \\nthis is a more conservative tarantino , but not one that won\\'t satiate true fans . \\nif you can realize that this isn\\'t going to knock your socks off , then you\\'ll be happy to at least let it massage your feet . \\nafter all , we all know how much tarantino loves that particular part of the human anatomy . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it rocks-actually , lots of rocks fly at us or from us , in slow or fast motion , at several points in the film . \\nthey seem like dangerous rocks because they kind of twirl through the air instead of just propelling forward , and when they land-once in a while , when we need a break from the space sequences-they cause damage enough to destroy the chrysler building and the like . \\n ( nary a mention of these apocalyptic events is made after they occur . ) \\nthey also just might be the most interesting element of armageddon , a steroid user\\'s answer to deep impact . \\nbruce willis stars as harry stamper , a famed oil-driller commissioned by the white house and nasa to stop a giant asteroid before it travels beyond \" zero barrier \" and destroys our planet . \\nwhy an oil driller ? \\nthey require someone experience with deep-core mining to plant a nuclear missile into said asteroid . \\n ( in one unintentionally ( ? ) \\nhilarious sequence , nasa asks harry to inspect a deep-core driller they built based on his blueprints ; it is poorly constructed-harry criticizes almost every aspect of it . \\nwe trust nasa to build space shuttles ? ) \\nharry assembles the obligatory \" ragtag \" bunch of \" cowboys \" , including a blond guy , a fat guy , a black guy , a wiseass , and the man who is sleeping with his daughter ( affleck ) . \\nonce they reach space , we experience sequence after sequence of something going wrong-perhaps the fact that they sent a bunch of nincompoops into outer space has something to do with it ; i cannot count the number of times they almost fail the mission on all my fingers and toes . \\nwhether or not they save the day , i will not reveal . \\nnor will you care . \\ni will say this : you know you\\'re in trouble when deep impact dwarfs your asteroid movie in terms of emotion and scope . \\nwillis has barely a chance to come alive ; ditto for affleck . \\ntheir big scenes are mostly reserved for the third act , in a last minute-and futile-attempt to inject warmth into the material . \\nsteve buscemi\\'s character-the wiseass-is exceptionally problematic . \\n \" rockhound \" , as he\\'s called , is sarcastic and foolish , so they tape him to a chair , where he spends most of the film . \\nso why did they bring him up there to begin with ? \\nrather , why write him into the film ? -give \\nhis almost-witty one-liners to serious willis , who scowls and mopes and demonstrates psychotic tendencies : at one point he chases after affleck with his shotgun for screwing his daughter , firing often and causing significant damage to his oil rig . \\ni\\'m guessing he qualifies under nasa guidelines as someone unfit for space travel , at least in my world where the sky is blue . \\nliv tyler is pretty and humourless , as always ; suspiciously , four of her father\\'s band\\'s ( \" aerosmith \" ) songs grace the soundtrack . \\ndirector michael bay lays the visual and sound effects on thick , like ketchup , eventually drowning the movie on-screen . \\n ( the middle hour is a non-sensical , pyrotechnic assault on the average primate\\'s brain . ) \\nwhenever someone dies in this movie , a crew member inevitably yells out \" we lost ( insert dead person\\'s last name here ) ! \" \\ni must admit that not once could i distinguish a dead oil-guy-cum-astronaut from a live one , and close-ups of the corpses\\' faces beneath cracked helmets provided little assistance , as their skin was often covered in fake blood . \\narmageddon is not as terrible movie as godzilla . \\nit looks nicer , and has fewer plot-holes within its equally ludicrous framework . \\nit has a vivid soundmix . \\nbut at almost two-and-a-half hours , i could not believe how little actually happened over the course of the story . \\nthe love story has been played up in the ads , perhaps hoping to catch people before they recover from titanic-fever . \\nbollocks ! \\nthe lovers in the film are miles apart throughout-erase all thoughts of nude sketching or car-sex and replace them with obligatory shots of liv tyler tearing up while ben affleck dicks around in a moon-crawler . \\nremember a little film called jaws ? \\nin this film , three independent-minded men suddenly found themselves on a fishing boat in pursuit of a deadly shark . \\nthey didn\\'t much like each other at first ; eventually , they started to respect one another . \\none of jaws\\' great scenes involved the would-be-ahabs drinking and singing songs and telling stories . \\nthis is the sort of male-bonding foreign to bay or his producer , jerry bruckheimer , who throw too many characters into the mix and expect we\\'ll care about them on the grounds that the world is about to end . \\nnot once do we get the feeling that these characters are even acquaintances-i\\'d be surprised if these actors bothered to introduce themselves to one another before \" action \" was called . \\na male friend who loved the film suggested to me that perhaps i cannot relate to a bunch of men who don\\'t bare their souls , who believe in dying macho concepts like heroism and a kind of chest-beating bravery . \\nto this , i will respond that the boys in armageddon are neither heroic , nor brave , nor smart , even : this team couldn\\'t build a birdhouse . \\nand if i get no respect for disliking a movie with all the synthetic feeling of a trailer-a trailer for a movie written by a team of body-builders and greeting card authors-i\\'ve never been a prouder wimp my whole life . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'kirk douglas is one of those rare american actors who can say more with a simple glance than most can say with pages of dialogue . \\nall he has to do is look at someone with a raised eyebrow , and you instantly know what he\\'s thinking . \\n \" detective story \" features one of kirk douglas\\'s finest performances . \\nhe stars as a new york detective that has his whole world fall apart in one night . \\nthe film is based on a play , and this is quite evident , as most of the movie takes place in the one-room flat that the detective\\'s work in . \\nthe film opens with the douglas character getting ready to go home to his wife , but through a series of events , he never quite makes it there . \\nthe bulk of the movie follows the case of a man named schneider , a surgeon who routinely performs abortions with a high fatality rate . \\nhowever , this schneider character has a connection in the past of douglas\\'s wife ; a connection douglas himself is not aware of . \\nmany secrets are revealed in the last half hour of this film . \\nsecrets i would not dream of giving away . \\nwith a name like \" detective story \" , one would assume the film would resemble an episode of \" nypd blue \" , but it doesn\\'t quite work out that way . \\nhowever , we do see douglas at work on a few other cases throughout the running time . \\nlee grant ( virtually unrecognizable ) plays a meek jewish woman arrested for shoplifting . \\nher scenes with bendix , another detective , provide the movie with a few laughs . \\nthe performances all around are fantastic . \\ndouglas may be the leader of this ensemble , but he\\'s not the center of attention all the time . \\nwe get to catch a glimpse into other cases and other detectives working on those cases . \\nwhich brings me back to douglas . \\nhe has a really emotional scene towards the end of the picture that really makes you feel for him . \\nwe can see that this is a man who has spent his whole life trying to eliminate crime , but has finally realized that what he\\'s really done is gotten back at his criminal father . \\nhow he handles coming to terms with this is something really worth seeing . \\nkirk douglas is the kind of actor we don\\'t seem to see to much of these days : he\\'s a tough guy , but the human elements are never hidden too deeply underneath that gruff exterior . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'every once in a while a movie comes along that completely redefines the genre : with dramas , it was citizen kane , with arthouse it was pulp fiction , and with comedy it was , well , that jim carrey guy ( okay , so he\\'s not a movie , but he did have a huge influence on the genre . \\nnot to mention an expensive one . ) \\nsometimes a movie even combines them all into a big , sprawling motion picture event , as did forrest gump four years ago . \\nwith action films , it was aliens , whic was released to much hype seven years after it\\'s equally-innovative parent , alien ( 1979 ) . \\ndirected and written by james cameron ( t2 : judgement day , the abyss , true lies ) , the authority on action films , it was a masterful encore to his sci-fi thriller the terminator ( 1984 ) . \\nwhile the original alien film was a dark , enclosed horror film that featured one alien slowly massacering a horrified crew , james cameron took the big-budget action film with aliens , which featured multiple aliens doing basically the same thing , although on a much-larger scale . \\nand boy , did he take that route ! \\ni\\'d say at about 165 mph or so . . . \\nthe film opens 57 years after the original , with lt . ripley ( weaver ) being found in her ship in a cryogenic state by a salvage vessel . \\nif you\\'ll recall , at the end of alien ripley , the only surviving member , cryogenically \" hibernated \" herself after expelling the rogue alien from her ship . \\nunfortunately , she thought she\\'d only be out for a couple of weeks . . . \\nonce she\\'s returned to earth , ripley is quickly interrogated by \" the company \" , who quickly dismiss her and her stories as lunacy . \\nin truth , they believe her , as they soon approach ripley with an offer to travel with some marines to a new colony planet as an \" alien advisor \" . \\nit seems that the colony planet was a once-breeding ground for the nasty aliens , and now all communication with the planet has been lost . . . \\nit doesn\\'t exactly take a genius to guess what happens next : ripley agrees , and before you can say \" big mistake \" , she and the half dozen marines , plus the slimy corporate guy ( reiser ) , who has more than it looks like up under his sleeve , are off to the colony . \\nwhen they arrive , they find the planet in ruins . \\nonly one survivor is found , a little girl , newt , who confirms that , yes , the aliens were here and that she only managed to survive by hidding in the ventilation system . \\nand soon enough , the marines come under attack from the aliens . . . \\nwhat happens for the next hour and a half or so is what completely sets this movie apart from any other standard alien sci-fi movie : the action scenes . \\ncameron directs them so skillfully , and so suspensefully , that you\\'re literally ringing your hands by the time the finale rolls around . \\nwhich features , in my opinion , the best fight scene ever recorded on film , as ripley straps herself into a huge robot and battles the nasty queen alien to the death . \\nmany people will tell you that this film , while being a great action film , has no real drama and is all cliches . \\nwell , they would be wrong , my friends . \\nif this film had no \" drama \" , then why was sigourney weaver nominated for best actress at the 1987 academy awards ? \\nthat\\'s right , best actress . \\nyou know that any action film that has an oscar nomination attached to it for something other than technical stuff like editing and f/x has got to be good . \\nin short , aliens combines all the right elements ( great action and f/x , drama , a good plot , good dialogue , and great villains ) into what could arguably be called the best action film of all time . \\nthen again , maybe not . \\nmovies rise and fall from glory and , sad to say , aliens was wrestled from it\\'s throne of best action movie by another cameron film , t2 : judgement day , in 1991 . \\nso who will be the next king ? \\nwell , let\\'s wait until december 19th and see yet another james cameron film-the highest budgeted film of all time-titanic to make that decision . \\ni can\\'t wait . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you always have to be careful with the first official studio release out of the gate each year . \\nthey\\'re obviously films for which the studios have no great hopes ( having missed both the deadline for academy award eligibility and the big box-office holiday season ) . \\ncombine that with howie long\\'s first starring action role , and you\\'ve got a doozy of a movie that , while not as bad as it could have been , isn\\'t a very good film . \\nhowie stars as an ace smokejumper ( a firefighter who parachutes into forest fires unreachable from the ground ) . \\nin the slightly contrived opening scenes , we witness his heroism in action , as he , and his mentor ( played by scott glenn ) attempt to rescue a small girl and her dog from an oncoming forest fire . \\nwilliam forsythe plays the bad guy , a mass murderer who has several million dollars tucked away to help fund his jailbreak . \\nhe ( and five convict cohorts ) manages to get selected for firefighting duty when a woodland blaze just happens to ignite nearby . \\nhis escape plan bets a lot on the laxity of the guards , but ( since there must be a movie ) luck is with him . \\nsoon the now-escaped convicts are masquerading as canadian firefighters . \\nwhy canadian ? \\nwho knows , eh ? \\nalong the way they pick up a pretty birdwatcher ( suzy amis ) to be their hostage . \\nenter howie long . \\nhe\\'s called in to help fight the blaze , and when he spots the group of \" ground pounders \" , apparently lost , he parachutes in to help . \\nwhen he discovers their true identity , he is the only thing standing between them and escape , and the only hope of help for the hostage . \\nlong\\'s acting talents are above those of , say , steven seagal , but not by much . \\nalthough his delivery is mostly flat and wooden , he\\'s a likeable hero , and there are some hints here and there that he may get better . \\nthe script doesn\\'t help him out any , however . \\nall too often , it veers into the realm of the unintentionally funny . \\nthe dialogue is strictly b-movie material , and the plotting relies too heavily on coincidences to be believable . \\nlong\\'s co-stars are a mixed bag . \\nat least they\\'re all comfortable in their respective roles . \\nforsythe has the scenery-chewing villain down cold , down cold , and scott glenn is always enjoyable to watch , even when he doesn\\'t seem to be stretching his talents ( as is definitely the case here ) . \\nsuzy amis plays peril pretty well , but isn\\'t given much more to do . \\nsome of the nature and wildfire shots are interesting , but many are rather bland . \\nyou\\'d think that the director , dean semler , a former cinematographer , would at least produce a film with interesting visuals . \\nthat\\'s not the case . \\nthere\\'s a lack of originality to nearly all the sequences . . . we\\'ve \\nseen this stuff before . \\nit\\'s not the most auspicious start to 1998 , but it could have been worse ( just think back to 1996\\'s debut , bio-dome ) . \\nhowever , after a month of oscar-caliber pictures , a movie like firestorm at least gives you some perspective on how good those movies really were . \\nin fact , there\\'s a good chance that some of them are still playing near you . . . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"best remembered for his understated performance as dr . hannibal lecter in michael mann's forensics thriller , manhunter , scottish character actor brian cox brings something special to every movie he works on . \\nusually playing a bit role in some studio schlock ( he dies halfway through the long kiss goodnight ) , he's only occasionally given something meaty and substantial to do . \\nif you want to see some brilliant acting , check out his work as a dogged police inspector opposite frances mcdormand in ken loach's hidden agenda . \\ncox plays the role of big john harrigan in the disturbing new indie flick l . i . e . , which lot 47 picked up at sundance when other distributors were scared to budge . \\nbig john feels the love that dares not speak its name , but he expresses it through seeking out adolescents and bringing them back to his pad . \\nwhat bothered some audience members was the presentation of big john in an oddly empathetic light . \\nhe's an even-tempered , funny , robust old man who actually listens to the kids' problems ( as opposed to their parents and friends , both caught up in the high-wire act of their own confused lives . ) \\nhe'll have sex-for-pay with them only after an elaborate courtship , charming them with temptations from the grown-up world . \\nl . i . e . stands for long island expressway , which slices through the strip malls and middle-class homes of suburbia . \\nfilmmaker michael cuesta uses it as a ( pretty transparent ) metaphor of dangerous escape for his 15-year old protagonist , howie ( paul franklin dano ) . \\nin his opening voice-over , howie reveals a morbid preoccupation with death on the road , citing the l . i . e . \\nhighway deaths of filmmaker alan j . pakula , songwriter harry chapin , and his own mother on exit 52 . \\nhe's both fascinated and disturbed by the l . i . e . , and those feelings are projected onto big john ( who follows howie around in his bright red car , but never makes a move to force the boy to do something he doesn't want to do . \\nthis makes him much more complex than the usual child molesters seen in movies -- he's a beast , but ashamed of it . ) \\nl . i . e . would have worked best as a half-hour short film about howie's ill-advised foray into big john's haven . \\nthere is unnecessary padding with howie's miserable dad ( bruce altman ) in the hot seat for a white-collar crime , degenerate youngsters who get their kicks from robbing middle-class houses , and some homoerotic shenanigans with wise-ass gary terrio ( billy kay ) , a handsome artful dodger . \\nrather than add to the themes of suburban ennui ( not that we needed another movie on that subject ) , these awkward subplots pad out the running time to adequate feature length . \\nconcurrently , the relationship between howie and big john is evenly paced and exceptionally well acted . \\ncox , sporting a baseball cap and a faded marine tattoo , is all bluff and bluster . \\ndano is quiet and at first glance seems so withdrawn as to be transparent . \\nwe're so used to child actors whose dramatic choices are broad and obvious ( calling haley joel ! ) , it's surprising to see one who actually listens throughout any given scene . \\nthe restraint is admirable . \\nbut l . i . e . 's screenplay doesn't always give them the best material . \\nwhen howie reads big john a walt whitman poem , the moment feels a bit too precious . \\ndirector michael cuesta lingers on an ecstatic reaction shot of big john , who may as well be hearing glenn gould performing bach's goldberg variations . \\nit's too much . \\nthere are also some obvious dramatic contrivances involving big john's other boy toy ( walter masterson ) , jealous over the newbie . \\nthis plot thread predictably leads to violence . \\nnot content to be a haunting , observational portrait of teen alienation in a royally screwed up world ( like terry zwigoff's superb ghost world ) , cuesta lacks the confidence in his own work to end on an ambivalent note . \\nit's typical of unimaginative cinema to wrap things up with a bullet , sparing the writers from actually having to come up with a complex , philosophical note . \\nin this regard , l . i . e . \\n ( and countless other indie films ) share something in common with blockbuster action films : problems are solved when the obstacle is removed . \\nhow often does real life work this way ? \\nto extend the question : if a movie is striving for realism , do dramatic contrivances destroy the illusion ? \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"steve martin shines but sgt . bilko \\nfails to impress \\nbased on the popular 50's sitcom , sgt . \\nbilko follows the string of old-sitcoms-to-movie conversion fever . \\nremember the brady bunch movie or the beverly hillbillies released sometime back ? \\n ( brady bunch was a moderate hit in in the us while hillbillies flopped ) . \\ni do not really know whether the hollywood minds are running out of good ideas or just being plain lazy , but the tv-conversion-movies are hitting our screens like wildfire , sad to say , with mixed success . \\nsuch movies are mostly targeted at us viewers since they are usually followings of such series over there and the larger the following , the more likely the sitcom will be made into a movie . \\nsgt . \\nbilko ( frankly , i have not seen any its original tv version ) , even with the charm and wild antics of funnymen steve martin and dan akroyd ; failed to entertain . \\nsgt . ernest bilko is the man behind the motor pool ( place of vehicle storage and repair ) of fort baxter . \\nthough totally unskilled in the field of work that he is supposed to be in charge of , he has an almost superhuman ability and zeal to sniff out money-making opportunities ; from running a gambling den in the military garage to 4-d pools . \\nthough materialistic in mind , bilko's methods has thoughtfully `enriched' the lives of the men of fort baxter , providing them with some form of real recreation within the camp and the people love him for that . \\ncolonel hall runs the entire fort and thanks to his inborn `blissfully-confused' state , bilko has managed to hide his operation , though nearly every living person in the fort knows about it . \\nbilko's state of ascent is suddenly under-fire when the pentagon sends major thorn , a tough cookie on army regulations , to check on the progress on the $70 million hovertank project , a new weapon under development within the fort's grounds . \\nto add to his problems , thorn is determined to bring bilko down in retalliation of a major `sabo' done on him by bilko during their younger army days . \\ndirector jonathan lynn , who directed my cousin vinny ( in which marisa tomei won an oscar for best-supporting actress ) managed to pull sgt . \\nbilko through with suitable pacing and some exceptional moments of laughter , but that is about it . \\nthere are really not enough laughter-packed-moments in sgt . \\nbilko to fully entertain the average movie-goer . \\nstill , steve martin's sgt . \\nbilko is played with finesse and full-force by the renowned comedian . \\nwithout him , sgt . \\nbilko would have just fell flat on its face . \\nsgt . \\nbilko did moderately well in the us box office early this year but i doubt it will earn much elsewhere around the world . \\nthe current trend in mixed successes in such tv-conversions may be a blessing in disguise , really ; at least it will force hollywood to re-think any of its initial intentions to turn another tv-idea into a movie or at the very least approach those ideas with more creativity . \\nunless you are a fan of the tv-series or love to watch steve martin in action , you can skip this one when deciding which movie to catch in the local theatres . \\ni'm sure there are better ones around . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'some critics , including siskel & ebert , are on the record stating that martin scorsese\\'s raging bull , the story of boxer jake la motta , is the best film of the \\'80s . \\nsince there are still a number of \\'80s films that i haven\\'t seen , i don\\'t feel qualified to make such a judgment , but i\\'ll say this without hesitation : raging bull is a great motion picture , and i would be surprised if more than a handful of films released between january 1 , 1980 and december 31 , 1989 come close to its level . \\nbio-pics often fall into one of two categories : overblown hero- worship or a dry , dull textbook account . \\nit\\'s rare that a movie with the moniker \" based on the life of ? \" comes across as anything more than sporadically energetic and marginally entertaining . \\nraging bull is the perfect counterexample , and a brilliant argument for film makers to continue to work in this genre . \\nthe picture takes the life of boxer jake la motta , a middleweight icon from the \\'40s and \\'50s , and develops one of the most compelling character studies ever to reach the big screen . \\nfor all 129 minutes , director martin scorsese and actor robert de niro ( in the title role ) have us mesmerized by this individual who is by turns sympathetic , sad , and horrifying . \\nhistorically , raging bull is said to be mostly accurately , with the lion\\'s share of the details culled from la motta\\'s own autobiography ( which was co-written with joseph carter and peter savage ) . \\nhowever , although la motta is credited as the movie\\'s \" consultant , \" he was reportedly unhappy with the final result , because it portrays him as nothing short of an uncouth , insensitive lout . \\nthe la motta of the movie is a man of extreme appetites who is driven by base , bestial impulses ? paranoia , jealousy , and blind rage . \\nsex and violence are inextricably linked . \\nthe title is apt ? la motta is a raging bull . \\nin the ring , he is a terror , not just beating his opponents , but destroying them . \\noutside of it , he is no less vicious or more easily controlled . \\nthe two people who spar with him on life\\'s canvas are his wife , vicki ( cathy moriarty ) , and his brother/manager , joey ( joe pesci ) . \\nthese are the two who mean the most to jake , and who , as a result of his inability to trust himself or others , he loses . \\nhe beats vicki mercilessly because he suspects her of infidelity , and , when he inaccurately believes that his brother betrayed him , his lets loose with an explosion of violence . \\nraging bull opens in 1941 when la motta , an up-and-coming fighter , is battling his way into the upper echelon of the middleweight class . \\nover the years , he wins several key bouts , including one against his arch-rival , sugar ray robinson ( johnny barnes ) , but his unwillingness to capitulate with the local godfather keeps him from an opportunity to participate in a championship match . \\nmeanwhile , away from the ring , la motta falls in love with 15-year old vicki , who he marries after discarding his shrewish first wife . \\nvicki becomes jake\\'s greatest prize ( a wife , in his view , is not a companion , but a possession ) and the source of his most extreme pain . \\nhis own insecurity is so great that he cannot accept that a woman as beautiful as vicki could be faithful to him . \\nhence , he is constantly haunted by a belief that she is sleeping with someone else ? perhaps even his brother . \\n ( this leads to the famous line parodied in waiting for guffman and elsewhere : \" are you f * * king my wife ? ? ? \" ) \\nin the late \\'40s , la motta gets his first shot at a championship fight , but with one huge condition : he must take a fall . \\nhe does it so badly that an investigation is launched and he is almost thrown out of boxing . \\ntwo years later , he wins the championship , only to lose it in a subsequent bout to sugar ray . \\nby the late \\'50s and early \\'60s , when the film ends , jake has become a pathetic figure ? a broke , overweight loser who has spent time in jail for corrupting the morals of a minor , has lost his wife and children , and is trying to earn a few bucks by doing a cheap standup routine . \\nraging bull is the other side of rocky . \\nsylvester stallone\\'s tale of boxing triumph was released to great critical acclaim in 1976 . \\nit won the 1977 best picture oscar , and a sequel arrived in theaters before raging bull went into production . \\nbut , where rocky romanticizes boxing , raging bull takes a cold , unflinching look at the violence both inside and outside of the ring . \\nwhile scorsese\\'s primary aim is to present a riveting deconstruction of la motta the man , he never backs away from showing the seedy , ugly underside of a sport where gambling , greed , and organized crime force fighters to throw matches to continue working . \\nrocky shows boxing at its noblest ; raging bull shows it at its most diseased . \\nthere\\'s little i can say here that hasn\\'t already said about de niro\\'s performance . \\nin a career that has included many fine roles , this is his most outstanding . \\nthe level of intensity de niro brings to la motta is unwavering . \\nand , although there\\'s a lot of travis bickle ( de niro\\'s character in taxi driver ) in la motta , scorsese and de niro go to great lengths to make sure that , if we never fully sympathize with him , at least we understand the forces that drive him . \\nthis is a complete characterization and a perfect example of acting . \\nas the younger jake , de niro is trim and fit . \\nas the fat , older man , de niro gained 50 pounds and turned his body into a grotesque parody of its normal form . \\nhow many actors would go that far ? \\nthe best oscar statue is only one testimony to the lasting power of the performance . \\ncathy moriarty and joe pesci both earned nominations for their supporting work ( although neither won ) . \\ntheir portrayals have the same raw energy that infuses de niro\\'s . \\npesci , who has basically re-created the same personality in two other scorsese films ( goodfellas and casino ) , presents joey as a slightly more intelligent version of his brother . \\nthe misogyny and violence are still there , only better concealed . \\nbut , when joey snaps , as he does in one scene where he pounds on a mobster ( frank vincent ) , it\\'s startling to behold . \\nmoriarty , on the other hand , must play the temptress with virginal qualities ? the only kind of woman who would ensnare jake . \\nlater , she\\'s called upon to portray the battered wife and mother whose love has turned into fear . \\nscorsese and cinematographer michael chapman elected to shoot the bulk of raging bull in black-and-white ( a few \" home movie \" segments are in color ) . \\nthe choice is perfect for the movie , giving raging bull a unique look in an era when a black-and-white approach is almost unheard of . \\n ( one important recent exception , schindler\\'s list , eschewed color for some of the same reasons that raging bull did . ) \\nin black-and-white ( especially considering scorsese\\'s choice of shots and use of slow motion ) , the violence is stark and disturbing . \\nthere\\'s no room for romanticism in the ring with inky black blood staining the canvas . \\nduring fight sequences , the director also uses a number of point-of-view shots designed to show the world , however briefly , from la motta\\'s perspective . \\nscorsese could have chosen to end the film with la motta\\'s loss to sugar ray , where he surrendered his middleweight crown . \\nafter that , his career was all downhill . \\nyet the director allows the film to run for thirty minutes after this pivotal moment , stretching more than a decade into la motta\\'s future . \\nthe reason is obvious : scorsese isn\\'t as interested in boxing as he is in the character . \\nfollowing his retirement , la motta is still as violent and volatile as ever , but he has lost the arena in which he can legally unleash those tendencies . \\nwe see the results of this beast let loose on society and how the consequences of his actions reduce him to a parody of his former self . \\nwho cannot feel a surge of pity for la motta as he quietly recites marlon brando\\'s speech from on the waterfront ? \\n ( \" i coulda been a contenda . \" ) \\nperhaps raging bull is indeed the best film of the \\'80s . \\nand , if not , it\\'s certainly perilously close to the zenith . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"well , what are you going to expect ? \\nit's a movie about a big snake that eats people . \\nthat's what i should have been thinking when i viewed this film , because maybe then i would have enjoyed myself more . \\ninstead , i ended up wishing a giant snake would come along and eat me , too . \\nanaconda is about a documentary film crew sailing down a south american river . \\nled by anthropologists dr . steven cale ( eric stolz ) and terri flores ( jennifer lopez ) , the crew is attempting to locate a lost tribe of natives . \\nalong the way , they find poacher paul sarone ( jon voight ) , and become unwillingly embroiled in his quest to capture the elusive anaconda . \\nto simply say that this is the world's largest snake wouldn't be doing it justice , since the anaconda in this movie is at least two feet wide . \\nif this isn't a good reason to avoid picking up hitchhikers , i don't know what is . \\nat the beginning of anaconda , we find that flores and cale have had some kind of relationship in the past , but that seems to be more or less over now . \\ni expected that fact to play a key part somewhere down the line , but it ended up being a set-up for nothing . \\ncale chokes on a deadly wasp ( don't ask me how that happens - i don't know ) and is put out of action , relegated to being the person whom the rest of the film crew must get back to civilization for medical help . \\nthis minimally helps to add a sense of urgency for the plot , since this goal now comes in direct conflict with sarone's plan to capture the snake . \\nhowever , this is negated by the fact that cale seems to get better by himself about halfway through the film , and in any event still results in zero payoff from the relationship angle . \\nmost bad characters are either annoying or stupid . \\nin this movie , they're both . \\nsince this description applies to all the characters except sarone , it's hard to find someone to root for . \\nyou're supposed to back the good guys , but you really end up cheering for sarone because he's smarter than everyone else . \\nor maybe he's just not as dumb as everyone else . \\nat times , i almost found myself rooting for the snake . \\nthere are no standout performances here . \\neveryone seems to be reciting lines written for stock characters . \\neven voight appears to be doing his best impression of christopher walken for some reason . \\nno matter , as in most monster movies , the snake is supposed to be the real star anyway . \\nin most of the scenes , the snake is computer generated , and the effects crew did a decent job of making it look real . \\nhowever , the realism is thrown off by some pretty unrealistic occurrences . \\nsometimes , for example , the snake just moves too fast . \\nit catches a guy jumping off of a waterfall , for crying out loud . \\nthen there's another scene where the snake eats one of the characters , and we see the snake's skin drawn so tightly over its prey that we can see the victim's pained expression from within the snake's belly . \\nabsolutely ridiculous . \\na testimony to the film's bad direction is the inclusion of a scene early on the in the film , where we get to see just how dangerous the mighty anaconda is . \\nin a scene totally unrelated to anything else , we are witness to the big snake winning a showdown with a panther . \\nthe anaconda wraps itself around the powerful feline as if it were a stuffed animal and squeezes it so hard , one of the panther's eyeballs pops out . \\neeeewwwww . \\nabove and beyond the sick factor , however , this scene surprised me because it actually showed the face of the snake before a quarter of the movie had even passed . \\nin films like these , a sense of mystery surrounding the monster must be maintained . \\nif the characters are reacting to something they fear more than see , we as an audience must experience that feeling along with them . \\nto show us the monster early on is to let us in on something the characters don't know about , and therefore allow us to get used to the danger before the pivotal moment when man and beast have their climactic showdown . \\nin a case like that , the showdown just ends up being a letdown . \\nwhen i saw the snake for the first time , i decided to give the film the benefit of the doubt and assume that the snake i saw wasn't the real danger . \\nthis one was just a decoy , and there was actually a bigger snake waiting to make its appearance just when everyone thought they were safe . \\nno such luck . \\nokay , maybe anaconda is actually a decoy , and there's really a better movie waiting to make its debut . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'with many big-budget science fiction films , great ideas are often wasted by bad scripts , cheesy plot twists , and , terrible acting . \\nthe fifth element , the abyss , and godzilla had great concepts squandered by bad acting , writing , or both . \\nat first glance , the matrix , larry & andy wachowski\\'s sci-fi/kung-fu/shoot-em-up spectacular , looks like a prime candidate to join the list of high-concept bad movies , especially with dopey keanu reeves in the leading role . \\nbut despite high levels of cheese and gaudy dialogue , the matrix works . \\nit\\'s an uncanny blend of action and surreal fantasy that borrows from dozens of other films ( most obviously the terminator films , star wars , and total recall ) , but remains refreshingly original and interesting throughout . \\nreeves plays neo , a computer hacker who stumbles into an initially bewildering set of encounters with \" trinity \" ( carrie-anne moss ) , a rival hacker who has supernatural powers and stunning good looks , a unseen , omniscient cult figure known as \" morpheus \" ( lawrence fishburne ) , and a trio of creepy men in dark suits who act like irs agents from hell . \\nneo quickly learns that the world he has known all his life is not what it seems . \\nmoreover , he discovers that the grim , bleak world he is introduced to has been waiting for him to save it . \\nneo is reluctant to assume the role of messiah , with grave doubts that he is actually \" the one \" prophesized to come and save the world . \\nreluctant or not , what follows is a mix of hong kong-style slow-motion shootouts , surreal dream sequences , high speed chases , and comic book kung-fu fights . \\nthe film also raises interesting philosophical questions about reality . \\nhow exactly do you know what is real and what is in your mind ? \\nand if the real world were much harsher and grim than a fantasy one you were living in , would you want to face the true world or continue to live in a more comfortable illusion ? \\nunfortunately , the matrix doesn\\'t provide many answers to the questions it raises , but at least it puts some ideas behind all the explosions , shoot-outs , and flying roundhouse kicks . \\nperhaps stealing the entire show in the matrix is australian actor hugo weaving , who plays agent smith , the leader of the creepy agents in sunglasses and suits who seem capable of being anywhere and doing anything to stop neo and friends from destabilizing the matrix . \\nweaving\\'s stony appearance , deadpan voice , and chilling comments put a grim human face on the haunting , evil technological force that controls the matrix . \\nlike robert patrick as the shapeshifting t-1000 terminator in terminator 2 : judgement day , weaving is more frightening than any monstrous alien or homicidal robot because , despite his power and seeming invincibility , he looks ordinary , even scrawny . \\nweaving embodies his role with a memorably chilling presence . \\nthe film features some truly breathtaking special effects and stylish cinematography . \\nit seems to be deliberately kitchy , with stylized fight sequences directed by hong kong stunt specialist wo ping that reportedly required months of martial arts training by the actors . \\nin a few scenes , the posing and posturing is unintentionally funny . \\njust seeing keanu reeves engaging in serious kung fu is a bit jarring . \\nhowever , with the comic-book style and tone of the film , you can sustain willing disbelief long enough to enjoy the ride without losing patience . \\nthe matrix isn\\'t a classic . \\nits open-ended and confusing conclusion raises more questions than it answers . \\nit fails to resolve many of its own plot twists and philosophical questions . \\nit also relies on some conventional sentimentality to save the hero - the kind of shmaltzy feel-good goo that most of the film avoids . \\nreportedly , the producers have high hopes for the film being the first in a trilogy and have already begun work on the story for the sequel . \\nunfortunately , audiences deserve a little more than a vague sense that the story will continue in the future . \\nthe matrix is an fun , enjoyable diversion , like a big puff of cotton candy at a carnival . \\njust don\\'t be surprised half an hour later when you still feel a little hungry . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'dora ( fernanda montenegro ) sits behind a make-shift desk at rio+s major train station . \\nshe , in her colorful demeanor , offers a service that is unheard of in the states . \\nshe writes letters for the illiterate , who pass through , to try to find lost relatives , find love , or search after lost debts . \\nshe+s quirky , she+s elderly , she+s caring . \\ntotally trustworthy , right ? \\nnot a chance . \\nonce home , she never sends these letters , saving money on postage , and relishing in the drama contained therein with her neighbor irene ( mar ? lia p ? ra ) . \\none of the letters is sent by a young mother with her nine-year old son , looking for their father . \\nshortly thereafter , she gets hit by a bus , and the son is orphaned . \\ndays go by , and the boy , named josu ? , roams around the station , hungry , desperate , and somewhat clueless to his predictament . \\nthrough a series of circumstances too precious to elaborate upon , dora somehow takes a responsibility in trying to find josu ? +s father . \\nthis means leaving the security of rio , traveling to the outskirts of brazil , where unpaved roads , religious devotees and the poverty-stricken become commonplace . \\nfilms like this remind me as to what i enjoy about some foreign films . \\nit is an opportunity for me to get a fresh breath in another part of the world , so distant from my own . \\nit does so entertainingly , and so heart-wrenchingly . \\nand yet , it+s backdrop is merely that . \\nthe focus is on the minute transformation of dora , of how she learns to love this little kid , without being cloying or sentimental . \\nthe most interesting backdrop is the amount of religious dedication is in the film . \\ndora being an amoral scam-artist , could care less about the amount of bickering between the candle-lighting of the catholics versus the bumper-sticker mentality of the evangelicals . \\nbut neither side is trivialized . \\nshe even begins to develop an affection for a non-drinking evangelical , who sees the problems with dora , if not initially . \\nfernanda montenegro surprisingly got an oscar nomination for this very delicate performance , but the true marvel is that of vinicius de oliveira , who plays josu ? . \\nhe , like the discoveries of j ? r ? mie renier ( _la promesse_ ) and giorgio cantarini ( _life is beautiful_ ) , prove that the true acting discoveries may be outside of the united states . \\nhe is a natural , and never once grating . \\nsend a memo to jonathan taylor thomas . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i don\\'t expect much from eddie murphy these days . \\nfor the past four years , the gods of cinema--or the expansive payrolls of studio conglomerates--have allowed him to make one bad movie after another . \\nsuch films as metro , doctor dolittle , holy man , life , and bowfinger have reduced a once great comedic persona to a living and breathing washed-up hack performing as a studio puppet for 20th century fox and universal pictures . \\nthe biggest shame to fall on his shoulders is his newest film , nutty professor ii : the klumps . \\nthe klumps once again revisits the life of sherman klump , an overweight university science professor looking for love in all the wrong places . \\nsherman has just invented a new \" youth drink \" that enables man or beast to become younger for a short period of time . \\njanet jackson is the love interest who chooses the lovable sherman for a soul mate rather than excel at her career as a university professor ( and for the most ridiculous reasons ) . \\nwith love on his mind , sherman is determined to rid himself of his alter ego , buddy love from the first professor , who still resides with vigor inside his psyche and causes sherman to act like a bad imitation of vince vaughn from swingers . \\nwith some convoluted mumbo-jumbo about dna extraction , sherman extracts the \" buddy love \" link in his dna and smartly deposits buddy into a handy-dandy lab beaker . \\nbut one night , the beaker is knocked over and buddy love is regenerated . . . \\nbecause every movie like this needs an unnecessary villain to thwart the good guy . \\nthen the klump family , all played by eddie murphy , step in for some comedic relief involving old people having sex , flabby breasts , a slew of fart and dick jokes , and enough fat people jokes that i lost count after the first thirty minutes . \\nand did i mention the part where larry miller gets anally raped by an overgrown hamster ? \\nthe movie finally dissolves into a really bad hallmark family special about realizing who you are and what you can be in this world -- with enough soft lighting and people on the verge of tears in every scene . \\npure and simple , the klumps is a failure . \\nits script was handled by not one but five screenwriters , and it really shows during the awkward transitions between scenes . \\nany sense of story and plot were lost in the rewrite process . \\nit\\'s more discerning to learn that chris weitz and paul weitz , the team behind one of the funniest films of the last decade , american pie , have their names stamped to this trash . \\nhey guys - quick note - keep this movie off of your resumes . \\nthe characterization of sherman\\'s family , the klumps , is one of the most ignorant stereotypes of a black family i have ever seen in cinema . \\neveryone member of the family is a large person who wipes the bins clean at a local buffet restaurant like pigs at a trough . \\nthe grandma is an oversexed fiend who constantly talks of ways to pleasure her man and her sagging breasts . \\nthe father is gruff , is fired from a blue-collar job , is sexually inadequate , and cannot communicate with his family about his feelings . \\nthe mother is ignorant of all the negativity around her and seems to hold no opinion about anything or anyone . \\nthe brother is silent and brooding and resembles the ice cube gangster character from boyz in the hood . \\nsherman himself is terribly insecure and never conveys anything for the audience to become attached to . \\nbut the main problem with the film is its inability to create any type of convincing conversational or situational comedy . \\nthe family scenes from the first nutty professor worked so well because their conversations were short and direct . \\nand you got the feeling that these crass people couldn\\'t act like this all the time . \\nthe sequel does the reverse and drives the negatives of the klumps right in to the hilt , making the first five minutes of their interaction enjoyable and the last 55 or so unbearable and pathetic . \\nafter a while , their conversations just become a barrage of frustrated anger tinged with indecency and overworked premises that end up drawing energy away from any type of empathy one might feel for the central themes of the story . \\nits also a damn shame that the makeup magic of rick baker -- who worked on the original nutty professor and won an academy award for his work on an american werewolf in london -- and amazing digital special effects that enabled murphy to interact with himself in such beautiful motions are built around such a lame story line . \\neven the best effects can\\'t seem to save the most pathetic of movies these days . \\nnow that i think about it , the worst thing about this film has to be all the money that it will make . \\npeople will be lined up around the block for it . \\nthe studios will concoct the a sequel for release in the summer of 2002 . \\neddie murphy will be signed up to take not just one role or five roles , but he\\'ll play every character in the movie . \\ni just can\\'t wait to see eddie murphy in a love scene with himself . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'clue is an unfairly ignored comedy , very similar to 1976\\'s murder by death . \\nthis big screen version of the classic board game ( what\\'s next . . . \\nchutes and ladders : the motion picture ? ) is filled with slapstick antics and silly dialogue . \\nthe plot , for what it\\'s worth , has all the characters from the game ( in this case , the names from the game are used as aliases ) meeting in an isolated mansion to confront mr . boddy ( lee ving ) , the man who\\'s been blackmailing them all . \\nwhen he turns up dead , everyone ( including the audience ) must figure out whodunnit . . . \\nand in what room , and with what object . \\nwhile not as witty as neil simon\\'s murder by death , clue definitely has it moments . \\nit has so many moments in fact that i use a lot of the lines from the film when i\\'m joking around with my friends . \\nto this day , whenever someone says the phrase \" well , to make a long story short \" i have the follow up phrase \" too late \" ready to go . \\nthe cast ( all very good comedic talents ) play well off one another , while the late madeline kahn ( as the dark and sultry mrs . white ) sometimes steals the film away from the rest . \\nand colleen camp , as the french maid yvette , displays some of her natural talents as well . \\nclue is available on dvd from paramount home video . \\nit includes the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions ) and features the original theatrical trailer . \\na french language audio track is also available . \\nthe trailer holds up well considering most previews from that time do not , and it even includes a scene not in the film itself ( a scene that should have been in the film , as it\\'s a good joke ) . \\nalso , the trailer is scored to the music from airplane ! , which was an interesting choice . \\nwhen clue played in theaters , it ran with the gimmick of three different endings . \\nif you wanted to see all three , you had to go to the movies three separate times . \\nso when the film was released on home video , rather than releasing three separate videos , all three endings were included on one tape . . . \\nthe first two endings being \" what if ? \" \\nendings and the third ending being the actual ending . \\nnow for the dvd release you get two choices . \\nyou can watch the film as it was presented on home video or you can select to watch it with one of the three endings randomly chosen for you . \\n ( note : there\\'s an easter egg hidden in the disc pertaining to this . \\nafter watching the film with a randomly selected ending , when you return to the menu screen you will be able to highlight the large magnifying glass and select it . \\nwhen you do , a secret menu opens , allowing you to watch any of the three endings by themselves . ) \\nnow while i applaud the effort of paramount here , as they clearly tried to do something special with the disc , it just doesn\\'t work well . \\nfirst , why not give the viewer the choice of what ending we want to watch ? \\nmaybe someone like myself who\\'s seen the movie hundreds of times would like to sit down and show it to someone with the second ending only . \\ni\\'m no technical dvd expert , but i can\\'t imagine that being too hard to accomplish . \\nsecondly , the delay between when the film itself ends and one of the endings begins is too long and too obvious , thereby becoming a distraction right when you definitely don\\'t need a distraction . \\nfinally , the back of the dvd case states \" and now , with this special dvd version , you can see all 3 surprise endings \" . \\ni have no idea why they would word it that way , since that\\'s not a special feature in the slightest . \\nthe video has been out for fifteen years now ( good lord , has it been that long ? ) and it\\'s played on television with all three endings all the time . \\nthese are merely minor complaints however , seeing that i\\'ve watched the home video version hundreds of times and have no problem watching the film as such on the dvd . \\nthe picture and sound are wonderfully improved over my worn out vhs copy , and i\\'m thrilled that paramount agrees with me that clue is a film worthy of being preserved on this great digital format . \\n[pg] \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ralph fiennes is carving out a nice niche for himself in the genre of period piece romances . \\nfor his followup to the academy-beloved the english patient , he has once again turned to a love story , this time directed by accomplished australian film maker gillian armstrong ( little women ) . \\ndespite some obvious overplotting , oscar and lucinda is a mostly effective and often affecting motion picture that touches our hearts while daring our minds to balk at its implausible coincidences . \\nthe film opens in the mid-1800s , with parallel storylines in new south wales , australia and devon , england . \\nas the helpful narrative voice of geoffrey rush informs us , lucinda leplastrier ( cate blanchett ) is a headstrong young woman being raised in the australian outback . \\nmeanwhile , half the world away , oscar hopkins ( fiennes ) has broken with his puritanical father over religious issues , and has gone away to school to study to be an anglican priest . \\nlucinda is fascinated with glass ; oscar is obsessed with theology . \\nlucinda is rich ; oscar is poor . \\nlucinda is forward and self-assured ; oscar is timid and uncertain of himself . \\nyet one characteristic unites these two diverse individuals -- the compulsion to gamble , whether it\\'s on horses , dogs , cards , or the flip of a coin . \\nand fate has decreed that they will one day meet . \\nthat day doesn\\'t occur until 45 minutes into the film , when oscar boards a ship bound for sidney , australia , where he hopes to change his life and minister to anyone in need of his help . \\nanother of the passengers is lucinda , who is returning from england where she was shopping for machinery to equip her newly-acquired glassworks factory . \\nat first , their relationship is that of a reverend and a confessor , but it doesn\\'t take long for both of them to recognize a kindred spirit in the other . \\na friendship is born , and , once they reach australia , it develops into something more potent . \\nbut oscar is uncertain of lucinda\\'s affection , and feels he must do something to prove himself worthy of her . \\noscar and lucinda isn\\'t beyond a little manipulation to get the desired emotional response , and there are times when the storyline curves in preposterous directions . \\non more than one occasion , it\\'s apparent that events are occurring specifically to funnel the characters into a position where there is only one possible route . \\ncoincidence is a crucial plot device ; without it , this movie can\\'t go anywhere . \\nthe voiceover narration ( never one of my favorite techniques ) is too verbose and breaks into the story at undesirable moments . \\n ( however , without it , the final twist , which i will not reveal , would not be as poignant . ) \\nyet , despite these quibbles , i enjoyed oscar and lucinda . \\nstoryline faults pale in the light of two such finely-realized characters . \\nthematically , the film is also strong . \\nthe unifying motif -- that everything in life is a gamble -- is successfully delineated . \\noscar and lucinda don\\'t just wager their money , they bet their hearts , minds , and souls . \\na card game they engage in shortly after they first meet could easily be considered a form of emotional \" strip poker \" where defenses are peeled away to reveal their shared , secret passion . \\noscar does not see gambling as a vice . \\nin fact , he believes that the greatest chance one takes in life is betting one\\'s immortal soul on the truth of a religious faith . \\nralph fiennes , who normally plays strong , confident men , is very much at home as the fumbling , insecure oscar . \\nthe actor brings a variety of nervous tics to the part , all of which subtly add to a vague sense of discomfort whenever oscar is on-screen . \\nas good as fiennes is , however , he is eclipsed by cate blanchett . \\nthe actress , who appeared earlier this year as one of the leads in bruce beresford\\'s paradise road , is mesmerizing as lucinda . \\nshe gives this liberated woman her flash , and feeds the chemistry between the two lead characters so that it sparkles rather than fizzles . \\neffective support is provided by ciaran hinds ( the male lead in jane austen\\'s persuasion ) as lucinda\\'s close friend , tom wilkinson ( the full monty ) as oscar\\'s mentor , and clive russell as a self-serving adventurer . \\nthere\\'s a real magic in the way armstrong develops the story , keeping things moving in unexpected directions without lingering too long on any one moment or sequence . \\n ( in fact , i wish she had devoted a little more time to the luminous middle act , which has oscar and lucinda together . ) \\nwith the skill of a consummate storyteller , she weaves romance , friendship , passion , humor , and tragedy together into a complete package . \\nthe characters , with all of their human foibles and neuroses , are wonderfully developed by fiennes and blanchett . \\nso who cares if the storyline is a little ripe and unwieldy ? \\noscar and lucinda still offers abundant pleasures to reward the viewer . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"review- peter jackson's the frighteners has received some notice for setting the record for most computer effects ever in a movie , and still coming in at the extremely cheap $30 million price tag . \\nbut for those who were dismayed by this year's blockbusters like twister and independence day , the frighteners has much more to offer than special effects . \\nand for those worried wether or not peter jackson would compromise to hollywood you can rest easily . \\nthe frighteners is as far removed from hollywood as a high-profile movie can get . \\nmichael j . fox stars as frank bannister , a con artist who can speak to ghosts . \\nhe uses this ability to set up a scam in a small town where his ghost buddies scare the hell out of people , then he comes and pretends to get rid of them . \\nthis is how he has made a living ever since his wife died in a car crash 5 years ago . \\nfrank's latest customers are a young couple , played by trini alvarado and peter dobson . \\nwhen dobson ends up dead , alvarado starts to take an interest in fox . \\nbut dobson's spirit is still around as he refuses to beleive he's dead . \\nthis leads to a very awkward and amusing dinner date between fox and alvarado , with dobson tagging along as a ghost . \\nthings start getting complicated for fox when he is accused for a series of murders taking place in the town . \\nfox sees someone named the soul collector crushing the heart of the victims , but noone else can see that . \\nso when fox shows up to try and save each victim , naturally people suspect he is the killer . \\nfox sees that alvarado is next on the soul collector's hit list , and the last half hour of the movie deals with fox's attempts to save her from this evil spirit . \\nthere are many wonderful twists and turns in the screenplay written by peter jackson and frances walsh . \\nthe movie starts off as a black comedy , and ends up a horror-action film . \\nthe mix between these genres are perfect . \\nno laughs are sacrificed in the name of horror , and vice versa . \\none point of contention might be a lackluster score by danny elfman . \\nbut that hardly seems like a flaw when you have such a diverse cast all in top form . \\nmichael j . fox delivers one of his best performances to date as a man who hides the sorrow of his wife's death , and then is forced to confront this later on . \\nalvarado , looking like andie macdowell , makes a great frightened , tough , and smart heroine . \\nand jeffery combs , as a paranoid fbi agent , is brilliantly bizaare . \\nthe frighteners never once feels like it is running long . \\nthe first hour is as funny as any comedy this year , and the last half hour is as thrilling as any of the big budget blockbusters . \\nthis movie is probably what casper would've looked like if david lynch directed it . \\nit's easily the best film of the year , so far . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'rated : r for strong violence , language , drug use , nudity , and some sexuality . \\nstarring : wesley snipes , anne archer , michael chaykin , donald sutherland , marie matiko . \\nrunning time : 117 minutes \\ndirected by : christian duguay \\ni\\'ve never fully understood wesley snipes\\'s career . \\nhe has his ups and downs , but mostly the downs . \\nhis best movie was one of the best of 1998 and that movie was entitled \" blade \" . \\nhe has had his typical action movies , \" boiling point \" , \" passenger 57 \" , but his new movie \" the art of war \" should just be called \" rising sun 2 : the art of war \" cause basically it\\'s a semi-remake of the same plot , with a different cast , and forced to be a ridiculously unbelievable thriller , that is high on style and low on substance . \\nwesley snipes plays a james bondish type secret agent working for the u . n . after a chinese ambassador is killed , he is on the track of the killer , trying to find out who it is , how it happened , where the killer was , and what to do . \\nanne archer plays his \" boss \" type person of the u . n . and she has hired snipes to track down the killer . \\nwell snipes is mistakenly framed as the killer , and is now an outlaw , kidnapping a chinese woman with him , and having her help him along the way . \\nall this leads to a finale that is so dumb , and so stupid that is it unbelievably dumb , and the stunts , dialogue and acting all ruin this movie . \\nwesley snipes isn\\'t one of my favorite actors because of the fact that the character he plays in every movie is the same character he plays in the movie before . \\nthe only good role snipes has really had was in 1998\\'s \" blade \" . \\ni walked into \" the art of war \" expecting a good , high octane thriller , and all i got was a pile of mush . \\nthe only real \\'good\\' thing the movie has is action , and plenty of it , but i noticed it is badly filmed , the camera is so shaky you cannot even tell what is going on . \\nthe ending finale is so worthless and pitiful , that it even tries to mock \" the matrix \" , laughably funny , it is undeniably stupid . \\nchristian duguay\\'s direction is also not that great . \\nhis camera angles and sense of style are all in place , but sadly his lighting and editing are all badly done . \\neven the whole \" matrix \" ending wasn\\'t even good . \\nthe stunts and action are badly filmed , and badly choreographed . \\nhis placing of the characters , and the assination of the chinese ambassador , and the plotting of the movie are so predictable and laughable , that it just takes all the fun out of the entire movie . \\nanne archer who is usually good in her roles , turns in a horrible job here . \\nshe is sour , downbeat , and dreadfully dull with her forced dialogue , and dumb moves . \\neven donald sutherland as a co-star can\\'t save this movie from being a bust . \\nso for an overall opinion : \" the art of war \" is a total waste of time . \\nit\\'s not entertaining , nor exciting , or even action packed . \\nit is a pointless movie , and makes absolutely no sense at all . \\nif you really want to see a good version of \" the art of war \" , rent the wesley snipes and sean connery action vehicle of the same kind \" rising sun \" , it isn\\'t a great film either , but at least it\\'s better than this . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i know that \" funnest \" isn\\'t a word . \\n \" fun \" is a noun , and therefore cannot be conjugated like an adjective . \\nbut that\\'s the word that came to me right after viewing \" chicken run . \" \\nno wonder : this is the kind of movie that reduces you to childish expressions , like \" that was the funnest movie i\\'ve ever seen ! \" \\nso to hell with webster\\'s -- \" chicken run \" is one of the funnest movies i\\'ve seen in a while . \\ni can\\'t remember the last time i\\'ve seen anything funner . \\nthe chickens at tweedy\\'s farm are up to something . \\nliving in a concentration camp-like atmosphere , they are led by one plucky hen called ginger ( voice of julia sawalha ) who continually comes up with plans for escape -- and always gets caught , subsequently spending day after day in the coal box . \\none night , a brash american rooster flies in over the fence , calling himself rocky ( mel gibson ) , famous flying rooster and circus performer . \\nrocky promises to teach the chickens how to fly , and the situation grows more desperate as the nefarious mrs . tweedy ( miranda richardson ) decides to abandon the farm\\'s egg-selling plan for a pie-selling plan . \\nshe orders a huge pie-making machine , cackling , \" chickens go in ; pies come out . \" \\nwhat sort of pies ? \\nchicken pies , of course . \\nco-director nick park and his studio , aardman animation , produced three oscar-winning short films : \" creature comforts , \" \" the wrong trousers , \" and \" a close shave . \" \\nthe latter two were the second and third installments of a trilogy starring the delightful team wallace & gromit , a man and his dog famous for getting themselves into increasingly peculiar adventures . \\npart of what made the \" wallace \" films brilliantly entertaining was park\\'s uncanny ability to make an old story seem new . \\n \" the wrong trousers , \" for example , pulled out a lot of old hitchcockian suspense tricks , and \" a close shave \" owed a great deal of inspiration to classic detective stories . \\nbut in the hands of park and his team , the stories felt fresh and inspired , and not the least bit contrived . \\nnow teaming with co-director peter lord , park has created a similar creature in \" chicken run . \" \\nthe plot is largely lifted from \" the great escape \" ( watch for a quick reference to the ball-bouncing scene ) , with some spielberg-inspired action sequences providing the excitement . \\nthing is , the film doesn\\'t feel like it\\'s been lifted from somewhere else ; \" chicken run \" feels fresh , alive , like nothing else ever done . \\npart of it is the original idea : who in the world came up with the idea to make a prisoners-of-war movie starring chickens ? \\npark and lord milk the incongruity for all it\\'s worth : the characters treat their situation as if it were dead serious , and to them , it is . \\nbut they\\'re * chickens * , so it\\'s funny to us . \\nanother thing that helps \" chicken run \" ( and most of park\\'s films ) succeed is the animators\\' subtle way of giving nods to the very films they\\'re cribbing . \\nthere are references to \" the great escape , \" obviously , and \" stalag 17 . \" \\nthe chase sequence inside the chicken grinder parodies both \" raiders of the lost ark \" and \" indiana jones and the temple of doom . \" \\nthere\\'s even a nod to \" the blues brothers , \" if you can believe it , and the filmmakers even get in a little light-hearted ribbing at the expense of their star voice actor , taking a couple of very subtle jabs at mel gibson\\'s nationality and film history . \\nthe \" braveheart \" reference is a hoot if you catch it . \\nwhen you consider just how fine a line resides between a funny parody and a redundant one , \" chicken run \" is downright brilliant in its execution . \\nconsider this : since july of last year , i\\'ve seen dozens upon dozens of \" blair witch project \" parodies , on television , on the radio , and online . \\nout of all those , maybe one or two were amusing , the rest tiresome . \\nwhy ? \\nbecause once you got past the thought that \" they\\'re parodying that&#8216 ; blair witch\\' movie , \" most of the parodies had nothing to offer -- no insight , no original idea , no greater purpose . \\nthey were only funny if you had seen the movie ; otherwise , you got nothing . \\nconversely , \" chicken run \" doesn\\'t lean on its parodies -- the film references are never the sole focus of any scene . \\nif you\\'ve never seen \" indiana jones , \" the chase sequence is still fun . \\neven if you have no idea who mel gibson is , rocky remains an interesting character . \\npark , lord , and screenwriter karey kirkpatrick realize that an audience does not need a parody shoved in their faces before it\\'s understood , and as a result , \" chicken run \" is filled with visual and verbal jabs that are never too obvious , but not quite vague either . \\nenjoyment of this movie doesn\\'t require knowledge of film history , but if you\\'ve got it , \" chicken run \" is that much richer . \\nthe voice cast turns in uniformly lively performances , and the characters they play are given so many subtle nuances that it\\'s hard not to fall in love with every one of them . \\nginger is perfect , spunky and opinionated , but with a soft heart that forbids her to leave her companions behind , and julia sawalha ( known as the cute mousy girl on \" absolutely fabulous \" ) nails it . \\nshe has warm , human chemistry with gibson , whose rocky hides his personal doubt under a brash gung-ho veneer . \\nthe characters\\' inevitable romance doesn\\'t feel contrived , but sweet . \\npoor mr . tweedy ( tony haygarth ) suspects the chickens are organizing in some way , but his limited intellect prevents him from figuring things out , and his overbearing wife certainly isn\\'t any help . \\njane horrocks delivers a lovely voice characterization as tragically optimistic babs ( a hen that runs away with most of the best one-liners , all while perpetually crocheting a sweater ) , and two supply-trading rats that seem to have walked straight out of a monty python sketch nearly steal the show during the lively central swing-dancing sequence . \\nthey even come up with an inspired riff on something that\\'s baffled scholars and theologians alike for decades : the chicken vs . egg dilemma . \\none might have expected this inevitable joke to come off as wearisome , but as with most of \" chicken run , \" it comes as a delightful surprise . \\nthe film manages to cross all barriers ; it should be accessible to both children and adults , brits and yanks , rats and chickens . \\nthe animation is first-rate . \\nremember that this was all done the old-fashioned way , with actual humans moving clay figurines around on a tiny set bit by painstaking bit , and you see just how truly remarkable \" chicken run \" really is . \\nthis movie possesses that same quality that makes pixar studios\\' animation great : precise and unwavering attention to detail . \\nas in such top-notch family fare as \" a bug\\'s life \" or \" toy story 2 , \" \" chicken run \" has something to offer in nearly every frame . \\ncertainly a passive viewer can enjoy it as a straightforward story with a worthwhile moral and some surprisingly touching scenes , but a active , attentive viewers will enjoy it even more because they\\'ll catch all the details . \\nanyway , the movie\\'s just a boatload of fun . \\nfunnest damn movie i\\'ve seen all year . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'jackie brown entered theaters with little fanfare and a lot of expectation . \\neven though advance publicity on this one was fairly limited , the audiences waited for the showings with heightened anticipation . \\nthis is , after all , the first movie quentin tarantino has directed since the highly touted pulp fiction . \\nto say he has been inactive in between would be to tell a falsehood , since he has been involved in such projects as destiny turns on the radio , desperado , four rooms , and from dusk \\'til dawn . \\nhe was also called in at the last minute to help punch up the screenplay for crimson tide . \\n ( i\\'m willing to wager the debate over which silver surfer is the only true silver surfer was penned by him . ) \\ntarantino contributed on and off screen to these films , but never took the director\\'s helm . \\nnearly four years since gaining notoriety on the hollywood scene and making john travolta a star once more , tarantino returns with a film he can call his own . \\nthe film opens up with an homage to the graduate , with jackie brown ( pam grier ) on one of those airport people movers as the credits are displayed in front of her . \\njackie is a flight attendant for air cabo , which flies back and fourth between los angeles and cabo san lucas . \\nthis makes jackie a convenient cash courier for gun dealer ordell robbi ( samuel l . jackson ) who is currently keeping his money stashed in mexico . \\nhowever , while bringing fifty thousand dollars back into the u . s . for ordell , jackie is apprehended by fbi agent mark dargus ( michael bowen ) and atf agent ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , who catch her not only with the money , but with a bonus of a couple of ounces of illicit drugs . \\njackie didn\\'t know they were in the package with the cash , but that\\'s of no consequence to the authorities , who threaten jackie with a couple of years hard time if convicted . \\nof course , dargus and nicolet are just using the sentence to get jackie to turn over the big fish , ordell . \\nordell uses honest bail bondsman max cherry ( robert forster ) to get jackie out of jail , but while max is immediately attracted to her , jackie is more concerned about her immediate safety , since ordell killed the last one of his operatives who got picked up by the police . \\nsure enough , ordell shows up at jackie\\'s apartment that evening and tries to silence jackie for good , but she \" borrows \" max\\'s pistol and manages to turn the tables on ordell . \\ninstead of closing the irony circle and relocating a bullet from the pistol\\'s chamber to ordell\\'s head , jackie proposes a deal . \\nsince ordell wants to get his money out of mexico , jackie will get back up to her old tricks and be a courier for him once more , but this time for a more substantial fee : fifteen percent of ordell\\'s half million dollars . \\nwith a gun in his face , how can ordell not agree ? \\nby itself , this premise might have been interesting enough to carry the film . \\nhowever , we are also introduced to a number of double crosses which make us pay attention and think . \\njackie claims to be bringing the money in for ordell , but she\\'s also making a deal with the feds as well as with max . \\nthe film throws us off every once in a while by leading us to believe the deal we thought was authentic is actually a sham , but it is in no way done to the extent that we feel jerked around . \\ninstead , it\\'s actually a nice departure from the predictability which is prevalent in so many of today\\'s movies . \\nat least this film has a little imagination . \\nmost of the performances in jackie brown are above par . \\npam grier , of whom i had never taken notice before , plays jackie with a mix of confidence and vulnerability which makes her character believable . \\nsamuel l . jackson has a kind of mesmerizing quality about him as he handles himself in situations where you know he is in total control . \\nrobert forster is thoroughly likable because he comes across as such an honest guy , trying to do his best . . \\nnever mind that he belongs to a profession where sneaking into a guy\\'s apartment to zap him with a stun gun is simply a matter of course . \\nhe\\'s just so down-to-earth , the nature of his job really doesn\\'t occur to us , even when we\\'re shown him bringing a handcuffed woman to prison , or when we see the tools of his trade . \\nin supporting roles are robert de niro as louis gara , a recently paroled friend of ordell\\'s , and bridget fonda as melanie , one of the girls ordell keeps around town . \\nunfortunately , de niro is basically wasted as his lines are few and far between , and then they are mostly clipped sentences . \\nin this film , he\\'s not really de niro , but stereotypical de niro , uttering things like , \" little bit , \" and \" pretty much . \" \\nfonda , on the other hand , plays the slightly spaced-out melanie with satisfactory relish and cuteness , such that even when she is annoying louis , we are taking her side . \\nas is characteristic of any film in which tarantino has had a hand , the dialog is quick and snappy . \\nit grabs our attention and is actually interesting , and in many respects , this makes jackie brown a film which needs few visuals ; the lines are a form of art in and amongst themselves . \\ndon\\'t count tarantino out when it comes to using the camera , however . \\nthere\\'s a scene where max is unwittingly watching a dry run of a money exchange , and he\\'s not really sure what\\'s happening , but by composing the scene just so , his realization of what\\'s going on is felt simultaneously by the audience . \\nwe look at the screen and think , \" gee , that\\'s clever , \" and then think the same thing about how the film induced us into that wonderful feeling of catching on . \\nalthough tarantino isn\\'t afraid to drag out a shot for dramatic effect , it unfortunately works to varying degrees in this film . \\nthere are shots where a character is simply driving , and we watch this person and somehow get an idea of what is going on in his or her head . \\nthis is a tribute to both direction and acting . \\nhowever , there is at least one other scene where we follow jackie through a mall , and she is looking for something ; desperately looking for something . \\nwe get the idea of the frantic nature of her search , but we follow her for so long that we end up not really caring about what she\\'s looking for , but instead hoping she\\'ll just stop . \\noverall , viewing jackie brown is time spent well . \\nsome flap has already been made about the language used in the film , but it\\'s really not much worse than many of the other movies out there today . \\nin fact , one might even be able to say that the way in which these \" offensive \" words are employed almost cause them to parody themselves and therefore transcend their own offensiveness . \\ngo see the film and see what i mean . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'robert altman\\'s cookie\\'s fortune is that rare movie that does not depend on sentimentality to be uplifting and to make its viewers feel good . \\nit is a sunny , delightful , dreamy comedy , filled with lovely performances , skillful direction and topped off with an understated , clever , extraordinary script . \\nas this is an ensemble piece , it is forced to start of slowly as it introduces us to its characters , all of them residing in a southern town called holly springs . \\nfirst we meet willie ( charles s . dutton ) , an honest man with a slight drinking habit . \\nwe then see that willie takes care of an elderly lady nicknamed cookie , who is slowly losing her grip on sanity and is being filled with loneliness , despair , and want of her dead husband . \\nwe cut to camille ( glenn close ) who is obsessively directing a play with her sister cora ( julianne moore ) . \\nthen we briefly get acquainted with emma ( liv tyler ) , an apparent relative of cookie , who is a down-but-not-out teen outcast , still full of love and hope even though she has no real place to live . \\nwe also fleetingly see emma\\'s lover jason ( chris o\\'donnell ) , an ambitious but far too excitable young cop . \\nwe are now about one quarter through the two hour picture , and robert altman decides that it is time to set the plot in motion . \\nwe see the ecstatic cookie stare hopefully at a picture of her husband . \\nshe exclaims \" here i come ! \" \\nand then puts a pillow to her face and shoots herself . \\nsoon after , her niece camille stops by to get a fruit salad bowl , comes upstairs , finds cookie dead and flips out . \\nconvinced that suicide is a disgrace and that she will have none of that in her family , she eats the suicide note and convinces her slightly slow ( yet sweet ) sister that it was a murder . \\nshe makes sure that she stages it like a murder as well ; scattering jewelry all over the floor , breaking a few cabinets , windows and doors , and then throwing the gun out in the back yard . \\nthe only reasonable suspect is willie , who immediately gets taken into custody , and put in a jail cell ( they all know he didn\\'t do it , so the cell stays open and he plays scrabble with the sheriff and the faithful emma ) . \\nmeanwhile , the unperturbed camille continues her none-too-subtle manipulations trying to further cover up for the murder while at the same time making her easter play a success . \\nso begins cookie\\'s fortune , a film aptly described by critic scott renshaw as \" a southern spin on fargo , \" except that this one is far funnier and much more enjoyable than the coen brothers\\' darker , somewhat disturbing and slightly overrated escapade . \\nrobert altman\\'s slight picture is in some ways reminiscent of something like midnight in the garden of good and evil as well , in that both films focus ( on and off ) on the eccentricities of the residents in a southern us town . \\nindeed , most of the characters in cookie\\'s fortune are loads of fun to observe , and a portion of them are fascinating and surprisingly multi- dimensional . \\nglenn close turns in an insubstantial ( in terms of her career ) but magnificent performance as the conniving camille and is also the source of a good portion of the many laughs that we enjoy in this movie , and she is perfectly cast as the prolific \" aunt alexandria \" character , endlessly obsessed with family dignity . \\nthe equally essential role of willie is handled with an intangible grace by veteran thespian charles s . dutton ( mimic , a time to kill ) \\nthere is nothing like a movie which leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside hours , even days after the film ends . \\ncookie\\'s fortune is such a movie . \\ni loved the light , kindhearted approach altman ( whose last project was the dark , intense drama the gingerbread man ) took towards the tricky subject matter . \\ni enjoyed the talented ensemble cast . \\ni even liked the trite \" in the south everybody is related to everybody \" cliche that is inevitably employed by the time this movie draws to a close . \\ni\\'m not sure why cookie\\'s fortune had such an all-around pleasing effect on me . \\nperhaps it\\'s that good ol\\' southern charm . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'when i first heard about scream in 1996 , i was told that it was a spoof of horror movies . \\nfrom the master of the horror himself , wes craven , it ridiculed the cliches of the genre by overemphasizing them , by making the teenagers do what they know they\\'re not supposed to do when a serial killer is stalking them ( don\\'t run up the stairs when you can easily go out the front door , never say \" i\\'ll be right back , \" etc . ) . \\nwhen i first heard this description , i figured that it was an easy way out of making a bad movie . \\nhow hard is it to make an extremely terrible film but claim it is actually a mockery of other bad movies . \\nwas this wes craven\\'s remedy from making \" real \" bad movies such as vampires in brooklyn ? \\nit just seemed cheap to me . \\nthen i actually saw the movie and the first twenty minutes , involving drew barrymore and a nail-bitingly intense phone conversation , completely changed my attitude . \\nscream is not only a clever parody of your standard horror flick , it\\'s also a pretty scary movie . \\nif you\\'ve seen a million of these kinds of films , you know exactly what is going to happen . \\nthis is part of the fun of watching scream . \\nthe movie reminds avid horror fans how similar and repetitive the genre is and it also reminds them how great a guilty pleasure it can be to watch pointless and predictable violence to innocent , attractive teenagers . \\nto those who rarely see these types of movies , scream is a thrilling unpredictable ride that could be mistaken as a serious slasher film . \\nthere\\'s nothing wrong with that misjudgment though . \\ni have witnessed viewers from both sides of the audience , the newbies to horror and the fanatics . \\ntheir opinions on the film were so different but both very positive . \\nfrom these varied reviews , i am convinced that scream has not only revived the teen horror movie and the normal teen romance movies but also the hilarious parodies of these and other categories . \\nfilms that both deride and celebrate genres like galaxy quest and the big hit would not have existed , in my opinion , if it was not for the outstanding success of scream . \\nthe low - budget 1996 gem may , alongside pulp fiction , be the most influential film of the 1990\\'s . \\nthis influence may exist to the chagrin of some moviegoers who despise movies like teaching mrs . tingle or television programs such as dawson\\'s creek but to others such as myself , we congratulate the movie that has opened new doors for excellent young actors , screenwriters , and directors . \\nscream is also an extremely funny movie thanks to its quickly-paced script by kevin williamson . \\nwithin the film are characters who tell other characters , as well as the audience , the basic rules and cliches of a horror movie . \\nmainly from the rants of randy ( jamie kennedy ) and stu ( matthew lillard ) , we are reminded not only of the obvious and hilarious rules but also some of the more subtle stereotypes that when thought over are mostly true as well ( the virgin always survives ; have sex and you\\'re dead meat ) . \\nnot only are we treated these rules on a plate but also the rules are referenced to a number of different films and actors . \\nthe script feels like an obsessive essay from a college film geek who has nothing better to do but find every little blunder from every little film for his own self-satisfaction . \\nin this case , williamson finds these errors for the audience\\'s satisfaction and amusement . \\ni hear there is a new movie coming out called scary movie which is a spoof of scream , which is a spoof of scary movies . \\ni will certainly see the film but i have the feeling that this parody will be more obviously ridiculing the genre rather than scream\\'s perfect subtlety . \\nhowever my last gut feeling about this stuff , scream , was dead wrong . . . \\nso who knows . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'despite its exceedingly well-done visual effects , 1995\\'s original species was one big hunk of sci-fi cheese , from the writing to the feeble performances . \\nso , coming from such b-grade roots , its sequel\\'s stunning ineptitude is not terribly surprising , yet at the same time it is . \\nit would not have been difficult at all for the people behind species ii to top the hokey original , yet they have somehow managed to fabricate something just as bad , if not even worse . \\nsomething is clearly amiss when the back door left open for a sequel in species--a sewer rat becomes not quite of this earth after eating a body part from the exploded alien/human hybrid sil--is never entered into ( perhaps that was left for species iii--though i\\'m not giving away anything when i say that this installment has an open back door of its own ) . \\nthe alien fun and games begin this time when a three-person astronaut crew returning from mars inadvertently carries within their soil samples deadly alien dna that eventually infects the mission captain , patrick ross ( justin lazard , late of cbs\\'s short-lived soap of a few years back , central park west/cpw ) . \\nthis alien dna is not identical to that which created the original film\\'s sil , but it\\'s close enough , and upon arrival on earth patrick is mating like crazy , engaging in bloody sex with just about every woman he can find . \\nmeanwhile , scientist dr . laura baker ( the returning marg helgenberger ) has created a clone of sil named eve ( natasha henstridge again ) for research purposes . \\nit doesn\\'t take long for eve to sense another alien presence , which send her libido into hyperdrive . \\nit\\'s up to laura and her former partner , bounty hunter press lennox ( michael madsen , another returnee ) ; and patrick\\'s uninfected shipmate dennis gamble ( mykelti williamson ) to find patrick before the in-heat eve does . \\n \" this isn\\'t the x-files , goddammit ! \" \\nexclaims one character in the early going . \\nin terms of quality , he\\'s absolutely right , but he\\'s also wrong . \\nthe new alien first appears as an otherworldly oozing sludge that causes patrick\\'s pupils to dilate once he\\'s infected . \\nlooks and sounds an awful lot like the x-files\\'s \" black cancer \" to me . \\nbut that\\'s not the only source director peter medak and writer chris brancato steal from . \\nspecies was already a ripoff of alien , but medak makes the cribbing much more blatant than the original\\'s director , roger donaldson , did . \\nhuman patrick is given a tongue that also has a tongue within itself , and his alien form more closely resembles the alien than eve\\'s alien body ( which ironically was designed by alien designer h . r . giger ) . \\na large alien hive that our heros douse with a substance fired from large guns ? \\naliens sans flamethrowers . \\nthe visual effects were by far the best thing about species , and the sequel\\'s effects crew at steve johnson\\'s xfx inc . keeps that high-quality tradition alive ; no cheap-looking lost in space cgi here . \\nafter the effects , the original\\'s best asset was the fresh presence of henstridge . \\nhowever , medak and brancato have no idea what exactly to do with her for this installment . \\nat one point she\\'s called on to play alien \" empath \" ? la forest whitaker in the original , but for most of the duration she\\'s holed up in a glass cell . \\nby the time the big breakout so prominently featured in the trailer actually takes place , the film is well into its home stretch . \\nso the rest of the time we are treated to patrick , played with little zest by lazard . \\none problem with the first film was that the deadly , horny , but innocent-at-heart sil was too sympathetic ; no such problem with patrick , who comes off as a cocky pretty boy before the alien takes control . \\nthe rest of the cast also fails to add much , but the writing can be faulted for that . \\nhelgenberger and madsen go through the motions , but they are already hampered by the clich ? d development that somewhere between the two films , the once-linked laura and press stopped getting along . \\nwilliamson suffers the worst indignity . \\nhe tries his best to enliven the token african-american role , but how can anyone recite insulting , derivative lines such as \" i\\'m gonna get african on someone\\'s ass \" and not appear ridiculous ? \\nbut species ii\\'s worst crime is being a thoroughly uninteresting piece of work . \\nat least the original featured plenty to laugh at--unaccountably awful performances by the otherwise fine actors ben kingsley and whitaker , and the sight of helgenberger\\'s character performing fellatio on madsen\\'s , for a start . \\nbut the filmmakers do not display any discernable effort at all , let alone the misguided effort that is required for something to reach the camp level . \\nfor all the blood and gore , nudity , and sex thrown in , species ii is , quite simply , a vapid bore . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'people who enjoy science fiction are often faced with unpleasant surprises due to the improper labelling of novels , stories , comic books or movies . \\noften science fiction aficionados find material , previously labelled as science fiction , to be pure fantasy or supernatural horror , or rather simple techno-thriller . \\nin such cases , mistakes are understandable - genre boundaries are never clearly marked . \\nbut , i believe there are really few cases when a movie labelled as science fiction actually happens to be straight historical epic . \\nsuch thing occurred in former yugoslavia some fifteen years ago , when national distributors gave such treatment to the right stuff , 1983 film directed by philip kaufman . \\nthe mistake of the distributors could be explained with the fact that the official poster of the film features men in space suits . \\nbut the right stuff film isn\\'t even fiction . \\nit was based on the non-fiction book by tom wolfe , covering the early years of american space program . \\nthe plot of the film begins in 1947 when few people heard of edwards air force base , major test site for experimental planes . \\nthe major aim of test flights is to determine ability of manned aircraft to reach 1 mach speed and thus break the sound barrier . \\nmany pilots tried to achieve that goal and many paid with their lives for such bravado . \\nbut one quiet pilot , chuck eager ( played by sam shaped ) succeeds and thus gives example for whole new generation of test pilots , determined to enter history books by breaking new speed records . \\nten years later , soviets have launched \" sputnik \" marking the beginning of the space age . \\nin order to regain national prestige , us government decides to be the first to send man into space . \\nbest air force , navy and marine pilots are recruited into program , but not yeager , because he lacks college education and desired all-american image . \\nin one of critics\\' polls the right stuff was named as one among top 10 films made in 1980s . \\nsuch high position could be explained with the fact that kaufman\\'s film looks quite atypical for its time . \\nwith more than three hours of length and epic scope it looked more suitable for 1950s and 1960s - age when hollywood used to make films larger than life . \\nbut the real reason lies in the fact that it was made by truly remarkable and talented filmmaker . \\nphilip kaufman created reputation in 1970s by using all the opportunities of that golden age in order to create original , memorable movies . \\nthe right stuff was the last of them , swan song of an era when producers allowed directors to spend big bucks on unusual , risk-taking \" artsy \" projects . \\nthe right stuff is unusual because it lacks many standard elements of hollywood film . \\nthe plot is almost non-existent and not very coherent ; the story , featuring many interesting incidents and anecdotes , shifts focus from the old generation of test pilots , embodied in yeager , to new generation of the astronauts . \\nthe film also lacks conventional protagonist - yeager ( who also appears in small cameo ) remains the true hero of the film , but equal time and exposure is also given to other astronauts and their wives , making this movie into ensemble piece . \\nthat gave opportunity for kaufman to use multitude of great acting talents , until that specialised only for bit or character roles . \\nsam shepard is great as yeager , war hero whose greatest achievement - breech of the sound barrier - remained obscured in history books , probably due to his own modesty . \\non the surface , he lacks personality compared with his hyped and more fortunate astronaut colleagues , but shepard gives texture to this character with subtle gestures and phrases . \\nshepard\\'s performance is followed with great acting by ed harris as clean-cut marine ( and future politician ) john glenn . \\nyoung dennis quaid is more than fine as arrogant fighter jock gordo cooper , and this arrogance is mirrored in his friend and most tragic figure of virgil grissom , superbly played by fred ward . \\nalways reliable character actor scott glenn provides some comic relief as navy aviator and ( arguably ) first american man in space alan shepard . \\nkaufman left room for female talents to excel too - barbara hershey , pamela reed , veronica cartwright and mary jo deschanel are great as pilots\\' wives . \\nroyal dano is also impressive as menacing figure of preacher , but the most memorable performances belong to donald moffat as vice-president lyndon b . johnson and jane dornacker as nurse murch . \\ngreat acting talent assembled for this film was mirrored with kaufman\\'s superb direction . \\nmost notable of all is the methods kaufman uses in order to suggest the passage of time . \\nthe beginning of the film shows test pilots living in the middle of desert , as virtual unknowns , far away from strict rules and discipline . \\neverything seems natural -yeager can indulge himself in horse riding just few yards away from the fastest and most precious aircraft in the world . \\nin that setting , it\\'s quite normal for important technical problems to be solved with simple chainsaw and for the test pilots not to report their ribs being broken before most important flights . \\nbut the times are changing ; ww2 alliance with ussr is replaced with cold war , and \" natural \" pilots like yeager must be replaced with more disciplined , conventional pilots . \\ntheir entire lives become focus of media frenzy , and their job is subjected to strict rules , meticulous plans and they must fight the bureaucrats , publicity-seeking politicians and uncaring scientists ( like former nazi rocket expert werner von braun , played by scott beach ) only to preserve their most basic human dignity . \\nthis contrast is underlined with the beautifully edited sequence - while yeager conducts his final and most spectacular test flight in absolute obscurity , \" mercury \" astronauts receive fame and fortune , although some of them even before going in the space . \\nthose contrasts and similar effects are achieved with kaufman\\'s superb use of poetic movie language . \\nediting is great , and photography by caleb deschanel provides many memorable scenes like the funeral in the desert or astronauts in their suits walking in slow motion ( the same image would be copied in many latter films ) . \\nalthough kaufman enjoyed support of nasa and american military , which provided authentic locations and period equipment , he still had to use special effects in order to simulate space flights . \\nthose effects are excellent and they can still fool the audience accustomed to cgi and real footage of earth from outer space . \\nanother fine contribution of this film is \" oscar \" -awarded musical score by bill conti ; i still tremble from excitement every time i hear it . \\nit is accompanied with the use of holst and debussy . \\nsome of the songs used in the background also provide authentic atmosphere of the historical period . \\nthis film is great , and its cult status is well deserved , but there are some minor flaws . \\nsome of the \" mercury \" astronauts aren\\'t fleshed out enough ( although being played by fine actors , like lance henriksen ) . \\nfilm also lacks proper closure . \\non the other hand , most logical conclusion of the film - landing on the moon - would require this film to be more than six hours long . \\nalso , some critics were prone to attack this film as too amerocentric and hard on russians , who were portrayed as evil monsters , just in line with most virulent cold war rhetoric of reagan\\'s america . \\nin some of contemporary interviews , kaufman defended that approach by claiming that he wanted to make film as authentic as possible , and in order to do that , he portrayed russians not as they were in real life , but as they were perceived by americans in early 1960s . \\ntime has passed ; now we don\\'t see astronauts as heroes . \\nin this age of widespread satellite communications and routine space missions , those men and women in space suits are seen as mere maintenance workers . \\nfew young boys want to be astronauts when they grow up . \\nbut this film , sentimental reminder of the times \" when future began \" , perhaps could encourage at least some of them to follow \" mercury \" astronauts\\' footsteps seek new frontiers in the sky . \\nand even if they decide to stay on earth , they could still appreciate the right stuff as an extraordinary piece of cinema . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'contact is the 1997 movie i\\'ve seen the most - five times to be exact . \\nfour of those times were on the big screen , but even on a tv , it\\'s a very impressive film . \\nthe same can\\'t be said for films like independance day , but that\\'s because contact is a rare example in sci-fi filmmaking where the story is treated more importantly than the special effects , and all of us know looking back that id4 didn\\'t offer much outside of some one-time delightful eye candy . \\ncontact\\'s wonderfully presented story deals with ellie arroway ( jodie foster ) , a radio astronomer whose preference of study involves the outdated technique of \" merely listening \" to sounds out in space . \\nher interest in the field of astronomy developed at a very young age , encouraged by her loving father , ted ( david morse ) , who let ellie use a small ham radio to pick up on frequencies and communicate with people as far away as pensacola , fl ( that was , of course , before the days of internet chat rooms ) . \\nwhile everyone else uses modern technologies to aid them in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence ( of which the program seti is an acronym for ) , ellie prefers to pop on a pair of headphones and see what she can pick up on , keeping the youthful magic and intrigue strongly alive . \\nellie\\'s strong scientific basis essentially makes her an atheist , a belief likely influenced by the death of her father while she was still quite young . \\nin puerto rico , she meets palmer joss ( matthew mcconaughey ) , a writer examining the effects of technology on the world\\'s overall happiness ; a one- time seminary student who describes himself as \" a man of the cloth , without the cloth \" . \\ndespite the vast differences in opinion regarding a \" supreme being \" , ellie and palmer hit it off , and even take the time to sleep together . \\nit\\'s a weak and hurried relationship , but director zemeckis needs it to add to the plot later on . \\nmeanwhile , dr . david drumlin ( tom skerritt ) , who has authority over seti but finds the program a frivolous waste of time and money , is ready to pull the plug on any and all seti funding . \\nthis leaves the passionate ellie searching for new sponsors , eventually finding a setup in new mexico and leaving palmer with no explanation , and only a one night stand to remember . \\nit is in this nm city where , several months later , ellie finally picks up on a strong signal from outer space , perhaps the most profound discovery in the history of science . \\nwhen the signal is closely examined , many new developments spring up , and before long , drumlin is stepping in to take over the operation he once scoffed at . \\neventually , it is concluded that information in the signal may be blueprints for a transportation device used to teleport an earthling to vega ( where the signal seems to have originated ) . \\nthe media swarms , fanatics go further off the deep end , scientists clamor for new information , politicians huddle in discussion of appropriate actions to take , and presidents are morphed into a celluloid reality ( remember when zemeckis couldn\\'t get enough of this in forrest gump ? ) . \\nas if that weren\\'t enough , ellie\\'s discovery leads her to the nation\\'s capital where she again runs into palmer . \\ncontact is based on the novel by carl sagan and deals heavily with the subject of science vs . religion . \\nthe impressive thing is how well both aspects are presented , with no signs of bias . \\narguments for both sides are intelligent , solid , and thought-provoking . \\nwhen palmer joins a selection committee to choose an ambassador to vega ( of which ellie is a leading candidate ) , personal convictions play a more important role than love interests . \\nthe question is , can a person who doesn\\'t believe in god truly be the best representative of earth when 90% of the planet * does * believe in a higher power ? \\neven when the film wraps up , it\\'s uncertain whether it\\'s meant to play as an advocate for religion , science , both , or even neither , and in our modern day society where \" right and wrong \" is only opinion ( at least speaking \" politically correctly \" ) , the ambiguity is an incentive . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong . \\nas much as it sounds like it , contact isn\\'t merely a theology class rolled into a reel of film . \\nit\\'s a * highly * enjoyable two and a half hours . \\ndespite its seemingly heavy issues , it\\'s not a tedious undertaking to watch this film . \\nthe special effects are outstanding , though ( warning ! ) \\nhighly depreciated on the small screen . \\neven so , some of the subtle visual effects ( that will likely go unnoticed by many ) are even more impressive than ones more recognizable as \" sci-fi \" . \\nthe storytelling is rich and complete , and although there are moments in the film that feel quite pretentious ( and at times , even hokey ) , it\\'s easily one of the best 1997 films , and one of the best sci-fi films i\\'ve ever seen . \\nthis is zemeckis\\' best since back to the future , and for those of us who actually know that forrest gump was astronomically overrated , zemeckis now has real reason to boast . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'robin hood : men in tights is another mel-brooks-produced film in the classic tradition of movies like blazing saddles and young frankenstein . \\nmel brooks is well known for his comic look at regular life , his fast paced dialogue and sharp wit . \\nunfortunately , robin hood : men in tights has none of the easy going humor of blazing saddles , none of the fun acting of young frankenstein , is devoid of the charm of spaceballs , and is even lacking the good , solid dialogue of history of the world . \\nit is , in short , one of the worst movies i have seen mel brooks , or anybody else , produce . \\nthe plot borrows heavily from the well-received kevin costner movie of last year , robin hood : prince of thieves . \\nthis is not surprising in and of itself , and could have been used to great comic effect , mainly by parodying scenes from the orginal movie . \\nmel brooks does not take advantage of this , however , and uses the film to launch several ideas into the air , none of which connect and none of which are explained later on . \\nthe movie\\'s scenes could be shuffled around in any order and one would be hard pressed to notice . \\ncary elwes , of princess bride fame , plays robin of loxley , a man who was captured in the crusades , fighting with king richard . \\nhe escapes and , joining with a man named achoo ( i am sure you can see the obvious joke ) , fights in england to reclaim his name and the throne for richard , which has been captured by evil prince john , played by funny comic richard lewis . \\nhe also tries for the love of maid marian and attempts to overthrow the evil \" sheriff of rottingham \" . \\na good adventure plot that is sadly unused . \\nelwes and lewis are both excellent comics , but the dialogue in the movie is simply excruciating . \\nneither actor has any good words to work with , and the lines simply aren\\'t funny , nor believable . \\nperhaps the worst example of this is when the group of merry men encounter a man playing a macaulay culkin clone from the hit movie home alone . \\nthis particular scene is so out of place and so badly acted , and followed by so many other scenes of equal miserable ideas , that i really felt like leaving the theatre . \\nmuch of the audience continued to look at their watches throughout , and some left the theatre . \\nchuckles were few and far between , and they mostly dealt with visual jokes ( such as an old , beaten up horse from \" rent-a-wreck \" ) then from any dialogue whatsoever . \\nscenes that could have been classics , such as the archery contest , are ruined by poor acting . \\nperhaps the largest problem with the movie is that it is simply offensive . \\nthe basic plot , that robin has received a key that will unlock the chastity belt of maid marian , is not witty nor funny . \\nmel brooks as a circumcision-giving rabbi is also offensive to me and others in the audience ( not all jewish , either ) . \\nthe movie simply tries to hard trying to be funny and by and large fails . \\nthe addition of a blind man who stumbles around , falling off cliffs , walking into ledges and being a general buffoon could have had some humorous potential , but is also made terribly offensive . \\nthe only reason to see this movie is the surprise actor at the end who plays king richard . \\nhe is well worth waiting for , if you can stand an hour and half of unfunny dialogue , excruciating visual humor , old puns , ancient jokes and bad acting . \\nif you can\\'t , don\\'t even bother watching this miserable film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the second serial-killer thriller of the month is just awful . \\noh , it starts deceptively okay , with a handful of intriguing characters and some solid location work . \\nafter a baby-sitter gets gutted in the suit- ably spooky someone's-in-the-house prologue , parallel stories unfold , the first involving a texas sheriff ( r . lee emery ) , a gruesome double murder , and the arrival of a morose fbi agent ( dennis quaid ) on the eve of voting for the local lawman's reelection . \\nthe second pairs a hitch- hiker ( jared leto ) with a friendly former railroad worker ( danny glover ) . \\nthey're headed west , toward the rockies and away from the murder scene . \\nwhich one is the killer ? \\nwell , it doesn't really matter , 'cause when writer/first-time director jeb stuart ( die hard ) finally spills the beans , you won't take his choice seriously anyway . \\nthe whole thing goes south about an hour in , with the tale taking hairpin turns that i certainly couldn't follow . \\nand through the whole thing there's quaid , playing with the most intense monotony this side of steven sea- gal . \\ni guess i'm glad that i didn't walk out-- there's some nice train stuff at the end and a fun nod to dr . \\nstrangelove . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'topless women talk about their lives falls into that category that i mentioned in the devil\\'s advocate : movies that have a brilliant beginning but don\\'t know how to end . \\nit begins by introducing us to a selection of characters who all know each other . \\nthere is liz , who oversleeps and so is running late for her appointment , prue who is getting married , geoff , liz\\'s boyfriend , neil , her previous boyfriend , ant who has written a screenplay . \\nfor the first hour , we get to know these people through everyday activities , as they talk on the phone , go out to dinner , hang clothes on the line . \\nthe interactions seem so truthful and guileless that it is almost as if the film-makers hid cameras around the place and filmed these people unbeknownst to them . \\nat times , the events border on the ridiculous , like the screening of the film , but they still seem in keeping with the characters and their lives . \\nthis doesn\\'t sound like a brilliant premise for a film - \" we just follow a lot of people around who are vaguely related \" - but it\\'s the execution of the idea that makes topless women talk about their lives so engrossing . \\nunfortunately this level of honesty isn\\'t maintained . \\nwith about half an hour to go , a sense of impending doom invades topless women talk about their lives and from there is descends into melodrama . \\nsuch a disappointment after such a brilliant start . \\nthe actors are all quite good with ms . danielle cormack as liz being particularly impressive . \\nthe energy of her character is palpable and is a major reason the movie is so watchable . \\na lot of the performances are a bit rough around the edges but this suits totally the documentary feel of the film . \\nit seems like these are real people we are watching rather than actors playing roles . \\nthat is why the melodramatic turn of events comes as such a shock . \\nup till that point , i was transported to this world where these real but mildly insane events were taking place . \\nwhile the final half hour is not beyond the realms of possibility , it\\'s unlikely in a way that is jarring to someone caught up in the world of the film . \\nnot just the events , but also the tone of some of the end is wrong , clashing strongly with the sense of fun that has preceded it . \\nthis is not to say that topless women talk about their lives is not a good film . \\nas stated above , the first hour is superb and even the end is above average . \\nit just takes a turn which means that an otherwise brilliant movie loses some of its gloss . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'stephen , please post if appropriate . \\n \" mafia ! \" - crime isn\\'t a funny business by homer yen ( c ) 1998 \\non a particular night when i found myself having some free time , i had a chance to either go to sleep early or to see \" mafia ! \" , a spoof of mafia and crime films such as \" the godfather , \" \" goodfellas \" and \" casino \" . \\nat 84 minutes in length , i thought that i could enjoy a few laughs before getting a good nights sleep . \\nbut by my account , i think that my laff-o-meter only registered a few grins , one giggle , and maybe one chortle . \\ni suppose that you could justify your time as homage to the venerable hollywood star , lloyd bridges , who just recently passed away and whose last performance was in this film . \\n \" mafia ! \" \\nchronicles vincenzo cortino\\'s ( lloyd bridges ) life . \\nseparated from his family when he was young , he escapes to america and tries to live an honest life . \\nbut as fate would have it , vincenzo grows up to be a powerful and klutzy crime lord . \\nfollowing in his footsteps are his two sons , joey ( billy burke ) and anthony ( jay mohr ) . \\nlike all siblings in powerful crime families , they squabble over power , the future of the family , fortune , and women . \\n \" mafia ! \" is co-written by jim abrahams , who also contributed to some gut-busting funny spoofs such as \" airplane \" and \" the naked gun . \" \\nbut these previous movies were funny because the jokes seemed more universally understood and there was more of a manic silliness at work . \\nas i write this , i also wonder how many people have actually seen the movies on which this spoof is based . \\ncrime movies in general contain a lot of profanity and violence . \\nit\\'s a tough genre to parody . \\ni was kind of hoping that they could somehow spoof the profanity used in all of those crime movies , maybe by having all of the tough crime lords say \" please \" as they decide which sector to take over , but this opportunity was never explored . \\nthere were one or two moments that made me smile such as the scene where vincenzo is dancing with his newly wed daughter-in-law . \\na gunman shoots him several times . \\nthe impact of the bullets cause him to make these wild contortions that force the wedding band to change music styles to keep up with him , from the samba to disco to the macarena . \\ni think that i just gave away the best part of the film . \\noh well , that just means that you can go to sleep a little earlier . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'where do i begin ? \\nokay , how about with this : starship troopers is one of the worst movies to hit theaters in a long time . \\nin fact , it might even be the worst * major * release film to come out in years . . . \\nor even a decade . \\nthis is bad beyond belief . \\ni would * not * suggest paying money to see this . \\nthere\\'s a good chance you\\'ll regret it . \\nif you see it for free , you could still want to walk out . \\ngo right ahead . \\nthe movie starts off with cheesy 90210 scenes set in the future world of . . . buenos aires . \\nhere we meet the group of horrendously bad actors and actresses playing obnoxious , easy-to- * despise * -with-a-passion characters that have love triangles , love rectangles , and love hexagons screwing up their life . \\nbefore long they all go off and join the military , primarily in the interest of having sex with the other youngsters that joined . \\nthey train . \\nthey strut around nude for no reason whatsoever . \\nafter an hour of making the audience scream in agony , they start fighting bugs . \\nthe big bugs look nice , even though their design is only \" okay . \" \\nunfortunately , the fights are boring since we * want * all of the characters dead anyway . \\ncue more agony . \\nthen some characters have sex . \\nthen some more die . \\n * * * who cares ? ? ? * * * \\ncue more agony . \\nthe movie ends , the audience runs out to their cars , vomits over the pavement , and attempts to drive home . \\nunfortunately , after that torture , they can\\'t think straight , don\\'t pay attention to the road , and many are in ugly car wrecks . \\nyou remember how batman & robin was bad ? \\nwell , batman & robin kicked this movie\\'s sorry butt , people . \\nstarship troopers does not succeed as an action movie . \\nit does not succeed as a drama . \\nit does not succeed as a war movie . \\nit does not succeed as a comedy . \\nit does not succeed as a satire . \\nit does not succeed as a parody . \\nit succeeds as being horrible . \\nterrible . \\ngut-wrenchingly bad . \\ni wanted to run away from that movie every minute . \\nbut i paid my money and i owed it to others to see if the movie got any better . \\nso i stayed . \\nit never got better . \\nfrequently , it did the impossible , and got * worse * . \\nthe movie as written , acted , directed , and basically just feels as a whole like it\\'s about on the mental maturity level of a free willy 4 . the whole thing feels like a movie that only three-year-olds could enjoy . . . \\nexcept for the ridiculously gratuitous blood and gore , and pointless nudity . \\nit\\'s written for little children , but children should definitely * not * go anywhere near it . \\nof course , i recommend the same for everyone . \\ndon\\'t go anywhere near it . \\nverhoeven\\'s got a streak going now . \\nhis last movie was showgirls . \\nhe seems to be trying to see how bad his movies can get before people finally stop coming . \\nshowgirls was a failure , but it appears that , though it\\'ll be lucky to make near its budget , this movie will still do okay gross-wise . \\nis it really * all * bad ? \\nwell , no . \\ntroopers has about four or five lines of dialouge/short humorous scenes that are actually funny , mostly from the \" do you want to know more ? \" \\ncommercials that pop up throughout the story , promoting the joys of the joining the troopers . \\nso that adds up to about 30 seconds of entertainment and still about one hour , 59 minutes , and 30 seconds of miserable torture . \\ni\\'m totally confused as to the way that some people are really enjoying this movie . \\nbut i do admit it . \\nso , if you\\'re willing to possibly put yourself through torture , go ahead and see it , and decide for yourself if you love it or hate it . \\ni don\\'t know how anyone or any * thing * could love this movie , but hey , to each his own . \\nfeel free to give it a shot . \\nof course , in the interest of saving your souls , i don\\'t recommend it . \\nbut guess what ? \\nalien resurrection comes out november 26th , and , having already seen some of it and having read the script , i assure you that it will blow pretty much everyone away . \\nthough opinion on starship troopers is reasonably split , it\\'ll be difficult to find someone that * won\\'t * like alien resurrection when they\\'ve seen it . \\nthis is possibly the year\\'s best intense action film , or at least * one * of the best . \\nif you really want to see alien warfare that\\'s played out intelligently and seriously , see alien resurrection . \\nplease , avoid this . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i am starting to write this review before going to see strawberry and chocolate , cuba\\'s oscar nominee for best foreign film , directed by tomas gutierrez alea ( who also directed the sometimes and in some circles critically acclaimed memorias del subdesarrollo-- \" memories of underdevelopment \" . \\ni saw memorias as part of a cuban cinema class back in the late \\'70s ; it merged the politics of the cuban revolution with mundane elements of the human condition . \\ni knew then that memorias was probably a state-sanctioned political missive , and now expect strawberry will follow suit . \\nfellow internetters , primarily in the newsgroup dedicated to cuba ( soc . culture . cuba ) , have mentioned that strawberry is a harsh criticism of the revolution and its current state of affairs . \\ni have jumped to the conclusion that strawberry is nothing more than a veiled attempt at espousing the party line--it probably looks like political criticism , but it ain\\'t so . \\nhaving some first hand and extensive anecdotal knowledge of castro\\'s repressiveness , i can\\'t conceive of his tolerating honest and adversarial criticism of the revolution , and i can\\'t imagine his letting anyone even suggest his failure as a leader of a failed movement . \\nas kids say these days , duh ! , the revolution\\'s current state needs no criticism ; its physical and spiritual crumbling is self evident . \\nthe proper questions to put relate to castro\\'s legitimacy . \\ni bet the film takes castro\\'s power for granted , and that this or any other movie , produced under cuba\\'s state control , cannot question his right to run cuba\\'s political show ( ongoing now for more than 36 years ) . \\nthat\\'s why i just can\\'t believe strawberry is an honest criticism of the regime . \\nlet\\'s see what happens after the room goes dark and the screen lights up . \\ni saw the film--twice . \\ni was right ; castro remained intact . \\nstrawberry negotiates the relationship between a young \" dialectic materialist , \" as he describes himself , and a homosexual photographer ( diego ) in 1979 cuba . \\nthe young man ( david ) is the son of peasants ; a symbol of the revolution\\'s reason for being . \\ngrateful to the revolution for the opportunity to receive a university education , he studies political science instead of literature , his avocation , because he perceives it is his duty . \\ntherein lies a likely unintended irony , since cuba has no need for political theoreticians . \\ncuba\\'s government is castro . \\ndiego\\'s lifestyle is the antithesis of revolutionary life . \\nhe enjoys the finer things--tea , opera , art . \\nhe does not do \" voluntary work \" for the revolution . \\nhis small apartment is a sensual oasis . \\nthe moniker \" bourgeois \" figuratively hangs over his head during the early parts of the movie . \\nhowever , he is a \" revolucionario \" in his own way . \\nthe supporting roles are filled by : an aging busybody with a heart of gold and a troubled psyche ; david\\'s roommate , who rally takes the communist party line to its expected extreme ; david\\'s ex-girlfriend , who dumped him for another guy , yet wants to bed him before she leaves for italy with her husband ; german , a gay sculptor whose work diego is attempting to exhibit , and who strikes a faustian pact with the government . \\ngutierrez alea and co-director juan carlos tabio do a fine job at almost showing that homosexuals can be revolutionaries too . \\nheck , towards the end of the film you begin to think the guy deserves a medal for his patriotic fervor . \\nhe really loves the revolution ( as supposedly does everybody else in cuba ) and wants to make it better by exposing and correcting some of its flaws . \\nreal criticism is missing though . \\nthis movie is political window dressing . \\nluis aguilar leon\\'s op . \\ned . \\npiece on fresa in the miami herald ( 10 march 1995 , at 21a ) did not color my judgment ; it presaged my intuition . \\naguilar leon expressed my sentiment about this film\\'s political angle best : like many artistic manifestations in cuba , strawberry and chocolate sprang from a totally manipulated environment . \\nas art critic ivan de la nuez well states in the latest issue of the magazine postmodern notes , the silenced artists are those who refuse to accept \" the charade in which artists can provoke up to a point , while the institutions legitimize themselves by forbidding them to go beyond that point . \" \\nalthough terrible propaganda , this is otherwise a fine film . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"another 'independent film' , this comedy , which was brought by miramax for $5 million , is good fun . \\nfavreau and vaughn ( the lost world : jurassic park , 1997 ) play mike and trent , two everyday 20somethings on the lookout for women . \\nthe film just basically follows their plight on the lookout for lurve , and along the way we get to meet some of their friends , see their attempts at chatting up girls , and just basically get a insight into their lives . \\nand all of this is great fun . \\nswingers doesn't rely on huge special effects , or big name stars to provide entertainment . \\nno , it just has a great script and superb little known actors . \\nthe script , by favreau , is great . \\nmike is always missing is girlfriend , who hasn't called him for six months , and every time he meets a girl , he always end up telling her about the ex . \\nthe audience feels for this pathetic little man , thanks to the great script . \\nvaughn is 'the money' ( swingers speak for 'the best' ) as the womanizing trent , always on the lookout for a new girl . \\nsome of his chat-up lines are awful , but he always seems to get the girl thanks to his 'hard man' nature . \\nvaughns character also gets the best laugh in the film , towards the end in a diner . \\nthe conversations that go on between mike and trent are great , but it never quite reaches tarantino standards ( which i suspect the film was trying to reach . ) \\nthere are some excellent , laugh out loud jokes in the film , and some superbly funny set pieces ( such as favreau cringe-worhy battle with a answer machine that always cut him off before he finishes his sentence . \\nembarrassing to him , hilarious to the audience . ) \\nmike & trents friends are also good , although there characters seem a bit underwritten , and we never really learn as much as we would like about them . \\nalthough this is primarily mike and trents film , it would of been nice to learn a bit more about their friends . \\nthey just seem to wander aimlessly in the background . \\nbut again , the lines they say are usually pretty good , and they do have some funny parts . \\nit's just a shame that they didn't have more meatier roles . \\nthe acting is superb . \\nas said above , vaughn is superb as trent , he's definitely the best thing in the film . \\nfavreau is also good , acting as 'the little man' very well , and the way he always feels sorry for himself is very funny . \\ngraham ( boogie nights , 1997 ) has a small but good role as lorraine , a girl mike finally falls in love with . \\nshe hardly features in the film at all , but she still manages to make an impact on the audience . \\nswingers , then , is funny , but it does have some flaws . \\nfirstly , the running time is a bit too short . \\nthe film comes to an abrupt halt , and i actually wanted the film to carry on longer . \\nit never really comes to a satisfying conclusion , which is a shame , as most films are too long ! \\nalso , this type of film has been done too many times , such as sleep with me ( 1994 ) . \\nbut these small flaws don't really spoil what is a funny , entertaining comedy . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'in one of my many videos i have attained from the local library , casablanca was my third classic in some weeks . \\nthe others being citizen kane and vertigo ( yes , i am trying to see as many of afi\\'s greatest movies ever made as i can ) . \\nbut , casablanca stood out from the rest for me : it was actually watchable . \\nwhat most hail as the greatest american film ever , casablanca isn\\'t so much a love story as a political frenzy with a love triangle thrown in . \\nit seems that star humphry bogart spend about 85 percent of the movie with various leaders of the nation instead of with ingred bergman . \\nthat annoyed me , as did the ending . \\nwhy didn\\'t the plan turn around ? ! ? \\nsurprisingly , i enjoyed the film . \\ni liked bogart\\'s character and his acting ( not over the top as most actors in his era ) . \\ni once read about if you had a choice to be in a movie , which one would it be , and a women said casablanca . \\nat first i was thinking to myself \" why ? \" \\nthen , as i watched the film again , i understood why . \\nthe movie is very well done and the script top-notch , although i doubt i understood more than half of the political mumbo jumbo . \\ncasablanca is , in my mind , no classic ( like solaris ) , but it is a good film and stylishly shot . \\nhey , hollywood , how about this : a remake with harrison ford and anne heche ? \\nnow that would be a classic . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"here's a rarity : a children's film that attempts to tackle a weighty subject , is there a god ? \\ndone well , it could have been a gem among the wasteland of modern children's cinema . \\nunfortunately , it isn't . \\nwith jumbled messages , and an unclear audience , wide awake was better left asleep . \\nfifth grader joshua beal ( joseph cross ) is in the middle of a moral crisis . \\nhis beloved grandfather ( robert loggia ) has died , and joshua has begun a quest . \\nhe wants to find god , to discover why bad things happen . \\nthis religious quest is slightly disturbing for his parents ( dana delany and denis leary ) , but they do their best to cope with their son as he explores different religious faiths . \\nat his catholic school , his favorite teacher , sister terry ( rosie o'donnell ) , tries to give him guidance , but this is a journey he must make on his own . \\nmeanwhile , he is having the most momentous year of his life . \\nhe has several adventures with his daredevil best friend dave ( timothy reifsnyder ) , he gets his first crush , and begins to wake up to the world around him while he is on his spiritual journey . \\nit is somewhat confusing as to what the real audience for wide awake is expected to be . \\non its surface , it appears to be a kid's film . \\nhowever , it deals with serious issues , and is likely to be boring for today's instant-gratification kids . \\nand while it might seem heartening to see that someone is trying to produce something thoughtful for the kidvid audience , wide awake asks serious questions , but only delivers a cheap gimmick for an answer . \\nif there were a bit more meat in the story , adults on a nostalgic bent might get a kick out of the movie . \\nthe actors who might have created a great cast ( o'donnell , leary and delany ) are wasted in roles that amount to little more than cameos . \\nthe nostalgic elements ( best friend , favorite teacher , first crush , etc . ) have been done much better in other movies , and actually seem more like filler here . \\nthe film's strongest scenes are some touching flashbacks depicting joshua's relationship with his grandfather . \\nthey show more depth than is present anywhere else in the movie . \\nmaybe the film would have been better if , instead of playing the relationship through flashbacks , it were set entirely during joshua's last year with his grandpa . \\nit certainly would have been more entertaining . \\nwide awake can best be described as a failed experiment . \\nit starts out with noble aspirations , but never delivers on its promise . \\nparents who do take their children to see this one ought to be prepared to answer some tough questions . . . that is if their kids aren't bored to death first . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'in zoolander , the world\\'s most successful , influential and intellectually-challenged male model derek zoolander wonders , \" is there more to life than being really really really good looking ? \" \\nobviously , the film\\'s creator and star ben stiller asked a similar question when crafting a feature-length movie out of his hilarious vh1/vogue fashion awards short-film subject : can there be more to this film than being really really really silly ? \\nno , of course not , and it never aspires to be anything more . \\nmuch like derek , zoolander is a sweet simpleton of a movie . \\nit\\'s not complex in either its social commentary or its comedy , and it never produces any gut-busting laughs ( except maybe a scene when derek\\'s model roommates all die in a tragic \" gasoline fight \" accident -- a riotously funny take-off of tommy hilfiger ads ) . \\nbut it has a satisfying handful of strong chuckles , wild characters and performances , and mildly harsh potshots at the fashion industry to keep you amused . \\nbetter yet , this exaggerated version of the original three-minute skit is only blown out to an efficient 95 minutes -- just enough time to string together its goofball plot without exhausting the gag . \\nzoolander opens with several fashion bigwigs plotting to assassinate the prime minister of malaysia , since he wants to abolish child labor in his country and thus driving up their costs . \\nfashion designer and criminal mastermind jacobim mugatu ( will ferrell ) drafts a plan to brainwash the dumbest fashion model to carry out the evil deed . \\nenter derek , whose career is slumping as newcomer hansel ( owen wilson ) takes the spotlight . \\non the trail of mugatu\\'s plot is time magazine reporter matilda jeffries ( stiller\\'s real-life wife christine taylor ) , and she\\'s hoping to use mugatu\\'s pawn derek to ultimately foil the scheme . \\nmuch like the austin powers films , zoolander relies heavily on the strength of the talent involved , and this zany comedy features some of the funniest people in entertainment today . \\nwilson is hysterical as the young , vain hansel . \\nferrell nearly steals the show from everyone as the flamboyant , freakish mugatu in the same way dr . evil upstages everyone in austin powers . \\njerry stiller -- ben\\'s dad who\\'s best remembered as frank costanza of seinfeld -- makes a priceless turn as derek\\'s slimy agent maury ballstein . \\neven ben stiller show alum andy dick shows up as a deranged , large-assed masseuse . \\nas for ben stiller , it seems his derek has one gag : he\\'s stupid , which plays out in some uproarious one-liners . \\nunfortunately , taylor seems out of place and out of her league here . \\nmaybe it\\'s just because i can\\'t stop seeing her as marcia brady ( who she played in both brady movies ) , making her unbelievable as a dowdy , brainy plain jane who hasn\\'t had sex in two years . \\nshe leaves me pining for the cynicism of janeane garofolo , who would\\'ve added real comic substance to the flimsy role . \\nwhile zoolander is hardly highbrow , its screwball humor is welcome during these trying times , especially considering the gross lack of decent pickings in the theaters these days . \\nzoolander\\'s no masterpiece , but a very worthy distraction . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it seemed like the perfect concept . \\nwhat better for the farrelly brothers , famous for writing and directing comedies with offensive subject matter , than to make a movie about a guy with a split personality ? \\nit\\'s exactly the sort of thing the brothers relish : poking fun at something serious ( in this case mental illness ) , throwing all care to the wind to get a laugh . \\njim carrey\\'s signed on too ? \\neven better . \\nthe national alliance for the mentally ill even helped out by levying complaints against the brothers\\' new film before its opening , claiming it was misrepresenting the condition of split personality , labeling it incorrectly as \" schizophrenia , \" and so forth . \\nsuch a protest seemed like just the sort of thing that would , of course , only add more fuel to the farrelly brothers\\' fire , proving that some people just couldn\\'t take a joke , and that the farrellys would be helping the more enlightened viewers to yet another dose of their brilliantly subversive comedy . \\nyes , it all seemed perfect , but one thing went wrong : their movie isn\\'t funny . \\nit\\'s not for lack of trying . \\nthe farrellys utilize in \" me , myself & irene \" their most high-concept premise ever : carrey plays charlie baileygaites , a man who after being dumped by his wife for a midget limo driver , decides to bury all his aggressive feelings deep down inside and never release them . \\nthis , of course , means all his neighbors exploit his entirely too-forgiving nature , making his job as a rhode island state trooper increasingly difficult . \\nsoon enough , charlie\\'s repressed aggression manifests itself into a second , independent personality named hank , a deep-voiced , boorish ogre unafraid of taking the assertive actions his predecessor had been unable to muster . \\nthis guy isn\\'t above crashing a car through the wall of the barber shop in which he\\'s been insulted , or holding a little girl\\'s head underwater because she refused to stop jump-roping in the street . \\nthen things start getting lost in the most complicated plot the farrellys have ever attempted , and the film runs off its tracks . \\nsome have suggested that this isn\\'t a problem , because the farrelly brothers\\' brand of humor doesn\\'t require plot to work . \\nthey\\'re wrong , of course : plot was greatly instrumental in building up the kind of rollicking comic energy that infused the farrellys\\' last effort , 1996\\'s \" there\\'s something about mary . \" \\n ( 1999\\'s \" outside providence \" was technically an earlier project . ) \\nthe brothers\\' earlier film wasn\\'t funny merely because it contained outrageous gags ( despite what some newsmagazine articles would have you believe ) , but rather because its most outrageous gags were entirely unexpected . \\nin \" mary , \" the farrellys managed several times to pull off a neat sleight-of-hand trick : they\\'d have you thinking the story was going one way , then reveal its real direction in delightfully surprising fashion . \\n \" me , myself & irene , \" by contrast , seems to have been made by folks who looked at \" mary \" and saw only the surface grossness , missing all of the subtle machinations that really made it work . \\nhaving been produced by the same guys who made \" mary , \" \" irene \" seems like an even bigger disappointment . \\nthe brothers pile on the offensive humor , taking shots at race , midgets , albinos , mental illness , and all manner of bathroom jokes . \\nbut they haven\\'t come up with a way to make any of it fresh most of \" me , myself & irene \" comes off as rote , by-the-numbers , adolescent comedy . \\nthe plot , with carrey forced to drive alleged fugitive irene p . waters ( renee zellweger ) , who\\'s in more trouble than anyone knows , back to new york , has an ending that\\'s entirely predictable from the get-go . \\n ( think charlie and irene will fall in love ? \\nyeah , me too . ) \\nthe farrellys then introduce scores of different characters , and none of them ever manage to do anything you haven\\'t already expected them to do , no matter how outrageous their actions might be . \\ncompared to the curveballs the farrellys are used to throwing , this stuff is almost entirely soft-tossed , presenting an obvious problem : when gross-out humor loses its shock value , it\\'s no longer funny , merely gross . \\nthe jokes that do work are milked over and over until their effectiveness runs dry . \\ntake , for example , the subplot involving charlie\\'s three black sons ( anthony anderson , mongo brownlee , jerod mixon ) . \\nthe incongruity of it all is funny for a while , with three burly black men discussing higher math in ghetto language and white-bread carrey mouthing said language with an entirely too-pleasant smile on his face . \\nbut by the end of the film , they\\'re still doing the same schitck it hasn\\'t been elevated to another , funnier level , and it hasn\\'t been dropped either . \\nthat\\'s too bad , because it ceases to be amusing about halfway through . \\n \" me , myself & irene \" reeks of wasted opportunities . \\nthere ought to be more focus on how other people react to charlie\\'s new personality , and on how charlie deals with the consequences of hank\\'s actions . \\nthis doesn\\'t really happen nearly every supporting character learns about charlie\\'s condition early on , so they don\\'t have any opportunity to be surprised by it . \\nthe film throws what looks like a patented farrelly curve in a scene towards the midway point ( involving an albino companion charlie and irene pick up called , appropriately , \" whitey \" ) , but the script doesn\\'t go anywhere with it , instead leaving the thread twisting in the wind before awkwardly tying it up during the climax . \\njim carrey is a gifted comedian , both physically and vocally , but he\\'s left with nothing much to do here except contort himself in a manner similar to steve martin in \" all of me . \" \\nit\\'s a great showcase of flexibility and split-second role-shifting , but none of it is terribly funny . \\ncarrey doesn\\'t pull any stunts we don\\'t expect him to pull , and the farrellys\\' script doesn\\'t give him anything else to pull : the situations in which he must perform the role-shifting aren\\'t set up in any meaningful way . \\nperhaps carrey can take solace in the fact that his supporting actors fare no better . \\nzellweger\\'s irene is not a strong female lead mary in \" mary \" may have been part adolescent fantasy , but she was also intelligent and strong-willed . \\nirene is nothing in particular , as the film never makes clear whether she\\'s ditzy , clever , or neither . \\nas such , she gives us nothing to latch onto as the only \" sane \" person in the film . \\nchris cooper is stuck playing exactly one note as a corrupt fbi agent , and his character is entirely too straight-laced for a movie like this . \\nhe , like the others , does absolutely nothing unexpected . \\nafter viewing the shapeless mess that \" me , myself & irene \" eventually dissolved into , i was stuck wondering whether or not the farrellys had outsmarted themselves . \\nmaybe their kind of comedy can only work for so long until audiences get wise to it and stop being shocked . \\nbut i don\\'t believe it -- good filmmakers find ways of surprising their audiences even after people have grown attuned to their style . \\nif the farrellys are indeed good , smart filmmakers ( and i still think they are ) , they\\'ll rebound just fine . \\neven after that happens , though , i\\'ll still consider \" me , myself & irene \" to be a high-caliber misfire . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : a novelist struggling with his latest work buys a weird brain with a protruding eyeball encased in a jar . \\nthe brain exerts its evil influence upon the novelist and his secretary , while his wife disapproves . \\nmeanwhile , a loan shark in need of a shave tries to leave his profession . \\ncomments : why is this movie called possessed by the night ? \\nit\\'s hard to speculate . \\nmost of this film takes place during the day , and the only thing possessing anyone is an icky , pulsating , bubbling brain thingie in a jar . \\nin case you haven\\'t picked up on this yet , possessed by the night is a bottom-of-the-barrel \" thriller \" ( i use the term \" thriller \" loosely here ) which is really cheap and bad . \\nthe plot , which sounds like a cheesy pulp science fiction story from the 1950s , actually serves one purpose : to exploit nude women as often as possible . \\nwriting a movie review for a film like this proves oddly challenging . \\nthere\\'s really not much to say . \\nthe acting is lousy ; although , occasionally , the attempts at acting are so absurd that they garner a chuckle or two from the audience . \\nmost humorous is frank sivero , who plays murray , the novelist\\'s agent . \\nhe is so horrible in this role that one can\\'t help but be amused . \\nthe plot sucks . \\nnearly half the film is devoted to a loser loan shark who wants out of the profession , even though he has only limited relevance to the movie as a whole . \\nthe dialogue stinks . \\na loan shark , for instance , tells another how much he loves bimbos , which is something the audience really doesn\\'t need to know . \\neverything about possessed by the night is second rate , even the film credits . \\nas the names of the not-so-talented film crew scrolled by at the end , joseph scales came up , credited as being \" assistsant to foley artist . \" \\nsomeone could have used an editor ! \\nto be honest , the film is basically an excuse to flash frontal nudity and show some sex scenes . \\nplayboy playmate shannon tweed , after all , is the star here . \\ni suppose that if one wanted this sort of thing , he would like this movie . \\nwhy did i give this turkey two stars and not one ? \\nas a bad movie , it is unintentionally funny enough to keep someone passingly interested in the film . \\nif you feel possessed to see possessed by the night , however , i\\'d recommend you exorcise this impulse and watch something else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" payback , \" brian helgeland\\'s inauspicious directing debut ( coincidentally , he previously penned the award-winning screenplay for 1997\\'s \" l . a . confidential \" ) , is a wildly uneven and thoroughly unpleasant revenge thriller that takes one idea---a movie with non-stop violence , death , and villains---and runs with it , or should i say , barely manages to crawl away with it . \\nmel gibson , in yet another disappointing picture ( \" conspiracy theory \" and \" lethal weapon 4 , \" anyone ? ) , stars as the reprehensible villain/hero , porter , a man who becomes determined to get his 50% share of $140 , 000 , which he stole in a robbery , back when his partner-in-crime ( gregg henry ) and drug-addicted wife ( deborah kara unger ) double-cross him , shoot him , and leave him for dead . \\nporter is not dead , however---not by a long shot---as he quickly rehabilitates and , along with his loyal prositute girlfriend , rosie ( maria bello ) , sets out to make everyone involved in the scam pay . \\nthe tagline for \" payback \" is , \" get ready to root for the bad guy , \" and sure enough , this is true , as pretty much every significant character who appears is crooked in some way . \\ni wouldn\\'t have a problem with this offbeat detail if the painfully thin story had been of any interest , but it wasn\\'t , and therefore , i found myself having an especially laborious time investing myself into a wide array of character that have absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever . \\nno attempt is made to flesh the roles into three-dimensional characters , and there are no vacant signs that anyone has any sort of humanity in them . \\njust because the protagonist , a \" bad guy , \" is played by mel gibson doesn\\'t mean i will \" root for him , \" and i didn\\'t . \\nquite the contrary , every person in the movie deserved to die a gory death ( although some of them did , anyway , just to spice up the dull proceedings ) . \\nsince none of the respectable actors in \" payback \" actually have human beings to play , only one performance managed to stand out . \\nlucy alexis liu ( of t . v . \\'s \" ally mcbeal \" ) , who plays a spicy s&m dominatrix , brightens up every scene she is in , and has a definite flair for comedy , something i would have liked to have seen more of , since most of the humor fell with a resounding splat . \\nmeanwhile , gibson , who is perfectly fine here , sleepwalks through a role that is not the least bit challenging . \\nunger , who made an impression in 1997\\'s \" the game , \" is surprisingly wasted and it is difficult to see why she took such a part since she disappears ten minutes in , and only has two purproses : ( 1 ) to get high on heroin , and ( 2 ) because she plays a key part in an early flashback . \\nfinally , kris kristofferson appears in a throwaway role during the climax , and this unnecessary plot development sticks out like a sore thumb ( tellingly , he didn\\'t appear in the original cut of the film , but was cast when extensive reshoots took place months later ) . \\nlike most action movies , the star often takes a licking but keeps on ticking . \\nin the course of the 102-minute running time of \" payback , \" porter is shot three times in the back , hit by a van , beaten up , and has his feet smashed with a sledgehammer . \\nand guess what ? \\nnot only does he survive the whole ordeal , but he is happy-go-lucky in the penultimate sequence ( and can still walk ! ) , \\neven though he looks like he had recently substituted for a punching bag . \\n \" payback \" is not , in any way , an entertaining film , even though i am sure the makers hoped it would be with all the graphic carnage that goes on , but take away that violence and what you are basically left with is a blank screen . \\nperhaps director helgeland would have been smart to consider this , so he could have at least added a few worthwhile elements , like a fresh storyline and characters whom you could even remotely stand to be around for a few hours . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"veteran actor clint eastwood has never looked as grizzled as he does in true crime , his latest directorial effort . \\nwhen steve everett ( his newest character ) gets angry at someone , he glares them down with those famous dirty harry eyes , furrows his brow and frowns like a grizzly bear who's just lost his cubs . \\neastwood has played some particularly despicable characters in his time , but everett could just take the cake . \\nhe gets my vote , at least , partly because `ev' is a drunken affair-a-week womanizer who has many relationship problems , very few of which are with his wife ( diane venora ) . \\nwhen his colleague at the oakland tribune is in an ugly car wreck and dies , everett must take over for her at a vital interview session . \\nthe interview is with frank beacham ( isaiah washington ) , a death-row inmate set to die at midnight for the murder of a pregnant convenience store clerk . \\neastwood furrows his brow . \\nas everett gradually finds information , he realizes that beacham could very well be innocent . \\nhe interviews a key witness ( michael jeter ) , who claims that he burst in the door at pocum's foods because his car had overheated , only to see beacham standing over the dead woman's body , blood on his suspenders , gun in hand . \\nbut everett protests : how could he have seen the gun , which was lowered by his side , with the potato chip rack in front of him ? \\njeter doesn't know what he's talking about . \\neastwood furrows his brow . \\ncrinkled expressions and all , clint is the centre of energy of true crime . \\nthe film is by no means a standard action/suspense yarn , but a thoughtful human story in which the characters come before the shoot-outs . \\nisaiah washington has a break-out performance as frank beacham , and scenes with him and his weary wife ( lisa gay hamilton ) are truly heartfelt moments . \\nbut the best scenes are ones that feature eastwood duking it out with those in authority over him . \\ndenis leary , as everett's editor and boss , has more than a few memorable moments of restrained anger ( you see , ev is sleeping with his wife ) . \\nbut hands down , the most enjoyable segments of the film are when james woods is on camera . \\nplaying the big boss alan mann , woods and eastwood create amusing chemistry and laugh-out-loud punchlines . \\nwhen true crime opts for a high-speed chase to the governer's house at the finale , the quality of film-making takes an abrupt nosedive . \\neastwood was so successful with colorful character portraits that he didn't need to switch lanes . \\ntrue crime is a tension-building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star . \\nthis is a road block he could have easily dismissed ( i furrow my brow ) . \\n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b\"the haunting , a film so confusing that it forgets the true meaning of a horror film : to scare us . \\nif you've ever seen a movie , which you probably have considering you are on this website , you should know about all of the trivia they post before a movie . \\nthey have things like illustrations and you have to guess the movie or facts about the film . \\nbut , the one i always like are the &quot ; other name&quot ; joke that try and rename a particular film . \\nfor instance , the one playing before the haunting had different titles for the film , small soldiers . \\nthey had titles like little infantry and can i get those fatigues in a smaller size ? \\nwell , after seeing the haunting , i had a few particular names for it as well . \\nunfortunately , i can only post one of them , otherwise , i'd be getting some pretty angry e-mails from overprotective mothers . \\nthat title would be the confusing . \\nok , that is a pretty bad title , but it fits this film perfectly . \\nit basically serves up no purpose , and combined with dry dialogue and a boring and confusing plot , it completes the formula for a cinematic bomb . \\nliam neeson once again gets wrapped up in a film without any depth , but at least the phantom menace was exciting and had some depth . \\nthe haunting is nothing but trash , but unfortunately , will still make a boatload of money . \\nbefore i rant and rave about how bad this film is , let me point out the few , and i stress the word few , bright spots in this film . \\nfirst , the house is great- looking . \\nit looks beautiful , but this is also a dark spot . \\nit looks so great that it is hard to be frightened by it . \\nthis is something that rears its ugly head at all points of the film . \\nthings look so great , that you are looking on in awe instead of being scared straight . \\nhaunted house films have to contain one element to even be slightly successful and that is being eerie . \\nthe hill house is not eerie . \\nit is beautiful , but not the least bit frightening . \\never heard of lili taylor ? \\nbefore this film i did not , but i am glad that i do now . \\nshe gives the only satisfactory performance in the film . \\ndespite the dry dialogue and boring/confusing concept , she manages to light up the screen every time she appears , but unfortunately , her co-stars are usually following right behind . \\nowen wilson , who plays luke , is the only other cast member even close to giving an admirable performance , other then taylor . \\nhe is basically there for the comic relief , and his character development is poor in all other areas . \\nall of the characters are desperately underdeveloped . \\nwilson had potential as luke , but it seems they just needed him to add a few laughs . \\nliam neeson and catherine zeta-jones suffer from the dialogue and plot and should not have been in this film . \\ntheir characters must suffer from wicked mood swings because in each scene they turn from ruthless to compassionate to scared to brave and whatnot . \\nthey just are not believable and this is the final nail in the haunting's coffin . \\nthe plot is terrible . \\nthe opening scene of the film is very important , but the director makes it too obvious by getting close-ups of all the things that will play a major role in the end of the film . \\nas i sat through the film , i kept wondering what this film was trying to accomplish . \\nnell , lili taylor's character , goes from the hunted to the savior . \\nit makes no sense and the director gives the audience no reasoning for the ridiculous changes that take place in the film . \\nhe forces the viewer to make various assumptions and does not give any in-depth information . \\nfor instance , the beginning of the film gives us a sense of why nell is getting involved in the program . \\nbut , we get zilch for the other four . \\nplus , two of them get wiped out in the first ten minutes . \\nand the worst part : most horror films have killings . \\nfor some reason , they kill off luke at the end of the film . \\nno reason whatsoever , just off with his head , literally . \\noverall , the haunting is the epitome of a bad movie . \\nbad plot , confusing storyline and a waste of good talent . \\nhopefully , liam neeson can rebound and get into a good film and be used to his full potential . \\nhopefully , lili taylor will be recognized for doing such a great job in such a bad film . \\nand hopefully , other horror films , such as the blair witch project and the haunting of hill house , will not be as bad as this one . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'this is the best british gangster film since the long good friday . \\njon bennet ( played by andrew howard ) is an extremely good assassin . \\nas such he is probably an evil man but it does not worry him . \\nhe has become an unquestioning weapon . \\nhe is in the employ of a kingpin ( david calder ) far more evil than he is . \\nbut even assassins have innocent pasts . \\nhe runs into an old from school days and he is married to a mutual girl friend from school . \\ncomplicating matters is that they live near where he had a recent job and their young daughter may have seen him at the crime . \\na big piece of what makes this film work is the depiction of the kingpin . \\ncalder is a familiar actor in britain , though not frequently seen in the us . \\nhe was seen in the world is not enough . \\nhere he creates one of the best screen villains in recent years . \\nhe is at once seductive and repellent like a beautiful venomous snake . \\nhis lair is underground , apparently in a sewer , where he lives like the king of sewer rats . \\nit is the kingpin who pulls the strings that will control bennet\\'s life . \\npaul sarossy who directs spent most of his career as a cinematographer and like the kingpin\\'s lair , he has molded images of class and style out of the darkness . \\nby using semi-darkness and letting the colors of deep blue and black dominate every scene he makes the film visually as ominous as anything in this nether world . \\nthis is a world that is cold and unfriendly . \\nsorossy creates a world of violence much more by what we hear than what we see . \\nthis is a film with a great deal of physical violence occurring just out of reach . \\nwe see very little but we hear a great deal more and we imagine more than that . \\nthe screenplay is by peter waddington based on the novel by neil cross , but it is sarossy\\'s film all the way . \\nit creates indelible images of evil . \\ni rate it an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n ( i do hope they do not use the tagline \" don\\'t mess with mr . in-between . \" ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'like a good action film should , \" metro \" has action that keeps you involved . \\nsome action films have action sequences that are so conventional , our attention is detracted and diverted by other thoughts . \\n \" the ghost in the darkness , \" which opened a few months ago , is a film that s action was so bland and uninvolving , it not only invited my thoughts to divert me , it nearly put me asleep . \\nbut \" metro \" is one of the best action films in a while . \\nit is hip , sharp , nifty , and has nice little pieces of suspense and comedy . \\neddie murphy was in bad shape for a while . \\nand this invites me to mention last year s \" the nutty professor , \" which was his blessed revival back to the position at which he used to be . \\n \" metro \" happens to be a lot better than any film in the \" beverly hills cop \" series . \\nthat is because \" metro \" takes itself seriously , but doesn t prevent itself from having a little fun . \\neddie murphy is at his best in the roles of responsible , and controlled people . \\nthe \" beverly hills cop \" movies all featured eddie as a reckless , wild cop , always crossing the line by just an inch . \\nin \" metro \" he plays a hostage negotiator , so negotiation is his job , not his hobby or his preferred way out of trouble . \\nhis character in \" metro \" takes himself seriously . \\neddie murphy s mischievous trademark grin is hardly anywhere to be found in \" metro , \" and perhaps it is quite better off that way . \\nmurphy plays scott roper , and as i previously mentioned , he is a san francisco hostage negotiator . \\nin the first tense situation in the film , we are introduced to roper s kind of work , as he tries to calm down a confused , unkempt young criminal who has taken captive the entire capacity of the san francisco bank he is holding up . \\nmurphy handles the scene seriously , without his usual happy-go-lucky , misfit humor . \\nthe film develops when its villain is established , and the villain here is the beguiling michael korda , a jewel thief , and murderer who likes to let cops know of his hostage fatalities by giving them the ear of the victim . \\n \" metro \" takes different twists and slight turns , and there is one great , virtuoso chase scene , involving the a cable car . \\ncars flip . \\ncars crash . \\ncars turn over . \\nand it is done so good in this film , i was reminded of \" speed , \" and the speeding bus that couldn t go under fifty mile per hour for very significant reasons . \\nthere are also some other good scenes in \" metro \" that a lot of films would rather choose not to have . \\nscenes like the one with roper and his new partner are at the horse track roper is a gambler who knows all the tricks and roper teaches his partner a few little methods of betting and winning . \\nof course , the writers tried to disguise the scene as being insignificant by having roper draw parallels between hostage negotiation and gambling . \\nthe scenes between roper and his girlfriend are nice , too . \\nthose are the scenes that make up \" metro , \" which is mainly about eddie murphy s maturing as a personality . \\nthe actor that i most enjoyed seeing in \" metro \" was michael rapaport , who plays roper s new partner , a lip-reading , book-skimming genius , and a master of observation . \\nit was not the actor s presence that pleased me as much as the role he was cast in the role of a proclaimed genius . \\nrapaport is an actor who i usually see in the role of the dimwit the really , really dopey dimwit . \\ni hardly recognized him in \" metro , \" and it was quite a joy to be able to see him in a role like this i feel that i respect him more . \\nthere are two main types of villains in movies like this : the ones that are part of the story , and the ones that are devices . \\nthe villain in \" metro \" is no more than a device , but he is a darn good villain nonetheless . \\nhe is played by michael wincott , whose voice is pushed out in a abraded rasp , as if he smokes a cigarette between every take . \\nwincott makes his villain , korda , as mean as could be , the classic type of villain who would push an old lady down a flight of stairs just for kicks , like richard widmark in \" kiss of death . \" \\nand , in addition , wincott s physical appearance and mannerisms , in the film , actually reminded my of an arrogant friend i use to have , who is no longer on my good list . \\ni liked \" metro , \" and i do not think would have worked with any other actor but eddie murphy . \\nhis past roles were the great ones but they were also a precursor to the maturing that would later take place , possibly from murphy s growing as a person , now having a family . \\n \" metro \" is a no-nonsense movie . \\nit works as a buddy movie , which it does not overplay . \\nit works as a dry comedy , which it does not overplay . \\nit works as a suspense film , which it does not overplay . \\nand it works as an action film , where it does have a tendency to occasionally go all-out . \\nbut who cares ? \\nit still remains serious , and it does not overdo itself . \\noh , and there were plenty of explosions in \" metro , \" as well . \\nhow nice it was of the filmmakers to give us those . \\nif there is one major objection i had to \" metro \" , it was the length , an area where a lot of action films seem to wear out their welcomes . \\n \" metro \" is a film that lasted a little too long , but it was still entertaining , and it gave me something to do while i waited for it to end . \\npaul haynes \" > \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i rented \" brokedown palace \" last night blind , having heard nothing about it beforehand , and i enjoyed it immensely despite some flaws . \\nfor anyone wishing to have the same experience i would suggest reserving judgement of the movie until viewing it in its entirety . \\nthat is no easy task . \\nsuperficially , it bears an unfortunate ( and not necessarily unintended ) resemblance to several other movies , notably \" return to paradise \" and \" midnight express . \" \\nas a result nearly every review of \" brokedown palace \" i subsequently read became hopelessly entangled in making the obvious comparisons . \\nthe consequence was nearly universal condemnation , which is a shame as this is a fine film . \\nfor those who have yet to view the movie , let me say that it is not an attempt to portray the nightmarish reality of the third world criminal justice system ( as was \" midnight express \" ) nor completely the moral dilemma and examination of the meaning of friendship and humanity that was the heart of \" return to paradise . \" \\nin my view , if this film is to be compared to any other source it would have to be joseph conrad\\'s acclaimed novel , \" lord jim . \" \\nproblematically , the basic storyline seems more than familiar : two american teenage girls on vacation are sentenced to spend most of their lives in a thai prison for drug smuggling in an obvious set-up involving a suave con-man , a shadowy criminal conspiracy and a corrupt third world \" justice \" system . \\nthe girls are alice ( claire danes ) and darlene ( kate beckinsale ) . \\nthey\\'re life-long buddies who planned a high-school graduation trip to hawaii , and then secretly changed their destination to the more exotic thailand without telling their parents . \\nonce there , they find a $6 hotel and go sight-seeing , which includes sneaking into a luxury hotel to sip expensive drinks poolside . \\nthey get caught trying to charge the bill to the wrong room , a minor transgression which will later come back to haunt them , but they are saved from hotel security by a charming , friendly australian , nick ( daniel lapaine ) , who takes care of the bill with a more polished execution of the girl\\'s scam . \\nhe then proceeds to separate the girls and make smooth moves , first toward alice , then toward darlene . \\nby now alarm bells are going off among viewers . \\nthe ever-present nick is too slick and his stories don\\'t add up ( to us ) --the girls , of course , are too naive to notice . \\nlong before it happens , we\\'re anticipating the inevitable disappearance of the fast-talking smuggler and the arrest of our teenaged sitting-ducks at the airport en route to hong kong caught holding the bag ( literally ) containing heroin . \\njust as predictably , the thai police and courts do their part in meting out injustice and our trusting tourists are prison-bound for a long stretch . \\nleft unanswered is the red herring issue of whether one or the other of the girls was a willing accomplice . \\nfor those in need of a ready answer , might i suggest closer scrutiny of the bell hop at the girl\\'s fleabag hotel . \\nas one door after another to their comfortable former life is closed , the girls and their families turn in desperation to the noiresque expatriate lawyer/fixer \" yankee hank \" ( bill pullam ) and his thai-born partner-wife . \\na recurring element of the movie is the tension between appearance and reality as expressed in one of the film\\'s tag lines , \" who do you trust ? , \" and hank is no exception although seasoned movie- goers and those familiar with pullman\\'s oeuvre will find few surprises . \\nmuch of the remainder of the movie is a smorgasbord of intriguing themes incompletely explored in short-hand fashion . \\nlou diamond phillips , for instance , plays a delightfully sinister and callous dea agent who , while appearing to be casually accommodating to hank , withholds vital information at crucial moments . \\nis he part of a wider conspiracy ? \\nwith an inherently powerful , if somewhat tired premise , the film offers by parts a riveting courtroom drama , a prison story , and a potential character study of american teens , their relationship , and what constitutes friendship between them . \\nthe result is reasonably engaging and suspenseful , with the girls\\' interaction , hank\\'s investigation , and the various trials and hearings , offering hope for their release , delivering tension--as does the foredoomed possibility of their escape . \\nif \" brokedown palace \" has a major flaw , it is its creators\\' tendency , like time-constrained tourists , to take frequent side trips down fascinating alleys only to reverse direction half-way down and return to the story\\'s main avenue . \\nand , if that were all there was to \" brokedown palace , \" it wouldn\\'t be a very good movie . \\nbut i believe the writers and director were after bigger game and , in this , they succeeded . \\nfor the main theme of the movie , like the proffered name of its location , is freedom--in all its permutations . \\nultimately , the other sub-themes may be considered window dressing . \\nyoung and pretty , alice ( danes ) is an old soul ; a wild , streetwise teenager with a thirst for freedom and adventure . \\npresented as a perfect blend of yin and yang , dark and light , is her cautious best friend , darlene ( beckinsale ) . \\nclear-eyed and straightforward , alice is more complex than her friend . \\nshe comes from a poorer background , has a reputation for getting into trouble and has lost the trust of everyone ( including her own father ) . \\nwhereas darlene\\'s life is \" on-track , \" aimed at college , marriage , kids , a career , a suburban home , middle age and \" fulfillment , \" alice\\'s is uncertain , unfocused , and yearning . \\none poignant scene in the film shows darlene shouting across an open moat to visitors--friends and relatives from home , whose lives continue while hers is in limbo . \\ntellingly , alice is present but not included . \\njust as revealing of their different personalities , when alice and dar first come to thailand , the openness and delight on alice\\'s face doesn\\'t read as simple naivet ? ; the way she stands up and stretches as she and her friend ride along in a small boat , reaching toward the sun , she really is drinking in what she believes to be freedom , while \" dar \" remains seated in the shade . \\n \" brokedown palace \" begins with an admission by alice of her guilt in a tape recording sent to hank . \\nhowever unintentional , it\\'s all alice\\'s fault . \\nshe\\'s responsible for persuading her friend to lie to her parents , to sneak away from the safety of hawaii to the perils of thailand , to try the petty scam which places them in the clutches of the evil nick . \\n ( in case one misses this point in the inevitable confusion of a film\\'s beginning , darlene obligingly reminds alice of her culpability in prison . ) \\ndar , of course , is the willing dupe which , in her view , confers innocence . \\nnever mind that it was her coercion of a reluctant alice to accompany her to hong kong which placed them in police custody in the first place or that her naive confession sealed their fate . \\ndar is innocent . \\nit doesn\\'t matter . \\nalice is the subject of this movie . \\nshe and her journey toward personal freedom . \\nalong the way we are treated to an unsympathetic portrait of the shallow american culture which created these girls with their half-baked sensibilities and materialistic goals . \\nin the end , that culture , like its representatives , \" yankee \" hank and dar\\'s father ( a \" man who knows how to grease the wheels \" ) , proves as impotent as its government in the face of the girl\\'s tragedy . \\nthailand\\'s culture , contrary to most opinion , comes off much better by comparison . \\nit amazes me that reviewers argued this point at both extremes . \\ni believe the filmmaker\\'s view was that thai culture is vastly different from the american but not necessarily inferior . \\nthe thai ( with the sole exceptions of a corrupt official and a spiteful prison spy ) were uniformly consistent in their behavior and true to their principles . \\nthe girls were shown to be treated no better but certainly no worse than the native-born . \\ntheir prison ( in stark contrast to the probable reality ) was no hellhole , being relatively clean and sunlit . \\nthe prison authorities demanded good hygiene , provided medical care when needed , and \" hard manual labor \" consisted of picking grass ! \\nthe thai guards were authoritarian ( what else ? ) but certainly not routinely sadistic . \\nas for the thai justice system , the reasoning of the thai judges , during both an appeal hearing and in the film\\'s penultimate scene was devastating in its logic and morality . \\n\\'freedom\\' has many faces and \" brokedown palace \" explores many of them . \\nin the extreme , we have freedom of the body and freedom of the spirit . \\nsome settle for the former alone while others remain imprisoned with an entire nation to roam without the latter . \\nbut freedom seldom comes without a price . \\nwhich is why the movie\\'s other tag lines are : \" what is your dream ? \" \\nand \" how far would you go ? \" \\ni believe i could make a good case for the interpretation that the person who attains freedom , incarcerated or not , by film\\'s end is alice . \\nshe finds redemption and salvation through the acceptance of personal responsibility . \\ni think the light bathing only her figure among the assembled prisoners in the final scene visually signals that fact . \\nkate beckinsale\\'s character might more properly be likened to the \" released \" temple bird referred to twice during the film , \" trained to fly back to its cage . \" \\nas the thai magistrate observed in the film\\'s climactic scene , the issue was always one of \" character ; \" and the jamaican prisoner made it clear that \" freedom \" is achieved within oneself . \\nif one thinks back over the movie , which character was transformed by their experiences ? \\nincreasingly , the cinema landscape seems to have become littered with endless permutations of \\'kung fu woman\\'--female characters virtually indistinguishable from male action figures . \\nhere , at last , is the story of a modern heroine . \\nin reading the many user\\'s comments , i was struck by what seems an unusual phenomenon : whether or not a person liked the movie , almost everyone praised the actors . \\nthink about that . \\nwhen was the last time you came away from a motion picture possibly hating it , but raving about all the performances in it ? \\ndo yourself a favor : rent \" brokedown palace \" and watch it with a open mind . \\nthere\\'s more there than meets the eye . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i have always been a fan of director neil jordan , from his early work , such as 1984\\'s \" the company of wolves , \" to 1992\\'s \" the crying game , \" and 1994\\'s \" interview with a vampire . \" \\nhis latest film , \" the butcher boy , \" is a return to his roots in ireland , but unfortunately , it is not a successful homecoming . \\ntold through the eyes of a 12-year-old irish boy , francis ( newcomer eomann owens ) , this peculiar film follows him as we learn a little about his decidedly unstable life . \\nhis father ( stephen rea ) is an indifferent alcoholic , his mother ( fiona shaw ) is mentally ill and always in and out of hospitals , and francis himself delights in terrorizing the mother of one of his friends after he is forbidden to see him anymore . \\nfrancis is the type of boy who always has a lot to say , but mostly fluctuates between sarcasm and frightening honesty , and it quickly becomes apparent that he may very well be a little psychotic , even capable of brutal murder . \\nthe premise of , \" the butcher boy , \" is one that could have very well been turned into a thought-provoking , disturbing motion picture , but somehow nothing works . \\nfrancis is in almost every scene , but we learn very little about him , as if the film was distancing itself away from him when , i suspect , we were actually supposed to sympathize with him . \\nthis is definately not young owens fault , however , because he gives a brilliantly accurate performance , and is able to also seem menacing as well . \\nthe fact that we don\\'t get close to his character is because of the sloppy screenplay . \\nthe supporting characters are no help , though . \\nrea is wasted , and has practically no scenes where he actually talks to his son , or to anyone else for that matter . \\nhe usually seems to just be sitting watching the television throughout . \\nshaw has a little bit more to work with , since she has one touching scene in which she talks to francis in a time of despair , but is out of the picture just as we are beginning to know her . \\nand singer sinead o\\'connor appears rather effectively as the virgin mary who occasionally gives francis advice . \\nthe pacing is all off in , \" the butcher boy . \" \\nalthough the story could have been dynamite , it moves at a deadeningly slow rate , and i found my mind wandering every once in a while . \\nit is also very episodic , because the developments in the story fly by with no satisfying payoffs . \\nat one point , francis is sent away to a juvenile prison , and an odd , possibly sexual relationship begins to develop between a priest and himself , but nothing comes of it . \\ni\\'d rather think of , \" the butcher boy , \" as a brief diversion for director jordan , rather than a total misfire . \\nhe has already proven to be a strong director , but he lucked out with this latest film . \\nwhat could have been a courageous , unsettling character study of an emotionally disturbed young boy , only manages to be an ineffective , uninvolivng bore . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'synopsis : in \" sooner than you think \" america , the future of law enforcement resides in blade squad , a ragtag group of culturally diverse rollerblading cops with jetpacks strapped on their backs . \\na dangerous criminal , however , attempts to destroy blade squad after his brother dies while being chased by them . \\ncomments : so , what do an ex-gangbanger turned insubordinate traffic cop , a former prostitute with a substance abuse problem , and a junkie turned dennis rodman wannabe turned cop who crashed four police cruisers all have in common ? \\nwhy , they\\'re all members of blade squad , an elite new crimefighting unit wearing black uniforms , rollerblades , and jetpacks ! \\nthey also carry video cameras so they can communicate with one another a la the marines in james cameron\\'s aliens . \\nyes , it\\'s blade squad , the fox network\\'s wednesday night movie of the week . \\nthis \" movie , \" marking its dubious world premiere today , curiously has a number of guest stars . \\n \" how can a movie have guest stars ? \" \\nyou may ask . \\nwell , blade squad is not really a movie so to speak but a 2 hour pilot for a possible tv series packaged as a movie . \\nblade squad is dumb . \\nblade squad is loud . \\nblade squad is obnoxious . \\nblade squad will probably be a ratings hit and spawn a long-lived tv series . \\nwhy not ? \\nafter all , television has given its audience crimefighters with talking cars ( \" knight rider \" ) , fast helicopters ( \" airwolf \" ) , and super fast motorcycles ( \" street hawk \" ) , and viewers have eaten it up in the past . \\nso , why not crimefighters with jet-powered roller blades ? \\nto be honest , as a made-for-tv presentation , blade squad is at least watchable . \\nthe film has a relatively large cast of characters , a surprisingly intelligible albeit predictable script , and enough action sequences to keep one half-interested . \\ni\\'d imagine adolescent males , probably the target audience of this turkey , would get a kick out of it . \\ni tried to keep that in mind when i watched blade squad . \\ni can remember liking \" airwolf \" and \" street hawk \" when i was 10 or 11 . \\nand , although this isn\\'t saying much , blade squad is leaps and bounds better than the last fox network movie i had the displeasure of wasting time on : the insipidly awful generation x ( a huge disappointment considering the comic book\\'s terrific two-year beginning ) . \\nbut , i digress . \\ndespite its limited appeal , blade squad has a lot of kinks to work out if the movie is to become a tv series . \\none , it suffers from mtv syndrome : a lot of quick shots and weird angles continuously jar the viewer\\'s senses while a near nonstop generic rock soundtrack blares incessantly in the background . \\noh yeah , dylan\\'s \" knockin\\' on heaven\\'s door \" and bowie\\'s \" i\\'m afraid of americans \" are used here , in rather poor taste . \\ntwo , blade squad needs a new crew for the sound . \\nthe substandard sound editing irritated me to no end . \\ncharacters\\' dialogue , at times , sounded choppy and unintelligible . \\nduring one important scene , a song played loudly in the background . \\nwhen a character spoke , the song\\'s volume dropped but did not disappear . \\nas soon as that character finished speaking , the song\\'s volume immediately returned to its original level until the next character spoke . \\nthis sounds trivial , i\\'m sure , but it distracted me immensely . \\nfinally , this is commercial television . \\nfoul language is not allowed , typically , on commercial television . \\nthus , don\\'t use foul language in a made-for-tv production because that foul language has to be censored in some manner . \\nin an early scene of the film , for example , the lead good guy and bad guy have a minor confrontation in the streets . \\nwhen the good guy spouts out a bad word , a driver conveniently honks his car\\'s horn off-screen to muffle the word out . \\nin a \" seinfeld \" episode , this technique proved funny ; here , it seemed goofy and cut the dramatic tension considerably . \\nperhaps future writers , if a show is spun out of the movie , could take a cue from marvel comics\\' 2099 series of comics . \\nmake up a bunch of new bad words for the future . \\nthis way , you don\\'t need a bunch of honking horns or other silly devices to cover up foul language . \\ncompared to the usual crap broadcast tv networks have to offer in terms of movies , blade squad is a suitable exercise in camp . \\nwhen compared to , say , a movie studio film , blade squad has a lot in common with a term which shares its initials : bs . \\n ( review written august 12 , 1998 ) \\n',\n",
+       "  b'ok , i admit i had a bad attitude about this film from the start . \\na romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of single working parents ? \\nwith a couple of incredibly cute kids thrown in for good measure ? \\nyuck . \\nbut it\\'s not really too bad . \\nit has a lot working against it , for me at least . \\nin addition to the above , it is typical of a lot of recent movies in that it is really just a glorified made-for-tv movie , but longer and with bigger stars , and you have to pay to see it . \\nit does win you over , though , even if it is painfully predictable . \\njust think about it : two single parents , with their cute kids , are thrown together due to a missed field trip . \\nthrough a day of near disasters , they cont inually meet , get in one another\\'s way , cause trouble for one another , and generally insult one another at every opportunity . \\nin fact , they hate each other so much that we know that they are , or soon will be , in love . \\nthe only people who hate each other more than lovers are married couples . \\nso this film is predictable , just as the screwball comedies of the classical hollywood cinema were predictable ( and the screwball genre is obviously hoffman\\'s model for this film ) . \\nwill they get fired from their yuppie jobs ? \\nwill they make the big soccer game that is so important to their kids ? \\nwill pfeiffer realize what a jerk her ex-husband , a drummer for bruce springsteen , really is ( aren\\'t they all ? ) ? \\nwill they finally kiss ? \\nwell , what do you expect ? \\nbut there is a certain amount of satisfaction in having our expectations fulfilled , especially when it is done with as much humour , along with a lack of sticky sentimentality , as it is in this film . \\npfeiffer and clooney have a certain chemistry together that is surprisingly charming , and the kids are neither shoved into the background nor allowed to steal the show . \\none word of caution , though . \\nthis film is being billed in some places as a \" family \" movie . \\ndon\\'t let that stop you . \\nhowever , i think most kids , especially boys , would be pretty bored by this move . \\nafter all , nobody gets killed and there are no explosions . \\nall in all , a good , non-offensive date movie . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' \" return to horror high , \" wants to be a couple different types of movies at once . \\nthe film tells the story of a low-budget horror movie being filmed at the closed-down crippen high , a school where a group of serial murders took place five years before . \\nbut what the cast and crew don\\'t know is that a real killer , maybe the same one that was never apprehended , is going into action again . \\non one level , \" return to horror high \" is a slasher movie , and it is at this level that it works the best on . \\nwatching the film , which was made in 1987 , i couldn\\'t help but take notice that the killer\\'s costume was almost identital to that of the ghostface in , \" scream , \" and \" scream 2 . \" \\non another level , the film wants to be a slapstick comedy , and there are many hints of this throughout . \\nunfortunately , most of these jokes fall flat . \\nand the last thing the film wants to be is a \" behind-the-scenes \" look at an exploitation film being made . \\nthe only problem is that , while much of it is supposed to be from the movie itself being made , no cameras are shown filming it , thus making it far more confusing than it had to be . \\nand to top it all off , the \" twist \" ending makes very little to no sense whatsoever , and so we are basically left with feeling as if we wasted our time . \\nthere are story developments that are beyond ludicrous , and plot holes you could drive a winnebago through . \\nif you see the film , or have seen it , you\\'ll know what i mean . \\nthe premise of \" return to horror high , \" is admittedly pretty crafty , and i liked the atmosphere of the school , which is where the whole thing takes place . \\nbut director froehlich , judging from this movie , is an incompetent director , except for being able to film the seldom suspeneful scene . \\nwell , come to think of it , there is only one scene that is actually scary , and it has to do with two actors being locked in a room as the killer tries to break in . \\nbut other than that two-minute distraction , \" return to horror high , \" is certainly no great shake . \\nnote : look for george clooney in a supporting role as one of the actors on the film . \\nand strangely enough , he is the first character to get the ax . . . literally . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'if you\\'re debating whether or not to see _breakfast_of_champions_ , ask yourself one simple question : do you want to see nick nolte in lingerie ? \\nthe only people who would get much enjoyment from alan rudolph\\'s chaotic adaptation of the kurt vonnegut novel is the cross-section of the population with the unhealthy urge to see that unpleasant sight . \\neveryone else--and i\\'m hoping that\\'s most people--would be wise to steer clear of this excrutiatingly unfunny mess . \\nactually , though , the sight of nolte in high heels is one of the more amusing things about this muddle , which focuses dwayne hoover ( bruce willis ) , the owner of dwayne hoover\\'s exit 11 motor village in midland city . \\nnot only is he a huge success as a businessman , he\\'s also something of a celebrity , his face made recognizable by an ongoing series of television commercials . \\nwith a nice home and family to boot , dwayne appears to have it all the ingredients to be happy--yet he\\'s not . \\nhis wife celia ( barbara hershey ) is perpetually in a pill-induced haze ; his son george ( lukas haas ) is a flamboyant lounge singer who goes by the stage name \" bunny . \" \\nnot only that , the environmental protection agency is on dwayne\\'s ass over a building development project . \\nit\\'s enough to send dwayne on a nervous breakdown--that is , if he doesn\\'t succeed in blowing his brains out first . \\nmeanwhile , midland city is about to host a fine arts festival , and the guest of honor is one kilgore trout ( albert finney ) , a writer who is far from the renowned author the festival\\'s organizer ( buck henry ) was led to believe--in fact , he\\'s a penniless hack who writes second-rate sci-fi that appears in porn magazines . \\nhis trek to midland city is also a spiritual journey , one that reaches its apex after meeting dwayne , who for some reason thinks that trout will hold for him all of life\\'s answers . \\nthe above is already a longer plot synopsis than i usually give in my reviews , but , ironically , i have barely scratched the surface . \\ni haven\\'t yet mentioned wayne hoobler ( omar epps ) , an ex-con with an obsessive admiration for the similarly-named dwayne . \\nthen there\\'s the matter of francine ( glenne headly ) , dwayne\\'s devoted secretary . \\nnot to mention dwayne\\'s employee and old friend harry lesabre ( nolte ) , the one with the secret penchant for cross-dressing . \\nand so on . \\nthe film is essentially dwayne\\'s story , but too often rudolph goes on distracting tangents with the eccentric peripheral players that one often wonders what the point is . \\nrudolph does arrive at a point ( more on that later ) , but it\\'s blunted and obscured by his hyperactive approach to the material . \\nthe surreal visual style , complete with printed words flying through the air and into dwayne\\'s ears , is obviously meant to convey a sense of madness , but its bludgeoning nature is likely to make viewers mad . \\nthe actors are called on to act accordingly , resulting in some of the worst , most overdone work all of them have ever turned in . \\nwillis fares best of all--but that\\'s because his frozen expression of befuddled bewilderment mirrors that of the audience . \\nwith such an aggressively outrageous atmosphere for nearly all of its running time , it comes as a shock when things suddenly turn serious , and rudolph tries to make a statement . \\nunlike _american_beauty_ ( a film that _breakfast_ resembles in more than a few ways , to its great detriment ) , there isn\\'t any palpably earnest undercurrent that would prepare the audience for the big shift . \\nas such , the cartoony characters fail to win a sympathy that needs to be earned ; and the film attempts , to no avail , to reach a profundity that it doesn\\'t deserve . \\nvonnegut\\'s original novel is considered a classic , but it had been called unfilmable--the same that was said of hunter s . thompson\\'s _fear_and_loathing_in_las_vegas_ , which was disastrously committed to film last year by terry gilliam . \\nwith the similar failure of _breakfast_of_champions_ , will hollywood ever learn that books labeled \" unfilmable \" inevitably results in a film that is unwatchable ? \\nlikely not . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the first scene of operation condor has jackie chan preparing for a secret mission . \\nhe attempts to pop a couple of pieces of chewing gum into his mouth , but misses . \\nafter they ricochet off his face , he says , \" not a good start . \" \\nas it turns out , this line not only gives foreshadowing to the opening sequence , but to the rest of the movie as well . \\nin this , the latest of the jackie chan movies to be released in america after first runs in hong kong , chan plays an international operative codenamed \" condor \" , and is tasked by the united nations with finding a stash of gold hidden at a secret base by the nazi\\'s during their retreat across the saharan desert during the second world war . \\nfor some reason , condor is given his mission at the u . s . embassy in spain . \\ni think this may have been done so that in a chase scene , they could honor the time old tradition of knocking over a fruit cart . \\nwatch for it in any chase scene set in a foreign country , most notably in europe . \\nthe chase will take itself through a marketplace , and a fruit cart will be overturned . \\nit\\'s almost a guarantee . \\nanyway . . . . \\ncondor is given a key which is supposed to unlock a giant vault in which the gold is hidden ; the problem is that the key has insulators integrated into it , which may mean a booby trap might be electronically triggered if the key is used improperly . \\nto help him figure out where the gold is hidden and how to use the key correctly , condor is accompanied by a desert expert ( carol cheng ) and the granddaughter of the captain who was in charge of hiding the gold ( eva cobo ) . \\nthere aren\\'t supposed to be any relatives of the nazi captain living in spain , but condor finds the granddaughter by looking her up in the phone book or something . \\nalthough these two women are supposed to be integral parts of the mission , they prove no help at all except to get in trouble and provide an excuse for chan to jump into his martial arts . \\nin fact , most of the scenes are so ridiculously contrived that it seems everything is just a way to set up a fight . \\ni suppose this isn\\'t so bad , since chan\\'s action is really the best part of the movie , and the only reason you go to see one of his films anyway . \\nif you\\'ve never seen a jackie chan movie , don\\'t expect a great plot , but do expect to be entertained by his moves . \\nthey are so well choreographed and often so amazing that you wonder if this guy is human . \\nknowing that he does his own stunts , and knowing that this is the real stuff ( no computer-masked bungee cords here ) makes the action sequences all the more exciting . \\nyou\\'ve got to hand it to a guy who\\'s probably broken every bone in his body for the sake of his art . \\nalso of note in this , as in any jackie chan movie , is the humor . \\nas far as i know , none of his films take themselves too seriously , and even the dramatic parts have a certain tongue-in-cheek quality about them . \\nwhat is almost masterful is the way that humor is even integrated into the fight scenes . \\nunlike a martial arts film such as anything with jean claude van damme , where the fights get you on the visceral level , fight scenes in chan\\'s movies are simply entertaining . \\nyou marvel at both his moves and at the way he employs them in such a way to make you laugh . \\nunfortunately , even chan\\'s mastery can\\'t save this film . \\nthe plot and characters are so weak that they don\\'t hold the movie together at all , and the acting is terrible . \\ncarol cheng has apparently won best actress honors at the hong kong movie awards in the past , but since operation condor is a dubbed movie it kind of takes all bets off . \\nthis , combined with an obviously low production value made we want to turn away from the screen until i heard those kicks start flying . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'written by alex cox , tod davies , terry gilliam and tony grisoni \\ndirected by terry gilliam \\ni\\'ve always preferred mushrooms to blotter acid . \\ndropping acid is like riding a roller coaster blindfolded ; you have no idea where the peaks and valleys are , no idea when the next terrifying decent will send your stomach into your throat , and no idea how long the ride will last . \\nthen there\\'s the hard knot in your gut and the clenched teeth that come with ingesting a strychnine-laced dose . \\nmushrooms , on the other hand , offer the psychedelic equivalent of a leisurely ride on a ferris wheel : a steady , reassuring assent , a short period of thrilling motion and color , and then a smooth landing . \\nacid is for daredevils ; mushrooms are for refined seekers of joy . \\nmy point is that in fear and loathing in las vegas , director terry gilliam has made an acid movie , when i wish he would have made a mushroom movie . \\nfull of shocking sight gags , aggressive images and grotesque comic performances , the film certainly offers something for those fans of hunter s . thompson\\'s book who want to experience its twisted pharmacological world-view from the inside out . \\nbut for those of us who just want to enjoy a well-made film , gilliam has produced a mixed bag . \\nfear and loathing tells the ostensibly true story of how self-professed \" gonzo \" journalist hunter s . thompson ( johnny depp ) and hispanic activist attorney oscar zeta actosta ( benicio del toro ) , came to las vegas to cover a motorcycle race and found themselves trapped in the middle of a district attorney\\'s convention while ingesting every conceivable drug available to a man of means in 1971 . \\noperating under the pseudonyms of \" raoul duke \" and \" dr . \\ngonzo \" , the two men careen into vegas on an acid and mescaline bender , then hole up in a hotel suite to binge on amyl nitrite , cocaine , tequila and a rainbow of multi-colored uppers and downers . \\nthey terrorize every one they meet , mostly because every one they meet terrifies them . \\nduke hallucinates giant bats on the way into town , then is attacked by horrifying lizards in the casino lounge . \\ndr . gonzo becomes enamored of a thick-bladed hunting knife and begs duke to throw the tape player into the bathtub with him just as jefferson airplane\\'s \" white rabbit \" reaches its climax . \\nand these guys don\\'t just trash hotel rooms - they rape them , humiliate them and leave them for dead . \\nthat neither of them ends up dead or in jail is testament to blind luck or providence , depending on your point of view . \\nthompson\\'s book , besides being a hilarious read , has stood the test of time as an important historical document . \\nit simultaneously exposed the 60\\'s drug culture for the sham that it was and exposed las vegas as the place where the american dream came to die . \\npontificate all you want about how the film illustrates thompson\\'s message , but the truth is that , stripped to its bare essentials , what gilliam has wrought is a drug comedy . \\nit\\'s a cheech and chong movie . \\nyou\\'re there to watch depp and del toro ingest a lot of chemicals and then laugh at the results : see johnny take drugs , see johnny fall down . \\nthere\\'s nothing wrong with this concept , but gilliam tries too hard . \\nthis is a frantic movie - all sweaty close-ups , wide-angle lenses , dutch tilts and other-worldly lighting schemes . \\nthere are times when gilliam really does put a convincing representation of an acid trip on the screen . \\nbut to what end ? \\nmuch of the dialogue comes verbatim from thompson\\'s book , and there are some priceless comic observations . \\nbut you\\'re hard pressed to hear or digest them amidst all the jumbled camera work . \\nthis brings us to the performances , which strike me as all wrong . \\ndepp plays thompson as groucho marks filtered through george c . scott in patton - a gimmicky performance which works against the biting satire of thompson\\'s dialogue . \\nin between his several puking scenes , del toro fares better as dr . gonzo , but he also mumbles and sputters so many of his lines that their weight is lost . \\nwatching these two made me wish that the movie had been made twenty years ago , with dan akroyd and john belushi as the leads - now that would have been something to see . \\nit\\'s interesting to note that alex cox , credited as a co-writer on the screenplay , was originally slated to direct before gilliam took over . \\nas much of a fan as i am of gilliam\\'s work , cox would have been the better choice . \\nsid and nancy , cox\\'s best work , covered essentially the same subject matter , but cox was able to pull back and allow the characters of sid vicious and nancy spungen to carry the film . \\ngilliam commits the compound sin of over-directing his film while being uncertain of his purpose . \\nwhat kind of movie was he trying to make , anyway ? \\nit doesn\\'t try to be a cautionary tale , and it doesn\\'t work as broad comedy . \\nif he had considered more carefully his purpose , the result would have been a much more interesting film . \\nbut i don\\'t want to be too hard on it . \\nthere are some truly funny moments , and if you\\'re in a good enough mood you might get a kick out of it . \\ni do , however , recommend watching fear and loathing in las vegas under the influence of your favorite controlled substance - i guarantee it will enhance the effect . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'movies like six days , seven nights make me mad because talented people like harrison ford , anne heche , and ivan reitman put a lot of hard work in to a script worth about ten cents . ? \\nthe script was written by michael browning , and he decided that , instead of thinking up new ideas , he\\'d rehash a lot of cliches , omit even the slightest bit of character development , and then throw in drug-dealing pirates to provide for a few high-level action sequences and explosions . ? \\nthere are good scripts out there that high-profile actors can make ( see the truman show , for instance ) . ? \\nsix days , seven nights is simply a waste . \\nlet\\'s see . \\n . \\n . \\nwe have to get harrison ford and anne heche alone on an island . ? \\nso , how do we do that ? ? \\nwell , we\\'ll make her a feisty magazine editor , and we\\'ll make him a crusty old pilot . ? \\nbut wait , she has to have a fianc ? e ; that can be david schwimmer . ? \\nbut wait , if she has a fianc ? e , how will she and harrison ford crash on the island alone ? ? \\ni know ! ? \\nthey\\'ll get to their vacation spot , and then she\\'ll get called back ! ? \\nyessssss ! ? \\nso , they\\'ll crash on the island , and that will be funny for about five minutes . ? \\nshucks . \\noh , i\\'ve got it ! ? \\nwe\\'ll throw in a distracting subplot in which her fianc ? e has sex with a really attractive woman who acts like a bimbo , and then he can feel guilty . ? \\nthen , when anne heche kisses harrison ford ( they have to kiss , because otherwise nobody will want to see the movie ) , it will be a vindicated action , because her fianc ? e will already have cheated on her ! ? \\nthen , for no obvious reason , they\\'ll accidentally run into pirates who try to kill them . ? \\noh , yes ! ? \\ni feel so good about this story . ? \\ninstead of using characterization to propel the events , it will be completely random , and yet totally predictable ! ? \\nimagine that . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong -- six days , seven nights is not a boring picture ; ford and heche both do a great job . ? \\nthe sparks fly between them , and so most of browning\\'s inane dialogue is drowned out by the actors\\' sheer force of talent . \\n ? almost every scene between them has energy that the performers bring to the screen , and i found myself laughing pretty hard . ? \\nschwimmer is also funny , and manages to milk all of his scenes for whatever he can get . ? \\nand reitman , who has made some good films , at least tries to make things exciting . ? \\neven though the pirate subplot is profoundly dumb , i was prepared to be pleasantly sidetracked by the action sequences . \\nit\\'s just when i start to think about the story that my contempt for this film surfaces . ? \\nthe picture feels like it\\'s been hacked to pieces -- i wouldn\\'t be surprised if five or six inept subplots have been edited out completely . ? \\nthe ones that are here are as bad as they come ( i think i let out a very audible groan when they get the first glimpse of the pirate ships ) , and i\\'d just like to shake the producers by the shoulders and scream , \" why did you pick this awful script ! ? \" ? \\nthe film is outright stupid , but some of the elements are subtly horrifying . ? \\nfor instance , take the subplot in which the schwimmer character has sex with the bimbo , and then feels really guilty . ? \\nthis is a serious problem in real life , but six days , seven nights reduces any chance of complexity to a weak plot device : ? his actions are what makes it okay for heche to kiss ford . ? \\nin a script that lacks even a glimpse of intelligent subtlety , i find it odd that such a strangely insulting device ended up in the story . \\nthis is summer movie season , but that doesn\\'t mean our movies have to be dumb . ? \\n1998 so far has been one of the worst years in recent memory for summer blockbusters . ? \\nwhen i was in line for six days , seven nights , i heard the woman in front of me ask for \" two tickets to that new harrison ford movie . \" \\n ? why didn\\'t she know the name of the film ? ? \\ni suppose she just didn\\'t care . \\n ? what bothers me even more is that the people who make these big-budget pictures don\\'t realize that their films are becoming parodies of themselves . ? \\ngood actors should sign to good scripts , and if hollywood insists on making flicks to rake in cash , they least they could do is assume that we\\'d like to spend our money on a story worth more than ten cents . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a wonderful little movie that is really interested in its characters and in its theme . \\nthe scene of \" second best \" is laid in wales . \\njames ( chris cleary miles ) is a 10-year-old boy who must live in a home because his father ( keith allen ) is in prison and his mother committed suicide . \\njames is a mentally unbalanced child . \\nhe can\\'t forget what happened in the past , and he dreams of living a happy life with his beloved father . \\nin the home he feels sadly and lonely . \\none day , a social worker ( alan cumming ) tells him of a person who wants to adopt him . \\nthis person is graham holt ( william hurt ) . \\ngraham manages a post office and shop in a village . \\nhe is a single and hasn\\'t any real friends . \\nhis mother is dead , and his father is ill and will die . \\ngraham feels that he has been a disappointment to his parents . \\nthere has never been real love between his parents and him . \\ngraham\\'s monotonous life would get a new sense if he could adopt james . \\nbut graham has not only to convince the institutions , but must also win the love of james . \\njames and graham have to open theirselves . \\nthey must get to know each other and learn to understand and trust the other person . \\njames and graham aid each other to cope with their problems . \\nbut will their relationship really have a future ? \\n \" second best \" is based on a novel by david cook who also wrote the screenplay . \\nthe film was directed by chris menges who had made his directing debut with the very good anti-apartheid drama \" a world apart \" ( 1987/88 ) . \\nand maybe , \" second best \" is even a greater picture . \\nthis precise , richly detailed , sensitively and convincingly directed study about a special adoption treats its theme with great seriousness . \\nthe breathtakingly intense film shows the necessity of human contact and communication . \\nwilliam hurt delivers an outstanding performance as graham holt . \\nand chris cleary miles is remarkably convincing in the role of the boy . \\nthe supporting cast is also fine ( especially jane horrocks as debbie , a social worker who is charged to examine graham\\'s living circumstances ) . \\n \" second best \" is an underestimated masterpiece . \\nit\\'s a pity that films like this one are made so seldom . \\ni eagerly await menges\\' next directorial work , \" the lost son \" , which will star daniel auteuil . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s almost amusing to watch 21-year old christina ricci get drastically overshadowed in sally potter\\'s follow-up to 1997\\'s the tango lesson , the man who cried . \\nthe gen-y actress , with her cold stare and big , black eyes , has appeared in an impressive range of films ; but she doesn\\'t even come close to being the bold heroine the film , set against the historical backdrop of world war 2 , requires her to be . \\nricci , whose character is shockingly silent and blank , showing only the occasional smile or hint of concern , shares most of her scenes with the astounding cate blanchett : quite an amusing sight to behold . \\nblanchett\\'s lola , a paris dwelling dancer who befriends the aspiring singer suzie , is bold , interesting and layered ? everything our heroine lacks . \\nco-star of the upcoming lord of the rings trilogy , blanchett has a good seven inches on ricci , sports twice the makeup and dons a flashy wardrobe . \\nthe actress inhabits the role ? as she always so remarkably does ? with a fervor and life that makes you want her to hold the screen as the film\\'s lead rather than her dull companion . \\nimportant historical events involving hitler and his nazis scatter themselves across the film ; these landmarks serve as the film\\'s little conflict . \\nobviously , the tables are turned in the life of suzie by these events , whose jewish origin is unknown among her parisian colleagues . \\nthe man who cried has many aspirations , none of which come full circle by the film\\'s close . \\nthere are forced messages here and there : \" go forward ; always go forward , \" lola preaches to suzie ; there\\'s romance between suzie and a fellow target of hitler\\'s nazis , the gypsy cesar ( johnny depp , who , like ricci , barely gets to speak ) ; lola struggles with her character that desires above all things wealth and men who have it ; and at the core of all these devices lies suzie\\'s desire to travel to america , where her father journeyed after leaving her and her mother years ago . \\nthe film\\'s main problem is that potter isn\\'t skilled enough to tell the epic-sized story of suzie . \\nthe time period\\'s instability , the conflicting social classes , the prejudice against suzie from all those around her in her new life : serving as both writer and director , potter throws in some of each , but hardly an inch of depth is to be found in any . \\nby the time the sigh-inducing climax hits , the believability and complete absence of focus leave one ready to leave the theater . \\nthe film\\'s falling action is weirdly unsatisfying and unlikely ; are we really meant to believe any of this could happen ? \\ncontrastingly , in its moving final scene , the man who cried strikes a note that is made effective in its ties to the emotional beginning of the film . \\nalthough it\\'s apparent that potter can\\'t grasp what she reaches , i\\'m puzzled as to why she reaches for so much in the first place . \\nricci\\'s suzie is meant to be the film\\'s core : from the extended flashback at the film\\'s beginning to the quickly drawn ending , everything seen in the film , in some way , relates to her . \\nso why then does potter spend so much time on subplots involving other individuals ? \\nthe character of suzie is too present for the man who cried to work as an ensemble , but not present enough for the film to be ricci\\'s . \\nthe almost constant lack of flow and one-note tone with which potter depicts the man who cried are somewhat improved upon by sacha vierny\\'s beautiful cinematography that renders the film\\'s various locations wonderfully . \\nalso worthy of note are lindy hemming\\'s costumes that help to depict the area quite nicely . \\nand then there\\'s the music . \\nfrom minute one to minute ninety-seven , there\\'s hardly a moment when the wavering , skilled voice of an opera singer or the rhythms of the gypsy music don\\'t undercut the action ; the notes stricken both overwhelm ( particularly john turturro , portraying fictional opera singer dante dominio , whose money and reputation catch lola\\'s interest ) and accompany ( oftentimes , the perfect chords are captured to undermine the state of the film\\'s characters and reinforce that state ) . \\npotter obviously cares much about each and every musical note ; unfortunately , the same effort isn\\'t given towards ( almost ) everything else . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"tarzan chad'z = good ) 1999 , g , 90 minutes [1 hour , 30 minutes] [animated - adventure/drama] starring the voices of : tony goldwyn ( tarzan ) , minnie driver ( jane porter ) , lance henriksen ( kerchak ) , brian blessed ( clayton ) ; written by tab murphy , bob tzudiker , noni white ; produced by bonnie arnold ; directed by chris buck , kevin lima ; based on the story `tarzan of the apes' and characters created by edgar rice burroughs . \\nseen july 4 , 1999 at 7 : 15 p . m . at crossgates cinemas 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #9 , by myself for free using my hoyts season pass . \\n[theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good sound , picture and seats] \\ntitle : `tarzan' beautiful to look at , easy to follow . \\nreview : disney continues its trend of producing animated summer blockbuster movies meant mostly for children but with enough wit and charm for adults to be interested and at least entertained by the story . \\nthe basic premise is the same as every other `tarzan' story : a boy is raised in the african jungle by gorillas and becomes one himself never really understanding ( or even noticing ) that he's human and is a lot different from the animals he befriends . \\nthe first third of the film shows how tarzan comes to be adopted by kala ( voiced by glen close ) , a female gorilla who lost her own child in a classic case of darwanism . \\nher mate , kerchak ( henriksen ) , is a mean , conservative leader of the pack of gorillas who make up tarzan's extended family . \\nhe refuses to acknowledge tarzan ( voiced by alex d . linz during the childhood scenes ) as a son and often has to hold himself back from killing tarzan after he continually does dangerous , wild things that are the result of his own childish instincts . \\ni have a feeling children will quickly be able to identify with tarzan since all he really is is just a kid who wants to have fun and it's funny how the adults fail to comprehend this . \\nlater , as the story transitions from tarzan as a child to a full-grown man ( voiced by goldwyn ) , he is encounter by a party of three humans from england : jane porter ( driver ) , a beautiful woman who is something of a zoologist and an artist , her father prof . archimedes q . porter ( voiced by nigel hawthorne ) who is also a scientist ; and their slick and cunning , yet barbaric safari bodyguard clayton ( blessed ) . \\nit's easy to tell where the story is going at all times but the screenplay doesn't seem like it was written hastily nor dumbed down for children's enjoyment . \\nsure there's a lot of cliche stuff here , like clayton's smugness and diabolical manipulation of tarzan and jane ; the goofy supporting characters ( voiced by rosie o'donnell [in full brooklyn accent ! ] and wayne knight - `hello newman ! ' ) . \\nthere's also a lot of fun action such as tarzan's swinging through the jungle on vines and sliding down and around tree branches and trunks . \\nit's just like skateboarding really fast and doing all sorts of tricks ( those mcdonald's commercials really prove this point ) . \\nultimately , you get exactly out of `tarzan' what you expect . . . \\nand i mean that as a compliment , so have high expectations . \\npros : animation and sound are a feast for the senses , story is lighthearted , breezy and not dumbed-down , no stupid sing-along songs to get stuck in your head . \\ncons : surprisingly violent , should have been rated pg . \\nyoung children may not understand some of the more adult themes ( parents , be ready to have some heavy questions thrown your way ) . \\nrunning time is a bit short . \\nwould you recommend this to friends ? \\nnot to my friends , but to the movie-going public i would . \\nscore : or with no 0 rating ) . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'about an hour or so into \" the jackal , \" a character wandered around as people were being shot at in a big suspense sequence , and one of the audience members in the theatre i saw it in shouted out \" i hope she gets killed now ! \" \\nat that point it hit me : i didn\\'t care for any of the characters being played by actors i didn\\'t really like . \\nwhen the sole reason you care about a character being played by sidney poitier in a suspense film is because he\\'s being played by sidney poitier , you know something\\'s rotten in the state of denmark . \\nevery year , a couple films like this are released . \\nyou know : the cheap , action packed international espionnage film , featuring a semi-promising premise , some big-name actors ( usually bruce willis ) , and the hopes that some audience members will forget the cold war ended several years ago . \\nthis was the third one of \\'97 , following the very lackluster \" the saint , \" which featured an amoral costume changing bond wannabe ; and the surprisingly fun \" the peacemaker , \" featuring clooney and kidman trying to stop an almost untraceable villain . \\n \" the jackal \" tries to mix both elements . \\nand you thought \" the saint \" was bad . \\n \" the jackal \" is loosely ( very loosely , i hope ) based on the 1973 fred zimmerman classic that i\\'ve yet to see , \" the day of the jackal , \" which featured ( apparently ) a suave hitman called the jackal , played by edward fox , trying to assasinate charles degaule . \\nwell , welcome to the 90s , where a sorta suave hitman , also called the jackal ( bruce willis ) , trying to kill the head of the fbi . . . or \\nis he ? \\nafter being hired by a russian mob lord as a bit of vengeance for the murder of his brother ( killed in the opening scenes ) , the jackal romps all over the northen hemisphere , from helsinki to virginia , setting up an elaborate scheme wherein he\\'ll be able to assasinate this person and still get away to live in seclusion . \\nand like the saint , the jackal changes his look over and over and over again to elude people . \\nthe agent working on the case , cater preston ( sidney poitier - yes , that sidney poitier ) , working with a russian agent , valentina koslova ( diane venora - lady capulet from \" romeo + juliet \" ) , gives up early on and meets with an ex-ira man , declan mulqueen ( richard gere , putting up some tight competition between himself and brad pitt for worst fake irish accent of \\'97 ) who\\'s in a massachusetts jail , but who has apparently seen the jackal , who has been eluding the law forever . \\nsoon , he\\'s out working with the two untrusting agents , and trying to help them catch him . \\nthere are numerous problems with the film , and which one is the biggest one is pretty impossible to put a finger on . \\nthe film is supposed to be a big suspense thriller , but save a couple moments , the film never achieves suspense , or even a sense of intrigue . \\nsure , the big assasination attempt is a bit cool looking and even slightly tense , but every other scene in the film is too short and too dull to register . \\nthe film never picks up enough to become a thrilling experience , or even an entertaining one . \\nit doesn\\'t help that the plot is designed to be complex , but falls into so many problems , like plot holes and unbelievable circumstances . \\nthe script of \" the jackal \" is a complete mess , mostly because it can\\'t decide what it wants to focus on . \\nis this a film about a man trying to find redemption by catching a nasty killer ? \\nis it a film about a nasty , amoral hitman who\\'s in everything for the money ? \\nor is it a combination of both ? \\n \" the jackal \" aims for the latter , but never focuses in on either character . \\nthe connection between the two feels completely edited , so much that in a scene when the jackal turns around and notices declan , you wonder how he recognized him so fast . \\nthe worst part is the little past they try to give declan , most notably his relationship with an old girlfriend , isabella ( mathilda may ) , given so little screen time that you almost forget her character exists until she pops up every now and then . \\nthe supporting characters are worse . \\nsidney poitier is given a completely unplayable role , that of a man who is just stern sometimes , and other times more giving and likable . \\nwhat is poitier doing here ? \\nhe\\'s one of the best living actors ! \\ndoes he really need to waste his time doing drivel like this ? \\ndiane venora\\'s russian character is almost as bad , with a cigarette perpetually in her mouth , and a plastered on expressionless facade . \\nit\\'s not that anyone\\'s bad here ; it\\'s that they have nothing to do . \\nthe plot is a joke , feeling like it was pasted together by someone in post-production who dropped each scene on the floor and pasted them together quickly so it could be released on time . \\nthe jackal himself is not even much of an international villain . \\nthere are several times where he\\'s in a tight situation and makes things worse for himself , the only explanation being that the filmmakers wanted to toss in a cheap thrill . \\ntake a scene where he\\'s being followed by some agents into a parking garage : he quickly sprays his car another color , and adds a solvent that if touched kills the person who touched it . \\ndoesn\\'t killing someone attract more attention than it does distract ? \\nand does he think dying his hair bottle blond makes him fit in in a public place ? \\ngeez ! \\nis there anything good here ? \\nwell . . . a \\ncouple things . \\ni did like willis\\'s icy expressions ; he may not have been real suave or anything , but some of his looks are worth a chuckle . \\nrichard gere has a couple of good moments , making his character as likable as he possibly could have . \\nand a couple sequences are kicky in that kind of proposterous , completely inane but fun kinda way , most notably : a sequence where he tests out a new gun on an annoying gun builder ( jack black ) ; and a bit where he seduces a gay washington man , which has its share of a couple good jokes , most particular a kiss by willis . \\nbut none of these elevate the film any higher than it could go ; they\\'re just little distractions along the way to amuse us mildly then toss us back into the world of dullness and stupidity that is \" the jackal . \" \\ndirector michael caton-jones ( who directed the far superior \" rob roy \" ) has made a film that is made very couple months , one that is unentertaining , unintriguing , and pretty much cold , but will nevertheless make money because , hey , the trailers do make it look like it may be fun in that kind of retro-clancy kinda way . \\nevery now and then , the filmmakers get it right ( \" clear and present danger , \" which was enormous fun in that smart kinda way ) , but \" the jackal \" is an example of when they go completely wrong . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'john carpenter makes b-movies . \\nalways has ( \" halloween , \" \" escape from new york , \" \" the thing \" ) and , by the looks of it ( \" they live , \" \" escape from l . a . , \" \" vampires \" ) , always will . \\ncarpenter\\'s latest horror opus with a science fiction bent ( or science fiction outing with a schlock horror bent ) is the aptly-titled \" john carpenter\\'s ghosts of mars \" ( in case , i suppose , you went looking for someone else\\'s \" ghosts of mars \" ) . \\nlike all those films prefixed by the very possessive \" john carpenter\\'s , \" \" ghosts of mars \" is an unashamed b-movie punctuated by a b-movie plot , b-movie actors , and b-movie special effects . \\nin category one , above , we have a storyline that borders on idiotic ( and , at times , chaotic ) . \\ndormant martians ( i . e . , swirling red gases ) awakened by meddling humans possess the souls of hapless mining colonists rendering them testy marilyn manson lookalikes . \\nall this explained ( in flashback ) to some grand pooh-bah counsel by martian police official melanie ballard ( natasha henstridge , from the sub- \" species \" films ) , the only returnee on a silly-looking train . \\nofficer ballard went in to bring back incarcerated felon james \" desolation \" williams ; what she found was not a pretty picture . \\nin the second category we have ms . henstridge , her blonde hair pulled back tightly and awkwardly into a ponytail , ice cube ( as the appropriately-named \" desolation \" ) , pam grier ( briefly , oddly--who wanted to work with whom i wonder ? ) , and a host of extras all assuming that the story and special effects were going to carry this film and therefore they didn\\'t need to try too hard . \\nin category number three we have , in addition to those swirling red gases and the silly-looking train , a couple of bird\\'s-eye-view shots of a sprawling martian metropolis ( reddish also ) . \\nstate-of-the-art special effects have never been a carpenter trademark and once again the writer/director ( who seems to have no problem finding work , however ) doesn\\'t waste any of the film\\'s budget in that department . \\n \" ghosts of mars \" is lock , laughing stock , and barrel all your standard carpenter fare : dingy interiors , cluttered exteriors , inane dialogue , lots of leather , scarred , crazed-looking aliens , and lots and lots of weaponry . \\nthe film often and always explodes into warfare without warning--spontaneously , stupidly . \\ncarpenter might like to think he\\'s made a western here but it\\'s a western without any real heroes , villains , or border conflicts . \\nit\\'s just the shootouts minus a hissing snake plissken . \\ni never thought i\\'d miss the guy but i do . \\nit\\'s not * all * the same , however . \\ndubbed the \" one-note wonder \" for his minimalist music soundtracks , carpenter seems to have graduated from simplistic ( yet effective ) scoring by highlighting his action with loud , screeching guitar work . \\nfortunately this drowns out a lot of the dialogue . \\nthe final exchange between henstridge and , er , cube though is both audible * and * priceless . \\nmars has proven an infertile breeding ground for hollywood in the last year or so , what with the stillborn \" mission to mars \" and \" red planet \" ( with val kilmer ) . \\n \" ghosts of mars \" sadly adds to those disappointing returns ( in its opening weekend it was overshadowed by a bunch of sequels , among them \" american pie 2 \" and \" rush hour 2 \" ) . \\nthe irony is that the mars in carpenter\\'s film feels sadly absent . \\nthere are occasional references to the red planet , of course , but the film might as well have been set in perth amboys than on earth\\'s closest neighbor . \\ntwo things keep \" john carpenter\\'s ghosts of mars \" from getting a huge slap upside the head . \\n1 . \\nhenstridge keeps her top on ( miraculously ) , and 2 . the film doesn\\'t pretend to be anything it\\'s not . \\nwhat that means , however , is that fans of superior , intelligent , grade a sci-fi/horror are singularly out of luck . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'you know the plot : a dimwit with a shady past is seduced into committing a crime only to be double-crossed by a fatal femme . \\nin \" palmetto , \" the dimwit is harry barber ( woody harrelson ) , a reporter who\\'s just been released from prison ( he was framed by the gangsters and corrupt officials he was investigating ) . \\nenter la femme : rhea malroux ( elisabeth shue ) , the sexy young wife of the richest man in palmetto , florida ( rolf hoppe ) . \\nshe and her stepdaughter odette ( chlo ? sevigny ) have a plot to extort 500k from the old man : harry will \" kidnap \" odette . \\nafter groping both women , harry agrees . \\nas everyone except harry can see , he\\'s being set up as a fall guy . \\nsure enough , before long , harry has a dead body in his trunk and the cops on his tail . \\nhis brother-in-law ( tom wright ) , an assistant da , has hired harry to be the press liaison for the case , so harry gets a front row seat for his own manhunt ( and we get to watch him sweat-literally ) . \\nthere are several plot twists , of course-a couple of them even took me by surprise . \\napparently every woman in palmetto is a raving horndog , and they\\'re on harry like he\\'s the only bone in the kennel . \\nshue vamps so broadly that i expected tex avery\\'s wolf to show up . \\nher incredible performance in \" leaving las vegas \" seems to have been a fluke . \\nhere , she could easily be mistaken for melanie griffith . \\nshue\\'s character is supposed to be a savvy schemer but she comes off as a brainless bimbo . \\nin addition to shue and sevigny , the kennel includes gina gershon ( who filled the dimwit-with-a-shady-past role in \" bound \" ) as harry\\'s girlfriend nina ; when harry gets out of jail , she licks his face ( now there\\'s a horndog ) . \\nthe parts are so overplayed that with a little push \" palmetto \" could have been an over-the-top parody of film noir a la \" romeo is bleeding . \" \\nas it is , it\\'s best watched at 2am on showtime ( the love scenes seem to have been written for one of that channel\\'s soft porn programs anyway ) . \\n \" palmetto \" has a well-known director , volker schl ? ndorff , who\\'s best known for his adaptations of major literary works , especially \" the tin drum . \" \\ni suppose he must have been drawn to this plot-by-numbers script by the same admiration for classic film noir that led scorsese to remake \" cape fear . \" \\nschl ? ndorff tries hard-he makes an interesting motif out of the ubiquitous palmetto bugs-but nothing can freshen up this stale script . \\n',\n",
+       "  b' ( note : there are spoilers regarding the film\\'s climax ; the election , of course ) \\nwe see matthew broderick , a man torn to a primal state ; he\\'s been unfaithful to his wife , lied to and manipulated his students , and by the same token they\\'ve demeaned his masculinity , his self-respect , his desperate attempt at changing the world . \\nand yet , he equates the cause of his pain , his torment , with tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) . \\nno matter how many students have come and gone , and disappointed him as an educator , she\\'s the real threat . \\nabout to give in , and divulge that she\\'s won by only a lone vote , broderick\\'s mccalister turns in defeat , sees tracy\\'s euphoric celebration in the outside corridor and says , \\'no\\' . \\nthe fact that he simultaneously lusts after her ideologically further illustrates that freudian foundation of entitlement which all men , no matter how obscure , have in their relationships ; a traditional expectation of success , to usurp and surpass women as a proverbial industry . \\nshe can\\'t go higher than him . \\nhe won\\'t allow it . \\nand what\\'s amazing about \" election \" is that every word of that criticism is drawn from a rather opaque metaphor . \\nearly in the film we learn that tracy was romantically , and then sexually , involved with a now departed teacher . \\nit\\'s like payne and taylor , his co-screenwriter , have taken tracy , a girl desperate for friendship , loyalty , and almost perversely drawn the mythological pattern of kids who were so utterly rejected by their peers , that they found sitting at the teachers\\' lunch table more fitting , to an unlikely extreme with her as the protagonist . \\nand it\\'s amazing the compassion that we have ; it seems so real to us , and not merely because it\\'s happened before , splashed all over the front pages , but , because of the all around \" nice \" persona of these people , we easily dismiss the truly wayward deeds of the characters . \\nit\\'s with mandy barnett\\'s \" if you\\'ll be the teacher \" playing winsomely over the closing credits that payne skewers the tenets of his detractors most ; a final , viscous injection of bittersweet irony . \\nsexuality , though , is not the only basis for payne\\'s satire , or its success . \\nit also makes a telling point about politics , friendship , and class boundaries . \\nsatire is required ( or ought to be , anyway ) to take itself seriously , or act so , while the audience does not . \\nit\\'s a fine line to straddle , but some films ignore it altogether ( \" drop dead gorgeous \" leaps infuriatingly to mind ) . \\npayne and taylor hit the right chord ; their characters are real people : neither is perfect , but rather both of the leads are flawed , misguided individuals who retain , somewhat , noble intentions at heart . \\nwe sympathize with them , but still , as a satire , their idiosyncratic behavior , and their wrongdoing , is taken to an extreme for the audience to knowingly chuckle , but also reflect and meditate , about . \\nminus half a point , though , for payne admitting not to having seen \" ferris bueller\\'s day off \" . \\nwhatever . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'george little ( jonathan lipnicki ) wants a little brother . \\nafter mr . and mrs . little ( hugh laurie and geena davis ) visit the orphange , they decide to adopt stuart , a talking mouse ( voiced by michael j . fox ) . \\ngeorge isn\\'t so fond of his new brother when stuart arrives at the little house , and neither is snowbell the family cat ( voiced by nathan lane ) . \\ngeorge and stuart eventually bond while preparing for a remote control boat race , but snowbell wants stuart out of the house ( he\\'s unable to live with the taunts of other neighborhood felines saying it\\'s ridiculous that a mouse has a pet cat ) . \\nstuart little is a mix of live action and computer generated imagery ( cgi ) . \\nthe character of stuart , while obviously a computer generated image , grows on you as the film progresses and you\\'ll soon see him as much more than a mere special effect . \\nthere is also a great deal of animal training involved with this film , as many of the \" supporting cast \" are actual cats ( with computer animated mouths so they can speak ) . \\nit\\'s fascinating to watch these cats give performances without an actual mouse to interact with . \\nstuart little is a charming family film . \\nthere are some great laughs in the movie ( with a script co-written by the sixth sense\\'s m . night shyamalan no less ! ) , \\nsome moments that can only be described as \" too cute \" ( the boat race sequence is what won me over ) and even the majority of the one-liners ( common nowadays in children\\'s films or films featuring nathan lane ) are tolerable . \\nkids and parents will love this one . \\nstuart little is available on dvd from columbia tristar home video . \\nthere are two different dvds on sale : one contains the film in full frame , and the other presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 66 : 1 . \\nboth versions feature choices of either dolby surround or dolby digital 5 . 1 audio . \\nboth versions also contain the following extras ( and hang in there with me here . . . there\\'s a lot of them ) : a full length audio commentary track by director rob minkoff and animation supervisor henry anderson , a full length audio commentary track by the visual effects supervisors , an isolated score track , an interactive trivia game , an interactive featurette that goes step by step through eight of the effects in the film , a making of documentary that originally aried on hbo , and a stuart little read-along story ( which you can read yourself or have stuart read for you ) . \\nthere are also three music videos , and six theatrical trailers ( called thecatrical trailers . . . \\nget it ? \\nit\\'s funny ! ) for stuart little and five other columbia tristar releases : the adventures of elmo in grouchland , madeline , the nuttiest nutcracker , muppets from space , and baby geniuses ( the only bad thing about this entire dvd . . . \\ni did not want to be reminded of the awfulness that is baby geniuses ) . \\ndvd-rom features are also on the disc , including web links and a demo of the stuart little cd-rom game . \\nbut wait . . . \\nthere\\'s still more ! \\nthere\\'s a section called \" basement treasures \" where you will find the auditions of the film\\'s animators , six deleted scenes which you can select to view with or without commentary from the director , a visual effects gag reel , a production gag reel , and an incredible eight minute storyboard sequence detailing the original concept for the boat race scene ( with commentary from the director ) . \\nthe first commentary track features director rob minkoff and animation supervisor henry anderson . \\nthey give insightful and detailed thoughts about the film\\'s production . \\nminkoff likes to point out scenes where other screenwriters came in and polished up the script , namely writers like scott alexander and larry karaszewski ( who wrote the people vs . larry flynt and ed wood ) and lowell ganz and babaloo mandel ( who wrote splash and multiplicity , among others ) . \\nanderson is very appreciative of the animators who worked with him and often points out which animator worked on each scene as they occur . \\nthe second commentary track features visual effects supervisors john dykstra and jerome chen who discuss more specific details of the effects in the film . \\nmovie fans will enjoy the informative first commentary track , serious animation buffs will love the second one . \\nnow i know this is slightly off topic , but it is related specifically to this dvd so i must voice this now . \\none of the music videos on the disc is for a song called \" i need to know \" by a group called r angels . \\nthis video features four mid-teenage girls ( the singers obviously ) having a slumber party . \\nthe girls ask a ouija board \" i need to know . . . \\nwho to do , who to do , who to do \" as the song begins . \\nthey then sneak out of their house , and along the way they strike a pose and their slumber party pajamas are magically transformed into middle class streetwalker outfits . \\nthen they head to a party and dance suggestively with the guys while singing lyrics like \" i\\'ll be your pleasure all the time . . . \\njust say the words that you\\'ll be mine \" . \\num . . . \\nwhat the hell ? \\nwhat does this have to do with stuart little ? \\nhow is this in any way a song suitable for a kids movie , let alone a video suitable for a kids movie on dvd ? \\nwhen the video concludes , the words \" to be continued \" appear . \\noh i can\\'t wait to see who they\\'ve slept with when the toy story 2 dvd comes out . \\nkids won\\'t care about most of the special features on this dvd , but those of us who can sometimes be turned into a \" kid at heart \" thanks to a winning family film sure appreciate them . \\nthis is the way to do dvd , a good movie loaded with great features at a reasonable cost . \\nthe di$ney people could learn a lot from columbia tristar . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'bob the happy bastard\\'s quickie review : \\nthe mummy \\nbrendan fraser\\'s stuck in the past again , but at least this time he has something better to do than to quote sitcom lines and try to woo alicia silverstone . . . \\nfraser is the lead star of the mummy , the second directorial effort from action director stephen sommers ( who also brought us the decent thrill ride that was deep rising ) . \\nit\\'s a rough adaptation of the 1932 film , and i say rough because it focuses more on special effects than on some guy in bandages , like boris karloff was engulfed in . \\nbut who cares , the movie has a sort of swashbuckling quality to it you can\\'t get from , oh , say , godzilla or armageddon . \\nfraser plays a soldier who gets a premonition during a battle with soldiers in an egyptian ground . \\nbasically , it\\'s a little sign from the mummy buried underneath- a priest named ihmoetep who was buried alive for taking part of murdering the king and making out with his mistress . \\nhis plan- wake back up and wake her up also , making him invincible . \\nof course , fraser returns to the site years later with a librarian ( rachel weisz ) and her brother ( john hanna ) , along with a former buddy of his ( deep rising\\'s kevin j . o\\'connor ) and some \" americans \" . . . and \\nguess what ? \\nyup , ihmoetep ( arnold vosloo ) awakens and wreaks havoc . \\nfire flies from the sky , flesh-eating beetles crawl about , and , well , ihmoetep\\'s plan begins to unfold . \\nok , so it\\'s not really all that new a story , but the way sommers tells it is entertaining enough . \\nthe special effects from industrial light and magic are top notch , and the acting from fraser and weisz isn\\'t half bad either . \\nthe action is pretty intense ( favorite scene : the sandstorm ) and there are a few shocking scenes just to jolt you horror-loving folks as well . \\nno , it\\'s no phantom menace beater , but if you\\'re looking for a solid warm-up to the summer movie season , you won\\'t find a better film under wraps than the mummy . \\nif this doesn\\'t give fraser forgiveness from blast from the past and encino man , then nothing will . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'a backdrop of new year\\'s eve in 1981 would seem to lend itself to a great party movie . \\nthe decor possibilities are endless - disco balls had yet to migrate into the dark corners of the attic , big hair was worth its weight in aquanet , and the louder the fashion , the better the look . \\nbut despite this setting , these details and a soundtrack that includes some 40-plus irresistible hits from the early days of the me decade , something is inherently wrong with \" 200 cigarettes . \" \\na better title for this nostalgic mess would be \" 50 missed opportunities . \" \\nwhat is it that makes this retro-comedy such a downer ? \\nit\\'s certainly not the cast , which includes enough hot , young talent for several movies . \\nthere\\'s courtney love , cementing her reputation as a serious actress ; christina ricci , hot off her shoulda-been-nominated turn in \" the opposite of sex \" ; paul rudd , who gets even more appealing with every role ; kate hudson , inheriting some fine acting genes from mom goldie hawn ; and affleck brothers ben and casey , two of the best things about \" good will hunting . \" \\nperhaps the question is this : what drew these and other immensely talented actors to such a dreary project ? \\nmaybe it looked good on paper . \\n \" 200 cigarettes \" is composed of a series of vignettes , as various characters make their way through new york\\'s festively decorated east village to a holiday bash thrown by a jittery bundle of nerves named monica ( martha plimpton , all dressed up in her best cyndi lauper ) . \\namong the potential guests are likeable cad kevin ( rudd ) and his best friend lucy ( love ) , busy bickering over his recent break-up , and a clumsy but seemingly charming bartender ( ben affleck ) who opens his mouth only to spew forth bad pick-up lines . \\nmore subplots - _many_ more - dot the big picture , but those listed above are the only ones worth noting in a positive light . \\nall the other story tangents are as frazzled as a cokehead trying to solve a rubick\\'s cube . \\nricci and gaby hoffman grate as two ronkonkoma gals ( the kind that have trouble pronouncing hard consonants ) out to have a high time in the big city . \\ninfamously acerbic comedienne janeane garofalo is wasted in what amounts to a several-scene cameo . \\nhudson , as a pretty-in-pink klutz recently devirginized by a reprehensible ladies\\' man ( jay mohr ) , trips , pukes and gets smeared with dog poop . \\nare we laughing yet ? \\nthe film boils down to a mixture of the good , the bad and the gaudy , with the latter two overtaking the former . \\ngame performances - especially by love , rudd and plimpton - are almost shot down by the bizarrely colorful parts and a constantly roving focus , here a combination that mostly sputters when it should crackle . \\ntoo many sidetracks rate as uninteresting and have little payoff until a lengthy final montage where we find out many of the performers served as one night stands for each other . \\nif this is \" 200 cigarettes , \" then get me 200 nicotine patches . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'the most common ( and in many cases the only ) complaint against francis ford coppola\\'s 1972 masterpiece the godfather is glamorising of mafia , which is presented as an institution guided by ancient tradition and virtues like honour , loyalty and solidarity more suitable for some gentler , kinder ages . \\nmartin scorsese , another italoamerican moviemaker , confronted that perspective with his own , more down-to-earth vision of mafia in 1973 mean streets , movie that dealt with lower echelons of organised crime . \\nunfortunately for scorsese , his film was unspectacular and too artsy to compete with coppola\\'s influence on mafia portrayals in the movies . \\nseventeen years later scorsese returned to mean streets of new york with another film that dealt with darker side of american organised crime . \\nthis film was goodfellas , epic black comedy which is today considered as one of the best and most influential films of 1990s . \\ngoodfellas owes some of its initial success and popularity to the fact that it was based on the true story , told in best-seller book wiseguy by nicholas pileggi ( who would co-write the screenplay for the film ) . \\nthe book , as well as the film , chronicled thirty years in the life of henry hill ( played by ray liotta ) , irish-italian criminal from new york . \\nat the age of 13 he gets recruited in the criminal organisation of paulie cicero ( played by paul sorvino ) , local mob boss , and gradually climbs up the ladder starting with small errands . \\nafter couple of years , together with his best childhood friend tommy de vito ( played by joe pesci ) , he joins the crew of expert thieves led by jimmy conway ( played by robert de niro ) . \\nthree of them spend years as best friends and associates , gathering enormous wealth from their criminal enterprises that would culminate with one of the most spectacular robberies in american history . \\nwealth , influence and privileges of men connected with mafia are enough for henry hill to seduce his future wife karen ( played by lorraine bracco ) , who would afterwards remain loyal to her husband despite infidelities , domestic abuse , arrests and would even be accomplice to his own private drug dealing business . \\nbut the perfect world of \" wiseguys \" gradually begins to fall apart - tommy\\'s unpredictable outbursts of homicidal violence , jimmy\\'s reluctance to share his part of the loot with partners and , finally , henry\\'s own drug habit would lead to his downfall and make him question his loyalty to the friends . \\ngoodfellas is an excellent example of a film that represents work of a film genius in his full glory . \\nscorsese managed to create a vision which is effective and complete despite being full of contradictions that would ripped the film apart in the hands of less talented filmmaker . \\nworld depicted in this film is both ordinary and fascinating . \\nscorsese spares no effort to show us all the violence , hypocrisy and inherent paranoia of organised crime , yet it manages to make it both seductive and funny . \\nafter being exposed to two and half hours of the film and three decades of criminal history ( based on some notorious real life events ) , the audience understands why the characters chose such dangerous life paths , trading the superficial and short-lasting glamour and prosperity of a criminal to the dullness and poverty of honest citizens . \\nscorsese also manages to break viewer\\'s moralistic inhibitions by showing truly revolting material - scenes that depict personal tragedies , broken homes , human depravity , violence , bloodshed and murder - in all their uncompromising reality , but in a manner that would make it amusing and funny to the audience . \\nwith the use of ironic soundtrack , manipulative shots , character\\'s dialogue or narrator\\'s commentary , goodfellas represents the new standards of black humour that would became very popular few years later during tarantino era . \\neven if we don\\'t pay attention to skills with which potentially disturbing material becomes eye pleasing and entertaining , we should admit that scorsese displays his talents of truly original and creative filmmaker . \\nfirst , we might notice unusual structure of the plot - relatively minor subplot is used as movie\\'s ironic prologue . \\nthen , instead of single narrator , scorsese switches to the second character as narrator in the middle of the film only to switch back to the original shortly afterwards . \\nthis multiple points of views , both in terms of narration and various subjective shots , only lengthens the ironic distance towards characters and their situation . \\nsame ironic distance comes with extremely effective choice of soundtrack . \\nnostalgia for good old times is illustrated with easy-listening 1950s pop songs , while depression , paranoia and bad times find their expression in more neurotic rock songs of late 1960s and 1970s . \\nbut the soundtrack is most effective when it is used as ironic comment - almost pastoral , easy listening tunes make strong and very ironic contrast to the scenes of violence and bloodshed . \\nhowever , thing most associated with this film is couple of continuos shots that feature characters moving through large rooms and interacting with dozens if not hundreds of people . \\nsuch scenes , although they require very great skill and patience during their shootings , became very popular among other directors in 1990s . \\nfragmentary character of the screenplay , which doesn\\'t have straight plot and instead bases film on series of loosely connected vignettes , gives another interesting opportunity for scorsese . \\nhe uses this structure of film to experiment , and most successful of such experiments is hilarious \" a day in life \" segment near the end of the film . \\nanother essential element of goodfellas is large but superb collection of great acting talents . \\nthe most respectable among them is robert de niro , but his character , who happen to be most quiet and business-like member of criminal trio , gets overshadowed by two of his friends and colleagues . \\njoe pesci deserved his \" oscar \" for supporting role of homicidal psychopath tommy , and his lines , including ad-libs , probably represent the most memorable element of the film . \\nray liotta , although equally talented , perhaps doesn\\'t look as the best choice for narrator and nominal hero of the film . \\nliotta\\'s henry hill looks somewhat too hollywoodised and glamorous among this bunch of low-level street thugs . \\nliotta , on the other hand , improves general impression by very realistic and menacing portrayal of drug addiction . \\nlorraine bracco is , on the other hand , very effective and believable as karen hill , wife who gradually descends into same moral cesspool as her husband . \\npaul sorvino is also very effective as patriarch mafioso , and among the supporting cast most memorable is chuck low as pestering small-time gangster who unknowingly digs his own grave . \\nas a combination of clever sociological study , black humour and innovative filmmaking goodfellas became something only the truly great films could do - work of art and excellent popular entertainment in the same time . \\nbecause of this achievement , and also because of the great influence on future filmmakers , this cinematic gem deserves its rightful place among the best films of 1990s . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'go\\'s is a gloriously slick hip machine . \\ndirector liman ( who also photographed go ) and screenwriter august celebrate the drug/rave scene in l . a . , preferring to take ( comedic ) snapshots of troubled youth rather than critique them . \\nafter more than ninety minutes of pill-popping , tantric sex , car chases , and attempted murder , go even has a happy ending . \\nthis is the sort of film that gives members of the dove foundation splitting headaches ; as go wound down , i anticipated an anti-pill-popping-casual-tantric-sex-car-chase-attempted-murder sermon that ( blessedly ) didn\\'t arrive . \\na la tarantino\\'s pulp fiction , go is comprised of three separate but related stories . \\nthe basics are as follows : ronna ( polley ) is a bitter grocery store clerk facing eviction who turns to drug dealing for extra dough . \\nher co-worker , simon ( the improbably named askew ) , is a clubber from britain ecstatic about his first trip to vegas . \\nzack ( mohr ) and adam ( wolf ) are soap opera stars escaping a career-threatening conviction by assisting a peculiar cop ( fichtner ) in a drug bust . \\nperhaps because the innovative structure of tarantino\\'s non-linear masterwork is by now old hat , the id-fueled go delighted me but rarely surprised me ( with the exception of that mind-reading cat ! ) ; \\npulp fiction zigzagged down roads unforeseen , but we see go\\'s wheels turning from its first flash frame to the last . \\ntorontonian polley ( of the sweet hereafter ) refused to do publicity for this picture on the basis that she was \" not pleased with \" her turn as the ill-fated cashier . \\nin go , she delivers , hands-down , her best performance to date . \\nhere\\'s an ( overrated ) actress who agreed to appear on the poster , but not support her team at the junket or in interviews ; this sort of arrogance is commonplace for ms . polley , as anyone who has read of her political agenda in the canadian press will tell you . \\nif she doesn\\'t want to be the ingenue of the moment , she should have said \" no , \" not go . \\nbut i digress . \\ngo is a fun film , so chipperly depraved one can\\'t help but turn off his moral judgment for its duration and enjoy the ride . \\nin that sense , it\\'s a departure from liman\\'s last film , swingers , which at least lectured against self-absorption in the form of vince vaughan\\'s trent and his subtle comeuppance in the story\\'s clever epilogue ( which has been aped by mcdonald\\'s for their latest commercial ) . \\ni wish i cared more about go\\'s characters : like the techno music they listen to , the bands of anarchists on display here are at once absorbing and vacuous . \\nwhen the lights came up and stung my eyes , it was difficult to recall what about it entertained me . \\nyet entertain me it did . \\ngo is light and frothy , featuring compelling if not endearing work by polley , timothy olyphant ( scream 2 ) , and especially fichtner , whose homoerotic behavior is milked for effective laughs . \\nfichtner is a character actor best known for playing backstabbers ( in heat , armageddon , and others ) ; his previously untapped comic abilities shine in go . \\nunlike much of the film , fichtner is unpredictable . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s a good thing most animated sci-fi movies come from japan , because \" titan a . e . \" is proof that hollywood doesn\\'t have a clue how to do it . \\ni don\\'t know what this film is supposed to be about . \\nfrom what i can tell it\\'s about a young man named kale who\\'s one of the last survivors of earth in the early 31st century who unknowingly possesses the key to saving and re-generating what is left of the human race . \\nthat\\'s a fine premise for an action-packed sci-fi animated movie , but there\\'s no payoff . \\nthe story takes the main characters all over the galaxy in their search for a legendary ship that the evil \" dredge \" aliens want to destroy for no apparent reason . \\nso in the process we get a lot of spaceship fights , fistfights , blaster fights and more double-crosses than you can shake a stick at . \\nthere\\'s so much pointless sci-fi banter it\\'s too much to take . \\nthe galaxy here is a total rip-off of the \" star wars \" universe the creators don\\'t bother filling in the basic details which makes the story confusing , the characters unmotivated and superficial and the plot just plain boring . \\ndespite the fantastic animation and special effects , it\\'s just not an interesting movie . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'after the press screening of \" moulin rouge , \" i stood in the lobby of the theater listening to the reactions of my friends and colleagues . \\neveryone seemed a bit numb , understandable after sitting through a barrage of often-incongruous sounds and images . \\na pal of mine simply said that he loved the film and could hardly wait to take his wife to see it . \\nanother enthusiast immediately began to analyze the production , while a woman who flat-out hated the movie gave him the skunk eye . \\nwhen one fellow quietly stated \" i\\'ve never really been a fan of musicals , \" the statement surprised me because , even though the story is told almost completely through song , i didn\\'t think of it as a musical . \\nthere is so much going on in \" moulin rouge \" that \" musical \" seems too small a term to cover it . \\n \" moulin rouge \" is the kind of creation that sends critics scurrying off to the big tub o\\' adjectives in search of proper words to describe the experience . \\naustralian director baz luhrmann , the man behind \" strictly ballroom \" and \" romeo + juliet , \" fills the heads of viewers with unique camerawork , opulent imagery and songs ranging from \" the sound of music \" to \" smells like teen spirit . \" \\nsumptuous and beautiful , vulgar and overdone , \" moulin rogue \" travels through the looking glass while an ethereal stereo loaded with 50 years worth of catchy tunes operates on the \" random \" setting . \\noh , and it has a story as well . \\n \" it was 1899 , the summer of love . . . \\n \" christian ( ewan mcgregor ) is a penniless young writer newly arrived in paris , \" to write about truth , beauty , freedom and love , \" where he encounters a group of bohemians , led by henri de toulouse-lautrec ( john leguizamo ) . \\nchristian meets satine ( nicole kidman ) , a courtesan from the legendary moulin rogue , and his world transforms from black and white to technicolor . \\nat once fragile and vivacious , the dazzling red-haired woman sweeps him off his feet without even trying . \\nchristian instantly falls in love with her and satine finds herself smitten with him as well , which is quite a hindrance for someone in her profession . \\nworking with the bohemians and moulin rogue impresario harold zidler ( jim broadbent ) , christian writes an opus modestly named \" spectacular spectacular . \" \\nzidler quickly finds a backer , the wealthy duke of monroth ( richard roxburgh ) , but there\\'s a catch ? the duke also wants the hand of the fair satine . \\nas if all that isn\\'t enough , satine has a cough , and while a cough in the real world probably indicates a cold , it rarely turns out to be anything that simple in movie land . \\nlike a teeter-totter , \" moulin rogue \" moves up and down between the ridiculous and the sublime . \\none of the loveliest moments comes as christine and satine commune outdoors at night , becoming part of a defiantly unrealistic parisian cityscape straight from a book of fairy tales . \\ntogether they dance , while serenaded by the man in the moon ( alessandro safina provides the vocals ) , apparently transported from the classic georges m ? li ? s silent film to guard the nocturnal sky . \\nother scenes merely traffic in everything-and-the-kitchen-sink overload . \\nthe cavorting of toulouse-lautrec and his comrades gets strained at times and some of their overt comedy , accompanied by cartoon sound effects , is overly reminiscent of the frenzied farce that sitcoms like \" bewitched \" beat into the ground . \\nof course , sensory overload was exactly what baz luhrmann had in mind . \\n \" we never heard from baz to turn it down , \" one of the actors told the los angeles times . \\n \" it was always , \\'more ! \\nmore ! \\' \" \\nthe director even sent a note to his cast reading , \" i dare you to make me say you\\'ve gone too far . \" \\nthe musical numbers reflect his attitude . \\none knockout piece , the \" elephant love medley , \" incorporates the beatles\\' \" all you need is love , \" u2\\'s \" in the name of love , \" dolly parton\\'s \" i will always love you \" and elton john and bernie taupin\\'s \" your song . \" \\nneed more ? \\nhow about \" diamonds are a girl\\'s best friend \" spiced with portions of \" material girl ? \" \\nluhrmann\\'s cast offers a wide variety of approaches that , together , add up to something messy , but often wonderful . \\newan mcgregor is extremely likable as christian , emphasizing the sincerity of the love-struck poet . \\nmcgregor\\'s singing voice is robust and adds vigor at just the right moments . \\nonce labeled the \" ice queen , \" nicole kidman melts that characterization with a sizzling , yet tender , performance . \\nshe handles the songs adroitly , although her voice sounds a bit thin in the upper range . \\nveteran character actor jim broadbent is suitably larger than life as ringmaster zidler ? wait until you see him perform \" like a virgin . \" \\nas the buffoonish duke , richard roxburgh proves to be the film\\'s weakest link , although i\\'m sure he was simply following instructions . \\ni suspect \" moulin rogue \" will be one of those love-it-or-hate-it films . \\nwhile i didn\\'t completely love it , i most certainly liked it a lot . \\nover the course of a year , i see well over 300 movies , and most of them look like xeroxes of each other . \\n \" moulin rogue \" is an original , and an original , even a flawed one , is a thing to be cherished . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"back in 1980s , chuck norris used to be synonym for the action films . \\nhe couldn't , of course , top the success and fame of big action names like sylvester stallone or arnold schwarzenegger , but sheer quantity of his films guaranteed that he was household name among shoot'em up and beat'em up genre aficionados . \\nthat quantity was mostly provided by cannon group , prolific production company that dominated the b-movie market in previous decade by flooding it with cheap , formulaic and , more often than not , unwatchable genre products . \\nthe hitman , 1991 action thriller directed by chuck's brother aaron , is one of the last among them . \\nchuck norris here plays seattle cop betrayed , shot and left for dead by his partner ( which shouldn't surprise anyone , considering the fact that the partner is being played by michael parks , specialised for roles of usually very mean characters ) . \\nsurviving the shooting , cop is pronounced dead and hired as deep undercover agent . \\nhe infiltrates the underworld circles in seattle and becomes their top hitman , using his abilities to start brutal war between three major crime organisations - italians , french canadians and iranians . \\nsince it is rather absurd to expect great acting ability from chuck norris , at least not in this kind of movie , the biggest attraction of this film should have been action . \\nwell , the action in this film falls flat - it is boring , repetitive and not at all exciting . \\nit is nothing more than monotonous series of scenes that contains violence too brutal even for this type of films . \\nwe know very little about norris' character while , on the other hand , gangsters are portrayed with more human dimension . \\nin the end we almost feel sorry for them , since they are shown totally powerless against norris and his unstoppable and bloody crusade . \\nduring the film , somebody obviously became aware of that problem , so the screenwriter introduced the subplot dealing with the black boy who gets adopted by norris . \\nthat caused another problem - any questions about nature of that relationship had to be quashed with another subplot - this one dealing with lady lawyer who sleeps with the hero and gets killed after fulfilling that screenplay obligation . \\nthe photography in this film is dark , setting is depressive and this forgettable piece of 1980s style cinema leaves viewers without any reason to justify the hour and half spent in watching it . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'it\\'s a shame the execution of this concept falls very short of its premise . \\nthe movie is lacking and most unsatisfying . \\nosmosis jones is crude , gross , disgusting , and was directed by the farrelly brothers - the twisted siblings behind there\\'s something about mary , me , myself and irene and a couple of other movies in which the humor is mostly targeted below the belt . \\nnot that there\\'s anything wrong with scatology . \\ni bet even cavemen appreciated bathroom humor - such as it was . \\nit\\'s merely that with osmosis jones , the farrellys humor is too juvenile , too predictable . \\nyou can almost foresee the puns just by viewing the part of the inner anatomy a sequence is drawn . \\nosmosis jones looks like one of those old health class movies gone psycho . \\nthe trouble is , the animation may please the very young , but the jokes may be over their heads , while the teen-age audience may find it too tame for their tastes . \\nadults ? well , let\\'s just say most will find it unappetizing . \\nosmosis jones plays like a 100-minute infomercial for the eat healthy foods lobby . \\nthe live action sequences revolve around frank ( bill murray ) , who seems to be the grungiest human being in the universe . \\nhe continually looks as if he needs a shave and a shower . \\nfrank , much to the consternation of his daughter , is a fast-food addict , eating anything - and everything - that can kill you . \\nhe works at a zoo where the animals look cleaner - and presumably smell better - than he does . \\nfrank\\'s body is invaded by thrax , a lethal virus , after frank eats a hard-boiled egg that had fallen to the ground . \\nit\\'s not gross enough that frank picks the egg up from the dirt and plops it into his mouth . \\nnope , the farrellys pile it on by first having frank wrestle a chimp for the egg , wresting it from the primate\\'s mouth . \\nlike i said , the gross meter tips the scales on this one . \\nafter ingesting the egg , the movie begins its animated sequences . \\nhere , osmosis jones ( voiced by chris rock ) , a renegade white blood cell is teamed with drix ( voiced by frasier\\'s david hyde pierce ) , a 12-hour , painkiller cold capsule to battle thrax ( smoothly voiced by laurence fishburne ) . \\nbasically , what we have is a cliched cop-buddy movie , rife with all the clich ? s of that genre . \\nand this is why osmosis jones doesn\\'t click . \\nit merely falls back on tired , familiar conventions instead of creating new and exciting situations . \\nthe jokes and puns are lame : osmosis searches out a snitch , a former flu virus . \\nafter pumping him for information , drix tells osmosis , \" funny , he doesn\\'t look fluish . \" \\nand the jokes don\\'t rise above that level . \\nthe live action scenes are no better . \\nfrank is such a slob , so unappealing that it is difficult to fathom how he ever married or even sired a child . \\nhe\\'s almost a bigger cartoon than the animated characters . \\nosmosis jones is a movie that may be too violent for young children as thrax burns and dissolves blood cells right and left . \\nthe animation is rather two-dimensional and flat . \\nit lacks scope and depth . \\nit is an unappealing movie that will leave you scratching your head , and maybe leaning toward a shower after you walk out of the theater . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'i was anxious to see this for a long time . \\na friend of mine recommended this to me because he has a crush on neve campbell , and he wanted to prove that she\\'s as hot as he thinks he is . \\nhe proved it for me all right , but the reasons i enjoy this film go way beyond that . \\nscream treads on familar ground , horror movie with , as star neve campbell puts it , \" some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl who can\\'t act who\\'s always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door . \" \\nit\\'s very familar , your typical horror film . \\nso why , you may ask after watching it , does it seem so new and original ? \\nbecause it treats itself as if it hasn\\'t been done before , and thus the viewer is disilusioned into believing that it is not old , familar tired stuff . \\nthis raises another question : how does it do this ? \\nsimple : the characters . \\nthey\\'re not your typical stupid horror film victims who don\\'t know what the hell to do when being chased by a guy in a ski mask and a machette . \\nthey are horror fans , they know how stuff happens in a horror movie , they know what to do and what not to do , and that makes it scary , and even funny at certain times . \\nyou can tell this just by watching the opening scene where casey becker ( drew barrymore ) is making popcorn , getting ready to watch a video , and some guy who sounds like a killer calls her up to play a game with her that involves horror movie triva that , if she gets it wrong , will get her and her boyfriend killed . \\nshe knows what to answer when he asks her horror film questions , she just can\\'t answer his final question , \" what door am i at ? \" \\nand that gets her killed . \\nthat scene works because in a normal horror film , half the things that happen in that scene would never happen . \\nthe plot is typical horror stuff : sidney prescott ( an impressive neve campbell ) , an attractive young high school student who\\'s mother was killed a year ago tommorrow , is being stalked by a killer who\\'s previously murdered one of her classmates ( casey , naturally ) , and everybody in this small , california town is a suspect , including sidney\\'s boyfriend , billy loomis . \\nbut as i said before , these people know how horror movies work , and that\\'s what makes it so appealing . \\nthat and the references to horror movies , like when casey says , \" the first ( nightmare on elm street ) was scary , but the rest sucked . \" \\nwhich is obviously director wes craven ( who does a good job of poking fun of the genre that made him a legend ) patting himself on the back as he directed the first nightmare movie and none of the others , and when tatum , sidney\\'s friend , mentions the director , wes carpenter , which is obviously an homage by writer kevin williamson to not only craven , but also director john carpenter . \\nthe cast is well chosen , neve campbell pulls off a good heroine ( and unlike most horror film heroines , she * can * act ) , drew barrymore does a good janet leigh impression for what little time she has in the film , and david arquette is impressive . \\nalso good ( and funny ) in his role is henry winkler ( \" the fonz \" ) as the school principal . \\ni took half a point off for the unnecessary ( albeit limited ) appearance by friends\\' courteney cox as reporter , gail edwards , sidney\\'s rival because she covered her mother\\'s disappearance . \\ni hate that show , i hate those actors . \\nthey\\'re untalented , overexposed , and overpaid , imho , and i would think wes craven is smart enough to know those actors are overexposed enough , but i suppose he isn\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       "  b\"the happy bastard's 30-second review \\nbig daddy \\nhappy gilmore as a father ? \\nof course ! \\nthat's the latest scenario presented by adam sandler in the new movie big daddy , a movie that's passable but isn't really considered some of sandler's best work . \\nhe doesn't actually play happy gilmore in the movie , but a variation of him . \\nhe's sonny coufax , a man who's living off a settlement he got for a cab running over his foot and his one-day-a-week gig as a tollbooth man ( tollbooth willie ? ) . \\nhis girlfriend ( kristy swanson ) is fed up with his lifestyle and demands a change before she leaves him . \\nenter a 5-year old kid , who's mysteriously dropped at his doorstep and intended for his preppy roommate ( jon stewart ) , who's off in china on a business trip . \\nfrom there , coufax basically acts as the kid's father , teaching him different things like peeing on the side of a building and tripping up skateboarders with sticks . \\nhe even manages to use the kid in a sort of con game to get the attention of a beautiful law office worker ( joey lauren adams ) , but , somehow , he also garners the attention of social services , who aren't particularly pleased with coufax's actions , as he pretends to be his roommate to keep the kid . \\nthe reason i say it's not really sandler's best work is because it gets really sappy towards the end of a movie , showing some odd feelings that somehow didn't really belong in a sandler vehicle . \\ni mean , it fits the movie's tone and everything , and sandler handles it well , but it's just oddly placed , that's all . \\nfortunately , it doesn't destroy the goofy glee path it's been following and it still makes you feel good . \\nsandler does a good job here , as he does in most of his movies . \\nrob schneider , however , is irritating as his friend , an immigrant delivery boy who can't read . \\nstewart , in his minor time on screen , is great , and adams remains a joy to watch . \\nlook for steve buscemi as well as a homeless bum . \\nhe's a hoot . \\ndirected by dennis dugan ( director of happy gilmore ) , the movie remains a good couple of hours to pass the time with . \\nagain , there are faults , but , hey , everyone needs to get emotional sometimes . \\n\",\n",
+       "  b'i have nothing against unabashedly romantic films . \\nwhen done right , with at least slightly evident restraint , they can be engaging , sweeping , appealing . \\nbut it\\'s a hell of a shame when someone botches it as badly as nora ephron botched sleepless in seattle , a hollow , boring romance that should appeal only to the most gullible of viewers ; the ones willing to buy into ephron\\'s whiny views of life and romance . \\ntom hanks and meg ryan , two of hollywood\\'s most likeable stars play sam baldwin and annie reed , repectively . \\nbaldwin\\'s wife recently died and he moved to seattle with his son , jonah , seeking to get away from the familiar surroundings which remind him of his late spouse . \\njonah senses tension and calls a talk radio show to tell the world about their problems . \\nsam seems ready to strangle his son for calling the show , but when he gets on the phone he begins pouring his heart out . \\nephron has him do this so that annie reed ( meg ryan ) can hear it . \\nannie is a happy woman . \\nshe is engaged to walter , an allergy-prone working man and seems to be perfectly content . \\nbut after hearing sam the widower on the radio show , she becomes convinced that he is her destiny and is willing to risk her engagement for it . \\nfive years after this movie hit theaters , hanks , ryan and ephron would team up again in the far better , although still sub-par romantic comedy you\\'ve got mail , which is about people who hate each other in real life falling in love on the internet . \\nat least that movie had a sense of spontaneity . \\nhere it seems that the first one hundred minutes exist solely to set up for the last five . \\nthe fact that sam and annie will finally meet is so excruciatingly obvious that everything else is perfunctory . \\nsleepless in seattle is full of wonderful performers ; from its two leads to supporting stars like bill pullman and rosie o\\'donnell . \\nbut none of them can save the film from being a bore . \\nits characters are dull and empty , its script isn\\'t funny or particularly charming . \\nthe script has a fundamental problem : annie gives up , for little reason , her life with walter to pursue \" sleepless in seattle , \" whom she has never even seen . \\nit\\'s the kind of life decision that real people don\\'t make , and its a major , unforgivable plausibility sacrifice . \\nin essence , this movie\\'s purpose is to head towards a goal that shouldn\\'t even exist . \\nit\\'s a ten minute short film with ninety-five minutes of filler . \\nif you were to show me sleepless in seattle and i didn\\'t have to review it , you could just call me \" asleep in philadelphia . \" \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       "  b'woof ! too bad that leap of faith was the title of a 1992 comedy starring steve martin and debra winger , because that\\'s what\\'s required to watch this incredulous howler starring bruce willis as--of all things--a psychologist . \\nnot since the reagan administration has there been an acting stretch of such magnitude ! \\nalas , mickey rourke , we hardly knew ye . \\nstory opens with a campy kick--willis is treating a patient who abruptly steps out of the window to take the best flying leap since charles durning dove in the hudsucker proxy . \\nshe goes splat , he goes ugh , and his character spends the rest of the film colorblind . \\nreally . \\nthe good doctor then moves to sunny l . a . , where he rooms with an old college chum ( scott bakula ) , a therapist who\\'s getting death threats from someone in his monday evening group . \\nbuddy bites it in the second reel ( no surprise there ) and willis agrees to take over both the group and the death threats . \\nfor his troubles as therapy man , willis gets to share some cut-from-nc17 love scenes with the lover\\'s jane march while dodging nails , cars , and rattlesnakes . \\nwhy\\'d it have to be snakes ? \\ncolor of night is the worst movie of the year . \\nperiod . \\nforget north , clifford , or , heaven help us , even on deadly ground . \\nhere is a movie misfire so audaciously awful that you can\\'t help but wonder how the actors all kept straight faces while filming . \\nfor starters , the \" group \" is a collection of mixed nuts better suited to bob newhart than bruce willis . \\nthese are realistic portrayals of the mentally unhealthy ? \\nplaying a prissy obsessive/compulsive , cuckoos nest alumni brad dourif , alone , may set the psychology profession back ten years . \\nthe plot\\'s a wreck with laughable dialogue , pointless pov shifts , and the one big secret solvable in the first fifteen minutes . \\ndirector richard rush , who once helmed freebie and the bean , doesn\\'t seem to mind . \\nunfazed by the nincompoop plot and cuckoo characterizations , he overfills the film with enough canny camera shots and zany set-pieces to make the effort almost worth watching . \\nhis token freeway chase is ok , but the director has more fun with a vertiginous ending ala ( most recently ) fatal analysis . \\nacting credits are across-the-board awful . \\nwillis can be forgiven because he\\'s filming die hard 3 as we speak . \\nbut what about ruben blades insulting presence as the cop ? \\nor lesley ann warren\\'s stereotypical sex addict ? \\nor worst offender jane march as a mystery-girl-who\\'s-no-real-mystery ? \\nshudder . \\nbottom line : how they all kept straight faces , i\\'ll never know . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'melvin van peebles\\' \" sweet sweetback\\'s baadasssss song \" was a watershed moment in the history of american cinema and the black movement . \\nit was released less than a decade after the civil rights movement had begun and almost twenty years before the rodney king incident . \\nits violent and highly sexualized revenge tale of a macho black hustler fighting back against white oppression and winning was something that had never been seen on an american movie screen before . \\nin style , content , and how it was conceived and produced , \" sweet sweetback \" was a cinematic revolution , whether or not one agrees with its subject matter . \\nvan peebles , a black american who first gained recognition by writing novels in france , built \" sweet sweetback \" from the ground up almost entirely by himself . \\nbecause no studio would dare fund such a film , he was forced to raise all the money himself . \\nthe movie ended up costing about $500 , 000 , part of which was put up by none other than bill cosby . \\nvan peebles cut costs by hiring non-union labor and taking on most of the film\\'s responsibilities himself . \\nhe wrote the script , scored the music , edited and directed the film , as well as starred in the central role . \\nhe was also a brilliant entrepreneur who always found a way to make an extra buck . \\nfor instance , when the mppa slapped the film with a dreaded x-rating , van peebles not only threatened to bring a lawsuit against jack valenti and the mpaa , but he also developed a little marketing scheme : he coined the phrases \" rated x by an all-white jury , \" which he put on the movie posters to help advertise the film . \\nhe also printed the phrase on tee-shirts which he had no problem selling . \\nthe storyline in \" sweet sweetback \" is deceptively simple . \\nit takes place in los angeles , and van peebles stars as the title character , a tough male hustler of few words who grew up in a brothel , and makes money by doing what he does best : having sex . \\none day , he agrees to go with a couple of amiable white cops down to the station to make it look like they\\'re bringing in suspects on a politically-charged case involving murder . \\nhowever , on the way to the station the cops arrest a young black revolutionary named mu-mu ( hubert scales ) , who they proceed to beat viciously . \\nacting out of complete impulse rather than political motivation , sweetback fights back and beats the cops to the brink of death . \\nthe rest of the film follows sweetback as he evades the cops on his way to eventual escape in mexico . \\nalthough the repetition of watching sweetback run gets a little old by the end of the film , this plot allows van peebles\\' camera to roam the darker side of l . a . - the ghettos , alleys , and back-street whorehouses that other films had always overlooked . \\nvan peebles\\' entire point in making the movie was to secure on celluloid a vision of the black experience in america that other filmmakers had ignored . \\nat the beginning of \" sweet sweetback , \" he offers this epigraph , which is a traditional prologue used in medieval times when a messenger brought bad news : \" sire , these lines are not an homage to brutality that the artist has invented , but a hymn from the mouth of reality . . . \" \\nvan peebles wanted to make sure that his vision was one of reality , not of exaggeration . \\nof course , with today\\'s abundance of rap and hip hop music that sings the same ode to black inner-city life , as well as films by spike lee , john singleton , and the hughes brothers , \" sweet sweetback \" doesn\\'t seem all that revolutionary . \\nit is important to remember that this film must be viewed in the context and time period in which it was made . \\nat that time , \" sweet sweetback \" was so controversial that only two theaters in the entire united states would play it . \\ndistributors were petrified of a film that , in van peebles\\' words , gave the black audience \" a chance to see some of their own fantasies acted out - about rising out of the mud and kicking ass . \" \\nof course , once it caught on , it caught on big . \\n \" sweet sweetback \" is now considered to be the film that kicked off the blaxploitation era , although van peebles disassociates \" sweetback \" from other movies like \" shaft \" ( 1972 ) and \" the mack \" ( 1973 ) , because those were financed by big hollywood studios . \\n \" sweet sweetback \" is also the only film deemed mandatory viewing by the black panthers . \\nhowever , even if when viewed from an african-american perspective , \" sweet sweetback \" is certainly not without its controversies . \\nwhen it was first released , an article was published in \" ebony \" magazine denouncing the film , while at the same time the black panthers used an entire newsletter to praise it . \\nthere have been arguments that the victory for sweetback is really no victory at all - beating cops and then running away to mexico is nothing to be proud of . \\nothers have pointed out that sweetback has little to say throughout the film ; he has no political motivations , and therefore the violence and havoc he wreaks is not rooted in fundamental beliefs , but in personal and selfish motives . \\nstill others point to the clich ? black potency that stereotypes sweetback as being good at nothing but having sex , illustrated in a scene where he gains the respect of a white biker group by bringing their female leader to orgasm . \\nnevertheless , a movie like \" sweet sweetback \" cannot be made without conflicting points of view . \\nit is a revolutionary movie not because it\\'s about one man\\'s defiance , but because it put front-and-center black issues that had never been dealt with before . \\nuntil that point , american cinema was an almost exclusively white domain , and with the exception of sidney poitier , all black actors were relegated to specifically black roles that were important only in relation to whites . \\nthe fact that \" sweet sweetback \" was a movie by black about blacks , was something new ( in the opening credits , van peebles lists the starring actors as simply \" the black community \" ) . \\nvan peebles tells an interesting story that goes a long way toward defining the difference between \" sweet sweetback \" and all movies that had come before it . \\nwhen the movie first opened , he saw it in a theater next to an older woman . \\nnear the end of the film , when sweetback is wounded by the police and stumbling through the southern california desert , she kept saying to herself , \" oh lord , let him die . \\ndon\\'t let them kill him . \\nlet him die on his own . \" \\nit was so ingrained in her mind that death was imminent for any african-american in a movie who rebelled against white authority , that she couldn\\'t even conceive of the possibility that the film might end with his successful escape . \\nand , of course , sweetback does escape , and the screen fills with the message : \" watch out ! \\na baad asssss nigger is coming back to collect some dues . \" \\nbeyond the political aspects , \" sweet sweetback \" is an entertaining picture , which van peebles always intended it to be . \\nhe squeezed every drop out of his limited budget , and produced a film that , although dated now , was technically fantastic at the time . \\nhe shot in rough , documentary-like fashion , while also utilizing almost every visual and aural trick his technology would allow him . \\nhe makes good use of older techniques like split screens , freeze frames , reversed color schemes , and overlapping images . \\nthe only time the film ever looks bad is during the night sequences , because van peebles simply did not have the needed equipment . \\nwatching \" sweet sweetback \" more than twenty-five years after its initial release , one realizes that it still has bite . \\narguments can be made that race relations in the united states have made quantum leaps since the early seventies , but there are still problems that are reflected in this film . \\nbut there is more to the film than its racial aspect . \\nthe legacy of \" sweet sweetback\\'s baadasssss song \" is not only the plentiful amount of art and music told from the african-american perspective , but more importantly , the work of every artist who has fought to fund and produce that which is important to him . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'in december of 1996 , a little movie called \" scream , \" was released , became a box-office smash , and resurrected films targeted at teens . \\nfirst , it was teen slasher movies that were the big fad ( both \" scream \" movies , \" i know what you did last summer , \" \" urban legend , \" etc . ) , but just recently , the popularity has switched over to the teen comedy genre ( a \\'la \\'80s john hughes ) , starting with last june\\'s \" can\\'t hardly wait . \" \\nit may be the first week of april in 1999 , but so far this year we have been given a movie aimed at the 25-and-under market almost every single week : \" varsity blues , \" \" jawbreaker , \" \" cruel intentions , \" \" simply irresistible , \" \" the rage : carrie 2 , \" and \" the mod squad . \" \\ncoming april 9 are two more of this type : \" never been kissed \" and \" go , \" and on april 23 , we\\'ve got the teen satire \" election \" and the teen horror-comedy \" idle hands . \" \\njeesh ! \\nout of all of these moves , however , the one that is most similar to the latest incarnation , \" 10 things i hate about you , \" is this past january\\'s mediocre , ho-hum \" she\\'s all that . \" \\nalthough similar in plotting ( ok , darn near identical ) , \" 10 things i hate about you , \" a modern-day version of shakespeare\\'s \" the taming of the shrew \" ( \" she\\'s all that \" got its inspiration from \" pygmalion \" ) , is an infinitely superior film in every department , from the smart direction by first-time feature director gil junger to the charming and well-written screenplay by karen mccullah lutz and kirsten smith to the striking ensemble cast , who give the best group of performances in a teen comedy since 1985\\'s \" the breakfast club . \" \\nand to top it all off , in the inevitable climax set at the prom , at least we didn\\'t have to once again suffer through a goofy , inappropriate dance sequence ( who could forget , or want to remember , for that matter , this ludicrous development in \" she\\'s all that ? \" ) . \\nthe day wide-eyed , shy new student cameron james ( joseph gordon-levitt ) starts school at seattle-based padua high , he is swept away at the sight of the beautiful and popular sophomore , bianca stratford ( larisa oleynik ) . \\nalthough he doesn\\'t know french , he purposefully learns some of it just so he can tutor her , but finds that her paranoid gynecologist father ( larry miller ) won\\'t allow her to date until her bitter , unconventional older sister , kat ( julia stiles ) , a senior , decides to . \\nkat , of course , has sworn off the likes of boys , but cameron sets out to find someone that will be the perfect match for her , which is exactly what he finds in the form of the rebellious patrick verona ( heath ledger ) . \\ncomplicating matters , cameron\\'s dorky friend , michael ( david krumholtz ) , decides to use a wealthy jock , joey ( andrew keegan ) , who also has his sights set on bianca , as a pawn so that he will pay patrick to get kat to go out with him , and then cameron hopes to steal bianca away from joey . \\nas you can see , \" 10 things i hate about you \" includes a huge number of characters , some of which i haven\\'t even mentioned , such as kat\\'s shakespeare-obsessed friend , mandella ( susan may pratt ) and bianca\\'s materialistic comrade , chastity ( gabrielle union ) . \\nat a short , but well-used running time of 98 minutes , all of the characters are perfectly handled , satisfyingly developed , and , for the most part , are not treated as caricatures ( another flaw of \" she\\'s all that , \" where the bad guys ( and gals ) ran around constantly saying , \" you\\'re vapor \" ) . \\nsince i could sympathize with the realistic depictions of the central characters , and since many of the comedic and dramatic scenes were surprisingly effective , i got completely caught up in all of the relationships and was thoroughly entertained . \\naside from a good screenplay , it\\'s the performances that can make or break a movie , and director junger has really hit the jackpot . \\naside from joseph gordon-levitt ( \" 3rd rock from the sun \" ) , who gives his strongest performance to date here , none of the actors are that well-known , but it is this aspect that brings a particular freshness to the proceedings . \\nas the main character of kat , julia stiles ( last seen in the miniseries \" the \\'60s \" ) is marvelous and always believable , and certainly has a bright future ahead of her . \\neven though it is her role that is initially the most difficult and hard-edged , it was easy to identify with kat\\'s way of thinking ( she is against the silly tradition of the prom and loves reading sylvia plath ) , and i completely admired her individuality . \\nno one , i think , could have portrayed her as perfectly as stiles does . \\nheath ledger , as the infamous bad-boy of the town , injects much life into patrick , and has a lot of chemistry with stiles . \\none other actor of note is larisa oleynik who , with the help of screenwriters lutz and smith , is able to turn bianca into a person with multi-dimensions , even though she is accurately self-centered at the on-set . \\nin one truthful scene , cameron angrily asks her if she has always been so selfish , and bianca grudgingly realizes that yes , she has . \\none off-beat element of the film , and a source of some hearty laughs , is the way that the school\\'s staff act , which is strikingly unformal . \\nallison janney , as the guidance counselor ms . perky , who is writing a trashy harlequin romance novel , is comic dynamite , as is daryl \" chill \" mitchell as the english teacher , who reads shakespeare to the class in rap and , at one point , sends kat to the office because , for once , she actually thinks one of his assignments is really good . \\nalthough there are a few cheap laughs that are thrown into the film near the beginning , most of it actually works , especially in the humorous and witty dialogue exchanges and quirks between the characters . \\nin one very funny scene , chastity asks , \" i know people can be overwhelmed , and they can be underwhelmed , but can people just be . . . whelmed ? \" \\nat another point , bianca and kat\\'s father ( a stand-out larry miller ) , who is constantly terrified that his daughters are going to get pregnant , only allows bianca to go to the prom on one occasion : before she leaves , she has to put on the heavy fat suit he has so she will get an idea of what it\\'s like to be pregnant . \\n \" 10 things i hate about you \" once and for all proves that there is still life in the teen comedy genre , and this movie is probably more reminiscent of the great john hughes than any other film of the \\'90s . \\nit also helps that the movie has a perfectly-assembled soundtrack , mixing indie-rock with new wave \\'80s songs ( and with , thank goodness , no rap ) . \\nby the film\\'s end , it actually had me rooting for certain characters to get together , and i was also quite pleased with how everything was wrapped up , especially in the final scenes involving kat and bianca , kat and her father , and a flawlessly-acted and moving sequence in which kat gets up to read the poem she has written for her english class ( this is where the title comes from ) . \\nluckily , i doubt i would be able to find ten things i hate about \" 10 things i hate about you , \" but the positive aspects of the film far out-number ten . \\n',\n",
+       "  b'these days , we are witnessing the deluge of films based on old , cult tv shows . \\nmost of the times , the fans of these shows shudder thinking what could hollywood hacks of the present do with the memories of their past . \\nbut , some five or six years ago , there weren\\'t that many movies and the trend didn\\'t look that depressing . \\nso , the people who , like the author of this review , grew up watching flintstones , popular 1960s animated series about \" modern stone age \" family , weren\\'t particularly worried when the word came about live action remake . \\nafter all , the producer behind the project was steven spielberg and , if anything else , at least the special effects would be good . \\nthe plot revolves about flintstones , family set in fictious stone age \" town \" of bedrock , whose members enjoy the lifestyle of 1950s middle class america . \\nfred flinstone ( john goodman ) works in the quarry , and one day he helps his best friend and neighbour barney rubble ( rick moranis ) and his wife betty ( rosie o\\'donnell ) to adopt a baby . \\nto return the favour , barney switches his results of aptitude test with fred , and , based on that , fred gets well-paid job in management . \\nbut , of course , this is just a sham - corrupt official cliff vandercave ( kyle maclachlan ) and his sultry secretary sharon stone ( halle berry ) need a scapegoat for their embezzlement scheme . \\nin the meantime , fred\\'s wife wilma ( elizabeth perkins ) must face her mother ( elizabeth taylor ) who can\\'t stand fred . \\non the superficial level , the flintstones did the excellent job in bringing the animated series to life . \\ncomputer effects are flawless , and the costumes , settings and other details are authentic for all the fans of the show . \\nunfortunately , problems with this film start with inadequate casting - rick moranis is too thin for the role of barney , while the cartoon betty used to be much skinnier than rosie o\\'donnell . \\nbut the greatest problem of all is plot , or to be precise , the lack of plot . \\nsome thirty six screenwriters made sure that the plot of the film is lame , original characters one-dimensional , and many elements of the story , like embezzlement and inter-office politics , totally incomprehensible for the little children , the main targeted audience of this film . \\nresult is almost unwatchable mess , occasionally saved mostly by excellent acting ( elizabeth perkins was right on mark as wilma ) and one of the classic example of mortal hollywood disease known as \" high concept \" . \\nafter great hype , movie quickly sank into oblivion and the fans of the show returned to the animated version . \\nall in all , film isn\\'t that bad , but only the hard core fans and nostalgics can find more than guilty pleasure in it . \\n',\n",
+       "  ...],\n",
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+       "[b\"arnold schwarzenegger has been an icon for action enthusiasts , since the late 80's , but lately his films have been very sloppy and the one-liners are getting worse . \\nit's hard seeing arnold as mr . freeze in batman and robin , especially when he says tons of ice jokes , but hey he got 15 million , what's it matter to him ? \\nonce again arnold has signed to do another expensive blockbuster , that can't compare with the likes of the terminator series , true lies and even eraser . \\nin this so called dark thriller , the devil ( gabriel byrne ) has come upon earth , to impregnate a woman ( robin tunney ) which happens every 1000 years , and basically destroy the world , but apparently god has chosen one man , and that one man is jericho cane ( arnold himself ) . \\nwith the help of a trusty sidekick ( kevin pollack ) , they will stop at nothing to let the devil take over the world ! \\nparts of this are actually so absurd , that they would fit right in with dogma . \\nyes , the film is that weak , but it's better than the other blockbuster right now ( sleepy hollow ) , but it makes the world is not enough look like a 4 star film . \\nanyway , this definitely doesn't seem like an arnold movie . \\nit just wasn't the type of film you can see him doing . \\nsure he gave us a few chuckles with his well known one-liners , but he seemed confused as to where his character and the film was going . \\nit's understandable , especially when the ending had to be changed according to some sources . \\naside form that , he still walked through it , much like he has in the past few films . \\ni'm sorry to say this arnold but maybe these are the end of your action days . \\nspeaking of action , where was it in this film ? \\nthere was hardly any explosions or fights . \\nthe devil made a few places explode , but arnold wasn't kicking some devil butt . \\nthe ending was changed to make it more spiritual , which undoubtedly ruined the film . \\ni was at least hoping for a cool ending if nothing else occurred , but once again i was let down . \\ni also don't know why the film took so long and cost so much . \\nthere was really no super affects at all , unless you consider an invisible devil , who was in it for 5 minutes tops , worth the overpriced budget . \\nthe budget should have gone into a better script , where at least audiences could be somewhat entertained instead of facing boredom . \\nit's pitiful to see how scripts like these get bought and made into a movie . \\ndo they even read these things anymore ? \\nit sure doesn't seem like it . \\nthankfully gabriel's performance gave some light to this poor film . \\nwhen he walks down the street searching for robin tunney , you can't help but feel that he looked like a devil . \\nthe guy is creepy looking anyway ! \\nwhen it's all over , you're just glad it's the end of the movie . \\ndon't bother to see this , if you're expecting a solid action flick , because it's neither solid nor does it have action . \\nit's just another movie that we are suckered in to seeing , due to a strategic marketing campaign . \\nsave your money and see the world is not enough for an entertaining experience . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"good films are hard to find these days . \\ngreat films are beyond rare . \\nproof of life , russell crowe's one-two punch of a deft kidnap and rescue thriller , is one of those rare gems . \\na taut drama laced with strong and subtle acting , an intelligent script , and masterful directing , together it delivers something virtually unheard of in the film industry these days , genuine motivation in a story that rings true . \\nconsider the strange coincidence of russell crowe's character in proof of life making the moves on a distraught wife played by meg ryan's character in the film -- all while the real russell crowe was hitching up with married woman meg ryan in the outside world . \\ni haven't seen this much chemistry between actors since mcqueen and mcgraw teamed up in peckinpah's masterpiece , the getaway . \\nbut enough with the gossip , let's get to the review . \\nthe film revolves around the kidnapping of peter bowman ( david morse ) , an american engineer working in south america who is kidnapped during a mass ambush of civilians by anti-government soldiers . \\nupon discovering his identity , the rebel soldiers decide to ransom him for $6 million . \\nthe only problem is that the company peter bowman works for is being auctioned off , and no one will step forward with the money . \\nwith no choice available to her , bowman's wife alice ( ryan ) hires terry thorne ( crowe ) , a highly skilled negotiator and rescue operative , to arrange the return of her husband . \\nbut when things go wrong -- as they always do in these situations -- terry and his team ( which includes the most surprising casting choice of the year : david caruso ) take matters into their own hands . \\nthe film is notable in that it takes this very simple story line and creates a complex and intelligent character-driven vehicle filled with well-written dialogue , shades of motivation , and convincing acting by all the actors . \\nthe script is based on both a book ( the long march to freedom ) and a magazine article pertaining to kidnap/ransom situations , and the story has been sharply pieced together by tony gilroy , screenwriter of the devil's advocate and dolores claiborne . \\nthe biggest surprise for me was not the chemistry between crowe and ryan , but that between crowe and david caruso . \\ndug out from b-movie hell , caruso pulls off a gutsy performance as crowe's right hand gun while providing most of the film's humor . \\nryan cries a lot and smokes too many cigarettes , david morse ends up getting everyone at the guerilla camp to hate him , and crowe provides another memorable acting turn as the stoic , gunslinger character of terry thorne . \\nthe most memorable pieces of the film lie in its action scenes . \\nthe bulk of those scenes , which bookend the movie , work extremely well as establishment and closure devices for all of the story's characters . \\nthe scenes are skillfully crafted and executed with amazing accuracy and poise . \\ndirector taylor hackford mixes both his old-school style of filmmaking with the dizziness of a lars von trier film . \\nproof of life is a thinking man's action movie . \\nit is a film about the choices men and women make in the face of love and war , and the sacrifices one makes for those choices -- the sacrifices that help you sleep at night . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"quaid stars as a man who has taken up the proffesion of dragonslayer after he feels he is betrayed by a dragon early in the movie . \\nhe runs into the last dragon in existence , and there is a genuinely amusing battle between the two which results in a standoff where quaid is in the dragons mouth , but has his sword pointed at the dragons brain . \\neventually , they decide to call a truce , and they work out a deal . \\nsince he is the last dragon , he will pretend to die and quaid will be able to get paid for it . \\ntheir scam works at first , until they come to a town without any money . \\ninstead the town sacrifices a girl to the dragon , but of course , draco is a nice droagon , so he won't eat her . there is however a very amusing scene where draco is hitting on the young girl . \\nof course , as you can probably tell by the plot , this is a silly movie , but it does know when to take itself seriously at the right times , unlike eddie , which was serious all the time . \\nyou could probably call this a medieval comedy , because there are more laughs here than in eddie and spy hard combined . \\ndennis quaid makes a fine hero . \\npete posthlewaite provides some ghreat comedy as a monk who journeys with them . \\ndina meyer is appealing as the sacrificed girl . \\nbut lets face it , the movie is really about the dragon , and what an amazing creation he is . \\nconnery's voice and ilm team up to provide us with a truly magnificent dragon . \\nso , if you are going to see this movie for a strong hard core medieval epic , you are going to the wrong movie . \\nif you are going because of the dragon , you will not be dissapointed , and you will be provided with plenty of laughs that smooth out the boring parts in the script . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'we could paraphrase michelle pfieffer\\'s character in dangerous minds and say that beyond rangoon starts with an \" a . \" \\nthat\\'s fair enough . \\nall movies , like all school children , should be given the benefit of the doubt . \\nthe chance to succeed . \\nafter all , we like to think that the right combination of talent and effort can do wonders . \\nmountains can be moved , and good movies can be made . \\nyeah right . \\nchildren fail , as do films . \\nas does director john boorman\\'s latest . \\nthe success of beyond rangoon hinges on the believability of patricia arquette ( ed wood , true romance ) as the busty westerner-in-peril wandering about 1988 burma without a passport . \\nthough we can stomach the mild plot contrivances that get her there , it\\'s a tougher task to overlook the actress . \\nshe\\'s a lightweight . \\nas the first scene ( with narration ! ) \\ndemonstrates , she doesn\\'t have * nearly * enough range for the emotions that her character--a mother fleeing the memories of a murdered husband and son--is supposed to show . \\nshe may give a stronger performance than , say , keanu reeves in a walk in the clouds , by not by much . \\nbeyond rangoon is a very physically appealing film , thanks to the practiced craftsmanship of john boorman ( deliverance , excalibur , hope and glory ) . \\nhe keeps the narrative moving , no matter how muddy the story--or the heroine--gets . \\nwhy he chose arquette remains a mystery , though . \\nmaybe he was thinking that the dramatic weight of the story would overcome any casting deficiencies . \\nbut even after an hour of half-stated political statements and murky mass killings , we * still * don\\'t know enough of what\\'s happening in this country to feel distressed for the characters or their situations . \\nempty exoticism . \\nthe technical credits in beyond rangoon are a curious mix , combining lush jungle photography with bad blue-screen work . \\nalso odd is the obvious dubbing . \\ndone to make some of the foreign characters sound less foreign ? \\nand , is it my mistake , or do the same extras keep reappearing as different soldiers ? ? \\ndoo doo doo doo . \\n[ \" twilight zone \" theme , or opinion of movie . \\nyou be the judge . ] \\n',\n",
+       " b\"kolya is one of the richest films i've seen in some time . \\nzdenek sverak plays a confirmed old bachelor ( who's likely to remain so ) , who finds his life as a czech cellist increasingly impacted by the five-year old boy that he's taking care of . \\nthough it ends rather abruptly-- and i'm whining , 'cause i wanted to spend more time with these characters-- the acting , writing , and production values are as high as , if not higher than , comparable american dramas . \\nthis father-and-son delight-- sverak also wrote the script , while his son , jan , directed-- won a golden globe for best foreign language film and , a couple days after i saw it , walked away an oscar . \\nin czech and russian , with english subtitles . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i don\\'t know how many other people have had the idea cross their mind that their life could be an ongoing television show watched by another world of people , but it\\'s something i used to wonder about when i was younger . \\ni can\\'t decide if i first thought it because i watched a lot of tv or because my brother hit me in the head with a baseball bat , but i\\'m pretty sure andrew niccol , screenwriter for the truman show , has had the same curious thought . \\nthe truman show is about a man ( jim carrey ) whose entire life has been engineered by a corporation and marketed to the public . \\nsince birth , he\\'s been living in the fictional island town of seahaven , fla . , which actually exists as a giant domed set just beyond the hollywood sign . \\nall the people in truman burbank\\'s life are actors , and the anonymous townfolk paid extras . \\npeople watch truman\\'s life 24 hours a day , live , with no commercial interruptions . \\nrevenue comes instead from product placement , a staple of contemporary hollywood , with truman\\'s friends and relatives describing their consumer items in cheerful and optimistic tones . \\nthe sun rises and sets on cue and everyone likes everyone else . \\neven if you haven\\'t seen the truman show , you\\'ve probably learned most of the crucial details from the commercials , the trailer and other promotion blitzes . \\nif anything i\\'ve written so far is a surprise to you , then i pity you for making me a primary source for your entertainment news . \\neither way , you should probably know the premise of the truman show going into it , because otherwise you\\'ll probably think it sucks . \\nit begins with jim carrey looking into a mirror , reciting the crucial \" eat me \" scene from alive , wishing his neighbors a good day , afternoon and evening , and living in domestic bliss with his wife ( laura linney ) . \\nbut weird things start happening . \\na stage light comes falling out of the sky , truman hears people tracking his movements on the radio and he swears he sees his dead father . \\nwe learn through a flashback that his father drowned when truman was a child , sailing through a rainstorm . \\nthe death was staged by director christof ( ed harris ) , who wanted to put a fear of water into truman to keep him from leaving the island . \\nsimilar cruel manipulations keep him from stumbling upon the truth , not the least of them truman\\'s best friend marlon ( noah emmerich ) , who assures him he\\'s not in on any conspiracy because the last thing he\\'d ever do is hurt him . \\nas truman\\'s trusting eyes tear over , christof fades up emotional synthesizer music for a worldwide audience of people who apparently never watch anything else . \\nthere\\'s even a daily behind-the-scenes update from harry shearer that captures the highlights of truman\\'s existence . \\nthe key to a movie like this is in finding the right balance between humor and drama , because a premise like this has its obvious implications in both directions . \\nand it all hinges on carrey , who has to balance comic naivet with a real sense of longing and drive to find out what the hell is going on . \\nhe\\'s come a long way from talking butt cheeks in ace ventura . \\nmost fundamentally , it\\'s just plain interesting to follow along as director peter weir shows us just how they can capture a person\\'s life without the person realizing it -- how they coordinate extras , hide cameras and feed automatic lines to actors . \\nthe most interesting thing about the truman show is that most of us can probably imagine some ambitious director pitching a show like this . \\nsure , the most interesting tv genre of the \\'90s has been reality programming and jerry springer\\'s popularity is through the roof , but those people deserve to be humiliated for turning their intimate details over to the airwaves . \\nand when news shows use hidden cameras , it\\'s done in the name of the greater good , not entertainment . \\nbut merge the two and you\\'ve got the truman show . \\nright now , it\\'s implausible -- i mean , the fcc won\\'t let you say the s-word on the air ; do you think they\\'d let you broadcast every detail of a man\\'s life to the entire world without his consent ? \\none day , though , it could happen . \\nand , even though it would mean the end of privacy , people would eat it up . \\nyou know they would . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : trippy , hyperspeed action machine from hong kong\\'s accomplished tsui hark . \\nvan damme and rodman have nice chemistry , the stunts are eyepopping , and stuff gets blowed up real good ; what more do you want ? \\ni admit i was all set to loathe double team ; it reeked of cheapjack timing-oriented marketing ( stick dennis rodman in a movie , quick , while he\\'s hot , and do something about jean-claude van damme\\'s flagging career while we\\'re at it ! ) . \\nsurprise -- double team transcends its dumb roots and turns out to be a mess of fun . \\nbring some friends , get some pretzels , and have a blast . \\nvan damme is jack quinn , an ex-agent who is brought back in for \" one last mission \" -- you\\'d think any spy worth his shoe phone would run like hell when he hears those words . \\nbut van damme\\'s character has a pregnant wife who\\'s also a sculptor , and some unpleasant pressure gets used to get him to come through on this mission . \\nhe\\'s been assigned to take down an old enemy , a terrorist named stavros ( mickey rourke , looking oddly subdued ) , who may be back up to his old tricks . \\nin the first showdown between quinn and stavros , the movie wears its ambitions proudly on its sleeve : nonstop action . \\nan amusement park , a hospital , a private \" retired spy \" \\'s retreat , most of rome , various houses , planes , cars and other modes of transport , and the coliseum ( ! ) \\nall become arenas for some of the most bone-rattling shoot-outs and punch-outs filmed . \\nthey are better seen than described and are reason enough to see the film : one jaw-dropping scene has van damme taking on a man who uses a switchblade with his * feet * . \\n ( van damme is a good , dextrous athlete and fighter , but he is often upstaged . ) \\nthere are other nice touches . \\nstavros and quinn both want the same thing : to retire in peace with their families . \\nthat ambition ties them together in various ways , and also humanizes them a bit . \\none of the things about hk action movies is that there\\'s always some form of human element , and that\\'s carried over into this movie as well . \\nit gives weight to scenes that would otherwise be forgettable . \\nalso good is dennis rodman , playing a weapons dealer named yaz -- a character who sticks out like a fistful of broken fingers and who is funny just standing there . \\nrodman is natural on screen ; he\\'s fun to watch , especially when slinging bad guys like basketballs , and deserves to get a movie of his own , based on what\\'s seen here : a lightweight , fast-moving entertainment that showcases all of its pieces excellently . \\n',\n",
+       " b'gothic murder-mystery yarns are not a new conceit . \\nin fact , they\\'ve been around in books and on film for many , many years . \\nwithout the proper handling , they come off as old-fashioned , bland , and outdated . \\n \" the gift , \" directed by sam raimi , is a tried-and-true effort that surprises very little , and includes everything from a wide array of suspects and red herrings , to mansions in the deep south with moss trees out front , to the eventual discovery of a waterlogged corpse found in a nearby pond . \\nit\\'s fairly obvious who the killer is ; in fact , i predicted who it would be before the movie began and was correct in my preliminary suspicions . \\nthe film ultimately shouldn\\'t work , but it does , thanks to a sparkling cast that fills each character with so many memorable nuances , the most fun to be had is in simply watching the people interact with each other . \\nannie wilson ( cate blanchett ) is a recently widowed mother of three sons who makes her living giving psychic readings to the residents of her backwater southern hometown . \\nsome of her mainstay clients include valerie barksdale ( hilary swank ) , who is severely abused by her husband donnie ( keanu reeves ) , and buddy cole ( giovanni ribisi ) , an unstable mechanic who is confused by the nightmares he\\'s been having about a mysterious blue diamond that is somehow linked to his father . \\nfor annie , she does not give the readings merely for money , but uses it as a way of seeking solace in finding the good in everyone\\'s future . \\nher late grandmother ( rosemary harris ) told her as a child that it was a gift she was given , and she should always remember that . \\nwhen annie\\'s eldest son is involved in a fight at school , she meets the nice-guy school principal , wayne collins ( greg kinnear ) , whom she finds herself attracted to . \\nbut wayne is engaged to the wealthy jessica king ( katie holmes ) , whom annie immediately gets a negative vibe about . \\nat a party with her best friend linda ( kim dickens ) , annie stumbles upon jessica in a compromising position with lawyer david duncan ( gary cole ) . \\nsoon after , jessica has disappeared , leaving everyone in a frenzy over what could have possibly happened to her , and annie starts to have nightmares and apparitions linking jessica with the vicious redneck donnie barksdale , and the pond behind his home . \\n \" the gift \" may be cliched on a sheer storytelling level , but the performances and tight direction from raimi ( who has redeemed himself for his embarrassing last film , 1999\\'s \" for love of the game \" ) lift the picture up several notches . \\nslowly enveloping the viewer into the many intriguing characters and their individual plights , the disappearance of jessica at the 30-minute mark divulges the movie\\'s true intentions and transforms the proceedings into a taut , at times frightening , horror-mystery . \\nat the center of the film is the exceptional cate blanchett ( 1999\\'s \" the talented mr . ripley \" ) , who turns annie wilson from what could have been little more than a run-of-the-mill protagonist into a very exact , down-to-earth , realistic person with valid troubles and a caring attitude towards those around her . \\nblanchett takes the unextraordinary material and runs with it , giving the entire film a truly classy aura that it otherwise might not have had . \\nwe follow her at every turn because she is so mesmerizing , both as a character and an actress . \\nblanchett isn\\'t the only bright performer , as she is ably supported by one of the best casts of the year . \\nin her first role following her oscar win for 1999\\'s \" boys don\\'t cry , \" hilary swank is excellent as the confused valerie , who seeks guidance from annie , but is too scared to take her biggest advice of all : to leave the grossly abusive donnie . \\nas donnie , keanu reeves ( 2000\\'s \" the watcher \" ) makes an utterly convincing backwoods meanie , so much so that it is difficult to believe he is an actor at all . \\nfor the often-criticized reeves , whose acting abilities have never been the best , this is the biggest compliment he could possibly get , and it is also one of the better performances he has given . \\ngiovanni ribisi ( 2000\\'s \" the boiler room \" ) is heartbreaking as a mentally slow young man who sees annie as his only friend , and wants her to do nothing but help him understand why he is being plagued by bad dreams about his dad . \\nin the small , but pivotal role of the sleazy jessica king , katie holmes ( 2000\\'s \" wonder boys \" ) has turned in yet another stunning supporting turn . \\nher promiscuous role of jessica is one she has never played before , and she is radiant in her few scenes . \\nfinally , kim dickens ( 2000\\'s \" hollow man \" ) makes her usual strong impression as annie\\'s spicy best friend , linda . \\nthe other notable aspect of \" the gift \" is its moody atmosphere that lays such a thickly foreboding air over every scene it\\'s almost suffocating . \\nthanks to cleverly construed editing by arthur coburn and bob murawski , and the successful use of different eerie sounds effects and a very good music score by christopher young , the movie not only achieves a scary undercurrent , but one that is filled with dread . \\nhelped along by a strong screenplay by billy bob thornton and tom epperson , which makes the most of its setting and delightful cast , \" the gift \" is that rarest of thrillers that actually thrills , and offers up a fair share of chills , too . \\nit may not be groundbreakingly original , but it sure is an entertaining ride for the duration of its running time . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"what i look for in a movie is not necessarily perfection . \\nsometimes a movie has such strong ideas that despite whatever flaws it may have , i will prefer it to a better-made film that is not as thought-provoking . \\nthe thin red line is flawed but it provokes . \\nterence malick returns to filmmaking 20 years after days of heaven and produces this meditative look at war . \\nunlike this year's saving private ryan , which dwells on war as a necessary evil and explores the moral ambiguities thereof , the thin red line simply says war is waste . \\nwhile that might seem obvious to some , only after experiencing the film do you realize how profound a waste it is . \\nsaving private ryan has an underlying and practical acceptance that war will occur and it has a great cost ; the thin red line says idealistically avoid this at all costs . \\none message is not necessarily more correct than the other . \\nit just depends on one's point of view . \\nin malick's film , war is set in a tropical paradise , and john toll's cinematography is beyond lush . \\nthe setting poses the question , why are we fighting in the face of such beauty ? \\nin saving private ryan , the capture of a german soldier presents the moral quandary of whether to let him go . \\nin the thin red line , the japanese present the moral quandary of war in the first place . \\nthey are just like the americans -- frightened and angry , grieving and praying . \\nall that separates them is war . \\nthe flaw in the thin red line comes in the voice-overs . \\nunbelievable as coming from the characters and sometimes pretentious , sometimes corny , the voice-overs tell us what the images before us already do and are completely unnecessary . \\ndispensing with them , malick could have achieved a tarkovskian grandeur . \\ninstead , he gets distracting self-consciousness . \\naside from that , malick's direction is stunning . \\nthe tracking shots across windswept hills and around transports speeding toward shore are extraordinary . \\nsean penn , elias koteas , and nick nolte give the best performances . \\npenn is subtle as a sergeant trying to hide his humanism , koteas is genuine as a compassionate captain , and nolte startling as a colonel whose blood vessels are about to burst if he cannot win his battle . \\njohn travolta and george clooney are the worst in cameo roles . \\nultimately however , the thin red line's interest is not in the characters and it is not in drama . \\nit has been frequently criticized for its lack of dramatic structure , but malick clearly has different things on his mind . \\nhas no one ever thought that getting dramatic entertainment from war is exploitative ? \\nwhat malick is working with is theme , and in that , the thin red line is most provoking . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the law of crowd pleasing romantic movies states that the two leads must end up together by film\\'s end . \\nif you\\'re not familiar with this law , then maybe you\\'ve seen the trailer for this film which shows that the two leads are together by film\\'s end . \\nnow if you\\'re a regular reader of mine , you\\'ve heard me say this countless times : you know how drive me crazy is going to end , but is the journey to get to that ending worth it ? \\nno , it definitely is not . \\nmelissa joan hart ( from abc\\'s \" sabrina , the teenage witch \" ) likes a hunky stud on the basketball team . \\nadrien grenier is her grungy neighbor who\\'s just broken up with his activist girlfriend . \\napparently he wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous enough to take him back , and she wants someone to take her to the big year end dance . \\nso the two pretend to date for some reason , but only after hart gives grenier a bath to turn him into a hunky stud . \\nwill grenier like his new popularity and turn on his friends ? \\nwill this crazy scheme work ? \\ndo i care ? \\nthe teen comedy resurgence of late has been surprisingly good in terms of comedy . \\nwhat makes movies like can\\'t hardly wait and 10 things i hate about you work ( and to a lesser extent , she\\'s all that and never been kissed ) is because the writers of those films seem to realize that high school is a joke and write their scripts accordingly . \\ni don\\'t know what the writer\\'s intention was with drive me crazy . \\nthere was some smart comedy in those films to make the obvious endings worth getting to . \\nhere there\\'s nothing . . . \\njust teens whining about who\\'s going to take them to the big dance . \\ndo me a favor kids , go get a job or something . . . \\njust shut the hell up . \\nin all honesty , the best part of this film is the end credits . \\nnow normally when i say that it\\'s followed with the joke \" . . . because the movie is finally over . \" \\nin this case though the end credits really are the most entertaining part of the film . \\nafter the obligatory second playing of britney spears\\' titular song , there\\'s a quick commercial jingle for a burger joint the kids in the film hang out in and a brief rendition of the school song for their high school . \\nnothing great , but more entertaining than anything in the 90 minutes which preceded them . \\nsci-fi fans take note : there are brief appearances from stephen collins ( star trek : the motion picture ) and faye grant ( the tv miniseries \" v \" and \" v : the final battle \" ) . \\n[pg-13] \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s ironic that the best films in cinema history are invariably the original director\\'s cut of the film . \\nfilms such as aliens , the abyss , the wild bunch , blade runner , and terminator 2 are all prime examples of a filmmaker\\'s integrity , later chopped up or mucked with by the studio . \\nthe advent of the dvd format has provided a more accessible way to get these original cuts to the public and provide to film freaks like myself the ability to become further enraptured by the extension of such classic films . \\nthe dvd release of the original international version of luc besson\\'s 1995 masterpiece the professional , which is known as l ? on around the world , is a prime example of how a good film can become an instant classic as a director\\'s cut . \\nfor years , i have heard of an \" international \" version available only in laserdisc format , which has eluded me for years . \\ni even bought a laserdisc player from my uncle don for 100 bucks just to watch certain directors\\' cuts - including l ? on . \\nbut after countless searches in laserdisc stores , i could never find it . \\nuntil now . \\nthe film follows the story of l ? on , played by jean reno , a professional hit man for an italian mob crew run by danny aiello . \\nhe lives next door to a ferociously independent 12-year-old girl named mathilda - played by then newcomer natalie portman , whose father is involved in drugs and crooked cops . \\none day , a crew of the cops - lead by gary oldman in an over-the-top performance - kills her entire family while mathilda is out buying groceries . \\ntaking pity on her , l ? on hides her in his apartment when she returns to save her life . \\nmathilda learns of l ? on\\'s hit man profession and decides to follow in l ? on\\'s footsteps as a \" cleaner . \" \\nshe then falls in love with him and manages to reawaken emotions within l ? on he has kept locked away as part of his profession . \\nat this point , the differences in the american version and the international version really kick in . \\nthe international version contains an additional 24 minutes of footage that pertains directly to the relationship of l ? on and mathilda , footage that american censors deemed \" too explicit . \" \\ni assume that american censors feel that defining character development is too much for american audiences to handle . \\nthe best part of this extra footage is that gives better understanding of both mathilda\\'s and l ? on\\'s motivations pertaining to later actions involving oldman and his crew of bad cops . \\nthere\\'s even a previously unseen cameo by the great french actor jean-hugues anglade - star of queen margot , besson\\'s la femme nikita , and killing zoe . \\nwith these additional scenes replaced , l ? on and matilda\\'s relationship brings you emotionally closer to the film and draws stronger bonds between the characters that were murky in the american version . \\nthe most ironic thing about the international version of the film is that with the inclusion of the missing scenes , the film becomes primarily a heavy , emotional drama punctuated with big action scenes at the beginning and the end of the film . \\nthe film betters reflects the serious drama of french cinema but is laced with pieces reflecting the brutality of american cinema . \\nmy advice to everyone out there is to throw away your copy of the professional , throw down twenty bucks , and pick up this newly restored cinematic masterpiece . \\ndirector/writer : luc besson producer : luc besson , claude besson starring : jean reno , natalie portman , gary oldman , danny aiello \\n',\n",
+       " b\"getting it right is a far far cry from the teenage sex comedy you might expect from a summer movie about male virginity . \\nthe film was directed by randal kleiser , who brought us such bubble-gum classics as grease and the blue lagoon . \\nbut thanks to kleiser's surprisingly good direction and an intelligent script , getting it right is a pleasantly quiet , moving , and memorable film--one geared strictly toward a sophisticated , adult audience . \\ngetting it right stars jesse birdsall ( emily lloyd's boyfriend in wish you were here ) as gavin , a painfully shy 31-year-old hairdresser who lives at home with his parents and who--gasp--is still a virgin . \\ngavin has no problem whatsoever making small talk with the elderly women who clamor for his services at the hair salon , but expose him to a single 30-year-old beauty and he's a mess . \\nmuch to gavin's surprise , the woman who finally brings him out of his shell and robs him of his virginity is joan ( lynn redgrave ) , a rich , married , and lonely 45-year-old . \\ngetting it right is the simple story of gavin's awkward and haphazard efforts to get it right ; that is , to find the right woman to fulfill his life . \\ngetting it right is one of those rare movies that devotes itself entirely to in-depth character development . \\ngavin's self-conscious voice-over narration of his experiences firmly thrusts us into his psyche . \\nwe observe his fascinating metamorphosis from shy and passive introversion to assertive and self-confident maturity . \\nbirdsall's superb , understated performance as gavin is the real backbone of the film ; he seems convincing and authentic throughout . \\nthe charm of getting it right also lies in the wide array of people who inhabit or invade gavin's life . \\ndespite her limited screen time , redgrave makes quite a splash in the movie as gavin's middle-aged seducer . \\nfor a supporting character , joan is unusually and impressively complex , thanks in large part to redgrave's magnificent performance . \\ngavin is also pursued , or perhaps plagued , by minnie , the totally neurotic daughter of a rich aristocrat . \\nafter minnie and gavin meet at a party , she takes great pleasure in disrupting his safe and simple life . \\nhelena bonham carter is delightfully pathetic and kooky in the role , and sir john gielgud , with his tongue in his cheek , embodies the height of arrogance as her father . \\ngavin's eventual love-interest is jenny , the adorable twenty-year-old single mother who assists him at the beauty salon ; london stage actress jane horrocks' fine performance yields a touchingly sweet character . \\npeter cook , the great british satirist , appears briefly in the film as gavin's uptight employer . \\nthe scenes of gavin's home life with his parents are also a treat . \\ngavin's over-protective mother ( pat heywood ) , whom even woody allen would find overbearing , almost steals the movie . \\nher life seems limited to just two activities : treating gavin like a 10-year-old and preparing exotic but inedible meals , such as scalding hot curry and baked chicken with chocolate sauce . \\ngavin and his father's attempts to avoid eating her meals are extremely amusing . \\ngetting it right , for the most part , is very well-crafted , except for two minor shortcomings . \\nfirst , the movie is about 15 minutes too long , and consequently it loses momentum at times . \\nsecond , the film includes an altogether extraneous subplot about the domestic problems between gavin's best friend , harry , and his unfaithful lover , winthrop . \\noverall , however , getting it right is quite memorable for its humor , depth , sophistication , and outstanding acting . \\ndirector kleiser and screenwriter elizabeth jane howard ( adapting her own highly acclaimed novel ) deserve praise for finding just the right tone for this tale of growth , maturation , and self-discovery . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'synopsis : blond criminal psychologist sarah chooses to copulate with greasy tony the mysterious puerto rican rather than bearded cliff the wisecracking neighbor upstairs . \\nin the meantime , someone sends sarah rotting flowers , puts her name in the newspaper\\'s obituary column , and kills her cat . \\ncomments : never talk to strangers , a colossal waste of time , moves slower than molasses in winter to arrive at a conclusion which should be obvious to the audience 20 minutes into the film . \\none wouldn\\'t think that two genuine movie stars , antonio banderas ( evita ) and rebecca de mornay ( hand that rocks the cradle ) , and the acerbic comic genius dennis miller ( \" saturday night live \" ) would be involved in such a celluloid backfire as this turkey . \\nnot only are they in it , however , but de mornay executive produced it . \\nwhat was she thinking ? \\nnever talk to strangers centers upon sarah , a psychologist examining the ill-tempered max , a murderer soon to stand trial . \\nshe receives a sudden visit from her father which elicits flashbacks of some tragedy in her early childhood . \\ntwo men woo her ; tony the \" security consultant \" wins her over ( so they have passionate sex replete with cheesy saxophone music ) . \\na lot of psychobabble is thrown around about multiple personality disorder , but the movie asks its audience not to derive the obvious conclusion between mpd and sarah , and instead offers several male characters as red herrings . \\n86 minutes , the running time of this cinematic mess , thus , seem like 86 hours . \\na good chunk of never talk to strangers is spent upon sarah and tony . \\nwhy would the career-minded , professional sarah feel attracted to the walking steroid with a black hat called tony ? \\nthat\\'s one of the film\\'s mysteries which are never answered . \\nregardless of motive , de mornay and banderas strip down and have sex several times in what passes for eroticism . \\nthey also manage to go out before copulating occasionally -- in one of the stupidest scenes of the film , tony takes sarah to a carnival that\\'s * right outside * his dingy apartment ( that way , they can hurry back and have sex quickly ) . \\nalso , apparently , the weather changes quickly in their locale : they\\'re at this outdoor carnival one day before having sex ; the next day , they\\'re out playing in the snow before having sex . \\nthe filmmakers attempt to produce a suspenseful plot interspersed with tony and sarah\\'s \" character development . \" \\nsomeone is out to get poor sarah ( though most of the audience should have figured out who before any of this starts ) . \\nrotting flowers , a writeup in the obituary , and a beaten neighbor are just a few of the bad things which happen to her . \\nsuspense cliche number one also occurs : whenever someone is stalked in thrillers , by any means , if the stalked has a pet , that pet will die . \\noftentimes , to even further the cliche , the murdered pet is a cat ( suspense filmmakers , for some reason , just don\\'t like cats ) . \\nsarah , in never talk to strangers , receives a package and , lo and behold , discovers her mutilated cat within . \\nsuspense at its very derivative ! \\nas stated before , never talk to strangers is a poor excuse for a film whose sole purpose seems to be exploiting banderas and de mornay\\'s bodies as often as possible . \\ncomedian dennis miller is completely wasted here ( he\\'s not given lines that are suitable for his persona ) and doesn\\'t even appear all that much . \\nmaybe , in a way , he\\'s lucky for that . \\nearly on in the movie , sarah tells tony , after meeting him in a supermarket , that she had been advised to never talk to strangers . \\nallow me to advise that you never watch this stinker . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after enduring mariah carey\\'s film debut , glitter , i\\'m reminded of a bit from chris rock\\'s bigger and blacker . \\nin response to women saying that they can raise a child without a man , rock says , \" you can drive a car with your feet , but that don\\'t mean it should be done . \" \\nto that i say , you can give mariah carey a movie , but that certainly don\\'t mean it should be done . \\nsure , there are plenty of pop star film vehicles out there -- from the beatles\\' a hard day\\'s night to the spice girls\\' spice world -- but none have been so vapidly pointless or laughable as glitter . \\neverything about this complete tripe is ludicrous . \\nstart off with the story , which -- as gruesomely predictable as it is -- is the least offensive part of the movie . \\nthe film is inexplicably set in the 80s , a period piece that really shows no sign of its period except for a few chicks in leg warmers . \\nworse yet , everyone\\'s speaking late 90s hip-hop slang in what should be 1983 . \\nmeant to be partially autobiographical , carey plays billie frank , a young singer in new york who struggles to overcome a rough childhood and abandonment by her alcoholic mother . \\ninfluential club dj julian dice , a . k . a . \" lucky 7 \" ( max beesley playing a bad mix of puff daddy and robert de niro ) , hears her sing on a track , and decides to make her a star . \\nin predictably rapid succession , billie and dice fall for each other , she starts hitting it big , dice gets jealous and starts acting like an ass , and suddenly billie\\'s on \" the roller coaster of superstardom . \" \\nin the meantime , billie is on an emotional hunt for her missing mom . \\ni won\\'t give away the ending , but -- honestly -- just think of unicorns and rainbows . . . \\nyou\\'ll figure it out . \\nthe movie screams to be made with camp , and that could\\'ve been fun . \\nbut the filmmakers thought making the bulk of glitter weepy and dramatic would be better . \\nwhat a mistake . \\nthe brief attempts at comic relief -- as in a scene where an effeminate russian-sounding director gets wacky with filming billie\\'s first music video -- go over like lead balloons . \\ninstead , the audience at my screening tended to laugh loudest during mariah\\'s most dramatic scenes . \\nwhich brings us to the performances , of which there\\'s nothing good that can be said . \\nmariah is primarily seen with a wide-eyed deer-in-the-headlights look frozen on her face . \\nshe actually looks scared during her one love scene . \\nbut you have to wonder if the writing isn\\'t even worse . \\nso much of the dialogue is so hackneyed and watered down for carey\\'s virginal target audience that it\\'s probably impossible for any actor to pull it off with aplomb . \\neven the characters couldn\\'t have been written more absurdly . \\nthey\\'re all members of a barbie playset : the important film director who swoons , \" billie , i\\'d love to put you in a movie i\\'m making , \" and the big-time record executive who takes billie\\'s demo tape and says , \" oh , i\\'ll make sure the whole team listens to it in the morning . \" \\neveryone in the film is a device , and it\\'s painful to keep watching just to see another one appear . \\nto say more would be a waste . \\nthere\\'s so much wrong with this film . \\nand , it pains me that mariah carey -- with her ego and sanity in such fragile condition these days , as evidenced by her multiple hospital stays -- will have to suffer through all the negative reviews she\\'s likely to get . \\nbut , then again , i had to suffer through her movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'tim burton has now completed his evolution from the brilliant director of macabre stories about outcast individuals yearning for acceptance , and into a studio monkey whose name is used as part of multi-tiered marketing materials for crap movies . \\nand here he hits rock bottom , with planet of the apes . \\ni didn\\'t expect much from this latest \" interpretation \" of pierre boulle\\'s classic novel planet of the apes . \\ni mean , how could you top the force and impact of the original film , intelligently co-scripted by rod serling ( of twilight zone fame ) combined with the overbearing chuck heston growling and yelling at those \" damn dirty apes , \" in one of his best roles of his career ? \\nsadly , i sat down to watch burton\\'s version of planet of the apes and within the first 20 minutes , i was checking my watch and my girlfriend ( a big fan of the original film ) started to nod off . \\nthis time around , the story plays out like a cross between enemy mine , braveheart , and project x . marky mark wahlberg , who was enjoyable in boogie nights and the corrupter , plays leo davidson , a hot shot u . s . air force pilot . \\nleo and his crew are in search of some mysterious magnetic storms ( no real explanation given in the film ) and leo sends one of his genetically altered \" smart \" chimps into the storms to collect data . \\nleo and his crew lose communication with the chimp , leo hops in another ship to find the monkey , and then he\\'s thrown through some type of time-space wormhole which crashes lands on the twentieth century fox studio backlot , all mocked up to look like the amazon jungle . \\nleo ends up getting captured by a group of talking apes and is sold to a slave trader named limbo ( paul giamatti ) who in turn sells leo to a chimpanzee named ari ( helena bonham carter ) . \\nthe kind ari then helps leo and his fellow humans escape to the mountains to find leo\\'s ship . \\nalong the way , monkeys played by tim roth ( overacting his role of a vicious general named thade ) and michael clarke duncan ( who further enhances his career by playing another heavy in a bad action movie ) strive out to hunt down leo and his band of human savages , just like battlefield earth ! \\nin the end , it all culminates into another braveheart rip-off human versus ape battle scene . \\nwhile rick baker\\'s makeup work is amazing , the script is a pathetic hodgepodge ( courtesy of three writers ) , the acting is horrible , and the \" surprise \" ending feels like a swing from a ball-peen hammer into the temple . \\nwahlberg does not have the physical or mental presence of a chuck heston to carry the film or any of its action sequences . \\nthis remake , or re-interpretation , as tim burton has proclaimed it , is an insult to the intelligence and wit of the original film . \\nthe ethical arguments about the equality of species , fascism , and military buildup have been replaced by tremendous amounts of ridiculous dialogue , an unimaginative narrative structure , and a romance between a monkey and a human . \\neven chuck heston\\'s anti-gun tirade ( in the de rigeur cameo ) seems shallow and jokey . \\nbut the main element missing from this tim burton film is tim burton . \\neven though his name is plastered across every billboard in america , john badham could have directed this film . \\neven joel schumacher could have directed this film . \\nhe probably should have . \\nburton\\'s predominant themes of rejection , isolation , and the search for one\\'s place in the universe , as seen in ed wood , edward scissorshands , and pee-wee\\'s big adventure , are completely absent in this planet . \\ni suppose that\\'s what happen when a great director gets sucked through a wormhole . \\n',\n",
+       " b'bill condon\\'s \" gods and monsters \" is a fascinating look into the last days in the life of gay director james whale ( ian mckellan ) , who made the horror classics \" frankenstein \" and \" bride of frankenstein . \" \\nsince i was unfamiliar of whale prior to viewing the film , there is no way to know how accurate the film is , but i suspect that much of it only came from whale\\'s inner fantasies and hallucinations . \\nwhale , who fought in wwi and then went on to become known for his work on horror pictures , decided fifteen years before his death at age 67 to quit filmmaking once a homosexual scandal broke out involving him . \\nas the film tells it , during the end of his life , whale , at his large home in l . a . , became infatuated with the tall , handsome , and much younger man , clayton boone ( brendan fraser ) , who was working as the gardener at his home . \\njames whale , we learn quickly was , what many people refer to him as in the film , \" a dirty old man . \" \\nin one of the opening scenes , a young film enthusiast visits whale\\'s home to interview him and whale agrees , on one condition : for every question he answers , the young man must take off an article of clothing . \\nbecause of this episode , we know exactly what it is whale wants when he asks clayton to pose for him for a painting , later making the excuse that his bright , white shirt is disracting only so he will take it off . \\nclayon agrees , and doesn\\'t really think much of this , much to the warnings of his friends , becoming more and more intrigued in the stories whale tells him about his past . \\ncertainly , the relationship between whale and boone is headed for a downfall , since whale starts to grow a deep love for this young man , even though boone is not gay , and whale himself realizes he is nearing the conclusion to his life , as he begins to seldom suffer mild strokes and moments of true catharsis . \\n \" gods and monsters \" is an intimate and seemingly respectful portrait of a director who was forced to become somewhat of an outcast , due to his sexual preference , and never got the recognition he would have liked , since he longed to be referred to as a \" motion picture director , \" rather than a \" horror director . \" \\nand in one heartbreaking scene , he attends a party with boone being his guest , held by director george cuckor , and finds that many of the other attendees do not recognize him anymore . \\nit is evident that whale\\'s first love in his life was making movies , and when his career ultimately fell apart , so did his passion in life . \\nas played brilliantly by ian mckellen , james whale comes off as a sad , but dignified man , and a person who was not afraid to stand out from others , just as long as he knew he was being true to himself . \\nhe never hid the fact that he was gay , however , even if it meant threatening his filmmaking profession , and it was this unblinking honesty that made him a great person . \\nthrough the complicated relationship that develops between whale and boone , boone , of course , only things of whale as a possible friend or someone he can talk to , while it means so much more to whale , who sees boone as sort of his salvation in life . \\nalthough boone is only in a dead-end job as a gardener of people\\'s homes , whale views him as the ideal man , not only one that is good-looking , even though it is this attraction that first begins his feelings , but one that will actually listen to him . \\nsince whale lives with only his loyal , but disapproving maid ( touchingly portrayed by lynn redgrave ) , it is boone that whale can talk to in his ultimate reclusion from the world , and the only reason whale finally decides to attend the gathering of george cuckor . \\nalthough an extremely fine and mature picture , a few small elements hold the film back from ultimate greatness . \\nit is appreciated that the film does not pull for any obvious or overly dramatic story developments , but it is a little thin , and the structuring of the \" on-again-off-again \" friendship at the film\\'s center is fairly predictable . \\nwe know early on where these two characters are headed , and we can guess that there will be a final confrontation between the two as the tension slowly builds . \\nin lesser hands , this set-up might have felt too calculated , but it is not in the surprisingly deft treatment and writing that helps the film to be much more than this . \\nalso , a subplot is briefly brought up between clayton and a waitress working at a bar ( effectively played by lolita davidovich ) , but abruptly dropped and never brought up again . \\nif the film was not going to follow up on this side story , then it , perhaps , should have been taken out altogether . \\n \" gods and monsters \" is a heartfelt and intelligent motion picture , impressively directed by bill condon , who , i sense , relates to or fully understands the meaning behind the curious relationship between whale and boone . \\nthe film also plays as a tribute to a fine man who met an untimely end . \\nwalking away from \" gods and monsters , \" it was ian mckellen\\'s marvelous and astounding performance that left the most impression on me , and i doubt there could have been anyone who could have stepped into the role more fully and believably . \\nit is a sad testament when a person\\'s true talent and love is unfairly taken away from them , based on the scrutinization and judgement of their personal life , which , ironically enough , is no one else\\'s business in the first place . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a big , busy boxing satire with a surprisingly paltry punch , the great white hype stars samuel l . jackson as a shameless boxing promoter whose plan to boost sagging pay-per-view revenues is to \" invent \" a white contender ( peter berg ) to challenge his black heavyweight \" champ \" ( damon wayans ) . \\n ( the logic is that people will pay more to see black vs . white than black vs . black . ) \\nhe may be right , in an absurdly accurate way , but the film doesn\\'t give us a reason to care . \\nas a scathing sports spoof , hype is just that : unfunny , unfocused , and , at times , just plain pointless . \\nas a commentary on race relations , it\\'s even * less * effective . \\nthe dialogue is the best of this mess , lines like jon lovitz exclaiming \" i cannot make caviar out of fish eggs ! \" \\nwriters tony hendra and ron shelton also do good on the street slang , though we never hear enough of it . \\nthe script isn\\'t strong enough , though , to support the aggressive camera work of director reginald hudlin ( house party ) . \\nhe comes across as absolute overkill . \\nthe great white hype * almost * turns around at the end , at the big match , when hudlin attempts an extended gag of rock-concert proportions . \\nwith costumed dwarfs , gangsta rappers , and the \" champ \" dressed as death , only then do we get a glimpse of the spoof that should\\'ve been . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the premise is simple , if not bizarre . \\na mad scientist ( trace beaulieu as dr . clayton forrester ) launches an average-joe ( michael j . nelson as mike nelson ) into space where he forces his subject to watch the most horrendous movies ever made . \\nwhy ? \\nit's torturous , it's maniacal , and it's just plain fun . \\nbased on the cult-favorite cable television series , mystery science theater 3000 : the movie isn't torturous , but as for being maniacal and just plain fun , it foots the bill quite nicely . \\nmike nelson , on a dog-bone shaped spacecraft , spends his days as any young man would dream - indulging in sarcasm and horseplay , and seeing quite a few movies . \\nthe catch is , these movies aren't the movies he chooses , but retched examples of film-making chosen specifically by dr . forrester in an attempt to break mike's will to live . \\ndr . forrester is convinced that one too many b- movies is all it will take to ruin a man , but with a couple of wise-cracking puppet buddies ( tom servo , voiced by kevin murphy , and crow t . robot , voiced by beaulieu ) , the torture becomes somewhat of a honorary party for all that is wrong in the world of cheezy cinema . \\nthe purpose behind mst3k is to exploit some of the worst films known ( even if by very few of us ) to man . \\nwe watch as the silhouettes of mike , tom , and crow sit in a darkened theater poking fun at the movie going on before them . \\nin this case , it's the 1954 sci-fi film this island earth . \\nwe basically watch as our three leads watch , only we get the pleasure of eavesdropping on their hilarious commentary . \\nthe plots behind the movies ripped apart are really quite irrelevant , but for the sake of those who might want to know , i'll explain this one . \\nthis island earth is the tale of two scientists , a man and a woman , who wind up aboard a spaceship whose crew intends to destroy the earth . \\ntogether the two fight to survive as well as save their home planet . \\nto make mst3k work , the film-within-the-film naturally has to be as horrible as possible , and although the tv-series introduced us to several worse films than this island earth , it's a bad enough flick to bring about some hysterical cruelty . \\nmst3k , which doesn't actually contain the complete this island earth , is a short 73 minutes , but this is a step very wisely taken . \\nas funny as some of their observations are , it can only go so long . \\noccasional breaks from this island earth also help the film tremendously . \\nalthough it takes a second to get back into the right mode after this premise has been left for a moment , it's better than overkilling the whole concept post haste . \\nmst3k lovers will likely hail the film greatly , but if you don't know what you're in for , it could be a jarring disappointment . \\nalthough i thought the sharp wit of this film was worth three stars , it is a movie to be seen on home video , late at night when your brain is not functioning to full capacity anyway , and with a large , saracastic crowd - new year's at midnight for example , which is when i saw it . \\nwarning : although mst3k has more to its end credits than most ( the three leads use the credits to poke some more fun ) , they are actually more annoying than most . \\nthe name slandering and asinine one-liners were extremely unfunny , and after laughing for about 70 minutes straight , it put a heavy damper on the overall experience . \\nmost people will likely stay to see what the smart-alec's have to say , but for me , it almost ruined an otherwise good film . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'no matter what you suspect , this isn\\'t your usual action thriller . \\nthe usual suspects is an intelligent crime mystery story from up-and-coming director bryan singer . \\nit\\'s one of those movies that , after everything is revealed rapid-fire at the end , you immediately want to rewind and watch again because earlier scenes take on a new light . \\nplot twists a-go-go are what you get here -- i gave up trying to figure out the mystery of keyser soze after awhile and just sat back and waited for them to reveal it to me . \\nkeyser soze is a name you\\'ll hear at least a hundred times if you watch the usual suspects and for good reason . \\nit\\'s not only the name of the mysterious ( and possibly even mythical ) crime boss in the movie , it also sums up the movie -- \" keyser soze \" in latin means \" an intelligent crime mystery story from up-and-coming director bryan singer . \" \\nor maybe i shouldn\\'t have bought a foreign-language dictionary from the same company that makes those 99-cent encyclopedias sold in supermarkets . \\nat the movie\\'s opening , a group of known criminals are brought in for a police lineup , including mcmanus ( stephen baldwin ) , keaton ( gabriel byrne ) , fenster ( benicio del toro ) , buckney ( kevin pollack ) and verbal ( kevin spacey , winner of the best supporting actor academy award{symbol 153 \\\\ f \" times new roman \" \\\\ s 10 \\\\ h} for his performance in the movie ) . \\nverbal is so-named because he frequently rambles on about anything or nothing . \\nhe also earns his name as the movie\\'s narrator , spouting memorable lines like \" the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn\\'t exist \" ( although , obviously , he does exist -- what else could explain kris kross having a comeback in 1996 ? ) while being interrogated by police detective chazz palminteri ( any actor with multiple z\\'s in their name is okay in my book ) . \\nwe see the story unfold as spacey retells it . \\nthe five felons , upon being released from the lineup , get their revenge on the police by exposing a corrupt taxi service -- whereby elite criminals pay to be smuggled through town in cop cars -- and stealing all the money and drugs in the car . \\nit\\'s a definite case of male bonding for the five criminals , who later find out they were brought together by the unseen keyser soze , who sends a minion to them with an offer they can\\'t refuse . \\nnamely , they have to destroy soze\\'s main competitors in organized crime by infiltrating a ship , shooting a bunch of people , burning all the drugs and stealing $91 million cash . \\nspacey does a terrific job of bringing his seemingly unintelligent \" cripple \" character to life and baldwin , byrne , palminteri and the rest make for a good supporting cast . \\nthe usual suspects is one of those movies that deftly mixes scenes of violence and explosions with an underlying sense of mystery and suspense , keeping the viewer guessing until the very end -- and then still leaving a few details open for scrutiny and discussion . \\ni suppose all that would be cleared up if i really had rewound the movie and watched it again instead of changing the channel and wondering in disbelief what the hell kris kross was doing on mtv . \\na different mystery , i guess , which may turn into a _murder_ mystery if that video ever comes on again . . . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when i first heard of contact , the hype was building it up as a sci-fi blockbuster . \\nnow , with that in mind , coupled with the knowledge of jodie foster\\'s involvement in the project , i thought \" what in the world is foster doing in a sci-fi blockbuster ? ? ? \" . \\nas it turned out , my expectations were completely nullified and turned topsy-turvy . \\nrobert zemeckis , back from the euphoria created by his last film , forrest gump , once again proves his mastery in fusing tales of adventure with along the endearing lines of human spirit . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , contact is sci-fi ? but with a definite difference . \\nbased on the late carl sagan novel of the same name , the story delves itself in questions on science and god ; fact and faith . \\nallie ( foster ) is a radio astronomer . \\nshe spends her time listening to the stars , via ultra-huge communication dishes in search of intelligent life beyond the solar system . \\nher passion for `long-distance communication\\' is the result of her younger days being spent avidly in front of a ham-radio system ( a hobbyist radio communication device ) which her late-father bought for her . \\na scene which particularly strengthens the audiences\\' view of the passion is when she asked her father whether she could contact her late-mother through the ham-radio system in which her father replied \" not even the most powerful radio in the world can do that , now \" . \\nallie\\'s research is based on the seti project ( search for extra terrestrial intelligence ) , in which she listens to radio emissions from other galaxies in the hope of finding one which would suggest intelligent manipulation . \\nher work has never been off the scrutiny of the us government , which considers it a waste of taxpayer\\'s money and politically unviable , her supervisor ( tom skerritt ) pulls the plug on seti . \\nundaunted , allie managed to gather a loyal group of `believers\\' and eventually found funding from a large private corporation . \\nthe following months were treacherous to their hopes and research as they are contantly pressured by the government but all that changed when one day , she caught an emission of a seemingly intelligent repeating sound-wave . \\nthe news of her find attracted hordes of alien believers , cultist , the media and of course , the government . \\nthe situation became intense upon her discovery of pictorial plans on building a form of transport which were embedded within the repeating sound emission . \\nas the world join forces to build this transport , allie is desperate to be the one to go . \\nshe enrols herself among a few hopefuls , to represent the world when the transport is ready for operation . \\nher eligibility for the spot failed when she is questioned on her beliefs in the existence of god by the president\\'s spiritual advisor ( mcconaughey ) ; allie , being an atheist , a result of her belief in fact and science , refuses to budge upon questioning . \\nat this point the movie plot thickens considerably as she is romantically involved with the president\\'s spiritual advisor . \\na strong point which propelled the movie is the depth of its main characters played by foster and mcconaughey . \\nfrom the very first meeting scene , it is obvious that the two of them was sort of kindred spirits but they were worlds apart in almost all aspects , foster being a person drawn to science and facts and mcconaughey being one who believes in faith , hope and the power of the unseen . \\nthe meeting of their worlds , added with the situation which they are put into makes the entire storytelling process near flawless . \\nmany people who read the synopsis of this film would find it a tad too ridiculous , but by actually immersing yourself in it , gives you an entirely different perspective ; one which is free from bias and pre-conceptions . \\nzemeckis and his team of screen writers have done a remarkable job in telling this tale through film . \\ncontact works by not delving in controversy but rather , touches the thinking audience , urging them to ponder upon the questions raised in the film concerning fact and faith ; whether one can actually find compromise within . \\ni consider contact as one of the must-sees for this year . \\n',\n",
+       " b'hedwig ( john cameron mitchell ) was born a boy named hansel in east berlin . \\nas a teen seeking his \" other half , \" he reluctantly agrees to a sex change operation in order to marry american g . i . \\nluther ( maurice dean wint ) . \\nthe operation , performed by a hack surgeon , is botched , and the \" angry inch \" is all that\\'s left . \\nnow a \" she \" , hedwig comes to america , is abandoned by luther , forms a rock band and falls for her 17-year old lover/prot ? g ? , tommy , only to be rejected by him later , too . \\nshe and her band , the angry inch , shadows the now-famous tommy gnosis across the us ( for revenge ? ) , but hedwig is really in search of her lost other half in \" hedwig and the angry inch . \" \\nfirst time helmer john cameron mitchell , along with composer/lyricist stephen trask , created and starred in their acclaimed off-broadway production that has become the movie . \\nand quite a movie it is in its eclectic variety of songs , outrageous costumes , sets and makeup and , especially , a riveting performance by mitchell as the title character . \\nmitchell and trask have reinvented the movie musical and couple it with the underlying story of just whom hedwig is and what she is looking for . \\ni am , by far , not a big fan of musicals . \\nsure , there are exceptions , like bob fosse\\'s \" all that jazz \" and \" cabaret , \" but , for the most part , they are just not my cup of tea . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" is an exception , though , with its combination of humor , wit and a collection of tunes that covers musical styles ranging from \" the rocky horror picture show \" and meatloaf to david bowie to the sex pistols . \\nthe original songs , by stephen trask ( also appearing as one of the members of the band the angry inch ) , are full of energy and variety and , even though it\\'s not my kind of music , i found every one entertaining and fun . \\nthe audience i saw \" hedwig \" with thought so , too . \\nthe main attraction to this one-man/woman show is the presence of its star . \\njohn cameron mitchell gives a solid , sometimes fun , sometimes angry performance as a person searching for self-enlightenment and love . \\nas a young boy growing up in east berlin , hansel is abused by his g . i . \\nfather and raised by his german mother in a tiny flat so small that \" mother would make me play in the oven \" where he listened to pop music on armed forces radio . \\nlater , as a young man , he meets luther , another g . i . \\nand is swept off of his feet . \\nthe ensuing angry inch incident comes soon after . \\nflash forward to a trailer park in junction city , kansas , and luther is leaving hedwig for another boy . \\nfrustrated and broke , she takes on baby-sitting and the odd \" job \" to make ends meet . \\nshe also forms a band with four korean housewives and the musical talent of hedwig is born . \\nshe meets , falls for and loses young tommy , who steals her songs and goes off to become a rock sensation . \\njealous and angry , hedwig and her new band begins a campaign to shadow tommy\\'s tours and , with the help of her manager , phyllis stein ( andrea martin ) , is trying get a law suit going against the star for stealing her songs . \\nhedwig and the angry inch get gigs , not coincidentally , at a chain of seafood restaurants that just happen to be next to the forums where tommy gnosis is playing . \\nthings finally come to a head , so to speak , in new york city . \\nthe popularity of the off-broadway musical and its offshoots have garnered a ready-made audience base for \" hedwig . \" \\nthe wit , humor , music and search for identity has great appeal to young adults , but the charismatic presence of mitchell makes this a cut above what it could have been . \\nit is this one-man/woman show that casts its spotlight on its \" internationally ignored \" rock star and mitchell is outstanding in the role . \\nthere isn\\'t a lot going on with other characters , though there are amusing little sidebars , like hedwig\\'s backup singer/lover , yitzak ( miriam shor ) , deciding to break away from the band to join a polynesian road show of \" rent \" as a puerto rican drag queen . \\nthe low budget that the moviemakers have for the production belies the quality of the film . \\nattention to details - hedwig\\'s costumes and outrageous \" cabaret \" -like makeup ; the seedy trailer park setting ; and , the kitschy seafood restaurants - are loads of fun to watch and lend the appropriate air to the proceeds , all on what has to be a beer budget . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" may not be for everybody , but the energy of the effort , the songs , the imaginative sets and costumes and a fast steady pace make it a pleasure to watch . \\nif you\\'re a fan of contemporary , edgy music , it is an even bigger draw . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"near the end of frank capra's holiday classic , its a wonderful life , george bailey ( jimmy stewart ) is feeling down . \\nhe has devoted his life to others , and never fulfilled his dream of leaving his small supburb town , bedford falls . \\nstanding upon a bridge above stormy waters , he looks down , contemplating suicide . \\nhe has potential he hasn't fulfilled -- yet , he has done so much for others . \\nas a young chap , his ambition was to leave his hometown of bedford falls . \\nbut times and ambitions change . \\nthings happen , and he's stuck . \\nhis guardian angel is there , and shows him that . . . it's \\na wonderful life . \\nin a whirlwind tour of the town , george sees what life would be like without him . \\nhe learns the moral lesson , that to live is a gift . \\nhis earthly problems are solved . \\nthe climatic scene is a marvel . \\nfrank capra's film is a centenial classic -- watched and re-experienced by every generation . \\nwonderful life is one of the few pictures of times gone by that seems as fresh , maybe fresher , then it did when it was first released . \\nmany films of the thirties through seventies have aged poorly . \\nbut this one is a near flawless example of how well a perfect script and timing can mesh with first-rate acting , wit and suspense , glorious music , and terrific set peices . \\nthe only even slightly dated scenes are those at the begining in which god has a long chat with clarence , george's guardian angel . \\nthey aren't all that bad , but they remain corny and a little out of place . \\nnevertheless , this is one film that deserves its place in time , cinema history , and our hearts . \\nit can be equally appreciated by anyone of any age . \\nhere is one genuine masterpeice , a classic that reaches heights and ambitions near perfection . \\nthis crackling good mixture results in a film which is at once funny , exciting , moving and uplifting . \\nthe film itself is almost a reversal of the life of george bailey -- there isn't too much to it , but capra and the gang ( various screenwriters , composers , actors ) plumet the material to its fullest potential . \\nthe result is a film -- though not at first intended to be pigeon-holed as a holiday film -- that will always be remembered , celebrated , and loved . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' * * * be warned . . . \\nthe following review contains some harsh language * * * \\nthe blair witch project . \\nquite possibly the least scariest movie of all time . \\nif you want to see real terror on the big screen go back and watch any scene with jar jar binks in the phantom menace , because this movie is not scary or even remotely creepy . \\nmy colleague and friend chuck dowling wrote that if less is more , then the blair witch filmmakers must have thought that nothing is more . \\nand this worked for him . \\nwell , i\\'m sorry , but nothing . . . \\nis nothing ! ! ! ! ! \\nnothing is not more . \\nit\\'s nothiiiiiinggggggggggg ! ! ! ! ! ! . \\ni do not pay 5 dollars to see nothing . \\n \" nothing \" is free , available all around the world at a location near you . \\ni am absolutely in amazement that some people find this movie scary . \\ni could just discount them and say , \" well , i guess they are just pansy chicken shits who are probably scared of their own shadow . \" \\nbut i have intelligent friends who like this movie and so that doesn\\'t hold water . \\nthere must be some other reason . \\n ( then again , maybe my first thought is correct , i think i\\'ll try pointing their shadow out to them one day and test their reaction . ) \\nwhen i hear people praising this film , i never hear them talking about what makes up about 97% of this movie : three kids bickering with each other about being lost . \\nthey only talk about what might make up possibly 3 to 4 minutes of screen time . \\nthis being a few very short night scenes where the kids hear some unscary sounds and another where they shout \" josh ! ! \" \\nover and over . \\nthis film should not be called the blair witch project , it should more accurately be called three dumb and pisspoor filmmakers get lost . . . \\nand argue with each other . \\noh ladies and gentlemen you will be so scared when you hear them shouting \" josh ! ! \" . \\nand if you thought that was scary , wait till you see a pile of rocks , and then some tinkertoy lincoln logs , oh my dear lord you will be pissing in your pants with fear . \\noh yeah , and some goo on one of their backpacks . \\nyou\\'ve never seen terror like this folks , and you don\\'t want to . \\nthe chevy chase/goldie hawn comedy foul play is creepier than this film . \\n ( for current films , i highly recommend the sixth sense or a stir of echoes for a creepy filmgoing experience . ) \\nthis film is an example of marketing with no substance . \\nthe marketing was brilliant , and the whole nation is in awe of just the premise for the film . \\nthey want this film to be good . \\nand i think they are reaching and praising the wrong movie because they don\\'t have anything else to praise . \\nthat wonderful film that rejuvenates the horror genre may come along , but this is not it . \\nthis film could have been so much better . \\njust think , if maybe there had been only 10 minutes of arguing about being lost , and 80 minutes of nighttime stuff . \\ni saw this movie with a girl who was extremely pumped for it . \\nshe was sold on this film . \\nand then , at one point during it , she turned to me and asked \\' . . . are \\nwe supposed to be scared by this ? \\' . \\ni\\'ve heard one opinion that you \" have to use your imagination \" to create the fear in this movie . \\nwell , i thought that was what the filmmakers were supposed to do . \\nuse their imagination and create a good movie . \\ni mean anyone can use their imagination and not pay 5 bucks for it . \\nbut even if you like this idea , then what are you imagining ? \\nan entity called the blair witch ? \\nsome rednecks fucking with these kids ? \\nare either of these things really scary when you think about it ? ? ? \\ni\\'ve heard several people say that this movie makes them recall how scary it can be to be out in the woods and hear something . \\nwell sure thats scary in real life , but there are a lot of things that are scary in real life that are not scary in a movie nor even interesting . \\nyou could sit in your house and see a snake or a spider and it could be scary , but in a film it wouldn\\'t be . \\nand no , a movie does not need a big budget or cgi special effects to be scary or creepy . \\nactually the less the better ( see the equally awful remake of the haunting ) . \\nbut you have to do something . \\nyou cant just count on us all having nostalgic memories of how something like this could be scary , if it were real . \\nand by the way , about the shakycam filming in blair witch . \\naren\\'t these supposed to be \" filmmakers \" who should know how to point a camera and shoot something without shaking the camera constantly ? \\ni\\'m not even talking about the couple scenes where they are terrified , that\\'s justified . \\ni\\'m talking about the other 87 minutes of the movie where they can\\'t seem to shoot anything smoothly at all . \\nminor quibble there . \\nthere is a feeling in me that the people that like this movie are suckers . \\nthat the filmmakers are just laughing their asses off all the way to the bank . \\nand i think there is a good chance they will see this film again and say to themselves \" what was i thinking ? ? \" . \\nbut , if they don\\'t , then thats fine . \\nif it works for them then that\\'s okay i guess . \\ni just lament that by making this movie a hit , we are going to be subjected to more of the \" nothing is more \" approach . \\npretty soon we\\'re going to get some movies like this : just a still shot of a prison jail cell . \\nfor 90 minutes . \\nand we\\'ll have to use our imagination and think to ourselves , \" my god , wouldn\\'t it be scary to spend life in prison ? ! ! \\nthis movie is the scariest movie of all time ! ! ! ! ! \" . \\nor , a shot of a coffin , with some funeral directors arguing with each other . \\n \" man , do you know how scary it would be to die ? ? ? ! ! ! ! \\nnow this is the scariest movie of all time ! ! ! ! \" \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'i can already feel the hate letters pouring in on this one , folks . \\ni loved the wedding singer . \\nbut it gets worse . \\nif i so much as mention titanic in the same sentence . \\n . \\n . \\nhell , same paragraph as the wedding singer , i\\'m bound to be lynched . \\nwell lynch me then , because i thought adam sandler and drew barrymore had the most convincing chemistry in recent memory , with titanic as the only exception . \\nright away , you\\'re ready to discount my review , aren\\'t you ? \\nyou\\'re thinking that i can\\'t possibly know what i\\'m talking about . \\nafter all , this is adam sandler right ? ? ? \\nwell , there\\'s more . \\n . \\n . \\ni actually got choked up , and more than once . \\nyes , the man who brought us billy madison and happy gilmore was able to bring sincere tears to my eyes . \\nbut before you shrug me off as an imbecile , i urge you to see the movie and see for yourself . \\nthe wedding singer is the story of robby hart ( sandler ) , a 1985 rock star wannabe whose soul achievement in life has been performing cover tunes at wedding receptions for the past five years or so . \\nbut when his own wedding results in a no-show for the bride ( angela featherstone as linda ) , robby begins to re-examine his life , and wonder why true love doesn\\'t exist for people like him . \\nin the process of performing at these receptions , robby meets a waitress named julia , played with wholesome sweetness by drew barrymore , whose reputation is anything but this character . \\njulia too is engaged , and when robby finds himself without a wife , his free time allows him to help her plan her own wedding , seeing as how her fiance , the \" miami vice \" loving glenn ( matthew glave ) , doesn\\'t seem all that interested . \\nas the time goes by , we learn the reason glenn is do dispassionate about the wedding - he\\'s merely marrying julia to prevent a breakup , something he wants to avoid even if he does sleep around with tons of other women . \\nit\\'s obvious that robby is going to fall for julia and feel a strong need to rescue her , but what is a lighthearted romantic comedy for ? \\nthis isn\\'t sleepless in seattle , but i\\'d actually compare it to that before i\\'d compare it to happy gilmore . \\nwhile the wedding singer maintains some of that post-snl cornball humor , its sincerity and charm carry it a very , very long way . \\nsandler is great in his role , and yes , if you allow it , you can take him seriously . \\nbarrymore seems perfect along side him , and although the two more likely represent gen-x moronism and party-girl ditzism ( respectively ) , the two go together like bread and butter as a mid-eighties couple . \\none scene in particular , where julia ponders the future in a mirror , is so well done , i was on the verge of tears . \\nunfortunately , sandler is going to make a lot of people shrug this one off as a no-brainer , but it\\'s got so much surprise substance packed inside that i\\'m encouraging everyone to go see it . \\nin fact , the entire theater applauded when the film ended , and laughs were so consistent , some jokes were probably missed due to the uproar . \\nthe 1985 setting was milked for everything it was worth , and for those of us that are old enough to remember it , it was a bodacious trip back ( and done very well ) . \\nsandler shows a new side to himself while maintaining all his original charm ( or is it anti-charm ? ) . \\nwhile the wedding singer only deserves three stars due to artistic merit , grading it on pure enjoyability would give this one four stars . \\nit\\'s hilarious , and it\\'s touching . \\nit\\'s got that great cheezy humor , but it also takes sandler to a higher level than anyone expected . \\nthis is one to see again and again . \\nis it possible the wedding singer could be one of the sweetest romantic comedies of 1998 ? \\nmy \" magic 8-ball \" predicts it is certain . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"accepting his oscar as producer of this year's best picture winner , saul zaentz remarked that his cup runneth over . \\none could almost say the same about his much-prized film . \\nrarely is the screen so overflowing with potent imagery , symbolism , ideas and metaphors , complex and literate storytelling , all possessed of an intelligence that invites -- even demands -- constant scrutiny , an acuity of perception and observation that must somehow yield the truth . \\nin short , the antithesis of all things hollywood . \\nyet this surfeit of signals is made to serve a rather pale and thinly realized love story whose emotional impact is as dry as a desert wind . \\nralph fiennes is the title character , an amnesiac burn victim whose gradual return to memory , and particularly the memory of love , is the ostensible focus of the film . \\nbut despite the use of numerous flashbacks to help put the pieces of this personal puzzle together , we never learn enough about the man to feel much empathy for him . \\nhis emotional life before the story begins is an essential clue that remains withheld . \\nthe same can easily be said for every other character in the film , of which there are too many . \\njuliette binoche's nurse comes as close as this film gets to an emotional heart . \\nat least we learn early on that she is scarred by the deaths of those close to her , and so we understand why she is eager to escape the company of her comrades in order to seek refuge in the convalescence of a mysterious , disfigured , dying stranger . \\neven this information is imparted so quickly and in such cursory fashion , however , that it verges on the comical . \\nwith so many characters enjoying so little screen time , the film's 160 minutes can be taxing . \\nyet there is something so captivating about the sensibility behind the camera that i couldn't help but feel that greatness was in the air . \\nhints of it were everywhere -- in a man who hates ownership but wants desperately to possess his lover ; in ancient cave paintings of swimmers copied casually by a modern-day swimmer in the sahara ; in the way the shifting sands of time obliterate everything more completely than a world war . \\nthere is enough latent meaning to supply college film students with paper topics for years . \\nbut ultimately the emotional truths writer-director anthony minghella was grasping for were never revealed . \\nin the end , i was left with the impression that i had witnessed quite an oxymoron : a haunting bore . \\nbore is perhaps too strong a word . \\nbut after drinking in the rich production values , the cup remains only slightly over half-full . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" if there\\'s a beast in men , it meets its match in women , too . \" \\nstarring sarah patterson , angela lansbury , tusse silberg , david warner directed by neil jordan written by jordan and angela carter , from a story by carter cinematography by bryan loftus \\nin recent years , there has been a trend in the field of fantasy : writers have been revisiting the fertile world of myth and fairy tale and reclaiming that world , investing it with new life and energy . \\nin modern times , fairy tales have become disneyfied and debased ; they have become trite adventures involving leering witches , friendly dwarves , and cuddly talking animals . \\nbut in their original forms , fairy tales have a dark , wicked edge . \\ncrows tear out the eyes of cinderella\\'s sisters , a gorier fate then they receive in the animated version . \\nhansel and gretel relish cooking the witch in her own oven . \\nwriters have become fascinated by the bloodier , morally ambivalent aspects of fairy tales , and are now modernizing the old stories while simultaneously going back to their roots . \\nbefore this trend was in vogue , angela carter--whose stories always have a dark , wicked , subversive edge--had been reinventing fairy tales for years . \\nin the company of wolves , she and neil jordan retell the story of red riding hood , enlivening it with werewolves , rolls royces , and a visit from satan . \\nthe story is structured as a dream , occurring in the mind of rosaleen ( sarah patterson ) , an adolescent girl about whose \\'real\\' life we learn very little . \\nwithin the dream , there are a number of inset stories , most told by dream-rosaleen\\'s grandmother ( angela lansbury ) , and these tales gloss the central story in intriguing , suggestive ways . \\nthe result is a surprisingly successful example of a sinister , contemporary fairy tale . \\ni say \" surprisingly \" because there are so many ways this film could have gone wrong . \\nand there are ways in which it does . \\nthe performances are mediocre , except for lansbury\\'s--she finds the right note for the prim , apple-cheeked granny , the wise and stern teller of cautionary tales . \\nthe soundtrack , synth-heavy , reminded me of bad 80s horror movies , as did the special effects in the shapechanging scenes . \\nprobably state-of-the-art at the time , they are now laughable . \\nbut jordan succeeds at what i consider the trickiest aspect of the film : he transcends the poor acting/music/effects and conveys a sense of the fantastic , of otherness . \\none of the problems in adapting full-blown fantasies is that fantasy is often best left to the imagination of the reader , rather than being subjected to the \\'realism\\' of the screen . \\npart of me would love to see an adaptation of \\'the lord of the rings , \\' but , on the other hand , i know that any filmmaker\\'s recreation of ents , hobbits , and balrogs is inevitably going to be really lame compared to what i picture in my mind . \\nthis makes jordan\\'s accomplishment here seem mighty impressive to me : he imbues the company of wolves with a genuine sense of magic and mystery . \\nthe somewhat ruritanian dreamworld becomes a kind of ur-reality . \\nthe sunshine is exceptionally warm and abundant . \\nthe nights are quiet and misty and eerie and ghostly . \\nthe peasant village is rustic and cozy , the woods old and hoary . \\nthis archetypal realm is the setting for a smart , subtle , literate script , a script which is as good as you\\'d expect from jordan ( himself an accomplished fiction writer ) and carter . \\nfor carter , the cauldron of story is a witches\\' brew , bubbling over with primal ingredients : mist-shrouded forests , ancient graveyards , virginal girls and wise women , wolves with glowing eyes . \\nshe adeptly blends them all together . \\nthere is a symbolic richness to the film ; everything is permeated with a sense of significance . \\nthe point of it all , i think , is to represent a girl\\'s rites-of-passage on an unconscious , primordial level . \\na night-journey through the forest , from the village to the grandmother\\'s home , is the crux of the company of wolves . \\n \" don\\'t stray from the path , \" rosaleen is told , again and again , and the path is both literal and figurative : the path through the forest and the path of life . \\nstaying on the path is the conventional approach suggested by rosaleen\\'s elders . \\ncarter and jordan , never conventional , explore what goes on when you leave the path . \\nthose who stray will supposedly meet with a dark fate . \\nthis fate is literalized in the dream as werewolves , but the werewolves connote many things : death , sex , knowledge . \\nif straying from the path leads to death , then it\\'s not a good idea--but if that\\'s what you have to risk to get sex and knowledge ( and therefore power ) , then maybe it\\'s worth the risk . \\nwhen you leave the path , the world becomes a dangerous , ambiguous place , but it\\'s full of potential . \\nand it\\'s certainly more interesting than the disney version . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i have a great idea for a movie , one that can\\'t miss . \\nsee , i\\'ve got coolio to do a song for the soundtrack , and about fifty athletes and celebrities to do cameo appearances . \\nit\\'s about professional basketball , so i\\'ll release it right around the nba finals to guarantee added publicity . \\nas for what the movie is actually about . . . well , that will all sort itself out eventually . \\ni figure it will be a comedy , so i\\'ll throw a half-dozen writers at it and take the best of whatever they come up with . \\nmaybe we\\'ll put a gender spin on it , see if we can get some women out to see it , too . \\neddie is one of those phenomenally lazy films that infuriates me more than any other kind . \\ntwister , as inane as the script might have been , at least required some creative technicians ; mission : impossible , overwrought plot and all , at least involved genuine effort . \\neddie just sits there , hawking up a formula story without any laughs , and makes every possible bad decision when a decision is required . \\nwhoopi goldberg plays eddie franklin , a new york limo driver and die-hard knicks fan who is suffering through a dismal season for her beloved team . \\ncoach john bailey ( dennis farina ) has lost control of his overpaid prima donnas , and the losses are beginning to mount . \\nthe dwindling attendance inspires new team owner wild bill burgess ( frank langella ) to try a publicity stunt in which a lucky fan will get to be an honorary coach of the team . \\nthe winner ( surprise , surprise ) is eddie , who becomes a fan favorite , and eventually the actual coach . \\nthe knicks continue to lose , but eddie has some sassy tricks up her sleeve to inspire her troops . \\nincidentally , the knicks eventually start winning . \\nplease raise your hand if that comes as a shock , and i will invite you to my all-night marathon of the bad news bears , major league , angels in the outfield , the mighty ducks , the big green , cool runnings and little giants . \\nawful teams in sports comedies make miraculous turnarounds ; it\\'s what they do . \\nthose teams usually involve kids , for a very sound comedic reason : it\\'s funnier when they screw up , and they\\'re more sympathetic . \\nthose which _don\\'t_ involve kids usually have actual actors in the lead roles , for another very sound comedic reason : they generally have developed some sort of comic timing . \\neddie was cast under the misguided premise that it\\'s easier to make basketball players look like actors than it is to make actors look like basketball players . \\nthis finds nba players like greg ostertag , dwayne schintzius , rick fox and malik sealy delivering punch lines as though they were reading them for the first time off a bazooka wrapper ( though sacramento kings center olden polynice has a nice moment describing a black hole to fellow players ) . \\nperhaps that all didn\\'t matter to anyone because there are so few punch lines , and because the whole film is one big casting gimmick . \\nsteve rash directs the spiritless script as though waving a flag of surrender and screaming , \" don\\'t blame me , i just work here . \" \\nperhaps it was patently obvious to him that eddie isn\\'t a movie -- it\\'s a cameo appearance that trips over a plot every once in a while . \\namong the notables who lend their faces to this travesty are donald trump , new york mayor rudolph giulianni , former new york mayor ed koch , david letterman , letterman regulars mujibur rahman and sirajul islam , espn broadcaster chris berman and knicks announcer marv albert , as well as dozens of nba players and several nba arenas . \\nand those are the real jokes in eddie . \\nnothing these individuals say or do is funny ; you are supposed to be laughing simply because you notice , \" hey , it\\'s donald trump ! \" \\nor \" hey , it\\'s mujibur and sirajul ! \" \\nit\\'s difficult to decide whether eddie is so bad because it was so shamelessly lacking in imagination or because it can\\'t even get the cliches in a cliche-ridden genre script right . \\nthe knicks coach who is eddie\\'s antagonist early in the film reappears at the end , but he isn\\'t given a chance to be the villain eddie desperately needs . \\nneither is frank langella , and none of the athlete-actors have the ability to give whoopi goldberg anything to play off of . \\nthat leaves her to do her street-wise miss thang routine , but with no character , no sharp lines and no help . \\neddie isn\\'t just a bad movie with a formulaic premise . \\nit\\'s a movie that makes you feel cheated and offended , because someone came up with a poster and a marketing plan to which they had to attach an actual movie , and you had the nerve to believe it was going to be a comedy . \\n',\n",
+       " b'warren beatty returns to the screens in the funniest , craziest and hard hitting movie in his career . \\nbased on a story concocted by himself , and also written by beatty , bulworth gives a good insight of what beatty thinks of the american government system . \\nbeatty stars as senator jay bulworth , who\\'s going through a nervous breakdown . \\nafter hiring someone to kill him , he completely changes his campaign strategy and tells the honest truth about what\\'s _really_ happening in american politics , much to the annoyance of assistant dennis murphy ( platt . ) \\ninstead of everyone hating him , the american public love him . \\nhowever , inside his party , more people want to kill him than just the hired assassin . \\nand he also strikes a relationship with black girl nina ( berry . ) \\nit\\'s remarkable that this film was released at all . \\nmuch more open than the rather subdued primary colours , bulworth barely gives the american politic system a good name . \\nthe outrageous remarks bulworth makes to his potential voters are very funny , and also somewhat true . \\nit\\'s great that beatty isn\\'t afraid to let loose on a subject . \\ntalking of beatty , he\\'s excellent in the role of the demented senator , clearing having fun . \\nand seeing warren beatty have fun is a rare sight indeed . \\neven in dick tracy , he was the most straighten face actor . \\n ( then again , he was the only characters face we could completely see . ) \\nthe film gives an opportunity for the 61 year old beatty to indulge in some rapping , which he does with gusto ( and also quite well . ) \\nand seeing beatty as a \\'homeboy\\' has to be seen to be believed . \\nit\\'s nice to see that beatty can laugh at himself . \\nsecond best is oliver platt as the flustered , coke snorting assistant , who goes over the top when he finally snaps . \\nhalle berry is fine , and sexy , as the intellectual nina , who comes to like the senator . \\nalso popping up in the supporting cast is paul sorvino wit h a strange accent , laurie metcalf as the exact same characters she\\'s also played , and christine baranski of cybill fame as bullworths wife , who all contribute to the fun . \\nand , this being a political film , the ubiquitous larry king makes an appearance , as , * shock * , himself . \\nthe writing and directing , both by beatty , are above par . \\nthe direction is very nearly sitcom like , but suits the film perfectly , and both the politics are gangland parts are handled well . \\nthe script is funny , and the raps are actually well produced and humorous , and quite clever . \\nthey\\'re not cringe inducing , at least . \\nthe script makes many points about society in america today , and isn\\'t afraid to make any bold statements about what is a flawed system . \\nbest of all , the film is thought provoking , but directed and written in such a way that the film feels as light as a feather , and is very entertaining . \\nthere\\'s also a great rap soundtrack with some well chosen tunes . \\nbulworth is a film with many advantages , and few flaws . \\nperhaps it could be somewhat embarrassing to see a 61 year old man rapping , but beatty does it so well it\\'s irrelevant . \\nin fact , there\\'s very little against bulworth , except for the language which is very heavy , but then again it should be expected . \\nbulworth , then , is well worth watching . \\na david wilcock review ? 1999 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       " b'14 years ago , national lampoon introduced us to a new family - the griswolds . \\nin 1983 , the griswolds embarked on a cross-country journey with the destination of wally world , a world-renowned theme park in california . \\nwe laughed our heads off as we shared the wild and crazy mishaps the family endured . \\ntwo years later , we watched again as they went to europe , and four years after that , we shared christmas with them . \\nnow , eight more years have passed , and the laughs have done more than die . \\nthey\\'ve been cremated . \\nvegas vacation brings back chevy chase as clark griswold , the good intentioned but ill-fated father of two . \\nthe premise is basically the same . \\nclark has a wonderful idea to take his family on a bonding vacation , this time to las vegas . \\nhis wife ellen ( beverly d\\'angelo ) and teenage kids rusty and audrey ( always played by different actors - this time around , by ethan embry and marisol nichols , respectively ) join him and they soon find themselves in sin city where casinos will make the backdrop for ninety minutes of slapstick . \\nof course a \" vacation \" movie wouldn\\'t be complete without good ole eddie ( reprised by randy quaid ) , the misfit cousin , showing up at all the wrong times . \\nthere isn\\'t too much of a plot here when it comes right down to it . \\nit\\'s really just a skit movie . \\nthere are a couple of ways to define a skit movie , which is not a real term as far as i know . \\nthe first would be a movie that basically has one running gag for two hours , therefore coming off like a two hour skit . \\nthe second would be a movie that seems comprised of about twenty shorter skits , each lasting about five minutes . \\nvegas vacation comes off like the first . \\na good example of the latter would be last year\\'s black sheep . \\nthe problem with this format is that it becomes old fast , and it doesn\\'t really fit into a movie mold . \\nin these cases , a \" plot \" , which is generally very thin , is used either as a shameless filler between scenes or to simply add convenience to the gags ( i . e . \\nhave a good vegas joke , make a vegas movie ) . \\nsuch is the case with this movie\\'s mini-plots . \\nclark gets gambling fever and begins spending all of the griswold\\'s money , ellen is on the verge of an affair with wayne newton ( ! ) , rusty has a fake id and is using it to his gambling advantage , and audrey is desperate for fun and winds up joining her cousin vickie ( shae d\\'lyn ) as an exotic dancer . \\nthe simple fact is : this movie isn\\'t funny . \\nat first , i did find myself chuckling heartily at a couple of little jokes , but when the movie got rolling , my interest suddenly stopped . \\nchase plays clark griswold really well . \\nhe made the character and he is the character . \\nd\\'angelo , to be quite honest , never was too impressive as ellen , and this movie doesn\\'t show any signs of redemption . \\nas for the two new griswold kids , the word \" blah \" comes to mind . \\nthe \" vacation \" series seems out to prove that anybody can play these two characters , the simple reason being that there is nothing to them . \\nthey\\'re so generic , you\\'ll expect the credits to read \" girl #1 as audrey griswold \" . \\nvegas vacation differs from the first three in the series by more than just laugh factor . \\nyes , it\\'s true that vegas vacation isn\\'t even close to being close to being as funny as the others , which were actually pretty fun in their own doofy ways , but there are a couple of other things that set this one negatively apart . \\nfirst off , why did they leave off the national lampoon\\'s heading on the title ? \\ni couldn\\'t find any reasons why , but maybe the fact is even national lampoon didn\\'t want to be associated with such a lame film . \\nthat\\'s saying a lot , especially when you look at what else the company has proudly presented : loaded weapon 1 , pcu , etc . if they expected this to be another hit , you would assume they\\'d be proud to tack on the notorious header , but for reasons only we can guess at , like the movie sucking , they didn\\'t . \\nthere is another difference here that makes an obvious impact . \\nthe first three films in the \" vacation \" series were written by john hughes , a talented writer who is behind several popular films of the 80\\'s including mr . \\nmom , sixteen candles , the breakfast club , weird science , pretty in pink , ferris bueller\\'s day off , planes , trains , and automobiles , and uncle buck . \\nwowzers ! \\nwhat a r ? sum ? ! \\nlooking at the names , you\\'d think this guy wrote everything that now stands as a movie icon for the 1980\\'s . \\nwell that\\'s not all . \\nthis guy also brought us 90\\'s hits including the home alone series , the remake of 101 dalmatians , dennis the menace , and the current flubber . \\nvegas vacation , however , didn\\'t have john hughes behind it , and the loss is very obvious . \\nthis time around , the script is in the hands of elisa bell , whose only credits thus far include four made-for-tv movies . \\nvegas vacation plays very much like one , and it would actually work much better as a made-for-tv sequel . \\nif this sounds like a wild idea , it\\'s not . \\nrevenge of the nerds third and fourth installments were both television movies , and they seemed like it . \\nvegas vacation would fit in well on the fox network as a 2 : 00 a . m . \\nsunday morning movie , but as a silver screen major motion picture , it\\'s quite out of place . \\nstephen kessler\\'s jejune direction doesn\\'t help things either . \\nhe only makes the film even more tv-movie-ish . \\neach consecutive \" vacation \" movie has suffered a drop in directing power . \\nwe started the series off with harold ramis , who also directed caddyshack and groundhog day as well as co-writing ghostbusters . \\nnot too bad . \\nthen we had national lampoon\\'s european vacation being directed by amy heckerling , who would go on to direct the hits look who\\'s talking and clueless , as well as having already directed the infamous fast times at ridgemont high . \\nlastly we had national lampoon\\'s christmas vacation , directed by jeremiah s . chechik , who went on to direct the charming benny & joon . \\nkessler , so far , has one title under his belt , the short film birch street gym , which received an oscar nomination in 1992 . \\ngranted that this was his first attempt at a feature length film , we can allow for some amateurish quality , but instead we get a movie straight from the text book - boring , bland , and deeply unoriginal . \\nif you loved the \" vacation \" movies , and i know * some * of us did , there still isn\\'t anything here worth seeing . \\nif you loved them , don\\'t ruin your good impressions of the series by indulging in this tragic example of cinema ala carte . \\nif you never did like the series , why the need to confirm why ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'like the great musical pieces of mozart himself , amadeus is a true work of art . \\nit is one of those few movies of the 80\\'s that will be known for its class , its style , and its intelligence . \\nwhy is this such a good film ? \\nthere are almost too many reasons to explain . \\nthe story : court composer salieri ( f . \\nmurray abraham ) feels waves of different emotions going through his head as wolfgang amadeus mozart ( tom hulce ) comes into his life as the young genius composer . \\nsalieri feels envy , and jealousy , but at the same time is fascinated with mozart\\'s brilliance and ingenious . \\nwe travel through mozart\\'s life as a composer , through his struggles , his triumphs , and ultimately , his demise . \\nthe acting : abraham is magnificient as salieri ; his acting range enables him to focus on each individual emotion and express it through his speech and body language . \\nthis performance earned him a well deserved oscar . \\ntom hulce is interesting as well as mozart , a quirky , annoying bratty kid with an annoying laugh . \\nhe\\'s strong , but weak at the same time , and must be aided by his wife ( elizabeth berridge ) , who is good in her role , but lacks dramatic depth . \\njeffrey jones , in a smaller , more dignified role than such roles in stay tuned and mom and dad save the world , is cast perfectly because of his noble charm . \\nthe movie : every element of this movie works . \\nthe costumes and makeup are very memorable , as well as its stunning art direction , and unforgettable scores ( adapted from mozart\\'s original music ) . \\nwhile wolfgang amadeus mozart was a genius at music , milos forman proves with his film that he is a genius of filmmaking . \\nthis movie is a classic that will be remembered for years to come . \\nad2am \" i almost lost my nose . . . and \\ni like it . \\ni like breathing through it . \" \\n-jack nicholson , chinatown \\n',\n",
+       " b'that\\'s the question i asked myself when venturing nervously into \" the wedding singer , \" the latest film to star the saturday night live alumnus . \\ndoes he draw laughs from his sad , puppy dog expression and don\\'t-hate-me-for-being-a-simpleton observations ? \\nor do fans giggle when he screams at the top of his lungs at people ? \\nor is it just the fact that he sings songs with silly lyrics that bowl audiences over ? \\nwell , there\\'s a little bit of all of that in \" the wedding singer \" and while i exited the theater still not one hundred percent sure of mr . sandler\\'s thing , i did have a surprisingly good time . \\nthat\\'s because , in a nutshell , \" the wedding singer \" is one of the sweetest movies you\\'re ever likely to come across . \\nthat\\'s right . \\nsweet . \\nthe humor in the film runs the gamut from dumb to mildly amusing to laugh-out-loud hysterical but the tone ? \\nwell , it\\'s just lovely . \\ni have to admit i was half-expecting farting armpit humor , gratuitous nudity , superfluous , cloying subplots , and some nasty , unnecessary violence . \\ninstead ? \\nwell , i\\'ve said it before . \\nsweet . \\nthe year is 1985 and sandler plays robbie hart , the eponymous wedding singer , a job aspiring rock stars often settle for . \\nwhen robbie\\'s fianc ? e dumps him at his own altar , robbie gets depressed and turns to a plucky waitress called julia ( drew barrymore ) who has some problems of her own ( she\\'s marrying a hunky junk bonds dealer who , unbeknownst to her , isn\\'t that big on monogamy ) . \\nit isn\\'t giving anything away to say that robbie and julia fall in love . \\naww . . . \\nsandler and barrymore are a good match and they\\'re assisted by some terrific cameo appearances , including steve buscemi and jon lovitz , whose individual scenes are perhaps the funniest in the film . \\nwriter tim herlihy ( with uncredited assistance from carrie fisher ) keeps the story bubbling along to its predictable conclusion . \\nit doesn\\'t all work but it\\'s handled with such light-heartedness that robbie and julia coming together generates more smiles than groans . \\nherlihy and director frank coraci have done a great job of recreating the sights , sounds , and affectations of the 1980s . \\nthe soundtrack--an ever-present force in the film--is packed with wall-to-wall hits of the period , new wave upon new wave of songs from billy idol\\'s \" white wedding \" to the smiths\\' \" how soon is now ? \" \\nto culture club\\'s \" do you really want to hurt me ? \" \\nthe mix of music and fashion would make \" the wedding singer \" a great double feature with \" boogie nights . \" \\nif you grew up listening to the cure and a flock of seagulls and the psychedelic furs , then \" the wedding singer \" is bound to put a nostalgic hop in your stride . \\nif you\\'re a fan of the lovable , laughable adam sandler , well . . . \\nlet\\'s just say that \" the wedding singer \" might well be the only film in recent memory to make * me * want to rent \" happy gilmore . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'on re-watching italian writer/director dario argento\\'s much lauded murder mystery tenebrae , i was struck more than anything else by how many sins he commits as a storyteller and manages to get away with . \\nin emphasising style over matters of plot argento is somewhat notorious in cult film circles , but some aficionados still praise tenebrae as the greatest of his \" giallo \" murder mysteries . \\nwhile it\\'s certainly not perfect , repeated viewings reveal it to be nonetheless a densely plotted and terrifically stylish thriller . \\nthe story follows a promotional visit to rome by famous american mystery novelist peter neal ( anthony franciosa ) where he discovers that a serial killer is on the loose inspired by his latest book \" tenebrae \" . \\nwith the police on his back for leads , he decides to take a personal interest in the case and he soon becomes drawn into a mystery where all is not as it seems . \\nthe film benefits enormously from a fine central performance by franciosa . \\nhe brings grace , charm and a deceptive benigness to his character which provides an interesting foil to both the violence of the books he writes and the unfolding real-life horror around him . \\nthe film is awash with a fascinating psychosexual tension . \\nargento peels back the facade of showbiz and jetset lifestyles to reveal an amoral , ambivalent , shadowy world where desire in all its forms has become a dangerous business . \\ntenebrae is perhaps the most multi-layered of argento\\'s scripts to date and there is much bubbling underneath the surface here . \\nit may take at least two or three viewings to appreciate all the psychological themes at play . \\nin that respect it strongly recalls his previous giallo deep red/profondo rosso ( the full-length italian language version ) and fans will enjoy spotting the recurring themes . \\nneedless to say for argento fans , there is no denying the director\\'s brilliance as a stylist . \\nmany of the action and murder sequences are directed with his characteristic finesse and feature plenty of intriguing camerawork . \\nthey are all the more impressive for the fact that in this film argento creates mood by filling his scenes with light , rather than the dark shadows and deep rich colours of earlier works like deep red and suspiria . \\ninstead , tenebrae\\'s set design and lighting paints a sleek , clinical , chilly vision of a vaguely futuristic urban world . \\nand the soundtrack\\'s mix of electronic atmospheres and gothic rock by frequent argento collaborators goblin is the perfect accompaniment . \\nso tenebrae has much to recommend it , no question . \\nstill , constantly nagging at the back of this viewers mind is several lumps in the narrative . \\nsome critics argue that logic doesn\\'t matter in argento films , but damnit , it matters in all films to the point where viewers don\\'t deserve to feel cheated . \\nby the way , if you don\\'t want to know the solution to the mystery then skip the next three paragraphs . \\nabout an hour into tenebrae the story takes an unexpected twist which , properly handled , could have proved ingenious . \\nwe witness the murder of the serial killer himself by a man who , we later discover , is none other than the author peter neal . \\nhe is insane , apparently . \\nthe murders then continue for the remainder of the film as neal decides it\\'s time to settle some personal business involving his neurotic wife . \\nhe is finally revealed to us as this \" second killer \" in the film\\'s bloody climax . \\nbut argento muffs the twist , both technically and narratively . \\nyou see , we are supposed to be tricked into thinking that during this scene peter neal is actually an innocent witness who was crouching in the bushes nearby the whole time and spying on the killer\\'s house . \\nbut thanks to poor editing , its had to believe neal could have murdered the killer anyway . \\nbad cutting puts the timing way out . \\nin other words , he\\'s almost in two places at once . \\nduring this crucial scene we are also thrown a ridiculous red herring . \\nby the film\\'s end you realise that for the sake of an alibi neal must have self-inflicted a nasty injury in this earlier scene to make it look like he was attacked by a fleeing assailant . \\nthe injury ? \\nhe banged himself on the head with a bloody great rock ! \\nthus , the revelation of the \" hero \" as a killer ( and anti-hero ) in the final scenes may still prove shocking , but its all somewhat implausible by the time the end credits have rolled . \\nhelpfully , in the end we do learn that the bizarre flashbacks of personal humiliation and murder that have permeated the film belonged to neal all along . \\nbut there too is a problem , as the explanations offered for his motivations are psychologically fuzzy to say the least . \\nthe story owes us a better understanding of franciosa\\'s mind , his concealed madness and his sudden murderous rampage . \\ntenebrae is also marred by annoying little inconsistencies . \\nfor instance , a teenage boy and girl leave a hotel room and minutes later we see the girl riding off on the back of a motorbike . \\nwe would assume the rider is the same boy , but it turns out to be some male character we aren\\'t even introduced too ! \\nthat\\'s careless filmmaking , pure and simple . \\nwhy , you may ask , do i go on about the story\\'s flaws ? \\nbecause when it comes to visuals and set pieces , argento is one of the most exciting filmmakers in the world . \\ntake one of the extended scenes in tenebrae . \\nan upset girl wandering the streets at night needlessly taunts a guard dog to the point where - almost unbelievably - it jumps a high fence and chases her across town . \\nfinally , as she desperately seeks escape from this crazed canine , she accidentally stumbles on the serial killer\\'s lair . \\nit\\'s an absolutely masterful sequence , tense and exciting , and communicating a wealth of information through visuals alone . \\nand that\\'s exactly the kind of thing that makes the flaws so frustrating . \\ntoo often , it seems , argento\\'s films as a whole are less than the sum of their impressive parts . \\nmind you , if you love murder mysteries then tenebrae is still worth a look . \\nand if you\\'re a fan of argento\\'s unique style of giallo thriller then it\\'s essential . \\nsee the uncut widescreen version if you can and drink in some of the wonderful cinematography by luciano tovoli . \\nit\\'s a stylish , great-looking and quirky film despite the problem narrative . \\na shame , because it doesn\\'t have to be that way . \\ntake argento\\'s more recent stendhal syndrome ( 1992 ) , where with the aid of co-writer franco ferrini he fashioned a solid storyline without sacrificing any of his surreal weirdness or visual panache . \\nproof that he can do it , if he tries . . . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the idea at the center of the devil\\'s advocate , which is , thus far , one of the three or four best films of 1997 , is that no matter what decision is made , evil will triumph -- god is a trickster , satan is a humanist -- \" the last humanist \" . \\nhe appears in many guises , and seduces many men and women -- in his own words , \" vanity -- by far my favorite sin \" . \\nal pacino plays this role with relish , and gets to chew some delectable lines ( \" lemme givya a piece o\\' inside wisdom on god . . . \" , \" i have a million names . . . \" ) , as john milton -- the devil . \\nthe main idea -- that he can appear as anyone , in any form ( in this case , a buisness man ) , harkens mainly back to terry gilliam\\'s the time bandits . \\nbut the film , is something else , something original . \\npart of what makes it so very good , is that it never takes itself too seriously -- it dabbles with morality , vanity , death , and child abuse , but doesn\\'t try to become any profound study of power . \\nthis is a marvelous confection -- cocky , funny , thought provoking . \\nit is also entertaining . \\nthere is no way you could possibly predict the ending -- it pulls back upon itself , drawing purely out of the mind\\'s eye . \\nthe final shot is more creative , more daring , more challenging , then anything in cinema since the white sock in the coen\\'s fargo . \\nthe central themes are fascinating ( sometimes reminiscent of james\\' the turn of the screw , and oates\\' accursed inhabitants of the house of bly ) , and the product that is built around it really wows . \\nits nice to know that things like this are still being made . \\n',\n",
+       " b'what\\'s shocking about \" carlito\\'s way \" is how good it is . \\nhaving gotten a bit of a bad rap for not being a big box office hit like pacino\\'s previous film , \" scent of a woman , \" and not having as strong a performance as he did in that one ( he had just won an oscar ) , \" carlito\\'s way \" was destined for underrated heaven . \\nthat\\'s what it is : an underrated gem of a movie . \\nand what a shame because pacino and de palma both do amazing jobs with it , and turn it into a great piece of a pulpy character study . \\n \" carlito\\'s way \" deals with , well , carlito brigante ( pacino ) , a puerto rican ex-drug kingpin , who gets out of a long jailterm when his coke-addicted , curly-haired lawyer ( sean penn ) points out a legal technicality . \\nof course , carlito was actually awoken in prison , and has decided to go straight , even if he\\'s really a crook at heart . \\ncarlito , like barry lyndon , is a man who is trapped by fate at every turn , and can\\'t escape into something he is not . \\ncarlito\\'s attempts at a clean , legal life are thwarted at nearly every turn . \\nwhen he first gets out , a friend of his ends up leading him into a big shoot-out , where he has to kill a couple people to survive . \\nhe\\'s constantly getting bugged by the government to see if he\\'s doing anything illegal , and his lawyer finds himself neck-deep in a pile of shit , needing him to try and help him out , which includes him doing some prison breaking . \\ncarlito , like ratso rizzo , wants to go to miami ( since , according to film logic , that\\'s where it\\'s at ) , but needs some funding . \\nbeing a legend , he is quickly able to get a nice job running a big dance club ( this is the 70s , by the way , and since some of this takes place in night clubs , we get to hear all sorts of 70s classics , including several k . c . \\nand the sunshine band tunes - my personal favorite ) . \\nhe gets a bodyguard ( the great luis guzman , at his best ) , and is soon running a pretty good business , even if he\\'s constantly attracting underworld young thugs , like benny blanco \" from the bronx \" ( john leguiziamo ) , who is more than once pointed out to be a young version of carlito . \\non the other side , the symbol of promise and hope , is gail ( penelope ann miller - what happened to her ? ) , his girlfriend from before prison . \\nshe\\'s a goregeous ballerina , and a stripper , and soon carlito is trying to get back with her , and take her with him when he finally leaves for miami . \\nwhile this relationship is never fully defined or anything , we get a sense of love between them , and they have some truly interesting scenes between them ( she never gives him addresses or locales - he always has to track her down ) . \\nall of these elements clash together at the end , in a brilliantly executed , emotional climax , which is inevitable . \\nwhen i say inevitable , i mean we see it at the beginning and then backtrack , putting a great spin on it . \\nsure , it\\'s going to eleveate some of the tension , but it gives the film a lot of depth , as carlito is seen trapped by fate . \\nwhat\\'s amazing is the big chase sequence ( amazingly done by de palma ) has a lot of tension and thrills . \\nlike \" apollo 13 , \" we know what\\'s going to happen , but we\\'re still thrilled by what happens in the middle . \\nit\\'s also very emotional , thanks to a great script by david koepp , and amazing performances by pacino and miller . \\nde palma is famous ( or infamous ) for lots of violence in his films . \\nhis earlier flim , \" scarface \" ( which starred pacino in the lead ) , has a ton of it , especially at the end ( and a nasty chainsaw scene towards the beginning which i\\'m still not over ) . \\nbut de palma actually reigns in more quieter scenes . \\nto me , the best scene in the film is when carlito is on top of a building , looking down into the room where gail is doing ballet . \\nthis is the most brilliantly done , and most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire film , and probably the best in de palma film history . \\nwith a gorgeous soprano duet in the background , and rain pouring down onto a trashcan lid covering carlito\\'s head , and a saddened , remorseful look on pacino\\'s face , it\\'s a tear-jerker ( well , for me , i dunno about you . . . ) . \\nthe acting from all is great , especially from the three leads . \\npacino was panned for his performance , chiefly because his accent wasn\\'t puerto rican enough and , well , it wasn\\'t as \" strong \" as his oscar-winning role in \" scent of a woman . \" \\nwell , his \" scent of a woman \" performance was great and all , but it was nothing really but , as comic kevin pollack said , a \" foghorn leghorn impression . \" \\nin \" carlito\\'s way , \" he\\'s emotional , and strong , despite the fact that he\\'s remorseful over his entire lifestyle , which he cannot change . \\ni felt more for carlito brigante than i did for the tango-dancing , insult-throwing blind guy in \" scent of a woman . \" \\nas i said , penelope ann miller is great , and she and pacino actually have very good chemistry . \\nand they\\'re scenes are well-written , with some good clever dialogue which adds some interest to an otherwise bland relationship . \\nand sean penn is amazing as the coke-addicted rat attorney . \\nevery scene he\\'s in , he has great energy , and even measures up to the greatness that is pacino . \\nin smaller roles , john leguiziamo and luis guzman are great . \\n \" carlito\\'s way \" is one of those films which you heard about briefly , but when you finally watch it , you\\'re absolutely blown away . \\nit\\'s a wonderful film , a highly underrated little masterpiece which was shelved after it didn\\'t do so hot . \\nbut trust me and check it out . \\nit\\'s a great little film , and proof that the residential critics and mass populus are not always right . \\n',\n",
+       " b'disney\\'s 35th animated feature-- a retooling of the olympian legend crossed with , well , the superman story-- is surprisingly soft at the center . \\ngreat wit , great art , and a great villain ( james woods as hades , lord of the underworld and local lounge act ) can\\'t quite stifle the yawns induced by a bland hero , his colorfully monotonous sidekick ( danny devito as the satyrical trainer phil ) , and a largely unremarkable soundtrack . \\n ( none of the alan menken/david zippel tunes are particular- ly noteworthy . \\nsome lack lyrical snap . \\nothers need more memorable melodies . \\nboring ballads we expect , but boring production numbers , too ? ) \\nso , hercules is a bit of a long sit , but you won\\'t stay bored . \\nthe highlights include a nifty round of animated action ( herc battling a cgi hydra ) , a steady stream of anachronisms ( \" somebody call ix-i-i \" ) and pop references ( \" let\\'s get ready to rumble ! \" ) a la aladdin , and several long-overdue jabs at the mouse\\'s marketing and merchandising depart- ments . \\nwhile not as rock-solid as hunchback , it\\'s a still a new world of improvement over pocohontas . \\ndirected by ron clements and john musker , with voice credits including tate donovan , susan egan , bob goldthwait , matt frewer , samantha eggar , paul shaffer , and , as lighting bolt zeus , rip torn , who\\'s having a very good summer , also appearing in trial and error and men in black . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" mandingo \" has traditionally been seen as one of two things : either a much-needed revisionist look at slavery in the south , or in the words of film critic leonard maltin , \" a trashy potboiler \" that \" appeals only to the s&m crowd . \" \\nactually , i think \" mandingo \" is a strange combination of the two , although it fails on both fronts . \\nit\\'s too trashy to be good drama , but too dramatic to be good trash . \\nthe story takes place on a dilapidated louisiana plantation run by crotchety old warren maxwell ( james mason ) and his son , hammond ( perry king ) . \\none day in new orleans , hammond comes across a slave trader selling a mandingo named mede ( heavyweight boxer ken norton ) . \\nalthough the movie never explains it , a mandingo is simply the name for africans who come from the region of the upper niger river valley . \\naccording to the movie , mandingos were the rolls royce of african slaves . \\nhammond pays top price for mede and has to fight off others in order to get him . \\nhammond then spends his time training mede to be a fighter in money brawls with other slaves . \\nmeanwhile , hammond has married his cousin , blanche ( susan george ) , because she wants to escape her family and he is under pressure from his father to produce a grandchild . \\nhammond , however , is happier spending nights with his \" bed wench , \" the derogatory name given to female slaves used by their masters for easy sex . \\nit is quickly apparent that hammond , despite his overt racism , is more in love with his bed wench , a sensitive slave girl named ellen ( brenda sykes ) , than he is with blanche . \\nhammond considers blanche tainted goods because he finds out on their wedding night that another man had \" pleasured \" her before he did . \\nof course , it\\'s fine that he\\'s slept with numerous slave girls , but the fact that his wife , a \" white lady , \" had been with another man out of wedlock destroys his capacity to care for her . \\nso blanche is usually left lonely and sex-starved while hammond is sleeping with ellen . \\nblanche gets back at hammond by seducing the studly mede and bearing his child . \\nhammond and his father cannot stand the idea that blanche has given birth to a half-black child ( although it\\'s okay that ellen was pregnant by hammond ) , so warren kills the child by letting it bleed to death after birth , and hammond poisons blanche . \\nhammond then finds mede , shoots him twice in the shoulder , and pushes him into a giant cauldron of boiling water . \\nyes , you read right : the film ends with hammond getting his revenge by boiling mede alive . \\njudging only by the plot , \" mandingo \" is pure sexploitation . \\nthe main purpose of the film seems to be getting as many blacks and whites into bed together as possible , with only the slightest commentary on what that would mean in 19th century southern society . \\nwhen \" mandingo \" was released in 1975 , it was still a bit of a shocker to see miscegenation on screen in such a graphic detail ; this way the movie could revise cinematic history while attracting large audiences of curious voyeurs . \\ndramatically , \" mandingo \" is weak and unfocused , and historically it\\'s mostly confused . \\nif one were to judge history by this film , it would be easy to walk away with the notion that the entire system of american slavery was based on sexuality , not economics . \\nnot once in the film do we see any of the slaves working , except for a few house servants . \\nthe men spend most of the time sitting around , while the sole purpose of a female slave seems to be free sex for the owner . \\nthere is historical basis in the notion that slave owners often slept with their female slaves , but \" mandingo\\'s \" overwhelming emphasis on this aspect of slavery gives the movie the unpleasant taste of a cheap sex flick ( although there\\'s plenty of violence -- fights , vicious beatings , shootings , and the aforementioned human boiling sequence -- thrown in for good measure ) . \\nsome tried to write off \" mandingo \" as a blaxploitation film , one of a number of quickly-made , low-budget films appealing to black sensibilities in the early seventies , but it\\'s not that easy . \\n \" mandingo \" was studio-financed by paramount pictures , and produced by dino de laurentiis , the grandiose italian producer behind such notorious productions as \" the bible \" ( 1966 ) , the remake of \" king kong \" ( 1976 ) , and the ill-fated \" dune \" ( 1984 ) . \\nthe director was richard fleischer , a veteran who was best known for several special effects-laden action movies including \" 20 , 000 leagues under the sea \" ( 1954 ) and \" fantastic voyage \" ( 1966 ) , as well as such superior suspense films as \" the narrow margin \" ( 1952 ) . \\nthe script , based on the supermarket best-seller by ken ostott ( and the subsequent play by jack kirkland ) , was penned by norman wexler , who had been nominated for an oscar two years earlier for his work on \" serpico . \" \\njames mason , perry king , and susan george were well-known and respected actors ( mason already had three oscar nominations under his belt ) , and ken norton appeared to have a promising film career . \\nso why is \" mandingo \" so bad ? \\na number of reasons , including the fact that all those experienced filmmakers behind and in front of the camera did a lousy job . \\nwexler\\'s script is pure poor hokum bordering on the offensive ; it combines stereotyped slave-talk ( \" yessuh , massuh \" ) , stereotyped southern white trash talk ( \" fer whut\\'re you gittin\\' outta bed ? \" ) , and stereotyped contemporary militant black talk ( \" if you see me hang , you gonna know you killed a black brother ! \" ) . \\nfleischer\\'s direction is clumsy , especially during the fight scenes , and all the actors give weak performances , especially susan george whose constant shrieking finally becomes laughable . \\nnevertheless , credit should be given where credit is due . \\ndespite its exploitative nature , \" mandingo \" was one of the first hollywood movies to take an alternative look at slavery . \\nuntil then , there had been a kind of underlying racism in all hollywood films dealing with slavery . \\neven classics such as \" gone with the wind \" ( 1939 ) can be seen as inherently racist by its glossing over the subject matter . \\n \" mandingo \" reassessed the south , and showed that it wasn\\'t all beautiful plantations , green fields , and pretty sunsets . \\nbut all this is constantly undermined by the film\\'s negligible point-of-view -- it claims to see things from the black perspective , but the entire narrative focus is on the soap opera tales of the white owners . \\nwith a little more maturity and different handling , \" mandingo \" might have been an effective , worthwhile film . \\nwhile it portrays many sensitive aspects of slavery , it never deals with them . \\nthe issues the movie brings up are worthwhile , but wexler\\'s script refuses to move them beyond a surface level of trashily vicarious viewing . \\nthere is a great deal of potential in honestly exploring the nature of a sexual relationship between slave and owner , but \" mandingo \" never does it . \\nsteven spielberg touched on that same topic in \" schindler\\'s list \" ( 1993 ) , by looking at a nazi officer writhing in inner turmoil because of his feelings for a jewish maid . \\nthe difference between that film and \" mandingo \" is that spielberg dealt with the situation in a fair , unexploitive manner that focused on the inherent human dilemma . \\n \" mandingo \" is satisfied to simply show some skin , and because of that , its \" trashy potboiler \" nature overshadows any potential social good it might have accomplished . \\n',\n",
+       " b'hilarious , ultra-low budget comedy from film school dropout kevin smith chronicles a day in the life of two convenience store slackers ( brian o\\'halloran and jeff anderson ) . \\nthey spend most of their day ignoring customers while discussing everything from fellatio to self-fulfillment . \\nthe premise is strictly sitcom and the photography is grainy as all get-out , but you could spend ten times the film\\'s budget ( a reported $27 , 000 ) and still not get dialogue half as good as this . \\noriginally rated nc-17 for language . \\nnot recommended for viewers with sensitive ears . \\nkilling zoe =========== \\nremake reservoir dogs as a french art film and you\\'re halfway to killing zoe , writer/director roger avary\\'s slow-moving story of a failed bastille day bank robbery . \\neric stoltz stars as an american in paris who gets in * way * over his head when hooks up with a band of nihilistic bank robbers . \\nhe\\'s the safecracker who\\'s blissful unaware that the bank job is a botch job from the word go . \\nthough intriguing on all fronts , the film is paced at half the speed of pulp fiction , which avary co-wrote with quentin tarantino . \\nin english and french . \\nthe road to wellville ===================== \\nbased on the novel by t . coraghessan boyle , the road to wellville doesn\\'t go very far . \\nbowels , bowels , and more bowels are explored by dr . john harvey kellogg ( a buck-toothed and bespectacled anthony hopkins ) , who , in the early 1900\\'s , advocated abstinence , vegetarianism , and frequent defecation . \\nhe also invented the cornflake . \\nreally . \\nchecking-in to kellogg\\'s battle creek sanitarium are matthew broderick and bridget fonda , just two of the many well-known faces in this failed comedy . \\nleave your laughter at the door and you can marvel at the unfunny antics of john cusack , michael lerner , lara flynn boyle , john neville , and dana carvey . \\nthe art direction is impeccable and some of the early sequences are amusing , but the novelty quickly wears off as writer/director alan parkers tries his darnedness to turn doo-doo into drama . \\nwhat he ends up with is something that i can\\'t print here . \\nphew ! \\nstargate ======== \\nlawrence of arabia meets star wars . \\nthis epic sci-fi film is more sheer spectacle than anything else . \\ndirector roland emmerich ( universal solider ) shamelessly rips off lucas and spielberg and just about any other cosmic cliche that he can lay his hands on . \\nthe film is overlong , the characters are cardboard , and the script is filled with some of the most laughable details in modern sci-fi history . \\nthat said , there\\'s still plenty to watch here . \\nsci-fi fans should enjoy the sculpted sands , the morphing headdresses , and a surprisingly spunky james spader . \\nhe plays the egyptologist who gets to prove his theory that that \" somebody else \" built the pyramids . \\nless interesting are co-stars kurt russell and jaye davidson of crying game fame . \\nstar trek generations ===================== \\ntrek fans may be more forgiving , but , for the rest of us , the sluggish star trek generations is a mixed bag at best . \\nthe story is interesting , but each scene goes too long . \\nthe cast is earnest , but the direction lacks punch . \\nand so on . \\n ( the best example of the latter is a klingon comeuppance that delivers none of the impact of a similar scene in star trek ii . ) \\noriginal enterprise captain james t . kirk appears on both ends of the story , though they cut the scene where shatner turns to the screen to plead \" get a life . \" \\nremarkably unremarkable . \\nmiracle on 34th street ====================== \\nin a season of the specialist and pulp fiction et al , maybe a remake of miracle on 34th street * is * necessary . \\njohn hughes certainly believes in santa claus and his les mayfield-directed production does nothing to tarnish the memory of the 1947 original . \\nthe romance between costars dylan mcdermott and elizabeth perkins doesn\\'t work too well , but the film makes a strong case that richard attenborough is the definitive kriss kringle . \\nhis chemistry with children can moisten any eye . \\nno claus for alarm . \\njunior ====== \\narnold schwarzenegger pregnant ? \\nsure , billy crystal did it before in rabbit test , but the sight of schwarz with a bulging belly is a casting coup comparable to dustin hoffman in tootsie . \\nwhat should be nothing more than a one-joke premise actually gets better as it goes along . \\ndirector ivan reitman ( dave , twins ) wisely keeps the farce to a minimum , so the first hour moves slower than you might expect . \\ndon\\'t expect too many yuks from danny devito , but you can\\'t beat those early romantic scenes between emma and arnie . \\nhow\\'s * that * for a collision of acting styles ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'senseless ( r ) marlon wayans is a very talented physical comedian , and it is that gift that brings senseless moments of life . \\nalas , moments are simply that , moments , which are not enough to lift this fantasy/comedy above its one-joke premise . \\ngranted , that one joke is initially amusing . \\nwhen wayans\\'s darryl witherspoon , an economics major at stratford university , hits some dire financial straits , he becomes a guinea pig for a experimental drug that heightens all five senses . \\nafter some initial side effects and problems controlling his superhuman senses , darryl learns to enjoy the benefits of his abilities and uses them to land a position at a highly esteemed corporate firm . \\nat this point , the film sounds more like senseful than senseless , but through some turns of the plot , darryl finds himself only able to use four of his five senses at once , essentially leaving him--yes--senseless . \\nthis sets up some showcase moments for wayans\\'s gift for physical comedy , especially when darryl loses his sense of feeling and his body goes completely , hilariously limp . \\nbut these gags , and the gag behind the entire movie , quickly grows stale . \\nonce darryl is shown without the use of all of the senses , instead of exploring any new comic territory , director penelope spheeris and screenwriters greg erb and craig mazin take the easy way out and simply recycle each form of senselessness . \\nwayans approaches each go-round with gusto , but by this point he\\'s simply treading water for the rest of the film\\'s unfunny duration . \\nsenseless would not be as problematic as it is if it didn\\'t strive to be anything more than a comic trifle . \\nhowever , the raucous and often raunchy comedy is wrapped in a blanket of bogus sincerity . \\ndarryl goes through the experiment in order to help his cash-strapped family , and this \" serious \" angle seems to come from an entirely different movie . \\nunlike wayans\\'s last starring vehicle , the surprisingly effective ( and serious ) the 6th man , the \" emotional \" content of senseless is forced and unconvincing . \\nany attempt at anything more substantial than broad comedy fizzles--darryl\\'s romance with janice ( tamara taylor ) , a young woman who yearns for a man who is true to himself , does not generate sparks of any kind . \\nonce his wb television sitcom the wayans bros . comes to an end , the genuinely funny marlon wayans has a promising big-screen future ahead of him . \\nbut if he continues to associate himself with projects as flat as senseless , his film career could go the way of his once-promising older brother , damon , who is now set to make his comeback--on television . \\n',\n",
+       " b'at one point in this movie there is a staging of an opera that goes completely wrong . \\nbut one member of the crowd stands up and cheers , thinking the performance was planned , and applauding it for their efforts . \\nthat\\'s \" dirty work \" in a nutshell . \\na very different kind of movie . \\nthis is not a movie that i can easily review . \\nthe critic in me analyzes the structure , plot , acting , characters . \\n . \\n . and \\ntells me this movie is terrible . \\nbut the norm macdonald fan in me had me rolling on the floor laughing . \\nthis movie plays more like an hbo sketch comedy than a movie . \\nit\\'s a one note concept . \\nmitch and sam need $50000 in order to bribe a doctor to give their father a heart transplant before other more needy patients . \\nrealizing they are very good at revenge plots , they open a revenge for hire business , eventually running afoul of a rich businessman played by christopher macdonald ( who after roles in \" happy gilmore \" and \" veronica\\'s closet \" seems typcast in this role ) , who sends them to destroy a building that mitch learns is the home of his girlfriend\\'s grandmother , thus leading them to plot against the rich businessman on the night of the grand opening of a new opera house . \\nfirst the critic in me . \\nthe plot is the standard poor guy vs evil rich guy device , where the main character meets the girl of his dreams along the way . \\nhere\\'s the catch . \\nnone of the characters are sympathetic . \\nthey\\'re all selfish jerks who don\\'t care who they hurt in their attempts to do whatever they want . \\nthe jokes are juvenile , crude , appealing to the worst elements in people . \\nthere\\'s jokes about prostitutes , the homeless , beastiality , anal sex . \\nthere\\'s even a subplot that\\'s developed , it seems , only to make jokes about infidelity and incest . \\nand i loved watching it . \\ni was a huge fan of norm macdonald\\'s sarcastic , to-the-point comedy on saturday night live , and this movie is an hour and a half of it . \\nnorm macdonald takes a joke , strips it to the core , and tells it like it is with a dry wit . \\nlike the scene were he and his friend are learning the ropes at a new construction job . \\nthe foreman goes over the basics , which mitch and sam don\\'t understand . \\nhow do they get out of it ? \\nby admiting they lied on their resumes , and don\\'t know a thing about construction ! \\nand surprise , they get fired . \\nthe characters are incredibly mean-spirited . \\nthere\\'s a father who\\'s loud and obnoxious , a gambling addicted doctor played by chevy chase who tells sam of his father\\'s condition by saying \" if i were a gambling man i\\'d put a lot of money on death . \" \\nthe businessman cole who always has his dog spunky , and does who knows what with it . \\nand then there\\'s mitch and sam , who , thinking they can get $50000 by destroying a building , ponder how their actions would ruin the lives of the residents . \\n \" too bad we have to do it , \" mitch says . \\nhere\\'s a movie where every joke that is executed as it is set up , where you see every punchline coming , where every spot profanity could be used and then is used . \\nat least the film is honest , and makes no mistake that it is anything more than idiotic . \\nbut at least it isn\\'t dull , and it isn\\'t predictable . \\nand that\\'s the way it should be . \\nit\\'s sketch comedy , and if you\\'re a fan of norm macdonald , you\\'ll love it . \\nthe jokes are crude , the characters are mean to the core , the attitude of the movie is that it just doesn\\'t care . \\nif you don\\'t like norm macdonald , or stupid movies , then you probably won\\'t like this one . \\nthe jokes are crude , the characters are mean to the core , the attitude of the movie is that it just doesn\\'t care . \\nso before seeing this one , tune your mindset , and prepare for a slew of norm macdonald humor , gay animal sex , prison rape jokes , uncaring characters , and one last performance from chris farley . \\nthe critic in me says ( * ) but i give it an 8 ( * * * ) . \\ni just couldn\\'t stop laughing . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if anything , \" stigmata \" should be taken as a warning against releasing similarly-themed films relatively close to one another . \\nof the four supernatural horror flicks released this year , it is clearly the worst . \\ni suppose i should have seen this coming . \\nafter all , \" blair witch \" thoroughly creeped me out , \" sixth sense \" was mildly spooky , and then \" stir of echoes \" had its moments , but wasn\\'t anything i\\'d lose sleep over . \\nclearly , the quality of the horror this summer has slowly been dropping . \\nis it then any surprise that \" stigmata \" is the dullest , most horribly executed piece of mtv-influenced tripe i have seen in a long while ? \\nno , not really . \\npatricia arquette plays frankie page , a hairdresser from pittsburgh who receives a rosary as a gift from her globe-trotting mother . \\nas it turns out , the rosary belonged to a recently-deceased brazilian priest . \\nthe priest\\'s church had been under investigation by father andrew kiernan ( gabriel byrne ) because of the mysterious appearance of a bleeding statue . \\nfather kiernan is an investigator who has made a career out of disproving supposed religious signs , but this time he believes there is something to the bleeding statue . \\nhis investigation is soon called off , however , when the frankie starts exhibiting signs of the stigmata , in which a person is inflicted with wounds like that of jesus christ . \\nfather kiernan is initially skeptical of frankie\\' s story , considering she\\'s an atheist , but once he witnesses the stigmata attacks himself , he dedicates himself to finding out what is going on . \\nhe eventually begins to suspect that his boss , cardinal houseman ( jonathan pryce ) , is concealing something that could bring down the catholic church . \\nas it turns out , the dead priest had been working on the translation of a \" fifth gospel \" before they were excommunicated . \\nthe new rupert wainwright music video . \\n . \\n . \\ni mean film \" stigmata \" is the sort of film that starts off ok and only gets worse . \\nindeed , it would have been good if it were a music video , because it\\'s only interesting for about five minutes . \\ni\\'m not sure what wainwright is trying to prove with his endless parade of slow-motion , double-exposure , and extreme close-ups ( whoaaaaaa ! ! ! ! ) , other than the fact that he has the most swelled head of any director in hollywood and , yes , he has been to film school . \\nhis camera trickery is interesting for a little while , but eventually , it becomes headache-inducing . \\nwhat this film needed is a second audio track to be played over the dialogue ( such as it is ) , with wainwright screaming at the audience , \" see ? \\nlook at what i can do ! \\ni\\'m an ex-cellent dir-ect-or . \" \\nmaybe then he\\'d explain why he decided to start half of his scenes with slow-motion shots of water dripping in reverse , or why he included random superfluous shots as that of an egg frying ( ooh , scary ! ) . \\nif there was some underlying meaning behind all this camera trickery , i didn\\'t see it . \\njust when you thought it was safe to get involved in the story , here comes a double-exposure shot of two patricia arquettes collapsing into bed for no reason whatsoever . \\narrrrrrrghhhh . \\n . \\n . \\nthen again , the superfluous camera trickery wouldn\\'t bother me if \" stigmata \" had a story or characters that were remotely engaging . \\nthough wainwright\\'s vanity certainly doesn\\'t help , he does seem to have been given a nearly unworkable script . \\nwhere are plot continuity and character development when you need them ? \\ncase in point : frankie page is the character that ( i assume ) we are supposed to identify and sympathize with , but we aren\\'t given any back story on her character , or any reason to like her . \\nthe extent of her character development seems to be that she is a hard-working hairdresser ( who can somehow afford a cavernous apartment on the top floor of her building ) and she\\'s kind of cute , so let\\'s start the bleeding ! \\nthe fact that she\\'s clearly not the brightest bulb in the drawer doesn\\'t help , either . \\naccording to frankie page , what is the first thing to do after receiving mysterious wounds on your wrists and back ? \\ngo clubbing ! \\nsure , that makes sense . \\narquette , byrne , and pryce give it the old college try , but their characters are so one-dimensional that they just appear to be sleepwalking . \\nscenes between arquette and byrne that were probably supposed to be sexually charged fall almost embarrassingly flat , because the setup of the romantic subplot is so clumsily handled that it almost reaches the point of becoming laughable . \\neven though frankie page\\'s life is falling apart before her very eyes , she still finds the time to hit on a priest who wanders in to her hair salon . \\neven more curiously , he seems to be interested in her advances . \\nfather andrew\\'s religious doubt pops up so suddenly that it seems more silly than dramatic . \\nas for pryce , he may as well wear a curled mustache and cackle , \" i\\'ll get you , my pretty , \" for all the depth his cardinal houseman is afforded . \\ntrust me , i\\'m not revealing anything by telling you pryce turns out to be a villain . \\nwhat\\'s worse , after being faced with dull characters and the prospect of having annoying camera tricks and loud music jammed down our throats , we now have to contend with a story that starts off in one direction , veers off in another , then another , and ends up being totally incomprehensible . \\nfirst of all , the film doesn\\'t even bother to explain what should be very simple plot details . how does frankie get the stigmata merely by touching a rosary ? \\nhow come an atheist like her was chosen , since father andrew mentions that only very devout believers have ever received stigmata ? \\nactually , i\\'m not sure what frankie was posessed by . \\nsupposedly , stigmata occurs when one is posessed by the holy spirit , but the film later has her being posessed by the dead priest , and later by some evil spirit ( i think ) . \\nwhich one is it ? \\nthe answer to this question , of course , is very simple : the possessing entity in each scene is determined by whichever effects and flashy camera work mr . wainwright wants to use this time . \\nfurthermore , the ending is a ridiculously neat little wrap-up , and the filmmakers compound this problem by ultimately turning the film into a diatribe against the catholic church . \\nif you do any research at all about the gospel of st . thomas , you\\'ll find that it is not being suppressed by the church ( as the film seems to claim ) , but that it is readily available at your local library . \\nthere\\'s nothing the catholics need to worry about , though . \\n \" stigmata\\'s \" religion is so off-base that it can\\'t be confused for anything remotely resembling the real catholic church . \\nif they wanted to portray catholic priests as mobsters , they should have gone all-out and equipped them with sharkskin suits and tommy guns , which would have been far more interesting . \\ni\\'m not catholic ; in fact , i don \\'t care much for the catholic church , but its cartoonish misrepresentation in this film should not be considered realistic by any means . \\nit\\'s rare to see a film that fails on as many levels as \" stigmata \" does . \\nit\\' s not thought-provoking , though it would like to be , and it is definitely not scary , though it pretends to be . \\ni\\'m not sure why they tried to pass this off as a horror film , because there is absolutely nothing scary about the story . \\nmaybe it\\'s an attempt to cover up the fact that none of the scenes have any dramatic weight whatsoever . \\nthe initial shock of seeing arquette covered with blood is dulled by the fact that it happens over , and over , and over . \\nlike so many films of the mtv generation , this one suffers from overkill . \\nso much is overdone in \" stigmata , \" that it eventually has no effect on the audience , leaving us to pick out the film\\'s ( many ) flaws . \\ni\\'m also still trying to figure out why the quotation they take from the gospel of st . thomas is so earth-shattering . \\nwhen we finally hear it , the saying sounds like something every five-year-old learns on their first day of sunday school , which means that for all its flash , the whole film is really much ado about nothing . \\nthe dog days of summer usually produce one monstrous dog , and \" stigmata \" is it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'reindeer games is easily the worst of the three recent films penned by ehren kruger ( scream 3 and arlington rd are the others , each derivative in their own special way ) . \\nthe guy can\\'t seem to write believable dialogue ( sample from reindeer games : \" rule #1 : never put a car thief behind the wheel \" ) , create multi-faceted characters , or even engineer coherent plots but he sure knows how to pile on numerous nonsensical twists and turns ( no matter if each one deems the actual story increasingly unlikely ) . \\nhis screenplay for reindeer games turns the tables on the audience so many times that watching the film becomes something of a punishment with no reward anywhere in sight . \\ni can just envision kruger laughing behind his keyboard , \" oh you thought my movie was gonna go here , f * ck you jack ass , take that twist , decipher this mother f * cker ! \" \\nit\\'s almost as if the writer were angry at us for shelling out money to see his stupid movie . \\nand why the hell would anyone want to invest time in a movie when the screenwriter keeps changing his own rules for no reason other than to congratulate himself on how damn clever he is ? \\nauteur theory be damned ; it\\'s kruger\\'s \" style \" , not the director\\'s that winds up on screen . \\nkruger has obviously never paid much mind to the old chestnut \" sometimes less is more \" . \\nand his numerous twists can\\'t even claim to be originals ; arlington rd\\'s ending is a direct steal from the much better alan j . pakula thriller the parallax view , and in reindeer games we get this ol\\' gem ; character incriminates themself by saying something they shouldn\\'t know ( pronouns used to protect the gender of the \" character \" . . . grammar \\nbe damned ) . \\n \" how did you know that ? \" \\nthe stunned protagonist asks , suddenly realizing that the character was in on the whole thing all along . \\n . \\n . \\nsince twist endings are currently so in vogue , and seeing as how kruger\\'s screenplays usually come equipped with about three twists per ending , i guess it\\'s no wonder why he works so frequently . \\nhe\\'s quickly becoming miramax\\'s mickey mouse ; the company has already signed him to work on several of their upcoming projects . \\nthis is appropriate considering that miramax ( which used to place their label on some of the most artistically daring films ) has quickly become a grindhouse for coddling foreign imports ( life is beautiful ) and freddie prinze jr . vehicles . \\ntheir company\\'s current logo could be \" we ride the trends \" . \\nreindeer games stars ben affleck as rudy , a supposedly hardened criminal spending his days and nights behind bars with fantasies of pecan pies dancing atop his head . \\nalthough affleck is given some barbed wire tattoos to insinuate bad assness , he plays the role like steve guttenberg preciously mugging through a police academy flick . \\naffleck is such a puppy dog that it\\'s impossible to believe he could survive in a harsh prison environment without becoming nearly everyone\\'s bitch . \\nthe role itself is so badly written ( the character only grows balls when the plot calls for it ) , the twists so outrageous , and the directing so self consciously gritty that this is about as close to self parody as i can recall a recent \" serious \" movie getting . \\nit may have been wiser had the film makers simply went all the way in that direction , casting jerry seinfeld as the hardened criminal and howard stern as the sniveling bad guy ( who\\'s played here by gary sinise in yet another over the top villain performance ) \\njames frain is nick , rudy\\'s cellmate , a manslaughterer who\\'s found a pen pal in the gorgeous ashley mason ( charlize theron ) . \\nashley is a prison groupie who sends nick many cheesecake photos of her though she\\'s never seen one picture of him . \\nwhich works out fine since the character is killed in a near-riot , and rudy ( who was to be paroled on the same day as nick ) takes his place , which leads to a sudden and very frenzied sex scene between ashley and rudy ( so frenzied it kinda looks like rape ) and a surprise visit from ashley\\'s brother , gabriel ( gary sinise ) , who waltzes into their shabby hotel room flanked by his thuggish co-horts . \\nhe plans to rob an indian casino on christmas eve with the assistance of rudy who he thinks is nick who , according to what he wrote in the letters to ashley , used to work as a guard in the indian casino . \\nthough by the end , the film pulls the rug out from under us so frequently that everything i\\'ve described might as well be irrelevant . \\nthis is what you can expect should you chose to take this reindeer on ; several scenes in which , after catching his prey , the bad guy proceeds to stall interminably until the good guy has a chance to kill his captor and crack a stupid one-liner . \\nincluded : two ( 2 ) scenes of two ( 2 ) different bad guys explaining their motives to the hero when they should be killing him ( one following the other no less ) . \\nthough it\\'s an action film , the ending is more a talkfest where we get the whole movie explained to us by one flustered character actor after another while affleck looks on , incredulous as the audience . \\nthe flick was directed by john frankenheimer , a straightforward action director who lucked into the manchurian candidate early in his career , fell off the a-list following a string of flops and now , in his old age , is slowly climbing his way back up . \\nit would be a success story if he were choosing better scripts but his last major film was ronin ( one of those almost but not quite movies ) which followed the island of dr . morneau \\n ( you remember , the one with marlon brando in mime make-up and a not so flattering moo-moo ) , and now this . \\nhe films action sequences with a minimum of quick cutting which i like considering that nowadays action scenes are commonly comprised of millisecond flash cuts strung together and laid out for a brain-zapped mtv audience to pick apart . \\nproblem is these action scenes ( nearly all failed escapes ) serve no purpose in the story other than to further pad out the running time and to remind the audience that their watching an action movie rather than a filmed radio play . \\ncharacter problems abound ; rudy is made to shift between sweet boy next door earnestness and hard edged wiseacre , the latter of which is not ( at least at this point ) something ben affleck is capable of pulling off . \\nthe former he can do with ease and often the actor coasts on his lackadaisical charm while those around him growl and swear . \\nbut then suddenly affleck starts growling and swearing alongside them like the class clown imitating a tarantino gangster . \\ncharlize theron , an extraordinary talent , is , like affleck , playing whatever part the script requires her to play , whether it be vulnerability at one moment , anger at the next . \\nshe never has a chance to evince any charm or make much of an impression beyond her obvious physical attributes ( frankenheimer has her needlessly pop her top to further italicize this . \\ngary sinise has played this role frequently , and here , as in snake eyes , he does the snarling bad guy thing with such over the top vitriol ( the guy must be so incredibly bored of stomping through the same paces that going out of control is the only thing that keeps him interested any more ) , that it becomes more of an annoyance ( oh there he goes again ? ? ? ) than a threat . \\nthese are talented people who made the mistake of jumping on to a script with little but stock characters and a bag of tricks that it dully springs on its audience . \\n',\n",
+       " b'most movies seem to release a third movie just so it can be called a trilogy . \\nrocky iii seems to kind of fit in that category , but manages to be slightly unique . \\nthe rocky formula of \" rocky loses fight/rocky trains/rocky wins fight \" is carried out to the letter . \\nalso the \\'tradition\\' of showing the last five minutes or so from the past rocky film is used as well . \\nthis movie begins with a series of clips showing how famous rocky ( sylvester stallone ) has become . . . \\neven showing a brief appearance on sesame street ! ! \\nthen it moves on with rocky being in a fixed fight with thunderlips ( hulk hogan ) . \\na mysterious bad-ass known as clubber lang ( mr . t ) trash-talks to rocky about his stupid decision to retire from boxing and that he \" pities the fool \" for not coming out and fighting him outright . \\nrocky\\'s trainer ( burgess meredith ) tells rocky not to fight , but the italian stallion doesn\\'t listen . \\nnaturally , he gets his ass kicked . \\nsomewhere along the line after this several things happen . \\nrocky\\'s longtime trainer dies , causing rocky to train with his former opponent apollo creed . \\nrocky\\'s wife complains to her husband that he should fight . \\nthe final fight ensues between clubber and rocky . \\nguess who wins ? \\nthe winner\\'s name rhymes with \\'smocky\\' . \\nthe movie is entertaning mainly because of clubber lang\\'s over the top performance . \\nthe dramatic aspect has been toned down considerably since rocky ii and now action seems to be the strong point of the film . \\nwhich is good if you like fighting scenes . \\nthe last match is quite decent actually . \\nif you liked the previous films , rent this one . \\nit\\'s well worth seeing if you are a fan of the series . \\nbut if you can\\'t stand rocky shouting \" adrianne ! ! ! \" \\none more time , see something else . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the release of dolores claiborne into wide release this weekend adds another entry into the long list of film adaptations of stephen king's work . \\nthis slow-moving character study provides some outstanding acting performances by the principals , but suffers from a tepid conclusion , inconsistent direction , and may not have wide commercial appeal . \\nwhen the maid , dolores claiborne , is found brandishing a rolling pin standing over the bloody and dead body of her employer , it seems like an open-and-shut murder case . \\nupon hearing of the death via a mysterious fax , dolores' estranged and bitter daughter , esquire magazine writer selena st . george , returns from new york back to her tiny island village childhood home . \\nas the two clash horns , the story behind the mysterious death of dolores' abusive husband two decades ago , ruled an accident despite the protests of detective john mackey , is revealed . \\ndid dolores kill her husband ? \\nand did she kill her employer ? \\ndolores claiborne is certainly more of a character study than a suspense thriller . \\nconsequently , it is fortunate that their cast includes some of hollywood's finest character actors , such as bates , leigh and strathairn . \\nkathy bates plays the film's title character , and gives a sensational lead performance . \\ndolores claiborne is essentially a showcase for the talent of bates , as her character has a huge amount of screen time . \\nshe dominates the screen , producing a character that is compelling and arresting , as we watch the character go through two decades of history via flashbacks . \\nkathy bates' performance is award-calibre stuff . \\nthe rest of the cast is also very good . \\njennifer jason leigh plays the perpetually sour , bitter helena st . george well , and christopher plummer seems to be enjoying himself as dolores' ever-present nemesis , the determined detective john mackey . \\ndavid strathairn is particularly interesting and suitably smarmy and despicable as dolores' husband , joe st . george . \\njudy parfitt is fine as dolores' tyrannic socialite employer , vera donovan--it would have been interesting to see , say , meg foster in this role . \\nchild actor ellen muth is also worth noting as the young selena during the flashback sequences ; she is very impressive . \\nthe direction of dolores claiborne by taylor hackford wildly varies throughout the film , ranging from some parts which are quite clever in their own right , to parts which are embarrassingly hokey . \\nthe segues between flashbacks and the present are very hit-and-miss in terms of effectiveness . \\nthe pacing of the film tends to be numbingly slow , which tends to undermine any suspense which might be built up . \\nhowever , the cinematography by gabriel beristain is wonderful--i particularly like the chilling ice-blue hue permeating the present-day scenes , contrasting well with the many nova scotia ocean shots--and danny elfman provides a surprisingly understated score for the film . \\nit would seem that the commercial potential of dolores claiborne is limited . \\nnone of the performers in the film could be classified as a big draw , and its pacing may be a turn-off to those expecting a gripping suspense film filled with twists and turns and car crashes and axe-wielding psychopaths . \\nalthough being essentially the only film in its genre in release now , it may also be hurt by the negative perception of king works , even with the recent critical success of the shawshank redemption and the stand . \\ndolores claiborne suffers from a very unsatisfying conclusion , and moves very slowly . \\nhowever , the performances are uniformly excellent , particularly kathy bates , and the film has its moments . \\non my four-star scale , i give dolores claiborne three stars . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'so what do you get when you mix together plot elements from various successful sci-fi films such as close encounters of the third kind , 2001 : a space odyssey , apollo 13 and contact ? \\nwell , whatever it is , you\\'d sure as hell hope that it would be a thousand times better than this shoddy attempt at such a melange , considering the disastrous results we\\'re left with here . \\nthis is a film that takes a little bit of everything , but ultimately adds up to a lot of nothing ! \\nit\\'s like i said . . . this \\nmovie sucks . \\nplot : a rescue crew of astronauts is sent down to mars in the year 2020 , after an unknown energy force leads to a loss of contact with the previous gang of space aviators to visit the red planet . \\ncritique : extremely underwhelming is the best way to describe this movie . \\nuneven , would be another . \\nthe trailer for this movie actually showed some promise , the buzz around it had been so-so , and even the film itself starts off with a decent first twenty minutes , all leading you to believe that it\\'s actually going to go \" somewhere \" . \\nbut it isn\\'t long before the entire movie downshifts into neutral , features more space walks than anything interesting on the cherry-colored planet , tries too hard to get us into the \" pain \" of some its characters and unsuccessfully tosses some romance into the mix . \\nin a sci-fi movie ? \\nwell , i don\\'t know , much of it just seemed like a bunch of nerdies talking techie jargon for about an hour and a half , only to figure out some big secret in the end , a secret which practically had me yawning with excitement . \\nultimately , this is a movie that starts off with a decent premise , joins the crew in their \" misadventures in space \" for the main crux of its journey , and eventually settles down for one of the most anti-climactic endings this side of contact . \\nmind you , if you enjoyed that film\\'s shrug-of-the-shoulders ending , you might just enjoy this frivolous ditty as well . \\nof course , i don\\'t remember contact having such obvious and painfully distracting computer generated effects at its end of story . \\nugh . \\nwhat a friggin\\' mess . \\nfilms like this generally get me wondering about the brass in hollywood again . \\ndidn\\'t anybody recognize the crappiness in this script ? \\ndidn\\'t they read the bad dialogue , the cheezy lines , the obvious derivative nature of the work ( mind you , with a director like depalma at the helm , that ain\\'t saying much ! ) . \\nof course , you can\\'t really blame the brass for the inclusion of jerry o\\'connell in this fine crew of thespians . \\n\\'nuff said . \\nneither can you blame them for depalma cranking up the juice on the film\\'s musical score during the last fifteen minutes , presumably in order to wake the audience up ( okay , we get it brian , this scene is supposed to be powerful . . . wow . . . yawn . . . my \\nears hurt ! ) . \\nso is anything salvageable in this movie ? \\nsure . \\ngary sinise does another great job , as does cheadle , the film doesn\\'t completely bore you as much as it just moves along slowly without anything really interesting happening , and yes , the \" sand-twister \" effect that you see in the commercial is well done . \\nother than that ? \\ni guess i could say that i admire how filmmakers have become so much more devious in their product placement strategies . . . oops , \\ndid i say \" admire \" , i meant \" am disgusted \" ! \\nall in all , this movie delivers very little in actual substance , offers two-bit dialogue masked in a lot of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo , pretends to be deep when really it\\'s just sappy , and eventually just settles into an ending which , other than presenting us with a pathetic computer graphic as a part of the story , gives us little more to think about than how we might be able to get our money back for sitting through this rehashed dreck . \\ngo see the ninth gate . . . now \\nthere\\'s a great movie ! \\nand on a personal note , i think it\\'s time for depalma to stop worrying so much about his proverbial 12-minute uninterrupted film sequences , and start worrying more about how crappy his movies are getting . \\n',\n",
+       " b'did you ever wonder if dennis rodman was actually from this planet ? \\nor if sylvester stallone was some kind of weird extra-terrestrial ? \\ni used to think that about my 7th grade english teacher , ms . carey . \\nbut after seeing this movie , they may have confirmed my suspicions . \\nas the story goes , at any time , there are over a thousand aliens living among us here on earth . \\nthe men in black ( mib ) are the watchdogs that oversee the cosmic citizens , guardians of our beloved planet from nasty-tempered aliens , and secret service to the stars . \\nbased in new york city ( where weird is the norm ) , the mib organization gives human form to our space-faring emigrants so that they may walk and live among us unnoticed . \\nbut to enforce the laws of earth , the mib carry weapons that are powerful enough to meet or exceed destruction quotas in one single blast . \\nthey carry other-worldly technology to erase people\\'s short-term memory when common folk see the mib in action . \\nand their best leads on cosmic things-gone-awry are the supermarket tabloids . \\nlittle do we know that there are much stronger battles of good v . evil going on in the depths of space . \\none of the aliens-as-human on this planet is an important diplomat that is carrying something very precious . \\nit holds the \\'key\\' , literally , to universal peace . \\na giant cockroach-like alien soon arrives on the planet and steals this \\'key\\' . \\nin the wrong alien hands ( flippers ? \\nmandibles ? \\ntentacles ? ) , it can be used as a weapon . \\ntherefore , it must be recovered and returned to it\\'s rightful owners . \\notherwise , to ensure universal safety , earth will be destroyed , along with the \\'key\\' . \\nnow , it\\'s the mib who must prevent this catastrophe . \\nthe mib agents on the case are \" k \" , played by tommy lee jones . \\nhe is crustier than burnt toast and even more serious than al gore . \\nthe stars in the sky no longer spark wonder in his eyes . \\nhe is accompanied by a flippant rookie , \" j \" , played by will smith . \\nbut , despite this shoot-em-up , protect-earth-from-destruction premise , this is nothing at all like a typical summer action movie . \\nand , this isn\\'t an independence day knockoff . \\nrather , this is a stylishly offbeat sci-fi comedy that pokes fun at what the government always denies ? that there are real aliens that live here , and that the government does its darndest to cover them up . \\nbut to give it some sense of excitement and to keep it within the parameters of the summer movie recipe , there must be some kind of earth-hangs-in-the-balance scenario . \\nyet , this movie is very appealing . \\nthe abundance of wierdness ( talking aliens , pee-wee atomizers , a mortician who \\'lives\\' for her work , and lots of yucky bugs and slime-splattering galore ) , is played straight , like as if this were normal ( of course , we are in nyc ) . \\nit gives it a deadpan feel , which makes it all the more funnier and odder . \\njones plays the venerable seen-it-all agent with seriousness and maturity . \\nsmith is likeable and makes a great comic partner to jones\\' straight man routine . \\nthey click like dorothy\\'s ruby red shoes . \\nthe look and feel of the movie is made even better with direction from barry sonnenfeld ( the addam\\'s family ) . \\nthis guy has a knack for \\'gothic\\' comedy , and successfully transfers his macabre sense of humor onto the screen . \\nand , an appropriate dose of special effects helps to bolster the oddness of their task without diverting attention from the human actors . \\nthe story moves well , and before you know it , the end credits are already rolling ! \\nthe result is 100 minutes worth of fun in the form of ewwwws and blechhhs , aaaahhhs and wows . \\nlet the men in black protect and color your world . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"terrence malick made an excellent 90 minute film adaptation of james jones' world war ii novel . \\nunfortunately , he buried it within an overlong and overreaching 3-hour long pseudo-epic . \\nthis is a shame because the film features an outstanding performance by nick nolte . \\nthe best scene is when nick nolte's character , lt . col . tall , is forced to deal with the direct refusal by capt . staros ( elias koteas ) to execute an order . \\nnolte's reaction and transformation may be the best work of his career . \\nhad terrence malick concentrated on the great performances of nolte and koteas as well as those by sean penn , woody harrelson , and john cusack , he could have made a truly great film . \\ninstead , malick saddled the film with plodding pacing , unnecessary flashbacks , and a voice-over narration all designed to telegraph the great philosophical underpinnings of the story . \\nthe narration was especially annoying as much of it sounded like very bad high school poetry . \\nwith a lot of editing , the core story could be transformed into a truly classic war film . \\nhopefully , the dvd version of this film will feature options to suppress the narration , and perhaps will even provide for an alternate , shorter version of the film . \\ni give this film . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'capsule : gal is a 50s-ish london cockney gangster who has retired to spain . \\nhis old associates want him for one last job and send the vicious don to give him an offer he can\\'t refuse . \\na standout performance by ben kingsley as don cannot save what is essentially a set of cliches recycled from old westerns . \\n , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) \\nroger ebert asks in his review of sexy beast , \" who would have guessed that the most savage mad-dog frothing gangster in recent movies would be played by . . . \\nben kingsley ? \" \\nmy response would be that anyone who has seen alan arkin in wait until dark , henry fonda in once upon a time in the west , or anthony hopkins in the silence of the lambs should have guessed it . \\nthey should know that the way for a film to create a really creepy sociopath is cast someone who generally plays mild , sympathetic , or even ineffectual character roles . \\nthe same characteristics that make an actor seem gentle in most of his roles can work in his favor when a role calls for him to be fierce and vicious . \\nthat is the principle that works for kingsley in sexy beast . \\ngary \" gal \" dove ( played by ray winstone ) has retired from a london career of crime and is living on a luxurious villa in spain . \\nlife has become a routine of sunning himself and relaxing . \\nbut his paradise is about to be shattered by a one-two-punch . \\nthe first punch is a boulder that comes rolling down the hill next to the villa . \\nthe second punch comes from gal\\'s past . \\nback in london gang boss teddy bass ( ian mcshane , tv\\'s lovejoy ) is planning to break into a safety deposit room in a bank and he wants gal . \\nhe sends his most rabid henchman don logan ( ben kingsley ) to fetch gal . \\ndon will accept any decision gal makes from \" yes \" to \" certainly . \" \\nhowever , if gal says \" no \" don will do whatever it takes to turn it into a yes including threatening guy\\'s ex-porn- star wife deedee ( amanda redman ) . \\nin the meantime don knows just how to get under everybody\\'s skin . \\nkingsley makes don a compact package of fury and nastiness . \\nthere are some serious problems in louis mellis\\'s and david scinto\\'s script that should have been caught before filming . \\nwhen we see the actual crime we have no idea why gal was so important to its success . \\nbeyond an ability to use skin-diving gear , no special talents are required of him . \\nany local hood could have done what gal is needed for . \\nadditionally the crime involves digging from a swimming pool to the bank vault , flooding the vault . \\nno only could they have let the water out of the pool and avoided the complication altogether , but there is by far too much water to be accounted for by what was in the pool . \\nin spite of the provocative title , the story is cliched and overly familiar . \\ni know i have seen all the plot elements of sexy beast in old westerns like the law and jake wade . \\nthe story is usually of the reformed outlaw , a robert taylor type , who has hung up his guns and is trying for a life of peaceful respectability . \\nthe old gang , however , wants to do one more job with their old buddy and sends a rabid richard widmark type to go and git ? im . \\nit is not a great plot . \\nin sexy beast even the plot twists have gray beards . \\nperhaps the film has a little more respectability because it was made not as a western but as a stylish british gangster film . \\nit is an old plot dressed up to look new . \\nif the plot is old , at least the style is creative . \\nthis is director jonathan glazer\\'s first film , but he has reputedly done some notable tv ads for guinness stout . \\nhis style does have some unexpected touches including some very odd dream sequences . \\ncinematographer ivan bird uses a lot of half lit scenes . \\nwe see one side of a person\\'s faces . \\nbut the other side fades into the darkness , a sort of metaphor for the half-world these characters in-habit . \\nhalf of everything that is happening is also kept hidden . \\nwe yanks will have a hard time with some of the dialog . \\nat least in my theater it was difficult to make out the words with the quiet speaking , the heavy accents , and the cockney language . \\nsexy beast is a very and familiar minor plot lent respectability in the us by being done in what is here a still somewhat novel genre , the london crime film . \\nthe plot may be new to british crime films , but it would be overly familiar as a western . \\nfurther respectability comes from ben kingsley\\'s high-powered performance . \\ni give it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'ve heard it called \" jaws with claws \" and that\\'s a fair summation of the plot , though that tag line does little to quantify quality . \\ndirector stephen hopkins ( blown away , predator 2 ) and screenwriter william goldman ( maverick , misery ) would have you believe that this is an epic historical drama about man against nature , based on what really happened in africa to the railroad workers trying to build a bridge to the 20th century . \\nthey\\'ve stacked the deck with two big stars ( val kilmer , michael douglas ) , a bigger production design , beautiful photography ( by academy award winner vilmos zsigmond ) , and a score so overblown that it makes the lion king soundtrack sound like chamber music . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t make a lick of sense , though , either as an epic or as your basic boo-fest . \\nin fact , some of the bits are so laughably ludicrous that you may think you\\'ve stumbled into the sequel to mystery science theater 3000 : the movie . \\nhow about the three guys with rifles , who trap a lion and then can\\'t even hit the damned thing ? \\nor the ham-on-wry acting of michael douglas , who chews more scenery than the animals ever do ? ? \\nor , my favorite , lions so agile that they can even climb onto rooftops ? ! ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'tempe mills cinema , az--this movie had us in non-stop stitches from beginning to end . \\nall those promotional clips that have been on tv for the past month came from the first five minutes of the movie . \\nif you thought they were funny , see the rest of the movie . \\nit\\'s hilarious . \\nhow does one go about making a movie about a couple guys whose only claim to fame is synchronized head-bopping on snl to exactly one song ? \\neasy . \\nwrite an interesting script around tried-and-true ideas , add some good lines and satire , and voil ? , you end up with an excellent , well-done , very entertaining flick . \\nwill and chris are idiot brothers forced by their father to work begrudgingly in the family flower business during the day . \\nat night they pursue their life-long ambition to loose their virginity in failed attempts to get into the roxbury in beverly hills , ca , the only disco act worth going to . \\nthe only problem , the place is so popular and the waiting line so long that by the time the brothers make it to the front door , the roxbury closes , all the while bearing witness to guys with one-hundred-dollar bills and movie stars like richard grieco who get past the doorman without fuss . \\nthe script authors ( steve koren , will ferrell and chris kattan ) cleverly devised a way for our boys to get into the roxbury . \\ntheir flower-shop van is rear-ended by richard grieco , who fears a law-suit and is surprised to see the idiots are too star-struck to think about the car accident they just had , but not about getting into the roxbury . \\ngrieco happily takes them in , even introduces them to the owner , which has the added benefit of enhancing the financial appearance of the idiot brothers in the eyes of a couple of gold diggers ( elisa donovan and gigi rice ) who bet their time and bodies on will and chris . \\nwhat follows are some of the best slap-stick dancing routines ever . \\nthe music is superb , and could have only been made better had the producers added patrick hernandez\\'s born to be alive . \\nthe choreography at times was a parody of an era gone by , for example , the bee gees and their stayin\\' alive . \\nit is nostalgic for those of us who remember that far back , and the technique is a clever adaptation that worked well in forest gump . \\none of the funniest scenes is when the gold diggers discover that will \\nand chris don\\'t have any mone y , and dump both on the spot , even expressing violence and anger that they gave sex away . \\nan art-imitates-life poke at shallow women . \\nit\\'s a scene that\\'s an approximate parody of the vinegar\\'s own rolf luedeke\\'s editorial this week national organization for men ( nom ) replaces now . \\nted \" unabomber \" \\nkaczynski , himself rejected for not having money , will identify well with this scene , if he ever watches the movie . \\nof course , the script wouldn\\'t be complicated enough without adding molly shannon , the girl next door who has had a crush on will since they were kids , and who will has had an aversion to in quest of good-looking disco blondes ( proof that men will turn down perfectly good women when there are bay watch babes always lurking nearby ) . \\nnevertheless , will\\'s father wants him to marry molly anyway , but thinks idiot chris is standing in the way and sends him into guest-quarter exile . \\nduring the wedding ceremony , will\\'s heart isn\\'t exactly into getting married , and when his brother appears on the balcony with a ghetto blaster and more head-bopping music , will thinks worse of the knot-tieing idea and runs to chris . \\ndefinitely an snl parody of the graduate where katharine ross changed her mind for the screaming dustin hoffman in the church balcony . \\ni found this scene a riot , however , it went over brandi\\'s head -- she was born seven years after the graduate first appeared . \\nthe scene has a good punch line when molly shannon marries , instead , the step-in buddy/weight-lifter ( who looks like he could pass for the son of gary busy ) and who has been lusting for a good-looker for a long time , but ready now to take anyone . \\nmore art-imitates-life stuff -- not even muscles can substitute for money in the real world . \\nthe idiots\\' mother is played by loni anderson , whose barbie-doll looks \\ndon\\'t play well anymore ( she\\'s a bit old ) , and whose cleavage looks like someone botched a tracheotomy too low down . \\ni recommend this movie for anyone who wants to have a lot of fun or in \\nneed of a lot of laughs . \\ngo with a date . \\nbrandi laughed non-stop , as i \\ndid , and a deaf-mute might have concluded i was tickling her continuously for 105 minutes . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"as with his other stateside releases , jackie chan's latest chopsocky vehicle , mr . nice guy , is contrived , blockheaded , and lacking in narrative logic . \\nbut also like those other films , it is a highly enjoyable ride . \\nonce again , chan's screenwriters ( here edward tang and fibe ma ) have taken the easy way out and named their star's character simply jackie , with no last name . \\nthis jackie is a world-class chef who co-hosts a popular cooking show on australian television . \\nof course , jackie also happens to be a talented martial artist , and these skills come in handy when he becomes involved in an ambitious reporter's ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) expose of a drug dealing ring . \\nother plot details , involving a videotape and a biker gang , are irrelevant ; in fact , as is the case with most chan films , the plot itself is just about irrelevant . \\nthe sole purpose of mr . nice guy's existence are chan's comic fight scenes , and those here do not disappoint . \\ndirector samo hung ( who has a cameo role ) , a longtime collaborator of chan's , does not waste any time putting chan in action , diving head-on into a wild chase/fight/shootout after a brief cooking show prologue . \\nother impressive set pieces follow , most notably a chase in a mall , which directly leads to some frenzied , if cliched ( can you say fruit cart ? ) , business involving a runaway carriage ; and an extended late-film sequence at a construction site , in which a hilarious pursuit through a maze of blue doors culminates in some exciting fights involving boards , cement mixers , and a deadly buzzsaw . \\nnone of the action sequences in mr . nice guy are as spectacular as supercop's thrilling helicopter-train finale or rumble in the bronx's daring leap between two buildings ; nor is anything as inventive as the ladder fight or air tunnel climax in first strike and operation condor , respectively . \\nbut the action delivers , even if the energy peters out before the film's end ( the finale , as spectacular as it is , is a letdown for fans of chan's athletic prowess ) . \\nfilmed almost entirely in english ( even so , the voices of some english-speaking actors are laughably dubbed ) , mr . nice guy hints at jackie chan's latest transition to hollywood productions ( he made ill-fated attempts with 1980's the big brawl and 1985's the protector ) ; next in the pipeline is rush hour , a stateside production co-starring chris tucker . \\nhopefully that film will be a mere diversion in tinseltown , and chan will continue with exuberant hong kong productions such as mr . nice guy , for his unique charm and reckless abandon are sure to be diluted by american hands , much like they have been before . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"to me , nicolas cage sounds like an ideal choice for the lead role in a martin scorsese film . \\ndespite the rantings that sean penn so rudely expressed , the actor remains a gifted and versatile screen presence . \\never since the big success of the action-thriller `face/off' in 1997 , the hollywood road has been a rocky one for mr . cage . \\nthe perpetually awful assassination thriller `snake eyes' was one of 1998's worst films . \\n`8mm' was a disappointing lost cause . \\nbut who better than scorsese to match cage's wit and intensity , which he does in miraculous fashion with `bringing out the dead' . \\ncage delivers one of his finest performances as frank pierce , a new york city emergency paramedic who is running on fumes from day-to-day . \\nafter five years of the stress-inducing job , frank basically just staggers onward , relying on heavy doses of caffeine and booze until his shift finally ends . \\nhe also begins seeing the ghosts of past patients who died under his care , namely a young girl named rose , who stares back at him with pale features at every street corner in new york . \\nfrank desperately wants to be fired , but his boss needs him to scour the city and help those in need ( `i'll fire you tomorrow . . . ' he promises ) . \\nfrank is accompanied by a fresh face every night in the ambulance . \\nthe first is larry ( john goodman ) , who always has food on the brain . \\nthe second is marcus ( ving rhames ) , a deeply religious black man who incorporates the power of jesus into a regular rescue operation . \\nand finally , tom ( tom sizemore ) is a deranged sociopath hungry for blood . \\ni found it unique how scorsese used each of these characters for a single shift with frank , but they never figured into the actual plot . \\neach is merely a colorful presence to help develop frank's character , because `bringing out the dead' is predominantly a study of his mind and detailed personality . \\nthe one character alongside frank that truly comes into play is mary ( patricia arquette ) , the daughter of a newly admitted patient who suffered from a severe heart attack . \\narquette , who recently received the wounds of christ in `stigmata' , performs well around real-life husband cage . \\nit's unfortunate that , after such intriguing character trials and tribulations , the relationship between frank and mary slips during a mishandled , ineffective finale . \\nthe movie belongs to the one-two punch of cage and scorsese , who were born to collaborate their efforts in an arrangement similar to `bringing out the dead' . \\nalthough it certainly lacks the grit and hard-edge of something like `goodfellas' , scorsese manages to hit a nerve with his latest picture . \\nthe incredible camera-work and photography represent stunning flashes of brilliance in an otherwise unspectacular conglomeration . \\nfans will be pleased to find the director has returned to his abrasive , darkly humorous roots after somewhat of a departure with 1997's `kundun' . \\ndoes `bringing out the dead' rival scorsese's finest work ? \\nonly occasionally . \\nsome of the film feels surprisingly limp , but there is enough energy in it's interesting material and breathtaking visual appearance to suffice . \\nthose expecting a grisly , risqu ? product may be somewhat disheartened at the fairly straight-arrow approach - but it's still a solid , admirable effort . \\n`bringing out the dead' was written by the acclaimed paul schrader , who collaborated with scorsese on such classics as `taxi driver' and `raging bull' . \\nschrader's script is full of moments - wonderful , sharply defined moments - that are sorted throughout the remainder of his meandering screenplay . \\nthe exceptional aspects of the film are it's astounding technical credits and the amazing cast . \\ngoodman and sizemore are both electric ( well , mainly sizemore ) , but it's the phenomenal ving rhames who deserves a second look . \\nwatch the actor's deeply inspired dedication as he resurrects a gothic band member , and you'll understand why he won a golden globe . \\n`bringing out the dead' is raw and electrifying often enough to mask it's certain flaws . \\nscorsese - and cage , for that matter - have done better , but their intentions are certainly admirable . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"review : a dog of flanders is the story of an adorable little boy named nello and his trials and tribulations in 19th century flanders . \\nliving with his grandfather jehan ( jack warden ) in poverty , nello finds happiness in his life in spite of difficult times ( they are renting a spare one-room cottage , and the greedy , malevolent landlord who owns it threatens to throw them `out of the house' if they don't pay the rent ) . \\nnello also has a rather creative talent for drawing some of the most beautiful pictures that i have ever seen , in either a movie or in real life . \\n ( his hero is peter paul rubens , the great flemish painter of the 17th century . ) \\nnot that these are the only things that make nello's life happy , however . \\nhe has a dog of flanders , whom he names patrasche , who is a heroic rin-tin-tin of the 19th century , whom he rescues from his cruel , unkind master . \\nin addition , he even has a best friend ( and future sweetheart ) in the lovely , wealthy aloise , whose father strongly disapproves of her hanging out with `lower-class' nello . \\n ( he thinks he's not good enough for her , and he would hate the idea of the two kids marrying . ) \\nbut then , he was a poor guy himself before he married ( as mentioned later on in the film ) . \\none day , nello encounters a mysterious , yet kindhearted artist named michel la grande ( played wonderfully by jon voight ) , who tells the boy to keep drawing from his heart , and that perhaps one day he might land a career in being an artist . \\nand every christmas , there is a contest on which is the most beautiful painting of the year ; the winner getting a lot of money . \\neager to save his home ( and his aging , dying grandfather ) , nello willingly decides to become an artist , asking aloise to pose for him . \\none night , the two travel to a circus , where they have their fortune told ? one of the film's most delightful scenes ? that great happiness is destined for them . \\nshe gives the kids a ring , whom nello places on aloise's hand . \\n ; ) afterwards , the two kids have a rollickingly good time dancing around in front of circus performers . \\nunfortunately , things are not all `la-dee-dah' in this tale . \\naloise's father finally becomes so angry with nello that he forbids him to ever see aloise again . \\nbad enough that they can't see each other ( although we know nello and aloise , don't we ? ) , but that's only the start of nello's troubles . \\naloise's farm is burned down , and nello is wrongfully accused ( by the landord of his cottage ) for starting the fire in order to take revenge on being forbidden to see aloise . \\nthis decreases nello's reputation around the town , save aloise and her parents , and a kindly miller , william , who is very sweet to nello every time he drops by . \\nmatters get much worse for nello when his grandfather dies , and he has to pay for his funeral . \\nbut then things really get nasty when the landlord exiles nello from his own home ( for not paying his rental ) ? permanetly . \\nthis means that nello and patrasche have to starve and walk out in the cold , freezing wind . \\nworst of all , the painting that he has desperately been working on during all this time , `the portrait of the princess' , fails to win the prize at the festival . \\nnow nello and patrasche are really depressed , and close to freezing to death . \\nwill nello be able to find any happiness in his life ? \\nwill patrasche save the day ? \\nwill nello make the fateful trip to join his mother and grandfather in paradise ? \\na dog of flanders is a delightful , heartwarming family film that is sure to entertain kids of all ages . \\neven older ones who consider themselves too `sophisticated' for kiddie fare will be surprised to hear that this film is for grown-ups , too . \\nthere have been other movies of this ilk ( boy and dog ) , and while this one falls into that category , it is mostly a story about overcoming difficulties and finding a good home for yourself . \\nmove over ? or rather , roll over ? old yeller , this dog of flanders is a heartwarming delight . \\nthe cinematography , courtesy of walther van den ende is beautiful , and really adds to the powerful drama of the film . \\nit also gives a feel of being in flanders ( the whole film was respectably shot in flanders ) . \\nthe music from richard friedman is also remarkable ; an evocative , poignant score that recaptures music from the 19th century . \\nthe opening song over the credits is very beautiful ( i hope the soundtrack is available ! ) , and there's a brief excerpt of `cheer up , charlie' from willy wonka and the chocolate factory ( sung by aloise , to nello , in another delightful scene ) . \\nthe cast is first-rate : jesse james and jeremy james kissner , who play nello , are some of the most endearing , adorable young stars i have ever seen in my whole life ( so are the girls who play aloise , madyline sweeten as the younger , and farren monet as the older ) . \\nnot that they are the only good stars , however . \\njack warden is ideal as jehan , eliciting just the right amount of humor and compassion required for the character . \\n ( the scenes involving him and nello are heartwarming , touching ones . ) \\nalso , bruce mcgill is charming as the kindly miller william . \\nhe's another one of my favorite characters in the film . \\nbut jon voight , as i mentioned before , is the perfect choice for michel . \\nhe brings a mysterious , yet gentle performance that makes us all feel good again when he reassures insecure nello that he * can * win the contest . \\nbut what makes this film fun to watch is how well-defined the characters are , and the pace of the story ( best of all , it has a happy ending ? though i will * not * give it away ; sorry ) is strong and powerful enough for us to identify with the characters . \\nfor the first time since the beginning of 1999 , there comes a film which doesn't rely on popular formula stuff , such as big-budget special effects , commercial rock soundtracks , or any of that stuff . \\nthis one relies on telling a fully character-oriented story , with just the right amount of heart , humor , and drama . \\nthat , to me , is what makes a dog of flanders all the more delightful . \\neleanor o'sullivan of `the home news & tribune' noticed this , and was kind and generous enough to welcome it : `for want of a better word , a glow surrounds a dog of flanders . \\nits heart is in the right place and it engages you . \\nyou can guess where the film is going because this is well-traveled territory , but with pros like voight and appealing young performers like kissner , an often-told story is well worth a revisit . ' \\nin addition , there were a couple of other enthusiasts , such as chicago-sun times and the washington post ( you should read their reviews ; they're really positive ) . \\nother critics , however , were not so kind . \\nstephen holden of `the new york times' had more than a share of beatings to lay upon a dog of flanders via pen writing . \\nhe found the film to be a `sea of sugary bromides' and condemned mr . voight's character as `hopelessly wooden ? adopts an accent even more indeterminate than the one he came up with for anaconda . ' \\nin addition , `entertainment weekly' slam-dunked the film , condemning it as `the worst family film of the year . ' \\nthere have been so many other bad reviews like this , too . \\nmy suggestion : disregard the critics . \\nthey just have a big problem with touching family films , and one should never pay attention to them . \\nthis dog of flanders may only be a little `family' movie ( it probably won't be a big hit in the style of titanic , but then again no other film has been since then ) , but that is not a bad thing in and of itself . \\nthis is a story that is sure to warm your heart , and that is what really matters about a dog of flanders . \\nit is also one of the better family films around this year . \\nnone of the other films i have seen this year ( though they were good ) have been so low-key and touching . \\nif you're looking for family-style entertainment , look no further than this charming boy-and-dog yarn . \\ngo see it while you still can , for as i mentioned , it might not be a big bow-wow at the box office for a long time . \\nsee it while you can . \\nthere is really no need to compare a multi-million dollar blockbuster such as star wars : episode i ? the phantom menace or tarzan , or even the iron giant with a tender , sweet little family movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" the watcher \" ( universal ) \\njust what we need : another lurid , trashy serial killer saga . \\nthis time , keanu reeves plays an elusive homicidal maniac who engages in a gruesome ticking-clock cat-and-mouse game with james spader , a burnt-out fbi agent who has suffered a traumatic nervous breakdown after too many years on the job with the lapd . \\nto taunt spader , who has relocated to chicago , reeves packs up his trusty piano wire and moves too . \\nbefore long , he starts mailing photographs of the lonely , unsuspecting young women who are his intended windy city victims , challenging spader , along with the chicago police department , to stop him within 24 hours before he strikes again . \\nin the midst of this murderous frenzy , there\\'s spader\\'s psychologist , played by marisa tomei , who is even less convincing as a medical professional than jennifer lopez in \" the cell . \" \\nwriters david elliot , clay ayers and darcy meyers , along with first-time director joe charbanic ( helmer of music videos for reeves\\' band dogstar ) , dwell on the warped thrill of the methodology and the chase , revealing , early on , exactly whodunit since the killer says he and the cop \" need each other to give meaning to our lives . \" \\nplus , as reeves explains , \" we\\'re all stacked right on top of each other , but we don\\'t notice each other any more . \" \\nafter that , it\\'s all sound effects and tricky camera-work , along with a muddled , discordant soundtrack . \\njames spader\\'s acting technique can be described as \\'wooden deadpan\\' while keanu reeves maintains his perpetually monotone \\'dude\\' persona which sometimes works , sometimes doesn\\'t . \\nchris ellis , as spader\\'s self-important colleague , is the only cast member who manages to be convincing . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" the watcher \" is an appallingly awful , amateurish 2 . the real torture is watching it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'godzilla is a nuclear freak . \\nhe is a lizard that has been mutated over the years and has become a new species , one that has a foot as long as this bus , and a claw as long as this sign . \\nthis aquatic creature made its first attack in the pacific islands . \\nhe tore up a ship that carried dozens of japanese men . \\none survived . \\nonly he was left to recount the terror that he had seen . \\nhe was merely able to repeat the words \" godzilla . . . godzilla . . . godzilla \" . \\nthe film then introduces us to matthew broderick , a biologist who has been studying the fascinating growth of chernobyl earthworms . \\n \" they\\'re 17% larger than they used to be ! \" he proclaims . \\nthe u . s . military pulls him off this three year project and assigns him to figure out what godzilla is . \\nand , boy , does he find out . \\nand , boy , does godzilla suck . \\ni hate to use such a word in a review , something that is supposed to inform my audience , but i really need to drive this one home and i refuse to use explitives . \\nit is unbelieveable to me how the producers of this movie saw the final cut and said , \" ok ! \\nit\\'s great ! \\nlet\\'s show this puppy . \" \\nroland emmerich needs a good horse whipping . \\nhis latest piece of trash makes id4 look like a masterpiece of modern american cinema . \\nand if steven spielberg had never made the jurassic park films , emmerich and his team of talent-challenged imbeciles would never have had a clue as to how the creature should look . \\nlet me give you a few examples of this terrible attempt at filmmaking . \\ni plan on giving some things away here . \\nbelive me , godzilla holds no surprises for anyone with an iq higher than their shoe size , so . . . no \\nworries . \\nhowever , if you are looking for that \" first time thrill \" and you refuse to let me do you this favor , by all means , stop reading now . \\na . ) godzilla makes his first ever attack in the pacific islands . \\nhe next strikes in new york city . \\num . . . anyone have a map handy ? \\nb . ) the mayor of new york city is a heavy set individual with parted gray hair and thick glasses . \\nhis name is mayor ebert . \\nhis assistant is named gene . \\ngene gives ebert a thumbs down at the end of the film . \\ni couldn\\'t make this up if i tried , folks . \\nc . ) stay with me on this one . . . \\nok . \\ngodzilla can out run torpedoes . \\nhank azaria can out run godzilla babies . \\n ( which look more like jurassic park raptors than the jurassic park raptors . ) \\nd . ) the u . s . military , upon realization that godzilla has disappeared after running rampant through the city , decides that he \" might be hiding in a building . \" \\ne . ) ( oh yeah , i can go all the way to e . ) godzilla strikes at manhattan . \\nmanhattan , an island approximately the size of san francisco holds three million people . \\nthey evactuate to new jersey in about one day . \\nno problem . \\nf . ) early on , they bait godzilla with fish . \\n ( he likes fish , you know . ) \\nthe thing is on an island . \\nthe atlantic ocean is three steps east , but pile a whole bunch of grouper on fifth and 57th . . . oh \\nhe\\'s gonna come running . \\ng . ) you know what ? \\ni\\'ll stop with the list now . . . the \\nalphabet isn\\'t big enough anyway . \\nthe dialogue makes me wonder if producer dean devlin had his five year old do a re-write . \\n \" the kid is good ! \" he must have said . \\nmaria pitillo is looking to become a name in hollywood by starring in this potential blockbuster . \\nbad move , maria . \\nacting doesn\\'t get much worse than her turn as broderick\\'s ex-flame . \\nmatthew broderick is a good actor , but you\\'d never give him a chance if godzilla were the only film of his you\\'d seen . \\njean reno needs to pick his american films a bit more carefully . \\nat times , godzilla seems to be headed toward a zucker , abrahams , zucker film . \\n ( airplane ! , naked gun . ) \\nthe jokes are indeed that bad . \\nbut just when you think the filmmakers are having fun with you , they take themselves seriously . \\nhow dare they ! \\ngodzilla would have been better if it had only thrown in visual sight gags and fart jokes . \\nat least then we would know we were supposed to laugh . \\neach and every character in godzilla is beyond stupid and i was really pulling for the beast to kill more of them . \\nemmerich did do one thing , though . \\n ( and i\\'ve no idea if it was intentional . ) \\nhe made me sympathize with godzilla . \\nhis attackers were so damn dumb that i felt sorry for him being pelted with bullets and missles . \\nbut what made me feel even sorrier for him was that his famous name will always be attatched to one of the worst films hollywood has ever produced . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the main problem with martin lawrence\\'s pet project , a thin line between love and hate , like any fatal attraction variation where the protagonist is a man , is that his character is an irresponsible jerk , and if that is the case , it doesn\\'t seem to do anything except justify the woman\\'s actions . \\nthat is especially the case in lawrence\\'s darnell wright . \\nhe is one of those macho guys with women lined up a mile long . \\nnow don\\'t think i condone this just because i\\'m male . \\nmy philosophy is , if you are one of the few heterosexual males lucky enough to get your hands on a beautiful , kind girl , you should treat her like a princess and respect her . \\ndarnell doesn\\'t think like this . \\nhe sleeps with these girls once and dumps them . \\nand by the period in the film he discovered that his newest target , beautiful , wealthy brandi web ( played nicely by whitfield ) who runs a successful real estate business , is out to kill him for dumping her for his childdhood friend mia ( king ) , i found myself thinking , \" i\\'m supposed to feel sorry for this guy ? \" \\nafter all , it is largely darnell\\'s fault . \\nif he is lining up all these women , you\\'d think he\\'d have enough common sense to think it would backfire on him one day , as his mother says it does . \\nbut he doesn\\'t , so you get the sense that he\\'s not only irresponsible , but also pretty dumb . \\nyou especially get this sense that he\\'s dumb after brandi tells him she killed her husband for allegedly abusing her . \\n ( i\\'d put my pants on in two seconds after that ! ) \\nnow , brandi is a psycho bitch , but it\\'s hard not to agree with what she says to darnell during the finale about guys like him treating her like garbage . \\none final flaw , though , is letting brandi fall for darnell to begin with . \\nbrandi is a classy , intelligent woman with an mba from harvard , who initally resists darnell\\'s \" immature play \" as she calls it , as any woman like her would in real life . \\nbut all of a sudden she says yes . \\nbut when you listen to darnell\\'s four letter word vocabulary watch his actions , you wonder why such an intelligent woman would fall for a guy like darnell period , much less have such an unhealthy obsession for him ! \\nlawrence can be good when he wants to , but in order to prove it , he needs to let other people write and direct his movies . \\nlook at this movie . \\nfour writers , as a result it\\'s too long ( two hours , when it could\\'ve easily worked at ninety minutes ! ) and it has a lot of subplots and characters that appear and disappear as quickly as they came ( which makes me think the writers didn\\'t get along ) , all of which isn\\'t necessary . \\nthere are some bright spots , though . \\nwhitfield , regina king , della reese , and bobby brown all do what they can with lazily written parts , and they help it out a lot . \\nand there are some funny parts ( like , for example , the scene where reese attempts to fight whitfeld for harrassing her son and damaging her property ) , but they\\'re just not enough to sustain the film . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the plot of big momma's house is martin lawrence in a fat suit and a dress . \\nthat's not just the high-concept premise ; it's the fully-realized , all-encompassing plot . \\nsuch an emphasis is not unheard-of in the world of hollywood summer entertainment . \\none need merely look back to last summer , when the plot of big daddy was adam sandler being an incompetent surrogate parent . \\nthe trap inherent in such an approach is that the high-concept plot idea better be pretty well-realized , or rest on the shoulders of an extremely talented performer , because you can bet there will be nothing else worth a second of your time -- not a developed character , not a provocative theme , not a witty twist . \\nyou will get 90-plus minutes of martin lawrence in a fat suit and a dress -- nothing more , nothing less . \\nthose who find martin lawrence more than an occasionally amusing screen presence may have a shot at enjoying the one-note dud that is big momma's house . \\nothers will simply stare , mouth agape , at its sheer unapologetic laziness . \\nlawrence plays fbi agent malcolm turner , an undercover expert on a stakeout assignment with his partner john ( paul giamatti ) . \\ndangerous convicted bank robber and murderer lester vesco ( terrence howard ) has escaped from prison , and the feds think he's headed for his former girlfriend and presumed-but-never-proved accomplice sherry ( nia long ) . \\nsherry , however , has fled with her son trent ( jascha washington ) , possibly to visit her grandmother hattie mae ( ella mitchell ) , better known as big momma . \\nindeed , sherry appears to be on her way , but big momma is headed out of town without knowing sherry is coming . \\nthat leaves master of disguise malcolm to go under very heavy cover as big momma and find out what sherry knows . \\nbig momma's house's bloodlines are certainly traceable to mrs . \\ndoubtfire -- director raja gosnell edited that film , and the makeup effects were similarly created by greg cannom -- but there's just as strong a whiff of tootsie in the main character's attempt to use his alternate identity to get closer to a woman . \\nunfortunately , big momma's house makes a ridiculous decision neither of those other films made : instead of having the protagonist pose as a completely manufactured character unfamiliar to anyone elses , it places malcolm in the position of playing a friend and family member to several other characters . \\nsuspension of disbelief in big momma's house requires you to believe every other person in the film is blind and/or stupid , since no one notices that one big momma looks or sounds absolutely nothing like the other . \\nof course , laughs trumps logic every time , and big momma's house probably still would have worked in spite of its utter disdain for common sense if it had just managed to be funny . \\nand it misses its best possible opportunity for some great farce by ignoring the simple fact that the real big momma is set up as a foul-tempered beast , while malcolm has to be nurturing in order to get the information he wants out of sherry . \\nunfortunately , no one involved appears to have the faintest idea how to deal with the comic gold mine involved in one real person pretending to be another , very different real person , so they fall back on an endless parade of sight gags : malcolm reacting violently to big momma's explosive diarrhea attack ; malcolm-as-momma schooling a pair of cocky teens in basketball ; malcolm trying to avoid detection as various prostheses give way at inopportune moments ; malcolm delivering a baby because big momma is the town midwife ( one of the few sequences that works ) . \\nmartin lawrence can be likeable enough at times , but there's no reason to care a whit about his budding romance with sherry because malcolm is never an independently significant character . \\nhe's just big momma without the makeup on . \\ni won't waste time commenting on how ineptly the set-up of the escaped convict is employed , since it was clearly a waste of time to the film-makers . \\nthere are a few token scenes of lester looming as a threatening figure , but he's ultimately a distraction in a film that's really about its central visual incongruity ( and the accompanying lascivious glances at nia long's posterior ) . \\ni'm never prepared to underestimate how appealing that idea may be to other people -- several million of them apparently found adam sandler as an incompetent surrogate parent appealing -- but i know that when a film-maker tries to throw a concept at me and pretend that it's an entire film , i duck out of the way . \\nthe gross implausibility of big momma's house might have been tolerable if it was seasoned with more big , cleverly-constructed laughs . \\nits lack of big laughs might have been tolerable if its characters were at all relevant . \\nbig momma's house is ridiculous _and_ not funny . \\nit's just a sad exercise in the jaded presumption that any scene should be considered wacky and hilarious if it involves martin lawrence in a fat suit and a dress . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'miramax \" disinvited \" on-line media from press screenings of scream 3 . \\nthey ostensibly feared that folks like me would write spoiler-filled reviews and post them prior to the film\\'s february 4th release date-unsound reasoning . \\nyou see , \\'net critics established enough to be on any sort of vip list are professionals-miramax surely knows the difference between a member of the on-line film critics society ( ofcs ) and the type of fanboy who posts spy reports at ain\\'t it cool news . \\nno , the ? mini major\\' was afraid we\\'d let a bigger cat out of the bag than whodunit , that scream 3 is a dismal conclusion to the beloved ( by this writer , at least ) franchise . \\nsomething smells rotten in the state of california right from the get-go : cotton weary ( liev schrieber ) , the former lover and would-be killer of maureen prescott , sidney\\'s mother , is juggling phone calls in his luxury car . \\n ( once considered a danger to society , weary now hosts his own talk show , \" 100% cotton \" , a clever , if dated , jab at american pop culture . ) \\nof course , a new ghostface dials him up , and , with memories of scream\\'s unbearably suspenseful prologue in mind , we immediately wonder , where is the killer ? \\nthe backseat ? \\nthe next car ? \\nthrilling prospects , to be sure , but actually , ghostface is at the weary residence , waiting for cotton\\'s girlfriend ( kelly rutheford ) to finishing showering . \\nwhat\\'s missing from this sequence , and indeed scream 3\\'s remaining frights ( most disappointingly , the moment when an ingenue is forced to hide in a wardrobe room filled with ghostface costumes , one of which might spring to life ) , is an elaborate and attenuated payoff . \\nour other surviving regulars have become estranged . \\nsidney ( campbell ) is living a paranoid existence of electronic gates and password-protected locks , while dewey ( arquette ) acts as technical advisor on the second sequel to scream 2\\'s movie-within-a-movie , \" stab 3 \" , and gale weathers ( cox arquette ) headlines a gossipy news program . \\nmurder reunites them , as knife-wielding ghostface stalks the set of \" stab 3 \" , imitating its sadistic screenplay-and his/her/their own personal draft climaxes with sidney\\'s death . \\nthe appeal of ghostface\\'s villainy is that he/she/they could be your boyfriend , your classmate , your next door neighbour . . . or a combination of people . \\nscream was the first of its kind : a slasher mystery , with the guessing game not only entailing who will be next , but also who is/are the perpetrator ( s ) and what is/are his/her/their motive . \\nironic self-reflection aside , parts one and two stand out in a crowd that includes umpteen friday the 13th and halloween flicks because there\\'s at last articulate human beings behind the iconic costume . \\nwith scream 3 , the novelty of ghostface\\'s ever-mutating identity has worn off some , but the character remains conceptually potent . \\nconceptually . the execution of ghostface\\'s master plan this time around is creaky , because screenwriter ehren kruger has invented a new mythology for the world of sidney prescott far afield from what we\\'d come to understand in scream and scream 2 . the movie gets in the silly habit of saying \" all bets are off ! \" \\nin reference to the \" rules \" of a trilogy\\'s third act , but there\\'s a difference between rule breaking and cheating . \\nwith the departure of kevin williamson , who authored the previous screams as well as a tidy outline for scream 3 ( that , for reasons incomprehensible to me , was ignored , save the notion of \" stab 3 \" ) , kruger needed to be reined in tighter , and by wes craven . \\ncraven\\'s direction of scream 3 is lazy in most respects . \\nhow else to explain the jay and silent bob cameo ( the slacker duo of kevin smith movies ) , akin to seeing mickey mouse pop up in mulan and more distracting than funny . \\nit pains me to write this , but scream 3\\'s comedy is generally laughless , with the exception of well-timed performances by josh pais ( as a police detective possessed of the same personality he had as a persnickety teacher in craven\\'s music of the heart ) , jamie kennedy ( resurrecting film geek randy for the sendoff he was denied in scream 2 ) , and parker posey ( through sheer force of will as a b-actress ) . \\nthe visuals are much weaker in part three , as well-the occasional sweeping gesture of peter deming\\'s camera is a pale imitation of the stalking steadicam craven gave us twice before . \\n ( aside : in the wake of columbine , craven toned down the violence significantly for scream 3-why the sanctimony , when scream and scream 2 are still readily available on video store shelves ? ) \\nfinally , marco beltrami\\'s music cues the suspense too blatantly-do you recall the tense chase at the college radio station in scream 2 ? it\\'s mostly silent . \\nsting notes are a whole lot more effective if they spring from nowhere ; here , they act as the crescendos of an incessantly nerve-jangling score . \\ni look at scream 3 as coming from an alternative universe , the same place that birthed the godfather part iii and superman iii-woefully out of synch with its prequels , scream 3 is a nightmare instead of nightmarish , and will likely put the horror genre back in mothballs . \\nthe film unintentionally follows the unspoken rule of a trilogy to a t : ? part three must disappoint\\' . \\n',\n",
+       " b'david lynch\\'s \" blue velvet \" begins and ends with colorful , bright shots of flowers and happy americans mowing their lawns in a seemingly perfect american town . \\nhowever , what lies inside this nominally safe atmosphere is a \" strange world \" of drug dealers , sadists , and murderers . \\nthe opening and closing shots are a wonderful contrast to the rest of the gloomy , disturbing film . \\nthey show not to make assumptions from first glance and that oddness is common in all places under all circumstances . \\nodd would be a perfect adjective to describe this film , its characters , its direction , and its story . \\nthankfully , the obscurity that \" blue velvet \" relies on is enough to make this film enjoyable . \\nsince its elements are so originally weird , you never know what will happen next . \\nthis is the main goal of a movie ; to be spontaneous and surprising . \\n \" blue velvet \" miracuously succeeds at this even though it contains mediocre acting . \\nlynch creates such a hypnotic world that it is hard to resist his style of story telling . \\nthe film starts off with the discovery of a severed ear by a college boy ( kyle maclachlan ) . \\nfrom this point maclachlan finds himself involved with a lounge singer ( isabella rossellinia ) who has lost her son and husband to a kidnapping . \\nthe plot is much more detailed than the aforementioned and this is what makes david lynch\\'s story telling so amazing . \\nmaclachlan becomes involved in a forbidden relationship , in another relationship that could have been taken straight out of a high school flick , and he is put into the shoes of a drug dealer who has some wild adventures with some wild friends . \\nthrough these multiple stories , maclachlan lives multiple lives and as we follow maclachlan , we are introduced to a variety of interesting subplots . \\nlynch masterfully builds these subplots but he does not piece them all together in the very end and make a convenient crowd pleasing conclusion . \\ninstead he leaves some ambiguity and forces those curious enough to get the real meaning to watch the film several several times . \\nlynch has been known to do this with a number of his films meaning he may be too esoteric for some hoping to get a hollywood ending where the good guy gets the girl and everything turns out fine . \\nhowever , for fans of odd difficult indies , \" blue velvet \" could be just what they are looking for . \\nit is very hard to discuss \" blue velvet \" without discussing the performance of dennis hopper\\'s sadistic frank . \\nmost of the other actors in the film were not very memorable . \\nkyle maclachlan lacked one important aspect for his role , a personality . \\nlaura dern was consistently annoying . \\nbut dennis hopper stole every scene he was in . \\nhis evil character was just plain old frightening in his mannerisms from his obsession to velvet to his incessant breathing from a gas mask . \\nfrank is a character that comes along once in a blue moon . \\nmany producers know this and have inevitably begun to typecast hopper as the bad guy . \\njust like his villain in \" speed \" , hopper is over the edge with cursing and screaming every chance he has to speak . \\nthis harshness is exactly what frank is , so weird and twisted that it is hard not to look at him , even if he theatens you to look away . \\n \" blue velvet \" has characters and stories you will never see in a movie again . \\nfor this sole reason it is recommended . \\nbut also see it to admire lynch\\'s obsession to avoid the norm . \\neven if this film is a little too weird for you , it\\'s hard not to congratulate a guy for trying something new and sticking to it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when bulworth ended , i allowed myself a sigh of relief : ? it is possible for me to enjoy political satire . ? \\nthere have been several recent political films that didn\\'t do a whole lot for me -- wag the dog , for instance , i found to be an intelligent but heartless film , while primary colors is unbearable and unwatchable in its awfulness . ? \\nbulworth is a far better film than these , both in its execution and lasting impression . ? \\nit\\'s a tremendously funny and intelligent picture , but it also has an emotional center -- writer/director/star warren beatty allows the audience to identify with his character , and , in turn , we like him and actually care about the story . \\n ? \\nbeatty plays incumbent democratic senator jay billington bulworth ; the film opens and we see bulworth sobbing as he watches his television spots over and over again . ? \\nhe hasn\\'t slept in days , nor has he eaten , and , almost instantaneously , he goes insane . \\n ? he\\'s not stark raving mad ( not outright , anyway ) , but he\\'s definitely bonkers . \\n ? it\\'s the final weekend of his campaign , and his assistant , murphy ( oliver platt ) has written him a speech to feed to a group of black people in a church in the ghetto . \\n ? bulworth begins the speech , but suddenly goes off track and just starts being honest . ? \\n \" you mean , \" one lady asks , \" the democratic party doesn\\'t care about the african american community ? \" ? \\n \" well , \" he shouts , laughing , \" isn\\'t that obvious ? \" \\nthe story is propelled by a device in which bulworth puts out a contract on his own life ( he muses later that it\\'s a bad thing to make decisions when you\\'re suicidal ) ; he keeps seeing a man in sunglasses ( graham beckel ) whom he believes to be the hitman . \\n ? bulworth also meets nina ( halle berry ) with whom he becomes infatuated . \\n ? suddenly , in the short span of this weekend , bulworth\\'s no-nonsense \" truth in politics \" methods become a national sensation , and he shoots ahead in the polls despite the fact that he\\'s appearing on television wearing gang clothes and spewing more profanity than coherent sentences . \\nbeatty\\'s work on both sides of the camera is excellent . ? \\nhis script and direction are both extremely sharp , as is the surprisingly strong characterization of bulworth himself . ? \\nhere is a man who\\'s reached his limit , and his way of lashing back is by screwing over the entire political structure . ? \\ni like that the film doesn\\'t take a clear shot at any of the political parties or affiliations , but at politics in general and how everything is run by the rich ( although the anti-rich sentiments do get a bit tiresome by the end of the film ) . ? \\nsome of the segments are simply hilarious , such as a lengthy rap that he delivers at a luncheon dedicated to him . ? \\nmuch of the film is completely absurd , but that\\'s the fun part about it . ? \\nit\\'s an angry , serious film at the core , but the package that beatty has created is so much more accessible than recent attempts in the genre . ? \\nwhat adds to this feeling is beatty\\'s portrayal of bulworth ; this is a performance that deserves recognition on a higher scale . \\n ? beatty is so much fun to watch here -- he\\'s always funny , but he\\'s also subtle in ways that flesh out his character without dialogue or hugely noticeable actions . \\n ? beatty is so good that bulworth , despite his shortcomings as a human being , is an entirely sympathetic and likable character almost from the beginning . \\nthe supporting cast is vast and colorful . ? \\nberry is luminous , as always , and adds to her repertoire of solid supporting roles . ? \\ndon cheadle has a good role as a drug dealer who uses gun-toting toddlers to do his dirty work . ? \\noliver platt is an actor who should be careful , for someday i fear he may induce a heart attack with the intensity of his acting ( though he\\'s very funny to watch ) . ? paul sorvino adds the southern accent to his list of mastered inflections . \\nis bulworth offensive ? ? \\ni suppose some may see it that way . ? \\ni wasn\\'t offended by the film , but then again , i hardly care about politics . ? \\ni think that people who find this film offensive will just be blindsided by the honesty of the story . ? \\nthe film isn\\'t perfect , of course -- the ending didn\\'t quite work for me , and the a few of the scenes between bulworth and nina feel forced ( although the eclectic dance sequence is fantastic ) . ? \\nbut these are minor quibbles about an otherwise brilliant film . ? \\nbulworth is a smart , uproariously funny picture that proves to me that political satire can scratch far deeper than the surface . ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'steven spielberg is now considered as one of the hollywood deities , because of the rare capability to deliver both huge commercial hits , like jurassic park , and \" oscar \" -awarded critical triumphs like schindler\\'s list . \\nhowever , in the 1970s spielberg built his reputation by creating works of art that could slip in both categories . \\none of them is close encounters of the third kind , extremely popular and influential science-fiction spectacle . \\nunfortunately , it had a bad luck to be released in the same year as star wars . \\nalthough both films have a lot in common ( ground-breaking special effects , brilliant score by john williams ) their future was different ; one became an unstoppable cult phenomenon , and another almost forgotten and stuck forever in its shadow . \\nwhen spielberg began work on that project , he was already established as a bright new hollywood star due to his previous commercial hit , jaws . \\ntogether with other young directors of his \" new hollywood \" generation , like kauffman , carpenter , hill and millius , he exploited the great creative freedom of 1970s , when even the mainstream producers dared to experiment . \\nironically , it was spielberg himself whose later commercial success would established new unwritten rules of \" blockubuster \" philosophy . \\nbut in the mid 1970s , many things were different ; spielberg was young and eager to use hollywood resources for his very personal and artistic movie . \\nalthough very personal , spielberg\\'s screenplay was partly based on the book \" ufo experience \" by dr . j . allen hynek and in many ways inspired by the popular urban mythology of extraterrestrial visitors to earth that began to grow in the world after ww2 . \\nspielberg was not only inspired by the mythology , but his movie also gave the mythology itself a huge boost , unmatched until the contemporary era of x-files and the roswell anniversary . \\nthat was partly because he made the movie very realistic using the authentic ufo-related incidents as the element of the plot . \\nthe story begins with one of such incidents - team of international scientists come to the sonorra desert in mexico to find the u . s . navy planes of who went missing decades ago during the famous flight 19 . \\nsuch events coincide with the ufo incident witnessed by roy neary ( richard dreyfuss ) , power company worker from muncie , indiana , who later becomes obsessed with his experience . \\nbecause of his obsession he loses his job , family and sanity , but his loss is nothing compared to the experience of jillian guiler ( melinda dillon ) , single mother whose son becomes the victim of alien abduction . \\nin the meantime , the scientists decipher the strange signals from outer space and u . s . government , in co-operation with the french , led by lacombe ( francois truffaut ) begin with the preparation for ultra-secret project . \\nwhen the news of the poison gas leak in the middle of wyoming reach neary , he finally sees some sense in all his visions and begins the perilous journey toward the centre of endangered area . \\nthere he is joined by jillian who shared the similar visions . \\ntwo of them must break through military pickets and reach their destination to find whatever is there . \\nspielberg here shows great mastery by using the very same techniques of jaws to make completely different effects . \\nthe slow , gradual yet very disciplined series of dramatic incidents - \" close encounters \" - is set in order to bring the viewer to the great revelation in the finale . \\nbut , instead of the fear and horror we had to endure during the jaws , we are now overwhelmed by the sense of boyish wonder . \\nthroughout the movie the viewer knows that something big , magnificent and wonderful is about to happen , and great magician spielberg delivers his promise in the end . \\nthe last sequence , with its , even in this age , impressive special effects by the great virtuoso douglas trumbull , would leave many mouths open . \\none of the great virtues of this film is its optimism . \\naliens , who almost always get portrayed as the monsters in science-fiction cinema , are here benevolent and harmless creatures and the first contact between them and humanity is a beginning of something wonderful . \\nit is very ironic , when we consider that the two classic sf movies that visually inspired spielberg actually told quite different story - howard hawks\\' thing and byron haskin\\'s war of the worlds presented extraterrestrials as the threat to the mankind . \\nspielberg\\'s humane approach and faith in the future also lies in great contrast to the pessimistic mood of its era ; the only hint of the contemporary gloom is post-watergate portrayal of government as conspiratorial towards the public . \\nbut , even such government is much more harmless compared to the murderous and chain-smoking men in black that became the stereotype thanks to x-files and its more cynical and disturbing visions . \\nthere lies the main , and probably the only flaw of this great picture - lack of conflict , and consequently , lack of drama . \\nthe movie has few excitements or even action scenes ( especially the last that may be an interesting homage to hitchcock\\'s north by northwest ) but generally , almost everyone - neary , jillian , government , aliens - are the good guys . \\ndespite such shortcomings , the actors were good and manage to bring multidimensionality to their simple roles . \\nrichard dreyfuss is very convincing as a ordinary , yet nice guy , who sinks into insanity only to rediscover himself in a grand finale . \\nmelinda dillon was , on the other hand , nominated for \" oscar \" as a struggling mother , yet she was overshadowed by teri garr as neary\\'s long-suffering wife ronnie . \\napart from visual wonders of this film , spielberg\\'s semi-official composer john williams again excels by his beautiful music , this time using the simple melody both as the element of a plot , and as the basis for his score . \\nthe aliens , who are the main subject of this film , were visually very convincing . \\ntoo convincing , one of my acquaintances in the ufo-researching circles said . \\naccording to him , the depiction of extraterrestrials as grey-skinned little people with big eyes was so accurate , that it managed to freak out powerful government figures interested in suppressing the truth about ufos . \\nso , they later approached spielberg and ordered him to make another movie with alien , this time designed to be anything but the real life . \\nthe result was e . t . , for many years the biggest commercial hit of all times , yet less inspirational for ufo enthusiasts . \\nanyway , whether the viewer believes in existence of extraterrestrials or ufos , close encounters of the third kind remains the great movie , and one of the rare uplifting experiences in modern cinema . \\n',\n",
+       " b'according to the publicity material , with this movie the directors \" hope to restore good old-fashioned bowling to its rightful place in the mainstream of american consciousness . \" \\nhmm . \\nyou never know , they just might be on to something . \\nwhat with the rise of geek chic , lounge music and seventies fashion , the ever-contrary kids of the nineties might just latch on to bowling as another terminally unhip bastion of tackyana to claim as their own . \\nbut then , i doubt if kingpin will have anything to do with it . \\nit\\'s cheesy all right , but connoisseurs of bad taste will find this film exudes that bland smell of stale jokes rather than the invigorating stink of true kitsch . \\nthat\\'s a shame , because , in the first ten minutes or so the film promises to be a lot more . \\nwoody harrelson plays the hotshot bowler on the rise , roy munson . \\nthe movie opens in the fifties with roy\\'s dad dishing out the reader\\'s digest/gumpian wisdom in scoopfuls , shifting to the 70s for a hilarious spoof of saturday night fever . \\nthe sardonic tone of the proceedings is much enhanced by the presence of bill murray , as the delectably slimy big ern mcracken . \\nit\\'s thanks to murray that the first quarter of kingpin seems so good - he gives the wry , derisive edge to this otherwise rather unfocused comedy . \\nmccracken dupes munson into a hustling job , then abandons him to an angry mob who mangle roy\\'s hand . \\nthen it\\'s fast forward 17 years later when munson is a fat , balding loser with a prosthetic rubber hand . \\nhe\\'s hopeless until he meets ishmael ( randy quaid ) , an amish amateur bowler that munson takes on as protege . \\nso together they set out for the million dollar bowling tournament in reno , picking up pretty hustler claudia ( vanessa angel ) on the way . \\nwith the exit of bill murray , the filmmakers seem to have only one direction to go , and that\\'s . . . \\ndumb and dumber . \\nyes , indeed , kingpin is brought to you by those modern proponents of laxative humour , peter and bobby farrelly , the directors of the aforementioned jim carrey vehicle . \\nso , prepare for much slaparound comedy with flying rubber hands , distended nipples , ridiculous hair and bull semen . \\nget set for stock fish-out-of-water situations when city-boy roy puts on a beard and tries to blend in with the amish community , or when suaku straitlaced ishmael takes on smoking , striptease and unchristian neighbour-socking . \\nnow , don\\'t get me wrong , there\\'s nothing wrong with cheap humour , and i had my fair share of lavatorial laughs with woody and randy . \\nthe trouble is that these jokes aren\\'t bold or funny enough to drive a movie that bumbles along without much sense of direction . \\nit lurches from sports movie to amish-mocking to road-trip to sentimental melodrama , ( pausing for a broadside spoof of indecent proposal , and many shameless plugs for the accompanying pop soundtrack ) , never quite getting it all together . \\nsome gags fall flat from a lack of build-up , while there are bits and pieces in the movie that simply don\\'t do anything . \\nwhy the long , unfunny fight in the car park ? \\nwhy two of these ? \\nwhy does that guy wear mascara , or that guy have a glass bowling ball with a rose in it ? \\nthe film is full of these half-thought-through ideas that give the impression of any old gaffer , grip or makeup artist throwing in random stuff and saying , \" wouldn\\'t that be funny ? \" . \\nwell , no , actually . \\nthe actors don\\'t do the movie much favours either . \\nwoody harrelson comes off okay , plausibly acting dumb , smart , cynical or innocent when the implausible script calls for it , but randy quaid is a ceaseless ham , and vanessa angel has no talent ( like schwarzenegger , she seems more convincing playing a computer-creation than a human -- take the tv series weird science . . . please \\n ) . \\neven murray hams it up when he reappears in the movie\\'s climax . \\nall in all , a fairly useless attempt at comedy , and a certified no-hoper at kickstarting the bowling renaissance . \\nwe\\'ll have to look to a reinspired john waters , or perhaps somebody from down under ( \" strictly bowling \" , anyone ? ) for the definitive bowling comedy . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'of circumcision , psychic wounds and the family sitcom \\nthe opening segment is something of a foretaste of this film . \\nthere\\'s a guy\\'s voice telling us how he tries to imagine what his biological parents look like , and on the screen we see images of a variety of oldish men and women . \\nas his imagination plays o n , he ( and we ) picture these motley characters in a mix-and-match shuffle of unlikely marriages , businesswomen with bums , matrons with paint salesmen , the images coming on in a faster and faster frenzy . \\nit\\'s not just a witty , funny summing up of the film \\'s themes - you might not guess it yet , but it sets the pattern for the way the story goes on . \\nwhat starts out as a step in a fairly sensible direction , gets taken on a road trip , put through a detour or two and finds itself freewheeling towards an immin ent crash . \\nthat may not sound so different from the average family sitcom , and the general idea of the film doesn\\'t , at first , seem so wildly distant from standard-issue hollywood comedy : man who was adopted as a child ( ben still er ) sets out on a journey to meet his real parents , along with his wife ( patricia arquette ) , his baby , and a pretty psychology-researcher ( tea leoni ) in tow . \\nvarious mix-ups , shenanigans , oddball characters and , yup , disasters follow . \\nbut if you think you\\'ve been here before , the dialogue and the direction ( by david o . russell , who made spanking the monkey ) take it into another dimension . \\nthe dreaded t-name seems an inevitable reference point ( what with a drug overdose scene and the casting of arquette from true romance ) but really the point is that the foot-massage master hasn\\'t got a monopoly on plot twists and fast , funny , irreverent lines , or on the absurdities of ordinary speech . \\nwhether it\\'s about circumcision , psychic wounds , oral sex , carjacking , the beauties of the armpit area , or ronald reagan , the script never seems to run out of hilarious invention . \\nthe best thing is how these words aren\\'t just there for the punchlines , but are great precisely because they\\'re said in character , like tea leoni\\'s neurotically-charged psychobabbler who\\'s able to say under assault , \" it\\'s understandable if you find this threatening \" . \\nthe cast is excellent throughout , and , rather than singling out anybody , kudos are due to the fine ensemble acting , with the sometimes frenetically overlapping dialogue and the sense of a dozen different reagents colliding to the point of fission . \\nthere are some elements of a woody allen film in this ( not to mention the hand-held camera and loose , improvisational feel of some scenes ) . \\nlike allen , russell\\'s interests are in the volatile sexual politics of couples and the neurotic obsessions in both pare nts and children ( and everybody , really ) . \\nstill , if you\\'re expecting a privileged moment of revelation and emotional outpouring a la \" murphy brown \" / \" frasier \" / fill-in-the-blank-american-comedy , well , it won\\'t happen . \\nthe film sets up expectations like these , with the lead character\\'s search f or his origins and his hopes of self-healing , only to knock them down . \\nif the conventional sitcom structure is to put a slightly loopy family in catastrophic conditions only to rediscover their essential lovey one-ness , flirting with disaster\\'s charact ers embark on a journey to seek that essential state but find themselves only plunging into more weirdness and dysfunctional chaos the further they go . \\nand that , the film suggests , is the essential family state - and you better learn to love it . \\nsomehow , this is perversely feelgood cinema , right up to its manic end . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it's rather strange too have two computer animated talking ant movies come out in a single year , but that is what disney and pixar animation ; s latest film represents . \\nwhile a bugs life isn't nearly as deep as it's predecessor , dreamwork's antz , it is just as funny . \\na bug's life centers , appropriately , around the life of an ant , named flik . \\nflik , cutely voiced by newsradio's david foley , hates sticking too tradition and attempts too find new ways of harvesting food and other task . \\nwhen one of his inventions causes the offering too be completely lost , the leaders of the colony send him out on a mission too get him out of the way . \\nthe offering is food that a vile group of grasshoppers force the ants too harvest for them . \\nthe leader of the grasshoppers is hopper , who is fiendishly voiced by oscar winner kevin spacey . \\nwhen the offering is lost hopper is very upset and he vows to return shortly too retrieve double the amount of food . \\nwhen the leaders of the ant colony send flik out on his mission , they never dream he will be successful , they just hope they can get him out of the way so they can harvest the extra food . \\nflik's mission is too hire some warrior bugs too fight off the grasshoppers when they return . \\ninstead flik accidentally hires circus performing bugs , who he mistakenly assumes are warriors . \\nwhen he returns with the `warriors' , the town is ecstatic until they find out the truth about their heroes . \\na bug's life has animation that is simply stunning . \\nthe sheer uniqueness of the day to day bug life is very imaginative . \\ntogether with the great voice acting , this film is the perfect holiday family film . \\nits main weakness is that it couldn't beat antz to the theaters , making it seem like stale material . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'sometimes you just have to tip your hat to a film . \\nsometimes you just have to jump on the bandwagon and enjoy the ride . \\ni saw the truman show with an audience full of teenagers , most of whom were no doubt drawn by ace ventura himself and hoping to see his latest take on fart jokes . \\nsurprised , they may have been , when they realized that this picture actually had something to say . \\nbut by the attentiveness of the crowd i\\'d say they were won over - as was i . i can\\'t tell yet if truman really is that good , or if it only seems that good in comparison to the awful mountain of crap spewed forth from the bowls of hollywood so far this year . \\ntime alone will make that call . \\nbut by the end of the film we were all on truman burbank\\'s side . \\nwe were concerned for his well-being , and wanted him to win . \\nthat we felt as we did is a tribute both to the film and to jim carrey , who has achieved legitimacy at last . \\nthe truman show is a film best viewed cold , with as little foreknowledge as possible about the plot . \\nunless you\\'re under a media blackout , however , you probably know the basics . \\ncarrey stars as truman burbank , a capra-esque everyman insurance agent living with his beautiful wife meryl ( laura linney ) in the south florida island town of seahaven , which looks like michael eisner\\'s idea of the perfect american small town . \\ntruman would seem to live the perfect middle class lifestyle , complete with a working wife , a best bud , friendly neighbors and interesting co-workers . \\nthere is tragedy in his past - his father drowned in a horrible boating accident , leaving truman with a dreadful fear of water , and of travel in general - but overall , life is good . \\nbut then one day as truman leaves his house for work , a klieg light falls magically from the sky . \\nthis curious event may lead truman to discover what the rest of the world already knows : that he is a prisoner on the world\\'s biggest soundstage , that his wife , friends and relatives are all actors paid to interact with him , and that his life has , for over 10 , 000 days , been broadcast as the world\\'s most popular television program . \\nwhat makes the first hour of truman so enjoyable to watch is the magical verisimilitude painstakingly constructed by niccol and weir . \\nthe soundstage , we\\'re told , is \" only the second man-made structure visible from space . \" \\ntruman\\'s movements are tracked ceaselessly by 5 , 000 cameras scattered throughout the town : button cams , dashboard cams , mirror cams , wife cams , big cams and small cams . \\nweir cuts the film so we\\'re never quite sure if we\\'re watching truman through the camera of director weir or through the camera of the show\\'s omnipotent creator christof ( ed harris ) who oversees the show from a control room built into the man-made moon in seahaven\\'s sky . \\nthe second act offers a plethora of clues for truman as to the truth of his existence . \\nhis best friend marlon ( noah emmerich ) always has a six pack of beer with him . \\nhis wife seems to exist in an eternal commercial in which she is always endorsing the latest hot household product . \\nhe sees the same people walking in the same set patterns all over town . \\none wonders why he didn\\'t pick up on any of this earlier , but christof has an answer for this : \" people tend to accept the reality with which they\\'re presented . \" \\nnevertheless , truman begins to grow restless , and dreams of escape to fiji , where an old college sweetheart ( natasha mcelhone ) supposedly lives . \\nthis convincing reality of television as progenitor of reality is a magical and provocative concept ; the best thing jim carrey does is stay out of its way . \\nby underplaying truman , he allows the subtle manipulations of the film to take over . \\nthere is a particularly poignant scene in which truman confides his fears to marlon , and marlon answers with best-friend sincerity , \" i\\'d gladly step in front of a bus for you . \" \\nbut that line was fed to marlon through an earpiece by christof . \\nthe abject cruelty to which truman is subjected to hits home - and from that moment , we\\'re on his side . \\nthe truman show derives much of its success from playing to our own secret paranoid fantasies - haven\\'t we all , at least once , doubted our place in the world , doubted the sincerity of those closest to us ? \\nultimately , however , the picture rises above its own artifice to raise some real questions about the relationship of humankind and our creator . \\nwhat does god really think of us ? \\ndoes he resent our abandonment of paradise ? \\nwho exactly is watching us , up there in the sky ? \\nif you enjoy the picture as much as i did , credit weir for allowing the magic of the screenplay to work . \\nas for carrey - well , truman burbank is the kind of role that jimmy stewart was born to play . \\ncarrey is no jimmy stewart ; to his credit , he doesn\\'t try to be . \\nhe just tries to feel the way you or i would , if we suddenly found out that the whole world was watching us . \\n',\n",
+       " b'instinct is the kind of movie that inexperienced moviegoers will undoubtedly label as \" powerful \" or \" touching \" . \\ni have a name for it myself : \" gross \" . \\nthis is the sort of film where somebody stands up to a bully , the bully looks at the \" rebel \" threateningly , about to hurt him , and then everyone else whom the bully has heretofore controlled stands up too . \\nhow that scene is still present in so many movies today appalls me : aren\\'t present day moviegoers beyond being \" inspired \" by something like that ? \\nthis is one example ( there are actually some more in instinct alone ) of filmmakers insulting the audience\\'s intelligence . \\ninstinct\\'s plot is brimming with potential : world-renowned anthropologist ethan powell ( anthony hopkins ) disappeared for two years whilst doing research in the jungles of africa . \\nhe was found and is coming back to the united states a convicted killer ; he murdered to african policemen who were allegedly trying to capture him . \\nafter committing a few more brutal acts of violence in the airport , the authorities stick him in a prison\\'s \" psychotics ward \" . \\nassigned to do an evaluation on powell is a bright ( or so we are told ) young psychiatrist theo caulder ( cuba gooding jr . ) . \\ncaulder starts out doing the evaluation merely for the purpose of furthering his career . \\nof course ( and no mainstream filmmaker would ever have it any other way ) he starts really caring for powell and he becomes fixed on helping powell prove that he is not a psychotic and that he should not be in prison . \\nand then there\\'s the inevitable \" heartless meanie \" character , in the form of donald sutherland who plays caulder\\'s mentor . \\nhe cares for caulder but does everything he can to discourage him from helping powell . \\nlet\\'s get one thing straight : dr . theo caulder is the most blatantly incompetent psychiatrist i have ever seen , on screen or off . \\nany good shrink will listen to what his patient has to say no matter the subject because any good shrink will learn a great deal about his patient that way . \\nnot good old theo . \\nno , he asks purposefully pointed questions and when powell dares to venture to another subject caulder says \" we need to talk about this right now . \" \\nthis is a flaw only in the sense that it detracts from instinct\\'s already dubious credibility ; unfortunately it\\'s also the least of its problems . \\ndirector jon turteltaub , who made the delightful john travolta vehicle phenomenon as well as the surprisingly above-par cool runnings decided to make this movie so shamelessly sentimental that , contrary to what this movie\\'s promotion would have you believe , it has much more in common with patch adams than with the silence of the lambs . \\nit\\'s not the kind of sentimentality that can almost bring tears to your eyes ( what dreams may come aptly demonstrated that ) but the kind that brings vomit up your esophagus ( excuse the graphic depiction ) . \\nit aims to \" inspire \" rather than to touch hearts . \\nas yoda would say , inspire it does not . \\nit is the ultimate sign of futility when a screenwriter ( the very experienced gerald di pego ) has to resort to literally telling the audience a movie\\'s story . \\nindeed , somewhere in the beginning of instinct , one of the characters actually reads aloud the film\\'s plot to another character . \\nthis , like the instance i mentioned in the first paragraph of this review , is a horrid insult to our intelligence . \\ni am forced to wonder whether turteltaub and di pego did not think that we could figure out what instinct is about simply from regular conversation . \\ni think that anthony hopkins is one of the greatest screen actors , and he chews the scenery in this movie , brilliant as ever . \\noscar winner cuba gooding jr . on the other hand is dreadful . \\nhis performance is at least part of what makes his character seem so incapable of being a shrink . \\ni liked the guy in jerry maguire as well as in as good as it gets but here he fails to project any shred of credibility or real feeling . \\ni love animals , and instinct\\'s prominent save the gorillas/live in harmony with nature theme is certainly something i could sympathize with . \\nhowever this movie\\'s execution is completely unacceptable . \\ntone down the violence and this will be a chick flick . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : big-breasted and dim-witted sculptress britt gets really mad at her grad student boyfriend because he spends too much time on his thought-transference experiments instead of her art showings . \\nelderly , evil scientist everett longstreet switches minds with britt\\'s boy , in the meantime , and goes completely mental . \\ncomments : naked souls opens with a naked woman , and the movie makes no illusion that it\\'s a sci-fi vehicle designed to show pamela anderson\\'s , um , talents . \\nif you are really interested in seeing anderson\\'s talents , however , i suggest you skip over this dud and watch the infamous pam and tommy lee honeymoon sex tape , now available on home video . \\nat least with that \" movie , \" you don\\'t have to go through the painful experience of watching pamela try to pronounce multiple syllable words like \" eclectic . \" \\na premise does exist in the movie . \\nbasically , while anderson wears skimpy clothes which barely contain her talents , she practices her art -- brilliantly slapping plaster of paris on naked women . \\nher boyfriend , meanwhile , spends 20 hours a day in a morgue trying to view the memories of dead prison inmates because this will \" make a difference to humanity . \" \\nwhatever . \\nthe movie fails to explain how these two hooked up . \\nbe grateful . \\nafter we meet the evil everett longstreet , lots of technobabble and mystical mumbo-jumbo get tossed about , pammy has sex replete with cheesy make-out music , and minds get transferred . \\nnever fear , though , pammy uses her sharp mental abilities ( ahem ) to save her boyfriend in the end . \\nunfortunately , no one saves the movie . \\navoid this would-be sci-fi thriller , unless you\\'re in for a good laugh or two . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you know something , christmas is not about presents . \\nit\\'s about over-hyped holiday films with lots of merchandising and product tie-ins . \\nat least that would seem to be the message of \" the grinch , \" which has been advertised since last christmas and whose logo is currently plastered all over stores . \\nhollywood expects us to ignore this cynical greed as the movie scolds us about losing the true spirit of the season . \\nyou know the plot : there\\'s this evil furry green guy called the grinch ( jim carrey ) who lives on a mountain overlooking whoville . \\ndown below all the whos are preparing for their whobilation , but the grinch is determined to steal their christmas . \\nthe movie is , of course , a live-action version of the beloved children\\'s book , which was previously adapted into a 1966 tv special by looney tunes animator chuck jones . \\nit\\'s rare that a big budget hollywood release is shamed by a thirty-year-old half-hour cartoon , but that\\'s the case when jones\\' version is compared to ron howard\\'s . \\nthe tv grinch hit all the right notes : boris karloff\\'s soft , deep narration ; thurl ravenscroft singing \" mr . grinch \" ; max the dog weighed down by the gigantic antler tied to his head ; and the grinch\\'s wide , toothless grin . \\nby contrast , the movie hits one sour note after another . \\nfirst , there are the numerous bad choices that jeffrey price and peter seaman made in padding out the short book into a 105-minute movie . \\nyoung wide-eyed cindy lou who ( taylor momsen ) is depressed about the misplaced priorities of her parents ( bill irwin and molly shannon ) during the holiday season . \\nshe begins to sympathize with the grinch , who turns out to be surprisingly sympathetic . \\ncindy lou discovers that the grinch turned tearfully away from whoville in grammar school when he was publicly humiliated while expressing his love for the prettiest girl in the class , martha may whovier ( played as an adult by christine baranski ) . \\nare we expected to like the grinch , hate the whos , and want him to steal christmas ? \\nthe grinch isn\\'t even the villain here ; that role is filled by the corrupt mayor of whoville ( jeffrey tambor ) who was the grinch\\'s rival for martha\\'s affection . \\nnot only are the characters needlessly complex , but the once-simple plot becomes so convoluted that the actual theft of christmas seems like an afterthought . \\nthe casting choices aren\\'t any better than the screenwriting decisions . \\njim carrey seems woefully miscast . \\nwhile his face is so supple that the rubber make-up seems superfluous , carrey brings nothing else to the role . \\nhis accent keeps changing ; i assume he was shooting for karloff , but he ends up sounding like a weird slurry of richard nixon , sean connery , and cartman from \" south park . \" \\nnot knowing what else to do during his many scenes alone in the grinch\\'s home , carrey falls back on his stand-up comedy and clowns around ace ventura-style . \\nneedless to say , his wise-cracking antics don\\'t quite fit the character of the grinch , who is an embittered loner filled with hate . \\nlittle taylor momsen brings little to role of cindy lou except big eyes and a cute smile . \\nshe would have been fine if cindy lou was limited to her original purpose in the seuss story ( finding \" santa \" in her living room stealing the tree ) . \\nhowever , the expanded script makes cindy as important as the grinch , and momsen is not up to the challenge . \\nbottom line : when you\\'re stealing christmas ( movies ) , leave this one behind . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the caveman\\'s valentine starring samuel l . jackson , ann magnuson , aunjanue ellis , tamara tunie screenplay by george dawes green , based on his novel directed by kasi lemmons \\n * * * for more film , dvd and books about movie reviews , plus annual coverage of the toronto international film festival , visit _film freak central_ - http : //filmfreakcentral . net \\n| now with search engine * * * \\na strange mixture of _shine_ , _basquiat_ , _angel heart_ , and grant morrison & dave mckean\\'s graphic novel \" arkham asylum \" , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a feverish tale of a homeless madman-cum-detective who , on the morning of february 14th , discovers a \" valentine \" just outside his new york cave : one of ella fitzgerald\\'s strange fruit , stuck in the crotch of a tree--a young male model murdered and frozen to a branch . \\nbelieving at first that his imagined nemesis stuyvesant , shooting evil rays into his mind from atop the chrysler building , is responsible for the murder , romulus ( samuel l . jackson ) is put on the trail of an avant-garde photographer in the mapplethorpe mould , david leppenraub ( colm feore ) . \\nhis minor sleuthing interrupted by the occasional delusional fit and bouts with an ecstasy of creation ( romulus was a brilliant julliard-trained pianist prior to his psychosis ) , romulus uncovers clues and harasses suspects on his way to convincing his police-woman daughter ( aunjanue ellis ) that even though he\\'s a nut , that doesn\\'t mean that he can\\'t solve a high-profile society murder . \\nevery moment an exhausting workshop of ideas , and every character the same , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a concept so \" high concept \" that it suddenly became clear to me that the film fits into the comic book genre of entertainment , with romulus\\'s \" caveman \" a slightly more mundane version of todd mcfarlane\\'s urban noir hero , spawn . \\nwith a long-vanished wife ( tamara tunie ) acting as a spiritual guide , the occasional social caste commentary , the secret base in a cave , a divergent genius personality with a network of informants and supporters , and a wickedly colourful arch-enemy , the film piles on the lurid comic book details and dizzying slapdash colours to such a lavish extent that i was vaguely surprised that the blue police cars weren\\'t inscribed with \" gotham pd . \" \\nthat being said , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ can only really succeed as a heroic fantasy , a frank miller graphic novel that has the audacity to portray the blood staining a field of virgin snow expanding to form the shape of a heart . \\nthe difficulties with the film spring from the misunderstanding that it somehow adheres to the conventions of a thriller or a police procedural when , in fact , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a superhero fable that takes on the cause of the homeless ( again like mcfarlane\\'s spawn ) while attacking the entrenched ruling classes in government and the arts . \\nit is no small detail that our hero , romulus , is not only named for a member of the ruling class who lived his life ( in legend ) without knowledge of his royal birth , but also that our romulus has turned his back on the comforts of the literati in favour of a mystical existence living in a cave in a park . in the romulus mythology , signs of romulus\\' royal blood is brought by twelve vultures , while in the film , the call to action for our hero comes in the form of not the carrion birds , but of the carrion itself . \\nwhether or not romulus of _the caveman\\'s valentine_ will found a nation , or , in the case of novelist george dawes green , upon whose novel his own screenplay is based , a franchise , the fact remains that _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is easily the most misunderstood film of 2001 thus far . \\nit , along with m . night shyamalan\\'s _unbreakable_ , is a mature cinematic extrapolation of the graphic novel format which has , since miller\\'s seminal \" the dark knight returns \" , redefined the comic medium as one suitable for mature ruminations on psychologically sticky topics . \\nreaders of sam keith\\'s brilliant \" the maxx \" comic series ( or of mtv\\'s short-lived animated adaptation of the same ) are already familiar with the idea of a homeless man placed in the position of knight errant and king of his own twisted demesne . \\nthe failure of both \" the maxx \" tv show and of _the caveman\\'s valentine_ ( not forgetting the initial backlash against _unbreakable_ ) suggests that the public may not be ready for america\\'s surprising contributions to dark fantasy . \\nluxuriantly lit , brashly saturated , and comic-panel framed with a virtuoso grace by cinematographer amy vincent ( _death in venice , ca_ ) , while inhabiting robin standefer\\'s ( _practical magic_ ) mesmerizing sets , _the caveman\\'s valentine_ is an unremittingly gorgeous film . \\nkasi lemmons , following up her brilliant 1997 debut , _eve\\'s bayou_ , which played on similar themes of manufactured realities and mysticism , fulfills much of her immense promise with a tale of seraphs and lost boys , artists and suffering . \\n_the caveman\\'s valentine_ is an elegant and piquant expression of hope for justice in a tilted landscape . \\nclearly not for every taste , when approached with the correct paradigm , it is one of the most stunning and intensely fascinating films of the year : a redefinition of the hero archetype for a post-modern audience with urine-stained wool trench coats in place of blue tights and red capes . \\n_the caveman\\'s valentine_ is a fine and a courageous film , crazy enough to suggest that the delirious yammering of an idiot savant is the best and truest paladin of order in the chaos of eliot\\'s rat\\'s alley wasteland . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this film is extraordinarily horrendous and i'm not going to waste any more words on it . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" the 44 caliber killer has struck again . \" \\nstarring john leguizamo , mira sorvino , adrian brody , jennifer esposito , michael rispoli , bebe neuwirth . \\nrated r . \\nsummer of sam will be remembered as a waste of spike lee\\'s abilities . \\nlee is a great filmmaker , often exhibiting kinetic visual flair on par with brian depalma and martin scorsese and a storytelling ability comparable to steven spielberg . \\nbut here , he gets himself into a bind . \\nhis latest effort is a case of a director pretending he has something to say when in reality there is little of substance to absorb from his work . \\nthe summer of 1977 was an unusual summer in new york city . \\nit was the hottest summer on record . \\nto boot , new york\\'s first serial killer was on the loose : calling himself the son of sam , david berkowitz killed 9 people in the new york area and frightened the whole city population . \\nso it was understandable that when nyc was hit with a citywide blackout , people went berserk , causing billions of dollars in damage to the city . \\nthe movie\\'s focus is on a group of twenty-somethings during that fateful summer : vinny ( john leguizamo ) , a club-hopping , adultrous hairdresser , his benevolent wife dionna ( mira sorvino , looking young ) , ritchie ( adrian brody ) , a punk who becomes an outcast as well as a son of sam suspect , a gang of small time mobsters and a few more minor characters . \\nwe follow them through their roller coaster lives , thrown out of whack even more by the recent killings . \\nvinny and dionna have marital problems because vinny cheats and dionna tries to please him , make him stay faithful to her . \\nritchie gets shunned by his group of friends because he has started to become more and more \" eccentric , \" and has degenerated to the point of dancing in gay night clubs and making porno films with his girlfriend . \\ntensions build and conflicts arise as the anniversary night of son of sam\\'s first murder looms ; the night he promises he will strike again . \\na local gang with too much time on its hands makes a list detailing all of the people that its members think might be suspects . \\nat the top of the list is ritchie . \\nvinny , an unwilling part of the said group , is called upon to set a trap for his friend . \\nas we watch these proceedings , some of which are painfully graphic , the dreaded \" so what ? \" \\nquestion springs to mind . \\nfrom the way this movie is made , i\\'d have guessed that spike lee was trying to tell us something , but as i searched deeper it became clear that there is very little there to find . \\nlee touches on so much -- the media , the 70\\'s punk scene , the details of the actual killings , as well as the characters\\' very personal dilemmas -- but he doesn\\'t bring all of his topics together to form a coherent theme or make a discernible statement . \\nall is not lost if a movie turns out to be hollow ; it can be a saving grace for the film to be enjoyable . \\ntoo bad summer of sam doesn\\'t get any help here . \\nfrankly , it\\'s a bore , a redundant and repetitive two hour and twenty minute film that doesn\\'t entertain beyond its first half hour . \\nthere is no suspense because the film refuses to be fully about the murders and little involving drama because the film is too muddled and its focus too vague . \\nleguizamo\\'s turn as vinnie is annoying and whiny . \\nthe script makes it clear that we\\'re supposed to believe that his character is flawed , but still a good guy . \\nyou\\'d never guess from his performance . \\nadrian brody and especially mira sorvino fare better . \\nsorvino gives a riveting , touching performance in a banal movie ( i\\'m tempted to think that i liked her because nearly everything else around her was inane ) ; her character is affecting and her emotions true-to-heart . \\nbrody , too paints an effective portrait of a young guy desperate for attention who gets a little more than he bargained for . \\nsummer of sam has some superficial elements of a good film : it looks great , it has a few notable performances and i suppose it\\'s pretty well directed , in a purely technical way . \\nbut it\\'s also empty , pretentious and boring . \\nlike last year\\'s the thin red line , it\\'s a movie by a director who doesn\\'t know what he wants to say but goes ahead and says it anyway . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b' * * the following review contains spoilers * * \\n \" please someone stop joel schumacher before he vomits into a film canister again and tries to pass it off as a movie . \" \\n-- chuck dowling , the jacksonville film journal \\ni wrote the above sentence in my review for 1997\\'s batman and robin . \\napparently , no one heard my words . \\noh , how i wish you had heard them . \\noh how i wish someone had stopped him . . . \\nbecause he\\'s done it again . \\nthe plot of 8mm is similar to the 1977 paul schrader film hardcore , a surprisingly decent and engrossing tale . \\nin fact , it was everything that 8mm is not . \\nin the opening minutes of 8mm , we see private detective tom welles ( nicolas cage ) working on a case for a prestigious member of the u . s . government . \\nkeep this fact in mind , cage is trusted with an important case , which he solves . \\nhe returns home to his wife and new daughter , and even finds time to rake his yard ( keep that in mind too , it\\'s important as well ) . \\nhe\\'s hired by a rich elderly woman to solve a mystery . \\nafter her husband\\'s death she comes across a film in his private safe . \\nit appears to be snuff film , a sort of urban legend of the pornography industry in which someone is actually brutally murdered for the camera . \\nthe woman wants welles to locate the young girl in the film , hopefully to disprove that it is in fact a snuff film . \\nso he sets off on a journey into the sordid underworld of sleaze to discover the truth about the film . \\nthe main problem with 8mm is that the whole film is completely pointless . \\nwelles is actually selected for the case by the old woman\\'s lawyer ( anthony heald , an actor who always plays the same type of character , that being a bad guy ) . \\nwhen you first see him , your first instinct is that he\\'s behind the whole thing . \\nthe choice of casting does the film in . \\nthen , as welles begins his investigation , at times we will see a shadowy figure following him . \\nthe only person it could possibly be is the lawyer ( or someone sent by the lawyer ) because no one knows welles is even investigating anything yet . \\nso your first instinct has now been confirmed . \\nthen , when it is in fact revealed that the lawyer is a part of the whole thing , he tells welles that he was chosen for the case because he was young and inexperienced ( in one of those ridiculous \" since we\\'re going to kill you anyway , why not tell you the whole thing \" moments ) . \\nbut earlier when we see welles being hired for the case he\\'s told that he was hired because he comes highly recommended . \\nhuh ? \\nalso , when the lawyer reveals himself to be a part of the whole thing , his main goal is to get the film back . \\nso why did he give it up in the first place ? ! \\nthe lawyer had the film the whole time , then gave it away to the private detective thinking that he would just give up on the case and return the film ? ! \\nit\\'s totally absurd . . . \\nand this is the screenwriter of seven ? \\nlate in the film there\\'s a confrontation between all the main characters , and after a struggle one of the character\\'s guns ends up underneath a car . \\ncage , who has been handcuffed to a bed , is rapidly trying to get to his gun , which is on a table . \\njames gandolfini\\'s character goes for the gun under the car in what is supposed to be a scene of \" suspense \" . \\nyou see , the gun is just slightly out of reach from the side of the car he\\'s trying to reach it from , and so instead of going around the car to the other side ( where he can easily reach it ) he just keeps stretching . \\ngo around to the other side of the car ! ! \\nthis goes on for minutes . \\nthen , after cage gets his gun , gandolfini then decides it would be best to go around to the other side of the car . \\nboy , schumacher is really really getting on my nerves . \\ni think the final straw would be when cage returns home , devastated by everything that he\\'s seen on this case , and then is no longer able to rake his lawn ! \\nwe actually see a shot of him pathetically poking at leaves in his yard . \\nother things that bugged me about 8mm : one would be the music , if you can call it that . \\nwhenever the score starts up , it sounds like techno music , and then this awful indian or middle eastern type music will accompany it . \\nawful decision there joel . \\nanother is cage\\'s performance . \\nat this point he\\'s capable of a wide range of performances , either good or bad . \\nfor 8mm , he delivers a very wooden one , and only shines when he\\'s interacting with joaquin phoenix ( who gives a great performance as a porn shop clerk with a heart of gold who helps cage with his case ) . \\nyou\\'re capable of much better mr . cage . \\nnow as for you mr . schumacher . . . \\ni\\'m starting to doubt if you\\'re capable of anything else besides urinating onto the institution of american cinema . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : a science fiction allegory . \\nat the millennium a lethal contagious virus has hit taiwan . \\nofficials have cut off water and other services to the center of contagion . \\nlife there devolves and degenerates . \\na man in an apartment has a hole in his floor and with it harasses his downstairs neighbor . \\na slow but harrowing film to be missed if possible . \\n , low -1 ( -4 to +4 ) \\n- the taiwan virus is ravaging taiwan and the part of the city that is the center of the contagion has been evacuated of anyone who will go . \\none apartment building still houses people . \\na woman , formerly an office worker , ( yang kuei-mei ) is tormented by her upstairs neighbor ( lee kang-sheng ) who has a hole cut by a plumber in the floor and is using it as a drain . \\nneighbor runs a small failing grocery store . \\n- to make things more depressing , it is constantly raining hard . \\n- upstairs neighbor vomits through , pours water , etc . a small and almost entirely one-sided war starts . \\nallegory about callousness and selfishness . \\n- woman is living on a pile of rolls of toilet tissue . \\n- incongruous songs added to show downstairs neighbors dreams . \\nthese are the songs of popular taiwanese singer grace chang . \\n- apartment is falling apart . \\nwallpaper is separating from walls . \\nplumbing is failing . \\n- boredom shown by long cuts in which nothing happens . \\na lot of film seems to be used up . \\n- this story might have been done much better as a ten-minute animated film . \\n- stars are considered to be great dramatic actors by one reviewer . \\n- this film seems longer at 95 minutes most two-hour films . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i guess there are those who have never been kissed before ( a rare and dying breed ) , except if you're child ? in which case it would be called experimenting . \\nrarer still are those who have never been kissed before they reach the twenties . \\nhardest to believe still , is that drew barrymore has never been kissed . \\ndespite all these hard to believe tit bits , there are people out there who have never truly been kissed , and who are still waiting for that right person to give them the wet , sloppy warm feeling of tongues intermingling , reassuring them that their search for true love is over . \\nwell , this movie is about a girl waiting for the right boy to give her the kiss of her life . \\nand it's sweet . \\ndrew barrymore who shone in ? ever after' is wonderful as ? josie , grossy' , the high school dweeb who becase a professional editor , before being assigned by her paper to return to school as an undercover reporter . \\nit addresses the issues of how a dweeb , becomes a prom queen and finds the man of her life all in one sitting . \\nhard to believe , but possible . \\nthere may also be those who have been kissed before , but in fact , never truly been given the kiss . \\nso this movie can be watched by those who are waiting for true love or those who are still searching for it . \\neither way , it is one enjoyable sit , with a fairytale ending . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" you\\'ve got mail \" is the very definition of a \" cute \" movie . \\nit\\'s got cute stars , a cute story-line , and even cute pets . \\ndespite this over-whelming cuteness ( or maybe because of it ) , i loved \" you\\'ve got mail \" . \\ni know , i know . \\ni\\'m supposed to be a film critic . \\ni\\'m not supposed to love transparent and formula pictures like this . \\nbut darn it , somewhere along the way , \" you\\'ve got mail \" reeled me in , hook , line , and sinker . \\nthe movie stars tom hanks and meg ryan as two somewhat unhappy new yorkers who meet in an aol online chat room and quickly become close friends , without ever knowing each others identity . \\nas the movie progresses , though , they begin to discover that they have a lot in common with each other . \\nmeanwhile , in \" real-life \" , they are bitter competitors . \\nshe owns a quaint little children\\'s bookstore , he owns one of those gigantic super-bookstores that offer impersonal service and discount prices . \\nwhile his store threatens to run her store out of business , their online relationship grows stronger . \\n \" you\\'ve got mail \" is as artificial as movies come . \\neverything is nice and happy and by the end , all the characters have gotten exactly what they wanted out of life . \\nthere are no real conflicts , no major disappointments , no unresolved issues . \\nnevertheless , i quite enjoyed it . \\nin fact , i can\\'t remember the last time i had such a good time at the movies . \\ni think sometimes you have to be able to watch a movie and just get drawn into it . \\nthe fact that stars hank and ryan are at the top of their game does not hurt either . \\nin particular , hanks is at his best here , turning his \" charm-meter \" up to 11 . \\neverytime he was on screen , he had my full attention . \\nand despite the fact that he was driving little bookstores out of business , i was rooting for him . \\nit was good to see hanks back doing what he does best : playing the affable everyman . \\n \" you\\'ve got mail \" certainly won\\'t be winning any awards , but as an exercise in pure entertainment , it\\'s as good as it gets . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"as a hot-shot defense attorney , kevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) has a special talent for picking juries that will ultimately acquit his clients . \\nhe is also an excellent judge of character , knowing just which strings to pull to sway the jury while breaking down a potentially damaging witness's testimony . \\nand , on top of that , he's a damn good trial lawyer . \\nin the opening scene , it is obvious that the defendant that he represents is guilty , but it doesn't hamper lomax's desire to creatively squeeze his client through the doors of reasonable doubt , thereby getting an acquittal . \\nhis unblemished record of victories soon captures the attention of one of the most prestigious firms in the country , headed by john milton ( al pacino ) . \\nhe is brought to their headquarters in nyc , where he immediately impresses milton , and is subsequently offered a full-time position as head of their newly-created criminal law division . \\nlomax is soon given the case of his life . \\nhe must defend a real estate tycoon who has been charged with a triple homicide . \\nthe draw of fame and his desire to prove just how good he really is begins to isolate him in his own hell . \\nhe works late , defends the guilty , pledges his soul to his firm , and begins to neglect his smart but fretful wife , mary ann ( charlize theron ) . \\nbut what starts off as a promising john grisham-like story about conscience-stricken lawyers takes an abrupt detour as supernatural forces begin to tinker with the story . \\nit begins like a typical parable where a small-town boy makes it big , but then has to balance his sense of self against the allure of money , power , and greed . \\nbut milton is far more than just a corrupt partner of the firm . \\nquite literally , he is the devil in disguise , and as the movie progresses , he reveals some uncanny talents that one could have only if he had sold his soul long ago . \\nfreaky and frightening things begin to happen , and after much of the film has elasped , milton's horrifying intent is finally revealed . \\nthe movie tries to give us two separate and distinct acts . \\nthe first involves the comeuppance of lomax as a big-city trial lawyer . \\nthe second focuses on milton and his ulterior motive for employing lomax . \\nunfortunately , the two never mix well into a cohesive story , and what we get are two underdeveloped stories that rely too much on one shaky revelation to tie them together and an impressive production piece to give it an underlying atmosphere . \\ngranted , the film is very handsome-looking . \\nyou'll enjoy the final scene where the wall mural seemingly comes to life during a heated speech given by pacino . \\nyou'll also like the images of power and temptation expressed through the fleshy and flashy parties . \\nyou'll also feel the loneliness and insanity that sets in with mary ann , knowing that her husband is slowly drifting away . \\nthis was one of the better storylines , but unfortunately , is only a sub-plot . \\nas with all thing's involving the devil , you can expect nothing but the worst . \\nin the first few scenes , reeves anchors the film , but then slowly drifts into the background . \\nhis path from self-vanity to self-consciousness is never fully explored . \\nhis actions seem arbitrary , and his reasons for them not fully known . \\npacino's comical portrayal is spirited , but the vanity of his character begins to shift the focus of the movie . \\nthere is another plot or two that is introduced , but never gets revisited . \\nthe focus seemed inconsistent throughout , and the final payoff seemed quick and cheap . \\nthis movie tries to be horrifying , thrilling , and dramatic all at the same time . \\nhowever , while the devil's advocate strives to get noticed , ultimately it makes very little impression at all . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"a welcome cinematic trend over the past couple of years has been to make the works of shakespeare more accessible to the younger audiences who are the vast majority of moviegoers by contemporizing the bard and altering the settings to familiar surroundings . \\na prime example of this is 1999's 10 things i hate about you , which was basically the taming of the shrew in a high school . \\nless successful was last year's adaptation of hamlet with ethan hawke as the heir apparent of the denmark corp . here the setting was the corporate world of new york . \\nnow comes o , a faithful retelling of one of the most tragic of shakespeare's tragedies . \\nlike 10 things i hate about you , the stage is a high school - a private prep school where odin james ( mekhi phifer ) is the on-court general , the basketball team's standout player . \\njulia stiles , featured in 10 things i hate about you as well as performing ophelia in hawke's hamlet , plays desi brable , odin's girlfriend , whose father also happens to be dean of the institution . \\njosh hartnett ( pearl harbor ) is on hand for the villainy , playing the scheming hugo , who sets the tragic wheels in motion . \\no was actually filmed a couple of years ago , but was shelved because of the columbine high school tragedy . \\nthe movie , directed by tim blake nelson - best known for his co-starring role in o brother , where art thou ? \\n- and written by brad kaaya , is very grim . \\nan air of tragedy weighs it down from the opening scene to the closing credits . \\nand that is how it should be . \\nof all of shakespeare's tragedies , othello is the most harrowing , not because of any body count , but because of the psychological havoc wreaked by iago , whose motivation in the sheer pleasure of his treachery . \\nkaaya's profane-filled script - after all , these are high school kids - does offer hugo a subtle motive of sorts . \\nthe young man considers himself the basketball team's prime utility man who does a little bit of everything - pass , shoot , rebound - but is constantly in the shadow of odin . \\nplus his father , the team's coach - played with a ferocious intensity by martin sheen - showers more love and concern on his star player than on his own flesh and blood . \\nthe script follows the familiar lines of the classic . \\nhugo begins dropping hints to odin concerning desi's fidelity , eroding the star's confidence in those he considers closest to him , affecting both his relationships and his game . \\nit all ends in blood , of course , which is why the movie was originally shelved . \\nthe performances in o vary . \\nphifer is at first cocky and self-assured , emotions he handles with ease . \\nhe also does quite well displaying odin's darker side ; his defensive sensitivity about being the only black at the institution , his growing distrust of those he loved , his rage and the erosion of his belief system . \\nhartnett is appropriately cool and machiavellian as he weaves his deadly web of lies and deceit , turning friend against friend , and lover against lover . \\nstiles seems a bit stilted , but occasionally also rises to the occasion , moving from adoration to confusion to fear of her young knight . \\nthe film does contain a few missteps : a subplot involving hugo's theft of the school mascot is left hanging . \\nalso desi's actions concerning michael ( andrew keegan ) , odin's former teammate and best friend who was kicked off the team because of one of hugo's machinations , is puzzling . \\nwhy she would continually be seen with michael - however innocent the circumstances - when she knows her man suspects the two of cheating behind his back . \\nit is irrational . \\nbut these are minor carpings . \\noverall , o is a stylish and faithful adaptation . \\nif nothing else , it may encourage some people to read the original text , and that will counterbalance the severity of this feature . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\" ( dreamworks skg ) running time : 2 hours starring robert duvall , tea leoni and elijah wood directed by mimi leder the first of the two asteroid movies coming out this year ( the second is the macho armageddon ) is actually a dull affair . \\nelijah wood plays leo biederman , who during astronomy class discovers that a large asteroid is heading for earth . \\ntea leoni plays a ( rather crap ) news reporter , jenny lerner , who soon discovers about this asteroid through a very long winded and boring way , and robert duvall plays the leader of a space crew , spurgeon tanner , who are planning to blow the asteroid out of the path of earth . \\nalso featuring is morgan freeman as the president , and maximilian schell and vanessa redgrave as jenny's father and mother . \\nwhile many people will walk into the film expecting a big special effects fest with the asteroid blowing everything up ( as the trailers seem to promise ) , the film is actually more of a character study , if a very poor one . \\nthe main problem is that there are too many characters in the film , and not enough time to explore them all . \\nonly the space crew are given any depth , jenny lerner , leo and the president are surprisingly 2d , and we never get to know these characters . \\nand because i couldn't care for them , i didn't really give a crap if the asteroid killed them or not . \\nthe script by bruce joel rubin and michael tolkin is horribly simple , and never really makes any interesting statements . \\nmimi leder , the former er director and director of the average the peacemaker ( 1996 ) , again directs in a ho-hum style , and never really gets any emotion out of a scene , which is a shame . \\nthe cast are seemingly on autopilot , although tea leoni does gives a rather good performance , even if she acts a bit too dorky for her own good . \\nshe seems uncommonly stupid for a journalist . \\nrobert duvall is on autopilot with a underwritten role , he just seems to be in this film for the money . \\nelijah wood , one of the best child actors working today , is surprisingly average , although his choice of roles lately haven't exactly been brilliant ( i . e . \\nflipper , 1996 ) . \\nhis role is also vastly underwritten . \\nmorgan freeman , again , is utterly wasted with a ridiculously underwritten role . \\nlike duvall , he just seems to be in the film for the money . \\nthe supporting cast are all o . k , none making much of an impression . \\nok , so deep impact may have messed up character wise , but surely the special effects are good ? \\nwell , yes and no . \\nalthough the special effects should be impressive , with a massive tidal wave destroying new york , the special effects look like , well , special effects . \\nsadly , the waves looks like it's been drawn on computer , and doesn't look too good at all . \\nsurprising really , when the effects are done by industrial light & magic , who did the effects for the lost world and twister . \\nin the end , deep impact is a wasted opportunity . \\nwhat could of been a moving movie with good effects turns out to be a dud in both characters and effects . \\nthe 2 hours the film had could have been used to much greater effect . \\nonce again , dreamworks has churned out another average movie . \\nlet's hope armageddon is a bit better . \\noverall rating= review by david wilcock web space provided by geocities \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"nicolas cage comes up with an ingenious survival mechanism for his role in the wink-and-a-concussive-nudge bombast-o-rama con air . \\nthe opening credits sequence introduces us to cage as cameron poe , a gulf war veteran convicted of manslaughter and serving eight years in prison after an ill-fated bar-room brawl . \\nthe prison scenes are accompanied by voice-overs in which poe , in a languid southern drawl , describes prison life to his wife back home and offers simple homilies for the daughter he has never met . \\nif the scene gives you a tickle of familiarity , it probably should . \\ncage appears to realize that con air is going to be utterly dim-witted and ridiculous , and that he's going to have to do something to keep himself entertained . \\nand thus he slips into a familiar , surreal role as his own commentary on the proceedings -- cage plays cameron poe as a buffed-up version of raising arizona's h . i . mcdonnough . \\ncage should have known what he was getting himself into . \\nhe got a paycheck from jerry bruckheimer last year for the rock , and if there's one thing you can count on from a bruckheimer production ( even without his late partner don simpson ) , it's that you can count on seeing everything you saw in the _last_ bruckheimer production . \\nthe critical difference between the rock and con air is cage's performance . \\nin the rock , cage appeared to be having the time of his life jumping into the action fray for the first time . \\nthat sense of discovery has been replaced by a wry self-awareness . \\nwhile the plot of con air finds poe a parolee on board a hijacked prison transport plane whose goal is just to get home , cage's goal is different but just as simple : to get out of the film with some measure of dignity intact . \\naudiences , too , should know what they're getting themselves into with a bruckheimer production . \\nin fact , the marketing people are counting on it . \\nno one who loathed the rock for its swear-grunt-blast repetitiveness will be converted by con air ; no one who loved the rock for exactly the same reasons will be dissuaded . \\ndirector simon west ( yet another tv commercial auteur plucked by bruckheimer from the advertising equivalent of the schwab's soda fountain ) delivers exactly the kind of adrenaline/testosterone cocktail which could launch an endocrinology lecture ( it's perversely appropriate that one sympathetic con spends most of the flight nearing a diabetic coma ; like insulin , con air does the work of a gland ) . \\nwhat he doesn't deliver is a moment of suspense . \\na bruckheimer film has no use for hitchcock's notion that showing you the bomb under the desk creates a more interesting scene than just blowing up the desk ; a really , _really_ big desk and a really , _really_ big bomb will serve the purpose nicely . \\nif either west or bruckheimer were interested in genuine tension , they might have done something with con air's creepiest set-up . \\nat a desert stop for the plane-load of convicts , serial killer garland greene ( steve buscemi ) wanders of into a trailer park where he meets a little girl having a tea party in a drained swimming pool . \\ntheir tete-a-tete is eerie and menacing , providing a welcome shift in tone and giving buscemi a chance to stand out in a cast with too many villains ( danny trejo , ving rhames and a characteristically reptilian john malkovich among them ) . \\nin fact , con air usually opts for too much of something when the tiniest measure of restraint would have been an improvement -- too many characters , too much editing , too many dopey punch lines , too much of the cheap , ugly appeals to machismo which characterize too many bruckheimer efforts . \\nit is that kind of exhausting excess to which cage is responding with his detached performance . \\nwhile malkovich goes for the outrageous and john cusack ( as a u . s . marshal ) goes for earnest , cage looks like he just wants to go to sleep . \\nhis recycled raising arizona performance is a means of escape , his chase after a stuffed bunny a continuation of his pursuit of that big box of huggies . \\nit doesn't bode well for cage's appearance in face/off later this month ; perhaps he already realizes that all he can do in action films is more of the same over and over . \\nthere's a word for people like you , nicolas . \\nthat word is called recidivist . . . repeat \\noffender . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'film adaptation of hunter s . thompson\\'s infamous semi-autobiographical hallucinogen-fueled book of the same title . \\ndirector terry gilliam of twelve monkeys ( 8/10 ) and brazil ( 7/10 ) fame , took over the helm of this project after fellow director alex cox ( sid and nancy ( 7 . 5/10 ) ) \\n \" apparently alienated everyone associated with the movie \" , according to gilliam . \\nplot : writer thompson ( depp ) heads down to las vegas with his attorney dr . gonzo ( del toro ) to cover a motorcycle race . \\nduring their trip , they systematically consume \" two bags of grass , seventy-five pellets of mescaline , five sheets of high powered blotter acid , a salt shaker half-full of cocaine , a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers , downers , screamers , laughers , a quart of tequila , a quart of rum , a case of beer , a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls . \\nthe movie presents us with the results of that heavy drug use . \\ncritique : i have given this movie two separate ratings because i believe that the enjoyment of this psychedelic picture is highly correlated with the amount of drugs or alcohol that would be floating around in the viewer\\'s own mind , whilst inhaling this cinematic vision of excess . \\nif you are prepared to get high or intoxicated before watching this film , i would say that this is one picture that you will thoroughly enjoy on a multitude of colorful levels . \\nif , on the other hand , you decide to stray from the addition of nefarious elements to your system , i could not imagine you truly appreciating much of this drug-induced picture\\'s entire ride ( 5 . 5/10 for all those sober dogs ) . \\nnote : i have not read thompson\\'s book . \\nhaving said that , joblo did engage in an alcohol-based consumatory session before ( and during ) the viewing of this film , so his critique of the film should be appreciated on that level . \\nthis movie relies heavily on style and peculiar humour , rather than substance or plot . \\nit moves admirably from one scene to the next , without much basis of their being , while presenting us with the two days in the life of writer hunter s . thompson during which he seemed to consume more drugs and alcohol than anyone could ever imagine . \\nit was 1971 , and the times were apparently \" a\\' changing \" in the states . \\njohnny depp chews into his role like an overgrown child sucking on a chocolate lollipop . \\nduring the filming , depp apparently become fast friends with real-life writer thompson , and was known to wander off the set from time to time , for the sake of checking out the newest barmaid at the local watering hole . \\ni thought he did seem to exaggerate his walk a little bit too much , but then again , this movie is supposed to be a wild exaggeration of everything and anything , so who am i to talk . \\nthe one thing that did blow my mind was the actual physical transformation endured by actor benicio del toro for his role as dr . gonzo . \\ni couldn\\'t believe that this fat , samoan lawyer , was the same guy who played the slick mumbling criminal in the usual suspects ( 7 . 5/10 ) . \\nword on the street is that gained over 40 pounds for this role , and i must say that his look was deliciously reprehensible . \\nplenty of cameos also pepper this kaleidoscopic moving picture in the form of ellen barkin , christina ricci , tobey maguire and cameron diaz , along with a bunch of others . \\nother than that , the soundtrack was expectedly eclectic , the style was not as wild as i thought it would be , and the ending was certainly not much of a barn-burner , but then again , who really noticed . \\nthis movie is about visions of bats floating through your head , johnny depp looking goofy and being bald , and the cornucopia of drug-ravaged scenes filling your own intoxicated system with ideas of anarchy , rebellion and the lost american dream . \\nand for all those who plan on seeing this movie without the partnership of a mean drink or a mighty doobie , i suggest you move further down the aisle , buy yourself a ticket to godzilla ( 6/10 ) , and enjoy the visual fabrications manufactured for the unstimulated mind . \\nlittle known facts : depp and del toro snorted plenty of powdered milk instead of cocaine . \\nbill murray also portrayed a thompson-based character in the film where the buffalo roam . \\njohnny depp turned down roles in the three musketeers , speed ( 7 . 5/10 ) , and legends of the fall ( 7 . 5/10 ) , for smaller and quirkier roles in benny and joon ( 6 . 5/10 ) and what\\'s eating gilbert grape ? \\n ( 7/10 ) . \\nin 1988 , depp told rolling stone magazine that he\\'d tried every drug by the age of 14 . \\njohnny hung out with some of the members of oasis while filming the uncompleted divine rapture in ireland , and later played some slide guitar on the 1997 album , be here now . \\njohnny was born in kentucky , is a high-school dropout , has nicknamed himself \" mr . stench \" , has been engaged to four women until now ( including actress winona ryder , whose \" winona forever \" tattoo had to be altered to \" wino forever \" after their breakup ) , currently plays guitar in a band called \" p \" , and owns the viper room nightclub in l . a . \\n',\n",
+       " b'as much as i wanted to like this film as i went into it , the more pleased i was when i left . \\nfirst , getting through all the usual lines of newspaper glitz : \" if you liked scream , you\\'ll love wild things ! \" \\n \" campbell gives a stunning performance ! \" \\n \" this twisty plot will have you dazzled for days ! \" \\n ( oh yeah , the day a newspaper uses these is the day neve campbell falls in love with me ) \\nnow , onto more serious stuff ( and with this film , i mean that in nearly a sarcastic way ) . \\nwild things has single-handedly broken down the rules surrounding the r rating from the mpaa . \\ni\\'m not saying that in a bad way , but when you see this film , you may be shocked by what you see . \\nhowever , perhaps the mpaa was pleased by the film\\'s charming cast and tricky plot , that they let the film slide with an r rating . \\nbeing mormon , i\\'m bound to hear an uproar from religious zealots warning me not to see the film . \\ntrouble is , i have already seen it . \\nand i like it ! \\nwild things is a film noir of the 90s , filled with 40s sensibilities , and yet breaking the rules and modern-day taboos of 90s culture . \\nthe style in which it is filmed is rich in color . \\nthe actors are all gorgeous people , seemingly drawn from the same gene pool and placed into this film . \\nsure , it\\'s all too good to be true , but ain\\'t it fun to watch ? \\nwhen movies like this come along ( sort of a better version of basic instinct ) there is bound to be people who either love it or hate it . \\nthere will be people who don\\'t want to admit liking what they see , but i tell you , most anyone who sees this will like it . \\nwild things begins at blue bay high school , the one high school in the world that any teenager would love to get into . \\nit\\'s almost as if students are put through entrance exams just for admittance ( totally based on looks alone ) . \\nof course , there are those select few who may look slightly ugly , but compared to the average person , they are gorgeous . \\nimmediately , the film finds its tone and the audience settles in for an enjoyable time . \\nwe can turn off our brains , right ? \\nwrong . \\nwhile you may be expecting one thing to happen , it certainly doesn\\'t turn out that way . \\nthe film begins in a classroom , with nearly all the main characters present . \\nthere\\'s sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) , a counselor for the students . \\nhe\\'s heading the class discussion . \\nthere\\'s also kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , a snobby rich teen who has fallen in love with sam . \\nteaching the class , however , are two policemen : ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) , who want to talk about \\'sex . . . \\n ( cheers ) crimes ( boos ) \\' . \\n \" what is a sex crime ? \" \\nray asks . \\n \" not gettin\\' any ! \" \\none student responds . \\nthis pretty much sets the tone of the film we are about to watch . \\nhowever , upon hearing this , one student , suzie toller ( neve campbell ) , stands up and leaves the room , commenting that they can both kiss part of her body . \\nand so , wild things sets into motion . \\nquickly , kelly begins hitting on sam , but sam doesn\\'t want anything to do with her advances . \\nkelly is stubborn and continues to pursue him . \\nshe even pleads with him to let her wash his jeep . \\nsurprisingly , that\\'s really all i can tell you about the plot . \\nany more would give away one of the many crucial plot twists . \\nand what\\'s more , these plot twists are actually unpredictable . \\ngoing along the way of scream , wild things maintains that film\\'s surprises , and then adds even more to them . \\nthere are more plot twists in this film than probably any i have ever seen . \\nand even though you think you may get tired of them , the surprises are so genuine that it\\'s rather pleasing . \\ngoing back over them in my mind , nearly all of them work , though some stretch the boundaries of belief . \\nthankfully , the convoluted plot doesn\\'t give us much time to think about each one , pouncing yet another twist on us before the shock of the previous one has worn off . \\nas for the critics who complain that the film is trashy--well , it is . \\nthis is pretty much just one trashy film . \\nhowever , it is the kind of trashy that isn\\'t hard to watch . \\nit\\'s good trash , in a sense . \\none , the screenplay knows that it\\'s not to be taken seriously , and it includes a lot of humor and satire into the story . \\nthis varies everywhere from kelly\\'s mother ( theresa russell ) , who is more of a caricature of rich people , all the way to an ambulance-chasing lawyer ( bill murray ) , who wears a neck-brace to cover an insurance scam he is running . \\nbill murray also provides the best character in the film , and most of the genuine laughs . \\nand two , the sex is more than gratuitous , although not unwelcomed . \\nwild things is supposed to have sex in it ( what film with that title wouldn\\'t ? ) , and this movie breaks the boundaries . \\ninstead of having heterosexual sex scenes , it also includes lesbian scenes between denise richards and neve campbell ( don\\'t worry . . . \\nit\\'s not as graphic as you might think ) . \\nthe heterosexual scenes are quite graphic , but the surprise shocker is kevin bacon\\'s full-frontal nude scene . \\nit\\'s very brief , so if you blink , you may miss ( ahem ) it . \\nand , for as long as i can remember , i don\\'t think i have seen an r-rated film show an erect one before ( it\\'s not completely , but judging from the audiences\\' reaction , it was more than they expected too ) . \\nalso , during one scene late in the film , there seemed to be a relationship brewing between bacon and dillon\\'s characters , but nothing came of it ( makes you wonder if the director had to cut it in order for the r rating , or if the actors refused to do it ) . \\nwhat first made me want to see wild things was its cast . \\nneve campbell , of course , has been one of my favorite actresses since the scream films were released . \\nhere , however , she turns every typical role she has done on its head and plays a gothic pothead . \\nthe closest role to this was her performance in the craft ( though even in that she was a nice girl ) . \\ncampbell is probably the best in the film and shows her wide range of talent . \\nyou can tell she will be around for a long time . \\ndenise richards will also be around for a long time , although she may be limited to the roles without much range . \\nhere , she gets to express more emotions than in her stiff ( yet effective ) performance in starship troopers . \\nhopefully one day she will land a very good role that can display her ability . \\nand then there is daphne rubin-vega , a newcomer to the movies . \\nshe gives a very good performance , although her character is mostly left to the background for the first hour and a half . \\ntowards the end she does get a bigger part . \\non the male side , matt dillon is probably the best , giving a subtle performance that surprises with every twist . \\nkevin bacon has a slightly wooden character , but he makes the most of it . \\nyou must have admiration , though , for what he did on screen . \\nand judging from many of the women\\'s reactions in the theater to that shot , they have grown a deeper appreciation for bacon ( yeah , right ) . \\nand then there is bill murray . \\nhis performance is the comic relief , and he nearly steals the film . \\nas a whole , the entire cast works wondrously together , and they seem at home , even when doing the menage a troi . \\ndirector john mcnaughton , who has previously done the critically acclaimed henry : portrait of a serial killer , has constructed a wonderfully twisty plot that works . \\nhis direction is smooth and stylish . \\nthe visuals are striking , filled with rich colors , and almost so realistic that we can actually breathe the humidity in the air . \\nhowever , he seems more at home when the actors aren\\'t talking . \\nhis fly-by shots of the swampy areas are brilliant , and his photography of denise richards\\' climbing out of the pool is a highlight . \\nthe cinematography is gorgeous in its details . its not often that you see a film like this , and we should watch it just to see how the camera can take pictures . \\nthen , there is the music . \\nthis was probably the most obvious thing to me , as it set the perfect mood for the film . \\nit\\'s hard to describe in words , so just see the film and listen to it . \\nit\\'s wonderfully composed and presented . \\nand be sure to stick around during the closing credits ! \\nmcnaughton has finally put the ending credits to good use ( while most comedies use it for outtakes ) . \\nhe has included some small scenes which help explain the preceding events . \\nsome may say that these are lame attempts to explain the convoluted plot , but it\\'s an entertaining way to finish the film . \\nplus , there are some shocking moments in these ending credits which just add to the fun . \\nwild things is appropriately rated r for strong sexuality , nudity , language and violence . \\nagain , the nudity is rather unnecessary , but let\\'s face it--people want to see it . \\nso why not give it to them ? \\nneve campbell , admirably , has a no-nudity clause in her contract , and the most you see of her is from behind as she takes her top off ( way to go , neve ! ) . \\nthe sex scenes are graphic , especially the first one we see , between the mother and one of her deck hands . \\none almost wonders how they got away with the r rating . \\nthe language is quite harsh too , ranging from sexual innuendo to your average , everyday profanity . \\nand i can\\'t stress it enough : don\\'t allow kids under 18 to see this film . \\nthe target age for the movie is the 18-24 range , and that\\'s who should see it . \\nit\\'s definitely not for those under 18 ! \\ndid i mention that this film is rated r ? however , for those that do get a chance to watch it , you will probably more likely be pleased , and may even take friends to see it the next time . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"_soldier_ is hands down one of the worst movies a person could ever have to sit through that doesn't have jean claude van damme in it . \\ni could liken it to the sci-fi cheese that was the hollywood product-of-choice back in the early 80s , but that would be too much of a compliment . \\nif there is a movie theater in hell , this film is playing there 24 hours a day . \\nthe story , such that there is , revolves around todd ( kurt russell ) , an automaton of a man who has been raised from birth to be a merciless soldier in a not-too-distant ultra-conservative future ( is there any other kind ? ) \\nafter years of desensitization at a military academy full of other boys just like him , todd becomes a ground fighter in a series of wars all over the galaxy . \\nwho the enemies in these wars are is never revealed , but the few glimpses of todd in battle show that it doesn't matter , because innocent hostages are wiped out as indifferently as the bad guys . \\nafter ten minutes of this nihilistic trash -- yes folks , there's more -- we see todd as a buff , scarred adult , now so accustomed to the carnage that no confrontation at all causes him to break a sweat . \\nthere's a new wrinkle , though . \\ntodd and his brethren are declared obsolete , and a new batch of soldiers takes their place . \\nafter losing a sanctioned battle with _dragon_'s jason scott lee , the seemingly dead todd is dumped by a flying ice-cube tray ( well , that's what is looked like ) on a remote garbage planet . \\nif you predict that todd meets a bunch of outcast settlers on this planet , and that they band together to fight a bunch of bad guys coming to destroy them , you're way ahead of the game . \\nthe renegade society on this trash heap is so clich you half-expect tina turner and master blaster to come strolling into frame any minute . \\nit's surprising that _soldier_ is the brain-child of _blade runner_ co-writer david webb peoples . \\nunlike that mind-twisting classic , this film contains just barely enough dialogue to fill about three double-spaced pages . \\nadd into the mix the _mortal kombat_'s paul anderson inept direction , and it's easy to see how _soldier_ turned out so bad . \\nand the special effects ! \\nremember the flying steam irons in hardware wars ? \\ngary busey is in this movie . \\n'nuff said . \\n_soldier_ is proof that hollywood still has plenty of bad ideas sitting in its script vaults . \\nthat this sad film made it to the silver screen should encourage plenty of aspiring screenwriters out there that there is hope after all . \\nnow if you'll excuse me , i have to go weep for the future . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' * * * the following review contains spoilers * * * \\n \" it\\'s just . . . \\nthe way . . . \\nwe are . \" \\n--- a rapist ( matt frewer ) responds to supergirl\\'s ( helen slater ) query as to why she\\'s being attacked , an example of the mind-numbingly bad dialogue in supergirl . \\ni\\'ll admit it . . . \\ni love superman iii . \\ni know it\\'s hated amongst the superman faithful who dismiss it as nothing more than a vehicle for richard pryor , but i still think it\\'s a worthy addition to the man of steel franchise . \\nsupergirl , a spin-off film of sorts from the series\\' same producers ( alexander and ilya salkind ) , doesn\\'t even rival superman iii in terms of quality , let alone superman or superman ii . \\nsupergirl lost me from the opening scenes and went steadily downhill for the rest of its two hour plus running time . \\nas the film begins we see the residents of argo city , a commune like place consisting of refugees from krypton which resides in \" inner space \" , go about their daily lives . \\nok . . . \\nwhat ? \\nso these are exiles from krypton , which blew up right ? \\nwere they living there before krypton exploded ? \\nhow do you get to \" inner space \" ? \\nthis whole \" inner space \" notion is never explained , particularly in terms of how these people get information from the outside world . \\nhow do they know where superman went ? \\nhow do they know he took the name clark kent and now works at the daily planet ? \\nthese kinds of things frustrate the hell out of me . \\nargo city is kept running by a power source called the omegahedron . \\none day the founder of argo city , zaltar ( peter o\\' toole ) , gives the omegahedron to superman\\'s cousin , kara ( helen slater ) , for use as inspiration in her art . \\nkara uses it to create a bug-like thing which immediately crashes through the layer of \" whatever \" that protects the city . \\nin the chaos , the omegahedron sails out through the opening , dooming the argonians to death . . . \\nin three days time , or something . \\nkara then climbs into a pod which zaltar had designed for interdimensional travel and chases after the omegahedron to save her world . \\nthe power source travels directly to earth and lands in the bowl of dip belonging to a minor-league witch named selena ( faye dunaway ) who , immediately before her dip was ruined , announced her desires to rule the world to her sometimes warlock boyfriend nigel ( peter cook ) . \\nselena somehow knows that this ball from the sky will help her with her evil plans , and she sets out to achieve world domination . \\nselena is unaware of course that kara has also arrived on earth , and that she\\'s arrived as supergirl ( complete with appropriate costume ) . \\nsupergirl emerges from the bottom of a lake when she arrives . \\nok . . . \\nhuh ? \\nwhy does the omegahedron fall from the sky but supergirl shoots out of the bottom of a lake ? \\nattention movie : explain yourself ! \\ni\\'m sorry , i can only suspend disbelief so much . \\ni can\\'t buy into any of this nonsense just because the movie wants me to . \\nknowing that she needs a secret identity , supergirl basically \" wills \" herself into a school girl outfit ( complete with a different hairstyle ) , picks the alias linda lee and enrolls into school . \\nshe\\'s given her dorm assignment , and who happens to be her roommate ? \\nlois lane\\'s sister , lucy . \\nok , coincidence is one thing folks , but we\\'re getting really contrived now . \\nwhat follows are some generic all-girls school hijinks . . . \\ncomplete with evil bully girls ( mean for no reason , of course ) and even a shower scene ( ! ) . \\nbest moment though comes when supergirl decides to put a bra on over her school uniform and starts stuffing it with socks . \\nat this point i\\'m rapidly wondering why i\\'m bothering with this nonsense . \\nthere is some credit to give to the film however . \\none lengthy and elaborate sequence featuring an \" evil \" bulldozer destroying a small town in search of its \" prey \" is very well done . \\nalso , its commendable to see genders reversed in the film , whereas the women have all the power and the men are merely objects and tools . \\nhart bochner ( die hard ) is particularly fun as kara\\'s love interest , a lovesick landscaper who is under a spell cast by selena ( although he is unfortunately part of one of the film\\'s more ridiculous moments , when he has to be rescued from being tapped by some \" menacing \" bumper cars ) . \\nthen there were numerous little things that bothered me . \\nthe flying effects are never convincing for a moment . . . \\nit\\'s all too obvious that helen slater is hooked to wires . \\ninstead of having her look like she\\'s flying , the filmmakers wanted her to be \" graceful \" , so she poses a lot and does ballet-type maneuvers . \\nalso , who are the first two humans to meet supergirl when she arrives on earth ? \\na pair of truck drivers/rapists who immediately attack her and then meet a \" wacky \" demise . \\nthere is also some rampant product placement in the film , most notably for popeye\\'s , tylenol , and a&w root beer , with the latter actually putting its logo on the t-shirt of one of the rapists ( ? ! ) . \\nfinally , just one word : monsters . \\nfaye dunaway and peter o\\'toole ham it up unmercifully , however when o\\'toole overacts he\\'s entertaining and when dunaway does it she\\'s annoying ( her character actually says the line \" seize them ! \" \\nat one point ) . \\ndunaway\\'s henchmen ( played by peter cook and brenda vaccaro ) fare much better , with vaccaro coming off best as the equivalent of ned beatty\\'s otis character from the first two superman movies . \\nhelen slater effectively portrays supergirl as the innocent , naive character she\\'s written to be , as she\\'s able to gaze at flowers and bunnies with the right amount of genuine wonder to make it believable . \\nbelievability aside though , it\\'s still annoying . \\nnow despite all this negativity ( and i\\'m not alone here . . . supergirl is not a well liked nor a well respected movie in many circles ) , leave it to the good people at anchor bay entertainment to actually make people not only interested , but excited about its release on dvd ! \\nthey have released two separate editions of the film on dvd , to the delight of many people ( including myself . . . \\nyet i\\'m still unclear as to why , since this movie is so awful ) . \\nthe first and most widely available dvd release features the international version of the film which runs 10 minutes longer than the print which ran in u . s . theaters . \\nthe movie is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2 . 35 : 1 , is enhanced for 16x9 televisions , and has been remastered in full thx glory . \\nextras on the disc include : a full length audio commentary track with director jeannot szwarc and \" special project consultant \" scott michael bosco , the excellent 50-minute documentary from 1984 called supergirl-the making of a feature ( dig that workout montage ! ) , 5 trailers , 3 tv spots , talent bios , in-depth storyboards ( accompanied by score from the movie ) , and assorted still galleries . \\nthe transfer on this international version is incredible . . . \\nyou\\'d think you were watching a new release . \\nimages are sharp , colors jump off the screen , and the picture is free of scratches or artifacts . \\nonly some special effects sequences show the wear of time , and there just isn\\'t much that can be done about that ( unless you\\'re obsessive like george lucas ) . \\nthe new thx approved audio is loud and clear in all the right places , however you\\'ll be hearing absurd dialogue and a mediocre jerry goldsmith score ( which is completely unrelated to john williams\\' classic superman theme and sounds better suited for a cannon films\\' golan-globus production ) . \\nthe commentary track featuring director szwarc and project consultant bosco is a step in the right direction in the evolution of audio commentaries . \\nbosco seems to be an expert in all things supergirl and is there with szwarc to ensure that there\\'s no dead air on the track . \\nbosco probes szwarc for information on virtually everyone and everything that comes onscreen , and we learn a great deal more about the film as a result of his participation . \\nalthough , at times you can tell that bosco is looking for a specific response from szwarc , and is surprised when he doesn\\'t get that response . \\nwe learn some fascinating tidbits on the track , most notably the \" almost \" appearance in the film by christopher reeve . \\ngreat detail is given about superman\\'s proposed role in the original script before reeve ( wisely ) dropped out . \\nas it stands , superman is written off early on in the film when we hear a radio broadcast mention that he is billions of light years away on some sort of peace mission . \\nfor the sake of brevity , i won\\'t even get into that one . \\nszwarc also reveals that is was the conscious decision of the salkinds ( and everyone else agreed ) that supergirl needed to stand on its own , replacing the science fiction of the superman films with cutsy \" whimsical fantasy \" nonsense . \\nbosco also points out scenes not in the american release as they come along , claiming that had they been in the original release it would have been a hit at the box office . \\nagain , for the sake of brevity , i won\\'t even get into that one . \\nanchor bay has also released a limited edition ( only 50 , 000 copies pressed ) two-disc set . \\ndisc one contains everything mentioned for the regular release . \\ndisc two features the never before seen director\\'s cut of the film , which runs 138 minutes long . \\nthe additions mainly consist of scene extensions which don\\'t add much of note , except for a few moments which lengthen peter o\\'toole\\'s screen time ( particularly during his latter appearances ) . \\nthe print is rough in spots and the sound is only in mono , but fans of the film won\\'t care . \\none question though . . . \\nshouldn\\'t the director\\'s commentary be on the director\\'s cut of the film ? \\ni\\'d never seen supergirl before i sat down to watch this dvd . \\ni was nine when it was released to theaters , and even then i was smart enough to inform my parents not to take me to see it . \\nso when i popped the dvd into my player and sat down in my easy chair i had no idea what to expect . \\ni knew the film wasn\\'t beloved and i never had any interest in it before , but i was willing to give it a shot because of the impressive amount of work put into the disc . \\nas the disc began to spin i was rather impressed with the opening sequence , which made me sit up and wonder if my assumptions all this time could have been wrong . \\ncome to find out however it was just the chase digital stereo logo . . . \\nso i slunk back into my seat as the nightmare started . \\nat the end of the film , supergirl flies back into the lake with the omegahedron , and flies back to argo city . \\nugh , i give up . \\ni\\'m surprised i even made it to the end of the film not once , not twice , but three times to review these discs . \\nsupergirl is definitely a terrific dvd package , but a very lousy movie . \\n[pg] \\n',\n",
+       " b\"synopsis : a man whose lover , paris , was murdered agrees to test out an experimental virtual reality home unit system . \\nthe subject escapes from the real world and his current girlfriend , laura , and becomes addicted to virtual reality , which , due to a design flaw in his unit , recreates the dead paris . \\ncomments : virtual seduction , executive produced by roger corman and lance h . robbins , serves as a cheaply-made precursor to strange days , a far superior film . \\nboth movies deal with desperate men who have trouble relating to their current lovers because they are ( ab ) using technology to be with former lovers ( in strange days , the technology utilized recorded dreams rather than virtual reality ) . \\ninterestingly , both films also take place a couple of years from now during the turn of the new millenium , though strange days uses the setting far more effectively . \\nthis exemplifies the problem with virtual seduction . \\nit's not bad for what it is : low-budget science fiction concerning the psychological dangers of virtual reality . \\nunfortunately , it's been done before and since in much better films , a fact which ultimately leaves the sci-fi fan bored by this movie . \\nvirtual seduction has many faults ( one of them is the fact that the video inexplicably has its own trailer before it begins ) . \\nthe film's script explores the possibilities of virtual reality interestingly at first , but its treatment of the subject matter gets heavy-handed and wooden as the movie progresses . \\nmany important scenes seem too dark ; the lighting could have been improved significantly . \\nthe cast , a collection of veteran b-movie actors and sitcom regulars , do only a mediocre job in their roles . \\njeff fahey , of the original lawnmower man , convincingly , though unenergetically , plays the lead character . \\ncarrie genzel plays paris , the vr lover , but ami dolenz , as the current love interest , seems like a much more interesting and attractive character with a caring personality , which doesn't lend credence to the film's premise . \\nmeschach taylor , of the once popular designing women sitcom , adequately plays a scientist working on the project , but his performance isn't something to write home about either . \\nvirtual seduction is one of those harmless movies to which you could do some light manual labor and not mind having it on in the background . \\nin other words , one could fold laundry while glancing up at it every now and then , but it's rather boring to just sit and watch . \\nthe movie is surprisingly not as violent as one expects from b-movies in this genre , but it is still an adult r-rated film due to sexual situations and a suicide attempt . \\nthis turkey , ultimately , isn't awful , but it's not particularly interesting or unique either . \\ndon't be seduced into watching this movie unless you've got several loads of laundry and nothing else to watch . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'in intolerance , d . w . griffith told four different historical stories at the same time , cutting from one to the other . \\neach of the stories builds to a fast-paced climax . \\nin magnolia , paul thomas anderson tells several stories each just tangentially connected to the others . \\nyet the stories and where they are going are all independent . \\nwhat is strange about these stories is that they are all synchronized . \\neach story builds to a tense moment ( or what appears to be intended to be a tense moment ) but then lets the tension dissolve . \\nwhile the tension dissipates one character starts singing a song and in each plotline the major characters sing along , even though they are not in the same scene . \\nthen toward the end the stories each build to a tense moment again . \\nit is almost as if the characters are somehow psychically linked . \\nthis creates some strange effects . \\nthe stories are about empty desperate people with dysfunctional relationships . \\nthe strands have varying degrees of bizarre content . \\nwe have the story of a dying man earl partridge ( jason robards ) wanting to get in touch with his son and make amends . \\nphil parma ( philip seymour hoffman ) is his nurse who is frantic to help partridge achieve his final goal . \\npartridge\\'s young wife linda ( julianne moore ) is getting more and more anxious as partridge dies , but for an unsuspected reason . \\nfrank mackey ( tom cruise ) runs the kinds of self-help seminar that businesses like so much , but he aims his at teaching disaffected men how to be real shit-heels in dealing with women in an angry backlash to women\\'s lib . \\nofficer jim kurring ( john c . reilly ) is a patrolman who has a need to feel he is making the world a better place . \\njimmy gator ( philip baker hall ) hosts a popular children\\'s tv quiz show that really exploits and destroys children as we see from the stories of current quiz kid stanley spector ( jeremy blackman ) and former quiz kid donnie smith ( william h . macy ) . \\nthe film juggles all these stories for over three hours , but even after all this time not one story is resolved satisfactorily . \\neach story moves toward a single bizarre common climax , but it is not one that seems to do much but derail each story . \\nthe common climax itself is ambiguous in many ways and it fails to really tie up any of the stories . \\nthe film seems to be built around strange events and weird history , but it really has little to do with the content of the stories , though they all are connected in part by one weird event . \\nmagnolia will probably bring some much deserved attention to paul thomas anderson , though in my opinion his two previous films , hard eight and boogie nights were better told stories . \\nit is interesting that one starts to look forward to actors from anderson\\'s company . \\njohn c . reilly seems to be a standard fixture . \\nparticularly notable is philip baker hall who gave a mesmerizing performance from the first scene of hard eight . \\nhere he several of the characters are mesmerizing , but that characteristic is not really used . \\nas studies of characters these stories are each worth following . \\nas well-rounded stories with a beginning , middle and end , they leave something to be desired . \\nbut the film is willing to do the unexpected and that helps make the film worth sitting through . \\ni rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nheavy spoiler . . . \\nduring the strange climactic event of the film we get multiple messages from the filmmaker that the event we are seeing really does happen . \\nand in actual fact , it does . \\nsince biblical times rains of frogs have been interpreted as signs of displeasure of the gods . \\nit is , however , a perfectly natural , if somewhat unnerving , phenomenon . \\nthe cause is associated with whirlwinds . \\nwe know that tornadoes over land can rip up land and even objects of some size from the ground and hurl them into the air , holding them aloft . \\nthe reader may remember the unfortunate cow in twister . \\nsmaller objects can be hurled high into the atmosphere and then be kept aloft by the updrafts for surprisingly long periods of time much as hail and chunks of ice are . \\nwhen the whirlwind is over water , animals near the surface , frequently fish and frogs , may suffer the same fate . \\nessentially they are vacuumed up by the whirlwind , held aloft by updrafts , and finally dropped elsewhere . \\nso while the rain is possible , some doubts do creep in . \\nthe rain of frogs depicted in this film may be of greater scale than i had pictured for a rain of frogs . \\nit seems unlikely the frogs would still be alive when dropped . \\nit is not clear that geographic conditions are right for los angeles to have this sort of phenomenon . \\n ( frankly i have no idea on these points . ) \\notherwise the event was quite believable . \\nwhat we see in this film is much more credible than the phenomena we saw in volcano . \\nin the film it is left ambiguous if the rain is a sign from god since there are many references to exodus 8 : 2 . \\n \" and the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon thy people , and upon all thy servants . \" \\nhowever a rain of frogs , though it feels biblical , is most definitely not a biblical portent . \\nnote that the previous verse says \" and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly which shall go up . . . , \" \\nso the bible is referring not to a rain but to an infestation from the river . \\nthe only other reference to frogs in the bible is as a symbol for uncleanness in revelation 16 : 13 . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a frequent error is the categorization of a terrorist as a soldier or a common criminal . \\na soldier commits acts of violence sanctioned by one nation-state against another . \\na common criminal commits acts of violence for personal gain . \\na terrorist employs random violence as a means to a political end . \\nif the target nation does not affect the desired change in policy , the violence continues . \\nit is the fear resulting from the fact that the terrorist may strike at anyone ( even total innocents ) , anywhere , at anytime that gives the figure his label . \\nedward zwick\\'s the siege explores the possibility of this kind of violence taking place right here in the united states . \\nyou\\'d think the opening bit was ripped right from the headlines . \\narab terrorists kill american citizens abroad , and the u . s . responds by retaliating against the sheik whom supposedly ordered the attack . \\nhowever , unlike the real-life tomahawk cruise missile strike against bin laden\\'s camp and manufacturing facility , the film version depicts special operations troops kidnapping sheik ahmed bin talal . \\nin retaliation , the terrorists bring the fight to the new world . \\nunwittingly involved is fbi assistant special agent-in-charge anthony hubbard ( denzel washington ) , who works out of the bureau\\'s new york office at one federal plaza . \\nwhile investigating a series of bombings in the big apple , he encounters cia agent elise kraft ( annette bening ) , also trying to uncover information . \\ngenerally , the fbi is charged with problems inside the u . s . , while the cia takes care of problems in the international realm . \\neven spies from other countries are off limits to the cia as long as they are in our country . \\nhubbard therefore finds it highly unusual that an agency spook is nosing around what he considers his territory , but as the two form a tentative professional relationship , hubbard becomes more and more aware of an increasingly complicated series of allegiances and possibly illegal actions involving terrorism and the united states government . \\nthe original tagline for patriot games was , \" there has never been a terrorist attack on american soil . \" \\nhowever true , it was pulled before the movie\\'s release because it sounded too much like a dare . \\nrevisiting the scenario of foreign terrorists committing acts of violence in the united states , the siege is almost an invitation in itself , because it shows just what kind of turmoil could be produced if an effective terrorist network were to set up operations here in america . \\nadmittedly , the terror wrought upon new york is a bit excessive ( who\\'s going to believe that a few bombs are going to cause new yorkers to jump at the backfire of a bus or to curtail their shopping by two-thirds ? ) , but the basic premise is still valid . \\ni liked the fact that this film rises above the basic action-thriller fare of good guy g-men against bad guy terrorists by exploring some of the effects on society and law and order . \\nit provides a very possible hypothesis that violent activity on the part of a few arabs would escalate into a series of hate crimes against the arab-american population , and that in an effort to find the terrorists , the civil liberties of the minority may be violated by the government itself . \\nin fact , about halfway through the film , when the president authorizes the declaration of martial law within new york city , the liberties of all americans are put at risk . \\nalthough it may actually be a side effect of a terrorist campaign , the demise of social order in america is a scary thought and a goal which would not be beneath many international terrorist groups . \\nthroughout , the film maintains a conflict between hubbard , who wants to use the fbi to pursue the terrorists within the letter of the law , and general devereaux ( bruce willis ) , who is in command of the army and of the mind that the greater good would be better served by suspending the law and pursuing the terrorists more forcefully . \\nwhat results is a fascinating debate over the appropriateness and constitutionality of the declaration of martial law and the invocation of the war powers act , utilizing philosophy and historical examples to make points on both sides . \\nit actually gets rather heady at times , but it\\'s a credit to screenwriters zwick , lawrence wright , and menno meyjes that they don\\'t underestimate the intelligence of the audience . \\ni don\\'t know if it\\'s his tone or inflection or something else , but denzel washington has a way of spitting out dialog that makes whatever he says sound great . \\nthis , combined with his innate acting ability and his experience in playing the mid-level authority figure , makes his performance in the siege convincing and enjoyable . \\nannette bening gives one of the more assertive portrayals of a female character i\\'ve seen recently , and the chemistry she shares with washington is palpable . \\nit\\'s somewhat unfortunate that her character\\'s fortitude is broken at a certain point , but it allows us to watch bening play a little more range . \\nbruce willis is pretty much relegated to a tough-guy role , always standing straight , and with a permanent scowl fixed upon his face . \\nhowever , the tension that exists between devereaux and hubbard is a major drive behind the film\\'s development . \\nnotable is tony shalhoub who plays fbi agent frank haddad , a lebanese immigrant . \\nthe role calls for evidencing both a kind of filial pride for his heritage , and contempt for those of his own race who might interfere with his integration into the american society . \\ndifficult to say the least , shalhoub does it with a naturalness you can almost reach out and touch . \\nperhaps best known for his role as antonio the cab driver in the nbc sitcom \" wings , \" shalhoub gained notoriety for his dramatic abilities in the wonderful film big night . \\nwhereas denzel washington seems to be edward zwick\\'s favorite actor ( he directed washington in glory and courage under fire ) , james horner seems to be his favorite composer . \\ni therefore found it odd that zwick chose the prolific score-writer graeme revell ( seven films this year already ) over horner for the siege until i realized that this film contained a lot of arabian-themed music , and horner\\'s record has shown more of a propensity for scores either neutral in ethnicity or irish-sounding at most . \\nrevell does a good job at providing appropriate music to punctuate key scenes and allowing the score to enhance the movie as a whole . \\nit\\'s nowhere near as intrusive as in some of the other films we\\'ve been getting throughout the year . \\nmissteps in the siege can be found in a couple of the excesses it takes . \\nfor example , it\\'s pretty clear throughout that the film is meant to be more of thriller than an action flick . \\nunfortunately , there\\'s a scene where the army just cuts loose against some arab immigrants in a blatant display of firepower and explosions , obviously meant for the sole purpose of being eye-catching . \\nin the middle of the city ( and against no real opposition ) , zwick even has the army use a cobra attack helicopter to shoot rockets into a building no farther than 50 feet from friendly troops . \\nverisimilitude really goes out the window at that point . \\nthe film also gets a little preachy toward the end , focusing on the ability of different races to get along . \\na noble gesture , the film just puts the message across a bit too obviously . \\nthese flaws are glaring , but they don\\'t detract too much from an otherwise good film that makes you think about issues you may not have considered since history class . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s not a bad thing to update old stories . \\nit\\'s done all the time in the oral tradition . \\nthe difficulty with this film is not that the tale has changed , it\\'s that it\\'s dry . \\nthe new cinderella , danielle ( drew barrymore ) is not sitting around waiting for her prince to come . \\nshe\\'s a woman of the late twentieth century albeit situated in sixteenth century france . \\nwhen her father dies , she stays on in his house even though she is mistreated by her wicked stepmother rodmilla ( anjelica huston ) . \\nshe works by day , but reads sir thomas more by firelight at night . \\nalthough the story is updated , you know the plot . \\ndanielle meets prince henry ( dougray scott ) , goes to a ball disguised , is later found out and they live happily ever after . \\nthe movie is often like watching a filmed play . \\ntheater in real life is engrossing . \\ntheater on the screen is usually lifeless . \\nthere doesn\\'t seem to be much going on . \\nthe camera can be a star of films . \\nhere it\\'s a co-conspirator . \\ndanielle\\'s convictions are compromised . \\na socialist and a feminist , she pretends to be royalty to get her man . \\na kind woman , her last act in the movie is one of revenge . \\nthe most enjoyable characters are the most cartoonish . \\nthe fairy godmother stand-in , leonardo da vinci ( patrick godfrey ) is fun to watch as the eccentric old man who advises danielle . \\nhuston is enjoyable in her over-the-top wickedness . \\nin all fairness , my companion loved the film . \\nmaybe it\\'s one of those \" chick flicks \" that men don\\'t like . \\nit is certainly a date film . \\nnearly the entire audience was couples . \\noh well , maybe it\\'s good for something . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"modern audiences are more likely to be familiar with les misirables from the pop-broadway musical rather than victor hugo's original tome . \\nadapted several times for the cinema , this latest effort does a superb job of translating the characters , story , and heart of the novel to the screen . \\nliam neeson stars as jean valjean . \\nas a young man , valjean stole some bread to satisfy his hunger . . . and he was sentenced to 19 years of hard labor for his crimes . \\nprison hardened him , and on his release he seems doomed to a life of crime and squalor . \\nhowever , an unexpected act of compassion changes his outlook on life , and he vows to become a better man . \\nhowever , he runs up against one man who doesn't believe in reform . \\ninspector javert ( geoffrey rush ) is an obsessive law abider . \\nhe has no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules , even with benign intentions . \\nhe once served as a guard at the labor camp where valjean served , and after valjean breaks his parole , javert devotes himself to bringing him to justice . \\ntwo women also get caught up in the struggle . \\nfantine ( uma thurman ) is an unwed mother suffocating in an unforgiving society . \\nher daughter , cosette ( mimi newman , and later , claire danes ) , is her life , yet she cannot afford to raise her . \\ninstead , cosette is sent to live with a cruel foster family which extorts money from fantine , and forces cosette into a life little better than a slave . \\ndirector bille august manages to create a faithful adaptation of victor hugo's novel , which , though omitting some of the political undertones , remains true to the overall story and tone of the book . \\nhopefully you won't , as some clueless members of the audience did , wonder where all the songs went . \\nthe movie manages to be completely engrossing without the andrew lloyd webber flourishes . \\nthe experience is bolstered by strong performances throughout , though neeson and rush deservedly take center stage with their core roles . \\nneeson in particular deserves kudos for his portrayal of a man trying to do good , but continually haunted by his past . \\nthe supporting cast is also extraordinary . \\nthe only actor who dims in comparison is hans matheson , playing the revolutionary , marius . \\nthe film slightly loses its luster during his brief love affair , but it is transitory , and truly only distracting when contrasted with the rest of the film . \\nthe novel les misirables is , by any account , an epic , both in its scope and in its length . \\nwhile it would be nearly impossible to cram everything from its pages into a two hour movie , this latest attempt does an admirable job at the translation . \\nit , too , is an epic . . . and one worth seeing . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i have never been a \" star trek \" fan , and , to tell the truth , out of the five films in the series that i have seen ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 8 , 9 ) , i have disliked all of them . \\ni do , however , always go into one of these with an open mind , and the ninth film in the series , \" star trek : insurrection , \" is no exception . \\ndropping almost completely the hard-core sci-fi element of the previous one in the series , \" first contact , \" \" insurrection , \" tells the story of a planet that holds only 600 people , known as the ba\\'ku , as well as the fountain of youth . \\nat the start of the picture , the villagers go under attack by a second alien species , known as the son\\'a , who want to push all of the ba\\'ku out so that their own race will not die out . \\nalso attacking the ba\\'ku is data ( brent spiner ) , a robot from the star trek enterprise . \\nafter returning to jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the gang on their space ship , no one can understand why data was somehow taken over by another force . \\nso several of the star trek members travel down to the planet of the ba\\'ku , where picard meets up and starts to fall in love with one of the inhabitants , a sultry , kind alien woman ( donna murphy ) , who is over six-hundred-years-old , but looks to only be in her thirties . \\n \" star trek : insurrection , \" is a completely unoriginal and cheap-looking installment in the series , and is a big step down from , 1996\\'s \" first contact , \" which at least appeared to try to make something a bit different . \\nin , \" insurrection , \" however , it plays like a low-rent episode of the television show , due to the small-scale , generic storyline , and an emphasis on one-liners rather than excitement . \\nthe film was filled with nearly non-stop comedy , and worse yet , most of it fell flatter than a cartoon character that drops off a cliff . \\nmeanwhile , when there were action sequences , they were not at all interesting or inventive , relying on that old reliable ticking timer that counts down very , very slowly . \\nthis plot device , which is seen in just about every action film made nowadays , is getting old fast . \\nare filmmakers so bankrupt of ingenuity and ideas that they must always have a timer ticking away during the climax ? \\nanother element of , \" star trek , \" films in general is that picard seems to always have to have a love interest , but then she always miraculously disappears when the next film is made two or three years later . \\nalthough donna murphy , who falls victim to this thankless love interest role here , is actually one of the few characters that we get to know in the 103-minute running time , alfre woodard was far superior in , \" first contact . \" \\nshe should have returned for this one , but i don\\'t blame her for not wanting to waste her time with this movie\\'s disappointing and often lifeless screenplay , by michael piller . \\n \" star trek : insurrection , \" is perhaps the weakest film in the \" star trek , \" series , although i have not seen what is widely considered the worst , \" star trek v : the final frontier . \" \\n \" insurrection , \" is the type of \" safe \" sequel that will bewilder non-fans , since it is so low-tech compared to most of today\\'s blockbuster action films ( although most of these are honestly not very good , either ) , and should disappoint the loyal trekkies , since it could have easily been better if the makers had realized that the screenplay needed to go through a few more drafts . \\non second thought , they probably should have completely thrown the script out . \\nthat way , they could have come up with a story that at least had a sign of intelligence and freshness . \\n',\n",
+       " b'adam sandler turns up the charm in his latest romantic comedy , the wedding singer . \\nunfortunately , that also has the effect of softening his edge . \\nhe\\'s nowhere near his peak of happy gilmore , not that it was much of one . \\nhe\\'s certainly not helped here by a rather frail plot . \\nthe year is 1985 , letting the whole film obsess with 80s nostalgia . \\nadam sandler is nice guy robbie , the titular wedding singer , who entertains at the local reception hall by belting out his interpretations of classic 80s hits . \\nrobbie\\'s life is thrown into turmoil when his fiancee , linda ( angela featherstone ) , leaves him at the altar . \\nhowever , things are looking up when he meets julia ( drew barrymore ) , a waitress at the hall . \\nshe\\'s the perfect woman , but for one small flaw : she\\'s engaged to be married to a slick junk bond king , glenn ( matthew glave ) . \\nso , most of the film deals with the slow realization by robbie that he and julia are in love , and his attempts to stop the wedding . \\nas far as plots go , it\\'s a pretty thin and tired one . \\nto fill the gaps , the wedding singer delivers heaping spoonfuls of 1980s nostalgia . \\nfrom boy george to michael jackson , from miami vice to dallas , from the first cds to the last rubik\\'s cubes , this film revels in all the minutiae . \\nand then there\\'s the music . . . \\nlearning a lesson from the successful soundtracks to grosse pointe blank , and romy and michele\\'s high school reunion , this film packs more 80s songs in the film than the running time will allow . \\nas a result , most songs get maybe a lyric or a half , but you can almost see the bright gleam in the record executives\\' eyes : the wedding singer vols . \\n2 , 3 , and 4 ! \\nwhile the nonstop 80s riffs get incredibly tiring , at least they distract you from the plot . \\nat least last year\\'s my best friend\\'s wedding stirred up the standard \" keep your true love from marrying someone else \" plot by making the rival a nice person . \\nhere , glenn is such a lowly rat of a man that you never see what julia saw in him . \\nbarrymore , on the other hand , is simply charming as julia . \\nwhich leaves us with adam sandler . \\nhe\\'s at his best in the film when his nice guy persona fades a little ( such as when he has a breakdown on stage during a wedding reception ) . \\nwhen he\\'s in full nice-guy mode , he\\'s more pathetic than endearing . \\nthe film boasts several cameos ( most notably by steve buscemi and jon lovitz ) . \\nbut none of them work well at all . \\nbuscemi\\'s role as a drunken best man simply fails to be humorous . \\nlovitz , on the other hand , as a rival wedding singer , makes you long for his good old days on saturday night live , where he was actually funny . \\nthe only cameo which has some appeal is a guest appearance by a classic 80s rocker during the film\\'s finale ( surprisingly , one of the only plot-related scenes which actually works . ) \\nadam sandler still has some work to do before he can become a dependable leading man . \\nwhile he attempts to change his image in the wedding singer , the end result is no net gain . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the title is taken from the writings of ralph waldo emerson describing the life of a traveler as \\'anywhere but here . \\' \\nthere isn\\'t one thing about this mother-daughter relationship melodrama that felt honest . \\nit relies on a contrived minor character to tell both mother and daughter what was obvious to do in order to straighten out their dysfunctional lives , as for some reason they couldn\\'t figure it out for themselves . \\nif the film looks familiar , that is because \" the slums of beverly hills ( 98 ) \" went over the same ground but was fortunate to be more comical and perceptive due to alan arkin and natasha lyonne performances , in which they were fortunate to have a much sharper script to work with . \\nalvin sargent\\'s script was weak and annoyingly claustral . \\nwayne wang\\'s ( \" the joy luck club \" ) inept direction made a weak script even weaker by his inability to tell the story unfolding without the voiceover relating what the action couldn\\'t convey . \\npushy mother adele august ( susan sarandon ) forces her 14-year-old daughter ann ( natalie portman ) to leave a small midwestern burg to go cross-country with her to beverly hills . \\nthe daughter resents her twice divorced , unstable but exotic , schoolteacher mother , bullying her to be an actress as a means of escaping a humdrum life . \\nthe daqughter doesn\\'t even like the used gold mercedes mother buys to drive to lala land in and can\\'t stand the beach boys records mom enjoys hearing on the car radio . \\nso it becomes a question of who knows best , as the ladies fight it out between them , until the predictable sweet ending comes in this yawner . \\nadele\\'s dream of greener pastures in beverly hills soon doesn\\'t look that good , as she lands a job in a slum school , has her precious car scratched by the unruly kids , and settles into a job she hates in order to financially survive . \\ndaughter pines for small town wisconsin and her friends there . \\nduring one of many arguments with her free-spirited mom , they go for ice cream and while mother is being ticketed , she runs away , only to be chased down by friendly traffic cop ( michael milhoan ) , who offers her wise counsel . \\nwith the cop\\'s zen wisdom passed onto the daughter , she will survive living in many different addresses in beverly hills until she reaches 17 and then she plans to get way from mom by using her good grades to go to brown university instead of ucla . \\nduring their stay in beverly hills , she grows from feeling awkward in beverly hills high to immediately having many high school girlfriends and even a high school rich boy admirer-- a t . s . \\neliot ( corbin allred ) reader . \\nbut the transition of her life into beverly hills had no feel of reality , as everything seemed staged and unemotional . \\nwhen she learns her cousin benny ( shawn hatosy ) , who happens to be her best friend dies in a traffic accident back in wisconsin , she returns for the funeral and in those reunion scenes it wasn\\'t clearly shown why she wants to stay there , and for that matter , it was never made clear why the mother wants to leave so badly . \\nthe film is one big battle of wills between mother and daughter over their dreams . \\ni guess what the filmmaker is trying to say , is that mom is a bad dreamer and the daughter is the observant one , able to recognize mother\\'s faults when not in growing pains and in need of parenting herself . \\nmother has a series of setbacks , like being dumped by her dream-boat dentist ( bochner ) she met on the beach , and witnessing her daughter mimic her whiny optimistic sayings when trying out for an acting part . \\nbut mother learns that her daughter has grown-up and is independent and that she has to stop living her life through her . \\nshe learns this when the same wise cop who told ann what to do , is about to ticket her and this time will remind the mother of the right thing to do . \\nthis of course results in the corny ending , showing that mom\\'s heart was always in the right place , only she went about it in the wrong way . \\nthis was just one of those films where you want to be anywhere but in the theater where this film is showing . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one of the responses those that enjoy \" detroit rock city \" ( probably kiss fans , mostly ) might have upon first glance at the rating i\\'ve given the film might be something like : \" oh , that casey\\'s gone and become a jaded critic on us . \\njust what did he expect out of a dumb teenage rock n\\' roll movie like this ? \" \\ni\\'m wondering the same thing . \\ni feel like i should have had a grand time with \" detroit rock city . \" \\nit\\'s the sort of movie i wish i could\\'ve had a lot of fun with , but i didn\\'t . \\ni just didn\\'t . \\nsurely this film isn\\'t trying to win any major awards , so should i have expected an oscar-caliber film ? \\nno , but i expected something . \\na funny joke . \\na clever prank . \\na plot development . \\nanything . \\nthe movie never delivers . \\nyou\\'ve got to marvel at how the filmmakers managed to come up with a movie that is truly about nothing . \\n \" detroit rock city \" is one of those films that you walk out of after the credits have rolled and realize that you just spent 90 minutes watching a movie in which absolutely nothing happened to justify the film\\'s existence , and it\\'s not a very satisfying realization . \\nthe film is about four teenage boys , all huge kiss fans from cleveland , trying to get into a kiss concert in detroit , michigan . \\nthat\\'s it . \\nthere is no big plot description in this review , because the movie has very little plot . \\nthe characters are hawk ( edward furlong ) , lex ( giuseppe andrews ) , trip ( james debello ) , and jam ( sam huntington ) . \\nthey have a garage band . \\nthey\\'re pathetic , like all garage bands , but they like kiss and they like rock n\\' roll , so i guess that means we root for them . \\nthey have tickets , they lose them . \\nthey get more tickets , they lose those too . \\nthey come up with crazy schemes to get tickets , most of which backfire . \\nthere\\'s not much more to it . \\nfrankly , it becomes a little less than exciting to see them try to get kiss tickets about halfway through the film , when a total of eight tickets have already graced the boys\\' hands , only to be lost because of their sheer stupidity . \\noh , and jam ( real name jeremiah ) has a really , really annoying ultra-religious mother who ought to be reported to the child welfare agency . \\nshe doesn\\'t want them to see kiss , if you hadn\\'t figured that out already . \\nit\\'s really quite disheartening to see such a fine soundtrack go to waste in a pointless movie like this . \\nwe\\'ve got plenty of kiss , along with some ac/dc , ramones , and thin lizzy . \\nthen again , \" maximum overdrive \" had an awesome soundtrack ( me being the big ac/dc fan that i am ) , but is probably one of the worst movies of all time . \\n \" detroit rock city \" doesn\\'t quite reach that level of ineptitude , but it gets dangerously close . \\nin fact , the music is the only thing that keeps this movie from being a complete failure in my mind . \\nbasically , the soundtrack has earned the film a full half-star , which means all the bands involved can pat themselves on the back ( except for marilyn manson , whose half-hearted cover of ac/dc\\'s \" highway to hell \" sounds like something my neighbor\\'s cat coughed up ) . \\nit\\'s also really sad to see the talents of the cast go to waste , because it\\' s evident that they\\'re all trying really hard to squeeze some life out of this dead turkey of a movie . \\nedward furlong has done far better work than this , and so has natasha lyonne , and so has lin shaye , but hey , they\\'ve got to make a living in hollywood . \\npeople wanting to see kiss , and lots of it will probably be disappointed , considering the band appears for about five minutes and plays one song . \\ntoo bad , they might have provided some energy to this mess . \\ndirector adam rifkin knows he hasn\\'t got much material to work with , so he takes a chapter from the michael bay book of directing and keeps his camera spinning . \\nwe get an endless parade of quick-cuts , split-screens , zoom-outs , zoom-ins , and rotating cameras , all in an effort to cover up the sheer stupidity of the script . \\nit\\'s fun for a while , but eventually it becomes disorienting . \\ni would recommend that those who felt seasick at \" the blair witch project \" stay far away from \" detroit rock city , \" because the witch has got nothing on this baby . \\ni haven\\'t felt such an urge to reach out and hold the camera still since \" armageddon . \" \\nand what about that script ? \\nit\\'s written by carl j . dupr ? , which sounds like as made-up a name as i\\'ve ever heard . \\nif it is , i can\\'t say i blame the writer for distancing himself as far from this script as possible . \\na plotless , pointless rock n\\' roll movie can be fun , if the jokes and gags are actually funny . \\nthe jokes in \" detroit rock city \" rarely are . \\nin fact , the only time i really laughed was when a priest gets stoned on a marijuana-laced pizza , and that was just because it was so surreal . \\nthe rest of the movie just seems like they just threw a bunch of vulgar stuff up on screen and called it \" comedy . \" \\nthere is no set-up , just a succession of punchlines that don\\'t provide for much in the way of chuckles , precisely because there was no set-up . \\nit\\'s as if they just whacked someone on the head , pointed at him and said , \" see ? \\nfunny ! \" \\nlook , that woman was so shocked by hearing loud kiss music that she spilled her drink . \\nsee ? \\nfunny ! \\nlook , that guy just got clocked by a telephone receiver . \\ntwice . \\nsee ? \\nfunny ! \\nlook , that kid has been vomiting for 20 minutes after drinking an inordinate amount of alcohol and is now about to perform an exotic dance for money . \\nsee ? \\nfunny ! \\na word of advice to mr . dupr ? : no , these things aren\\'t funny all by themselves . \\nthey must be preceded by a clever set-up so the audience hasn \\'t predicted them five minutes in advance . \\nthat\\'s it , i\\'ve said enough about this movie . \\nit\\'s a waste of time and money . \\ni liked the music , but don\\'t bother buying the soundtrack . \\ni hear it\\' s just modern bands doing inferior versions of the songs that are actually in the movie . \\nyou want to see this concept executed well ? \\ngo rent roger corman\\'s 1979 classic \" rock n\\' roll high school . \" \\nit features another late-seventies rock band ( the ramones ) and a far more interesting story about a girl trying to get tickets to their show . \\nyes , go rent that , and skip \" detroit rock city , \" which will probably bomb , and deservedly so . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : a young man who loves heavy metal music and especially the band steel dragon , to whom he\\'s devoted a tribute band in which he sings , gets launched into stardom when the real group get rid of their lead singer and call on him to take his place . \\ncritique : i\\'m a sucker for movies like this . \\na young man with a humble background and lofty dreams , works hard , devotes the time , the energy and the patience , and ultimately hits it big-time . \\nin the case of this film , our boy loves a certain heavy metal band and as luck would have it ( yup , luck always finds its way into these types of equations , although generally tied very closely to hard work ) , they need a new singer . \\nhis entry and adaptation to the whole \" rock \\'n roll \" lifestyle fills the rest of the film and is really fun to watch . \\nalthough i will preface this by saying that one thing that would definitely enhance your appreciation for this film is your own love ( or past love ) of heavy metal music and the whole scene around it . \\nmetal was one of my first loves as a teen and even though the genre of music isn\\'t that prominent anymore , i still check out my motley crue , twisted sister and anthrax cds every now and again . \\nthat\\'s not to say that you won\\'t like this film if you don\\'t like the music , but the music and live performances from the band , play a big part in the movie , and i for one , had a blast watching and listening to it all . \\nbut the even greater draw in this film is the standout performance given here by mark wahlberg . \\nwow , hand this fella some major props , as he totally becomes this heavy metal geek/god ( incidentally , metal god was the film\\'s original title , and a much better one if you ask me ) . \\nhe is this movie and i was quite taken by his character pretty much the whole way through . \\nhe came off like a regular guy with extremely passionate goals and work ethic , who was willing to do anything in order to fulfill his dreams . \\naniston was also surprisingly good as the girlfriend ( and the romance angle between them was sweet ) , but she didn\\'t pull me in hard enough during their emotional scenes . \\ni was also impressed by some of the \" real \" musicians who played in the film ( zakk wylde from ozzy osbourne , jeff pilson from dokken , stephan jenkins from third eye blind , blas elias from slaughter ) , but actor dominic west as kirk cuddy made the biggest impression among the band members . \\nit\\'s to note that this film was based on a real-life tale of a young man who used to sing in a judas priest cover band and then went on to become their actual singer ( their original singer also admitted to being gay , as in this film ) . \\njust for the record , i\\'m certainly not recommending this film for its originality or surprise elements , since most of this stuff has already been covered in some way or another in other movies , but because it\\'s a fun , uplifting , well-paced movie with a solid central showing by wahlberg and energetic live performances . \\noh yeah , and for those who dig the \" heavier \" side of music , the soundtrack also rocks ! ! \\nyou see . . . dreams \\ncan come true . . . \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nalmost famous ( 8/10 ) - blow ( 8/10 ) - boogie nights ( 9/10 ) - detroit rock city ( 8/10 ) - girlfight ( 6/10 ) - goodfellas ( 10/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'i have no real tangible proof of this , but i swear that there are a lot of producers in hollywood who adamantly believe that if you take a bad script , written by a bad writer and give the project it to an equally bad director , then it is actually possible to make a good movie . \\nusing their logic , all that really needs be done to change the bad movie into a good movie is cast a bunch of super-famous actors and provide an almost unlimited production budget . \\nthis is the only way i can fathom how 20th century fox hired jon amiel in order to direct this eighty million dollar waste of my time ( not counting the time it took me to get to and from the theatre ) . \\nnow , before i continue to ferociously attack what\\'s wrong with this film , i just want to point out that one of the reasons it fails so miserably is because it does have the potential to be an exciting thriller . \\ncatherine zeta-jones plays virginia baker , an insurance investigator tracking down an infamous art thief named robert macdougal ( sean connery ) . \\nif you\\'ve ever seen any hollywood blockbuster before , i really don\\'t have to spend too much time on frivolous plot details : the two team up for various jobs , stealing various things for various purposes . \\nthe problem we come to is that we\\'ve all seen this a few billion times before and this film doesn\\'t break any new ground in the big-budget/hollywood/action genre . \\nthe result is that the entire production feels contrived . \\ni\\'m going to be completely honest here : pretty much the only thing keeping me awake throughout the run-time was looking at catherine zeta-jones . \\nnow while this may be a compliment for ms . zeta-jones , it certainly isn\\'t for either the writers or the director , who are not nearly as clever as they think they are . \\njust about the most profound thought they can inject into this film is when they have macdougal lecture baker on the semantic difference between \" entrapment \" and \" blackmail \" . \\nwith an eighty million dollar budget , you\\'d think that entrapment would at least feature edge-of-your seat action scenes or breathtaking special f/x . \\nwell , you\\'d be wrong . \\nthe action that is present in this film takes place in a huge skyscraper and is relatively unspectacular . \\nunfortunately for all those involved with entrapment , die hard narrowly beat it to the screen by ? 11 years . \\nthe reality is that after 15 minutes of watching this picture , you know exactly what\\'s going to happen , despite rather pathetic attempts in the screenplay to throw in plot twists . \\nmany scenes seem to exist merely as a reason to outfit zeta-jones in extremely tight-fitting clothing . \\none particular scene features baker crawling around trying to avoid laser-beams while she tries to steal an ancient chinese mask . \\nnothing wrong with that , but she entered the room from the floor and knew exactly where the mask was - so why didn\\'t she and macdougal tunnel in directly under the mask instead of the other side of the room ? \\ni\\'ll tell you why : because it\\'s a great excuse to photograph zeta-jones\\' posterior as it slides underneath those beams ( and it also allows a second scene of the exact same thing - the rehearsal ) . \\nving rhames also makes an appearance in this movie , and though he has great screen presence ( although so do connery and zeta-jones ) and the most interesting character in the film , not even he can rescue this film from the depths of the boring film abyss ( a concept i invented just to describe this picture ) . \\none last complaint : entrapment is littered of instances where macdougal will just slip into a shadow or behind a building , or he becomes obstructed by a moving vehicle and then in the next shot , he\\'ll spontaneously disappear in ninja-like fashion . \\ni can picture amiel patting himself on the back , thinking to himself \" it\\'ll leave the audience wondering for days : how did he do that ? \" \\nwe know jon , it\\'s called editing . \\n',\n",
+       " b'seen august 8 , 1998 at 6 p . m . at rotterdam square cinemas ( rotterdam , ny ) , theater #6 , by myself for free using my sony/loews critic\\'s pass . \\n[theater rating : * * * : good seats , sound , and picture] \\nwar is a topic that can\\'t help but be glorified any way it is portrayed by the media . \\nmovies , documentaries , and even history books have a way of making the darker side of humanity exciting since the most general aspects are focused on , such as strategy , politics , and victory . \\nit\\'s easy to forget war , in its most basic form , is a battle of armies out to slaughter each other . \\nforgotten more easily is the fact that each soldier , no matter what his rank or importance , is a real flesh-and-blood person and not just a number . \\n \" saving private ryan \" is one of the few films that dares play up this aspect , especially in its unapologetic , realistic delivery . \\nit proves there\\'s a huge difference between battling and killing . \\nthe film opens with one of the most graphic , disturbing scenes in recent memory . \\nit\\'s world war ii , d-day to be exact , and the u . s . military is invading omaha beach where the nazis are more than ready for them . \\nspielberg uses many techniques to create for a total sense of reality . \\ninstead of positioned cameras , the footage here seems to have been shot by camera operators running alongside soldiers as if they were just as scared . \\nthere is no sense of stability , but of constant , anxious , and confusing motion , giving us the feeling of being in the middle of the battle , and just a vulnerable as the poor troops . \\n \" poor \" is a proper word to describe how pathetic and yet innocent the men fighting are . \\nthere is little to no dialogue throughout the loud battle and no prologue to define any characters . \\nwe don\\'t get the feeling these are handsome actors playing heroic roles , but that these are men about to kill and be killed for reasons beyond their understanding . \\nthe nazis are not portrayed as enemies to be hated , but as people that must be destroyed because they\\'re there . \\nin the movies , the good guys can run through a firestorm of bullets and bombs and not get a scratch , but in reality that wouldn\\'t happen . \\nthe men have nothing to shield or protect them besides some metal flanks and dead bodies . \\nthey are sitting ducks and we realize this through the perspective of the well-secured germans who can actually see who , what , and where they\\'re shooting , unlike the americans who must fire in a general direction to avoid getting their heads blown off . \\nperhaps the film is flawed by not providing any backstory on the war itself and who the men really are , but that seems to be part of the theme . \\nthe film seems to rely on the audience\\'s sense of patriotism , that the american military is \" right \" and good and that the nazis are \" inherently evil . \" \\nthe battle scene eventually focuses on a group of men who have miraculously survived and made their way close to the enemy stronghold ( a whole 50-foot progression ) , and begin to inflict some damage . \\ni have to admit that once the first glimpse of victory over the nazis sprang up , i couldn\\'t help but feel some sense of joy and relief . \\nto triumph against all odds is a cliche to be sure , but there\\'s nothing cliche about the graphic , detailed , atmosphere here because it really happened . \\none of the most surprising aspects of the film is how little story construction there is , and yet the events that take place make sense and are interesting . \\nthe plot is practically irrelevant since the film is more concerned with the reality of the war and the soldiers we meet . \\ntom hanks stars as captain miller , a relatively average man who happens to be the leader of a platoon . \\nhe\\'s never obsessive or any such generic , cartoonish characteristic that might dominate a character like this . \\nhe doesn\\'t want to be there any more than his men , but when he is given a mission he intends to carry it out . \\nthe mission the film is concerned with is , as the title states , saving private ryan . \\nthrough a series of command started by an ordinary clerical worker , it is brought to a general\\'s attention that three brothers from iowa have been killed in action and their mother will receive notices of each\\'s death simultaneously . \\nwhen they learn a fourth brother is stationed somewhere in europe , they make it a top priority to have him returned safely to his mother . \\nit\\'s easy to sympathize with this situation , after all , no one should have to lose all their children at once . \\nbut finding one man in this war is , as miller puts it , \" like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles . \" \\nthe saving of private ryan isn\\'t just a dramatic device , but a thematic one . \\nhis salvation represents the sense of innocence the country , the world even , was trying to convince itself it still had . \\nwhen miller\\'s company hears of the mission , they scoff at the idea assuming he is dead , but miller isn\\'t so quick to shrug it off . \\nhe knows the only thing that can really save soldiers from death is hope , and now he has the opportunity to make someone\\'s sense of hope a reality . \\nthe mission to find ryan gives miller\\'s group a destination , but not direction . \\nalong the way many things happen to them , both good and bad . \\na few battles are fought , not to be major accomplishments for the war , but because they encounter german soldiers and have no other choice . \\nthe act of killing itself becomes one of the film\\'s major philosophical metaphors . \\nthe soldiers don\\'t mind killing other soldiers in blind battle , but when they come across a lone survivor who begs them to let him go , they can barely stop themselves from killing him in cold blood as some kind of vengeance for their losses . \\nunfortunately , death is a fact of war , and most films try to avoid it when it comes to the main characters , but here spielberg doesn\\'t want us to think these men are invincible . \\nin fact , only a small amount of color and personality is sketched into each man , and the performances are good enough to make this method work . \\nalthough the characters are somewhat typical , the actors maintain control over the material at all time . \\nwhether they\\'re arguing with each other , telling stories of back home , or fighting the germans , they never go overboard and always seem believable . \\nsure , there\\'s a zinger here and there , but war doesn\\'t change the fact boys will be boys . \\nif and when one dies we too can feel the loss , even though we hardly knew them . \\nthe final act brings the story full circle with another tremendous , violent battle sequence . \\nprivate ryan has been found , but facing four to one odds , can the americans defeat the germans and keep ryan alive ? \\nthat\\'s not a premise for thrills , it\\'s symbolic of everything the film has worked for . \\nit would be wrong to say the film has either a happy or sad ending , it ends the way it must end . \\ni remember reading a \" calvin & hobbes \" comic strip where calvin asked his dad something like , \" dad , how do armies of men killing each other solve problems ? \" \\n \" saving private ryan \" is the adult version of that question . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this movie was one of the first american films done by director paul verhoeven . \\nhe has done films since then such as basic instict and starship troopers . \\nall of his movies have one main thing in common- they don't skimp on the violence . \\nin a verhoeven movie a guy doesn't get shot once in the chest- he gets shot many times all over the body . \\nrobocop takes place in detroit in the future . \\nthings are pretty bleak . \\nthe company ocp rules the city with an iron fist and is moving in on running the police force . \\npeter weller plays a cop who goes on a mission with his partner , nancy allen . \\npeter weller goes in an empty room alone and gets killed . \\nmeanwhile ocp has a failed demonstration of a ed-209 model robot crime fighter . \\nsomeone comes up with the idea of having a cyborg robocop so they use any parts worth scalvaging from peter weller and make him into the robocop the movie is titled after . \\nthe plot of this movie generally runs at a decent pace . \\nit drags a bit towards the end with robocop wanting to finish everybody off , but plot twists keep it exciting . \\nthe acting is bad from weller when he is human , but very good when he is robocop . \\nnancy allen does a decent job . \\nthis movie doesn't leave itself open for a sequel exactly . \\nbut they made one anyway . \\nenter . . . \\nrobocop 2 starring : peter weller and nancy allen directed by : irvin kershner \\ndetroit is in a more bleak state than it was in the first film . \\nocp is trying to develop an improved 'robocop 2' that will be more than a match for criminals . \\nmost of the police force is on strike due to ocp taking it over , leaving robocop to be the police force in the city . \\nthis film is pretty bizaare . \\nit has a 13 year-old drug-lord who curses as much as eddie murphy , even more violence than the original , and some more humor . \\nthe plot of this movie is pretty large , almost too much so . \\nthere are three or four plot lines weaving around that don't really match up . \\nthe effects are still decent though . \\nthis sequel isn't more of the same really , just a darker version robocop dealing more with drugs than with armed criminals . \\nif you liked the first one , watch this . \\nbut be dissapointed . \\nso later comes . . . \\nrobocop 3 starring nancy allen and robert john burke \\nocp is now owned by a large japanese company . \\nrobocop joins a band of rebels to counter-attack the evil empire , i mean ocp . \\nthe japanese send a cyborg-ninja to deal with robocop . \\namong other things . . . \\nthis movie is easier to follow than the last one . \\nwhich means the plot isn't quite as crowded . \\nthis movie isn't anything special though . \\njust more of robocop blasting things up in a more kid-friendly way . \\nreally not reccomended . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'truman ( \" true-man \" ) burbank is the perfect name for jim carrey\\'s character in this film . \\npresident truman was an unassuming man who became known worldwide , in spite of ( or was it because of ) his stature . \\n \" truman \" also recalls an era of plenty following a grim war , an era when planned communities built by government scientists promised an idyllic life for americans . \\nand burbank , california , brings to mind the tonight show and the home of nbc . \\nif hollywood is the center of the film world , burbank is , or was , the center of tv\\'s world , the world where our protagonist lives . \\ncombine all these names and concepts into \" truman burbank , \" and you get something that well describes him and his artificial world . \\ntruman leads the perfect life . \\nhis town , his car , and his wife are picture perfect . \\nhis idea of reality comes under attack one day when a studio light falls from the sky . \\nthe radio explains that an overflying airplane started coming apart . \\n . \\n . \\nbut then why would an airplane be carrying a studio light ? \\nthe next day during the drive to work , the radio jams and he starts picking up a voice that exactly describes his movements . \\nhe is so distracted that he nearly hits a pedestrian . \\nwhen the radio comes back to normal , the announcer warns listeners to drive carefully . \\nhis suspicion aroused , he wanders around the town square looking for other oddities . \\nthe world appears to be functioning properly until he enters an office building and tries to take the elevator . \\nthe elevator doors open up on a small lounge with people on coffee breaks . \\na grip sees truman him and quickly moves a paneled door , made to look like the back of an elevator , into place . \\ntwo security guards grab him and throw him out . \\ntruman is really suspicious now . \\nit gets even worse the next day when his wife , a nurse , describes an elevator accident in the building where he saw the lounge . \\n \" it\\'s best not to think about it , \" she says , trying vainly to change truman\\'s memory . \\ntruman becomes determined to see who or what is behind this apparently elaborate hoax at his expense . \\nat every turn he is stopped by an amazing coincidence that just happens to keep him in his own little town . \\nhis last hope is to quell his fear of the ocean and sail to the edge of the world . \\nyou know by now that truman\\'s life is the subject of a television program . \\nhis actions are \" real \" but everything else is carefully scripted , from the death of his father to the choice of his wife . \\ntruman is determined to find out what the big hoax is . \\nmeanwhile , christof , the all-seeing creator of truman\\'s world does his best to keep him unaware and happy . \\nit\\'s sort of like westworld told from the robots\\' point of view , or jurassic park from the dinosaurs\\' point of view . \\nwe root for the captive of the cage-world . \\nour protagonist is counting on \" chaos theory \" to help him escape his elaborate trap . \\nthe story , written by andrew niccol ( writer/director of gattaca ) , introduces some interesting questions , such as the ethics of subjecting a person to this type of life , or the psychological impact of learning that your entire life has all been fake . \\nalthough these questions came to mind , i don\\'t think the film itself asked them . \\nit certainly didn\\'t address them or try to answer them . \\ni was particularly disappointed that the film didn\\'t deal more with the trauma of learning one\\'s life is a tv show . \\ncarrey\\'s performance at the end showed a smidgen of truman\\'s pain , but i almost felt that he got over it too easily for the sake of the film\\'s pacing . \\nearlier in the movie i found myself wondering if it would be better for truman to find out the truth or whether i should root for him to be well . \\nthe two seemed exclusive of one another , but weir and niccol didn\\'t see it that way . \\nperhaps it\\'s not fair to criticize a movie for what it isn\\'t , but it seems like there were some missed opportunities here . \\nbut on its own terms , the movie is well made . \\nsight , sound and pacing are all handled competently . \\nmuch of the first part of the movie is the truman show . \\nthe scenes are all apparently shot from hidden cameras , with snoots and obstructions covering the corners of the screen . \\none hidden camera is apparently in his car radio , the green led numbers obscuring the lower part of the screen . \\nthe music is well-chosen and scored . \\nthe film opens with what sounds like family drama theme music , when truman\\'s world is still beautiful and perfect . \\nwhen the movie ends , the score sounds more like a frantic , driven , tangerine dream opus , while still keeping the same timbre . \\nphilip glass\\' epic music ( from powaqqatsi ) permeates truman\\'s scenes of suspicion and awakening . \\n ( glass has a small cameo as a keyboardist for the show . ) \\nand the pacing of the story was brisk . \\nthere was no unnecessarily long setup explaining the concept behind the truman show , just a few quick title cards , a few interviews , and then right into the show , and the movie . \\none of the first scenes is of the studio light falling ; there was no token scene of truman\\'s idyllic life before it falls apart , because it wasn\\'t necessary , we pick up the story at the first sign of trouble , and no sooner . \\nthere\\'s also no point in the movie where the plot slows down . \\nit\\'s a quick , straight shot to the movie\\'s end . \\nin terms of overall quality , i would compare the truman show to niccol\\'s gattaca . \\nboth films are well made with interesting stories set in interesting worlds . \\nbut neither film really felt like it capitalized on all the great ideas ; neither film \" clicked \" and became an instant classic . \\nnevertheless , i look forward to niccol\\'s next film , whatever it may be . \\n',\n",
+       " b'tibet has entered the american consciousness slowly during the past few years and burst into the forefront recently . \\nthe dalai lama has made speaking tours , tibetan designs and artifacts are showing up in shops , the plight of the people has captured the imagination of major actors and artists and now there are two big budget films within as many months . \\n \" kundun \" ( \" presence \" , a name the monks call the young dalai lama ) opens in 1937 with the search for the 14th incarnation of the tibetan leader . \\na group of monks enters a village and a two-year-old child catches their attention . \\nthe young boy proves himself by identifying possessions of the previous holy man as \" mine \" . \\nhe and his family are then moved to a monastery in lhassa where he is to be prepared to take his position as the religious and political leader of the country . \\nhe is forced into difficult decisions when china invades the country in 1950 . \\nthe peaceful and isolated country is ill-equipped to fight off the intruders and diplomatic attempts over the next years yield no results . \\neventually he must make the painful choice to flee to neighboring india . \\ncomparisons to \" seven years in tibet \" are inevitable . \\nboth films cover much of the same ground although the earlier movie does so from a westerner\\'s point of view and features boxoffice draw brad pitt . \\n \" kundun \" features only native actors and is more of an insider\\'s story . \\nin some ways , this makes this film a superior concept , but it lacks the movement and spark that made \" seven years \" such an audience-pleaser . \\nthe actors contribute to the realistic feel of the movie ( filmed in morocco for obvious reasons ) . \\nthe only disappointment is chairman mao who looks like a wax dummy and moves as if he were a computer-generated character . \\non an intellectual level , it is interesting to see how two different approaches handle the same facts . \\nsome events are depicted differently and pitt\\'s austrian mountain-climber who was portrayed as a pivotal influence in the dalai lama\\'s life isn\\'t even mentioned here . \\nglossed over in \" seven years \" , the problems with the tibetan political system is hinted at here as the dalai lama muses \" we were just about to change things \" after the chinese attack . \\nthe film is magnificently beautiful thanks primarily to the cinematography of roger deakins . \\nhis lingering camera shows the exotic tibetan culture with luscious detail . \\nespecially striking is an extreme moving close up of a sand mandala grain by grain . \\nthe visual treats more than make up for the movie\\'s faults creating a poetic meditation for the audience . \\nwalking out of the theater you feel like you have awakened from a transcendental experience . \\nmartin scorsese , known for his dark tales of the underworld ( \" goodfellas \" , \" taxi driver \" , \" casino \" ) has shifted gears . \\nsomething of a thematic follow-up to his \" the last temptation of christ \" , this is his slowest film yet . \\noddly enough for a director with a history of graphic violence presenting a history filled with atrocities by the chinese , most of these events take place off-screen . \\nhis decision to not over-explain rituals is commendable . \\nthe stumbling oracle who spits out his prophecies while in a trance state is much more effective as a mystery than if we were spoon-fed interpretations . \\nphilip glass\\'s score is impressive although at times it is too overwhelming and distracting . \\ni talked to a tibetan i met outside the theater who had just seen the film and was walking back in to see it again . \\nhearing his description of how he escaped from tibet at the age of seven and how his father was one of the soldiers accompanying the dalai lama during his trip to india , i was struck by what was missing in the movie . \\nas grand as it looks and as historically accurate as it is , there is a distance between the audience and the movie . \\nthe film is more concerned with visuals and history and less so with human beings . \\nwith the exception of a few scenes , involvement with the characters is slight . \\none of those exceptions is the portrayal of the young dalai lama , shown as a mischievous boy who can\\'t resist being a kid sometimes . \\nan encounter with his older brother thubten j . norbu ( a retired indiana university professor ) who tells the young leader the chinese have ordered him to persuade him to accept communist rule or kill him is an outstanding moment , but there aren\\'t many of these . \\neven with its problems , the \" kundun \" experience is phenomenal , but one that i fear most will miss . \\nmany people who saw \" seven years in tibet \" will have a \" been there , done that \" attitude . \\nit\\'s likely that the film will miss a wide-spread appeal and public response will be the sound of one hand clapping . \\n',\n",
+       " b'before the remake of psycho appears , we\\'ve got to suffer through this remake of an earlier hitchcock film , dial m for murder . \\nas usual , hollywood has filled it with glitz and big name stars , and it all amounts to a loud sounding nothing . \\nthe film opens with emily ( paltrow ) and david ( viggo mortensen ) \\'having fun\\' in an loft apartment . \\nthe problem is , paltrow is married to stephen ( douglas ) , who is not too happy when he discovers this affair . \\nif i was paltrow , though , i\\'d definitely go with mortensen . \\nless wrinkles . \\nanyhow , stephen approaches david with an interesting proposition : he\\'ll pay him to kill his lovely wife . \\nmortensen agrees , but the murder goes awry , and the twists keep on coming as the film progresses . \\nunfortunately , the film dosen\\'t progress very fast . \\nin fact , it moves like a tortoise with arthritis ( read : very , very s-l-o-w . ) \\nthe plot moves nowhere fast , and only becomes exciting in very short bursts . \\nnot too good for a \\'thriller . \\' \\nalso , the performances , apart from douglas , are below par . \\npaltrow , showing immense talent in se7en ( 1995 ) and sliding doors ( 1997 ) is strangely stilted , even unconvincing , in this movie . \\nmortensen is a little bit better , coming across as a younger douglas , but his role isn\\'t meaty enough to show all his talent . \\nwhich leaves douglas to waltz away with the film , which is does . \\nhowever , i doubt douglas finds it very hard to play a stogie smoking , drinking womanizer with a creepy underside . \\nalso popping up in the film is david suchet , playing a shifty looking detective . \\nagain , it\\'s not a character we\\'re seeing on the screen , it\\'s david suchet . \\nthe director , who bought us the fugitive , piles on all the flash techniques , such as zoom-in\\'s , quick cuts , etc . the lighting is also interesting . \\nhowever , looks can\\'t save this film from the depths of mediocre , and the film seemed to work better in a single set anyway . \\nthe screenplay is o . k , but there\\'s some hackneyed sub-plot about douglas being a ruthless player on wall street ( again ) and the ending is surprisingly stupid and cliched . \\nthe characters also make incredibly dumb moves , especially paltrow , and stephen appears to lose all intelligence in the last reel . \\nwith a combination of no tension , drama , or decent characters , a perfect murder is a failure all round , and an incredible disappointment . \\nthere are a few bright moments , but they are far and few between . \\nthe last thing a thriller should be is boring , and although the film just barely manages to keep your interest thanks to michael douglas , you wouldn\\'t be missing anything if you decided not to watch a perfect murder . \\noverall rating= \\nreview by david wilcock ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       " b\"so many students strive to get into schools such as harvard of princeton , but they just don't get the good grades . \\nso many students would do anything to reach their goal of getting into this schools . \\nlegend has it that if your roommate commits suicide , the remaining roommates will get an automatic 4 . 0 . \\nchris ( michael vartan ) and tim ( matthew lillard ) are two guys who really want the 4 . 0 to get into harvard . \\nhow far will they go to get their 4 . 0 ? \\nchris and tim are also roommates with rand , played by randall batinkoff . \\nthe two scheme to murder rand , make it look like a suicide , so they can supposedly get their 4 . 0 . \\nthey have heard this rumor many places , and they are willing to take the chance to find out . \\nrand is a very , very mean person . \\nhe treats his girlfriend natalie , played by tamara craig thomas , like she doesn't matter at all . \\nshe is very afraid of him , and she especially afraid now that she must tell him she is pregnant . \\nshe does tell him , and he becomes enraged . \\nthat night would be the last night of rand's life . \\ntim and chris give rand a bottle of rat poison , making him think that it is beer . \\nrand drinks down the poison , and then dies . \\nnow , tim pushes him off of a mountain with a suicide note near the site to make it look like he killed himself . \\nit does not take long until the suicide note is found , but the body isn't found . \\nthe police question chris and tim about rand to try and find any information . \\nfeeling extreme guilt , chris is having a very hard time , especially with his girlfriend , emma , played by keri russell . \\nshe wants to know more , but he will not even speak with her . \\nwill he give in ? \\nwill tim turn chris in ? \\nwill chris turn tim in ? \\nwill they turn themselves in ? \\nall of these questions were running through my mind while watching this slick suspense film . \\nthe events in the curve are very surprising , original , and fun . \\nthe plot sounds much like dead man on campus , but that is not the deal with this film . \\nthis film is a very serious one , with not many laughs . \\nthere are many twists and turns that make this film different from most films . \\nthe ending in particular is completely unpredictable and satisfying . \\nit is a terrific , suspenseful ending that i could never predict would happen . \\nhands down to dan rosen who wrote this wild ride . \\nthe sound really stood out in the film . \\nit is quite eerie and it really adds to the feel of the film . \\nthe way the movie is filmed is also great . \\nall of the technical aspects , as well as the acting and directing aspects are very well done . \\nthe performances in the curve are very good . \\nmatthew lillard gets to play another creepy role , just like in 1996's scream . \\n ( a+ ) he is very strange in this film as well . \\ni like him in this sort of role , rather than the roles he has been playing in comedies such as senseless and she's all that . \\nmichael vartan is fantastic as chris , who has extremely mixed emotions about the entire murder and the 4 . 0 . \\nmichael vartan was also superb in never been kissed , where he co-starred with drew barrymore as a teacher who fell in love with his student . \\nkeri russell also gives a great performance . \\nshe should be a good actress in the horror department of the film . \\ntamara craig thomas is also realistic , especially coping with the death of her boyfriend . \\nsome very strong supporting performances came from smaller roles , such as bo dietl and anthony griffith who play two detectives investigating the case . \\nthe bottom line- i might just have to curve that a- into an a . \\n * note- the curve premiered at the sundance film festival in early 1998 . \\nit was decided the film would not be released widely . \\nit is now available at blockbuster video only , and for rent only . \\nsee you at the video store ! \\n\",\n",
+       " b'if there were a subject just screaming to be made into a film , it was studio 54 , the late steve rubell\\'s infamous new york discotheque , which came to symbolize the taboo-smashing excesses of the disco era\\'s heyday : easy drugs and even easier sex between everyone , all set to a thumping dance beat . \\nso when miramax started production on _54_ last year , the buzz of hype and resulting anticipation began : an edgy film as down-and-dirty as the club itself , written and directed by a promising first-timer ( mark christopher ) and starring some hot young talent ( salma hayek , neve campbell , newcomer ryan phillippe , and mike myers in his dramatic debut ) . \\nmy , how easily does the worm turn . \\nhype turned into damage control when word got out about 11th-hour reshoots ( wrapped only a month ago ) , a rash of studio-imposed edits that left virtually the entire cast and crew ( especially christopher ) unhappy , and the very likely possibility that miramax would not screen the finished film for critics . \\nat the last minute , though , miramax did decide to screen the film ( so hastily scheduled was the screening that myers\\'s last name was misspelled on the invitation , not to mention the numerous typos in the press notes ) for a media audience that came away noticeably less than impressed , myself included . \\nand with good reason--somehow , some way , the supremely disappointing _54_ has made the historically hip haven of hedonism . . . \\nboring . \\nalthough christopher has distanced himself from the finished film , he still must shoulder some of the blame for _54_\\'s lifelessness . \\n_54_ focuses , for the most part , on a tight-knit trio of employees at the club : coat check girl/aspiring disco diva anita ( a wasted hayek ) ; her busboy husband , greg ( breckin meyer ) ; and , most prominently , the fresh-from-jersey shane o\\'shea ( phillippe ) , who enjoys a quick rise from busboy to head bartender . \\nthese characters are about as generic as those descriptions . \\nin focusing on the hired help , christopher really missed the boat . \\nwith the exception of the flamboyant , always-woozy rubell ( myers , in a well-modulated turn ) , the meaty stories to be told at studio 54 are not the workers\\' but those of the people who went there to party ; not necessarily the numerous vip guests , but the wild eccentrics who managed to be picked from the crowd by the club\\'s famously hard-ass doormen and dance ( among other things ) the night away with the rich , famous , and infamous ( the only taste of the crowd comes by way of ellen dow\\'s feisty dottie , a disco- and drug-crazed granny , but she\\'s a peripheral character at best ) . \\nas such , aside from the expected overhead crowd shots , there is precious little actual _dancing_ in _54_ . \\nwhat is a disco film--especially one about the pinnacle of the movement--without the dancing ? \\neven whit stillman\\'s _the_last_days_of_disco_ , which wasn\\'t so much concerned with disco as it was witty dialogue within a group of hip-to-only-themselves club-hopping preppies , featured at least one extended dance scene . \\ndancing isn\\'t the only thing glazed over in _54_--so is the sex , but that may not be entirely christopher\\'s fault . \\nfrom what i\\'ve heard , his original vision was something considerably more dark and daring , starting with the shane character : he was conceived ( and actually filmed ) as a wild , morally ambiguous bisexual , which would have made an efficient springboard to cover the pansexual pleasure palace aspect of studio 54\\'s legend . \\nbut somewhere between principal photography and the final cut , shane was defanged and quite literally straightened out ; consequently , so was the film . \\naside from a brief glimpse of erotic encounters toward the beginning of the film , shane\\'s fleeting dalliance with seductive socialite billie ( sela ward ) , and an abbreviated bedhopping montage , the sexual dimension is just about ignored . \\nshane , in this incarnation , is sanitized to the point of blandness , an idealistic do-gooder who pines for a frequent guest at the club , julie black ( campbell ) , a worldly soap star with , yes , a heart of gold . \\nthis tacked-on \" romance \" would have been slightly less tedious if either campbell or phillippe made some connection with each other or the audience . \\nthey fail on both counts . \\nultimately , _54_\\'s failure comes down to three letters : f-u-n . \\nas in , there isn\\'t any to be had for the audience . \\ntoo much time is spent with the boring shane , and too little is spent on the club floor , where all the action took place . \\nanyhow , though , whatever time is spent on the 54 floor is not used very effectively . \\nwhen anita finally gets her big break and perform onstage at the club , it should be a euphoric height , for her , the crowd , and the audience ; however , the moment doesn\\'t get a chance to reach that level , for it is cut short by a moment of forced sentimentality , which also mars the film\\'s conclusion ( one of the last-minute reshoots ) . \\nstrangely upbeat and wistful , the resolution is wholly unconvincing and unsatisfying . \\nthere is an interesting portrait of studio 54 out there--two of them , in fact--but _54_ is not one of them . \\nthey\\'re on cable tv : a couple of documentaries produced by e ! and vh1 . \\nthese two fascinating looks at the club and all the sordid goings-on within it show that there\\'s still a great disco movie to be made . \\nthe problem is , after the critical and certain box office failure of _54_ , the subject may have run its hollywood course . \\n',\n",
+       " b'let\\'s say you live at the end of an airport runway . \\nlarge jetliners continuously pass over your house , rattling your windows and allowing few moments of peace . \\nlet\\'s say the ground beneath your feet is also contaminated with toxic substances , and high voltage power lines run across steel towers only yards from your home . \\nnow let\\'s say an airport conglomerate wants to buy your property in order to lengthen the runway , and offers you more than it\\'s worth . \\nwouldn\\'t you jump in the air and have your bags packed before you landed ? \\nof course you would . \\nbut what if this bit of land was your idea of paradise , and the house your castle ? \\nthat\\'s what they are to darryl kerrigan ( michael caton ) , and although he\\'s happy that a multi-national corporation would like to buy his home , sorry , it\\'s not for sale . \\nunfortunately , the corporation wields quite a bit of influence over the australian government , which serves darryl and his family with what amounts to an eviction notice . \\nnot about to take this lying down , darryl enlists the help of his inept attorney friend dennis denuto ( tiriel mora ) and makes a determined , albeit pathetic , attempt to fight back . \\nthe castle , an australian comedy by rob sitch , is perhaps one of the simplest movies i\\'ve seen in recent memory , yet also one of the funniest . \\nin fact , it is this film\\'s reliance on simplicity which makes it so successful . \\nthe good guys and the bad guys are clear , the humor is straightforward , and the storyline is as uncomplicated as it gets . \\nit\\'s the perfect setup for a relaxing , hilarious good time , and as much as i hate to admit it , i liked the fact that i didn\\'t have to think all that much while watching this film . \\ni just sat back and enjoyed myself . \\nthe situation is one we\\'ve seen before : regular joe fights back against the government , or big business , or whatever . \\nwhat makes this film different is its characters . \\ndarryl thinks he\\'s got the best life in the world - he tells his family that living next to power lines is a constant reminder of the success of mankind , he asks who would ever want to go out and eat in a fancy restaurant when he\\'s got the meat loaf feast prepared by his wife sal ( anne tenny ) , and he swells with pride when his son dale ( stephen curry ) digs a hole in the yard . \\nsteve kerrigan ( anthony simcoe ) constantly combs the buy and sell ads looking for \" investments \" like jousting sticks and overhead projectors , while wayne kerrigan is in jail , as a result of dennis denuto\\'s incompetent courtroom maneuvers . \\nthe great thing about the kerrigans is that they aren\\'t so stupid that they get annoying . \\nthey\\'re just a group of simpletons whose naive nature is perfectly harmless and even endearing . \\nwe look upon them with a little bit of pity , but a whole lot of affection . \\nscreenwriters sitch , santo cilauro , tom gleisner , and jane kennedy pit this lovable bunch of unlikely crusaders against a stoic court system and a condescending business conglomerate , further polarizing the extremes and deepening our feelings for the kerrigans . \\nsympathy for their situation , the laughter they bring us , and the family\\'s wonderful characterization , simple as it may be , leaves us with a degree of emotional investment that causes us to actually care about what happens to them . \\ni suppose one might wonder how deep characterization can go when your characters are as inane as the kerrigans , but trust me , it works . \\ni particularly noted that the writers did not have to use slapstick in order to get laughs . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong - slapstick , when executed well , can be genius . \\nit\\'s just that too often , a film will resort to it\\'s use as a shortcut to amusing the audience , not always successfully . \\ninstead , the jokes in the castle are all hinged upon the dialog uttered by these people who have no idea that they are totally skewed to the rest of the world . \\nwhen they are by themselves , the are funny , and when they are with normal people , they are hilarious . \\none of the few problems i saw with this film was a detour taken about midway though . \\nthe kerrigans go out to a vacation spot for seemingly no reason other than to pack in a few more jokes and increase the film\\'s running time . \\nluckily , it\\'s a funny little detour that , while slightly distracting from the film\\'s main drive , is still quite enjoyable . \\nwith all the levity abound in the castle , the film still manages to take on a pretty heavy concept , that of the innate right of a citizen to keep his property , an issue which has been bandied about in courts across the civilized world with differing outcomes . \\ni\\'m not certain the courtroom monologue near the end of the film would actually hold up in real life , but it brings to the forefront the essence of the constitution ( of australia ) and certainly sounds impressive at any rate . \\nand , for that matter , it\\'s more than i would have expected out of a light hearted film like this . \\n',\n",
+       " b'felix ( sami bouajila , \" the siege \" ) lives a contented life with his boyfriend daniel ( pierre-loup rajot ) in the little town of dieppe in northern france . \\nwhen he is laid off from his job , after discovering the address of the father who abandoned him before he was born , he decides to journey to marseilles , in the south , to find the man he never met in \" the adventures of felix . \" \\nwriters/directors olivier ducastel and jacques martineau made their debut with the musical comedy \" jeanne and the perfect guy , \" embracing that typically american genre . \\ntheir second effort , \" the adventures of felix , \" once again borrows from america with a tale of a young man who hits the road to find himself . \\nfelix is happy with his life in dieppe , but when the ferry company he works for falls prey to the economics of the chunnel , he is out of a job and at loose ends . \\nwhen he goes through his late mother\\'s papers he learns that the father he never knew is living in marseilles , hundreds of miles away . \\nfelix makes the snap decision to journey to the south , puts together a supply of \" cocktails \" for his hiv virus , kisses daniel goodbye and heads off on foot . \\nhe refuses to use trains and wants to avoid big cities as he hitchhikes across france to find his destiny . \\nalong the way , a series of chance encounters with various strangers teaches felix that family is not always made up of blood relations . \\non the road , he witnesses a race-related mugging that turns into murder and , frightened for his own safety , runs away without telling the police . \\nfollowing this harrowing experience , he has his first chance meeting that begins the unconscious construction of his ideal family . \\nhis journey brings him to rouen , and the film\\'s first title section , \" my little brother , \" where he meets jules , a young art student who becomes smitten with felix . \\nthey steal a car and develop a chaste , brotherly affection before felix must move on . \\nhe next meets elderly mathilde ( patachou ) , in the chapter titled \" my grandmother , \" and soon learns that she , too , has a fondness for the same tv soap opera that felix has grown addicted to . \\nshe wants him to stay with her , but he must continue on his way to find his father . \\nin the weakest chapter of felix\\'s road trip , titled \" my cousin , \" he meets a railroad worker ( philippe garziano ) and has a brief sexual encounter before heading off , once again , toward marseilles . \\nhe next helps a stranded lady motorist , isabelle ( ariane ascaride ) , and shags a ride with her and her three kids ( each with a different daddy ) in the sequence titled \" my sister . \" \\nhe is torn by the inner turmoil of not going to the police about the murder he witnessed and isabelle comforts him just as a sister would . \\non the final leg of the journey titled \" my father , \" he meets an older man , a fisherman ( maurice benichou ) , who enlightens him about the real facts of life and family while they fly felix\\'s kite , just like a father and son . \\n \" the adventures of felix \" has a number of things going for it as we follow felix on his journey of discovery . \\nfirst and foremost is the charming performance by sami bouajila as felix . \\nhe is a likable guy , fighting his hiv with his doses of \" cocktails , \" and lights up the screen as he makes the long walk , often with dance and song , to find his father and himself . \\nas he encounters each member of his new family , promising each that he will send a postcard when he arrives at his final destination , he grows a little bit more spiritually and emotionally . \\nbouajila does a terrific job holding center stage on the screen . \\nthe cast of characters making up felix\\'s new-found family are nearly as charming as the star , each in their own way . \\npatachou , especially , is wonderful as the grandma character and a kindred spirit to felix . \\nariane ascaride , along with her kids , gives a perf that really makes you think of her as the sister that the young man never had . \\nonly the \" cousin \" chapter lacks the emotional depth of the rest and feels like a perfunctory addition to felix\\'s \" family . \" \\n \" the adventures of felix \" does not reinvent the road movie , but it does provide a charismatic telling of a young man\\'s journey to find himself and , to his surprise , his discovery is dramatically different than he expected at the beginning . \\nit helps that cinematographer matthieu poirot-delpech\\'s crisp lensing compliments the story perfectly as felix moves across the french countryside . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       " b'movie concepts are often pitched to producers with mathematical formulas involving successful films of the past . \\nso , undoubtedly one day someone said , \" \\'evolution ? \\' \\nit\\'s \\'ghostbusters\\' plus \\'men in black\\' plus \\'tremors . \\' \" \\nand so it is . \\nsum total none . \\nthe alienbusting begins when a meteor lands in glen canyon , arizona . \\ncommunity college science profs ira kane ( david duchovny ) and harry block ( orlando jones ) take some samples from the meteor and discover that one-celled organisms from inside it are evolving rapidly , doing in hours what took millions of years for life on earth . \\njust about the time i was wondering , \" hey , doesn\\'t the government usually come in and take over the whole area in these movies , \" the government came in and took over the whole area . \\nthe leader of the pack , gen . woodman ( ted levine ) , turns out to be an old nemesis of ira\\'s , and ira and harry are blocked from doing further research . \\nmeanwhile , the organisms continue to grow until they are large enough to start attacking people . \\nby this time , ira and harry have gained a friend in dr . allison reed ( julianne moore ) of the center for disease control . \\na country club poolboy , wayne green ( seann william scott ) , has also attached himself to the merry band . \\nbut can they find the means to stop the aliens in time ? \\ndirector ivan reitman seems to be revisiting his biggest hit , 1984\\'s \" ghostbusters , \" but \" evolution \" falls miserably short . \\none reason is readily apparent . \\n \" ghostbusters \" had three really funny guys as its scientists ( bill murray , dan aykroyd , and harold ramis ) , but \" evolution \" has one really funny guy ( orlando jones ) who can adlib and milk the comic potential of lines that prove useless in anyone else\\'s hands . \\nfor good measure , \" ghostbusters \" had the comic talents of rick moranis ; \" evolution \" offers seann william scott , who was much funnier in \" american pie \" and \" road trip \" than he is here . \\nscott has one amusing scene where he sings \" you are so beautiful to me \" to a dragon-like alien to draw it into a trap . \\nother than that , scott seems unable to make much of the thin material the writers gave him . \\nan actor in search of a forte , david duchovny looked for his gritty action hero side in \" playing god \" and his romantic side in \" return to me . \" \\nnow he wants to find his wacky comedic talent ; what we all find is that he doesn\\'t have any . \\nlook for him to be back on tv in five years or so . \\nanother sad case is julianne moore , who needs to be more selective about the offers she accepts . \\nshe\\'s a talented actress with an impressive list of credits and award nominations , so why is she trying to do slapstick comedy ? \\nher character has a tendency to trip over and bump into things , but the trait comes off as a pathetic plea for laughs . \\nthe sole saving grace of the film is jones . \\nhe\\'s at the center of the movie\\'s funniest scene -- where an alien bug invades harry\\'s body and has to be pulled out through his ass . \\njones is the only cast member who can take the comedic ball and run with it , but he can\\'t carry the whole movie by himself . \\nhe found himself in a similar situation in \" the replacements , \" where he was also the only comic talent in an ensemble cast . \\njones will eventually find the project that will make him a major comedy star , but this isn\\'t it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'seen december 28 , 1997 at 8 : 45 p . m . at the crossgates mall cinema 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #8 , with matt perreault and my sister jena for free ( matt paid using pre-paid passes ) . \\nif there\\'s ever been an exception to the perils of excessive cliches and non- stop action , the james bond films are it . \\nand if there\\'s ever been a james bond film that not only proves this , but does so by pushing it to the extreme , \" tomorrow never dies \" is it . \\nopening sequences almost always make or break action films . \\nwhen done properly , not only are they actually exciting , but they foreshadow things to come . \\nthis film starts off on the right foot by establishing the kind of atmosphere that could only be found in an action movie , but with a sense of the self-aware , enclosed universe where james bond movies take place in . \\nfirst there\\'s a high-tech , slightly complicated scene involving a british warship crossing into unfriendly , chinese waters . \\nthere\\'s definite tension as there seems to be an unknown , but certainly hostile , third party involved who is manipulating both sides . \\nwhen the scene ends in tragedy , it\\'s clear there\\'s some kind of powerful conspiracy going on , and who else to call on for such a case but james bond ? \\nthe film uses good judgment in the way it introduces us to bond ( brosnon ) . \\nas the enemy was portrayed as evil and mysterious , bond is clearly ( and obviously ) depicted as an out-and-out hero . \\nhe single-handedly takes out a small army of terrorists , and then must escape in the nick of time by flying away in a fighter jet while the co-pilot tries to strangle him and a terrorist in another jet tries to shoot him down ! \\nthis might sound like the kind of cliches films like this are notorious for ( over- ) using , but it works here because the film knows how to get our attention quickly . \\nit\\'s not about the payoff because it\\'s obvious bond will escape , instead , it\\'s the way it processes the action sequences by going over the top and not apologizing for it , all the while creating for witty , hysterical comedy . \\nit seems less emphasis is placed on the villains in thrillers anymore , because of political correctness , and just plain copping-out on behalf of the filmmakers ( even the term \" villain \" sounds passe ) . \\nwhat the film deserves kudos for is its ability to create a villain as heinous as they come , yet making him seem completely plausible . \\njonathon pryce delivers a perfect performance as the arrogant , cunning elliot carver , a media mogul whose goal is to take over the world , that is , through his massive media empire , not through nuclear weapons . \\nthrough some interesting detective work , bond and the english ministry of defense believe carver is behind the trouble brewing in the southern asian seas as a way to create and accurately cover his own news . \\nnot only is that an original idea for a conflict , but one which could carry over into reality . \\nsurprisingly , this is about as detailed as the story allows the specific plot to become . \\nthe film\\'s hook is the action , and of course those cool gadgets and we get plenty of that here as bond goes out to investigate carver and finds himself in a jam or two along the way . \\nthe story works much like bond himself - always on the run and concentrates more on the individual conflicts than any general plot . \\nsomehow a chinese agent , wai lin ( yeoh ) , bumps into bond a few too many times and they find themselves working together . \\nthe chemistry between brosnon and yeoh is rigid , but also works because of this , not in spite of it . \\nthe two are constantly on the run from carver and his goons , yet the film manages to balance the stunts and special effects with its clever story . \\nalthough \" tomorrow never dies \" is far from perfect , it is quite an impressive film in terms of its ability to be so cliche and cartoony and not make plausibility an issue . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" lake placid \" marks yet another entry in the series of \" predator pics \" that were a screen staple in the late 1970s ( post- \" jaws \" ) and were revived recently by the godawful \" anaconda . \" \\n \" placid \" claims to be a \" horror/comedy \" -it\\'s directed by the same guy who did \" house \" -but its attempts at humor are actually less funny than deadpan seriousness of \" anaconda . \" \\npaleontologist kelly scott ( bridget fonda ) is sent up to maine to examine a tooth removed from a body that had been bitten in half on the lake . \\ndiscovering that the tooth belongs to a crocodile ( which shouldn\\'t even be in this hemisphere ) , kelly goes croc-hunting with game warden jack wells ( bill pullman ) and sheriff hank keough ( brendan gleeson ) . \\nthey\\'re joined by an unwelcome guest , hector cyr ( oliver platt ) , a scholar who worships crocs and searches all over the world for them . \\nalong the way , the merry band meets mrs . delores bickerman ( betty white ) , a weird old lady who lives out on the lake . \\nyou know what to expect from this movie : lots of shots where the camera is the eyes of the predator ( croc cam ) swimming toward someone\\'s dangling legs while \" jaws \" -like music plays , one character ( hector ) who\\'s obsessed with the croc and stupidly endangers the rest , another character who insists that the predator can\\'t possibly exist . \\nunlike its slippery cousin \" anaconda , \" \" lake placid \" wants to present its formulaic plot tongue-in-cheek , which is self-defeating . \\nthe result is neither scary nor funny ; it\\'s just tedious . \\nwhile director steve miner has several horror films on his resume ( including two installments of \" friday the 13th \" and \" halloween h20 \" ) , screenwriter david kelley ( best known as the creator of tv series like \" ally mcbeal \" and \" chicago hope \" ) doesn\\'t seem to have the stomach for a chomp \\'em up flick . \\nthe body count is surprisingly low and doesn\\'t include any of the major characters , and most annoyingly kelly and hector insist that they capture the crocodile alive rather than killing it . \\n ( \" lake placid \" manages to have it both ways-i\\'ll let you discover how for yourself ) . \\nthe croc itself is mostly computer-generated , of course . \\nlike the snake in \" anaconda , \" the thirty-foot monster crocodile doesn\\'t seem real ; it moves too quickly and in ways that seem unnatural . \\n \" lake placid \" also offers little explanation for why a giant crocodile is in maine . \\nthere is a lot of semi-mystical mumbo jumbo about how \" we really don\\'t know much about crocodiles . \" \\nthey would have been better off going with something like the urban myth about alligators in the sewers . \\na movie like this doesn\\'t have to offer much of an explanation ( radioactive mutant ? \\ncreature from outer space ? ) , but it does have to give the audience something to hang their disbelief on . \\npullman and fonda seem to be plodding through the movie on auto-pilot . \\nmost of the time , they\\'re probably thinking about killing their agents or wondering if making this movie marks the end of their careers . \\nplatt and white , on the other hand , seem to be giving their best efforts , and they manage to squeeze a few chuckles out of this sorry script . \\n',\n",
+       " b'what would inspire someone who cannot write or act to pen and star in a movie ? \\na better question , what would inspire a studio to produce said movie ? \\nif you have an answer , let me know . \\nfoolish , the new movie written by and starring master p is a jaw-droppingly horrible film , one with no redeeming value socially , cinematically or otherwise . \\ncomedically it has some potential , but only in its stand-up comedy moments , which i can turn on comedy central for . \\nmaster p stars as fifty dollah\\' ( beat that ! ) as a mobster ( i think ) who is trying to start a comedy club/act with his little brother foolish ( eddie griffin ) . \\nbut the two of them have to deal with an angry mob boss ( played by andrew dice clay , for the very first time entertaining ) , a stubborn club owner and family problems ( the latter in foolish is a perfect example of roger ebert\\'s \" idiot plot , \" if everyone here wasn\\'t an idiot , there would be no problem ) \\nso what does foolish have to offer beside a bunch of idiotic character names ? \\nnot a hell of a lot . \\nas i have mentioned , master p cannot act or write . \\nhe acts like the rapper that he is . \\nthe occasional despair that his script requires him to exhibit is excruciatingly forced , as are his warm and fuzzy scenes with his little bro . \\nas for his script -- well , i suppose he delivers what one would expect from a musical artist with no previous screenwriting experience . \\nif you haven\\'t yet figured it out , that is not saying much . \\nco-star eddie griffin ( really the star of the show ) is quite a different story . \\nthe fact of the matter is that griffin , whose most significant screen outing to date is probably the mildly successful tv show malcolm and eddie on the fledgling upn network , is an extremely talented comedian , stand-up and otherwise . \\nhe has much in common with chris tucker ( rush hour , money talks ) in how quickly and effortlessly his speech flows from his lips . \\nhe spouts profanity with impressive dexterity ( to the extent which that can be done ) , and while i hope that does not become his trademark it works in a few scenes in this movie . \\nand indeed , i laughed at a few stand-up scenes here , but from a feature-length movie i expect more . \\nfoolish provided me with no reason to care for these characters . \\nevery scene which has any potential for dramatic impact is effectively diffused by either a stupid joke ( in a scene where tension escalates between the two brothers , foolish blurts out towards his jewelry-sporting sibling \" you lay one hand on me and this cemetary is going to be a gold rush \" ) or something even more idiotic such as foolish smashing his own car ( to which i said , a bit too loudly for the occasion \" huh ? \" ) after getting slightly upset with his wife . \\nbelieve me when i say that there is nothing in foolish that warrants parting with your hard-earned $8 . \\nyou\\'ll get more laughs from watching 30 minutes of comedy central or any virtually any sitcom if you don\\'t have cable . \\neddie griffin fans may enjoy this derivative ( although offensive ) yarn , but everyone else should stay the hell away . \\n&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b'the love for family is one of the strongest driving forces in any man\\'s life , especially for those who have fostered their family under precarious circumstances . \\nthematically in cinema , love for family has been used frequently and emphatically to highlight more abstract aspects of characters ; it is rare , however , for it to develop as outstandingly as it does in roberto benigni\\'s neo-classic drama , life is beautiful . \\nthrough a central cast of father , mother , and son , benigni demonstrates the wonderful , undying love that a family shares in the best of times and the worst of times . \\nlife * is * beautiful for guido orefice ( roberto benigni , directing himself here for the sixth time in his career ) , an italian jew , master con man , and aspiring waiter extraordinaire . \\nliving in 1930\\'s italy , he lives a carefree life of good fortune ; it is made even better when he happens upon a pretty schoolteacher named dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . \\nalthough dora is already engaged , guido manages to sweep her off her feet and persuades her to marry him instead ; the two have a child named joshua ( giorgio cantarini ) . \\nunfortunately for the happy family , the third reich and its nazi minions occupy italy and imprison all jews in work camps . \\nit is after the movie takes this dramatic turn that the movie\\'s theme of family love becomes the strongest . \\nalthough prior to this turning point benigni plays guido with a sort of goofy charm , he relaxes the role to ensure his son\\'s happiness . \\nnow , instead of awkwardly seducing the sweet dora , he constantly reassures his son that everything will be all right . \\nbenigni\\'s performance is truly a well-rounded one , and certainly one of the more fluid turns all year . \\nthe supports are all strong as well , but the movie truly excels in its script . \\nlife is beautiful is a self-proclaimed fable , one which tells its story in grand , two-part fashion . \\nin certain parts it manages to sink to the level of a \" saturday night live \" spinoff -- a number of humorous skits connected by a token plot -- but in the movie\\'s second half the script\\'s circular nature becomes admirably obvious . \\ncharacters make reprise appearances in fine form , and certain events which are intially curious become critically linked to the plot\\'s outcome . \\nin all , fans of foreign film will see this as a memorable motion picture , and novice movie-watchers may take this opportunity to see their first \" artsy \" film . \\nlife is beautiful is an artsy movie by convention but easily accessible to everyone , and above all is a fine thematic picture . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"there is a scene early in soul food , george tillman's comedy-drama about a large african-american family and the ordeals they go through during a crisis , that caught me completely off guard . \\nduring a wedding , the groom is flirting with some tramp , and in an attempt to to prevent a scene , his mother in law , played by irma p . hall , comes to the rescue . \\nthe way in which she does this makes me think irma p . hall is one of the greatest actresses around right now . \\nhowever , this is just one magical moment in a movie filled with them . \\nvanessa williams , vivica fox , and nia long star as three sisters who have each gone their own way in life . \\nwilliams is teri , a successful lawyer , who is frustrated by her husband miles attempts at a music career . \\nfox is maxine , the strongest of the sisters , which can be confirmed by the stability of her marriage and the wisdom of her son ahmad , who narrates the film . \\nlong is bird , a hairdresser who is the last of the three to get married . \\nher husband lem is an intense passionate individual whose temper gets the best of him sometime but never stops loving . \\nat the center of everything is irma p . hall , as big mama jo . \\nevery sunday , the family gathers together for dinner at mama jo's house . \\nthere is lots of conversation , lots of laughs , and the occasional controversy . \\nmama jo presides over the family like all mothers should . \\nshe is stern and disciplined , but also caring and forgiving . \\neverything is going fine , until a tragedy befalls mama jo . \\nall of a sudden , a chain reaction of events begin to destroy the family . \\nit gets so bad , sunday dinner is even cancelled . \\nwithout mama jo's guidance , there is noone to keep the family together , which frustrates ahmad . \\nmiles and maxine's marriage begins to fall apart , as he focuses on his music and flirts with the troublesome faith . \\nlem's temper gets the best of him when his convict past starts to catch up to him . \\nand teri tries to prevent maxine's efforts to sell mama jo's house . \\nthe third act of the film deals with ahmad's attempts to patch things up . \\nhe decides to take over where mama jo left off , and tries to get the family back together for one more sunday dinner . \\nthe acting by everyone in the ensemble is outstanding , with special notices to irma p . hall and brandon hammond . \\nhall gives a performance that deserves to be recognized by the academy . \\nher mama jo is one of the most memorable characters i have ever encountered in a movie . \\nbrandon hammond is an actor with a bright future . \\nhe is wise enough not to play cutesy and shows an admirable range and depth , and speaks the final lines of the movie on the perfect note . \\ntillman obviously based this movie on his own memories of growing up . \\nevery scene in the movie is purposeful and convincing ( except maybe an odd flashback sequence ) . \\nthe dialogue is beleiveable and funny . \\nand then there's the food . \\ntillman gives us several close ups of the soul food , and it indeed looks very tasty . \\ni can see why sunday dinners became such a tradition for this family . \\nsoul food is one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" living out loud , \" is the type of motion picture we don\\'t often see : it is a film about mature , intelligent adults , instead of the usual american film , in which children basically dress up in grown-up clothing and parade around acting like immature seven-year-olds . \\njudith ( holly hunter ) , a fortysomething living in new york city , has been having a difficult time with life lately . \\nshe is extremely depressed about her recent divorce to her husband ( martin donovan ) , who had been cheating on her . \\nshe cannot sleep , haunted by terrible memories , often imagines off-the-wall things to try and make the world seem like a better place , and the only place she can really go to feel happy is to hear one of her favorite singers , liz bailey ( queen latifah ) , perform at a local club . \\njudith\\'s life does start to brighten a little when , one night when she gets home to her apartment late , strikes up a conversation with the elevator operator , pat ( danny devito ) , a lonely man in his fifties whom has lost his daughter recently . \\nboth of them create a sort of emotional connection with each other , seeking comfort with the other person , but while pat starts to form a deep love for her , judith only wants to remain friends . \\n \" living out loud , \" which was written by richard lagravenese ( \" the bridges of madison county \" ) , who is also making his directing debut here , is a wonderful film from beginning to end , one that is honest , genuinely funny , and poignant . \\nthe three central characters , that of judith , pat , and liz , are all written to be free-thinking , complex human beings , and are all likable , but flawed , people who are constantly interesting , as is the film itself . \\none highly original element of the film is that judith occasionally imagines things occuring in her mind in the way she wishes they would happen . \\nsometimes it results in comedy , and sometimes it turns out to be subtle and truly touching . \\none sequence that stands out is when judith is at a restaurant by herself , reading a novel . \\nan older woman comes over to her , mentions that that is a great book she is reading , and then goes over to join her own friends . \\nas the woman sits down , she looks over to see judith by herself , and motions for her to come join them . \\ninstantly , we realize this was simply in judith\\'s mind , as we see the same woman just sit down at the table and begin talking to her friends . \\nholly hunter and danny devito both give the performances of their careers here . \\nhunter , of course , was brilliant in 1993\\'s \" the piano , \" for which she won an academy award , but in this film she is even better , i think . \\nshe finds the right note for each scene and holds it . \\nand devito has never had such a humanistic role before , which i was surprised about . \\nusually he is used as the butt of a joke , or as a caricature , but in this film , has a living-and-breathing , sympathetic person to play . \\ntopping it all off is latifah , also a singer , who is quickly turning into a respectable actress herself , and has a juicy , natural supporting role as , in some ways , judith\\'s role model . \\nanother joy of the film is that it does not somehow form a contrived , \" happy \" ending , but , in staying with its realistic tone , manages to be upbeat , but truthful . \\nthe last shot is an especially powerful image . \\nnothing is said , but just the image of someone walking down a sidewalk says it all . \\nthe relationship that results between judith and pat is true-to-life and sincere . \\nas we watch these two people talk , and get to know each other , all that we wish for them both is to be happy , even if that does not include for them to become romantically involved . \\nand as , \" living out loud , \" which is one of the best films of the year , proves , sometimes a friendship is the strongest bond anyone could possibly ask for . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the corruptor is a big silly mess of an action movie , complete with pointless plot turns and gratuitous violence . \\nit's not abhorrent , or even blatantly unlikable , but it doesn't make a shred of sense . \\nand whose idea was it to have the director of glengarry glen ross direct an action film ? \\njames foley knows a lot about characters and acting , and those are the strengths of the corruptor . \\nbut the quiet scenes clash with the ludicrous action nonsense , and the result is less like a movie and more like a derailed train . \\nat least we have chow yun-fat in the lead role . \\nchow plays nick chen , a chinatown cop . \\nhe's a good cop , as the first few scenes establish , and he's very familiar with chinatown . \\nthat's probably why the powers-that-be decide to team him up with a rookie named danny wallace ( mark wahlberg ) . \\nnick and danny begin by stepping on each other's toes , but finally end up liking each other once they both get a chance to save the other one's life . \\nwhat happens after that is kind of a mystery to me . \\ni'm fairly certain that the villains are all part of the fukienese dragons , led by a young chinese psycho named bobby vu ( byron mann ) . \\ni'm also pretty sure that nick is on the payroll of henry lee ( ric young ) , a gangster dealing in prostitutes and other neat stuff . \\ni'm not quite sure why henry lee decides to employ danny , although this makes for some ridiculous ( albeit unpredictable ) plot twists along the way . \\nthere's also an interesting subplot revolving around danny's father ( brian cox ) , but it doesn't have much to do with the main story . \\none of the problems , as i said , is that the movie doesn't make any sense . \\ni don't blame this entirely on foley , because he's obviously a good director . \\ni'm more inclined to point my finger at robert pucci's script , which doesn't seem to be in tune to the way normal people act . \\none scene early on had me particularly annoyed : nick confronts his boss because he's angry about his new white partner . \\nhe's shouting and pointing his finger and stepping on the furniture , and i was thinking that i would have fired him if he had done that to me . \\n ( in addition , the film takes a bite into race-related issues , and never develops them at all . ) \\nthere are a lot of scenes like this one , and none of them are very coherent . \\nthere's also a considerable language barrier , given that chow and some of the other actors have thick chinese accents . \\nthe plot itself never straightens out . \\ni'm not sure who or what the fukienese dragons are , or why henry lee is associated with them , or what they do as a group . \\nthe corruptor is an action movie , and so all these weird plot developments are decorated with loud and violent action sequences . \\nthe sequences aren't bad , but they're not new ; how many car chases through chinatown have you seen ? \\non that note , how many chinatown cop movies have you seen ? \\none too many , i'd imagine . \\nfoley's strength is clearly in characterization , and he does a pretty good job here . \\nthe scenes between nick and danny are very good , and i actually got a feel for their characters ; a bond forms between them that holds parts of the film together . \\nchow and wahlberg are both good actors ; chow is a pro , and can do this kind of stuff in his sleep . \\nwahlberg seems less at home in this atmosphere , but he's still fun to watch . \\ni also liked the subplot involving danny's father ; brian cox's performance is powerful , and his character makes a compelling moral compass for danny . \\nbut the film ultimately fails , mostly at the hands of insane incoherence and overly-familiar action scenes . \\na complicated plot can be successful , but the story needs to make sense when it's over . \\nthe corruptor never manages to make any sense -- it just keeps spinning out of control until , finally , there's nothing left to hold on to . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"some concepts seem patently hopeless from the beginning , a live-action version of mr . \\nmagoo being a prime example . \\nthe cartoon figure mr . magoo , the bumbling blind man , can be quite funny , but only in small doses and only within the confines of animated images . \\nif you think naked gun star leslie nielsen is a dubious choice to play the role of the short guy who runs into walls , you are right , but there is an even more astonishing selection . \\nfor a director they tapped hong kong's stanley tong , whose resume consists mainly of a handful of movies featuring martial arts expert jackie chan . \\nthe story , such that there is one , is about a large , stolen ruby , which looks a woolworth reject . \\nmr . magoo gets it and , of course , does not realize he has it . \\nmayhem then ensues as the bad and the good guys chase each other with mr . magoo frequently oblivious to the fact that anyone is being chased . \\nlike home alone 3 but without any class , mr . \\nmagoo can only be described as painfully bad . \\nfifteen minutes of it feels like an eternity . \\nthe movie's humor is pathetically lame , and the pacing is way off . \\nwhen one is stuck in a theater for an hour and a half watching what claims to be a motion picture , one looks for some solace . \\nmr . \\nmagoo provides only three such moments . \\nthe movie begins and ends with the classic cartoon version of the character , who exudes his usual charm . \\nthe only other saving grave in the movie itself is angus , the sweet little bulldog . \\nangus demonstrates more genuine emotions and a wider acting range than any of the humans in the picture . \\nfinally , the ending credits contain outtakes of the movie , which have some of the genuineness and spontaneity that the movie badly lacked . \\nrather than attempt to adapt mr . magoo to a non-cartoon movie , nielsen makes the strategic mistake of trying to literally be a human version of the cartoon . \\nhe has trouble sustaining the squinting eyes and the affected voice , and even when he does it comes off as awkwardly unfunny . \\nmy wife managed to get some sleep during the movie , but i was not so lucky . \\nhopefully , this picture will force producers to think harder about which subjects have promise and which do not . \\nmr . magoo runs 1 : 37 . \\nit is rated pg for comic violence and would be acceptable for all ages . \\nmy son jeffrey , age 8 , said he thought the movie was good and really funny , but recommends you not choose it if you want an action movie . \\nhe said he liked home alone 3 much more . \\nhis friend maxim , age 9 , said that he thought it was good but very silly and parts did not make sense . \\nhis other friend nickolas , age 8 , said he'd give the movie * * * 1/2 , but that it was really silly . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i was originally going to give the spanish prisoner two and half stars . \\nfrom my first viewing , i noticed that david mamet\\'s film was intense and clever at times but boring and cliched at other times especially at the beginning . \\nfrom my second viewing however , i noticed that mamet\\'s script was actually a masterpiece . \\nthe spanish prisoner , like the usual suspects or chinatown , begs for the viewer\\'s complete attention . \\nmiss a scene or even a small detail , and you could miss the meaning of the entire film . \\nalso like the aforementioned films , it rewards its viewer for paying attention by delivering a surprising and memorable ending . \\nmamet is success doing again what he once tackled in 1987 when he wrote and directed house of games . \\nlike his past gem , the spanish prisoner fools the audience as much ( or even more ) than the victim . \\nbecause we were deceived just like the victim , we feel a strong attachment to the main character and consequently are more interested in the film . \\nmamet has the talent of not completely ending a film gift wrapped , but rather leaving some ambiguity towards the end . \\nthe power that he has in forcing the viewer to determine who the good guys and bad guys are once the film is over , without giving a right answer , is unique and ingenious . \\nthe spanish prisoner will leave you seriously puzzled and intrigued . \\nafter seeing the film again , i noticed that the details mamet uses are so incredibly accurate it is frightening . \\nhis direction is very subtle ; as he leaves so many clues explaining what is going on and who is who but it is still very difficult to tell what exactly is happening even if you see all of them , or think you see all of them . \\nthe story follows a young up and coming businessman , joe ross , ( campbell scott ) who has just created a mysterious and lucrative \" process \" that everyone is trying to get their hands on . \\nsoon ross does not know who he can trust or who is after his \" process . \" \\nthrough his journey ross meets a number of mysterious characters : the rich and popular jimmy dell , a secretary who has a huge crush on ross , and ross\\' boss mr . klein . \\nplayed by steve martin , rebecca pidgeon , and ben gazarra respectively , the supporting cast is very solid especially martin , who deserved an oscar nomination for his commanding and manipulative role . \\nthe most interesting character in the film , though , was campbell scott\\'s joe ross . \\nthe character\\'s transformation from an ingenuous and polite rookie to a paranoid veteran is very apparent and justifiable . \\ndavid mamet\\'s script is so interesting because we know people don\\'t actually talk like the characters in the film , yet we feel so connected to some of them . \\nhis beguiling style could fool any viewer up for the challenge . \\nthis is a must see , for those interested in solving a complex puzzle of a movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i saw this film on christmas day expecting an upbeat comedy . \\nboy was i in for a christmas dissapointment ! \\nafter an hour of the movie , i was ready to change rooms-into another theater ! \\nread on to see what i have to say . . . . \\nfour rooms : \\nstarring : tim roth , jennifer beals , antonio banderas , quentin tarantino , valeria golino , madonna , bruce willis , marisa tomei , alicia witt , lili taylor , and ione skye . \\npossible stars ) \\n \" four rooms \" was supposed to be one of the biggest hits of the year . \\nkey word here : \" supposed . \" \\nfour of the biggest directors in hollywood : quentin tarantino , robert rodriguez , alexander rockwell , and alison anders were all directing one big film with a big and popular cast . \\ni guess it was all just too much because this turned out to be the biggest flop of the year and it could of been great . \\nthe plot : it\\'s new years eve and it\\'s a bellboy\\'s first day on the job . \\nhe encounters many mysterious and kinky hotel guests as he tries to handle all his own problems . \\ntarantino told his directors this plot , and each of them wrote a script . \\nit turned out each of them had written a dark comedy . \\nanders wrote and directed the tale about a coven of witches ( madonna , valeria golino , alicia witt , and ione skye ) , which was the worst one out of all of them . \\nthe second room ( jennifer beals ) was better , but lacking in plot . \\nthis room was about a man who accuses every man of sleeping with his wife . \\nthe third room ( antonio banderas ) was the best roomm , about two rambunctous kids that trash a hotel suite . \\nthe final one ( tarantino , willis ) was about a movie star wanting the bellboy to chop off someone\\'s finger . \\nthe movie was just plain trash . \\nthere was nothing here that even makes up a quality film . \\nit was not funny , and i didn\\'t hear one laugh in the theater throughout the whole film . \\ntim roth is horrible as the bumbling and mumbling bellboy , and he ruins every joke in the film . \\nthe supporting cast loses meaning to the word support and the only mentionable actors/actresses are antonio banderas and jennifer beals . \\nmarisa tomei appears in a stupid cameo role . \\nthis movie is the worst film of the year and the film could have been great , perhaps like a more upbeat \" plaza suite , \" but it wasn\\'t . \\nas trashy as it was , some people will call it classic . \\ndo you call a man chopping off a finger with madonna\\'s chest showing a classic film ? \\nlook for more of ken\\'s kritic korner coming soon ! \\nplease check the newsgroups under the movie reviews section for updated reviews . \\np . s . \" four rooms \" made number 1 on my top ten worst list of 1995 . \\n',\n",
+       " b'mpaa : not rated ( though i feel it would likely be pg , for martial-arts violence . ) \\nwith three movies already ( re ) released theatrically in america , and at least three more on their way , jackie chan is one of the newest \" hot properties \" in action adventure stardom , and it\\'s just about time . \\nfor over twenty-five years , jackie\\'s been starring in martial arts and action movies in hong kong , thrilling audiences with both an incredible grasp of acrobatics and martial arts and a wonderful sense of comedy . \\n \" drunken master \" has the distinction of being the first jackie chan movie to \" make it big \" --this is the movie that supposedly set jackie up for big stardom in hong kong . \\ni\\'m not entirely sure why , exactly . \\nin many ways , \" drunken master \" is similar to most of jackie\\'s other early films , such as \" fearless hyena \" i and ii , \" master with cracked fingers \" , \" half a loaf of kung fu \" , \" spiritual kung fu \" , and others . \\nin fact , looking at all these early films together , one gets the impression that they were stamped out , cookie-cutter style , at a rate of four to six per year , all using the same casts and telling very similar stories . \\nto be honest , i think that early jackie chan movies are something of an acquired taste . \\nthey\\'re quite different from action movies as we know them in america . \\nthese films tend to be set in the chinese countryside in an indeterminate period sometime in the distant past , with fairly slow plots that often meander far afield and sometimes seem to exist only for the intention of stringing comedy and fight scenes together . \\n \" drunken master \" , though its plot is tighter than some , is no exception . \\n ( as an aside , \" drunken master \" was the first jackie chan movie i ever saw , and i saw it the way it was meant to be seen . . . in \\na movie theater in seattle , as part of an asian film festival . \\nat the time , i didn\\'t really think it was anything special . . . but \\nafter having seen more films like it , it\\'s kind of grown on me . ) \\n \" drunken master \" \\'s storyline is very similar to that of other early jackie chan movies , such as \" fearless hyena \" i and ii and \" master with cracked fingers \" --slacker martial arts student is taught the martial arts by a harsh-seeming master , and has a big fight with an evil bad guy in the end ( a formula that has been \" adapted , \" to put it kindly , by american films such as karate kid ) . \\nmore specifically , jackie chan plays the part of wong fei-hong , aka \" naughty panther , \" a fun-loving , practical-joking kung fu student who is too good at kung fu for his own good , but not _quite_ good enough . \\nafter embarrassing his instructor\\'s assistant by beating him roundly , then beating up a bully in a marketplace , wong fei-hong tries to hit on a pretty girl , but discovers that she , and her mother , can hit back , better than he can . . . and \\nis further chagrinned to discover that the two women are his cousin and aunt , respectively . \\nhis father , wong kei-ying , is unhappy about this , and is further annoyed when the father and brother of the bully show up to sue for damages . \\nkei-ying soon institutes a harsh regimen of punishment , which fei-hong does not like at all . \\nwhile escaping from this punishment , fei-hong meets up with a drunken old man , who proceeds to thrash him soundly , then take him on as a student and thrash him some more . \\nthis turns out to be su hua-chi , a legendary master of drunken-style kung fu . \\nhe assigns fei-hong a series of bizarre tasks , such as filling jugs with water while hanging upside down from a frame , cracking walnuts with his hands , and other such exercises , that seem like more pointless cruelty but are actually strengthening him up . \\nthen , when he\\'s ready , he teaches him the seven styles of drunken kung fu . \\nunfortunately , the lazy fei-hong only practices six of them . . . \\n \" drunken master \" features some wonderful martial arts sequences , with jackie winning some fights and losing others . \\nit\\'s been said before , but i\\'ll say it again--these fights don\\'t just _happen_ , they\\'re as carefully choreographed as any ballet performance , and it shows . \\nin his fights , jackie often makes use of objects found in his environment-- benches , jugs , cups , bowls , fruits and vegetables--often in new and surprising ways . \\nthe fight scenes , particularly those toward the end of the film , are unparallelled in most american films . \\nwhether jackie wins or loses , it\\'s really something to see . . . and \\nit\\'s often as funny as anything , too . \\nand funny is the other thing jackie chan is very , very good at . \\nthere\\'s very little that\\'s new in this movie--jackie winning fights , jackie getting beaten badly by a master , jackie going through punishment or training . . . these \\nschticks have all been seen before , in any one of several dozen similar jackie movies from the seventies and early eighties . \\nbut they\\'re still hilarious as ever . \\nlikewise , jackie has a _great_ supporting cast , many of whom were also in other early jackie films , and they\\'re often the source of plenty of hilarity on their own . \\nthe really big thing about \" drunken master \" , though , that inspired several copycats ( including a couple starring jackie himself ) and a sequel fifteen years later , was the drunken-style kung fu . \\ni\\'m not certain whether or not this is actually a genuine style of kung fu , but the principle behind it is to imitate the wobbly movements of a drunkard to lull the enemy into a false sense of security . . . and \\nit apparently helps if you\\'re drunk while you\\'re doing it . \\ngenuine or not , i have to admit , there\\'s just something incredibly fun about watching a fellow who looks utterly sloshed wading into a group of startled opponents and making mincemeat out of them before they even realize what\\'s going on . \\ncome to think of it , perhaps this element is what accounts for this film\\'s success over any of the other jackie films . . . it\\'s \\nnot just martial arts , it\\'s the kind of martial arts that makes you stop and go , \" whoa . . . \" \\non the negative side , the cinematography in this film is nothing special , the film stock is rather primitive , the plot is often rather slow , and the subtitles are sometimes extremely hard to read against the background . \\n \" gone with the wind \" , this isn\\'t . \\nstill , if you like martial arts films , or like what you\\'ve seen so far of jackie chan and want to see more , give it a shot . \\nit\\'s much more \" real \" than chuck norris or jean-claude van damme . \\nyou might very well like it . \\nanother interesting thing about \" drunken master \" has to do with its video availability in the us . \\n \" drunken master \" is the only early jackie chan movie that i know of that you can find in its original , letterboxed , hong kong subtitled form , commercially available on vhs ( from magnum video , in a gold box , for about $10 ) . \\nthere are plenty of other early jackie films around , but these are typically either in dubbed , pan-and-scanned form or else import tapes priced for rental instead of purchase . \\nthankfully , \" drunken master \" , at least , is available in the aspect ratio in which it was meant to be seen , at a very affordable price . \\nif you like \" drunken master \" , take a look at the numerous other early jackie chan films that are out there ( even the dubbed ones aren\\'t really _too_ bad . . . if \\nnothing else , you can enjoy the martial arts choreography while making fun of the dialogue ) . \\ni particularly recommend \" spiritual kung fu \" , \" half a loaf of kung fu \" , the \" fearless hyena \" movies , and \" snake & crane arts of shaolin \" . \\nalso , the mostly-unrelated-storywise sequel , \" drunken master ii \" , will hit theaters in american release sometime later this year ( though what its american-release title will be is still uncertain ) and comes _highly_ recommended by this reviewer . \\nalso , for a rather different interpretation of the character wong fei-hong ( who is in fact a popular figure from chinese folklore ) , i\\'ve been told to suggest the \" once upon a time in china \" series starring jet li ( though i haven\\'t personally seen any of them yet ) . \\nif you choose to watch \" drunken master \" , i really hope you enjoy it , and i hope it starts to open your eyes to the wonderful world of asian cinema that\\'s out there . \\nall in all , i give this film an . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"don't let the following quirks of this review , fool you into believing that this movie is anything short of an ultimate labour of love . \\nbut one can see the humour of roberto benigni when you see that ? \\nlife is beautiful , even though i'm a short , ugly looking man with an obnoxious laugh . \\nlife is beautiful even though i haven't amounted to much in life , except working out the finer intricacies of waitering . \\ni'm a lucky sort of a guy , especially when a beautiful woman strips away my venner of superficiality to find a new age , sensitive guy with the biggest heart in the entire world underneath - life is beautiful ! \\ni'm a jew , but life can still be beautiful . \\nthe nazis put me in a concentration camp , but life is still beautiful . \\ni love my son very much and that's what matters , and that's what makes life beautiful . \\nmy ability to entertain somehow convinces my son that living in a concentration camp is somewhat beautiful ? \\ni get shot for my efforts and the woman i love , but hey that's life and that's still a beautiful thing - so by jove don't give me any crap about it ! \\nby far the movie with the biggest heart this decade and well deserves every nomination and award that it has achieved . \\nwell done , there should be more film directors and actors like you roberto benigni . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" there\\'s nothing new under the sun \" is a phrase often used when the speaker actually means \" let\\'s find something to copy . \" \\nof course there are very few completely original ideas . \\neven earth-shattering concepts are built upon the vast body of human experience . \\nthere is , after all , no need to re-invent the wheel time after time . \\nrecently it seems that hollywood doesn\\'t feel the need to even re-write the script . \\nmy understanding of the word \" sequel \" is a continuation of the story . \\nthe film industry has defined the word to mean reshooting the original with minor changes . \\nhave an overwhelming desire to see an inferior version of brian depalma\\'s adaptation of the steven king novel ? \\nthis is your dream come true . \\nrachel ( emily bergl ) , a high school outcast , is beginning to notice weird things happening around her . \\ndoors slam shut by themselves . \\nglass globes blow up . \\nher mother has severe mental problems and her father is absent . \\na popular boy unexpectedly asks her out . \\nthe in-crowd conspires to embarrass her at a public event . \\nany of this sound familiar ? \\nonce the audience catches on that this is the same story as \" carrie \" , there\\'s little to do but wait for the inevitable ending . \\nthe effects are a bit better this time around , but the film doesn\\'t work nearly as well . \\nthere are a couple of minor plot differences . \\nrachel lives with foster parents because her mother is institutionalized . \\nthe boys at her school are portrayed as even more evil than in the original . \\nthey keep score of their scoring with points given for each conquest . \\nand , uh , there must be other story changes but none stand out . \\none nice touch is the casting of amy irving again as sue snell . \\nover 20 years ago she was the one girl who tried to help carrie . \\nnow a high school counselor , she befriends rachel , but her character\\'s potential is squandered . \\nthere\\'s too much about sue that doesn\\'t make sense . \\nafter the slaughter when carrie kills most of her classmates , sue is driven mad and spends time in the institution that rachel\\'s mother is in . \\nstill living in the same small town , the woman with a well-known history of mental problems is hired as a high school counselor ? \\nsue tells rachel that her telekinesis is a genetic disease . \\nthis may be the one original idea in the film , but the reasoning behind describing psychic powers as a \" disease \" is never explained . \\nsue\\'s eventual fate is an admission by director katt shea and writer rafael moreu that they had an interesting character but couldn\\'t figure out what to do with her . \\nblink and you\\'ll miss it . \\nsome of the events are filmed in black and white , but the rationale for this is unknown . \\nit doesn\\'t add anything and the choice of scenes appears somewhat random . \\n \" the rage \" retains some of the trappings of \" carrie \" without the meaning . \\nin the first film the color red was a motif connected to carrie\\'s onset of powers at the same time she began menstruating . \\nhere there\\'s an abundance of red , but for no apparent purpose . \\nthe casting of high school jocks and cheerleaders as villains is beginning to wear thin . \\none might be lead to suspect that most filmmakers were unpopular in school and the history of teenage films is an extended cinematic revenge of the nerds . \\nthe biggest mistake the film makes is including clips of the original . \\nseeing sissy spacek on the screen only points to the quality of that film - and the flaws in this one . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if there is one thing that bothers me about hollywood films it\\'s their predictable endings . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate has the atypical hollywood ending , when everything that should happen does . \\nunfortunately for the devil\\'s advocate , this ending nearly collapses in on itself , and ruins the entire film . \\nnevertheless , the film does provide two and a half hours of pure entertainment ( note to self : kill whomever was in charge of the previews for this film ) . \\ni don\\'t think i was quite prepared for this movie because the trailers made it appear to be some supernatural horror film about satan . \\nwell , it does contain this element , but what is not mentioned in the ads is the other plot elements ( and seemingly more interesting ones at that ) . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate begins in florida with an ongoing trial in session . \\nkevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) is the defense attorney , working for a client whom has been accused of raping a young girl . \\nhe ends up with a not-guilty verdict , despite an emotional testimony from the victim ( heather matarazzo ) . \\nhe leaves the courthouse with his lovely wife mary ann ( charlize theron ) where he is approached with an offer to travel to new york city to help choose a good jury . \\nhe accepts ( mainly after seeing the paycheck he will receive ) and he flies to new york with his wife . \\nafter proving his worth for selecting juries ( and his perfect winning streak in court ) , the head of the firm , john milton ( al pacino ) , asks him to work permanently as a criminal lawyer . \\nhe graciously accepts , where he is treated almost as a god . \\nhe is given an incredible apartment ( which is bigger than my entire house now ) , and a hefty paycheck . \\nhis life seems to be on the rise . \\nand of course , his life suddenly begins to waver and slowly decline . \\nhe is attracted to fellow employee christabella ( connie nielson ) , and his wife begins to feel very lonely in her large apartment . \\nmary ann takes up a friendship with a neighbor who always gives advice , especially if it is not wanted . \\nmeanwhile , kevin nabs a case surrounding alexander cullen ( craig t . nelson ) who apparently murdered three people . \\nhe spends hours upon hours with this case , while forgetting his loving wife , who may or may not be going insane . \\nall of this while john milton may or may not be the devil himself . \\nafter a while , things turn completely upside-down , as kevin\\'s wife claims to have seen monstrous images superimposed on her friends . \\na fellow employee is murdered in the park , and his mother ( judith ivey ) reveals information about kevin\\'s real father . \\nis it all just a big nightmare ? \\nor is john milton really satan , playing tricks with kevin\\'s life ? \\nthe devil\\'s advocate plays out fairly straight-forward , but for some odd reason , the screenwriters wanted to surprise everyone by giving us something we don\\'t expect . \\nis this surprise conclusion supposed to make us feel good and go home without feeling depressed or disturbed ? \\nif so , the devil\\'s advocate messes up completely , and ironically , i felt more depressed because of the ending as is now , than i would have if it had ended ten minutes early . \\ni went into the devil\\'s advocate expecting a shocking horror film , and that is exactly what i got . \\ni was settled in to be disturbed mentally and emotionally , and that is what i got . \\nbut what was the most disturbing and horrible aspect of the movie is the poor ending ( did i mention that i didn\\'t like the ending ? ) . \\nthe producers of this film take you on a thrilling roller coaster ride and just as it is ending , they pull the rug out from under you . \\nfilms like se7en and the usual suspects can survive with this surprise ending because it is expected , more or less . \\nwe know it is going to end in an unpredictable way . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate , on the other hand , ends unpredictably , not from us knowing a lot , but knowing nothing at all . \\nif that is confusing , i recommend watching the film , and then reading that again . \\nas for the film overall , i enjoyed the entire first two hours , being drawn in by a terrific character study and then adding the supernatural plot to increase the tension build from the character study . \\nthe film runs like a well-built clock , slowly building until finally exploding with a highly charged climax ( and an unpredictable one at that ) . \\nand then you settle in for a nice resolution , which does not occur . \\nit was at this point that i felt cheated . \\ntaking us on a terror ride of intrigue , we follow kevin lomax around , as he is the centerpiece of the film . \\neverything occurs from his perspective . \\nhe is our representation on screen ( sort of ) . \\nbut we are forced to witness a conclusion which makes most of the film seem like a game . \\ni don\\'t want to spoil the ending , so all i can say is go see the film and decide for yourself . \\nperhaps the most shocking thing about the devil\\'s advocate is the extreme amount of everything . \\nit earned its r rating for a reason . \\nthere is plenty of nudity , sex , violence , gore , and then you have gore , violence , sex , and more nudity . \\nthis film really isn\\'t subtle about anything , showing us everything . \\nit actually surprises me that this film did not receive an nc-17 rating , as it is quite harsh . \\nhowever , the movie does have its merits , and nudity and sex are among those . \\ni don\\'t condone sex and nudity in films , but if its there , i might as well enjoy it . \\nthe biggest merit of this film is also the most interesting to watch . \\nthe confrontations between kevin lomax and john milton are entertaining , but what stands out amidst this extreme hatred is the decline of the wife , mary ann . \\nportrayed by the extremely effective charlize theron , mary ann\\'s problems are incredibly intense , and i found myself wanting to witness her decline . \\nthis may sound uncaring , but i wanted to watch because i felt sorry for her . \\nshe is the most interesting character on the screen , who is forced into a world where she is not wanted . \\nsomething the devil\\'s advocate contained actually shocked me for reasons other than extreme violence and nudity , especially for a film of this nature . \\nthe story actually has something to say about humanity . \\nin one of the last scenes , john milton explains to kevin lomax the game god plays with his children ( he is satan , of course ) . \\nhe comments that it is human nature to lust and loathe in vanity . \\nthen , god sets up rules which contradict human nature . \\nthis semi-religious bashing is more humorous than frightening . \\nwhat milton says is so true about our society that i found myself laughing out loud , partially thinking it was funny , but patially realizing it was true . \\nthese moral dilemmas are present throughout the devil\\'s advocate , giving it an added depth many films skip over in their writing ( but i\\'m sure they came straight from the novel it was based on ) . \\nwhen a film has something to say about our society , it deserves to be watched . \\nthe cast of the devil\\'s advocate is one of the highlights , as we see memorable faces , and they put spins on those memorable faces we don\\'t expect . \\nheather matarazzo makes a brief appearance as the terrorized victim in the opening court case , and she does a great job . \\nprobably the big surprise of this film is keanu reeves . \\nhe has proven himself an uneven actor ( successes such as speed and bombs such as johnny mnemonic ) , but he tops himself with this performance . \\ni have never seen him more believable to date . \\nal pacino is of course the scene stealer . \\nhis devilish performance is equal to those of jack nicholson ( the witches of eastwick ) and max von sydow ( needful things ) . \\nhe could have easily gone too far over the top in many scenes , but he remains completely believable ( if that is the correct term ) . \\njeffrey jones ( mostly known as the principal in ferris bueller\\'s day off ) also gives a good performance as eddie barzoon . \\njudith ivey manages a credible performance as the mother who holds a secret to kevin\\'s past . \\nconnie nielson is very effective in her role , and she also appears naked several times . \\none familiar face with a twist was \" coach \" star , craig t . nelson , who gives a very good performance . \\nthe devil\\'s advocate is rated r for sexuality , nudity , violence , language , and some gore . \\nat 144 minutes , this film moves along fairly quickly . \\nfor the first two hours , i sat completely engaged in the good performances and strong characters . \\nthe technical quality is also remarkable , with great special effects and a good musical score . \\ndirector taylor hackford has managed to create a very disturbing motion picture , only to ruin a good chunk of tension with the final fifteen minutes . \\ni guess my biggest problem with the ending is the fact that i went into the theater expecting a disturbing film , and hackford gave me just that for a long time . \\nbut just before the end , he got jitterish and relied on the hollywood safety net in order to make his film more mainstream . \\npersonally , i would have preferred it ending fifteen minutes early . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"ahh yes . \\nthe teenage romance . \\nan attractive young cast is pitted into an unlikely scenario that could only happen in the movies , and in the end , the guy always gets the girl . \\nand with the arrival of the breakout hit `she's all that' last year ( followed by a long catalogue of imitators including `10 things i hate about you' and `drive me crazy' ) , the genre previously on life support is once again a hot commodity . \\nalong now comes `down to you' . \\nthe folks at miramax are obviously trying to capitalize on the rabid `she's all that' craze with their latest project , which has the studdly freddie prinze jr . attached and all . \\nonly `down to you' doesn't have the ? unlikely scenario' mentioned above . \\nit is an extraordinarily ordinary romance - a dull , unattractive teen comedy that sticks to the boring game plan that we're accustomed to . \\nthis is the kind of romance that only giggly 12-year old girls will find convincing . \\nin strictly textbook fashion , college sophomore and aspiring chef al ( prinze jr . ) meets freshman artist imogen ( julia stiles ) . \\nthey hit it off like a couple can only in the movies . \\nfrom here , it's the standard boy-meets-girl , boy-loses-girl , boy-drinks-entire-bottle-of-shampoo-and-may-or-may-not-get-girl-back story . \\nthe plot is conveniently assembled to suit the requirements of the main characters , who are frequently taking part in activities that . . . . \\nwell , only happen in the movies . \\nfortunately , the cast of `down to you' has a certain appeal . \\nfreddie prinze jr . and julia stiles are an adorable couple , and when on screen together , they radiate the sort of warmth and charisma that the movie should have centered around . \\nzak orth , as the newly realized porn star monk , shows an unmistakable flair with handling all of the film's intelligent dialogue . \\nrounding out the impressive ensemble of young talent are shawn hatosy ( `the faculty' ) , selma blair ( `cruel intentions' ) and ashton kutcher ( tv's `that 70's shows' ) . \\neven the fonz himself - henry winkler , the epitome of teenage angst and nostalgia - has a welcome role as al's dad , the host of the popular cooking program `chef ray' . \\nmaybe the concept of `down to you' looked good on paper to draw such a crowd . \\nas a feature film , however , the finished product is bland and tasteless fluff with only an occasional whiff of cuteness to keep the gears from stopping entirely . \\nperhaps worst of all , `down to you' is not funny . \\nthe jokes are drawn from obvious sources and the resulting humor is banal and uninspired . \\nthe characters on screen , often laughing at each other's goofy/embarrassing antics , seemed far more amused than the audience . \\neven the giggly 12-year old girls had grown restless toward the end as they waited impatiently for the formula to run it's course . \\nthe one mildly clever segment featured winkler and prinze jr . in a fantasy sequence called `cooks' , a `cops' take-off in which the father and son would storm houses and cook a decent meal for ? needy' families ( with the assistance of a fully-armed swat team , of course ) . \\nwhen this is the highlight reel , you know the remaining film could leave something to be desired . \\nin order to make a teen comedy work , you've got to have characters that show something by way of depth and identity . \\n`10 things i hate about you' actually featured characters who were more than walking flashcards , and the result was refreshing . \\nno such luck with `down to you' . \\nit's just a textbook romance where , despite absurd circumstances , everything is bound to work out in the end . \\nand at the end of the whole clich ? d ordeal , the nicest thing you could possibly say would be ` . . . . \\nonly in the movies' . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"in the first death wish movie , mild-mannered new york architect paul kersey , played by charles bronson , was avenging the death of his wife . \\nin the second , he was avenging his daughter . \\nin the third , he instigated small war in order to avenge the old friend . \\nfourth movie , on the other hand , begins with kersey doubting the point of his violent crusades and living the quiet life with his girlfriend karen , played by kay lenz . \\nhowever , since this is death wish movie , we know that sooner or later something bad is going to happen to the people kersey cares for . \\nthis time karen's teenage daughter dies of a crack overdose and kersey is forced to return to his old vigilante ways . \\nkersey's new targets , unlike the previous movies , aren't the ordinary street punks but rich , heavily armed and well-connected drug dealers . \\neven such unstoppable killing machine like kersey needs some support , and it comes from the publisher nathan white ( john p . ryan ) , determined to avenge the drug-related death of his own daughter . \\nwhite's plan is to make kersey kill major players in two rival drug dealing organisations and thus instigate the war between them . \\nthe plan begins to take shape , but kersey's actions bring attention of two police detectives - reiner ( george dickerson ) and nozaki ( soon teck-oh ) . \\nfourth ( and , unfortunately , not the final ) installment in the death wish series , will probably remembered as the typical movie of cannon group , production company responsible for some of the worst cinematic trash of the last decade . \\nhowever , although some critics might argue , death wish 4 : the crackdown represents slight improvement over the death wish 3 . paul kersey , one of the most intriguing ( and potentially controversial ) characters of the 1970s , is still being dumbed down by mediocre script , and charles bronson really doesn't feel the need to put much effort in his acting . \\nhowever , the hand of a veteran director j . lee thompson seems more capable of michael winner's and the action scenes seem slightly less surreal , although they still look cheap and repetitive and downright boring . \\nthere are some attempts for the movie to have a plot between the numerous scenes of violence , and one of such attempts is a potentially interesting plot twist at the end . \\nthe script even tries to fake some social conscience ( through criminally underused kay lenz's character ) and predates the war on drugs campaign that would inspire many hollywood products in next few years . \\nthere are even some half-hearted attempts of humour - both intentional and unintentional , like in a scene where kersey assassinates mob figures by a wine bottle - but the quality of this movie is still far away from bronson's 1970s classics . \\n ( special note to x-philes : mith pilleggi , the actor who plays ad skinner in the x- files , could be seen in a small role of cannery lab foreman ) . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'plot : a young french boy sees his parents killed before his eyes by tim roth , oops . . . i \\nmean , an evil man . \\nhe vows revenge on that man and is taught the ways of the musketeer by some old dude who used to be one himself ? \\nanyway , fourteen years go by and . . . arrgh , well , you know the rest . . . swish-swish-zzzzzzz ! \\ncritique : this is a pretty bad movie . \\nlet\\'s see , where should i start ? \\nokay , first of all , the story is just plain boring . \\nit\\'s not original , is entirely predictable and lacks energy . \\nokay , what\\'s next ? \\nacting , you say . \\nhmmmm , well , the main actor , justin chambers , is basically an uncharismatic version of chris o\\'donnell but with less range ( think about that ! ) , and mena suvari , is just plain off . \\nnot as bad as thora birch was in dungeons & dragons , but entirely miscast , with bad deliveries , awful sequences and a piss-poor accent that comes and goes . \\nnow i\\'m not sure if this was ms . suvari\\'s fault or the director\\'s , but i\\'ve definitely seen her at a much higher level than in this film . \\nthe only semi-saving grace actor-wise is tim roth as the irrepressible \" bad guy \" , but once again , it\\'s not something that we haven\\'t seen before . . . a \\nthousand times . . . by the same guy ! ! \\ntim , please . . . for the love of god , beg your agent to ask the marketplace for some modern day \" american roles \" for you as a \" nice guy \" in a romantic comedy or something . \\nstretch , dude . . . stretch ! ! \\nwe all know that you can do much better than this gunk . \\nalright , what else was bad in this film ? \\noh yeah , the score ! \\nyikes , how\\'s about taking it down a few notches there , fellas ? \\nthis thing blares in your ear whenever it feels the need to accentuate a certain scene , but actually does little more than annoy . \\ni think it\\'s important for the man behind the music to recognize that this film isn\\'t a \" real epic \" by any stretch of the imagination . \\nit\\'s a fluffy rehashed cake-walk created by some \" shrewd \" studio heads who decided to take advantage of the whole \" kung-fu \" phenomenon in films , and test it out on an old classic . \\ndudes . . . you \\nfailed all around ! \\n ( keep reading ) \\nthe editing is also pretty shoddy in this movie , the dialogue banal and stilted and the plot problems . . . plentiful ! \\n ( why does the guy on top of the horse carriage just stand there when his opponent takes forever scampering his way back to the top ? \\nwhy don\\'t they just cut the mouseketeer\\'s rope at the top of the tower , instead of jumping down on their own chords and fighting him while hanging ? \\nwhy doesn\\'t anybody look a day older , when the sequence says \" 14 years later \" ? \\n ( at least . . . change \\nyour shirt , man ! ) \\nkeep in mind that i have never strayed away from championing certain movies that are created simply for the sake of a \" fun time \" , but this flick just didn\\'t cut it for me . \\nit was boring for stretches , the acting was atrocious at times ( the \" romantic \" scene between suvari and chambers next to the lake reminded me of plays in high school which made you cringe ) , there was little reason to care for anyone and since when were the musketeers fat ? \\ni will give the movie this much , and that is that its main reason for being ( its \" raison-d\\'etre \" , as the french would say ) , its fight sequences , do come through despite the lack of their numbers in the film . \\ni was hoping that the movie would be packed with cool stuntwork as promoted in its trailer , but what you see there , are essentially the snippets from the two major ( and cool ) swashbuckling sequences from the film . \\nthe first comes right at the beginning of the movie , while the other essentially finishes the film off , hanging from the tower and juggling off ladders . \\nthe ladder sequence itself is a definite keeper but unfortunately the rest of the movie is just regurgitated crap . \\nand can anyone please tell me how catherine deneuve got her name placed at the top of this film\\'s credits ? \\nhullo ? \\nthe film is called the musketeer and stars a dude name justin chambers . \\ndeneuve is barely in this movie ! \\nugh , just another small thing that annoyed me about this trash . \\nnow say it together , gang : \" all for one , and one for all . . . we \\nvow to stay away from it all ! ! \" \\nthank me later . \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\na knight\\'s tale ( 7/10 ) - american outlaws ( 5/10 ) - crouching tiger , hidden dragon ( 7/10 ) - the matrix ( 8/10 ) - the replacement killers ( 6/10 ) - romeo must die ( 3/10 ) - shanghai noon ( 6/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'i had been looking forward to this film since i heard about it early last year , when matthew perry had just signed on . \\ni\\'m big fan of perry\\'s subtle sense of humor , and in addition , i think chris farley\\'s on-edge , extreme acting was a riot . \\nso naturally , when the trailer for \" almost heroes \" hit theaters , i almost jumped up and down . \\na soda in hand , the lights dimming , i was ready to be blown away by farley\\'s final starring role and what was supposed to be matthew perry\\'s big breakthrough . \\ni was ready to be just amazed ; for this to be among farley\\'s best , in spite of david spade\\'s absence . \\ni was ready to be laughing my head off the minute the credits ran . \\nsadly , none of this came to pass . \\nthe humor is spotty at best , with good moments and laughable one-liners few and far between . \\nperry and farley have no chemistry ; the role that perry was cast in seems obviously written for spade , for it\\'s his type of humor , and not at all what perry is associated with . \\nand the movie tries to be smart , a subject best left alone when it\\'s a farley flick . \\nthe movie is a major dissapointment , with only a few scenes worth a first look , let alone a second . \\nperry delivers not one humorous line the whole movie , and not surprisingly ; the only reason the movie made the top ten grossing list opening week was because it was advertised with farley . \\nand farley\\'s classic humor is widespread , too . \\nalmost heroes almost works , but misses the wagon-train by quite a longshot . \\nguys , let\\'s leave the exploring to lewis and clark , huh ? \\nstick to \" tommy boy \" , and we\\'ll all be \" friends \" . \\n',\n",
+       " b'so ask yourself what \" 8mm \" ( \" eight millimeter \" ) is really all about . \\nis it about a wholesome surveillance man who loses sight of his values after becoming enmeshed in the seedy , sleazy underworld of hardcore pornography ? \\nis it about the business itself , how , bubbling just beneath the surface of big-town americana , there\\'s a sordid world of sick and depraved people who won\\'t necessarily stop short of murder in order to satisfy their sick and twisted desires ? \\nor is it about those who can , those who are in a position to influence the making of the kinds of films sick and demented people want to see ? \\ni\\'m not talking about snuff films , supposed \" documentaries \" of victims being brutalized and killed on camera . \\ni\\'m talking about films like \" 8mm \" and its director , joel schumacher . \\nwith a recent run of big budget movies to his credit-- \" batman & robin , \" \" a time to kill , \" \" batman forever , \" \" the client \" --schumacher certainly has that kind of influence . \\nis \" 8mm \" something you really want to see ? \\nprobably not . \\nthe first two-thirds of \" 8mm \" unwind as a fairly conventional missing persons drama , albeit with a particularly unsavory core . \\nthen , as it\\'s been threatening all along , the film explodes into violence . \\nand just when you think it\\'s finally over , schumacher tags on a ridiculous self-righteous finale that drags the whole unpleasant experience down even further . \\ntrust me . \\nthere are better ways to waste two hours of your life . \\nnicolas \\' \" snake eyes \" \\' cage plays private investigator tom welles who is hired by a wealthy philadelphia widow to determine whether a reel of film found in her late husband\\'s safe documents a young girl\\'s murder . \\nwelles goes about his assignment rather matter-of-factly , and the pieces of the puzzle fall into place rather neatly , almost as if you don\\'t need any specialized skills or training to do this . \\nwelles certainly makes it look easy . \\nand cops , obviously , never look in toilet tanks for clues . \\nthe deeper welles digs into his investigation the more obsessed he becomes , like george c . scott in paul schrader\\'s \" hardcore . \" \\noccasionally , a little flickering sound whirs in his head like sprockets winding through a film projector , reminding him of his unpleasant task . \\nthere are hints that this is taking its toll on his lovely wife , played by catherine keener , who is frustrated by her husband spending all of his time in cleveland rather than in their ugly split-level home in harrisburg , pa . \\n \" 8mm \" doesn\\'t condemn or condone its subject matter , it just exploits it . \\nthe irony , of course , is that schumacher and \" seven \" scribe andrew kevin walker\\'s vision of life in the snuff lane is limited by what they can show in an r-rated , first-run hollywood product . \\nso we only see snippets of snuff , and a lot more footage of nicolas cage covering his face in horror . \\nlater it\\'s the turn of joaquin phoenix ( who\\'s quite good and by far the film\\'s most interesting character as adult bookstore flunky max california ) to cover his face as the horrid thing is screened over and over again . \\nall this to get to the familiar yet offensive \" revelation \" that sexual deviants are not , indeed , monsters but everyday people like you and me . \\nneither super nor standard , \" 8mm \" is shocking only in its banality . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after having heard so many critics describe \" return to me \" as an old-fashioned hollywood romance , i kept asking myself going into this movie : what exactly is an old-fashioned hollywood romance ? \\nwhat made \" return to me \" old-fashioned and old-hollywood ? \\nwas it the tunes from sinatra , etc . , legendary singers the senior citizens in the film constantly harp on ? \\nwas it the glamorous , sophisticated feel ? \\nthe charisma of the two leads ? \\neven now i can\\'t say that i have gotten any closer to the real answer , because i haven\\'t see that many old-fashioned hollywood romances . \\ni don\\'t think any of the romances i\\'ve seen have been classified as such . \\nwhich leaves me the option of vaguely agreeing with my fellow critics -- \" return to me \" was old-fashioned in the sense that it reminded me of the way the younger generation perceive venerated old hollywood magic , the way i perceive cinnamon spice and apple cider . \\nit was traditional , magical . \\nwe knew it couldn\\'t be too daring , or have any surprising plot twists that many cynical modern romances are apt to throw in . \\nit was a romance told with such endearing simplicity , tenderness , and love ( from director bonnie hunt ) that it couldn\\'t help but sparkle with charm despite its shortcomings . \\nthe film owes a lot of what it has to bonnie hunt\\'s direction . \\nfrom the very first bird\\'s eye view of chicago , zooming in slowly toward the insignificant bob rueland ( david duchovny ) , accompanied by the \" return to me \" ballad ( by whom ? ) , we can tell we\\'re in for something sweet . \\nthe scenes between the characters are endearing , truthful , with just a hint of fantasy . \\nreal people don\\'t act that way ; real people aren\\'t that nice . \\nwe know all this , and yet we want to believe in these folks\\' existence . \\nthe premise itself seems to have sprung out of a fairytale , but hunt\\'s rooting the fairytale in common chicago folk simultaneously lends credit to the scenario and tinges everyday urban life with a hint of the ethereal . \\neverything is ordinary--yet beautiful--in this film . \\n>from the festive little family restaurant to grace ( minnie driver ) and bob\\'s wardrobes . \\nfrom the eloquent , not-in-a-hurry to progress storyline to the dainty watercolors that grace paints . \\nfrom the animal stars to the way all the characters interact on screen -- the most beautiful part . \\n \" return to me \" has done an excellent job of assembling together a group of actors who blend in effortlessly as a family : the audience has no trouble at all believing that this rambunctious family actually does exist . \\nwe care for them , laugh with them , cry with them ; we\\'re concerned that the little boy will pick up cursing from his father . \\nwhatever hunt did , she brought out the naturalism in all of the actors . \\ndisappointingly , david alan grier\\'s charlie , however much i like him , was the most flatly-written . \\nduchovny here does a laudable job of shaking off his fox mulder persona -- with the help of his fellow co-stars rarely do we see any hint of special agent fox mulder . \\ninstead we have a normal guy who when he falls in love shows more delight than fox mulder will show over the span of an entire season of \" the x-files . \" \\nduchovny , who is excellent at understatement and self-deprecation as an actor showcases his considerable comedic talent on screen . \\nminnie driver is engaging as always as the sweet , innocent grace with nothing but a good heart to offer . \\nthough an unlikely pair , duchovny and driver gradually warm up to each other as the movie progresses . \\nwhile \" return to me \" functions remarkably as a laugh-out-loud comedy , a romantic scenic tour through chicago , and a tearjerker , the story is set up so the film ends up having nowhere to develop . \\nthe entire climax of the film hinges on when and how grace is going to tell bob that she actually was the recipient of his wife\\'s heart . \\nwe already know that there\\'s going to be a happy ending ; we feel like we spend the entire film , however enjoyably , in a straight line going towards that point . \\nas a result bob and grace click almost too quickly--yes , i know she\\'s supposed to have his ex-wife\\'s heart and everything--it seems too effortless . \\nthe main subject is a love story , and the family scenes i love so much unfortunately are overused and distract from the turmoil of the two main characters ( whose story might not have that much meat after all ) . \\nhowever , in the spirit of \" return to me , \" it won\\'t do to be too picky about how \" old \" hollywood tells its stories . \\ni loved knowing that this was a labor of love for bonnie hunt . \\nit shows . \\nthe bottom line : \" return to me \" is nothing remarkable , and yet its sweetness , sincerity , and charm might touch your heart in ways that you hadn\\'t imagined . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this is the kind of movie that makes one appreciate disney's live- action george of the jungle . \\ntarzan and the lost city , the latest attempt to bring edgar rice burrough's legendary hero to the big screen , is one of the most inept and ill-timed of any tarzan adventure so far . \\nbadly conceived and poorly executed , tarzan and the lost city appears headed for a quick trip to video store shelves . \\ni have no idea why the producers chose now to bring back tarzan ; it's not as if there are legions of new fans clamoring for his next movie . \\nfurthermore , it's even more curious that this film is rated pg , which , by definition , rules out any sex or explicit violence . \\nand , while i'm not advocating the excesses embraced by the 1981 bo derek version of the story , tarzan deserves a slightly more adult approach than the one used in the embarrassing production . \\nof course , no tweaking of the content to change the rating could have saved tarzan and the lost city , since the film's troubles originated with the script and were propagated all the way down the line . \\nimagine george of the jungle stripped of all ( intentional ) humor , and you have a fair idea of what this tarzan is like . \\nwith its uninspired action and tepid adventure sequences , the film barely registers a pulse . \\nanyone in search of a relatively entertaining , family jungle adventure should check out the 1994 version of the jungle book , which uses the same basic elements to much better effect . \\nthe only worthwhile element of tarzan and the lost city is the pretty scenery ( which , unfortunately , includes the two lead actors ) . \\nthe film doesn't attempt to re-tell the origin story ? the thinking is that it has been done often enough . \\ninstead , tarzan and the lost city introduces us to lord graystoke a . k . a . john clayton a . k . a . tarzan the ape man ( casper van dien ) several days before his marriage to lady jane porter ( jane march ) . \\nhe is living happily in england , enjoying the benefits of being a land-owning noble . \\nmeanwhile , in central africa , the dastardly nigel ravens ( steven waddington ) , a self-proclaimed scholar and explorer , believes he has found the way to the lost city of opar , which he calls the cradle of civilization . \\non the way there , he and his band of mercenaries do all sorts of nasty things , like burning native villages , to earn the wrath of the locals . \\none shaman , determined to stop ravens from unearthing opal , sends a mystical message to tarzan for help . \\nwith lady jane following close behind , he returns to the jungle where he was born . \\nits patently obvious that casper van dien ( one of the pretty-boy heroes of starship troopers ) was not hired on the basis of his acting ability . \\nwith his plastic facial expressions , monotone voice , and complete inability to make convincing animal noises , his range rivals that of steven seagal . \\nhis pecs , however , are impressive , and director carl schenkel makes sure that he is given every opportunity to show them off . \\njane march , on the other hand , has to keep her shirt on , which may be a first for her . \\nsome six years ago , march give a solid performance in jean jacques annaud's steamy the lover . \\nsince then , she made the career-killing decision of appearing opposite bruce willis in the color of night , which exploited her every acting defiency . \\ntarzan continues this trend . \\nmarch may be attractive , but , at least judging by this performance , she can't act . \\nmeanwhile , steven waddington has serious trouble summoning up the menace necessary to be a really detestable bad guy . \\ninstead , he turns out to be little more than a nuisance . \\nthe story line is pure formula , which has largely been true throughout the years for almost all of the tarzan movies . \\nthe problem is that this one seems so childish and lifeless . \\nthe romantic elements are all contrived ? in fact , lady jane's presence is necessary only so she can be captured and subsequently rescued by her buff fiance . \\nthe special effects are truly bottom-of-the-barrel ( including some laughably bad men in ape costumes ? apparently , animatronics were too expensive for this production ) . \\nand , of course , as with all jungle movies , there are the obligatory cute animals . \\nover the years , the legend of tarzan has been one of the most popular sources for film series material . \\nthe most famous ape man was johnny weismuller , but no less than two dozen other actors have essayed the part ( including gordon scott , who is widely believed to be the best actor to tackle the role ) . \\nweismuller made 12 tarzan features ; van dien will probably fall 11 short of that number . \\nand , having seen tarzan and the lost city , i would argue that the movie-going public would have been well served if he had missed by 12 . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'review : ghost dog : the way of the samurai ( 1999 ) \\ncast : forest whitaker , henry silva , cliff gorman , john tormey , gene riffini , victor argo , tricia vessey , isaach de bankole\\' , camille winbush director : jim jarmusch writer : jim jarmusch \\nrating : good shot ( stars ) \\nlanguid , yet pointed and focused , ghost dog : the way of the samurai sublimely savages our cultural fascination with the mafia and the sleek , ultra-cool , cinematic image of the hitman . \\njuxtaposing the samurai\\'s honor code of feudal japan against the tradition bound modus operandi of the american/italian mafia , it ceaselessly chips away with a sculptor\\'s precision at the archaic foundations of both as they lumber , dinosaur-like , to function in the modern era . \\ndirector jarmusch gleefully plays the iconoclast , ripping into mafioso precepts with splashes of acidic wit . \\nusing a palate of bleached colors , jarmusch lugubriously maintains a tone of desolation that belies the many sparks of laugh out loud humor punctuating the film . \\nhe doesn\\'t cater to audience expectations of hyper-colorized , stylized violence and gunplay where no one dies . \\nthe action is presented in flat , brutal codas . \\nbullets have permanence . \\ndeath has consequences . \\nthe movie rises beyond standard conventions to become a meditation on the concepts of honor and loyalty . \\nit is an anti-movie , of sorts . \\nthere are few photogenic , empathetic characters for the audience to fall in love with . \\nthis isn\\'t a film that lovingly holds your hand . \\nthere are dark , contemplative moments and the film firmly holds you by the shoulder , just so , asserting itself for all to see . \\nthe fulcrum for the movie\\'s thematic balancing act is ghost dog , a mafia hitman . \\na twist on the stereotypical image of the mob enforcer , ghost dog is a hilarious contradiction in terms . \\nunlike the sleek , muscular killing machines one is accustomed to , we are given an inner city black man who is overweight and slovenly , replete with chapped , dirty hands and rumpled clothing . \\nhe wears a hooded sweatshirt , which he often pulls over his head , giving him a monk-like appearance . \\nthere are no acrobatic back flips and shiny super guns in his arsenal . \\nhe uses old , worn weapons and simply goes about his tasks in economical , efficient and pleasureless fashion . \\nghost dog is a disciple of the old ways of the samurai , distilling the essence of his life through the filter of a book , which he reads daily , hagakure : the way of the samurai . \\nlife consists of simple pleasures for him : ice cream , warm rooftop naps and good books . \\nghost dog lives , as it were , by the basic tenet expressed by his book ; one should start each day considering oneself as dead . \\nliving atop an abandoned building , surrounded by his flock of pet carrier pigeons , ghost dog exists in a netherworld lacking creature comforts and friends . \\nhe craves nothing more . \\nas he puts it late in the film , \" i\\'ve seen all i want to see . \" \\nhe exists in a spiritual world of the mind , gaining moral sustenance from his readings . \\nghost dog wasn\\'t always as he is presented . \\nin several roshomon-like flashbacks , it\\'s shown how ghost dog was assaulted by racist white males and beaten nearly to death until the timely intervention of a good samaritan , that \" samaritan \" being a foot soldier in an aging crime family . \\nghost dog pledges his life to the service of the man , louie ( tormey ) , as repayment . \\nafter years of loyal service , ghost dog is sent , by louie , to kill \" handsome frank \" , a made man within louie\\'s organization who has run away with the crime boss\\'s daughter , louise ( vessey ) . \\nghost dog wordlessly executes his task , witnessed by louise , whom he spares , as she sits watching a betty boop cartoon , clutching a copy of the book , roshomon . \\nin a bit of synchronicity , louise loans the book to ghost dog . \\nupset that frank was taken out by someone not from the family , the mob bosses , in turn , put out a hit on ghost dog in a perverse twist of loyalty to their assassinated comrade . \\nthe rest of movie holds the dated value systems of both the mafia and ghost dog up to the light of a new millennium with many acerbic asides as the two come factions come into conflict . \\nthe theme of old cartoons flares up time and again , each time showing cartoon violence that is in sharp counterpoint to the reality of ghost dog\\'s world . \\neach time a character is shown watching a cartoon , it\\'s from the same era , betty boop , felix the cat , etc . , a reflection of days gone by . \\nnear the end , louise is watching a cartoon that\\'s a departure from the previously shown ones . \\nit\\'s a bit of audacity on jarmusch\\'s part that is nicely effective , despite it\\'s surrealistic nature . \\nas ghost dog floats through his world , his life is touched by two people . \\none is a sage little girl ( winbush ) who connects with ghost dog through their love of reading . \\nshe comes to symbolize a melding of the old ways and new sensibilities , just as louise ultimately does . \\nby film\\'s end , the fact that jamusch is so effective at illustrating the tenuous bond between the two is a testament to his skill as a writer . \\nthe other person in ghost dog\\'s world is an ice cream ( de bankole\\' ) vendor who only speaks french , yet intuitively shares a rapport with ghost dog . \\nthe vendor is the literal stranger in a strange land . \\njarmusch , through rapper/composer rza , underscores his film with rap and reggae music , which at first blush seems dichotomous , but its primal rhythms serve to strengthen the fundamental nature of the movie . \\nghost dog seems to draw some type of strength from the rap music he listens to as he negotiates the streets in various stolen cars . \\n ( which , in and of itself , presents another paradox about ghost\\'s dog\\'s sense of honor . ) \\nthe head mafioso is played by henry silva with a stone faced resignation . \\nof all the cartoonish mobsters , he is the only one who appears self aware of his state in the world . \\ngorman plays sonny , a lieutenant who respects the old ways , yet has a quirky affinity for rap music , a love comically shown in several impromptu displays . \\nruffini seems the truest reflection of the mafia . \\nhe is a husk of a man , assisted by two hearing aids , who barks out advice without truly hearing what he , or others are saying . \\nwhitaker carries the film by using what truly great actor\\'s use , his face . \\nghost dog is reticent to speak , often going for long periods without doing so . \\nthe fact that whitaker can convey such a wide range of emotion through a gesture or look is a remarkable talent . \\nalthough the film has a deliberate pace , some of the late night drives and walks taken by ghost dog dragged the momentum down . \\ntruly tragic is how ghost dog misinterprets japanese honor in his final confrontation with the mob . \\nhe reveals himself to be so desperate for spiritual guidance through the hagakure that he fails to truly adapt it to what is real and true in his world . \\ncarried on the shoulders of a remarkable performance by whitaker , ghost dog rises beyond being a characterization or icon , into a figure that garners sympathy , if not a bit of pity . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : a bunch of bad guys dressed up as elvis impersonators rob a vegas casino during a presley convention . \\nthe boys eventually get together to split the money , but as plans change , double-crosses occur , dealing and wheeling goes down and the crew set up for the road . \\nwho\\'s on the up and up , who\\'s the real bad guy and who\\'s gonna get to bang courteney cox are just a few of the questions which will be answered by the rest of this movie . \\ncritique : the funnest movie that i\\'ve seen so far this year ! \\nit\\'s got style , it\\'s got tough guys talkin\\' shite and it\\'s got plenty of bullets to go around . \\na definite hunk-a-hunk-a burnin\\' adventure ! \\na guy\\'s guy movie through and through , and one that\\'ll set your jollies to high if you dig on the rough stuff . \\nit\\'s not very original , it goes on for a little too long , but costner and russell make it happen , as two shite-kickin\\' elvis lovers , who don\\'t stop till they , more or less , drop . \\nthis movie\\'s got some pretty intensive shoot-out scenes , one of the coolest robbery scenarios that i\\'ve ever witnessed , featuring several elvises with guns a blazin\\' and the king\\'s music playing in the background , and a decent helping of double-crosses , sharp dialogue and funny moments . \\nin fact , even though the cast is filled with many name actors ( b-actors as they might be for the most part ) , most of them do their bit and succeed well in passing the torch onto the next victim . \\nbut the true glue that holds this film together , other than the spirit of elvis himself , is costner and russell , who play their badass characters to the t . sure , russell\\'s been down this road before , but costner surprised me with his nastiness . \\ni guess he\\'s pissed at all the box-office bombs that he\\'s been in of late , but he sure played a great unstable elvis impersonating robber here . \\nin the end , the bottom line with this movie is having fun , kickin\\' ass and making sure there\\'s enough bubblegum around to chew afterwards . \\nand smoke \\'em if you got \\'em , folks ! \\nthere is also this one really great show-down scene between costner and a cop , that\\'ll have you crackin\\' up and lovin\\' it all at the same time . \\nthe violent scenes in this movie are violent and the entire film is wrapped in a soundtrack that\\'ll kick your arse from this end of the theatre to the next . \\nit should actually come to no surprise to anyone that the director of this movie comes from a music video background , with plenty , and i mean plenty , of camera tricks , cuts and edits , but for this kind of flick , it actually works . \\nthe film is not perfect though , it starts off with a pretty big bang , but then pulls a way of the gun on us , and slows the pace down somewhat in the middle , while characters intermingle and disperse . \\ni was personally kept in the game despite some soft spots , and enjoyed the overall ride for what it was as well . \\nand did i mention that courteney cox looked mega-hot in the movie ? \\nno . . . okay , \\nwell i just did ! \\ni coulda done without her whole \" romance \" angle , but to be honest , it doesn\\'t take up much of the film , which is generally covered in blood , explosions , guts and elvis nods . \\ntry to see how many \" inside \" connections to the king you can guess . \\nof course , it\\'s no secret that i am quite a big elvis fan myself so please take this whole review with that grain of salt in mind . \\ni also like these types of \" guy \" movies a lot , and even though the film doesn\\'t bring much originality to the table , it does offer a pretty coherent story , some nice twists and turns , humor and a big ol\\' helping of whoop-ass coming straight from costner and russell\\'s respective boots . \\nprobably not a film for everyone , but definitely for those who enjoy the guns , the charismatic bad guys and a fun , if entirely disposable , adventure . \\nnow see how many elvis songs i\\'ve used to pun my way through this phony review below . \\nthe elvis songs also recommend this movie ! \\nso whether you\\'re lonesome tonight or any other night , remember to pack the teddy bear with bullets , leave your little sister at home , bring your bossa nova baby and rock out of that jailhouse , cause this movie ain\\'t one to return to the sender . \\ni really beg of you , whether you\\'re stuck in the ghetto or crying in the chapel , to slap this cinematic ring around your neck and love it tender . \\nand no suspicious minds either , folks , cause i got stung by this movie , i mean it really shook me up , and unless you\\'re the devil in disguise himself , i think you won\\'t be able to help falling in love with this lucky charm either . \\nso don\\'t be cruel , don\\'t turn away , don\\'t curl up with your latest flame tonite ( whether she be a hard-headed woman or not ) and surrender to the hound dog of movies that is this film . \\nit\\'s now or never , folks . \\ntrust me , i did it my way and the heartbreak hotel of crappy movies that i\\'d seen so far this year is far behind me . \\njoblo has now officially left the sanity of his mind and this building . \\nthank you . . . thank \\nyou very much ! ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nget carter ( 7/10 ) - heat ( 8/10 ) - honeymoon in vegas ( 9/10 ) - payback ( 8/10 ) - reindeer games ( 5/10 ) -reservoir dogs ( 9/10 ) - way of the gun ( 6/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b\"humanities quest for knowledge never ends . \\nso a team of scientists and film-makers travel to the amazon to search for a legendary indian tribe . \\nthe party consists of anthropologist steven cale ( eric stoltz ) and the camera team consisting of terri flores ( jennifer lopez ) , danny rich ( ice cube ) , gary dixon ( owen wilson ) , denise kahlberg ( kari wuhrer ) and warren westridge ( jonathan hyde ) . \\nearly on their journey they meet paul sarone ( jon voight ) whose boat is stuck on the shore . \\nthey agree to give him a ride to the next village . \\nhe claims to know the area well and can be useful locating the native tribe . \\nvery soon their friendliness backfires on the group because sarone turns out to be a snake hunter without scruples who only wants to catch a giant anaconda and sell it to a zoo . \\nwe don't have to wait too long for the giant snake . \\nshe just had a panther hors d'oevre and now is looking for the main course . \\nour heroes paddle around in the amazonas as if it were the pool in their own backyard . \\nno wonder giant animals mistake their splashing for a dinner bell . \\nour anaconda is a polite one and swallows the first victim in one big gulp . \\nenjoy ! \\nso much for the first attempt to catch her . \\nbut who would want to catch a giant snake with a fishing pole ? \\nour villain sarone shows his soft side when he stops terri from shooting the snake . \\ntoo bad that anaconda is just about to strangle another member of the expedition . \\none by one she goes after the others . \\neric stoltz is stung by a giant wasp right in the beginning and is mercifully unconcious for the rest of the adventure . \\nthe rest of the crew keeps entertaining the viewer although not the way the makers of the movie had planned . \\nhowever the scenes without the anaconda are rather boring . \\nwhenever the leading lady shows up we're in for a laugh . \\nthe snake reminds us of a favorite character of a famous animated movie even if she should be an awe-inspiring monster . \\nher attacks always follow the same plan : one last hypnotic look - she's looking at you , kid - then she speedily wraps herself around her victim and starts to gush it down . \\nmostly we don't see the act of devouring . \\nbut she looks nice when she wiggles away with her bulging middle part . \\nwhoever did the special effects on this movie may have wanted to go to a zoo first and study some real snakes . \\nmaybe then the anaconda model would have looked more real . \\nthe animatronics are somewhat more believable . \\nbut that didn't work for the strangling scenes . \\ndon't go see the movie for the f/x . \\nthey are everything but up-to-date . \\nthe viewer who likes to watch the end credits will see to his/her surprise that a snake expert was a consultant for the team . \\nwe may doubt though that he has ever seen the final result of his work . \\na well known american science magazine is also mentioned in the credits , but i will refrain from naming it here to avoid further damage to its reputation . \\nthe majority of viewer will have left the theater as soon as the credits start rolling , anyway . \\nwhat kind of audience is the target group for this movie ? \\nhard to say . \\nthis can't be a serious horror movie , or can it ? \\nsee for yourself . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'capsule : this is a film that avoids easy answers . \\nwilhelm furtwangler , then the world\\'s greatest orchestra conductor stayed in germany and cooperated with the nazis . \\nwhat were his views , was he a war criminal or a secret resistance fighter ? \\nhow much did he know about crimes against humanity ? \\nthe us government investigated him after the war and this film is a dramatization of that investigation . \\n , high +2 ( -4 to +4 ) \\nin my opinion one of the best films of the last few years is istvan szabo\\'s sunshine , a film that covers the fortunes of a jewish hungarian family under the reigns of three different regimes , hungarian aristocrats , nazis , and communists . \\nszabo\\'s follow-up film , a german production , is much more limited in scope . \\nit is about the post-war investigation of who criminally supported the nazis and who opposed them . \\nronald harwood\\'s screenplay ambiguously looks at the investigation of a great classical music conductor who stayed on in germany when the nazis took power and became the most popular conductor of the third reich . \\nmaj . steve arnold ( played by harvey keitel ) has been assigned by his superiors to investigate wilhelm furtwangler ( stellan skarsgard ) , perhaps europe\\'s greatest classical music conductor . \\nwhen other artists fled germany , furtwangler remained behind and conducted for the hitler and his henchmen . \\nafter the war is over arnold assigned to interview furtwangler and members of his orchestra and if appropriate to prosecute him for war crimes . \\nhe secretly is told by his commanding officer to find furtwangler guilty . \\nfrom there we follow him and learn a little about arnold and something about furtwangler and his orchestra . \\nas he interviews members of the wartime orchestra arnold starts noticing odd peculiarities that may or may not point to a conspiracy against his investigation . \\nthere is a certain sameness to the responses that he is getting . \\nperhaps any cooperation he is getting has been in some ways managed . \\nif so , perhaps he can never come to the truth . \\nin large part the film is about mind games that arnold uses to manipulate his interviewees and especially furtwangler . \\nwhere the script has problems is that in the end it is so ambiguous . \\nit has no obvious resolution and not much of a final act . \\nwhen it is over whether anything has been established is open to interpretation . \\nperhaps that is better than so many films that make it all to obvious what the audience should believe , but it is like watching a murder mystery and never finding out who the killer is . \\nwe are given clues to something but they are never tied up . \\nin the end we just know more about both arnold and furtwangler . \\nthe film is basically a stage play . \\nthe visual is not very important . \\ncorners are cut visually including touches like filling windows with photographs to avoid having to shoot on location . \\nas with a stage play , what this film centers on the dialog , and that is intriguing . \\ni rate the film an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n[there is one piece of sloppiness few people but me would notice . \\nat one point we clearly see arnold\\'s desk calendar say \" jan 16 tues . \" \\na quick mental calculation told me that combination could occur in 1945 and then not again until 1951 . \\nthe events had to take place in 1946 or 1947 . \\na possible date could be obtained from any world almanac . ] \\n',\n",
+       " b'sometimes a stellar cast can compensate for a lot of things , and \" pushing tin \" certainly features some name stars who are going places : billy bob thornton , cate blanchett , angelina jolie , and oh yes john cusack who might not realize it at first , but he\\'s actually the * veteran * among this quartet of fine-looking people . \\nsometimes a terrific cast like this can compensate for a lackluster screen treatment of an idea that has \" hip comedy \" written all over it , compensate for workmanlike but uninspired direction , compensate for an obnoxious score that would have anyone but the tone deaf screaming for the exits , compensate for clich ? d characterizations , compensate for embarrassing \" you have to be joking \" situations . \\netc . \\nin \" pushing tin , \" thornton , blanchett , jolie , and cusack don\\'t have an earthly . \\nfrom the opening sequence the film is in big trouble : squiggly , \" quirky \" credits , fake-looking passenger planes circling new york , and anne dudley\\'s in-your-ear music making us wonder how she ever got that best original score nomination for \" the full monty , \" let alone won it . \\nbut i , for one , wasn\\'t ready to walk just yet . \\nso quickly we descend into a tightly-edited air traffic controllers montage which screams to us in large capital letters these people have a difficult job , yes , what with their frantic , mile-a-minute instructional personas , juggling planes and passenger\\'s lives like some huge , real , mid-air video game . \\nhip , cool , demonic auctioneer nick \" the zone \" falzone ( cusack ) is the best in the biz . \\nof course . \\nuntil some hipper , cooler , leather-clad flyboy assist in the guise of russell bell ( thornton ) shows up to challenge falzone\\'s finite air space . \\nboys will be boys and some heavy duty testosterone starts exuding , then the macho one-upmanship begins . \\nit doesn\\'t stop with seeing who can juggle three 747s within a cat\\'s whisker of each other . \\noh no . \\nthere are some broken hoop dreams , some wanna-see-how-fast-i-can-drives , and then the ultimate showdown : was that my wife i saw you with last night ? \\ndirector mike newell ( \" four weddings and a funeral \" ) must have read a different draft of this script because the one that\\'s being acted out up there between newark , jfk , and la guardia doesn\\'t have an ounce of subtlety , and newell has made some awfully good-and funny-movies before . \\nthe antics of these air traffic controllers will make you cringe . \\nthey\\'ll make you frown in disbelief . \\nthey\\'ll have you constantly looking at your watch . \\nbut wait ! \\nthere\\'s still 100 minutes to go ! ! \\nthe film\\'s only saving grace is blanchett , whose connie falzone is a spunky , brash , long island housewife who wants to better herself by taking art classes . \\nthis is a wonderful accomplishment for the fine actress who has previously played a red-headed australian gambler ( \" oscar and lucinda \" ) and a tempestuous british monarch ( \" elizabeth \" ) . \\nbut she\\'s not enough to save the picture . \\nthornton looks terrific and performs solidly but his character is a joke . \\njolie ( as russell\\'s knock \\'em dead wife ) isn\\'t bad , but the up-and-coming actress disappoints by allowing herself to be displayed like a plaything . \\ncusack cracks gum , dons shades , and acts hip throughout but , like everything else in the film , his performance is forced . \\nin the last ten minutes or so , for some inexplicable reason , things start coming together and you begin to get a sense of how this film might have been , like the trailer teases . \\nbut it\\'s too little too late . \\na fine cast aside , \" pushing tin \" is nothing more than an embarrassment . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"no , it is not a bad film , in fact it is so good in achieving its purpose , i actually wished for the film to end itself quickly . \\nevent horizon is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi film , i'm sure many who have watched this will agree with me . \\nit is not even original in that sense , and it does borrow heavily from films like alien , hellraiser and even blade runner . \\nthe magic of this film lies in its unorthodox setting and methodical build-up that makes it wonderfully horrifying . \\nthe story brings us to the year 2050 , where space travel have since enormously progressed . \\nthe event horizon is actually a ship built for a secret experimental purpose ; it has the ability to fold time and space thus making it possible for travelling distances not reachable in a man's lifetime . \\nthe ship disappeared as soon as it went into operation but after 7 years , it reappeared again within the orbit of neptune . \\na search and rescue team led by miller ( fishburne ) is given the task to check for survivors of the event horizon . \\nthe designer of the ship , dr . weir ( neill ) follows along to satisfy his curiosity on what actually happened to his otherwise technologically impressive ship . \\nevent horizon is a sci-fi horror film , much truer to the word than say , alien would ever be . \\nwhile in alien , the crew has to cope with a ferocious creature while encased within tight spaces , in event horizon , the forces which goes against the crew is undefined but yet so powerful and horrifying . \\nthe story unfolds itself slowly and the suspense buildup is superb , up till the point where i really felt like saying out loud `enough ! \\ni can't stand this anymore ! ' . \\nthere are more than enough jolts to send your adrenalin pumping overtime . \\nthe story in itself is not exactly something very exciting and also , the acting is only at most , average by most commercial standards . \\neven so , the essence of horror is carried out very well in this film , thanks to its well-paced storytelling , disturbing set designs and some really gory sequences ( which incidentally , has been quite generously removed by our censorship board ) . \\ndirector paul anderson ( who did mortal kombat ) and his team of `atmosphere' creators have done well in keeping event horizon within the bounds of the term `horror' . \\nthis picture did not do very well in the us box-office most probably for the dread-factor impact it has on most audiences ; people will not see it again and not many would recommend their friend to watch this . \\nalthough on the face of it , event horizon is mostly molded for mass-entertainment ; many thrills , spills and suspense to keep audiences in focus . \\nhowever , the offbeat horror element which it ultimately convey audiences is very disturbing . \\nmy friend and i could not say a word to each other for quite a while after going through the `experience' of event horizon . \\ni guess it was just the immense feeling of dread which the film had cast upon us . \\nbe forewarned , this film is not for the faint-hearted nor for pure entertainment . \\nbe prepared to be disturbed if you should decide to watch this film ! \\nevent horizon is highly recommended ? ? but at your own risk ! \\nit has been a long time since good-horror embraced the big screen , and event horizon is one . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"starring shawnee smith ; donovan leitch ; ricky paull goldin ; kevin dillon & billy beck the blob is the remake of the 1960's classic ( a term that i use very loosely to define the original ) about a really mean glob of goop that takes out anything that gets in its way . \\nnow the original version has the virtue of cheesy special effects which give it a kind of nostalgic campy feel . \\nthe fact that steve mcqueen was the star of the film doesn't exactly hurt it either . \\nfast forward to the late '80's . \\nsteve mcqueen isn't in the remake ( this might have something to do with the fact that he had been pushing up daisies for years ) . \\nnor is there any hollywood heavy hitters in the lead role . \\nthat is unless you count matt dillon's brother kevin as a hollywood heavy hitter . \\nthe other thing that works against this new blob is that special effects technology has improved dramatically since the original . \\nthe only things you need now to have great special effects in a movie are deep pockets . \\nit looks as if the produces of the new blob had a couple of holes in their pockets . \\nthe special effects in this movie are cheesy , like the original's . \\nunlike the original , they don't look campy , they just look cheap . \\none bright spot in the movie from a purely sexist point of view is shawnee smith . \\nshe is very attractive and can actually act , which is more than i can say about some of her costars . \\nin terms of plot , a little ball of pink goop falls from the sky . \\nseems this goop was an experiment that was being housed up on a satellite . \\nanyway , the pink stuff has a taste for humans . \\nthe more people it absorbs , the bigger it gets . \\nand it isn't the friendliest goop on the block either . \\nanyway , it attacks this little town and it's up to the attractive local teenage population to stop it . \\nnot really , but that is how it seems . \\nthis version attempts to recapture the camp of the original . \\nas i've already said , this new version of the blob comes off more as cheap , badly acted , and badly written than campy . \\nin the years since this film was made none of the cast have gone on to greatness . \\nalthough , star shawnee smith had a very tiny role in armageddon . \\nthe reason that we have never heard of any of them again is quite simple -- they all stunk out loud . \\nalthough some of the film's smaller roles are filled with some actors that , while not big stars , are doubtless people that you will recognize from their supporting roles in other movies and tv shows . \\nit also appears that the producers of the blob tried to compensate for the lack of a special effects budget by making the scenes in which the blob makes meals of the townsfolk as gory as possible . \\nsadly , it doesn't work very well . \\nif you want to see a big ball of goop terrorize a town , then i would say that you should skip the remake and rent the original . \\n ( although that isn't so hot either . ) \\nthis newest version is seriously lacking in any redeeming qualities . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"it was once said that in order to truly enjoy some of today\\x12s movies or novels , you must \\x13suspend disbelief . \\x14 \\nhowever , there is a distinct separation between opening your mind to ridiculous situations and believing a bunch of flat lies . \\nit came as no surprise to me to learn that huntingburg , indiana ( where the film is set ) , does not have a mcdonald's , a sears store , a statue of a man on a horse , nor even a dam close by . \\neven if you can ignore these somewhat \\x13white\\x14 lies ( even though the dam is crucial to hard rain\\x12s plot ) ; there is still a bunch of things that just don\\x12t gel . \\nfirstly , morgan freeman , possibly the greatest actor alive ( after such films as driving miss daisy , the shawshank redemption and se7en ) , was cast as a shifty goon intent on stealing enough money for a healthy retirement . \\nhe _should_ have played the town sheriff , an experienced and somewhat intriguing policeman . \\nas a massive flood started by a dam accident overwhelms huntingburg , its residents presumably flee as the water level steadily increases . \\ni say presumably simply because we never know what happened to them ; and it seems a tad strange that an entire town ( with the exception of some folk who get introduced along the way ) can vanish before the flood has actually started . \\nbut nether the less , armored guard couriers tom ( christian slater ) and his uncle are carrying three million dollars in the back of their van . \\nwith a heavy rainstorm causing depressing conditions and slippery roads , it doesn\\x12t take long for the van to end up stuck amongst mud and water off the side of the road . \\njim ( morgan freeman ) and a small gang of thieves locate the van and attempt to steal the three million dollars . \\nbut of course tom is more than willing to save the day , so he takes the money and hides it elsewhere in town . \\nthe local sheriff ( randy quaid , whom most will remember as the drunken pilot in id4 ) and a couple of police men investigate the situation , but their morals are soon overpowered by greediness as each character contemplates what he/she would do with their share of the three million dollars . \\ndirector mikael salomon has made sure that hard rain ends up turning everything topsy-turvy , and whilst the film may at first appear to be a definite \\x13goodies versus baddies , \\x14 there are numerous twists in it\\x12s plot that make this a slightly more enjoyable experience . \\nbut by the time these interesting changes occur , it\\x12s far too late in the film for them to have much affect . \\nhard rain\\x12s continuos corniness and lack of originality washes out whatever hope the script may have had ; and although it\\x12s cast is somewhat appealing most of its stars act well below par . \\nnot at one stage capturing what could have been a fabulous on screen battle between slater and freeman , we are left to reminisce on films that dared to do something different and achieved more than what was expected . \\nsuch titles as broken arrow ( slater and john travolta ) and face/off ( nicholas cage and john travolta ) come to mind as films that have mastered silver screen confrontations . \\nstrangely enough , they were both directed by john woo and both star john travolta . \\nwe can forgive morgan freeman for giving a slightly disappointing performance since he is newish to the action genre , but christian slater could have achieved so much more had the amount of crummy one liners been reduced and some personality added to his character . \\nif you had asked me whether slater could perform well enough to substantially boost a movie prior to the release of broken arrow , my answer would have been a definite no . \\ni now know that he has no excuse , and _can_ do better ( if you don\\x12t believe me rent a copy of broken arrow from your local video store ) . \\nalthough hard rain never really works from the start , i somehow felt feelings of missed opportunity when the credits filled the screen . \\nthe addition of an enticing sub-plot would have given the film time to breathe , rather than try to cram 96 minutes of action and disaster into a story that can\\x12t handle anything else . \\ndespite the fact that hard rain fails on almost every account , if your standards are low enough you may find this to be a mildly enjoyable film . \\nno creative flair and no inventive scenes means that hard rain does not stand up well against its many competitors , but it doesn\\x12t really matter since the last thing you would want to do after shelling about $8 . 50 is compare this to other films . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'georges polti once wrote a paper called \" the thirty-six dramatic situations , \" in which he asserted the fact that all drama could be defined by no more than thirty-six different situations . \\nthis may be the modern restatement of the biblical prophecy from ecclesiastes , \" there\\'s nothing new under the sun . \" \\nthe faculty , the latest movie by from dusk till dawn director robert rodriguez , certainly proves this in typical hollywood fashion . \\nthere\\'s not a measureable fraction of original material in this unworthy outing . \\ndrawing elements from both the puppet masters and invasion of the body snatchers , screenwriter kevin williamson ( of scream 2 credit ) gives us a horror tale set in middle america ( ohio ) one eventful fall . \\nmaking use of a cast of unusually stock characters , williamson designs an alien invasion that will not be done independence day-style but rather \" through the back door . \" \\nparasitic aliens take over the faculty of a run-down high school and soon have infested most of the student body , leaving it up to the ensemble of principal characters to win the day . \\nthe lack of gusto is the movie\\'s major stumbling block . \\neven though the genre has seen movies that have a lack for quality such as this , they\\'ve been saved by an energetic approach . \\nthis casts more than a shadow of a doubt on williamson\\'s ability , who enjoyed success with the wes craven-directed scream but couldn\\'t pull anything solid in for this outing or i know what you did last summer . \\nalthough he designs the faculty with more of a sci-fi bent than his typical slasher picture , it still comes down to the same results : throw the stock characters in a steel cage match and see who comes out alive . \\non that level , the main roles are played by virtual unknowns . \\nonly the recognizeable elijah wood ( deep impact ) is at the front ; other than that , the screen veterans are saved for the minor roles of the alien teachers . \\nperhaps williamson has it in mind to champion these up-and-comers to the fame that their scream and last summer counterparts achieved ; but to do that , they\\'d all need to star in their own wb television show about the horrors of puberty a la \" dawson\\'s creek . \" \\nneedless to say the acting is far from top notch , nor does necessity ask that it should be . \\nthere is a moment or two of genuine horror , but unfortunately williamson and rodriguez did not take the story far enough in the sci-fi direction to make any use of it . \\nin sum , the faculty was just one long shot that did not pay off . \\n',\n",
+       " b'libby parsons ( ashley judd ) has the perfect little life -- a rich husband , a cute son , and a house on the ocean -- but when her husband nick ( bruce greenwood ) takes her sailing , she awakes to find him gone and her hands covered with blood . \\njust as she makes it to the deck and picks up the bloody knife lying there , the coast guard arrives in response to a distress call her vanished husband sent . \\nshe\\'s convicted of his murder , of course , and leaves her son matty ( benjamin weir ) with her best friend ( annabeth gish ) . \\ntime passes , and the friend disappears with matty . \\nduring their last phone conversation libby hears matty yell \" daddy ! \" \\nand realizes that her husband is still alive . \\nlibby serves six years , growing harder and driven by the desire to kill nick ( based on the theory that because of the \" double jeopardy \" amendment she can off him with impunity ) . \\nwhen she gets parole , she\\'s sent to a halfway house run by travis lehman ( tommy lee jones ) , a former law professor who ruined his life with a drunk driving accident . \\nafter a little breaking and entering and some destruction of property , libby jumps parole and lams it across the country looking for nick and matty . \\ntravis pursues , naturally . \\n \" double jeopardy \" is a watered-down version of \" the fugitive , \" with jones sleep-walking through his well-worn pursuer persona . \\nalthough libby never leaps from a bus that collides with a train , she manages to get into a few nail-biters -- chased down the beach by a jeep , chained to a car that plunges into the ocean , sealed in a coffin -- that add some much needed thrills to an anemic , slow-moving script . \\ncharacter development is thin . \\ntravis\\' intriguing backstory is mentioned a couple times but has no effect on the story . \\n ( i think they only made him a former law professor so that he could verify the double-jeopardy theory when libby gets the drop on nick . \\nit\\'s a long way to go for one line ) . \\nthere\\'s considerable sexual tension between travis and libby ( hey , there\\'s something \" the fugitive \" didn\\'t have ! ) , but it never goes anywhere . \\nlibby is a tv-movie everywoman , but judd\\'s intense performance draws us in and makes us forget that her character has no distinguishing characteristics . \\nthis is judd\\'s most prominent role to date , and she proves that she can light up the screen . \\nlet\\'s hope hollywood gives her more to work with next time around . \\nthe quality of director bruce beresford\\'s movies seems to depend on luck . \\nwhen he has a good script and a strong cast , he turns out oscar-caliber work like \" \\'breaker\\' morant , \" \" driving miss daisy , \" and \" tender mercies . \" \\nwhen he doesn\\'t . \\n . \\n . \\nwe get \" double jeopardy . \" \\nscreenwriters david weisberg and douglas cook previously collaborated on \" the rock , \" a script which probably benefited from the numerous uncredited rewrites . \\nbottom line : ashley judd tries hard but can\\'t save this predictable bore . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"so here is the second of 1999's remakes of classic horror movies . \\nthe first was the dumb , pathetic but ok remake of the classic 'the haunting' . \\nnow comes the highly awaited remake of house on haunted hill . \\nthe classic which starred vincent price as a man who pays a group of people 100 , 000 to stay in his house . \\nif they survive the night they get the money . \\nif not well you get the jurisdiction . \\nhaving not yet seen the film ( dvd on its way ) i wasn't sure if i would really like the remake . \\nbut sure enough it comes through and has a great storyline to fall back on . \\ngeoffrey rush ( in a fantastic role with an incredible performance ) is steven price , the owner of an amusement park destined to scare the wits out of people . \\nhis wife evelyn price is throwing a party with her friends . \\nsteven dismays at the idea and makes his own list . \\nsomehow someone , or something changes that list and five other people are invited to the party . \\neddie ( taye diggs ) an ex-baseball player , sarah ( ali carter ) an ex-assistant who can re-wire anything , melissa ( brigette wilson ) a talk-show host in sorts , dr . blackburn ( peter ghallager ) , and watson ( chris kattan ) a smart-mouthed humorist in ways . \\nwhat he is gonna do is pay these five people 1 , 000 , 000 dollars if they can survive through the night . \\nif they can they get the money , if not well they don't . \\nthe house on haunted hill used to be an insane asylum . \\nyears before mental patients broke out and killed the dr . there , forcing him to lock the place up because if he died , so did they . \\neveryone who was in there burned to death . \\nnow it is steven price's home and he is throwing this party for these five people . \\nwhat starts out as a seemingly normal night , turns into a horrifying , blood splattering night . \\nthe deep dark secrets of what really happened in that asylum and why those guests are actually there are revealed . \\none-by-one the people start to disappear . \\nconspiracies start to turn up , and steven price finds out that his house may be alive after all . \\nthe people find rooms , which once held mental patients . \\nrooms which once had people dying . \\nrooms which may still contain these people . \\nnow these five people must try and survive the night and try and survive the house , and they must survive each other with terrorfying results . \\nsince i officially haven't seen the original i can't say which is better . \\ni can say however i liked this movie . \\ngeoffrey rush gives a one in a million performance as the rich steven price , and does a great job doing a vincent price role . \\nfamke jansen as his wife was great and even kind of eerie at times . \\nali carter and taye diggs sort of become the main characters and ali carter who debuted in varsity blues gives a fantastic performance here as does taye diggs . \\nchris kattan gives us great comic relief and the movie contains a lot of comical lines . \\npeter ghallager and brigette wilson were great as well and gave commanding performances as potential victims . \\nthe plot was well conceived and was very absorbing . \\nthe movie has atmosphere the whole way through that is disturbing and creepy , and even sometimes downright scary . \\ni found even the opening credits to me a little ominous . \\none thing i knew not to expect was a 'haunting' type movie with special effects galore . \\neven though it had fantastic gore and special effects , the movie has only a 19 million dollar budget , which doesn's show all the way through but you can tell . \\nthe movie was written well , and it's only major flaw is the under-developed characters and plot holes that we are left with . \\nthe ending is quite clever and some may not even get it . \\ni must say house on haunted hill was a surprise . \\ni was expecting another haunting with special effects , no scares and a dumb ending . \\ninstead i found a good halloween movie with gore , scares and great acting . \\nhouse on haunted hill is one of those movies you really can't take seriously . \\nthough it is a well-made movie with a good storyline it still has some flaws . \\nbut besides that the movie is fun , smart and scary and makes us wonder why remakes like this can't be made all the time ! \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"disconnect the phone line . \\ndon't accept the charges . \\ndo anything you can to avoid the wretched , melodramatic sisterhood dramedy `hanging up' . \\ni figured i needed to get in touch with my feminine side , and `hanging up' seemed like an ideal opportunity to do so . \\nthe film features an incredible palate of female talent , and the capability behind the camera brought to mind such sparkling gems as `sleepless in seattle' and `unsung heroes' . \\nmeg ryan , diane keaton and lisa kudrow play a trio of sisters who , once separated by career judgments over family ties , must reunite when their father ( walter matthau ) is admitted into the hospital with alzheimer's disease . \\nwhile this may read like an optimum opportunity to rekindle their relationship and reflect with poignancy on the past , the script by sisters delia and nora ephron is exasperating , shapeless dreck teeming with emotional fakery . \\n`hanging up' has the overall effect of a tele-marketer pestering you for two hours , while you don't have the option of doing as the title suggests . \\nfor the first half-hour , the ephron sisters use telephone conversations for a basis of character development . \\nthis is an annoying and ineffective device . \\ncell-phones ring every five minutes , and everyone hurriedly rushes along , leaving marginal time for the frustrated viewer to relate to the sisters' issues and problems . \\nif `hanging up' was an apple pie , then i felt as if we were getting the mere crust of the story . \\ngranted , there are a few genuine and sincere moments in the film . \\nbut they only help to establish that the remainder of the strained emotions are nothing but inferior dramatic muck . \\nthe most outrageous strategy in `hanging up' is that , after a series of largely unrealized attempts at character development , we are expected to exhibit compassion and courtesy toward the sisters as they join for a melodramatic finale . \\nwe are able to identify with eve ( ryan ) , the most open and caring daughter , because she is the one who stayed by her father's side as everyone else moved forward to pursue a impending career . \\ngeorgia ( keaton ) , the eldest daughter , is celebrating the fifth year anniversary of her magazine called . . . . \\n`georgia' . \\nmaddy ( kudrow ) , the soap opera actress , spends time either contemplating her possible path to stardom or nursing her dog . \\nryan's convincing performance and diverting cuteness are two of the more agreeable aspects of `hanging up' . \\nkudrow , so delightfully eccentric as the off-kilter airhead phoebe in `friends' , is totally wasted . \\nditto for keaton , who is serving a double shift as co-star and director - a time slot that can be a difficult priority juggle . \\nher frenzy is apparent . \\nfor a chick flick , there is a distressing lack of chuckles . \\nthe reliable matthau is reduced to chaotic shtick that , given his character's situation , seems more depressing than amusing . \\neven so , the peak form of humor in `hanging up' is represented by some of matthau's nasty quips and ryan's eternal battle to have the aforementioned pooch swallow a pill . \\nthat about accounts for the three or four chuckles you will expel during the film . \\nmy curiosity has suddenly been tweaked to discover how such a promising and star-studded approach could turn so viciously sour . \\nbut really , it's no mystery . \\nthe predictable , melodramatic filth that is `hanging up' is certainly not the fault of these actresses . \\npin it on the screenplay , which attempts to clear up vital issues in three or four minutes , while spending the rest of the running time in an annoying flurry of phone conversations . \\nit's certainly a far cry from what one would label as a rewarding experience , but `hanging up' should have at least been enjoyable . \\nuh-uh . \\nit's a wrong number from the beginning . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'please don\\'t mind this windbag letting off a bit of steam . . . i \\njust want to warn all of y\\'all not to waste your hard-earned $$$ on anaconda . \\nit\\'s not even worth a 99-cent video rental . \\ndon\\'t listen to ebert on this one ( he has no clue what he\\'s talking about ! ) \\nbtw i accompanied my friend to this one because she was * required * to watch it on assignment ( she reviews movies for a local paper ) . \\nnow i\\'ll actually back up my huffing and puffing . \\nhere goes : \\nmovie : anaconda rydain\\'s bottom line : wait for it to come on usa up all night . \\neven then , i doubt it\\'s worth the price of jolt ( to help you stay up that late ! ) \\nwhy do i hate anaconda ? \\nlet me count the ways . . . \\nfirst of all , this movie gets way too many snake facts wrong . \\nas an ophiophile ( snake lover ) , i can tell you that a ) anacondas would never reach a length of 40 feet , b ) they\\'re scared of people , c ) cases of snakes eating adult humans are extremely rare because human shoulders are too wide to fit in a snake\\'s mouth , and constrictor snakes don\\'t kill what they can\\'t eat , d ) people can outrun snakes with no trouble , especially heavy ones like anacondas , e ) if an anaconda did eat a human , it would need at least 6 months of sitting on its butt to digest the huge meal , therefore it couldn\\'t run around gobbling up everybody else in the cast , and f ) snakes have no vocal cords , so they can\\'t make funny squealing noises . \\nwhew . \\ni was prepared to suspend reality if the movie would have been worth it . \\nunfortunately , anaconda was about as suspenseful and exciting as watching paint peel . \\nmy friend and i even successfully predicted who would live at the end . \\nanybody can tell the bad guy is going to die eventually . \\nthat was a pity because his character was one of the few reasons my friend and i didn\\'t give up and fall asleep . \\nhe was the most likable character in the movie . \\nwho wouldn\\'t enjoy somebody who looks like a deranged walt whitman ? \\nanaconda did have its cute moments : arguments between ice cube\\'s character and the british guy , for instance . \\nhowever , those small flashes of wit were not worth the other hour and twenty-eight minutes of boring schlock . \\nthe writers had - and blew - a multitude of opportunities to insert funny lines . \\ni was quite disappointed with a scene where a young guy tells a young lady that the jungle makes him horny . \\ndid she retort with a clever , ego-withering comeback ? \\nof course not ! \\n \" i\\'m trying to work ! \" \\ngee , that\\'s even dumber than the crap comebacks i come up with . \\nshe could have told him to go find a knothole or something . . . \\n ; p but i will admit , there was just one scene where i was surprised at the outcome ( hint : it involves the evil guy and miss crap comebacks ) . \\nas for the plot , i\\'m still trying to find one . \\nthis movie was basically an excuse to get a boatload of people into dangerous territory where they could get snarfed by ridiculous , computer-generated anacondas with the eyes and fangs of vipers and the faster-than-gravity downward acceleration of a harrier jet . \\n ( harrier snake ? ) \\nnot to mention instant digestion so they could go snarf countless other victims . \\nthe writers tried to throw in some sort of plot twist ( should i call it a plot knot because it made no sense ? ) in which the sick guy\\'s g-friend kisses the evil dude and suddenly everybody hates said evil dude and starts trying to kill him . \\nthat was about as clear and understandable as mission : impossible . \\n ( if someone could explain that movie to me , i\\'d be most grateful ! \\nall the old-guy double agents looked the same ! ! ) \\ni wasn\\'t inspired by the acting , save for the evil dude . \\ni can\\'t blame the actors , though . \\nit\\'s not their fault they had a cruddy script to work with . \\nthis concludes rydain\\'s diatribe on a shameless exploitation ( and perpetuation ! ) of public fear of snakes . \\ncomments , flames , anyone ? \\n-rydain the atomic cheese , fresh from chernobyl dairies ! \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" six days , seven nights \" is a summer movie that gets the summer movie experience deliciously right , a commendable achievement considering the season thus far has been littered with some pretty uneven fare . \\nhere\\'s a genuinely fun fluff piece that knows it\\'s fluff , recognizes it\\'s fluff and is admittedly proud to be fluff . \\nof course , the casting of harrison ford in the broadly comedic lead role plays a sizeable part in the movie\\'s success ; ford is such a concentrated dramatic actor that it\\'s easy to forget what a funny guy he can be . \\nas his female counterpart , anne heche also deserves a big pat on the back for her sweet , goofily charismatic performance . \\nthe age difference ( ford\\'s 56 , heche\\'s 29 ) matters not -- these two click in a charged way that\\'s hard to come by . \\nthe story is a no-brainer -- ford stars as gruff but loveable island aviator quinn harris , while heche is career-minded but loveable new york magazine editor robin monroe . \\nrobin , on a tropical vacation with fianc ? frank ( david schwimmer ) , gets assigned to supervise an emergency photo shoot in nearby tahiti , so she reluctantly hires quinn to fly her there . \\nthe plane crashes during a terrible storm , and they immediately find themselves stuck in a deserted paradise with few ideas on getting back to civilization . \\na series of unpleasant , often hilarious catastrophes leaves little choice but for both members of this unlikely odd couple to fall for each other . \\nmeanwhile , back at the resort , frank is tempted himself by quinn\\'s shapely female tagalong ( jacqueline obradors ) . \\nthat subplot obviously exists to get us rooting for the quinn-robin pairing , and while it makes for a few good laughs early on , it eventually becomes a contrived distraction from the far more engrossing misadventures of quinn and robin . \\nand since the film spends most of its time with the castaways , this flaw is only a minor inconvenience . \\ndirector ivan reitman keeps the pace brisk . \\nat a slim 101 minutes , \" six days , seven nights \" never wears out its welcome , where a lesser film could have felt like it was as long as its title . \\nmichael browning\\'s clever screenplay allows for plenty of notable one-liners ( my favorite , taken in context , is \" you mean _arrrgh_ pirates ? \" ) , and though it essentially boils down to one mishap after another , they\\'re all quite engaging . \\neven the movie\\'s more \" serious \" moments are played with a wink . \\nheche has been under undeserved fire over whether or not her private life with ellen degeneres would affect the \" believability \" of \" six days , seven nights \" \\' heterosexual pairing . \\n ( so she\\'s a lesbian . \\nso what . \\ndeal with it . ) \\nof course it doesn\\'t , and here , her naysayers are proved wrong in a big way . \\nin fact , her chemistry with ford is what really makes the film click ; these opposites attract with the utmost , endearing electricity . \\nat one point , when the two are discussing the likelihood of romantic interest , heche asks ford how old he is . \\nafter several wrong guesses ( \" forty-five ? \\n_fifty_ ? \" ) , he whispers his age to her . \\n \" you still look good , \" heche stammers . \\n \" i still _am_ good , \" ford replies . \\nshe\\'s good too , and together , they make \" six days , seven nights \" one memorable ride . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when considering david fincher\\'s latest film , \" the game \" , four words come to mind . \\n \" don\\'t believe the hype . \" \\nthis michael douglas vehicle , from the director of \" seven \" , isn\\'t nearly as clever or innovatively suspenseful as it would have us believe . \\nthe film draws us in with an intriguing concept ( aided no doubt by the riveting trailer ) where a jaded millionaire ( douglas ) is presented with the opportunity to enter into a living fantasy . \\nthis isn\\'t simply virtual reality . \\nthis is real life with a deadly twist . \\non his 48th birthday , nicholas van orton ( douglas ) is invited to dinner by his underachieving younger brother , conrad ( sean penn ) . \\nconrad has a special birthday present for his brother . \\nhe hands nicholas a gift certificate and tells him to contact a company called consumer recreation services . \\n \" they make your life fun , \" conrad tells him . \\nnicholas humors his brother , telling him he\\'ll call , but it\\'s clear he has no time for any foolish , \" fantasy role-playing , \" as he calls it . \\nthen , for reasons that are never really made clear , nicholas decides to go to crs and see what they\\'re all about . \\nhe ends up spending a whole day going through their screening process , which to me made no sense considering the tight schedule he keeps claiming to have . \\nnevertheless , when it seems nicholas has been rejected as a crs client , the weird things start happening . \\nof course , when we\\'ve only covered about 30 minutes of screen time , what else should we expect . \\ndouglas has built his modern career around playing powerful , violent and unlikable men being manipulated by unseen hands . \\none of those films , \" basic instinct \" , came from the creative minds of writer , joe eszterhas and director , paul verhoeven . \\nthe premise of \" the game , \" is not unlike the concept of another verhoeven film , \" total recall . \" \\nin that case , the premise was implanting someone else\\'s memories as a way to enhance one\\'s own life through a dream vacation . \\nyet , in both films , the real goal is to create a vicarious bond with the audience . \\nwe live the adventure along with the protagonist , reacting to each twist and turn . \\nin theory , the key to the suspense is not being to tell what is real and what isn\\'t . \\nall we can do is hang on until the end of the ride , when the truth is finally revealed . \\nnow , for those of you who forgot , let me say this again . \\n \" don\\'t believe the hype . \" \\n \" the game \" is not a thrilling roller coaster ride . \\nas a suspense-thriller , it doesn\\'t do much but spin in circles . \\nby the third reel , i was fighting back sleep and checking my watch as i endured the predictable plot . \\nis it any wonder douglas won\\'t be able to resist the charms of a mysterious , potentially life-threatening blonde ( ever heard of glenn close ? \\nno ? well , how about sharon stone ? \\nthought so ) . \\nif anything in this film surprises you at all , i would guess you haven\\'t seen that many films . \\nthere is no suspense here . \\ntrust me , i looked hard to find some . \\ni had to settle for contrived gimmicks and ridiculously implausible situations . \\nfincher aim\\'s for hitchcock but lands somewhere just north of joe eszterhas . \\nthere are those that might say \" the game \" is not intended to be viewed literally . \\ni would submit that is exactly the way i tried to view the film . \\nthe film simply does not have the teeth to bite into any real psychological issues . \\nthere is a moment early in the film where van orton , realizing his game has begun , smiles as he walks through the airport trying to figure out who\\'s in on the whole thing . \\nhe is charged by his paranoia . \\nhe is looking at the world through new eyes . \\nit is the last thought-provoking moment in the film . \\nfrom there on , the director only wants to stay a step ahead of us . \\nany significant archetype that is set up in the beginning of the film is simply turned into a plot device . \\nat the outset , we\\'re told each \" game \" is tailored to the individual . \\nultimately , this \" game \" is supposed to work like a crucible , trying this obscenely wealthy and emotionally detached aristocrat by fire , proving his soul . \\nyet , as douglas endures his personal gauntlet , we\\'re given very few pieces of the puzzle to illuminate us on who this man really is . \\ni wanted to like this film more than i did . \\ni look at it as just anothergreat idea , poorly realized . \\ni can think of at least two other superior films where watching the film didn\\'t mean we were seeing what was really happening . \\nbryan singer\\'s \" the usual suspects \" for one , a film that was truly unique in its ability to get you lost in the details before pulling back to show you the full masterpiece on the canvas . \\nalso , there is the underrated \" jacob\\'s ladder , \" with tim robbins , a film that really has to be watched twice before you recognize the significance of all its symbolism . \\nhere are two examples of films that don\\'t simply manipulate for manipulations\\' sake . \\nthere are films that use their labyrinth structure to lead us to a meaningful place . \\none major issue that comes up in \" the game \" is whether or not the whole \" illusion \" is just a highly sophisticated con game . \\nwell , i can tell you right now , after you\\'ve spent your $7 dollars , you may be asking yourself the same thing . \\n',\n",
+       " b'battlefield long , boring and just plain stupid \\nbattlefield earth \\na film review by michael redman copyright 2000 by michael redman \\nin my mid-teen years , i had a horrendous re-occurring nightmare . \\nbehind the wheel of a car , i was driving down a straight road in the middle of a desert . \\nno scenery except the horizon line and the converging parallel lines of the highway . \\nno matter what i did , the view didn\\'t change : travelling but not getting anywhere . \\neach time i awoke in a sweat , terrified . \\nyou don\\'t have to be carl jung to understand that dream . \\npowerless to make changes , trapped in a boring situation with no hope of rescue , this is the stuff of nightmares whether we are asleep or awake . \\nthis is exactly how you will feel 15 minutes after \" battlefield earth \" begins . \\nfor all of its flash and style , l . ron hubbard\\'s science fiction epic is the earliest and best entry for the dullest summer film of 2000 . \\ndull \" and \" stupid . \\nin the year 3000 , the psychlo aliens have ruled our planet for 1 , 000 years . \\nhumans either work as slave labor in mining operations or live as barbarians . \\nthere\\'s no hope . \\nthe future is bleak . \\nthen the psychlo make a mistake and capture feisty jonnie goodboy tyler ( barry pepper ) who organizes a revolution against chief of security terl ( john travolta ) and the alien race . \\nit\\'s an archetypal post-apocalyptic plot full of promise . \\nconsidering some of the talent involved and all the millions thrown at the screen , it\\'s difficult to see how it could have failed so miserably . \\nbut it does . \\nthe story is so full of holes that it falls apart within minutes of the opening credits . \\nare we really supposed to believe that after a millennium of looking for gold , the psychlo never discovered fort knox ? \\nor that fighter planes are still in pristine condition after all that time -- and gassed up ? \\nor that the cavemen become such expert pilots in seven days that they can easily down the advanced alien ships ? \\nor that the psychlo spy cameras somehow don\\'t notice that their slaves are missing for days ? \\ntravolta prances across the screen hamming it up for all he\\'s worth and is almost entertaining . \\nalmost . \\nthe rest of the actors are wooden mannequins trying not to laugh while delivering lines that no person -- \" man-animal \" or not -- would ever utter . \\nsome of the film _looks_ good , but it also looks so familiar . \\na race of large hulking ape-like creatures has taken over the world while our cities lie in ruin . \\nsound like something charlton heston might be in ? \\nthe psychlo look like overweight klingons in gear from \" dune \" . \\nthe final air battle between the air force fighters and the psychlo ships in their high-tech city is something george lucas might have been associated with . \\nit\\'s too loud . \\nit\\'s too oppressive . \\nit\\'s too slow . \\nit\\'s too long . . . far \\ntoo long . \\nand on it goes . \\nthe list of the problems with \" battlefield earth \" is endless . \\nit\\'s difficult to find anything in the film that does work . \\noh yeah . \\nthe color scheme is nice . \\nthe real question is how this movie ever got made . \\ncould it have something to do with the fact that l . ron hubbard was the founder of scientology ? \\nand that john travolta is a member of the church . \\nthat might explain why travolta bought the rights to the novel years ago . \\nbut it doesn\\'t give us a clue as to why first-time screenwriter corey mandell\\'s atrocious script was used . \\nor why the high-profile project was entrusted with roger christian who had never before directed a major film . \\nor why no one looked at this thing before it was released and realized there might be problems . \\nthe one bright spot is that no longer will kevin costner\\'s \" the postman \" ( which i begrudgingly admit as a guilty pleasure ) be \" the \" big budget science fiction failure . \\n \" battlefield earth \" has the honor sewed up . \\noften reviewers will recommend that you skip mediocre films and wait for the video . \\nthat\\'s not the case here . \\nyou can act now and make the decision to not see it on the big screen or on the small one . \\ndon\\'t hesitate . \\nstrike now while the iron is cold . \\n',\n",
+       " b'historical epic as a genre was almost banished from hollywood in early 1990s . \\nfor many critics , scholars and , most importantly , film producers , it was a thing of the past - something that could have attracted crowds only in the era of black-and-white television and non-cgi special effects . \\nbut in 1995 , same as in the case of dances with wolves five years ago , there came the man who decided to use of all his energy and talents of actor , producer and director in order to revitalise that particular genre . \\nand , same as in the case of dances with wolves , he was awarded for his effort with \" oscars \" . \\nthe name of the film was braveheart , and the name of its director and main actor was mel gibson . \\nthe plot chronicles the life of scottish warlord and folk hero william wallace ( 1272 - 1305 ) . \\nin his time , english king edward i \" longshanks \" ( played by patrick mcgoohan ) has almost completely subdued entire british isles , including scotland , whose proud inhabitants are now subjected by \" ius primae noctis \" and various other forms of humiliation and oppression by english knights . \\nalthough english had killed his father many years ago , young scottish commoner william wallace ( played by mel gibson ) doesn\\'t care about politics and wants only to have peaceful life with his new bride murron ( played by catherine maccormack ) . \\nmurron\\'s death changes that and wallace takes arms and , together with small but dedicated band of followers , begins guerrilla campaign that would systematically destroy almost every english garrison in the country . \\nthrough time , more and more people join his ranks and in 1298 wallace\\'s rag-tag army scores surprising victory against english knights in the battle of stirling bridge . \\nbut the newly won freedom is endangered by the internal squabbles between scots themselves , especially nobles under pretender robert the bruce ( played by angus macfadyen ) , who wouldn\\'t like to have a simple commoner as a national leader . \\nbraveheart was only the second film in the directorial career by mel gibson , so it wouldn\\'t be fair to compare it to the better known genre classics directed by david lean or anthony mann . \\nhowever , even when we apply such criteria braveheart is more than decent historical epic that takes new and refreshing approach to the genre . \\nthe most noticeable element of this approach is naturalism . \\nwhile older hollywood films set in medieval europe used to give fairytale-like vision of picturesque castles , splendid costumes and knights in shining armour , gibson shows us the extremely unpleasant world of poverty and feudal injustice where might made right and life was hard , short and brutish . \\nthis general unpleasantness is especially underlined in the scenes of battle , where hand-to-hand combat is naturalistically displayed in all its gory details , never seen since verhoeven\\'s ultra-naturalistic flesh & blood . \\ncompared with this naturalistic approach , most of old hollywood epics look like stage plays . \\nbraveheart also employs humour at the right places , not only to make bloody realities of medieval british isles more bearable to sensitive audiences , but also to underline its down-to-earth atmosphere , so different from previous historical epics . \\nwhat makes braveheart \" larger than life \" is his protagonist . \\nmel gibson obviously invested plenty of his energy and talent in bringing the mythical figure of william wallace and , as a result , character of 15th century poems is transformed into superhuman being that resembles late 20th century comic book hero . \\nwallace is more than superior to his enemies , both physically and mentally , yet he is able to show his sensitive , more vulnerable side . \\nnaturally , when the character is based on epic poems , most of historical accuracy is going down the drain ( which was the case with almost every historical epic from hollywood in 1990s ) . \\nhowever , even those who don\\'t particularly care about history or are willing to give poetic license to scriptwriter randall wallace might think that he went over the top in idolising wallace , especially in the second part of film when scottish superhero manages to seduce princess isabel ( played by sophie marceau ) and make her a child . \\nbecause of that the disbelief is hardly suspended , and final scenes aren\\'t as effective as they should be . \\nmel gibson as an actor is truly wonderful , and he is also helped by small army of very good british and irish actors . \\nmost memorable of them all is patrick mcgoohan , whose cold , calculated and evil medieval monarch is one of the most effective villains seen in contemporary cinema . \\nbrendan gleeson ( who would later become famous for his role in boorman\\'s general ) is also very good as wallace\\'s trusted companion , as well as ian bannen is effective as leprosy-stricken king john balliol . \\ndavid o\\'harra is very entertaining as wallace\\'s irish ally , and angus macfadyen brings a lot of anxiety into his conscience-stricken character of robert the bruce . \\nwomen in this film have rather thankless roles , especially marceau as one-dimensional french princess . \\ncatherine mccormack as wallace\\'s wife was more interesting , but she was eliminated from the picture early on . \\nfrom the technical point of view , the film is also very good . \\nphotography by john toll brings a lot of scottish natural beauty to the screen . \\non the other hand , the musical score by james horner employs too much of modern-day instruments for period piece set in medieval times . \\nalthough mostly welcomed by critics and audiences alike , braveheart was often criticised for homophobia and other forms of extreme conservatism . \\nthe main reason for that was the fact that gibson , among many historical facts , chose to be faithful only to those related to sexual orientation of \" longshank \" \\'s son prince edward ( played by peter hanly ) . \\nhe is not only presented as a villain , but also as one of the less competent in villain\\'s camp - and portraying of homosexuals as villains or inferior to heterosexuals is almost unforgivable sin in \" politically correct \" hollywood . \\nto make things even more obvious , good guys in this film are the total opposite of effeminate and incompetent edward - rugged macho men of mountains who are more practical and efficient because they tend to employ conservatives\\' common sense instead of fashionable theories of ivory tower liberals . \\nhowever , although the message of this film might look right-wing , it owes more to leftist ideology of various national liberation movements in 20th century . \\naccording to that ideology , oppressed classes ( workers , peasants ) are better suited to fight for national freedom because their members has less to lose in that struggle and , as such , they are more radical , less willing to make compromises and more efficient ; on the other hand , privileged classes ( aristocracy , bourgeoisie ) are more likely to betray the cause of freedom and be in cahoots with foreign oppressors in order to keep their privileges . \\nthis marxist worldview is presented in braveheart without any subtlety . \\nin the end , whether the audience is patient enough to discover hidden meanings or simply wants to enjoy entertaining historical epic , braveheart is more than adequate choice for all fans of this recently resurrected genre . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after seeing blaze and driving miss daisy , i was ready for some mindless fun--oh , maybe something like tango & cash . \\nmaybe not ! \\nmindless fun is one thing , but brain-dead slop is another matter altogether . \\ntango & cash has \" lowest common denominator \" written all over it . \\nthe movie stars sylvester stallone and kurt russell as rival undercover cops in l . a . russell plays cash , a reckless slob who dresses in jeans and tee shirts . \\nstallone plays tango , a wealthy investor who works on the force strictly for the thrill of it ; he doesn\\'t need the money . \\nin an effort to change his image , stallone goes for a yuppie , gq look in the film , wearing spectacles and three piece suits . \\nthe two detectives reluctantly become partners after they are framed for murder and have to break out of prison to clear their names . \\ntango & cash is unbearably noisy . \\nfor starters , there\\'s harold faltermeyer\\'s annoying synthesized score , which gets old after four notes . \\nto make matters worse , the filmmakers seem to think that when it comes to loud explosions and screeching cars , the more the merrier . \\nin fact , the movie begins with not one but two car chases . \\nthere\\'s nothing like a good old car chase to introduce the characters in a movie . \\nscreenwriter randy feldman\\'s brain must have gone to mush from watching too many cop shows on tv . \\nhis shockingly stupid screenplay undermines anything and everything the movie has going for it , such as stallone\\'s efforts to convince you that tango is an intellectual . \\nin a movie with the iq level of an amoeba , even a great actor is going to have trouble looking intelligent--and stallone is no lawrence olivier . \\nit\\'s hard to imagine anyone reading feldman\\'s script and thinking , \" i want to be in this movie . \" \\nthe film\\'s plot doesn\\'t have one original bone in its body , and--again--you have to point your finger at the screenwriting . \\nfeldman\\'s story line succumbs to every crime thriller cliche in the book , making tango & cash altogether generic and predictable . \\nthey simply could have called it \" action movie . \" \\nevery character , every twist and turn , is stolen from television or from other movies . \\nadding insult to injury , tango & cash is about as believable as a \" road runner \" cartoon . \\naction movies don\\'t have to be realistic , but they should absorb you enough so that you\\'re not thinking about the lack of realism . \\nthe only artistic aspect of tango & cash is the cinematography . \\nthere are some spectacular shots , especially during the rainy nighttime prison break in which tango and cash slide to safety on electrical wires . \\nthe film\\'s main draw is the chemistry between stallone and russell . \\nunfortunately , their relationship rarely progresses past macho competition as they endlessly bicker about who packs more meat in his pants . \\nthe dialogue consists of nothing but one-liners , and consequently the attempts at character development are embarrassing . \\nit\\'s a shame because with a workable screenplay , russell and stallone could have turned tango & cash into a charming \" lethal weaponesque \" adventure . \\ntango & cash tries to maintain a light tone , and you do laugh about once every five minutes . \\nseeing russell in drag is the movie\\'s funniest moment , but you probably already have seen it in the commercials . \\nfurthermore , the light tone does not sit well against the relentlessly brutal violence . \\nmachine guns and torture generally don\\'t mix well with comedy . \\njack palance appears in tango & cash doing what he does best : playing a sleazy , conniving villain . \\nhis character , however , is run-of-the-mill , except for his strange obsession with mice . \\nlike many movie villains , palance likes to play games . \\nin fact , he sets a ridiculously elaborate trap for tango and cash , a trap which sends the two detectives to prison so they can be beaten and electrocuted by some meanies in the boiler room . \\nyou have to wonder why palance doesn\\'t just shoot the detectives in the head ! \\nthe story would crumble if any of the characters were to do anything intelligent . \\nteri hatcher plays stallone\\'s sister and russell\\'s love-interest , and she is just as pretty as can be . \\nbut regrettably , hatcher\\'s acting is not on par with her exceptional beauty . \\nevery time she opens her mouth , you cringe ; corny dialogue and atrocious acting are always a fatal combination . \\nthere\\'s really very little , if anything , to recommend in the film . \\nand , more to the point , tango definitely isn\\'t worth a penny of your cash--so don\\'t bother . \\n',\n",
+       " b'trekkies , roger nygard\\'s energetic and hilarious documentary , brings viewers into the world of the star trek conventions . \\nthe beauty of the film is that it is good old fashion fun for trekkies and non-fans alike . \\n ( the film generally writes off the trekkies vs . trekker polemic as not worth arguing about . ) \\nthe good-spirited movie trekkies easily forces even the most cynical viewer into fits of uncontrollable , loud giggles , yet the picture treats its subject matter with respect and a certain awe . \\ndenise crosby , who played tasha yar on \" star trek : the next generation , \" serves as the host . \\nin the opening credits the movie reminds us that trekkies are the only fan group listed in the oxford english dictionary ( oed ) . \\n ( the oed cites a february , 1976 caption in the \" new yorker \" as the first recorded usage of the word . ) \\nunless you\\'ve been to the conventions , i posit that you have no idea of the dedication of some of the fans . \\none pointed out , apologetically , that the stripe on his new uniform was slightly inaccurate . \\nothers talked about how many star trek conventions they had attended , several dozen being typical and hundreds not unheard of . \\nmy personal favorite fan is sir speedy photocopying worker barbara adams . \\narguably the most famous of all the trekkies , she wears her uniform every waking hour as many die-hard fans do . \\nher claim to fame is that , as a juror on the whitewater trial , she wore it in court as well . \\n \" every day i would walk past the reporters with a vulcan-like stoicism , \" she says , describing her way of dealing with the crowd of reporters who became obsessed with her obsession . \\nshe doesn\\'t quite understand all of the uproar . \\n \" i\\'m an officer of the federation 24 hours a day , \" she reminds us . \\nher fealty to her hobby approaches that of a religious faith . \\nalong with the laugher the show evokes , there is an equal measure of sincere appreciation for people with such loyalty . \\nand their infectious joy provokes a certain envy of their enjoyment . \\nfew other avocations could give this much satisfaction . \\nthese people are having the time of their lives . \\n ( for the record , i\\'m not a star trek fan although i have seen some of the movies . ) \\nthe film interviews the various star trek series\\'s stars as well as its fans . \\nthe stars had thought the convention idea was a lark and would soon fade , but over twenty years later , the conventions are still going strong . \\nfilled with anecdotes , the show talks about the happenings at the various conventions . \\nat one , the actor who plays q was so sick that he thought he would have to cancel . \\nafter appearing briefly , he drank some water and left . \\nthey decided to auction off his half-empty glass , joking that it had the \" q virus . \" \\nthe guy who won the bidding immediately drank the water and screamed to the crowd that he now had the q virus too . \\nwith dedication comes a certain amount of stupidity . \\nnot just flitting among people , the documentary takes the time to let you get to know the trekkies . \\none guy is a trekkie cross-dresser , another dresses her cat , and then there is the dentist . \\nthe dentist has his entire office made up to look like a star trek set . \\nhe , his oral hygienists , his receptionist , his wife , and his kids wear the outfits all of the time . \\nit appears that his workers are permitted to take them off when they go home , but not his family . \\nfor variety , he and his family do change characters from time to time . \\nhe says his patients like it . \\nwell , there was this one complainer , but he had a problem with his bill anyway . \\nthere are summer schools for klingon with ph . d . linguists to teach the language . \\nhamlet is now available in klingon , albeit perhaps not at your local bookstore , and they are working on translating the bible . \\nthey even sell united federation passports that are real enough that trekkies have used them to fool customs , even u . s . customs . \\nthe movie bogs down only briefly when it tries to argue the series\\'s larger meaning about diversity and humanitarian concerns . \\nsandwiched in-between the levity , the switch in tone doesn\\'t work . \\nthe incessantly up-beat film ends with a singing elvis impersonator . \\nhe fits right in . \\ntrekkies runs a breezy 1 : 26 . \\nit is not rated but would be pg for brief sexual references and would be fine for all ages . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"8mm is not going to enlighten your day . \\nit's a dark , grimy and disturbing portrait of underworld snuff films and filled with excessive violence . \\nnot only do you need the stomach to make it through this bloated mess , you'll require a lot of patience as well . \\nnicolas cage seems to be doing quite a bit of overacting as of late . \\nhe wore a bizarre get-up and did a lot of yelling in the terminally awful snake eyes , and here he attempts a performance that can relate to someone completely losing their grip on reality . \\ncage plays private investigator tom welles , praised for his secrecy and reliability . \\nat home , welles is a family man , with a wife ( catherine keener ) and a small daughter to take care of . \\nhis new assignment is a bizarre one : the wife of a formally deceased millionaire has hired him to solve a mystery regarding a film found in her husband's safe . \\nthe film appears to be some kind of cheap pornography involving a teenage girl and a masked man , until the girl is brutally murdered . \\nor so it seems . \\nwelles , of course , begins to burrow deeper and deeper to uncover the truth . \\nand the more he becomes involved in this disturbing case , the more he gets in over his head . \\nhe hires an adult book store clerk named max california ( joaquin phoenix ) to be his guide through the ugly underworld of pornography . \\nmax knows what welles is getting himself into , and explains , `you dance with the devil , the devil don't change . \\nthe devil changes you . ' \\nthese turn out to be very wise words . \\n8mm has a premise that begs for a better execution . \\nthe set-up is slick and well played , as cage uncovers the identity of the girl and travels to hollywood to locate her . \\nthis is where everything goes awry . \\nalthough director joel schumacher succeeds in frightening us with his grotesque portrait of the `real world' , he forgot to inject any interest or excitement to the formula . \\neverything about the movie becomes dull and lifeless , repelling the viewer like the effect of bug spray to insects . \\nalthough it had enormous potential , the third act of 8mm is a total bust , leaving intrigued audiences in a baffling state of extreme disappointment as the proceedings spiral out of control . \\ncage is the film's sole flame of energy . \\nhis performance is actually believable , but soon the director's demands start to weigh heavily on his shoulder and he begins stumbling along in desperation . \\nstill , you've got to give him credit for holding this project together as long as he did , for that is no easy feat when you consider the problems at hand . \\nwelles' trail soon leads him to a bizarre filmmaker ( played convincingly by peter stormare ) who is notorious for the hardest-hitting snuff films in the industry . \\nthis is where cage goes over the edge into a serial killer-like phase , in which he must take revenge on all those who murdered the innocent girl in the film . \\nhe tracks down the masked man responsible for the killing ( chris bauer ) , and they have a bloody brawl in the local cemetery , a fight sequence that would look more at home in a schwarzenegger movie . \\nwritten by andrew kevin walker , 8mm dissipates into a poor man's seven , with all the violence but little of the effectiveness that made the latter such a chilling masterpiece . \\nfurthermore , what has become of joel schumacher ? \\nthe director has recently experienced a major drought , slumming in the depths of dismal flop after flop ( batman and robin , anyone ? ) . \\nthis putrid thriller is certainly not going to revive his career , so perhaps schumacher should start exploring his lighter side . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it\\'s now the anniversary of the slayings of julie james\\' ( jennifer love hewitt ) best friends . \\nstill besieged by nightmarish memories of the man responsible for it all , she seems to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown . \\nshe can\\'t concentrate on her schoolwork , can\\'t get a good night\\'s sleep , and is even frightened by the shadows and the blinking strobe lights at a local dance club . \\neverywhere she looks , she sees visions of the man in a rubber slicker with the hook on his hand . \\nin the first movie , `i know what you did last summer\\' , julie and three of her friends accidentally kill a man , running him down while driving down a dark mountain highway . \\nto cover their misdeed , they dump the body into the ocean . \\nhowever , he never quite died and returned to hunt down julie and her friends . \\njulie and one other , ray ( freddie prinze jr . ) , survived only to make this dismal sequal . \\nneeding some desparate rest and relaxation , she is elated to learn that her college roommate , karla ( brandy ) , has won a trip for four to a secluded tropical island . \\naccompanying these two girls are karla\\'s overbearing boyfriend , tyrell ( mehki phifer ) and a potential beau for julie . \\nbut was this contest too good to be true ? \\nthe resort is filled with a skeleton staff that seemed like love boat rejects . \\nmeanwhile , the hotel is practically deserted as the storm season is about to begin . \\nthis presumably creates a venue where they will be secluded and will have no possible means off the island . \\neventually , they will be hunted down during power outages and chased around during intense lightning storms . \\nas you might have guessed , somewhere in the shadows lurk a mysteriously strange figure that is wearing a rubber slicker and wielding a hook . \\njulie tries to convince her friends that the killer is on the island ( an eerie touch is when she is singing \" i will survive \" at the karaoke bar and the words scroll \" i still know . . . \" ) , but her friends chalk it up to paranoia . \\nbut the body count soon starts to rise , and for julie , it\\'s going to be the worst vacation of her life . \\nthe funny ( yes , i used the word \\'funny\\' ) thing about this movie is that i heard more chortling and giggling ( maybe it was my giggling ) than i heard screaming . \\nthis movie boils down to a mindless slashfest that never conjures up any amount of wry wit or even a quirky campiness . \\nthere isn\\'t even any suspense that leads up to the deaths . \\nhere\\'s an appropriate example . \\nknock-knock . \\n \" housekeeping \" , says the diminuitive cleaning lady . \\nthe door suddenly opens up . \\nslash . \\nnext victim ! \\nis there any reason to go and see this movie ? \\nnot unless you want to see four uninteresting college kids run around in circles for about 90 minutes . \\nbut i do want to say one thing about this movie that satisfied me . \\ni was thoroughly irritated with tyrell , who incessantly ranted and raved about his sexual libido . \\ni secretly wished for him to get filleted . \\ndid he get \\'hooked\\' ? \\nwell , let\\'s just say that if he didn\\'t , i would give this film a grade of \" d \" . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i didn\\'t come into city of angels expecting greatness . \\ni\\'ve never seen wim wenders\\' wings of desire , the classic movie upon which city is loosely based . \\nthen again , i have seen enough stories which are based upon a similar plot device , with the little mermaid ( both the disney version and the original folktale ) being among them , that i had some high expectations about the possible power such a story of impossible love can hold . \\nunfortunately , city of angels ended up fulfilling few of them . \\nthe plot , for those that couldn\\'t tell from the previews , revolves around the angel seth , played with an almost creepy intensity by nicolas cage , who , in the midst of his angelic duties , falls in love with a heart surgeon named maggie ( meg ryan in her most endearing performance since when harry met sally ) . \\nof course , his being an angel prevents him from doing much about his love except appearing at random times to talk to her , watch her buy groceries , only to disappear in the blink of an eye . \\ntheir love must remain unrequited unless seth decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and become human . \\nusing this framework as a jumping-off point , the movie attempts to veer through some heavy philosophical ruminations on the nature of desire , the joys of being human , and the definition of perfection . \\nthe first half of the movie succeeds on most points . \\ncage excellently plays the eminently difficult role of an angel who doesn\\'t know feelings so can\\'t really express , preventing the character of seth from getting boring despite his limited repertoire of intent looks and hang-dog expressions . \\nunfortunately , cage takes the intensity too far sometimes , and then seth comes across as more creepy than sensitive . \\nas maggie , ryan manages to be convincing as a heart surgeon who has trouble coming to terms with her having lost a patient on the operating table despite having done everything right . \\nher beauty , unlike her unbearable cuteness in french kiss , is mature , intelligent , and winning . \\nlikewise , some interesting ideas float around at the beginning of the film . \\nwhen the camera pans through traffic jams and libraries and we get to hear the thoughts of the random people who flash across the screen , the audience experiences a little of what it must be like to be an angel . \\nthe beautiful camera work , shooting down onto the hectic world of los angeles from the improbable perches of the angels , also gives us a sense of the unique wonder angels feel . \\nthe film begins to lose its way , though , when the focus tightens more and more on seth and maggie . \\nthe grand , angelic perspective gets lost , except for some idly tossed lines about the incredible beauty of the world through an angel\\'s eyes . \\nthe movie devolves into an examination of how seth can\\'t feel the world or , more importantly , he can\\'t feel maggie : he can\\'t smell her hair , feel her touch , or taste the pears she eats . \\nthis change in focus attempts to capture the audience in seth\\'s intense longing , but in doing so , the conflict disappears . \\nif he wants maggie so badly , then why doesn\\'t her just make the leap and become human ? \\nafter all , what\\'s so great about being an angel ? \\nsure , you get to sit on marlboro signs , but what\\'s that compared to getting to be with meg ryan ? \\nand from there , once the yearning has been established and the romantic denouement must occur , it\\'s all downhill . \\nthe philosophy becomes heavy-handed , the dialogue pedestrian when it tries to be deep , and the plot twists simply attempt to yank a few more tears into the audience\\'s hankie . \\nit\\'s the last thirty minutes of the movie , then , that wrecks the film . \\ni feel like the writer , by pulling out all the melodramatic stops , has robbed me of what could have been a genuinely powerful movie experience on both the romantic and the philosophical level . \\ni came out feeling robbed , seeing so much possibility in a film becoming nothing . \\ni could go on longer , but i don\\'t want to \" ruin \" the end by revealing any of the cheap plot devices the film relies on . \\ncity of angels , then , is a paradox . \\nit\\'s a well-acted ( particularly look for dennis franz cutting against type-casting as a happy-go-lucky fallen angel ) , well-filmed , and based on a wonderful idea . \\nall these possibilities , though , are what make the film so unredeemable when the closing credits come up . \\n',\n",
+       " b'wolfgang petersen\\'s latest , the perfect storm , is like a pineapple . \\nit only tastes good after arduous peeling and digging - if you try to eat the fruit , spikes and all , it\\'s going to hurt ? quite a bit . \\nok , maybe that was a confusing analogy , so here\\'s my main complaint about the latest man battles nature flick : there isn\\'t really much of a story to tell . \\nbasically , a massachusetts fishing crew goes out to sea on a small boat , called the andrea gail , and gets stuck in the middle of \" the storm of the century . \" \\nhow much time does it take for petersen to tell this story ? \\nnot nearly enough . \\nso he spends the majority of the film developing pointless side stories which all eventually become superfluous . \\naudiences want to see the storm , they want to see a fight for survival but what they get is a lot of cliched , maudlin drivel . \\nthe last quarter of the perfect storm is utterly perfect in every aspect , but just try lasting the first three-quarters . \\ni have yet to read sebastian junger\\'s the perfect storm , but from what i have heard it is an unforgettable tale . \\nbased on a true story , the book must have found some other way to introduce the characters because in the movie version , the approach is weak . \\nusing a wonderfully patriotic score by james horner , petersen almost hides the in-your-face banality . \\nright away the central characters are introduced : the gritty , determined captain ( george clooney ) , the ingenue ( mark wahlberg ) torn between his job and his girlfriend ( diane lane ) , the loving father ( john c . reilly ) , the comic relief who\\'s always trying to get laid ( john hawkes ) , the new guy ( william fichtner ) who immediately antagonizes a crewmate and the quiet , french guy ( allen payne ) . \\nso many problems strike the opening segment of the film that the remaining portions directly suffer . \\nit is not the all-star cast\\'s fault , just the characters designed for their portrayal . \\nallen payne\\'s character never speaks in the entire movie , not because he is mute , but because he\\'s never given any lines ! \\nare we supposed to root for a guy whose face and voice we are never given a chance to interact with ? \\nfichtner\\'s character is terribly underdeveloped - we don\\'t know what he\\'s doing there , where he\\'s from , or who he\\'s supposed to be . \\nthe remaining four fishermen are all cardboard stereotypes ( hawkes says to a female stranger in one scene \" you know what would look good on you ? \\nme ! \" \\nooooh real creative ) . \\nas the script advances and the andrea gail floats farther out into the waters , the crew continues to not feel human . \\nonly when the storm takes center stage does the movie jump out of its sleepwalk . \\nthe computer-generated images of gigantic waves crashing against a helpless boat are thunderously real . \\ni can only imagine if this was an imax film , this city kid would surely never go in the water again . \\nthis is loud , jolting entertainment - adjectives that completely negate the rest of the film . \\nthe perfect storm was unfortunately a disappointment . \\nthe maelstrom lived up to its potential but everything else failed to do so . \\ni guess i\\'ll stick to that other survival spectacle ? you know the one on cbs ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'roger ebert asks in his review of sexy beast , \" who would have guessed that the most savage mad-dog frothing gangster in recent movies would be played by . . . \\nben kingsley ? \" \\nmy response would be that anyone who has seen alan arkin in wait until dark , henry fonda in once upon a time in the west , or anthony hopkins in the silence of the lambs should have guessed it . \\nthey should know that the way for a film to create a really creepy sociopath is cast someone who generally plays mild , sympathetic , or even ineffectual character roles . \\nthe same characteristics that make an actor seem gentle in most of his roles can work in his favor when a role calls for him to be fierce and vicious . \\nthat is the principle that works for kingsley in sexy beast . \\ngary \" gal \" dove ( played by ray winstone ) has retired from a london career of crime and is living on a luxurious villa in spain . \\nlife has become a routine of sunning himself and relaxing . \\nbut his paradise is about to be shattered by a one-two-punch . \\nthe first punch is a boulder that comes rolling down the hill next to the villa . \\nthe second punch comes from gal\\'s past . \\nback in london gang boss teddy bass ( ian mcshane , tv\\'s lovejoy ) is planning to break into a safety deposit room in a bank and he wants gal . \\nhe sends his most rabid henchman don logan ( ben kingsley ) to fetch gal . \\ndon will accept any decision gal makes from \" yes \" to \" certainly . \" \\nhowever , if gal says \" no \" don will do whatever it takes to turn it into a yes including threatening guy\\'s ex-porn- star wife deedee ( amanda redman ) . \\nin the meantime don knows just how to get under everybody\\'s skin . \\nkingsley makes don a compact package of fury and nastiness . \\nthere are some serious problems in louis mellis\\'s and david scinto\\'s script that should have been caught before filming . \\nwhen we see the actual crime we have no idea why gal was so important to its success . \\nbeyond an ability to use skin-diving gear , no special talents are required of him . \\nany local hood could have done what gal is needed for . \\nadditionally the crime involves digging from a swimming pool to the bank vault , flooding the vault . \\nno only could they have let the water out of the pool and avoided the complication altogether , but there is by far too much water to be accounted for by what was in the pool . \\nin spite of the provocative title , the story is cliched and overly familiar . \\ni know i have seen all the plot elements of sexy beast in old westerns like the law and jake wade . \\nthe story is usually of the reformed outlaw , a robert taylor type , who has hung up his guns and is trying for a life of peaceful respectability . \\nthe old gang , however , wants to do one more job with their old buddy and sends a rabid richard widmark type to go and git ? im . \\nit is not a great plot . \\nin sexy beast even the plot twists have gray beards . \\nperhaps the film has a little more respectability because it was made not as a western but as a stylish british gangster film . \\nit is an old plot dressed up to look new . \\nif the plot is old , at least the style is creative . \\nthis is director jonathan glazer\\'s first film , but he has reputedly done some notable tv ads for guinness stout . \\nhis style does have some unexpected touches including some very odd dream sequences . \\ncinematographer ivan bird uses a lot of half lit scenes . \\nwe see one side of a person\\'s faces . \\nbut the other side fades into the darkness , a sort of metaphor for the half-world these characters in-habit . \\nhalf of everything that is happening is also kept hidden . \\nus yanks will have a hard time with some of the dialog . \\nat least in my theater it was difficult to make out the words with the quiet speaking , the heavy accents , and the cockney language . \\nsexy beast is a very and familiar minor plot lent respectability in the us by being done in what is here a still somewhat novel genre , the london crime film . \\nthe plot may be new to british crime films , but it would be overly familiar as a western . \\nfurther respectability comes from ben kingsley\\'s high-powered performance . \\ni give it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it's no secret in the motion picture industry that the relationship between a script and the actors involved often makes or breaks a movie at the box office . \\na poorly-written script can be bested by a superb acting corps , and a well-written piece can be mangled by a group of amateurs . \\nin directing his latest action-comedy , director brett ratner ( money talks ) takes a relatively mediocre piece of standup comedy and turns it into a funny as all get-out buddy cop movie . \\nin addition , rush hour serves as a first-class example of directing a movie with conservative attitude - a feature that is sure to draw in crowds of all types . \\nthe two lead names share equal screen time here , mostly because they spend it together . \\njackie chan , in his first completely american production , makes an impressive debut by mixing dialogue with martial arts . \\nthe other martial arts flick from a few weeks ago , knock off , stands no chance against the content of this one . \\nchan manages to make every fight scene exude grace and poise , and there's no doubt that a large percentage of video sales for this movie will come from viewers who couldn't believe their eyes the first time . \\nchris tucker , on the opposite side , relates a hilarious comedic approach which smoothes out the rough edges to chan's performance . \\nhe works perfectly with the script , and it's quite likely he lent scribe jim kouf a hand with some of his lines . \\nalmost essential to the action genre , the plot is nonexistent . \\nwe're quickly introduced to detective james carter ( tucker ) is a maverick officer for the lapd . \\ncut forward to another scene where the daughter ( julia hsu ) of the american chinese consul ( tzi ma ) is kidnapped by a gang of swarthy characters . \\nthe fbi is quick to the rescue , but the consul insists that one of his men , detective inspector lee ( chan ) , be brought on the case to help . \\nthe fbi resists , but then requests that lapd send a man over to babysit the chinese detective . \\nit's here that carter and lee hook up , and the two unwittingly solve the case while the fbi rushes in to back them up . \\nrattner does a fine job of going the extra mile to get his movie to move a step up , but it doesn't quite reach the top tier of action-comedies like last year's grosse pointe blank . \\nthere are moments where the plot strays too far off the straight line it sticks almost exclusively to , and if not for the comedic interactions between tucker and chan , this might be a major drawback . \\nalso , some supporting characters are almost entirely along for the ride , and others are there simply to look menacing . \\nhowever , none gives a standoffish performance and they mostly mesh into the background . \\nalmost every member of the cast displays some reservation at one point or another - whether it's tucker's toned-down routine or chan's tight rein on his action sequences - and that contributes greatly to this being a watchable movie for all types . \\na recommendable visit to the theater , indeed . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"usually when one is debating who the modern queen of the romantic comedy is they will bring up names like julia roberts or sandra bullock . \\nothers will mention meg ryan . \\nbut for me , it's not even close . \\njaneane garofalo is not only the queen of the romantic comedy , she is the best comic actress in hollywood right now . \\nand it's a good thing she's starring in the matchmaker , because without her presence the movie would be bland , unfunny , and dull . \\ngarofalo stars as marcy tizard , a top aide to boston senator john mcglory , who is suffering in the polls . \\nin an attempt to capture the irish vote , he sends marcy on a mission to a small irish town called ballinagra in search of other mcglory's that never moved to america . \\nunfortunately for marcy , her visit coincides with the town's annual matchmaking festival . \\nthings get off to a rocky start for marcy though . \\nshe has no hotel reservations ( for no rational reason ) and the tiny confined room ( tired old cliche' ) she has to stay in has a visitor in her bathtub . \\nhis name is sean , and marcy finds him repugnant at first , so you can obviously tell where this is headed . \\nthe movie runs into a few roadblocks . \\nfor instance , the story is very thin . \\nnone of the characters ( except the old local matchmaker ) are nearly as interesting as garofalo . \\nsome of the characters , like the political aide played by denis leary , have wandered in from a completely different movie . \\ni think the director realized this and decided to throw in numerous shots of the beautiful irish scenery , and several close-ups of garofalo's winning smile . \\nthe strange thing is that it works . \\ngarofalo's charm and the irish scenery could carry the thinnest of stories , and it carries this one . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"at first i was intrigued by the strange cast and odd creatures on the galaxy quest trailer , but that was before i saw the film . \\nnow my view has completely changed . \\nit's time to embrace for impact , because this is a very bumpy ride . \\nthe story begins with the cast of galaxy quest including : jason nesmith ( tim allen ) , alexander dane ( alan rickman ) , gwen demarco ( sigourney weaver ) signing autographs at a convention . \\nthey meet fans who dress up in costumes , fans who worship the ground they walk on , and a group of aliens called thermians who believe that they are the ultimate saviors against the dreaded alien colony lead by sarris ( robin sachs ) . \\nof course they are unaware of this until they actually begin performing their duties , and meet the ugly aliens themselves . \\nthus begins the long adventure to help save the thermians . \\nthe movie plays like a really bad star trek episode , in fact it's worse . \\ni don't even think trekkies will appreciate this weak spoof , because quite frankly it's just not funny . \\nall the jokes are basically collected observations from the series . \\none such continuous joke involves a simple crew member who believes he will die in space , because no extra on the tv show ever lives , as proven in the star trek series . \\ncreative jokes like this may seem like a clever idea , but not when they are used to death . \\na person can only take so much . \\nwe do not need to be tortured , especially when you have to pay for it . \\nit's pretty bad when even tim allen is pitiful . \\nit's not like i expected an oscar worthy performance form him , but a few laughs would have been helpful . \\nspeaking of acting , 2 fine talents were wasted as well . \\nsigourney weaver was here to show cleavage , well at least it worked . \\nit's pretty bad when the only entertaining value of the film is cleavage . \\nit just shows you how disgraceful the film really is . \\nalan rickman however was not so lucky . \\nafter his last hit ( dogma ) he embarrasses himself by doing this sloppy mess . \\nit's just a shame to see talented actors and actresses throw their ability away . \\nwhen the film couldn't get any worse , thankfully some nice special effects pop up . \\nlike many big blockbusters ( armageddon , the haunting to name a few ) they rely heavily on effects to help boost the film's box office results . \\ntimes it works , but unfortunately we have to shell out hard earned money and suffer through this junk . \\nwhen will it stop ? \\ni am getting tired of being suckered into seeing such trash . \\nit may look fine and dandy , but we need to at least have a story . \\nis that too much to ask ? \\nobviously it is . \\nwhen galaxy quest finally ends , it literally crash lands . \\naside from the impressive looking creatures from industrial light and magic , it's an embarrassment to the cast , and it's embarrassing to the science fiction genre . \\nit's not the least bit fun , nor was it entertaining . \\nthe only place where this movie belongs is to infinity and beyond . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"in 1912 , a ship set sail on her maiden voyage across the atlantic for america . \\nthis ship was built to be the largest ship in the world , and she was . \\nshe was also build to be one of the most luxurious , and that she was . \\nfinally , she was built to be unsinkable and that unfortunately she was not . \\nto get a ticket for this voyage you either : spent a life's savings to get to america to start life anew , were part of the upper class and had the money to spare , or finally were lucky enough to have a full house in a poker match by the docks like jack dawson . \\njack dawson makes the trip , and happens to be at the right place at the right time . \\nrose dewitt bukater , a first class passenger , climbs the railings at the aft of the ship with thoughts of jumping . \\nthus is started a tale of romance and intrigue , and a tale of death and tragedy . . . \\nthis movie is about a tragic event that took place a great many years ago , an even that should not be taken lightly as any other bit of historical trivia . \\nthe movie titanic shows what happened , maybe not with a 100% degree of accuracy , but it still shows it very realisticaly . \\nnow the titanic is both a story on its own and a backdrop for a story . \\nit serves as both admirably , brining forth an interesting story that although simple in its most simple premise is very captivating . \\nthis movie is very emotional simply because of what it is , but that alone is not enough . \\nthe story is brought out with a certain style that makes is so much more emotional and so much more effective . \\nmovies such as this will not be forgotten all too quickly and unfortunately then are not something that is produced by hollywood with any great frequency . \\nthe attention to detail that was paid is remarkable . \\nthe whole premise for the telling of the story is interesting , with the showing of brand new footage from the wreck of the titanic adding much flavor to an already good movie . \\npart of the magical chemistry behind this story is the acting , and for this movie its extremely good acting from the whole cast . \\nthe performances put in by the main stars is something to be admired . \\nthe characters were played out so memorably that both leonardo dicaprip and kate winslet should receive at the least nominations for their roles . \\nlooking at the acting done in the movie it seems as if they aren't acting but are actually the characters in the movie . \\nthe casting for the movie could really have been better , in my humble opinion that is . \\none character that will most likely not be mentioned by any other review or commentary about this film is that of the ship itself . \\nyes , you read correctly , the ship is a character . \\nhow is the titanic a character ? \\nyou ask well simple , a ship had a certain character about it and as most sailors and boats men will tell you . \\nthis character is everything about the ship from its specifications to its luxuries and the titanic was no stranger to this . \\nmr . cameron brings the ship to life in an almost literal sense . \\nall this adds to the movie in a certain way that most hollywood productions cant seem to grasp . \\nnow , to produce the effect that i mentioned above and to sink the ship itself are feats that are accomplished by special effects wizards . \\nthe effects in this movie range from marvelous costumes to beautifully rendered scenes of the ships sinking . \\nin some respects you cannot tell that the effects are there , you simply think that what you see is what happened or what is happening ( if your imagination is good ) . \\nthe technical wizardry done in this movie is just spectacular and actually getting new footage from the wreck of the titanic is unique . \\nthe movie will leave you amazed at the effects , and that is a feat since there is no monsters or aliens in this movie , just humans and an oversized ship . \\nthe movie will amaze you and it will pull on your emotions , the theater that i went to had a few people leaving with tears in their eyes . \\nnow that is not a feat accomplished by most movies , now the fact that the tragedy actually occurred is brought home with something of a punch , i wont spoil the ending and say what happens regardless it is an interesting movie from beginning to the very end . \\nthe historical value of this movie is quite high , and honestly is something that should be watched for the sake of seeing it and seeing the tragedy , for it is extremely well done . \\nthe method of telling the story is also good , maybe not totally unique but effective none the less . \\nregardless of anything mentioned above this movie is a grandiose production and the sheer size of the project undertaken is something to be marveled at . \\nthe simple fact that the movie is smashingly successful at what it aims to achieve is just astonishing . \\nif you get the chance to see this movie go ! ! ! \\nit might not be the best movie in the world . . \\nbut it ranks fairly highly and is well worth the time spent watching it . \\nduring none of the 3 hours and 13 minutes of the movie are you bored nor does your attention wane from the movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'what are the warning signs of a * terrible * movie ? \\nmaking it\\'s debut at the dollar theater ? \\nlocally , chairman of the board did just that . \\nhaving the annoying prop comic scott thompson ( better known as carrot top ) in the lead role ? \\nchairman of the board , once again . \\nhow about an overly exhausted , paper thin plot approached with utter incompetence ? \\ndid somebody say chairman of the board ? \\nthat\\'s right , carrot top\\'s long dreaded major motion picture debut ( at least for a starring role ) is poking up in a handful of theaters across the country . \\nchairman of the board stars the obnoxious , wannabe-zany king of redheaded standup comics as a lazy but creative , inventive but uneventful generation x- er named edison . \\nliving with a pair of surfer dudes in a small , rented house , edison bounces from job to job , always squandering away the money on his eccentric ( to say the least ) inventions and ignoring crucial responsibilities such as rent . \\nthis has the crabby landlady , ms . krubavitch ( estelle harris , best known as george constanza\\'s mother on \" seinfeld \" ) , threatening an eviction if past due expenses aren\\'t furnished post haste . \\nas luck would have it , edison soon meets armand mcmillan ( jack warden ) , an old surfer dude who just so happens to be president of the multi-million dollar mcmillan industries . \\nsharing a passion for more than just riding waves , armand is deeply impacted by the young inventor\\'s notebook of dreams and ideas , and when the old man dies soon afterward , edison learns he is named a benefactor in armand\\'s will . \\npredictably , edison acquires the entire corporation and has to maintain productivity with absolutely no knowledge of the business world . \\npredictably , there is a bitter nephew ( larry miller ) whose lesser inheritance fuels resentment that will lead to an elaborate sabotage plot . \\npredictably , there is an attractive employee ( courtney thorne-smith ) whose initial repulsion will transform into love for our doofy protagonist . \\npredictably , the man who knows nothing will fight against the odds and give the company it\\'s most profitable and successful turnaround ever , all because he ran things by common sense and not greed . \\nit\\'s as though writers turi meyer , al septien , and alex zamm ( meyer and septien also wrote leprechaun 2 together ! ) \\npulled a plot out of a hat and worked carrot top into it . \\nthe jokes , the \" surprises \" , the developments - all of them run such a predictable path , it may only be carrot top\\'s signature brazen red hairdo that sets this one apart from the myriad of similar films . \\na movie this bad speaks for itself . \\nwhat\\'s left to say when every element the movie possesses is a shameful retread of movies past ? \\nthe script is 100% recycled , the direction is hokey , and the acting is absolutely horrible . \\nit is only thorne-smith who seems to take her job seriously , an accomplishment which surely deserves the medal of honor . \\nshe certainly went beyond the call of duty - she has to kiss carrot top ! ! ! ! ! ! \\n ( barf bag , please ! ) \\nmovies like this give the audience nothing to do but ponder just how many synonyms for \" bad \" there really are . \\nchairman of the board , without a doubt , deserves each and every one . \\nthe only way this won\\'t end up on everybody\\'s \" bottom ten of the year \" list , is if they were lucky enough never to have seen it . \\njust because you can\\'t miss his outlandish fiery mane , don\\'t skimp on avoiding this abhorrent feature . \\n',\n",
+       " b'vampire lore and legend has always been a popular fantasy element , substantiated by not only the sheer number of movies about the subject , but also the proliferation of cults and sects of adherents . \\nand , unlike any of the more outlandish myths , the vampire holds some real-world probability ( one study claims 1 , 000 bloodsuckers exist worldwide , and places 50 in los angeles ) . \\nbut lest the nasties be mistaken for simple comic book bad guys , john carpenter would like to remind us that they are - and always have been - a truly frightening element of the thriller genre . \\nand remind us he does in his latest film , vampires . \\nthere was some question , as halloween weekend approached , of how well vampires would do in comparison to new line cinema\\'s immensely successful blade , released in august . \\nthe two films take noticeably different stands on the vampire issue , and don\\'t even agree on some basic points of the slaying method . \\n ( for instance , blade\\'s main weapons are silver and garlic , whereas main character jack crow\\'s technique is a wooden stake to the heart . ) \\nblade also gives more of a face to the vampire civilization , while carpenter would like us to remain in the dark about how the pasties operate . \\nboth have their advantages , and here , carpenter\\'s style lends itself to a darker breed of suspense rather than the action movie that blade director stephen norrington delievered . \\nwhen it\\'s all said and done , though , the vampires still kill and die with a bloody flourish ; the level for gore is indeed set to maximum . \\nthis time , our hero is vatican-sponsored slayer jack crow ( james woods ) . \\nhe\\'s a cynical , battle-worn veteran , and the best of his bunch . \\nhe and his team are responsible for cleaning out the american southwest , and after exterminating a nest one night , they run up against a super-vampire ( termed a \" master \" ) named valek ( thomas ian griffith ) . \\nvalek kills all of jack\\'s team except for his partner , tony montoya ( daniel baldwin ) , and as the two regroup , they learn that valek is the original vampire - now over six hundred years old . \\napparently , valek and his minions have been sweeping the southwest for decades in search of a cross that will enable them to walk in the daytime . \\nso with the aid of a priest named adam ( tim guinee ) and a bitten hooker ( sheryl lee ) as bait , they track valek down for the final confrontation . \\nthe script for vampires , written by don jakoby and based on the john steakley novel , is perhaps the wittiest piece of screenplay to see production all year . \\ncrow , in particular , is a fun source of one-liners , and woods does every one of them with perfect stoicism . \\nbaldwin , lee , and guinee are all fine supports , adding to the character pool , but the other true highlight of the movie is thomas ian griffith\\'s bad guy . \\ngriffith\\'s intense expression is perfect for the role , and the only downside is that he\\'s got to talk sometime . \\nluckily , he\\'s got few lines , and manages to pull off a rather thrilling performance . \\nall said , fans will surely be impressed by this picture , and those who found apt pupil a bit limp will be excited by this one . \\ncertainly a worthwhile visit to the theaters . \\n',\n",
+       " b'play it to the bone , the newest addition to ron shelton\\'s sports - themed repertoire fails in numerous ways . \\nlike most of shelton\\'s other great films ( bull durham , white men can\\'t jump ) , this dud unsuccessfully attempts to use athleticism as a method of connecting characters and creating interesting subplots . \\nshelton\\'s films are not considered sports films , but they do heavily revolve around a specific game to tell a story . \\nshelton has been so good in the past at using sports to analyze the structure of society that from his collection of films we are given an examination of different classes and races living in various different regions . \\nplay it to the bone is unsuccessful because not only is the boxing theme dull , but the side story of the two guys and a girl travelling across the country is even worse . \\nthe film has no social message like its predecessors . \\nthe relationship between the friends , two failed boxers who must face off against each other in the ring for 50 thousand dollars , is very confusing for a number of reasons . \\nthe whole film , since it is primarily a \" buddy picture , \" depends on the strength of the friendship the two characters have for each other . \\nunfortunately , it is a very weak bond for the reasons listed below . \\n1 ) we never see how cesar ( antonio banderas ) and vince ( woody harrelson ) meet . \\nthe two are so different from each other , that a scene of how this odd friendship developed should have been mandatory . \\n2 ) vince and cesar argue every moment possible on their trip to las vegas . \\nthere is not one convincing moment dedicated to seeing the characters laugh together or actually agree on something . \\n3 ) the third character on the trip , grace ( lolita davidovich ) stands in the way . \\nshe is in nearly every scene with them , making it impossible to understand the difficulty the two male characters are going to have when they fight each other . \\n4 ) there are two many interfering , irrelevant side stories . \\nvince is convinced that he sees jesus on a regular basis , cesar yells at the sky in spanish when he is angry , and grace tries to sell her inventions to hotel owner robert wagner . \\nthese boring tales only hurt the central plot . \\n5 ) when it comes to time for the two men to fight , they don\\'t even hesitate to pound each other . \\nwasn\\'t the whole point of the road trip to show that these two are friends who could never hurt each other ? \\nby the time the road trip part of the movie is over with , the film wants to be over . \\nshelton , on the other hand , continues to tell his story . \\nforty five painful minutes remain . \\nthe boxing scene between cesar and vince starts out very powerful and interestingly different from other boxing movies . \\nhowever , the fight goes on for way too long and becomes very repetitive and predictable after awhile , kind of like the whole film . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" america\\'s sweethearts \" has an intriguing premise and a great cast , but it isn\\'t nearly as edgy or funny as it should be . \\nalmost all the problems with the project can be traced back to co-script writer billy crystal , who shows the same lack of discipline with the screenplay that he typically displays while co-hosting \" comic relief \" charity shows with robin williams and whoopi goldberg ( two other paragons of self-indulgence ) . \\ncrystal ignores a simple , but crucial , rule : for a screwball comedy to work , the characters must be placed into a rigid social setting , because only in that context will their unorthodox antics be humorous . \\n \" america\\'s sweethearts \" takes place at a press junket , where decorum must be maintained in front of the reporters . \\nit\\'s a promising set-up , but the screenplay quickly blows off the rules , thus dissipating the tension of the situation . \\nby the end of the film , all the lead performers participate in a huge fight with a room full of journalists looking on , but their outbursts are only mildly amusing because the structure has been destroyed . \\njohn cusack and catherine zeta-jones play eddie thomas and gwen harrison , a beloved acting duo whose marriage hit the skids when gwen began seeing hector ( hank azaria ) , a spanish actor with an ego almost as pronounced as his lisp . \\nof the last nine films eddie and gwen made together , six crossed the $100 million mark , but the prospects for their final effort , a space opus titled \" time over time , \" are far from rosy . \\nwhile eddie has spent many months in a new age rest clinic fretting over the breakup , gwen\\'s solo films have tanked . \\nto make matter worse , the director of the movie ( christopher walken ) , a \" visionary \" who purchased the unabomber\\'s cabin and had it moved to his backyard , is withholding the film from the studio , insisting that the first screening be held at the junket . \\ndesperate to win over the press , the studio elects to hire lee ( billy crystal ) , a recently fired publicist , to salvage the situation . \\nlee hopes to turn lemons into lemonade by convincing eddie and gwen to pretend to be on the road to reconciliation . \\nhe enlists the help of kiki ( julia roberts ) , gwen\\'s sister , personal assistant and whipping girl . \\nwhat lee doesn\\'t know is that kiki is in love with eddie , a fact that could temper her effectiveness . \\npress junkets are a haven for control freaks . \\nstudios fly journalists in from around the world and put them up in a plush hotel , with food and drink always at hand . \\ngenerally , on the evening of their arrival , writers are bussed to see the featured film , then ferreted straight back to the hotel . \\nthe next day , writers go to the studio suites and assemble in groups of five or six for roundtable interviews . \\nevery 30 minutes or so , a producer , director , writer or actor is brought into the room for a few minutes of questions , with a publicist hovering in the corner to keep an eye on things . \\nthe atmosphere is one of cordial oppression ? writers are free to ask what they want , but understand that if the studio dislikes a question , they may not be invited to future junkets . \\nrepresentatives from tv stations face even more restrictions . \\nthey get roughly five minutes to interview each member of the cast and crew , with the studio filming the exchanges . \\nthe \" reporters \" are notorious for tossing softball questions as they suck up to the stars , but to play it safe , the studios stand ready to erase the tapes if anything unpleasant occurs . \\nplacing two spoiled actors in a setting where image is everything is inspired , but the screenplay undermines the conceit . \\nthe junket is moved from the handsome , but highly confining , four seasons hotel to a plush resort near las vegas . \\nfor most of the film , the movie stars run around the sprawling grounds , completely safe from the eyes of the press . \\nwhen they do deal with journalists , the \" it is imperative that you be on your best behavior in front of the reporters \" premise is de-clawed . \\ngwen and eddie insult each other while the tv cameras roll , they scream at each other in a restaurant filled with the media and , at the screening of the movie , everyone connected with the film goes nuts , all without any repercussions . \\nlee certainly isn\\'t bothered by any of the infantile outbursts ; in fact , he makes arrangements for footage of even more inappropriate behavior to be delivered to the tabloids . \\nis the studio angry about his handling of the combative actors ? \\nhell no ? they feel lee is a genius for garnering so much publicity for the movie . \\nall of which underscores how billy crystal and co-writer peter tolan screwed up their own premise : the comedy in \" america\\'s sweethearts \" is based on barely-in-control people trying to contain themselves in the presence of reporters , except that it doesn\\'t matter because any publicity is good publicity . \\nand thus the very set-up for the film implodes , leaving smoke and dust in place of laughter . \\nso what about the cast ? \\njulia roberts , at her best playing the underdog , is utterly charming here , although i could have lived without flashbacks that exist solely as an excuse to show her in a fat suit ( and not a very convincing one , by the way ) . \\ncatherine zeta-jones makes a believable brat and john cusack fleshes out his obsessed character enough to make him vaguely sympathetic . \\nby casting himself as the publicist , billy crystal allows himself to do roughly the same thing he does on \" comic relief \" - stay on the sidelines of the action while tossing off cornball jokes and snarky remarks . \\nin supporting roles , hank azaria wears out his welcome fast with broad gestures and a spanish accent that speedy gonzales would have deemed \" too broad . \" \\nseth green is amusing as a toadie , stanley tucci is very good as a ruthless studio head and christopher walken plays the eccentric director with suitable flair , though he has little to work with . \\ncome to think of it , \" little to work with \" is the operative phrase for this movie . \\nas a hollywood satire , \" america\\'s sweethearts \" is toothless . \\nas a romance , it is at best a minor pleasure . \\nsuch a good cast , such a waste of their efforts . \\nhad it not been taken long ago , a better title for the film would have been \" much ado about nothing . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'even the best comic actor is at the mercy of his or her material , as this subpar submarine comedy proves . \\ndown periscope stars kelsey \" frasier \" grammer as an inept navy captain who is given command of his own ship as part of a corrupt officer\\'s ( james coburn ) plan to get him out of the navy . \\nlike any lame emsemble comedy , the officer assigns him to a group of misfits like the guy who wants to be kicked out , the fat guy who eats all the time , the beautiful woman who doesn\\'t belong there ( lauren holly ) , the second-in-command who does everything by the book ( rob schneider ) , the crazy old guy who freaks everyone out ( harry dean stanton ) and so on . \\nthen comes the transparent plotline . \\nfirst grammer has to fix up the delapidated korean war ship the navy has given him , and that comes courtesy a sad sight gag montage that includes a guy with a mop knocking schneider overboard . \\nafter the ship is fixed up come the early drills , where everyone seems completely inept , like the electrician who can\\'t connect wires so instead lets the current run through himself every time grammer gets on the phone . \\nfinally , and this covers the final hour of the movie , grammer has to lead his men ( and holly ) to overcome the other ships in a wargames exercise . \\nand he has to be a clever rebel to do it , in scenes that stretch all levels of believability . \\nfirst they\\'re singing \" louie louie \" like a bunch of drunk sailors to throw the radar of the other ship off , then thirty minutes later , they\\'re making whale mating noises to throw the radar of the other ship off . \\nthe whole while , evil captain coburn is overacting underwater , cursing grammer ( as most people watching the movie probably are too ) . \\nit\\'s all predictable without any original humor to redeem it . \\nthe jokes are right out of \" mchale\\'s navy \" and other cut-rate sitcoms of the past . \\nthere\\'s one scene where schneider looks through the ship\\'s pantry in disgust , holds one food can up and announces , \" this expired in 1966 ! \" \\ni yelled back at the screen , \" so did these jokes . \" \\ni watched this movie with the whole family and everyone hated it . \\nmy mom was so bored she brought out the coupon book midway through and , around the start of the second hour , i started writing my will . \\nthe blame can\\'t really be placed on the stars , though . \\nkelsey grammer is good in this , he just doesn\\'t have anything to work with . \\nhis character is said to have gotten so drunk one night that he had \" welcome aboard \" tatooed on his penis . \\ngrammer probably did something even worse -- got really drunk and agreed to appear in a movie he knew nothing about . \\nsame for holley ( save the penis part ) , who is likeable in down periscope just because she\\'s so gorgeous . \\nas for schneider ( whose character is downright annoying ) , there was nowhere to go but up after surf ninjas , although he\\'s still in the depths of the comedy ocean after jumping the \" snl \" ship . \\nmy theory is that down periscope is one of those movies that got the green light before the script was even written as a formula comedy ( \" okay , it\\'s police academy in the navy with frasier at the helm and the chick from dumb and dumber . \" ) and after everyone was signed on turned into a disaster . \\njudging from the video box , most other movie critics agree with me . \\nthe only quote the down periscope copy writers could dig up came from the prevue channel\\'s jim ferguson . \\ni guess even jeff craig from \" 60 second preview \" ( who said tank girl \" kicks butt ! \" \\nwithout ever seeing it ) didn\\'t like this . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"there may not be a critic alive who harbors as much affection for shlock monster movies as i do . \\ni delighted in the sneaky-smart entertainment of ron underwood's big-underground-worm yarn tremors ; i even giggled at last year's critically-savaged big-underwater-snake yarn anaconda . \\nsomething about these films causes me to lower my inhibitions and return to the saturday afternoons of my youth , spent in the company of ghidrah , the creature from the black lagoon and the blob . \\ndeep rising , a big-undersea-serpent yarn , doesn't quite pass the test . \\nsure enough , all the modern monster movie ingredients are in place : a conspicuously multi-ethnic/multi-national collection of bait . . . excuse \\nme , characters ; an isolated location , here a derelict cruise ship in the south china sea ; some comic relief ; a few cgi-enhanced gross-outs ; and at least one big explosion . \\nthere are too-cheesy-to-be-accidental elements , like a sleazy shipping magnate ( anthony heald ) who also appears to have a doctorate in marine biology , or a slinky international jewel thief ( famke janssen ) whose white cotton tank top hides a heart of gold . \\nas it happens , deep rising is noteworthy primarily for the mechanical manner in which it spits out all those ingredients . \\na terrorist crew , led by squinty-eyed mercenary hanover ( wes studi ) and piloted by squinty-eyed boat captain finnegan ( treat williams ) , shows up to loot the cruise ship ; the sea monsters show up to eat the mercenary crew ; a few survivors make it to the closing credits . \\nand up go the lights . \\nit's hard to work up much enthusiasm for this sort of joyless film-making , especially when a monster moview should make you laugh every time it makes you scream . \\nhere , the laughs are provided almost entirely by kevin j . o'connor , generally amusing as the crew's fraidy-cat mechanic . \\nwriter/director stephen sommers seems most concerned with creating a tone of action-horror menace -- something over-populated with gore-drenched skeletons , something where the gunfire and special effects are taken a bit too seriously . \\ndeep rising is missing that one unmistakable cue that we're expected to have a ridiculous good time , not hide our eyes . \\ncase it point , comparing deep rising to its recent cousin anaconda . \\nin deep rising , one of the creature's victims is regurgitated back into view , partially digested and still alive . \\nhe shrieks in horror at his freakish appearance and pain , in a moment a bit too disturbing to be laughable . \\nin anaconda , we also see a regurgitated victim , partially digested and still alive . \\nhe looks at another character . . . and \\nwinks . \\nmake no mistake , deep rising has anaconda beat all to heck when it comes to technical proficiency and pacing . \\nit's also gloomy , uninspired and not nearly enough fun . \\ni don't ask much of my monster movies , but i do ask that they act like monster movies . \\nyou don't have to show me a fantastically impressive , massive beast with tentacles a-flailing . \\njust show me the massive beast burping , and i'll figure you get the point . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'when i ponder childhood memories past , one of the things that always springs immediately to mind is watching the \" inspector gadget \" tv show with my older brother . \\ntruth be told , we were rabid fanatics ; our version of cowboys and indians was chasing each other around our coffee table to the theme tune , alternating who would get to be gadget and who would be stuck playing the part of dr . claw , the inspector\\'s arch nemesis . \\ni was never a biggie on nostalgia , but you just can\\'t help but have fond memories of something like that . \\nsometimes i even find myself up at 4am watching re-runs of my favorite episodes , trying to recapture some of that sense of wonder i felt as a kid . \\nat the very least , i was expecting the new film version of the classic television series to have at least some kind of similar effect on me . \\ndespite how horrid a film may be , the simple task of rekindling even a slight feeling of nostalgia is pretty tough to screw up . \\nso back i sat , with minimum expectations of what the movie would deliver ( let\\'s face it ; exactly how good can a live-action disney film really be ? ) . \\ni was wise enough to steer clear from the likes of mr . magoo and george of the jungle ( two previous disney adaptations ) , and i wish to god that i had been sharp enough to skip gadget as well . \\nrarely has a movie left me with such an utter feeling of emptiness . \\nas everyone else was getting up to exit the screening room after the movie had completed its assault on mankind , i was left sitting there , absolutely speechless and totally dumbfounded at what i had just seen . \\ncan something this awful truly exist in such an evolved world ? \\nright from the beginning , i knew i was in trouble . \\nin the opening scenes , each character is introduced as if their sole purpose is to just be , to simply serve as real-life duplicates of their cartoon clones . \\nwhen referring to them , people almost yell in fear that the audience will not catch on as to who a certain character is supposed to be ( \" oh , hi penny ! \\nis brain with you ? \" ) . \\ncreating one-dimensional replicas is one thing ; having mere names take the place of them is quite another . \\nthe \" plot \" , shall we call it , stays fairly in tune with the original series . \\nmatthew broderick stars as john brown ( how creative is that ? ) , \\na security guard who is horribly injured by a pack of ruthless businessmen headed by scolex ( why , rupert everett , for the love of god why ? ? ? ! ! ! ) , who himself is transformed into claw by an unfortunate chain of events . \\nbrown is then rescued and used as a prototype for a new law-enforcement technology wherein he\\'s joined with various machine parts and some nifty gadgets to form ( drumroll , please ) . . . \\ninspector gadget ! \\n>from here on out , the movie becomes a hodgepodge of stupid dialog and confusing situations ( although , to be fair , my confusion could have been caused by the virtual concussion the film was inflicting upon my fragile mind ) . \\nthere\\'s something about an evil gadget taking over the city ( his first crime must have been swiping matt dillon\\'s dentures from there\\'s something about mary ) and it all ends with ( what else ? ) a bunch of post-credit nonsense and a cameo by don adams himself . \\nto be honest , i wasn\\'t much paying attention to these \" treats \" . \\ni was just glad that it was over . \\n',\n",
+       " b'john cusack is the kind of actor who seems to effortlessly slide into his respective film roles . \\nso effortlessly that people tend to forget he\\'s there , much in the way people rarely recall many of the great character actors ( anyone who can put the name james rebhorn with that actor\\'s face is invited to treat themselves to a product from one of my sponsors ) . \\nexample : the other day my mother asked me ( the expert , of course ) if there were any movies out worth seeing , never mind that our tastes couldn\\'t be more divergent--- i\\'ll never forget the day she recommended that i go see a night at the roxbury for god sakes , and to be fair she was mightily pissed at me for telling her that go ! \\nwas a lot of fun ( which it is ) , so i didn\\'t see this as anything more than a futile attempt at conversation . \\ni muttered , with a little trepidation , that she might enjoy high fidelity . \\nshe responded with her usual query , \" whose in that one ? \" \\nthis is a question whose answer that seems to immediately conjure up the kind of movie you went to see . \\nif the reply is julia roberts you probably assume it was something wispy and light , a sylvester stallone movie and you picture a bloodbath with few words and much involuntary bicep flexing , and a woody allen movie means hyper articulate white people ( usually of the jewish faith ) fretting about in some upper east side palace . \\nanyway , when i answered \" john cusack \" , she replied with a rather stunned \" who ? \" , as if it was unreasonable for her to know whom i was referring to . \\nnow i know for a fact that my mother has seen several cusack movies , most recently being john malkovich and pushing tin , but i suppose it\\'s understandable that she would not recognize the name , after all , for most , names are tougher than faces . \\ni showed her a picture of cusack\\'s mug in the paper hoping for an \" oh - him , yes he\\'s quite good \" instead i got a \" no - i don\\'t know him \" . \\nat this point i was way beyond frustration into a realm of nose hair yanking anger ( yes , filmic ignorance is all it takes to get me into the nose hair pulling zone ) , till i realized something : i doubt that much of america would recognize cusack\\'s relatively bland visage , or even the name which is rather bland compared to the coolness of a brad pitt or tom cruise , one-syllable names that glide off the tongue with the velocity of a speeding car . \\ncu-sack . cu-sack - no , not quite as cool . \\ni\\'m sure that twenty years from now cusack will forever be referred to as \" the guy from ( add in the cusack film of your choice ) \" . \\nhe\\'s not a brand name , and his movies usually aren\\'t big moneymakers , but in his own unassuming way he\\'s kind of a genius . \\nwith his pleasant , common man looks , and charming semi-articulate blatherings he has become one of the most likeable romantic leading men of the 90\\'s . \\nfrom the sure thing to say anything cusack has merged the talents of early tom hanks and early jack lemmon . \\ndespite the fact that nearly every character he plays is a variation of the character before it ( the schlumpy every man ) , he\\'s a constantly enjoyable screen persona , like albert brooks or woody allen . \\nand he knows how to chose scripts , while the stephan baldwin\\'s and val kilmer\\'s seem to put them selves in everything ( the former actually had the insight to follow up oscar winner usual suspects with a pauly shore vehicle , and judging from his latest projects it looks like he still has yet to fire his agent ) , cusack generally picks rewarding projects ( save for the unwatchable hot pursuit , a 1988 film also featuring a young ben stiller ) . \\nhigh fidelity is his second collaboration with hit or miss english director stephan fears ( the grifters , the hi-lo country ) , and it\\'s a hit . \\nit was also co-written by cusack , and some of his collaborators on the terrific comedy , grosse point blank . \\nit\\'s not quite as entertaining or as funny as that film , but as it progresses in its meandering fashion , the movie cast something of a spell over me . \\nhigh fidelity begins as a hipster ode to the non-committal rob , a vinyl record store owner , who opens the film by breaking down the fourth wall with much abandon and educating us in his \" top 5 break ups list \" . \\nthis is something cusack does the entire film a la ferris bueller\\'s day off . \\nat first the talking-directly-into-the-camera-schtick had me vaguely annoyed , mostly because it reminded me so much of the film body shots which used a similar conceit , but it began to grow on me due almost entirely to cusack\\'s witty delivery . \\nhe\\'s the kind of guy we don\\'t mind talking directly to us . \\ngradually the film settles into a shampoo-like tragi-comic character study , of a guy who must confront himself and his personal failures in order to figure out the true person he is ( yes it\\'s all very existential ) . \\nthough that plot-line is mostly enjoyable , the thing i liked the most about the film is how much pleasure it offers in introducing us to minor characters , all of whom ( now this is really something ) are terrific enough to warrant their own films . \\nthe best of which is jack black ( of the very funny show tenacious d , a program that sadly went the way of bruce willis\\' hair ? ? ? unfortunately that annoying smirk remains ) , an ardent record store employee who bullies customers into buying exactly what he wants them to buy . \\nhe\\'s the kind of guy i\\'m sure we\\'ve all met before , a blowhard who thinks he\\'s always right and will do anything in his power ( be it yell , argue , insult ) to hoist his opinion onto others . \\nbut i like this guy , because of how black plays him . \\nthe actor is portly with a round baby face and crazy eyes , but despite his size he leaps to and fro like a manic speed freak ( which might be a bit of a redundant description , seeing as how all the speed freaks i know are manic ) . \\nhe\\'s the kind of supporting character who would be impossibly annoying comic relief in most other films . \\n ( look at what that hack jan de bont did to poor phillip seymour hoffman in twister ) . \\nbut fears and black never let that happen . \\nthe character , for all his shucking and jiving is steeped in reality . \\nhe\\'s over the top , but in a way we can all probably relate to . \\ncatherine zeta-jones , in her brief role , gives a vivid portrayal of a women completely enamored with her own \" charm \" . \\ntim robbins registers in an even tinier part as a new age-type , a character played entirely for cartoon yuks , but still manages to work its desired comic effect . \\nthe one exception in the acting department is a bit of a doozy , the main love interest played by danish actress iben hjejle ( mifune ) , who completely obliterates any trace of a danish accent , replacing it with a stilted american phonation . \\ni give her kudos for attempting such a contradictory role , but instead of being likeable , she comes across as rather robotic , and as such it\\'s hard to see why cusack\\'s character would be so obsessed with her especially when he has a beautiful , intelligent writer ( natasha gregson wagner ) potentially waiting in the wings . \\nthis reminded me of say anything , where the charming cusack was paired with the charmless ione skye , and in midnight in the garden of good and evil where the poor bastard had to put up with alison eastwood ( whose unbelievably more wooden then father , clint for those \" special people \" whose wheels turn a little slower ) . \\nin fact cusack is rarely paired up with a personality that matches his , though i\\'d bet that if laura and natasha switched roles , the result would be more effective . \\nhigh fidelity works almost entirely on the strength of its characters and performances . \\nfears\\' direction is somewhat stilted , and the script is sometimes a little too ( and this is a word i\\'m beginning to hate to use but alas i must ) quirky for its own good ( i think i\\'ll blame that on scott rosenberg , who judging from what he did with beautiful girls , con air , and things to do in denver while your dead , has his fingerprints all over the most irritating bits of this movie ) . \\nbut cusack really does deserve an award , for being so damn ? ? ? cusackian . \\ni\\'m afraid that his talents are so understated that he may have to wait till his hip needs replacing to be offered such an award worthy of his considerable talent . \\nhis character , rob ( whose sort of like an older , more bitter lloyd from say anything ) is funny and tragic without being pathetic , and that cusack can do all this , and still not imprint himself onto the minds of most audiences , is something of an achievement . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the laserman : somehow the title of writer-director-producer peter wang's film conjures up images of superheroes , like ultraman and spiderman . \\nyou kind of expect an adventure flick about a crime fighter who can shoot laser beams from his fingertips . \\nas it turns out , the laserman _is_ about crime and about laser beams , but there aren't any superheroes . \\ninstead , wang's film is populated by a group of refreshingly off-beat characters living in the ultimate cultural melting pot : new york city . \\nthe laserman is a comic brew which celebrates ethnicity , eccentricity , and electricity . \\nthe film tells the bizarre story of arthur weiss ( marc hayashi ) , a chinese-american laser scientist whose life becomes incredibly hectic after he accidentally kills his lab assistant in an experiment . \\nhe loses his job but finds work with a mysterious company which secretly plans to use laser technology to commit dastardly deeds . \\narthur's professional life is cluttered with moral dilemmas . \\nhis personal life , on the other hand , is cluttered with colorful friends and quirky relatives . \\nin fact , arthur is by far the blandest character in the film , despite a charismatic performance by hayashi ( the san francisco-based actor whose films include chan is missing and the karate kid ii ) . \\nit's the auxiliary characters who give the laserman its unique spark . \\narthur's not-so-typical jewish mother , ruth , for example , is convinced that a chinese soul is trapped in her jewish body . \\nshe has dyed her red hair black , she takes herbal medicine daily , and she is perpetually cooking up strange delicacies , such as matzo balls in soy sauce--the ultimate fusion of jewish and chinese cuisine . \\nveteran stage actress joan copeland takes the part and runs with it , almost stealing the movie in the process . \\nshe plays ruth as a driven woman , determined to overcome her genetic heritage by immersing herself in chinese culture . \\narthur's girlfriend janet ( maryann urbano ) is a kooky free-spirit who would rather meditate than copulate ; her ultimate goal is orgasm through zen meditation . \\narthur's best friend , joey ( tony leung ) , is a small time thief who hustles everything from microwave ovens to machine guns . \\njoey is married to arthur's jewish sister , but he is also having an affair with a chinese immigrant who works in a whore house . \\narthur's 11-year-old son , jimmy , played by the amazingly adorable david chan , is--horror of horrors--bad at math ! \\nhe finds it impossible to meet his father's lofty expectations . \\nthe various people in arthur's life come together to form a rich tapestry of humanity . \\nlike wang's earlier film , a great wall ( about a san francisco family visiting relatives in china ) , the laserman revolves around cultural differences . \\nevery character in the film is , in some way or another , trying to find his identity--struggling to negotiate a balance between his native culture and the american way . \\nthe movie also offers a provocative look at technology . \\nwang appears in the movie as lieutenant lu , a detective who is fed up with machines , even though he relies on them to do his job . \\nthe film views technology with a wary eye , acknowledging its necessity while at the same time realizing its potential dangers . \\nwang raises the time-honored question of whether scientists should be held responsible for their inventions . \\nwas einstein responsible for the a-bomb ? \\nis arthur weiss responsible for his lasers ? \\nthe movie pits spirituality against technology , man against machine , and the result is a draw . \\naccording to the film , technology has its place , but we must employ it with great forethought and caution . \\nironically , by its very nature , the laserman is a triumph of technology--the technology of filmmaking . \\nwang's direction is exquisite , especially during the tense finale in which the director frantically cross-cuts between the various subplots , perhaps in homage to d . w . \\ngriffith . \\ncinematographer ernest dickerson , who has worked on all of spike lee's films , gives the laserman a distinctive , artistic look . \\nmason daring's score , which includes a send-up of bach , is right on target . \\nthe laserman is an ambitious endeavor , which is to be applauded , but it's sometimes ambitious to a fault . \\nwang serves up so many slices of life in the film that it's hard to digest them all . \\nfor instance , one character ( arthur's sister ) has negligible screen time , and consequently we just don't care about her marital problems . \\nin weaving his web , wang has included a few too many strands . \\noverall , however , the laserman is a charmingly eclectic concoction . \\non the surface , the film is a light and bouncy comedy-thriller , overflowing with whimsical humor and visual style . \\nthe heavier issues emerge only when you take a deeper look at the film . \\nyou can ponder the moral questions or you can just sit back and enjoy the absurdity of life in china town . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'note : ordinarily , moviereviews . org will not give away any critical plot points of a film that could be interpreted as \" spoilers . \" \\nhowever , being that music of the heart is based on a true story and that moviereviews . org \\nfeels the film can not be properly credited without such revelations , plot giveaways will appear in the following review . \\nif this bothers you , please note the 3 star rating of the film and stop reading now . \\n \" what does it take to play carnegie hall ? \\npractice . \" \\nit takes two hours for music of the heart to \" play carnegie hall , \" both figuratively and literally . \\nlike the children it portrays , the movie starts from the dark realms of awful cinema and works its way up to a show-stopping performance at the legendary concert hall . \\nroberta guaspari ( academy award winner meryl streep ) has two kids , a husband who left her and 50 violins she bought from a small shop in the mediterranean . \\nher life desperately needs a jump start and gets one when she meets a man who introduces her to a job as a music teacher at an east harlem elementary school . \\nshe soon finds her job is on the rocks as the men in her life continue to rotate through revolving doors . \\nthat is the pattern-like plot of this production . \\nultimately , the film chooses a zero-sum answer to these problems and finds her music career at an all-time high when the men in her life finally vanish . \\nthe first hour of music of the heart is rather painful . \\nroberta\\'s character lacks development and consequently seems to be flat . \\nalso lacking depth is the film\\'s \" bad guy , \" a narrow-minded music teacher ( josh pais ) who rejects roberta out of principle ( the movie never explains exactly which principle that is ) and conveniently comes and goes from the plot according to when it might be dramatic to have a villain around . \\nthe next 15 minutes of the film are mediocre . \\nthey are highlighted by one child\\'s return to roberta\\'s class ( coming after the great old hollywood scene where he explains be can\\'t be around anymore because \" my mom said . . . \" ) and a glowing concert . \\nnot knowing the running time , you may expect the credits to role at this point . \\nbut they don\\'t . \\ninstead the film uses the next 45 minutes to finish its journey from bad to mediocre to excellent . \\ndirector wes craven , known for his works of horror , uses some old sentimental tricks to get the audience tearing . \\none romantic break up scene is highlighted by the classic \" but . . . \\nlast night . . . \" \\nand roberta\\'s two children also have textbook conflicts with their single mother regarding their father\\'s absence . \\nthe city of harlem plays a strong role in the movie . \\nroberta\\'s mother is initially reluctant to see her daughter move to that part of town and the film does nothing to combat that stereotype . \\nthe noise tracks for these scenes are dominated by sirens ; predictably one of roberta\\'s students is gunned down and killed off screen . \\none thing the film does lack is subtlety . \\nthe fact that a little boy was playing \" we shall overcome \" on his violin after the aforementioned shooting was a cute and discreet reference . \\nthe fact that the entire orchestra begins to play it over and over soon after is an overdone reference that shows how little credit he gives the audience . \\n ( of course , in horror films the foreshadowing and between-the-line moments are meant to be overdone , so perhaps he too is just learning to play the game . ) \\neven with all its flaws , music of the heart is a beautiful film . \\nthat is not an excuse for the movie\\'s poor beginning . \\nbut as i watched the scenes in carnegie hall , i thought of some of the great acts that have taken that stage . \\nin december of 1979 a comedian named andy kaufman put on a show that will forever be remembered as one of the most original in theatre history . \\nthe performance included a dead-on elvis impression , robin williams in disguise and a moment at the end when kaufman announced he would take the whole audience out for milk and cookies . \\nso , how did this comic genius choose to open the show of his life ? \\nhe had a character named tony clifton take the stage for the sole purpose of irritating and angering the audience . \\nperhaps it is okay for music of the heart to start off rusty because just as kaufman had santa\\'s favorite food , this movie has an amazing finale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i relish those rare opportunities when a talented screenwriter can make me feel like a fool . \\ni spent the first hour of forces of nature slowly stewing over its grim attitude towards marriage , grousing to myself about its transparently planes , trains and automobiles plot machinations , and waiting for the inevitable hollywood denouement . \\nthis was a mass market romantic comedy , after all , a genre which has been taken over by teenagers and , even in its best days , worked hard to perpetuate the romance = infatuation paradigm . \\nthen marc lawrence did something wonderful , something which made the entire film click into place : he showed me a comic love story about grown-ups . \\nit certainly didn\\'t look that way from the outset , which introduces groom-to-be ben holmes ( ben affleck ) at his bachelor party , surrounded by friends and family whooping over his \" last night of freedom . \" \\nben loves his fiancee bridget ( maura tierney ) , but the doom-and-gloom pronouncements of everyone around him have him questioning the meaning of this \\'till death do you part business . \\nthen , on an ill-fated flight from new york to his wedding in savannah , ben meets sarah lewis ( sandra bullock ) , a free-spirited woman with a string of failed careers and relationships behind her . \\nas transportation troubles thwart them at every turn , ben and sarah begin a three-day southward journey in which their connection grows ever stronger , ben seeing in sarah the chances he\\'s never taken and sarah seeing in ben the stability she\\'s never had . \\nforces of nature gets off to a solid enough start , setting up the characters and the situations with plenty of witty dialogue . \\nben is an ideal role for affleck\\'s easy-going charm , and he plays the straight-laced straight man without forced exasperation . \\nsandra bullock , for her part , is more loose and appealing than she has been in her last half-dozen films combined , avoiding her recent habit of playing any semblance of character depth as moping . \\nthe two performances -- part of a great top-to-bottom cast -- are effective and connected from the start , yet the script\\'s apparent sympathy with the marital horror stories ben hears makes it difficult to enjoy the romance completely . \\nlively and funny though it may be on a consistent basis , forces of nature leaves a bitter taste that feels like self-justification . \\nthe kicker is that those acidic anecdotes serve exactly the opposite purpose , leading to a surprisingly emotional resolution . \\nforces of nature isn\\'t about a man developing a fear of commitment ; it\\'s about a man learning what commitment means _to him_ , learning that it\\'s not what he thought it was . \\nlawrence\\'s script feints and dodges before reaching its happy ending , an ending which is happy because people make the choices that make the most sense . \\nearlier scenes that might have felt like throwaways take on more resonance , and that bitter taste sweetens into something fresh and genuine . \\nthough one too many plot contrivances keep ben and sarah together through the film , and they do exchange the obligatory mutual character analysis of bickering screen couples , forces of nature wraps up so perfectly that you\\'ll end up remembering the humor and the simple wisdom . \\nthat is , provided you\\'re not put off by the ridiculously busy direction of bronwen hughes . \\nfor a brisk romantic comedy , forces of nature comes loaded with some of the most over-directed scenes of the year : teetering hand-held shots , why-not low or high angles , sweeping pans . \\noccasionally the hyper-real approach works , with cinematographer elliot davis creating a world of fantasy romance ; far more often , hughes refuses to let a scene be what it is , covering it with flourishes so thick you almost can\\'t find what\\'s underneath . \\na script this smart and mature deserved a more restrained director , but even hughes\\' excesses can\\'t spoil this unique concoction . \\nforces of nature may restore your faith in romantic comedy as something with the power to enchant , something that can make you happy to be proved wrong when you expect a tale for and about adolescents . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the booming introduction music finishes , and the camera sweeps over red mountains . \\nwe see two figures looking over a barren , and very red landscape . \\nthey kiss , then walk on . \\none of the characters ( schwarzenegger ) slips , and falls . \\nthe glass on his mask cracks . \\nhis face scruches up , and his eye's begin to pop . . . . . \\nthen doug quaid , played by schwarzenegger , wakes up . \\nit's all been a dream . \\nhe wakes up next to his beautiful wife , played by stone , and the film begins . . . \\ntotal recall is a typical sci-fi film wrapped around an intresting ( if far fetched ) plot . \\nquaid , who has never been to mars , keeps on having dreams of the planet , which has now been colanised . \\none day , while riding on a train , he's see's a ad for a company called 'rekall' , which implants memories of a holiday , instead of you actually going there yourself . \\nquaid chooses the 'secret agent on mars' memory , and then the s * * * really hits the fan . \\nthe implant goes wrong , and quaid really thinks he is an agent on mars for about two minutes , until he goes back to normal and can't remember a thing . \\nhowever , everyone he knows ( his workmates , his wife ) turn against him , saying how 'blabbed about mars' and 'blew his cover on the mission' a strange man , called richter , played by ironside , wants to kill him . \\nquaid , now hopelessly confused , follows the advice given to him , by a 'friend' . \\nhe get's his ass to mars . \\nmars is ruled by cohagen , played by cox , who charges people for air . \\nagainst him are the rebels , who are mainly mutants . \\nthe rebel's need quaid to defeat cohagen , because quaid knows ( but can't remember yet ) about a reactor that produces air . \\neventually , quaid kills cohagen , turns on the reactor , saves the planet , and goes away with a beautiful girl , just like the guy at rekall promised him . \\nthroughout this plot , there is huge explosions , thousands of deaths ( and i mean a lot of death ) swearing , sex , and everything else that make's a good verhoeven ( director of basic instinct and starship troopers ) movie . \\nnaturally , there's some pretty imaginative deaths , with arms getting ripped off , someone getting drilled , and heads exploding . \\nas you can tell , it's violent stuff . \\nbut it's done so stylishly , and of course arnie tones it down with a one liner , that's it excusable . \\nthe acting is variable . \\narnie , of course , is useless , but he goes has some good lines , and in the first twenty minutes , he even act's like a normal bloke , not like some action hero . \\nstone , of course , is useless , making a pretty poor wife , and a pretty poor action hero . \\nbut , she does sex scenes alright . \\nticoton ( most recently seen in con air ) , again , is ok , doing some good action , but getting her emotions all wrong . \\none minute she hates quaid , the next she loves him , and she never gets this tranisition right . \\nso , the good guys are awful . \\nbut , the bad guy's are excellent . \\ncox is basically reprising robocop , but he's still great in this , and he delivers the best line in the whole film near the end . \\nironside is superbly evil , with an utterly emotionless face . \\nthe supporting cast are fine , and not even the comedy sidekick ( this time in the form of a taxi driver ) is annoying . \\none disappointing aspect , though , are the special effects . \\nilm and dreamquest do some good work ( such as a subway station scene ) but the model work is not so good . \\nsome of the model heads look appaling fake , and quatto is a major disappointment . \\nanother irritating thing is the product placement . \\nthere are a lot of plugs ( and a good mars today gag ) however , the sets look great , and the special effects at the end of the film aren't too bad either . \\nthere's also a good soundtrack running through , by jerry goldsmith ( the omen , poltergeist , star trek : the motion picture ) \\noverall , then , total recall is a hugely violent , yet hugely enjoyable , action fest , with a reasonable plot thrown in there too , some great bad guys , and some imaganitive death . \\nfor a schwarzenegger movie , this is not bad at all . \\nin fact , it's very good . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'wyatt earp has a lot to tell and little to say . \\nthis story of the legendary lawman runs three hours and nine minutes and that\\'s too long for this epic-wannabe that plays more like a tv mini-series than a movie . \\nthe story opens on the earp family farm , with young wyatt ready to run away from home . \\nhe wants to fight in the civil war , but his dad ( hackman ) has different ideas and wants his son to study law . \\ntime passes and wyatt heads west , returns home to marry , and , after a spell , begins his career in law enforcement . \\nby the time he ( costner ) and his brothers ( madsen , david andrews , and linden ashby ) arrive in tombstone , wyatt has tried his hand at everything from hunting buffalo to dealing cards . \\nwyatt earp is very appealing in places-- such as cast , costumes , and cinematography-- but an overstated story and overpowered score deaden most of the emotional impact . \\nwho can be moved by scene after scene after scene of swelling strings and suffocating speeches ? \\nsomber is fine-- just ask clint eastwood-- but this film that boasts not one , not two , but three , count \\'em three , hammy death scenes ! \\nstill , a little bit of earp goes a long way and the life and times of the legendary lawman are from uninteresting stuff . \\nhis , uh , unusual relations with women , for example , are an intriguing contrast to his character\\'s credo of \" nothing counts as much as blood . \" \\nequally amusing is a buffalo-hunting ( and skinning ! ) \\nsequence that is decidedly non-pc . \\ndirector lawrence kasdan takes a refreshingly realistic approach to the gunplay . \\nthe infamous gunfight at the ok corral is both brutal and brief , devoid of almost any theatrics . \\ndon\\'t look for much glorified violence here . \\ndespite some large exclamation points in the story , the characters * do * come to life . \\nthe diverse cast includes everyone from betty buckley ( ! ) to mackenzie astin ( ! ! ) . \\nkevin costner is very good in the title role . \\ndances with whitney nevers get as steely as the role requires , though , but his transformation from lighthearted law student to stoic sheriff is fun to watch . \\nhe was tougher in a perfect world . \\nhis foil is dennis quaid , who pulled a deniro by losing 40+ pounds to play the tubercular terror doc holliday . \\ngaunt * and * gamely , he\\'s a scene stealer who\\'s seen too little . \\nother familiar faces include tom sizemore ( looking like bruce mcgill ) , bill pullman ( looking like jeff daniels ) , and lea thompson ( looking like someone other than lea thompson ) . \\nboth gene hackman and isabella rosselini appear and disappear like magic , while late entries catherine o\\'hara and jobeth williams are surprisingly solid . \\nthough the story and score should\\'ve tried \" less is more , \" all other credits are technical tops . \\nproduction designer ida random , art director gary wissner , and costume designer colleen atwood are some of the vips who helped spend what must\\'ve been an enormous budget . \\nclearly no expense was spared . \\n',\n",
+       " b'writing a screenplay for a thriller is hard . \\nharder than pouring concrete under the texas sun . \\nharder than building a bridge over troubled waters . \\nand incidentally , a whole heck of a lot harder than writing a movie review . \\nthrillers are all variations on a theme . \\nyou have a smart , resourceful , and powerful bad guy , who has a goal he has to meet . \\nyou have a noble and brave good guy , who has to protect the innocent , kill the bad guy , and not get killed himself in the process . \\nthe trick of thriller writing is doing all of this in an interesting and novel manner . \\nthis simple formula can lead to classic movies like north by northwest , high noon , or silence of the lambs , or big summer blockbusters like men in black , the fugitive , or air force one , or it can lead to utter dreck like masterminds , event horizon , kull the conqueror . . . . \\nis anyone else getting depressed here ? \\npoint is , it\\'s not enough to follow the formula . \\nyou\\'ve got to throw in something extra , something good and new and better than the last version . \\nsomething to surprise and move all of us people who buy the tickets and the popcorn and the happy meals . \\nthis is a hard thing to do , but it is absolutely necessary in every way . \\nwithout that something extra -- whether it\\'s a great plot or a well-written screenplay , or great special effects or great locations or great casting or great performances or great big hungry dinosaurs -- the movie fails . \\nthat\\'s why the jackal , with all its starpower , with all its budget , with all its hype , gets a big fat f . \\nbruce willis is the bad guy , the jackal , a legendary killer for hire . \\nrichard gere is the good guy , a former ira assassin with a vendetta against the jackal . \\nthe jackal is trying to kill someone . \\ngere is trying to stop him . \\nwill gere be able to stop the assassination in time and kill the jackal ? \\n ( i\\'ll give you three guesses , and the first two don\\'t count . ) \\nthere are no surprises awaiting the audience in the jackal , no moment when you say to yourself , \" i wonder what happens next ? \" \\nthe script for the jackal isn\\'t ripped straight from today\\'s headlines . \\nit\\'s ripped off , straight from an episode of millennium . \\nthroughout the movie , we learn what the jackal\\'s plans are and how he intends to accomplish them . \\nno surprise . \\nthe fun of a movie like this should come from richard gere figuring out what the jackal\\'s plan is and developing a clever plan to foil the bad guy . \\ninstead , we get two ( count \\'em , two ) scenes where gere is sitting in an fbi conference room somewhere and instantly divines the jackal\\'s plan just as if he\\'s frank black ( or more likely , just as if he\\'s been handed a copy of the script ) . \\nand we never get more than a superficial clue as to why gere has had this flash of insight . \\nit\\'s like gere\\'s character is psychic , but neither he nor the fbi ( or the screenwriters ) seem to know it . \\nand just like in millennium , the bad guy has an overwhelming need to go after the people the good guy cares about , whether or not they are important to what he\\'s trying to do or not . \\nwhat\\'s more , in the last half of the movie , the jackal , supposedly a super-smart professional terrorist who never makes a mistake , comes down with a major case of the stupids . \\nas for the performances . . . \\nbruce willis manages to get through the whole movie without a wisecrack , which is a major achievement , but not enough reason to see the movie . \\nhis disguises are good , but not as good or as interesting as val kilmer\\'s in the saint . \\nrichard gere is made to talk the entire movie in an irish accent , which detracts from his otherwise lifeless and dull performance . \\nsidney poitier is probably the most disappointing element in a overwhelmingly disappointing movie -- not that his performance is bad or anything , it\\'s not , but it is sad that hollywood won\\'t use this talented actor in any part other than an fbi agent ( shoot to kill , sneakers ) . \\nwriting a good plot and a good screenplay , like i said , is hard , but it can be done . \\nit wasn\\'t done here . \\nit is our job as consumers to reward good screenplays and to denounce bad and uninteresting ones . \\ndo not go see this movie . \\nyou\\'ll only encourage the producers to make more just like it . \\ninstead , stay home and rent day of the jackal , or in the line of fire , or a fire safety video , for crying out loud . \\nanything other than the jackal , which lives up to its name by gnawing the dead bones of other , better movies . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in one scene from \" the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , \" the hustler magazine publisher appears at a self-staged free speech rally . \\nas graphic photos flash on a huge screen behind him , flynt strides confidently across the stage , delivering a rousing speech over what really constitutes obscenity . \\nthe spectacle was reminiscent of the scene in \" patton \" where the general spoke in front of a giant american flag . \\nboth scenes were stirring , larger than life , richly entertaining , and felt totally like contrived set pieces for big hollywood movies . \\noverall , that sums up \" the people vs . \\nlarry flynt . \" \\nthe film is a wildly entertaining hoot which , despite being based on fact , feels like a big , phony hollywood movie . \\nthe son of a kentucky moonshiner , flynt ( woody harrelson ) ran away from home and ended up operating strip clubs in cincinnati . \\nthere he met althea leasure ( courtney love ) , a bisexual stripper who became his fourth wife and the love of his life . \\nto bolster interest in his clubs , he started a sexually explicit newsletter that grew into hustler magazine . \\nflynt , along with the magazine\\'s rag-tag management team , headed by his brother jimmy ( played nicely by woody\\'s real-life brother , steak & shake commercial veteran brett harrelson ) , viewed playboy magazine with contempt . \\nthey mocked its slick articles and airbrushed photos , striving to keep hustler focused on \" what guys really want , \" explicit photos that would make a gynecologist squirm , and extremely crude humor . \\nthe film\\'s prime example of hustler\\'s attitude is a cartoon depicting characters from the wizard of oz in an orgy , giving the audience an opportunity to giggle at flynt\\'s \" naughtiness . \" \\ndirector milos forman conveniently ignores the magazine\\'s frequent attempts to derive humor from child molestation , racism , and endless scatological cartoons . \\nflynt\\'s rag labored in well-deserved obscurity until he published nude photos of jacqueline onassis , which brought the magazine international attention , big money and the attention of conservatives . \\nan obscenity bust followed , the first in a long series of battles between flynt and the law . \\nlawyer alan isaacman ( edward norton ) enters the scene , hired by flynt\\'s wife . \\nnorton , an exceptional actor , is wonderful as the beleaguered lawyer trying to navigate the legal system while dealing with flynt\\'s increasingly childish and bizarre behavior . \\nin court , we meet the sputtering conservatives , headed by citizens for decency leader charles keating ( james cromwell . ) \\nas keating blathers about flynt\\'s immorality , the camera slowly moves in for a close-up of his name tag , inviting the audience to gloat at the notion of morality being trumpeted by keating , who was later convicted in a $2 billion s&l fraud . \\nflynt\\'s other prime foe is rev . jerry falwell , who sues over a hustler parody involving him and his mother having sex in an outhouse . \\ntragedy strikes as flynt is shot by a would-be assassin , leaving him paralyzed from the waist down . \\na dark period follows , as flynt and leasure hole up in an l . a . suite , strung out on pain killers . \\nflynt eventually kicks drugs , but leasure succumbs to addiction , and later , aids . \\nafter watch falwell on tv , describing aids as a punishment from god , flynt directs his lawyer to take the falwell case to the supreme court , leading to the film\\'s climactic courtroom scene . \\n \" the people vs , larry flynt \" is at its weakest when moralizing on free speech and lionizing flynt . \\n \" if they\\'ll protect a scumbag like me , then they\\'ll protect all of you , \" declared flynt . \\nhe\\'s right , of course , but the director forman cheats in portraying the opposition as little more than hypocritical buffoons . \\nhe also cheats in casting woody harrelson as flynt . \\nharrelson is an attractive , charismatic man , and his strong performance paints flynt as a colorful folk hero . \\neven a cursory look at the real flynt , who is making the talk show circuit , and plays the judge in an early courtroom scene , shows a bloated , morose and bitter man . \\nan accurate portrayal of flynt would have made a more difficult film to watch , but a richer one . \\ndespite its flaws , \" flynt \" is a fast moving , rousing movie with some terrific acting , especially by courtney love , whose vibrant performance will likely garner an oscar nod . \\nthe story may be candy-coated , but it\\'s still delicious candy . \\n',\n",
+       " b'mike myers , you certainly did throw us a ? frickin\\' bone here in what you call ? the biggest austin powers adventure yet . \\' \\naustin powers : the spy who shagged me is the sequel to the 1997 smash comedy austin powers : international man of mystery . \\nmany are skeptical about sequels , saying that the sequel is never better or as good as the original , but austin powers : tswsm goes beyond the first film . \\naustin powers : the spy who shagged me stars mike myers in three different roles . \\nhe reprises his role as the title character , austin powers , the shagadelic spy whose body was frozen in 1967 , and unfrozen in 1997 to stop his long time nemesis dr . evil , also played by mike myers , from destroying the earth . \\ntswsm leaves off where the original stopped , with dr . evil\\'s ? frisch\\'s big boy\\' space capsule floating through space . \\ndr . evil returns back to earth by ejecting from his capsule , plotting to go back in his time machine to the year 1967 , in which he plans to steal austin powers\\' \" mojo \" , what keeps austin going with spy talents . \\nupon his return to his secret lair , which is now a starbucks coffee shop , dr . evil learns that his evil henchman , which includes the returning robert wagner as number 2 and mindy sterling as frau , have created a 1/8 size clone of dr . evil , which is later named mini me . \\nthe evil mini me replaces scott evil , played by seth green , as dr . evil\\'s son in the madman\\'s mind , because dr . evil thinks of scott to be only \" quasi-evil . \" \\ndr . evil has always wanted a son that is evil just like him , and now he has one . \\ndr . evil tells mini me , \" you complete me , \" in a loving manner . \\ndr . evil loving ? \\nwow ! \\nmike myers\\' third role is as fat bastard , a scottish henchman of dr . evil\\'s , who is sent to steal the mojo from austin powers\\' frozen body . \\naustin powers learns of dr . evil\\'s trip back into the 60s , and uses his own time machine to take him back to 1967 , to try to save his mojo before fat bastard gets a hold of it . \\nonce arriving in the year 1967 , austin travels to his \" pad \" , his smashing home/dance club , where he meets felicity shagwell , played by heather graham , a cia agent who is willing to help him in his journey to stop dr . evil . \\nas the film progresses , hilarious one liners are thrown at us , mainly by dr . evil , for example , \" don\\'t go there , girlfriend ! \" \\nto the president of the united states . \\nmany witty gags take place , note the entire tent scene , and just plain , funny scenes which are so stupid- they\\'re funny come a dozen per fifteen minutes . \\ntake for example , scott evil going on the jerry springer show complaining about how evil his father is . \\nthe way austin powers : tswsm uses its humor is clever , throwing a hilarious scene at you , followed by five minutes of one liners , followed by another outrageous scene , so you never stop laughing . \\nthere was honestly not one moment in austin powers : tswsm where i wasn\\'t laughing . \\nthe last film that i laughed so hard in , was well , austin powers ! \\nit is apparent that mike myers knew how funny this film was while writing it . \\nthe film even makes fun of itself in a line , something along the lines of , \" it\\'s funny how england and southern california look nothing alike . \" \\ntswsm was filmed in southern california , but was supposed to take place in england . \\ni can tell you one thing- he is having a lot of fun with this enormously popular character , which is all over television , newspapers , magazines , and the movie theaters . \\ni believe that dr . evil got more attention in the tswsm than austin powers did . \\ndr . evil provided more laughs , more memorable moments , and more interesting dialogue than austin did this time around , who seems to missing the funny touch that he had in the first film . \\ni felt that austin really did have his mojo taken away , but from screenplay writer mike myers , not fat bastard . \\nalso making a great addition to the series is mini me , who is played by verne troyer . \\neven though the midget actor is 30 years old , he is adorable by dr . evil\\'s side constantly . \\nthe first austin powers film had barely any sentimental quality , such as lack of character development , barely any detailed plot characteristics , and barely any good acting , but austin powers tswsm actually shows some quality behind the frequent humor . \\nmike myers , with his three roles , acts as eddie murphy did in the nutty professor , disguising himself completely in one of the roles . \\n ( fat bastard ) all three characters are different , and mike myers does do a good job handling each one of them . \\nheather graham made a great addition with her talent to tswsm , and does a much better job than elizabeth hurley did , who gave a very flat performance in the original , speaking her lines without any feeling or emotion . \\nspeaking of hurley , she can be seen in tswsm for a few brief moments . \\nhopefully , graham tags along for future austin powers adventures . \\nthe bottom line- a groovy sequel that mike myers put all of his mojo into writing . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"wonderland is a rather sugary romance film that is as subtle as a ton of bricks falling on you . \\nyou can see its plot developing from a mile away . you \\nare lured into its benign story of a single 29-year-old girl looking for a soul mate in boston , as that city is depicted as a mini-wonderland for singles . \\nthis is a star oriented film , and the star who carries the film is erin ( hope davis ) . \\nthat this is a dating film , about singles who for reasons of fate or luck , or whatnot , have not had a successful match and are now putting most of their energy into fulfilling their careers , is nothing new , this type of film has been done often and better many times in contemporary films . \\nthe fictionalized documentary unmade beds did it more provocatively and with more of a sense of urgency than this film . the \\nmain quirk in the plot here , is that hope's pushy mother ( hollan ) visits her in boston , sees her daughter's live-in relationship with a radical protester ( hoffman ) breakup and decides to put a personal ad in the newspaper for her harvard medical school drop-out daughter , who works as a nurse . \\nthis is done without her knowledge . \\nit is cornball sitcom stuff , but , at least , it is handled as best it could be by the actors and director . \\nit is easy to like erin , she is bright , caring , and attractively blonde . \\nit is equally easy to care for the soul mate she keeps missing contact with , the financially strapped , ruggedly handsome , intelligent 35-year-old alan ( alan ) , who no longer wants to work with his father as a plumber but is doing volunteer work at the aquarium and attending college to be a marine biologist . \\nof course , he comes across as being so good ( though , he does kill some fish in the aquarium ) , that it is hard to believe he's for real , or just some cardboard shining knight put into the story to give it an ideal to shoot for . \\nthe contrived story revolves around their near misses in meeting each other in such spots as , the subway , at a restaurant , or on the phone . \\nalan's brother answers erin's ad with a few of his pals , as they each try to respond to her ad in a phony way , making a bet that the first who gets to tongue kiss her , that the others witness , will win the bet . \\nthis sub-plot was as obnoxious to see take place as it is to hear told . \\nthat we have to see erin go through several dates to prove the point how ego sick these guys are , each one more annoying than the other , culminating in the most obnoxious one of all , that brazilian lover ( jose ) , who is about as charming as a snake-oil salesman , who is actually the one she nearly flies away with for a holiday in brazil , was not only incredulous but downright contrary to the rich presentation of her character that was the heart of the story . \\nanyway , as expected , all's well that ends well , for this watchable piece of fluff , that comes over on screen better than it does when relating its story-line . \\nthe dialogue was actually not bad , those dating erin or trying to flirt with her seemed to be uttering authentic things they would actually say in their situation . \\nand , oh , by the way , wonderland refers to the stop on the boston metro , it is where greyhound racing takes place . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'logical time travel movies are a near-impossibility . \\nconsidering that the skeptic\\'s best argument against the possibility of time travel is the idea of altered realities , writing a script that deals with this problem is an imposing task . \\noccasionally , we get a film that does manage it . \\nterry gilliam\\'s \" 12 monkeys \" was one such film . \\nbut more frequently , we get films that don\\'t much deal with it at all . \\nthere is one question to ask in this case : does the film have other virtues that override the existing logical inconsistencies ? \\nthe \" terminator \" films made up for them with exciting action , \" back to the future \" did it with an entertaining story , and the new film \" frequency \" pulls off the trick with a strong package of its own . \\nis \" frequency \" filled with plot holes ? \\nyes . \\ndoes it matter ? \\nnot really . \\nthe film opens in october of 1969 . \\nfirefighter frank sullivan ( dennis quaid ) puts his life on the line every time he suits up for his job , then goes home to his loving wife julia ( elizabeth mitchell ) and son johnny ( daniel henson ) . \\nthe double-pronged story flashes forward to 1999 , where johnny ( now jim caviezel ) is all grown up and working as a police detective . \\na strange occurrence -- the appearance of aurora borealis over new york city -- allows father and son to communicate through the same ham radio frank used in \\'69 and that john has found in the present day . \\nthough both are initially skeptical of the idea , john eventually takes this opportunity to warn his father against his impending death in a warehouse fire , and he succeeds in saving frank from certain doom . \\nnow flooded with memories of a full life with his father alive , john is initially overjoyed , until he discovers that the changes to the timeline have been disastrous : a serial killer that would have died has instead lived to kill seven more women . \\nfrank and john now must work together to set things right , with john using the information he has gathered in the future to instruct frank on what to do in the past . \\nthe premise of \" frequency \" is unusual , and requires getting over one very important mental hurdle to fully accept : john and frank are the only ones conscious of how the timeline has been changed as a result of their actions . \\nthis isn\\'t explained ; you just have to go with it . \\nwhen frank doesn\\'t die in a fire , john is the only one who remembers it differently , while everyone else remembers it the new way . \\nthe concept also runs into problems concerning just how synchronous the two realities -- 1969 and 1999 -- are to each other . \\nsometimes frank\\'s changing the past results in something happening right away in john\\'s world , and sometimes john gets the changes ahead of time . \\nnow , the filmmakers might have perfectly good explanations for this , and i could probably come up with something fairly convoluted ( but nevertheless logical ) if i thought about it hard enough ( for example , the reason john gets advance information of the serial killer\\'s murders was because the change had already happened in frank\\'s world , and john is only witnessing the * projection * of that change ) , but explanations aren\\'t really the point . \\nwhen \" frequency \" gets cooking , it\\'s a riveting little thriller , even if it is confusing . \\nwhat matters to a film like this is if the plot makes sense in the moment , and \" frequency \" works as long as it keeps moving . \\nthe film manages to be engaging despite the logical confusion . \\ndirector gregory hoblit and screenwriter toby emmerich structure \" frequency \" as good hollywood entertainment , establishing decent , likable characters , making us care for them , and setting up a goal to be reached and a conflict to be resolved . \\ni liked many of the creative touches : the split screens , allowing us to see how the universe is being affected in both realities , and the greater framework of baseball to drive the action forward . \\nit actually uses the 1969 mets-orioles world series ( the one that featured the amazin\\' mets ) to great effect -- frank uses john\\'s advance knowledge of the series outcome to convince his friends to believe him . \\n ( admittedly , this device may only be of interest to a baseball fan like myself . ) \\ni even liked the final scene , which features frank and john both fighting the same man simultaneously in different time periods . \\nsome may find this scene blindingly confusing , as the reality shifts start coming fast and furious , but it does make sense if you think about it ( and give the script a lot of leeway ) , and let\\'s face it : it\\'s a darn cool way to end the film . \\nthere are enough surprises and plot twists in \" frequency \" to keep you on your toes , and as a result the movie avoids growing stagnant . \\nthe other major thing to appreciate about \" frequency \" is the handling of the father-son relationship . \\nquaid and caviezel carry off their parts easily ; it\\'s a rock-solid job from both actors . \\nthe relationship is instantly credible because they find the human truth behind the high concept : how would one react to being able to communicate with a dead relative , or with a future descendant ? \\nwatching the exchanges between frank and john will give you a pretty good idea of how to answer that question . \\nthe credibility of the human relationship is absolutely crucial to the rest of the film ; if we don\\'t believe in the characters , we don\\'t care about the outcome of the thriller plot . \\nhere , we do care , because we like the lead actors . \\ni also liked some of the supporting cast members . \\nelizabeth mitchell gets stuck with two thankless roles , playing julia the doting wife * and * mother , but still performs admirably . \\nandre braugher , late of the television show \" homicide : life on the street , \" gives a nice supporting turn as frank\\'s best friend and future colleague of john . \\nhe has a lovely scene in a diner in which he tries to explain the situation to julia while frank\\'s world series predictions come true before his very eyes . \\nbraugher strikes the perfect facial expression here , simultaneously dismayed and amused . \\nperhaps the only thing i didn\\'t like about \" frequency \" is the overly sentimental coda , during which the camera\\'s focus goes a little too soft and the baseball theme gets carried overboard . \\nbut that\\'s only because the film had already earned a poignancy without resorting to cheap tactics . \\ni freely acknowledge that \" frequency \" may best work as a \" guy \" movie , since it focuses on the very male-oriented idea of father-son relationships ( echoes of \" field of dreams \" can be easily heard ) , but the underlying concept is universally applicable . \\nwho wouldn\\'t want to speak with a long-dead parent ? \\nor see how their children turn out ? \\n \" tell me about your life , son \" -- excuse me while i mist up . \\nand don\\'t call me a sissy . \\n',\n",
+       " b'an 18-foot-high , 43-foot-long dragon is the computer-generated co- star of this strictly-by-the-numbers sword \\'n\\' sorcery flick . \\nas voiced by sean connery , \" draco \" is a surprisingly expressive creation who is well-deserving of his 23 minutes of screen time . \\nhe walks , talks , flies , fries , and even fakes his own death , all with the help of 96 computer-aided animators . \\ntoo bad that ilm ( industrial light and magic ) couldn\\'t spare some special effects for dragonheart\\'s * human * co-stars . \\na bearded black hole exists where dennis quaid should be . \\nhe\\'s a near-total loss as he growls glumly through his role of a disillusioned knight . \\ndavid thewlis\\' evil king has a high hiss factor ( hf ) , though he\\'s more of a mumbling oddity than anything else . \\noh , and there\\'s some redhead in a \\'90\\'s wig , who runs around either screaming or scowling , depending upon if the particular scene has her playing the woman in peril or the put upon peasant . \\nthe fringe flourishes include pete postlethwaite as a wandering monk with literary ambitions , julie christie ( ! ) as the good queen mother , a band of mercenaries that appear dressed for ye olde heavy-metal concert , and , believe or it not , the speaking spirit of king arthur . \\nbring out your dead ! \\nunfortunately , when we add it all together ( draco + fringe bits - quaid - thewlis ) , the sum total amounts to zero . \\ndragonheart is , well , too much of too little . \\ndirector rob cohen ( dragon : the bruce lee story ) has made a big , expensive movie that , while ambitiously plotted , is both murky and predictable . \\nand overscored . \\nand self-important . \\nand the list goes on . \\n ( i must ask : did screenwriter charles edward pogue intend that * every * character be stabbed , lanced , or sliced at least once ? \\nkeep that man away from the knife drawer ! ) \\nthe last five minutes of this movie are the worst , with some silly celestial nonsense that would be laughed out of any planetarium light show , much less a summer movie . \\nsave your money . \\n',\n",
+       " b'countries and legal systems that take the rule of law principle seriously , had forbidden judges and juries to make judgements in all matters that could involve them personally . \\nluckily , movie reviewers aren\\'t burdened with such legislation . \\notherwise , small pool of very special movies would be forever ignored by this reviewer . \\nin case of star wars , 1977 science fiction epic by george lucas , the consequences would be even more severe , because that film is very special for tens of millions , if not hundreds of millions of fans . \\nin any case , objectivity is something seldom seen in star wars reviews , because undisputed majority of reviewers rate it as one of the best , if not the best film of all times . \\nthose who don\\'t usually have some difficulties in hiding their artistic snobbery . \\nthe author of this review must also concede his inability to use cold , objective standards in reviewing this film . \\nlike so many previous reviewers , i must note that i watched star wars for the first time twenty years ago , and that i remained enchanted by the experience ever since . \\nperhaps it was childlike fascination with , until then unimaginable , wonders that happened long time ago , in a galaxy far away . \\nor perhaps it was the rush i felt minutes before the opening shots , with my expectations already pumped up by serialised comic books and novelisation i had read before . \\nanyway , watching of star wars was one of the most important movie going experiences of my life . \\nand it was also unmatched for many years to come , because very few movies managed to have such a strong impact on me like george lucas\\' epic . \\nstar wars wasn\\'t just important movie for me ( or the millions of fans who probably share the same sentiment ) . \\nit was the defining moment in the history of modern cinema . \\nuntil than , american motion picture industry was in a limbo ; social turmoil in 1960s practically destroyed the old hollywood , and new authors filled the void , mostly by using hollywood\\'s financial and technical resources to create serious , \" personal \" or \" artsy \" movies . \\nas a result , audience , traumatised of dark reality of vietnam and watergate , didn\\'t want to see the same dark and serious content on the silver screen . \\ngeorge lucas with its science fiction epic was among the first to come into rescue . \\nthe audience responded with unprecedented enthusiasm , and huge financial success of the movie , later backed by supplement industry of toys , books , comics , role playing games and other merchandise , slowly began to change the face of hollywood . \\nserious , adult movies with artistic ambitions faded into oblivion , and were replaced by industrial products of \" blockbuster \" philosophy . \\none of the biggest casualties of that trend was the science fiction movie genre . \\nuntil 1977 , science fiction movies were mostly in b-production domain . \\nin late 1960s , bigger budgets for science fiction didn\\'t look so strange anymore , thanks to the great success of 2001 : a space odyssey . \\nbut the same success coincided with the surge of pesimism , and hollywood science fiction was as bleak as the rest of its production - mostly dark , dystopic movies . \\nhowever , in 1977 star wars showed once and for all that this genre can be inspiration for popular movies , even among the audience that usually doesn\\'t like it . \\nas a result , seriousness in cinematic science fiction began fading away , although some good , dark and cult quality sf and continued to be filmed until early 1980s . \\nafter that , science fiction continued to be considered a synonym for family entertainment . \\nironically , the man responsible for star wars was in its time considered to be member of \" new hollywood \" generation of young movie authors who made \" artsy \" and \" personal \" films in early 1970s . \\ngeorge lucas established himself with the dystopic sf movie thx 1138 , and nostalgic drama american graffiti . \\nboth movies were considered \" personal \" in its time , despite latter one becoming very popular . \\nin a sense , star wars is an also very \" personal \" film , and the thorny way to the final production shows that commercial considerations were against it , not for it . \\nbut unlike many \" personal \" movies of the era , its \" personality \" was in line with the wishes of the general audience . \\nthe plot , set \" a long time ago , in a galaxy far away \" , begins in a time of civil war . \\nthe evil empire is threatened by rebels who want to restore the old republic . \\nin order to quash any opposition , the empire had built death star , superweapon powerful enough to destroy whole planets . \\nthe information about death star , acquired by rebel intelligence , is being transported by princess leia organa ( carrie fisher ) when her ship gets intercepted by imperial cruiser . \\nprincess is arrested by imperial warlord darth vader ( played by david prowse and voice by james earl jones ) , but the information is being sent to nearby desert planet of tatooine via two humanoid robots - c3po ( anthony daniels ) and r2d2 ( kenny baker ) . \\nthose two robots are sold to the family of luke skywalker ( mark hamill ) , young restless man who wants to leave his farm and become space pilot . \\nhis adventure begins when r2d2 escapes , because the information must reach mysterious local hermit obi wan kenobi ( alec guiness ) . \\nold man is actually the last surviving jedi knight , member of the ancient order that defended republic through the use of mystical force . \\nafter some hesitation , luke agrees to join obi wan in his mission to save the princess , while the old man would teach him the ways of the force . \\ntheir small band comes to the colourful spaceport of moss eisely , where they hire the spaceship owned by rogue pilot han solo ( harrison ford ) and his furry sidekick chewbacca ( peter mayhew ) . \\ncritics who don\\'t like the movie , especially those who can\\'t forgive lucas for his contribution to the quashing of \" new hollywood \" , are prone to point the lack of originality . \\non the surface , they might be right ; lucas himself admits that he found a lot of inspiration in the lore of old hollywood - westerns , wwii aviation movies , old sf cliffhanger serials of the 1930s and 1940s ; yet the most obvious element would be akira kurosawa\\'s samurai classic the hidden fortress . \\non the other hand , those who had spent last two decades studying the movie to death would say that the inspiration for star wars went even further - into collective subconscious of western civilisation ( hinted by some mild tolkien references ) . \\nthe others would find the author\\'s element within the story - star wars could be seen as an anti- establishment film ; young , long-haired , easy going , nature-loving heroes are fighting against old , uptight and oppressive forces who use supertechnology in most demonic purposes . \\neven out of its historical or social context , star wars is an impressive as a strictly technical piece of the seven art . \\ngeorge lucas\\' direction is very good , with the clever editing and a well-paced segments between action and dramatic buildup . \\ncharacters are well-drawn and deliver all the necessary ingredients , both for the space opera and hollywood blockbuster . \\nwe have a \" coming-of-age \" hero , damsel-in-distress ( somewhat toned down due to the popular feminist trends of the time ) , reluctant helper , benevolent mentor , diabolical villain and , finally , comic relief in form of two non-human characters . \\nsome of the actors are very good - alec guiness in his most famous role to date , james earl jones whose voice is enough to cause unease , peter cushing as an incarnation of pure evil in human form . \\nunfortunately , the same can\\'t be said for the main leads - among the main trio of mark hamill , carrie fisher and harrison ford , only the last one had the character three-dimensional enough to launch his further acting career . \\nthe thing that looked like the most important segment of star wars phenomena during its initial release was the new level of special effects technology . \\noften comparisons with 2001 : space odyssey , another ground-breaking sf film , were citing the sheer number of effects as a proof of the lucas\\' superiority over kubrick . \\nhowever , the special effects by john dykstra and john stears are indeed impressive , even after two decades ( although 1997 special edition did improve them significantly ) , yet they aren\\'t the most remembered trademark of the movie . \\nthat honour should definitely go to the \" oscar \" -winning soundtrack by john williams , whose work on star wars is probably the brightest gem in his brilliant career . \\nnewer generations of viewers might be somewhat deprived of the enchantment that still holds those lucky enough to witness star wars original release . \\nyet , even if they are immune to the george lucas\\' magic they should watch this film nevertheless , perhaps only to become familiar with something that is essential part of contemporary culture . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" something is fishy in the state of universal . \" \\nabout ten years back , with the unexpected success of mad max and the road warrior , post-apocalypse nitty-gritty survival yarns became popular at the movies . \\nwe\\'ve always had movies of this nature ; on the beach , the end of the world , damnation alley , the ultimate warrior , and so on . \\nto date , the most smoothly done were straightforward \" haircuts \" of the classic western plot , like the lone gunman who comes to town and protects the widow and the son against an evil organization , usually one in possession of some critical resource , like water , feed range , or a mining claim . \\nmost of these grew out of venerable , but solid hero yarns like the virginian and shane . \\n ( my personal favorite is a patrick swayze movie called steel dawn , which was fairly well made on a small budget . ) \\nnow we have waterworld , which again brings the traditional lone gunman to town to rescue the young widow and her daughter . \\n ( well , she\\'s not a widow , and the kid isn\\'t her daughter , but you get the idea . ) \\nthe lady is helen , played by the stunning jean tripplehorn , who isn\\'t given a chance to be stunning , or even interesting , by the mediocre and unimaginative script . \\nthe child enola , played by tina majorino , is living proof that a child actor need not be a bad thing to have in a movie ; she outshines her material all the way through . \\nin simple , the scene is earth , hundreds of years from now . \\nthe polar ice caps have melted , and somehow produced enough water to inundate the entire planet . \\nthe few remaining people live in boats and floating colonies , and survive by trade , theft , or piracy . \\nsomehow an oil tanker has survived the centuries , and its inhabitants , called \" smokers , \" are able to keep gasoline engines running despite the dearth of replacement parts and raw materials , so the bad guys have outboard engines , and fast-moving boats , airplanes , and jet skis . \\nenola , found at sea as a young girl , has a mysterious map no one can read tattooed on her back . \\nwe suspect early on that it is the way to the mythical \" dryland , \" the place where trees , crops , and animals grow , and what plot there is hinges on who has enola . \\nthe psycho ruler of the smokers , the \" deacon , \" is trying to get her and find his way to dryland . \\nplayed with typical self-lampooning , rug-chewing histrionics by dennis hopper , \" deacon \" is the only thing in the movie that\\'s close to amusing . \\nhis performance is * almost * laughable , but there just isn\\'t enough there to be funny . \\nthe star ( and a co-producer ) is kevin costner . \\nhe\\'s playing an un-named lone denizen of the sea , a man called the \" mariner , \" who turns out to be a gilled , water-breathing mutant with webbed feet . \\nvery little is done with this . \\nthe script ignores the ineffectuality of gills in supplying enough oxygen to support a human metabolism ; it ignores the fact that even with both ice caps completely melted , much of the earth\\'s surface would still be above water ; and it ignores the blatant impossibility of the cultures and technology shown . \\n ( canned meat does * not * last for centuries ; ammunition does * not * fire after it\\'s more than a few decades old ; and so on , and so on . . . ) \\ni\\'m quite fond of tina majorino\\'s previous work , very impressed by jean tripplehorn\\'s past accomplishments , and still speechless over costner\\'s dances with wolves . \\nbut this movie could destroy the careers of anyone associated with it ! \\nthis movie cost one hundred and eighty-two million dollars , and there\\'s * nothing * in it we haven\\'t seen before , done better on only a few percent of the cost of this turkey . \\nat 125 minutes of material , this movie cost over one point four million dollars per minute to make . \\nthe budget of this movie * could * have given us over thirty movies ; it could have paid for six years of a prime-time sf tv series with expensive fx work , or ten years of an sf tv series with good digital fx . \\nin sum , this movie is beneath contempt . \\nit has nothing new to offer , it has a script that could easily have been bettered by the people who write comic books for dc , and it spent more money than the national budget of a small nation . \\nif you * have * to go see it , see it on a four-dollar matinee . \\notherwise you\\'ll find yourself sneering at you every time you pass a reflective surface , for weeks . \\n',\n",
+       " b'54 is dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\na greater writer might have created a lyrical sentence for each of those adjectives , flowing in lovely arangements with soaring metaphors . \\ni , however , would rather cut to the chase . \\n54 is dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\nthere is nothing in it -- not a glimpse of depth , nor a shimmer of intelligence or insight . \\nthere is no electricity in any of the scenes , or a moment of interest in the story or its subplots . \\nand it\\'s underdeveloped , and features an array of bland characters played by actors who think they\\'re in this year\\'s boogie nights . \\nthey are so wrong . \\nthe picture has been assembled by mark christopher . \\nbased on this film , i don\\'t know how he got a job in the business . \\n54 is supposed to be an amazing insight into the world of the dance club of the same name , which originated in the 70s and closed down in the 80s . \\ni don\\'t know if this film went into production after boogie nights was released , but christopher has managed to plagiarize paul thomas anderson\\'s brilliant work in every possible way , from the framework of the plot down to the style of the cinematography . \\nwhat it lacks is everything that made boogie nights great : depth , intelligence , energy , fascinating characters , and challenging themes . \\n54 can\\'t even measure up to the last days of disco , which is flawed , but still smart and entertaining . \\nit\\'s remarkably bad timing , i\\'d say , to release a film this tedious after a couple of noteworthy pictures of the same kind . \\ni have exaggerated , though : there is one interesting character , and one terrific performance . \\nthat character is steve rubell , played with more perceptiveness by mike myers than this limp production deserves . \\nsteve rubell is the owner of studio 54 , and if christopher had focused on him , then myers could have forced a good film out of this wreck all by himself . \\nalas , we are instead guided to endure the trials of a young man named shane ( ryan phillippe ) , a going-nowhere new jersey teen who gets a job in the club , thanks to rubell\\'s homosexual impulses . \\nit\\'s here that he meets his friends , the array of uninteresting characters : his co-worker , greg ( brecklin meyer ) , his wife , anita ( salma hayek ) , and , of course , the love interest , julie black ( neve campbell ) . \\nshane is just an innocent young fool in the beginning , and he has a reasonably sturdy home life . \\n ( some of the scenes with his father border on interesting , while heather matarazzo , who plays his sister , pushes phillippe off the screen . ) \\nbut he decides to envelop himself in the disco scene , and succumb to peer pressure and to drugs . \\nwhy his \" friends \" push him into drugs is never really explained , but the fact that they are \" friends \" is questioned only is superficial ways ( greg gets really mad at shane because he\\'s been elevated to bartender status ) . \\nthere isn\\'t a single conflict that takes center stage , except that shane has some kind of unexplored reservation with the business in which he works . \\nmost of the film is dumb , and most of the dialogue is inane . \\nthere\\'s a scene late in the film in which shane confronts julie black , and , in the next scene , they\\'re arm-in-arm without a bit of development . \\nthen , they\\'re kissing in a bowling alley ! \\nthis is five minutes of material , thrown into the picture at the last minute ( well past the one-hour mark , and this isn\\'t a long film to begin with ) . \\ncampbell is a talented actress , but she needs a role that gives her a little depth . \\nthis one doesn\\'t . \\nand phillippe has almost no presence whatsoever ; this performance pales in comparison to mark whalberg\\'s star-making role in boogie nights . \\nhe seems dumb and misguided , and his voice never changes tone . \\ni guess he was picked for the color of his hair and the shape of his body , but he seems pretty lanky to me . \\nhe\\'s all wrong for a lead role , but it doesn\\'t help that christopher has forgotten to develop his characters . \\nby the end of 54 , shane\\'s most notable trait is his stupid , fake accent . \\nthe rest of the performances are wasted . \\nhayek is an energetic , talented young actress , and does almost nothing here . \\nmeyer is endearing , but allowed to be no deeper than cardboard . \\nonly myers , by sheer force of talent , manages to rise above christopher\\'s wading-pool of a script . \\nrubell has been written just as depthless as the rest of the characters , but myers is good enough to inject subtleties that help round out the performance . \\nin fact , myers is the sole reason to see 54 , and all it really does is make you wish that the film had revolved around him . \\ni\\'ve read that studio 54 has been recreated down to the last detail . \\nfrankly , i don\\'t care . \\nit\\'s easy to recreate something technical like this . \\na fairly skilled production designer and a few carpenters can manage such a task . \\nbesides , christopher keeps the lights so low that the sets are invisible , anyway . \\naside from myers\\' performance , 54 is a complete failure . \\nit\\'s dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\nsome may find my comparisons to boogie nights unfair , but they\\'re so obvious to me . \\nin any event , 54 is pallid without the contrast . \\nit doesn\\'t even work as mindless entertainment : it\\'s so shallow that the most escapist viewers are likely to dismiss it . \\nso , don\\'t forget those key words : dull , perfunctory , uninspired , and boring . \\neverything else i said was just padding . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you don\\'t look at a ren ? magritte painting and search for a deeper meaning . \\nyou likewise don\\'t look at one for 88 minutes straight . \\nsurrealist works are notable for their quirks , and they are fun , but looking at one quirk for an hour and a half is exhausting . \\nthat was my experience with i woke up early the day i died , a surrealistic , hyperactive comedy with no dialogue . \\nit\\'s not a silent movie ; there is lots of atmospheric music , occasional screams and weird sound effects , but nobody ever utters an audible word . \\nthough the film is distinctive , its unique style wore thin after about 20 minutes , and as it progressed , watching became a chore . \\nthe only reason the script ever got filmed is because it was written by the pseudo-legendary ed wood , the man behind such \" classics \" as plan 9 >from outer space and night of the ghouls . \\nthe joke , of course , is that his films are so bad , they\\'re good ; so humorous in their inanity that they become hits . \\ni woke up early the day i died , unfortunatly , is so bad that it\\'s really bad . \\nit stars billy zane ( titanic ) as a dangerous lunatic who overpowers a nurse , escapes from a mental hospital and proceeds to wonder around , stealing a car , clothes , and a load of money . \\nour thief reaches a cemetery , where he witnesses a bizarre ritual . \\nhe falls asleep and finds himself , literally , in a hole , with his money gone . \\nfor whatever reason , he is bent on getting his hard-unearned cash back ( considering how easily he stole it the first time , why didn\\'t he just go steal some more ? ) . \\nhe comes upon a list of the people who were at the mysterious ceremony and commences to seek out each of them and kill them if they don\\'t have what he is looking for . \\ni don\\'t think either director aris iliopulos nor ed wood realized that this would have made a glorious 20 minute short . \\nthe subject and the style seem to have been made for it . \\nunfortunately , twenty minutes worth of material is stretched out to more than four times that length , and the film simply overstays its already dubious welcome . \\nit grabbed my attention in the beginning and gradually lost it as it went on , up to the point where halfway through i was already weary . \\nit might seem odd that a film as furiously paced as this one can be so tedious ; but the surprise will wear off when you consider how repetitive it is . \\ni woke up early the day i died is a comedy , i guess , though it could have fooled me . \\nunlike most ed wood films , this one tries to be funny and fails , instead of the other way around . \\nthere\\'s nothing inherently wrong with that , in fact , i think it would only make sense for someone who has been so \" good \" at making unintentional comedies to take a stab at a real one . \\nwhether wood actually went for comedy in his script we\\'ll never know , but in either case , this is a failure . \\njonathan taylor thomas , christina ricci , summer phoenix , john ritter and others show up for short and pointless cameos . \\nricci , for example , plays a prostitute . \\nher role consists of dancing around with zane in his motel room and then being thrown out . \\nthomas is an astonished onlooker as a woman gets thrown off a cliff . \\nwas the home improvement teen heartthrob really that desperate for work ? \\nzane , meanwhile , occupies himself by making weird faces at the camera when he is not called upon to run around wildly and beat people up . \\nlack of dialogue makes him the ultimate caricature . \\nthe carnival side-show climax manages to demonstrate everything that is wrong with this no-budget production . \\nit\\'s desperately unfunny , but thinks it\\'s the funniest thing since plan 9 ; , it\\'s so spontaneously surrealistic it makes your head spin all while being confusing enough to make your head spin twice as fast in the other direction . \\ni hope another film is made from an ed wood screenplay for i woke up early the day i died is not a fitting send-off . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov &#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b'there is a striking scene early in \" city of angels , \" where all the angels who live unseen in our midst , gather at the beach to watch the sun rise . \\nthe camera moves above them , showing the endless rows of ethereal men and women , all garbed in black . \\nthen the camera moves in on the face of seth , an angel played by nicolas cage , and as the sun rises , he smiles and his entire face lights up . \\nyou see , the angels can hear music in sunrises and sunsets , but they cannot feel a human touch . \\nit is an important scene for several reasons . \\nfirst of all , it is one of many instances in the film that make angels seem thoroughly plausible . \\nthe film presents these fantastic beings as normal-looking people who drift amongst the inhabitants of earth , watching what goes on with little interference . \\nthere are none of the standard , hokey angel references used in recent films like \" angels in the outfield \" ( 1994 ) or \" michael \" ( 1996 ) . \\nthe angels here are stark and believable . \\nthis early scene on the beach is also an important scene of juxtaposition , for its shows how god\\'s angels can enjoy aspects of the earth that human cannot , and yet they are denied so many simple human pleasures , like feeling the sand on their feet or the waves lapping at their legs , or the smell of the salt in the air . \\nthere is an inherent tragedy in being an angel , although there is much beauty in it as well . \\nthey eternally walk the earth , listening to our thoughts , touching us in our pain , and leading the dying to heaven . \\nlike human existence , being an angel is often confused and unsure . \\n \" city of angels \" is essentially a love story , between seth and a human , a beautiful but sad heart surgeon named maggie ( meg ryan ) . \\nhe first sees her when he is in her operating room , waiting to lead the soul of her dying patient to heaven . \\nmaggie is distraught , doing everything in her power to stop the man from dying on her table , and seth is moved by her efforts and , more importantly , her overwhelming sadness when the patient dies . \\nangels have the limited power to soothe humans in time of misery and pain , and seth does what he can with his invisible touch , but it\\'s not enough . \\nhe wants to be with her and share her pain , not just stand back at a distance . \\nhe learns that the only way to fulfill his desire for human love and touch is for him to \" fall \" and become human . \\nhe learns this from another fallen angel , played by dennis franz ( \" n . y . p . d . \\nblue \" ) in a touching and humorous performance . \\nsitting at a diner together , franz tells cage\\'s character about how wonderful it is to be human - to be able to taste food , feel another person\\'s skin , smell the air , and most importantly , have a loving wife and children . \\nof course , there is pain to go along with all this , but for seth , it will be worth it . \\n \" city of angels \" is something of a reinterpretation of wim wender\\'s haunting 1988 film \" wings of desire . \" \\nwenders\\' film was more like a poem - it was the feeling , the emotion that truly mattered over what actually happened . \\nthe americanized version moves the location from divided berlin to broken los angeles , and the emphasis shifts onto the relationship between the immortal angel and the mortal human . \\nand , unlike most foreign films that are re-made into hollywood fare , it doesn\\'t suffer extensive damage . \\nthis may be because director brad silberling ( \" casper \" ) and screenwriter dana stevens ( \" blink \" ) wanted to make \" city of angels \" its own movie - inspired by \" wings of desire , \" but not an attempt to copy it . \\nand yet , \" city of angels \" is not a typical hollywood movie . \\nit is beautifully filmed in lush colors by cinematographer john seale ( \" the english patient \" ) , whose sweeping aerial shots and golden lighting make los angeles into an almost unrecognizable new world . \\nseale creates many striking visuals : in addition to the beach scene , there is a wonderful sequence in a circular library where all the angels appear at banisters all around , looking down at seth as he watches maggie walk by . \\nwhile the film travels along a charted plot , it takes time to develop its characters and situations ; it sheds light on the boundaries between what is earthly and what is heavenly , and shows just how thin those boundaries are . \\nboth cage and ryan give soulful , soft-spoken performances . \\nryan , who is usually so bouncy and energetic , truly embodies a sadness that can only be alleviated by a heavenly touch . \\ncage projects all his desire and longing to be human in simple , heartfelt gazes , and speaks with the comforting , knowing voice that only an angel could have . \\nwhat is most striking about \" city of angels \" is that stevens has added a new ending to the screenplay , which is both unexpected and challenging . \\nit\\'s not a formulaic hollywood ending , because it is both sad and uplifting at the same time . \\nit doesn\\'t give the audience what it thinks it wants at the end of a romance . \\ninstead , it offers something much better , something that speaks to the depths of what it means to be human and alive . \\n____________________________________________ visit \" charlie don\\'t surf ! \" \\nan eclectic collection of film reviews by james kendrick http : //www . bigfoot . com/~jimkendrick \\n|| e-mail : jimkendrick@bigfoot . com \\n',\n",
+       " b'look ! the new version of \" psycho \" came out and the world didn\\'t end ! \\ni guess gus van sant really isn\\'t the bringer of the apocalypse ! \\nunfortunately , though , that \" psycho \" didn\\'t end the world as we know is the best thing that can be said for it . \\nvan sant\\'s controversial \" re-telling \" of alfred hitchcock\\'s classic 1960 film has polarized filmgoers everywhere ( even before it premiered . ) \\nwithout benefit of an actual viewing , many have said that the film will , at best , suck . \\nbeing an ( almost ) good critic , i waited until i actually saw it to decide that the film , at best , sucked ( and that concludes the use of the word \" suck \" and , hopefully , the thoughts that i am a brain-dead orangutan . ) \\ndirector gus van sant took the original hitchcock film and refilmed it , shot-for-shot , using the same , exact script ( with a few minor alterations . ) \\nthe inherent challenge was in making the film suspenseful and scary , even though a large group of the audience will know exactly what will happen at the exact time . \\nsuspense probably could have been attained if the actors had been able to create something new or different than the original . \\nsadly , that did not occur . \\nit is hard to be overshadowed by vera miles and john gavin ( from the original \" psycho ) , but that is what exactly happened to julianne moore and viggo mortensen . \\nin moore\\'s case , the film would have been helped if \" the x- files \" gillian anderson had been cast instead ; especially since moore goes through the entire film doing a scully impression ! \\nfrom the cold demeanor and expressions to her rigid way of forming a sentence , moore is scully ! \\nmortensen ( who i liked in \" g . i . \\njane \" ) opts to play sam loomis as a cowboy/hick , which would have been nice if he had gone past that starting point . \\nsam has a twang and a cowboy hat , but that\\'s about it . \\nmortensen turns in one of the most uptight performance in recent memory . \\nanne heche , in the janet leigh role , does a few good things in her brief time on screen . \\nat least her marion crane has a little life in her , which can\\'t be said for most of the rest of the cast . \\nthe best work , though , comes from vince vaughn , as the demented mama\\'s boy , norman bates . \\nhe\\'s not going to make anyone forget anthony perkins , but he is effective both in being naughty and nice . \\nthe best part of the film is the dinner scene heche and vaughn , where they simply talk . \\nthere is some solid acting there , something that is not carried through the rest of the film . \\nvan sant has made a boring film . \\nall the camera tricks that hitchcock so eloquently used in 1960 aren\\'t as eye-catching now . \\nwhat passed for brilliance then has been copied so many times by so many directors that they don\\'t impress or excite . \\nvan sant , in what i assume is a grasp at originality , decided to put some stream-of-consciousness images into a few famous scenes ( was that a lamb in the middle of the road ? ) \\nthese images , included with some questionable editing choices , took away from the scenes themselves and caused , at first , bewilderment and , later , laughter . \\ndefinitely not hitchcock\\'s intention ! \\nat least danny elfman had the good sense to not mess with bernard herrmann\\'s original famous and terrific score . \\nif a film like \" psycho \" does not frighten , then what\\'s the point . \\naside from norman , the characters are thinly drawn people who leave no connection with the audience . \\nthere are things van sant and company could have done to at least make their recreation interesting . \\nin the end , however , the new \" psycho \" is a noble attempt , but , alas , a dismal failure . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"adam sandler vehicles are never anything special , but continue to make a load of money . \\nwhich really goes to show the sad state of cinema today . \\nwhile good comedies like rushmore , to choose a recent example , gets limited release and doesn't make a lot of money , big daddy got a huge release and has made a lot of cash . \\nit's also nothing special and doesn't deserve the money it's making . \\nbut i digress . \\nsandler plays sonny koufax , a unemployed new yorker with a seemingly low mental age . \\nhis girlfriend makes a ultimatum to him : either wise up and get responsible , or she's leaving him . \\nby a strange set of events , koufax ends up with julian ( played by twins cole and dylan sprouse ) a five year old kid . \\nafter a failed attempt to impress his girlfriend with the child , koufax decides he wants to keep the child . \\nhowever , social worker mr brooks ( mostel ) finds out that koufax isn't the real father and wants to take julian back . \\nkoufax along with his new girlfriend layla ( lauren adams ) fight to keep the child . \\nbig daddy really isn't that good . \\nmany of the jokes revolve around toilet humour , and supposedly we are meant to find julian and sonny peeing against a wall to be funny . \\nthere's the occasional good one liner , but these are usually strangely delivered wrong and lose most of the humour . \\nthe film , after all these silly gags , then suddenly turns sentimental , and this is where big daddy really goes from bad to hideous . \\nthe court scene at the end of the film is useless and unbelievable , and not helped by the soppy overacting . \\nit's a poor attempt to win over the audience . \\nadam sandler basically plays the same role he has in his last few films ( except the wedding singer . ) \\njoey lauren adams is much , much better , and deserves a far better film than this trash . \\nsteve buscemi pops up in a funny cameo , and his scenes are pretty funny . \\nrob schneider is also funny as a crazy delivery man . \\nthe two twins who play julian are o . k , they start out rather well , but then becoming annoying and brattish halfway through and finally turn 'all american' wholesome goodness at the end of the film , where the tear juice is turned up high . \\nbig daddy is really nothing special , and is not even worth it for a few chuckles . \\nalthough it is actually well put together , with nice direction , good production design and even some montages , this professionalism can't help the fact that the script and characters are trash . \\nbig daddy is for die hard fans of sandler , and that's about it . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'if chris farley had strapped some fake mutton-chop sideburns to each side of his head , spoken with a thick irish accent , and tried his damnedest to play it straight , he wouldn\\'t have been nearly as funny as brendan gleeson in \" i went down . \" \\ngleeson , who\\'s not dissimilar to the late \" saturday night live \" alumnus in terms of physical attributes , plays a character named bunny kelly in this delightful irish film . \\nbunny is sent to county cork to \" retrieve \" one frank grogan for an irish gangster called tom french ( well dressed like all good gangsters should be and menacingly portrayed by tony doyle ) . \\nbunny is to accompany git hynes ( peter mcdonald ) , recently released from prison and obligated to tom for disfiguring one of his cronies . \\nthat tom french is a mean bollocks . \\nhe wants frank back . \\nand a small matter of some ? 25 , 000 that tom\\'s wife was supposed to have given to frank . \\nfor this he won\\'t break anyone\\'s thumbs . \\nmaybe . \\ninventively and engagingly written by conor mcpherson and directed by paddy breathnach , \" i went down \" follows the trials and tribulations of git and bunny as they knock around peat bogs , dimly-lit pubs , and seedy hostelries trying to stay alive and out of trouble . \\nmcdonald is a newcomer and a promising one at that , but gleeson has been in over a dozen movies , most recently as father bubbles in another film with a very irish accent on hilarity , \" the butcher boy . \" \\neven if you can\\'t comprehend half of what they\\'re saying , gleeson and mcdonald together make \" i went down \" a trip worth taking . \\nthe film is in many ways reminiscent of another \" little \" independent feature , 1991\\'s \" highway 61 . \" \\nthat film , too , was a road movie and it shares the same kind of wry dialogue and humorous situations as mcpherson\\'s tale : whimsical observations on life , carefully-crafted vignettes , deadpan conversational asides , and scenes that\\'ll make you laugh out loud . \\nwitness the episode in which our good-natured protagonists bind frank ( played by peter caffrey ) to a hotel bed , leaving him with only the tv remote for company . \\nthat sequence alone is on a par with satan locking himself out of his car in \" highway 61 . \" \\nwhat\\'s also charming about \" i went down \" is how the relationship between buddy and git develops . \\ntheir trip becomes an education for both of them , but the way it\\'s handled is neither sappy nor labored . \\nthe only thing in the film which approaches clunkiness is the culminating explanation , via flashbacks , of the relationship between frank and tom . \\nit\\'s a little too hollywood , and what makes \" i went down \" so refreshing is the fact that it rarely panders to traditional conventions of hollywood gangster movies . \\nsure it\\'s gritty--make that grubby--but it\\'s also pretty goofy . \\nalthough \" i went down \" emphasizes the comedic elements of dis-organized crime , there are a couple of fairly brutal scenes in keeping with the subject matter . \\ndon\\'t let these deter you , though ; \" i went down \" is a little gem . \\nit\\'s only playing at one philadelphia-area theater--and i suspect it won\\'t be there for long--so catch it while you can . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : the much anticipated re-adaptation of the pierre boulle novel comes to the screen as a dark and a little dreary film with lots of chases and fighting , but very little intelligence . \\nvisually there is much to like about this version , but the approach is to take an adventure after the style of gulliver\\'s travels and treat it as an action film . \\nthat makes it a film without much center . \\n , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) \\npierre boulle , author of the bridge on the river kwai , wrote planet of the apes ( a . k . a . monkey planet ) , the novel , as a social satire . \\nit reads a lot like a fifth book of gulliver\\'s travels . \\nhumans discover a planet in which the roles of apes and humans have been reversed , not unlike the roles of horses and humans on jonathan swift\\'s island of the houyhnhnms . \\nthe novel moves somewhat slowly to create some suspense in revealing all the things most film fans know to be true about the nature of the planet . \\nit seems to me there is also a statement about human cruelty to animals , but perhaps i was just looking for that . \\nwhen rod serling adapted the novel into a film released in 1968 , he added a number of serling touches , familiar from episodes of the twilight zone and changed the ending to make it more serling-ish . \\nthe final irony of the original version has become film history . \\nwithout it there could never have been a \" planet of the apes \" film series . \\ni can surmise only that serling ran into serious script problems in how to handle the tricky question of language . \\nin the book the apes had their own language and the human eventually learned that language . \\nthat could have been done in the film , but that would have required the entire film to be subtitled for the non-ape-speaking . \\nserling avoided this by having the apes speak english and , of course , there is some justification for that by the end of the film . \\njustifying why the apes spoke english may have even been the inspiration for his surprise ending . \\nbut serling never tackles the all-important question of why a supposedly intelligent human never shows any curiosity or even surprise that the apes speak his own language , a language they had no opportunity to ever hear . \\nfew viewers questioned this serious plot hole , however , and the film has become well respected in cinema history . \\npartial credit at least should go to jerry goldsmith whose extremely inventive score is one of goldsmith\\'s best if not his best . \\nwhen the film\\'s success called for sequels , the filmmakers turned up the violence and they added well-intentioned , though not very subtle , political messages about what was happening in the united states of the 1960s and 1970s . \\nwhile the first film had a little shooting of guns and what was there seemed a little half- hearted , by the second film , beneath the planet of the apes , there was a good deal more violence and from that point on the series had a lot of violence and chases . \\nthe series concluded with battle for the planet of the apes in 1973 . \\nnow director tim burton tries his hand at adapting the original book again . \\nfor those who thought that the 1968 version was not very faithful to the book , burton\\'s new version is even less faithful . \\nfirst , he does not really reverse the roles of the humans and the apes . \\nhe has them both be intelligent , articulate races battling for a dominance of the planet currently in the hands , uh , make that paws , of the apes . \\nthat could be a good story too , but it is not planet of the apes . \\nas with the mission impossible films and so many other cinematic homages to the third quarter of the last century , the title makes promises that the filmmakers have no intention of honoring . \\nin 2029 leo davidson ( mark wahlberg , not this world\\'s most expressive actor ) works on a space station increasing the intelligence and usefulness of apes . \\nthen a convenient time storm sweeps him up wizard-of-oz-fashion and drops him on an alien planet . \\n ( yes , he survives this storm , but then no storm is perfect . ) \\nhe quickly finds , not greatly to any surprise he shows , that on this planet apes rule and humans drool , but everybody talks . \\nand the language they talk is earth- english . \\napparently it does not even occur to leo that there is a mystery that needs to be explained about that . \\nthe fact it does not occur to leo and apparently didn\\'t occur to tim burton either is the heart of the real horror of this film . \\nboth just assumed that if apes were going to talk the language they would speak would be english . \\nin any case having one talking race dominating another makes this not a look at human-animal relationships and more one of the master-slave relationships . \\noutside of sudan and a few other countries this is a less relevant topic . \\nleo is captured to be used as a slave but also is discovered by ari , played by helena bonham carter . \\nari is an attractive ape with close ties to high political power . \\nshe is bent on making the world a better place . \\nperhaps in a previous draft of the script she was called hil-ari . \\nin any case with makeup that stifles her usual pout , carter is just about as attractive as she has ever been in a film . \\nshe may want to consider this to become her standard look from this point forward . \\nit is not long before leo escapes with some human and only a couple of sympathetic apes . \\nthis is a further abandonment of the source material . \\nthe chase severely limits the interplay of ape and human and the examination of each\\'s place in this reversed society , each important in the book . \\nwe cannot see how the society works because most of the screentime society has broken down . \\nwe see the humans either separated from the apes or fighting them . \\nburton chooses visceral thrills over cerebral ones at almost every turn . \\nthis is a miscalculation , as characters so lacking in empathy value are difficult ones to place much emotional investment in . \\nthey are basically chess pieces and the viewer has little reason to root for them to win . \\nthe 1968 script had little subtlety , with lines like \" i never met an ape i didn\\'t like , \" but at least we cared for what happened to taylor , the main character . \\nmost of what this film has to offer is in the visuals . \\nthe visual work is spotty but generally nicely done except that so much of the film takes place in the night or in fog . \\nthis tends to limit close looks at the makeup . \\nin general it seems much improved from 1968 . \\nthe makeup team is led by rick baker instead of john chambers , who did it for the 1968 version . \\nin 1968 chambers makeup was a jaw-dropper . \\nit was realistic enough to almost be believable but flexible enough to show emotion . \\nchambers is good , but if anyone had a chance to best him it would have to be baker . \\ntoday audiences have higher expectations ; baker\\'s visualization is really an improvement . \\nthese visuals work nicely . \\nwhat does not work is the wire- assisted leaps some of the apes make . \\nthey look like they were inspired by the physics- defying leaps of crouching tiger , hidden dragon . \\napes spring incredible distances . \\nsome of the best scenes are apes running into battle looking like they have ape posture , but when they start flying through the air the effect is lost . \\none final visual problem is that the film frequently shows its budget in what should be spectacular battle scenes the camera shows us only a small group of people close-up . \\nsince the days of lon chaney and boris karloff few actors have crossed over to stardom in a role that required heavy make-up . \\nthe one actor who has a shot is paul giamatti . \\nit is not that his lines are so good , most are silly jokes . \\nbut he delivers them very well . \\nhe was always a watchable actor , but has not yet made stardom . \\nas the ape-trader limbo he over-emotes to overcome his ape make-up , but does it very well . \\nin doing so he makes himself the most interesting thing on the screen . \\nhe is probably the best thing in the film and conjures up memories of peter ustinov\\'s performance in spartacus . \\nas an in-joke there are several lines in the script borrowed from the 1968 film and an old ape played by charleton heston becomes an allusion to the first film by itself . \\ndanny elfman\\'s score has a nice primitive feel , but jerry goldsmith\\'s 1968 tour de force score is a real classic . \\nthat score and the whole film will be remembered when the 2001 film is forgotten . \\ni rate the remake 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ladies and gentlemen , 1997\\'s independence day is here ! \\nit\\'s title : starship troopers . \\nand surprisingly , it is more entertaining than id4 . \\ni realize that i gave last year\\'s sci-fi hit a 4 star rating , but i was under the spell of the powerful first hour . \\nafter subsequent viewings , i feel that independence day really wasn\\'t as great as it seemed--though i still give it a positive review . \\nstarship troopers , on the other hand , has a mocking sense of humor , knowing perfectly well how ridiculous it may seem . \\nas a result , starship troopers is a more exciting , energetic , and lively science fiction film . \\nin fact , i probably could never get tired of watching this film . \\nstarship troopers is very reminiscient of star wars , another kick-ass space opera which reinvented the sci-fi drama altogether . \\nwhile starship troopers is no star wars , it comes quite close , and the easiest assessment would be to call this film : \" the \\'star wars\\' of the 90s . \" \\nam i being to generous to this film ? \\nperhaps , but when a science fiction film comes along that can mix humor and romance , effectively , into the warring races . \\nin essence , this is the science fiction equivolence of pulp fiction . \\nthe easiest way to write a review of this film would be to compare it to other science fiction films , and i may have to . \\nstarship troopers is not quite an original film persay , but director paul verhoeven gives the film a \" kick-the-aliens\\'-asses \" style . \\nid4 had this same style , except it was forced , most likely the cause of will smith having a major role . \\nthis new \" star wars \" has a very simple , basic plot : mankind vs . an alien species . \\nthe alien species in question here is the bugs , a seemingly advanced civilization of arachnid-type insects . \\nhowever , the underlying morals of starship troopers are fleshed out with deadly accuracy . \\nsometimes the morals are buried by the bloody violence and intense action scenes , but during quiet moments , we realize that starship troopers has something to tell us about our civilization . \\nmore than likely , these morals will be overpowered and quickly forgotten by the time the movie ends . \\nand they should be . \\ni doubt verhoeven intended this film to be a thought-provoking film . \\nthis is an \" event \" film , but surprisingly above average . \\nit is extremely refreshing to watch a sci-fi war film , and actually root for the human side ( something independence day never achieved ) . \\nstarship troopers begins with a satirical portrayal of those strange \" join the army \" ads . \\nmixing a web-based interface , these summations of events are refreshingly original . \\nstating , \" would you like to know more ? \" , \\nthese short news bulletins give the film an immediate sense of humor , and we know we should not take it seriously . \\nhowever , we also witness the murder of several troopers in battle , in a gory , yet funny , way . \\nafter witnessing the slaughter , the film jumps back one year , to setup what we just saw . \\nwe are introduced to johnny rico ( casper van dien ) and carmen ibanez ( denise richards ) . \\nrico flirts with carmen by sending her messages over computer terminals in school classrooms . \\nhowever , carmen isn\\'t as interested in rico as she is in becoming a pilot . \\nhowever , another classmate , dizzy flores ( dina meyer ) , has her eye on rico . \\nunfortunately , rico isn\\'t interested in dizzy . \\nthis setup is rather cliched , as is the result of the setup , but it still is fun to watch . \\ncarmen signs up to become a starship trooper , and as a result , rico signs up . \\nand as a result , dizzy signs up . \\neveryone is assigned a certain position in the academy : carmen gets the pilot position she wanted , carl jenkins ( neil patrick harris ) , a psychic , gets a position in the training program , and rico is left in the lowest class of the starship troopers : the mobile infantry . \\nthe main story follows rico through his trials and relationships . \\nin reality , i found myself watching a space version of \" melrose place , \" but with better special effects . \\nan hour into the film , the war begins . \\na sense of tension grew in the audience i watched this film with . \\nthe first hour may have been a funny ( sometimes unintentionally ) setup , but we grew to care for the flat characters , because no matter how hard i tried not to like the characters , their gorgeous looks won me over ( call me superficial , if you must ) . \\nfollowing the training sessions , which had many dramas in themselves ( too many to mention here ) , the troopers are sent to war . \\nthe bugs live on the planet klendathu , a planet which consists of dirt and rock , and pretty much nothing else . \\nmany dramas occur during the war , until finally the troopers realize that their is something behind the bugs\\' attacks . \\na sort of intelligence which masterminds the defense . \\nthe troopers are ordered to locate the \" brain \" and capture it . \\ni hopefully left the plot as vague as possible , because starship troopers is not about plot . \\nit\\'s about special effects and gory violence . \\ndirector verhoeven , most known for his nudie film showgirls and basic instinct , returns to his sci-fi days , which gave us good films like total recall . \\nverhoeven likes to push the envelope of the mpaa , but despite all the violence , the comic book feel gives the film a sense of falsehood . \\nstarship troopers is extremely violent , with more gore than this year\\'s event horizon . \\nthe r rating is well deserved , and hopefully parents will not allow their 12 year old children to see it . \\nmy guess is that verhoeven\\'s target audience is the 18 to 25 male group . \\nthe film has a testosterone level off the charts , with chiseled men and beautiful women . \\ndespite these superficial elements , starship troopers also creates a world which made star wars so successful . \\nwhile watching the film , we never second guess the character\\'s decisions because they seem perfectly clear . \\nthankfully , no hero is punching aliens in the face , which gives the flat characters some depth for which we can identify with . \\nthe cast of starship troopers is quite annoying to begin with , but they soon grow on you . \\ncasper van dien has the chiseled facial features and tan skin which will make most girls swoon . \\nto most guys , he will come across as artificial . \\nfortunately , van dien is the worst of the cast , despite how hard he tries to come off as a real character . \\ndina meyer does a much better job of fleshing out her character . \\nher dizzy is extremely likeable . \\ndenise richards also does a good job , and her scenes are very well done . \\njake busey , gary busey\\'s son , gives a wonderfully funny performance , and provides one of the biggest laughs of the film . \\nneil patrick harris ( remember , he was doogie howser ) is a little wooden , and slightly out of place with the rest of the cast . \\nhowever , he does give a good performance . \\nmichael ironside gives the best performance of the film as the teacher with one arm . \\nhis performance rises above the rest . \\nperhaps it is because his character is the most developed , but i think it is just ironside\\'s presence on screen . \\nunfortunately , no particular cast member gives a star-making performance , which is too bad because the material here could have made many of the cast members stars . \\ndirector verhoeven is the main star of the film . \\nhis direction is fast and unrelentless . \\nhe never slows down his pace , which makes for a wild ride . \\nwriter edward neumeier adapted the screenplay from the book by robert heinlein . \\nthe writing is usually very funny , and sometimes very corny . \\nthe dialogue is smart but not too smart . \\nwe aren\\'t required to know everything , but some plot holes are left unanswered . \\nthankfully we are not intended to notice , and we really don\\'t ( except for one which lingered in my mind for quite a while ) . \\namazingly , with all the wars and romance going on , the screenplay manages to include some surprising governmental issues . \\nin fact , these governmental changes seem fairly plausible , and this adds another layer to the story . \\nthe moral debate of the characters is quite surprising to find in a film of this genre , but what is even more surprising is the amount of humor included into all the carnage . \\ni haven\\'t laughed this loud , even in some comedies . \\noh , and the special effects are first rate . \\nstarship troopers is rated r for graphic sci-fi violence and gore , and for some language and nudity . \\nbelieve me when i say this : don\\'t take young kids to see this film . \\nit is extremely violent . \\nin fact , it is probably the most violent film out this year . \\nhowever , if you are old enough ( over 17 ) to see it , starship troopers is guaranteed to entertain . \\nit\\'s been a long time since i have cheered for the heros , while also cheering for the bad guys . \\nand still , it is my dream to see a sci-fi film in which the alien race destroys mankind , and take over the world . \\nnow that would be entertaining ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'m an avid fan of the \" alien \" saga , so this review is obviously a tad biased ( at least i admitted it ) . \\nof course , that doesn\\'t mean that i\\'m gonna be giving this a four-star review or something , because \" alien : resurrection , \" the fourth film in the cool-as-hell series is not an absolutely amazing film , much like the first two were . \\nhowever , it\\'s a very good film which never fails to entertain , and consists of yet another mutation in the style of the series . \\nin short , i had a good time . \\n \" alien : resurrection \" leaves off 200 years after the last one , where our heroine protagonist , ellen ripley ( sigourney weaver ) , the science fiction genre\\'s answer to job , had killed herself after discovering that an alien was inside her body , waiting to pop out like it did to john hurt in the first one . \\nof course , the last one wasn\\'t very great or anything ( i liked it , though not as much as the first two ) , and more importantly , it wasn\\'t financially successful ( a tawdry 55 million bucks ! ) . \\nso back we are , with ripley back as a clone , which means we get another little satirical look at cloning ( not that that\\'s a bad thing , but it\\'s becoming a cliche ) . \\nso she\\'s cloned aboard an even more futuristic-looking ship called \" the auriga \" by some doctors ( including the necessary bad government guy , dr . wren , played by j . e . freeman , as well as the little-seen dr . gediman , played by none other than brad douriff ) , mainly because they have a version of her with the alien still inside her . \\nonce you get past the fact that you can\\'t figure out where they got her blood ( although i think it might have been from the blood samples taken by charles dance in the third one ) , the film\\'s okay . \\nalso on board are a band of mercenary pirates , including michael wincott , ron perlman , kim flowers , raymond cruz , dominique pinon ( a jeunet sytable ) and . . . winona ryder , who plays analee call , who turns out to have a bit of a secret ( i won\\'t state it , but unless you\\'ve been shacking up with salinger for the past two years , you probably know all about it - although it\\'s nicely covered up ) . \\nthere\\'s a bit of a non-sexual-yet-slightly-homoerotic relationship between her and ripley , but it\\'s never really deepened enough . \\noh well . \\nwell , as you might have guessed , the alien and its spawn escape and run around the ship . \\nand it pretty much does away with most of the people on the ship ( including some shocks - dan hedaya , for instance , who\\'s death is comical yet sad since , well , he\\'s dan hedaya ) , and the remaining people ( about 7 or 8 ) are left to try and escape and stop the aliens from doing any major harm since the ship is heading quickly towards earth . \\nof course , the plot is all balderdash , and just an excuse for some good old \" alien \" -brand fun . \\nthe real focus of the series seems to be on style , not really substance ( although there\\'s always a bit of it , most notably in \" aliens \" with the relationship between ripley and the little girl ) . \\nwhat\\'s interesting about the series is that each film is stylistically different in its approach . \\n \" alien \" is a claustrophobic exercise in quiet frights . \\n \" aliens \" is a wild , tense thriller . \\n \" alien 3 \" is a bleak , moody piece of semi-noir . \\n \" alien 4 \" is kind of like an off-beat french film , filled with lots of humor , and cool scares . \\njean-pierre jeunet ( without his usual directing partner , marc caro ) creates a ship filled with the kind of scares films like \" das boot \" has , with echoes hinting at a possible threat . \\nthe chills in the film are really cool , especially with the music , which is sometimes turned down completely for certain scenes ( there\\'s the most tense surgery scene since \" face/off \" towards the beginning ) . \\nand not every chill turns into a bloody mess or anything like that . \\nthis all combined with some good old humor makes this as interesting visually and stylistically as the others . \\nthere are even a couple scenes which just stick out afterwards as being brilliantly executed . \\none is the aforementioned surgery scene . \\nanother one takes place between call and ripley , which is just awesome . \\nthe underwater chase scene and the ladder scene afterwards is one of the most tense , thrilling , and jaw-dropping scenes in the entire saga ( with a small allusion to jeunet\\'s earlier film , \" delicatessen \" ) . \\nand the way they do in the final alien is hysterically cool ( with a lovely allusion to \" goldfinger \" ) . \\nbut the best scene in the entire film ( i\\'m sure i\\'m not the first to mention it ) takes place when ripley sees all the variations on her as they cloned her ( she has a an \" 8 \" tatooed on her arm ) . \\nit might be the most emotionally stimulating scene in the entire saga . \\nthe screenplay by joss whedon is not a great piece of work , as it never really deapens a lot of the characters . \\nhowever , it does make us care about most of them , so that when there\\'s very little of them , and it looks like one or more of them may become alien chow , we are pretty scared . \\nand , yeah , there are some very funny lines ( ripley : \" who do i have to fuck to get off this boat ? ! \" \\njohner : \" well , i can get you off . \\nbut not this ship . \" ) \\nthe acting is good all around , with stand-out performances from ron perlman as the male chauvenist pig johner , and leland orser ( the poor bastad in \" se7en \" who performed the \" lust \" sin ) as an anxiety-ridden wannabe woody allen who has an alien inside him . \\nwinona ryder is good , but not amazing like she usually is ( although she meshes well with the film ) . \\nof course , and as usual , sigourney weaver steals the show . \\nplaying a variation on the ripley character ( less emotional , and more rude and bitter ) , she pulls it off while still being utterly lovable . \\nshe\\'s not going to get an oscar nomination like she did for \" aliens , \" but she\\'s just awesome . \\noverall , it\\'s a thrilling , entertaining film which doesn\\'t really amaze like the first two , but is much more amazing than the third installment . \\nthe style is the best part of the film , which isn\\'t really a bad thing , but it being the best part takes away from a lot of the depth the film occasionally tries to apply . \\nbut it\\'s entertaining as hell , and it\\'s definitely fit for the \" alien \" series . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"eddie murphy has had his share of ups and downs during his career . \\nknown for his notorious late 80's slump , murphy has still managed to bounce back with a handful of hits in the past few years . \\nwith the exception of the dreadful holy man , he appears to be on pace for a full-fledged comeback . \\nlife was a great move on the part of murphy and co-star martin lawrence , because it's a great showcase for both actors that never resorts to slap-sticky drivel . \\ndirector ted demme is smart enough to realize that the two comedians can generate enough genuine laughs on their own , and doesn't insert a distracting plot to back them up . \\nlife is , in a sense , one great balancing act with murphy on one end and lawrence on the other . \\namazingly , the scale never tips in either's favor due to the marvelous chemistry and wonderful contrast that each actor allows the other . \\nas the movie opens , we're introduced to ray gibson ( eddie murphy ) , a two-timing pickpocket who schmoozes his way into a club . \\nthere he meets a successful businessman named claude banks ( martin lawrence ) . \\nsomehow , after multiple contrivances , the mismatched pair find themselves on their way to mississippi on a moonshine run . \\nwhen all is said and done , ray and claude have been framed for a murder that was actually committed by the town sheriff . \\nhence the setting of life : mississippi state prison , where the main characters come to realize their unlikely friendship is important , and become set on finding an fool-proof escape plan . \\nthe film takes us from the 30's all the way to the 90's , presenting a difficult task in showing how the aging process affects ray and claude . \\nluckily , rick baker handles the makeup effects of the two actors in a fantastic , academy award caliber manner . \\nnot only do we believe the characters look as if they're 90 years old , but they sound like it , too . \\nmurphy and lawrence are completely convincing in the lead roles , even as crotchety old cons bickering over a game of cards . \\nthis is just one of the pleasant surprises that the film has tucked up it's sleeve . \\nwhile the ads are marketing life as a straight arrow comedy , there is a hefty amount of dramatic material hidden at it's core . \\nbut the comedic aspects work wonderfully , wisely drawing strength from the talents of the two stars . \\nthe movie is more of a comedy than it is a drama , but in both senses , it's an overwhelming delight . \\ni could say a few bad things about the movie , but i don't want to . \\nit's such a nice surprise , such a great vehicle for eddie murphy and martin lawrence , that it warrants a huge smile as the credits begin to roll . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'at times , you\\'d think edtv would be an entertaining film . \\ni mean , who can resist the story of your average joe becomming a celebrity by having his life filmed every minute of every day ? \\nbut this average joe , ed perkuny , ( matthew mcconaughay ) , is a sappy , lifeless creation that wanders around , trying to solve everyone\\'s problems and settle his own . \\nmcconaughay is awful , especially because he is trying to pull off his usual hollywood charm with a 3 week beard and torn jeans . \\nfrankly , he had more charm in the devestating flop the newton boys . \\nhe overacts in every way : his overexaggerant body language , obsession with kissing women every second he gets the chance , and that cliched scene where he loses someone in his life , and drops to his knee and cries . \\nthe rest of the cast is very good ; especially martin landau ( as ed\\'s step-father ) , who plays a cute role as the close-to-death old guy that makes all the witty comments . \\njenna elfman is good , ( but a little overemotional ) ; her main problem is that she keeps getting sucked into bad films , i . e . \\ncan\\'t hardly wait , and krippendorf\\'s tribe . \\nwoody harrelson , as ed\\'s brother ray , does his usual egg-headed role , with his comic wit as well ( he wrote a book entitled , \" my brother pissed on me . \" ) \\nelizabeth hurley is perfectly cast as the easy slut , and dennis hopper , in a quick cameo as ed\\'s biological father , is a nice choice ( ironically coming after the role he turned down as christof in the truman show ) . \\nellen degeneres stood out as the executive who , after awhile , decides the show must not go on much to the opposite of the head exec , rob reiner\\'s opinion . \\ni hate to compare this film to the truman show , but the fact is , i was ashamed to see this movie . \\nit felt that i had dropped from college to kindergarten after seeing truman and ed . \\nedtv had no real wit or genius ; it was typical hollywood . \\nextracting the tv part of the movie , you have the simple plotline : man steals brother\\'s girlfriend , girlfriend leaves town , man gets new slut girlfriend to feel like he can move on , slut breaks up with him , real girlfriend comes back , and voila , you have a romance . \\ni got so restless during this movie , i almost walked out . \\nthe only reason it doesn\\'t drop below a \" c \" grade is because of the fine supporting performances . \\nad2am \" i almost lost my nose . . . and \\ni like it . \\ni like breathing through it . \" \\n-jack nicholson , chinatown \\n',\n",
+       " b'set in the late 80\\'s at the height of yuppie excess and based on the book by bret easton ellis ( who explored the same themes in another book which was also made into a movie , less than zero ) , american psycho puts a new spin on the yuppie \" genre \" that ellis helped to create . \\nchristian bale is perfectly cast as patrick bateman , a high powered yuppie who hides a terrible secret from his fianc ? e and his colleagues . \\nit seems that bateman is a serial killer and , unfortunately for his contemporaries , his tenuous grasp on reality is starting to slip . \\nas he tries to balance his meticulous daily routines with slaughtering co-workers and prostitutes and hiding their bodies , his mental fabric slowly begins to unravel . \\ni was first introduced to the novel when i was still in high school . \\ni read an associated press article in our local sunday newspaper detailing the problems ellis was having getting his novel published due to the controversial violence in it . \\nas usual when anything is controversial i try to seek it out , but i soon forgot about the novel and didn\\'t end up thinking about it again until i stumbled across it a couple of years later at a bookstore . \\ni picked it up and read it , but was ultimately disappointed because it left more questions than answers . \\nthe movie has a similar effect , but at least it\\'s less cryptic than ellis\\' novel . \\nfor once , a film has actually turned out to be better than the novel it was based on . \\nboth the book and the film open with bateman describing his fastidious morning preparations ( down to exactly what facial scrubs and exfoliating creams he uses ) but the novel seems to concentrate more on these excesses throughout . \\nthe movie continues to touch upon these things but makes more of a point to immerse us in bateman\\'s impending madness than to detail things as painstakingly as the novel does . \\nas a result , the film is immensely more entertaining . \\nlions gate seems to be the studio champion of controversial films ( having picked up kevin smith\\'s catholic-rattling dogma ) and here with american psycho there is no difference . \\nscreenwriters mary harron and guinevere turner had the unenviable task of trying to take a novel about yuppies filled with graphic violence and sex and make a marketable film out of it . \\nsome cuts had to be made to the finished film to keep from getting an nc-17 , mainly involving a sex scene comprising bateman and two women , and initial reports said the film was unwatchable . \\nthankfully , it is watchable and harron and turner have made one of the most scathingly satirical films this side of south park : bigger , longer & uncut . \\nside note #1 : co-writer guinevere turner also makes an appearance in the film as an ill-fated acquaintance of bateman\\'s who , after bateman suggests that she start making out with a female prostitute , proclaims that she\\'s not a lesbian nor has any interest in it . \\nthe ironic humor of the scene stems from the fact that turner ( the writer/director of the film go fish and who also assisted kevin smith with parts of his script for chasing amy ) is a lesbian . \\nit\\'s a subtle in-joke and it\\'s one i found to be pretty humorous . \\ndespite having a rather high profile supporting cast of young up-and-comers ( including reese witherspoon ) , most of the roles are a waste and are the equivalent of extended billed cameos . \\nthe real draw here is christian bale and his over-the-top performance as patrick bateman . \\nwhenever i read a novel i always try to imagine what it would be like as a movie and who would be perfect to cast as the characters . \\ni always had a hard time trying to decide who i would cast as bateman , but i never thought bale would deliver a performance as perfect as his ends up being . \\nto say bale runs away with the character is a vast understatement and he proves that he\\'s as adept at chewing scenery as al pacino or rod steiger . \\none sequence in particular , involving bateman describing his love for huey lewis and the news\\' song \" hip to be square \" right before burying an axe in a co-worker\\'s head , features one of the most eccentric and kinetic performances i have ever seen on film . \\nside note #2 : despite the fact that huey lewis\\' \" hip to be square \" and a pair of phil collins songs appear in the film , don\\'t expect to see them on the soundtrack release . \\nhuey lewis expressly requested that his song , featured in a rather large set piece in the film ( much akin to the use of \" stuck in the middle with you \" in reservoir dogs ) , not be included on any soundtrack release . \\ni\\'m assuming that collins requested the same . \\non a similar note , whitney houston\\'s cover of \" the greatest love of all \" is also involved in a scene comparable to the other two and it is very obvious that it isn\\'t the houston version at all but merely an instrumental version culled from an unknown source . \\napparently , houston wasn\\'t as open about the use of her song as the others were . \\na bigger controversy than the violence and sex has been brewing since the film\\'s release : that of whether or not patrick has actually committed the crimes we have viewed during the course of the film . \\ndon\\'t look to the book for any answers because it will only serve to confuse you more . \\nseveral web sites have been dedicated to the subject but i\\'m still undecided . \\nthere is evidence both for and against but the most scathing evidence against comes from a scene near the end of the film where bateman goes on a killing spree taking out cops , old ladies , and cleaning staff with equal gusto . \\nthe scene seemed very dream-like and as absurd as the action films it suddenly seems to be parodying ( as an example , bateman blows up a police car very cinematically after firing several shots from a handgun in the general direction of the car ) . \\ni kept waiting for bateman to wake up and for the film to continue on from there , but bateman never does wake up and the whole sequence , though comic , throws the film off-balance ( which i suppose was the intention ) . \\nother than the few flaws i have mentioned , american psycho is an incredibly entertaining film ( although you may not leave the movie fully understanding whether or not what has just transpired actually occurred in bateman\\'s reality ) . \\ni think this movie is destined for greatness as a cult film and deserves the spot it will take as such . \\nit may not change anyone\\'s life , but it will certainly have an effect . \\ni know i will certainly hear \" hip to be square \" in a different context the next time i hear it . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'do you want to know the truth about cats and dogs ? \\ndo you ? \\nwell , as this movie shows us , they make good companions but pale in comparison to the joy and fulfillment romantic relationships can bring . \\nunfortunately , there\\'s a giant roadblock set up in our culture that only certain people can get through while the rest of us mill around outside , feeling sorry for ourselves . \\na checkpoint beautiful kind of thing , and janeane garafolo\\'s character abby relates to it well . \\nlike a certain oversized teenage movie critic , she is intelligent and has a great sense of humor but strikes out with the opposite sex because she sees herself as physically unattractive , and the men seem to be backing her up on that . \\nmeanwhile , her gorgeous neighbor nora ( uma thurman . . . \\numa being the only woman\\'s name worse than nora ) attracts men like flies . \\nas abby tells her , \" you burp and they think it\\'s cute . \\nyou barf and they line up to hold your hair back . \" \\nbut nora\\'s down on herself for being too shallow and superficial . \\nwe all have our prwhen a man calls in to veterinarian abby\\'s talk radio show wanting to know how to get the roller skates off his basset hound . \\n ( oh come on , any idiot knows how to handle that problem ! ) \\nhe likes her personality and professional demeanor and asks to meet her in person . \\nabby , though , knows her body doesn\\'t match her personality and that she probably won\\'t have a chance with him once he sees her . \\nso she gives him nora\\'s body description and stands him up . \\nnora happens to be in the studio the next day when the dog man comes by and abby asks her for a big favor . \\nshe goes along with the masquerade and the three of them head out for a night of fun , abby assuming the role of a goat cheese farmer named donna . \\nthe dog man finds out even though this girl is beautiful , she\\'s not quite as intellectual or confident about herself in person , but he doesn\\'t suspect anything , realizing he\\'s not living in a \" three\\'s company \" episode . \\nthe charade continues , with abby furthering the relationship over the phone ( including a decidedly unnecessary phone sex/masturbation sequence ) and nora furthering it in person , while eventually finding herself attracted to the dog man . \\nlike sleepless in seattle , this comedy/romance is predictable all the way through , but we care enough about the characters that we root them on and will the romance to blossom . \\nthe truth about cats and dogs isn\\'t quite as entertaining as i was expecting it to be , but it handles well a theme i could identify with . \\nthe thing is , i find janeane garafolo rather attractive . \\nshe\\'s no uma but i\\'m sure in real life she\\'d have no problems attracting men . \\ni , on the other hand , couldn\\'t attract a man to save my life . . . \\nand am rather proud of that fact . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"lean , mean , escapist thrillers are a tough product to come by . \\nmost are unnecessarily complicated , and others have no sense of expediency -- the thrill-ride effect gets lost in the cumbersome plot . \\nperhaps the ultimate escapist thriller was the fugitive , which featured none of the flash-bang effects of today's market but rather a bread-and-butter , textbook example of what a clever script and good direction is all about . \\nthe latest tony scott movie , enemy of the state , doesn't make it to that level . \\nit's a true nineties product that runs like greased lightning through a maze of cell phones and laptop computers , without looking back . \\nalthough director scott has made missteps in the past , such as the lame thriller the fan , he's generated a good deal of energy in pictures like crimson tide and top gun . \\nthat vibrant spirit is present here , shown in well-timed and carefully planned chase scenes that give the movie an aura of sheer speed . \\nenemy of the state also features an unprecedented use of amazing cinematography -- director of photography daniel mindel throws a staggering amount of different views , angles , lenses , and film stocks at the audience that goes a long way toward involving the audience in the movie . \\nenemy is truly a visual experience , and that's only one of the reasons it's such a fun watch . \\nthe movie lights up with an aging senator visited by nsa deputy chief thomas reynolds ( jon voight ) . \\nreynolds wants a new communications act passed to allow the government free reign in the use of surveilance equipment , but the senator plans to bury the bill in committee . \\nreynolds has the senator offed , but not before the murder is caught on a naturalist's camera . \\nby an extremist chain of events , the tape ends up in labor lawyer robert dean ( will smith ) 's posession , and it's not long before he's running from reynolds' cronies . \\nit's only with the help of an ex-spook named brill ( gene hackman ) that dean is able to get to the bottom of things . \\nthe acting is top notch , and the three principles - smith , hackman , and voight - are generally more mature and excellent all around . \\nsmith puts aside the wisecracking act and becomes a normal human being ; voight tones down the amount of sneer he puts into his character for greater ominpotence ; and hackman is simply over the top in the mysterioso role . \\nsmith's regular joe comes off particularly well , as he runs from authorties for reasons that he knows not . \\nthe supports are also in fine form , lending credibility to the main roles and advancing the plot in key areas . \\nthis is , for the holiday crowd , the hot ticket ; as well as anyone looking for a serving of genuine action in a market that is otherwise lacking . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"this talky , terribly-plotted thriller stars alec baldwin as dave robicheaux , an ex-new orleans cop who gets ensnared in a murder- mystery after a light-plane crashes into the bayou beside his fishing boat . \\nhe and his wife annie ( kelly lynch ) rescue a little salvadorian girl ( samantha lagpacan ) from the wreckage and that's when the trouble begins . \\nthe other major players include a local drug lord ( eric roberts ) , his scheming wife ( teri hatcher ) , a soused stripper ( mary stuart masterson ) , and a shady dea agent ( vondie curtis hall ) . \\neveryone knows everyone else and it makes for a collective that's curious but never compelling . \\nbased on the book by james lee burke , heaven's prisoners is so badly plotted that entire * scenes * seem to be missing . \\nearly on , we have no idea of why dave and annie keep the child to themselves . \\nnor how they eluded both the coast guard and the faa . \\nlater , dave is reunited with a drug-abuser who appears seemingly clean and sober and without any explanation . \\nhuh ? \\nthe whole movie is like this , perhaps the result of some unkind cuts that happened during the eighteen months that the film sat on the shelf . \\nwhatever the reason , somebody should tell director phil joanou ( final analysis ) to recut this mess . \\nin its present form , heaven's prisoners runs only two hours plus change , but it feels like four . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it\\'s amazing how a comedian can have the some of the funniest stand-up around but completely fall flat in the movies . \\ntake adam sandler . \\non the basis of his first two cds ( \" they\\'re all gonna laugh at you ! \" \\nand \" what the hell happened to me ? \" ) , \\nhe\\'s the best thing to hit comedy since robin williams . \\nbut when you put him in front of a camera , it just isn\\'t the same . \\ni kind of enjoyed happy gilmore and thought that it warranted a marginal recommendation , but his latest film , the waterboy is about as funny as a root canal . \\nseriously , i\\'m willing to wager than there were more laughs in saving private ryan than there are here . \\nin fact , i found this movie to be more depressing than comedic . \\nthe first half hour generated not one smile in me , with it\\'s scenes of emotional abuse towards adam\\'s character of bobby boucher not only by the cruel football players , but also by his very disturbed mother ( kathy bates - what is the world coming to ? ) . \\ngranted , after the film gets rolling , there are a few mild chuckles throughout ( i\\'m even willing to admit that it actually had me laughing once or twice ) , but not nearly enough to sustain the waterboy for it\\'s nearly hour and a half running time . \\nyou\\'re all familiar with the plot because you\\'ve seen it at least a million times before ; everyone picks on the hero until he shows a hidden talent and leads the underdog team to victory over the champions , in the process not only winning the respect of his teammates but also getting the woman he loves . \\nand believe me , i\\'m not giving anything away by saying that sandler\\'s team wins . \\nif you would actually feel any degree of suspense watching this movie , then god be with you . \\nthe only things that keep this bomb from getting the big banana are the winning performances from henry winkler as the insecure coach and the severely underrated fairuza balk as bobby\\'s love interest . \\ni mean , they should be lending their talents to some loftier purpose , but they do extremely well with what they are given here . \\nkudos to both of them . \\nmy advice to adam is to try and follow in the footsteps of veteran comedians like williams and steve martin , who made a very smooth and successful transition from stage to screen . \\nrely more on actual comedy rather than strange voices and rude noises to make people laugh . \\nor maybe even show what dramatic talent he might have , like jim carrey did with the recent truman show . \\nwith the obvious and considerable talent that he possesses , he just can\\'t keep going on like this . \\n',\n",
+       " b'let me open this one with a confession : i love cop movies . \\ni adore them with such an unwavering , near foolish passion that i was actually one of the first in line to see 1998\\'s one tough cop starring the smirkiest of the baldwin brothers , steven . \\nwas it any good ? \\nwell , just about as good as baldwin\\'s steven seagal impression ( for those i\\'ve confused the answer is a resounding no ! ) . \\nnow let me clarify , i don\\'t love just any cop movie ; i\\'m not too keen on the smug buddy cop flicks that were so in vogue in the 80\\'s and now slowly ( gulp ) returning thanks to jackie chan and chris tucker . \\ni\\'m partial to those gritty , earthy cop dramas like serpico , donnie brasco , and the french connection . \\nproblem is these films come along just about as often as george w . bush makes a cogent point so whenever a \" true \" cop movie does hit multiplexes , i come running towards it like an eager puppy ? ? ? and inevitably i leave , head bowed , tripping over my squiggly tail . \\nso what is it about cop movies that transform me into a moron willing to shell out $7 . 50 for a movie called one tough cop ( which actually sounds a lot like a wiseguy spin-off , no ? ) ? \\ntruth is i\\'m a sucker for those barren streets , that gritty , graffiti strewn modernist jungle where dangerous criminals lurk and cops , like modern day knights , must shield us from their iniquitous clutches . \\nyes it\\'s all very corny and awfully boys clubish , which , i\\'m guessing , is precisely where these feelings come from . \\nas little tots us boys are brought up to create our own wars with gi joe\\'s , enact cops and robbers or cowboy and indian fantasies , etc . the best gritty cop films tap into those gleeful adolescent fantasies , and heighten them , turning it all into an existential nightmare of thin moral lines and psychological chaos . \\nas an adult my tastes haven\\'t changed all that drastically ; sure i can get a cerebral high from the emotional complexities of a krzysztof kieslowski film , but i still delight at the promise a \" guy \" film could potentially bring . \\nnow what if it\\'s the cops who\\'re the corrupt ones ? \\nooh that one really gets me going , these protectors using all that at their service , taking advantage of others for their own gain . \\nthrow a courtroom drama ( yech ! ) \\ninto the pot and you have the tremendously absorbing sidney lumet film prince of the city . \\nhow absorbing is prince of the city , you ask ? \\nso damn absorbing that when the film shifts from gritty undercover cop drama to courtroom drama ( a sub-genre i loath the way kristy swanson must loath sarah michelle gellar ) i remained completely and utterly involved . \\nthe film stars treat williams , who gives the kind of performance that should have skyrocketed his career up to the level that brad pitt currently resides at . \\nsince i was hatched a mere two years prior to the release of prince of the city , i cannot provide an answer as to why it didn\\'t . \\n ( though judging from his recent roles in tripe like deep rising and dead heat i would guess that it probably has something to do with quite a few bad career moves ) . \\nlike mickey rourke and eric roberts ( both of whom are currently doing time in direct to video purgatory ) williams is a talented leading man who didn\\'t make it to where he should have . \\n ( if there was any justice in this dog gone world keanu reeves would be the one banished to direct to video hell ) . \\nhere , the actor is given a role not all that dissimilar from al pacino\\'s in serpico ( also directed by lumet ) . \\nwilliams plays danny ciello , a member of an elite squad of police officers who take down drug dealers on the gritty pre-juliani streets of new york . \\nthey work without uniforms or hours much like paid vigilantes . \\nand that analogy is more than apt seeing as how the bunch are kinda sorta forced into using corrupt means to get the job done . \\nthe squad relies entirely on informants ( low level junkies ) to gain access to the big wigs , and in order to obtain the info they seek , they sometimes have to provide the junkies with the junk of their choice . \\ndanny has done this , and though he\\'s a fairly honorable guy , who took the job in order to do good , his intentions have gotten a bit skewed along the way . \\nhe seeks redemption and concludes that the best way to go about getting it is by talking to internal affairs who then convince him to go undercover as a \" double agent \" . \\nhe does so with one condition : he will not rat on his partners . \\nright away we know that that is exactly what he\\'ll have to do . \\nand watching the movie build to that is thrilling in the way that any great character driven story can be . \\nundercover cop films are almost innately exciting , even the kind that pull out all the cliches ( like in too deep ) . \\nhow can one not be moved by the issues of betrayal , ambiguity , and the danger in putting oneself in such a risky position ? \\nprince of the city takes all this and charges it with a perceptive , hard boiled script and taut unintrusive direction by old pro sidney lumet , as well as a handful of intense performances , most notably by treat . \\nlumet\\'s greatest contribution to the movie is how he lays back , and lets the camera soak up the action . \\nhis scenes transition rapidly from one to the next building layers of tension , and he rarely holds for reaction shots , instead he clicks away at precisely the moment a character stops yakking . \\nlumet\\'s worst tendency is one that many film makers ( especially oliver stone ) tend to overuse : he relies a little too heavily on actors shouting their lines at each other presumably in order to ratchet up the tension . \\nthis isn\\'t as much a problem here as it was in night falls on manhattan , lumet\\'s most recent cop \\\\ lawyer endeavor , a movie that nearly gave me an ulcer from just watching . \\nthough of late lumet has made several really awful career choices ( maybe he and treat should get together for a drink or something ) , the most recent a completely unnecessary remake of gloria , here he was on , sustaining tension in a film that runs for 167 minutes with not one dull spot . \\nsome of the formula pictures i like the best are the most simplistic . \\nhollywood often forgets how easy it is to make these kinds of pictures even tolerable . \\nof course cop movies aren\\'t popular anymore ( yes buddy cop flicks are popular but those are more like extended sitcoms with gunfire amid the punch lines ) , but just look at the average hollywood action movies , flicks so bloated and full of unnecessary fat like the boring love interest that serves no purpose other than to stall the action and demonstrate that our hero isn\\'t gay , the lame comic relief character who\\'s never funny , and on and on . \\nfor all its moral ambiguities prince of the city is a back to the basics cop \\\\ courtroom drama that leaves out all the crap and really thrills . \\nit focuses completely on its story , and its characters all of whom are completely believable from the cops to the lawyers to the junkies . \\nthere\\'s a great scene early on where an irate williams shouts at an ia officer and looks as if he\\'s about to go into one of those corny braveheart inspirational speeches , but instead he breaks down in front of the cop and begins sobbing . \\nthis is a scene that would never make it into a michael bay film ( even though bruce willis sacrifices his life at the end of armageddon , not one damn tear ) it would be cut out because the director would say oh that makes him too human , excuse me , weak . \\nin the very next scene danny speaks in a hushed raspiness , straining to get the words out . \\nhe\\'s lost his voice . \\ndoes that little itty bitty detail matter ? \\nmaybe not to most , but it sure made my night . \\nand in a sprawling epic of corruption , greed , betrayal and violence it\\'s nice to see that someone is paying attention to the little things . \\n',\n",
+       " b'by now i figured i\\'d seen every alfred hitchcock film at least a half-dozen times -- not that i\\'m complaining . \\nto call him the \" master of suspense \" is an understatement . \\nthe paradine case ( 1947 ) , admittedly one of hitchcock\\'s lesser movies , turned out to be one i\\'d missed . \\nthis one , like all hitchcock films , is well worth savoring . \\nthe story opens with the rich mrs . maddalena anna paradine being arrested in her home for poisoning her blind husband . \\nas mrs . paradine , alida valli plays an aloof but alluring woman of the world . \\nto franz waxman\\'s stark and moody music , we see the prison guards divesting her of her luxurious garments and jewels . \\nstripped of her fine raiment , she becomes a commoner again , which , as it turns out , was what she was before she met her husband . \\n \" a brief skirmish , and you\\'ll be lunching at the savoy again , \" anthony keane , her ultraconfident attorney tells her in their first meeting , predicting a fast and easy trial . \\ngregory peck plays the successful and debonair barrister . \\n \" she\\'s no murderess , \" he argues simplistically , smitten by her beauty . \\n \" she\\'s too fine a woman . \" \\nhis attitude upsets his beautiful and increasing jealous wife , gay ( ann todd ) . \\nunlike most hitchcock movies , which are centered on the thriller and the mystery , this one is more a romantic melodrama . \\ntypical is the scene in which gay flings her head back and shakes her hair while bathed in light . \\nshe deflects her husband\\'s affections as she fears that he is beginning to fall in love with his client . \\nthe dramatic music then comes up high as the camera dwells on mrs . paradine\\'s portrait nearby . \\nin the relatively unsatisfying first half , little happens other than domestic squabbles and overtones of intense adulterous desires . \\nto the sound of sweeping violins gay tells anthony that he must get mrs . paradine acquitted because , if mrs . paradine dies , his heart will go with her . \\nif she is freed , he will be able to forget her . \\nas part of the soap opera , a mysterious louis jordan plays mr . paradine\\'s valet , who has had some not to be discussed relationships . \\ncharles coburn plays anthony\\'s legal partner , sir simon flaquer . \\nand charles laughton , who looks like coburn , is judge lord horfield . \\nthis being proper british society , they will all dine together at the judge\\'s house not long before the case begins . \\ncourt tv junkies will probably pick up the many differences , some subtle and others not , between the american and the british judicial systems . \\none , for example , of which i was not aware is that the barrister cannot speak to his own client during the recess if she is the process of testifying . \\none sometimes wonders what the academy is thinking when they make their oscar nominations . \\nas the judge\\'s wife , lady sophie horfield , ethel barrymore got a nomination for best supporting actress -- the film\\'s only nomination -- for an inconsequential part with which she did little of merit . \\n ( so the big question is when does hitchcock make his obligatory walk-on ? \\nat 37 minutes into the film , he leaves a train station carrying a large musical instrument case . \\ndon\\'t miss it . ) \\nin the second half the story finally comes alive when it gets into the courtroom . \\nthe great master shows his hand there as the tensions build as rapidly in the second part as they lay fallow in the first . \\nwatch how the camera angles are sometimes from the back and other times from way on high to set the exact tone for the trial\\'s action . \\nas anthony explains it , the simple case has only 3 possibilities : mr . paradine poisoned himself , mrs . paradine did it , or the valet did it . \\nthe end includes many devastating revelations and some nice twists so it is too bad the first half is so languid . \\nthe paradine case runs 1 : 53 . \\nthe picture is in black and white . \\nit is not rated but would be pg for mature themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up if they are interested . \\n',\n",
+       " b'often similar to a little boy lost in a park that he had no right venturing into , the call of the oboe ( o toque do oboe ) is a disappointing film that seems to have wandered astray . \\nmany elements of the film are solid , and have potential far greater than director claudio macdowell will ever know , but they simply don\\'t convert into a solid work . \\nalthough a setting is never established , it becomes apparent . \\nthe film takes place somewhere in a latin american village in present day . \\nthe community is a dull one , where every day is a downhill slide from the last . \\nover time , the people have taken to themselves . \\nthe town cinema is closed , no tourist has passed through in years , and the daily funeral processions are accompanied by no one other than the grave digger . \\nso what happens when a \" tourist \" ( paolo betti ) does arrive one day ? \\nhe sends this routine and dull town into mayhem and shock . \\nit is revealed that he is a musician who plays the oboe as a hobby . \\nwhen he sits down in the park one day to give a solo performance , the entire community gathers around for their first bit of entertainment in countless years . \\nit is from that that the musician meets some of the villagers , and agrees to play at the local cinema in accompaniment to a silent film , thus opening the theatre for the first time in ages . \\nthe woman that talks him into this witty task is the cinema owner ( leticia vota ) who also happens to be engaged to the town\\'s police inspector , a figure who soon becomes suspicious of his fiance\\'s involvement with this musician . \\nthe rest of the plot closely resembles a freak show gone horribly astray . \\nit features a character who literally rises from his grave , a woman who has a phone conversation with god , and the aforementioned inspector who goes from an intriguing and serious character , to an almost humorous drunk . \\ntechnically , this film is a nightmare . \\nthe music score is poorly edited into the film , so it is often choppy , rough , and abrupt . \\nthe lighting is poor at best , which makes it increasingly difficult to focus on many scenes , and the english subtitles are full of misspelled words , and are often absent presumably on the assumption that the audience will be able to understand some simple portuguese and spanish phrases . \\nthis translation flaw is best highlighted at the beginning of the film when what seems to be a relevant fight is filled with dialogue , but the subtitles are limited to fewer than 25 words . \\nin addition , the pace of the film seems uneven . \\nit opens with a series of long panoramic shots that alone can test one\\'s patience . \\nthe film then moves into a faster pace , that again slows towards the end , as the director seems determined to reach the two hour mark . \\nthere was , however , potential for this film . \\nit is a piece exploring the beauty of cinema and music , and the re-unification of people . \\nthese are all topics that could easily fill a movie . \\nperhaps , if there were no freak show , and the technical aspects were to improve , there might just be a thing of beauty at the end . \\nmost importantly , though , the director would have to patch up the plot and make it flow better so that the two hours aren\\'t such a bore . \\nuntil then , there seems to be little more hope for this piece , than that boy has by simply crying out \" mommy \" while he wanders astray in a park . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the comet-disaster flick is a disaster alright . \\ndirected by tony scott ( top gun ) , it tells the story about an asteroid the size of texas caught on a collision course with earth . \\nand you thought that dinky little comet in deep impact was trouble . \\njeez . \\nafter a great opening , in which an american spaceship , plus the city of new york , are completely destroyed by a comet shower , nasa detects the said asteroid and go into a frenzy . \\nthey hire the world's best oil driller ( bruce willis ) , and send him and his crew up into space to fix our globel problem . \\nthat's like sending a mouse into a cat carrier , isn't it ? \\nthe action in armageddon are so over the top , nonstop , and too ludicrous for words , i had to sigh and hit my head with my notebook a couple of times . \\ni was not alone . \\nplus , to see a wonderful actor like billy bob thornton is a film like armageddon is a waste of the actor's talents . \\nthe film is just a reel to show off a bunch of snazzy fx shots . \\nthe only real reason for making this film was to somehow out-perform deep impact . \\nproducer jerry bruckheimer fails with armageddon . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i won\\x12t even pretend that i have seen the other 3 alien films . \\ni saw glimpses of alien and aliens and fragments of alien 3 , but i have by no means actually sat down and watched any of them . \\nso take my opinion from an unbiased and impartial perspective : alien resurrection is not worth the large bag of lollies i was munching into after a hard day\\x12s work . \\ni didn\\x12t just dislike it so much because the plot was awful ; most of the acting was very average or the special effects got tiresome after 5 minutes of painful viewing \\x16 but also the fact that every tedious ingredient thrown in attempts to give this pointless dribble some meaning . \\nsigourney weaver , who\\x12s role in alien earned her an academy award nomination , plays the character of \\x13ripley , \\x14 who died fighting against extraterrestrial scum in alien 3 . 200 years later , scientists\\x12 use a sample of blood found at the site of her death to recreate ripley - including the alien that was stuck inside her . \\nin no time they remove the alien from her body and separate the two ; yet ripley is now not completely human , possessing strange amounts of strength and being able to withhold greater pain than a normal being . \\ni\\x12m sure someone can explain exactly why this is so , but for now we\\x12ll just ignore it and move on . \\nwhy , you ask , would ripley and the alien inside her be recreated ? \\nwell , the smart little lab researchers believed that they would be able to discover many advancements in science from studying the alien creature . \\nthese were the same people who said they could control the alien and that their was no danger in their research . \\nthey ( yawn ) were wrong . \\nit doesn\\x12t take a genius to figure out that the rest of the film is a continuous cat and mouse chase between the humans who die off one by one and the aliens who open their mouths on every possible occasion to show off their frightfully scary un-flossed teeth . \\nthere\\x12s a little saying that goes something like this : \\x13if you\\x12re going to make a bad film , do it well . \\x14 \\ni have seen plenty of disappointing and underachieving movies , but they are not the ones that really bother me . \\nalien resurrection , a good example of a film that really gets up my nose , is not so much a discouraging experience but an off putting one . \\nthere is no way to describe why the australian ma rating was given to this film other than unnecessary and repulsive gore , which attempts to distract us from the wandering-but-not-going-anywhere plot . \\nin one scene my stomach churned as i witnessed a mawkish looking alien put its hand on a characters head and literally ripped most of his face off . \\nanother one featured ripley sticking a knife through her hand just to impress someone she was talking to . \\nfair enough if it were in a horror film or even if it bared any significance to the story , but this is unfortunately not the case , and this sort of bizarre gore is inexcusable . \\nif you think i\\x12m struggling to find one good aspect about the film , then you thought right . \\none exciting scene is a credit ( and the only part remotely worth seeing ) to the film , in which an alien chases two men ( one a cripple ) up a tall ladder with interesting results . \\nbut of course after that thrilling scene alien resurrection had no problem in returning to its pathetically low standard , and ends up crashing into the shores of movie dullness more often than japanese kamikaze jet fighters fall off their skis . \\nso in a film where the one liners come as bad as \\x13earth man , what a shit hole\\x14 and the primary means for one mans strategic attack is to bounce bullets off walls to hit an opponent , its no wonder why alien : resurrection turned out to be as off putting and clumsy as it is . \\noh , and in case you\\x12re wondering about my bag of lollies \\x16 the less i enjoy a film , the more i eat . \\nso all the lollies were gone in 15 minutes ; but however empty the bag turned out to be , it was still a long way ahead of the movie\\x05 \\n',\n",
+       " b'in life , eddie murphy and martin lawrence play two young men wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison . \\nafter about an hour of watching this movie , you begin to realize how their characters feel . \\nfortunately , for audience members there\\'s a chance to escape the nearest exit . \\nthis , undoubtedly , is eddie murphy\\'s worst movie and that\\'s an accomplishment . \\nremember the golden child , harlem nights ? \\ncompared to life , they look like citizen kane . \\nlife is long , predictable , foul-mouthed and only intermittently funny . \\nits 100-minute running time feels like 100 years . \\nrobert ramsey and matthew stone\\'s script basically consist of murphy and lawrence referring to everyone around them as \" motherf . . . s \" or \" n . . . . . \\ns . \" \\nyou lose count how many times both those obnoxious , offensive words are used . \\nand if that all it takes to write a script , than any illiterate jackass can sit at a word processor and compose a movie . \\nbut , like life , it will probably stink . \\nto be honest , the screening audience surrounding me in the theater yucked it up . \\nbut these were the same people who howled at all the flatulence and fat jokes as well . \\nlife is as sophisticated as a belch . \\nit\\'s crude and stereotypical . \\nyears ago , movies stereotypically portrayed blacks subservient , second-class people , good for being only maids and servants . \\nfor the most part , the lot of blacks and other racial groups have improved . \\nbut a new , more insidious stereotype is creeping into movies . \\nin many recent films , through actors such as murphy and chris tuckers , blacks are presented as fast-talking , conniving , scam artists or hip-hop , gun-crazy , sex-crazed youths . \\nboth sets of caricatures are demeaning . \\nand the fault does not rest with the actors . \\nthey have to eat , too . \\nit is with the people who write the scripts , the studios who green-light the projects and the audiences who accept these portrayals without protest . \\nlife\\'s only redeeming virtue is the artistry of makeup legend rick baker who flawlessly ages murphy and lawrence into 90 year olds . \\notherwise , life is an embarrassment , a blot on the resumes of those associated with it . \\nsee it at your own risk . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"making his directorial debut , actor jon favreau brings along his swingers co-star , vince vaughn , for this tale of two mugs on a career trajectory to nowheresville . \\nfavreau , who also wrote the script , is bobby , vaughn is ricky . \\nby day they are construction workers . \\nthey also are wanna-be contenders , but neither has had much success . \\ntheir last bout pitted them against each other and was a draw , leaving bobby's record at 5-5-1 . \\nthese two l . a . not-so-wise guys also work for max ( peter falk ) , a mid-level mobster , who is patient and understanding with bobby , but who hates ricky's guts . \\nmax has an easy job for bobby ; fly to new york and make a simple delivery to a gangster named ruiz ( a smooth and silky sean combs ) . \\nbobby , because of his lifelong friendship with ricky , pleads with max to give his pal another chance and let him tag along to the big apple . \\nagainst his better judgment , max agrees . \\nof course ricky , a motormouth who inserts both feet everytime he speaks , nearly screws up everything . \\nwhile bobby tries to stay calm and professional , ricky begins swaggering and throwing money around as if he was john gotti or tony soprano . \\nthe constrast in styles and the chemistry between favreau and vaughn is what makes made so enjoyable to watch . \\nfavreau with his hound-dog face and slow-burn personality could be a modern-day oliver hardy , only much wiser . \\nvaughn is like someone vaccinated with a phonograph needle , he just keeps yakking and yakking , unaware of the havoc he creates . \\nyet despite bobby's constant aggravation and agitation with his partner , a bond of affection and loyalty binds them . \\nthe contrast between the two friends is interesting to watch . \\nbobby is button-downed , tightly-wound , always waiting for the next shoe -courtesy of ricky - to drop . \\nricky is mostly oblivious to the problems he creates and is genuinely surprised when he comes under attack for his faux paus . \\nin new york , the two lackeys are like fish out of water , stumbling from one situation to another , trying to keep alive . \\ncombs is elegant , cool and low-key menacing as the gangsta they are sent to meet . \\nfalk is amusing in his small role , while famke janssen nearly breaks your heart as bobby's lowlife girlfriend . \\nmore than anything , made is a movie with heart . \\nit is loud , obnoxious and very talkative . \\nbut the cameraderie between bobby and ricky holds the key to its interest . \\nfavreau does a commendable job in his directorial debut . \\nhe is a player to be watched as he can only improve with experience . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" no man is an island , \" one character quotes john donne in apt pupil , effectively summarizing the movie\\'s themes . \\nwhile hardly a great film , singer\\'s ambitious adaptation of king\\'s short story * is challenging nonetheless ; perhaps the most shocking aspect of this inclement psychological thriller is that a major studio got behind it . \\napt pupil is a bleak picture destined to be misunderstood by the masses . \\n1984 . wonder-bred high school honours student todd bowden ( renfro ) conducts his own extracurricular investigation of kurt dussander , a nazi war criminal who fearfully fled berlin in the 1960s and was never heard from again . \\nbowden suspects arthur denker ( mckellan ) , the lonely german senior citizen who lives nearby , is actually a pseudonymous dussander-much research and dusting for fingerprints proves young todd\\'s theory . \\nbowden strikes a deal with dussander : in exchange for not revealing his identity , dussander must satisfy bowden\\'s intense curiosity by recounting the atrocities of the holocaust from the nazi point of view . \\nthe stories he hears keep todd up at night and haunt his daydreams , but like a bystander at a traffic accident , todd\\'s desire for gory details overrides his repulsion . \\nbowden revives in dussander feelings dormant since the end of wwii . \\nmarching in a mock uniform around his kitchen is wholly cathartic for dussander : it leads to his torture of a cat and the torment of his \" student \" , among other things . \\nbowden , who has taken on very hateful qualities ( he kills birds and doodles swastikas on his notebook ) , engages the veteran in an endless game of one-upmanship . \\ndussander stands to lose his freedom , and bowden his credibility-in effect , his post-secondary school future . \\nall of this winds down to a fairly unpredictable ( and unsettling ) conclusion , one which requires leaps of faith from its audience yet is more satisfying than the source material\\'s excessive climax . \\nsinger has yet to get keyser s ? ze out of his system . \\nhis the usual suspects and apt pupil are both about evil masquerading as innocence ( verbal\\'s tics and todd\\'s golden-boy reputation are plausible ruses ) ; they showcase morally bankrupt anti-heroes to whom telling the truth is not an option if they are to achieve their goals . \\napt pupil is a richer film than the usual suspects , a movie famous and popular partly because its plot machinations were not germane to the outcome-there was no way you could see the ending coming , as it was all a hoodwink , anyway . \\nthankfully , singer has gotten most of the usual suspects\\' film-schoolish geek theatrics out of his system . \\nsome scenes in apt pupil feel overdirected and/or obvious ( the dream sequences were extraneous ) , but the majority of the film is subdued-and singer\\'s handling of the violent scenes is boldly restrained for a film about a murderer and a murderer-in-training . \\nmckellan\\'s and renfro\\'s performances contribute enormously to the overall success of the film ; while most people will focus on british stage vet mckellan\\'s finely-tuned realization , i\\'d like to single out renfro\\'s daring work . \\nhe isn\\'t afraid to play someone largely unappealing and cold-hearted ; he strips his character of vanity , something many of his peers wouldn\\'t do . \\n ( can you picture kieran culkin or jonathan taylor-thomas in the same role ? ) \\nrenfro was recently charged with possession of cocaine-i hope he doesn\\'t continue down that path , because he has a big future in good movies waiting for him . \\nas guidance counsellor edward french , \" friend \" schwimmer also deserves mention . \\nhe wants to be the parent to todd that todd\\'s own well-to-do folks are not ( todd , like most modern kids-and only-children-has mom and dad wrapped around his pinky finger ) , and his sincerity makes the apt pupil\\'s blackening-heart even more apparent . \\nbut one of the film\\'s ultimate questions , are we born evil or do we learn evil ? , might be answered in french , whose motives are the slightest bit ambiguous . \\nno man is an island , indeed-we all have the capacity to make the \" right \" or the \" wrong \" choices . \\nschwimmer winningly plays one of a trio of fascinating characters who make the unconventional apt pupil laudible . \\n-october , 1998 \\n * the excellent collection king\\'s stories called different seasons spawned not only apt pupil , but the shawshank redemption ( originally titled rita hayworth and the shawshank redemption ) and stand by me ( originally titled the body ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it's actually not so bad that dreamworks decided to release the love letter at about the same time as star wars episode i : the phantom menace , because this way less people will have to sit through this dreadful little comedy . \\nand no , i really don't feel guilty about wishing this movie death at the box-office . \\nreally , i don't . \\nnot at all . \\nthe plot has been done before -- a mysterious , unaddressed love letter shows up in a small town , causing confusion for everyone who reads it . \\nthe center of the ensuing disaster is bookstore owner helen ( kate capshaw , and by the way , what is it with bookstore owner main characters ? \\nin the past year and a half we've seen them in life is beautiful , you've got mail , this movie , and the upcoming notting hill ) , who finds the letter in between couch cushions in the bookstore . \\nshe immediately starts testing other people to see who it might be from , and comes to the ( incorrect ) conclusion that the author of the note is a young employee played by tom everett scott . \\nhe , reading the letter himself , assumes that she wrote it for him . \\nafter a while , they fall in love ( well , duh ) . \\nkate feels guilty about getting in a relationship with someone more than twenty years younger than her , and she also feels guilty because at the same time she is also involved with the town fireman ( tom selleck ) . \\nto add to her turmoil , her mother shows up ( blythe danner , who apparently must have had her daughter when she was about 9 ) and her trusted bookstore manager ( deadpan ellen degeneres ) quits . \\nsupporting characters aren't called supporting for nothing . \\ntheir purpose isn't just to move the plot along , they're also supposed to give the storyline a backbone . \\nto do this , they must exhibit at least marginal depth and must also be interesting . \\nrarely can a movie work if it puts an interesting protagonist in the middle and surrounds her with hackneyed , dull , cardboard secondary characters , especially when at the core of the movie is the protagonist's various interactions with them . \\nthis is the love letter's damning error . \\ncapshaw's character is as good as i have seen present in recent romantic comedies , but the people that surround her are all either underwritten or purely one-dimensional . \\nbecause of that , the love letter is awkward and insincere . \\neven worse -- it's a bore . \\ni liked capshaw and her helen , but everyone else is painfully fake , undermining the little drama or sexual tension that has the potential to exist . \\nthere is nothing particularly hilarious about all this either -- and besides degeneres' wisecracks , there's little that is even a little amusing . \\nthis is not a completely thoughtless film and director peter ho-sun chan does a good job of portraying helen's yearnings and various subtle complexities . \\nbut it's far from profound . \\nthere isn't a common theme running through the proceedings , thus the movie seems thoughtfully pointless . \\nreally , this is a harmless little movie ; it's far from an abomination and it's not torturous to sit through . \\nbut bad , it is . \\nawful , it also is . \\nthe love letter is a failure , and an inane failure at that . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n\",\n",
+       " b'with more and more television shows having gay characters , and even the infamous \" ellen \" sitcom being centered on the life of a lesbian , the movie industry too seems to be gaining more and more homosexual based plot lines . \\nthe birdcage was critically acclaimed , as was this years chasing amy . \\nthen along came in & out , and all three of these films are on my top ten list for the years in which they were released . \\nit\\'s also noticeable that this \" alternative lifestyle \" becomes less and less taboo as the years go by , and it seems that using comedy as a medium is proving a worthwhile effort . \\nwhile it\\'s a very serious issue to many , it is the comedies that people are flocking to see and that are gaining notoriety . \\nbut the way we\\'re using comedy to present homosexuality is also changing quite dramatically . \\nwhile the gay community was once very stereotyped and used to laugh * at * , it is more and more becoming something we laugh * with * , and when a movie like in & out comes along , it is something that both heterosexuals and homosexuals should be able to thoroughly enjoy . \\nit doesn\\'t poke fun at the lifestyle , it simply uses it to all it\\'s comedic capacity , just as love , sex , marriage , birth , death , and anything else has been . \\nthe idea for in & out was born the day tom hanks won his oscar for portraying an aids-afflicted gay man in philadelphia . \\nif you remember , during his acceptance speech , hanks gave a highly emotional tribute to the gay community , and even sighted a former gay teacher of his as a major inspiration in his life . \\nit\\'s a serious and touchy subject , but producer scott rudin viewed it as the setting for a potentially hilarious comedy , and pitched it to screenwriter paul rudnick . \\nit\\'s true that if this same film had been written by a heterosexual , it may have been more controversial , but because it was written by an openly gay writer , the prerogative was set . \\nkevin kline , who only seems to become more and more acclaimed , stars as howard brackett , a high school english teacher in the small , picturesque town of greenleaf , indiana . \\nafter a three-year engagement to fellow teacher emily montgomery ( joan cusack ) , a wedding date has been set , and the hubbub surrounding it is almost as big as that surrounding another huge story - greenleaf high graduate cameron drake ( matt dillon ) is up for a best actor oscar . \\nthe small town eagerly awaits both events , and both seem quite astronomical , but little does anyone know how much one will affect the other . \\nwhen cameron drake is announced the winner , the excitement is heightened as he pays tribute to his high school english teacher , mr . brackett . \\neveryone is cheering back in greenleaf - that is until cameron tacks on those three calamitous words , \" and he\\'s gay . \" \\nthe town becomes silent as the entire population joins in a simultaneous jaw drop . \\nthe thing is , nobody , including howard , can understand how cameron came to that conclusion , and such wild and unexpected news can only wreak havoc in such a conservative american haven such as greenleaf . \\nnaturally the questions pour from howard\\'s fiancee , parents ( debbie reynolds & wilford brimley ) , students , and the high school\\'s principal , tom halliwell ( bob newhart ) , and the evidence starts to become more and more obvious : howard is clean , neat , honest , sincere , a romantic , and perhaps the most incriminating fact , he loves barbara streisand . \\nthe frenzy isn\\'t helped any when camera crews from every conceivable news magazine and \" entertainment tonight \" wannabe show up at greenleaf high the very next morning . \\none particular reporter is peter malloy ( tom selleck ) of \" inside entertainment \" , who unlike the collage of other reporters , wants to spend a whole week in the life of howard brackett , including coverage of his wedding . \\nthe intrusion is all but welcome by howard , who is going more and more out of his mind with each passing minute . \\nit seems that no matter where he turns , a camera is being shoved in his face and questions regarding homosexuality are being tossed to him like frisbees . \\nthe dominoes begin to tumble as howard\\'s closest friends begin acting different and principal halliwell hints at a possible termination of employment should howard indeed be gay . \\nit all sounds very devastating , and it would be if it weren\\'t presented with near-perfection by one of this year\\'s most delightful ensemble casts . \\nkline seems only to improve with age , and he is downright perfect here . \\nthe great thing about this film is that every single character has a moment to shine , and they use it wonderfully . \\nevery single actor turns in one of their best performances ever . \\ndillon has never been so likeable , cusack has never seemed so perfect for a role , and brimley , reynolds , and newhart all provide huge laughs when they\\'re up to bat . \\nrudnick\\'s script is heavily laced with wit and humor , and you\\'ll likely find yourself laughing out loud for a solid ninety minutes . \\nwhile in & out doesn\\'t carry enough to give it four stars , it remains one of the best done films of the year , all-around . \\nthe script is exuberant , the actors are absolutely top- notch , and we\\'re allowed just the perfect blend of heart-tugging so as not to bog down the laughs . \\nit remains a solid comedy throughout its entirety , yet we\\'re still allowed a sappily touching ending . \\ndespite it\\'s subject matter , and one scene that comes almost too close for comfort on explaining gay sex , this is a movie that everyone could , and should , enjoy . \\nfrank oz , best known as a voice talent for muppets , directs this film quite delightfully , using all the potential rudnick\\'s script has to offer , which turns out to be quite a bit . \\ncheck this one out . \\nyou\\'ll have a gay old time . \\n',\n",
+       " b'brian depalma needs a hit * really * badly . \\nsince scoring big with the untouchables in 1987 , depalma has seen casualties of war , raising cain and particularly the disastrous bonfire of the vanities go down in flames . \\nconsequently , it would be easy enough to consider carlito\\'s way a shrewd commercial choice for depalma , reteaming with al pacino ( scarface ) and returning to the gangland ground which has yielded his two greatest box office successes . \\nit doesn\\'t hurt any that he has latched on to a solid story and brought out dynamite performances from pacino and sean penn . \\ncarlito\\'s way , while hampered by depalma\\'s characteristic excesses and stylistic cannibalism , is a truly tense and engrossing drama . \\ncarlito brigante ( pacino ) is a life-long criminal who finds himself unexpectedly given a second chance . \\nin 1975 , carlito is released from prison after serving only five years of a thirty year sentence when his conviction is overturned on a technicality . \\nhe declares himself reformed , tired of life on the streets and determined to fulfill his simple dream of buying into a rental car business in the bahamas . \\namong those who find this conversion hard to believe are david kleinfeld ( penn ) , carlito\\'s crooked attorney and childhood friend , and bodyguard pachanga ( luis guzman ) . \\ncarlito rediscovers old flame gail ( penelope ann miller ) , and seems ready to retire in peace . \\nold ways die hard , though , and old associates pull carlito step by step back into a life he can\\'t seem to shake . \\ncarlito\\'s way will probably make the strongest impression with the two outstanding set pieces which bracket the film . \\nin the first , carlito accompanies his young cousin on a drug buy which will have anyone with a pulse on the edge of their seat ; the film closes with an equally thrilling chase through the new york subway and grand central station . \\nboth highlight depalma\\'s gift for choreographed mayhem , and these are not the only occasions when the stage blood flows freely . \\nyet for all the viscera , i found the character study even more compelling . \\ncarlito brigante has a lot of michael corleone in him , an aging gangster trying unsuccessfully to go legit . \\nbut where the culmination of the godfather saga played like opera , there\\'s more of an immediacy to carlito\\'s way , an ever-present sense of doom launched by the title sequence which sets the flashback story in motion . \\nyou sense that there\\'s no way , after so many years , that carlito can stay out of trouble . \\nindeed , he observes that his attempt at the straight life is more a function of time than a change of heart : \" you don\\'t get reformed ; you just run out of wind . \" \\npacino captures carlito\\'s dilemma with surprising subtlety and the cautious observation borne of years of experience watching every corner for an enemy . \\nsean penn is even better , turning in his best performance to date as kleinfeld . \\na jew in the world of puerto rican and italian wiseguys , kleinfeld is an outsider with a huge chip on his shoulder . \\nhe could have been simply pathetic , a heavy drinker and cocaine addict playing tough with guys way out of his league , but penn invests kleinfeld with tremendous nervous energy and an overwhelming survival instinct . \\nhe shows a man moving steadily towards the brink , making the moment he goes over quite jolting . \\nas compelling as the narrative is , viewers may experience a profound sense of deja vu . \\ndepalma continues to steal shamelessly from other directors , this time adding scorsese to his repertoire with a point of view tracking shot and a copacabana scene with more than passing resemblances to goodfellas . \\nhe even recycles some of his own previous plagiarisms , like a 360 degree swing around a kiss ( vertigo via body double ) and the climactic shootout which will strike many as far too reminiscent of the train station sequence from the untouchables . \\nfrom a story standpoint , there\\'s an obligatory love story with a cliche\\'d long-suffering girlfriend character . \\npenelope ann miller is a good but limited actor who doesn\\'t do anything new with the role , and eventually she becomes just a distraction , never integrated fully enough into the story . \\nstill , it\\'s easier to be forgiving of superficial flaws when the backbone is so solid . \\nthe two principle characters held an iron grip on my attention , one all the cinematic thievery in the world couldn\\'t break . \\ncarlito\\'s way plays like a tragic novel : deliberate , confident and powerful . \\nthose willing to grant depalma his tendencies towards the extreme should find themselves well- rewarded . \\n',\n",
+       " b'having not seen , \" who framed roger rabbit \" in over 10 years , and not remembering much besides that i liked it then , i decided to rent it recently . \\nwatching it i was struck by just how brilliant a film it is . \\naside from the fact that it\\'s a milestone in animation in movies ( it\\'s the first film to combine real actors and cartoon characters , have them interact , and make it convincingly real ) and a great entertainment it\\'s also quite an effective comedy/mystery . \\nwhile the plot may be somewhat familiar the characters are original , especially baby herman , and watching them together is a lot of fun . \\nthe story begins in hollywood in 1947 . \\ncartoon star roger rabbit is blowing takes and having trouble keeping his mind on work , so hard-boiled private detective eddie valiant ( bob hoskins ) is called in by studio head r . k . \\nmaroon ( alan tilvern ) to try to help get roger\\'s mind back on work . \\nmaroon thinks that roger\\'s wife , jessica\\'s , possible unfaithfulness to him might be the cause of distraction and tells eddie to get some photos of her in the act before it costs him any more money in reshoots . \\nvaliant takes some photos of jessica playing , `patty cake\\' with marvin acme ( stubby kaye ) , the owner of toontown ( where all of the cartoon characters live ) and takes them to maroon . \\nupon seeing them , roger is emotionally destroyed and soon after acme is found dead and roger rabbit is the prime suspect . \\nthe rest of the movie follows valiant and roger as they run around town ( and eventually toontown ) trying to clear roger\\'s good name . \\nalong the way they meet judge doom ( christopher lloyd ) a judge-jury-and executioner type who\\'s out to get roger and has discovered the one and only way to kill a `toon . \\' \\n`who framed roger rabbit\\' won 4 academy awards including a special achievement award for richard williams for animation direction and creation of the cartoon characters ( williams and his teams went through the film frame by frame and hand drew the cartoon characters in ) . \\ndirector robert zemekis must be given an equal amount of praise for overseeing the entire production , which included hundreds of animators . \\nalso bob hoskins\\' performance should be credited . \\nhe , in addition to the rest of the human cast , finds the right note to play in all of the scenes with his cartoon co-stars . \\naccording to the internet movie database , hoskins studied his young daughter to learn how to act with imaginary characters and i guess his hard work paid off . \\n`who framed roger rabbit\\' is a rare film . \\none that not only presented a great challenge to the filmmakers but one that can be enjoyed by the whole family ( although some very young viewers may be a little scared by judge doom ) . \\ndo yourself a favor and rent it , `p-p-p-p-please . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b\"my son and i share a perverse predilection for bad movies . \\nwe are amused and entertained by the cheap thrills , the corny dialog , the ludicrous premises and the bad acting . \\nsince other family members aspire to higher forms of entertainment , we usually wind up indulging our proclivity together . \\ni can't remember when we disagreed on the relative merits of a clunker until species 2 came along . \\nhe was not amused . \\ni on the other hand was able to easily suspend the applicable requirements in the usual manner and declare myself suitably entertained . \\nperhaps the evident skills that were brought to the process of producing a bad product was what prevented him from extracting fun out of mediocrity . \\ni on the other hand appreciated the fact that the producers and director knew exactly what they were doing : insulting my intelligence , and brought adequate movie-making skills to the project a movie does not have to be good to be well made , at least in terms of the craft . \\nthe movie could have been better if it were not so brusque . \\nthis movie slaps you with conception , pregnancy , delivery and young childhood in consecutive frames , without pausing for infancy . \\nthe producers of nescafe have nothing on this alien race in which a woman's womb balloons immediately after the male orgasm , and a few seconds later a young child tears its way out of her abdomen in a sloppy and gory version of an inside-out cesarean . \\nan autopsy scene in which a buzz saw cuts through the cranium was not the kind of indulgence that i condone , to say nothing of the fact that it was scientifically incorrect . \\nin a real autopsy the saw does not cut through the scalp ; it is used only after the skull has been exposed . \\nthe opening sequences of exploration of mars were very good . \\nthe writers showed excellent skills for ceremonial speech writing but the spontaneous dialogue would qualify for a subtitle : `as bad as it gets' . \\nas the movie progressed i vowed to remember the lines that made me cringe but only one stuck . \\neve ( natasha henstridge ) was cloned from sil , the original alien sexual predator , but her mating instinct was artificially attenuated , which was all that was needed to turn her into a noble and cooperative prisoner . \\nin a wistful display of resignation and understanding she tells her friend and jailer ( marg helgenberger ) : `i think of all the places that i will never see and all the people that i will never meet . ' \\nit's enough to melt the most callous heart . \\nat another point she protests : `i'm human too , you know . ' \\nshe is only half right . \\npeter medak , the director , knows his business . \\njustin lazard as the doomed astronaut does nothing to enhance his hollywood credentials . \\njames cromwell , his father , is perfect in a short role . \\nmarg heldenberger , the dna scientist is pleasant and beautiful . \\nnatasha is an exquisite ornament . \\ngeorge dzunza knew and delivered what was expected of him as the dumb general that messes things up . \\nmichael madsen was there . \\nblack buddies do not usually survive in this type of movie but mykelti williamson manages to stay around for the final credits , which is more that we can say for lazard . . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"chill factor is a carbon copy of speed with one notable exception : instead of a speeding bus , we now have an ice cream truck . \\nthe truck is driven by arlo ( cuba gooding jr . ) and mason ( skeet ulrich ) , who have been instructed by a dying scientist to transport a deadly chemical weapon to a military base by the name of fort mcgruder . \\nthis particular weapon ( nicknamed `elvis' ) must be kept below a temperature of 50 degrees , or else the shockwave will goo-iffy everything in a mile radius . \\nthat would be pretty nasty . \\nthe power of elvis is revealed in the opening scene , as dr . richard long ( david paymer ) conducts a test on an isolated tropical island . \\nlong accidentally melts 18 soldiers and defoliates virtually the entire island , due to an enormously miscalculated safety distance . \\nthe commanding officer , general brynner ( peter firth ) , is sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of his troops . \\nupon his release , the general is intent on tracking the good doctor down , snatching elvis , and selling the weapon to the highest international bidder . \\nprotecting the fate of the world is a drifting hamburger flipper ( ulrich ) and a feisty ice cream delivery man ( gooding jr . ) , who must elude brynner's men and get elvis to safety at fort mcgruder . \\nall the while , of course , they must keep the weapon below 50 degrees . \\nthis proves to be tricky . \\namong the wild adventures arlo and mason partake in is a trip down a tree-covered mountainside in a boat , and a fist fight on top of a moving vehicle . \\nthey also crack a few dozen witty retorts that we are supposed to find amusing . \\nto put it simply , i'll use a clever pun : chill factor should be put on ice . \\ndirector hugh johnson has mixed elements from speed , broken arrow and the lethal weapon series to create a lifelessly bland cocktail of a chase movie . \\nwhen there is some occasional action , the audience seems oddly detached from it . \\nperhaps that's because we've already waded through a pool of clich ? s and boring dialogue ; all material that's been used before , and with a lot more spice . \\ntake the villains , for example . \\nthey are typical stereotypes of every terrorist that has ever walked the silver screen . \\nthey speak lines that have been recycled profusely from one movie to the next , divulge important plot details while holding their enemies at gunpoint , and act in very predictable ways . \\nthe tag-team of gooding jr . and ulrich sounds much more exciting than it is . \\nfrankly , i'm not sure i can accept cuba as an ice cream man . \\ni suppose it's better than him dressed like a giant hot dog , selling jumbo frankfurters on a street corner . \\ngooding displays one single emotion in this movie , which is frequently on display in lines like `i'm gonna get on yo ass like last year's underwear ! ' and the incessant sputtering of `oh , sh * t ! ' \\nthis is virtually the same character he played in jerry maguire and as good as it gets . \\nbut where gooding was once an exciting actor , he now seems dull and endlessly monotonous . \\nat least he's a bit more captivating than ulrich , who has all the film's worst dialogue , but does nothing noticeable to enliven his character . \\nthe supporting cast , which includes every personality you expect to pop up , is also wasted . \\nto be fair , there are a few brief moments of serviceable action . \\nand i did chuckle a few times . \\none example is when ulrich ( an employee at `darlene's diner' ) is at the counter when brynner walks through the door . \\n`you own this place ? ' \\nthe general asks . \\n`yeah , ' ulrich says . \\n`they call me darlene . ' \\nthese little tidbits of humor are ( mainly ) welcome in this weak , disappointing wreckage of an action film . \\nas a speed clone , it could have benefited from a lot more suspense and perhaps ( god forbid ) even some decent writing . \\nsadly , i walked away from chill factor only wondering how much fun it could have been . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . \\nbe forewarned . \\nat the end of the day , those reflecting upon the debacle that is the avengers would do well to take note that warning clouds loomed on the horizon for the project well before warner bros . made the contentious decision to abandon preview press screenings and scrapped plans for a gala premiere . \\nthis highly-anticipated film rendition of the cult television show was originally slotted for an early june opening , where it would have gone head-to-head against the rival studios' heavy hitters ; its eventual demotion to a less potent mid-august opening was an obvious early indication of the studio's lack of confidence with the picture . \\nand with good reason . \\nthis is a joyless exercise of a film , held together by a barely coherent plot and lacking any semblance of excitement , thrills or wit . \\nremarkable in its banality and brutally uninvolving , the avengers is a catastrophic mess which immediately invites comparisons to last year's case study in style over substance , joel schumacher's much-loathed batman & robin . \\n ( indeed , both films even feature appalling , ridiculous sequences which find central characters dressed up in fuzzy oversized costumes . ) \\numa thurman , who takes on the salacious role of the catsuit-clad , karate-chopping emma peel immortalized by diana rigg , was the only bright spot in the aforementioned schumacher disaster , imbuing her poison ivy with a dose of sassiness and sly wit that gave audiences something to smile at amidst the cinematic carnage . \\nunfortunately , the same can't be said here , where she and cohort ralph fiennes ( our new john steed , taking over for patrick macnee ) demonstrate no appreciable chemistry whatsoever , fatally crippling the picture as they volley fizzling repartee back and forth and trade double-entendres with all the enthusiasm of two actors painfully aware that they're on board a sinking ship . \\nat this rate , usually-splendid actor mr . fiennes may never make the transition from arthouse apollo to mainstream leading man -- his tepid turn here will make as much of an inroad as his commendably seedy performance in the regrettably-neglected kathyrn bigelow film strange days . \\nthe duo * look * the part -- and admittedly the avengers is , more than most , heavily dependent upon style -- but they're no fun to watch , and i found myself growing increasingly distant and annoyed by the lack of spark between the two cheekily ironic characters as they navigated through the picture's caper-esque plot . \\nwhen not checking my wristwatch or shifting restlessly in my seat , i began to alleviate the boredom by considering how this all might have played out had the filmmakers chose to go instead with that erstwhile emma as our mrs . peel -- no , not kate beckinsale ( although the notion now intrigues me ) , but gwyneth paltrow , who was originally in the running for the part and can veritably handle a spot-on english accent . \\nif nothing else , it'd at least be highly entertaining for the incongruous sight of the vaguely twiggish young actress kicking butt . \\nthe story , such as it is , involves the ever-bemused tandem of steed and peel combating the malevolent sir august de wynter ( sean connery ) , an eccentric aristocrat threatening the safety of the nation with his climate-controlling contraption . \\n ( they also sip a lot of tea . ) \\noverlooking some goofy cloning nonsense and quirky hijinx involving our protagonists' superiors , it sounds far better than it plays , and is rendered almost indecipherable by blatant post-production tinkering ; it's clearly evident that the picture has been cut to shreds . \\nthe avengers was never about gripping drama , and our heroes accordingly never take villainous sir august very seriously , but given the lack of cohesion in the plot and the lack of menace conveyed by the buffoonish maniac , it's all decidedly uncompelling . \\nmr . connery , who's onscreen barely long enough to register an impression , approaches the role like a man fulfilling a contractual obligation , simultaneously chewing the scenery while unable to hide his disinterest . \\nat least it all looks good . \\nthis is a genuinely handsome production , with fine costume design by anthony powell and crisply shot by roger pratt . \\nin particular , the gleaming production design by stuart craig commands attention , adeptly drawing elements both old and new in order to depict this great britain . \\nthere are a handful of striking visual moments in the film , including an attack by a swarm of giant robotic bees and a nice shot of steed and peel finding a way to walk on water , but the film is so unremittingly dull that even these instances fail to stir interest or raise pulse rates . \\nby the time the film's climax had arrived , my interest was not with the sight of steed and sir august slugging it out amidst crashing waves and thundering rain , but with the quickest escape route from the theatre . \\nnot coincidentally , the enticing bits of visual bravura were the shots assembled into the movie's remarkable trailer , a savvy piece of work which ironically is infinitely more appealing that the feature film itself ; the first promo which made the rounds in early spring is probably my favourite studio trailer so far this year . \\nit's everything that the avengers is not -- saucy , clever , engaging , and entertaining . \\na crushing disappointment , the film is one of the worst outings of the year -- too drearily awful to be savoured as gleefully bad , too polished to overlook its deficiencies . \\nthere may be upcoming pictures that are even more lifeless than the avengers , but i sure hope not . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'why do people hate the spice girls ? \\n ? what exactly have they done wrong , other than perhaps offend the fashion police ? \\n ? so what if they are not \" great \" singers---they ain\\'t singing opera , folks , its pop music ! \\n ? who exactly is a \" great \" singer ? \\njudging by that opening paragraph it is obvious that i like the spice girls . \\n ? they do what they do--sing some catchy tunes--and they do it pretty well . \\n ? they are able to carry that into their first film , \" spice world \" . \\n ? \" spice world \" certainly isn\\'t a great filmgoing experience . \\n . \\n . \\nwhat it is what the spice girls are all about : fun , songs , and a lot of \" girl power ! \" \\ndrawing from a number of different films ( like the beatles\\' \" hard day\\'s night \" ) \" spice world \" chronicles the week heading up to the girls\\' first concert at london\\'s albert hall . \\n ? they get to tool around london in a big ol\\' bus ( driven by meat loaf ! ) and generally have fun . \\n ? in order to through a semblence of plot into the film , there is an evil tabloid publisher played by barry humphries , better known to americans , for about 15 minutes , as dame edna ( remember her ? ) \\n ? he wants to sabotage the girls\\' concert so he can sell papers . \\nof course , the point in a movie like \" spice world \" isn\\'t plot . \\n ? the center of the film is the spice girls themselves : ginger ( the recently departed geri haliwell ) , posh ( victoria adams ) , sporty ( melanie chisolm ) , scary ( melanie brown ) , and baby ( emma bunton ) . \\n ? each one has their own personality and , perhaps the best part of the film , look like they are having some honest-to-goodness fun , something that can\\'t be said for a lot of people in films today . \\nalong for the ride are richard e . grant as their manager , clifford , and various other characters making quick cameo appearances ( including teriffic british actors like richard briers and stephen fry ) . \\n ? and , every once and a while , roger moore pops up as the chief to spout odd koans ( added bonus : he gets to , in the words of craig kilborn , dance , dance , dance . ) \\nwatching this film was fun , for the most part . \\n ? there are a few slow segments , but overly , director bob spiers keeps things moving at a quick pace , with plenty of hummable spice girls songs in the background . \\n ? his camerawork is fairly pedestrian , though the final concert number is done quite well with effective use of editing . \\n ? \\nthe look of the film promotes the high fun , with the design of the spicebus being quite original and eye-catching . \\n ? add in wall-to-wall spice girls music and this film is lovable romp . \\n ? if you don\\'t like the spice girls , you won\\'t change your mind with this film . \\n ? but , if you find them at least tolerable , get ready to sit back and chill because the spice girls are here to entertain you . \\n . \\n . \\nand do it quite well . \\n ? \\n \" spice world \" ( 1998 ) . \\n ? directed by bob spiers . \\n ? written by kim fuller . \\n ? music by the spice girls . \\n ? with geri halliwell , victoria adams , melanie chisolm , melanie brown , emma bunton , richard e . grant , claire rushbrook , roger moore . \\n ? distributed by columbia pictures . \\n ? running time : 92 minutes . \\n ? rated : pg . \\n ? available on home video . \\n---- 29 june 1998 \\n',\n",
+       " b'robocop is an intelligent science fiction thriller and social satire , one with class and style . \\nthe film , set in old detroit in the year 1991 , stars peter weller as murphy , a lieutenant on the city\\'s police force . \\n1991\\'s detroit suffers from rampant crime and a police department run by a private contractor ( security concepts inc . ) whose employees ( the cops ) are threatening to strike . \\nto make matters worse , a savage group of cop-killers has been terrorizing the city . \\non murphy\\'s first day of duty , after his transfer from another precinct , these cop-killers brutally murder him by shooting off his limbs one by one . \\n ( orion pictures had to edit this extremely graphic scene in order to get an r rating from the m . p . a . a . ) \\nafter the emergency room staff at the hospital cannot save murphy and declare him clinically dead , s . c . i . \\nrecruits his remains for their new \" robocop \" program . \\nusing the remains of murphy\\'s body as a foundation , their scientists build a cyborg , made of both flesh and metal . \\nthe cyborg ( robocop ) is half human ( murphy ) and half robot ; the s . c . i . \\nengineers have erased murphy\\'s memory and replaced it with a computer program ( or so they think ) . \\nwith his lightning quick reflexes , immense strength , and impenetrable armor , s . c . i . \\nenvisions robocop as an indestructible super-cop : the solution to detroit\\'s problems . \\nthe remainder of the plot follows robocop\\'s crime-foiling and vengeance on his murderers . \\nas a science fiction action-thriller , robocop is extremely effective . \\ndutch director paul verhoeven combines gritty action with suspense , shocking gore , and spectacular special effects . \\nseveral sequences in the film , such as the one in which robocop employs his extremely precise aim to stop a rapist , are destined to become cult-classics . \\nbecause robocop is so visually and emotionally rousing , it demands to be seen on a large screen with an audience--in other words , in a movie theater . \\nalthough the special effects and action are exciting , they do not by themselves set robocop apart from other films in the genre . \\nrather , robocop stands out for its accurate and biting satire of american society . \\nthe movie makes a mockery of the star wars defense initiative , terrorism , board games , and television news broadcasts with air-headed anchors . \\nthese news broadcasts , which are exceptionally clever , recur periodically throughout the movie and help to provide comic relief from the intense action and gore . \\nthe satire in robocop , however , is almost as frightening in its own way as the suspense and blood . \\n1990\\'s america , as portrayed in the film , may seem far fetched but is in actuality ( i think ) only a slight exaggeration of the current state of american society . \\nthe humorous satire in robocop is simultaneously credible and absurd . \\nverhoeven adroitly balances the satirical comedy with the gory action to create an entertaining and enlightening piece of science fiction/social commentary . \\nunfortunately , robocop possesses several flaws which prevent it from qualifying as a classic within the genre . \\nthe movie lacks the lasting impact of such films as the road warrior , the terminator , and aliens . \\nrobocop\\'s main problem , aside from its dumb title , is that it does not sufficiently develop murphy\\'s character . \\nwe never learn the degree to which murphy ( as robocop ) is human and the degree to which he is a robot . \\ndoes murphy have any human spirit or free will left , or is he merely a computer following a program ? \\nthe script halfheartedly raises these issues but then abandons them in its climactic flurry of gory action . \\nmoreover , it almost completely ignores the question ( and tragedy ) of denying a man his right to die in favor of turning him into a machine . \\nrobocop also contains several bothersome loose-ends . \\nas you watch robocop , you experience deja vu ; you feel as if you have seen the film before . \\nin many respects , robocop is reminiscent of several other films , including the terminator , return of the jedi , and even death wish . \\nhowever , to its credit , robocop easily has enough originality and unique personality to avoid becoming a cheap rip-off . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one year has passed since the last time we saw them , and but wayne campbell and garth algar are back but , they\\'ve moved out of their parents homes , and now have their own pad in an abandoned warehouse . \\nwayne\\'s still hopelessly infatuated with his girlfriend , cassandra , and of course garth is still having his own , personal growing pains . \\nthey guys are just finishing off one of their shows , and head off to an aerosmith concert where they run across cassandra and her new manager , a stereotypical industry slime not unlike the character rob lowe portrayed in the previous film . \\nagain , the promoter is not only after the money that cassandra\\'s talent can bring in . \\nthe storyline quickly degrades to a parallel of the original , \" guy loses chick , guy realizes mistake , and guy gets chick back . \" \\nfortunately , there is more to this movie than this somewhat sheer plot . \\nthe wit and humor in this film are surprisingly intelligent and fresh with many inside jokes on the film and music industries as well as just a lot of hilarious scenes of wayne and garth showing their true color . \\nhighlights of the movie include a spoof of jurassic park , garth\\'s seduction by a married woman , a surprise appearance by charleton heston , a 1960\\'s batman setup in the guy\\'s pad , and some pretty groovy chats with jim morrison and some \" naked indian guy , \" an unexpected lip-sync of ymca ( you could see that one coming a mile away ) and of course a hilarious parody of those badly-dubbed kung-fu movies we love to laugh at . \\nand if you\\'ve ever wondered why there\\'s always boxes of watermelons , chickens , and people walking plate glass in the middle of streets , you\\'ll find out here . \\nthis movie also explores wayne and garth a little more . \\ngarth has somewhat of a \" coming of age \" and wayne gets to learn a little about himself ( with a little help from our old friend , jim morrison ) . \\na few old jokes from the previous movie are explored here again , but this time with a few twists to keep them fresh , and luckily , few , if any of them are overused . \\noverall , the movie has plenty of continuity flaws ( especially in the fight scent between garth and cassandra\\'s dad ) , but these are easily overlooked as this is , after wayne\\'s world . \\nthe plot is flimsy but manageable . \\nthere are a few special effects , but they are fairly seamless , and fill nicely into the plot . \\nthe acting is good , for this sort of movie , but there are some very bright spots . \\nin the big picture , this movie is just plain fun . \\nthere is lots of intelligent humor that makes this film special . \\nduring the whole one hour and 40 minutes , i didn\\'t even think about looking at my watch a single time . \\nsilly , but riotous at times , this is an excellent movie even better than the original . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ever wonder what happened to gabe kaplan ? \\nyou remember , he was the title character in that 70\\'s sitcom , \" welcome back kotter . \" \\nalways trying to help out the sweathogs , frequently trying to dodge mr . woodman , ever wary of his wife\\'s tuna casserole . \\n \" so , \" you ask , \" where is he now ? \" \\nmr . kaplan actually spends much of his time these days playing professional high-stakes poker . \\nthat\\'s right . \\ni\\'m not sure if it\\'s his main source of income , but from what i\\'ve heard , the guy occasionally comes away with $20 , 000 at a time . \\nand there you were , thinking i was going to tell you he was doing off-broadway theater . \\nyou silly goose . \\nwell , gabe kaplan isn\\'t in the movie rounders , nor is the film about the actor come gambler\\'s life . \\nbut rounders is about poker , and gabe plays poker , and i thought that was kind of a neat connection . \\nsorry about the segue , or lack thereof . \\nmatt damon plays mike mcdermott , a law student who also has a singular talent for the game of poker . \\nhe\\'s been playing for a while , and more than being proficient , he has caught the bug . \\nhe goes to all the underground games in new york city , knows the regulars , and knows how to win . \\nin the beginning of the film , he\\'s built up a nice thirty grand nest egg , which he takes to the speakeasy-type gaming parlor where the big boys play . \\nmike is there to make his bid into the upper echelon by staking it all against teddy kgb ( john malkovich ) , an oreo-munching cardshark with ties to the russian mafia . \\nmike has the potential to take a large pot and go to vegas and buy into the world series of poker , but instead he loses it all in a single hand . \\nmonths later , he\\'s paying his way through law school by driving a delivery truck . \\nwhen mike\\'s best friend and poker buddy worm ( edward norton ) finishes his jail term for hustling some students , he wants to pick up right were they left off , working as a team to part others with their betting cash . \\nalthough mike has stopped playing cards as a promise to his girlfriend and fellow law student , jo ( gretchen mol ) , worm connives mike into playing once more , and mike , bitten again by the bug , slides down that slippery slope , risking his relationship , education , and reputation as playing poker again becomes the focus of his life . \\nto make a film about gambling , a filmmaker will usually have to play up the glamorous side to get the audience behind the characters . \\nthis is because few moviegoers will care a whole lot about some guy in a leisure suit or terry cloth shirt sitting at a folding card table with a stogie in his mouth . \\nrounders , however , seems to go more for the latter than the former . \\nthe card clubs mike and worm frequent aren\\'t very glamorous at all . \\nthere\\'s a basement , a lodge with elk heads on the wall , a goulash joint - these are the kinds of locales in which director john dahl sets his shots . \\nexcept for one brief instance when the two players visit atlantic city , the film is bereft of the flashing lights of the casinos or the pleasant color of the green felt table . \\nthe reason rounders still captures our attention is because it is less about the game of poker than it is about the personalities which enjoy and are slaves to it . \\nwe\\'re given a nice set of interesting characters with clear motivations , and good actors to play them . \\nmatt damon is very natural as mike , who struggles between his desire to play the straight and narrow by finishing law school , and answering what may be his true calling , playing professional poker . \\ned norton\\'s worm is truly a worm , always looking for the angle and playing everyone for what they\\'re worth . \\njohn turturro , who amazes me with his acting range , tones it down in this film by playing joey knish , a virtual poker prodigy in his time who now plays the underground games to make rent and child support payments . \\nhe\\'s both a friend and mentor to mike , and turturro\\'s low-key performance is totally convincing , just as john malkovich\\'s heavily-accented teddy kgb is imposing as an adversarial dragon mike must slay to prove himself . \\nmartin landau is also thrown into the mix as one of mike\\'s law professors , abe petrovsky . \\nwhile landau slips well into the role , his character , spitting out personal anecdotes about staying true to one\\'s self , facilitates the channeling of the storyline toward a predictable ending . \\nperhaps the weak link in the otherwise formidable line-up of acting talent , however , is gretchen mol who just didn\\'t seem to have much presence on screen . \\nshe\\'s a genuine peach to look at , kind of a cross between actress renee zellweger and singer jewel ( and i wouldn\\'t be surprised if the three of them formed some kind of blond-haired triumvirate and attempted to take over the world ) , but her delivered lines seemed very flat , and i found myself looking for matt damon\\'s reactions instead . \\na good thing about rounders is that it doesn\\'t get bogged down in the character development and statement making so much that it can\\'t find time for humor . \\nthe film is peppered nicely with scenes that both make you laugh and keep the pacing going , such as a sequence where mike and worm move rapidly around new york from one game to the next , in widely different locales . \\none game in a cigar club had me in stitches . \\n \" i love the sweetness of this dark maduro wrapper , \" says one of the players , clearly more interested in displaying his pretentiousness over the cigar in one hand than in the cards in his other . \\ni was hoping mike and worm would really take these guys . \\nwith all the poker being played , rounders had the potential to be very confusing . \\nyou might think you know a lot about poker , but think again . \\nluckily , we\\'re given a narration by damon during the more intricate moments to explain what\\'s going on . \\nthe narrations are more informative than intrusive , and apprise us of what the stakes are and why certain players want to do the things they do . \\nit\\'s nice that as the characters develop , so does our comprehension of their world . \\nas a film about success and survival in the realm of underground poker , rounders delivers in spades . \\nwait ! \\nas a film about the culture of cards , rounders is an ace . \\nhang on ! \\npacked with great acting and great characters , rounders is a full house . \\nokay , i guess that\\'s enough . \\noh , by the way , if you ever want to get into a game with ol\\' gabe kaplan , be sure to bring a note from epstein\\'s mother . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i know there were times during this movie that i laughed pretty hard . \\nthe problem is , i can\\'t remember them as i write this review . \\nthat\\'s not a good sign . \\nin booty call , jamie foxx is bunz , a character whom i can\\'t really describe , because i don\\'t know that much about him . \\ni only know that he likes to shoot dice on the sidewalk , and that he doesn\\'t like relationships , just \" booty calls \" at three in the morning ( no questions , no commitment ) . \\nbunz has a best friend named rushon ( tommy davidson ) , who seems to be bunz\\'s direct opposite : on the straight and narrow , and currently in a long-term commitment ( a whole seven weeks , wow ! ) . \\nrushon wants to finally sleep with his girlfriend , nikki ( tamala jones ) , but for a reason which is not totally explained , it\\'s going to happen after a double date with bunz and nikki\\'s friend lysterine ( vivica a . fox ) , who have never met . \\nto make a long story short , the two couples pair off and spend the rest of the evening having their attempts to do the deed spoiled by nikki\\'s obsession with safe sex . \\nfirst she wants condoms , so bunz and rushon go out and get them . \\noh , no , they have to be latex , not lambskin . \\nback to the store . \\nnow they\\'ve got to get dental dams , or there\\'ll be no foreplay . \\nwhy are both couples stopped each time nikki makes a demand ? \\nnikki phones lysterine , who lives across the hall , and tells her she\\'d better be making these demands , too . \\ntalk about coitus interruptus . \\nbooty call is a film that does not know whether it wants to be a regular comedy or one of those over-the-top comedies . \\nthe difference between the two is that in the latter , things constantly happen which are so far removed from reality . \\nin this category , for example , you have ace ventura : private eye on the mild side , and airplane ! \\nat the extreme . \\nthere are times during booty call where the film steps out of its shell and tries for this status , but then too often quickly retreats to the safety of convention . \\nit is disappointing , and even worse , distracting . \\nthere are also instances where the screenplay by takashi bufford and bootsie parker ( are those real names ? ) \\ndoes not live up to its potential , as jokes are left unexploited or even ruined by bad writing . \\nfor instance , there is a scene where our main characters are in a chinese restaurant . \\nbunz goes up to an asian gangster and speaks to him in fluent cantonese , much to everyone\\'s surprise . \\nhowever , when asked how he learned the language , he goes into this explanation of how he started picking up words from late-night kung-fu films , and soon gained mastery . \\nthis negated the ludicrousness of the entire scene . \\nif , on the other hand , when asked how he learned to speak chinese , bunz simply replied with , \" kung-fu movies , \" and then moved on , the joke would have been much more effective . \\nthis is because it would have been totally unbelievable , but funny because we know it is unbelievable . \\nby explaining the point and trying to make the ridiculous plausible , the film is not giving its viewers enough credit . \\nthe inconsistency and uncertain believability unfortunately also raise other questions . \\nwhy are two such disparate people like bunz and rushon best friends ? \\nwhy do rushon and nikki fix up bunz and lysterine ? \\nif nikki is so obsessed with safe sex , why doesn\\'t she have some condoms at her own apartment ? \\nthese questions are not answered by the screenplay , but are overlooked for the sole reason of moving the plot forward . \\na very noticeable quality of booty call is the prevalence of unnecessary foul language . \\nsome movies use a lot of swear words , but use them under very justifiable circumstances , as when they are employed consistent with a character\\'s pattern of speech . \\nother films , such as the recent jackie brown , use them in ways that almost parody themselves . \\nbooty call just sticks them in to get laughs , and it doesn\\'t work . \\nthey stick out like sore thumbs because there is almost no reason to use them . \\nhalf of the scenes seem to occur for no reason . \\nthe chinese restaurant , a holdup at a convenience store , and a trip to the hospital seem to have nothing to do with the story , and are in there for filler . \\nthis is surprising , considering that the film is less than eighty minutes long . \\nit\\'s too bad that the core of the film isn\\'t much better , since it is comprised of sometimes funny , but forgettable dialog . \\ni refer you to the first paragraph of this review . \\n',\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" songcatcher \" in the midst of this summer\\'s fare of dinos revisited and romantic fiascoes , there are a few thoughtful movies - and this appalachian period drama is one . \\noscar nominee janet mcteer ( \" tumbleweeds \" ) stars as dr . lily penleric , an accomplished musicologist who , back in that pre-feminist era , was refused a full professorship at her university . \\ndetermined to prove her worth , she ventures deep into the rugged mountains of north carolina , where her younger sister elna ( jane adams ) runs a school . \\nthere in bear creek , she discovers a treasure-trove of traditional scots-irish and english folk ballads , given a unique interpretation by the insular locals . \\nexcited , she sends for recording equipment and persuades vinie butler ( pat carroll ) and other self-sustaining mountain folk to share their musical heritage on her edison phonograph cylinders . \\ntheir music , as she puts it , is \" as much a part of life here as the air you breathe . \" \\nthat\\'s the main thrust of writer-director maggie greenwald\\'s occasionally uneven culture-clash story , which is loosely based on olive dame campbell\\'s foray through the blue ridge mountains in 1908 , but there\\'s also some melodramatic romantic spice . \\nornery , bearded , banjo-picking aidan quinn falls for the statuesque , passionate \" songcatcher , \" while elna secretly engages in a lesbian relationship with a colleague ( e . \\nkatherine kerr ) . \\ni\\'m ready to buy the soulful soundtrack with vocalists like emmylou harris , iris dement , taj mahal and young opera star emmy rossum who plays a pivotal role as mcteer\\'s wide-eyed prot ? g ? . \\nrated pg-13 , there\\'s an intense scene of primitive childbirth . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" songcatcher \" is an intelligent , extraordinary 8 , transported by the transcendent power of song . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in this re-make of the 1954 japanese monster film , godzilla is transformed into a \" jurassic park \" copy who swims from the south pacific to new york for no real reason and trashes the town . \\nalthough some of the destruction is entertaining for a while , it gets old fast . \\nthe film often makes no sense ( a several-hundred foot tall beast hides in subway tunnels ) , sports second-rate effects ( the baby godzillas seem to be one computer effect multiplied on the screen ) , lame jokes ( mayor ebert and his assistant gene are never funny ) , horrendous acting ( even matthew broderick is dull ) and an unbelievable love story ( why would anyone want to get back together with maria pitillo\\'s character ? ) . \\nthere are other elements of the film that fall flat , but going on would just be a waste of good words . \\nonly for die-hard creature feature fans , this might be fun if you could check your brain at the door . \\ni couldn\\'t . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for 23 years and has seldom had a more disorienting cinematic experience than seeing both \" fear and loathing \" and \" godzilla \" in the same evening . ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'talk about beating a dead horse ! \\nwhen home alone was released in 1990 , it was a breath of fresh air , and the final box office tally indicated how much audiences appreciated a genuinely-funny family film . \\nthe unexpectedly high gross guaranteed a sequel , so , two years later , we were subjected to home alone 2 , which might as well have been called clone alone for all of the originality it exhibited . \\nfor john hughes , two home alone movies weren\\'t enough ? he began recycling the same kinds of villains and situations in almost every movie he was involved with , including a pathetic box office bomb called baby\\'s day out , last year\\'s live-action 101 dalmatians , and this year\\'s flubber . \\nnow , inexplicably , hughes has exhumed not only these worn-out plot elements , but the \" home alone \" name as well . \\nthe result ? 1997\\'s worst sequel ( edging out speed 2 and batman and robin ) , home alone 3 . \\nby changing the characters , hughes ( who wrote and co-produced the film ) , along with his co-conspirator , director raja gosnell , has attempted to inject new life into a series that is way past the point of cardiac arrest . \\nthe new kid , alex pruitt , is played by alex d . linz ( one fine day ) , and the only thing he has going for him is terminal cuteness . \\nhe\\'s not half as interesting as macaulay culkin once was . \\nthe villains , pale copies of joe pesci and daniel stern , are even less engaging than the pair of idiots in flubber . \\nin home alone 3 , there are four of them ( olek krupa , david thornton , lenny von dohlen , and rya kihlstedt ) , but all that means is an opportunity for twice as many pratfalls . \\nthis time , the kid isn\\'t left home alone because his parents have gone on a trip . \\ninstead , he has developed a bad case of chicken pox , so he can\\'t go to school . \\nhis dad ( kevin kilner ) is away on business and his mom ( haviland morris ) has to run errands , so , for the most part , he\\'s all by himself during the day . \\nthrough a series of coincidences too irritating to relate , a top secret u . s . air force integrated circuit comes into his possession . \\nit\\'s wanted by a gang of four international crooks who intend to break into alex\\'s home to retrieve it . \\nthe eight- year old , who is wise beyond his years , booby traps the house with all sorts of rube goldberg-type devices designed to humiliate and incapacitate the villains . \\nthe movie\\'s climax takes place during a raging snowstorm ? only none of the falling flakes looks remotely believable . \\npreviously , the most counterfeit-looking snow effects i can remember were in star trek iii . \\nthese are far worse . \\nin fact , the production values are so shoddy that there are some scenes in the midst of this near-blizzard when a shining sun can be seen . \\nif it\\'s a wonderful life could generate real- looking snow back in the 1940s , why can\\'t home alone 3 , which has a significantly larger budget and \\'90s technology at its disposal ? \\nthere has been an ongoing debate regarding the appropriateness of live-action cartoon violence for young children . \\nhome alone 3 will add fuel to the fire . \\nit\\'s one thing to see wyle e . coyote flattened by a 10 ton acme weight , but quite another to watch a running lawn mower fall on lenny von dohlen . \\nadults and even older children will recognize that this is obviously fake and intended to be humorous , but what about five and six-year olds ? \\nthe level of violence in home alone 3 is extreme ? many of alex\\'s schemes are nasty enough to kill . \\nbut , because this is a \" family film , \" no one dies , despite being electrocuted , falling thirty feet , and getting smacked on the head by a barbell . \\nnot only is home alone 3 unnecessary , but it\\'s offensive . \\nit\\'s an exercise in tediousness , and there isn\\'t a genuine laugh to be found from the beginning to the end ( unless , by some strange quirk of fate , you have missed every 1990s movie associated with john hughes , and thus haven\\'t seen this stuff before ) . \\ni can\\'t imagine anyone with a reasonable attention span being more than momentarily distracted by this pointless adventure . \\nmaybe that\\'s why the only ones laughing at the screening i attended were still in their thumb-sucking years . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'m not sure if silvio horta wrote urban legend before or after the success of scream , but i\\'m guessing after just because it seems he may not have had time to write a second draft . \\nseriously , this idea--a psycho bumping off people in the style of urban legends--is a great one and i wish it could have been pulled off . \\nthe first sign of trouble comes with the painfully insipid dialogue . \\nan example : \" that [car crash] must\\'ve been awful . . . for \\neveryone involved . \" \\nyou can tell that the writer intended that something a little more airy was supposed to have been said , just no one figured out what . \\ni know in slasher movies there isn\\'t supposed to be a lot of great characterization and i myself don\\'t mind cardboard cutouts , but please don\\'t let the cutouts be so damn bland . \\none reason movies like scream , star wars and diva have become so treasured is because they feature charismatic actors playing interesting characters . \\naside from jared leto and joshua jackson ( who aren\\'t on the screen long enough ) no one in urban legend makes the grade . \\nalicia witt shows none of the acerbity or wit she displayed on cybill , rebecca gayheart actually looks unattractive ( not to mention as dumb as a post through 3/4 of the film ) and robert englund just cruises on auto pilot . \\ngood thing brad dourif is here , but wait . . . he\\'s only in the movie for five minutes _and_ he\\'s just redoing his good-natured stuttering character from one flew over the cuckoo\\'s nest . \\nwhich brings me to another aspect of urban legend : it\\'s unoriginality . \\nthe film most blatantly ripped off is scream ( another reason that makes me think silvio horta wrote this after craven\\'s and williamson\\'s great success ) . \\nurban legend tries to deconstruct modern-day folklore much the same way scream deconstructed slasher films , but it doesn\\'t quite succeed . \\nit\\'s best stab at self-reflexivity is poking fun at \" that girl in the noxzeema ad \" ( ie , rebecca gayheart ) we also have another killer-taunting-his-victim-on-the-phone routine in urban legend and quick , what movie is this exchange of dialogue from : \\nfemale protagonist : why ? \\nvillain : why ? \\nwhy ? ! ? \\ncongratulations to those of you who answered scream and/or urban legend . \\nlike i said , this movie could\\'ve been great . \\nif only silvio had worked or been allowed to work a little longer on the script . \\nstill , at least urban legend had some pretty cool death scenes and a somewhat realized whodunit angle which makes this slasher is waaaayyyyyy better than i know what you did last summer . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : it\\'s 1977 in a small italian american neighborhood in new york . \\ndisco music is popular , and the sexual revolution is on , but the people of new york are not happy . \\nin fact , they\\'re terrified . \\nas in spike lee\\'s do the right thing a heat wave has the city in its grip , and peoples\\' tempers are flaring . \\nthe cool of night offers no respite : the neighborhood is being terrorized by a nocturnal psychotic killer who calls himself the son of sam . \\nno one knows who the son of sam is , and no one is safe . \\nall around new york people are different . \\naside from cultural groupings and ethnic neighborhoods there are differences between individuals . \\nin the italian american section of town a philandering husband named vinny ( john leguizamo ) tries to hide his trysts and sexual behavior from his long suffering newlywed wife dionna ( mira sorvino ) . \\nvinny\\'s friend ritchie ( adrien brody ) hates disco , works at a gay strip club and doesn\\'t want any of the neighborhood folks to know . \\nritchie\\'s girl ruby ( jennifer esposito ) is trying to escape a reputation as a slut . \\neveryone\\'s different , but nobody in the film wants to be framed as \" alien \" to the community . \\nunfortunately , the killings help create a climate of suspicion pits neighbor against neighbor . \\nopinion : director spike lee\\'s summer of sam is not about a psycho killer . \\nnor is it about cops trying to apprehend him . \\nit\\'s about differences and how , given the right conditions , even close neighbors can fan the hostile flames of irrational suspicion . \\none thing i found interesting in summer of sam was the use of sex . \\nin other movies sex is glamorized . \\nfor example , james bond gets a sexual reward for winning . \\nor boring made-for-video \" suspense \" movies are spiked with gratuitous lingerie scenes just to keep the audience awake . \\nand every movie or soap opera character in these flicks seems to have expert sexual prowess . \\nnot so with summer of sam . \\nin a very gutsy move director spike lee shows sex without fantasy . \\nsex is there , but it isn\\'t gratuitous or titillating . \\nin fact , some of the main characters are downright lousy in bed . \\nsex is in the film because ( sexual ) deviance is part of the film\\'s major theme of \" difference \" breeding hostility . \\nin my opinion this kind of movie sex is cutting edge for 1999 , as rare and thought-provoking in american cinema as showing a spanking . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"at the outset of swordfish , john travolta's gabriel shear is pontificating about the status of american cinema today . \\nbasically , he says , it boils down to a lack of imagination among the majority of writers . \\nhow ironic , as travolta seems to be describing his latest venture . \\nswordfish is loud , violent and amoral . \\nit has the audacity to justify murder and mayhem in the name of sustaining our way of life . \\nand how does travolta's gabriel plan to do this ? \\nby robbing billions from his own government and using the funds to out-terrorize terrorists . \\nswordfish is a very cynical movie . \\nit relies on an audience's perception of our leaders as ineffectual and duplicitous and on terrorists as non-human , faceless entities not worthy of compassion or consideration . \\nthe movie's plot is preposterous with enough illogical leaps that if the film ever slowed down , you'd actually see how ridiculous it all is . \\nthis is a live-action road runner cartoon , moving so quickly that it's over before you can catch your breath to ask any reasonable questions . \\nthe storyline revolves around super hacker stanley jobson ( hugh jackman ) , recruited by gabriel to crack the government's computer codes so gabriel can gather billions for his anti-terrorist campaign . \\ntalk about whacked-out patriotism . \\nmy objections to swordfish are many . \\nthe body count is high , but that is expected in a movie of this sort . \\nit's becoming a bore watching anonymous soldiers , police officers and government agents blown to bits . \\nanother example is the family dynamics between stanley , his 10-year-old daughter and his ex-wife . \\nstanley , though having served time in prison for hacking , is shown as a loving and caring father , forbidden by his ex to see his little girl . \\naudience animosity is immediately created for his former spouse by showing her as a drinker and smoker who also sometimes stars in her new husband's adult films . \\nthus when she is found murdered late in the movie , neither stanley nor his daughter are allowed any time to grieve . \\nin fact , subconsciously , many in the audience are probably glad she was killed . \\nthen there is the sequence involving one of gabriel's henchman holding a gun to the head of stanley's daughter to coerce the hacker to download the key computer program for gabriel . \\nchildren as pawns have become a most unwelcome clich ? in recent films . \\nthere is enough violence in the real world involving children without having to make them on-screen victims as well . \\nyea , it's only make believe , but that doesn't mean you have to tolerate it . \\ntravolta is cool , deadly charming and flamboyant as the near-crazy gabriel . \\nhis character is reminiscent of his villainous characterizations in broken arrow and face/off . \\njackman looks dour through most of the proceedings . \\nhis only moment of any depth comes when he finally is able to create the worm to get inside the government database . \\nhis sense of joy and accomplishment is one any computer whiz can appreciate . \\nhalle berry is decorative and lovely as gabriel's assistant , while don cheadle is given little to do as the head fbi agent hunting gabriel . \\nswordfish plays like a comic book with a larger-than-life character in gabriel . \\nviewers align themselves with him despite their uncertainty if he is hero or villain . \\nand maybe that is the movie's underlying flaw : there is no real hero to speak of , only those doing their upmost to survive . \\nand that is not enough . \\nthis is one swordfish that should have been thrown back in the water . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'robin williams has the rarest of gifts : the ability to rise above the most inept material and suffuse it with his irreverent style . \\noverwhelmingly , his worst films are pleasantly diverting at worst and enjoyable at best ( with the notable exception of flubber ) . \\nso when i , the one person who has refused to abandon him despite patch adams , tell you that not even williams can save his latest project , you know it\\'s in trouble . \\njakob the liar is a confused , muddled little movie ; a generically \" uplifting \" film with a fundamental contradiction : the message it delivers is depressing as opposed to inspiring and the movie doesn\\'t realize it . \\nwilliams plays jakob haim , a jew imprisoned in a polish ghetto during world war ii . \\none night he wanders outside after curfew and is promptly sent to the office of a high-ranking german officer for his punishment . \\njakob gets off easy and he gets to hear approximately 30 seconds of a radio broadcast . \\nthe announcement ( in english , but punctuated by a triumphant \" heil hitler ! \" ) is that russian troops are only miles away from jakob\\'s ghetto . \\nliberation ! he thinks . \\nthe next day , jakob tells the news to his closest friend , a volatile prize fighter named misha ( liev schreiber ) , who despite being sworn to secrecy passes the message along . \\nsoon , it is a common assumption in the ghetto that jakob has a radio hidden in his home -- a crime punishable by death . \\nthis is absurdly false , but the more jakob tells the people of the ghetto this , the more convinced they become that he is abreast of the latest developments in the war that is to decide their fate . \\nthe danger , of course , is that the germans allegedly have informants throughout the ghetto , and rumors about the radio can get out and put jakob in great danger . \\nin a curiously irrelevant subplot , jakob finds a 11-year old girl who has separated from her parents and decides to hide her in his small home . \\napparently he is afraid that she will be discovered , and goes to great length to make sure of that -- just why the idea frightens him is never made clear . \\nhe and the girl build an uninvolving , generic relationship that never goes anywhere and is as irrelevant at the end as it was in the beginning . \\nthe moral of the story is that hope is the best medicine . \\nbut jakob the liar forgets that the hope that jakob brings to his ghetto is false . \\nsuch hope inevitably leads to expectations of its realization and when those expectations aren\\'t met , the results are far worse than if there was no hope . \\nthat\\'s the film\\'s biggest detriment : it is based on a false assumption and thus comes off as painfully false . \\nit\\'s never moving because it doesn\\'t give us anything to be moved by . \\njakob the liar fails to tug any heartstrings which destroys its purpose for existing . \\nrobin williams doesn\\'t inject the film with life , as a matter of fact , he seems a little out of it , as if crippled by his fake accent . \\nhe is stragely unenthusiastic ; his character is one who spreads hope but his performance is lifeless , hopeless . \\nnot since good will hunting has he abandoned his signature style to this extent ; this isn\\'t the robin williams we know and love . \\nin good will hunting he became a serious actor and won an oscar for it . \\nhere , he is more of a wannabe serious actor ; an impostor . \\njakob the liar will be compared with last year\\'s life is beautiful because it is being marketed as a \" holocaust comedy \" . \\nit\\'s not a comedy . \\nit tries , sometimes , but it rarely works . \\nis it a melodrama ? \\na war movie ? \\na character study ? \\nno , no , and no . \\njakob the liar is the kind of movie that can\\'t be placed into a category ; not because it covers so many different genres but because it fails at just about every one it attempts . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the film starts out with a creepy opening sequence to which has the now classic and creepy score by writer/director/producer john carpenter who in my mind is a brilliant director , he really is . \\nhe wrote this film , he directed this film , he produced this film and he made the excessively creepy score to this film . \\ni think he is and always will be famous for this classic which after 21 years has not lost it's popularity or it's ability to scare the wits out of people . \\ni think i have seen 'halloween' over 100 times and each time i find something new and brilliant , and each time i am scared even though i know what is going to happen . \\ni own three different versions of the film : a vhs regular version that came with a limited edition 20th anniversary t-shirt , a boxed edition vhs in a hardcover case digitally re-mastered with the original theatrical widescreen presentation , in a nifty plastic picture decorated box with a numbered snow-globe . \\nin other words i am completely and utterly obsessed with the film . \\nit has changed horror movies forever and spawned six sequels with only 2 , 4 , and 7 being truly good . \\nit also spawned several cheap imitations of the film that were offensive in some ways to a true halloween fan . \\nsince i heard about halloween being released on dvd in a limited edition of 30 , 000 copies , i knew i had to buy one no matter what ! \\ni did and man to me it's the best dvd ever manufactured with the brilliance of the film . \\nno words can describe the dvd . \\nin 'halloween' michael myers is a evil person whom killed his sister in cold blood 16 years ago in 1963 . \\nnow in 1978 grown up and in a mental hospital michael myers escapes to go back to his hometown of haddonfield , illinois , followed by his past doctor sam loomis . \\nthe person michael is targeting is laurie strode who is played by jamie lee curtis in her film debut . \\nwhy is he stalking her ? \\ncheck out halloween ii it explains it all . \\non this unholy night on october 31 , 1978 laurie strode and her two friends are going to have the time of their lives , which is trying to stay alive . \\nthe whole film is filled with terrifying moments most coming from just seeing michael myers walk . \\nnick castle who played the shape in the first movie did an incredible job , and no other person in any other halloween flick can do what he did . \\nwhat john carpenter did in 1978 is made a ground-breaking new film , with scares , wit , and style . \\nthe movie is flawless if not perfect . \\nno other movie or sequel has lived up to this one , and in my opinion never will . \\n'halloween' will be like 'psycho' and still be extremely popular even almost 40 years later . \\ni just hope someday 'halloween' will be released in a new dolby soundtrack with the 4 extra scenes on the dvd edition . \\n'halloween' isn't just another slice-and-dice horror flick , it's an intelligent , horrifying and best film experience ever made . \\nsee 'halloween' and be scared . . . . then \\nwatch it again ! \\nreviewed by brandon herring october 7 , 1999 . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" mercury rising \" has numerous flaws , but there is one that really stands out : its central plot device is unnecessary . \\nthat\\'s right . \\nthe major aspect of the film , that which is supposed to make it different from other routine government conspiracy / action flicks could be dropped from the beginning , and the movie would turn out exactly the same , if not better . \\nthis central device is the fact that a nine-year-old boy is autistic . \\nhis name is simon , and an evil government bureaucrat named nicholas kudrow ( alec baldwin ) wants him dead because he unknowingly cracked a supersecret government code slipped into the back of a puzzle magazine by its programmers just to see if someone could beat it . \\nsimon is intended to be the heart and soul of the film , and we are supposed to feel for him because he is a poor handicapped child thrown into a violent , unfair world against his will , with only a renegade fbi agent played by bruce willis to protect him . \\nthe fact that he is autistic does nothing for the emotional intensity or the plot necessities of \" mercury rising . \" \\ni suppose the original novel upon which the movie was based did much more with this aspect of simon\\'s character and his relationship with willis , but here it is lost . \\nmiko hughes , the young actor who plays simon , goes through the prescribed motions of being autistic : he walks slowly , drawls his words , kicks and screams when he\\'s touched , and has a hard time looking at other people . \\nit\\'s a difficult role for an adult , much less a young child , to play , and unfortunately hughes never convinces us that he isn\\'t playing like he\\'s autistic . \\nunlike dustin hoffman\\'s performance in \" rain man \" or leonardo dicaprio\\'s in \" what\\'s eating gilbert grape , \" we are always painfully aware that hughes is acting . \\nhowever , unlike \" rain man \" which used its character\\'s autism in unique and interesting ways to build a credible and touching story , \" mercury rising \" could go right about its generic , predictable plot with simon being simply a really smart but really shy kid . \\nhell , he doesn\\'t even have to be shy . \\nin fact , the movie might have been more interesting if he had had a more active role , rather than just being carted around under willis\\' arm . \\nwillis\\' character , art jeffries , is a disillusioned fbi agent who has been removed from undercover work and is now doing menial tasks like listening to wiretaps with rookies who are happy to be doing anything . \\nhe becomes involved with simon when he is called to check out a murder scene at simon\\'s house , where his father has apparently shot his mother in the back and then committed suicide . \\nof course , we know that isn\\'t the way it happened happen because we saw an evil , square-jawed government hitman with a mean-looking crew-cut knock off the parents . \\nsimon was able to get away , and jeffries finds him hiding in a secret compartment in a closet , which the rest of the chicago police department had overlooked . \\njeffries -- who is accused by several characters at different times of being paranoid although his actions never suggest it -- knows there is something more , and he makes it his personal mission to go against everything and everyone in order to protect simon . \\nthis is quite a task because that same hitman who knocked off simon\\'s parents is crawling everywhere , attempting to kill simon at the hospital , on the highway , and every other place he goes . \\nlate in the movie , jeffries is forced to enlist the aid of a pretty young woman named stacey ( kim dickens ) who he meets at a coffee shop . \\nof all the hard-to-believe aspects of the movie , this is the worst . \\ni can believe in the decency of the human heart , but stacey\\'s character is far too accommodating . \\nnot only does she agree to watch simon while jeffries runs off to solve the mystery , she lets him into her apartment at two o\\'clock in the morning when she knows the police is after him , and then lets him leave simon in her apartment which means that she has to forgo a business trip that is desperately needed to pay the rent . \\nthe grinding squeals of the rusty plot machine are almost overbearing at this point . \\nthe movie might have been redeemed by some good action sequences , but even here \" mercury rising \" doesn\\'t rise to the challenge . \\nthe movie was directed by harold becker , who has made some good suspense films including \" sea of love \" ( 1989 ) and \" malice \" ( 1993 ) , but his talent is nowhere to be found in this latest excursion . \\nthere is one fight on a streetcar between jeffries and another hitman ( played by peter stormare ) that is so ineptly directed , shot and edited , that i had no idea 1 ) exactly where they were on the streetcar , 2 ) who was hitting who , and 3 ) where this hitman came from and how he knew where jeffries and simon were . \\nthe grand finale takes place on the roof of a tall building , and features a harrowing ( yawn ) scene where simon walks along the very edge of the building , not because he has to , but because it\\'s more suspenseful that way . \\ntaken as a whole , \" mercury rising \" is an tepid , confused movie that lacks style , wit , and any traces of a sense of humor . \\nusually willis brings his personal brand of understated humor to his roles , but here he is too straight and serious . \\nthis is because the movie wants to be an action flick and a heartfelt drama at the same time , but it ends up failing on both fronts . \\nmaybe the book was better , but the way it\\'s handled here is a perfect case study in formula filmmaking guaranteed to bore . \\n',\n",
+       " b'more than forty years ago , the \" sword and sandals \" genre of historical epic ruled the box office . \\nduring the 1950\\'s hollywood sought to give audiences a reason to turn off their televisions and go out to the movies by offering the grand spectacle of the roman empire in cinemascope . \\n \" ben-hur . \" \\n \" cleopatra . \" \\n \" the robe . \" \\n \" sparticus . \" \\n \" the fall of the roman empire . \" \\n \" quo vadis . \" \\nsometimes brilliant , sometimes campy , the roman epic was the technicolor funeral pyre of classic hollywood . \\nsince then , epics have appeared infrequently ( \" the last emperor , \" \" braveheart \" ) and some of the best have been small-screen affairs produced in the 1970\\'s ( \" roots , \" \" shogun \" ) . \\nyet , the phrase \" we who are about to die salute you \" has been absent until now . \\n \" gladiator \" begins in germania in a . d . 180 . \\nroman general maximus ( russell crowe ) has conquered yet another group of barbarians for his emperor marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) , and he is eager to retire to his plantation in spain where his wife and son are waiting . \\nhowever , the emperor is worried that his decadent weakling son commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) will prove a poor successor , so he wants to make maximus his heir as a transition toward rome becoming a republic again . \\nwhen commodus hears the plan , he strangles his father and orders maximus and his family murdered . \\nmaximus escapes from the executioners , but he arrives home too late to save his wife and son . \\na caravan of slavers pick up the wounded hero and carry him off to north africa . \\n ( why the caravan happened to be cruising by maximus\\' place is never explained . ) \\nan african named juba ( djimon hounsou ) treats maximus\\' wounds . \\nproximo ( oliver reed ) , a gladiator who won his freedom , purchases maximus and juba as fodder for the arena . \\nof course , maximus proves as able a gladiator as he was a soldier , and his fame spreads . \\nwhen commodus reopens the coliseum , proximo brings his troupe of warriors to rome to compete . \\nour hero wins the hearts and minds of the cheering crowds and finds that he has an ally in commodus\\' sister lucilla ( connie nielsen ) . \\nthe similarities to \" braveheart \" are obvious : an evil king , a determined warrior seeking revenge for his murdered family , the aid of a lovestruck princess . \\nalso , like mel gibson\\'s epic , \" gladiator \" has a primarily visceral appeal and is driven forward by the hero\\'s anger . \\nit\\'s a simple tale of good versus evil . \\nmaximus has all the manly virtues : nobility of purpose , courage in battle , loyalty to king and country , physical stamina , and devotion to family . \\ncommodus is his opposite in every way : a sniveling , selfish coward who is intended to disgust the audience . \\nthe opening night crowd in my theater was about 70% male , and that seems appropriate . \\n \" gladiator \" is a guy movie ( would the opposite of a \" chick flick \" be a \" dick flick \" ? ) . \\nthere\\'s much pumping of testosterone and chopping off of body parts in gruesome battle sequences . \\n ( those easily offended by gore should stay away . ) \\nlucilla is the only female character , and what sparks there are between her and maximus are dampened by his devotion to his dead wife . \\njoaquin phoenix gives an astounding performance . \\nin the scene where commodus kills his father , phoenix shows the pain of a son who has never had his father\\'s love or pride . \\nthroughout the picture , phoenix manages to give depth to a character who\\'s scripted as a caricature of evil . \\ni\\'ve been a russell crowe fan since \" romper stomper . \" \\nthis role doesn\\'t offer him the complexities of his parts in \" l . \\na . confidential \" and \" the insider \" -- essentially his job is to grunt heroically -- but his voice , which has a richard burton resonance textured by a clint eastwood rasp , is perfect for the genre . \\nthe late oliver reed gave us the best work of his career in his last role . \\ni hope it will be rewarded with an oscar . \\nmy only major quibble with \" gladiator \" is its stylized look . \\nseveral scenes are tinted . \\nwe\\'ve seen a lot of the tinted look lately , particularly in \" payback \" and \" the matrix . \" \\ni don\\'t get the appeal of the style , which makes feature films look like tv ads . \\nin \" payback \" it was merely annoying , but in \" gladiator \" it bleaches the color out of the grand spectacles that are the raison d\\'etre of the roman epic . \\n ( perhaps it\\'s meant to gloss over the imperfections of the computer-generated shots . ) \\nalso , the battle scenes are filmed in a strange herky jerky style that seems to be slo mo and fast forward simultaneously . \\n ( it reminds me of the way the flash runs in the comic books , leaving a half-blurred trail of images of himself behind . ) \\nwith a more realistic look , \" gladiator \" could be even more satisfying than \" braveheart \" because it has a tighter script and a more fulfilling conclusion . \\nbottom line : a rousing action film enriched by fine performances but tarnished by stylistic choices . \\n',\n",
+       " b'senseless is a prime example of what can happen when you try to push a one-joke concept a bit too far . \\ndirector penelope spheeris is no stranger to this , having subjected audiences before to such tortures as the beverly hillbillies . \\nmarlon wayans stars as darryl witherspoon , a college senior vying for a lucrative job at a prominent brokerage . \\nhowever , he lacks the advantages of his chief opposition , scott thorpe ( david spade , in the smarmy sort of role he can deliver in his sleep ) : an athletic record , sponsorship by a fraternity , and , most of all , a wealthy family to back him up . \\nin fact , darryl has to work at four jobs simply to make ends meet . \\nbut there may be a light at the end of that tunnel . \\nhe signs up as a human guinea pig in a neurological experiment run by the university\\'s dr . wheedon ( brad dourif ) . \\nas a result , his senses are magnified tenfold . \\nusing his newfound abilities , he sets himself in complete pursuit of the job ( unaware that there may be some disadvantageous side-effects to having super senses ) . \\nnaturally , marlon wayans plays this comedy at full throttle , giving jim carrey-ish amounts of physical humor . \\nthe problem is , aside from a few genuinely inspired bits , there\\'s not much that\\'s funny here . \\nthe film has it\\'s one central gag , and pads out the rest of its length with rather obvious lowbrow humor . \\nthere obviously wasn\\'t much thought put into the plot . \\nthe entire job selection process is completely ridiculous . \\ni mean , why the emphasis on extra-curricular activities if the entire job is going to come down to a single-elimination quiz anyhow ? \\nand is this the only job being offered to economics majors this semester ? \\nto give it credit , senseless does try to create a secondary joke with darryl\\'s roommate , tim laflour ( matthew lillard ) . \\napparently , he is supposed to be faddish , but the film never does anything with him , leaving him in a piercing phase throughout the movie . \\nhis \" intervention \" scenes with darryl , however , do provide a rare , and welcome , laugh . \\nand then there\\'s the love interest which is always pathetically tacked onto comedies like this one . \\nin this case , the object of darryl\\'s amor is janice ( tamara taylor ) , a fellow student who won\\'t have anything to do with darryl until he gains his super-senses . \\nneedless to say , the romance is completely extraneous , and adds little to the film . \\nthis is a film that desperately needed something else . \\nbe that a good plot , more jokes ( or simply funnier ones ) , or a strong character or two , anything would have helped senseless get off the ground . \\nas it is , all the manic exuberant mugging in the world can\\'t help marlon wayans get this one off the ground . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in the interest of being generous , i want to start this review with the scene that i liked in meet joe black . \\nsir anthony hopkins , playing a super-rich media mogul , has gathered his family around him for dinner . \\nhis oldest daughter ( played by marcia gay harden from millers crossing ) , who has been obsessively planning his sinfully extravagant birthday party , presents him with three superbly decorated little cakes , which are supposed to be scale models for his big birthday cake . \\nthe daughter asks hopkins to pick the one he likes . \\nhopkins , frustrated by the weight of planning for the whole elaborate affair , does what any man in his position would do : he punts . \\nwhichever one you like , dear , he says . \\nand the daughter does exactly what any woman in her position would do : she cries . \\ni liked that scene for two reasons . \\nfirst , the cakes looked really cool . \\nsecond , it was , perhaps , the only scene in the movie where people acted as you would expect people to act . \\nmeet joe black is chock-full of odd performances , people doing things for no discernible reason at all , and doing them in slow motion over the course of three hours to boot . \\nit\\'s easy to watch meet joe black for the abundant eye candy of the palatial homes and the beauteous claire forlani , but it\\'s even easier to sleep right through it ( two people on my row managed it quite nicely ) . \\nthe difficult part of the movie is understanding the characters and their motivations and why someone thought three hours was an appropriate length for this overwrought mess . \\ni know my audience had problems with the movie , because they thought it was a comedy . \\ncase in point : everyone should know by now that brad pitt plays the angel of death in this movie . \\nhowever , the first we see of him is as a young lawyer in a coffee shop hitting on the glamorous claire forlani . \\n ( it\\'s not clear from the movie whether you need a law degree to become the angel of death , but it makes a certain kind of sense . ) \\nit shouldn\\'t take long for the observant moviegoer to realize that bad things are about to happen to mr . pitt . \\nand indeed they do ( after a hideously prolonged sequence where pitt looks over his shoulder at the retreating forlani and forlani looks over her shoulder at the retreating pitt ) , because pitt walks into the road without looking and suddenly gets squished . \\nwell , when that happened , the audience howled with laughter , and continued to laugh at every comment that was remotely humorous . \\nso , if you think that sudden violent death and sarcastic drawing-room humor are funny , i encourage you to go see meet joe black immediately . \\nanyway , the deceased lawyer\\'s body , no worse the wear from its massive injuries , is possessed by the angel of death and brad pitt takes over that role . \\nthe idea is that death ( given the pen name of joe black , so as not to disturb others ) wants to take a holiday and experience the world . \\nif this weren\\'t hollywood , we might get an interesting metaphysical discussion of life and death , but since it is , we get scene after scene of fish-out-of-water humor , just as if death is george of the jungle or crocodile dundee or some other poor schmuck who\\'s wandered in from the jungle or the outback or whatever and doesn\\'t know how to act in our society . \\nit also doesn\\'t help that the character of death is written so inconsistently . \\nhe claims to be on vacation , but he never does anything except hang around the seriously attractive claire forlani ( just try to get your travel agent to book that one ) . \\nhe speaks very slow and halting english but perfectly fluent jamaican patois . \\nhe knows everything about some characters , nothing about others . \\nand as played by brad pitt , he\\'s not especially menacing or charming or glamorous or intriguing , he\\'s just there . \\nit\\'s as if someone told pitt , \" never mind about acting in this picture , son , just stand there and look pretty . \" \\nit\\'s as if pitt is doing his keanu reeves impression throughout the movie . \\ni\\'ve used the phrase \" angel of death \" in this review very deliberately to contrast pitt\\'s performance with this year\\'s best angel performance , nicolas cage\\'s in city of angels . \\nwhere pitt is cold and unfeeling , cage is as warm and empathetic as the situation allows . \\nwhere cage is genuinely curious about the nature of man , pitt is aloof and arrogant . \\ncage struck instant chemical sparks with co-star meg ryan , where the chemistry between pitt and forlani is only understandable if you accept the notion that forlani\\'s character is so shallow that she can\\'t see beyond pitt\\'s good looks . \\nthe movie\\'s other top name is a much better actor , but that doesn\\'t save meet joe black . \\nsir anthony hopkins isn\\'t given much better material to work with , unfortunately . \\nhe plays one of these good-hearted multimillionaire media moguls that only exist in hollywood . \\n ( one wonders what might have happened if they had made hopkins\\'s character more realistically evil . ) \\nhopkins is marked for death due to a bad ticker , but death steps in and grants him some extra time in exchange for being his guide in the world . \\nof course , no one can be sure of how they will act when death taps on their shoulder . \\nbut i have to wonder ( and in this movie , you have a very long time to wonder ) how you or i would act in a similar situation , especially if you or i were a multimillionaire . \\nhopkins pretty much goes to the office -- and the major subplot revolves around who will control the corporation . \\nfans of corporate intrigue will be fascinated , i\\'m sure . \\ni stayed awake all the way through meet joe black , and i\\'m asking myself why . \\nmovies about death should encourage you to live life to the fullest , which is what i\\'m going to do now . \\ngo spend time with your family , go volunteer for a local charity , heck , go take a nap . \\ndon\\'t go see meet joe black , because all it will do is move you three long hours closer to death . \\n-- curtis edmonds \\n \" no children have ever meddled with the republican party and lived to tell about it . \" \\n-- sideshow bob \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" nothing more than a high budget masturbation fantasy \" \\nshowgirls ( nc-17 ) - contains graphic nudity , profanity , sexual situations and violence . \\nsome people , however , keep their clothes on . \\nyou do not watch porn films for their intellectual values , nor do you write reviews on them . \\nthat\\'s why this review will be short . \\nit seems that this film will end up in the porn section when it hits the video stores . \\nthere is no story , script , point or acting . \\nonly naked bodies , which is exactly the point . \\nhere is the so called plot : nomi , the 23-year-old with a dark past as a hooker , has hitchhiked from somewhere back east to perform in a show where a dancer doesn\\'t wear much more than a light coating of powder and a big , fake smile . \\nno one is twisting nomi\\'s arm . \\nno one is holding her grandmother hostage . \\nshe wants to do this . \\nand that is what she is doing till the end credits . \\nso what\\'s the problem then ? \\nwhat\\'s the point ? \\nwhat\\'s the film about ? \\nis there anyone whose aspirations could inspire less sympathy ? \\nthis film can be described in one sentence : obscene level of incompetence , excessive stupidity in the story line , gross negligence of the viewer\\'s intelligence , a prurient interest in the quick buck . \\nbelieve me , after an hour with these characters , acting and script , you\\'ll start hoping for someone to kill somebody . \\nelizabeth berkley makes a laughable try as the heroine of this film , that is bad even for eszterhas\\' script . \\nher character is the only one that is at least half written and she could really have done better . \\nher character denies the fact that she is a whore for the industry , selling her body to the hungry eyes of the horny public . \\n \" i am not a whore ! \\ni am a dancer \" , she screams , but does it in such an over dramatized way that you\\'ll start laughing . \\nin fact the acting in \" showgirls \" brings terrible to a new and previously unknown level . \\nnot one single achievement , besides the conventional cinematography , is worth mentioning . \\nit is a total waste of time and money . \\nthere is not a single moment of what you might call intelligence . \\nthe dialogue is structured of ancient stereotypes and cliches lined up one after another . \\nits attempt to even imagine to have half a brain results in a catastrophe . \\n \" in my films , \" writes director paul verhoeven ( \\'basic instinct\\' , \\'total recall\\' ) , \" i hold the mirror up to life . \" \\nwell , excuse me ? \\nhis attempt to go behind the scenes of las vegas , and as he put it \" show the naked truth \" , is simplified and unreal . \\noccasionally , between his collection of mistakes and logical irrationalities , screenwriter joe eszterhas ( the creator of some of the worst screenplays in hollywood history ) inserts some lines of deep morality , that sound something like this : \" hey , i see you . \\ni see that you\\'re hiding \" - \" from what ? \" \\n- \" from you \" . \\nyes , and even the only decent line in this film : \" nomi is what las vegas is all about \" can\\'t save \\'showgirls\\' from going under . \\nit\\'s a strange phenomena . \\nit\\'s not erotic , because it lacks sensuality . \\nnot dramatic , because it lacks the acting . \\nand not intelligent because it lacks a story . \\nit is simply verhoven\\'s bad excuse for making pornography . \\nyou want to see naked women ? \\nbare breasts ? \\nfull frontals ? \\nit\\'s nothing wrong with that . \\nbut in that case i suggest that you rent a porn film in your local video store , and not waste time surviving through eszterhas\\' pathetic dialogue . \\nb qualities , while it\\'s only a high budget porn-film . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" the 13th warrior \" comes at the end of as summer where we\\'ve already experienced man eating sharks ( \" deep blue sea \" ) , man eating crocodiles ( \" lake placid \" ) and even a man hunting witch ( \" the blair witch project \" ) . \\nnow , \" the 13th warrior \" presents a tribe of flesh eating men who believe that they are bears . \\nthe story , if that\\'s what you want to call it , follows ahmed ibn fahdlan ( antonio banderas ) an arabian poet who falls in love with his king\\'s wife and is banished from his home land . \\nhe then travels to the land of the vikings and becomes an ambassador to them . \\neventually the vikings are called upon to protect the people of the village who are being hunted by the flesh eating men . \\nthirteen warriors are chosen to go on the mission , and as you guessed it , ahmed is chosen as the thirteenth . \\nhe\\'s not a warrior , and at first not well accepted by the vikings , but as the movie advances he\\'ll have to prove himself both on and off the battlefield . \\nthat\\'s basically the entire plot . \\nthere is also a romantic subplot that has been so badly mishandled and , one assumes , drastically cut that you begin to wonder why the filmmakers didn\\'t just edit out all of the scenes attaining to that part of the story . \\ninstead they chose to leave just enough of those scenes in to annoy the viewer . \\nthe film is basically non- stop action and when it pauses and tries to develop a story it becomes a laughing stock . \\nthe battle scenes , although well choreographed , are not involving and not the least bit exciting . \\nwe don\\'t get to know any of the characters and so we don\\'t care who lives and who dies . \\nthe film , which wants to be beowolf , comes across more as a failed action-adventure story aspiring to epic proportions but not achieving it on any levels . \\nit was directed by john mctiernan who\\'s , \" the thomas crown affair \" is also playing in theaters currently . \\nand it\\'s not that mctiernan worked simultaneously on both films but that , \" the 13th warrior \" was placed on the shelf for so long with the studio just waiting for a time to dump it on audiences . \\nit belongs back on the shelf . \\n',\n",
+       " b'these days the lack of originality in hollywood reflects itself in the deluge of remakes . \\nbut , only a few years ago , before wes craven publicly made fun of the practice , sequels had been more popular among hollywood producers . \\nsequels also used to be popular among directors and movie stars whose careers went south . \\nthe way to regain popularity and prestige , they thought , was the use the same formulas , characters and story lines that brought them success in the first place . \\none of such celebrity was eddie murphy , black comedian of 1980s whose career was in big decline during the first part of this decade . \\nin order to return to the spotlight , he chose to resurrect the franchise created by his most popular film , beverly hills cop , 1984 action comedy that had already spawned the sequel in 1987 . \\nseven years later , for the third instalment , he used the directorial service of john landis , another fading star , with whom he successfully collaborated twice - in trading places and coming to america . \\nthis time , however , third time wasn\\'t the charm and beverly hills iii was failure . \\neddie murphy had to wait few more years for real comeback . \\neddie murphy here plays axel foley , fast-talking streetwise detroit policeman , who raids illegal chop shop . \\nthe routine police action ends in tragedy , when the criminals kill foley\\'s boss . \\ndetermined to bring the killers to justice , foley realises that their leader is ellis de wald ( timothy carhart ) . \\nwhen it turns out that de wald happens to be security chief for wonderland theme park in los angeles , foley goes back to los angeles . \\nthere , with the help of his old friend , local policeman rosewood ( judge rheinhold ) , foley would clash with money counterfeit ring . \\nten years has passed since the original and times are definitely different . \\nin this decade , the contrast between blue collar detroit and yuppie beverly hills , which provided a lot of gags in 1984 film , simply doesn\\'t work . \\nscreenwriter steven e . de souza provides another conflict , this time between the childish sillyness of the good guys and business-like professionalism of the bad guys . \\nsince foley belongs to the former , his character had to watch his language , and the tone of the film in general is more infantile . \\nunfortunately , this film still belongs to action movie genre , and there is too much violence for little children . \\nnice example is the humorous scene in the beginning , which turns into standard ramboesque bloodbath . \\nunlike donner with the lethal weapon series , landis simply can\\'t balance the comedy with \" regular \" action , and the result is a film that fails in both aspects . \\naction scenes are sometimes interesting , but not too spectacular ( at the end , scenery of wonderland is more fascinating than the action itself ) ; humour , on the other hand , falls flat . \\nto make even worse , some minor characters from 1984 film gets unnecessary and sometimes irritating overexposure ( especially art expert turned into arms dealer , played by bronson pinchot ) . \\nin the end , although the film provided some entertainment , viewers , at least critical ones , would probably be happy to know that there aren\\'t any plans for beverly hills iv . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"my giant begins with a monologue that's more funny than not and a distinctive `princess bride , ' medieval fairy-tale-in-the- ? 90s feel . \\ni was pleasantly surprised how sharp the comedy was , with very funny scenes occurring on a movie set in romania where talent agent sammy ( billy crystal ) is visiting a client and in the monastery where sammy ends up after being mysteriously saved when he accidentally plunges his car into a stream . \\nand when sammy meets max , his giant , mysterious savior played by gheorghe muresan , there is magic in the air ; albeit it a bit goofy , i loved every minute of it . \\nthe film , of course , plays on the size difference between the two , and at times you would almost swear it must be special effects . \\ni particularly enjoyed a shot of sammy dangling his legs from a max-sized chair as the two face each over an enormous table and eat from oversized bowls and spoons . \\ni also liked jere burns' ( from tv's `something so right' ) performance as the director of the film in romania . \\nat this point , the primary flaw in the film is that gheorghe muresan is incredibly hard to understand , particularly during his fast-paced first scene . \\nit is unfortunate that the script required him to speak quickly right out of the gate , as i did understand him more as the film continued and i became accustomed to his speech . \\nhowever , about the time muresan becomes coherent , the characters head to new york and the film takes a dive . \\noff the high board . \\nsuddenly , we are expected to believe sammy is a do-whatever-it-takes slime ball . \\nup until this point he was pursuing his own interests to be sure , but he didn't come off as a desperate jerk . \\nif he had , the first scenes could never have been so lighthearted and magical . \\nbut now , in new york , we are further introduced to his neglected wife and son , and his character is desperate enough to involve max in a disturbing giant vs . midgets wrestling match , which i found quite unpleasant and jarring within the framework of the film . \\nindeed , many scenes stuck out of this film like incorrectly placed puzzle pieces . \\nthis includes the scenes featuring steven seagal , when sammy gets max a role in a big , hollywood movie filming in las vegas . \\nwhile i enjoyed seeing seagal poke fun at himself , the scenes appeared to exist solely because of his participation , rather than because the film demanded it . \\nand the audience is required to take a huge leap to believe that max would win the role based on his quotations of shakespeare . \\nat this point i found myself thinking , `we're supposed to believe that someone would cast this guy in a film ? ' \\nthen i realized he was , and i was watching it . \\nin the final third , the film undergoes another transformation , this time to unbridled sentimentality . \\nnote : major plot points are revealed in this and the final paragraph . \\nmax went to america because sammy promised to reunited him with his childhood love , lillianna , who hasn't seen him since he was a normal-sized kid . \\nher refusal to see max ( unbeknownst to him ) leads us to an awkward `ends justify the means' scene as sammy's wife serena , played nicely by kathleen quinlan , poses as lillianna . \\ni found this scene offensive . \\nnot only did it rely on deception to induce warm , fuzzy feelings from the audience , it reduced max to someone we should pity and coddle , which i thought was quite undeserved . \\ni think max could have handled the truth , gratuitous illness and all . \\nlate in the film we learn max , and in fact all giants , have a heart condition which shortens their lives considerably . \\nthis could be an enlightening revelation , but the film seemingly presents it only to justify sammy's transformation into a caring , sensitive guy -- and hey , a great dad and husband , too ! \\n`my giant' suffers from a poorly constructed story line and undeveloped characters whose actions are determined by plot points rather than their own internal persuasions . \\na stronger story with more room for character growth might have been possible if the focus was on max's struggle to be accepted and cast in movies instead of sammy's struggles to get money and become a better person . \\nin this scenario , max's illness could have been a integral part of the film not a story motivator . \\nsentiment and emotion would have followed naturally . \\ninstead , we're apparently not supposed to like sammy until the end , but we're not allowed to focus on max . \\ncrystal and muresan give adequate and at times enjoyable performances , but in the end , `my giant' left me feeling like i'd been fed gruel from a giant spoon . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'when i first heard that disney\\'s next animated feature was going to be tarzan , i was almost horrified . \\ni was worried that disney was going to make another hercules ( sorry , jerk-ules ) . \\nthat effort was too overloaded with comedy ( and the hero was too boastful and pompous to be considered a sympathetic hero ) , and , after viewing it to this day , i find it a disgrace for disney animation . \\nwhen i saw the trailers , i was thinking \" hmm . . . \\nthis isn\\'t bad at all . \\nthis just might have potential . \" \\nwhen i bought the soundtrack , i was really quite surprised at how different it sounded from most disney features . \\ni have never really heard of phil collins , nor have i heard of mark mancina , so i was wondering , how would these two make this disney flick spin ? \\ni was pleasantly surprised : the music is top-notch . \\nphil collins\\' songs are terrific , percussion-heavy pieces of work that seem to break the formula for typical disney songs . \\nthe score from mark mancina was also neat ; it reminded me a bit of the lion king , but it was more original . \\nso , the soundtrack wasn\\'t bad at all , considering it was by two people i am not familiar with . \\nthis film could be good . . . \\nbut will it be ? \\nwhen i finally went to see it ( on opening day , as i tend to do with most disney animated features ) , my question was answered , in a complete turnabout of expectations for me : disney\\'s tarzan is surprisingly decent . \\nthe story starts out with tarzan\\'s parents surviving a shipwreck and finding a home on an island where apes live in peace . \\nhowever , one day , a vicious leopard , sabor , attacks and kills tarzan\\'s parents , leaving him ( at this time , a baby ) alone-until kala of the apes rescues him . \\nkala wants to raise the child as her own ( she lost hers previously to sabor ) , but her mate , kerchak is not too sure . \\n \" it\\'s not our kind , \" he says . \\nhe agrees , though , to let her take care of little tarzan , but \" that doesn\\'t make him my son . \" \\ntarzan grows up , vowing to be \" the best ape ever \" , but no matter how hard he tries or what he does ( at the guidance of his hilarious ape friend , terk ) , he just can\\'t convince kerchak that he is one of the apes , even when he defeats sabor in a battle . \\none day , a new animal shows up : humans . \\nthis is where jane comes into the picture . \\nshe is on an expedition with her father ( professor porter ) , and a despicable hunter ( clayton ) searching for gorillas . \\ntarzan rescues her when she is chased by baboons , and soon they get to know each other . \\neven though tarzan falls in love with jane , this causes things to go wrong . \\nclayton tricks tarzan into taking him , jane , and porter to see the apes , who are convinced that he has betrayed them . \\nworse , clayton has plotted to send the gorillas to london for money . \\nwill tarzan find out which family he belongs to and save the apes ? \\ni\\'m not gonna tell you , sorry . \\nyou\\'re gonna have to see for yourself . \\nand see it you should ; the animation is , as always , top notch , particularly when tarzan goes soaring through the trees ( read that , skateboarding ) . \\nthe deep canvas computer generated effect adds an authentic feeling to the jungle which tarzan lives in . \\nin fact , it seems similar to the computer imagery/cel animation combination in rival disney animted films , such as fox\\'s anastasia and dreamworks\\' prince of egypt . \\ncould it be that disney was actually taking ideas from their rivals ? \\nthe casting is fairly good . \\ntony goldwyn is emotionally believeable as tarzan ( and to my relief , the animators have succeeded in not making him another hercules . \\nnicely done ) , and glenn close is wonderful as kala ( she has a beautiful singing voice , too , by the way ) . \\nlance henrikson as kerchak somewhat reminds me of robby benson\\'s beast voice , which makes him all the more ferocious and gripping . \\nminnie driver had me a little worried at first as the voice of jane . \\ni thought she had the most annoying voice in the whole film ( when i first saw the trailers ) , but when i saw the film , i didn\\'t have a problem with her . \\ni take back my insult on driver . \\nit\\'s nice to hear nigel hawthorne do another voice for a disney animated feature ( he was fflewdurr flamm in disney\\'s most underrated classic , the black cauldron ) ; he is funny and delightful as professor porter . \\non the villiany side of the voices , brian blessed ( the guy who did boss nass in star wars : episode i-the phantom menace ) brings a pompous , and later on vicious , voice to the sinister clayton . \\nhe might not be the strongest character in the film ( he\\'s just a plain bad guy , nothing else ) , but blessed\\'s vocal work contributes greatly . \\nbut if there is any voice that i think steals the whole show , it should be rosie o\\'donnell , who is hilariously funny as terk . \\nshe also has a fiesty attitude ( \" i\\'m gonna kill ya ! \" \\nshe says , more than once ) . \\ni almost sung along with her during one of the film\\'s best moments , where the apes make a mess of the human\\'s camp , via song , er , scatting \" shoo-be-doo , da-be-dah \" . \\ni can see why she wanted to have a rock song for the film , she\\'s a good singer . \\nnot that she was the only funny character in the film , though . \\nwayne knight ( who played stan in space jam ) gives a whimsically funny style to tantor , an elephant who is especially worried about stepping into \" un-sanitary \" water . \\n ( thankfully , there is no real sound of flatuence-that would have killed the picture ) . \\nthe songs , as i said before , are decent , mostly sung by collins . \\nthis sets a new standard for disney animated films because for the first time , the characters do not sing . \\ni tolerate musical numbers from characters a lot more than some other guys would , but i found this to be a nice change of pace . \\nthe story does have elements of comedy in it , but they also load it with strong dramatic touches , which makes this film far better than the unbelieveably uninspired hercules . \\nif there is anything disappointing about tarzan , it might be the omission of the \\'n sync version of \" trashing the camp \" from the film . \\ni heard it on the soundtrack , and wondered where it was going to be . \\ni was upset that it wasn\\'t , because i had thought of taking a few friends of mine who like \\'n sync to see tarzan . \\noh , well . . . \\noverall , i was enthralled with tarzan . \\ni wouldn\\'t hold it high the way i do with mulan or the hunchback of notre dame ( my all-time favorite disney classics ) , but this film deserves a high place among disney\\'s greatest achievements . \\ni give a nod to disney for following up their spectacular * * * * * masterpiece , mulan , with this great animated adaption of egar rice burrough\\'s tarzan . \\n',\n",
+       " b'cinematically speaking , gordon parks\\' original 1971 _shaft_ is not a great film . \\na bit slow at times and more than a little rough around the edges as it builds to its climactic explosion of violent action , this spirited but formulaic yarn that initially brought ernest tidyman\\'s \" black private dick that\\'s a sex machine to all the chicks \" to the big screen hardly qualifies as groundbreaking filmmaking . \\nyet nearly 30 years after its original release--and long after the genre it spawned , \" blaxploitation , \" died with that decade--the 1971 _shaft_ remains an extremely entertaining watch , never having completely escaped pop culture consciousness . \\nthe reason for this is the same one that explains the film\\'s connection with moviegoers far beyond the target african-american audience : the title character of john shaft . \\nwhile the fact that the strong , smart , virile , and superbly suave shaft is black is the primary factor for his historical and cultural significance , his broad-based appeal stems from an idea that transcends race : he is comfortable , confident , and proud about who he is , and anyone who had a problem with that could simply kiss his ass . \\nthis fact also explains why john singleton\\'s y2g revival of john shaft is as enjoyable as it is . \\nmuch like the film that started the franchise , this _shaft_\\'s plot doesn\\'t score points in the originality department , but the energy level and smooth attitude distinguishes it from standard crime thrillers . \\ncontrary to what has been reported over the past few months , this _shaft_ is not a remake of the original film , but more of a sequel/spinoff . \\nthe star audiences know and love from the original film and its first two sequels ( 1972\\'s _shaft\\'s_big_score ! _ and 1973\\'s _shaft_in_africa_ ) , richard roundtree , once again plays john shaft , who still runs a private investigation firm in new york city . \\nhowever , the focus of the film lies on his same-named nephew ( samuel l . jackson ) , who , as the film begins , is a cop whose take-no-crap demeanor constantly leaves him at odds with his superiors . \\nwhen a privileged young man named walter wade jr . ( christian bale ) accused of a brutal , racially-motivated murder is allowed to be released on bail , a disgusted shaft leaves the force and decides to take matters into his own hands as a p . i . \\nbut that\\'s easier said than done , for also standing in the way of shaft and his way of justice is peoples hernandez ( jeffrey wright ) , a dominican gangster who is hired by walter to rub out waitress diane palmieri ( toni collette ) , the only eyewitness to his crime . \\npeoples--or , rather , wright is also the big obstacle in jackson\\'s way toward commanding this film . \\npeoples is more of an outrageous comic character for most of the running time , and wright is insanely funny during these stages . \\nhowever , he isn\\'t so funny as to make the character come off as goofy and buffoonish , and peoples\\' eventual turn to more serious villainy is seamless and believable ( which probably would not have been the case had he been played by original casting choice john leguizamo , who bowed out before filming ) . \\nit\\'s no easy task to steal a film from the jackson ( who is his usual captivating , charismatic self here ) , but that\\'s exactly what wright does--and makes it seem effortless . \\nthen again , with such a talented ensemble surrounding him , it is not too surprising that jackson\\'s impressive star turn doesn\\'t quite tower over the rest ; he is strongly complemented not only by wright but all his other co-stars . \\nbale has already proven his ability to play an uppity killer in _american_psycho_ , so it only follows that his performance as a similar , less exaggerated character would be spot-on . \\ncollette lends the film some convincing and welcome dramatic weight as the frightened , conflicted diane . \\nbusta rhymes brings some good laughs as shaft\\'s sidekick rasaan . \\nregistering not as strongly--but through no fault of their own--are vanessa williams ( as tough narcotics cop carmen vasquez ) and a dismayingly underused roundtree ; they simply are given little to do in the script credited to richard price , singleton , and shane salerno . \\n ( jackson also has little to \" do \" in a sense ; some throwaway footage during the opening credits aside , his shaft doesn\\'t even have one sex scene . ) \\nthat singleton once again proves his ability with actors is an especially good thing since he\\'s not really an action director . \\nthis is not to say that he does a bad job with the numerous gunfights and the requisite foot and car chases . \\nthey move well ( as does the film as a whole ) and are reasonably exciting ; it\\'s just that there\\'s nothing terribly inventive about them . \\nthese set pieces are functional in the way the script is : they work well enough , but they\\'re unsurprising and conventional . \\nbut if there\\'s anything that a _shaft_ movie does well , it\\'s make the familiar look cool--and this _shaft_ keeps that tradition alive . \\nfrom the slick title sequence--scored , of course , to isaac hayes\\' ever-infectious oscar-winning theme song , which singleton wisely sprinkles throughout the film--on , the film looks great and easily sweeps the viewer into its world with its energetic bravado . \\neven a common visual trick such as employing fancy wipes for scene transitions not only feels unforced , it feels necessary . \\nstyle doesn\\'t exactly make for a great film , but when it comes to _shaft_ , that\\'s of little consequence . \\nwhat matters above all else is having a good time , and the latest _shaft_ should be just the first of many fun rides to be had with this bad mutha--shut your mouth . \\n',\n",
+       " b'fritz lang\\'s first american film since leaving nazi germany , is an eye-opener about a lynch mob in a small town . \\njoe wilson ( spencer tracy ) is a regular joe , a hard-working stiff , a decent guy , who is living with his two brothers , tom ( walcott ) and charlie ( albertson ) , in chicago . \\nhe is engaged to katherine grant ( sylvia sidney ) , but can\\'t save up enough money to marry her . \\nshe takes the train west for a better paying job as a teacher . \\nbefore she departs , she gives him the wedding ring her father gave to her mother , sews up his ripped trench coat , corrects him when he mistakingly says the wrong word for memento , and kisses him goodbye . \\na year goes by and joe buys a car and tells katherine that he will meet her to get married in capitol city , that he has quit his job and hopes to open a gas station . \\ndriving through the rural backroads and camping out at night while going to met her , he arrives at a near-by town called strand . \\nbut the deputy sheriff \" buggs \" meyers ( walter brennan ) comes upon him waving a shotgun and arrests him . \\nhe accuses him of the kidnapping of a little girl . \\nthe sheriff ( ellis ) finds salted peanuts on him just like the kidnapper had in his pocket , he also has a five dollar bill on him that matches one of the numbers of the ransom money , and he fits the general description of the suspect . \\nlocked in jail , he waits for the district attorney to look at his claim of innocence . \\nin the local bar , the town citizens go into a rage when learning that an arrest has been made in the kidnapping . \\nfueled by angry talk about getting back at the kidnapper and of having the deputy inadvertently telling them of the ransom money found on the suspect , a mob storms the jail , burns it down and dynamites it when they can\\'t get through to the prisoner\\'s jail cell . \\nthe sheriff called the governor for the national guard , but one of his political advisers countermanded that request , saying it wouldn\\'t look right for the governor in an election year to call out troops for those he wants to vote for him . \\nsomehow joe escapes , but his dog rainbow dies . \\nkatherine hears what has happened on the radio and rushes to the neighboring town of strand only to see him engulfed by flames in his cell , and becomes convinced that he died . \\nthe next day the newspapers announce that the guilty kidnapper confesses . \\njoe makes his way back to chicago and tells his brothers , who are startled to see him alive , that he wants revenge . \\nhe thereby supplies his brothers with the names of the 22 leaders in the lynch mob . \\nan ambitious district attorney ( walter abel ) prosecutes the 22 for murder . \\nkatherine , not knowing he\\'s alive , remains in a state of shock , but is asked to be a witness that she saw joe burning to death . \\nthe defense claims that it can\\'t be a charge of murder without a corpse . \\nthe trial proves to be interesting , as the citizens in this close-knit , respectable community , lie under oath , providing alibis for each other to prove they couldn\\'t have been at the jail . \\nthe sheriff also lies , saying he can\\'t identify anyone in the mob . \\nbut proof comes by way of a newsreel cameraman who caught the whole incident on film . \\nas for proof of the corpse , an anonymous letter is addressed to the judge enclosed with the wedding ring katherine gave joe . \\nin the note , memento is misspelled , which makes katherine realize that joe is alive . \\nwhen the sentence is announced , 20 of the accused are found guilty of murder , but joe marches into the courtroom and gives a pious speech about what happened . \\nkatherine forgives him , and this very strong film ends on a weaker note than i think it should have . \\nbut don\\'t blame lang for all the changes in the film , of trying to take the town off the hook by introducing this wild revenge motive . \\nmgm couldn\\'t bear to have it made the way lang wanted it , that is , by having tracy die in the lynching . \\ninstead they wanted to stop short of condemning so many small american towns where lynchings actually do occur , and they thereby meddled throughout the entire script . \\nto lang\\'s credit , even if this film failed to be a masterpiece because of the interference , it still did not let the good citizens off the moral hook . \\nhis portrayal of the attempted lynching was powerfully done and was not compromised . \\nyou couldn\\'t help get the feeling that the citizens didn\\'t care that much that they almost lynched an innocent man , but cared more about protecting the reputation of their town and would do anything to keep their 22 vigilantes from going to jail , even perjuring themselves . \\ntheir reaction to seeing joe alive was satisfying only in that it meant they weren\\'t going to be convicted . \\nlang by no means implies that the town has learned its lesson from this incident . \\nhe does imply that a dark side to joe wilson has been exposed , and the innocent , jovial good-guy , seen in the beginning of the film , has been largely altered forever by this traumatic experience . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" . . . because i\\'m a scientist . \\nthat\\'s what we do ! \" \\n--- dr . alexander mccabe ( bob gunton ) , in response to why he created evil bats . \\nalright folks , stop me if you\\'ve heard this one : genetically altered animals wreak havoc on a town and a small band of locals , assisted by a specialist in the particular animal\\'s field , must team up to stop the mutant creatures before they can multiply and spread across the earth . \\noh yeah , the military is on their way to bomb the town as well , so they are running short on time . \\nsound familiar ? \\nsuch is the plot of the destination films release of bats . \\ndina meyer stars as the \" bat specialist \" sheila , who is pulled from her research ( along with her annoying sidekick , played with irritating deftness by leon ) in order to help a small texas town figure out why some local citizens and animals have been chewed to death recently . \\nwith the help of the local sheriff ( lou diamond phillips ) , a cdc official ( carlos jacott ) , and a scientist ( bob gunton ) , sheila discovers it is indeed bats ( who have been genetically altered by gunton\\'s character to be more aggressive and omnivorous , in order to be used as a military weapon ! ) . \\ni have to say here that i knew exactly what i was getting into going into this film . \\nthere\\'s not a frame of promotional footage i have seen for the film that would have led me to believe it was going to be any good . \\nin this respect , the film never disappointed me . \\nthis film reaches a level that transcends the \" so bad it\\'s good \" level and borders on the downright insane . \\nthe effects are awful , the script is contrived , and for most of the feature i was laughing at things that were supposed to be taken seriously ( i think ) . \\ni challenge anyone to sit through the scene , where a bat stalks a baby in a crib while another bat terrorizes a patron eating at a diner , with a straight face . \\nthankfully , the performances are as good as they can be considering the material the actors had to perform with . \\ndina meyer has always been the highlight of any of the films she has been in ( johnny mnemonic , dragonheart , and starship troopers . . . \\nthe latter being the only film out of that batch with any actual merit ) , and this one is no exception . \\nwhile one never really gets the impression that meyer\\'s character could be a bat expert in reality , one never really cares to doubt it either . \\nshe gives as good a performance as could be expected , plus she\\'s nice to look at for an hour and a half . \\nlou diamond phillips is also serviceable here , as the small town sheriff turned eventual hero . \\nalthough when we first meet his character he knows bats are the reason for what\\'s going on in town , for some reason later on he suddenly becomes amazed to learn that the actual cause of the deaths in town are because of bats . \\nthe only bad performance in the film is that of leon\\'s . \\nhe is relegated to the \" i\\'m not sticking around here ! \" \\ncharacter and proceeds to repeat variations of that line for the majority of the film even though he stays . \\nanyone who can\\'t immediately tell that bob gunton ( the bad guy in patch adams and countless other films ) is going to eventually turn on the gang and side with his creations before his eminent death will probably be surprised , but i highly doubt it . \\neven if he hadn\\'t been the villain in just about every film he\\'s ever been in , so many obvious hints are given to indicate the devious act that it holds no shock whatsoever . \\nin fact , his death is welcome , because it finally starts moving the plot towards the finale . \\nif the plot doesn\\'t sound ridiculous to you yet , then check out these little tidbits : a multitude of bats inexplicably disperses when a police officer cocks his pistol . \\nan entire town disregards the sheriff and doctor\\'s orders to stay indoors after a curfew is instigated , causing mass hysteria when the bats come out in full force , killing several townsfolk . \\na government official blows off shelia\\'s instructions ( to wait until dawn to install a cooling unit in the bats\\' cave that will kill all of them off ) by pulling a night job , resulting in the death of an entire military unit . \\na cavern full of bat feces never ignites when a phosphorus flare is lit right in the middle of it . \\nfinally , to top it all off , this little texas town is showing nosferatu in it\\'s single screen theater ( for reference , our town has over a million people in it with nearly 150 movie screens , and we\\'re lucky to even get kevin smith\\'s dogma ) . \\nthe most laughable part of the movie though comes from the ill-conceived bat puppets . \\nwhile the actual bat attack scenes are shot with rapid fire editing ( making the scenes nearly impossible to comprehend what\\'s going on ) , the scenes where a bat is called upon to interact with a live actor are usually shot more low-key . \\ntherefore we the audience get loving close-ups of the most unrealistic , rubbery bat puppets ever committed to film . \\nbeing able to see the puppeteer\\'s arms would be the only things that could have made these creations worse . \\nafter all of this , if you still decide bats might be the movie for you , don\\'t say you haven\\'t been warned . \\ntrust me when i say that it\\'s a lot more fun to trash than it is to sit through . \\ni just wish that dina meyer would be cast in more roles or at least choose better films to appear in . \\nshe\\'s definitely a talent that is going to waste in films like these . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" sometimes the \\'green mile\\' seems sooooo long . \" \\nindeed . \\nand any filmmaker with a three hour movie who ends it with that gem of dialogue should expect to see it quoted in a review . \\non a more positive note , let me add that sometimes the green mile is almost good enough to make us forget its length . \\nthe mile in question ( green due to its faded lime-colored linoleum ) leads from the prison cell to \" old sparky , \" the electric chair where executions were carried out at louisiana\\'s cold mountain penitentiary in 1935 . \\npaul edgecomb ( tom hanks , you\\'ve got mail ) is the head guard of e-block , otherwise known as death row . \\nkeeping his prisoners calm as they await the carrying out of their sentence is his primary responsibility . \\nit is a responsibility which he capably delegates to the other guards on his watch by insisting they \" talk to \" the convicts instead of yelling at them . \\nthis practice leads to an unusual camaraderie between the guards and the men behind their bars . \\ninto his charge comes one john coffey ( michael clarke duncan , armageddon ) , a seven foot tall gentle giant who has been convicted of the rape and murder of two young girls . \\nimmediately , paul senses something different about this prisoner . \\nperhaps its the way he asked for a night light because he is frightened of the dark . \\nor perhaps it is the mystical healing powers he demonstrates as he \" takes back \" paul\\'s bladder infection thereby restoring him to health . \\nbased on steven king\\'s 1996 serialized novel , the green mile does offer other characters who have stories to be told : eduard delacroix ( michael jeter , patch adams ) , is a frail cajun convict who befriends and trains a mouse to do circus tricks ; percy wetmore ( doug hutchison , a time to kill ) , is a young and sadistic guard sitting on a transfer to a more lucrative position because he has yet to see a prisoner \" fry \" up close ; and hal moores ( james cromwell , babe : pig in the city ) is the compassionate warden for whom , despite all the executions he\\'s witnessed , death never loomed as large as when his own wife was diagnosed with a tumor . \\nwhile it is mr . hanks \" everyman \" performance at the center of the film which gives it the anchor to hold our interest for 180 minutes , it is the performances of his supporting cast that are most worth noting . \\nall involved do credible work in their respective roles , most especially mr . duncan , who turns in an impressive , fully realized characterization . \\nif only the story were more credible . \\nwriter/director frank darabont ( the shawshank redemption ) has crafted a flawed fantasy/allegory of sorts ; one which is more spiritualistic than spiritual , relying on a preternatural mysticism rather than a genuine and godly spiritual power . \\nmr . darabont also overplays his hand considerably in the manipulation of our affection towards and association with his characters . \\nwas it an accidental omission that the first two inmates who walked the green mile were being punished for crimes never disclosed ? \\nby not knowing the reason for the condemned convicts\\' presence on e-block , the audience never gets the sense of the justice which is being carried out , making the death penalty appear cruel and unwarranted . \\nthis is especially true during the gruesome depiction of the second execution which was horribly botched . \\nmuch has also been made of coffey\\'s christ-like ability to heal but unlike the numerous healings which are recorded in the scriptures , coffey\\'s powers are shrouded in mystery , taking on the feel of a circus trick , coupled with a voodoo-like \" i feel your pain \" transference . \\nin contrast , there is no mystery associated with the healing that is from god . \\nthe genuine \" gifts of healing \" listed in 1 corinthians 12 is just one of the nine manifestations of holy spirit and can be operated by any spiritually instructed man or woman in accordance with the knowledge and wisdom of god . \\ntrue spiritual healing ( with few exceptions ) requires the committed believing of both the healer as well as the one being healed . \\nsuch believing comes not from the shrouded secrets of mysticism , but from the revealed word of god . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you think that these people only exist in the movies , but trust me , they\\'re as real as life . \\ni once talked to a guy who thought the united states government was putting satellites into orbit which could fry an individual person\\'s brain with microwaves . \\nthen i sat in a room full of people who believed that the government rigged state elections . \\ni even listened to a man who swore that nicotine was an additive that cigarette companies put in their products for the specific goal of getting people addicted . \\nthese people had what are known as \" conspiracy theories \" - ideas about how unseen forces work to deceive and control the public . \\na little imagination goes a long way . \\nin richard donner\\'s conspiracy theory , jerry fletcher ( mel gibson ) is a new york city cab driver who seems to have a conspiracy theory about everything . \\nhis latest , that nasa is trying to kill the president by causing an earthquake from the space shuttle , might sound outrageous to us , but is all in a day\\'s work for him . \\nhe combs the newspaper , looking for tidbits that leave telltale warnings about the goings-on behind the scenes , and from there jerry draws his conclusions . \\nupstanding citizen that he is , he tries to convince alice sutton ( julia roberts ) of the justice department that the president must be warned . \\nlucky gal , alice , who met jerry when he saved her from a couple of muggers and has had to listen to his theories during the six months since . \\nwhat she doesn\\'t know is that jerry\\'s interest in her is far more than , well , professional . \\nhe goes to great lengths to follow her around and watch her in her own apartment . \\nbut when some secret government types seem to take an interest in jerry\\'s ideas and his limited-circulation \" conspiracy theory \" newsletter , he finds himself in danger and in real need of alice\\'s help . \\none of the problems with conspiracy theory is that it tries to pass itself off as an action-thriller when it seems to have neither a whole lot of action , nor a significant number of thrills . \\npart of this is a result of the film\\'s slow pace . \\nit takes forever to set up the relationship between jerry and alice , and even once that is over with , the rest of the film seems to be a lot of boredom that every once in a while stops to take a break for excitement . \\nat over two hours , this film could have been significantly condensed and had it\\'s running time shortened by twenty minutes to half an hour , but even then , the action scenes would not be able to save the film . \\ninstead of truly exciting and engaging set pieces , we\\'re treated to a few of the generic scenes with the requisite \" black elements \" : black helicopter , men in black action suits and body armor , black vehicles - you know the drill . \\nthey come on down with all kinds of neat gadgets and weapons , but for some reason a guy with just a bunch of theories and some chick with no training somehow manage to elude them every time . \\nbig deal , we\\'ve seen it all before . \\nwatching the film , i wished donner had at least tried to use a little imagination , but i was out of luck . \\nnow , when i say it took forever to set up the \" relationship \" between jerry and alice , i completely mean what one person is relative to the other , and not romantic involvement . \\noh , donner and screenwriter brian helgeland would like you to believe that by the end of the movie , the two main characters will end up falling hopelessly in love with each other , but there seems to be no evidence of that ever occurring . \\nyou see , there were more sparks between gibson and danny glover in the lethal weapon movies ( also directed by donner ) than between gibson and roberts in conspiracy theory . \\nthe two just don\\'t click , and when you throw in a number of happenings that would cause alice to reject jerry altogether ( like finding out he\\'s been stalking her ) , the subsequent attraction is absolutely forced . \\nthe script in general also seems forced , like someone sat helgeland down and forced him to write it , then took it and forced it upon us . \\ndialog is undistinguished and rather unmemorable , to the point that i almost stopped listening . \\neven gibson\\'s usual gift for ad lib couldn\\'t punch up the film sufficiently to raise my interest , although one of jerry\\'s theories about oliver stone was mildly amusing . \\nunfortunately , much of what\\'s discussed in the film is not inherently important to what\\'s going on , but instead filler that starts out with potential , but ends up just being extraneous because it\\'s never followed through . \\nfor example , jerry professes that a man found drowned in his swimming pool was actually murdered by the government in a new york subway station . \\nhe even goes so far as to explain that the station was flooded at the time due to a water main break ( hence the water in a subway station ) , and that the coroner should check the man\\'s lungs for chlorine . \\nthis is convincing enough to alice that she seems to believe him . \\nyou know what happens then ? \\nnothing , zip , nada . \\nno follow-up whatsoever , so what\\'s the significance ? \\nokay , here\\'s another one . \\na couple of well known ( real life ) assassins were found to have possessed copies of the j . d . salinger novel \" the catcher in the rye \" . \\njerry also has a bunch of copies . \\nwhenever he goes into a bookstore , he has to buy one . \\nleaving out the question of whether or not this makes jerry an assassin , we\\'re never given a reason to believe why this would make him an assassin . \\nnot when we find out about his salinger collection , not when he goes to the bookstore , not later on when we get the answer to our first question . \\nthe point becomes totally extraneous . \\noh , did i mention that patrick stewart is in this film ? \\nyeah , he plays this government psychiatrist named dr . jonas who may or may not be a bad guy . \\nthat\\'s about it . \\nfor all the presence this usually marvelous actor has , he\\'s nearly forgettable in conspiracy theory . \\nyou can just lump him in with the supporting players , with the exception of cylk cozart who plays agent lowry of the fbi . \\nthis guy was really likable , and i wish he and his character had gotten more screen time . \\nokay , here\\'s my theory . \\nthis really started out as a great film , but some of its jokes were actually true ! \\nthe government came in and forced donner to make edits for the sake of national security , and this was what was left over . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if you\\'re into watching near on two hours of bored , foul-mouthed florida teens having sex , doing drugs , having sex , listening to eminem , having sex , playing video games , having sex , and killing one of their peers , then \" bully \" \\'s for you . \\nbased on jim schutze\\'s novelization of a true-life event , \" bully \" charts the story of a handful of disenchanted teenagers who , in 1993 , murdered their high school bully in cold , calculated blood . \\nthe film could have provided fascinating insights into what turned these aimless kids into premeditated killers . \\nin the hands of controversial director larry clark ( \" kids \" ) , however , it has less to say about its subject matter and more to say about the filmmaker\\'s pornographic proclivities . \\nin terms of the incident and what provoked it , \" bully \" stirs up nothing new . \\nthe high schoolers are presented as a uniformly screwed up lot--bored with life , not much ambition , promiscuous , profane . \\nthe bully in question , bobby kent ( nick stahl ) , is certainly an unpleasant piece of work but he doesn\\'t exactly tower over his colleagues in the pathological department . \\nhe hounds and harries and humiliates his \" best friend \" marty ( played by brad renfro ) and marty\\'s girlfriend lisa ( rachel miner ) doesn\\'t care for it at all and comes up with the idea of killing bobby . \\nsimply remove him from the equation . \\nmarty and lisa and a handful of their promiscuous , profane , and stoner friends , plus a recruited hit man ( ? ) , lure bobby to a swamp one night , stab him , beat him over the head with a baseball bat , and dump him into the canal where the sand crabs and the gators , presumably , finish him off . \\nthere\\'s no remorse--the next day they\\'re talking about it as openly as a homework assignment . \\nthey did it because they wanted to , and because they could . \\nwhat\\'s most troubling about the film , however , isn\\'t the unsettling subject matter and the matter-of-fact way these young people go about eliminating one of their own but the way in which clark is constantly distracted by his own material . \\nnot only is the nudity plentiful and graphic in \" bully \" but there\\'s also an uneasy , exploitative feel to it . \\ngratuitous crotch shots abound ( one of which makes the zipper cut-away in \" there\\'s something about mary \" look like the height of subtlety ! ) . \\nclark is so pre-occupied with his female ( predominantly ) leads that you forget , at times , what this movie is supposed to be about . \\nthe stripping bare , literally and figuratively , of these actors ( who are , after all , playing underage teenagers ) becomes harder to watch over time , as you begin to feel for them and question the motives of the man behind the camera . \\nthe conclusion of \" bully \" offers up literal snapshots of information about the sentences imposed on each of the protagonists for their involvement in the crime . \\nit\\'s a short sequence of stills--heather : 7 years ; ali : 40 years ; lisa : life imprisonment , for example--but it\\'s infinitely more telling than the 110 minutes of rampant unpleasantness that precedes it . \\n \" bully \" aims for truth , exploits it shamelessly , then bludgeons it to death . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"did claus von bulow try to kill his wife sunny in their newport mansion ? \\nthat is the question reversal of fortune asks you to consider as it opens in a hospital ward , with a comatose sunny von bulow . \\nshe is the main narrator of the film , in a narrative trick that was extraordinarily risky for schroeder . \\nthe dramatic trick works , as sunny von bulow narrates a compelling story of murder , sex , unhappiness , and a lawyer's moral dilemma as he takes a case he thinks he cannot win . \\njeremy irons is claus von bulow , in what is his finest role , and one of the most devastingly evil performances in history . \\nhe is as hated as any man alive , as cold as a cucumber . \\nhis remorse for his wife's comatose condition is nonexistant , and it is no wonder that even his children have difficulty accepting his version of what happened during christmas , 1980 . \\nthe background to the case is such . \\nduring christmas of 1979 , sunny von bulow fell into a deep coma from which she recovered and awoke . \\nthe same situation occured in 1980 , only sunny never woke , and probably never will . \\nwhen examined , it was found that she had 14 times the normal amount of insulin within her blood . \\nclaus von bulow is then accused of attempted murder by his stepson , convicted , and freed on bail . \\nhe immediately hires alan dershowitz , the renowed harvard law professor , to acquit him . \\nron silver is magnificent as a moral lawyer who cannot stand what has happened to him . \\nwe follow him through two very different cases ; the case of the johnson case , where two innocent kids are standing on death row for a crime they didn't commit , and von bulow , who he still hasn't figured out . \\ndershowitz doesn't know what happened to sunny , and he is extremely hesitant to take the case . \\nnevertheless , he does , based on certain things which happen during the investigative process that deeply upset him . \\ntogether with a group of law students , dershowitz concocts a defense and ultimately get the verdict reversed . \\nsilver's performance is one of a handful of solid roles in this deep film . \\nschroeder directs on many different levels , with multiple plot lines which blend in wonderfully in the mind of alan dershowitz . \\nthere are flaws ; at times , the film gets overly theatrical . \\nyet , due to glenn close's troubled and brutally honest performance as sunny von bulow , the use of her comatose body as a narrator works here fairly well . \\nthe flashbacks are good , but at times schroeder doesn't fill in the blanks . \\nthe movie could have benefited with the increased attention of certain developments during the film , and it could have used a better ending . \\nthe film progressed wonderfully before ending suddenly , without any intelligent conclusion . \\nthe supporting characters are often neglected , and dershowitz's team should have been allowed to grow character wise , but schroeder over-simplifies the story and the characters . \\nyet , for all these flaws , the film is deeply engrossing because of irons . \\nas von bulow , he is brutally evil . \\nanti-semitic , prejudiced , arrogant , protective , he is a rotten , lying monster , whose conviction may have been wrong legally , but morally he was to blame . \\nirons plays him to a cold perfection , with pathetic attempts to gain moral support for his claims to innocence . \\nhe is an adulterous liar and a cheat who in all likelihood committed the murder . \\nhowever , the genius of reversal of fortune comes in its distinction between moral culpability and legal responsibility . \\nthere is no doubt von bulow is responsible for his wife's death by years of neglect and coldness . \\nhowever , legally , did he do the murder ? \\nschroeder dares the viewer to make up his own mind . \\nwith all the character flaws , reversal of fortune is an engrossing puzzle because it is intelligent ; he wants the viewer to make up his own mind . \\nschroeder taunts the viewer with contradictory revelations , and then mentions that the answer to this compelling puzzle shall be revealed when we join sunny von bulow , in death . \\nfor all the failed dramatic theatrics , this is one that works beautifully . \\nwe don't know what happened . \\nthat sense of legal ambiguousness , along with von bulow's obvious moral guilt , is why reversalf fortune works . \\nin the end , von bulow is as sadistic as ever . \\nirons is haunting , and that is why reversal of fortune is so good . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'this has been an extraordinary year for australian films . \\n \" shine \" has just scooped the pool at the australian film institute awards , picking up best film , best actor , best director etc . to that we can add the gritty \" life \" ( the anguish , courage and friendship of a group of male prisoners in the hiv-positive section of a jail ) and \" love and other catastrophes \" ( a low budget gem about straight and gay love on and near a university campus ) . \\ni can\\'t recall a year in which such a rich and varied celluloid library was unleashed from australia . \\n \" shine \" was one bookend . \\nstand by for the other one : \" dead heart \" . \\n>from the opening credits the theme of division is established . \\nthe cast credits have clear and distinct lines separating their first and last names . \\nbryan | brown . \\nin a desert settlement , hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town , there is an uneasy calm between the local aboriginals and the handful of white settlers who live nearby . \\nthe local police officer has the task of enforcing \" white man\\'s justice \" to the aboriginals . \\nthese are people with a proud 40 , 000 year heritage behind them . \\nnaturally , this includes their own system of justice ; key to which is \" payback \" . \\nan eye for an eye . \\nrevenge . \\nusually extracted by the spearing through of the recipient\\'s thigh . \\nbrown , as the officer , manages quite well to keep the balance . \\nhe admits that he has to \\'bend the rules\\' a bit , including actively encouraging at least one brutal \" payback \" . \\n ( be warned that this scene , near the start , is not for the squeamish ) . \\nthe local priest - an aboriginal , but in the \" white fellas \" church - has a foot on either side of the line . \\nhe is , figuratively and literally , in both camps . \\nernie dingo brings a great deal of understanding to this role as the man in the middle . \\nhe is part churchman and part politician . \\nhowever the tension , like the heat , flies and dust , is always there . \\nwhilst her husband - the local teacher - is in church , white lady kate ( milliken ) and her aborginal friend tony , ( pedersen ) have gone off into the hills . \\nhe takes her to a sacred site , even today strictly men-only . \\nshe appears to not know this . \\ntony tells her that this is a special place , an initiation place . \\nhe then makes love to her , surrounded by ancient rock art . \\nthe community finds out about this sacrilegious act and it\\'s payback time . \\nthe fuse is lit and the brittle inter-racial peace is shattered . \\neveryone is affected in the fall out . \\nto say more is to give away the details of this finely crafted film . \\nsuffice to say it\\'s a rewarding experience . \\nbryan brown , acting and co-producing , is the pivotal character . \\nhis officer is real , human and therefore flawed . \\nbrown comments that he expects audiences to feel warmth towards the man , then suddenly feel angry about him . \\nit wasn\\'t long ago that i visited central australia - ayers rock ( uluru ) and alice springs - for the first time . \\nthe wide-screen cinematography shows the dead heart of australia in a way that captures it\\'s vicious beauty , but never deteriorates into a moving slide show , in which the gorgeous background dominates those pesky actors in the foreground . \\nthe cultural clash has provided the thesis for many a film ; from the western to the birdcage . \\nat least three excellent australian films have covered the aboriginal people and the line between them and we anglo-saxon \\'invaders\\' : \" jedda \" , \" the chant of jimmie blacksmith \" and \" the last wave \" . \\nin a year when the race \\'debate\\' has reared up in australia , it is nourishing to see such an intelligent , non-judgemental film as \" dead heart \" . \\nthe aboriginal priest best sums this up . \\nhe is asked to say if he is a \" black fella or white fella \" . \\n',\n",
+       " b'since most movies about slavery shield us from the true horrors of what they\\'re portraying , it\\'s fitting to say that \" beloved \" come as a real shock as a film . \\nit\\'s confusing , bizarre , and as tough a film to watch as any film i\\'ve seen all year , and that\\'s not necessarily because of the three-hour running time . \\n \" beloved \" is challenging to watch , filled with tough and powerful poetry that takes us completely off guard , and instead of a straight-forward , hollywood-ized story about what happened to the slaves after they were freed , \" beloved \" comes off as a cry of anguish from all those who actually lived through what happened ( or , rather , toni morrison , who wrote the novel upon which this is based ) . \\n \" beloved \" tells the story of an ex-slave named sethe , played by oprah winfrey , who lives on a large farm in the north with her children . \\nwhen the film opens , her house is being terrorized by a poltergeist , which shakes things up , wounds the dog , and makes things generally uncomfortable for the family . \\nsethe is proud , though , and will not move . \\nher sons run away , leaving only her and her daughter , denver ( kimberly elise ) alone with the ghost which is there without any factual explanation . \\na couple years pass , and the ghost remains , and one day , a man named paul d ( danny glover ) , another ex-slave who knew sethe years ago when they worked on a plantation together , arrives , asking for lodging . \\nhe has been wandering around since he left the plantation , and when he enters the house , it turns red and becomes incredibly hot . \\nwhen he remarks about what he thinks is evil , sethe replies \" it ain\\'t evil . \\nit\\'s just sad . \" \\nsome more time passes , and paul d has become a fervent member of the household , and the ghost disappears . \\nbut when they return one day from going out , they discover a young woman sitting in the house . \\nher name is beloved , and as played by thandie newton , she has almost zero motor skills . \\nshe stumbles around , half-grabbing onto things and knocking them over , and when she speaks , she lets out a low guttural sound that eventually turns into baby talk . \\nthey let her into her house , and she begins to turn things upside down . \\n \" beloved \" acts like an incredibly difficult chamber drama paired with a ghost story . \\nmost of the scenes consist of people arguing in one claustrophobic , low-lit room , with the occasional flash to the past , where we see images of such horror that we thank god for modern-day psychoanalysts . \\nsethe and paul d have lived through such hellish times that they are forever implanted with the memories of their slavehood on the old plantation , which includes such images as sethe being raped by the white plantation hands , with her nipples being licked , prompting her to cry out to paul d when reminiscing about it , \" they took my milk ! \" \\nworst of all was the month after her freedom , when she was allowed to live like a free person , working with other blacks on a farm , and then seeing that her old plantation owners have arrived to presumedly take her and her children back . \\nshe runs to the barn near by , carrying her four children , and when her old owners burst in , they discover she has murdered one of them and is ready to murder the rest of them if they don\\'t leave them alone . \\nwhen she is inquired about this moment by paul d in a moment halfway through the film , she says she doesn\\'t regret it . \\nshe killed her daughter so that she would not have to live through the horror she did , and she has convinced herself she did the right thing . \\nof course , beloved is really her daugher materialized , though we aren\\'t flat out told that until later on in the film . \\nbeloved represents the pain and suffering the slaves went through and shows how difficult it was for them to deal with their freedom after being tortured for so long . \\nthus , \" beloved \" becomes a sorta-redux of the andrei tarkofsky sci-fi classic , \" solaris , \" where a cosmonaut discovers that his wife , who commited suicide years before , has materialized when he is orbiting over a planet with a complex brain system . \\nthat film spoke volumes about humanity and our memories , how we are constantly regretting what happened in the past , and when if it ever literally came back to haunt us , it would control us completely . \\n \" beloved \" moves along freely , without a lot of explanation , and for the most part , this is extremely respectable . \\nthe most interesting films are the ones that don\\'t explain everything for us , leaving gaps in the characters that we are supposed to fill in with how they act in the present tense . \\nsethe is never fully explained as a character , but we understand all her actions since she\\'s being played by oprah winfrey . \\nit\\'s been well over a decade since her last major performance in \" the color purple , \" but judging from these two films , i\\'ll bet she\\'s one of the best actresses working today . . . if \\nshe was strictly an actress . \\nher talk show , which i suppose is a great entity , has prevented her from becoming a noteworthy actress , and that\\'s a shame because she brings so much to this movie . \\nemotion . \\nsadness . \\nstrength . \\nwatching the strong sethe , who\\'s so afraid of the past that she\\'s built a rather strong protective coating around herself , break down when she discovers who beloved really is is what makes this movie really great . \\nshe makes it real . \\nthat\\'s not to say this is a perfect film . \\nin fact , i\\'d wager to say that the fact that it\\'s confusing and painful to watch is what prevents this from being the truly great film it is . \\nwhile oprah\\'s performance is powerful and easily sympathetic ( and i\\'m dying to see her win at least an oscar nomination this february ) , the structure of the film , which doesn\\'t show what happened to her children till halfway through the film , prevents us from really making a cohesive connection to the film . \\nit doesn\\'t necessarily move as though they\\'re memories of one particular character , and by the end , it has lost control over sethe , and as she takes to bed , we are unable to truly identify with her anymore . \\nbut despite its tediousness , perhaps that\\'s the point . \\nthe distancing by the end of the film may be just part of the way it has been built from the start , since they figure she has crossed over from being identifiable , and it needs to get back with reality . \\nand for the most part , this film seems like the cry of pain from the slaves that it really wants to be . \\njonathan demme\\'s direction is bizarre , in nature with the story , and he creates the right mood , making it a tough film to sit through , making sure that the audience feels as uncomfortable as the characters . \\nthere\\'s more to admire here , like the way that the flashbacks pop up freely and without real organization , just like they would be in real life ; and the way that the ending leaves it somewhat open to more pain and suffering , but laced with a touch of optimism . \\nthe acting , not only from winfrey , is amazing , and i anticipate not only she will get an oscar nomination . \\neveryone has been raving about thandie newton\\'s performance , and how it should be rewarded . \\nhowever , it must be noted that out of everyone , she had the easiest part . \\nact like a baby . \\nthrow things . \\nstumble around . \\nchew food with your mouth open . \\ni do think there\\'s another performance worthy of oscar conisderation , but it\\'s kimberly elise , as the daugher who has to stay sensible and sane , and has to carry the burden of her mother\\'s loss of reality towards the end . \\nit\\'s not that newton isn\\'t great : she\\'s as annoying and wacky as the role demands . \\nit\\'s just that elise has the tougher job and pulls it off even better . \\ndespite the fact that this film has winfrey written all over it , and not that of writer morrison or director demme , \" beloved \" has still not done well . \\ncosting , i think , around ninety million dollars , it has since grossed about twenty-two . \\nunfortunately , this film is a little too intense for viewers , even for me , and i can stand almost anything ( i recently viewed the 2 1/2 hour long epic \" caligula , \" the worst film i have ever seen in my life , and did it in a mere 2 sittings ) . \\nalthough i respect \" beloved , \" i can\\'t say that i really enjoyed it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the story of us , a rob reiner film , is the second movie this fall that touches the viewer in a way they are rarely touched by a film , as they can see their everyday lives in the usually once in a year films . \\nwell , 1999 has two of them , the other being the instant classic about a very dysfunctional family , american beauty . \\nthe story of us , a film about the highs and lows of marriage and family , is a well written , heartbreaking and insightful film that made the majority of the audience , including myself , cry . \\nthe story of us tells the story of ben ( bruce willis ) and katie ( michelle pfeiffer ) jordan , and asks the question , \" can a marriage survive 15 years of marriage ? \" \\nthe film is about two individuals who have come together , spent a good chunk of their lives together , and shows when our main characters are \" him \" and \" her \" ( during the bad times ) , and when they are \" us \" ( during the good times ) . \\nthe story of us is about their entire 15 years of marriage that is collapsing day by day . \\nben and katie now only see and live with each other because they don\\'t want to devastate their children with the fact that their parents no longer , or at least say they don\\'t , love each other anymore . \\nben , a cartoonist , and katie , a crossword puzzle writer , have grown apart during their fifteen years of marriage , as they have grown to follow different views on life , family , and marriage . \\nkatie is the more organized , sophisticated type , who wants to plan everything out , while ben is a spontaneous , adventurous individual who doesn\\'t mind doing things differently than they were planned . \\nthe story of us plays out nicely , as the film opens with ben sharing his story with a therapist , told to the viewer through flashbacks . \\nas the film progresses , it switches between ben and katie talking to their therapist , with their stories being told with flashbacks of their marriage . \\nthis method is highly effective , as we see the characters changing from year to year , slowly growing apart . \\nthrough the flashbacks , we get to see the story of them through both of the character\\'s eyes , and this gives us a strong sense of what their characters are really like , as the story of us has three dimensional , believable main characters . \\nthe screenplay , written by jessie nelson ( stepmom ) and alan zweibel ( dragnet ) , is a touching , down to earth work that hits a chord within the viewer , much like another one of nelson\\'s films , stepmom . \\nthe script has an open honesty and outlook on life , one that is so realistic , you feel uncomfortable at many times , because so many situations the characters are in are undeniably familiar , as most families these days most go through the hard times , as ben and katie must . \\nif it wasn\\'t for the first 15 minutes that the writers wrote , which are rugged and certainly flawed , the story of us would have been this year\\'s best picture . \\nbruce willis , a usual action/adventure star , has certainly turned himself around in the past year- he went from being a man who was being typecast to the same role in action movies , to a distinguished , sophisticated actor , as in last summer\\'s the sixth sense ; and now in the story of us , willis shows the world what he can really do if he is fed a good script . \\nalthough i wouldn\\'t pick willis as the choice actor for ben jordan , willis handles himself nicely , and shines in a few of the film\\'s most powerful scenes , enough that make his performance a definite contender comes awards season . \\nwhere to start about michelle pfeiffer ? \\npfeiffer\\'s performance is spellbinding and ultimately strong , as she brings her character to life with such charisma and emotion , you wonder how , how it is possible for someone to portray a real person with such realism . \\npfeiffer\\'s performance is one that if not recognized by the academy next spring , will be in the heart\\'s of any viewer that has watched this moving film . \\nthe story of us is one of 1999\\'s most real , yet funny films , as the razor sharp script evens out the laughs and the tears to keep the viewer hooked . \\nsuperb acting , direction , writing , story , and soundtrack that always sets the mood for the film , which is beautifully composed by eric clapton and marc shaiman , make the story of us a touching , unforgettable motion picture that will touch the hearts of viewers across the country- and will certainly become one of the most talked about movies of the fall . \\nthe film\\'s major high points are the fights between ben and katie , as the two constantly accuse of each other of whose fault it is that their marriage has collapsed , and although they also say things like \" it\\'s over , \" or \" i hate you , \" you can tell the two still share a deep connection , and that inside , somewhere , they are still an \" us . \" \\nthe bottom line : a wonderful , enchanting , and heartbreaking film . \\none of the most realistic , heartbreaking films in recent years . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there\\'s more to a quilt than fabric and thread--each patchwork design has its own unique story ( or stories ) to tell . \\nin how to make an american quilt , the first hollywood release from australian director jocelyn moorhouse ( proof ) , we come to understand how the tales of the seven makers imbue their creation with passion and vitality . \\nall the sorrows , joys , longings , sufferings , and loves of these women are sewn into their quilt and , as their bittersweet memories are given expression , one young woman applies these lessons of the past to her own uncertain future . \\nmotion pictures are filled with male bonding rituals ; how to make an american quilt presents a distinctly feminine alternative . \\nthe \" quilting bee \" consists of seven members : sisters gladys ( ann bancroft ) and hy ( ellen burstyn ) ; sophia ( lois smith ) , a woman known for frightening children ; emma ( jean simmons ) , the timid wife of a perpetually unfaithful man ; constance ( kate nelligan ) , who has been having an affair with emma\\'s husband ; anna ( maya angelou ) , the leader of the group ; and marianna ( alfre woodard ) , anna\\'s daughter . \\nthe project they\\'re busy with is the wedding quilt for hy\\'s granddaughter , finn ( winona ryder ) , who has just become engaged . \\nshe\\'s spending the summer with hy and gladys , and away from her fiance , to decide whether a lifelong commitment is really what she wants , and whether it\\'s better to marry a friend or a lover . \\none of the greatest pleasures of how to make an american quilt comes from watching an array of fine performances by an impressive ensemble cast . \\nfrom winona ryder , ann bancroft , ellen burstyn , and maya angelou to minor players like rip torn , claire danes , and kate capshaw , this film is overflowing with realized talent . \\nthe performances are good enough , in fact , to cover up many of the script\\'s weaknesses . \\nhow to make an american quilt is basically an unremarkable , if affecting , tale of love across the generations--a sort of truncated american version of the joy luck club , with a dash of fried green tomatoes added . \\nthere are probably too many characters . \\nso , instead of really getting to know a few of them , we are presented with quick glimpses into a single defining event in each of their lives . \\nwe learn about the root of the smoldering resentment between gladys and hy , and are told the reasons why emma stays with her husband and sophia is so irascible . \\nthere are other episodes as well : the love of anna\\'s life , marianna\\'s soul mate , and a look at the reasons why constance entered into an affair with her friend\\'s husband . \\nthe sum total of these tales is meant to provide the framework for finn\\'s story : whether to go forward with her marriage or dally with a hunky stranger . \\nthere is no emotional epiphany in how to make an american quilt . \\nthe stories are all well-told , but it\\'s difficult to really connect with the characters--their moments pass so quickly . \\nwhile we certainly feel something for each of the eight principals , our emotional investment is tenuous . \\nthere isn\\'t enough depth to pull the viewer in all the way , and many of the personalities and relationships feel half- formed , like a quilt with patches missing . \\nto put it bluntly , while i enjoyed watching this film , it didn\\'t \" do much \" for me . \\non the whole , how to make an american quilt is a nicely-understated drama that has a lot to say about love , passion , and monogamy in relationships . \\nfinn\\'s segment is by far the most compelling , because she\\'s the focal point : her actions are shaped by everyone else\\'s experiences . \\nthe other patches of this american quilt are successful only to varying degrees . \\nif there\\'s a disappointment here , it\\'s that the script doesn\\'t have more resonance , but the privilege of seeing such a fine cast in top form allows a viewer to enjoy this picture even if the story is somewhat conventional . \\n',\n",
+       " b'with the exception of their surrealistic satire barton fink , the films of joel and ethan coen fit into two broad categories : quirky and sometimes darkly humorous takes on the \" film noir \" genre in which crime schemes go wrong and spin increasingly out of control ( fargo , miller\\'s crossing , blood simple ) , and off-the-wall comedies centered around an eccentric , scatter-brained lead character ( raising arizona , the hudsucker proxy ) . \\ntheir latest offering , the big lebowski , falls within the latter category , though there are elements of the crime-gone-wrong theme and even a touch of satire to be found in this film . \\nthe main difference , however , is that while the protagonists of raising arizona and the hudsucker proxy had lofty aspirations and ideals but didn\\'t quite have the brains to get it all together , the main character of the big lebowski seems like a fairly intelligent guy who\\'s wise to the world , but he doesn\\'t really want to do much of anything besides go bowling , smoke pot , and generally relax . \\nthat main character is jeffrey \" the dude \" lebowski ( jeff bridges ) , introduced by the film\\'s rambling narrator ( sam elliott ) as \" quite possibly the laziest man in los angeles county . \" \\nthe dude is unemployed , needless to say , and spends most of his time at the bowling alley with his two best friends , walter ( john goodman ) , a borderline-psychotic who\\'s in the habit of pulling a gun when he thinks somebody\\'s cheating in a bowling match ( \" has the whole world gone crazy ? ! \" he shouts at a suspected cheater ) , and donny ( steve buscemi ) , who\\'s always a few steps behind the conversation and is constantly berated by walter for it ( \" donny , you have no frame of reference here ! \" ) . \\nthese three seem to more or less live for bowling tournaments , and as the film begins they are anticipating an important match with rival bowler jesus quintana ( john turturro ) , who , when we first meet him , is doing a dance in the bowling lane to accompany a spanish version of \" hotel california \" and , if it\\'s possible , seems to be even more of a head case than walter . \\nif that doesn\\'t give you a good idea of this film\\'s absurdist tone , then perhaps this will : the entire scenario which drives the story is set in motion by two thugs mistakenly urinating on the dude\\'s rug . \\nthey\\'ve mistaken him for a millionaire of the same name who is also known as the \" big \" lebowski ( david huddleston ) and whose nymphomaniac wife bunny ( tara reid ) owes money to porn producer jackie treehorn ( ben gazzara ) . \\nthe dude goes to the big lebowski seeking compensation for his ruined rug ; he doesn\\'t have any luck , but when bunny is apparently kidnapped , the elder lebowski asks him to deliver the $1 million ransom . \\nunfortunately , walter gets involved and fouls up the drop-off , and before they can try again to get the money to the supposed kidnappers , the dude\\'s car gets stolen , along with the briefcase containing the money . \\nsoon , the dude is being harassed not only by the big lebowski himself but also by treehorn and by a group of german \" nihilists \" who demand the ransom money even though they may not have been involved in the kidnapping in the first place ; the dude and walter suspect that bunny may well have kidnapped herself in order to extort money from her husband to repay her debts to treehorn . \\nmeanwhile , the big lebowski\\'s daughter maude ( julianne moore ) , a feminist avant-garde artist who likes to make grand entrances swinging through the air naked , wants to recover the money for her family . \\nthe plot , however , is really just a vehicle for all these bizarre characters to run wild and wreak their own unique forms of havoc . \\nthe previews for the big lebowski feature creedence clearwater revival\\'s \" run through the jungle , \" and it fits : the coens see los angeles as a veritable jungle of oddballs and nutcases , with the sometimes bewildered dude left to run through it and try to avoid any more trouble ( usually unsuccessfully ) . \\nthe film doesn\\'t feature quite as many one-liners and sight gags as the coens\\' other comedies ( though there are a few hilarious moments of visual humor , particularly in the dude\\'s dream sequences and acid flashbacks ) , but it more than makes up for it with the sheer fun of watching these strange characters interact . \\nthe film sometimes seems a little disjointed as a result - you get the feeling that the coens have not only set their characters loose in this \" jungle \" but are also themselves running crazy through the jungle of their own twisted imaginations - but for the most part the characterizations are interesting enough to overcome the shaky plotting and what turns out to be a somewhat anticlimactic resolution . \\nthere\\'s also a noticeable ( but not too heavy-handed ) thread of social commentary in the big lebowski , which , incidentally , takes place just as the gulf war is about to begin ; at the beginning , we see george bush on television making his \" this aggression will not stand \" speech . \\nthe coens take aim at just about every elite l . a . subculture in the book : the egotistical wealthy businessman ( \" the bums will always lose ! \" \\nshouts the big lebowski at one point ) , the porn industry , the overbearing malibu policeman who berates the dude for disturbing their \" peaceful beach community , \" and so on . \\nby the end , we really start to admire the dude , who almost certainly harbors the least \" aggression \" of anyone in this story ; his passive resistance ( emphasis on \" passive , \" albeit ) to the elite emerges as something more than just another quirky characterization in a film overflowing with quirky characters . \\nhe also turns out to have a pretty well-functioning brain in his head , even if he doesn\\'t like to use it very much ; his sarcasm towards treehorn and the malibu policeman shows that he knows when he\\'s getting a run around , and he does manage to unravel the kidnapping mystery by the end . \\nthe coens certainly poke fun at the dude for his laziness , but they don\\'t just treat him as fodder for cheap shots either . \\ni think that , more than anything , is what makes the big lebowski a standout comedy : it manages to approach characters like the dude and , to some extent , walter , with genuine affection while still acknowledging that they are pretty scatter-brained . \\naudience members may find themselves surprised at how much they like the un-dynamic duo by the end of the movie , given that they seemed like nothing more than the butts of an extended joke at first . \\n \" it\\'s good knowin\\' he\\'s out there , the dude , takin\\' it easy , \" posits the narrator towards the end . \\ni dare say that truer words have seldom been spoken . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ladies and gentlemen , payback is the most expensive episode of \" the equalizer \" i\\'ve ever seen . \\ngibson plays porter , a burglar shot and left for dead by his wife ( deborah kara unger , in an all-too-brief cameo ) and partner ( henry ) after a successful heist . \\nas a morgue attendant sets about removing the bullets from porter\\'s back , porter miraculously springs back to life . \\nhe makes it his mission , as a walking dead man without a conscience , to exact revenge on those who screwed him and reclaim his share of the loot . \\n ( in a running gag , porter demands $70 000 , but everybody mishears him and assumes he\\'s after the entire $130 000 haul . ) \\nin his travels ( or travails ) , porter encounters several other one-named villainous cretins like fairfax ( james coburn as a white-haired , millionaire thief ) and carter ( kristofferson , as a brown-haired , millionaire thief-the kingpin of the obligatory \" operation \" ) . \\nhelgeland\\'s film ( which was recut by mel the producer ) is devoid of an imperative dime store charm . \\nthe novelty of seeing a big movie star mercilessly dispatching criminals wears off quickly : a ) because the bad guys can only be differentiated by their coifs , and b ) because mel\\'s schtick doesn\\'t evolve from act one-he\\'s the terminator stranded in a plot without a sci-fi hook to keep us interested after the initial sadistic thrill is gone . \\npayback should have been called playback : it\\'s a 102-minute loop of the same short sequence . \\n ( mel : \" i want my money . \" \\nanonymous villain : \" no . \" \\nmel shoots gun . \\nanonymous villain dies . \\nmel meets up with his hooker friend ( bello ) . \\nsecond verse , same as the first . ) \\nit\\'s not porter\\'s single-mindedness that robs the film of snap , crackle , and pop ; as a character who has already \" died \" once , he has nothing to lose and so much to gain . \\nthe movie lacks danger . \\nthe only thing porter is in jeopardy of is putting the audience to sleep . \\npayback has a gritty , metallic look to it that also becomes monotonous ; its cinematography would be more appropriate in one of those bleak urban psychodramas that come out of england every couple of months . \\n ( director of photography ericson core should have been fired early on for lighting bello , so va-va-va-voom in permanant midnight , to look like a potato in a gregg allman wig . ) \\nto analyze such mediocrity is to grant payback far more attention than it deserves . \\nperhaps only someone as experienced with antagonists-as-protagonists as tarantino-look what he did with the similar hero-less botched-robbery tale reservoir dogs-could have pulled off this material ( a loose remake of john boorman\\'s point blank ) . \\nthe movie presents us with the conventions of pulp fiction ( all women are femme fatales ; even the cops are in on it , etc . ) and crosses them with the conventions of cheesy tv crime melodramas ( death is never in the cards for the main character , etc . ) but transcends neither . \\n',\n",
+       " b'as a revolutionary war hero in the patriot , mel gibson provides another macho man performance for hollywood audiences . \\nyou know the type : his shirt is always shredded , his face always scarred , he has a soft spot for his loved ones and a \" to kill \" list for his enemies . \\noscar-hungry director/executive producer roland emmerich did not intend to , but he made the stereotypical action hero for the 18th century . \\nas gibson delivers lines like , \" before this war is over , i am going to kill you , \" schwarzenegger in commando or stallone in cobra immediately come to mind . \\noddly enough , the patriot is as much an epic three-hour-tear-fest like gladiator , as it is a ninety-minute guilty pleasure . \\nat times absorbing , at others enjoyably insipid , this is good , bloody summer fun . \\ni probably would have despised this film had it not been released over the july 4th weekend . \\nsome of the images are so zealously americanized ( the flag is used as a lifesaving weapon for example ) , that independence day seems the only appropriate time of year to wholeheartedly accept it . \\nlike emmerich\\'s id4 , this is obvious propaganda where the americans are the hapless underdogs motivated by freedom for all . \\nsure it\\'s predictable and melodramatic , but for a moment after leaving the theater , i was dumbfounded with patriotism . \\nand isn\\'t that the point of the patriot ? \\ngibson plays benjamin martin , the lionized french and indian war veteran , who , at the beginning of the film , is emotionally suffering after his loving wife passed away . \\nhe is left to father seven children at his south carolina estate along with black servants ( not slaves ! ) . \\nas the revolutionary war rumbles miles away , martin swears to keep his family close and away from the battlefields . \\nbut when the oldest son enlists anyway and another is murdered by a wicked redcoat colonel ( jason isaacs ) , martin quickly decides to save the day ( or save the fate of america as presented by emmerich ) . \\nforming a band of aggressive farmers and using guerilla tactics considered unfair in the art of war , martin becomes the number one target of the british army . \\nthe best parts of the patriot are the scenes in which martin and his rugged militia men outsmart the british armies left and right . \\nevery time the farmers attacked the unsuspecting enemy , to see the disbelief on british general cornwallis\\' ( tom wilkinson ) face was priceless entertainment . \\nand as the tension gradually formulates with the running time , a final battle is inevitable . \\nas for the numerous battle scenes , they are expertly done . \\nclearer and more realistic than those of gladiator , the gruesome images are what give this film an r rating . \\nyou really get a sense of how warfare was performed during that time period . \\neverything is performed in an orderly ( but still quite gory ) fashion - one side shoots , then the other side , then the remaining soldiers charge . \\nit\\'s organized , strategic and , according to martin , ineffective . \\nthere is a very interesting contrast between the traditional battle style and martin\\'s take-no-prisoners method . \\nwhat drives martin to these supposedly unfair actions , are the originally brutal tactics of colonel tavington . \\nplayed wonderfully by jason isaacs , tavington is the type who loves to glare down from his horse at civilians , who nervously avoid eye contact . \\nthis character is viciously evil ; he kills women and children and then laughs about it on the way home ; even his eyes are evil . \\nhis portrayal has sparked some controversy in britain , some claim that he falsely represents his countrymen as \" cowardly \" and \" sadistic . \" \\ni disagree with this accusation . \\ntavington does not represent his country ; his unnecessary executions shock his own colleagues and even anger his general . \\nbesides tavington , the redcoats remain stick figures that are neither glorified nor patronized . \\nand stick figures make the easiest enemies in these kinds of movies - why give the audience a reason to love the bad guys ? \\nheck , why not spend the entire film glossing up the good guys ? \\nthe patriot is three hours of fictional fireworks . \\nwith an action hero seeking revenge and a comic book villain ready to take him down , it\\'s a lethal weapon for the colonial times . \\ngod bless america ! \\nand god bless the patriot ! \\n',\n",
+       " b\"plunkett & macleane marks the directing debut of jake scott , brother of ridley and tony . \\nnaturally , this got me worried . \\nwould jake's talent be inherited from ridley or tony ? \\nif it was from ridley , than the movie would be a thoughtful suspensor with action thrown in . \\nif it was from tony , it would be wham bang drivel . \\nunfortunately , the latter is true for this worthless picture with little charm . \\ncarlyle and miller are the titular highwaymen , plunkett ( carlyle ) who is poor and unruly , and captain james macleane ( miller ) a clean cut gentleman . \\nas the tagline clearly wants to make known , they rob the rich and nothing else . \\nthe film basically follows the rowdy hold ups the two stage , along with romantic interludes with lady rebecca ( tyler . ) \\nhot on both their tails is mr chance ( ken stott ) who wants to see them both dead . \\nplunkett & macleane is an annoying little film that serves little purpose . \\nalthough undoubtedly slick and fast paced , there's very little merit contained in the film . \\ncarlyle and miller are fun enough as the foul mouthed pair , although their characters are criminally undeveloped . \\nit appears that much of the money has been spent on the expensive looking sets and costumes , but not on the script . \\nthe five ( ! ) screenwriters ( three credited ) have produced an still born movie : there's very little development in the story . \\nalso , major events , such as mr . cash finding out who plunkett and macleane really are , are so rushed that they barely happened . \\nthe story is a bit of a mess , frankly . \\nthe performances aren't bad : carlyle and miller are typical lads , but liv tyler is a huge disappointment as the love interest . \\nher irritable , stilted performance sticks out like a sore thumb , and i was quite unsure on what accent she was trying to put on . \\nshe looks nice , though . \\nmore interesting is alan cummings as the campy lord rochester , and although his character amounts to nothing more than a two dimensional comedy gay character , he hams it up well . \\nken stott is suitably evil as chance , but again he is nothing but a flat character . \\ni didn't particularly care when the predictable death sequence arrived . \\nalthough a disappointment in writing , and a minor success in acting , the film certainly look lavish , with good costumes , and wonderful sets . \\nbut production design alone can't save a movie , especially a movie as bad as this mess . \\njake scott would be more suited to directing a music video rather than this failed update of a period drama : the only update seems to be the fact that everyone must talk dirty , with 'f * ck this' and 'stand and f * cking deliver' splattered all over the place . \\nthe mtv editing and direction are flash enough , but in the end decidedly empty . \\nplunkett & macleane is a massive disappointment . \\nalthough somewhat enjoyable during parts , it's so light it could float off the screen if it wasn't just images on a reel . \\nthere's no thought , no development , no plot , just a series of manic edits and quirky camera angles to make this film appeal to gen-xers . \\nalthough it's a great idea : update a period drama to the mtv generation : it's execution is awful , and would more likely bore than excite . \\nsloppy and occasionally off puttingly tasteless , it's hard to recommend plunkett & macleane as a movie , but easy to recommend it as a overlong music video . \\ngive it a miss . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'for about twenty minutes into mission impossible 2 director john woo ( the killer , hard boiled , face off ) appears to have made an exciting , elegant , charming spy thriller , kind of a post millennium james bond adventure with a strapping american ( read : unsophisticated ) hero more willing to drop kick villains than out fox them . \\nsadly , as the picture progresses , the final product begins to bear a closer resemblance to a souped up , two-hour long episode of magyuver . \\nand not a particularly good one at that . \\nwhat went wrong ? \\nmi2 begins flashily enough , that initial flash leading us to believe that it\\'ll soon give way to something of a plot , but it only gives way to more flash , then digresses further into a presumably unintentional parody of itself with much slo mo posturing and countless action set pieces wherein bad guys seem to deliberately leap into the way of tom cruise\\'s firing gun just so they can die really cool . \\nearly on , during a car chase between soon to be lovers ethan hunt ( tom cruise ) and nyah nordoff-hall ( thandie newton ) , woo works some of his trademark magic . \\nin one hypnotic , though completely inexplicable sequence , the director slows the action down to a languid semi-stall as cruise and his stunning opponent stare into one and other\\'s eyes with come hither sexuality ? ? ? just as their respective cars smash and spin in accordance , coming ever so close to toppling over a neighboring cliff . \\nprior to this we see the famed trailer opener of cruise climbing a steep mountain , sans scaffolding , then leaping from one jagged rock formation to another . \\nwhy ? \\ni haven\\'t the foggiest . \\ni doubt even john woo could provide you with a logical reply . \\nwith mi2 woo has become a slave to the summer movie machine , the one that jettisons logic for gravity defying effects and story for more gravity defying effects . \\nit\\'s possible that these \" spies \" could be adrenaline junkies climbing mountains and crashing into each other as means to get off , though of course this is never explored . \\nthe scenes i\\'ve described are really only included to titillate , not to give any insight into character . \\ngod forbid . \\nwoo certainly knows how to make each set piece energetic , but they remain individual set pieces never connecting to form anything more than splices of beer commercial-like visuals . \\nstill in terms of crackerjack eye candy , the opening has much to cherish . \\ncruise and newton first meet during a vigorous flamenco dance featuring several welcome woo devices ( the graceful slow mo artistry of synchronized movement juxtaposed against the stage 1 romance of two attractive individuals discovering how attractive the other is ) . \\nbetween the frantic dancing , woo trains his camera on cruise and newton as they make with some sensuous eye contact . \\nthe scene is a little over the top in a bon jovi music video circa 1988 kind of way , yet it has style and something of soul , and woo casts a bit of a spell on us . \\nsure it\\'s all smoke and mirrors , but we can see that there happens to be a talented maestro behind this particular product . \\nthandie and cruise later meet in a bathtub in a scene that\\'s about half as playfully charming as the jennifer lopez \\\\ george cloony trunk meeting in out of sight . \\nthey flirt and exchange obvious double entendres . \\nnewton bats her eyes flirtatiously . \\ncruise grins a little too slyly . \\nthe cruise character , ethan hunt , has been drastically altered since the first film . \\nhere cruise plays him more as a hip , sexual dynamo than the square jawed robot he impersonated in part 1 . \\nhe\\'s cool and dashing , which is precisely the kind of role we want to see cruise in after watching him sleep walk through eyes wide shut ( which might just be the longest episode of red show diaries ever committed to film ) , and blustered his way through magnolia ( quite possibly the most overrated performance of the 90\\'s ) . \\nsadly as the film progresses we see less of cruise\\'s initial \" i\\'m the man ! \" \\ncharm and more slo-mo close-ups of his preening mug . \\nmi2 falls apart on nearly every level during its repetitious third act , which is essentially one hour long action sequence that just won\\'t stop . \\nthe whole thing commences with an utterly generic gun battle ( the first gun fight in the film ) , which really should be unheard of in a john woo film , but alas this particular battle could\\'ve been staged by anyone from renny harlin to joseph merhi ( of course excepting the \" symbolic \" pigeons who seem to find their way into every john woo picture ) . \\nwe\\'ve all seen guys slide across the floor in slo mo while firing a gun in each hand . \\nit isn\\'t done any differently here . \\nthe action is pure hard target \\\\ broken arrow theatrics with nothing to propel it but the apparent need to see tom cruise drop kick face less villains while his hair whips stylishly in the wind . \\nhe\\'s cool for sure but he\\'s made to be as empty as the movie . \\nthe actor isn\\'t used so much for his boyish appeal as for his chiseled looks ; he smiles narcissistically into the camera at literally any moment , be it during a gunfight , before one or after one . \\nwhen he\\'s not beaming away , he\\'s staring into the lens with cold eyes trying to look mad as hell , but woo\\'s editing seriously undermines the effort . \\nhe fetishizes cruise\\'s angular face with such glee that it turns into a naked gun style spoof . \\ni half expected cruise to peel off his facemask and reveal that he\\'s really austin powers . \\nin a classic woo action moment , ethan hunt struts past a fiery doorway glaring at the baddies within its frame like a pin-up boy angel of death . \\nthe gunfight turns into a daring escape which turns into a reckless mission which turns into a motorcycle attack in which bad guys seem to angle directly for cruise to kill them like some kind of mass suicide ritual ( one dumb bastard even jumps his bike over the gun toting cruise , basically inviting our handsome hero to shoot him in mid air which he does ) . \\nthe lead bad guy ( played by the appropriately british dougray scott ) and cruise face off in a mentally deficient game of chicken ? ? ? on motorcycles . \\nthough instead of jumping off to the side at the last moment , the two grown men leap directly into the other giving each other a mid air bear hug , only to fly about a hundred feet ( still in bear hug position ) , land on a beach below and begin a mano-e-mano fist fight that ends with the bad guy pulling a \" so you thought i was dead . . . \" . \\nnot to worry , cruise takes care of the problem without even breaking a sweat . \\nwhat a hero ! \\nyou may have noticed that i opted not to describe an iota of mi2\\'s plot . \\nmy reasoning is simple : i\\'m not sure of any good it would do . \\nthe film itself has absolutely no concern with story , only with hurtling forth to the next \" special \" effect . \\ni wasn\\'t kidding when i told a friend of mine that mi2 has less plot than the average aerosmith video . \\nnobody will go to this for the plot , and if they do they\\'ll surely regret it . \\nas summer movies evolve ( or devolve ) character and plot have become increasingly whittled down to nearly nothing . \\nin mi , the plot seemed to be built around brian de palma\\'s ( that film\\'s director ) stylistic flourishes , while in mi2 the plot only serves to give us an intermittent breather from woo\\'s non-stop masturbatory pandemonium . \\nit\\'s irrelevant in every sense , as is character . \\nall that ultimately matters are those pesky smoke and mirrors . \\n',\n",
+       " b'two party guys bob their heads to haddaway\\'s dance hit \" what is love ? \" \\nwhile getting themselves into trouble in nightclub after nightclub . \\nit\\'s barely enough to sustain a three-minute _saturday_night_live_ skit , but _snl_ producer lorne michaels , _clueless_ creator amy heckerling , and paramount pictures saw something in the late night television institution\\'s recurring \" roxbury guys \" sketch that would presumably make a good feature . \\nemphasis on the word \" presumably . \" \\n_a_night_at_the_roxbury_ takes an already-thin concept and tediously stretches it far beyond the breaking point--and that of viewers\\' patience levels . \\nthe first five minutes or so of _roxbury_ play very much like one of the original \" roxbury guys \" skits . \\nwith \" what is love ? \" \\nblaring on the soundtrack , the brotherly duo of doug and steve butabi ( chris kattan and will ferrell ) bob their heads , scope out \" hotties \" at clubs , and then bump a select few with violent pelvic thrusts . \\nthere is one crucial difference , however--these guys speak . \\nthat little fact has been used as justification for the film\\'s existence , that the butabis\\' newfound capacity for speech would open up a whole new set of doors for the characters . \\nthe doors opened by director john fortenberry and screenwriters steve koren , ferrell , and kattan are new , that\\'s for sure , but they all lead to comic dead ends . \\nthere is no story per se , only a loosely structured and linked series of subplots . \\nthe brothers literally run into ( or , rather , get run into , as in by car ) richard grieco of _21_jump_street_ fame , and through him they gain entrance into the exclusive roxbury club . \\nthere , they meet a hotshot club owner ( chazz palminteri , conspicuously uncredited--can you blame him ? ) , who takes an interest in an idea of theirs . \\nmeanwhile , the bros\\' overbearing father ( dan hedaya ) wants them to stop clubbing . \\nwhen doug refuses and the dimwitted steve obeys his father , a rift is created between the two . \\nthe narrative messiness of _roxbury_ would have been forgivable if all that went on were the slightest bit funny , but virtually none of it is . \\nthe assembled press audience mostly sat stonily silent throughout the entire film , with the one big exception being a big laugh near the end . \\nalas , the joke--a rather lazy takeoff on _jerry_maguire_--will only strike a chord with people who have seen that film . \\ngranted , a lot of people _have_ seen _jerry_maguire_ , but the fact that the film\\'s best joke is completely dependent on one\\'s familiarity with another film says a lot about _roxbury_\\'s lack of inspiration . \\nthat lack of inspiration can be traced back to the insipid characters themselves . \\nlike too many of the skits on the current incarnation of _saturday_night_live_ , \" the roxbury guys \" is a one-joke sketch that never once suggests that the characters have enough comic life in them to survive outside of the sketch context . \\nafter watching one of the \" roxbury \" skits on snl , this is what you come away with from the characters : they bob their heads to \" what is love ? \" , \\nbump unsuspecting women , and . . . that\\'s all . \\nafter watching _a_night_at_the_roxbury_ , you\\'ll be left with exactly the same . \\n',\n",
+       " b'words i thought i\\'d never write : the sequel to urban legend lacks the grace , wit , and power of the original . \\nput the gun to my head , pull the trigger , and put me out of my misery . \\nbetter yet , put the horror genre out of its misery . \\nwhen you\\'ve finished watching urban legends : final cut , you\\'ll share my same grim point of view thanks to the horrible acting , terrible script , and ridiculous directing which has become all too common today . \\nurban legends : final cut is a smorgasbord of stolen movie ideas ( mainly from the blair witch project and scream ) : fabulous people with perfect teeth and skin , one creepy film school , and a dog eating a freshly removed kidney from one of the movie\\'s hapless victims . \\nurban legends delivers a story about a bunch of film students working on their thesis films to win the coveted \" hitchcock award \" which guarantees the winner a director deal in hollywood . \\none female filmmaker ( jennifer morrison , the freaky dead girl from stir of echoes ) writes a fiction script based on a serial killer who kills his victims according to \" urban legend \" tales . \\nsuddenly , her entire crew starts getting bumped off with urban-legendary homicides , but the bodies are always missing and she is often the only witness to the killings . \\nthe killer wears a fencing mask and a long black overcoat , looking like a scorned olympian out to avenge his defeat in sydney . \\nwhy this is scary is never explained . \\nof course , the golden rule of sequels is that there must be least one recurring character for continuity\\'s sake . \\nurban legends has one minor , recurring character from the original who we never cared about anyway ( the security guard , of all people ) . \\nthe other central problem is that this character has already seen the urban legend killings once before , but she\\'s utterly clueless about what\\'s going on around her . \\ncall it suspension of disbelief . \\nthis film is also a prime example of how horror films are now completely dead in the water . \\nthe last decent horror film was the blair witch project , and that seemed more like a snuff film than fiction . \\nthe stalking killer with crazy motivation has become a tired clich ? , as everyone seems to have forgotten : real horror is not about what is seen but about what is unknown . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"an 80-year old woman jumps enthusiastically on her couch , wearing tight-fitting leather , as she cheers on her favorite tv wrestler by calling his opponent a `pump-bitch' . \\ntwo men messily eat fast food as their septic truck leaks raw sewage directly behind them . \\nand roughly 17 people are booted in the crotch . \\nwelcome to `ready to rumble' . \\njudging from the fact that potty-mouth adam sandler is the reigning box-office comedy champion , you realize -- albeit while shaking your head -- that yes , there is an audience for this sort of thing . \\nladies and gentlemen , i weep for society . \\nmind you , when executed with style and comic ingenuity , jokes like an alarming bodily fluid mistaken for hair gel ( `there's something about mary' ) and a laxative-induced attack of explosive diarrhea ( `dumb and dumber' ) can be extremely funny . \\nunfortunately , `ready to rumble' is not being helmed by the farrelly brothers , nor is it bolstered by a script that accommodates the viewer with anything even remotely clever or inspired . \\n`ready to rumble' is built around the dedicated fan-base of professional wrestling . . . . \\nwhich , in fact , sounded like a fine concept for a goofball comedy . \\nbut director brian robbins and screenwriter steven brill handcuff themselves , and limited to a stampede of asinine , humdrum bathroom humor , basically the only thing they manage is to evoke memories of pauly shore and `bio dome' . \\ngordie boggs ( david arquette ) and sean dawkins ( scott caan ) take pride in being hardcore wcw wrestling fanatics . \\nby day , they transport raw sewage . \\nby night ( particularly on ? nitro' monday ) , they pay homage to their personal hero and savior - jimmy king ( oliver platt ) , the undisputed leader of the professional wrestling community . \\nwith two tickets to an upcoming nitro performance , gordie and sean are psyched about witnessing the king defend his title first-hand . \\nbut unscrupulous boxing kingpin titus sinclair ( joe pantoliano , sporting long hair and cowboy boots ) has other plans . \\nsinclair is plotting to have diamond dallas page ( playing himself ) pummel the king into the tarp , thereby dethroning the dignified wrestler and embarrassing him in front of a bewildered auditorium full of fans . \\ngordie and sean are shocked , rioting madly while arguing `this isn't even a pay-per view event ! ! ' \\nthey take it upon themselves to track the king down and supply the encouragement essential for their fallen idol to make a come-back attempt . \\nalong the way , you can expect a lot of sh-- jokes as well . \\nyou may find something to like in `ready to rumble' if a ) you are a rasslin' aficionado yourself , or b ) you are a dedicated fan of the lowest of low-brow comedies . \\ni welcome low-brow humor with open arms - that is , if its fresh and resourceful . \\n`rumble' is nothing but a sloppy , frightfully unfunny swamp land of misbegotten retardation . \\nthe first half-hour is the ultimate test of patience . \\nluckily , the simple-minded events pick up steam , particularly with the well-choreographed wrestling action . \\ndirector robbins showed a knack for capturing the brutality and excitement of football in `varsity blues' , and when in the ring , he does professional work . \\nbut the violence is too excessive . \\nhaving the fake soap opera of wcw wrestling turn into a bloody skirmish brings back unfortunate memories of owen hart's tragic accident just last year , especially with one character's dive during a cage match . \\nthis is not something you want a comedy to be reminiscent of . \\noutside the wrestling action , the lewd jokes and puerile sight gags bring new meaning to the term ? scattershot' , while the dialogue fluctuates in on the vulgarity scale of 1 to 10 , with brill's extensive vocabulary ranging from `diddly' to `boob' and so on . \\nthe final tally : i chuckled a few times , groaned a lot , and indulged in one spirited belly laugh involving martin landau as a geriatric wrestling coach who fights pretty impressively for 105 . \\ncasting-wise , `ready to rumble' is an odd duck . \\noliver platt as a champion wrestling figure ? \\nhe's perhaps a bit chunky , but fellow wrestlers acknowledge this in the ring by calling him `fatty' , which dampens the blow i suppose . \\nrose mcgowan is fully disposable as a sultry wcw cheerleader ( `the nirto-est of the nitro girls , ' proclaims gordie ) , but extra pep is added with appearances by wrestlers goldberg , `macho man' randy savage and sting ( among others ) . \\nwcw fans are sure to appreciate these . \\nothers . . . \\nwell , won't . \\ni found merit in david arquette's bountiful energy as gordie , which brings me to my finishing . . . . \\nahhh . . . . \\n`praise' for the film : in `ready to rumble' , i have discovered something even more annoying than arquette's `at&t' television commercials . \\nnow there's a low blow for you . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"expectation rating : a bit worse than expected ( mainly because i found the middle part to be a bit dull ) . \\nroger ebert gave it a four star review , and while he is a critic that uses the full scale , and i often agree -- such as dark city being the best film of 1998 , he must have seen a better film . \\ni read the book about five years ago and hugely enjoyed it . \\nthe opening of a simple plan reminded me a bit of the sweet hereafter . \\nthe landscape is snowy and cold , and is filmed what i feel is in a rather crisp manner ( which also reminds me of fargo ( which i loathed ) ) . \\none can almost sense the cold . \\nbut the movie far from the eye popping delights of the quick and the dead , instead raimi has made a more constrained film -- which probably is for the better . \\nthis is probably not a movie that would have been improved by lots of odd shots . \\nthe movie also reminded me of affliction , as the lead characters all seem to be hoping for and seeing a possibility to lead a better life than their father , and they see a chance for such a dream to come true . \\nthis chance is uncovered in a snow covered field , where an airplane has crash landed . \\nin the plane three men find ? the american dream . . . \\nin a gym bag . ? \\naffliction too was set in a snowy landscape . \\nit really seems very simple . \\njust hold on to the money until spring , and if no one claims it , they'll be safe to spend it and their hope of experiencing the american dream can come true . \\nbut the snow melts , and so might several of the character's hopes . \\nas in ? return to paradise ? , some of the characters are presented with a chance to do the right thing . \\nbut doing the right thing might not result in a better result than something more selfish . \\nthe movie's biggest strength is that it fact makes sense . \\ni have seen many movies based on books that just seem like selected scenes from the book visualized , eschewing anything remotely resembling a coherent story -- for example clear and present danger . \\nthe biggest problem seems to over-familiarization with the story . \\nthe writer perhaps feels that he doesn't have to present scenes that are clear to him , but the lack of which only baffles an audience which has not read the book . \\nthis is definitely not the problem with a simple plan , even though the screenplay is by the book's author . \\nthe movie is always clear on where it's going , and always makes sense . \\ni'm sue a lot was cut , but really i can't remember what . \\neven a minor scene involving a man complaining that he has paid for too much grains is included . \\nthe man only comes in on mondays , but he claims that he has been charged for one purchase too many . \\nturns out . . . \\nwell , see the movie . \\none should be warned against seeing the trailer . \\nit reveals several scenes from the ending moments ( which yes , like in the book , it is a downer ) , several plot developments , and much of the beginning . \\nbut much of this is not spelled directly out during the trailer , so if you're lucky , you'll have forgotten about all of this when you see the movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'by starring in amy heckerling\\'s \" clueless \" two summers ago , alicia silverstone proved she wasn\\'t just another pretty , pouty ingenue , showing a buoyant comedic craftiness that blew all previous jobs -- namely a stint as the aerosmith girl and a silly turn as the lethal lolita of \" the crush \" -- out of the water . \\nher only work since that 1995 gem has been in june\\'s \" batman & robin , \" where she overcame the underwritten role of batgirl . \\nnow , she\\'s the star and producer of \" excess baggage , \" a hopelessly phony film that demonstrates how an ill-composed story can drag an otherwise solid performer down to its level . \\nsilverstone\\'s emily t . hope is stuck with a billionaire father ( jack thompson ) who neglects her emotionally . \\nin an outlandish plan to gain his affection , she fakes her own kidnapping -- emily uses an electronically disguised voice to call her dad and set a pricey ransom , ties her legs together and mouth shut with duct tape and locks herself in the trunk of her bmw . \\nbut before the police can \" rescue \" her , professional auto thief vincent roche ( benicio del toro ) jimmies the locks , hot-wires the engine and makes off with both the car and emily , who\\'s still trapped in the back . \\nwhen vincent discovers emily , the two don\\'t exactly hit it off -- she annoys him , he annoys her , and at the advice of his slimy car salesman partner ( harry connick , jr . ) , he decides to drive her out to the middle of nowhere and leave her there . \\nalong the way , of course , they get into a whole heap of trouble , and come to realize that being together is the only way to get out of their sticky , felony-studded situation . \\nit doesn\\'t help matters that emily and vincent are being trailed by cops , crooks and even her shady uncle ray ( christopher walken ) , who\\'s wise to his niece\\'s ploys for attention and has mafia connections . \\nfor at least a half-hour , \" excess baggage \" bounces along fast and efficiently . \\nduring this time , emily and vincent sport engaging personalities as well as a nice role-reversal twist -- she\\'s an awfully aggressive , combative victim and he\\'s quite the aloof , seemingly vulnerable captor . \\nbut once it\\'s past its set-up , the situation suddenly becomes uninvolving as the story tries to be too many things at once . \\na road movie , a teen comedy , a mob thriller , a drama about family relationships -- you name the cliche and \" excess baggage \" likely covers its territory . \\nof course a romance develops between the two leads , but it all seems forced , and thus characterization is manipulated to cause the finally happy outcome . \\n \" do you like my tummy ? \" \\nemily coos to vincent at one point in the film . \\nhuh ? \\ndid i miss something ? \\nthe hard-edged , foul-mouthed grrrl is suddenly gone and replaced with a pair of batting goo-goo eyes . \\nthen again , \" excess baggage \" becomes so weak in so many areas that the personality transplant is not a complete surprise . \\na supporting cast attempts to do what they can with colorful but empty secondary roles , but the movie isn\\'t game enough to use them all and therefore seems overcrowded . \\nmotivations keep shifting , resulting in an often confusing narrative . \\nscant existing story background confuses matters even worse and adds to the growing list of unanswered questions . \\n \" excess baggage \" has too many characters , too much plot and juggles with one arm behind its back and a remaining shaky hand . \\ni loved silverstone\\'s turn in \" clueless \" as an aloof , pampered beverly hills matchmaker inspired by jane austen\\'s \" emma . \" \\nlooking back at the skill she displayed for comedy there , it\\'s simple to justify any high expectation or enthusiasm that i had mustered for \" excess baggage . \" \\nsadly , however , \" excess baggage \" is no \" clueless . \" \\nbut , on the other hand , it is clueless . \\n',\n",
+       " b'surrounded by hype , high hopes , and the promise of an over-the-top performance by clueless\\'s brittany murphy , don\\'t say a word looked full of promise . \\nhell , when i hear that \" i\\'ll never tell \" whisper on the tv commercial , goose bumps run up my spine . \\nalas , word is filled with little but disappointment , a kooky mix of girl , interrupted and ransom , with michael douglas and company collecting a paycheck to plod through a vapid and dull kidnapping thriller . \\ndouglas stars as nathan conrad , renowned new york psychologist , devoted father of jessie conrad ( skye mccole bartusiak ) , and loving husband to aggie conrad ( famke janssen ) . \\nafter a gang of jewel thieves , headed by sean bean\\'s koster , kidnaps his daughter , nathan is forced to extract from his new patient , the catatonic and violent elisabeth burrows ( murphy ) , the location of some hidden bank job booty that her father hid from the koster gang a decade ago . \\nbut with hard-nosed detective sandra cassidy ( jennifer esposito , doing her best j . lo impression ) tracking down koster and his gang of hoodlums , the stakes are raised as nathan races against the clock to crack the mystery of elisabeth\\'s head in order to get the goods inside . \\nthe catch - nathan only has until five o\\'clock to solve the puzzle ! \\nwhoa , the suspense is almost too much . \\ndon\\'t say a word loses the audience inside of 15 minutes . \\nmurphy looks and acts like linda blair from the exorcist during the first part of the movie , then turns around and reprises like her role from girl , interrupted . \\nand the only real \" crazy \" to be found in the film is director gary fleder\\'s ( things to do in denver when you\\'re dead ) staggering use of flashback sequences . \\noliver platt , famke janssen , and even sean bean are decent actors , but the stuff they are given here -- such as a bedridden wife fighting off the token black guy with her crutch -- is insulting and demeaning . \\nadditionally , the use of the surveillance cameras and laptops to track nathan\\'s every move is downright unbelievable . \\nhow do ex-cons fresh out of the big house afford all this equipment ? \\ndespite its flaws , don\\'t say a word is surprisingly some of the best mainstream film you\\'ll find this month -- and audiences will lap it up . \\namericans love lukewarm , half-baked thrillers starring big names and accompanied by cheap thrills . \\nsomeone get me my lithium ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'okay , bear with me y\\'all , cause first off i have to get this off my chest : \\nwhat the hell is up with that damn crab ? ? ? \\nwhew . okay . \\ncause that same clip shown over and over again was beginning to get on my nerves towards the end , as cute as the crab maybe . \\neven i know that you need more footage than * that * . \\nand that wasn\\'t the only thing getting on my nerves . \\nthe cutesy gimmicks , saccharine sweet score / soundtrack and the pretty young faces of sarah michelle gellar ( as amanda ) and sean patrick flannery ( as tom ) might have held some appeal during , oh , say the first 10 minutes of the movie . \\nat first the movie moves along at a quick , interesting pace . \\nit is speedily established that something magical is about to happen to amanda when she encounters a totally random fairy godfather type person on the street , whose aforementioned crab follows her everywhere and just * doesn\\'t * die . \\na ridiculous concept , yes , but at this point i\\'m willing to accept it because i\\'m willing to accept that this is how amanda\\'s life is changed , how her powers are received . \\nlater on , the movie can\\'t seem to decide whether these powers come from this fairy godfather or from amanda falling in with tom . \\nand this is why the clips of the crab were annoying ; they weren\\'t just repetitive , they were out of place and unnecessary . \\nthe plot stumbles along at an uneven speed , sometimes dwelling too long on a particular development ( amanda suddenly becoming a great chef , her falling in love with tom , etc . ) , sometimes moving on too quickly for its own good . \\nsome places the plot just doesn\\'t make sense , sometimes it\\'s way too contrived ( the crab bit , for example ) , and sometimes too corny ( peaches emitting dry ice . \\ncan\\'t beat that ) . \\nall in all the plot seemed fragmented , unconnected . \\nnot romantic at all , and only funny in some places . \\nso , okay , do the magic powers come from the crab ? \\nor the fairy godfather ? \\nshe can * float * now too ? \\nand all of a sudden , instead of just making dry ice come out of peaches , she can put her emotions into her food ? \\ntom all of a sudden just accepts amanda\\'s \" witchcraft \" in the end ? \\nwould people really dine in a restaurant that resembles life after death in tupac\\'s video ? \\nwhat the hell is up with that damn crab ? \\nit is unfortunate , because i liked the basic premise of the movie , until it became too fantastical and tiresome . \\nthe film seemed to skirt around a serious theme or at least * a * theme for a while , but towards the end it resolved to show us long flashback clips and 5 minutes of people crying at their tables . \\nthe humor was good in some places ( nolan gets the funniest bits , including that incomprehensible , totally random thing with the dolls ) . \\ngellar and flannery are qualified actors , and gellar has a particular charm , but i much prefer her playing the saucy buffy ( or even annette in the upcoming \" cruel intentions \" ) than this sorry excuse for a character . \\nit\\'s almost funny sometimes to see these two trying so hard to make the dialogue sound better than it is , or trying to make the relationship seem more plausible . \\nthe supporting character nolan was a highlight , though he reminded me a bit of kevin in \" you\\'ve got mail \" ( see footnotes ) . \\nand , as always , typical of a chick flick / romantic comedy , there\\'s a seemingly endless romantic soundtrack in the background , cued up at all the right places . \\nthis sort of got on the nerves after a while , too . \\n \" simply irresistible \" is not hard to understand , light , funny in some places , and generally disappointing because it can\\'t draw the line between romance and protracted sap , between humor and tired slapstick . \\nand how could i refrain from making a pun ? \\n . \\n . \\n . \\n \" simply irresistible \" is all too easy to resist . \\n ( first viewing , 2/6/99 ) \\n * did anyone else think this was a tad bit similar to \" you\\'ve got mail \" ( or \" the shop around the corner \" ) ? \\nbusiness rivals fall in love . \\nfemale counterpart\\'s business is in danger of being shut down . \\nfemale as mother- like figure guiding her . \\nthe annoying , hysterical ex-girlfriends . \\n * i _really_ like sarah michelle gellar\\'s wardrobe . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"capsule : one of the ten worst movies ever made . \\nchristopher lambert vs . evil ninjas in modern-day japan . . . \\nand nobody wins . \\nthe hunted is such a bad movie , so completely inept and so totally brain-damaged that i could almost feel affection for it . \\ni could see myself showing this movie to friends and getting a good jolly guffaw out of it , if it weren't also insanely xenophobic and insulting . \\nchristopher lambert plays a computer-parts salesman who's on business in japan . \\nhe meets a slinky young woman ( joan chen ) and has a torrid night of lovemaking with her -- and then manages to witness her death at the hands of an evil ninja clan and their leader ( john lone ) . \\napparently they had some unfinished business that could only be concluded with her getting slaughtered . \\nsince lambert is a witness , he's of course the next one to die . \\nlet's stop and think about this for a second . \\nif lambert were in real life being chased by fanatical devotees to a ninja secret society , he'd have a lifespan you could only measure with an atomic clock . \\nin this movie , the ninja manage to kill just about everyone except him . \\ni imagine the japanese gods smiled down on lambert and provided him with a goof field that radiates out about ten feet from his body . \\nyou know what a goof field is : that invisible zone in which anyone who has intent to do harm to you becomes a klutz no matter what their real dexterity is . \\nthis is , of course , only the beginning of the movie's problems . \\nlambert eventually finds pseudo-safety with a long-haired modern-day samurai ( yoshio harada ) and his partner -- yoko shimada , who you may remember as lady toda buntaro in shogun . \\nthey are the two best things in the movie ; in every scene they have authority and presence , and they actually look like they belong here , even when dressed in full samurai armor and wielding bows . \\nthe script doesn't know what the hell to do with them . \\nlone , as the bad guy , is zero-dimensional . \\nthe only bad-guy cliche he has to wallow around in is the one about how the bad guy always has exotic women dripping off of him . \\nin the hunted , this is elevated to the level of an insulting stereotype . \\nwhat's funny is that the peripheral characters in the hunted are not sterotypes -- there's a nice little scene with a tokyo cabdriver , and a girl in a pachinko parlor -- but many of the main characters are unsalveageably hateful . \\nalso , the phenomenal instrumental troupe kodo has assembled a superior soundtrack -- get the cd -- that manages to survive despite the drek it's been designed to accompany . \\nthere is an extended battle scene in the middle of the movie that is almost reason enough to watch the whole thing -- a gory , excellently staged fight on the bullet train that shows some real imagination for a moment , and then smothers it by trying to clumsily re-couple the whole thing with the movie's relentlessly stupid plot . \\nby the time we get to the final showdown , with lambert getting to wield his own sword ( which , judging from the ham-handed editing of one scene , was forged in seven hours or so ) , we no longer care . \\nwe're not even given any definitive information about whether or not one of the key characters lives or dies ! \\nsomeone once said that the key to good art -- good movies , good books , whatever -- is to start somewhere interesting , end up somewhere interesting , and show respect for the audience all along the way . \\nthis movie bungles two out of three , badly . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"i don't box with kid gloves . \\ni don't play nice , i'm not a nice guy , and i never , ever , go easy on a film . \\ni consider it to be a breech of some sort of code of ethics for a movie critic . \\nhowever , i do some favors , and these often come in the form of points that i hand to certain groups due to the artistic bravery . \\nrigormortis , the production company that has been my prime example of how money does not need to motivate filmmaking , gets several of these points each time . \\ni still , however , will not go easy on them . \\nthey recently sent me a vhs copy of their down with america trilogy ( which begins , quite wittily , with a disclaimer that they are not trying to undermine america with the making of this film . ) and i decided to spend an hour of my day watching it . \\nin the famous lines of many martyrs , i have no regrets . \\nwell , i do have some regrets , but that is not the point in the previous sentence . \\nthe point of it was that down with america was a film that , from a critical standpoint , did not entirely disappoint me . \\nsure , the risky use of vhs instead of super 8mm or 16mm was a pain , and the natural light was one of the most annoying things about public access films , but the movie itself was fairly enjoyable . \\ndown with america concerns a government agent , needless murder , and a book containing everything from the unabomber's manifesto to the 1995 apple computer profit report . \\nlike the previous films of rigormortis that i have reviewed , it displays an off-kilter humor and intelligence ? it succeeds in making me laugh where countless studio films fail . \\nthe best way to see this film would be as a parody of the countless conspiracy films that we have been drowned in since the paranoia of the 80s . \\na dying movement from the day they started , these paranoid `thrillers' had the government always covering up something and had the same favorite word : `roswell . ' \\nin down with america , the line `roswell' is highly absent . \\nwith an about ten minute running time , down with america effortlessly sidesteps every clich ? that the conspiracy films fell into , makes jokes at them at the same time , and provides us with funny and memorable characters . \\nagain , i have seen movies that have gone on two hours with characters i couldn't care less about . \\nthe film , as previously stated , concerns a federal agent ( peter roach ) , an obsessed librarian ( meri stevens ) , a mystery man ( joe kaczkowski ) , and two people obsessed with silence in the library ( robb sherman , kevin flowers ) . \\nthe plot : a book containing the secrets of all anarchists is hidden in ? a public library where it can be viewed by all . \\nfrom there we go into a delightful parody . \\nthe federal agent claims his sovereign right to alter the truth , the librarian goes on a diatribe about the sanctity of books . \\nwe spend our time laughing at fairly idiotic jokes that are performed much too well considering the lack of coaching of the cast . \\nalthough the actors and actresses are in small roles and give a whole new meaning to `no-name' , it ends up being the no-name people who do a good job , delivering better performances as comic villains than half the crap that hollywood turns out . \\nfor once , i don't have a url that i know offhand to give you as to where to locate the film online . \\ni can only say that you should find my previous reviews of l'auto and les x-files and look up the rigormortis productions site in and of itself . \\nit's almost as much fun as the film . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'bob the happy bastard\\'s quickie review : \\ni must admit , no doubt\\'s single \" new \" is quite catchy . \\nit was bouncy and energetic enough to get me to go see this new film from director doug limon , the man who had brought us the humorous swingers a little while back . \\nthe result ? \\na movie that\\'s just as good as that song , really . \\nit follows the lives of several individuals over the course of one weekend . \\nfirst we hear about a grocery bagger ( sara polley ) who runs into a monetary situation problem and ends up selling bogus drugs at a rave ( with bad results , as a drug dealer feels he\\'s been swindled by her ) ; then comes the story of an english grocery store worker ( same store ) who heads to vegas for the weekend with friends , where sex , gunplay , and stolen car trouble come into play ; then we see the story of two gay movie actors ( played by scott wolf and jay mohr ) who deal with a cop\\'s strange insurance presentation and hitting a girl ( sara ) with their car ; and , finally , we come to another grocery worker ( katie holmes ) who has a strange fascination with said drug dealer ( the one mentioned earlier ) . \\nreally , it\\'s all confusing to keep track of in review format , your best bet is to just , well , go . \\nthe movie features some very good acting from all angles , and limon adds the same humorous energy he had with swingers to this particular product . \\nthe dialogue is pretty snappy and the resolution is pretty well realized , not going for the sappy happy ending nor the dreaded bad ending . \\nthink of it as a , well , ending . \\nthe intertwining of stories is a particularly good element to the movie , as it\\'s never really confusing and tells different sides of the story , like sliding doors kinda did . \\nhowever , it\\'s better suited for the younger generation who want a little spice in their flicks , which sliding doors kinda isn\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       " b'while screen adaptations of john irving\\'s novels have been disappointingly uneven , the films have all shared one particular strength : key casting . \\nwho can forget john lithgow as roberta muldoon , the transsexual quarterback of \" the world according to garp , \" or nastassja kinski as susie the bear in \" the hotel new hampshire \" ? \\na lot of good casting decisions have gone into the making of \" the cider house rules , \" an adaptation of irving\\'s poetic 1994 novel about a restless young man called homer wells . \\namong those sound judgments was the decision to have the splendid tobey maguire assume the pivotal role ; the decision to cast michael caine as his mentor and father figure , dr . wilbur larch , the ether-addicted head obstetrician of the st . cloud\\'s orphanage , maine ; and the decision to offer jane alexander and kathy baker supporting roles as his head nurses . \\nthen there are the brethren who populate the apple orchard where homer wells finds himself shortly after leaving st . cloud\\'s , including delroy lindo , oscar ? -worthy as the foreman of the migrant work detail that drifts up and down the coast as the seasons take them . \\nthere\\'s kate nelligan as the matriarch of the cider house , and charlize theron as candy , the lovely , lonely wife of a wwii bomber pilot ( paul rudd ) sent away on a mission overseas leaving candy to set lobster traps with homer wells , a man who\\'s never seen the ocean before let alone a lobster . \\nam i forgetting anyone ? \\nyes . \\nkieran culkin and paz de la huerta as dissolute orphanage residents who make you sit up and take notice every time they\\'re on the screen . \\nbut with \" the cider house rules , \" the good people decisions don\\'t end with the cast . \\nirving has written his own screenplay in order to get it right this time ( last year\\'s \" simon birch , \" loosely based on his \" a prayer for owen meaney , \" was a big-screen example of irving handled sub-standardly ) ; the author appears fleetingly as a stationmaster here . \\nrachel portman , a composer of such sweet and lyrical tenderness , provides a score that\\'s absolutely right for the project--sweet , lyrical , and tender . \\nthere\\'s impressive new england photography by oliver stapleton too . \\nlast but by no means least is \" my life as a dog \" director lasse hallstr ? m , who shows enormous skill in pulling this collective together and helping bring irving\\'s marvelously touching story to life . \\nfor the many beloved who pass away in \" the cider house rules , \" it\\'s an extraordinarily life-affirming story . \\nand now , thanks to these talented individuals , it\\'s an extraordinarily life-affirming film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'alchemy is steeped in shades of blue . \\nkieslowski\\'s blue , that is . \\nwith its examination of death , isolation , character restoration , and recovery from loss , suzanne myers\\' new independent film echoes the polish director\\'s internationally-acclaimed 1993 release . \\nlanguage aside , the principal difference between the films is that , while kieslowski took great pains to draw us into the main character\\'s world , alchemy keeps its viewers at arm\\'s length . \\nas a result , while we\\'re able to appreciate the film\\'s intellectual tapestry , it is emotionally distant . \\nalchemy is divided into three chapters : \" charity \" , \" faith \" , and \" hope \" . \\nwhile there are common themes and story elements running through all three , the single constant is the main character , a sculptor/russian translator named louisa ( rya kihlstedt ) . \\nwhen the film opens , she\\'s living with her painter boyfriend , whom she believes to be cheating on her . \\nfollowing his sudden death in an automobile accident , louisa\\'s life is thrown into turmoil . \\nevents swirls around her , and she can\\'t find a source of stability . \\nin her quest to make sense out of her loss , she befriends her late boyfriend\\'s mistress , visits her ill sister , and , eventually , abandons her old life by joining a \" back-to- nature \" cult . \\nalchemy successfully explores a variety of compelling issues . \\nin addition to asking the basic question of how a person should cope with the unexpected death of a loved one , it probes beneath the surface of concepts like the importance of faith in the healing process , the meaning of love , and the nature of art . \\ndoes personality restoration come through interacting with others or escaping from the familiar ? \\nare artistic epiphanies the result of focused solitude or of living life , with all of its various distractions , to the fullest ? \\nmyers\\' challenge is to make these subjects , art film staples , engrossing in a new context . \\nthrough louisa\\'s struggles , she succeeds . \\nwhile alchemy isn\\'t always emotionally appealing , it never loses its fascination . \\neven when we\\'re not connecting with louisa , who is often more of a locus for ideas than a fully-developed personality , there\\'s enough material on-screen to hold our attention . \\nthe cinematography is stunning . \\ncity scenes are tinted with blue , adding a cold , bleak dimension to the film\\'s early portions . \\nlater , when louisa reaches the \" wilderness \" , we\\'re treated to a dazzling array of autumnal splendor -- brightly-colored leaves in the trees and on the ground . \\nit\\'s a startling-but-effective visual contrast that emphasizes the changes taking place in louisa\\'s life as she travels the road back to emotional stability . \\nthe title refers to the practice of a group of mystical faith- healers who use \" alchemy \" to provide for the needs of the body and soul . \\nand , although louisa partakes of their peculiar brand of medicine , it\\'s ultimately love and companionship , not alchemy , that brings solace . \\nher pain is assuaged only when she lets go of the belief that the inherent safety of being alone is life\\'s ultimate goal . \\neven though louisa\\'s final transformation lacks the impact it could have possessed had she been a more vital character , it\\'s still an intriguing and enlightening process to watch . \\nalchemy isn\\'t pure magic , but , especially during its best moments , it\\'s close . \\n',\n",
+       " b'eight years after its release , disney has decided to re-release the little mermaid theatrically for 17 days ( and 17 long nights ) only . \\ncoincidentally , it was reintroduced to theaters the same day fox\\'s animated film anastasia was released . \\nyou know disney , they can\\'t deal with the threat of any other studio getting even a small piece of the crust of the kiddie entertainment pie , so when someone else wants to make a little money , they counter with an old \" masterpiece \" from their vault and , you know what , i went to see this 1989 cartoon rather than the brand new one from fox . \\nlet no one say disney is losing its monopoly on the market . \\nthey still have hotels on boardwalk _and_ park place . \\nbelieve it or not , today , november 25 , 1997 , at 5 : 05 p . m . , i saw the little mermaid for the first time . \\nit took me a few years to get over an aversion to this movie that was caused seven years ago , when i stayed with one of my mom\\'s friends for a couple weeks . \\nthey had a young child who listened to the little mermaid soundtrack constantly and , over that two week period , i heard every song from the movie probably a hundred times . \\nby the time i got back home , i promised myself i\\'d never see the movie . \\nbut promises are made to be broken , especially when you\\'re looking at a 17-day , limited engagement . \\ndamn those shrewd disney marketers and their mind games . \\nthe little mermaid is based on a hans christian anderson fairy tale , but it\\'s disney-ized , which means lots of talking animals and bursting into song . \\nit also means the heroine is a total babe who shows off cleavage from a seashell bra at all times . \\ni never wanted so much to be a pair of shells . . . \\nthe heroine , of course , is ariel ( voice of jodi benson ) , a 16-year-old mermaid who is going through that rebellious phase . \\nshe skips her concert to explore a wrecked ship and hang out with a seagull that talks like buddy hackett , who tries to orient her to the mysterious world of humans . \\nshe\\'s also dealing with feelings she hasn\\'t had before -- which comes when you get scales in places you didn\\'t use to have them -- about a handsome prince ( no disney movie would be complete without one ) . \\nher father , king triton of the merpeople , strictly forbids such lusting after the ways of the \" savage \" humans , in a condemnation that reads as a not-so-subtle analogy about old- fashioned parents who forbid interracial dating . \\nwhat\\'s a king to do , though ? \\nthe girl\\'s in love and even total destruction of her little shrine to the human world doesn\\'t deter her . \\nariel saves the prince\\'s life when a hurricane rises up , and just has to meet him . \\nshe makes a deal with ursula , the sea witch ( voice of pat carroll ) . \\nyou know she\\'s evil because she has a huge potbelly and one of the worst asses in cartoon history . \\nshe also has octopus tentacles for feet ( something those dr . scholl\\'s corn pads will not fix ) and offers to help ariel out . \\nshe\\'ll make her a human for three days if ariel will give up her pretty voice ; ariel has three days to make that prince kiss her , or else she becomes a slave to the witch forever . \\nand if she pricks her finger on a sewing machine or eats an evil apple , she\\'ll fall asleep forever . \\nit\\'s a simplistic plot , yes , but the little mermaid was a revolution in the disney world , coming after such lackluster efforts as the black cauldron and oliver and company . \\nit ranks as one of the best disney cartoons , certainly since the \\'50s . \\nall the elements are there -- memorable songs like \" under the sea \" and \" kiss the girl , \" cartoon animals like sebastian and flounder , an evil villain who still has characterization and charm , and a fair amount of humor that caters to adults as well as children . \\nthe little mermaid is worth a big-screen ticket in 1997 , so hurry up , you only have five days left . \\nserving america for more than 1/25th of a century ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'\\'traffic violation\\' dr . daniel\\'s review of u-turn \\ndr . d\\'s rating : critical condition ( \\nokay , here\\'s the deal . \\ni\\'ll be the first one to grant that everybody needs a day off now and then . \\ni\\'ll even go so far as to say that a vacation is a necessary part of doing any job well . \\ni mean , hey , i\\'ve been known to stretch a weekend into a three-day outing , if friday looks to be a slow day . \\nand if monday ain\\'t looking like a pick-me-up , well , i\\'ve been known to give martha nell a call and say , \" do me a favor , sweetheart . \\nbump old man ferguson\\'s boil lancing to tuesday morning , and tell miss audrey that i\\'ll swing by her house monday evening and see if we can\\'t get her trick knee back in line . \" \\na simple sentence like that , and i\\'ve got a nice four-day fishing trip with the boys , or more often than not , a trip up to cherokee , n . c . , for jackpot bingo and assorted other mountain funnery . \\nbut the point is , if you take a day off , do something different . \\nif you\\'ve worked yourself silly for months , relax a bit . \\nsleep in . \\neat pancakes at noon . \\nmicrowave an egg in its shell . \\nwatch pro wrestling with the sound off . \\nlisten to some barry white records at high speed . \\nwhatever . \\nbut do not , under any circumstances , spend your vacation doing the same thing you do for a living . \\nand , if you do , don\\'t make the final product look ten times worse than it would any other time . \\nbecause i do not want to hear your sob stories , oliver stone . \\nyou apparently thought you needed a break from making \" important films . \" \\ncool . \\nso you found this hinky little book and decided to make it a movie . \\nthat\\'s cool , too . \\nbut , ollie , old sage , do not take a good story and a hot cast and make one of the most pointless and worthless films of the decade . \\ni\\'m just eager to meet you one day , so i can buy you a stoli , look you in the eye and say , \" what in the wide world of sports were you thinking with u-turn ? \" \\nand i\\'ll stand there staring \\'til i get a straight answer . \\nsean penn stars u-turn , as bobby , a drifter who\\'s had some troubles a while back . \\nhe\\'s heading cross the desert minus two fingers when his mustang ragtop blows a radiator hose , stranding him in superior , arizona , held there by an \" ignorant , inbred , turtleneck hick \" of a mechanic named darrell . \\nwhile darrell puts a new hose on the ride , bobby walks into town to see what\\'s cooking . \\nis it needless of me to say that superior , arizona , is not exactly the shiny scrubbed home of all things lovely ? \\nprobably not . \\nbobby meets up with grace ( jennifer lopez ) , who invites him back to her place , for drape-hanging and other domestic issues . \\njust as those issues are starting up , grace\\'s husband , jake , storms in , looking like check-out day of the elks lodge convention . \\njust beats bobby silly . \\nbobby takes to the road , only to meet up with jake again , and jake asks bobby to kill grace . \\na little while later , grace asks bobby to kill jake . \\nthem murderous arizonians . \\ngotta love \\'em . \\nif any of this sounds familiar , congratulations . \\nyou win a kewpie doll . \\nthe story is a straight shoplift of red rock west , a cult favorite a few years back from john dahl , maker of the phenomenal the last seduction . \\nbut the contest doesn\\'t end there , guys and gals . \\nwe get steals from russ meyer movies , where everybody in town is horny and sweaty . \\nwe get the town from bad day at black rock , minus the train , plus busty women who can speak . \\nlook at any schwarzenegger film , and you\\'ll see our hero , bobby , as bobby has a mudhole stomped in his keister a dozen times , has his ribs stove in at least fifteen times , gets bit by a tarantula , gets shot at , and ends up with vultures circling overhead , all the while getting up like he just got a shaving nick . \\nbobby as terminator ? \\nstretch it a bit , and we have a five-finger discount from doc hollywood , where the whole story occurs because of car trouble , forcing the main character to stay at the mercy of the town and the mechanic . \\nokay , he\\'s working from a book , so maybe ollie\\'s not totally to blame for blatantly copping these ideas . \\ni just expect a man who can make up an alternative history of the united states to be able to craft a few original ideas before exposing the negative . \\ni just wish he hadn\\'t brought a cast like this together for what amounts to a group toe-stub . \\nsean penn gives a great performance , and jennifer lopez and nick nolte are as on target as they can be , playing over-the-top caricatures of stereotype characters . \\nthe best thing about the movie is watching penn react to the madness around him and try to figure out exactly what the blankety-blank is going on . \\ntoo bad it\\'s not fun to watch when it\\'s happening to us . . . while \\nwe sit through this mess of a film . \\nu-turn is not a bad film if you\\'re a fan of technique . \\nit\\'s the oliver stone you\\'ve always known . \\nrobert richardson is his usual cinematographer , and rob and ollie know how to shoot a flick -- great camera angles , shifting viewpoints , wicked colors , nice looking pictures . \\nbut pictures of what ? \\ni think i\\'d rather stare at a xeroxed envelope for two hours than try to figure out the tilt-o-whirl point of this loser film . \\nplot twists are one thing , repetition is almost unforgivable , and this is dang near as unforgivable as any movie i\\'ve seen in the past five years . \\noliver , i know your body of work is nothing to sniff at . \\nyou\\'ve been nice enough to limit us to only one doors movie , and films like platoon , jfk , wall street and nixon give us plenty to dig on . \\nyour scripts are certainly respectable , your budgets are up there on the screen , and your actors don\\'t dog it . \\nand i know that , maybe , with u-turn , you were just kicking back , just having fun . \\nthat\\'s fine . \\nbut don\\'t do that with a movie with the potential of this one . \\ndo some police academy sequel ( imagine that . ) \\ndo a big comedy , like a remake of it\\'s a mad , mad , mad , mad world . \\nbut do not drop a limp u-turn out of your pocket and expect us to accept it as \" an oliver stone movie , \" and not question why it stinks like week-old snook . \\nthere\\'s a right way to have fun , and a wrong way to have fun . \\nthis was as wrong as you can get without going to jail . \\n',\n",
+       " b'wong kar-wei\\'s \" fallen angels \" is , on a purely visceral level , one of the most exciting films i\\'ve seen in a long while . \\nunfortunately , wong seems more interested in experimenting with his camera than creating tangible characters for the audience to root for . \\nordinarily , that alone would be enough to sink a movie , but in the case of \" fallen angels \" , this is not so . \\nevery shot in this film is exciting just to * look * at . \\nwong does really interesting things with the camera , but he doesn\\'t allow the pyrotechnics to completely take over , as was the case with last years dismal \" knock off \" ( which contained a shot of a foot entering a shoe . \\nugh . ) \\nthe movie follows three pairs of lost souls as they struggle to find some meaning in their lives . \\ni can\\'t say much more than that as i didn\\'t really know what was going on most of the time . \\nin fact , it wasn\\'t until about halfway through the movie that i was able to distinguish between each character . \\nthe constantly moving camera doesn\\'t really allow for the audience to associate with any one character . \\nwe\\'re always kept at a distance from these people , i suppose in order to further add to the feeling of alienation felt by the characters . \\n \" fallen angels \" is a refreshing change-of-pace from most hollywood films , which never bother to try anything different , at least on a visual level . \\nin fact , i\\'d go so far as to say that \" fallen angels \" is more challenging visually than any mainstream hollywood film i\\'ve ever seen . \\nsure , there\\'s directors like robert rodriguez who enjoy turning violence into operatic orgies of death , but to see a filmmaker like wong who actually assaults the senses with images is truly something worth celebrating . \\nbut if wong wishes to become a legendary filmmaker , he needs to work on incorporating an actual story into those awesome images . \\nthere were far too many instances during \" fallen angels \" in which i asked myself , \" now who are these people again ? \\nis this that first couple or the second couple ? \" \\nit was impossible to keep track . \\nperhaps he could let the audience know right away which character is which , by introducing them to us with \" name cards \" , as in scorsese\\'s \" mean streets \" . \\nthat\\'s really besides the point , though . \\nwong kar-wei has proven himself , through very few films , that\\'s he\\'s a movie-maker to watch . \\nlet\\'s just hope that he hones his storytelling skills with his next few movies . \\n',\n",
+       " b'casting \" doogie howser \" star neil patrick harris as mind-reading military intelligence is only one of the guilty pleasures of \" starship troopers , \" a hugely entertaining , mega-budgeted sci-fi yarn directed by paul verhoeven , who\\'s making quite a recovery from his 1995 g-string epic \" showgirls . \" \\nsure , \" starship troopers \" qualifies as cinematic junk food , but that\\'s forgivable when the junk food is this tasty . \\neveryone needs a high-calorie change-of-pace from fall\\'s onslaught of costume dramas and other assorted oscar bait , and \" troopers \" does the job admirably despite its flaws . \\nfor its first hour , \" starship troopers \" plays like a cheeky futuristic hybrid of \" saved by the bell \" and \" g . i . \\njane . \" \\nin the distant years ahead , high school grad johnny rico ( casper van dien ) signs up for federal service along with his girlfriend carmen ( denise richards ) ; he gets accepted into the mobile infantry but she wants to travel to the fleet academy to become a starship pilot , so the couple is broken up . \\nbut there\\'s temptation awaiting both of them -- johnny\\'s is in the form of an old friend ( dina meyer ) also in the infantry and still harboring a secret crush , while carmen attracts the eye of her flirtatious instructor ( patrick muldoon ) . \\npersonal rivalry and sexual jealousy carry over into the final 65 minutes , when an impending alien menace begins making good on its threatening presence and obliterates part of south america , killing johnny\\'s parents and destroying his home . \\nour weakening , lovesick protagonist is given new reasons to stick around the mobile infantry , and is dispatched with a group of fellow fighters to the aliens\\' home planet , where he will head up a ground assault to end the threat for good . \\nbut the enemy is far smarter , more diabolical and numerous than the good guys give them credit for , and after an initial walloping , they must re-examine their strategy . \\nthe exposition -- played like a futuristic soap opera -- is silly , but aware of its own ridiculousness enough to merit more smiles than groans . \\nonce we get past the campy character introductions and the numerous ( but never boring ) training sessions , \" starship troopers \" really kicks into high gear . \\nits last half is all gruesomely violent action -- a fury of severed limbs , decapitations , disembowelments , brain removal , explosions and other jolt-inducers that are really going to please the 13- and 14-year-old boys lucky enough to dodge getting carded or caught on their way into this deservedly r-rated show . \\nthe creature design and special effects are amazing as expected , and their interaction with the human actors are a realistic , imaginative high point . \\nit\\'s nice to see intergalactic beasties that aren\\'t too derivative of the titular menace from \" alien . \" \\nthese monsters are appropriately terrifying sights , especially the arachnids , a spider-scorpion-crab combo that\\'s all sharp talons and even sharper legs . \\nthey attack in packs of hundreds , and it\\'s a funny , scary sight to see these bugs take repeated hits and still crawl , jerk and struggle towards their intended victims in a determined , gooey mess . \\nit matters not that they actually have a laughable master plan in mind ( ask yourself if a species like this seems capable of carrying out such a plot ) ; these sequences of insect warfare are numerous , bloody and immensely satisfying . \\nthe occasional dramatic moments -- one cast member\\'s death , the final resolution to johnny\\'s love triangle -- are botched , a testament to how \" starship troopers \" fails to create any strong , outstanding characters . \\nthese bland ken-and-barbie archetypes serve the story adequately enough to keep any distractions at arm\\'s length , but restrain the film from achieving a higher ground a la \" star wars , \" where even the slightest aliens had definite personality . \\nthe acting is decent ( but never spectacular ) ; most of the performers hail from aaron spelling territory -- smallish roles on \" beverly hills 90210 \" and/or \" melrose place \" -- and it occasionally shows . \\nvan dien , for example , is limited but perfectly likeable . \\nin smaller parts are the afore-mentioned neil patrick harris as johnny\\'s best friend and jake busey ( gary\\'s son ) as johnny\\'s sidekick ; the latter excels at playing creeps ( see \" the frighteners \" or \" contact \" ) but seems off-kilter as a second banana . \\n \" starship troopers \" is based on the novel by robert heinlein , a sci-fi writer who hasn\\'t exactly seen any recent adaptation justice done to any of his books what with 1994\\'s howler \" the puppet masters . \" \\nbut the overall familiarity to the \" alien \" trilogy -- and the promise of great gobs of gore -- could act as a crowd-drawer . \\nits own possible influence , however , might well work against it when the franchise continuation \" alien : resurrection \" opens in a few weeks . \\nwe will know then which film to crown as the best summer movie of the fall . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"you may not have heard of lucas , or if you have , you might not think much of it . \\nprobably because it stars corey haim , or maybe because it's about a little geek who collects insects , or maybe because it doesn't feature slick one-liners or the chart topping soundtrack albums that were almost a requirement for teen films in the 80's . \\nhowever , you have been missing out on a true masterpeice , the best film of 1986 , and the best film about adolescent life ever made . \\ncorey haim stars as lucas bligh , a tiny 14 year old with scruffy hair , thick glasses , and an interest in insects and other outdoor life . \\none day he stops by the tennis courts and sees what must be an angel to him . \\nher name is maggie , a 16 year old who certainly is a beauty , with lovely red hair and a sweet , innocent complexion . \\nmaggie seems to be a little disturbed by this little kid watching her , but somehow he interests her , and soon they are talking and getting to know one another . \\nthey gradually become good friends , and spend the summer together doing various things , such as studying insects ( namely locusts , who come out of hiding once every 17 years ) , playing tennis , and listening to a symphony orchestra through a manhole cover . \\nlucas is obviously in love with maggie , and while she is charmed by him , it's clear that she would never consider him anything more than a very good friend . \\nthis is not clear to lucas , however . \\nhe still beleives that maggie is his soulmate , and he dreads the impending start of school because he knows what's about to happen . \\nwe soon find out why in a painful scene where lucas is humiliated by the jocks during a pep rally . \\nthey throw him on stage , right in front of his beloved maggie . \\nsurprisingly , he turns the tables on the jocks with some clowning around , but he takes it too far , and is embarassed in front of the entire school . \\nthe next scene is brilliant . \\nmaggie follows lucas outside of the pep rally . \\nshe tries to talk to him as if nothing happened . \\nhe rails back against her , in a cruel unfair fashion . \\nin lesser movies this would've turned into a confrontation between the two characters . \\nbut maggie is written smarter than that . \\nshe understands what lucas is feeling and knows exactly what to say to console him . \\nnext we are introduced to another great character named cappie ( charlie sheen ) . \\nhe is a jock with a typical cheerleader girlfriend . \\nwhat's interesting about him is that he sticks up for lucas and protects him from the other jocks . \\nof course anyone with a brain can tell what's gonna happen next . \\ncappie will cause conflict in maggie and lucas' relationship . \\nthis begins in classic scene in the school laundry room when cappie and maggie are alone . \\nshe's been assigned to show him how to operate the washer/dryer so he can clean his shirt . \\nmaggie is charmed by cappie's tender undertsanding demeanor , not to mention his shirtless body . \\nthis scene is so delicate and sweet , but cappie still has a girlfriend , preventing either one from acting on their desires . \\ndesperately trying to puncture the tension , cappie begins to kick basketballs around the room . \\nit's not long before cappie does break up with his girlfriend ( in the films only subpar scene ) . \\nlucas finally figures out what's going on when he tries to pick maggie up for the dance . \\nthis causes him to take severe actions to prove himself to maggie and himself , such as try out for the football team . \\nthe last third of the film revolves around this attempt . \\nwhile the idea seems cliched , the way it is executed is not . \\nthere are many surprises during the last half hour which lead to an ending so emotionally involving it should make the most heartless of cynics get choked up . \\ndave grusin's memorable score , played at the perfect moments , certainly helps . \\nlucas is filled with great performances . \\nforget everything you know about corey haim . \\nback in 1986 he had talent , and that is proven here as he delivers a perfect fully 3-dimensional performance filled with anger , humor , and pain . \\nkerri green is very appealing as maggie , showing us why she cares about lucas so much and why he is so attracted to her . \\nsheen's cappie is almost too good to be true , but sheen makes him beleivable , especially when he explains the reason why he protects lucas . \\nthere are other wonderful minor characters such as ciro popitti's ben , a friend of lucas , whose diminutive stature does not mean he will take crap from the jocks . \\nalso turning up in a few key scenes is winona ryder as rina , the girl who admires lucas from afar . \\nwhen people talk about the great teen angst films of the 80s , you hear john hughes this and john hughes that . \\nlucas seems to be lost among the crowd of his so-called classics . \\nbut hopefully , like with heathers and say anything , lucas can begin to find it's own loyal following and help people realize there were more to the 80s than anthony michael hall and molly ringwald . \\nit deserves more than that , but i don't want to be greedy . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"the stereotypical american male has an undeniable fetishistic love of sports cars . \\nproducer jerry bruckheimer plays upon that attraction with a movie so loaded with testosterone and laced titillatingly with shot after frenetic shot of powerful muscle cars , sleek foreign road huggers and iconic speed machines that many males will leave the theater in an orgasmic haze . \\ngone is 60 seconds is an orgy of maleness gone horribly awry . \\ncage is legendary retired car thief , memphis raines ( don't you love cute movie names ) , who must call upon his time worn skills to save his thick-headed brother ( ribisi ) from being killed . \\nseems a murderous crime boss ( eccleston ) with a fetish for wood ( insert your own joke ) hired brother kip to steal a ridiculous amount of expensive , exotic autos . \\nfifty cars , to be exact . \\npoor kip screws the pooch and bungles the job badly . \\nif the cars aren't delivered in three days , bossman has a casket carved out just for kip . \\nliterally . \\nif only someone could save him . \\nhmmmm . . wonder \\nwhat memphis is doing ? \\nin order to give the film some emotional heft , there are several subplots designed to tug at our heartstrings or give us the thrill of . . . yawn , excuse me , dramatic tension . \\nshadowing memphis is an old law enforcement foe ( lindo ) who's looking to send memphis away . \\nwill he catch him ? \\nthere's old flame sway ( jolie ) , who had her heart broken by memphis years ago . \\nwill they get back together ? \\nshortsighted , thrill seeker kip idolizes his brother , yet resents him for moving away from the family . \\nwill they reconnect ? \\nraines old mentor ( duvall ) has long since left the life of crime . \\nwill memphis get him finally caught as he pulls him back into the life , one more time ? \\ncan you answer all these questions correctly in 2 seconds without seeing the film first ? \\ni'll bet you can . \\nfollowing the opening credits , which fill you in on the accomplishments of the raines family through a montage of old photos , we was taken full throttle into the splendor that is memphis . \\nhe's first shown living the good life teaching young children to drive go-carts . \\nin a later scene , as misfit brother kip knowingly tells memphis he has the stolen car situation under control , all the while making breakfast , a metaphor is made of shakespearean proportions . \\njust as a pan of grease flares up with kip clueless to how to quell it , big brother memphis calmly and efficiently throws some salt on it . \\nlooks like everything might turn out alright after all . \\nyou know this because the music swells on the crest of violins . \\nthat's about as strong as the characterization gets , which is a shame . \\nbruckheimer has a real talent for loading his movies with an obscene amount of talent given the task at hand . \\nmonumentally underused jolie portrays an empty headed sexpot whose idea of sex revolves around cars and memphis . \\nor maybe it's just the cars . \\nduvall trots out his ornery , but sweet old codger outfit . \\ni'm sure he's still laughing at taking a paycheck for this one . \\nlindo projects a warm hearted , but tightly focused detective that almost transcends the material . \\nthe biggest waste of resources is vinnie jones , who plays a mute accomplice of memphis . \\nwithout saying a word , he is easily the most charismatic person in the movie . \\nlike a blast of nitrous oxide , he attacks each scene with a straightforward zeal . \\ntoo bad his minutes onscreen are so few . \\nsomehow , bruckheimer manages to attract top hollywood acting talent to high concept , poorly written movies , gussies up the film with lots of gold hues and pleasingly stylized action and they sell like proverbial hotcakes . \\nevery time something clever happens it's counterbalanced by something so overtly wrong that it jerks you back into realizing you're watching a movie . \\nthere's a innovative usage of black lighting that goes from being a novelty to a part of the plot . \\nit's counterbalanced by an extremely feeble attempt at humor by having an asian american repeatedly failing a driver's test . \\nimagine the yuks . \\nthere's a segment where one of the thieves shows another his cool fake fingerprint trick . \\nit's countered by the lame semi-subplot of a car being stolen with a bunch of heroin in the trunk . \\nthe ramifications are never explored . \\nthen there's the ridiculousness of the many cops who actually shoot at fleeing cars . \\nnot only is it stupid , but it's against the law . \\nthis is a movie made of pretty , but tepid car chases strung together by just enough character interaction to move the plot along . \\ngone in 60 seconds aptly describes how long it'll take for this marginally entertaining , but empty film to leave your memory . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" footloose \" has only one goal in mind : to reel in an audience with cheesy sentiment and feel-good antics . \\nand i hate to admit it ; i fell for it . \\nthe movie is about a teenager ( bacon ) who moves to a small town from the big city , and discovers that dancing has been banned by the local reverend ( lithgow ) . \\nhe ends up falling for the preacher\\'s daughter ( singer ) and showing the whole town what the magic of dance can do . \\nas mentioned at the beginning of this review , \" footloose \" is an extremely hokey and predictable teen drama . \\nthere are virtually no surprises , and the writing is second-rate . \\nso why did i enjoy it so much ? \\nfor one thing , the cast is great . \\nkevin bacon oozes charisma in an early role . \\nwe\\'re rooting for him right from the start , and , unlike most films of this genre , bacon doesn\\'t play him as the \" rebel without a clue \" sort . \\nyes , he does rebel , but he\\'s also polite when he needs to be . \\nand he never broods . \\nthe rest of the cast is equally impressive . \\njohn lithgow , seen here playing a normal guy for a change , is playing a man who would normally be a flat out villian . \\nbut lithgow plays him as a concerned father who is trying to do what he feels is best for his daughter . \\nby the end of the film , we feel a genuine sense of love and understanding between him and the lori singer character . \\nanother nice touch is the music . \\nwe see the parents of the kids complaining that the music they listen to is filled with \" sexual innuendos \" , but that\\'s not true at all . \\nthe title track , performed by kenny loggins , is upbeat and fun . \\nduring the final sequence , i was overcome with the urge to get off the couch and start dancing . \\nof course , i soon realized that would be a little pathetic . \\nanyway , \" footloose \" is a charming little surprise . \\ndon\\'t let the premise prevent you from watching it . \\nit sucked me in , and it\\'ll do the same to you . \\n',\n",
+       " b'she was the femme in \" la femme nikita . \" \\nhe was the baldwin in \" backdraft , \" \" sliver , \" and \" fair game \" ( with cindy crawford ) . \\ntogether , anne parillaud and william baldwin conspire to make \" shattered image \" the biggest piece of hooey since the stallone/stone \" thriller \" \" the specialist . \" \\nthe film poses the question \" what if the life you\\'re living now is really a dream , and your dreams reality ? \" \\nit\\'s either about a woman who\\'s haunted by a recurring ( and recurring and recurring ) nightmare that she\\'s a hired assassin , or it\\'s about a hired assassin who\\'s haunted by a recurring ( and recurring and recurring ) nightmare that she\\'s honeymooning with william baldwin in jamaica . \\nit doesn\\'t much matter and believe me by the time \" shattered image \" runs its painful and pedestrian course you won\\'t care . \\nthese two lives , with parillaud looking like siouxsie sioux with a black wig , black emotionless eyes , and black leather clothing in the seattle-based assassin scenes , and moping around like karen carpenter in the jamaica scenes , play out endlessly throughout the film and the result is it\\'s now * twice * as boring as it might have been . \\nit\\'s not that complicated plots can\\'t be entertaining . \\nof course it helps if you have interesting characters , crisp dialogue , and a modicum of style . \\n \" shattered image \" isn\\'t complex , it\\'s just stupid . \\nand boring . \\nparillaud and baldwin , who aren\\'t exactly shakespearean material to begin with , are saddled with such leaden dialogue that their characters have zero chance of breaking free of their cardboard confines . \\nlines like : \\n \" you don\\'t beg , you insist . \\ni like that in a woman . \" \\nthat\\'s parillaud\\'s character talking . . . \\nto her cat ! \\nand : \\n \" you\\'re not the reason i couldn\\'t care less about you . \" \\nhuh ? \\nand this wonderful bathroom interchange early in the film : \\n \" if you give me a couple of minutes you know i\\'ll charm the pants off you . \" \\n \" i don\\'t have that kind of time . \" \\ntalking of pants , parillaud has her clothes off faster than you can say \" point of no return . \" \\nwe have come to expect this from billy baldwin , but it might have been nice to have learned something about their characters first . \\nbut there\\'s nothing to learn . \\nkaren is as interesting as a cereal box , a someone\\'s-out-to-get-me crybaby who imagines the voice at the other end of the phone , the stranger who sends her flowers , maybe even her husband himself , is her would-be killer . \\nsiouxsie is the chromium cool , tough-as-nails crack killing machine who shoots out a couple of mirrors in order to justify the film\\'s meaningless stock title . \\nbaldwin seems more interested in parillaud\\'s nest egg ( so that he can pave paradise and put up a parking lot ) than he does in her . \\neach time graham greene shows up he gets killed . \\nbarbet schroeder ( \" reversal of fortune \" ) co-produced and should be ashamed of himself . \\nevery now and again it\\'s fun to watch a really bad movie . \\nand every now and again , as \" shattered image \" makes agonizingly clear , it isn\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       " b'saw an advanced screening of the movie sniper last night , and i have to say i wasn\\'t too impressed . \\nthis film is about an expert marine sniper , played by tom berenger , who is teamed with a hot-shot-young-no-experience-never-killed-a-man new partner to take out some drug-kingpins and military strong men in panama . \\nsound cliche ? \\nthat\\'s only the beginning . \\nbilly zane ( memphis belle ) played the rookie , and never seemed to get a handle on his character . \\nhe was so contrary and pig-headed in the beginning , you just wanted to smack him . \\nthen he goes \" crazy \" from the pressure , but seems to immediately snap out of it . \\ni\\'m not sure if the blame should lie with the directing , editing , scriptwriting , or acting . . . \\nbut it didn\\'t all come together . \\ni think berenger is a pretty good actor , and he looked great in the part , covered in camo , face painted , stalking through the jungle with his high-power rifle . . . \\nbut once again , his character was given some pretty bad dialogue , and didn\\'t react too logically to many of the situations . \\nthere was very little logical development in these characters . \\nmy biggest problem with this film was it\\'s tendency to put these two snipers in as * many * inches-from-death situations as possible . \\nthey began to resemble g . i . joes , the greatest american hero . \\nand of course their almost supernatural accuracy with their guns was called upon to get them out of far too many close calls . \\nnow a lot of movies are stamped out of this mold , in fact that\\'s what made die hard so much fun : the super-hero avenger type . \\nso some will enjoy the action hero heroics , but i didn\\'t think it fit with the nice tension that was built up in the earlier scenes , and the \" real life \" feel of covert operations in panama . \\na word must be said on the camera work , much of it was very nice . \\nthe jungles of panama ( or their stand-ins in this case ) formed a very picturesque background . . . \\nand the drama of speeding bullets was captured using some nice trick photography . \\nmany have seen the slowed down \" bullet-cam \" following the projectile to its target . \\nthis was used well in the beginning to show the feverish nightmares berenger gets when remembering the moment of the kill . \\nit was dramatic when used in flashback . . . but \\nit seems the director liked the technique so much he started inserting these shots ( pardon the pun ) into the real time action . . . then \\nit just seemed silly . \\nall in all , not a real dog : there is some nice action , good atmosphere , and pretty photography . \\nbut the plot is pretty lame , the acting didn\\'t form a cohesive whole , and far too much thisclosefromdeath heroics . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in recent years , harrison ford has been such a grave screen presence , scowling through the likes of tom clancy\\'s jack ryan series , _the_fugitive_ , and last year\\'s smash _air_force_one_ , that one wonders if the rogue charm that made him such a superstar had been completely drained from his system . \\napparently , it was just lying dormant . \\nwith ivan reitman\\'s enjoyable romantic comedy/adventure _six_days , _seven_nights_ , the lovable scoundrel is back , giving audiences a fresh reminder of why ford is one of the most enduring and popular modern screen icons . \\nford plays quinn harris , a carefree and slightly slobby ( endearingly so ) pilot in the tropics whose broken-down plane crashes in a storm , stranding him and his charter , new york magazine editor robin monroe ( anne heche ) , on a deserted island . \\nof course , the sophisticated robin and the salt-of-the-earth quinn are at odds long before the plane goes down , and all manner of hostile repartee is exchanged between the two from their first meeting . \\nwhile some of the lines fall flat , the formulaic motions work because of the unexpectedly electric chemistry between ford and heche . \\nboth actors , who have largely done serious works as of late , seem liberated by the lack of dramatic weight on their shoulders , and they deliver their zingers , as weak as they sometimes are , with beguiling abandon . \\nnaturally , there\\'s nothing like a life-threatening crisis to bring two people together , and quinn and robin\\'s warmup to each other is sped up even further by the arrival of some bloodthirsty pirates . \\ngranted , some conflict needed to be introduced on the island , but this tacked-on development from writer michael browning is a bit too obviously thrown in for the purpose of adding gratuitous action scenes . \\nbut the point is to get the two together , and their newfound affection causes complications for both , but mostly robin , who came to the islands on a vacation with her fiance frank ( david schwimmer ) , who frantically awaits her return on the home island . \\nreitman , and old , reliable hand at breezy comedies , keeps the pace brisk and capably handles the more action-oriented sequences . \\nhis big accomplishment , however , is bringing the old , smiling ford back . \\nas appealing and charismatic as he always is , ford hasn\\'t been quite this charming and affable in years ; he\\'s obviously having a blast , and the audience cannot help but have one along with him . \\nholding her own is heche , whose scrappy character never becomes the screaming ninny she initially promises to be ( as the plane goes down , she frantically pops stress pills ) . \\nshe can take her lumps , physical and otherwise , just as well as quinn , making her a formidable foil and ideal match . \\nformulaic and light as a feather , _six_days , _seven_nights_ could be cited as a classic example of the summer \" popcorn \" movie season\\'s lack of substance . \\nit\\'s certainly fluff , but it\\'s unpretentious , undemanding , and--most importantly--fun fluff that goes down as easily as a frothy pina colada on a balmy tropical beach . \\npass the popcorn . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : easily-angered , chainsmoking architect david encounters his homicidal first wife diedre five years after their divorce . \\ndiedre easily cons david\\'s not-so-bright new wife molly into believing she\\'s a child psychologist so that she can influence molly and david\\'s quick-tempered son , michael . \\ndiedre , at the same time , murders a bunch of people . \\ncomments : the ex is a very bad movie . \\ni haven\\'t seen a turkey of this magnitude in quite a while . \\ni kept vacillating , however , between giving the ex one star for its sheer awfulness and three stars for its campy humor ( ultimately , i decided to split the difference and give it two stars ) . \\nas summarized briefly in the synopsis , this is yet another spurned-psycho-lover-gets-her-revenge type movie . \\ni\\'m not sure how many films have been produced since fatal attraction which use this tired storyline , but it seems like 10 , 000 , 000 , 000 . \\nthe ex , however , though following many of the standard cliches of this thriller subgenre , differs slightly from the norm in that , at least , it doesn\\'t take itself too seriously like so many other duds do ( malicious and stalked are two examples which come to mind ) . \\nthose involved in the movie realize they\\'re in a turkey , apparently , and turn in hammy performances which compliment the ludicrous dialogue contained within the script . \\nthe ex\\'s storyline , as i said , incorporates many cliches predominant in films of its nature ; however , the plot is so overwrought and unbelievable that , after a while , the viewer must accept that logic does not operate in the realm of the movie . \\ndiedre , david\\'s first wife , kills and kills and kills , for example , without ever having to worry about police investigations and the like ( it\\'s not as though she\\'s bright enough not to leave fingerprints at the scene of the crime ) . \\ndavid and his new wife molly have an incredibly difficult time understanding why michael , their son , has emotional problems , specifically his inability to control his anger . \\nthough david smokes like tomorrow will never come and blows up at people every other minute in the movie , the connection between him and his son is not made . \\nmolly is easily swayed by diedre into believing she\\'s a child psychologist and allows the demented woman to spend time with her son . \\ntime and time again , things do not add up in this movie . \\nif a viewer can\\'t accept this fact , then he will definately not like the ex . \\nif , on the other hand , he can appreciate the movie for its campiness , then he\\'ll probably like it much better . \\ni don\\'t mean to necessarily suggest , however , that the ex is a memorable exercise in camp . \\neven when viewed from an it\\'s-so-bad-it\\'s-good angle , this movie isn\\'t all that successful . \\nthe ex does have its moments , though , almost all of which involve yancy butler ( the psychotic diedre ) and nick mancuso ( david ) . \\nthese two actors turn in decidedly hammy performances which , oftentimes , elicit chuckles from the audience . \\nthe truly awful lines written for them help this humor along . \\nbutler gets the larger portion of bad dialogue ; every time her character kills someone , she has a punchline that\\'s unbelievably inane . \\nwhen she murders a tenant of an apartment she wishes to use to spy on david , for example , diedre whacks the elderly lady with a crowbar and states \" i\\'m so sorry , your lease is terminated . \" \\nor how about when diedre takes out her therapist in another ridiculous scene ? \\n ( diedre\\'s therapist wishes to have her recommitted , so she decides to visit diedre , alone , in her new apartment -- never realizing , of course , that it\\'s not her\\'s . \\ntherapists typically are catatonically brain-dead in these movies ) . \\nhaving successfully snuffed the woman out , diedre looks at the body and says : \" what was it that you always said to me at the end of each session , dr . jones ? \\noh , that\\'s right . \\n\\'i\\'m sorry , but your time is up ! \\' \" \\nthis is what passes for humor in the film . \\nthe audience doesn\\'t necessarily laugh but groan ( the type of groan that suggests the audience can\\'t believe they\\'re watching this crap -- although watching it they are ) . \\nnick mancuso\\'s chainsmoking , nervous-wreck character does not have the cheesy lines that butler\\'s character delivers , but his ridiculously overdone performance provides for some better comic relief . \\nin between drags off his cigarette , for instance , in one of the movie\\'s best scenes , david tries to explain to his lawyer what a creep his ex-wife is . \\nin exaggerated exasperation , he nearly shouts \" the woman is a cuckoo-bird ! \" \\n ( trust me , it is funny in context . ) \\nand so , the movie continues until its painfully obvious conclusion . \\ni won\\'t reveal the ending specifically ( though anyone remotely familiar with thrillers of this type could probably guess the ending just from this film review ) , but i will say that the ex has one of the biggest fire hazards appearing recently in film . \\nmolly and david own a cabin that becomes engulfed by flames in approximately three seconds ! \\nmolly , at one point in the film , not-so-brilliantly observes , after discovering diedre has moved into an apartment across from her family\\'s to spy upon them , that \" she\\'s crazy . \" \\nyou\\'d be pretty crazy too if you\\'d rented this turkey . \\ni\\'d avoid it unless it\\'s on tv and you come across it . \\nif you do , you may want to watch it , groan at the bad punchlines and stupid plot , and feel good that you didn\\'t spend money renting it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'he has spent his entire life in an awful little apartment , raised and cared for and imprisoned by his domineering mother . \\nshe inspires his love and his fear , and instills in him a similar love and fear of jesus . \\nhe has a rudimentary grasp of language , mouthing monosyllables and repetitions of his mother\\'s phrases . \\nhe is taught that the world outside is fatally poisonous ; his mother dons a gasmask whenever she goes out the door . \\nhe is 35-years-old in body , but a child in mind and spirit . \\nhe is the premise for bad boy bubby , a defiantly original australian movie about a man called bubby ( nicholas hope ) who has spent his entire life in an awful little apartment , etc . , etc . then one day his father ( ralph cotterill ) appears . \\nhis father is a shabby down-at-heels priest who appears to have permanently misplaced his religion . \\nunsurprisingly , he is not thrilled with the way \" his \" boy has turned out . \\nhe is , however , rather pleased at renewing his acquaintance with the mother ( claire benito ) , and , more to the point , her ample breasts . \\nsoon they are copulating on the dingy couch , while bubby crouches , confused , in the next room , acutely aware that the mother who had devoted all her attention to him has a new interest . \\nbubby\\'s relationship to the world may be warped , but it is at least stable . \\nthe father\\'s arrival disturbs his precarious balance , causing an oedipal conflict which ends--freud would be pleased--in violence and , as a result , freedom . \\nbubby intuits from his father\\'s arrival that the air outside is breathable : he leaves the apartment , his past , his world , behind . \\nso far , so good . \\nthe first thirty minutes or so of bad boy bubby , which bring us to this point , are quite brilliant . \\nthe movie is at its best when its stays within the constraints of bubby\\'s hermetic two-room universe . \\nit follows through unrelentingly on the implications of its premise : bubby is used by his mother for sex , he unwittingly suffocates the pet cat with cellophane , he is terrifed by the notion that jesus will beat him senseless if he sins . \\nit is grim and savage and appalling , but also strangely tender--de heer , having imagined a life as bizarre as bubby\\'s , does not exaggerate for comic or grotesqe purposes , but simply empathizes . \\nhe observes what it might be like . \\nthe intensity of these opening scenes , with their minimalist mise-en-scene , immerses us in a claustrophobic environment which seems to be a decayed stratum of our own world , and owes much to david lynch\\'s eraserhead , not least the ambient industrial white noise of the soundtrack . \\nfor thirty minutes , the movie maintains the feel and mood of a reality that does not seem far removed from our own . \\nthen de heer lets bubby out , brings him into contact with our world , and the film never quite recovers . \\nour unlikely hero finds himself in port adelaide , where he wanders the streets and meets people , where he suffers and learns and survives . \\nhe is seduced by a young woman from a salvation army band ( how an anti-social half-wit with no sense of hygiene manages to get laid mere hours after his escape is not the sort of question the film encourages , wisely ) ; he is given free pizza by a sympathetic waitress ; he insults a traffic cop and is punched in the stomach ; he shares a few beers in the back of a truck with a rock group ; he is imprisoned and raped ; he becomes a translator for mentally handicapped people whose speech is impaired beyond comprehension ; he is loved by a motherly large-breasted nurse ( carmel johnson ) . \\n . \\n . \\nit goes on , by turns inventive , silly , tasteless , endearing , and sometimes all of these things at once . \\nde heer never seems to be sure how bubby should interface with the real world : the tone shifts , uneasily , from fable to realism to satire and back again . \\nthe scenes which try to touch base with a believable version of reality are the weakest ; the film is best understood as a kind of parable , and , indeed , the religious implications of bubby\\'s experiences are foregrounded : icons of jesus on the cross hang from the mother\\'s walls , bubby dons a priest\\'s collar stolen from his father , a church organ-playing atheist lectures him on the necessity of unbelief , the woman who redeems him is named angel . \\nthe manifold stresses of our world do not shatter bubby\\'s mind , do not fragment him into psychosis ; rather , the world accomodates him , and heals him . \\nalthough de heer\\'s touch is at times overbearing , bubby\\'s salvation is touching ; what seemd at first a harsh lesson in the damaging effects of the social construction of reality becomes a na ? ve humanist tale of improbable hope . \\na hapless rock group write a song about bubby and sing it for him and so give him the gift of community . \\nhe returns the favour when he steps on stage one night and becomes their frontman , turning the fragmented impressions of his experiences into performance art , and turning the band into a popular draw . \\ninnocence triumphs . \\nbubby becomes a holy fool , an idiot savant , and graces us with wisdom . \\nit\\'s a strange turn of events , but by now we shouldn\\'t be surprised , because bad boy bubby ain\\'t like other movies . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" the tailor of panama \" is a different kind of spy movie . \\ndespite the presence of pierce brosnan , there is nary a hint of james bond flash here . \\ninstead of big action scenes , leering super villains and empty-headed femme fatales , we get interesting characters and an intriguing situation . \\nbased on the novel by john le carr ? , who also co-wrote the screenplay , the film offers viewers something rarely seen in theaters this time of year : a solid , well-told story . \\nbrosnan plays andy osnard , a british operative walking on thin ice . \\nhis british superiors ship him off to panama , making sure he understands that he had better not screw up the placement . \\nosnard arrives in the tropics virtually oozing contempt for his new co-workers and his new home base . \\nwhen shown the bridge of the americas by a person marveling over the fact that , since the creation of the panama canal , the structure is the sole connection between north and south america , he barely keeps from yawning . \\nbrosnan clearly relishes the chance to be the antithesis of 007 , investing the suave spy with a distinct reptilian quality coupled with an air of indifference that irks his fellows to no end . \\nsearching for a way to get information on the government , osnard sets his sights on harry pendel ( geoffrey rush ) , an unctuous tailor serving the panamanian elite . \\nharry claims to be a transplant from britain\\'s renowned saville row , but osnard knows his secret : the tailor is an ex-con who served five years in prison after torching his uncle\\'s shop in an insurance scam . \\nhe also knows that harry is up to his ears in debt , having spent a fortune on an unsuccessful farm . \\nosnard offers harry a way out . \\nhe will pay for information harry has gathered from his upscale clientele . \\neager to comply , harry offers what he knows , then starts concocting tidbits to keep the money flowing . \\nbefore long , he is forced to spy on his loving wife , louisa ( jamie lee curtis ) , an aide to the canal director . \\nharry\\'s little lies build , eventually taking on a life of their own . \\nosnard turns in reports about the \" silent opposition , \" a group threatening to upset the balance of control over the canal . \\nthe bogus revelation proves explosive , leading to meetings in washington d . c . over how to best protect the vital waterway . \\nmeanwhile , osnard wallows in his newfound status , enjoying the best the city has to offer and wooing an attractive co-worker . \\nand harry grows ever more fretful , fearing the consequences if his clients , not to mention his wife , learn about his lies . \\ngeoffrey rush is wonderful as harry , fawning over his customers by day and savoring his rich family life in the evenings , all while playing secret agent in the off hours with his new benefactor . \\nrush makes harry a credible figure , presenting the various levels of the character so effectively that he remains sympathetic despite his duplicity . \\nafter gaining fame playing larger than life characters , rush flips everything around for this role , using his energy to depict the quiet desperation of a man slowly realizing that the solution to his troubles may be worse than the original problems . \\nalthough she gets far too little screen time , jamie lee curtis imbues louisa with a depth greater than the screenplay provides her . \\nof the central characters , she is the only one that exhibits maturity and genuine self-confidence . \\ncurtis is one of my favorite female actors ; whiplash smart , sultry and charismatic , she deserves more than supporting roles . \\nspeaking of supporting characters , there are some great ones here . \\nharold pinter is amusing as harry\\'s uncle benny , who pops up throughout the story in a number of creative ways . \\nalso shoring up the proceedings is jon polito as a corrupt banker and dylan baker , who is a riot as a united states general straight out of the dr . strangelove school of armed patriotism . \\nbut the most important secondary performers are leonor varela and brendan gleeson , both outstanding as two wounded activists . \\ntheir presence adds weight to the story , reminding us that beyond the charades of the leading men , there are real people that have suffered greatly over the politics connected to the canal . \\ndirector john boorman adds additional verisimilitude by shooting the film on location . \\ninstead of using panama city merely as a colorful backdrop , he adroitly weaves in footage of all aspects of life there . \\nthe metropolis , described by one character as \" casablanca without heroes \" pulsates with life , underling the folly of the two foreigners playing dangerous games that could have a disastrous impact on a great many people . \\n \" the tailor of panama \" succeeds because the principals behind it were bright enough to make it more than a simple entertainment . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : the best place to start if you\\'re a jackie chan newcomer . \\nroars along , never stops for breath , and frequently hilarious . \\nto talk about jackie chan as a \" stuntman \" is to miss a million things . \\njackie is not only one of the most accomplished and fearsomely unafraid physical adepts on the screen today , but also a very funny guy . \\nhe reminds me of the way arnold schwartzenegger * used * to make me laugh -- he\\'s funny just standing there , copping a look . \\nsupercop has jackie making us laugh , scream , duck , root , and gasp for breath , often all in the same scene . \\nit\\'s actually the third in a loosely related series of movies , each with jackie playing kevin chan , a hong kong policeman who has a knack for getting neck-deep into trouble and then karate-kicking his way out of it . \\n ( the others are also worth seeing . ) \\nit\\'s a little slow to start , but once it gets moving , it\\'s a field day . \\nthe movie has a fairly sophisticated plot for movies of this kind . \\nkevin is tapped for a dangerous dea assignment to be accomplished in mainland china , which requires him to collaborate with the attractive ( and ass-kicking ) chief fo chinese security ( played here by the ever-enjoyable michelle yeoh ) . \\nthere\\'s a fun chemistry between the two of them , especially in an early scene where she tries to brief him and he keeps making wondering comments about how great she looks in that uniform . \\nkevin is assigned to help spring a known gangster from jail -- all undercover , of course -- and have him lead the two of them to a noted drug boss . \\nthe drug boss , however , has problems of his own : his wife\\'s on trial for many of his own crimes , and she\\'s got the key to an account with all of his drug funds . \\nthis means , of course , endless trouble -- not the least of which is that kevin bumps into his girlfriend while he\\'s out in the field , and she sees him with this other woman , and . . . but that\\'s one of the movie\\'s unique pleasures : the way it crosses from action to comedy effortlessly . \\naction . there is , of course , non-stop action in this movie -- everything from one-on-one kung fu to all-out gun battles to a sppedboat with eight engines ( ! ) \\noutrunning the hong kong coast guard . \\nthere is also a virtuoso climax , which features , among other things , jackie danging from a ladder tied to a helicopter , a wrong-way freeway chase ( which requires michelle to do an awesomely difficult handstand stunt ) , a fight on top of a moving train that also involves the \\'copter as well as a motorcycle . \\nyou get the idea . \\nthis is to action movies what a burger with everything on it is to fast food : quick , enjoyable , filling . \\nwatch it with friends . \\nwhen they stop making movies like this , the world will be a tad greyer . \\n',\n",
+       " b'director david fincher has such an eye for detail which is very rare in hollywood these days ( terry gilliam comes to mind as another one ) . \\nfilm is one of the best art forms because not only can you tell a story , but you can use the camera to capture the smallest detail and have it mean something . \\nbut most directors seem to go for action with the slightest ounce of a story . \\nso whenever a director uses the camera to its fullest potential , the film almost automatically deserves a good review . \\nand when they add a fascinating story to it , you have nearly perfect entertainment . \\nfincher\\'s the game is no exception to this . \\nthe game is one of the most interesting and complex films to come out of hollywood in a long time . \\nfincher hasn\\'t made a film since \" seven , \" his box office and critical hit which defied expectations and became one of the best movies ever . \\nso it is about time he made another film . \\nand what a ride it is . \\nthe game isn\\'t quite as powerful as \" seven , \" but in some ways it is better . \\noverall , the game could have used a little more clarity , or a little more uncertainty . \\nit walks a line of insanity and reality , but it never goes either way until the very end . \\nthe outcome is satisfying enough for the preceding events , and it makes a lot of sense once everything is set straight . \\nunfortunately , unlike \" the usual suspects , \" we are never given enough information to figure out for ourselves what is happening , whether it be true or false . \\nhowever , this also gives the film a frightening aspect which the game uses to the fullest extent . \\nthe game is told completely from its main character\\'s point of view . \\nnicholas van orton ( michael douglas ) is a high-strung and isolated businessman . \\nhe lives alone in his giant mansion , divorced from his wife elizabeth , and is celebrating his 48th birthday ; the same age at which his father committed suicide at , in the same mansion . \\nfor his 48th birthday , conrad ( sean penn ) , the rebel of the family , gives nicholas a gift certificate to crs : consumer recreation services . \\n \" it will make your life fun again , \" his brother promises . \\nas skeptical as nicholas is , he is somewhat intrigued , and annoyed by the lack of information--something this businessman hates . \\nseeing a billboard in an office , he decides to visit the mysterious company . \\njim feingold ( james rebhorn ) greets nicholas and guides him through the sign-up process , which consists of psych-tests , physicals , emotional responses , and other mind games . \\n \" each game is suited to each person\\'s emotional and psychological needs , \" explains feingold . \\none day , nicholas gets a call from crs and they explain that he failed the tests . \\neven more intrigued and now somewhat angered at the time he spent signing up , he starts asking around to see what people can tell him about the company . \\nwhat he doesn\\'t realize is that the game has already begun . \\nthe phone call is just the first of many strange events to be thrown nicholas\\' way . \\nhow he finds out that he is involved has to be witnessed because it is amusing and fun and visually impressive . \\nthe detail involved in fincher\\'s shots is incredible and almost requires a second viewing just to appreciate the effort that went into them . \\nwith \" seven , \" fincher had almost every single shot mean something . \\nhe also has the unique ability to make you look at exactly what he wants you to . \\ncompared to \" seven , \" though , the game is light and comical . \\nbecause of this film\\'s sense of humor and self-awareness , nothing can be taken quite seriously . \\nso don\\'t try to make much sense of what goes on in the game , because it doesn\\'t want you to . \\nwhat does make sense is the final revelation--when everything becomes apparent and clear . \\nif taken as it is , the game\\'s ending makes complete sense . \\nbut if you try and critique every minute detail , then you get yourself into plot holes and incredibility . \\nperhaps that is the reason i docked the film . \\nwhile trying to remain realistic and plausible , the plot is too unbelievable to create any real tension on screen . \\nwe don\\'t really care if douglas\\' character lives or not because it isn\\'t believable . \\nthe ending requires you to have believed anything that has happened previously , but if you suspend disbelief and take the film as it is , you can accept the game as an emotionally and psycholically disturbing thriller . \\nmichael douglas gives a terrific performance as nicholas . \\ndouglas has played lonely businessmen before , but here he adds another level to his performance . \\nhis character , who is normally level-headed and relies on facts , is forced to trust nobody . \\ncan he believe the waitress he bumped into ? \\nwhat about his brother who got him involved in the game in the first place ? \\ndouglas portrays this aspect of his character extremely well , and gives one of his best performances ( even better than his \" falling down \" persona ) . \\nthe supporting cast is essential in this film , and casting was critical . \\nsean penn is always good , and he gives yet another credible performance as douglas\\' brother . \\ndeborah kara unger ( from \" crash \" ) is the waitress he bumps into , and her performance is extremely good . \\nin fact , she almost steals the film from douglas . \\njames rebhorn portrays his character very well , and adds some confusion and desparation to douglas\\' predicament . \\nanother good performance comes from armin mueller-stahl ( from \" shine \" ) as the book editor . \\nbut considering that douglas is in every single scene of the game , he not only commands this cast , but makes this distant and lonely character come to colorful life . \\nthe game is rated r for language , violence , some gore , and some nudity and drugs . \\nwhat is essential for this film to work is the writing . \\njohn brancato and michael ferris have woven a confusing and compelling screenplay with witty dialogue , and some very funny moments . \\nthis screenplay will probably get an oscar nomination for best original screenplay because it does almost exactly the same thing the usual suspects\\' did . \\nhowever , the visuals of the game are enough to make the viewer enjoy the vexing plot . \\nand if you can get yourself to believe everything occuring on the screen , you will be thoroughly entertained by one of this year\\'s best films . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when andy leaves for cowboy camp , his mother holds a yard sale and scrounges in his room for old toys . \\none of these toys is wheezy , a penguin with a broken squeaker . \\nwoody ( tom hanks ) saddles up andy\\'s dog and rides out into the yard to rescue wheezy . \\nwoody succeeds in his mission , but doesn\\'t make it back to the house before al , the unscrupulous owner of al\\'s toy barn , recognizes woody as a rare collector\\'s item and steals him . \\nbuzz lightyear ( tim allen ) leads hamm ( john ratzenberger ) , mr . potato head ( don rickles ) , slinky dog ( jim varney ) , and rex ( wallace shawn ) into the city to find their friend . \\nmeanwhile woody discovers the reason he was kidnapped . \\nal has collected every piece of merchandising from the 1950\\'s tv puppet show \" woody\\'s round-up \" except for a woody doll . \\nnow that the collection is complete , al plans to sell woody and his round-up gang-bullseye the horse , jessie the cowgirl ( joan cusack ) , and stinky pete the old prospector ( kelsey grammer ) -to a toy museum in japan . \\nthe gang is happy about the move ; they\\'ve been in storage for years waiting for woody . \\nif woody doesn\\'t go with them , they\\'ll be closed up in a dark box again , possibly forever . \\ntrying to convince him to stay with them , jessie tells woody how she was abandoned when her owner grew up , and woody realizes that his days as a beloved toy are numbered . \\nwhile woody ponders whether to go to japan or to go home to andy , buzz and the boys invade al\\'s toy barn , where the buzz we know is replaced by another buzz who doesn\\'t know he\\'s a toy . \\nthe new buzz generates the movie\\'s biggest laughs as he leads the other toys in an assault on \" zurg\\'s fortress \" ( i . e . , al\\'s apartment building ) . \\nthe original \" toy story \" won me over because its central themes reflected a grown-up sensibility rather than the usual this-is-what-we-think-kids-want-to-hear . \\nwhile most kids\\' movies take the position that every person is special and has an extraordinary destiny to fulfill , in \" toy story \" buzz discovered that he wasn\\'t special , that he was just like everyone else . \\nbuzz sank into a suicidal depression , but woody showed buzz that being a toy was worthwhile because a toy is loved and a toy makes a child happy . \\nin other words , it\\'s okay to be ordinary if you have love and a purpose in your life . \\nmost of us probably come to the same conclusion when we realize that we\\'re not space rangers and we\\'re never going to be . \\n \" toy story 2 \" addresses the question raised by the conclusion drawn by the first movie . \\nwoody is forced to recognize that andy will grow up and forget him and that he will likely be discarded , abandoned , or sealed up in a dark box in the attic . \\nthis is another big grown-up theme : everything ends . \\nthe theme is introduced early in the movie when woody\\'s arm is torn and andy places him on a shelf rather than taking him to cowboy camp . \\non the shelf , woody meets wheezy , who\\'s dusty , broken , and forgotten . \\nthe other toys are shocked that woody has been \" shelved , \" and they worry that woody\\'s ride out to the 25-cent box at the yard sale is a suicide attempt . \\nafter he\\'s stolen , woody has to decide between a long life in a display case and an uncertain future with andy and his pals . \\nof course , in spite of the heavy themes \" toy story 2 \" explores , it\\'s also very funny . \\nmost of the laughs come from the toys\\' assault on al\\'s toy barn and on the apartment building . \\nthe brief substitution of a new , still delusional buzz was a welcome surprise ; i\\'d wondered how a sequel could be as funny as the original without the pompous attitude buzz displayed in the original . \\nmost of the vocal performances are first-rate . \\ntom hanks stands out for the level of enthusiasm he puts into his work . \\nhowever , one voice-over also stands out as horribly miscast . \\nkelsey grammer sounds nothing like an old prospector . \\nalthough he does a lot of voice-over work in commercials and on \" the simpsons \" ( as sideshow bob ) , grammer only makes slight variations on his own voice . \\nhe doesn\\'t have the range to pull off a role like stinky pete . \\nthe animation is even better than in the first . \\nespecially impressive were the textures of the figures . \\nwe can now see the difference between flesh and plastic ; in the first movie the people looked just like the toys , but now human skin looks soft and has a slight bluish tint . \\nwe can also see that bo peep is porcelain . \\nas you can tell from the long-winded phrasing common in the merchandising -- \" disney and pixar\\'s \\'toy story 2\\' \" -- this is pixar\\'s coming out party . \\nto celebrate they appended their first project , a hilarious short about two desklamps and a rubber ball , to the beginning of the movie . \\nthey made the short in 1986 , which is incredible when one considers the relatively primitive level of computer technology available then . \\non the downside , \" toy story 2 \" follows the formula of the original so closely that the sequel comes off a bit stale , and some sections tend to drag . \\noverall , though , i had a great time and found \" story 2 \" to be a worthy successor to the first \" toy story . \" \\nbottom line : this one really is fun for the whole family ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'the characters in jonathan lynn\\'s \" the whole nine yards , \" yet another in an endless recent string of mob comedies ( 1999\\'s \" analyze this \" and \" mickey blue eyes , \" 2000\\'s \" gun shy \" ) , are rarely ever written as real people , but merely as one-dimensional caricatures . \\nwhen an added layer to one of their personalities is revealed , it is not to service the character development , or to naturally offer up instinctive characterizations , but to accommodate the convoluted plot . \\nin a lightweight comedy , you might say , it is not required to have perfectly realized figures , just as long as they get the job done . \\nunfortunately , for a comedy to work , it has to at least succeed at being funny , and if there was a laugh-o-meter available , i\\'d guess that it briefly ascended around 2 . 5% of the time for me . \\nsuffice to say , the comedy in \" the whole nine yards \" works about as well as the broken-down lawnmower in my backyard , and when a giggle surprisingly arises every twenty to thirty minutes , it is by sheer luck . \\nnicholas \" oz \" oseransky ( matthew perry ) is an amateur dentist living in the quiet suburbs of quebec . \\ntrapped in a hateful marriage with the conniving sophie ( rosanna arquette , delightfully hamming it up with a clearly artificial french-canadian accent ) , one day oz sees that someone is moving into the house next-door . \\nwalking over to greet him , he is horrified to discover it is jimmy \" the tulip \" tudeski ( bruce willis ) , a former contract killer for the mafia who has just been released from prison . \\nonce getting to know him and becoming his friend , oz is more comfortable with his identity , but for sophie , it means a possible hitman to do away with oz . \\nin her scheme , sophie sends oz to chicago to cash in by informing his old mob boss ( kevin pollak ) about jimmy\\'s whereabouts , but in the process , he falls in love with jimmy\\'s wife , cynthia ( natasha henstridge ) , who is being held hostage . \\nupon return to quebec , and with one contrivance after the next , oz\\'s dental assistant , jill ( amanda peet ) , is overjoyed to discover that he lives beside \" the tulip , \" and forces him to set up a meeting , since jill\\'s dream in life turns out being a contract killer herself . \\nhave you got all that ? \\nbecause there is more . \\nmuch , much more . \\nand this is a movie that , without credits , is little over 90 minutes and feels only like an hour . \\n \" the whole nine yards \" is an ultimately unsatisfying and empty-headed excursion into well-worn terrain already set by far superior pictures . \\nhow the cast , most of which are respectable actors , got caught up in such a cliched , deficient film remains a mystery , unless they thought it might aspire to match the congenial screwball zaniness of director lynn\\'s 1985 comedy classic , \" clue : the movie . \" \\ngoing into the theater , preliminary comparisons between the two movies were unavoidable , but by the twenty-minute mark , when i had chuckled once and laughed nary a single time , it was clear this production was in serious trouble . \\nsince the entire running time depends on the mechanisms of the plot , and the screenplay , inauspiciously written by mitchell kapner , collapses with every failing \" comedy \" bit , the film is an inevitable dead zone in the way of substance and , frequently , entertainment value . \\n \" the whole nine yards \" is neither facetious nor , aside from the subplot about jill\\'s shocking eagerness to become a professional hitwoman , inventive , and more often than not , just lies there , the film spinning drearily around and around in the projector , but never igniting any sort of spark . \\na few select actors do what they can with the material , while others make no impact at all . \\non the mediocre side are actually those playing the two central characters : matthew perry and bruce willis . \\nperry , innocuously enjoyable on tv\\'s \" friends , \" plays the same exact sitcom-style character in all of his movies ( from 1997\\'s \" fools rush in \" to 1999\\'s \" three to tango \" ) , and it has become a crushing bore . \\nmeanwhile , willis makes next to no impression , and because of the limited guise of his jimmy \" the tulip \" tudeski , oftentimes disappears into the background . \\ntheir three female counterparts fare noticeably better . \\nbest of all is natasha henstridge , far more radiant than in the exploitative \" species \" movies , who adds unanticipated depth and emotion to cynthia . \\nhenstridge has the talent , for sure , to break out of these countless throwaway roles , but first she must fire her agent . \\namanda peet has a lot of fun as the quirkily straightforward and giddy jill , and seems to know more about the art of comedic payoff than even perry who , thus far , has strived on a career based solely on comedy . \\nit is too bad , then , that peet is unnecessarily asked to disrobe in a climactic scene , with the obvious sole purpose being to show off her breasts . \\nfinally , rosanna arquette is awful as sophie , but something tells me that was her purpose , and her clear overacting only aids in brightening up her limited screen time . \\nalso popping up is michael clarke duncan , fresh off an oscar nomination for his role in \" the green mile , \" as jimmy\\'s largely built friend and fellow killer , frankie figs . \\nwhen \" the whole nine yards \" eventually sputters to its underwhelming conclusion , one is left pondering how such a film ever got greenlit . \\na great deal of movies of this type have been made in the past , and this one is nothing but a duplication of better films , so what was the point ? \\nwithout a passable screenplay or any notable technical accomplishments , \" the whole nine yards \" rests solely on the presumed charm of the cast , and half of the actors are not charming at all . \\nnow , what does that tell you ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'the following review encompasses two versions of dune : \\ndune : the theatrical version ( 1984 ) runtime : 137 minutes capsule review : cut down to just over two hours by nervous studio executives , the theatrical version of dune is a spectacular mess and may be incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the book . \\nthe film\\'s visual splendour , mystical beauty and impressive action scenes only partly compensate for gaping holes in the narrative . \\ndune : the extended version ( 1988 ) runtime : 189 minutes capsule review : a bit of a throw-together assembled by mca tv special projects for cable television . \\nit was disowned by director david lynch but it\\'s considerably closer to his original vision by virtue of its improved characterisation and clearer storyline . \\nquality dubs of this version from the out-of-print japanese laserdisc release are available from various dealers on the world wide web . \\n * * * the review * * * \\nreleased in 1984 and made on a then mammoth budget of $40 million , the film of frank herbert\\'s cult novel dune was eagerly awaited by sci-fi fans . \\ndirector david lynch ( blue velvet , eraserhead , twin peaks ) was working on his biggest production to date , a mammoth undertaking filmed under trying conditions on location in mexico . \\nthe screenplay was lynch\\'s own , chosen after the script submitted by original author herbert was rejected . \\ndune is set in a universe ruled by powerful families overseen by a successive line of emperors . \\nthe key to cosmic power is the planet arrakis ( dune ) , a windswept desert planet that\\'s home to giant sandworms and the precious spice melange . \\nthe spice is the most valuable commodity in the universe . \\nit extends the life and expands the consciousness of those who consume it . \\nmost importantly , it allows the navigators of the spacing guild ( once human but now hideously mutated ) to \" fold space \" and navigate their spacecraft across mammoth distances instantaneously , enabling interstellar commerce and trade to flourish . \\nlynch\\'s film by necessity excises parts of the book while retaining the story\\'s two main strands . \\none is the long-standing rivalry between two families , houses atreides and house harkonnen , and their battle for lucrative mining rights on arrakis . \\nthe second strand is the emergence of young paul atreides as the reluctant messiah long-awaited by the natives of arrakis , the fremen . \\nthe deeply religious fremen want control over their homeworld , and young paul may be the fulfilment of their prophecy that a man would come from the outer worlds and lead them to freedom . \\nunfortunately , this epic story unfolds in a confusing and haphazard manner in the theatrical cut of the film , which runs 30 to 60 minutes shorter than what lynch originally intended . \\nthe thinking among universal\\'s oh-so-wise money men was that films over two hours in duration were not popular with audiences at the time and would not do well at the box office . \\nwith lynch\\'s initial cut running at closer to three or more hours , the studio demanded that further cuts be made . \\nwhat a great idea ! \\nwhy not trim down an already complex film so as to make it almost incomprehensible ? \\nthe most glaring consequence of this one-eyed stupidity is a hopelessly jumpy narrative , leaving us with badly underdeveloped characters . \\nthus their personalities are vague , their motivations unclear and , in the case of paul\\'s father duke leto , their demise rather meaningless . \\nthe end result is a distinct chill : we can\\'t warm to most of the cast and we don\\'t care much for them . \\nand it hardly helps that the voice-over narration is sparse and that the dune-esque language and terminology sounds like so much gobbledegook to those unfamiliar with the book . \\ndune is also a very serous film . \\nthe constant \" self-talk \" by various characters makes it so serious and self-absorbed at times that you may find it hard not to wince with embarrassment . \\nthe overall impression is a world full of people so intense that no one is allowed a joke lest the universe come crashing down around them . \\nhumour - or at least a gentle kind of humour as distinct from the harkonnen\\'s mad , sadistic kind - is hard to find . \\nyou may balk at the comparison , but as a writer lynch could well have done with some lessons from george lucus\\' star wars trilogy . \\nthe theatrical version is still some way from being a complete disaster , however . \\nit still possesses enough of lynch\\'s stylistic quirks and enough visual invention to sustain the interest of viewers with a taste for imaginative sci-fi . \\nspecial effects whiz carlo rambaldi\\'s giant sandworms are an awesome sight . \\nboth the production design ( anthony masters ) and costume design ( bob ringwood ) are striking and original . \\nand the magnificent score by toto and brian eno is one of the most underrated soundtracks of the last twenty years . \\nwith these elements in place and the benefit of freddie francis\\' lush cinematography , the film is at least a feast for the senses . \\nsee it in the widescreen format if you can . \\nand despite all the cuts , several cast members still make a strong impression , most notably kenneth mcmillan as the supremely nasty baron vladimir harkonnen . \\nsian phillips also registers strongly as the reverend mother gaius helen mohiam , leader of the bene gesserit religious order who\\'s secret aim is to manipulate paul\\'s destiny for its own shadowy ends . \\nas paul atreides , the young kyle maclachlan starts off somewhat shakily , but as his character grows in strength so does his performance and he emerges as a credible leader of the fremen crusade . \\nthe conclusion ? \\nany assessment of this film must take into account that frank herbert\\'s original novel is a complex piece of work and presents a tough challenge for any filmmaker . \\ndavid lynch took a brave stab at it and , partly due to forces beyond his control , ended up with an officially released version that fails in several key respects . \\ndune certainly confused and frustrated a lot of people on its release . \\nmany chose to stay away altogether , as the film\\'s disastrous box office showing attests . \\nthe extended version , however , is a rather different beast . \\nin 1984 lynch stated his intention to release his own special edition \" director\\'s cut \" of the film on home video , a clear indication of his dissatisfaction with the version that ended up in the theatres . \\nbut , alas , he failed to do so , choosing to move on to other projects . \\nin a way , then , it is partly lynch\\'s own fault that what appeared instead was an unauthorised extended version , put together in 1988 by mca tv special projects for airing on cable networks in the usa . \\nstung into action , lynch successfully petitioned the director\\'s guild to take his name off the credits and replace it with \" allen smithee \" , the standard pseudonym for directors who wish to disown their own work . \\nhe also had the screenwriting credit changed to the anonymous \" judas booth \" . \\ncertainly , looking at the results of mca\\'s handiwork there\\'s at least half a dozen instances that , for sheer technical sloppiness , are good enough reasons for the director to object . \\nbut these gripes must be considered in light of the improvements that the extended cut of dune offers in several crucial areas . \\nmost of the changes involve the restoration or extension of cut scenes and the addition of extra narration , both of which fill many holes in the original version\\'s storyline . \\npaul\\'s relationship with his father and associates is more intimate , with moments of humour and warmth lacking previously . \\nthe political skulduggery involving the emperor , the spacing guild , the bene gesserits and the two warring houses is far better explained . \\npaul\\'s initiation into the fremen way of life on arrakis is also fleshed out considerably . \\nand as further background , a new prologue has been added featuring narration and painted stills to give us a brief history of the dune universe . \\nas a piece of storytelling , then , mca tv\\'s version of dune is clearly superior . \\nas a piece of editing , however , it is at times surprisingly inept . \\nthe use of painted stills in the new prologue works well enough , but their occasional appearance once the action begins is inappropriate . \\nthere\\'s some sloppy cutting , too , and in a few instances shots even appear out of order . \\nand the use of repeated footage to fabricate certain scenes ( eg . \\nships coming and going , soldiers coming and going ) is at times clearly out-of-context . \\nthis is the kind of thing to which lynch objected , and rightly so . \\nit should also be noted that several questionable scenes and shots from the theatrical version were deleted to satisfy the censorship demands of u . s . television . \\nbut the most notable omission is a gratuitous piece of nonsense from lynch that wasn\\'t even in herbert\\'s book . \\nthe scene features baron harkonnen killing a beautiful young man in front of his slobbering henchmen by pulling out his \" heart plug \" . \\nits a surreal and disturbing episode that\\'s very lynch-esque but adds nothing to what we already know : the baron is a nasty piece of work . \\ndespite its own peculiar flaws , then , the extended version of dune is a generally superior film . \\nall up , it contains 35 minutes of restored footage and approximately another 15 minutes of either altered , fabricated or newly created sequences . \\nunless the idiosyncratic lynch has a sudden change of heart , the \" alan smithee \" version remains the closest we\\'ll get to what the movie should have been . \\non repeated viewings , one suspects it is closer than what lynch would be prepared to admit . \\nstill , as one of this century\\'s great science-fiction novels , some fans and perhaps the late herbert himself would argue that dune deserved a better fate in its transfer to the screen . \\nwith rumours circulating of a new six hour mini-series planned by production company new amsterdam entertainment in 1998 , it is unlikely that we have heard the last of the dune saga . \\n',\n",
+       " b'isn\\'t it the ultimate sign of a movie\\'s cinematic ineptitude when you can\\'t think of much to say about it other than \" it sucks \" ? \\none of the first official year 2000 releases , supernova is such a movie . \\ni can\\'t seem to get past one-word adjectives with this one , although \" boring , \" \" stupid \" and \" absurd \" doesn\\'t amount to much of a review . \\na shame . \\ni would have been able to save myself the chore of desperately trying to elaborate . \\nbut c\\'est la vie . \\nhere goes nothing . \\ni\\'ll keep it short . \\ni suppose the first bad omen for supernova came when director walter hill ( 48 hours ) removed his name from the movie , requesting that it be replaced with the pseudonym thomas lee . \\nthe film\\'s fate was sealed in many minds when struggling studio mgm declined to screen it for the press , an event usually signifying a studio\\'s lack of confidence in a particular movie . \\nhill\\'s and mgm\\'s actions were prudent . \\nwhen the captain of medical space vessel nightingale dies in a tragic hyperjump accident , a reformed drug addict who is also the first officer , for some reason ( james spader ) is forced to take command . \\nthe ship picks up a distress call from a nearby planet and , on arrival , picks up one survivor from an apparent accident in an abandoned mining colony . \\none of the crew members ( angela bassett ) knows this passenger , who is played by peter facinelli , and has some bad feelings about it -- and we all know what that means . \\nthis intergalactic hitchhiker is carrying some mysterious cargo -- a jellylike substance the purpose of which is unknown , though it seems to bring some form of pleasure to whoever touches it . \\nanother one of the crew members experiences this first hand ; after spending a few minutes partially inside this glob of goo , he does some impressive handstand pushups . \\nevidently , touching this enigmatic egg-shaped thingie makes you younger and stronger . \\nhow ? \\nwhy ? \\nthe movie never bothers to explain . \\nsoon enough though , spader and bassett are running around the ship like mad , being chased by the all-of-a-sudden-superhuman facinelli . \\nto be honest , i don\\'t even remember exactly why . \\ni just remember that i didn\\'t care . \\nsupernova\\'s plot suggested some more or less interesting ideas , such as the ball of goo being an intergalactic time bomb , but they are all dropped before they have a chance to develop into anything truly intriguing . \\nin fact , everything is dropped just so the actors can have some fun running around what looks like an elaborate set . \\nwell , the effects are good , though there\\'s hardly a studio movie with bad special effects these days so i\\'m not sure whether that\\'s so remarkable an accomplishment . \\nthe performances are hardly worth talking about . \\ni\\'m not even sure i can call what\\'s here \" performances , \" though angela bassett sure is good at giving people the finger . \\njames spader is not a bad actor , but he proves to be one of the blandest action stars i\\'ve seen in a while , mostly because he isn\\'t given a character with a personality . \\nthe action scenes are just as bland , since they\\'re pretty much just rehashes of action elements that weren\\'t particularly entertaining the first time around . \\nand since the action scenes are everything to this movie , it\\'s pretty much dead in the water . \\nand for the life of me , i can\\'t figure out why it\\'s called supernova . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" you can\\'t have any of this . \\nit\\'s all mine ! \" \\n--- a twisted priest ( charles huevelman ) hordes his tasty fried chicken while dana ( angela zimmerly ) looks on uninterested . \\nan evil presence , appropriately named the presence ( dj vivona ) , rules over an alternate dimension where neither angels nor demons can touch him . \\nfor kicks , the presence likes to trick a human into rounding up five of his or her friends so they can all be sent to his dimension and be systematically slaughtered . \\nwhen something goes wrong and one of the presence\\'s recent victims escapes , the angels and demons are alerted to his existence and feel he is a threat that needs to be stopped . \\nthey enlist the help of alison ( ramona midgett ) , a recent suicide victim , to return to the flesh and follow the six new enlistees through the ice wall that surrounds the the nether-realm . \\nher mission is to melt away the ice barrier and allow the angels and demons access by reminding the presence of who he once was , an ancient court jester named abraham who lost his job when his king and queen were killed . \\nthe king\\'s sorcerer , amblyn ( who also lost his job ) , decided to take abraham under his wing as an apprentice . \\nduring the downtime in his unemployment , amblyn decided to create a new dimension where sorcery , evil , and torture ruled . \\nabraham wished to follow his master into this new realm , so he was asked to show his devotion to the evil wizard by murdering his one true love . \\nin this new realm , amblyn would allow abraham to pursue the sport of hunting and destroying the humans that would be brought to this realm . \\nafter each murder , abraham would become stronger , until his power surpassed that of amblyn\\'s . \\nbecause of the screw-up that allowed the recent escape , abraham was able to destroy his master and take control of the realm himself . \\nas alison quests to find abraham and show him the errors of his ways , the six new hapless humans are allowed to live out their worst nightmares and then be brutally murdered . \\nif there\\'s one thing i can\\'t stand when i see a film , it\\'s when the film is pretentious and arty just for the sake of being pretentious and arty . \\nfilms like eraserhead and begotten are two of the worst examples of this , and now ice from the sun can be added to this list . \\nthis film is essentially an 80 minute stalk-and-slash film ( following the dante\\'s inferno idea that your hell corresponds to how you lived your life or any one of the plots to nightmare on elm street 3 through 6 ) intercut with almost 40 minutes of strange and ( supposedly ) haunting images , many of which serve more to confuse than to further the plot . \\nif there aren\\'t bizarre images floating past the screen , then we get pointless shots of a suicidal alison staring at her breakfast for minutes at a time or contemplating whether or not she should answer her phone . \\ncompelling , but ultimately not . \\nthe opening credits sequence is designed like a music video for some unknown industrial band featuring various random images from the film interspersed with other random images . \\nthe credits run the entire length of the song which is almost five minutes and the actual cast listing and other credit information doesn\\'t pop up until near the end of the sequence . \\nwhen the opening credits began i thought my vcr had accidentally cut off and a interstitial from mtv2 had found its way to my tv . \\nat least the music in the film is pretty decent , made up of mostly industrial and hard rock music and even features a song by ramona midgett . \\nat the beginning of the film it is established that the presence possesses supernatural powers like shooting bullets out of the palms of his hands and decapitating people by waving his hand in front of them ( and he talks like a darth vader clone without the heavy breathing ) . \\nfor some reason though , he delegates all of his main stalkings to what seems like the supporting cast of deliverance . \\none over-alled cretin handles the presence\\'s gravedigging and likes to chop peoples heads off with his shovel , then there\\'s an inbred father ( dwight spurgin ) and his two inbred children ( mark kettler and jennifer poirrier-wallace ) that take care of a young woman who has been transformed into a half dog-half human mix with a shotgun , and of course a big truck driving guy that likes to tie people up naked to the back of his vehicle and drag them across stone roads before pouring salt all over their wounds . \\nwhy would you want to give responsibilities to a bunch of \" rednecks \" when you yourself had all of these cool powers ? \\nand how is it that the fellow that screws over all of his buddies is able to round up exactly five friends to complete the number of people required to enter the realm at exactly the same time ? \\ni can barely get more than two together all at once at any given moment . \\nthe most ridiculous segment though comes right before the aforementioned dragging/salting sequence . \\nthe character in question , dana ( angela zimmely ) , has her turn up to be killed and is standing at the front of a movie theater in which the presence is seated . \\na priest holding two naked dirty humans on leashes walks in and sits down next to a large platter of fried chicken . \\nhe picks up the entire platter and starts to enjoy the chicken , taunting dana as she looks on with no interest whatsoever . \\nwhen she starts to leave , the priest chides her for going before the performance starts and then something that looks like a either a creature from a gwar show or a terry gilliam animation from monty python come to life , walks out , and makes like it wants to be crucified by her . \\nthe presence starts to clap annoyingly ( which continues for the rest of the sequence ) until dana takes off with the strange creature following her . \\nwhen it finally catches up to her , she stabs it in its giant eyeball and is covered in slimy glop that spurts from the ruptured organ . \\nthe box for the film claims \" because of the horrifying nature of the motion picture , parental discretion is advised for persons under the age of 18 . \\ncontains nudity and graphic violence \" . \\nwhile both is certainly true , there doesn\\'t seem to be much of either in any large amounts . \\nbesides a loving close up of a spurting neck stump , a semi-graphic self-surgery scene , and two instances of head trauma ( one run over and one melting ) , most of the gore is just of the spraying blood or bloody wound covered body variety . \\nas for nudity , it is very sparse , but at least we get to see angela zimmerly ( far and away the most attractive cast member ) before her body is bruised , torn , and bloodied by the dragging incident . \\nice from the sun has been released on vhs by www . b-movie . com . \\nit has been presented in in full-frame only and the transfer ( for a film shot a good deal in 8mm ) is pretty decent . \\nbesides the decent soundtrack ( which is also available from www . b-movie . com ) , a making-of video is also available called on thin ice . \\ni haven\\'t had the opportunity to see the documentary , but i actually would have been interested to see what the set was like while all of the shots were being filmed , if only to see how director eric stanze ( director of a similar cult film called savage harvest ) , conducted the atmosphere on set . \\n',\n",
+       " b'michael richards leaves his spot as kramer on the infamous seinfeld tv sitcom for a stint as a lanky , goofy best friend to jeff daniels\\' lawyer character in this ill-fated , and unfunny , \" comedy \" . \\nplot : richard the actor ( richards ) has to take the place of charles the lawyer ( daniels ) in a real court case , after charles is left unintelligible from a night of heavy drinking at his bachelor party . \\nthe film follows the antics of the two men as they try to get away with their tomfoolery . \\ncritique : this movie did not make me laugh once . \\nperhaps it was because i was tired when i watched it . \\nperhaps . \\nperhaps it was because i had seen richards perform most of the same schtick a thousand times on seinfeld . \\nperhaps . \\nperhaps it was because the movie just wasn\\'t funny . \\nabsolutely . \\nthe lack of humour wasn\\'t the only issue that i had with this film either . \\nthe movie attempts to weave a couple of love stories through its vision , but unfortunately , they are also lacking in conviction , believability and credibility . \\nthey are contrived and appear to be placed into the story for convenience sake . \\nthe actors were all adequate enough in their roles , but the problem didn\\'t lie in the acting . \\ni wish i could find one good reason for you to see this waste of time , but i can\\'t . \\nunless of course , you need something playing on your tv set while you waste some time around the house . \\noverall , this movie stinks . \\non the good side , charlize theron is darn cute , and the movie is no longer then 90 minutes . \\non the bad side , this movie is not funny , interesting or enjoyable in any which way possible . \\na person wouldn\\'t even enjoy his nachos while watching this emptiness . \\nplease skip it . \\nlittle known facts : jonathan lynn earned a degree in law from cambridge before becoming an actor/director . \\ncharlize theron grew up on a farm outside benoni , south africa , as the only child . \\nat the age of 18 her mother made her go to los angeles to try a career in the movie industry . \\nshe came to la without knowing anyone in the city but after two weeks when she was standing in line on hollywood boulevard an agent gave her his card . \\nafter eight months in la she got her first part . \\nsince then she has taken acting lessons and her career has skyrocketed , specifically in devil\\'s advocate ( 8/10 ) . \\ncharlize was narrowly beat out by elizabeth berkley for the lead role in the \" movie \" , showgirls . \\nshe was quoted as saying \" it was like i had some guardian angel . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'on june 30 , 1960 , a self-taught , idealistic , yet pragmatic , young man became , at age 36 , the first head of government of a newly independent african state , formerly the belgian congo . \\ntwo months later , he was ousted from his powerful position and hunted by government troops until he was captured and brutally murdered along with two aides . \\nthis little-known story of this meteoric rise and fall is told my international filmmaker raoul peck in \" lumumba . \" \\npatrice lumumba\\'s ( eriq ebouaney ) story has been told previously by helmer peck in his 1991 award winning documentary , \" lumumba - death of a prophet , \" virtually guaranteeing that his new , fictional account of a patriot remains true to its subject . \\npeck , with co-writer pascal bonitzer , begins at the end of the story of the young political leader . \\nwe watch as two white men perform the gruesome task of dismembering the bodies of three black men . \\nimages of hatchets , saws and fast-emptying whiskey bottles accompany the grisly image . \\njump back a few years to a meeting among the black leaders in the belgian-owned congo . \\na third class postal worker , lumumba , speaks his mind to heads of the most powerful tribes , proclaiming himself not tribal , not regional , but a national leader . \\nhis small , mobile party , the congolese national movement ( mnc ) is gaining prominence and patrice leaves his clerical job to sell beer , and get his face known , in the bustling capital , stanleyville . \\nat a time when the colonial empires are falling down around the world , lumumba is in the right place at the right time and , through political savvy and chess-like manipulation , achieves a position of leadership of the mnc . \\nas the date for independence approaches , he tactically positions himself to be the new nation\\'s first prime minister and defense minister , supporting the presidency of joseph kasa vubu ( maka kotto ) . \\nthe coalition he created soon starts to fall apart as the former belgian masters continue to exert influence on the struggling nation as they strive to maintain economic hold on the country\\'s vast natural resources of copper , diamonds , gold and more . \\nlumumba won\\'t seek the help of the us , knowing that they would try to create de facto american control of the fledgling government . \\nhis initial investigation into soviet assistance immediately tags patrice as a communist and his integrity is overshadowed by the cold war threat of russian domination . \\nthe situation goes from bad to worse as the army mutinies , the remaining whites begin to evacuate or arm themselves , belgian troops violently intervene , the lucrative katanga province succeeds under the leadership of rival moise tschombe ( pascal nzonzi ) and lumumba is refused access to his own country when he returns from a conference abroad . \\nthis tumultuous and little known period of modern african history saw a score of nations struggling for independence from the sometimes-odious colonialists who have ruled much of the world from their european seats of power for centuries . \\npeck focuses his story on familiar material that strives to give an honest portrayal of patrice lumumba , his friend and foes and the independence movements that gripped africa in the 50\\'s and 60\\'s . \\n ( during the time the story takes place , many new nations , including nigeria and somalia , were born , with varying degrees of success and failure , usually dependent upon which country colonized them . \\nsome colonial masters were better than others . ) \\nthe effort involved in \" lumumba \" is quite ambitious as peck and his crew before and behind the camera strive to bring to life this slice of world history that might have gone unexplored for decades , if at all . \\nproduction values are first rate on what must be a small , by us standards , budget . \\nthe period feel and realistic african settings are nicely maintained in a production that traveled from zimbabwe to mozambique . \\nthe screenplay covers a lot of ground and does yeoman\\'s work in providing a great deal of detailed history while trying to do justice to the story of lumumba\\'s life . \\nthe political side of things is evenly told in a linear , straightforward manner that teaches , not preaches . \\nit concentrates on the good deeds of the man , if a bit as a stalwart saint , but doesn\\'t embellish on a larger than life persona . \\nthe family side of patrice\\'s life is handled in several , perfunctory and brief interludes that show him talking to one of his children , embracing his wife or lamenting the death of his child . \\ni know the intent is to flesh the man out , but too short a shrift is given to the family man side of lumumba . \\nthe story , as such , has a lopsided feel about it . \\nhigh marks go to eriq ebouaney as the title character . \\nthe actor gives a convincing , charismatic performance as the multifaceted , politically deft patrice lumumba who has the good of his people and his country as the force driving his own ambitions . \\nin true docudrama tradition , the supporting cast does not outshine the star , complementing his good efforts , instead . \\n \" lumumba \" is a solid , interesting , educational and honest docudrama that should appeal to film buffs and politicos , both . \\nit has more intelligence in its telling than anything i\\'ve seen out of hollywood for months and i give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       " b'conventional wisdom among collectibles retailers is that children\\'s items begin to dramatically escalate in price about twenty-five or thirty years after the item was made . \\nthat\\'s when the kids of that time have jobs , disposable income and a desire to re-visit the awe and wonderment of childhood that has disappeared from their lives . \\ncheck out the prices of toys from the late sixties and you\\'ll find that yogi bear lunch boxes are demanding big bucks . \\nthere\\'s a heavy nostalgia nowadays for the late sixties and early seventies and nowhere is it more apparent than on the big screen . \\nboomers are now mostly in their forties and fifties and have lived in the work-a-day world for a long time . \\nthey\\'d like to re-capture some of that fun they remember from days of yore . \\nhollywood seems more than eager to churn out product to help them . \\ndirectors are zealous to put their stamp on icons from that time . \\nand for the most part they\\'re messing it up . \\n \" mission impossible \" , \" lost in space \" , \" godzilla \" , \" zorro \" . \\nnone of these successfully capture the originals . \\nnone of these are even good films . \\nyou can now add \" the avengers \" to the list . \\nthe british television series began in 1961 . \\nsuper secret agent john steed ( then-patrick macnee ) and his third partner , emma peel ( then-diana rigg ) are the pair that the american audience fell for . \\nsurrealistic and witty , the series fit the mood of the times . \\nthe leather-clad rigg probably didn\\'t hurt the ratings either . \\nafter all it\\'s not a coincidence that you can\\'t pronounce her character\\'s name without \" appeal \" . \\nnow we\\'re in the nineties . \\nsteed ( now-ralph fiennes ) and peel ( now-uma thurman ) are battling evil genius sir august de wynter ( sean connery ) who is screwing with england\\'s weather . \\nthat\\'s about as much of a plot as we have . \\nthere\\'s some footage about a lot of other things that either don\\'t make sense or make even less sense . \\nwe get betrayal for some unknown reason . \\nevil clones appear and vanish and have no connection to the film . \\nremarkably ineffective giant flying robot wasps with machine guns in their belly come from nowhere for no good reason . \\nthere\\'s a high tech hot air balloon , but i have no idea why anyone\\'s in it . \\nthe spy agency is run by a man called \" mother \" who is in a wheelchair and a woman named \" father \" who is blind . . . at \\nleast in some scenes . \\nthere\\'s probably a reason for all of this , but we\\'ll never know it . \\nmacnee makes an appearance of sorts . \\nhe is the voice for an invisible man whose character goes nowhere in a scene that does nothing . \\na group of villains sits around a table , all clad in huge pastel-colored teddy bear outfits . \\nat first it\\'s humorous to watch the teddies waddle around , but then it becomes goofy . \\nthe movie is a medley of clutter , confusion and wrong decisions around every corner . \\nit feels like major portions of the film are missing . \\nthe storyline jumps rather than flows . \\nreportedly the film was re-cut several times . \\nthis is one of those times where the whole is less than the sum of the parts especially since some of the parts appear to be missing . \\nthere\\'s one good point where peel is running from one room to another in a house designed by escher . \\nother than that , the effects are second-rate . \\nthe weather threat is old hat as are the scenes of huge tornadoes . \\nthurman almost makes an adequate emma peel but it doesn\\'t work . \\nshe looks good , dresses in all the right fetish outfits but there\\'s no spark . \\nfiennes fares even less well . \\nmacnee\\'s steed was a witty man of the world with a sense of humor . \\nfiennes\\' agent comes across as a dour kid in grown-up clothes who has never been out of his home town . \\neven connery , one of the greatest living actors , doesn\\'t have much of a presence outside of a few fiery scenes . \\nthe action scenes are difficult to follow . \\ndirector jeremiah chechik ( responsible for the atrocious remake of \" diabolique \" ) somehow manages to put the camera exactly where it shouldn\\'t be . \\nthings happen , people move around , but even if , with the utmost effort , you were able to care about any of it , the scenes are bewildering . \\nthe primary allure of the original was the interaction between the two leads . \\nwitty banter and an underplayed sexual tension were a winning combination . \\nadmittedly there are a few humorous sexual puns in the film , but there\\'s no chemistry and the repartee is anything but clever . \\none of emma peel\\'s first lines of dialog is \" rules are made to be broken . \" \\nit doesn\\'t get any better . \\nadvance word alone should have been enough to scare off anyone . \\nthe release date was changed several times . \\nconnery refuses to promote the film . \\nthere was no screening for critics which may have been a good choice for warner brothers . \\nat least this way , they get something of an audience for the first weekend before the news gets out . \\nadmittedly i haven\\'t seen an episode of the television series for a couple of decades . \\nmy guess is that it would be severely dated now . \\nno matter how antiquated it might be , there\\'s no doubt that it holds up better than this film is at first viewing . \\nthere\\'s no reason to waste any part of the last few days of summer inside watching this movie . \\nno reason at all . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the first image in \" final fantasy : the spirits within \" is a computer-animated close-up of a human eye . \\nit\\'s a beautiful piece of work , remarkably detailed and quite convincing . \\nwhen the picture pulls back to reveal the owner of the eye , however , things change . \\nthe young woman has mesmerizing hair , although it hangs too artfully ? even by movie standards ? to be believed . \\nthe facial features are more detailed than any computer-animation seen to date , but the result is more reminiscent of a very well-crafted doll than anything human . \\nshe is pretty , but bland , and not nearly expressive enough to come off like a person . \\nall the characters in \" final fantasy \" are like that . \\nof the core group , the younger white men and women are all athletic , attractive and indistinct , like applicants for a tv reality show . \\nthe black man is taller and burlier , and the aging scholar is bald , with wrinkles and a beard . \\nnone of them appear to be based on individuals ; they all look like the products of general descriptions given a police sketch artist . \\nit gets worse when they talk and move . \\nwhy is the sarcastic voice of steve buscemi , he of the great twisted face and snaggleteeth , coming out of the mouth of some dreary ken doll ? \\nwhy , for every fluid physical gesture , do we also see herky-jerky puppet-style motions ? \\nmore to the point , who decided a full-length computer animated movie featuring \" hyperreal \" ( their term , not mine ) humanoids was a good idea ? \\n \" final fantasy \" is based on a phenomenally popular video game i\\'ve never played , with a story straight out of japanese anime , which more often than not leaves me bored and depressed . \\nif you\\'re a fan of either , please spare me your letters , as i will focus solely on the finished film and not its source materials . \\nwith an expression-challenged cast , \" final fantasy \" mixes turgid action scenes with heaps of mystical shit . \\nthe result is ugly , confusing and boring . \\nnote : the following reveals the basic plot . \\nif you want to have a fighting chance of making any sense of the movie , i suggest you read it . \\nearth is at war with aliens that appear to feed on human souls . \\nmost of our planet is devastated , with humans living in a few protected cities . \\nwhile the bulk of the survivors focus on military strategies , aki ross ( voiced by ming-na ) and her mentor , dr . sid ( donald sutherland ) , believe in a more organic approach . \\nthey operate on the notion ( quoting straight from the press kit ) \" that all life forms have signature spirit waves that can be identified and contained . \\naki and dr . sid collect a series of organic specimens whose spirit signatures combined will form a wave of equal and opposite intensity to the spirit wave of the alien force . \\nthe waves will , in effect , cancel each other out and disarm the foreign contagion . \\nthey have collected six of the eight key spirits needed to complete their wave . \\nthey are on a desperate hunt to find the remaining two spirits before their time runs out . \" \\nare you still with me ? \\nthere\\'s only a little more . \\naki is infected with the alien force . \\ndr . sid has developed a method of confining the contagion and keeping it from killing her , but the defense wall won\\'t hold much longer . \\nalready , the alien is communicating with aki through her dreams . \\naiding aki and dr . sid are the deep eyes , a group of hard-as-nails types that would have felt at home with the troops in \" aliens . \" \\ncapt . gray edwards ( alec baldwin ) heads the task force that consists of a wise guy ( buscemi ) , a tough woman ( peri gilpin ) and a gentle giant ( ving rhames ) . \\nthrowing a monkey wrench into the plans is the requisite dumb ass : in this case general hein ( james woods ) , who wants to use the zeus cannon to bomb the aliens back to the stone age , even if it destroys earth as well . \\nso there you have it . \\nlike most of the anime i\\'ve seen , the plot combines apocalyptic settings , lots of shooting and fuzzy spirituality , all wrapped up in a save-the-earth bow . \\nbut i\\'m bored with apocalyptic settings . \\ni understand why so many live-action films employ them ? they\\'re cheap ? but animated films can show anything , so why wallow in an industrial trash heap ? \\nthe action scenes and shoot-em-ups don\\'t satisfy either . \\nthe humans move oddly and their facial features are so muted that the talented voice cast can\\'t bring them to life ( in fact , their efforts merely emphasize what we\\'re missing ) . \\naki is especially disappointing ; with her lack of expression and flat delivery , she looks and sound like a brunet version of weena , the eloi girl from 1960\\'s \" the time machine . \" \\ndrab color choices and aliens that appear to have been created in jell-o molds sap the pizzazz from the big set pieces . \\nstudents of computer animation may be fascinated with the technology behind \" final fantasy : the spirits within , \" but i found it sub-par across the board . \\n \" futurama \" does more effective battle visuals , the kids in \" south park \" are far more expressive than these mannequins and any old episode of the contemporary version of \" the outer limits \" does better doom and gloom sci-fi . \\nso who needs this ? \\nnot me . \\n',\n",
+       " b'\\'pleasantville\\' ( 1998 ) taps into hollywood\\'s lack of integrity with subtle messages that can be easily missed \\n ( www . pleasantville . com ) april 2 , 1999 ( friday ) \\ncast : tobey maguire , reese witherspoon , william h . macy , joan allen , j . t . \\nwalsh , jeff daniels \\nmpaa rating : pg-13 for sexual content and thematic elements \\ngenre : drama \\nin my opinion : \\nin short : it takes a lot of careful observation to see the true morals and lessons brought out in this film ; one can easily be misled as to what the real message is . \\nreview : in a literally colorless world with an almost mechanical population , there is no room for transitioning variety or even the customary happenings of everyday life , such as rain , fire , or emotions . \\nthe town of pleasantville has one adjective : pleasant . \\nthere is no sadness , no fear , no danger , no discomfort , no love , and no hate . \\nput simply , it\\'s a place alanis morissette could really work wonders for . \\nj one big note however is that it is only a 50\\'s sitcom that airs in reruns on an \" oldies \" tv station ? or is it ? \\ni had waited months to see this movie and after doing so on opening day i was not disappointed . \\ni found it quite intriguing and delightful and went back 3 more times in the period it endured at the box office . \\nbut it wasn\\'t until months later , when i slipped in for a small showing in one of those crummy \" dollar theaters \" after not having seen it for so long , that my eyes were opened to such a deeper meaning and perspective than i had previously experienced . \\nit is a far too feasible misconception that this is a film which forwards the idea that a world without some \" healthy \" immorality is not a world at all . \\ninstead , the actual message , which so far has not been recognized by many viewers that i know of , is that a world without immorality doesn\\'t give one the ability to discern right and wrong for himself , because everything is automatically right . \\nthere is no room for mistakes and growth and learning because there are no mistakes to be made , no space for growth , and never anything new to learn , and that is the key component to the entire purpose of the story . \\nnow i\\'m not saying that\\'s necessarily the way it was intended to be interpreted , but that is hands down the proper way in which it should be . \\nbesides a hidden symbolic depth and themes that go beyond what we can absorb from previews , this film has elements of physical wonder and strength that make it just so great to watch . \\nthe visual effects are indeed striking and what little color is revealed is impartially favorable . \\nafter spending the bulk of the movie staring at black and white , it\\'s hard not to identify and appreciate the fact that our own world allows for all that brilliance and more . \\na truly intelligent addition to it all , however , is the charming and ardently attainable cast that operates together like clockwork . \\nthat said , the plot goes as such . \\ndavid and jennifer are two very 90\\'s high school twins with the typical \" relationship \" outline of don\\'t-mess-with-my-life-and-i-won\\'t-mess-with-yours . \\nthey demonstrate the well-known teenage qualities of two of the common versions of adolescents today . \\ndavid is the shyer , subtler twin who would rather watch tv land than mtv , while jennifer is the wild , licentious one who spends her days at the mall and relishes in the pleasures of the offensive world of degradation . \\nbut when a freak accident enchantingly plops them smack dab in the middle of pleasantville as two of the main characters , they are forced to depend on each other to make it back home . \\nnevertheless , jennifer works her magic and introduces the town to a more unrestrained approach to life , and while david frantically tries to stop her and get them back home , he realizes that change was exactly what the town needed . \\nand , as said earlier , not to flip the town around into some corrupt society , but rather to give people the choice to decide between good and bad and to reap the results of their decisions and learn from them . \\nnot only were difficult choices being brought upon the town , but the simple accepted occurrences of ordinary existence also began to take place . \\npeople got hurt . \\nthey cried . \\nthey became afraid and happy and thoughtful and started to think for themselves , and that\\'s when their physical world turned colors as well . \\nthis can be looked upon as quite a controversial movie , but to me the message is finally clear . \\ni hope after reading this people can be more open to the film than they had been in the past , and realize that without choosing how our own lives will be run , we\\'ll never know what we could have done better . \\nuntil the next great movie i see , i remain sincerely , danielle flynn , imr \\n',\n",
+       " b'that thing you do ! \\n ( r ) tom hanks\\'s screenwriting and directorial debut , that thing you do ! , has all the qualities you would associate with the most beloved screen actor of the moment : fun , lively , and oh-so-nice . \\nit is the latter quality , however , that becomes a hindrance , for this \\'60s nostalgia trifle is so nice and sweet that it teeters on becoming bland milquetoast . \\nthat thing focuses on the wonders , a teen rock band from erie , pennsylvania that is suddenly thrust into the national spotlight in 1964 when they score a major dance hit called , of course , \" that thing you do ! \" \\nthe group\\'s members are , naturally a diverse group : there\\'s brooding lead singer and songwriter jimmy ( johnathon schaech ) ; girl-crazy lenny ( steve zahn ) , the lead guitarist ; a goofy , geeky type known only as the bass player ( ethan embry ) ; and the film\\'s center , guy ( tom everett scott ) , the drummer who has aspirations in jazz . \\nalong for the wonders\\' ride to success is jimmy\\'s perpetually neglected galpal , faye ( liv tyler ) . \\nhanks proves to be a capable writer-director , deftly recreating the innocent spirit of 1964 , which hanks calls \" the last innocent year . \" \\nthe spirit is not only reflected in the period clothes and settings but also in the music , which , like the other recent period music film , grace of my heart , was expressly written for the film ; hanks himself had a hand in writing four of the tunes--but not the infectious title cut by adam schlesinger , which is guaranteed to stay in your head long after the end credits have rolled ( it\\'s still playing in my mind as i write this ) . \\nit should come as no surprise that hanks the director works well with the actors , eliciting charming , likable work from the entire cast , most notably hanks lookalike scott and tyler , who is remarkable in delivering the film\\'s biggest and best dramatic moment . \\nthe work of the young ensemble is so natural that they truly convince as teens of the early \\'60s ; they do not appear to be \\'90s grungers playacting \" retro . \" \\nyet for all the light , frothy charms of that thing you do ! , it\\'s nearly nice to a fault . \\nwhile this unbridled innocence in film is a refreshing change from all the sinful cinema around these days , there is not enough conflict to keep things consistently interesting . \\neveryone is so happy , basking in the glow of overnight success , marvelling at it all--except toward the end , but even then the tone quickly reverts to sweetness , ending on an appropriately feel-good note . \\nthere isn\\'t much of an edge throughout that thing--the only thing that is remotely edgy is hanks\\'s turn as the wonders\\' manager--and thus becomes in danger of being so nice it\\'s bland . \\nbut a little niceness goes a long way these days , and there\\'s no denying the entertainment value of that thing you do ! ; it\\'s just about impossible to hate . \\nit\\'s an inoffensive , enjoyable piece of nostalgia that is sure to leave audiences smiling and humming , if not singing , \" that thing you do ! \" --quite \\npossibly for days . \\nto paraphrase a passage from the song : though i try and try to forget that song it is just so hard to do every time they play \" that thing you do ! \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s an interesting premise . \\nour reality is only real to us because it is what we perceive to be real . \\nin truth , our entire existences are lived out in our minds as we are fed information through electronic inputs directly to our brains . \\nwhat we see , what we do , everything around us is nothing more than a computer-generated construct interlinked with the minds of others through a vastly powerful artificial intelligence . \\nour bodies , severely atrophied , are kept alive for the sole purpose of generating heat and electrical energy for a dominating order of machines which control the planet . \\nthe sci-fi realm has been waiting a little while for something new to come along . \\nthe matrix isn\\'t it - the idea of a war between man and a sentient computer network , a sham world , the ability to plug one\\'s brain into a computer , has all been gleaned from such sources as the terminator , dark city , and a few star trek episodes ( both classic and next generation ) . \\nwhat is new is the ability to weave all of these various elements together and succeed in producing a film that is both entertaining as well as thought-provoking . \\nkeanu reeves plays a computer whiz nicknamed neo , who is plucked out of the artificial world ( known as the matrix ) by a group of renegade humans who are clandestinely fighting to expose the fallacy of the computer-generated existence and free humankind from the oppression of the machines . \\nthe group\\'s leader , morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) , has chosen neo because he believes neo is \" the one \" who is destined to lead the attack against the artificial intelligence . \\n>from the beginning of the film , we are kept on our toes trying to figure things out . \\nthis , in a lesser movie would be annoying , but the matrix presents itself in an intelligent manner which makes the puzzle rather interesting and even fun . \\nwhat is reality ? \\nwhat is a sham ? \\nthe film turns our very perception of life on its side . \\nmore than once , we are also presented with the question of whether we would rather know the harsh truth of reality , or live a life of relative bliss , oblivious to the true nature of our surroundings . \\nas viewers , this is intriguing enough , so imagine what it would be like for neo . \\nand who to better play a bewildered person than keanu reeves ? \\nreeves , whom i\\'ve never really cared for as an actor , is competent in roles which require a lot of straightforwardness , and little subtlety . \\nhe was good in speed , for example , but laughably poor in a walk in the clouds . \\nneo is actually one of those roles which reeves slips into rather nicely , so much of my expectation was happily for naught . \\nin a couple of places , the script even capitalizes upon his wooden nature , and this is a heavy credit to writers/directors andy and larry wachowski . \\ni mean , since bill and ted\\'s excellent adventure , what movie could you say really \" utilized \" keanu reeves ? \\nmore interesting than reeves is fishburne , who\\'s morpheus nearly runs the gamut of emotions , and convincingly so . \\nvery surprising for a sci-fi movie . \\nfishburne also maintains a certain demeanor about himself throughout , as if he always knows what to expect . \\nthis helps to further the aura of his character\\'s proficiency and extensive knowledge . \\nhugo weaving as agent smith , one of the artificial intelligence\\'s anti-intruder programs , is also good playing his deadpan , no-nonsense , kick ass role , which requires him to show emotion at the appropriate time . \\nunfortunately , when weaving speaks for more than a few sentences in a row , the nature of his character\\'s speech pattern becomes a little more laughable than impressive . \\ncarrie-anne moss plays trinity , morpheus\\'s number one assistant who becomes somewhat of a love interest for neo . \\nalthough her character is somewhat inconsistent , moss nevertheless delivers an above par performance when fishburne isn\\'t in the picture . \\nthere were few expenses spared when it comes to the special effects . \\nmany methods of imagery are employed , from modeling to bluescreen to computer graphics . \\nof special note is the use of the \" freeze and turn \" effect where the entire scene is frozen , turned , then continued from a new angle . \\nthis is accomplished by using a large number of still cameras employed in a semi-circle , with motion picture cameras placed at the two ends . \\nthe motion cameras film the action , and at the appropriate moment all the still cameras fire at once . \\nplace each still image in a film sequence and you get a nearly seamless transition from the first motion camera to the second . \\npretty slick . \\nthe matrix drips with style . \\nfrom the clothing to the music to the action , we\\'re watching an exaggerated version of what we\\'re used to . \\nmuch of it seems like the combination of two genres of the hong kong action film - there\\'s a lot of kung fu , there\\'s a lot of gunplay . \\nwhen a character is letting go with an automatic weapon , much is made of the empty cartridges falling to the floor in slow motion . \\nthere\\'s also the element of the japanese action cartoon ( called anime by aficionados ) , especially in the way the sequences are filmed in sweeping pans and emphasized actions through special effects . \\ncombined , it\\'s really like no live-action film i have ever seen . \\nthe film is not without its faults . \\nsome of the scenes and ideas are \" borrowed \" a little too liberally from other films , and one component of the ending is decidedly disappointing . \\nsome of the lines are also pretty bad - in one instance , a supporting character incorrectly delivers a famous saying , and it wasn\\'t meant to be a joke . \\nhowever , these shortcomings detract little from what is an overall solid action sci-fi film that for once does more than merely entertain . \\n',\n",
+       " b'jay and silent bob strike back , kevin smith\\'s swan song to his two most famous characters , is the best received comedy that i\\'ve seen since there\\'s something about mary , which is a tea party in comparison to the foul-mouthed humor in jay and silent bob strike back . \\nthe audience didn\\'t just laugh ; they went wild with boisterous laughter and heavy applause throughout . \\nin short , if you like really raunchy humor , you may find it , as i did , to be the funniest movie of the year . \\n ( on the other hand , if you are one of those who walked out in disgust with smith\\'s dogma , then jay and silent bob strike back is not the movie for you . ) \\nin one of the fastest paced movies of the year , the story has jay and silent bob ( jason mewes and kevin smith ) , a pair of card carrying drug dealers , traveling from their new jersey convenience store home to hollywood so that they can stop a movie . \\nit seems their comic book alter egos , bluntman and chronic , are being used in a movie without jay and silent bob\\'s consent . \\njason biggs and james van der beek are slated to star in it . \\njay and silent bob strike back has more and better used cameos than just about any movie that i\\'ve ever seen . \\namong others , they include carrie fisher as a bible-toting nun , mark hamill as a comic book version of his famous alter ego and gus van sant as a director too busy counting his money to yell , \" action ! \" \\nbest of all are ben affleck and matt damon who mock themselves and their movies . \\nthe film stops several times to make fun of itself and of the audience who was \" stupid \" enough to buy tickets to this movie . \\n ( actually , purchasing tickets to this film is extremely smart given that it delivers more laughter per dollar than anything in recent memory . ) \\nthe film even skewers people who write about movies on the internet . \\nguilty . \\nalthough it\\'s filled with inside jokes , you\\'ll still be laughing even if you only get some of them . \\nit\\'s easy to understand enough so that they are still funny . \\njay is a motor mouth who hasn\\'t met a subject that he couldn\\'t vulgarize . \\nhis favorite topic is oral sex , but , being an equal opportunity profaner , he\\'s willing to make crude jokes about absolutely anything . \\nbut it is his buddy , the aptly named silent bob , who is responsible for most of the movie\\'s success . \\nhis reaction shots , with his wildly exaggerated eye movements , are comedic gems . \\nthe story\\'s main subplot concerns four animal rights activists , justice ( shannon elizabeth ) and her three sexy buddies , sissy ( eliza dushku ) , missy ( jennifer schwalbach smith ) and chrissy ( ali larter ) . \\nthese charlie\\'s angels types give a ride to our heroes on their trek to lalaland to stop the picture . \\njay tries to put the moves on justice , but he doesn\\'t stay in command of the situation for long . \\none of the funnier sight gags has the women using a pink , clam-shaped , birth control case that contains high tech gadgetry . \\ngranted , it\\'s not the movie for everyone , but , if you like kevin smith\\'s brand of humor , you\\'ll find that this is his best . \\nand , as i said earlier , it\\'s the funniest movie of the year thus far . \\nno , wait . \\nforget , `thus far . \\' \\nit\\'s bound to be the funniest movie of the year . \\nin a time when almost every movie feels obligated to come in at pg-13 so that they can rake in the maximum cash , it\\'s great to see a filmmaker with the guts to target only a mature audience . \\njay and silent bob strike back runs a lightening fast 1 : 35 . \\nit is rated r and contains pervasive crude humor and language and sexual situations . \\nit would be acceptable for high school seniors and older . \\nthe film opens nationwide in the united states on wednesday , august 22 , 2001 . \\nin the silicon valley , it will be showing at the amc and the century theaters . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : side-splitting comedy that follows its own merciless logic almost through to the end . . . \\nbut not without providing a good deal of genuine laughs . \\nmost comedies these days have one flaw . \\nthey\\'re not funny . \\nthey think they\\'re funny , but they are devoid of anything really penetrating or dastardly . \\noccasionally a good funny movie sneaks past the deadening hollywood preconceptions of humor and we get a real gem : ruthless people , for instance , which established a microcosm of a setup and played it out to the bitter end . \\nliar liar is built the same way and is just about as funny . \\nthis is one of the few movies i\\'ve seen where i was laughing consistently almost all the way through : instead of a couple of set-pieces that inspired a laugh ( think of the dismal fatal instinct ) , the whole movie works like clockwork . \\njim carrey playes a high-powered lawyer , to whom lying is as natural as breathing . \\nthere is one thing he takes seriously , though : his son , and we can sense the affection that they have for each other right away . \\nbut his wife is divorced and seeing another man , and now it looks like they may move away together . \\nthe son goes with them , of course . \\nthe movie sets up this early material with good timing and a remarkable balance of jim carrey\\'s over-the-top persona with reality . \\nthen the plot springs into action : after being snubbed ( not deliberately ) by his father at his birthday , the kid makes a wish as he blows out the birthday candles : that for just one day , dad can\\'t lie . \\nhe gets the wish . \\nwhat happens next is sidesplitting . \\neverything turns into a confrontation : when cornered by a bum for some change , he shouts , \" no ! \\ni\\'m not giving you any money because i know you\\'ll spend it on booze ! \\nall i want to do is to get to the office without having to step over the debris of our decaying society ! \" \\nhe can\\'t even get into an elevator without earning a black eye . \\nand what\\'s worse , he\\'s now gotten himself into an expensive divorce settlement that requires him to twist the truth like abstract wire sculpture . \\ncarrey , who i used to find unfunny , has gotten better at his schtick , even if it\\'s a limited one . \\nhe uses it to great effect in this movie . \\nthere is a scene where he tries to test his ability to lie and nearly demolishes his office in the process ( there\\'s a grin breaking out across my face right now , just remembering the scene ) . \\nhe can\\'t even write the lie ; his fingers twitch , his body buckles like someone in the throes of cyanide poisoning , and when he tries to talk it\\'s like he\\'s speaking in tongues . \\nequally funny is a scene where he beats himself to a pulp ( don\\'t ask why ) , tries to drink water to keep from having outbursts in the courtroom ( it fails , with semi-predictable results ) , and winds up biting the bullet when he gets called into the boardroom to have everyone ask what they think of them . \\nthis scene alone may force people to stop the tape for minutes on end . \\nthe movie sustains its laughs and also its flashes of insight until almost the end . \\na shame , too , because the movie insists on having a big , ridiculous climax that involves carrey\\'s character flagging down a plane using a set of motorized stairs , then breaking his leg , etc . a simple reconciliation would do the trick . \\nwhy is this stupid pent-up climax always obligatory ? \\nit\\'s not even part of the movie\\'s real agenda . \\nthankfully , liar liar survives it , and so does carrey . \\nmaybe they were being merciful , on reflection . \\nif i\\'d laughed any more , i might have needed an iron lung . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there was probably a good reason that the warner bros . studio chose not to allow critics to view this steven seagal film when it first opened . \\nand , after seeing this piece of toxic waste , i now know why . \\nthis movie is by far the worst offering that has hit the screen since possibly those ernest movies years ago . \\nfire down below centers its story on a little mining town in god\\'s country , somewhere in eastern kentucky . \\nit\\'s beauty and natural goodness is being slowly destroyed by an uncaring mining magnate ( kris kristopherson , who constantly looks like he wants to kill his agent for getting him this role ) . \\nit turns out that he\\'s filling the mines throughout kentucky with toxic waste for a tidy profit . \\nseagal plays jack taggert , an aikido-versed , fighting machine , who is an agent with the epa . \\nno . . . not the cia nor the fbi nor the nsa . \\nit\\'s the environmental protection agency . \\ni had no idea that epa agents were trained to be killers ! \\ntaggert is sent to find the perpetrators and to bring them to justice . \\nwritten by someone named jeb , i could already envision the stereotypes of incestuous relationships , banjo-picking preachers , and dumb-as-nails rednecks . \\nbut the script puts seagal right smack dab in the middle of all of these scenarios as he tries to discreetly fit in . \\nseagal\\'s idea of a disguise is a long-length $1000 leather jacket . \\nbut to get closer to the kinfolk , he will fix people\\'s porches for free . \\nthat\\'s another great epa asset - teaching agents how to fix porches . \\nslow and plodding , this project is a total mess . \\nthe sometimes allure of watching seagal is watching him outmaneuver enemies that outnumber and outgun him like in under seige . \\nhere , his bravado basically turns into bullyness . \\ntownsfolk who are foolish enough to challenge seagal are quickly subdued . \\nfight scenes are quick and senseless and offers no enjoyment value whatsoever . \\nand his soap box message wears thin within the first 15 minutes . \\nthe most annoying moment comes when he barges into the middle of a sunday church ceremony , gets behind the pulpit , and beseeches the townsfolk to take control of their lives and to help clean up the environment . \\nbut the epitome of how moralistically mushy this film gets happens when the person responsible for the toxic dumping , kristopherson , meets up with seagal . \\nkristopherson asks seagal how much it will take for him to go away . \\nseagal gallantly replies : \" i\\'ll leave when you take the poison from the streams and the earth . \" \\ni was expecting patriotic music to start blasting and a show of fireworks in the background . \\nthis is truly nothing more than a pompous showcase for seagal\\'s righteousness and narcissistic arrogance . \\nseagal has been vanguard in trying to bring a new genre into the filmplace , that of the enviro-thriller ( on deadly ground ) . \\nhowever , the message will never come across through poorly developed vehicles like this . \\nstill , i believe in preserving mother earth , so save your $5 and please donate it instead to some worthy environmentally conscious charity . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" jaws \" is a rare film that grabs your attention before it shows you a single image on screen . \\nthe movie opens with blackness , and only distant , alien-like underwater sounds . \\nthen it comes , the first ominous bars of composer john williams\\' now infamous score . \\ndah-dum . \\nfrom there , director steven spielberg wastes no time , taking us into the water on a midnight swim with a beautiful girl that turns deadly . \\nright away he lets us know how vulnerable we all are floating in the ocean , and once \" jaws \" has attacked , it never relinquishes its grip . \\nperhaps what is most outstanding about \" jaws \" is how spielberg builds the movie . \\nhe works it like a theatrical production , with a first act and a second act . \\nunlike so many modern filmmakers , he has a great deal of restraint , and refuses to show us the shark until the middle of the second act . \\nuntil then , he merely suggests its presence with creepy , subjective underwater shots and williams\\' music . \\nhe\\'s building the tension bit by bit , so when it comes time for the climax , the shark\\'s arrival is truly terrifying . \\nhe doesn\\'t let us get bored with the imagery . \\nthe first act opens with police chief martin brody ( roy scheider ) , a new york cop who has taken an easy , peaceful job running the police station on amity island , a fictitious new england resort town where there hasn\\'t been a murder or a gun fired in 25 years . \\nthe island is shaken up by several vicious great white shark attacks right before the fourth of july , and the mayor , larry vaughn ( murray hamilton ) , doesn\\'t want to shut down the beaches because the island is reliant on summer tourist money . \\nbrody is joined by matt hooper ( richard dreyfuss ) , a young , ambitious shark expert from the marine institute . \\nhooper is as fascinated by the shark as he is determined to help brody stop it -- his knowledge about the exact workings of the shark ( \" it\\'s a perfect engine , an eating machine \" ) make it that much more terrifying . \\nwhen vaughn finally relents , hooper and brody join a crusty old shark killer named quint ( robert shaw ) on his decrepit boat , the orca , to search for the shark . \\nthe entire second act takes place on the orca as the three men hunt the shark , and inevitably , are hunted by it . \\n \" jaws \" is a thriller with a keen sense of humor and an incredible sense of pacing , tension , and horror . \\nit is like ten movies all rolled into one , and it\\'s no wonder it took america by storm in the summer of 1975 , taking in enough money to crown it the box office champ of all time ( until it was unceremoniously dethroned in 1977 by \" star wars \" ) . \\neven today , fascination with this film is on par with hitchcock\\'s \" psycho , \" and it never seems to age . \\nalthough grand new technology exists that makes the technical sequences , including several mechanical sharks , obsolete , none of it could improve the film because it only would lead to overkill . \\nthe technical limitations faced by spielberg in 1975 may have actually produced a better film because it forced him to rely on traditional cinematic elements like pacing , characterization , sharp editing , and creative photography , instead of simply dousing the audience with digital shark effects . \\nscheider , dreyfuss , and shaw were known actors at the time \" jaws \" was made , but none of them had the draw of a robert redford or paul newman . \\nnevertheless , this film guaranteed them all successful careers because each gave an outstanding performance and refused to be overshadowed by the shark . \\nscheider hits just the right notes as a sympathetic husband and father caught in the political quagmire of doing what\\'s right and going against the entire town . \\n \" it\\'s your first summer here , you know , \" mayor vaughn warns him . \\ndreyfuss , who had previously been seen in \" american graffiti \" ( 1973 ) and \" the apprenticeship of duddy kravitz \" ( 1974 ) gives a surprisingly mature , complex performance for someone who had literally only played kids and teenagers . \\nhowever , most outstanding is the gnarled performance by robert shaw as the movie\\'s captain ahab , a performance sorely overlooked by the academy awards . \\nbordering of parody , shaw plays quint as a grizzled old loner whose machismo borders on masochism . \\nhe\\'s slightly deranged , and shaw\\'s performance is almost a caricature . \\nhowever , there is one scene late in the film , when he and brody and hooper are below deck on the orca comparing scars . \\nquint is drawn into telling the story of his experiences aboard the u . s . s . \\nindianapolis , a navy ship in world war ii that was sunk by the japanese . \\nhis tale of floating in the water for more than a week with over 1 , 000 other men while swarms of sharks slowly devoured them them is actually more hair-raising than anything spielberg put on screen . \\nshaw delivers the story in one long take , and it is the best acting in the film . \\nof course , we can\\'t leave out the shark itself ; with its black eyes , endless rows of teeth , and insatiable urge to eat , it is basically the epitome of all mankind\\'s fears about what is unknown and threatening in nature . \\na shark is such a perfect nemesis it is real -- having survived sinch the dinosaurs , great whites do exist , they can be as large as the shark in \" jaws , \" and they are a threat . \\nevery one of spielberg\\'s subjective underwater shots makes us feel queasy because lets us see how we look to the shark : a bunch of writihing , dangling , completely unprotected legs just ready to be chomped into . \\nthe shark in \" jaws \" was actually a combination of actual footage and five different mechanical sharks ( all nicknamed \" bruce \" by the crew ) built to be shot from different angles . \\nmany have forgotten , but \" jaws \" was a sort of precursor to \" waterworld \" ( 1995 ) , a movie\\'s who soggy production and cost overruns had universal studios worried about a bomb . \\nbut , as we can see now , spielberg overcame all the obstacles , and delivered one of the finest primal scare-thrillers ever to come out of hollywood . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : annoyingly unentertaining , obvious and paper-thin buddy/cop/drug/sexy-witness movie . \\npresence of director michael bay shows none of the talent he demonstrated in the rock . \\ni\\'ve seen this movie already , i said , as i looked at the box art . \\nno , i haven\\'t even seen a trailer for the movie ; i don\\'t even know what it\\'s about , but i can look at the way they\\'re promoting it , and i know i\\'ve seen it already . \\ni thought : it\\'s about these two cops . \\nand they\\'re buddies , sort of . \\nthey\\'re at each other\\'s throats a lot , but they really do like each other . \\nand everyone else in their department hates them \\'cause they\\'re hot-shots . \\nand they have some kind of diametric opposition in their relationship . \\nand one day they\\'re in the middle of cop business as usual when they get mixed up in this plot that involves a really sadistic bad guy with lots of henchmen who can never hit anything with the billions of rounds of ammo they are always carrying . \\nand the bad guy is a drug lord . \\nand there\\'s a witness , and she\\'s this sexy thing who rubs both of them the wrong way . \\nand their supervisor wants their badges for breakfast when they blow up half the town bringing this guy down . \\ni only missed the bit about the badges . \\nthe rest i got dead-on . \\nand i hadn\\'t even left the video store yet . \\nthe cops in this movie are will smith and martin lawrence , and the bad guy is the immensely underutilized tcheky karyo . \\nsmith plays a cop who has a trust fund and is thus not a cop for the money ; martin l . is a family man ( shades of the now-tired lethal weapon dynamic here ) whose wife and he are at total odds . \\nthis leads to some strained scenes about lawrence\\'s \" not getting any \" , and some totally unneccesary bits with him skulking around his own house , thinking his partner is now his wife\\'s \" back door man \" . \\nnot funny ; tiresome . \\nbad boys gets some of its incredibly meager selling points from the presence of will smith and martin lawrence . \\nwill smith is a natural , and i\\'m happy to see him in movies like six degrees . . . \\nand men in black . \\nhe\\'s funny and charming without trying to be ; he really does seem to be enjoying himself . \\nmartin lawrence is a different story ; he\\'s so uptight and verbally constipated that sitting through his improvised riffs are a trial . \\nmovies like this are not about originality . \\ni know this . \\nthey are about style and energy and synergy between actors . \\ni know this , too . \\nand yet , while watching bad boys , which its glamorous photography and impossibly exact stunt choreography , i felt fed up . \\ni\\'d seen con air , which despite being completely implausible , was still great fun , because it tried however feebly to put some new life into the mix . \\nbad boys is a dry run -- and overlong , too , clocking in at just over two hours with a lot more by-play than i felt could be justified . \\ni could write this movie . \\nyou could write this movie . \\nmany people have . \\nmany people will continue to write this movie , over and over again . \\nother people will buy it from them , and make it , and we will pay money to see it . \\nmore the fools we all . \\nin a terrifyingly prescient line from his book a scanner darkly , phil k . dick once mused that the mcdonaldburger ( as he called it ) would eventually eclipse money as the token of cultural and financial exchange . \\none day we will all just sit in our living rooms and sell the same burger back and forth to each other . \\nthe same could be said about this movie . \\ni have the sinking feeling we\\'re going to see it again . \\nsoon . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i heard actor skeet ulrich discussing this film in a couple of interviews , and in both instances , he felt the strange compulsion to compare it a little series of films called lethal weapon . \\nnow , i personally remember those films as a ) starring a major motion picture star b ) being funny c ) having great action sequences d ) great chemistry e ) decent character development . \\nhmmm . . . . okay . . . now on to my review of chill factor . \\nplot : a graveyard shift regular working joe and ice cream truck driver fall onto a malicious plan by an ex-army general , to propose a nuclear device to international prospects . \\nwhen the device suddenly falls into their reluctant laps , they must keep it cool on ice , and rush it over to an army base , before the contraption ticks over 50 degrees fahrenheit , and kills millions of people . \\ncritique : \" speed on an ice-cream truck \" is probably the pitch that was used to sell this one-tone movie to its backers , but unfortunately , the only way that anyone could compare this film to that tension-filled , original two hours of cinema , is in its distinct honor of being the complete opposite of what that film , and the lethal weapon movies , stood for . \\nthis film is seasoned in cliches , with plenty of badly written dialogue , over the top acting from cuba gooding jr . , zero chemistry between the two leads , and horribly tacky bad guys , tossed in to complete an overall bad movie recipe . \\nmy friend and i enjoyed watching this movie to a certain extent , because some of the lines in it were so bad and obviously \" written \" , that we just had to crack up . \\nthat , and the formula for the film\\'s script which followed the proverbial 1-2- , and you guessed it . . . 3 scenario ! \\nand what about all those catchy , hip names to get us to relate to the characters . . . . \" elvis \" \\nand \" nighshift \" , oh what talent lies in the minds of these screenwriters ( and yes , it actually took two guys to come up with this regurgitated drivel ) . \\nit is unfathomable to me as to how actors skeet ulrich and cuba gooding jr . got involved in this one-week-old-blue-cheese-smelling project . \\ndid they actually think that it would boost their careers , or did they know that the script sucked , but discounted any fall from grace , knowing full well that the stack of cash in their back pockets would pad their fall ? \\nmost probably the latter . \\nhave you seen either fled or bulletproof ? \\nwell , despite the slight differences in plot , the essentials are basically the same here . \\nyou get a black guy and a white guy being chased by a bunch of people , having no choice but to work together to get somewhere , hating each other at first , but over time , learning to respect one another as individuals . \\nyawn . \\nadd to that , the fact that our film actually has bad guys who are all dressed in black , drive black cars and black vans , and run around with all kinds of telecommunicative devices sprinkled around their head . \\nnot too conspicuous , eh ? \\ncall me a party-pooper , but as much as i like a nice cheezy movie as much as the next guy , this film just doesn\\'t even try to do anything original or reasonably entertaining . \\none cool scene with a boat careening down a mountainside , and another with a nuclear device obliterating everything on an island , do not a fun , buddy-action flick make . \\nshow cuba the money , everybody ! \\n : ) \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : this is not a little known fact or anything , but damn , is it just me or does skeet ulrich look an awful lot like great-looking actor johnny depp ? \\nskeet\\'s real-life nicknames include chester , skeeter and mosquito . \\nhe stands 6\\'1 \" , was born in north carolina , and got married in 1997 to that sex-kitten actress from clay pigeons ( 7 . 5/10 ) , \\ngeorgina cates . \\nthey own a farm together in virginia and seven dogs . \\nskeet has a long scar on his chest from open-heart surgery done when he was 10 to correct a ventricle defect . \\nactor cuba gooding jr . was born in the bronx , new york . \\nin 1984 , he break-danced during the closing ceremonies of the olympic games in los angeles . \\nhe stands 5\\'10 \" . \\nactress hudson leick , who plays one of the \" bad guys/girls \" in his movie , is better known from her role as \" callisto \" on the popular tv series \" xena : princess warrior \" . \\nthis film reportedly had a budget of $40 million ? ? \\ni\\'m not exactly sure where all this money went , but it certainly did not register onscreen . \\ninterestingly enough , director hugh johnson , who makes his big screen debut with this film , was the cinematographer on the 1996 film white squall and the 1997 demi moore vehicle , g . i . \\njane ( 6 . 5/10 ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'by-the-numbers : a film which introduces characters , situations , dilemmas and developments that we\\'ve seen before in a parade of other films . \\na film which can easily be guessed out by the end of frame number one . \\na film which is packed to the cap with predictability , leading to very little tension , excitement , suspense or interest on the part of its paying audience . \\nin short , a clich ? -ridden formula film . \\nwelcome to my review of the general\\'s daughter . \\nplot : an undercover army detective and a rape counselor find themselves locked inside an investigation into some bigwig general daughter\\'s rape , torture and murder . \\nthey must delve through all of the unspoken army rules and the hush-hushes , to figure out the conspiracy behind the shocking murder . \\ncritique : by the numbers ( see above ) . \\nthis film is just there . \\nit sits there on the big screen for a couple of hours , floats around , goes away , hopefully never to be heard from again . \\nit is so predictable that even a blind man could see its plot points coming a mile away . \\nit\\'s as suspenseful as a leaf dropping from a tree . \\nit\\'s as action-packed as a canadian curling tournament . \\nget the picture ? \\ni sure did . . . it\\'s \\ntoo bad that it took my friend and i less than two minutes to figure out the entire plot , and to break down each scene before it was even completed . \\neasy as pie . \\nit\\'s unfortunate because james woods and john travolta actually have one extremely enjoyable scene together near the beginning of the film , but alas , t\\'was not to be ( that scene alone scored two of my four points allotted . ) \\nwoods chews it up in the few scenes that he\\'s in , travolta passes the test , cromwell plays , well , cromwell , and stowe is window dressing with a smile ( mia since 12 monkeys ( 8/10 ) it seems ) . \\nand this predictability isn\\'t reserved only to those who have seen films like courage under fire or a few good men , it runs deep inside every one of us who knows to suspect someone as soon as they see their obvious guilty mug on the big screen . \\nit\\'s like riding a bike . \\nother scenarios which sponge out any tension , suspense or interest from this film include every single character eventually \" breaking down \" to the investigators without much reason given , a ridiculously placed background relationship between two of the lead characters , as much action as my grandparents bedroom nightly , and a directorial style that can only reward director simon west with a solid nomination for the \" best poor man\\'s michael bay doing his best poor man\\'s impression of tony scott \" ( add two scenes with sunlight shining through some half-open shades for grit and integrity , and an all-out rainfall for the finale for further chaos , and you\\'re a great director . \\nyawn . \\nyeah , whatever tony . . . i \\nmean , simon . ) \\nand aren\\'t we all sick of hearing about these army \" bad boys \" and their overdone \" code of silence \" ? ! \\nenough already ! \\nnext subject , please . \\nsee it on video if you wanna fall asleep after seeing a much better movie like an officer and a gentleman ( 8 . 5/10 ) . \\notherwise , save yourself the trouble and go take a crap instead . \\nyou\\'ll feel much better afterwards . \\ntrust me . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : ironically , john travolta turned down the lead role in an officer and a gentleman , which eventually went to little dickie gere . \\nironically on james woods\\' part , he completed one of his earliest acting roles on tv\\'s \" welcome back , kotter \" , starring none other than john travolta . \\nactor james woods recently confirmed reports of his \" big dick \" on howard stern\\'s radio program . \\nunlike rocker tommy lee , woods is also alleged to have an iq of 180 . \\nhe apparently scored a perfect 800 on his verbal sats and a 779 on the math section . \\nwhat a man ! \\njohn travolta is married to actress kelly preston , and they have a son named jett ( travolta loves them planes ! ) . \\nword on the street is that the kid was apparently conceived during a weekend at demi moore and bruce willis\\' home . \\ndirector simon west\\'s first film was the jerry bruckheimer produced con air ( 6 . 5/10 ) . \\nbefore that , he directed tv commercials including the budweiser ad with the dancing ants . \\nyippee ! \\nveteran director john frankenheimer ( ronin ( 7 . 5/10 ) , \\nthe manchurian candidate ) portrays the character of general sonnenberg in this film . \\nthe imdb reports that when senator robert kennedy was shot at the ambassador hotel in los angeles on june 5 , 1968 , it was his good friend john frankenheimer who had personally driven him there that day . \\nclarence williams iii , who plays colonel fowler in this film , is known to some from his role as \" linc \" in the original \" mod squad \" tv series . \\nyounger folk may remember him as prince\\'s father in purple rain . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" the end of the affair \" is a dark and moody romantic period piece , that neil jordan exquisitely writes and directs . \\nalthough it\\'s slow and sometimes confusing to follow , it still manages to give audiences a moving experience . \\nbased on graham greene\\'s novel of the same name , the film mainly follows 3 characters . \\nthere\\'s maurice bendrix ( ralph fiennes ) who has an affair with henry mile\\'s ( stephen rea ) wife sarah ( julianne moore ) . \\nsarah finds henry to be a bore , because well , he\\'s just a normal guy . \\nit\\'s all work and no play with him . \\nwhile maurice on the other hand falls madly in love with sarah , and would do anything for her . \\nunfortunately the two break up . \\nthis is all witnessed in a serious of flashbacks , so that leads us to the present . \\nit\\'s a few years later , and they both still think of each other , so maurice hires a private detective ( ian hart ) to see what sarah is up too . \\nwhile this may sound straight forward it\\'s not . \\nit\\'s a deep dark tale of the jealousy that lies in the two men , unhappiness , and the ever lasting love . \\nall this may sound like a drag , but it really captures your interest . \\nwith great performances by ralph fiennes ( doing another english patient type of film , only this movie is better ) and julianna moore who definitely deserves an oscar because out of all 5 films she did in 1999 , i believe this was the role , she had the most passion for , and you can see why . \\nthe story was also well written thanks to neil jordan . \\neven though i didn\\'t read the book , there\\'s no doubt in mind that it was just as moving and descriptive . \\nwhat\\'s so moving about it you ask ? \\nthe tragedy of it all . \\nit\\'s not the typical romance , in which a guy finds a girl , they fall in love and all is well , this is more complicated and depressing . \\nit really shows the complexity of a relationship , because nothing is ever perfect . \\neveryone feels a different way and that is what tears us to pieces . \\nback to neil jordan\\'s script , it wasn\\'t only red roses . \\nthere were times when i felt it too be a little slow , but most romances are . \\nit also tended to be a bit confusing , especially at the start . \\nit keep jumping around from past to present , so it obviously took awhile to get a grasp of things . \\nalso a notable was the superb direction by neil jordan . \\ni\\'d have to say this is his finest achievement to date , because quite frankly i\\'ve never really found his work to be up to par . \\nit just never did anything for me , until now . \\nwhen it ends , it leaves viewers a little saddened , but provoked nonetheless . \\nthis is definitely one of the best films of 99 , and had some of the best acting , most notably by moore . \\nnot for all movie goers , but for those who are film buffs and want something of value . \\n',\n",
+       " b'funny how your expectations can be defeated , and not in good ways . \\nthe ghost and the darkness promised ( at least , it seemed to me to promise ) a hemingwayesque showdown between men and nature . \\nwhat it delivered was mystery science theater 3000-level material -- an inadvertently hilarious story that made me scream advice at the characters . \\n \" get new jobs ! \" \\nwas one line , if i remember correctly . \\nat the end of the 19th century , col . patterson ( val kilmer , whose irish accent comes and goes like an african zephyr ) is an engineer who has been hired to build a british railway bridge across the tsavo river in uganda . \\nhe is having immensely stereotypical problems : the natives are restless , his boss is a jerk , and now two man-eating lions are stalking the work camp and killing people off . \\npatterson tries to handle the situation himself , incompetently , and then turns to charles remington ( michael douglas ) , a hunter of world reknown ( or something like that ) . \\nthe movie stacks the deck so heavily in favor of the lions , they should have gotten top billing and co-starred with siegfried and roy . \\nthey are nigh-invulnerable , as one comic book put it , and this is of course just the excuse the movie needs to have one native after another stepping forth to solmenly recite lines about the power of nature . \\ngive me a break . \\nthe movie hasn\\'t got the wherewithal to even begin to exploit such ideas ; it\\'s just trying to find convenient ways to stall us . \\neven the lion hunts themselves are idiotic . \\nget this : remington\\'s big plan is to build a large scaffold-like structure in the middle of the savannah , sit on it , and wait for the lion to show up . \\nhe does this , and then gets knocked off by a bird . \\nby the end of the movie , the blood vessels in my palm were all broken open from me pounding my forehead with my hand . \\nthe acting is forgettable . \\ndouglas does a good job of portraying a relatively cracked fellow , but it\\'s nothing he hasn\\'t done before . \\nkilmer looks like he wishes he were someone else , somewhere else , and the rest vanish into the cinematography . \\nthe camera , by the way , sometimes behaves so stupidly all by itself that most of the lion attacks are incoherent . \\nwhat did i expect from this movie ? \\ni dunno . \\nsome real excitement , i suppose . \\na sense that there were formidable forces on both sides of this equation . \\nno such luck . \\ni dug out my tattered copy of hemingway\\'s \" the short happy life of francis macomber \" and read that to get the taste of this movie out of my mind . \\n',\n",
+       " b'writers : dennis feldman and jonathan hensleigh ( based on the comic book by chuck pfarrer ) \\nstarring : jamie lee curtis , william baldwin , donald sutherland , joanna pacula , sherman augustus , marshall bell , cliff curtis , julio oscar mechoso \\ni suppose i\\'m not extremely surprised that \" virus \" comes to us from a deciple of james cameron ( john bruno ) , and if i strain real hard , i could even say that it\\'s an obvious given , particuarly looking from the standpoint of mr . cameron\\'s early works . \\nin fact , \" virus \" is yet another in the long line of action/horror/paranoia thrillers from the \" aliens \" vein : a group of people are dropped into a mysterious situation only to find a mortally-threatening entity is out to get them , a textbook example hailing all the way back to the early talkies , and maybe even to the first pictures , albeit redeveloped by cameron in his 1986 blockbuster that earned him esteem and bigger budgets to come in his future . \\nno such thing will happen to bruno , whom i believe worked in some capacity on that quasi-landmark feature ; while bruno may have studied under cameron\\'s wing for years and years , i\\'m beginning to wonder at what capacity , and what exactly did he learn from him . \\nin fact , \" virus \" should at least be mediocre ; the fact that bruno could have worked under a man like cameron - a director who , if anything , just knows how to make a movie - and then make a film like \" virus \" is just another detraction fairly aimed at this z-grade schlockfest of a film , albeit a z-grade schlockfest with a respectable budget . \\nthe film seems to not only borrow it\\'s plot from last year\\'s similarly-fated \" deep rising , \" but also from a clunkish b-movie from the \\'80s called \" leviathan , \" an underwater thriller starring peter weller , richard crenna , hector elizando , and daniel stern about a group of miners who stumble upon an alien lifeform that was part \" alien , \" part john carpenter\\'s twisted remake of \" the thing . \" \\n \" virus , \" again , has a similar , uh , selling point : a group of sailors on a boat stumble upon a russian cruiser that is dead in the water . \\nthey get on . \\nthey break up into pairs and investigate . \\nand they find an alien lifeform on board that comes in the form of energy , has taken over all the machines on board , have meshed the machines with parts from corpses , and have deemed humankind their enemy because of a misquote in the dictionary ( ha ha ) . \\nnot that any of this is for a second scary or the least bit involving ; not only does this film start off with a chintzy bond-ian opening ( the destruction of the cruiser via a satellite transmission from mir ) , destroying any of the suspense in what could happen , but it also fails to bring us any interesting chracters . \\nof its motley crew , it only choses as its potentially eccentric cast of characters a lead woman skipper , a masculine potential-romantic-interest , a drunken captain , a black technician , a tatooed aborigine , a manic russian survivor , and a couple other candidates for alien food , none whom are the least bit interesting or more dimensional than a thin , plain piece of writing paper . \\nand it\\'s not the traditional argument for films like these , where you may in fact want them all to be eaten ( even \" aliens \" played with the karma of the arrogant soldiers , but this was more of a plus-side for the film as a whole than the opposite ) ; instead , as another cliche goes , you just don\\'t give a damn . \\ni almost don\\'t even have to say that the acting from everyone ranges from sub-par to horrific , the former being jamie lee curtis in the lead showing off what a strong female lead she is ( and she is , just not really here ) and the latter being - and it pains me to say this as he\\'s a particular favorite of mine - donald sutherland , who plays the captain so poorly and without a second of credibility that this will go down as the performance-of-which-he-should-be-ashamed . \\nlike anthony hopkins for \" legends of the fall \" ( the line \" scrooooooo \\'em \" has been thus embroidered upon my membrance ) . \\nor peter o\\'toole in \" caligula . \" \\ngreat actor , horrific performance . \\nit happens every now and then , and it only helps sutherland\\'s career that no one , except for an elite few , even bothered to see this film . \\nthough it has sat on the shelves of universal studios for about two years , waiting until it can be released and make as much money as it possibly can ( read : early january , when everyone\\'s still trying to catch up on the potential oscar-nominees ) , it does show that universal shelled out a pretty penny to make this film : it\\'s laden with complex machinery , boasts respectable production design , and it may even feature believable special effects . . . if , of course , i , or anyone else , could see them . \\n \" virus \" mostly takes place on a large , abandoned cruiser , and mostly at night until the dawn , and mostly without the use of lights , not so much for the productivity of the alien creatures in their pursuit of their human prey , but more so because , as the hollywood cliche seems to go , \" if it\\'s dark enough , then the special effects will be more believable . \" \\nand if you don\\'t believe me , go back and rent \" godzilla , \" and tell me if there\\'s even one shot where we see godzilla either a ) in his entirety in one wide shot , or b ) n the light so that we can at least see him ( well , you don\\'t really have to sit through it again ; just take my word for it ) . \\nbut all of this doesn\\'t matter since \" virus \" is basically just one loud , cluttered mess of a movie . \\nthe action scenes are muddled and as difficult to follow as any action movie i\\'ve ever seen ( my , um , favorite part was the scene where a trio of them end up somehow on the outside of the ship , during a five minute bouillabaisse of tidal waves , rain , and any other ocean-extremeties the film can cook up , then end up back in the ship when one of them is revealed to have apparently drowned - well , i must say , thanks for telling me afterwards because i sure couldn\\'t figure it out when i saw it ) . \\nimagine the first attack of the aliens in \" aliens , \" shot from the pov of the soldiers and then the authorities in the battle car if it was all hard to follow and done without any dramatic intensity , and that\\'s basically the whole of \" virus \" : one horribly-directed action scene after the other , capping it off with a proposterous gadget that saves the day and at least a couple of the original cast members . \\nand my god , it\\'s a long damn sit . \\nwith no interesting characters , no dramatic urgency , no tension , not one good moment of action , and no mesmerizing visuals , it\\'s a wonder that it even got made . \\nwe already know that big movie studios\\' mentality is shallow at best , and movies like \" out of sight \" and \" saving private ryan \" give you more faith in them , but movies like \" virus \" manage to drain a little more out of the pool . \\ni almost wish that instead of making this movie , john bruno had gone cinema verite and captured the meetings with universal heads when they gave this film a green light . \\nthey read the script , they knew they were entrusting millions upon millions of dollars into a director who might have very well been a cameron hack ( and he is ) , and they still went ahead with the project , only to have bruno and company shit back in their face . \\neven though i hold universal in contempt for making this horrible movie , i\\'d say even more contempt should be aimed at mr . bruno for making a movie that could be this bad . \\nin fact , shouts of \" egad , man , what were you doing when you worked for cameron anyway ? \" \\nare not only justifiable , but encouraged . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s been a good long while since we had a good old fashioned thriller , where mostly everything goes right for the audience and wrong for the characters , but it\\'s been even longer since i saw a thriller that actually * shock * cared for the characters , not merely judged them but actually allowed their human foibles , flaws , and strengths to emerge so radiantly . \\ni\\'d saw that it\\'s been at least a couple decades , even as far back to the great hitchcock thrillers , though i\\'m hardly comparing \" a simple plan \" to , say , \" rear window \" or \" strangers on a train . \" \\nyet it\\'s almost as good . \\nit\\'s simple , yet strangely complex , and astonishingly rewarding , because instead of moving from plot point to plot point , and merely laying out they-might-be-caught overtones , it instead concerns itself with the moral corruption and depths of greed that its protagonists can go to , all without ever judging them as either evil or even immoral . \\nelegantly directed by sam raimi ( yes , the same ) , \" a simple plan \" concerns itself with the discovery of a crashed plane and within a bag full of millions of dollars by an upright , moderately financially stable working man ( bill paxton ) , his dim-witted brother ( billy bob thornton ) , and his drinking buddy ( brent briscoe ) . \\nwithout anyone around , and the possibility that no one would come looking for it , the three debate and debate but finally reach the decision that yes , they will keep it , but until any authorities or possible owners of the cash come looking , and so they generally don\\'t flaunt anything they don\\'t want to flaunt , they\\'ll keep it stored away in the custody of paxton . \\nthe possibilites of this circumstance are much diverse : a ) they could endlessly play cat and mouse with the authorities ; b ) they could try to fight off the rightful owners , who are either villainous or just ; or c ) they could fight amongst themselves . \\n \" a simple plan , \" though borrows a little from each of these . \\na little tiff with the cops here , a subplot involving an alleged fbi agent ( a chilling gary cole ) there ) , and a bit of inside feuding over here . \\nbut , as austin powers would say , that\\'s not necessarily its bag ( baby ) . \\nwhat i most admired about this film , and what makes this a far superior and unique thriller is that it\\'s successfully able to have its cake and eat it too . \\nit effectively involves some of the traditional thriller cliches , like the ones mentioned above , but at the same time , it involves itself more deeply with the way the characters become morally corrupt and what price they have to pay to have what they think is happiness in a black duffle bag . \\nso while steps are taken to neatly cover things up , and these subsequent steps go miserably awry , the film choses to never loose the sight that in covering things up to the extent that these characters have to , they are slowly losing their souls and their humanity . \\nin one early scene , paxton and thornton have to make a trip back to the plane to return some of the money so it doesn\\'t look like it was all stolen ( not a bad idea ) , when thornton screws up ( as he does continuously throughout the movie ) , and paxton has to do some major covering-up ( read : homicide ) . \\ninstead of a quick murder and immeadiate hands-washing , raimi shows a lengthy , painful shot from a low-angle onto paxton\\'s face as he tries to sift through his emotions and reach a conclusion . \\nthere\\'s a similar shot afterwards of paxton watching the murder he\\'s committing and taking in all the horror which is also wonderfully effective , but the previous shot is even better : more morally complex and more gut-wrenching . \\nin short , probably the best piece of direction raimi\\'s ever done , demonstrating once again that sometimes the simplest way to do something yields the best results ( for further proof , watch \" persona \" \\'s \" sex scene \" and witness what may be the best scene ingmar bergman\\'s ever done ) . \\nbut the film hardly stops here ; it follows completely through and rarely loses sight of its characters humanity and the depletion thereof . \\nyet it also moves from step to step in such a graceful method that we never feel like the film is merely stamping out the plot points of the story . \\nwhen the time comes for paxton to start becoming selfish and thus diabolical ( with aid from his pregnant wife , played by bridget fonda , a pal to raimi ) , he does , and soon the horror of the situation is escalating to tragic heights . \\nthere\\'s at least two grand shootouts , and at least one of them may be one of the greatest shootouts in cinema history , and when they arrive , they don\\'t come with masochistic delight but with cringe-inducing horror . \\nduring the one , i was actually sinking into my chair , with the mantra \" they can\\'t do this , can they ? \" \\nstreeming through my head . \\nin fact , this film , which is getting many comparisons to the coen\\'s [superior , but forget about it] \" fargo , \" has many similar moments of manic insanity , attributed to the major amount of subtlety and restraint with which the directors direct what , in other hands , would be over-the-top distractedness ( imagine , i suppose , robert rodriguez directing this . . . then \\nagain , after seeing the \" evil dead \" films , i\\'d hardly assume raimi would be able to pull something like this off , although there are moments of the film which are easily dubbed \" raimi \" moments , a rifle-shot notwithstanding ) . \\ninstead , raimi directs with maturity and a gentle touch , easily letting the story and characters co-exist , while still letting some of the more traditional raimi elements come out , like some offbeat comic touches . \\nmost particularly , billy bob thornton\\'s character , jacob , is a brilliant creation . \\nhis dim-wittedness is often hilarious ( for most of the film , every line he uttered was greeted with howling laughter ) , but there\\'s authenticity to the performance that strangely enough makes sure that we\\'re not totally laughing at him . \\nthe chuckles he gets are not necessarily ones of full-condescension because thornton is so damn real . \\njacob\\'s a multi-dimensional character , and while being stupid , we see that as not so much a flaw , but a strength to his character : his simplicity is endearing and many of the acts he commits are out of a strong inner strength and belief system , primarily towards the middle where his bud and co-conspirator begins to make some heavy waves concerning the money . \\nthe final third of the film spends much time with him , and many of the touches upon his character , not only by thornton but also by screenwriter scott b . smith ( adapting his own book , by the way ) are just great . \\ni particularly admired a back story about an old high school girlfriend , told by thornton with such sincerity and acception that the cruel story is reversed to near-sweetness and further strength of his saddened character . \\nthornton is absolutely brilliant in this performance , by far the best performance he\\'s ever given and further proof that he\\'s the best character actor in contemporary cinema ( if you don\\'t believe me , go back and watch his wonderful performance in \" primary colors , \" a performance that would have been nominated for an oscar if this hadn\\'t been in the same year ) because he\\'s easily able to slip into a character , and make him completely and utterly believable . \\nhe brings so much weight to the film that , as it is with most character actors , it\\'s difficult picturing anyone else in the role . \\nthe rest of the cast is great too , from paxton\\'s declining working man to chelcie ross\\' amiable town sheriff . \\neven fonda shows off her talents nicely . \\nand if i had any complaints about the film , it\\'s that the plot is almost too simplistic , and that at times , it seems too much like an exercise , like a cruel test on humanity that still pays attention to the humanity involved . \\nand the occasional narration is , as it usually is , annoying ( narration should be used with extreme caution , especially when you\\'re trying to set things up and/or express emotions - didn\\'t raimi watch the first murder scene ? ) . \\nand , the thing that can most usually go wrong with a movie , the ending is basically amiss . \\ni won\\'t reveal it , but it\\'s way too cruel and too much of an outsider set-up , as if the appearance of a plane wasn\\'t already too much of that anyway . \\nfor a film that deals so much and so intimately with the humanity of the characters involved , this is the wrong ending . \\nimagine a character-controlled ending ; otherwise , it\\'s like if in \" crime and punishment \" if the police had caught him instead of him breaking down and confessing . . . not that i\\'m at all comparing \" a simple plan \" to dostoevsky . \\nthe ending does work , despite my protestations , but to me , there was something incessantly nagging and unsatisfying about it ; but if you had no qualms and were happy as a clam with it , then just ignore me and go about your day . \\nbut despite my mere claims , make no mistake that i was completely and utterly edge of my seat throughout , and even sometimes curdling up by the situations that occured , not because of any kind of gore factor ( which is , thankfully for this , very minimal ) , but because the film places its characters in situations and gives them such painful things to overcome that i\\'ve frankly not seen much like it in quite awhile . \\nat least not since the previous worthy hitchcockian masterpiece . \\n',\n",
+       " b'most people fit into two different categories : you either love woody allen , or you hate his guts . \\nmy family , for the most part , hates him and his movies . \\ni think he\\'s very funny , but his shtick has gotten forced and contrived over the years . \\nso maybe taking his body away was the best decision any producer could have thought of . \\nunrestrained by physical boundaries , allen\\'s humor comes shining through . \\nthose who had problems with his physical appearance will be able to join the rest of us in laughing at allen\\'s intelligent observations of life . \\nthose who had problems with his verbal comedy may want to skip this one . \\nin 1995 , a film was introduced to audiences which sparked their imaginations and showed them something they\\'d never seen before . \\ntoy story used state-of-the-art computer technology and presented a world of toys who would come alive when no humans were present . \\nmany critics will call that a better film , but i believe they only say that because it was a completely original motion picture . \\nantz , however , has upped the ante considerably . \\ndisney\\'s a bug\\'s life isn\\'t due out for another two months , and dreamworks seems to have received the better end of the deal . \\nby beating disney out , they have satisfied the audience\\'s thirst for computer-animated films . \\nbut don\\'t let that fool you : disney is definitely not scared . \\nin the past two years , competitions have broken out between studios . \\nin 1997 , it was the volcano duel . \\nin my opinion , dante\\'s peak came out way ahead of its predecessor , both in time and in quality . \\nvolcano had an original premise , but destroyed that with some very ridiculous situations . \\nin 1998 , there are twice as many competing films . \\nfirst was the comet competition , and armageddon blew away it\\'s cheesily dramatic competitor deep impact . \\nbut now , it\\'s even more interesting , as one beloved studio ( disney ) goes up against the newcomer ( dreamworks ) . \\nwho will prevail ? \\ntime will tell , but i\\'m sure that mr . mouse has nothing to fear . \\nthis may sound like i didn\\'t like antz ; on the contrary , i\\'d put it up there with toy story . \\nbut due to it\\'s pg rating , many parents may be put off by some of the dialogue which shouldn\\'t appear in disney\\'s version . \\nsome of the dialogue in antz pushes the envelope for a family-oriented film . \\nsexual innuendoes and profanity pop up occasionally , which makes dreamworks\\' animated feature geared more for an adult crowd . \\nthe humor is also written especially for adults , though many kids were laughing in the theater i attended . \\nthis is the type of film that should be made for families more often : entertaining for kids and entertaining for parents . \\nantz begins with a hilarious monologue which seems a meld between woody allen\\'s shtick and franz kafka\\'s metamorphosis , the short story of a man who wakes up to discover himself as a bug . \\nz ( allen ) is a troubled ant , believing he was not made to be a worker . \\n \" when you\\'re the middle child in a family of five million . . . \" he comments about his neglected childhood . \\none night , z is sitting in a bar with his friend weaver ( sylvester stallone ) , discussing his pathetic place in life . \\nin walks princess bala ( sharon stone ) , whom no one recognizes without a crown . \\nbala asks z is he would like to dance , and they engage in a pulp fiction-esque dance while everyone else is following the leader . \\nafter discovering that she is the princess , z falls in love , but there\\'s a problem : bala is getting married to general mandible ( gene hackman ) , a ruthless leader who merely wants to control a better and stronger colony . \\nin order to do that , he must eliminate not only the queen ( anne bancroft ) , but the weakest of the colony , namely the worker ants . \\nbut to get rid of the queen , he needs to get rid of the loyal army ants who would be willing to die for her . \\nhe and colonel cutter ( christopher walkin ) come up with a plan to send the loyal ants off to battle , where they will surely be killed . \\nthe queen is reluctant at first , but decides it is best for the colony . \\nmeanwhile , z wants to meet bala again , and he asks weaver , an army ant , to switch places with him . \\nso z gets sent off to battle , but he manages to survive the slaughter by the termites . \\nthe battle sequence is absolutely stunning , though you may have flashbacks to starship troopers , which contained a very similar sequence . \\nhowever , antz and that 1997 film were both in production around the same time , so the similarities are merely coincidence . \\nthe second half of the film revolves around z\\'s kidnapping of bala , and their search for a mythical place called insectopia . \\nthere , an ant can be his own boss and have all the food he wants . \\nthe adventures z and bala get into are surprisingly high in tension , especially one involving a magnifying glass . \\nlooming over the targets like the spaceships from independence day ( in fact , i\\'m just going to assume that the producers referenced id4 intentionally ) . \\nthe ants look up in awe , and then a beam of fire blasts into the ground . \\nvisually , it\\'s an exciting rush of adrenaline . \\nbut don\\'t be fooled . . . \\nlittle kids shouldn\\'t see this , as they may just try and copy it . \\nafter seeing antz , i vowed never to intentionally step on an ant again . \\nhopefully , children will learn that killing ants is rather cruel . \\nas an animated film , antz is probably the best you will find to date . \\nvisually , it\\'s as stunning as what dreams may come . \\nthe best aspect of animation is the fact that the characters aren\\'t limited by gravity . \\nthey can take ridiculous situations and make them seem plausible . \\none great moment involves a mass of worker ants bunching up to form a wrecking ball . \\nthe animation is so perfect that you can virtually see every single ant on the ball . \\nhowever , the most exhilarating scene involves bala getting stuck to the bottom of a young boy\\'s shoe . \\nit\\'s truly a great example of film making at its finest . \\nwith computer technology , the animators have carefully made the ants\\' faces look similar to the actors providing the voices . \\nthe best example would have to be barbatus ( danny glover ) . \\nat one point , you can even see the pores on his face ( although , i doubt ants have pores . . . \\ndo they ? ) . \\nbarbatus also has a touching but rather gruesome scene as he has his final words with z without a body . \\nyoung kids may be disturbed by the site of a dismembered head , but a good deal of humor is derived ( more appropriate for adults , of course ) . \\ndisney\\'s a bug\\'s life looks good , but i don\\'t know if they will be able to best dreamworks\\' newest animated feature in terms of animation . \\nif not , then dreamworks will have done something no other studio could do : go head to head with the big mouse , and knock him down ( yes , anastasia was good , but not nearly as good as even the worst of disney ) . \\nvocal talent is always essential to an animated feature , and antz has one of the best line-ups seen since toy story . \\nin fact , it far exceeds that one . \\nwoody allen has always been funny , but here he transcends most of what he\\'s done in the past few years . \\nwithout a body , his comic timing is the most noticeable thing . \\nin fact , i\\'m pretty sure that the writers let him improvise a lot of his lines . \\nsharon stone as bala shows off some of her comic ability , though for the most part , stone works best as a dramatic actress . \\nsylvester stallone ( teamed up with stone once again ) is beginning to solidify his statement that he wants to be an actor , not a typecast action star . \\nafter a snub at the oscars last year , stallone is proving himself as the serious ( or comedic , as illustrated here ) actor that he is . \\ngene hackman is superb as the gruff-talking general , almost doing another take on his crimson tide persona . \\nchristopher walkin is probably more noticed by his voice , and so many people will remember him from such hits as batman returns . \\nanne bancroft has a minimal role , but she\\'s effective nonetheless . \\ndanny glover has a small role , but he does a very , very good job . \\ndan aykroyd and jane curtin also lend their voices as two lovesick , euro-trash bees--both are very unrecognizable , especially aykroyd . \\njennifer lopez plays a worker ant who falls in love with weaver , although most people won\\'t recognize her voice either . \\nmany people will recognize grant shaud\\'s voice as the foreman . \\nhe played miles on the tv show murphy brown . \\nthis is definitely a huge cast with some high-profile names , and it will definitely help it\\'s grosses . \\nof course , you can probably tell where a lot of the $60 million budget went to , also . \\ndirectors eric darnell and lawrence guterman are relative newcomers ( though guterman did direct a 1994 feature , headless ! ) . \\nbut both show an incredible talent for this type of a picture . \\ntense at times , and very funny throughout , the two hold this film together like professionals . \\nthe screenplay by todd alcott and chris weitz is quite simple in plot , but it contains a lot of subtlety that makes the film more suitable for adults . \\nkids will delight in the animation , while parents can laugh heartily at the humor . \\nmost of it will go over young children\\'s heads . \\ndoes that mean you shouldn\\'t take kids to see it ? \\nnot at all . \\nthey will have a lot of fun watching this one . \\nwhat is great is the themes that are given to us . \\npart social commentary , part romance story , and part moral drama , antz gives everyone something to talk about , whether it be the animation , or the discussions of individualism and community . \\nthankfully , it\\'s not subtle in either aspects . \\nantz is rated pg for mild language and some intense action . \\nsometimes the language can be pushing the limits for a family movie , but the violence is what should keep kids at home . \\nthe battle scene has ants melting in acid , and bugs being speared to death . \\nand the magnifying scene shows an ant disintegrate in the beam of sunlight . \\nbut other than that ( and some sexual innuendos ) , it\\'s a perfect choice for some wholesome fun at the theaters . \\ni doubt many children will understand the sexual innuendos unless they are old enough , but it\\'s still advisable to leave really young children at home . \\nhave i confused you enough ? \\nif you do take your kids , i recommend seeing the film with them , because more than likely , you\\'ll enjoy it the most . \\n',\n",
+       " b'jessica lange is one of the most inconsistent actresses working today . \\nfrom time-to-time , she blows away audiences with powerful , intense performances . \\non the other hand , this is the same woman who made her jaw-droppingly awful feature debut in dino delaurentiis\\' king kong . \\nand , much as lange would probably prefer movie-goers to develop amnesia regarding that particular entry on her resume , every once in a while she does work that is reminiscent of it , if only in quality . \\nhush is one such example . \\nlange is so bad here that she might have been fun to watch if the rest of the film wasn\\'t such a prime example of motion picture tedium . \\nthe film opens , as many so-called \" psychological thrillers \" do , by posing as a light drama . \\nwe are introduced to jackson ( johnathon schaech , last encounter in tom hanks\\' that thing you do ! ) and helen ( gwyneth paltrow ) , a picture perfect young couple who are very much in love . \\njackson is taking helen home for the holidays so she can meet his mother , martha ( lange ) . \\nthe moment i first saw martha , i started looking for fangs . \\nsoon , the wicked witch of the east is plotting a way for her son to get helen pregnant ( this involves poking a hole in a diaphragm ) . \\nonce that goal is accomplished , she manipulates events so that the expecting couple moves out of new york city to the horse farm where she lives . \\nas long as she gets her way , martha is a perfectly amicable person , but when helen defies her , it\\'s a declaration of war . \\nhush has three very simple problems : it\\'s incredibly dumb , it\\'s incredibly boring , and it\\'s incredibly predictable ( at least up to the stupefying ending ) . \\nthis film has absolutely nothing to recommend it , with the exception of a couple of nice shots of snow-covered fields and a quick glimpse of gwyneth paltrow\\'s bare buttocks . \\nfrankly , it\\'s embarrassing to watch a respected actress of lange\\'s stature give a performance like this -- it\\'s like a bad blanche dubois ( the role she played in a 1995 tv version of a streetcar named desire ) . \\nmeanwhile , paltrow does her best to get through her dialogue without gaping at the stupidity of some of her lines , and schaech attempts a passable imitation of an inanimate object . \\nas in all psychological thrillers , the battle lines are clearly drawn . \\nhere , it\\'s mom and against wife , with jackson caught in the middle . \\nof course , since schaech\\'s character is poorly-developed and badly acted , it\\'s impossible to say how he feels about being in that situation . \\nmaybe someone should ask him if he\\'s familiar with oedipus . \\nmartha is , of course , the evil one . \\nhow do we know she\\'s evil ? \\nshe smokes cigarettes and drinks hard liquor -- two sure signs that the devil is at work . \\non the other hand , helen is a good girl . \\nthe evidence for this is that she\\'s nice to old ladies and treasures a locket with a picture of her dead parents . \\nthat\\'s about it for character development . \\nbeyond that point , hush is just a series of increasingly hard-to-swallow coincidences , contrivances , and moronic plot twists . \\nhowever , the first 85 minutes are just a warm-up for the ending , which is as anticlimactic as it is profoundly dissatisfying . \\ni can\\'t imagine anyone , no matter what they thought of the movie as a whole , liking this conclusion . \\neither there was some serious last-minute editing or someone left out a few pages of the script . \\nbefore the climax , i disliked hush ; by the time the end credits started , i hated it . \\nviewers invest something in every movie they watch , no matter how good or bad it is . \\ncheating them like this is offensive and unpardonable . \\nmost entries into this worn-out , worm-eaten genre aren\\'t especially good . \\nfilms like consenting adults , the hand that rocks the cradle , and single white female rely on stock plots and predictable twists to propel the narrative along . \\nin general , however , they\\'re directed with a degree of competence that assures a level of sustained tension . \\nthat\\'s not the case with really bad thrillers like this , which fail to generate even a momentary heart palpitation -- the characters are too bland and the plot is too uninvolving for anyone in the audience to care . \\nindeed , the title of this movie probably refers to what the producers hope viewers will do in lieu of telling their friends what they really think of this sorry piece of celluloid . \\n',\n",
+       " b'm : i-2 , the sequel to mission impossible , is a james bond wannabe film , but it fails to even come close to that film in wit , humor , and entertainment value . \\nit tries to be a spy/romance movie , but without any suspense the film just looks like it\\'s an extended commercial for dudes who think they look cool in throwaway sunglasses . \\nit is a film that prefers techie gadgets to anything human . \\nthe coolest thing about this movie , was all the holes it had in its story and the most trite thing about the movie , was the usage of doves throughout as peace symbols . \\nthe film plays as if it was a wet fantasy dream about techie violence . \\nexcept for the choreographed action sequences , the film was dull for three-quarters of its time , filled with too many dead spots in its story to garner concern about its wooden characters or the superficial romance that developed . \\nas for the action scenes , they might look good to those who are converts to violence in their films , but their advertisement for sadistic responses , is nothing short of mindless cartoon violence , which makes it very difficult to sit back and applaud without feeling put off by the gratuitous cruelty seen . \\nm : i-2 opens and closes with fast-paced action scenes , but it is hard to get past the middle part which just drags on in banal dialogue . \\nthe film looks as if it had been invaded by a computer virus , at that point . \\nthe only thing that kept me awake , was the horrible music composed by hans zimmer that became very loud at any of the film\\'s supposedly momentous action scenes and seemed to make an uninteresting scene even more noticeable in the wrong way . \\nit\\'s a mega-buck film adapted from a popular high-tech gadgetry tv series . \\nbut its artistic success is an impossible task to accomplish because it hired the wrong director and actors to star in it , and it failed to produce a story that had any substance . \\njohn woo ( \" broken arrow \" / \" face/off \" ) is good at doing car chases , choreographed fights with midair flips and kung-fu kicks , slo-mo shots of two guns blazing , and of fire explosions , but he just can\\'t seem to handle dialogue and suspense . \\nthe star of the film and co-producer , tom cruise , and his romantic interest , thandie newton , are miscast . \\ncruise is no james bond and looks more like a yuppie than a superhero in his stylish long hair and innocuous smile , as he tries to carry off this macho role , while thandie is not an action-film girl , and seems like a fish- out-of-water in this one . \\ntheir romance didn\\'t work , not only was it tepid and not sexy , but it wasn\\'t convincing . \\nthe film opens with dizzying speed , perhaps with the hope that a befuddled audience is its best bet for success . \\nwe will be in three different locations instantaneously : sydney , the american southwest , and seville . \\nfirst , we are in sydney , australia , where a scientist with a muffled russian accent , dr . nekhorvich ( rade ) , mentions that he created a deadly killer virus called chimera and an antidote for it . \\nhe also mentions that every hero needs a worthy villain . \\nwhich explains the film\\'s mythic theme . . . as \\nwe enter the world of comic book myths on good and evil . \\nthe one who played the villain , dougray scott , does so in a one-dimensional gruff tone , which did not distinguish him in that role . \\nat least , if the film got the villain part right , it might have had some fun with this nonsense . \\nsoon the diabolical scientist is on a plane talking to someone he trusts called dimitri , but then the plane is taken over by terrorists who set it on automatic pilot and crash it into the rocky mountains . \\nbefore they crash the plane and parachute out of it , the one who was posing as dimitri , turns out to be sean ambrose ( scott ) , a rogue member of the imf , which is a cia-like clone . \\nhe steals the package with the antidote , peels off a latex mask , which is a replica of the hero of the story , ethan hunt ( cruise ) , who had posed as dimitri to the scientist before and had thereby gained his trust . \\nsean and his group of terrorists carry out this attack because they plan a virus plague on the world and then to sell the victims the antidote at marked up prices . \\nwe already saw the gimmick of peeling masks used in face/off and in the original mission impossible , which as convoluted a plot as that film had , it was still a superior film to this sequel . \\nwoo has run this peeling mask routine into the ground , as it is used so often in this film by both sides , so much so , that it blurs any ethical character differences between good guy or villain . \\nit makes it seem as if anyone could be another character , which distorts the reality of the film and makes it impossible for the film to make much sense . \\nnext we are in a mountain range in the american southwest , and ethan is on vacation , hanging by his fingertips while climbing and looking cool , when a helicopter with his boss anthony hopkins aboard , delivers via a rocket launcher , a pair of talking sunglasses . \\nhunt learns his next mission is to retrieve the chimera package and he is allowed to pick two regular imf agents to help , billy baird ( john polson ) and luther stickell ( ving rhames ) , with luther running a high-gadget computer , but he also must get a jewel thief named nyah hall ( thandie ) to join his team . \\nhe is told , as an incentive to recruit her , all her criminal charges will be dropped . \\nhopkins then signs off with the tag line : this message will self-destruct in five seconds . \\nactually , with the departure of hopkins , it was this disposable film that actually self-destructed at this point . \\nin seville , hunt recruits nyah into the team in the middle of a jewel heist and a subsequent car chase , where he nearly runs her audi sports car over the side of a mountain road . \\nhe also falls for her when this was only supposed to be a business deal , and learns that she is valuable because her ex-boyfriend was sean ambrose and that he still wants to f * ck her . \\nthe imf team then inject a location tracer chip into her to spot sean so she can go f * ck him , as she leads them to his hide-out in the seaside of australia in which he shares with his sneering villainous cohort , the south african , hugh stamp ( richard roxburgh ) . \\nrobert towne , the screenwriter , who contributed to the first \" mission , \" who is noted for doing \" chinatown \" -- writes a colorless , pedestrian script , one that fails even to be funny in a camp way . \\nthe terrorists , who aim to rule the world , are interested in owning 51 percent in a biotech company and in getting stock options , as they plan to infect sydney with the virus and have their company sell the antidote , insuring that they will make billions on the stock . \\nethan comes to the rescue of the world and of nyah , with his only conflict being who is more important to save first . \\nethan does this rescue against all odds , as he finds a way to penetrate a security tight biotech company , fight it out with sean and the other terrorists , and rescue nyah , who injected herself with the virus to hinder sean\\'s getting it , as the only way to transport the virus is through another person or from the vaccine needle . \\nethan rescues her by doing stunt riding on a motorcycle , using kick-boxing , winning a shootout , throwing a full john wayne supply of grenades at the terrorists , making some more use out of that peeling mask bit , and by being completely fearless and larger than life , while he kick\\'s everyone\\'s ass . \\nif i was only entertained by this . . . i \\ncould have lived with it . \\nbut this film was so badly made , that it was like watching a highlight film of a basketball game , seeing only the slam-dunks , but with the game itself being excluded from the telecast . \\nin any case , this is a critic-proof film , and will in all probability do well in the box office , as it was made to appeal to all the demographics who find commercial ventures like this one easy to buy into . \\n',\n",
+       " b'take two old and dying men , a lifetime of regrets , a house full of sins , a thoroughly despicable man , enough lies , insecurities and other character defects to keep a team of psychiatrists gainfully employed , then add a inexplicable meteorological and amphibian-based phenomenon and you will have summed up magnolia , the newest film from paul thomas anderson ( boogie nights ) . \\nthe movie tells multiple stories , weaving them together , or overlapping them during the course of its three hour running time . \\nwould that the stories were worth the telling . \\nearl partridge ( jason robards , a thousand acres ) is dying of cancer . \\nbedridden , in much pain , it is obvious that his time is growing short . \\nhis much younger wife played by julianne moore ( an ideal husband ) is surprised to find herself struggling with his impending death . \\nhaving married for money , she discovers that she has actually fallen in love with the old guy and regrets having cheated and lied . \\nearl regrets having cheated on his first wife and estranging himself from his only son ( tom cruise , eyes wide shut ) , now a misogynist self-help guru who teaches men how to \" seduce and destroy , \" his sexual and vulgar perspective on male/female relationships is so over-the-top as to be utterly unbelievable . \\nmeanwhile , jimmy gator ( philip baker hall , the insider ) is also dying of cancer . \\nnot as physically incapacitated as earl , jimmy is still able to perform his duties as the lovable host of a long-running quiz show which pits adults against children . \\nthe current whiz-quiz-kid is stanley spector ( jeremy blackman in his film debut ) who is tired of the pressure of performing and is willing to call it quits . \\non the other hand , quiz kid donnie smith ( william macy , mystery men ) would like nothing more than to return to the spotlight when he was a \" somebody . \" \\nhis pathetic life is souring as he can no longer capitalize on his brief 15 minutes of fame which stanley is all too eager to relinquish . \\njimmy has his own family crisis as his drug-addict daughter ( melora walters , boogie nights ) refuses to have anything to do with him for reasons which are not disclosed to us until the end of the film . \\ngrabbing at one last attempt at happiness she reaches out to a softhearted cop ( john c . reilly , never been kissed ) even as she tries to push herself away from him because she deems herself not worthy of his affection . \\nthis dysfunctional group carries on for what seems to be an interminable two-thirds of the movie . \\nand then it gets worse , literally raining frogs . \\nyes , frogs . \\nassuming it to be an intended deus-ex-machina device , it is an ineffective one because it doesn\\'t seem to faze the characters much . \\noh , they may step gingerly around the splattered frog corpses littering the streets , but otherwise , the frog shower didn\\'t seem to change their behavior or pattern of living ( or dying ) . \\nthere is simply too much going on in this movie and most of it is distasteful to watch . \\nmr . anderson further obscures the film by incorporating a loud and intrusive sound track that often drowned out the dialogue , a character who apparently rapped a significant clue to a plot development which was completely unintelligble , and a heavy handed segment of \" historical \" occurances containing ironic twists which set up absolutely nothing . \\none of the recurring themes is found in a line donnie quotes : \" we may be done with the past , but the past is not done with us . \" \\nthis is an absolute lie . \\ngod is in the forgiveness business . \\nin fact , as we humbly ask for forgiveness and repent or change our offending mindset , god\\'s word says that he not only forgives , he also forgets . \\n \" i , even i , am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake , and will not remember thy sins . \" \\nisaiah 43 : 25 [kjv] \\nthe spiritual one who keeps bringing up our unrighteous past is the same one who wants to keep us in a state of condemnation . \\ndon\\'t let him . \\nnext time your spiritual adversary reminds you of your past , take great pleasure in reminding him of his future . \\nhe hates that . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i remember really enjoying this movie when i saw it years ago . \\ni guess my memory really sucks . \\nthere is very , very little that is funny in caddyshack . \\nthe laughs are few , and far between , and what there are really aren\\'t that great . \\ncaddyshack , as the name implies , more or less centers on one young caddy working at an exclusive country club . \\nmichael o\\'keefe plays said caddy . \\nwhy they cast this unknown , fairly untalented actor in the lead role is completely beyond me . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t seem to have a real plot , just a series of scenes that are little more than opportunities for the rest of the cast to mug at the camera . \\nthe only real story , if you can call it that , was a subplot involving the mentally disturbed greens keeper , bill murray , who is having his own private little war against a gopher who is ruining the course . \\nmost of the marginal laughs come from rodney dangerfield and ted knight mugging and overacting for the camera -- with painfully limited success . \\nbill murray is slightly amusing in places , but fairly wasted . \\nthe biggest waste of all is chevy chase , who didn\\'t even crack a smile on my face with his character\\'s lame zen-like approach to golfing . \\nthere are a few decent scenes involving the interaction between dangerfield and knight , but they are far too infrequent to carry the movie . \\ni guess that\\'s what you get for basing a story around an unknown kid . \\ni\\'m not sure what the writers of this thing were thinking of , but i really think it was something far removed from comedy as they were putting pen to paper . \\nnothing about this movie works . \\nit wouldn\\'t have taken a genius to figure out that this thing wasn\\'t going to fly . \\nmost of the scenes just couldn\\'t possibly be funny . \\nit\\'s as if the writers where off in their own little brain damaged world . \\ni\\'m sure scenes involving chevy chase and his oneness with the golf ball were supposed to be funny . \\nin reality , they were painfully embarrassing to watch . \\nthere is a scene at the club pool where all the caddies go wild for the \" hot babe \" of the movie walking by in her bikini . \\nolive oil would have filled out this swimsuit better than this girl . \\neverything about this movie was just completely implausible as far as the comedy was concerned . \\nmaybe if you were drunk out of you mind or high off some sort of illegal narcotic this thing might be funny . \\nbut for the rest of us , stay the hell away from caddyshack . \\n',\n",
+       " b'chris tucker is one of those guys you immediately get a reaction from -- you either find his helium voice , crazy eyes and jerky mannerisms funny or annoying . \\ni think i fall into the former category ( i\\'m one of the few who thought his turn in \" the fifth element \" as a prancing , prince-like deejay was complete inspired lunacy and not the least bit aggravating ) , but his new vehicle \" money talks \" just doesn\\'t do him service . \\ntucker is good in the movie -- and this is the kind of film that , if people see it , could make him a big star -- but he\\'s also really the only thing good about the movie . \\nin fact , if you see \" money talks , \" it should shock you beyond recognition that two of \" toy story \" \\'s writers penned the sloppy script . \\ntucker\\'s role here is that of franklin hatchett , a petty los angeles con artist whose carwash scams get him dogged by investigative reporter james russell ( charlie sheen ) . \\nafter being busted on the job for some illegal business involving counterfeit passports , franklin finds himself on a bus to the county jail and handcuffed to slick international jewel smuggler raymond villard ( gerard ismael ) . \\nbut villard\\'s thugs blow up the bus in an attempt to free their leader ( never mind that the explosion could have instead killed him ) , and because he and franklin are joined at the wrist , franklin is allowed to escape as well , but not before overhearing some important information regarding a diamond stash that -- for some reason or another -- is being hidden in a vintage roadster waiting to be auctioned off at an upcoming auto expo . \\nthe local media mistakenly puts the prison break-out blame on franklin , which is where james comes back into the picture . \\nhe makes a deal to protect franklin if , in turn , franklin gives him an exclusive interview . \\nthis means james must present his new \" friend \" in the stickiest of situations -- a formal dinner party for he and fiancee grace ( heather locklear ) , also attended by her uber-rich parents ( veronica cartwright and nicely game paul sorvino ) . \\nand of course the bad guys track franklin down and try to knock him off , all the while he spars and forms an unlikely bond with james . \\n \" this ain\\'t no buddy movie , \" claim the print ads . \\nyeah , right . \\nactually , for the better part of , oh , 20 minutes , it appears \" money talks \" has the momentum to cover entertaining ground , and this is mostly due to the presence of spastic motormouth tucker . \\nthis is tucker\\'s first leading role , and if you imagine a slightly lankier , african-american jim carrey with a reliance on wild r-rated raunch rather than pg-13 physical comedy , you have a good idea of the conviction with which he assaults the role . \\nbut you realize all too quickly that tucker\\'s overstated liveliness is the only thing \" money talks \" has going for it . \\nand a lively actor alone does not a successful movie make . \\nit\\'s all too easy to pick out everything wrong with \" money talks . \" \\nthe plot is recycled buddy-buddy comedy-thriller tripe that seemed overused even when \" nothing to lose \" employed it last month . \\neverything is paint-by-numbers , especially the los angeles coliseum finale , which finds not one , not two , but three separate enemy factions firing at franklin as they pursue him through the bleachers . \\nthe villains , as many as there are , are dull . \\ncertain story elements are too coincidental . \\nand too much of the film\\'s dramatic agenda is played too straight . \\na scene where grace confronts james after learning franklin\\'s true identity ( \" you brought a killer into my parents\\' house ! \" ) \\nis extremely silly . \\nyou get the picture . \\nobviously , i did not have a pleasant experience at \" money talks . \" \\nbut the people around me appeared to be having a rip-roaring good time ( one gentleman several rows behind me chortled with such expressive conviction i began fearing for his health ) . \\nbut tucker , at least for me , is a pretty funny guy , and aces the movie\\'s best scene , where franklin passes himself off as vic damone\\'s son at james and grace\\'s engagement bash and toasts the couple with barry white lyrics . \\ntucker\\'s audience -- and he does have one -- will probably like \" money talks . \" \\nthose who he irritates , however , will have a more productive day staying home and scraping the gook out from under their toenails . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in 1995 , brian singer and christopher mcquarrie dreamed up a simple concept : the audience isn\\'t stupid . \\nfrom that , they went on and created the most plot-driven , intricately pieced movie in the last 25 years . \\nthe result : the usual suspects , one hell of a movie that redefines the word plot twist . \\nthe story is convoluted , and is really confusing to read , although easy to follow on screen . \\nspecial investigator kujan ( chazz palminteri ) grills \" verbal \" kint ( kevin spacey ) , a crippled con-man who is the lone survivor of an la boat explosion that claimed more than 20 victims . \\nkujan wants to confirm that his nemesis , the rogue cop keaton ( gabriel byrne ) , is actually dead . \\nkint relates the majority of the film in flashback , beginning with the fateful day when five shifty guys meet in a police-station lineup in new york city . \\nalong with dour keaton , kint encounters cheerfully sociopathic mcmanus ( stephen baldwin ) , mordantly sarcastic hockney ( kevin pollak ) , and fenster ( benicio del toro ) , whose speech is virtually incomprehensible . \\ntogether they plot to steal a small fortune in gems from \" new york\\'s finest taxi service \" --crooked cops who provide escort service for visiting drug kingpins . \\nwhat follows is a shell-game of violence and betrayal , all hinging on the identity of a mysterious villain called keyser soze . \\nthe film is brilliantly compact : its the shortest 90 minutes you\\'ll ever spend in a movie theater . \\nthe cast is exceptional . \\npalminteri shines , he is brutally honest , a true cop , one who is going after the whole story because its there . \\nbyrne is terrific , his brooding character , his seriousness is needed to supplement the hysteria of benicio del toro , who is a riot as fenster . \\ndel toro is brilliant , his lines are a jumbled mess , you can\\'t understand a word the man says , but it sure is damn funny . \\nbaldwin is also very good , he is careful , methodical , and cold , a chilling character with a nasty streak of hot-blooded sarcasm . \\npollak is also terrific as usual , a very good character actor . \\nhowever , this will be forever known as the film that launched kevin spacey . \\nspacey is simply breathtaking , he is a force on screen , giving a magnetic performance that jars the senses at the end of this twisting maze . \\nspacey\\'s performance will be remembered for years , for it is the best of his career , it may be the best supporting actor performance in the last 50 years . \\nverbal kint is a clever storyteller , weak , oppressed , and gleefully evil to the bone , yet pitiful , one who draws sympathy . \\nthe film is a good one , a decent film until the last 10 minutes . \\nwhat this film boils down to is the greatest ending in cinematic history , for me at least . \\nthe revelation of keyser soze , the closing gunfights , it is something wondrous . \\nyou have to see this movie about 10 times to believe what they do . \\nkudos to mcquarrie and singer for giving the audience a delightful , fast-paced , furiously plot-driven movie with quirky characters , phenomenal acting , and some hilarious moments stuck in the middle . \\nmcquarrie refuses to believe the audience is dumb . \\nwithout furnishing too many details , he concocts his story and lets it run , hoping the audience gets it at the end . \\nwe do . \\nthis might just be the finest cinematic puzzle ever created . \\nkudos also to singer and john ottman , who created the score . \\nthey both create what is a true film-noir setting , carefully setting up this intricate puzzle until the final , jarring ending . \\nthere are flaws : more questions raised than answers , lack of character development , and no strong female characters ( save one ) . \\nhowever , the plot , and that stunning ending , make up for all the flaws and more . \\nif you haven\\'t seen the movie , rent it . \\nwatch it . \\nthen rewind the tape , and watch it again . \\ntrust me , you\\'ll be amazed . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"according to hitchcock and various other filmmakers , isolated motels , diners , gas stations and similar establishments in american southwest can be rather dangerous place for weary travellers . \\nat the beginning of eye of the storm , 1991 german- american thriller directed by yuri zeltser , one of such places becomes deadly for their owners who get murdered during the stick up . \\nten years later their son steven ( played by bradley gregg ) , who was blinded during the incident , still runs motel together with his older brother ray ( played by craig sheffer ) . \\nhardly anything happens there until alcoholic and abusive william gladstone ( played by dennis hopper ) gets stranded there with his attractive wife sandra ( played by lara flynn boyle ) . \\ntheir unexpected presence creates the chain of the events that would end in bloodshed . \\nyuri zeltser , author of this film , was obviously inspired by hitchcock's psycho , but he chose to add some new and potentially interesting elements to the original plot . \\ninstead of norman bates we have two brothers - one of them traumatised physically , another mentally . \\nsexual tension between beautiful female patron and shy motel clerk is heightened with the presence of alcoholic husband . \\neye of the storm is impressive in visual sense , with photography by karl walter lindenlaub providing a lot of claustrophobic atmosphere . \\nthe acting is fine - hopper , gregg and boyle are comfortable with their roles , but sheffer at times overacts his psycho routine . \\nunfortunately , eye of the storm , which was supposed to be intense psychological drama , deteriorates into cheap and predictable slasher flick during melodramatic finale . \\nin the end , this film reminds us that original approach can't prevent filmmakers from wasting too many opportunities . \\n ( special note to the profiler fans : ally walker appears in the beginning of the film in the small role of killer's girlfriend . ) \\n\",\n",
+       " b'if you\\'re the type of person who goes on the submarine ride every time you visit disneyland , you\\'re going to love the hunt for red october . \\nyou\\'ll also love the film if you enjoy cat and mouse military tactics , or if you\\'re a sean connery or alec baldwin fan , or if you admired director john mctiernan\\'s earlier films , die hard and predator . \\nin fact , the only people likely to be disappointed with the hunt for red october are those who have read the book , since films almost never live up to the novels which inspired them . \\nthe hunt for red october is an epic thriller , adapted from tom clancy\\'s best selling novel . \\nset in an era before glasnost , the movie revolves around a top-secret soviet submarine , called the red october . \\nthe nuclear sub has a revolutionary propulsion system , which makes the vessel silent and allows it to escape sonar detection . \\nthe red october embarks on its maiden voyage under the command of captain marko ramius , played by sean connery . \\nramius has strict orders just to test the submarine , but he has other ideas . \\nhe takes the sub and its crew and disappears into the atlantic ocean . \\nis he planning to start world war iii ? \\ncia analyst jack ryan doesn\\'t think so ; he\\'s convinced that ramius plans to defect to the u . s . ryan , played by alec baldwin , is given three days to prove his theory and find the missing sub . \\nthe characters in the hunt for red october are paper thin , but the performances , thankfully , are rock solid . \\nbaldwin and connery anchor the film with their customary vigor . \\nsam neil gives a sturdy performance as connery\\'s somber first officer . \\nit\\'s ironic to see neil and connery playing russians , since they are both best known for their roles as british agents , connery as james bond and neil as reilly , \" ace of spies . \" \\nthe large cast also includes scott glenn , james earl jones , tim curry , and joss ackland , plus richard jordan as the smooth u . s . national security adviser . \\nthe special effects are remarkable , but more than anything , the hunt for red october is distinguished by its water-tight plot . \\nscreenwriters larry ferguson and donald stewart have gracefully navigated red october through a story line full of twists and turns . \\nthey keep us involved in the action by unveiling plot strands at just the right moment . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t get as sweaty or breathless as die hard , because it would rather tell a good story than hit you over the head with non-stop action . \\nthe finale is rousing and suspenseful , but essentially , the hunt for red october is a superior potboiler . \\n',\n",
+       " b'what do you get when you slap together a movie based on a story by the legendary george lucas , directed by virtuoso director steven spielberg , and starring one of the biggest box-office stars in the world , harrison ford ? \\nyou get one hot-fudge-rockin\\' good time , that\\'s what you get ! ! ! \\nplot : professor/archeologist indiana jones sets out to find the long-lost mystical ark of the covenant before the nazis get their grubby fingers hands on it . \\nadventures , snakes , romance and mucho action ensues . \\ncritique : astounding movie packed with non-stop action , stunts galore , an interesting story line , great one-liners , a solid cast , a catchy musical score , and all the fun and adventure that you could squeeze into a two-hour thrill ride . \\nif you don\\'t enjoy this film , then you just don\\'t like action movies , period ! \\nif you\\'re young , you\\'ll enjoy its humor , its cool action sequences and its gross-out factor at times . \\nif you\\'re a little older , you\\'ll appreciate the interesting plot line , the romance , and yes , the mountains of adventure . \\nwatching this movie made me feel like a kid again , dreaming and fantasizing about fighting the bad guys , travelling to different countries , making the impossible , possible ! \\nharrison ford is perfect as the every-man with the brains of a scientist and the brawn of an outdoors adventurer , and spielberg manages to achieve the ideal balance of action , fun , adventure and humor . \\nnow if you really want to have a good time , check into this movie on the same night as its two sequels , rent a jug of iced coke , truckloads of nachos and salsa , an adventure hat and whip , and prepare to gag yourself into a world of action-movie heaven ! \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : this picture was nominated for eight 1981 oscar nominations , including best picture . \\nit lost that award to chariots of fire , but did manage to win for best art direction , best special effects , best film editing and best sound . \\nactor tom selleck was originally cast as indiana jones , but was committed to his hit tv show , \" magnum p . i . \" . \\nin filming the well of souls sequence , the producers scoured every pet shop in london and the south of england for every snake they could lay their hands on . \\nhence there are snakes that are identifiable from many different geographical areas . \\nhowever , once all the snakes were on set , it became clear that there were not nearly enough of them , so spielberg had several hoses cut into lengths , and these were used as well . \\nlooking closely , you can tell which are the real snakes and which are not . \\nan early draft of the script had indy travelling to shanghai to recover a piece of the staff of ra . \\nduring his escape from the museum where it was housed , he sheltered from machine gun fire behind a giant rolling gong . \\nalso in the same script , indy and marion flee the chaos caused by the opening of the ark in a wild mine-cart chase sequence . \\nboth of these scenes were cut from the script , but ended up in 1984\\'s indiana jones and the temple of doom . \\nthis film begins with a shot of a peak in the jungle which is reminiscent of the paramount pictures logo . \\nthe same type of opening is present in its sequels . \\njock\\'s airplane at the beginning of the film has the registration number \" ob-cpo \" . \\nthis is a reference to obi-wan and c-3po from george lucas\\' star wars ( 9 . 5/10 ) . \\nalso , the hieroglyphics in the well of souls include engravings of r2-d2 and c-3po . \\nthey can be seen on a post to the right of indy and sallah as they remove the ark . \\nthe script originally included a long fight between a swordsman and indiana with his whip . \\nas legend has it , actor harrison ford was suffering diarrhea at the time , and asked if the scene could be shortened . \\nspielberg said the only way he could shorten it was if indy pulled out his gun and just shot the guy . \\nthe entire crew laughed and that\\'s how it was filmed . \\nwhen indy first falls in the well of souls and is face to face with the cobra , you can see the snake\\'s reflection on the glass dividing it and harrison ford , also some fingerprints and stuff like that . \\nwhen indy is dragging along the ground , hanging onto the nazi soldier\\'s truck with the ark inside , you can see the pad that he\\'s being dragged on . \\n',\n",
+       " b'october sky is a rare oddity in cinema : a self-proclaimed \" uplifting \" film that is actually uplifting ! \\nbased on the autobiographical book by homer hickam , rocket boys , october sky tells the struggle of four boys reaching for their dream . \\nit\\'s 1957 , and for the boys of coalwood , west virginia , there\\'s not much hope of a rosy future . \\ncoalwood is a coal mining town , and , except for the few lucky ones who manage to escape on a football scholarship , most of coalwood\\'s boys are destined to work in the mine . \\nbut , in october 1957 , an event happens that sparks one boy to dream . \\nthe launch of the soviet satellite sputnik sets homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) to dream a future of rocketry and space travel . \\nof course , homer\\'s parents ( chris cooper and natalie canderday ) aren\\'t quite sure what to make of their son\\'s unusual interests . \\nhomer gets his strongest encouragement from miss riley ( laura dern ) , a teacher in his school who also informs him about the scholarships offered to the winners of a national science fair . \\nand so , with stars in his eyes , and thoughts of scholarships in his head , homer enlists the help of three other boys ( william lee scott , chad lindberg and chris owen ) and begins to build a rocket . \\nbut , do these four backwoods boys even have the slightest hope of escaping their destiny ? \\nthere is a lot that could have gone wrong with october sky . \\nnearly every sequence flirts with becoming syrupy and cliched . \\nhowever , miraculously , october sky avoids nearly all of these pitfalls , making the exact right moves at the exact right times . \\na film emerges which manages to be powerful and moving without slipping into the gauzy haze of nostalgia or sliding down the sugarry slope of sappiness . \\njake gyllenhaal is outstanding as the kid at the center of this film . \\n>from the outset of the film , he is immediately likable , and never seems too corny or brainy as to alienate the audience . \\nunfortunately , while october sky focuses on homer , the other three kids get the short end of the stick . \\nthey remain little more than placeholders reading \" insert friend here \" . \\nof the adults in the film , chris cooper is the most fully realized character . \\nthe film never paints him as merely the villainous parent standing in the way of his child\\'s dreams , but , instead , shows the multihued portrait of a man who wants the best for his family and town , but is too stubborn to realize what that is . \\ndirector joe johnson deserves much credit for successfully navigating the many obstacles that october sky manages to dodge . \\nhowever , there are still a few occasions when he allows things to proceed just a step too far . \\nscenes which were natural and inspiring start to become contrived and artificial . \\nhowever , these lapses are minimal , and johnson quickly steers the movie back on course . \\nthe problem with many so-called \" uplifting \" films is that they attempt to force their mediciney goodness down your throat . \\noctober sky never resorts to that level , and yet , manages to become a truly uplifting film purely on its own merits . \\n',\n",
+       " b'steve martin is one of the funniest men alive . \\nif you can take that as a true statement , then your disappointment at this film will equal mine . \\nmartin can be hilarious , creating some of the best laugh-out-loud experiences that have ever taken place in movie theaters . \\nyou won\\'t find any of them here . \\nthe old television series that this is based on has its moments of humor and wit . \\nbilko ( and the name isn\\'t an accident ) is the head of an army motor pool group , but his passion is his schemes . \\nevery episode involves the sergeant and his men in one or another hair-brained plan to get rich quick while outwitting the officers of the base . \\n \" mchale\\'s navy \" \\'s granddaddy . \\nthat\\'s the idea behind this movie too , but the difference is that , as far-fetched and usually goofy as the television series was , it was funny . \\nthere is not one laugh in the film . \\nthe re-make retains the goofiness , but not the entertainment . \\neverything is just too clean . \\nit was obviously made on a hollywood back lot and looks every bit like it . \\nit all looks brand new , even the old beat-up stuff . \\nmartin is remarkably small in what should have been a bigger than life role . \\nin the original , phil silvers played the huckster with a heart of gold and more than a touch of sleaziness . \\nmartin\\'s bilko is a pale imitation . \\nthe only semi-bright spot is phil hartman as bilko\\'s arch-enemy . \\nit\\'s not saying much , considering martin\\'s lackluster character , but hartman leaves him in the dust . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a common complaint amongst film critics is \" why aren\\'t there more literate scripts available ? \" \\nquiz show gives signs of hope that the art of writing isn\\'t dead in hollywood and that we need not only look to independent films for thoughtful content . \\npaul attanasio\\'s script takes what could have been a tepid thriller ( the quiz show scandals of the late 50s ) and delivers a telling parable about the emptiness of the post war american dream and the golden bubble that surrounds and protects tv networks and their sponsors . \\nthe film is riddled with telling symbols ( e . g . \\na \\'58 chrysler , a radio announcement of sputnik ) but is never heavy handed . \\ndeft direction by robert redford and keen performances by ralph fiennes , john turturro and rob morrow dovetail perfectly with the carefully honed script . \\nredford departs from the usually overlight , \" cable tv quality \" sets and camera work so common in recent 20th century period pieces . \\nquiz show perfectly captures the colors and textures of the eisenhower years . \\nalthough i was only 4 years old when the \" twenty one \" scandal broke , enough of the 50s icons survived throughout my childhood for me to recognize the authenticity of redford\\'s almost tangible palette . \\nfrom plastic covered furniture to carefully coifed contestants , the images ring true from that era of rampant consumerism , of a generation that had gone through 15 years of depression and world war without \" disposable income , \" before the manifestation of its american dream . \\nthe film deftly weaves several themes together , from assimilation and exclusion of jews from \" the good life , \" to the lengths that a scion of a literary family will go to to match his father\\'s fame . \\nthough the 50s audience that is \" rocked \" by this scandal may initially seem naive to us , they should appear all too familiar , with our current national passion for the rise and fall of icons like michael jackson or tonya harding . \\ncharles van doren and herbie stemple were the overnight mega celebrities of their day . \\nthe tv audience is almost a fourth main character , always at the center of the decisions being made on their behalf . \\nat the film\\'s end , the credits roll past slow motion footage of that same 50s tv audience , mindlessly laughing at some piece of fluff . \\nlike the distorted mirror that captured a blurred swastika at the end of cabaret , this \" mirror \" may reflect an image we\\'re not all that comfortable with . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the start of this movie reminded me of parts from the movie stargate . \\npeople are looking around in an egyptian temple reading about some dangerous thing that is going to destroy earth in the future . \\nafter a sort of confusing bit involving fake-looking cyborg things , the movie jumps into the future and the movie improves by leaps and bounds . \\nthe basic idea behind the movie is that every once in a while ( make that every 1000 years or so ) an evil force comes to destroy earth . \\nthe things needed to defend against this menace are the four elements of nature plus the fifth element . \\nthe plot in this movie really isn\\'t that important to the thing though . \\nthis movie has very good special effects , for the most part . \\nthe techno-ish music in the background fits the mood very well . \\nbruce willis is an illegal taxi-cab driver in a futuristic new york city . \\none day a lady draped with a few bandages drops down into his trunk . \\nthis movie is about what happens . \\nthe plot twists are interesting and the movie never fails to present the viewer with a variety of different locations . \\nalso there is a fair bit of action in the film , particularly towards the end . \\nsome characters are just plain strange including a highly-energetic deejay in drag . \\nbruce willis does his normal job of blowing things away like he always does . \\nthe movie is definitely watchable and rarely slows down . \\nit is one of those sci-fi films where you\\'ll be saying \" cool \" followed by a \" what the hell ? ! ? ! \" . \\ni give the fifth element . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"not so long ago , men by the names of peckinpah , ford , leone , and eastwood made westerns . \\nreal westerns . \\nthese were some of the best films of the twentieth century . \\nthose days are gone . \\nnow we have crap like wild wild west to pass for the western . \\nand that record is not improved with the unbearable tale of american outlaws . \\noutlaws is yet another re-telling of the jesse james legend , courtesy of b-movie king james g . robinson ( producer of such classics as wrongfully accused and chill factor ) . \\ndelayed since the spring , this version stars the irish hunka hunka burning love colin farrell ( the best part of schumacher's tigerland ) as the bad-ass jesse james . \\nalas , any sense of his character has been left on the ranch , leaving us with only cute chicks like ali larter ( minus the whipped cream ) to watch . \\nthe spin this time around : fresh from serving as southern militiamen in the civil war , jesse james ( farrell ) , his brother frank ( gabriel macht ) , and his pal cole younger ( scott caan ) lay down their arms and head home to missouri to tend the family farms after the war has ended . \\nbut trouble is brewing in their small town of liberty when evil railroad baron thaddeus rains ( harris yulin ) and his cronies rollin parker ( terry o'quinn ) and allan pinkerton ( timothy dalton ) demand the boys turn over their lands to the railroads . \\nthe jameses and the youngers then join forces to fight the railroad -- by robbing banks up and down missouri , thus cutting off the railroad's financial surplus and playing robin hood to the local people . \\nalong the way , the boys squabble over who's the cutest of the gang , who's the most popular cowboy in the gang , and who ought to go on mtv's total request live . \\nthey rob numerous banks with identical interiors , always with the kindest of hearts , strutting in their grungy dusters as moby songs play in the background . \\nthe witty banter they share could be plastered within a hallmark card . \\nthe biggest disappointment here lies in the acting of colin farrell . \\nafter a great job in tigerland , farrell walks through this role easier then nicolas cage in gone in 60 seconds . \\nand his american accent rivals richard gere's irish accent in the jackal . \\ncombined with feeling like bonanza : the teen years , this homogenized production ( toned down to get the ever-popular pg-13 rating ) gives us an invincible jesse james that quickly grows tiresome and boring . \\nthe unbearable villains courtesy of timothy dalton and thaddeus rains spend the entire film proclaiming that everyone should be hanged , sucking out any energy left in the film . \\nnot to mention : the real story of jesse james and his gang bears no resemblance to the plot of american outlaws . \\ninstead , the movie is full of old , outrageous tales about the wild west -- tales which went out of style in 5-cent magazines about a century ago . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the swirling sick feeling hit me just a few minutes into \" heartbreakers . \" \\nray liotta\\'s character was making out with his secretary when his new wife knocked on the door of his office . \\nwhile scrambling to collect himself , he frantically shouted to her , \" just wait a sex ? er , i mean sec ! \" \\ni was struck by a wave of revulsion , thinking , \" geez , didn\\'t lines like that die when \\'three\\'s company\\' was canceled ? \" \\nover the next few minutes , as the barely double entendres and lingering cleavage shots grew more numerous , i realized that the mindset behind \" heartbreakers \" predated \" three\\'s company . \" \\nsuddenly , i had an out-of-body experience as my internal way-back machine swept me to the mid-1960s . \\nall across america , the counter-culture was growing like wildfire , but there was scant evidence of it on tv . \\nwhile young people were challenging traditional values on the streets , frustrated teenagers like me were stuck at home , sulking while our parents enjoyed the latest bob hope special . \\nwomen in skimpy bathing suits would prance onscreen while hope made growling noises and leered at their breasts . \\non another channel , dean martin made wisecracks about \" booze and broads \" and peter lawford , decked out in love beads and a nehru jacket , purred suggestive one-liners as he ogled the go-go dancers . \\nthe adults laughed and laughed . \\n \" heartbreakers \" reeks of that stagnant mentality , from its lingering shots of jennifer love hewitt\\'s vah-vah-voom breasts to its leaden screenplay , which paints women as haughty schemers and men as drooling buffoons too sex-obsessed to realize they are being manipulated . \\nin addition to liotta and hewitt , the cast includes sigourney weaver , gene hackman , jason lee , nora dunn and anne bancroft . \\ni can\\'t imagine what drew performers of their caliber to this project . \\nperhaps they thought it was a parody of the sniggering sex comedies of the \\'60s . \\nif so , they were sadly mistaken . \\nthe story revolves around a mother-daughter con-team . \\nit opens with the marriage of max ( weaver ) to dean ( liotta ) , a new jersey chop shop operator . \\nhaving withheld sex until the honeymoon , max pretends to pass out on their wedding night . \\nthe next morning , she feigns illness , sending a very horny dean off to the office , where he ends up in the arms of his new secretary . \\njust as the two are about to get overtly physical , max bursts into the room and catches them . \\nthe \" horrified \" bride dissolves the union , garnering a healthy cash settlement along the way . \\nof course , the secretary was really her daughter page ( hewitt ) and the whole thing was a set-up . \\nthe women move on , but an irs agent ( bancroft ) catches up with them and demands a huge amount of money to cover unpaid taxes . \\nin desperate need of funds , max and page head for palm beach to replay the scam . \\ntheir mark this time is william b . tensy ( hackman , in hideous make-up ) , a decrepit tobacco tycoon obsessed with the joys of smoking . \\nmax starts to put the game into action , but page is so repelled by the old man ( and angry with her mom ) that she slips off to enact her own score , targeting jack , a laid back young beach bar owner who is worth a fortune . \\ncomplications arise when page realizes that good-natured jack is stirring actual emotions in her steely little heart . \\nas if that wasn\\'t enough , dean reappears on the scene with revenge on his mind . \\nthe attempt to weld a romance onto a caper comedy served only to remind me of the infinitely superior \" a fish called wanda . \" \\ni won\\'t bother to compare the two . \\nsuffice to say that everything done right in \" wanda \" is done wrong here . \\n \" heartbreakers \" is soulless , inept and , at 123 minutes , at least a half-hour too long . \\nsigourney weaver and jennifer love hewitt throw themselves into their parts , but have nowhere to go with the metallic characters . \\ngene hackman is utterly wasted in a one-note , one-joke part that has him doing nothing but smoking , coughing and waxing rhapsodic about smoking and sex . \\npoor jason lee is stuck in the ingenue role and the normally charismatic actor comes off as merely bland . \\nray liotta manages to squeeze a tiny bit of humanity and humor into his walking clich ? , but only a bit . \\nthe low point in the film has weaver employing a russian accent bad enough to make boris and natasha wince , while doing half-assed slapstick with a broken off penis from a statue . \\nbear in mind , though , that this is merely the worst segment of a movie made up of nothing but low points . \\nif you remember bob hope specials with fondness , this might be your cup of tea . \\nas for me , i\\'m going to watch \" a fish called wanda \" now and try to forget i ever saw \" heartbreakers . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'with the sudden liberal emergence of personal privacy abounding in the news lately , what with that whole clinton thing going on ( you know , 100 million bucks to discover the president got boinked by an intern - oh , please , government , waste my taxes just a bit more , would you ? ) , \\nit\\'s about time tony scott helmed the newest action pic disguised as an important if not slightly ignorant social statement . \\nwith this and \" crimson tide , \" he\\'s created two successfully chilly films that are interesting , exciting , even pretty smart , but never totally riveting as cinema , and the problem i think with each of these films is that each film is too obsessed with its message to ever be really satisfying , and too obsessed with looking all cutting edge to ever be totally smart . \\nthat film dealt with a civil war inside a nuclear submarine over whether or not to follow rules or question them , and was appropriately scary and all , but never totally thrilling or overly brilliant . \\n \" enemy of the state \" is the same way : it\\'s engrossing for its entire running time , and it\\'s scary the way that it shows a man\\'s decent into kafkaism , but it\\'s too technical . \\nit\\'s too cold and not as fascinating or exciting as it could be . \\nit casts will smith , one of the better big budget leading men in movies these days because he\\'s charming and witty and never uninteresting , and hopes that his charisma can make up for his character not being well developed enough to really be a person . \\ni hate to do this , but last year\\'s film \" the game \" got it damn perfect : it casts michael douglas as a deeply flawed human being , a man who is cold and has cut off everyone from his life , and then pulls everything he thought he had as a security blanket away from him and watched what happened . \\nthe result was not only a film that was exciting and chilling , but also the best mindfuck of the entire year . \\nnot that i want every kafkaesque film to be \" the game \" ( this year\\'s \" the spanish prisoner \" succeeds with less thrills and chills ) , but it should be an example of what works and what doesn\\'t . \\nwill smith\\'s character is , frankly , too perfect , at least too movie perfect . \\nhe had an affair with another woman ( lisa bonet , ha ha ) , but his relationship with his wife ( regina king ) is basically fine regardless . \\nhe has a kid , and he\\'s raking in money as a lawyer , albeit a very good and reasonably moral one . \\nso he generally doesn\\'t have any real problems as a human being , and is therefore boring . . . except that he is played by will smith , who embodies him with about as much will smith charm as he can without entering \" id4 \" / \" men in black \" territory . \\nhe\\'s a good dramatic actor ( just see the first half hour of \" six degrees of separation \" for proof of this , not that he isn\\'t great the whole time ) , and here , he makes his character likable and sympathetic without any real strain on his character , which makes the film lack any real deep interesting qualities . \\nsmith becomes involved in a mass conspiracy involving the assasination of a senator opposed to a government law that would create world surveillance , extinguishing privacy as we know it from the world , under the pretense that it would make crime easier to control , when he is passed a disk of the event caught on tape by an outside party ( a nature observer played by , uh , jason lee ) . \\nthe government wants the disk , and is prepared to destroy his life to get it . \\nas smith\\'s plight is dramatized , we are introduced to the masterminds who surveillance him , sitting in vans disguised as other businesses , staring at computers and pulling out tricks faster than a speeding bullet . \\nthese guys ( played by jack black , jamie kennedy , and seth green ) are the most interesting part of this film because they\\'re , well , fascinating : they\\'re doing their jobs , which are evil , but the film doesn\\'t view them as such , and they almost become our friends . \\nwe like these guys for the sole reason that the film doesn\\'t automatically judge them as the villains . \\nthey\\'re also scary because we get the idea that they\\'re not fully aware of the impact their jobs have on the world . \\nit\\'s as if they\\'re obsessed with their jobs , not because they\\'re evil , but because , hey , it\\'s a fun job , and no one else can do it like them . \\nunfortunately , this also backfires a bit on the film : instead of being the flashlight in the darkened room that \" the game \" was , you see everything , and are thus not as freaked out because you know what is going on . \\nsure , you\\'re chilled , but you\\'re not exacty freaked out by what\\'s going on . \\nbut what do you expect from tony scott , the man who never met a five-second piece of film he ever liked . \\nhe\\'s a not-bad director because , hell , he is always interesting to watch ( if not occasionally moronic - exhibit a : \" days of thunder \" ) , but the reason he\\'s not great is because he\\'s too technical and calculated . \\nhis shots are perfectly executed , and leave nothing to the imagination , and they\\'re always making sure you\\'re paying attention . \\nthis is incredibly annoying , and it reduces \" enemy of the state \" to a mechanical mishmash of flashy images that never expand the mind at any great depths , but still manage to entertain without any real problems . \\ndespite never actually becoming great , it\\'s never actually boring and it\\'s always intriguing . \\nwatching the government set-up smith is endlessly fascinating , and since we care about smith\\'s likeable protagonist , we are set-up for a good two hours worth of tom clancy-esque entertainment . \\nadd the best big cast this side of the annual woody allen film ( everyone from gabriel byrne to dan butler pop up for cameos ) , and you\\'ve got a good old fashioned escapist drama which does all the thinking for you so that you never have to actually question the debate over personal privacy and so you can follow will smith\\'s plight without a minute\\'s worth of boredom . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in present day hanoi , three sisters reflect on their parents\\' relationship while trying to define their own in writer/director tran anh hung\\'s ( \" the scent of green papaya \" ) \" the vertical ray of the sun . \" \\nyoungest sister lien ( tran nu yen-khe ) greets the day with hai ( ngo quanq hai ) , the only brother whom she rooms and relentlessly flirts with . \\ntheir morning ritual of tai chi and lou reed precedes crossing the street to eldest sister suong\\'s ( nguyen nhu quynh ) cafe , where lien works , for breakfast . \\nthe three sisters lovingly prepare their mother\\'s memorial banquet of traditional delicacies , prepared as much for look as taste , while giggling over the differences between the sexes . \\nafter the family breaks from the banquet , we learn that suong\\'s young son \\'little monkey\\' is doted upon , but there\\'s a distance developing with her husband quoc ( chu ngoc hung ) , who\\'s leaving for one of his habitual botanical photography trips . \\nmiddle sister khanh ( tran manh cuong ) tells her writer husband she\\'s pregnant before he leaves on a trip to saigon to research tuan , a mysterious man in his mother-in-law\\'s past . \\nlien keeps crawling into hai\\'s bed at night , causing him to fall out of it . \\nthe initial serenity we witnessed starts turning into a soap opera before coming to full circle one month later , as the three women prepare their father\\'s memorial banquet . \\n \" the vertical ray of the sun \" is a contemplative piece where strong passions exist underneath calm exteriors . \\nsly humor , self deceit and harsh truths all exist in the cyclic screenplay . \\ntran anh hung and his cinematographer mark lee ping-bin ( \" flowers of shanghai \" ) linger over and repeat the small gestures of everyday life - a wife washes her husbands hands , a woman makes water dance in a bowl , a man pulls his lover to face him before they part . \\nsmall spaces such as rooms , alleys and courtyards create intimacy . \\nthe color green , symbolizing life and tranquility , is used heavily in the film\\'s visual styling , lapsing into yellowish hues and blues . \\nwriter/director tran anh hung\\'s film recalls ang lee\\'s \" eat drink man woman , \" another tale of three sisters of varying modernity coming together traditionally for a parent . \\nbut while lee\\'s more traditionally story-driven film resulted in radical changes for all concerned , \" the vertical ray of the sun\\'s \" characters strive for peaceful harmony . \\nwatching it is like trailing your fingertips in a stream on a cool spring day . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the classic story & the production which ruined it \\nmarking the centennial anniversary of the 1896 h . g . wells classic , new line cinema , armed with a stellar cast and expert make-up effects man stan winston ( alien , predator , terminator etc ) churns out yet another hollywood film based on the classic novel . \\nof course , the production is no doubt much more superior compared to the earlier 2 movies , one of which was made back in the 1933 and the other in the 1977 , under the title the island of lost souls ( sounds like a much better title . . ) . \\nthe story begins with edward douglas ( thewlis ) , a un representative sent to oversee a peace treaty somewhere in the south pacific , who is saved from the brink of death by montgomery ( kilmer ) after his plane crashes into the sea . \\ndouglas soon learns that montgomery is working for dr . moreau , who incidently , owns the island and also a reputable geneticist who has been awarded the nobel prize . \\nhis host\\'s reluctance to allow him to freely move around the island becomes clear when he stumbled into moreau\\'s lab , when a monstrous birth was in progress . \\neven worse , the other workers in the lab are not exactly normal \" people . \" \\ndouglas stumbles across yet another shocking discovery when he is led to the beast-people community , which considers dr . moreau their maker . \\nusing shock-therapy and the law , dr . moreau has long been able to keep his beast-people civilised to some extent but there are a few animal-men who are just too savage to be controlled . \\nthe island of dr . \\nmoreau questions the ability of men playing god . \\ndr . moreau is a man obsessed with creating a race of beings which is free from hate and violence . . . but the savage within every beast is not something one can suppress for long . \\nmoreau has no doubt a very interesting premise within its grasp . \\neven so , the production has failed to make the most out of it . \\nthere are too many characters to put your attention to and the worst thing is , the characters are not \" prioritized \" so when the audience is led to believe that a particular character is important , before they know it , he or she or it perishes . . . . rather \\nungloriously at times too . \\nperhaps there is some redemption in the development of the beast people , especially aissa ( balk ) , the most human of moreau\\'s creations . \\nthe two very important characters , montgomery and dr . moreau himself receive no development at all and it is in this area that the script fails miserably . \\nmore screen time could have been used for character interaction and development . \\ni really would have liked it better if , say , they delved more into dr . moreau\\'s obsession , montgomery\\'s purpose in the story and justification to as why the beast-people had to rebel . \\nmaybe the nature of the screenplay , which incidently , does not incorporate much action sequences in the film , forced the filmmakers to \" cut a long story short \" and make it more of an action film than anything else ( it\\'s still summer , and movies have to be \" marketable \" ) . \\nthe special effects too , are really nothing for anyone to shout about . \\nat most , i would say the beast-men looked just a bit more realistic than those apes in planet of the apes . \\nthis h . g . wells classic really has potential to be a good film . \\nunfortunately , after 2 adaptations , they still could not decide on how and what to focus their attention on to really bring out that important message which makes up the entire essence of the story . \\nas a third outing , the island of dr . moreau \\naccomplishes little and is nothing more than an inferior version of `the planet of the apes\\' . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the keen wisdom of an elderly bank robber , the naive ambitions of a sexy hospital nurse , and a partnership that blossoms between the two are the fine components that make up a modest , little caper adventure entitled `where the money is . ' \\nthe elderly bank robber is henry ( paul newman ) , a famous criminal that was only recently caught . \\nhe has pulled off dozens of successful heists and has probably stashed away a small fortune . \\nalways the shrewd thinker , he begins working on a plan to get out of jail . \\nthis involves years of studying buddhism and self-hypnosis . \\nwhen he is prepared to execute his plan , he uses what he has learned to fake a stroke . \\nnow a seemingly twitching vegetable , he is temporarily transferred to a state-run home . \\ncarol ( linda fiorentino ) is the nurse that cares for him . \\nshe's a very bright person with a good heart . \\nyet , her life is a miserable waste of time . \\nthe most exciting thing to do in town is to fix cars . \\nher days at the hospital facility are spent leading wheelchair calisthenics . \\nworse , she's in a dead-end relationship with high-school sweetheart wayne ( dylan mcdermott ) . \\nthey became a couple because they were king and queen of the prom . \\nto her , this made sense long ago . \\nbut now , it's a different story . \\nwayne seems equally bored with his life , but is content enough to stay put . \\nwayne's greatest ambition is to become a night shift supervising foreman . \\ncarol feels as lifeless as many of the other hospital patients , but she's never been anywhere else and doesn't see many other opportunities in life . \\nhowever , when henry falls under her care , her outlook begins to change . \\nthe medical reports may state that he suffered a massive stroke . \\ncarol , however , begins to grow suspicious that henry may just be faking it after all . \\nmaybe she can get through to him , and maybe she can learn something about the money that he has stashed away . \\nthe opening 30 minutes are filled with hilarious attempts of carol trying to bring henry ? back to life . ' \\nand what are some of carol's resuscitation techniques ? \\nperhaps an erotic lapdance might stir his senses . \\nif that fails , maybe she'll try a little shock therapy by pushing him off a 20-foot high pier into the cold lake below . \\nwhen he finally comes out of his state of self-trance , the movie's direction changes , though it remains equally if not more entertaining . \\ncarol sees that henry is filled with charisma and self-assuredness . \\nshe is invigorated by his commanding presence and refreshed by his vibrancy . \\nthis , of course , puts wayne in an odd situation . \\nhenry and carol's bond grows stronger when they enter into an agreement to rob an armored car . \\nhenry needs this heist because he is unable to retrieve his original stash . \\nmeanwhile , this is carol's ticket to a better life . \\nwayne is uncomfortable with the situation , but helps out nonetheless . \\nhowever , his lack of commitment threatens their success . \\nthe heist sequence is suspenseful , well paced , and casts the uneasy feeling that something will horribly go wrong . \\n`where the money is' does more to spotlight newman and fiorentino than it does to showcase a story about a nifty heist . \\nnewman is the real joy of the film , adroitly showing that at age 75 , he's still really hot stuff . \\nhe possesses a sly smile , displays a dominating attitude , and a projects a demeanor that is undeniably attractive . \\nfiorentino is also a fun presence . \\nyou root for her despite her sense of amorality . \\nsure , she wants to commit robbery and has little compunction about pushing a wheelchair-stricken man into a lake , but we can see that to escape her dead-end world , she needs to do something drastic . \\nwith two charismatic characters such as these , it's hard to ignore that `where the money is' is where the fun is . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"mr . nice guy is the latest jackie chan film , so you should know what to expect . \\na weak plot , terrible dialogue , very little acting ability , but some jaw-dropping action sequences that nearly make the rest of it worthwhile . \\nhowever , mr . nice guy lacks the sparkle of jackie's best efforts , and its weaknesses are more glaring than ever . \\njackie chan plays , who else , jackie . \\nthis time out , he's a famous chef who hosts an australian cooking show . \\nnot that it ever makes a difference in the plot . \\nthere are only two scenes of him cooking . \\nfor the rest of the film , somehow he mutates into jackie chan , supercop . \\nit never does explain why his character has such superb martial arts skills . . . perhaps he was in the same cooking class as steven seagal in under siege ? \\na tv newswoman , diana ( gabrielle fitzpatrick ) , covertly tapes a drug deal involving kingpin giancarlo ( richard norton ) and a local gang of toughs , the demons . \\nalthough she only has one camcorder , somehow the result is full of close-ups and multiple angles . . . hmmm , \\nshades of broadcast news ? ? ? \\nanyway , the goons discover diana , and will do anything to recover the tape . \\nhere lies another crucial flaw in the story : doesn't anyone realize you can copy a tape ? \\noh well , no one ever said jackie chan movies had to make sense . \\nas luck would have it , diana runs across jackie , and , wouldn't you know it , jackie accidentally ends up with the tape . \\nthis leads to countless chase and/or fight scenes which look like they could have been lifted from rumble in the bronx or nearly any other jackie chan movie . \\nin a move apparently designed to woo american ( and other english-speaking ) audiences , the film uses english as its primary language . \\nhowever , that doesn't mean an end to the atrocious dubbing that has afflicted jackie's recent americanized releases . \\nstrangely , many of the characters speaking english are overdubbed with english , and poorly too . \\nwhether this is just a very bad case of looping , an effort to minimize accents , or a simple case of nostalgia , it does achieve the same level of distraction present in all of jackie's dubbed films . \\nthe plot in mr . nice guy is negligible , merely an excuse to have jackie on the run from various goons . \\nbut even though plots have always been second to the action in jackie's films , it seems odd that the filmmakers have stuck us with this tired retread . \\nlook , if you have jackie chan playing a chef , why not use that to your advantage ? \\nwatching jackie doing his stuff in a kitchen , beating the bad guys with foodstuffs sounds like the perfect setup for innumerable comic stunts . \\nthe action is a mixed bag here . \\nthere's really only one no holds barred fight scenes that have become the trademark of jackie's films . \\nit takes place in the arbitrary location of a construction site , apparently for the sole reason that there are lots of nifty things lying around that can be useful ala jackie chan . \\nthe action in the film is neither jackie's best nor worst , but you long for some more inspiration in the scenes . \\nthe film's gratuitous use of slow motion is distracting . \\nonce or twice , it may be useful to highlight a spectacular stunt sequence . \\nbut to slo-mo jackie running ? \\neither this is a nod to the six-million dollar man , or a pathetic attempt to disguise the fact that jackie may be slowing down . \\nif you've seen all of jackie's films and are in need of another fix , go ahead and see mr . nice guy . \\nhowever , if you're just in the mood for some good action , you'd be better off hitting the video store for some of his better work , such as supercop . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'plot : derek zoolander is a male model . \\nhe is also very dumb and impressionable . \\nfor that reason , he is secretly hired and trained ( so secret , that even he doesn\\'t know about it ) by an underground fashion syndicate to assassinate the prime minister of malaysia , who wants to abolish child labor in his country . \\nwill zoolander fulfill the dirty deed ? \\nwill zoolander ever grace the world his new \" look \" ? \\nis this a funny movie ? \\nfind out below . . . \\ncritique : there\\'s a place in our world for \" stupid comedies \" . \\nfilms which don\\'t pretend to take themselves seriously , are based on idiotic premises and filled with dumb jokes . \\nthere\\'s also a time for them and many would argue that this difficult period of our history , might be an ideal circumstance during which to \" relax \" by watching something so completely frivolous . \\nwell , if you\\'re in the mood for some seriously mindless entertainment , ben stiller and his cast of many have assembled one of the more original dumb comedies in some time . \\nof course , comedies as such are usually very subjective and i could see how some will see this film simply as stupid and unfunny , while others will grant them the \" stupid \" , but consider it funny instead . \\ni personally enjoyed it for the most part , cracked up loudly during a couple of specific sequences and loved the derek zoolander character and the unrestrained whipping they released upon the fashion industry . \\nsnap ! \\nit was also nice to see several real-life models with small roles in the movie , not taking themselves too seriously . \\nand if you\\'re the type of person who likes celebrity cameos in films , well , don\\'t look any further because dozens of famous faces show up here including vince vaughn , billy zane , winona ryder , christian slater , david duchovny , natalie portman and many , many others . \\ni especially liked andy dick\\'s complete make-over as the masseuse . \\nhi-larious ! \\nbut with all films of this type , there is bound to be some stuff that simply doesn\\'t work . \\na few particulars which didn\\'t strike my fancy included the bulimia and \" orgy \" sequence with christine taylor , the break-dance fighting , and i also never get why they use real countries in plots like this ( why not just \" make up \" a country , instead of zeroing in on a certain people ? ) . \\ni also could have done with less of the taylor character in general , since she wasn\\'t all that interesting and seemed to slow things down every now and then ( more zoolander , dude ! ) . \\nbut those few missteps were nothing compared to some of the more memorable scenes which definitely did work for me ! \\ni almost pissed myself during the \" gas station \" disaster , absolutely adored the \" walk-off \" contest ( with david bowie as the judge , no less ) and appreciated many of zoolander\\'s moronic one-liners ( \" i was a merman . . . a \\nmerman ! ! \" ) . \\nand i dare you to get his \" monkey \" photo shoot out of your head after seeing this movie ( \" you\\'re a monkey , derek . . . a \\nmonkey ! \" ) \\ni also really liked the soundtrack and the pace of the film , both of which zipped and zagged , and established a nice rhythm to it all . \\nagain , it\\'s to note that this movie is dumb and not for everyone , but my guess is that if you laughed at the trailer , you will likely enjoy many of the quips in the actual picture as well . \\nif you thought the trailer was dumb , skip this dodo bird and go rent austin powers again or something , a film from which there is an obvious influence here . \\nblue steel , baby . . . yeah ! ! ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\naustin powers ( 7/10 ) - austin powers 2 ( 7/10 ) - deuce bigalow ( 7/10 ) - dude , where\\'s my car ( 7/10 ) - freddy got fingered ( 5/10 ) - jay & silent bob strike back ( 8/10 ) - joe dirt ( 5/10 ) - meet the parents ( 8/10 ) - say it isn\\'t so ( 3/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : during a 10-week span in london in the fall of 1888 , jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never uncovered , committed five ritualistic , grisly murders of prostitutes . \\nthis film is based on the graphic novel which assembled a theory behind the century-old mystery . \\ncritique : awesome ! \\ni love dark movies , i love stylish movies , i love good mysteries and i love johnny depp . . . so \\nyes , i really dug this movie ! \\nthe hughes brothers are back with a vengeance , out to show the world that they are directors to be taken seriously , and this movie , my friends . . . is \\nvery serious ! \\nin fact , it\\'s also very gruesome and bloody and morbid and creepy and black as hell . \\nit ain\\'t for the kids , i\\'ll tell you that much . \\nand if any of those recent hack directors of two-bit scream-esque slasher flicks want some advice on effective \" kill scenes \" , do not look any further , because each one committed to this film is a cinematic stunner , especially when compared to their generic slice-and-dice contrivances . \\nin fact , most of this film\\'s structure is very creative , the actors , all solid , the atmosphere and \" feel \" of the picture , remarkably real ( gotta love those \" unfortunates \" ) , and the descent into darkness , well honed by the filmmakers . \\nyou can almost taste the seediness off the screen and quickly come to appreciate the politics of the time . \\nbut it\\'s also an impressive mystery film , based on the true-life tale of jack the ripper , a man whose identity was never discovered . \\nthe theory in this film is based on the graphic novel \" from hell \" written by alan moore and presents a compelling story , which despite being a little oliver stone-ish , did manage to tie up all of its loose ends quite nicely , and present us with an entertaining bowl of mayhem , sexual depravity , drug usage , insanity , murders and love ? \\nyes , the brothers even managed to slip a little \" love \" story in here , and despite not truly being developed , i guess it could\\'ve been much worse and taken up more time than was provided already . \\nthat\\'s right , there\\'s no real need to put any \" romance \" in a film about a mass murderer ! \\nbut that aside , you gotta give up the props to actor extraordinaire johnny depp , who once again possesses the strength in character and flawless acting abilities , to center this movie all the way through . \\nsure , he\\'s just playing a less goofier version of his ichabod crane character from sleepy hollow , but he does it so well and even added a michael caine accent to his mixed bag of tricks in this one . \\ni was also surprised at how little heather graham annoyed me in this film ( i was sure that her presence would ruin this movie , but she was fine ) and how little the dreams/fantasies of depp\\'s character had to do with the film\\'s development ( from what i had seen in the trailer , i thought the filmmakers were going to make this the crux of the story , but thankfully , it wasn\\'t ) . \\non the downside , the film doesn\\'t really explain the whole freemasons cult organization real well and lacks character development . \\nbut then again , a story about the most mysterious serial killer of all-time is probably not the ideal spot for character refinement . \\ni mean , the less i knew about each person , the more suspicious i became of each one\\'s motives , reasons , etc . . . \\nin fact , i was actually quite surprised by who was presented as the killer in the end , and that was in part , due to the distance to which i\\'d been held from the film\\'s characters . . . or \\nam i giving the filmmakers too much credit for something that might not have been their intention ? \\nperhaps . \\noverall , this is an extremely creepy production , with glorious cinematography ( reminiscent of coppola\\'s dracula and burton\\'s sleepy hollow ) , a grim score and solid acting . \\nbut it\\'s not for everyone . \\nsome may be utterly repulsed by the gory particulars of these tragic events , and even though the murders aren\\'t shown as graphically as you might think , there\\'s enough here to send the squeamish right out the doors . \\nbut i for one love movies that blend their eclectic visual style with an interesting mystery and palpable , gothic atmosphere , and this flick is just that and plenty more ! \\nand god knows that i will certainly not be surrendering the burnt image of jack the ripper\\'s haunting cape silhouette and gleaming silver knife from my mind anytime soon . . . brrrrr ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nthe crow ( 9/10 ) - dark city ( 9/10 ) - dracula ( 7/10 ) - jfk ( 9/10 ) - the nightmare before christmas ( 10/10 ) - the ninth gate ( 8/10 ) - the others ( 9/10 ) - quills ( 8/10 ) - shadow of the vampire ( 6/10 ) - sleepy hollow ( 8/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'director luis mandoki\\'s last film was the superb , serious 1994 drama \" when a man loves a woman , \" but his luck has ultimately run out with his latest picture , \" message in a bottle , \" which is the worst type of romance , a movie that tugs so relentlessly and violently at the heartstrings that it miraculously manages to dry out your eyes rather than tear them up . \\neverything that occurs can be telegraphed way in advance since this same type of story has been done many times before---and much better---so there\\'s an absence of suspense , and the film ultimately moves at such a very , very deliberate pace , as if it is trying to make great , \" meaningful \" statements and plot developments , that it just becomes a tedious bore to sit through . \\n \" message in a bottle \" begins with theresa osborne ( robin wright penn ) , a single mother and researcher at the chicago tribune , whom finds a bottle washed up on shore as she is jogging one day . \\ninside the bottle is an anonymous love letter addressed to a mystery woman named catherine , and theresa is so taken aback by its honesty and sweetness that she shows it around at her work and , to her objection , finds that her editor has placed the letter in the newspaper . \\nsoon , a heavy research is conducted to find out who wrote the letter based on the type of bottle and a ship logo on the top of the typed message , and after it is traced to a man named garrett blake , theresa finds herself traveling to the outer banks , a boating town in north carolina , to find out the specifics of the message . \\nof course , garrett turns out to be a handsome , rugged man around theresa\\'s age and played by kevin costner . \\nshe is immediately charmed by him , but hesitant to unveil the truth of why she is there , and finds that catherine was garrett\\'s late wife who died a few years earlier . \\ndo you think you know where this is headed ? \\nmost likely you do , and i wouldn\\'t call it giving away anything to say that by the picture\\'s end , the movie has fallen into deep , artificial melodrama that i didn\\'t buy for a second . \\nif there are any positive things to say about \" message in a bottle , \" it is that the performances by robin wright penn and paul newman , as garrett\\'s stubborn , but loving father , are far above par to be in such a wasteful , \" shaggy dog \" love story , and that the cinematography by caleb deschanel takes great advantage of the beautiful eastern coast , and paints chicago as an equally alluring city . \\nmeanwhile , costner has yet to redeem himself for some of the less-than-stellar films that he has made recently . \\nit seems that with such bad luck , he wouldn\\'t want to make another movie set near water , but here he is again with one of the main , and most ridiculous , centerpieces set on a storm-swept sea . \\nthe other actors are all , sadly , wasted , including illeana douglas , an underused actress who seems to always get stuck with the \" friend \" roles , here playing penn\\'s confidante and co-worker at the tribune . \\nthe first half of \" message in a bottle \" plays like a hum-drum , trite television movie for the lifetime channel , as theresa spends a great deal of time \" getting to know \" garrett , with dialogue that is not the least bit stimulating or entertaining . \\nusually , i am the type of person to practically salivate over dialogue-laden sequences since the film is no doubt trying to develop the characters and their relationships , but here it all rang with a resounding falseness since the dialogue felt \" written , \" and not as if people were really \" talking . \" \\nwhen the main characters of a film have very little of interest to say to each other , and are not particularly interesting themselves , you know immediately that you are in trouble . \\ni swear that while watching \" message in a bottle , \" i felt as if i had just read the screenplay in its entirety before arriving at the theater ( heck , in actuality i\\'m not even familiar to the novel this is based on , by nicholas sparks ) . \\nalways one step ahead of the characters , the movie ran so closely and tightly to the constraints of the tried-and-true hollywood melodrama , the film strip often seemed to almost be in danger of tearing . \\nnobody wins prizes for guessing that garrett will eventually find out theresa\\'s secret , and that several obstacles will come within their ways of living happily ever after . \\nthis same exact problem occurred in last year\\'s very , very similar ( watch this , and you will realize just how similar i mean ) meg ryan-nicolas cage romantic drama , \" city of angels . \" \\nalthough theresa is deeply touched by the \" heartfelt \" letter that she finds in the bottle , perhaps the filmakers might have been better off finding a message in a bottle of their own , preferably before filming began . \\nit should have read , \" memo to screenwriters : use you brain ! \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'this is my first review that i post to this newsgroup , and i kind of feel like i have to say something negative about this film . \\nno one else seems to care that it takes certain liberties that should not be taken with a historical story . \\nhowever , even if one thinks of it as fiction , \" the prince of egypt \" remains shallow . \\nbut i\\'ll begin from the beginning . \\nthe biggest difference between the original , biblical story and this version is that moses has some semblance of divinity in the bible , whereas the animated version gives the impression of a reluctant hero . \\nmaybe it\\'s just me , but if i knew i had god on my side , i\\'d have a little bit more confidence . \\nthere are other differences as well , such as a lack of important female characters and the passing over of the original pharoah\\'s death like it\\'s nothing but a thing . \\nmost of all , though , the story\\'s focus has shifted . \\nrather than being a story about father-son , man-ethnicity , man-god , \" the prince of egypt \" is almost solely about the brother-brother relationship between rameses and moses . \\ni was originally excited about this story element until i saw the movie , where it came off as maudlin . \\nrameses and moses squabble like children and then , in the interests of peace , moses saves rameses\\' butt , even though moses was the one who started it . . . \\n * yawn * i didn\\'t care anymore by the time moses ran off for murdering an overseer ( which , of course , never happened in the original story - moses was exiled ) . \\nbut enough about the differences . \\nlet\\'s talk about the movie itself . \\nit features a moses who , in the interests of making the character more human , lacks any divinity whatsoever , which isn\\'t convincing at all to anyone who knows who god is . \\nit features a cookie-cutter \" i-wanna-please-dada \" rameses , who at least is given dignity by the voicework of ralph fiennes ( from schindler\\'s list , among other things ) . \\nthe film also features an extremely annoying character by way of the \" new-improved \" miriam , voiced by the ever-antsy sandra bullock , even though the most irritating thing about her is her tendency to burst into song for no apparent reason ( here bullock is replaced by a singing voice ) . \\nspeaking of which , it contains * very * annoying music . \\nit contains shallow writing . \\nit features extraordinary animation , which is one good thing i can say about this film . \\nmost of all , it contains an attempt to commercialize , homogenize , and mass-market a story about a manifestation of god . \\ni am not christian , but i got the impression of blasphemy . \\nthe writers and producers took a butcher knife and chop-chopped into the story . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you\\'d think that after awhile hollywood would stop trying to make movies out of video games . \\nit hasn\\'t worked so far . \\n \" street fighter ? \" \\n \" super mario brothers ? \" \\n \" wing commander ? \" \\n \" mortal kombat ? \" \\nnot a watchable film in the bunch . \\nstill i held out some hope for \" tomb raider . \" \\nafter all , the game\\'s premise is heavily influenced by the indiana jones trilogy and all the mummy movies , so there are cinematic elements imbedded in the concept . \\nhowever , despite the potential of the project , \" tomb raider \" proves to be yet another bomb . \\nthe plot is a convoluted accumulation of nonsense probably borrowed from a dozen bad movies . \\nthere\\'s a once-ever-5000-years alignment of planets coming up , and the illuminati have to find both halves of an ancient triangle that controls time in order to take over the world . \\nof course , the ancient folks who divided the triangle buried the halves in tombs on opposite sides of the world . \\nour heroine , lady lara croft ( angelina jolie ) , finds the key that opens the tombs in relics that her dead father ( jon voight ) dug up . \\nshe figures that if she gets the triangle , she can bring her dad back from the dead . \\nof course , no one was expecting much of a plot from this movie anyway . \\nin both video games and action movies , the plot is just an excuse for the action sequences . \\nhowever , the action in \" tomb raider \" shows little style or originality . \\nthere\\'s lots of shooting and some kung fu fightin\\' , but none of it progresses beyond the level of a cheap direct-to-cable flick . \\nthe other goofy archeologist flick of the summer , \" the mummy returns , \" was much better ; it had its flaws , but its action was creative and large-scale . \\nsince winning her academy award for \" girl , interrupted , \" jolie hasn\\'t taken any projects that would display her acting talents . \\n \" tomb raider \" seems to be more interested in displaying her breasts ; so much attention is drawn to them that it\\'s a shame there\\'s no oscar for best performance by a wonderbra . \\nwhile we don\\'t see much of her acting ability ( with the exception of a wonderful upper-crust british accent ) , we do get a hint of jolie\\'s less savory side . \\nconsidering the rumors of incest that hang over jolie and her supposed obsession with death , having lara be obsessed with resurrecting her dead father ( and uninterested in any of the living males around her ) seems a poor choice . \\nhaving jolie\\'s real life father jon voight play the dead dad makes it even creepier . \\ni haven\\'t decided what to make of director simon west yet . \\nhis first feature was the star-studded disaster \" con air , \" but my opinion of him improved with \" the general\\'s daughter , \" which was thick with sultry atmosphere . \\nnow this train wreck . \\ni hope he improves again because his next project is the big screen version of the cult tv series \" the prisoner . \" \\nhollywood has already screwed up \" the avengers , \" and \" the prisoner \" represents a chance for redemption . \\n ( by the way , speaking of british tv , \" red dwarf \" fans should look for chris \" rimmer \" barrie in his first major film role ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"a costume drama set in the 1500s , england , elizabeth is a lush , romantic , political masterpiece about the upset over the crossing of a protestant queen from a respected catholic one . \\nwhen the court and country are a whole after the passing of the queens , the royal family , so to speak , are upset that a protestant should be crowened , and not another catholic , plus , the new queen , elizabeth i ( cate blanchette ) , was the bastard baby of the previous queen mary's father . \\nthe persecution over catholics and protestants isn't the only majority in elizabeth . \\nelizabeth i must face the decision to give up personal pleasures , and her lover ( joseph fiennes of shakespeare in love ) , in order to rule , successfully , the country , which she did for 40 more years . \\nboth elizabeth and shakespeare in love are set in the elizabethian era , and both feature a queen elizabeth i ( judi dench plays her in love ) , or course . \\nyet , i found elizabeth more stimulating and involving than love , not just because elizabeth features a great deal more of elizabeth i , but because i found blanchette a more powerful , hypnotic sense for the role . \\nelizabeth , also featuring geoffrey rush and richard attenborough , is my pick for the best picture of 1998 award . \\nit's a dynamic , important , breathtaking film of loyalty , power , greed , and trust . \\nshakespeare would die for the book rights . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'who would have thought ? \\njim carrey does drama . \\nwhen i first saw the advertisement for the truman show , i thought , \" what a hilarious idea for a movie ! \" \\nhowever , it was an even better premise for a drama . \\nthe truman show takes us into a world that revolves around one man . \\nthat man is truman burbank ( jim carrey ) . \\ntruman has no clue what is really going on in his world and frankly , cristof wants to keep it that way . \\nchristof is the \" god \" of this made-up world . \\nhe keeps everything running and gives the actors their roles . \\nthere were a few attempts to tell truman about his world , but they failed and life went on as normal . \\nthe opening parts of the film introduce to truman\\'s world . \\nwe see what he is doing at his current age , then we get a flashback at his past . \\nit may seem a tad boring , but it is so intriguing that you will fall in love with the film right from the start . \\nthe film can be described in one word : weird . \\nit seems like such a simple idea , yet it is something that a majority of us would never think of , but andrew niccol did . \\nit seems like a warped idea , but it is andrew\\'s idea and he did wonders with it . \\njim carrey actually lived up to the hype . \\nthe hype , whether good or bad , always focused on carrey\\'s ability to do drama . \\nno one doubted how extraordinary this film could be , the only thing they doubted was carrey . \\nand he showed them all up . \\njim carrey was snubbed at the oscars . \\ni do not think he was the best actor , but he deserved the nomination . \\nhe plays truman burbank , the unsuspecting star of the most popular television show in the world . \\nhe has lived a normal life for almost thirty years , but then strange things start happening . \\nhe ventures into the wrong elevator . \\na light crashes in front of him . \\nhis father comes back and is then pulled away . \\nwe are constantly teased with all of this and we know it is a show , but truman does not . \\nand it is just a constant progression that never gets sluggish . \\ncarrey is able to shed his comedy to play a major role in a major drama . \\nlaura linney is magnificent as the camera hungry wife . \\nshe plays her role as advertiser and budding star to a point . \\npeter weir does not make the cast perfect , and their flaws eventually lead to truman\\'s escape . \\nthe story unfolds until the show becomes too big and everything crashes down . \\ndespite carrey\\'s greatness , the best performance in the truman show undoubtedly is turned in by ed harris , who plays the \" god \" of truman\\'s world . \\nhe displays the pressure he is under , the world he has created . \\nhe becomes so paranoid that he believes he is a god and that truman has him to thank for his sham of a life . \\nthe action moves at a good pace , and rarely gets sluggish . \\nbut , the main point of the film is how it looks like a television show . \\nit really makes you think . \\nmaybe your brother is an actor , maybe your best friend is in heated contract negotiations to stay on the show . \\nsome of the best parts of the film are when truman ventures into the wrong elevator and sees cast members drinking coffee and talking . \\nor when truman tunes into the wrong station and hears orders being said for truman\\'s arrival . \\nand when christof focuses in on truman and cues the dramatic music as marlon ( noah emmerich ) delivers his dramatic line . \\nall of these ideas are just perfect for the film and extremely innovative . \\ni was not only enjoying the film , i was overwhelmed by genius of it . \\noverall , the truman show is one of the freshest and innovative films to come out of hollywood . \\njim carrey shows that he is not just a man of a million faces , but a legitimate actor who could go down as one of the best . \\nandrew niccol is responsible for the screenplay and peter weir pulled it off to perfection . \\nthe truman show is a must see for anyone who likes movies in general because they will be thoroughly impressed by this creative film . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the real blonde ( r ) a woman's face , an arm , some pumped-up pectorals , blond hair , a man's sad face , slender legs , a random hand here and there . \\nas the opening credits of tom dicillo's the real blonde unfold , these scattered , fractured glimpses eventually come together to form the image of a bikini brief-clad man on his knees clinging to a nurturing woman , his head concealing her unclothed breasts . \\nif only the rest of this formless , aimless ensemble comedy assembled so coherently . \\njoe ( matthew modine ) is a waiter/struggling actor too proud to take gigs in commercials or soap operas . \\nhe's feeling somewhat dissatisfied with his relationship with his live-in love , mary ( catherine keener ) , who holds some subconscious hostility toward the male gender . \\nmary , a makeup artist , regularly works on model sahara ( bridgette wilson ) , who is obsessed with the underlying messages in disney's the little mermaid . \\nthe bottle blonde has a turbulent on-again , off-again relationship with bob ( maxwell caulfield ) , a soap actor who yearns for the taste of a real blonde , which he finds in co-star kelly ( daryl hannah ) . \\nas the film unspools , a variety of other characters pass through : fashion photographer blair ( marlo thomas ) ; mary's shrink ( buck henry ) and self-defense instructor ( denis leary ) ; joe's casting agent ( kathleen turner ) and hardass boss ( christopher lloyd ) ; and a mystery woman ( elizabeth berkley ) who keeps on crossing joe's path . \\nwhere exactly does all this go ? \\nthat's a question best posed to writer-director dicillo , who doesn't appear to have the slightest clue himself . \\nhis meandering , largely unfunny script and direction are like hopelessly lost drivers , turning into dead-end narrative streets only to reverse course and hit another creative cul-de-sac . \\nand another . \\nand another . \\nat one point bob , frustrated with the soap scripts , complains to the head writer ( jim fyfe ) that his and kelly's characters keep on going in circles , with no hint of development or growth . \\nthat is most certainly the case here . \\njoe gets a job and ultimately botches things ; he and mary bicker ; they make up , only to have the pattern repeat itself . \\nunhappy with his bottle blonde , bob gets his real blonde but is unsatisfied ; he returns to the faux and is still unsatisfied . \\nif there is a point to all of this , dicillo dances around it , spending his time on apparent digressions that , as it turns out , aren't digressions at all . \\nthe real blonde is not without some amusements . \\nit does have the occasional funny line and situation ; leary , henry , lloyd , steve buscemi , and dave chappelle shine in their small roles ; keener is a likable , refreshingly earthy lead ; berkley's appearance is mercifully brief ( she receives outrageously prominent billing and ad placement for a ten-minute role ) ; and there is the irony of having caulfield play a wildly popular soap star who makes the ratings skyrocket ( last year , the actor was fired from the daytime drama all my children after a scant six months--due to lack of viewer interest ) . \\nbut on the whole , the real blonde is a frustrating sit that lives up to the stereotypes of its title--it may be glossy on the surface , but there's nothing going on inside . \\n ( opens february 27 ) \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the trailers and the beginning of the move sum up this plot very easily . \\nthree filmmakers venture into the woods of maryland to track down the legend of the blair witch for a documentary they are making . \\nthey disappear and their footage is discovered a year later buried underneath the foundation of a one hundred year old house . \\nfrom there , things become a little more complicated . \\ni can say , with absolute assurance , that no film has ever had quite the impact that this little movie has had on me . \\nalthough i know it was all a staged \" mockumentary \" , there\\'s no denying the psychological impact this film will leave on you . \\ni didn\\'t feel much upon initially watching it . \\ni just thought it was an interesting film with some pretty creepy parts . \\ni never even dreamed that thirty minutes after the film had ended i would be frightened out of my mind just discussing it with a friend . \\ni\\'ve gotten chills every time i\\'ve brought it up since then . \\nthis is not a movie that hits you right away . \\ninstead this is a movie that sits at the base of your spine , waits until you think everything is okay , then it slowly starts to creep it\\'s way up into your mind . \\nthis is truly the most frightening movie i have ever had the pleasure to watch . \\nthe film is comprised of home video and 16mm camera footage that the documentarians supposedly shot for their blair witch film , so don\\'t expect any steadi-cam shots or fancy camera work . \\nthis is as real as it gets folks . \\ni don\\'t recommend sitting too close to the theater screen though , because i guarantee you will get motion sickness from the constant movement of the camera . \\nthe performances of the three lead actors in the film are so real , you may find yourself questioning whether all of this has really happened or not . \\nthis is definitely a movie that warrants home video viewing , especially due to the fact that the bulk of the movie was shot with a standard home video camera . \\nthe reality of the images will strike frighteningly close to home when viewed as actual video instead of the tape-to-film transfer done for the big screen . \\nword has it that a special edition dvd with boatloads of extras ( hours of deleted scenes , alternate endings , commentary , the sci-fi channel special , and others ) is being planned for release . \\ni urge artisan entertainment to forge ahead with this plan and give us what could be the dvd to rival all dvd\\'s . \\ni know i\\'ll be first in line to buy one . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : in 2176 on the planet mars police taking into custody an accused murderer face the title menace . \\nthere is a lot of fighting and not a whole lot of story otherwise . \\njohn carpenter reprises so many ideas from his previous films , especially assault on precinct 13 , that the new film comes off as his homage to himself . \\n , 0 ( -4 to +4 ) . \\njohn carpenter apparently believes that action scenes in which people fight something horrible are the same as horror scenes . \\nfor a writer and director of horror films , supposedly an expert on horror , it is a very bad mistake to make . \\nghosts of mars is called a horror movie , but it is more just a drawn out fight between humans and a surprisingly low-powered alien menace . \\nin addition if anybody but john carpenter had made ghosts of mars , carpenter would have grounds to sue . \\nthis film is just chock full of pieces taken from assault on precinct 13 , the thing , and prince of darkness . \\nit is , in fact , surprising that carpenter managed to fit so many pieces of his previous work into this film in such an admittedly novel way . \\nbut that still does not make for a really good science fiction experience . \\nghosts of mars takes place in the year 2176 . \\nmars has been mostly terraformed so that humans can walk on the surface without breathing gear ( which is good for the film\\'s budget ) . \\nit is never mentioned , but the gravity on mars has been increased somehow to earth-normal , again making it easier to film . \\nsociety has changed a bit by that time , but it has advanced surprisingly little . \\napparently the culture has changed so that women are much more in positions of control . \\nand from carpenter\\'s view , women have really made a mess of things . \\nsociety has stagnated under female control so that beyond some minor technological advances society has changed less in 175 years than we might expect it to change in ten . \\nthe basic plot of ghosts of mars has much in common with that of assault on precinct 13 except that precinct 9 ( yes , precinct 9 ) has been replaced by a somewhat tacky looking rundown martian mining colony . \\ninstead of having the criminal \" napolean \" wilson , this film has the criminal \" desolation \" williams . \\ninstead of facing hoodlums with automatic weapons the police face , well , ghosts of mars . \\nbecause the ghosts are somewhat alien in nature they should behave in some alien manner , but they essentially behave as human savages , in another lapse of imagination . \\nthe story is told in flashback , flashback within flashback , and flashback within flashback within flashback . \\nghosts of mars takes place entirely at night and is filmed almost entirely in tones of red , yellow , and black . \\ncarpenter manages to give us a powerful opening scene , showing a mining train rushing through the martian night to the sound of music with a heavy beat . \\nsadly what follows is not really up to the buildup . \\nthe terror he creates looks a little too much like fugitive wannabes from the rock band kiss . \\nhis idea of building suspense is having a bunch of sudden jump scenes that sucker the viewer into thinking something scary is happening and then prove to be just something boring . \\nthese are standard haunted house film shock effects that require no great talent to give the audience . \\nsomewhat newer but also unimpressive are the cgi digital decapitations in some of the fights . \\nwithin a short stretch of time we have seen the release of mission to mars , red planet , and ghosts of mars . \\nafter mission to mars was panned by too many reviewers it looks better and better and better as time goes by . \\ni rate ghosts of mars a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nfollowing the movie i showed my wife , who liked ghosts of mars moderately more than i did , carpenter\\'s classic assault on precinct 13 . \\nher comment is that it was seeing the same film twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'of course i knew this going in . \\nwhy is it that whenever a tv-star makes a movie it\\'s always a romantic comedy , and then they say on entertainment tonight or something , that they were \" attracted to the characters . \\nthey were really original . \" \\noriginal ? ! let me give you a run-through of picture perfect : character a ) kate ( jennifer aniston , from tv\\'s friends ) , a smart , beautiful , professional woman wants two things she can\\'t have : a new job-title and the love of her co-worker kevin bacon . \\nher boss will only give her the job if she gets married and gets a mortgage and gets a lease on a german sportscar , and kevin bacon pnly sleeps with married or involved girls . \\nwhat does she do ? \\nshe invents a fiance ! \\nthen when everyone wants to meet him , she tells some poor schmoe she met at a wedding that she will pay him $1000 to pretend to be in love with her for a company dinner , and pick a fight with her at the end , thus breaking the engagement but still being able to keep her job , since the guy ends up looking like a jerk and she is the poor , defenceless female . \\nhe , of course , goes along with it . \\ngee , i wonder if they get together in the end . \\ni\\'ve seen more original stuff on the wb . \\nand better stuff too . \\npicture perfect also makes the mistake of being _wayyyyy_ too long at 100 minutes , and expecting us to like aniston\\'s character , who comes off as a cold , spoiled bitch . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in these days of overlong movies ( meet joe black , the thin red line , the mask of zorro ) it is a shame that films like waking ned devine can\\'t be longer than a paltry 90 minutes . \\nthis is just a cute movie , even through its mildly risque subject matter . \\nold friends jackie ( bannen ) and michael ( kelley ) try to find the lottery winner ( they deduce must live in their dinky town of about 60 ) so that they might kiss up to him and share the winnings . \\nthrough process of elimination , they find that it must be lovable old ned devine , who they find sitting in front of his tv , clutching the winning lottery ticket in his cold dead hand . \\nwhat results is thuroughly amusing , as jackie tries to convince his wife that not claiming it would be wrong , and that they could really benefit . \\nafter all , old ned won\\'t miss it . \\nrather than divulge the later twists and turns , i\\'ll stop here merely pointing out that jackie and michael get into all sorts of trouble in their little sleepy irish villiage . \\nbannen and kelly are a perfect pair . \\none slightly stout , the other as thin as a rail . \\nboth getting on in years , they make such a cute pair of old codgers . \\nwaking ned devine may even be seen as a \" full monty \" for the geriatric set , especially since kelly gets buff-o for one amusing scene . \\nwaking ned devine is by no means perfect , but it is so sincere and touching that it looks so much better than most films . \\nthe performances by everyone in the town are great , particularly the two leads . \\nthere is one twist at the end which i find unnecessary , but it hardly ruins the picture . \\nwriter/director kirk jones should be held up as an example to all those hollywood screenwriters . \\nscripts as creative and endearing as this should be the norm , not the exception . \\nperhaps it makes us appreciate this wonderful film even more . \\nhad i held off on my year\\'s best/worst list for another day , waking ned devine ( officially released in late november of 98 ) surely would have graced the short group of the year\\'s finest films . \\nit is light , but thought provoking and sweet . \\ni can\\'t think of anyone who shouldn\\'t see ( or wouldn\\'t enjoy ) this film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'studio expectations must not have been high for \" great expectations \" -- the film\\'s release date was pushed from late december to late january at what appeared to be the last minute , therefore putting any academy awards chances it has off until this time in 1999 . \\nit\\'s actually a smart move , because while this updated take on the charles dickens tale isn\\'t quite oscar fodder , it * is * strong enough to be distinguished from the cinematic dumping ground that usually makes up the first five or six weeks of any given year . \\n \" great expectations \" also demonstrates how to modernize a classic story right , especially after the excruciatingly wretched excesses of baz luhrmann\\'s \" william shakespeare\\'s romeo + juliet . \" \\n \" great expectations \" opens somewhere in 1970s florida ( the original story is set in 19th-century england ) , as eight-year-old finn ( jeremy james kissner ) meets a trio of people who will have a profound effect on his life in the future . \\nthere\\'s icy , 11-year-old estella ( raquel beaudene ) , a pseudo-playmate of finn\\'s ; ms . dinsmoor ( anne bancroft ) , estella\\'s auntie who\\'s quite off-kilter over a past romance that never took off ; and a mysterious prisoner ( robert de niro ) whom finn saves the life of . \\nfinn , who lives with his sister\\'s affable boyfriend ( lone star\\'s chris cooper ) , fancies himself an aspiring artist , and proves his prowess by whipping up an unusual portrait of estella using only ms . dinsmoor\\'s lipstick , eyebrow pencil and the wallpaper from her dilapidating mansion . \\nflash forward into the \\'90s ( after a brief stop in the \\'80s ) , and finn ( now played by ethan hawke ) , despondent over a strange hot-and-cold relationship with the elusive estella ( gwyneth paltrow ) , receives quite a bit of money from an unknown benefactor ; it\\'s enough cash to send him to new york to focus on a career in art . \\nthere , finn seems to gain everything he could ever want -- wealth , prestige and a high place in the glamorous art world . \\nwhen estella resurfaces -- albeit with an aloof fianc ? ( hank azaria ) -- finn also sees the chance to renew their mutual attraction . \\nbut she\\'s not the only ghost from finn\\'s past that\\'s going to be paying him a visit . \\ncomparisons with the afore-mentioned \" romeo + juliet \" seem inevitable since these films are the only ones in recent memory to plop classic drama into a current setting . \\n \" great expectations \" is a much better venture , though , because it treats its source with even-handed respect , where \" romeo \" was never quite sure whether to be a spoof , a homage or both . \\nthe movie is a visual banquet thanks to emmanuel lubezki\\'s sexy cinematography ; notably , he captures a revisited fountain kiss between the two leads with a luscious , erotic charge that\\'s steamier than the film\\'s ( surprisingly muted ) love scenes . \\nthe eclectic rock soundtrack compliments the on-screen action beautifully , especially new songs by tori amos , mono and duncan sheik . \\nacting credits are first-rate , often hiding the screenplay\\'s occasional slip-ups . \\nhawke is sincere and solid as a leading man ( something we also learned from \" gattaca \" ) , and his finn is quite a likeable guy . \\npaltrow\\'s estella , on the other hand , is rather underdeveloped . \\nwhile the actress is at her icily seductive best , we\\'re not told very much about her character , and as a result , it\\'s often hard to understand why finn would appreciate her beyond a physical level ( but , oh , * what * a physical level ) ; sometimes , we root for finn although we don\\'t quite understand why she\\'s fueling his fire . \\nrobert de niro is nice and sophisticated in the benevolent kind of role he rarely gets to play ; on the other end of the acting spectrum is bancroft , a macabre , throaty delight who mambos and sucks down cigarettes with an eerie enthusiasm that would make norma desmond jealous . \\nalfonso cuaron\\'s visually elegant direction helps to distract from the dry moments that pop up more frequently around the movie\\'s climax . \\nanother problem is predictability ; you can guess your way through the plot even if you aren\\'t familiar with the story . \\ndespite its script flaws , though , \" great expectations \" is undeniably romantic without being corny or gloppy . \\nand frankly , it\\'s nice to see a film that embraces softened sensuality other than explicit sexuality . \\nperhaps that renovated release date , awfully close to valentine\\'s day , will end up helping \" great expectations \" \\' seemingly average box office chances after all . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"okay , okay . \\nmaybe i wasn't in the mood to watch a mindless action movie ; i am the same person that liked lethal weapon iii , even while admitting that it wasn't as good as the others . \\nhowewer , the latest segal picture didn't look that bad , and since none of my friends would go see a woody allen movie even if i paid them , i went to see it expecting a mild die hard rehash . \\nboy , was i wrong ! \\nin the first half of the movie , we are already assaulted with segal's acting , ( he is not simply wooden ; he is like a wall ) , gratuitous violence , an incredible plot , sexist and even more gratuitous nudity , and bad lines that obviously were meant as jokes . \\nby the end , it is obvious that hundreds of navy men are no match for thirty armed special forces soldiers . \\nnot once in the movie did segal appear worried or undecided , which did not do much for increasing the unexistent suspense . \\nof course , in movies like these , there must be a sidekick , and a love interest . \\nin these one we are given a two for one package in the form of a playboy model ( in the movie ) , which only functions as a supposed comic relief ( by the way of extremely stupid unfunny lines ) , and to have watering eyes and look away every time something bad happens in the movie . \\noh , of course , she appears naked from the waist up , and , of course , segal kisses her at the end after no development of their relationship ; they did not even seem to be interested in each other . \\ni have never seen so little chemistry between two people in a movie . \\noften , the villain saves the movie ; unfortunately , the villains here are cartoonish , stupid and unfunny , unmenacing . \\nhow many movies have psycho ex-special forces bad guys ? \\ntoo many . \\ni was able to predict the action all throughout the movie , including the moment where the sidekick saves the hero from certain death , the scene where the bad guy can kill the hero but proceeds to explain his plan to him , the scene where we are shown the hero's superiors are stupid , the scene where the bad guy loses his gun and has to fight the hero hand to hand , etc . . . \\nsimply said , this is movie-making by the numbers , boring , and potentially offensive in going for the lowest common denominator of the audience . \\nmy recommendation : if you go see it , bring a watch . \\nyou'll be looking at it for most of the movie . \\nmy . \\nrent die hard . \\nread a book . \\nstare at the sky . \\ndo not waste your time on this worthless piece of celluloid . \\nthe real sad thing is that there are a lot of movies out that i would rather have seen ; once again , dragged in by my friends , which by the way , liked the movie halfheartedly . \\nthey probably like wrestling too : - ) . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'an astonishingly difficult movie to watch , the last temptation of = christ may be scorsese\\'s most important film , and yet his most = impossibly abstract as well . \\nscorsese presents the life of jesus = christ , through nikos kazantzakis\\' novel , which details the life of = christ from approximately 20 until the day of crucifixtion . \\njesus of = nazareth ( dafoe ) is a carpenter , who opens the film making crosses , so = that he can escape the fate he is subjected to , his destiny on earth . \\n= yet , he soon learns his evil ways for aiding in the deaths of others , = and subjects himself to a desert in exile , in hopes that he can reach = god . \\nbefore leaving , he asks for forgiveness from mary magdelene = ( barbara hershey ) , a prostitute who is also a childhood friend of jesus . \\n= =20 \\nafter going to the desert , christ learns his true purpose in life , = and what he must do . \\naided by judas ( keitel ) , he sets off on teaching = the world his message . \\nalong the way , he meets john the baptist , the = rest of the prophets , and tries to teach the world his message . \\nchrist = is also confronted by internal demons and self-doubt , as he tries to = find his true purpose throughout the entire film . \\nduring the story , = judas is the closese ally of jesus : his betrayal , argues the film , was = not out of hate , but out of love , in order to allow christ to die . \\n=20 \\nhe is eventually captured , and crucified as per the bibile . \\n= however , as he is about to die on the cross , he is saved by a girl , who = brings him to his marriage with mary magdelene . \\nthe girl is a guardian = angel who is from god , and who has saved him from his death . \\njesus goes = on to live a life as a man , as a carpenter , and does not die on the = cross . \\non his deathbed , in the final moments of his life , he is visited = by the prophets , and by judas , who denounces his master for \" not keeping = his end of the bargain . \" \\njudas reveals the angel to truly be the devil , = and the life jesus had lived to be the ultimate selfish act . \\njesus = escapes from his deathbed , and asks his father for forgiveness , for = succumbing to his last temptation . \\nvisually and aurally , the film is absolutely breathtaking . \\nno other = director has even come close to realizing jerusalem during the time of = christ\\'s life to the screen . \\npeter gabriel contributes a score than is = simply astonishing , with pulsing rhythms that capture the viewer . \\nthe = performances are simply exquisite , with dafoe leading the way with a = mesmerizing turn as jesus . \\nkeitel , although his accent is a problem , is = passionately brilliant , fighting through language to bring the character = to life . \\nthe visuals are also amazing . \\nscorsese frames his movie in a = harsh tone , leaving the impression that jesus truly is a man who is = having human frailties . \\nthe film , though , has many trouble spots . \\npaul schrader\\'s script is = one . \\nschrader uses modern-day new york english to tell the story , along = with new york words , new york mannerisms , and new york slang speech . \\n= the film also does not focus on the godly aspects of christ . \\nthere is = no underlying message behind the man\\'s words . \\nthe film fails to capture = the glory and splendor of christ . \\nhad it faithfully explored that = aspect , than the dichotomy of jesus\\' soul , his frailties and doubt mixed = with his unmistakable glory , would have been simply spectacular . \\nthe = message of christ is confused between love and violence , and the film = merely tells us jesus is great , instead of showing us his greatness . \\nthe film is also overlong . \\nit just drags in the middle , with = nothing truly happening . \\nchrist is a confused figure , in the sense that = the audience doesn\\'t know who he really is . \\nschrader forgets to give = jesus a message , to show that he truly is the messiah , to give him the = divinity . \\nwithout that , he is a rambling prophet , who the audience = themselves do not believe . \\nthere are several moments of accidental = hilarity , and most of them occur when jesus is attempting to preach . \\n= there are moments of brief awe and power , followed by moments of = confused hilarity . \\nthat said , the controversial temptation sequence is something to = behold . \\nit is a step in an unexpected direction , one that leaves the = audience puzzled , until the arrival of the disciples . \\nit is a simply = breathtaking scene , with jesus about to die as a mortal . \\nit is truly = one of scorsese\\'s finest moments . \\nit is unfortunate that scorsese = couldn\\'t make a film about christ as powerful as that one scene . \\n=20 \\n',\n",
+       " b'contrary to the title , \" the boxer \" is not another rocky story only this time spliced with some cold hard politics . \\nit\\'s actually three movies in one : a political film , a boxing film , and a love story . \\nall of these work in their own respects and have some pretty decent balancing betwixt the three elements of the story , but somehow it seems kind of cliched and unoriginal . \\nwe\\'ve seen it all before , and we\\'re just not blown away with it like we should be . \\noh well . \\nit\\'s still an excellent irish story . \\n \" the boxer \" of the title is danny flynn ( jim sheridan staple daniel day-lewis ) , an ex-ira member who gets out of a belfast prison after 14 years , and finds out that his troubles are far from over . \\nfirst off , the ira is having a small civil war between its leader joe hamill ( brian cox ) , and one of its sub-leaders , harry ( gerard mcsorley ) , both having opposing views on getting many of their members out of jail . \\nwhile this is going on , danny and his old drunkard buddie , ike ( ken stott , who played the chief inspector in danny boyle\\'s \" shallow grave \" ) , re-open an old gym which allows the two opposing religios sects , protestant and catholics , to work together . \\ndanny not only begins teaching kids how to box , but has stayed in great shape whilst in prison , and is ready to start boxing real people again . \\nand danny runs into his ex-love , maggie ( \" breaking the waves \" \\'s emily watson ) , who hasn\\'t seen him since he went in . \\nthey don\\'t easily start up their romance again because she\\'s the wife of a prisoner whom she married during danny\\'s tenure in prison , and also has a son , liam ( ciaran fitzgerald ) , from him , whom liam is hoping will get out soon . \\nbut the two are slowly re-drawn to eachother again , and this begins to complicate things . \\nthe political story is nothing really special but works in itself . \\nwe\\'ve seen it many a time before , but it\\'s at least interesting , sometimes emotional , and even riveting at times . \\nthere\\'s a big riot towards the middle of the film which is frightening in its brutality and honesty . \\nthe boxing story is very minor to the story , but does represent people coming together to fight eachother fairly , and even with good sportsmanship . \\nthere are only a few boxing scenes , but they\\'re never like \" raging bull \" /let\\'s-strip-down-the-sport-to-its-bones brilliant . \\nthey\\'re more realistic , and instead of bone crunching , we hear the sound of the gloves hitting eachother , which is slightly unerving at times . \\nand i didn\\'t know daniel day-lewis was in such good shape . \\nbut the backbone of the story is the love one . \\nbecause these characters are given such horrible circumstances , and since the two leads have such great chemistry together , we really feel for their plight . \\nas the film goes on , and circumstances get worse and worse , the characters have to make real human decisions , and we can sympathize with them as humans not characters . \\nthis is how you write a love story - take note , hollywood . \\nthese elements are pretty much equally balanced , with each of the parts of the stories working hand-in-hand with eachother . \\ni loved how each of the different parts of the plot mattered , and sometimes spilled over into the next . \\nit made sure that we didn\\'t just care for one of them . \\ni\\'m not saying they\\'re all equally great , because the love story really carries the film , but at least they all work out respectively . \\nthe acting is amazing , with day-lewis and watson giving excellent performances and showing great chemistry . \\ni\\'m not sure if they\\'re oscar-nominee bound , but they\\'re very good . \\nin the supporting roles , billy cox is greatly sympathetic as the ira leader losing control of his daughter and his workers . \\nbut the film is stolen acting wise by ken stott as ike , who is just a great scene stealer . \\nthe direction and co-writing by jim sheridan ( with the other co-writing credit going to terry george ) is excellent , rounding out the characters well , but not pacing everything greatly . \\ni noticed that the first half was very leisurely ( yet fascinating ) , but the second half whirls by at a quick pace , and ends much too quickly . \\nmore time could have been spent thinking up the ending , since it does seem quite sloppy . \\nthough \" the boxer \" is a good film , it never achieves the greatness that it should . \\nsure , it\\'s a masterpiece compared to most of the hollywood drivel we usually get , but on it\\'s own , it just could have been better . \\nbut it still works out , gives us a great love story combined with a political and boxing drama , and features great acting . \\neven if it could have been better , this\\'ll do . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" from the director of \" the nightmare before christmas \" it said in the previews , which i\\'m guessing was said to get people to go see the movie , obviously it hasn\\'t worked since the $75 million dollar movie has yet to break $5 million . \\nto each it\\'s own however , since \" monkey bone \" is not only a bad movie all together , but technically well-made . \\na tragic waste of talent and incredible visual effects . \\nstu miley is the genius behind the new phenomena \" monkey bone \" a crude comic strip , that everyone wants to merchandise , they go to great links to get it as well , including dollars that let out fart powder . \\nwhen stu and his girlfriend , julie ( bridget fonda ) are in a freak car accident ( you\\'ll see ) stu goes into a coma , and while in his coma stu travels to i\\'m guessing dark town , where all the characters in dreams come to life . \\npeople are stuck in this town , with their nightmares roaming around them . \\nwhen stu spots monkey bone ( whom he really can\\'t stand ) he tries to keep him under control . \\nmaking a new friend kitty ( rose mcgowan ) he learns that if he gets an exit pass from death , he can go back up and live his life . \\nwhen monkey bone and stu steal a pass , monkey bone becomes a trader and takes it and goes into stu\\'s body . \\nnow monkey bone must get everyone to buy these dolls with nightmare powder , so everyone has nightmares . . . or \\nsomething like that . \\nrather complex ( in fact more than it needs to be ) \" monkey bone \" had potential in the script and even the story . \\nwhat is considerably noticeable is the gaping plot holes , and lack of character development . \\nfor instance we really don\\'t get to know who stu or julie are , so why should we even care ? \\nkitty played well by rose mcgowan ha a story behind her , but we are not given a chance to know her . \\nthe cast is decent however , brendan fraser seems to be enjoying himself in the role as stu miley , but becomes awfully annoying when monkey bone takes over his body . \\nbridget fonda is dreary and seems to bring the film to a screeching halt , her performance is bad and she seems miscast . \\ndave foley isn\\'t given enough to do , as well as \" will & grace\\'s \" megan mullally who can be funny . \\nthe standout performance is the voice of nick turturro as monkey bone himself , he is very funny and entertaining and really keeps the film from being a total bust . \\nthe special effects of \" monkey bone \" is what might really bring in some curious viewers , these special effects are highly effective , and nice to look at with the eyes . \\nsome of them are believable and some unbelievable . . . for \\nmonkey bone he seems to be like stuart little , you really don\\'t realize that he is animated . . . but \\non occasion it sneaks up on you . \\nthe direction by henry selick is good , but at times he doesn\\'t know what kind of film he wants to make , and the ending climax falls off the cliff . \\nit\\'s too bad really , \" monkey bone \" could have been a real good movie , but with it\\'s heavily done hack job , and lack of character development it just sinks when the end credits role . \\nfor those curious however , it might be worth the rental , but other than that avoid this one . \\n',\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" big eden \" ( jour de fete ) \\nit\\'s utopia , this tiny town tucked away in the timberland of northwestern montana , where old codgers lounge on the porch of the general store to pass the time away and the local matchmakers ( nan martin , louise fletcher ) eagerly pair off the young people , regardless of sexual preference . \\nthere\\'s nary a homophobe or bigot around , much to the surprise of henry hart ( arye gross ) , a successful but lonely manhattan artist who returns home to care for sam ( george coe ) , the ailing grandfather who raised him . \\nand with the simultaneous re-appearance of his best-friend from high-school and object of his unrequited love ( tim dekay ) , now divorced with two young sons , the fact of his homosexuality must be faced . \\nto complete the triangle , there\\'s the tall , taciturn native american ( eric schweig ) who owns the general store and lovingly yet secretly prepares gourmet meals for henry and sam . \\nthis fable about home and family is a major debut for first-time film-maker thomas bezucha ( a former designer for coach and polo/ralph lauren ) who is meticulous about minding details , using ballads like \" welcome to my world \" and \" achin\\' , breakin\\' heart \" to set up the concept of our universal longing to find a place in which we can love and be loved . \\nin the paradise of big eden , what you are doesn\\'t matter as much as generosity of spirit , respect and kindness . \\nsure , the plot\\'s implausible but it\\'s a good-natured fantasy so allowances should be made . \\nand rob sweeney\\'s photography of glacier national park is spectacular ! \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" big eden \" is a charming , quirky , off-beat 7 . \\nit\\'s a heart-warming romantic comedy about a gay man who doesn\\'t die of aids or wind up alone at the end . \\n',\n",
+       " b'those print and television ads trumpeting that \" \\'grease\\' is still the word \" are right on the money . \\nto celebrate its 20th anniversary , this quintessential movie musical is getting the royal treatment reserved for classics like \" star wars \" -- a well-deserved , red-carpet rerelease . \\nthat\\'s fantastic , especially when considering of all the classic characters and scenes the film has served up -- who can forget aspiring beautician frenchie ( didi conn ) being serenaded by her tell-it-like-it-is guardian angel ( frankie avalon ) ? \\nor the hard-nosed principal ( eve arden ) reminding the student body to \" be an athletic supporter \" by rooting for the home team ? \\nor national bandstand emcee vince fontaine ( edd byrnes ) flirting with marty ( a pre- \" empty nest \" dinah manhoff ) ? \\nand these are all probably considered minor moments . . . \\na very skinny john travolta and a very young olivia newton-john have the respective leads of danny zuko and sandy olsson , and their pairing still ranks as one of screendom\\'s most effervescently charming . \\nfor those eight of you who aren\\'t familiar with the story , here\\'s a brief recap : greaser bad boy danny and aussie good girl sandy are reunited for their 1959 senior year at rydell high after a brief fling during the summer ; both thought she was going to return to her native continent before school started , but both were wrong . \\nsandy tries to rekindle their relationship , but danny\\'s too cool a cat to fall for her wholesome appeal in front of his t-bird buddies ( including jeff conaway ) . \\nso sandy hooks up with a gang herself -- the pink ladies , headed by sassy , sexy rizzo ( stockard channing , just superb as an independent woman well ahead of her time ) -- and danny , who still really feels love for her , attempts a compromise of ideals in order to win her back . \\nthe drag race finale is yet something of a drag , and i never have thought much of \" greased lightening , \" the film\\'s big \" guy \" number ( that choreography -- ack ! ) , but \" grease \" \\'s flaws amount too few to carp . \\nthe movie\\'s first showpiece is \" summer nights , \" where danny and sandy separately recount wildly different versions of their fun-in-the-sun romance . \\nnot only is \" nights \" tremendously catchy , but it\\'s also a smart look at how men and women see the same events with varying eyes . \\nthere has yet to be a live-action musical sequence that rivals the one-two punch of \" you\\'re the one that i want \" and \" we go together , \" \" grease \" \\'s euphoric cappers . \\nall this and some of the most pleasing moments come from the smaller , quieter moments ; the oscar-nominated \" hopelessly devoted to you \" is a lovely showcase for newton-john , and channing\\'s lamenting ballad \" there are worse things i could do \" is one of \" grease \" \\'s most unjustly overlooked tunes . \\nthe soundtrack is remastered ( though travolta still hits that awful high note at the end of \" nights \" ) and the restored widescreen allows us to see previously pan-and-scanned-out choreography , but nothing else has changed -- no computer-generated backgrounds , no outtakes or new musical numbers , no jabba the hutt cameos . \\nand it\\'s a testament to \" grease \" \\'s timeless success that nothing needs to be changed -- it\\'s the same all-around blast it\\'s always been , with an appealing cast in a fun story told with great music . \\nto \\'90s viewers , \" grease \" will probably recall disco and bellbottoms as much as it made its original audience nostalgic for doo-wop and poodle skirts . \\nbut regardless of what decade it transports us to , we can all agree on one thing -- without a doubt , \" grease \" is still the word . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the summer movie season is always the biggest and brightest season for movies throughout the year . \\nwe are introduced to blockbuster hits that are usually trashed by critics , loved by the people , and make tons of money at the box office . \\nthis year , the tradition continues with an update on the universal 1932 classic , the mummy . \\ni have always been a sucker for this kind of monster movies , and i always seem to be the only critic who really likes them . \\nthat tradition continues as well with this fun special effects extravaganza . \\nin the mummy , the up and coming brendan fraser stars as the adventurous explorer rick o\\'connell . \\nhe teams up with a curious , clumsy librarian named evelyn , played by rachel weisz , to find the mysterious city of the dead , hamunaptra . \\nevelyn loves egypt , and would truly like to visit the city that people call a fable . \\nrick has claimed he has been to hamunaptra during a battle , and that\\'s why she chose him to lead her there . \\nalso tagging along on the journey to the city of the dead is evelyn\\'s brother , jonathan , played by john hannah ( sliding doors ) . \\nnow in hamunaptra , the three uncover \" the book of the dead . \" \\nthe curious evelyn unlocks the book , reads from it , and now the body of the ancient egyptian imhotep ( arnold vosloo ) becomes alive and is out to kill the ones who opened and read from the book . \\nalong with imhotep arising from the dead , the ten curses of egypt become in full effect , launching unbelievable forces against the three and another group who set out to find hamunaptra . \\nnot only is imhotep furious with those who awoke him , he is also out to restore the life of his girlfriend that lost her life long ago in ancient egypt . \\ndon\\'t expect huge things out of the mummy , but just expect to have a good time . \\nthis movie is extremely campy and plays out like an old horror film with beefed up special effects , which may turn off some viewers . \\non the other hand , this type of film is one of my favorites , but that\\'s up to you to decide . \\nthere is one thing that definitely not campy or corny about the mummy though . \\nthe state of the art special effects take you into a completely different world . \\nwe are dazzled by faces rising out of the desert , swarms of beetles and locusts , and even creatures crawling under a human\\'s skin . \\nthese may have been in other movies before , but not like in the mummy . \\nas of now , the mummy holds the title for best special effects of this year , but all this could change when star wars episode 1 : the phantom menace is released into theaters across the country . \\nin the past , brendan fraser has played mainly comedic roles . \\nwhen playing \" george \" in disney\\'s george of the jungle , he was mainly not known by anyone . \\ni would say that gods and monsters is the film that gave him a name , and now the mummy will give him a name amongst teens . \\nin the mummy , fraser gets to play an action hero , and i liked him in this sort of role over the comedic role , as in the films blast from the past and george of the jungle . \\nalthough brendan fraser is great , rachel weisz gives the best performance among the cast . \\nweisz really reminded me of a character from an old , horror film . \\nthe way she acts , looked , and talked all reminded me of someone not from this time . \\nevelyn is probably the only character that was likable , considering that the other characters , like john hannah\\'s , didn\\'t get much personal attention . \\nin many films , when different genres are mixed , the mixing usually works , and i like it for the most part . \\nin the mummy though , not all of the mixing works . \\nthere are some scenes that have a lot of potential horror , some with potential comedy , some with potential drama , and some with potential pure action , but the film tries to mix them together too often for the mixing to work . \\nthe mummy could have gotten an \" a \" rating from me if it had gone purely with one of these . \\ni didn\\'t mind the corny one-liners here and there during action sequences , but it certainly could have done without them . \\nthe cinematography is amazing in the mummy . \\nparticularly in one scene depicting ancient egypt , we are taken into a very fun portrayal of egypt , mummies , and the treasures left behind by the ancient egyptians . \\nthe costume design in the film is also up there with the great cinematography . \\nfrom ancient egyptians outfits to original troops outfits , the costumes are always top notch . \\nthe bottom line- with the mummy , the summer is off to its usually great start . \\n',\n",
+       " b'national lampoon\\'s animal house , made in 1978 and set in 1962 , remains one of the -- no , fuck that noise -- * the * funniest movie ever made . \\nand this isn\\'t just my opinion , either ; everybody knows this , and that\\'s why about a gazillion inferior rip-offs have been made , trying to duplicate its success . \\n ( pcu anyone ? \\nand the first person to bring up glory daze gets decked . ) \\nanimal house takes place at the fictional faber college , circa 1962 , where the omega frat calls the shots . \\nthese guys are wholesome , clean-cut , model-citizens . . . \\ni . e . \\na bunch of assholes . \\ngreg , their leader , is going out with mandy pepperidge , but since the silly bastard doesn\\'t believe in pre-marital sex , their relationship never goes further than a quick jack-off under the stars . \\nneidermeyer is the supreme-bozo of the bunch , walking around with his dick out kicking freshman ass and trying to impress the muff . \\nalso hanging around these losers is babs , future universal studios employee and serious bitch . \\nnow let\\'s just take a peak next door , at the delta house . \\nover here , anything goes : you wanna throw shit out the window ? \\nokay . \\nyou wanna crush a bunch of beer cans on your forehead and pour honey-mustard all over your chest ? \\ngo right ahead . \\nthe frat\\'s leaders are otter and boon ( tim matheson and peter riegert ) . \\notter is the ladies\\' man , going out with another girl every night , and boon is the comedian . \\nhe\\'s got a steady-date , katy ( karen allen ) , but she\\'s sick of playing second-fiddle to a bottle of j . d . \\nthen there are the others : pinto , a wimp ; flounder , a blimp ; d . day , a biker ; stork , who may or may not have brain-damage ; and last but not least . . . \\nbluto ! \\nbluto , played by the late , great john belushi , is the man . \\nhe\\'s the kind of guy who slugs back entire fifths of whiskey then proclaim , \" i needed that . \" \\nthe kind of guy who puts a cream-filled snowball into his mouth , puffs up his cheeks and spits it out , and then says \" i\\'m a zit -- get it ? \" \\nthe story is as follows : the omegas are getting the deltas kicked off campus . \\nthe deltas , knowing that fighting the omegas is stupid , decide to go out with style , throwing a wild toga party and ruining the homecoming parade . \\nthis is the fucnniest movie int he history of the world . \\ndo yourself a favor and go see it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one of the most blatantly obvious signs that often-acclaimed director sidney lumet\\'s \" gloria , \" a remake of the 1980 john cassavetes film , had absolutely no effect on me occurred when i was driving home from the theatre . \\nsuddenly , i realized that since i had stood up from my theatre seat five minutes before , i had not thought once about the film i had just invested nearly two hours of my life in . \\nwhen a movie is over , aren\\'t we supposed to think about it for a while , and have a conversation about it with the acquaintances we have just watched it with ? \\ni thought so , but , for one , i saw this particular picture by myself , and #2 , even if i had been with someone there wouldn\\'t have been anything to talk about in the first place . \\nto be sure , \" gloria \" begins with a stirring , rather poignant prologue in which a seven-year-old boy\\'s family is brutally gunned down by mobsters , in search of a disc his father had with incriminating evidence on it . \\nright before the men broke in , of course , his father gave him the disc to escape with . \\neventually , the boy , named nicky nunez ( jean-luke figueroa ) , is caught by the mobsters , and taken back to their apartment . \\nmeanwhile , gloria ( sharon stone ) has just gotten out of prison for a crime she didn\\'t commit and returns to her ex-boyfriend ( jeremy northam ) to recieve the money he promised her for covering up his crime . \\nwhen he refuses to give it to her , and then hears the group of men talking about killing nicky , she leaves with him in order to save his life , but not before holding the men at gunpoint , stealing all of their money , and forcing them to strip nude . \\ngloria is the type of fast-talking , smart-mouthed new yorker who always seems to get involved with the wrong people , and she never expected to be stuck with a kid , but she has a heart of gold ( don\\'t they always in this type of movie ) and is only trying to protect the boy , whom she quickly begins to form a close bond with . \\nthe previous incarnation of \" gloria \" by cassavetes and starring the luminous gena rowlands , remains unseen by me , but was no doubt superior , even though i can\\'t really imagine how this considerably dull story could be transformed into an entertaining one , regardless of the director or stars . \\nthere is no doubt in my mind that director lumet has stuck closely to the original , but the film itself is simply lifeless , with only an occasional laugh popping up here and there so that it isn\\'t completely unbearable to watch . \\ni liked , for example , a very funny climactic sequence where gloria is deciding whether to leave the school she has left the boy at , and keeps turning the car around , then driving a little ways , then slamming on the brakes and turning around again . \\nthese bright moments , however , appear long and far between , and the majority of the film deals with the budding relationship between nicky and gloria , which is both painfully predictable and by-the-numbers . \\nthroughout , my mind was repeatedly asking the question , \" who really cares ? \" \\nas gloria , sharon stone has adopted an over-the-top brooklyn accent that honestly doesn\\'t sound realistic at all . \\nin the beginning , in fact , i was amazed at how amateurish stone\\'s performance was , but as the film progressed she got better . \\nalthough not one of her better turns , stone does have a comic flare that refuses to be ignored . \\njean-luke figeroa was fine as nicky and a little more natural than the usual child actors who are so precocious they make you want to gag . \\nall other actors who appeared were considerably wasted , none more than cathy moriarty , an entertaining actress in her own right , who is billed fourth and has all of one scene , as gloria\\'s friend whom she turns to for help . \\nsony , the studio that released \" gloria , \" obviously does not have any faith in the film , and i don\\'t blame them . \\nthey declined to screen the picture for critics , which is never a good sign , particularly with the high-profile people involved . \\nalthough how much money a movie makes does not determine how good it is ( just look at the spectacular \" in dreams , \" which failed to even make the top 10 last week ) , i have a suspicion \" gloria \" is going to vanish from theaters faster than \" ishtar , \" judging from the opening night 7 : 00 p . m . showing i saw it at , where there were about ten to fifteen people present , counting myself . \\nalthough stone can be an impressive actress ( just watch her in 1995\\'s \" casino \" or 1996\\'s \" last dance \" if you don\\'t believe me ) and sidney lumet can be a respectable director , there is no reasoning for why they thought the cliched story of \" gloria \" was worth remaking or , for that matter , why columbia pictures agreed to finance it when they could have been making a picture that actually looked like it might have an inkling of a chance to be successful . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it would be hard to choose the best american political thriller . \\nsome people would probably pick the manchurian candidate and others ( myself included ) would pick seven days in may . \\nboth those films were tense exercises in chills . \\nthe two films came out within two years of each other and both were directed by the same man , john frankenheimer . \\nbut that was 1962 and 1964 respectively . \\nfor most of the rest of his career frankenheimer has turned out some decent films , but has shown little of the promise that those two thrillers showed . \\neach of those films had memorable characters and a tense plot . \\nthey had almost nothing in the way of chases or gunplay . \\nthe thrills all came from the plot . \\nronin is like a film made by another man . \\nsomewhere behind all the shooting and explosions and car chases there are the rudiments ofa plot , but we see only tiny pieces of it . \\nwe get a clue here and one there as to what is going on but j . d . zeik's screenplay is a bit obscure . \\nthe film begins explaining that a ronin is a masterless samurai . \\nwhen a samurai has failed in the job of protecting his master from death , he becomes a ronin , much like a gunfighter in the american west . \\nif you miss the opening , do not worry . \\nthis film will explain again what a ronin is . \\nsam ( played by robert de niro ) is the modern equivalent of a ronin . \\nhe is a free agent who seems to have really good instincts about how to stay alive the world of a professional killer . \\nhe clearly was in a dangerous business at one time and now he seems to be drifting around on his own somewhere in france . \\nsam is recruited from a montmartre bar by dierdre ( natascha mcelhone of the truman show ) , an irish woman , to be part of an action to steal a mysterious metal case . \\ndierdre is very tight-lipped about what is in the case . \\nsam joins a team of four others : vincent ( jean reno of the professional/leon and mission impossible ) , spence ( sean bean , tv's richard sharpe , and also patriot games and goldeneye ) , and gregor ( stellan skarsgard of breaking the waves and good will hunting ) . \\nalso along is larry ( skipp suddeth ) . \\nthe group seems to know their business , particularly sam , but each is in his own way cold and professional with his own field of expertise . \\ntheir only human side seems to be in tensions among the members of the team . \\nthe story is not very easy to follow . \\nit is never clear who is double-crossing whom and who is working for whom . \\nsomehow russians ( who may or may not be the russian mafia ) and irish radicals are involved trying to get their hands on a certain metal case . \\nsome very good actors are involved in this film . \\none wonders what they saw in the script . \\nthe characters are mostly one-dimensional professional killers . \\nthey know their work , and seeing their thought patterns adds some interest to the film , but for this group deep feeling between two people is teaming up with another killer so that neither is killed . \\nby the end of the film we never really got to know anybody . \\nmaybe that is the secret of why such good actors took parts , since these are not very demanding characters to create . \\nin addition to the above characters the film also features jonathan pryce and michael lonsdale ( the latter of moonraker and of the superior thriller the day of the jackal ) . \\nas a revival of a sort of action film that was popular in the 1960s , i was hoping that there would be something here to grab onto and enjoy . \\nunfortunately there are no deep characters , and little to make us care who eventually ends up with the metal case or why they want it . \\ni rate ronin a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nnon-spoiler : incidentally , the tale of the 47 ronin has been filmed multiple times , usually under the title chushingura or as the 47 ronin . \\nalso one frequently sees in japanese art the image of a man breaking down a door with a huge mallet . \\nthis is the first blow of the 47 ronin . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"this is the worst movie i've viewed so far in 98 . \\nthe avengers = silly = man dressed in a bowler hat + woman wearing tight leathers > evil scientists dressed in teddy bear suits + greater evil , sir august de wynter wearing kilt . \\nthe question is what could have gone wrong with a potentially great idea with big name cast ? \\nthe same question was probably asked of last year's stinker batman and robin . \\ni feel the production got a little too smug , the script a little to smart and direction was somehow lost in the chaos of random events that collided together to form a movie . \\nmy greatest criticism rests on the fact that there was no chemistry between emma peel and john steed ( thurman and fiennes ) ? something that was a vital element of the 60's tv serial of the same name . \\nthe dialogue goes on and on about tea and other finer british perks , but does not allow much room for character development and interaction , except to perhaps grate on the viewer's nerves . \\none wonders why the dynamic pair bother kissing in the end except for pure english formality . \\nconnery as sir august , does not fair better than thurman or fiennes . \\nhis dialogue is as erratic as stormy weather , mostly embarrassing and poor quality . \\nif there is a movie you would prefer never to see , i believe the avengers would be a good choice . \\nfor one thing , you will not have to witness a product that is far inferior to the three high profile names that is associated with the title . \\ni cannot understand how something so poorly produced could have been released , but i put it down to one of those freak happenings in nature , like lightning you can't see it coming until it hits you . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"here's a concept -- jean-claude van damme gets killed within the first ten minutes of the movie . \\nnow if that isn't enough to get you to finally see a van damme movie , i don't know what is . \\nall sarcasm aside , it is certainly a different way to start a movie , of course a few minutes later we find out that the newly deceased had a twin brother -- so lucky us , we get to see more of jean-claude . \\nvan damme #1 works for the russian mafia in the united states and is killed by some of their operatives . \\nvan damme #2 is a police officer in france who finds out that he had a twin brother he never knew about after #1 gets killed in france . \\nthe remaining twin ( the french cop ) goes to the united states to find out who killed his brother and avenge his death . \\nonce there , he hooks up with his deceased brother's girlfriend , played by natasha henstridge , and the two of them set out to discover who the murderers are . \\njean-claude's acting abilities don't seem to be up to the usual lackluster standards in this movie . \\nin other words , just in case you missed the sarcasm , his acting is worse than normal . \\non the upside , natasha henstridge is in this film , and she does what she did best in species -- she gets naked . \\nsadly , this is probably the high point in the movie . \\nshe is actually a decent actress , but didn't improve as much as i thought she would after species . \\nthis is the typical van damme movie , with jean-claude doing a variety of high end martial arts moves on his opponents . \\nnothing new here , and certainly nothing we haven't seen in every other van damme movie . \\nsimply put , there is absolutely nothing new about this movie . \\nit has a retread plot -- this isn't the first time jean-claude has played twins . \\nhe still can't act . \\nwe all saw natasha's breasts in species ( although this is one repeat performance i'm not complaining about ) . \\nthis is pretty much like every movie that van damme has ever been involved in -- sub par . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"one of the most popular subplots in the entire science fiction genre is time travel . \\nthat concept , although many purists doubt its scientific credentials , spawned many interesting novels , comic books and films in the last century . \\nhowever , the big grand-daddy of time travels , h . g . wells' novel the time machine , wasn't written with the intention to speculate about that concept or its consequences . \\nthe author , h . g . wells merely used it as a convenient way to express his socialist views and condemn the great social gap between the rich , idle capitalist class and impoverished labour . \\nwhatever intentions wells had , the future generations of readers were less impressed by his political messages . \\ninstead they were fascinated by the idea that the strange new worlds could be explored without traveling trough space . \\nthe novel became one of great classics of science fiction genre and it natural for filmmakers to use it as inspiration . \\nfirst of them was george pal , who in 1960 directed film which would , through the years , become genre classic of its own . \\nthe plot revolves about george ( rod taylor ) , victorian scientist who discovered the way to travel through the fourth dimension - time . \\nat the eve of the new 20th century , george gathers his friends in order to present them his invention - machine that would enable him to travel through time . \\nthey are skeptical , but that doesn't prevent george from carrying out his plan and traveling into the future . \\nat first , he travels slowly , seeing london as it changes through the years and three world wars . \\nfinally , after witnessing world war three , he travels far into the future , hoping that he would cease to witness wars and senseless destructions . \\nwhen he finally reaches year 802 , 701 ad , at first glance , new world looks like utopia - humanity consists of young , beautiful , but idle eloi , people who are fed , clothed and taken care of by unseen machines . \\nbut , weena ( yvette mimieux ) , eloi woman , tells george about another side of the coin - in the night , her people is preyed upon by morlocs , humanoid creatures from the underworld . \\nthe time machine became the cinematic classic for the very same reason the novel became the classic in science fiction literature - the fantastic concept was a brilliant way for the authors to talk about burning issues and fears of their respective times . \\nfor h . g . wells it was frightening threat of class struggle ; for george pal and his screenwriter david duncan , who produced the film in the worst days of the cold war , it was the constant and more imminent threat of nuclear holocaust , underlined with the negative references to war throughout the movie . \\neven the modern audience , which would be tempted to discard the film as old-fashioned , could find some values in its universal messages , fit for each era . \\ncompared with the genre films of today , the time machine is even better , and could serve as a good example how to make intelligent , thought-provoking films . \\nof course , since this is hollywood product after all , the time machine delivers such concepts in the form of classic adventure , sometimes sacrificing plausibility for the sake of attractiveness . \\nfor example , it is hard to imagine that someone would be able to understand perfect english million years in future ; same is with morlocs degenerating into mutant monsters , while eloi remain undistinguished from the people of today . \\nsome of the final scenes , that turn victorian scientist into an action superhero , are also rather unconvincing . \\nbut , on the other hand , the film is very well directed , cleverly paced and the special effects , although definitely old-fashioned , are more than adequate for this kind of picture . \\nthe acting is good , with rod taylor in one of his most remembered roles , while in the same time alan young brings rather memorable performance as george's trusted friend filby . \\nyvette mimieux , who plays weena , on the other hand , would be remembered more by her looks than by the complexity of her role . \\nhowever , despite all those flaws , the time machine is a very good piece of cinema , something that connoisseurs of quality science-fiction films sorely miss these days . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'dead-bang , an action thriller starring don johnson , lives up to its dumb title , or at least to half of it . \\nalthough dead-bang is definitely dead , it is anything but a bang ; in fact , they should have called this one \" dead bore . \" \\nin the film , johnson plays . . . \\nyou guessed it . . . \\na cop . \\nthe role must have been really challenging for johnson since his character , jerry beck , is a gritty los angeles homicide detective , a real stretch from the slick vice detective johnson portrayed on \" miami vice . \" \\na la mel gibson in lethal weapon , beck is an emotional wreck , complete with violent outbursts , unscrupulous police methods , and a bleak outlook on life . \\nbeck\\'s wife has just divorced him , and she is cutting him off from their children . \\nshe will not even allow him to wish them \" merry christmas \" by telephone . \\nbut beck\\'s family and emotional problems take a back seat to the action and thrills in dead-bang . \\nbeck is investigating the brutal murders of a shopkeeper and a cop . \\nhis investigation starts in l . a . and finally culminates and climaxes in oklahoma , where he has a violent showdown with the killers at a white supremacist camp . \\nvirtually every aspect of dead-bang is inept and ineffective . \\nthe plot is incoherent and full of holes . \\nthe movie depicts beck\\'s investigation so clumsily that you never see the connections between his clues and his conclusions . \\nthe action sequences in dead-bang are strictly third-rate , and the movie has absolutely no momentum or suspense . \\ni certainly expected more from long-time director john frankenheimer who directed the classic political thriller , the manchurian candidate--as well as black sunday , seven days in may , and the french connection ii . \\nin all fairness to frankenheimer , however , i should note that most of dead-bang\\'s shortcomings seem to stem from its shabby script rather than from the direction . \\ndead-bang tries to don a mask of social relevance by incorporating themes of racism and white supremacy , but its efforts are nothing more than token gestures and nothing less than insulting . \\naccording to the movie\\'s production notes , dead-bang is based on the real-life experiences of still-active detective jerry beck . \\nyou would never guess this from watching dead-bang , however , since the film totally lacks credibility ; it is utterly unconvincing and unbelievable . \\nmost of the characters in dead-bang are either atrociously acted , underdeveloped , superfluous , or all of the above . \\nwilliam forsythe , for example , is painfully bad as arthur kressler , a wholesome by-the-book fbi agent who\\'s offended by beck\\'s foul language and unorthodox methods . \\nforsythe\\'s lame performance and corny dialogue makes his character unbearable . \\ndead-bang marks the motion picture debut of tim reid ( \" wkrp in cincinnati \" and \" frank\\'s place \" ) , but his talents are completely wasted in a cliched and contrived role ; he plays the chief officer of a squadron of black cops who help beck to nail the villains . \\nthe sole function of penelope ann miller\\'s character is to give dead-bang an excuse to include a gratuitous love scene between characters about whom you could not care less . \\ni guess the film\\'s title refers to this love scene since it\\'s definitely a dead bang . \\nthe only real virtue of dead-bang , believe it or not , is don johnson , who tries to overcome the limitations of the movie\\'s pitiful script . \\njohnson succeeds in giving his character a sarcastic sense of humor and a hint of depth , and his pessimistic wisecracks occasionally bring the film to life . \\nand i must admit that dead-bang does have one or two amusing moments . \\nthe funniest scene has johnson throwing-up all over a criminal as he interrogates him . \\nbut when barf is the highlight of a movie , you know the movie\\'s in trouble . \\nthe other amusing scene involves a psychological examination of beck , in which he can\\'t keep a straight face because the psychiatrist resembles woody allen . \\nbut two funny scenes and a couple good wisecracks do not a movie make . \\n',\n",
+       " b'niagara niagara ( r ) bob gosse\\'s niagara niagara follows a blueprint not unlike a lot of young-lovers-on-the-road movies . \\nwild marcy ( robin tunney ) and calm seth ( henry thomas ) meet cute , literally running into each other while shoplifting at a local store . \\na mere couple of scenes later , the two embark on a journey to toronto from their small , unnamed american town in pursuit of a rare doll that marcy desperately wants . \\nalong the way , true love inevitably blossoms . \\nwhat sets niagara niagara apart , though , is that marcy is afflicted with tourette\\'s syndrome , a neurological disorder that causes sudden muscle and vocal tics . \\ntunney , displaying an acting range not hinted at in the teenage witch thriller the craft , delivers an astonishing performance that won her the best actress prize at last year\\'s venice film festival . \\nto term her work a tour-de-force is not to imply that she attacks the scenery ; tunney\\'s effectiveness lies in her modulation and vulnerability , which makes her depiction of marcy\\'s illness--which often causes her to act violently--that much more convincing and tragic . \\nshe and the nicely subtle thomas develop a sweetly innocent and beguilingly off-kilter chemistry . \\ntheir journey hits a few rough spots creatively along the way , mostly the fault of writer matthew weiss . \\na detour involving a kindly widower ( michael parks ) who takes the couple in brings the story to a screeching halt , and the key character of a trigger-happy pharmacist ( stephen lang ) is highly unbelievable . \\nbut these missteps do not blunt the power of tunney\\'s bravura turn , which carries niagara niagara to a level of poignance it would not have otherwise achieved . \\n ( opens march 20 ) \\n \" i didn\\'t know what to expect . \\nit\\'s like something you chase for so long , but then you don\\'t know how to react when you get it . \\ni still don\\'t know how to react . \" \\n--michael jordan , on winning his first nba championship in 1991 . . . or , \\nmy thoughts after meeting him on november 21 , 1997 \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" gattaca \" represents a solid breakthrough in the recent onslaught of science-fiction films -- it\\'s a genre picture that doesn\\'t rely on alien creatures or loud explosions to tell its story . \\nthe movie takes place in a futuristic world where babies are created through genetic tampering and not sexual reproduction . \\nthis allows parents to predetermine what kind of eye color , intelligence and life span they\\'d like for their child , and also eliminates most pesky chances of health defects . \\nthose made the old-fashioned way are labeled as \" in-valids \" and confined to the lower rung of society . \\nvincent freeman ( ethan hawke ) is one such person , born not too long before the genetic process was perfected and forced to grow up in a home with his petrie dish-molded younger brother anton . \\nfed up with being second-rate and enchanted by dreams of one day traveling through space , vincent leaves home and takes a janitorial position at the gattaca aerospace corporation . \\neveryday , he watches as \" superior \" folk make his fantasy a reality . \\ndetermined to do the same , vincent meets a dna broker ( tony shalhoub in a funny cameo ) who sells fake identities to in-valids . \\nhis counterpart for this scam is jerome morrow ( jude law ) , an ex-athlete left paralyzed in an accident and confined to a wheelchair for life . \\nfor a price and the promise of a caretaker , jerome supplies vincent with his identity , as well as blood , skin and urine samples for all of those pesky on-the-job tests and physical examinations -- this future is one where employees clock in by pricking their fingers instead of punching a time card . \\nbecause of his drastically improved status , vincent is quickly propelled to a high position in gattaca , and catches the eye of comely co-worker irene ( uma thurman ) on the way -- obsessed with her own minor heart defect , she\\'s enamored by his flawless persona she doesn\\'t know is a lie . \\nbut on the figurative eve of his upcoming planetary departure , the mission director is murdered . \\ntwo ardent detectives ( alan arkin and billy bathgate\\'s loren dean ) determine the killer is on the inside of gattaca , and the sole clue they find at the crime scene -- one of vincent\\'s eyelashes -- threatens to blow vincent\\'s cover and derail his goal . \\neven if \" gattaca \" were dramatically empty , it would still boast a sublime set of production credentials -- the film\\'s look is dazzling without ever being flashy . \\nfirst-time director/writer andrew niccol ( he also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming jim carrey drama \" the truman show \" ) demonstrates a keen eye for the stylish ; his collaboration with cinematographer slawomir idziak , production designer jan roelfs and costume designer colleen atwood result in a sophisticated composition that emanates classy , retro ambiance . \\nan opening credits sequence -- where skin , nail and hair fragments fall in slow-motion through a colored camera lens -- displays these combined talents uncannily . \\nniccol even utilizes voice-over narration ( a device almost always poorly-employed ) in an effective way . \\nwhen it comes to acting , the movie is also flawless . \\nethan hawke does magnificent work , proving his ability to carry a film and reaffirming his enormously high charisma level . \\nhis chemistry with thurman is a bit on the icy side , but needfully so , adding to the setting\\'s clinical chill . \\nas the bitter jerome , jude law has a star-making presence , and it\\'s his scenes with hawke that give the movie its fine emotional core . \\nin \" gattaca \" \\'s series of final shots , the fates of vincent and jerome are superimposed over each other , and the effect is sad , lyrical and beautiful . \\nthings get a little strange as the movie nears its climax , when vincent\\'s relationship with his brother comes back into view . \\nthe big dramatic culmination is a swim race , which is somewhat silly albeit beautifully photographed . \\nstill , the single most surprising aspect of gattaca is its use of backdrop -- it\\'s successful sci-fi without showy special effects , it\\'s a crisp thriller with character-driven thrills , it\\'s a futuristic fable without blood and guts . \\neven its murder mystery is relegated to a secondary subplot , ensuring that a smart story about smart people and smart science takes center stage . \\nalthough it\\'s portrayal of the upcoming century is grim , \" gattaca \" serves up one of the most thought-provoking societal forecasts ever depicted on film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it was with a huge lack of something to do that i decided to watch this on good old upn on sunday afternoon , when the only good things on tv are the second-rate movies they show ( some are good : they showed \" total recall \" before this one ) . \\nif you know me , i think seagal is probably the most boring action star to ever live . \\nand this includes keanu reeves . \\nwhat do i hate about seagal ? \\ni hate how he uses one facial expression for every single threatening and non-threatening situation ( the squint ) . \\ni hate those scenes in every movie where he goes around , bullying people up , saying stupid lines with a brooklyn accent more fake than burt reynold\\'s hairpiece in \" boogie nights . \" \\ni despise how he never gets a bruise in any of his fights . \\ni hate how every single plot twist leads to just a melodramatic fight between he and the chief villain . \\ni hate his non-satirical messages ( in the beginning of this one , he slaps on a quote from arthur miller , which has nothing to do with the film , except it\\'s about brooklyn where this film takes place ) . \\nand i hate how he\\'s so narcissistic that he thinks that he can actually fucking sing ( during the end credits , he has a good old hill billy rock tune sung and penned by him ) . \\nsure , the guy\\'s probably a nice guy in person ( i actually found him very non-threatening when he was on letterman not too long ago ) . \\nbut the guy makes worse films than reagan did . \\nso what\\'s the plot of this shit-terpiece ? \\nwell . . . something \\nabout him trying to catch a stupid-ass crook ( william forsythe ) who shot and killed his partner in broad daylight . \\ni couldn\\'t believe how bad this scene was - the guy was conveniently with his family so we get the maximum emotional effect ( ahem ! ) . \\nand forsythe even said some stupid lines to him before he took off . \\ni\\'m sorry , did anyone ever hear of concealing one\\'s self ? \\nso in comes ex-brooklynite seagal , who dedicates his life to catching this guy . \\nand i just wished he had caught him in the beginning , then ended the film . \\nbut noooo , this drags on , as he bullies forsythe\\'s family members ( including a stupid bar-owner , and none other than gina gershon as his other bar-owner sister ) . \\nand forsythe more than once threatens his family . \\nat one point , he actually comes to their house and stalks them like a non-threatening nicholson in \" the shining \" ( complete with them all hiding in the bathroom , but with an added bonus of one girl conveniently loosing her cool and screaming to give them away ) . \\nseagal paints himself as a lovable person , with a son , and a fiancee . \\nhe even shows him hanging with his son , checking up on his homework , and then about to take him out for a bit of \" catch , \" when he\\'s conveniently called away on assignment . \\ni dunno about you , but playing \" catch \" with seagal was one of my childhood nightmares . \\nhe also shows him as that bad-ass he wants to be , with scenes of him bullying crooks around , and taking out people who are stupid enough to attack him even after he\\'s unarmed a chinese guy swinging bats with a pool cue . \\nserves them right . \\nthis film , as some of his do , has an interesting supporting cast of actors who are actually talented , but don\\'t appear to be in this film . \\ni already mentioned gina gershon ( who\\'s pretty horrible in this one ) , as well as william forsythe , who over-acts terribly . \\ni know this guy can act : he was awesome in \" raising arizona \" as goodman\\'s partner in crime . \\nbut he\\'s just awful here . \\njerry orbach gives the only credible performance in the film as the police chief who checks up on segal after things have gone down . \\nwhy is he the only one who gives a good performance ? \\nwell , because his role is small enough and sporadic enough to not tarnish his credibility . \\nhe seems to be in here just to give it a cool \" law and order \" feeling ( even if it\\'s not a \" cool \" feeling ) . \\nand in cameos are b-rated erotic-thriller-cinemax-style stars , shannon whirry ( as \" terry malloy , \" which is more of a bad joke than a clever one ) and athena massey . \\noh ! \\nand \" er \" \\'s julliana margiulles has two scenes . \\n \" out for justice \" just proves once again that american action films just suck . \\ni know that there\\'s such a good thing as good action - he\\'s called john woo . \\nbut if you\\'re in the mood for some good old no-brainer , fun-yet-dumb action , don\\'t bother watching this . \\nit\\'s so stupid that it\\'s boring . \\n',\n",
+       " b'urban legend surprised me . \\nbased on the last few films the genre has produced ( including but not exclusive to the likes of i know what you did last summer , disturbing behavior and the disappointing halloween : h20 ) , i was positive that i was in store for another mildly entertaining but silly and ultimately boring rehash of the scream phenomena . \\nthankfully , legend rose above it\\'s soggy premise to become not only a hip , scary and stylish entertainment , but also what will probably become one of the best films of the year . \\nyou\\'re all familiar with the plot ; a bunch of overly horny teenagers get systematically slaughtered by a masked maniac who\\'s identity is not revealed until the closing moments of the film when it turns out to be , you guessed it ; everybody\\'s favorite veteran of the whodunit flicks . . . the \\nonly person you didn\\'t suspect ! \\nhowever , just because legend doesn\\'t really break any new ground as far as literary or even technical achievements go does not mean that it can\\'t qualify as first-class entertainment . \\nit was , believe it or not , one of the funnest times i\\'ve had at the movies all year . \\nthe thing is , i\\'m not really sure what made this particular stab ( pardon the pun ) at the genre seem so fresh and alive . \\nmaybe it was the above-par performances by the movie\\'s two leads ( jared leto and \" cybil \" actress alicia witt ) . \\nor , it could have been the on- target direction by jamie blanks . \\nmore likely , though , it was because of the inspired premise . \\ni don\\'t think i need to tell you that a killer hacking people up ala urban folklore is much more frightening than a killer fisherman . \\nurban legend begins with a sequence that reminded me of the classic scream opener , not so much in plotting as in attention to detail that makes for an absolutely chilling teaser for the rest of the film . \\na pretty young coed is driving down a deserted road when ( gasp ! ) a gas problem ( hee-hee ) forces her to stop at an equally deserted gas station for a refill . \\none problem , though . \\nwould you want to stop at a station run by brad dourif ? \\ni thought not . \\npredictably , the attendant ends up coaxing her into the main building to sort out a problem with the credit card company . \\nit\\'s odd , though , when you pick up a phone to realize that nobody\\'s on the other line . \\nnaturally , the potential victim escapes into her car and drives off . \\nand the when we least expect it . . . whack ! ! ! \\na decapitation . \\nit turns out that the creepy looking attendant was just trying to warn her about the maniac in the back seat of the car . \\nso who is it this time ? \\nthe obvious candidate is the slightly off-kilter professor at the college the girl went to ( none other than freddy kruger himself , robert englund ) , who teaches a class on urban legends . \\na-ha . \\nor could it be the fame-hungry local journalist ( leto ) looking for a meaty story to put on his resume ? \\nlike all movies of this nature , one of the chief pleasures is trying to guess whodunit . \\nand it turns out to be , of course , the one you didn\\'t suspect . \\ni\\'m not going to pretend urban legend is anything more than it is , but i must give credit where credit is due . \\nand this flick definitely deserves credit for being what not many other recent horror films have been . . . fun . \\n * complimentary movie ticket courtesy of valley cinemas in lodi , ca \\n',\n",
+       " b\"mr . bean , a bumbling security guard from england is sent to la to help with the grandiose homecoming of a masterpiece american painting . \\nthe first two words should have said enough to let you know what occurs during bean's trip to la , but if they didn't look out because you are in for a rather interesting if not odd ride . \\nheck depending on your humor you might end up laughing through the whole flick . \\neither way look out america bean is coming . \\nwell , what can really be said about this movie , there is very little discernible plot . \\nthat much is not hard to grapple with for it is a slapstick comedy . \\nit achieves that goal rather admirably , but because it is that , the plot is just screaming for help . \\nthe whole premise that the movie is based on is to say the least flawed . \\nthe movie had its funny moments but there was no real story line other than something that could be thought up on a whim and carried through and in many causes ad-libbed as you went . \\ndon't go into this movie expecting and theatrical masterpiece . \\nbut if this form of humor floats your boat then you will truly enjoy this movie , even if you don't like slapstick style humor you will end up laughing because something's are just so stupid . \\nthe movie goes out and accomplishes what it aims , or so it seems . \\nnow when you look at the acting in this movie you have to think about two things , first was there any real acting and how hard is it to act in the slapstick manner . \\nwell , there was no real acting in this movie but some of the slapstick wasn't the easiest i am sure . \\ni have to concede that mr . atkinson's acting in this movie is well done . \\nalthough the role isn't too demanding the slapstick is . \\ni think that the character could have had a bit more dialogue , it would have added quite a bit to the overall effect of the movie . \\nnow the rest of the actors in the movie , bad acting and poor casting . \\ni think that the role opposite bean could have been better , just seemed wrong for the movie . \\na different actor might have done a better job of it but i wont presume that wasn't what was trying to be achieved . \\none thing that i must say , simply to get if off my chest is that i think transferring a sitcom to tv usually produces rather disastrous results . \\ntv shows should do just that stay on tv , it will probably save some producers from getting ulcers . \\ni can only think of a couple examples of tv going to the big screen effectively , the best known of those would have to be star trek . \\nbean seriously fails to accomplish anything close to what that series gone movie achieved . \\nnow another thing that i have to state again is this movie has narrowed its target audience fairly tightly . \\nthe form of humor in this movie will not be liked by most people , these people will think like i did that this movie is stupid and pointless . \\nbut if you like the tv show you might actually like this movie . \\nbut to be on the safe side i am opting to recommend you save your money and not go to see this movie . \\nthere are many movies that are truly worth seeing unlike this one . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"billy bob thornton , who had a sudden rise to fame with 1996's sling blade after spending years as a virtually unknown actor and writer , is becoming one of the most versatile - and most accomplished - american actors around at the moment . \\nas jacob , the simple but at times very bright loser brother of bill paxton's hank , thornton gives a performance which should leave an indelible mark on all but the most hardened viewers . \\nthree men , hank ( paxton ) , jacob ( thornton ) and their friend lou ( brent briscoe ) stumble upon a plane wreck which , upon closer inspection , yields a rotting corpse and a bag full of money . \\njacob and lou want to pocket the cash . \\nhank , the smarter - and perhaps more naive - of the three , insists on leaving the money for the authorities to find . \\neventually , they agree to keep the cash safe until the plane is found , and then split the money three ways . \\nthings start going wrong , though , with greed and violence weaving their ways through their plan . \\ndisaster is sure to strike . \\ndirector sam raimi , of the evil dead and darkman fame , has made an excellent and thought-provoking film , worlds away from the comic horror films which made his name . \\nwhile there are a couple of moments which might remind one of his earlier work , raimi has made an intelligent and mature departure which will hopefully be a sign of even greater films to come . \\nscott b . smith's screenplay , based on his novel ( which i haven't read ) is a fine example of escalating tension . \\nwhile it does remind one of danny boyle's shallow grave without the abundance of black humour , it keeps the drama that should really be a part of such a story on morality , or the lack thereof , found in a film with this subject matter . \\nalar kivilo's cinematography reminds one of joel and ethan coen's fargo , with the bleak , snowy landscape almost becoming another character . \\ndanny elfman also does well with his moody , finely-written score . \\nif there's a flaw in the film , it's that it goes on for just a little too long . \\njust when we think that they are about to wrap things up , raimi and smith decide to let the film go on a little further . \\nwhile this isn't really a bad thing , it did become a little frustrating at times ( this may have been due to the fact that i had consumed a large sprite beforehand ) . \\nthe performances are excellent , with the usually annoying paxton in fine form and bridget fonda giving a scene-stealing turn as hank's scheming wife . \\nthis is an excellent showcase for thornton's fine skills as an actor and a great change in direction for raimi , who could very well have a career ahead of him as an accomplished director of dramatic films . \\nfingers crossed , though , that this doesn't stop him from making another evil dead sequel . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'after indecent proposal and up close and personal , redford was wise to direct himself in a picture at last . \\nredford may look great on-screen , but over the past few years , he\\'s proven himself a bigger talent behind the camera . \\nordinary people is one of the best films of the nineteen-eighties , and it was the first picture he helmed . \\nwhile the milagro beanfield war was only occasionally successful at combining magic-realism with . . . um , \\nrealism , and i\\'ve never been much of a fan of a river runs through it ( to the chagrin of many ) , quiz show was dazzling , energetic and convincing . \\nthe horse whisperer represents both his directorial return to nature films and the first time in that sub-genre redford seems equally concerned with humans and scenery . \\nscott-thomas plays annie maclean , an uptight but respected new york magazine editor whose daughter grace ( johanssen ) loses a leg and a good friend when an early morning ride climaxes with their horses colliding with a semi . \\ngrace\\'s horse survived , but barely , and has gone mad . \\nannie refuses to put the animal out of his misery , believing that if the horse heals it will mend grace\\'s newly-broken spirit . \\neventually , mother and daughter travel alone to montana to be with tom booker ( redford ) , a famed \" horse whisperer \" who has a gift of calming horses with simple looks and touches , leaving busy husband neill behind . \\neventually , they move onto the booker ranch with the rest of tom\\'s family , and annie finds herself falling in love with all things montana , including , naturally , tom , the wise and lonely trainer . \\nthe horse whisperer is delicately made . \\ni dare say lyrical , since to many people\\'s ear , that word is synonymous with boring . \\nhardly . \\nthe horse whisperer has little to offer in the way of surprise , but it does have an honesty that is refreshing and consistently enjoyable to watch , especially in the final third of the story . \\nscott-thomas and johanssen seem like mother and daughter , and you have no doubt believing that the mountain vistas would put these new yorkers under a spell , especially since d . p . \\nrobert richardson\\'s photography casts montana as heaven on earth . \\n ( a gimmicky but effective technique the filmmakers employ is a switch in aspect ratio from squarish to widescreen when the central location shifts from new york to montana . ) \\nthe underrated sam neill turns in perhaps his most heartfelt , emotive performance as the nice-guy husband , who is as authoritive and likeable as tom . \\nhe is indeed a refreshing change from the sexist , lout of a husband so many writers resort to as a short-cut for explaining away the cheating spouse\\'s motivation . \\nunfortunately , one of the horse whisperer\\'s only flaws is the chemistry between would-be lovers scott-thomas and redford . \\ni liked both of them , but i didn\\'t necessarily believe that redford would fall for such a cold fish , even if the countryside air thawed her slightly . \\nluckily ( and curiously ) , this is such a rich and textured movie that it doesn\\'t quite matter-their adultery seems like an afterthought , the obligatory sub-plot that ties many of the characters\\' complex relationships together . \\n',\n",
+       " b'mighty joe young blunders about for nearly twenty minutes before we actually get to see a great big gorilla . \\nhis entrance , however , is a grand one : out from the trees he leaps , gargantuan and imposing , sporting hands big enough to crush a volkswagen bug , and a pair of feet much larger than any pro basketball player will ever have . \\njoe bellows at the poachers before him , angry that they would like to kill him and sell him for millions of dollars . \\nduring this scene , i turned to my friend and said , \" wow . \\nthat\\'s some ape . \" \\njoe is quite a gorilla -- a big , digital gorilla . \\nhe runs around the fields , chasing cars and people . \\nhe picks things up and stares at them pensively . \\nhe breaks things on accident , because he\\'s just too big to avoid clumsiness . \\njoe , as a special effect , is an image that might hold your interest for five minutes . \\nas a character , he doesn\\'t quite register . \\nand the story he\\'s been put in is as limp as they come . \\nthe words \" family entertainment \" have never been a stamp of quality , but might joe young is just a silly special effects movie pretending to have a heart . \\nthe picture is a remake of the 1949 film . \\nit\\'s mostly just about the big gorilla , but , strictly as a formality , the movie also has a few human characters . \\nthe main one is jill young ( poor charlize theron , forced to waste her talent ) , a lover of gorillas . \\nas a child , she witnessed a group of poachers murder her mother ; now , she lives in the jungle to protect the wildlife . \\nspecifically , she\\'s out to protect joe , a giant gorilla who has been her friend since her childhood . \\nsoon , zoologist gregg o\\'hara ( bill paxton ) discovers joe ; he quickly realizes that poachers want to get joe and sell him to a big game hunter named strasser ( rade sherbedgia ) , who just happens to be the same guy who killed jill\\'s mother . \\nso , in an effort to save joe , jill and gregg take the big gorilla to a preserve , where it is instantly clear that he is not safe from poachers . \\nin addition , the space is way too small for him ( after all , he is a really big gorilla ) . \\nand , to add to the complications , strasser shows up under a benevolent pretext ( he tells jill that he has a preserve big enough for joe ) , and joe recognizes strasser as the guy who killed jill\\'s mother . \\njill , of course , doesn\\'t recognize strasser , even though he did kill her mother . \\nthis is just one of the many examples of stupidity in mighty joe young , a film that fulfills every stereotype that comes with a special effects film . \\nthe movie isn\\'t really offensive -- it has some competent actors , a few nifty sets , and a lot of scenes with a big , digitized gorilla . \\nbut the story is really dumb , there aren\\'t any characters , and the film isn\\'t satisfying on any level beyond its visuals . \\nthe movie also has bad dialogue . \\nif a critic says that a film has bad dialogue , it\\'s only fair to quote some of it , but most of the words spoken in this picture are phrases like \" joe isn\\'t happy ! \" \\nand \" joe isn\\'t safe here ! \" \\n \" we need to get joe out of here ! \" \\n \" joe is way too big for that cage ! \" \\ni don\\'t know if these phrases are word for word , but they\\'re close . \\nas i said , the characters here are only present as a formality : they do little more than state the obvious ( of * course * joe is too big for that cage ) . \\npaxton and theron are talented performers who deserve to work on a script that provides characters for them . \\nsadly , mighty joe young wastes them both . \\nthere are a few clever moments ( although none of them are surfacing in my memory at the moment ) , and , as i said , the digital effects held my attention for at least five minutes . \\nit\\'s certainly not a bad film for kids ; i doubt joe will give them nightmares . \\nbut adults in the audience aren\\'t likely to find much of anything interesting about the big gorilla . \\na big gorilla is only interesting for a little while ; after that , something needs to be done with the big gorilla . \\nnobody ever figures out what to do with the big gorilla . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the postman delivers but not first class \\nthe postman a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman \\n[warning : my opinion of this film is definitely in the minority of reviewers perhaps because it hits so many of my cinematic buttons : post-apocalypse stories , hope in a desperate situation , grassroots uprisings and kevin costner . \\neven worse , i thought that \" waterworld \" was watchable . \\nread the following with those particular grains of salt . ] \\nit\\'s the year 2013 and things have fallen apart . \\ndue to a world war in the late nineties , the resulting three-year winter and a devastating plague , life in the former united states has been reduced to isolated primitive fiefdoms . \\nalthough this is the future , it looks like a western . \\nas the film opens , kevin costner ( his character\\'s name is never revealed ) is wandering the utah wastelands with only his mule bill for company . \\ngiving extraordinarily bad shakespearean performances in exchange for food and lodging , costner is an outsider in a land of outsiders . \\nrunning into even worse luck , he is forcibly conscripted into the racially pure holnist army of general bethlehem ( will patton ) . \\nthe rag-tag retro-futuristic cavalry is the descendent of militia groups and is even called the \" clan \" \\nafter a brutal boot camp , he ( and you can see this coming a mile away ) escapes . \\ntaking shelter in a wrecked postal truck , he liberates the uniform and mail bag from the skeleton in the cab who no longer has a use for either . \\nonce he reaches oregon , land of beautiful women , bright youngsters and rock and roll ; he pretends to be a representative from the \" restored congress of the united states of america \" . \\nthis scam gets him inside the walled towns where the promise of mail delivery renews optimism in the hearts of the inhabitants . \\nfood and other opportunities come his way in the form of spirited abby ( olivia williams ) who wants him to father a child because her husband is sterile . \\nshortly her husband is killed by bethlehem and she and the postman ( as costner is referred to for the rest of the film ) become a reluctant item . \\nalthough the postman knows he\\'s running a fraud , the concept of renewed communications sets the kids\\' imagination afire ( especially ford lincoln mercury ( larenz tate ) , his second-in-command ) and they form a new pony express dedicated to getting the mail through . \\nthe revived postal service doubles as an army to fight the holnists\\' tyranny . \\nthe postman has become a symbol for hope in a rube goldberg manner . \\nalthough the movie appeals to my sensibilities , there are so many things wrong with it that they can hardly be counted . \\nit\\'s derivitive of costner\\'s own \" waterworld \" and clint eastwood westerns . \\nthere\\'s little here that we haven\\'t seen dozens of times before . \\nthe film is often down-right corny . \\na scene where the postman is on horseback and grabs a letter from the hands of a bright-eyed child is embarrassing in its slow-motion banality . \\nthe film\\'s final few minutes should have been left on the cutting room floor . \\ndespite the film\\'s excessive three hour length , several things are never explained . \\nwhat was the war about ? \\nhow did civilization change so rapidly ? \\neveryone has horses : where did all they come from ? \\nthe \" law of eights \" that bethlehem lives by seems to have its origins somewhere beyond the film , but where ? \\nare we to believe that the rest of the world is in the same shape and hasn\\'t made their way west to help or conquer ? \\nthere is some jumbled symbolism here that doesn\\'t appear to make sense . \\nthe tale is obviously saying that communication can defeat evil in much the same way that the internet has the potential to topple governments , but beyond that there are some oddities . \\nthe evil army is called \" holnists \" which sounds coincidentally like the new age \" holism \" , but why ? \\nis it another coincidence that it takes place in 2013 , just one year after many ancient prophesies ( including the ending of the mayan calendar ) predict a new world for mankind ? \\nwhy is the general named \" bethlehem \" ? \\nthere seems to be some reason for that , but what ? \\nsometimes the movie feels like a joke . \\nan army of postal workers armed with guns ? \\nconsidering the headlines of recent years , it takes a tremendous leap of faith to cheer for these guys . \\nit\\'s even more difficult to accept those re-powering the federal government as the heroes . \\ngiven the current climate of the country and the distrust of big government , it\\'s asking a lot for the audience to get behind the film\\'s nationalism . \\neven with its numerous flaws , the movie all comes together , if only for those who have the same weaknesses that i have . \\nit\\'s doubtful that \" the postman \" is going to find much of an audience , but a few of us are going to have a good time . \\nbesides we\\'re all awaiting the fall of civilization caused by the year 2000 millennium computer bug . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and would like to announce that the \" michael redman \" arrested near indianapolis last week for accepting an illicit package from federal express is , to the best of his knowledge , not him . \\nperhaps this similarly-named person should have used kevin costner\\'s postal service . ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'the art of woo attempts to be one of those films like breakfast at tiffany\\'s in which the audience is rooting for some sweet , vulnerable , irresistible woman to work out her problems and to find happiness . \\nthe problem is that helen lee who writes and directs seems to have written alessa woo ( played by sook-yin lee ) as neither sweet nor vulnerable and she is quite resistible . \\nalessa is a young woman who happens to be a brilliant art dealer in the toronto art scene . \\nthis is some sort of alternate world art scene where people pay tens of thousands of dollars for paintings by talented beginners and dealers in these paintings fly back and forth to places like switzerland . \\none of the most knowledgeable of the art dealers is alessa . \\nshe also happens to be the center of adulation of her friends and every party has suitors camped outside her window . \\nnext door to alessa moves struggling genius artist and native american ben crowchild ( adam beach ) . \\nhe sees that behind the facade that there is really a sad little girl within alessa who really will not be happy with the rich art collector she is dating . \\nben gets emotionally involved with alessa . \\n ( as alessa so delicately puts it , \" we were bosom buddies , now we\\'re fuck buddies . \" ) \\nbut alessa will have to decide whether she wants love with ben or wealth with her rich suitor . \\nthe real problem with the film seems to be helen lee\\'s inability to decide what she wants to be saying . \\nshe undercuts nearly everything she wants us to believe about alessa . \\nalessa is looking for financial security but she makes decisions about large sums of money for her clients . \\nthis appears to be a high profile and well-paid job . \\nwe are supposed to care about alessa\\'s feelings , but she coldly refuses to visit her own ailing father . \\nalessa cannot be portrayed as sweet and vulnerable if at an art auction she turns into our man flint . \\nthis is a charmless romantic comedy that bets everything it has on the appeal of its main character and comes up double-zero . \\ni rate it a 3 on the 0 to 10 scale and a -1 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'has it really been two decades since walter matthau coached the bad news bears ? \\nnineteen years and two mighty ducks later , the formula is still going strong . \\npolice academy graduate steve guttenberg stars as a small-town deputy sheriff corralled into co-coaching the school\\'s hastily formed soccer team . \\nhis partner-in-crime is the new british \" exchange teacher \" ( olivia d\\'abo ) , a lively lass who has obviously seen dangerous minds and knows that the best way to gain the respect of a disinterested , outer-city audience is to teach them something neat . \\nlike soccer . \\nmost of the good-natured gags are of the fast-motion variety , such as runaway cows and out-of-control lawnmowers . \\nkids will laugh at the occasional belching bit , while their parents peacefully doze beside them . \\nother than letting a supporting character named newt go unscathed , what\\'s missing from the big green is a better integration of music and comedy . \\ninstead of a peppy pop score , which would arguably work to better effect , most of the action is set to a bombastic orchestral score that belongs somewhere else . \\ncomedy needs music . \\njust watch any old bugs bunny short . \\nthe marx brothers knew it . \\nmel brooks knows it . \\nunfortunately , the current trend is to \" overscore . \" \\nlush strings and booming brass in every scene , at every moment . \\nremember the simple strains of bizet\\'s \" habanera \" in the original bad news bears ? \\nthese days , it\\'s usually a bellowing fanfare that threatens to smother every scene in its path . \\nmuch like adding frosting to already frosted cake . \\nan awfully big adventure ======================== \\nthe reteaming of director mike newell and star hugh grant is about as far removed as you can get from the lightsome comedy of four weddings and a funeral . \\ntheir second collaboration is a downbeat theatrical drama about a young intern ( georgina cates ) struggling to survive in post-w . w . ii \\nliverpool . \\nhugh plays the gay director , an * extremely * unappealing character who may alienate whatever fans are left after the nonsense of nine months . \\nbleak make-up and thick accents conspire to make this a difficult story to settle into . \\nan awful adventure is not without * some * rewards , tho . \\nthe peter pan subtext is intriguing . \\nas is the diverse ensemble cast that includes peter firth , alan rickman , and prunella scales . \\nbasil ! \\ndevil in a blue dress ===================== \\nthe comparisons to chinatown are easy enough , except for the fact that this film isn\\'t nearly as gripping . \\nwriter/director carl franklin ( one false move ) is the force behind this accomplished-but-stiff adaptation of walter mosley\\'s crime novel . \\ndenzel washington is as sturdy as ever , but he\\'s burdened with a miscast supporting cast . \\ntom sizemore and scene-stealer don cheadle are both fine . \\nthe problems start with jennifer beales , who never registers as the plot\\'s femme fatale . \\nshe\\'s a pretty face and nothing more . \\nalso underweight are maury chaykin and terry kinney . \\nthey play opposing mayoral candidates in 1948 los angeles and neither actor commands enough authority to stifle giggles . \\njohn huston , we miss you ! \\nfine period detail and a strong sense of humor are a plus . \\nthey help to overcome a pace that\\'s too polite for mosley\\'s jazzy , swingin\\' story . \\nsteal big , steal little ======================= \\ni can\\'t say much about this one . \\ndirector andrew davis follows the fugitive with a wildly unfunny farce about twin brothers ( andy garcia ) with opposing moral codes . \\nthey\\'re fighting over their adoptive mother\\'s estate , a 40 , 000-acre ranch worth millions and supporting dozens of migrant farm workers . \\nso many different plots are trying to come together--feuding brothers , reconciling husbands , loan-shark hired hitmen--that you have to admire the director\\'s ambition . \\ntoo bad that almost every single person or plot-line is out of sync . \\nthat is , with the exception of alan arkin . \\nhe\\'s the best thing in a movie that--despite the work of four credited writers-- * still * manages to waste such diverse talents as david odgen stiers , kevin mccarthy , and joe pantolinao . \\nand what the heck does that title mean ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'perhaps the most dramatic changes in the motion picture industry in this decade have to do with special effects . \\nthere is no question that action-adventure and science-fiction/action movies are now judged by the character of their light and noise . \\nwhereas classic adventure pics of the last twenty years , such as raiders of the lost ark , were made in grand traditional fashion ; contemporary films like jurassic park are multimillion-dollar creations of computer technology . \\nthe latest in this visually awesome series of movies , the wachowski brothers\\' the matrix , is a testament to the skilled use of special effects and its ability to enhance a movie\\'s story . \\nunlike many sci-fi movies which promote themselves as effects-heavy blockbusters but fail to deliver on that promise , the matrix is a carefully constructed special effects event . \\nit runs 135 minutes in length and employs a countless number of computerized tricks which range from gimmick to grandiose , and the quality of the effects remains constant throughout the film\\'s length . \\ncontrary to popular trend , the matrix commits itself to being a spectacle of light and sound . \\nin this regard , the movie is something like a card sharp . \\nwith its flashy mass stripped away , the matrix would be quite shallow and untalented . \\nthe script is characteristically weak , and the dialogue suffers in lieu of a far more innovative visual approach . \\nbut , like the card sharp , the matrix wows its audience to such a high degree that actual content is irrelevent . \\nthe viewers don\\'t care about what the matrix has to say as long as the next special effects sequence is right around the corner . \\nand right around the corner they usually are , for the script tells a fast-paced , albeit frequently revisited story . \\nas the movie explains , the world as we know it is nothing but an elaborate computer program constructed by an artificial intelligence for the purpose of placating mankind . \\nbillions of human beings lie in this dormant state while the intelligence -- the matrix -- \" farms \" our life energy . \\nonly a select group of individuals knows of the \" real \" world , and a particularly ingenious squad of these rebels is led by ultra-cool morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) . \\nmorpheus and his crew recruit a computer expert named neo ( keanu reeves ) , believing he is a prophesied individual who will help them overthrow the matrix and return peace to earth . \\nthe cast plays out this story in stylish fashion . \\nthe set design is very dynamic , running the gambit between cramped and dreary to bright and airy . \\nthe costumes , as well as the actors who wear them , add to the roles . \\nfor instance , the manifested antagonists in the movie , a group of \" agents \" created by the matrix in its computer program , all dress in matching secret servicewear ; the rebel fighters , on the other hand , dress in rich hues of leather . \\nthe casting cannot be criticized , for the typically stoic reeves isn\\'t required to say much and laurence fishburne gets plenty of time to be so damn cool . \\nsupports in carrie-anne moss , joe pantoliano , and hugo weaving are all effectual . \\none of the best comparisons to thw matrix is last year\\'s science fiction masterpiece dark city , particularly if one ponders how this same premise would\\'ve worked from a different approach . \\nthe alex proyas film was far more dark and introspective , requiring a bit of thought before themes became clear ; here , the wachowski brothers have managed to construct a thrill-ride motion picture with little abandon and much noise . \\nthe better picture between the two depends on the viewer , but the key to the success of the matrix is that the noise did not get in the way of the fun . \\n',\n",
+       " b'david cronenberg presents us with another strange tale crawling out of his impressively twisted head . \\nit is one of many science fiction films , released during the last year of this millenium , that tackles issues that will play an important role in our future . \\nthe story unfolds in a near future , where the line between reality and virtual reality blurs . \\nthe world of the future is an unfriendly place , where the scared inhabitants are \" hiding \" in virtual reality fantasy games to escape the uncertainty of the real world . \\nallegra geller ( jennifer jason leigh ) , the leading game designer in the world , is testing her new virtual reality game , existenz with a focus group . \\nas they begin , she is attacked by a fanatic assassin employing a bizarre organic gun . \\nshe flees with a young marketing trainee , ted pikul ( jude law ) , who is suddenly assigned as her bodyguard . \\nunfortunately , her pod , an organic gaming device that contains the only copy of the existenz game program , is damaged . \\nto inspect it , she talks ted into accepting a gameport in his own body so he can play the game with her . \\nthe events leading up to this , and the resulting game lead the pair on a strange adventure in a world where individuality doesn\\'t exist , as the \" players \" are forced to perform as characters in an unknown plot . \\nhere the reality and their actions are impossible to determine from either their own or the game\\'s perspective . \\ni don\\'t intend to reveal more of the film\\'s premise , which is structured as a computer game , with \" tasks \" that the characters must complete to win the game . \\nreleased after \" the matrix \" and \" dark city \" , \" existenz \" has some similarities and parallels that connect it to these films . \\nhowever , \" existenz \" is moving in a different direction , with a premise of its own . \\na combination of dazzling special effects , brilliantly coordinated action sequences and an intelligent and sophisticated plot , made \" the matrix \" a rare and entertaining science fiction experience , with some dark and frightening ideas hidden under its sparkling facade . \\n \" existenz \" has a completely different atmosphere , resembling \" dark city \" , which is darker , more serious and less entertaining . \\n \" existenz \" has the opportunities and potential , but the enormous possibilities are never quite explored . \\nafter the engaging beginning , it starts to falter . \\nwhile i was watching the film , many left the theatre during the first hour . \\nand indeed , \" existenz \" seemed as a complete failure : the actors seemed unreal , the plot and dialogue silly , unfinished relationships and unexplained events followed one after another . \\nbut the last fifteen minutes lifted the film on a complete different level , explaining all past events , the silly dialogue and the unreal performances within a few scenes . \\nand jet the film fails on several issues . \\nprobably the best written character in the story is a game designer , who would rather spend the rest of her life in a virtual world , than face real life . \\nthis is a great possibility to create a magnificent character , and jennifer jason leigh stretches cronenberg\\'s script to the limits , but fails because the advantages of virtual reality in comparison to the real world are never shown . \\nexistenz is not a world of which you might dream about in your fantasies . \\nit is not a world worth sacrificing your life for . \\nit\\'s a cold , dark place where the \" players \" are forced to interrelate with unreal characters , eat mutated creatures and even murder against their own will . \\nit doesn\\'t look like a place worth even thinking about . \\ndavid cronenberg has been the creator of \" the fly \" , \" videodrome \" and \" the dead zone \" , so it\\'s not so hard to guess that \" existenz \" is a violent and gory film . \\nbesides the regular murders of innocent people , the audiences can enjoy an autopsy of a two-headed mutated amfibium . \\nscenes like that have become a trademark for cronenberg and it seems that he can\\'t make a film without flowing blood and foul creatures . \\nthe way i see it , this is the film\\'s crucial failure . \\nit is impossible for cronenbergto create a beautiful world where time , space and problems of our everyday life do not exist ; a place of blooming blossoms , green forests and clear waters ; a place really worth sacrificing your life for . \\nbecause of its lack of three dimensionality , the film looses most of its possibilities , but stays afloat because of some interesting scenes , amusing performances ( especially by willem dafoe ) and one interesting and important thought , depicted in many different ways throughout the movie . \\nduring the film , the audience is as confused as the characters : detached from their everyday existence and no longer able to see the difference between the real world and the alternative reality that they have created . \\n \" the matrix \" , despite of its many dark and disturbing thoughts , ends with a light at the end of the tunnel . \\n \" existenz \" does not . \\nit is a one time experience , ending in blood , gore and madness - a rather frightening forecast for tomorrow . \\n',\n",
+       " b'_dirty_work_ has a premise of deliciously mean-spirited potential . \\nmitch weaver ( norm macdonald ) and his lifelong best friend sam mckenna ( artie lange ) are losers in life : they were constantly picked on in school , and now they cannot hold regular jobs . \\nbut as the trailer goes , \" there is one thing mitch weaver is good at--revenge . \" \\nso he and sam parlay their unmatched skill in getting-even schemes into a marketable revenge-for-hire business called dirty work inc . \\nthis should be the groundwork for a wonderfully wicked black comedy , but for a film called _dirty_work_ , what ensues is rather clean of spirit . \\nin fact , what makes mitch and sam start up their business is not a giddy desire to give bullies a taste of their own medicine , but rather a more sappy reason : sam\\'s father ( jack warden ) needs a heart transplant , and in order for him to move at the top of the recipient list , his compulsively betting doctor ( chevy chase ) asks the guys for $50 , 000 to pay off his bookie . \\nso for all the scheming that goes on , beneath every underhanded plot is--gasp ! --a \\nheart , which undercuts the inherent nastiness of the premise . \\nnot that there isn\\'t a lot of nastiness on display--there is , but of a different sort . \\nthere are frequent sexual references , most prominently in the form of prostitutes and sam\\'s impotent father\\'s ongoing lust for them . \\nand for a film rated pg-13 , director bob saget ( yes , that bob saget , of _full_house_ and _america\\'s_funniest_home_videos_ fame ) and writers frank sebastiano , fred wolf , and macdonald himself , stretch the boundaries of good taste rather far--arguably a bit too much so ( was not one , but two separate instances of sodomy between animals really necessary ? ) . \\nbut the issue , of course , is not so much of taste as it is humor--as in , is it funny or not ? \\nthe answer is a resounding no . \\nit\\'s not that macdonald isn\\'t a funny guy . \\nhe was one of the more consistently funny performers on _saturday_night_live_ before his much-talked-about firing , and his dry brand of smartass wit translates well to the big screen ; it also doesn\\'t hurt that he\\'s a natural , likable screen presence . \\nhe is able to give some of his lines a nice acid touch , but , for the most part , the oneliners , as written , are flat , and the broad slapstick gags just don\\'t work ( one running gag has him being literally tossed out of buildings--a real riot ) . \\nstill , macdonald\\'s few shining moments are just about the only moments the film has . \\nthe late chris farley , as hysterical as he ever was , is amusing in a cameo role , but , as a whole , the supporting players are amateurish and seemingly free from any directorial guidance . \\nsaget tries to juice up the proceedings with kitschy cameos by gary coleman , adam sandler , and john goodman , but their minimal novelty value cannot prevent _dirty_work_ from sputtering to the end of its brief 81-minute running time . \\nthe film closes on a sad note of desperation , an indulgent reel of outtakes from which only those involved in the production would derive any amusement . \\ncome to think of it , i cannot imagine anyone but those involved in the production to find much amusement in the entirety of _dirty_work_ . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this movie stinks ! \\nalthough it is professionally crafted and there are some decent performances , the plot is so bad it drags the film into the abyss . \\ni knew i was in for trouble when , during the opening establishment shots , we see a detailed close-up of warrant officer paul brenner's ( john travolta ) military identification card and it is the wrong color . \\nthis might seem like a minor detail , but anyone who has spent anytime with the military knows that active duty identification cards are green and dependant cards are yellow . \\nand what about the senior military officer whose uniform shirt is so wrinkled he looks like he is a recruit on his first day of training . \\nor what about when brenner tells a suspect that , because he is in the military , he doesn't have the right not to answer his questions even though these rights were central to military law well before the miranda decision . \\nhow hard is it to get someone familiar with the military to check these facts ? \\nnow details like this could be overlooked if the underlying story held up , but this story is so full of holes it is painful to sit through . \\nfor example , at the beginning of the film , paul brenner , an undercover army investigator , gets into a gun and knife battle at his off-post houseboat and winds-up killing an arms dealer he had been investigating . \\nthe local police investigating the death are openly hostile to the military and they discover that brenner has been lying to them about the killing . \\nbut instead of arresting him , or at least take him into custody for further questioning , they release him . \\nduh ! \\nultimately , brenner gets assigned to investigate the murder and possible rape of the commanding general's daughter , a young captain also assigned to the post . \\nwhen brenner finds graphic sex tapes featuring the general's daughter , does he use them to generate a suspect list and begin grilling suspects . \\nno , his instinct is to suppress them because they might be potentially embarrassing . \\neventually , brenner discovers that this murder is related to a violent gang rape at west point eight years earlier . \\ni won't even go into the totally unbelievable rationale for the army's suppression of this horrendous crime . \\ni will just mention one final flaw . \\nbrenner is investigating a crime that occurred in georgia . \\nthe rape occurred in west point , which is in new york . \\nhe is under a very tight ( and totally implausible ) 36-hour deadline to solve this case . \\nhe needs to discuss the rape with a psychiatrist at west point . \\ndoes he phone the doctor ? \\nno , he travels ( via some unexplained very fast transport ) to new york to question the psychiatrist in person , and then he returns to georgia ( again by the miracle transport ) , without once worrying about the impact any of this will have on his deadline . \\nyou have been warned , stay away from this one . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'part one of \" the strangest movies ever made \" series at www . mediajunkies . com \\nby scott watson \\n[light spoilers , nothing you shouldn\\'t read] \\nexistenz has been called \" a gooey matrix \" , and while this is a correct description in some ways , in others it is completely off . \\nthe only thing the two films have in common is the idea of a virtual reality that is indistinguishable from normal , \" real \" reality . \\na major difference is that \" the matrix \" has a base reality that is obviously the true reality , while existenz does the impossible and makes us accept the most bizarre reality ever as true . \\nand oh what a reality it is . \\ndavid cronenberg has shown us before that he knows how to create strange movies ( naked lunch , crash ) , but this one is one of the strangest . \\nmaybe it\\'s because of how the mundane is mixed with the bizarre . \\ntechnology is organic , but only some of it . \\ncars are normal . \\ngas stations are the same . \\ncell phones are glowing bug like appendages . \\nyou jack into a virtual reality game using a quivering pink gooey animal like apparatus ( referred to simply as a \" pod \" ) . \\nhigh technology has been replaced with organic creatures , and it provides a truly surreal setting for the characters . \\na famous game designer , allegra geller ( a fine looking jennifer jason leigh ) , flees a demonstration of her latest game , existenz , after an assassination attempt . \\nshe is on the run ( from who , i\\'m still not sure ) , and has to save her pod by playing her game with \" someone friendly \" . \\nthat someone friendly is her dubious companion and security guard , ted pikul ( jude law ) . \\nunfortunately he is lacking a fundamental requirement for playing , a bioport . \\nsort of a hole in your spine ( ok , exactly like a hole in your spine ) , a bioport allows you to plug the vaguely entrail-looking wires from the pod into you , allowing you to play the game . \\nluckily a bioport can be installed easily ( they install them in malls ) , so off they go to get one . \\nafter a crazy series of events at the local country gas station , they are able to plug in and play existenz . \\nthe plot itself is a surreal melding of conspiracies , reality distortion , chinese restaurants , and multi appendaged amphibian things ( \" it\\'s a sign of the times \" ) . \\nbut the plot , while cohesive in it\\'s own creepy way is secondary to just trying to figure out what the hell is going on in this universe . \\ncronenberg just slaps this weird organic-tech world into the viewers lap , and it\\'s up to you to figure out how all these things work . \\nand that\\'s the true joy of this film , entering the vaguely nightmarish world in which existenz takes place . \\nyou learn a little bit piece by piece ( oh , they make pods out of those ) , and it\\'s just enough to get you to accept the world that is presented to you . \\nthere are all kinds of twists and turns as the characters wander around , including a fantastic scene in a chinese restaurant that will leave you trying to assemble something out of your moo goo gai pan for months afterwards . \\nalso the bioports are occasionally used for things other than porting into existenz , the specifics of which i will leave for you to discover . \\nthere\\'s lots of little things that set off the weird-o-meter , like the little tiny pods that you can buy in the video game store , the two headed amphibian creature , and why that guy at the gas station\\'s name appears to be \" gas \" . \\nit all adds up to a supremely far out trip , and given the choice i think i would rather live in the matrix\\'s virtual world . . . \\noh wait , i already do . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"while watching boiler room , i was constantly reminded of last year's masterpiece fight club . \\nboth films consist of a predominately male cast . \\nboth films follow young men as they illicitly fight the traditional system for their own desires . \\nand both films are seen through the eyes of one narrator , who eventually realizes that these men have to be stopped . \\nwhile boiler room writer/director ben younger does not get his point across as well as david fincher does for fight club , he does contribute another impressive work to a series of films aiming to represent the new generation . \\na generation which has seen the internet prosper and where everyone wants to be a millionaire . \\npaying homage to oliver stone's 1987 classic wall street , younger is almost modernizing the tale by using younger , hipper actors to play the greedy villains as opposed to the older , more experienced types . \\nas is true in real life , younger minds are becoming richer and richer from their knowledge of more standard technology . \\nboiler room dismisses the notion of ingenuity and shows that greed and desire for power come in all ages . \\nanother similarity with fight club is that both films are not action flicks . \\nsome people are convinced that an all-male cast automatically means there must be gory violence , here is proof that this is not true . \\nif you want to see an action movie starring ben affleck , go see reindeer games this weekend . \\nif you want to see a smart , insightful film with excellent acting and a clever script , see boiler room . \\ngiovanni ribisi gives an outstanding performance as the film's narrator , seth . \\nafter dropping out of college and running a lucrative gambling center for college students in his apartment , seth is offered a high paying job by a wealthy man ( nicky katt ) . \\nhe agrees to take the job ( in which you are guaranteed to become a millionaire within three years ) of selling stock to well-off americans from the mid-west over the telephone and begins to fit in quite well with his co-workers . \\nlearning tricky techniques to deceive innocent people into buying shares of a good in production , seth figures this is too good to be true . \\nafter stumbling into a room at the wrong time , he knows there is something no good about this company . \\nat this point , seth is left with the ultimate choice ; continue with the american dream and make millions or tell the authorities that something fishy is going on . \\nribisi is believable as seth especially when he shares scenes with ron rifkin , playing seth's dad . \\nthe two have perfect chemistry as a troubled father and son trying to impress each other and simultaneously impress themselves . \\nthe transitions from anger to sympathy that these scenes contain are the standout segments of the entire film . \\nthe supporting cast of greedy co-workers is also flawless . \\nben affleck shines in a short but sweet performance as a recruiter for the company , nicky katt is fabulous as the ostensibly friendly boss who eventually becomes extremely jealous of seth , and vin diesel gives his best performance of his career as the foil character of nicky katt . \\nthe energy of the cast as a whole makes boiler room well paced and never boring . \\nthe only major error in the film is that nothing major happens . \\nthere is no big plot twist or climatic point to make the film more memorable . \\ndue to the lack of a major event , boiler room never finds a suitable genre to fit into . \\nthe movie is not intense enough to be a thriller , the romantic segments involving seth and abby ( nia long ) are not properly finalized , and the dialogue isn't funny enough to make it a comedy . \\nin having trouble to characterize the movie as a whole , boiler room is slightly confused at times . \\nit doesn't seem to know which category to fit itself into . \\none satisfying concluding scene could have changed the whole film for the better . \\notherwise , the movie is fun to watch thanks to its lively cast of young actors . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'one of the more unusual and suggestively violent films ever made , \" se7en \" is just a few steps away from brilliance . \\nhowever , those few steps away are only a few steps from a level of evil and depravity that few people want to discuss . \\nthe film received mixed reviews upon release , but there\\'s an underlying sinister appeal and intrigue to this that many critics perhaps did not notice . \\nat times it gets preachy about the horrors it seems to be criticizing , but the script and the ultimate pay-off are excellent . \\nthe shocking conclusion is just as unpredictable as the endings of most films are predictable . \\nthis piece of work is 100% intensity . \\nit\\'s uncomfortable to watch , yet compelling . \\n \" i want not to look , yet i cannot turn away . \" \\nthe story creeps along slowly and deliberately , crafted by visionary director david fincher . \\nhe has experience in tantalizing his audience with information and visions , but not giving away too much too soon . \\nthis is the guy who directed the ominous \" alien 3 \" . \\n \" se7en \" is even more ominous because the threat is real . \\nit\\'s human and , while the script takes some artistic licence , the way in which the diabolical killer works here is actually realistic . \\nthat is , if a human being could be so intelligent , patient , wealthy , and disillusioned . \\nafter the most bizarre opening credits i\\'ve ever seen ( refreshingly different in editing style and musical accompaniment ) , the initial character development takes place . \\nmorgan freeman stars as detective william somerset , a knowledgeable veteran who is ready to give up on his job and the sickness of society . \\nbrad pitt co-stars as detective david mills , the young hotshot who is brand new to this unnamed city and full of fury to catch the bad guys . \\nthese two fine actors give the film its human qualities ( along with the appealing gwyneth paltrow , who plays tracy , mills\\' wife ) . \\nhowever , none of them stands out above the material . \\nno disrespect intended , but two other actors could have played these parts and the film probably would have been about the same . \\nan ironic note is that somerset has only a week ( or 7 , that\\'s seven , days ) left on the force to train his young protege . \\nthe title of the picture also refers to the 7 deadly sins , as chronicled by john milton in \" paradise lost \" --gluttony , greed , sloth , lust , pride , envy , & wrath . \\nincidentally , i wrote the sins in order of how each victim was found . \\nit\\'s the last two sins that are the most intriguing and shocking , but i won\\'t give that away . \\nas i said , this has a great ending and no one should spoil it . \\nanyway , the brilliant killer sets out to make a statement to the world that these sins will no longer be tolerated and he makes the \" sinners \" suffer for it . \\nthe two partners stumble over the corpse of a grotesquely obese man . \\nthey learn that he was murdered--forced to eat himself to death . \\nthe killer leaves small clues at this and other murders and , of course , somerset and mills are smart enough to stay with him all the way . \\nif they didn\\'t , it would be one short movie ! \\nthe deliberate pace allows for craftsmanship of detail and story . \\nwe see a lot of blood , but it\\'s not especially violent . \\nthe suggestion of what happens is far more disgusting than anything actually shown--like most of the violence in \" pulp fiction \" . \\n \" se7en \" is gory , graphic , and disturbing , but all the gore is post-death . \\nstill , if you tend to get queasy , don\\'t eat food during this film . \\nkevin spacey plays john doe , the avenging angel who claims that he\\'s the messenger who will right the wrongs with his teachings . \\nlike many crazy men , he has some fine ideas , but some sick ways of expressing himself . \\nspacey doesn\\'t appear until the final 30 minutes and also doesn\\'t receive billing in the opening credits . \\nhowever , it\\'s his appearance that turns this film upside down and for that he should have gotten an oscar nomination . \\na great villain manages to make you either root for him or feel compelled to listen to his ramblings regardless of whether you agree with him or not . \\nthis character is so well written that it\\'s hard to disagree when he says that what he is doing will be remembered by everyone . \\nno serial killer has ever been so creative . \\n \" se7en \" is blatantly unsubtle with its messages about the horrors of the world and it\\'s often a little too depressing . \\nwhat it lacks in those areas , it makes up for with believable dialogue , top-notch screenwriting , unexpected twists , and realistic characters . \\nthe technical aspects of the film are unobtrusive . \\nfincher uses lighting , music , and editing quite well , but his story is always the thrust of the film . \\nfortunately , we don\\'t find out what happens to mills and somerset after the closing credits ( which are run backwards up the screen ! ) . \\nit\\'s better to imagine what paths they will follow . \\nthis is not the kind of film you turn away from and quickly forget . \\nit\\'s got a sinister message and john doe is right about one thing--the evils of the world aren\\'t going to cure themselves . \\n \" se7en \" raises some tough questions and it\\'s intelligent enough to allow its audience to answer many of those questions for themselves . \\nuseless trivia--co-stars in 1995\\'s \" se7en \" , brad pitt and kevin spacey also competed for the 1995 best supporting actor oscar--pitt in \" 12 monkeys \" , spacey in \" the usual suspects \" ( for which he won ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the happy bastard\\'s quick movie review \\ndamn that y2k bug . \\nit\\'s got a head start in this movie starring jamie lee curtis and another baldwin brother ( william this time ) in a story regarding a crew of a tugboat that comes across a deserted russian tech ship that has a strangeness to it when they kick the power back on . \\nlittle do they know the power within . . . \\ngoing for the gore and bringing on a few action sequences here and there , virus still feels very empty , like a movie going for all flash and no substance . \\nwe don\\'t know why the crew was really out in the middle of nowhere , we don\\'t know the origin of what took over the ship ( just that a big pink flashy thing hit the mir ) , and , of course , we don\\'t know why donald sutherland is stumbling around drunkenly throughout . \\nhere , it\\'s just \" hey , let\\'s chase these people around with some robots \" . \\nthe acting is below average , even from the likes of curtis . \\nyou\\'re more likely to get a kick out of her work in halloween h20 . \\nsutherland is wasted and baldwin , well , he\\'s acting like a baldwin , of course . \\nthe real star here are stan winston\\'s robot design , some schnazzy cgi , and the occasional good gore shot , like picking into someone\\'s brain . \\nso , if robots and body parts really turn you on , here\\'s your movie . \\notherwise , it\\'s pretty much a sunken ship of a movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if you\\'re going to make a two-hour hollywood in-joke , why bother releasing it to the general public ? \\nif you\\'re going to create a film that will appeal primarily to big-name actors and people who know woody allen , then why waste the time of the rest of us peons by playing it in theaters ? \\nwhile watching celebrity , i realized that allen had only marginal interest in creating a story about real people . \\nwhat he really wanted to do was continue on his recent kick of conceited self-deprecation . \\ncelebrity is yet another film in which allen tells a story about himself , living in a world that he\\'s familiar with , dealing with people like the ones he actually knows . \\nallen recruited poor kenneth branagh to bumble through this picture , in an imitation of allen so perfect that it almost made me like the film more . \\nbranagh plays lee simon , a journalist-turned-screenwriter who divorces his wife , robin ( judy davis ) , shacks up with some hot women ( famke janssen , charlize theron , winona ryder ) , and goes about trying to get big stars ( melanie griffith , leonardo dicaprio ) to read his script about an armored car robbery . \\nthe usual elements of recent allen films are all here , including the sexual insecurity of the main character , lots of self-loathing women , and a tiring continuum of episodes that are only loosely related to one another . \\nunless you work in the film industry or know woody allen personally , it\\'s not likely that you\\'ll find a whole lot of interest in celebrity . \\naside from all the in-jokes , the story falls far short of compelling , and the characters are all empty and lifeless . \\nbranagh proves once again that he\\'s a superb performer , nailing his imitation of allen flawlessly . \\nthe problem is that he\\'s the same character allen always plays , a character who\\'s getting more than a little dull to watch . \\ni mean , come on , how many times have you seen this guy ? \\n-- he hates his work , and he can\\'t be satisfied by any one woman , and , at the end of the movie , nothing has been solved . \\nhe brings all of his problems upon himself ( crashing his car because he\\'s receiving fellatio , and other such stunts ) , so it\\'s pretty hard to care about him . \\nin addition , isn\\'t allen capable of creating characters who aren\\'t just like him ? \\ni know he is , but he didn\\'t do it in celebrity . \\nthe vacant emotional attachment with the main character is not recaptured in the supporting performances . \\ndavis , playing the same woman with low self-esteem that she played in deconstructing harry , has a few touching moments , but ends up the same despicable celebrity-type that fills the rest of the movie . \\nsome of the actresses are saved because of their beauty -- theron and ryder , especially -- but they\\'re not likable people . \\nonly famke janssen , as a book editor interested in simon\\'s new novel , has any life . \\nthe men in the picture don\\'t do much better -- joe mantegna is pretty dull as the man who remarries robin , while dicaprio , as a christian slater/johnny depp-type spoiled young actor , is funny but disengaging . \\nwhat\\'s really insulting about celebrity is how dull and standard its \" themes \" are . \\nallen seems to think that he\\'s making an insightful movie about the way \" normal \" people look at celebrities . \\nthe main problem with this is that the character with whom we\\'re supposed to identify , simon , is not a \" normal \" guy -- he\\'s just as entrenched in the hollywood image as the rest of the characters . \\nthe other problem is that the image we get of these celebrities is no more enlightening than the view the media gives us -- none of them register as realistic , interesting characters ; they mostly just function as set pieces for boring dialogue . \\nin addition , allen decides he needs a scene in which the theme is expressed explicitly ( robin , in this scene , says something like , \" it\\'s interesting to see the way we all look at the people we celebrate ! \" ) . \\ncelebrity is arguably allen\\'s biggest misfire to date . \\nit does have a few good scenes -- theron\\'s super-orgasmic model character is kind of funny , and the last scene might have been moving had the rest of the film shown us a character or two . \\nbut celebrity is a failure at the core , unless allen\\'s point was to make a self-indulgent movie about himself and his friends . \\nif he wanted to make his audience feel like they were on the outside of a big joke , then he succeeded in that . \\ni , for one , don\\'t enjoy feeling like an outsider . \\n',\n",
+       " b'deep rising is one of \" those \" movies . \\nthe kind of movie which serves no purpose except to entertain us . \\nit does not ask us to think about important questions like life on other planets or the possibility that there is no god . . . screw that , it says boldly , let\\'s see some computer generated monsters rip into , decapitate and generally cause irreparable booboos to a bunch of little known actors . \\nheh ! \\nthem wacky monsters , gotta love \\'em . \\nof course , since we can rent about a thousand b movies with the same kind of story , hollywood must give that little extra \" oumph \" to get people in theaters . \\nthat is where deep rising fails , which is a good thing . \\nconfused ? \\nlet me explain : \\ndespite all them flashy effects and big explosions , deep rising is still , at heart , a good \\'ol b movie . \\nluckily , it\\'s a very good b movie . \\nthe worst cliches in movie history are a b movie\\'s bread and butter . \\ntherefore , things that would destroy a serious movie actually help us have a good time while watching a movie of lower calibre . \\nof course we know there\\'s a big slimy creature behind that door , that one person will wander off to be picked off by said monster and we always know which persons or person will make it out alive . \\nwe just don\\'t know when or how horrible it will be . \\ni went to see deep rising with my expections low and my tolerance for bad dialogue high . \\nimagine my surprise when i discover that deep rising is actually , well , pretty darn funny at times . \\na funny b movie ? \\nwell , that\\'s new . \\nthese flicks are not supposed to make us laugh . \\n ( except for a few unintended laughs once a while . ) \\nand before you know it , treat williams , wes studi and famke jansen appear on the big screen . \\nhey ! i know them guys ( and gal ) from a couple of other movies . \\ncool . \\nfamiliar faces . \\nso far so good . \\nour man treat is the hero , he\\'ll live . \\nwes is a staple of b movies , he is the token victim . \\nwe know he\\'ll buy the farm but he will take a few creeps with him on the way out . \\nfamke is the babe , \\'nuff said . \\nthere is also a guy with glasses ( the guy with glasses always dies ) a black person ( b movie buffs know that the black guy always dies , never fails ) and a very funny , nerdy guy . \\n ( ah ! \\ncomic relief . \\nhow can we possibly explain having to kill him . . . let \\nhim live . ) \\nafter the first fifteen minutes i felt right at home . \\ni know who to root for and who i need to boo too and a gum to chew . \\n ( please kill me . ) \\nsuffice it to say that for the next hour and a half i jumped out of my seat a few times , went \" ewwww \" about a dozen times and nearly had an orgasm over all the explosions and firepower our heroes were packing . \\ni\\'m a man , we nottice these things . \\nall in all , i\\'d recommend deep rising if you are looking for a good time and care to leave your brain at the door . . . but \\nbring your sense of humor and excitement in with you . \\nthe acting is decent , the effects top rate . \\nhow to best describe it ? \\nput together the jet ski scene from hard rain , the bug attacks from starship troopers , a couple of james bond like stunts and all those scenes from friday the thirteenth and freddy where you keep screaming \" don\\'t go there , he\\'s behind you \" and you end up with deep rising . \\nfor creepy crawly goodness , tight t-shirts , major firepower and the need to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes from seing all that water . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one of the contributors to the destruction of the batman film franchise chris o\\'donnell stars in this remake of buster keaton\\'s 1925 silent film seven chances . \\nnow i\\'ve never seen seven chances , as i\\'m more of a chaplin fan than a keaton fan , but i seriously doubt that the classic version could be as insipid as this . \\no\\'donnell plays jimmie shannon , the manager of a pool table manufacturing company . \\nhe also fears commitment , and despite dating anne ( renee zellweger ) for over three years , he\\'s unwilling to marry her . \\nhis reasons ? \\nwell he\\'s a guy you see , and well , guys are like stallions , and they apparently don\\'t like to be roped or something ( hey , that\\'s the movie\\'s explanation . . . \\ni\\'d marry renee zellweger in a second ) . \\neventually it comes time for jimmie to propose , and when he does , it\\'s the most absurd proposal ever uttered by a man ever . \\nhe essentially says to her , \" you win \" and hands her a ring . \\nthe audience should now hate this character . \\ni did . \\nthen the meat of the plot presents itself . \\njimmie\\'s grandfather ( peter ustinov , completely wasted ) dies and leaves jimmie his entire estate of 100 million dollars as well as ownership of the pool table business . \\nhowever , in order to get the money and save the jobs of the factory workers , jimmie must be married before his next birthday ( which is just over 24 hours away ) . \\nhaving blown his chances with anne , jimmie proceeds to track down all his prior girlfriends and suggest a \" business proposition \" . \\nthe movie wasn\\'t half bad by this time , surprisingly . \\nit wasn\\'t boring me , and even managed to read my thoughts at one point . \\nustinov\\'s character left a video will , and while he\\'s reading the ridiculous clause in it , i thought to myself \" what is this , brewster\\'s millions ? \" . \\nas soon as i thought it , hal holbrook\\'s character actually says \" what is this , brewster\\'s millions ? \" \\nit was quite surreal . \\nsomething happens though during the film\\'s final act that caused me to sharply drop the rating it was going to receive . \\nup to that point , all of jimmie\\'s prior girlfriends had turned down his \" business proposition \" which i felt was good . \\nat least the film wasn\\'t painting women to be cold hearted gold diggers . \\nwhen jimmie has no other options , his goofy friend ( played by artie lange , making a career out of playing the goofy friend ) places an ad in the newspaper that somehow becomes a front page story . \\nat this point , 100 , 000 women don wedding gowns and head off to persuade jimmie to pick them to be his bride . \\nthese women arrive at jimmie\\'s location and immediately start bullying him about what he\\'s looking for in a woman . \\nwhen he\\'s had enough of their unjustified attacks , he tells the angry mob that there\\'s been a mistake and he won\\'t be marrying any of them . \\nas a result , the women proceed to chase him around the city , in hopes of catching him and tearing his limbs off . \\nthis goes on for the rest of the film . \\nit\\'s just chris o\\'donnell running from 100 , 000 obnoxious , greedy , angry and stupid women . \\nmy groans of disgust could be heard for miles . \\nthe film finally ended ( thankfully ) , but to this day i\\'m still groaning . \\nthe bachelor is available on dvd from new line home video . \\nit contains the film in both full frame and in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 , cast and crew info , and special dvd-rom features . \\nthe original theatrical trailer is also on the disc , which contains scenes not in the film . \\napparently there was even more footage of the gang of brides chasing o\\'donnell around the city , and at one point o\\'donnell is leaping from the tops of buses . \\nso that was bad enough to be cut , but the other 30 minutes of bride shenanigans was good ? \\nugh . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"waiting at the train station near the beginning of fury , joe says : `after all , we're human . ' \\nin the context of events to transpire , joe's line is prophetic , foreshadowing the internal conflict of the protagonist in the latter half of the film . \\ndoes being human necessarily imply humane behavior ? \\nthrough the baseness of human character exemplified in the formation of a mob , fritz lang prompts the viewer to consider whether our inclination towards impulsiveness supersedes our civility . \\nexpressing his abhorrence towards the rise of nazism in his homeland , lang takes great care in creating a sense of discomfort during the scenes of mob hysteria . \\nin the scene prefacing the lynching , the mob achieves critical mass at the bar . \\ndeputy meyers is brought in as an exalted informant , but when he is unable to augment the mob's myth of joe , he is quickly renounced from his position as town gossip . \\nwe see in a shot where two bar patrons are arguing that the deputy looks around nervously at the growing monster and then carefully slips out of the bar . \\nwhat is quietly horrifying is the realization by both the audience and the deputy that the crowd no longer exists within the confines of reason and has succumbed to what the barber referred to as impulse . \\nwhat once was excitement to the deputy has turned into fear with the realization that he is now powerless . \\nto the audience , the deputy's quiet exit concurs with their own sinking feeling of uneasiness as the mob's delirium crescendos . \\nlang educes this discomfort not through movement of the camera , but rather its stillness . \\nthe shot's composition places the audience equidistant and directly across from the pair of arguing patrons and the deputy effectively becomes a mirror to our own apprehensions . \\nas the intensity of the mob closes around deputy meyers , it does so around the viewer as well . \\nthe stationary camera in this shot heightens our fears because when the deputy escapes , we are deserted by our reflection and the viewer becomes the sole proprietor of sensibility amongst a swarm of irrationality . \\nbecause the camera does not track the deputy's movement , we are left with an amplified perception of desertion and vulnerability . \\nas the bar scene progresses , the camera pans 180 degrees to reveal the fury of the mob . \\nthis shot is unique because it is a point-of-view shot where the audience , not a character in the film is the subject . \\nwhile a long , or dolly shot may objectively reveal the size of the mob , panning from the mob's belly distorts the audience's spatial reference and exaggerates the claustrophobia of the scene ; we feel we are at the epicenter of something infinitely large . \\nwe see close shots of people's faces , contorted by their rage . \\nwith the pivot of the pan being in the center of the mob and angry members within a short radius of the pan , lang offers the viewer a sense of what it feels like to be the subject of a lynching . \\nin this shot the audience is at the mercy of the mob ; lang's camera makes us feel vulnerable and powerless as joe must have felt in the jail . \\nin some greater sense , it must have been what lang felt when he saw his countrymen overcome with unjustifiable hatred towards their own humankind . \\nlang's observations of his fellow man succumbing to mob behavior left him with an indelible image of malevolent human behavior . \\nas joe faces his peril , trapped in his burning cell , his dog rainbow rushes to be by his side . \\nlang makes rainbow a martyr to contrast his humanity against the recklessness of his human counterparts . \\nusing his camera to create shots that elicit disturbing images of mob mentality , lang depicts man's volatility and `impulse' towards inconceivable cruelty . \\nreprising joe' s line at the train station , we are induced to question why our primeval impulses so easily transcend our humanity . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'every year , hollywood crowns a new \" it boy \" --a young actor pegged for major movie stardom . \\ninheriting the mantle from last year\\'s \" winner , \" matthew mcconaughey , is matt damon , and , like mcconaughey , he proves to be more than just a fresh young face , as evidenced in two radically different projects currently in release--john grisham\\'s the rainmaker and good will hunting . \\ndamon has his first major starring role , a la mcconaughey , in a john grisham adaptation--in this case , francis ford coppola\\'s take on the rainmaker . \\ndamon plays wet-behind-the-ears attorney rudy baylor , who , immediately after passing the bar exam , finds himself representing the mother ( mary kay place ) of a terminally ill young man ( john whitworth ) in a big-league suit against a negligent insurance company . \\nwhile rudy\\'s ( and the film\\'s ) main concern is this case , he also finds time to protect a young wife ( claire danes ) from her abusive husband ( melrose placer andrew shue , in a mercifully brief role ) . \\nwritten for the screen and directed by coppola , the rainmaker is the best grisham film yet mostly because it does not take itself too seriously . \\ncoppola\\'s most notable--and effective--contribution to the tried-and-true grisham formula is a sense of humor about itself , which largely comes in the presence of danny devito ( as rudy\\'s unlicensed co-counsel ) and golden globe nominee jon voight ( as the insurance company\\'s hotshot attorney ) . \\nthe inclusion of the battered wife subplot feels rather superfluous , but danes is as superb as always . \\nthen , of course , there is damon , who nicely juggles the weighty ( the insurance case , the spousal abuse ) and the humorous ( rudy\\'s often comical naivete ) requirements of his role without missing a beat . \\nas good as he is in the rainmaker , damon showcases the depth of his talent in good will hunting , directed by gus van sant and written by actor ben affleck and damon himself . \\ndamon plays the title character , will hunting , a troubled young construction worker/janitor at mit who also happens to be a supergenius . \\nin an attempt to steer this brilliant young mind in the right direction , an mit math professor ( stellan skarsgard ) taps his old college friend , community college psychologist sean mcguire ( robin williams ) , to counsel the abrasive , standoffish will and try to help him come to terms with his turbulent life . \\ngood will hunting is the touchy-feely enterprise its plot synopsis suggests , but to simply dismiss it as that would be to discount the true emotional chords affleck and damon\\'s intelligent script touches . \\neven though no one ( and , if so , _very_ few people ) can directly relate to will\\'s burden of superhuman intelligence , the insecurities he suffers are universal . \\nthe material is brought to life by the terrific ensemble of actors . \\nwilliams delivers a nice dramatic turn ; affleck , a hot up-and-coming actor himself ( chasing amy ) , turns up in a warm and charming performance as will\\'s best friend ; and the ever-appealing minnie driver shines as will\\'s harvard-schooled love interest . \\nthe clear standout in the cast , though , is damon , who bravely does not soften will\\'s prickly nature but has such a natural ease with the audience that it is hard _not_ to care for him . \\nso many names come and go with the fluctuations of the hollywood hype machine , but based on his impressive work in john grisham\\'s the rainmaker and especially good will hunting , it is a safe bet that matt damon is one name we will be hearing a lot more of in the years to come . \\n',\n",
+       " b'retrospective : city of the living dead ( 1980 ) \\na film review by mike watson copyright 1997 mike watson \\ni once heard someone describe the films of italian schlock horror director lucio fulci as \" dim-witted \" . \\nand by golly , just about all other words fail me when confronted with a dog like city of the living dead . \\nalthough the late fulci managed some rather good thrillers in his career , this is not one of them . \\ntwo points in the movie\\'s favour - the impressive camerawork of sergio salvati and occasionally evocative score by fabio frizzi - keep things from falling totally into the abyss , but by and large city of the living dead is a failure . \\nand like most cinematic failures , it comes down to bad writing , dumb performances and lousy direction . \\nthe story starts in new york when , during a seance , a medium ( katherine mccoll ) sees a vision of a priest hanging himself in the town of dunwich , massachusetts . \\nfor reasons we won\\'t go into here , this opens the gates of hell which must be closed by all saints day or the dead will rise and walk the earth . \\nthe medium apparently dies of fright during the seance , but awakens in her coffin in the graveyard the next day and is rescued by a crusty old journalist ( christopher george ) . \\nthat scene in itself is a howler : why would you bust open a coffin with a large pick axe when you know someone is alive inside ? \\nand don\\'t cadavers have various things stuffed in them and drained out of them before they\\'re buried ? \\nanyway , off the two of them go to dunwich to save the world , where various grisly goings-on are already happening as all saints day approaches . \\nfulci\\'s graphic gore is in evidence once again , but here it only serves to further highlight the film\\'s flimsy script and plodding direction . \\nthe dialogue , in all manner of speaking , is unspeakable . \\nnot bad in the quotable sense , like an ed wood film , but bad in its sheer dullness or blatantly obvious \" lets explain the plot \" type approach . \\nmccoll doesn\\'t have a clue who her character is : deadly serious one minute , frivolous the next , she at times is genuinely hard to watch . \\nand the geezer ( the actor\\'s name escapes me ) who plays the town psychiatrist becomes even harder to stomach than mccoll as the film progresses . \\nchristopher george\\'s performance is salvageable , but he gets his brains ripped out in the end by a zombie and we don\\'t care . \\nin fact we don\\'t care for anyone in city of the living dead , though in other fulci films that hasn\\'t mattered so much when he was on form as a stylist and an ideas man , as he was in the beyond . \\nas a director , some of fulci\\' idiosyncrasies are incredibly silly and annoying here . \\nhe constantly uses extreme close-ups of people\\'s eyes , a ridiculous technique which suggests an attempt to convey the emotion that his dialogue and actors aren\\'t capable of . \\nand despite some gruesome violence , he barely manages a single scare in the entire film . \\nlong-time collaborator fabio frizzi , talented but always erratic , offers a patchy soundtrack that veers between eerie , gothic death marches and woefully inappropriate electro-pop that\\'s quite frankly embarrassing . \\nfulci\\'s other films of this period may be flawed - house by the cemetery , the beyond , the black cat - but they are nonetheless films with more inspiration , atmosphere and better dialogue than this turkey . \\nfor completists only . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"saving private ryan ( dreamworks ) running time : 2 hours 48 minutes . \\nstarring tom hanks , edward burns , tom sizemore and matt damon directed by steven spielberg already being hailed as the 'greatest war movie ever made , ' saving private ryan is an harrowing , saddening and riveting movie . \\nit may not be the greatest war movie in my opinion , but it's certainly one of the best war movies made , and one of the best of 1998 . \\ntom hanks stars as a captain who's troop has to find private ryan ( damon ) who has a ticket home because his three brothers have been killed in action . \\naction , drama and even some humour occur as the troop journeys through wartime france to find him . \\nafter the disappointing amistad ( 1997 ) spielberg has returned to form with this excellent movie . \\ni'm not the war movie genre biggest fan , but i found this film to be gripping , and very scary , thanks to the excellent cast , direction and terrifying battle scenes . \\ntom hanks is superb , straying away from his usually soppy dramatic roles , such as in forrest gump ( 1994 ) . \\nthis time , he plays the role with gritty realism , and is much better for it . \\noccasionally he overacts the sentimentally , but he generally delivers a fine performance . \\nedward burns , looking a lot like armageddon's ben affleck , also delivers a top notch performance , moving away from his roles in films such as she's the one ( 1996 ) tom sizemore makes less of an impact , but is still watchable , and matt damon reinforcing his position as one of the finest young actors working today . \\nspielberg directs very well , putting the audience right in the heart of the action of the battle scenes . \\nand what battle scenes they are ! \\nthey're truly terrifying , yet the audience cannot drag their eyes away from the screen . \\nthe battle scenes are filmed with a jerky hand-held camera , and the panic and confusion felt by the soldiers is emphasized by this technique . \\nthe gore and violence isn't spared either , which body parts flying , and blood spurting . \\nthis film is certainly not for kids and sensitive adults . \\nother factors help saving private ryan be a masterpiece of 90's film making . \\nthe cinematography is excellent , and the music score by john william's is also superb . \\nit is never intrusive , and adds to the drama on-screen . \\nbut while they are thousands of good things great about private ryan , there's one major flaw that detracts the genius of the film : the writing . \\nit is unusually flat , with many of the speeches strangely weak . \\nthe film never really makes any profound statements . \\nthis is not a major gripe , as private ryan is a film of action , not words . \\nstill , the script could of been a lot better . \\nthankfully , the actors help partly to rectify the situation with their great delivery of their lines . \\nsaving private ryan , in the end , is an excellent film , but not the 'greatest war movie' due to it's weak acting . \\nthis film should be viewed by everyone who has the stomach for it , as it's rewarding and extremely worthwhile . \\nit really shouldn't be missed , and dreamworks skg has finally found it's first hit movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"edward burns tackles his third picture with no looking back , and like his previous two , it is a working-class relationship picture . \\nhowever , unlike his previous work , the film dwells on a more personal story , and with a female protagonist . \\nand in no looking back , he stumbles , making a slow , boring film without the spark that enlivened his previous work . \\nclaudia ( lauren holly ) is a small town waitress who is feeling stifled by her life . \\nshe's at a turning point in her life , and feels as if she's going nowhere . \\nher boyfriend , michael ( jon bon jovi ) , is broke and in a dead end job . \\nif she were to marry him , she'd never get a chance to escape this town . \\nenter charlie ( edward burns ) , claudia's old flame . \\nhe skipped town several years before , without any explanations . . . even \\nfor claudia . \\nhe has come back to town to see her , and suddenly she is torn . \\nshould she stay with stable michael , and never escape her hometown . . . or \\nshould she ignore her instincts and fall for charlie again . \\npart of the answer lies in the character of her mother ( blythe danner ) , who fell for the wrong man . . . and has spent her life pining for claudia's father to return . \\nnow it seems that claudia is about to make the same mistakes . \\nat only a little past ninety minutes , no looking back is rather short for its genre . \\nunfortunately , it seems much much longer . \\nthe storyline is simple and uninspired , and there's a lack of energy to the whole proceedings , which makes the entire drama rather tedious . \\nedward burns makes a misstep by casting himself in the crucial role as the egomaniacal old flame . \\nthere's no one to restrain his ego , which reigns unchecked . \\nhe walks into the room and lauren holly swoons . . . yeah , \\nright . \\nlauren holly does what she can with her central character . \\nbut we never understand why her character makes such pathetically bad decisions . . . and \\nwe never really care . \\nbon jovi is the only sympathetic character in the whole movie . \\nhis acting talents are much greater than they might seem , but he is given a mostly bland and ineffective role to work with . \\nthere's not much to recommend in no looking back . \\nit's not that the film is bad . . . it's \\nsimply boring . \\nthere's no zest in any aspect of the film , and no reason to spend ninety minutes watching it . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'in my review of \" the spy who shagged me , \" i postulated an unbreakable law of film physics : every time a sequel is as good as or better than the previous film in the series , it is followed by a third movie that is a bore . \\nthe cause is probably complacency ; a studio sighs with relief when part 2 lives up to expectations and figures part 3 is a sure thing . \\n \" scream 3 \" provides the latest proof of this rule . \\nin los angeles production has begun on \" stab 3 : return to woodsboro , \" the most recent installment in the series of movies inspired by the murders surrounding sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) . \\nhowever , life soon starts imitating art , and \" stab \" cast members turn up stabbed . \\nsmelling yet another book deal , gale weathers ( courteney cox arquette ) comes to the set to investigate and finds her ex-boyfriend dewey riley ( david arquette ) acting as a technical consultant and getting chummy with jennifer ( parker posey ) , the actress playing gale in \" stab 3 . \" elsewhere , our heroine sidney is living in hiding under an assumed name . \\n . \\n . \\nuntil she gets a phone call from a familiar evil voice . \\nthe late randy meeks ( jamie kennedy ) makes a surprise guest appearance via video to explain the rules of a trilogy . \\nhe notes the third chapter in a trilogy has an overabundance of exposition and a huge backstory to contend with . \\nindeed , \" scream 3 \" tries to link its murders back to the one that started it all , the murder of sidney\\'s mother maureen before the beginning of the original \" scream . \" \\nat the scene of each murder in \" scream 3 , \" the killer leaves a photo of sidney\\'s mother maureen as a teenager in hollywood and even includes a note claiming to be her real killer . \\nto find out who the killer is , our intrepid investigators have to uncover what happened during maureen\\'s missing years when she was a starlet appearing in low-budget horror films . \\n ( even with that little information , you can probably already guess what the killer\\'s relationship to sidney is ) . \\nunlike its predecessors , \" scream 3 \" doesn\\'t have the guts to even suggest that the central characters might be the killer . \\nthe characters we do suspect are all undeveloped , so that by the end we don\\'t even care who the killer is . \\nthe jaded detective ( patrick dempsey ) ? \\nthe kinky producer ( lance henriksen ) ? \\nthe driven young director ( scott foley ) ? \\nthe ingenue ( emily mortimer ) ? \\nthe character who turns out to be the killer seems to be selected at random . \\nwes craven supposedly filmed three different endings to keep the real one a secret , so it\\'s quite possible the one in the final cut was randomly chosen . \\nthe series\\' trademark references to other horror films have become trite and obvious . \\npossibly it\\'s the absence of screenwriter kevin williamson , who penned the first two , or maybe it\\'s that the hip ironic stance eventually consumes itself and a series that parodies film cliches eventually becomes a cliche . \\ni groaned as an attack on sidney from the first \" scream \" was repeated moment-for-moment in the hollywood set of her home . \\nat some point , referencing becomes just a means to cover up a poverty of new ideas . \\n \" scream 3 \" also continues the tradition of having an eclectic set of cameos and familiar faces in small roles . \\nlook for jenny mccarthy , carrie fisher , patrick warburton ( puddy from \" seinfeld \" ) , roger corman , and jason mewes and kevin smith ( as jay and silent bob ) to walk through at some point . \\nall these bit players put forth more effort than the series\\' returning stars , who are probably saving their energy for the long post- \" scream \" job search . \\nanother prediction i made in a previous review has come to pass : more movies are copying \" the blair witch project \" \\'s web strategy . \\n \" scream 3 \" has three official websites that ( wink , wink ) pretend that the events of the movie are real and provide additional backstory information not covered in the movie . \\nthe sunrise studios site ( scream3 . com ) has trailers for other sunrise releases as well as the \" latest \\'stab 3\\' news . \" \\nthere\\'s also a gail weathers official site ( galeweathers . com ) and a sunrise sucks site that has more \" stab \" scandals the studio wants to cover up ( sunrisesucks . com ) . \\ncraven and company promise that this is the last installment in the \" scream \" series . \\nwhile i hope that\\'s true , i don\\'t hold out much hope-horror movie series are even harder to kill than their monsters . \\nthere\\'s a \" halloween h2k \" in the works , even though michael myers was beheaded in \" h20 , \" and a \" freddy vs . jason \" has been talked about for awhile , despite the fact that both characters were \" killed off . \" \\nthere\\'s bound to be a \" scream 4 \" someday , even if it starts over with a new set of movie-star wannabes . \\nbottom line : they should have called this one \" yawn . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b\"ingredients : neophyte lawyer , legal situations , corrupt insurance company , \\nsynopsis : rudy baylor ( matt damon ) is an ethical kid fresh out of law school who must juggle three legal situations at the same time . \\nrudy's girlfriend is attacked by her violent husband ; rudy's elderly landlady wants to arrange her will so that her children are excluded , and ; the family of rudy's friend with leukemia is suing the corrupt insurance company that wouldn't pay for a bone marrow transplant . \\nrudy is new to being a lawyer and is thoroughly outgunned , but luckily he is aided by a sleazy ambulance chaser ( danny devito ) who has failed the bar exam six times as well as by the kindly presiding judge ( danny glover ) . \\njon voight plays leo f . drummond , the intimidating and arrogant leader of the all-powerful insurance company's team of lawyers who will do anything to oppose justice . \\nwill rudy defeat leo ? \\nwill he enjoy being a lawyer ? \\nopinion : the good news is that this movie has a happy ending , and it features a guy trying to do the right thing . \\ndirector francis ford coppola does this film a little differently than the stereotypical law movie . \\nin the typical lawyer movie there's one big case and the movie focuses on solving it , and somewhere along the line surprise witnesses and motives turn up before the good guy wins ( after lots of gripping courtroom drama ) . \\nhowever , coppola's movie is deliberately more low key . \\n'the rainmaker' plays out like a personality sketch of young rudy as he gets emotionally involved with and tries to save various little quirky side characters . \\nin the background rudy's voice narrates his feelings and makes half-cynical jokes about the legal profession in general . \\ntwo factors combine to make this movie less heavy than it can be . \\nfirst , rudy's time is split juggling three cases , rather than concentrating on a single high-stakes case . \\nalso , rudy's use of voice narration in place of acting makes the film lose some of its dramatic edge . \\nthe end result is an entertaining low key law movie where the good guys win , and rudy narrates his way into coming of age . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" desperate measures \" was something i was excited about seeing back when it was originally scheduled to be released : summer \\'97 . \\nfor some reason , it was delayed until hollywood\\'s traditional dumping ground : january . \\nnow that it\\'s out , i see no real reason for that delay , as it\\'s a simple yet highly entertaining film . \\nmichael keaton stars as a maniacial murderer who\\'s bone marrow can save the life of the dying son of a san francisco police detective ( garcia ) . \\nkeaton agrees to the transplant , only so he can attempt escape . \\nhe succeeds , in a plan that of course could only work in the movies . \\nthe police force is now trying to kill keaton , while garcia is working against them trying to keep keaton alive in order to save his son . \\nthe film definately has it\\'s flaws . \\nthe plot is strictly tv movie of the week fare , but the acting and direction certainly boost it far above that status . \\nalso , after keaton\\'s escape , garcia\\'s captain barks at him \" how many men have to die to save your kid\\'s life ? \" \\nwhich the film treats as such an evil and insignificant remark . \\nthe thing is , it\\'s a vaild point . \\nhow many people have to be needlessly crippled , burned , and killed just to save this one child ? \\nwhat\\'s the greater good here ? \\nmany lives or one life ? \\nif movies really had guts nowadays , i would have loved to have seen this movie come down to a final choice for garcia\\'s character . \\nplace him in a situation where he knows that he has to kill keaton because keaton is about to kill someone else . \\nalas , movies these days generally have no such ambition to pull the audience\\'s strings in ways which might make the uncomfortable . \\ndespite a few silly moments ( and one or two really stupid ones ) , the good things about \" desperate measures \" outnumber the bad . \\nthe main highlight would be keaton\\'s performance . \\nthe character could have easily been an overacting , scene chewing freak , but keaton underplays it nicely . \\nhe\\'s not as menacing as he was in \" pacific heights \" or even as menacing as he was in \" batman \" ( yes kids , batman used to be a dark character ) , but you certainly get the idea that he\\'s evil . \\neven the final scene of the film , which normally i would just hate , seems strangely appropriate for this film . \\nso much so that i didn\\'t mind it in the slightest . \\nand another bonus : the film takes place in san francisco , which usually means a car chase on those hills that you\\'ve seen a billion times before . \\nand for a moment , it looked as though it was about to happen . \\nbut it doesn\\'t , and that\\'s creative . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : a wild jungle woman and an 11-story gorilla are discovered in tibet and taken to hong kong where the gorilla escapes and causes havoc . \\nthis is a laughable 1977 rip off of king kong ( 1976 ) , itself a rip-off . \\nproduction values are low and audiences seem to like the film mostly for derisive laughter . \\n , high -2 ( -4 to +4 ) \\n- directed by ho meng-hua . \\n- this film is provided to be a sort of laughing stock to finish the festival . \\n- an earthquake uncovers an 11-story tall gorilla in the himalayas . \\na hunter , chosen because he just broke up with his girl and is at loose ends , gets sent to find the ape and finds a sort of female tarzan who controls the ape . \\n- evelyne kraft is the jungle girl in a leather bikini that she is pasted into so she always looks on the verge of bouncing out of . \\n- gorilla actor has no idea how gorillas move and suit is terrible . \\nnice miniature effects , however . \\n- has almost a music video inside it of jungle girl playing with animals like chi-chi the leopard . \\n- several places there is narrative that is nearly incoherent as if there are missing scenes and the viewer has to guess what happened in the interim . \\n- actual location shooting in mysore . \\nape shown badly matted behind temple . \\n- combining of images usually pretty bad . \\nincompetent matching of film stocks . \\n- stock footage frequently used . \\n- gorilla brought to hong kong by greedy entrepreneur who really abuses the ape before it escapes and tears things up real good . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when the haunting arrived in theaters , all i kept hearing about was the overdone special effects and the fact that very often the unseen bumps in the night in a horror film are far scarier than those that you can put a face to courtesy of special effects . \\nwhile i agree that this remake of the haunting goes a bit overboard in the visual effects department , i don\\'t think that they are completely to blame for this movie\\'s failure . \\nit appears that some people have failed to take into account that the original haunting had the \" unseen \" terrors , and it was about as scary as a dust bunny . \\nso special effects or not , if the story isn\\'t the least bit scary , you aren\\'t going to end up with a very frightening movie . \\nthe thing that interested me most about this movie was the caretaker of this building played by bruce dern . \\ndern is always great , and even though he may have had only about 3 minutes of screen time he was still the most interesting element of the movie . \\nas i sat through the seemingly endless , albeit fairly impressive , special effects , i kept wishing that this movie was about dern\\'s caretaker and not the one dimensional characters that populated the cast . \\nnever a good sign when a bit player is the best part of the movie . \\nliam neeson plays a scientist who is conducting experiments on fear . \\nhe decides the best way to get results is to trick a group of fairly unstable individuals to spend a few days in a haunted mansion . \\nhe tricks them into participating by letting on that he is conducting an experiment on insomnia . \\nand he also fails to mention that the mansion has a reputation for strange goings-on . \\ncatherine zeta-jones , lili taylor and owen wilson play his subjects . \\nlike the original , taylor\\'s character is the star of the movie . \\nbut since she doesn\\'t quite have the marquee power of liam neeson and ms . zeta-jones , their parts did seem to be a big larger than in the original . \\nand let\\'s face it , probably half the people who see this movie will do so because of zeta-jones . \\ni\\'ll admit that i would have never seen this thing if she weren\\'t in it . \\nbut the real stars here is the special effects combined with the fairly overdone sets . \\nthey take over the movie as the supernatural elements of the house start to interact with our hapless insomnia patients . \\nthere really isn\\'t much of a story here . \\njust endless setups so director jan de bont can showcase all the nifty special effects that he got to play with . \\nand the special effects are great . \\nin many cases they are as good as you are likely to see anywhere . \\nin other cases they are overdone and obviously thrown in just for the sake of hitting the \" cool shots \" quota . \\nat no point in the movie do any of these things ever come close to being scary -- funny , maybe . \\nbut not scary . \\nthen we have the set . \\nwhen i first saw the house , i was very impressed with the very cool gothic look about it . \\nbut it only took a short tour by the characters around the place to see that the set designers obviously had as much money to burn as the visual effects people did , and decided to take the idiotically overdone route . \\nthis included a flooded hallway with books as stepping stones and a mirrored circular room that revolves . \\nwhat part did these rooms play in the story ? \\nabsolutely none . \\nthey were just there to take our minds off the fact that there was neither a descent story nor a single scare in the entire movie . \\nthen we have the actors . \\nlili taylor has never been one of my favorites . \\nand when the fact that her character is mousy and pathetic is factored in , she comes in around the average or slightly below mark . \\ni have no idea why liam neeson took this role . \\nhe basically reminded me of the ringmaster at an out of control circus . \\nhis character was in charge of this farce but it quickly got away from him . \\ni have no doubt that liam will want to lock all prints of this movie in a very secure vault along with all copies of darkman . \\nzeta-jones was cast because she is too hot for words . \\nthe fact that her character is bi-sexual is just icing on the cake . \\nall catherine has to do in this movie is look good . \\nfortunately that is something she does very well . \\nwhile she does have a fairly good size part , it is obvious that her only purpose in the movie was as eye-candy . \\nit\\'s too bad someone of her talents wasted them here . \\nany random supermodel pulled out of a fashion show could have easily filled her role . \\nthe haunting is the antithesis of another of 1999\\'s horror movies , the blair witch project . \\nthe haunting had a seemingly limitless effects budget , while blair witch relies on piles of rocks for its scares . \\nboth prove quite nicely that special effects are irrelevant to a horror film . \\nif the story sucks , it\\'s all downhill from there . \\nmy advice ? \\nif you are looking for special effects , go rent star wars . \\nif it\\'s scares you want , rent halloween . \\neither way , it\\'s probably in your best interests to skip the haunting . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in the past , tim burton has taken cinema by storm with the action packed batman , and the hilarious ed wood , but lately his films just don\\'t cut it . \\nsleepy hollow has some unique features , but the script is a terrible mess . \\nfor those who remember disney\\'s fantastic \" adventures of ichabod crane \" , it is actually superior to this . \\ndisney\\'s version was at least interesting , while burton\\'s film drags on far too long , without any suspense or frights . \\nwhile the stories are similar , the new version adds too much to the once likable story , and throws in some weak dialogue to top it off . \\nichabod crane ( johnny depp ) is now apparently a constable , who was sent to new york to investigate suspicious murders . \\nthe victims are headless , and no traces of evidence were found , until the murderer reveals himself , hence the headless horseman . \\nnow with the help of christina ricci and an orphaned boy , they must stop the headless horseman from a killing spree , that could destroy the whole town of sleepy hollow . \\nsure the headless horseman is an intriguing character , but the story has so many holes that even he nor depp can save this disaster . \\nin the original , the headless horseman was meant to be unstoppable . \\nno one could stop him , not even ichabod . \\nby the end of the film , it had audiences in deep thought . \\nburton however concentrates far too much on the atmosphere , and how to make the main characters heroes . \\nhe takes no risk what so ever , and this is where he fails . \\nanother pathetic element of the film was the script . \\nlike i said earlier , he just stuffed too much in at one time , and made it look real sloppy , kind of like the mess the headless horseman made with his victims . \\nhe completely butchered the story to pieces . \\nthankfully there are a few factors that i particularly liked . \\nthe acting by depp was quite notable . \\nhe took the nerdy character of the cartoon , and simply acted it out in a better manner . \\nif it wasn\\'t for his quirky one-liners , i doubt i could have remained awake , because quite frankly i was getting sleepy . \\njust when i thought christina ricci was getting to be a good actress , she winds up doing this . \\nit just goes to show no actress or actor can pass up a big blockbuster . \\nit\\'s too tempting to let go , even if the script is mush . \\nthe atmosphere too was quite involving . \\ni should have just gazed at the sets , and the eerie fog , rather than actually pay attention to what was going on . \\nat least burton\\'s films are eye candy , even if they are trash . \\nthe only real scenes of value were the tree full of heads , and the fight between the horseman , depp and casper van dien . \\nother than that , i wish i could just fast forward through all the gaping holes in the film , and just sit back and stare at the scenery . \\nby the end , i can only think back and laugh at how bad sleepy hollow developed . \\nthis is the biggest disappointment of the year , especially when such a talented director like burton handles a project like this . \\ndon\\'t waste your time or money , because your head will feel hollow . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"synopsis : two con artists find the perfect patsy in harry ( woody harrelson ) - - an inept former journalist who trips and bumps his head into a post , tries to slap a girl and gets poked in the eye , has ill-timed fits of coughing , and fails at everything he does . \\nthe story is told from harry's point of view . \\nharry always carries around a shot of whiskey although he swears he doesn't drink . \\none day harry is approached by the con girl rhea ( elisabeth shue ) , who is similar to harry in that she carries around a cigarette but swears she doesn't smoke . \\nseduced , harry agrees to participate in a money-making scheme involving faking the kidnapping of odette ( chloe sevigny ) , the teenage daughter of a rich man . \\nturns out , it's all part of a needless , very puzzling , extremely elaborate and convoluted scheme ( it involves hiring special impersonators ) by two cons in order to fool harry , a hero who barely has the intellectual capacity of a wooden post . \\nwhen the 'kidnapped' odette is found dead , the clues point to harry as the kidnapper/murderer , and the police are hot on harry's trail . \\nharry suddenly realizes he has been framed while others have taken the ransom money . \\ncan he get out of this mess ? \\nopinion : palmetto is a long , uninteresting film with all the wrong feel . \\nhero harry is an inept bungler who trips up often and consistently overestimates his own intelligence . \\nthis farcical kind of character works best in an entertaining naked gun action comedy or dragnet spoof . \\nbut palmetto is played like a dark , serious , detective noir drama , and watching harry's bumbling confidence amounts to an irritating distraction . \\nthere's a lapse in concentration in the middle of the movie as the camera goes wild on breasts , buttocks , short skirts , colored painted nails , and women's legs . \\neven when the focus is supposedly on harry and his dilema , you can always notice the side of elizabeth shue's breast forming a prominent foreground . \\ntowards the end , palmetto re-focuses on plot for the grand finale - - a confusing explanation involving impersonators , with woody harrelson handcuffed and suspended over a tub of acid as he hears the criminals' confession . \\nif you can imagine 'shemp' from the three stooges playing the detective hero of an hbo 'lingerie suspense' thriller , that's how out of synch this movie feels . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"to paraphrase a song title from an earlier disney movie , mulan is a whole new world . \\nthe mouse factory's latest feature is a treasure , featuring magnificent animation , a strong story and finely drawn characters . \\nmulan is the story of a fiesty , head-strong young woman who , unlike other disney heroines , isn't seeking her prince charming , \\nmulan's motivations are simple ; to save her father , serve her country and find a place for herself in a world in which females have no say . \\nthe story of mulan takes place in ancient china at a time when the huns have invaded the nation . \\nthe emperor has called for a conscription , one man from each family to join the army and defend the nation . \\nmulan's crippled father is called , but mulan sneaks off , steals his armor and takes his place . \\nmulan is a saga of courage and self-discovery . \\nyet , despite the grim backdrop of war , it is a lively tale of self-reliance and brain-over-brawn that even the smallest child can appreciate and enjoy . \\nthe movie utilizes a strong corps of asian-american talent as the voices for the main characters , including the wonderful ming-na wen ( the joy luck club ) as mulan , b . d . \\nwong as shang , mulan's commanding officer and later love interest , pat morita as the emperor and the veteran soon-tek oh as mulan's proud , but loving father . \\nalso adding to the proceedings is eddie murphy as mushu the dragon , sent by mulan's ancestors to watch over and help the young woman . \\nhis fast , wise-cracking , hip-talking mushu may seem out of place , but it's a crowd pleasing performance , especially for the youngsters . \\nthe movie features only a couple of songs , fewer than most previous disney animated flicks , but mulan's are winners . \\nthe music by matthew wilder and lyrics by david zippel fit nicely into the plot . \\nthe overall score by jerry goldsmith also is a plus . \\nmulan is a treat , more powerful than hercules , with more heart than the hunchback of notre dame . \\nat about 85 minutes , mulan moves rapidly , and will hold the attention of youngsters from beginning to the end . \\nmulan will set a new standard by which future animated efforts by disney and other studios will have to work hard to attain . \\nalso , it is hoped that the success of mulan , and there is no doubt that it will prove to be a popular vehicle , will spur an interest for more movies with oriential or asian-american themes so as to provide more substantial roles for the talented performers who gave their voices for this production . \\nit would be nice to see them on screen as well as hear them . \\ncommitted to lifelong learning through effective communication \\n\",\n",
+       " b'in 1994 , an insider\\'s look at a scandal-ridden run for the democratic presidential nomination ( closely based on clinton\\'s 1992 campaign ) was written anonymously ( former newsweek writer joe klein later claimed true authorship ) . \\nnow , the book , primary colors , has been made into a movie , directed by mike nichols , and , in light of recent presidential scandals , seems to be more relevant than ever . \\nbut the film is more than a diatribe against , or a paean in praise of , the president . \\nit is a fascinating look at the political machinery , and the ethical quagmire , that surround modern politics . \\njack stanton ( john travolta ) is the governor of a small southern state running for the democratic presidential nomination . \\nhe is charismatic , but has several flaws which threaten to doom his campaign , and strains his relationship with his wife , susan ( emma thompson ) . \\nthe film is told from the point of view of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , grandson of a civil rights leader , who is swept away by stanton\\'s ideals and helps to organize the campaign . \\nhe joins political strategist richard jemmons ( billy bob thornton , looking an awful lot like james carville ) , and campaign advisor daisy green ( maura tierney ) . \\ngovernor stanton\\'s past repeatedly pops up to haunt him , a fact that his chief rival , lawrence harris ( kevin cooney ) , consistently uses to his advantage . \\nto help clean up the stanton campaign , jack and susan bring in an old friend , libby \" the dustbuster \" holden ( kathy bates ) . \\nthe acting throughout primary colors is superb . \\nit would be worth seeing the movie for bates\\' wild performance alone . \\nshe enlivens the atmosphere with energy in a truly boisterous performance . \\ntravolta does a fair clinton impersonation as governor stanton , although his accent does stray a little . \\nemma thompson delivers a strong performance as his suffering wife who can\\'t let anything show that might hurt the presidential run . \\nthe problem with political movies is that they tend to alienate over half of their audience by promoting one side or the other , or else the movie is vague to the point of boredom . \\nprimary colors treads lightly on this issue . \\nthough stanton is clearly portrayed as a democrat , and there are a few minor barbs thrown in the way of republicans , the movie touches on few actual political issues . \\nin fact , most of the \" bad guys \" are fellow democrats on the same road to the white house . \\nrather than issues , the film is primarily concerned about scandals and spin control . \\nalthough the film strays into some obviously non-clinton territory , it is difficult to completely separate it from reality ( particularly when certain scenes seem to highlight the president\\'s current troubles ) . \\nprimary colors\\' chief problem is its length . \\nit runs about 15 minutes too long . \\nthere are some scenes which could have easily been cut . \\nfor example , midway through the film , the candidate gives a speech to an assembly of laid off machinists . \\nthe scene\\'s only apparent purpose is to establish stanton\\'s character , which has already been done in similar scenes earlier in the film . \\nthe extra length isn\\'t long enough nor tiring enough to be annoying , but it mars an otherwise excellent film . \\nrepublicans , democrats , and political agnostics should all be able to find something to like in primary colors . \\nit\\'s a funny , and at some times shocking , look at the modern political process . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the tagline on random hearts reads \" in a perfect world , they never would have met . \" \\nin a perfect world , i never would have seen this movie . \\nthe biggest flaw is that 20 minutes into this film , kay chandler ( kristin scott thomas ) and dutch van den broeck ( harrison ford ) are the only two major characters alive ; resulting in little doubt that they will end up together at some point during the laborious two-hours-and-then-some production . \\ndutch is a sergeant in internal affairs at the district of columbia police department . \\nkay is a congresswoman from new hampshire . \\nalthough they both think they are happily married , their spouses are cheating with each other behind their backs . \\ndutch and kay are soon widowed when a plane goes down carrying their partners ; they subsequently discover the affair . \\nthe rest of the film is the pointless , unrealistic and often-times boring story of their researching the sexual relationship that they were blind to , and getting to know each other in the process . \\ntwo sub plots are of little help to the already problematic film . \\ndutch is trying to arrest a fellow officer , a task that seems rather ordinary for hollywood fare . \\nall the great stereotypes get pulled , including my personal favorite of the key witness that makes bail and is murdered soon thereafter . \\nkay\\'s distraction from the film\\'s primary focus is her campaign for re-election and attempts to shield her 15 year old daughter from the truth about the father she put on a pedestal . \\nthese sub plots could have made for semi-interesting points , but the film seems afraid to explore politics or mother-daughter relations in depth , and consequently suffers . \\nrandom hearts\\' two primary characters seem to live in shells . \\nalthough both kay and dutch are given their own sub plots , they seem to never deal with anyone other than themselves or each other . \\nthere is plenty of opportunity , dutch having a partner and kay having close friends and her daughter , but the movie shies away from exploring these relationships . \\nveteran actor and director of this film sydney pollack , and critically acclaimed up-and-comer dylan baker both have cameo roles , but be careful not to blink too much or you will miss them both . \\nother than its weak plot , it is hard to criticize random hearts . \\nhowever , it is also hard to compliment it . \\nhad the film taken some small risks and more fully explored its extra characters and plots it may have tasted more like a well frosted cake , rather than the dry one that equates to be . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"capsule : a ham-handed and over/underwritten morality play masquerading as entertainment , so muddled it doesn't even know what it's really advocating , if anything . \\na time to kill has been hailed as the best of the grisham adaptations , and it's easy to see why : it presents a strong , almost rancorously so , story ; it is full of good actors ( samuel l . jackson , matthew mcconaughey , sandra bullock , kevin spacey , charles dutton ) ; and it's ostensibly about some important social issue that we're all tangling with . \\nit is not , however , a good movie , and all of the reasons i've listed above have something to do with why . \\nright from the beginning , the movie is dead-set on stacking its deck as thoroughly and unrepentantly as possible . \\na pair of redneck whites , boozed and drugged out of their minds , kidnap a young black girl , abuse and rape her horribly , and leave her for dead . \\nafter their arrest , their father ( jackson ) takes an assault rifle and guns them down on the way to trial . \\nmcconaughey is then drafted in as his lawyer , and the rest is somehow strangely predictable courtoom movie dramatics . \\nthe acting is not quite what it should be , given the cast we have . \\nsandra bullock ( who is a good actress but not a serious one ) looks clueless ; spacey's accent switches itself on and off at random ( and he's given a totally thankless role to play as well , a role without an iota of depth ) ; and mcconaughey's role is stamped from the cardboard back of a cereal box . \\nthe most memorable role is donald sutherland's , and his is a bit part . \\ni always consider it an index of a movie's desperation when it is able to present shocking and outlandish events , and somehow not have them generate an ounce of impact . \\nthere is one scene -- a riot outside the courtroom -- that should have created incredible tension , but winds up playing out like a textbook exercise on how not to deploy a scene like this . \\nbecause the movie doesn't know what it's really about , it * can't * generate any genuine tension , and so it has to artifically inject tension through clumsy plotting . \\none of the ways it does this is by throwing in a whole subplot about a bunch of vicious kkk cross-burners -- which is tidied up so neatly that it borders on the nihilistic . \\ni was reminded of the despicable betrayed , which tried to tart up a fundamentally empty story by injecting vile , graphic acts of racism as little more than an attention-getter . \\nthe movie immolates an enormous amount of its potential by making a few critical mistakes . \\nfirst of all , the jackson character is not hard to judge ; there's no tension in his dilemma . \\nhe's self-admittedly guilty and should be sent to jail , no matter how moral his crusade . \\nthe old saw about how no court in the land would convict him , if he was white , is supposed to be the underlying theme of the movie , but it's never developed into an organic component of the story . \\nit just sort of floats around on top while the movie grinds away furiously with its plot mechanics . \\nanother mistake is in motivational logic : by not having the two white thugs arraigned first -- or maybe tried and then dismissed from lack of evidence , say -- we have that much less empathy for jackson's character . \\ni'm probably supposed to think that just because he had his daughter raped , we are * automatically * supposed to feel empathy for him , but that's precisely the kind of facile thinking that makes real justice impossible . \\n ( see the virgin spring for more on that note . ) \\nis jackson's character then simply insane ? \\nthat prospect isn't given terribly serious treatment either . \\none of the most aggravating things about coutroom movies is how little they seem to know about how the law works , or how lawyers get their information . \\nmcconaughey's character makes an important slipup late in the movie , when one of his witnesses turns out to have been convicted of a capital offense . \\nhow did the prosecution get this information ? \\nhow come he didn't get it ? \\nthe whole way these questions get handled are symptomatic of the movie's way of dealing with complex legal and moral questions in cheap screenwriterly slam-bang fashion . \\nthis is the biggest problem : the movie isn't about jackson's character , or his dilemma , or this case , or any of its ( frequently interesting despite the porcine writing and direction ) characters . \\nit's not ultimately about anything at all , except its stupid geared-down plot , which inches onwards in one unremarkable scene after another towards a totally contrived ending . \\nat two and a half hours , the movie is overlong and drastically overwritten : there's endless stuff about things which ultimately add up to nothing , and no writing about the material that should really matter . \\nit's all handwaving . \\nthe closing argument are also sneaky and underhanded , and underscored my suspicion that the movie is manipulative and unfair . \\nit's not easy to make a movie about something . \\nthe other day i saw kurosawa's phenomenal rashomon , a movie that is really about the way people deal with truth and reality ( or don't ) . \\na time to kill is as empty and ponderous a movie as i've seen in a long time . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"after a stylistic detour with mrs . \\nparker and the vicious circle ( which , despite its uncomfortable tone , was close to being a conventional movie ) , director alan rudolph has returned to his unique brand of film making with afterglow , a romantic black comedy about love , betrayal , and self-absorption . \\nwhile these may not be the most unusual themes to fashion into a motion picture , rudolph's atypical approach to the characters and their situations makes for an intriguing , if not always pleasant , movie . \\nit is said that rudolph is a polarizing director ? meaning that most viewers either love his work or hate it . \\nuntil mrs . \\nparker , i had not been overly impressed by his movies . \\ni found equinox , his last pre- mrs . \\nparker effort , to be irritating and frustrating . \\ni was somewhat surprised , therefore , to discover that i liked afterglow . \\nthere are several reasons for this , but the paramount one is that rudolph seems to have muted some of the most strident , mannered aspects of his approach . \\nthe characters here are more like real people with genuine problems , the story is absorbing , and the acting is top-notch . \\nin short , rudolph has created a world that it's worth spending two hours in . \\nafterglow introduces us to two unhappily married couples . \\njeffrey byron ( jonny lee miller ) is a cold , seemingly-heartless businessman who is sexually indifferent to his young wife , marianne ( lara flynn boyle ) . \\nfor her part , marianne is so obsessed with having a baby that she never attempts to interact with her husband on a human level . \\nall she's interested in is seducing him during those few days when she's ovulating . \\nafter he refuses to make love , she decides to find someone else to play the role of sperm donor . \\nthe other couple , lucky ( nick nolte ) and phyllis mann ( julie christie ) , are an older pair , but they're no more content than jeffrey and marianne . \\na mysterious fracture in their past relationship has driven them apart . \\nthey remain married as a matter of convenience , but , since phyllis won't allow lucky to touch her , they have an unspoken agreement whereby he can fool around as much as he wants provided that no lasting bond is established as a result of these affairs . \\nthe landscape of emotional pain between them is palpable . \\nthe four characters begin interacting when marianne hires lucky as a handyman to fix up the inside of the apartment she shares with jeffrey . \\nthe two of them are immediately attracted to one another , and it doesn't take long before they're lounging together , naked , in her pool . \\nmeanwhile , jeffrey , who is captivated by older women , runs into phyllis in a hotel bar , is smitten , and invites her to accompany him on a weekend retreat to the mountains . \\nthe romantic couplings of the characters are interesting in that they illustrate the multiple faces of love . \\nsex means something different to everyone ? to jeffrey , it's an unpleasant chore , a loss of control ; to marianne , it's a means to a maternal end ; to lucky , it's an enjoyable distraction that blocks out his marital troubles ; and to phyllis , it's a method of establishing or denying emotional closeness . \\nultimately , none of these characters appears to love anyone else as much as they love themselves . \\nthe greatest strength of the film lies not in the script , but in the performances . \\njonny lee miller is perfect as the selfish , callous , suit-and-tie businessman . \\nthose who recall him as sickboy in trainspotting will find that he is almost unrecognizable here as the image of conformity . \\nlara flynn boyle , who wasn't impressive in rudolph's equinox , is greatly improved , making marianne a jumble of sexiness and vulnerability . \\nnick nolte is delightful as the uninhibited lucky , and he manages to deliver some of rudolph's most pregnant lines with practiced ease . \\nthe clear standout , however , is julie christie , who is nothing short of delicious as the world-weary phyllis . \\nher often wry , occasionally cutting asides are the source of much of the film's humor , and there's hardly ever a moment when she doesn't steal the spotlight from her co-stars . \\ni don't know if afterglow is the film to convert rudolph- detractors , but it seems that this movie is a little more accessible than some of the director's earlier productions . \\nenough of his trademark style remains , however , to reassure his supporters . \\nafterglow is basically a four-pronged character study . \\nthe plot is not especially compelling , but the character interaction is , and that's the real reason to see this motion picture . \\nrudolph has painted an able picture of the non-romantic side of love -- the one that has more to do with tolerance and familiarity than with affection and attraction . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'when respecting a director , you must also respect the fact that they are not perfect . \\nwoody allen has made a couple less-than good films , and he\\'s my favorite . \\neven martin scorsese hasn\\'t had a perfect track record . \\nkevin smith , after a smashing debut with the classic \" clerks \" stooped as low to sell-out and make the dreadful \" mallrats . \" \\ni mean , so far the only director who\\'s made several films , none of which have been bad is richard linklater ( \" slacker , \" \" dazed and confused , \" \" before sunrise , \" and \" suburbia \" . . . all \\nwhich were great ) . \\nnow , i adore quentin tarantino . \\nhis first two films were classic films , the second one being one of the greatest films of all time . \\nbut 1995 just wasn\\'t that good of a year for him . \\nhe made way too many tv appearances . \\nhe mispronounced jackie chan\\'s name on the mtv movie awards . \\nand he made this film . \\n ( he was also awarded an oscar , so i guess that would be a grand exception ) . \\nrobert rodriguez is also a great director ; not a brilliant one , but a cool one . \\ni\\'ve never seen an alexandre rockwell or allison anders film , so i can\\'t comment on them . \\nbut in this crap ensemble director\\'s film , all four give pitiful efforts . \\npitiful for any director , too . \\nnow in all fairness , ensemble director pieces never really work out . \\ni\\'ve never seen all of \" new york stories , \" but have heard the first two films , by scorsese and francis ford coppola are crap ( i saw woody\\'s one , which was hilarious but not totally up to par ) . but i will rate each film individually and then report back to you on the overal average score of the film . \\nexposition : a simple one - a bellhop , ted ( the totally overdone tim roth , who\\'s a god and all , but not in this one , though he has a couple good moments ) is working on new year\\'s eve for his first shift ( ! ! ! ) in an old fancy hotel . \\nhe\\'s the only one there ( again : ! ! ! ) and he only has a couple rooms ( yet again : ! ! ! ) . \\nthe old bellhop ( the seemingly immortal marc lawrence - who hated pulp fiction actually ) hands over his cap to ted and he goes to his job happily . \\nas the night goes on , he becomes increasingly annoyed and hostile . \\nyea . \\n ( the short films are presented in order , btw ) : \\nthe missing ingredient writer/director : allison anders starring : sammi davis , amanda decadenet , valeria golino , madonna , ione skye , lili taylor , alicia witt \\nthis one starts it off horribly with no plot , no intrigue , and crap dialogue . \\nthe situation is so terrible that it\\'s physically painful to watch . \\nthe plot has something to do with a coven of witches needing sperm to bring back a godess who is ( gasp ! ) \\nstuck inside some object in their hotel room . \\nthe witch that was supposed to bring it ( ione skye ) calls up ted and asks him if she can perform fellatio on him to get it . \\nyeah , that\\'s what i said . \\nstupid plot , inane characters who aren\\'t interesting at all , etc , etc , etc . the only good thing about this is it has a good cast which , in turn , it wastes pitifully . \\nnot even actually funny for a second . \\nmy rating ( out of 5 ) : no stars ! ! ! ! \\nthe wrong man writer/director : alexandre rockwell starring : david proval , jennifer beals and laurence bender \\nanother bad little film with another stupid sex thing going on . \\nted stumbles into the wrong room or something and gets in the middle of a couple ( david proval and jennifer beals in her attempt at \" coming back \" ) who are playing sex games . \\nted tries to escape and we cheer him on so it will end soon . \\nbut at least this has a bit of comedy in it , just not that much . \\nand david proval has never overacted as much . \\nand it\\'s \" pulp fiction \" producer laurence bender who gets to puke from a window . \\na masterpiece compared to the first one , but still . . . \\nthe misbehavers writer/director : robert rodriguez starring : antonio banderes , tamlyn tomita , lana mckissack , danny verduzco , salma hayek \\nwould a robert rodriguez film be the same without salma hayek\\'s navel ? \\nnope . \\nluckily she\\'s on the tv dancing so we get to see her . \\nsurprisingly enough , when i read the screenplay ( about a year before actually seeing it ) , this one seemed to have the most potential . \\nit was fast-paced , funny , and well , funny . \\nbut when i watched it , it seemed anti-climactic and only seemed to gain any momentum towards the end when everything happened at once . \\nantonio overacts nicely and the two kids ( lana and danny ) are funny . \\nbut , as i said , it moves slowly and in that way , it\\'s more painful than funny . \\nbut the ending was stupid and funny at the same time . \\noh ! \\nthe plot : antonio is a supposed gangster ( assumed , really ) who leaves his two troubling kids home while he and his wife ( tomita ) go out to get drunk at a new year\\'s party . \\nantonio hires ted for a couple bucks to watch his kids all night long , but things go wrong . . . it \\nwas okay . \\nthe man from hollywood writer/director : quentin tarantino starring : quentin tarantino , bruce willis , paul calderon and jennifer beals ( again ) \\nironically , this one could be considered the best for a bad reason : it best represents what quentin has done with this film . \\nhe plays chester , a spoiled brat actor or something who has just had a huge box-office hit on his hands and is living it up by playing an anti-climactic game from a hitchcock tv episode starring steve mcqueen and peter lorre where they gamble to see if one of them can get light from his lighter ten times in a row . \\nthey\\'re drunk and need sober but nervous ted to hold the cleaver and bring it down if the lighter doesn\\'t light . \\nthey also pay him a lot of cash . \\nthis is so much exactly what this little film is about that it\\'s campy . \\ntim roth was probably payed a lot of money to do this stupid part in this stupid film made by a bunch of people who are high on themselves \\'cause they\\'ve had hits , major or minor . \\nit took quentin to realize that . \\nbut the thing is , it doesn\\'t seem like he realizes that . \\nif he did , i\\'d give this a good 3 stars . \\nbut this sucked . \\nit was anti-climactic and the dialogue wasn\\'t very good . \\nhe starts off with a very long steadicam shot then goes to flashes . \\nthat makes no sense . \\nit\\'s cool for a while , then he makes it uneven . \\nit\\'s long and it\\'s just not very good . \\nhopefully quentin never repeats what he did with this one . \\nconclusion : what\\'s the moral here ? \\nif you\\'ve made celebrated films , don\\'t do an ensemble piece . \\nthey should have re-watched \" new york stories \" and then stopped in their tracks . \\nnone of these have any point to them and they\\'re embarrassing to not only the writer/directors , but to the actors \\'cause they\\'re working with crap . \\nbut i will forgive everyone involved and i especially look forward to quentin\\'s next directing job ( even though he and rodriguez jumped back to the top immeadiately with the cool \" from dusk till dawn , \" which i found exhilerating ) . \\ni love quentin and i suppose it\\'s good he made \" the man from hollywood \" because it makes him seem more realistic and not some \" god of cinema . \" \\ni seem to respect directors if they aren\\'t \" gods \" and are actually human beings who make mistakes . \\n \" the man from hollywood \" is his big mistake and let\\'s hope he doesn\\'t return her continuously . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : a down-and-out girl moves in with some over-the-top models and falls in love with a goofy-but-loveable guy from across the street . \\naaaaaaaaah ! \\nthen one day , she sees him knock a woman upside the head with a baseball bat . \\nooooooooh ! \\nshe must then join together with her model-friends to find out whether or not this guy is really goofy-but-loveable , or a psycho killer . \\naaaaaaaaah ! \\ncritique : completely idiotic . \\nokay , so maybe i\\'m being a little too nice . \\nthis movie starts off dumb , moves into the ridiculous and eventually graduates to idiocy . \\nthere . . . that\\'s \\nmore like it ! \\nand how , you may ask ? \\nwell , it\\'s simple really . \\nfour of the dumbest stereotypical models in the world ( oh my god , i just found out that the actresses playing the parts are models in real life . . . yipes ! ) \\njoin monica potter ( in a role which can only be described as an obvious cry for help ) and freddie prinze jr . ( not the actor , but the character better known as freddie prinze jr . ) , in a plot so stupid and far-fetched , that you have to wonder once more , how crap like this gets by the hollywood bigwigs . \\nthis thing stinks to high-heaven . \\nit\\'s just plain embarrassing for everyone involved . \\ni even felt my iq dip below its usual low as toilet humor somehow worked its way into this so-called romantic-comedy-action movie ? \\nugh . \\nwhat a pile of dung . \\nhey , i\\'m actually starting to sound a little like harry knowles here , but i guess i could see where his frustration comes from time to time . \\nit\\'s sad really . \\na movie which actually had quite a few people in my audience laughing at its idiocy , including the over-used \" folks hiding in the bathroom while someone else comes in to take a crap and fart \" gag . \\nand how about that dumb blonde model who keeps running into things . \\npure hilarity ! \\nor maybe i\\'m just too jaded , too much of a critic , not relaxed enough to enjoy this fluff-piece . . . uuuhhmmm . . . naaaaah ! ! \\nthis movie sucks the big one . \\nit\\'s chockfull of stupid characters delivering inane dialogue fitting snuggly into a preposterous plot . \\nthis is the kind of movie that has one character inserting another character into a car headfirst to the floor only because . . . well , \\nit\\'s supposed to be funny , see ? \\nyou see , that person then has their legs swinging in the other person\\'s face as they drive and that distracts the driver , see , and well , that\\'s kinda funny , no ? \\nharumph . . . yeah , \\nwell . . . you \\nget the picture ! \\nanyhoo , freddie prinze jr . . . . nuff \\nsaid . \\nmonica potter , a bad career move , but we might forgive you if you keep up the julia roberts bit . \\nthe rest of the model girls . . . well , \\nthanks for being there so i had something to look at , but please apologize to the entire modeling community as a whole , for making them all out to be complete imbeciles ! ! \\nso why the three points out of ten , you may ask ? \\nwell , it\\'s simple really . \\none point goes to the russian model girl and that cool accent ( don\\'t ask me why , but it actually turned me on ) . \\none point goes out to all of the model girls for being in the movie ( nice window decoration . . . natch ! ) . \\nand one last point goes out to the makers of this film , who spared us any long sorted story , and made sure to give us the opportunity of leaving the theatre after only 90 minutes of manufactured garbage , so that we could run out as fast as we can , grab the next person that we see walking down the street and warn them of the devil that is . . . freddie prinze jr . . . i \\nmean , head over heels . \\nyou\\'ve been warned , good people . \\nps : didja notice how i didn\\'t even mention rear window once in my entire review ? \\ni didn\\'t want to taint the memory of the classic flick by having it uttered alongside this thing , but then again , i just did mention it , but i guess it doesn\\'t count in the ps section . . . or \\ndoes it ? \\nooooh , whatever . . . i have a headache ! \\n ( i think my brain is coming back to life ) \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\n10 things i hate about you ( 7/10 ) - coyote ugly ( 6 . 5/10 ) \\n- down to you ( 6 . 5/10 ) \\n- save the last dance ( 7/10 ) - she\\'s all that ( 6 . 5/10 ) \\n- the wedding planner ( 4/10 ) - you\\'ve got mail ( 5 . 5/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'here is a movie that sadly follows the hong kong-recipe of moviemaking and storytelling to the letter . \\nthese kinds of movies are marked by an eye-opening sequence that introduces us to the main characters ; a life-and-death plot in which these characters become involved ; the inclusion of a host of inconsequential characters ; ridiculous subplots , and sunglass-wearing henchmen . \\nthat is not to say that i don\\'t like hong kong influenced movies ; however , it is quite obvious that these moviemakers haven\\'t a clue that the american filmgoer needs more than hip-hop-talking thugs and stupid sight gags . \\nobserve the opening sequence . \\na band of hitmen are about to storm an apartment , led by melvin ( mark wahlberg ) and cisco ( lou diamond phillips ) . \\nthey are waiting for their partner to cut off the power so that they can storm the apartment with the help of infrared goggles . \\nhowever , their partner is unsure of which cable to cut . \\nhe is undecided . \\nthis happens for about 10 seconds . \\nthe audience finds some humor in his foolishness . \\nthe lights suddenly go out . \\ncisco is surprised and says : \" whoa . . . let\\'s \\ngo ! \" \\nand they storm the apartment in a very nicely executed sequence . \\nthe big hit of the title refers to a kidnapping that happens a quarter of the way through the film . \\nneeding cash , cisco devises a plan to kidnap the daughter ( china chow ) of wealthy japanese industrialist jiro nishi . \\nhowever , the daughter is also the god-daughter of paris ( avery brooks ) , who is cisco\\'s and melvin\\'s boss . \\ninfuriated and insufferable , paris commands cisco to uncover the mastermind of the kidnapping . \\nduring his \\'investigation\\' , cisco singles out melvin as the ringleader , and paris orders his capture and execution . \\nmelvin must now find a way to stay alive . \\nby the way , do you know how the investigation takes place ? \\ncisco\\'s partner makes the ransom phone call believing that his call will not be traced because of a trace buster that prevents tracing . \\nbut , mr . nishi has a trace buster buster . \\nto counter that , cisco\\'s partner has a trace buster buster buster . \\nbut nishi has a trace buster buster buster buster . \\nand so on . . . \\nthere is no doubt that this is an interesting world in which they live . \\nand there are lots of issues that we\\'d like to know more about . \\nhow does melvin justify his profession to his fiancee ? \\nwhat goes on among this clique ? \\nwhy is cisco at odds with melvin ? \\nthere is actually a lot of potential material that could have been explored , but it seems that no effort is made to go in that direction , and instead we are given a not-so-engrossing plot filled with one-liners , silly sight gags , extraneous sub-plots and tomfoolery . \\nand , i haven\\'t even mentioned his financee\\'s visiting parents who want them to separate , nor melvin\\'s mistress , nor the pimple-faced video clerk demanding the return of an overdue video and on and on and on . \\nif the big hit signals the future of hong kong style movies that are made for american audiences , then shoot me now . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"sydney lumet is the director whose work happens to be of varied quality . \\nhe is praised for some of the most important films of the previous decades , like twelve angry men , serpico or the verdict . \\nbut , in the same time , almost any of such pearls is followed by stinkers that hamper lumet's reputation . \\na stranger among us , 1992 rip-off of peter weir's witness , belongs to the latter category . \\nthe heroine of this movie is emily eden ( melanie griffith ) , tough lady cop who sometimes shows too much enthusiasm in battling bad guys on the streets of new york . \\nduring one of such actions , her partner nick ( jamey sheridan ) got hurt and as a result , she becomes depressed . \\nin order to help her recover , bosses give her rather easy task of locating missing jeweller who belonged to hassidic jew community . \\nemily starts investigation and soon realises that the case involves murder . \\nconcluding that the perpetrator belongs to community , she decides to go undercover . \\nthat isn't easy , because her modern manners are colliding with traditionalist ways . \\nthings get even more complicated when she develops feelings for young cabalistic scholar ariel ( eric thal ) . \\nusing peter weir's formula isn't the greatest flaw of this film . \\neven the lame and unispiring crime mystery subplot works to the certain extent . \\nbut the worst insult to viewer's audience is terrible miscasting of melanie griffith . \\nthe author of this review never liked this actress very much , but she was at least tolerable in some of her roles . \\nrole of emily eden , unfortunately , isn't one of them . \\nfirst of all , she can't pass for tough nypd street fighter , and her attempt to pass for orthodox jewish woman isn't much better . \\nscreenplay by robert j . avrech makes things even worse with some formulaic red herring subplots ( scene involving two italian gangsters was almost too painful to watch ) . \\nbut , on the other hand , other actors are more convincing ( lee richardson as an old rabbi , thal as ariel and charming mia sara as his intended bride ) , and the photography by andrzej bartkowiak very effectively creates atmosphere of warmth when the scenes take place in hassidic community . \\nalso , the film might educate viewers about hassidic culture . \\nthat is the only thing that prevents it from turning into total waste of time . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"damn those trailers . \\nhad it not been for the advertising of this film , which reveals far too much about its contents , i would have been glued to `under the sand' . \\nas it is , the film retains some value , thanks to an excellent performance by charlotte rampling , and a more mature francois ozon in the director's chair . \\nmarie ( charlotte rampling ) and her husband jean ( bruno cremer ) lounge on the beach . \\nshe takes a nap while he goes for a swim . \\nwhen marie wakes up , jean is nowhere to be found . \\nshe contacts authorities , but they can't find him either . \\ndid he disappear to start a new life ? \\nwas he killed by accident ? \\ndid he commit suicide ? \\nmarie still asks herself these questions a year later , and in order to move on with her life , she must find some answers . \\nit's a fine premise , and this little movie uses it to the limit . \\nthe film moves at a leisurely pace , a bit slow , but relaxing . \\nit's a very visual story , and you can pretty much just sit back without reading the subtitles . \\nthis is mostly thanks to the excellent camera work by antoine heberle and jeanne lapoirie , who shot the film in a dreamy haze , and the lead performance by rampling . \\nrampling is so expressive in her portrayal of marie , you connect with her character instantly , despite that she's delusional . \\nthe scenes where she interacts with her husband , who she still believes is alive , are heartbreaking . \\nshe can't quite get over him . \\nthey've been married for twenty-five years . \\nthe other actors , particularly jacques nolot , are excellent too . \\nthe sex in the film is rather unneeded , but compared to ozon's `criminal lovers' , it's the disney channel . \\nlikely to cause some discussion afterwards , `under the sand' is a fine movie going experience . \\nwhile it's hard to recommend as entertainment , it's a fine adult alternative about how we deal with loss . \\nozon seems to ask what you would do , and that's certainly a hard question to answer . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'making your first feature film ain\\'t easy . \\nassemble a decent , if not , strong cast , as writer/director robert moresco has done with one eyed king , and you\\'re already ahead of the game . \\nbut rehash old plot lines , tired dialogue , and standard clich ? s , and a well-intentioned effort such as this one could jeopardize your chance at a second feature film . \\nhow many more movies do we need about a rough neighborhood full of lifelong friends hopelessly turned to crime or worse ? \\nthe enormous catalog of such movies might dissuade a filmmaker from making yet another , but here we have it . \\nagain . \\nfive irish kids in nyc\\'s hell\\'s kitchen make an overemotional pact over some stolen rings on an anonymous rooftop . \\nwith teary music . \\nand slow motion . \\nin the film\\'s first scene . \\nthe kids grow up to be fairly worthless adults , unable or unwilling to make their way out of the heat of the kitchen . \\nleading the clueless pack is william baldwin as a good-hearted guy who watches out for his buddies and is in tight with local mob head armand assante . \\ni\\'d like to say that his character gets involved over his head in some sort of blah , blah , blah , but all we seem to get are little tastes of possible plot points . \\nhe\\'s concerned about buddy jason gedrick\\'s heroin abuse . \\nhe sticks up for jim breuer after he impregnates baldwin\\'s character\\'s sister . \\nhe looks into who might be pushing the most moronic-looking counterfeit cash ever made ( a genuinely funny touch ) . \\nbut none of this ever really amounts to anything . \\nit seems that moresco\\'s greater concern is to provide that intangible \" slice of life \" , that flavor of the neighborhood that everyone\\'s been trying to evoke since scorsese\\'s early work . \\nso , we get the drunk guys , hugging and singing together at the local bar , to prove to us that they really love each other . \\n ( do people actually do this ! ? ) \\nwe get a lot of tough street talk -- usually mumbled for effect -- and a whole lot of the f-word , whether it sounds like it fits or not . \\nwe also get a handful of good actors in small roles that seem to lack purpose . \\nbruno kirby , chazz palminteri , you know , guys you\\'ve seen in movies just like this one before . \\nassante is intelligent casting as the man that everyone fears , and baldwin\\'s performance is adequate , but most of the rest of the cast jump into the tough guy persona so thoroughly that it\\'s almost funny . \\nmoresco , a theater guy and sometimes tv writer ( including the series falcone ) , obviously labored over this one as anyone might a first child , but the content is probably too personal . \\nas a result , the movie\\'s style is heavy-handed , in need of a considerable amount of toning down . \\nnearly every time an action by the grown up gang recalls something they did as kids , moresco reminds us -- boy does he remind us . \\nwith slow dissolves to the earlier scene , running in slow motion , complete with dialogue from the present , just in case we don\\'t comprehend the link to the past . \\nmoresco needs to either trust his audience\\'s intelligence , or have more faith in his own presentation rather than beat us over the head with it . \\nhis next project should have a little more personal distance , and a lot more subtlety . \\nif he actually gets that chance . \\nreviewed as part of our 2001 boston film festival coverage ( feature story coming soon ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'garry shandling makes his long overdue starring film debut as an alien from a planet populated only by genetically created men , who are looking to take over the earth by propagating their own species there . \\nshandling is chosen for the mission , is given the name harold anderson , and is set up as a banker in seattle . \\nafter a few disastrous \" mating \" attempts , he figures his best bet will be susan ( annette bening ) , a former alcoholic who eventually tells harold that she won\\'t have sex again until she gets married . \\nthe leader of harold\\'s planet ( ben kingsley ) tells him to marry her , and harold is soon exposed to all the \" joys \" of married life . \\ndespite its title and premise which seem to imply that this is some jerry lewis vehicle from the late 1960s , what planet are you from ? \\nis a very funny movie . \\nthe plot ( which the film wisely doesn\\'t linger on the specifics of for too long ) is of course nothing more than framework for the jokes , most of which work very well . \\nthe material may be considered crude and tasteless by many , and i might have thought so as well had shandling not been the lead . \\nbut he brings a sort of pathetic charm to the role , and it\\'s his performance that makes the film truly funny instead of just offensive . \\nplus if you think about it , what planet are you from ? \\ncould have very easily gone the gross-out route ( considering that shandling\\'s character is given a detachable penis that vibrates and hums when he gets excited ) . \\nwe never see anything though , it\\'s all implied , which gives the film a touch of class amidst its crudeness . \\ni\\'m glad to see that someone in hollywood still understands the concept of \" less is more \" . \\nthe talented supporting cast certainly adds to one\\'s enjoyment of this film . \\nannette bening ( oddly playing a merged version of her real estate salesman character from american beauty and her ditzy spiritualist character from mars attacks ! ) \\ndoes a fine job keeping up with shandling and makes a good catalyst for his brand of humor . \\nshe even manages to pull off a potentially disastrous scene where she has to perform a rather goofy rendition of \" high hopes \" for a lengthy period of time . \\nben kingsley , john goodman and greg kinnear all fare well in their performances as well , and linda fiorentino . . . \\ngood lord , there should be some sort of law stating that no woman can be that sexy . \\neverything about her character in this film oozes raw sexuality . \\nwhat planet are you from ? \\nis available on dvd from columbia tristar home video . \\nthe disc gives you the choice of either watching the film full frame or in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( and enhanced for 16x9 televisions . \\nalso included on the disc as extras : a decent making-of featurette , an isolated score track , talent files for the cast and crew , and the film\\'s original theatrical trailer ( as well as trailers for wolf , men in black , bugsy and as good as it gets ) . \\nwhen i first saw that the disc featured an isolated score track , i actually laughed . \\nhow great could the music for a silly little comedy be for it to get it\\'s own isolated track ? \\nwell as it turns out , it\\'s a mighty fine score from carter burwell ( fargo , the hudsucker proxy ) that i enjoyed listening to again while i typed up this review . \\nkudos to columbia tristar for adding that feature to the disc . \\nwhat planet are your from ? \\nwas unjustly ignored in theaters , and i hope it finds its deserved audience on home video . \\nthis fine dvd is certainly a great way to see it . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'american pie acknowledges a cold , hard fact that most movies don\\'t : it is very difficult to get laid . \\nits four virgin heroes are jim ( biggs ) , a chronic masturbator , kev ( nicholas ) , who desperately wants to deflower his girlfriend ( reid ) , oz ( klein ) , a lacrosse player whose approach requires some fine tuning , and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) , a germphobe ( his crass nickname is hilarious , but i won\\'t spoil it here ) who pays a classmate to spread rumours about the size of his member . \\njim , kev , oz and finch attend a high school in suburban michigan full of so many impossibly beautiful women it\\'s no wonder they\\'re horny all the time . \\nafter a party at their studly friend stifler\\'s ( seann william scott , in the film\\'s sharpest performance ) house leaves them sexually unsatisfied , the quartet make a pact : to \" lose it \" by graduation-specifically , prom night , which is only a few weeks away . \\namerican pie is in the tradition of bachelor party or revenge of the nerds . \\nalmost every conversation these characters have revolves around makin\\' whoopee . \\nall women are there to be ogled . \\n ( alyson hannigan\\'s perky music student is the only memorable female of the bunch . ) \\nsituations abound that defy logic only to arouse and/or amuse its core audience , adolescent boys . \\n ( to arouse : nadia\\'s ( shannon elizabeth ) internet striptease-an unexpectedly raucous ( and guiltily pleasurable ) sequence . \\nto amuse : jim\\'s lusty encounter with a hot apple pie . ) \\nwhat differentiates american pie from those dirty eighties comedies , aside from a very nineties obsession with bodily fluids * , is a cast that\\'s light years more appealing than that of , say , just one of the guys . \\ntwo more standouts : klein and \" sctv \" \\'s eugene levy . \\nklein plays a kind-hearted athlete for the second time in a row , after alexander payne\\'s underappreciated election . \\ni hope to see more of this warm actor with the disarmingly honest face very soon . \\nlevy\\'s is the most crowd-pleasing performance , and indeed , it\\'s nice to see him back on the big screen in a role that makes wonderful use of that expressive brow . \\namerican pie also wants to emulate the teen flicks your parents _would_ let you watch growing up . \\nit skillfully employs a broad mix of pop tunes , much like john hughes\\' movies did , and even pays homage to the breakfast club a couple of times , most evidently when the prom band covers simple minds\\' \" don\\'t you ( forget about me ) . \" \\nthe picture ultimately has a healthy , if obligatory , attitude towards safe sex-even at their most libidinous , american pie\\'s protagonists first whip out a condom . \\nthe filmmakers prove that socially responsible raunch is possible . \\nfor its familiarity and for its charming leads , i recommend american pie , but the buzz on this film had me expecting something . . . fresher . \\nas far as the new teen cinema goes , it\\'s at the top of the heap . \\n * don\\'t say i didn\\'t warn you about the party scene . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"michael crichton has had a long career of writing novels , many of which are science fiction . \\nthe most profitable film adaptation of any novel was an adaptation of a michael crichton science fiction novel . \\nso in the logic of the film industry a good way to make a profitable film would be to make a big-budget adaptation of another crichton science fiction novel . \\ncongo failed , and i am afraid that sphere is probably not going to fare a whole lot better . \\nit a little better than just okay novel and it makes a film that is not even that good . \\nthe film is expensive , over one hundred million dollars ; is long , 133 minutes ; has a terrific cast , including dustin hoffman , samuel l . jackson , and sharon stone ; but has little that is really original and less that is exciting . \\nseveral years ago dr . norman goodman ( played by dustin hoffman ) was asked to write up a set of procedures for the government to follow if an alien entity was actually encountered . \\nthe plan he wrote was only semi-serious , but did explicitly define a team of experts who should investigate the alien . \\nnow that team has been assembled by a mysterious team leader named barnes ( peter coyote ) to study a spacecraft almost a half mile in length that apparently dropped into the pacific ocean in the early 1700s . \\nsuddenly norman's less than serious procedure has become an action plan for dealing with a real alien spacecraft . \\nincluded in the team to investigate are mathematician harry adams ( samuel l . jackson ) , biologist beth halperin ( sharon stone ) , and astrophysicist ted fielding ( liev schreiber ) . \\ntogether they travel to the deep pacific spaceship to understand its secrets . \\none major secret is the meaning of the huge sphere of gold-toned liquid metal at the heart of this spaceship . \\nwhat is disappointing about this film is that it does not have really effective performances . \\ndirector barry levinson is at his best with good actors rather than good special effects . \\nthe problem here is he is making a big-budget science fiction film . \\nit has some effects , but the most intriguing effect he shows only as an outline on a radar screen . \\nthe technique is to suggest rather than to show and let the actors and the viewer's imagination carry the film as robert wise did with the haunting . \\nthat could be a reasonable approach in a low-budget film . \\nbut that requires creating much more atmosphere than levinson can manage to muster . \\nit requires the actors to give really compelling performances and simply put , they don't . \\nhoffman's acting seems muted . \\njackson seems to laid back . \\nwe do not feel for these characters and do not get inside their heads . \\nlevinson paid big bucks for his actors and does not really get price performance . \\nand why we have queen latifah as a minor functionary on the expedition is anybody's guess . a \\ncast of unknowns could have delivered as much emotional impact at a fraction of the price . \\nlook how much more powerful a film like alien was with only moderate actors . \\nmost science fiction spectaculars these days have second-tier actors and first-tier special effects . \\nlevinson tries second-tier effects , and first-tier actors , but never makes that exchange pay off for the viewer . \\nperhaps sci-fi spectaculars are just not an actor's medium . \\nthe result gets a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" when it\\'s cold , molecules aren\\'t moving . \\neverything is clean . \" \\nthese are the essential words of mikey carver ( elijah wood ) , a young teenage boy living in 1973 new canaan , connecticut in the ice storm . \\nwhen mikey delivers these words to a bored science class , it is unlikely that anyone realizes how much they parallel mikey\\'s life and the lives that surround him . \\nhis father jim ( jamey sheridan ) is rarely seen and his mother janey ( sigourney weaver ) is having an affair with married neighbor ben hood ( kevin kline ) . \\nben\\'s wife elena ( joan allen ) suspects the affair , but doesn\\'t say anything . \\nmeanwhile , ben\\'s 14-year-old daughter wendy ( christina ricci ) continuously lures mikey and his younger brother sandy ( adam hann-byrd ) into sexual explorations . \\ntobey maguire plays paul hood , the 16-year-old narrator of the story who also happens to be the least prevalent character . \\nwe start the film with an interesting outlook on family from paul . \\nhe compares family to the fantastic four comic book , and even goes so far as to say that family is everybody\\'s own anti-matter ; something everybody will return to eventually , and the farther you go , the deeper you\\'ll return . \\nthe ice storm is a character piece that explores a dismal time both in america , and in the individual lives portrayed in the movie . \\neverything parallels everything else . \\nthe young teenagers trying to discover who they are thru drugs , sex , and alcohol is really almost identical to the parents trying to figure out the purpose in their own lives using the same methods . \\n \" when it\\'s cold outside , the molecules aren\\'t moving . \\neverything is clean . \" \\neverything is clean because nobody will admit what\\'s going on . \\neven the president is on tv denying his wrong-doings . \\nhow can you expect anything more out of a couple of suburban families riding the coattails of sexual revolution ? \\nall the sex and drugs is so obviously empty , and i think that\\'s the point of the film . \\nat first viewing , the entire movie might seem empty , but then why shouldn\\'t it parallel itself ? \\nyou don\\'t get to know the characters very deeply , but i think that\\'s because nobody in the movie knows each other either . \\nwe sadly watch two families go about their lives nearly oblivious to one another . \\nat first glance , you might think emotion is lost in the ending scenes because you haven\\'t gotten to know the characters well enough to sympathize - then you realize that just might be the point , and then you do feel the pain . \\nthe acting by all is quite good , but i particularly liked elijah wood . \\nhe doesn\\'t seem to be receiving as much recognition as the others , but i still found him to possess quite a real sense of being . \\nchristina ricci is being acclaimed for her part as the misguided teenage temptress who looks for something more to her life in the pants of every available boy . \\nstill , i say hats off remain to wood , joan allen\\'s subtle but believable performance as a lonely , unappreciated wife , and the always excellent kevin kline . \\ntobey maguire did a fine job , but his character which , perhaps , was the most intact , sensible person in the story , seemed a little lost . \\nhe was needed , but perhaps he should\\'ve been used more . \\nthe ice storm is being hailed by many as one of the best films of the year . \\ni hate to say that i don\\'t agree , but i don\\'t . \\nin fact , i can think of many other films that i would rank higher than this one . \\neven so , it is a very good film . \\nit takes a lot of retrospect to fully appreciate it\\'s art , but when you finally start seeing things in it that you didn\\'t before , you start to grow even fonder of the characters and the story . \\nperhaps this is one to see , ponder , and then watch again with different eyes . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"you've probably heard the one about the priest and the rabbi , but never with the same dosage of featherweight charm that is sprinkled over `keeping the faith' . \\nit's a fluffy comedy , thoroughly glazed with a sense of innocuous innocence and good cheer , regarding two moral topics -- love and religion -- and how a romantic triangle causes the two to collide head-on . \\nas youngsters , brian finn , jacob schramm and anna reilly were an inseparable trio . \\nwhile their friendship progressed , anna always had the compassion to shower them both with the same love and support , so neither would feel excluded . \\nbut tragedy soon struck , as anna was forced to move away . \\nnow adults , brian ( edward norton ) and jacob ( ben stiller ) hold similar but contrastive jobs . \\nthe likable and kind-hearted father brian is a catholic priest , while the spry and outgoing jacob acts as a jewish rabbi . \\non the basketball court , they refer to themselves as `the god squad' . \\nin the relationship field , brian abides by his catholic principle of celibacy , but jacob has reached the point where finding a jewish bride is practically mandatory . \\neverything changes when anna ( jenna elfman ) returns to new york to visit her childhood chums . \\nnow a workaholic , she devotes endless hours per week to her business , but does find spare time to reminisce with brian and jacob - both ecstatic about seeing their elementary school sweetheart once again . \\nwith these oddball ingredients tossed into one cocktail , there's bound to be some awkward romance between our three central characters . \\npredicting the outcome is not entirely difficult , but `keeping the faith' is open , entertaining and refreshingly relaxed as it travels en route from point a to point b . \\nedward norton has emerged as one of the finest , most flexibly versatile actors in hollywood - a success story sparked by his critically lauded debut in the 1996 thriller `primal fear' . \\nafter shockingly bitter roles in `american history x' and , most recently , david fincher's vicious `fight club' , a quaint romantic comedy might seem like a peculiar choice . \\nnot in the least . \\nnorton slips into the director's chair for the first time with `keeping the faith' , and here his incisive , resourceful approach helps add additional craft to a surprisingly perceptive screenplay by stuart blumberg . \\nweighing every aspect , it is unanimously an impressive directorial debut . \\nin addition , norton pushes all the right buttons with the sheepish sweetheart brian , generating a thoroughly likable screen presence . \\nstiller ( the zipper guy from `there's something about mary' ) is firm and funny , boasting a fully-ripened comic maturity . \\nelfman's perky repetition can grow tiresome ( such is occasionally the case on tv's `dharma and greg' ) , but she seems perfectly rambunctious here . \\nthe remaining cast members offer fine support , from anne bancroft as jacob's animated jewish mom to milos forman as an elderly priest quick to contribute intelligent advice . \\n`keeping the faith' is the perfect date flick . . . \\nthough perfection is not a word to associate with the film in general . \\nthere is turbulence during the process of lift-off , as numerous failed attempts at establishing the situation cloud the projected comedy ahead . \\nonce the film does settle in , it is often funny and always cheerful . \\nstiller , norton and elfman have created three enormously lovable personalities . \\nwe enjoy their interaction , understand their various dilemmas and feel humbled to realize everything rings perfectly true . \\nthis is excluding the ending , which is acceptable and all , but seems to lack the charm and spontaneity of the preceding romantic entanglements . \\nnonetheless , a narrowly mishandled finale certainly won't wipe the smile off your face , nor anyone else's in the audience . \\n`keeping the faith' is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy , although one that is more observant while surveying the questions of love rather than religion . \\naww , what the hell . \\nthe quality is not quite heaven-sent , but this little charmer could revive our `faith' in a potentially tired filmmaking genre . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it\\'s tough to be an aspiring superhero in champion city . \\njust ask mr . furious ( ben stiller ) , the blue raja ( hank azaria ) , and the shoveler ( william h . macy ) . \\nthey\\'re trying to break into the biz , but captain amazing ( greg kinnear ) , the city\\'s hero numero uno , hogs all the action . \\nthe good captain has his own problems . \\nbecause he\\'s all but eliminated crime , amazing\\'s endorsement deals are falling through . \\nthe public craves a major slugfest , so amazing engineers the parole of his one-time arch enemy casanova frankenstein ( geoffrey rush ) . \\nfrankenstein succeeds beyond expectations ; he captures capt . amazing before setting out on his scheme to destroy the city . \\nso , no one is left to save the day but our would-be superheroes , but their abilities are more \" little league \" than \" justice league . \" \\nthe raja hurls forks at foes , the shoveler hits them with a shovel , and mr . furious just yells at people ( stiller is doing essentially the same character he played in a guest appearance on \" friends \" ) . \\nafter a painful first strike , the guys hold auditions for teammates and add the bowler ( janeane garofalo ) , who carries her dead father\\'s skull in her bowling ball ; invisible boy ( kel mitchell ) , who can only use his powers when no one is looking at him ; the spleen ( paul reubens ) , who blows devastating winds from his rear ; and the sphinx ( wes studi ) , a mysterious figure who will teach them to fight . \\n \" mystery men \" boasts one of the most talented and eclectic casts ever assembled . \\nin addition to those already mentioned , the credits include lena olin as frankenstein\\'s evil shrink , comedian eddie izzard and the fugees\\' prakazrel michel as disco-themed thugs , singer tom waits as an inventor of superhero weapons , artie lange ( from \" mad tv \" ) as another thug , claire forlani ( from \" meet joe black \" ) as a waitress mr . furious is pursuing , louise lasser ( from \" mary hartman , mary hartman \" ) as the blue raja\\'s mother , and actor/magician ricky jay as capt . amazing\\'s manager . \\nthe cast includes four oscar-nominated actors ! \\nwhen i saw the list of players early last year , i figured the result would be a can\\'t-miss comedy . \\nyet , i must report disappointment . \\nthe script is probably the worst of 1999 . \\nnearly every joke misfires . \\nthe stabs at comic books are too obvious to be funny . \\n ( for example , no one can recognize capt . amazing in his secret identity because he\\'s wearing glasses . ) \\nthe fart jokes surrounding the spleen are surprisingly the only gags that work . \\nthe cast tries hard , especially hank azaria , whose character adopts an effete british accent while in costume , but the script is just too lame to run . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this feature is like a double header , two sets of clich ? s for the price of one . \\nnot only do we get the usual tired sports chestnuts , but the banal rich girl-poor boy love story is tossed in for good measure . \\nan original moment in this loser is as rare as a chicago cubs world series appearance . \\nthe screenplay by kevin falls and john gatins , based on a story by falls , merely lobs its plotline at the audience . \\nthis is a story that needed sent down for seasoning and more coaching . \\nsummer catch centers around ryan dunne ( freddie prinze jr . ) , a cape cod youth chosen to participate in the prestigious cape cod baseball league , supposedly a showcase for the best young amateur and college players in the country . \\nryan is a blue-collar kind of guy . \\nhe works with his dad taking care of the lawns of cape cod's rich and famous . \\nhe also , as we are informed early , his own worst enemy . \\nhe has the potential and the talent , but always seems to self-destruct at the crucial moment . \\nso , ryan tries to remained focused on baseball . \\nthen he meets tenley parrish ( jessica biel ) , daughter of one of the blue bloods whose lawn he manicures . \\ntenley , a name only a hack screenwriter could invent , is unlike her snobbish counterparts and falls for ryan . \\nif you can't figure out where all this nonsense leads , then you need a remedial course in film viewing . \\nas always prinze is pretty to look at , but his performance mainly consists of facial expressions : puppy dog love , heartbreak , frustration , self-loathing or determination . \\nbiel cries a lot , while bruce davison merely acts smarmy as her class-conscious father . \\nthe only beacon is matthew lillard's fun-loving billy brubaker , the team's catcher . \\nsummer catch borrows situations and stylings from other baseball movies , such as bull durham and the natural . \\nno curve balls here , no sliders . \\nevery pitch is predictable . \\na blind umpire could call this movie . \\nsummer catch is strictly rookie league moviemaking . \\nit has as much chance of making the movie hall of fame as the dodgers have of moving back to brooklyn . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it is with hesitance that i call \" apocalypse now \" a masterpiece . \\ncertainly , it had the pedigree to be one of the greatest films ever made , with a director known for producing masterpieces with ease , and some of the finest actors of the 1970\\'s . \\nthe plot , an adaptation of joseph conrad\\'s \" heart of darkness \" , was set in vietnam , and the timing of the film was supposed to be brilliant , coming on the heels of the end of the war . \\n \" apocalypse \" certainly has its moments , some of which are the finest in film history . \\nthe plot is fairly simple . \\ncaptain willard ( sheen ) , is a troubled soldier who came back to hanoi for a 2nd tour of duty . \\nhis mission is simple : take a boat up to cambodian territory , and destroy the command of renegade colonel kurtz ( brando ) \" with extreme prejudice \" . \\nalong the way , willard runs into a series of adventures , including one with lt . col . kilgore ( duvall ) , and a strange encounter with playboy bunnies . \\nwillard\\' s four person crew finally make it to kurtz\\' compound , where he discovers kurtz has set himself up as a god among the natives . \\nwillard\\'s experiences with kurtz take up the last half-hour , with a confrontation and eventual ending . \\nthe movie is visually breathtaking . \\nthe battle scenes are exquisitely done , and the score is brilliant , setting a murky mood of darkness that is first-rate . \\nthe collage of disturbing images that coppola presents is at times both astonishing and sickening . \\nthe vast amount of detail poured into every war scene is stunning , and there are many episodes that are deeply powerful which resonate through the entire movie . \\nthe journey to kurtz\\' camp is quite a ride , with psychosis setting in on almost every character . \\nthe most interesting one is kilgore , the lt . col . who cares more about the surf than about the mission . \\nit is at times revolting , psychotic , and incredible , and it is one hell of a movie . \\nthe scenes are bold , inventive , and powerful , and the acting is stunning , especially be sheen , duvall , and fishburne . \\nthe narration is exquisite , as is the mystery of kurtz . \\ncoppola sets about a hallucinatory ride through vietnam , kind of like \" saving private ryan \" on lsd . \\nthe film is jarring in its implications , and psychotic in its execution . \\nthe problems come when the film slows down . \\none of the major scenes in the film , where the boat arrives at the final army checkpoint before they start their search for kurtz , is a colossal mess . \\nthe dialogue is confusing , the lighting is atrocious , and the scene drags on for 10 terrible minutes of film . \\nthe true problems happen after the crew does come into the kurtz compound . \\nthe film slows down to a drag . \\nsheen seems forever captured by a madman , played by brando is a lazy performance that is not deserving of the accolades it received . \\nbrando is in the film for no more than 15 minutes , but is bathed in shadows the entire time , making the last half hour of the film visually pathetic . \\nthe scenes are poorly done , the dialogue is muffled , and the whole mess is utterly confusing beyond all belief . \\nsheen seems to adore this man , but why the viewers are never told . \\nthe entire journey is supposed to be a prelude for a stunning entrance of this god-like kurtz , but the scenes fall way short of expectations . \\ngranted , it has its moments , which are brutally horrific , but the general feeling is one of confusion . \\nbrando mumbles his lines in a incoherent stir , and my feeling was that this could never be a great man , this could never be a man who inspires hundreds to follow him , so why do they do it ? \\nthere are moments of brilliance , but the visual confusion dilutes the power of the scene . \\nthere are too many questions left unanswered with the character of kurtz to have a satisfying ending . \\nthe finest scene at the end is sheen\\'s escape , and his entrace into the temple . \\nhis rise out of the water , with the smoke coming off of his slicked head , is a brilliant 30 seconds of film . \\nyet , you cannot shake the feeling that there is so much more this film could have done . \\nthe psychotic ride is unforgettable at times , and indeed the film on the whole is very good . \\nit is a stunningly flawed expression of film , for it addresses major issues , such as man\\'s mental stamina during bouts of war . \\nbut one still cannot shake the feeling that this film could have so much more powerful , had the character of kurtz been more explored , and had sheen truly succumbed to the fate that the viewer thought he was destined for . \\nthere is too much good material in here not to be called a masterpiece , but it could have been so much more rewarding . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when 17 year old beau hall ( jonathan tucker , \" the virgin suicides \" ) gets in a car accident after drinking with his 30 year old companion , club owner darby reese ( josh lucas , \" session 9 \" ) , his mom , margaret ( tilda swinton , \" the war zone \" ) pays reese a visit to convince him to leave her son alone . \\ninstead , reese travels out to their lake tahoe home and lures beau out to the boat house where beau learns that his mother was right about reese . \\nthe next morning margaret discovers darby\\'s dead body on their beach and , suspecting the worst , weights it down in a distant part of the lake . \\nbut her troubles are just beginning , as she soon learns with the arrival of blackmailer alek spera ( goran visnjic , \" practical magic \" ) in \" the deep end . \" \\nthe incredibly pale , red-headed scottish actress swinton immerses herself into the role of the reserved american super-mom whose life revolves around serving the needs of her three children and live-in father-in-law jack ( peter donat , \" the game \" ) . \\nshe shows great strength while allowing other emotions to glimmer through - discomfort at challenging reese in his gay disco ( named the deep end ) , near panic at having to dive down to his body to retrieve car keys , or even wry humor when an attempt to get help from jack becomes hopelessly miscommunicated . \\ngradually her loneliness becomes apparent ( her husband\\'s a naval officer , usually away at sea ) when her attempts to email him her concerns about beau are deleted and later , when a most unusual , yet chaste , romance turns tragic . \\nit\\'s a terrific performance . \\nthe stendahl syndrome-like script , adapted from elisabeth sanxay holding\\'s 40\\'s noir novel \\'the blank wall\\' by directors scott mcgehee and david siegel , would be unbelievable if not for swinton and her costar visnjic . \\nalek spera is a wrong side of the tracks loser who arrives after reese\\'s body has been discovered . \\nhe shows margaret a videotape of beau having sex with reese and demands $50 , 000 or he\\'ll turn the tape over to the reno police . \\nsubsequent visits will turn his mind set upside down and backwards , though , as he comes to admire and even love the woman he set out to blackmail . \\nthere\\'s yet another problem , though - his partner nagle ( raymond barry , \" dead man walking \" ) is a harder cored criminal who won\\'t let up until his share of the money is delivered . \\nvisnjic\\'s dark , brooding turn has an interior shading to it that makes us believe he\\'s a victim of circumstance and environment . \\nhis turnaround is palpable as he witnesses margaret\\'s inherent decency and her workaday surroundings . \\nalso outstanding is tucker as beau , who has a terrific character arc and pas de deux with his mother . \\ninitially beau\\'s the typical sullen teen . \\n\\'you\\'re blowing this out of proportion , \\' he says of her concerns about reese , not comprehending that his mom has enough insight to have divined the true nature of the relationship . \\nas his mom gets in deeper and deeper trying to cover up a crime he didn\\'t commit , beau becomes suspicious of her actions and apparent new companion , turning tables . \\nhis early black eye becomes her later split lip . \\nwhile the two can never be completely honest with each other , their love for each other comes through strongly . \\nthe directors ( \" suture \" ) have a firm grip on their material and cast . \\nthe story builds perfectly with bold strokes amidst a myriad of subtler underpinnings . \\nwater imagery is constant ( an early shot of weirdly rushing green is revealed to be a young boy cleaning out an aquarium ) . \\ngiles nuttgens ( \" fire \" ) cinematography , which won the 2001 sundance festival award , is crisp and startlingly clear . \\nthe tahoe locations and production design by kelly mcgehee and christopher tandon provide a dual personality for the film , contrasting the calm , well off existence of the lake against the gambling city of reno . \\n \" the deep end \" is a complex story of domino deeds and shifting relationships . \\ntake the plunge . \\n',\n",
+       " b'scream 2 isn\\'t quite as clever as its predecessor , but it fills the gap with a cutting wit . \\ndeath -- even gruesome , bloody death -- can be funny if handled the right way ( some will be offended by this statement , but you need look no further than pulp fiction for an example ) . \\nand , while there\\'s plenty of horror to go around in scream 2 , the latest \\'90s slasher flick incarnation , there are also a few laughs to be had . \\nscream 2 is a slice-and-dice movie for those who don\\'t take their horror too seriously . \\nthe success of the original scream took everyone in the industry by surprise . \\nthe unexpected blockbuster , whose gross soared over the $100 million mark during its six month release window , opened just about a year ago and turned into one of the most profitable horror films of all time . \\na sequel was inevitable ; fortunately , nearly the entire creative team has returned for scream 2 , including director wes craven , screenwriter kevin williamson , and actors neve campbell , courtney cox , david arquette , jamie kennedy , and liev schreiber . \\nas stipulated by one of the \" rules of sequels \" uttered by a movie- obsessed character in the film , the body count in scream 2 is higher than that in the original . \\nparadoxically , there\\'s a lot less gore . \\nthere is blood , of course , but nothing excessive by slasher-movie standards , and there are no depictions of spilled entrails . \\ncraven has remembered that scares are more important that graphic displays of human insides and bodily fluids . \\na second strength of scream 2 is that it features a gallery of legitimate characters rather than a group of cardboard cut-out stereotypes lined up for slaughter . \\nafter all , we\\'ve known some of these people for two movies -- it\\'s almost impossible not to care about them at least a little . \\nscream 2 opens approximately two years after the original . \\nas in the first picture , there\\'s a slick , self-mocking prologue . \\nthis time , the victims are jada pinkett and omar epps , whose characters are visiting a local theater for a preview screening of the movie stab ( which is based on the \" true life \" events of scream ) . \\nsome of the smartest dialogue comes during this sequence as pinkett bemoans the lack of african american participation in horror films ( it\\'s surely no coincidence that , in addition to pinkett and epps , scream 2 features two black characters ) . \\nshortly thereafter , she and her boyfriend have been gutted , signaling the beginning of a series of copycat murders . \\ncraven lets loose a burst of tongue-in-cheek creativity for the \" movie within a movie \" sequences . \\nthey give him an opportunity to openly parody scream -- an act that he accomplishes with great panache . \\nstab features heather graham in the \" casey becker \" role ( played in the original by drew barrymore ) and tori spelling as \" sidney prescott \" ( neve campbell ) . \\nsadly , we only see a couple of scenes from stab . \\nit would have been a little more fun , i think , had craven used joe dante\\'s approach from matinee and shown lengthy excerpts from his satirical production . \\nfollowing the prologue , we are re-introduced to sidney prescott , who has left her sleepy hometown to go to windsor college . \\nher friend randy ( jamie kennedy ) is a student there as well , and he\\'s just as knowledgeable about horror films as ever . \\nonce the double murder at stab becomes big news , the media converges on windsor , looking to interview the original victim . \\nat the head of the flock of vultures is gale weathers ( courtney cox ) , who has a little surprise for sidney . \\nshe has brought cotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , the man sidney falsely accused of murder , with her . \\nalso arriving at the college is deputy dewey ( david arquette ) , who is there to act as a big brother to sidney during this latest round of tribulations . \\nin addition to the survivors from the original scream , the field of potential victims is well-populated . \\nthere\\'s a blond co-ed named cece ( sarah michelle gellar , who has now appeared in two of williamson\\'s movies -- this one and i know what you did last summer ) ; sidney\\'s requisite boyfriend , derek ( jerry o\\'connell ) ; a local newswoman ( laurie metcalf ) ; gale\\'s new cameraman ( duane martin ) ; a british drama teacher ( david warner ) ; and several sorority sisters and would-be sorority sisters ( portia de rossi , rebecca gayheart , elise neal , marisol nichols ) . \\nultimately , there are lots of attractive corpses . \\nfrom the stab scenes to lines like \" brothers don\\'t last long in situations like this , \" craven and williamson are clearly having a lot of fun with scream 2 , and the movie is enjoyable , if a little overlong ( the livelier first hour is better than the second ) . \\ntheir resolution to the obligatory \" whodunit ? \" \\nis less of a letdown than it could be , and knowingly offers a wink and nod at past unmasking scenes . \\n ( \" nice twist , \" quips the killer . \\n \" didn\\'t see it coming , didya ? \" ) \\none senses , however , that , by the end of this picture , the overall concept of a hip , self-referential slasher film has been played out . \\nsupposedly , there\\'s going to be a scream 3 , but , if the film makers don\\'t come up with something radical , we could end up with a classic case of sequel overkill . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" i seem to have glued myself . . . \\nto myself . \" \\nstarring jason biggs , seann william scott , chris klein , thomas ian nichols , allyson hannigan , shannon elizabeth , natasha lyonne , tara reid , mena suvari , eugene levy , jennifer coolidge . \\ndirected by j . b . rogers . \\nrated r . \\namerican pie 2 reunites the cast members from american pie in a different setting ; instead of being high school seniors looking to score before they graduate , they are now past their first year of college and have gathered in a beach house to enjoy the summer of their lives . \\njim ( jason biggs ) is still an insecure geek looking to improve his performance , oz ( chris klein ) is still the sweetest guy on the block , having sickeningly saccharine phone conversations with his studying-abroad girlfriend , stifler ( seann william scott ) is still a horny stoner , kevin ( thomas ian nichols ) still has no personality and finch ( eddie kaye thomas ) still longs for stifler\\'s mom . \\nhave i missed anyone ? \\nso , obviously , not much has changed . \\nthis is not a problem , provided that the movie boasts the rapid-fire hilarity and unexpectedly true sentiment of the original . \\nbut american pie 2 is the very definition of \" sequelitis . \" \\nit\\'s coarser , yes , and it pushes the envelope even more , but its heart isn\\'t in it . \\nit\\'s easy cash to capitalize off the first film\\'s success , but it would have been a worthier investment to prolong the franchise by coming up with something original . \\npart of the reason why the film doesn\\'t work , i think , is that while in the original the kids\\' quest for sex was a coming-of-age stepping stone as much as an outlet for their horniness . \\nhere , everything has been cheapened . \\nthey behave like those idiot frat boys who kill themselves drinking ; they have no motivation except for sex , sex , beer and sex . \\nthat\\'s not to say that you can\\'t make a decent comedy from that premise , but it is one of american pie 2\\'s undoings . \\nmissing , too , is the sweetness that permeated american pie , the this-could-be-you quality of the main players . \\nhere , the characters are too aware of themselves as pop-culture icons , and they\\'re even more one-note . \\nstifler and finch are now caricatures while jim , oz and kevin are forced to make awkward self-discoveries at arbitrary moments , none of them betraying what the writers think the audiences want to see . \\nand then there\\'s the soon-to-be-notorious scene where jim superglues \" himself to himself , \" which perfectly demonstrates yet another of the film\\'s ailments , one that also permeated say it isn\\'t so , director j . b . rodgers\\' debut . \\nthere\\'s a fine line between comedy and abject humiliation , and american pie 2 is on the wrong side of it . \\nit\\'s hard to laugh at the characters when you are profoundly embarrassed for them . \\ni shielded my eyes watching this more than i have watching any horror movie . \\nif there\\'s one redeeming factor to american pie 2 , it\\'s the inimitable eugene levy as jim\\'s dad , who pops in on jim as he\\'s about to score and utters lines like \" your mother and i have been known to get frisky . . . \\nnot so much anymore , but . . . \" \\nand then when the girl\\'s parents walk in , blurts out \" this must be your daughter ! \\ni didn\\'t get her name , but hopefully my son did . \" \\nif only the rest of the movie had the wit and wisdom of levy\\'s performance . \\nthis is an unworthy sequel to a gross-fest that brought back the raunchy teen comedy . \\nthe box-office of this onw should keep the genre going strong , which is disappointing . \\nthe genre needs a hiatus ; filmmakers are getting lazy . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : dumb dud of an entry in the body heat sweepstakes , and now something of a landmark for having spawned a jillion clones . \\nbasic instinct\\'s worst crime is that it\\'s not just a bad movie , but in many ways , an incompetent one as well . \\nit\\'s stupid in itself , and stupid to think its audience is as stupid as it is . \\nit\\'s supposed to be a thriller , but the plot is dead on its feet , and ultimately arbitrary ; it\\'s only put into the movie to jerk us around . \\nit\\'s also supposed to be sexy , but it\\'s instead got the unpleasant rawness of a teenager showing younger kids his collections of dirty pictures . \\nit\\'s a ripoff . \\nthe story opens with a rock star being murdered while in the throes of orgasm . \\nthe biggest suspect is an authoress , catherine tramell ( sharon stone ) , who wrote a novel in which the murder was eerily presaged . \\nor maybe it\\'s the work of a copycat ? \\nthese and other plot threads get fed to the detective who\\'s on the case ( michael douglas ) , who has a few problems himself . \\nlike we wonder if his elevator goes to the top floor . \\nwe can measure with a stopwatch the time from them setting eyes on each other to the moment they are doing the mattress dance . \\njoe eszterhas has written the screenplay , and he uses a device that he used before in the much better jagged edge : the killer\\'s identity is kept a secret until the movie\\'s final shot . \\nthis isn\\'t in itself a problem -- the problem is that up until that point , we\\'ve been given nothing to work with . \\nevery clue in the movie -- every clue -- is ambiguous . \\nthe whole thriller aspect of the movie is a shill . \\nred herrings , dead plot threads , violence , and kinky sexuality litter the movie like potholes in manhattan streets . \\nthey add up to zip , because they\\'re not happening to people we care about . \\ndouglas\\'s character is foulmouthed and bitter and that\\'s it ; stone\\'s character has an iron-on smile that never changes ; the rest are forgettable . \\nwhen we don\\'t even have the luxury of giving a damn about anyone in the movie , who cares what happens in it ? \\nespecially with an ending that is not only unsatisfying , but in many ways inexplicable ? \\n ( a friend of mine once came up with a rule of thumb about movie characters : \" if no one in the movie behaves like anyone you know , or would * care * to know , just leave ! \" ) \\none of the nastier things about the movie is the way it treats lesbianism not as an integral part of someone\\'s life , but as a kind of kink -- something to thrill men with . \\ni despair whenever i encounter this kind of stupidity in mainstream entertainment ; are we still so culturally neanderthal that the only way to include something like that in a big-budget hollywood film is as a hefnerism ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'when people are talking about good old times , they actually want to make some bad times look better . \\nnice example of such behaviour is contemporary attitude of popular media towards the 1970s . \\nfor new generations , superseventies are the lost golden age of chic fashion , cult tv shows and sexual freedom unchecked by aids . \\nfor people who actually had to live in that period , it was the gloomy decade , marked by lost ideals of 1968 , rampant inflation and unemployment , international terrorism , fuel crisis and loss of faith in almost anything that previous generation stood for . \\nfeelings of despair and nihilism found its reflections in many films of that era . \\nmartin scorsese\\'s taxi driver , which symbolises both the glory and despair of the seventies , is most celebrated of them all . \\nthe movie\\'s protagonist is travis bickle ( robert de niro ) , 26-year old former marine who takes the job of taxi driver in new york city because he can\\'t sleep at nights . \\nthe job gets him exposed to the dark side of apocalyptic megalopolis , and travis gradually gets alienated from the rest of world . \\nthe only bright spot in his life is betsy ( cybil sheperd ) , attractive woman working in senator palantine\\'s presidential campaign . \\ntheir date ends as humiliating fiasco because travis makes fatal mistake by inviting her to porno movie theatre . \\nlosing his only link to better side of the world , travis gradually descends into psychosis , becoming convinced that his mission in life is to battle scum on the street . \\nhe purchases a formidable arsenal of guns and begins physical preparations for the inevitable conflict . \\nthat conflict finally comes when he takes personal interest in iris ( jodie foster ) , 12-year old prostitute who temporarily took refuge in his taxi . \\nas many great movies that got cult status through the years , taxi driver became the object of many interpretations . \\nfor some critics and scholars it is an exploration of universal subjects that date back to dostoyevski - loss of moral compass in a bleak reality of dirty , overpopulated industrial cities ; the story could have been set in 19th century same as in our times . \\nfor others , the movie uses raskolnikov-like figure in order to portray burning problems of 1970s america - its apparent inability to deal with the consequences of rapid social changes that occurred in previous decade . \\nbrilliant performance of robert de niro in role of a lifetime can give arguments for both sides . \\nhis travis bickle has a lot in common with most of the average viewers of today - many of us share his feelings of isolation , loneliness and outrage towards crime , drugs , prostitution and senseless street violence . \\nhis pathetic attempts to establish some kind of human connection with the people around him , sometimes in most unusual circumstances - like with secret service agents , pimps or job interviewers - make him a person too goofy to be the hero , and too pathetic to be the classic villain . \\nhowever , most of the average viewers are sensible enough to recognise the tin line that separate concerned citizens or troubled souls from fanatical madmen . \\nbut despite anything , average viewer at the end actually cheers for travis - his crusade against \" scum \" is something that average person wants , but doesn\\'t have a stomach/lack of brains to do it . \\nwhile de niro\\'s travis might come in and out of particular times and places , other persons that appear in the film ( mostly played by the character actors ) give it distinctively 1970s feel . \\nwizzard ( played by peter boyle ) presents the only link with america\\'s better past ; but only because he is the oldest taxi driver in company and therefore everybody assumes that he \" knows stuff \" . \\nhis obvious inadequacy in giving advice to troubled travis illustrates the inability of pre-1960s generations to find answers to the problems of gloomy decade . \\nother characters , on the other hand , show the bad side of new age . \\nmatthew \" sport \" ( keitel , who befriended real-life pimps in other to prepare for his role of a lifetime ) is dressed like a hippie ; iris found excuse for her escape to the world of drugs and child prostitution in a ideology of counterculture . \\nporno movies , that should be the element of new times of sexual freedom , are too much even for supposedly \" liberated \" betsy . \\neven the politicians , like senator palantine , are lost in post-vietnam and post-watergate mess ; his broad and senseless \" messages \" that cover the lack of any serious program can\\'t fool even such idiots like travis . \\nthe past is gone , the present is bad , and even the future seems bleak , and the feeling of pessimism can\\'t be washed away even by ironic happy end . \\ntravis and his world found themselves in a desperate situation , and martin scorsese uses the best of his cinematic skills in order to spill the gloom of schrader\\'s screenplay into the silver screen . \\nnew york city in the night is portrayed as a hell on earth , and the red light and steam coming out of sewers give it surreal , almost stygian atmosphere . \\nanother important element of the atmosphere is score of great bernard herrman , whose efficient use of jazz elements gives some melancholy that softens the brutality of motion picture . \\none of the greatest ironies of taxi driver is the fact that the movie was , same as his protagonist , famous for the wrong reason . \\ninstead of receiving cult status because of his artistic merits , for many years it was tabloid-fodder because of hinckley and his real-life re-enactment of events in the movie . \\nnow , more than two decades later , when some other \" life imitating art \" incidents get more attention , we can finally enjoy taxi driver in all its artistic glory . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"once again , the battle is dreamworks versus disney : earlier this year , the mammoth companies fought to the death with their end-of-the-world asteroid flicks , deep impact and armageddon . \\nhere we are now , just a few months later , and they're at it again with dueling bug movies , antz and a bug's life . \\nwhat i find so astonishing is that both pairs of movies are so inherently similar in both story and execution . \\ni mean , come on -- what were the chances of two studios both deciding to bring out computer-animated films about bugs ? \\nas was the case with the meteor movies , disney has come out on top : though antz is a likable movie , a bug's life is far superior . \\nin fact , this movie made me realize what was wrong with antz : i became immersed in the world of a bug's life , while antz just made me scrutinize everything . \\nbut it's not really fair to base an entire review on a comparison . \\na bug's life is a remarkable film in its own right , and deserves to be seen apart from any other computer-animated film about bugs . \\nin fact , it's one of the best films this year : it's smart , subtle , and funny , but it's also perfect family entertainment and relentlessly entertaining . \\ni haven't had such a good time at the movies in months . \\nit tells the story of an ant named flick ( voice by dave foley ) ; he's a nice guy , but he's also a troublemaker . \\nthe ants spend all season putting together the offering , a big pile of food that they provide for the grasshoppers . \\njust before the grasshoppers come , flick accidentally knocks over the offering , and ruins everything for the entire colony : the grasshopper's leader , hopper ( kevin spacey ) , is enraged , and tells them that the ants need twice the food by the end of summer , or they're all dead . \\nflick , feeling responsible for this , sets off to look for help -- he realizes that the only way to be rid of the grasshoppers is to fight them . \\nhe heads to the city ( the city being a house a few miles away ) , where he finds a colorful bunch of circus bugs : a ladybug ( denis leary , who is spectacular ) , a black widow ( bonnie hunt ) , a caterpillar ( joe ranft ) , a butterfly ( madeline kahn ) , a rhinoceros beetle ( michael mcshane ) , and a stick ( david hyde-pierce , also giving a hilarious performance ) . \\nflick doesn't know they're actors , and they don't know that flick needs them to kill a bunch of grasshoppers , so they return to the colony with flick and find themselves in an unusual position . \\nthe most obvious element of a bug's life is the quality of animation . \\ncreated by pixar , the same people who brought us toy story , a bug's life has some of the most amazing visuals i've ever seen . \\nthe bugs seem to inhabit a three-dimensional space , and occasionally there will be a shot that is indistinguishable from live action . \\nthis is a lush , colorful world , full of life and imagination : the way the animators insert the things all of us see in our daily lives ( matches , bottlecaps , tin cans , etc . ) and make them active objects in the bugs' world is innovative . \\nthe film is also mercilessly exciting , particularly in a superbly-staged scene involving our heroes' escape from a bird ( a little bird never seemed so huge and threatening ) . \\nbut the makers of a bug's life know where the importance lies : story and characters . \\nflick , with solid voice work from foley , is a great guy to lead the story . \\nbut the real treat comes with the circus bugs ; they're such a likable group of characters -- the standouts are the stick ( hyde-pierce is so good ) , francis the ladybug , and the big fat caterpillar . \\nall of these bugs have more than a token personality , which makes the suspenseful scenes work because we care about the bugs , and it also keeps the tear-jerking scenes from seeming obligatory . \\nin my review of antz , i said that the film is a clever cop-out because it presents a bunch of little humans reacting to an ant-like existence . \\nin concept , a bug's life is basically the same movie , except that i was never given enough time to find things that i didn't like about it . \\nwith such strong work in both animation and script , a bug's life is nothing but a joy to sit through . \\nit really is too bad that it had to come out so close to that other bug movie , but a bug's life is so good that i'm sure it will find its audience . \\nafter a slew of endlessly violent and cynical movies , it's downright refreshing to sit through an innocent picture like this and laugh without feeling guilty . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"the thirteenth floor is a bland , obligatory exercise in genre film-making . \\nif i hadn't recently watched the matrix and open your eyes -- both of which are similar but far superior -- i might have been a little nicer to this picture . \\ncraig bierko makes an adequate hero as douglas hall , the rich co-creator of a perfect human world simulation who is suddenly blamed for the murder of his boss ( armin mueller-stahl ) . \\neverything that was subtle and smart about the previously mentioned films is battered over our heads in this one , and characters stare at each other for maddeningly-long periods of time and refuse to communicate on any realistic level . \\nthe acting is okay , but the film suffers from every logical flaw one could think of , and features a script ( co-penned by director josef rusnak ) loaded with cliches and stock characters . \\nthere are individual scenes and ideas that work -- i like the thought of a sentient computer program -- but none of the film's strengths are recognized to any meaningful degree . \\nproducer roland emmerich , based on this and his previous directorial efforts , seems hell-bent on bringing us the ultimate standard in mediocre science-fiction . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the year is barely a week old , and there is already a candidate for the worst of 1997--the relic , a would-be chiller that\\'s more successful at making the audience laugh than scream . \\nin this ridiculous film from uberhack peter hyams ( whose last two pictures were dreadful jean-claude van damme vehicles ) , a creature that feeds on the hypothalamuses ( hypothalamii ? ) of humans and animals goes on a killing spree in a chicago museum . \\nhow did this creature come into existence , and why does it feed on hormones ? \\nthe \" scientific \" explanation cooked up by the four--yes , four--credited screenwriters ( amy holden jones , john raffo , rick jaffa , and amanda silver ) takes \" suspension of disbelief \" to new heights , even by monster movie standards . \\nbut as cockamamie as the science is in the film , it isn\\'t quite as hard to swallow as the casting of the clueless penelope ann miller as a brilliant molecular biologist who specializes in evolutionary genetics . \\nmiller acts as if she wants an oscar nomination , turning every scene that requires the slightest display of emotion into an overblown oscar clip , complete with piercing wails and glycerine tears . \\ngive it up , penelope--it\\'s a _monster_movie_ . \\non the flip side , tom sizemore just phones in his performance as a police lieutenant , but his role is so thankless that it\\'s hard to imagine it being played any more effectively . \\nit\\'s quite funny to see a film indulge , with the straightest of faces , in all those cheesy horror movie cliches that wes craven lampooned so well ( and so recently ) in scream . \\nfor example , in one early scene , a museum security guard goes into a bathroom stall late at night . \\nok , we all know what\\'s coming , but as if we didn\\'t need any more confirmation , he pulls out a joint and starts puffing away . \\neveryone knows what happens to people who do drugs in a scary movie . \\nand later , miller frantically runs out of a museum exhibit after she hears some suspicious heavy breathing . \\ndoes she make a beeline for the front door ? \\nof course not--she runs into the ladies room and cowers in a stall . \\nwith all the cliches , it is only fitting the film\\'s climax offers what is perhaps the most overused one in recent film : that of someone outrunning a fireball . \\nif the relic is truly \" the next evolution in terror \" as the poster states , then the horror film--and humanity--is in even worse shape than we thought . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : when a meteorite crashlands in the arizona desert , community college professors ira kane ( duchovny ) and harry block ( jones ) are first on the scene . \\nthey discover that an alien lifeform has arisen from the rock and is evolving at an amazing rate . \\nsoon the army , advised by dr allison reed ( moore ) , moves in and forces kane and block out . \\nbut when the aliens begin to menace society , it may take the scientists\\' combined efforts to stop them before they terminate the evolution of another lifeform : humanity . \\nreview : \" evolution \" certainly has the ingredients for a decent comedy . \\nit\\'s directed by reitman , clearly trying to parlay his \" ghostbusters \" success into a twenty-first-century counterpart . \\nit stars duchovny , and although one might question his judgment in lampooning his \" x-files \" character so soon after leaving the tv series , it should certainly provide him with plenty of ammunition . \\nand then there\\'s moore , who may not have much prior experience in comedy , but who has certainly proven her ability as an actress . \\na shame , then , that it all deteriorates into such a hopelessly unfunny morass . \\n \" evolution \" is a movie more concerned with its special effects ( which are quite good ) than anything resembling a consistently funny script . \\nit has its moments ( a scene in which jones\\' body is invaded by an alien is particularly entertaining ) , but there are embarrassingly long stretches that are utterly devoid of humour . \\nmoore is totally wasted , her clumsy shtick getting very old , very fast . \\nduchovny has stunningly little in the way of material to work with . \\nand the story is so formulaic , it could have been written by monkeys . \\npart of what made \" ghostbusters \" so wonderful was a combination of a great script and characters the audience could root for . \\n \" evolution \" is so mind-numbingly tedious that it\\'s difficult not to start cheering for the aliens . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it was only a matter of time before a dilbert-esque office comedy hit the screens . \\nhowever , rather than coming from dilbert creator scott adams , office space is instead based on the work of another animator , mike judge , creator of beavis and butthead and king of the hill . \\nin his live-action directoral debut , judge aptly spoofs corporate culture . \\nthe story is certainly not very involved , but there is plenty of truth and humor to fill the gaps . \\npeter ( ron livingston ) is a programmer working at the initech corporation . \\nevery day in his mundane life is worse than the one before . . . in \\nother words , every day is the worst day in his entire life . \\nhe's stuck in a boring job with eight different supervisors , all obsessed with administrative trivialities . \\nhe's smitten with joanna ( jennifer aniston ) , a local waitress , but hasn't the guts to even introduce himself . \\neverything has simply made him a complete , nervous wreck . \\nbut all of that changes when , after an unintentionally over-effective visit to a hypnotherapist , peter loses all of his inhibitions . \\nhe realizes his lifelong dream : to do absolutely nothing . \\nhe begins to blatantly disregard the nonsensical instructions of his boss , bill lumbergh ( gary cole ) , doing whatever he feels like . \\npeter's friends and co-workers , samir ( ajay naidu ) and michael bolton ( david herman ) . . . no , \\nnot that michael bolton , are perplexed by their friend's sudden change in attitude . \\nbut , they have larger things to worry about : rumors about that initech is about to begin downsizing . . . \\nas bleak as much of this sounds , let me assure you that office space is a comedy , and quite a funny one . \\nalthough it shares the same absurdist office humor of the dilbert comic strip , office space is actually based loosely on the series of milton cartoons which aired on saturday night life . \\neach mundane detail , taken by itself , seems completely , regrettably , plausible . \\nyet , when combined into a whole , the picture which results is absolutely surreal . \\nron livingston tackles his role straight-faced , and becomes much funnier because of it . \\nhis character isn't simply being a clown lampooning around the office , but rather seems possessed by a zen-like clarity . \\nhe is operating on a higher plane , where everything suddenly makes sense , and from this vantage point , he allows the audience to smirk at the absurdities of life . \\nanyone who has had to deal with the inefficiencies of corporate bureaucracy , or who has ever been frustrated with the technology of modern life , will recognize many of the characters and situations in the film . \\nin fact , in addition to being wildly humorous , the film may actually prove to be cathartic . \\nthe animated roots of office space show in the film's lack of complexity . \\nmost of the characters in the film can be quickly summarized by a particular personality quirk . \\none employee , milton ( stephen root ) , is practically a flesh-and-blood cartoon . \\nhowever , despite their simple nature , the characters still manage to be surprisingly funny . \\nit's not required to have a corporate background to enjoy this film ( though the situations may seem exceedingly far-fetched if you are unfamiliar with just how close to reality they really are ) . \\nthe film is flimsy and absurd , but also very funny . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'synopsis : valerie , a high school junior who doesn\\'t look a day under 22 , writes bad poetry , complains about how much she hates school , fantasizes about a young guy on trial for raping and murdering six women , chooses him as a pen pal , and plays hooky to see him in court . \\nafter a jailbreak , the killer puts on big sunglasses , wears a half-buttoned jacket , and uses his fatal charm to go after valerie . \\ncomments : \" alan smithee \" directed fatal charm , which should have been more appropriately titled \" fatal bore \" or \" fatal crap \" . \\nif you find out that a film you\\'re about to see is directed by \" alan smithee , \" then you should seriously , seriously , seriously consider watching something , anything , else . \\n \" alan smithee \" is a pseudonym which a number of directors have used when they produce something really bad . \\nfrankly , i\\'d be embarrassed if i had directed this turkey , so i think i understand why the director might have picked the \" alan smithee \" moniker for this film . \\nwhere to begin with this painfully poor thriller ? \\nlet\\'s start with the acting . \\nit\\'s pretty bad . \\namanda peterson plays valerie and shows at least some talent ( the rest of the cast don\\'t ) , even though her performance isn\\'t exactly stellar material . \\nshe\\'s also miscast ; she seems way too old to still have a year of high school to complete . \\nher scenes with valerie\\'s mother , played by mary frann , are a joke . \\nthe two look as though they\\'re a couple of coworkers going out to lunch together , rather than a daughter with her mother who just doesn\\'t understand . \\nchristopher atkins , a handsome enough actor who plays the killer , adam , looks like a clown in the second half of fatal charm . \\ntrying to appear malicious and dangerous , he wears large sunglasses and a half-buttoned jacket . \\nif disney decided to do a zany comedy caper about the unabomber , atkins would probably be a perfect candidate for the lead , but he doesn\\'t cut it here . \\nearly on in the movie , a number of scenes occurs in a courtroom . \\noutside of the laughably poor performances given by the actors portraying lawyers , the people sitting in the benches provide the silliest effort at drama in the film . \\nthey constantly shift and turn and arc their heads in mock interest in what has got to be one of the worst perfomances that a large group of people have given at one time ever . \\nfatal charm\\'s storyline , such as it is , inspires more yawns than thrills . \\nthe script belabors a red herring , early on , about a second suspect who may have committed the murders for which adam ( atkins ) is charged with . \\nthis suspect , however , turns up strangled and drowned halfway through the film : an obvious plot fault . \\neven for the idiots who didn\\'t consider the movie\\'s title as valerie and a blond newsreporter commented how innocent and charming the defendant seemed , it becomes quite obvious that adam is dangerous when the other suspect washes up . \\nso , the audience must wait ( if they haven\\'t already stopped watching ) as the necessary details fall into place and the killer goes after the heroine in the drawn-out finale . \\nthe video box for this dud describes fatal charm as an \" erotic thriller \" . \\na thriller it isn\\'t , and neither is it particularly erotic . \\ni can\\'t imagine , if someone were in the mood for something \" erotic , \" that he\\'d be happy after watching this fluff . \\na few erotic moments occur in the film ; they take place in a van with little lighting and are filmed out of focus ( see , they\\'re supposed to be valerie\\'s fantasies -- how creative ) . \\non a personal note , i was disturbed by the ludicrous english literature class shown in this film which valerie had to suffer through . \\nit\\'s no wonder why she hated high school so much . \\nas an instructor of english myself , i have a hard time accepting the fact that in a course emphasizing great literature , a teacher would stoop to reading a student\\'s bad poetry ( of course , it\\'s valerie\\'s ) about boyfriends out loud and then embarassing its author in front of class with questions about the poem\\'s inspiration . \\ni guess the public school system is still setting dubious standards for its students . \\nfatal charm won\\'t charm anyone , unless there\\'s someone that\\'s charmed by boring , lifeless , insipid , suspenseless thrillers . \\nif you happen upon this turkey , just keep moving on . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"mugshot ( director/writer/cinematographer/editor : matt mahurin ; cast : belinda becker ( stella ) , michael williams ( rumor ) , robert knepper ( joe/chris ) , robert walker ( random ) , willie lassic ( young brother of rumor ) , maxine joiner ( rumor's mother ) ; runtime : 87 ; mortal films ; 1995 ) \\nreviewed by dennis schwartz \\na bleak indie film about a stolen identity . \\nthere's not much more to this visually stylish film than what meets the eye , as it relies on shock to tell its story of a prolonged vicious mugging . \\nit falls into the category of being a pretentious art-house film , leaving a bitter taste in one's mouth as it stereotypes its characters and unintentionally further inflames the racial issues . \\nit tries to make a heavy-handed point about disenfranchised black youths trapped by their environment , with their only way out being crime . \\nbut the story is so filled with violence and its nyc setting looks like hell , that it's hard to enjoy this film and to follow what the logic in the story is supposed to mean . \\nthe relationship between the black mugger and his white victim is a cloudy one , which the film never determines what it wants to say about it . \\nmatt mahurin is virtual one-man crew in putting this film together ( director/writer /cinematographer/editor ) , who is a still photographer in his day job . \\nthe film works best as a visually challenging piece , as each shot looks like a photograph carefully telling the story unfolding . \\na white photographer ( robert knepper ) is mugged by a black gang while he's on a freelance assignment to take a photo shoot of harlem at night . \\nhe becomes a victim of amnesia and his head is bloodied as he's left in a deserted harlem building , as the gang leaves him for dead ; but , one of the muggers , rumor ( michael williams ) , comes back and pretends to help him . \\nhe's a would-be photographer , who keeps a scrapbook entitled mugshots in the project apartment he shares with his mother and younger brother . \\nkeeping his victim in the dark about who he is by calling him joe and not telling him what's happening , he becomes the photographer for a few days . \\nhe enters the photographer's stylish greenwich village apartment and steals his expensive camera , and decides to hold the mugging vic for ransom when he finds out he has a black girlfriend , stella ( belinda becker ) . \\nshe's the only one in the film who could act . \\nthe film is stuck with a clumsy dialogue and an overuse of symbolism , as it ends with nothing more to tell after the shock and the violent situation it created except to beat it into the ground . \\nit could only be commended for how appealing the film looks , as if it's a scrapbook of still photos put together to celebrate a mugging . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'this is crap , but , honestly , what older american audience is going to be able to resist seeing jack lemmon and james garner as bicker- ing ex-presidents ? \\nespecially when their supporting players in- clude dan aykroyd as the current commander in chief , lauren bacall as a former first lady , and john heard as the dan quayle-ish vice president . \\nyup , you\\'re talkin\\' pre-sold property here and , for warner brothers , the perfect fit into their now-ritual grumpy old men holiday slot . \\nfor the non-discriminating viewer , my fellow americans is fine . \\nthe raw star power alone will have audiences applauding this atrocious political- thriller road-comedy . \\n ( they did in mine , heaven help us . ) \\nfor the rest of us , the movie is immediately tiresome . \\nthe tone is terrible and the banter is worse . \\nforget wit-- lemmon and garner merely exchange profanities through most of the movie . \\n ( has anyone counted the number of first penis references ? ) \\nsure , some of the bits are absurdly funny , including a men\\'s room macarena joke , the appearance of an elvis impersonator on a trainload of tarheels , and an all dorothy marching band performing \" over the rainbow \" at a gay men\\'s march . \\nthe get there from here , though , you have to submit to one of the most offensively overbearing musical scores of all time . \\njudas priest , is there a single moment of silence in this film ? \\neven the dialogue gets drowned out . \\nwhat a waste . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when critics attack seemingly well-intentioned films like patch adams or more recently pay it forward as i am about to do , their opinions are often greeted with a backlash of angry e-mails , sometimes even mock death threats from those who ( i suppose ) like to be shamelessly manipulated by their entertainment . \\neven politicians ( ! ) \\ntend to dismiss film critics as heartless cynics for occasionally dumping on good-hearted films while praising \" filth \" like pulp fiction . \\nthese [fill in the derogatory term that you are comfortable with] tend to forget that a film critic\\'s job is to review the movie , not the message , however sweet and endearing that message may be . \\nthusly patch adams isn\\'t a bad film because it\\'s about a doctor who cares for his patients ; it\\'s a bad film because it\\'s a calculated piece of brazen audience exploitation . \\nsimilarly while pay it forward may have its heart in the right place ( though i even doubt that , stay tuned , an explanation is forthcoming ) , it\\'s still an unpleasantly maudlin mess . \\nthe picture is about an emotionally guarded 5th grade history teacher ( a somewhat similarly guarded kevin spacey ) , with a burn scared face and equally singed attitude , who gives his class the seemingly impossible assignment of doing one thing over the course of the semester that will change the world . \\n12 year old trevor ( haley joel osmet ) , a disneyfied do gooder who takes care of his alcoholic mother ( helen hunt ) , comes up with the notion to pay it forward ; this entails a person doing one good deed ( call it an uber favor ) for three others , then telling them to do the same for three others and before long we\\'re all living in a frank capra movie . \\nmeanwhile in a parallel story , a weasely reporter ( jay mohr ) tracks the \" movement \" which has apparently begun to grow . \\npay it forward has odd ideas about tone ; at certain points it hurls a smattering of unnecessary cynicism at us as if that would be the appropriate antidote to the unrelenting sappiness at its core . \\nit\\'s as if director mimi leder didn\\'t have the confidence to make pay it forward the way she intended , and compromised out of fear that her film wasn\\'t \" gutsy \" enough to earn the acclaim it has clearly been made for . \\nso the picture adds grit ( a child molester propositions trevor , a homeless man returns to heroin after being \" saved \" , a character is knifed while doing a good deed , etc ) though it seems shallow , incorporated into the proceedings because the film itself isn\\'t quite sure if it\\'s ready to buy into its own utopian blather . \\npay it forward offers \" crowd pleasing \" elements for general audiences ; jay mohr\\'s umpteenth variation on the waspy sleazeball , angie dickinson\\'s earthy alcoholic bag woman , and the jive-talking \" black hoodlum with a heart of gold \" ( coming on the heals of the black , god-like inmate embodied by gabriel casseus in bedazzled , this may just be the beginnings of a brand new guilty white liberal clich ? . \\nhurray for hollywood ) who actually calls the mohr character a \" nigga \" and says things like \" can you feel me ? \" \\nleave it to pay it forward to happily include a little minstrel act for our further enjoyment . \\n ( maybe spike\\'s flick wasn\\'t so misguided after all ) . \\nthese scenes feel as if they belong in a dopey comedy with feel good aspirations rather than the irritatingly saccharine drama that you\\'ll find yourself trapped in should you not heed my warnings . \\nwhile the filmmakers have stressed in interviews that they actually hope this is a film that could make the world a better place , to me the final product has the oily feel of a cynical politician contemptuously reciting cookie fortune slogans to a hopeful audience . \\nit\\'s a picture that looks to be tailor made for academy consideration , with the main players ( all previous oscar winners or nominees ) given big emotional scenes that are practically variations on their most lauded turns . \\none scene in which a slightly de-glamed helen hunt ( de-glamed here means that not only is she a fashion victim [her look is somewhere between goth queen and trailer park mama] , hunt\\'s hair is also natty and badly bleached ) verbally castigates spacey , feels right out of her as good as it gets oscar clip . \\nspacey , of course , responds in his cultured monotone , that could be straight from his low key american beauty performance . \\nmaybe the actor should get an award for coming off the least self consciously irritating ; though how can he not , even when he\\'s emoting spacey seems somehow shielded by a wry indifference . \\nthe usually talented helen hunt is the worst offender . \\nin one atrocious touched by an angel moment hunt slaps osmet , immediately covering her mouth with the guilty hand in that very same stroke , and with said hand still on said mouth , she actually begins convulsing ( dry heaving really ) , then ( and i\\'m not making this up ) she scurries to the kitchen tearing the place apart in a frenzied search for alcohol . \\nthe scene is so hokey it could very nearly be construed as a parody of hackneyed tv movie blow-ups ; it\\'s all very theatrical , especially hunt\\'s performance , which feels like a pathetic plea to the academy for another oscar . \\npay it forward has the dubious distinction of being a film that could be used as an argument for why actors shouldn\\'t get academy awards . \\nthe picture unknowingly affirms that oscars transform nuanced talent into overwrought expressionists . \\neven haley joel osemt , the wunderkind who was nominated for an academy award for his unforced performance in sixth sense , seems more divisive about his expressions and inflections . \\nhis acting has become broader , less intimate ; it\\'s as if we can make out the little munchkin\\'s thoughts : \" boy this outta floor em \" . \\nnaturally osmet is made to play one of those only-in-the-movies children , a martyr-figure who cleans up after his mother , lectures her on the ills of drinking , and even fixes her up on a date with his intellectual teacher . \\nnever mind that the two couldn\\'t be more dissimilar ; his mother is trailer trash dopey , and the teacher is one of those dennis miller-ey intellectuals who hides his insecurities behind a vast vocabulary . \\nnevertheless this little nudnik goes out of his way to bring the pair together in a scene that recalls parent trap-ish cornball antics . \\nbut oh how we love bright , articulate , self-sacrificing children who pick adults up by their bootstraps and guide them through life . \\nthey\\'re so adorable . \\nof course the blame can\\'t all be hoisted onto the actors ( though with the exception of the little kid , they probably should have known better ) , instead the brunt of it should be passed on to mimi leder , who directed one of the most thrilling episodes of er , then went on to make two awful genre films in a row . \\nthe first being the peacemaker , a witless post-cold war george clooney vehicle , and deep impact , one of the two films of 1998 to squander the premise of earth\\'s possible demise by a crazed meteorite . \\nthe first flick was sunk by an over reliance on clich ? s , and a complete absence of any kind of emotional involvement , not aided by an ending which actually centered around the diffusing of a ticking time bomb complete with digital read out ( apparently present for an invisible audience ) . \\ndeep impact has more in common with pay it forward ; it\\'s a movie that treats earth\\'s impending destruction in awfully simplistic terms , completely ignoring the havoc that would so obviously take place if the world believed its planet would be a goner within days . \\nthe film was full of inspirational speeches where people really said nothing , though the sappy score swelled up to make it appear as if they were being profoundly touching . \\nin pay it forward leder continues in this vein with her intermittent dollops of cynicism seeming almost like a rebuttal : \" see my movie isn\\'t as na ? ve as you might think \" she seems to be saying . \\nno , it\\'s just horribly confused . \\n',\n",
+       " b'let me just start this review off by saying i am a huge fan of professional wrestling and have been for fifteen years . \\ni am not too fond of ted turner\\'s world championship wrestling , however , and i am even less fond of it now after seeing this ridiculous excuse for a wrestling movie tonight . \\nthe plot concerns two losers named gordie boggs ( david arquette , aptly cast as a neandrathal ) and sean dawkins ( scott caan ) who are so obsessed with professional wrestling that they believe everything they see on wcw monday nitro is something more than a flashy show . \\nwhen they finally get to see their hero , wcw world champion jimmy king ( played by oliver platt . \\ni personally would have gotten a wrestler to play king ) , he ends up getting screwed over by evil promoter titus sinclair ( a wasted palitaliano , in a role originally meant for real-life wcw president eric bischoff before he was fired and rehired six months later , and if anyone reads this who knows bischoff , they will agree with me that the role of sinclair had his name written all over it ) , they embark on a quest to find him and help him get his title back . \\nwhen they find him , they discover in horror that jimmy king\\'s real life is nothing like it is on wcw tv . \\nking is a drunken atlanta native rather than an english king . \\nafter convincing king that they don\\'t care that his persona isn\\'t real , gordie and sean sneak him back onto wcw monday nitro , after which sinclair agrees to book him in a main event steel cage match for the wcw title and his job back in las vegas at wcw\\'s pay-per-view . \\ngee , whiz , there are so many things wrong with this movie , i don\\'t know where to begin . \\nyes , i do . . . \\n1 . the characters of gordie and sean show you what eric bischoff , wcw president who thought up this project , thinks of wrestling fans . \\nhe thinks of us as idiots who take everything wrestlers do seriously . \\nhe actually thinks wrestling fans are dumb enough to believe this is meant to be taken seriously . \\ni got news for you , eric : nobody above the age of four is dumb enough for that , this is 2000 , you know , not 1985 ! \\ni know he\\'ll probably cover arguments up by saying it isn\\'t meant to be taken seriously but it is , because that\\'s how big an ego bischoff has . \\n2 . there was a documentary made in 1998 , wrestling with shadows , that documented the owner of the world wrestling federation , vince mcmahon\\'s screwing bret \" the hitman \" hart out of the title . \\nthis movie\\'s storyline is basically a comic rip-off of that plot with the poor man\\'s wayne and garth thrown in . \\neric bischoff is trying to make vince mcmahon look bad with the character of titus sinclair , but any wrestling fan knows titus is more like bischoff than mcmahon , and that vince did what he had to do to bret hart . \\n3 . \\nthe movie\\'s main wrestler , jimmy king , has an english king gimmick and the audience cheered big for him . \\nno wrestling fan actually enjoys characters like that in this day and age , we want bad asses today ! \\n4 . why make this a comedy , instead of an emotional , rocky-style drama ? \\ni know wrestling isn\\'t a sport , but you can still get behind a guy who struggles as a wrestler and finally makes it in the end . \\n5 . \\nin the movie , gordie starts up an ill-fated romance with nitro girl sasha ( the lovely rose mcgowan . \\nwhat she sees in that freak marilyn manson i\\'ll never understand ) , only to find that she has hospitalized king\\'s trainer for sinclair . \\nwouldn\\'t it have been easier to just have them fall in love instead of doing the typical spy-girl-for-the-bad-guy cliche ? \\ni hate that . \\n6 . \\nlast , but certainly not least , there was not one single moment in this movie that i could not predict would happen , nor did i laugh once either . \\nthe world wrestling federation should have been the wrestling company to make the movie , for these reasons : \\n1 . they\\'re the better promotion . \\n2 . they have better and younger talent , performers and wrestlers . \\n3 . \\nthey give their fans what they want and don\\'t treat them like idiots . \\n4 . they\\'re winning the ratings and they\\'re the promotion everybody cares about . \\n5 . simply put , they could make a movie a hundred times better , and they could do a wrestling movie the right way . \\nthe only good thing about this movie was they played outtakes at the end . \\nand if i spoiled it for you , good , i saved you from wasting seven dollars . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the thought-provoking question of tradition over morals is the subject directly at the core of \" leila , \" a powerfully articulated and subtle drama from famous iranian director dariush mehrjui , that is his first motion picture in a prosperous thirty-year career to gain u . s . distribution , thanks to first run features . \\nalthough unfamiliar with mehrjui\\'s previous directing efforts , perhaps the reason for this is that , while the predicament at hand is no doubt exclusive to its own country , the heartbreaking and solely truthful emotions of the characters can easily be understood by all viewers . \\nset in modern-day iran , \" leila \" begins on the birthday of the title character ( leila hatami ) , after a brief prologue in which we are shown the first encounter between leila and her future husband , reza ( ali mosaffa ) . \\nas leila and reza set off to visit his parents , and then hers , where a birthday celebration has been planned , things seem rosy for the couple on the outside , but for leila , life isn\\'t quite as sweet . \\nearlier , on that very same day , leila had gone to see her physician , and has ultimately discovered that she holds very little chance of ever conceiving a child . \\nwhen all of the conditions are ruled out , and leila passes up the possibility of adoption , reza firmly and lovingly tells her that he married her , and doesn\\'t care at all about having children . \\nnonetheless , leila is ashamed that she will never be able to give him a baby , which is the societal norm , and her self-esteem is not helped at all by her domineering mother-in-law ( jamileh sheikhi ) , whose hopes to carry on the sacred family name vanishes once hearing the news ( reza is her only son ) . \\nbluntly explaining to leila that reza has always wished for children and , in a country where polygamy is an accepted tradition , she suggests that he take a second wife to bear a child with . \\nleila hesitantly agrees , and while she and reza are able to shallowly laugh afterwards about the hopeful womens\\' inadequacies , reza finally does meet a woman whom he claims to like , even though he refuses to go through with the marriage if leila doesn\\'t give her full blessing . \\nthere are no easy answers to be found within \" leila , \" a film that thoughtfully examines the central character\\'s unfortunate plight , as well as the inner workings of leila herself , told through matter-of-fact narration . \\nalmost completely taken over by her own shame , she has no option but to agree to her forceful mother-in-law\\'s requests , even though she is unsure of how she will react if reza really does end up marrying another woman . \\nmaybe because \" leila \" is from iran , the film will unquestionably be shocking for american audiences , since the concept of polygamy is looked upon by the characters as a more or less everyday occurrence . \\nleila , however , is unable to come to terms with the idea quite as easily , but feels it is her duty to make her husband happy , no matter what the circumstances . \\none of the strongest aspects of the film is in its portrayal of the relationship between leila and reza , who married only three months after their first meeting , but obviously love each other very deeply . \\nit is this relationship that is the key ingredient to making what follows the opening scenes all the more powerful , and director mehrjui has succeeded just about as well as possible . \\nalthough seemingly unimportant at first glance , an early sequence where leila and reza are eating dinner and both are laughing , nearly uncontrollably , actually is one of the most vital moments in the first half , as it unmistakably sets the boundary for their unrequisite love for one another . \\nditto for another scene in which reza gives leila a large stuffed animal for her birthday , and then reveals a beautiful necklace he has also gotten her . \\nthese \" small \" moments are the perfect contrast for the solemn , outraging sequences in the latter half , in which reza drops leila off at the side of a busy road , and then zooms off to go on a date with another woman . \\nleft there to ponder her quickly diminishing marriage , foolishly unbeknownst to reza , leila prays each time that the date will not go well , so she will be able to keep her husband to herself for a little while longer . \\nrefusing to stay over at her parent\\'s house , the film inevitably leads up to the second wedding night between reza and another woman , and in a sequence of extraordinary sorrow and potency , leila finds her whole being emotionally torn apart , as she is closed up in an upstairs bedroom as the marriage proceedings are going on down below . \\ndespite her initial agreement to such a thing , leila realizes how much she has been betrayed by reza , whom she believed cared for her as much as she did of him . \\nsure , the whole second marriage was his mother\\'s idea , but if he really did believe what he initially had told her about not wanting any children , then he could have still easily backed out , couldn\\'t he ? \\nin the pivotal role of leila , who appears in every scene , leila hatami is nothing short of remarkable , injecting her character with an equal measure of startling strength , unavoidable vulnerability , and utter despair . \\nunlike most american films , in which everything always has to be spelled out for audiences , hatami says much more with just an elusive expression on her face than could possibly have been conveyed by words . \\nevery bit a perfect match for hatami is ali mosaffa , as reza , a man who , i believe , does hold an unbreakable bond with his wife , but is too naive to realize what he will be doing to leila if he marries someone else . \\nfor all of its strong aspects , \" leila \" isn\\'t a perfect film . \\non a technical level , i found many blatant punctiation and spelling mistakes within the subtitles that need to be fixed . \\nand concerning the plot developments , the final five minutes ring false when compared with everything that has come before . \\nmehrjui\\'s decision to use an extremely stylized approach to the ending was the wrong choice , particularly in his almost comedic way of wrapping up the character of the spiteful mother-in-law , played memorably by jamileh sheikhi . \\ndespite these minor missteps , \" leila \" is an important motion picture that should definately be sought out upon its limited may 16 release at new york\\'s cinema village , and then on may 21 in la . \\nthe thought-provoking questions that the film deals with is balanced evenly with its uneasy morales , and when the climax arrives , leila\\'s self-worth is startlingly stripped away to reveal a victim led into complete devastation , to which there is no return . \\nit\\'s difficult to not consider how leila\\'s culminating interior demise could have been so simply avoided , had the other characters taken a second out of their own selfish lives to consider what leila , the major pawn in the unforgivable scheme , was going through . \\n',\n",
+       " b'quentin tarantino seems to have a knack for giving his stars big careers . \\nafter his pulp fiction , many actors began receiving many offers for jobs . \\njohn travolta made his come-back and is now one of today\\'s most bankable stars . \\nbruce willis proved his acting chops and is now considered an actual actor . \\njackie brown , on the other hand , boasts quite a well known cast , except for the main lead : pam grier . \\nmost likely you have heard of her and seen her in films , but she\\'s never really had a breakthrough performance ( her first film was in the roger ebert-written beyond the valley of the dolls ) . \\nthat is , until now . \\njackie brown is a highly anticipated feature film from quentin tarantino , whose last film was the huge hit pulp fiction . \\nafter mediocre acting jobs , tarantino returns to what made his name a household one : directing and writing . \\njackie brown is the result , and it is fantastic entertainment . \\ndespite excellent direction from tarantino , the cast steals the film , giving one good performance after another . \\npam grier gives a stunning performance as jackie brown , and she is supported by an incredible mix of talent--samuel l . jackson , bridget fonda , michael keaton , robert de niro , and robert forster . \\nmore than likely , you will see a few of these names in the oscar pool come oscar nominations . \\ndescribing a quentin tarantino film is very difficult , as you really can\\'t say much or you spoil it for everyone else . \\ni will tread lightly . \\njackie brown opens with an impressive shot of jackie brown ( grier ) in a blue outfit walking through the airport . \\nthe camera tracks along with her , and ends up revealing her occupation . \\nwe are also introduced to ordell robbie ( jackson ) , who sells illegal guns to interested buyers . . . \\nfor a hefty price . \\nms . brown carries the money from buyer to ordell in order to keep the cops away . \\nhowever , an fbi agent ( keaton ) and a local l . a . cop ( michael bowen ) are out to find ordell and catch him while taking the money . \\nthey try to reach him through beaumont livingston ( chris tucker ) , one of ordell\\'s buyers , but he mysteriously ends up dead . \\nthey try again through brown , but she is hesitant to admit to any wrong-doing . \\nbut after unknowingly carrying some drugs for one of ordell\\'s friends ( fonda ) , she is caught and sent to jail . \\nordell pays her bail through a bail bond agent , max cherry ( forster ) , and then wants to find out what she told the cops . \\nafter she claims to have said nothing , she reveals the fact that she will tell them about ordell in order to stay out of prison . \\nordell doesn\\'t like this , but they both come up with a scheme to throw the feds and cops off their track . \\nthis scheme seems to be going as planned , but unexpected occurances may or may not foul up their goal . \\nrevealing more would spoil the fun of jackie brown , and that\\'s the biggest reason to go see a tarantino film . \\ntarantino seems to have a fascination with hitmen and unusual predicaments ( and slang terms ) , but they are always done very well and believably . \\nhis hitmen are normally cruel , but pleasant , in that nasty sort of way . \\nthey talk like normal people , except for when doing business , and they are rude to their girlfriends . \\nof course , this is a tarantino film , and you know you can expect some awkward situations to arise . \\nand perhaps the biggest flaw with jackie brown is the slow middle section in which the pace begins to drop . \\nof course , tarantino fixes this by moving onto the climax of the film , adding a lot of his reservoir dogs-style storytelling to it . \\nthings are told from one person\\'s perspective , and then from another , and then from another , each time learning more and more . \\nthis all leads up to a very interesting conclusion , which decides who is on whose side . \\non the technical side of jackie brown , quentin tarantino directs it with the same style as he did with his 1994 film . \\nhowever , this time around it isn\\'t as nearly as impressive or original . \\nthe writing , on the other hand , is quite good , although i do find tarantino\\'s use of slang terms offensive . \\nthe story jumps back and forth in time as in pulp fiction , but it\\'s much more easy to understand . \\nhis previous film needed a second viewing in order to understand the time differentiation , but jackie brown is very simply to follow , especially considering that the time is given during the \" leaps \" in time . \\nperhaps this is a result of the screenplay being written from the novel \" rum punch \" by elmore leonard . \\nthe dialogue is pretty much intelligent , and all the characters are fully realized . \\nthe cinematography is very well done by guillermo navarro ( who has worked with tarantino on previous films ) and the editing is very good . \\nand as with pulp fiction , the music is a highlight , bringing back memorable songs from the 70s and 80s . \\nthe acting side of jackie brown is unforgettable . \\nthe performances are incredibly rich , with hidden meaning behind every characters\\' actions . \\nnothing is quite as it seems , and you can\\'t really tell which side one person is on . \\nthe real treat , of course , is pam grier who gives an astonishing performance as jackie brown . \\nher poor living conditions are superceded by her superior wits , which play an important role in the film . \\nwatching grieg , i could tell what was going through her mind , even if i didn\\'t know what she was thinking . \\nher face portrays a lot of emotion that you can tell when she is sad , happy , or in deep thought . \\nbridget fonda gives a very good performance as a druggie couch potato . \\ni didn\\'t even realize it was fonda until i saw her name in the final credits ( her performance actually reminded me of heather graham\\'s in boogie nights ) . \\nmichael keaton comes across very well , as does michael bowen . \\nchris tucker has a small , but effective performance . \\nsamuel l . jackson is very good , but it seems to me that he was replaying his jules winnfield character from pulp fiction ( although much less cynical ) . \\nbut no matter . . . \\njackson is very strong in his role . \\nrobert de niro is actually a little annoying at times , but overall he does a good job as one of ordell\\'s perspective clients and friends . \\nrobert forster gives one of the best performances in the film , as he has one of the most developed characters . \\nhe is present throughout most of the film , and he holds his own against jackson and grier . \\njackie brown is rated r for language , sex , violence , drug use , and some offensive remarks . \\nas a film by itself , jackie brown is a terrific piece of entertainment , with a complex plot to draw viewers in . \\nhowever , one can not help but compare it to tarantino\\'s pulp fiction , and expect great results . \\nwhen compared , it comes up short , but not that short . \\nit\\'s a worthy effort , with terrific acting and some impressive writing from elmore leonard and tarantino . \\nperhaps the best thing about jackie brown is the discovery of pam grier as a major hollywood actress . \\ni can\\'t remember seeing her in anything ( except for a small role in mars attacks ! ) , but hopefully she will get many more roles from this one . \\nexpect to see her name floating around the oscar nominations ( and hopefully she will even be able to nab one ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'gun wielding arnold schwarzenegger has a change of heart by the film\\'s end and becomes a believer in god instead of a skeptic , going through an amazing transformation by having a christian epiphany in the final scene as he becomes someone who can now beat the devil by his faith alone . . . this is after two hours of throwing people out windows and shooting more people than your average serial killer . \\nnobody can save this bomb from it\\'s own stupidity and arrogance in filmmaking and arrogance in believing that this is a positive religious-type of film . \\nit\\'s just a pile of dreck . . . an \\nill-conceived exploitive project , a pyrotechnical film . \\n \" end of days \" aims to be an apocalyptic thriller . \\nit features an idiotic script , a hack director , and a one-dimensional star who is past his prime . . . which \\nmakes this film dumber than dumb , plus it\\'s not funny , not campy , or is it in the least bit entertaining . \\nit\\'s just dreary and unwatchable . . . a \\nbig-budget slasher film . \\narnold plays an alcoholic security guard who finds his new mission in life is to stop satan ( occupying gabriel byrne\\'s body and possessing a wall st . bank account ) from destroying the world . \\nthe film opens in vatican city , roma 1979 -- where the pope is alerted by a young visionary priest tomaso , looking out at the night sky and seeing a comet whiz by , who proclaims after looking at his scrolls -- that\\'s the sign for the \\'eye of god , \\' which reveals that a child has been born who is being prepared to give birth to satan\\'s baby ( the anti-christ ) in the hour before the new century begins , when satan will fuck her and open up the gates to hell on earth . \\ntomaso has some twenty years to find this woman and save her and the world from doom . \\nbut some in the pope\\'s circle want to kill her if found , even though the pope insists on having faith and letting her live , as he lectures them : \" even in the world\\'s darkest days -- doing evil doesn\\'t stop evil , but brings on more evil . \" \\nwe saw the girl being born in nyc in 1979 , which seems to be the \\'logical\\' place to look for satan according to the astrology charts of the visionaries . \\nthe chosen woman is christine york ( robin ) . \\nit is now a few days before the new year celebration for 2000 and arnold and his wise-cracking security guard partner kevin pollack are hired to guard a wall street turd , and when he is fired upon by a renograde priest , thomas aquinas , arnold saves him and through a ridiculous chase captures the tongue less priest who fired the shot . \\nhe , nevertheless , can speak and tells arnold an \\'end of days\\' is coming as prophesized in revelations . \\nbut satan gets to him in his hospital room and nails him to the ceiling while scribbling latin warnings of \\'the end of the world\\' on his body . \\nit is now up to arnold to save the world and find the chosen woman . \\nhe quickly finds christine and does everything to protect her from all the evil forces around her , as the film includes ludicrous helicopter rescues , people jumping out of windows , satan taking a piss and dropping a match to kill arnold\\'s partner as the piss explodes like gasoline , satan being fired at . . . resulting in his sometimes experiencing pain and sometimes nothing , as if the director forgot which way he wants to have it . \\nthere is nothing spared in nyc from fire bombs -- including the subway , churches , and luxury buildings . \\nthe only trouble with all these high-budget action sequences , was that it lacked purpose and even entertainment value . \\nthe story was so terrible and inaccurate , that it did not have an iota of value or credibility . \\nmercifully the movie drags to a final confrontation in times square , trying unsuccessfully to build tension to the countdown toward the year 2000 . \\nwhy is the end of 1999 considered to be the devil\\'s number \" 666 , \\'\\' well ! \\n . . . \\nsatan\\'s numeral is actually \" 999 , \\'\\' which is upside down of \" 666 . \\'\\' \\naccordingly , you just put a \" 1\\'\\' in front of it-- and bingo -- you get \" 1999 . \\'\\' \\nwith logic like that , this film might even think it pulled the wool over the viewer\\'s eyes and got away with such a febrile explanation of the occult . \\nthis film should become a classic used by film schools in how not to make a horror film . \\ni highly recommend seeing it for that purpose . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in chocolat , a chocolate shop owner tells her customers to look into a spinning object of obscure textures , patterns , and lines , hoping she\\'ll be able to foresee the kind of chocolate they\\'ll most enjoy . \\nsome scoff the idea , but everyone who gazes into the complexity of the spinning object winds up seeing something different than the next , revealing personality traits which the person may not have known they had before . \\nthis can easily stand as a model for chocolat as a whole : on the surface , it appears to be a light , fluffy fable with no depth or true worth , but when one takes a second , deeper look , chocolat\\'s true colors begin to shine through . \\nmaking a bold statement about organized religion and those who practice it , lasse hallstrom\\'s chocolat is flawlessly acted and meticulously crafted-not to mention one of the best films of the year . \\nwhat gives chocolat its magic , much like hallstrom\\'s 1999 winner of two academy awards , the cider house rules , is its willingness to say what\\'s on its mind without holding back to prevent offending audiences . \\nthe bold and honest message hallstrom conveys with chocolat will no doubt outrage a select group of viewers , but those who are willing to suspend their bitterness because they feel they are being intimidated or attacked should find themselves to be in agreement with what the film says about narrow-mindedness . \\nchocolat centers its story around the small french village of lansquenet , where majority rules , and the majority lives by only one law : religion . \\nthe bulk of the townspeople ( with few exceptions ) are preparing for the sacred time of abstinence , lent , but when the independent thinking , seemingly non-religious vianne rocher ( juliette binoche ) and her daughter anouk ( victoire thivisol ) make the village their home , the people will be tempted beyond belief by the mouth-watering confections in the chocolate shop vianne opens . \\nmany are predictably opposed and deeply offended by vianne\\'s opening of the chocolate shop just in time for lent , especially the mayor , comte de reynaud ( a cartoon-like alfred molina ) , who will stop at nothing to put her out of business . \\non the other hand , the shop is a delight to others , including the cranky armande voizin ( judi dench ) , who sits day by day in vianne\\'s shop , telling the single mother about her unfortunate detached relationship with her grandson ( aurelien parent-koening ) , which comes as a result of his mother ( carrie-ann moss ) believing armande is a bad influence , as she does not hold the same , strict religious beliefs that she does . \\nalso a fan of the chocolate is the nervous wreck josephine muscat , whose husband is constantly beating her , to whom vianne offers a home and befriends . \\njuliette binoche is charming and honest as vianne , genuinely capturing her character\\'s determination to turn the narrow-minded townspeople into more happy , independent human beings , but most of chocolat\\'s success is unquestionably a result of the remarkable performances of the supporting actresses . \\nlena olin , previously nominated for an oscar in 1989 , deserves her second nomination for her earnest , moving portrayal of a lost , scared woman torn between staying true to her battering , manipulative husband or leaving him to live the life which for which she longs . \\njudi dench is sharp , incisive , and occasionally greatly touching as armande voizin . \\ncarrie ann-moss , in what is likely to be her first largely noticed ( and acclaimed ) role since the matrix , shows a more solid side of her acting skills not previously seen , crafting a character that the viewer both sympathizes with and despises simultaneously . \\nvictoire thivisol shows much promise as anouk , a young girl hoping her always-on-the-move mother will eventually settle down . \\na trade ad for chocolat sums up best the power the actresses have on screen with the tagline : \" five extraordinary women , one extraordinary movie . \" \\nthat\\'s not to say the men don\\'t do their share , though : alfred molina makes for a sly and utterly repugnant antagonist , hugh o\\'conor adds quite a bit of comic relief as the priest who seems to not even know why he is who he is , and johnny depp gives a strong performance as the pirate roux , who enters the film late in the game and sparks the romantic interest of vianne . \\nthe technical aspects of chocolat are strong across the board : lasse hallstrom directs his enchanting fable with great care , perfectly balancing the elements of each genre to be found within the film . \\ncinematographer roger pratt brings an atmospheric , fairy tale look to the film , and rachel portman\\'s masterful score is her best and most memorable since the cider house rules . \\nchocolat , adapted by robert nelson jacobs from the joanne harris novel , is a wonderful little treat of a film , one that will most likely win over the hearts of audiences and the votes of academy members this winter , and the aggressive backing of miramax films assures the latter . \\nwhile not as powerful as the cider house rules , lasse hallstrom\\'s chocolat is a film which works on all levels-as a drama , a comedy , a fable , a romance , and a fairy tale . \\nand it even lives up to its name : it is delicious to savor the taste of , easy to digest , and , like all excellent chocolate , it is memorable for days afterward . \\nthe bottom line : chocolat is pure pleasure . \\n',\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" session 9 \" ( usa films ) \\nsometimes you just get more than your bargained for . . . like when boston-based hazmat elimination , run by scottish actor peter mullan and his trusty assistant , david caruso , assures a town engineer ( paul guilifoyle ) that they can remove insidious asbestos fibers from a victorian hospital facility in a week . \\nerected in 1871 , deserted and decomposing since 1985 , the danvers mental hospital , is one of the most malevolent \" locations \" ever chosen for a film . \\nthe structure is so massive - with its labyrinth of rubble-strewn corridors , collapsing floors , stagnant pools of water , isolation cells , and ominous surgical chambers where experimental pre-frontal lobotomies were performed - that their task seems impossible within that time frame . \\nand each member of their inexperienced crew ( stephan gevedon , brandon sexton iii , and josh lucas ) is coping with his own personal demons as , one by one , their minds seem to be affected by the grim areas in which they\\'re working . \\nthe film\\'s title is derived from salvaged reel-to-reel audio-recorded sessions involving the demonic possession of a young woman who is suffering from multiple personalities . \\nby the time session 9 occurs so do dreadful disasters . \\nfilmmaker brad anderson obviously envisioned this as a gruesome chainsaw-massacre-type ghost story but the script lacks structure and isn\\'t particularly scary . \\nthe conclusion is more ludicrous than convincing . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" session 9 \" is a dark , gloomy 4 . silly me . . . at \\nfirst , i thought that the original name of the danvers lunatic asylum bore some reference to mrs . danvers , the creepy housekeeper played by judith anderson in alfred hitchcock\\'s truly terrifying \" rebecca \" that also involved a cavernous mansion called manderley . \\n',\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" the perfect storm \" ( warner bros . ) \\n \" more people die on fishing boats , per capita , than working in any other job in the u . s . . \\nevery journey a fishing boat makes can be an all-or-nothing risk . \\nit is life at its most exhilarating and its most terrifying , \" says director wolfgang petersen ( \" das boot \" ) . \\nand that\\'s just what he captures in this true story of struggle and humanity aboard a swordfishing boat , the andrea gail , sailing out of gloucester , massachusetts , in late october , 1991 . \\nearly in bill wittliff\\'s screenplay , based on sebastian junger\\'s best-seller , we meet the crew of six . \\nthe veteran captain ( george clooney ) is frustrated because he can\\'t find fish on the grand banks , yet a rival skipper ( mary elizabeth mastrantonio ) brings in huge hauls . \\nhis right-hand man ( mark walhberg ) needs money to build a new life with his girl-friend ( diane lane ) . \\nthere\\'s a devoted dad ( john c . reilly ) with an estranged wife and son , a free-spirited jamaican ( allen payne ) , a lonely guy ( john hawkes ) , and a last-minute replacement with a bad attitude ( william fichtner ) . \\nthe skipper\\'s convinced he can change his bad luck streak in remote flemish cap , and he does . \\nbut then trouble begins . \\nthere\\'s a rogue wave , a man overboard and the ice machine breaks - with 60 , 000 lb . \\nof fish that could spoil . \\nbut that\\'s minor compared with a deadly monster storm approaching which a boston meteorologist describes as \" a disaster of epic proportions \" that also threatens the lives of a coast guard helicopter rescue team trying to save three people stranded on a sailboat on the high seas . \\nit\\'s formulaic and there are cliches , but the walls of water , created by fluid dynamics simulating real-life phenomena , are awesome . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" the perfect storm \" is a terrifying , suspenseful 8 . \\nhang on for the white-knuckle thrill ride of the summer ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'its a stupid little movie that trys to be clever and sophisticated , yet trys a bit too hard . \\nwith the voices of woody allen , gene hackman , jennifer lopez , sylvester stallone , and sharon stone , this computer-animated yak-fest ( think toy story [1996] filled with used merchandising ) is one for the ant-eaters . \\nthe main story is the independence of a worker named z ( allen ) . \\nhe wants more to life than just digging away underground for the colony . \\nwhen he finds out about ``insectopia , \" a mythical place where all insects can run free , z , along with his colony\\'s princess ( stone ) , journey out into the world to find a meaning for life . \\nabout 15 minutes into the picture , i began to wonder what the point of the film was . \\nhalfway through , i still didn\\'t have an answer . \\nby the end credits , i just gave up and ran out . \\nantz is a mindless mess of poor writing and even poorer voice-overs . \\nallen is nonchalant , while i would have guessed , if i hadn\\'t seen her in the mighty and basic instinct , stone can\\'t act , even in a cartoon . \\nthis film is one for the bugs : unfunny and extremely dull . \\nhey , a bug\\'s life may have a good time doing antz in . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there\\'s a scene early on in \" jawbreaker \" where a character utters the unintentionally prophetic line , \" that is * so * not funny \" . \\nhow right she was . \\nthis pathetic tale of three high-schoolers who accidentally kill their best friend in a birthday kidnapping prank gone horribly awry is never even remotely funny . \\nor fun . \\nor original . \\nnot content with the too-obvious \" heathers \" heisting , the filmmakers proceed to lift freely from a staggering variety of sources , including \" carrie \" , \" bride of frankenstein \" , \" blue velvet \" , and even shaw\\'s pygmalion , itself recently remade as \" she\\'s all that \" . \\n \" jawbreaker \" is a pastiche , and not even an enjoyable one . \\ni find it extremely telling that the most engaging part of the film is the credit sequence , a jawbreaker factory montage inexplicably backed by veruca salt\\'s \" volcano girls \" ; serving as a blueprint for the rest of the film , the song has absolutely nothing to do with the footage we\\'re watching . \\njust close your eyes and pretend you\\'re listening to an alt-rock station ; you won\\'t be missing anything . \\nthe blame for a mess this big has to be spread around among the principals . \\nrebecca gayheart , following roles in \" scream 2 \" and \" urban legend \" , should have known better than to take yet another role in yet another teen body count movie . \\npam grier has totally wasted any credibility she might have gotten from her role in quentin tarantino\\'s \" jackie brown \" . \\nand rose mcgowan should just quit acting . \\nshe has no charisma , no presence , and no acting skills other than rolling her eyes and looking disaffected . \\nmcgowan manages to be upstaged by her real-life boyfriend , rocker marilyn manson , whose fifteen second role here is far more interesting than anything any of the \" real \" actors are doing . \\nmanson , sans trademark makeup & contact lenses , and with an obviously fake moustache , looks eerily like nicholas cage ; who woulda thunk it ? \\nthat crack about direction by committee wasn\\'t merely a pithy sound-bite . \\nstylistically , thematically & narratively , \" jawbreaker \" is all over the map , varying wildly in tone & content from scene to scene . \\nthough credited solely to writer/director darren stein , one gets the feeling that no two scenes here were actually guided by the same hands . \\nif stein was indeed responsible for the whole of this atrocity , someone needs to get the man some drugs , pronto . \\nprozac , lithium , kava , ritalin , something , anything . \\nhe\\'s quite obviously in desperate need of chemical help . \\n \" jawbreaker \" is a monumental waste of effort and resources , and quite likely one of the single worst films i\\'ve ever seen . \\nto call \" jawbreaker \" garbage would be to insult garbage . \\nbad flicks for the rest of the year are safe ; i\\'ve already got my pick for worst film of \\'99 . \\n \" jawbreaker \" runs approximately 90 minutes , though it feels longer than \" titanic \" , and is rated r for language , sexual situations and graphic violence . \\nnot recommended for kids , teens , or anyone else . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when you go to the movies as much as i do , you unfortunately end up seeing certain movie trailers one too many times . \\nsuch was the case with frequency . \\nevery time i went to a screening , there was the frequency preview . \\nit looked awful . \\nit looked cheesy , sappy and ridiculous . \\nit looked like a flop . \\nwell , whoever put that trailer together should be fired , because in terms of pure entertainment , frequency is one of the best of the year thus far . \\nfrequency boasts a compelling story line . \\nan occurrence of freakish solar activity allows police detective john sullivan ( james caviezel ) to speak to his fireman father frank sullivan ( dennis quaid ) through a ham radio , despite the fact that frank has been dead for 30 years . \\njohn is able to give his father information that prevents his death in a warehouse fire , but by doing so causes other changes . \\nsomehow , a serial killer\\'s reign of terror , which in the original timeline had been stopped at three murders , extends to ten victims . . . \\nincluding john\\'s mother . \\nthis is director gregory hoblit\\'s third film ( the other two being primal fear and fallen ) . \\nwith all three , he\\'s managed to attach himself to great scripts ( this one by toby emmerich , whose only previous movie experience was as a music supervisor on numerous new line films ) and add equally great direction . \\nalso , he apparently likes to have his films wrap up with a kick-ass ending . \\nfrequency is no exception , the ending is unpredictable and incredibly satisfying . \\nhoblit is three for three , and i hope he can keep it up . \\nnow everyone can argue logic this and logic that all you want with the sci-fi elements of frequency . \\nbut the fact of the matter is that time travel has never been achieved . \\nwho\\'s to say how something works and how it doesn\\'t when it\\'s never happened ? \\nis it because we\\'ve become accustomed to time travel \" laws \" from other places like \" star trek \" and the back to the future trilogy and \" quantum leap \" ? \\nyes , if you sit down and think about it , certain plot elements in this film probably won\\'t make any sense . \\nmost films are like that . \\ndon\\'t let that dissuade you from seeing this fantastically entertaining film however . \\nwhen frequency was over , it made me wish i had seen it with my father so i could have given him a hug ( okay okay , shut up ) . \\nwhen you break it down past all its sci-fi elements and serial killer antics , frequency is simply a movie about a father and his son and the bond that they share . \\nit\\'s touching , it\\'s sincere , and it\\'s what ultimately makes this movie work . \\n[pg-13] \\n',\n",
+       " b'billed as a \" feminist sex fantasy \" , this spirited , imaginative and thoroughly engaging film by the award-winning canadian director cynthia roberts , is destined for extreme reactions . \\ncamille paglia enthusiasts will no doubt champion this heart-felt tale of the title character bubbles galore ( nina hartley ) , a porn-actress-turned-porn-producer who faces an uphill battle in her quest for sexual and economic independence . \\nhowever , those in the andrea dworkin camp , will no doubt loathe the film\\'s decidedly pro-porn stance . \\npolitical considerations aside , however , this is a delightful lesbian love story as the film takes us on a whirlwind tour of bubbles\\' romantic entanglements with a naive and virginal young porn starlet dory drawers ( shauny sexton ) . \\nin the backdrop , however is bubbles\\' loyal assistant vivian klitorsky ( tracy wright ) who pines longingly for the affections of her bubbly boss . \\nthis femme-butch-femme triangle is what provides the film with considerable humanity * and * sensuality . \\nin addition to the romantic aspects of the story , bubbles is being stalked and terrorized by her ex-boyfriend godfrey montana ( daniel macivor ) , a slimy porn mogul who wishes to make her life as miserable as he can possibly make it . \\nwhen his plans to sabotage her latest film fall through , he snaps and psychotically decides to kill her . \\nthese proceedings are presided over by a most heavenly presence . \\ngod herself - yes , in the world of this film , god , is most definitely a \" her \" - and a chorus of undulating , scantily-clad angels , have their most watchful and lustful eyes on the events as they unfold , adding a lovely fantasy element to this frothy concoction . \\nthis bright , colourful and deliriously sexy film is chock-full of great performances . \\nmaking her dramatic debut , after appearing in over 300 triple x adult films , porn star nina hartley takes command of her role with considerable assurance and a screen presence which puts many other contemporary \\'straight\\' actresses to shame . \\nhartley has overwhelming star power , and one wonders why other non-triple-x producers haven\\'t used her bountiful talents . \\nit is also interesting to note that hartley appears in the recent release of \" boogie nights \" , a film which takes a far more traditional doom-and-gloom approach to the porn industry . \\nmaking a cameo appearance in the role of god , former porn actress annie sprinkle , a true artist in her own right - gives the entire film an earthy , sensual glow and certainly solidifies and , by her very appearance , downright justifies the themes of the movie . \\nthe other performances are equally solid . \\ndaniel macivor appropriately chews up the scenery as the villainous godfrey and tracy wright lends able support with her complex role . \\nshauny sexton , an erotic dancer and pin-up model , makes an impressive screen debut . \\noverall , bubbles galore is a film which wears its politics on its sleeve and very proudly indeed . \\nat one point , the title character declares that \" instead of trying to save women from the sex trade , we should be working to ensure that the sex trade is a safe place for women to work \" . \\nthe direction by cynthia roberts is daring and subversive . \\nroberts is not afraid to plunge the otherwise straight-ahead and simple narrative into extended and extremely avant-garde montage sequences . \\nthe love scenes between the women are especially beautiful . \\nthe musical score by nicholas stirling blends cool jazz and lounge stylings , while the skilful cinematography by harald bachmann terrifically captures a blend of garish 70\\'s porn and psychedelia . \\namazingly , this film appears to have received a good deal of its funding from a variety of canadian government cultural agencies . \\nthis speaks volumes towards the importance of state funding for culture , as one cannot imagine such an entertaining , original and vital film being made in a traditional setting where conformity and formula rule the day . \\nbubbles galore seems to be making the film festival rounds and does not , at present , appear to have any traditional distribution in place , so keep your eye on the alternative film listings for this one . \\nit\\'s funny , sexy and subversive . \\nand it shouldn\\'t be missed . \\n',\n",
+       " b'elizabeth is a potent historical drama set in england in the mid-1500s . \\nit is a time when stately royal ceremonies are as commonplace as public burnings . \\ninternally , the catholics wage war against the protestants . \\nmeanwhile , spain , scotland and france strategize their next moves in the struggle for power . \\nlittle does england know that a young woman named elizabeth ( cate blanchett ) will be their greatest hope for survival . \\nthe film charts elizabeth\\'s tumultuous struggle to gain true power over her kingdom . \\nas a protestant , she is the last person any of the catholic royalty would want to be queen . \\nbut her half-sister queen mary ( kathy burke ) , deathly ill and unable to conceive a child , pleas with elizabeth to take over the throne . \\nmary gives her her blessing on only one condition : that elizabeth renounce her faith and uphold the teachings of catholicism across the land . \\nonce declared queen , elizabeth immediately finds herself under assault , both by her own subjects ( including the duke of norfolk , played with steely-eyed grace by christopher eccleston ) and by forces abroad . \\nslowly but surely , the neophyte ruler takes england by its reigns and forges a new path for her kingdom . \\nelizabeth is surrounded by a keenly drawn cadre of subjects and advisers . \\nher closest ally is the mysterious sir francis walsingham ( geoffrey rush , in a perfectly subtle performance ) . \\nalso on her side is sir william cecil ( sir richard attenborough ) , her well-meaning but misguided chief adviser . \\nwith few people she can trust , elizabeth must prove her self-worth any way she can , even if it means being the iron-fisted ruler she secretly despises . \\nblanchett deserves an oscar for her performance as elizabeth . \\nshe portrays the young queen with just the right balance of gawky self-consciousness and shrewd charisma . \\nthough not a classical beauty , blanchett is able to entrance the viewer with just a coy smile or an impish smirk . \\nshe is at home with her character\\'s playful tendencies , particularly in one scene where elizabeth dances unabashedly with childhood friend and lover lord robert dudley ( joseph fiennes ) . \\nwhether fending off unctuous suitors or \" playing \" the houses in court , blanchett\\'s elizabeth radiates a confidence which impossible to dislike . \\nalmost as interesting as the character of elizabeth are shekhar kapur\\'s visual delights . \\nhe and cinematographer remi adefarasin have crafted a film with a rich color palette that is a feast for the eyes . \\nrolling green hills , extravagant ceremonial galas , dark and foreboding corridors -- all are depicted with a real sense of artistic appreciation . \\nthe castles and cathedrals of europe have rarely been doted on so lovingly as they are here . \\nthough writer michael hirst\\'s script gets a little murky at times , and his injections of humor get a little overplayed , elizabeth pulses with the right amount of dramatic and cinematic verve to make it just deserving of a theatrical viewing . \\nas a whole , the story survives because elizabeth\\'s struggle is one which deserves attention . \\nby the time she makes her shocking ( but very sensible ) final declaration , we\\'re ready to bow to elizabeth as our own queen . \\n',\n",
+       " b'at first glance , i thought that the sword and the sorceror had promise . \\nits plotline goes like this : the evil king cromwell , desiring to take over the world , resurrects an evil , ancient sorceror , xusia for power . \\nhe attacks the kingdom of eh-dan and kills young prince talon\\'s parents . \\ngiven a triple-bladed sword ( which can shoot bad guys , like a gun ) by his dying father , talon vows for revenge . \\neleven years later , when he\\'s established his own army , the mercaneries , he vows to take back his kingdom . \\nalong the way , he meets up with alana , whose village is attacked by drunken guards and her brother is kidnapped by cromwell . \\ntalon vows to help , and , after a series of minor escapades , eventually ends up rescuing alana\\'s brother ( and several other prisoners ) , only to be captured himself ( in other words , put on a cross to be crucified ! ) . \\nfortunately he frees himself , rescues alana from marrying cromwell , defeats xusia , and then cromwell , all with his triple bladed sword ( during the final battle , the blade breaks , but talon finishes cromwell off by using a hidden dagger in the blade ) . \\nthen , everything ends happily . \\nunfortunately , the sword and the sorcerer is not even half as good as it sounds . \\nwhat would have been a great film is completely destroyed by uneven plot jumping , bad acting , and gruesomely gory , bloody scenes . \\nnever once does the story seem to connect together , it just jumps around repeatedly . \\nthis problem is extremely noticeable in the opening scene where cromwell resurrects xusia . \\nafter telling him that he needs his help , he leads the warlock out into daylight , but then stabs him and sends him careening off a cliff afterwards . \\nwait a minute , didn\\'t the plotline say that he needs the help of xusia in order to invade eh-dan , which he cannot do by military force ? \\nif that is the case , why does he dispose of xusia after resurrecting him ? \\nand why does he manage to take over eh-dan anyway ? \\nthese questions are just never - no , never - answered in the film . \\nanother example is that one moment we see talon fighting for his life , another moment we see him just about to be crucified during alana\\'s wedding to cromwell ( ! ) , and finally at the end , instead of settling down with alana , he just tells her to \" wait \" , and then he just rides off ! \\nin addition to the extremely bloody scenes , this uneven plot jumping completely destroys what would have been a great fantasy adventure . \\neven some attempts to make it exciting , a few fire scenes , battle scenes , don\\'t work . \\nit just completely fails altogether miserably . \\nthe only good thing about this film is its musical score , contributed by david whittaker , who had an ( extremely ) short music composing career . \\nthe score is boomy and adventurous , powerful , and a billion times better than this film is . \\nmy suggestion : steer the hell away from this bloody mess and buy the soundtrack album instead ( if you can find it ) . \\nironically , though , before the film\\'s credits roll , there is a message indicating that a sequel , tales of the ancient empire , would follow . \\nto my relief ( and delight ) , it never got into production , because the sword and the sorcerer laid an egg at the box office , grossing only $39 million . \\ncritics were right on in slamming the sword and the sorcerer , all right . \\nleonard maltin rightfully called it \" second rate in scripting , and acting \" and at-a-glance film reviews called it \" a confusing , stupid , unimaginative , unengaging , bloodfilled bore \" . \\ni totally agree with these reviews , all right , and i hope that this piece of #$% ! \\nwill be forgotten about . \\nthere are far better fantasy movies than the sword and the sorcerer . \\ni hope you get a good laugh out of this review , but i am not laughing . \\nin fact , my insults don\\'t even come close to the gruesome sickness that this film gave me throughout its 100 minute running time . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in the wake of the smashing success of \" rumble in the bronx , \" it\\'s looking more and more likely that more jackie chan films will see american release . \\nrumor has it that one of these films will be drunken master ii . \\nthe version i have is a copy from the laserdisc ; it\\'s widescreen and bilingually-subtitled , as are most hong kong films these days . \\navailability over here in the united states is very limited ; these films must either be purchased via pirates or sought out from asian distributors such as tai seng . \\nthe subtitling on the copy i have is slightly hard to read ; the letters are white and a bit small . \\nalthough the american release will almost certainly be dubbed , this review is of the subtitled version , so please keep that in mind if you\\'re reading this review to help you decide whether to go out and see it . \\nto be fair , i must admit that i\\'ve never been very fond of \" period-piece \" martial arts movies--the ones set in some nebulous china of the distant or not so distant past . \\nperhaps it\\'s because most of those i\\'ve seen were filmed on inferior stock , with either butchered dubbing or all-but-illegible subtitling , or perhaps it\\'s because their plots all tend to be very similar to each other and , in many cases , all but nonexistant . \\nin fact , many of them get so wrapped up in their subplots that they seem to forget their main plot entirely until only a few minutes before the end . \\nor , for that matter , it might be because the jackie chan films with more modern settings ( armour of god , rumble in the bronx , etc . ) tend to have more spectacular stunts , often involving large motor vehicles and large explosions , whereas period pieces simply have the martial arts . \\nhaving said that , i must now turn right around and say that drunken master ii is a remarkable exception to all or most of the above , is one of the better martial arts films i\\'ve seen , and i quite enjoyed it . \\nsurprised ? \\nwell , so was i . \\ndrunken master ii is about a young man named wong fei-hong ( played by jackie chan ) who is a master of the drunken boxing style of kung fu . \\nwhere he learned this style is uncertain , as his father , wong kei-ying ( ti lung ) is steadfast in his opposition to fei-hong\\'s practicing it rather than some more normal style of kung fu . \\napparently , fei-hong is some sort of figure from chinese folklore , rather like paul bunyan is for americans , but i\\'ve heard very little about this , and could quite well be wrong , so i\\'ll leave analysis of that to the people who know it better . \\none of my friends points out that the character of wong fei-hong is also featured in the \" once upon a time in china \" movies , but i have not yet seen those . \\nthe plot of drunken master ii is somewhat hazy , as are the plots to many such films , but if you\\'re watching a jackie chan film , odds are you aren\\'t expecting something on the order of \" war and peace \" . \\nthe story seems to revolve around those evil foreigners who are spiriting away ancient chinese relics ( and hence , china\\'s cultural heritage ) while overworking , underpaying , and beating up chinese workers in a nearby steel mill . \\nhowever , this plot merely serves as a framework for the other main story of the film--fei-hong\\'s perpetual struggle to win his girlfriend , supplicate his father , keep his ( pregnant ) mother ( played by anita mui ) from fighting , and keep from getting beaten up by evil foreigner thugs . \\nthe macguffin that drives the plot ( s ) is a precious antique jade imperial seal which is being taken away by the evil foreigners . \\nin the beginning , fei-hong accidentally steals it while trying to recover an identically-wrapped box containing the medicinal ginseng his father was bringing back for a customer . \\nin the process , he clashes with another thief , who is himself trying for the seal but ends up instead with the ginseng . \\nafter fei-hong narrowly avoids getting caught with the seal by the evil foreigners\\' lackies , thanks to some timely intervention by a general\\'s son ( a cameo appearance by andy lau , who would later take on the starring role in drunken master iii ! ) , comedic chaos ensues back at the wong household when fei-hong and his mother attempt to come up with a replacement for the missing ginseng . \\nand so it goes . \\nand the plot thickens later on , such as when fei-hong\\'s girlfriend maneuvers him into a kung fu match with a rival , or when fei-hong and the thief , now revealed to be a loyalist manchu officer trying to recover the seal and stop the evil foreigners , are attacked en masse ( another grand kung-fu movie tradition ) , but i think i\\'ve already spent more time on the plot than it really deserves . \\nlet\\'s move on to the real draw of jackie chan movies . . . the \\naction . \\nthere\\'s plenty of martial arts action to be found in this movie . . . of \\ncourse , in a kung fu film , that\\'s to be expected . \\nhowever , this isn\\'t just another kung fu movie ; this one has jackie chan doing the fight and stunt choreography , and jackie chan is a genius . \\nthe primary martial arts \" style \" featured in the film is drunken boxing , a form of kung fu which attempts to draw the adversary off his guard by making it seem like the fellow using it is drunk . \\nfurther , for the purposes of this film at least , drunken boxers fight better when they actually _are_ intoxicated . . . but \\nthere\\'s a fine line between just drunk enough and drunk into a stupor . \\nunder normal circumstances , the idea of someone staggering around looking sloshed but managing to fight effectively and even incredibly might seem rather stupid , but jackie pulls it off with flair . \\nthe kung fu sequences are so intricate in their staging and execution that it is pointless to try to describe it on paper , so i\\'ll just say that the fights--especially the big climactic fight at the end--in themselves make the movie worth watching . \\nanother thing drunken master ii has going for it is the stunt work . \\neven without motor vehicles ( well , not counting a train ) , there are some remarkable stunts in this film . \\namong other things , jackie dives off a balcony into a table and crawls across hot coals ( not once , but at _least_ twice , if you count the outtake shown during the credits ) . \\n ( quicktime movies of these stunts can be found through the www movie database . ) \\nunlike in american films , these stunts are _not_ faked . \\ndrunken master ii stars several veteran actors of the hong kong movie scene , including jackie , ti lung ( \" a better tomorrow \" 1 & 2 ) , and anita mui ( the \" heroic trio \" series , \" rumble in the bronx \" ) . \\nthe performances are first-rate , especially when it comes to the comedy parts of the film . \\nthe scene where fei-hong and his mother conspire literally behind fei-hong\\'s father\\'s back to cover up for the missing ginseng root is hilarious , as is the scene where fei-hong\\'s mother , having just revealed that she is pregnant , is threatening to hurt herself ( in order to draw her husband\\'s anger away from fei-hong ) . \\njackie has developed his knack for physical comedy into a sort of mastery over the years , and he\\'s in fine form all through drunken master ii . \\nas far as cinematography is concerned , it certainly works for this film . \\nit\\'s nothing spectacular , but is at least a dozen times better than all those old kung fu movies of the 70s . \\nthe picture is crisp and clear . \\none thing i find particularly worthy of mention is that , at least in the copy i have , the screen was wider than any film i\\'ve ever seen on videotape before--almost a whole 1/3 of the screen was blocked out above and below . \\n ( watch this on a bigscreen tv or movie theater if you can . ) \\nit will be an utter shame if this film is eventually pan-and-scanned for american video release . \\ndrunken master ii shows the full potential of \" period piece \" kung fu movies , and it\\'s good enough to overcome even my usual distaste for such movies . \\nthe plot does meander a bit , but that\\'s to be expected in this type of film . \\nif you like this kind of movie , you\\'ll love this movie , and if not , well , give it a chance anyway . \\nif nothing else , the martial arts and stunt sequences are by themselves worth the price of admission or rental . \\n',\n",
+       " b'hey , i\\'ve got a great idea for a movie ! \\nok , here it is : we\\'ll get tim allen to pull angry faces for about two hours or so ! \\nwhat\\'s that ? \\nsounds too boring ? \\nok , how about this then : we still have tim allen pull faces for about two hours , but half of them are angry looks and half of them are \" i\\'m in pain ! \" \\nlooks ! \\nwhat\\'s that ? \\nthat still doesn\\'t sound funny to you ? \\nhow about if we through in some \" ewwwww ! \" \\nlooks ? \\nstill not funny ? \\nif you answered \" no , that doesn\\'t sound funny \" , then ( ding ding ding ! ) \\nyou\\'re absolutely correct ! \\nfor richer or poorer is a moronic farce about a rich married couple ( played by tim allen and kirstie alley ) who seek refuge in an amish community after their bumbling accountant ( wayne knight , best know as newman on tv\\'s \" seinfeld \" ) gets them in trouble for tax evasion . \\nwhat ensues is a badly scripted and horribly directed 114 minutes of cinema hell . \\nwhat makes this all wrong is that nobody seems to have what the film needs . \\n . \\n . \\nnamely , talent ! \\nbacking up , the married couple is brad and caroline sexton ( allen and alley ) , a popular snobby duo who seem totally in love to everyone else , but in reality are on the brink of divorce . \\njust as their marriage seems to be hanging from it\\'s final thread , brad discovers that his accountant , bob lachman ( knight ) , has been engaging in illegitimate deals in the sexton\\'s names . \\nthe irs catches on , but since everything points back to the sexton\\'s and not lachman , there is nothing much to do . \\n . \\n . \\nexcept run away and join an amish community . \\nfirst time screenwriters jana howington and steve lukanic give us a couple of chuckle-out-loud moments , and even some decent laughs here and * way * over there , but there is so much to cringe at in this horribly made film that you\\'ll likely miss the laughs while regurgitating popcorn . \\nalley is absolutely unwatchable , and the chemistry between her and allen is about as believable as my chemistry homework from tenth grade ( which , i inform you , was total b . s . ) . \\nallen and alley are in no way convincing as tycoons , nor are they very convincing as an amish couple ! \\nthis entire movie is one bad ill-conceived notion that should have been curtailed from the very beginning ! \\nthe amish in this movie are also flimsy and unconvincing . \\nit\\'s such a trite , stereotypical script that i imagine the actors that were cast ( noticing that they\\'re all predominantly tv figures ) were probably the only ones they could get ! \\nbryan spicer\\'s directing doesn\\'t help one bit , either . \\nin fact , listing spicer\\'s filmography ( which includes the first \" power rangers \" movie and the big screen adaption of mchale\\'s navy ) is more of an insult than a r ? sum ? ! \\nnow that i\\'ve pretty much run for richer or poorer into the ground , i will let you in on the best thing about it . \\nit bumped seven films up a notch on my \" worst of \" 1997 movie list . \\nthat\\'s right , thanks to this film ranking at number 3 for the year\\'s worst , six films are now not seemingly as bad , and a smile like yours , previously inhabiting the number ten spot , now doesn\\'t have to suffer the ridicule of making my bottom ten list . \\nif you look at it in that respect , for richer or poorer will end up making someone happy after all ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'i was fortunate enough to attend an advance screening for the upcoming thriller conspiracy theory . \\nthis was , of course , a big deal for me because reviewing movies is basically just a hobby for me and i never get a chance at something like this . \\nnot only did i get to see an advance screening , i was able to see an advance screening of a * very good * movie . \\nthe very fast-paced film stars mel gibson as jerry fletcher , a fast-talking , witty , comical taxi driver in new york city . \\ngibson\\'s performance is terrific , and his character is similar to that of martin riggs in the lethal weapon films . \\ngibson again teams up with richard donner , as he did in the lethal weapon films and maverick , and this time around , the combination works even better . \\nthe character of jerry fletcher is indeed unique . \\ntry to imagine a toned-downed version of travis bickle who , this time around , is a jittery guy with knowledge of government conspiracy cover-ups . \\nif you can imagine that , then you\\'ve basically got jerry fletcher . \\nin many ways , i was surprised by this movie . \\nto begin with , i was surprised at how good it was . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , it\\'s not going to be accepting any gold trophies next spring , but it was a very enjoyable movie . \\nsecondly , i was surprised at mel gibson\\'s performance . \\nhe provided a fantastic performance . \\nthe previews of this film led me to believe it was an all-out action flick , which after viewing , it was almost the opposite in a certain sense . \\ngibson\\'s character has an almost uncountable number of one-liners , hilarious situations , and his character is one that the audience tends to side with throughout the film . \\nfor instance , jerry\\'s apartment ( and especially his security ) is memorable . \\nand last , i was surprised at how good the plot is . \\nwriter brian helgeland has created a terrific story , and when watching this film , you are left to wonder if all of jerry fletcher\\'s far-fetched ( or so they seem at first ) conspiracy theories are helgeland\\'s own opinions . \\nmel gibson isn\\'t the only stand-out in the film . \\njulia roberts is very good in her performance as alice sutton , the department of justice employee who can\\'t seem to stay away from jerry fletcher , who continually visits alice in hopes that she will do something about his theories . \\nhe also seems obsessed and in love with her . \\nbut whenever he approaches her with another one of his theories , she shrugs him and his beliefs off , continually noting that one day she is going to slap a restraining order on him . \\njerry , obviously determined to continually seek out the truth , continues to research information for his next conspiracy theory , which will be printed in his newsletter ( same title as the movie ) . \\nalthough he only has five subscribers , he puts a large amount of time and effort into his work , and publishes his next edition . \\nvery soon after he does so , he is abducted and tortured by a sinister man who refers to himself as dr . jonas ( patrick stewart ) . \\nafter barely escaping alive , jerry is forced to turn to the only person he can trust : alice sutton . \\nthe remainder of the film is almost always fast-paced and full of action and suspense , with jerry\\'s life being constantly put into jeopardy . \\nand more along the way , the audience ( and alice ) learn more and more about jerry\\'s life . \\nmany things are explained throughout this film , both to the characters and to the audience . \\nfor instance , the meaning of the book \" the catcher in the rye \" and its ties to assassins , the reason lone gunmen have three names ( e . g . \\nlee harvey oswald and james earl ray ) , and the real truth behind the grateful dead . \\nmake sure listen closely throughout the film , as jerry is constantly throwing out interesting tidbits such as the above . \\ndefinitely , when conspiracy theory hits theaters august 8th , make sure you are standing in line to see it . \\ni am nearly positive everyone should enjoy this film , especially if you are into an action-thriller with witty dialogue and numerous suspenseful situations . \\nand even if you aren\\'t , you should still like this film . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"8mm , written by seven scribe andrew kevin walker , has an interesting idea which is ruined by hollywood formula to become a bog standard murder mystery . \\nnicolas cage plays family man detective tom welles , who is asked by upper class toff mrs . christian ( myra carter ) to investigate an movie found in her recently deceased husbands safe . \\nthe movie happens to be an mythical 'snuff movie' , where the girl featured in the film appears to get brutally slashed . \\nall mrs . christian wants to know if the girl in the film was killed or not . \\nwelles agrees , and soon gets pulled into the seedy underworld of porn movies , with video clerk max california ( phoenix ) as his guide . \\nalthough the 'snuff' industry hasn't really been examined in mainstream cinema , 8mm still makes a rather plodding thriller which just seems to be a bit sicker than most . \\nthe snuff movie within the movie is certainly disturbing , although the jerky camera angles and grainy image takes some of the shock away . \\n8mm has the problem of not wanting to shock too much , and apart from a few moments , most of the action in the film is nothing you haven't seen from another standard thriller . \\nthe cast help towards the entertainment , apart from an hideous performance by the increasingly lazy nicolas cage . \\nwhile he was fun and breezy in earlier films such as raising arizona ( 1987 ) , ever since leaving las vegas ( 1995 ) , cage has lost much of his acting talent and appears to be on autopilot , such as in the terrible snake eyes ( 1998 . ) \\nhere , in 8mm , he's boring , uninteresting and has a dull monotonous voice . \\nand in this overlong thriller , these virtues do not help keep the suspense up . \\nonly when cage is onscreen with the excellent phoenix does the film start moving , as phoenix is a true talent . \\nhis performance is a great break away from the gloom , and he's just purely enjoyable to watch . \\ncatherine keener is completely wasted as cage's wife , although she delivers a far better performance than her character deserves . \\nher character , though , is hugely underwritten , one of the most wasted characters of the year . \\nalso fun is fargo's peter stormare as the wildly over the top snuff film director . \\nas this film is written by the person behind seven , 8mm is filled with doom and gloom , and no-one appears to know how to use an light switch . \\nunlike seven , 8mm isn't too clever , and the twist is pathetic and startlingly obvious when it arrives . \\nlacking the strong characters seven featured , 8mm ultimately becomes uninvolving plot wise , and relies on the graphic scenes to provide any entertainment . \\nbut director joel schumacher , the completely wrong guy for the job , puts style over content , and while the direction and look are good , it's just not very disturbing . \\nschumacher also has no idea how to shock and audience , and though we are meant to be looking at the 'dark belly' of the porn industry , it doesn't exactly leave an haunting impression on the viewers mind , which misses the point . \\nalso , the last 20 minutes are so hackneyed , so cliched , it's amazing to think it's the same film you're watching . \\n8mm is far from an success , a 'snuffed' opportunity . \\nwith a boring lead character , 'controversial' scenes that manage not to be controversial , and a director obsessed with looks , what could have been one of the most shocking films of the year is a dumb thriller . \\nultimately , 8mm is probably worth renting on home video , unless your desperate to see what the snuff film within the film looks like . \\nand trust me , the rest of the 2 hours are not worth it . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"errol morris , critically acclaimed director of the 1997 documentary fast , cheap and out of control , vaults to new heights with mr . \\ndeath . \\nthis film , an examination of the life and work of controversial execution equipment designer and revisionist historian fred a . leuchter , jr . , is sure to draw audiences out of their malaise , stunning even the more jaded minds among us . \\ndon't let the film's cheesy dissuade you . \\nfollowing this sideshow of horror-lab special effects we are plunged quickly into a non-stop exploration of the weirdness that is leuchter's life and mind . \\nmorris follows the trail of leuchter's madness with appalling lucidity , revealing in a surprising and frightening way what most of us could have guessed to begin with : this leuchter guy is seriously messed up . \\nvirtually raised within the american penal system by a father who worked within prison walls , leuchter seems to have come somewhat naturally into his profession ; designing and maintaining execution equipment for state penitentiaries , in spite of his lack of credentials . \\nafter a moderately successful career making electric chairs and designing gas chambers and gallows , leuchter came to the attention of neo-nazi and revisionist historian ernst zundel , who was facing criminal charges in germany for publishing his `theory' that the holocaust never happened . \\nmorris's interviews are surprisingly congenial , drawing the subjects into a carefree banter that gives them more than enough rope with which to hang themselves . \\nzundel speaks to the camera as though it were his mensch . \\nleuchter seems completely at ease , sometimes jovial . \\npart of this effect may be due to morris's new interviewing machine , called the interrotron , which is responsible for creating eye contact between the subject and the interviewer . \\nthis was the first time morris had used the device , and the results are startling . \\ncombine the irony of these interviews with leuchter's reenactments and reels of creepy stock footage of his trip to auschwitz and birkenau , not to mention a haunting clip of thomas edison electrocuting an elephant , and you've got one compelling and disturbing documentary . \\nwhile this film isn't for the feeble-minded or weak-hearted , it is a valuable addition to the cultural landscape . \\naside from a few dragging minutes toward the end of the piece , morris has given us a fresh look at a dismal subject and i , for one , feel bettered by the experience . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'reading the cast and director for the new mobster comedy , \" analyze this , \" i asked myself , \" how could this miss ? \" \\nrobert de niro ( \" taxi driver , \" \" raging bull \" ) , billy crystal ( \" city slickers \" ) , lisa kudrow ( \" the opposite of sex \" ) , and director harold ramis ( \" national lampoon\\'s vacation \" ) . \\nthese are usually reliable filmmakers ( well , okay , crystal has been in a sizable slump lately ) , and tellingly , the first half-hour of \" analyze this \" was very funny . \\nunfortunately , as the running time ticked away , i began to think that the first thirty minutes had , unbeknownst to me , been rewound and were being replayed another two-and-a-half times . \\nthe film has obtained a clever premise , but does not have any idea what to do with it as it progressively becomes more and more repetitive until i finally stopped enjoying or caring about what was happening on the screen . \\nmiddle-aged psychoanalyst ben sobel\\'s ( billy crystal ) life is finally going very well . \\nalthough he has never gotten along with his own uncaring parents , especially his father , who is also a psychiatrist , ben has an easy-going teenage son ( kyle sabihy ) and is about to travel down to miami to get married to his tv news reporter girlfriend , laura ( lisa kudrow ) . \\nin little but a flash , however , ben suddenly sees his plans ruined when he accidentally hits the car of the mob and subsequently gets paid a visit from famed mafia guy paul vitti ( robert de niro ) , who desperately wants counseling , even though he himself won\\'t even admit to having anxiety attacks . \\nben tries to help paul , mostly so he will get him off his back , but the plot gets more complicated when paul follows ben to his wedding , which ends with a man dropping eight stories to his death . \\nit seems to ben that no matter what he does , paul vitti will not go away , and the more they become involved , the more ben\\'s potentially happy life gets into danger . \\n \" analyze this \" has a few laughs sprinkled throughout ( mostly in the first half ) , but i always had the nagging thought that what director ramis and writers peter tolan , ramis , and kenneth lonergan had done was thought of one joke ( robert de niro lightly spoofing his serious past mafia roles , while terrorizing and becoming buddies with comic billy crystal ) and then tiresomely recycled it for the duration of the 106-minute running time . \\nadmittedly , de niro is very funny here ( and i can\\'t remember the last time you could use that adjective to describe him ) , and crystal is in top-form , but the whole movie is weighed down directly on their shoulders with nothing else to support them , including a substantial plotline . \\nsince \" analyze this \" bills not one , not two , but three writers , you\\'d think that they would have been able to work together to fix the noticably large flaws , but they must have all been on auto-pilot . \\none of the most disappointing and wasted opportunities in the film is the way the movie deals with the supporting characters , all of which have next to nothing to do and aren\\'t even given multi-dimensional characters to attempt to develop . \\ncoming off of her oscar-caliber work in two of last year\\'s best films , \" clockwatchers \" and \" the opposite of sex , \" lisa kudrow\\'s throwaway \" girlfriend \" role is an incredible step down . \\nsure , kudrow\\'s fellow \" friend \" jennifer aniston did the same thing two weeks ago in \" office space , \" but at least we got to spend a little time with aniston . \\nkudrow , meanwhile , mostly just stands around , no doubt wondering why she agreed to appear in this film in the first place . \\nchazz palminteri , as rival gangster primo , fares even worse , in a role that plays more like an afterthought than an actual character . \\nfinally , molly shannon ( rising film star and cast member on \" saturday night live \" ) has a rousingly hilarious one-scene cameo right at the beginning as one of crystal\\'s patients and then completely disappears . \\ntoo bad , considering that the supporting actors surely have proven that they have the abilities to support de niro and crystal . \\nonce \" analyze this \" approached its second wedding scene leaving kudrow\\'s laura standing alone at the altar once again , i had become thoroughly annoyed by where the story had gone , and had mostly lost respect for the character we were supposed to sympathize with the most , ben . \\nafterwards , the climactic scene with ben posing as a fellow mob boss in place of the depressed paul , became a real laugh-free dead-zone , losing its last remaining comic punches . \\n \" analyze this \" proves that talent can certainly help any film out , but when the written material isn\\'t up to their level , what we are virtually left with is a vacuum of thin air . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" idle hands \" is distasteful , crass and derivative . \\nif an original thought found its way into this horror-comedy it would die of loneliness . \\nplus , you have to question the judgment and sensitivity of studio executives who would green light the release of a movie dealing with the slaughter of innocent teen-agers the week after the tragedy in littleton , colo . \\nthe movie is insulting to horror film fans and teen-agers . \\nthe plot , what little there is , deals with anton ( devon sawa ) , a high-school slacker who\\'s hand goes on a murderous rampage after becoming possessed . \\nalong the way the hand kills anton\\'s parents and his two best friends . \\nthe friends , also slackers , are so lazy that they return from the dead because the walk into the light was too far for them . \\nthat is the level of this\\'s atrocity\\'s humor . \\nthe movie treats death as a joke . \\n \" idle hands \" is gruesome and morbid . \\nthe performances are stereotypical and cartoonish . \\ni realize this is supposed to pass for comedy , but recent events have surpassed what is on the screen . \\nit is not the fault of the filmmakers that real life has overtaken reel life . \\nand i can only presume that the writers of \" idle hands , \" terri hughes and ron milbauer , were trying to make some statement about today\\'s young people and their values in a satiric vein . \\nhowever , it\\'s hard to laugh at death these days , especially ones involving young people . \\nwith the real horrors of the world put before us on television , a stale pastry such as \" idle hands \" should be held from release for a few weeks or months to give us time to catch our collective breaths . \\n \" idle hands \" is bad , no matter the circumstances in the world outside . \\nbut the context of recent events only heightens its shortcomings . \\nthe time is not right for this type of movie . \\nand as far as \" idle hands \" goes , the time may never be right . \\nthis is a movie that shoud be consigned to the trash bin of cinema . \\n',\n",
+       " b'attention moviegoers : you are about to enter a meaning-free zone . \\nshould the sound system malfunction during your viewing of 200 cigarettes , do not panic . \\nthe film will work just as well as a silent movie . \\nchronicling the meaningless lives of vain , yuppie types , the movie covers the same ground as the wilt stillman films ( last days of disco , barcelona and metropolitan ) but without any of his acerbic wit and the inviting style of his writing . \\nfirst-time writer shana larsen makes the mistake of creating a couple of dozen characters and not giving any of them any depth . \\nthere isn\\'t one of these characters worth caring about . \\nthe movie features such a cornucopia of hot young stars that it looks like a celluloid version of \" people magazine . \" \\namong others , the movie features : ben affleck , casey affleck , david chappelle , janeane garofalo , gaby hoffmann , catherine kellner , courtney love , jay mohr , martha plimpton , christina ricci and paul rudd . \\nand unlike people magazine , the people speak , not that they have anything interesting to say . \\nit\\'s new year\\'s eve in 1981 , and monica ( martha plimpton ) is preparing her big party . \\nstructured as a series of relatively unrelated stories about her guests on the way to the party , director risa bramon garcia flits back and forth among her stars . \\nmonica\\'s apartment is in \" noho , \" an area that one of the guests describes as \" so cool , all of the poor people live there . \" \\ntypical of the shallow couples in the movie are kevin ( paul rudd ) and his friend and would-be sexual partner lucy ( courtney love ) . \\nthey argue about whether lucy is a slut or not since she sleeps with everyone , except him , of course . \\nshe dares him to go immediately to a bathroom stall and have sex with her , which turns out to be neither erotic , funny or successful -- rather like the rest of the story . \\nthe movie gets its title from the carton of cigarettes that lucy gives kevin for his new year\\'s eve birthday . \\n \" cigarettes are a shield against emotional interaction with other people , \" kevin later tells lucy in a snippet of dialog that sounds profound only outside the context of the movie . \\nanother character , played by jay mohr , has a problem with his sexual triumphs . \\nevery woman he beds falls deeply in love with him by the next morning . \\nwhen his latest conquest tells him of her affection for him , his response is \" i like a lot of people . \" \\nas the movie finally draws to a close , the characters awaken from their post-party game of musical beds . \\nsome have passed out early from alcohol abuse and remember little , while others actually have some clue as to what happened . \\nthe movie itself is so forgettable that by the time you reach your car in the parking lot , all trace of the film will have vanished from your mind , which is probably the best thing that can be said about the movie . \\n200 cigarettes runs 1 : 40 . \\nit is rated r for profanity , sex and one dope smoking scene and would be acceptable for older teenagers . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ingredients : london gal , fate , true love , running joke about monty python\\'s spanish inquisition \\nsynopsis : american actress gwyneth paltrow with dark hair , playing a londoner ? \\nbelieve it . \\nsliding doors is a love \\'what if\\' story . \\nthe gimmick is that it\\'s really two stories : the film follows the life of helen ( gwyneth paltrow ) down two directions . \\nin the beginning , likeable gal \\'helen\\' ( gwyneth paltrow ) gets unexpectedly fired from her advertising job . \\nso she goes into the subway train station meaning to return home early to her apartment and her sleeping live-in lover gerry ( john lynch ) . \\nhelen doesn\\'t know it , but she is at a fateful junction in life : 1 ) if she enters through the sliding door of a london subway train her life takes one path with one future 2 ) if she stays on the platform her life takes another path with a different future . \\nthe film shows what happens in both paths , switching back and forth between intertwined , parallel stories . \\nin story one , helen meets a charming and talkative monty python fan named james ( john hannah ) on the train . \\narriving home early , she discovers that her live-in , gerry ( john lynch ) , is having sex with his former lover lydia ( jeanne tripplehorn ) . \\nthis leads to a life where helen moves out . \\nhelen\\'s winsome new friend james helps her recover from a broken heart , and encourages her to start her own business . \\nin story two , helen experiences a different fate . \\nshe misses the train , never meets james , and doesn\\'t get home early enough to discover gerry\\'s infidelity . \\nin this new life , helen takes up odd menial jobs , and faces the constant sneaking suspicion that all is not right with her relationship with gerry . \\nwill the truth of the heart finally work its way through a number of problems and setbacks in both scenarios ? \\nopinion : rejoice all ye monty python fans , gwyneth paltrow fans , and watchers of quirky romance flicks . \\nat last here\\'s proof that there\\'s still creativity in 1990s filmmaking . \\nsliding doors is refreshingly different from anything this year . \\nnot only is it a well-acted , heartwarming film , but it\\'s also easily gwyneth paltrow\\'s best recent performance . \\nwhen helen ( paltrow ) screams that her unfaithful boyfriend is a \\'shagging wanker , \\' ( a british phrase better left untranslated ) she sounds like she knows what she\\'s talking about ! \\nnor does sliding doors go overboard with formulaic true love or other stereotypes . \\nnobody scrambles around in danger , screaming , \" i will find you no matter what , my darling ! \" \\nwhen helen finds herself on a boat in the starlight with james , she doesn\\'t take the easy way out and leap into his arms , since she\\'s supposed to be recovering from heartache . \\nand handsome live-in boyfriend gerry isn\\'t the stereotypical screen hunk ( either a stud or a snob ) . \\ninstead he\\'s a nervous and indecisive , almost helpless hunk . \\nanother example : when one of the protagonists lies wounded in a hospital , sliding doors gives us neither the \\'hospital miracle\\' nor a maudlin tragedy but surprises us with a third variation . \\nin other words , all of the characters seem non-stereotyped , human , and local . \\nthere are minor inconveniences . \\nsince sliding doors switches back and forth between two possible fates , it\\'s occasionally difficult to distinguish between the two . \\ndistinguishing between the two stories isn\\'t a problem in the scenes containing paltrow , who sports two different hairstyles . \\nbut in scenes containing only lydia and gerry , who look the same in both stories , it\\'s slightly confusing . \\nalso , quite a few snappy comebacks referring to american pop culture ( seinfeld , woody allen , etc . ) are spoken by the british characters . \\nbut these seem slightly forced , given that the remaining dialogue is predominantly british slang . \\npossibly an attempt by the screenwriter to balance the british so that american audiences can feel more comfortable ? \\nsliding doors is a charming , quirky , original , happy romance with a little \\'philosophy of fate\\' thrown in . \\nmonty python and the meaning of fate , anybody ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'alexandre dumas meets hong kong action with newcomer justin chambers reprising the oft-played character of dashing swordsman d\\'artagnon in director peter hyam\\'s adventure \" the musketeer . \" \\nfor some reason that i may figure out later , i don\\'t know why the time , money and effort were put into the making of \" the musketeer . \" \\nit may be that someone had the clever idea of combining the dumas characters and story with the current enamor with the action work of hong kong imports like this film\\'s xin-xin xiong ( \" once upon a time in china \" ) and yuen woo-ping from \" crouching tiger , hidden dragon . \" \\nthe result is a mix of genres that don\\'t mesh well . \\nelements of the ritz brothers-style comedy ( for those few who remember that comedic troupe from the 1939 \" the three musketeers \" ) , the man with no name from \" a fistful of dollars \" ( d\\'artagnan demands that the bad guys apologize to his horse in a direct ref to the clint eastwood spaghetti western ) and hong kong action choreography are all utilized in the original script by gene quintano . \\nthe result is an action flick that bears little resemblance to its source material while it makes contemporary that material in an effort to grab the \" matrix \" crowd . \\nalexandre dumas may well be rolling in his grave if he knows what was done to his classic oeuvre and characters . \\nthe real problem with the \" the musketeer \" lies in the casting of the two lead , romantically intertwined characters , d\\'artagnan and francesca ( mena suvari ) . \\nchambers has the boyishly handsome good looks for the character , a la chris o\\'donnell , but lacks any onscreen charisma . \\nsuvari has the doe-eyed , pretty looks as the chambermaid who has the ear of the queen , but she , too , does not have the chemistry to command the screen . \\nif \" the musketeer \" makes them any money , they should invest in acting lessons . \\nstronger performers may have helped to raise the bar on this one . \\nthe supporting cast is , on the surface , impressive . \\ncatherine denueve plays the queen of france and lends her character an air of royalty , dignity and humor , especially when she plays off of d\\'artagnan\\'s mentor , planchet ( jean-pierre castaldi , who reminds of andre the giant in \" the princess bride ) . \\nstephen rea looks good in the part of the conniving usurper cardinal richelieu , but is given very little to help flesh out his character . \\ntim roth is the kind of bad guy you love to hate as the cardinal\\'s chief henchman , febre . \\nhe is so bad he makes simon legree look like a boy scout . \\nthe rest of the players , particularly the three musketeers aramis ( nick moran , \" lock , stock and two smoking barrels \" ) , porthos ( steve spiers ) and athos ( jan gregor kremp ) , are background fodder whose role is to come to d\\'artagnan\\'s aid when needed . \\npeter hyam\\'s does double duty as director and cinematography and may be too stretched to do both well . \\na stronger hand at the helm could have helped the mediocre performances of the leads and better utilized his veteran thesps . \\nphotography is straightforward action fare that goes through all the appropriate action flick motions - d\\'artagnan takes on a tavern full of thugs and bests them single-handed ; he fights a gang of febre\\'s henchmen aboard a speeding coach to protect the queen ( with the obligatory branches hanging over the road ) ; he goes one on one with his lifelong enemy , febre , who murdered d\\'artagnan\\'s folks years before . \\nit is all routine stuff . \\nthe renowned wire work developed by the hong kong action masters is used to artificial effect as the players leap , defying gravity , up walls and from horse to horse . \\nit works in a sci-fi film like \" the matrix \" or in a classical fantasy like \" crouching tiger , hidden dragon \" but just calls attention to itself in \" the musketeer . \" \\nat one point i could swear i saw the stunt wire being used . \\nit did not make me a believer and i am very disappointed . \\nwith a run time of 106 minutes it should have been more like 80 and i give it a d . \\n',\n",
+       " b'hedwig and the angry inch ( 2001 ) john cameron mitchell , miriam shor , stephen trask , michael pitt , theodore liscinski , michael aronov , andrea martin , maurice dean wint , ben mayer-goodman . \\nanimation by emily hubley . \\nadapted from the stage play by john cameron mitchell and stephen trask . \\nmusic and lyrics by stephn trask . \\nwritten and directed by john cameron mitchell . \\n91 minutes . \\nrated r , stars ) \\nhad \" hedwig and the angry inch \" came out in the \\'70s , right after david bowie\\'s \" ziggy stardust , \" it likely would now be regarded as one of the most popular rock musicals of all time . \\nreleased in the 500 channel , sensory overload world of 2001 , however , the big screen adaptation of the acclaimed off-broadway musical must do battle with countless other productions clamoring for attention . \\ni almost missed it . \\nevery august , the major studios try to squeeze the last few dollars out of summer moviegoers by dumping all of their shakier offerings on the marketplace at once . \\ni was so busy trying to keep up with national releases like \" summer catch \" and \" bubble boy \" that i passed over any independent film that looked like it would only have a short local run . \\nbut an e-mail from a reader asking why i hadn\\'t reviewed the movie prompted me to make a late evening trip to the theater . \\nthank goodness for readers like him . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" is a gender-bending glam-rock spectacular packed with great songs . \\nstylistically , the hook-laden tunes are reminiscent of bowie , \" bat out of hell \" era meatloaf and \" the rocky horror show , \" without ever seeming like imitations . \\nas with \" tommy , \" \" hedwig \" tells a story of isolation , pain and defiance , but without the bloated feel of that beloved , but overrated rock opera . \\nwriter-director-star john cameron mitchell and composer-lyricist stephen trask have cooked up a real winner . \\nmitchell stars as hedwig , a singer from east berlin touring a chain of u . s . coffee shops with her pan-slavic band , the angry inch . \\nwhile the patrons of the run-down restaurants look on in shock , and sometimes horror , hedwig boldly tells the sad story of her life in song . \\nshe was once a boy named hansel ( ben mayer-goodman ) , living with his mother ( alberta watson ) and listening to rock and roll on american armed forces radio . \\nlife is an exercise in duality for hansel . \\na wall splits his hometown into two parts . \\nmother describes love as the emotion that comes when you find your other half . \\nas hansel grows up , the duality becomes more pronounced . \\nafter initially mistaking him for a girl , a gi from the states ( maurice dean wint ) falls in love with hansel and wants to marry him . \\nalas , hansel will never pass the mandatory physical . \\nmother helpfully suggests a sex change , but the operation goes bad , hence the references to \" the angry inch \" ( yes , i know this part is squirm-inducing , but stick with me - it\\'s worth it ) . \\nseveral years later , mr . right is long gone and hansel becomes hedwig , decked out in a farrah fawcett-style wig and fronting a band made up of korean women . \\nhedwig finds a new love in tommy ( michael pitt ) , a beatific lad with a unique take on christianity . \\nbut tommy does hedwig wrong , stealing her songs and becoming a superstar . \\ncut to the present . \\ntommy gnosis\\' stadium tour is thriving and hedwig is suing him . \\ndespite warnings from her manager ( andrea martin ) that she could easily be labeled a stalker , hegwig and her new band , the angry inch , continue their coffee shop tour , shadowing the thief by playing whatever city he is in . \\nif this sounds like a bizarre premise for a rock musical , take a few seconds and consider the plotlines of \" tommy \" and \" rocky horror . \" \\nas hedwig , john cameron mitchell does a magnificent job taking a character that could have simply been a caricature or an icon and turning her into a compelling human being . \\nmitchell has world-class style and vocal chords to match . \\neven though the backstory is unusually strong , mitchell never forgets that the production is first and foremost a rock musical . \\neverything is propelled by one terrific song after another and , trust me , these are full-fledged rock songs , not the over-processed fluff that passes for rock in most musicals . \\nwhile mitchell remains in the center of the stage throughout the film , there is much of interest on the sidelines . \\nmiriam shor does fine work as yitzhak , hedwig\\'s lover and bandmate , conveying a great deal through expressions alone . \\ndecked out in a bandanna and a surprisingly convincing beard , she makes a mighty attractive man . \\nas always , \" sctv \" veteran andrea martin is a welcome presence onscreen and michael pitt is beguiling as tommy , the angelic-appearing little rat . \\nartist emily hubley adds to the magic with a string of dandy animated sequences that charm the eye while underlining the central themes of the musical . \\n \" hedwig and the angry inch \" surrounds a weird , funny and touching story with a knockout series of songs performed by an exceptional cast . \\ntrue originals do not come along very often ? don\\'t let this slip out of town without seeing it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the obvious reason for producing a sequel to an immensely popular movie is to acquire continued profits . \\nthe rationale is sound , but in many cases of this and recent years , the sequel is a shoddy product that\\'s exposed for the cash-milking vehicle it really is . \\nlast year\\'s speed 2 and scream 2 , as well as this year\\'s species ii have all been products that have been decisively less than satisfactory . \\nin some cases , a sequel can even discredit its predecessor , as with the latest neo-slasher flick , i still know what you did last summer . \\nwhatever uniqueness the original might\\'ve had now seems trite and overplayed when paired with this abominable thriller . \\njulie james ( jennifer love hewitt ) and ray bronson ( freddie prinze jr . ) are back from the original to star in i still know , reprising their roles in typical fashion . \\njulie and ray experience a rather predictable falling-out at the beginning of the movie , leaving the door wide open for newcomer will benson ( matthew settle ) . \\nwill and julie hit it off , and along with friends karla ( brandy norwood ) and tyrell ( mekhi phifer ) , the foursome heads off to a radio station-giveaway vacation in the tropics . \\nunfortunately , things aren\\'t so peachy once they arrive , and with a regularity you could set your watch by , the infamous fisherman ( muse watson ) is back with his hook . \\nit\\'s another bloody showdown , complete with cliffhanger ending . \\nthere\\'s not much that\\'s original about i still know , and with the market saturated by gen-x thrillers like this one , it\\'s unlikely that i still know will get any recognition other than that of a bad sequel . \\nfor die-hard fans of the genre , this will be required viewing material , but the bottom line is that the material here is just recycled from the original i know what you did last summer . \\nthe aura of thrillerism surrounding the plot isn\\'t heightened by skillful scripting or camera work , but rather a tense , string-based score and manipulative editing . \\nthe man with the hook ends up becoming very belittled this time around when the script gives him too many lines of dialogue -- he goes from being a scary figure to a nutcase in a few short and painful moments . \\nmuch of the mystery is dropped for the sake of getting the point . \\nthe whole reason the plot exists - julie and karla must guess the capital of brazil in order to win the trip from the radio station - is a dead giveaway , lessening suspense and creating a hurry-up-and-wait timing problem . \\nand , whereas the killer\\'s identity might\\'ve been a question in the first movie , it\\'s almost a given here , which changes the dynamic of the movie drastically . \\nthree or four teens run automatically from a man in a rain slicker they nonchalantly refer to as \" the killer . \" \\nthey\\'re almost used to it , and the performances show it - not hewitt , nor prinze , nor brandy , nor phifer give a decent show . \\nand so , in the end , it\\'s left wide open for a third movie and - most likely - a brand new supporting cast . \\ngod help us . \\n',\n",
+       " b'for a good ten years or so , super cool chow yun fat has enjoyed god hood status in the hong kong action scene . \\nnow , he has followed in the footsteps of director john woo , ( who launched chow\\'s super stardom in the acclaimed \\'a better tomorrow\\' ) by moving to hollywood . \\ni had some reservations about this move and it would seem i was right to have them . \\nchow plays a hitman who is doing jobs in order to repay a debt . \\nhis final job requires him to kill a policeman\\'s seven year old boy . \\nthis he refuses do and runs . \\nhowever , he is forced into a violent confrontation when his family are threatned and replacement killers are brought in to do the job . \\ncue around 80 minutes of various and quite frankly tedious shoot- outs which take place in various locations . \\nsome thought had gone into making them a bit different but unfortunately they end up being just plain boring . \\nthe car wash scene , i found myself laughing at how stupid it looked . \\ntut tut . \\nthe emphasis during the constant action seemed to be on the accompanying music , ( i could have sworn one piece was ripped out of a bruckheimer movie ) and not on the content . \\nmia sorvino ( a passport forger ) is dragged into the affay and also provides a lame love interest as well as being rather handy with a gun . \\ndirector antoine arqua has clearly not observed chow\\'s excellent acting capabilties and simply requires him to mutter a few lines of broken english and look flash as he stands and shoots . \\nchow\\'s trademark of twin pistol shooting is saved for the finale ( which in fairness is quite good ) and there\\'s not even a toothpick in site . \\nand as for making chow shoot like a cop , well that\\'s damned unforgiveable . \\nto round up , the replacement killers is a pretty darned lame first outing for chow . \\nit would appear he has left asia for a 90 minute pop video . \\nthis is not what we wanted at all , considering john woo was the exec producer . \\n ( did he have no say so at all ? ) \\nwatch \\'the killer\\' again and weep at the difference . \\nreview by chris hill . \\n \" there\\'s room at the top , they are telling you still , but first you must learn how to smile as you kill , if you want to be like the folks on the hill . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" rebel without a cause \" is such an important film in american history because it is a true analysis of youth in america that everyone of all ages can relate to . \\neveryone feels that they are different in some way , that they don\\'t belong in some places and \" rebel without a cause \" successfully shows on screen these universal emotions . \\nno matter what generation you belong to , these feelings are present . \\nthis is why james dean is admired by america , because in this film he represents us all and his actions are actions that we would also execute . \\nin our minds , we just try to do the right thing just like dean\\'s jim stark does . \\nnot only does \" rebel without a cause \" display these universal emotions for all to relate to but it also shows that america has suffered a uniqe pattern in its social structure . \\neach generation looks at its past generation without a strong connection . \\nthis is because times change and in response people change . \\nno matter how popular you were once , as your generation grows older , newer breeds look at you in a different light . \\nthis is why stark and his friends never could form a strong relationship with their parents . \\neven if their parents insisted that they were also rebellious and troublesome in the past , the teens could not believe this . \\nin one humorous scene , stark , his girlfriend judy ( natalie wood ) , and his pal plato ( sal mineo ) pretend they are adults . \\nthey use upper class british accents and in their conversations they make it out to appear that kids are no good and should be ignored . \\nthis scene shows that what was once cool in a past generation is the complete opposite in another . \\nspeaking on behalf of my generation , i feel that dean has lost a lot of his coolness from our perspective as the years have grown by . \\nthe only ones who seem to still lionize him are those members of his generation . same \\ngoes for brando , redford , even deniro . \\ni can only imagine how vaguely matt damon , ben affleck , and brad pitt will be viewed at the mid point of the twenty first century . \\nwill dean even be remembered when these newcomers are forgotten ? \\nany film that sparks this kind of thought is certainly a milestone in american film . \\neven if \" rebel without a cause \" has some ridiculous scenes ( the game of chicken - did people really act this way ? ) , an unbelievable conclusion ( how did everyone end up at the abandoned mansion at the end ? ) , and a silly romance ( wood declares her love for dean after talking to him for a couple hours ) it still is a fabulous film . \\nthe acting is so believable that it is no wonder that dean was considered the epitome of cool . \\nnow , however , the coolness is fading . . . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i know what i would do with $4 . 4 million if i found it in a previously undiscovered airplane crash site , especially if i were with jacob and lou . \\n ( huh ? ) \\nwell , in any event , that is the situation hank ( paxton ) finds himself in . \\nhe and his dim-witted brother jacob ( thorton ) and tubby friend lou ( brent briscoe ) come upon a large bag of cash inside a plane wreck . \\nagainst his better judgement , hank decides to go along with the idea of keeping it rather than going to the authorities . \\nthe rest of the film is a question of who is going to die to keep this a secret , and is it worth it ? \\na simple wish lies along the lines of very bad things , clay pigeons and even fargo , and is kind of wrapped all into one little dark bundle . \\noh , and its much better than any of those . \\nsam raimi took a departure from his normal freak-show horror-monkey films and made this stylish and intriguing picture . \\nhe really lets the audience sit back and watch the events unfold rather than force them down our throats as many directors prefer to do . \\ni think raimi knew he had a winner on his hands and decided to direct the picture on a natural flowing course . \\none of the film's components can be linked to a recurring theme in terrence malick's the thin red line . \\nin malick's three hour bore-a-thon , he makes an interesting attempt to link mother earth to his war story . \\nit seemed nothing more than an occasional pretty cut to a field of flowing grass , a small bird , or a flowing body of water . \\nsure , there were obvious metaphorical connections , but there was no subtlty to his efforts . \\nraimi does a fine job of tying in a fox in a chicken coop and birds of prey to signify the future of the characters . \\ni think most viewers may miss the comparison , but it is a very intriguing ingredient in the film . \\nand then there's billy bob thorton , who is proof that the independent film industry is vital to the life blood of hollywood . \\nif it can continute to produce people like thorton , hollywood will be ok . \\nhe gives a fantastic and devastatingly deep performance here . \\nit is not as engrossing as his carl childers character in slingblade , but is is just as complex , if not more so . \\njacob is slow and simple , and yet we so often see him deep in thought . \\ni wondered if he was thinking about things that he would never say ( or didn't know how to say ) or if he was just taking a long time to think about the thing he just said . \\nhere he really proves his worth as one of the best character actors in the industry . \\nthough the plot is somewhat unoriginal , it has a very appealing new twist in its characters . \\npaxton gives one of the better performances of his career as the straight and serious leader of the group ( a far cry from chet in wierd science ) . \\nperhaps bridget fonda is miscast as his advice-giving wife , but she certainly doesn't do anything ruin the picture . \\na simple plan can be included in the group of recent small hollywood films that is just dark and pretty un-redeeming . \\nbut at least this one has an important message , unlike so many of its counterparts . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' * this review contains spoilers * as with most of her films , director amy heckerling\\'s latest , loser , seesaws between unpleasant and artificial , and is sometimes both at once . \\nwhen she tackles big issues , such as abortion in fast times at ridgemont high , it\\'s impossible to tell whether she\\'s being matter-of-fact or glib about them ( they carry an almost documentary starkness ) , but whatever the case , she continually refuses to comment politically . \\nsuch is the sitcom tendency of her work : to jeopardize the innocence of her characters and then hit the reset button . \\nthis fear of drama soured me on fast times . . . , look who\\'s talking , clueless , and now loser , in which ms . heckerling also demonstrates , for the first time , zero affinity for the milieu . \\nhas anyone , for instance , ever met a girl in the stylistic vein of mena suvari\\'s dora ? \\nattired in black thrift , her eye shadow smeared to racoon chic and her bangy red hair barely contained by girlish clips , she accepts the label of goth , but no self-respecting goth girl ever admitted to digging , as dora does , those geriatric rockers everclear , nor willingly went anywhere with a six-pack-wielding fratboy stranger . \\nthe mechanics of loser\\'s tired old introvert-boy-falls-for-extrovert-girl plot drive its protagonists into cultural non-specificity , so that they become even less than stereotypes . \\nthey become walking wardrobes . \\nsmall-town transplant paul ( a strangely static jason biggs ) , our eponymous hero , always wears his woolly hunter\\'s cap with flaps covering the ears , and beneath it rests a parted moptop that couldn\\'t scream \" shemp \" ( the lame stooge ) wig louder . \\nhe has three smug-looking roommates ( the one-dimensional trio is not supposed to be brothers , but they share similar facial features , including and especially mouths ) , and their fashion sense is incomprehensibly glam . \\nthough they\\'re not overtly transvestites , heckerling seems to be equating flamboyance with villainy ; how very cruising of her . \\n ( the dormies conspire to evict paul and regularly molest women they have drugged . \\ndora ignorantly downs one of their date rape potions . \\nunfortunately , either heckerling or the studio is too cowardly to admit if she was subsequently violated . ) \\nwhen paul rescues dora from said narcotic scare , he learns that she is dating their unctuous european lit professor edward alcott ( superb greg kinnear ) . \\nalthough paul\\'s already in love with dora by this point , as is bound to happen to losers when pretty girls address them by name , he gets altruistic and pretends the flowers he bought her are actually from alcott . \\nshe\\'s thrilled , but nevertheless spends a few days at paul\\'s to recuperate ; the two bond over emergency kitten surgery and a broadway play ( \" cabaret \" ) , and just when paul\\'s got in his head that she\\'s starting to love him back in that non-friendly way , she decides to become alcott\\'s live-in girlfriend . \\ncue precious hommage to the graduate , shots of paul drifting around berkeley--er . . . \\n ( aside : simon & garfunkel\\'s \" parsley , sage , rosemary & thyme \" should never have been allowed in another motion picture . ) \\nheckerling has a lot in common with nora \" you\\'ve got mail \" ephron , the only other prominent chick directing comedies today , in that neither has any use for strong-willed women . \\nmen continue to trod on dora until the bitter end ( in the final scene , she gives paul a big smooch after he blurts out his feelings in what amounts to a creepy ultimatum ) , and dora ultimately shrugs off being drugged against her will--mere hours after paul hints to her that she was poisoned , she\\'s cheerily redecorating his apartment . \\n ( heckerling is so laissez-faire about the issue in general that she reserves the comeuppance of the would-be rapists for jokey epilogue titles . ) \\ngoth veneer aside , there are an awful lot of girls out there who behave as erratically as dora , and enough angry young dude filmmakers to make movies about them . \\nheckerling misses her shot at having dora transform herself into a role model , and while such arcs may not be heckerling\\'s social responsibility , it is a privilege i would have taken advantage of if i were in her shoes . \\n ( consider , too , that dora is the film\\'s sole female principal . ) \\nnot that loser is worth contemplating this seriously--god knows heckerling didn\\'t . \\nthat is her hallmark . \\n ( --- for more first-run , dvd , and books-about-movies reviews , plus contests and the proverbial \" more ! \" , \\nvisit \\'film freak central , \\' @ http : //filmfreakcentral . net \\n--- ) \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i recall the trials and tribulations of my high school years . \\nit was a period that would mercilessly force me to exit boyhood and thrust me into the unwelcome arms of adulthood . \\nbut of all the experiences that i collected throughout those tender years , i can honestly say that the toughest and the scariest thing that i had to cope with was my raging hormones and my crazed curiosity about girls and sex . \\nyes , more scarier than my seventh grade english teacher and even scarier than the bullies that constantly hounded me , trying to deal with my personal wonderment about sex was like trying to fight an invisible monster . \\nfor all teenagers , it's almost like a rite of passage . \\nand what we did was sometimes downright nasty , sometimes funny , and sometimes shocking . \\nand all of that is terrifically and shamelessly brought to light in what might be the funniest movie this summer . \\n`american pie' is a comedy about four sexually frustrated seniors that enter into a pact to lose their virginity by the end of the school year . \\njust how great are their hormones raging ? \\none of them notes , after watching disney's the little mermaid , that ariel is soooo hot . \\nthe four schoolmates are kevin , oz , finch and jim . \\nkevin is the only one with a steady girlfriend , but doesn't want to have sex until the time is just right . \\nbut what is the perfect time ? \\nthere is just no way to know , and that frightens him . \\noz is the big jock who decides that the way to score with the girls is to listen to them and to be more sensitive . \\nhe joins up with a jazz choir and discovers that getting in touch with his feminine side has some tremendous advantages . \\nfinch is the phobic hermit who doesn't stand a chance with any girl . \\nso , he pays someone $200 to start spreading rumors about his prowess . \\nsuddenly , girls are lining up to go out with him . \\nbut among these friends , it is jim that is the most curious and the most fearful . \\nwhen he has a chance to romp with a pretty exchange student , his inexperience comes shining through . \\nhe has much to learn , and will do anything to seek out this kind of knowledge . \\nthis may include watching scrambled porn channels or experimenting with mom's apple pie in a scene that is completely shocking , raunchy , yet unbelievably funny . \\nthe one thing that i want to say about this film is that it well deserves its `r' rating . \\nthere is stuff in here that is completely gross in the same manner that `there's something about mary' was gloriously ribald . \\nin fact , at first this film received a sinful nc-17 rating before a couple of more cuts finally brought it down to a teen-accessible rating . \\nbut i guess after seeing the no-holds-barred coarseness of south park , this seems tame by comparison . \\nteens and anyone who can still remember their acne years are the ones that will laugh hardest . \\nbut unlike many teen sex comedies , there is a genuine intelligence at work here . \\nthese are four normal boys who have a natural curiosity about sex . \\ntheir plans of action are thoughtful and they think about the consequences . \\nthey know what they want , yet temper it with responsibility . \\nbut almost always , it's impossible to know how to fight the invisible monster , and it's these episodes that make `american pie' such a carnal delight to watch . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'gregg araki\\'s the doom generation was possibly the very worst film ever made . \\nso why did i see his latest teen bisexual angst opus ? \\nfirst of all , some of the reviews were fairly positive . \\nalso , the cast , consisting of cameos from dozens of washed up ex tv stars ( including christopher knight , eve plumb , shannen doherty , and david leisure ) was promising . \\nlast of all , i wanted to give arraki one more chance . \\ni mean , the guy can\\'t be that untalented , can he ? \\nthe answer to that question is three letters long . \\nnowhere follows the character dark on his wild and odd journey through los angeles . \\nsince arraki doesn\\'t know how to make anything coherent , it\\'s hard to describe the plot . \\nlet\\'s just say that dark spends the bulk of the movie whining that his girlfriend won\\'t make a commitment to him and jealous because she sleeps around with other guys and girls . \\nthe only remotely compelling storyline involves sarah lassez as a teen who has a chance encounter with a famous tv star . \\nhe turns out to be a nice guy who doesn\\'t care for fame and wishes he could walk down the street without being mobbed by fans . \\nthis story has a shocking twist and a tragic end that i did not see coming . \\nit is the first time i ever felt any compassion for a character created by arraki , and this can be attributed to the appealing performance of lassez . \\ni thought maybe arraki was improving in his craft . \\nhe works better with the camera this time around , especially in the early scenes . \\nhalfway through the film , i didn\\'t necessarily find myself enjoying the film , but it seemed like a considerable improvement on the doom generation . \\nthen as the movie went on , arraki loses all sensibility and introduces us to exploding heads , twisted sex games , and alien abductions . \\nit\\'s sad , because he almost actually had some decent material here , but he ruined it with his usual in your face \" i\\'m such a renegade maverick filmmaker , look what i can do \" attitude . \\nthe performances are generally better than in the doom generation , which isn\\'t saying much . \\nat least we don\\'t have to suffer jonathan \" i am the most hideous man in america \" schaech . \\nwe are , however treated to another round of james \" i\\'m more wooden than keanu \" duval . \\nsarah lassez gives the best performance in the film , and kathleen robertson ( formerly of 90210 and now arraki\\'s wife ) and rachel true are talented actresses caught up in this mess . \\nof the tv star cameos , john ritter is the most interesting as a deranged right wing tv evangelist . \\nif i prefer nowhere to the doom generation , it is only in the way that i would prefer being assassinated than receive constant physical torture . \\nmaybe greg arraki doesn\\'t want you to like his characters . \\nmaybe he wants to laugh and make fun of those of us who try to care about them . \\nmaybe he just wanted to piss me off . \\nif so , he was successful . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" the red violin \" is a cold , sterile feature that leaves you uninvolved and detached . \\nit\\'s a movie that seems almost clinical , as it traces the 300-plus-years history of the legendary musical instrument of the title . \\nopening in the 17th century , the story shows how violin-maker nicolo bussotti created the instrument as a gift for his unborn son . \\nbut when tragedy strikes , the violin becomes the personification of its maker\\'s grief . \\nfrom there the violin comes into the hands of an orphaned child prodigy at an austrian monastery . \\nagain , tragedy strikes as the child is struck down at the moment of his triumph . \\nwe follow the violin through the centuries as it finds a home in england and in mao\\'s communist china before being discovered by expert charles morritz ( samuel l . jackson ) , who mounts a painstaking investigation to prove its authenticity . \\nthe violin becomes morritz\\'s obsession , just as it is for all those who converge on a montreal auction house to bid on it . \\nmorritz , however , is the only one who knows the secret of the instrument and can understand and appreciate its creator\\'s intention . \\n \" the red violin \" could have been a touching , inspirational story , as soaring as a beethoven symphony . \\nhowever director francois girard fails to make any emotional connection with the viewer . \\nhere is a story that could have made use of various camera angles and lighting to heighten its impact . \\ngirard , for some unknown reason , uses mostly master shots , keeping his camera - and thus us - at a distance . \\nwe get no feel for the miracle that is the violin . \\nit\\'s resonance , its purity of sound are not emphasized enough to make an impression . \\nnor are any of the performances memorable . \\nit\\'s as if girard wanted all his actors to play second fiddle to his violin . \\n \" the red violin \" promises much , but delivers little . \\nit is dull at times , a bit pretentious and a might murky . \\nthe movie\\'s music soars over its story and performers . \\nand that is its only saving grace . \\n',\n",
+       " b'let\\'s get this one over with as quickly as possible . \\nif there was a possibility to receive a refund , this review would not be forthcoming . \\nbut as it is , \" godzilla \" is without a doubt the loudest , longest , and ultimately most amateurishly written film ever released through a major studio . \\nproducer dean devlin and director roland emmerich should be ashamed of themselves , and as penance be forced to return to film school to watch \" last year at merienbad \" until they can grasp the idea of content and plot . \\nno amount of hype , no amount of money can hide the fact that these filmmakers are the 90s equivalent to william beaudine ( billy the kid vs . \\ndracula ) . \\n \" godzilla \" opens with stock footage of the bikini atoll nuclear tests interspersed with footage of iguanas playfully swimming and nuzzling their eggs . \\nwe are then introduced to the crew of a japanese fish canning ship ( a questionable enterprise considering that tuna processing is supposed to be supervised to eliminate the netting of dolphins ) . \\nwell , the ship is attacked and sunk by an unseen creature . \\nlater , a group of frenchmen led by philippe roache ( jean reno ) interview the sole survivor . \\nin a state of shock , the only thing the man can utter is the word \" gojira \" ( the japanese name of the famed beast ) . \\nwe are then introduced to dr . nick tatopoulos ( matthew broderick , with a moniker obviously taken from the effects designer of the film ) . \\nhe is currently studying the effects that the chernobyl disaster has had on the local earthworm population . \\nhe is immediately drafted by the u . s . military and taken to panama where he is shown the huge footprints of a creature . \\nin a short amount of time , another fishing boat ( loaded with canned tuna from the u . s . and korea for some reason ) is found grounded in jamaica . \\nwell , it seems that whatever is eating these ships is headed for new york . \\nwhen the beast finally appears , he tears up one building , stomps a couple of trucks and makes life hell for the incumbent mayor ebert ( thumbs up for new york ) . \\nthe military , with dr . tatopoulos\\'s help , have two tons of fresh fish dumped in the middle of new york to lure the beast out of its hiding place in the new york subway system . \\nit finally comes crashing through the city streets and has a cute face to face with dr . tatopoulos who snaps the beast\\'s picture . \\nthe monster eats the fish , the military starts shooting , and the chase is on , with the army causing 90% of the ensuing damage . \\nworking from a hunch as to why godzilla has decided to come to the big apple , dr . totopoulos buys a few home pregnancy kits from a local drugstore that has chosen to remain open ( even though new york has been evacuated ) . \\nwell the test proves that the monster is a hermaphrodite and is pregnant . \\nneedless to say , no one believes the good doctor about his discovery , so he must join up with the renegade french secret service agents and find the monster\\'s nesting site and destroy the eggs before the mayor starts letting the populous back into the city ( even though the monster isn\\'t dead yet ) . \\ni sincerely hope that i\\'ve completely spoiled any interest anyone might have of seeing this film . \\ni gave away the relevant plot so that i could spare those of you courageous ( or foolish ) enough to drop down an hour\\'s wage on this tripe . \\neverything about \" godzilla \" reeks almost as bad as the piles of rotting fish used to trap the beast . \\nthe script ( and let\\'s be clear here ) by devlin and emmerich is so full of plot holes and non characters as to be sure to be the recipient of next years \" razzie \" award . \\nthe dialogue between maria pitillo ( as audrey timmonds , dr . tatopoulos\\' estranged girlfriend ) and mr . broderick is so adolescent , it makes teenagers giggle in disbelief ( as happened during the screening i witnessed ) . \\nthe film could be enjoyably campy if it didn\\'t take itself so damn seriously . \\nbut to what end , as there is no commentary on humanities foibles against nature , nor is there any reference about godzilla being some sort of retaliation against mankind . \\nno . godzilla is just a big dummy that got knocked up by some french immigrants and decided to let the state of new york pay for it . \\nthe film is bleak and ugly looking . \\ntaking place at night during a rain storm , the movie has little or no depth . \\neverything is ugly and dark . \\nnew york has never looked so inhospitable since \" death wish \" . \\nin an attempt to give the film some color , audrey timmonds carries a bright red umbrella which is unique in that everyone else in the film carries the standard gray issue . \\nthe only moment of composition and color is during the brief scenes on jamaica , where dr . tatopoulos finds himself standing in a giant footprint . \\nthe scene is nicely photographed but poorly set up . \\nyou know from the outset that nick is standing in a footprint . \\nfor a scientist , this is very poor observation . \\nlet\\'s look at some of the more interesting plot holes in the film ( this activity , is becoming almost as popular as the kevin bacon game ) : \\n1 . ) why does the french nuclear tests only affect one clutch of iguana eggs , and how do those eggs fuse into one beast ? \\n2 . ) why would a cold blooded creature choose a cold climate ( such as new york ) to nest ? \\ni don\\'t think iguana\\'s have a habit of migrating . \\n3 . ) how can godzilla crawl through the new york subway system , slice a submarine in half , yet be unable to extricate himself from some thin ( in comparison ) steel cable on the brooklyn bridge ? \\n4 . ) the brooklyn bridge is the only suspension bridge in existence that does not need it\\'s suspension cables . \\n5 . ) did godzilla carry all two hundred eggs in her belly ? \\nif so , then radioactive mutations surely are wondrous creatures . \\n ( note : each egg is 10 feet tall and almost as wide . \\ngodzilla would have to be over 1 , 000 feet tall to carry them all ) . \\n6 . ) godzilla can crush ships and eat helicopters , but new york cabs are made of stronger steel . \\n7 . ) godzilla can out maneuver helicopters , bullets , torpedoes and missiles , but can\\'t catch you on foot . \\n8 . ) taxis can out maneuver godzilla . \\n9 . ) godzilla can burrow through the subway system but can\\'t tear through the park avenue tunnel . \\n10 . ) why was nothing else mutated by the nuclear test as quickly as godzilla ? \\nmaybe a giant hermit crab in the sequel . \\n11 . ) galapagos iguana\\'s actually live in the french polynesian islands ? \\n12 . ) why was dr . tatopoulos brought in by the military if they were not going to listen to him anyway ? \\n13 . ) how did they evacuate new york island in less than a day , and how did they convince those new yorkers to go to new jersey ? \\n14 . ) new york television stations use vhs tape for both filming and broadcasting . \\nnew yorkers hate beta cam . \\ni could go on and on , but that would only serve to make the film seem more enjoyable than it is . \\ndon\\'t be fooled , this film has less gray matter than any episode of \" america\\'s funniest home videos \" . \\nthe performances in the film are singularly bland . \\nnot one performance belays any awe or fear in the face of this two hundred foot tall terror . \\nthe characters , in the midst of the onslaught , have time to stop and discuss the lack of good coffee , failed relationships , career choices . \\nthe only common occurrence that doesn\\'t take place here is having one of the characters have a bowel movement , but then that would have made them believable . \\ngodzilla for the most part is okay . \\nthe design of the beast is funky , if not very memorable . \\none thing that comes to mind-- the major redirection of godzilla in this film is to remove his most familiar trademark , namely his atomic breath . \\nnow , i for one can\\'t quite fathom how you can call this monster godzilla without that little trait . \\na good comparison would be to make a superman film and eliminate his ability to fly . \\nthere is so much wrong with this film that i can\\'t really recall anything recently that has left me this cold hearted ( except for my divorce ) . \\nany film that can have a two ton lizard slipping on gum balls has got to be envisioned under the influence of prozac . \\nthe addition of the baby raptors ( ah , i meant godzillas ) , are nothing but a direct rip off of \\'jurassic park \" , but with none of that film\\'s suspense or tension . \\nsuffice to say that , \" godzilla \" is without a doubt the most brain dead motion picture of the decade . \\nthis is a film that needed the hype . \\nwith the current level of writing and directing , nothing else about the film succeeds . \\nif you\\'ve seen the trailers , you\\'ve seen the best parts . \\nmy only suggestion for mr . d and mr . e . is that they could always go back to selling shoes . \\n . this film could be the next \" rocky horror \" . \\nonly it\\'s not funny ! \\n',\n",
+       " b\"in some regards , making a movie is like trying to stretch a rubber band as far as you can without breaking it . \\ntry too hard , and it snaps ; but too much reservation means someone else will come along and pull it farther . \\nin simon birch , director mark steven johnson shows us just how to master the technique : he takes advantage of caution and poise , but also risks his movie with a few bold steps . \\nin the end , he's not only holding an unbroken band , but he makes the audience appreciate the lengths he went to direct such a fine feature . \\nthere's no doubt about it : the film that johnson has crafted is rich . \\nhe chooses for his setting the quaint town of gravestown , maine - leaves turn bright orange in the fall , the grass is a lush green , pure white snow falls in the winter , and the sky goes on forever . \\nthe characters continue that turn : our two leads are simon birch ( ian michael smith ) and joe wenteworth ( joseph mazzello ) . \\nsimon is the smallest baby ever born within the records of the local hospital , and by age twelve he's only two feet tall . \\njoe is the bastard son of rebecca ( ashley judd ) , and by age twelve he's ready to know who is father is . \\nnaturally , the two outcasts become good friends and share many adventures together , from disrupting sunday school to doing community service to playing little league baseball . \\nin a wonderfully executed performance by ian michael smith , simon birch is convinced that he's god's instrument , and there must be a reason he's so small . \\njoe doesn't quite buy it , but he sticks by simon ; the two tough it out through the worst of times and are each other's only true friends . \\nearly on , the two meet up with ben goodrich ( oliver platt ) , rebecca's new boyfriend , and although the bond isn't immediate , ben and the two boys develop a liking for each other . \\nboth platt and judd give solid performances that lend their characters a deep likeability . \\nthe audience cares about them as much as they do about joe and simon , a testament to the acting jobs of both . \\nfinally , jim carrey gives a cameo as the adult joe in the present day , and his few minutes here are relatively more impressive than his entire performance in the truman show . \\nmark steven johnson's sense of drama and writing is fantastic . \\nthe script is loosely based on john irving's novel , a prayer for owen meany , but it's so far off the source material that irving actually requested the credits be changed from 'based on' to 'suggested by . ' \\nalong those same lines , it's almost unfitting to compare the two ; johnson uses tension , humor , atmosphere , and suspense to create an original drama of forrest gumpian proportions . \\nby no means has he developed a project of similar popularity - gump made over 300 million dollars while birch ought to pass out of sight in a few weeks - but the winning idea remains the same . \\nsimon birch is a different look at a different life , and one that will most likely be studied in film school classes in decades to come . \\nin the present , however , it's an enjoyable little picture that everyone ought to take a look at . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the small-scale film , in limited release , \" waking ned devine \" is a pleasant excursion to a time and place which allows the audience to absorb the full texture of a small town . \\nfilled with breathtaking scenery , \\'characters\\' , and delightful music , the movie would be interesting even without a plot . \\nthe story contains several surprises which are best left unmentioned in a review . \\nthe film starts out with a sharp opening , which gives us a taste of what is to follow : country folk with an inclination for a bit of larceny . \\nwhat gets things going is the fact that a winner of the lottery is apparently one of the residents in the small town ( pop 52 ) of tullymore . \\nwho that person is , and how to share in the good fortune is the mission of two longtime friends jackie ( ian bannen ) and michael ( david kelly ) . \\npart detectives , part scalawags , they have to stay alert to the changing circumstances they face as the story unfolds . \\nthe village consists of several amusing characters . \\na clueless pig farmer , temporary priest , and a witch . \\nthere\\'s also the lotto man who must be satisfied that everything is on the up-and-up . \\nthere are no hollywood touches to this film - except for the outer space introduction [ ! ] . \\npacing is right . \\ntowards the end , it runs a bit out of steam , but that\\'s okay because for most of the 90 minutes we\\'ve been interested in the goings on . \\na mixture of laughs and ( occasional ) sentiment - all the right emotions are engaged . \\nin one brief dream sequence - you\\'ll know it when you see it - a fantastic combination of color and music transports the characters to a place you really hope exists . \\none of the key moments in the film . \\nthe music , available on cd ( london 289 460 939-2 ) follows the same arc as the movie and is well worth considering . \\na fine film that\\'s for everybody except action fans . \\nsomewhat like \\'the englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain , \\' . . . \\nbut livelier . \\n',\n",
+       " b'titanic is , without a doubt , the best movie i\\'ve seen all year . \\nand believe me , i\\'m not an easy critic to impress : the english patient was too long , men in black was over-hyped , and several of the \" big summer releases \" were dead in the water . \\nthank god this film got delayed until december . \\nit\\'s my christmas present . \\ntitanic is in the tradition of the old hollywood epics of years-gone-by , and it is truly a stunning film . \\nwhile watching this picture you are completely mesmerized , never taking your eyes off the screen , nor checking your watch to see how much longer it\\'s gonna last , despite its 3 hour plus running time . \\nas a friend of mine , who\\'s a true titanic-buff , said \" if someone doesn\\'t like this film , it\\'s because they didn\\'t want to . \" \\ntruer words are hard to come by . \\nof course , it doesn\\'t hurt that this film comes from one of my favorite directors , james cameron , who is unarguably the greatest action director of all time . \\nif you wish to argue that point with me , look at his list of credits : the terminator , aliens , the abyss , terminator 2 , true lies , etc . still care to disagree ? \\nnot only has cameron helmed the directorial duties of this film , he also wrote , produced , and edited it . \\nand to show his true faith for the project , he renenged all directing fees and percentage points to ease the budget costs . \\nit\\'s obvious he truly loves titanic . \\nthe film opens with footage , both real and fake , of an underwater excursion by special submarines to the bottom of the atlantic , where a team of explorers lead by bill paxton are searcing for a diamond called the \" heart of the ocean \" , which , according to bill paxton\\'s character , would be worth more than the hope diamond today . \\ntheir search turns up , dissapointly , no diamond , but instead a drawing of a young woman wearing the diamond . \\nthis picture is broadcast on cnn and is seen by a 101 year old woman named rose , who claims to be the girl in the picture . \\nshe is flown out to sea to meet bill paxton and to tell them about the diamond . \\nalmost all of the rest of the movie is her narration of the past . \\nrose\\'s narration shows us how she was an unhappy young girl , engaged to a rich man named cal hockley ( billy zane ) that she didn\\'t want to marry . \\nher mother is pushy and obnoxious , and cal hockley is arrogant . \\nthey are boarding the titanic , which is sailing to america , and this is where she is to marry cal . \\nmeanwhile , a young man named jack dawson ( leonardo dicaprio ) and his italian friend ( danny nucci ) win two 3rd class tickets aboard the titanic in a poker game . \\nthey are overjoyed , and rush aboard just as the boat is leaving . \\nfor them , this is their ticket to america , to a better life . \\nfor rose , she is sailing to her doom . \\nthe first hour and a half or so of titanic tells the story of how rose dewitt ( kate winslet ) and jack dawson fall in love . \\nit\\'s the classic wrong-side-of-the-tracks story , and does sometimes resort to a few cliches . \\nbut as i said above , the love portion isn\\'t sappy and doesn\\'t \" weigh the film down \" , as some critics have said . \\nit\\'s sweet , and it didn\\'t make me restless at all , despite the fact that i usually hate love stories . \\nof course , it might help that cameron introduces some pretty interesting characters to help keep our eyes glued to the screen . \\nmost of these people actually were passengers on the titanic back in 1912 , including the enigmatic molly brown ( played by the talented kathy bates ) , the captain of titanic ( bernard hill ) , and so on . \\nall of these characters add an extra depth to the film , and make it that easier to watch . \\nof course , things really start to get going after the hour and a half mark , where the titanic strikes the iceberg and begins a slow sink to the bottom . \\nthe sinking is depicted realisticly , and the effects are truly amazing . \\nit is not told in a heroic fashion sense either , as people are portrayed as panicking , pushing others aside to get on the limited lifeboats , and drowning and dying horrible deaths . \\nthe best part of the movie , in my opinion , comes at the very end , when we flash back to the future . \\nthe crew , who at first had been skeptical of rose\\'s story , now are totally aborbed by her . \\nrose goes out onto the ship\\'s ledge , and we then learn a secret about her that catches us off guard . \\nwe then see a dream of rose\\'s , in which she returns to the titanic and is dancing with jack dawson . \\nmost people i talked with after the movie saw this as only a dream . \\nhowever , i think it symbolized more ; i think it meant that rose had died , and is going to a sort of heaven , which would be the happiest part of her life : her and her one true love , jack . \\nif anyone has seen the movie and would like to voice an opinion about this , e-mail me at venom8@hotmail . com . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" saving silverman \" is a good example of a good comedy gone bad . \\nas a love story it is good , however as a comedy it falls flat on it\\'s face . \\ni think throughout the short 90 minutes i laughed a total of seven times . . . and \\nthose were just chuckles at the most ! \\nthe movie doesn\\'t have the oomph to make it a great movie , and doesn\\'t have the script to make it a funny movie . \\nwayne lefessier ( steven zahn ) , j . d . mcnugent ( jack black ) , and darren silverman ( jason biggs ) have grown up all their lives together , they have been best friends forever and vow to stay close till the end . \\nwhile in a bar after doing a show with their band , based on their love of neil diamond , darren meets a young woman named judith ( amanda peet ) whom he instantly falls for . \\nwayne and j . d . however think differently and when judith tells darren that he can never see his friends again , it\\'s up to wayne and j . d . to try and begin saving silverman . \\nthe performances are topnotch and surprisingly , they are what keep the movie afloat . \\njason biggs right off the flop \" loser \" does an ok job playing silverman , but he is stale and flat at times . \\nsteve zahn is perfect in the role of wayne lefessier , and even though the movie is about silverman , lefessier is really the main character and the narrator of the movie itself . \\njack black is well jack black , and he does an all right job as j . d . but he isn\\'t as funny as he has been in the past . \\namanda peet plays the ultimate bitch as judith , and neil diamond plays neil diamond ( he\\'s better at singing than acting ) . \\nanyway the performances in the film are good , but it\\'s too bad the script isn\\'t . \\nspeaking of script , hank nelkan\\'s choppy script is not only badly written , but not funny enough even for an episode of sesame street . \\nthe trailer for the movie , as with most movies gives away everything that happens in the movie , especially the funniest parts . \\nsomewhere \" saving silverman \" was meant to be a good movie , and it could have been , but alas in the end it wasn\\'t . \\ndennis dugan\\'s direction is all right , he adds a few directorial touches here and there , nothing special being a simple comedy . \\n \" saving silverman \" is a perfectly bad movie in more ways than one . \\nit has a great cast , a good director and a sweet story . . . it\\'s \\njust too bad it has a bad script and is all together a bad movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : a mentally unstable man undergoing psychotherapy saves a boy from a potentially fatal accident and then falls in love with the boy\\'s mother , a fledgling restauranteur . \\nunsuccessfully attempting to gain the woman\\'s favor , he takes pictures of her and kills a number of people in his way . \\ncomments : stalked is yet another in a seemingly endless string of spurned-psychos-getting-their-revenge type movies which are a stable category in the 1990s film industry , both theatrical and direct-to-video . \\ntheir proliferation may be due in part to the fact that they\\'re typically inexpensive to produce ( no special effects , no big name stars ) and serve as vehicles to flash nudity ( allowing them to frequent late-night cable television ) . \\nstalked wavers slightly from the norm in one respect : the psycho never actually has an affair ; on the contrary , he\\'s rejected rather quickly ( the psycho typically is an ex-lover , ex-wife , or ex-husband ) . \\nother than that , stalked is just another redundant entry doomed to collect dust on video shelves and viewed after midnight on cable . \\nstalked does not provide much suspense , though that is what it sets out to do . \\ninterspersed throughout the opening credits , for instance , a serious-sounding narrator spouts statistics about stalkers and ponders what may cause a man to stalk ( it\\'s implicitly implied that all stalkers are men ) while pictures of a boy are shown on the screen . \\nafter these credits , a snapshot of actor jay underwood appears . \\nthe narrator states that \" this is the story of daryl gleason \" and tells the audience that he is the stalker . \\nof course , really , this is the story of restauranteur brooke daniels . \\nif the movie was meant to be about daryl , then it should have been called stalker not stalked . \\nokay . so we know who the stalker is even before the movie starts ; no guesswork required . \\nstalked proceeds , then , as it begins : obvious , obvious , obvious . \\nthe opening sequence , contrived quite a bit , brings daryl and brooke ( the victim ) together . \\ndaryl obsesses over brooke , follows her around , and tries to woo her . \\nultimately rejected by her , his plans become more and more desperate and elaborate . \\nthese plans include the all-time , psycho-in-love , cliche : the murdered pet . \\nfor some reason , this genre\\'s films require a dead pet to be found by the victim stalked . \\nstalked is no exception ( it\\'s a cat this time -- found in the shower ) . \\nevents like these lead to the inevitable showdown between stalker and stalked , where only one survives ( guess who it invariably always is and you\\'ll guess the conclusion to this turkey ) . \\nstalked\\'s cast is uniformly adequate : not anything to write home about but also not all that bad either . \\njay underwood , as the stalker , turns toward melodrama a bit too much . \\nhe overdoes it , in other words , but he still manages to be creepy enough to pass as the type of stalker the story demands . \\nmaryam d\\'abo , about the only actor close to being a star here ( she played the bond chick in the living daylights ) , is equally adequate as the \" stalked \" of the title , even though she seems too ditzy at times to be a strong , independent business-owner . \\nbrooke ( d\\'abo ) needs to be ditzy , however , for the plot to proceed . \\ntoward the end , for example , brooke has her suspicions about daryl . \\nto ensure he won\\'t use it as another excuse to see her , brooke decides to return a toolbox he had left at her place to his house . \\ndoes she just leave the toolbox at the door when no one answers ? \\nof course not . \\nshe tries the door , opens it , and wanders around the house . \\nwhen daryl returns , he enters the house , of course , so our heroine is in danger . \\nsomehow , even though her car is parked at the front of the house , right by the front door , daryl is oblivious to her presence inside . \\nthe whole episode places an incredible strain on the audience\\'s suspension of disbelief and questions the validity of either character\\'s intelligence . \\nstalked receives two stars because , even though it is highly derivative and somewhat boring , it is not so bad that it cannot be watched . \\nrated r mostly for several murder scenes and brief nudity in a strip bar , it is not as offensive as many other thrillers in this genre are . \\nif you\\'re in the mood for a good suspense film , though , stake out something else . \\n',\n",
+       " b'certainly no one would rent ed wood\\'s glen or glenda ? \\nexpecting to see a good movie , but this screwy discourse about transvestitism betrays a level of incompetence that i didn\\'t know was possible . \\nin fact , wood\\'s infamous plan 9 from outer space actually seems pretty tame by comparison . \\nwatching glen or glenda ? \\ni found myself occasionally wondering if wood had originally made two or three separate movies and accidentally edited them together ; as a result , it is actually quite entertaining in that it is unintentionally hilarious . \\nthe movie starts out as what mostly seems like a bad documentary , with endless , repetitive narration about transvestites , how difficult it is for a transvestite to look at his girlfriend\\'s clothes without being able to wear them , how transvestites are not necessarily homosexuals , and how the main character , glen/glenda is ( as it reminds us probably half a dozen times ) \" not half man and half woman , but man and woman at the same time . \" \\nthe camera work is terrible-occasionally the camera lingers on , say , a closed door while the characters talk off-screen , or inexplicably zooms in on someone\\'s ear or nose . \\nwood also makes copious use of mostly irrelevant stock footage , which leads to voiced-over non-sequiturs like , \" yes , our world is a busy and frightening place , with so many people driving their automobiles . \" \\nfinally , there is occasional commentary from bela lugosi as a sort of omniscient being who seems to inhabit a frankenstein-style laboratory , delivering pointless lines such as , \" people . \\n . \\n . \\nall with their own thoughts . \\n . \\n . \\ntheir own ideas . \\n . \\n . \\n . \" \\nwhile lightning crackles quasi-ominously overhead . \\nhad wood continued in this vein , glen or glenda ? \\nprobably would have been remembered as nothing more than a poorly done documentary with the occasional inappropriate horror-movie touch . \\nunfortunately , he then wanders so far off into left field that you have to wonder if he had been eating some funny mushrooms when he wrote the script . \\n \" pull the string ! \\npull the string ! \" \\nannounces an alarmed lugosi as stock footage of buffalo appears . \\nthere is another crash of lightning before lugosi returns , this time warning us , \" beware . \\n . \\n . \\nbeware the big green dragon that lurks outside your door ! \\n . \\n . \\n . \\nit eats little boys . \\n . \\n . \\nand puppy dogs\\' tails . \\n . \\n . \\nand big fat snails ! \" \\na bizarre nightmare sequence , which is probably meant to be symbolic but instead is just incredibly stupid , ensues , during which glen/glenda finds his fiance trapped under a fallen tree-in the living room . \\nsomeone who is apparently intended to be the sinister \" green dragon \" ( but looks more like a klingon from the original star trek series ) appears to be orchestrating all this , though the film is far from clear on this point ( to put it kindly ) . \\nnear the end of this scene-and here i must confess that wood lost me completely-is a violent sexual encounter on a couch that features two characters who do not even appear in the rest of the movie and is scored by goofily upbeat folk music . \\nafter this scene ends ( not a moment too soon ) , glen or glenda ? \\nreturns to its documentary style , but at that point any lingering sense that wood had the slightest idea what he was doing is pretty much gone . \\nthe film wanders to a dumb happy ending that also seems to abandon much of what it was trying to say about transvestitism , but at that point it didn\\'t matter much what happened . \\nas soon as the aforementioned sex scene was over , glen or glenda ? \\nhad pretty much cemented its place in my mind as the most incoherent film i had ever seen . \\ni honestly think that if i picked up my camcorder and deliberately tried to make the worst movie i possibly could , it still might not match glen or glenda ? \\nfor sheer cinematic disaster . \\ni am giving this movie an f , but i\\'m not sure that quite does it justice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in times of crisis people are driven to desperate measures . \\nof course what constitutes a crisis differs from person to person . \\nwhat may be a disastrous situation for one , may be seen as a challenge to another . \\nas deepak chopra is known to say , \" it\\'s not the ride , it\\'s the rider . \" \\nunfortunately clear-thinking is not always the reaction to problems . \\nwall street wheeler dealer steven taylor ( michael douglas ) is a man with troubles . \\nhe\\'s sunk his money in illegal financial activities and it\\'s blown up in his face . \\nin a matter of days he will lose it all . \\nhis wife emily ( gwyneth paltrow ) is a highly-placed un interpreter and is not happy with her life either . \\nher marriage is cold and unfulfilling . \\nunknown to her , her new lover david shaw ( viggo mortensen ) is not only a painter , but an ex-con with a history of bilking wealthy women of their money . \\nemily is a prime target : she\\'s worth over $100 million . \\nsteven\\'s solution to his predicament is to offer david half a million to kill his wife . \\nthe artist accepts and the movie is underway . \\ndrawing from frederick knott\\'s play and loosely based on hitchcock\\'s dial m for murder , this is all-too typical of summer releases . \\nall style and no substance . \\nand there\\'s really not much style . \\ndirector andrew davis ( the accomplished witness and best-forgotten other films ) has made exactly the wrong choices at almost every turn . \\ndouglas and paltrow have both shown us that they are skillful actors in previous films . \\nmortensen showed promise in the past . \\nhere all three are walking uninterestingly through their roles with oddly waxen faces . \\nthe only person who shows any sense of life is david suchet as new york detective mohamed karaman . \\nhe\\'s only on-screen long enough to make you think that there might be a likable person in the film and then he disappears . \\nthe first concern of a suspense film is to create suspense . \\nsurprises are important . \\nin this movie the audience keeps waiting for something to happen . \\nand nothing ever does . \\nnearly every event is telegraphed in advance . \\nclose-up on this object or that action and it\\'s easy to guess what\\'s going to happen . \\nas the film plods towards its inevitable conclusion you keep expecting a plot twist to make the movie worthwhile . \\nit\\'s a hopeless quest . \\nthe story doesn\\'t make much sense . \\nsteven\\'s wife is loaded . \\neven with unfriendly relations , you\\'d think that he could have talked to her about his difficulty rather than deciding to kill her . \\nwhen he does decide on the dire plan he makes an unreasonable choice . \\nif you were going to hire someone to kill your wife , would your first choice be her lover ? \\nno matter how sleazy he is , i would think there might be a chance that he would turn down the opportunity . \\nwhy would steven plan the murder as a break-in in their apartment ? \\nwhy not just take her out as she was walking to david\\'s loft in a bad neighborhood ? \\nwhile deciding among the numerous summer films , you might do well to skip this one . \\nyou\\'ll find more suspense than this movie offers by watching the weather channel . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when i arrived in paris in june , 1992 , i was surprised to find france plastered with posters twin peaks : fire walk with me , since the movie wasn\\'t scheduled to open in the u . s . until late august . \\nhappily , the film--the prequel to david lynch\\'s cult television series--was playing in a fancy , thx theater . \\nunfortunately , the theater was far more impressive than the movie , which absolutely stinks , much like a french lavatory . \\nworse , actually . \\nfire walk with me ( directed by lynch ) will be completely incomprehensible to anyone who has not seen the tv series or read \" laura palmer\\'s secret diary . \" \\nfor \" twin peaks \" junkies , like me , the movie is only marginally improved . \\nthe plot is jumbled and illogical , not to mention excruciatingly sluggish . \\nthe first 30 minutes , which have almost nothing to do with the main story line , feature chris isaak and kiefer sutherland as fbi agents investigating a murder in portland , oregon . \\nthe movie then stops in philadelphia for a nonsensical cameo by david bowie and a brief appearance by kyle maclachlan as dale cooper . \\nlynch then drops this plot strand altogether and abruptly shifts the setting to twin peaks , washington--one year later . \\nah , twin peaks : \" familiar territory , \" you think to yourself as angelo badalamenti\\'s distinctive musical score chimes in . \\nwrong ! \\nthe movie proves that you really can\\'t go home again , or at least lynch can\\'t . \\nonly about a quarter of the characters from the tv series appear in the movie : leland palmer , bobby briggs , james , shelly , leo , the log lady and a few others--mostly in meaningless cameos . \\nthe rest of the \" twin peaks \" cast is nowhere to be seen , and consequently , lynch fails to recreate the spirit and flavor of tv\\'s most enigmatic town . \\ncast members michael ontkean , sherilyn fenn , piper laurie , and richard beymer are sorely missed , not to mention lara flynn boyle , who has been replaced by lackluster moira kelly in the crucial role of donna . \\nthe movie concentrates solely on laura palmer ( sheryl lee ) as she suffers through drug abuse , prostitution , and incest , during her miserable last seven days on earth . \\nthe night of laura\\'s death , which is truly terrifying , is the film\\'s only remotely effective sequence . \\nwe finally get to see exactly what happened to laura after she jumped off james\\' motorcycle and ran into the woods at that lonely traffic light in the middle of nowhere . \\nher murder unfolds just as agent cooper reconstructed it in the tv series , which is gratifying for faithful \" twin peaks \" viewers . \\nbut it\\'s an awfully small reward for sitting through a painfully awful movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'based on the novel set in 1914 by joseph conrad , victory spins a tale of a pair of lovers , heyst ( william dafoe ) and alma ( irene jacob ) , who seek refuge on heyst\\'s isolated island . \\nhowever , their idyllic world begins to crumble upon the arrival of mr jones ( sam neil ) , martin ricardo ( rufus sewell ) and their servant , pedro ( graziano marcelli ) , who have come to steal heyst\\'s rumoured plunder . \\nwhile the novel is largely complex in characterization , the film sadly transposes conrad\\'s characters into lacklustre leads , the most disappointing being heyst himself . \\nconrad\\'s heyst adheres religiously to his late father\\'s ways of detachment and isolation . \\nhis ascetic lifestyle is thrown into question when he meets alma , a helpless orchestra girl who charms him with her voice . \\nthe struggle to embrace the arrival of alma into his solitude , however , is lost in mark peploe\\'s ( director and writer ) diluted version of heyst . \\nwithout properly establishing the crucial details of heyst\\'s character , all that is left of conrad\\'s main character is a very shallow treatment of his internal conflict between detachment and human involvement . \\non the one hand , actualizing the subtext is a mammoth task ( though not impossible ) , but on the other hand , dafoe\\'s flat acting cannot be excused as an attempt at stoicism . \\nin the end , we are supposed to witness heyst renounce his philosophy and finally come to an understanding of what it is to love another . \\nthe final transformation , while perceptible , lacks the cathartic revelation which is undeniable in conrad\\'s novel . \\nits absence in the film is unforgivable . \\nthe film seems more concerned about moving the plot along when so much has yet to be said about the relationship between the two complete strangers . \\nalma is supposed to have overcome great emotional barriers in the relationship , namely heyst\\'s underlying philosophy of detachment , which heyst himself grapples with . \\nthe struggle against heyst\\'s ignorance of true human involvement accounts for much of the greatness of alma\\'s love for him . \\njacob , fair-skinned , gentle and yet passionate , handles the role with precision , detailing nuances where possible . \\nunfortunately , she is let down by a superficial script . \\nthe couple\\'s relationship develops too hastily , leaving all subtlety effaced and replaced with a blatant show-and-tell approach . \\nall we know of the characters are mostly explained by their lines alone . \\nthis is unsatisfactory when so much of the turmoil experienced by the two stem from their buried thoughts and emotions . \\nthe sketchy handling of their relationship stands out as sorely as dafoe\\'s american accent ( an inappropriate one since heyst spent most of his life in london ) . \\nthe other characters such as schomberg ( jean yanne ) , the owner of a hotel , and mr jones ( sam neill ) , also fall short of conrad\\'s meticulous characterization . \\nwhile schomberg should have been more menacing and vindictive , mr jones should have been portrayed as something more of an enigma . \\nsam neil\\'s caricature of a slightly stout , effeminate and soft-spoken gentleman-at-large nullifies the effect intended by conrad who describes mr jones as \" an insolent spectre on leave from hades , endowed with skin and bones and a subtle power of terror \" . \\npoor characterization aside , kudos goes to rufus sewell for his excellent portrayal of ricardo , secretary to mr jones , a reckless ruffian capable of murder . \\nsewell , with his cockney accent and large expressive green eyes , becomes the true terror of the unholy trinity , masterminding deceitful plans behind jones\\' back . \\nat the same time , we are entertained by the foolhardiness of his plans . \\ndespite the authentic setting and marvellous cinematography by bruno de keyzer , very few images are left behind for us to savour after the film has ended . \\nsourabaya and its surrounding islands and volcanoes may have their charm , but mean nothing once the film fails to capture the essence of an epic , which is what victory deserves to be . \\nthe delicately inter-woven complexities in the love story are lost to an inadequate production . \\nat the end of the film , we are told that perhaps alma\\'s victory was in teaching heyst how to love . \\na hollow victory indeed . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'hav plenty , as we are told in the beginning and reminded during the film , is a true story . \\nlife itself is a series of true stories , but most are not movie material . \\nas scripted , directed , and acted by cinematic newcomer christopher scott cherot , hav plenty limps along at best . \\nits dialog is so stilted - \" you know what they say , \\'no women ; no cry . \\' \" \\n- that the actors are content to read the screenplay rather than invest much energy in trying to act it . \\nin the story , lee plenty ( cherot ) is a 28-year-old author and teaching assistant . \\nthe movie , which happens mainly over the new year\\'s holiday , consists of a series of incidents in which various single and married women try to kiss lee or take him to bed . \\nsince he consistently refuses , caroline gooden ( tammi katherine jones ) figures that he must be gay . \\neventually he and havilland \" hav \" savage ( chenoa maxwell ) get together , proving that he wasn\\'t gay after all , just picky . \\nsexy women can sit on his lap and ask him to go to bed with them , but he will not even kiss them . \\nhe\\'s a man who knows his mind , which he frequently shares directly with the audience in a series of trite and overly cute monologues . \\nfilled with wealthy african-americans , the story is closest in tone to love jones , which was better . \\nhav plenty\\'s story doesn\\'t go anywhere . \\nat the end it subjects us to lee plenty\\'s new film , which is a movie of the movie we\\'ve just seen , but with even worse acting . \\n \" remember folks that , as outrageous as this all seems , this is a true story . \" \\nhav tells the camera , but the problem is that it\\'s not outrageous at all or even the least bit interesting . \\nhav plenty isn\\'t so much a bad film as it is a total waste of the audience\\'s time . \\nhav plenty runs 1 : 32 . \\nit is rated r for profanity and would be fine for most teenagers . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"last summer , a feature-length version of the avengers hit theaters to the tune of a unanimous critical panning . \\nbased on the famous 60's television show , the film was an enormous box-office flop and a huge disappointment for warner bros . a year later , the studio is up to their old tricks again , with the unnecessary revival of the robert conrad program the wild , wild west . \\nbut it sounded promising : the same tag-team of star will smith and director barry sonnenfeld , who both contributed to make men in black such a financial success , is at the reins again . \\nand co-star kevin kline is attached to the project , as well as a substantial budget to spice up the special effects . \\ni mean , what could possibly go wrong ? \\nthe answer is just about everything . \\nwild wild west is a cinematic abomination - a film that was so entirely pointless to begin with that it is never given a proper chance to get out of the gate . \\nthere are a lot of fancy special effects , and a handful of distinguished actors who try desperately to tunnel through the inane plot and make a lasting impression . \\nbut the script is so deliriously uneven , the entire movie so off course , that no human being or technical achievement has a chance to salvage it . \\nat square one , we have a bizarre case of casting . \\nwill smith plays james west , a renegade cowboy who was originally played by white actor robert conrad in the tv series . \\nmy guess regarding the casting of african-american smith is a simple one : the actor + a cozy summertime release = big bucks for all those involved . \\nsmith is a very talented performer who usually brings swift assurance to any comic relief material , but this is not an ideal role for him . \\nhe's too much of a joker . \\ni heard that initial casting included george clooney in the lead role , and frankly , that sounds a lot more plausible . \\nwhat makes matters worse is that smith goes through the role with such self-assurance in his eyes ; you can practically sense his contentment with the fact that he knows wild wild west will be a huge hit at the summer box office . \\nthe plot involves west and cross-dressing government agent artemus gordon ( kevin kline ) , who are assigned by the president to recover a group of kidnapped scientists . \\nthe trail leads to the diabolical dr . arliss loveless ( kenneth branagh ) , a man with no lower body who speaks in a dry , witty southern accent . \\nloveless has taken the country's top technical minds hostage so that they can assist in his deranged plan of total government control , using lethal superweapons to destroy entire towns . \\none such weapon is an 80-foot mechanical tarantula , bearing eight spindly legs of thrashing metal and spewing enormous fireballs left and right . \\nthe visual effects that bring this metallic bug to life are spectacular , seamlessly blending computer-generated imagery with the western surroundings . \\nunfortunately , all of these effects seem so detached from the story , and can do little to support the film's plot deficiencies , which are undoubtedly the main problem . \\nwild wild west is a running gag that never truly works . \\nmost of the jokes , usually care of smith , die on arrival . \\nif it's one thing that could possibly be the saving grace , it's the performances , and even they are mostly off-kilter and poorly delivered . \\nkline is admirable , but he has little to do but invent silly devices on the spot . \\nsalma hayek is wasted as the romantic interest , because she is viewed as little more than that - window dressing to look pretty and create conflict between west and gordon . \\nbranagh , an esteemed shakespearean actor and director , adds marginal enjoyment to the film . \\nbut even he is so utterly weird and over-the-top . \\nrarely is a film so lost in itself as wild wild west is . \\ni suppose there's always one turkey of the summer season ; a highly anticipated , big-budget release that manages to completely disappoint . \\nwild wild west is such a movie , and will probably go down as one of the biggest disappointments of 1999 . \\nbut it is highly unlikely that this will go down in defeat at the box office . \\nperhaps after this , audiences will be less assured when they see will smith's name stamped on a summer movie . \\nafter such hits as independence day and mib , wild wild west is not an impressive addition to the resume . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'as the twin surfer dudes , stew and phil deedle , lay bandaged and unconscious in the hospital , phil comes to first and chooses the coolest way to wake his brother . \\nyanking out his iv , he uses it like a water pistol to soak his brother\\'s face . \\nthis bit of lame physical humor is typical of disney\\'s meet the deedles , a movie more to be endured that watched . \\n ( i stopped looking at my wife during the screening , since every time i did , she\\'d start sticking her finger in her throat . \\nand she\\'s right , it is that bad . ) \\ndirected without any imagination by steve boyum , whose long background in film is mainly in stunts and in second unit direction , the film limps along at best . \\nboyum attempts to keep the pace moving by staging stunts , stunts and more stunts . \\namazingly for someone with his background , he seems incapable of finding any fresh ones , and we have a car go off the road five different times -- maybe more . \\nbut who\\'s counting ? \\nand then there is the script by james herzfeld , whose only other film , tapeheads from a decade ago , was so awful that it is considered a cult classic . \\nmeet the deedles , however , is painfully bad rather than laughably bad . \\nit will probably be in and out of the theaters like a tornado and is in no danger of becoming a classic anything . \\nherzfeld treats us to gratingly abysmal dialog that includes \" your geyser\\'s a geezer , \" and \" i\\'d like to put a deedle in her haystack . \" \\nas the movie opens , the twins , who at one point describe themselves modestly as \" a walking kodak moment , \" are celebrating their 18th birthday . \\nas they ride a parasail high above the waters of waikiki , a truant officer pursues them on his jet ski . \\nas heirs to the fabulous fortune of the deedle empire , the boys are sent by their father to camp broken spirit at yellowstone to transform the two laid-back beach bums into men . \\nas they arrive in their wetsuits in yellowstone , they\\'ve got their surfboards , skateboards , and a hawaiian drink machine the size of an armoire . \\ntheir camp has gone out of business , but they are mistaken for new park rangers . \\nthe rest of the movie has them fighting the park\\'s overpopulation of prairie dogs as well as a deranged ex-ranger , played by dennis hopper , who is out to stop old faithful before its billionth birthday celebration , scheduled for later in the week . \\nhopper , who has made some wonderful movies , carried away being a recent favorite , does have a propensity for choosing some truly odoriferous material . \\nthis isn\\'t his worst acting , but meet the deedles is arguably the worst movie he\\'s ever been in . \\nsteve van wormer and paul walker , as stew and phil , give lifeless performances . \\nthe only actor in the movie with any demonstrable talent is a cute little prairie dog named petey . \\neven the cinematography by david hennings is so prosaic that it manages to make yellowstone look dull . \\nto add insult to injury , hennings is fond of inappropriate close-ups , which only serve to remind us of the inanity of the dialog . \\nput a ten-foot pair of lips on the screen , and you naturally pay extra attention to what is said . \\nalthough boyum says in the notes that he is proud that his film is appropriate for families , one wonders how many skateboarders will attempt the movie\\'s stunt of lying on your back on a skateboard while negotiating a busy and twisting mountain road . \\nthey make it look like so much fun that i\\'m sure many will try some variation of the stunt . \\n \" how could this possibly be worst , \" asks phil . \\njust when you suspect it can\\'t , the movie takes a turn further downhill . \\nits low point may have you looking for an airline barf bag . \\nafter phil\\'s girlfriend digs up a big mount of moist soil , they suck in a long worm . \\nlike the two dog lovers eating spaghetti in lady and the tramp , their lips finally meet in a kiss . \\nas they pull back , their faces are full of the dirt that encased the worm they have just ingested . \\nmeet the deedles runs about an hour and a half . \\nit is rated pg for a little bathroom humor and would be acceptable for kids around 6 and up . \\nmy son jeffrey and his friend nickolas , both almost 9 , gave the show * * * . \\nthey both thought the scenes with petey were among their favorites . \\nnickolas also mentioned the scene in which the circus bear drives a jeep , and jeffrey especially liked the one in which the circus elephant was referred to as dumbo . \\n',\n",
+       " b'lauded as a genius by many , stanley kubrick commands a superlative filmography that includes such critically-acclaimed films as \" 2001 : a space odyssey , \" \" a clockwork orange , \" \" lolita , \" and \" dr . \\nstrangelove , or : how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb . \" \\nnow , sadly , he\\'s added \" eyes wide shut \" to that impeccable body of work and his final film is the first and only blot on his near-flawless copybook . \\nkubrick , alas , should have quit while he was ahead . \\nthis much-publicized psycho-sexual tease-a-thon , with its star billing of real-life marrieds tom cruise and nicole kidman , is nothing more than one long ( two-and-a-half hours long ) boring exercise that features kubrick operating with talent wide shut . \\nkubrick , faithless to arthur schnitzler\\'s 1926 novella \" dream story , \" has confused eroticism with nudity . \\nhe has confused intellectualism with talking slowly . \\nhe has confused profundity with pretentiousness . \\nin addition , the director has made some strange casting choices , leaving sydney pollack in and leaving accomplished performers harvey keitel and jennifer jason leigh out . \\npollack , the director of such box-office hits as \" tootsie \" and \" out of africa , \" is normally solid in his occasional acting stints but here he\\'s miserably out of his depth . . . \\nand there isn\\'t much depth to begin with ! \\nunhappily , there\\'s not likely to be a director\\'s cut of this film to determine whether the decision to exorcise keitel and leigh was the right one . \\nin fact , with the exception of the stark black-and-white credits , snatches of baroque music on the soundtrack , and many , many grainy tracking shots down lavishly-decorated corridors , there\\'s none of kubrick\\'s trademark brilliance in this film . \\nit doesn\\'t help that the story , as delivered , is ridiculous . \\ncruise and kidman , who bring little more than marital torpor to the project , play well-to-do new yorkers bill and alice harford . \\nhe\\'s a doctor and she\\'s an unemployed art gallery director and they share a central park west address . \\nat an opulent party hosted by their friend victor ziegler ( pollack ) , alice gets a little tipsy and starts dancing with a jeremy irons-like hungarian , who\\'s singularly determined to get her in the sack . \\nbill , too , is seen arm-in-arm with a couple of models before he\\'s pulled away to deal with an overdoser . \\nback home , bill and alice smoke a little pot before alice\\'s aggressive jealousy kicks in . \\nas retribution , she confesses to her husband that she once had deep feelings for a naval officer she eyeballed at a hotel where she and bill once stayed . \\nthis hurtful admission sends bill into a tailspin ; he pounds the streets of the village in his heavy black overcoat struggling with black-and-white images of alice in the grip of a horny midshipman . \\nit\\'s all way too much for him . \\nfor revenge , bill almost has sex with a hooker . \\nhe almost has feelings for a underage girl he sees in a costume store . \\nthen he almost does the hooker\\'s roommate . \\nand he\\'s almost involved in an overblown rococo orgy when an old college chum of his tips him off to a mysterious , password-protected party where everyone wears masks and \" the women are incredible \" ( i . e . , naked ) . \\nthis \" erotic \" set piece , a cult-ish bacchanal complete with chanting , incense , and lots of strategically-placed partygoers covering up the dirty , might impress the likes of hugh hefner , but it\\'s a lot less shocking than it\\'s intended to be . \\nwhat\\'s the big deal ? \\nbill doesn\\'t exactly * do * anything ( other than throw his money and credentials around ) , and alice only ever lusted in her heart . \\nwhoop-dee-doo . \\nstill , they make up at the same agonizingly slow pace--was kubrick , notorious for multiple takes , paying them at an hourly rate ? \\neven geniuses have their bad days . \\n \" eyes wide shut \" just happens to be kubrick\\'s bad day , an unerotic , disappointing , and altogether pointless end to an otherwise memorable career . \\n',\n",
+       " b'catherine deane ( jennifer lopez ) is a psychologist who has been hired to participate in a project where she can enter the minds of comatose victims and try to interact with their subconscious in an attempt to wake them up . \\nshe has been experiencing moderate success with a young boy in a coma , but the boy\\'s parents aren\\'t happy with the apparent lack of progress and the toll of her job is having adverse affects on her regular life . \\nas if trying to assure the boy\\'s parents wasn\\'t hard enough on her , a new development arises that furthers the strain on deane\\'s mental faculties . \\na vicious serial killer named carl stargher ( vincent d\\'onofrio ) has been kidnapping women , locking them in an automated cell that drowns them slowly in a matter of days , then soaking the corpses in bleach to turn them into life-sized dolls . \\njust after kidnapping his latest victim and locking her in the cell , stargher has a traumatic experience that triggers a schizophrenic virus in his brain and causes him to sink in an eternal catatonia . \\nthe police , led by fbi agent peter novak ( vince vaughn ) are able to locate stargher by some clues he left while dumping his previous victim\\'s body , but they feel all hope is lost for his current victim due to his vegetative state . \\nin a last ditch attempt , they ask deane and the scientists that created the project to undergo the frightening task of entering stargher\\'s mind to try and find the location of the victim locked in the deadly cell . . . \\na cell which will completely fill with water in the next 40 hours ! \\ninitial reports about this film described it as a cross between the silence of the lambs and the matrix . \\nwhile it does share some characteristics with both films ( particularly the first forty minutes , which seem almost like a condensed version of lambs ) , the cell also seems to contain elements of dreamscape and brainstorm . \\nthe buzz around this project is that first-time feature film director tarsem singh ( who won many awards for his video of r . e . m . \\'s \" losing my religion \" ) wanted a script that he could fashion images out of instead of a cohesive story , and a good portion of this film supports that theory . \\ndespite the borrowed elements from the aforementioned films and a script that contains several logically questionable moments , the cell does feature some remarkable imagery . \\nall of the sequences where we delve into someone\\'s mind are incredibly beautiful ( including the dank mind of stargher , whose thoughts are reminiscent of an h . r . giger painting come to life mixed with a tool music video ) , proving that singh is as adept at filming strange and wonderful images as his acclaim would lead us to believe . \\nthe first sequence that takes place in stargher\\'s mind is by far the best , featuring one of the most ingenious traps i\\'ve ever seen in a film ( involving a horse , which no one seeing this film will probably forget ) , a zoo-like display of stargher\\'s victims which are animated like marionettes , and stargher himself in a giant purple cape that spans the walls of his mental throne room . \\nif the film had continued within this dirty monstrous world i would have deemed the film brilliant , but alas , the sequences only become more silly as they go along ( despite a painful nipple ring removal later in the film ) . \\nthe cast is basically just an excuse for there to be some moderate plot semblance during the parade of images , but at least vincent d\\'onofrio turns in his usual bizarre and psychotic performance ( magnified by ten , thanks to the environment in which the film has been placed ) . \\nin my opinion , d\\'onofrio was one of the best creepy actors i have ever seen in a film , but his film choices as of late have been so completely awful ( i . e . - \\nthe newton boys , feeling minnesota , the thirteenth floor , and the velocity of gary ) that i have begun to rethink my initial assessment of him . \\nthe character of stargher is an excellent role for him though , and will probably lead to a bit of typecasting for him . \\ndetractors of violence and disturbing images will want to stay far away from this film , as it contains heavy doses of both . \\nbesides the nipple ring removal i mention above , there is also stargher\\'s penchant for hanging suspended off of the floor by the rings that pierce his back and legs ( prior to his catatonia and capture ) which will have audiences recoiling . \\na sequence where catherine enters stargher\\'s mind and finds him recreating the disemboweling of his first victim is also pretty disquieting . \\none moment also features a character having his intestines slowly removed from his body by an old fashioned hand cranked spit-like device . \\nas a narrative film , the cell is sorely lacking . \\nas a collection of images though , the cell is extremely well done . \\nalthough the latter sequences in the film contain fewer disturbing imagery than the first half , singh has done what he supposedly set out to do : make a film solely for the purpose of stringing some remarkable images together . \\nunfortunately , a well-written script should have been considered too , because without it the cell just seems like any other music video we could see on mtv ( provided , of course , that mtv allowed for the use of graphic violence and language in music videos ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if beavis and butthead had a favorite movie , from dusk till dawn would probably be it . \\nscripted by quentin tarantino and directed by robert rodriguez ( desperado ) , the movie panders to the very worst in sex and violence -- and is incredibly fun to watch . \\nit starts off as a pulp fiction-type crime story , with criminal brothers george clooney and tarantino robbing a convenience store . \\nbecause this is a tarantino movie , however , it\\'s not just a case of pull the gun and take the loot , it\\'s a case of a hole being shot through someone\\'s hand , a man on fire jumping out behind the counter and the entire store blowing up as they drive away . \\nthe opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie -- everything overdone and nothing as it seems . \\nclooney and tarantino bring a hostage to the motel and then hijack an rv with a family in it . \\nharvey keitel plays the backslidden ex-preacher and juliette lewis his daughter , whom registered sex-pervert tarantino eyes endlessly . \\nyou know you\\'re mentally unbalanced when you find lewis the least bit attractive , although she\\'s not nearly as obnoxious as usual in from dusk till dawn . \\nthe first half of the movie has the criminals and hostages trying to get to and through the mexico border , clooney\\'s strategy involving hiding in the rv shower while lewis is on the toilet . \\nit does its trick ; the border guard takes one look at lewis relieving herself and immediately goes blind , never noticing clooney or tarantino . \\nonce they get to mexico , it\\'s time to wait at the rendezvous point , a topless bar called titty twister where we\\'re once again reminded tarantino wrote the movie as he drinks champagne off the foot of a stripper . \\nfinally , after about ten minutes of intercut boob shots and clooney forcing keitel and lewis to drink with him , the stripper turns into a vampire . \\nsoon half the people in the bar are vampires and the other half fall or fight back . \\nthat\\'s right , we\\'ve come all this way to see a vampire movie . \\nbut like everything else , tarantino takes this age-old genre and twists it to his own ends to produce over-the-top entertainment . \\nso we get holy water condom balloons , heads rolling , quadruple impalement on an overturned table and keitel getting bitten by a vampire and announcing he only has a few minutes left before he becomes \" a lap dog of satan . \" \\nthe from dusk till dawn dialogue is 100% tarantino , hovering between absurd and disgusting ( as when they\\'re entering the nightclub and cheech marin announces the main attractions of the titty twister ) , but always entertaining , and is a huge reason the movie is so much fun to watch instead of being one more second-rate gorefest . \\nclooney , keitel and especially tarantino are so over-the-top with their delivery that the dialogue is that much more hilarious , ensuring not one second of from dusk till dawn is taken the least bit seriously . \\nstuff like this would be terrible in any other movie , but tarantino and rodriguez know exactly what to do to entertain people , even if there\\'s absolutely no message or meaning to from dusk till dawn . \\npulp fiction had the vulgarity and violence for a reason , but this movie just throws it out for cheap entertainment . \\nfrom dusk till dawn isn\\'t the classic of modern cinema that pf is , but is does prove you can do a good job making a really bad movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"synopsis : in this cultural exploration , a chinese american computer engineer named fang ( peter wang ) decides to take a month-long vacation to visit his sister mrs . chao ( shen guanglan ) , her husband mr . chao ( hy xiaoguang ) , and their teenage daughter lili ( li qinqin ) in beijing after 30 years of separation . \\nfang brings his asian american wife grace ( sharon iwai ) and his college-aged son paul ( kelvin han yee ) along , both of whom don't speak chinese . \\nthe encounter between the two families allows the audience to compare the eastern and western cultures as well as the ambitions of individual characters . \\nopinion : sometimes a film is plot driven . \\nsometimes it's a character sketch . \\na great wall ( 1986 ) can be called a culture sketch , as opposed to a character sketch because it gently compares a chinese american family to a beijing family . \\nfang's family is thoroughly americanized . \\nfang is an upper middle class professional who enjoys jogging and argues with his boss . \\nhis wife can't cook chinese . \\nhis son has a white girlfriend and complains of racism when fang encourages him to befriend an asian girl . \\nmeanwhile fang's beijing sister advocates absolute loyalty to the 'work unit . ' \\nher husband is a retired official who has heard rumors of american depravity ( homosexuals running the streets ) , and her daughter lili longs for american freedoms in a youth culture where studying for college entrance exams is the most important thing in life . \\nthe two families spend a month slowly learning about each other . \\nthere is no ultimate 'answer' or final comprehensive understanding after the month-long vacation . \\nthe film is neither here nor there ; it's a neutral , meandering , gentle , portrait of life on both sides . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"one of the funniest carry on movies and the third with a medical setting . \\nthe main story is about dr . james nookey ( jim dale ) who is disliked by his superiors , frederick carver , head of the hospital ( kenneth williams ) , and dr . ernest stoppidge ( charles hawtrey ) who seems to dislike everyone . \\nthey attempt to cause him as much trouble in the hospital as possible and all the blame is laid on nookey . \\ncarver learns of a possible job opportunity from wealthy ellen moore ( joan sims ) on a distant tropical island and gets nookey trannsferred there . \\nwhen nookey arrives at this island , he meets gladstone screwer ( sid james ) who has lived on the island just about all his life . \\nscrewer is in possession of a wonderful slimming drug made from natural ingredients . \\ndr . nookey returns with the drug to england and sets up a new slimming business with ellen moore's financial backing . \\nhowever , nookey and moore face opposition from screwer who goes to england to cash in on the drug , and carver and stoppidge who want to know the ingredients to create a rival drug . \\nthe performances are all very commendable . \\nsid james has a slightly ambiguous character to play this time and he excels in his role . \\nkenneth williams , as usual , plays the unpopular and cunning head of the hospital . \\njoan sims is entertaining as the wealthy benefactor and jim dale should really head the cast with his excellent portrayal of bumbling nookey . \\ncharles hawtrey plays an 'out-of-character' role as dr . stoppidge , the nasty and evil practitioner who wants to knock nookey off his perch . \\nsome critics have said that this combination of hawtrey and stoppidge does not work well , but i think that it at least gives hawtrey a new part to play instead of the usual dimwit characters . \\nas a matter of fact , hawtrey is suitably cunning in the part . \\nother regulars in the movie include hattie jacques as the matron yet again ( but this part is probably her most boring 'matron' ) and barbara windsor as nookey's love interest and unofficial 'women's lib' campaigner , goldie locks . \\nboth jacques and windsor play their parts well . \\npatsy rowlands appears briefly as miss fosdick , and there are very small cameos from wilfrid brambell ( from 'steptoe and son' fame ) and peter butterworth . \\nthe jokes are mostly very funny , the story is quite appealing , and the regulars seem interested in what they're doing . \\nalthough it is another medical carry on movie and some of the jokes are borrowed from previous movies , it still comes out on top ( it is the best medical carry on ) because of the above factors . \\na must-see carry on movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the \" disney stick-to-what-you-do-best \" rule states that disney\\'s animated features will invariably be sublime but whenever they try their hand at live-action kids\\' entertainment , they will fail miserably . \\nthis goes double for occasions when they try to make a live-action adaptation of a popular cartoon ( remember the 1996 version of 101 dalmations ? \\ni\\'m still trying to forget ) . \\nthat rule proves more dependable than ever with inspector gadget , an insulting , despicable and , worst of all , expensive piece of trash trying to pass itself off as a viable children\\'s film . \\nit will bore anyone over five and should prove unbearable for adults , even at its relatively skinny running time of 80 minutes . \\nit\\'s films like this that make me want to go to my local blockbuster and rent something from the days when brains were more important than budgets and wit compensated for lack of fancy effects . \\njust as matthew broderick began to convince me that there is hope for him as an actor yet , his career takes a nosedive to hell with his \" role \" as john brown , a depressed security guard with a big heart who hopes that one day he can become a real policemen and help the people around him . \\nhe dreams of heroic deeds and the subsequent admiration of his long time crush , dr . brenda bradford ( joely fisher ) . \\nbut after a few bizarre coincidences it seems that he has to dream no longer . \\njohn breaks every bone in his body while trying to save dr . brenda\\'s father . \\ndr . brenda has been working on a \" gadget project , \" which would make a half-man half-machine super-policeman to fight crime . \\nfeeling indebted to john she decides to save his life by making him the subject , realizing his dream of becoming a policeman . \\nnow , when he says \" go go gadget [insert name of gizmo here] \" he can use all kinds of nifty gadgets to capture crooks , bang up bandits and mangle murderers . \\nin the meantime , the evil claw ( rupert everett ) , the man responsible for the murder of the good doctor\\'s father is building a gadget of his own : a carbon copy of our inspector gadget except evil and john brown\\'s worst nemesis . \\nclaw has plans of world domination , which leaves it up to the inspector and his gadget mobile ( voice of d . l . \\nhughley ) to save humanity from his wrath . \\nstate of the art effects fly at a mad pace in this $90 million dollar movie and yet director david kelogg never sets up a convincing atmosphere . \\nhad they replaced all the fancy gizmos with dollar bills they would have wound up with the same effect . \\nwhat we see on the screen is like the raw ingredients of a meal : all of the expensive f/x amounts to nothing . \\npart of the charm of the tv series was its sly irreverence which has gone down the toilet in the condescending movie . \\ncan kids really admire a hero so goody-two-shoes that he screams \" hey ! \\nyou ran a stop sign ! \" \\nwhile hanging off the back bumper of a quickly moving vehicle ? \\ni think that today\\'s children will respond better to somebody dashing , someone ultra-cool . \\nthey ( probably ) receive enough preaching from their parents and its an insult to their intelligence to assume that they want to go to an action movie to see a father figure kick butt . \\nin addition to the more complex complaints above , there\\'s also the simple stuff : inspector gadget is boring , formulaic and achingly implausible . \\nthere\\'s no feeling that the director really cares about his story : more than any other film i\\'ve seen this year , this one really feels like it was made on an assembly line . \\nthere\\'s a popular commercial ( for sprite , but that\\'s irrelevant ) running in movie theaters before features that spoofs the way major studios deal with projects . \\nit consists of studio suits discussing a fictitious ( thank god ) movie called \" death slug \" . \\neach executive gleefully presents a different merchandise tie-in ( slug taco ! \\nslug on a stick ! ) . \\nat the end one of them asks \" what about the movie ? \" \\nanother answers : \" well , we don\\'t have a script yet , but we can bang one out by friday . \" \\nthey probably could have replaced \" death slug \" with inspector gadget . \\nthis film contains the sort of logical contradictions and blatantly obvious adherence to formula that could have been eliminated had any attention been payed to the script . \\nit\\'s no coincidence that most good children\\'s entertainment these days comes from animation . \\nanimated features take so long to maker that it becomes a labor of love for the filmmakers and they put care and pride into their work . \\nthese kinds of films are banged out quicker and a good percentage turn out worthless , sloppy and impersonal . \\nthe studios are becoming factories and films their assembled products . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b'mars attacks ! \\n ( 1996 ) - c : jack nicholson , glenn close , annette bening , martin short , danny devito , rod steiger , pierce brosnan , sarah jessica parker , michael j . fox , jim brown , pam grier , joe don baker , natalie portman , christina applegate , lisa marie , tom jones . \\nthis is director tim burton\\'s finest film to date . \\nmany will compare this tale of martians who invade earth to independence day , but even though the stories are similar , they really are two distinctly different films . \\nhowever as a whole , mars attacks is much more entertaining than id4 , and i loved id4 . \\nyou really have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this film . \\nit is completely wacked-out and unlike anything you\\'ve ever seen . \\nonce the silly tone of the film is set , it\\'s easy to just sit back and throw logic out the window because logic and comedy just don\\'t mix . \\nthe plot is simple : martians invade the earth . \\nbut it\\'s different than any other invasion film . \\nusually it\\'s the evil aliens versus the heroic humans . \\nthis time however , it\\'s the goofy aliens versus the equally goofy humans . \\nthe martians , who are all computer generated , are just about the funniest things i\\'ve seen in a long time . \\nthey look funny , they move funny , and their \" language \" is hilarious . \\nand about the special effects . \\nthe effects in mars attacks ! \\nare just about the most flawless ones i\\'ve seen to date . \\nthe computer animation of the martians combined with the goofy personalities they are given makes them seem 100% real . \\nthere are just a couple of scenes that don\\'t work , mainly those involving sarah jessica parker and pierce brosnan on board an alien ship . \\nalso , glenn close overacts tremendously in her ( thankfully ) very limited screen time , so much so that i actually applauded silently when her character meets her demise . \\nbut there are many big laughs in the film , as i said , if you are in the right mood . \\ncould it have been funnier ? \\ncertainly . \\nwas it funny enough ? \\nyes . \\nwas i entertained ? \\nabsolutely . \\non a personal note , i\\'d like to thank whomever cast rod steiger ( my favorite actor ) in the film as war-crazy general decker . \\nfinally , after many very small parts in direct to video garbage and minor tv roles , steiger is back on the big screen in a real movie that many people will see . \\nwhile he\\'s not given the type of role that you can give a real \" performance \" in , he does the job well and has some good lines of dialogue . \\nthe preview audience i saw the film with really seemed to enjoy him . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"seen may 19 , 1999 at 5 p . m . at the crossgates cinema 18 ( guilderland , n . y . ) , theater #1 , with my brother john for $8 . 50 . \\n[theater rating : * * * * : excellent seats , sound and picture] \\n ( critic's note : this review is the longest i've ever written and still only scratches the surface . \\ni'd recommend this be read only by those who have seen the film as a form of critical analysis . ) \\nas my friend and fellow film critic ted prigge said in his review of `the phantom menace' - how do i even write this review ? \\nnever mind the fact that i've been waiting for a new `star wars' movie since i was seven years old . \\nnever mind the fact everyone on the internet had already dissected and discussed the movie before it was even released . \\nnever mind that there's so much going on in this movie in terms of plot , action , special effects and long-term story that to analyze every aspect would take a lot of time and energy and still wouldn't cover everything . \\nand also like ted does in all of his reviews , i'll try to review this in a way different from my usual reviews and instead write as casually as possible as if i was talking directly to you , the reader . \\nbefore we can begin analyzing the specific aspects of the film , many of the most general and most significant factors must be considered ( to get the specifics of the film , skip this and the next four paragraphs ) . \\nas has been made obvious for the last several years , another trilogy of films will be produced to account for the [missing] initial three installments of the `star wars' series ( the first of the films was actually episode four , not one ) . \\ngeorge lucas , the creator of the series , has probably just assumed most people know the first-produced trilogy ( `star wars , ' `the empire strikes back' and `return of the jedi' ) is actually the second trilogy , chronologically . \\nin media interviews in the past he has explained why the movies were made out of order , but i can't recall his reasons . \\nwith this new film he as writer and director has also assumed viewers are at least vaguely familiar with the storylines and significant plot points of the first trilogy ( err . . . \\nsecond trilogy . . . \\nwell you know what i mean ) . \\nand in order for this review to be thorough many of those significant points must be mentioned which , unfortunately , may serve as spoilers so proceed with caution . \\n[critic's note #1 : it is one my personal policy not to intentionally analyze spoilers because i would like my reviews to be able to make sense to the reader both before and after viewing the film reviewed , but it would be nearly impossible to do the film justice here without breaking the rule . \\ncritic's note #2 : reviewing this film also breaks the universal critics' law of reviewing movies , which as roger ebert coined , `it's not what a movie is about , but how it is about it . ' \\nbecause so many outside factors come into play in the film's plot and significance as part of a trilogy , and just considering modern society , it again would be difficult , if not impossible to simply review the film as a completely autonomous story . ] \\nfirst of all we have to catalog what we know about the film before even going into it . \\nwe know that young anakin skywalker will grow up to become the evil ruler darth vader who is also the father of luke skywalker , who will lead a successful revolution against him and his empire . \\nwe know obi-wan `ben' kenobi was the trainer of anakin in the ways of `the force' in attempts to become a jedi knight , but would fail and thus anakin would fall to the `dark side . ' \\nwe also know something about `the force' itself , that it is some kind of universal force which determines fate and can be manipulated by those whose minds are expanded enough to believe in it and feel it ( the jedi ) . \\nwhat we don't know for sure is the history of the ruling of the galaxy , which is most likely much longer and more complex than any government we have had here on earth . \\nto me , this was one of the most fascinating aspects of the first three films because there seemed to be a subtle , definite order to all the complexity . \\nalso , it seems that we're supposed to be familiar with a few other details about the story which have come out of the thousands of comic books and paperbacks published in the years since the movies ended . \\nmost notably , details regarding the emperor from `empire' and `jedi , ' and that he was once a senator and his last name is palpatine . \\nfor those who haven't kept up with all the `star wars' paraphernalia over the years , there is still a way to know these details simply by recognizing an actor ( or his voice at least ) . \\nwith `the phantom menace' being the first chapter of a long saga , one would assume the basic groundwork would be laid , including the history behind all the major factors of the series , especially `the force' and the jedi knights . \\nunfortunately , this film does more of the opposite as it simply builds on top of what must be a history so long and detailed it could never be explained . \\ni didn't liked that aspect to this film and is one of the reasons it falls just short of greatness . \\nif you're going to tell a story from the beginning - tell it from the beginning ( is it possible that after this trilogy is complete there could be another trilogy of episodes -1 through -3 to clarify the back story even further ? ) . \\nbut i digress . \\ni've said so much and yet i haven't even touched on the specifics of the film itself . \\nall these necessary `disclaiming' elements should go to show just how vast the story of the `star wars' series is and this individual film itself . \\nwhat we get here is a movie not unlike any of the other three we've come to know and love since the late 1970s . \\nits similarity to the other films helps to keep the spirit of the series familiar , but at the same time seems to be a flaw in the filmmaking process itself since it sometimes rings of unoriginality . \\nthe basic story is rather sorted , complex and even confusing at times . \\nwe're told that an army known as `the trade federation' has set up a blockade around an seemingly insignificant planet called naboo . \\nwe're not given too many details to clarify the back story of what the federation is and what their purpose is , instead the film opts to get its story moving quickly . \\nwe're introduced to two jedi , the master qui-gon jinn ( neeson ) and his apprentice obi-wan kenobi ( mcgregor ) . \\nthe two are acting as ambassadors of some sort in hopes of ending the obvious hostility between the federation and the planet's queen , amidala ( portman ) . \\nthe leader of the federation , an alien called viceroy , is following the orders of a strange , mythical character - an older human man whose face and body are covered and shadowed by the black robe and hood he wears . \\nhe is referred to as lord sidious but considering his appearance , and especially that creepy evil voice of his , he is a obviously one of the most significant characters in the series . \\nsidious communicates to viceroy only through digital transmissions and never in person . \\nclearly his actual whereabouts are something he wants to keep secret because that would also reveal his identity ( which is never openly revealed in the film , but should be clear to most viewers . \\ni have a feeling we'll delve into his background in the next two films ) . \\nbut it doesn't take the film long to spring into action and within minutes our hero jedi are fighting for their lives and the film's story begins to move along . \\nthe film doesn't have one specific plot and works in the same manner as the other films in the series where as what we get is one mini-plot and adventure on top of another . \\nthere are so many of these mini-plots-within-plots in this film i would not describe them all because it is what gives the movie its hook . \\nthe other films have relied on this type of storytelling , but because of the limits of the technology at the time , the films' screenplays were also limiting . \\nthe sense of limitlessness here is what gives `the phantom menace' its unique traits . \\nas we already know , the film takes place at least a generation or two before the original `star wars' trilogy which means a lot of the background which was unclear and/or unexplained may be cleared up here as it is the beginning of the vast epic story . \\nand here the most significant storyline is that involving the discovery of 10-year-old anakin skywalker ( lloyd ) , by qui-gon jinn and his introduction to the jedi council . \\nto briefly summarize the story , jinn stumbles upon skywalker in an attempt to buy parts for queen amidala's spaceship which was damaged in efforts to free her from the federation . \\ntheir meeting on tatooine is mostly chance but of course jinn chalks it up to the will of the force . \\njinn can feel that skywalker has a great natural power in the force , and through another sub-plot involving a bet on skywalker in a fantastic race he will enter , more and more details of his significance begin to reveal themselves . \\nthis also provides for a new elaboration and explanation of the force which has never been mentioned before . \\nin fact , it seems to be something so important it is upsetting it has never been mentioned before . \\nthe element seriously undermines the mystical aspect of the force and transforms it into something more physical and scientific which is completely unnecessary . \\nby the film's third act all the major significant elements become tied together in a rather familiar execution of the plot . \\nit's funny how the reality of the `star wars' world seems so embedded in mythology , new age-like philosophy and religion and yet the solution to all the major conflicts in the series has been violence . \\nnot that this technique hasn't been used in movies and in real-life situations countless times throughout history . \\nand at least it's all in the spirit of the ultimate powers of good versus evil in a fun and exciting matter . \\nit does border of the cartoonish sometimes , but that's just the film appealing to our inner child , which is the basic reason the entire saga exists and has become such a big part of our modern society . \\n`the phantom menace' delivers exactly what you'd expect from a `star wars' film which is why it succeeds as well as it does but is always why it never truly achieves greatness . \\nso many things in the film we've seen before and done with more heart because the filmmakers concentrated just a bit more on story and character because they were limited . \\nbut this film is far from bad because it at least embraces the spirit of sheer fun at the movies . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i\\'m going to start this review off with a hypothetical question . \\nlet\\'s say you\\'ve just been in a car accident , and the driver of the other vehicle is unconscious . \\nyour friends have left to go get help , and you\\'re waiting to see if the victim wakes up . \\na tow-truck comes along , and the driver hops out of the truck to see what\\'s going on . \\nhe then proceeds to kill the unconscious victim by snapping his neck . \\ndo you : \\na ) run away screaming for your life , staying away from the main road , \\nb ) run away ( but not too fast ) and stay on the main road even when the madman in the truck starts following you , * stop * to catch your breath , try to negotiate with the psycho , and when that fails , start running away again , all the while * staying on the main road * ? \\nif you answered \" a \" , you are far more intelligent than the screenwriter of \" texas chainsaw massacre : the next generation \" and will likely hate this movie . \\nhowever , if you answered \" b \" , prepare to enjoy a film made with idiots like you in mind ! \\n \" texas chainsaw massacre : the next generation \" is being called a sequel , but it\\'s really more of a remake of the original . \\nthere\\'s a few changes here and there , but it\\'s essentially the same ( even the infamous \" meathook \" scene has been re-created . ) \\nthe story opens with four teenagers hitting the road on the night of their prom , and somehow ending up in the middle of nowhere . \\nneedless to say , they soon encounter leatherface and his nutty family . \\nmuch carnage ensues . \\nto call this movie inept would be putting it mildly . \\nin addition to the laughably idiotic situation i mentioned in my hypothetical question , there is a moment towards the end of the film where one of the baddies is killed by an airplane that literally comes out of nowhere . \\nit just swoops down and kills him with its wheel . \\nno explantion is given as to who was flying it or why he/she is going around killing people with the planes wheel . \\nthe dialogue is even more atrocious . \\nzellwegger , who is kidnapped by \" the family \" early on , keeps trying to have normal conversations with these people . \\nwhen you\\'re surrounded by maniacs wielding chainsaws and dead corpses , i would think that rationality would go out the window . \\nspeaking of going out the window , there is a scene in which zellwegger jumps out a window . \\napparently , the stunt double had a little trouble , because she visibly gets stuck in the window . \\nthe director quickly cuts to a wide shot where the stunt double * doesn\\'t * get caught in the window . \\nthis was one of many glaring inconsistencies . \\nthere are so many , in fact , that if i were to name them all , this review would be several pages long . \\nthe only reason i am giving this movie one star instead of no stars is because of matthew mcconaughey . \\nhe plays a member of \" the family \" with a hydraulic leg ( home-made , i might add ) and is so completely over-the-top , you can\\'t help but be amazed by his performance . \\nhe obviously had a lot of fun with this part , and it really shows . \\nhe makes jack nicholson\\'s portrayal of the psychotic inn keeper in \" the shining \" look restrained in comparison . \\nfor a horror movie , \" texas chainsaw massacre : the next generation \" contains surprisingly little gore . \\nin fact , in contains none . \\nthere\\'s a little blood here and there , but that\\'s as far as it goes . \\nwhich leads me to believe that the budget must have been * astonishingly * low , and it shows . \\neverything about the movie looks cheap , from the sets to the costumes . \\nespecially leatherface . \\nonce frightening and nightmare inducing , he\\'s now as terrifying as dame edna . \\ndo yourself a favor and take a pass at this remake . \\ncheck out the far superior original instead . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it was easy to fear the worst . \\nbegin with a classic 1960\\'s television series , add a big budget and an a-list star in the lead role , and stir . \\nscript , you ask ? \\nwho needs one , kid . . . \\nwe\\'ve got ourselves a formula . \\nthat was my fear : a bloated monster without any sense of direction . \\nthen , much to my amazement , everything that could possibly go wrong . . . \\ndidn\\'t . \\nthe fugitive is as lean , taut and tense as anything the action genre has produced in the last several years . \\nunder the direction of andrew davis ( 1992\\'s under siege ) , the fugitive grips you by the throat from the outset and never lets go . \\nexpect box office to go through the roof , deservedly , and expect an academy award nomination for tommy lee jones . \\nthe premise is a simple one . \\ndr . richard kimble ( harrison ford ) is wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife after struggling with the real killer , a man with an artificial arm . \\nafter an escape attempt by some other prisoners during a transfer goes awry , kimble finds himself on the run . \\nhis one goal : to find the one-armed man ( andreas katsulas ) before u . s . marshall sam gerard ( tommy lee jones ) finds him . \\nwhere the fugitive surprises the most is the script , by jeb stuart and david twohy . \\nin a genre where one is almost always asked to allow leaps of logic , the script repeatedly astonished me with its intelligence , its attention to detail and its respect for the audience . \\nin an early sequence , kimble sneaks into a hospital to shave of his beard , slick back his hair and change into a lab coat . \\non his way out , a police officer jokingly tells the man he doesn\\'t know is kimble to zip up his pants . \\nit\\'s a small moment , but it punches home the urgency of kimble\\'s situation , and exactly what a man concerned about not being recognized might easily forget . \\nlater , while trying to lose himself in a parade , kimble thinks to drop his overcoat , the most likely way he\\'d be recognized from behind . \\nit\\'s these details which convince us that when a colleague of kimble\\'s tells gerard that he\\'s too smart to be caught , he may just be right . \\ncredit must also be given to the special effects and stunt coordinators . \\nthe bus crash which allows kimble\\'s escape is a spectacular sequence , as is a leap from a dam into the water below . \\nthe action is crisp and brutal , and never romanticized . \\nspecial kudos go to director davis for maintaining a relentless pace which underscores the single-mindedness of the two leads . \\nand what a pair of performances those leads are . \\ntommy lee jones is nothing short of brilliant as gerard , because he manages an incredibly challenging feat . \\nfor the first third of the film , there is really no * villain * per se ; kimble is on the run , and gerard is out to find him . \\nit would have been very easy to turn gerard into a malevolent , vindictive inspector javert , but that never happens . \\ninstead jones plays him as a sharp , committed man who\\'s just doing his job , so that when he responds to kimble\\'s comment , \" i didn\\'t kill my wife , \" with a matter-of-fact , \" i don\\'t care , \" we know exactly what he means . \\nit\\'s not his job to determine guilt or innocence . \\nit\\'s his job to bring in a fugitive . \\nthis is a well- written character played with relish by an actor at the top of his form . \\nthe only unfortunate thing about jones\\' stunning turn is that it\\'s likely to overshadow harrison ford , and that\\'s a shame . \\nfor his entire career , ford has been underappreciated as an actor due to his pigeonholing as an action hero . \\nhowever , he does a fine job with the less flashy part of kimble , always keeping at the forefront the advantage this man has because of his intelligence . \\nthe fugitive could only work to its fullest if the two protagonists always seemed to be on equal footing , and ford is up to the task . \\nthis summer has been loaded with action/suspense films , and most of them have been doing brisk business . \\nhowever , it\\'s time for clint , sean , and various dinosaurs to step aside . \\nthe chase is on . \\nmy advice is to catch it . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"staring , george clooney , arnold schwarzenegger , chris o'donnell and uma thurman with alicia silverstone . \\nwell to start this off i'd just like to say a couple things . \\nfirst is , i miss michael keaton , i miss tim burton and would much prefer to think that these last two batman films are all like a dallas dream sequence . \\nnot even from the first film was batman really the 'star' though he was damn close in the first couple anyway . \\nin 'batman forever' and now in 'batman & robin' he's almost pushed to being a bit player . \\ni can't really say if clooney ( who regardless was better than kilmer ) was a very good batman or not . \\nhe's given next to nothing to do at all , he might as well not have been there and it wouldn't have made much difference . \\nnow , joel schumacher has said that he refuses to bend to the masses that have hated his films and cheered for the return of buton that he wont make batman brooding and dark . \\nfine , i mean granted 'batman returns' while being an awsome film was a bit to dark sometimes . \\nyet his bright neon , campy style is just killing anything this series meant to me . \\ni'm usually very easy on films . \\ni loved 'con air' and other films some critics have slammed . \\ngranted that film really was paper thin , cliche ridden , except for one thing , it was fun . \\nthere is virtually no fun in this film at all . \\ni couldn't have cared less . \\nit'll thrill the little ones as theres no violence really , none everyone comes out fine in the end like those old tv shows where it ends with everyone laughing . \\nschwarzenegger is awful , i mean really , really bad . . . \\nand this is coming from a regular fan of his work . \\ni love his movies most of the time and the basic reason is he never says much in any of them . \\nhe talks all to often in this movie . \\ni would have much prefered to have seen patric stewart in the roll . \\ni believe to truely like a film you have to care about at least someone in a film . \\ni liked alfred but the reason behind it is a cheap shot . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'as you should know , this summer has been less than memorable . \\nwith a total of 4 decent films , it\\'s not a surprise that these big budget failures keep appearing . \\nwith that said , you can pretty much predict what my opinion on \" the 13th warrior \" will be . \\nthe film is based on the michael crichton \" eaters of the dead \" , in which ahmed ibn fahdlan is banished from his country for looking at a wife of a king . \\nafter tarveling for many months , he comes across a gang of norsemen , who are forced to pick 13 men to protect a town from mythical monsters who travel in the fog . \\nso , they start picking men , and are left without 1 , thus ahmed is choosen . \\nso far it sounds interesting right ? \\nnot when all of this takes place in 15 minutes . \\nafter that , they basically run around killing . \\nthat alone shows how much a script is needed for a film , because once your story is introduced , you have the rest of the film to start developing it . \\nobviously that\\'s not the case here . \\neven if you are going into the film expecting an action packed adventure , you will be disappointed . \\nsince all the action takes place in fog , it is constantly hard to see a scene clearly due to those circumstances , and to poor camera work . \\ncan\\'t the camera men sit still ? \\ni\\'d like to actually watch a film in focus , but again , they failed to deliver that as well . \\nthe film moves on and on until the point , where you can care less about anything but the popcorn you\\'re eating . \\nwith corny dialogue , that the characters laugh at for some odd reason , a script that goes nowhere , dull action sequences , a predictable ending , and worst of all weak characters , there\\'s basically nothing to like here , except for maybe the set designs . \\nthat\\'s the only thing that honestly caught my interest . \\nwhen i heard that john mctiernan , the director , wanted his name kept out of the project , that made me wonder why ? \\nwell now i know . \\ncrichton\\'s greed forced mctiernan to edit his finished product , which led to a big arguement . \\nwhat\\'s there to argue about anyway ? \\nthe film couldn\\'t be saved , no matter how much they spent or casted . \\nseeing films like the haunting and big daddy making money , i wouldn\\'t be surprised to see \" the 13th warrior \" become a hit . \\nplease do me a favor and save your money at all costs , or else you will be lost in the fog , like the film itself . \\n',\n",
+       " b'preposterous religious action film ( produced by the trinity broadcasting network ) about a code hidden within the text of the bible that when deciphered will lead to the end of the world ( nice of those bible authors to put a doomsday code into the most read book ever eh ? ) . \\nmichael york plays a millionaire diplomat who breaks the code and sets out to become god on earth and fulfill the doomsday prophecies , while casper van dien ( terribly miscast and giving an awful performance as a result ) plays the atheist motivational speaker who must stop him . \\nmichael ironside ( great as always , despite the silly film surrounding him ) plays a fallen priest and right hand man to michael york\\'s character . \\nhere\\'s some subtle character development you may have missed pertaining to ironside\\'s character . \\nnow despite the fact that we see him murder a man in the opening scene , the filmmakers aren\\'t quite sure if their audience will understand that he is evil . \\nhow do they fix that ? \\nmake specific efforts to show that his character is the only one in the film who smokes ! \\nthere are lots of ominous shots of michael ironside smoking . . . \\noooooo scary . \\nbut even that wasn\\'t enough for the filmmakers apparently , as they later have to infer that ironside\\'s character is gay ! \\nit comes out of nowhere and just makes no sense . \\nmy main problem with this film is that , despite the silly story ( which could have been pulled off . . . \\nanything can be made believable if executed correctly ) , the events of the film aren\\'t shown with any sense of urgency or importance . \\nfor example , at one point york\\'s character is declared chancellor of the world or something , and we see one brief , cheesy news report about it . \\nthe movie keeps telling us that the apocalypse is coming , but it never seems that way . \\nthere\\'s no \" world reaction \" to anything . \\nthe omega code is available on dvd from goodtimes home video . \\nit contains the film in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 , and includes the original theatrical trailer , a documentary on the making of the film , production notes , and cast and crew information . \\nthe documentary runs about 25 minutes and is actually surprisingly good ( it looks as though it was made for broadcast on tbn ) , and it does a comprehensive job of interviewing practically everyone in the cast and crew ( with the exception of michael ironside , unfortunately ) . \\nthe best thing about it is that whenever crew members are interviewed , they do an excellent job of explaining their profession and exactly what it is they do on a movie set . \\nmost documentaries tend to overlook this . \\ndoomsday expert hal lindsey is even interviewed ( you\\'ll remember his documentary from the 1970\\'s called the late great planet earth , where lindsey speculated that jimmy carter might actually be the antichrist ) . \\nhowever , at the very beginning of the documentary the producers of the film managed to get on my bad side . \\nwhen interviewed they actually have the nerve to say \" ever see raiders of the lost ark ? \\nwell , our film is like that ! \" \\nno it isn\\'t . \\nnot by a long shot . \\n[pg-13] \\n',\n",
+       " b'some movies i should just skip . \\nmy daughter and i had a really vile time at my favorite martian a few weeks back , and here comes another disney effects-filled live-action flick based on an old tv program . \\ntrue , the probgram is only 15 years old this time , and it\\'s a cartoon . \\nbut it\\'s a cartoon i liked , and i was understandably reluctant to see what disney had done to it on the big screen . \\nbut my daughter really wanted to go , and how bad could it be ? \\nturns out i was right , mostly . \\ninspector gadget , oddly enough , follows almost exactly the same format as my favorite martian , down to the jive-talking side-kick . \\nat first i thought it was done by the same people , but imdb informs me that ig was directed by david kellogg and written by dana olsen and kerry ehrin , where mfm was directed by donald petrie and written by sherri stoner and deanna oliver . \\nthis odd similarity between the two movies may best be explained by the studio that produced it , where \" formula \" isn\\'t just business , it\\'s a way of life . \\nthe producers who obviously micromanaged the two projects should get prominant screen credits . \\nin some parts you can just hear them saying \" more zany ! \\ni want more zany here -- and -- here . \" \\n \" let\\'s have a really painful sexual reference for no reason right here -- make it really painful . \\ni want the audience squirming in their seats . \" \\n \" ok , that\\'s fine , but i want you to add bug guts . \" \\n \" what does this scene do ? \\ncharacter depth ? \\nbut where\\'s the zaniness ? \\ni don\\'t see zany here . \\nif you can\\'t make it zany , cut it ! \" \\nthe latter is the only explanation i can come up with for the absence of the thoroughly charming michelle trachtenberg for most of the movie . \\nmichelle ( who plays penny , gadget\\'s niece ) shines in every scene she\\'s in , but unfortunately she only gets about nine minutes of screen time . \\nmy guess is that the rest is on the cutting room floor . \\ndabney coleman\\'s comedic talents are utterly wasted as chief quimby . \\ni kept expecting him to say or do something really funny and somehow save the film , but instead , he does the best he can with some really poor lines in a few unexceptional scenes . \\nhe is thoroughly upstaged by cheri oteri as the \" gidget bitch from hell \" town mayor . \\noteri\\'s overly enthusiastic and continually self-congratulatory speech patterns and mannerisms were so much like portland , oregon\\'s own manic mayor vera katz that i had to wonder if the studio wasn\\'t poking fun at our fair town . \\nor , maybe all career politicians are like that . \\ni must say , matthew broderick does not stroll through inspector gadget as he did godzilla . \\nhe appears to have some fun with the film , especially as the evil gadget . \\nrupert everett is entertaining as the maniacle claw . \\njoely fisher does fine as the zany scientist and even better as the zany carbon copy of herself . \\nher performance is one of the few things worth watching in the film . \\nd . l . hughley plays the shuckin\\'-and-jivin\\' vehicular side-kick , in a role that firmly sets emancipation back 20 years . \\nthe dialog is . . . let\\'s face it , it\\'s pretty bad . \\nthe tag-line after a major set-piece battle is a faux pas that makes no sense in context . \\na lot of the lines ( especially hughley\\'s ) appear to be made up as they go along , by people with little gift for ad-lib . \\nabout three-quarters of the film is a somewhat unnecessary origin story for both gadget and claw . \\ngadget then spends the latter third of the movie trying to locate claw and having various altercations ( not really \" battles \" ) with the evil gadget . \\npenny does about a minute and a half of the detective work her character did every week in the cartoon . \\nlet me rage here just for a minute . \\nmichelle trachtenberg was an excellent choice for the penny character . \\nshe\\'s utterly charming , and has excellent experience ( harriet the spy ) for the part of the pint-size detective . \\nwhy she is so underutilized in this film is a real mystery . \\nthe film loses a star for casting brilliance coupled with scripting ( or editing ) stupidity . \\ninspector gadget is missing the long , long stretches of potty humor that ( among other things ) made my favorite martian so unbearable , but it\\'s a very short movie , so perhaps something was cut at the last moment . \\nprobably the best scenes in the film occur during the end credits . \\nthe \" evil sidekick support group \" is especially worth seeing , and has an amazing number of cameo appearances for the few seconds it\\'s onscreen . \\nall in all , another bad live action film from the premere studio for bad live action films . \\ni wonder if disney uses the revenues for it\\'s generally money-making cartoons to produce these losers . \\nbut if true , why ? \\nif they\\'re trying for another mary poppins , they need to find a team that can produce one , and then give them a chance to do it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'summary five liberal iowa graduate students share a house and carry on a tradition of a large sunday dinner . \\nfor a year now they have been inviting a guest for dinner and discussion . \\non this occasion one of the roommates , pete ( ron eldard ) , brings home a stranger who picked him up when his car broke down . \\nthe stranger is zack ( bill paxton ) who appears like a decent enough good samaritan . \\nnothing could be further from the truth . \\nafter some dinner conversation it appears that zack is , among other things , a racist \" you know my grandfather once said that if he knew you coloreds were going to be so much trouble we\\'d have picked the damn cotton ourselves \" , and an anti-semite . \\nan argument escalates at the dinner table and leads to violence . \\nafter zack assaults marc ( jonathan penner ) and pete , zack is killed . \\nthe roommates are at odds with what to do . \\nmarc , pete and paulie ( annabeth gish ) immediately wish to call the police . \\nluke ( courtney b . vance ) and jude ( cameron diaz ) suggest something different . \\nafter more discussion they agree to dispose of the body and cover it up . \\nthey do not want to be sent to jail for what they feel was a justifiable homicide . \\nwhen it is done the roommates realize that it was easier than they thought . \\nso easy in fact that they decide that every sunday their dinner guest would be someone who opposes of their views . \\nif they all agree that the guest deserves to die , they will poison them and bury them in the back yard . \\nthe back yard fills up rather quickly , its\\' victims including ( among others ) a right to life extremist , an anti-environmentalist and a homophobe . \\nby the time the roommates get to their tenth victim they begin to question their methods . \\nare they giving the guests a chance ? \\nare they even giving them good food anymore ? \\nthis film is what i like to call a \" hidden treasure \" . \\nthis film is such a pleasant surprise . \\na well written , devilish satire that is funny , sexy and original . \\nthis film should be a hit , but i guess the fact that it apparently had no marketing wouldn\\'t give it much of a chance . \\ni had never heard of it until i saw a copy at my video store . \\nstacy title does a wonderful job directing . \\nshe somehow finds the time to give all of the characters enough screen time to develop a distinct personality . \\n>from the five members of the house to other key characters including sheriff stanley ( nora dunn ) , the local law closing in on the truth , and the dream dinner guest , norman arbuthnot ( ron perlman ) , a rush limbaugh clone who should be the roommates easiest kill . \\nperlman gives the films\\' best performance . \\nhe finds the right note as the right wing big mouth who simultaneously offends and gains followers , and may just inadvertently talk his way out of death . \\nthe other actors are convincing as well , as all of the roommates deal with their murderous ways . \\nsome of the characters appear to be heading down the road towards insanity , while others grieve their decisions . \\nwhen friends ask me to recommend a movie , this is usually the first one i think of . \\ni am not saying that this is my favorite movie ( although it is in my top ten ) , but because the film was such a wonderful surprise , i have a fondness for it . \\ni also try to recommend films like this : ones that have not been seen by many people , but should . \\n',\n",
+       " b'for any groom on the verge of proposing marriage to his girlfriend , there are certain rules that he needs to follow . \\nfirstly , fill her life with happiness and romance during the courtship . \\nsecondly , buy her a beautiful ring that glitters as brightly as her eyes . \\nthirdly , find the perfect moment and location to propose . \\nfinally , the groom-wannabe should probably get her parent\\'s blessing . \\nof these four , the last one can be a nightmare . \\nmeeting parents is a rite of passage , fraught with unexpected questions , bouts of nervousness , the reality of being disliked , and the inability to make a positive impression . \\nif you\\'re lucky , things will go smoothly . \\nbut , if you\\'re greg focker ( ben stiller ) , everything will go wrong . \\nand with a name like that , how could it not ? \\nwhen greg first meets his fianc ? e\\'s father , jack byrnes ( the grimacing robert deniro ) , greg immediately feels overwhelmed and is put on the defensive . \\nwhen he tells jack that he\\'s a male nurse , the incorrigible dad shoots back , \" not many men in your profession , huh , greg ? \" \\nit\\'s definitely not a good start . \\nbut greg is determined to win him over , and it\\'s this desire that fuels the movie . \\nhe first takes small steps such as agreeing to say grace before dinner . \\nit doesn\\'t matter that he\\'s jewish . \\nif daddy byrnes asks him to say grace , then that\\'s what he\\'s going to gamely do . \\n \" oh god . . . you\\'re \\nsuch a good god \" , he moons . \\nhis discomfort at trying to force out a simple prayer will make you chuckle , but when jack gives him the \" deniro squint \" ( that familiar , unsettling gaze that gives deniro that aura of invincibility ) , it\\'s pretty hard not to grin . \\nthings get progressively worse for greg . \\nand that\\'s too bad because he\\'s a genuinely likable guy with a romantic heart . \\neventually , he begins to try so hard that he starts to mess everything up , committing a host of gaffes that embarrass , humiliate or injure other people . \\nit\\'s a never-ending ordeal of missteps , miscues , and mistakes . \\nhe buys some champagne , but uncorking the bottle leads to disastrous circumstances . \\nhe tries to find jack\\'s missing cat . \\nbut his method of solving the problem leads only to more trouble . \\nand there are several other episodes , each one trumping the next in outrageousness . \\nthe more our well-meaning beau screwed up , the more the audience groaned in sympathy . \\nwe liked greg . \\nand , we liked this movie . \\n \" meet the parents \" is a farcical comedy that certainly has its moments . \\njust sit back and watch greg get into trouble . \\nno matter what the situation , whether its playing a harmless game of water volleyball or sneaking a smoke on the roof of the house , things will horribly go wrong . \\nwe laugh at greg\\'s expense , but love often makes a person do dumb things , and ben stiller has the knack of playing the romantic fool . \\ndeniro is also affable , tough on the outside yet sentimental on the inside . \\ntheir tug-of-war is often funny , the slapstick is elaborate , and there are several topical throwaway gags ( mostly targeted at the airline industry ) to make this film an amusing yet smart lampoon about future in-laws from hell . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : this movie takes place over one day . \\nit\\'s a rookie cop\\'s narcotics training alongside a seasoned police veteran . \\nthe rookie doesn\\'t know much about \" street justice \" , so the older cop teaches him about the way things work in the \" real world \" . \\nhow even cops like themselves have to \" bend the rules \" and \" break the law \" every now and then , in order to catch the really bad guys . \\ncritique : a pretty intense little movie with solid acting across the board , some ups , some downs and a thrilling ending , despite a couple of small flaws . \\ni really enjoyed this movie because it followed two extreme characters and put them in situations which had me wondering about what i would do if i were in their place . \\nthe film gets right into the \" dirty \" side of , well . . . the \\ndirt on the streets , and proceeds to teach the rookie cop ( and us , the audience ) how things really work down there . \\nof course , we\\'re receiving this lesson from a man who has put away a lot of scum in his time , but the things he seems to be doing aren\\'t exactly on the up-and-up either . \\nand therein , lies the fun of the film . \\ndo you agree that you yourself would need to break a few small laws in order to put away the people who break the really big ones ? \\nwell , as the film moves along , we\\'re given two points of view in respect to this predicament , and to me , both sides made sense at some point or another . \\nand you gotta give a lot of credit to the screenplay for that , the director , who builds the film up wonderfully ( with the darkness of the day leading to the darkness in the script ) and the two actors who deliver their parts in spades . \\nhawke , first off , because he rarely plays these \" commercial \" roles but does so perfectly here , with a vulnerable side which has you feeling for the bastard right off the top . \\nand denzel , well , what can you say about mr . washington that hasn\\'t already been said before ? \\nhe comes through as per his usual high-level style here , and gives the audience a completely different side to his talent , of which , i personally would like to see more . \\nhe\\'s nice , he\\'s not so nice , he\\'s smart , he\\'s not so smart , he\\'s caring and he\\'s a dog all the way . \\nthe few problems that i did have with this film included the redundant nature of the whole thing at some point ( okay , we get it . . . you \\nhave to be nasty in order to deal with these nasty people . . . move on ) and this one really major \" coincidence \" which involved a bathtub , that saved the day for one character , but seemed a little too \" convenient \" for my taste . \\ni also never really understood how washington\\'s character got out of a certain dire predicament , only to be seen driving his car in the very next scene . \\nbut obviously these small flaws didn\\'t taint my overall enjoyment of this tense drama , a film that gets you right into the streets , into the nooks and the crannies , and into the moral dilemma which lies between the justice system and the day-to-day drug busts . \\nsee it if you want to wrestle with some of these issues yourself , see it if you want to see denzel and ethan strike up a palpable chemistry on-screen , and see it if you like holding on to your seat-handles real tight during a movie . \\nin fact , see it for the scene in which ethan hawke plays cards with a host of gang-bangers alone . . . dang , now that\\'s intense ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nthe corruptor ( 7/10 ) - crimson tide ( 9/10 ) - l . a . confidential ( /10 ) - lethal weapon ( 8/10 ) - requiem for a dream ( 8/10 ) - seven ( 10/10 ) - shaft ( 7/10 ) - traffic ( 8/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'there is a scene in patch adams in which patch is in the center of a courtroom , surrounded by people who are giving him a lively standing ovation because of his strong-worded attack on a group of stoic doctors . \\nwhen i noticed that the audience with whom i saw this film was reacting the same way , i realized that i was going to have a hard time finding someone who agrees with me about the quality of the picture . \\nyou see , patch adams revolted me beyond all boundaries . \\ni hated this movie for every second that i sat watching it , and i actively hate it now , days later , with the simpering , superficial , nauseatingly sentimental images forever plaguing my memories . \\ni hate every element of the film , beginning with tom shadyac\\'s shameless direction , and all the way up to the misguided and mishandled themes that the screenplay wants so desperately to convey . \\nthe badness of patch adams is stupefying . \\nit\\'s confounding . \\ni can\\'t believe a film can be this bad . \\nand yet , it\\'s based on a real man who probably has a good point to make . \\nin the film , patch is played by the undefeatable and indefatigable robin williams , in a performance of such insulting pathos and sledgehammer sympathy that i wonder now if he is even human . \\nin the beginning of the film , patch commits himself to a mental institution because he doesn\\'t want to kill himself . \\nwhile there , he notices that the doctors don\\'t care about the patients , and that the best way to get through to the patients is to treat them like human beings . \\nso , patch goes on a crusade to be a great doctor who actually talks to his patients . \\nhe goes to medical school , where he meets truman ( daniel london ) and convinces him that it\\'s good to help people . \\nhe also meets carin fischer ( monica potters ) , the anti-male med student who just wants to go through the motions and be a successful doctor . \\nnaturally , the dean of the medical school ( bob gunton ) hates patch , and wants to thwart his plans , even though patch gets the highest scores on all of his exams . \\nso patch decides that he\\'s going to build a free clinic in the middle of nowhere to help people with any problem they may have . \\nand that , my friends , is the synopsis for what is easily the most abhorrent picture of 1998 . \\non a superficial level , the film is not particularly bad : i wouldn\\'t say the cinematography bothered me , and most of the performances seem to be exactly what shadyac was aiming for ( i actually liked potter\\'s performance , even if she is wasted ) . \\nbut the film fails fundamentally in execution . \\nevery scene swells with grand , \" emotional \" music , played at maximum volume just to get us all to cry real hard . \\ntake , for instance , the first scene , which shows patch sitting on a bus . \\nwe don\\'t know patch yet , but there\\'s sad music , and it\\'s supposed to make us really sad that he\\'s sad . \\nlater on , patch makes a lot of progress : he helps a dying patient ( peter coyote ) to enjoy the last days of his life , and the music as patch is pushing the patient recklessly through the halls of the hospital is very lively . \\nand when that patient finally dies ( spoiler alert ! ) , the music is very very sad . \\nbut the problem with all of this is that the music should not be the center of the emotions . \\nreal drama is character-based . \\nyou grow to like someone , and then something bad happens , and you feel it . \\nwe don\\'t ever grow to know the dying patient ; he\\'s simply a vehicle for patch\\'s greatness . \\nreal drama doesn\\'t seem forced , or present just to make the audience cry . \\nthat\\'s why patch adams is not real drama . \\nit goes for every cheap tear imaginable , wringing tired and overbearing sentimentality out of every scene . \\neven scenes that have very little impact on the overall film are drowning in marc shaiman\\'s sickening musical score . \\nsentimentality like this is indeed bad . \\nbut it\\'s not as bad as half-baked , simplistic themes . \\nyou see , patch is a really great student . \\nhe aces his tests without studying , and does it so effectively that people think he\\'s cheating . \\nbut patch doesn\\'t think that memorizing facts is the way to become a good doctor . \\n \" why don\\'t we see patients until the third year ? \" he bursts out every three seconds . \\nwell , patch , that might have something to do with the fact that you need to learn something before you go treating patients . \\nnot everyone has the capability of memorizing facts with no effort . \\nmost of us have to study . \\nand a doctor who really wants to help , but doesn\\'t know a toe from a finger , probably won\\'t be too successful in preventing death . \\noh wait , i almost forgot : the point of doctors is not just to \" prevent death , \" but to \" improve the quality of life ! \" \\nyes ! \\nthat is true ! \\nand you can not do that without studying . \\nyou can not do that without going to medical school . \\nwhat patch never seemed to understand was the possibility that maybe , just maybe , it is a good idea to study first and talk to patients later . \\nfollow the rules ? \\nbah ! \\nwho needs the rules ! \\nonly uptight doctors follow the rules . \\nthe real saviors are the ones running around the hospitals with big red spheres on their faces and sporting baggy yellow pants . \\nand then there\\'s the free clinic issue , which i find shockingly , frighteningly idealistic . \\na free clinic . \\nin the middle of the forest . \\nwhere patients can be taken to be helped . \\nfor free . \\nhow will patients be transported to the free clinic ? \\nwill it have an emergency room ? \\nor is it just for mental patients ? \\nand who , may i ask , will pay for it ? \\nthe film does give some token attempts to question patch\\'s motives ( i think another character asks him how he\\'s going to pay for it , in addition to a little bit of meaningless blather about hmos and medical insurance ) , but they certainly don\\'t explore or challenge patch\\'s ideas to any meaningful extent . \\nreader , please understand this : i am not making any kind of judgment on the real patch adams . \\ni know nothing about him . \\nif his beliefs mirror those of this film character , then i might like to have an intelligent discussion with him about them . \\nbut regardless of what the real patch adams believes , the themes put forth in this film are simplistic and phony . \\nand in the last scene , the big , obligatory courtroom scene that forced my lunch halfway up my esophagus , patch does a lot of shouting . \\nactually , robin williams does a lot of shouting . \\nhe shouts a lot about helping people , and a lot of people cry because they are moved by his words . \\ni won\\'t tell you that you can\\'t be moved by his words , because i , too , was moved by his words . \\ni was moved in such a profoundly negative way that i was reminded of how cheap and phony a cinematic experience can be . \\npatch adams is the cheapest of them all . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one fun activity for parents during the holidays is to suggest an old film and see if they can interest their kids . \\nalthough black-and-white films are frequently viewed as suspect , ones in color are greeted with more of an open mind . \\nand if you can find a colorful action film , even if it is from six decades ago , then there is a real possibility of a take home hit . \\nso it was in our family when we wandered over to the classic section of our local video store the other day and picked up a copy of the adventures of robin hood , a high spirited version of the walter scott story . \\nnominated for the 1938 academy award for best picture and winner of three oscars for erich wolfgang korngold\\'s melodramatic music , ralph dawson\\'s fast paced editing and carl jules weyl\\'s lush sets , the film is probably best remembered for errol flynn\\'s charismatic acting as sir robin of locksley , a . k . a . robin hood . \\nflynn , with his handsome figure and toothy smile , charms the audience while clearly having a high old time himself . \\nlet me cut to the chase and say that the tape was indeed popular in the rhodes household . \\nthe littlest rhodes , jeffrey , age 8 , liked it so much that he viewed it at least three times and maybe more . \\ni\\'ll let him discuss his fascination with the picture in his usual section at the end of the review . \\nsimply stated , the film derives its success from being one of the best of its genre , the swashbuckler . \\nrobin , with a smile from ear-to-ear , fights off a hundred men without a scratch . \\nalthough the picture can be considered as little more than a 1930\\'s james bond , the production values and the acting raise it above that level . \\nrobin hood is a classic story of rich and poor . \\nrobin steals from the rich and gives to the poor as every schoolchild knows . \\nin this movie , however , he seems much less interested in income redistribution than in fighting for his king and country . \\nrobin , with his courage and athletic skills , serves as a role model for kids . \\nand with the lovely olivia de havilland playing the dreamy-eyed lady marian fitzswalter , the story has heavy romantic overtones . \\nfilmed in the typical , richly oversaturated colors produced by early technicolor , the flesh tones are overly pink and there few color subtleties , which match perfectly the wonderfully exaggerated acting of the players . \\nin scene after scene the picture charms the audience . \\nwho wouldn\\'t fall for robin as he shows up incognito to win the archery contest , even if the outcome is so clearly preordained . \\nand , of course , he doesn\\'t just win , he does so by splitting the other man\\'s arrow . \\nwatching the picture today does provide some jarring moments . \\nsherlock holmes as the villain , sir guy of gisbourne , for example , just doesn\\'t seem right , even if basil rathbone did have a real-life identity outside of his most famous role . \\nand then there are those wigs from the makeup department -- so bad , they look like rejects from a mel brooks comedy . \\nas was popular in the cinema of that era , people die with the most gentle prick of the sword and without any nasty , bloody holes to spoil the wardrobe or the looks . \\nbad guys are banished rather than killed , and lovers go off hand-in-hand , doing nothing more explicitly sexual than kissing . \\nthe result is a wonderful fairy tale of a movie with delightful , cartoonish figures . \\nhollywood rarely makes such high quality family films like this anymore , so try to savor the old ones when you can . \\nthe adventures of robin hood runs 1 : 42 . \\nit is not rated , but containing absolutely nothing offensive , it would get a g rating and is fine for all ages . \\njeffrey thinks the film is \" great \" and gives it * * * * . \\nhe recommends the movie particularly for people who do not likely bloody pictures -- he hates the sight of blood in movies . \\nhis favorite parts are the battles and the ending , and his favorite characters are robin and king richard ( ian hunter ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : cro-magnon ayla loses her mother to an earthquake and escapes certain death by a lion . \\nreluctantly rescued by a neanderthal clan who likes to have sex doggy-style , ayla grows up to become a blond , feminist supermodel who challenges the neanderthal patriarchy by throwing rocks and giving birth without a mate . \\ncomments : allow me to state for the record that i find daryl hannah an appealing presence in movies . \\nshe proved quite charming as the intelligent astronomer in the romantic comedy roxanne and equally creepy as pris in the sci-fi classic blade runner . \\nthe clan of the cave bear clearly tries to capitalize on hannah as a selling point : the poster art bears a striking closeup of hannah in tribal paint and the video box prominently features her name in lettering the same size as the title . \\nnot even her starring role in this turkey , unfortunately , can save it from being an unbelievable exercise in cheese . \\nit\\'s so uniquely bad ( a film dealing with prehistoric man that actually tries , and miserably fails , to be serious ) that it\\'s oddly fascinating . \\nthe ridiculous attempt at drama here leaves the audience somehow transfixed , wanting to see how this dud plays out . \\nthe clan of the cave bear is based upon a popular novel by jean m . auel . \\nto this day , the book possesses a loyal cult following . \\ni remember a dear friend of mine had a dog-eared copy of the novel she had read as a child with all the so-called dirty parts blacked out with marker by her grandmother . \\ni have never read this book , but i sure hope it\\'s 10 , 000 times better than its film adaptation . \\nif not , then i\\'m at a complete loss to explain its popularity . \\nthe clan of the cave bear immediately opens with a comically absurd scene . \\na young ayla , looking much like drew barrymore in e . t . , \\ntramps about in the woods . \\nwith her cute little ponytails and fur wrapped about her , the audience\\'s expectations of a convincing portrayal of prehistory are immediately shattered . \\nwhat follows is a laughably choreographed sequence in which an earthquake swallows up ayla\\'s mother ( a blonde with fur pants . . . er , \\nleggings ) . \\ntearful ayla looks on as the cameraman shakes the camera . . . well , \\nas the earthquake slowly recedes . \\na hungry lion becomes interested in her for lunch , but the screaming six-year-old manages to outrun the king of the wild and find a safe haven . \\ni won\\'t detail the story any further ; this seems enough to illustrate my point . \\nthis movie is really stupid . \\nit never even gives the audience a chance to suspend their disbelief . \\nalso , the obvious comparison between the appearance of cro-magnon man in prehistory and the rise of feminism in our century is about as subtle as burning a wonderbra in front of charlton heston . \\nthe movie doesn\\'t just suggest this message ; it whacks the message into the audience with a two-by-four . \\na blond , gorgeous woman challenges the social laws of a bunch of people in gaudy brown wigs . \\nshe\\'s of the \" new people \" ; they\\'re of the \" old people \" with \" the memories . \" \\nyep . \\nwe get it . \\nwe get it . \\nthe clan of the cave bear apparently received an academy award nomination for best make-up , which surprises me . \\nthe movie depends upon a lot of make-up obviously , but much of it is unconvincing . \\nas stated before , daryl hannah is daryl hannah here ; she looks like she just stepped out of the shower all the time . \\nthe rest of the characters have dark make-up of some sort smeared over them to look like dirt . \\nthe face-painting that\\'s occasionally seen is perhaps the only notable work here in my mind . \\nthis movie also suffers from its new age trappings . \\nmaybe the music sounded a lot more fresh or original during 1985 , but now it sounds dated and cliched , like poorly conceived elevator music . \\nadd to this the film\\'s faux-mysticism , including spirit animals and dream visions , and a narrator who sounds like a psychic you\\'d expect to hear on a 1-900 number , and you get a movie that has serious problems being serious . \\nthe clan of the cave bear is rated r , though it\\'s probably one of the most inoffensive offensive films i\\'ve seen in quite a while . \\nit contains several scenes of sex sans nudity . \\nthe violence mostly consists of hunting scenes . \\nthe funniest moment of the movie occurs when a neanderthal in love with ayla attempts to rescue her from a ferocious bear . \\nthe bear bites his head off and the audience sees it rolling about . \\nalthough this may sound gratuitous , i\\'m sure , it\\'s so cheesy that it probably won\\'t bother most people . \\nthe clan of the cave bear is a bad movie . \\nhowever , as i wrote at the beginning of this review , it does have the distinction of originality . \\ntypically when i think of bottom-of-the-barrel films dealing with early man , fantasy movies involving dinosaurs ( who did not exist at the same time as man ) and raquel welch come to mind . \\nthe clan of the cave bear tries so hard to be serious that , though it\\'s so bad , the audience is still interested by the unique setting and characters of the movie ( which is why i awarded this turkey two stars ) . \\ni have to think that fans of the book would be disappointed with this film version ; however , i\\'m only basing this observation on the fact that the book is almost invariably better than the movie . \\ni shudder to think that it could be otherwise . . . \\n',\n",
+       " b'frequency n . , \\nthe number of times a specified phenomenon occurs within a specified interval as the number of repetitions of a complete sequence of values of a periodic function per unit variation of an independent variable ? etc \\ndon\\'t worry . \\nwhen watching the thriller frequency , you won\\'t have to know what the heck frequency means . \\nthe premise , although it may sound complex , is very basic on the big screen . \\na new york cop , john , ( jim caviezel ) finds a radio in his house , which allows him to communicate with his new york firefighter father , frank , ( dennis quaid ) who died thirty years ago . \\nimmediately john warns his father that he will die trying to stop a fire in an abandoned warehouse . \\nwhen frank takes his advice and survives the accident he wasn\\'t supposed to , the two eventually realize that by changing that one moment in the past , they have created a whole new future in which a serial killer murders john\\'s mother and nine other women . \\nit is now up to john and frank to use their special connection and save thirty years ago to make present time a better place . \\n ( i told you that wasn\\'t confusing ? ) . \\noverall , i was very pleased with frequency . \\nit\\'s occasional sappy moments perfectly synchronized with its suspenseful serial killer scenes . \\ni usually don\\'t buy those cheesy \" i love you dad \" segments in movies , but this one surprisingly satisfied me . \\nmaybe because the plot is so creative and universal that i believed that this is how most people would act when talking to a dead relative . \\nfrequency\\'s creepy premise left me thinking once the film ended , what if ? \\nwhat would i do ? \\nwould i help my own family or save a historical figure from being assasinated ? \\nor stop some kids from shooting other kids ? \\nor buy stock from yahoo ! ? \\n ( a character in the film does the latter with humorous consequences ) . \\nfrequency also reminded me of the fantastic back to the future . \\nboth share that \" change the past slightly , and you\\'ll change the future heavily \" warning . \\nthe changes between the present and the past , such as different newspaper headlines or people disappearing and reappearing in photographs , are very similar . \\nboth are also wonderful feel-good family films that can attract to a number of generations . \\nthe only difference worth noting is that frequency\\'s final scene doesn\\'t set up a possibility for a lucrative sequel already in the making . \\nthere are some problems with the film though . \\nfirst , there is a major flaw in the story towards the end that is somewhat distracting ( email me if you have seen the movie and want to know what i think it is ) . \\nthe plot must have confused even the filmmakers who frequently ( no pun intended ) switch from 1969 to 1999 while telling the story . \\nanother problem is that the supporting cast , including noah emmerich and andre braugher , are underused . \\nwhile in the film , which is not enough , the aforementioned actors steal every scene they are in . \\nfrequency was a pleasant surprise for me and the audience i saw it with who cheered at the end . \\neven if you know what is going to happen or if you think the preview ruined the movie for you , like it almost did for me , check this movie out . \\nyou may be surprised as well . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if anyone had been able in 1983 to forsee a late-night cable show hosted by gilbert gottfried showcasing some of the worst films of the 80\\'s , they\\'d agree d . c . cab is the quintessential \" usa up all nite \" movie . \\nit\\'s one of those childish r-rated movies that kids would love but can\\'t see until it\\'s edited for tv . \\nit\\'s also one of those pointless , almost plotless movies with hardly any laughs . \\nand , strike three , it pairs mr . t with gary busey . \\ni heard gilbert say d . c . cab had \" an all-star cast , \" but i\\'m still hoping there was some degree of facetiousness in that statement . \\nwhen third-billing goes to a two-minute appearance by famed flashdancer irene cara \" as herself , \" you can\\'t say a damn thing about all-star casts . \\nlikewise for token appearances by marsha \" roz \" warfield , paul rodriguez and \" politically incorrect \" host bill maher , before he was somebody . \\nappearing in d . c . cab pretty much had the opposite effect on everyone else , especially irene \" i\\'m gonna live forever \" cara . \\nd . c . cab is an ensemble comedy from joel schumacher ( who would go on to direct batman forever ) about a bunch of misfits who drive cabs . \\nyou get the feeling if the police academy cadets had made a different career choice , this would be the result , except here you have such interesting characters as the \" token white guy \" ( busey ) who wants to get in tight with the blacks now before they take over the world , the token jive talker named tyrone ( charlie barnett ) who wears his hair in rollers and uses the word \" honkey \" as much as possible , the tough guy with the mohawk and gold chains ( mr . t -- a real stretch for him ) , the aspiring musician waiting for his big break ( maher ) , the mexican gigolo ( rodriguez ) , the woman who actually wants to drive cabs for a living ( warfield ) and the guy who wants to own a cab company for a living ( adam baldwin ) . \\nwe\\'ve all seen dozens of bad comedies from the 80\\'s . \\nsome are fun to watch and some are actually funny . \\nthis one is more or less neither . \\nyou\\'d think plenty of comedic sparks would fly from the assemblage of talent ( whatever ) , but d . c . cab more or less falls flat on a continual basis , culminating in the usual contrived hollywood finale as baldwin is kidnapped and the other cabbies have to go to rescue him . \\nit\\'s a shame no one was able to rescue this movie from the depths of stale jokes and unoriginality . \\nd . c . cab has rightly earned its position on \" usa up all nite . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b\"a sci fi/comedy starring jack nicholson , pierce brosnan , annette benning , glenn close , martin short and other stars . \\na warner bros picture \\nthe martians have landed in this hillarous tim burton movie . \\nbefore entering the cinema , i was initially a little bit nervous about what this film would be like . \\nmany people were saying that this film was silly rubbish , and there was no point to it all . \\nhow wrong they were . \\ni left this film feeling much happier than i was before i entered the cinema . \\nthe story is about martians attacking earth . \\nusing ray guns ( hooray ! ) \\nthey generally cause havoc around the u . s and other countries . \\nnicholson plays the president who must try to stop invasion , and also taking advice from his loopy officials . \\nbut , basically , its a load of set pieces showing the martians destroying earth . \\nthe way people are killed by the ray guns is great , they is a hillarous ( and mildly disturbing scene ) involving a martian lady , a mad general who just wants to nuke the aliens away , ( and ends up getting squashed by an aliens foot ) and a gory finale involving lots of alien heads exploding . \\nbut , most of all , this film is fun . \\nthe martians are full of character , the performances are spot on , and the all star cast help make the film more enjoyable . \\nthe film is a million times better then the dire independance day , and is a real tribute to the tacky '50s invasion movies . \\nthey are is a great score by danny elfman , and lots of laughs . \\nthis has to be the best invasion i've seen for a long time . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'if you have ever seen fox tv\\'s special car chase programs , you\\'ll have a good idea about the content of ronin , the new action \" thriller \" from director john frankenheimer . \\nthe film involves a mysterious briefcase , that several groups of terrorist want to get their hands on . \\nan irish women , dierdre ( played by the truman show\\'s natascha mcelhone ) , hires a group of mercenaries to assist her in getting the briefcase . \\namong the people she hires are sam ( robert de niro ) , vincent ( jean reno ) , and gregor ( stellan skarsg ? rd from good will hunting ) . \\ndierdre\\'s groups assignment is too seize the briefcase while the current owners are transporting it . \\nthey accomplish this task , but a traitor is in the bunch and the briefcase is soon on the run again . \\nthe briefcase stays on the run , as the movie leads the viewer through several plot twists that are badly executed . \\nthe writer seemed to be attempting to make a smart action movie , but failed to understand that just because there are surprises , it doesn\\'t add too the credibility of a senseless script . \\nthe plot twists get no reaction because they come at a time where no one cares what is going on , after the apparent climax of the film . \\nbut to add to the excitement , as i mentioned earlier , there are endless car chase scenes . \\nthey are unrealistic and fail to add anything to the story . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , i love car chases , but they were overdone and too long here . \\nwe never do find out what\\'s in the briefcase , but i doubt anyone cares by the time they finish sitting through this two hour long attempted thriller . \\n',\n",
+       " b'while alex browning ( devon sawa ) waits at jfk to leave for a school trip to paris , bad omens seem to surround him . \\nas soon as he buckles into the plane , he has a vision of the plane exploding seconds after take-off . \\nwhen the vision begins to come true , alex bolts for the door , dragging several students and a teacher in his wake . \\nthe plane takes off without them and explodes just as alex predicted . \\nhe becomes an object of fear and suspicion among the community , and the tension only increases as the survivors begin to die . \\nalex and another survivor , clear rivers ( ali larter ) , investigate the suspicious \" suicide \" of a friend , and a mortician ( tony \" candyman \" todd ) clues them in to the truth : alex interrupted death\\'s design by saving people who should have died in the explosion , and death will want to claim its rightful victims . \\nin order to save himself and the others , alex will have to figure out death\\'s new plan and thwart it . \\nof the countless horror films that have competed for a piece of the \" scream \" audience , \" final destination \" is the best so far . \\ntalented young screenwriter jeffrey reddick offers a fresh variation on a familiar formula . \\nwe\\'ve seen hundreds of movies where a group of teenagers are murdered one-by-one by a faceless slasher , but reddick cuts out the hockey-masked middle-man and makes the villain death itself . \\nfirst-time feature director james wong made the most of that premise . \\nevery scene is permeated with creepiness and foreboding , reminding us that death is everywhere , can come at anytime . \\neveryday objects and events vibrate with menace . \\nthe most amusing harbinger of doom : john denver\\'s \" rocky mountain high , \" which is played several times in the movie before someone dies . \\n ( the link is that denver died in a plane crash , and the song includes a line about fire in the sky . ) \\nthe performances are stronger than those usually elicited by teen horror . \\ndevon sawa , who previously starred in another horror flick , \" idle hands , \" gives a frantic and convincing lead performance . \\nkerr smith is carter hogan , an antagonist of alex\\'s whose quick temper causes him to pulled off the fatal plane . \\nsmith plays carter as filled with anger and confusion that constantly threatens to bubble over into violence . \\nseann william scott , who\\'s also in theaters right now in \" road trip , \" plays the somewhat dim billy hitchcock and provides a needed counterpoint to the intensity of alex and carter . \\ntony todd\\'s one-scene cameo is delicious but all too brief . \\nbottom line : watchable teen fright flicks are few and far between , but this destination is worth visiting . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when a someone journeys to the theater to see a comedy , he always risks having to sit through inanity such as what we recently saw in films like edtv and office space . \\nit really is too bad that comedies are so hit- and-miss , because when a moviegoer goes in a theater expecting to be amused , it really is a shame when the alleged comedy fails to deliver . \\nbut weep not , dear readers , because the latest comedy out of the hollywood movie mill is nothing less than a sure bet . \\naustin powers : the spy who shagged me is one of the funniest things i\\'ve had the pleasure to see in a long time ; a completely looney , delightful parody of the often pretentious james bond flicks . \\nif all comedies ( or even half ; or - - what am i saying ? \\n-- even a fifth of them ) could be this consistently hysterical , i would take up residence at my local multiplex . \\neven more to this movie\\'s credit is the fact that it is a sequel to the 1997 sleeper/cult hit austin powers : international man of mystery . \\nthe original came out of nowhere ; it was a low-budget , eccentric movie that many expected to flop like a leslie nielsen parody . \\nall of a sudden it was being quoted by teenagers all over america . \\nironically , powers\\' \" yeeeeah baby , yeah ! \" \\nhas almost become an icon of the late 90s . \\nthus another installment was inevitable , but it\\'s also undoubtedly welcome . \\nthe spy who shagged me is one of the most unrestrained , over- the-top comedies i have ever seen in my entire life . \\nit brings back most of the characters from its predecessor ( even if only briefly ) and adds new ones . \\naustin powers ( mike myers ) , a swinging hipster from the 60s transported into the 90s has to go back to his own time to get back his mojo ( oh , you\\'ll figure it out ) , which dr . evil ( meyers again ) has stolen . \\nhe enlists the help of a gorgeous secret agent felicity shagwell ( now that his prior sidekick vanessa has been properly disposed of in a hilarious opening sequence ) , played without much distinguishable gusto by heather graham and together they go back to the 60s to defeat dr . evil yet again . \\nsurprisingly , the real star is dr . evil rather than austin . \\nhe gets most of the screen time because he was so popular in the first movie . \\nperhaps this is true because he is portrayed and written so affectionately . \\ninstead of being the scheming , villainous mad scientist we might expect from a character like this he is a bumbling , often sweet mad scientist wannabe . \\nthe spy who shagged me has much of the same stuff we saw in the original , but that\\'s okay by me because the original left us wanting more . \\nby the time that one was over we haven\\'t had nearly our share of shag jokes , crude puns and powers\\' antics and this sequel satisfies our appetites . \\neven by its conclusions , i\\'m still not sure i\\'ve had my fill of bits like \" do you smoke after sex ? \" \\n \" i don\\'t know , baby , i never looked . \" \\nthis may seem awfully immature of me , but understand that the austin powers series , unlike most of the crap hollywood feeds us these days , is genuinely funny . \\ni don\\'t know if i\\'ve ever laughed harder at any movie than i did during the jerry springer send up or the indubitably hilarious \" just the two of us \" rendition by dr . evil and his new miniature clone named \" mini-me \" . \\ni don\\'t have any pretensions that this is particularly smart social satire or anything of the sort . \\nindeed there is little beyond the joy a viewer feels when he sees something that is able to entertain him as much as this movie did . \\nbut as far as i\\'m concerned , that is enough . \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov &#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b'i know that \" funnest \" isn\\'t a word . \\n \" fun \" is a noun , and therefore cannot be conjugated like an adjective . \\nbut that\\'s the word that came to me right after viewing \" chicken run . \" \\nno wonder : this is the kind of movie that reduces you to childish expressions , like \" that was the funnest movie i\\'ve ever seen ! \" \\nso to hell with webster\\'s -- \" chicken run \" is one of the funnest movies i\\'ve seen in a while . \\ni can\\'t remember the last time i\\'ve seen anything funner . \\nthe chickens at tweedy\\'s farm are up to something . \\nliving in a concentration camp-like atmosphere , they are led by one plucky hen called ginger ( voice of julia sawalha ) who continually comes up with plans for escape -- and always gets caught , subsequently spending day after day in the coal box . \\none night , a brash american rooster flies in over the fence , calling himself rocky ( mel gibson ) , famous flying rooster and circus performer . \\nrocky promises to teach the chickens how to fly , and the situation grows more desperate as the nefarious mrs . tweedy ( miranda richardson ) decides to abandon the farm\\'s egg-selling plan for a pie-selling plan . \\nshe orders a huge pie-making machine , cackling , \" chickens go in ; pies come out . \" \\nwhat sort of pies ? \\nchicken pies , of course . \\nco-director nick park and his studio , aardman animation , produced three oscar-winning short films : \" creature comforts , \" \" the wrong trousers , \" and \" a close shave . \" \\nthe latter two were the second and third installments of a trilogy starring the delightful team wallace & gromit , a man and his dog famous for getting themselves into increasingly peculiar adventures . \\npart of what made the \" wallace \" films brilliantly entertaining was park\\'s uncanny ability to make an old story seem new . \\n \" the wrong trousers , \" for example , pulled out a lot of old hitchcockian suspense tricks , and \" a close shave \" owed a great deal of inspiration to classic detective stories . \\nbut in the hands of park and his team , the stories felt fresh and inspired , and not the least bit contrived . \\nnow teaming with co-director peter lord , park has created a similar creature in \" chicken run . \" \\nthe plot is largely lifted from \" the great escape \" ( watch for a quick reference to the ball-bouncing scene ) , with some spielberg-inspired action sequences providing the excitement . \\nthing is , the film doesn\\'t feel like it\\'s been lifted from somewhere else ; \" chicken run \" feels fresh , alive , like nothing else ever done . \\npart of it is the original idea : who in the world came up with the idea to make a prisoners-of-war movie starring chickens ? \\npark and lord milk the incongruity for all it\\'s worth : the characters treat their situation as if it were dead serious , and to them , it is . \\nbut they\\'re * chickens * , so it\\'s funny to us . \\nanother thing that helps \" chicken run \" ( and most of park\\'s films ) succeed is the animators\\' subtle way of giving nods to the very films they\\'re cribbing . \\nthere are references to \" the great escape , \" obviously , and \" stalag 17 . \" \\nthe chase sequence inside the chicken grinder parodies both \" raiders of the lost ark \" and \" indiana jones and the temple of doom . \" \\nthere\\'s even a nod to \" the blues brothers , \" if you can believe it , and the filmmakers even get in a little light-hearted ribbing at the expense of their star voice actor , taking a couple of very subtle jabs at mel gibson\\'s nationality and film history . \\nthe \" braveheart \" reference is a hoot if you catch it . \\nwhen you consider just how fine a line resides between a funny parody and a redundant one , \" chicken run \" is downright brilliant in its execution . \\nconsider this : since july of last year , i\\'ve seen dozens upon dozens of \" blair witch project \" parodies , on television , on the radio , and online . \\nout of all those , maybe one or two were amusing , the rest tiresome . \\nwhy ? \\nbecause once you got past the thought that \" they\\'re parodying that \\'blair witch\\' movie , \" most of the parodies had nothing to offer -- no insight , no original idea , no greater purpose . \\nthey were only funny if you had seen the movie ; otherwise , you got nothing . \\nconversely , \" chicken run \" doesn\\'t lean on its parodies -- the film references are never the sole focus of any scene . \\nif you\\'ve never seen \" indiana jones , \" the chase sequence is still fun . \\neven if you have no idea who mel gibson is , rocky remains an interesting character . \\npark , lord , and screenwriter karey kirkpatrick realize that an audience does not need a parody shoved in their faces before it\\'s understood , and as a result , \" chicken run \" is filled with visual and verbal jabs that are never too obvious , but not quite vague either . \\nenjoyment of this movie doesn\\'t require knowledge of film history , but if you\\'ve got it , \" chicken run \" is that much richer . \\nthe voice cast turns in uniformly lively performances , and the characters they play are given so many subtle nuances that it\\'s hard not to fall in love with every one of them . \\nginger is perfect , spunky and opinionated , but with a soft heart that forbids her to leave her companions behind , and julia sawalha ( known as the cute mousy girl on \" absolutely fabulous \" ) nails it . \\nshe has warm , human chemistry with gibson , whose rocky hides his personal doubt under a brash gung-ho veneer . \\nthe characters\\' inevitable romance doesn\\'t feel contrived , but sweet . \\npoor mr . tweedy ( tony haygarth ) suspects the chickens are organizing in some way , but his limited intellect prevents him from figuring things out , and his overbearing wife certainly isn\\'t any help . \\njane horrocks delivers a lovely voice characterization as tragically optimistic babs ( a hen that runs away with most of the best one-liners , all while perpetually crocheting a sweater ) , and two supply-trading rats that seem to have walked straight out of a monty python sketch nearly steal the show during the lively central swing-dancing sequence . \\nthey even come up with an inspired riff on something that\\'s baffled scholars and theologians alike for decades : the chicken vs . egg dilemma . \\none might have expected this inevitable joke to come off as wearisome , but as with most of \" chicken run , \" it comes as a delightful surprise . \\nthe film manages to cross all barriers ; it should be accessible to both children and adults , brits and yanks , rats and chickens . \\nthe animation is first-rate . \\nremember that this was all done the old-fashioned way , with actual humans moving clay figurines around on a tiny set bit by painstaking bit , and you see just how truly remarkable \" chicken run \" really is . \\nthis movie possesses that same quality that makes pixar studios\\' animation great : precise and unwavering attention to detail . \\nas in such top-notch family fare as \" a bug\\'s life \" or \" toy story 2 , \" \" chicken run \" has something to offer in nearly every frame . \\ncertainly a passive viewer can enjoy it as a straightforward story with a worthwhile moral and some surprisingly touching scenes , but a active , attentive viewers will enjoy it even more because they\\'ll catch all the details . \\nanyway , the movie\\'s just a boatload of fun . \\nfunnest damn movie i\\'ve seen all year . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in the year 2029 , captain leo davidson ( mark wahlberg , \" boogie nights \" ) is training \\'his\\' chimp pericles to pilot a pod from the usaf oberon space station . \\nwhen an electromagnetic storm is encountered and pericles\\' pod is lost , davidson sets out unauthorized and lands thousands of years in the future on the \" planet of the apes . \" \\nmaybe if 20th century fox had set the proverbial 100 chimps in front of typewriters they would have gotten a better results than this adaptation of the pierre boulle novel by william broyles jr . ( \" cast away \" ) , and lawrence konner & mark d . rosenthal ( \" mighty joe young \" ) . \\ndirector tim burton\\'s unique look and style are nowhere to be found in this silly , pointless remake . \\ndavidson no sooner lands than he finds himself being swarmed by savages running in terror , whom he wisely joins . \\nhowever , he\\'s rounded up with the lot of them by the apes which rule this plant and handed over to slave trader limbo ( paul giamatti , \" duets \" ) . \\nari ( helena bonham carter , \" fight club \" ) , daughter of the illustrious senator sandar ( david warner , \" titanic \" ) and simian bleeding heart , believes humans should live with apes on equal standing , an unpopular notion . \\nshe takes a liking to leo , who she deems \\'unusual . \\' \\ngeneral thade ( tim roth , \" lucky numbers \" ) is of the opposite opinion , wishing for declaration of martial law that will allow him to annihilate the race . \\nhe\\'s sweet on ari . \\nit\\'s relatively easy to see where this \\'new\\' story is going from the onset , yet its ultimate revelation has gaping logic holes . \\nthe much ballyhooed \\'surprise\\' ending is a nonsensical let down . \\nan attempt at a love triangle , conveyed by ari and the human daena ( estella warren , \" driven \" ) giving each other \\'back off\\' looks over leo , fails because he never develops a relationship with either of them . \\nthe lone sex scene is some hilarious foreplay between elder orangutan senator nado ( glenn shadix ) and his trophy wife nova ( burton\\'s squeeze , lisa marie ) . \\nguffaws will also likely greet charlton heston\\'s cameo as thade\\'s father , the one ape harboring a firearm ( ! ) who sputters some very familiar lines before dying . \\nthe only real success of the 2001 \" planet of the apes \" is rick baker\\'s makeup , and even that\\'s an iffy affair . \\nno attempt was made to change the human whiteness of the actors\\' eyes , a real distraction amidst some otherwise impressive work . \\nroth , warner and michael clarke duncan ( as thade\\'s right hand man attar ) are given the most impressive makeovers . \\ngiamatti looks more like a skull than an ape and the female apes are too humanized to be given sexual appeal . \\ntim roth delivers the most impressive acting job by getting the body language right - his nasty chimpanzee character leaps about , most spectacularly when mounting his steed , but even\\'s he\\'s undone by some obvious wire work . \\nbonham carter delivers a goodly range of emotion from behind a stiff prosthetic , but is undone in turn by the silliness of the writing . \\nmost of the film has a set bound look which no amount of mist can cover . \\nthe ape\\'s city resembles a dank complex of tree houses . \\nthe apes\\' military costumes ( colleen atwood , \" sleepy hollow \" ) as well as their field tents are reminiscent of eiko ishioka\\'s work on coppola\\'s \" dracula . \" \\nthat oriental flavor is also found in danny elfman\\'s tribal , percussive score . \\n \" planet of the apes \" was the last blockbuster hope for the summer of 2001 , a dismal movie season that\\'s going to the dogs . \\n',\n",
+       " b'here is a film that is so unexpected , so scary , and so original that it caught me off guard and threw me for a loop . \\nokay , it isn\\'t quite original , considering it is a sequel to the box office hit species , but it certainly is smart . \\nmost films of this genre are reminiscent of those cheesy b-horror films from the 50s and 60s , and some even become them . \\nhowever , as we learned with the 1995 small-budget horror/sci-fi film , sometimes expectations can be shattered . \\na lot of criticism has gone against this film ( from what i have read so far , anyway--yep , all two reviews ) , and it makes me wonder why these types of films are automatically dismissed as gory , laughable pieces of trash . \\nbut , the thing is , it isn\\'t . \\nit\\'s well made , well acted , and quite intelligent . \\ni can see most of the critics now complaining about the level of gore or the level of sexuality in the film . \\nbut the species series isn\\'t about the lack of these elements . \\nit\\'s about how much it can get into one film . \\nand yet , behind it all , it has this basic premise that allows it to get away with doing so . \\nspecies ii begins in the present day , though it seems to be an alternate universe . \\nmany films ( especially sci-fi ones ) create similar timelines as our realistic one , but change it to fit the film\\'s needs . \\nspecies ii begins with the arrival of an american spacecraft , the excursion , landing on the surface of mars . \\naboard is patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , a very bright and very handsome astronaut . \\npatrick is the son of senator ross ( james cromwell ) , who just wants patrick to succeed . \\nwell , it would seem that he has succeeded . \\nlanding on the surface of mars , he is the first human being to ever do so . \\nof course , he isn\\'t the first ever . \\nabout a billion years ago , an alien species supposedly landed on mars and destroyed the perfect living conditions that were able to sustain life . \\nnow , of course , the red planet is cold and rocky . \\nno life lives on it . \\nthat is , no visible life . \\npatrick , upon leaving the spacecraft and landing on the red soil , collects samples from the ground . \\nhe takes them aboard , and puts them in storage . \\nunfortunately , one of the samples contains a form of life , and it gets loose when it is heated aboard the ship . \\njust prior to heading back to earth , this life form creeps along the floor and inhabits the earthlings . \\nthey pass out for approximately seven minutes , and then shrug it off as nothing , because they can\\'t even remember . \\nthey blame it on a technical malfunction . \\nback on earth , patrick begins to have strong urges to mate with as many women as possible . \\nas we know from the original , this is because the alien wants to breed and take over the planet . \\nhowever , the children that are bred are half-human , as their father is . \\npatrick is really looking for another alien to breed with , and he finds it in eve ( natasha henstridge ) . \\neve was cloned from dna taken from sil , the original alien . \\nhowever , this time around , most of her \" alien \" urges have been either decreased dramatically , or lie dormant . \\nthe project is led by dr . laura baker ( marg helgenberger , reprising her role from species ) , and her motives seem respectable . \\nsince she was involved with the original alien attack , she wants to learn how to stop the alien should it come again . \\nand it has . \\nstory-wise , species ii is much stronger than its predecessor , but it is also much stronger than , say , aliens ( hey , i love the film , but you can\\'t tell me it was strong on story ) . \\nwhat surprised me the most with this film was the incorporation of historical facts into the screenplay . \\nin my search for extraterrestrial intelligence course in college , we learned about a piece of rock from mars which landed in one of the poles . \\nthis piece of rock contained fossils which may have been proof of life on mars ( later , it was proven that it was not a living creature that created it ) . \\nthe script uses this effectively , but also manages to provide a well-balanced plot . \\nbeginning with the first man on mars ( something i have always dreamed of seeing ) , i was hoping that the film would turn this element into a useful starting point for the movie . \\nand it does it quite well . \\nthe characters are all smart , and they know what to do and what not to do . \\nthe only character that seems a little cliched is the general ( george dzundza ) , and yet , he remains logical in everything he does . \\nthere are the obvious flaws of course , mostly lying in the technical aspects . \\nthe special effects are only mediocre , and some are just plain bad . \\nbut for the most part , they remain believable ( i even noticed a homage to the alien series when the mothers gave birth to alien children ) . \\nalso , the most realistic ones are usually the goriest , ranging from people being torn open , or someone\\'s head being blown off . \\nhowever , some plot elements also may elicit laughs from the audience , including a menage a troi that is all but necessary . \\nmany people dislike the species series because all it is is an excuse for sex , nudity , and gory violence . \\nhowever , i tend to disagree . \\nwhat were the alien films about ? \\nand , if an alien species ever did come to earth , and their sole purpose was to destroy us , wouldn\\'t you mate as quickly as possible with as many people as possible ? \\nmy only gripe with this is during the scene where patrick goes searching for a mate in a grocery store . \\ni didn\\'t realize that aliens were that picky on choosing women to mate with ( i just assume it is his part-human side looking for the most beautiful one ) . \\nthe acting is quite good for this kind of film . \\nit is a vast improvement over the first film , at least . \\nthe acting is the key element to this film : if it was bad , it would have lowered itself into camp ; if it was good , it would have asked for comparison with films like aliens . \\nokay , so it isn\\'t that good . \\ngeorge dzundza is probably the most obvious mistake on casting , as his over-the-top impersonation of a general makes him annoying and distracting . \\nnatasha henstridge is limited this time around , as she is usually enclosed in a cage . \\nhowever , she does manage a very impressive performance with this aspect hindering any of her talent . \\noh yeah , and she\\'s quite fun to just plain watch . \\nmarg helgenberger is immensely better this time around , and her performance is probably the best in this film . \\nmichael madsen is so-so , but he isn\\'t annoying , and he soon becomes rather appealing ( with his nice cynic personality ) . \\njames cromwell has a small part , but he makes it much better than what it could have been with a more incapable actor . \\nas i say , any film with james cromwell dramatically increases in likeability . \\nmykelti williamson gives an enjoyable performance , and he gives the film a more down-to-earth feel . \\nand , of course , justin lazard . \\nlazard has so far been ridiculed for his performance , but i think he is effective . \\nsure , he is wooden , but isn\\'t that what his character is like ? \\nthe moment when he touches the glass separating henstridge from him was extremely well done , due to the couple\\'s acting . \\nspecies ii is rated r for strong sexuality , sci-fi violence/gore and language . \\nthis is definitely an r rated film that young kids should not see . \\nmore than likely , they would probably have nightmares and never have sex for the rest of their lives . \\nhell , i don\\'t even know if i will . \\nwhat is sure to be a critically lambasted film turns out to be the surprise film of the year . \\ni probably won\\'t see another film where i was expecting so little and got so much for quite a while . \\ndirector peter medak has crafted a very suspenseful , and sometimes very scary movie out of a mediocre series . \\nmedak has also mastered the wonderful \" jump ! \" \\nmoments , and has probably the second scariest moment i have ever seen on film ( scream still has the first ) . \\nstrong acting , smart dialogue , intelligent plotting , and a sure-handed director , species ii is exactly what these films should be : entertaining . \\n',\n",
+       " b'not since oliver stone\\'s natural born killers has there been a movie this incendiary , and not since david cronenberg has a so-called mainstream director been this willing to repeatedly tiptoe the fine line between pointed social commentary and outright social irresponsibility . \\nwhile fincher\\'s films have never suffered from a lack of shock value ( his major character killings in both alien 3 and seven are fine examples ) , fight club marks the distillation of his pitch-black comedic sensibility ( see 1997\\'s the game ) into something like a definitive statement . \\njack ( norton , acting as both narrator and protagonist ) is your typical cubicle clone , whose disillusionment is amplified by a seemingly incurable insomnia . \\non the offhand advice of a doctor , he sits in on group-therapy sessions for everything from blood parasites to testicular cancer . \\nhere he meets bob ( marvin lee aday , aka meat loaf ) , a cancer-emasculated eunuch with profound gynecomastia . \\nstrangely , the release he finds while sobbing on bob\\'s breasts allows him to sleep at night , at least until a fellow group-therapy \" tourist \" named marla singer ( carter ) comes along to ruin things for him , forcing a grudging compromise that recalls monty python in its dark hilarity . \\nlater , he meets tyler durden ( pitt ) , a soap salesman with a decidedly subversive outlook on life . \\none night , after his ikea- furnished condo explodes ( don\\'t ask-- you\\'ll just have to see the movie , awright ? ) , he is goaded by tyler into a fight , and damned if it doesn\\'t feel good . \\nit is pure , raw existence , a brief moment of clarity and purpose that makes his dreary workaday life pale in comparison . \\nhe moves into tyler\\'s squalid abandoned mansion , and they form the titular organization , an underground therapy group where men bond with bare-knuckle savagery and very few rules , the first two of which are \" don\\'t talk about fight club . \" \\narmed with charisma and an attractive anti-corporate philosophy , tyler assumes leadership of the burgeoning membership of white-collar slaves and dead-end mcemployees . \\nresentment creeps into jack\\'s heart , made worse by the fact that tyler is also regularly and noisily boffing the hated marla . \\nfunded by a frivolous lawsuit , tyler begins molding his devotees into an army dedicated to mischief and mayhem . \\ntheir initially juvenile pranks ( like pissing in food and putting spike belts on roads ) quickly evolve into something more like sedition , and jack fears that things have gone sour . \\nit is after this point , when you are plenty uncomfortable and wondering just how far fincher will go to say something original , that the film uncorks a disappointing plot twist . \\nit is so contrived-- and so conventional compared to what precedes it-- that everything which follows ( including the ending ) becomes far less interesting . \\nit\\'s a major ( though not fatal ) flaw , and for a director as notoriously unpredictable as fincher , it feels like a cop-out . \\nfight club is going to be misconstrued by a great many people . \\nin the early going , it has a downright dangerous feel ; it seems to be saying that violence and civil disobedience are good for the soul , and this is undoubtedly the message that a few moronic punks are going to take from it . \\ni\\'ll be mightily surprised if imitation fight clubs don\\'t spring up here and there , and i\\'ll be even more amazed if fincher isn\\'t vilified for it by the same humorless witch-hunters that are currently after oliver stone . \\nthey needn\\'t bother , because fight club is less a message movie than fincher\\'s elaborate attempt at a joke . \\ntyler durden , for all his dionysian allure , is really nothing more than the logical ( and far less hypocritical ) extrapolation of all those self-help gurus who constantly show up on oprah to preach their me-first gospel of self-actualization . \\nin this context , the joke works , but like the latest columbine joke , some people will get it and enjoy a good laugh , and others won\\'t . \\nhopefully , though , their silly moral outrage won\\'t spoil the joke for the rest of us . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the police negotiator is the person with the entirely unenviable job of going into ground zero and attempting to talk a dangerous criminal out of doing whatever he or she intends to do . \\nlives are often at stake , and the criminal is usually armed and most likely mentally unstable , prone to turn on the negotiator at a moment\\'s notice . \\nthe negotiator must therefore be something of an actor , psychologist , and sham artist , in addition to being a police officer ; he must be able to think on his feet and either work toward the goal of ending the confrontation without violence , or failing that , must be prepared to facilitate the conclusion of the crisis through firepower . \\nmost of all , the negotiator must be able to enter a situation with as little intelligence about the scenario as possible , and quickly gain control of the situation , dominate the conversation , and influence the perpetrator into thinking that the end of the conflict is what he really wants . \\nit takes a pretty smart person to do that . \\nbut what if the hostage-holding criminal is just as smart ? \\nwhat if he\\'s also able to think on his feet ? \\nin fact , what if he also knows all the tricks to turning the situation to his favor ? \\nit is this circumstance which forms the basis for f . gary gray\\'s the negotiator . \\nin this film , police negotiator danny roman ( samuel l . jackson ) is tipped off by his partner to corruption within the chicago police force . \\nwhen his partner turns up shot to death and internal affairs finds incriminating evidence in roman\\'s home , roman becomes the prime suspect of both embezzling from the police disability fund and murder . \\nfaced with the scorn of most of the police department , and under close scrutiny by the media , roman is forced to turn in his badge in one of those typical scenes in the captain\\'s office . \\ni don\\'t quite remember if the captain actually said , \" i hate to do this , but . . . \" , \\nalthough it wouldn\\'t surprise me if he did . \\nluckily , the film soon shakes off the conventionalism and concentrates on the interesting premise mentioned above . \\nafter being offered a take-it-or-leave-it deal by the district attorney , roman resolves to prove his innocence by walking into the office of internal affairs inspector niebaum ( j . t . \\nwalsh ) , taking him and others hostage , and proclaiming he has been framed . \\nalthough roman\\'s actions seem forced due to the compressed nature of his motivational build-up , gray redeems himself by involving us with the negotiations between roman and fellow police negotiator chris sabian ( kevin spacey ) which soon ensue . \\njackson , while a superb actor , is miscast in the role of roman . \\nthe actor has become so popular , and so often identified as a protagonist ( notable exceptions can be found , such as in jackie brown ) , that we as an audience have a difficult time believing he will carry out his threats . \\nthe script also clearly sets him up as the good guy who is only trying to prove his innocence . \\nhow can we believe he\\'s going to shoot a hostage , no matter if the hostage tried to kill him earlier ? \\nunfortunately , this preconception saps the film of some of it\\'s would-be suspenseful moments , and anything good left in those scenes is largely attributed to jackson\\'s acting ability . \\nalmost every time he\\'s in a scene , jackson steals it without looking back . \\nwhen spacey appears , the film has already run about a third of its course . \\nhis is an interesting character . \\nmade out to be some kind of negotiating superman , our first look at him has him hopelessly trying to get his family moving to set out on vacation . \\n \" i can talk a man out of blowing up the sears tower , but i can\\'t talk my wife out of the bedroom or my daughter off the phone , \" he says . \\nwhen he gets the call to action , however , he quickly changes gears and becomes the man we expect him to be . \\nsoon , his character has to negotiate not only with roman , but also with the swat commander ( david morse ) who is itching to send in a team to take roman out , all the while keeping wary of the fbi agents who are waiting to take over the operation , should negotiations fail . \\nthis complex set of pressures are reflected well in sabian the negotiator and spacey the actor . \\nas the second protagonist , spacey measures up nicely . \\ngray really lucked out with this cast . \\ndavid morse as commander beck , ron rifkin as commander frost , and john spencer as police chief al travis are all more than competent , and can hold their own in scenes with jackson and spacey . \\nthe only problem is the bit of typecasting that results from these choices : morse played a similar role in the rock , rifkin played the d . a . \\nin l . a . confidential , and spencer played a police detective in cop land . \\nwith the level of acting , however , this can be forgiven . \\nalso in the supporting cast , paul giamatti as rudy , one of the hostages , is notable for the comic relief he provides . \\nhis character is initially so slimy , and giamatti himself just looks so shifty , that you expect to laugh before he even says anything . \\nfortunately , this doesn\\'t distract from the seriousness of the rest of the film , but instead provides some nice breathers from the level of tension which gray manages to sustain throughout . \\nj . t . walsh , as the suspicious internal affairs inspector , clocks in with one of his final performances . \\nsadly , the talented but underrated actor passed away in late february of this year , and the soon to be released pleasantville will mark his last film . \\nwalsh appeared in dozens of movies such as good morning vietnam , backdraft , and nixon . \\nfor one of his best performances , check out sling blade , in which he plays a mental patient sharing a ward with billy bob thornton . \\nwhen jack nicholson accepted his best actor oscar in march , walsh was one of the men to whom he credited his success ( the actors performed together in a few good men ) . \\nthe negotiator is actually dedicated to walsh , and while inspector niebaum may not have been his best role , it certainly characterizes the type of character for which walsh had become most famous for playing . \\nin the end , the negotiator has a plotline that parallels it\\'s reality . \\nwe\\'re served with the premise that two equally deft negotiators are battling each other to resolve the conflict in the manner which will suit each of them best . \\nas an audience , we\\'re also given a situation where two wonderfully talented actors are thrown into a movie , and we\\'d like to see if one will dominate the film . \\nboth provide some pretty good entertainment . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"big courtroom thrillers have always captivated america . \\no . j . \\nsimpson , tom capano , the menendez brothers . \\nall these names are synonymous to americans and courtrooms . \\nand , of course , courtroom dramas are not a new topic to hollywood . \\nwhether it be john grisham's thrilling novels or television's famous dramas , the courtroom has always provided big bucks . \\nso when i rented a civil action , i was expecting the film to be like the rainmaker , a brilliant law film that kept viewers on the edge of their seat . \\nhowever , what i saw in a civil action was far different from what i expected , a major surprise , but fortunately , a pleasant one . \\njohn travolta always seems to come up big when you least expect it . \\nno one expected him to light up the screen in grease , nor in saturday night fever . \\nbut , whenever he gets knocked down , he always seems to come back fighting . \\na civil action is not john's best performance , but a strong one that could rival any performance in 1998 . \\ntravolta proves that a normal and believable performance can vault a film into oscar nominations . \\nhis performance is not flashy , nor memorable , just solid . \\nif he delivered the only solid performance , this film would still be average . \\nluckily , he has a strong supporting cast . \\nwilliam h . macy is probably one of the most underrated actors in hollywood . \\nhe continues to deliver great performances one after the other , but he is still regarded as a secondary actor . \\nin a civil action , he delivers yet another great performance as travolta's paranoid and greedy accountant . \\nhe is not a lovable character , but a character who stands out in your mind whenever you think of the film . \\nhe is not one of the big time lawyers , just a measly accountant . \\nbut , he delivers one of the best supporting roles of 1998 , but there is actually someone better in a civil action . \\nrobert duvall is also an underrated actor . \\nhe gets many leading roles , but is never heard when you hear of big box office draws like tom hanks , brad pitt and jim carrey . \\nduvall has a supporting role in this as a lawyer of the co-defendant . \\nduvall is magical in this role . \\nhe is the wise teacher , who not only battles it out in the courtroom , but also manages to teach every major player a lesson , in his own twisted way . \\nin many non-comedic films , directors are always trying to find a way to implement a touch of comedy , to keep the audience on their toes . \\nunfortunately , they usually just key in on one character whose main objective is to be funny ( jar-jar binks , anyone ? ) . \\nhowever , this usually backfires because the character is never fully developed . \\nthis is not the case in a civil action . \\nthey have comedy coming from all sides . \\nwhether it be duvall's inane questions or macy's sharp anger , the laughs come in a steady pace . \\ngranted , it's not roll in the aisle funny , but it provides a nice addition to the film . \\nthe plot is terrific- somewhat . \\nthe setup is nice with the film actually starting with a victory in the courtroom . \\nthen the case that will make or break jan ( travolta ) 's career rears its ugly head . \\nthey find out the goldmine involved with the case and wind up taking it . \\nhowever , budgets soon flounder and jan finds himself in deep debt . \\ni will not spoil the rest , although i must speak of the one downside to the film . \\nthe courtroom debates are great , but the actual problem they are fighting for is never fully explored . \\nit left me somewhat confused , although the rest of the film is terrific . \\nall in all , john travolta is back yet again in this great film . \\nhis supporting cast , consisting of macy and duvall , turn in tremendous performances , which ease the load on travolta . \\nthe film is smart , witty and thought provoking . \\nnot only does it gauge in-court battles , but also the various tolls it can take on the major players . \\na civil action provides everything a drama lover craves . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the u . s . army utilizes a number of books known as field manuals which stipulate the specific way in which almost every action imaginable must be done . \\none particular field manual is known as the fm 22-5 , which among other things , covers the practice of saluting . \\nunder the \" saluting \" section is a sub-section which covers how a salute is rendered by a military work detail in the presence of a superior officer . \\nthe salute is rendered by the highest-ranking individual present when the superior officer comes within six paces of the detail , and is dropped when the officer passes six paces from the detail . \\nin any event , the salute is rendered only by the man ( or woman ) in charge , rather than by the whole group . \\nalmost at the very beginning of the general\\'s daughter , we see a general\\'s motorcade passing a work detail . \\neveryone salutes . \\nit looked impressive , but it just wasn\\'t right . \\nthat little bit showed me that someone either didn\\'t do the appropriate research , or made the conscious decision to go with style over substance for the scene . \\nin fact , this would serve as a metaphor for the rest of the picture , as it seems director simon west tried so hard to craft a film with atmosphere and flash that he forgot a coherent story and good characterization are also crucial to a good movie . \\nwhat results is a film that looks good , but like that one scene , just isn\\'t right . \\nthe first fifteen minutes of the film is a good example . \\npaul brenner ( john travolta ) is an agent for the army\\'s criminal investigation division , undercover at a georgia army base to investigate an illegal arms sale . \\nprior to the transaction , the buyer gets a whiff that brenner isn\\'t the unscrupulous supply sergeant he\\'s supposed to be , and later that night attempts to kill him by shooting up the houseboat on which brenner is living . \\nso ensues a cat and mouse action sequence which ends like a certain scene in raiders of the lost ark ( we\\'ll just say that it involves propellers ) . \\nbrenner then receives new orders when the commanding general\\'s daughter , captain elisabeth campbell ( leslie stefanson ) , is found naked , bound , and dead on one of the base\\'s training ranges . \\nhe is teamed with rape investigator sarah sunhill ( madeleine stowe ) to uncover the truth about the peculiarly gruesome murder . \\nwhat i want to know is why the whole action scene with the arms buyer was even necessary . \\nit gives no insight into brenner , other than the fact that he\\'s a little cocky . \\ndoes the arms subplot turn up later ? \\nno , so why add this extra running time to the film ? \\nthe answer : it looked cool . \\nor how about the \" atmosphere \" ? \\nthe beginning of the general\\'s daughter presents us with imagery of the deep south - thick trees , dirt roads , sultry colors over water - all backed up with bayouesque music . \\nnice immersion in the setting , but it soon doesn\\'t matter , for when the film\\'s plot shifts over to the murder investigation , so does the entire mood . \\nno attention is paid to the location of the story , and the music is altered to fit a very generic thriller theme . \\ndid the filmmakers start out thinking they were making a different movie ? \\ninstead of creating a cohesive atmospheric theme for the entire film , we get the distraction of one of theme followed by another , just because the director thought he should show off some of the countryside . \\nthe above examples also serve to illustrate that inconsistency is another problem with this movie . \\nas i\\'ve already mentioned , an entire section of the film doesn\\'t jibe with the rest , and the characterization only adds to the difficulty . \\nbrenner , who comes across as a man with little respect for authority , suddenly snaps to in the presence of general campbell ( james cromwell ) and utters some of the corniest \" yes , sir \" s i\\'ve ever heard . \\nhe even delivers an emotion-charged monologue about why he will work so hard to catch the person who killed the general\\'s daughter , even though he was totally flippant about the whole thing just a couple of minutes previous . \\nsunhill , who initially comes across as a professional investigator , utilizes a couple of blatantly illegal methods to obtain information , and even revels in her ingenuity . \\nboth characters are protagonists , but it\\'s hard to get behind them when their personalities are all over the place , and in some cases , simply unappealing . \\ni could imagine that during filming , west would shoot a scene , then take the actors aside and tell them , \" let\\'s do it again , but this time , i want more . \" \\ni say this because although travolta and stowe are normally very good , in this film they overact in most of their scenes . \\nan even worse offender is clarence williams iii as the general\\'s aide , colonel fowler . \\ni swear the guy says all of his lines from the position of attention . \\na far cry from his days as linc in \" the mod squad \" , i can\\'t help but think he was acting from west\\'s direction . \\na couple of side characters including a west point psychologist ( john beasly ) and a young female private ( ariyan a . johnson ) make their scenes nearly impossible to bear . \\nthe only two actors who seem to have escaped west\\'s influence are james woods , who provides a good performance as colonel moore , elisabeth\\'s mentor at the psychological operations unit , and timothy hutton as colonel kent of the military police . \\nwoods relishes the role of a man whose job is playing with people\\'s minds , and does so without ever taking it over the top . \\nhutton just kind of hangs around , but at least he wasn\\'t overacting . \\ni haven\\'t read the nelson demille novel on which this movie was based , but i\\'ll bet more than a few dollars that the story was better in book form . \\nthe movie version has got characters which come and go with little or nothing to do except fill up space , or provide bits of information which seem to neither mean anything in terms of advancing the story nor reveal any significance once the whole story is finished . \\nevery time we\\'re presented with some new aspect to the case , west gives us more of that flash by playing it up like it\\'s the most momentous discovery ever , but the information is not used by the investigators at all . \\ninstead , when conclusions are drawn , they are such tremendous leaps of faith that you wonder if successful investigations are not based on facts , but lucky guesses instead . \\nthe army should have saved time by bringing in brennan and sunhill , letting them play a game of twenty questions with the suspects , then letting them guess who the killer was . \\nwould\\'ve been over in a half hour . \\nthe film finishes with a sort of bookend , featuring the same style and southern scenery as the very beginning . \\nliterally during the closing credits , we get to see brennan get in his car and drive off , then we get to see sunhill get in her car and drive off . \\nthey both seem kind of happy . \\nmaybe they were driving away from simon west . \\n',\n",
+       " b'tectonic plates is an incredibly painful motion picture experience that nearly prompted me to walk out 20 minutes into the movie . \\nthe film ( which opened in canada during 1992 but was never released in the united states ) is based on a 1988 stage play by canadian auteur robert lapage , and , while it\\'s evident that this could be a fascinating live production , the translation to the screen is a creative disaster . \\nenduring tectonic plates is like sitting through a filmed version of performance art -- lifeless and tedious . \\nthe qualities that make it captivating when seen in person are effaced in the motion picture medium . \\ntectonic plates has a storyline , although the narrative is developed in a decidedly non-traditional fashion , with shots of the stagebound play intercut with more typical cinematic sequences . \\nit\\'s not an inherently uninteresting way to present a movie ( despite the valid complaint that it is pretentious , all-but-screaming , \" look ! \\nart ! \" ) , \\nalthough it keeps the audience distanced from the characters . \\nbecause we\\'re constantly made aware that we\\'re watching a play or a movie , it\\'s impossible to accept these individuals as anything more than mouthpieces for the writer\\'s ideas . \\nthey\\'re not real , sympathetic , or believable . \\ni\\'m willing to give director peter mettler credit for trying something different , but this particular experiment is not a success . \\ntectonic plates opens by introducing us to madeleine ( marie gignac ) , an art student studying in montreal who has fallen in love with her professor , jacques ( lapage ) . \\none day , he disappears , and , fearing that he left because she was undeserving of his love , madeleine travels to venice to kill herself . \\nwhile preparing to commit suicide , she encounters drug addict constance ( celine bonnier ) , who causes madeleine to re-think her decision . \\nmeanwhile , jacques has moved to new york city , where he starts cross-dressing , calls himself jennifer , and becomes a successful counter-culture talkshow host . \\nwith settings that shift from paris to venice to montreal to manhattan to scotland , supporting characters that include a topless goddess and a deaf/mute , and cultural references that point to chopin , george sand , and jim morrison , tectonic plates is unique , if nothing else . \\nhowever , as interesting as the film sounds ( and i was excited to see it because the synopsis is promising ) , it never really delivers . \\nthe tone is soporific , the supposedly-intellectual prattle is inane and uninteresting , the plot meanders in a pointless and irritating manner ( although it doesn\\'t take long for the viewer to determine that the story is largely unimportant ) , and the symbolism is obvious . \\ntectonic plates is trying to show that human interaction is as volatile as unpredictable as the shifting of the earth , but it takes one-hundred minutes to get across this transparent point . \\nthere are some worthwhile moments , such as a silly sword fight between jacques and the topless goddess and an entertaining discussion in both french and english about the differences between the two languages ( although the fine points will certainly be lost on those who aren\\'t bilingual ) . \\nthe only people likely to enjoy tectonic plates are those who feel a strong need to praise something this rootless and boring because ( a ) it\\'s different , ( b ) it\\'s not like anything they\\'ve seen before , and ( c ) it\\'s pretentious . \\nfor everyone else , it\\'s not only a waste of time , but a poor introduction to the work of robert lapage . \\n',\n",
+       " b'warren beatty , diane keaton , goldie hawn and gary shandling star as a pair of married couples whose complacent lives are about to be shaken up in director peter chelsom\\'s version of the classic romantic , screwball comedy in \" town & country . \" \\nthe drawing room farce of the 30\\'s dealt with sexual innuendo and relied on wit and a great deal of commotion and noise to place the viewer in the thick of the duplicitous romantic action . \\nback then , impossibly wealthy scions of society , with too much free time , would get themselves wrapped up in all sorts of sexual peccadilloes with spouses and lovers , only to have everything come out all right in the end - see \" the philadelphia story \" for a great farce . \\n \" town & country \" has the impossibly wealthy protagonists with too much free time - the kind of people that have jobs but never seem to work - and sexual misconduct on several levels . \\nbut , there is almost no life to original script by michael laughlin and buck henry and this is \" t&c\\'s \" downfall . \\nthere is , obviously , a great deal of hollywood talent , in front of and behind the camera , involved in \" town & country , \" but , without a likable or , at least , interesting story to carry through their efforts , it is all for naught . \\nand , that\\'s what we get here - naught . \\nporter stoddard ( beatty ) is a high-powered new york architect with a very good life indeed . \\nhis 25-year marriage to ellie ( diane keaton ) appears , on the surface , to be perfect . \\nbut , there are cracks just below this pristine surface . \\nhis wife is suspicious of his whereabouts , his kids don\\'t need him and his best friends , griffin ( garry shandling ) and mona ( goldie hawn ) , are in the midst of a divorce . \\nporter tries to get control of his life before it is too late , but like a man fighting against quicksand , his struggle just sinks him deeper . \\nat the 90-minute mark of \" town & country \" i asked myself , \" what\\'s the point ? \" \\ni wasn\\'t entertained , i laughed three times - over silly little pratfalls - and spent most of the film marking time \\'til the end . \\nwarren beatty wanders around with his character in a bewildered fog , making problems for himself by thinking with a part of his anatomy other than his head . \\nkeaton\\'s ellie is an empty headed flake who can\\'t see the obvious as porter screws around on her . \\nand , as you get to know them , who would want friends like griffin and mona ? \\nthe supporting cast is given nothing to do and , sometimes , does harm to the film , given the material they are forced to use . \\nnastassja kinski plays a cellist with whom porter has a fling . \\nthe actress , who has , eerily , failed to age over the years , is miscast as the air-headed musician and the character doesn\\'t belong , anyway . \\njenna elfman is a sweet , but smart , ditz who joins porter and griffin on one of their tacked on misadventures . \\nandie macdowell is absolutely painful to watch as a wealthy heiress ( is there any other kind in this movie ? ) \\nwho comes on to porter . \\nthe saving grace is a pair of quirky perf\\'s by charlton heston and marian seldes as macdowell\\'s very strange parents . \\nglib rationalization of infidelity , like , \" if he doesn\\'t speak english , it doesn\\'t count , \" are a staple for the screenplay . \\nthe morality of the film seems to be , if you can get away with it , go for it . \\nthe cast of characters are mostly people you wouldn\\'t want to know , never mind befriend . \\nthe actors do their best , but are hamstrung by the weak material . \\nhelmer chelsom , who made the outstanding , offbeat comedy \" funny bones , \" is mired in the mess of a script and never puts his imprint on \" town & country . \" \\nthe production values are high , as one expects from a big budget hollywood film . \\nbut , the opulent sets by caroline hanania , lavish wardrobes by molly maginnis and top-notch photography by william fraker cannot save \" town & country . \" \\nthe film has had a long list of production and distribution problems and it might have been better , for me anyway , if hollywood just said no to this movie . \\ni give it a d . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"phew , what a mess ! \\nfor his fifth collaboration with director rich- ard donner ( lethal weapon i-iii , maverick ) , mel gibson plays a motormouth , maybe mentally ill new york city cabbie , jerry , whose wild conspiracy theories are all but ignored by alice ( julia roberts , acting all serious ) , the justice department employee that he has a crush on . \\nshe not interested , but another person is : a cia psychiatrist ( patrick stewart ) who promptly kidnaps him . \\nis one of jerry's conjectures correct ? \\n * is * the metal strip in the new $100 bill being used to track your movements ? \\nis oliver stone still alive , because he cut a deal with george bush to spread * dis * information ? \\nis this movie really about * any * of the crazed cabbie's theories ? \\nno , no , and no . \\nas it turns out , there's some other nonsense going on here , involving and revolving around jerry's background . \\n ( hint : pay attention to an early scene where jerry blacks out and flashes back , in quick succession , to images of an interrogation room , hypodermic needles , and ms . roberts herself . ) \\nthe * initial * premise is pretty good and is played , for a while , at a delightfully dizzying clip . \\nmel is wider-open that we've ever seen him and , if his character's relationship with roberts' initially strains credibility , their combined star power is blissfully intoxicating . \\n ( the highest wattage of the summer , perhaps ? ) \\neven when the plot contrivances begin to intrude , the two remain a randy dandy screen pair . \\nthere's a great scene in jerry's fortress , er , apartment , with alice trying to act casual as her hyperactive host tries to remember the combination to a locked coffee bean container . \\n ( which he stores in another locked con- tainer , his fridge . ) \\nother hilarious moments , of which there are many , include a trio of memorable convention-breakers , where alice ditches a tail , jerry cold-cocks someone , and , later , eludes a foot pursuit , each in a uproariously unexpected fashion . \\n ( that's donner's own ladyhawke playing in the theater , btw . ) \\nlet's see , other pleasures include . . . \\na brilliant title sequence , a jazzy score from carter burwell , and the worth-paying-to-see sight of roberts pumping lead into one bad guy and slamming another's head into a wall . \\noh , pretty woman ! \\ngetting to the latter , however , requires slogging through an increasingly overburdened and ultimately unappealing story . \\nthe last hour of conspiracy theory devolves from tolerable to torturous to almost unwatchable . \\nmore stuff happens of the stupid shit variety than is worth mentioning here , except , perhaps , for a late sequence that has alice locating jerry in an abandoned wing of a mental hospital by hearing his voice carrying through the air ducts . \\nand here i thought it was wabbit season . \\ngood god , who rewrites these movies ? \\nand do they arrive in nondescript black vehicles ? \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"the ring is probably one of the creepiest movies i've seen in years . \\nbut then again , i've always had this phobia of asian born horror films . \\ni remember when i was a kid i was scared as hell with those green faced , long-haired floating ghosts donning their white gowns\\x05\\x05euuugh . \\nthe ring really brings back those memories and its grips me long after the movie has ended . \\nunlike the horror films coming from the west , i'm pretty much used to the gore and visual effects , so much so , they become rather bland nowadays . \\nthere's really no scary movie from the west for a long time . \\nif you have something in mind , please tell me . \\nthis japanese flick is supposed to be based upon stories written by `the stephen king of japan' , which is also ( i heard ) televised over the air in japan . \\nthe film revolves around a mysterious videotape which will bring death for sure to the person who watches it , one week prior to viewing . \\na journalist and her husband , stupid enough , tests the so call `urban legend' and ends up having a week before she meets her doom . \\nshe and her husband then goes on a search for the origin of the videocassette , to get to the root of the whole curse with the hopes of freeing themselves . \\nthe ring plays on the senses like no other horror film today . \\nvisual subtlety , minimal music and an intriguing plot puts the audience within an aura of suspense throughout the entire film . \\nvery well done indeed , especially for a film that does not have a single trace of violence and gore . \\nnow , that\\x12s something budding horror film-maker wannabes should consider looking into . \\njust an idea of how visually powerful the film is , it is in japanese and subtitled in chinese ; both of which , i can't understand at all ( ok , i had a friend who gave me a gist prior to watching , but he revealed very little ! ) . \\nthe twists in the plot , leading to an unforgettable climax ( will definitely leave an impression on the audience ) will have you at the edge of your seat . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'vampire films , as well as other horror films , are usually dumb and predictable b-movies , meant to scare us by cliches and simple shocks . \\nit is therefore interesting to watch neil jordans recent film that is not only visually stunning , but has also a plot worth making movies about . \\nbased on anne rice\\'s novel , \" interview with a vampire \" is a long , dark trip to hell . \\nthe film opens with gothic quire and dark streets of present-day san francisco . \\nthe camera slowly find particular window . \\na shape of a young man is visible in the darkness . \\n \" so you want me to tell you the story of my life ? \" . \\nthe mysterious man is louis ( brad pitt ) , a two-century old vampire , telling his story to a fascinated interviewer ( christian slater ) . \\nhis tale opens in 1791 louisiana , just south of new orleans , where louis falls victim to the vampire lestat ( tom cruise ) . \\ngiven a choice between death and eternal life as one of the undead , louis chooses the latter , a decision he will forever regret . \\neverlasting life and eternal youth , promised to him by lestat , turn instead into never ending suffering , damned to eternal hunger for blood and longing for peace . \\nlouis cannot kill with the impunity of lestat , but , to sate his hunger , he must feed , and the blood of animals is not enough . \\neventually , he pierces the neck of a grief-stricken young girl named claudia ( kirsten dunst ) , whom lestat then curses with his unholy form of resurrection so that she can be a surrogate daughter to both himself and louis . \\nfor a while , they are one \" big , happy family . \" \\nbut all things end , and claudia\\'s growing resentment of lestat fuels a bloody confrontation . \\nwhen luis and claudia break loose from lestat , they travel to paris , where the euro-vamps santiago ( stephen rea ) and armand ( antonio banderas ) , who introduced them to a bigger world of the damned . \\ndirector neil jordan ( \" the crying game \" ) together with the talented director of cinematography philippe rousselot and composer elliot goldenthal has created an incredible atmosphere . \\nas the film begins , there is an incredible palette of colors , beautiful sunrises , lush golden fields , green forests , inky-blue clouds and blending sun . \\nwhen luis is \" born to darkness \" , everything suddenly changes to dark velvet , lit only by the silver moonlight . \\nthe beautiful production design by dante ferretti , wonderful costumes and art direction by malcolm middleton re-create the multiple historical periods in the film . \\nfrom the renaissance new orleans and the beautiful rococo paris of the 18th century , to our present days . \\nthe casting is likewise good , involving some of the most famous and beautiful stars of hollywood , ireland and spain . \\nthe controversial casting of tom cruise as lestat is incredibly effective . \\ncruise is energetic , sinister , charismatic , wild and bloodthirsty . \\ncruise\\'s lestat likes to seduce young women before exacting his dark red sustenance . \\nwith alarming swiftness , the victims switch from sexual excitement to outright horror , as his murderous purpose becomes clear . \\n \" . . . kill them mercifully , but do it . \\nyou are what you are . . for \\ndo not doubt , you are a killer ! \" \\nthat is how lestat is teaching luis . \\nbut behind that furious facade is anger and loneliness that he carries through the centuries and tries to smother with nightly rampages . \\nbrad pitt is equally convincing as the \" vampire with a human soul \" . \\nantonio banderas and stephen rea are effective , but since they play more or less secondary characters , their performances are almost invisible . \\nthe greatest performance in the film comes suprisingly from the young kristen dunst , who manages to create an incredibly emotional and believable character . \\nthe world is changing around the little child , but she does not . \\nshe remains unchangeable - a child for all eternity . \\nonly her wise , dark eyes reveal her age . \\nironically the film\\'s only miss is the script . \\nanne rice\\'s novel is a very interesting read , and her script is rich , colorful and emotional , but it is also tiering and too melancholic , at times resembling a soap opera : \\nclaudia : \" . . . . is that what i should do ? \\nlet you go . . my \\nfather , my luis , who made me . . . who will look after me , my dark angel , when you are gone ? \" \\nluis : \" everything will be alright . . \" \\nclaudia : \" do you really believe that ? \" \\nand then they hug emotionally . \\nmoments like those displayed above and luis\\' self-pity is a bit tiresome . \\nhowever rice\\'s script is otherwise strong and well structured , bringing up humor and comic episodes , that were more or less hidden in the book . \\nwhen lestat finds claudia\\'s dead dressmaker , whom she has killed , he cries out : \" who will make you that dress now ? \\nbe a little practical . . . . never \\nin the house ! \" \\nmoments like that are both entertaining and appealing . \\nneil jordan\\'s direction is beautiful and sensual as he plays with interesting issues like eternity , homosexuality , love and loneliness . \\nhis gothic saga is not meant to scare , but to display these issues differently . \\nwrapped up in mystery , his new , original picture brings vampire-films to a new height . \\n',\n",
+       " b'deserves recognition for : achieving the near-impossible task of making a grander monument to self-love than steven seagal\\'s on deadly ground . \\ncapsule review : a question : after the floating baby ruth that was waterworld , what in the @$&% were the hollywood execs who gave kevin costner the money to make another post-apocalyptic movie thinking ? \\nin this 3 hour advertisement for his new hair weave , costner plays a nameless drifter who dons a long dead postal employee\\'s uniform and gradually turns a nuked-out usa into an idealized hippy-dippy society . \\n ( judging by the costuming at the end of the movie , the main accomplishment of this brave new world is in re-inventing polyester . ) \\nwhen he\\'s not pointing the camera directly at himself , director costner does have a nice visual sense , and it is undeniably fascinating to see such an unabashedly jingoistic film in the trust-no-one 90\\'s ; but by the time the second hour rolled around , i was reduced to sitting on my hands to keep from clawing out my own eyes . \\nmark this one \" return to sender \" . \\n',\n",
+       " b'drew barrymore is beginning to corner the market on playing the girl outside - the one who\\'s the awkward klutz or the spunky do-it-yourselfer ; the one who just doesn\\'t fit in with the others . \\nshe has perfected these characters in movies such as \" the wedding singer \" and , most notably , \" ever after . \" \\nnow she\\'s back , starring in what could be called a modern-day cinderella fable - \" never been kissed . \" \\nyou know it\\'s a fable because she plays a copy editor at a newspaper who has her own office as well as a secretary . \\ntrust me on this one , no copy editor has seen the inside of a private office since gutenberg ( and i don\\'t mean steve ) invented the printing press . \\nthe premise is simple . \\nbarrymore\\'s josie geller , at 25 the youngest copy editor ever to be hired by the chicago sun-times , is assigned to go undercover and return to high school to do an expose on what today\\'s teens are feeling and doing . \\njosie ( she says she was named after the \\'70s cartoon character ) was a geek in high school , so she jumps at the opportunity for a second chance . \\nthis time , she thinks , she will get it right and be accepted by the in-crowd . \\nnow , what kind of adult - with a good job and a successful career - would actually look forward to reliving the hell that was - and is - high school and adolescence . \\nthese are among the many problems that plague \" never been kissed . \" \\nscreenwriters abby kohn and marc silverstein cannot get a handle of josie . \\ntheir script has her capriciously switching from confident adult to ditzy , blubbering woman-child at the least provocation . \\nand the fact that an adult would put so much stock into trying to become tight with the vapid airheads who are supposedly south glen high school\\'s most popular girls leads you to question her maturity and mental stability . \\nok , so \" never been kissed \" is not a sociological expose of today\\'s high school scene . \\nhowever , certain rules should apply to film , and one of those is consistency of character . \\namong the movie\\'s problems is the ill-conceived conceit that josie would seriously strive to climb the high school food chain and , in the process , lose focus on her assignment . \\nany competent editor would have tossed her ass out the door quicker than you could say \" get me rewrite . \" \\nto be fair , barrymore is very appealing , but she is given very little to work with . \\nshe tries valiantly to get a firm grip on her character , but the script continually undermines her . \\nbarrymore comes off best in the physical comedy aspects of the script in which she tries to walk , talk and act like a cool , hip high schooler . \\notherwise , she is left foundering on a cliched sea of teen-age stereotypes and situations . \\n \" never been kissed \" is entertaining and funny in fits and starts . \\nit lacks consistency and a firm grasp on what it wants to accomplish . \\nthe movie\\'s main bright spot is provided by leelee sobieski as aldys , the outsider who befriends new student josie . \\njosie sees a lot of her former self in aldys , yet still abandons her to hang out with the popular girls . \\nreal mature . \\nand that is the main deficiency with \" never been kissed . \" \\nit\\'s illogical , unrealistic , uneven and undemanding . \\nit has some warm and humorous spots , but not enough to overcome its many obstacles . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in a typical cinematic high school , the football jocks have sex with the girls and then dump them , but not before the boys\\' scores are dutifully recorded in their little black books . \\nas the sexual acts take place , the other guys hang out nearby , guzzling beer and grunting like pigs . \\nin the rage : carrie 2 , robert mandel\\'s terminally bland sequel to carrie , there isn\\'t a single original moment . \\nonly amy irving returns from carrie , and the talent of the rest of the sequel\\'s cast is impossible to determine given the stupefying mediocrity of rafael moreu\\'s script . \\nas rachel , the horror story\\'s lead , emily bergl gives one of the least scary performances in recent memory , but it isn\\'t exactly her fault . \\nthe director asks for little from his actors , which is precisely what he gets . \\nsporadically in this lame and lifeless movie , rachel will cause school lockers and windows to fly open , but generally she just mopes around looking like a victim . \\nher fellow students delight in tormenting her . \\nof course , she will get her revenge in the obligatory ending bloodbath in which she will decapitate and castrate the boys and crush the girls with burning timbers . \\nas the movie marks time until its big finale , it throws in some repugnant scenes , hoping to turn audience\\'s stomachs . \\nrachel\\'s girlfriend commits a horrible and realistic suicide after the boy who made \" love \" to her the night before spurns her . \\n ( he gets major points in his black book for this , but his buddies say he would have gotten more if he had had sex with her after her death . ) \\neven a helpless puppy is run over , and we see his poor , little body flipping over and over under a truck . \\nthe teenagers in the movie are completely blas ? about it all . \\n \" doesn\\'t it offend you that some girl offed herself yesterday , \" asks one of the few kids with a conscience . \\n \" why ? \" \\nresponds his nonplussed girlfriend . \\n \" she wasn\\'t anybody . \" \\nremarkably devoid of any energy , especially for a horror flick , the movie makes one yearn for a fast forward button on the theater\\'s armrest . \\nwith material this bad , the film\\'s only hope is to go for parody , but it isn\\'t smart enough to realize it . \\neven the mandatory epilogue is as pointless and predictable as the rest of the movie . \\nthe rage : carrie 2 runs 1 : 45 . \\nit is rated r for graphic violence , teen alcohol abuse , sex , nudity and profanity and would be acceptable only for older teenagers . \\n',\n",
+       " b'written by david j . schow and john shirley , based on the comic book series and comic book strip by james o\\'barr . \\ncast brandon lee , ernie hudson , michael wincott , david patrick kelly , rochelle davis , and jon polito . \\nmpaa rating \" r \" ( presumably for rape , language , and violence ) \\nrunning time 100 minutes \\n \" looks like he zigged when he should\\'ve zagged . \" \\n- ernie hudson , as a police officer commenting on a suspicious death . \\ncomic book translations are notorious tricky-- anyone up for a double-bill of the punisher and captain america ? -- and the crow proves no exception . \\ndespite a gross of good intentions , brandon lee\\'s final film doesn\\'t fly very high . \\nthe story opens on halloween eve , better known as devil\\'s night . \\nwilmington-as-detroit is in flames and the police are tending to at least * one * murder : young rock-musician-turned-pavement-artist eric draven ( lee ) , found on a sidewalk six-stories below the apartment he was thrown from . \\nthe cops are also upstairs , administering aid to his fiance who was assaulted and raped and not necessarily in that order . \\nshe dies , the perps . \\nescape , and , exactly one year later , draven rises from the grave to wreak revenge . \\nsound familiar ? \\nunlike charles bronson , whose only known superpower involves an inability to refrain from filming death wish sequels , lee\\'s character has supernatural strength and amazing agility and can even reheal from gunshot wounds faster than robert patrick in terminator 2 . by his side is his crow , the presumable source of his powers as related in the narration . \\nwearing what appears to be alice cooper\\'s leftover make-up , lee is plopped into an underlit urban landscape that was obviously modeled after batman and blade runner . \\nbut no number of red-lit , rain-soaked streets can compensate for cheap fx that make the crow seem closer to darkman than batman . \\n ( the glaring miniatures should show better on video , though . \\n : ) \\na nod to darkman is an insult to sam raimi , though , because alex proyas can\\'t film a decent action scene to save his life . \\nhis two \" best \" set-pieces-- some banzai board-room butchery and a cool church- roof sword fight-- are also undercut by the awful editing of dov hoenig and scott smith . \\nblame said editors for the film\\'s frightful flashbacks , as well . \\nbut the pace is quick , thank god , and every good-idea-turned-bad is over before it begins . \\nthe cast is better than it should be . \\nernie hudson is a good choice as a friendly policeman and he gets off most of the film\\'s funnier lines . \\nnewcomer rochelle davis does well as both the narrator and draven\\'s scrappy ward . \\njon polito has a small , succulent role as pungent pawnbroker . \\nand michael wincott makes a distinct impression as a long-haired mr . big whose collection of ancient-swords makes him seem like he walked into the film from the trailer to highlander iii . \\nthere can be only one . \\nfinally , there\\'s brandon lee , son of bruce lee , and a 28-year-old rising-star who was fatally shot during shooting . \\nlee had four films to his name-- kung fu : the movie , laser mission , showdown in little toyko , and rapid fire-- and the crow would\\'ve been a nice feather in his belt and that\\'s about it . \\nthere\\'s nothing great from him here-- just a good performance that owes as much to presence as ability . \\nwhen the echo of that gunshot finally fades , watching the crow should prove an even * less * remarkable experience . \\ndespite a healthy dose of humor and some surprising sincerity , the crow is still just a couple notches above its straight-to-video brethren . \\nfor now , maybe it\\'s an appropriate eulogy to an actor who could only get better . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i don't know what movie the critics saw , but it wasn't this one . \\nthe popular consensus among newspaper critics was that this movie is unfunny and dreadfully boring . \\nin my personal opinion , they couldn't be more wrong . \\nif you were expecting airplane ! -like \\nlaughs and agatha christie-intense mystery , then yes , this movie would be a disappointment . \\nhowever , if you're just looking for an enjoyable movie and a good time , this is one to see . \\nhonest , it is . \\nthis story is about a 4th network , wbn , taking to america's airwaves in 1939 . \\npenny henderson ( mary stuart masterson ) , the station owner's secretary , must deal with her overbearing boss , an unimpressed sponsor and writers ready to quite on a moment's notice , partly due to the fact that they haven't been paid in weeks . \\namong the mayhem , she must also deal with her soon-to-be ex-husband , roger ( brian benben ) who desperately wants her back . \\nunfortunately , her problems only get worse as the night goes on and the body count rises without explanation . \\nwhile trying to woo penny back , roger must deal with the police and try to find the killer that lurks at wbn . \\nmary stuart masterson does well in her role as penny ( i'm trying to be unbiased so i won't tell you how amazing she looked ) , although brian benben gets most of the screen time . \\nalong with the two leads , are several recognizable faces , including corbin bernsen ( l . a . \\nlaw ) , michael mckean ( laverne & shirley ) and bobcat goldthwait . \\nthe special effects are amazing , and fooled me ( which some may argue isn't very difficult to do ) in many scenes . \\nalthough the movie sometimes goes overboard with the physical comedy , it more than makes up for those mistakes throughout the movie . \\noverall , i gave it , or an , depending on what system you use . \\nsome comments collected from friends : \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"starring william baldwin ; cindy crawford & steven berkoff all right , the first problem that fair game has is the casting of supermodel cindy crawford in the lead role . \\nnot that cindy does that bad , it's just that anyone who watches this film knows from moment one that that little bit of casting was not done because of cindy's extraordinary acting skills , but for her extraordinary ability to look drop dead gorgeous in any situation . \\nand in fair game most situations tend to find cindy either soaking wet or very hot and sweaty , but i'm sure that that is just a coincidence , no doubt that these situations were essential to the plot and the fact that cindy looks great wet , well , that's just a happy coincidence . \\nsure . \\nwilliam baldwin isn't a bad actor . \\nunfortunately , he just doesn't demonstrate it at all in this movie . \\ni'm not sure if that's because most of his lines were just so hokey , or if he was trying to make cindy's acting look good . \\nif it was the latter , it worked . \\ncindy does a surprisingly good job here in her first movie . \\nwhich is not to say that she doesn't have room for improvement . \\nalthough to be fair to cindy , her lines were kinda cheesy in places . \\nso right about now you are no doubt asking yourself what sort of movie does cindy crawford , arguably the most beautiful woman on the planet , chose for her foray into the world of cinema ? \\nwell , i'm glad you asked that question . \\ncindy plays a lawyer who by some convoluted plot twists becomes a target for former elite kgb agents . \\nwhy woud they target someone as likable as cindy , you ask ? \\nby the end of the movie you won't care . \\nthe story is so contrived it isn't funny . \\nanyway after cindy gets blown out of the window of her house , without getting so much as a scratch i might add , she is placed into protective police custody under the watchful eve of william baldwin . \\nwho's character , max kilpatric , a police detective , seems to possess the skills of some sort of fighting machine ( my guess is that the writers have seen way too many of steven seagal's early films ) . \\nthe point is that the idea of the crawford and baldwin's characters of the run from these killer russians isn't all that bad of an idea , it's just everything around that basic idea which kinda stinks out loud . \\nthe supporting cast members are nothing more that over acted stereotypes . \\nif i was baldwin , i'd hope this film disappears . \\nas for crawford , she may indeed have some acting ability . \\nunfortunately , any she does have is obscured by writing that goes beyond bad . \\nthis movie was obviously written with cindy in mind , since the writers spend most of their time finding ways to capitalize off of her looks . \\nit's too bad they hadn't spent more time on a half decent plot , since ms . crawford is more than capable of looking just fine all by herself thank you very much . \\nunless you are a huge fan of either baldwin or crawford this is a movie that will only disappoint you . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"even if i did not know that director and co-writers james wong and jeffrey reddick of the creepy final destination helped create the hit television show the x-files , i would have inevitably made a connection . \\nthe similarities are very apparent from the inexplicable phenomenon- like plot , to the mysterious characters , to the overall dark , ominous settings . \\nit would have been perfectly fitting to see fbi agents mulder and scully investigate this case , they witness stuff like this on a weekly basis ( in fact mulder and scully would have been a much more welcome change to the bland one dimensional fbi agents seen in this movie ) . \\nanother more important similarity , is that both succeed in entertaining and thrilling at the same time . \\nthis is a great accomplishment for a teen horror movie , especially when compared to some of the trash , of the same genre , released in the last couple of years ( urban legend and i still know what you did last summer are classic examples from the bunch ) . \\nwhat helps final destination is its unique premise . \\nunlike your average horror flick in which some invincible psycho with a knife chases blonde cheerleaders , the villain presented is unusual , it's the grim reaper . \\nthis being already has predestined when and how you will die . \\naccording to the brief history lesson given in this film , everyone was meant to die at a certain time , some people at 100 , others at 17 , whatever death chooses . \\nwhat is unique about death is that it's already dead , so you can't really kill it . \\nthe only way to defeat death is to cheat it ; the question is how do you do that ? \\nthis dilemma is what faces alex and a group of teenagers . \\nalex has been having some dreams that the airplane which will take his class on a trip to paris will crash , leaving no survivors . \\nalex begins to realize that his dreams are a little too real and eventually gets himself and six others kicked off the plane right before it takes off . \\nshortly after , the plane does indeed crash leaving some of the seven survivors confused and others feeling immortal . \\nhowever , death isn't through with them yet . \\nit gradually kills off the seven one by one , leaving those currently still alive frantically trying to trick death again . \\nthe plot allows for some of the most creative , original death scenes i have seen in a while . \\nsome scenes build up the perfect amount of tension until an elaborate climax , others are so unexpected they will leave your jaw wide open in shock . \\ncreativity and originality are two adjectives lacking in most horror films nowadays but final destination is not like most horror films . \\nsure , it has your traditional share of jerks and outsiders ( ali larter's character is particularly annoying ) , but the shocks , from the beginning to the end , are extremely entertaining . \\nalso director wong has the sense not to take the movie too seriously . \\nhe knows its just another entertaining guilty pleasure that won't win any academy awards ( not even a golden globe ) . \\nthe myriad of inside jokes and gags ( the characters are named after famous horror directors , one character who plays a jerk is named carter , like x-files creator chris carter , and a song by john denver , who died in a plane crash , plays whenever death is near ) show this movie is a bunch of guys having a good time making a movie . \\nand from this , i had a great time watching the movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"directed by : pixote hunt , hendel butoy , eric goldberg , james algar , francis glebas , gaetan & paul brizzi conducted by : james levine composed by : ludwig van beethoven , ottorino respighi , george gershwin , dmitri shostakovich , camille saint-saens , paul dukas , sir edward elgar , igor stravinsky rated : g scripture references : 1 samuel 16 : 23 , ephesians 5 : 19 , 1 chronicles 15 : 15-16 \\nin 1940 , walt disney released a filmed experiment . \\nfantasia was a blend of two art forms : classical music and animation . \\nwhile it was not immediately popular with the audiences of its day , it has since become recognized as something of a classic . \\naccording to the program notes , it was mr . disney's intention to have fantasia be a continual work in progress . \\nsixty years later , thanks to the ongoing efforts of walt's nephew , a new fantasia is being released . \\nit was not only worth the waiting , it is evidence to just how far animation has come during the past half-decade . \\nwith seven new sequences and one old favorite , fantasia 2000 exhibits an imagination and respect for its art form that is absent from most other feature films . \\nlike the original , fantasia 2000 will more than likely bore the very young , although there is more narrative appeal in this newer version and the segments appear to be substantially shorter , perhaps a nod to the shorter attention span of the studio's primary audience . \\nranging from the silly to the sublime , each segment is preceded by a short , humorous introduction or interstitial by a guest celebrity host , steve martin ( bowfinger ) being the first and most effective . \\nthese are quickly forgotten as conductor james levine leads the chicago symphony orchestra through the musical program which , along with the images drawn by the disney team of animators , is thoughtfully and beautifully brought to a stunning synthesis . \\nfantasia 2000 is being released exclusively in the giant-screened imax theaters , making for a unique viewing experience . \\nthere is enough variety in the program to provide something enjoyable for everyone and surely , people will exit the theaters with their own personal favorites . \\nfor me , that would have to be the jazz age story of four unconnected and discontented people living in nyc who , unknowingly , help each other realize their dreams . \\ndrawn in the style of caricaturist al hirschfeld and inspired by george gershwin's rhapsody in blue , the music and images are blended perfectly resulting in a product greater than the sum of its two parts . \\nchildren will like the short piece set to carnival of the animals by camille saint-saens . \\nhere , a goofy looking flamingo irritates the rest of the flock with his yo-yo playing antics . \\nthey will also giggle as donald duck , playing noah's assistant , tries to load the animals into the ark to the familiar strains of pomp and circumstance by sir edward elgar . \\n ( while the depiction is not biblically accurate , it is entertaining and might be excuse enough to familiarize ourselves with the true record by reading what is written in genesis 7 . ) \\na positive note is that the studio has avoided any segment which is as perversely dark as nihgt on bald mountain upon which the original film ended . \\nthere are some images based upon fantasy such as the flying whales in respighi's pines of rome or images which have their roots in mythology such as the ethereal creatures which tell the story of nature's cycle of life , death , and rebirth in igor stravinsky's firebird suite . \\nbut the stories they tell are uplifting , containing nothing too frightening for our younger children . \\nthe darkest segment , spiritually speaking , actually belongs to the only holdover from the original fantasia , mickey mouse in the sorcerer's apprentice by paul dukas . \\nbut overall , the emotions evoked from fantasia 2000 are positive ones , being full of hope and promise . \\nmusic has an impact which can be undeniably felt , capable of leading the listener to emotional peaks and inspirational highs simply not attainable through other mediums . \\nit is no wonder that the levites , as the priestly tribe of the old testament , were also the appointed musicians . \\nif fantasia 2000 is able to introduce a new audience to music which inspires and exalts , it will have done an incredible service . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'because the press screening of \" planet of the apes \" was one day past last issue\\'s deadline , i was afforded the opportunity to see the film a second time , listen to audience reactions and read a heap of reviews before writing this piece . \\nthe chief complaints of those who disliked the futuristic adventure appear to be that the movie focused on visuals instead of substance , that the story was thin , that mark wahlberg\\'s character was colorless and that the surprise ending sucked . \\nto those people i would like to say ? what the hell did you expect ? \\nthis is a tim burton movie , boys and girls . \\ntim burton movies have great art direction and thin , clunky stories . \\nfor the blissfully nasty , disjointed and underrated \" mars attacks ! \" \\n ( jonathan rosenbaum of the chicago reader and i were two of the only critics in america to praise the movie ) burton reportedly tossed vintage \" mars attacks ! \" \\ntrading cards onto the floor and based his story on the ones that landed face up . \\nburton\\'s re-imagining of the 1968 story of an astronaut that lands on a planet where apes rule men looks great . \\nthe apes , courtesy of make-up magician rick baker , are dazzling and ape city is a wonder to behold . \\nlike astronaut leo davidson ( wahlberg ) , the film hits the ground running , whisking viewers through a head-spinning series of solid one-liners and engaging vignettes and establishing a sense of thrust that carries us through the more traditional fight scenes that come later . \\nas for wahlberg , consider what burton does with his character . \\nfrom his start as a filmmaker , burton has shown his fascination with colorful misfits ( pee-wee herman , the joker , ed wood , the ack-acking martians , etc . ) and lack of interest in standard issue heroes . \\nso leo davidson spends most of the movie getting the living shit kicked out of him before the biggest guilt trip in history is dropped on his shoulders . \\nas for lack of color , remember , leo only launches into space to get his monkey back . \\nhe doesn\\'t want to lead humanity and he isn\\'t looking for romance from a pretty , but dull human ( estella warren ) or a dynamic ape ( helena bonham carter , terrific as an equal-rights activist ) . \\nas a man who just wants out , wahlberg is focused , subtle and sly . \\nthe surprise ending provides the requisite shock ( and some more dandy visuals , particularly of the approaching authority figures ) , but admittedly isn\\'t nearly as satisfying as the one in the original . \\nfor the original ending to work , we only had to make one simple connection , for this one , we have to write a whole new screenplay . \\nthe 1968 \" apes \" boasted a handful of great scenes , cool looking monkeys , a deliciously hammy performance by charlton heston ( who appears uncredited here as an aged chimp on his deathbed , re-delivering a classic line ) and a killer ending . \\nbut viewers had to suffer through numerous dull stretches punctuated by social and political messages delivered with the grace of a wrecking ball . \\nthe 2001 \" planet of the apes \" offers a different set of great scenes , much cooler looking monkeys , fine acting from wahlberg , bonham carter , paul giamatti and tim roth , and a not so good ending . \\nit also gives us another chance to experience the skewed vision of tim burton and that\\'s nothing to complain about . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : private detective tom welles is hired by a wealthy widow to uncover the origins of a snuff film owned by her late husband . \\nafter uncovering the authenticity of the film , welles descends into an underground world of perverse pornographers seeking vigilante revenge on the filmmakers . \\ncomments : 8 mm is one of the more disturbing mainstream movies i have seen in a long time . \\nthough it doesn\\'t present a snuff film ( a movie which documents a person\\'s murder for real , usually during or after some form of sexual act ) as explicitly as the cult classic mute witness and violence as shockingly as , say , natural born killers , 8 mm stays in your head long after you see it . \\nit is not fun to watch ; see something else if you get upset by realistic , sadistic violence . \\nthis film\\'s violence and perverse sexuality skirts closely into nc-17 territory . \\nfor those with strong stomachs , however , 8 mm is an intelligent , worthwhile thriller , especially during its second hour . \\nnicolas cage , after a couple ho-hum movies , returns to material which allows him to utilize his strong acting abilities . \\nas tom welles , a private detective and caring family man to a wife and newly-born daughter , cage skillfully and convincingly portrays a decent man whose unwavering energy slowly transforms into obssession and violence as he is pulled into a nightmarish world of underground pornographers and brutal sexual deviants . \\nserving as a guide to this world is joaquin phoenix , who plays a struggling songwriter named max california . \\ncalifornia , despite his name , is a surprisingly intelligent and complex character , and phoenix does a very good job at slowly pulling the audience to sympathy for the character . \\nthe real star of the movie , though , must be peter stormare . \\nstormare played the \" really , really evil guy \" in fargo , and his character , dino velvet , in this movie seems about ten times more evil and unpredictable . \\nhis performance is very chilling . \\n8 mm\\'s success may hardly be surprising . \\nit was directed by joel schumacher , who , hopefully , saw this film as an apology for the absolutely dreadful batman and robin . \\nbefore directing the last two batman duds , however , schumacher was responsible for several well-made horror flicks : lost boys , flatliners , and falling down . \\n8 mm certainly joins the rank of these minor classics and is perhaps most reminiscent of falling down in that both films present an average man who self-destructs before the audience\\'s eyes . \\n8 mm was written by andrew kevin walker , who also penned the academy award-winning thriller seven a few years back . \\nlike seven , 8 mm is full of dialogue which haunts you well after leaving the theater . \\nwelles is searching for answers . \\nhow could anyone possibly drug and then slowly , methodically , sadistically kill a teenaged girl to make a film ? \\nwhen confronting one of the perpretrators at the end , the murderer responds that there are no reasons . \\nhe just enjoys it . \\nthat , walker seems to suggest , is where the real terror lays : not in the crime itself but in the fact that rational motives do not exist . \\na couple minor faults led me to my four-star rating ( five stars is the highest rating i give ) . \\none , i found it a little difficult , early on , to accept the fact that a hardened private detective would get physically disgusted when first seeing a snuff film . \\nyes , snuff is a horrible thing , but a detective of welles\\' caliber has probably encountered awful things before . \\nsecond , some of the clues welles gathers are too convenient . \\nhe discovers , for example , the victim\\'s diary in her private bathroom , despite the fact the the police , the fbi , and her own mother have all investigated the room before . \\nfinally , the closing scene seemed trite and improbable considering the rest of the film . \\ndespite the above criticisms , 8 mm is an engrossing story . \\none of the best scenes in the film occurs toward the end as a crazed welles , who no longer seems like a hero , brutally beats one of the pornographers responsible for the snuff film . \\nhe pulls a gun on the man and , for a relatively long amount of time , struggles to decide whether or not to kill him . \\nhe then leaves the building and calls the victim\\'s mother , in the middle of the night , to basically see if she would support the action . \\nthe entire scene is tense , unpredictable , and emotionally charged . \\nrarely , anymore , do horror films or thrillers provoke suspense in me as 8 mm , with scenes like this , did . \\n8 mm is most certainly not for the faint of heart . \\nthis is a graphic , oftentimes unflinching , look into the darkness which resides in both ordinary and extraordinary people . \\nif you\\'re prepared for a film of this nature , i give it an enthusiastic recommendation . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"`we run tings . \\ntings don't run we . ' \\n-sound advice from capone ( paul campbell ) to his squaddie ( or partner ) , floyd ( winston bell ) . \\njamaican film , shot entirely on video , featuring a standard cop movie plot mixed with a dash of john woo-styled brotherhood morals ( and a little gunplay ) . \\ncapone , a tough as nails super cop , gets a transfer back to his hometown of kingston after successfully taking down some gangsters that have broken into his home ( while he was with his lady ) and killed his partner in front of him . \\nwhen he arrives , he discovers that the ghetto where he grew up has gotten worse , thanks mainly to the crime boss wonie ( jamaican film veteran carl bradshaw ) , so named because his left hand has been amputated and replaced by a grasping hook ) . \\ncapone discovers that wonie has been smuggling guns inside shipments of charity supplies for the area churches and , much to his disappointment , also finds out his childhood friend ratty ( mark danvers ) has been helping him . \\ntorn between doing his job and protecting his best friend , capone must make some hard decisions in order to make things right again . \\ndirected deftly by first time jamaican filmmaker chris browne ( assistant director for such american films as how stella got her groove back and instinct ) , one hardly notices the film was shot on video after a while . \\nshots are handled so efficiently that they quickly take on the nuances of the aforementioned john woo films , although the action isn't as hyperkinetic as most of woo's films are . \\nthe action scenes are handled with a kind of flair though , and eventually begin to take on a life of their own ( beyond the hong kong films that they are obviously patterned after ) . \\nthe make-up effects are particularly good in these scenes as well , with flawless squib work on display from the effects team . \\nthe cast is superb and listening to their dialogue , spoken with thick jamaican accents ( half of which have to be subtitled because of their extensive use of slang ) , just adds to the interest . \\npaul campbell , as the `loose cannon' capone , essays his role perfectly , displaying the right amount of menace and compassion at the right times . \\nmark danvers evokes sympathy as ratty , the part-time gun smuggler who is also trying to help the community by building football fields and organizing block parties to bring people together . \\nunfortunately , carl bradshaw is given the least to do and his character as the crime boss seems ineffective ( largely because his underlings seem to run all over him ) , but then again , that could be the way his character was intended to be portrayed . \\nthe music in the film is composed of all reggae songs , and the soundtrack was produced by grammy award winning artists , sly and robbie ( who have worked with the likes of the rolling stones , maxi priest , bob dylan , james brown , grace jones , herbie hancock , bootsy collins , and carly simon among others ) . \\nthe end credit song , `we run tings' , by the group red dragon , is pretty decent and carries on the theme of the movie established early on by the quote that opens this review . \\noddly enough , desmond ballentine ( who plays the character deportee ) is well known as a pioneer in the realm of `gangsta' reggae as the performer ninjaman , and he doesn't contribute a single song to the film ( that i could see ) , which is virtually unheard of here in the us . \\nat the time of this writing , third world cop has been put into limited theatrical release in the us , coming off of a six-month box-office breaking run in jamaica , where it holds the position as highest grossing film of all time ( bringing in $21 million in jamaica , which is roughly $500 , 000 us ) . \\npalm pictures ( the company that released the offbeat , but entertaining six-string samurai ) is the company releasing the film and considering that their main focus is the dvd market , i can imagine that a disc will be available once the film has left theaters . \\nchris blackwell , founder of palm pictures , was also involved in the production of another jamaican box-office smash in 1981 entitled countryman , so i'd say he has a pretty good track record . \\noverall , third world cop is a pretty entertaining homage to the films of john woo , ringo lam , tsui hark , and many other action films by directors from hong kong . \\nif action films are your thing and you don't mind intermittent subtitles , then you can't go wrong with this film . \\nthe performances and the story are solid ( if only a little cliched ) and the action is tight . \\ni'm not sure what the other jamaican films released in that country are like , but apparently third world cop's honors are well deserved . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"take a look at the following equation . . . . \\na christmas carol+ghostbusters=scrooged \\nyes , scrooged is the odd mixture of sentiment , comedy and horror you would get if you mixed those two elements toghether . \\nscrooged is alternatively sick , gross , funny , and then sickly soppy . \\nbill murray plays frank cross , a t . v executive with a horrible personality . \\nhe's evil to secretary , actors , crew , everyone , except the t . v's station's boss , of course ( played by the late robert mitchum ) however , he is then visited by a very dead exec , who warns cross that he will be visited by three ghosts , past , present and future ( who is called the ghost of yet to come , for some reason ) sure enough , they arrive , show cross how much of a s . o . b he is , and he changes his way . \\nhowever , throughout this simple plot , we've got to suffer outlandish special effects , poor comedy , and an very , very mean performance from bill murray . \\nfrank cross isn't 'funny' mean , he's just mean . \\nhe also isn't very good at emotional scenes , and totally destroys the last ten minutes of the film , with an utterly desperate speech saying how great christmas is , and how he has changed . \\nhowever , the supporting cast are ok , with good performances from mitchum , allen ( who plays his girlfriend ) and john glover ( who plays cross's 'partner' ) the ghost of christmas past isn't that bad either . \\nsadly , though , the audience has to suffer 25 minutes of 'home alone' style violence from the ghost of christmas present , played by carol kane . \\nwhoever thought smacking that kane smacking murray in the head with a toaster was funny , should be fired straight away . \\nand the audience also has to suffer bobcat goldthwait ( the guy with the annoying voice in police academy 3 , if i remeber correctly . . . . ) \\nwho , thankfully , dosen't say much . \\nthe script is horrendous . \\nmichael o'donaghue churns out terrible , bad taste jokes ( which i guess is the whole point really ) then changes direction completely to emotional scenes . \\nand he must of been on some drug when he wrote the final ten minutes , which are awful . \\nthe special effects look nice , but do nothing for the film . \\nthere's some impressive make up effects also . \\nthe music is also good , which is scored by danny elfman . \\nbut great effects and make up don't make a great film . \\nscrooged is an appaling attempt to inject some christmas spirit into the audience , seeing as the first 1 hour 20 minutes of the film are so depressing anyway , and the last ten minutes had to make up for it with an godawful speech . \\nwhy didn't cross just look out his exec window , and ask a young boy to buy a goose for him ? \\noverall , then , you'd have a much better christmas if you avoid this film like something that should be avoided ( perhaps a plague ) \\n\",\n",
+       " b'finding the courage to face life full-on is a difficult task . \\nsummoning up the audacity to fall in love is a harder job . \\nif you\\'re a total jerk like melvin udall is , the odds are even more against you . \\nmelvin ( jack nicholson ) is a successful romance author who is just the opposite of what you would expect someone in that profession to be . \\na solitary man hidden away in his new york apartment with no human interaction and not even a hint of ever having been in a passionate relationship , he avoids the outside world as much as possible . \\nhis obsessive-compulsive disorder rules his life as he uses several different bars of soap to wash his hands and refuses to step on a crack on the sidewalk . \\n ( there\\'s a great scene when he has to cross a floor made of mosaic tiles -- _very_small_ mosaic tiles . ) \\nmelvin has some great lines . \\nwhen his publisher\\'s receptionist asks him how he writes women so well in his books , he responds \" i think of men and i take away reason and accountability . \" \\ndon\\'t get him wrong , he\\'s not merely a misogynist . \\nsetting his sights higher than that , he\\'s also a homophobe , racist , anti-semite , xenophobe , animal-hater and intensely dislikes people who talk in metaphors . \\nwhen we first meet him , he\\'s busy dumping a neighbor\\'s dog down the garbage chute . \\nhe\\'s an equal opportunity bigot . \\nhe does venture outside his apartment every day to eat breakfast at a local cafe . \\nmelvin is such a grouchy curmudgeon that waitress carol connelly ( helen hunt ) is the only one willing to wait on him . \\nand she\\'s none too happy about it . \\nwhen carol doesn\\'t show up for work , melvin\\'s routine is shot and he\\'s determined to do something about it . \\ntracking down her address , he shows up at her place begging her to come back to work so that he can eat breakfast . \\nthe fact that she\\'s a poor single mother caring for a chronically ill son doesn\\'t appear to phase him , he wants his food . \\nmuch more upsetting is that his gay artist neighbor simon bishop ( greg kinnear ) is brutally attacked during a robbery . \\nthis doesn\\'t upset melvin much ( \" don\\'t worry , you\\'ll be back on your knees in no time \" ) but when he is bullied into taking care of simon\\'s dog , his life is turned topsy-turvey . \\nmelvin is sequestered because he\\'s afraid of what\\'s out there on the other side of his apartment door . \\nhe has to make sure it\\'s ritualistically locked three times to keep the world on its proper side . \\nwhen he brings the dog home he reluctantly grows fond of it , talking to it and taking it everywhere he goes . \\nthis little crack in his emotional armor opens him up . \\nhiding behind his need for carol to return to work so she can serve him , he pays for a specialist to treat her son . \\nhe even develops a friendship with simon . \\nall three people are heavily damaged . \\nmelvin has retreated from life in his apartment . \\ncarol has devoted herself to her son , convinced that she has to give up her life for him . \\nsimon is estranged from his parents and his friends disappear when he is hospitalized and his money runs out . \\na more unlikely trio to form relationships , you\\'d rarely see . \\nand in the midst of it all , there are some wonderful moments . \\nmelvin is hilarious in his grouchiness and touching as he attempts to be nice . \\n \" you make me want to be a better man , \" he tells her . \\none of the best aspects is that even as he opens up , he is still a curmudgeon . \\ncarol , afraid that his monetary contribution to the wellness of her son hides a hidden agenda rushes over to his apartment in the rain to explain in no uncertain terms that she will never sleep with him . \\nit only takes her a second to realize that she is delivering that statement while looking as if she just left a wet t-shirt contest . \\nthere\\'s hardly anything left to say about jack nicholson . \\ni don\\'t remember ever seeing him in anything less than a stellar performance and his over-the-edge melvin is no disappointment . \\nnicholson may be the best actor working today . \\nhunt does a commendable job matching nicholson\\'s energy . \\nshe isn\\'t afraid to be seen as something less than a babe and her portrayal of exhausted run-down carol struggling with seemingly overwhelming obligations is top-notch . \\ntheir on-screen chemistry is a bit odd . \\neach does a wonderful job with the character , but together , there\\'s something a little off . \\nit\\'s a minor problem : they do work well together , but that missing element is what prevents this from being a four-star film . \\ndirector james l . brooks ( \" terms of endearment \" , \" broadcast news \" ) has a movie that is picking up awards by the bucketsful ( nominees for all the top golden globes , winners from the national board of review , inevitable oscars ) and has a winner on his hands . \\n \" as good as it gets \" isn\\'t exactly the quality that the title says , but it\\'s pretty darn close . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for over 22 years and as soon as he finishes this one , he\\'s off to an annual 12 night celebration typically held in freezing weather during a snowstorm . \\nthis year it\\'s in the sixties and raining . \\nthat wacky el nino . ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'there\\'s no reason to doubt that donnie brasco is based , as its opening credits proclaim , on a true story . \\nbut if it\\'s an accurate picture of life on america\\'s mean streets , than cinematic depictions of organised crime have had a much stronger basis in reality than i would have previously thought . \\nfor from the film\\'s outset , when a group of hoods jocularly trade differing opinions on the merits of various automobiles ( not unlike a number of movie lowlifes who recently gave a madonna song a close reading ) donnie brasco resembles more than passingly a few gangster flicks once believed to be works of fiction . \\nour eponymous hero ( johnny depp ) is not the cheap crook he first appears to be . \\nbrasco is joseph pistone , an undercover fbi agent who has the task of chumming-up to lefty ( al pacino ) , a seasoned hood who tutors pistone in the art of being a \" wiseguy \" . \\nregrettably , pistone learns his lessons all too well . \\nhis concern for lefty , who is burdened with a heroin addicted son , exacerbates his own family troubles : his children resent his lengthy absences and his wife fears that her husband\\'s gangster persona is becoming a little too convincing . \\ntrue , the focus on pistone\\'s family life does deviate from the typical gangster-flick formula , but this subplot never rises above its television drama origins . \\nthe unhappy couple trade predictable lines and engage in drawn-out domestic squabbles ? including an ill-advised marriage guidance routine ? that slow the film down unnecessarily . \\nthe biggest problem with donnie brasco , however , is that its wiseguy attitude and style lacks the flair of its many predecessors . \\nthe awkward use of an occasional disco tune momentarily reminds us its the 70\\'s , but not with the consistent and blindingly tacky style ? i loved those fluoro coloured suits ? of scorces\\' costume drama casino . \\nmore importantly , pacino\\'s presence triggers memories of his earlier movie triumphs in which similar territory was covered far more effectively . \\ndonnie brasco\\'s take on american values , for instance , is feeble and obvious . \\nlefty rambles out dreams of material betterment to the accompaniment of grating inspirational music . \\ninexplicably , lefty\\'s horatio alger inspired gush is supposed to move us . \\nit doesn\\'t any more than his family troubles do , which are dealt in the same saccharine and obvious manner as pistone\\'s . \\njust think a minute on how these themes were explored in the godfather movies and scarface . \\nin these pictures pacino\\'s dedication to a peculiar and bloody hyper-capitalism was twisted and confronting , while his dogged application of macho wiseguy procedure meant that his relations to friends and family was intriguingly dark ? neither were spared bloody retribution for breaching wiseguy regulations . \\ndonnie brasco\\'s tawdry little crime , therefore isn\\'t so much its repetition of familiar gangster themes , but the shameless way in which it sanitises them . \\n ( oh and by the way , i forgot to mention that the script also sports a startling subplot : pipstone\\'s superiors are obstructive incompetents who are infuriated by his constant insubordination ? is that a \" damn you mcbain ! \" \\ni hear from springfield way ? ) \\nso the movie is cliched . \\nbig deal , what do you expect from a gangster-flick ? \\nwell you expect quality action sequences and bravado performances in abundance if its going to be a decent example of the genre . \\ndonnie brasco fails on both counts . \\nthe action scenes never rise above the ordinary and depp\\'s woeful performance tends to smother the good-work of his comrades . \\nadmittedly , pacino does nothing new and michael madsen ( sonny ) simply smirks his way through the picture like a slightly subdued mr . white , but both possess an unmistakable sly charm . \\ndepp usually exhibits a bit of class himself , but regrettably , being in the presence of one of his betters must have left him star-struck , for he is completely hell-bent on mimicking pacino\\'s well-earned high style . \\nthe consequences are painful to watch . \\nits no exaggeration to say that the film\\'s credibility is seriously strained by the sight of the pistone family\\'s uncanny ability to keep a straight face in front of their breadwinner\\'s phony brooklyn accent . \\nperhaps we should take pity on the makers of donnie brasco . \\nmaybe a scrupulous adherence to pinpoint accuracy demanded tiered dialogue and scenarios weakly reminiscent of classic gangster flicks . \\nif this is indeed the case , surely the makers of donnie brasco could have explored the fascinating possibility that america\\'s underworld is committed to emulating , albeit in heavily attenuated form , their movie namesakes . \\ndepp could have poignantly played a simple cop who becomes a hideous parody once he is forced to mimic big-screen gangster greats . \\nwho knows what insights into the criminal psyche could have arisen ? \\nbut then again , perhaps donnie brasco isn\\'t so true after all . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"2 days in the valley is more or less a pulp fiction knock off . \\nit basically involves how a bunch of quirky characters in the los angeles area end up having their lives become intertwined in some very unusual ways . \\ni'm not going into much greater detail than that , since it would take forever to explain , and quite frankly , i'm not willing to spend any more time on it than the 2 hours that i've already wasted . \\nwhile it tries very hard to be pulp fiction , 2 days in the valley falls way short . \\nthis is quite a condemnation considering the cast includes danny aiello , james spader and jeff daniels . \\nwhile the story isn't much , and the dialogue and characters rate only marginally better , 2 days in the valley does have a couple of bright spots . \\njames spader's character , while not much better than the rest , is at least fun to watch in a sick sort of way . \\nand we do get to see a nice cat fight between uber babes teri hatcher and charlize theron ( in her first role ) . \\nyou know a movie isn't that good when the highlight is a brawl between two women . \\neven if they are both gorgeous . \\ni will give the writers some credit for the fairly clever ways in which they managed to intersect the lives of this group of characters that would have otherwise never interacted . \\nbut marveling at that ingenuity is a far cry from actually enjoying the result . \\nwhile some of the characters and their respective stories are fairly interesting , they inevitably are brought down as they intersect with the other half of the characters that i really cared absolutely nothing about . \\nif i were to put a number on it , only about half of the story and half the characters in this movie were particularly interesting or otherwise enjoyable to watch . \\nthis is the sort of movie that only a huge fan of one or more of the cast members should rent , and even then prepare for disappointment . \\nnot even charlize theron being naked would get me to sit through this movie again . \\nor at least not all of it anyway . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i must admit i\\'m going to be a bit biased in my review of the new romantic comedy serendipity , because that also defines how i met my current girlfriend . \\nthe magic and mystery of our fated encounter is also embodied in the quirkiness and freshness of the very funny and very romantic serendipity . \\ni am not a big fan of the romantic comedy genre , but something drew me to this film . \\nmaybe it was the casting of the underrated jeremy piven in a supporting role , and the hilarious eugene levy . \\nmaybe it was my hope that john cusack would get the redemption he justly deserves after such crap as high fidelity , con air , and pushing tin . \\nbut maybe it was because i feel as giddy as a school kid right now with this whole romantic thing currently in my life . \\nthe story of serendipity is simple . \\ntwo people , john trager ( john cusack ) and sara thomas ( kate beckinsale , looking ever so hot ) , have a chance encounter over a pair of gloves -- with buck henry smack dab in the middle . \\ncharmed beyond repair , these two knuckleheads grab a sundae together at a caf ? called serendipity , talk about that irresponsible thing called fate and the avenues it leads people down , and spend a few hours at the local ice skating rink . \\nbut with each of them already involved with other parties , sara has john write his name and number on a $5 bill and she writes her name and number on a copy of love in the time of cholera . \\nsara declares that if this \" thing \" -- let\\'s just call it love -- is destined to happen , fate will bring them together in the future . \\nyears later and on opposite coasts of america , john and sara -- both engaged but still unsure whether they have found their soul mates -- decide to seek each other out to rest their doubts . \\nwhat happens then is an enjoyable and often hilarious cat-and-mouse game with the fates - involving such items as mistaken identity , a graduate homage , john corbett as a freaky new age musician , and eugene levy as an irate and crazed salesman -- to find out if that \" thing \" was right after all . \\nfortunately , first-time screenwriter marc klein has sketched strong , well-rounded , characters to propel a predictable and corny narrative . \\ncoupled with deft directing by michael chelsom ( director of the very unfunny town and country and the very funny funny bones ) and the use of time-lapse camera work to illustrate the passage of years -- the film comes off with genuine believability and sincerity . \\nboth piven and molly shannon make nice sidekick characters \\non the flipside , films such as you\\'ve got mail , made in heaven , and even high fidelity are the quiet inspirations for the film\\'s main journey at hand . \\nbut it\\'s what happens to the unexpecting characters left behind in the romantic wake after john and sara find happiness this is the most unsettling part of the picture . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"capsule : the verma family is having a wedding and all the relatives will come for the multi-day festivities . \\nmira nair's film is pleasant enough with a little human drama , a few family secrets , some sadness and some happiness . \\nyou have seen it all before , but perhaps not from india . \\nthe photography is colorful and the music is very agreeable . \\n , low +2 ( -4 to +4 ) \\nmira nair previously directed salaam bombay and mississippi masala . \\nher newest film , written by sabrina dhawan , is very similar to previous films like betsy's wedding but it is set in new delhi . \\na wealthy family is having a wedding . \\nan indian wedding is a multi-day affair as much a family reunion as a nuptial . \\neven more than in the us , it is an excuse for a lavish and extravagant family get-together . \\nthe film shows us what the family does together and at the same time follows several family members' individual story lines . \\naditi verma is marrying hemant , an indian engineer working in the us . \\nshe had previously had a relationship with vikram , her supervisor . \\nlatit , her father ( played by naseeruddin shah ) , is juggling many problems , not the least of which is worrying about the caterer has hired pk dubey . \\ndubey is a rather eccentric man with a taste for eating the marigolds he uses for decoration . \\neven dubey will soon be romantically entangled when he becomes interested in alice , one of the family servants . \\nseveral family members arrive giving rise to several plotlines involving sex , family secrets , or both . \\nthere are heartbreaks and there are people falling in love . \\nsome of the subjects covered are probably near taboo for indian films . \\nwestern audiences will appreciate a look at unfamiliar indian customs like women painting their hands with henna . \\non the other hand it was not clear ( to me at least ) if scenes like the family singing together are typical of indian culture or if they are a convention of indian musical films . \\nthis seems a particularly westernized family with the father wearing american designer sweaters and the family speaking mostly english . \\nthe latter will , however , help with an international release . \\nsabrina dhawan's screenplay is vibrant with witty dialog . \\nwe have seen films with plotting very much like this , but the indian setting makes a great deal of difference . \\ndirector mira nair calls the film an affirmation of life . \\ni rate it a 7 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'capsule : combine one quart of raiders of the lost ark , a dash of a jackie chan movie ( sans jackie ) , two teaspoons of gun- and swordplay , and a dollop of cgi . \\nsimmer for 100 minutes . \\nyields : zilch . \\nthe phantom is a depressing and tired retread of so many earlier , better movies that after the fifteen-minute mark i started cataloguing them out loud . \\nit\\'s hard to make a good action-adventure movie that doesn\\'t simply recycle its predecessors , and i\\'ve seen movies that even at least did the recycling gracefully . \\nthe phantom , allegedly based on the long-running comic of the same name , doesn\\'t even bother to be graceful . \\nit\\'s a stupid and incompetent movie in too many ways to list , but i\\'ll try . \\nthe film opens up with a \" prelude \" sequence that looks like it was slashed to ribbons in the editing and then given a heavy voice-over to compensate for whatever got thrown out . \\nwe go from there to a jungle sequence that , i swear to god , recycles the truck-chase scene from raiders of the lost ark note-for-note , possibly even shot-for-shot , right down to the moment where indy wrenched open the door and slung one of the drivers out into the brush -- and then goes on to rip off the rope-bridge scene from \" sorcerer \" as well ! \\nsorcerer , as you may well remember , was a remake of a french movie , the wages of fear , in which a bunch of lowlifes were paid piles of money to drive a truck loaded with nitro through horrible jungle terrain . \\nboth versions of that movie were far more interesting than this flick , but i\\'ve got my job to do , so back to the salt mines we go . \\nanyway , the cinematic theft doesn\\'t stop there . \\nor at least the lack of inspiration . \\nthere isn\\'t a single thing here we haven\\'t seen , and it\\'s not given to us in a way that remotely evokes our interest . \\nwe have ( where\\'s my list ? ) \\na bad girl , a tough good girl , a secret cave hideaway ( which seems inspired more by dr . \\nno than anything else ) , a boardroom meeting that drips with greed and venality , magical artifacts of terrible power , and cary-hiroyuki tagawa wasted in another stupid role where he gets to wear a fu manchu mustache and sneer a lot and generally humiliate himself . \\nwhat else is there ? \\nthe plot is a waste of time . \\nthe sets alternate between big but hokey -- and tiny and still hokey . \\nthere are lines in the script that are just begging to be mst3ked -- and i\\'m sure once mike and the \\'bots get the cash , they\\'ll stick it on their sked . \\nthe only thing in the movie worth noting is billy zane -- he\\'s a good actor , and he tries very hard , even when the script is sending him down one dead alley of a scene after another . \\nall i can say is that i pray this isn\\'t the beginning of the end for him -- although it sure looks like the final nail in the coffin for the comic-book super-hero movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i've got to admit it . . . \\ni'm a huge jim carrey fan . \\ni loved the first ace ventura , as well as the mask and dumb and dumber--and even in batman forever ( which was a pretty awful movie ) , carrey was one of the few people to come off looking reasonably good . \\nuntil i saw ace ventura 2 , i had no idea how people could find the guy annoying . \\nsadly , ace ventura 2 shows just how irritating and annoying carrey can be . \\ncarrey goes through the same schtick he went through in the first ace movie , but this time it is no longer funny--it is just a rehash of many of the same jokes used in ace i . \\nthe plot sees pet detective ace ventura retiring after failing to save a raccoon ( in a reasonable cliffhanger spoof ) . \\nsoon he is called out of retirement to find a bat which was kidnapped and , if not returned in four days , will cause two warring african tribes to destroy each other . \\nonce again , it's up to ace to save the day , using his uncanny detective skills . \\nthose who have been disappointed by carrey's more restrained roles in the films following the first ace ventura may be glad to see him over-acting to the best of his ability , but some may be disappointed by the fact that this sequel doesn't capture the feel of the original . \\nthe original benefited from what looked to be carrey's constant hyped-up improv sequences , which were hysterically funny . \\nhere , however , the tighter script ( which is reminiscent of the old disney telemovies ) takes the improvised material from the first , and shamelessly recycles it in the new movie , giving carrey little chance to improvise . \\ninstead , his extremely funny manner has been reduced to just walking around stupidly . \\nbut one of the biggest problems i had was with the character of ventura himself . \\nin the first movie , he was always cool , and one step ahead of every one else--perfect for carrey's off-the-wall approach . \\nbut here , ventura is made to look a lot stupider , and is often made out as the straight guy--a role which is definitely not carrey's style . \\nthere are definitely some very funny moments , but they are few and far between . \\nthey are also nowhere near as funny as anything carrey did in the first ace ventura , or even dumb and dumber . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the tagline for this film is : \" some houses are just born bad \" . \\nso i didn\\'t expect too much from this . \\nbut i had preserved a little spark of ope as i entered the theatre . \\ni thought : liam neeson , cathrine zeta jones and jan de bont . \\ni thought , mabe it will be fun ? \\nand in fact the beginning was rather intriguing . \\nbut by the end of it i thought : why liam neeson and cathrine zeta jones , jan de bont ? . \\nthese great actors are basically helpless with this muddled mess that defies any rationality . \\nhere is the story : in the monstrously over-decorated mansion known as hill house , visitors are tricked by an unknown doctor ( liam neeson ) into being guinea pigs in a fright experiment under the guise of an insomnia investigation . \\namong them is a sophisticated bisexual ( cathrine zeta jones ) , a cynical dope ( owen wilson ) and a gentle and emotional lady ( lily taylor ) . \\nactually , the doctor is researching the \" primordial fear reaction \" and intends to plant disturbing ideas in his subjects and watch ! \\nwhat happens . \\nbut he gets unexpected help from the house itself . \\nit rumbles , hums and belches forth remarkable sights . \\nportals become veiny stained-glass eyeballs . \\na fireplace guarded by stone lions gapes like a sinister mouth . \\nfilmy cherubic spirits take shape under sheets and billowy curtains . \\nbut the computerized spooketeria rarely feels real , placing an emotional wall between audience and screen . \\nthe second half of the film is basically about the main heroine running back and forth from the sinister lamps and evil furniture . \\nis that exciting or what ? \\nthe worst thing about it is that it didn\\'t have to be bad . \\nit\\'s based on a great book , ``the haunting of hill house , \\'\\' by shirley jackson . \\na 1963 adaptation of the book was scary and intelligent . \\nit played with the greatest fears of our sub conscience . \\n \" the blair witch project \" , that cost less than an old car , managed to shock and terrify the audiences from their senses . \\nand with a $70 mill . \\nbudget , de bont and screenwriter david self make hash out of a perfectly lovely piece of terror . \\nde ! \\nbont has a style of filmmaking so out of line with the material that it is , in itself , frightening . \\nhe is the master of the extravagant special effect and the big visual adrenaline rush . \\nbut why give him a more serious material ? \\nin the end \" haunting \" will only haunt its fledgling studio ( dream works skg ) and de bont\\'s career as a director . \\nyet it wouldn\\'t be fair to say that everything is bad . \\nthe effects are truly impressive and the house is wonderfully decorated -- beautiful , mysterious , magical and spooky . \\nbut this is where the good things end . \\nthe music is blaring , the floors moving , the ceiling morphing and the pictures on the walls screaming -- and all of this , every second , every moment of screen time , is absolutely without life . \\nit\\'s nothing more than a special effects-extravaganza ; visually impressive , but intellectually hollow thriller that simply doesn\\'t engage . \\nat first you do not know what\\'s going on . \\nis this part of the experiment ? \\nare these hallucinations ? \\nprojections of the subconscience ? \\nparanoia ? \\nbut in the end it shows out that this is actually happening . \\nthe house is actually possessed . \\nit is at that point when all your hopes for a good entertainment disappears out of the window . \\nfor ever , i sat in anticipation for a decent climax and that\\'s what i got ? \\ni believe hichock once said that \" it\\'s ! \\nbetter to wait for a climax , than to see one \" . \\nthis may be true , and it might actually work , but there is only one problem -- jan de bont is not hichock and the things that he shows are not scary , only stupid . \\nthey are impossible to take seriously . \\nany paralells that you might have heard before , linking this picture to kubrick\\'s \" the shining \" , are absolutely baseless . \\n \" shining \" had class , style , story , acting , but most of all talent and originality . \\n \" haunting \" has only special effects and art direction to boast of . \\nand those elements alone are not enough to make it a good film . \\ncasting good actors for small , pale parts only makes things worse . \\nbut i guess that no matter what i or other critics say or write , most of you will see this film anyway , even if the tagline would say : \" some films are just born stupid \" . \\n',\n",
+       " b'bad . bad . \\nbad . \\nthat one word seems to pretty much sums up beyond the valley of the dolls . \\nif that summary isn\\'t enough for you , how about t&a , t&a , t&a ? \\nstill haven\\'t got the point ? \\nother than director russ meyer\\'s predilection for casting attractive large breasted women who ultimately expose the afore-mentioned anatomical areas , there is really only one other reason to recommend even taking a look at this movie . \\nthat is the fact that it was co-written by famed film critic roger ebert , who also was responsible for the screenplay . \\nafter watching this movie you will never be able to sit through another one of his reviews where he gives a movie a thumbs down for bad writing with a straight face . \\nthis movie stinks out loud . \\nquite frankly , this movie deserves a . \\nbut there are parts of it that are so bad they are almost funny . \\nso i\\'m giving it a . \\nand maybe that is too generous . \\nright from the opening credits , i knew that i had a class-a bomb on my hands . \\nnot only are the way the credits actually shot distracting , but the first scene you see includes a big breasted young woman being chased by a guy in a nazi uniform . \\ni had absolutely no idea why the hell that was happening ( it does get explained later ) and as soon as the first scene is over , we cut to a completely unrelated scene . \\nto be honest , as i sat through this movie mesmerized by just how incredibly awful it was , i actually forgot about the seemingly out of place opening until it popped up again later in the film . \\nwith the quality of the writing during the rest of the film , it wouldn\\'t have surprised me if the opening had never been explained . \\nso what is this movie about ? \\nyou ask . \\nlike it really matters . \\nok , here goes . \\nthis all-girl band headed by kelly macnamara ( dolly reed ) and her friends go to hollywood to try to gain a foothold in the music industry . \\nonce there , they do manage to find success ( due as much to their hooters as anything else ? it sure wasn\\'t for their brutally bad singing voices ) , and the movie chronicles how their lives change for the worse as the pressures of fame get to them . \\neverything from big egos , to booze and drugs to free flowing sex sends them on a downward spiral . \\nthere are a couple of other idiotic subplots thrown in for good measure , but the fame is the one that pretty much sums up this thing . \\n>from a creative standpoint there is nothing redeeming here . \\nother than the above-mentioned obsession with big knockers that russ meyer seemed to have . \\nthe dialogue is so incredibly bad that it literally is funny in parts . \\nmr . ebert has generously thrown in helpings of \" hey man \" , \" dig \" and my all time favorite -- \" this is my happening , and it freaks me out \" . \\nnow i ask you , with lines like that how can you go wrong ? \\nebert had tried to inject as many big words as possible into the dialogue . \\nmaybe he thought it would make the movie seem smarter . \\ni don\\'t know , but all the big words in the world wouldn\\'t be able to disguise the bad writing and even worse acting . \\nbut the wretched dialogue goes along well with the wretched quality of everything else in this movie . \\ni\\'ve seen home movies directed better than meyer managed with this turkey . \\nin fact , there is one scene -- the one in which they are in a van driving to hollywood to make their fortunes -- during which i really had to question if meyer or his editors had just suffered serious head injuries . \\nadd to the directing and writing the music in this movie . \\ni almost got up to check my sound system to see if it was broken , there was such a pile of crap emanating from the speakers . \\nthen we have the cast . \\nfirst lets start david gurian who played harris , the manager of the band . \\nthis has got to be the goofiest looking guy that has ever set foot in front of a motion picture camera . \\nsadly , his acting doesn\\'t come close to making up for his looks . \\nif you have been following along up to this point , this shouldn\\'t surprise you . \\nmeyer\\'s stable of well endowed girls also have the benefit of being fairly attractive to go along with their other assets . \\ndolly reed plays kelly , the leader of the band . \\nand no surprise here , she was cast for her cup size , not her talents . \\nand yes , she does loose the shirt a few times and display her impressive talents . \\nsadly , her ass is almost as large as her chest . \\nhey , it a sexist movie , so i\\'m writing a sexist review . \\nthen we have former playboy playmate cynthia myers in a fairly small role as casey , one of the other band members . \\nthis goes along with the rest of the idiotic thinking in the movie . \\nmeyer casts a gorgeous playmate with a rack to kill for and who obviously has no acting talent at all , but her nude scenes are the biggest disappointment of all . \\nsure russ , now is the time to get artsy and throw in some well placed shadows . \\non the up side , she does have a fun lesbo scene . \\ni sound like i\\'m writing a review in a porn magazine . \\nbut hey , i\\'ll admit it ; the only reason that i actually managed to sit through this damn movie was to catch a look at cynthia myers naked . \\nand since that was a huge disappointment , i pretty much wasted two hours of my life on this turkey . \\nthe only thing that i can say about this movie is that you should stay away from it . \\nunless of course you want to feel good about yourself by knowing that even a pulitzer prize winning film critic like roger ebert has screwed up at least once in his life too . \\nand if you are thinking of checking it out for the double d\\'s -- you are better off just downloading nude cynthia myers pictures off the internet . \\nthis is a movie that should be avoided at all costs . \\nan even better idea might be to require video stores to place a warning on the box of beyond the valley of the dolls -- beware : this movie is extremely hazardous to your common sense . \\nproceed with extreme caution . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : leonard shelby ( pearce ) is a former insurance investigator on the trail of the man who killed his wife . \\nleonard has only a few clues to the murderer\\'s identity ; to make matters worse , he suffers from a condition which inhibits the creation of short-term memories , meaning that leonard is always forgetting what happened just minutes earlier . \\nbecause of this , leonard is forced to rely on notes he leaves for himself . \\n \" memento \" traces the investigation back in time from its apparent culmination . \\nreview : \" memento \" is the sort of movie i wish i\\'d written ; i can think of no higher praise than that . \\ni am envious that nolan has concocted such a brilliant , involved , original movie as this . \\nan instant film noir classic , \" memento \" is virtually flawless . \\nthe script is unlike any i have ever seen -- a notable achievement in these days of recycled hollywood homogeneity . \\nalthough the idea of starting at the \" conclusion \" of the plotline and then moving backward in time to the \" start \" is not entirely new , never before have i witnessed it executed with such flair and coherence . \\n \" memento \" is endlessly exciting and inventive , a rare story which keeps the viewers guessing during the film itself , and mulling over its connotations long after leaving the theatre . \\nand it is not merely an exercise in cerebrality ; there is plenty of action and an unexpected dose of humour to keep the proceedings lively . \\nnolan\\'s direction is equally effective , never losing its crispness and clarity despite \" memento \" \\'s challenging gimmick . \\nand to top everything off , all the performances rise to the occasion . \\npierce is terrific as the troubled leonard ; moss shows great range as enigmatic natalie ; and pantoliano\\'s teddy achieves a splendidly affable yet sinister quality . \\n \" memento \" may be the year\\'s best screenplay , and is certainly amongst the top theatrical attractions of 2001 . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"ingredients : possessed plastic dolls in love , plastic dolls having sex \\nstarring : jennifer tilly , voice of brad dourif , katherine heigl , nick stabile , john ritter \\nsynopsis : this is the fourth film in the chucky series , which debuted in the late 1980s . \\nbasically , chucky is a plastic doll that can walk and talk because it is possessed by the spirit of a slain murderer . \\nin bride of chucky , chucky's longtime girlfriend tiffany ( jennifer tilly ) dies and her spirit inhabits a female plastic doll through voodoo . \\ndolls tiffany and chucky get married and embark on a quest to reach a cemetery in new jersey , where a mystical gem might enable them to be humans . \\nthe dolls stow away in the back of a vehicle driven by a newly eloped couple , so in the side plot , the couple suspects each other of being a murderer . \\nopinion : bride of chucky is an attempt at horror with humor , but doesn't succeed . \\nsomehow , chucky moaning about mid life crisis , and how he should have gotten married does not make for a very scary chucky . \\nand tiffany harping about mid life crisis , and how she should have gotten married does not make for a very scary tiffany . \\nthe suspenseless bride of chucky relies mostly on jennifer tilly's cleavage to keep attention during the first half , and on occasional puns to keep attention during the second half . \\nthe best that can be said about bride of chucky is that it is sarcastic . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it seemed like the perfect concept . \\nwhat better for the farrelly brothers , famous for writing and directing comedies with offensive subject matter , than to make a movie about a guy with a split personality ? \\nit\\'s exactly the sort of thing the brothers relish : poking fun at something serious ( in this case mental illness ) , throwing all care to the wind to get a laugh . \\njim carrey\\'s signed on too ? \\neven better . \\nthe national alliance for the mentally ill even helped out by levying complaints against the brothers\\' new film before its opening , claiming it was misrepresenting the condition of split personality , labeling it incorrectly as \" schizophrenia , \" and so forth . \\nsuch a protest seemed like just the sort of thing that would , of course , only add more fuel to the farrelly brothers\\' fire , proving that some people just couldn\\'t take a joke , and that the farrellys would be helping the more enlightened viewers to yet another dose of their brilliantly subversive comedy . \\nyes , it all seemed perfect , but one thing went wrong : their movie isn\\'t funny . \\nit\\'s not for lack of trying . \\nthe farrellys utilize in \" me , myself & irene \" their most high-concept premise ever : carrey plays charlie baileygaites , a man who after being dumped by his wife for a midget limo driver , decides to bury all his aggressive feelings deep down inside and never release them . \\nthis , of course , means all his neighbors exploit his entirely too-forgiving nature , making his job as a rhode island state trooper increasingly difficult . \\nsoon enough , charlie\\'s repressed aggression manifests itself into a second , independent personality named hank , a deep-voiced , boorish ogre unafraid of taking the assertive actions his predecessor had been unable to muster . \\nthis guy isn\\'t above crashing a car through the wall of the barber shop in which he\\'s been insulted , or holding a little girl\\'s head underwater because she refused to stop jump-roping in the street . \\nthen things start getting lost in the most complicated plot the farrellys have ever attempted , and the film runs off its tracks . \\nsome have suggested that this isn\\'t a problem , because the farrelly brothers\\' brand of humor doesn\\'t require plot to work . \\nthey\\'re wrong , of course : plot was greatly instrumental in building up the kind of rollicking comic energy that infused the farrellys\\' last effort , 1996\\'s \" there\\'s something about mary . \" \\n ( 1999\\'s \" outside providence \" was technically an earlier project . ) \\nthe brothers\\' earlier film wasn\\'t funny merely because it contained outrageous gags ( despite what some newsmagazine articles would have you believe ) , but rather because its most outrageous gags were entirely unexpected . \\nin \" mary , \" the farrellys managed several times to pull off a neat sleight-of-hand trick : they\\'d have you thinking the story was going one way , then reveal its real direction in delightfully surprising fashion . \\n \" me , myself & irene , \" by contrast , seems to have been made by folks who looked at \" mary \" and saw only the surface grossness , missing all of the subtle machinations that really made it work . \\nhaving been produced by the same guys who made \" mary , \" \" irene \" seems like an even bigger disappointment . \\nthe brothers pile on the offensive humor , taking shots at race , midgets , albinos , mental illness , and all manner of bathroom jokes . \\nbut they haven\\'t come up with a way to make any of it fresh ; most of \" me , myself & irene \" comes off as rote , by-the-numbers , adolescent comedy . \\nthe plot , with carrey forced to drive alleged fugitive irene p . waters ( renee zellweger ) , who\\'s in more trouble than anyone knows , back to new york , has an ending that\\'s entirely predictable from the get-go . \\n ( think charlie and irene will fall in love ? \\nyeah , me too . ) \\nthe farrellys then introduce scores of different characters , and none of them ever manage to do anything you haven\\'t already expected them to do , no matter how outrageous their actions might be . \\ncompared to the curveballs the farrellys are used to throwing , this stuff is almost entirely soft-tossed , presenting an obvious problem : when gross-out humor loses its shock value , it\\'s no longer funny , merely gross . \\nthe jokes that do work are milked over and over until their effectiveness runs dry . \\ntake , for example , the subplot involving charlie\\'s three black sons ( anthony anderson , mongo brownlee , jerod mixon ) . \\nthe incongruity of it all is funny for a while , with three burly black men discussing higher math in ghetto language and white-bread carrey mouthing said language with an entirely too-pleasant smile on his face . \\nbut by the end of the film , they\\'re still doing the same schitck ; it hasn\\'t been elevated to another , funnier level , and it hasn\\'t been dropped either . \\nthat\\'s too bad , because it ceases to be amusing about halfway through . \\n \" me , myself & irene \" reeks of wasted opportunities . \\nthere ought to be more focus on how other people react to charlie\\'s new personality , and on how charlie deals with the consequences of hank\\'s actions . \\nthis doesn\\'t really happen ; nearly every supporting character learns about charlie\\'s condition early on , so they don\\'t have any opportunity to be surprised by it . \\nthe film throws what looks like a patented farrelly curve in a scene towards the midway point ( involving an albino companion charlie and irene pick up called , appropriately , \" whitey \" ) , but the script doesn\\'t go anywhere with it , instead leaving the thread twisting in the wind before awkwardly tying it up during the climax . \\njim carrey is a gifted comedian , both physically and vocally , but he\\'s left with nothing much to do here except contort himself in a manner similar to steve martin in \" all of me . \" \\nit\\'s a great showcase of flexibility and split-second role-shifting , but none of it is terribly funny . \\ncarrey doesn\\'t pull any stunts we don\\'t expect him to pull , and the farrellys\\' script doesn\\'t give him anything else to pull : the situations in which he must perform the role-shifting aren\\'t set up in any meaningful way . \\nperhaps carrey can take solace in the fact that his supporting actors fare no better . \\nzellweger\\'s irene is not a strong female lead ; mary in \" mary \" may have been part adolescent fantasy , but she was also intelligent and strong-willed . \\nirene is nothing in particular , as the film never makes clear whether she\\'s ditzy , clever , or neither . \\nas such , she gives us nothing to latch onto as the only \" sane \" person in the film . \\nchris cooper is stuck playing exactly one note as a corrupt fbi agent , and his character is entirely too straight-laced for a movie like this . \\nhe , like the others , does absolutely nothing unexpected . \\nafter viewing the shapeless mess that \" me , myself & irene \" eventually dissolved into , i was stuck wondering whether or not the farrellys had outsmarted themselves . \\nmaybe their kind of comedy can only work for so long until audiences get wise to it and stop being shocked . \\nbut i don\\'t believe it -- good filmmakers find ways of surprising their audiences even after people have grown attuned to their style . \\nif the farrellys are indeed good , smart filmmakers ( and i still think they are ) , they\\'ll rebound just fine . \\neven after that happens , though , i\\'ll still consider \" me , myself & irene \" to be a high-caliber misfire . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"those of you who frequently read my reviews are not likely to be surprised by the fact that i have not read victor hugo's novel les miserables . \\ni don't know if a lot of people have , though i imagine many are familiar with the popular musical based on the novel . \\ni haven't even seen that . \\ngoing into this film , i had almost no knowledge of the story or its characters ( i even expected the film to be a musical ) . \\nwalking away from it , i'm kind of glad i had no prior experience with the material . \\nwriter/director bille august's film version is a straightforward , beautifully told film . \\nliam neeson stars as the miserable jean valjean ; in the beginning , he has just been released from a 19-year prison sentence . \\nhe is allowed to stay in a convent by a kindly priest despite his rude and destructive behavior . \\nthe priest's words of wisdom influence him , and he makes a vow to change himself . \\nnine years later , we are informed that he is now the mayor of a town called vigo ; nobody knows his real name , and that he is wanted for skipping his parole nine years ago . \\nconflicts arise when inspector javert ( geoffrey rush ) is assigned to vigo . \\nvaljean remembers javert as one of the prison guards who constantly beat him , and javert remembers jean to be a convict . \\njavert is hell-bent on upholding the law , and he does everything in his power to bring jean to justice . \\nalong the way , valjean meets and falls in love with a peasant woman , fantine ( uma thurman ) , and vows to take care of her daughter , cosette ( played later by claire danes ) . \\nles miserables is visually a solid and often striking picture . \\nthe production design by anna asp is authentic and vast , and the sets don't look like sets ( they look like real towns and villages ) ; gabriella pescucci's costumes are noticeably spectacular . \\nbasil poledouris' soundtrack is thick and usually well-placed ( though it does get a bit heavy at times ) . \\nmany scenes in the film have a memorable photographic quality , such as the climax , which takes place next to a dark river in the grey obscurity of early evening . \\naugusts keeps the story simple ( which i hear is a good thing , since the novel is so complex ) and easy to follow . \\nhe manages to develop the main characters and most of the subplots adequately . \\ni was also impressed that he didn't go overboard with flash and style , which is something so many directors seem to be doing to classic stories these days ( such as baz luhrmann's vicious tragedy william shakespeare's romeo + juliet ) . \\nthis film feels solid and whole , and each scene has a certain amount of importance and vigor that keeps the audience interested . \\nliam neeson is terrific in the main role ; neeson is the kind of actor who does solemn desperation extremely well , and valjean is certainly a man who clearly fits that adjective . \\nthurman , in her small role , is very good , and proves that she has a lot of range and can perform in a very non-glamorous role such as this one . \\nrush is absolutely incredible as javert ; i don't remember ever feeling so strongly about a villain as i do here ; he adds depth and complexity with subtle glances and nuances , and effortlessly makes each of his scenes intense . \\ni can't be as charitable for danes , however ; though i know she is a talented actress , here she tends to overact when it might have been better to underplay the character a bit . \\nles miserables is , as i've said , a solid , intelligent motion picture . \\nmy only complaint is that it feels a bit too easy , and perhaps too staged . \\neach scene is grand and huge , and exploding with poledouris' score , but i didn't always want them to be . \\nfor the most part , les miserables is not a subtle or deep picture . \\nit's a good movie , and tells its story well , but august tends to hand-feed us themes and scenes that would have worked better had they been more subtle . \\nhowever , in a film this exciting and well-produced , a few minor flaws are easily overlooked . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"well , as i check my score card for what i've done this holiday weekend , it reads good ideas : 0 and dumb ideas : 1 . \\ni don't know what i was thinking when i decided to watch this movie . \\nbut in my defense , i can only say that it was someone else who urged me to see this with him . \\nthe film that i'm talking about is `a night at the roxbury , ' one of those offerings based on a saturday night live skit . \\nwayne and garth , these two are not . \\nrather , we meet doug and steve butabi ( the actors' names are not worth mentioning ) , two eternal partyers whose greatest ambitions in life seem to be finding a way to get into the hottest night club in the city , the roxbury . \\ndriving in their dad's bmw and donning metallic disco suits right out of miami vice , they try to bribe the bouncer to get into the club . \\n`have you met my friend washington and his friend roosevelt , ' they confidently say as they pull out spare pocket change . \\ntheir second greatest ambition seems to be oozing out as many silly pick-up lines as is humanly possible in order to start a conversation with a girl ( `let me see that label . \\njust as i thought - made in heaven , ' says one of the brothers ) . \\nand , like the losers that they are , they fail to do either for much of the film . \\nhowever , as fate would have it , an accidental meeting with `what-ever-happened-to' richard grieco gives them the all-important ticket to get in . \\ntheir sad lives take on a whole new direction . \\nthey make an important contact with the club owner who believes that these two brothers have uncanny insight into the club scene . \\nand they are mistaken as rich swingers by two voluptuous young women . \\nbut their newfound popularity does not impress their father , who has other plans for them . \\nthe unfortunate thing about this film is that this is a one-joke movie , and the brothers are the joke . \\nactually , there's about 10 mintues worth of tolerable stuff . \\nalas , too long for tv and way too short for a feature-length film . \\nthus , there just isn't enough material to sustain the 83-minute movie . \\nthere's no plot to be found and everything that these two do seem to culminate in an opportunity to execute their trademark move of snapping their heads in unison to the funky beat of haddaway's europop song , what is love . \\ni was amazed that none of the two suffered from whiplash . \\nto take up more film time , there is a subplot involving the daughter of the businessman next door who wants to marry doug . \\nthis creates not only friction between the brothers , but their unlikely pairing will also agitate audience members as well . \\nshe's educated and a forebearing witch . \\nmeanwhile , doug is a complete loser . \\nhow did these two ever get together ? \\ni suppose that if i can ever figure out the answer to that question , i'll have figured out why i decided to go and see this movie . \\nif you're looking for entertainment , you won't find it at the roxbury . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'for those interested in the true spirit of moviemaking - or what\\'s left of it in mainstream hollywood - movie which are star vehicles are terrible things . \\nas a rule , the ignore general principles of cinema because they are not made to advance the media but rather to advance the career of a particular actor . \\nan actor might be chosen on the up-and-up , to give him exposure ; or he might be chosen on the way down to hand him a paycheck . \\ngenerally , though , the actor doesn\\'t matter , and soldier , the latest from the beleaguered warner brothers , exemplifies this : the picture lacks pizazz . \\nthe star for the vehicle in this case is kurt russell , otherwise known as the man of thirty words or less . \\nrussell plays todd , a human trained from birth in the ways of waging war and becoming emotionally distanced from the carnage he has wrought . \\nthe movie lets us see this degenerate process , but by the time the real plot starts , we\\'re into todd\\'s later years . \\nhe\\'s about to be replaced by a new breed of soldiers , ones who , instead of being trained * from * birth , are genetically selected * before * birth . \\nthe pride of this class - caine 607 ( jason scott lee ) - will be our villain , and you know he\\'s the villain because he has a staring contest with our hero near the movie\\'s start . \\nbetween the two leads , less than a full typed page of dialogue is spoken , and it\\'s possible to imagine a script which is ninety percent stage direction . \\ndirector paul anderson , who helmed last year\\'s icy thriller , event horizon , doesn\\'t show any inventiveness here and instead is content to let the actions play out on screen ad nauseam . \\ntodd , upon being replaced , is left to die on a garbage planet ; but in order to stretch the running time out , the villains return to the garbage planet on a \" routine patrol \" and set the stage for the final firefight . \\nevents are predictable from the time that the setups are made , and neither anderson nor scriptwriter david peoples attempts to show any creativeness here . \\nthe most annoying plot facet is the reason that the whole of the movie comes to be : todd fails to show physical superiority against caine - in fact , not even todd and two of his companions can best the baddie - but near the end of the movie he shows remarkable prowess with automatic weaponry . \\nit\\'s not as though todd undergoes any significant character changes throughout the plot of the story , and so the plot has a very canned feeling about it . \\nthe best route through this disaster is to take it lighthearted in spirit , and treat it as a parody of typical action fare , like universal soldier . \\na strict interpretation , however , reveals an unmistakeable and unforgiveable lack of style , class , or substance ; and by next year , a large percentage of the people who have seen this will have taped it off of network television . \\n',\n",
+       " b'for timing reasons having to do with baby sitters , we recently went to a multiplex and saw undercover blues . \\ni would give it one half of a star for guts . \\nanyone in a movie this bad would have to have guts . \\ni later read a ny times review that said kathleen turner and dennis quaid had gotten so plump they looked like they had the mumps in the show . \\nthe script was the worst part . \\nthey had characters who talked with funny accents in an attempt to make you laugh . \\nthey had lots of \" great \" sight gags like two people trying to go in a door together and therefore bumping shoulders against the door . \\nturner and quaid both kept smiling like some idiots on a game show . \\nthe good news is that we were smart enough to vote with our feet and left . \\nbuy some tickets and give them to your worst enemies . \\ntell them the show is great and smile a lot . \\n * * * * = one of the top few films of this or any year . \\na must see film . \\n * * * = excellent show . \\nlook for it . \\n * * = average movie . \\nkind of enjoyable . \\n * = poor show . \\ndon\\'t waste your money . \\n0 = one of the worst films of this or any year . \\ntotally unbearable . \\nreview written on : september 29 , 1993 \\nopinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer\\'s . \\n',\n",
+       " b'and just when you thought joblo was getting a little soft around the corners , not rating anything lower than your standard \" this movie sucks \" , along comes this cinematic atrocity and he\\'s forced to take out his secret weapon and spray it with a stench so thick , even the bravest movie-goer would think twice about seeing this waste of time . \\nyes , despite being a third sequel to a successful original movie , the latest highlander doesn\\'t seem to have anything going for it . \\noh stinky movie , let me count thee ways . . . \\nplot : ( from what i understood ) a really bad highlander dude comes to the present looking to whack out the nice highlander dudes in order to gain their power and become the mightiest immortal . . . or \\nsomething along those lines . \\ncritique : a complete and utter mess . \\ndisjointed , incoherent , boring , corny , filled with bad dialogue . . . and \\nthat\\'s just the first thirty minutes ! \\nthis film doesn\\'t seem to know what to do with itself . \\nit\\'s confusing to anyone who doesn\\'t know the series ( i include myself in that group ) and apparently idiotic to those who do know the series ( i include die-hard highlander fan the arrow in that group ) . \\nthe film doesn\\'t explain anything about itself . . . it \\njust goes from one inexplicable situation to another . \\none moment they\\'re in the present time , the next moment , they\\'re in italy in the 1600s . \\nwhy ? \\nwho knows . \\nwhat are they talking about ? \\nno idea . \\nflashbacks mixed in with the present , mixed in with a few spontaneously cheesy fight sequences every now and again , and i even remember seeing one flashback scene which went even further into its own flashback scene ! ! \\nhullo . . . ? ! ? \\nconfused yet ? \\ni was and i basically stopped giving a crap about anyone in the film when i realized that neither the writer or director was interested in presenting me with any kind of semblance of a story . \\nrandom swordplay , mad max-like dudes showing up in motorcycles in the 1800s ? \\nor were they in the present at that time ? \\nwho knows . . . and to be honest . . . who \\nseriously cares ! \\nthis series should have been shot in the head and put out of its own misery a long time ago , but sadly , someone at the studio decided that it still had a little life left in it . \\nplease , please . . . for the love of god and all that is holy in the world of movie-making , and mostly out of respect for those who loved the original film , put this series to bed and end it ! \\neven christopher lambert knew enough to play second fiddle to adrian paul in this one . \\nthe director also tries to do the best he can with the muddled material , but all he could come up with is plenty of slo-mo action , some fast-motion fight scenes and lots of smoke everywhere . \\nand is there anything spectacular about the sword-play or fight scenes ? \\nnope . \\nand i think we all could have done without all those zooming lambert face close-ups . . . yipes , \\nthe man is not aging gracefully , is he ? \\noh boy , and i haven\\'t even gotten around to the greatest piece of over-acting that i\\'ve seen in years . \\nthe man who plays kell in this movie , bruce payne , should get a ham trophy for literally chewing up every piece of scenery that he gets near . \\noveracting is not a hobby for this guy . . . it\\'s \\na living ! \\nhe\\'s also very funny , not purposely though . \\nall in all , the movie stinks . \\nnuff said . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the muppet movie is the first , and the best movie among the ever-growing list of muppet movies . \\nthe muppet movie tells the story of how our hero , kermit the frog , came to be a star . \\na delightful movie for all ages , the muppet movie is * bursting * with cameo appearances by countless hollywood stars of the 80\\'s and today . \\nthe muppet movie begins in a movie theater , where all of the muppet stars are anxiously awaiting the first showing . \\nonce everyone is settled down , the movie inside of the movie begins . \\nit starts out with kermit in a swamp , playing his banjo and singing ( this shot required jim henson to spend hours underwater ) . \\nkermit is discovered by bernie , a big-time hollywood agent who happens upon kermit by accident . \\nbernie believes that kermit holds much potential to become a big star in hollywood . \\nkermit ponders the idea of becoming a big movie star , where he could \" make millions of people happy \" . \\nkermit decides to leave his swamp and make the trip out to hollywood . \\nalong the way , kermit befriends his now famous muppet companions , beginning with fozzie bear , who had been spending his days doing stand-up comedy at the el sleezo cafe , owned by james coburn . \\nthe two decide to team-up and continue on their way to hollywood . \\nbut , doc hopper ( charles durning ) , the owner of a chain of french fried frog leg restaurants has a different idea . \\nhe wants kermit to be his spokesman , but kermit is humiliated at the idea and spends the movie avoiding him and his assistants . \\nthe trip continues , with kermit and fozzie meeting miss piggy , rowlf , gonzo , the electric mayhem band , and more muppets who all share the same wish : to make it to hollywood . \\noh , and even more celebrities continue to appear . \\nkermit and miss piggy continue to get to know each other a little better , including a rather funny scene at a restaurant with steve martin as the waiter . \\neventually , kermit and the group make it to hollywood . \\nthat is , after kermit is finally able to elude doc hopper and proclaim his freedom . \\nlord lew , a big-time hollywood producer portrayed by orson welles , gives kermit his shot at stardom and gives him the go-ahead to produce a movie . \\nthe muppet movie is definitely a movie that is fun for all ages . \\nit is also a sure-deal as one parents can watch , and enjoy along with their kids . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i like movies with albert brooks , and i really like movies directed and written by albert brooks . \\nlost in america and defending your life are two of my favorite comedies . \\nhis humor is of a kind that is not very prevalent in movies today , inundated as we are with films which revel in their aim toward the lowest common denominator . \\nyou will rarely see any slapstick in an albert brooks film , while the dialog will not be as oppressive as in some of the independent \" talk films \" which are finding their way into theaters . \\nthe situations in which his characters find themselves are ones we can often identify with , but even if we can\\'t , brooks has the talent to make them comfortable , and therefore we laugh . \\nteenagers and jim carrey fans probably won\\'t find an albert brooks movie very funny , but people who look for more than what we could find on television probably will . \\nput simply , brooks\\' comedy is intelligent . \\nmother is albert brooks\\' latest film , and it does not disappoint . \\nbrooks plays john henderson , a middle-aged science fiction writer just coming off his second divorce . \\nhe makes an attempt at dating , but fails miserably . \\nhe then has dinner with his brother jeff ( rob morrow ) , a successful sports agent who seems to live the ideal life . \\njeff has a good job , a loving family , and most of all , a warm relationship with their mother beatrice ( debbie reynolds ) . \\nafter dinner , john witnesses a telephone conversation between jeff and beatrice , and is at the same time amazed and sickened by how hunky-dory the dialog is . \\nin comparison , beatrice always hints at a fault in john and his career every time she talks with him , and john gives it right back to her . \\nat the end of one of their conversations where beatrice has just picked apart john\\'s life , she says , \" i love you , \" and john replies with , \" i know you think you do . \" \\nthe thing is , beatrice is not overt with her criticisms , but instead gives them in that mothering way which is tantamount to nit-picking and guilt loading . \\nit\\'s the kind that goes something like , \" yes , dear , i think you do that wonderfully , but . . . . \" \\nit seems as though nothing he does makes her happy . \\nthere\\'s always the big but . \\njohn believes that his mother is somehow connected to his failed relationships with women , either because of his flawed self-esteem caused by his need for validation , or perhaps because he tends to unconsciously seek out women who remind him of his mother in an oedipal manner . \\nhe comes to the conclusion that since his problems are rooted in his boyhood home , he should move back in with his mother for a while just to see what kinds of feelings come out , and by that be able to sort out why his life is the way it is . \\n \" a great experiment \" , he calls it . \\nbrooks\\' own brand of humor really shines in this film , especially in the interaction john has with his mother . \\nthere\\'s a scene where john has just arrived at his mother\\'s house , and after having driven from los angeles to sausalito , and having explained to his mother about the \" great experiment \" , beatrice asks , \" now explain to me again why you don\\'t want to stay at a hotel . \" \\nshe still doesn\\'t get it , and it is absolutely hilarious . \\nin the same scene , we get little glances at the life his mother leads when she tries to feed him food that is no longer fresh . \\nshe apparently buys in great quantities and refrigerates it until the lettuce is wilted and the sherbet is iced over . \\nwhen john points out the ice on the sherbet , beatrice tells him not to worry about the protective glaze . \\n \" you\\'ve named the ice ? \" \\nasks john . \\nhe\\'s also surprised at the variety of items beatrice keeps in the refrigerator , such as a twenty-pound block of cheese . \\n \" the freezer was a good invention , \" says john , \" but it\\'s not supposed to be used for everything . \\nthat\\'s why it\\'s smaller than the refrigerator . \" \\nit\\'s something most of us find strangely familiar . \\nbrooks is also a master at employing the non sequitur . \\nfor example , in defending your life , his and meryl streep\\'s characters are in a comedy club having a discussion . \\nwhen they\\'re finished and walk out , brooks cuts to the comic on stage who is just at the point of delivering his punch line , \" and so the moral is , if you have to fart , go outside ! \" \\nyou don\\'t know what the joke was because you couldn\\'t hear him during the entire scene , but i must have laughed for the next five minutes , it seemed so out of context . \\nin this film , brooks uses the same trick a couple of times to open or close a scene . \\ni don\\'t want to give them away , but suffice it to say they work just as well as they have in the past . \\njohn\\'s purpose for staying with his mother is to learn , and we as the audience learn right along with him . \\nhis mother is not the fascinating type to begin with , but as john spends more time with her , we learn things about her personality and her lifestyle that give her depth . \\nwatching the character of beatrice unfold is every bit as enjoyable as the humor that accompanies it each step of the way . \\non screen , brooks does an excellent job playing this kind of character : you get the feeling he often believes he is the only sane person in an insane world . \\nin a way , he\\'s very much like yosarian of catch-22 , expect with something of an attitude . \\ncasting debbie reynolds as beatrice is perfect . \\nshe assumes the part with ease , even moving and speaking a little slowly , and is just so adorable it\\'s hard to get mad at her character . \\nthis only helps the audience to share the frustration john feels when dealing with her . \\nas his first choice , brooks originally wanted to lure nancy reagan out from her acting retirement to play beatrice , but the former actress and first lady could not leave her husband , who was beginning to show symptoms of alzheimer\\'s disease . \\nthat may be just as well , since reynolds lends a softness to the character which enhances it immensely . \\nrob morrow also does a good job at playing the younger brother who has always been mother\\'s favorite and , for all his success in his job and family , is slowly exposed as a mama\\'s boy . \\nthe only things that hold this movie back from being better are a couple of plot holes . \\na solid connection is not really made between john\\'s troubles and his reasons for living with his mother . \\nadditionally , the end results of the experiment do not necessarily jibe with the stated goals , and although this may have been sloppy screenwriting , how can you be mad at the guy who also wrote this ? : \\nbeatrice : you must think i\\'m some kind of moron . \\njohn : no , i think your someone who thinks i\\'m a moron . \\nbeatrice : well , it takes one to know one . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"martin scorsese's triumphant adaptation of edith wharton's the age of innocence is a stunning film for the quintessential new york filmmaker , the man who brought the streets of taxi driver and mean streets to life . \\nit seems like an odd choice for scorsese to do a period piece in the early 1900's , but the fact that he pulls it off so brilliantly is a wonder , and a testament to the greatness of scorsese as a filmmaker . \\nthis is a gorgeous visual experience that it surely one of scorsese's finest . \\nnewland archer ( day-lewis ) is a prestigious lawyer who is engaged to may welland ( ryder ) , a somewhat empty and shallow new yorker , who belongs to a prestigious family and is quite beautiful . \\nthe marriage is one which will unite two very prestigious families , in a society where nothing is more important than the opinions of others . \\non the day that archer is to announce his engagement to may , countess ellen olenska ( pfeiffer ) , cousin of may , walks into archer's life . \\narcher is immediately captivated , and finds himself in love with ellen . \\narcher is also bound by the limits of new york society , which is an intrusive as any other in the world . \\narcher finds himself having a secret love affair in his mind with countess olenska , attempting to keep her in his mind while trying not to lose his social status . \\nthe film's subject matter may seem alien to scorsese , but the theme is definitely not . \\nit is a theme of forbidden romance , guilty pleasures , and the consequences causes because of those actions . \\nthere is a painstakingly flawed hero , and his choice between the life he wants , and the life he is destined for . \\nin truth , it is a film about a society the audience doesn't know about , but wants to find out more , much like the society of goodfellas or even kundun . \\nthe performances are absolutely breathtaking . \\nday-lewis portrays more mental anguish in his face than one man should be forced to take . \\npfeiffer is marvelous as countess olenska , a mix of passion and beauty that the audience would die for as well . \\nryder is probably the gem of the group , for it is her quiet presence that overwhelms the plot , and slowly pushes day-lewis closer and closer to his eventual ending . \\nthe supporting cast is also wonderful , with several characters so singular that they are indelible in one's memory . \\nscorsese definitely has a passion for filmmaking . \\nhis lavish and sumptuous set design and marvelous recreation of new york is a wondrous sight . \\nhe literally transports the viewer to another world with incredible imagery . \\nhis script is also excellent , slow in buildup , with a rapid conclusion and a fantastic ending that has to be seen to be believed . \\nit is difficult to make a period piece gripping : scorsese , however , does it beautifully . \\nthe famous cameras of the legendary director are also everywhere . \\nhe is patient , but he films everything and anything remotely important . \\nthe cameras sweep , pan , track , and do more than they've ever done , but they are so subtle , one doesn't realize he's watching all the scorsese hallmarks until a 2nd viewing . \\nthe central tracking shot is probably longer and more complex than the famous goodfellas shot , but the viewer doesn't notice it , because we want to see more of this gorgeous world . \\nthere are a few deft touches of filmmaking that are simply outstanding , and joanne woodward' narration is exquisite . \\nnot a fast film like goodfellas , this shares more in common with kundun than anything else . \\nand like kundun , this is a slow-starting film that truly shines , when given the chance to fully breathe and bloom in the end . \\na beautiful film by a director continuing to challenge himself year after year . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the jekyll and hyde story told from his maid\\'s point of view is , in a word , \" dark \" . \\nyou wouldn\\'t expect something bright and cheery based on robert louis stevenson\\'s novel , but the film is surprisingly dreary and dismal . \\njekyll/hyde ( john malkovich ) is terminally depressed and desperate . \\nmary reilly ( julia roberts ) is a victim of monstrous child abuse and the anti-woman sentiment of the times . \\ndirector stephen fears\\' version of the london slums makes us marvel that anyone survived them . \\nthe lighting level is exceedingly low throughout the movie : it almost appears to be filmed in black and white . \\nthe direction and cinematography are brilliant and liquid . \\nscenes flow into the next scene like honey oozing off a strawberry . \\n ( except there\\'s no red , of course . ) \\nthe look is so moody and melodramatic that you\\'ll be shocked when you leave the theater . \\ni saw it at a matinee and took quite a while to adjust to the sunny skies afterward . \\noften the jekyll and hyde archetypes are viewed as splitting a whole person into components of good and evil or perhaps cerebral and emotional parts . \\nhere the doctor is intellectual and perhaps good , but certainly powerless . \\nhis alter ego is forceful and totally without conscience . \\ntwo parts that make up a whole . \\nneither are capable of functioning without the other and once separated , disaster is inevitable . \\nthe differences between the two characters would be more effective if it were accomplished by demeanor and attitude . \\nwhen we finally see the transformation , the special effects thrust the story into the realm of science fiction , not the psychological horror that the tale demands . \\nroberts and malkovich are skillful in their roles . \\nboth are suitably melancholy , fitting in with the rest of the film . \\nthe only flash of life and color comes from glenn close ( and her lips ) as the madam of a whorehouse where hyde lives , and surprisingly , jekyll apparently frequents . \\nlife and color maybe , but this is not close\\'s best role . \\nshe seems little more than a cardboard cutout character . \\na beautiful film in its own dreary way . \\nyou\\'ll appreciate the filmmaking craft , but don\\'t expect to leave in an upbeat mood . \\n',\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" the closet \" ( miramax films ) \\nin this hilarious french farce , a shy , boring accountant ( daniel auteil ) named francois pignon discovers he\\'s going to be fired from his job at a condom factory . \\nlonely and distraught , he contemplates suicide . \\nbut then he runs into belone ( michel aumont ) , an elderly homosexual neighbor , who suggests a \" sex discrimination \" lawsuit to intimidate management . \\nas evidence , belone concocts provocative photographs of pignon locked in a leather-clad embrace with another man and mails them anonymously to pignon\\'s boss . \\nwhen the racy snapshots start circulating around the factory , not only does pignon get his job back but he suddenly finds himself the focus of attention as an openly gay man . \\nhis lusty supervisor ( michele laroque ) is so intrigued that she wonders if , perhaps , she could change his sexual preferences . \\neven his ex-wife ( alexandra vandernoot ) and indifferent teenage son ( stanislas crevillen ) drop their disdain . \\nbut not everyone is enchanted . \\na mucho macho co-worker felix ( gerard depardieu ) , a self-righteous homophobe , is stunned and repulsed when he\\'s forced by the pr director ( thierry lhermite ) to grovel and court pignon\\'s friendship or risk losing his own job . \\nwriter/director francis verber artfully milks the farcical comedy as he dissects the hypocrisy of political correctness , veering off-track only occasionally into pedophilia . \\ndaniel auteuil ( \" the widow of saint-pierre \" ) is delightful - particularly with a blown-up condom perched on his head , riding on a float in a gay pride parade - and gerard depardieu delivers one of his most restrained , and effective , performances . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" the closet \" is a frankly sexual , adult 8 . \\nit\\'s so clever , in fact , that hollywood is already planning to re-make it in english , like \" la cage aux folles . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'ingredients : man with amnesia who wakes up wanted for murder , dark science fiction city controlled by alien beings with mental powers . \\nsynopsis : what if you woke up one day , and suspected you were not on earth , and instead were part of an experiment in a giant space terrarium manipulated by intergalactic alien zookeepers ? \\nin dark city john murdoch ( rufus sewell ) has this problem . \\ndark city starts out like a 1940s noir amnesia detective mystery . \\npoor john wakes up with amnesia in a hotel room with a dead dame in one corner . \\na mysterious phone call tells him to get the heck out of there , and soon enough john is chased all over town by a murderous army of pale people in black trench-coats , as well as by the police , and the dogged inspector bumstead ( william hurt ) . \\nis john a murderer , and what can his missing memories tell him ? \\nhe searches through his own wallet for possible contacts and clues . \\nbut when the clues don\\'t fit , it doesn\\'t just confuse him ; it causes john to go so far as to question the whole nature of reality in the dark city . \\nto john , something is fishy , and very unreal about this city . \\nhow come it\\'s always dark , and nobody seems to remember what they did this morning ? \\nand how come nobody seems to remember how to leave the city , or how to get to nearby shell beach ? \\nevery night , around midnight , john notices that the whole city enters a state of suspended animation , and at this time , creepy alien experimenters known as the \\'strangers\\' come out and do nasty things like inject fake memories into people\\'s heads with big hypodermic needles . \\nthe strangers have the ability to \\'tune , \\' or warp reality using telepathic powers . \\nturns out , the city is not on earth at all . \\nand the reason why john doesn\\'t fall victim to the nightly suspended animation , is because he is a human mutation that possesses the same god-like reality-warping abilities as the strangers . \\neven with the help of scientist dr . daniel schreber , can john take back the dark city ? \\nopinion : director alex proyas ( he also directed the crow ) mentions this in the dark city press kit : in films , science fiction is always \" used to have big spaceships blow up cities . \\ni think we\\'re a little tired of that . \" \\naccording to director proyas , probably the most interesting thing about dark city is its layers . \\nit\\'s designed so that you can watch the film over again , and examine it from the perspective of a main character other than murdoch . \\nit\\'s a philosophical piece . \\ncinematic science fiction is basically a thinly disguised shootout between the good humans and the bad aliens ( whether they be klingons , giant bugs , or proponents of the dark side of the force ) . \\nbut science fiction in books reaches beyond the \\'shoot-em-up\\' level and targets the big questions , questions like who are we ? \\nwhat is the human condition ? \\nwhat is ethical ? \\nwhat would a true human being do ? \\nfar from comic book style on the order of spawn , batman , or the mutant ninja turtles , dark city not only features the showdown between good humans and powerful aliens , but it also asks questions worthy of films such as brazil or blade runner . \\ndark city is what philosophers would call an existentialist screenplay . \\na little more than 200 years ago , the world was filled with unhappy peasants - - unhappy because nearly every aspect of their lives was controlled by totalitarian , military , conformist , medieval regimes . \\nthe people took refuge in religion , the idea being that earthly life was a time of suffering , but after death , heaven would be available . \\nmeanwhile , the state used these same ideas to prop up their regimes ; the king was often head of the religion and therefore sanctioned by heaven . \\nwhen science finally overturned religion , the medieval dictatorships came tumbling down and were replaced by democratic governments . \\nbut the new fear was that the power of science and experimentation would be used to create a world order as darkly totalitarian as the old . \\nthis is the time period when writers and philosophers such as freud , kant , kafka , nietzsche , and dostoevsky pondered what society should be , and what place the individual had in it . \\nthe existentialists\\' in particular wrote about the power of the lone individual against what may be a hostile , indifferent , or alienated universe . \\nin dark city , when the last dying , defeated alien asks john murdoch why the aliens\\' scientific experiments on the human beings\\' brains failed , murdoch replies , pointing to his head , \" because the human condition isn\\'t located in here . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'satirical films usually fall into one of two categories : 1 ) long-term satire where everything , including the jokes , is somehow related on a large scale ( i . e . \\n \" dr . \\nstrangelove \" ; 2 ) situation satire in which the comedy and themes are derived moment by moment and scene by scene ( i . e . \\n \" men in black \" ) . \\nwhat\\'s unique about \" wag the dog \" is that it doesn\\'t necessarily fit either of these descriptions , and yet is both at the same time . \\nthe result is a clever comedy based on an original , smart premise , even if the focus does tend to wander a bit . \\nif there\\'s anything that affects americans the most it\\'s politics and showbusiness . \\nin this age of information and technology , we\\'ve been so conditioned by the media and the entertainment industry in our ways of perceiving things , it\\'s gotten to the point that we are practically controlled by it . \\nwe need the media to bring us the most up-to-date news , but we also need the escapism of hollywood to counter all that thinking . \\nthis film starts off well by quickly establishing these ideas , and then presents an interesting scenario : if politics , the media coverage of politics , and the entertainment industry are so closely related , couldn\\'t someone with the power and authority to manipulate one of the aspects manipulate them all ? \\nthat\\'s the idea conrad brean ( de niro ) , a professional washington spin doctor , comes up with in order to restore the president\\'s good name who has been accused of child molestation just weeks before the election . \\nbrean , along with the president\\'s top advisor , winifred ames ( heche ) , fly to california to meet up with hot-shot movie producer stanley motss ( hoffman ) . \\nthey pitch him an idea to \" produce \" the image of a war with albania ( it\\'s a country no one\\'s heard of so they people will buy it ) . \\nsoon the wheels are in motion and the film\\'s riffing satire comes into play . \\nwe\\'re inundated with the hollywood mind set as motss brings in a number of experts to help manage the situation , such as a folk singer , visual and sound effects technicians , and a modern style expert known as the fad king ( leary ) . \\nthe initial atmosphere is rich with numerous pop culture references where everything somehow relates to something on tv , in the movies , or in the news . \\nthe characters\\' dialogue is witty and funny , although some of the actual jokes and gags seem rather sitcom-esque . \\nfor example , one scene shows motss and brean\\'s production crew filming an actress portraying a poor albanian refugee . \\nmotss ordered a kitten for the girl to carry , but instead wound up with a dozen different dogs . \\nsince it\\'s all computer-enhanced anyway , she ends up cradling a bag of tostitos with the kitten to be inserted later . \\nthis demonstrates the film\\'s ability to take a relatively ordinary situation and make it smart and funny just through the premise . \\nbut then there\\'s the gags and one-liners that , although are humorous , seem a little gratuitious in the long run such as motss not being able to remember the actress\\'s name , or , whenever a problem emerges , always responding with , \" this is nothing ! \" \\nby the time the film makes it to the midpoint , everything that is going to happen in terms of plot happens . \\nthe first act is quickly paced , while the second act contains most of the jokes and is the core of the film . \\nevery ten minutes or so a new problem crops up that motss and brean must deal with , and it\\'s always fascinating to see what they do and how they do it . \\nthe screenplay provides good characterization and actually deals with most of the problems head-on in realistic manners . \\nhowever , it does have a tendency to avoid things and shift its focus from the election campaign and false war smokescreen to something a bit off the subject . \\nas the third act rolls around the satirical nature becomes more concerned with the situations and less so with the big picture . \\nwhat had started off as a brilliant , somewhat harmless conspiracy to fool the general public begins to seem more like something that would happen in a movie . \\nstill , the situation comedy is quite funny , especially a montage showing the entire country flinging old shoes into trees to honor sgt . \\nwillie schumann - a war hero motss and brean concocted . \\ntruly great satire manages to create for an entertaining story that makes you laugh at the time , but think about afterwards and \" wag the dog \" at least succeeds in this respect . \\nhowever , in retrospect it seems like so much more could have been done , namely by extending the running time and filling in the plot holes . \\nthen again , it\\'s a valiant effort . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after hearing reviews for woody allen\\'s upteenth movie in history , \" celebrity , \" range from terribly boring to just so-so , my heart lept when the opening images of the film closely resembled that of \" manhattan , \" my personal favorite from my personal favorite director of all time . \\nwoody allen\\'s films almost never rely on visual flair over textual flair , so when one of his films closely resembles the one time that these two entities fit hand-in-hand ( \" manhattan \" really is one of the best-looking films i\\'ve ever seen , beautiful black and white photography of the city\\'s best areas , etc . ) , a fan can\\'t help but feel visibly moved . \\nthe film opens up , with the usual credits with plain white font over black backgrounds , and an old ironic standard playing on the soundtrack , but then the screen fills with a gorgeous dull gray sky , with the word \" help \" being spelled with an airplane . \\nbeethoven\\'s 5th blasts on the soundtrack . \\nthe city seems to stop to take notice of this moment , and it\\'s all rather lovely to look at . \\nand then we cut to a film crew , shooting this as the film\\'s hilariously banal key moment in the film , where the lead actress in the film ( melanie griffith , looking as buxom and beautiful as ever ) has to realize something\\'s wrong with her life or whatever . \\nit\\'s a terribly stale scene for a woody allen film , with the great opening shots or without , and my heart sank and i soon got used to the fact that once again , a new film of his was not going to be as great as his past works ( though , for the record , last year\\'s \" deconstructing harry \" came awfully close ) . \\nwhat the hell has happened to him ? \\nthe man who once could be relied on for neurotic freshness in cinema has not become less funny , but his films have become less insightful and more like he tossed them together out of unfinished ideas . \\n \" bullets over broadway , \" though wonderful , relies on irony to pull a farce that just never totally takes off . \\n \" mighty aphrodite \" is more full of great moments and lines than a really great story . \\n \" everyone says i love you \" was more of a great idea than a great film . \\neven \" deconstructing harry \" is admittingly cheap in a way , even if it does top as one of his most truly hilarious films . \\nif anything , the reception of \" celebrity \" by everyone should tip allen off to the fact that this time , it\\'s not the audience and critics who are wrong about how wonderful his film is : it\\'s him . \\n \" celebrity \" is , yes , a good film , but it\\'s only marginally satisfying as a woody allen film . \\ninstead of creating the great woody allen world , he\\'s created a world out of a subject he knows only a bit about . \\nand he\\'s fashioned a film that is based almost entirely on his uninformed philosophy of celebrities , so that it plays like a series of skits with minor connections . \\nit\\'s like \" la dolce vita \" without the accuracy , the right amount of wit , and the correct personal crisis . \\nwoody , becoming more insecure in his old age , choses to drop the woody allen character in on the world of celebrities , and then hang him and all his flaws up for scrutiny , and does this by casting not himself but brit actor kenneth branagh in the lead . \\nmuch has been said about his performance - dead on but irritating , makes one yearn for the real thing , blah blah blah - but to anyone who actually knows the woody allen character knows that branagh\\'s performance , though featuring some of the same mannerisms ( stuttering , whining , lots o\\' hand gestures ) , is hardly a warts-and-all impersonation . \\nbranagh brings along with him little of the woody allen charm , which actually allows for his character\\'s flaws to be more apparent . \\nwoody\\'s a flawed guy , and we know it , but we love him anyway , because he\\'s really funny and really witty and really intelligent . \\nbranagh\\'s allen is a bit more flat-out bad , but with the same charm so that , yes , we like him , but we\\'re still not sure if he\\'s really a good person or not . \\nhis character , lee simon , is first seen on the set of the aforementioned movie , hits on extra actress winona ryder , then goes off to interview griffith , who takes him to her childhood home where he makes a pass at her , and she denies him . . . sorta . \\nwe then learn , through flashbacks , that lee has been sucked into trying to be a celebrity thanks to a mid-life crisis and an appearance at his high school reunion . \\nhe has since quit his job as a travel journalist and become a gossip journalist of sorts , covering movie sets and places where celebrities congregate , so that he can meet them , and maybe sell his script ( a bank robbery movie \" but with a deep personal crisis \" ) . \\nas such , he has divorced his wife of several years ( allen regular judy davis ) , and continues on a quest for sexual happiness , boucing from girlfriend to girlfriend and fling to fling over the course of the film . \\nafter griffith comes his escapades with a model ( charlize theron ) who is \" polymorphously perverse \" ( glad to see allen is using new jokes , ha ha ) , who takes him for a wild ride not different from that of the anita ekberg segment of \" la dolce vita . \" \\nfollowing are his safe relationship with smart working woman famke janssen , a relationship that almost assures him success , and his continued escapades with ryder , whom he fancies most of all . \\nhis story is juxtaposed with that of davis , who flips out , but stumbles onto happiness when she runs into a handsome , friendly tv exec ( joe mantegna ) who lands her a job that furthers her career to national status . \\nwhile lee is fumbling about , selfishly trying to ensure his own happiness , davis becomes happy ( \" i\\'ve become the kind of woman i\\'ve always hated . . . and \\ni\\'m loving it . \" ) \\nwithout doing a thing . \\nthe result is a film of highs and mediums . \\nthe mediums are what take up most of the film , with sitations and scenes which don\\'t exactly work but you can\\'t help but pat allen on the back for trying . \\nbut other places are really great scenes . \\nthe opening . \\nthe sequence with theron , which is so good that i wished it hadn\\'t ended . \\na banana scene with bebe neuwirth ( droll as ever ) . \\nand , perhaps the best sequence : a romp with hot-as-hell teen idol , brandon darrow , played by none other than leo dicaprio , who is so un-dicaprio-esque that if any of this fans could sit through this film , they\\'d never look at him the same way . \\nhe ignites the screen with intensity , and spares nothing in showing his character as narcissistically tyrannical , and totally heartbreaking for lee , who comes to him to talk about his script that he has read , and finds himself on a wild all-day ride with him . \\nthey go to atlantic city to watch a fight , they gamble , and they wind up in his hotel room , where darrow gets it on with his flame ( gretchen mol ) and he lends him one of the leftover groupies . \\nallen\\'s writing in these scenes are so good that just for them , i\\'d almost recommend the film . \\nalmost . \\nbut what i really liked about this film is despite the fact that it\\'s a mess , despite the fact that what this film really needs is a good old fashioned rewrite by allen himself , it\\'s still a smart and insightful film . \\nthough some of the jokes are either stale or misplaced ( some seem too cartoonish , even for this environment ) , allen still manages to get across that this film is not exactly about celebrities , as it may seem to be ( if it were , it\\'d be extremely out-of-touch ) , but about those who want to be celebrities , and how they equate celebrity-hood with happiness . \\nwe never get close enough to the actual celebrities to see if they\\'re really happy ( they may appear to be on the surface . . . ) , but we do get close enough to lee and davis\\' character . \\nlee is obsessed with the phenomenon , while davis takes is at arm\\'s length , and never gets too involved in what it is , and soon becomes one herself . \\nbesides , it\\'s witty , and it does have the one thing that no other film has but allen\\'s : that great woody allen feel . \\nit may be not exactly fresh and lively or totally brilliant in its depiction of its subject , and yes , as a part of woody allen\\'s oeuvre , it\\'s merely a blip ( no \" annie hall \" but it\\'s no \" shadows and fog \" either ) , but it goes to prove that no one can make a film like him , and only he and maybe godard could possibly take a totally horrible metaphor , like the one in the beginning , and make it work not once but twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'paul verhoeven , the dutch auteur who dragged his violent , sexually aggressive aesthetic into american film , has never been what i\\'d consider a thoughtful director ( though some of his films , notably starship troopers , have been lauded as artistic achievements ) , but he is the kind of hollywood film maker who\\'s managed to , no matter what the budget , make his films distinctive and even sometimes smuggle stimulating themes into the lavish high concepts on which he toils . \\nstarship troopers was essentially a b-monster movie remake of his enthralling dutch war film soldier of orange ( a great film that\\'s nearly impossible to find on video , yet showgirls is everywhere ) , in which he cast a troop of stunningly attractive mannequins ; the square jawed casper van dien and denise richards ( who may actually be 45% silicone ) , in what feels like an american propaganda picture set to monotonous scenes of graphic carnage . \\nit\\'s not a completely successful film , but as a failure it\\'s certainly an interesting ( and mostly entertaining ) one . \\nmy favorite verhoeven films were the ones he made before he hit our shores ; spetters , a dark near pornographic coming of age film set within the sub-culture of drag racing and the aforementioned soldier of orange ( haven\\'t yet gotten around to seeing the 4th man or turkish delight ) . \\ni believe his best hollywood film to be robocop , a bleak super-hero satire with a robotic hero that\\'s as touching as schwarzenegger\\'s in t2 . \\nthat movie was violent but not in the overdone cartoonish manner of more recent verhoeven pics . \\nits violence seemed to be there for a purpose , namely to create an atmosphere of unpredictable dread , not to simply titillate an attention deprived audience . \\nthere\\'s a jaw-dropping scene within the first ten minutes of robocop wherein the lead villain toys with a cop before snuffing him . \\nhe tortures the officer by taking glee in his victim\\'s every fearful tic . \\nit\\'s a startling moment of barbaric , maddening violence that effectively sets the tone for the film that could be designated as splatter punk-noir . \\nin hollow man kevin bacon brutally slays a dog because it just won\\'t shut up , he impales a co-worker , drowns another and so on . \\nbut why ? \\nhis character is introduced as a smug genius , the kind who\\'s always impeccably dressed and races a sports car while generic rock tunes blare from his stereo for the world to hear , sort of like a scheming uber villain from dallas or melrose place , though once the character becomes invisible , this film has him pull a 180 shift into a psychotic movie monster . \\nthe kind who just won\\'t die . \\nhollow man\\'s protagonists are the completely bland but beautiful scientist linda ( elizabeth shue , acting as if she were rebecca of sunnybrook farm ) and her lover , a hunk of beef scientist played by josh brolin who\\'s saddled with the film\\'s worst lines ( \" i\\'ve lost cohesion again ! \" ) . \\nthey\\'re a typical aaron spelling couple , good-looking but as vacant as george w . bush\\'s republican national convention speech ( i . e . \\nbush referring to clinton ; \" ? ? ? so much promise ? ? ? but to what end ? \\nto what end ? \" -- \\nthis actually got applause ! \\nsuddenly warren beatty doesn\\'t look so absurd ) . \\nthe rest of the film\\'s characters are all well past thirty , though act like annoying high school party animals insulting one and other with a series of strained one-liners ; is it just me or have labored insults become big budget hollywood\\'s new character developing technique ? \\nahh , what a cynical time we live in ? ? ? \\nas the picture opens we meet cain ( kevin bacon ) , an egocentric scientist working with the crew of aforementioned irritating scientists on a top secret ( so top secret the government has only provided them with a dilapidated warehouse in which to perform their extensive experimentation\\'s ) project with the goal to make invisibility a possibility ( for what purpose is never hinted at ) . \\nthey\\'ve performed several experiments on animals and have nearly solved the quandary causing caine , in a twist worthy of the film\\'s 1950\\'s late show origins , to impulsively experiment on himself . \\ncaine neglects to let the pentagon in on his plans and somehow gets two of his co-workers to lie for him so the rest of the crew will think the pentagon gave the go ahead . \\nour mad scientist is turned invisible ( after several fx-heavy complications ) , then he inexplicably ( it\\'s hinted that the process of invisibility has made the animals into more savage creatures , but this is never explored , and if that was the case why the hell would anyone be stupid enough to test this out on a human ? ) \\nbegins raping , assaulting and murdering anyone he pleases , always with a lame wisecrack ready a la freddy krueger . \\nit grows abundantly clear with each new release that it\\'s verhoeven\\'s films that have become hollow . \\nlike the rest , this one is cold , heartless , and full of contempt for humanity , but in addition to all that it lacks any trace of wit , insight and makes no statement other than \" audiences will pay for anything these days \" . \\nit\\'s an affront to anyone looking for something stimulating on an intellectual level , or even those hoping to spend a saturday night with a fun , thrill-a-minute ride . \\nverhoeven has instead served up an utterly routine mad slasher flick with nobody to root for and no reason to care . \\nthe previews make hollow man look like an irresistible flick . \\nhow can one not have a good time at a film that utilizes state of the art fx to illustrate an invisible man getting down and dirty with his bad self ? \\na couple weeks ago , after seeing the trailer , a bunch of friends and i got into a long discussion of how invisible man flicks never go so far as to have the invisible individual indulging in their newfound ability . \\nhollow man looked like the first film to do so and whoa , in a serious manner to boot . \\nbut oh yeah , it is directed by paul verhoven not atom egoyan or peter greenway . \\nverhoeven delivers the sleazy \" goods \" , but not in a watchable or thrillingly disturbing manner , here it just feels icky and uncomfortable . \\nthe director keeps his camera trained at his nubile actresses , caressing their breasts with his lens all while faux-psycho music strains in the background . \\nit\\'s plainly obvious that verhoeven isn\\'t exploring voyeurism ( like in the classic peeping tom ) but exploiting it and not even doing that very well . \\nit\\'s funny that with all the technology $90 million can get you verhoven is stuck at trying to figure out how to show a woman\\'s naked breast manipulated by an invisible hand . \\nmost vexing is that the invisibility aspect is used simply as gimmick in yet another slasher movie wherein characters do stupid things just so the villain can pop up for more attacks . \\nin fact it\\'s largely irrelevant that bacon is invisible since , by the end , most of his potential victims don infer-red glasses that track his body heat . \\nas in every mad slasher film we get the killers pov ( a scene where he spies on his neighbor while she undresses triggered unpleasant memories of slumber party massacre ) , and lots of scenes where people are unknowingly stalked . \\nthe film only provides one moment that i found genuinely creepy . \\nit happens when a lab assistant ( kim dickens , who looks like she stepped out of playboy ) in the middle of a chit chat with an invisible bacon , suddenly pauses . \\n \" are you looking at me ? \" , she queries , obviously haunted . \\nit\\'s a little moment in a big film with nothing to offer but ground breaking special effects set to a plot that should have run its course by 1982 ( the apex of the mad slasher craze ) . \\nthose special effects are so stunning they alone keep this from being as bad as urban legend or i still know what you did last summer . \\nand they\\'re the only reason to check out hollow man , preferably as a mid-week bargain rental . \\nyou\\'ve been warned . \\nbut you probably won\\'t listen , will you ? \\ntis\\' a pity ? ? ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'the premise of wag the dog is so simple that it\\'s adequately explained by the commercials . \\nwith 11 days to go until the election , the president ( who we never see ) calls in political dirty-tricks artist robert deniro to distract attention from a burgeoning sex scandal . \\ndeniro enlists hollywood producer dustin hoffman to produce a \" pageant \" , a phony war against albania , fought on the blue screens of hollywood and the recording studios of nashville , with woody harrelson as the reluctant , psychotic hero . \\nand if there wasn\\'t anything more to the movie than this , it would be a second-rate heist comedy at best , enlivened by great actors -- like sneakers goes to washington . \\n ( a heist comedy ? \\nyup . \\ndeniro and hoffman are \" stealing \" the election , so to speak , and the movie is more about how they do it -- and the fun they have doing it -- than anything else . ) \\nwag the dog succeeds because it\\'s based one great truth : the american people are stupid . \\nok , maybe it\\'s not \" love thy neighbor as thyself \" or even \" two plus two makes four \" , but a truth nonetheless . \\n ( any average person who thinks that they\\'re really smart about the two things this movie satirizes -- moviemaking and the political process -- is invited , nay , challenged , to spend a week either watching a movie actually being made or 48 hours straight watching c-span when the house is in session . ) \\nand because we\\'re so utterly , predictably stupid , hollywood knows that a certain percentage of us will go see hard rain or magoo , washington knows that we won\\'t notice a few million dollars spent here and there on porno art grants and cigar subsidies -- and deniro\\'s character knows that american geography skills are so weak that we won\\'t be able to locate albania on the map . \\nthe beauty of wag the dog is that it isn\\'t a light , meaningless comedy about politics ( like speechless , the michael keaton - geena davis picture ) or from the level of light-hearted politcal satire to near-greatness . \\nnor is it a hard-edged cynical look at the manner in which a morally-deprived , ethically challenged baby-boomer connives his sleazy way into the white house ( like primary colors -- and yes , i am a little disappointed in the way the last two elections turned out , thanks for asking ) . \\ninstead , david mamet\\'s script strikes that delicate balance between comedy and cynicism needed for satire . \\nit does this by keeping us in a fantasy world where most of the schemers\\' schemes come off beautifully , and fail only in entertaining and humorous fashion . \\ndeniro is playing a variation on his al capone character from the untouchables , without any of the violent rages . \\nit\\'s all : \" what do i love ? \\nwhat is it that brings me joy ? \\nbaseball , \" minus the savage bloody beating with the bat . \\nhe threatens a lot of people , mind you , but he\\'s doing it in a very nice , polite way . \\nit\\'s a very mellow , restrained performance , which fits in with the air of gamesmanship in the script . \\nhoffman , on the other hand , is giddy , exuberant and joyous . \\nthis kind of thing is what his character lives for , and he\\'s so excited that he can\\'t even shut up . \\neven on the edge of disaster , he\\'s bright-eyed ( behind oddly tinted sunglasses ) and positive . \\ninsiders note that he\\'s basing his character on some powerful-but-anonymous producer -- which may or may not be true , but hoffman still exudes the kind of lets-put-on-a-show electricity that you figure a producer needs to have . \\nthe best part and the most frustrating part of wag the dog is in the supporting cast . \\nthe characters are so well drawn and so well acted that we want to see more of them , listen to them talk in that wised-up mamet dialogue , get to know them better -- which we don\\'t . \\nanne heche , is dead-bang-on in her portrayal of a political press aide -- cool and composed on the outside , panicked and frenzied on the outside . \\ndenis leary ( one of my favorite actors -- see the ref ) is the \" fad king \" , who handles the profitable \" back-end \" -- t-shirt tie ins and shoe contracts and other creative , innovative ways to separate a fool from his money . \\nthey could make a whole movie , just about the fad king , and i\\'d go see it . \\nwillie nelson and merle haggard handle the musical end of things fabulously , from the upbeat gospel chorus theme song , to the weepy country waltz , to the hilarious \" ballad of the green berets \" parody . \\nwoody harrelson has a brief , but memorable part as the overmedicated \" hero \" of the albanian conflict . \\ncraig t . nelson , as the opposition candidate , and the ever-reliable william h . macy , as a wacky cia agent , are given surprisingly short shrift . \\n ( one of my small gripes is that we never see what the spin doctors on the other side are doing . ) \\nwag the dog is a funny movie about serious problems : the trivialization of american politics , the role of the press in dumbing down the issues , the impact of hollywood in creating campaign commercials , the reduction of all things political to soundbites and sidebars -- the list goes on . \\nwe can solve most of these problems by taking a greater role in our national life and educating ourselves as voters and citizens . \\nwag the dog reminds us of what can happen if we don\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when i saw the trailer for this film , i laughed harder than i had in quite some time . \\nwhile i was therefore pretty well psyched to see it , i was ever mindful that a trailer can make even the most mediocre film look good . \\ni\\'m happy to say that there\\'s something about mary is not one of those trailer let-downs . \\nin fact , watching this film was quite a fine way to spend two hours . \\nthe film opens up in flashback to 1985 , at a high school in cumberland , rhode island . \\nted stroehmann ( ben stiller ) is a social reject who can\\'t seem to get a date to the upcoming prom , until he comes to the defense of the mentally retarded warren ( w . \\nearl brown ) , who\\'s being harassed by one of the school jocks . \\nit seems warren\\'s sister is the campus queen , mary jensen ( cameron diaz ) , who is impressed with ted\\'s willingness to stand up for her defenseless brother , despite a very real chance of getting beaten up . \\nmary takes an immediate liking to ted and asks him to the prom . \\nted was just flattered that she even knew his name . \\nunfortunately , prom night is ruined when ted has an accident with his zipper ( at which every man in the theater will wince ) , and is sent to the hospital . \\nfast forward to the present , where ted has cleaned himself up , now writes for a magazine , but has weekly therapy sessions in order to deal with his obsession of the past 13 years : mary , whom he hasn\\'t seen since that fateful day . \\nwith the help of his friend dom ( chris elliott ) , ted hires slimy private investigator pat healy ( matt dillon ) to track down his only love . \\nhowever , when pat finds mary , he falls for her too , and soon the both of them are competing for her affections . \\nthere\\'s something about mary is directed by bobby and peter farrelly , who brought us dumb and dumber and kingpin . \\nnot exactly intelligent comedies , they are of the guilty pleasure variety where you might not want your friends or co-workers to think you had such a great time watching them . \\nwith their current film , the farrelly brothers have come up with something you\\'ll not only enjoy , but also won\\'t mind talking about the next day at the water cooler . \\nthe film succeeds in employing a pretty wide range of comedic styles , from the subtle to the ridiculous , and while a few of the gags might be offensive to some ( seeming like residuals from the farrelly brothers\\' last two films ) they almost all work . \\ni have not seen many movies in the recent past that shoot for the mark and so often hit it dead on . \\none minute you\\'ll be laughing at something ted says , and the next you\\'ll be howling at the sight of a dog dragging him across the floor of mary\\'s apartment . \\none of the great things this film has going for it is ben stiller . \\nhe is perfectly cast in the role of ted , because he\\'s a guy who just looks awkward in almost every situation . \\nted\\'s a nice fellow and tries to do his best , but for some reason or another things just don\\'t always work out . \\nit\\'s comical , but also has that kind of appeal where you really feel for the him and want him to come out on top . \\nactually , i\\'ve liked stiller since he did a short which aired on saturday night live back in the mid-eighties . \\nthe film was like a theatrical trailer for a spoof on the tom cruise/paul newman film the color of money , entitled the hustler of money . \\nin it , stiller played wince ( not vince ) who is taken under the wing of an older man ( played by john mahoney ) to become a big-time bowling hustler . \\nit was parody at its finest , more of which showed up in the short-lived \" the ben stiller show \" on the fox network in late \\'92/early \\'93 . \\nlike \" the critic \" ( which aired on abc , then fox ) , i still mourn that show\\'s cancellation . \\ncameron diaz is absolutely enchanting for most of the film , although her character seems obsessed with perfection in the men she dates , and some of the qualities she looks for make mary look paper-thin at times . \\nhowever , diaz pulls the role off with such panache and charm , that you can still see why she\\'s got guys just falling over each other to be with her . \\nheck , i even found her laugh to be cute , even though i thought it was annoying during an appearance she made on the tonight show last week . \\nmy girlfriend remarked that matt dillon doesn\\'t change , and you know , it\\'s really true . \\nhe and ralph macchio must hang out or something . \\nmaybe they live in dick clark\\'s pool house . \\nanyway , here\\'s another good piece of casting , as dillon slips beautifully into the role of the guy who tries to worm his way into mary\\'s heart . \\nthe supporting performances are also good . \\nchris elliott has a bigger part than in the abyss ( yes , check it out next time ) , and less annoying than in cabin boy . \\nlin shae , who plays mary\\'s neighbor magda ( and also appeared as the landlady in kingpin ) , provides some good laughs , especially in scenes with her benji-like dog , which acts as the focal point for a few of the funniest moments of the film . \\nlee evans , as mary\\'s friend tucker , displays a flexibility in acting and accents which surprises and contributes to an interesting plot twist . \\nthe farrelly brothers and scriptwriters ed decter and john j . strauss keep the comedic pacing going so that there aren\\'t any noticeable times where the film drags . \\nthe only problem i saw was their use of a couple of musicians who provide segues between several key scenes . \\nthey appear out of nowhere and actually sing plot-relevant information right toward the camera . \\nit\\'s a device which was amusing for about three seconds when they opened the film . \\nafter that it got a little annoying , and it\\'s unfortunate that those spots interrupt what would otherwise be a smooth flow . \\nfortunately , filled with sight gags , humorous lines , and solid comedic acting , there\\'s something about mary will still have you laughing after you leave the theater . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it should have been a classic . \\na great cast of respected supporting actors . \\nan interesting premise of loser comic book characters . \\nhowever , \" mystery men \" proved to be one of the great disappointments of 1999 . \\nthe jokes were bland and hackneyed from talents who have previously made audiences laugh with their unique rituals . \\nthe number of cliches and shallow characters made the film difficult to sit through seriously hurting its attempt of having a fast paced premise . \\nthe script tried to deliver a series of small jokes throughout the film but without a big laugh-out-loud joke and mediocre small jokes , it failed miserably at being entertaining at all . \\nthe jokes were not funny for a number of reasons . \\nthey had been used a number of times before in previous films , the best ones , which were mediocre to begin with , were ruined in the trailer , and the expectation of laughing at clever , unique gags from clever unique comedians when there were none to laugh at greatly damaged the film . \\n \" mystery men \" might have worked if it was an ensemble cast of newcomers trying to break into the business . \\nbut with veterans doing this kind of junk , it really questioned whether their other work was as funny as originally thought . \\nthankfully most actors in this movie will appear in five other movies before the new year arrives to help viewers forget this little movie . \\nthe film follows a band of wannabe superheroes living in a wannabe gotham city who are ridiculed by their fellow citizens and villains because of their clumsiness and failure to save they day and capture the bad guy . \\nthe fact is these pathetic losers are not needed because their city already has a successful superhero , captain amazing , who has recently captured every evil-doer in the city . \\ncaptain amazing ( played terribly by an uninspired greg kinnear ) , because of his success in the past , is worried that he will lose popularity . \\nafter freeing one of the most notorious bad guys in the city ( geoffrey rush , overacting just a bit too much ) to keep himself busy , things get out of hand when captain amazing is captured . \\nit is up to the wannabe superheroes to save the day . \\nby the time this section of the plot is finished , the interest for what happens ( if you haven\\'t already figured it out ) is very low . \\nthere are very few scenes which catch the viewers complete attention . \\nthe first scene in the film , which shows the wannabes trying to save the day , feels like it was seriously edited down . \\nright when it was beginning to become slightly funny seeing these actors get humiliated at an old folk\\'s home by some masked goons , captain amazing comes in and saves the day ? or ruins the movie . \\ninstead of editing this scene , more editing should have been done in areas such as the unnecessary romance between mr . furious ( ben stiller ) and monica , a waitress ( claire forlani ) or the vast majority of the film , which is the heroes talking at a coffee table about how their day was . \\na simple rule : more silly action is needed in order to make a silly action movie work . \\nanother major problem with \" mystery men \" is that every actor in it seemed very uncomfortable and consequently gave terrible performances . \\nthe film depended on its cast to work fluently together , like a bunch of old friends working together in an amiable reunion . \\nhowever , most characters seemed like they did not even want to be in this film or at least the script made it seem this way . \\nto pull one of the actors in this film randomly out of a hat , paul reubens , who disappeared from acting to everyone\\'s joy , returns here leaving very little to be impressed about . \\nas a wannabe who uses flatulence for a weapon , all of his jokes must therefore be fart jokes . \\nfart jokes that have all been heard before and will inevitably be heard again in future films thanks to the success of \" american pie \" and \" there\\'s something about mary . \" \\n \" mystery men \" drags on towards the end to a point where anything else in the world is more entertaining . \\nanyone with a brain knows each one of the heroes is going to be successful at their talent in the end and each one is going to contribute in a helpful way . \\nso why continue to watch ? \\nthis film is far from a worthy guilty pleasure . \\n \" mystery men \" indeed does this and every time a character succeeds another one congratulates him and says \" i knew you could do it ! \" \\n \" mystery men \" fails in every category it attempts to pass . \\nwhat makes this film so bad is that it had the potential to be wonderful and unforgettable . \\nterrible acting , terrible script , and a terrible waste of time changes opinions about all of these actors . \\n \" i\\'m unpredictable ! \" \\nan overexcited ben stiller shouts out . \\nno ben , you\\'re the complete opposite . \\n',\n",
+       " b'by phil curtolo \" madonna - antonio banderas - jonathan price - in an alan parker film - with music from andrew lloyd weber - and lyrics by tim rice - evita . \" \\nnow i have to admit , the trailer for this rock-opera-turned-major motion picture is almost breath-taking for some . \\nthe soundtrack is wonderful to listen to . \\nso why wouldn\\'t the movie be wonderful to see . \\nsimple , a little over 2 hours of constant singing can almost drive you insane . \\nthe story of eva duarte ( madonna ) , evita is full of drama that\\'s trapped inside by all the notes and chords . \\nshe was an orphaned child who ends up becoming a hooker , then goes into the field of acting , and finally meets juan peron ( price ) , the soon-to-be first president of argentina . \\nthey fall in love and eventually marry . \\nsounds pretty good , doesn\\'t it . \\nwell the story gets better , as eva goes on the \" rainbow tour \" across europe , trying to win respect . \\neva duarte was a wonderful lady . \\nhowever , all of the drama-packed moments above were never understood because the actors and actresses sang to fast to be understood . \\ni went into theater 4 at magic cinemas with the attitude that evita was going to be terribly boring and i left with happy , because i was right . \\nthey only thing that kept me awake during the movie was the loud bangs of the drums and strums of the guitar . \\nalthough it did come off as dull , the beautiful cinematography is eye-catching , as was madonna\\'s performance . \\nas the \" spiritual leader of argentina , \" madonna would have definitely been an oscar-contender had she spoken a single line . \\nbut her chance was taken away with the stubbornness of making an exact replica of the broadway musical a film . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong and don\\'t look at my grade . \\ni am not a big fan of musicals on the big screen . \\nif you\\'re going to pay to see a movie , you want to see a movie . \\nnow i have to admit , it\\'s a lot cheaper to pay $5 than $200 plus to see the play , but that\\'s what did me in . \\nall this review contains is my opinion and my grade was set before i even saw the movie . \\nnow you may be saying , \" what kind of critic is he ? , \" \\nand you\\'re right . \\nas a critic , i should have given the movie a chance . \\nbut as a 17-year old quentin tarantino fan , it was way too hard . \\n , \\n',\n",
+       " b'the heist of a flawless , 84 carat diamond , fixed bare knuckle fights , irish gypsies and a dog are just some of the goings on in director guy ritchies\\'s sophomore feature , \" snatch . \" \\n \" lock , stock and two smoking barrels \" intro\\'d helmer/scripter ritchie with a hyper-kinetic , in your face underworld comedy that grabbed the viewer\\'s attention from beginning to end . \\nhis protagonists were innocents set adrift in a see of sharks to swim or be eaten alive . \\nwith \" snatch , \" the director doesn\\'t remake his first work , but he does delve more deeply into the criminal underbelly of london , mining a rich collection of characters in the process . \\n>from the very beginning , \" snatch \" tosses you into the action with the theft of the fabulous diamond , the desire of new york gangster avi ( dennis farina ) . \\nen route from antwerp , diamond thief and courier frankie four fingers ( benicio del toro ) stops in london to make a separate deal with avi\\'s partner and cousin , doug \" the head \" ( mike reid ) . \\nfrankie\\'s addiction to gambling tempts him into making a bet on an illegal boxing match for boris \" the blade \" ( rade sherbedgia ) , a ruthless russian mobster . \\nthe bet turns out to be a setup for a robbery by a trio of bumbling incompetents - vinnie ( robbie gee ) , sol ( lennie james ) and portly tyrone ( ade ) - that goes miserably awry . \\nmeanwhile , a couple of young toughs , turkish ( jason stratham ) and tommy ( stephen graham ) , are trying to break in to the boxing game with the help of local villain brick top ( alan ford ) , who also owns a pig farm . \\nwhen their first fighter is put out of action , with one punch , by a wild irish gypsy named mickey o\\'neil , they figure to put the loose canon in as the contender in a fixed fight . \\nmickey proves less than reliable and goes against turkish and tommy\\'s deal . \\nbrick top , impressed by mickey\\'s performance , decides to gives them another chance - after calmly explaining that it takes 16 pigs about eight minutes to completely devour a corpse . \\nwhen avi doesn\\'t get his precious rock , he jumps on a plane for london and hires a local legend , \" bullet tooth \" tony ( vinnie jones ) , to find frankie and the diamond . \\nthings spiral out of control as all these forces head on a collision course of double-cross and double-deals - and a dog that ate a squeaky toy . \\nguy ritchie ( mr . madonna to some ) is an extraordinarily talented auteur who has a wonderful knack for pulling together his unique collection of cast and crew and feeding them funny and gritty dialog that spews out of the characters\\' mouths like machine gun fire . \\nthe helmer marshals his large ensemble actors in a frantically paced caper comedy that makes you laugh and feel queasy at the same time , the above description by brick top being just one example . \\nthe assemblage of actors and non-actors in rough-and-tumble settings gives \" snatch \" an earthy feel in its depiction of london\\'s criminal underworld . \\nthe cast of characters is too large to credit here , but two of the performances - first among equals , you might say - are worth noting . \\nalan ford is brilliant as the ruthless , evil brick top . \\nwhen he refuses sugar in his tea because \" i\\'m sweet enough , \" it makes you shiver , even as you laugh . \\nhis is one of the best gangster characters i\\'ve seen in years . \\nthe other outstanding perf is given by none other than brad pitt , the name actor the movie\\'s popularity may hang upon , at least initially . \\npitt , as mickey o\\'neil , is hard drinking , hard fighting , highly unreliable and nearly incomprehensible with a unique irish brogue and dialect of the pikers , the irish travelers of europe . \\nthis gypsy brigand would steal the fillings from your teeth , especially if it would benefit his beloved mum ( sorcha cusack ) . \\nwhen brick top threaten the safety of mickey\\'s family , he makes an enemy that cannot be stopped . \\npitt puts a credible spin on his character and does some incredible physical stuff , too , as a bare-knuckle boxer . \\nthe production team behind the camera includes ritchie alumni , producer matthew vaughn and lenser tim maurice-jones , and other talented technical artist that bring the hyperactive imagination of the author to visual life . \\nthere is a patent feel to the look of \" snatch \" and \" lock , stock and two smoking barrels \" that reeks of \" signature \" for ritchie , but i\\'m not sure how this will translate in his future works . \\nthere is so much talent in the filmmaker that i would like to see him branch out in other directions . \\nnonetheless , \" snatch \" is terrific sophomore effort , a darn good action comedy and a hoot to boot . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the ads for \" batman and robin \" scream \" the event of the summer is here \" and that\\'s the problem . \\nthe producers were apparently so intent on creating a spectacle that they forgot to put an actual movie inside of it . \\n \" batman and robin \" is 126 minutes of lavish sets , flashy costumes and big , confusing fight scenes with barely a hint of substance . \\nit\\'s like one of those cheesy kings island stage shows ; bright , busy and visually diverting , but not very much fun . \\nit wasn\\'t always this way . \\ntim burton\\'s \" batman \" was an epic story of obsession and duality , of darkness and revenge . \\nthe film , while far from perfect , was a striking mood piece with an otherworldly feel . \\nbatman was a creepy , brooding creature of the night . \\nthe joker , brilliantly overplayed by jack nicholson , was at once charismatic and repellent . \\nbatman and the joker were opposite sides of the same coin , battling inner demons and one another over gotham city\\'s breathtaking gothic skyline . \\nthose days of the dark knight are gone , replaced by a psychedelic ice capades run amuck . \\n \" batman and robin \" has far more in common with the campy 60\\'s batman tv show than with tim burton\\'s tale of darkness . \\nthe blame lies with director joel schumacher . \\na former window-dresser , schumacher is adept at decorating sets and dressing people in exotic costumes . \\nunfortunately , when it comes time to have those people walk and talk , he hasn\\'t the faintest notion of what to do . \\n \" batman and robin \" is overstuffed with intricately choreographed fight scenes so poorly edited that it\\'s often difficult to tell who\\'s whacking who . \\nwhile the characters flail at each other , one-liners and bad puns are tossed about like confetti . \\na few carefully placed jokes can set an action movie sailing , but too many wisecracks can undermine the momentum of a film . \\n \" batman and robin \" doesn\\'t merely lose momentum , it stalls out completely on several occasions . \\nit\\'s rare to see an action flick as sluggish as this one . \\nironically , the parts of \" batman and robin \" that work are the ones showing the characters in street clothing , and most of those succeed because of george clooney as bruce wayne . \\neasily the best batman yet , clooney\\'s expressive eyes and weary smile gives the character a sense of depth that the script doesn\\'t even hint at . \\nthe film\\'s most effective scene is a tender , quiet exchange between clooney and alfred ( michael gough ) , bruce wayne\\'s butler and surrogate father . \\nas for the other heroes , chris o\\'donnell\\'s robin is enthusiastic , perky and horny as hell , while pudgy alicia silverstone is hard to accept as an athlete in her debut as batgirl . \\nin a movie filled to the brim with major characters , the decision to add the entirely unnecessary batgirl and elle macpherson as bruce wayne\\'s girlfriend is puzzling . \\ni suspect the producers inserted the women in an attempt to convince audiences that two guys who run around in rubber suits with built-in nipples , shapely buttocks and huge codpieces are actually straight . \\nof course , the real stars of a batman film are the villains and that\\'s where \" batman and robin \" really suffers . \\nas mr . freeze , arnold schwarzenegger gives his worst performance in years , spitting out a stream of lame catch phrases in wooden fashion . \\nlaboring under a ton of appliances , schwarzenegger looks as if he\\'s having trouble even moving in his suit , let alone trying to act . \\numa thurman fares somewhat better as poison ivy . \\nshe overacts terribly in the early establishing scenes of her character ( it\\'s apparently a rule in the batman series that before a person becomes a villain , s/he must be a cartoonish , bumbling nerd ) . \\nonce thurman transforms into the eco-psychotic poison ivy , she does a nice mae west impersonation as a classic vamp who can seduce men with her breath and kill them with a kiss . \\nthurman fails to maintain the character\\'s maniacal sense of style though , and ends up merely sputtering her way through the latter scenes of the film . \\nthe biggest lesson to be learned from \" batman and robin \" is that more is not better . \\njoel schumacher fills the screen with eye candy ; but the technicolor overkill merely emphasizes what a trifle the film really is . \\nsome critics suggest that the batman series has run out of steam . \\ni don\\'t think so . \\nmy prescription ? \\nfire joel schumacher ( but offer him a ticket to a rubber fetishist\\'s convention so he\\'ll understand that there\\'s no hard feelings ) . \\ngive alicia silverstone her walking papers , while keeping clooney , o\\'donnell and michael gough . \\ncall jack nicholson and michelle pfieffer and beg them to reprise their roles as the joker and catwoman . \\nthen , ditch the campiness and , for the love of pete , lose the \" event \" mentality and make a movie instead of a spectacle next time . \\n',\n",
+       " b'poster boy for co-dependency needs patching \\npatch adams a film review by michael redman copyright 1999 by michael redman \\nmediocrity is a pox on civilization . \\nin our heavily consumer oriented society , there is an enormous demand to churn out \" stuff . \" \\nwhat would happen to our economy if we didn\\'t feel the need to have more things ? \\nto make us buy more , businesses need to produce a ton of product . \\nthe sheer volume of items necessitates that most of them are of dubious quality . \\nthe film industry is like any other . \\nin order for studios to survive , they have to make money . \\nthe prevailing attitude is that more films equal more profit . \\nsome movies obviously exist only to put wares on the screen and to do that , less talented people are used . \\nthere aren\\'t enough great directors and actors to create the number of films necessary . \\nfor some reason , it\\'s never crossed anyone\\'s mind that the real equation is quality films = more profit . \\noften , mediocre films are more of a pain for the audience than the horrendous ones . \\nat you can have a good time making fun of bad movies . \\ni\\'m not suggesting that \" patch adams \" was tossed out just to rake in the bucks . \\nmy guess is that someone was asleep at the wheel . \\nit features an accomplished actor and a potentially engrossing story , but it\\'s as dull as could be . \\nhunter \" patch \" adams\\' ( robin williams ) desire to become a doctor has an unusual genesis . \\nchecking himself into a mental institute after a suicide attempt , he discovers that he can help the other patients by clowning around . \\npatch could be a poster boy for co-dependency . \\nhe explains that he likes devoting himself to others because then he doesn\\'t focus on his own problems . \\nhe decides that he wants to be a physician , leaves the place and a couple of years later enrolls in the medical college of virginia . \\nas a med student , patch\\'s antics at the school\\'s hospital catch the attention of his soon to be arch-enemy , straight-laced dean walcott ( bob gunton ) . \\nthe dean is so opposed to the goofiness that he wants patch kicked out of school although he\\'s one of the top students . \\nhe writes in patch\\'s academic file that he shows \" excessive happiness . \" \\ni walked into the film knowing little about its history and wondered about its odd mechanical pacing . \\nthere also seemed to be no reason that it is set in the early seventies . \\nthen it struck me . \\nit must be based on a true story . \\nthe movie is an adaptation of a book by hunter adams who founded the gesundheit institute , a free clinic . \\nrobin williams is an amazing actor . \\nwhile he is adept at dramatic roles , his forte is over-the-top free spirits . \\nthat\\'s what makes his failure here so remarkable . \\npatch is exactly the character he should be best at , yet even the scene where he and another mental patient are battling fierce imaginary squirrels falls flat . \\nsomething holds him back . \\nmost of the rest of the cast is two-dimensional . \\nfor a film that champions seeing patients as human beings , it\\'s curious that the ones here are cardboard characters . \\npeter coyote as a man dying of cancer is refreshing because he seems like a real person . \\nunfortunately he\\'s in the film for only about two minutes . \\nthe audience is blatantly lead by a ring in its nose from scene to scene . \\nwe\\'re not left to our own emotional decisions : we\\'re hit over the head with them . \\nshaved-headed children with cancer , an elderly woman whom patch makes laugh , a beautiful woman who can\\'t love because of her abusive history . \\nwhen a group of students fix up an old house to use as a clinic in the andy hardy \" hey , let\\'s put on a play ! \\nwe can use the barn and my mom can make the curtains ! \" \\nmode , they laugh and roll around while painting each other . \\nthere might as well be giant signs flashing : \" feel good now ! \" \\n \" feel bad now ! \" \\n \" patch \" is a good title for the film . \\nit is a patchwork of every manipulative scene you can think of . \\nthe full-of-life student fights stodgy establishment types . \\nthere\\'s a touching death . \\nthen there\\'s another . \\nthe film doesn\\'t trust us to get it the first time . \\nthe dean tries to kick patch out and later he tries again . \\nworst of all is the final courtroom bit . \\nscary-looking old men sit in judgment of a man who only wants to help people . \\nthe room is packed with patch\\'s supporters . \\nwilliams makes a supposedly impassioned speech about the humanity of all . \\nit has as much emotion as his earlier statement \" humans are the only animal that kills members of its own species \" contains truth . \\nmost of the blame must be placed with the director tom shadyac and screenwriter steve oedekerk . \\nshadyac also directed the first \" ace ventura \" movie . \\noedekerk directed the second one . \\nneed i say more ? \\nthe real adams is to be admired for his devotion to treating patients as people rather than diseases . \\nthe film has a number of worthy messages about the state of the modern medical business with hmos and managed care . \\nthe \" doctors are not gods \" theme will resonate with a number of people , but it\\'s so poorly produced that no one will care . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i have to say it . \\ntim burton\\'s retelling of planet of the apes is more fun than a barrel of monkeys . \\nok , that\\'s off my chest . \\nno more monkey puns , i promise . \\nseriously , though , planet of the apes is one rip-roarin\\' summer outing , filled with thrills , action , adventure , wit and bits of funny ( dare i say , monkey ) business . \\ni know , i know , i promised . \\nand for those film buffs who are fond of the original , burton\\'s version includes a couple tips of the hat to that movie . \\nmark wahlberg stars as capt . leo davidson , a deep-space pilot whose ship gets drawn into a magnetic field and hurled into the future . \\nhe crash lands on a planet where apes are the dominant species and humans are hunted , captured and sold into slavery . \\ndespite being darker than the original , burton\\'s film is not as heavy handed nor as sanctimonious . \\nsome of the movie\\'s flashes of humor are surreal as well as typically burton : an organ-grinder ape with a midget or an elderly ape taking off a wig and removing false teeth as he prepares for bed . \\nthen there are the parents who buy a little girl as a pet for there young daughter . \\nthe seller advises the parents to get rid of the girl before she reaches puberty : \" one thing you don\\'t want in your house is a human teen-ager , \" he says . \\nyou don\\'t have to be an ape to realize the truth in that statement . \\ntouches such as these are what stamps this movie with burton\\'s brand . \\nlines that hearken back to the original movie are sprinkled throughout : the first words spoken by an ape to davidson as the astronaut is regaining consciousness and grabs the simian\\'s foot to try righting himself are : \" take your stinking hand off of me , you damned , dirty human . \" \\nanyone familiar with the first version of the film will , of course , recognize the irony in that piece of dialogue . \\nanother of burton\\'s in-jokes is to have charlton heston , star of the original , play the chimpanzee father of tim roth\\'s gen . thade . \\nthe young chimp goes to visit his dying father . \\nboth have one thing in common , a hatred of humans . \\nwith his dying breath , the elder spews out his vile : \" damn them , damn them all to hell , \" he says before expiring . \\nthat is the famous line heston\\'s taylor shouted at the conclusion of the original after discovering the planet\\'s terrible secret . \\nthe performances throughout are top-notch . \\nwahlberg plays davidson not as some gung-ho hero , but as a confused and somewhat frightened explorer who only wants to return home . \\nhe is reluctant to lead the human rebellion ; his only objective being to find a way off this upside-down planet . \\nthis hesitation is what makes his character believable and vulnerable . \\nroth is ferocious , cunning , cruel and savage as the fascist chimp who wants to rid his planet of all vestiges of humanity . \\nhe leaps and bounds as if he had springs on his feet . \\nit is a masterful turn . \\nhelena bonham carter is ari , the chimp who believes that apes and humans can live in peace and as equals . \\nhers is a smart , compassionate characterization . \\nmichael clarke duncan is big and brutal as attar the gorilla aid to thade who blindly follows his leader until his faith is shaken . \\na fine comic outing is given by paul giamatti as limbo , the ape slave trader making a living off the misery of the humans he captures . \\nas the battle between apes and humans looms , the cowardly limbo pleads , \" can\\'t we all just get along , \" echoing the words of rodney king . \\nmuch of the success of planet of the apes goes to burton\\'s technical crew , especially production designer rick heinrichs and the legendary rick baker who created the ape makeup . \\nburton\\'s musical collaborator , danny elfman , provides another fine score , though it is not as memorable as his work on batman or sleepy hollow . \\nthe movie\\'s only letdown comes at the very end where burton tries to outshock the finale from the 1968 original . \\nhe comes close , but falls short . \\notherwise , planet of the apes is what a summer movie should be : an amusement park ride filled with lots of action , stunts and a few laughs . \\nthis is one feature in which the expectations lived up to the pre-release hype . \\n',\n",
+       " b'sandra bullock in high heels and wielding a chainsaw ? \\nyup , it\\'s gotta be summer . \\njust when you thought the pointless sequel had gone the way of franchise films and direct-to-video releases , into port slams speed 2 : cruise control , the gloriously godawful follow-up to the 1994 sleeper about a bus rigged to explode if it slowed below a certain speed . \\nthe gimmick , this time , is an ocean liner rigged to , well , crash into stuff . \\nsound exciting ? \\ndennis hopper\\'s disgruntled bomb squader , the villain of the first film , has given way to willem dafoe\\'s disgruntled computer programmer , a maniac whose main beef has something to do with having to use live leeches , i kid you not , as a self-treatment for copper poison- ing . \\n ( and said poisoning induced by prolonged exposure to electro- magnetic fields , no less ! \\ncalling dean edell . . . ) \\nso , he overrides the boat\\'s computer , convinces the crew to abandon ship , and sends the remaining passengers , those who couldn\\'t evacuate in time , on a col- lision course with destiny . \\n ( oddly , no one thinks to just . . . \\njump off the back of the boat . ) \\nwith keanu reeves electing not to return-- perhaps he read the script ? -- \\nthe job of john mcclane goes to jason patric ( sleepers ) , as the * second * la cop and swat team member that that bus drivin\\' babe annie ( bullock ) has dated . \\n ( what are the odds ? ) \\nthey\\'re on this caribbean cruise for pleasure , as are a handful of requisite stock characters , including a deaf teenager ( ! ) who has a crush on the hero ( ! ! ) who also knows how to sign ( ! ! ! ) . \\n ( and you thought the raptor slam was a cool summer movie move ? \\nwait till you see the feats that * this * little girl can do , when stuck on a shipboard elevator ! ) \\nbullock is her pesky , perky self , though she ends up with far less screen time than her top billing suggests . \\n ( those paying attention to her bikini- and tank- tops probably won\\'t complain , however ) patric is the main man in motion and that\\'s damn good , \\'cause when he stops to talk , he\\'s only slightly less monotone than his predecessor . \\n ( his first lol line is to ms . bullock : \" i\\'d like to boogie with you . \" ) \\nof course , nobody in front of the camera embarrasses themselves quite the way that returning director jan de bont does . \\nhe also produced this mess , which is insulting even by the most lax summer standards . \\n ( con air , buddy , father\\'s day , romy and michelle\\'s high school reunion , murder at 1600 , 8 heads in a duffle bag , anaconda , vegas vacation , meet wally sparks , metro , bevery hills ninja , the relic , all is forgiven ) . \\nworse , he\\'s spent a hundred mil on a premise that doesn\\'t even live up to its title ! \\nthere\\'s no sweat-inducing motion of the ocean here-- just two hours of shaky handheld camera work and a handful of cross-cut exteriors , all leading up to the big slam , when the love boat sideswipes an oil tanker and then plows into a harbor town . \\n ( oh , how far we\\'ve come in twenty years . \\nremember the simple fun of seeing a locomotive smash into railway station in the silver streak ? ) \\nadmittedly , either of the aforementioned sequences is worth the price of admission . \\nit\\'s just the rest of the movie-- the other hundred or so minutes-- that\\'s pure nonsense . \\nand wonderful nonsense at that . \\ni know he didn\\'t intend to , but de bont has done one thing right : he\\'s created the hands-down funniest film of the year . \\nso , now , allow to present a few more things that made me laugh : \\no a box with a big label : \" fiber optic converter \" \\no plain english , whole-sentence computer instructions \\no an entire sequence devoted to opening a fire door \\no jason patric\\'s character walks onto the bridge and immediately understands everything that\\'s happening \\no a ships\\' navigator who speaks in a scottish accent and actually gets to say \" i canna override it ! \" \\no willem dafoe\\'s amazing arm-mounted keyboard \\no two living , breathing adults ( bullock\\'s character and the first mate ) who have to be told , step by step , how to disconnect a trip wire from the pin of a hand grenade . \\nduh \\no \" no wait ! \" \\nscreams the ship\\'s intercom \\no yet another damn dog in peril \\no fishing reel . \\npontoon plane . \\nmemories of weekend at bernie\\'s \\n',\n",
+       " b\"along his carreer , mel gibson has collected several successes , not only from an economic point of view but also from an artistic point of view . \\nfor all that , i think no one could guess the skills and abilities now disclosed in braveheart . \\nthe australian actor decided to produce and direct a film about sir william wallace , a popular scotch hero of the 13th century , where he would also perform the principal role . \\naccepting so huge challenge , mel gibson run the risk of stain all his work of years , with a suppoosed failure , just to see recognized , by everyone , all his potentialities and , that way , to consolidate his position in hollywood . \\nit was , definitely , an enormous risk but i'm sure mel knew exactly well what he was going to face . \\nbraveheart is , in fact , a magnificent and magisterial film . \\nfor three hours we are completely absorbed by the narrative's rhyitm which never gives place to a single moment of monotony or uninterest . \\nthe william wallace's story is the story of so many others brave liberty's defenders who fought and gave the life for that essential value , along the centuries . \\nseeing himself and his people victims of injustices and violent repression , william wallace dares to face the powerful edward i , king of england , in a war by the autonomy of scotland . \\nas the victories succeed the number of fighters with wallace goes growing up . \\nhis courage and inteligence are admired by everyone , including the princess isabelle of wales , wife of edward's son . \\nhowever , william wallace was also surrounded by enemies and some of them were closer than he thought . \\nbraveheart may not be an historically corrected movie but the nature of its message make us think about the importance that we give to liberty , nowadays . \\nmel gibson directs with a lot of brilliancy a brilliant cast . \\npatrick mcgoohan has a very nice performance as edward i , the king longshank . \\nthe scene when he waits for the death and loses his voice is really good . \\nsophie marceau , as princess isabelle , has along the movie no more than fifteen minutes of performance but mel gibson gave to those minutes such a very special treatment that princess isabelle soon becomes one of the major characters in braveheart . \\ni also liked the performances of angus macfadyen , as robert the bruce , and , of course , mel gibson , as william wallace . \\nhowever , i think this time the mel gibson's work as director was much better than his work as actor . \\nthe excellent music composed by james horner is another thing that helps braveheart to be the success that it really is . \\nwhen we join that music to the beautiful scotch landscapes , view by the camera of john toll , then we realize all the beauty of this film . \\nbraveheart is , in my opinion , one of the best movies of 1995 ! \\ni've heard some people saying that mel gibson is gonna be a new david lean . \\nfor now , let's see if braveheart equalizes the 6 oscars of lawrence of arabia . \\nit won't be easy ! \\nit's gonna be one more challenge for mel gibson . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'richard gere is not one of my favorite actors . \\nhowever , i like courtroom dramas , and this film looked good enough to take a chance on . \\ni wasn\\'t disappointed . \\nit wasn\\'t a great film , but it was interesting , and took several unexpected turns . \\none thing : what\\'s with the title ? \\nnot only is it extremely forgettable , it doesn\\'t really have much to do with the film , as far as i could determine . \\nin the long run , it will probably hurt the film , as people won\\'t be able to think of or remember it . \\nmartin vail ( richard gere ) is a grandiose defense attorney . \\nhe loves the money and the fame that go along with defending ( successfully ) rich scum , such as mafia men and drug-dealers . \\nonce he sees that the accused killer of a prominent chicago archbishop is a baby-faced alter boy , he wants in on the case , presumably for the press he\\'ll get . \\nwe soon find out that the prosecutor assigned is a former lover , janet venable ( laura linney ) . \\nvail himself is a former prosecutor , and quit because of tensions between himself and the district attorney , played very well by john mahoney ( frasier\\'s father on the tv series ) . \\nthere is an underlying theme of dichotomy in the movie : people have public faces , and private faces . \\nwe see this in the murdered archbishop , in the accused , and , most strongly , defense attorney martin vail . \\nrichard gere does a fairly good job . \\nat first , he appears to be a money- and attention-grabbing lawyer , with no consideration of the truth . \\nbut we see another side , as he becomes a seeker of justice , and comes to believe in his client . \\nalfre woodard , as the judge , is capable , though somewhat wasted in a standard role . \\nlaura linney also does journeyman work ; nothing spectacular , but acceptable . \\nher relationship with vail is believable ; their verbal fencing adds to the film . \\nthe actor who playes vail\\'s investigator ( unfortunately , i don\\'t remember his name ) is quite good . \\nhis female assistant ( she looked very familiar , but i can\\'t remember where i\\'ve seen her ) was also capable , but unspectacular . \\nthe best performance in the film was by edward norton . \\nhe was excellent , as the timid altar-boy turned alleged \" butcher boy of st . mike\\'s \" . \\ni was impressed by the depth of the plot ; there are red-herrings , and dead-ends , that in a lesser film would lead to a predictable ending . \\ni liked the plot twists the film took , and most of the supporting characters , thus i give primal fear a respectable b+ rating . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after 1993\\'s \" falling down , \" i hoped that joel schumacher would mature into a great director . \\nsince then he has offered us two so-so adaptations of john grisham novels ( \" the client \" and \" a time to kill \" ) and two batman movies that lowered the standards of that franchise . \\nalthough these disappointments dampened my enthusiasm for schumacher\\'s potential , the publicity for his latest release , \" 8mm , \" raised new hope . \\nit promised to be something unusual . \\nit wasn\\'t . \\nthe plot goes like this : tom welles ( nicolas cage ) is a private eye who is hired by a wealthy woman , allegorically named mrs . christian ( myra carter ) , to investigate an 8mm movie found among her late husband\\'s belongings . \\nthe movie appears to be a snuff film in which a teenage girl is raped and murdered by a man in a leather mask ( who reminds me of bane in schumacher\\'s \" batman & robin \" ) . \\nbecause murders can be realistically simulated in movies , mrs . christian wants tom to discover if the girl is alive or dead . \\nby combing through missing persons reports , tom finds the girl\\'s name and tracks her to los angeles . \\nwith the aid of max california ( joaquin phoenix ) , a video store clerk ( and another symbolic name ) , tom wanders through the underworld of pornography in search of snuff . \\nthe plot bears an obvious resemblance to paul schrader\\'s \" hardcore , \" in which a father goes deeper and deeper into the industries of porn and sex to find his missing daughter . \\nboth films are modeled on dante\\'s \" the inferno , \" of course ; \" 8mm \" makes that connection overly obvious by casting max as virgil and having him constantly tell tom that they were heading toward a meeting with the devil . \\n \" hardcore \" is a much more subtle and meaningful film . \\n \" 8mm \" had a lot of promise . \\nin its better moments it\\'s an examination of violence as entertainment and of the beast within even a nice guy like tom . \\none moment of the first sort : when we first meet max he\\'s reading truman capote\\'s \" in cold blood \" underneath the cover of a porn novel . \\n \" in cold blood \" was the father of the true-crime genre , which is the literary equivalent of snuff films . \\nmax promises that we will see examples of the second theme when he tells tom , \" dance with the devil and the devil don\\'t change ; the devil changes you . \" \\ntom does change-i\\'ll let you discover the specifics for yourself-but not permanently . \\nschumacher and screenwriter andrew kevin walker didn\\'t have the guts to take tom so far down the dark tunnel that he couldn\\'t come back . \\n ( walker\\'s \" seven \" did a much better job on that theme by refusing to compromise ) . \\ncage tries hard to pull it off , but the script doesn\\'t give him enough to work with . \\nphoenix walks away with the movie-he\\'s smart , charming , and funny . \\nother cast members include \" fargo \" \\'s peter stormare camping it up as porn auteur dino velvet and \" the sopranos \" \\'s james gandolfini as a soulless porn merchant who pushes tom too far . \\nin the last analysis , since \" 8mm \" falls short of its pretensions and its promise , its just another private eye story in the raymond chandler/ross macdonald tradition of having the detective uncover the depravity behind the glossy facade of wealth and privilege . \\nhowever , unlike other predictable fare in the genre-last year\\'s \" twilight , \" for example- \" 8mm \" is especially disappointing because it could have been much more than it is . \\n',\n",
+       " b'eddie murphy has a lot riding on harlem nights . \\nas the movie\\'s writer , director , executive producer , and star , murphy will shoulder all of the blame if harlem nights fails . \\nbut at the same time , he\\'ll receive all of the credit if it succeeds . \\nshould you sacrifice your hard-earned cash to support murphy\\'s risky gamble ? \\nwell , that depends on whom you trust more : me or eddie murphy . \\nhere\\'s what murphy thinks : \" i think the audience is expecting a good time . \\nthey gonna get sexy . \\nthey gonna get funny . \\nthey gonna get drama . \\nthey gonna get all of that . \\ni think it\\'s the best movie i\\'ve done \" ( paramount radio network ) . \\nhere\\'s what i think : harlem nights is charmless , unoriginal , disappointing , and almost without question , the worst film of the actor\\'s career ( i haven\\'t seen best defense ) . \\nand guess who\\'s to blame ? ! \\nthe movie\\'s problem is not murphy\\'s direction : harlem nights is a fairly good looking film . \\nno , the project was probably doomed even before the cameras rolled . \\nmurphy\\'s awful script is the culprit . \\nlet\\'s count the mistakes he makes in his first attempt at screenwriting : \\n ( 1 ) murphy shatters the record for the most profanity in a motion picture . \\nyes , he even outdoes his own work in raw . \\npractically every line of dialogue in harlem nights contains at least one four letter word . \\nand after 15 minutes , it gets irritating . \\n ( 2 ) murphy wastes the talents of his fine cast . \\nrichard pryor , redd foxx , michael lerner , and della reese face the impossible task of carving out credible characters from a script riddled with stereotypes . \\neach of them shines occasionally , but basically what we have are good performers stuck in a bad vehicle . \\n ( 3 ) the movie demeans women by depicting them solely as sexual objects and as pawns in power struggles between men . \\nmurphy has admitted in interviews that he is weary of women in his private life , which is really neither here nor there . \\nbut when murphy puts his bitter feelings on 3 , 000 movie screens across the country , it\\'s another matter altogether . \\nyou\\'re forced to swallow some pretty gruesome stuff . \\nfor instance , murphy punches della reese in the stomach . \\nand he shoots jasmine guy in the head . \\nthis is a mean-spirited movie , folks ! \\nlovely newcomer lela rochon gets off easy in her role as a common whore , but only because she doesn\\'t have any scenes with murphy . \\nthank god : he might have run her over with a bulldozer . \\n ( 4 ) murphy has written for himself perhaps his blandest role to date . \\nthe loveable eddie murphy charisma emerges only once or twice during the film . \\nmurphy would rather give his character a spiffy wardrobe than a spiffy personality . \\nsometimes it seems as if murphy made harlem nights just so he could wear fancy suits and look debonair . \\n ( 5 ) the plot is a shameless rip-off of the sting . \\nif you\\'re going to make another sting movie , you\\'ve got to do something original . \\nmurphy\\'s tale of warring nightclub owners in harlem ( circa 1938 ) fails to add anything new to the formula . \\n ( 6 ) to get laughs , murphy makes fun of stuttering . \\nyou know a comedy is digging deep when it resorts to ridiculing the handicapped . \\n ( 7 ) murphy\\'s idea of drama is a scene in which his character apologizes for the first time in his life . \\nfor what ? \\nfor shooting reese\\'s little toe off ! \\nneedless to say , murphy shows little , if any , promise or imagination as a screenwriter . \\nin all fairness , however , a few rays of sunshine do manage to break through the gloomy cloud surrounding the movie . \\ndanny aiello is fun to watch as a dirty cop on the take . \\naiello stands out in the large , ensemble cast : he obviously relishes the opportunity to play such a nasty character ( a racist detective with mob ties ) . \\naiello\\'s zesty performance gives harlem nights some much needed spice . \\nanother bright spot is arsenio hall , who has a hilarious , show-stopping cameo as a cry-baby gangster ; hall virtually steals the spotlight from murphy . \\nin fact , hall\\'s ten minutes on screen are the funniest ten minutes in the movie . \\nunfortunately , his character is completely irrelevant to the plot ; murphy should have given hall a much bigger role . \\nof course , i\\'ve already mentioned that i didn\\'t care for murphy\\'s character , but i have to admit that i did love his neckties . \\nthey are simply spectacular--almost worth the price of admission . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the rich man\\'s wife is one of those movies like final analysis or body double , where the story and characters are so one-dimensional and contrived that you know you shouldn\\'t be enjoying yourself . \\nbut somehow , the movie just tries so hard that you begin to forgive it and get into the swing of things . \\nnot that it\\'s bad , it\\'s just that it\\'s been done before ; and better , in my opinion . \\ni realize that this is going to sound pretty bizarre , but it\\'s probably the best analogy that i can come up with right now ; you know how when you see a spider or something in your toilet , striving helplessly to get out , and instead of just flushing him , you end up kind of rooting for the little guy ? \\nthat\\'s basically how i felt about this movie . \\ni mean , it\\'s not very good , but it\\'s not completely bad either . \\nthe wife of the title is josie potenza ( played nicely by halle berry ) . \\nshe is married to tony ( christopher mcdonald . . . you \\nknow , the guy who looks like joe piscapo ) , a really stressed-out businessman who drinks way to much and doesn\\'t give josie the attention she deserves ( * cough , cough * ) . \\nthus , she is driven into the arms of another man , jake golden ( clive owen ) . \\nnear the beginning of the film , josie decides to try and work things out with tony by dumping jake and going on a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods . \\nonce there , however , tony has to leave almost immediately due to business details ( i\\'m still not quite sure what line of work he\\'s in ) . \\nmaking the best of her situation , josie stays there and begins making the rounds at the local bars . \\none night , she meets a stranger named cole ( peter greene , finally getting a meaty role ) . \\nthey have dinner together , and eventually , both josie and the audience start to realize that cole is homicidal . \\nafter learning that she is not happily married , cole offers to \" take care \" of the problem . \\nmanaging to escape from the psychotic maniac , josie returns home and starts a reconciliation with her estranged and very wealthy husband . \\nbut then one night , cole shows up . . . \\nand here is where the fun begins . \\nfrom this point on , it\\'s going to be a no-holds- barred cliche-fest , ripping off every movie from strangers on a train to the usual suspects . \\nthis is why most critics panned this movie when it first came out . \\nand for the most part , they\\'re right ; the rich man\\'s wife has nary one original bone in it\\'s body . \\nbut who cares ? \\nif you\\'re looking for good ol\\' dumb suspense movie , you can\\'t do much better than this . \\nand if you suspense buffs aren\\'t already sold , it has a killer of an ending too . \\n',\n",
+       " b'close your eyes for a moment , if you will , and imagine the sound of stephen rea\\'s gaelic brogue , silky smooth and irish like a pint of guinness . \\na lackadaisical , naughty little schoolboy voice that flirts and gambols . \\nan acerbic , sing-song metered voice that evokes the startling imagery and language of anthony burgess\\' \" a clockwork orange . \" \\na voice that deliciously conjures scenes both porcine and puerile , like those out of \" delicatessen , \" or \" the tin drum . \" \\nimagine all of that , and you\\'ll get a good sense of what you can expect from \" the butcher boy . \" \\nimagine that and more . \\nneil jordan\\'s latest film \" stars \" rea in more ways than one . \\nrea , the accomplished irish actor most notable from his star turn in jordan\\'s \" the crying game , \" contributes a restrained and managed performance as da brady , a small town drunk in an unnamed irish community in the 1960s . \\nbut it\\'s his wall-to-wall narration as the butcher boy of the title , da brady\\'s son , francis , that makes rea\\'s \" performance \" worth watching , worth listening to . \\nand that\\'s only half the fun . \\nplaying the young francie brady is newcomer eamonn owens and he is , without a doubt , a revelation . \\nfor as much as rea\\'s voiceover permeates almost every scene of \" the butcher boy , \" owens commands virtually every frame . \\nit\\'s impossible to take your eyes off him . \\nwith his crop of carrot-colored hair , ruddy complexion , and overall grubby appearance , francie brady is an unlikely hero , refusing to be done in by his alcoholic , trumpet-playing father , his depressive , suicidal mother , or the neighboring , bespectacled monster known as mrs . nugent ( fiona shaw ) . \\nin fact , everything was ok until \" the nugent \" came to town . \\nnow , she poses as much a threat to the safety and security of town bully francie and his best pal joe ( alan boyle ) as the looming commie menace ( \" the butcher boy \" is set at a time when the fear of nuclear obliteration is first and foremost in the minds of many ) . \\n \" pigs ! \" screams mrs . nugent at the brady menagerie . \\n \" you\\'re all pigs ! \" \\nit\\'s the start of many a related image . \\nafter ma brady is shipped off to the \" garage \" for psychiatric observation and da brady downs one bottle of whiskey too many , francie finally loses grip of his fantasy world of cowboys and indians , the lone ranger , and other comicbook characters . \\nsquealing like a stuck pig , francie does \" the likes o\\' that \" on the nugent\\'s living room floor , and is himself whisked away to a very catholic remand home for \" boney arsed bogmen , \" where his ever fertile imagination--and clever chicanery--runneth over . \\ndirector jordan\\'s vivid treatment of pat mccabe\\'s nightmare novel produces a sometimes disturbing , dark comedy littered with surreal touches ( such as sin ? ad o\\'connor playing the virgin mary ) . \\nit\\'s not as outlandish as the trailers make out ; instead , this remarkable film focuses on the effects external influences have on the friendship between two boys ( schoolboy chums in real life ) , allowing us to empathize with their plight in the presence of extraordinary behavior . \\nit\\'s bleak and it\\'s black but it\\'s fundamentally very funny . \\nrea talks us through it , beautifully , and owens drags us though it , admirably , and , in tandem with jordan\\'s sure hand , theirs are contributions to make \" the butcher boy \" a film worth savoring . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you don\\'t want to be like mike . \\nmike has been doing badly . \\nembarrassingly bad . \\nhe broke up a six-year relationship six months ago to move from n . y . to l . a . and he\\'s still not over her . \\nas a result , his jokes fall flat when he tries to impress , and he\\'s a comedian . \\nwell , an unemployed comedian , one of hollywood\\'s little fish , and it has gotten so bad he\\'s asked for an application at starbuck\\'s . \\nactually , the starbuck\\'s thing gets even worse . \\nand worse . \\nyou won\\'t fail to like mike , however , played endearingly by jon favreau . \\nswingers revolves around mike\\'s half-hearted and awkward efforts to get back in the social swing of things . \\nto this end he is enthusiastically assisted by his equally underachieving twentysomething actor friends , such as trent ( vince vaughn with the film\\'s most animated performance ) , who has the gift of gab bordering on the disturbing side of motivational speaking , gun-toting sue ( patrick van horn ) , and rob ( ron livingston ) , who once played hamlet but now longs to work as goofy in disneyland , but doesn\\'t succeed because of his lack of \" theme park experience . \" \\ntogether they talk about women - how to make eye contact , which involves avoiding it , and when to call so as never to appear desperate , two days being \" industry standard . \" \\nafter talking the talk , they walk the walk , strutting like the cool swingers they aspire to be , always to laughable effect . \\nto get mike out of his funk , his friends persistently convince him to get outside , whether it be to a quickie night trip to a seedy vegas casino or a cutthroat hollywood party with the beautiful people or a 50s swing lounge . \\neverywhere they encourage mike to look for a replacement \" honey \" and then keep vigil over his progress , or lack of it . \\nlike dotty doting parents , mike never leaves their company without being the recipient of their confidence cheerleading ( \" you\\'re money , mike , and the honeys know it . \" ) or equipped with their eccentric dating philosophies , such as an analogy of flirting with the bear and the bunny . \\nwith the unwavering support of friends like these , maybe mike\\'s not doing too badly after all . \\nfavreau also doubled as the film\\'s screenwriter , and he proves he has the gift for creating engaging characters and witty banter that goes beyond today\\'s bon mot . \\nthere is a reassuring honesty to the friendships , even when it hits its low points and the friends commiserate . \\nwhen mike gets the gumption to look for love , you will join his cheerleading section as well . \\nswingers is light , unassuming fare , sweet candy you will want to bust your gut with - laughing - again and again . \\n',\n",
+       " b'for a movie with such deep religious and spiritual undertones , it is surprising to find the messenger : the story of joan of arc such an ungodly mess . \\nin the early to mid 1400\\'s , there was little in the way of spiritual light to be found shining from the heart of a man or woman . \\nthe church was a dismally dark and oppressive place . \\nfrance was involved in \" the hundred years war \" against england . \\nthere was no strong political leadership in the country . \\nmorale was low , there being little hope for the future . \\nit was within this setting that a young french girl began hearing \" voices \" and seeing \" visions . \" \\nconvinced that these were messages from god , she brazenly demanded to see the dauphin in order to deliver the message directly to him . \\nthe message : if he would give her an army to command , she would deliver to him the crown . \\nhe does . . . \\nand she does . \\nthen , once seated on the throne , he abandons her to her english captors . \\ndirector luc besson ( the fifth element ) may have co-wrote the script but he never appeared to have a proper handle on the material . \\nthe inconsistencies of the cast , the confusing blur of the violent battle scenes , the inappropriate musical score , and the lack of a vibrant life force at the center of the film adds up to a largely disappointing end product which is oftentimes unintentionally laughable . \\nhis biggest miscue was to cast his wife , milla jovovich ( the fifth element ) in the title role . \\nms . jovovich , looks spectacular as joan , clad in battle armor , astride a similarly protected horse . \\nif looks were enough to fully convey a character , she would have been brilliant . \\nsince it isn\\'t , she tried ( and failed ) to act the part . \\nher joan is unbalanced , \" inspiring \" the troops merely by screaming stridently and waving her banner or sword over her head like a woman possessed . \\njohn malkovich ( being john malkovich ) fares a bit better as the dauphin , who joan would see on the throne as charles vii . \\nan easily manipulated man , his weakness of character foreshadows the betrayal of joan which would lead to her death . \\nfaye dunaway ( the thomas crown affair ) gives a strong performance in minimal screen time as the dauphin\\'s mother-in-law and chief advisor . \\nthe army under joan\\'s command are comprised of comical figures , more stooges than soldiers . \\nthe one exception would be tcheky karyo ( la femme nikita ) as dunois , the man who was leading the attack prior to joan\\'s arrival . \\ntrying to plan a systematic campaign , he sees his leadership authority negated by joan\\'s insistence on following her \" visions . \" \\ndustin hoffman ( sphere ) has a small inhuman role as joan\\'s conscience which begins speaking to her while awaiting trial . \\ndressed like cloaked monk , he leads her to doubt herself and her \" revelations . \" \\nas well she should . \\nscriptures do speak of revelation . \\ngod , via his gift of holy spirit , is able to communicate to men . \\nthree of the nine manifestations of holy spirit listed in 1 corinthians 12 deal with receiving revelation . \\nthey are : word of knowledge , word of wisdom , and discerning of spirits . \\neven the scriptures themselves are a result of god giving revelation to his \" holy men . . . \\nwho spake as they were moved by holy spirit ( i . e . \\nby revelation . ) \" \\nbut the scriptures also caution us : \\n \" beloved , believe not every spirit , but try the spirits whether they are of god : because many false prophets are gone out into the world . \" \\n1 john 4 : 1 [kjv] \\njoan\\'s end , ( being burned at the stake at the age of 19 ) , the frenzy ( mob rule ) and blood lust her inspiration wrought , and the death , pain , or suffering which followed her campaign all point to a devilish influence rather than a godly one . \\nwhile her conviction and intense believing remains an admirable quality , she was , as others have been before and since , misled by the spiritual master of deception . \\nas a messenger , she was quite effective . \\nshe was just confused as to whose message she was carrying . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"vampires starts out almost in the style of a spaghetti western with an attack on a small homestead in new mexico . \\nthe house has a nest of vampires and jack crow ( james woods ) is leading a team of vampire hunters in to clean them out . \\nwhile the initial imagery is a little over-dramatic , it gives way to what is a fairly decent action sequence . \\nthat is enough action to last us a while and we could , director john carpenter would let us , get to a story line . \\nbut it is not very long and there is not much plot until the next big action scene . \\nthen there is only a bit more of plot before the next action scene after that . \\nthe plot is kept to a minimum and the interesting ideas in the plot really get the short end . \\nand that is something of a pity because the film , based on the book vampire$ by john steakley , gives us a myth for the origins of vampires and explains why vampires are so intertwined with religious imagery . \\nthis could be an interesting departure from the standard vampire film , but carpenter decides to tell us about it rather than to show it . \\nwhat carpenter saves his serious screen time for a sequence of spectacular fights between hunters and vampires . \\nthere is a lot of fighting and lots of gore . \\nanything intriguing is kept to a minimum to so it does not get in the way of pleasing the action film fans . \\nthis has not always been carpenter's style . \\nhis 1981 version of the thing has action but also challenges the viewer to do a little thinking about the film's central science fictional question . \\njack crow heads a vampire swat team , cleaning up nests of vampires with high-tech spears and crossbows . \\nin the early part of the film his team is wiped out by a particularly mean vampire valek ( thomas ian griffith ) who has been tipped off to who crow is . \\nnow crow team is gone and he is down to himself and his sidekick tony montoya ( daniel baldwin ) . \\nto make matters worse , he does not know the people on his own side , tony and his backers , he can trust . \\nmeanwhile jack is sure the vampires are looking for something that must be hidden somewhere here in new mexico . \\nif this is sounding like a very tired police corruption plot with a few obvious substitutions , that's exactly what it is . \\nthe same story looks just as well with two partner cops looking for a gang of hood who are themselves looking for a packet of heroin . \\nbut carpenter goes against a familiar principle of film : show people , don't tell them . \\njust about everything in the plot other than the fights we are told about in the dialog and not shown . \\nfundamental questions in the plot like where does crow get his funding , why are the vampires in new mexico--what do they want and why do they want it , what is the connection of the vampires and the catholic church , how did crow come to be a vampire hunter and why devote his life to it ? \\nthe answers to any of these questions could have been dramatized , but instead are revealed through dialog . \\nnow if all this was not bad enough , carpenter misuses the james wood persona . \\nwoods plays a particular sort of cool lowlife very well . \\nbut carpenter leads off the film by having woods do some sergio-leone- style mythic posturing . \\nwhile his crew prepares for an attack he stands staring fixedly through shades at the house that will be his target . \\nwoods does not work as a larger than life mythic hero . \\nthat is not his style and it just does not work very well . \\nthere are some simple things that carpenter should be looking for as director that he misses . \\nin one scene we are looking at a motel room with dead people on the floor . \\none female corpse is on the floor in front of a chair so that there is about an inch of daylight between her and the chair . \\nas the actress breathes the gap widening and narrowing makes it obvious her arm is moving up and down . \\none also wonders how the existence of vampires is kept secret . \\nthese vampires do not maintain a low profile . \\nthere are arguably logical flaws in the film . \\nthere is some question in my mind whether carpenter has a consistent policy on what effect bullets have on vampires . \\nit would take some rationalization to explain why in some scenes sunlight has a dramatic effect on vampires , yet in a scene toward the end a vampire can walk under a burned roof that lets him be swept by beams of sunlight . \\ni suspect that the book on which this film was based was better thought out . \\nwhile i might recommend this film to an action audience i would say that what i look for in a vampire film vampires rates a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nperhaps i will read the book . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'sometimes a movie comes along that falls somewhat askew of the rest . \\nsome people call it \" original \" or \" artsy \" or \" abstract \" . \\nsome people simply call it \" trash \" . \\na life less ordinary is sure to bring about mixed feelings . \\ndefinitely a generation-x aimed movie , a life less ordinary has everything from claymation to profane angels to a karaoke-based musical dream sequence . \\nwhew ! \\nanyone in their 30\\'s or above is probably not going to grasp what can be enjoyed about this film . \\nit\\'s somewhat silly , it\\'s somewhat outrageous , and it\\'s definitely not your typical romance story , but for the right audience , it works . \\na lot of hype has been surrounding this film due to the fact that it comes to us from the same team that brought us trainspotting . \\nwell sorry folks , but i haven\\'t seen trainspotting so i can\\'t really compare . \\nwhether that works in this film\\'s favor or not is beyond me . \\nbut i do know this : ewan mcgregor , whom i had never had the pleasure of watching , definitely charmed me . \\nhe was great ! \\ncameron diaz\\'s character was uneven and a bit hard to grasp . \\nthe audience may find it difficult to care about her , thus discouraging the hopes of seeing her unite with mcgregor after we are immediately sucked into caring about and identifying with him . \\nmisguided ? \\nyou bet . \\nloveable ? \\nyou bet . \\na life less ordinary was a delight and even had a bonus for me when i realized it was filmed in my hometown of salt lake city , utah . \\nthis was just one more thing i didn\\'t know about this movie when i sat down with a five dollar order of nachos and a three dollar coke . \\nmaybe not knowing the premise behind this film made for a pleasant surprise , but i think even if i had known , i would have been just as happy . \\na life less ordinary is quirky , eccentric , and downright charming ! \\nnot for everyone , but a definite change of pace for your typical night at the movies . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the yet-to-be-released krippendorf\\'s tribe is being marketed as a family comedy , but buyer beware . \\nthis movie can\\'t make up its mind . \\nis it a family comedy with vulgar references to both the male and female bodies , menstruation , circumcision , and sex that would make any parents squirm at the thought of having their child next to them ? \\nor is it an adult comedy approached with such immaturity that only adolescents will appreciate the effort ? \\neither way , \" unbalanced \" is the word to stamp on this hit and miss and miss and miss effort . \\nthe premise is catchy - widowed anthropology professor james krippendorf ( richard dreyfuss ) has spent the past two years \" getting over \" the death of his wife , neglecting key research and squandering grant money on personal living expenses . \\nnow it\\'s time to show what he\\'s achieved in those two years , and he has absolutely nothing to show for it . \\nwith a fabricated tale of studying a previously undiscovered tribe in new guinea , krippendorf petitions for new funds while hiding the fact that the previous $100 , 000 grant was spent on trips to mcdonald\\'s . \\nbut when his \" discovery \" becomes the latest craze among colleagues , the professor finds he must do more than talk about the tribe - he must create it . \\nwith the aid of his three children , the headstrong teen shelly ( natasha lyonne of everyone says i love you ) , the slightly younger mickey ( gregory smith ) , and the nine-year-old edmund ( carl michael lindner ) , the \" shelmikedmu \" tribe ( named from the first half of each child\\'s name ) is born , and videos quickly produced in krippendorf\\'s backyard are passed off as stunning documentary footage of the newly found new guinea tribe . \\ndespite the professor\\'s wishes , the buzz surrounding his discovery only grows , due in greatest part to veronica micelli ( jenna elfman ) , an overly vivacious ( and voluptuous ) anthropologist who barges her way into the discovery and basically deems herself krippendorf\\'s main assistant . \\nhungry for recognition , micelli sets up interviews , lectures , etc . in an effort to make this the biggest sociological event in history , a sure fire way to go down in the history books . \\nkrippendorf , on the other hand , is seeing himself go down a jail cell corridor , not in history books , and with each new lecture , he must come up with something impressive to unleash about the tribe - mating habits , domestic structure , etc . thru fumbling improvisation , and often some quick thinking from his oldest son , krippendorf makes it thru each new lecture , but only creates more and more interest in the highly unique tribe . \\non the opposing end is krippendorf\\'s arch rival , ruth allen ( lily tomlin ) , an arrogant professor whose jealousy drives her on a mission to disprove the existance of the non-existent tribe . \\nit\\'s a cute idea , and approached with a more subtle ( and mature ) style , krippendorf\\'s tribe could\\'ve been a real winner . \\nsadly , the mostly-misfired toilet humor , overly comical musical score ( by bruce broughton ) , and sugar coated sentiments ( all the key ingredients of a \" family comedy \" ) just aren\\'t the right tone for this film . \\ncut that crap out , add some razor sharp dialogue and witty sociological perceptions and you\\'ve got a good start . \\nat the state it\\'s in now , you\\'ve got something along the lines of medicine man meets mrs . \\ndoubtfire meets dumb & dumber , and that\\'s not a concoction anyone should be overly anxious to try . \\nthe overall product here is a highly forgettable cup of \" average \" , with a few laugh-out-loud moments and a great big gap in between them . \\nmost of the characters are surprisingly two-dimensional , and the only one who seems to exhibit any real acting effort ( lyonne ) seems to go greatly unappreciated . \\ndirector todd holland has gone about making this film in all the wrong ways . \\nit\\'s stuck in limbo between disney family fare ( jungle 2 jungle ) and potentially hilarious adult comedy ( a fish called wanda ) . \\nit\\'s this unbalanced structure that really knocks it down a grade , and it\\'s a brutal drop . \\na strong warning to parents : forget the impression given by advertisements , do you want to take your kids to a film that has a woman asking a man if he finds her attractive merely because she\\'s holding his penis ? \\nyes , it\\'s put that bluntly ! \\njust be warned - this is merely one example of the many shocking subjects to be brought up in the film , and others might not be as tame . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : lifelong friends rafe ( affleck ) and danny ( hartnett ) join the us air force and are stationed at pearl harbor , hawaii . \\nrafe goes to england to fight alongside british pilots and is seemingly killed in action . \\ndanny falls in love with rafe\\'s girlfriend , evelyn ( beckinsale ) , but rafe survives and returns to confront his former friend . \\nmeanwhile , the japanese sneak attack is imminent . . . \\nreview : \" pearl harbor \" is a perfect example of movies as product rather than as art . \\nit is little more than a crassly-calculated attempt to woo the masses , enticing them with big stars , big effects , and a big setting -- but no heart . \\nit is difficult to criticise the actors , because they do everything the movie demands of them . \\nsadly , this amounts to barely more than reciting dialogue of such sheer banality that it makes one eager to see the script randall wallace wrote with his right hand at the same time as he was writing \" pearl harbor \" with his left . \\nthe plot here is pure cliche , and the wartime setting simply a convenient backdrop . \\nthere is no genuine exploration of what pearl harbor meant to the united states , and no insight into its vital role in inciting that country to join world war ii . \\ninstead , there is just an assembly-line love triangle , some empty patriotic rhetoric , and a laughable attempt to placate japanese viewers via the inclusion of some reticent imperial commanders ( when one intones , \" i fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant \" , i nearly fell out of my seat ) . \\nto the movie\\'s credit , it does include a fantastic portrayal of the attack itself , an exciting and dizzying hour which plunges viewers into the war . \\nif only the remaining two hours had been crafted with such skill , perhaps this memorial day non-event would have been worth watching . \\n',\n",
+       " b'sometimes , when i decide to write a short story or a poem , i think of a title first , and then think of a subject to go with it . \\nit seems that the makers of disturbing behavior had a similar train of thought when it came to the title sequence . \\ni wouldn\\'t be surprised if a couple of guys got together and created the opening credits , and then someone saw it and made up a story to go along with it . \\nthe title sequence is so good , so ominous and original , that it had me engrossed before the picture even began . \\nof course , my attention dwindled shortly into the film . \\ndisturbing behavior , like so many thrillers , starts off interesting and ends up laughably ridiculous . \\nit\\'s a teen horror film with no interesting violence or sex . \\nit\\'s a suspense film with no suspense . \\nit\\'s an evil small town story with no story to speak of . \\nit\\'s a disaster , a listless and uninspired disaster , that just barely misses one-stardom because of a few good sequences , a mercifully short running time , and one terrific set of opening credits . \\nour main man is a fellow named steve clark , blandly played by jimmy marsden . \\nhe moves to a small town with his family after , tragically , his brother shoots himself . \\nsteve is very upset about the untimely death of his brother ; we learn this through strange home-video like nightmares that he has occasionally . \\nthe big trial for steve is , of course , to fit in at school and make new friends . \\nmarsden looks like your stereotypical jock down to the last detail , so he seems a poor casting choice for a social reject . \\nas a social reject , he falls in with some pretentious dope-smoking philosophers , gavin ( nick stahl ) and rachel ( katie holmes ) . \\ngavin informs steve that the local group of jocks , known as the blue ribboners , are actually a bunch of zombies , assimilating new members into their group , while sporadically killing innocent people . \\nso , it\\'s up to our group of mismatched protagonists to 1 ) solve the mystery , and 2 ) do something about it . \\nby the end of it all , something has happened and things have been explained , but the film still doesn\\'t make any sense . \\ndisturbing behavior was written by scott rosenberg . \\ni\\'ve seen his name around recently ( he was one of the toucher-uppers on the armageddon script ) , and i imagine that , for the most part , he knows what he\\'s doing when it comes to screenwriting . \\nhe did , however , have a complete lapse in judgement when he got the idea for this film , and then decided to actually take the time to write it out . \\nevil small town films are pretty common ( the last one , phantoms , is also a dismal failure ) , but it takes a lot of skill to make the formula work . \\nrosenberg\\'s script is a complete mess , lacking in even the most basic attempts at characterization . \\nand it makes no sense , nor is their any purpose when things are finally \" explained . \" \\nthere is supposed to be an element of surprise when we see what is happening to the jocks , but the film never explains exactly what * is * happening . \\nthey get strapped to chairs , a microchip is inserted into their eyes , and -- poof -- they become sex-crazed , superviolent , machine-like creatures . \\nthe doctor responsible for all this , dr . caldicott ( bruce greenwood ) , must be pretty nuts for thinking that this kind of behavior is a step up from the way high school jocks actually behave ( or , perhaps , this is the only realistic element in the film ) . \\nmuch of the writing is simply bad , and rosenberg has no intuition when it comes to the way high school kids act . \\nin one terrible scene , gavin explains to steve all of the high school cliques , while pointing them out in the cafeteria . \\nup front , i should say that , in four years of high school , i did not eat in the cafeteria even once . \\nthat aside , the various social groups he points out are general , uninteresting , and poorly-shown . \\nfor instance , he points to the \" nerds , \" who are all wearing glasses and playing with their laptops . \\nit\\'s such an obvious cliche that i can\\'t believe rosenberg even bothered . \\nmost of the dialogue is forced ( no one says , \" bite me ! \" \\nanymore ) , and none of the scenes have any degree of wit . \\nthis picture is not inspired , and most scenes flop from one to the other , with no sense of momentum or energy . \\nthe blame for this can be placed on director david nutter , who apparently likes his films dry . \\nhorror films should at least exploit violence , but this one is shockingly timid . \\nthere are a few good scenes , though , such as an interesting trip through an insane asylum ( this is , however , the most forced scene in the film , for how our heroes get there or why they bother are things we never learn ) . \\ni also liked the school janitor character , played by william sadler . \\nhe has a few lines that are surprisingly thought-provoking . \\nthe acting is largely a waste of talent . \\nmarsden is , as i said , bland ( thought not particularly bad ) . \\nbruce greenwood is shamelessly wasted . \\nstahl and holmes both show they have talent , but the direction isn\\'t good enough to hone in on their skills ( stahl\\'s performance seems more like a parody of high school potheads ) . \\nnone of these characters expand beyond their one dimension , and , frankly , watching cardboard cut-outs of human beings run down hallways while screaming just isn\\'t all that cool . \\ndisturbing behavior is a wreck of a film , and it started out a wreck before shooting even began . \\ni\\'m surprised there were producers who read this script and thought that it would make a good film , or that it would make a lot of money at the box office . \\nit\\'s not boring , or even blatantly awful , but it\\'s an uninspired lump of a film . \\nit sure starts off nicely , but the regression into total absurdity is so consistent that the very last scene is outright laughable . \\nso , if you go to see this film , take my advice : appreciate the credit sequence , and pray it never ends . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"`oh behave ! \\nfelicity shagwell is one shagadellic babe . \\ndo i make your horny ? \\nfemale fembots with breasts that require gun controlling . \\nanything that resembles bananas and two balls of icecream . \\nthe nut-biting finale between mini me and austin . \\nall that body hair is a real turn on , it's a pity more leading men don't wear it on screen . \\nanything that vaguely resembles sausages and eggs . \\nfat bastard . \\nthe love scene between felicity and fat bastard , that redefines sex . \\nthe wrongly implied love scene in the tent that redefines anal sex . \\nthe love scene between austin and ivana humpalot , that redefines chess and oral sex . \\nthe love scene between dr . evil and frau farbissina , that redefines weird sex . \\nthe love affair between austin and felicity , that does not happen , because his mojo goes missing . \\nthe relationship between dr evil , himself and mini me which redefines a solo love affair . \\nthe unique relationship between dr evil and his son scott www . com . zip , that says a lot about our relationship with our children nowadays . \\nweanies , johnny , richard , dick etc . ' \\nthis movie is every bit as silly and crazy as the first . \\nthere are moments that will make your sick , which are probably best forgotten , but overall mike myers has redefined what it means to be an international spy and leading man . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'if you\\'ve ever perused my college comedy diary \" another year in the life of a nerd \" ( i never run out of cheap plugs ) , you know i didn\\'t get along with my first-semester roommate too well . \\nin fact , during the three-week period between thanksgiving and christmas break , i said a total of four sentences to him . \\nso when i saw in the residence hall cable listings a movie called roommates , i envisioned 90 minutes of conflict between a couple of bickering young adults trapped in a 10 x 13 foot dorm room . \\nthen i saw that the star of roommates is peter falk . \\nscratch that idea . \\nbut i still say someone should film the story of two college roommates whose relationship is less than ideal . \\nof course , in my case it would be a silent picture . \\neven without the college element , i still decided to watch roommates because i had absolutely nothing to do , unless you count studying for final exams ( and who does ? ) . \\ni\\'m glad i did . \\npeter falk\\'s performance was actually what made the movie . \\nand this is a guy i never considered a real actor , more like someone who went around in a trenchcoat solving prescripted mysteries . \\nfalk pleasantly surprised me here , permanently earning my respect , so all you \" columbo \" fans who think i live to insult the guy can just falk off . \\nfalk plays rocky , a 107-year-old polish baker who raises his grandson after both the kid\\'s parents die . \\nthe movie begins with the mom\\'s death and the son moving in with his grandparents . \\nafter a couple stops along the son\\'s journey to manhood , roommates progresses to the present day , with the grandson a surgeon and rocky in a condemned house he refuses to leave . \\nthe surgeon reluctantly offers the only possible solution -- rocky will have to move into his place , the basement of a building rented by a group of chinese students ( \" communists ! \" ) . \\nthe movie spans nine more years of rocky\\'s relationship with his grandson , and the trials posed when the grandson meets and falls in love with--gasp--a woman , and starts spending all his time with her . \\nso , in his grandson\\'s absence , rocky turns his pursuits to professional boxing , achieveing the world heavyweight title in a climactic fight with apollo creed . . . \\nor am i confusing movie plots again ? \\nroommates has an almost epic feel to it , covering several generations of a family with one fiesty immigrant who refuses to die . \\ndeath , though , knocks at the door of almost every other major character in the the movie . \\nroommates has about as many casualties as the first halloween . \\nthe number can\\'t be counted on one hand , unless of course you\\'re the victim of some hideous genetic mutation . \\nand you can probably guess who says farewell to planet earth at the end of the movie ( no , not duran duran ) . \\ni won\\'t come out and say it . \\ninstead , i\\'ll just sit here and hum \" eye of the tiger \" until each and every one of you figures it out . \\nroommates plays on all the major emotions . \\nit knows when to make you laugh and when to make you cry . \\nmovies that can perfectly mix comedy and drama are always hits with the audience , even though this one bombed at the theaters . \\nmy point ? \\nthere are no absolutes . \\nor , another possible point , peter falk just isn\\'t such a great box office draw . \\neither way , this is still a good movie and you should give it a chance like i did , whether you hate your roommate or not . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" have you ever heard the one about a movie so bad that it made a guy run out of the theatre screaming ? \" \\nobviously the producers at columbia tristar did not think that we suffered enough from the first installment , and so to finish us utterly , they have now released \" urban legends : final cut \" . \\nthis is another \" scream \" -like feature , consisting merely from the recycled materials of rip-offs from the most pointless movies of all time . \\namy ( jennifer morrison ) is a film student who is attending a film school filled with uninspired film students who do not have a clue about what to do . \\nbut just as she reaches the halfway mark of her final semester at prestigious university\\'s film program -- where each year\\'s best thesis production takes the coveted hitchcock prize , a virtual one-way ticket to hollywood success -- she has a chance encounter with campus security guard reese ( loretta devine ) , whose tale of a series of murders based on urban legends at another university inspires amy to try her hand at a fictional thriller organized along similar lines . \\nsoon enough , fake -- and real -- blood starts to flow , and amy is being chased around by scary killer , while her cast and crew get slain , one by one . \\nis the culprit the original urban legends murderer , just some random psycho , ! \\na member of the faculty , one of her competitors for the hitchcock , or is there something even more stupid going on ? \\nthis is another one of those tiring , pointless teen slasher flicks : neither scary , funny , or interesting . \\nit simply lacks the ability and the story to entertain . \\nthe body counts and screams continue to grow , as the weak level of intelligence sinks rapidly . \\nin fact watching films like that after having watched \" scary movie \" is impossible keeping a serious face . \\nseveral times i tried to prevent myself from laughing , without succeeding . \\nand then i realized that practically the whole theatre was laughing . \\nit\\'s the same thing that has been told and told and told over and over again as if it was the revelation of the century . \\nhow many times must we tolerate the same clich ? s that have haunted the slasher genre since its birth ? \\nit has been so many films about masked killers that most of us have developed an allergy for them . \\nthey are the most stupid , meaningless , predictable and soulless films in existence . \\nhowever , director john ottman manages to make \" urban legends : final cut \" into one of the worst achievements of this godforsaken genre . \\nwhat was done with a sense of redemption for past failures and irony in \" scream \" , ottman takes seriously . \\nfor that reason alone , it is worth a look , just to realize how bad a movie can be . \\nit\\'s tough to find comparisons for such an achievement , and we have to dig in ancient history to find a movie that would match its intellect . \\neven movies like \" lost in space \" and \" mission to mars \" seem spectacular in its shadow . \\nwe have not seen such waste of t ! \\nime and resources since \" showgirls \" ( 1995 ) . \\nno matter how hard i tried to find positive elements in this so called production , i came up with nothing , except the way the killer was dressed . \\nhere i feel that i have to compliment the costume designers trysha bakker and marie-sylvie deveu , that have wisely replaced the well known scream-mask with a very elegant fencing mask . \\njennifer morrison ( \" stir of echoes \" ) is all right , and the other actors\\' best achievement is keeping a straight face when pronouncing the words from the script . \\nin fact the only thing that is terrifying about this film ( with the exception of its screenplay ) is its portray of film schools . \\nif these graduates will be the directors of the future , then hollywood\\'s golden days are over . \\nrumors are already spreading through the internet that columbia tristar is already developing a third installment . \\nlet\\'s just hope and pray that it\\'s just an urban legend . \\n',\n",
+       " b'assume nothing . \\nthe phrase is perhaps one of the most used of the 1990\\'s , as first impressions and rumors are hardly ever what they seem to be . \\nthe phrase especially goes for oscar novak , an architect who is the main focus of three to tango , a delightful , funny romantic comedy about assumptions and being yourself . \\nnovak ( matthew perry ) , a shy , clumsy , chicago based architect , along with openly gay partner , peter steinberg ( oliver platt ) , fights for projects day in and day out . \\none of these is the job of restoring a popular building for charles newman ( dylan mcdermott ) , a rich , well-known businessman . \\ncharles immediately takes a liking to oscar , as he enjoys his personality and sense of humor . \\nseeing oscar as someone he could trust , charles asks him to watch his girlfriend , an unpredictable , adventurous girl named amy post ( neve campbell ) , who makes a living by blowing glass . \\ncharles wants to know who she talks to , what she does , and where she goes . \\nthe point ? \\nto make sure she\\'s not seeing someone else , of course . \\noscar gladly takes the job , and meets amy at an art show of hers , and sparks fly between the two from the get go . \\noscar feels he has found the one meant for him , and he is content with the idea of being with amy . \\nwell , another popular phrase of the 90\\'s is \" all good things must come to an end , \" and this stays true for oscar as well . \\ncharles walks in on amy and oscar having a drink one night , as oscar and amy have become great friends , but he doesn\\'t seem to mind . \\nwhy is this ? \\nhe thinks oscar is gay . \\nhe\\'s not afraid to share this with him either . \\noscar stands in shock after the words , \" i swear if you weren\\'t gay oscar , i\\'d have to kill you , \" are muttered flamboyantly from charles\\' mouth . \\nthe word spreads instantly through town . \\nwill oscar \" come out \" of his supposed gayness , or will he tell everyone that he isn\\'t ? \\none would immediately think he would deny the fact , but numerous occurrences come to oscar , which result in the fact that if he denies the fact , he could lose his job with charles . \\nmatthew perry doesn\\'t escape his character as chandler on the already classic t . v . \\ncomedy \" friends , \" as both oscar novak and chandler are clueless , shy , and sensitive . \\nnonetheless , perry is hilarious here , and shows that he can handle drama , as obviously , his character suffers quite a bit here . \\nit\\'s wonderful to see neve campbell outside of a horror movie , ( she was the star of scream 1 and 2 , and the upcoming scream 3 ) as she handles comedy superbly here . \\nher voice , smile , and personality are more than perfect for romantic comedies- stay with this genre , neve . \\nneve is delightful as her conflicted character , who feels love for oscar , but knows , based on rumors , that he is gay . \\nas usual , campbell is likable as her likable character . \\nunlike the other two leads here , dylan mcdermott is flat in his dialogue , and is never convincing . \\nwhen his character his present , mcdermott sets a dull tone to the scene with his horrible acting . \\nstick to the t . v . \\ndrama , the practice , dylan . \\nthe major weak spot in three to tango is the direction of damon santostefano . \\nno originality or technique is used whatsoever . \\nthree to tango is lucky that the script is so edgy and that perry and campbell are wonderful in comedy , or else the film would have been a disaster , as it is just plain boring to look at . \\nthree to tango is a film done many times before , as the plot is suspiciously close to 1998\\'s the object of my affection , but the plot has never been completed so well . \\nthree to tango\\'s script , written by rodney patrick vaccaro and aline brosh mckenna is fun , fast , and funny , delivering not only original , hilarious gay jokes ( not your run of the mill material ) , but a certain snappiness in the dialogue between characters that always keeps you smiling . \\nunlike last summer\\'s south park : bigger , longer , and uncut and 1997\\'s in & out , three to tango is a comedy in which the gay element is not crude or vulgar . \\nthe script is wise to take this route , as gays can\\'t ( i don\\'t think so , anyway ) be offended by this light , playful comedy . \\n ( to prove this , a gay couple was in the audience who were laughing constantly . ) \\nthree to tango\\'s climax is a hilarious , clever scene that is pure irony based on the outcome of most romantic-mistaken identity comedies . \\nthree to tango is a gem . \\nthe bottom line : three to tango is a light , sharp , snappy romantic comedy with a superb ending , and great stars . \\none of the better romantic comedies of 1999 . \\n',\n",
+       " b'jarvis cocker of pulp once said that he wrote common people after noticing mike leigh box-sets on the video shelves -- he had a feeling that economic deprivation was becoming a tourist experience for the well-off . \\nmaybe it\\'s a classic case of displacement : it\\'s easier to see jarvis\\' own lyrics ( obsessed with acrylic and wood chip on the wall ) as a fetishization of lowlife , rather than leigh\\'s films . \\nbut it\\'s worth being reminded that drab interiors and a couple of working-class characters don\\'t make for a guarantee of \\'authenticity\\' , let alone a good film . \\nit\\'s the triumph of secrets & lies , then , that it goes beyond gestures of sympathy for the common people into a probing of just what it means to seek \\'authenticity\\' and honesty in everyday lives . \\nfollowing her adopted mother\\'s funeral , hortense , a young black optometrist , sets out to find her birth mother , and is disturbed to find out that she is white . \\nit is cynthia , a factory worker who lives in a shabby house with her perpetually moody daughter roxanne . \\ncynthia\\'s younger brother maurice is a successful photographer who has not seen his sister for ages , largely because of his wife\\'s animosity towards her . \\nhortense calls up cynthia , who initially breaks down in tears and refuses to see her . \\nbut their mutually suspicious meeting gives way to a warm friendship eventually . \\ncynthia invites hortense to come along to a party , which maurice is hosting . . . \\nsecrets & lies has a simple enough theme at its heart -- as one character puts it , \" best to tell the truth , isn\\'t it ? \\nthat way nobody gets hurt . \" . \\nbut if the film delivers much more than a trite message , it\\'s because we are also shown how hard it can be to face up to ugly truths , even while the evasions and unspoken grievances slowly choke us . \\nhence , cynthia\\'s difficulty with acknowledging ( first to herself , then to others ) that hortense is her daughter . \\none of her first reactions to seeing hortense is a sincere denial that she has ever \" been with a black man \" , before a long-suppressed memory seizes her . \\nat the party , cynthia\\'s pretense that hortense is her factory co-worker leads her to ever more convoluted lies , as agonizing as they are funny . \\nlittle lies seep into every corner , like maurice pretending that he\\'s \" just dropping by \" when he visits cynthia after much deliberation . \\nmaurice\\'s job as a photographer gives the film opportunities for side comments on the main theme - a sad-looking bride that maurice coaxes to smile , a couple who pose awkwardly with a prominent wedding ring and argue about his spectacles . \\none of the most startling images is of a beautiful woman with large scars on her face : she says she needs the photo to look \" as bad as possible \" to collect insurance money , yet the short scene leaves you wondering about what untold story lies behind the scars . \\nthere are occasionally hilarious moments , as when cynthia attempts to give her daughter some unwelcome advice on contraception , \" i\\'ve got a dutch cap floating about somewhere upstairs \" ; or when cynthia stares at her own rather pedestrian legs and tells roxanne , \" if you\\'ve got it , flaunt it , is what i say . \" \\nas played by brenda blethyn , cynthia comes close to being a caricature , with her nervous , somewhat disconnected way of talking . \\nbut she\\'s really just right for the role of someone who inspires sympathy and yet strains the tolerance of those around her , precisely because she\\'s so needy of love , perhaps . \\nindeed , the whole cast gives warmly rounded , detailed performances . \\nthe script was developed partly through improvisations , and the fusion of cast , script and director shows best in the party scene - seemingly everyone is talking at the same time , and yet many subtle observations are being made throughout . \\nin a very different way , but also using a long single shot , the scene of hortense and cynthia\\'s first meeting in a lonely caf=8a achieves a touching intensity , all the more for their reticence and unspoken feelings . \\nthe film\\'s climax - with all the secrets and lies finally spilled out in ibsen-esque revelations , and everybody hugging each other - is the one thing that seems false about this film . \\nhowever , it\\'s a film that truly earns its happy ending after the misery and repression of the character\\'s lives . \\nwhen cynthia says near the end , this is the life , innit ? , you get the sense that , following the cynicism of his last film naked , leigh has rediscovered that life can be sweet after all , without comforting illusions . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'this independent film written and directed by eric bross has the look and feel of all those other troubled blue-collar youth films that have inundated the market in recent times . \\nit is hard to tell what is independent about this film ; it might as well have been made in hollywood or on a home videocam . \\nit is the debut film for the director , who tells his personal story about italians growing up with heavy new jersey accents and remaining tight with each other as they grow into young adults , a tale which could have been rewarding to see in the 1950s , where the mind-set of all the characters depicted is grounded , but to see it in the 1990s is a different story : it is old news . \\nthe love story between the simple girl waiting to get married and her luckless boyfriend turning nasty on her doesn\\'t mean much , since their relationship remained undeveloped . \\nthe introduction of the wise-guy angle and the loyality among buddies bit , are not moving enough emotional experiences or intelligent enough dramatics to elevate this film above its limited story line despite the tour-de-force performance by the star of the film , adrien brody as ray . \\nray is the only son of a low-level mobster once arrested for running an illegal casino operation out of his bloomfield , new jersey , suburban basement . \\nray sr . ( vincent ) is now trying to make a go of it by running a small scale home-repair business . \\nhis son lives with him and works unhappily as a shoe salesman , dreaming of getting rich quickly so he can open a business and marry his long-time waitress girlfriend joanne ( sybil ) . \\nthe title of this film refers to the shoe size of paul newman-10b , which really has nothing to do with explaining anything about the film . you \\nshould be aware that there are a lot of things about this film that don\\'t make sense : its constant brainless chatter between the buddies , their uneventful growing pains , and the despair of their lives , make it very difficult to feel any empathy for them . \\ndesperate to make his dream come through , ray goes to a loanshark , humorously and menacingly played by james e . moriarty , and borrows 10 grand to bet on a \" sure thing \" at freehold raceway . \\nthe horse loses and now ray has big problems , as the loanshark comes after him with his muscle to get his dough . \\nthere is nothing i have seen so far to like about ray . \\nhe is undependable , mean-spirited , and stupid . \\nso when his best friend mike ( gallagher ) , the narrator of the film , gets a chance to sleep with his girlfriend--who cares ? \\nthe director must be kidding himself if he thinks we do . \\nas for ray\\'s gambling debt and his dilemma of how to pay it off , the story is too predictable for anything other than what you would expect to happen . \\nhis buddies , the college student mike and the dependable butchie ( gillan ) , and his old man , who he has this love/hate relationship with , rally to his aid . \\nand the film ends on an obligatory artistic note of ambiguity , that seems to be the way it is for all those wannabe artistic films , as ray is off to florida all by his lonesome self to try to put his life together . \\nthere was just no energy or spark or anything relevant in this superficial film to keep it interesting , though adrien brody showed signs that he could be a future star . \\nbecause of his intensity and looks , he reminds me of sean penn . \\n',\n",
+       " b'cashing in on the success of white men can\\'t jump and the failure of most of their solo vehicles ( including the cowboy way and drop zone ) , wesley snipes and woody harrelson have reteamed , hoping that they can strike up the same success . \\nsadly , if this dismal , cliche ridden and mind-numbingly boring action pic is anything to go by , they haven\\'t got a chance in hell of even coming close . \\nthis time out , the duo play foster brothers who are transit cops . \\nfollowing several run-ins with their tyrannical boss ( robert blake ) , who is obsessed with the \" money train \" --a train which carries all the subway\\'s takings--and will let nothing stop it ( now * there\\'s * an original plot device ) , harrelson\\'s character decides to try and take off with the cash . \\nalong the way , both of them fall in love with the same woman--another transit cop who also hates her boss . \\nthis leads to the typical sibling rivalry crap that you usually find in a film of this standard ( \\'you were always the better brother\\' etc . etc . etc . ) , and doesn\\'t help to add anything to the film . \\ngiven a better script , better performers in supporting roles and a shorter running time ( the film almost went for two hours--or did it just feel like it ? ) , this film might ( and i mean * might * ) have turned out okay , but as it is , it is stocked with the worst action film cliches , whose only purpose appears to be to pad the film out to its painfully long running time . \\nrobert blake , who plays the evil boss , has got to be the most pathetic bad guy in film history ! \\nhe sounds like wayne newton , and appears to think the best way to appear evil is to have your eyes bulging as though they are about to burst out of their sockets ! \\nbut this is only one of money train\\'s problems . \\nif you look at the script as if it was an action film , it lacks originality and suspense . \\nbut if you try to look at it as if it were a heist film , it is even worse . \\nthe final robbery sequence is almost trivialised and the characters definitely ain\\'t butch and sundance . \\nthe film isn\\'t all bad though . \\nsnipes and harrelson , when they aren\\'t using the dumb cliches that the script gives them , make an agreeable duo , and some of the stunt-work is indeed excellent . \\nbut good stunt-work cannot save a bottom-of-the-barrel action movie . \\nif you\\'re a really undemanding action freak , there\\'s a chance you\\'ll like this . \\nbut if you\\'re looking for something original , or suspenseful , try somewhere else--i doubt you\\'ll find it here . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the king and i , a warner brothers animated , musical feature , recycles the classic story of a woman who challenges the heart of a king , with obvious results . \\nwhen anna ( miranda richardson ) , a british schoolteacher , travels to saim to educate the king\\'s ( martin vidnovic ) children , she learns that the king is treating his people unfairly , and must say something to the greedy ruler . \\nmeanwhile , the king\\'s prime minister ( ian richardson ) , the stereotypical villain , plots to overthrow the king , taking the throne . \\nthe last , and most predictable , main subplot deals with the king\\'s son ( allen d . hong ) , and his love for a servant , tuptim ( armi arabe ) , and how he conflicts with his feelings , and the ancient laws of saim . \\nnot even the lone strong character of anna can save the unbelievably horrible waste of talent , as the king and i\\'s problems could fill the blank pages of a journal . \\ni will only note the major difficulties , for it would take pages to elaborate on every detail . \\nthe screenplay , written by arthur rankin , peter bakalian , jacqeline feather , and david seidler , which is based upon the play written by richard rodgers and oscar hammerstein , has some of the worst dialogue written in a film within recent memory , as every time the obnoxious king would shout , \" etc , etc , etc , \" i would cringe . \\nliterally . \\nspeaking of cringing- i did quite a bit of this during the rather short film , which is a classic display of terrible filmmaking . \\nbesides the repetitive dialogue from the king , on the whole , the songs seem out of place , and unlike the lyrics , are unmagical . \\nthe sole song which is used cleverly is \" getting to know you , \" which is used as anna shows the children the great outdoors , which they have never been exposed to . \\nunlike disney animated features , the king and i\\'s songs don\\'t add to the film , and are as uneffective as could be . \\ntake the following scenario as an example , as the sheer horror of the king and i\\'s music is at its worst . \\nyou\\'re being hunted by a dragon ! \\nwhat do you do ! ? \\nsing a happy song ! \\nmartin vidnovic voices the king without effort or emotion- you hear the saying two negatives don\\'t make a positive ? \\nbelieve it ! \\nwith the terrible dialogue that the king has , along with his awful voice track , the king is completely unbelievable , only shows mild signs of any personality , and the only thing that changes in the king is that he says \" etc . , etc . , etc . , \" more and more as the film progresses . \\nno personality at the beginning of the movie , none at the end . \\nand where does this character\\'s personality change ? \\nhey , i thought anna was supposed to change him ! \\nisn\\'t that the whole plot ? \\nthe prime minister\\'s hideous sidekick ( darrell hammond ) brings his share of cringes as well - oh no ! \\nanother one of his teeth fell out ! \\nhardy-har-har ! \\nhe is supposed to bring laughs for the kidlets , but even at age five i would have cringed while watching him . \\nby the way this review is going , you may think the reasoning for my hate for this film is due to not liking animated films- hence why i hate this movie , because the king and i is a disgrace to animation . \\nanimated films , such as 1994\\'s the lion king and 1998\\'s the prince of egypt , are among my favorite movies of all time . \\nthe animation team does design their share of well animated settings , so this makes it easier to take my mind off of the annoying king , until i realize that day and night switch back in fourth within seconds . \\ni have not read the play , or seen the oscar winning , 1956 film adaption , but from what i can tell , the screenplay for the 1999 version completely butchers the play , for the king and i is never magical , nor interesting . \\nif it wasn\\'t for miranda richardson , who voices anna with feeling , the king and i could earn the title , \" worst movie of the decade . \" \\ninstead , the king and i will just go down as among the year\\'s worst . \\nthe bottom line- avoid this movie at all costs . \\nnot even young children , the target audience in this film , will enjoy it . \\nnot the slightest bit . \\n',\n",
+       " b'this sunday afternoon i had the priviledge of attending a private screening at the sony astor cinema in new york city , of james cameron\\'s most heralded film , titanic . \\npostponed from last summer , with an escalated budget that makes it the most expensive movie in history , this was one film i was eager to preview . \\nso , is this movie going to sink or swim this holiday ? \\nmy best guess . . . . it will sink , though with many awards attatched to its hull . \\nno doubt , titanic is the most elaborate disaster movie ever made . \\nit boasts the most amazing effects that i have ever seen done to date . \\nto see a ship fall apart , with actual people running across the ship , flying across the deck , and falling to the water , is just amazing to look at . \\nthe effects are so stunningly realistic , you would swear you were looking at actual footage . \\nbut titanic is more than a disaster movie , and that\\'s where the problem lies . \\nthere is a love story attatched that nearly ruins the entire premise . \\ni\\'ll give a capsule summary of the story without spoiling anything for you : \\nthe film begins with a modern day excavation of sorts of the sunken titanic . \\nwe see actual footage of the sunken ship , as cammeron had set up special cameras to film the wreckage on the ocean floor . \\nbill paxton leads the expedition , in search of sunken treasure . \\nwhat he finds instead , leads him to a mysterious old woman who recounts her tale of the titanic voyage . \\nwe meet rose ( kate winslet ) , a young woman , who comes from an upper-class family . \\nrose is to be wed to a man she does not love . \\nwe meet jack ( leonardo dicaprio ) , a young man , who comes from a poor financial background , and wins a ticket aboard the titanic , in a poker game . \\nthe two meet under interesting circumstances , and the love story begins . \\nadd in a jealous fiance , and a not-so-nice law officer played by david warner , and you have a story that , well , gets a bit overplayed and oversappy . \\ni must add , at this point , that the most likeable character in the movie is played by kathy bates , as a woman with \" new money \" who is a lot less uptight than the other rich folk on the ship . \\nshe is a pleasure to see on screen . \\nwhen the ship does hit the iceberg at exactly 1 : 40 into the film , and eventually sinks , you never really feel for any of these characters . \\nthe film is just loaded with unlikeable rich snobs and other folk you never really get a grasp on . \\nthe effects are tremendous . \\nfrom the roars of gears and pumps in the engine room , to a doomed ship cracking at the seams , this is an effects picture that looks and sounds like no other . \\nwe saw titanic in dolby digital surround , and by far , it is the best sounding movie i have ever seen . \\nmy friend commented it was the best sound mix he has ever heard . \\nwhen people are in the water , at film\\'s end , you are surrounded by the voices of lost soles . \\ntitanic runs far too long . \\nthe movie is 3 hours and 15 minutes in length . \\nand , while most of the first 2 . 5 hours runs very fast and well-paced , the final 45 minutes almost comes to a sudden stop , and you realize that this sappy love story has to finish itself out before the movie finally ends . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong about titanic . . . . it\\'s \\nnot a bad as i am making it out to be . \\nit really is an exceptionaly well-made film . \\nthe costumes and sets are incredible , and true to the time period . \\nthe ship is painstakingly created exactly true to form , as we see actual pictures of the modern-day wreckage , transformed into the movie depiction . \\nthis film will certainly win on effects , costume , set design and sound . \\ncameron has certainly made his best film to date . \\nunfortunately , titanic is not a best picture candidate . \\nit just doesn\\'t have a strong supporting story . \\nit\\'s an exceptional disaster film with sappy filler inside . \\nit just doesn\\'t have the emotional impact that i suspect mr . cameron was shooting for . \\ni predict that titanic will open to likeable reviews . \\nit is a film worth seeing . \\ni predict that it will only do moderately well at the box office . \\nwith its extreme running time , and lack of enough robust to get substantial word-of-mouth , i expect that it will do even better on home video . \\nthis will certainly be the definitive ac3 movie for all you home theater enthusiasts . \\ntitanic opens december 19th , and is released by paramount pictures and twentieth century-fox . \\ni give titanic 3 stars ( . \\nthat\\'s not bad . \\nron epstein \\nriginally posted in home theater forum === \\n',\n",
+       " b'deuce bigalow ( rob schneider ) cleans fish tanks . \\nyeah , i didn\\'t know that was a real job either . \\none of his customers is antoine leconte ( oded fehr ) , a successful gigolo . \\nwhen antoine has to go to sweden for three weeks , he lets deuce use his house to look after an ailing $800 fish . \\nfooling around , deuce sets fire to the kitchen and smashes a $6000 fish tank . \\nafter taking a try at one of antoine\\'s clients and earning $10 , deuce decides to prostitute himself to raise the money to replace the fish tank before the fiery-tempered antoine returns . \\nenter t . j . ( eddie griffin ) , a pimp for \" man-whores , \" who arranges for deuce to service an assortment of women whose imperfections keep them from dating . \\nthere\\'s an enormous woman ( played by transvestite porn star chi chi la rue ) who hides food in her clothes . \\nthere\\'s claire ( gail o\\'grady ) whose narcolepsy causes her to fall asleep every few minutes . \\ntina ( torsten voges ) is so tall her face doesn\\'t fit on the screen , and ruth ( amy poehler ) has tourette\\'s syndrome and shouts obscenities without warning . \\nfinally there\\'s kate ( arija bareikis ) whose sorority sisters secretly paid her fare . \\nshe seems perfect , and deuce quickly falls in love with her . \\n ( she does , we discover later , have an imperfection , but deuce decides it isn\\'t important . ) \\ndeuce\\'s life is complicated by a bothersome cop ( william forsythe ) looking for information on antoine and by kate\\'s discovery of his man-whoring . \\nhowever , neither threat generates much suspense . \\nthe formula is so familiar that we know how it will end from the start . \\n \" deuce bigalow \" is the first project from adam sandler\\'s company happy madison , the formation of which assures that we\\'ll be seeing the sandler style of comedy mass-produced at an increasing rate in years to come . \\nbe afraid . \\nbe very afraid . \\nthe good news is that sandler doesn\\'t actually appear in \" deuce \" and that rob schneider and eddie griffin are funnier than sandler . \\nschneider has a sweetness that makes the clueless but good-hearted deuce believable . \\ngriffin\\'s delivery is dead-on , especially in the coining of \" technical terms \" for t . j . \\'s profession , as in \" don\\'t make me he-bitch man-slap you ! \" \\nthere\\'s the expected amount of toilet humor in \" deuce . \" \\n ( for one thing , deuce\\'s dad is a men\\'s room attendant ) . \\ndoes anyone over the age of eight actually find bowel movements that funny ? \\nfor most of us , i think that childhood fascination with bodily functions disappears when we hit the far-side of puberty and discover how funny sex is . \\ni , for one , will be glad when the toilet trend is finally flushed . \\nbottom line : \" deuce \" doesn\\'t offer anything new but it is intermittently funny . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"in our time . \\nin our modern world , where the cool rule , it's hard to imagine that shakespeare is becoming 'the man' . \\nand yet - film after film , after film , is based on his everlasting magic . \\nin warner brothers' latest production , shakespeare is kicking ass to a rap beat , while his magic and intelligence slowly fades away . \\nthough the producers of the matrix have vaguely based their picture on william shakespeare's 'romeo and juliet' , its title sequence with a frightening rap song and a black limo making its way through the dark streets of new york , is very hard to associate with shakespeare's poetry . \\nthe film takes place during a silent war between the two major mafia families in the city - the afro americans against the chinese . \\nthe youngest son of a chinese mafia chieftain is found murdered . \\nthe afro-americans are immediately suspected , but a peace treaty is signed between the two godfathers . \\nit is at this point that han ( the romeo of the story ) finds out about his brother's death . \\nescaping from a prison in china , he returns to united states to avenge his brother's fate . \\nbut before he can restore justice with his kung fu kicks , he falls in love with a mysterious beauty . \\nthe only problem is that she is the daughter of his enemy . . \\nthere's only a weak echo of shakespeare's talent in this disappointing production . \\nand there are more problems besides its title . \\nof course we don't call it a deformation of a great masterpiece . \\nwe call it 'modernization' . \\nit seems that the producers fear that the audience will not respond to lyrics , without any car chases and gun fights . \\nthis lack of respect for the audience i find very disturbing . \\nkenneth brannagh has already proven that shakespeare doesn't need to be updated , because his tales are grounded in the basics of life and human nature . \\nand as long as love , hate , honesty and corruption do exist , everyone will understand and embrace shakespeare . \\ni must admit that i found 'rome must die' very confusing . \\ni can forgive andrzej bartkowiak , since it is his first attempt at directing . \\nhe manages to create an incredible atmosphere and directs with a firm precision . \\nunfortunately he completely forgot about character- and story developments . \\nhis latest picture is therefore visually impressive , but intellectually hollow . \\nthe love story between han ( jet li ) and trish ( aalyah ) , and the mafia intrigues are undeveloped and simplified . \\njet li is one of the most amazing fighters to ever hit the silver screen and aalyah has a magical voice . \\ntheir achievement save this film from being completely braindead , but they are not actors , and therefore can not act . \\nthey are nothing more than two celebrities put together . \\nthe other actors , including isaiah washington , russell wong , henry o and dmx all give the standard mediocre performances . \\ndelroy lindo is the only one that projects a coherent image of reality . \\nbut there's more than acting to worry about . \\neven with li's incredible skills in martial arts , the action scenes ( though technically excellent ) are too long and story updates simply embarrassing . \\nto make a long story short : 'romeo must die' is not intelligent enough to be a thriller , not sensual enough to be a love story and too serious to be a fun action film . \\nit is certain that bartkowiak would be much better off with o this embarrassing and completely unnecessary parallel to 'romeo and juliet' , so the film is completely stuck - not sure of what to be . \\nand in the end it's nothing . \\nthere are no performances worthy of notice , no interesting character- or story surprises . \\nso again , the only good thing about it is its technical achievement . \\nthis film can boast of great sound , fast paced editing , solid cinematography and some very well coordinated action sequences . \\nthe music is another factor that prevents you from leaving the theatre . \\nit is mostly provided by aalyah's enchanting voice and several carefully inserted rap songs by various artists , that create a kind of 'ghetto feel' to it . \\nbut when i think back , it's not much i remember from this 'production' . \\nas in almost every summer movie , there are some interesting scenes , but most of the moments that i remember are associated with massive special effects . \\nit is not a film that will get any attention for its artistic qualities , simply because it doesn't have any . \\nfor someone who has never read shakespeare , it's another popcorn film . \\nfor those of us who has , it's a waste of money , time and brain cells . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" america\\'s sweethearts \" ( columbia/sony ) \\nwhat a waste of a talented cast ! \\nbilly crystal and co-writer peter tolan have concocted a sly , provocative premise and , as the opening credits roll , it\\'s obvious that they\\'re attempting an old-fashioned romantic comedy . \\nthe story involves a veteran publicist ( billy crystal ) who is summoned to orchestrate a press junket in las vegas when an arrogant director ( christopher walken ) holds a megabuck movie hostage in his editing room , refusing to show it to anyone . \\nhe figures that by giving the journalists juicy hints of a possible reconciliation between the film\\'s once-married-but-now-estranged stars , gwen and eddie ( catherine zeta-jones , john cusack ) , they\\'ll be so distracted that they won\\'t remember they didn\\'t see the movie or it wasn\\'t what they expected . \\n ( and crystal thought of this long before a sony exec concocted the phony critic/david manning quote scandal ! ) \\nfor help , he turns to gwen\\'s personal assistant/sister ( julia roberts ) . \\nbut the laughs are few and far-between . \\ncrystal\\'s glib , cynical flack isn\\'t wickedly funny enough with a few amusing one-liners . \\nafter six months under the care of a depak chopra-like guru ( alan arkin ) , cusack\\'s character\\'s too emotionally fragile , lacking the necessary charisma . \\nzeta-jones\\'s vain , narcissistic diva is undeveloped and one-dimensional . \\nonly hank azaria , as zeta-jones\\'s much-macho spanish lover , and stanley tucci , as a studio exec , and roberts manage to whip up any farcical froth . \\nbasically , we don\\'t like these ego-driven , stereotypical characters , let alone root for them to unwind their romantic entanglements , and joe roth\\'s direction is predictable , formulaic and telegraphic . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" america\\'s sweethearts \" is a contrived , shallow 4 . as a screwball satire , it\\'s strictly superficial . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the reunion film is not an original idea in any way , shape , or form . \\nit\\'s been done throughout film history over and over again , and has become one of the many sub-genres , like the prep school sub-genre , the angst-filled teen sub-genre , and the slasher sub-genre . \\nwhat makes \" peter\\'s friends \" so remarkable is not how it doesn\\'t follow the rules of this sub-genre , but how it follows it so well , and creates characters that i wouldn\\'t mind hanging with . \\nwhat are the rules of the reunion sub-genre ? \\nwell . . . . \\n1 . you need a group of friends , most of them married or at least dating , and sometimes even married or dating eachother . \\n2 . you need to have them brought back together over some sort of a crisis . \\n3 . they are not to have spoken together much since they split apart . \\n4 . the reunion has to come in intervals divisible by 10 . \\n5 . they all have to be slightly to highly neurotic . \\n6 . the reunion has to bring them together , seperate them with little crises , then bring them back together because , after all , they\\'re friends . \\n7 . there has to be some sex or at least some making out either between the friends or with other people that are there or were invited . \\n8 . eightly , they\\'re all unhappy or marginally so . \\n9 . there\\'s some sort of sexual tension amongst some of them that\\'s built up over the years . \\n10 . the friends are all wildly successful in the world of entertainment and the arts , sometimes internationally so . \\n11 . the film is filled with nostalgic radio hits from the time when they were friends , sometimes causing them to get together in dance/song . \\nsince it follows these rules so closely , it will probably be ( and has been ) coined off as just a \" british \\'big chill . \\' \" \\nand in some ways it is . \\nboth follow the rules , as i said , and both feature lots of bitching , big confessionals , and broken relationships . \\nbut while \" the big chill \" was , at least to me , a tad too whiny and unsatisfying , \" peter\\'s friends \" hits its mark , making this film funny , dramatic , and poignant . \\nthe friends of peter\\'s were all in the same theatre group back in \\'82 , performig wildly outrageous british acts for people far too stuck up to enjoy them ( the opening scene has them all dancing in tux tops and tutus ) . \\nafter peter\\'s ( stephen fry ) wealthy father ( richard briers , hardly on screen enough to register , but oh well ) dies , leaving a giant mansion to him , he has to decide whether or not to keep it . \\nnot sure what to do with it immeadiately , he decides to throw a giant reunion party , inviting back all his old chums . \\nof course , all or most of his chums follow the tenth rule . \\nandrew ( kenneth branagh , also directing here ) is an actor who\\'s unhappily married to a tv star , carol ( co-writer rita rudner ) . \\nmaggie ( emma thompson ) is a successfuly publisher of self-help books , but looks like she needs them more than her customers , as she is lonely and unhappy . \\nroger and mary ( hugh laurie and imelda staunton , who were also married in \" sense and sensibility \" ) are married , and are the most successful creators of jingles in the uk , but have suffered a tragedy as one of their newly born twins has recently died . \\nand sarah ( alphonsia emmanuel ) is as promiscuous as ever , having a new boyfriend as of two weeks named brian ( tony slattery ) who\\'s married and wants a divorce because of her , giving her doubts . \\nas for peter , things seem okay . . . \\nthe film features lots of inner-friend jokes , and even some old theatre anecdotes ( which i at least find a lot of fun in , as i\\'ve done lots of theatre myself ) . \\nand there are big confessions , brawls between the friends , and by the end , almost everyone is unhappy , even though some have resolved their problems long before the end ( which i kinda dug ) . \\nthe final twist would seem forced an anti-climactic , but for some reason , i felt the same way the rest of the friends did . \\nmaybe it\\'s because the people in this film are so likable that i just wanted to join their clique . \\nthat\\'s really what makes \" peter\\'s friends \" so lovable : the way you just want to hang with a group of friends who can be so dysfuntional sometimes , but when someone\\'s in crisis , can come together wonderfully for one another . \\nit\\'s when you have a giant crisis like this and people want to selflessly help you out instead of subtely pushing you away that makes you realize you have true friends , and these people are true friends . \\nnot to mention kenneth branagh is able to make the film seem nostalgic for the 80s ( a decade i grew up in , unfortunately ) without taking us outside of the 90s . \\nthere are some 80s classics and anti-classics like tears for fears \" everybody wants to rule the world , \" but unfortunately no stupid/fun 80s songs ( i think if i ever did an 80s reunion film , i\\'d put some crap go gos song on , or at least some good old \" come on eileen \" ) , but this is the british 80s we\\'re talking about . \\noh well . \\nbut anyway , the direction is pretty good , although nothing amazing . \\nbranagh\\'s forte is really making shakespeare fresh and magical , but at least he\\'s very good with making a less ambiguous film like this . \\nthe writing is good from rita rudner and martin bregman , with lots of good one-liners , and even some really bad but good puns ( to mock the fact that andrew lives in l . a . , peter , while cutting some logs , asks him is he has wood in l . a . , and andrew says , \" no , but we have hollywood \" - punishment like that ) . \\nthe actors , as in most speaking movies , are better than their material , though , with some stand-out performances to the six friends , as well as the outsiders like slattery , rudner , and phyllida law as the old housekeeper of the peter\\'s mansion . \\na little note should be made about hugh laurie\\'s performance , as he looks like he took some massive doses of prozac before doing this - i mean , i\\'ve never seen him actually act this dramatically . \\n \" peter\\'s friends \" is a really enjoyable film which makes people like me pine for some sort of future reunion , although i don\\'t know what kind i\\'ll have ( like most people , i don\\'t look forward to my high school reunion ) . \\nbecause of the way these friends are still able to maintain the same amount of care they have for one another and after such a long period of seperation , i just look forward to the day when i can have friends like that . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : al simmons , top-notch assasin with a guilty conscience , dies in a fiery explosion and goes to hell . \\nmaking a pact with malebolgia , a chief demon there , simmons returns to earth 5 years later reborn as spawn , a general in hell\\'s army donning a necroplasmic costume replete with knives , chains , and a morphing cape . \\nsullen , wise cogliostro and flatulating , wisecracking violator vy for spawn\\'s attention . \\ncomments : when todd mcfarlane left marvel comics ( where he had made a name for himself as a first-rate comic book penciller on the \" spider-man \" titles ) to join the newly-formed , creator-owned image comics , a new comic book legend was born : spawn . \\nmcfarlane\\'s \" spawn \" immediately became a commercial and critical success and a defining comic book series of the 1990s . \\nmcfarlane created a hero who was not only original but visually intricate , allowing mcfarlane to utilize his knack for artistic detail to the max . \\nthe early \" spawn \" issues brilliantly capture mcfarlane\\'s genius at illustration and show his early attempts at writing . \\nwith the popularity of \" spawn \" and the success of the current warner bros . \\'s batman film franchise , a movie version of some sort seemed inevitable for spawn . \\nin the summer of 1997 , hence , new line cinema released spawn , a live-action film based on the groundbreaking series . \\nthis topheavy exercise in violence and special effects unfortunately topples quickly and leaves fans of the comic book , like me , numbed by how much spawn misses the mark . \\nwhat happened ? \\nwhy is spawn so bad ? \\ntodd mcfarlane himself executive produced this disappointing misfire and even appears in a cameo . \\ni don\\'t think , however , that his presence necessarily hurt ( or helped ) the film . \\ni place the blame , in part , on the recent hollywood trend , fueled by public demand apparently , for special effects blow-out movies utilizing the latest computer technology . \\nthese films focus upon the effects at the expense of everything else : character , plot , dialogue , etc . spawn , reflecting this trend , shows the audience one gratuitous scene after another populated with morphing characters and filled with unnecessary pyrotechnics . \\nhardly a minute goes by in this film without fires , explosions , knives and chains appearing out of nowhere , glowing eyes , or constantly transforming demons . \\na lot of it is visually interesting and technically solid , don\\'t get me wrong , but , because the script and cast aren\\'t engaging , spawn ultimately comes across like overwrought wallpaper ( the surface may capture the eye , but nothing exists underneath ) . \\nspawn\\'s translation of the comic book suffers the most at the storyline level . \\nmcfarlane\\'s spawn was a tortured hero . \\na mercenary by trade , al simmons was nonetheless a warm man in love with the beautiful wanda . \\nhaving died and journeyed to hell , he made a pact to return to earth to be with wanda . \\nsimmons , however , discovers that his memories are fragmented , his body a creepy mess , and his wife married . \\ndespite his sometimes violent nature , readers couldn\\'t help but feel sympathetic toward his plight as the spawn of the underworld . \\nspawn attempts to show all of this but does not spend nearly the time it should to do so . \\nwhen the characters are developed , they seem absurd rather than touching . \\nthe cartoonish dialogue and implausible subplot ( a general possesses the antidote to a supervirus called heat-16 which he wishes to unleash to enslave the world ) do not help matters . \\nspawn , in an apparent attempt to duplicate the success of batman , also unwisely spends too much time on a villain , the violator ( batman favored the joker over batman ) . \\njohn leguizamo , like jack nicholson in batman , receives top billing in the cast as the violator ; michael jai white ( al simmons / spawn ) is second . \\ni ordinarily find leguizamo an intensely annoying presence in films which seems to make him a perfect candidate for the violator . \\nthe film , however , spends so much time on the violator\\'s offensive antics that they grate on the nerves . \\napparently meant to be the comic relief in the film ( as nicholson was in batman ) , especially when contrasted with the sullen spawn , the violator\\'s lines are oftentimes grotesque and unfunny , leaving the audience wishing he would leave . \\nleguizamo does a satisfactory job in the role , but he is seen far too often in the film . \\nmichael jai white , a relative newcomer to theatrical releases , seems to be an appealing actor , and he handles his role adequately , but we see little of him without various masks on . \\nmore time needed to be spent on white\\'s character before he became spawn for the movie to pull at the heartstrings . \\na special note should be made about martin sheen as the over-the-top , obnoxious , evil general wynn . \\neasily the hammiest performance in the movie , it\\'s hard to imagine how sheen mucked up his role so much ; after all , he played a vietnam assasin brilliantly in the great apocalypse now . \\nsheen\\'s excessive demeanor do not help the audience accept him as a mastermind villain and comes as a surprise considering his extensive career in film . \\nmany other elements conspire with the disappointing script and abundant special effects to drag spawn down . \\nmtv-style , jerky , in-your-face editing is one of them . \\nflames , for example , roll across the screen sometimes to announce a shift in setting . \\ncogliostro , unlikely wannabe guide for spawn , serves as a poor narrator for the film . \\nhe goofily tells the audience , at one point , that \" how much of [spawn\\'s] humanity is left remains to be seen , \" as if the audience really cares as one violent sequence leads to another . \\nthe music , finally , assaults the audience as much as the manic violence and offensive dialogue . \\nloud and obnoxious hard rock fused with drum loops dominate some scenes . \\nto be fair , however , marilyn manson\\'s \" long hard road out of hell \" effectively compliments spawn\\'s return to earth , while filter and the crystal method\\'s \" ( can\\'t you ) trip like i do \" proves a surprisingly fitting theme song . \\nfor as good a comic book as it is , \" spawn \" did not spawn a good movie . \\nspawn , instead , suffers from too much pomp and circumstance , and too little plot and character development . \\nit receives two stars for its technically well-done special effects . \\nmany other films , though , have equal , if not superior , special effects and are much better . \\nrated pg-13 , spawn seems more violent than many r-rated movies and probably wouldn\\'t be appropriate for the very young . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i remember hearing about this film when it first appeared at cannes over a year ago , picking up the grand jury prize at the festival . \\n\\'holocaust comedy receives standing ovation\\' , the headlines read . \\nintrigued by this statement , i looked up information on the film and found that , sure enough , life is beautiful is in fact a comedy about the greatest atrocity of the last thousand years . \\neven though the movie was extremely well-received by critics and public alike , i couldn\\'t help but be disgusted at this notion ; human tragedy is not something i feel should be celebrated . \\nonly now do i see the error of my ways . \\nafter finally viewing the film for myself after avoiding it for some time , it became clear that it is not , as the headlines proclaimed , a \" holocaust comedy \" ; on the contrary , life is beautiful does not even really depict the graphic events that took place in nazi deathcamps . \\nrather , it focuses on the relationship between a father and his son , who he is trying desperately to shield from the horrors of their situation . \\nroberto benigni ( who also wrote and directed the movie ) stars as guido orefice , a chaplin-inspired clown and all round jolly guy who , as the film opens , is vying for the affections of an attractive school teacher ( nicoletta braschi , benigni real life spouse ) . \\nthrough the course of the first hour or so , we see guido striving to get the attention of this \" beautiful princess \" , as he calls her . \\nemploying the magic of laughter , the italian comedian wins her heart and together , they raise a young boy named giosue ( child actor giorgio cantarini ) . \\nlife treats them well until hitler\\'s minions rise to power , and the family is whisked away to a german camp , where guido becomes convinced that he must upholds his son\\'s innocence no matter what the sacrifice . \\ngranted , it contains some uproariously funny moments both in and out of the concentration camp , but it does not pull a \" hogan\\'s heros \" and make light of the slaughtering of some six million innocent jews . \\nsomehow , it achieves hilarity without disrespecting it\\'s gravely serious subject . \\nso , we\\'ve established that life is beautiful is not a \" holocaust comedy \" . \\nbut , there is another complete misrepresentation of this material that really disturbs me . \\nthe film , despite critic\\'s declarations of it being a \" triumph of the human spirit \" , is no such thing ; not in my eyes , anyway . \\nsome have called the story an \" affirmation of the beauty of life \" , but i say it is a very dark and bleak statement about man\\'s capability of denial masquerading as an endearing comedy . \\nthe film\\'s ending has been recognized as the most entirely uplifting moment of any film released recently , but i found it to be truly discerning and upsetting . \\nessentially , life is beautiful is quite possibly the greatest hoax in the history of film . \\nhowever , i am not denying the movie\\'s greatness . \\nbelieve me , it\\'s fantastic . \\ni\\'m just saying that i think benigni did something different than what most people are interpreting it as . \\nbut perhaps i\\'m reading more into the movie than is really there . \\nmaybe the film\\'s brilliance relies on the idea that the viewer can interpret the meaning of it in any way they see fit . \\nin fact , maybe roberto benigni has made a film that is the sole argument for the old saying that you get out of a movie exactly what you put into it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'mulholland drive did very well at the cannes film festival . \\nas you can see from the rating it did not do very well from me at the toronto international film festival . \\nit may not be clear to the viewer why i am so negative on this film for most of the running time . \\nin fact it is an interesting mystery story told on the backdrop of the hollywood film industry . \\ntoward the end of the film i think everything that has been built falls apart . \\nthe film was to be a pilot for a tv series but writer and director david lynch did not sell his tv pilot and i think he decided that he wanted to do something else with it . \\nsomething else is what he did . \\nthe film opens with a woman ( played by laura harring ) about to be killed in a car when a car crash saves her life . \\nshe crawls away from the accident with a concussion and finds herself a bungalow with an unlocked door to sleep . \\nmeanwhile young vivacious betty ( naomi watts ) arrives in hollywood from canada . \\nshe wants to build a career as an actress . \\nbetty is a little surprised to find a woman sleeping in the borrowed bungalow . \\nshe does not know who the woman is . \\nshe is even more surprised when the woman awakes and does not herself know who she is . \\nthey fix on a name rita for her , but are not sure if this right or not . \\nmeanwhile local director adam kesher ( justin theroux ) has problems of his own . \\nhe is trying to cast one actress for his new film and is getting pressure from the producers and from crime figures to cast someone else , cammie rhodes ( melissa george ) . \\nthese two threads are joined by a third one in which there is a strange and comic murder that goes terribly wrong . \\nthere is also a strange character called the cowboy ( monty montgomery ) adding to the confusion . \\nin what was probably intended for the television pilot the film opens with a great vibrancy showing dancing 60s style under the credits . \\na lot of mulholland drive starts out fun . \\nlynch wants you to know he could make an enjoyable stylish film . \\nhe just chooses not to . \\nas with any david lynch film there is strange material added for little reason . \\nthere are no earthworms , but there are some decidedly strange david lynch touches . \\nthe film is a little long for the subject matter . \\ntoward the end it gets into some heavier violence and sex scenes , clearly not intended for the tv pilot . \\nunfortunately some of the most important comments to make about this film would be spoilers . \\ni will not mention them in the main body of the review but i give mulholland drive a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\nmulholland drive spoiler warning . \\ni have rated this film fairly low . \\nyou should read this only after seeing the film or deciding that you will not see the film . \\ndavid lynch is in large part a dark satirist . \\nmost of his work is done in familiar genres but in some way shows their underside . \\nin mulholland drive i think he is having a laugh at the expense of the crime film genre . \\nwhat he does with this film is ( are you sure you want to read this ? ) \\nplaying off the audience expectations that there will be a simple explanation for what is going on . \\nthe first 80% of the film he tells a simple multi-thread crime story with clues sprinkled throughout . \\nthen suddenly at the end he turns the story on its ear with a large number of clues that appear that they should add up to something . \\nthe audience expectation is that they will add up . \\nbut he has given clues that are self-contradictory . \\nlynch wants the audience to argue about what they have seen afterward and come up with theories . \\nin fact , the pointers are noticeably contradictory and until i hear a better explanation , i think lynch is merely playing a joke . \\nthere is a visual curiosity that was popular in the sixties . \\nmad magazine called it a poiuyt . \\nother sources called it a tri- pronged u-bar . \\nlook at small portions of it and makes sense . \\nlook at the whole figure and it does not . \\nthis film is , in my estimation , the cinematic equivalent of a tri-pronged u-bar . \\n',\n",
+       " b'how many of us would become strippers ? \\nfor those of us who wouldn\\'t , is it a moral reason , or purely a lack of confidence ? \\nthat\\'s probably not a fair question , and for a lot of us , it could very well be for neither of those reasons . \\nas you watch the full monty , however , you may begin asking yourself these kinds of questions . \\nwould you be willing to grin and bare it to bring in some much needed dough ? \\nin case you haven\\'t guessed , the full monty is about stripping , but striptease it ain\\'t . \\nit\\'s actually quite a charming comedy that uses its ideas with a great deal of tact and sophistication . \\nit is the story of six out-of-work , out-of-shape blue collar brits whose recent job losses have left the boys penniless , but not without need . \\nwhat to do ? \\nit hits our main character gaz ( robert carlyle ) as he notices the large crowds of women who pour into a local male strip club on a regular basis . \\nit seems that simple : take it off and bring in the cash . \\neventually , gaz is able to convince his friends to join him in starting their own exotic dance routine despite their initial reluctance . \\nthese include the overweight , confidence-lacking dave ( mark addy ) , the uptight , overly-officious gerald ( tom wilkinson ) , the once suicidal lomper ( steve huison ) , and two additional fellows who gain their place among the group by audition : horse ( paul barber ) , an older gentlemen chock full of graceless energy , and guy ( hugo speer ) , a young well-endowed looker who compares himself to cary grant . \\nwhen the sextet is complete , we\\'re given a hefty dose of physical comedy . \\nwe watch the bumbling middle-aged men choreograph pseudo-sexy dance numbers , all the while proving why none of them were strippers in the first place . \\nas if there anti-appeal wasn\\'t enough , they decide to boost interest in the group by promising \" the full monty \" on opening night , which for us americans , means baring it all . \\n . \\n . \\nand i mean * all * . \\nthe movie actually ends on opening night ; a hilarious applause worthy ending i might add . \\nit\\'s sure to leave nothing short of a big smile on your face as you leave the theater . \\nwith the subject matter , you might not expect the fully monty to be such a feel-good , almost inspiring film , but it surprisingly turns out that way . \\nthe amount of light , touching drama also comes as a nice surprise , never feeling off-balance from the otherwise highly upbeat moments of the film . \\nthere\\'s a lot more to this movie than you might think in other words , and the ensemble cast couldn\\'t be better . \\neach character is completely individual , interesting , funny , and most importantly , real . \\nthe full monty is never offensive , a very impressive attribute since its subject matter alone could\\'ve easily fallen prey to tastelessness . \\nit\\'s one of those movies that is best described as a solid piece of entertainment , perfect for a great night on the town , or as a saturday night movie rental . \\neither way you see it , it shouldn\\'t let you down in the slightest . \\nand , pun heavily intended , when it\\'s all said and done , you\\'ll be smiling from cheek to cheek . \\n',\n",
+       " b'call it touched by a demon . \\ngregory hoblit\\'s fallen is a serial killer movie with an unusual , horrific twist . \\nif marketed properly , this film could have crossover appeal for both those who appreciate supernatural tales like the prophesy and those who crave grim , dark thrillers like silence of the lambs and seven . \\nin fact , there\\'s even a little twin peaks to be found here , albeit with the lion\\'s share of the weirdness distilled out . \\n ( remember bob ? ) \\nthe biggest failing of fallen is that , although it\\'s consistently interesting , it\\'s not always as edgy and suspenseful as one might hope . \\na serial killer ( elias koteas ) has been on the loose in philadephia , but detective john hobbes ( denzel washington ) , the noblest man on the police force , has brought him to justice . \\nnow , during his last hours on death row awaiting his inevitable date with the gas chamber , the mass murderer cryptically tells hobbes , \" what goes around really goes around . \" \\nshortly thereafter , he begins to sing \" time is on my side \" as he\\'s taken on his last walk . \\nminutes later , the state of pennsylvania has carried out the execution and edgar reese is dead . \\nbut for hobbes , the nightmare is just beginning , because reese wasn\\'t a normal psychopath ? he was the host body for a mythical dark angel named azazel . \\nand , with reese\\'s death , azazel is free to hop from body to body , murdering and wreaking havoc at will . \\nonly hobbes and a pretty , female theology teacher ( embeth davidtz ) have an inkling of what they\\'re up against . \\nthe rest of the cops , including hobbes\\' partner , jonesy ( john goodman ) ; lou ( james gandolfini ) , a newcomer to the department ; and lieutenant stanton ( donald sutherland ) , don\\'t have a clue , and , as a result , they are in mortal danger . \\nas depicted by hoblit ( primal fear ) and cinematographer newton thomas sigel , philadelphia is a dark , dreary place ? a gothic city rather than a modern one . \\nno skyscrapers or other monoliths of current architecture or technology are shown . \\nthe most famous landmark to appear isn\\'t the liberty bell or independence hall ; it\\'s geno\\'s steaks . \\nshadows and night scenes abound . \\nthe days are cloudy and unpromising . \\nthis is the kind of setting where it\\'s easy to believe that fallen angels walk among men . \\nfallen\\'s plot is brimming with potential , not all of which is realized . \\nsomehow , i would have expected a more frightening tale to emerge from something with this kind of premise . \\nbut the level of terror , like that of gore , is kept in check . \\nnevertheless , there are several creepily effective scenes as the spirit of azazel moves from body to body when people bump against each other on crowded city sidewalks . \\nthe film also boasts a chase sequence of a kind that can best be described as unusual . \\nof the several dozen actors to play azazel , the best is by far elias koteas ( exotica , crash ) , who , despite only being on screen for about ten minutes , gives a fantastically charged performance . \\njohn goodman also seems to be enjoying himself , although his role for most of the film is relegated to that of a burly sidekick . \\nsadly , however , these two are the only ones who excel . \\neveryone else , including denzel washington , is boring . \\nwashington\\'s flat performance is the most disappointing surprise of the film . \\nit\\'s not that he\\'s bad per se , but he\\'s not very interesting . \\nthere\\'s no real sense of vulnerability or desperation in the way he portrays his character , and that keeps us distanced , however slightly , from hobbes . \\nas circumstances become progressively more dire for the cop , and as his life-or-death chess game with azazel approaches the point of checkmate , i expected to be more on the edge of my seat than i was . \\nwashington\\'s subdued approach is part of the reason for this ; i never felt a sense of urgency . \\nhowever , at least washington was believable , which is more than can be said for embeth davidtz ( schindler\\'s list ) and donald sutherland . \\nto be fair , the flaws in their characters aren\\'t all acting-related ; neither stanton nor gretta milano are well-written . \\nthat said , however , there\\'s nothing inspired about either davidtz\\'s or sutherland\\'s work . \\nboth appear to be sleepwalking their way through the parts , as if they know that their contribution to the film is one of advancing the plot rather than developing a multi-dimensional individual . \\nnarratively , fallen has a few glaring weaknesses . \\nalthough the plot proceeds with a convoluted , game-like structure , it uses a denzel washington-supplied voiceover to overexplain matters . \\nat times , this is actually helpful , and it has a use beyond the obvious , but there are occasions when ponderous lines like \" i like the night ? sometimes you come face to face with yourself \" become a little hard to swallow . \\nin addition , fallen is saddled with the same kind of disgustingly bland , generic theology embraced by numerous movies and tv shows like touched by an angel . \\nhowever , despite the negatives , i\\'m still recommending fallen on the strength of its complex plot and especially its ending , which i loved . \\nthe final scenes are startling , audacious , and unexpected . \\nit\\'s not often that a plot development takes me by surprise the way this one did . \\nat a time when most movies fall apart in the last ten minutes , fallen manages to buck the trend and redeem itself . \\nthis is not a great motion picture , but , considering how bad most january releases are , it\\'s a reasonably entertaining way to spend two hours . \\nand , whatever you do , don\\'t walk out on the film before the end credits have begun to roll . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" knock off \" is exactly that : a cheap knock off of an action movie . \\nit\\'s also the worst movie i have seen thus far this year . \\ni figured it would be at least a couple of months before i saw the worst film of 1998 , but alas , it has already been found . \\njean-claude van damme stars as ( i think ) a designer jeans executive who discovers his half-brother has been supplying him with cheaper goods . \\nrob schneider plays van damme\\'s partner , and rochon plays . . . \\nactually , i have no idea who rochon was supposed to be . \\nshe just sort of popped up halfway through without an explanation as to why she was there . \\nmany things are not explained in this film , but i do know that for some bizarre reason , van damme seemed to be doing a jackie chan impression throughout the flick . \\nwhere chan comes off as endearing in his \" normal guy \" character seen in many of his films , van damme just comes off as a wimp . \\nwe\\'re never given any clear explanation as to the basis for many of his actions . \\nto be more clear : i did not even know who he was supposed to be until about an hour into the movie , and even then , it was not made too clear . \\nthe film has been directed in the style of some strange film experiment gone horribly wrong . \\ntsui hark ( who directed van damme\\'s last movie , the bad , but not nearly as bad as this , \" double team \" ) never lets the camera rest for a second , and that\\'s no exaggeration . \\nwe are even treated to a five second shot from the point of view of van damme\\'s foot entering a shoe . \\nfabulous ! \\nseriously , though , i have no problem with directors who want to play around with film conventions , as long as they don\\'t get carried away . \\nfor example , look at sam raimi . \\n \" army of darkness \" , one of his best movies , features some of the most inventive camera work i have ever seen , but raimi never lets the special effects get in the way of story . \\nthat\\'s a concept that tsui can\\'t seem to grasp . \\nthe special effects and outrageous camera angles * rule * \" knock off \" to the point where the audience doesn\\'t have a clue as to what\\'s happening any more . \\nanother problem with the film is that it looks cheap . \\nthe film stock used is of such low caliber that i thought i was watching one of those chinese films shown really late at night . \\nand for some inexplicable reason , everyone\\'s voice seems to have been dubbed . \\neven the stars . \\nand even the special effects , seemingly the only aspect of the film the director actually cared about , are inconsistent . \\nfor example , there is a scene in which van damme drives a car out of a window . \\nthe car slams into the ground , and the left wheel is completely destroyed . \\nseconds later , the car drives off at full speed . \\nhey , i have no problem suspending my disbelief in an action movie , but a line must be drawn somewhere . \\nfinally , the acting . \\nnobody gives a good performance in this film . \\nvan damme , an actor i usually like , is way off the mark playing \" everyman \" . \\nand schneider , here to provide comic relief i assume , is totally unfunny and over acts his way through every scene . \\neven the usually solid paul sorvino gives a terribly over-the-top performance as . . . \\nonce again , i have no idea who he was supposed to be . \\nin case i haven\\'t yet made it clear enough , \" knock off \" is the worst movie of van damme\\'s career and possibly the worst movie of the decade . \\nand it\\'s not even one of those movies that\\'s so bad it\\'s funny . \\nit\\'s too inept to be funny . \\nthere are no redeeming factors in \" knock off \" and i seriously hope that every print of this film is burned to a crisp and that somehow my memory of watching the film can be erased . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when it comes to the average teenage romantic comedy , i expect negative reviews from critics left and right . \\npredictable , unoriginal , and forgettable will most likely be the three adjectives to haunt the down to you\\'s and the drive me crazy\\'s released by the dozens these last couple of years . \\nwhat i really look for in this kind of movie is the entertainment value while i\\'m sitting in the theater . \\nam i enjoying myself ? \\nis this a comfortable break from my week of finals ? \\nthis is why i have given films like final destination or road trip high marks ; i had a party of a time wasting my money on something i won\\'t remember next week . \\nso last week i opened up the new york times - and , no surprise , boys and girls got a negative review . \\ndaily news ? \\nnegative . \\nreelviews ? \\nnegative . \\nepinions . com ? \\nnegative . \\nthis was nothing new . \\namerican pie , final destination , road trip didn\\'t get such hot reviews and i loved those guilty pleasures . \\nsame goes for she\\'s all that , a formulaic but enjoyable pygmalion adaptation that got unjustly pounded . \\nsince boys and girls reunites she\\'s all that director robert iscove and actor freddie prinze jr . , i predicted d ? j ? vu al over again . \\nbut , still curious , i asked around my school and from the one or two people who had seen it , the reactions were far from positive . \\ni had made up my mind ; i\\'ll catch it on video or cable in a couple of years . \\nbut , soon after , following a series of unexpected events ( we couldn\\'t get into shaft because it is rated r ) , i found myself watching boys and girls . \\nwhoops . \\nboys and girls is about a \" nerdy , smart \" boy named ryan ( prinze jr . ) and a \" popular , flirt \" girl named jennifer ( claire forlani ) . \\nbriefly meeting as pre-teens and now attending the same college , the two bump into each other so many times that eventually they become best friends . \\nbut in the movies , a male and a female cannot be friends without having that nagging feeling of attraction for each other . \\nwith advice from their roommates ( amanda detmer , jason biggs ) , ryan and jennifer attempt to discover the true meaning of their relationship . \\nthe film definitely lives up to the dreaded three adjectives - and mindless entertainment is nowhere to be found . \\ni could hardly sit through the 93 minute running time for several reasons . \\nthe dialogue is probably the worst i have ever seen in any movie , mainly because the whole movie depends on the boring script and the ridiculous words these characters use is what hollywood thinks kids can relate to . \\nit is almost offensive . \\nan example of an insightful conversation : \\n \" you\\'re dumb . \\ndumb , dumb , dumb , dumb . \" \\n \" no . \" \\n ( followed by a mandy moore-esque tune background ) \\n ( well it\\'s not as bad as wing commander i guess ) \\nthe supporting cast is also painfully useless . \\ndetmer and biggs stand in the way for anything interesting to happen with their own boring , pointless subplots . \\nand although this is supposed to be from both perspectives of the human sex , prinze jr\\'s ryan dominates the screen while forlani\\'s jennifer simply acts as a dilemma for him to work with . \\nwe never learn anything about jennifer which is a shame too because forlani is the only actor to bring any life into her character . \\nteenager or not : you\\'ll hate this movie , i guarantee it . \\nmaybe i should rent she\\'s all that again . \\nis it really as good as i think it is ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'gordon fleming ( peter mullan ) is in a bind . \\nhe has a new , unexpected baby and his business , hazardous material removal , is in danger of going under . \\nwhen he and his crew get a job opportunity at the long-abandoned danvers state hospital , he underbids the competition to secure the contract and promises to get the three-week job done in one . \\nit will prove to be a fateful week for them all in \" session 9 . \" \\ngordo gets the job to remove asbestos and other hazardous materials from the spooky old mental hospital in preparation for relocating town offices there . \\ntheir guided tour of the facility by a local official , bill giggs ( paul guilfoyle ) , brings them through some of the creepier parts of the former asylum . \\nbut , a job is a job and , if they finish in a week , as promised , there is a $10000 bonus in store . \\nas they get down to their work , things , normal and not so normal , begin to happen . \\ngordon hears a disembodied voice beckoning him . \\nphil ( david caruso ) is conflicted working with a guy , hank ( josh lucas ) , who is seeing his old girlfriend . \\nmike ( co-screenwriter steven gevedon ) has discovered a cache of audiotapes and transcripts from old psychiatric sessions ( hence , the title ) with inmate mary hobbs , a multi-personality patient with a dark secret . \\ngordo\\'s nephew , jeff ( brendan sexton iii ) , suffers from night phobia and is afraid to venture into the dark bowels of the hospital . \\nas the agreed upon week draws to an end , hank mysteriously disappears from the workplace after a nocturnal confrontation with someone ( something ? ) in the hospital . \\ntensions mount and distrust build among the rest as they watch their chance for the bonus start to slip away . \\nbut , there is more , much more , at stake as the hospital and its history of insanity weigh on them all . \\ni don\\'t want to give away too much of the story of \" session 9 , \" so i\\'ll stop there . \\nwhat we have here is a spooky horror flick that uses none of the jump-out-at-you-from-the-dark cheap shots that have become part and parcel with horror films since the advent of \" halloween \" and \" friday the thirteenth . \" \\nthere is no cat leaping out of the dark or the shock of suddenly seeing oneself in a strategically placed mirror . \\nwith the exception of one shadowy and chilling image at one point spooky interlude in the film , there is little that you can get your arms around as far as what , specifically , is \" frightening . \" \\nas i watched \" session 9 \" i became aware of the subtle things that built up during the story that make it a true horror movie . \\nthe striking high-definition video camera work by uta briesewitz ( who worked with the director , brad anderson , on his \" next stop wonderland \" ) helps to build up tension with close-ups , fluid camera movement and odd angles in a way that would make alfred hitchcock proud . \\nmusic , too , is used to intense effect , joining with the camera to make simple scenes frightening , even horrifying . \\ncouple these tech feats with an intelligent story that uses elements of \" the shining , \" \" the blair witch project \" and , even \" the texas chainsaw massacre \" and you get a decent , intriguing horror flick . \\nadditionally , the brilliant decision to shoot at danvers state hospital gives the film another starring character , the institution itself , which lends even more chills to the equation . \\nacting is another factor that raises \" session 9 \" above the usual dreck presented in recent horror hits like \" scream , \" \" i know what you did last summer \" and their sequels . \\nthose films took good-looking , though generic , young actors and actresses and put them to use to build up a body count , substituting mayhem for real horror . \\nanderson opted , instead , to use mature , experienced actors like peter mullan and david caruso to fill his characters\\' shoes and the difference in casting quality is notable . \\nmullan , in particular , puts an arc on his character , gordon , as the troubled guy who slowly and inexorably falls under the pressures of family , job and , finally , danvers state hospital . \\nthe rest of the small cast fit the bill as people , not just fodder for the mayhem . \\ndavid caruso , as gordo\\'s senior man and near equal in the business , shows just how good an actor he is . \\nhe made the jump from tv\\'s \" nypd blue \" to film far too soon and his decisions in the roles he took ( i\\'ll never forget the horrendous \" jade \" ) were less than star making . \\nhe rolls his sleeves up and does the job well here . \\ngevedon , lucas and sexton are more than fodder , too . \\nthe only problem with \" session 9 \" lay in the uninspired ending . \\nit takes on a fairly conventional finale that covers old ground and is a bit of a disappointment after the terrific ( and inspired ) build up . \\nthe pleasure is getting there and i wish that anderson and gevedon had kept up the steam they had so ably built during the bulk of the film \\n \" session 9 \" is an unusual feat . \\nit is scary , doesn\\'t use cheap tricks and raises goose bumps with its intelligently rendered , subtle horror . \\nbecause of the local interest of danvers , it should do well with the northeast crowd . \\ni hope it gets the national distribution it deserves . \\ni give it a b+ . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in china in 1982 i turned the tables on our national guide and asked him if he had any questions about america . \\ni guess i was expecting some sort of political question . \\ninstead , i was dumfounded by what was most on his mind . \\n \" in america , do wives and their mothers-in-law get along well ? \" \\nhe assured me in china that they did , but i am certain if that were true he would not have asked . \\neven in china people seem to have problems relating to in- laws . \\nperhaps some of life\\'s most difficult relationships arise when families are suddenly artificially joined by marriage . \\na man trying to relate to his new prospective in-laws and vice-versa could be the basis of a very strong comedy . \\nmeet the parents does not demonstrate that fact , however . \\ngreg focker ( played by ben stiller ) has been dating and in love with pam byrnes ( teri polo ) for ten months and is now ready to propose to her . \\nhe will do it during a weekend visit to meet debbie\\'s family and to attend her sister\\'s wedding . \\nfrom the beginning the relationship is awkward between greg and jack and dina byrnes ( robert deniro and blythe danner ) . \\nthrough no fault of his own , the airline has lost greg\\'s luggage . \\nand he has to ask to borrow clothing . \\nit is the beginning of a game of one-upmanship in which greg is nearly always one-down . \\nas the games go on greg is more and more uncomfortable and uneasy which only contributes to the mistakes he makes . \\ngreg is playing a game he does not understand , in a league he is new to . \\nbut perhaps along the way he will discover some unexpected secrets about his father-in-law . \\nthis film had potential in its tale of one-upmanship . \\nit has hit on a situation that many in the audience may find familiar--one that has not been done overly frequently in films . \\nbut the script by jim herzfeld and john hamburg is a little too contrived . \\ntoo many coincidences in the story work against greg . \\nthe script could not decide if the main character was incompetent or simply unlucky . \\ncertainly he does not help his situation by doing everything wrong he possibly could , but even when he is trying to do the right things nature conspires against him . \\nthere is an uneven mix of slapstick sequences and human comedy . \\ncertainly the last part of the film feels awkwardly written . \\nthe main reason to see meet the parents is to see robert deniro\\'s performance . \\ndeniro plays the suspicious and not a little fascistic father as tightly wound and threatening as he can . \\nthe little judgmental expressions on his face are a show in themselves as greg digs himself deeper and deeper into his insecurities . \\nbut we do not really see much of that digging . \\nben stiller is an affable presence in the film but is not really stretching himself by playing the role as the nebbish to whom so many bad things happen . \\nit is nice to see blythe danner again on the screen . \\nbut her character has a basic conflict between a basic decency and her love for her husband and the script should have given her more to do with that . \\nrandy newman has written a playful score . \\nin the first few seconds of the film it does something creative i have never heard a film score do before . \\nthere is a lot of source music that is popular music of the 1960s . \\npresumably that is what the upper class listens to at least in somebody\\'s imagination . \\nhumor is subjective and some this film has been getting some favorable comment . \\nbut this is a comedy that works only occasionally for me . \\ni would have to rate it 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : captain picard and the crew of the starship enterprise disobey federation orders and defend a peaceful community of 600 , the ba\\'ku , from the evil admiral dougherty and ru\\'afro . \\nthe enterprise crew , in the meantime , experience the rejuvenating qualities of the ba\\'ku homeworld : lt . worf grows a pimple , data sings opera pieces , picard scores with a ba\\'ku chick , riker shaves while sharing a bubblebath with troi , and the enterprise women note their firmer breasts . \\ncomments : \" star trek : the next generation \" was a hugely successful sequel tv series to \" star trek , \" a science fiction series which developed a devoted fan following in the 1970s . \\neven though it still enjoyed high ratings , \" star trek : the next generation \" ended production after seven years so that the cast could replace the original \" star trek \" \\'s cast in paramount\\'s film franchise centering on the voyages of the starship enterprise . \\nstar trek : insurrection is the ninth \" star trek \" movie and the third to focus on the \" star trek : the next generation \" crew . \\nstar trek : insurrection qualifies as one of those movies star trek fans , such as myself , would rate somewhere between \" okay \" and \" good . \" \\nafter star trek v : the final frontier , a nearly awful movie almost as bad as the repugnant \" star trek : voyager \" tv series , \" star trek \" fans could probably swallow anything paramount throws out in the trek film franchise . \\ni don\\'t wish to spend this review comparing insurrection to the eight other trek movies . \\nmost people reading this probably haven\\'t followed \" star trek \" anyway , so a comparison would seem tedious at best . \\nlet me , thus , make my comparisons briefly so that it\\'s out of my system : star trek : insurrection is not as good as the previous installment , star trek : first contact ; star trek : insurrection\\'s comic tone may be best compared to star trek iv : the voyage home ; star trek ii : the wrath of khan is still the best trek movie . \\nokay . let\\'s move to the movie itself . \\nstar trek : insurrection infuses a basic science fiction premise , humanity\\'s exploration and colonization of space , with a lot of lowbrow humor and witty oneliners . \\nthis combination works well more often than it fails , but when it does fail , the humor really seems cheesy . \\nmuch of this film appeals to trek fans\\' nostalgic fondness for the starship enterprise\\'s crew . \\naudiences unfamiliar with trek lore may miss the significance of some plot points and may even become confused at times . \\nstar trek : insurrection begins with scenes of the tranquil life on the ba\\'ku homeworld . \\nforget the actors and special effects , the beautiful setting of this movie , with its snowy mountaintops and verdant valleys , steals the show . \\nthis tranquility , however , is broken by data , an android , who reveals to the ba\\'ku that they are being secretly monitored by the federation and their alien allies , the son\\'a . \\nit seems that this world is a veritable fountain of youth , sustaining its inhabitants indefinantly in a young , healthy state . \\nthe enterprise crew , led by captain picard , investigates data\\'s actions and uncovers a conspiracy between the son\\'a and an enterprise admiral to relocate the ba\\'ku and plunder the planet\\'s youth-restoring properties . \\nsound pretty heavy ? \\nit is , though this plot , anything but unique and groundbreaking , is undermined by the film\\'s constant barrage of humor . \\nwhen going after data , for instance , picard sings an opera piece with him ( this is supposed to be cute and humorous ) . \\nin a much more funny sequence , work grows a large pimple on the side of his nose as a result of his exposure to the ba\\'ku homeworld , a pimple which his crewmates , try as they might , cannot avoid looking at . \\nthe acting in star trek : insurrection is , for the most part , pretty good . \\nsince they\\'ve been playing these characters for years , those portraying the enterprise crew reassume their roles effortlessly enough . \\nthe terrific actor patrick stewart plays captain jean-luc picard and delivers a moral speech , picard\\'s trademark , with his usual aplomb . \\nbrent spiner , another fine actor , plays the android data well enough again and provides the best moments of comic relief in the film ( though the old android-wishing-to-be-human motif will tire some trek fans familiar with the routine from the tv series ) . \\nthe supporting cast who appear in this movie alone are also pretty good . \\ndespite many other critics\\' negative opinions , f . murray abraham ( the winner of an academy award for his performance in amadeus ) plays the major villain ru\\'afro well enough . \\nru\\'afro reminds me , somewhat , of the baron harkonnen in the 1984 film version of dune . \\nlike the baron , ru\\'afro continuously has his skin looked after : it is stretched and stapled by servants . \\nin one particularly memorable scene , ru\\'afro becomes very agitated , and his facial skin splits open and bleeds . \\nru\\'afro is no khan from star trek ii--the best trek villain ever--but he is much better than the forgettable dr . soran from star trek : generations . \\n ( okay , i promise , no more comparisons . ) \\ndonna murphy must also be noted as a ba\\'ku woman , anij , who picard falls in love with . \\nmurphy is not a young woman with a supermodel body ; she is a mature woman with an attractive countenance . \\nthis is the type of woman whom picard , for those who know the character well , would be enchanted with . \\nin fact , the chemistry between murphy and stewart works very well here . \\na particular plot point involving anij\\'s ability to slow time down , an ability which she shares with picard , becomes one of the most intriguing parts of the movie . \\nfor as good as the actors and setting were , star trek : insurrection\\'s special effects were surprisingly disappointing . \\nthey proved adequate , sometimes barely , for a 1990s mainstream science fiction film , but they fell way short of the standard trek movie and paled in comparison to those seen in the trailer for star wars : the phantom menace ( a trailer which reportedly preceded many showings of insurrection ) . \\nthe space battles involving the enterprise and sona ships , in particular , seemed trite and unsuspenseful , and the final confrontation between picard and ru\\'afro took place on a completely unconvincing interior of a satellite . \\nthe new enterprise itself , only seen in this film and its predecessor , remains largely unexplored , though its exterior doesn\\'t look quite right for a reason i cannot explain . \\ndespite star trek : insurrection\\'s frequent comic goofiness and occasional substandard special effects , i enjoyed the film . \\nit maintains roddenberry\\'s largely optimistic view of the future and rejects the gritty violence of its predecessors , particularly star trek : first contact ( though , don\\'t get me wrong , the dark tones of trek films like first contact can work very successfully ) . \\ni\\'d recommend insurrection as a matinee film for a saturday afternoon , especially for fans of trek or science fiction in general . \\nrated pg , i can\\'t see this film being objectionable to the viewing audience , young or old . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the year is 1962 and the military is conducting nuclear testings . \\ninvolved in these tests is hank marshall ( jones ) , an army colonel who is critical of the above-ground tests that are being done . \\nhe urges below-ground tests which no one will consider at the time until it is learned that the soviets have conducted underground tests of their own . \\nmarshall is also troubled by a turbulent marriage to carly ( lange ) who is topless on the base\\'s beach in full view of the entire personnel . \\nhank\\'s reaction is one of amusement . \\nhe\\'s been here before and he deals with it in the only way he knows how . \\nthe problem is carly is a manic-depressive and when she isn\\'t flirting with any man who happens to be near her , she\\'s fantasizing about a fictious world where she\\'d rather be . \\ntypical of the mental illness , she also is promiscuous and foul-tempered . \\nthe mood swings are quick and violent and the torment she puts her husband and their two daughters is considerable . \\nfrom hank\\'s reports which state his opposition to the army\\'s methods of testing , he is transferred from hawaii to alabama . \\ncarly patterns herself after movie stars and tries to become marilyn monroe , bleach-blond and all . \\nthe new home in alabama is pretty run-down and depressing and sets carly off on a violent tantrum . \\nafter meeting his new commanding officer ( booth ) , hank sees an all too familiar pattern begin to repeat . \\ncarly openly flirts with the co . hank tries to deal with the situation , but his only resort is to carry her off and throw her into a nearby pool . \\narguments ensue . \\nthe family becomes even more alienated . \\nthe co is very interested in pursuing an encounter with carly and sends hank off to observe an underground test which causes the irradiation of two local ranchers , much to the vocal objections of hank , who spots them but is unable to cancel the detonation of the bomb . \\nback at home , the two girls try to hold things together but they wonder why their father can\\'t deal with their mother\\'s problems . \\none daughter says , \" he\\'s blind and she\\'s crazy . \" \\nthe other answers , \" they\\'re perfect for each other . \" \\nit reaches the breaking point when the older girl ( locane ) and a boy , the co\\'s son ( o\\'donnell ) see her mother and the co making love in an abandoned shed . \\nshe forces her mother to tell hank and get it all out into the open . \\nhank returns home and finds his wife in the middle of a musical put on by the military wives , including the co\\'s wife ( snodgress ) . \\nhe confronts the c . o . \\nbut not about carly . \\nhe is upset over the coverup surrounding the accident during the testing . \\na fight breaks out between the two when the co accuses hank of not being able to satisfy his wife . \\nhank is arrested . \\nwhat follows is manipulation and revenge on the part of the co . he convinces carly to commit hank to a hospital for observation . \\ninstead , they fill him with so many drugs that he can barely cope . \\nhe foams at the mouth and cannot even finish sewing a leather wallet as presents for his daughters . \\ncarly is determined to free her husband from the clutches of the army and succeeds in doing so only by being the strong one in the family for the first time . \\nthe film has an upbeat ending with hope that the family has found a way to deal with its problems . \\nthe performances are solid throughout . \\njones is sympathetic and loving and is most effective in those quiet moments when he tries to deal with his wife\\'s rage . \\nhe comforts her and offers protection . \\nlange gives a strong and spirited portrayal of a woman on the edge who draws up the courage to try and put things right for her family . \\namy locane is very good as she fights to keep her family together while struggling with her own doubts as to whether she even should . \\nblue sky is based on the story of the stagner family . \\nthe screenplay was written by rama laurie stagner ( with arlene sarner and jerry leichtling ) . \\nthe film marks the final work of tony richardson who died shortly after its completion in 1991 . \\nhe had made such classics as look back in anger ( 1958 ) and tom jones ( 1963 ) . \\norion pictures underwent bankruptcy and caused the film to sit on a shelf for three years . \\nthe film joins an alread promising fall line-up of films and is well worth catching for the performances alone . \\n',\n",
+       " b'like the wonderful 1990 drama , \" awakenings , \" starring robin williams and robert de niro , \" at first sight , \" directed by irwin winkler , is inspired by a true story documented by physicfirst sight , \" directed by irwin winkler , is inspired by a true story documented by physician oliver sacks . \\nsince \" awakenings \" was so very good , and made my top ten list the year it was released , \" at first sight \" is not quite as strong since it is not directed with as sure a hand as penny marshall , but is still an intelligent and vibrantly-acted drama . \\nthe film begins as amy ( mira sorvino ) , a stressed-out new york architect , decides to take some time off and travel upstate to the country . \\nat the hotel she is staying at , she makes a massage appointment and after a long , soothing session which ends with her crying as a release of emotions , she strikes up a conversation with the handsome masseur virgil ( val kilmer ) , only to find out later that he is actually blind . \\namy doesn\\'t really care if he has a handicap or not , and begins to spend time with him more and more until they finally start to fall in love . \\nonce she has returned to new york , amy begins to research on virgil\\'s certain type of retinal blindness , which he has had since three years of age , and out of a stroke of luck , comes into contact with a doctor ( bruce davison ) who believes he can repair virgil\\'s sight , even though there have only been thirty similar cases in history . \\nat first reluctant , virgil finally travels with amy to nyc and agrees to the surgery , much to the hesitance of his overbearing , but loving older sister ( kelly mcgillis ) . \\nultimately , the surgery is a success , but problems arise since virgil cannot relate to what he sees , since he has never visually seen anything before , only touched objects . \\nhe moves into amy\\'s apartment and she is eager to stand by him , but virgil\\'s maladjustment begins to put a strain on their relationship . \\non the basis of the overall story , \" at first sight \" is indeed a film that has been done many times before , and owes a great deal to its predecessor , \" awakenings . \" \\nwhat will happen throughout the film can also be easily telegraphed in advance . \\nhowever , what helps \" at first sight \" rise above this predictability is in the mature and intelligent relationship that develops between virgil and amy . \\nusually , romantic pictures are of the shameless puppy-dog sort ( the recent tom hanks/meg ryan-starrer \" you\\'ve got mail \" immediately pops to mind ) , but with this film , i grew to care more about the characters and their plight . \\nthe film starts off noticably well as amy travels up north and first meets virgil . \\nthe massaging sequences were strangely erotic , maybe even more so than the later actual \" love scenes , \" and as their romantic involvement quickly developed , the film was both entertaining and sweet , and there was clearly a lot of chemistry between the two . \\nthese joyous moments early on balanced out well with the later scenes in which their relationship is seriously tested due to a contrast in the life styles that they have always known , with virgil completely used to being blind and having a comforting , peaceful life in the country to amy\\'s eventful life in the \" big city . \" \\nthe other major compliment that must be given to the film are the nearly flawless performances across the board . \\nval kilmer , usually cast in the \" macho \" type of role , was always believable as a blind person , and playing his character was probably a little more tricky than it appears . \\nit was up to kilmer to not come off as someone to pity , but to sympathize with , and he pulled it off . \\nmira sorvino , who made a spectacular debuting splash in 1995\\'s hilarious woody allen comedy , \" mighty aphrodite , \" for which she won a well-deserved oscar as a kind-hearted , but ditzy hooker , is a standout here . \\nalthough she has made some mediocre film choices since then ( 1997\\'s \" mimic , \" 1998\\'s \" the replacement killers \" ) , she always has managed to come out unscathed , and it is with \" at first sight \" that she finally has another juicy role to play . \\nin a truthful climactic scene set in amy\\'s apartment between she and virgil , sorvino proves to be one of the most gifted young actresses around today , and has a flare for both comedic and dramatic pieces . \\nkelly mcgillis , who could have easily come off as the \" bad , \" one-dimensional sister , instead is also given an unexpectedly multifaceted character to play as a woman who may be overly protective but simply cares for her brother . \\nfinally , nathan lane , who is usually a little too over-the-top , is appropriately restrained as a vision therapist . \\nthe one misstep of \" at first sight \" is in its treatment of the medical procedure done on virgil . \\nvery little is ever said or discussed concerning it , and when the surgery occurs , it is so briefly glimpsed at that it is impossible to see what is being done to his eyes . \\nperhaps the reason this aspect of the film was not more in-depth was that the makers were afraid it would gross out audiences , but i would personally take realism , even if it is graphic , any day over simply giving the explanation of the surgery the cold shoulder . \\nin \" awakenings , \" the patients and illness were far more satisfyingly portrayed . \\nbecause of how strong the screenplay , written by steve levitt , is in the way it deals with the main relationship , and because of the fabulous performances from kilmer and sorvino , the film\\'s few problems can be swept over to the side . \\nthe adult way that the romance is depicted by director irwin winkler is , no doubt , in respect to the real-life couple that the film was inspired by , who are still together after many years ( even though the setting of the film was changed to new york ) . \\nsince january is usually the time of year that is known as the dumping ground from bad movies , \" at first sight \" comes as a refreshing and sophisticated change of pace . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the original _babe_ was my favorite movie of 1995 , a sleeper hit that transcended its target audience . \\nbeing a surprise commercial and critical success , it had no marketing tie-ins , which limited its final take . \\nthus , babe 2 arrives , with a budget greater than the money made in babe 1 . \\nplush dolls , vending machines hawking t-shirts , and macy\\'s thanksgiving day balloons arrive for holiday money-grubbing . \\ntoo late . \\nthis is a sad review to write , because babe 2 not only does _not_ live up to the original , but it doesn\\'t even come to a fraction of it . \\ni shouldn\\'t expect that sequels to modern fairy tales to match their predecessors\\' magic , but this film tries too hard , and loses its charm . \\nconsider a driver applying the accelerator with great intensity , unaware that his car is in neutral . \\nimagine with me , if you will , _scream_\\'s jamie kennedy , explaining the \" rules \" for sequels like babe 2 . \\n ( 1 ) there must be _more_ talking animals . \\n ( 2 ) there must be _more_ slapstick comedy . \\n ( 3 ) there must be _more_ songs for those mice to sing : that\\'s cute . \\n ( 4 ) keep the story cards to break up the action : that\\'s cute too , even though \" the pig gets wise \" made no sense , given the context of that story partition . \\n ( 5 ) there must be action , however illogical , that will conjure up pivotal scenes from the original : the trademark song that nobody remembers the words to , the baa-ram-ewe secret code , the \" that\\'ll do , pig . \\nthat\\'ll do . \" \\nnow throw in the limitations : ( a ) james cromwell , now a hot commodity , has limited time on the set ( or maybe he didn\\'t approve of the script ) . \\n ( b ) christine cavanaugh , the voice of the original babe , demands more money ( $200 , 000--paltry considering the $80 million budget ) . \\nout . \\ne . g . \\ndaily comes in with noticable results . \\n ( c ) george miller , the director , is more well-known for his dark futuristic mad max films and his twilight zone segment , not for kiddie fare ( and no , he didn\\'t direct that _andre_ film in \\'94 ) . \\n ( d ) the special effects are impressive , _but limited_ . \\nbabe talks , but most of the time from a single shot , repeated over and over again . \\n ( babe is center screen , looking straight into the camera , with a happy smirk--regardless of whether he\\'s happy , or scared , or tired ) . \\nseason now with the \" original \" elements , which , as we will find out , are straight from the screenwriting-is-hell bin . \\n ( i ) change the venue into \" the big city \" . \\nthis has been praised as wildly original . \\nexcuse me : didn\\'t _home alone_ do this several years ago ? \\nhow about the muppets ? \\neven _the bad news bears_ travelled to tokyo . \\nsorry . \\nno dice . \\nside note : to give the city a fairy-tale look , george miller crafted a fantastical fantasyland that merges the landmarks of the world\\'s great cities , and yes , it _is_ impressive . \\nbut this too is over-used , repeating the same view over and again on multiple occasions . \\nand , for the most part , babe _remains in the hotel_ . \\n ( ii ) given the limitations of cromwell , the human element is taken over by \" the boss\\' wife \" played by magda szubanski . \\ns-t-r-e-t-c-h . \\nshe\\'s not a lead actress-type , she\\'s not funny enough in her physical comedy , and she\\'s simply embarrassing in some of her pratfalls . \\n ( have her arrested falsely on drug charges ! \\nhave her accidentally incite a riot with biker dudes and scantily clad babes ! \\nhave her bounce around on a bungee cord at a prestigious benefit dinner ! ) \\ni was hoping for a little smirk during these scenes , but i felt sorry for the embarrassment that she put herself in . \\ni am restraining myself from talking about the dark nature of the film , the violence , the scene where a pit bull dangles from the bridge , head submerged underwater . \\neven the best fairy tales have a bit of the macabre in it , as the brothers grimm have demonstrated . \\nno . . . my problem is with the story , or lack thereof . \\n_babe_ is sent out to save the hoggett farm , but once in the city , that story is forgotten . \\nbeing a good-natured pig in the midst of the cynicism of his environs is nice , but , other than rescue that aforementioned pit bull , what did babe actually _do_ ? \\nwithout giving the ending away , the farm is saved from a left-field quirk that had nothing to do with the pig . \\nspeaking of \" pig \" , or , \" pig-pig-pig-pig-pig ! \" . \\nthe word \" pig \" is so overused , had they changed it to an expletive , and had the pig be al pacino , i could have been watching _scarface_ . \\nthis is screenwriting ? \\nfurther , i cannot explain the deep gnaw at my gut in the many scenes where accidents happen to good people in fantastically elaborate setups . \\nhad it been a cartoon , and the victim be an equivalent of elmer fudd , maybe my reaction would have been softened . \\nbut to farmer hoggett ? \\nhis wife ? \\nan elderly mickey rooney ? \\nmuch too irreverent . \\n ( \" quick ! \\nsplice those singing mice into those scenes ! \" ) . \\nthe film isn\\'t a colossal failure . \\ni did like glenne headley\\'s schmoozy chimpanzee . \\ni liked the pink poodle . \\nthe dog on the cart , who momentarily thinks he\\'s in dog heaven . \\nand a weird looking guy who may have been doubly-cast as an airport employee and a judge . \\nbut most of the time , i was looking down , in boredom , or in embarrassment over the hacked-up script . \\nthem singing mice , those chapter partitions , the proficient acting of the animals-- none of these can compensate for a story . \\nlet me spoil the final scene : farmer hoggett looks at pig , proud , says \" that\\'ll do , pig . \\nthat\\'ll do . \" \\nthat\\'s it . \\nhope i didn\\'t ruin it for you . \\nbut tell me this : what the heck did that pig _do_ ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'this movie is written by the man who is deemed to be \" one of the hottest writers in hollywood \" . \\nhe wrote the groundbreaking screenplay for scream ( 8/10 ) , then added the successful i know what you did last summer ( 7 . 5/10 ) \\nscript to his mix , and also created the popular tv series \" dawson\\'s creek \" . \\nso when he asked to direct his first movie , based on his first ever script written , everyone and their grandma said \" sure , go for it ! \" . \\nuhhm , my question is . . . did anyone bother reading this stupid script ? ? ? \\nplot : ace student leigh ann watson is mistakenly caught with some cheating papers by the bitchiest teacher in the west , mrs . tingle , and set to lose her scholarship to college . \\nwhen she and her friends visit the teacher at home in order to explain their side of the story , they end up tying her up , and slowly trying to talk some sense into the hardheaded woman . \\ncritique : it\\'s not so much that this is a bad movie , than the fact that it sucks . \\nthis movie is chock-full of one-dimensional characters , contains no actual humor that i was able to zone in on , zero tension or thrills , plot holes the size of my big ass , lame pop tunes played to mask nothing going on in the movie , and molly ringwald , vivica a . fox and lesley anne warren tossed away in throwaway roles . \\ni was primed for this film as its interesting premise had me thinking misery ( 8/10 ) and 9 to 5 , but unfortunately for williamson , he went nowhere with the bright foundation , making references to the exorcist and dr . \\nzhivago , which i doubt many in his target market will appreciate . \\nhe also forgot about suspense , with all of his characters based on incomprehensible decisions , unbelievable motivations and simply boring us with all of their trite dialogue . \\nsure , katie holmes is cute , and her co-star , marisa coughlan , did a reasonably amusing impression of the exorcist ( worth two points out of my three on ten ) , but how can we forgive the biggest one-dimensional character in any film , holmes\\' rival in the film , mrs . tingle\\'s complete unprofessionalism being let go by all others around her ( are teachers allowed to behave that way nowadays ? ) and a transparent romance between holmes and some long-haired dude , hired to be the poor man\\'s version of skeet ulrich ( who himself is a poor man\\'s version of johnny depp ! ) . \\nall in all , this movie was laughable for me , provided me with no insight into anything , demonstrated williamson\\'s genuine lack of directorial skills alongside a juvenile script , and provided helen mirren with a great role to chew into , unfortunately forgetting to give her character any believability , humanity or capacity to comprehend . \\nno hip lines , no cheap thrills , just a dull time at the movie theater . \\nif you want to see a funny teenage movie , go see detroit rock city ( 8/10 ) , and thank my drunken , sorry ass in the morning . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : kevin williamson\\'s father was a fisherman . \\nkevin used his knowledge of fishing hooks and winches when creating the killer in i know what you did last summer ( 7 . 5/10 ) . \\nhe is also a huge fan of steven spielberg and coincidentally , so is dawson leery on tv\\'s \" dawson\\'s creek \" , a show kevin created . \\nhe was once an aspiring actor . \\nin fact , he even landed a bit part on tv\\'s \" another world \" . \\nalso , williamson has gone on record to say that an unsupportive english teacher who once told him that he would never amount to anything was the inspiration for mrs . tingle , which is also loosely based on the book \" killing mr . griffin \" by the writer of i know what you did last summer ( 7 . 5/10 ) , \\nlois duncan . \\nhe has also come out and said that he is a gay man . \\nhelen mirren was born in london , england under the name ilynea lydia mironoff . \\nshe is married to director taylor hackford , whose works include devil\\'s advocate ( 8/10 ) and an officer and a gentleman ( 8 . 5/10 ) . \\nthis film was originally titled killing mrs . \\ntingle , but was changed after the columbine high school shooting incident . \\nactress marisa coughlan will star in kevin williamson next tv project called \" wasteland \" . \\nthis is actor barry watson first full feature film . \\nhe has played the character of \" seth \" on tv\\'s \" malibu shores \" several times . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"a highly intelligent life form that is completely electronic in nature , beams itself onto a russian science vessel . \\nwell , this is the point where the movie strays from becoming a decent and original movie and simply becomes a predictable sci-fi thriller . \\nanyhow , this life form takes control of the computers on the russian vessel then starts creating highly advanced robots to help it in its gruesome task of exterminating the ? virus' known as man . \\nthe original crew of the russian vessel is all but exterminated , and then a hapless crew on a tug discovers the derelict ship and tries to salvage it . \\nno more needs to be said as to what happens and where the conflict lies , the movie is that predictable . \\nthe story is full of very shallow characters that don't do much other than subsist . \\nthe captain of the tug , played by donald sutherland , makes irrational choice after irrational choice leaving the audience wondering as to how he has survived long enough to reach his age ( looks to be in his 60's ) . \\nto add to this we're shown this motley crew that at times seems to be highly skilled in specific fields , and at others seems barely capable of basic tasks . \\nsome of the supposed capabilities of the characters leads one to wonder what they are doing on a tug transporting cargo in the middle of the pacific , in a typhoon no less . \\nnone of the characters seem to work together at all ; they are always bickering and vying for some form of control . \\nthis makes no sense what so ever and only takes away from the story , a story that is full of holes and is extremely predictable . \\nall the flaws of the actual story are only helped along by the special effects . \\nthe waves that are generated to be part of the typhoon make it look like boat was is small model sitting in a tub and someone is simply creating waves . \\nit looks genuinely fake , granted trying to recreate a typhoon or hurricane cannot be easy by any stretch of the imagination but having the storm approach in a style similar to the huge wave of deep impact only ends up looking corny and amateurish . \\nalso on the topic of flaws , the robotics that the advanced life form creates seem to move extremely slowly , why ? \\nif this life form that is so advanced as to be able to create these robotics , should it not be able to create them move faster ? \\nregardless , the special effects in this movie in many cases take away from the film rather than add to it . \\nas to the actual casting for the movie , finally there is nothing to complain about . \\nthe actors were superb , but then again it is highly doubtful that chimpanzees would have had difficulty acting the roles . \\nhaving the cast that was present probably saved this movie from being an absolute catastrophe . \\nwatching these actors act this story out made it bearable , if barely . \\nthe one saving grace of this movie is that it was highly action packed and there always seemed to be something happening . \\nso if you are going into this movie not expecting to see anything grand and are only going to kill some time and watch a mediocre sci-fi thriller then you won't be too disappointed . \\nas the movie is but the latest in a genre that was originally created by aliens , it does little more than try to cash in on that aspect . \\nthis movie would be best left for video and even then you might be advised to simply wait for one of the major networks to air it on tv . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it\\'s always a bad sign when the core audience of a film -- children -- are either walking out early or are half-asleep when the credits roll at the end of a film . \\nthat about sums up the dreadful ugliness of 102 dalmatians , a cold pea soup of cute animals , stupid home alone antics , a boring puppy love subplot between dumb humans , and glenn close reprising her best joan crawford impression . \\nindeed , walt disney is rolling over in his grave again , cursing john hughes\\' name for making the original live-action 101 dalmatians , one of the worst kiddie flicks of all time , and now its sequel . \\nthe main culprit behind the hideousness of 102 dalmatians is its predecessor , 101 dalmatians . \\nthe original made more than $100 million dollars at the box office , spawned a torrid collection of \" collectible \" items that ended up months later in the discount bins of wal-marts across the country , and generally made every kid on the planet want a damn dalmatian pup for christmas . \\nwell , it\\'s been about four years since then , and dalmatian fever is coming back , and this time it\\'s digitally enhanced . \\nhere\\'s the story . \\ncruella de vil ( glenn close ) is released from prison due to the \" cure \" of her puppy homicide urges by one dr . pavlov . \\n ( oh , how witty . ) \\nshe rejoins the world as a dog lover and is assigned to a probation officer , who oddly turns out to be her victim from the original film . \\ncruella then becomes ella -- dog lover -- until the plot twists , like a dog with his leash caught on the back of a moving truck , and she becomes the evil vixen again . \\na kidnapping plot unfurls again as cruella decides she still needs her dalmatian coat , but she now needs 102 dalmatians instead of the commonly used 101 dalmatian formula . \\nat this point , i was envying those kids filing out of the theater . \\nhow low have glenn close and gerard depardieu ( as the film\\'s villain ) sunk in the film business ? \\nit\\'s almost laughable in a sadistic way to watch close walk around in costumes that seem to be pulled from the wardrobe of flash gordon . \\nand depardieu . . . \\nhow can a french guy have a bad french accent ? \\nand never mind the toilet brush haircut . \\nthe only minutely positive selling point i can even think to point out is the talking bird with a british accent ( courtesy of eric idle ) that thinks he\\'s a rottweiler . \\nnow that\\'s funny . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"not since 1996's shine , which starred geoffrey rush as pianist david helfgott , has a movie so defiantly laid bare the lives of world-class musicians . \\nin fact , if one were to watch these films together , it would almost certainly stand as a convincing argument that a life of music naturally leads to all varieties of social ills . \\nyet hilary and jackie , the sophomore effort from director anand tucker , has something more to say -- it softly but strongly explores the complex relationships of sibling rivalry and love in a very compelling tale . \\nemily watson and rachel griffiths are the leads in this tale , playing the sisters du pr ? . \\nboth musicians from childhood , hilary ( griffiths ) is renowned flutist while jacqueline ( watson ) is easily as skilled on the cello . \\nthe two comepete for and win many honors as children and as young women , both together and seperate . \\ntheir careers as musicians surpass and then bow to one another's , and although their lives take very different paths -- hilary settles down to marriage and a family while rachel skips across the globe on a world concert tour -- they are bound together by their deep family love . \\nthe performances of watson and griffiths are excellent in style and substance . \\nthey contrast each other wonderfully , and while watson's portrayal of jackie du pr ? is at times eccentric and perhaps unsympathetic , both characters are charged with emotion . \\nthe frank cottrell boyce script , which is based on the book by hilary and piers du pr ? , brings a great deal of depth to these characters as well . \\nthe script is also to be commended for its well-polished dual nature . \\ncottrell boyce adopts a style which one might expect to see in a mystery thriller ( which was in fact the case with david koepp and robert towne's script for mission : impossible ) and skillfully molds it to the story of two rising musicians on different courses to fame . \\nthe latter parts of his script are controversial to say the least , and the rather depressing ending takes the wind out of an envigorating story . \\nsome will leave this movie feeling disenfranchised . \\nnevertheless , hilary and jackie is a movie that reaches an upper echelon of contemporary cinema through solid fundamentals and is a decent watch all around . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"in some respects , rush hour is the ultimate exercise in cliched filmmaking . \\nthe hero is the renegade cop that prefers to work alone . \\nthe cop in question cannot solve the case until he gets in trouble . \\nall chinese people are somehow involved in the criminal element . \\nthe duo must always be completely mismatched . \\nthe hero has to say some smart-assed comment before ( and after ) shooting someone . \\nhowever , that doesn't necessarily make for a bad film . \\nrush hour is jackie chan's first major hollywood film since the dismal the protector ( 1985 ) . \\nproving once again that hollywood can learn many things from foreign film markets ( ie : hong kong ) , jackie chan is given much more free reign than before . \\nstill , some die-hard jackie chan fans may be disappointed , as even chan himself has voiced displeasure over the length of the fight scenes ( which he views as too short , according to one interview ) . \\nthis film takes a familiar theme of east meets west . \\njackie chan is lee , the straight laced inspector who is imported to help deal with a kidnapping case , while chris tucker is carter , the loudmouthed , destructive cop that is `promoted' to the fbi to help him . \\nor , at least , so he thinks ( also another classic notion in action films : the fbi must always get in the way of our heroes ) . \\ndespite the necessary conventions of action films , rush hour is some of the most fun you'll spend and hour and forty minutes watching . \\njackie chan continues to be one of the most exciting martial artists on the big screen , continuing to perform his own stunts and dazzling audiences with his flashy kicks and punches . \\nchris tucker , familiar from his whiny , annoying role in the fifth element is more palatable , complementing jackie chan's straight-laced character . \\nhowever , jackie chan still maintains his comic-slapstick edge , as expected of him and his films . \\nperfectly downplaying the `fish-out-of-water' routine through his character's attempts at mixing into american culture , he makes up for the down time his character experiences . \\nwhen he is in action , however , you'll be amused and dazzled . \\nstill being inventive in the use of objects to beat people up ( in this case , a steering wheel , a serving tray , and a barstool ) , jackie chan proves to be the pioneer of slapstick kung fu . \\nchris tucker's character may come across as irritating , yet is also humorous . \\nsince he's not a physical actor to the level of jackie chan , he uses his main weapon : his mouth ( hence , the tagline , `fastest hands in the east meets the fastest mouth in the west' ) . \\nwhile dialogue is not necessarily shakespeare , it is appropriate for the film and still very funny . \\nwhile not necessarily poignant , attempts at character development and growth between characters come off surprisingly well . \\nlee's `knowledge' of american pop culture ( `that's the beach boys ! ' ) \\nwhen contrasted against carter's lack of knowledge of chinese culture makes for an interesting scene where lee teaches carter the kung fu disarming trick , while carter teaches lee hip-hop dance moves . \\nwhile rush hour is not at the same level as police story 3 and 4 ( known in north america as supercop and jackie chan's first strike , respectively ) , it more than makes up for the poorly received films operation condor and mr . nice guy . \\nwith its appropriate mixture of high kicks and lots of laughs , it makes for a fun film . \\nas well , it is a true departure from jackie chan films , as it is missing one common element : a whiny female co-star . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'when a pair of films from the same director gets released just three weeks apart , it could mean one of two things : that the recently overworked individual is due for a well-deserved rest , or that either of these movies has been sitting in a studio safe for a while and the timing is merely a coincidence . \\nthe latter\\'s the case with john mctiernan and \" the thirteenth warrior , \" which finally hits theatres a year and counting after its original spring \\'98 opening - and fast on the heels of mctiernan\\'s \" the thomas crown affair \" remake , a flick that got good reviews . \\nyou don\\'t have to believe superstitions to wager a guess that \" thirteenth \" won\\'t be so lucky . \\nreportedly shelved following skirmishes between mctiernan and producer michael crichton , whose \" eaters of the dead \" novel provides \" warrior \" \\'s source ( and its initial title ) , this messy melange of culture-clash drama and brutal warfare feels empty and sluggish - sorta like \" braveheart \" without any of the passion . \\nbut the bloodshed certainly remains : there\\'s enough carnage on display here to satisfy those in search of purely visceral thrills , though please note that the admittedly pungent battle sequences containing all this death and dismemberment alternate with talky passages interminable in their dullness . \\nthese circa-10th century clashes involve a roving band of cannibalistic creatures capable of decapitating opponents with their bare hands and a dozen norse soldiers out to stop them from terrorizing the viking countryside . \\nthe good guys are loud , crude , often unintelligible and - judging from their highly icky hygiene habits -- pretty smelly to boot , which makes them perfect foils for the dignified arab ambassador ( antonio banderas ) who tags along quite reluctantly . \\nthey\\'re also so hard to tell apart that it hardly matters when a few of them meet violent demises . \\nyou\\'ll wince , you\\'ll groan , you\\'ll grouse , \" haven\\'t we seen this guy killed twice before ? \" \\nbanderas stands confused amidst the chaos , partaking mostly from a distance as savages in darth maul facepaint and draped in the latest animal-skin fashion run amok . \\nhe\\'s not the hero - his soulful eyes and lean build don\\'t exactly herald a champion of shwarzenegger proportions - and \" the thirteenth warrior \" wisely doesn\\'t pretend he is , allowing his foreign and physically imposing co-stars to step into the spotlight when the going gets rough . \\nlet the characters interaction sans swords and shields , however , and there\\'s still a struggle - for the audience to follow or even care about the story . \\nit isn\\'t the end until audiences have witnessed a half-baked romance , murky political intrigue , veteran actor omar sharif ( \" funny girl \" ) dropping by in a cameo role and a climactic \" indiana jones and the temple of doom \" -esque chase through the villains\\' underground lair . \\nall this clutter receives stunning visual treatment courtesy of cinematographer peter menzies jr . , but the collaboration between \" die hard \" -helmer mctiernan and \" jurrasic park \" -creator crichton should have yielded more than sumptuous sights , graphic action and unintentionally telling moments . \\nheard during \" the thirteenth warrior \" \\'s final scene : a dog whimpering . \\nhow appropriate . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it was a rainy friday afternoon in columbus when i persuaded a friend to see a matinee performance of mst3k : tm . \\nhe had never seen any episodes of the show , and i have watched a scant few , due to its unsocial airtime on comedy central and the uneven nature of many of the episodes . \\nfor those of you not familiar with the premise , dr clayton forrester ( beaulieu ) wishes to take over the world by finding the worst film ever made and unleashing it upon an unsuspecting public . \\nto achieve this , he ( in the words of the tv series\\' theme , which is missing in the movie ) \" bumped [mike nelson ( nelson ) ] on the noggin and then shot him into space \" , and is monitoring nelson\\'s reactions to the movies he is forced to endure . \\nrather than succumb to the sheer awfulness of many of the movies , nelson spends his time making wisecracks with the help of his two robot companions , tom servo and crow t . robot . \\nthe format of the show consists of nelson , servo and crow making their comments while silhouetted against the movie being watched , and breaks every 20 minutes or so for segments set on the satellite of love , the ship on which our heroes are marooned . \\nonly two things are different in the movie : the absence of forrester\\'s sidekick , tv\\'s frank , and the slower pace of the jokes . \\nthis latter change is presumably deliberate to avoid the viewing audience missing some of the best lines while laughing from the previous joke . \\nfor their big screen outing , the producers have chosen \" this island earth \" , a 1954 classic , and one of the first sf films to have a special effects budget larger than the average grocery bill . \\nunfortunately for that film ( but making it ideal mst3k fodder ) , acting and dialogue appear to have taken a back seat to the effects which , by today\\'s standards , are less than impressive . \\nnelson & co . make jokes about everything from japan\\'s dominance in the world market , to star trek , to the state of disrepair of seattle\\'s kingdome , and most of them work . \\nunfortunately , the segments set outside the satellite\\'s movie theater seem out of place and aren\\'t particularly funny , but at least they\\'re fairly short . \\nthe big question about this movie though is : why ? \\ni presume it was an attempt to gain a larger following to keep support behind the series ( rumours of its impending demise circulated for some time before the plug was eventually pulled a few months ago ) , but the format gains nothing from its transition to the big screen -- there are no special effects to dazzle you , no action sequences to keep you on the edge of your seat , and no use of digital surround sound . \\nso , it seems pointless to spend $8 per person to see this movie when in a few months it will be out on video and you can watch it for $3 , and not have to sit in a room full of popcorn addicts . \\nnevertheless , mst3k : tm provides more laugh-out-loud opportunities than any film you\\'re going to see this year , and i thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a pulse . \\ngiven its uniqueness , i hesitate to grade it against other films , but it fulfils its claims and so in the class of \" unsubtle comedy films whose laughs come at the expense of bad b-movies \" it does well . \\n',\n",
+       " b'well arnold has completed the seemingly impossible task . \\nhe has made three consecutive unsatisfactory action films . \\nin a domain that he owns , it is very surprising that this goliath of an action star can not tell a good action script from a bad one . \\neraser , back in 1996 , was a confused film that made no attempt at all to make sense . \\nbatman and robin , in 1997 , was the black sheep of the batman series with ridiculous acting , idiotic action scenes , and painfully flashy costumes . \\nnow in 1999 , \" end of days \" ( not \" the end of days \" ) is the third strike in a tough at bat for arnold . \\nis this the end of a powerful action star\\'s long-lived career ? \\nwill arnold ever give us another unforgettable performance in another unforgettable classic like those in the past ( \" terminator \" , \" terminator 2 : judgement day \" , \" predator \" ) ? \\nor an unforgettable performance in a great guilty pleasure like those in the past ( \" commando \" , \" red sonja \" , \" true lies \" ) ? \\nit doesn\\'t look that way . \\n \" end of days \" begins with the birth of a baby girl in 1979 who inexorably , due to the formation of the stars on that night , will be the carrier of satan\\'s baby the hour before new year\\'s of 2000 . \\nfortunately for the movie\\'s sake , the girl grows up and now resides in manhattan with skyscrapers , subway trains in dark tunnels , and a myriad of inept nypd officers . \\nit\\'s an action film\\'s dream come true when the director is given tons of cool stuff to blow up . \\nimagine if the girl had lived in anytown , usa , where the only thing to destroy is a dairy queen and a post office . \\narnold schwarzenegger ( jericho cane ) , in a series of boring events finds himself in the middle of a religious battle between the church , who is trying to hide the girl ( or in some cases trying to kill her ) , and satan ( gabriel byrne ) who is trying to make her pregnant . \\nif the devil is successful , the world will no longer exist as we know it . \\njericho feels it is his duty to protect the girl from everyone because 1 ) he once had faith but no longer does and 2 ) his wife and daughter were killed and he feels responsible for it . \\njericho cane is your cliched , by-the-numbers hero right up to his name . \\narnold fittingly plays the character as cliched as he can . \\nhe shouts at everyone , from cops to priests , to the devil . \\nin one truly hilarious scene , which was supposed to be the ultimate dramatic high point , jericho screams to the devil ; \" you are a @#$^% ! & \\nchoir boy ! \\nyou are a choir boy ! \" \\nthose two lines marked the high points of this film . \\na movie can still be enjoyable when the supporting cast is more effective than the main actor . \\n \" end of days \" fails to contain any memorable performances with the exception of gabriel byrne . \\nbyrne , playing a man who has been made the manifestation of the devil , seems to be the only one who is having fun in this whole movie . \\nhe wonderfully plays a manipulative villain with the power to control everyone at any time . \\nthe annoying thing about his character , however , is that he has the power to kill any human with a simple punch in the face , yet he finds it impossible to seriously hurt jericho . \\ni can not count the number of times he could have killed jericho and taken the girl from his custody . \\nthe other actors in the film give very weak and unconvincing performances . \\nkevin pollak , who plays the partner and close friend of jericho , is the supposedly funny character in the film ( every action movie has one ) . \\nthe one problem is that pollak does not deliver one funny line . \\nrobin tunney plays the chosen mother of satan\\'s baby with extreme annoyance . \\nshe gets no sympathy from any of the characters in the film , except arnold who pretends she is his wife and daughter , or any of the viewers in the audience . \\nin one unnecessary scene , tunney walks out of her room and takes her top off . \\nis this her job in the film ? \\nthe actors are not to blame entirely because the script is terrible . \\nyou can tell a script is terrible when you are able to predict what will happen minutes before it does . \\nthis little prediction game is a very fun exception to trying to sit through this nonsense of a movie . \\nin a last attempt to make this movie good , special effects are used to try to entertain the audience . \\nbut without a memorable action scene in the whole film , the director has not done his job successfully . \\nthis film would have gotten a c+ if arnold stood in front of a camera and shouted \" you are a ! $@^@ * ^ \\nchoir boy ! ! \" \\nfor two hours . \\n',\n",
+       " b'my filmcritic . com \\ncolleague norm schrager nailed session 9 , brad anderson\\'s throwback to spooky horror films from the 70\\'s . \\nit worked as an eerie homage without being self-referential or smugly postmodern . \\ngenre aficionados will acknowledge the similarities in tone to stanley kubrick\\'s the shining and george romero\\'s dawn of the dead without being taken out of the engrossing narrative ( i . e . , a psychologically addled waste management team clears out an abandoned lunatic asylum ; unspeakable dread ensues ) . \\nin a double-whammy for 2001 , anderson shoots and ( mostly ) scores again with his eclectic riff on time-travel episodes from the twilight zone , appropriately titled happy accidents . \\nmuch like session 9 , the cards are played very close to the vest here . \\nis boyish , eccentric \" sam deed from dubuque , iowa \" a futuristic voyager from the year 2470 or just your run-of-the-mill psychologically disturbed nutcase let loose on the present-day streets of nyc ? \\nas played by wonderful character actor vincent d\\'onofrio ( full metal jacket ) , it\\'s up in the air whether or not we should accept his detailed monologues about life after the polar ice caps have melted . \\nthe question proves to be moot , at least for a time . \\neven if the whole thing proves to be a creative delusion , one agrees with the character judgment passed down on him by his new girlfriend , ruby ( marisa tomei ) : \" he\\'s a freak , but he sure tells a good story ! \" \\nneurotic ruby thinks she may have found true love after a series of nightmarish dating disasters ( the junkie , the fetishist , the artist , the frenchman , etc . ) , but isn\\'t quite sure how to handle \" sam deed \" when he starts explaining the barcode on his arm , his elaborately constructed fake identity , his pathological fear of dogs , his ability to speak five different languages , and his mission to change a crucial moment in time that may have ramifications on time\\'s alternate realities . \\n ( don\\'t ask . ) \\nit\\'s all a bit much to take in . \\nruby\\'s close friend gretchen ( cuz ya can\\'t have a love story without the token friend , though nadia dajani invests the thankless role with warmth ) chalks it up as a sexy role-playing game , but her cautious therapist ( holland taylor ) warns her that co-dependency is rearing its ugly head again and she\\'s in over her head with yet another doomed relationship . \\nwho ya gonna believe ? \\ndespite her winning an academy award , marisa tomei has always struck me as an annoying and unwelcome screen presence , one that undermines the pleasure of watching happy accidents . \\nher brassy new yawk attitude never really meshes with her desperate desire to appear \" cute \" to her adoring fans . \\nbeing loud and flashing a ( disingenuous ) smile does not necessarily equal \" substantial and sexy . \" \\nit takes more than a crack team of hair and wardrobe people to imbue her with personality . \\nthen there\\'s that damned voice , which strains to be oh-so-adorable . \\nlook , this stuff is purely subjective . \\nsome people feel this way about richard gere , others cannot bear to watch robin williams\\' hyperactive schtick . \\nfor my money , it\\'s m . tomei with a bullet . \\nhappy accidents is a romantic comedy filtered through twelve monkeys ( or , more appropriately , chris marker\\'s la jetee , especially with those still framed \" memory \" photographs anderson employs as a stylistic device throughout ) . \\nmodern manhattan is filmed with an otherworldly , vaguely alien eye with a color scheme oddly reminiscent of logan\\'s run . \\nas the stranger in a strange land , d\\'onofrio walks slightly out-of-step , wonderfully affable but often inscrutable with his wayward expressions and bemused detachment . \\nthis is science fiction told mainly via the power of suggestion ( though it often falls into the sci-fi trap of having entirely too much forced exposition -- we want deeds , not words ! ) \\nat least twenty minutes too long , happy accidents eventually gets around to a race-against-time scenario that puts \" sam deed \" to the ultimate test . \\nno movie can live in ambiguity forever , but anderson seems terminally unable to provide satisfactory conclusions to his otherwise well structured recent narratives . \\n ( let\\'s pretend the loathsome and predictable next stop wonderland never happened , shall we ? ) \\nthere are also some slow , repetitive stretches as ruby and sam go over the same arguments again and again over whether or not he\\'s crazy . \\nthe premise is strong enough to sustain interest , but it\\'s enough to throw a nod in the general direction of rod serling for wrapping up his ideas in half-hour time slots , commercials included . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it's been a long time since walt disney has delivered us a classic along the lines of the little mermaid or beauty and the beast . \\nsure , there have been delightful outings like last years hercules . \\nbut nothing entirely groundbreaking . \\nwith the release of the studio's newest feature length film , a remake of edgar rice burrough's creation tarzan , disney has plunged into new waters with both maturity and animation techniques . \\nit's no classic , but this new tarzan represents exactly what a family film should be . \\nthe plot is loyal to the original storyline , as tarzan's parents are forced to abandon their ship which has caught fire , and find shelter in the jungles of africa . \\nbut , they are killed ( offscreen ) by the snarling cheetah sabor , leaving baby tarzan alone and unharmed in his crib . \\nfound by kala ( voiced with effective gentleness by glenn close ) , a kindhearted mother and member of a gorilla pack , tarzan is taken into the primate group and raised as one of their own . \\nwe follow the young boy through the years , as he partakes in various adventures with his loud mouth gorilla friend terk ( a very brash but funny rosie o'donnell ) and clumsy elephant tantor ( wayne knight ) . \\nof course , in any disney film we are given some kind of goofy sidekick or humorous chum for the hero . \\nin tarzan , these characters fill that space rather inconspicuously . \\ngags that were magnified in other family films are kept quite minor here . \\nmost of the characters are amusing without being forced . \\nas tarzan grows to manhood , the suspected antagonist stumbles into the picture . \\nhere , the notorious bad guy is the big game hunter clayton ( brian blessed ) , who's accompanying a hapless professor ( nigel hawthorne ) on an expedition through the jungle . \\nof course , there's the professor's daughter , jane ( nicely vocalized by a cheerful minnie driver ) who will help supply the romantic quotient of the movie . \\nthe thing that blew my socks off about this version of tarzan is the stunning animation . \\ndirectors chris buck and kevin lima have applied a breathtaking 3-d element to the movement of the athletic title character , and the fast-paced editing is absolutely a marvel . \\nas tarzan carries jane through the treetops , narrowly escaping a pack of nasty baboons , he slips and slides like a daredevil snow boarder or star surfer riding the big wave . \\nyour eyes can barely keep up ; it's a fantastic accomplishment . \\nthe subject matter here is also a notch or two above animation average . \\nthere are important questions raised about tarzan's place in the world , and all are handled exceptionally well by the screenwriters . \\nthere is no shred of doubt left to ponder afterward , which is a surprising plus that i wasn't expecting to find here . \\nsuffice to say , this film will have both adults and children thoroughly entertained . \\nthe grown-up tarzan is voiced by tony goldwyn , who made a name for himself as the `big mean jerk' from ghost . \\ngoldwyn is effective playing someone who's not aware of his world's dangers . \\nglenn close is also memorable as his gorilla mother , and lance henriksen ( from tv's millennium ) is terrific as the silverback father unsure of how to accept the presence of a human child . \\nas the movie's villain , there is nothing particularly special or catching about the character of clayton . \\nit helps that brian blessed supplies his voice with game enthusiasm , but he is nothing compared to james woods' hilarious hades from hercules . \\na burley guy with a big gun who just wants to capture the gorillas does not quite constitute for an all-together noticeable screen presence . \\nstill , this is one great thrill-ride that disney has constructed . \\ni never expected rice burrough's work to be transformed so successfully from live action to animation , nor with so much emotional depth . \\nparents , along with all the kiddies , are going to find much to like in tarzan . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'there\\'s a good , and timely , story trapped deep within the excess of murder in the first , a new movie about the abuses of our prison system . \\nwith a country wrapped up in feverish debate over the crime issue and the rights of the accused and the incarcerated in jeopardy , this expose would offer something rare to recent american movies--a point of view . \\nbut director marc rocco makes it clear from the beginning that pretentious , often nauseating , camera movements and slick , mtv- style lighting and editing are far more important . \\nthere\\'s not a moment in the picture where he surrenders technique for pure storytelling . \\nand everything suffers . \\nchristian slater and kevin bacon star as defense attorney and alcatraz inmate , respectively . \\nafter spending an unprecedented amount of time in an isolated cell for attempting to escape , bacon murders another prisoner and faces trial . \\nhis young lawyer ( slater ) is fresh out of law school but determined to \" put alcatraz on trial \" for the abuses of it warden ( gary oldman ) . \\nthe result is the usual courtroom theatrics- imagine a stanley kramer production shot by hyperactive film school students . \\nthere\\'s very little to praise here outside of kevin bacon\\'s earnest overacting and the appropriate story . \\nthere\\'s a lot of overacting from everyone--you know you\\'re in trouble right away when r . lee ermey ( the drill sergeant in full metal jacket ) is cast as a judge , the center of reason and moderation . \\nslater has never been convincing and certainly isn\\'t here and oldman is on a bad streak of hammy performances . \\nbut the worst feeling you get while watching murder in the first is that the man behind the camera could care less about telling a good story . \\nthere are long exchanges of dialogue where the camera is not even moving near the characters , let alone with them . \\nhow frustrating it must be for actors to work under these conditions . \\nif there\\'s anything that has alway distinguished american films over the rest of the world , it is our ability to tell a good story . \\nhave we forgotten ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'i had an epiphany today . \\nit occurred to me while i was watching \" house on haunted hill . \" \\nit is as follows : if a trailer makes the film it\\'s advertising look like a trashy , stupid movie , well guess what ? \\nchances are , there * is * truth in advertising . \\ntoo bad i didn\\'t trust my own instincts when something-or-the-other possessed me to see this movie . \\ni blame it on my sudden craving for a scare and my anticipation of \" sleepy hollow . \" \\nthat and \" dogma \" started too late in the afternoon for my schedule . \\nan hour of \" angel \" or \" buffy \" is scarier than this doozy that tries to be scary and shtick but falls flat on its face . \\ni wish i\\'d seen it when it was halloween . \\nat least i would have been forgiving . \\nhey , tis the season . \\nthe movie was scary ( albeit very confusing , dizzying , and nauseating ) at first , but soon the horror got repetitive and downright laughable because the film obviously wasn\\'t going anywhere . \\nnow i truly appreciate films like \" scream , \" \" halloween , \" or any old hitchcock film where the scariness stems from situations that are at least somewhat realistic . \\nthat\\'s what spooks people out , the fact that it could happen to them or someone they know . \\nthere has to be a logical precedent for the situations they want to scare us with . \\nsure , utterly unpredictable is good , too , but that\\'s different from utterly nonsensical . \\nhohh ( house on haunted hill ) , on the other hand . \\n . \\n . \\nwell let\\'s just say i about fell off my chair laughing when they oh-so-cleverly revealed that everyone who got invited to the party was related to the psycho doctors who died in the house a couple of decades ago . \\nriiiiight . \\ny\\'know , that just sends chills down my spine . \\nyeah . \\njust like i wet my pants when they told me the house is evil . \\nooooooo . \\nhint : blood and guts only work a few times . \\nsooner or later people start to tell themselves that it\\'s just ketchup and props and you\\'ve got to come up with something better than that . \\nthere were just too many things in this movie that we\\'ve all seen before ; from the inevitable \" plot developments \" of strangers unwittingly trapped together ; strangers turning against each other ; the evil manifesting itself ; the dead coming back for a last scare . \\neach was more predictable than the last . \\nwhy didn\\'t these fools just stay together in one place anyways ? \\nsheesh . \\nwas i grossed out ? \\nyes . \\ndid i get spooked a few times ? \\nyes . \\nbut why ? \\ni get really disturbed when there is no why . \\nwhen there weren\\'t random scares that were there for no other reason than for the visual effect ( which wasn\\'t that good either , trust me ) and the scare , the film was filled with drab , laughable dialogue . \\nthe characters were incredibly flat and cliched . \\nnot to mention downright annoying . \\nyou\\'ve got a bunch of people going nowhere in their lives ; of course they\\'re dumb enough to go to a party some stranger invited them to provided they win a million dollars if they survive the night . \\njeez , i thought no one fell for those \" you may already be a winner \" things anymore . \\nand of course , all three gals are babes . \\ni wonder how on earth the geoffrey rush of \" shine \" ended up in this movie . \\nkeep that up , geoff , and you\\'ll qualify for the next batman venture . \\nthe only single person i enjoyed was chris kattan because , well , he just cracks me up . \\nand famke jansen ( sp ? ) \\nbecause she reminds me of the delectable brosnan . \\npierce brosnan ( hey , i willingly endured \" dante\\'s peak \" three times for him : ) . \\nall right , i concede . \\nthere were a couple of things i enjoyed . \\nthat perverted little amusement park at the beginning . \\ni probably won\\'t ride a rollercoaster for a while . \\nand the machine they used to drive geoffrey\\'s character mad ( see , i don\\'t even remember their names ) . \\nthe machine , not that stupid fishtank with naked wimmin in it . \\ni kept waiting and waiting for that inevitable twist at the end of the movie . \\nit wouldn\\'t have redeemed the film , but at least it would have made me feel better . \\nbut no , they opted for the beautiful sunrise ending . \\nthank god they didn\\'t add a kiss at the end or i would have puked . \\ngod , there is no hope . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s terribly unfortunate that \" stir of echoes , \" tautly written and directed by david koepp ( who made one of 1996\\'s unsung treasures , \" the trigger effect \" ) , should be released little more than a month after \" the sixth sense , \" which is still going strong at the box office . \\nthese two films are undoubtedly going to be compared ( judging from practically all of my fellow audience members last night ) , and although they have eerily similar storylines , \" stir of echoes \" is more of a straightforward psychological horror film , while \" the sixth sense \" is closer to a psychological drama . \\nadditionally , while \" the sixth sense \" had a shocker of an ending that undoubtedly has been one of the major factors in its recent repeat business , \" stir of echoes \" is more conventional and predictable in its final twist . \\nand where \" the sixth sense \" was disturbing , \" stir of echoes \" is just plain scary . \\ni have a feeling most viewers are going to come away unimpressed because of the unavoidable similarities , and will foolishly forget to judge this film on its own respectable merits . \\nadapted from a novel by richard matheson that was written some forty years ago , \" stir of echoes \" opens with a cute six-year-old boy named jake ( zachary david cope ) who is taking a bath . \\nhe is speaking directly at the screen , but we immediately have a feeling someone else is there . \\nfinally , he asks , \" does it hurt to be dead ? \" \\napparently jake sees the ghosts of dead people , but unlike \" the sixth sense , \" this young child isn\\'t the focus of the picture . \\ninstead , tom witzy ( kevin bacon ) , a chicago lineman , is our protagonist . \\njake is his son , and maggie ( kathryn erbe ) , whom has just discovered she is six weeks pregnant , is his hard-working wife . \\none night while at a party with their closest friends , tom convinces maggie\\'s new-age sister , lisa ( illena douglas ) , to try and hypnotize him . \\nit unexpectedly works , and before long , tom is seeing things he wouldn\\'t normally see , including a deceased teenage girl ( jenny morrison ) in his house who happens to have been missing for the last six months . \\nseeking help from lisa , she tells him that , while he was under hypnosis , she told him that after he awoke , his mind will remain clear and free , like an opened door . \\nshe didn\\'t expect it to work , but it did , and the only way to stop it is for tom to somehow find a way to help this girl he sees . \\n \" stir of echoes \" isn\\'t a perfect film by any stretch of the imagination , but in the thick , atmospheric mood it conjures up , it is a terrifically eerie domestic horror-drama , and is not only effective on a technical level , but is impressive in its portrayal of a struggling working-class family . \\nkevin bacon and , especially , kathryn erbe ( 1997\\'s \" dream with the fishes \" ) , are top-notch and exceedingly believable as a loving married couple who nonetheless have their fair share of problems . \\nafter tom is hypnotized and starts seeing ghastly visions , he is completely taken over by his desire to solve this mystery of the disappearing girl whom he has seen lurking in his house , and instead of maggie not being understanding , she instead believes what tom says , and aside from being a little worried by what he is going through , does not try to stop his pursuit . \\nbacon and erbe are not traditional hollywood stars like tom cruise and julia roberts , and therefore , are easier to relate to and always plausible as a struggling couple who have to work overtime at their jobs just to make ends meet . \\nin a masterfully-done , entrancing sequence , tom is hypnotized by lisa , but instead of watching him , we instead see what he sees , starting from his view as he closes his eyes into darkness . \\nlisa tells him to visualize being in an empty movie theater , and so , we , as audience members , are watching a movie screen from inside a theater , which is also showing a movie screen in a theater . \\ntelling him to move closer and closer to the screen as a fuzzy word in black letters pops up on the screen , we begin to float closer and closer to the front of the theater until we see that the word is \" sleep . \" \\nnever before have i seen a hypnotism scene as mesmerizing and brilliantly-construed as this one . \\ntruthfully , this set-piece , and another in which tom wakes up from a nightmarish dream only to quickly discover he is reliving what he has just dreamt , are worth the full price of admission alone , just to see them on the big screen . \\nhaving loads of fun with her small role as maggie\\'s sister , lisa , illeana douglas ( 1995\\'s \" to die for , \" her last great character ) is a delight , but rarely used to her full advantage in feature films . \\nfunny and enjoyably offbeat , douglas gets to utter the best line in the film : while talking to maggie about tom\\'s visions of the girl , she remarks , \" i wouldn\\'t be worried about him seeing another girl , although the fact that she\\'s dead gives one pause . \" \\nalso of note are jenny morrison ( 1994\\'s \" intersection \" ) , who is truly poignant in the last half of the film when we flash back to see what really happened to her missing character , and liza weil , remarkable in 1998\\'s \" whatever , \" as morrison\\'s grieving teenage sister , debbie . \\nif the resolution of \" stir of echoes \" does not live up to its obviously frightful full potential ( and it doesn\\'t ) , what comes before is both involving and appropriately gritty . \\nthe music score , by james newton howard , and unsettling use of whispers and ghostly sound effects , successfully compliment and foreshadow the off-kilter frame-of-mind that tom is put into , and director david koepp proves once again that he is a director with a knack for creating almost unbearably tense situations that revolve around realistically-written characters . \\n \" stir of echoes \" isn\\'t as good as \" the sixth sense , \" but why should it need to be ? \\nboth films are fully capable of standing on their own two feet , and \" stir of echoes \" really is a spinetinglingly good horror film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the rich legacy of cinema has left us with certain indelible images . \\nthe tinkling christmas tree bell in \" it\\'s a wonderful life . \" \\nbogie\\'s speech at the airport in \" casablanca . \" \\nlittle elliott\\'s flying bicycle , silhouetted by the moon in \" e . t . \" \\nand now , \" starship troopers \" director paul verhoeven adds one more image that will live in our memories forever : doogie houser doing a vulcan mind meld with a giant slug . \\n \" starship troopers , \" loosely based on the robert heinlein novel , is the story of an interstellar war between humans and giant insects . \\nin the hands of verhoeven , the mammoth sci-fi battle flick is one of the most astonishingly bad films ever made , a monument to inept filmmaking on a colossal scale . \\nto put it simply , it\\'s a bug bomb . \\nin \" robocop \" and \" total recall , \" verhoeven displayed a gift for creating an entertaining mix of violence , special effects and social satire , and \" starship troopers \" starts off in similar fashion , with a tongue-in-cheek futuristic military recruitment ad that shows promise . \\nthings go downhill fast , though , as we meet our heroes , a group of buenos aires teens preparing to graduate from high school . \\ninexplicably , johnny rico , carmen ibenez , dizzy flores and xander barcalow are played by square-jawed anglo kids who look like they just stepped out of a mountain dew commercial . \\nit\\'s a veritable \" alpha centuri 90210 \" as we watch the love-smitten teens squabble in the name of love . \\nmichael ironside plays their teacher , who waves around a cheesy fake severed arm while lecturing about civic responsibilities . \\neventually , the kids join the military , with dreams of glory in their addled little minds . \\none of their classmates , carl jenkins ( \" doogie houser\\'s \" neil patrick harris , ) snags a job in military intelligence because of his strong psychic abilities . \\nhe displays his gift by psychically ordering a pet ferret to crawl up his mother\\'s leg . \\na long , dull boot camp sequence follows , enlivened only by an extended coed shower scene where the recruits swap snappy banter as the \" showgirls \" director\\'s camera roams over their buff bodies . \\nfinally , a full hour into the film , the war finally starts and we meet the enemy . \\nthe bugs hail from klendathu and colonize planets by hurling their spores into space . \\nthey attack starships by spinning around and firing deadly plasma blasts from their rears . \\nyes , incredible as it seems , the bugs actually kill with cosmic farts . \\na phenomenally large amount of money was spent creating the computer animated insects and the results are mixed at best . \\nsweeping distant shots depicting hordes of giant bugs racing to attack are both impressive and scary , but the close-ups are a different matter . \\nthe insects have an odd , artificial look , like origami creations with a mottled plastic coating . \\nthe attack scenes are intensely violent , as one would expect from verhoeven , but the overall look is too phony to generate any real tension . \\nwhile the action is frantic , the military strategy , wildly illogical even by hollywood standards , grows tiresome quickly . \\nverhoeven tries to spice things up by throwing in more satiric news coverage , but the faux-jingoistic scenes of children \" doing their part for the war effort \" by squishing roaches on a sidewalk aren\\'t enough to make up for the long stretches of sheer dreck . \\none can only guess what paul verhoeven was trying to do here . \\nhis customary one part satire , two parts ultra-violence formula is way out of whack , and most of the film just flounders . \\nin \" showgirls \" fashion , some scenes are almost bad enough to be good . \\nan intergalactic kegger party , with jake busey playing \" dixie \" on a green plexiglas fiddle , has a certain bizarre appeal . \\na sex scene between two of the teens achieves a smarmy charm , enhanced a few minutes later when the female receives a fatal jab from a bug , but tells her hero that she doesn\\'t mind dying . \\n \" it\\'s okay , \" she gasps , \" i got to have you ! \" \\nand then , of course , there\\'s doogie\\'s mind meld with a bug . \\nit\\'s possible that verhoeven was attempting to create an homage to the era of the original novel . \\nheinlein\\'s pre- \" stranger in a strange land \" books were aimed at adolescent males , and \" starship troopers \" has the antiseptic retro-future look of late 50s/early 60s sci-fi . \\nthe one cityscape shown is a jetsons-like gleaming metropolis , with flying cars whizzing past an obvious matte painting . \\nthe hairstyles are retro too , straight from the frankie avalon , annette funicello school of fashion . \\nultimately , verhoeven\\'s motives are irrelevant . \\nhe has produce a gargantuan film that fails as an action film or as a social satire . \\nit even fails to be an entertaining bad movie . \\navoid \" starship troopers \" at all costs . \\n',\n",
+       " b'guilt . guilt is something i felt while watching basic instinct for the ninth time ; the penultimate t & a thriller , basic instinct made my last few teenage years worth living . \\nbut i know so well that it\\'s a terrible film , made by a terrible director incapable of feeling guilt . \\nverhoeven went on to make the even more offensive showgirls and , on november seventh , 1997 , unleashed starship troopers to innocent moviegoers like me , who cannot control the urge to see giant bug movies . \\nthe pic begins with the most unintentional laugh of the year . \\na simple , white on black title card reads \" starship troopers \" -my friends and i speculated that the night before the prints were shipped , verhoeven realized he forgot the credits . \\nis this how a hundred million dollar movie should open ? \\nwere the rest of the film that subdued . . . \\nstarship troopers is about a group of white , blond-haired himbos and bimbos who all have spanish last names . \\nthey graduate high school , join the military , and then , rather curiously , decide to travel to an alien planet and destroy all lifeforms on that planet . \\nthe story is so incomprehensible , and told so bombastically , it\\'s akin to 129 minutes of someone screaming punishments at you in a foreign tongue . \\n ( aside , club lovers will be happy to know that dance music hasn\\'t changed in the future . ) \\none plus : starship troopers contains some very funny sequences , specifically the newsreels of the future . \\nhysterically funny , actually . \\nbut the cynicism of these reports left me curious as to whether verhoeven felt pessimistic about the story in between . \\nthe storytelling lacks focus , to say the least . \\nthe politics of the film are scary . \\nthe actions of the major female characters are dictated by their out-of-control libidos . \\nthere\\'s even a creepy sex scene : the lovely dina meyer makes out , nude , with the sickening van dien while half her face is covered by her opaque sweater , just the way he seems to like it . \\ni use the term sickening because van dien is the least appealing actor i\\'ve encountered in a big budget picture ; all chiseled features and machismo , he even barks a eulogy at a funeral like military orders . \\nof course , verhoeven\\'s probably the one to blame , and perhaps i\\'m jealous because i\\'m so disgusting . \\nat any rate , a movie called starship troopers shouldn\\'t be about sex . \\nexactly ten years ago , verhoeven made robocop , which was about nothing but skillfully made and oddly moving . \\nand r-rated , despite its goofy premise . \\nmaybe it\\'s asking too much for verhoeven to make a pg-movie , then-he\\'s a master of insipid violence . \\nhowever , ten year old boys would adore starship troopers if they could see it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'we\\'re back in blade runner territory with this one , conceptual artist robert longo\\'s vision of a william gibson-inspired future where information is the commodity to kill for . \\nfront and center is johnny ( keanu reeves ) , a \" cyber-courier \" who smuggles data via a \" wet-wired \" implant . \\nhe\\'s ready to quit the biz and get a portion of his long-term memory restored , but , first , he has to finish one last , dangerous job . . \\nthe pressing problem in johnny mnemonic is that keanu reeves seems to have forgotten how to play an action hero since his stint on speed . \\nhe\\'s walking wood in a forest of stiffs that includes henry rollins , ice-t , and dina meyer . \\n ( dolph lundgren\\'s street preacher is in an acting category all its own . \\n : - ) without a believable performance between them , all we can do is sit back and watch the atmosphere , which is pretty good in places . \\nthe vr sequences are way cool , but the physical fx--such as miniatures and mattes--leave a lot to be desired . \\nwatch out for those bad blue-screens ! \\nwe wouldn\\'t mind a minute of johnny mnemonic if the action played better . \\ntoo bad the debut director isn\\'t very strong in this de- partment . \\nhis big finale is a sloppy , silly mess that runs twenty minutes too long , which is way past the time that most of our \" wet- wired \" processors have already shut down . \\nbottom line : yatf ( yet another tortured future ) . \\nskip it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the heartbreak kid ( reviewed on aug . 26th/1998 ) \\nstarring charles grodin , cybill sheppard , eddie albert \\nin \" the heartbreak kid \" , charles grodin plays one of the most unbelievably obnoxious characters i\\'ve seen on screen in a long time . \\nhe\\'s a guy who spends virtually the entire running time of the movie bullshitting his way from one situation to another . \\ni doubt he ever expressed any genuine feeling at all during the film . \\nas the film opens , he has just gotten married , and is on the way to miami beach for his honeymoon . \\nhalfway there , he begins to resent his bride . \\nby the time he arrives at his hotel and has met the cybill sheppard character , he is ready to divorce his wife . \\nas played by grodin , this character is the type of person that nothing will ever be good enough for him . \\nthe phrase \" the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence \" was practically written with him in mind . \\nhowever , if he finds something he really wants , he will pursue it for as long as it takes . \\nthe only problem is , once he has it , he immediately loses interest . \\nthe end of \" the heartbreak kid \" is both hilarious and sad for that very reason . \\ncharles grodin is at his smarmy best here , and sheppard is quite appealing as the object of grodin\\'s desire . \\nhowever , the real scene stealer is jeannie berlin , daughter of director elaine may , as grodin\\'s whiny bride . \\nshe owns every scene that she\\'s in , and makes you almost want to root for what the grodin character is trying to do . \\n \" the heartbreak kid \" was written by neil simon and it shows . \\nsimon loves to deconstruct and analyze human relationships , and he\\'s at the top of his game here . \\nas maddeningly obnoxious as the grodin character is , he\\'s the type of guy that everyone knows . \\nthe character of george costanza on \" seinfeld \" seems to have been modelled after him . \\nthe only problem with the film is that it\\'s not that funny , and it\\'s billed as a comedy . \\nas much as i could see the realism in the characters , it would have been nice to have a chuckle here and there . \\n \" the heartbreak kid \" is not a date movie . \\nit has an extremely negative view of relationships , so seeing it with a girlfriend/boyfriend , could be hazardus to your health . \\n',\n",
+       " b'my first exposure to the nightmare on elm street series of films was not this one , but in fact the third installment ( it was the first to gain a national theatrical release ) . \\ni didn\\'t see the first film until much later . \\nso looking back , the original didn\\'t hold a lot of great memories for me , since i didn\\'t think too much of it when i initially saw it . \\nwatching it now for a second time confirmed that it\\'s an overrated horror film that ultimately makes no sense whatsoever . \\nyou all know the story by now : child murderer freddy krueger ( robert englund ) returns from the grave by haunting the dreams of the children of those who burned him alive years before . \\nthis first installment does an adequate job with it\\'s low budget , but there\\'s some absurd dialogue and conceptual problems with the story . \\nplus the movie\\'s ending ( understandably the result of the studio wanting the end of the film to have a \" hook \" for a sequel ) renders the rest of the film pointless . \\nand does anyone understand what happens to nancy\\'s mother at the end of this film ? \\ndon\\'t get me wrong though . . . \\nit\\'s not as if a new generation of horror films have spurned me away from the classics . \\nmost horror movies released today are just as inane as this film is . \\nhorror is a difficult genre to pull off credibly , and a nightmare on elm street just doesn\\'t cut it . \\na nightmare on elm street is available on dvd from new line home video . \\nit is available both as a single disc and as part of the nightmare on elm street collection box set . \\nthe film is presented in both pan and scan and it\\'s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 78 : 1 ( although on the disc that comes in the box set , only a widescreen transfer is provided ) . \\nthe film has been digitally remastered and includes two options for audio : a mono mix and a new dolby digital 5 . 1 mix . \\nalso included on the dvd is a full-length audio commentary track with writer/director wes craven , stars john saxon and heather langenkamp , and the film\\'s director of photography . \\nother extras include the \" jump to a nightmare \" feature ( i\\'m sure you can figure that one out ) , the usual cast and crew bios ( which are from the film\\'s original press release kit , and notably leave out robert englund and johnny depp ! ) , and the film\\'s original theatrical trailer . \\nsome dvd-rom features are also included , but since i don\\'t have dvd-rom capabilities i can\\'t really get into that . \\nthe commentary track is entertaining and informative , but nothing spectacular . \\nthe first thing of note is that it\\'s the same commentary track that was on the special edition laserdisc from a few years ago . \\ni\\'m not saying that\\'s a negative thing , just pointing it out . \\neveryone seems enthusiastic about being there , with the possible exception of john saxon , who just doesn\\'t say much at all . \\nmost of the time you\\'ll forget he\\'s even there . \\neveryone else talks really quietly though for some reason , as if because they\\'re commenting on a scary movie that they need to stay as quiet as possible . \\nthe bonus disc with the boxed set called the nightmare series encyclopedia features about 45 minutes worth of interviews relating to the first film of the series . \\nalso included is the original theatrical trailer and two alternate endings to the film . . . \\nhowever you can only access one easily . \\nthe other is hidden in what\\'s called \" the labyrinth \" , which might possibly be the most annoying feature of a dvd ever created . \\nbasically , it\\'s an interactive game of sorts where you wander through different nightmare locations looking at objects which give you access to extra little snippets of footage , interviews , etc . somewhere in the labyrinth is the second alternate ending to the film . \\nfinding it though is both a chore and a bore . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'in roger michell\\'s romantic comedy notting hill , william thacker ( hugh grant ) leads a rather dreary life maintaining his flagging travel bookshop in the quaint section of london which lends it\\'s name to the film\\'s title . \\none day , american movie superstar anna scott ( julia roberts ) walks in to purchase a book on turkey . \\nquickly enamored of each other , the two embark upon an on-again , off-again love affair replete with romance , humor , and the occasional lump in the throat . \\nthe film opens with a non-verbal cue to anna\\'s stardom as the title credits appear over a montage of slow motion sequences featuring the actress\\'s appearances in films and at premieres - coming out of limousines , walking the red carpets and such . \\nwithout words , this sequence gives us a background to her character . \\nfollowing , however , is a set-up narration by william indicating what he does and where he lives . \\ni don\\'t know why the filmmakers chose to go with a narration which tells us nothing we couldn\\'t have figured out by watching the first ten minutes of film , and which never resurfaces after the movie\\'s beginning , but there it is . \\nif there were ever a clear case for \" less is more , \" this would be it . \\nthe film is told nearly first person from william\\'s point of view , as he is in every scene . \\nby nature of this arrangement , we get a very definite sense of what he is all about , and his nice guy personality wins us over easily . \\nin fact , much of notting hill\\'s strength lies in the great dialog written for this character by richard curtis . \\na scene where william is still in shock over the fact that he\\'s even talking to a silver screen goddess is made golden by the way bumbles through his attempt to offer her some honey-soaked apricots from his refrigerator . \\nor take an instance where anna kisses william and asks him never to tell anyone for fear of the incident hurting her image . \\nwilliam assures her he wouldn\\'t say a word , then adds , \" well , i\\'ll probably tell myself now and then , but i\\'d never believe it . \" \\ngreat stuff . \\nthe downside to spending so much time with william is that we don\\'t get to see enough of anna to make their relationship whole and plausible . \\nwe\\'re constantly exposed to william\\'s thoughts , feelings , actions and desires , but don\\'t actually get the sense of how much anna really feels for him . \\nthere are a couple of instances where she declares her obvious interest , but they nearly come out of nowhere due to the fact that we\\'re not sure what she\\'s been thinking all the times in between . \\nthis , combined with the sheer iniquity of screen time between the two , makes this hugh grant\\'s film hands down . \\nhe gets the great scenes ( look for one in which he has to portray an interviewer from horse and hound magazine in order to speak with anna ) , the great lines , and gives an overall wonderful performance . \\njulia roberts fans will probably be disappointed by the actress\\'s top billing and subsequent lack of involvement in the film ( ala sandra bullock in a time to kill ) along with her detached performance which is only worsened by her character\\'s unpredictable behavior . \\nanna doesn\\'t get a lot of our compassion . \\nthis romantic comedy leans a little more toward the comedy than the romance , much of it supplied by grant himself , but with considerable help from the supporting cast . \\nmost notable is rhys ifans as spike , william\\'s eccentric roommate , who is in the film for no other purpose than to make us laugh . \\nhugh bonneville , emma chambers , james dreyfus , and gina mckee bring up the guard as william\\'s friends and family , particularly shining in a scene where william brings anna to his sister\\'s birthday dinner , and we get to see how these common folks react to the presence of a movie star in their midst . \\nit\\'s a scene most of us will probably think would play out in our own living rooms were we faced with a similar situation . \\nroger michell\\'s use of visuals doesn\\'t sweep us off our feet , but does give us more than your typical movie of this type . \\nfor example , there are a couple of instances in this film where large amounts of time pass . \\nwhereas some films are content to simply put in a caption saying \" eight months later , \" michell presents us with more interesting cues , such as william\\'s walk though his neighborhood while the seasons change around him . \\nanother memorable shot occurs in a park where the camera is lifted from ground level to a couple of hundred feet in the air . \\nwe\\'re generally used to scenes where our point of view is lifted from the earth to treetop level or so , but in this case , the camera just keeps going up and up until we have a bird\\'s eye view of the ground below . \\nmusic is used rather glaringly as an enhancement to many of the film\\'s scenes , and some of this might have been better toned down , but in other areas it works to full effect . \\nit\\'s kind of a mixed bag , but still fares better than many of today\\'s lighthearted movies which are so influenced by the mtv fare that the film becomes one long music video . \\nat least this film has some pretty good music that for the most part remains relevant and appropriate . \\nnotting hill\\'s grant and roberts will not go down in history as one of the all-time greatest film pairings , but the chemistry is decent and the comedic aspects of the movie more than make up for it . \\nfor a couple of hours , you should expect to laugh more than cry , and that\\'s not so bad , now is it ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'a movie about divorce and custody in 1995 seems about as timely as a movie about mood rings . \\nfamily breakups have been an all too familiar part of the american landscape for nearly thirty years , and countless dramas have told stories of acrimonious court battles in hand-wringing detail . \\nstill , i can\\'t recall a comedy about the subject before bye bye love . \\nand after it , i still can\\'t . \\nbye bye love is rarely funny , more often a weak and melodramatic retread of common tv-movie fare . \\nonly a few moments which have nothing to do with the film\\'s main premise offer big laughs instead of cliched emotion . \\nbye bye love follows one weekend in the lives of three divorced fathers who get weekend custody of their children . \\ndave ( matthew modine ) , a father of two , is an inveterate womanizer having difficulty staying faithful to his latest girlfriend ; vic ( randy quaid ) is a foul-humored father of three about to go on a rare date ; donny ( paul reiser ) pines for his ex-wife and has trouble relating to his teenage daughter emma ( eliza dushku ) . \\nover the course of the weekend , the three men face various crises , including vic\\'s blind date from hell ( janeane garofolo ) and donny\\'s growing estrangement from emma . \\nthe three lead actors form a rather unlikely combo , and the quality of their performances is of widely varying quality . \\nrandy quaid is the best of the three , bitter without being irritating , gleefully spiteful without being frightening . \\nhis run-ins with is ex-wife ( lindsey crouse ) are a bit over-played , though , and his confrontation with a pompous radio psychologist ( rob reiner ) is gimmicky and implausible . \\nhe does get bye bye love\\'s best sub-plot , a hilarious dinner date with a gloriously demented janeane garofolo , and he does a great slow burn . \\npaul reiser really has only one character , his slightly befuddled , uptight nice guy \" mad about you \" persona , but he does it well . \\nas a personality , he is appealing , but as a character , he becomes pretty boring here . \\nmatthew modine , is , quite simply , terrible . \\nthis isn\\'t a performance good enough to be called mailed-in ; he even forgot to put a stamp on it . \\nmodine lacks any charm in an appallingly under-written role , looks bored most of the time , and gets stuck with a trite little speech about how it\\'s all his father\\'s fault he\\'s such a cad . \\ncarolco\\'s executives , whose entire future is resting on modine\\'s bankability for the upcoming cutthroat island , must be sweating buckets right now . \\nbye bye love basically comes off as a very confused movie , because it spends far too much of its time on the new relationships of its main characters instead of on the relationships between the fathers and their kids , making it just another \" dating in the 90s \" movie . \\nwhen the movie does deal with the children at all , it is to have one of them scream out an accusation and/or cry , perhaps to be resolved later by a sensitive talk and a hug , perhaps not . \\neven more confusing is a sub-plot featuring the late ed flanders as a widower who goes to work and a mcdonald\\'s and befriends a troubled youth . \\nit is a sad end to flanders\\' career , getting caught up in a truly annoying over-use of mcdonald\\'s as a location , a plot device and , apparently , a major advertiser . \\neven if bye bye love had decided to spend its time focusing exclusively on the parent-child relationships , it still would have been pretty difficult to pull off , because ultimately there is very little humor one can wring from family break-ups and their effects on children . \\nany way you slice it , it is a bad situation for kids , and the makers of bye bye love mostly go for the heartstrings when dealing with the single parenting issue . \\nit is left to the dads\\' romantic fumblings to probide what little humor there is , and it isn\\'t enough . \\nthere have been comparisons between bye bye love and parenthood , but parenthood was both genuinely funny and genuinely touching . \\nbye bye love is a genuine shame . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" practical magic , \" is a film that is so misguided in so many ways that it makes you wonder how such talented and high-profile actors would even get involved in an embarrassing clap-trap like this one . \\nthe film stars sandra bullock and nicole kidman as sally and gillian owens , two sisters whose family comes from a long line of witches , spanning back 200 years . \\nat the start , their parents die when they are still children , and they go to live with their two zany aunts ( stockard channing and dianne wiest ) . \\nswitch to the present day , gillian , who is the stronger , more rebellious sibling , leaves home , and meets up with a dark , abusive guy ( goran visjnic ) , while sally stays in their hometown , meets and falls in love with a sweet , caring man , has two children , and then is devastated when her husband is hit by a truck and killed ( come to think of it , she\\'s not too devastated since she gets over it in about two minutes ) . \\nwhen gillian calls sally to come get her after having another abusive spat with visjnic , they accidentally murder him , and in desperation , bury the body in the backyard of their aunts\\' house . \\nadd to this wildly convoluted story subplots involving the dead rising and an exorcism , not to mention a spattering of \" light-hearted whimsy , \" and you have a pretty good idea how messy \" practical magic \" is . \\nafter seeing the film , i reflected that there was not even one scene , or element , that i liked or enjoyed . \\nit is a comedy , to be sure , but all of the humor falls astoundingly flat , and the occasional dramatic moments are the least bit touching . \\nit is not charming or entertaining in any way . \\nand then to top it off , we\\'ve got this dark , but bird-brained story of an evil spirit taking over gillian\\'s body . \\nwhatever . \\nthe characters are handled terribly , and actually , most of the actors do not have the fortune of even getting to be what you could call a character . \\nthere is no reason why channing and wiest should have decided to be in this film , and in every scene involving them , they are always standing side-by-side . \\nno attempt is made to flesh them out into actual people . \\nthe same goes for aidan quinn , as a handsome police investigator , who has the misfortune of being the romantic lead opposite bullock , even though he comes into it at around the 70-minute mark , and once again , there is no attempt to develop their relationship , or his character , in any way . \\nin fact , every line of dialogue in the film is in service of moving the plot along , rather than getting to know the people saying the lines . \\ni should have know i was headed for trouble during the opening credits , when i found out the screenplay was written by the deeply hated akiva goldsman , who managed to destroy the \" batman \" series with \" batman forever \" and \" batman and robin . \" \\n \" practical magic \" is directed by griffin dunne , primarily an actor , who last year made the contrived , clumsy romance , \" addicted to love , \" with meg ryan and matthew broderick . \\ni disliked that movie quite a bit , but since \" practical magic \" is even worse , that can only give you a taste of what a talentless filmmaker he is . \\ni\\'d tell him to quit while he\\'s ahead , but in these last two years , he\\'s ultimately already buried himself . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : wealthy cuban landowner luis ( banderas ) gets more than he bargained for when he sends away for an american bride . \\nnot only does his new wife turn out to be the beautiful julia ( jolie ) , she also harbours a secret past of dubious merit . \\nsoon , julia has absconded with both luis\\' fortune and his heart , and as he pursues his wife through the cuban underworld , luis begins to realise that , for him , there is no turning back . \\nreview : given the absurdism of its would-be plot , it\\'s unlikely that \" original sin \" could have been turned into a reputable piece of filmmaking , regardless of writer , director or stars . \\nthis is , at its heart , b-movie junk : a lurid melodrama which appeals to neither the brain nor the heart but to the nether regions . \\nthat said , \" original sin \" could at least have become enjoyable junk had the filmmakers embraced its trashiness and indulged in it . \\ninstead , cristofer seems to have mistaken this for a serious production , and directs it as such . \\nthe result is a vapid , uninteresting morass of obvious crosses and double crosses , as likely to incite a yawn as a thrill . \\nconsider the initial sex scene between banderas and jolie : brightly-lit and mostly filmed from above , it looks like an excerpt from an amateur soft porn show . \\ncristofer doesn\\'t even manage to capture the allure of cuba ; instead of portraying his setting as a steamy , sensuous island paradise , it appears bland and lifeless . \\nat least banderas and jolie manage to inspire some interest ; there are hints at times that they want to have more fun with the script , but aren\\'t being given the chance . \\nthe same cannot be said of jane , whose billy is nebbish and transparent . \\nalso unwise is the jolie framing sequence , which practically gives away the film\\'s denouement . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : suprisingly more of a comedy than a straight action flick , which isn\\'t necessarily a bad thing . \\nnot exactly oscar caliber , but one helluva bullet-riddled good time . \\nextended review : you know , i remember when hitmen were evil , murderous scum . \\nalas , the times are a-changin\\' . \\nin a recent string of movies , hitmen are suddenly wise- cracking , fun-loving killers-with-hearts . \\nthis brings us to hong kong director kirk wong\\'s first american feature , the big hit . \\noddly enough , about the same time last year a similar film , grosse point blank , was released . \\nadvertised as a quirky comedy with hints of action , it turned out to have a suprising dosage of it . \\nthe big hit is quite the opposite . \\nit was hyped as \" the new film from producer john woo \" , so one would it expect lots of stylized killing and action . \\nhowever , there\\'s a sore lack of it , which is about the only thing wrong with the big hit . \\nthe film starts out with mel smiley and his cohorts doing a job on a white slaver . \\nmel , played by mark wahlberg in a dopey , milquetoast role , is a killing machine ; he flips , spins , even breakdances whilst popping caps . \\nsadly , he doesn\\'t get a chance to do much of it . \\nexcept for the beginning set piece and the last 20 twenty minutes or so , the film is in comedy mode . \\nthe action , at least what there is of it , is prime cut stuff . \\nwong , after numerous hong kong features , makes quite a nice u . s . debut . \\nhowever , his pacing is a bit off , with the action sequences only bookending the movie and not lasting long enough . \\nthey start off electrifying and fresh , but just kinda stop . \\nnormally , this would hamper a movie to the point of being unenjoyable . \\nluckily , we have ben ramsey\\'s screenplay , a bitingly funny piece of work . \\nthe only problem is there might be too much humor , one joke makes you laugh so hard you miss the next few . \\nsome of best gags include an oriental film maker down on his luck and one of mel\\'s hitmen pals that has just discovered onanism . \\nthe only problem is how some of the minor characters are handled , some being there only for a laugh , which sometimes works , sometimes doesn\\'t . \\noverall , the big hit may have it\\'s flaws , but it makes up for them in a stylishly directed , gut-wrenchingly funny joyride . \\ndefinately one of the better ways to spend two hours . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it is movies like these that make a jaded movie viewer thankful for the invention of the timex indiglo watch . \\nbased on the late 1960's television show by the same name , the mod squad tells the tale of three reformed criminals under the employ of the police to go undercover . \\nhowever , things go wrong as evidence gets stolen and they are immediately under suspicion . \\nof course , the ads make it seem like so much more . \\nquick cuts , cool music , claire dane's nice hair and cute outfits , car chases , stuff blowing up , and the like . \\nsounds like a cool movie , does it not ? \\nafter the first fifteen minutes , it quickly becomes apparent that it is not . \\nthe mod squad is certainly a slick looking production , complete with nice hair and costumes , but that simply isn't enough . \\nthe film is best described as a cross between an hour-long cop show and a music video , both stretched out into the span of an hour and a half . \\nand with it comes every single clich ? . \\nit doesn't really matter that the film is based on a television show , as most of the plot elements have been recycled from everything we've already seen . \\nthe characters and acting is nothing spectacular , sometimes even bordering on wooden . \\nclaire danes and omar epps deliver their lines as if they are bored , which really transfers onto the audience . \\nthe only one to escape relatively unscathed is giovanni ribisi , who plays the resident crazy man , ultimately being the only thing worth watching . \\nunfortunately , even he's not enough to save this convoluted mess , as all the characters don't do much apart from occupying screen time . \\nwith the young cast , cool clothes , nice hair , and hip soundtrack , it appears that the film is geared towards the teenage mindset . \\ndespite an american 'r' rating ( which the content does not justify ) , the film is way too juvenile for the older mindset . \\ninformation on the characters is literally spoon-fed to the audience ( would it be that hard to show us instead of telling us ? ) , dialogue is poorly written , and the plot is extremely predictable . \\nthe way the film progresses , you likely won't even care if the heroes are in any jeopardy , because you'll know they aren't . \\nbasing the show on a 1960's television show that nobody remembers is of questionable wisdom , especially when one considers the target audience and the fact that the number of memorable films based on television shows can be counted on one hand ( even one that's missing a finger or two ) . \\nthe number of times that i checked my watch ( six ) is a clear indication that this film is not one of them . \\nit is clear that the film is nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the teenage spending dollar , judging from the rash of really awful teen-flicks that we've been seeing as of late . \\navoid this film at all costs . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'with the opening scene of a young couple in a van pulling up , loading their guns , kissing each other and uttering what sounds like \" rock and roll ! \" \\n ( actually , it\\'s \" lock and load \" ) , you can\\'t help thinking tarantino . \\nand of course with its storyline of a crazy girl and boy in love who turn to violent bank robbery , the film unapologetically takes its place alongside all those other films from bonnie & clyde to natural born killers . \\nbut if most of those movies have their roots in pulp fiction , exploring a modern myth of the doomed rebels on the run , normal life takes a much more psychologically realistic look at the phenomenon . \\n \" inspired by true events \" -- we\\'ve heard that one before , and yet in no other tale of violent couples has it seemed so solidly demonstrated . . . \\nor so strangely poignant . \\nfor this is a story of real people whose lives take on a steadily unreal quality , who in their search for a normal life find themselves increasingly unhinged . \\nbeginning with their final arrest , the film goes back to trace the relationship between chris ( luke perry ) , a policeman , and pam ( ashley judd ) , a factory worker . \\nthey fall in love and marry , but pam\\'s increasingly erratic behaviour ( going on spending sprees , slashing herself with a knife after an argument ) begin to trouble the solid and stable chris . \\nwhen chris gets sacked , they find themselves heavily in debt and near breaking up . \\nthen , chris begins to rob banks . . . \\nluke perry accomplishes the not-inconsiderable feat of making us nearly forget that he was ever in beverly hills 90210 or buffy the vampire slayer . \\nmoustached , with a tough paternal look and yet a voice and eyes that suggest sadness verging on exasperation , he is perfectly cast as the long-suffering husband . \\n ( it\\'s another of john mcnaughton\\'s coups of casting-against-type , after transforming robert de niro into nerd and bill murray into gangster in mad dog and glory ) . \\nbut it is the character of pam who commands centrestage , and ashley judd rises to the challenge with great alternating currents of ferocity and tenderness , making pam into a fascinating yet often infuriating person . \\nif the performance falls short of greatness , however , it is perhaps because the role of the mad woman has been done so often before it is virtually a staple of cinema , whether it\\'s in betty blue , tom & viv or georgia . \\nas in those movies , there\\'s the danger that the performance seems mannered , a collection of screwy tics and tantrums designed for the oscar presentation piece . \\njudd doesn\\'t entirely avoid this pitfall , but pam\\'s \\'craziness\\' is best and most movingly presented in counterpoint to the more \\'normal\\' chris . \\nwhen pam reacts to her father-in-law\\'s death by showing up at the funeral in rollerblades and blaring headphones , chris\\' face is the picture of pained restraint . \\nof course , it\\'s the question of what is \\'normal\\' that is asked in normal life . \\nmcnaughton constantly offers up the ironies of the aspirations for the average domestic life and its kinship with insanity . \\nit is the rational chris that loves guns ( \" shooting is about precision , control \" ) and the \\'crazy\\' pam that loves astronomy and yearns for a dog ( who is then called chaos -- \" chaos and you and me . . . \\nwe\\'re a real family \" , she notes wryly ) . \\nit is chris\\' methodical mind and his knowledge of police procedure that allows him to be such a successful bank robber ( his well-planned disguise as a bearded , roaring man of terror is another piece of method in madness ) . \\nin the carpark where he sets out for his first robbery , a huge sign on a shopping mall stands out in the background : \" buy-more \" -- the perfectly respectable consumption-crazy american dream that has driven pam to her extravagant purchases , and both of them into desperate situations . \\nit\\'s not a perfect film . \\nsome of the dialogue is a touch too banal ( perhaps intentionally ? ) . \\nthe use of the punk hardcore soundtrack in pam\\'s crazed scenes comes rather too close to making emotional disturbance seem glamourous and sexy an image which only detracts from the rest of the film . \\nindeed , as in mcnaughton\\'s seminal film henry : portrait of a serial killer , it is the avoidance of glamour or sensationalism , the denial of some of the standard thrills of the outlaw film genre , that gives this determinedly unflashy , moving film its great strengths . \\nmcnaughton has filmed this story with a quiet , coolly \\'realistic\\' method that works far better than any nbk theatrics at unsettling the viewer . \\nthe suburbs , with their miles of white-fenced houses and identikit malls , take on a sense of claustrophobic blankness . \\nin its very different way , this makes for as haunting a backdrop as the wide open spaces in terence malick\\'s badlands . \\nwhile pam shares the yearnings of malick\\'s heroes to escape from ordinary life , chris takes up crime precisely so that they can lead a \\'normal life\\' - their little house on the suburbs is financed by his violent robberies . \\nbut these are dreams defined by , constrained by , and even doomed by , the limitations of the \\'normal\\' , conventional world . \\npam\\'s final scene takes place at the edge of the suburbs , where wild bushes grow -- symbolically the frontier , the outer limits of her society , but also quite literally the end of the road , where there is nowhere left to go but to the final tragic denouement . \\nthe flying inkpot\\'s rating system : * wait for the video . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the characters in \" palmetto \" collectively sweat enough to fill lake erie , and it\\'s just the right way to capture the film\\'s ripe atmosphere of sensuality , tension and even farce . \\nthis humid florida-set thriller nurtures a modestly absurd edginess that often winks at itself , which is very much a good thing since the actors and director are in on the joke . \\nas far as set-up is concerned , the movie is nothing we haven\\'t seen before , but be patient -- \" palmetto \" spins some pretty wicked story twists that we really don\\'t see coming . \\nit\\'s not a classic by any means , but it sure is quite an engaging surprise . \\nharry barber ( woody harrelson ) is fresh out of prison , where he\\'s served a couple of years for a crime he didn\\'t commit . \\neven though he harbors animosity towards the obtuse local officials , harry\\'s first order of business is to return to his home town of palmetto to be with his sculptor girlfriend nina ( gina gershon ) . \\nwhile searching for work , he catches the eye of rhea malroux ( elisabeth shue ) , the mysterious sexbomb wife of a palmetto millionaire . \\nrhea proposes a scheme that\\'ll get harry $50 , 000 easy -- to play a small part in the staged kidnaping of her jailbait stepdaughter odette ( chloe sevigny ) . \\n \" you do like risks , don\\'t you , mr . barber ? \" \\nrhea alluringly coos . \\nboys , form a line behind me . \\npart of \" palmetto \" \\'s success can be attributed to the performance of elisabeth shue , who demonstrates here that her oscar-nominated turn in \" leaving las vegas \" might merely be foreshadowing great things to come . \\nshue\\'s a seductive , campy delight , and pulls off a barbara stanwyck-gloria swanson combo with admirable relish . \\nthe other actors form a solid ensemble around her , including sevigny ( \" kids \" ) , tantalizingly slutty as a teen tease , as well as the ever-likeable gershon , cast a far cry from her extreme roles in \" bound \" and \" showgirls . \" \\nharrelson is still doing fine follow-up work to \" the people vs . larry flynt . \" \\n \" palmetto \" does have its share of grievances . \\nharrelson\\'s narration is needless , i suppose , and gershon\\'s nina cries to be meatier than she ultimately is . \\none of the plot\\'s unexpected angles -- that harry is asked by the police to become the press liaison for the very crime in which he\\'s involved -- could have been played a little better . \\nthere are moments when you question the tone , but it\\'s never so unstable that it deserves the reproach it\\'s been receiving from most other critics . \\nif \" palmetto \" didn\\'t want to be laughed at , would it really have tacked on a climax that plays like a live-action \" who framed roger rabbit \" ? \\nalthough a few elements can be questioned , the movie works well on its own terms . \\nthanks to a juicy cast -- especially shue -- and the nifty material approach from director volker schlondorff ( you remember him from last summer\\'s suddenly re-popular \" the tin drum , \" right ? ) , \\neverything runs smoothly . \\nand for fans of revelation-heavy endings , this film\\'s got a few shocks in store that i won\\'t even dream of revealing . \\n \" palmetto \" is a generous amount of fun to watch , and that\\'s all you need to know . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"written by mark rosenthal and lawrence konner \\nstarring charlize theron , bill paxton , david paymer \\nas reviewed by james brundage \\ni'm beginning to get fed up . \\nover my four years as a critic , the thing which has kept me going is the moderate balance of films . \\nthe good balances the bad . \\ni try to see both in equal proportions . \\nbut disney's mighty joe young remake marks the fourth week in which i haven't seen a truly terrible movie . \\nit's a backwards machismo , i suppose , the urge to see the things which you so loathe ; but i need to see a bad film every once in a while . \\nand , you know what , mighty joe young doesn't qualify . \\nfar from being bad , mighty joe young is actually a family fun movie . \\nit's enjoyable , appropriate , cute , cuddly , and all of those other things that i've been seeing in every movie since a bug's life . \\nmighty joe young tracks a 2 , 000 pound gorilla in the wilds of africa that is taken to a reserve in . . . \\ncalifornia ? \\n . . . \\nfor safe-keeping . \\nokay . \\na little unrealistic , but who ever said a kid's movie had to have the slightest hint of realism . \\nthe first half of the movie is a gorillas in the mist-esque hatred of poachers woman-of-the-wild motif . \\nthe second half is a straight up parody of king kong , awestruck onlookers and all . \\nmark one down . \\ni'm feeling relaxed . \\nit is , as a point of fact , an extremely un-creative movie . \\nbut , as a vetern , i can say quite honestly that creativity doesn't count for as much as it should . \\nso that saves mighty joe from my wrath , although my colleagues and cohorts and surely bashing this film at this very moment . \\nthis is not the film to take a girl on a date to . \\nit's not the film for you . \\nit's the film for you and your family . \\nwhen you're right alongside your kid , all of the normal rights and wrongs slip away . \\nthe same thing happens when you watch a horror movie or an action flick . \\nit becomes fun . \\nall you have to do to enjoy mighty joe young is shut up and watch . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'even though i have the utmost respect for richard dreyfuss as an actor , his presence in a motion picture does not guarantee any particular level of quality . \\nlike everyone else , dreyfuss has bills to pay , so he occasionally accepts big paychecks for prominent roles in bad movies . \\nconsequently , while his career highlights include jaws , close encounters of the third kind , stakeout , and tin men , his resume is dotted with titles like moon over parador , let it ride , and now krippendorf\\'s tribe . \\nlet me start out by saying that krippendorf\\'s tribe is occasionally funny ( although never riotously so ) , but that\\'s about its only asset . \\nthe best word to describe this film is \" asinine . \" \\nthe target audience would appear to be recent nursery school graduates if not for the numerous sexual innuendoes , which are aimed at someone going through puberty . \\nkrippendorf\\'s tribe tries to be a zany , off-the-wall comedy , but the film makers have forgotten three important rules . \\nthe first is that some minimal level of plot credibility has to exist . \\nthe second is that viewers should be able to identify with , or at least care about , a character or two . \\nfinally , and most importantly , more than 5% of the jokes have to work . \\nonce upon a time , james krippendorf ( dreyfuss ) was a respected professor of anthropology at little bounderby college . \\nhe and his wife obtained a grant to seek out a \" lost tribe \" somewhere in the wilds of new guinea , a goal which they never accomplished . \\nshortly after their return from the failed trip , krippendorf\\'s wife died and he was left with the herculean task of raising three children -- shelly ( natasha lyonne ) , mickey ( gregory smith ) , and edmund ( carl michael linder ) -- on his own . \\nnow , over a year later , the college wants to see the results of the money they gave krippendorf ( which he has spent not on research , but on things for his family ) , so they send a new member of their faculty , professor veronica micelli ( jenna elfman ) , to inform him that he has been scheduled to give a lecture on his findings . \\nwhen he arrives at the college for the momentous event , rather than telling the truth and risking being sent to jail for misappropriating school funds , he fabricates a tale about a mythical lost tribe , the \" shelmikedmu \" . \\nto provide video footage , he films his children dressed in native garb . \\nsoon , much to krippendorf\\'s surprise , the shelmikedmu are a national phenomenon . \\nbut one disaffected professor ( lily tomlin ) is determined to prove that the tribe is a fraud . \\nthe only way krippendorf\\'s tribe works is if you assume that all of the characters ( not to mention the viewers ) are dumber than dirt . \\nunfortunately , it\\'s impossible to like or sympathize with a bunch of putzes like this . \\ndirector todd holland completely fails to develop any character into something more substantial than a device to implement various dubious gags . \\nmeanwhile , attempts at satirizing the shallowness of american culture ( i . e . , how easily the public can be fooled into jumping on the bandwagon of the latest trend ) come across as feeble and derivative . \\nthe acting in underwhelming . \\ndreyfuss has definitely not given his \" all \" to the role of james krippendorf . \\nalongside him , jenna elfman , the spunky co-star of tv\\'s dharma and greg , radiates perkiness and little else . \\nthis quality , while fine for a 22-minute television program , quickly becomes irritating in the arena of a feature-length movie . \\nno one in the supporting cast -- lily tomlin , david ogden stiers , natasha lyonne ( woody allen\\'s daughter in everyone says i love you ) -- excels . \\ni know that a movie\\'s in trouble when it\\'s half the length of titanic , but seems much longer . \\nmost of what comes on screen is generic sit-com level material -- the kind of slop that people will absorb while dozing off in their favorite easy chair in front of the television set . \\nif there\\'s any upside , it\\'s that i don\\'t see much box-office support developing for this lame , ill-marketed miscue . \\nkrippendorf\\'s tribe will quickly become extinct . \\n',\n",
+       " b'this is one of the worst big-screen film experiences i\\'ve had for a while . \\nwith this film , plus `showgirls\\' and `basic instinct\\' , paul verhoeven has stamped himself as currently one of the worst blockbuster directors . \\nhis celebrated film `total recall\\' was ? i admit ? successfully scripted , but it nonetheless contained directorial flaws . \\nobviously nobody wanted to invest too much money in a production from someone like verhoeven , the result being that much of the special effects in `starship\\' seemed fake . \\nbut not everything bad in the film was the director\\'s fault , even though he was one of the guys who employed the actors . \\nit is surprising that none of the actors received nominations for the razzie awards ( i expected five for the acting categories ) . \\ncasserole vanity devoid , dense ribald , dingy miasma , and jackass bushy are in serious need of acting school . \\nno , they have to pass primary school drama classes first . \\nwhile `total\\' was written well , `starship\\' is purely pathetic . \\nall right , it is supposed to be a fast-paced entertainment film , and you\\'re supposed to turn off your intellect ( completely ) and enjoy the action sequences and special effects ( that is , guts and gore ) . \\nas a matter of fact , i found the activity incredibly boring , a complete waste of more than two hours . \\nhalf of the film was a bad episode of `beverly hills 90210\\' ( dina meyer was in \" beverly hills \" ) , while another quarter was simply nothing ( things like presenting irrelevant information in an irritating way on the web ) , and the rest was a display of humans fighting computer-generated images . \\nthe battles were all the same ? jumping around , shoot or get stabbed ? and on barren planets that only had giant insects . \\nthere weren\\'t even any stunts , which i consider slightly more exciting than pictures running around . \\ni wonder what the insects eat , if there\\'s nothing but them on the planets ? \\nthere is so much laughable treatment in this film , and it is frankly not amusing when jokes are intended . \\nthis type of story is obviously aimed at 10-year-olds , who can\\'t see it anyway because of the violence and some sexuality . \\nbut then , there are always 16-year-olds who have that frame of mind . \\nthe pointless plot begins when johnny\\'s ( vanity devoid ) girlfriend carmen ( richards ) decides that she wants to join the troopers to fight the insects who are throwing asteroids at earth . \\njohnny then signs up as a trooper also , after an overacted argument with his parents . \\nbut there is another girl , dizzy ( meyer ) , who likes johnny and then there is another boy who likes carmen , which results in a love quadrangle , which isn\\'t better , because it means augmented worse-than-stereotyped soap opera , increased bitchiness , and more bad beverly hills + melrose . \\nand the result of this love quadrangle at the end is also rather stupid . \\nanyway , getting back to the thing you might call plot , johnny is too stupid to be a pilot and has to join the infantry , while his girl and the other dude are in the same league . \\ndizzy comes chasing johnny and joins the infantry also . \\nthey then start training , which contains what roger ebert calls ips ( idiot plot syndrome , moments when only an idiot would have made such obvious mistakes ) , then real combat . \\nand guess what ? \\nthat\\'s about as complex as it gets . \\noh , and one of their friends , carl ( neil patrick harris a . k . a . doogie howser m . d . ) , becomes involved in war intelligence , and his abilities at the end are really corny and make me want to spray insecticide on someone for it . \\nhe\\'s my fifth nom for a razzie . \\nthe troopers fight , fall in love , die , kill , and try to act . \\nnaturally , they win , or sort of half-win . \\nof course , in between ( and at the end ) there are soldiers chatting and smiling while carrying grievous wounds caused by bug legs . \\nthe bugs also suffer from ips : why would you release hold of your captive before killing it ? \\nisn\\'t it also amazing that earthlings haven\\'t invented better hand-held weapons by then ? \\nthe only question that remains is why i gave it one star instead of zero . \\nwell , maybe a-quarter ( of a star ) for the originality of the co-sex shower scene and the ( very ) brief moments of suspense , another quarter for copying `zulu\\' and letting the good guys ( the bugs ) win , and half a star for the sucking-out of the brain of one of those people who call themselves actors ( but there should have been more , the troopers deserved to die ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"there are movies that pose a question in its first five minutes and spend the rest of the time trying to answer it . \\nthen there are movies that spend the whole time posing questions and try to answer it all in the last five minutes . \\nwriter-director john herzfeld's two days in the valley falls into the latter category . \\nweaving together a grabbag of seemingly unrelated characters , herzfeld's tries very hard to keep the audience guessing with a altmanesque series of parallel stories . \\nhitmen lee ( james spader ) and his partner dosmo ( danny aiello ) pop a guy in bed while leaving his drugged wife becky fox ( teri hatcher ) lying next to him showing the audience where on her behind she got nicely pricked . \\nan understandeably shocked becky runs out of the house the next morning before hailing down a couple of vice cops , ( jeff daniels ) and wes ( eric stoltz ) . \\na murder is not vice territory , flirting with asian prostitues is , but wes would rather play inquisitive detective . \\nmeanwhile , washed-up director , teddy ( paul mazursky ) is about to end his life . \\nbut before he can do that , he must find a good home for his dog . \\nenter nurse audrey ( marsha mason ) , who takes the dog and teddy for a ride . \\nstuffy art dealer , allan hopper ( greg cruttwell ) has kidney stones . \\nwhile struggling about his fancy house , he switches between moaning in self-pity and dropping condescending hints about his loyal secretary's ( glenne headly ) plain appearance . \\ndon't be surprised if you find yourself asking more than once just what the hell is going on . \\nyou might like that feeling of cluelessness . \\nherzfeld does answer all the questions in the course of time and pieces it all rather neatly in the last five minutes . \\nthe jigsaw puzzle assembled isn't stunning by any means though . \\nthe characters lack the stature or moral complexity of altman's real-life heroes in short cuts , even though they are interesting and funny . \\nfunny , that is if you aren't comparing them to the likes of tarantino's pulp chcaracters . \\nthe tie-up is tidy but nowhere near the squeaky clean resolution of ( director's name ? \\nguy who also did last seduction ) red rock west . \\ntwo days isn't a bad movie but there isn't much else to it than the screenplay novelty of the linkage of seemingly unrelated characters . \\nit'll keep you guessing alright but you won't remember the answers five minutes after the credits . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'so much for sweet returns . \\nafter smart horror films were starting to be made again after the exploitative 80\\'s slasher movies , starting with 1996\\'s \" scream , \" and followed by \" scream 2 , \" \" urban legend , \" and the original , \" i know what you did last summer , \" a film like , \" i still know what you did last summer , \" was bound to be made sooner or late . \\nit is a perfect example of the exact reason why horror films temporarily burned out , and that is because they reached for the lowest-common-denominator in filmmaking , favoring non-stop deaths and gore for suspense , and trading in fleshed out , likable characters for one-dimensional nitwits . \\nit has been exactly one year since julie james ( jennifer love hewitt ) suffered through the ordeal of being terrorized by ben willis , a psychopathic fisherman whom her friends and she accidentally hit in the middle of the road , and then , thinking he was dead , dumped him into the ocean . \\nsince then , julie has relocated to boston university , and although often paranoid and haunted by bad dreams , she has been able to put her life back together . \\nwhen julie\\'s friend , karla ( brandy ) , is called up by a radio station and answers correctly what the capital of brazil is , she wins a vacation to the bahamas for four people , which also includes karla\\'s horny boyfriend , tyrell ( mekhi phifer ) , and will ( matthew settle ) , who karla sets julie up with after her own boyfriend , ray ( freddie prinze jr . , also returning from the original ) , doesn\\'t show up . \\nwhen they reach the secluded island , they discover it is the last day of the open season , and will be stranded there for the 4th of july weekend with a few employees to fend off a violent storm headed for them . \\nof course , julie , her friends , and the workers aren\\'t the only ones there , as the murderous ben willis , dressed in fisherman garb , returns to seek revenge on julie once and for all . \\nit is a sad state of affairs when a movie like , \" i still know what you did last summer , \" is made . \\ni am a very big fan of horror movies , and so it is especially disheartening to find out that this sequel to \" ikwydls , \" which i am a fan of , is almost an exact replica of a \" friday the 13th \" movie . \\nwhile the original focused more on the story and characters , as well as genuinely suspenseful moments , thanks to the screenplay by kevin williamson ( who didn\\'t return to write the sequel , and it shows ) , \" i still know . . . \" \\nhas no story to speak of , and is so vacuous of ideas , that the filmmakers , were forced to have a murder occur every five minutes just to keep the audience interested . \\nalso gone are any signs of character development , and since every single character died before i got to know them , all i was left with was to stare at the screen , indifferent to what was going on . \\nwhile i cared about the fates of the characters in the original , it made no difference to me in this sequel who lived and died . \\nthey were all paper-thin and pointless , except to become victims to the lethal hook of the fisherman . \\nanother element that made the original so memorable were some superbly crafted set-pieces , like the store sequence with sarah michelle gellar , but there are none to speak of in this sequel ( although they do come close at one moment with brandy ) . \\nsince so many people were killed every couple minutes , the suspense and scares evaporated faster than salt in water . \\nalso of note is the mystery of the second killer , and accomplice to ben , but it is obvious from the first frame who it is , and so i couldn\\'t even have fun at that , like i did in the \" scream \" movies and , \" urban legend . \" \\nit figures that just as slasher films were starting to get some recognition again , a film would come along and ruin it for everyone else . \\nmaybe the people who made , \" i still know what you did last summer , \" should have realized that in order to make a good movie , you must have a screenplay---or at least one that isn\\'t such a black hole for thoughts and ideas . \\nthe ending of the film inevitably leaves the door wide open for a third part , but judging from this amazingly lackluster first sequel , everyone involved should have quit while they were still ahead . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"tim robbins and martin lawernce team up in this road movie comedy . \\nrobbins plays an exec who discovers his wife having sex with his boss . \\nhe goes into depression , and drives around his neighbourhood until he arrives inside the usual 'ghetto' side of every american city . \\nthere , lawernce attempts to steal his car , but to no avail , and is dragged along with robbin's on a trip to arizona . \\nthere , they hold up a store , are mistaken for two other robbers ( just like in my cousin vinny ) and are chased by the police , and the other robbers . \\nof course , there's gags along the way , usually from lawernce . \\nalthough the film is midly funny , and quite watchable , there's something so horribly familiar about it all . \\nthis film should really be called beverly hills midnight run there's lawernce with his wisecracking and heavy profanity , just like eddie murphy in beverly hills cop , and pratically the same idea as midnight run . \\nit's full of all the road movie cliches , and even has a 'comedy' car chase , which just seemed so eighties . \\neven the credit sequence seemed to be out of a steve martin , or chevy chase , eighties comedy . \\nthere also isn't much chemistry between robbins and lawernce . \\nin planes , trains and automobiles , there was real chemistry between steve martin and john candy . \\nin nothing to lose , there is hardly chemistry at all . \\ntowards the end the chemistry seems to work , but for the bulk of the film , there is hardly any , \\nthe director directs the film in a workman like fashion , but gets the jokes across . \\nand although there is no chemistry between the two leads , they give good performances on their own . \\nlawerence gives a good eddie murphy performance , and robbin's is alright aswell . \\nhowever , robbin's performance is nowhere near as good as the characters he played in jacob's ladder , and the player . \\nin fact , if you want to see robbin's do comedy much better than in nothing to lose , i suggest you rent out the hudsucker proxy , where he is much funnier . \\nnothing to lose does have some funny moments in it , however . \\nthe humour isn't particulary sophisticated , but if you enojyed dumb & dumber , you might enjoy this . \\nthe characters in arizona are funny , and there's also a good scene where robbin's asks a shopkeeper which 'threatening approach' was better , lawerences ( which consisted of lawerence threatening to shoot the shopkeeper's ass , and swearing a lot ) , or himselfs , ( which was speaking in a deep , scary voice ) but the gags are predictable , the lack of chemistry infurating , and the ending too far-fetched and 'perfect' \\nnothing to lose then , is robbin's first 'bad' movie ( and hopefully his last ) , and suggests that odereick should twice before making another film . \\nhe nearly ruined carrey's career with ace ventura : when nature calls , let's hope he hasn't ruined robbin's ( or even lawerence's ) with nothing to lose . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i cried during _babe_ . \\ni admit it . \\nthe special effects , the story , the great dialogue were woven together so delicately and successfully that my mind lost track that this was a \" children\\'s film \" --so much so that , yes , i got a little overly sentimental . \\nsuch , my friend , is the power of cinema . \\nwhen word came out that they were using this newly developed f/x for a doctor dolittle update , in which eddie murphy plays the title character , and many great comic actors supply the voices , my anticipation rose to great expectations . \\nthey can\\'t possibly drop the ball on this one . \\ncan\\'t miss . \\ncan\\'t possibly miss . \\nthey missed . \\nwhat went wrong ? \\nafter much thought , i supply three general rules . \\n ( 1 ) don\\'t let a television actress-turned-comedy movie director near an urbanite script ( i . e . , penny marshall\\'s dreadful \" preacher\\'s wife \" ) . \\nbetty thomas worked wonders with \" the brady bunch movie \" , but the same sitcom-airiness doesn\\'t quite work here . \\nit\\'s as if she lifted a generic sitcom , and iced it with light doses of modern r&b . \\ntake away the black cast , take away the atrocious soundtrack , and you have the residue of some mid-80\\'s kirk cameron show . \\n ( 2 ) the greater the cast , the less the individual cast-member has to do ( i . e . , \\n \" con air \" ) . \\nit is great to have the comic voices of jenna elfman , garry schandling , john leguizimo , ellen degeneres , and gilbert godfried in your lineup , but they have nothing to do but improvise their underdeveloped , stereotyped characters , one-line-at-a-time . \\nit\\'s even worse , because sometimes their voices are so unrecognizable that you don\\'t get the satisfaction of linking the voice to the comedian until the credits . \\nnow there are three character actors who do get special treatment : albert brooks brings dignity to nearly every project he\\'s in , and the scenes as a depressed tiger do resonate a certain poignancy . \\nnorm mcdonald fares nearly as well , as a stray dog who learns to bond with dolittle . \\nbut there\\'s little humor here . \\nthat rests on the shoulders of chris rock , sorely miscast and unfunny as the voice of their wise-ass guinea pig . \\neven the mouth is ill-synched . \\n ( 3 ) don\\'t let the special effects technicians walk away with the script . \\nthere\\'s a certain timing that\\'s mandatory in comedy . \\nto have this timing usurped by the brilliancy of computer generated mouths or lifelike creations of jim henson\\'s creature shop , is a travesty . \\nthis is not to say that special effects filled comedies or muppet movies aren\\'t well-timed laughfests ; with the right director , they can be and have . \\nhere , betty thomas is clearly over her head . \\ni wish i could commend the special effects , but they\\'re merely average . \\ncount the number of times where the animal\\'s mouth is turned away from the camera , or too far to notice , or ill-synched . \\nthis is less a \" babe \" and more of a \" look who\\'s barking \" clone . \\nyou may be wondering , \\'how does eddie murphy fare ? \\' \\nwell , he came back with the exceptional \" nutty professor \" , and i don\\'t doubt he can come back again . \\nhere , he\\'s tied into a straight man and given little to do . \\nthe exceptions are when he fears he\\'s going crazy : a far cry from his smarter-than-you\\'d expect routine that he\\'s more adept at . \\nit\\'s unfortunate that he is where richard pryor was ten years ago , making lame comedies without the same bite he had given in his early years . \\nafter all this , what\\'s left ? \\nbutt jokes . \\na _lot_ of butt jokes . \\ni guess for kids that may be funny , but i was stone-faced . \\nif there\\'s a lesson the film may be telling us , is that animals have feelings too , and they care way too much for your butt . \\n',\n",
+       " b'for those of us who weren\\'t yet born when the 1960\\'s rock \\'n\\' rolled around , monterey pop affords an affectionate glimpse of the music that influenced our parents to be hippies . \\nfrom otis redding to jimi hendrix , janis joplin to the mamas and the papas , and jefferson airplane to the who , this documentary is jam-packed with contagious energy . \\nbut i give fair warning that i will reveal the ending , which does not do the rest of the film the justice it deserves . \\nshot in 1969 at an outdoor concert that precluded woodstock , the film defies the stereotype of the general population at the time . \\nsure , some have painted their faces and smoke joints , but d . a . \\npennebaker ( the war room , moon over broadway ) surprisingly chooses to show a broad spectrum of the audience . \\nno matter who is watching , it all comes back to the talented musicians that stir your soul . \\nthe excitement starts before the music even begins . \\na young girl is cleaning thousands of seats and when asked why by an interviewer , she replies that she feels lucky to do so . \\nthere are moments of organized craziness as john phillips , leader of the mamas and the papas and one of the concert organizers , tries to get in touch with dionne warwick . \\nand when one band is tuning up , a member remarks , \" finally , a decent sound system ! \" \\nyou can tell just by watching these first few moments that this show isn\\'t about vanity , it\\'s about playing the music you love to those who have an appreciation for it , a two-way street . \\nthis interaction between audience and performer continues throughout the film and becomes infectious to the audience . \\nit\\'s impossible to tear your eyes away from janis joplin as she belts out her ballad about love being a ball and chain . \\nand while the lyrics to \" wild thing \" may not be all that complicated , watching jimi hendrix mime having sex with his guitar is as captivating as otis redding singing about love . \\neven if you don\\'t recognize every band you see on stage , you can imagine being as enthralled by their work as the public sitting in those seats . \\nthe only drawback to the film is the ending , which unfortunately i must reveal . \\nall the other bands , big names then and still today , got approximately 7 to 10 minutes of screen time . \\nin contrast , the last band on camera , a wholly forgettable one , gets an entire 18 minutes of screen time . \\nfor a film that\\'s only 78 minutes long , that\\'s too large of a chunk , especially when previous acts are much more stimulating . \\nall in all , monterey pop is a precious , rare look at a time period that still holds sway over us . \\nthe variety of music , as well as the beautifully shot performances , are easy to become immersed in . \\nif there was ever any question as to why most of these bands were so popular , this is quickly dispelled . \\nit\\'s almost depressing to think that music this moving doesn\\'t get made much anymore . \\ninstead we\\'re stuck with * nsync , the backstreet boys , and jennifer lopez , all of whom should have stuck with modeling . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the relaxed dude rides a roller coaster \\nthe big lebowski a film review by michael redman copyright 1998 by michael redman \\nthe most surreal situations are ordinary everyday life as viewed by an outsider . \\nwhen those observers are joel and ethan coen , the surreal becomes bizarre . \\nwhen the life is that of jeff \" the dude \" leboswki , the bizarre falls over the edge into the world of \" what\\'sgoingonaroundhere \" . \\nthe marvelous sound of \" the stranger \" ( sam elliot ) \\'s voice-over introduces the film . \\nat least it does until he forgets what he was going to say and gives up . \\nthe dude ( jeff bridges ) is described as the \" laziest man in los angeles , possibly the world \" , although he\\'s not so much slothful as he is relaxed . \\nspending the last 30 years with a roach clip in one hand and a white russian in the other , he doesn\\'t have much of a life , but he\\'s having a good time . \\nwhen asked what he does for fun , he responds \" bowl , drive around and the occasional acid flashback \" . \\nlebowski\\'s passion is bowling . \\nwhen he\\'s not rolling the ball down an alley towards a strike , things just happen to him . \\narriving home one night , he\\'s beaten by thugs attempting to collect money that his wife owes them . \\neven worse , they urinate on his rug . \\nthe problem is that the dude doesn\\'t have a wife . \\nhis assailants realize that their target is a different lebowski when they glance around at his apartment . \\nthe \" big \" lebowski ( david huddleston ) is a multi-millionaire and his dudeness lives in two-room squalor . \\nthe next day , our ragtag hero visits his namesake\\'s mansion attempting compensation for his soaked rug . \\nthe carpet is important to him because it pulls the room together : not surprisingly since it\\'s virtually the only object there . \\nwhen he\\'s denied any money , he picks up a replacement rug off the floor . \\non his way out , he runs into lebowski\\'s trophy babe wife bunny ( tara reid ) who offers to perform a sexual act that , according to rumor , is one of bill clinton\\'s favorites for a thousand bucks . \\nthe penniless dude wisecracks that he\\'s heading for the cash machine . \\nlater he gets an unexpected phone call enlisting his aid in being the bag man to deliver a ransom to bunny\\'s kidnappers . \\nthis begins the trademarked coen brothers crimes-gone-wrong sequences . \\nthe kidnappers are impossibly inept . \\nthe dude and his cronies are even worse . \\nevery plan goes awry . \\nyou can almost see lebowski\\'s brain churning in slow motion as he tries to figure out the clues . \\nthat\\'s the story , but to tell the truth it doesn\\'t much matter . \\nthere could be almost any plot and the film would be just as entertaining . \\nthe narrative only exists so we can watch the offbeat characters and the quirky predicaments they fall into . \\nthe dude\\'s bowling buddies walter ( john goodman ) and donny ( steve buscemi ) look like people you\\'d see on the street but , like everything else in this film , they\\'re not quite what they seem . \\nwalter is a vet as stuck in vietnam as the dude is in the sixties . \\neverything that happens reminds him of a situation in the nam . \\nwhen a fellow bowler crosses the foul line but won\\'t admit it , walter pulls a gun on him until he marks a zero on the score sheet . \\ndonny gets precious few words in between walter\\'s screaming and the dude\\'s rambling . \\nwhen he does , walter shouts him down with horrendous albeit seemingly unintentional bowling puns . \\ndonny is \" out of his league \" and doesn\\'t \" have a frame of reference \" . \\nthe film is peppered with people for whom the term \" character \" would be an understatement . \\nthe big lebowski\\'s daughter maude , an avant-garde \" vaginal \" artist , paints while swinging naked in a leather apparatus like an s&m mary martin . \\nthe kidnappers are german techno nihilist bikers . \\nbunny lebowski is a high school cheerleader turned porno star . \\nmost impressive is john turturro in his far too small role as a hispanic bowler . \\nas the flamenco music swells , we see him putting on his lavender hose . \\nthe camera pans up to an all-purple skin-tight bowling outfit with \" jesus \" ( pronounced with a \" j \" , not an \" h \" ) embroidered on the pocket . \\nhe addresses the lane with intense seriousness and one painted fingernail . \\nhis tongue slowly snakes out and lovingly licks the glowing bowling ball . \\nbridges works the dude as if he had been living him for decades and maybe he has . \\ni can\\'t think of anyone else who could have done a better job . \\nbuscemi has a limited role , but he plays it perfectly . \\nthe more that i see john goodman the more convinced i am that he\\'s one of the treasures of our time . \\nit\\'s odd to think that most of the world knows him only as roseanne barr\\'s television husband . \\nmore like the coen\\'s \" raising arizona \" than their hit \" fargo \" , \" the big lebowski \" demands an open mind and even more open eyes . \\na mark of the coen brothers is that even with all wonderful dream sequences and the broad slapstick physical comedy on the screen , much of the humor is subtle and easy to miss . \\nthere\\'s so much going on that frequently it disappears before you can see it . \\nwalking out of the theater , i felt that the film had something important to say . \\non further examination , i wasn\\'t sure exactly what it was . \\n \" if you meet jesus at the bowling alley , it\\'s not going to be what you expect \" ? \\n \" when the going gets weird , the weird go bowling \" ? \\nmaybe there\\'s no real message . \\nperhaps it\\'s just a roller coaster ride through a hilarious world . \\nmaybe that\\'s enough . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for 23 years and just realized that he was so taken with the dude that he ran out of space to talk about \" the man in the iron mask \" starring that favorite of 14-year-old girls of all ages . \\nredman@bvoice . com is the eaddress for estuff . ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'before even seeing a single frame of the film , it would be easy to snicker at deep impact , in which a comet on a collision course with earth threatens the existence of all life on the planet . \\nit is the latest entry in this decade\\'s dubious revival of the \\'70s disaster film , and the first of two \" the sky is falling \" flicks to hit screens this year ( the other being this coming july\\'s armageddon , in which a meteor is the threat ) . \\nits tagline , \" oceans rise . \\ncities fall . \\nhope survives \" is not as cornball as that of the utterly ridiculous collapsing tunnel thriller daylight ( \" they came in alone . . . the only way out . . . \\nis together \" ) , but it\\'s every bit as treacly . \\nthe opening moments of deep impact offer more to snicker at . \\nthe cheesiness is not confined to the disaster movie conventions , such as the usual opening \" roll call , \" in which all the major characters and their personal problems are introduced . \\nthe most prominent of the \" personal \" stories is that of ambitious tv news reporter jenny lerner ( tea leoni ) , who is distraught that her father ( maximilian schell ) left her mother ( vanessa redgrave ) for a younger woman ( rya kihlstedt ) . \\nwhat is just as snicker-worthy is how this co-venture between paramount and dreamworks skg aggressively pushes another high-profile corporate collaboration , microsoft and nbc\\'s cable news network msnbc , which employs jenny , who is the film\\'s ostensible main character . \\nin the vision of america presented here , msnbc is the television news source of choice in every home , when in reality it only reaches a fraction of the country . \\nthe initial signs point toward something along the lines of a volcano or dante\\'s peak , but there\\'s one thing about deep impact i underestimated : the skills of director mimi leder . \\nshe won an emmy for her helming work on nbc\\'s smash er , which is essentially a weekly disaster movie , each episode featuring a new set of guest stars with their own personal and medical crises . \\nthe challenge presented by this format to the director is twofold : ( 1 ) to make the audience care for these guest characters , regardless of how briefly seen or thinly written they are , and ( 2 ) powerfully tug at the emotions without being heavy-handed or overly melodramatic . \\nhaving passed the \" er challenge \" in numerous episodes and showed a flair for creating suspense in the peacemaker , leder could not be a better fit to bring michael tolkin and bruce joel rubin\\'s rather formulaic disaster screenplay to screen . \\nas the countdown to impact progresses , the ominous feeling of doom is palpable , leading the final act to take on a surprisingly convincing and affecting emotional dimension . \\nthere\\'s nothing here that will profoundly move anyone , but the fact that anything manages to touch the heart is high achievement in a genre generally more concerned with effects . \\nsituations that initially feel contrived , such as jenny\\'s familial crisis and the teenage romance between sarah hotchner ( leelee sobieski ) and comet discoverer leo biederman ( elijah wood ) , achieve some poignance ; and even the more vaguely drawn characters , including u . s . president tom beck ( morgan freeman ) , astronaut spurgeon \" fish \" tanner ( robert duvall ) , and his rather faceless crew ( ron eldard , jon favreau , mary mccormack , blair underwood , and alexander baluyev ) aboard the comet-bombing spacecraft messiah , have their share of touching moments . \\nthe latter fact owes a debt to the actors , who all do a solid job and are well-cast , with the possible exception of leoni ; she delivers a decent performance , but her trademark unconventional speech rhythms and line delivery make her somewhat hard to buy as a star news broadcaster . \\nalthough its catastrophic theme and impressive special effects work ( the giant ocean waves are particularly spectacular ) place deep impact in the same category as the likes of twister , it is the first of the \\'90s disaster films to successfully marry the advanced film technology with emotions that ring true--a film that makes a genuine impact , even if it isn\\'t as deep as hoped . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one never quite knows what one is going to get with a mamet film . \\nhis american buffalo is a set-bound piece that has very little plot . \\nsometimes he will tell a story that really moves . \\nheist is mamet doing his most entertaining work . \\nunlike his the spanish prisoner , there are no lapses in credibility . \\nheist is probably the best mamet thriller since house of games . \\nit is the kind of plot with which you are never sure who will double-cross whom , and frequently it is mamet double-crossing the viewer . \\nwatching the film\\'s team getting around security the viewer is frequently asking himself either \" what the heck are they doing ? \" \\nor \" why didn\\'t anybody think of that before ? \" \\nappropriately enough heist opens with a very clever jewelry store job . \\nit is so clever that one wonders if mamet really thinks up all these ideas himself or if he has help from professional magician and con expert ricky jay , now a regular actor in mamet films . \\nthis is a robbery that works like a well-oiled machine . \\nthere is just one problem and it is enough to get joe moore ( played by gene hackman ) filmed on a security camera . \\nnow joe has to get out of the business . \\nit was coming time anyway . \\njoe\\'s team including bobby blane ( delroy lindo ) , fran moor ( rebecca pidgeon ) , and pinky pincus ( ricky jay ) is going to split up and go separate ways . \\nbut crime boss bergman ( danny devito ) is pulling the strings and he says that joe and his people have to manage one more robbery . \\nand he has to take along a young kid , the short- fused jimmy silk ( sam rockwell ) . \\nimmediately it is obvious that there is more going on than meets the eye . \\nmuch of what distinguishes heist is mamet\\'s dialog . \\nremarkably it serves a double purpose . \\nthe robbery team sounds at once very professional and at the same time it has mamet\\'s special feel for dialog . \\nhackman has lines like \" everybody needs money . \\nthat\\'s why they call it money . \" \\nmamet\\'s timing is perfect in the direction but terrible in the production . \\nthe plot is coincidentally a lot like the plot of the recent the score , which is , in fact , a very similar story . \\nboth are good films , perhaps for some of the same reasons . \\nbut at least on a high level they are much the same story . \\nthe other problem with the timing of heist is that it involves airport security and clever ways to get around them . \\ni saw the film at the toronto international film festival on september 12 , 2001 . \\nthat made the subject matter just a little too timely . \\nmy understanding is that the release will be delayed . \\nmy biggest problem with the film is that rebecca pidgeon\\'s acting at times seems very poor . \\nit is some kind of mamet trademark i do not understand to have women talk without inflection , as if they are just reading the words for the first time . \\nit is an irritation and distracts us from what is otherwise a very good thriller . \\nit is one i rate an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a high +2 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : sullen julie james , still haunted by nightmares of the killer ben willis from i know what you did last summer , perks up when her new best friend karla wilson wins a trip for four to the bahamas . \\narriving at the start of the hurricane season , julie and karla run around in very tight clothing and realize they\\'ve walked into a trap set by the rainslickered slasher with a huge hook for a hand . \\ncomments : i may be showing some pop culture illiteracy here , but i have never seen an episode of the fox tv series \" party of five . \" \\ni am only vaguely aware of the show\\'s premise , and my knowledge of it comes from brief commercials i half-paid attention to while watching the tube . \\n \" party of five , \" i do know however , seems to be the starting ground for actresses in the teen horror genre . \\nneve campbell , scream queen of the 90s and star of scream , scream 2 , and the craft , is a regular of the show . \\nso too is jennifer love hewitt . \\nlo and behold , following in the footsteps of campbell , hewitt now has a horror franchise of her own : the i know what you did last summer line . \\nthough the original film , released last year , was watchable enough , this insipid sequel had me looking at the theater\\'s glowing red exit sign longingly throughout . \\njennifer love hewitt is a very good-looking young leading lady ; however , unlike neve campbell , hewitt struggles with acting . \\nshe just isn\\'t convincing in this film ( and she wasn\\'t in the original either ) . \\nthis puts many young males , including myself , in a paradoxical quandary : she\\'s very attractive , but the annoying , spoiled , valley girl-type character she tries to play here is annoying to the extreme and ruins many of the scenes which emphasize , exploitatively , her figure . \\nadd to the mix the equally pleasant yet irritating brandy , another rising teen tv star , and you get one frustrated male audience . \\ni\\'ve spent so much time on hewitt and brandy for a reason . \\ni still know what you did last summer , though cashing in on the success of the original , ultimately serves as a vehicle for these two young actresses . \\nnothing else here is original or interesting . \\nthis movie , in fact , makes other recent so-so horror films like urban legend and john carpenter\\'s vampires seem like stunning works of high art . \\ni still know relies heavily on tired slasher film cliches : an isolated location , a storm , parentless teenagers , false alarm nightmares , lots of blue-lighted darkness scenes , a garbed slasher who walks around in the background without the characters seeing him , knives and other sharp instruments lying around everywhere , etc . you get the picture . \\nthe entire audience knows all the secondary characters introduced in the film are going to receive the business end of the killer\\'s hook . \\nthey may as well have huge targets painted on them . \\nlike scream and its numerous knockoffs , these secondary characters are supposed to serve as comic relief . \\nunfortunately , i still know\\'s characters aren\\'t all that funny . \\nin particular , one character , a chain-weed-smoking guy , is obnoxiously annoying and certainly doesn\\'t die soon enough . \\nthe death scenes , by the way , are relatively violent for a theatrically released horror film . \\nseveral of them are uncomfortable to watch , and they reminded me of the sickening gore scenes in hellraiser : bloodline , a truly sadistic movie . \\nthis , too , did not help the supposed humor i still know was shooting for . \\nand what is the deal with the slasher himself ? \\ni know that the slasher film is not a particularly intelligent genre , but ben willis has got to go down as one of the most silly slashers in mainstream horror . \\ncome on , the guy looks like the gorton\\'s fisherman , and his gruff voice makes him sound like a disney pirate . \\nthough his lightning-lit appearances ellicited much-needed laughter in the theater , his appearance borders on the absurd in the horror film , and that\\'s * really * saying something . \\nso , all that\\'s left to talk about here is jennifer love hewitt and brandy . \\nboth prance about in tightfitting , revealing outfits or in various states of undress , yet neither of them ever actually do a nude scene . \\nhewitt , however , does do a post-shower scene in which her thin bathrobe is quite . \\n . \\n . titillating . \\nthis scene alone made this one-star turkey earn two stars under my rating system . \\notherwise , hewitt and brandy both grate on the nerves . \\nearly in the film , for instance , brandy wins the trip to the bahamas . \\nshe and hewitt jump around and scream and screech for what seems like forever . \\ni needed extra-strength tylenol after that part . \\noh , and the film\\'s conclusion , talk about repetitive ! \\npeople who saw i know what you did last summer will predict i still know\\'s ending at least 5 minutes before it happens . \\nboring ! \\ni saw this movie with my brother at the local downtown movie theater . \\nadmission is only one dollar on wednesdays , and we often go see bad movies on these days just to ridicule them . \\nit\\'s usually a fun thing to do along with the rest of the audience , who don\\'t seem to mind participating in a mass \" mystery science theater 3000 \" -type viewing . \\ni still know what you did last summer , however , produced several lengthy uncomfortable silences from the audience , underscoring how bad it * really * is . \\nif it weren\\'t for the main actresses\\' revealing wardrobes , i\\'d have had a very , very hard time sitting through this lame sequel . \\ni can\\'t imagine trying to watch it on video ( horror films seem 10 times better in a theater because they rely heavily on audience participation ) and wouldn\\'t recommend it to people , unless they\\'re horror film fanatics or huge fans of hewitt and brandy . \\ni read on a website somewhere that another sequel is already in the works . \\nwhat a depressing thought . \\nhewitt apparently needs to spend more time on tv figuring out how to act . \\nrated r , this film contains lots of violence , several gory scenes , and a couple nubile , horny teenagers--though the sex act itself is always thwarted . \\ni\\'d say this is unsuitable for kids , but teens wouldn\\'t have a problem sitting through it , especially since they obviously compose the film\\'s target audience . \\n',\n",
+       " b'since their film debut in 1984 with the tightly wrought texas thriller \" blood simple , \" joel and ethan coen have been one of the most eclectic , original , and downright fascinating creative teams in modern hollywood . \\ntheir films are highly stylized , deeply embedded in a particular time and place , and their characters are more often than not everyday people who get caught up in highly unusual circumstances . \\nin \" the big lebowski , \" their first cinematic offering since the multiple academy award-winning \" fargo , \" the action takes place in los angeles during the gulf war , and the hero of the story is jeff lebowski , aka the dude . \\nthe dude is played by jeff bridges -- one of hollywood\\'s most underrated actors -- in the best stoned performance since sean penn stumbled through the halls of ridgemont high . \\nthe dude is a simple man who has never quite made it out of the sixties . \\nhe has shaggy , shoulder-length hair , a grizzled goatee badly in need of a trim , and he wears mostly stained tee-shirts , long shorts , and gellies without socks . \\nhe smokes a lot of pot , drinks a lot of white russians , and is more than content to spend the majority of his time bowling with his two buddies , a slightly psychotic vietnam vet named walter sobchak ( john goodman ) and donny ( steve buscemi ) , one of those guys who always wants to be part of the conversation , but never quite makes it in . \\none day , the dude is confused with another jeff lebowski ( david huddleston ) , this one being a millionaire philanthropist whose trophy wife , bunny ( tara reid ) , owes a lot of people a lot of money . \\nthe main plot and all its accompanying side-plots and coenesque diatribes are far too complicated to get into here . \\nsuffice to say that the dude becomes deeply involved with the big lebowski when bunny is kidnaped and the dude is asked to be a courier for the ransom money . \\nby the time all is said and done , walter has become deeply involved , as has the big lebowski\\'s daughter , maude ( julianne moore ) , a feminist performance artist , a pornographer named jackie treehorn ( ben gazzara ) , and a group of german nihilists led by peter stormare , who was so great as the silent but deadly kidnaper in \" fargo . \" \\n \" the big lebowski \" plays like an amalgam of all the coen brothers\\' earlier efforts . \\nit shares their previous films\\' strong sense of time and place , as well as their send-ups of movie genres and political and cultural ideologies . \\n \" lebowski \" has the same kind of crazed caricatures that made \" raising arizona \" such a hoot ; it has surrealistic dream sequences ( one of which involves a busby berkley-like dance number ) that characterized the ending of \" barton fink \" ; and it has the same kind of cartoonish look and feel that pervaded \" the hudsucker proxy . \" \\nthe film was shot by veteran cinematographer roger deakins , who has worked with the coens on three other films , \" barton fink , \" \" the hudsucker proxy , \" and \" fargo . \" \\ndeakins always gives the coens\\' films a distinctive visual style , and here he does a brilliant job of capturing the bright colors of seedy los angeles in the early nineties , whether that by the obnoxious blue bowling suit worn by the dude\\'s main competitor jesus quintana ( john turturro ) , or the strikingly manic dream sequences , one of which involves the dizzy spectacle of watching a strike from a bowling ball\\'s point of view . \\nif \" fargo \" was the coen brothers\\' most restrained effort in years , \" the big lebowski \" marks their return to over-the-edge filmmaking . \\nit is overflowing with style and attitude , which helps make up for the scattered plot fragments that never quite come together in the end . \\nthe coens fill the screen with lighting , set design , music , and hilarious performances from all the leads , especially bridges and the always reliable john goodman , who shows real comic timing in his untimely \\'nam-inspired outbursts and his intense dedication to his adopted judaism . \\nwith joel directing , ethan producing , and both writing , the coen brothers seem limitless in their capacity to turn our world inside out . \\ntheir talent lies not in their ability to reflect the norms of reality , but in their potential to dig out the darkest corners of life and bring them to light . \\nthe coens rejoice in the oddballs of the world , and they put them center-stage to show that it\\'s not just guys like the dude who are nuts , but the entire planet . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : a group of asbestos cleaners get a job removing the gunk from an old insane asylum . \\nas each day passes , the crew members begin to discover things about the place and themselves which set other things in motion . \\nsaying anything else about the plot would be a crime . \\nhave fun . . . \\ncritique : \" i feel like shooting myself in the head \" are the first words that came out of my mouth after seeing this movie , a good indication as to what kind of film to expect here . \\nthis ain\\'t your average \" happy go lucky \" kind of picture . \\nthis is a deliberately slow-paced mystery-horror film drenched in atmosphere , with a very creepy insane asylum ( in which most of the film takes place ) , very few clues up-front and lots to talk about afterwards . \\nwill it bore some people to sleep ? \\nyou bet it will ! \\nis it made for the scream audiences of the day ? \\nabsolutely not ! \\ni guess you can describe this film as a horror movie for the \" cerebral crowd \" . \\na film that patiently unwraps itself frame after frame , giving away very little with each step and each sound , unwinding itself until its final scenes offer up a world of revelations and plenty more to discuss later . \\ni\\'ve always loved movies that have me talking about them afterwards like the shining and lost highway and this film fits right into that group . \\nin fact , i guess i can pussyfoot around the actual word all i want but the best way to describe this kind of movie is a \" mindfuck \" . \\nif you feel like watching a movie that moves very slowly , gives you a handful of characters with divergent backgrounds , tosses a few very ambiguous and supernatural cookies your way and is extremely disturbing once you put it all together , well , then this movie is definitely for you ! \\nit\\'s the kind of film that you actually have to see twice to fully appreciate ( damn , i missed that whole \" peanut butter \" thing ! ) and one that will likely creep the shit out of you if watched alone in the dark . \\n \" brrrrrrrrr . . . now \\nwhat was that sound in the basement ? \\nhoney , can you go check ? \" \\nand one thing this film doesn\\'t have , unlike its hollywood-ian counterparts like the haunting , is special effects . \\nin fact , that\\'s one of the greater things about this movie : it feels real because it looks like it\\'s actually taped on video with very credible actors in very credible circumstances ( i did some research and it was , in fact , shot on digital video . . . ah-ha ! ) . \\nanother great thing about it is that it\\'s actually very gory and somewhat violent in theme , and yet we rarely see anything of the sort on the big screen ( it\\'s mostly implied , kids ! ) . \\nand as clich ? d as it might be to say . . . it\\'s usually much scarier when stuff is left to our imagination or implied in movies as such . \\nother films that this one reminded me of include henry : portrait of a serial killer and the blair witch project , with that same real sense of dread , brooding and terror . \\nthe film does however move awfully slow and if you really don\\'t get \" into \" it completely ( you really need to concentrate here ) , you will lose the motion of the story and the pent-up tension might be released . \\nbut overall , this film is yet another great example of the horror genre making a very cool comeback this year with no tight tanktops in sight . \\nand with david caruso acting like the king hotshot like only he can , how can you go wrong ? \\ndefinitely not a film for everyone but a must-see for anyone looking to throw themselves into the psyche of the disturbed ( count me in ! ) . \\nstanley kubrick would be proud ! \\noh yeah . . . so \\nwhere\\'s that gun again . . . ? \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nthe blair witch project ( 4/10 ) - blair witch 2 ( 7/10 ) - the haunting ( 3/10 ) - the house on haunted hill ( 7/10 ) - lost highway ( 10/10 ) - the pledge ( 6/10 ) - the shining ( 9/10 ) - the sixth sense ( 8/10 ) - unbreakable ( 8/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b' ( dimension films , \" scream 2 \" \\'s distributor , has asked press to say extremely little -- if anything -- about the film\\'s twisty plot . \\nthat\\'s no easy task considering the wit that deserves to be mentioned here , but i will do my best to be vague ( now , there\\'s a first ) . ) \\n \" the first one was [good] , but all the rest sucked , \" said a cinematically-savvy teen in last winter\\'s wes craven thriller \" scream , \" her statement referring to the films of the \" nightmare on elm street \" series but really putting down franchise overkill in general . \\nthe comment certainly carries clout : for every truly great sequel , there appears to be a couple of duds , making one wonder if writers are better off sticking solely with fresh ideas . \\nbut like it or not , along comes \" scream 2 . \" and believe it or not , it\\'s a doozy -- a slick , sinister , madly subversive good time at the movies , as intent on sending up hollywood\\'s sequel syndrome as much as its prequel poked fun at slasher conventions . \\n \" scream 2 \" is definitely that rare movie thing -- a follow-up that can stand along side its original with pride . \\nit\\'s been two years since a pair of overzealous horror movie fans clad in edvard munch-esque get-ups carved their way through the young populace of woodsboro , california . \\nthose surviving the ordeal have gotten on with their lives . \\nplucky heroine sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) is a drama student at the midwestern windsor college ; her pop culture-whiz pal randy meeks ( jamie kennedy ) has tagged along . \\ntrash tabloid reporter gale weathers ( courteney cox ) has written a best-seller based on their ordeal , the basis of which has been turned into a ( very bad ) movie called \" stab . \" \\nand dewey riley ( david arquette ) , still suffering from wounds inflicted during \" scream , \" has left his job as a police officer for a while . \\nlife is tranquil . . . \\nat least for a while . \\nseveral sudden murders bring sidney , randy , gale and dewey together again , but with suspicious eyes cast on each other and most of those in their surroundings -- if these four people learned anything from the past , it\\'s to trust no one . \\nthus , the possible victim/potential killer list includes said quartet , as well as : derek ( jerry o\\'connell ) , sidney\\'s new beau ; cici ( sara michelle gellar ) , a chatty sorority gal ; joel ( duane martin ) , gale\\'s cameraman who\\'s not too thrilled with her blood-soaked past ; hallie ( elise neal ) , sidney\\'s sassy roommate ; debbie ( laurie metcalf ) , a local reporter who gives gale some not-too-friendly competition ; and mickey ( timothy olyphant ) , randy\\'s good friend and fellow film student . \\ncotton weary ( liev schreiber ) , the man sidney wrongly accused of her mother\\'s murder in scream , also shows up on campus -- but why ? \\nlike the first scream , craven and screenwriter kevin williamson inaugurate things with a bang . \\nthis time , it\\'s an extended sequence that finds an african-american couple ( jada pinkett and omar epps ) attending a sneak preview of \" stab , \" making sly references about everything from sandra bullock to the lunchmeat non-roles of blacks in slasher cinema . \\nbefore tragedy ensues at the screening , the movie-within-a-movie setup allows for plenty of jokey moments , including a scene from \" stab \" which turns scream\\'s now-famous drew barrymore prologue on its ear . \\n ( \" b---- , hang up the phone and star-69 his a-- ! \" \\npinkett yells at the screen . ) \\nit\\'s funny , creepy stuff ( i don\\'t think i\\'ll ever feel safe in a movie theater again ) that effectively foreshadows the ratio of smart scares and spoofy laughs down the road . \\nanother flawless example of this is a riotous cell phone-assault of the killer on randy , dewey and gale in broad daylight ; it builds comedically and ends with genuine terror because of the emotional investment made on these delicious characters . \\nthere are other superb set pieces , but explaining them risks ruining their effect . \\nthere are more players this time around as to provide both a higher number suspects and a staggering body count . \\nit\\'s something of a trade-in -- the new characters are too large in number to be as fully-developed as the original \" scream \" gang , but this movie packs in knowing performances ( especially by kennedy and cox ) and more death for your dollar . \\nit can be argued that , while the original might outclass it by a tad , scream 2 is both scarier and funnier . \\nit certainly doesn\\'t skimp with shocks -- a major one being the killing of one cast member very near and dear to my heart ( i actually questioned craven and williamson\\'s judgment here , considering how much this person has added to these films ) . \\nsometimes you wish that more could have been done with stab -- the two scenes we\\'re shown are dead-on -- but for film fans , there are plenty of subtle nods to movies like \" the usual suspects , \" \" aliens \" and \" the empire strikes back . \" \\nstill , \" scream 2 \" does so many things right , it\\'s petty to quibble . \\nits penchant for parody is irresistible , discussions of the merits of film sequels and all . \\nthe attractive , solid cast is a definite bonus . \\nand the denouement ( while not as shocking as \" scream \" \\'s ) is priceless ; the film\\'s final revelation incorporates bits of a particular horror film prominently referred to in \" scream \" with one of the best bad guy motives ever put on paper . \\nall this and a \" scream 3 \" is in the works . \\nknowing the series\\' tendency for self-reference , perhaps one of its characters will again discuss the concept of sequel justice . \\nmentioning \" scream 2 \" \\'ll help them in their argument . \\n',\n",
+       " b'much ado about nothing . \\nah , how sweet the irony ! \\nit\\'s accepted wisdom in some circles - among english literature nuts , mainly - that whenever a critic knocks shakespeare they are only doing so through ignorance . \\nhe just doesn\\'t \" understand \" shakespeare , you will hear them say . \\nthe bard\\'s work is apparently beyond criticism . \\nwhat a load of old cobblers . \\nif these arbiters of public taste think kenneth branaugh\\'s film of shakespeare\\'s \" comedy \" much ado about nothing is comedy in any modern sense of the word , it\\'s time to get a life . \\nget monty python . \\nget woody allen . \\nget john waters . \\nwhatever . \\njust get a real taste of some clever , witty , risky comedy . \\nand banish this nonsense to where it belongs . \\ndrama and tragedy was shakespeare\\'s strength . \\nto my sensibilities - and i\\'m no stick in the mud - much ado about nothing resonates with no spark whatsoever . \\nno kidding : this film ranks among the most embarrassing two hours i have ever spent in a cinema in my 20 years of movie going . \\nthe only thing that stopped me walking out was loyalty to my lady friend , as this was our day out and i hadn\\'t seen her in ages . \\nbut boy , does she owe me one ! \\ni won\\'t spend too much time on the plot . \\nbasically , we follow the trials and tribulations of two would-be couples - one young , the other older . \\nthere\\'s some dark treachery amongst all this , but everyone is so awfully jolly that you\\'d hardly know it . \\nmind you , there\\'s nothing wrong with the basic story . \\ngood romantic comedies based on similar premises abound . \\nnothing wrong with most of the cast , either . \\nbranaugh , emma thompson and denzel washington are all talented performers . \\nthe problem is the script , or more accurately , shakespeare\\'s original text . \\nlight comedy shouldn\\'t be complex . \\nyet wrapped in elizabethan english , the dialogue becomes difficult to comprehend . \\nfor this alone it will be a problem for modern audiences unschooled in shakespeare and in search of nothing more than a good , undemanding laugh . \\nthe only laughs to escape my belly were brought on by the gloriously inept performance of keanu reeves , the actor once again miscast as a jealous half-brother or something . \\nbut when dissected and understood , what it all boils down to is that this stuff is just so goddamn lame . \\nthis is comedy so clean and nice and corny and so devoid of danger that it leaves this viewer totally cold . \\nho , ho , ho , boy likes girl ! \\nho , ho , ho , men are such klutzes ! \\nho , ho , ho , she\\'s so awfully clumsy ! \\noh please ! \\nthere\\'s wit in here somewhere , i\\'m told . \\ni call it pretentious . \\nsomething lightweight striving to be something sophisticated through clever wordplay . \\nin the end , it\\'s cringeworthy . \\nwatching some of the cinema patrons around me collapse with laughter made much ado about nothing a very weird movie going experience . \\ncomedy ? \\nbah , humbug ! \\n',\n",
+       " b\"an american werewolf in london is john landis' groundbreaking feature about an american tourist who gets himself bitten by a werewolf in jolly old england . \\nthe groundbreaking part of the movie is the special effects . \\nmore specifically , the makeup used for the transformation of a man into a werewolf ; and for the ghosts that haunt the main character . \\neven twenty years after its release , that part of the movie is still impressive . \\nalthough , i would have to say that it really is the only part of the movie that could be considered impressive . \\nthe rest of the movie is a run of the mill werewolf flick with some extra gore thrown in for good measure . \\nif it weren't for the cutting edge makeup effects used in the werewolf transformation it is most likely that this is a film that would have gone largely unnoticed when it was released back in 1980 . \\nand with good reason -- the acting isn't great and neither is the writing . \\nwell ok , we don't actually expect either of those things to be great in a horror film . \\nbut one other important element is lacking here too -- it isn't scary . \\nwith no exception , you know what is going to happen before it happens . \\nyou don't even need the obligatory scary music to give you a hint . \\ni will give director john landis credit for this being one of the best looking horror films that i have ever seen . \\nbut john , it just wasn't scary . \\ni didn't know if this was intended to be some sort of romantic drama and the whole werewolf thing was just thrown in to get people to come to the theater to see it , but it didn't work for me . \\nactually , it was intended as a sort of a spoof on horror films . \\nbut the mix of the comedic moments with the melodrama was so bad ; the intended humor was lost on me . \\nit's never a good sign that you don't realize a movie is supposed to be funny until after the movie is long over and you read it in the background material . \\ncall me crazy , but you shouldn't have to do research on a movie to enjoy it . \\ni'm not even going to get into the plot of the movie that much , since the title pretty well sums the whole thing up . \\nwerewolf bites boy ( david naughton ) . \\nboy ends up in hospital where he is tended to and eventually falls for pretty nurse ( jenny agutter ) and then strange things begin to happen to boy . \\nincluding , and i must admit this is a very nice touch , visits from his friend who was killed in the same werewolf attack that ended up with him in the hospital . \\nthe neat thing here is that his buddy is a rapidly deteriorating corpse . \\ni know it sounds strange , but it actually works . \\nthe scenes between david naughton and the dead buddy ( griffin dunne ) are really the best parts of the movie . \\nas i said , probably the only reason that this film was a hit was because of the special effects . \\nwhile they are still impressive today , they aren't impressive enough , or plentiful enough to warrant watching this film . \\nand since they are more or less the highlight of the film , there are far better choices out there if you want a scary movie to curl up with your sweetheart to watch . \\nactually , the 1998 sequel , an american werewolf in paris , is more entertaining since it doesn't take itself as seriously and actually provides a few more laughs along the way . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'starring ben stiller , elizabeth hurley , maria bello , janeane garofalo screenplay by david veloz , based on the novel by jerry stahl directed by david veloz \\npermanent midnight is a pretty bad movie , though it took me a few days to conclude this . \\nthe film is more masturbatory than bleak , with its main character intent on confounding us with his stupidity . \\n ( he has a $6000 a week drug habit . ) \\nultimately , as adapted by veloz , jerry stahl comes off as one of those playground braggarts who chainsmokes at the age of twelve ; you are less mystified by his self-destructive nature than bored into a stupor yourself . \\nben stiller plays stahl , a young author who arrives in l . a . with ambition and a nasty drug habit . \\nhe eventually gets a gig for $5000/week writing for a sitcom called mr . chompers ( a thinly veiled stand-in for \" alf \" : chompers looks just like alf except he\\'s blue ) , marries a producer ( hurley ) so she can get a green card , and hooks up with a spanish mother ( liz torres ) , who shoots heroin with him in the afternoons . \\ninsert proverbial downward spiral here . \\npermanent midnight is structured mostly as a flashback , with recovering addict bello meeting stiller ( at a fastfood restaurant , where stiller works the drive-thru as part of rehab ) , taking him back to a hotel , and between bouts of serious screwing , listening to his life story . \\ni\\'ve spent the last week trying to figure out why stiller never seemed to find the frighteningly gorgeous hurley attractive-worse , i\\'ve been trying to figure out why hurley did find stiller attractive . \\nas stahl , stiller displays none of the charm or wit one would expect ( post-there\\'s something about mary ) of either the actor or a comedy writer . \\nwhat separates stahl from the hundreds of other hollywood punk-junkies , it seems , is that stahl wrote a book about his idiocy . \\nwatch stahl shoot heroin next to a baby ! \\nwatch stahl spoil numerous pitch meetings with smack-fueled babble ! \\nstiller gives a technically flawless performance : the film could double as a documentary on how to be a junkie . \\nbut permanent midnight is mostly soulless . \\nwhen the movie poses the question will stahl be saved ? \\nand then answers it in the form of bello\\'s character ( basically a shrink in black panties ) , could a person care less ? \\nin the film version of his autobiography of the same name , stahl doesn\\'t need saving , he needs someone who will sit there and listen to him go on about himself . \\nif you learn anything about the other characters in this movie , it\\'s that they are the most incredibly tolerant hollywood-types known to man . \\n ( stahl also seems to be the only person at schmooze parties doing drugs . \\nis this hollywood . . . california ? ) \\ni learned very little about the entertainment business from permanent midnight and a whole lot about an egotistical lunkhead . \\nof course you know that stahl triumphed because he lived to talk about his problems . \\nso , basically , his drug habit got him a book deal , a movie based on his life , and now he\\'s apparently collaborating with stiller on future projects . \\nso much for the moral of that story . \\ntemporary midnight is more like it . \\n-bill chambers ; september , 1998 \\n',\n",
+       " b'new address . \\nsame old attitude . \\ndon\\'t forget to recommend a film , read the journal , or send me some of that nasty hate mail . ) \\nstarring bruce willis , billy bob thornton , liv tyler , ben affleck written by jonathan hensleigh and j . j . \\nabrams directed by michael bay \\nit rocks-actually , lots of rocks fly at us or from us , in slow or fast motion , at several points in the film . \\nthey seem like dangerous rocks because they kind of twirl through the air instead of just propelling forward , and when they land-once in a while , when we need a break from the space sequences-they cause damage enough to destroy the chrysler building and the like . \\n ( nary a mention of these apocalyptic events is made after they occur . ) \\nthey also just might be the most interesting element of armageddon , a steroid user\\'s answer to deep impact . \\nbruce willis stars as harry stamper , a famed oil-driller commissioned by the white house and nasa to stop a giant asteroid before it travels beyond \" zero barrier \" and destroys our planet . \\nwhy an oil driller ? \\nthey require someone experienced with deep-core mining to plant a nuclear missile into said asteroid . \\n ( in one unintentionally ( ? ) \\nhilarious sequence , nasa asks harry to inspect a deep-core driller they built based on his own blueprints ; it is poorly constructed-harry criticizes almost every aspect of it . \\nwe trust nasa to build space shuttles that can land on twirling asteroids ? ) \\nharry assembles the obligatory \" ragtag \" bunch of \" cowboys \" , including a blond guy , a fat guy , a black guy , a wiseass , and the man who is sleeping with his daughter ( affleck ) . \\nonce they reach space , we experience sequence after sequence of something going wrong-perhaps the fact that they sent a bunch of nincompoops into outer space has something to do with it ; i cannot count the number of times they almost fail the mission on all my fingers and toes . \\nwhether or not they save the day , i will not reveal . \\nnor will you care . \\ni will say this : you know you\\'re in trouble when deep impact dwarfs your asteroid movie in terms of emotion and scope . \\nwillis has barely a chance to come alive ; ditto for affleck . \\ntheir big scenes are mostly reserved for the third act , in a last minute-and futile-attempt to inject warmth into the material . \\nsteve buscemi\\'s character-the wiseass-is exceptionally problematic . \\n \" rockhound \" , as he\\'s called , is sarcastic and foolish , so they tape him to a chair , where he spends most of the film . \\nso why did they bring him up there to begin with ? \\nrather , why write him into the film ? -give \\nhis almost-witty one-liners to serious willis , who scowls and mopes and demonstrates psychotic tendencies : at one point he chases after affleck with his shotgun for screwing his daughter , firing often and causing significant damage to his oil rig . \\ni\\'m guessing he qualifies under nasa guidelines as someone unfit for space travel , at least in my world where the sky is blue . \\nliv tyler is pretty and humourless , as always ; suspiciously , four of her father\\'s band\\'s ( \" aerosmith \" ) songs grace the soundtrack . \\ndirector michael bay lays the visual and sound effects on thick , like ketchup , eventually drowning the movie on-screen . \\n ( the middle hour is a non-sensical , pyrotechnic assault on the average primate\\'s brain . ) \\nwhenever someone dies in this movie , a crew member inevitably yells out \" we lost ( insert dead person\\'s last name here ) ! \" \\ni must admit that not once could i distinguish a dead oil-guy-cum-astronaut from a live one , and close-ups of the corpses\\' faces beneath cracked helmets provided little assistance , as their skin was often covered in fake blood . \\narmageddon is not as terrible movie as godzilla . \\nit looks nicer , and has fewer plot-holes within its equally ludicrous framework . \\nit has a vivid soundmix . \\nbut at almost two-and-a-half hours , i could not believe how little actually happened over the course of the story . \\nthe love story has been played up in the ads , perhaps hoping to catch people before they recover from titanic-fever . \\nbollocks ! \\nthe lovers in the film are miles apart throughout-erase all thoughts of nude sketching or car-sex and replace them with obligatory shots of liv tyler tearing up while ben affleck dicks around in a moon-crawler . \\nremember a little film called jaws ? \\nin this film , three independent-minded men suddenly found themselves on a fishing boat in pursuit of a deadly shark . \\nthey didn\\'t much like each other at first ; eventually , they started to respect one another . \\none of jaws\\' great scenes involved the would-be-ahabs drinking and singing songs and telling stories . \\nthis is the sort of male-bonding foreign to bay or his producer , jerry bruckheimer , who throw too many characters into the mix and expect we\\'ll care about them on the grounds that the world is about to end . \\nnot once do we get the feeling that these characters are even acquaintances-i\\'d be surprised if these actors bothered to introduce themselves to one another before \" action \" was called . \\na male friend who loved the film suggested to me that perhaps i cannot relate to a bunch of men who don\\'t bare their souls , who believe in dying macho concepts like heroism and a kind of chest-beating bravery . \\nto this , i will respond that the boys in armageddon are neither heroic , nor brave , nor smart , even : this team couldn\\'t build a birdhouse . \\nand if i get no respect for disliking a movie with all the synthetic feeling of a trailer-a trailer for a movie written by a team of body-builders and greeting card authors-i\\'ve never been a prouder wimp my whole life . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i am a steven seagal fan . \\ni only say this now because \" mufti splenetik \" isn\\'t my real name and because i probably need to explain why i went into this film expecting great things . \\nany proud seagal fan worth his beans will tell you that the seagal formula is something you can depend on . \\nseagal films can always be counted on for minimal dialogue , heaps of expendable baddies with extemely crunchable bones ( which we\\'ll always hear when seagal does his limb-twisting thing ) , rarely a female co-lead in sight ( unless it\\'s a real-life model-wife who hasn\\'t worked since weird science ) and , usually the worst possible titles you can imagine . \\nnot to mention very straightforward plots , generally all-round bad dialogue and mr implacable leather-face himself in that same black outfit he\\'s been in since nico doing his \" my hands are sharp , nimble knives \" thing , seagal the stoic , sir petrified ponytail , duke of dull . \\nin the glimmer man , seagal breaks out of this formula : he gets a * sidekick * , attempts to banter , and puts on a new vest . \\nhe\\'s also put on quite a lot of weight . \\nsmall potatoes , you may say , a man should be able to accessorize and banter if he wants to , but damnit , if it ain\\'t broke , why fix it ? \\n ( more on this disappointed person\\'s dashed expectations later ) . \\nas jack cole , seagal is a homicide detective with a questionable past . \\nwhile he and his partner ( played by keenen ivory wayans ) are investigating a series of ritual killings , cole himself becomes a suspect , especially when a background check run by campbell reveals practically nothing on cole . \\nit turns out that cole is a former trained government assassin ( you just can\\'t trust these homicide detectives ) , someone whom victims used to catch just a glimpse of in the jungle before he pounced on them , and hence , well , you know , that \" glimmer man \" thing . \\nan increasingly fishy homicide investigation in the present soon leads to the gradual uncovering of a larger , more threatening conspiracy that involves a crooked businessman ( bob gunton ) , cole\\'s former cia boss ( brian cox ) and deals involving chemical weapons . \\nthe glimmer man plot is pretty standard stuff , drawing ( as with his other films ) elements from the hotter films of the year ( eg , se7en ) . \\nit\\'s the other changes that disappoint . \\nfor example , although there\\'s a fair amount of violence in this movie , there\\'s also the disastrous pairing of seagal with keenen ivory wayans , probably the best known of the wayans tribe ( how many are there , exactly ? ) from television\\'s \" in living colour . \" \\nwayans plays whiney straightman to seagal\\'s bead-adorned and brocade-draped cole , keeping up his \" are you crazy \" part of the dialogue with wasted zest . \\nas campbell , wayans confines himself to bemoaning his new partner\\'s eccentric habits , but the chemistry between the two is minimal , and seagal\\'s wooden comebacks make for painful watching . \\na cook in under seige 2 , seagal is now a buddhist who speaks chinese and wears prayer beads and intricate silk jackets over his normal black ensemble . \\nhe chants , refuses to fight unless truly provoked and introduces campbell to powdered deer penis to cure his allergies . \\nagain , a benign ( if trite ) plot device except for the fact that these new character traits require seagal to speak more than usual . \\nheck , he has to deliver punchlines and carry a steady conversation with someone other than himself for a large part of the film . \\nis that a lot to ask of the seague ? \\ntoo much . \\nseagal\\'s best characteristic used to be that he knew his purpose in this already complicated world of movies : to crunchily snap off bad guy appendages , and to do it silently , and alone . \\nnot for seagal , the snappy one-liners of arnold and stallone , nor the attempts to show that he can act , much less think . \\nno kindergarten cop , no oscar , just simple , unadulterated deathblows . \\nthat\\'s really how it must have started : like-minded fans who knew what they wanted streamed in to watch the seague do his thing , knowing that never in the seagal universe would they ever have to see him do anything else . \\nwe trusted him . \\nwe got to know him . \\nnow , betrayal . \\ni don\\'t know if i can watch another seagal movie without that little niggling doubt that he\\'s going to try to be funny again . \\ni\\'ll try , but it won\\'t be easy . \\nif you haven\\'t watched the glimmer man yet , you might want to wait for the video to come out . \\nit\\'s easier to just fast forward the dialogue parts and linger on the action sequences . \\nafter all , if we can\\'t depend on our fantasies , what can we depend on ? \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\nmufti spelenetik is still a steven seagal fan . \\neverybody makes mistakes once in awhile . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the truman show ( paramount pictures ) running time : 1 hour 42 minutes starring jim carrey and ed harris directed by peter weir after a long wait , jim carrey\\'s dramatic debut finally makes it to the big screen . \\nin case you\\'ve been asleep for the last few months , the plot centres on truman burbank ( carrey ) who leads an seemingly idyllic life in the beautiful town of seahaven . \\nhis life seems so perfect , however , because it\\'s controlled by christoff ( harris ) creator of the truman show , the program burbank is unwittingly the hero of . \\nthat\\'s right , burbank\\'s life is being broadcast live to the american public , and seahaven and all it\\'s inhabitants are inclosed in a massive sound stage . \\nthe film takes the jerry springer format one step too far . . . \\nwith an idea so different , it would be easy for the director and screenwriter to dumb it down and appeal to the lowest common denominator . \\nluckily , the film remains sensible enough to appeal to all ages , yet never seems to be a dumb carrey movie . \\ntalking of carrey , he\\'s perfect in this movie , enjoying the best role in his career . \\nhis character is a re-inforced stanley ipkiss from the mask ( 1994 ) and is completely suited to carrey\\'s persona . \\nhe occasionally falls into ace ventura mode , shrieking and being silly , but generally the audience is watching subdued carrey . \\nhe\\'s not completely dramatic like the film promises , however . \\ned harris brings an extreme intensity to christoff , the megalomaniac creator of the show . \\nquiet and well spoken , he burns an image into the viewer . \\nunfortunately , he\\'s barely in the film , and for the first hour dosen\\'t appear at all ! \\nalso disappointing is natascha mcelhone\\'s character sylvia . \\nshe plays the role well , but her character is sadly underwritten and is pushed to the sidelines just when the audience is used to her . \\nthe supporting cast is excellent , and the town of seahaven looks delightfully perfect , so perfect it\\'s creepy . \\nthe philip glass soundtrack is also superb , and is used to great effect during the film . \\npeter weir keeps the film going , clearly having fun . \\nthe film is far more upbeat than his previous films dead poets society and green card . \\nalthough it is slightly slow to begin with , about half an hour into film the pace really picks up , and when christoff is introduced fully the film is on a roll . \\nsadly , though , the film is practically over when the film is in full steam . \\nalso , concerning the ending , it is slightly too ambiguous , which was disappointing . \\nthe screenwriter , andrew niccol , who bought us gattaca ( 1997 ) delivers an entertaining script , and manages to keep the plot in trim . \\nwhile christoff\\'s plans to keep truman in do get increasingly silly , they never go over the line , which would have been easy for niccol to do . \\nalso , there\\'s some funny gags involving product placement and the people who watch the show . \\noverall , the truman show is excellent entertainment . \\ncertainly different from the usual crap hollywood produces , it should be viewed by everyone . \\nit offers something to every member of the audience , and you would almost certainly not come out disappointed . \\noverall rating= \\nreview by david wilcock ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       " b'the first species was a moderately-successful science fiction yarn that diverted audiences with some nifty special effects , a few well- paced action sequences , and frequent views of model-turned-actress natasha henstridge sans clothing . \\nhowever , it was definitely not a movie that cried out for a sequel . \\nand , considering the quality of species 2 , it\\'s obvious that mgm should have stopped while they were ahead . \\nthe only thing that distinguishes species 2 is how awful it is . \\nif you throw away the plot , which is characterized by a blatant disregard for intelligence , logic , coherence , and consistency , species 2 actually has a few things to recommend it to a select audience . \\nof course , that audience is primarily comprised of teenage boys ( who , at least in theory , shouldn\\'t be able to get into an \" r \" -rated film ) and connoisseurs of bad movies . \\nthere\\'s enough blood , gore , simulated sex , and bare flesh in species 2 to prevent it from ever becoming boring . \\nthis is a grade z exploitation flick that\\'s ripe for the mystery science theater 3000 treatment . \\nsomewhere , someplace , i recall hearing species 2 described as \" erotic . \" \\ni would love to know who used with that adjective for this movie , because he ( or she ) has a peculiar notion of eroticism . \\nsure , there\\'s a lot of sex and nudity , but it\\'s almost always accompanied by the ripping open of a woman\\'s abdomen as an alien baby claws its way free , splattering blood and gore in all directions . \\nanyone turned on by that is not someone i would care to be sitting next to in a theater . \\ni suppose the main attraction in species 2 is natasha henstridge ( and , to get the obvious question out of the way -- yes , she does remove her top , but only once , and only briefly ) . \\nalthough the character she played in the original species is dead , government scientists still have the dna , and , out of what can only be described as a suicidal impulse , they decide to create another clone . \\nthis creature , dubbed \" eve \" by its creator , dr . laura baker ( played by marg helgenberger , reprising her role ) , is genetically engineered to be kinder and more docile . \\nmeanwhile , man has finally set foot on mars . \\na team of three , led by patrick ross ( justin lazard ) , has traveled to the red planet , but when they return to earth , they bring something with them . \\nross has become a half-human/half-alien hybrid , and he\\'s soon mating like crazy , collecting the blood-soaked children that are the result of each sex session . \\nhis intention is obviously world domination . \\nstanding in his way is that indomitable soldier of fortune from the first film , preston lennox ( michael madsen ) , and one of patrick\\'s fellow astronauts , dennis gamble ( mykelti williamson ) . \\nbut when patrick learns about eve , a female of his kind , there\\'s no damping his ardor . \\ni\\'m not sure what the budget for species 2 was , but a significant portion of it must have gone into paying handsome salaries to several recognizable actors ( as opposed to being diverted into the special effects ) . \\nmichael madsen and marg helgenberger , both back for a second round , are clearly on hand to do as little as they can , grab the money , and run . \\nditto for james cromwell , who plays patrick\\'s father -- \" underused \" is too kind a word to describe his involvement ( \" invisible \" would be more like it ) . \\ngeorge dzundza gets to do a little scenery- chewing as an angry-but-inept general . \\nmeanwhile , justin lazard\\'s performance as patrick is so flat that he makes natasha henstridge\\'s limited abilities look good by comparison . \\nthe only one in the whole production with any energy is mykelti williamson , who is cast in the part of the wisecracking black sidekick . \\ncomplete with cheesy special effects , bare breasts around every narrative corner , and dialogue capable of producing howls of laughter , species 2 has been dumped into the marketplace without advance screenings for critics . \\ndirector peter medak , a journeyman film maker with a significant list of mediocre movies on his resume , has added another forgettable title , but at least he appears to have had fun doing it , which is more than can be said of anyone trying to take this film with even a scintilla of seriousness . \\ndo i recommend the movie ? \\nabsolutely not , but i will admit that species 2 is dopey enough that it didn\\'t try my patience to the degree that some pseudo-intellectual bad movies do . \\nhere\\'s hoping there\\'s no species 3 . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : silly and inane adaptation of gibson\\'s short story , which is nowhere in sight . \\ngibson\\'s script only adds insult to injury . \\njohnny mnemonic is an awesomely bad movie . \\ni say \" awesomely \" because it\\'s one thing to fail , but another thing entirely to fail so completely that even the chances for camp value are sabotaged . \\nkeanur reeves ( who is terrible ) stars as johnny , an \" information courier \" who can carry dozens of gigabytes of data in his head . \\nhe is given \" one last job \" ( whenever you are in a movie and you hear those words , run ) , which involves him shoving so much data into his cranium that it could be lethal . \\none of the neater touches that the movie brings in is that the only way he could make such an arrangement work was by ditching all of his childhood memories , but it\\'s only followed up on in a token fashion . \\nfor his trouble , johnny gets chased by the yakuza , who seem to be the new bad guys in all the high-tech thrillers . \\nwhat\\'s funny is that if you watch gangster movies made * in * japan , there are whole gobs of details about genuine yakuza behavior and ethics , but of course there\\'s no room in this movie for any of that . \\nthe yakuza are simply used to point guns , wave swords , flaunt tattoos , and grimace menacingly . \\n ( i could go on about how gangsters and criminals of many other ethnicities have gotten thoughtful examinations in the movies -- bound by honor , sugar hill and american me come to mind -- when asians remain perpetually stereotyped . \\nbut that\\'s another essay . ) \\nanyway , johnny runs and eventually winds up in newark . \\nwhy newark ? \\nmaybe because it was cheaper to fake a future newark than a future new york , that\\'s why . \\nthere , he meets an assortment of odd characters ( ice-t , dolph lundgren and henry rollins play a whole gallery of weirdos ) . \\nthe script deals with them with all the depth of pieces of furniture . \\nit turns out ( what else ? ) that the data in johnny\\'s head could save a lot of people , but of course johnny only wants it out of his head so it doesn\\'t kill him . \\nhandled right , this could have been absorbing , but the script manages to mangle any chance of real sympathy for johnny at every opportunity . \\nthe details about the look and feel of the future are all phoned in from other , better movies -- blade runner and brazil come to mind . \\neverything looks run-down and scummy , everyone dresses like they\\'re punk rockers , and videophones are commonplace . \\nsnore . \\nthe only really interesting flourish is an extended depiction of the way the internet might work in the future ( complete with vr goggles and feedback gloves ) , but i kept thinking that it was more like what some relatively un-technical fellow would * think * it would look and behave like . \\na hacker of johnny\\'s caliber would be blasting away with one command-line function after another , instead of wasting all this time twiddling with holograms , but of course that\\'s not cinematic . \\nwhatever . \\nwhat went wrong with this movie ? \\ngibson wrote his own screenplay , which i guess is part of the problem : what works as a short story doesn\\'t work in a movie . \\nhis ear for dialogue is terrible and the plot doesn\\'t advance , it convulses . \\nfrom the script on out , it was probably all downhill . \\nrenting the movie to make fun of it is sort of pointless ; there\\'s no fun in kicking a wounded dog , is there ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'there\\'s a 1 , 000-foot tidal wave at the end of deep impact . \\ni\\'d say it pretty accurately represents the towering flood of the last two years worth of disaster movies , which are getting more irwin allen- esque with every release . \\nthe early wave of this revival , while just as cheesy and laughable , at least knew to include thrills every five to ten minutes . \\ndeep impact tries to disguise itself as a human drama , with endless filler comprised of disaster prevention plans the country keeps taking . \\nthe repeating cycle is as follows -- the president ( morgan freeman ) will go on tv and tell the country that there\\'s a remote chance a comet will strike the earth , but that the nation\\'s crack scientists and astronauts have some brilliant plan to stop the problem . \\nthen we get to see the plan in action , in some sequence utterly lacking suspense . \\nthe mission will barely fail , and freeman will tell the country that the comet is still headed toward earth , and there\\'s a remote chance it will strike , but that the nation\\'s crack scientists and astronauts have some brilliant plan to stop the problem . \\nit goes on and on throughout the movie , but every time freeman goes on tv , we know his plan is going to fail . \\nhow do we know this ? \\nbecause we\\'ve seen the tv ads for deep impact , ads that feature freeman telling the nation that \" the comet is still headed right for us \" and show disaster shots of the comet striking earth and the giant tidal wave spreading . \\nladies and gentlemen , that is the movie . \\nsuccessful disaster movies have the main disaster toward the beginning and more little disasters that follow , but deep impact saves its one disaster for the end and discloses all in its 30-second tv spots . \\ntelevision is what\\'s wrong with deep impact . \\nthe main character , played by tea leoni , is a low-level broadcast journalist for msnbc ( and that\\'s the mere tip of the product-placement iceberg ) who stumbles upon a huge government conspiracy . \\nshe thinks it\\'s an instance of an ex-secretary of something or other ( james cromwell ) resigning because of a mistress , and that maybe he took the fall for the president in the same area . \\nwhen she goes nosing around cromwell , he begs her to keep it under wraps . \\n \" i know you\\'re just a reporter , but you used to be a human being . \" \\nshe figures out what\\'s really going on after getting roughed up by some fbi men and doing an internet search , where all good journalists learn the difference between a mistress and an extinction- level comet . \\nupon a top-secret meeting with president freeman , leoni agrees to keep the story under wraps until the president can hold a press conference , at which she gets to ask the first question . \\nand everyone knows , if you get to ask the first question , baby you\\'re a star . \\nleoni ends up in the anchor chair , broadcasting every step of the comet\\'s collision course with earth . \\nand i\\'m sure it\\'s comforting for her to know that , even though the world\\'s ending in a matter of months , she\\'s a cable news personality . \\nso there she is , narrating the six-astronaut mission to blow the comet up . \\nsuch personalities as robert duvall , jon favreau and blair underwood cash their paychecks and go through the motions of this dragged-out process . \\nbut as anyone who\\'s seen the commercials knows , the astronauts fail . \\nthey only end up breaking the comet into two pieces , which means even more destruction to the earth . \\nyeah , thanks , nasa . \\nthat\\'s when freeman has to come on tv for the last time and say goodbye to all the people who aren\\'t picked to live in the missouri cave site for two years . \\nthey even have animals , two by two , ready to climb into the cave . \\nif the focus had been on people living inside these caves after the world had been destroyed , deep impact could have been a far more interesting movie . \\ninstead we watch as a lovestruck elijah wood defies all odds to chase down his young wife , while people pack the highways out of town . \\nthe reasoning is , of course , that if a comet is going to strike , they might as well be out in some scenic rural location . \\nand , amusingly , the highway is spotted with people in u-haul trucks . \\ni\\'m sure it\\'s comforting to know that , even though the world\\'s ending in a matter of minutes , the u-haul people are doing the most business of their lives . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" book \" should have remained in shadows \\nbook of shadows : blair witch 2 \\na film review by michael redman copyright 2000 by michael redman \\ncertain things in our lives are inevitable . \\ndeath , sorrow , love , heartbreak , pain , joy . \\nwe expect these events . \\nwe know they\\'re going to happen and some , we even look forward to . \\nit\\'s part of the human condition . \\nwe have also become accustomed to inevitable occurrences in our society . \\nas we near the fall election , several of them are hitting us in the face . \\npoliticians exaggerate their own importance . \\nour side is always right ; theirs is always wrong . \\nin the end , voters are usually forced to choose the lesser of two whocares . \\nin hollywood the one indisputable inevitable is that if a film makes big money , there will be a sequel . \\neven if the original story doesn\\'t merit one . \\neven if the first film is complete in itself . \\neven if success is a fluke . \\n \" the blair witch project \" was made with a budget of $1 . 75 and exploded on the screen , raking in huge profits . \\nthe concept was brilliant . \\nthe filmmakers created a remarkable buzz that the story might be real . \\nthe film itself was even more convincing . \\nthe movie _must_ be authentic . \\nwhy else would such amateurish footage be on the big screen ? \\nthe first film caught lightning in a bottle . \\nthe sequel proves you can\\'t pour that old lightning into a new bottle . \\nyou have to give this effort some credit . \\nit would have been easy to have made the same movie again with a new group of kids . \\nit would have been easy , but of course , it wouldn\\'t have worked . \\ninstead \" book of shadows \" acknowledges the first film as a movie and concentrates on the hysteria following its release . \\nit\\'s a great scheme and possibly the only entertaining way to do a sequel . \\nunfortunately it doesn\\'t work either . \\nfive kids spend the night in the woods at the scene of the first film . \\nweird stuff happens and they retreat to an old factory where one of them lives . \\neven weirder stuff happens . \\nsome people die , there\\'s blood and knives and none of the characters have a lick of common sense . \\nwhile supposedly doing serious research , the group sets up a circle of surveillance cameras in the ruins of the old house in the woods and vows to stay alert all night awaiting a visitation . \\nthen they proceed to get totally trashed on drugs and alcohol and party down with very loud , very obnoxious heavy metal music . \\nit\\'s a bad plan . \\nthe cast shows some early promise . \\na couple is doing research on a \" blair witch \" book . \\nthe tour guide is a former mental patient turned ebay aficionado . \\na goth amazon princess adds a bit of comedic relief . \\nthe obligatory hot babe is the 2000 spiritual cinematic descendent of the cute hippie chick , the cute rock and roll chick and the cute disco chick : the cute wiccan chick . \\nthe first film\\'s unaccomplished actors came across as real people in a real situation because hours and hours of video were shot during days in the woods . \\nthis time , these unaccomplished actors just come across as unaccomplished actors . \\nthere\\'s not one character you care about when they start shouting for no reason . \\nalthough what passes for a plot starts out with a solid idea , it\\'s ruined by poor execution . \\nthe follow-up to one of the most successful horror films ever is nothing more than a bad slasher movie . \\nthey\\'re trapped in an old big weird house . \\nthey stupidly separate into various rooms . \\nthere are strange noises , they see scary apparitions and people disappear . \\never see this movie ? \\nseasoned documentary director joe berlinger should know better . \\nthe film features mostly cheap tricks and unnecessary gore . \\nfor a storyline filled with surprises , it\\'s oddly predicable . \\n \" the blair witch project \" was a rare triumph of style over substance . \\n \" the book of shadows \" is a triumph of tedium over promise . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"once upon a time jean-claude van damme was a decent action hero . \\nthe muscles from brussels bursted into the hollywood market with mindless adventure films , boasting his spectacular martial-arts ability . \\nsome of these excursions were fun . \\nbut now it seems like watching a van damme movie has become a painful chore , with no rewards but the virtually guaranteed helping of mind-numbing action . \\nand when the action goes sour , what is there left to enjoy ? \\ni'll explain . \\nknock off is about a pair of counterfeit jeans salesmen working out of an office in hong kong . \\nmarcus ray ( van damme ) , a babe-magnet and stylish dresser , heads up the company with an annoying weasel of a partner ( rob schneider ) . \\nthey become part of a plot involving microbombs implanted in counterfeit jeans , seemingly by a mole in the business . \\ni'm going to reveal about everything in the next paragraph , so if you want a review devoid of spoilers , skip onto the next one . \\ni'm not quite sure who gives a crap , but i'll issue a warning anyhow . \\ntommy is really working with the cia . \\nhis boss ( a very hammy and flat paul sorvino ) is the mole , and he wants to cause carnage with these tiny but immensely powerful super weapons . \\nhe even stoops so low to put them into children's toys . \\nif you thought this plot outline sounded intriguing , then you probably will enjoy knock off . \\nif you think that this ridiculous set-up couldn't even fill five minutes of screen time without causing you to roll over laughing , this might not be your cup of tea . \\nknock off sucks . \\nit stoops to ridiculous levels that most individuals could only conjure up in horrific nightmares . \\nit amazes me how far these producers will go to sell something , simply because van damme is the star . \\nthe plot is pathetic garbage strung together by inane action sequences that will baffle your mind , the performances are so wooden you could use them to row a canoe , and the action itself is an absolute catastrophe . \\ndirector tsui hark ( who teamed with van damme in the superior , but still lame-brained double team ) is at the helm , and he would rather attempt to dazzle us with fantastic camera angles than engage us with the plot . \\ni suppose i enjoyed some of the camera work , but the incessant desperation of it all made me rather nauseous . \\nthe picture freezes in the middle of an action sequence , speeds are altered consistently , and the camera tricks mostly apply to traveling up gun barrels as the weapons are fired . \\nit all sounds very cool . \\ntrust me , it isn't . \\nas much as it scars me to say this ( har , har ) , van damme is terrible . \\nsure , he does lots of fancy kickboxing moves and dodges giant crates with the greatest of ease . \\nhe looks like he's doing a bad impersonation of jackie chan , and his performance is stiff and tired . \\ni hate to say it , but perhaps it's time for mr . van damme to give up his day job . \\nit's really a test of endurance watching knock off . \\ni suppose there's some enjoyment derived from schneider's character , who is extremely annoying , but provides the film's better moments . \\nand what is the beautiful lela rochon doing in this movie ? \\nhopefully she grabbed her paycheck and then fled the premises like an olympic sprinter . \\nknock off doesn't even stand strong as a mindless but entertaining action film , like a handful of van damme's others . \\nno , this movie is an embarrassment to the entire action genre of modern filmmaking . \\nand considering how low hollywood has stooped as of late in that department , that is certainly not saying much . \\nnote to self : avoid universal soldier 2 : the return upon release in august ? 99 . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"dr dolittle ( 20th century fox ) running time : 1 hour 25 minutes starring eddie murphy directed by betty thomas riding high on the success of the nutty professor ( 1996 ) , murphy returns in this abysmal comedy . \\nhe plays doctor john dolittle , who as a child had the ability to understand animals . \\nhowever , after being 'exorcised' he loses this ability , and we fast forward to see dolittle in a crummy job surrounding by crummy people ( most notably dr mark weller , played by oliver platt . ) \\nhowever , with a bonk on the head his ability to understand animals returns , and 'comedy' is ready and waiting to happen . \\nexcept comedy never does happen . \\ndoctor dolittle , even with the excellent premise , rarely manages to raise a laugh . \\npoor old murphy looks bored stiff throughout the whole movie , and his performance suffers . \\nthe manic murphy we saw in the 80's is gone , his more mature ( and more boring ) twin appears to be getting all the work in the 90's . \\nthe voices of the animals , which include albert brooks , chris rock ( the 'new' eddie murphy ) and norm mcdonald as 'lucky' the dog are marginally better , and at least they put enthusiasm in the movie . \\nsadly , most of their lines are pretty dumb . \\nand they're not 'funny' dumb , like dumb & dumber ( 1994 ) , but just boring dumb . \\nthe film even succumbs to fart jokes halfway through , in a desperate attempt to raise some laughs . \\nthere are a few good jokes in the script , but they are few and far between . \\nif i had to choose a favourite performance , it would probably be albert brooks tiger , who has a certain charm about him . \\nsadly , he's barely in the movie , and rock's really annoying hamster is given far too much screen time . \\njoke wise , we are thankfully , spared the mocking and insulting type of jokes that featured heavily in the nutty professor . \\nthe director , betty thomas , has , well , done better films . \\nshe bought us private parts ( 1997 ) and the brady bunch movie ( 1995 ) which were , sadly , much better than this . \\nthe scenes lack any charm , she just gets the job done . \\nthe animals themselves , are reasonable realistic , although most of them are obviously puppets . \\nthere's an impressive looking tiger , however , and the lip sync is pretty good . \\nyou'd have no problem guessing that most of the close up's are puppets , however , with their jilted movement . \\ni was hoping jim hensons workshop , who created the furry friends , would have done a better job . \\ndoctor dolittle , in the end , is a disappointment for everyone involved . \\nmurphy has done much better movies ( i . e \\ntrading places ) the director has seen better days , and even the creatures aren't that good . \\nthe target audience , aged between 7-13 , who are undemanding , will probably like it however , thanks to it's dumbed down humour . \\neveryone else , however , should give doctor dolittle a miss . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it\\'s a curious thing - i\\'ve found that when willis is not called on to carry the whole movie , he\\'s much better and so is the movie . \\neven though , in the sixth sense he is the \" name \" , he doesn\\'t have the pivotal role . \\nthat honour goes to haley osment who plays cole sear ( cute pun , seer ) a 9 year old boy who can see ghosts . \\nif osment was cute or precious , the director going for the maudlin , this would be nothing more than a movie-of-the-week , thankfully , osment is not only better than that , but in some instances , blows everyone else off the screen in a bravura performance . \\nwe get to see his fears , vulnerabilities , strengths and intelligence which makes the sixth sense one of the best movies i\\'ve seen this year . \\nthe whole cast matches him in quality , with willis giving a fairly low key performance that matches the subject matter . \\none thing about this movie , its target . \\nthis isn\\'t a sfxfest like the haunting or a gorefest , this is more what i\\'d call a supernatural drama , more interested in characters than in dazzling you with makeup . \\none caveat : there\\'s a lovely twist in the movie , something like the usual suspects , where you end up replaying the movie in your head rethinking what you have just seen . \\ni was extremely lucky to see it as a sneak preview in toronto , before any hype or critical reviews were out , so i went in with no biases . \\nif anyone want to talk to about the movie before you see it , don\\'t let them . \\nlet the director explain on his own pace and you\\'ll enjoy the movie vastly more . \\n',\n",
+       " b'movies about teenagers and teenage culture rarely prove to be either interesting , entertaining or convincing , because of one fundamental reason : movies are made by adults and not teenagers . \\noccasionally , however , films like say anything , dazed and confused and the breakfast club will break the mold and offer genuine insight into the lives of those bizarre creatures which surround us called \" teenagers . \" \\ncan\\'t hardly wait , however , does not . \\ninstead , the writing/directing team of harry elfont and deborah kaplan manages to take every clich ? found in the teenage genre , strip it completely of perception , intelligence and wit - and turn it into one of the most nauseating cinematic experiences i have ever been subjected to . \\ncan\\'t hardly wait follows a group of characters as they attend a house party on the night of their high school graduation . \\nthe main characters are such perfected stereotypes that no analysis needs to be provided to perfectly understand them : there\\'s the average male protagonist preston ( ethan embry ) , prom queen and cheerleader amanda ( jennifer love-hewitt ) , football star mike ( peter facinelli ) , white rapper wannabe kenny ( seth green ) , computer geek william ( charlie korsmo ) , and brainy outsider denise ( lauren ambrose ) . \\ni couldn\\'t stand any of those characters . \\nwhether it was william getting drunk and signing along to heavy metal songs or kenny proclaiming \" yo , i gotta have sex tonight ! \" , \\nall i could think of was how elfont and kaplan possibly managed to con columbia pictures out of ten million dollars to fund their film . \\napparently , can\\'t hardly wait is supposed to be a comedy , but it tends to fail in this respect because of the fact that it\\'s not funny . \\nin all honesty , elfont and kaplan should be forced by their employers to attend remedial classes in humour . \\nand when i say \" forced \" , i mean it . \\nthey should be strapped down to a chair and have their eyes wedged open in a similar fashion to alex in a clockwork orange . \\nthis is how desperately they need to be educated about the concept of humour . \\nfor instance , can\\'t hardly wait features a foreign exchange student who is instructed to repeat absurd statements such as \" i am a sex machine . \" \\nfor some reason , elfont and kaplan believe that if this character repeats it enough , eventually it will be funny . \\nif only elfont and kaplan could recognise the irony that they actually got paid for making this junk - now that\\'s funny . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the verdict : spine-chilling drama from horror maestro stephen king , featuring an outstanding , oscar-winning performance from kathy bates . \\ngeez , french and saunders had a field day when they set to work on parodying this ! \\nsorry , non-british readers may not be familiar with french and saunders - my apologies . \\nthe pair are british comediennes ( jennifer saunders later went on to become edina monsoon in \" absolutely fabulous \" ) , who did a series of film spoofs a few years back , including alien , the exorcist and misery . \\nneedless to say , amidst her chucklesome impersonation of kathy bates ( the resemblance was quite uncanny ! ) , dawn french got pretty nasty with her sledgehammer when in reach of jennifer saunder\\'s legs ! \\nbut despite the lingering memory of their sketch , and although i\\'ve now seen the film a couple of times now , that \" hobbling \" scene was no less disturbing ! \\ni\\'m still left screaming at the telly in revulsion ! \\nthat may be the most memorable scene , but it\\'s certainly not the only worth watching . \\nstephen king , whose film and tv adaptations tend to vary in quality , strikes gold with this simple yet strikingly compelling tale . \\nit\\'s a nicely crafted psychological horror , which effortlessly succeeds in drawing you into the plight of writer phil sheldon ( james caan ) . \\nrescued from a car accident by annie wilkes ( bates ) , who introduces herself as the writer\\'s \" number one fan \" , he soon becomes her prisoner . \\nboth the script and kathy bates\\' beautifully masterful performance ( for which she won an oscar ) work arm-in-arm as we quickly begin to realise that beyond her bubbly exterior the woman is basically as nutty as a fruit-cake ( or is that fruity as a nut-cake ? ) . \\nbates relishes her demanding role , and her performance is nothing short of a masterpiece . \\nat times she seems like an innocent victim of her own obsessive behaviour , at times she\\'s a rather tragic character , and more often than not she\\'s just damned scary ! \\nthis is basically a very simple tale , but it achieves a large degree of eloquence in its simplicity . \\nit\\'s an involving , engrossing experience - and considering it\\'s basically a two-hander , mainly set in one locale , it\\'s a remarkable piece of cinema . \\nthere are no jazzy special effects or cheesy action sequences - this one relies solely upon rob reiner\\'s stylish directing and the wonderful performances of bates and caan . \\noh , i haven\\'t really mentioned caan yet - he does a good job as the writer who\\'s a prisoner of his own success ( annie is obsessed with him and his books ) . \\nbut , as you no doubt gathered from the above - bates is well and truly the star of the show . \\nalong with the pig , of course ! \\nanyway , the tension is built-up with masterful aplomb , and some scenes are almost agonisingly tense . \\nthere\\'s the dinner scene where seldon goes to nerve-shattering lengths to poison her wine . \\nhe succeeds , but . . . she \\nknocks the glass over ! \\ni bet you threw a pillow at the screen as well ! \\nin the immortal words of homer j . simpson - \" d\\'oh ! ! \" \\nother nerve-wracking scenes include the bit where annie has gone off to town and sheldon starts snooping around the house . \\nwe cut to annie in her car - she\\'s on her way home . . . he \\nrealises this and tries to get back to his room . . . cut \\nto the car again , she\\'s getting near . . . will he make it ? \\nok , so these sequences aren\\'t exactly original , nor perhaps unpredictable - but they work ! \\nboy , do they work ! \\nif a film has you on the edge of your couch , biting your nails and shouting at the screen in suspense , then it\\'s doing something right ! \\nof course , the most nauseating sequence is the aforementioned \" hobbling \" ! \\nannie realises her captive has been out of his room , and she\\'s going to stop him once and for all . \\ncue a block of wood placed strategically between his ankles and a huge sledgehammer , and . . . i feel ill just thinking about it ! \\nnasty . \\nit all builds up nicely to the final scene where sheldon finally gets the upper hand , and once and for all tries to kill the crazy psycho ! \\nand then we\\'re given one of the most ridiculously over-the-top fight scenes i\\'ve ever seen . \\nshe gets hit over the head with a typewriter , set on fire , head smashed against the wall - and she just won\\'t die ! \\nsheldon isn\\'t in terribly good shape either . \\nif it weren\\'t so gorey it would almost be laughable . \\nbut it\\'s a terrifically effective film , and therefore the daft climax is easily overlooked . \\nmisery is a tight , tense , intense and chillingly entertaining thriller . \\nthe directing is first-rate , and the performances - bates in particular - contribute to making this a suitably nightmarish little gem . \\nwonderful stuff . \\n ? - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - for more regularly-updated film and tv reviews , check out my site ! \\nhttp : //www . geocities . com/hollywood/bungalow/4960 \\n- * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - \\n',\n",
+       " b'roman emperor marcus aurelius ( richard harris ) chooses his trusted general maximus ( russell crowe ) as his successor . \\nhowever the emperor\\'s evil son commodus ( joaquin phoenix ) murders his father before the announcement can be made , and maximus ( as well as his family ) is sentenced to be executed . \\nmaximus is able to escape his executioners , but is later captured and sold as a slave to proximo ( oliver reed ) . \\nproximo is looking for gladiators to earn himself money ( he being a former gladiator himself ) , and maximus reluctantly uses his skills to prove himself a powerful gladiator . \\nwhen emperor commodus announces that new games will be held in the colisseum , proximo takes his gladiators there to do battle . \\nmaximus sees this as his chance to exact revenge on commodus . \\ngladiator begins with a great battle sequence between the roman army and germania , and actually is able to maintain interest during the now required \" 40 minutes of exposition after a kick ass opening sequence \" style of moviemaking . \\nthe only downfall of the opening sequence is the editing style used . . . \\nit\\'s choppy slow-motion which is unsettling and distracting . \\nit\\'s similar to the opening sequence in saving private ryan , but nowhere near as effective . \\nthe actual gladiator battles are thrilling , but also a bit disjointed . \\nmany times it\\'s unclear as to exactly what\\'s going on . . . \\nall the audience can tell is that blood is being spilled . \\nwe\\'re not sure who\\'s blood or by who\\'s hand though . \\nthere\\'s an instance of this earlier in the film too that\\'s disappointing . \\nit\\'s comes when maximus escapes his executioners . \\nsome flashes and a few quick cuts later and maximus is free . . . \\nbut i still don\\'t know exactly how he did it . \\nrussell crowe should have become a major star after his gleefully over the top role as a computer generated serial killer in 1995\\'s virtuosity . \\nfor whatever reason his stardom never arrived . . . \\nbut he should have it now . \\nfrom here on moviegoers should now be able to say , \" let\\'s go see the new russell crowe movie \" . \\nhe gets the best scene in the film ( and one of the best moments of all recent movies ) when he reveals his identity to commodus in the colisseum . \\nit\\'s both rousing and chilling . \\njoaquin phoenix does a very effective job of making commodus a person and not just a cartoon character ( which could have easily happened ) . \\ncommodus is conniving , sneaky and whiny , but phoenix never lets the character get silly . \\nit\\'s a very good ( and very creepy ) performance . \\noliver reed died during the filming of gladiator , and it\\'s a huge loss to the acting world . \\ni\\'ve always been fascinated with reed . . . \\nhe\\'s one of those very talented performers who once had a fine career but ended up in direct to video junk during his twilight years . \\nit\\'s ironic that this film probably would have gotten him back into real movies again , as he gives a fun and sincere performance . \\nthe film is dedicated to him , and he will surely be missed . \\nreed\\'s death presented the filmmakers with an obvious problem , as he still had scenes to be completed . \\nrather than recast the role ( and end up reshooting a great deal of footage ) , a digital version of oliver reed was created at a reported cost of 2 million dollars . \\nironically , that was probably more money than reed ever earned for a single film . \\nanyway , this digital effect is only used in one scene that i am aware of ( for about twenty seconds ) and if you aren\\'t looking for it you won\\'t even be able to tell . \\nsome of the other digital effects are less convincing however . . . \\nand like i always say , noticable digital effects take me out of a movie immediately . \\nit\\'s sad that such a good film has these distractions . \\nmovies like the fall of the roman empire and spartacus seemed to do okay without the use of computer effects . \\nkeep in mind that gladiator is based on real people and real events , but is entirely a work of fiction . \\nhowever it\\'s a work of fiction that\\'s great entertainment , and another film to add to the list of damn fine flicks released in 2000 a . d . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"there ? s nothing quite like a gory anime . \\nreally , and this is the truth , no other genre in film gets away with such violence without a word being said in the media about it . \\nwith anime , a common shot is watching a body getting quickly cut in two , and the rest of the insides falling out seconds afterword . \\nthis is a standard practice in anime , or at least the half dozen or so titles that i ? ve seen . \\nvampire hunter d is a gory , gory film . \\nif they ever made a live version of the film , it would be banned in several countries and given a rating somewhere below xxx . \\nit ? s not that it ? s gore is unique - it ? s just like other gory animes - but this one was supposed to stand out because of the complexity it ? s story , characters , animation , etc . . . \\nit really didn ? t . \\nit was disgusting and gruesome , which overshadowed the story , what little of it there was . \\nit seems that in the not too distant future vampires and evil control the world , because god knows that our local police force just can ? t seem to get a handle on vampires in the movies . \\none evening , a blond peasant girl , drawn to look 17 and innocent ( a foreshadow that we will see her naked , i guessed early on it would be in the shower or in a rape scene ) is out fighting evil in her local forest preserve when she stumbles onto the private property of a ten thousand year old vampire ( insert strom thurmand joke here . ) \\nof course , he never put a ? no trespassing ? sign on his yard , so one can ? t really blame her , but he ? s upset anyway and demands retribution . \\nshe gets the obligatory bite on the neck ( aren ? t there other places to get blood from ? \\nit seems like a bite in the elbow would do well enough . \\nif it's good enough for doctors to draw blood from , then why do vampires stray from that sight ? ) \\nto fight the spell , she enlists the help of a mysteriously tall , dark and handsome vampire hunter ( you guessed it , his name is d ) . \\nthe vampire hunter is torn between fighting vampires , being attracted to the 17 year old peasant girl and finding reasons not to talk too much . \\nyou see , like all heroes in these kinds of stories , he ? s a brooder , who ? s sole purpose in life is to remain really , really silent . \\nwhen he speaks , it ? s in cliches . \\nheroes like this are bad when they ? re live , even worse when animated . \\nlater the vampire hunter storms the castle to meet the big bad vampire , who wants to marry the peasant girl because he ? s bored after 10 , 000 years of living ( the only clever vampire insight made in the movie ) , will vampire hunter d rush to save her in time ? \\nwill we see blood and intestines spattering on every place imaginable ? \\nin it ? s defense , the animation , when focusing on being original rather than recycling anime slicing , could at times be original . \\nthe talking hand was clever - and i think the inspiration for a skateboard-related logo . \\nand that ? s the best defense i can think of . \\ni understand that vampire hunter d is supposed to be a fave among anime fans , but i really don ? t see it . \\nit ? s an excuse to watch blood dripping from teeth , blood exploding out of eye sockets and horses necks , and most importantly , like all violent anime , it is an excuse to see animated breasts . \\nwhy ? \\nwhat is the point of that ? \\nmaybe i have to understand the genre and look past the obsessive gore and mysogny . \\ni ? m not a prude , i just don ? t think it ? s warranted . \\nit puts itself so far out in front of the movie that everything else gets lost . \\nis there a neccesity in seeing a 17 year old in the shower ? \\nof course not ? it ? s done for shock . \\nit ? s tasteless and despicable . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'note to screenwriters and self : when you hit the big time , and the studios come knocking for those scripts that are sitting in your bottom drawer , tell ? em all to hit the road . \\ngilligan wrote the arbitrarily-titled home fries ten years ago ; it was shelved until he found success as one of \" the took a second look at gilligan\\'s \" comedy \" - they read it again wearing rose-tinted glasses . \\ndrew stars as sally , a dim ( but sweet ) , pregnant waitress at a small town burger joint located somewhere in the southern united states . \\nthe father of her child is dead , the victim of a severe heart attack brought on by sadistic torture from his two stepsons - these flyboys scared him with their low-flying helicopter . \\ndorian ( wilson ) and angus ( busey ) were getting even for his philandering ways on behalf of their anguished mother ( o\\'hara ) . \\ntrouble is , sally picked up some interference on her drive-thru headset , and angus worries she may have heard conversations that took place in the helicopter prior to the accidental killing . \\nso dorian goes undercover as a burger-flipper ; before you can say \" with cheese \" he falls for the mother-to-be . \\ntoo bad mom and angus have homicidal plans for sally . \\ndoes this sound like a movie you want to see ? \\nwithout a doubt , the best thing about home fries is barrymore ; at the risk of sounding sexist , she\\'s never looked better than here , as a curly redhead with twinkling eyes . \\nshe is winning in a role that requires her to do absolutely nothing except look apple-cheek cute and gawk at wilson , her real-life boyfriend . \\nbut the plot and the situations are so off-putting that nothing could save it . \\nthis movie desperately wants to get mentioned in the same breath as the coen brothers , but home fries\\' brand of laboured hipness would be foreign to geniuses like ethan and joel . \\nit\\'s raising arizona without babies , without charm , without laughs , without human characters , and without intelligence ; worst of all , it\\'s creepy . \\nwhat\\'s funny about threatening to gun down a pregnant woman with a machine gun ? \\n ( unless the woman in question is a spice girl . ) \\ntake out the helicopters , the quasi-incestuous relationship between the mother and her sons ( it is absolutely illogical , within the movie\\'s framework , that dorian still lives with his mother and brother ) , and the scenes of murder ( attempted and otherwise ) , and what are you left with ? \\nthe story of a single woman with child who works at a fast food joint ( but dreams of becoming a country singer ) . \\nthat could turn out to be the most boring movie ever made , but it\\'d be better than home fries . \\n',\n",
+       " b'every year--every year at the festival , i wait for that film to come along , that one that just pulls me out of my seat , sticks its face up next to my nose , and roars \" sur-prise ! \" \\ninto my bewildered visage . \\nit\\'s almost always a surprise . \\nit sure as niflheim was this time . \\namazing grace and chuck is being advertised as a modern fairy tale , of a boy in montana who quits his little league team for a very unusual reason . \\nand , in the hands of anyone less careful than the creative staff of this film , it might very well be nothing more than a fairy tale , where we roll our eyes occasionally , smirk to ourselves , and maybe get a forced tear out of the eyes and a \" boy , i wish that could happen \" sigh out of the lips upon exiting the theater and tossing the empty pepsi cup into the trash . \\nanother e . t . \\nanother short circuit . \\nthis film floored me , for the simple reason that while it has a fairy tale concept , the rest of the film takes itself seriously enough , and presents itself well enough , to make it more of an american folk tale , with characters who are both icons and real people at the same time . \\namerica has always had its mythical heros , its paul bunyans and john waynes ; this film presents us with more general , but still universal , ideals : the honest , innocent children who have their own inner wisdom ; the athletes who seem to be amalgamations of courage , honor , and love for their respective sport ; the venerable elected official who leads with kindness and understanding , but has the grit to get things done when they need doin\\' ( does the latter sound familiar ? ) . \\namazing grace and chuck is a showcase for these characters , but it never leaves you with the feeling that it\\'s artificial , that it stands behind glass , or that any sharp breeze--or , more importantly , sharp thought--will shatter the wax facade of the panorama . \\nthis is a very sturdy scenario . \\nthe principals are always given dialogue , and always give performances--always ( it just blows me away ) -- which made them seem real , yet enforces their particular mythic role . \\nthe writer/producer , david field , seems to literally take all the \" yeah , but in real life , this would have happen \" thoughts you get in your head , sticks them in the movie and uses them to bend the plot around to his original heading , in a stronger way then before ! \\nastounding ! \\nhe uses obstacles to the plot to * enforce * it ! \\ni am truly impressed ( indeed , envious ) with the skill in which he wrote the story and screenplay ; it\\'s so very unusual , especially in a hollywood film . \\ni don\\'t want to give too much away , but the basic premise is that chuck ( joshua zuehlke ) , the little league pitcher , decides to give up baseball because of nuclear weapons . \\nhis decision begins an unlikely series of events that involve another athlete , a boston basketball player ( alex english ) , \" amazing \" grace smith , and , well , i\\'m leaving it at that because i wouldn\\'t spoil this film for you for the world . \\nlet me just say this , though : i am not recommending this film because i think it has a great message or because of any political positions it might imply . \\ni don\\'t give a rat\\'s ass for the political point-of-view this film expresses , one way or another ; i\\'m recommending you go see this film because , and only because , it\\'s an excellent story , told with excellence . \\nno , i don\\'t believe what happens in this film could happen in real life ; while i tend to believe the arms control policy of this country is stilted , i believe in careful negotiations , mutual verification , etc . screw what i think . \\nthe point is , this film is able to suspend my disbelief and tell a story that is one of the most finely crafted pieces of american dream i have ever seen on the movie screen . \\nthis is the natural and more--all the mythic qualities without the pretentiousness or the forced feeling of the conclusion , and a much better script to boot . \\nit carried me into the beliefs and ideals of my boyhood--and , more importantly , without any bumps or jolts that would snap me out of the trance with some hint of self-consciousness . \\nspecial kudos to : both zuehlke ( a real-life little league pitcher who was picked for the part ) and english ( a forward for the denver nuggets ) for their seamless personification of their characters ; jamie lee curtis , who takes a surprisingly small role and makes it exceedingly memorable as amazing\\'s manager and friend ; william l . peterson ( in a * big * change from his role in to live and die in l . a . ) as a father who shows principles without having to stand up and wave a flag doing it ; and gregory peck , as the guy we wish ronald reagan really was ( and who some numbskulls still probably think he is \\n',\n",
+       " b\"wow ! what a movie . \\nit's everything a movie can be : funny , dramatic , interesting , weird , funny , weird and strikingly original . \\nyep that pretty much describes this movie . \\nit starts out like a regular movie and ends up being one of the weirdest , funniest most original movies i have ever seen . \\nit boggles the mind and some have to wonder why we cannot get movies like this more often . \\nbesides being one of the best films of the year , being john malkovich may as well be one of the best movies ever . \\nperiod . \\nthen again there are so many good movies , that one cannot pick an all time favorite . \\njohn cusack plays a puppeteer craig schwartz a man out of a job , in search of a job . \\nhis wife lotte schwartz who is played by a completely un-noticeable cameron diaz who looks like something off the streets is an animal lover and has about every kind of animal you could think of . \\ncraig finds a job as a file at the 7 ? floor of a business building . . . you \\nhave to pry open the elevator doors open before it reaches floor eight , the 7 ? floor is just a floor between 7 and 8 . \\nhe is hired by his 105 year old boss ( orsen bean ) to be a filer . \\nin his office , he discovers a little door , to which was boarded up and hidden . \\nto his curiosity he opens it and starts to crawl toward it , he then gets sucked to the end and ends up in john malkovich's mind . \\nfifteen minutes later he is shot out onto the side of the new jersey turnpike . \\nhe returns to tell his co-worker maxine ( catherine keener ) that he has found a portal that will lead him into john malkovich's mind , she doesn't believe him but after she sees it it changes her mind . \\nlotte also finds out about the portal and discovers that being someone else is good after all . \\njohn malkovich of course has no idea what is going on , and by the end of this bizarre film there are so many twists and turns , that we don't know what really happened . \\njohn cusack is outstanding and utterly believeable in a role only he himself could play . \\nhe fits the role perfectly and to me was brilliantly cast . \\ncameron diaz is outstanding and utterly one of the world's most prettiest women , is made up here unnoticeable and very unattractive . \\nshe however gives a very comic performance and this could easily be her best role to date . \\ncatherine keener is very funny and sexy as maxine and of course the best thing of the movie is the magic himself john malkovich who is very brilliant and this movie plays big time homage ? to the master himself . \\nthe whole group combined gives us a wonderfully funny movie that is also smart and clever . \\nspike jonze ( three kings ) makes his fabulous directing debut , and did a fantastic job of directing this new classic film . \\nhe lets the viewer go on the trip as well as let the viewer know they are watching a movie . \\nby the time the ending rolled around my head was spinning from disbelief of how good this film was . \\nthe screenplay written by charlie kaufman was hilarious and often thought-provoking . \\nthe film also had a soft side to it and even though the ending is very surprising it is also a little sad and heart-warming . \\nthe whole movie was fantastic and had me rolling in the isles . \\nfrom cameron diaz's appearence to john malkovich's explorations i laughed very hard , and it may as well be as funny as as good as it gets ( the funniest ! ) . \\nthere isn't a slow point in the movie , or an overused idea . \\nthere are no cliches except for the fact that this is the most original , inventie , witty , and smart movie i've seen in a long time . \\ni found myself amazed by everything : the direction , acting , writing and the whole idea of the movie . \\nby the end i had to wonder why hollywood doesn't want to make movies like this anymore . \\nor why they don't . \\nall filmmakers watch this movie and get some ideas of movies to come out . \\nthis was a surprise hit as was american beauty . \\n'being john malkovich' is in the top 5 movies of the year , and in the top 10 best films ever made . \\nit has something that no other movies playing now has . \\nin fact it may as well be the best movie out right now . \\ni highly recommend 'being john malkovich' and have no doubts you will be disappointed . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'by trying to satisfy every kind of viewer , it\\'s possible that sphere may end up pleasing no one . \\naction lovers will be bored by what they will see as an interminably boring setup . \\naudience members who crave more intellectual fare will be disgusted by the film\\'s sudden collapse into mindless storytelling and by the ending , which is an insulting cop-out . \\nsomewhere out there , maybe there\\'s a small cadre of film-goers who will appreciate sphere\\'s dubious charms , but i\\'m not among them . \\ni sincerely hope the novel is better than the movie ( i no longer read anything by either michael crichton or john grisham ) , because if the finished motion picture product is anything to go by , it\\'s hard to understand why the rights were optioned . \\nsphere is the kind of first- class mess that only a top-line director with an a-list cast can create . \\nwith expectations high ( and how could they not be , considering that another barry levinson/dustin hoffman collaboration , the excellent wag the dog , is still playing in theaters ? ) , \\nsomething this bad can\\'t help but look even worse . \\nthe last time a big-name , big-budget film displayed this level of ineptitude was last year\\'s batman & robin , and everyone knows how that movie was received . \\nsphere starts out a little like an amalgamation of contact and james cameron\\'s the abyss , but , somewhere along the way , it collapses into the cellar with another recent science fiction effort , event horizon . \\nscience and philosophy , which are used to good effect during sphere\\'s first hour , give way to mindless , confusing action sequences . \\nattempts at characterization fall apart . \\nintelligent writing , which is evident early on , is replaced by hackneyed drivel . \\nspecial effects take over as the plotline devolves into incoherent silliness . \\nbut all that is just in preparation for the ending , which is inexcusably awful . \\nthis is the time-honored deus ex machina device used to its worst effect . \\ni left the theater feeling cheated by the way crichton and his screenwriters had chosen to end the film . \\nthere is some promise , but it\\'s all in the setup . \\nwe\\'re introduced to norman goodman ( dustin hoffman ) , a psychologist who once wrote a $35 , 000 report for the government about what to do in the event that a crashed space ship is discovered . \\nwhen one is found in the middle of nowhere , 1000 feet below the surface of the pacific ocean , norman is called in to be part of the welcoming committee . \\non the team with him are beth halperin ( sharon stone ) , a biochemist who was once his student and lover ; harry adams ( samuel l . jackson ) , a mathematician who earned his first doctorate at the age of 18 ; ted fielding ( liev schreiber ) , an astrophysicist who is awed by the opportunity to explore alien technology ; and harold barnes ( peter coyote ) , the government operative in charge of the mission . \\ntogether , the five descend into the bowels of the ocean , where they rendezvous with a temporary sea base on the ocean floor from which they will attempt to make first contact . \\nfor a while , sphere had me fooled into thinking it was going to take an astute approach to the man-meets-alien situation . \\nthe overall scenario is not without promise and several plot twists ( such as the revelation that the enormous craft is actually an american space ship , apparently from the future ) offer intriguing possibilities . \\nthen , right around the one-hour mark ( that\\'s the time to sneak into the theater next door and check out whatever\\'s left of titanic ) , the virtually non-stop action begins , and , once it starts , the script becomes superfluous . \\nthis might be acceptable if director levinson generated some legitimate tension , but , instead , he relies on loud , overbearing music , strange camera angles , and quick cuts to make things \" exciting . \" \\nadditionally , because none of the characters are well-formed ( a common failing in anything penned by crichton , who\\'s more interested in technology than people ) , viewers don\\'t develop much of a rooting interest . \\nit makes sitting through sphere a frustrating and pointless experience . \\nwhat about that a-list cast ? \\nnot surprisingly , the most energetic performance is given by samuel l . jackson , but his harry isn\\'t a person ; he\\'s a walking plot device spouting occasionally-witty dialogue . \\ndustin hoffman isn\\'t lively or particularly good -- it\\'s ironic that this , which may be his worst work in a decade , has arrived in theaters on the heels of his best actor nomination ( for wag the dog ) . \\nsharon stone and peter coyote are both flat . \\ntheir characters exhibit little evidence of emotion ; automatons would have been as effective . \\nthen there\\'s queen latifa , who , despite getting fifth billing in the credits ( ahead of liev schreiber , who boasts at least quadruple her screen time ) , has less than a handful of lines and almost nothing to do other than inflate the body count . \\ni like to think that levinson and hoffman , recognizing how uninspired this movie was likely to be , chose to make wag the dog as a sort of penance ( the low-budget picture was filmed during sphere\\'s lengthy pre-production phase ) . \\nif that\\'s the case , forgiveness is granted . \\ni\\'m less inclined to look favorably upon crichton , although he has a few enjoyable titles on his resume ( jurassic park and the levinson-directed disclosure come to mind ) . \\neven if his novel was butchered in the adaptation process , crichton\\'s credit as a producer disallows him absolution . \\nhe was a willing participant in a creative travesty . \\nno wonder sphere is being released in february , in the midst of the early year\\'s cinematic wasteland . \\nit deserves no better than to get sunk by the unstoppable titanic , which should plow sphere under on its way to a ninth-consecutive weekend atop the box office heap . \\n',\n",
+       " b'available for rental - october 12 , 1999 \\n10 things i hate about you is an update of the classic play , the taming of the shrew . \\nthat said , drop any pre-conceived notions of what shakespeare\\'s work is supposed to be like and welcome yourself to padua high school , home of a student counselor ( allison janney ) who obsesses over the male penis ; a slightly too hip and racist african-american english teacher ( daryl mitchell ) ; a new kid named cameron ( joseph gordon-levitt ) ; a model named joey ( andrew keegan ) , the subject of cameron and joey\\'s crushes ; bianca ( larisa oleynik ) ; and bianca\\'s sister - the shrew ( julia stiles in a marvelous performance ) - whose name is katarina , kat for short . \\nwith movies about high schools similar to these running through projectors like water down the nile , it would be quite easy to write off 10 things i hate about you as just another doltish comedic-romance . \\nyet , you must realize that the story is timeless , and a few hundred years later it is equally as witty and comical as when elizabeth gleefully looked on , groundlings below and stuffed brassieres on stage . \\nthe first reminder of the original scribe can be found in katarina and bianca\\'s last name : stratford . \\ntheir family is run by walter stratford ( pretty woman\\'s larry miller ) , a doctor who is all too familiar with teenage pregnancy and guards his children accordingly . \\nin what he thinks to be a moment of ironic humor , the family \" no dating \" policy is amended to \" bianca can date . . . when \\n[katarina] does . \" \\nwith prom just ahead , bianca\\'s fate is grim ; unless , of course , she can tame the shrew . \\ndon\\'t think this mission to be a simple one , as bianca kindly points out , her sister \" . . . is a particularly hideous breed of loser . \" \\ngetting katarina to date is complex and oftentimes confusing . \\nwhen cameron , who likes bianca , learns of her father\\'s new rule , he is quick to consult a friend for advice . \\nthe scheme they dream up is to fully exploit \" someone with money . \" \\nin this case , that is joey - the other guy with a crush on bianca . \\ncameron\\'s friend , a loser by teenage verdict , convinces joey to pay someone who has enough guts to take the shrew out . \\nthe solution lies no farther away than the second blatant reminder of the master scribe : patrick verona ( heath ledger ) . \\nthis verona is far from fair ; rumor has it that he previously laid his scene in prison . \\nmoreover , katarina openly opined to the aforementioned english teacher that \" hemingway was an alcoholic who hung around picasso , hoping to nail his leftovers . \" \\nthe laws of high school cinema inexorably turn patrick and katarina into romeo and juliet . \\nproviding a constant reminder of the fact that this isn\\'t exactly what shakespeare had in mind are the elements obligatory to a high school comedy : a party polluted with liquor , a best friend\\'s betrayal , and prom . \\nit is the latter that has become infamous for closing films like drive me crazy , american pie , never been kissed , carrie , she\\'s all that , and can\\'t hardly wait . \\nyet surely even these practices have roots in shakespeare ; falstaff was a drunk , romeo and juliet met at a party , and caesar learned about loyalty the hard way . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"larry flynt is a self proclaimed smut pedlar and the owner/publisher of the multi-million dollar hustler publications company . \\nthe people vs . larry flynt is the story of larry flynt's fight for the freedom to circulate and sell his pornographic magazine , hustler . \\nbased on a true story , the film is almost a documentary in that it's a very vivid and detailed look at larry flynt's life . \\nwoody harrelson gives an excellent performance . \\nhe conveys flynt's peculiarities and his character with depth and focus . \\nby the end of the film the audience actually finds themselves , somewhat grudgingly , liking larry flynt . \\nthis is some feat given flynt's apparent lack of any morals or ethics and his extremely smutty and childish behaviour in court . \\nhowever , flynt has a number of things going for him , he's rich , he's funny , and most importantly , he says exactly what he means . \\nlarry flynt's wife , althea leasure is played by courtney love . \\nlarry meets althea at one of his clubs , and they fall in love ( a very sexual and open love ) . \\nboth of them indulge in a world of too much sex , and eventually too much drugs . \\nflynt had been taking an excessive amount of pain killers after being paralysed from the waist down ( which was especially upsetting for him ) by an assassin . \\nalthea had joined him in taking the drugs . \\nfollowing an operation flynt decides to stop taking drugs , althea does not have any such plans , nor the determination to follow them . \\nas the film progresses we see her become increasingly frail and sick . \\ncourtney love obviously has a great understanding for althea's situation , as she is brilliant in portraying althea in every respect . \\nit's extremely sad to watch althea literally wither away . \\nedward norton plays flynt's lawyer , alan isaacman . \\nagain , this is a solid performance . \\nthe audience finds it easy to sympathise with isaacman who somehow puts up with flynt's courtroom antics . \\nflynt is not only childish in the courtroom , but downright rude to the judges , and lands himself in a lot of trouble ( and even in a mental institution ) because of it . \\nisaacman is very easy to like , and great at proving ( in quite clever ways ) his points to the court . \\nmilos forman has done a great job in directing the people vs . larry flynt . \\nit is not really an exciting or thrilling film , but instead a highly interesting portrayal of a true story . \\ndue to larry's character it is also , at times , a very funny film . \\nhowever , it is much more than that . \\nit is about the fight for freedom of speech , anti-censorship , and the right to be able choose for oneself what to see and buy . \\nan excellent look at flynt , his life , and his story . \\nkeep a look out for the real larry flynt who makes a cameo as judge morrissey . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'robin williams , this time without a beard , returns to drama in this sloppy , sickly sweet fantasy with few redeeming features apart from the incredible effects . \\nhe plays chris nielsen , who meets annie ( annabella sciora ) and promptly marries her . \\nthey have two great kids , who sadly die in a car crash . \\njust when it couldn\\'t get any worse , chris gets killed in a car crash , and goes to heaven where he meets his guide albert ( gooding jnr . ) \\nannie can\\'t take the grief anymore , and kills herself . \\n ( all sounding like good fun so far ? ) \\nthe \\'penalty\\' for suicide is to go to hell , and chris goes on a mission to try and rescue her using the help of the traveller ( max von sydow . ) \\nbased on a novel by twilight zone writer richard matheson , what dreams may come is clunky , manufactured material doused with a extra load of sugar . \\nthis is the worse spielberg film spielberg never made . \\neverything is wrong about this movie : the performances are forced , and the audiences fail to relate to any of the characters . \\nwilliams puts on a convincing upset face , but that\\'s all it is : a face . \\nthere\\'s no emotion behind it . \\nsciora\\'s performance is lazy , and bogs down the whole film . \\nshe may look pretty , but she can\\'t act . \\nmax von sydow is o . k as the traveller , if nothing special . \\ncuba gooding jnr , thankfully , adds some bounce to his performance , and is certainly the best performer in the film . \\nit\\'s a shame that his character is so flat and 2-d , and offers no room for improvement . \\nall the performers have to work with a soppy script , that tries it\\'s best to get some emotion going , but never takes off the ground . \\nthere are _some_ scenes which could be real heartwarmers , but the faceless characters don\\'t help to get anything out of the performers . \\nwhile films like e . t used great actors , music and direction to pull of a masterful heart-tugging scene , what dreams may come is haphazard , expecting the emotion to come out of the scene automatically . \\ninstead , it\\'s all rather boring . \\nsure , the music is pretty ( by michael kamen ) and the cinematography isn\\'t bad ( by eduardo serra ) but there\\'s something lacking . \\nthe script doesn\\'t help , filled with hopeless romantic clich ? s , and dud speeches . \\nrichard matheson can write some awesome science fiction stories , sadly this novel would look embarrassed in a bargain bin , let alone being converted into a $70 million vehicle for robin williams . \\ndespite being set in heaven , what dreams may come is mightily depressing . \\nthe film rushes a happy ending , but everything before this is very , very sad and black , which just adds to make the ending even more hopeless and stupid . \\nbut there\\'s one redeeming feature about this failure of a movie : the special effects . \\nheaven and hell are truly incredible places , and the actors fit perfectly with the virtual sets . \\nbut despite this , what dreams may come , proves to be nothing but the biggest disappointment of 1998 . \\ninstead of raising questions about existence , it raises boredom . \\nsadly , i recommend you give this film a miss . \\nbetter luck next time , robin . \\na david wilcock review ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       " b'some movies ask you to leave your brain at the door , some movies ask you to believe in the impossible to really have a good time . \\nplaying god asks just one simple , eensy , teensy thing so it can fully entertain you , it\\'s accomplished in just four easy to follow steps : crack open your skull , scoop out your brain , squish it under your foot several times and reverse steps two and one . \\ncongratulations , you now have all the necessary requirements to fully enjoy a whole lot of nothing . \\nsome movies fail at the box office but you manage to see why the producers thought it could have been a good movie , others are simply good ideas that are badly executed . \\nthen there\\'s playing god , which enters the esteemed category of movies which seem to have grown from the union of a drunk director , actors satisfied in the knowledge that this horrible flick will have no lasting impact on their careers and a bunch of rip-offs ( or homages as they like to call it ) from other , better movies that end up looking like an unflushed toilet . \\nharsh ? maybe . \\njustified ? \\nhell yes ! \\nthis is a movie that is not just satisfied in ripping off other movies but feels the need to remind us of that fact every ten minutes . \\nfor example , a gunman bursts into a garden with the two guns in his hands firing away . \\nthis does look moderately kool , but the camera lingers on the actor for so long you can almost hear the director yelling : \" oooh , look look ! \\njohn woo ! \\ntwo guns blazing ! \\nslooooow motion ! \" \\nand if that wasn\\'t enough , you can also hear the script grunting under the effort it must take to try and make every single line of dialogue sound like something deep and meaningful like in a tarantino movie . \\npoor timothy hutton gets to deliver most of the corny lines , you have to admire the effort he puts into it , this guy deserves better . \\nunlike most movies this one does not suffer from \" stupid bad guy \" syndrome , just to make things a little different this time we get stupid heroes . \\nexample : duchovny manages to distract a bad guy by making him go into the bathroom to get some bandages . \\nnow the bad guy is , like , stoned , man , so he leaves his shotgun next to our hero . \\n ( term used as loosely as possible ) \\nsurvival instincts and a good dose of common sense seems to suggest grabbing the shotgun , which our hero does , but only after contemplating it for about thirty seconds . \\neven when he does grab it he seems unsure how to hold it , going so far as to actually wonder if he should place a finger near the trigger . \\nmind you , i\\'ve never fired a shotgun in my life but believe you me that the bad guy would be missing most of his vital organs , be he stoned or not . \\nsome will argue that our hero does not have a killer instinct , the hell with that ! \\ntwo fbi guys have just been shot in front me , along with one bad guy and the other looks like he might go ballistic at any second . \\nsolution ? \\nboom ! \\ni\\'ll take the time to feel sorry about it later thank you very much . \\nanother prime example of the idiot hero syndrome : \\nour boy duchovny needs to reach his girl before something bad happens to her . \\nhe knows the head bad guy has her on the tenth floor of a building and that he might be running into a room full of people with itchy trigger fingers . \\nhe still has his shotgun , bring it along you say ? \\nno thanks , i\\'ll just ditch it in the back of my car . \\nand the real kicker is this : when he reaches the room and people start shooting at him he has the nerve to look surprised ! \\nwhile we are on the subject of getting shot , why in hades were those fbi guys sitting with their backs to the door ? \\ni\\'ve got no formal training but even i know you never sit with your back to the door . \\nask mr . wild bill , the first and only time he did not sit with his back to a wall cost him his life . \\nthis is the major problem with this movie , any mook could have thought of a hundred ways to make it better . \\nis it so much to ask that hollywood actually put a little common sense into their characters ? \\nfor instance : \\nour heroes hide at duchovny\\'s summer home , now the bad guys could come knocking at any moment . \\nok , this time our hero does get himself a gun and has it at his side most of the time . \\nbut see , our hero is a drug addict and guess what ? \\nhe chooses now to go clean and suffer through dt . \\noh sure , he\\'ll be really impressive when the bad guys come calling . \\ngoing clean is really honorable of him , but i would have waited until i did not need to be conscious or being able to fire a gun . \\nfor an enjoyable performance by timothy hutton , plot holes the size of godzilla , getting our intelligence insulted and several \" oh come on ! \" \\nmoments . \\n',\n",
+       " b'mimi leder is probably best known for her stunning work as a director of the hit tv-show er . \\nher mast famous episode , \" love\\'s labour lost \" , dealt with the ordeal of doctor mark greene as he tried his best to save the life of a pregnant mother and her child . \\nthe way she moved the camera and created tension throughout every scene was amazing . \\nthere was more excitement and adrenaline rushed suspense than just about any of hollywood\\'s big blockbuster movies . \\nso it\\'s only natural that leder would get to direct her very own hollywood blockbuster . \\nand i have to say , after a shaky beginning , she does not disappoint . \\npeacemaker deals with the theft of nuclear weapons by terrorists , which is obviously nothing new . \\nthe first half hour goes into detail , way too much detail , about how the weapons are stolen . \\ndespite a few good images , including a train collision and a very impressive explosion , none of this was very coherent . \\nit\\'s long and drawn out , and i would have settled with a more implausible beginning that would have moved the story along better . \\nonce george clooney and nicole kidman enter the picture , it begins to take off . \\ngeorge clooney is an air force colonel with connections all over the world . \\nhe has a nice sarcastic wit and the rough edges that you expect from most clooney characters . \\nnicole kidman is head of a white house team on weapons smuggling . \\nthere is the usual flirtatious banter between the two , but that is dispensed with quickly . \\nthe story takes clooney and kidman across the globe , trying to figure out who has the weapons and where they are going with them . clooney \\ngoes through bouts of sarcasm , frustration , determination , and revenge while kidman works against her own insecurity and self-doubt . \\nthis is when leder starts to show her true stuff . \\nshe starts us off with a nifty little car chase as an appetizer . \\nthen we get clooney doing heroics in and out of a helicopter . \\nthen that leads us to the brilliant final showdown on new york city\\'s crowded streets , and a madman with a nuke walking among them . \\nmimi leder is a natural at creating suspense . \\nshe reminds me of wolfgang petersen in her ability to make the most routine action sequences exciting and breathtaking . \\nnicole kidman is an intelligent female action hero . \\nyou\\'re not gonna find her falling down so clooney can come back to save her . \\ngeorge clooney is a real movie star . \\nmany of you may have hated him as batman , but this guy is for real . \\nhe has a natural screen presence , and an ingratiating personality . \\nhe\\'ll be around for a while . \\ndreamworks is off to a satisfying start with peacemaker . \\n',\n",
+       " b'every once in a while you see a film that is so effective in delivering the goods that it is easy to forget , and forgive , its glaring imperfections . \\nsuch is the case with ? good will hunting ? , a subtle character study about a socially inept mathematics genius who struggles to find his path in life . \\ndespite some serious character problems , this is still a very good film . \\nyou probably know about the plot so i ? ll make it quick . \\nwill hunting ( damon ) is a janitor at m . i . t . , he ? s really smarter than einstein but nobody knows it . \\nhe likes to go out with his friend chuckie ( affleck ) and their other working-class buddies and drink beer . \\nhe ? s good-looking , charismatic , and witty but has a terrible time with authority and stiff college folk . \\nafter getting into a tiff with the law , a distinguished professor ( skarsg ? rd ) discovers will ? s genius and offers him a chance to clean up his record and avoid jail time , at a price : he must attend weekly sessions with a therapist and work on various mathematical problems ( that have stumped the academic elite ) with the professor . \\nafter outsmarting and scaring the hell out of a couple of different psychologists he meets his match when hooked up with a once-promising therapist named sean maguire ( williams ) who has his own problems . \\nin the meantime will meets a british medical school student ( driver ) and they begin to fall in love . \\nthe story starts out well enough and is a pretty original basis for a film . \\neven though we ? ve seen movies about misunderstood , erratic prodigies before ( ? shine ? ring a bell ? ) , the script here creates a complex narrative that doesn ? t just focus solely on one character . \\nalas though , this is not a perfect film , as much as you feel like it could ? ve been while watching it . \\nthe one real problem i had with it is the unrealistic nature of the main character . \\nis it possible for a lowly janitor to be this intelligent ? \\nof course . \\nis it possible for him to be estranged from any deep , human relationships ? \\nusually , yes . \\nbut , is it possible for him to also be so handsome , funny , quick with the tongue , and city-street tough ? \\nnot very likely . \\ncome on , usually these guys are total nerds who can ? t even buy their own shirts , much less talk down a harvard student in a hip pub while picking up phone numbers from pretty med . -school \\ngirls . \\nwill is just a little too perfect , and in order to accept the character your disbelief suspension needs to be in excellent working condition . \\nthe heavy-handed , anti-war statement made by will at a government job interview late in the film is also boorish , overlong , pompous , and completely unnecessary . \\nall this sounds pretty bad , but the film somehow makes up for it in other ways . \\ndamon ? s acting overshadows the fact that the character is slightly unbelievable , his performance is truly extraordinary . \\nwhich leads me to the really good part of the review . \\nthe strength of this movie can be summed up in one single word : acting . \\ni can ? t recall seeing a film recently that was so well-acted from top to bottom . \\nfrom minnie driver ? s frustrated lover to ben affleck ? s laid-back best friend , and all the small roles in between , the performances are magnificent . \\nrobin williams ? skill is a given as a bereaved psychologist who could ? ve had a legendary career but was knocked off the path somewhere down the line . \\nthe real gem though is stellan skarsg ? rd ? s turn as professor lambeau , an award-winning mathematician who feels reduced in comparison to a younger , smarter will hunting . \\nthe scenes between williams and skarsg ? rd , as two old college pals who ? ve been brought back together by this enigmatic kid , display some of the best acting i ? ve ever seen . \\nwhen i say delivering the goods , this is what i ? m talking about . \\nwatching these two work is what going to see movies is all about . \\ngus van sant ? s ( to die for , drugstore cowboy ) cold , urban direction is right on , as well as danny elfman ? s sauntering musical score . \\ni highly recommend ? good will hunting ? . \\ndespite its faults , it is still an intriguing and fascinating film and you are not likely to see a better acted one this year . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"-- comedy , rated pg , runs about 1 : 40 -- starring : john goodman , kathy moriarty , and a bunch of teenagers -- directed by joe dante and written by charles hass -- \\nsummary : lawrence woolsley ( john goodman ) brings his new horror film mant ! \\nto premiere in key west during the height of the cuban missile crisis . \\nhe hopes to capitalize on the tense moment by providing an escape for the town . \\nwe see most of the events through the stories of four teenagers and how life affects them . \\nquick and easy review : i really enjoyed matinee . \\nthe mixture of comedy and tension blended nicely . \\nunlike many comedies this film tries , and succeeds , in getting past the stage of doing anything for a laugh . \\nthe makers of the film also cared about telling an intelligent story . \\nthe performances of all the principals are right on the mark , particularly john goodman as the schlock master . \\nso i would definitely recommend this film to anyone looking for a light hearted , yet interesting way to spend a couple of hours . \\nlonger , more detailed review : [beware of spoilers] \\nthe primary reason i enjoyed this film was , that while being a comedy , the film also had an intelligent story to tell . \\ntoo many comedies today subscribe to the the notion that a comedy need only make you laugh . \\nyou watch the movie , laugh a lot , leave the theatre and take nothing with you . \\nmatinee is not like that . \\ni left the picture thinking about what i would do faced with the cuban missile crisis . \\ni found myself wondering what would happen to the characters of the film . \\nbut most importantly , i found myself caring about what would happen to the characters . \\nthe comedy of the film centers around goodman , his character , and the film he brings to key west . \\ni believe that goodman is one of the finest comedic actors in the business today . \\nhe is highly expressive both physically and vocally . \\ni felt he at least deserved an oscar nomination for his work in barton fink . \\nthe other characters are often lost in a scene with him due to his commanding nature , however , while the star , goodman is actually not at the center of the film . \\nthe movie is really the story of the four teenagers , discovering who they are and what they want , against a background where at any minute it could all end . \\ni thought the kids reaction were highly realistic . \\nthey tried to block it out , they tried to escape from the concerns of their world . \\nunfortunately it kept creeping back in , particularly with the fear , and the chaos of the time . \\nwhile the comedy centered on goodman , and the drama on the teens , there was a great deal of overlap . \\nseveral aspects of the panic are shown in a humorous light . \\none example is a scene where people are fighting each other for the the last cans and boxes of food in a grocery store . \\nif you think about it the threat of nuclear annihilation seems hardly to be the backdrop for a comedy , but it works here . \\nanother reason i like this film is that i like b- science fiction movies . \\none of my favorite films to go watch is plan 9 from outer space . \\n ( note i did not say it was one of my favorite movies , but one of my favorite to see . ) \\nwhile mant ! \\nnever got made , many films like it were , and mant ! \\nserves mostly as dante's homage to the b-films he loves . \\nso again i would like to recommend matinee to anybody looking for a good , humorous story . \\nthis isn't a gag film like many other comedies but an intelligent , well-thought out , film about real people with real problems told in an often hilarious way . \\nenjoy ! \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"i remember making a pact , right after `patch adams' , to not be easily be suckered by movies dripping with sentimentality . \\nbut darn it , `music of the heart' is just layered with feel-good material and bright characterizations . \\nit's hard to dislike a movie that uses such skill with it's manipulation . \\nin addition , it's also a terrific family film . \\nthis is the true story of violin teacher roberta guaspari , who fought the school board to keep the musical program active in a handful of inner city harlem schools . \\nit could also be described as `mrs . \\nstreep's opus' . \\nyes , meryl streep brings her dramatic clout to the demanding role of guaspari , and that brings both good news and bad . \\nout of the gate , possibly because of her distracting star power and the rushed writing , it is relatively difficult to identify with roberta's character and grasp her academic point-of-view . \\nshe is very strict with her students , but what insight does that create into the story ? \\nslowly but surely , we begin to recognize the intentions of the character , and show admiration for the thoughtfulness and human feeling that streep has once again applied . \\none thoroughly interesting fact about `music of the heart' lies with the unlikely presence in the director's chair : horror veteran wes craven . \\nafter leaving an impression with the `scream' films and the original `nightmare on elm street' , craven has attempted a precarious cross-over to drama . \\nat first , his inexperience with the genre is fairly obvious , but as the film progresses craven finds a surprisingly comfortable niche with directing this material . \\nit doesn't carry the heart-warming courage of `mr . \\nholland's opus' , but `music of the heart' is casually assured and filled with little morsels of dramatic truth . \\nthe tag team of streep and craven works better than you would anticipate . \\nyes , oscar could come calling once again for meryl streep , but it's the solid ensemble cast that makes `music of the heart' work . \\nangela bassett displays her usual forceful stamina as janet williams , the principal at an inner city school who initially doesn't hire roberta because of her lack of experience . \\nblue-eyed adian quinn is endearing , as always , playing a new love interest . \\ngloria estefan also delivers in the tiny role of a supportive second-grade teacher , and the three lead actresses together produce a flaming fireball of estrogenic force . \\nit's like a schoolteacher's version of `thelma and louise' , in a restrained but effective manner . \\nthe movie tackles more issues than just guaspari's teaching of violin . \\nthere's some powerful moments between roberta and her two sons , who must cope when their father leaves them for another woman . \\nin it's dramatic build-up , the movie manages to produce some authentic moments of feeling and warmth . \\nit's a good movie for anyone to see , although missing out on the experience would not be a life-altering decision . \\nit's commendable of wes craven to be attempting such a difficult cross-over , and also for achieving his intricate goal . \\nwatching this heartfelt chick flick about morals and musical instruments , who may ask yourself : this is the guy who directed `scream' ? \\nof course , when the third installment of that series comes around in february 2000 ( with craven directing ) , you may find yourself wondering : this is the guy who directed `music of the heart' ? \\nmission accomplished , wes . \\nthankfully , there is no layer of artificial sentiment covering the film . \\nin it's entirety , it's a wholesome and agreeable movie for the whole family , despite the periodic flaws that surface every once in awhile . \\nthe child actors are cute and perform up to par , even if some of their problems are clich ? d and predictable in the extreme . \\nthe mother who doesn't want her son to be learning `white man's music' , the unexpected casuality . . . \\nbasically everything is there . \\nit doesn't strike the perfect chord , but `music of the heart' is highly convincing . \\nthe uplifting true story of roberta guaspari could have been told better , but `music of the heart' is still edifying enough to properly divulge her morals . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'wow , a film without any redeeming qualities whatsoever . \\ni\\'m amazed that someone thought this was a story that must be told on screen . \\nmany blacks in hollywood complain that they are not nominated for awards based on their race . \\ni think first they need to concentrate their energy on themselves , and stop making movies which makes them look like nothing more than sex-crazed buffoons . \\neven i\\'m offended by it . \\nbill bellamy is a \" player \" which means he sleeps with a lot of women and lies to them . \\nwhat a pleasant main character . \\none day , his friends decide that they want to find out how to be a player . \\nwhy they decide this \" one day \" i have no idea . \\nhow many years have they been friends and why all of a sudden would they want to learn ? \\nanyway , bellamy agrees to teach , and his wonderful lesson to his friends consists of letting them ride in his car while he rides from house to house having sex with women . \\nthis is the bulk of the film folks , guys riding from house to house , one keeps getting out to have sex , while the others sit in the car . \\nsince russell simmons is producer , and since the official title of the film is \" def jam\\'s how to be a player \" , i was ready to be jumping up and down and stomping my feet and beating the person next to me because of the comedy . \\namazingly , aside from gilbert gottfried\\'s 90 seconds of screen time , there was no comedy in the film for me to express myself in such a manner . \\ninstead of jokes , there\\'s just an endless stream of profanity and naked breasts ( and naked breasts aren\\'t so bad , but naked breasts alone don\\'t make a good movie ) . \\nbe sure to bring along your ebonics to english dictionary as well . \\ngilbert gottfried\\'s character serves as one in his very brief appearance , asking for explanations as to what is being said . \\nthey should have brought him along for the entire film . \\n[r] \\n',\n",
+       " b'in my opinion , a movie reviewer\\'s most important task is to offer an explanation for his opinion . \\nbut with soul survivors , i\\'m so full of critical rage that this review is liable to turn into a venomous , uncontrollable rant , obligations damned . \\nhowever , protocol forces me to do otherwise . \\nsoul survivors tells the story of four college-bound friends : cassandra ( melissa sagemiller ) is sweet and innocent . \\nparty girl annabel ( eliza dushku of bring it on ) is dating world-weary harvard student matt ( wes bentley ) . \\nmatt still has feelings for cassie , who is now dating sean ( casey affleck ) . \\ndriving back from a creepy , gothic party , the quartet gets into a horrific car crash . \\nsean dies , leaving cassie crestfallen and guilty , made worse because sean saw matt kiss cassie just minutes after sean revealed his love for her . \\nas cassie mopes through her classes , she sees the ghost of sean all over the place , urging her to follow him . \\nalong with being plagued by other ghastly visions , cassie is also followed by thugs from that strange party . \\nannabel and matt try calming her down , but no one shares cass\\'s visions . \\nshe has to figure out this purgatory all by herself . \\nrarely have i seen a director so thoroughly mishandle material . \\nin his directorial debut , steve carpenter does nothing to provoke the audience into feeling any emotion . \\nwhen the movie\\'s camerawork isn\\'t pedestrian , it\\'s clich ? d . \\ncarpenter\\'s need for close-ups , his camera following sagemiller from behind , drain the movie of any anticipation . \\nwe already know what to look for , so why should we be surprised ? \\nand the sense of scary atmosphere , which was recently done so well in the others , is nowhere to be found here . \\ncarpenter\\'s script relies on random twists and turns with a minimum of logic and loads of laziness . \\nthis is a movie where the ending features one character providing an explanation about the plot to another character , which is one of the lamest screenwriting devices around . \\nthe second lamest device , of course , is the , \" oh , it was all a dream \" resolution . \\nand guess what ? \\nthis movie has both ! \\nnot that the main body of the film , which has sagemiller constantly running in fear or having a nervous breakdown , is anything worthwhile . \\nsince there\\'s no captivating dialogue , no character chemistry exists anywhere . \\nthat\\'s a huge problem , since the four main characters are supposed to be couples . \\ncarpenter can\\'t even get the smutty scenes right , which are becoming more prevalent in pg-13 movies like bring it on and get over it . \\n[the film was recently re-cut from an r rating to get more kids in the seats . \\n-ed . ] \\nwhen sagemiller and dushku dance together at a club , he rarely shows them in a full shot and he never keeps the camera on them for longer than a second before relating to some michael bay-style quick cuts . \\nand when sagemiller and dushku take a shower together after getting covered in paint , they\\'re fully clothed . \\nregardless , any sexiness in that scene is undercut by its stupidity . \\nwhy wouldn\\'t they wash the clothes in the sink or in the washing machine ? \\nwhy would they shower in their clothes ? \\nwhat if they weren\\'t covered in latex paint ? \\nthe cast , which will see better material in the future , would be wise to leave this one off their resumes . \\ni felt sorry for affleck , who i\\'ve liked in other movies , and bentley , who was great in american beauty . \\ndushku , who possesses an alluring femme fetale quality , has got to stop taking roles belonging to rose mcgowan . \\nas for sagemiller ( star of the aforementioned get over it ) , i want to see her in a movie where she plays a person , and not an object for gawking . \\nand i\\'m not even getting into luke wilson\\'s role as a priest . \\nat least he\\'s friends with wes anderson . \\nbottom line : soul survivors is so awful i feel compelled to knock on doors and warn people about it . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"let's face it : since waterworld floated by , the summer movie season has grown * very * stale . \\nwith no new eye-candy for four weeks straight , we've had to sustain ourselves on the quasi-nutritional value of cheatin' husbands , traveling chocolate salesmen , and computer- generated serial killers . \\nsigh . \\nthank god for desperado . \\nthe freewheeling sequel to el mariachi--director robert rodriguez's notorious $7000 debut--stars a cool antonio banderas as the returning guitarist with no name . \\nhe's a man in black with revenge on his mind , and an arsenal in his case . \\n ( the woman he loved was killed in the first film . ) \\nso , he spends the entire story shooting drug dealers ; sort of a tex-mex version of the punisher , if you will . \\nthere isn't much of an emotional core to desperado . \\nrodriguez is having too much fun finding new and innovative ways to pay homage to john woo . \\n ( and sergio leone . . . \\nand sam peckinpah . . . ) \\nsome may wince at the body count--at least 100 graphic killings is a fair estimate--but it's all played for laughs . \\nbig , broad , hispanic laughs that , for me , recall the physical comedy of blake edwards and his pink panther films . \\nsick , slick fun . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'only a year after the initial release of \" scream , \" the horror send-up from veteran horror director wes craven and screenwriter kevin williamson that seemed to breathe new life into the slasher genre , the inevitable sequel \" scream 2 \" has arrived in our theaters . \\nwhile the tongue-in-cheek , parodic element is still noticeable in this film , it\\'s really a sideshow to a broader commentary on violence and the media and a more conventional horror story . \\nthe first film , while often violent and gruesome , was mostly lacking in genuine scares because almost every scene was played for camp value and the discussion of the quirks and cliches of horror movies was nearly constant . \\nthe premise of \" scream 2 \" is that a series of copycat killings begin when a movie called \" stab , \" based on a book written by opportunistic reporter gail weathers ( courtney cox ) about the events in \" scream , \" is released and two audience members are killed during the opening screening . \\ni had heard about this scene before i went to see the film and was surprised to find this sequence largely lacking in camp comedy . \\nits conclusion , in which a bleeding , wounded woman stumbles in front of the screen and dies in front of an audience that cheers on because they think it\\'s a publicity stunt , is more surreal and disturbing than anything else . \\nthe satire in \" scream 2 \" thus takes on a broad focus and gradually evolves into an exploration of media perceptions in general . \\nalthough resident horror film geek randy ( jamie kennedy ) is back with fresh dialogue about sequels ( and , interestingly enough , how they are usually inferior to their predecessors ) , the characters in this movie are drawing from other entries in the pop culture encyclopedia as well . \\neverything from \" friends \" and \" saved by the bell \" to \" showgirls \" and \" terminator 2 \" is referenced here ; horror is only one of many genres available for lampooning , and there aren\\'t any \" wes carpenter \" jokes this time . \\nmore importantly , this film portrays characters willing to go to disturbing lengths for media attention as well as characters whose perceptions have clearly been warped by what they have seen on tv and film . \\nthe killings are clearly an imitation of the previous murders from \" scream \" ( in fact , the culprit even plans to use the influence of horror movies as a courtroom defense ) , weathers exploits the situation for her own notoriety , and one man seems willing to save the heroine\\'s life only if it will earn him an interview on the today show . \\nunderstandably , \" scream 2 \" does not go so far as to actually blame the movies , but rather shows that those who do imitate horror movies are already sick and twisted . \\ncouple that with the fact that several of the characters , most notably the lead character sidney prescott ( neve campbell ) , are fairly well-developed and that there are some genuine moments of spine-chilling suspense , and what we have is a pretty darned good horror movie in its own right . \\nwe don\\'t just get the horror of scary masks and graphic gore - we also get the horror of sympathetic characters who seem helpless as their friends are slaughtered ( and , in one case , a significant character who was an audience favorite even bites the dust ) and whose lives have been reduced to constant fear of a crazed murderer lurking around the corner . \\nwhile i have not seen any of his other work , it\\'s easy to see why craven is generally touted as the most sophisticated \" slasher film \" director , as he clearly cares about something more than just the actual acts of slashing . \\nunfortunately , \" scream 2 \" occasionally reverts to the time-honored horror tradition of throwing logic out the window . \\nfor example , several characters seem quite clearly dead and inexplicably turn up alive later - there has been a running gag in both movies about the villain being able to pull off this particular trick , but it also happens with other characters and in an even less believable fashion . \\nthere are also a few scenes in which the killer suddenly appears behind the next victim in a situation such that ( s ) he clearly would have been seen moving in that direction . \\nas for the question of whether or not \" scream 2 \" is yet another sequel not as good as its predecessor . \\n . \\n . \\nwell , it\\'s hard to say . \\ni gave the first \" scream \" 3 1/2 stars as well because it worked pretty consistently as a light-hearted send-up . \\n \" scream 2 \" bounces all over the place stylistically , but it does a better job delivering the genuine scares and asking the questions about media violence that were only hinted at in the first installment . \\ni\\'m not sure which is the better movie , but i did leave the theater convinced of one thing : sequels , however much randy might argue , do not necessarily suck . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"cinema has been around for about a hundred years now . ? \\nit's not my job to recap this century every time i talk about a new film , but i'd like to think that i'm beginning to understand the art more as i watch more films from before my time . \\nrecently , i've seen the films of hitchcock , capra , fellini , godard , kurosawa , chaplin , lang , and many others . \\n ? those men were talented artists , and their films reflect their genius . ? \\nthey are likely to be remembered for . \\n . \\n . \\nwell , quite a while . ? \\ni like this film , too . ? \\nyes , it's a disaster-slash-action movie . ? \\ntrue , its budget is a lot more money than i'll ever see in my lifetime . ? \\nand there's not a doubt in my mind that the only reason it was conceived was to make a lot of money . ? \\nin fact , i bet the producers of armageddon would have worked towards a lousy film , had they thought it would've been more profitable . \\ni certainly don't care what their intentions were , because michael bay ( the rock ) is such a skilled director that i doubt he'd ever make a film that is difficult to sit through . \\nof course , skillful direction doesn't complete the package , but the rest of armageddon manages to keep everything together . \\nthe story is well-thought out ( and perfectly paced to provide for an abundance of action sequences that never feel out of place ) , the acting is terrific , the script is sharp , and -- get this -- there are characters . \\nyes , you read that right . \\narmageddon actually has characters you can care about ! \\nif you don't like this film , then you have a problem with the genre itself : armageddon is as good as a film like this can be . \\nif you've seen deep impact , then you know the basic framework for the story . \\nit turns out that an asteroid the size of texas is going to strike the earth eighteen days from the start of the film . \\nso , it's up to the u . s . government to stop it . \\n ( why the u . s . is always exclusively saddled with these problems is never fully investigated . ) \\ntheir plan -- to send a group of experienced oil drillers up to the asteroid , drill down several hundred feet , and detonate a nuclear warhead within . \\nthe head driller is harry stamper ( bruce willis ) . \\nhis group of men is a colorful bunch , including a . j . \\n ( ben affleck ) , chick ( will patton ) , and rockhound ( steve buscemi ) . \\nthere's also an interesting triangle formed between a . j . , harry , and grace ( liv tyler ) , who is harry's daughter . \\na . j . \\nand grace are , of course , romantically intertwined , and dad isn't too happy with the situation . \\nit's absurd to wish for a complicated story in an event movie or a special effects movie or whatever it is you'd like to call armageddon . \\nit's not about story -- it's about viscera and action , and thrills-a-minute , and all that stuff . \\nit's incidental , really , that the story is cohesive and even remotely believable , because most people will be too wrapped up in the explosions to give two seconds' thought to what actually happens . \\nbut bay is the one to congratulate in this case , for he has made a film so entertaining and so visually sharp that i doubt any director could have done it better . \\ni think most of the budget went to cameras alone , because bay films every action sequence from about thirty or forty different angles . \\ntake the spectacular opening scene , for instance , in which a meteor shower obliterates new york . \\na meteor flies out of the sky and crashes into a building , which sends fireballs erupting into the air and cars spinning like tops upon other cars . \\nthe action itself might take five seconds in real life , but bay edits so quickly that we get the same scene in six different ways . \\ni like his quick-edit style , because it's abrasive and exhausting to watch . \\nit's also very loud , and obnoxiously noisy at times . \\nbut it's fun to be obnoxious sometimes . \\nthe special effects in this film put every other 1998 blockbuster to shame . \\ndeep impact , visually , has absolutely nothing on armageddon , and to offer a comparison between the quality of this film and godzilla is simply laughable . \\nspecial effects are very important in a film like this : if they're not good , then the image is not convincing , and the film doesn't work . \\neverything here looks bright and explosive -- from the little meteors bursting through skyscrapers , all the way to the shots of the earth through the jutting rocks on the ominously approaching asteroid . \\nthe effects that don't look totally real are still a pleasure to behold , and i credit everyone involved for creating the first blockbuster so nice-looking that it actually qualifies as art . \\nof course , all of this would add up to little more than an above-average light show , if i didn't get the feeling that bay cares as much about his characters as he does about his action . \\nthe film is two and a half hours long , and not all of that is spent submerged in numbing action . \\nmuch of the film is dedicated to developing the various characters' subplots . \\ni won't suggest that these are complex characters , but their problems are real , and the emotions aren't put forth in a sentimental and overbearing way . \\nin fact , there are three or four scenes here that had me pretty choked up , and that's a lot more than i can say about deep impact , which was banking on the feel-good parts of its story . \\nbruce willis is terrific , and i'm glad to see him bigger than life again ( recent turns in films like mercury rising have been very disappointing ) . \\ntyler and affleck are great together , and make a convincing couple -- all of the scenes between them work on a comfortable level . \\npatton , who is a magnificent actor , thankfully is not wasted here , and the minor subplot revolving around his ex-wife and son is very moving . \\nthe comic relief from buscemi and peter stormare ( who plays a crazy russian astronaut ) is nifty , and keeps the film lively and funny . \\ni wasn't challenged to think real hard while watching armageddon , and i don't mind too much . \\nbut the film doesn't insult my intelligence -- it's pitched perfectly to entertain , which is what all it really wants to do . \\nit's not mindless and escapist , but well-crafted cinema . \\nit might have been created for the wrong reasons , but men like michael bay have my respect for showing me that they are interested in making something good , in spite of the producers and the budget . \\ni'm not saying that films like this are risky moves . \\nwhat i am saying is that armageddon is a big , loud , expensive motion picture that reminds me that art often comes in the strangest of forms . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'that is , unless you\\'re one of those people who have seen the preview a thousand times on tv or in the theaters . \\ni can tell you one thing now : they gave the entire movie away . \\nwhy someone would want to base an entire movie on one premise and then give that crucial detail away in the trailers is beyond me . \\nhowever , if they * hadn\\'t * given it away , the film would\\'ve still been suprisingly devoid of suspense given its subject matter . \\nobviously , the producers thought they could remake \" the deep end of the ocean , \" throw in tommy lee jones and a couple of cliches and call it an action drama . \\n \" double jeopardy \" offers solid acting from ashley judd and tommy lee jones , who got first billing even though he didn\\'t see to be on screen half as much as judd did . \\nit also offers some genuinely funny , clever , or full-of-tension moments ( my favorite : judd waking up in the coffin ) , but none of that can salvage the film from its insanely predictable plot . \\nhalf the time i\\'m wondering whether i\\'m watching one of those overhyped tv miniseries , which always turn out to be less exciting than advertised . \\njudging by the beginning , end , and a huge chunk of the middle , i might have been watching a special hallmark presentation too . \\nthe movie\\'s stretching for an almost two hour long film with only 30 minutes worth of material . \\nimplausible material , no less . \\nloose interpretation of one of the amendments aside , too many times in the movie i thought , \" that is * not * possible * . \" \\nthat kind of stuff is excusable in popcorn movies , but not one like \" double jeopardy \" that tries to pass itself off as serious drama . \\neverything seems dragged out , overplayed . \\nwhen they should\\'ve kept us in the dark , they let the cat out of the bag too early . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : token director alan smithee steals the only copy of his film \" trio \" from the studio , after they complete the \" final cut \" without him . \\nhe threatens to burn the film reel if they do not allow him to keep his vision . \\ncritique : wow . \\ni really can\\'t remember the last time a movie sucked on so many levels ! \\nthe \" comedy \" in this film is pathetic , obvious and dated ( oj simpson jokes galore ) . \\nthe plot is uninteresting , boring and bad . \\nthe structure of the film is annoying , repetitive and pretentious . \\nthe acting is pretty bad , especially jackie chan , who can\\'t act to save his life . \\nthe cameos are lame and seem forced , and the ending blows chunks . \\nall in all , this movie believes itself to be a clever , humorous and edgy look behind the closed doors of hollywood , but comes across as a boring , stupid and completely unentertaining piece of shite . \\ni love to see movies about hollywood shenanigans , but this one bites the big one . \\nsee it if you like to watch really bad movies , otherwise skip it , because it will just have you hating every star that makes an appearance in it . \\nluckily for us all , this mess only lasts about 80 minutes , and miramax honcho harvey weinstein plays a lead-faced detective . \\nby the way , is there any reason why the studio or the producer couldn\\'t have cut another version of the film by the way of all the filmed stock that was left over ? \\nwho knows , who cares , this \" satire \" sucks the bag . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : ironically , the original director of this film , arthur hiller , also requested his name be taken off the credits and replaced by the dga\\'s alan smithee moniker . \\nthis was after the film\\'s production company , cinergi pictures , preferred the cut made by producer/writer joe eszterhas to his . \\nthe original script of this film included arnold schwarzenegger and bruce willis . \\neszterhas announced through the media during post-production that cinergi pictures didn\\'t have the money to pay for soundtrack . \\nhe said that he would finance the soundtrack from his own money and asked to submit tracks for it to him . \\nhe received 9 , 200 cds and cassettes from mostly unknown and unsigned artists , listened to all that was sent ( at least a couple of tracks from each record ) and compiled the soundtrack . \\nthis film practically swept the \" razzie awards \" in 1999 , given out to the worst of all movie categories of the year , with no less than the \" worst picture \" award , the \" worst screenplay \" ( joe eszterhas ) , the \" worst supporting actor \" ( joe eszterhas ) , the \" worst new star \" ( joe eszterhas tied with jerry springer ) and the \" worst original song \" ( \" i wanna be mike ovitz ! \" \\nas written by joe eszterhas ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'is jimmy stewart the greatest actor of all-time ? \\nit\\'s quite possible . \\nhis career spanned over 40 years , and he acted in more movies than most actors ever could . \\nyet , when he is talked about in the media , he is generally thought of as an actor who played one type of role : the nice guy . \\nand that\\'s really a shame . \\n \" the naked spur \" features jimmy stewart in a role completely different than what people would expect from him . \\nit\\'s a western , which stewart specialized in around this period , and it casts him as a desperate man out to collect a bounty on a man who used to be his friend . \\nbefore he finds that man , though , he runs into two men who agree to help him , thinking he is a sheriff . \\nwhen the criminal is eventually caught , the two men discover stewart\\'s secret , and decide they want a piece of the action too . \\nthe rest of the film is a suspenseful journey in which each man suspects the other constantly . \\nalso featured is the woman travelling with the criminal , well played by janet leigh . \\nwe\\'re never too sure who\\'s side she\\'s really on until the end . \\nleigh is an actress probably best known for her role as the \" shower lady \" from \" psycho \" , and that\\'s unfair . \\nshe gives a strong performance as a woman who is pulled between these two men . \\nstewart gives a performance unlike anything i\\'ve ever seen from him . \\nhe usually keeps cool no matter what occurs , but here , he gets downright hysterical at times . \\ni think perhaps he took this role to prove to the public that he was more than just a \" nice guy \" . \\nhis performance borders on psychotic at times , but i loved watching every second of it . \\nit\\'s roles like this one that make me admire him as much as i do . \\nhe was an actor unafraid to take chances , and even ruin his public image . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" american pie \" alums jason biggs and mena suvari star in this summer\\'s attempt to capitalize on the youth market looking for a comedy about young people they can relate to that combines generic hollywood cute couple-ness and zany comedy . \\nit\\'s about an a+ student ( biggs as \" paul \" ) who gets a scholarship to some college in new york city who sticks out like a sore thumb and falls for dora ( suvari ) a ditzy heroin-chic goth chick who has no ambition or self-respect whatsoever and allows herself to be pushed around just like \" hick-boy \" paul is . \\nso we\\'ve got a fish-out-water formula mixed with meet-cute romantic comedy which ideally should make for a good movie . \\nunfortunately the atrocious screenplay and boring direction by \" clueless \" auteur amy heckerling successfully manages to screw up everything about the film . \\nthese characters are totally unrealistic and unbelievable - it\\'s as if everyone under age 30 is a stoned raver . \\nthere\\'s no background or details to anyone or anything , it\\'s just a bunch of cartoon characters running into each other . \\nnot to mention the story itself which is virtually non-existant and contains so many plotholes it\\'s like swiss cheese . \\neven the basic editing is bad . \\nif you\\'re looking for a romantic comedy stay far away from this one because it is neither romantic nor funny . \\ni saw this in a packed cinema on opening night and the audience barely laughed at all . \\nif you\\'ve seen the commericials you\\'ve seen all the \" funny \" parts ( which are all from the first five minutes ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'m really starting to wonder about alicia silverstone . \\nsure , she is one of the most beautiful creatures on god\\'s green earth ( second only to that movie critic at large guy ) , but when it comes to choosing what movies she stars in , she always strikes out . \\nthe crush was a slow-moving , predictable piece of fluff . \\nhideaway was a horrific novel adaptation alicia had only a minor role in . \\nclueless was an annoying , unfunny waste of time . \\nand people have e-mailed me too , saying clueless is a good movie and that i\\'m the only one who doesn\\'t like it . \\none girl said if i\\'d seen the movie with \" an open mind , \" i would have enjoyed it . \\nnothing could be further from the truth . \\ni went into the theater expecting to love the movie . \\nthe preview looked good and of course i\\'m crazymadinlove with alicia , but the movie was a bunch of bad jokes coming from whiny , unlikable characters . \\nalmost everyone i saw the movie with felt the same way . \\nwhen we were walking out of the theater , one guy ( and it wasn\\'t me ) yelled out , \" that was the worst f$&#in\\' movie i\\'ve ever seen \" and the rest of us had to laugh in agreement . \\nso last night i walked into the video store and saw alicia\\'s pretty face on the cover of some made-for-video thriller called the babysitter . \\ni knew it would be bad but some inner compulsion i\\'ll probably never understand made me rent it anyway . \\nwhat i got was 90 minutes of regret--the worst alicia silverstone movie ever . \\nand you already know from the last paragraph what the competition is like . \\nwhere to begin in criticizing this movie ? \\nthe plot is a thin shred that moves slower than a glacier , the writing could have been done ( and for all we know it was ) by a ten year old , alicia is the star and she\\'s still wasted in a movie that has no appeal whatsoever . \\nthere is zero humor , zero suspense , zero drama and zero action , until the last ten minutes , when the story is needlessly and pointlessly concluded with a violent sequence . \\nzero plus zero plus zero plus zero equals zero . \\nso why does this movie get one star out of me ? \\nwell , alicia spends twenty minutes of the movie in the bathtub . \\nand if it wasn\\'t bubble bath , the babysitter would have instantly joined the ranks of our other four- star features , but you settle for what you can get . \\nalicia plays a babysitter who\\'s spending friday night looking after two kids whose parents are out getting drunk at a cocktail party . \\nand of course anyone as beautiful as alicia automatically spends their friday nights at home ( at least that movie critic at large guy does ) . \\nas the movie trods along , we discover she\\'s not only the mostly-silent star of the movie but also the object of every male character\\'s fantasies ( and probably every male viewer\\'s too ) . \\nthe drunken father thinks she\\'s just the thing to recapture his lost youth , her boyfriend lets his imagination run wild while spying on alicia from outside , even the prepubescent boy looks in on alicia through the bathroom keyhole while she\\'s taking her bubble bath . \\nthey even throw in the middle aged wife\\'s fantasies about a male counterpart at the party . \\nnot that any of us asked or ever even thought about seeing this 200+ pound woman in a black silk teddy . \\nat least none of the sex fanatasies ever leave the realm of the pg-rated . \\nin fact , i could imagine the babysitter becoming a cinemax late-night staple if not for the fact that there\\'s absolutely no nudity in it . \\nso you can\\'t call it a sex flick . \\ni\\'ve already pointed out that it can\\'t fall under drama , comedy , thriller or action , so what do you classify the babysitter as ? \\nbad . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a cinematic version of one of john irving\\'s novels is always cause for celebration even if , as in the case of \" simon birch , \" the treatment is merely \" suggested by , \" rather than strictly based on , the book . \\nsuggested means that irving , author of the acclaimed \" the world according to garp , \" sold the rights to his novel \" a prayer for owen meany \" to the disney machine for $1 million , but wouldn\\'t grant them permission to use either the title or any of the character names . \\nthat\\'s an odd decision--irving claims it\\'s to protect both himself and the novel--but it\\'s one that doesn\\'t unduly harm the finished product . \\nirving\\'s books are rich and complex works , full of intriguing , colorful characters . \\n \" a prayer for owen meany \" is no exception ; it tells the story of an unusual boy--called simon birch in the film version--who is uncommonly small in stature and possesses a high-pitched falsetto voice , \" like strangled mice . \" \\nsimon believes himself to be \" god\\'s instrument , \" placed on this earth to somehow effect god\\'s plan . \\nsimon is played by ian michael smith , who suffers from a rare enzyme disorder known as morquio syndrome which , among other things , prevents bones , ligaments , and joints from developing normally . \\nsmith\\'s debilitating disease makes him an obvious physical choice for \" simon birch \" ; however , the producers unwisely favored form over function--smith\\'s acting abilities are limited at best . \\nanother drawback is that in the book , simon\\'s condition is described the way irving describes any of his characters--in careful , loving detail . \\nwatching \" simon birch , \" however , creates a different feeling altogether ; the audience is forced into a voyeuristic relationship with the character , surely something irving would not have intended . \\nsimon himself tends to be too cute and irritating , a combination of smith\\'s rookie status as an actor and the precocious one-liners he\\'s forced to deliver , courtesy mark steven johnson , the film\\'s director and screenwriter . \\nfortunately , simon birch isn\\'t the real star of the film that bears his name . \\nsimon is more of a catalyst , allowing his co-stars to shape the story , and the actors who fill those roles to turn in outstanding supporting performances , saving the film from an obsequious , manipulative destiny . \\nfirst and foremost is joseph mazzello ( \" jurassic park \" ) , who is nothing less than remarkable as simon\\'s best friend , joe . \\nmazzello turns in a wonderfully layered performance for a 14 year old , ripe with laughter , pain , and tears ; he is certainly an emerging talent . \\nashley judd positively beams in her role as rebecca , joe\\'s single mother , and oliver platt is warm and tender as her boyfriend , ben . \\ndavid strathairn and jan hooks play the town\\'s reverend and sunday school teacher respectively and their contributions uphold the high standards set by the others . \\nthere\\'s even a surprising yet effective uncredited cameo performance from . . . \\nwell , that would be telling . \\nperhaps \" suggested by \" the novel is the appropriate way to go after all , since \" simon birch \" only focuses on one chapter , one year , of simon\\'s extraordinary life . \\nthe film also changes the book\\'s ending to one that is more melodramatic , yet necessary given simon\\'s lot . \\nthe flavor of irving\\'s original novel remains , however--the passions , friendships , and insecurities that come with a change of seasons to the little community of gravestown , maine , and the engaging oddballs , both big and small , who reside there . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there should be a requirement that a potential viewer be under a certain film iq in order to see \" mission to mars . \" \\nthere are probably quite a few people who are going to enjoy it , and most of them will probably be those who have seen very few films of its kind . \\nbut there are those who will not , and those will most likely be people who have already seen one or more of the following movies : \" 2001 : a space odyssey , \" \" armageddon , \" \" apollo 13 , \" \" the abyss , \" \" close encounters of the third kind , \" \" e . t . \\nthe extra-terrestrial , \" \" alien , \" and \" aliens . \" \\nwhy ? \\nbecause there is not one original idea in \" mission to mars . \" \\nall of it is cribbed from other films ( and in most cases , better films ) . \\nif this is the sort of thing you don\\'t mind , you might like the film . \\nof course , there are other reasons not to like \" mission to mars , \" the main one being a script written by people who seem to assume their audience is filled with people who haven\\'t used their brains in some time , and who don\\'t intend to start during the film\\'s running time . \\n \" mission to mars \" manages to be both stupid and boring at the same time . \\nthe plot , cribbed greatly from \" 2001 , \" concerns a team sent to mars , the first manned trip ever made to the red planet . \\nluke graham ( don cheadle ) leads the team , jointly formed of americans and russians . \\nthe team encounters a mysterious monolith that emits a strange pulse ( this being nothing like the pulse-emitting monolith in \" 2001 \" -- that one was on the * moon * ) , but when they try to study it , a giant sand tornado comes out of the top and swallows them ( all except luke , who survives long enough to send a garbled message back to the rotating space station , which looks strangely like the rotating space station in \" 2001 \" ) . \\na rescue mission is planned with husband & wife team woody blake ( tim robbins ) and terri fisher ( connie nielsen ) , obligatory pilot with a troubled past jim mcconnell ( gary sinise ) , and extra crew member phil ohlmyer ( jerry o\\'connell ) along for the ride . \\nafter some zero-gravity dancing , they run into problems when one of their engines is blown , forcing them to attempt a desperate landing aboard a supply vessel . \\nnow stranded on mars with minimal supplies , the team must decide whether or not it can risk entering the monolith or if they should return home . \\nafter all , that monolith just might contain information about how life originated on earth . \\n \" mission to mars \" is one of those films that makes a critic wonder where to start when talking about all the things that are wrong with it , so let\\'s start with one of the things that does work : director brian de palma manages to create some eerie tension in a few scenes during the middle of the film . \\nthat\\'s it . \\neverything else fails . \\nthe failure isn\\'t de palma\\'s fault ; he\\'s working from an atrocious script . \\nonly during the sequence aboard the ship ( looking an awful lot like the jupiter vessel in \" 2001 \" ) where the rescue team\\'s air begins running out and they must frantically search for the hole and patch it up does \" mission to mars \" come to life . \\na scene where they attempt to save a comrade floating away into space also provides some tension , until you realize that the entire danger/more danger/attempted rescue sequence has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the film ; it\\'s just a contrived way to generate thrilling scenes . \\ntake it out , and the plot isn\\'t affected in any way . \\nthe sequence also suffers from a few plot holes ( as does the rest of the film ) : why is the ship\\'s computer ( which sounds strangely like hal from , uh , \" 2001 \" ) able to detect a hole in the main chamber but not one in the engine ? \\nwhy did tim robbins\\' character have to go outside the ship when the solution easily presented itself from inside ? \\nshouldn\\'t the astronauts be better trained to deal with a hull breach ? \\nwhy are the characters such idiots ? \\nbecause the script makes little attempt to properly develop them . \\nall the \" conflict \" is clumsily delivered in excruciatingly obvious exposition in the opening scene ( which rips off orson welles and robert altman by utilizing a long opening tracking shot ) during which the characters repeatedly tell each other about things all of them should already know : \" jim , it\\'s too bad you can\\'t go on this mission because you were determined \\'psychologically inadequate\\' because your wife died right before you were to go on the mission together \" -- does anyone really talk like this ? \\ncan\\'t we find out these things in a less grating matter , like maybe in a flashback ? \\nthe whole film is like that . \\nthe filmmakers are not content to merely show us something and assume we know what\\'s going on ; they must * tell * us exactly what we\\'re looking at * every * time . \\nsample dialogue from the film : ( shot of mars ) astronaut a : \" look , there\\'s mars \" astronaut b : \" you sure that\\'s mars ? \" \\nastronaut a : \" yeah , that\\'s mars all right . \" \\nastronaut c : \" hey , are you guys looking at mars ? \" \\nthat exchange isn\\'t actually in \" mission to mars , \" but i wouldn\\'t be surprised if it were . \\nfor all their cribbing from kubrick , spielberg , james cameron , and even ron howard , the makers of this film haven\\'t learned to do something all those directors did very well : show and don\\'t tell . \\nde palma used to know how , but seems to have forgotten . \\nthis is mentally-challenged filmmaking ; they assume the audience won\\'t get what\\'s going on , so they explain everything five times over . \\nfourth-graders may appreciate this , but more learned viewers will have their intelligence insulted . \\nthe principal actors sleepwalk their way through \" mission to mars , \" never managing to do away with an apparent \" i\\'m just here to get a paycheck \" attitude . \\ncheadle stumbles over his awkward lines . \\narmin mueller-stahl manages to thoroughly embarrass himself in an unbilled cameo . \\nrobbins puts his game face on and phones in his standard \" decent guy \" performance . \\nand sinise hams it up with \" wistful \" facial expressions while watching tapes of his dead wife ( played by kim delaney , who only has one scene during which she still manages to deliver some ridiculous dialogue in a heavy-handed monologue about the meaning of life ) , and especially during the stolen-from-no-less-than-three-movies ( a lollipop to whoever names them ) conclusion , which combines endless , obvious explanation and sub-par cgi effects with gagging sentimentality and is sure to alienate any viewers who had been enjoying the show up until then . \\nand of course , these aliens from mars who facilitated the evolution of life on earth are entirely different from the aliens in \" 2001 \" who facilitated the evolution of life on earth ; those aliens were from an * unknown * world . \\nit could be said that fans of brainless action films might enjoy \" mission to mars , \" but such a comment ignores the fact that the film is also incredibly slow-going . \\nleisurely pacing might have helped a film with a little more substance to it , but all of the substance of \" mission to mars \" has been stolen from other films , and those other films dealt with their ideas in a much more thoughtful fashion and generally contained more engaging characters . \\nsupposedly we\\'re intended to choke up when one character decides not to return home at the end of this one ( totally different from the one-character-decides-not-to-return ending of \" armageddon \" ) , but i suspect most people will either be laughing or groaning . \\nme , i alternated between the two . \\nthere is only one good thing about the way \" mission to mars \" finally ends : the fact that the movie is over . \\n',\n",
+       " b'based on the relatively unknown ( in comparison to spider-man ) marvel comic book , blade tells the story of half-vampire half-human ( played by wesley snipes ) who was born of a vampire\\'s latest meal . \\nnow swearing vengeance against all vampires , blade hunts them all . \\nhis latest challenge is his biggest though . . . he \\nmust stop the vampire deacon frost ( played by stephen dorff ) from summoning the blood god and turning the rest of the world into vampires . \\nadmitedly , comic books are one of the least appreciated mediums , often viewed as juvenile by most standards , even seen as illiterate by some . \\njudging by a series of poorly recieved ( financial and critical ) comic book based films ( such as batman and robin , steel , barb wire , the crow : city of angels , and the list goes on ) , one would come to the conclusion that comic books are the worst medium to translate into film . \\nto some degree , i agree with this sentiment . \\nhaving read comic books since the age of nine ( i\\'m 21 right now ) i can count the number of good comic book based movies ( not including japanese manga ) one hand : 1 : the crow ( 1994 ) , 2 : batman ( 1989 ) , 3 : superman , 4 : the mask , and now , #5 , blade . \\n ( \" men in black \" is not on this list because it is an extreme deviation from the original comic book ) \\nwhy is this ? \\nfor the most part , it is because the filmmakers understand \\nthe comic book medium and come up with an appropriate atmosphere to match . \\nthe crow and batman comics call for a dark gothic atmosphere , which the director provided . \\nthe mask features a wacky superhero with off the wall antics , which the casting and cg effects reflect . \\nsuperman \\nis not over the top with colour and flash , and the film reflects this . \\nblade uses common notions of vampires and incorporates them into the film , creating an appropriate atmosphere . \\nthis is in stark contrast to joel schumacher\\'s contrived vision in batman and robin , reflecting the dated atmosphere in the 1960\\'s television show . \\nbatman and robin proved that the director failed to realize one fundamental fact : comics have grown up , and so has the audience ( i\\'m working on a scathing review of batman and robin and will post it up when i\\'m ready ) . \\nwhich brings me back to blade . \\nalthough he may be a familiar character to some , due to his appearances in the spider-man animated show on fox , one will find no single trace of the warm-and-fuzzy vampire hunter as depicted in the cartoon . \\nthe film depicts a vicious vampire killer that \\nuses every single means at his disposal to reach his ends . \\nthe end results are not pretty by any means . \\nthe story elements work very well -- for a comic book story . \\nscreenwriter david goyer ( who also wrote the crow ) incorporates interesting elements of vampire lore , using science to explain many of the ideas often dismissed in vampire films . \\nthis is presented through karen , a hematologist portrayed by n\\'bushe wright . \\nthis leads to inventive use of standard medical treatments to kill vampires . \\nadd this \\nto the neat little gadgets that blade uses ( including a titanium sword complete with an \" anti-theft device \" ) , and one has an interesting premise . \\nhowever , the film works best as an action film . \\nactor wesley snipes has \\nan extensive background in martial arts ( most of which comes from capoeira , a brazillian form incorporating flashy kicks ) , choreographing every single move . \\nproving that quick , flash cutting edits are no substitute for choreographed fight sequences ( see batman and robin for a \\ngood example of that ) , wesley snipes dazzles the audience with some incredible fight scenes . \\nregardless , this film is far from perfect . \\nthe film suffers from at least one major plot hole , regarding the summoning of the blood god . \\nthe ritual requires that a number of pure blood vampires are standing on \\nmarked squares , yet one of them is viciously murdered , allowing the ritual to pass ( and the murdered vampire is later shown standing on the square ) . \\nobvious continuity errors also surface , especially during a scene where deacon frost takes a drag on his cigarette and is not exhaling it in the next frame ( there is no trace of smoke either ) . \\nmuch of the special effects are not that spectacular either . \\nwhile vampire disintegration scenes are intriguing to watch , other cgi ( computer generated imagery ) effects are almost slapped together , which is surprising when given the amount of time the film was given to be released ( the film\\'s release date was pushed back multiple times ) . \\nscenes with computer generated blood look extremely fake , knocking the believability factor down a few notches ( but then , i\\'m really hard to impress ) . \\nthe film\\'s r rating comes from gory violence , but the lack of \\nrealism made me wonder why it got such a rating ( for realistic violence , \\nwatch \" saving private ryan \" ) . \\nthe overuse of cgi in films has made me yearn for the days of director george romero and makeup wizard rob bottin , both pioneers in the art of gore without extensive use of cgi . \\nstill , scenes involving non-cgi special effects do surface ( and look much more impressive ) , such as one particularly gruesome scene where a vampire tries to use blade\\'s sword without deactivating the \" anti-theft device \" . \\nwesley snipes is the saving grace behind what would have otherwise been a muddled mess . \\nwhile not talking much , he is a grand physical presence , leaving other comic book superheroes in the dust . \\na decent ( by comic book film standards ) storyline also helps . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'m not really sure what to think about \" crash . \" \\non the surface , it\\'s a cold , boring , unerotic porn with name starts , a name director , and some cool camerawork . \\ni mean , it left me completely bored , unsatisfied , and generally kinda weirded out . \\nbut then again , not every film\\'s supposed to leave you entertained . \\n \" crash \" is structured to play like a porn flick , but with significantly more plot and dialogue . \\nwhile we see several extremely taboo scenes of weirdo sex , we also have a skimpy little plot going on ( mostly towards the beginning ) , and maybe just a hair of characterization . \\nnot to mention the acting is generally pretty good , and we don\\'t really see a lot of the actors completely exposed . \\nbut what makes it supremely different from a porn is the fact that this is not an erotic experience . \\nthis film does not posess the erotic hypnotism of \" henry and june \" or the just plain horniness of , say , \" deep throat \" ( not that i\\'ve seen it ) . \\nif one was to be made completely hot by this film , it would probably mean they were also into the whole \" auto eroticism \" thing . \\nthe film leaves you cold erotically ( and maybe in many other ways ) , but what it does is present a group of people who live on the edge . \\nthe film opens up on a woman , catherine ( deborah kara ungar , of \" the game \" ) , pressing her bare breast up against a car in a public air hangar . \\nsuddenly , a man enters the frame and begins to take her from behind ( the film doesnt\\' show all this though , even if it is nc-17 ) . \\nthe next scene has a film director , james ( james spader ) , having sex with a camera woman ( alice poon ) in an office on the highly-populated set of his movie . \\nthe next scene has the two coming together , revealing to us that they\\'re husband and wife , and them sharing in one another\\'s escapades . \\nwhile the two are arguably freaky people , we at least know they love to live on the edge . \\nsoon afterwards , james is driving down the road at night , reclessly of course ( he\\'s reading something ) , when he drifts into the other lane , and then hits another car face on . \\njames is not killed , but the passenger in the other car flies into his seat ( obviously dying ) , leaving the driver , helen remington ( holly hunter - in a porn ? ) , also alive . \\nthe two go through therapy together , and when getting out , they run into eachother again . \\nwhen james gives her a ride home , they almost get into another accident , and immeadiately afterwards , they go to an unbusy parking lot , and have a little quickie , as they were aroused by the accident . \\nyou wouldn\\'t think there would be many people who shared this same kind of fetish , but they run into a freaky guy named vaughan ( elias kosteas ) and his crutch-carrying girlfriend , gabrielle ( rosanna arquette ) , who are also into it . \\nvaughan is into living on the edge as they are , but he takes it to another level : he loves to recreate famous car crashes . \\nin one scene , he and a friend , colin seagrave ( peter macneill ) recreate james dean\\'s car crash without any padding or safety belts , and suffer some concussions , but nevertheless get a rush ( and the attention of the police ) . \\nsoon , these five are all having sex with one another , be it straight , gay , or lesbian sex . \\nwhile this is admittingly all a bit comical ( the film is almost like a black comedy ) , the film does do a pretty awesome portrayal of people who\\'s main fetish is living on the edge . \\ni\\'m sure somewhere there are people who get aroused by car accidents , but i personally don\\'t see a connection between car crashes and sex . \\nthe main connection cronenberg shows us that both give a definite rush . \\nhis car crash scenes are quick and exciting mini-masterpieces : we\\'re at first not sure if they\\'ll take place , but everytime it looks like it may occur , we gasp . \\nthen when it happens , we hold our breath . \\nthe same thing happens with sex , although not in the same fashion . \\nthese people are merely taking it to another level . \\nthe only problem with the film is that it\\'s a tad redundant . \\na normal porn lasts from an hour to an hour and a half . \\nthis goes on for about 100 minutes , and it just seems a little too long . \\nthe sex and car crashes are far between one another , and the time between them are a tad on the boring side . \\nthere\\'s no characterization , although it could definitely be argued , that hey , it\\'s a porn , and we\\'re not here to sympathize . \\nbut still , they coulda cut it down a bit . \\nbut the film is saved with its presentation , as well as some other elements . \\nthe atmosphere is very dark and forboding , creating a kind of cool weird feeling . \\nand there are several scenes are just amazing . \\none scene has catherine and james having sex , while she softly asks him questions about being with a man , which sounds almost erotic the way she says it . \\na sequence involving one character\\'s death is filled with all the edgy disjointment that the film needs . \\nand the final shot is shot perfectly , creating an image of a car crash , and a couple having sex in front of it , despite the fact that she\\'s wounded . \\nthe acting is also pretty good , especially for what is almost a porn ( ousting linda lovelace as best actress in a porn ) . \\nwhile james spader is pretty boring ( he\\'s usually pretty intense ) , deborah kara ungar is amazing . \\nshe speaks all her words in almost zombie-like hushes , and when she\\'s having sex , she has a blank look on her face , not showing the viewer whether she\\'s enjoying it or not . \\nin one scene , she actually looks dead while someone is having sex with her . \\nholly hunter , who gets extra credit just for appearing in something like this , is pretty good , and so is rosanna arquette ( who adds a kinda cool kinkiness to her role ) . \\nbut the film is stolen by elias kosteas who plays his character so intensely that he almost upstages everyone . \\nhe often speaks as he is out of breath , showing a definite affinity for his way of life . \\nhe has a great deal of energy in several scenes , especially one scene where he\\'s taking photographs of a picture , and a later scene where he\\'s getting a freaky tatoo . \\nhe and spader share sexual chemistry in several scenes , foreshadowing a later scene . \\nkosteas is a little known actor ( his biggest role was casey jones in \" teenage mutant ninja turtles \" ) , but here he shows a deniro-like presence , hinting that he\\'s capable of bigger roles . \\nwhile i hardly enjoyed \" crash , \" it\\'s still a pretty intriguing portrayal of a group of people who , if the exist , are some of the strangest and most bizarre people in the world . \\nthese people are able to share a rush between two completely different entities , and the film , which doesn\\'t exactly pain them in a negative light , is sucessful in bringing them to light , even if it leaves the viewer unnerved and generally freaked out . \\ndespite the hardcore nature of the film and the subsequent nc-17 rating ( there\\'s also an r-rated version , but i wouldn\\'t even go near that thing ) , anyone looking for a quick turn-on should just rent a regular porno . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when i first saw the preview for cruel intentions , i turned to my friend and said , \" dangerous liaisons for kids ! \" \\nit was clear to me that the film would be an obvious chunk of plagiarized nonsense , owing everything it is to stephen frears\\' 1988 masterpiece . \\nimagine my surprise to see that writer/director roger kumble has given credit to his source material : choderlos de laclos is recognized for his novel les liaisons dangereuses in the opening credits . \\nand i was impressed . \\nin fact , i was much more impressed with this recognition than with the actual film , which is an appalling excuse for a movie . \\nit\\'s kiddie-porn hackwork , complete with earthy sex-talk and fully-clothed hand-jobs . \\ni suppose this kind of movie was inevitable ; with all the teen high-school angst movies coming out , there was certainly room for a pretentious and laughable movie about a bunch of teenagers who think they\\'re smarter and more beautiful than all the other people on earth combined . \\ncruel intentions is a mess in every possible way , and it fails primarily in the way i expected it to : i hated all the characters , and i hate everything they do . \\ni also hate ryan phillippe , so perhaps my opinion is not as objective as it could be . \\nphillippe plays ( check out this name ) sebastian valmont . \\nwow . \\nisn\\'t that a memorable name ? \\ni could just say it over and over again . \\nsebastian valmont . \\nit kind of rolls off the tongue , in the spirit of phrases like sanguine vapors and velvet sandwich . \\nsebastian valmont is the coolest guy who ever walked the earth ; there is no woman he can\\'t have , no material object out of his reach . \\nhe has all the money , all the sex -- all at his fingertips . \\nand , luckily , his parents never enter into his life -- no , in the world of cruel intentions , adults don\\'t really exist . \\nthe ones who do are irritating . \\nsebastian valmont lives with his stepsister , kathryn merteuil ( sarah michelle gellar ) , the bitch-queen of the universe , and also the woman every man wants . \\nsince these two rich kids are so bored , they only thing they can do is challenge each other with meaningless sexual liaisons . \\nkathryn wants sebastian valmont to de-virginize cecile caldwell ( selma blair ) , a naive dork-chick who has somehow wronged kathryn . \\nbut it\\'s too easy for sebastian valmont -- he wants to nail annette hargrove ( reese witherspoon ) , the \" paradigm of chastity and beauty . \" \\nso , sebastian valmont and kathryn make a deal ( which is too explicit to state here ) . \\nbut -- dear god ! \\n-- sebastian valmont actually begins to fall for poor annette hargrove . \\ndangerous liaisons is a great movie because the characters are all believable , and because of its masterful acting . \\ncruel intentions is bad for many reasons , but it lacks both believable characters and masterful acting . \\nkathryn merteuil is simply a hateful witch , a girl so loathsome that i would probably enjoy pouring hot lead on her . \\nshe is supposed to be mean , but glenn close gave the character some depth in dangerous liaisons . \\ngellar , while aesthetically pleasing , is one-dimensional and utterly repulsive . \\nwitherspoon has a truly beautiful face , but her character isn\\'t the moral staple she\\'s supposed to be : sure , she won\\'t have sex until she\\'s in love ( is this really a * moral * issue ? ) , but she does some things in the last few scenes that are more than a little reprehensible . \\nbut i can\\'t forget mr . phillippe , who continues to exceed my expectations with his impenetrable , invulnerable blandness . \\ni have to give him credit and say that he did , in fact , manage to change his facial expression about three times during the course of cruel intentions . \\nand there\\'s one point in the film in which he shouts , thereby defeating my hypothesis that he is vocally monotone . \\ntrue , he is bad , but it doesn\\'t help that he has no character to work with . \\nkumble has drained all the interesting aspects from this character , leaving us with a sex-crazed lunatic who is supposed to be sympathetic because he falls in love with a moral flower and shuns the wicked bitch . \\nthe film fails in every other way , too . \\nfirst of all , nobody talks like this . \\neven the \" intellectuals \" i know don\\'t bother with this kind of pointless and pretentious yammering . \\nfor a while , the movie looks like it might play itself for laughs , but it ends up taking itself so seriously that there\\'s no way we can join it . \\ncruel intentions also manages to come off as soft-porn in more than one scene . \\nearlier i mentioned a fully-clothed hand-job ; this occurs between kathryn and sebastian valmont , both of whom are intended to be hateful at this point in the movie . \\nso , if we hate them , then what\\'s the point of an extended sex scene ? \\ntitillation , of course . \\nit can\\'t even work under the pretense of \" meaningful love scene , \" because we hate the characters . \\nit\\'s interesting to note some of the parallels between cruel intentions and dangerous liaisons . \\nkumble is clearly familiar with the earlier film ; many of the scenes have a similar tone , and there are moments in frears\\' film that kumble imitates almost completely ( such as the last scene , in which [spoiler warning ! ] the antagonist is humiliated in front of her peers ) . \\nbut kids don\\'t act like this . \\nnobody acts like this . \\nin his translation , roger kumble forgot character development and sympathy -- some pretty crucial elements . \\nthe result is a picture of confounding badness , a kiddie-porn mess that thinks it\\'s really deep and profound . \\ni\\'ll give cruel intentions credit for realizing its influences , but that doesn\\'t change the fact that it\\'s awful . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"dear god , this is a fantastically bad film ! \\nregardless of what i say about knock off , you can't grasp its awfulness from my words . \\nyou have to see it and experience it for yourself . \\nhere's the kicker , though -- i suggest that you do so . \\nyes , this is a bad film -- easily one of the most incompetent films of the year -- but it has a certain misguided charm that makes it a unique kind of disaster to endure . \\nin fact , i enjoyed myself for most of its brief running time , despite the dreadful acting and a completely incomprehensible story . \\ndon't get me wrong : i'm not excusing knock off . \\nit reaches an unacceptable level of badness ; it's so incoherent that i wonder if it was hacked up worse than the avengers was . \\nit also features some truly terrible performances from lela rochon , michael wong , paul sorvino , and -- of course -- jean-claude van damme . \\nit does , however , have the entertaining presence of rob schneider , and the excessively inventive and pretentious direction of tsui hark . \\nas i watched it , i occasionally wondered if it was aware of its own awfulness . \\nnow , in retrospect , it seems clear that it wasn't , but it's still a fascinating kind of mess . \\ni don't like writing plot descriptions ( it is , by far , the most boring part of writing a review ) , but , in this case , i'm off the hook : there is no way i could write an accurate synopsis for knock off . \\nfor the sake of comparison , i had no trouble understanding the usual suspects during my first viewing . \\ni paid closer attention to knock off , and the only thing i am able to say about it is that van damme plays a dude named ray , and is accused by the cia ( i think ) of selling knock off products ( knock off products are , of course , products that look like name-brand materials but are generic and cheap ) . \\ni don't know what any of this has to do with martial arts , but there are lots of martial arts in the film . \\nray is good at martial arts , so when he has to beat up bad guys , there's no problem . \\nrob schneider plays his sidekick , although i had no idea who he really was by the end of the film . \\nlela rochon is just some woman who accuses them of stuff , while paul sorvino is both the good guy and the bad guy at once ! \\nin fact , every character goes through so many shifts from good to bad that the end provides absolutely no insight into what any of them really do . \\nin that order , knock off is completely incoherent and makes absolutely no sense . \\nbut what a strange mess it is . \\nit was written by stephen e . de souza , who also wrote die hard and 48 hours . \\ncan this be the same man ? \\ni don't see how , unless , of course , huge chunks of the film have been removed for the sake of running time . \\nknock off seems to have an interesting premise ( as far as action films go ) , but there's no semblance here . \\nfor instance , van damme is introduced , and then seconds later he's running a chariot race through the streets of hong kong . \\nwhy ? \\nwho knows . \\nwhat are the implications of this ? \\ni have no idea . \\nmost action films abandon depth in favor of action , and this is normally a problem . \\nknock off , however , is the first film that i would have preferred to see with all of the talky sequences cut . \\nthe acting is embarrassingly bad : rochon , in particular , delivers each of her lines with stiff and talentless insincerity . \\nsorvino , in addition , deserves better than this . \\nvan damme is bad , but he's charming in that bad way , and so i can't say that he's hard to watch ( although i rarely understood what he was saying ) . \\nthe only exception is rob schneider , who is actually quite funny a lot of the time . \\ntsui utilizes so many tricks that he makes john woo look tame by comparison . \\nthey're all pointless gimmicks though , such as shots of the inner-workings of a knock off running shoe . \\nbut his action scenes are never boring : one particular piece inside of a fruit factory ( a fruit factory ? ) is well-choreographed . \\nlots of the scenes are pitched well to comedy , such as our heroes' first encounter with the rochon character . \\nbut did tsui know that his film is beyond ludicrous ? \\ni hope he did , for the alternative is a frightening thought . \\nknock off has the feel of a truly terrible exercise in camp mania . \\nif it were boring , i'd give it zero stars . \\nbut it's not boring : it's loud and excessive and completely incoherent . \\nit's also funny , even when it isn't meaning to be funny . \\na bad film that succeeds as entertainment doesn't deserve to be fully lambasted . \\ni recognize knock off for its irrefutable badness , but i can't deny it's zany , useless charm . \\noh , i know , they're just action scenes looking desperately for a real story , but they're fun action scenes amongst a crowd of laughably inane concepts . \\nit's fun to admire the awfulness of a film like this , but that doesn't excuse the fact that it is , indeed , awful . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the original babe gets my vote as the best family film since the princess bride , and it\\'s sequel has been getting rave reviews from most internet critics , both siskel and ebert sighting it more than a month ago as one of the year\\'s finest films . \\nso , naturally , when i entered the screening room that was to be showing the movie and there was nary another viewer to be found , this notion left me puzzled . \\nit is a rare thing for a children\\'s movie to be praised this highly , so wouldn\\'t you think that every parent in the entire city would be flocking with their kids to see this supposedly \" magical \" piece of work ? \\na tad bewildered , but pleased to not have to worry about screaming kids and other disruptions that commonly go along with family films , i sat back for 97 minutes and watched intently and with a very open mind , having great expectations for the film . \\nlooking back , i should have taken the hint and left right when i entered the theater . \\nbelieve me ; i wanted to like babe : pig in the city . \\nthe plot seemed interesting enough ; after the events that took place in the original , babe the sheep-pig has become a legitimate national phenomenon . \\nbut after a fateful encounter with a water well , arthur hogget ( james cromwell , who the movie could have used alot more of ) has been rendered bed-ridden for a number of weeks and the farm begins to go under financially . \\nthe only solution that his wife ( magda szubanski , going from delightfully charming to downright annoying ) can come up with is to make an appearance with their new celebrity pet at a national fair ( i think ) and to use the money they earn to pay off the bank ( set aside for the moment the fact that they could get more than enough cash from donations if they just made their case known to the public ) . \\nproblem is , the fair is being held in the middle of the dreaded \" city \" , a completely foreign place to both the pig and his companion . \\nsetting the main plot in motion , mrs . hogget and babe travel to the unnamed city and shack up with a sweet lady who just happens to love to help animals , despite the law that you cannot keep them in hotels . \\nit is here that we meet an array of eccentric characters , the most memorable being the family of chimps led by steven wright . \\nhere is where the film took a wrong turn . \\nup until this point , i had being having a rather enjoyable experience . \\nthe beginning featured some smart writing and funny situations involving the farm animals from the first one and even an inspired moment at the airport where mrs . hogget is accused of smuggling drugs . \\nunfortunately , the story wears thin as we are introduced to a new set of animals that reside at the hotel , none of them being even one-tenth as interesting as the characters from the previous babe . \\nthe main topic of discussion surrounding babe : pig in the city is the question of whether or not it is to dark and disturbing for small children , and i believe it is . \\nat one point , a dog is hung from his neck and slowly starts to drown . \\nat other times , we are treated to surrealistic flash-backs to mrs . hogget\\'s full cavity search at the airport . \\nin fact , the overall tone of the movie is rather bleak and depressing . \\nhowever , that is , as they say , neither here nor there because kids will probably not like the movie anyway . \\nthe animal characters and their plights were simply not intriguing enough to sustain my interest for an hour and a half , let alone entertain a child . \\nanother problem i found with the film was it\\'s sudden change of pacing and tone near the end of the story . \\nif you\\'re going to make a darker and more sinister sequel , fine . \\nit may not be my cup of tea , but at least it is a noble ambition . \\nbut to go from the downbeat feel of the rest of the movie and all of a sudden have slapstick finale with mrs . hogget swinging from wall-to-wall of a ballroom in elastic overalls ? \\nit just didn\\'t feel right and was more painful to watch than it was funny or entertaining , and the same goes for the rest of the movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'life is beautiful is a rare treat : a lighthearted comedy that tackles a very serious subject without committing the sins of being disrespectful , or , even worse , humorless . \\nit combines a charming romance with a dash of farce , stirs in a little poignancy , and ends up a very enjoyable movie . \\nit\\'s an italian film , but don\\'t let that discourage you . \\nsubtitle-phobes will be missing a wonderful experience . \\nlife is beautiful opens as a sweet romantic comedy , with the clownish , but good natured guido ( roberto benigni ) arriving in a rustic italian town to work as a waiter for his uncle . \\nthe year is 1939 , and guido literally stumbles into the girl of his dreams , dora ( nicoletta braschi ) . \\ntheir romance seems to be picture perfect , with only one stumbling block : she\\'s already engaged to another man . \\ncan guido overcome the odds and win his girl ? \\nwhat do you think ? \\nhowever , five years later , things have taken a turn for the worse in italy . \\nthe fascists have stepped up their race initiatives , which is bad news for the jewish guido and his new son giosue ( giorgio cantarini ) , who are rounded up and shipped off to a concentration camp . \\nunable to protect his boy in any other way , guido attempts to shield his young son from the horrors of the labor camp . \\nhe pretends that everything is all an elaborate game , with points awarded for such tasks as hiding , being brave and being very very quiet . \\nas you can tell from the description , life is beautiful has two very different tones , but manages to excel at both of them . \\nas a romantic comedy , it is sweet and funny . \\nas a bittersweet tale of hope amid despair , it is touching . \\nroberto benigni\\'s work here has been compared with some of the best of chaplin\\'s , and it is easy to see why . \\nhe is able to run the gamut of comic expression , from slapstick to farce , with a warm-hearted feeling that celebrates his downtrodden hero\\'s \" triumph of the underdog \" spirit . \\nlife is beautiful treads a thin line when it turns its attentions to the holocaust . \\nhowever , it is able to successfully navigate the minefield , without demeaning the gravity of the horrors involved , nor without losing its humorous edge that allows you to smile through the tears . \\nwith life is beautiful , benigni has created a triumphant , but bittersweet comedy . \\nit\\'s quite simply one of the most enjoyable times i\\'ve had at the movies this year . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"my fellow americans is a movie that at first glance looks to have little substance ( or a movie that we've all seen a million times ) , two lifetime rivals thrown together and then the fun begins . \\nthis is exactly what happened in this movie , but fortunately , they managed to do it in an interesting and funny way . \\nthe movie starts with a quick ( and i do mean quick ) glance of two presidents russell kramer ( jack lemmon ) and matt douglas ( james garner ) . \\nwilliam haney ( dan aykroyd ) and ted matthews ( john heard ) are the new president and vice president . \\nthere is a scandal that arises involving a kickback from a contractor and haney is positive that he buried that years ago . \\nhe finds a scapegoat in kramer and now everyone wants kramer and douglas dead . \\nthis movie was exceptional for many reasons . \\none being that they found people ( lemmon and garner ) that have good chemisty together . \\nthey worked very well as a unit and they mirrored each other perfectly , one being a ladies man and one being the old man ( i'll let you fiqure which is which ) . \\nalso , they found people that know their parts as govenment officials well . \\nit seemed to me that garner played almost exactly the same role that he played in the distinquished gentleman ( except then he was a congressman ) . \\nexperience counts for a lot ! ! \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i tried hard not like this movie without succeeding . \\nit contains parts of bringing up baby , any hepburn/tracy film , part of the plot of war games , cary grant and rosalind russell in his girl friday , elevator shaft action , train action , and murder . \\nit is cute , funny , suspenseful ( a little bit ) , sexy ( a little bit ) . \\none of the bad guys was a surprise . \\nthe pace is fast enough , there are some \" action \" scenes . \\ni think that this is a reasonable family summer movie for families with older kids who have already seen maverick . \\njulia roberts and nick nolte are fine separately and together . \\ni really identified with the julia roberts character ( wishful thinking , i know ! ) , but i do have better hair ! \\nher hair , a very dull dark brown , has no color . \\nshe could use some highlights . \\nthey both do fine with their roles : he\\'s a bored columnist with the chicago chronicle and she\\'s a hotshot \" cub \" reporter with the chicago globe . \\nthey have great fun trying to out scoop each other to solve one case throughout this movie . \\ni like the one story focus . \\nother actors include charles martin smith as roberts\\' boss , olympia dukakis as nolte\\'s coworker , nora dunn also with the chronicle , and marsha mason as a congresswoman . \\nbasically this movie is reasonably fun . \\nthere is a serious mystery to solve , and i enjoyed following a fun couple solving the mystery . \\nit is a pleasant change of pace from movies that take themselves seriously . \\ni do give successful comedy high marks . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"starring arnold schwarzenegger ; danny devito ; emma thompson & frank langella the only thing that you can say about junior is that it is a disappointment , and a big one at that . \\njunior brings together arnold schwarzenegger and danny devito with director ivan reitman . \\nthese are the same men that brought us the very funny twins . \\nso foolish me , i was hoping for something that would at least come close to the level of quality of twins . \\nso much for hopes . \\nschwarzenegger and devito play two scientists ( doctors hesse and arbogast ) who are working on a new drug that will reduce the possibility of miscarriage in pregnancy . \\nunfortunately , due to circumstances beyond their control , they are denied permission to test this new drug on humans , and subsequently lose their funding . \\nstill believing that their drug will work , they decide to test it anyway , on hesse . \\nso , dr . hesse ( schwarzenegger ) artificially inseminates himself and begins taking the drug . \\ntheir theory is that if the drug can prevent a man from miscarrying , surely it will work on a woman . \\ndoes the thought of arnold schwarzenegger pregnant sound funny or humorous to you ? \\nwell , it must have to the producers of junior . \\nadmittedly , schwarzenegger has the comedic talent to pull it off . \\nperhaps if it had been done differently it might have actually been funny . \\nbut it wasn't , schwarzenegger pregnant is goofy at best . \\nthe sight of schwarzenegger running around going through the hormone imbalances that come with pregnancy , and the accompanying emotional swings , is not funny . \\nschwarzenegger comes very close to embarrassing himself with these antics . \\ni kept thinking to myself , with the time arnold wasted making this turkey he could have been making an action picture . \\nbetter yet , with schwarzenegger , devito and reitman all in the same place at the same time , why didn't they make a sequel to twins ? \\nanything would have been better than this mess . \\ndanny devito is wasted in this movie . \\nhis part could have been played by any joker they pulled in off the street . \\n ( after seeing the movie , if i was devito , i probably would have wished they had pulled someone in off the street . ) \\nemma thompson is wasted here as well . \\nwhile thompson is best known for her jane austin adaptations , she is also a fine comedian . \\ntoo bad she didn't get to use any of that talent here . \\nam i being too hard on this film ? \\ni don't think so . \\nschwarzenegger and devito are two of my favorite actors in film today , and ivan reitman is one of the more talented directors in hollywood . \\nwith a supporting cast of emma thompson and frank langella , the filmmakers really have to be trying hard to make a bad film . \\nthey certainly managed here . \\nmaybe it was well intentioned , but unfortunately this is a movie that never should have been made . \\nif you are tempted to see this film , do yourself a favor and go rent twins , a film that truly takes advantage of arnold schwarzenegger and danny devito's comedic talents . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the promotion for fear and loathing in las vegas ? has made the film out to be a comedy , and for about the first hour or so it seems like it might be one . \\nit\\'s 1971 , and the hippie movement has left behind quite a few wash-outs , among them journalist raoul duke ( johnny depp ) and his \" attorney \" dr . gonzo ( benito del toro ) . \\nthese two spend most of the film in a drug-induced stupor , having strange hallucinations , trashing their hotel rooms , and either annoying or scaring almost everyone that crosses their path . \\nduke is first assigned to cover an outdoor desert motorcycle race in las vegas , but gets lost in a blur of drugs , beer , and flying dust , and ends up wandering around with no clue who won . \\nhe leaves vegas briefly before he is sent back , in what can only be described as a strangely appropriate twist of fate , to cover a drug enforcement conference . \\nfear and loathing has been misinterpreted by some as glorifying the use of drugs . \\nit doesn\\'t , even in the beginning--while the pair\\'s antics are sometimes amusing and relatively harmless at first , the humor here is still fairly dark . \\ndirector terry gilliam views them with a rather satirical eye , and even when we\\'re laughing , we\\'re laughing at them rather than with them . \\nthey spend most of their time paranoid , angry , or just plain befuddled , which is probably an understandable reaction to seeing the entire room suddenly fill up with giant reptiles . \\nthe black comedy may be entertaining to watch onscreen , but it\\'s probably not something most other audience members would want to experience first-hand . \\nall this aside , i was starting to grow a bit restless as the film drew near its one-hour mark , thinking to myself that i wanted something more out of this than just an off-kilter satire of drug culture . \\nthankfully , the script delivers it before too long , as duke , in a rare moment of lucidity , stops to recall how he was once an enthusiastic hippie , \" riding the wave \" of something that seemed special and important . \\nnow it\\'s six years later and the wave has finally broken , as he puts it . \\nmaterialistic culture is still alive and well and , for most of this film , right in his face in las vegas ; the \" american dream \" of which duke occasionally speaks is still just as shallow and phony as ever . \\nthe social protesters have lost , and the more questionable aspects of the movement have turned ugly and left casualties such as duke to drift in a sea of drugs and disillusionment . \\nin many ways , fear and loathing is gilliam\\'s most reality-based film ; all of his others , with the exception of the fisher king , have made use of some sort of fantasy or science-fiction plot elements . \\nyet it is his off-the-wall masterpiece brazil ? to which this film bears the most visual resemblance . \\nthe protagonist of brazil found himself alternately surrounded by a plastic , soulless society and the constant chaos of totalitarian police inspections and terrorist attacks , and similarly duke\\'s world is composed of the artificial , empty glam of las vegas and the bizarre anarchy of his drug hallucinations . \\nunlike the protagonist of brazil , however , duke is not a particularly admirable figure , and neither is gonzo . \\nduring the latter half of the film , their trips turn nastier and the consequences worse , eventually building up to an incident an a diner in which gonzo crudely frightens and humiliates a waitress , while duke , though he doesn\\'t seem to approve , doesn\\'t do anything to stop it either . \\nby the time this scene takes place , they don\\'t seem like hippies or peaceniks or protesters or anything of the sort any more ; they just seem like a couple of stoned jerks in a diner . \\nduke seems to realize at some level that he\\'s become something he doesn\\'t like , but he\\'s either too apathetic or too defeated to do anything to change . \\nthis film has taken a critical drubbing from many who view it as an essentially pointless film that simply throws one trip scene after another at the audience . \\nwhile gilliam may have overdone it in a few places , i think he and his co-writers deserve more credit than that . \\nthere\\'s plenty of substance here , particularly in the second half ; its observations about the broken and defeated rebels from the \\'60s and the objects of their rebellion just aren\\'t usually very pleasant . \\nunlike , say , brazil ? or the fisher king , both of which feature a character who dares to let himself dream in a repressive environment , fear and loathing in las vegas ? shows us someone who\\'s given up on his dreams and resorts to the quick fix of drugs . \\nin its own psychedelic , whacked-out way , it\\'s sad and regretful , but i think it\\'s also a bit of a kick in the pants , a challenge to find an alternative between chemically-induced withdrawal and the equally addictive drug of vegas-style materialism . \\nindeed , duke himself admits at one point that he\\'s never learned to accept that you can get higher without drugs than with them . \\ni\\'m not sure if he\\'s any closer to accepting it by the end or not , but i suspect the audience will get the idea . \\n',\n",
+       " b'no film in recent has left me with such conflicted feelings as neil jordan\\'s harrowing , humorous , horrifying adaptation of patrick mccabe\\'s novel about young lad francie brady\\'s ( eamonn owens ) descent into madness in 1960s ireland . \\non one hand , it was difficult for me to become invested in francie\\'s story because he is such an unsavory character , unjustifyably venting his rage at his nosy but otherwise harmless neighbor mrs . nugent ( fiona shaw ) . \\non another hand , i found it difficult to laugh at some of francie\\'s darkly comic shenanigans because he obviously is such a sick , needy child , having been raised by a drunken father ( stephen rea ) and a suicidal mother ( aisling o\\'sullivan ) . \\non yet another hand , i also found it difficult to completely sympathize with francie during his more emotional scenes because some of his , for lack of a better word , \" bad \" deeds are so incredibly shocking in their brutality and the malicious glee in which he performs them . \\nhowever , the butcher boy\\'s power is undeniable , and the film as a whole is unforgettable--perhaps because it is so disturbing . \\nwhat makes it so unsettling is the francie\\'s overall wink-wink yet matter-of-fact attitude about everything , expressed in a cheeky voiceover narration delivered by the adult francie ( rea again ) . \\nthink heavenly creatures played largely for laughs , and you\\'ll sort of understand . \\nanchoring the whole film is the astonishing debut performance of owens ; love francie or hate him , you cannot take your eyes off of owens . \\nthe butcher boy truly is a twisted , unusual film that is bound to make just about anyone uncomfortable . \\nin the lobby after the screening , i overheard one man raving about how great yet disturbing it was ; i also heard one particularly offended woman say with disgust , \" that movie was so unfunny ! \" \\n \" i didn\\'t know what to expect . \\nit\\'s like something you chase for so long , but then you don\\'t know how to react when you get it . \\ni still don\\'t know how to react . \" \\n--michael jordan , on winning his first nba championship in 1991 . . . or , \\nmy thoughts after meeting him on november 21 , 1997 \\n',\n",
+       " b'few films in 1999 have divided the critical consensus as sharply as alan parker\\'s adaptation of frank mccourt\\'s memoir angela\\'s ashes . \\nmany dismissed it as an humorless , sentimentalized , uninteresting version of the hugely popular novel ; others hailed it as a heartfelt , sincere portrait of the human spirit . \\ni\\'m somewhere in between , leaning strongly towards the latter . \\nit\\'s certainly well-made and it never becomes tedious like some literary adaptations have a tendency to be . \\nbut i have a feeling that parker filled the movie with pseudo-lyrical shots of rain falling on the homely streets of ireland just so it can have the two-and-a-half hour running time that screams \" i\\'m important ! \" \\nmccourt\\'s book of the same name was about him and his family moving from the us to ireland in the early 1900\\'s , a time when most people were desperately trying to get into the us . \\nas he comments , \" we were the only irishfolk to say goodbye to the statue of liberty . \" \\nin ireland , frank ( played by joe breen as a small child ) , his 3 brothers , his mother angela ( emily watson ) and his father malachy ( robert carlyle ) get financial help from angela\\'s mother , a stereotypically strict catholic who chides her daughter for marrying a northern irishman . \\nshe helps them get a rat-infested apartment and malachy goes looking for a job . \\npositions are scarce and when he does finally find one , he is unable to hold on to it because of his fondness for drinking . \\nmeanwhile , frank goes to an uptight catholic school , where the instructors beat students with blunt wooden objects as often as their heart desires . \\ntwo of frank\\'s brothers soon die , crippled by the dreadful living conditions and malnutrition . \\nas if the poverty and the suffering weren\\'t intense enough as it stood , malachy and angela have another baby , worsening the situation further . \\ni imagine this doesn\\'t sound like much of a plot . \\nthat\\'s probably because it isn\\'t one . \\nthese are people . \\nthis is their story . \\ndirector alan parker ( the commitments ) knows how to tell a good story and angela\\'s ashes , despite its relentlessly literary tone remains interesting . \\nthough the film occasionally indulges too much in its gloomily picturesque irish setting , it avoids looking like a glorified travelogue . \\nsupplementing parker\\'s able direction are the engaging , often poignant performances of the leads , some of them seasoned thespians , others relative beginners . \\ncarlyle , the charismatic british actor who has shown astonishing range by hopping from the lead in a rowdy slapstick comedy to the villain in a james bond movie and now to sentimental melodrama , perfectly portrays his rather pathetic character . \\nwe empathize with the guy , but we don\\'t like or admire him . \\nemily watson turns in a heartfelt , sincere supporting performance . \\nit is mostly she who implants that lump in our throats . \\nalso worthy of mention is little joe breen , whose face graces the film\\'s superb poster . \\nit is breen\\'s first feature film and he\\'s extraordinary as young frank . \\nnot unlike sudden oscar darling haley joel osment of the sixth sense , you can peer into the character\\'s soul through breen\\'s sad eyes . \\non the flip side , one thing that could have vastly improved angela\\'s ashes is a more decisive editor . \\nwhile gerry hambling sure makes the most of the scenery , he and parker also leave in at least a half an hour of unnecessary footage . \\nthe first half , especially , could have been trimmed down , bringing the film to a more reasonable running time and doing our bladders a favor in the process . \\nthings pick up at about the halfway point , sort of dismissing a lot of the criticisms i accumulated during the opening hour , but i maintain that the aggressively deliberate pace parker and co . set in the first half was ludicrously unnecessary . \\n * spoiler warning ! \\nskip next paragraph if in suspense ! * \\nthe film\\'s final message is somewhat conflicted , as frankie , in effect , leaves his family famished in ireland while he himself goes back to america . \\nwhat , exactly , are we supposed to make of that ? \\nhis mother doesn\\'t seem to mind because she wants the best possible future for her son , as any mother would , but it still seems inconsiderate of him . \\ni haven\\'t read the book , but i\\'m sure that mccourt justifies his actions therein ; therefore , i\\'m suspicious . \\nanother thing that\\'s never made clear in the movie is the meaning of the title , which , i\\'m sure , is also explained in the memoir . \\nif seen as a film onto itself , rather than an adaptation , angela\\'s ashes stands tall . \\ndespite a few minor setbacks , it is a captivating story of people forced to live in the trenches by an merciless society where those of weaker character are shoved to the bottom of the financial ladder . \\n',\n",
+       " b'vikings v . bears ? \\nno , this isn\\'t the lineup for monday night football . \\nrather , these are the two opposing forces that will battle to the death in \" the 13th warrior , \" a film that is as dramatically flat as it is gratuitously gory . \\nbased on michael crichton\\'s book , eaters of the dead , this viking saga tries to evoke the mysticism of fabled norsemen and the glorious battles that they fought . \\ntheir strength and honor would eventually etch their place in history among the greatest warriors that ever picked up a sword . \\nluckily for the vikings , however , their warring abilities were not as clumsy as this film . \\nantonio bandaras is ahmed , a travelling ambassador . \\naccompanied by his friend ( omar shariff in a cameo ) , they eventually come across a small viking village . \\nwe see that the vikings are an extremely proud group whose greatest strength is their fortitude . \\nthey laugh heartily , revel in their arrogance , and sing songs of battles won . \\nbut their festivities are about to be halted when a messenger boy arrives to tell the village leader that a great evil is threatening their land . \\nhelp is needed quickly . \\nan elderly , fortune-telling witch arrives . \\nafter a brief incantation , she proclaims that 12 warriors and one more \" not of norse blood \" are needed to ensure victory . \\npersonally , i always wonder why people believe these oracles when they look so haggardly and on the brink of insanity . \\nnonetheless , 12 men eagerly accept their place while ahmed becomes the pivotal 13th . \\nthe group then sets out to do the greatest battle of their lives . \\nof course during their ride , ahmed becomes the target of fun for the other 12 burly viking warriors . \\nbut he ably shows that it\\'s not the size of the dog in the fight but rather the size of the fight in the dog . \\nhe is able to overcome the proud arrogance of the vikings , but will his skills ( and that of the group ) be enough to defeat whatever evil is menacing the countryside ? \\nit does not look promising . \\nthese creatures , resembling bears , are strong and have high morale . \\nthey are fearless and display a desire for decapitating the heads of their enemies . \\nthey attack by the hundreds and the next strike will come soon . \\nthe warriors prepare their defenses and pray to their gods . \\nthey are ready to sacrifice their lives . \\n \" this is a good way to die , \" says one of the fallen warriors . \\ndespite the larger-than-life battle sequences , i was unmoved by the entire experience . \\nat many points , i was even confused . \\nfor example , somewhere in the middle of the film , a sub-plot creeps up involving the prince of the threatened land . \\nhe seems to have an agenda to elevate himself to greater power during this crisis . \\nhowever , the sub-plot never fully materializes , and we are left scratching our heads as to the purpose of its inclusion . \\nthere are other questions that i had , but the real problem was that the story ( little of it that there was ) offered no characters to love or hate . \\nthe leader of the viking warriors had the most charisma . \\nhowever , banderas\\'s role is completely underwritten and it is unclear why being the 13th warrior makes him so special . \\nan entire rewrite of the ahmed character is in order . \\nalso , much of the action takes place during torrential downpours or at night , which made battles very difficult to follow . \\ni would have preferred more time looking at the viking culture and how their beliefs shaped their decision to do battle against the enemy . \\nas it stands , the film manages more confusion than intensity . \\nit would make thor cry . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ah , and 1999 was going along so well , too . \\n \" she\\'s all that \" has the dubious distinction of being the worst movie i\\'ve seen so far this year . \\nand quite frankly , i doubt i\\'ll see anything equally bad . \\n ( at least , i * hope * i don\\'t see anything equally bad ) . \\n \" she\\'s all that \" tells the story of the most popular guy in school ( played by freddie prinze jr . ) who accepts a bet to transform the geekiest girl in school ( rachel leigh cook ) into the most popular . \\nthat , right there , is problem #1 . \\nhow many times have we seen this storyline ? \\nas cook comments near the end of the film , \" it\\'s kind of like \" pretty woman \" , except without the prostitution \" . \\nof course , had the filmmakers attempted to try something new with this material , the well-worn storyline would have been a device to propell the movie forward . \\nas it is , though , \" she\\'s all that \" relies * completely * on the lame and overused formula to push it ahead . \\nthere\\'s not one original or interesting character in the film , either , and if that wasn\\'t bad enough , there\\'s not one good performance featured . \\nthe star of the movie , rachel leigh cook , is simply horrible . \\ni usually don\\'t like to get so personal , but in this case , i think it needs to be said . \\ncook wears the same expression throughout the flick and looks to be having as miserable a time as i was . \\ni was never convinced that she was a \" nerd \" , and her transformation was unconvincing and unnecessary . \\nthe movie seems to be saying it\\'s better to be popular than to be who you are . \\nas for freddie prinze jr . , an actor i ordinarily enjoy , he too is quite bad here . \\nhe coasts through the film on so-called charm , and never establishes a real character . \\nkieren culkin is here , too , as the brother of cook . \\nand for some indiscernable reason , he\\'s got hearing aids . \\nno explanation is given and they\\'re never brought up . \\nwere we supposed to feel * sorry * for him just because he wore hearing aids ? \\ni don\\'t think so . \\nthat single element of the film was one of the most offensive things i\\'ve seen in a movie in a long time . \\n \" she\\'s all that \" sucks . \\nthat\\'s what it boils down to . \\nit\\'s not entertaining , and it\\'s not even a good time passer . \\nthe hour and a half running time goes by slower than a 5 minute hair-removal system informercial . \\nand what\\'s worse , it sends out a bad message to teens . \\nit appears to be telling them , \" hey , it doesn\\'t matter if you\\'re happy the way you are . \\nthat\\'s unimportant . \\nif you want to * truly * be happy , dress in the latest fashions and act like a bubble-headed moron . \" \\nugh . \\n',\n",
+       " b'contrary to popular belief , not every single foregin film released to an american market is a masterpiece . \\nsome of them aren\\'t even good . \\nsome examples of this principle are the aboslutely dreadful \" un indien dans la ville \" ( presented as \" little indian , big city , \" and remade into that crap tim allen flick , \" jungle2jungle \" ) , and this . \\nwhat could have been a clever little sex comedy turns into one mess of a french flick . \\n \" french twist \" ( the \" cool \" american title , not the real one , which was \" gazon maudit , \" literally meaning \" twisted ground , \" or something like that ) deals with a married couple with kids , and the intrusion of a stranger who kinda screws things up for them . \\nloli and alain chabat ( victoria abril and alain chabat ) are not exactly happily married . \\nalways on business trips , alain chabat more than once cheats on her , and she eventually finds out . \\nand one day , she meets a butch mechanic , marijo ( the co-writer/director josiane balasko ) , and they two kinda hit it off . \\nso she decides she will get back at alain chabat by doing the obvious : sleeping with marijo . \\nbut she soons starts to not only fall in love with marijo , but she\\'s also realizes she\\'s still in love with alain chabat . \\nso , of course , she does the obvious from that : she decides to keep them both . \\nshe\\'ll be ( and sleep ) with each of them for 3 days each , then on sunday , she\\'ll rest by herself . \\nafter all , she needs it if she\\'s gonna have more sex than sylvia kristel . \\nthe film goes on for over an hour and a half , through stupidity after stupidity , moronic twist after moronic twist , and soon there\\'s the little ironic ( ! ! ! ) \\nending . \\ni know it\\'s a completely different culture , and i\\'m quite familiar with the french and their cinema , but this is just bad . \\nnone of the characters are more intelligent than peter stormare in \" fargo \" ( a movie where stupid characters were backed up to make a point ) , and any action they do is pretty much just to get a hopeful chuckle from the audience . \\nwhat\\'s shocking is this was not only one of france\\'s biggest hits , but it was nominated for a lot of cesars ( french equivalent of oscars ) . \\nthe writing and directing is really the big problem with it . \\njosiane balasko does a good acting job with her role , but her little sex comedy isn\\'t very humerous , entertaining , or even deep at all . \\neven woody allen\\'s not-very-good \" a midsummer night\\'s sex comedy \" is intelligent , well-written , and possesses some depth . \\nthis is shallow , unfunny , and pretty annoying to watch . \\nthe film moves at the pace of a snail , and is damn-near painful to watch . \\nthank god for the fast forward button . \\nthe acting , however , isn\\'t bad at all . \\nthe actors do the best they can with the bad material , and victoria abril is pretty likable despite the script ( and the fact that she\\'s stupid enough to try to divide herself over two people when she has kids ) . \\nand alain chabat has some funny moments as the neurotic husband . \\nbut \" french twist \" is just pretty lame . \\nit\\'s not overly horrible , and has a couple very , very , very brief moments . \\nbut it\\'s just a really crap film , and an example of an ill-advised distribution of a foreign film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : bleak and point-blank -- just the way it should be . \\nmakes its case with cold-blooded precision and intelligence . \\n \" serial killer chic \" is a relatively new entry to the cultural vocabulary , and one of the more stomach-turning ones . \\ni\\'ve never found someone automatically admirable or even interesting because they killed creatively or in great numbers , and because of that i had apprehensions about seeing henry . \\ni wasn\\'t sure i wanted to see the story of multiple murderer henry lee lucas portrayed as some kind of nihilistic hero/antihero . \\nthankfully , that\\'s not the way henry works . \\nthe director , john mcnaughton , took a small budget and a gallery of actor friends and created a chilling and intelligent piece of work . \\nit doesn\\'t provide cheap-jack explanations for henry\\'s behavior : it shows him up for what he is , an unrepentant and un-idolizable man who killed when the mood struck him . \\nat the film\\'s opening , henry\\'s friend ottis toole has a sister , who comes by to stay while she tries to find work in chicago . \\nin a viciously riveting scene , he admits matter-of-factly to having murdered his own mother , and she covers his hand with hers . \\nthey are damned together from that moment on . \\nhenry and ottis eventually begin to kill for fun . \\nthe movie is especially good at showing how they seem to have drifted casually into it : there\\'s a scene where the two go to buy a new tv . \\nthe pawnbroker they talk to goads henry with ugly words , and henry responds by stabbing the man to death with a soldering iron . \\nno preface -- it smashes into us as suddenly as it does the broker . \\nin a scene which many damned the movie for , unseen , they steal a video camera and film the murder of a whole household , playing it back over and over again for their own enjoyment . \\nthe movie itself , however , does not glorify the killings , but shows instead that henry feels no joy at his work , only irritation . \\nhenry succeeds thanks to excellent writing and direction as well as acting . \\nmichael rooker is credible as henry from the first frame , just standing there , and the rest of the cast works by being unaffected and casual as well . \\nthe producers had originally comissioned a slasher film from mcnaughton , but he decided to give them something more memorable , and consequently the film nearly didn\\'t see release . \\nthe film does not glorify or justify -- it just shows us , with unflinching coldness , what henry was . \\ni\\'m hard pressed to see how anyone can see this and consider henry any kind of \" victim \" or \" hero \" . \\nthen again , probably , so would henry . \\n',\n",
+       " b'this review contains spoilers , but believe me , i don\\'t say anything you can\\'t guess 10 minutes into the movie . \\ni * did * go into this one with high expectations . \\ni had been exposed to media reports that this film would signify a departure from the slasher flicks . \\ni sort of expected another exorcist or the shining . \\ni even put aside my general rule of not seeing this type of film . \\nboy , was i wrong ! \\nanother garbage slasher flick , the only difference being that * this * one has a story ! \\nthe story , you ask ? \\nwell , a scumball buys a chinese puzzle from a guy in an arab souk . \\nhe takes it home , somehow getting it past customs : - ) and starts fiddling with it in his attic . \\nlo and behold , after he takes it apart , three demons appear and start taking him apart , but with meat hooks . \\nwhen they\\'re finished , his gizzards are hanging from the ceiling . \\nthey botch up their cleanup job , however , and manage to leave his heart ( or some gland ; i didn\\'t really recognize the organ ) under a floorboard . \\nthe guy\\'s brother and his brother\\'s wife appear at the door soon after , and decide to move in . \\nthey throw away scumball\\'s belongings , and set up house . \\nturns out that wife is a bit of a nympho , and screwed around with scumball right before her marriage . \\nshe starts having some wild hallucinations . \\nlater , hubby spills some blood on the attic floorboards ( slow-mo special effects of the buckets of blood hitting the ground--all from the tiny cut on his hand ) . \\nsaid blood is eagerly sucked up by scumball\\'s organ . \\nthe organ grows into a thing that requires yet more blood in order to complete the regeneration into a really ugly thing . \\nit establishes mind contact with wife , who agrees to help him get more blood , because she really wants to be screwed again . \\nso , she helps him kill three businessmen . \\nscumball , at this time , gradually gets his strength back and grows all his organs back . \\nproblem is , he doesn\\'t have any skin , and even after three or four corpses , still doesn\\'t get any skin . \\nhe finally gets some , though , but strangely enough , he ends up looking like his brother . \\nguess they couldn\\'t get the original actor back . \\nwho knows . \\nscumball ( whose name is frank ) is not a nice guy . \\nhe describes his torture by the demons fondly , as the \" ultimate pleasure and pain , since at that level there is no difference between the two . \" \\nsomehow , i don\\'t see getting torn apart by 90 fish- and meat-hooks a lot of fun . \\nthis guy is * so * bad ( \" how bad * is * he ? \" ) , \\n * so * bad that the * rats * cower in a corner in fear . \\nfor good reason , too ; he crucifies two of them for fun , and carves a third while the nympho\\'s horsing around with hubby . \\nanyway . hubby\\'s daughter ( who , if course , is not * wife\\'s * daughter ) starts to suspect something is wrong after she sees wife going into the attic with one of her johns and the ensuing screams . \\nthe dumb bimbo meets scumball , and is not impressed . \\nshe manages to escape with the chinese puzzle , and brings out the demons . \\nat any rate , the demons are pissed off that they screwed up their cleanup ; they\\'re normally quite meticulous about that type of thing . \\nthe story boils down to the demons trying to correct their mistake . \\nthe demons are not , however , the good guys . \\nthe dumb bimbo\\'s the good guy . \\nshe somehow not only gets them to take care of frank , but also banishes them to hell or oblivion , we\\'re not too sure which . \\nnot too shabby for someone with single-digit iq . \\nthis is basically a \" bad jinn \" story . \\nit is an * awful * movie . \\nawful acting , bad focus in the photography , many scenes of skin being penetrated by meathooks , which is really unrealistic , and looks like the latex that it is . \\ncontinuity ? \\nwho cares . \\nacting ? \\n * terrible * . \\nscript ? \\nhorrible . \\nsounds canned . \\nunrealistic . \\nstory is so-so , but the impact is lost long , long before the film ends . \\ni do think the * rat * acting was quite good . \\ni have never seen rats look afraid . \\nthey should get nominated for an award . \\nreally good acting there , the best in the movie . \\n \" the envelope for best furry rodent , please . . . \" \\na \" \" rating would be far too generous . \\na \" 1/10 \" rating ( or -4 in the -4 to +4 rating system ) is far more accurate . \\nthis movie is so bad that people in the audience were laughing , chortling at the bad acting and crummy dialog . \\ni can see this film turning into the next rocky horror picture show . \\npeople were getting so fed up they were yelling warnings up to the characters on the screen . \\nhad to have something to do . \\ndumb , dumb , dumb movie . \\ni was embarrassed that i spent money to see it . \\nit goes without saying that i disagree with the other reviews on the board that attempt to review the film for itself . \\nlots of slime and red-dyed corn syrup does not constitute \" horror , \" in my opinion . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : back-up quarterback moxxon becomes starting quarterback midway through his senior year of high school , even though he\\'d rather read \" slaughterhouse five \" than the playbook . \\nevil football coach kilmer throws away moxxon\\'s book , though , while the evil team physician injects painkillers into the players . \\nin the meantime , moxxon\\'s kid brother forms a cult , and a bubblegum-blond cheerleader smears whip cream on herself to seduce the new star quarterback . \\ncomments : since i usually review horror and science fiction films , i feel a little out of my league discussing this teen football movie . \\n ( pun intended . \\nthank you ! ) \\nvarsity blues was produced by mtv , and it really shows . \\nseveral extended scenes allow for a continual soundtrack of mediocre pop songs meant to appeal to the adolescent male audience this crap was intended for . \\nthe teenagers all have reasons for their melodramatic angst . \\nthe adults all have problems , of course , and , as one-dimensional characters , they are all fanatically obssessed with how their local high school football team performs . \\nyes , this movie represents high school life in mtv-land . \\nthis is a land where your health teacher is also a part-time stripper , your ice cream store attendant girlfriend wears an egyptian ankh around her neck , your kid brother forms a \" cute \" cult , your football coach is an uncaring , obssessive madman , and your friends\\' lives consist of nothing but getting laid and driving around in cop cars naked . \\nall you , as the main character , want to do , however , is read \" slaughterhouse five \" and attend brown university in the fall . \\nwell , at least this is a little more realistic than mtv\\'s \" the real world . \" \\nvarsity blues stars james van der beek , this week\\'s teen tv star making the leap to the big screen . \\nhe plays the hick moxxon adequately , though some of his emotional dialogue will make people chuckle . \\n ( \" you dawn\\'t own mah life ! \" \\nwho would want to ? ) \\njon voight , the stock evil guy in countless other movies , is , surprise , the stock evil guy here . \\nbut is he really evil , or is he a product of society ? \\nafter all , everybody , young and old , in this movie has no life whatsoever and do nothing but obssess over high school football . \\nmaybe the pressures of the 90 screaming fans at the football field drove evil coach kilmer evil . \\nthe film\\'s screenplay never answers this burning question . \\nat times , iliff\\'s story does show glimmers of touching or humorous scenes , but , before the audience gets their hopes up that there might be something redeeming in this movie , they get trashed with another lengthy party sequence or overwrought football game . \\nthe movie\\'s pacing is slow , and the plot turns are mindnumbingly obvious from start to finish . \\ni suppose i\\'m being a little hard on varsity blues . \\nmaybe i\\'m just a little miffed that i had to pay 3 bucks to see it , even though it was dollar night at the cinema . \\nsomething about a request from the studio made the theater charge more money . \\ni found the film oftentimes ludicrous and boring . \\nthree guys in front of us smuggled beer into the the theater . \\ni wished i had thought of that . \\nalcohol , lots of it , may have helped the viewing experience . \\n',\n",
+       " b'cradle will rock is the latest effort from director/actor tim robbins . \\nwhile he may have had an oscar worthy film back in 1995 ( dead man walking ) , he gets a little overconfident and sloppy here . \\nthe story is confusing , and filled with many subplots , so i\\'ll try my best and explain it as simply as possible . \\nthe film is based on a \" mostly \" true story about a federal theater in the 1930s , that produced a play ( the cradle will rock ) that apparently was offensive to some , so the government shuts it down . \\nit\\'s during the time of the depression , and all this theater wants to do is entertain and cheer up those who do not have jobs , or are poor . \\nbetween this conflict lies what seems like 10 subplots , about those who work in theater , or those associated . \\nalso along the way are some other messages mashed together to create an even more overwhelming experience . \\ntim robbin\\'s just keeps piling on political views , and characters , that we just give up on the film , or in some cases walk out . \\nfor robbin\\'s it may be a nice achievement , but to me it seemed more like a friendly get together with slightly more sophisticated dialogue , and fancy outfits . \\ni thought the main reason for seeing the film would be for the outstanding cast , unfortunately are all uninteresting , except for a few . \\nlet me recap what each important character does , so please bear with me ( it\\'s the least you can do , especially if you were considering seeing this ) . \\ni\\'ll begin with those involved with the play . \\nthere\\'s orson welles ( angus macfadyen ) who of course is the director of the play , the producer john houseman ( cary elwes ) , marc blitzstein ( hank azaria ) the writer of the play , emily watson , a woman who gets her break by playing the main part in cradle will rock . \\noutside the play there\\'s the : ventriloquist ( bill murray ) who wants a relationship with a federal theater clerk ( joan cusack ) , another subplot involving a painter diego rivera ( ruben blades ) who\\'s unhappy that his painting is too be destroyed by nelson rockefeller because he feels it to be an outrage ( john cusack ) . \\nthere\\'s a few other actresses and actors who have their own stories ( susan sarandon , philip baker hall too name a few ) but those that i mentioned , were the most significant to the story . \\nanyway , most of these talented hollywood stars were completely wasted , except for emily watson , who does another great job , and one of my personal favorite actors john cusack , who always delivers through thick and thin . \\nnow although most of the film was weak to say the least , there were some nice moments and some involving subjects , but all this is overblown . \\nsure the free speech segment was a nice feature , but not when it becomes repetitive . \\nthe whole film is like this , and it\\'s basically nothing but a headache . \\non the brighter side , tim robbin\\'s direction was masterful . \\nhis camera direction seemed reminiscent to the works of paul thomas anderson\\'s latest magnolia , only smoother in my opinion , but even that can\\'t make a movie that much better . \\nalthough it has it\\'s moments ( not many of them , but they\\'re there ) , cradle will rock stays true to it\\'s title , because the cradle rocked too far and tipped over . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a pseudo-intellectual film about the pseudo-intellectual world of art magazines , high art is as wasted as its drug-addled protagonists . \\nin the only notable part of the movie , ally sheedy and radha mitchell deliver nice performances in the two leading roles , not that lisa cholodenko\\'s script or direction makes you care much about either character . \\nliving in a world of heroin induced highs , they float along until they fall in love with each other . \\nthis uninviting picture , full of pretentious minor characters , has a receptionist that reads dostoevski and a woman in the restroom line who is a certified genius , having recently been awarded a prestigious mcarthur grant . \\n24-year-old syd ( radha mitchell ) , who has a rather bland , live-in boyfriend , was just promoted to assistant editor at the artistic photography magazine \" frame . \" \\nalthough the receptionist is impressed , syd is mainly a gofer for her boss until she meets famous photographer lucy berliner ( ally sheedy ) . \\nfor her to do photos for \" frame , \" lucy demands that syd be promoted to editor and assigned to her since lucy fancies her . \\nlucy lives with her current lover , a washed up german actress named greta , played with a frequently indecipherable series of mumbles by patricia clarkson . \\nthe two of them and their friends wile away their time snorting and shooting up dope , usually heroin . \\nthis does not happen in a single episode , but becomes more commonplace than sleeping in the picture . \\nsyd , who lives in the apartment below them , joins in on the fun and becomes a member of the zombie club . \\nlucy seems pretty happy with her life of drugs , which apparently is funded by her mother . \\nlucy quit working professionally 10 years ago since she thought she was being \" pigeonholed , \" and , since her mother has money , we can only assume that that\\'s how lucy supports her habit and procures her living expenses . \\na typical scene has the editors arguing about whether a potential photographer\\'s work is transcendental or merely classical . \\nthat no one has a clue as to the dogma they are spouting becomes obvious but not particularly funny . \\n \" your work has a cultural currency that is important now , \" is the artist-speak that the frame\\'s manager uses to convince lucy to show her pictures in the magazine . \\nwhen the big scene comes in which lucy puts the moves on syd , her idea of a romantic line is , \" i want to get high with you . \" \\nin lucy\\'s world , sex and drugs come hand-in-hand . \\nand the movie , except for the obligatory scene of someone almost overdosing , shows drug usage as being a hip and natural part of the art scene . \\nthis vacuous picture throws in a standard downer ending in an attempt to manipulate our emotions . \\nin another movie , it might have worked , but in this one the reaction is likely to be decidedly muted . \\nhigh art runs 1 : 36 . \\nit is rated r for explicit sex , pervasive drug use and language and is not appropriate for those younger than college age . \\n',\n",
+       " b'richard linklater\\'s \" slacker , \" made in 1991 for a budget of only $23 , 000 , immerses itself in the twentysomething , college-town culture of austin , texas . \\nmost of these characters are either unemployed or work jobs that are apparently too menial to be worth mentioning . \\ntheir lifestyle is a sort of passive resistance to the idea that people should go out and actively pursue a career after graduation ; they seem content to sit around spouting off about the inadequacy of american democracy , the pervasiveness of slave morality , the subtle messages in pop culture , and such . \\nask them what they\\'ve been doing lately , and they\\'ll more likely than not reply , \" oh , you know , just hanging out . \" \\nlinklater uses an interesting technique to examine these characters : the camera follows one person for a few minutes , then someone else walks by and the camera follows that person , who walks into a diner just as another person is walking out the door . \\n . \\n . \\n . \\nit\\'s certainly a lot of fun listening to these characters talk : some of them are clearly very intelligent and have some genuinely insightful ideas , some of them are just plain weird , and some of them think their ideas are a lot more profound than they really are . \\nthe opening monologue , delivered by linklater himself to a taxi driver , tosses around ideas about alternate realities that nicely set up the meandering structure of the film . \\nother characters along the way offer observations about everything from dating relationships to the history of anarchist philosophy , while groups of pseudo-intellectuals kick around ideas about the nobility of sitting around and doing nothing or the subtle bribery-based morality in \" scooby-doo . \" \\nfor the most part , however , the best moments are the ones involving the slightly unhinged types . \\nnear the beginning , a paranoid man follows a pedestrian for several blocks , warning him about government conspiracies involving everything from global warming to secret colonization of mars . \\nanother man seems to be collecting televisions , keeping at least fifteen sets running at the same time and playing tapes of a graduate student who recorded himself having a nervous breakdown and destroying the camera . \\nand in a scene that drew a big laugh from everyone present when i saw the film , a man tries to achieve closure after a failed relationship by reciting poetry on a bridge and then throwing a typewriter into the creek below . \\nthe only problem with \" slacker \" is that it starts to run out of steam towards the end . \\nsince linklater only spends a few minutes with each character , the introduction of the new characters gets repetitive after a while . \\nthere are only so many times you can hear , \" hey , what\\'s going on ? \" \\n \" not much , what are you up to ? \" \\n \" nothing really , just hanging around , \" before it gets on your nerves ; the film might well have benefited from a slightly slower pace and a little bit more characterization . \\nand the dialogue in the second half of the film is by and large not quite as interesting as that in the first half ; a jfk buff , for example , seems like a pale imitation of the previous conspiracy theorist , and many of the characters just generally aren\\'t as weird or unique . \\ninstead of depicting a city populated by mostly normal people and then showing us the strangeness that we might not have noticed at first , linklater shows us the oddballs first , then stops and reminds us that ordinary people live there too . \\n \" slacker \" is a good film and a wonderfully offbeat and entertaining comedy , whatever its flaws , and its status as a cult classic is well-deserved . \\ni just can\\'t help but think it might have been even better if linklater had slowed down a little bit and filmed these scenes in reverse order . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i admit it . \\ni thought arnold schwarzenegger had a knack for comedy when he made twins and true lies . \\nwatching him in jingle all the way , i wondered why anyone ever thought he could carry such a lame movie targeted at susceptible kids . \\nit was one thing to scare the crap out of kids with the pg-13 kindergarten cop , but parents who let small children see this movie will have to explain themes of violence , alcohol consumption , burglary , racism and child molestation . \\nand you know they\\'ll burst out in tears when arnold punches one of santa\\'s elves . \\nhe later decks a reindeer . \\nhey , man , why don\\'t you just kick the easter bunny in the nuts while you\\'re at it ? \\njingle all the way is formula crap that follows the if someone falls on his ass , it must be funny school of thought . \\narnold , sinbad and phil hartman crash to the ground more times in this movie than a special olympics hockey team , and the movie dredges up more cliche and less believability with each successive scene . \\nwhat can you expect from a movie whose entire premise is that two parents can\\'t find a rare toy on christmas eve , and will do anything to get one ? \\narnold is , of course , one of the parents , a crack salesman who is never there for his son . \\nhe races from the office to his son\\'s karate game , only to find out he missed it . \\nand his kid distrusts him because he\\'s never around . \\n ( gee , we haven\\'t seen that in a movie before . ) \\narnold the absentee father becomes convinced that the only way to buy back his son\\'s affection is to get him a turboman doll , which his wife ( rita wilson , who will never be the breadwinner of the hanks household choosing roles like this ) told him to get weeks ago . \\nso arnold sets out to find a turboman , which turns out to be more rare than the tickle me elmo was when jingle all the way came out . \\nlet me back up for a minute here -- arnold\\'s kid is totally obsessed with this turboman character , which is unhealthy beyond belief . \\nwatches the show , eats the cereal , sleeps on the freakin\\' turboman sheets . \\ni\\'d try to discourage any further obsession myself , lest any kid seeing this movie think it\\'s a wonderful thing to con your dad into racing out to buy you any toy you want . \\nbut nooooo , the climax of jingle all the way has arnold dressed up as turboman in a parade , exonerating himself of all wrongdoing in the eyes of wife and son , who don\\'t recognize him until the last minute . \\nthis is a sad movie all the way through , but it only gets worse after the opening scenes of arnold and mailman sinbad stampeding through a store , racing off to the mall and hooking up with a santa ( jim belushi ) who runs a bootleg toy factory . \\nmost painful to watch is a scene at a radio station , where sinbad holds off the cops with a letter bomb after beating up the deejay ( an embarrassed martin mull ) who said he was giving away a turboman doll . \\ncapitalism has produced some pretty evil things ( chia pets ) , but this ode to excess and violent consumerism is one of the most shameful . \\nnever mind the subplot with perfect neighbor phil hartman trying to seduce wilson while arnold is off shopping ( \" your cookies are incredible \" ) , it\\'s the main plot of the movie that sends the message that it\\'s okay to do whatever it takes to get your hands on what you want . \\nmaybe that\\'s what christmas is like at the schwarzenegger house , but not at mine . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"anna and the king strides onto the screen in full regalia , wearing a brilliant suit of sumptuous landscapes , deep , vibrant colors and an epic storyline . \\nit's true beauty comes from it's subtle ruminations on the politics of power , whether it's between governments , or the interplay between a man and a woman . \\nanna ( jodie foster ) is a widowed british schoolteacher with a touch of wanderlust trying to grasp her quicksilver feelings concerning the recent death of her husband . \\nwith son in tow , she takes the employ of king mongkut ( chow yun-fat ) to tutor his son in the english language . \\nmongkut sees the strength of the british and correctly surmises that his country's future lies in opening itself up to the ways of the western world . \\nanna function is to help provide that link . \\nthe core of the film , of course , deals with the blossoming love between anna and mongkut as it attempts to germinate in the unfriendly soil of a shifting political climate . \\nfoster plays anna with equal parts clenched jaw and wide-eyed wonder . \\nshe is assertive , yet , respectful of the king as she initially tries to impose her western sensibilities upon him . \\nit is one of foster's strongest performances since silence of the lambs in a role she could not have played earlier in her career . \\nshe brings a mature self- awareness and determination that might not have come across from a younger foster . \\nit's a joy to watch her cagily bargain for her own measure of influence within the realm of mongkut's monarchy . \\nwhen she makes her entrance into a politically charged banquet mid-film , she exudes a hypnotic beauty that is deepened by her textured performance . \\nchow-yun fat's king mongkut is every measure of foster's anna , perhaps even more so . \\nthis is the chow yun-fat that hong kong cinema has been in love with for nearly twenty years . \\nhe is imposing , yet vulnerable , playful , but stern . \\nit is an impressively assured and nuanced performance . \\nprecious time is stolen from the movie's 155 minutes running time by an unengaging subplot involving one the king's concubines ( bai ling ) and her love of a commoner . \\nit strikes with the subtlety of siam's fabled white elephant as it stomps through the leisurely paced story . \\nsome may be put off by the action filled climax of the movie . \\nalthough a bit inconsistent in tone from the rest of the film , it fits within the established subplot of a perceived siege by neighboring burma , a country backed by the british . \\nanna and the king transcends being a predictable , traditional love story by avoiding mawkishness . \\nit shows a seduction of intelligence . \\never mindful of each other's positions , anna and king mongkut negotiate a maze of social customs , conflicting world views and lost loved ones to connect on a level that ultimately proves deeply satisfying , if not achingly bittersweet . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'labelling is sometimes everything . \\nin original mad max , the opening title set the plot of the movie in near future , thus making it one of the science fiction classics , despite the future world being almost exactly like our own . \\nwalter hill wanted the same opening title for his action classic the warriors . \\nproducers weren\\'t thrilled by that idea and consequently the movie lost all of its futuristic overtones . \\non the other hand , producers were right on the mark ; walter hill was accused of actually promoting some disturbing trends that were quite visible in contemporary america . \\nto make the movie even more distant from future , plot was loosely based on anabasis , historical book written by xenophon , greek mercenary soldier who had described his adventures in ancient persia 2400 years ago . \\ninstead of ancient persia , movie begins in contemporary coney island , where cleon ( dorsey wright ) , leader of the warriors , local youth gang , gets invitation to the great gathering of all youth gangs from the city . \\nthe gathering , organised by gramercy park riffs , most powerful gang in the city , is taking place in bronx . \\nthat is far away from warriors\\' home territory , but small and unarmed delegation of the warriors gets there safely thanks to the general truce . \\non the gathering , cyrus ( roger hill ) , charismatic leader of the riffs , announces his grand plan to unite all the gangs and take over the city . \\ncrowd is enthusiastic , but the small gang of rogues , led by psychopathic luther ( david patrick kelly ) uses the opportunity to assassinate cyrus . \\npolice simultaneously raids the gathering , and in the commotion warriors get blamed by the killing , and their leader gets killed by riffs . \\nthe remaining eight , led by cleon\\'s lieutenant swann ( michael beck ) , must now try to get to coney island , but this time unprotected by truce and instead being chased by all the gangs . \\nupon its release , despite the controversies and even some youth riots that were allegedly inspired by it , the warriors enjoyed immense popularity and very quickly received some kind of a cult status . \\nhowever , despite being one of the best movies of that year , and being directed by talented action director walter hill at the peak of his career , the movie failed to leave as strong impression to the future generations as some other cinematic achievements of that same year . \\nthe reason for that probably lies in a fact that this movie aged very quickly . \\nif walter hill\\'s idea was to warn the public about problems of urban america , he failed miserably . \\nthe future was much worse than his vision . \\nthe youth gangs , as presented in the warriors , are far from shadowy armies , able to take over entire cities . \\ntheir members seem more interested in unorthodox fashion and their little petty feuds than such prosaic , and for the public more annoying , matters like crime . \\nin their vocabulary , word \" arms \" is reserved for small knives and blunt objects , and only few of them use heavy artillery like handguns . \\nthey even have their own , very strict and detailed laws , upheld more strictly than some governments do with their own . \\nmany people in american cities would be more than happy to see their young criminals behaving like those in the warriors . \\nsome of the critics who accused hill of actually praising youth crime had a lot arguments in their favour . \\ndespite those objections , the warriors have all the elements of a very good film . \\nthe plot is simple , and serves as good basis for numerous action scenes . \\nthe fights are brilliantly choreographed and quite realistic , although there isn\\'t much bloodshed or gore in the movie . \\nediting is superb , events happen at quick pace , with the exception of middle , when boring moralistic exchanges between swann and his would-be-girlfriend mercy ( deborah van valkenburgh ) drag the plot from straight action to social drama territory . \\nthe soundtrack by barry de vorzon is very suggestive and recognisable . \\nyet , the trademark of this film are the actors who showed great talent , although most of them later sunk into anonymity . \\nbest known of them is david patrick kelly , whose superb and original performance in this film later subscribed him to the roles of psychopathic villains . \\nmichael beck as cool , almost statesman-like leader of a gang , is also very good , and james remar gives good contrast as his hot-shot contender for top spot . \\nall in all , this movie is perhaps dated , yet in its hour and half can give a lot more entertainment than most of the contemporary movies . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" jack frost , \" is one of those dumb , corny concoctions that attempts to be a heartwarming family film , but is too muddled in its own cliches and predictability to be the least bit touching . \\nthis does not come as a surprise , since the studio that made it is warner brothers , who is on a current streak of one bad film after the other . \\njack frost ( michael keaton ) is a struggling middle-aged rock musician who loves his wife , gabby ( kelly preston ) , and 11-year-old son , charlie ( joseph cross ) , but doesn\\'t spend nearly enough time with them . \\nwhen he receives a call from a music label that wants to hear him play , he has to cancel his planned family outing up in the mountains for christmas . \\nhalfway there , jack has second thoughts , but on his way back home , is in a car accident and dies . \\nswitch forward a year , christmas is approaching once again , and charlie and gabby are still having a difficult time coming to terms with jack\\'s death . \\nwhen charlie begins to play the harmonica his father gave him the night before he died , the snowman outside the house is taken over by jack\\'s spirit . \\njack wants to spend some time with his son before the upcoming warm front melts him , but charlie desperately tries to prevent his melting demise . \\n \" frosty the snowman , \" is a classic cartoon , and the idea of a snowman that is alive works splendidly when animated , but as a live-action film , it doesn\\'t work at all . \\nafter a somewhat promising prologue in which the frost family is established , \" jack frost , \" quickly goes downhill , especially once the snowman comes into play . \\nsince jack has been deceased for a whole year , you would think there would be many questions to ask him , such as , \" what happens after you die ? \" \\nor , \" how does it feel to be a snowman ? \" \\nbut instead , the film focuses on a snowball fight subplot and an inevitably oversentimental climax that could be telegraphed before i even sat down to watch the movie . \\nthe performances are respectable enough , but no one deserves to be punished by appearing in a silly film like this . \\nmichael keaton at least got off easy , since he disappears after the first twenty minutes , but what exactly does he think he is doing with his career here ? \\ni have always liked kelly preston . \\nshe is clearly a talented , charismatic actress , but has never been given a good role in her life , usually having to settle for a one-dimensional supporting character , as in , 1997\\'s , \" nothing to lose , \" and , \" addicted to love . \" \\njoseph cross was probably the highlight in the cast , since he believably portrayed a boy suffering the loss of a parent . \\nin one of the only subplots that actually works , due to its wittiness , henry rollins is highly amusing as a hockey coach who becomes terrified and paranoid after seeing the live snowman . \\nthis brief hint of cleverness is pushed to the side , however , by the tried-and-true main plot at hand , which is the sappy story of a father and son . \\nsince i knew what was going to happen by the time the conclusion came around , i had no choice but to sit there and listen to painfully insipid , cringe-inducing lines of dialogue . \\nsome of my favorites was an interaction between the son and father : \" you da man , \" says charlie . \\n \" no , i da snowman , \" replies jack . \\nor how about this little zinger , coming from a school bully that miraculously becomes friendly towards charlie and tries to help him out : \" snowdad is better than no dad . \" \\ndo people really get paid in hollywood for writing pieces of trash like this ? \\nthe snowman , created by john henson\\'s creature shop , is more believable than the snowman from last year\\'s unintentionally hilarious direct-to-video horror flick , also called , \" jack frost , \" but it still was difficult to tell if it was a person in a suit or computer effects . \\neither way , it was an awful lot of work to go through , just to come up with a final product as featherbrained as this project . \\nas a seasonal holiday picture , \" jack frost , \" is pretty much a clunker . \\na better christmas film from this year is , \" i\\'ll be home for christmas . \" \\nbetter yet , my suggestion would be to stay home and watch a quality film , such as , \" it\\'s a wonderful life , \" \" a christmas story , \" or , \" prancer . \" \\n \" jack frost , \" is an earnest , but severely misguided film , and children , as well as adults , deserve better . \\ni doubt they would want to see a movie about the death of a parent , anyway . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plunkett & macleane is a period piece mired down by modern mtv pretentions . \\ni have nothing against the mtv approach to filmmaking -- used properly it can save a movie ( see stigmata ) -- but it ruins this one , making a muddled , incoherent mess out of a potentially interesting premise . \\nthere are certain genres that just don\\'t go together . \\nthe film opens with a sequence that i still don\\'t understand . \\nit involves some sort of prison outbreak , a robbery , and a gem that keeps being eaten . \\nin any case , the caper ( whatever it may be ) brings together plunkett and macleane ( robert carlyle and johnny lee miller , respectively ) , two happy-go-lucky brits with no way to make a living . \\nthey make a pact to steal money from the rich and give it to themselves until they earn enough money to buy a ticket to america . \\ntheir first heist involves a young debutante named lady rebecca ( liv tyler ) ; a woman macleane was especially friendly with at a party just earlier . \\nhis decorum when stripping her of her valuables earns our two crooks the name \" gentleman highwaymen . \" \\nlady rebecca also happens to be the niece of the lord chief justice , a glaringly arrogant man nearing the end of his political career . \\nhe demands that the robbers be caught and punished immediately , leaving the job in the hands of the devious chance ( ken stott ) who has a few more things on his mind than catching criminals . \\nmeanwhile , macleane falls in love with rebecca infuriating the businesslike plunkett , who doesn\\'t want his plans to be foiled by his partner\\'s mindless romantic travails . \\ndirector jake scott , son of ridley scott ( alien , blade runner ) , has his father\\'s knack for setting up atmospheric shots but none of his skill in actually moving the camera . \\nmost of the action scenes are filmed in such a rapid , jerky way that it\\'s impossible to comprehend what\\'s going on . \\nthe camerawork is even more nauseating than in the purposefully dizzying the blair witch project due to its lack of fluidity . \\ninstead of utilizing panning shots to impress upon us the scope of the events scott uses attention-deficit-disorder edits . \\nhe barely ever holds a shot for more than ten seconds and during the faster scenes it seems more like a couple frames between each cut . \\nthe weird , almost defiant lack of dialogue ( there are no -- no -- conversations lasting over , say , 20 seconds ) undermines character definition and our two protagonists come off as ciphers rather than characters . \\nthe love affair between macleane and rebecca is no different , emotionless and unrealistic . \\nwhen the script calls for macleane to decide between going to america and going to meet his lover , there is no reason for us to believe it would be worth it for him to abandon his goal ; he and rebecca barely even speak to each other throughout the film . \\nplunkett and macleane wants desperately to be a triumph of style over substance but since its style , quite frankly , blows , the film has no hope of succeeding on any level . \\ni wanted to appreciate this movie on the basis of its admittedly kinetic pace but i couldn\\'t -- it was so kinetic it gave me a headache . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there\\'s a thin line between satire and controversy , and mike nichols ( the birdcage , wolf ) has directed a sharp and very honest look at a us presidential election . \\nbased on the book written by \" anonymous \" ( actually former \" newsweek \" writer joe klein ) , john travolta plays governor jack stanton . \\nbut he doesn\\'t actually play stanton . \\nhe plays bill clinton ; just the same as emma thompson no doubt plays the first lady and billy bob thorton is the campaign manipulator james carville ( although the credits will of course say otherwise ) . \\nthe film is taken from the perspective of henry burton ( adrian lester ) , a morally correct and somewhat hesitant new advisor to stanton . \\nhe searches for justice and dignity in the ugliest possible situations , and whether it be keeping the history of his boss\\' pants under wraps or contemplating digging up dirt on another politician , he approaches his work with a keen desire to skillfully serve his country and his fellow workers . \\nrichard jemmons ( billy bob thorton ) and daisy green ( maura tierney ) team up with henry as the would-be president\\'s advisors , and hire lesbian veteran libby holden ( kathy bates ) as the campaign\\'s eccentric \" tougher than dirt \" incriminator . \\ntogether they face all sorts of sexual allegations , the irritatingly discourteous media and other witty politicians in the election race . \\nin its satire and controversy , primary colors is a similar film to wag the dog : they both are not afraid to wipe their noses in the nitty-gritty and take a bold look at something that will never has honesty as a virtue . \\nbut whereas wag showed us how much affect a few people can have on the media , primary colors is much more concerned with fleshing out it\\'s characters , letting us understand what they want and why , and making us truly appreciate the humanity and rectitude that they graciously represent . \\nseeing john travolta play bill clinton so confidently and justly is enough to make the film more than worth a look . \\nand the rest of the cast also make superb performances - adrian lester sharply portrays the intellect of henry whilst kathy bates is perfect as the robust and energetic libby holden . \\nat occasions , you can\\'t help but feel that these terrific characters are going to waste . \\nthere are long slabs of time where john travolta ( unquestionably the most interesting to watch ) is missed from the screen ; and since it is awkwardly structured as henry\\'s story we are often forced to watch scenes that perhaps are not so necessary to the central plot - or even the point of the film . \\nhaving said that , make no mistake - primary colors is always enjoyable to watch . \\nbut frequently we have to ask ourselves - exactly what are we watching ? \\nmost of the first half of its duration is a lightheaded look at melodramatic confrontations that seem so genuine we cannot help but laugh , but the way primary colors chooses to finish tackles aspects that are very contrary , and almost unsuitable , to the rest of the film . \\nbut as i mentioned before , there is a thin line between satire and controversy - and for the most part , primary colors delivers an entertaining indulgence of political matters combined with a far-from-overpowering look at winning the public\\'s opinion . \\nalthough at occasions the film may jump around a little too freely , focus is never lost on how important and vulnerable the subject matter really is . \\nthankfully , it is clear to make the distinction on what is entertaining movie cosmetics and what is a provocative documentation of something so really it\\'s scary . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in this year\\'s summer movie preview issue of _entertainment_weekly_ , theresa connelly described her writing-directing debut , _polish_wedding_ , as \" a child that did not quite become the child i thought it would . \" \\none wonders what exactly she originally had in mind for this jumbled film , a comedy-drama that appears doomed at its most basic elements . \\nthe family at the center of _polish_wedding_ is the pzoniaks , which consists of mother jadzia ( lena olin ) , father bolek ( gabriel byrne ) , sole daughter hala ( claire danes ) and four sons of varying degrees of facelessness . \\nit\\'s a large family , but there\\'s not a sympathetic one in the whole bunch , certainly not in the primary trio . \\njadzia takes pride in building and maintaining a home and family , but she\\'s kind of a hypocrite since she\\'s carrying on an affair with a businessman rade serbedzija ) . \\nher excuse for her affair is neglect from bolek , who is such a passive wimp that one cannot connect with his sadness and frustration . \\nalso , how could he possibly pay so little attention to the saucy , sexy jadzia ? \\nhala is a spoiled , self-centered high school dropout whose reckless sexual experimentation predictably leads to pregnancy . \\nwith such an unappealing set of characters , it\\'s no surprise that _polish_wedding_\\'s plot complications are far from involving . \\nnaturally , jadzia and bolek would like hala to marry the young cop , russell schuster ( adam trese ) , who fathered the child , but he refuses to make such a commitment . \\nho-hum . \\nanother complication , involving the decidedly un-virginal hala being selected to crown a statue of the virgin mary , is first played for laughs and then , inexplicably , as a profound statement in the film\\'s climax--which , ironically , is funnier than any of the film\\'s lame attempts at humor , such as a painfully labored slapstick attempt where jadzia leads her sons in a charge to beat up russell . \\nthat scene is but one in a number of writing miscues by connelly . \\nthe jadzia-bolek conflict is resolved in an overly pat way not unfamiliar to sitcom viewers . \\nthe hala-russell conflict isn\\'t resolved in as contrived a manner , but their ultimate resolution will leave viewers wondering if they had missed something . \\nand then there\\'s some atrocious dialogue , which i am sure was not supposed to be as ridiculous as they sound : \" look at all these pickles . \\njust looking at them gives me such great sadness . \" \\nas misguided as _polish_wedding_ is , the affair is something of a letdown , considering the strong performances by byrne , danes , and especially the fiery olin . \\nthey obviously believed in connelly and her material--a faith that audiences will be hard-pressed to share . \\n',\n",
+       " b'airplane ! is considered among many to be the epitome of satire film-making . \\nafter all , it\\'s brought to us by one of the best known satire writing/directing teams . \\neven if most people don\\'t recognize the names behind the films , they are bound to recognize the titles : airplane ! , top secret , the naked gun , and hot shots to name a few . \\nbut although the zucker/abrahams/zucker team was first introduced with the kentucky fried movie in 1977 , airplane ! \\nremains the true cornerstone of their work , and their directorial debuts . \\nin the seventies , disaster films seemed to be at an all time high . \\nfilms like earthquake , the towering inferno , and the poseidon adventure were big hits . \\nthere was also a series about the disasters that can arise when traveling by plane - a series that spanned the entire decade . \\nand so , in 1980 , we were introduced to a new airplane disaster film . \\nthis time the disaster had nothing to do with a maniacal hijacker or crashing into the ocean . \\n . \\n . \\nit had to do with bad fish . \\nairplane ! is the story of ted striker ( robert hays ) - an ex-fighter-pilot who has never gotten over the fact that a decision he had to make in the midst of war led to the death of six , er , seven comrades . \\nunable to stop living in the past , ted\\'s world fell apart . \\nhe spent his time moving from city to city without ever having a stable job , and eventually , as we begin this film , is getting dumped by his lover , flight attendant elaine dickinson ( julie hagerty ) . \\nin a desperate attempt not to lose her , ted buys a ticket for the same flight elaine is working . \\nunfortunately , she is unsympathetic and even criticizes ted for following her , which leaves him wallowing in self-pity . \\nin the midst of it all , something happens . \\nsomeone gets sick . \\nthen another . \\nthen another . \\nsoon , the whole plane is full of deathly-ill chicago-bound people . \\n . \\n . \\nand when the pilots get sick ( played by peter graves , kareem abdul-jabbar , and frank ashmore ) , who will save the day ? \\n ( gee , i wonder ) \\nof course the main draw here is the non-stop \" whiz-bang \" comedy , with a hefty dose of both visual and spoken gags . \\nalthough i had seen this movie a few times before , i was still laughing thru the entire thing . \\nthe most fun character by far is the doctor , played by leslie nielsen . \\nhe\\'s a dry , subtle , sterotypically straight-faced doctor that ends up saying some of the funniest lines of the film . \\nin a film like this , you\\'re not really expecting an elaborate production , so one can\\'t complain about the amateurish quality . \\nwhat you can complain about is the absolutely annoying johnny , played by stephen stucker . \\nthis character is pointless , nauseating , and very unfunny . \\ni don\\'t know why he was put in there , and i don\\'t think anybody will find a good excuse . \\nand when the film nears an end , it slows down quite a bit , almost getting old . \\nyou gotta give it to a movie that only runs 88 minutes and can feel two hours long . \\naside from that , airplane ! \\nis really a top-notch spoof that will likely forever be known as a spoof classic . \\nit would be a good choice to pop in the vcr with a group of friends , especially if they haven\\'t seen it . \\nand if they ask what the plot is , just tell \\'em \" it\\'s a synopsis of the basic storyline of the film , but that\\'s not important right now . \" \\nif you\\'ve seen the film , you\\'ll understand ; - ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'the one question that eats at me after seeing corky romano is why touchstone spent so much money marketing this throwaway film . \\nsince june , i haven\\'t been able to turn on the tv or go to the movies without getting hit by some ad depicting chris kattan as the spastic corky , shrieking out a-ha\\'s \" take on me \" in his yellow miata . \\nwhy would disney sink so much cash into the corky hype machine ? \\nhonestly , i was hoping that all the goofball ads were actually a front for a decently funny movie . \\nman , was i wrong . \\ncorky romano is one of those throwaway , clich ? -ridden tv-star-to-film vehicles built upon the most rickety of plots . \\nfortunately for chris kattan\\'s precariously positioned career , corky does have some good laughs , even if most of them are of the lowest-brow variety . \\nkattan plays the title character , the unsinkable assistant veterinarian corky who has a penchant for sunshiny \\'80s tunes , bright ties , and banal coffee mug slogans ( \" you don\\'t have to be crazy to work here , but it sure helps . \" ) . \\nwhen his mob boss dad ( peter falk ) is about to be put away on murder charges , his bungling , lughead brothers ( peter berg and chris penn ) rope in innocent , black sheep corky to infiltrate the fbi as an agent and steal the evidence . \\npredictably , hijinks ensue . \\nif the basic plot sounds bad , wait until you get into the inner-workings of this clunker . \\nthe writers will amaze you with the depth of their inanity . \\ncorky\\'s fbi agent identity is named corky pissant ( \" that\\'s pronounced pees-ahn . \\nit\\'s french . \" ) . \\nhe becomes a first-rate agent by accidentally stumbling mr . magoo-style onto the proper clues and talking his way in and out of situations , which plays like something out of a sitcom . \\nand not a good sitcom , i mean . \\nthe romano family brothers even insult each other by farting in each other\\'s face . \\nand in a scene taken straight from there\\'s something about mary , corky gives a dachshund mouth-to-mouth resuscitation . \\nbut it\\'s not a complete disaster . \\nthe manic kattan does occasionally rescue some comic moments , including a bit featuring a cat in a fat suit named jesus and another involving schoolchildren , a german shephard , and a kilo of cocaine . \\nplus , berg -- whose career has obviously gone downhill since the last seduction and chicago hope -- gives a great turn as the illiterate brother paulie . \\nand , it\\'s nice to see that richard roundtree of shaft fame is getting work . \\nunfortunately for those out there who can\\'t truly appreciate animal or fart jokes , corky won\\'t have much to offer you . \\nso the next time one of those pesky ads appears on your tv , asking , \" who is corky ? \" \\nyou can simply reply , \" who cares ? \" \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" i know what you did last summer , \" the first high-profile slasher thriller to be released after 1996\\'s \" scream , \" and written by the same screenwriter , kevin williamson , is a stylish , effective horror film that became 1997\\'s biggest hit of the fall season . \\nwhile \" scream \" was a more knowing film about the genre , \" i know what you did last summer \" is more reminiscent of a straight-forward slasher flick , but it is far more intelligent than such bottom-of-the-barrel guilty pleasures as all nine of the \" friday the 13th \" films ( well , okay , \" jason goes to hell \" was pure hell to sit through ) . \\nthe film starts off with four talented , aspiring teenage friends who have just graduated from high school in their small boating town of southport , n . c . \\nit is the 4th of july , and they will soon be heading their separate ways . \\nkind-hearted julie ( jennifer love hewitt ) , and outsider ray ( freddie prinze jr . ) will be headed off to college , while helen ( sarah michelle gellar ) , who has just been honored croaker queen in the town , and her ignorant jock boyfriend , barry ( ryan phillippe ) , are going to new york to become an actress and football player . \\nwhen the four of them travel to a nearby mountain-side beach for the evening , they are dismayed after hitting a man in the road on their way home . \\ndistraught and confused , they decide they can\\'t go to the police because they will be charged with manslaughter , so they devise a plan to throw the apparently dead victim off a peer into the ocean , in hopes no one will find him . \\njulie is apprehensive about it , but is forced into it by barry . \\nswitch to exactly a year later , julie , still unable to come to terms with what she did , reluctantly returns home from college to find that all three of her old friends are still in the town because their career plans did not work out . \\nalmost immediately , julie recieves an ominous letter that simply reads , \" i know what you did last summer , \" and that is the start of their problems as they find themselves being terrorized by a mysterious figure dressed in fisherman gear and yielding a giant hook . \\n \" i know what you did last summer , \" is a successful horror film for a number of reasons . \\nthe cinematography by denis crossan could very well be described as hitchcockian , as it put shadows , fog , steam , and other clever devices to add atmosphere to the proceedings . \\nthe characters , particularly julie and helen , are realistically written , and the film amazingly deals with their broken relationship in a few scenes , which is largely uncharacteristic in films of this sort . \\nand last , the film creates a few dazzling and scary set-pieces that are some of the most memorable i\\'ve seen in a horror movie , particularly the suspenseful , superbly shot sequence involving helen at her family\\'s store with the killer inside with her . \\nperhaps the best character is that of missy egan ( anne heche ) , a lonely backwoods woman whose brother was the one julie thinks they hit . \\nheche\\'s performance is a standout , as she is able to create a full character in only about ten minutes of screen time . \\n \" i know what you did last summer , \" could have been a great horror movie if not for a few problems . \\nprinze jr . gives a performance to be desired here , and much of his dialogue sounds wooden coming out of his mouth . \\nalso , the climax of the film almost completely loses its frightening grip after it unveils the mystery killer , who is a decidedly bad actor and should not have been given any lines . \\nluckily , the penultimate scene saves the disappointing finale , which includes an expertly crafted \" jump-in-your-seat \" scare . \\nin the main roles , hewitt and gellar are highly talented , and hewitt , especially , is one of the best screamers i\\'ve ever heard . \\nshe honestly could give jamie lee curtis a little competition for the best \" scream queen . \" \\nand gellar is touching as a young woman who , in the course of one year , finds her dream of being an actress ultimately shattered . \\nalthough not up to the level of either \" scream \" movies , or the more recent , \" urban legend , \" \" i know what you did last summer \" is a respectable , smartly-scripted slasher film that firmly proved good horror movies were once again being made . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" we are grateful that we have the songs of grace chan to comfort us . \" \\nstarring lee kang-sheng , yang kuei-mei directed by tsai ming-liang written by tsai and yang ping-ying cinematography by liao peng-jung \\ntaiwan , 24/12/99 . \\nthe millenium approaches . \\nan incessant downpour batters an unnamed city . \\nsectors of the city are being sealed , quarantined due to the onset of a mysterious virus . \\nthe virus causes people to act like insects : they crawl about on all fours , hide from bright lights , huddle in damp corners . \\nthe water supply to the quarantined zones will be cut off in a week\\'s time . \\nresidents are advised to evacuate the area , asap . \\nthis premise--kafka by way of cronenberg--is the background for the hole , which could have been a great movie , but , sadly , ends up as a waste of good ideas . \\nthe quick sketch above suggests a dark , absurd , hallucinatory near-future parable of life in the late 20th century ; in execution , however , it is nothing like that . \\nthe virus , the evacuation , the visual possiblities of the deluge : these are all relegated to the background . \\ninstead , the hole focuses on the lives--for want of a better word--of a man ( lee kang-sheng ) and a woman ( yang kuei-mei ) who live in the same apartment building , and who have no personalities . \\nthe entire movie taks place in settings that are uniformly ugly and sterile : the charmless rooms and corridors of a post-industrial apartment complex , photographed to look as dim and dingy as possible . \\nit\\'s a vivid setting , but an unappealing one , especially with the monotonous hiss of falling rain and the gurgle of drainage pipes in the background . \\nthe man lives in the apartment directly above the woman\\'s . \\none day , a repairman investigating a leak leaves a small hole in the floor of the man\\'s living room , opening into the ceiling of the woman\\'s living room . \\nthis hole--symbol of the solitary opening in the character\\'s lonely , compartmented lives--allows them to interact in unusual ( and mostly non-verbal ) ways . \\nexample : the man , suffering from the onset of the virus ( or so i assume--everything is obscure in this movie ) vomits through the hole . \\nthe woman , wandering around in the dark , accidentally puts her hand on his vomit , and then cleans it up . \\nthis is what passes for meaningful communication . \\nand they say romance is dead . \\nmuch of the film does not even focus on their interactions , such as they are . \\nthere is almost no dialogue and we learn next to nothing about these people . \\nthey are ciphers . \\ninstead , we are treated to long takes in which we witness their miserable lives ; we watch , for instance , as the woman boils some water , pours it onto some noodles , then eats the noodles . \\n ( this is as fascinating as it sounds . ) \\noffered as counterpoint--or perhaps relief--to these dreary sequences are a series of musical numbers , fantasies in which the woman lip-synchs to pop songs by grace chan ( popular , so i\\'m told , in 1950s\\' china ) . \\nshe prances around in grimy hallways and grungy stairwells , incronguously lit by cheerfully bright spotlights . \\nsometimes , in these fantasies , she is joined by the man . \\nthese scenes are presumably intended to be bright and fanciful , sharply contrasting the dreariness of reality , but they fail . \\nwhen the man and the woman dance , it seems half-hearted and listless . \\nastaire and rogers this is not . \\neven in imagination , these people are numb , weary , boring . \\nthe hole is part of the \\'collection 2000\\' series , a group of films commissioned by french tv station la sept arte on the subject of the millenium . \\nothers include canada\\'s last night , brazil\\'s midnight , and american hal hartley\\'s the book of life . \\nthe book of life is the only other one that i have seen , and it is infinitely superior to the taiwanese entry . \\nwitty , energetic , humane , it makes the the hole seem ( ahem ) empty . \\namerican movies with nothing to say try to disguise their lack of content with flashy movements , quick cuts , superficial emotions . \\nforeign movies with nothing to say do what the hole does : they point the camera at something of minimal interest for unbelievably long periods of time , and call it art . \\nthe hole is self-evidently a film about alienation , and perhaps director tsai ming-liang wants the audience to share in his characters\\' alienation . \\nif so , he succeeds . \\nperhaps it is a challenge : he dares us to enjoy this movie , despite his best attempts to ensure that we don\\'t . \\nif it was a challenge , i wasn\\'t up for it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a slight romantic comedy with a feminist bent , but one with no edge to it . \\nit turns out to be a conventional film filled with the usual clich ? s and stock characters of this genre . \\nthough it\\'s a well-written and well-acted fluff piece , it still does not have too much to say that is surprising . \\nit\\'s made for the gentle art-house set , those who don\\'t want something too disturbing to think about . \\nit\\'s about a critically successful writer husband , alec ( pryce ) , who is so self-absorbed that he\\'s threatened by his department store floor-walking model wife , kate ( bouquet ) , who wants to be a writer . \\nshe meets his crass publisher , vanni corso ( walken ) , another self-absorbed man , and a predictable relationship occurs . \\nthe fireworks occur because she outgrows her husband\\'s first impressions of her as someone who was impressed with his genius and worships at his feet . \\nshe now wants her own identity and her independence . \\nthe film looked like the usual sitcom stuff , and is plagued with the cheap set design features reserved for a tv movie . \\nthe film sagged in the middle of the story from the weight of its tedium , and eventually landed on its rear end with its unspectacular climax . \\nit\\'s set in london , and it opens as model kate rebuffs sexual advances by a wealthy american shopper , vanni . \\nshe later meets him as her hubby\\'s new upstart publisher who seeks to have her intellectual author husband in his stable in order to give him credibility as a publisher of quality , and he quickly wins favor with her by publishing her vanity novel . \\nalec who is an obnoxious grouse , someone whom it seems it would be impossible to live with , tries to do everything to stop his wife from having her book published--which only pushes her into the grasping arms of vanni . \\nthe publisher is proud that he\\'s a mamma\\'s boy who never married and is a self-made man who has earned millions . \\nhe has recently acquired a failing old london publishing house and plans to revitalize it , as he proudly tells kate : \" if my father could sell pizzas in harlem , i could sell culture in europe . \" \\nthe only thing that couldn\\'t be sold , is this stiff story and tired plot line . \\nthe mystery to me , is how the lovely kate could like either man unless she was an insensitive dummy . \\nshe soon divorces the beleaguered alec and marries the soon-to-become-beleaguered vanni . \\nwhen she writes a second novel , he rebuffs her the same way her first hubby did . \\nit ends with the same results that happened to hubby number one , as its story of ambition and lust winds down in a whimper . \\na business affair was loosely based on the real-life literary and romantic travails of married authors barbara skelton and cyril connolly , in their celebrated 1950s love triangle . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"woody allen is one of the most successful artist-directors in hollywood , but he is becoming less and less reliable as a filmmaker . \\nin his early years of film-making he mastered the simple comedy . \\nfrom there he went into a second phase and took risks experimenting with different approaches and styles . \\nsome of these work better than others . \\nzelig and crimes and misdemeanors are the work of a creative and intelligent artist . \\ndeconstructing harry goes to the other extreme and is a bizarre experiment demanding more of the viewer than it gives back . \\nharry block ( allen ) has in his life only two drives . \\nhe wants to have sex with as many women as possible and when he makes a mess of his life and those of his lovers he wants to retreat into his writing . \\nthe story of this static and highly unsympathetic character is told with a number of often clumsy stylistic experiments . \\nperhaps the most irritating device is to express the disjointedness of harry's life by editing harry's scenes putting in cuts in the middle as if to show missing time with something edited out . \\nas a writer , harry puts his friends into his books in the thinnest of disguises . \\nthe film dramatizes incidents from these supposed books and cuts between his real story line and fragments from harry's books with different actors playing the real and fictional people in harry's life . \\nthese fragments are frustrating in their lack of completion , but even more frustrating is the bringing of the characters out of the fragments into scenes with the real characters . \\nit is up to the viewer to keep track not just who is fictional and who is real but also to keep straight who is the fictional doppelganger of which real person . \\nif that sounds complicated , it is . \\nthen as another device in one of the stories , an actor seems to have the peculiar property that he has gone out of focus and can only be seen in blurry image . \\nharry sees this as a metaphor for his own condition and himself goes blurry for a short time . \\nas if these touches did not create sufficient confusion , the story is told out of chronological order . \\nif allen were giving the audience a story that was worth decoding , any and all of these stylistic touches could be excusable . \\nbut allen puts the audience through all of this to give us a portrait of harry block who is a selfish manipulator who is not worth the effort to understand . \\ndeconstructing harry is set at a time when harry's old college , the one that expelled him when he attended it , wants now to honor him for a lifetime of writing achievement . \\nharry is searching among his friends to find one who will go with him . \\njust why someone who is so unwilling to commit to a relationship with anyone suddenly needs the support of someone else is unclear . \\nharry tries his current girl friend fay ( elizabeth shue ) only to find that she is about to marry harry's old friend larry ( billy crystal ) . \\nblock would like his son hilly ( eric lloyd ) to accompany him , but hilly's mother , previously first harry's psychiatrist and more recently his wife , refuses to let her son see his father . \\nanother friend richard ( bob balaban ) would go but has health problems . \\nharry also considers bringing a prostitute cookie ( hazel goodman ) . \\nit is interesting that allen should introduce another likable prostitute so soon after mighty aphrodite , but cookie is considerably different--black and a lot brighter than mira sorvino's character in the previous film . \\nwhile the comedy sequences are never complete , a few are elaborate and some quite funny . \\nthe centerpiece of the film is a journey into hell with allen playing a sort of orpheus rescuing fay from the clutches of the devil , who looks a lot like larry . \\nthat story also is left uncompleted , perhaps to show harry's unwillingness to commit even to telling a story . \\nthe linchpin that was needed to tie together the stylistic quirks of this film was a central character who changes and who gives us something about which to care . \\nthat character is patently not the one allen creates in harry block and not the characters around harry as seen through his acerbic eyes . \\nallen can do much better than deconstructing harry . \\ni rate it a 3 on the 0 to 10 scale and a -1 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'plot outline - wendy ( samantha press ) , a jazz singer , loves mack ( hugo race ) a criminal and wanna be rock singer who\\'s planning a bank heist . \\nmack is also being tailed by a couple of cops , one an inexperienced rookie ( dominic sweeney ) , the other ( john flaus ) a worn out veteran who frequents wendy\\'s jazz club . \\nthey\\'re tailing mack , because he has an audiotape that may show evidence of governmental corruption . \\nmeanwhile wendy\\'s sexually awakener , fifteen year old sister ( rebecca elmaloglou ) has moved in with her , and is secretly watching mack and wendy\\'s late night love trysts ? much zaniness ensues \\nthe review : main problem first - about 2% of rood rock star to actor conversions in filmdom ever really work . \\nunfortunately , trying to cast hugo race as a violent , sexy criminal falls into the \" what the hell where they thinking \" category that takes up 98% of the rest . \\nbut , hell , it\\'s not as if he\\'s the only problem in this well-intentioned but ultimately below average aussie thriller . \\nleads , race and samantha press are wooden and dull , hampered by some unfortunate attempts at sexy dialogue early on . \\nthough they do manage some heat later in their love scenes , helped , no doubt by them keeping their mouths shut . \\nthe film suffers every time the story shifts back to these two . \\nwhich is unfortunately , the other main story isn\\'t any great shakes either . \\nthe second part , concerning two cops , political corruption and that elusive tape is incredibly muddled . \\nat many points during the movie i had no idea what was going on , a situation that didn\\'t improve on repeated viewing . \\nthere is no doubt that this film\\'s achilles heel is its script . \\nas for the rest of the cast , it\\'s a mixed bag . \\njohn flaus , one of australia\\'s most criminally underused actors , is in top form as the withering , alcoholic jazz fan cop , who may or may not have sold out to the highest bidder . \\nalthough he falters at one point , when the script calls for him to get up on stage and deliver a drunken beat sermon , but believe me , they way it was written , no one could have pulled it off . \\ndominic sweeney is fine , though he seems to be uneasy in front of the lens but he really isn\\'t given a whole lot to do . \\npre home and away elmaloglou is pretty good as the inquisitive jojo , but her character seems extraneous to the story , well , at least until the final scenes . \\ni must admit , in too deep does have some impressive qualities , not the least of which is it visual element . \\ncinematographers mark gilfedder & peter zakharov have achieved the almost impossible by making melbourne look like a sweat drenched tropic city , which is akin to turning london into san paolo . \\nthe bar is an oppressive red , like all of it\\'s patrons are being baked while they drink , outside it hazy orange by day and cool blue by night . \\nif only deborah parson\\'s script could have supported this idea better . \\nhaving two director\\'s ( colin south & john tatoulis ) doesn\\'t help either , the most glaring example of which is the final retribution/fight scene , where for some reason the camera pulls away from the onscreen action , and more importantly it doesn\\'t pull away to anything else . \\nit just stays static as the fight happens in the distance . \\nit has no reason to it ; it\\'s just bad direction . \\nand , ultimately , that is what sums up in too deep , it\\'s tries to be good , and you want it to work , but , it\\'s just lacking the talent behind it , that it needs to succeed . \\n',\n",
+       " b'because no one demanded it : david duchovny in a romantic comedy ! \\nat last , both his romantic magnetism and his comedic brilliance are mined for all their resources ! \\nthe choice of duchovny may have something to do with the plot , which could be fodder for a valentine\\'s day episode of \" the x-files . \" \\nbob rueland ( david duchovny ) loses his wife elizabeth ( joely richardson ) in a car accident . \\nat the same time , grace briggs ( minnie driver ) is in the hospital , waiting for a heart transplant . \\ngrace gets elizabeth\\'s heart , and it leads her to bob . \\nit\\'s the romantic equivalent of all those horror films where someone gets a transplant from a serial killer and then is driven to slaughter people . \\nfour writers are credited with contributing to the story . \\nthat doesn\\'t seem possible . \\ndespite being a solid two hours long , \" return to me \" adds little to the \" boy meets girl / boy loses girl \" formula and , as a result , is terribly tedious and slow-moving . \\nduchovny and driver seem unable to generate any sparks , and i kept wishing for a fast-forward button to move their scenes along . \\nsince driver has managed to work well in romantic roles before , i blame duchovny . \\nhe\\'s out of his element without the manufactured and static sexual tension of his tv series ( and i\\'ve always thought that the relationship between mulder and scully on \" the x-files \" comes off more sibling-like than hot-and-bothered ) . \\nthere\\'s something about duchovny that makes me uneasy . \\nregardless of the role he\\'s playing , he comes off as a weirdo . \\nthe only redeeming quality of \" return to me \" is its hilarious supporting cast . \\nthe circle of friends and relatives around bob and grace is constantly playing matchmaker , and they generate the only laughs in the movie . \\ncarroll o\\'connor is grace\\'s grandfather marty o\\'reilly . \\nwhen bob comes into marty\\'s restaurant after hours , marty immediately begins quizzing bob about his marital status . \\nwhen marty discovers that bob is a widower , he invites bob to join his poker game and introduces him with the declaration , \" this is bob ! \\nhis wife is dead ! \" \\nthe poker buddies are just as desperate to find a mate for grace and greet bob enthusiastically when they hear the news . \\nalso funny : bonnie hunt as grace\\'s best friend megan and james belushi as megan\\'s husband joe . \\nmarried with children , megan and joe provide a useful counterpoint by showing the mundane results of romance . \\nalthough it\\'s rare to see him in a movie that premieres in a theater , belushi delivers his lines with great comic skill . \\nrounding out the impressive supporting cast are david alan grier as bob\\'s best friend and robert loggia as marty\\'s brother-in-law angelo . \\nin only the lead actors lived up to the standards set by the rest of the cast . \\nbottom line : if you are compelled to see this movie , watch it on video so you can fast-forward to scenes with carroll o\\'connor and james belushi . \\n',\n",
+       " b'confession time : i have never , ever seen gone with the wind . \\ni don\\'t know why , really . \\nhaven\\'t wanted to check it out on video , haven\\'t been at home the nights it was on network tv , and it was too far to drive the last time it was on the big-screen . \\nso right up front , i\\'ll admit that i don\\'t know what the heck i\\'m talking about , but here goes . . . \\nis titanic the gone with the wind of the 1990\\'s ? \\nmaybe that\\'s going a little bit too far . \\nas good a job as leonardo dicaprio and kate winslet do in this movie , they\\'re no clark gable and vivien leigh . \\nbut . . . \\nthe parallels are there . \\ngwtw was the first movie to take real advantage of the most revolutionary technology available -- technicolor . \\ntitanic takes revolutionary steps forward in seamlessly integrating computer graphic design with actors . \\ngwtw places america\\'s greatest tragedy in the background of a classic love story , titanic does the same with the atlantic\\'s most legendary tragedy . \\nthey both have strong-willed redheaded heroines , they both exploit the class differences between the aristocracy and the slaves/steerage bums , they were both incredibly expensive and popular . . . \\nok , maybe that\\'s not enough parallels . \\nso titanic\\'s not in gwtw\\'s league . \\nno matter . \\ntitanic is a great movie in its own right , complete with spills , thrills and ( especially ) chills . \\nmuch has been made of the humongous cost of the production , and all of the care than went into making the huge luxury liner come alive again . \\nthe money was obviously well-spent . \\nthe costumes look great , the sets look great , the cgi graphics look great . \\ni especially liked the expensive little touches , like spending tons of money on authentic titanic china only to break it all on the floor as the ship sinks . \\nbut writer/director/producer james cameron\\'s real challenge in writing/directing/ producing titanic wasn\\'t just costuming and set design and special effects . \\ncameron\\'s major headache was keeping the audience interested in a tale where everybody knows the ending going in . \\nhe succeeds masterfully . \\ncameron does two things that work incredibly well . \\nfirst , he shows us modern-day salvage operations on titanic ( that\\'s just \" titanic \" , not \" the titanic \" , mind you ) . \\nthe first glimpse we get of titanic is the ship in its present state , corroding slowly away under the hammering pressure of the north atlantic , from the window of a minisub piloted by treasure hunter brock lovett ( bill paxton ) . \\ntelevision coverage of the exploration of titanic intrigues 101-year-old rose calvert ( gloria stuart ) , who survived the wreck in 1912 . \\nstuart does a phenomenal job in a brief role , narrating the story of her experience to a stunned paxton and his roughneck crew . \\nsecondly , cameron keeps the storyline focused almost exclusively on the rose character , and the romantic triangle between rose ( winslet ) , her bastard millionaire fiancee cal hockley ( billy zane ) and the irrepressible young artist jack daswon ( dicaprio ) . \\nthe way that big-budget disaster movies usually go wrong is to have an all-star cast , so we see the impact of the disaster on a wide group of people . \\ncameron wisely chooses to stick with rose and jack , while paying scant heed to the celebrities on board . \\nthe supporting cast is professional , but mostly anonymous -- other than kathy bates as the unsinkable molly brown , there\\'s no moment when you stop and say , oh , yeah , i know him , what\\'s he been in . \\n ( although i would like to have seen colm meaney in a white star uniform , or even as the ill-fated engineer . ) \\nthe love story itself is rather conventional . \\ni think some reviewers found it weak , and that may be a fair criticism . \\nthe performances are the key here . \\nzane has the meatiest part in the movie , and he plays the arrogant , condescending steel millionaire to the hilt . \\nhe\\'s smooth , he looks great in a tuxedo , and he\\'s a convincing enough jerk that the winslet-dicaprio relationship looks plausible . \\nat the moment when he sees a little girl too frightened to get aboard a lifeboat , you can hear the wheels in his mind turning , saying not \" can i save this little girl ? \" , \\nbut \" can she help me get on a lifeboat ? \" \\ndicaprio is a revelation . \\ni hadn\\'t seen him before in anything , and didn\\'t know what the heck to expect , really . \\n ( honestly , i expected a bad irish accent , but cameron evidently decided that was a bad idea , so dicaprio plays a poor american artist who wins a ticket in a poker game . ) \\ndicaprio exhibits an infectious joy at being alive , and being on the titanic , that it\\'s hard not to like him . \\nfrom the moment that the ship leaves port until it hits the iceberg , dicaprio has to carry the movie and keep our interest , and he never falters . \\nwinslet\\'s character grows up a lot during the movie , and so does her performance . \\nat first , she\\'s not required to do anything but wear period clothing and look drop-dead gorgeous . \\nwe know from the narration that she\\'s monstrously unhappy with her arranged marriage to zane , but there isn\\'t any expression of these feelings until she encounters dicaprio . \\nwinslet and dicaprio develop a chemistry that manages to propel the movie along until the ship hits the iceberg . \\nit\\'s at that moment where winslet\\'s character really comes alive . \\nfaced with real danger , she drops her spoiled-rich-girl mannerisms and does a splendid job . \\nas rose and jack race around the doomed ship , looking for shelter from the freezing water and cal\\'s fiery temper , winslet turns in a superb acting performance , mixing courage and compassion and anger with sheer shrieking terror . \\nof course , the most interesting character is the ship itself . \\ncameron has clearly fallen in love with titanic , and shows her in every mood -- as a deserted wreck , down in the boiler room , up on the bridge , down in the hold , at the captain\\'s table , down in steerage -- and manages to bring the great ship back from the dead . \\ncameron\\'s greatest gift is that he allows us to fall in love with titanic as well . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there are certain people in the world who have some talent that very few people have , but they chose not to take advantage of this for some personal reason . \\n \" good will hunting \" is about one of those people . \\nthe will hunting of the ( horrible ) title ( let\\'s face it , this film would be a bitch to title ) , played by co-writer matt damon , is a mathematical genius . \\nhe can do almost any mathematical connundrum in about the time it takes to brew a cup of irish cream cappuccino . \\nand he works at mit . . . as the janitor . \\none day , the professor of one of the most challenging courses , proffessor lambeau ( \" breaking the waves \" \\'s stellan skarsg ? rd ) , puts a big problem on the board for his students to attempt to complete . \\nthe next day , it\\'s already done on the board , but no one in his class claims to have done it . \\nso lambeau puts another problem on the board , this time one that took he and his colleagues over two years to prove . \\nand , duh , it\\'s done again . \\nof course , they catch the guy who did it red handed - will . \\nbefore lambeau can find will again ( he ran away when he caught him ) , will has gotten into a fight with a bunch of punks on a basketball court , and struck a police officer , so lambeau gets him out on probation with two agreements : a ) he work with him on math , and b ) he get some therapy . \\nafter going through some therapists whom he psyches out in one way or another ( for a hypnotist , he fakes being under his spell , then launches into an impromptu performance of the 70s classic , \" afternoon delight \" ) . \\nfinally , lambeau\\'s old college roomate , sean mcguire ( robin williams ) , a psych professor , agrees to treat him , and the two begin a rocky relationship , as sean tries to get will to open up . \\nturns out will had a rough childhood , being abandoned , and placed in foster homes and what not . \\nit also turns out that will does not want to do simple mathematics all his life ; he wants a challenge . \\nand that is to hang out with his buds ( including the other co-writer , ben affleck ) , and do honorable jobs , like construction . \\nis it right to make this genius follow in the footsteps of einstein and kasinsky ? \\nshould this guy be forced to do something he doesn\\'t want to do ? \\nthis appears to be one of the million questions in this film , which is jam-packed with greatness , but does not have the totally brilliant whole it should . \\ni\\'m not saying \" good will hunting \" is a bad film at all . \\nit\\'s a very enjoyable film with tons of great moments , and lots of great things about it . \\nthe acting is amazing , with two oscar-nomination-worthy performances from damon and williams , who have amazing chemistry together . \\nwe also get some great support from stellan skarsg ? rd ( great name ) , ben affleck , and from minnie driver , who plays will\\'s love interest , skylar . \\nthere are tons of individual moments that i adored . \\ni loved all the comedy in the film , especially a scene where damon proves a schmuck out of a college student who is quoting a historian to impress some chicks , his various attempts at therapy , and of course , my favorite scene in the entire film , the one where he delivers a long , exstensive rant to some nsa agents about the downside of working for them . \\ni liked the relationship between some of the people , like will and skylar , will and sean , sean and lambeau , and will and his friends . \\nthere are scenes between them which are just amazing to watch . \\nand there are even moments in the film which are so honest in their portrayal , that i felt rightfully uncomfortable . \\nlike the break-up scene between will and skylar , will and sean\\'s first meeting , a bar scene between sean and lambeau , and a scene where sean tells in detail how he doesn\\'t regret meeting his first wife , who would later suffer a slow , painful death , and leave him lonely and slightly bitter . \\nhowever , the main flaw of the film is there\\'s too much of everything , and not enough of it either . \\nthe film tries for deeper relations between the characters , but they\\'re sometimes either overwritten or underwritten . \\ntake for example the relationship between sean and will : the film gets an interesting father/son as well as doctor/patient relationship going with out any problems , but when it tries to show them as equals , it falls on its face . \\nwe hear how they went to the same town , and there are even scenes where the film shows how hypocritical both of them are at times . \\nbut this never takes off like the other parts of their relationship do . \\nalso , will\\'s relationship with his best friend , chuckie ( affleck ) , has a nice climax , but not enough rising action . \\nwe see them joking around , but when chuckie arrives at a decision between the two of them , it seems more like a superficial reasoning than a more selected one . \\ntheir relationship never goes beyond \" just best friends , \" and his decision just seems to be a generalization of any two best friends instead of something more . . . human . \\nmaybe it was just me . \\nand it also goes for a parallelism with the relationship between sean and lambeau , but that , again , is underwritten . \\nand , of course , as in most films like this , the girl/boy relationship is pretty underwritten . \\nwe never understand what they see in each other , so when skylar confesses that she loves him , it seems more like it\\'s there for plot details that anything else . \\nminnie driver is interesting , though , and breathes life into her character . \\nthe writing is a bit at fault here , but what makes all this worthwhile is the little moments in the film where it acheives true awesomeness . \\nsure , it feels overstuffed , but it\\'s extremely enjoyable . \\nthe dialogue that affleck and damon have written is amazingly fresh , and seems extremely human . \\ni think that they should get a nomination for their script chiefly because of the dialogue , which is amazing . \\nwhile this is probably director gus van sant\\'s most conservative film ( you\\'d hardly know it\\'s the same director of \" to die for , \" the only van sant film i\\'ve seen , really ) , it\\'s still a pretty remarkable film , albeit a tad overrated ( what\\'s this \" best picture \" deal ? ) . \\nand if a film puts a smile on my face despite posessing a lot of flaws , i have no problem with reccomending it to anyone . \\n',\n",
+       " b'back in february at the monthly los angeles comic book and science fiction convention , new line cinema put on a lavish presentation for its big-screen update of the cult 1960s sci-fi tv show lost in space , complete with in-person appearances by cast members mimi rogers , matt leblanc , lacey chabert , jack johnson , and even gary oldman . \\nthat should have set off my warning alarms--the last time such an extravagant film presentation took place at the convention was nearly five years ago , when none other than arnold schwarzenegger made an in-person cameo to peddle . . . \\nlast action hero . \\nbut no , like millions of others , i bought into the hype and \" got lost . \" \\nif only i had gotten lost--literally--on the way to theatre and spared myself the tedium of this sloppily slapped-together blockbuster wannabe . \\nyou may find yourself wondering if director stephen hopkins and screenwriter akiva goldsman were lost themselves when they made the film . \\nat the convention , goldsman claimed to be a rabid fan of the original television series , and if that really is the case , i\\'d hate to see what he does with concepts he only has mild interest in . \\nto say that his script lacks narrative cohesion is to imply that there is a narrative to begin with--which there most certainly is not . \\nafter the setup , in which the robinson family--father john ( william hurt , looking and sounding as spaced out as he does in interviews ) , mother maureen ( rogers , wasted ) , daughters judy ( heather graham , ditto ) and penny ( a heavily made-up chabert , looking like a junior version of neve campbell in wild things ) , and son will ( young newcomer johnson , making the best of it ) --and pilot don west ( leblanc , doing a bad han solo impression ) find themselves lost in space after their ship is sabotaged by evil stowaway dr . smith ( a watered-down but still-lively oldman , cashing a paycheck and loving every minute ) , the script\\'s \" stream \" of events becomes so fragmented and random that it seems to be made up as it goes along--and hopkins does little to make what does go on the slightest bit interesting . \\nthey encounter another ship . \\nthey board it . \\nalien spiders attack them . \\nthey return to their ship . \\nthe other one explodes . \\nthey land on a deserted planet . \\nand so on . \\nan attempt at a plot involving time travel occurs in the third act , but goldsman doesn\\'t seem to understand the rules that come with using such a story device ; when one character\\'s past self dies , the future incarnation inexplicably lives on . \\nthe look and effects should be lost in space\\'s ace-in-the-hole , but hopkins even manages to botch that . \\nfor a big-budget film , the visual effects are incredibly shoddy . \\nin one composite background shot , i could see the blue outline around oldman ; the various digital effects for the space battle scenes look like . . . \\ndigital effects . \\nbut nothing in those shots is as jaw-droppingly unconvincing as blawp , a monkey-like space creature that becomes penny\\'s pet . \\nentirely computer-generated and every inch showing it , blawp looks like it was lifted directly from a sony playstation game . \\napparently hopkins thought the same and tried desperately to hide it ; how else can one explain the graininess of blawp\\'s composite shots with the human actors ? \\nbut in doing so , the seams are that much more obvious . \\nyou have to be severely visually impaired to not be distracted when a grainy shot of penny and blawp is immediately followed by a crystal-clear solo reaction shot of judy . \\nnew line is hoping lost in space will become a big franchise much like the long-running star trek cash cow at paramount . \\ni don\\'t think so . \\nin a few years , the lost in space movie will likely live on not as a series but as the obscure answer to a trivia question : what film ended titanic\\'s 15-week reign at the top of the weekend box office ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'on the basis of this film alone , i never would have predicted that , in two years , quentin tarantino would become the country\\'s biggest hotshot director . \\nreservoir dogs has hints of the tarantino brilliance that emerged in pulp fiction , but is a much less substantive , more conventional crime story than the big pf . \\nhere\\'s what the two movies do have in common . . . \\n--scenes of intelligent , amusing dialogue with no relevance to the plot --a story that jumps back and forth in time rather than going in a logical , chronological sequence --graphic yet necessary violence --an engaging crime story --dialogue liberally spiced with swear words and racial/gender slurs --three of the same actors ( harvey keitel , tim roth and steve buscemi ) --a mexican standoff ending , although this one is considerably less optimistic than pf \\nreservoir dogs is an entire hour shorter than pulp fiction because it\\'s only got one story to tell rather than three . \\ncrime lord joe cabot ( veteran actor lawrence tierney ) has assembled five criminals who have never even met each other to pull a diamond store heist . \\nthe five are instructed not to reveal their real names or personal details or anything the cops could use if one of them was captured and interrogated . \\ninstead , they are all given code names off the color chart -- mr . white ( keitel ) , mr . pink ( buscemi ) , mr . orange ( roth ) , mr . blonde ( michael madsen ) , mr . brown ( tarantino ) and mr . peach ( tarantino\\'s chin ) . \\nmost of the movie\\'s running time is spent with mr . white and pink waiting at a warehouse for the others to arrive . \\nmr . orange , meanwhile , is on the floor , dying from a gunshot wound . \\nthe police had arrived at the scene of the crime way too soon , leading white to believe one of the five was an informant . \\nthe story\\'s background unfolds through a series of flashbacks , of the crime itself and the meetings between joe and the criminals prior to the crime . \\neventually , blonde arrives with a police officer hostage , and what follows is a truly brutal , uncomfortable torture scene . \\nlet\\'s just say picasso would be inspired by what blonde does to the cop\\'s ear . \\na lot of the time , reservoir dogs seems like your typical gangster heist-gone-wrong movie , but there are a few sequences that are uniquely tarantino . \\nthe opening scene in the coffee shop starts the movie off on a high note the rest of it doesn\\'t live up to , as the criminals plus joe have a conversation on , among other things , tipping philosophies and their interpretations of madonna\\'s \" like a virgin . \" \\nanother scene involves roth\\'s lengthy manufactured story about running into a group of cops and a police dog in a bus station bathroom while carrying a giant bag of marijuana . \\nneither of these have much plot relevance but are given ample time to develop , like the captain koons gold watch speech in pulp fiction , only here these sequences are more enjoyable than the rest of the movie . \\nreservoir dogs is good but it\\'s no pulp fiction . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the central focus of michael winterbottom\\'s \" welcome to sarajevo \" is sarajevo itself , the city under siege , and its different effect on the characters unfortunate enough to be stuck there . \\nit proves the backdrop for a stunningly realized story which refreshingly strays from mythic portents ( \" platoon \" ) , racial tumultuosness ( the risible \" the walking dead \" ) or a tinge of schmaltziness ( \" schindler\\'s list \" ) . \\nthe two leads , stephen dillane as a reporter and emira nusevic as an orphan with a plight few can identify with , are extremely believable ; not one moment with them involved rings false . \\nthe question is not what went right . \\nthe question is what went wrong . \\nfor one , the film fails to provide a political overview of the war as it progresses ( the dillane characters reports an american plane departing from sarajevo as it departs , and that\\'s about it . ) . \\nthe assortment of high-profile supporting actors , ranging from woody harrelson as a yankee reporter \" into \" liquor and cigarrettes to marisa tomei as a huggable children\\'s aid or somesuch are incapable of rising above the sketchiness of their characters , albeit they strive . \\nthe interrupted use of authentic war footage somewhat hampers the rest of the film , it makes the fictional characters seem powerless by comparison . \\nstill , winterbottom eschews mawkishness through flashy , frantic editing and imaginative use of music . \\nand it\\'s a plus , because he doesn\\'t toy with our emotions with sentimental blandness . \\nhe wants us to know that in war , no one is victorious . \\nthe sweet hereafter \\nstarring ian holm , sarah polley , bruce greenwood , tom mccamus , gabrielle rose , arsinee khanjian , alberta watson , maury chaykin , caerthan banks . \\nproduced by atom egoyan and camelia frieberg . \\nscript by atom egoyan ( based on the novel by russell banks ) . \\ndirected by atom egoyan . \\nrunning time : 110 mins . \\nrated r . __________________________________________________________ \\natom egoyan\\'s powerfully meditative \" the sweet hereafter \" is as anything as haunting and transcendental as i\\'ve seen this year . \\nit not only explores the aftermaths of a terrible tragedy with magnificent subtlety , with cold , and stunning shots of the backdrop of this mistfortune but also by telegraphing the sense of devastation that has permeated the small town with an enormous amount of dignity and respect for each and every soul affected . \\nian holm as the somber , lonely lawyer seeking compensation for the townspeople , has a decency and a restraint uncommon with lawyers , he\\'s a lion for the wrong reasons : the pain for having lost his daughter ( she\\'s a druggie who frequently calls him begging for money ) is reflected on the town . \\nand in some mesmerizing flashbacks , we witness how she lost her purity . \\nit\\'s one of the most strikingly breathtaking takes on the loss of innocence i\\'ve ever seen . \\nbut the most astounding part goes to sarah polly , the peaceful , benevolent girl who , in contrast to the other characters , remains the most mentally stable during past , present or future . \\nher ability to convey concealed pain and unconditional love is the opposite , yet near-revolutionary role that won emily watson an oscar nomination for \" breaking the waves \" . \\nboth women are torn apart by an extraordinary incident but it is only then that we truly see , truly feel , their wordless , omnipotent love . \\n \" the sweet hereafter \" though , is atom egoyan\\'s movie and as of now , he is emerging as the definite face of independent cinema . \\nafter surging to worldwide recognition with 1994\\'s \" exotica \" , \" the sweet hereafter \" makes him something few people in this industry can call themselves : an artist . \\nhe interweaves time with a delicacy and sees a soul with a purity that is just not common . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"curdled is a deliciously dark and witty black comedy , but its humour won't appeal to everyone . \\nto be specific , let me give you an example . \\ndo you know in pulp fiction where jules and vincent go on brain detail after marvin and his head accidentally get separated ? \\nif you thought that was completely tasteless and unfunny , don't see curdled . \\non the other hand , if you found that sequence to be pretty funny , you have the sense of humour that curdled is aimed at . \\nour film's heroine , gabriela , played by angela jones , is a woman obssessively curious about murder and serial killers ; she even keeps a scrapbook of news articles . \\nluckily for her , miami is being plagued by a serial killer rampage - her scrapbook is getting pretty big . \\nthe killer's nickname in the press is the blue blood killer , because he preys on older rich socialite women , and he's played by william baldwin ( this is not a spoiler ) . \\none particularly striking m . o . \\non the blue blood killer is his propensity to decapitate his victims . \\ngabriela is watching television one day when she spots an advertisement for a firm whose line of work is perfectly attuned to her interests . \\nshe immediately quits her job , and signs on with pfcs , which stands for post-forensic cleaning service . \\nno points for guessing what they do . \\nher workmates are confused by gabriela's fascination with murder ; to them , it's just a day job . \\nthere's a hilarious locker room scene where they debate whether decapitated heads can talk , and what they would say . \\ngabriela's partner , elena , played by mel gorham , is particularly perturbed by gabriela's wide-eyed fascination , and becomes really upset when gabriela volunteers them to clean up the blue blood killer's latest scene - they're the messiest , you see . \\nunbeknownst to them , the last victim left something on the scene which would id the blue blood killer , so he's also heading over there . . \\nthe comparison to pulp fiction earlier on was not accidental - quentin tarantino executive-produced this film , which began life as a short film he saw at a film festival . \\napparently tarantino was so impressed that he helped braddock convert this into a feature-length film . \\nthere are other parallels - the star of curdled is angela jones ( the top billing goes to william baldwin , but really , jones is the central character ) , who's probably best known for her role as esmerelda villalobos , the death-obssessed taxi driver in pulp fiction . \\nthat role was written specifically for jones based upon her similar character in the aforementioned short film , curdled jr . \\njones is great in curdled - she's wonderfully funny and maintains an amusing wide-eyed naive curiousity about murder without compromising her character's innocence or likeability . \\nshe can express so much with one lift of her eyebrow . \\nit's a great performance . \\nreb braddock's direction is extremely sharp and clever , toeing the line between black humour and bad taste . \\nthe best scene in the film is an outrageously funny sequence involves jones and dancing - any more than that would be a spoiler . \\nthe opening credit sequence is also inventive and amusing . \\nof course , it's impossible to really take this stuff seriously , but then again you're not really supposed to - braddock knows the audience is in on the joke , and makes it a fun little romp as a result . \\nthe one drawback of curdled is that it was based on a short film , and it feels like it ; the material is just stretched too thin in order to fulfill a feature length running time , and some parts just seem to drag . \\nwhile its running time is already a short 94 minutes , it could really stand to lose twenty minutes or so to give it better pacing . \\ncurdled seems destined to be a nice cult film for miramax . \\nit'll be interesting to see if it will appeal to mainstream audiences as well . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'movie reviewers have an obligation to see the good , the bad , and the despicable . \\ni originally wrote this review for my college newspaper back in \\'95 , but i wanted to re-write it because not all retro reviews should be about the classics . \\nwe need to be warned about some truly awful films , too . \\nthis picture was so bad , it inspired the description for my 1/10 rating ( see ratings chart below ) . \\nthe only thing saving it from a 0/10 rating is that being able to rent a movie like this is slightly less embarassing than renting a porno . \\nso , it does indeed have some plusses . . . \\nin fairness , elizabeth berkley is certainly worth seeing in the buff . \\nand her ability to whine and irritate us , even while nude , was appropriate in her role as selfish temptress nomi malone . \\nthis character is not smart , not interesting , and ( deliberately ? ) \\nfar too annoying far too often . \\nlike in 1998s \" bulworth \" , when the movie was over i didn\\'t care one little iota about the main character . \\nat least warren beatty tried to make a statement with his dreary and overrated film , though . \\n \" showgirls \" is too stupid to make a statement . \\nsome people claim that the story is based on the legendary \" all about eve \" of all things ! \\nif exploitation expert joe eszterhas was half the screenwriter that joseph l . mankiewicz was , he\\'d be . . . well , \\nhe\\'d be a good screenwriter . \\ninstead , this project may have sunk his career . \\nhe wrote the ( ha ha ! ) \\nscript and the usually reliable paul verhoeven directed . \\nthe same team who created a good sex-film in 1992 ( \" basic instinct \" ) struck out here with their occasional violence , gratuitous x-rated sex scenes , and numerous ( and quite unnecessary ) lesbian overtones . \\nthe predictable storyline revolves around nomi streaking into las vegas to make it big as a dancer . \\nafter the supposed street-smart young \" lady \" gets conned out of her suitcase by a slack-jawed yokel in the opening sequence , she befriends a tailor of the glamorous stage production at the \" stardust hotel \" . \\nnomi doesn\\'t take advantage of this contact to break into the big-time of dirty dancing right away . \\nfirst , she becomes a lap dancer at a scummy strip club . \\nshe sells her hot little wares at \" the cheetah \" for a short time , turning on the fictitious customers and the actual theatre audience . \\nhey , i never said she wasn\\'t a hot number . . . \\nmaybe it\\'s that , her body , which gets her into the big-time when the star of the \" stardust hotel \" , crystal connors ( gina gershon ) stops into the strip club ( it certainly isn\\'t her brains or pleasant disposition ! ) . \\ncrystal requests a private lap dance for her boyfriend ( kyle maclachlan ) . \\nhe also happens to be the pleasure-seeking worm who runs the big show . \\ncrystal gets nomi onto the \" stardust \" team and , after an interminable amount of time , nomi \" earns \" the role of crystal\\'s understudy . \\nthe slut then deliberately injures and hospitalizes crystal . \\nit was almost laughable that nomi had the guts to claim that she\\'s \" not a whore \" . \\nthat\\'s a phrase we hear a few different times and it\\'s completely ludicrous . \\nof course she is ! \\nshe sells her soul to make it big , but in the end we\\'re supposed to believe that she\\'s a better person than that . \\nwe\\'re supposed to root for her . \\nno way ! \\nshe\\'s a tramp and a back-stabber who deserved nothing--least of all vindication in the . . . ahem . . . climax . \\nshe is not a good person and they take over two hours to explain that the audience should think that she is . \\nthe sub-plot with a male dancer ( glenn plummer ) who claims to see talent in nomi is just a gratuitous opportunity to let her dance naked a little bit more . \\nit sure ain\\'t character development ! \\nplummer also appeared in \" speed \" in \\'94 in a smaller , yet better role . \\nthis sub-plot goes absolutely nowhere except maybe to deliver an unsubtle hint that fornicators should practice birth control . \\nkyle maclachlan must have been promised a big pay-day or his standards have dipped since appearing in \" blue velvet \" . \\nthat picture was weird , but some critics claim it\\'s one of the best movies of the \\'80s . \\nnow ol\\' kyle can say that he acted in one of the worst of the \\'90s , too . \\nhis sleazy character is important to \" showgirls \" , but we don\\'t learn anything about him . \\nhe uses people to get what he wants , but that only means that he fits in well with the other characters in this movie . \\nis he a villain ? \\nwho cares ! \\nultimately , this movie is as tiresome as it is explicit . \\neveryone must know by now about the soft-core acts of copulation , especially the riotous romp between berkley and maclachlan in his pool . \\nwhat few reviewers take issue with is how mean-spirited this movie is . \\neveryone\\'s either having sex , exacting revenge , or wishing they were having sex or exacting revenge . \\nit\\'s just too hard to take ( especially for over two hours ) . \\nif we must be exposed to the evils of the vegas world , why couldn\\'t verhoeven have also made a point of highlighting the whispers , grunts , and other sounds during the dance numbers ? \\nit\\'s hard to care about these people if we can\\'t even appreciate what they\\'re capable of doing on-stage . \\nberkley may have a future in hollywood because she can dance and she has a great body . \\nafter all , the world of porn is still an active , dishonourable profession . \\nperhaps berkley could join their ranks and leave the real acting to pauly shore and cindy crawford . \\noops , they\\'re bad actors , too . \\nwell , at least , they\\'re not selfish and contemptable like good ol\\' slutty nomi malone . \\nuseless trivia--ironically , elizabeth berkley played virtuous and \" holier than thou \" jessie on the teeny-bopper tv show , \" saved by the bell \" , before breaking onto the big screen . \\n',\n",
+       " b'let\\'s face it : the $100 million-plus smash that was \" goldeneye \" was not a good film by any means , and as a bond movie was only marginally better than , say , \" a view to a kill \" or either of the timothy dalton pictures , by virtue of nice pacing . \\nbut it did revive the series , and granted the producers some new directions in which to take the it ( ie . \\nthe new \" m \" is a woman ) . \\n \" tomorrow never dies \" is the picture \" goldeneye \" should have been ; it\\'s also the most entertaining bond outing since \" the spy who loved me \" . \\nthe new picture opens with china considering war with britain after a standard military operation is misconstrued as a hostile threat from an english submarine . \\nas an attack occurs , the front-page headline is already being prepared , courtesy of carver media . \\ncarver ( pryce ) the man is a deluded magnate , a sort of hybrid of ted turner , bill gates , and peter sellars\\' german scientist from \" dr . \\nstrangelove \" ( physically , pryce even recalls sellars in his kubrick days ) . \\nit\\'s up to james bond to take him down , with assistance , of course , from a wealth of gadgets ( including a multi-purpose cell phone ) , and beautiful women . \\nenter michelle yeoh , fresh from \" supercop \" , as a chinese secret agent with her own agenda ; with effortless grace , she cat burgles , dispatches baddies seemingly with the ease of preparing pasta , and refuses the advances of our philandering hero . \\nthey make a great team . \\n \" tomorrow never dies \" is a surprisingly entertaining and efficient film , given that at the helm is none other than the director of \" turner & hooch \" . \\nspottiswoode has crafted some breathtaking set pieces , each much more intricate and impressive than , for instance , the tank scene in \" goldeneye \" . \\nmoreover , brosnan has at last settled into the role some feel he was born to play ; last time out , the fate of the franchise rested on his shoulders , and there was noticeable discomfort in his body language . \\nreturned in brosnan\\'s eyes has some of the playfulness he demonstrated for so many years on tv\\'s \" remington steele \" , as has his deadpan wit . \\nand though carver\\'s motives are muddy ( when carver explains that \" genius is insanity with some success \" , screenwriter fierstein is taking a lazy shortcut ) , pryce makes an agreeable , memorable villain . \\nin the future , they should pursue actors as talented and experienced as pryce to breathe life into these cardboard figures . \\nthere a few too many explosions in \" tomorrow never dies \" , perhaps so many they qualify as dialogue . \\nand it could have used a sharper script , though i was amused by the double entendres , none of which i will reveal here . \\nas it stands , the plot suffers many holes ( i\\'m not taking about implausibilities ) , and the dialogue tends towards the hackneyed . \\nnow that the elements are in place : modern special effects and stunt work , cool pierce brosnan , kickass female allies . . . \\nit\\'s time to put them to use in something truly special . \\nthere\\'s no mistaking , however , that \" tomorrow never dies \" is ideal holiday escapism , and for the first time in perhaps years , you\\'ll walk out wanting more bond movies . \\n-reviewed december 17 , 1997 \\n',\n",
+       " b'this summer , one of the most racially charged novels in john grisham\\'s series , a time to kill , was made into a major motion picture . \\non january 3 of this year , director rob reiner basically re-released the film under the title of ghosts of mississippi . \\nbased on the true story of 1963 civil rights leader medgar evars\\' assassination , ghosts of mississippi revolves around the 25-year legal battle faced by myrlie evars ( whoopi goldberg , sister act ) and her quest to have her husband\\'s obvious assassin and racist byron de la beckwith ( james woods , casino ) jailed . \\nso she turns to assistant district attorney and prosecutor bobby delaughter ( alec baldwin , heaven\\'s prisoners ) to imprison the former kkk member . \\nghosts sets its tone with an opening montage of images from african-american history , from slave-ship miseries to life in the racist south of the 1960\\'s . \\nbut all too soon , the white folks take over , intoning lines like \" what\\'s america got to do with anything ? \\nthis is mississippi ! \" \\nas beckwith , james woods , with his head larded with latex most of the time as an old man , teeters between portraying evil and its character . \\nmeanwhile , goldberg turns in a very serious and weepy performance as the wife who wouldn\\'t let her husband\\'s death rest until she got the conviction . \\nboth deserve serious oscar-consideration . \\nthis brings us to the dull performance of baldwin . \\nlet\\'s face it , trying to match matthew mcconaughey\\'s wonderful acting in a time to kill is basically impossible . \\nand baldwin is living proof of this , as no emotions could be felt . \\nit seemed as if he actually had to struggle to shed a single tear . \\neither poor acting or poor directing , but something definitely went wrong . \\nanother strange mishap was the fact that goldberg\\'s facial features didn\\'t change , as she looked the same in the courtroom as she did holding her husband\\'s dead body 25-years earlier . \\nyet woods\\' was plastered with enough make up to make him look like goldberg\\'s father . \\nat least the make-up was realistic . \\nwith some emotional moments in the poorly written script , ghosts of mississippi lacked in heart , when its predecessor , a time to kill , brought tears to everyone\\'s eyes . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , the movie wasn\\'t all that bad , but if you\\'ve seen grisham\\'s masterpiece , then don\\'t expect this one to be an excellent film . \\n , \\n',\n",
+       " b'i went to blair witch project 2 : book of shadows with the highest of hopes . \\nthe original film , released last summer , was genuinely scary and terrifying ; i hoped that this movie would live up to its predecessor . \\nunfortunately , my hopes were soon dashed . \\nas the movie opens , the audience is shown pseudo-documentary clips of burkittsville , maryland residents being interviewed about the sudden tourist influx to their town as a result of the original blair witch project movie . \\nit\\'s a mostly humorous , self-aware poke at the media hype and hysteria surrounding the first film . \\nduring this segment , we are introduced to the protagonist , a young man who sells blair witch-related memorabilia from his website . \\nthe movie then cuts to a title that informs us that what we are about to see occurred one year previously . \\nwe see the same young man that was selling blair witch paraphernalia , but now he is confined in a mental institution the sort of which one only finds in bad horror movies . \\nwe see him having some sort of disgusting white goo unconvincingly forced down his nose while a cigarette-smoking doctor luridly leers above him . \\nwe see him throwing himself wildly around a padded room ; we see him cowering naked in a shower stall as a fire hose is turned on him . \\nno explanation is provided for why he is in the mental institution ; in fact , these scenes are barely referred to again . \\ni had a sinking feeling during these opening scenes ; generally , a hospital scene that is set with poor lighting , filthy interiors , and evil doctors is a sure sign that you are in the throes of a truly horrible movie . \\nthe movie cuts again , this time to the present . \\nthe young man , whose name is jeffrey ( played by jeffrey donovan -- as in the first movie , the character names are identical to the actors\\' names , although this movie admits up front that it is fictional , so there\\'s no reason for the practice this time around ) , is rounding up a group of people that he will be leading into the woods that weekend for the \" blair witch hunt , \" which is a promotional gimmick he came up with and sells on his website . \\nwe meet tristen and steven , a young couple who are writing a book about the blair witch experience . \\nsteven is a skeptic , believing the whole thing to be the result of mass hysteria . \\ntristen , on the other hand , believes that there may be some truth to the rumors of supernatural occurrence . \\nshe is wan and soft-spoken ; she complains that the radio is playing too loudly . \\n ( she also complains that she feels nauseated ; i knew immediately that the character was pregnant , and my intuition was confirmed a few scenes later when kim psychomagically susses it out . \\nhow did i know ? \\nbecause in bad movies , nauseated women are always pregnant . ) \\nthe fourth member of their party is erica , a wiccan with flowing hair and wide eyes who wants to prove that the blair witch was a good witch , not evil . \\nthey pick up the fifth and final team member in a cemetery . \\nkim is dressed completely in black , has extreme goth-style makeup on , and occasionally displays seemingly psychic abilities , but otherwise seems to be the most intelligent and reasonable person out of the entire bunch . \\npresumably she wanted to be picked up in the cemetery just for dramatic effect ; it\\'s never explained . \\nthe party of five heads off into the woods as promised . \\nthey reach the crumbling ruins of the foundation of rustin parr\\'s house and set up camp , complete with extensive video equipment with which to record the night\\'s events . \\nthere is a brief encounter with a rival blair witch tour group who had planned to camp at that site as well , but after a few words are exchanged , the rival group huffs off and makes camp elsewhere . \\nthe movie veers off at this point to spend many long , long minutes showing the drinking party that ensues after the sun goes down . \\nsexual innuendoes are tossed around , much hard liquor , beer , and pot is consumed , and nothing much else happens . \\nthis would be a great point to get up and go to the bathroom if necessary . \\nthe next day , the team wakes up and discovers that their camera equipment has been completely trashed , and that steven and tristen\\'s manuscript paper is fluttering down from the sky in shreds , like snow . \\nthe videotapes are missing , but thanks to a psychic intuition from kim , they discover the videotapes buried underneath the foundation of the house , \" right where the original blair witch tapes were found ! \" \\nooh . \\nspooky . \\nthe team goes back to jeffrey\\'s house -- a creepy old civil war-era warehouse in the heart of the woods -- to regroup and review the tapes . \\nthey soon discover that the tapes mysteriously skip five hours of the night . \\nwacky hijinks ensue . \\ntristen starts having weird dreams in which she is the blair witch , everybody starts finding these weird rune-like burn marks on their bodies , steven and erica have some highly disturbing mutual hallucinations , and everything pretty much goes to hell in a handbasket . \\nthroughout the entire ordeal , jeffrey and the others continue to scrutinize the videotapes , which seem to have some kind of weird images on them at about the point that the time jumps ; eventually tristen wanders in , mutters something about \" reverse , \" and from this they somehow realize that they have to play the tapes backwards . \\nwhen they do this , they discover what really happened during the five lost hours . \\n ( one of the things they see on the videotape is footage of themselves burying the videotapes . \\nokay , if the videotapes were being buried , then how were they recording themselves . . . oh , \\nnevermind . ) \\nthis movie was awful . \\nsimply awful . \\nthe characters are broadly-drawn caricatures that are never allowed any depth or development . \\nerica is the nature-loving wiccan . \\ntristen is the weak and sympathetic woman . \\nsteven is the overbearing asshole . \\nkim is the antisocial goth girl . \\nold , tired cliches were used to illustrate these caricatures . \\nhow do we know tristen is weak and sympathetic ? \\nbecause she\\'s pregnant ! \\nhow do we know kim is an antisocial goth girl ? \\nbecause she wears a lot of eye makeup ! \\nhow do we know the local sheriff is a bad guy ? \\nbecause he has jagged teeth and talks like he\\'s straight out of \" deliverance \" ! \\nthis is weak storytelling at its worst . \\nrather than taking the time to flesh out the characters and make them truly sympathetic , the writer chose to give each one a few stereotypical characteristics , in an attempt to use some cinematic shorthand and thereby skip straight to the action . \\nit didn\\'t work . \\non top of being poorly developed , most of the characters were either seriously unlikable or patently stupid . \\n ( \" honey , you just had a miscarriage out in the woods and got medical attention at a hospital that looks like it belongs in a bad slasher movie . \\nlet\\'s get on a plane home . \" \\n \" no . \\ni am having these bizarre nightmares and seeing strange visions and i want to find out what\\'s going on . \" \\n \" ok . \" ) \\nfrankly , by the end of the movie , i was rooting for the witch . \\ni also felt that there was simply too much blood \\'n\\' gore in this film . \\nthe first movie worked by never showing us the horror . \\nthe witch was a palpable presence in that movie , but we never saw it ; we never saw anything , in fact . \\nthe horror was all off-screen , and thus our imaginations worked overtime to envision what it might possibly be . \\nthis is the hallmark of a truly creepy and disturbing horror movie . \\nblair witch 2 dispensed with such niceties and went straight for the gross-out . \\nthis was evident from the opening scenes of the mad doctors forcing white goo down jeffrey\\'s throat , and continued throughout the film as the audience is treated to occasional confusing and disorienting footage of what appears to be a ritual massacre of some sort . \\nknives plunge into flesh , bloody fingers trail off into the darkness , and none of it is explained until the very end , when it was too late for me to care . \\nthis movie didn\\'t stop with showing us the gore , either ; it went for broke and showed us everything . \\nby the end of the movie , there are no questions remaining about the missing five hours . \\nit is all explained ; in fact , it is all shown on-screen in loving detail . \\ni confess to being someone who prefers horror movies in which you never see the monster , or see only brief glimpses , mere suggestions of what the monster is ; it is not because i find the monster so terrifying , but because i find the absence of the monster to be infinitely more terrifying . \\ni have seen interviews with the director in which he suggested that there is no \" monster , \" that all of the evil was perpetrated only by the human mind . \\ni found this to be a miserably poor explanation ; if it was in fact the director\\'s intent , then he needs to have some words with the writer , because it was not made clear at all . \\n ( i know a lot of people who like to go to parties and get drunk and stoned out of their minds ; none of them has ever gone on a murderous rampage and then experienced mass hallucinations with a group of other people for the next week or so . \\nand if there was no witch , then what about the vanishing tree ? \\nthe snowfall of manuscript paper ? \\nhm ? ) \\nblair witch 2 : book of shadows was a horrible movie . \\nfrom the poorly-written characters to the implausible story to the plot inconsistencies to the gross-out shots , it was a bad effort through and through . \\n',\n",
+       " b'andrew lloyd webber\\'s musicals , preferably his early work with lyricist tim rice , present a musical which is totally unlike any musical before its time . \\nwebber and rice do not subscribe to the gaity of such musicals as \" oklahoma ! , \" or the slapstickness of shows like \" a funny thing happened on the way to the forum . \" \\nthey instead tackle hot issues from our past , and view them differently , and pack them together with redundant , catchy music , as well as thoughtful lyrics . \\nlike \" jesus christ superstar , \" which examined the rise and fall of jesus in his last days from a fame perspective ( in the cool tune \" superstar , \" a dead judas comes back from the dead to ask jesus why he didn\\'t spread his message wider ) , \" evita \" takes an inventive stance on its topic , this time being the famed wife of argentinian dictator , juan per ? n , eva , who slept her way to the top and became famous chiefly because she got attention , much like the woman playing her : madonna ( although i think madonna did rise to the top for her musical talent , among other things ) . \\n \" evita \" deals with the rise and fall of eva per ? n , a woman who captured the heart of the nation after marrying juan ( jonathan pryce ) , then died at the young age of 33 , creating an international stir of mourning not unlike that of princess di ( the two do share a bit in common , although it wasn\\'t like di slept to \" the top \" ) . \\nwebber and rice sure chose bizarre topics for their musicals , but they always have a point for doing it . \\nhere , they wish to expose her for what she is , but still show that despite all of her many drawbacks , her lying , and covering up for her fascist husband , but show that she was still a good woman with fairly good intentions , and her death was very sad . \\nit\\'s also a musical , with almost no words not unsung . \\nthe film plays like a rock opera , much like their \" jesus christ superstar , \" with many giant musical sequences just like the old musicals , even if they do possess very intelligent lyrics , which create not only an intellectually enlightening experience , but also a very entertaining one . \\nafter all , this is a musical , and webber\\'s musicals never undermine this . \\nthey are a balance of energy and intellectual depth , walking on a fine line between the both , and never stumbling on either side . \\nthis is why the beginning of \" evita \" is kind of a let-down . \\nokay , it is a let-down . \\ni\\'m not saying the opening moments are bad , because they\\'re pretty good . \\nbut what comes after is a lifeless , un-entertaining , and totally unrewarding sequence where she cons a singer ( jimmy nail ) into taking eva to buenos aires after a one-night stand . \\nin the musical , it\\'s a fun , energetic sequence , culiminating in the show stopper , \" buenos aires , \" which is also lifeless . \\nthen a punch is pulled as we see eva being screwed over by the singer , instead of her leaving him , where she ends up singing the sad tune , \" another suitcase in another hall , \" which was meant for a later character , screwed over by eva . \\nthe portrayal of eva in the beginning is too soft , seeming like parker and oliver stone , who adapted it for the screen , are afraid to present her for what she is , even while it\\'s being narrated by a hater of eva\\'s , the omnipotent ( antonio banderas ) , who presents her in a negative light . \\nfor a while , it looks like alan parker can\\'t pull it off . \\nhowever , the film pulls itself together in a flash , and after that song is over , and the giddily nihilistic song \" goodbye and thank you , \" where we see eva go through a long line of lovers who help her ascend , is magnificent , darkly comical , and just gleeful . \\nfrom this point on , the film is hypnotic , satisfying , and satirical . \\nno more punches are thrown , and the basic outline of the original musical are in tact . \\nwe see eva woo and marry juan , get him out of jail , rise to stardom , falter a bit , come back , and then gradually die of cancer ( i think it was because of cancer ) . \\nmore importantly , many of the themes from the musical carry on with this , as well as some filling-in-the-gaps reconnassaince work . \\njuan , who is pretty underwritten in the musical , is given some extra scenes , and exposed as what he was for eva : an accessory . \\na muted scene where he tries to visit her respective room but is shunned allows us to learn more about juan , and understand his sadness more than we did before . \\n>from the \" goodbye and thank you \" number on , the film shows eva trying to cover up for the horrible government by doing cheap and petty things which wooed a nation , and saved a government , even while it left the nation\\'s people downtrodden . \\nbut despite this , the nation still loved eva , and when she slipped into death , the world mourned her because she was a star . \\nthat\\'s when our narrator , ch ? , comes out to show that she wasn\\'t the great woman she really was , and expose her fame . \\ndescribing this character is difficult , mainly because he has no real realistic background ( he\\'s said to be based on the revolutionary ch ? guevera , but the two probably could have never met , like they do in the film ) , but he serves as a perspective on eva , but even his perspective can\\'t help us from feeling bad when eva dies a pathetic death . \\nalan parker , no stranger to bizarre musicals ( he\\'s done \" fame , \" \" the committments , \" \" bugsy malone , \" and \" pink floyd the wall \" - the latter which is absolutely brilliant ) , nails the film , exposing everything for what it is . \\nwe cry for evita at the end because we feel we should , by the way it is presented . \\nhis direction is manipulative for a reason : to show the mourning for what it is . \\nand there is energy throughout , with lots of bright colors , and scenes which are cinematically entertaning , as well as enriching and deep , such as the balcony scene where she sings \" don\\'t cry for me , argentina , \" and her death sequence , which is poignant becuase of how sad it is . \\nmadonna\\'s golden globe winning performance is much like the movie : starts kinda downhill then goes up quickly , remaning there for the rest of the film . \\nat the beginning , she looks like she\\'s too busy concentrating on her singing to act , but she eventually gets it right , though never really getting the presence of , say , patti lupone ( who did the role in its american premiere back in the late 70s ) . \\nher death , though , is brilliant . \\nher singing could be better though . \\ni know she took lessons to improve her range and all , but it still sounds like she\\'s trying to hard . \\nshe sounds way too soft in several places where she should be comanding ( like . . . patti \\nlupone - i heard her sing on an old \" evita \" cd , and you could just feel her stage presence without even seeing her ) . \\nbut it\\'s generally very good , although not up to the brilliance the role really requires . \\nantonio banderas , who is almost like a guilty pleasure these days ( i\\'m one of the few people who thinks he rocks ) , is extremely comanding in his performance , presenting a lovable narrator . \\nhis singing is very good , though nothing compared to the original , mandy patinkin . \\nhe does have a pretty good singing voice , and a great range . \\nand jonathan pryce is pretty awesome , although very brief at times , in his role as juan , seeming to put on a poker face for his melancholy facade . \\nalthough it gets off to a rocky start ( \" rocky \" \\'s polite for what it really is ) , it soon picks up and becomes a wonderully poignant musical . \\nlike the other musical released in \\'96 ( woody allen\\'s \" everyone says i love you \" ) , it\\'s a reminder that the hollywood musical may be dead , but it can come back every now and then for a brief performance . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : something about a bunch of kids going into a haunted house and playing out parodies of other horror and non-horror movies . \\noh yeah , there\\'s also something about a ghost possessing the mansion and shit , but trust me , you won\\'t care much about the \" plot \" in this film . . . \\ncritique : parody movies either work or they don\\'t and this one just doesn\\'t work ! \\nthe laughs aren\\'t as pronounced this time around , the energy level , the gags and all of the characters just seem to be going through the motions here . \\nit\\'s like they were all in a hurry to finish the film or something ( wink , wink ) . \\nand the scariest part of it all ? \\ncheck out the number of screenwriters it took to pen this puppy : seven ! \\ni say again , it took seven people to write 82-minutes worth of fart jokes , half-assed stunts and spoofs of films other than horror . \\nnow i\\'m not exactly sure if each of the writers wrote their own parts separately or just tossed \" funny sketch \" ideas out there while smoking the chronic themselves , but the end result is a film that basically plays out like an extended skit on \" saturday night live \" . \\nthere are a couple of funny one-liners , but mostly just rehashed one-joke scenes , a lot of dead silence and lame gags . \\nadd to that the very unoriginal title and movie poster and you gotta start asking yourself if anybody was even trying here ( the film\\'s website isn\\'t even up yet ! ! ! \\nwhat the f * * * ? ! ? ) . \\ni do however have to give it up to james woods , the man who opens up this movie with the funniest parody of them all ( the exorcist take-off-- miss this and you\\'ve missed any reason to see the flick ) . \\ni especially liked his one-liner as he walked in to see the possessed woman\\'s head turning . \\nvery funny ! \\nunfortunately , the film plummets straight down after that , with dumb parodies of many teen flicks that have nothing to do with horror such as save the last dance and dude , where\\'s my car , and other action movies like charlie\\'s angels and mission impossible 2 . now help me figure this one out , will you ? \\nisn\\'t this supposed to be a parody film of horror movies ? ! ? \\n ( or maybe that\\'s just the title of the film f-ing with my head ) . \\nwell , i\\'m sorry to have to say this but the only horror in this film is its lame-ass script ! \\nthe wayans brothers should have known better than to look towards the weinstein brothers ( money ) instead of the zucker brothers ( comedy ) for this sequel . \\nunfortunately for us , all we\\'re left with here is a skeleton of a film which might\\'ve been funny , had it been worked over a few more times , tightened up here and there , and been injected with more solid laughs . \\nbut as things stand now , there is no doubt in my mind that the obvious greed to capitalize on the success of last year\\'s film has led everyone down this path , so screw them for not trying as hard ( critically speaking , of course ) . \\nyou should all be ashamed of yourselves for not putting enough \" real \" effort into this chop-job and for not providing your fans with the ultimate of your talents . \\npooh on you ! \\n ( that\\'s telling \\'em , joblo ! \\nsheesh ) \\nbtw , i\\'m allotting one point alone to actress kathleen robertson , whose massive breasts and skanky g-string had me chompin\\' at the bit . \\nyou go , girl ! \\neveryone else . . . stay ! \\nwhere\\'s joblo coming from ? \\nairplane ( 10/10 ) - airplane ii ( 10/10 ) - galaxy quest ( 8/10 ) - hannibal ( 7/10 ) - the haunting ( 3/10 ) - mafia ( 5/10 ) - naked gun ( 8/10 ) - scary movie ( 8/10 ) - top secret ( 9/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'dr . alan grant ( sam neill , \" jurassic park \" ) is becoming disillusioned . \\npaleontology is no longer the sexy science it once was since the ingen corporation cloned his subject matter . \\nhis lectures bring people interested in his adventures on isla nubla rather than his research and funding dollars are drying up . \\nwhen the kirbys ( william h . macy , \" fargo \" ; tea leoni , \" the family man \" ) ask him to be their guide for an anniversary flyover of isla sorna ( the notorious site b of \" the lost world \" ) he\\'s disdainful , but once they wave their checkbook , he reconsiders . \\nhowever the kirbys haven\\'t given dr . grant their real agenda in \" jurassic park iii . \" \\nof course , we , the audience , have been tipped off , given that the film begins by showing us eric ( trevor morgan , \" the patriot \" ) , a young boy , and ben ( mark harelik , \" election \" ) going for a paragliding adventure off that same island that goes awry ( and looks like cheesy rear projection ) . \\ngrant\\'s established back home with a new right hand man , billy brennan ( alessandro nivola , \" love\\'s labour\\'s lost \" ) on site at a dig in montana sorely lacking funds . \\nhe also pays a visit to old flame dr . ellie sattler ( laura dern , \" jurassic park \" ) , now married to another with a young son who calls grant \\'the dinosaur man\\' apparently for the sole purpose of dredging her up again for the film\\'s poorly imagined finale . \\ngrant takes billy along on the kirbys trip , which is really an illegal gambit to save their son , that young paraglider . \\nthe couple aren\\'t millionaires , making grant\\'s check bogus , and they\\'re separated as well ( eric was with amanda\\'s new boyfriend , not that that makes much sense ) , meaning we\\'re in for some gooey family dynamics while waiting for the dino dining . \\nthe kirbys hired hands ( and obvious bait ) are a threesome led by mr . udesky ( michael jeter , \" the gift \" ) . \\n ( didn\\'t anyone consider that casting michael jeter and william h . macy together and not having them be related was a little odd ? ) \\nas directed by joe johnston ( \" october sky , \" \" jumanji \" ) ( spielberg only produced this one ) from a risible script by peter buchman and the \" election \" team of alexander payne & jim taylor , \" jurassic park iii \" is nothing more than a quickie monster flick with a couple of new dinos ( a spinosauraus , which goes head to head with the t-rex , and pteranodons ) . \\nthe plot , as it were , is a series of coincidences combined with extreme leaps of faith and a trifecta of stupid cell phone tricks . \\nthe effects are no longer new , and , as shot by television cinematographer shelly johnson , rather murky looking at times . \\nfilm editing by robert dalva ( \" october sky \" ) was presumably done by machete , to keep this down to a 90 minute run time . \\ni know of no other reason to explain the ridiculous ending which features the survivors confronting a pack of raptors , then being saved by the most ludicrous of logic jumps within a few minutes . \\n\\'original\\' music by don davis just repeats john williams\\' original themes . \\nwhile neill and young morgan attempt to inject some humor and humanity into the proceedings , the rest of the cast are plodding unexceptional . \\n \" jurassic park iii \" will probably provide some quick entertainment for those who go into it knowing what to expect , the same crowd who maybe liked \" the lost world : jurassic park . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b\"long ago , films were constructed of strong dialogue , original characters , memorable plot points , and solid acting . \\none of the best examples that hollywood now completely ignore these qualities is found in the new film where the heart is . \\nthis opus about the power of love and the redemption of family follows the tragic , and i mean tragic , life of novalee nation ( natalie portman ) . \\nhitting the road with her hick , guitar-playing boyfriend in a rusted-out gm , novalee dreams of the blue skies of bakersfield and sipping chocolate milk beneath a plastic umbrella with her unborn baby , due in a month . \\nstopping off at a nearby wal-mart for a quick rest , novalee's boyfriend decides to take off and leaves her there . \\nnovalee then decides to secretly hole up in the wal-mart ( because she's not the brightest bulb in the stagelights ) . \\na wacky librarian ( keith david ) comes to her rescue when she goes into labor one night while she is camped in the outdoors section of the store . \\nthen the she moves in with a family , befriends everyone in town -- including ashley judd's character ( who has five kids and still can work part-time as a nurse ) -- fights off religious freaks , survives a tornado , breaks the heart of the wacky librarian that saved her , receives an inheritance , builds a martha stewart-esque house , becomes an award-winning photographer , and manages to always look like she stepped out of a cosmo shoot , all while not once doing anything with her kid . \\nthis film is terrible . \\nthe directing is awful : it seems director matt williams had an index card with six angles written on it and used every one of them , over and over and over again . \\nwe get pathetic and ugly acting by natalie portman , who can do good work . \\na disjointed pacing of key scenes and a time structure so confusing that it would throw steve prefontaine off . \\na subplot that actually validates the actions of the boyfriend who abandoned novalee in the wal-mart parking lot . \\nan embarrassing display of emotions by the characters , making the audience ill . \\ntaking two great comedic screenwriters , babaloo mandel and lowell ganz , and forcing them to write drama on par with oprah's book club . \\naltogether , it has the feeling of being trapped at home , watching a very bad television mini-series and wishing it to end , only the remote is broken . \\nhowever , the main problem with the film is that it never answers the most poignant question brought up : where is the heart ? \\nno one ever seems to find it in this piece of junk . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the last line ( or near to that honor ) is the great butler , alfred ( the ubergod , michael gough ) saying , \" i think we need a bigger bat cave , \" or something to that note . \\nthat\\'s exactly what this film is - too big for its own good because it has too damn much . \\ncut batgirl out . \\ncut one of the villains . \\nit\\'s too much to handle in one dosage . \\nit\\'s so much that characters get left behind . \\npoor elle gets a mere 3 scenes and a subplot which is introduced but never finished in any way , shape or form . \\nand elle deserves better . \\nthis is the fourth in the gigantic film series and the second from director joel schumacher . \\nit\\'s also the fourth worst in the series ( and second worst from joel ) . \\nthe series has been declining since its stunning debut , followed by the almost-as-stunning sequel and then the anti-climactic third one ( first by joel ) . \\nthis one\\'s not anti-climactic - i knew it was gonna suck . \\nit\\'s up to joel to make it fun though . \\n \" batman forever \" was fun . \\nthis is a big bore of over-produced action sequences and shallow characters . \\ni mean , this one bit . \\ni\\'m gonna put all the plot in one paragraph : mr . freeze ( ah-nold ) , who\\'s wife was dying of some disease , has become the new big villain these days . \\nhe\\'s a huge ex-scientist who fell into some weird liquid ( hello ? \\njoker ? ) and now has a body temperature of a big fat zero and has a blue body . \\nbatman ( george ) and robin ( chris ) fight him a bit but find they\\'re growing apart . \\nmeanwhile , another villain shows up , poison ivy ( uma ! ) , who was a dorky scientist chick working on flowers in south america with a twistet scientist ( john glover ) who kills her when she finds out he\\'s used her research to develop an uberman , bane , who is basically a man pumped with chemicals which probably killed any personality he ever had . \\nshe emerges from her chemicals ( don\\'t ask \\'cause i can\\'t tell ya ) as a sexy woman ( the real uma ) who\\'s poison when or if you kiss her and has some aphrodiasiatic scent she blows at people . \\nshe starts to tear away at the dynamic duo . \\nmeanwhile , alfred\\'s dying of the same disease mr . freeze\\'s wife has ( but in an earlier state than she ) , and his niece , barbara ( alicia ) , comes all the way from oxford without an english accent to get him away from the butler trade , but soon ( well , not really soon , it takes her 2 hours ) becomes batgirl . \\nmeanwhile , in an unfinished subplot , bruce ( batman\\'s alter-ego , if you forgot ) has been dating the lovely julie madison ( the even lovlier elle macpherson ) who wants a commitment after a year but he says nothing . \\nend of her for all we know . \\nmr . freeze ultimately teams with poison ivy and they want to freeze the world and then take it over growing new plants as their population ( don\\'t ask ! ! ! ) . \\nthe trio must team together \" as family \" to beat them . \\nthere ya go . \\nnot the whole story but no big context clues . \\ntoo much , right ? \\nright ! \\nthe films seems patched together of nice little ideas which would have made for a couple good sequels . \\nhowever , while tim burton nicely balanced the villain/batman storyline ( although not wonderfully ) , joel seems to do almost nothing with batman in this one . \\nhe gets some corny speeches , a couple clever lines and that\\'s it . \\nmaybe some stunts . \\nfor all this , i can\\'t even comment on george clooney as batman - i hardly saw the guy ! \\nand when i did , he had horrible dialogue to say . \\ni think michael keaton is the quintessential batman but val kilmer was too robotic and fake as batman in the last episode . \\ngeorge is in between them . \\nhe\\'s not quintessential , he\\'s not horrible , he\\'s good . \\nbut i\\'m sure next time when they decide to renovate the series since they\\'ll be critically murdered for this sorry effort , we\\'ll get a good script and clooney will shine ( if he still has the job ) . \\nthe villains are the only interesting part of the series according to schumacher . \\nlast time , we had the brawn of two face as played by tommy lee jones and the brains/comedy supplied by the riddler as realized by jim carrey . \\nthis time we have a somewhat sympathetic and somewhat hatable villain ( the same guy ) , mr . freeze . \\nwe feel bad for his mental/physical collapse but does he really need to kill everyone for plants ? \\narnold isn\\'t very good - too hokey but kinda sympathetic at some points . \\nwhen he watches old movies of his wife , he actually looks somber . \\nwow . \\nbut uma makes the most of her seductive character , getting the right point between hamminess and seductiveness . \\nit\\'s like she\\'s almost parodying herself in \" pulp fiction \" at points . \\nshe\\'s incredibly hot and makes the movie pretty much a star better . \\nas for the lower bat-people , chris is the same as he was in \" batman forever , \" although i think his work in these is too hokey when he\\'s best at quieter parts in \" scent of a woman \" or just plain cool parts in \" fried green tomotoes . \" \\nalicia - i love the girl but she\\'s not particularly good in this film . \\nshe can hypotheitically act , we all saw that in \" clueless , \" but her lines kinda sound weird . \\nand it isn\\'t the mushy-mouth this time . \\nbut in all fairness , she has virtually no part . \\njoel gets around to her occasionally and when she\\'s on , she does stupid stuff . . . although \\ni know i\\'m not the only one who loved the catfight between her and uma . . . \\nand poor elle . \\npoor , poor elle . \\ni love that woman and she can also hypothetically act ( for those of us who saw \" sirens \" ) . \\nbut she has no part ! ! ! \\nit seems like joel had so much footage that he had to edit almost an hour out of the final product . \\nthere are no \" couch \" scenes ( like my best friend noticed ) . \\nnow listen to me on this one - in every \" batman \" flick , there\\'s a couch scene . \\nin the original , it was with vicki . \\nin \" returns , \" it was a good make-out scene with selena . \\nand in the last one , it was a chat with nicole . \\nthis one , it\\'s nothing . \\nand batgirl does next-to-nothing in this film till the end when she\\'s suddenly \" part of the family . \" \\nfortunately , we get a lot of alfred . \\nhe\\'s the always reliable butler , in case you didn\\'t know , who has been with bruce all his life . \\nhe\\'s a god . \\nhe\\'s a father figure . \\nhe\\'s also dying . \\nthis got to me . \\ni love alfred almost as much as bruce and to see him in a robe , not in his tux , and freaking dying just gets to me . \\nwe also get the idea that he might have been unhappy the whole time . . . but \\nthis is never answered , as this film is too cluttered . \\nbut in defense , it does have some good parts , other than uma . \\nfor one , george is a good batman but unfortunately gets nothing to do . \\nand there are some nice touches . \\nwhen they show the asylum at one point , they show the patient\\'s belongings in a room and we see the riddler\\'s costume . \\ni laughed . \\nand during a biker scene ( involving robin and batgirl - another subplot never handled past initiation period ) , we not only see coolio but a bunch of bad-asses dressed as \" droogs \" from \" a clockwork orange . \" \\ni laughed at all these . \\nthe film falls apart around the five-minute mark during an enormously long action sequence which must last around 20 minutes . . . or \\ndid it just feel like that ? \\nthe film should serve as another in the long-line of films which demonstrate that we need more intelligent films nowadays . \\npeople are fed up with stupid films . \\nthat\\'s why the word of mouth killed \" the lost world ! \" \\nthat\\'s why last year , indy films grossed more than ever . \\nthat\\'s why this will have a strong box-office initative from people who just want to see it , like me , but will die after a week or two when the word around the grapevine kills it . \\nthat\\'s why the next two big-budget aciton pics are john woo\\'s \" face/off \" and barry sonnenfeld\\'s \" men in black , \" both which are the first two to catch on to the wave early on . \\ni like joel schumacher more as a person than an artiste . \\ni like some of his films ( \" flatliners , \" \" a time to kill \" ) but a lot of them suck . \\nhe\\'s a really eccentric person and i loved one of his quotes about how he admits to being a mediocre director and that\\'s what makes him great . \\nbut his costuming for woody allen\\'s \" sleeper \" was more interesting than this one ( and his costuming was cool - look for the nazi number ) . \\ni love the \" batman \" series . \\nthe first two rocked and i did like the last one . \\nbut this one is not going to be one that i watch repeatedly like the other three . \\nhopefully , this will also serve as a springboard to a better batman next time . \\nand maybe they\\'ll get smart and bring back catwoman . \\nand michael keaton . \\nbut we can only hope . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"one can not observe a star trek movie and expect to see serious science fiction . \\nthe purpose of star trek is to provide flashy , innocent fun . \\nsometimes the stories are compelling . \\nsometimes they're not . \\nbut , with the exception of the first film in the series ( which provides little more than endless shots of amazed faces ) , i've never been bored by any of the enterprise's numerous missions . \\nstar trek : insurrection is no exception . \\nthe film has gotten some negative reviews ( a friend of mine actually thinks it's the worst in the series ) , but i'm not really sure why . \\nit's an exciting , often hilarious movie that engaged me and left me ready for the next star trek film . \\nsome say it's a bit too light , and more of a long episode than a film . \\nothers say the special effects are cheesy and that it's boring . \\ni simply enjoyed the film . \\ninsurrection , which is the second film to feature strictly the next generation cast , introduces us to a race of people called the ba'ku ; the ba'ku are very old ( most of them are about three hundred years old ) , but they actually appear younger with age due to strange radiation in the rings of their planet . \\nof course , these peaceful people can't horde this fountain of youth all for themselves ? leave it up to their archenemies , the son'a , led by ru'afo ( f . \\nmurray abraham ) , to mess everything up . \\nthe son'a , who are horribly disfigured and rely on daily reconstructive surgery to be aesthetically acceptable , strike a deal with the federation to move the ba'ku elsewhere and exploit the secret to keep their race from dying . \\nthat's when captain picard ( patrick stewart ) steps in : he realizes that moving the ba'ku would kill them ( it also helps that he falls in love with a ba'ku woman ( donna murphy ) ) . \\nso , with his trusty crew , picard defies the federation to keep the ba'ku in their natural habitat . \\nwhen dealing with a series with as much history as this , it's not entirely necessary to re-introduce your characters with each episode . \\nthis is why i believe non-fans have a hard time getting into star trek ; in order to enjoy it , one has to understand how to approach it . \\ninsurrection , however , does a surprisingly good job of us new aspects of the characters . \\nstewart is bold as always , a magnetic screen presence and perfectly capable of holding an entire film together . \\njonathan frakes , who also directed , is funny as commander riker ; a subplot with data ( brent spiner ) discovering his lost childhood is fairly interesting ; and abraham makes a perfect star trek villain , overacting like crazy . \\nfrakes showed similar aptitude for direction in first contact ; insurrection is an exciting film , with some really attractive special effects and a lot of good action . \\nthis is apparently the first star trek film to utilize computer animation , and the result is very pleasing to the eye : particularly in the climactic scenes , in which the son'a employ a giant space ship to suck up the rings of the ba'ku planet , the special effects have a clean , impressively sharp look . \\nif i have any complaint about the film , it's that it tries to take a moral stance when it's not very appropriate to do so . \\ni don't think it's that big of a deal that the federation wanted to move 600 ba'ku in order to save the lives of thousands . \\nbetter yet , why couldn't they have co-existed ? \\ninsurrection feels a little to light to spring these kinds of big moral questions on the audience . \\nwith it's inherent camp factor , the star trek series doesn't seem well-equipped to deal with issues like this . \\ni prefer to just enjoy the spectacle . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'since 1990 , the dramatic picture has undergone a certain change of style . \\nnow , instead of emphasizing feel-good stories replete with characters of noble virtues , the screenplays and direction point toward human struggle and sorrow . \\nthis realist tendancy can be inspiring at times , as 1993\\'s schindler\\'s list shows . \\nmost of today\\'s mainstream drama , however , creates an overabundance of emoting that can turn off members of the audience . \\nthat\\'s why pictures like october sky , which are a throwback to the good ol\\' dramas of yesteryear , are such a welcome relief in contemporary cinema . \\nthe movie is based on the true story of homer hickam ( jake gyllenhaal ) , a teenager in the 1950\\'s company town of coalwood , west virginia . \\nit\\'s a well-known fact that the only boys to make a name for themselves are the ones that get out of the town on football scholarships ; the rest grow up to work in the coal mine . \\nthe mine , which is run by homer\\'s father ( chris cooper ) , is not the place for homer , however . \\nafter watching the soviet satellite sputnik shoot across the october sky in 1957 , homer feels a connection with the outside world -- as he puts it , \" anyone in the world could look up and see the same thing i did . \" \\ndrafting two of his best friends and the brainiac outcast , homer begins to construct rockets . \\nwith the help of their history teacher , miss riley ( laura dern ) , and several mine workers , the four are soon bound for great things . \\noctober sky is a skillfully crafted film , and most of that credit must go to director joe johnston . \\njohnston -- whose career in the film industry includes everything from directing well-known titles like jumanji and the rocketeer down to an uncredited role as a death star trooper in star wars -- certainly knows what he\\'s doing here . \\nhe molds characters which are true to life and also fun to watch into a plot that is straightforward and robust . \\nhe does not push any barriers , but instead adopts a conservative style of filmmaking which enhances the film\\'s charm . \\nhis finesse brings out elements which might otherwise be lost -- such as the relationships between homer and various mine workers , or the silent struggle between homer\\'s mother and father . \\nthe cast is well chosen , although the true bright spots are the supporting roles . \\nlaura dern ( jurassic park ) lends a strong performance in the role of the history teacher , giving the boys the support and guidance they need . \\nher role is instantly likeable . \\nchris cooper ( the horse whisperer ) , as homer\\'s father , is less likeable -- even downright despicable at times -- but his turn here gives gravity to the movie . \\nhe\\'s definitely a driving force in homer\\'s life , and his more humane moments give the piece a certain dynamic that is commendable . \\nthe script is generally cheerful , projecting the boys\\' endeavors in a lighthearted manner . \\nthere are moments when it becomes predictable -- such as the train tracks scene -- and there are moments when it sacrifices orginality for the need to come up with an emotional plot twist . \\nit highlights the essence of youth , however , and for its exceptional job at this it can be forgiven other missteps . \\noctober sky should be a success with audiences . \\nalthough it doesn\\'t have the appeal of current teen flicks like varsity blues or she\\'s all that , it certainly holds an undeniable quality that older crowds will lean towards . \\nit\\'s a welcome change to the dramatic genre , and one that everyone should see . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it seemed wholly appropriate that at a weekend screening of \" the horse whisperer , \" the start of the film was delayed some twenty minutes due to \" projection difficulties . \" \\nrobert redford\\'s film version of nicholas evans\\' best-selling novel was supposed to have been in theaters last december , going head-to-head with \" titanic , \" but is only now making its much anticipated debut . \\nthis ( strategic ? ) \\ndelay has allowed \" the horse whisperer \" to compete , sans fanfare , against some smaller , unassuming movies during a relatively slower time at the box office . \\nno matter . \\nredford\\'s film stands head and shoulders above james cameron\\'s ocean-going tragedy , especially in the writing and acting departments . \\nwhatever the reasons for its postponement , \" the horse whisperer \" supports the old adage \" better late than never . \" \\nredford has taken evans\\' book and given it the big screen treatment . \\nwhile parts of \" the horse whisperer \" are epic in scope and vision , especially the aerial \" travelogue \" that maps out this great country of ours , its real strength lies in the subtleties it uses to paint the fragile alliance between man and beast . \\nwhen her daughter , grace , is involved in a terrible riding accident , hard-driven fashion editor annie maclean ( kristin scott thomas ) devotes herself to rehabilitating both grace and grace\\'s beloved horse , pilgrim . \\nrefusing to have the hideously disfigured animal put down , annie researches every possible source of information about equine cures before discovering an article about a faith-healing cowboy of sorts called tom booker ( redford ) , who has a way with horses and , perhaps , with people too . \\nundeterred by tom\\'s initial reluctance to get involved , annie drives grace and a sedated pilgrim across country to meet him , and finally persuades tom to work with the uncontrollable animal . \\nredford\\'s film unfolds slowly and lovingly , echoing the patience required in healing both physical and psychological wounds . \\nthe film\\'s a little long and , even if you haven\\'t read the book , it\\'s pretty obvious where it\\'s heading--but these are minor complaints . \\nredford and thomas are strong and convincing as the couple drawn by a mutual affection for the great outdoors and each other , but it\\'s scarlett johansson as grace who shines in a more difficult role . \\ndianne wiest , chris cooper ( \" lone star \" ) , and sam neill--better than i\\'ve seen him before--round out the respectable supporting cast . \\nand the director\\'s respect for horses is clearly in evidence . \\none word of warning , however : while brilliantly shot , the accident scene , involving an out-of-control truck , is extremely disturbing . \\nredford\\'s canvas is huge and exquisite . \\nhe doesn\\'t hesitate to incorporate vast , sprawling vistas of the american northwest : spectacular , snow-capped mountain ranges , azure skies , and shimmering fields of wheat--all are resplendent in cinematographer robert richardson\\'s viewfinder . \\nveteran english composer john barry was originally signed to score the film but left the project which is a pity , since \" the horse whisperer \" is \" dances with wolves \" by way of \" out of africa \" ( oscar winners both for barry ) . \\nfortunately , barry\\'s replacement , thomas newman , contributes a fine score that nicely balances the majesty of montana with the delicate , human conditions--sonorous , string-laden passages that swell with pride playing counterpoint to more poetic , introspective movements ripe with nuance . \\n \" the horse whisperer \" is that rare kind of movie : it looks good , it feels good , and by golly it does you good . \\nthe wait , it turns out , was well worth it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the disney studios has its formula for annual , full-length animated features down so pat that it\\'s hard to remember which one you\\'re watching at any given moment . \\n \" mulan , \" their 36th animated adventure , is the latest case in point . \\nonce again we have a tale focused around a strong central character ( female as usual ; disney is one of the few studios whose heroines--ariel , belle , pocahontas , and now mulan--get equal screen time with their heroes in recent years ) . \\nadd the requisite love interest and a wise-cracking sidekick or two , pep up the soundtrack with a handful of strategically placed show tunes ( an introspective number by a pool or looking in a mirror , a rousing anthem , a cutesy , montage-backed crowd pleaser ) , pose a few threats to our engaging lead , and tie things all up neatly by the closing credits . \\nbob\\'s your uncle ! \\nbetter make that walt\\'s your uncle . . . \\nkids will no doubt go ga-ga over \" mulan \" ( or at least the fast food tie-ins ) , but familiarity can , after a while , leave grown-ups--this reviewer included--wishing for a little more . \\nmaybe an animated feature without--shock ! \\nhorror ! --the \\nsongs , for example ? \\nor maybe a film in which a cheeky chihuahua called pepe longs to become a matador from trinidad ? ? \\nhow about simply ditching the sidekicks altogether ? \\nit isn\\'t gonna happen . \\nlike disney\\'s previous entries , \" mulan \" is slow to make its mark . \\nthe animation tends to suffer from some slackness in the early going and the humorous element , a madcap dragon wannabe ( in the guise of a loquacious lizard with a case of dry mouth , courtesy eddie murphy\\'s animated vocal talents ) , plays like an inappropriate if necessary ( formula-wise ) afterthought . \\nhowever , after about an hour everything comes together and the formula , like it or not , clicks . \\nhighlights include a spectacular cavalry charge on a snow-covered pass ( which , due to the sophistication of today\\'s computer-generated imagery , is hard to tell from the real thing ) , a memorable , show-stopping musical interlude ( \" i\\'ll make a man out of you , \" penned by matthew wilder and david zippel ) , and last but not least , mulan herself . \\nvoiced by ming-na wen , mulan is disney\\'s strongest female character to date . \\nwhen hordes of huns pour over china\\'s great wall and threaten to overthrow the imperial palace , the emperor decrees that every family in the land dispatch one man to serve in the imperial army . \\nsince mulan\\'s father is infirm , but proud , the high-spirited mulan steals her father\\'s armor and , incognito , signs up to face the mongolian menace . \\nattracted to , but not distracted by , her commanding officer shang ( b . d . \\nwong ) , mulan outmatches her fellow combatants in smarts , wit , and physical ability . \\nshe\\'s a woman of the \\'90s a couple of millennia ahead of her time . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" when you get out of jail , you can kill him . \" \\nstarring ashley judd , tommy lee jones , bruce greenwood . \\nrated r . \\ndouble jeopardy is a lurid , prepostrous thriller that\\'s also one of the year\\'s most enjoyable . \\nit\\'s an uncompromisingly brutal , cheerfully anarchic , hyperactive actioner that has a mission and never diverts from it . \\nthere is not a moment here when the events on screen don\\'t have a direct bearing on the plot ; once the film gets going it never stops . \\nit has been branded as the female version of the fugitive and that\\'s probably a correct assessment of the plot , but the film itself has little in common with the 1993 andrew davis/harrison ford collaboration besides the presence of star tommy lee jones . \\nnot even bothering with character introduction , director bruce beresford floors the gas pedal from the get-go and never finds the brake . \\nwe meet , rather hastily , libby and nick parsons ( ashley judd and bruce greenwood , respectively ) a seemingly happy married couple , with a son matty , age 4 . they go out on a sailboat one night , and after a period of some rockin\\' sex , they go to sleep . \\nlibby hears a strange noise , wakes up and discovers that she is covered with blood . \\nshe follows a red trail to the upper deck , where she finds a knife and , out of astonishment , picks it up . \\nat that convenient moment , the coast guard shows up and libby is arrested . \\nher lawyer , a friend , puts up a defense in court , but though we know she is innocent , the evidence against her is too compelling . \\nher friend adopts her son and she goes to prison . \\nonce in prison , she makes a phone call to her friend . \\nher friend gives her son the phone . \\nnick walks in the room . \\nlittle matty screams \" daddy ! \" \\nthe phone goes dead . \\nlibby realizes that the man she is imprisoned for killing isn\\'t even dead . \\nshe gets some advice from a prisoner/former lawyer , who tells her that since the state already convicted her of killing her husband , they can\\'t convict her of the same crime again , meaning that when she gets paroled she can kill him and they can\\'t touch her . \\nafter a weirdly short amount of time , she gets out of parole . \\nshe is sent to live at a house with other recent parolees , under the command of parole officer travis lehman ( tommy lee jones ) . \\nshe sets out on a mission to find her husband and get her son back , which turns out to be much more difficult than anticipated . \\nshe winds up tracking him all the way to new orleans where she finds out that he has long killed his girlfriend and her son\\'s \" adopter \" . \\ndouble jeopardy is based on an assumption that is legally false . \\nthe law stating that nobody can be convicted twice for the same crime assumes that it is the same crime : same time , same place , same circumstances . \\nit\\'s not like it matters . \\nthis is a rollickingly good thriller ; intense , exciting , fast and furious . \\nit\\'s silly alright , but this is the kind of film you just don\\'t question . \\nin some films , plausibility is everything . \\ndouble jeopardy , however , is not concerned with making sense : its sole purpose is to entertain , and it does . \\njudd helps the film tremendously in a difficult role . \\nthis is her breakout box-office performance , and she is terrific . \\nshe brings some emotion to what could have been a one-dimensional role , giving the movie a little soul to go along with its effective chase scenes and action set pieces . \\ntommy lee jones basically just reprises the role for which he won an oscar in the fugitive , but the movie makes good use of his stone-faced wit . \\nthankfully , too , double jeopardy refrains from developing a romance between libby and travis ; a subplot which doubtlessly would have interfered with the film\\'s story . \\nthis is one of those movies where cops are the bad guys , and i took a sort of sick pleasure in that . \\nthe sheer anarchy of the proceedings was nothing short of wonderful , as ashley judd kicks the crap out of every authority figure in the book . \\nafter all the idealistic hollywood features featuring hero cops , deft fbi agents and the virtues of the american legal system , it\\'s great to see a movie that doesn\\'t so much demonstrate their fallacy as it delights in their failure . \\ndouble jeopardy is really good , but it isn\\'t the kind of good that is remembered or recognized with awards . \\nit\\'s one of those movies better viewed with the brain turned off , otherwise , your brain will be busy ruining your experience . \\nthis is a thriller that isn\\'t concerned with being smart or plausible . \\ninstead it diverts all attention to the action , which , this year , is second to none . \\n',\n",
+       " b'wyatt earp details thirty-five years in the life of same from around 1865 to 1900 . \\nafter seeing the movie speed twice recently , i kept thinking that i was seeing wyatt\\'s life pass before my eyes in real time . \\nthis movie was boring , slow , boring , and slow . \\nthere were a few scenes that tried to be great scenes that tried too hard and just fell flat . \\nthe script happily woman-bashes but also tries to sound like an 80s movie . \\nthey cannot have it both ways . \\n \" i now pronounce you husband and wife . \" \\nsure , they said that in the 1800s . \\n \" entrepreneur . \" \\nsure . \\nevery bit of male-ego-stroking dialogue that wyatt\\'s third wife speaks to him made me sick to listen to it . \\n \" oh , the script was written by two men ? \" \\n \" no kidding ! \" \\nthe movie is torture to sit through . \\nthe scenery is boring . \\nthe fades were either awkward or cliche or to self important . \\ncan you say poor editing ? \\neveryone looks ugly in this movie . \\nwhen you shoot people from under their chins , they look like they have double chins . \\nkevin costner has never looked worse . \\nhe should sue . \\nhe looks like he gained the 43 pounds that dennis quaid lost . \\ndennis quaid is marvelous . \\nif you have to see this movie just for his performance , go into the theatre at the movie\\'s halfway mark . \\ndoc holliday ( quaid\\'s character ) shows up at about the 90-minute mark . \\ngene hackman is very good . \\nis he in the credits ? \\ni don\\'t remember seeing his name . \\nmare winningham makes the best of a small role as wyatt\\'s second wife . \\nannabeth gish is good as wyatt\\'s first wife . \\ni though that jamie gertz played wyatt\\'s third wife , but i later heard that her name is joanna going . \\nshe looks great but her dialogue sucks . \\nshe also seems way to young for costner . \\ncostner seems way to old for 90% of this movie . \\nin his first scene he is supposed to be about 19 years old . \\nyeah , right . \\ncatherine o\\'hara and jobeth williams are always good and totally wasted here . \\nthis is the worst movie that i have seen in years . \\nthe last action hero was better that this . \\ngo see maverick if you want to see a western . \\nbullets for dennis quaid\\'s performance only . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this christmas , little ralphie parker ( peter billingsley ) wants nothing more than a red ryder bb gun under the tree . \\nalthough cautioned by many that he will ? shoot his eye out' , ralphie remains optimistic , conjuring up a detailed scheme to get on the good side of his parents and teachers . \\nit could be possible that no one has ever wanted anything with more passion than ralphie wants this bb gun , and the story of his eternal struggle is a charming one . \\n`a christmas story' is a favorite among many during the holiday season , and boy , it is certainly easy to see why . \\nralphie's endless desire for the bb gun may transport you back to your childhood , when you were craving a certain gift for christmas and the anxiety was almost indescribable . \\nevoking pleasant childhood memories is only one of the many things `a christmas story' does so well . \\nhere are a few features that make this film such a charming little package for everybody during the holiday season : \\n1 ) period detail . \\nthis film is based on the memoirs of late humorist jean shepard , who shares his experiences as a young boy living in the 1940's with loving detail . \\nshepard narrates from a first person point-of-view , divulging his various adventures one snowy december , in which visions of taking aim with his new bb gun replaced that of sugarplums dancing in his head . \\nshepard's first-hand commentary of several situations is not only downright hilarious , but also witty and warm , with various metaphorical meanings that ring perfectly with the essence of comic timing . \\non top of that , young billingsley's stupefied reactions to each predicament is absolutely perfect in contrast with the narration . \\ndirector bob clark captures the look and feel of the era with wonderful technicality . \\ni can hardly imagine a more accurate depiction of what christmas for young ralphie must have been like . \\n2 ) mom and dad . \\nboth melinda dillon ( as mom ) and darren mcgavin ( as ? the old man' ) are perfect in their roles . \\nit's hard to fathom a more agreeable pair for the requirements of a story like this one , with each possessing at least one memorable trait that instantly separates them from the wooden caricatures that could have been featured . \\nfor instance , he is a bloodthirsty turkey hound , and she is forgiving and understanding when it comes to some serious issues . \\nin portraying the writer as a persistent but mild-mannered young lad , peter billingsley has struck quite the chord . \\nhis performance is richly textured , making all of the humorous situations he stumbles into radiate with flavor and enjoyment . \\nwhich brings us to . . . . \\n3 ) the comic situations . \\nthere are plenty of memorable moments in `a christmas story' . \\nmoments that undoubtedly will improve in comic potency upon each new viewing , with so much more to explore and to cherish . \\ni am particularly partial of the ? f-word scene' , in which ralphie blurts out the shocking four-letter obscenity while helping the old man in the yard . \\nagain , shepard's method of handling this amusing scenario is nothing short of comic wizardry . \\nthe numerous sequences that stick in one's mind include , of course , the famous department store santa scene - in which billingsley has some problems in telling old saint nick what he wants under the tree . \\ni could go on , but i'll finish on this note : `a christmas story' is a standout among holiday movies , because it captures so much in a meager 90 minutes . \\nnot only is it funny , it's often genuinely hilarious . . . . not to mention warm , fluffy and touching in all the appropriate places . \\ni plan on making `a christmas story' a christmas tradition . \\nwhy don't you ? \\n\",\n",
+       " b'much ballyhoo has been made over this new version of \" lolita , \" made in a time when one would think that a faithful adaptation of the infamous novel could be made , over its use of pedophilia , and as such , it\\'s important to address it straight-forwardly , before any other ideals such as goodness and themes can be discussed , as this film has been in film limbo for a number of years , lying around in vaults san a distributor , and having critics waiting to either hail it a masterpiece or call it anticlimactic horseshit . \\nwhen seeing this film , after all the hoopla , keeping in mind that there are people , namely me , who are fans of the novel , who have been eagerly awaiting this flick since its creation . . . well , \\nyou just have to wonder why no one really picked it up for distribution . \\nwhat\\'s even worse is that seeing this \" lolita , \" especially the first time and if you\\'re familiar with anything \" lolita , \" is admittingly very anticlimactic . \\nthis is a real pity because when you really sit down to watch this film , ignoring all the crap that has preceeded it , it\\'s really quite a film , perhaps the best film by director adrian lyne ( although , really , look at its competition : \" flashdance , \" \" fatal attraction , \" and \" indecent proposal \" ) , at least besides \" jacob\\'s ladder . \" \\ni\\'ve seen this \" lolita \" twice : the first time , i wasn\\'t so blown away . \\nit seemed overly dramatic and surprisingly unaffecting . \\nthe second time , not really thinking about how i\\'ve waited for what seems like forever to see it and how i\\'m seeing it on a tv set on a premium cable channel and not a giant movie theatre , it really affected me emotionally . \\nthe story itself is a surprisingly heartbreaking one , which is why it\\'s such a good novel , and why this is such a good film . \\nthe story of a pedophile obsessed with a young 14-year old girl named dolores a . k . a . lolita is great because it\\'s not trash for the perverted but because it\\'s about human obsession with things that are out of one\\'s reach . \\nits protagonist , the comically-named humbert humbert , is not your average pedophile , but a seriously wounded human being who embodies how we are all destroyed by our sick obsessions and idosyncrasies . \\nthe character of lolita is almost a symbol of the forbidden apple in christian mythology , something that will destroy us but that we can\\'t live without . \\nthese ideas are all worked into this film nicely , but done in a way that is not heavy-handed at all , but instead lyrical and emotionally devastating . \\nthe focus of this film , and the reason for making it , it seems , was to really penetrate the emotional depths of the novel and bring them to life on the screen in beautifully dramatic images , and scenes which are blatantly over-stylized . \\nthe tone of the book is a comical one , but it\\'s also a tragic one , and humbert , telling the story from his perspective , blows every single thing out of perspective . \\nhumbert exists in a fantsy world of his obsessions and desires , and this reflects the way the entire film has been designed . \\nwe get a sense that perhaps it\\'s by doing this that humbert has really trapped himself into a fate that will ultimately leave him haggard and destroyed . \\nhe weeps uncontrollably and never lets himself get over his original 14-year-old love , and allows himself to embody her as lolita . \\nhe lets his feelings for her navigate all his decisions , and by the end , he has nothing but overly-dramatic feelings for her . \\nthe story recognizes the extreme of this , almost out of a test , seeing if the readers will really sympathize with someone who is socially deemed a pervert , and one almost wonders while reading the book if the author , vladimir nabokov , wrote the book as a means to bring into focus his own sick obsessions , and perhaps bring them to peace . \\nthe weirdest thing about this film is that by the end , when humbert has reached the finale of his obsessional journey , we can easily sympathize and even identify with him . \\nthe opening and final images of the film are the same , and who hasn\\'t done a similar action , that is wandering about without any sense of reality or anything else but a deep sadness in us ? \\nthis is the second time the novel has been adapted for the screen , the first time being filmed in - shock - 1962 , by stanley kubrick , who couldn\\'t possibly have brought the novel to the screen with as much faithfulness as lyne has been able to do , but did the next best thing : he economized for everything and came up with a droll black comedy about obsession in general . \\nin that film , he used the traps of society as benefits . \\nthe studio demanded the final scene , that of a heinous murder , come first in the film so to portray humbert first as a murderer and second as a pedophile . . . and \\nwhen you see it , it gives the film depth of a man trapped by obsession . \\nthe censors wouldn\\'t allow anymore than a couple glances and subtle dialogue to show the , um , relationship between humbert and lolita , so kubrick decided to play it as comedy , but still allow the tragedy to seep through . \\nlooking at these two versions , especially after reading the novel ( and we all know that when we\\'ve read a novel and see a film adaptation , we are bound to be angered by any size differences ) , it\\'s really impossible to compare them . \\nthey both go for different things , and one has a lot more room to be as sexually frank as the novel was . \\nand although it\\'s true that several scenes are similar , and are thus up for comparison , overall it\\'s unfair to say which one is better and which one is worse . \\ni have never been one for saying the level of greatness of a film adaptation of a novel is deemed by how faithful it is , and i won\\'t say that here . \\nhowever , this film is pretty amazing , mostly because hey , i loved the book , and this film nearly reminded me of it . \\nit doesn\\'t have nearly as much wit ( a couple comical scenes , and even a lot of good chuckles , but just not totally witty ) , but it does have the same emotional toll that the novel had . \\nsome of that is in the casting of the two leads . \\njeremy irons , with his deep , soft british voice and gentle look , is an amazing humbert . \\nhe\\'s droll in a very unique way , and , well , no one can look distraught the way he does . \\nhe brings a wonderful sympathy to the role that goes beyond pathos and really comes up as being easy to identify with the audience . \\nand when he looks at lolita with love , and she looks at him with lust , you know that he\\'s her prisoner for as long as he lives . \\nand dominique swain , who plays the title character , is rather incredible . \\nshe pulls off the tough role even better than sue lyon did in the original , wonderfully balancing the qualities of seduction , bratiness , and self-centeredness that marks the character . \\nit\\'s easy to see why she surrenders to humbert : she loves the attention , and knows that she can have her way with him at any time . \\nwhen he denies her something , she blackmails him effortlessly ( a scene involving a rocking chair and a little foot action is damn near classic ) , and when he stands up to her , she weeps and runs away , leaving humbert to follow her . \\nthere are two other minor characters in the film , one who\\'s a road block in the beginning , and the other who\\'s a reappearing threat to the relationship . \\nthe former is charlotte , lolita\\'s mother , played by melanie griffith . \\nin the book , charlotte is a monster of a woman : overbearing , constantly scolding her child , overly-religious , and ultimately selfish . \\nand she\\'s the one obstacle humbert has to overcome to obtain his goal , at least in the beginning . \\nas played by shelly winters in the original , she represented all these qualities ; as played by griffith here , she\\'s about half of them . \\nit\\'s annoying to watch a film and play a game where you try to see who could have done the role way better than the one on screen without mentioning the actor who played them first . \\nand even though griffith is not really bad , persay , she\\'s nothing more . \\nthe other is clare quilty , the writer who is also trying to seduce lolita , and succeeds , but at a price . \\nlangella takes a totally different direction than the one peter sellars took in the original . \\nquilty was a comic character in the original : a threat in the form of many forms , popping in states of rambling , german , proning , and eventually drunk . \\nlangella takes the other route , allowing all of the creepiness to be unearthed , and the result is a character who exists in shadows and low shots , and who meets a wonderfully ironic ending , the exact opposite of what we thought of him . \\nas you can see , most of these are not improvements or mistakes done on the part of lyne and his screenwriter , stephen schiff , but just parts of a whole new look at the novel , at least cinema-wise . \\nthis version is beautiful , and perpetually saddening . \\nthe camera movements are stylized , and each shot is breathtakingly rich . \\nthe acting is for the most part wonderful , and when we watch it , we really get a sense that for humbert , who is telling the story , the only two people on earth most of the time were humbert and lolita . \\nmore importantly , it takes us right up the brink of emotion , then jumps right over it . \\nby the end , with humbert sadly driving recklessly in his car , following what he says is the only part of his life he doesn\\'t regret , we feel that we all lose to something we can never have . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in \" gia \" , angelina jolie plays the titular character , the first so-called supermodel . \\nand right there you have the biggest hurdle this movie had to overcome ( in my eyes , anyway ) . \\ni just don\\'t see how the life of a model is worthy of a two hour film . \\ndespite this , i kept an open mind when i began watching the movie . \\nsadly , though , my fears were realized . \\nit\\'s just not possible to make an interesting , full-length film about a person who spends their days wearing different clothes . \\nthe movie follows the rise and fall of gia ( no last name ) , a tumultuous woman who doesn\\'t particularly enjoy the world of fashion . \\nshe becomes famous more quickly than she can handle , and finds herself hooked on drugs and on a woman she cannot have . \\nthe last hour of the film is just one scene after another of gia getting high , losing a job , and going into rehab . \\nthis formula is repeated several times , and i really got tired of it . \\nin general , i tend to dislike movies featuring heavy drug use . \\nno because it offends me or anything like that ; it just bores me . \\nquite frankly , i don\\'t see the appeal , so when a director shows me a point-of-view shot of a junkie , complete with tipsy camera angles and echoing voices , i am left somewhat unimpressed . \\nthe first hour of the film , though , was actually quite engaging . \\nwe see gia as she is discovered and moves to new york with her boyfriend . \\nthese early scenes were interesting . \\nwe\\'re shown the fashion world through a newcomers eyes , and it was a perspective i hadn\\'t seen before . \\nthe movie begins to go downhill , however , once gia becomes an established model . \\n>from that point , i lost all interest in the movie and was counting the minutes before it would end . \\nit all seemed so excessive . \\nfine , so gia had a drug problem , does this really need to dominate the film ? \\ncouldn\\'t the same effect have been had with a five or ten minute montage of scenes featuring gia experimenting with drugs ? \\nor perhaps this film is meant to be a warning to aspiring models not to get into the drug world . \\nquite possibly , although since i have no desire to become a model , this warning is lost on me . \\nas i stated at the beginning of this review , i simply don\\'t see how the life of a model is worthy of a feature-length motion picture . \\nwhat do they do that warrants a movie ? \\nstrut their stuff for thousands of dollars an hour ? \\ni suppose the same could be said about making movies about baseball players , for example , but at least somebody like lou gehrig led an interesting life . \\ngia did not . \\nand by the end of the film , all i knew about gia for sure was that she hated modelling , was bi-sexual , and was heavily into drugs . \\nnot exactly a meaningful contribution to society , as far as i\\'m concerned . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the army comedy genre has never turned out a truly good movie ( if you don\\'t count neil simon\\'s biloxi blues ) . \\nyear after year , more predictably cliched military movies come out -- most recently sgt . \\nbilko -- and none of them ever manage to be anything more than a rehash of the last . \\ni thought stripes would be different . \\nwith ivan reitman as director , bill murray as star and harold ramis as co-star and co-screenwriter , it seemed like it would be ghostbusters in the army . \\ninstead , it was a bunch of unfunny crap in the army . \\nmurray , about as funny and sophisticated here as he was in meatballs , plays a loser cab driver who sees the army as his only chance for success , and convinces his friend ramis to enlist with him . \\nso he does , and we get the obligatory drill sergeant from hell , head-shaving and marching/singing sequences , more mind-numbingly stale here than ever . \\nthe characters are even less original , ranging from underachieving slob john candy to incompetent captain john larroquette . \\nall the big name stars in stripes ( and even larroquette ) fall victim to the lame , rehashed material and are never really likeable , murray in particular . \\nhe only gets a few decent lines in , although those barely-funny one liners pale in comparison to the hilarious peter venkman character he played three years later in ghostbusters . \\nhe was even better in caddyshack , for crying out loud . \\nas with a lot of the late 70\\'s / early 80\\'s comedies , stripes is a completely juvenile movie only a child would like but is so sex- obsessed no child should be able to watch it . \\ni\\'m sure it seems funny on paper to have candy pay over $400 to mud wrestle five beautiful women , but while watching it all that was coming out of my mouth was the admonition \" dear god ! \" \\nevery few seconds . \\nstripes isn\\'t the playful kind of sex comedy , either . \\nmost of the time it seems downright misogynistic , as when larroquette uses his telescope to peer into the women\\'s showers or murray lifts a female m . p . \\nonto the stove and , with an i-know-what-you-like look on his face , says he\\'s going to give her the \" aunt jemima treatment , \" which means shoving a spatula under her butt repeatedly . \\nyou don\\'t want to stick around as the scene progresses and he uses an ice cream scoop on her genital region . \\n \" i\\'m not enjoying this , \" the woman protests . \\nmy sentiments exactly . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a movie like mortal kombat : annihilation works ( and must be reviewed on ) multiple levels . \\nfirst , there\\'s the rampant usage of randian subtext that pervades the entire movie . \\nbut occasionaly , almost as if making an ironic , self-depreciating remark , the movie tosses in clearly marxist imagery . \\nno no . . . \\njust kidding . \\nhad you going there for a moment , didn\\'t i ? \\nin all seriousness however , and to be fair to the movie , it * is * necessary to provide two viewpoints : that of a movie watcher unfamiliar ( or only marginally familiar ) with the whole mortal kombat phenomenon , and that of a fan of the first movie and/or a fan of the games . \\nthe first movie ( mortal kombat ( 1995 ) ) concerned itself with a martial arts tournament that would decide the fate of earth ( and it\\'s 5 billion inhabitants ) . \\nthe mortals won , and in theory this should have prevented the emperor shao khan from taking over the earth . \\nunfortunately , shao khan was a poor loser , and the very final scene in mortal kombat showed him arriving anyway , ready to take over the planet , as our heroes assumed a fighting stance . \\nthe first movie was extraordinarily entertaining for those ( like myself ) who are fans of the game . \\ni\\'d even go so far as to say that many folks who didn\\'t know about the game probably enjoyed the movie . \\nthe writers and directors knew the limitations of both their cast and of the basic story itself , and they didn\\'t try to overachieve . \\nthere were a lot of really cool fight scenes ( with really cool accompanying music ) , intersperesed with some distracting ( but ultimately non-intrusive ) bits of fluff passing itself off as a plot . \\nand , as we know , the movie was a smashing success at the box office . \\nmortal kombat : annihilation picks up precisely where that movie left off , with some introductory exposition to clue in those who may not have seen the first movie . \\nshao khan has decided that he\\'s going to take over the earth * anyways * , and to hell with some silly rule about mortals winning the tournament . \\nthereafter follows approximately 85 minutes of film that alternates between being confused , being trite , being silly , and being just plain stupid . \\none gets the general impression that the producers of the movie thought \" hey , that last movie was such a success that we can get more money and make a * real * movie now . \" \\ntoo bad they didn\\'t simply stick with the formula from the first movie . \\ni could write volumes about the things that are wrong with this picture , but here are the high points : \\n * the acting is truly bad . \\nsandra hess ( playing the sonya blade character ) is particularly execrable , especially in scenes where she tries to convince us that she loved johnny cage ( a character from the first movie who gets greased at the beginning of this movie ) . \\n * in one of the worst pieces of mis-casting i think i\\'ve * ever * seen , james remar plays raiden , the god of thunder . \\nin the first movie , christopher lambert played raiden and played his character as though he was in on the joke : a french actor playing a japanese thunder god being revered by chinese mystics . \\ni generally like it when actors are cast against type ( tim \" tiny \" lister , jr . being cast as the president of the u . s . in the fifth element , for example ) , and remar has always been one of my favorite \" utility \" actors but he\\'s so totally wrong for this part that he doesn\\'t even have the luxury of amused self-awareness . \\n * there are too many characters that are introduced as being potentially important , but then never seen again . \\n * there are a number of completely meaningless story sidetracks , including a muddled scene where liu kang ( robin shou ) seeks out nightwolf ( litefoot ) , has a mystical hallucination , and then wanders off with jade ( irina pantaeva ) . \\nfor these reasons ( and many others ) , i can only give the movie a 2 . . . \\n . . . unless you\\'re a huge fan of the games and/or the first movie . \\nin that case , the following critiques also apply : \\n * sandra hess , while being an even worse actress than bridgette wilson ( who played sonya blade in the first movie ) , is much more convincing as a fighter . \\nwilson looked like she was simply mimicing some movements taught to her by the fight choreographer . \\nhess looks like she actually knows some martial arts , and puts together a much more believable fight scene . \\n * in the fights , each of the characters does at least * one * thing they do in the game ( and often more ) . \\nsonya does her \" kiss of death , \" jax does his \" earthquake , \" liu kang does his \" animality , \" and so on . \\na big bonus for those of us who were looking for similar moves in the first movie and found them only rarely . \\n * there aren\\'t as many fight scenes in this movie as there were in the first , because the folks making the movie mistakenly try to hang a more robust plot in between . \\nsilly , silly folks . \\nand the lamest fight involved two of the women in what turns into a mud-wrestling match . \\nlame and so obviously sexist even i ( politically incorrect , for the most part ) noticed and remarked upon it . \\n * the special effects are generally better , except for the final fight scene between the emporer and liu kang in which both perform their \" animalities . \" \\nmotaro and sheeva are both more convincing and lifelike than goro was in the first movie . \\nfor folks like myself who loved the first movie and enjoy the games , i give this a 5 . \\nyou\\'ll probably like it , but not nearly as much as you liked the first one . \\n',\n",
+       " b'john von neumann , progenitor of the computer age and critically important mathematician on the manhattan project , pointed out long ago that there is a great way to explore the cosmos , even without recourse to faster-than light travel . \\nyou send out self-replicating robot ships which explore and radio back information . \\nit may take decades , centuries , or millennia , but it can be done with achievable technology , and doesn\\'t require a magical faster-than-light drive . \\nin the fifties , british astronomer fred hoyle improved on this plan by suggesting that it would be better to radio plans for a complex computer and a program for it ; any civilization capable of receiving the transmission could build the computer , which would then engage in a real-time dialog with the aliens , exchanging information and technologies , and hopefully arranging to send back what it had learned . \\nabout thirty-five years ago , the bbc contracted with astronomer/writer fred hoyle and writer frank elliot to create the scripts for a mini-series called a for andromeda . \\nafa concerned the reception of a hoyle transmission , the construction of a huge computer , the computer\\'s analysis of life on earth , and its creation of an apparently human intermediary to facilitate communication . \\nshe was played with ethereally inhuman perfection by the then-unknown julie christie . \\naudience response was so strong that the bbc contracted for a sequel , andromeda breakthrough , which played to equally high ratings . \\ndennis feldman , whose previous credits include the golden child , has never been noted for coherent , well-structured movie scripts ; they start out great , and then disintegrate into a morass of chase and action , mitigated only by the presence of the obligatory beautiful girl . \\nfeldman writes good scenes , but has no idea how to tell a story or write a movie , even with a previous version to use as a model . \\nnow , in species , we have a mundane retread of the andromeda plotline , derailed by a preoccupation with removing the clothes from the leading lady and further ruined by a mediocre attempt to emulate several recent horror films in terms of splatter , gore , and chases . \\nspecies features ben kingsley , who is completely wasted in a badly-written portrayal of a feebly amoral scientist . \\nforest whitaker and alfred molina are also served poorly by the script . \\nthe species story is relatively simple ; we have been radioing information about ourselves and our dna out into space since 1971 , and have been receiving answers for two years . \\n ( note that , in the 1970\\'s , we really didn\\'t know diddly about the human genome structure , and were hardly in a position to radio out a set of blueprints for human beings . \\neven today , all we can do is give information about dna and how it works , not a copy of human dna , because we don\\'t have it analyzed yet . ) \\nthe answers we get from the unknown alien source are plans for recreating a member of the alien race , and doctor xavier finch , played by ben kingsley , is placed in charge of the attempt . \\nthe script begins to go off the deep end at this point , when the result is a beautiful young girl who can shape-shift into any of several ugly alien life forms . \\nthe first half of the film has something to offer , as \" sil , \" the alien girl , struggles with her multi-form existence , changing from beauty to lizard to giant cockroach and back again , all while trying to understand her own place in the cosmos . \\nshe seems oddly knowledgeable about human society , with glaring gaps where her social skills should be . \\nher instincts are to mate and procreate , and some of the best scenes deal with her attempts in this area . \\nescaping from her birth laboratory in utah , sil is pursued by a team of drafted civilians with orders to find her and kill her . \\nshe goes on an eating binge , spins herself a cocoon , and emerges as an adult , played by natasha henstridge , who goes a long way toward re-creating the sheerly inhuman beauty julie christie achieved in 1960 . \\nthe pursuers : michael madsen is an assassin/exterminator ; forrest whitaker is a convenient empath/psychic , just as though the u . s . government actually had such people on call . \\nneither is able to do much with the writing and directing provided . \\nwhitaker\\'s role seems to be aimed at making whitaker a male copy of star trek : the next generation\\'s \" counselor cleavage . \" \\nthe other members of the strike team are played by marg helgenberger and alfred molina . \\nkingsley and whitaker are both consummate professionals , too good to not work to the best of their abilities ; but the performances donaldson elicited from the rest of the cast are disappointing and bland , and it is apparent that the direction was a bit weak . \\nh . r . giger\\'s design for the main form of the alien creature is actually a bit boring when we finally get to see it , although previous digital effects were done quite smoothly . \\nthe main fault of species is lack of originality ; it starts out with a wonderful , albeit borrowed , premise , and then doesn\\'t live up to it . \\nall we get are chase scenes and a few nice sex scenes , with a few monsters tossed in . \\nthere is no buildup of tension and suspense , no climax worthy of the name ; species is just a sequence of \" scare \" scenes stuck together . \\nthe movie is carried by its chase and sex scenes , but not rescued by them . \\non the other hand , as an exercise in sci-fi action/ adventure , it certainly beats the ichor out of judge dredd . \\nspecies earns an extra rating point or two for having ben kingsley and natasha henstridge on board , but by and large , it\\'s fun only for those of us who really like this sort of thing . \\nmy personal rating is three stars , but knock one or two of those off if you don\\'t enjoy pretty unclothed ladies and bloodthirsty alien monsters . \\nmpaa classification : r ( violence , gore , nudity , sex , language ) \\nstars : ben kingsley , michael madsen , forest whitaker , alfred molina , marg helgenberger , natasha henstridge directed by : roger donaldson produced by : frank mancuso jr . and dennis feldman typed by : dennis feldman cinematography : andrzej bartkowiak music : christopher young run time : 108 minutes aspect ratio : 2 . 35 : 1 from mgm , opens 7 july 1995 \\n',\n",
+       " b'with the success of the surprise hit alien , directed by ridley scott , a sequel was inevitable . \\nin fact , after watching the first film , a sequel was wanted , particularly by this reviewer . \\nhanding over the director\\'s chair to recent box office gem james cameron , who had only made two films previous to this one ( pirahna ii , a surprisingly dull film , and terminator , making cameron a household name ) , the alien series got a face-lift of immense proportions . \\ninstead of being a suspense/science fiction film , cameron alters the series and changing it into an action picture . \\nwhat results is one of the most terrifying films ever created . \\na film like aliens comes along only once in a while , and when it does , audiences are usually unprepared for it . \\ni never saw this movie in theaters , but i wish i could have . \\nthe terror and fright must have been unimaginable , most likely with audiences members literally shrieking in fear . \\naliens is an action film unlike any i have ever seen . \\nwith a science fiction plot , cameron gives aliens added testosterone , pumping up the action and fire power from the original film . \\nin fact , aliens is one of those few sequels which tops the original . \\nperhaps what makes the alien series so impressive is the hero--or heroine , as the case may be . \\nnever have we had a more sympathetic hero in an action film , and never have i seen such an impressive acting job done by the main character . \\nsigourney weaver is possibly the only actress who could play this character and make her realistic enough for us to care about . \\nplacing a woman in these situations would sometimes seem unusual , but because of weaver\\'s presence , a woman is the only suitable hero . \\naliens begins 57 years after alien ended . \\nlieutenant ellen ripley ( weaver ) is discovered in hypersleep on the nostromo and is awakened . \\nshe explains how she is the only survivor of her past encounter with the aliens , but \" the company \" is doubtful . \\nthey explain that a colony of families is flourishing on the same planet from which she just left . \\ndespite stern warnings from ripley , the company remains rigid and won\\'t call the families back . \\nhowever , when the company loses contact with the colony , ripley\\'s story seems much more feasible . \\none of the company\\'s directors , carter burke ( paul reiser ) , wants to gather a team to travel to the planet . \\nthis team includes a buff private vasquez ( jenette goldstein ) , a questionable corporal hicks ( michael biehn ) , and a loyal android bishop ( lance henriksen ) . \\nburke tags along with ripley as they fly to the planet in order to locate the members of the colony . \\narriving on the planet , the team finds most of the human life extinguished in a cocoon-type environment . \\nthe only survivor is 12 year old rebecca \" newt \" jorden ( carrie henn ) . \\nripley finds this a chance to be the mother she never had the opportunity to become , and she becomes newt\\'s surrogate mother . \\nripley and newt are the only ones who knows what has happened , and soon , all hell breaks loose . \\naliens not only multiplies the thrills and suspense from scott\\'s version , it also multiplies the number of aliens in general . \\nalien focused on one alien in particular which systematically killed each crew member , except ripley , who managed to jettison the alien out of the nostromo . \\naliens focuses on an entire race of these aliens , and as a result , the chills are incredibly heightened . \\nthen again , this is james cameron , the guy who has given us true lies and terminator 2 : judgment day . \\nhe is the best action director out there ( topping renny harlin , who directed cliffhanger ) , and only he could create something as terrifying as this film . \\nit seems that every alien film seems to have some memorable scene or scenes , and aliens has the motherload . \\nwith perhaps one of the most astonishing endings ever created for an action film , aliens climax never seems to hit until the viewer is nearly pushed to extreme exhaustion . \\ni can\\'t recall another film ever to sustain this level of intensity throughout , never dropping for a moment . \\njust when you think the movie is over , something else will occur , and it starts right back up again . \\nwith a seemingly endless conclusion , aliens ends with one of the greatest moments in film history . \\nthis scene is usually the one remembered most from the film , as lieutenant ripley steps into one of the lifting machines to fight the alien queen . \\nusing flawless special effects , the climax is exhausting , leaving any audience member drained from extreme anxiety . \\nof course , for a film of this genre to work properly , the technical aspects must be realistic enough for us to believe what we see . \\naliens is completely realistic , even a decade after its initial release . \\nthe special effects are wonderfully seamless , with a terrifying alien to go with them . \\none of the most overlooked aspects of this film is the music , composed by cameron-regular james horner . \\nhorner has created a terrific score , receiving an oscar nomination for his work . \\nnot only that , horner has also created one of the best scores for any action film , or science fiction film ever ( and that includes 2001 : a space odyssey , which was mainly a compilation of well-known composers ) . \\nin fact , the climax music is also some of the most recognized of film music . \\nthe production design is incredible , which also happened to snag a nomination from the academy . \\ndark corridors lit by red lights are very impressive , but more impressive is the amount of terror which arises from well-lit locations . \\nnormally a film will be very dark in order to scare a viewer ; aliens uses lights to scare the viewer . \\nthen , of course , is the cinematography , which uses point of view shots , along with video feeds in order to build suspense . \\nsome of the scariest scenes involve the perspective of ripley . \\nsurprisingly , the acting is not only above average for this genre , but some of the best . \\nsigourney weaver received an oscar nomination for her portrayal of ripley , incorporating the right amount of sympathy into her hard-edged persona . \\nweaver soars above the rest in this film , but she is supposed to . \\ncarrie henn gives an above average performance for a child , developing a three-dimensional character from her quiet attitude . \\nlance henriksen is terrific as bishop , showing that androids don\\'t always have to be flat characters . \\njenette goldstein shows a fair amount of enthusiasm with her role , and steals several scenes of her own ( though her personality becomes slightly annoying when she isn\\'t fighting ) . \\nmichael biehn gives a very nice performance in the most obligatory role of the film . \\nhowever , biehn does a good job , making it seem original again . \\npaul reiser may seem like an odd choice to play the sleazy corporate director , but reiser manages to pull it off quite well ( however , i still see him as paul on tv\\'s \" mad about you \" ) . \\na very good cast ( which also includes bill paxton and william hope ) highlights this action film , making it stand out from others . \\naliens is rightfully rated r for violence , gore , language , and terror . \\naliens is sort of the redefining moment of the science fiction genre , as alien was more of a suspense/horror film . \\naliens pumps up the stakes , and cameron directs it with professional quality . \\ncameron certainly knows how to make a good action film , but here he proves how he can create some truly horrific moments on screen . \\ntechnically astonishing , aliens\\' only flaw is small characters who are only there to get killed . \\naside from this , you probably won\\'t experience anything like aliens for quite a while . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i'm a dedicated fan of writer kevin williamson's work . \\nhe always finds a clever way to spice up old material with witty dialogue and fresh ideas that stem from his inventive brain . \\nwith teaching mrs . tingle , his directorial debut , williamson has reached the end of his rope . \\nwhat used to be intelligent about his films is hopelessly stale here . \\nthe components are all there , including an encouraging premise that all high school students can relate to . \\nbut where are the thrills ? \\nthe laughs ? \\nboth are supposedly absent from this draggy exercise in elaborate revenge . \\nand what a shame that is . \\ni loved the scream films - heck , i even enjoyed the sci-fi goofiness of the faculty . \\nkevin williamson was the reason horror films were such a big draw at the box office . \\nteaching mrs . tingle , a black comedy that will leave a gaping void in his optimistic followers , may put an end to his reign . \\nor perhaps it will encourage him to spend more time perfecting a script than to worry about his directing duties . \\ni still have my faith , but i fear the name of kevin williamson may soon be a forgotten echo of the past . \\nthe title character of his pet project is a vicious , uncaring history teacher who is played deliciously over-the-top by british actress helen mirren . \\nmrs . tingle is basically every student's worst nightmare : a heartless human being bent on distributing poor marks to even the most hard-working of her pupils . \\nthe principal ( michael mckean ) is horrified of her , and she is unanimously despised among her fellow staff members . \\ni enjoyed the fact that everyone in the hallway quickly steers out of her way . \\nmirren's performance is one of the very few delights in this distressingly hollow black comedy that goes down like a flat soft drink . \\nin other words , it's a poor substitute for williamson's best work . \\nthe plot is a big problem here . \\nmaterial that could have been enjoyable is rendered totally ridiculous by poor handling on the part of the director . \\nthe likable katie holmes plays leigh ann , an over-achiever hoping to get a college scholarship . \\nbut typical mrs . tingle says her history project , which she worked on for countless hours , is laughable . \\nlater on while studying in the gymnasium , a classmate ( barry watson ) offers her a photo-copied duplicate of mrs . tingle's final exam . \\nleigh ann's best friend ( marisa coughlan ) encourages her to use it . \\nalas , the old hag herself finds the three scheming , and snatches the test , and prepares to talk to the principal in the morning . \\nin the morning . . . \\nhow convenient ! \\nthe three students head to mrs . tingle's house , attempting to set the facts straight and clear leigh ann's name . \\nthings get out of hand , and the teacher gets knocked unconscious in a tussle . \\nthe plan is to tie her to a bed and try to get some reasoning out of her . \\nof course , not everything goes entirely to plan . \\nbesides pointless sub-plots involving the football coach ( jeffrey tambor , horribly wasted ) , there is little by way of actual progress . \\nthere is no urgency to the situation ; little tension or laughs are involved . \\nthe humor is completely inconsistent . \\nafter many of the jokes , the theater was so silent i could have heard a fly sneeze . \\nyou continue to await some momentum in the story , something that could possibly revive the slow pace . \\na moment like that never arises . \\nwilliamson also does a handsome job of wasting some of the key supporting players , including the talented mckean and larry sanders' vet tambor . \\nand the beautiful vivica a . fox has one lifeless scene as a caring guidance counselor , and then williamson disposes of her character entirely . \\non the plus side , holmes and coughlan are admirable ( with the latter giving a frighteningly believable exorcism impression ) , and molly ringwald has an amusing cameo appearance as a substitute teacher . \\nwhile everything is pretty lifeless , teaching mrs . tingle remains watchable . \\nthere are a few promising ideas that pop up now and again , but anything remotely interesting is squandered by the inane script . \\nmirren is easily the best reason to keep watching . \\nshe is convincingly evil and fun to watch , but even her gifted delivery can't save individual scenes that flounder in boredom . \\nif there is one word for the movie surrounding her , it would be `disappointing' . \\nbasically , kevin williamson is his worst enemy here . \\nhis uneventful direction prevents any aspects of his screenplay to be appreciated ( not that his writing here is especially good ) . \\nwe will see , when rookie screenwriter ehren kruger writes the third installment in the scream franchise this christmas , whether williamson is for real . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"the happy bastard's quick movie review \\nholy man \\nmore like holy crap . \\nthe film stars eddie murphy as a mystical-ish figure named g on a strange journey of some sort when he comes across two network execs ( jeff goldblum and kelly preston ) with a flat tire on their hands . \\nsomehow he ends up in their car and on their channel , a line-up of infomercial programs featuring the likes of betty white , morgan fairchild , and a slew of other celebrities and nameless figures . \\nit's here that he seems to hit his stride , speaking of life instead and somehow boosting sales . \\nat this point in the movie , of course , morality comes into play , particularly on goldblum , who suddenly feels he can market the magical g into megabucks to get in good with his boss ( robert loggia ) . \\nit doesn't take long for the movie to unfold into sappy mush , with realizations taking place left and right and poor plot points . \\nonly a real zippy sequence involving frying morgan fairchild's face seems to have any interest in the movie . \\nmurphy lends nothing to his character and poor goldblum looks as if he'd rather be someplace else . \\nsome may argue that the movie has a message , but all that came across to me is that i could probably get more entertainment watching that informercial with the guy in the question mark coat . \\nat least he has something for us to laught at . . . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"from dusk till dawn ( director/editor : robert rodriguez ; screenwriters : quentin tarantino/robert kurtzman ( story ) ; cinematographer : guillermo navarro ; cast : quentin tarantino ( richie gecko ) , george clooney ( seth gecko ) , juliette lewis ( kate fuller ) , harvey keitel ( jacob fuller ) , ernest liu ( scott fuller ) , salma hayek ( santanico pandemonium ) , tom savini ( sex machine ) , fred williamson ( frost ) , cheech marin ( border guard/chet pussy/carlos ) , michael parks ( texas ranger ) , brenda hillhouse ( hostage gloria ) ; runtime : 108 ; dimension films ; 1996 ) \\nreviewed by dennis schwartz \\nit's a love it or hate it film . \\ni simply hated it . \\non its menu for fun , is a violent feast served up as charm and done in a tongue-and-cheek manner . \\nit's a serial killer/horror film farce of nonstop over-the-top action and sleaze , involving decapitations , vampires , biker fights , extended gun play , and an array of gore that has to be seen to be believed . \\na film that regales in its vulgarity and campiness for blood-and-gore , as it goes out of its way to gloss over the clich ? s of the conventional b-films . \\nit's geared only for the cult film crowd , and will make its mark there one way or the other . \\nthe plot involves two psychopath brothers , the older professional bank robber and killer seth gecko ( clooney ) and the perverted psychopath killer , richie ( tarantino ) , who kills for pleasure and is also a rapist . \\nthey escape jail and go on a killing spree in wichita and then flee to a liquor store in a small texas border town . \\nthey have just robbed a bank and killed a number of cops , they have also taken a middle-aged bank teller as a hostage . \\nin the liquor store they kill a texas ranger and the store clerk , and burn down the store . \\nstopping off in a flop-house motel , richie rapes and slaughters the hostage . \\nthese scenes are all done with an eye for comedy and parody , if that's possible . \\non the tv news , it says they have killed 16 so far and most are texas rangers . \\nthe brothers plan to get to mexico and meet carlos ( cheech ) , who will give them a place of sanctuary for thirty percent of their illegal take . \\nwith road blocks and car searches at the border , the brothers commandeer a motor home of a vacationing family who stopped at their motel so that the father could sleep in a real bed . \\nthere is the father , jacob fuller ( keitel ) , who just resigned as a minister because he lost faith ever since his wife died in a car accident ; his sexy 20-year-old , innocent daughter , kate ( lewis ) ; and , her shy brother scott ( liu ) . \\nit's not explained how he happens to be chinese . \\nthe story really becomes bizarre when they get across the border and get ready to meet carlos in a bar/whorehouse for truckers and bikers called the titty twister . \\nthe place is open from dawn to dusk , thus the film's title . \\nhere's where rodriguez has a chance to throw convention out the window and have some absurd fun , as the place turns out to be a vampire hangout . \\nit sells sex to its patrons , and has exotic stripper santanico pandemonium ( hayek ) do her alluring strip before turning into a vampire . \\nthe brothers and their hostages have to fight their way out of the place , as the vampires keep coming and the killings become the film's staple . \\nthis supposedly clever script did nothing but turn me off , though there were a few funny moments in a film that was dripping with special effects and spent most of its script in finding novel ways to showcase its killings . \\ni'll take a pass on this one , it's just not my style of a film . \\nthe characters were as empty as the story , and the film was an easy one to forget . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the most popular trend of the last couple of years has been the twist ending . \\nwatching one of these movies , everything seems to make sense until suddenly you are blown away by an unexpected surprise . \\nwhen the film ends , there is a moment of confusion , then recollection , then some more confusion , then possibly a second viewing for clarification . \\nthis is a description of an ideal twist that perfects everything it sets out to do and more . \\ngood surprises make movies fun to watch . \\nthen there are the bad twists . \\nyou either know what is going to happen ten minutes into the movie ( i\\'m talking about you reindeer games ) or you did not guess the ending because it is so outrageously stupid . \\nscrewed perfectly suits the latter description . \\nwhat starts out as a dumb guilty pleasure which should be fun to mock with a group of friends ends with a complex finale with way too much going on . \\nby the writers of man on the moon and the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , scott alexander and larry karaszewski leave milos forman behind and take a stab at film directing . \\nwhoops . \\nscrewed is an inane christmas carol gone berserk with few genuine laughs and many acting embarrassments . \\nnorm macdonald stars as willard filmore , a hard working chauffeur who just wants a little respect from his rich , old , insidious boss , miss crock ( elaine stritch ) . \\nwhen he overhears her plans to fire him on christmas day , willard is convinced by his best friend rusty ( dave chapelle ) to kidnap crock\\'s beloved dog and hold it for a ransom of one million dollars . \\ntoo excited to pay any attention , the hapless losers\\' plan goes awry when the dog escapes and returns home . \\nnow crock thinks willard has been kidnapped and the two friends , realizing they can make even more money , decide to stage the fake kidnapping . \\nof course , everything that could go wrong does . \\nthe first forty-five minutes of screwed is harmless entertainment - a guilty pleasure that should be enjoyably bad . \\nbut the convoluted script eventually builds into a disaster that is impossible to bear . \\nthe more idiotic these characters get , the more reckless the script becomes . \\nat one point , i wanted to get out of my seat and yell at these characters : \" no , you idiot ! \" \\ni\\'m not just talking about willard and rusty , who were extremely annoying , i\\'m also talking about the cops in this film . \\na monkey could have solved this case within an hour but these guys ( headed by murder one\\'s daniel benzali ) were just too clueless to forgive . \\nthey give real cops bad names . \\nalso poor danny devito apparently does not know how to turn down a role these days . \\nlooking almost identical to his penguin in batman : returns , every time he appeared on the screen i had to shake my head in disbelief . \\nhe just didn\\'t belong in this movie . \\nmacdonald and chapelle are veterans at these kinds of movies but devito made the film much worse than it already was , gross out humor is certainly not his forte . \\nif you\\'re a fan of norm macdonald\\'s other chaotic comedy , dirty work , you might actually love this near-sequel . \\notherwise , don\\'t get screwed out of your hard-earned money . \\n',\n",
+       " b'scream 2 has a titillating little scene that lays down the unwritten law of horror movie sequels quite well . \\nduring a film-class discussion , windsor college students articulate what these inevitable laws are , and why sequels never live up to the originals . \\na few rare exceptions are noted , but they left out one . \\n . \\n . \\nscream 2 ! \\n1996\\'s surprise horror blockbuster scream became an instant hit and developed an obsessive coterie of fans which included almost every teenager in america ! \\na sequel was unavoidable , but luckily the re-teaming of writer kevin williamson and director wes craven gives us nothing to fear in the way of lost entertainment . \\nin fact , at the risk of sounding sacrilegious to all the adorning fans of scream , i would say that scream 2 might even be the better film ! \\nsidney prescott ( neve campbell ) , the sinuous heroine who survived a series of murders in woodsboro , ca in the original scream , is now two years older and off to college , majoring in theater . \\nmeanwhile , tv journalist gale weathers ( courtney cox ) , who covered the murders in the first film , has since written a book about the dreadful events ; a book titled \" stab \" , which has been developed into a major motion picture . \\nas scream 2 opens , a crowd of overzealous teenagers are piling into a crowded movie theater for the premiere of \" stab \" , and before long , a young couple are butchered to death , unnoticed in the midst of hysteria . \\nthis marks the beginning of a new murder spree as an unknown \" copycat \" sets out to repeat what\\'s been done . \\n . \\n . \\nand finish what hasn\\'t ! \\nof course the killer is just as obsessed with movies as the killer in the first film , and yes , movies play a huge role in the bizarre psychological outlook the murderer holds as he/she goes about slaying an assortment of gorgeous twenty year olds , but this * is * a sequel , and without deviating from the original groundwork we are still given a fresh outlook on horror movies . \\nthis is in large part due to williamson\\'s deliciously written script , which will easily leave you satisfied . \\nas much as the film condemns the use of cliches , it is riddled with them , but it is done so effectively , and with skillful direction by craven , that you\\'re not bound to complain . \\ni will note , however , that the \" whodunit ? \" \\ndid wind up being the first person i suspected , but believe me , i kept changing my mind as i tried to stay one ahead of the movie . \\nall the actors outdo themselves here . \\nwe\\'re not talking oscar performances , but cambell , cox , david arquette as dewey riley , and jamie kennedy as randy all give surprisingly satisfying performances that go beyond their last outing . \\nthe characters remain true to their roots , and yet show a clear sign of development over the last two years . \\nwe can see how the events in the first film has affected them , but we don\\'t lose any of the luster that made them such a delight to watch in the first place . \\nthe nice thing about scream 2 is that it doesn\\'t seem off-kilter from it\\'s predecessor . \\nit\\'s a natural , smooth , and believable ( as far as horror films go ) transition from film to film . \\nwe skip two years , but there doesn\\'t seem to be any holes or shortcuts taken in connecting the two flicks . \\nit flows so well that you feel more like you\\'re reading chapter two of a book ( long chapters , eh ? ) \\nthan just revitalizing a cast of familiar faces . \\nwhile main characters are usually the only connection in sequels , scream 2\\'s entire plot structure correlates * completely * with the first , making for immediate fondness and absorption . \\nas i said before , scream 2 easily lives up to , if not surpassing , it\\'s precursor . \\nthe only reason scream will likely be hailed above scream 2 is because it was the first . \\nthis doesn\\'t mean that it overcasts the unique , whimsical humor or overall caliber of it\\'s sequel , it just means that scream will forever be known as the movie that mocked it\\'s own while maintaining it\\'s sought-after qualities . \\nif ever a film followed it\\'s original so well , it would be scream 2 , and it makes this a definite must-see for all those unbridled scream fans out there . \\nscream 2 fits snugly alongside scream , and will hopefully receive as many high remarks . \\nit would top off the series quite well , if it weren\\'t for the fact that two movies don\\'t really make a series . \\nit\\'s unlikely to assume that a scream 3 won\\'t appear in the next few years , but if they do decide to turn this into an undeniably acclaimed horror-trilogy , let\\'s hope they can keep up the fantastic work . \\nlike they say , don\\'t mess with perfection . \\n . \\n . \\nbut when a money-making smash-hit is almost guaranteed , who\\'s gonna listen ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'august and september are a wasteland when it comes to children\\'s films , and october is a dumping ground for munchkin movies the studios don\\'t want to see slaughtered against family-oriented thanksgiving films . \\nlast year , the benevolent studio gods gave us digimon , and this year , they bestow max keeble\\'s big move on delighted moviegoers across the country . \\nparents will be thrilled because they\\'ll finally have something to drag little austin and kayla to see that doesn\\'t smell nearly as much like ass as digimon did . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong - keeble , which is actually only a \" ment \" away from being a fetish film , isn\\'t that entertaining . \\nin fact , you\\'d be better off waiting to blow your disposable income when the real kiddie pics ( monsters , inc . , harry potter ) come out next month . \\nbut if dubya dubya iii tells you to go out and spend money to stimulate the economy , then you\\'d better do it ( because gassing up the minivan twice a week just isn\\'t going to cut it ) . \\nwe first see young max keeble ( alex d . linz , home alone 3 ) as a pint-sized superhero , delivering newspapers with the pinpoint accuracy of a david beckham cross , foiling the diabolical plans of the evil ice cream man ( jamie kennedy , jay and silent bob strike back ) and landing the neighborhood honey ( brooke anne smith ) , who , by the way , is the hottest chick in a disney film since emmanuelle chriqui played claire boner in snow day . \\nthe scenario is , of course , a dream . \\nmax is really a doofus and he wakes up on his first day of junior high school with a pessimistic attitude , no luck with the ladies and only two friends , both of whom can kindly be described as social outcasts ( and who were both in snow day ) - the perpetually robed robe ( josh peck ) and a clarinet-playing cutie named megan ( summer catch\\'s zena grey ) , who harbors secret feelings for max . \\nthings don\\'t get any better for max when he arrives at school . \\nhe has to contend with , among other things , a red-hot science teacher ( amber valletta , family man ) , a pair of polar-opposite bullies ( noel fisher and orlando brown ) , and an illiterate principal ( larry miller , the princess diaries ) who\\'s secretly diverting the school\\'s last dime into the football program . \\nwhen max\\'s father ( grownup nerd robert carradine ) unexpectedly announces the family is moving to a new town at the end of the week , max decides this is the perfect time to exact revenge on everyone who pisses him off . \\nwhoa - don\\'t worry , parents . \\nhe doesn\\'t do it klebold-harris style . \\nit\\'s all pretty tame stuff , but max ends up in hot water when dad nixes the move , leaving his son dangling in the wind like so many tampon strings . \\ndirector tim hill ( muppets from space ) adds a few nice touches , like max\\'s voiceover character introductions for the film\\'s main characters and a flashback scene that\\'s pretty funny , but there isn\\'t too much else happening here stylewise . . . unless \\nyou count some farting , a little puking , and a couple of bizarre cameos from tony hawk and lil\\' romeo . \\n1 : 30 - pg for some bullying and crude humor \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" pokemon 3 : the movie \" has a lot of bad things in it . \\nfirst of all it\\'s a plot heavy mess that has bad voice talents , badly written script and fantastic animation . \\nthe first film came out the end of 1999 and was a huge hit grossing almost $90 million domestically . \\na sequel soon followed and even made $45 million . \\nwarner has released their third movie based on the immensely popular video game and tv series and its a waste of time and celluloid . \\nthis time ash ketchum and his friends are on their way to the johto battles ( which my little brother told me the new spinoff is \" pokemon : the johto journeys \" so go figure ) anyway he comes in contact with a young girl who\\'s father has disappeared after trying to discover the unown . \\nthey are small pokemon with a powerful punch and have great psychic abilities . \\nthe unown bring together their psychic abilities and create entei a powerful legendary pokemon who barriers young molly\\'s house and creates every wish she wants . \\nnow it\\'s up to ash and his friends to stop this pokemon entei and show him to be a good pokemon rather than a bad one . \\ntoo bad really that this is a bad movie , surprisingly the first movie was entertaining and somewhat absorbing , the second was a piece of trash and this one is almost in between . \\nit has some good qualities ( animation , message in the end ) but the flaws seem to overpower the goods . \\ni\\'m still not sure what the big thing is about pokemon , they are ugly little animals who speak their own name for their language ( besides meowth , my personal favorite ) and you don\\'t understand what they are saying . \\nmy little brother just thought the movie was amazing , and i kept leaning over and asking him happened , or what pokemon that was . \\nhis response was a big lecture of how this is that , and that is this . . . he \\nsure did put me in my place . \\nwith the second and third movie being bad , i have a feeling pokemon 4 : the movie might be a total bust as well . \\n \" pokemon 3 : the movie \" has some redeeming qualities for the kids , and the pokemon fans will dig every minute of this film . \\nfor those parents and/or brothers and sisters who have to sit through this . . . bring a pillow . \\n',\n",
+       " b'lisa cholodenko\\'s \" high art , \" is an intelligent , quiet drama . \\nits strongest quality , aside from the top-notch central performances , is the perceptive way in which the film , also written by cholodenko , observes its characters . \\nthey are all flawed people , some more troubled than others , but they are not judged . \\njudging the characters in this picture would be a creative misstep on the filmmakers\\' parts , because no one , no matter how bad off they are , deserve to be negatively judged if they are involved in some serious problems that they cannot break free of . \\nsyd ( radha mitchell ) , a 24-year-old woman living with her longtime boyfriend james ( gabriel mann ) , has recently been awarded an ideal job at the high-profile photography magazine , \" frame . \" \\nshe very much enjoys where her career is headed , but is often not taken very seriously by her managers , who are always giving her petty jobs to do , when she knows she could be doing more important things . \\none night , while taking a bath , syd notices a leak coming from the apartment above hers , so when she goes up there to inform them of it , she meets lucy beliner ( ally sheedy ) , a thin , worn-out , and unhappy woman , who lives with her drug-addicted german girlfriend , greta ( patricia clarkson ) , a pathetic former actress who is usually so out-of-it that she often is in and out of conciousness . \\nsyd quickly strikes up a conversation with lucy , and discovers that she used to be an acclaimed photographer ten years before . \\nlucy claims she doesn\\'t want to get back into the profession , but syd manages to convince the \" frame \" editors to do a piece on her work . \\nall the while , syd begins to grow deep feelings for lucy , even though she has never previously been attracted to a woman , and lucy starts a battle with her personal demons . \\n \" high art , \" is such an effective motion picture because it is never suger-coated or idealized , but instead an honest and convincing portrait of a handful of unhappy people whose lives are going nowhere , while syd\\'s luck begins to rise . \\nthe film in no way is about lesbianism , but about love , which was a refreshing change of pace from the usual stereotypical portraits of homosexuality . \\nas lucy and syd grow closer and closer together , we really do believe that they are falling in love with each other , even if the relationship might be doomed . \\nwith this picture , ally sheedy\\'s star has risen once again , thanks to her touching , nearly flawless portrtayal of lucy , a woman who , in the course of a decade , has found her life consumed almost entirely by drugs , which has taken away her once-blossoming career . \\nher characted really is tragic , and one particular scene involving lucy and her mother , in which lucy admits to her that she has a drug problem , and her mother matter-of-factly responds by saying she can\\'t help her , is heartbreaking . \\nalthough not autobiographical , sheedy has had drug problems in her past , and i suspect she brought that knowledge of already being in lucy\\'s footsteps to her role . \\nalso very good is radha mitchell as syd , who previously starred in the slight 1997 australian comedy , \" love and other catastrophes , \" wh caught me by surprise with her performance . \\neasily being able to pass as christina ricci\\'s older sister , mitchell obtains the same natural charisma that has made ricci so popular recently . \\nas accurate as almost every detail is in , \" high art , \" i wish the relationship had been more tightly written involving syd and james , who , played by gabriel mann , is left with a throwaway role . \\nby the time he finds out about syd and lucy , he disappears from the film , and i wish there had been another scene where they confronted each other . \\nthis is a very minor fault , however , in a film that is full of riches . \\nalthough many of the characters are stuck in a hopeless pit of despair , syd and lucy are intelligent people who recognize their problems . \\nthe character of dominique ( anh duong ) , the \" frame \" editor who decides to give syd a chance with her ideas , was also written to be far more mature than expected . \\nand the one sex scene in the film was beautifully and originally done . \\nfor once , it did not invlove steaminess , or violent sexual activity , or gratuitous nudity , but focused on the actual characters , who love each other , and their insecurities involved in making the decision to actually have sex . \\n \" high art , \" which won the screenwriting award at the 1998 sundance film festival , marks the superior feature film debut of cholodenko , as well as sheedy\\'s strongest , and best , role to date . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"unfortunately it doesn't get much more formulaic than one tough cop . \\nthere's the renegade cop with the loser partner who has to many problems to explain . \\nthe renegade has to prove his good name and is trapped between the good guys , the bad guys and some woman who really has nothing to do with the story other than being there for the purpose of providing sex for the hero in the middle of the film . \\nbo dietl ( pronounced deedle , baldwin ) is one tough cop , a guy who is being investigated by hardass fbi agents due to his association with the ny mafia . \\non top of that problem , he has a drunk , gambling addicted partner ( penn ) who has a penchant for collecting parking tickets ( i guess cops aren't immune ? ) . \\nthen , throw into the mix the femme fatale ( gershon ) . \\nright there you have plenty of ammo for a decent cop drama . \\nbut right in the middle of the film , they throw in a completely un-related plot point . \\ndietl and his partner duke try to solve a case that they have been warned to stay away from . \\nthe film spends over half an hour tracking the case of a nun who was beaten and raped to near death . \\nonce the case is solved , the film shifts focus back to the mafia issue . \\nwhatever neat mesh the screenwriter wanted to create between the two stories failed miserably . \\naside from being asked to accept michael mcglone as a mafioso ( an insult if you ask me ) the performances were pretty good . \\nbaldwin , though he occasionally slips into an impression of his brother alec , does a fine job as one tough cop . \\npenn , who also slips into an impression of his brother sean , is even better as a loser tough guy cop . \\nwhat one tough cop lacks is originality . \\nthis film offers nothing new . \\nnothing that you can't get from any cop film . \\nit screams sidney lumet all over the place , perhaps because it was produced by marty and michael bregman , producers of lumet's dog day afternoon and serpico . \\nbut even the masterful sidney would not have been able to make one tough cop into a good film . \\ntoo much else is lacking . \\ni also saw the boom mic pop into the top of the frame twice early on in the picture , something that i almost never notice . \\nbut once i saw that , i had it in the back of my mind every time i saw a medium or long shot . \\nat times , i was hoping to see it . \\none tough cop isn't laughable , nor is it a terrible film , but it just isn't unique . \\nit is a classic example of a film that didn't need to be made . \\nbut one thing is for sure , it could really use a better title . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'this remake of \" la cage aux folles \" features a gay couple pretending to be straight in order to pull the wool over the eyes of their son\\'s future in-laws . \\nthe couple ( robin williams and nathan lane ) are about as archetypal , or as the less kind might put it ? stereotypical , gays possible . \\nwilliams owns a nightclub featuring drag queens where his partner performs as the featured star . \\nthey live above the club in what could not possibly be mistaken as a heterosexual abode . \\nwilliams is excellent as should be no surprise . \\ngene hackman as right-wing potential father-in-law is refreshing in one of his few comedic roles . \\nthe real star is lane . \\nhis attempted transformation from one of the most obviously gay men in the world to the straight-shooting uncle is hilarious . \\nperhaps it is a personal failing on my part , but the crying and screaming drag queen faux high drama just grates on my nerves and the first few minutes of this film are filled with it . \\nluckily ( for me at least ) , it doesn\\'t last long and the rest of the story focuses on the relationship between the men , their son and the deception . \\nthe question of stereotypes is a touchy one . \\nthese guys personify the homophobic gay image . \\nyou can almost hear the swishing . \\nif you think that they are supposed to be representative of every gay man in the world , you\\'ll be outraged . \\nbut if you can accept the view is that this is a movie about gay individuals , you\\'ll love it . \\nyour choice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'confucius once said , \" governing a nation is like cooking a small fish -- don\\'t overdo it . \" \\nhis maxim might be easily applied to writing a comedy script , for quantity over quality is one of the worst mistakes an amateur scribe can make . \\ngranted , mike judge , writer-director of the workplace satire office space isn\\'t exactly an amateur ( his most infamous work , the mtv series \" beavis and butt-head \" was pure gold for its network ) . \\nbut unfailingly , judge manages to make some rather inexcusable mistakes in office space by spreading an iffy plot over too much ground . \\nthe iffiness in judge\\'s plot -- a group of coworkers plan the downfall of their despicable boss -- is not in its appeal . \\nin fact , based on the popularity of scott adams\\' cartoon \" dilbert , \" which will soon have its own television series , a satirical view of the american workplace is a hot item in hollywood . \\nunfortunately the concept lends itself to skit-length sequences which would be more at home on the set of \" saturday night live \" rather than a full-length feature . \\nthe most convincing evidence of this are the trailers for office space , which feature almost all of the movie\\'s top content ; this leaves the actual picture appearing very deflated . \\nother evidence of office space\\'s failure to work are its lack of good jokes . \\nthe comedy is marginally funny at best , but not enough to get a packed house of theater-goers to laugh out loud . \\nthe material in the movie is on-key for an older demographic than judge is used to targeting , and this could partially explain his work here . \\nhowever , the movie is loaded with too many misfires -- including the token plot -- to allow for any excuse . \\nthe plot centers around three or four cubicled engineers , headed up by peter gibbons ( ron livingston ) , at a company named initech . \\nafter the movie elaborately establishes the miserable working conditions at initech , the movie introduces us to two consultants ( john c . mcginley and paul willson ) which are in charge of \" downsizing \" the company\\'s payroll . \\nwhen peter and his gang learns of this , as well as the reason behind it -- so their smooth talking boss bill lumbergh ( gary cole ) \\'s stock will go up -- they set about creating a plan to see his downfall . \\nthe circumstances that follow were obviously intended to be hilarious but they come out as anything but . \\na sympathetic cast and a muddled jennifer aniston-as-love-interest subplot are all that keep this one together , but it\\'s definitely missable in lieu of something more intelligent . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"a couple of criminals ( mario van peebles and loretta devine ) move into a rich family's house in hopes of conning them out of their jewels . \\nhowever , someone else steals the jewels before they are able to get to them . \\nwriter mario van peebles delivers a clever script with several unexpected plot twists , but director mario van peebles undermines his own high points with haphazard camera work , editing and pacing . \\nit felt as though the film should have been wrapping up at the hour mark , but alas there was still 35 more minutes to go . \\ndaniel baldwin ( i can't believe i'm about to type this ) gives the best performance in the film , outshining the other talented members of the cast . \\n[r] \\n\",\n",
+       " b'recently one night a young director named baz luhrmann couldn\\'t sleep . \\nhe tumbled out of bed and moved over to the television where he watched mtv for an hour . \\nthen he moved to his kitchen where he spent the same amount of time eating spoiled food . \\nthen he took down a volume of shakespeare\\'s work and read it cover to cover - never really paying attention to the words or plot . \\nand then , as a climax , he took out his video camera and pressed the \" on \" button . \\nthe result ? \\nwilliam shakespeare\\'s romeo + juliet - the worst film ever made and a complete failure . \\nthough , to be fair , an interesting complete failure . \\nthe idea at the film\\'s core is to make shakespeare appealing to the crowds . \\nthis is done by moving the camera around at a rapid rate so that we can\\'t see what is going on . \\nand filming the dialogue in voice over . \\nand shooting leonardo dicaprio like a calvin klein model . \\nand making the frame go still while flashing the character\\'s name at the bottom . \\nand filming long tedious action sequences in slow motion . \\ni mean , man , this is the 90s , dude . \\nhowever i\\'ve seen terrible films that are fun to watch . \\n ( examples are batman and robin and the island of doctor moreau . \\n ) that rule doesn\\'t apply here . \\nthis is a film that takes itself seriously . \\nthat is it\\'s major fault . \\nanother problem was pointed out by my friend , alex ( who was singing songs by leonard bernstein throughout . \\n ) ; the original play is a powerful piece of work because the author remained neutral and didn\\'t take sides . \\nhere it\\'s clear that we are supposed to side with romeo . \\n ( just look at the way they film him . \\n ) from the begining he\\'s our hero and this doesn\\'t work . \\nand dicaprio\\'s awful performance doesn\\'t help . \\nluhrmann never decides if he wants to entertain us or enlighten us . \\nthe result is a mess . \\nyou can feel him striving to be something he isn\\'t . \\nhe tries to pull of a mix in which drag queens are filmed from purposefully arty angles . \\nhe tries very hard . \\nkey word : tries . \\n \" oh look , he\\'s filming above water action from below . \\npretty . \\nwhat does it represent ? \" \\nwhy do people do ugly things ? \\ni scrambled away from my tv set feeling guilty as if i could never read the play again and keep a straight face . \\n',\n",
+       " b'jamaica is a hot vacation spot . \\nthe exchange rate encourages delusions of wealth ( approximately 30 jamaican dollars to one american ) , the sea is a brilliant blue , the air is warm but lacks humidity . \\nand as tourism is unfortunately jamaica\\'s biggest trade , foreigners enter and leave with a sense of relaxation . \\nlife and debt takes a brassy look at life inside this impoverished country . \\nwhile normal documentaries take the sally struthers approach of underlying scenes of starving children with tearful music , this film guides the viewer with a sarcastic voiceover that brings the troubles home without begging tears to the surface . \\nthe voiceover is written by acclaimed author jamaica kincaid . \\nit guides the audience along a tourist\\'s journey and the story of the native inhabitants . \\ninstead of telling you what you are already seeing on screen , it quips , \" you don\\'t see what happens after you flush the toilet . \" \\nthis engages a viewer to see and think about devastation instead of merely being told it is there . \\nthis strong , sparse storytelling approach runs throughout the film . \\nstephanie black is also intelligent in how she chooses to disclose the problems faced by the locals . \\nthis isn\\'t just another talking head show of people moaning about their horrible lot in life . \\npeople are interviewed from all sectors of occupation , from field to factory , as well as social theorists and the banking organizations that continue to invest in the country . \\nthe variety of discussion perpetuates a compelling internal dialogue with any viewer , whether they are seeing jamaica for the first time or not . \\nof course , as can be expected , the united states is slammed , owing to its involvement with the international monetary fund and the world bank . \\nofficials look moronic as they explain why their plans for jamaica\\'s economy will help the country back on its feet , but only if they are willing to follow the advice word for word . \\nthe next moment we see why and how each of these initiatives has failed , usually due to imports being cheaper than local labor or whether or not the soil is appropriate for the next agricultural trend the u . s . is forcing on the citizens . \\nadmittedly , some of the back and forth between the business-minded organizations and the failures they produce gets repetitive , but it also drives home the impact ignorance can have on both sides of an international argument . \\nbut jamaica isn\\'t against the united states , and this documentary does not accuse the u . s . of being the sole perpetrator of its grief . \\nif anything , it begs for a better understanding of the nature of jamaican society before stepping in to change it based on foreign regulations . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" gordy \" is not a movie , it is a 90-minute-long \" sesame street \" skit , and a very bad one at that . \\nthis movie is so stupid and dumb that it\\'s depressing to think that some hollywood executives actually gave this the green light , and even more surprising is the fact that this is a disney movie . \\ni\\'m sure children are the target audience of this movie , but only kids under the age of five may be able to tolerate it . \\nit is the story of a farm a piglet named gordy ( voiced by garms ) , whose family has been taken away to \" up north , \" which we know means death . \\nof course we can hear the animals talk to each other , and they actually went to the trouble of attempting to sync the voices with their mouths but it comes out terrible . \\nactually , it\\'s almost funny in a way . \\nthe only remotely interesting and likable character soon appears , a little girl named jinnie sue macallister ( young ) who sees gordy on the back of a truck and essentially steals him . \\njinnie is a country singer and the film goes off on a huge tangent to show her little concert and the people dancing to it . \\nwhat is the point of this ? \\nmaybe she is one of the producer\\'s relatives and they wanted to show her on camera to promote her or something . \\nwe then cut to a huge social gathering and drop in on another young kid named hank royce ( roescher ) who is sad because his divorced mother is dating . \\nhe leaves the party and meets jinnie sue , but he accidentally falls in a pool ( probably because he was sitting on the diving board with a $200 suit on - nah , didn\\'t see that one coming ! ) , \\nstarts to drown , and is miraculously saved as gordy pushes an inflatable float over to him and saves him . \\nif this had not been insanely stupid already the story quickly changes when jinnie gives gordy to hank who then ends up becoming the ceo of a food processing corporation when hank\\'s grandfather , the original ceo , dies and leaves his fortune to hank . . . \\nand gordy ! \\nof course there must be a villain , but even this villain ( donadio as sipes ) isn\\'t that evil . \\nhe never raises his voice or becomes angry , and of course he has the typical idiot goons kidnap gordy but this is just so beyond stupid and cartoony we are constantly two steps ahead of the story . \\nit\\'s hard to tell whether the overall corniness and cheesiness to the movie is intentional because it is a family film , or if the filmmaker\\'s are just this untalented and stupid . \\nat times \" gordy \" is tolerable to watch , thus earning it one star and not the dreaded \" z- . \" \\nbut it\\'s just so unbelievably boring , cliche , dumb , unfunny , corny , and just plain bad it may scare children , it certainly disturbed me . \\n ( 4/21/96 ) ( 1/29/97 ) ( 6/13/97 ) [see also : \" babe \" ] \\n',\n",
+       " b\"you've got mail is a timely romance for this impersonal , computer-driven decade . \\ntwo people who've never met confide in each other via e-mail without revealing their true identities . \\nnora ephron's contemporary update of the shop around the corner retains the basic plot : two people who despise each other unwittingly become enamored with each other through their anonymous correspondence . \\nephron , who co-wrote the film with her sister , delia , as well as directed it , knew what she was doing by reteaming tom hanks and meg ryan as the at-odds couple . \\nryan is kathleen kelly , owner of a small children's bookstore , while hanks is joe fox , who heads up a chain of mega bookstores ( think barnes & noble ) . \\ntheir charm and chemistry are the glue that binds this film , even through some of the script's rough spots . \\nfor the ephrons invested so much effort in their protagonists that they give short shrift to the talented supporting cast , including parker posey , greg kinnear , jean stapleton and steve zahn . \\nyet no one is really going to complain because the ephrons know their audience - and what the paying public wants is hanks and ryan . \\nand the two are kept busy . \\none , the other or both are in nearly every scene . \\nhanks has his decent guy routine down pat , yet each time he does it , it seems effortless , spontaneous and fresh . \\nryan smoothly moves between spunky and vulnerable , with a sexy touch of winsomeness added to the brew . \\ntheir scenes together sparkle , even though they lack the nostalgic romanticism of sleepless in seattle . \\nand the shadow of that earlier hit hangs over you've got mail like dried-up mistletoe . \\nthe sparks created by the earlier movie are , by necessity , not evident here . \\ntrue , these are two people seeking true love , but you've got mail is more comic and less poignant than its predecessor . \\nthe ephrons' script is witty and sharp . \\nhowever , as a director nora ephron is a bit uneven . \\nsome scenes drag , while others , especially when hanks and ryan are revealing their souls via e-mail , are crisp and tidy . \\nalso , the script gets sloppy toward the end with characters merely disappearing from the story . \\na nice , romantic soundtrack adds to this date-night special . \\noverall , you've got mail is a lush and cute outing , taking advantage of the star appeal of its two leads . \\nit's a nice holiday movie , one for holding hands and snuggling . \\ncommitted to lifelong learning through effective communication \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"you've got mail works alot better than it deserves to . \\nin order to make the film a success , all they had to do was cast two extremely popular and attractive stars , have them share the screen for about two hours and then collect the profits . \\nno real acting was involved and there is not an original or inventive bone in it's body ( it's basically a complete re-shoot of the shop around the corner , only adding a few modern twists ) . \\nessentially , it goes against and defies all concepts of good contemporary filmmaking . \\nit's overly sentimental and at times terribly mushy , not to mention very manipulative . \\nbut oh , how enjoyable that manipulation is . \\nbut there must be something other than the casting and manipulation that makes the movie work as well as it does , because i absolutely hated the previous ryan/hanks teaming , sleepless in seattle . \\nit couldn't have been the directing , because both films were helmed by the same woman . \\ni haven't quite yet figured out what i liked so much about you've got mail , but then again , is that really important ? \\nif you like something so much , why even question it ? \\nagain , the storyline is as cliched as they come . \\ntom hanks plays joe fox , the insanely likeable owner of a discount book chain and meg ryan plays kathleen kelley , the even more insanely likeable proprietor of a family-run children's book shop called , in a nice homage , the shop around the corner . \\nfox and kelley soon become bitter rivals because the new fox books store is opening up right across the block from the small business . \\nlittle do they know , they are already in love with each other over the internet , only neither party knows the other person's true identity . \\nthe rest of the story isn't important because all it does is serve as a mere backdrop for the two stars to share the screen . \\nsure , there are some mildly interesting subplots , but they all fail in comparison to the utter cuteness of the main relationship . \\nall of this , of course , leads up to the predictable climax . \\nbut as foreseeable as the ending is , it's so damn cute and well-done that i doubt any movie in the entire year contains a scene the evokes as much pure joy as this part does . \\nwhen ryan discovers the true identity of her online love , i was filled with such , for lack of a better word , happiness that for the first time all year , i actually left the theater smiling . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'one-sided \" doom and gloom \" documentary about the possible annihilation of the human race as foretold by the bible . \\norson welles narrates and appears in the film in which he , along with best-selling author hal lindsey , discusses various prophecies from the bible and relates them to recent ( well for 1976 anyway ) events . \\nthe film is dated badly , as many things that are supposed to happen in the \" future \" never do . \\nfor example , the planets of the solar system were supposed to line up in the year 1982 and cause chaos here on earth . \\nwe\\'re still here . \\nthe arms race between the soviets and america was supposed to kick-off the apocalypse . \\nwe\\'re still here . \\nsome of the more ludicrous moments come when it\\'s alluded to that people like jimmy carter and henry kissinger may actually be the antichrist ( ! ) . \\nalso , there\\'s ten minutes of stock footage at the end of the film meant to give us an idea of what the battle for armageddon might be like . \\nif it\\'s anything like it\\'s depicted as here then it\\'s going to be incredibly boring . \\nthe late great planet earth is available on dvd from vci home video . \\nit contains the film in standard form ( aspect ratio of 1 . 33 : 1 ) , although some moments of stock footage are letterboxed . \\nalso included are brief bios on orson welles and hal lindsey , as well as a trailer for another recent vci home video release , chariots of the gods . \\naudio is mono dolby digital , and the video is fair to good for a film like this . \\ni believe this is the first appearance of this film on any home video format so any condition at all is fine with me . \\ncertainly i never expected a remastered print . \\ncuriously , the menu screens on this dvd look nothing like the menu screens pictured on the back of the case . \\nbut they\\'re menu screens . . . \\nso who really cares ? \\n[pg] \\n',\n",
+       " b'sean connery stars as a harvard law professor who heads back into the courtroom , by way of the everglades , to defend a young , educated black man ( blair underwood ) . \\nthe guy is on death row for the murder of a white girl , and says that his confession was coerced from the region\\'s tough , black cop ( lawrence fishburne ) . \\nwatching connery and fishburne bump heads for two hours is amusing enough , but the plot\\'s a joke . \\nthere\\'s no logic at work here . \\ntone is also an issue--there is none . \\ndirector arne glimcher never establishes exactly what his film is trying to say . \\nis it a statement on human rights ? \\nis it a knock-off of silence of the lambs ? \\nglimcher never tells . \\ninstead , he forces his characters to jump through hoop after hoop , over drawbridge after drawbridge , hoping that the audience won\\'t notice what\\'s missing . \\njust awful . \\nthe madness of king george 107 min . \\n/ not rated ========================== \\nstill wondering who nigel hawthorne is ? \\nthen check out his oscar- nominated work in the madness of king george , still playing in both raleigh and chapel hill . \\nstage director nicholas hytner , in a remarkable screen debut , has adapted alan bennett\\'s 1991 tragic comedy to fine effect . \\nsumptuous-looking and only mildly stuffy , the film charts the madness that plagued king george iii ( hawthorne ) almost 30 years into his reign . \\na man of no importance 98 min . \\n/ rated \" r \" ====================== \\nin suri krishnamma\\'s a man of no importance , albert finney disappears so deeply into the role of a lovable dublin bus conductor that it\\'s a shame when the film gets so serious around him . \\nhis character is a conductor with a passion for oscar wilde . \\nhe reads to his riders , and once a year , with their help , he tries to stage one of the author\\'s plays . \\nthis year it\\'s \" salome . \" \\nfor about an hour , there\\'s a sweet magic behind finney and his troupe of working-class stiffs . \\nconflict arises , but it\\'s small stuff--an administrator from the bus company here , an outraged catholic pork butcher ( michael gambon ) there . \\nbut with finney at the wheel , so to speak , the film rolls smoothly over these plot points--just like the gorgeous leland double-decker bus in the story . \\nwhere things get serious is toward the end of the film , when the plot takes a turn that the bus never would , and the story heads down a very dark alley that marks the end of an enjoyable ride . \\nthe twist makes sense--and helps paint a complete picture of finney\\'s character--but the trip to get there betrays the light , airy atmosphere of what had come before . \\nit\\'s not a fatal misstep , mind you , and it doesn\\'t send the story soaring into the realms of incredulity . \\nit\\'s just a turn off . \\ndr . strangelove 93 min . \\n/ not rated =============== \\nmein fuhrer ! \\nthe most fun that * i * had last month was in durham , at the carolina , at a mid-week screening of stanley kubrick\\'s pitch-black comedy dr . \\nstrangelove ( or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb ) . \\nthe 1964 film stars peter sellers ( in three roles ) , george c . scott , sterling hayden , and slim pickens . \\ntheir antics brought the house down , which , to my surprise , was packed by an audience younger than the film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i rented this movie with very high hopes . \\nthis movie got praise as one of the best films of 1998 , and unfortunately , was not as good as i hoped , but was still very intriguing and thought provoking . \\nfirst of all , the casting for this film is great . \\ntobey maguire and reese witherspoon are the future of hollywood . \\nthey play their roles as the parker brother and sister perfectly . \\nwith a plot as unbelievable as this film , you need chemistry and honest acting from your cast . \\ntobey and reese ( bud and mary sue parker ) play their roles perfectly and display their characters with honesty and believability . \\nwilliam h . macy , an actor i have grown to love over the past year , turns in another great performance as the tv dad who is torn over his wife , a \" colored \" person and his friends , the \" non-colored \" ones . \\nhe also displays believability and must display a certain lack of chemistry with his wife . \\nhe does this perfectly and yet again shows why he should be one of the top actors in hollywood . \\njoan allen is equally great as betty parker , the ideal tv mom . \\nher character is the most ambitious . \\nshe is very na ? ve , and must display this well to make her character believable and she does just that . \\nher lack of chemistry with macy , which the role calls for , and her developed chemistry with jeff daniels is terrific , and if daniels would have been as stellar as the rest of the cast , then this film would even been even better . \\nas said before , jeff daniels gives a bad performance . \\nhis character displays the change going on throughout the town , yet he does not display it with enough conviction . \\nhis character is very confusing and he is not very believable . \\nthis film could have been elevated to a whole new level had daniels been able to give a better performance . \\nthe movie is very provocative . \\nit challenges the issues of racism that existed in the past and that still exist today . \\ni really was not expecting all of the elements they brought up , but they pulled them off with such flair that it was mind blowing . \\nthey demonstrate the racism issue without a hitch , but do it in a slow pace . \\nthe only major flaw in the film besides the performance by daniels is length . \\nsome films are not meant to be that long . \\npleasantville is one of those films . \\nthis film could have been so much better had they not moved so slowly to it . \\nfirst , they are amazed by the implementation of color . \\nthen they want to have it . \\nthen they do not want to . \\nthen the war ensues between the colored and non-colored . \\nthis is all strung out over two hours , which was way too long . \\nsome movies need a lot of time . \\nsaving private ryan was a little bit under three hours long and i thought it could have used more time . \\nthis film is only two hours long , and seems much longer . \\nlength is everything in films . \\nif you can nail down the perfect timing and pace , you can win half the battle . \\npleasantville can move at a good pace at times , but it is not consistent enough . \\noverall , pleasantville is a very pleasant and provocative departure from the predictability of most films these days . \\ni went in expecting a light-hearted film about change . \\ni left learning an important lesson about racism and the way things change . \\nluckily , pleasantville teaches this lesson in such a way to make it appeal to all audiences . \\nonly if it could have done in a shorter amount of time . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" spawn \" may be somewhat of an older film . \\nin fact it will probably be on video before anyone who hasn\\'t seen it will finally get to see it ( that is , if they see it ) . \\nbut i managed to catch it before it made it\\'s way out of theaters and into the world of rentals and , god forbid , video cassette purchasing . \\nit wasn\\'t the worst film of year by any means . \\nit isn\\'t even on the top 5 of the worst films of the year . \\nbut it did manage to top the bottom five of the bottom ten , which , in simpler terms , means it comes in at number 6 on my \" worst of 1997 \" list . \\nthe only reason it doesn\\'t come in lower is thanks to the special effects , which might actually have been some of the best of the year . \\nperformances , however , were either wooden or , for the most part , unforgivingly campy . \\nin fact , this film shows no signs of attempting to avoid campiness ! \\neven the editing seemed to boast a campy quality . \\ni don\\'t know how to explain that one ; it wasn\\'t exactly choppy , but something about it seemed . \\n . \\n . \\nwell , annoyingly unprofessional . \\njohn leguizamo almost makes it as clown , but not quite . \\nhe is the only character who provides the audience with any laughs that can honestly be called intentional . \\nbut the main problem i found with \" spawn \" , as with most films that wind up on my \" worst of \" lists , is that it was just plain boring . \\ni wouldn\\'t even say there was a climax to the film . \\nsure , it had the big battle scene at the end , but the only excitement felt was that the movie might be nearing a conclusion . \\nnever too soon , the movie did conclude in a very simple , disappointing way . \\neven though it\\'s one of the shorter movies i\\'ve seen this year , it\\'s one that i would definitely not want to subject myself to sitting thru again . \\nlike i said , the special effects are the only reason that this film should have any sense of pride , no matter how small . \\ni was impressed with the opening sequence , so long as i didn\\'t allow the melodramatic voice-over and lobotomizing editing to get to me . \\nand batman has nothing on the spectacular visuals spawn\\'s outfit created . \\nbut even the effects got tiresome during the final scenes , which looked quite a bit like a modern video game . \\nwho knows if \" spawn : the video game \" wasn\\'t part of the plan from the beginning ? \\nkeeping in mind that the film was based on a comic book makes it somewhat more approachable , and in a very small amount , makes up for the cheeziness of it all . \\nbut none of this movie\\'s saving graces can it make it something i\\'d recommend seeing , no matter what the price of admission . \\nthis movie is definitely not for young children , which shouldn\\'t really be a problem seeing as how only teenagers , if anyone , would likely find it appealing . \\nif you really want to catch a movie , there are many better ones out there , no matter what your tastes might be ! \\ntrust me ! \\n \" spawn \" has very little to offer even the most avid moviegoers ! \\n',\n",
+       " b\"one of the biggest cliches of any serial killer film is also one of the most believable . \\nyou know , the one where the detective looks at a wall of pictures and other police information , and suddenly spots the clue which reveals who the killer is . \\nsure , it's been used over and over , but for some reason , it is always fun to watch . \\nthis cliche pretty much describes the level kiss the girls works on : overused , but always fun . \\none of my personal rules about watching a film is not how original the film is , but how it goes around giving its story . \\nthis rule applies highly to kiss the girls . \\nthere is something psychologically stimulating in a well-crafted serial killer movie , and kiss the girls is certainly well made . \\nhowever , the whole film screams of unoriginality , and so it relies on the power of its actors and the technical detail to pull it through . \\nwell , not only are the actors capable of pulling it through , but they add so much to the film that nearly every flaw is covered up . \\nunfortunately , one of the most revealing and rather insulting choices by the filmmakers ( one that seven , a film a lot like this one , knew not to make ) was to put the name of the killer in the opening credits . \\nthat may give the actor credit for the role , but throughout the film , hidden in my mind , i was waiting for him to appear on screen , which spoiled the mystery . \\nhowever , credit must be given to the director for suspending this knowledge through most of the film . \\nplotwise , kiss the girls shows almost no originality . \\nwe are introduced to detective alex cross ( morgan freeman ) , a forensic psychologist , and immediately we are given the cliched scene establishing him as the hero . \\nhe gets a call about a woman who has shot her husband and is now threatening to kill herself . \\nobviously cross succeeds at getting the gun , but this scene is quickly forgotten during the next scene . \\nat his house , cross is told that his neice , naomi ( gina ravera ) , has been missing for four days . \\nthis provides the motivation for cross to find the killer , but we are never given a chance to establish the relationship between the two , and as a result , we can't sympathize with detective cross . \\nhowever , what makes kiss the girls slightly original is the introduction of one of the abductees . . . \\nbefore she is abducted . \\ndr . kate mctiernan ( ashley judd , the actress of the judd family ) is a smart , athletic woman , and because of these traits , becomes a target for casanova--what the serial killer likes to call himself . \\nbecause of these character-developing scenes , we care for mctiernan , making the abduction scene all that more suspenseful . \\nafter being abducted , mctiernan wakes up and finds herself in a cell somewhere in the woods . \\nremembering that the killer gave her certain rules , she decides to break one of them by calling out . \\nwhen casanova comes to punish her , she breaks out and escapes by jumping over a waterfall . \\nafter she is found , she begins to help cross find his neice . \\nfrom this moment on , kiss the girls takes on the form of every other serial killer film , as the two leads search for the rest of the victims held captive . \\nmany people will compare this film to 1995's seven , another killer film starring morgan freeman , but i presume that the similarities are intentional . \\nthe screenplay , by david klass , is adapted from the novel written by james patterson , and yet i don't quite see how this story could have worked in novel form . \\nwhat makes kiss the girls so good is the acting and the technical and visual impressiveness . \\nthe cinematography , by aaron schneider , is reminiscient of seven , and sometimes i felt that many of the shots were trying too hard to impress us . \\nsometimes a simple shot is the best one . \\nhowever , many of the shots are stunning , and unlike seven , most of them take place during the day , in sunlight . \\nthe scene when ashley judd is running through the forest is extremely well done , in more than one way . \\nthe camera work is terrific , but the editing makes this scene work so well . \\nthe chaotic and mtv-type cutting gives the audience a sense of confusion and unawareness , exactly what judd's character is experiencing . \\nhowever , the best aspect of kiss the girls is its actors . \\nmorgan freeman is one of today's most powerful and believable actors . \\ndetective cross is a very good character for him , although it is just a similar one to the character in seven . \\nbecause of freeman's powerful presence , he carries half the film by himself . \\nthe other half is carried by ashley judd , one of today's most promising dramatic actresses . \\nin fact , her performance is better than freeman's , if that is even possible . \\nher character is more original than freeman's , and she handles it wonderfully . \\nwe finally have a female character in a movie like this who does more than just scream . \\nthe supporting cast is highly underdeveloped , but the cast members do as much as they can with it . \\ncary elwes portrays a cop in north carolina , and unfortunately has scraps for a character . \\ntony goldwyn fairs slightly better , but we don't really get to know his character either . \\ngina ravera gives a good performance , but again she isn't in many of the scenes . \\nso as a result of all these small supporting parts , the weight of the film lies on the two leads , and they do a phenomenal job . \\nsome of the best acting of this genre , and some of the best acting of the year . \\ntwo other essential aspects of the film are quite good . \\ndirector gary fleder does a good job of controlling his actors , but the second half of the film loses believability , especially during the revelation of the killer . \\nhe also doesn't handle the suspenseful scenes as a better director would have , losing a lot of tension during many scenes . \\nhowever , to his credit , he does manage a terrific first half . \\npart of the blame falls on david klass . \\ni'm sure the book developed many of the lesser characters more , but klass focuses on the two main parts . \\nwhile this may give the two leads more screentime , many of the small characters are one-dimensional , and the killer , when revealed , is extremely implausible . \\nthanks to the smart dialogue adapted from the novel , kiss the girls always seems intelligent . \\nnone of the conversations are laughable , and all move the plot forward without seeming forced . \\none of the biggest problems i had with the movie was the motive of the killer . \\ni blame this mainly on the casting director , because the killer's motive is because of rejection from women ( or so i assume from the opening monologue ) , but the killer himself is very attractive ( one of my friends is a , shall we say , big admirer of the killer ) . \\nkiss the girls is rated r for terror , violence , language , and suggested sex . \\nwith all the implausibilities of this film , and with the mediocre second half , kiss the girls somehow manages to thoroughly entertain . \\nin fact , i had the urge to see it again just for the performances . \\nthe cinematography adds a lot of mood to the already creepy tone , and the script is usually smart . \\nthis is clearly one of those movies which rely on the acting to pull it through . \\nmorgan freeman is possibly today's most convincing actor , and ashley judd adds another notch on her acting belt . \\ni must also say that i loved the ending . \\nthe showdown between good and evil was quite tense , and the resolution of the scene makes almost anyone cheer . \\nperhaps it may not be possible , but most of the film isn't anyway . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'first , i am not a big fan of the x-files tv series . \\ni have nothing against it particularly , i just don\\'t happen to watch it . \\nhaving said that , i can now say that i liked the x-files pretty well . \\nfor us non-fans , there\\'s nothing big going for it , but there are a lot of little things . \\nthe movie opens on an ice cave in north texas in 35 , 000 b . c . \\ntwo proto-humans enter the cave and find a space alien cocooned inside . \\nthe alien breaks free and kills one man in a struggle while the other is seemingly captured by the bloody ooze from the alien . \\nthe movie jumps to the same cave today where a boy ( lucas black , from sling blade ) is captured by the same black ooze . \\nwe then cut to fbi agents scully and mulder ( gillian anderson and david duchovny ) , who have been pulled off of their previous assignment ( investigations into the paranormal ) and put onto the bomb squad detail . \\na caller has threatened a federal building in dallas , texas . \\non a hunch , mulder checks out the building across the street , and , wouldn\\'t you know it , he turns out to be right . \\nthe fbi finds the bomb in time to evacuate but not in time to defuse . \\nfive people die in the blast , and when mulder learns who the victims were , a light bulb goes on over his head . \\nthe two agents team up to investigate , against fbi orders , the links mulder has made . \\ntheir search leads them back to the north texas cave , all across the country , and even to antarctica as they get closer and closer to \" the truth . \" \\nthe plot , and \" the truth , \" are uninspired . \\ni got the feeling that what i learned was supposed to shock and amaze me . \\nit didn\\'t . \\nthe possible existence of aliens on earth has been explored so many times before in movies that one could hardly count them . \\nbut the point of the x-files is not what the truth is , but the extent to which it has been hidden . \\nit\\'s a slightly more interesting angle , but it still raises expectations about that \" truth \" too high . \\nif this were the whole film , i would say the movie was mediocre , perhaps even boring . \\nbut there are other qualities that make me like this movie well enough to recommend it . \\nthe pacing of the film was brisk enough to hold my interest . \\nbefore the audience can get tired of one location , the agents follow a hot tip to another location , and so on and so forth . \\nthe locations are not all computer-generated sets , either . \\nthere are some artificial settings , but the desert night of nevada , the edge of suburbia in texas , and the endless fields of snow in antarctica ( actually somewhere in north america . ) \\nmake this fantastic film feel more real . \\nward russell\\'s cinematography is very good . \\nthe overall look is dark and ominous , appropriate to the intended tone of the film\\'s plot . \\nrussell is able to make something as innocuous as a cornfield look foreboding . \\nwhen the movie is set in darkness , the picture quality is still rich and detailed . \\nfinally , and specifically , there is an incredible shot at night in which the camera crosses the tracks in front of a fast oncoming train . \\ni don\\'t know if the shot is faked in any way , but it looks dangerous , and it looks great . \\nthe movie\\'s soundtrack is also used to convey the dark tone of the film . ( skip \\nto the next paragraph if you have yet to see the movie - there is a spoiler in the following sentences . ) during the opening prehistoric sequence , a howling wind dogs the soundtrack , never giving the characters or the audience an escape from the lonely terrible sound . \\nin one of the movie\\'s most effective sequences , metallic doors suddenly slam open to release a cloud of buzzing bees . \\nthe visuals of the scene are good , but what makes it so surprising and frightening is the sound . \\nthere was no question as to who the movie\\'s stars would be . \\neven so , duchovny and anderson are an interesting pair of actors and a good combination . \\nboth are easy on the eyes and together , they have some good timing , banter , and energy . \\nthere is a hint of chemistry between them , but it never gets in the way of their professional relationship . \\nthey are like a couple of kids out exploring the empty lot at the end of the street . \\nthere might be some romantic interest , but for now they\\'re more interested in their environs than they are in each other . \\nno single element really makes this movie outstanding - not even the sense of paranoia that makes the tv show so popular . \\nbut enough things were done right that the x-files is one of the more interesting summer adventures to come along . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it has been three long years since quentin tarantino stunned the cinema world by claiming the cannes film festival\\'s palme d\\'or , a $100 million-plus box office gross , and an oscar nomination ? all for his sophomore outing , pulp fiction . \\nsince then , the talented film maker has been virtually invisible , surfacing briefly as a co-director of the wildly uneven four rooms and the screenwriter of the gory vampire-fest , from dusk till dawn . \\nin between , he has moonlighted as an \" actor \" with several decidedly unmemorable performances . \\nnow , with much fanfare and anticipation , tarantino has returned with his third directorial effort , jackie brown . \\nand , while this motion picture , adapted from elmore leonard\\'s novel , rum punch , offers solid entertainment , those expecting another bravura outing from tarantino will leave theaters disappointed . \\nfor the most part , jackie brown is a pretty ordinary crime movie . \\nthe story , which starts out slowly , develops into a twisty affair , with double-crosses and triple-crosses . \\nand the movie is littered with occasional tarantino trademarks : witty dialogue , unexpected gunfire , \\'70s pop tunes , and close-ups of womens\\' bare feet . \\nyet , for all of that , the production is something of a letdown . \\nthe sheer , in-your-face exuberance that marked reservoir dogs and especially pulp fiction is absent . \\nthe mostly-straightforward chronology of jackie brown doesn\\'t match up favorably to the non-linear style of tarantino\\'s previous efforts ? an approach that added tension and edginess to the narratives . \\nand there aren\\'t nearly as many deliciously offbeat conversations this time around . \\nthere\\'s a samuel l . jackson monologue about guns , a jackson/chris tucker argument regarding the merits of hiding in a car trunk , and a jackson/robert de niro exchange that recalls some of the jackson/travolta material from pulp fiction , but that\\'s about it . \\njackie brown\\'s lone \" innovation \" is its presentation of a crucial sequence from three different perspectives . \\nthis isn\\'t exactly an original technique ? it has been done numerous times before , most famously in akira kurosawa\\'s rashomon and most recently in edward zwick\\'s courage under fire . \\nhowever , while in those two movies ( and others ) , there was a legitimate plot reason for the multiple points-of- view , tarantino\\'s sole purpose for using it appears to be because it\\'s unconventional . \\nhad the scenes in question been shown from only one of the three vantages , nothing would have been lost . \\nas a result , this aspect of the film is little more than a curiosity . \\nfor the second picture in a row , tarantino is attempting to revive the career of a \\'70s icon . \\nthis time around , instead of john travolta , it\\'s blaxploitation queen pam grier ( foxy brown has become jackie brown ) . \\nin one of many nods to the most famous segment of grier\\'s career , tarantino uses a \\'70s song to accompany her first appearance during the opening credits . \\nthere are also several instances during jackie brown when the director offers a sly wink towards certain conventions of the blaxploitation genre ( although grier never does any butt-kicking ) . \\ngrier is jackie brown , a flight attendant who gets caught transporting drugs and money into the united states . \\nshe\\'s working for gun dealer ordell robbie ( samuel l . jackson ) , but she keeps her mouth shut under questioning , despite pressure from ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , a federal official . \\nno longer sure whether or not he can trust jackie , ordell arranges for a bail bondsman , max cherry ( robert forster , tv\\'s \" banyon \" ) to post the necessary $10 , 000 , then plans to shoot jackie if she proves disloyal . \\njackie passes ordell\\'s test , however , and soon the two of them are plotting a way to smuggle $500 , 000 of ordell\\'s money into the united states without tipping off the feds . \\nsoon , just about everyone is after that money , including jackie , max , ray , ordell\\'s perpetually oversexed and drugged-out girlfriend , melanie ( bridget fonda ) , and his right-hand man , louis ( robert de niro ) . \\nunsurprisingly , the most memorable performance is turned in by samuel l . jackson , but ordell isn\\'t nearly as invigorating or compelling a character as jules from pulp fiction . \\nin addition to looking fantastic , pam grier is also quite good , although hers is not an oscar- caliber performance ( although she might get a nomination ) . \\nrobert forster and michael keaton are solid in their tough-guys-who-rarely- smile roles . \\nbridget fonda is around for three discernible reasons : to look sexy in a bikini , to provide a little twisted comedy , and to satisfy tarantino\\'s foot fetish . \\nrobert de niro is criminally underused in a part that could have been played equally well by any grungy- looking , middle-aged actor . \\nthe film , which clocks in at several minutes over the two-and-a- half hour mark , is probably too long for the material , but the plot is convoluted enough to keep us guessing throughout ( although the payoff is a letdown ) . \\ntarantino keeps things moving along nicely , with a heavier dose of humor and less violence than in pulp fiction , but , on the whole , this movie seems more like the work of one of his wannabes than something from the director himself . \\nwhen it comes to recent caper films ( like the grifters and bound ) , jackie brown is a second-tier effort . \\nit\\'s an entertaining diversion , but not a masterpiece , and certainly not an oscar contender . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"let me first say that the conditions that i was forced to watch the matrix under were less than ideal . \\nso i have tried to be as fair as possible considering that my viewing experience was significantly less than ideal . \\ni watched the matrix in a theater that is in serious need of upgrades at the best of times . \\nunder no circumstances , should it have ever been allowed to show a big budget special effects laden film like the matrix . \\nthis theater , owned by the parent company of one of hollywood's biggest studios , hasn't even graduated into stereo sound yet . \\nthe mono sound that the audience was subjected to sounded as if it was coming out of a speaker that was many years past mandatory retirement age . \\nin other words , the sound sucked . \\nas someone used to digital sound in a movie theater , bad sound doesn't do anything to add to a film . \\ni'm not even going to go into the horrible splicing job that the projectionist did putting this film together . \\nthere , i've had my rant , now on with the regularly scheduled review . \\nwhich sadly won't include commentary on the film's sound which i'm assuming was spectacular , but i'm just guessing . \\nmy guess on the sound seems like a fairly solid one considering the visual quality of the matrix . \\nit is nothing short of stunning visually . \\nsadly , the rest of the film , while pretty good , doesn't quite measure up to the obvious effort that was expended on making this film look so darn good . \\nthe matrix has at it's core a good concept , although it strays into the confusing side more often than i would have liked . \\nkeanu reeves plays a computer hacker who is drawn into the frightening realization that reality is just a hoax . \\nit turns out that that many years ago the world was devastated by some sort of disaster . \\nnow machines run the planet and humans spend their lives in a sort of incubator , plugged into a computer network . \\nthe computers are generating a virtual reality world which is a representation of the earth before it was destroyed . \\nthe population of the planet never realizes that their entire life is a hoax and that they really spend their entire lives as comatose . \\nthat is except a small band who have discovered this horrible secret and have escaped their virtual prisons . \\nthey now spend their lives combating the computers in an effort to expose this lie . \\nreeve's character , neo , is recruited by this band of rebels led by morpheus ( laurence fishburne ) . \\nnewcomer carrie-anne moss and one of hollywood's most underrated actors , joe pantoliano , join fishburne in the band of freedom-fighters . \\nthe action sequences are nothing short of spectacular . \\nthis can be attributed as much to the amazing special effects as to many of the actor's extensive pre-production training in martial arts . \\nthis lends itself to some of the best martial arts sequences that you are ever likely to see in a film . \\nwhen you add this to some of the wild effects in the computer generated world , it all adds up to an eyeful . \\nas i already said , the visuals far outpace the rest of the film . \\nacting in the matrix is not bad , but it certainly isn't real good either . \\nkeanu reeves gives his usual fairly emotionless performances . \\nalthough to his credit , it is one of his better performances . \\nlaurence fishburne on the other hand often seemed to forget that he was in a sci-fi action film . \\nmore than a few times he delivered his lines as if he thought he was performing in some sort of shakespearean drama . \\njoe pantoliano was a little under used in this film but he made the most with what he had . \\ncarrie-anne moss turned out a surprisingly good performance for this her first feature film role . \\nit's nice to see that she was cast as much for her talent as for her breathtaking looks . \\nyou have to give all of the main actors a healthy dose of credit for the work that they obviously put into the physical training for their roles in this film . \\nit was clear that no small effort went into getting the moves down perfectly for the fighting sequences . \\ni also put much of the blame for the somewhat strained performances in the matrix on the dialogue , which was terrible at times . \\nin more than a few places it got way too existential for my liking and at other times it was just plain weird . \\nit almost seems as though the writers were having a difficult time trying to figure out how to explain the concept for the movie . \\nso they decided to make the dialogue as obtuse as possible so that no one could figure out what the heck they were talking about . \\nthereby covering up any leaps of faith that they may have had to make in the departments of logic and believability . \\nmy other major complaint with the matrix was with the very unsatisfying ending . \\nthe setup for it was hokey and frankly used in many a bad film before . \\nthe ending itself was just plain strange . \\nthe main reasons to recommend the matrix are the visual effects and computer animation which make this a real treat to watch . \\nwhile the rest of the film ( acting , dialogue and to a degree plot ) detract from the high production values , they don't detract enough to prevent me from recommending the matrix as a fun way to spend an evening . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'wild things is a way to steam up an otherwise dreary early spring day ? provided , of course , that you\\'re the victim of a frontal lobotomy . \\nthere is , in fact , no doubt about who this motion picture is aimed at : movie-goers in their late teens and early twenties -- the most lucrative target group . \\nthis is film noir for the mtv generation : fast-paced , slick , flashy , gleefully mindless , and hollow to the core . \\nwild things is easily one of the five dumbest movies to arrive in theaters during the first eleven weeks of 1998 . \\ni\\'ve seen more convincing drama ( with nearly as much bare flesh ) on that pinnacle of narrative quality , baywatch . \\nwild things wants to dupe viewers into thinking it\\'s a thriller with a real story . \\nwhat it is , however , is a series of increasingly- improbable and shockingly predictable plot twists . \\neverything in between those serpentine moments is filler -- a flash of a breast , a spatter of blood , and some of the most idiotic dialogue this side of a steven seagal movie . \\nthe film tries so hard to surprise its audience that the twists end up being easy to guess -- just take a stab at the most unlikely thing to happen , and that will probably be it . \\nusing this approach , i was right three times and wrong only once . \\nthat\\'s not a good average for a production that wants to keep viewers in the dark about what\\'s around the next corner . \\nthe ad campaign uses two things to sell this movie : the hot , young cast and the old standby , sex . \\nboth have an abundance of screen time , although i\\'ll admit that the film\\'s erotic content is somewhat less impressive than i expected . \\nnothing about wild things is exceptionally risqu ? . \\nthe soft-core sex sequences are generic , and don\\'t generate much heat . \\nthe lesbian kisses can\\'t hold a candle to those in bound . \\ntheresa russell and denise richards have only token topless appearances ( neve campbell , possessing an iron-clad \" no nudity \" clause in her contract , keeps her clothes more or less on ) . \\nthe film\\'s greatest curiosity is a full frontal shot of kevin bacon climbing out of the shower . \\nmaybe a few girls will skip seeing a fully-clothed leonardo dicaprio for the thirteenth time in titanic to catch a glimpse of what kyra sedgwick ( mrs . \\nkevin bacon ) is familiar with . \\nthe director of wild things is john mcnaughton , whose last effort was the finely-tuned psychological thriller , normal life . \\nthat movie featured copious sex , a pair of real characters , and a powerful script . \\nit\\'s difficult to believe that something this shallow could come from the same film maker . \\nbut i suppose we all need to put food on the table . \\nmcnaughton appears to have completely lost his way here , in what is obviously a stab at mainstream success ( his previous wide-release picture , mad dog and glory , was a box-office disappointment ) . \\nquick cuts and pretty sunrises can\\'t even begin to cover up this movie\\'s flaws . \\nthe main character ( and i use that term lightly , since no one in wild things shows more than an occasional flash of personality ) is sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) , a guidance counselor at florida\\'s blue bay high school . \\na student , the deliciously curvaceous kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , has a crush on him . \\none afternoon , she comes to his house to wash his car , and , when she leaves , her clothing is torn . \\nafter confessing to her mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped , she goes to the police station , where she tells her story to detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) . \\nthey are skeptical about here claims until another girl , suzie toller ( neve campbell ) , comes forward with a similar tale . \\nmeanwhile , sam , convinced that he\\'s being set up , goes to a shyster lawyer ( bill murray ) for help . \\nthe acting in wild things isn\\'t very good , but none of the principals have much to work with . \\nthis is definitely not a character- based motion picture . \\nnot only does the ludicrous screenplay ignore the possibility that someone in the audience may have a triple-digit i . q . , but it doesn\\'t bother to give any of the on-screen individuals even a hint of depth . \\nthe men and women populating the picture are there to look nice , but nothing more . \\nmatt dillon is given plenty of opportunities to flex his biceps . \\nneve campbell gets to model the slutty look . \\ndenise richards strikes a fetching pose in a see-through , one-piece bathing suit . \\nand nothing in the film gets a rise out of kevin bacon . \\nthe only one who\\'s even remotely interesting is bill murray , and he seems to think he\\'s in comedy , not a thriller ( maybe he\\'s got the right idea ) . \\ncolumbia pictures has specifically requested that critics not reveal the film\\'s ending , which prompts the question : which ending do they want kept secret ? \\nwild things has no less than three ( one occurs during the end credits , so stay seated ) , all of which are jaw-droppingly absurd -- a feat that joe eszterhas ( the writer of basic instinct and showgirls ) would be impressed by . \\nthanks to jeffrey kimball\\'s polished , kinetic cinematography , wild things always looks great , and george s . clinton\\'s score keeps it pulsing and throbbing . \\nbut , no matter how shiny the superficial sheen is , this is still trash , and , like all garbage , it stinks . \\n',\n",
+       " b'seen september 13 , 1998 at 4 p . m at rotterdam square mall cinema 6 , theater #2 , with chris wessell for free using my sony/loews critic\\'s pass . \\n[theater rating : * * 1/2 : good seats , average sound , picture unstable] \\n \" rounders \" is exactly the kind of movie parents don\\'t want their kids to see . \\nit\\'s not that it\\'s a drunken orgy of sex and violence , but because it\\'s a film that flat-out says you can make a career out of gambling . \\nand to take make things \" worse \" it proves this through its original , fascinating story . \\nthere have been countless crime films both past and present that evoke the \" noir \" mood , that is , the dark , shady atmosphere where the vices of the world become more fascinating on screen than they would in real life . \\nthis film starts off in the tradiational noir style , introducing us to the underworld of modern gambling where the stakes are high and so is the price for losing . \\nmatt damon stars as mike mcdermott , a 20-something law student in present-day new york city who tells us how the game of poker is really played . \\ndamon narrates throughout the film , but the entire opening scene is voiced-over so perfectly to completely and totally define the setting . \\nmike\\'s about to go up against teddy kgb ( malkovich ) , a russian gangster who looks like a serial killer . \\nbut then again , he practically is one and the film does everything to convey that sense - the look in his eyes , his slow movements , his intricate mannerisms - all combined with the classic noir cinematography of isolated brightness within the darkness of the underworld ( literally ) . \\ndamon in the flesh might seem a little out of place with his expensive clothes and perfectly-groomed features , but his narration is what brings it all together . \\nhe never sounds like he\\'s reading from a script , nor that he\\'s trying to embellish anything , it just comes natural to him . \\nthe screenwriters use the right words and phrases to describe the mood , from the smell of the air , to the logic involved in reading the other guys\\' faces and cards , and all without sounding remotely trite . \\nimmediately we get the sense that poker isn\\'t for gamblers , but for near- geniuses with nerves of steel . \\nthe game is a quiet war , with strategies just as complex and the same sense of honor among the soldiers . \\nthe gangsters mike plays against are the same ones that might kill someone for scratching their car , but when it comes to the game of poker , all respect is due to the winner because he is truly the better man . \\nthe film does an excellent job in establishing its atmosphere during the first act . \\nit concentrates so much in this aspect that the background and the progression of the story stumble a bit . \\nwe learn only a little about mike , both past and present . \\npresently we know he has a girlfriend named jo ( gretchen mol ) who he constantly argues with over his gambling . \\nthey go through a few break-up/make-up cycles until mike\\'s childhood pal and fellow rounder \" worm \" ( norton ) is released from prison . \\nit\\'s not at all surprising worm owes thousand of dollars to the mob , but what is surprising is how the film is able to take such a predictable element and execute it the way it does . \\ntechnically , the plot isn\\'t unlike many children\\'s sitcoms in which the \" good \" kid\\'s \" bad \" friend gets the good kid in trouble and yet the good kid remains friends with the bad kid . \\nwhat this film does is use a different medium to tell that story . \\nmike and worm have been in over their heads their entire lives , but both share a passion for out-thinking the other player who is trying to do the same to them . \\nwhere as worm prefers to go the sleazy route of cheating ( hence his jail time ) , mike always takes the cards he\\'s dealt and works with them . \\nsometimes they pay off ( i . e . \\nhis ability to pay his way through law school on his gambling money ) , but other times they don\\'t ( i . e . \\nthe fact he takes himself out of the game and works a steady job after dropping $30 , 000 on a single hand ) . \\nonce things start happening the film is able to expand and develop its plot into an intricate web of detail and mood . \\nmike and worm bob and weave through all kinds of games at all kinds of places , from socialites\\' mansions , to taking the tourists at atlantic city , to outwitting the gangsters that control it all . \\neverything they come into contact with is a big poker game in that everything\\'s a battle against the cards destiny deals . \\none scene demonstrates this perfectly in which mike is told by a judge ( martin landou , in a perfectly cast and performed role ) that destiny is everything and yet nothing at the same time . \\nmatt\\'s good at gambling but he\\'s also got potential to be a great lawyer . \\nhe could go professional as either , but with one he could lose everything or win big , but with the other there\\'s stability but not much risk involved . \\ncan someone who\\'s gambled his entire life really cash in his chips and leave ? \\nif the film had been just a subtle lesson in poker-playing , then the ending is our test . \\neverything is told from mike\\'s perspective , but we\\'re finally able to recognize some things on our own . \\nthis makes the final , against-all- odds showdown seem like just that . \\nit works just like the game it revolves around - showing us some of the cards , but still evokes the element of the unknown , and the consequences thereof . \\nwhat separates \" rounders \" from most other films about games is the fact the challenge and the skills are more important than winning in the end . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the grandfather of italian horror the late mario bava has credits in nearly 100 films and tv movies produced in italy between 1939 and his death in the early 80's . \\nmore practiced as a cinematographer than a director , bava nonetheless sat in the director's chair for beyond the door ii , the project which turned out to be his last full-length feature film . \\nalongside the appalling zombie schlock of hacks like lucio fulci , beyond the door ii is simply a revelation . \\nin his day bava was considered by most to be no great filmmaker , yet here he fashioned one of the finest italian horror movies of the 1970's . \\n ( note that the film has no connection with the 1975 exorcist-rip off behind the door , but for some unexplained reason was given this related title for release in the usa and australia . ) \\nthis story focuses on dora , a women set upon by a malevolent spirit that channels itself through her young son marco . \\nthe film opens with dora , her son and second husband bruno returning to a house by the sea that was the scene of her first husband's suicide and her subsequent trauma 7 years earlier . \\nthey hope to put the past behind them , but as small accidents start to befall dora - usually while bruno is away on business - she starts to suspect that marco ( played with uncanny ability by 8 year old david colin jr . ) is somehow involved in the strange goings on . \\nto reveal any more of the story would be unfair . \\nsuffice to say that this artfully paced study of a woman suffering a nervous breakdown offers an intriguing plot , loads of atmosphere and solid acting , though the dialogue is somewhat weakened by the dubbing into english . \\nbava coaches a surprisingly good performance from the usually wooden daria nicolodi , wife of famed italian horror director dario argento . \\nher character is invested with sufficient depth to allow the audience real empathy with dora's troubled soul . \\nthe music by italian ensemble libra is also effective , mixing odd-sounding 70's rock with classic gothic piano sequences . \\nand there is at least one moment - brilliantly engineered by bava - that is guaranteed to lift you ten feet out of your chair . \\nyet for italian horror , the bloodletting here is surprisingly minimal . \\nlamberto bava and francesco barbieri's script is more concerned with deeper , psychological terrors , with themes of guilt and suffering , with the notion that what we sow will shall - somewhere , somehow - eventually reap . \\nscholars of the genre take note : beyond the door ii is stylish , chilling , and essential . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'this three hour movie opens up with a view of singer/guitar player/musician/composer frank zappa rehearsing with his fellow band members . \\nall the rest displays a compilation of footage , mostly from the concert at the palladium in new york city , halloween 1979 . \\nother footage shows backstage foolishness , and amazing clay animation by bruce bickford . \\nthe performance of \" titties and beer \" played in this movie is very entertaining , with drummer terry bozzio supplying the voice of the devil . \\nfrank\\'s guitar solos outdo any van halen or hendrix i\\'ve ever heard . \\nbruce bickford\\'s outlandish clay animation is that beyond belief with zooms , morphings , etc . and actually , it doesn\\'t even look like clay , it looks like meat . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) and the rest of the crew of the u . s . s . \\nenterprise are back for their third outing in the ninth film based on the 1960's series , star trek . \\ngone are kirk , spock and mccoy and in their wake in the very able and very talented cast from star trek : the next generation . \\nas usual , a crisis is brewing and it is up to the crew of the enterprise to make the galaxy safe again . \\nthis time out the united federation of planets and an alien race led by f . murray abraham are trying to move some colonists off a planet against the colonist's will . \\nit turns out that this planet is the fountain of youth and the federation and their alien buddies feel that is should be used for the good of everyone and not just a few hundred colonists . \\nof course picard feels that this sort of treachery is wrong , so he disobeys direct orders and vows to help protect the colonists . \\ninsurrection is a lighter movie than the last two star trek films . \\nthe film focuses on the lofty question of whether the rights of society as a whole outweighs the rights of a small group . \\nin this respect it gets back to the roots of star trek by disguising social commentary as science fiction . \\nit doesn't do a bad job , other than it tries to inject too much humor into the story line . \\nmany of the jokes are your typical inside star trek-fan-only jokes , while many of the others just fall flat . \\nthe other criticism that i had with the story was that it ignores common sense . \\nthere are only a few hundred people on this whole planet , why do they have to be moved ? \\nthe explanation is that the planet has to be bombarded with deadly radiation so that this fountain of youth effect will be strong enough to help heal f . murray abraham's aliens who number only a couple of dozen . \\nso the basic story line is bad enough in that we have a few hundred being booted out for a few billion , at least that's plausible . \\nbut in reality we have a few hundred being moved for the benefits of a few dozen , which makes no sense whatsoever . \\nthe other little hiccup in logic is the inclusion of worf ( michael dorn ) , the trusty klingon . \\nworf was on star trek : the next generation , so they want to include him in the films . \\nno problem so far . \\nworf is now a character of star trek : deep space nine , so the writers have to find a way to have him show up . \\nin the last star trek movie , first contact , the included worf in a credible fashion , in this one , the writers are so lazy that the completely gloss over why he is even in the movie . \\nwhat little explanation they do give is so small that you would have missed it if you weren't hanging on every word on the screen . \\nmy minor problems with the movie aside , star trek : insurrection does have an overwhelming number of good points as compared to its bad ones . \\nwhile many of the jokes do miss the mark , many are pretty good , even for non-trekkies . \\nthe special effects are among the best for the star trek series . \\nthe action is plentiful and well done . \\nthis is a very good-looking movie . \\nit should come as no surprise to anyone who ever watched star trek : the next generation that the acting is first rate . \\nit is very obvious that these actors have been working together for over a decade . \\nthey interact with each other with a skill that few other ensemble casts can muster . \\nmost star trek fans probably will not be disappointed with this latest film in the series . \\nif you've always hated star trek , there is nothing here that is going to change your mind . \\nstar trek : insurrection is not the best film in the series , but it is good enough to dispel the long standing tradition of the odd numbered films in the series being far inferior to the even numbered ones . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' * * * the following review contains some harsh language . . . \\nbut what did you expect when you clicked on this title ? \\n * * * \\ncast : kristen holly smith , danica sheridan , alex boling , michael dotson , sonya hensley , janet krajeski , sabrina lu , dionysius burbano , calvin grant , jeff b . harmon written and directed by : jeff b . harmon running time : 97 minutes \\n \" the thought of losing you makes me all vomity inside . \" \\n--- blatz balinski ( danica sheridan ) laments the fact that her lesbian lover , april ( kristen holly smith ) , has just received a telegram from her ex-fiance . \\nisle of lesbos is an incredibly offensive musical comedy about april pfferpot ( smith ) , a resident of the small town of bumfuck , arkansas who is about to get married to high school sweetheart and football hero dick dickson ( michael dotson ) . \\nwhen april gets extreme cold feet she runs home , sticks a gun in her mouth , and pulls the trigger . \\ninstead of killing herself , she is magically transported through her mirror into the isle of lesbos , an alternate dimension where lesbians rule and no men are allowed ( except for lance , the homosexual toilet cleaner/slave ) . \\napril loves her new home and friends , but dick and her parents are not so ready to give her up . \\nmr . and ms . pfferpot ( director jeff b . harmon and janet krajeski ) decide they need medical help so they enlist the aid of dr . sigmoid colon ( also jeff b . harmon ) , who claims he can cure homosexuality . \\nin actuality , dr . colon is homosexual as well and begins his special \" treatment \" on dick dickson ( unbeknownst to dick ) . \\nwhen april turns down dick\\'s demand for her to return to bumfuck , he decides to take matters in his own hands and attack the isle of lesbos rambo-style . \\ninstead of leveling the place he falls in love with lance ( alex boling ) and the two of them , along with april and her lover blatz , get married . \\n ( note to the filmmaker : why did the character of lance make asides to the camera followed by silence that i\\'m assuming was inserted for the purpose of waiting until the laughter of the audience had subsided ? ) \\napril\\'s parents , feeling like there is no recourse , call in a favor to president clinton and send a nuclear bomb ( whose circuitry inexplicably is made up of a homosexual performer ) their way . \\nthe bomb is a dud thanks to the work of the \" circuitry \" and they re-wire it and send it back to washington d . c . , destroying it . \\nmr . and ms . pfferpot give up trying to get their daughter back and instead decide to join her as they have some alternative sexual practices of their own . \\ni\\'m not sure if writer/director/co-star jeff b . harmon was purposely trying to offend people because he believes in some of the ideas his movie presents or if he was just going for cheap laughs . \\neither way , he manages to present some of the most offensive material i have ever seen in a movie . \\nthe film opens with a preacher running a small african-american child out of town , and then later moves on to the hanging of a michael jackson impersonator by the ku klux klan ( during a jaunty musical number ) , preceded by remarks about \" gays and straights finally being able to put their differences behind them and work together to hate others , such as the jews \" . \\nif harmon was merely trying to point out how idiotic society can be , then i apologize for being so harsh on elements of his film , but it is presented so mean spiritedly that i can\\'t help but feel like he had some serious intent . \\nas for the entire central theme of the movie , i\\'m afraid that it\\'s one that i just don\\'t get . \\ni tried to keep an open mind while watching it , but the homosexual elements were just too prevalent for my tastes . \\nit was hard enough to watch them bash other races and sexes without them preaching about the virtues of being homosexual and accepted by society . \\nhow does one expect to be accepted if they are just as guilty of non-acceptance ? \\ni\\'m not prone to judging anyone and i believe that people should be free to explore whatever avenues they wish free from the scornful eye of society , but don\\'t force your particular rhetoric down my throat if you aren\\'t going to show the same respect for my preferences that you wish from me . \\nagain , maybe i\\'m missing the satirical point that harmon is trying to make , but if so , i think it could have been handled a little more tactfully . \\nas far as musical comedies go , isle of lesbos is no trey parker and matt stone musical , but a good portion of the songs are maddeningly catchy . \\ndespite the disturbing visuals , \" mom and apple pie \" stuck with me for the rest of the day . \\nspeaking of disturbing visuals , \" wedding bells ain\\'t ringing \" could have been a decent song , but the accompanying visuals of spousal abuse are more harrowing than this film should be displaying . \\n \" i\\'m a lesbian \" ( which is touted in the press release as being particularly popular ) is also pretty good , but a good portion of that could be due to the stellar singing voice of ms . smith . \\nit\\'s mainly on her excellent vocals that my rating of this film is based . \\nthe other performers are decent , save for the rosie o\\'donnell like performance given by danica sheridan . \\ni have no inherent problem with her character ; it is just her singing voice that leaves little to be desired . \\none particular musical number , \" lesbian rock \" , was one of the lowest points i have ever experienced in my film-going life thanks to a strained and lackluster vocal job by sheridan . \\nthe film ends about twenty minutes before the credits actually roll . \\nthe remainder of the running time is padded out with a few more songs ( \" lesbian rock \" included ) and the ridiculously presented anti-nukes message tacked on to the end for no reason other than to make it a feature length film . \\nonce the \" isle of lesbos reprise \" was reached , i felt the story had already been wrapped up well enough to end it all . \\nwhy was the film needlessly stretched out past its obvious end ? \\nisle of lesbos is available on videocassette from www . indie-underground . com . \\nthe transfer is pretty clean ( and all the detail of the wrinkled cloth and paint backdrops are readily apparent ) and the film is letterboxed at approximately 1 . 85 : 1 . \\nin many respects , isle of lesbos has incredible cult potential ( like a rocky horror for the new millennium ) . \\nthis film is by no means my cup of tea , but i know there are those out there who will enjoy it . \\nif you think it might be for you , then by all means seek it out . \\ni , on the other hand , will be cleansing my palette with a good action film like gladiator . . . \\nwait . aren\\'t gladiator films considered to be . . . \\noh , never mind . \\n',\n",
+       " b'three things i learned from \" being john malkovich \" : when getting on the elevator for your first day of work on the 7 1/2th floor of a building , always bring your crowbar ; don\\'t stand in the way of your wife\\'s actualization as a man ; and , whenever entering a portal into the mind of another human being , wear old clothes , because , hey , it\\'s muddy in there . \\n \" being john malkovich \" is the most original film to come down the pike in a very long time . \\nwildly surrealistic , yet presented in a down-to-earth , funky style , this is the kind of movie that sticks in your head . \\nafter savoring the sheer inventiveness of the storyline , you roll around the wealth of ideas contained within it . \\nfrom the ethics of relationships and politics of immortality to the very nature of identity itself , there\\'s a lot to think about here . \\njust don\\'t forget to have fun . \\nclearly , all parties involved in the making of the film certainly did , starting with writer charles kaufman . \\n \" i wrote \\'being john malkovich\\' without an outline , \" he explains in the press notes , \" blindly , with no sense of direction or purpose . \\nit\\'s important to me that i don\\'t have a map before i start . \\nthis allows me to surprise myself , stay engaged , discover things , and , hopefully , allow the unconscious to surface . \" \\nspike jonze ( mark wahlberg\\'s na ? ve buddy in \" three kings \" ) takes it from there . \\nthe white-hot director of the beastie boy\\'s \" sabotage , \" an award-winning parody of \\'70s tv cop shows , as well as numerous other music videos and commercials , eschews typical mtv flash for his feature film debut . \\njonze wisely realized that a storyline this unusual is most effectively presented in a low-key style . \\nhis flat , matter-of-fact approach works perfectly . \\nand then there\\'s the cast . \\njohn cusack plays control freak craig schwartz , a street performer who periodically gets decked by parents objecting to his remarkably expressive , but decidedly erotic puppet shows . \\nover the years , his marriage to obsessive pet store employee lotte ( cameron diaz ) has devolved . \\nonce passionate lovers , the two are now little more than courteous roommates . \\nfinancially strapped , craig takes a job as an entry-level file clerk at lestercorp , located on the 7 1/2th floor of a manhattan building . \\nnavigating around dr . lester ( orson bean ) , his 105 year-old boss and floris ( mary kay place ) , lester\\'s dotty secretary , craig tries to settle into his new position , but two things keep him distracted . \\nfirst , there\\'s the beautiful and imperious maxine ( catherine keener ) , who delights in tormenting craig over his obvious lust for her . \\nand then there\\'s the hole behind the file cabinet , which turns out to be a portal into the mind of actor john malkovich . \\ncraig learns that anyone who enters the portal gets whooshed into the subconscious of malkovich , where they can experience life from his point of view ( with enough concentration , you can even influence his actions ) . \\nafter 15 minutes , the visitor gets ejected and unceremoniously dumped in a ditch on the side of the new jersey turnpike . \\nthen things get a little weird . \\nby the way , if you\\'re concerned that i gave away too much of the plot , rest assured - - i barely scratched the surface . \\none of the most satisfying aspects of the fable is that kaufman is not content to simply milk laughs from his bizarre set-up . \\ninstead , he crawls into the dark premise as completely as craig crawls into malkovich , rummaging around and toying with the various philosophical implications of compromising another person\\'s identity . \\nhe also examines the consequences of the malko-visits to craig , lotte , maxine and , of course , john malkovich himself . \\nthe performances are superb . \\nmalkovich ( best known to mainstream audiences for his work in \" dangerous liaisons , \" \" in the line of fire , \" and as head psychopath in the guilty-pleasure \" con air \" ) tweaks his own image in a dandy self-deprecating turn . \\nfar from his effete , vaguely reptilian persona , this malkovich is just another schlub , drinking with his pals and trying to get laid ( incidentally , charlie sheen also plays himself in a hilarious parody of his well-earned bad boy reputation ) . \\nas always , john cusack nails his part , handily pulling viewers along even as craig\\'s actions become unconscionable . \\nthe big surprises come from catherine keener and cameron diaz , both playing against type . \\nkenner , usually cast in icy subordinate roles , is terrific as a highly intelligent , extremely manipulative femme fatale . \\ncameron diaz , barely recognizable under a mess of brown , curly hair , sheds her perpetually sunny smile and draws big laughs as a woman thrown into extreme sexual confusion after taking a ride in malkovich . \\n \" being john malkovich \" stumbles towards the end , as jonze and kaufman try too hard to resolve the various subplots . \\nadditional characters and increasingly complex explanations lead to a cluttered finale . \\nregardless , this contemporary \" alice in wonderland \" is a real treat . \\ni enjoyed watching \" being john malkovich , \" but only later , after reflecting on the film , did its resonance fully hit me . \\nat one point , craig says , \" do you know what a metaphysical can of worms this portal is ? \" \\ntruer words were never spoken . \\n',\n",
+       " b'long time buddies and neil diamond tribute band members wayne ( steve zahn , \" happy , texas \" ) and j . d . ( jack black , \" high fidelity \" ) watch in horror as third mate darren silverman ( jason biggs , \" american pie \" ) disappears under the thumb of his new fiance judith , ( amanda peet , \" the whole nine yards \" ) a controlling psychiatrist . \\nthey\\'re doubly troubled when the return of darren\\'s \\'one and only love\\' sandy perkins ( amanda detmer , \" final destination \" ) returns to their home town but doesn\\'t cause a ripple in darren\\'s devotion to judith . \\nthere\\'s only one thing wayne and j . d . can think of doing - they kidnap judith and fake her death in \" saving silverman . \" \\nwritten by hank nelken and greg depaul after seeing a friend engaged to the wrong woman , \" saving silverman \" is directed by \\'hit comedy director\\' dennis dugan of such films as \" big daddy , \" \" brain donors \" and \" problem child . \" \\nit\\'s a dismal , third-rate farrelly brothers rip off that attempts to milk humor from such inspired bits of whimsy as having darren\\'s love interest come from a family of circus freaks and be about to become a nun . \\ngross out gags include a visualization of darren getting butt cheek implants . \\n \" saving silverman \" is almost saved by stars zahn and black . \\nthese two are so comically talented they can take bad material and still deliver the goods . \\nthey\\'re in \" animal house \" mode while the rest of the film trawls along and comes up empty . \\njason biggs can attribute his entire career to the luck of having been cast in the smash hit \" american pie . \" \\npeet shows some physical moves but no flair for comedy here while detmer slaps a brave , sweet smile onto her face and soldiers through . \\nr . lee ermey ( \" full metal jacket \" ) is one note in an embarrassing performance as a psychopathic ex-football coach . \\nneil diamond appears at the film\\'s climax as himself and miraculously enlivens the proceedings by belting out some of his old standards . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in 1977 , something never though possible happened . \\nthe film star wars was released , with extraordinary , never seen before techniques of special effects . \\nthe film set a new standard for special effects in film . \\nnot only did it set a standard for the special effects , it set a standard for film itself . \\nthe plot is one of the most creative i heard ever . \\nthe legend of star wars starts long ago with the jedi . \\nthe jedi were warriors who were wiped out by the dark side . \\ndarth vader is the leader of the dark side . \\nben obi-wan kenobi , played by sir alec guinness , was one of those jedi who is still alive today . \\ndarth vader was once a jedi , until he turned to the dark side . \\nyears after the killing of the jedi , darth vader is still around causing trouble . \\nr2-d2 and c-3p0 are both what we call \" driods \" , or robots that are of assistance to humans . \\nwhile an attack on the ship that princess leia , played by carrie fisher , is aboard , she inserts a message to r2-d2 , who is also on the ship . \\nto obi-wan kenobi pleading for help . \\nthe princess is captured by vader , but r2-d2 and c-3p0 get away on an escape pod that eventually lands them on the remote planet of tatooine . \\nthe jawas , or small creatures who sell droids , pick r2-d2 and c-3p0 up to sell . \\nthey are bought by luke skywalker\\'s ( mark hamill ) family . \\nwhile luke is cleaning the droids , the message from princess leia is found . \\nluke finds this obi-wan kenobi , and learns that obi-wan was a friend of luke\\'s father , who is now dead . \\nluke also learns his family was a jedi . \\nafter luke\\'s family is killed by tropps from the dark side , ben decides to put luke through training to stop the dark side and destroy them once and for all . \\nben wants to create a new jedi . \\nfirst , the two must find princess leia and serve her . \\nhan solo , played by harrison ford , and his sidekick chewbacca , played by peter mayhew , are consulted about providing a ship to complete the tasks necessary . \\nafter meeting up with leia , the film really picks up . \\nluke continues his training as a pilot and to become a jedi , ben kenobi confronts darth vader , and many other interesting events occur . \\nstar wars is an amazing epic . \\nthe plot is so original and amazing , i cannot believe it . \\nthe special effects , especially for its time , are wonderful and realistic . \\nthe space scenes in particular are the most fun to watch . \\nthe ships flown by all are very unique and creative . \\nthe costumes are also out of this world . \\nthe scenery is so different from anything i have ever seen before . \\nthere are a variety of different very memorable set pieces that will stay with me forever . \\nthe entire premise of star wars is amazing . \\nthe creatures and droids that we see throughout the film are one of a kind . \\neven the human characters are different . \\nevery character is extremely likable and different from characters from other sci fi films . \\nthe acting on everyone\\'s part is great , especially that of sir alec guinness\\'s . \\neven though the concept is not realistic at all , it is pulled off very nicely . \\nthe acting , setting , effects , costumes , and sound make it work . \\nif any of these were messed up , star wars would have come off as one huge joke . \\nthe ending works very well , and left it very open to the sequels that came afterward . \\nin early 1997 , a special edition of star wars was released . \\nthe film was re-mastered so it looked better than it did in 1977 . \\na few creatures were added here and there , and even an entire deleted scene with han solo and jabba the hutt ( seen in return of the jedi ) was added to the film . \\nthink that\\'s enough ? \\non may 19 , 1999 , star wars episode i : the phantom menace will be released , followed by two more films that will reveal what went on before a new hope . \\nwith this , star wars is bound to become the greatest tale told in our time . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a hotshot lawyer gets an obviously guilty child molester acquitted , and shortly after during the victory celebration gets offered an opportunity to show his prowess in new york city . \\nthe lawyer , kevin lomax ( keanu reeves ) is not offered a job yet , he is asked to simply pick a jury . \\nhe accepts . \\nthe jury he selects work out well and before long he is offered a job with the firm . \\nmaking his decision easy is the fact that not only is he offered big money , but a gorgeous apartment . \\nhe convinces his wife , mary ann ( charlize theron ) to make the move to new york . \\nthe first case given to him is a big test ; a \" winless \" case concerning a man who sacrifices animals in his basement . \\nthe charge was health code violations and kevin once again shows his skill and earns an acquittal . \\nhis new boss and partner in the firm , john milton ( al pacino ) is quite impressed and takes kevin under his wing , explaining many of his philosophies on law , women and sex , and angles the promise of a blissful , wealthy life . \\nkevin\\'s next case is a dream case , given to him by milton himself ( much to the chagrin to his colleagues ) , defending a triple murder suspect who has had a history of problems with the law . \\nalthough kevin\\'s career is taking off , his home life is not doing very well . \\nmary ann is starting to have numerous problems . \\nshe is experiencing severe depression over kevin\\'s long hours , and before long is having horrible dreams and hallucinations of people turning into ghouls , their faces becoming horribly disfigured . \\nkevin does not help matters by dismissing his wife . \\nhe does not spend more time with her as he explains to milton that he needs to spend as much time on the case as possible to get it over with , then focus all of his attention on his wife . \\nnot helping matters is the fact that kevin is having ideas about a possible affair with a sexy lawyer ( connie nielson ) also working with the firm . \\nmary ann falls deeper into her madness as kevin spends more time away from home . \\nkevin eventually looses control of his life and has to institutionalize his wife , and gets disturbing news from his mother ( judith ivey ) about the mystery concerning the identity of his father . \\nhe also starts to lose control of his case . \\nkevin learns that all of his problems have been caused by the work of one man . \\nthat man is his boss , mr . milton , a truly evil character who just may be the devil himself . \\nkevin must somehow confront milton and thwart whatever diabolical plan he has in store . \\nbut how do you defeat the devil ? \\nwhy is it that most courtroom scenes in the movies are absurd ? \\ndo filmmakers really believe that \" normal \" courtroom drama doesn\\'t fit the bill and they have to juice them up ? \\nthe courtroom scenes in this movie would never happen in a real courtroom , which wouldn\\'t have been too bad if it weren\\'t keanu reeves trying to pull it off . \\ni give reeves credit for trying hard , but throughout the movie i never saw the kevin lomax character , just an actor trying very hard to play kevin lomax and coming up short . \\ncharlize theron defines the term \" over-the-top \" in her performance as mary ann lomax , a disappointment in contrast to her good performance in \" 2 days in the valley \" . \\nthe only good performance in the movie is by al pacino , but i kept asking myself what the heck he was doing in this mess ? \\nmaybe he felt it would be interesting playing the devil , and you can tell he is having fun doing so , but his skill as an actor cannot save the poor performances and lackluster script that surround him . \\nit\\'s pretty standard stuff , including the fact that the hotshot lawyer appears to be the only competent person on the planet who can do anything right in the courtroom . \\nplease read no further if you do not want the ending spoiled , but i have to get something off of my chest . \\nin 1986 i remember watching a movie called \" wisdom \" with emilio estevez and demi moore , and the ending of that film did the worst possible thing that a movie could do . \\nwhat i like to call \" guess what , it was all a dream \" scenario . \\nin \" wisdom \" the two lead characters are killed at the end , only to have one of the characters \" wake up \" from an apparent and say \" gosh , i\\'m glad that didn\\'t really happen ! \" . \\ni considered it inexcusable the way the audience was toyed with . \\nwell , the same thing happens in \" the devils advocate \" , and although arguments could be made surrounding whether it was actually a dream ( perhaps milton went back in time to try a different route for his plan , since it failed and he is the devil ) , but the point is that the last 90% of the film didn\\'t happen . \\ni know it\\'s a stretch , after all it is a movie and nothing really happened , but i just get annoyed to get toyed with like that . \\nof course , the dream ending could almost be forgiven if the story that precedes it was at least an interesting one . \\nas i recall , \" wisdom \" was a decent film . \\n \" the devil\\'s advocate \" is not . \\nthe devils advocate \\ndirected by taylor hackford john milton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . al pacino kevin lomax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . keanu \\nreeves mary ann lomax . . . . . . . . . . . charlize \\ntheron mrs . lomax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . judith \\nivey eddie barzoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jeffrey jones christabella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . connie \\nnielson \\nwritten by randy turgeon , march 18 , 1998 . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the full monty is a whole lot of fun , its wacky , witty , and original . \\nit\\'s written and directed by relatively unknowns , simon beaufoy and peter cattaneo , who both turned up oscar nominations . \\nhow did this movie with a budget under 10 million gross over 175 million worldwide ? \\nits been rumored that this film may be the second most profitable movie of the year ! \\nand to think its about male exotic dancers , and not sinking ships . \\nsix steel workers who have been recently been laid off and are all looking for jobs . \\ninspired by the success of a chippendale\\'s production , gaz ( robert carlyle ) decides they should all put on a strip show to make some money quickly . \\nas the six team up to put on the show of their lives , they run into a few problems . \\nfor instance , dave ( mark addy ) is worried about his weight , horse ( paul barber ) thinks he may be inadequate , and gerald ( tom wilkinson ) is worried about his reputation and timing . \\nso when the night of the show comes , will the men be able to do the \" full monty \" ? \\nas i said before this is a fun movie , and not just that its really artistically good . \\nthe writing and direction are great . \\nthe acting is appealing , all the performances have a human quality to them , so you can relate to at least one of the characters . \\nthe full monty received four oscar nominations including best picture . \\nwhich left me wondering one thing , why didn\\'t trainspotting get a best picture nomination last year ? \\nwhile the full monty is a great lighthearted comedy , it doesn\\'t carry the social impact of the brilliant trainspotting . \\nstill , the full monty is a great film , a must see ! \\n',\n",
+       " b\"one way of telling if a film is good or not is by the length . \\nif a film is only 90 minutes , but feels like 300 minutes , then it's crap . \\nbut if a film last 2 1/2 hours , and feels like 90 minutes , then it's excellent . \\nboogie nights falls into the latter catagory . \\nthe director , anderson , delivers a funny , hip , yet sometimes violent film , which flies along . \\nmark whalberg , a . k . a \\nmarky mark , plays eddie adams , a seventeen year old with a certain 'gift' in the midriff area . \\njack horner ( reynolds ) is a adult film director , who decides that eddie would be great in the adult movie business . \\nafter running away from home , eddie joins jack , changes his name to dirk diggler , and starts making erotic movies . \\nin the movie business , dirk meets a whole load of characters ( which the film introduces very quickly and slickly ) such as scotty ( phillip seymour hoffman ) , rollergirl ( graham ) amber ( moore ) and floyd ( phillip baker hall ) , and little bill ( william h . macy ) all the characters are well written , well played , and the audience gets to know them pretty well , thanks to the excellent script . \\nwe learn about ambers grief about not being able to see her child due to a divorce , rollergirls hard time at school , and little bills wife , who sleeps with everyone except her husband . \\nbut the best thing about the excellent boogie nights is paul andersons direction and writing . \\nthe direction is fast , thrilling , and never holds up . \\nthere are some great shots , some lovely steadiocam and handheld camera sequences , and lots of other neat directional touches . \\nthe writing is fabulous , with some intelligent dialogue , some funny dialogue , but none of the dialogue is crap , like most hollywood films ( such as the lost world : jurassic park ( 1997 ) , or tommorow never dies ( 1997 ) . ) \\nboogie nights really is a spectacular feat of direction and writing , on par ( and sometimes betters ) quentin tarantino's films resevoir dogs ( 1992 ) and pulp fiction ( 1994 ) \\nthe soundtrack is also excellent . \\nlike american graffiti ( 1973 ) , the film features some great old songs on the soundtrack , which heightens the atmosphere , and gives the film an extra lift . \\nalso , the costumes are great . \\nthe clothes really do look like what people wore in the seventies and eighties . \\nthe film , although excellent , does have some flaws . \\nfirstly , wahlberg , although excellent , cannot do highly scenes which require him to be angry . \\nin both scenes where he has to act angry , his acting is so 'off' , the scenes tension and anger is lost . \\nbut the rest of the cast are excellent . \\nburt reynolds is brilliant , julianne moore shows real emotion , and william h . macy is great aswell ( but he always is . ) \\nanother flaw with the film , though , is that the ending seems a bit tacked on . \\nit seems anderson saw the film was going on a bit , and needed to wrap up quickly . \\nit's a shame , really , as the rest of the film is perfectly paced . \\nbut they're small niggles really . \\nboogie nights is an excellent film . \\nsuperb directing , writing , acting and music , all combine to make one spectacular film . \\nwhatever you do , do not miss out on boogie nights . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"melvin udall is a heartless man . \\nhe spends his days inside of his spacious manhattan apartment writing romance novels . \\nit also seems that melvin will never change . \\none day he dines ar his favorite restaurant , and is a little too mean to his normal waitress ( the only waittress that will serve him ) , carol ( played to perfection by a lovely and sexy helen hunt . ) \\nshe threatens not to serve him if he doesn't shut up about her asthmatic son . he does shut up . \\nto make matters considerably worse , melvin has obsessive compulsive disorder . \\none day his gay artist neighbor simon ( greg kinear , of talk soup fame , in an oscar-worthy role ) 's dog threatens to dismiss himself at melvon's door . \\nthe dog meets the garbage chute . \\nsoon simon is sadly beaten by thieveing burglars , and ray ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , simon's agent , takes the dog , verdell , to melvin , so that melvin can dogsit him . \\nand through the dog and a rather heartwrenching car trip that involves simon , carol , and himself , melvin learns to emerge from his cantakerous shell . \\njack nicholson gives yet another oscar-caliber performance as the film's cynical lead , and is back at work , not playing a goofy u . s . president or a comic book villian , but instead playing jack nicjolson , and playing him full force . \\nall of this adds up to this year's funniest comedy , a creative , witty , and scathing film from james l . brooks , and brooks gets award-worthy performances from the entire cast . \\na winner in every aspect , and a truly delicious slice of cyncial life . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it is an understood passion and an understood calm . \\nbud white walks into the home of lynn bracken , a prostitute \" cut to look like veronica lake . \" \\nhe\\'s one of l . a . \\'s finest investigating the murder of fellow cop , and one of the leads takes him to her home . \\nit\\'s understood that he is quiet thunder , a guy who\\'s calm voice is more powerful than his arms . \\nit\\'s understood that she\\'s supposed to be beautiful , but underneath her face is pain and scraped out lines that say her life could have been so much more . \\nyou know without having to be told . \\n \" you\\'re the first guy who hasn\\'t told me i look like veronicca lake in under a minute , \" she says . \\n \" you look ten times better . \" \\nhe says it without thinking . \\nlike he knows without her having to say anything . \\nwhite\\'s face doesn\\'t turn , it doesn\\'t blush . \\nyou see his eyes , and you believe him . \\nit\\'s a perfect moment in a near perfect movie . \\nl . a . confidential is the best movie of the year . \\nit is grace and poetry ; a richly layered work of pure entertainment . \\nit is a portrait of police and morality as it works it\\'s way through characters that are so real on screen that you believe that they might have a soul . \\nin a phrase , it is everything . \\nit is funny , it is exciting , has enough action and adventure and mystery and grace and suspense . \\nit is the pinnacle of a movie , a complete work , a flawless film . \\nit\\'s hard to tell you about the plot , because it\\'s about so much more than plot . \\nbesides , there\\'s too much to describe . \\nsure , it\\'s about police and searching for corruption and who fights for the right reasons and the definition of justice . \\nbut it\\'s also about what you feel when you look into the eyes of the characters in the film . \\ndirector curtis hanson has perfectly framed each character , letting you see into them , rooting for them one moment , doubting them the next . \\nthe actors work with their lines , but in this movie their most important weapon is their eyes . \\nyou can tell what each person is feeling just by looking into their eyes for one moment . \\nrussell crowe plays bud white , a muscle cop with a beef for wife beaters . \\nhis movements are fierce . \\nwhen he strikes , you jump , when he\\'s calm , you know it won\\'t be for long . \\nhis intensity oozes out of the screen . \\nyou follow his character through the movie afraid of him , but in sympathy of him , because you know how good his heart is . \\nhe\\'s looking for a way to solve crimes , you\\'re just never sure how he\\'s going to do it . \\nhis counter is ed exley , played with a chisselled face by guy pierce . \\nyou feel for him , for his character , because of all the cops in the movie he\\'s the one that\\'s actually trying to do the right thing by going by the book . \\nyou know that he must face the reality of breaking the book , and you love the way he gets there . \\ni\\'ve seen l . a confidential twice , immediately after it was over , i wanted to hit the rewind button and watch it again . \\ni didn\\'t want the theater experience to end . \\nit\\'s been a long time since i actually experienced a movie , feeling like i got something after i walked out . \\nthat\\'s why i love movies ; the great ones can be too rich and powerful to describe . \\nwatch l . a . confidential : after you leave the theater , you feel like you just watched a classic movie . \\nthat\\'s why la confidential stands as the best movie of the year . \\nl . a . confidential ( directed by curtis hanson . \\nstarring russell crowe , guy pierce , kevin spacey , james cromwell , and kim basinger . \\n',\n",
+       " b'tommy lee jones chases an innocent victim around america who is trying to prove that she did not kill her spouse . \\nthe fugitive ? \\nnot quite ? this is the plot for double jeopardy , another fugitive copycat without the action , excitement , and good acting that the original had . \\nthere are other slight differences besides one movie being bad and the other good ; this time tommy lee jones plays a parole officer not a us marshall , clever huh ? \\noh and the fugitive ashley judd was framed by her own husband ( bruce greenwood ) who needed to collect two million dollars in life insurance money not a one armed man . \\nboth movies are on video . \\nmake the wise choice and pick the fugitive . \\nthere are so many flaws in double jeopardy , it is laughable . \\nwhile serving time in prison , libby parsons ( judd ) discovers that she can never be charged for committing the same crime twice . \\nlearning that her husband is still alive , she decides to serve her time in prison , find him , retrieve her son , and kill her husband if necessary . \\nwhen the strict parole officer travis lehman ( jones ) stands in her way , libby decides to break the rules ( who knows why ? ) and continue her plan , despite the fact that if she gets caught , she\\'s going back to jail . \\ndirector bruce beresford spends way too much time trying to convince the audience that libby misses her son . \\nevery other scene , we are given a shot of libby staring and crying at his picture . \\nin an action movie like this , valuable time wasted on these shots takes away more opportunities for libby to get up and do something . \\nall that is needed in this type of movie is a short scene in which libby tells herself or a friend \" i miss my son . \" \\nnothing more , nothing less . \\ndr . kimble of the fugitive didn\\'t look at one picture of his dead wife , his primary concern was to save himself . \\nlibby at times shows this same determination but not nearly enough . \\nashley judd and bruce greenwood both are excellent actors but if they continue to do movies like this , they will be typecast for the rest of their careers , kind of like their doomed co-star tommy lee jones . \\nwinning an oscar for the fugitive must have convinced jones that audiences will never get tired of his i-do-my-job-whether-they-are-innocent-or-guilty roles . \\npeople still pay to see his movies and he makes plenty of money so i guess he was right . \\nthough i don\\'t think he will win another oscar again . \\nthe ultimate mistake in the script is what eventually becomes of libby parsons . \\neven if she was excused for disobeying her parole officer , the number of other crimes she commits while on the run are too numerous to count . \\nburglary , assault , grand theft auto are some of libby\\'s slipups . \\nthe message of the movie is you can break all of the small laws as long as you\\'re innocent of the major crime . \\nhopefully criminals won\\'t use double jeopardy as a reference in court for why they are innocent . \\nthat would just be plain stupid . \\n',\n",
+       " b'to put it bluntly , ed wood would have been proud of this . \\na totally ridiculous plot is encompassed with bad humor , hokey drama , zero logic and a crap screenplay . \\nalso , a beautifully anti-climactic ending . \\nnot to say it didn\\'t look intriguing when i saw the previews . \\nso much for truth in advertising . \\nroland emmerich , who\\'s later \" independence day \" would look like \" the 400 blows \" compared to this , co-writed and directed this inane sci-fi film which uses the cliche of there being some connection between eqypt and aliens . \\nin a useless opening sequence , men find a stone in 1914 with hieroglyphics on it . \\nit wouldn\\'t be till present day ( \\'94 ) till they would actually figure it out . \\nthey\\'re decipherer ? \\na slightly-neurotic scientist ( nice twist ) , dr . dan jackson ( james spader , doing his best outside of erotic thrillers and some indy fare ) who\\'s life sucks so much that people walk out of his lectures after the third word . \\nwhy do they use him to decipher what no one else could ? \\nso there is a hokey ending ! \\nduh ! \\nhe figures it out in about a minute . \\nyea . \\nand then they get a suicidal colonel or something , \" jack \" o\\'neill ( kurt russel , with his wyat earp locks in the beginning then a flat-top that would make howie long snap into a fetal position ) . \\nwhy a suicidal colonel ? \\nfor the ending ! \\nyou\\'ll get the hang of this . \\nthey open the stargate , a bunch of them go through it with a bomb to blow it up if they find anything bad . \\nafter an overdone special effects thing , they\\'re . . . inside a goddam pyramid . \\nso they went to egypt , right ? \\nwrong . \\nthey\\'re on another planet that was filmed in egypt . \\nthey discover a cilvilization ruled by ra , the sun god ( the androginous jaye davidson , with a voice modifier to make him sound like barry white with asthma ) , and there are fights , explosions and a kiss between two people . \\nyea . \\nalso melodrama , stupidity , hokey scenes and a bizarre language . \\nan anti-climactic ending ends with stupid lines ( \" say hello to king tut , asswhole ! \" \\n- the quintessential line , lemme tell ya ) and some convenient pesudo-pseudo-pseudo-character development . \\nby the end , you just wanna go home and watch , i don\\'t know , the \" outer limits \" or something . \\nthe script\\'s terrible . \\nthe special effects are okay , but nothing great . \\nthe story\\'s so weak that it\\'s almost opaque . \\nthe whole experience just isn\\'t worth it unless you\\'re so bored that you\\'d consider watching a \" full house \" marathon . . . or \\nthis . \\ni\\'d pick this , obviously , but still , it\\'s just not fun at all . \\nand i can\\'t wait for it to premier on mst3k . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the lives of older people in the twilight of their years attempting to come to grips with their shared histories and possible futures is a fascinating topic . \\nfinding an all-star cast for such a film is a stroke of genius . \\ncombining all that with a three-time oscar-winning director ( robert benton of \" kramer vs . \\nkramer \" ) and creating a decidedly mediocre movie is the stuff of disappointment . \\nin yet another noir mystery set in hollywood -- how many of these have we seen during the past few years ? \\n-- the atmosphere is moody , the actors enjoyable to watch and the story goes nowhere . \\nover-70 harry ross ( paul newman ) is a washed up cop-turned-private eye-turned man friday trying to figure out how to live what remains of his life . \\nhe\\'s screwed up things pretty well ( \" i had a wife and daughter . \\nnow , i\\'m a drunk ) and is at a crossroads . \\na couple of years ago , he traveled to mexico to bring back mel ( reese witherspoon ) , the under-age daughter of jack ( gene hackman ) and catherine ( susan sarandon ) ames and now lives with them . \\nthe ames are former movie stars , past their prime and the three have become fast friends . \\none gets the impression that ross is just hanging out waiting for something to wake him up . \\nto fill his time , he does odd jobs for jack and falls in love with catherine . \\njack is in even worse shape than harry . \\nhe\\'s dying of cancer with only a year to live . \\nthings do turn more exciting when jack asks harry to drop off a sealed manila envelope for him . \\ninstead of the routine errand that ross expects , he walks into a barrage of bullets from the gun of another ex-cop who is , himself , full of bloody holes . \\nthis unsettling event gives the former detective a project to throw himself into and launches an investigation that revolves around the mysterious disappearance of catherine\\'s first husband 20 years before . \\nthrough a series of very complex and convoluted plot devices that involve murder ; blackmail ; guns ; mel\\'s mexico traveling partner and his parole officer ; ross\\'s former cop buddies , ex-lover and would-be sidekick , the tale finally ends up exactly where everyone expects it to . \\nit\\'s a film noir tradition that the story twists and turns down side roads for an unexpected finale , but here the journey meanders towards an ending that no one cares about . \\nthe only surprises are exactly whose face fits which role in the scenario . \\nby the time they show you , it doesn\\'t matter . \\nthe storyline gets goofier and goofier exemplified in ross\\'s relationship with rubin ( giancarlo esposito ) , a partner wannabe . \\nthese scenes are obviously designed to be comic relief , however they are neither . \\nrubin and ross have some past relationship but either it\\'s not explained or i didn\\'t care enough at that point to remember . \\na running joke about where harry was supposedly shot while in mexico is probably meant to mirror his questions about whether he is still able to perform . \\nit\\'s also not funny , doesn\\'t connect and keeps on showing up long after it has run its course . \\non the positive side , it\\'s often enjoyable to watch the seasoned actors on the screen . \\nthe three leads all have well-deserved academy awards and turn in accomplished , if not extraordinary jobs . \\nnewman is a grand actor , but doesn\\'t seem quite suited to the dark film style . \\nhe is a bit too clean and understated to come across as desperate and down and out . \\nhackman , also low-key , is believable but lacks sparkle . \\nsarandon comes across well as an sultry older babe although she is one-dimensional . \\nthe actors do what they can with lame dialog , but they can\\'t pull the film out of the hole it\\'s dug for itself . \\njames garner who plays ross\\'s old buddy ex-cop raymond hope is always a treat , but even he half-heartedly struggles through lines like \" i\\'m glad they didn\\'t shoot your pecker off . \" \\nthe best part of the film is the look at old friends , how their relationships change over the years and the difficult choices they must make . \\nthe genuinely easy and casual interactions among the actors hint that being on the set was much more interesting than what ended up on the screen \\nthe film doesn\\'t run very long before the audience realizes that it\\'s hopeless . \\nthe only reason for watching is the actors . \\nit reminds me of disaster movies such as \" towering inferno \" where the star power is supposed to make everyone ignore the film\\'s problems . \\nin a better world , there would have been second-rate actors in this second-rate movie and the ones here would have been saved for something better . \\nof course , we don\\'t live in that better world , but you could make yours a little nicer by choosing a different movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the most depressing thing about the depressingly pedestrian james bond film \" the world is not enough \" is its final frame : white letters on a black background proclaiming \" james bond will return . \" \\noh i certainly hope not . \\nwith pierce brosnan in his third and reportedly last go-round as james bond 007 , \" the world is not enough \" is the best example to date that \" \\'enough \" is enough . \\nin this , the 19th chapter in the seemingly-endless franchise featuring ian fleming\\'s debonair british secret agent who likes his martinis--and his nemeses--shaken not stirred , the sub-inspired screenwriters have chosen to rehash all of the setups , stunts , and sexy encounters of the previous 18 bond flicks rather than coming up with anything the slightest bit original . \\nwe\\'ve got previously-used speedboat chases , ski chases , and sticky situations aboard nuclear submarines . \\nwe\\'ve got a couple of hot-to-trot babes without an ounce of acting ability between them . \\nwe\\'ve got a post-cold war megalomaniac bent on world domination slash destruction ( here played by a skinheaded robert carlyle with mean , lean panache ) . \\nand , as has been the case since 1977\\'s \" the spy who loved me , \" we\\'ve got a plot that has nothing whatsoever to do with anything conceived by mr . fleming . \\nwe\\'ve also got a main title song by garbage to which , with very little effort , you can fit the lyrics to * both * songs from \" tomorrow never dies . \" \\nwhile originality was never the series\\' strong suit , the films were almost always fun , with at least some thought going into the nonstop stunts . \\ni can\\'t think of one memorable set-piece in the entire--and very dull-- \" the world is not enough . \" \\nin addition , michael apted ( yes , the respected director of such films as \" coal miner\\'s daughter , \" \" nell , \" and the \" 28up \" documentary series ) takes embarrassing advantage of the full range of bond clich ? s . \\nyou get the \" talking killer \" plot device--you know the scenario : the bad guy has the good guy at his mercy yet waxes poetic just long enough to die of old age . \\nand you get a slew of high-priced assassins who can\\'t hit a barn door at 20 paces : in the film\\'s opening minutes ( of an endless 128 ) , bond chases a sultry sniper along the thames and the leather-clad lovely fails to hit bond\\'s souped-up \" fishing boat \" with a bazooka when he pulls within a few feet of her . \\nlater , she takes off in a hot air balloon with bond dangling from a guy rope beneath her but is still unable to take him out . \\nthese reliable absurdities are more frustrating than usual since there are no distractions other than occasional ads for luxury automobiles , vodka , or credit cards . \\nin and among the rampant product placements , brosnan grapples with carlyle , \" braveheart \" \\'s sophie marceau ( as former kidnap victim slash heiress elektra king ; she\\'s terrible ) , \" wild things \" \\' denise richards ( as a nuclear physicist lord help me ; she\\'s laughable ) , and judi dench as m . dame judi brings the only shred of dignity to a series that has long since jettisoned its self-respect ( about the time roger moore inherited bond\\'s walther ppk ) . \\nbrosnan goes through the motions with the grace and charm you\\'d expect of the former \" remington steele \" star , but even he has to be thinking there\\'s more to life than an easy paycheck . \\nhe\\'s given plenty of wiseacre asides to deliver , but only one of them-- \" i don\\'t know any doctor jokes \" --made me chuckle ( although \" i thought christmas only comes once a year \" is more in keeping with the series\\' penchant for grown-worthy puns ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"while i am not fond of any writer's use of cheap , easy puns , i am not completely above using them myself when the situation merits it ( witness my review of _pecker_ from a couple of issues ago ) . \\nso here goes : the juvenile , college-set black comedy _dead_man_on_campus_ is dead on arrival . \\nstrait-laced med student josh ( tom everett scott , who manages to remain somewhat likable throughout ) 's blemish-free academic record breaks out into fs , thanks to the influence of his ever-partying roommate , cooper ( mark-paul gosselaar ) , who introduces josh to the sex- and booze-filled nights that come with university life . \\nwith the threat of losing an academic scholarship ( josh ) and a life cleaning toilets for his dad looming ( cooper ) , what are two good-hearted slackers to do ? \\neasy--look for a loophole , which they find in the form of an unbelievable rule in the school charter that states that if a student's ( or students' ) roommate commits suicide , the surviving student ( s ) shall receive straight as . \\nso instead of studying , josh and cooper attempt to seek out the most depressed student out there , move him into their dorm room , and drive him to suicide before the semester ends . \\ndirector alan cohn and screenwriters michael traeger and mike white ( working from a story by anthony abrams and adam larson broder ) take their sweet time to build the head of steam that comes with josh and cooper's diabolical plot . \\nuntil then , the usual boring cliches of college life ( booze , sex , more booze ) fill the time , which is made to feel longer by _saved_by_the_bell_ alumnus gosselaar's sitcom-bred mugging . \\nthat said , once cohn and company do build some comic momentum , they mishandle it . \\nthe introduction of the manic , psychotic cliff ( lochlyn munro ) , a potential roommate for josh and cooper , brings some demented life to the uninspired proceedings before being hastily written out in favor of two less interesting candidates : paranoid nerd buckley ( randy pearlstein ) and british death rocker matt ( corey page ) . \\none wishes that cliff would reappear , but , as they say , be careful what you wish for . \\nnot surprisingly , he does resurface , and it then becomes clear that this is a character that is best taken in a small dose ; almost immediately , his extended boorish and sociopathic antics loses its novelty . \\nthe same can be said about all of _dead_man_on_campus_ . \\nwhatever morbid appeal the far-fetched premise has quickly evaporates , and the self-absorbed characters , especially cooper , pretty much grate from the get-go . \\n_dead_man_ doesn't grow tiresome ; it already _is_ once the clever opening titles are through . \\nas it slogs along to a cheesy , happy-for-all-parties conclusion , _dead_man_ lives up to its title and then some--not only does the movie grow even more tired and die , it still insists on going on . . . \\nlike a zombie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" you leave little notes on my pillow . \\ni told you a million times i can\\'t stand little notes on my pillow . \\n\\'we are all out of corn flakes - f . u . \\' \\nit took me three hours to figure out that \\'f . u . \\' was felix unger . \" \\n--- a frustrated oscar madison ( walter matthau ) running down a list of his complaints against his roommate felix unger ( jack lemmon ) , in the odd couple . \\nthe classic neil simon comedy ( based on his own stage play ) about suicidal felix ( lemmon ) , who is persuaded by his poker friend oscar ( matthau ) to stay with him in his apartment after felix\\'s wife throws him out and files for divorce . \\nthe hook : oscar is messy and likes his apartment that way , while felix is an obsessive/compulsive neat freak . \\nthe two men , despite their friendship , instantly clash . \\nmovies just aren\\'t as delightfully funny as this one is . \\nevery line of neil simon\\'s dialogue flows like comedic poetry , and all the actors are just perfect in their performances . \\nlemmon is at his best as the anxiety ridden felix , but it\\'s matthau who shines brightest as oscar , whose world is being invaded and rearranged , mostly against his wishes ( the type of character i always enjoy identifying with ) . \\nand who can forget that catchy score by neal hefti ? \\nthe best thing about the film ( and this is a testament to the quality of the writing ) is that it\\'s a comedy with substance . \\nthese two men , even while at each other\\'s throats , genuinely care for one another as friends . \\nwhen they clash , it isn\\'t cartoonish hatred being displayed , but genuine frustration with the fact that they are such good friends but just cannot manage to co-exist . \\nmovies nowadays , take grumpy old men for example , just don\\'t have that extra spark there . \\nthese days it\\'s just animosity for the sake of comedy . \\na television series followed ( starring jack klugman and tony randall ) , which i\\'ll admit i\\'ve never seen an episode of in its entirety , and neil simon even scripted the sequel , the odd couple ii , which was released in 1998 . \\nneither of them compare to this comic masterpiece though . \\nit\\'s one of the best comedies of all time and easily earns its spot in my top ten favorite films . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the general\\'s daughter will probably be the cleverest stupid film we\\'ll see this year -- or perhaps the stupidest clever film . \\nit\\'s confusing to a critic when so much knuckleheaded plotting and ostentatious direction shares the screen with so much snappy dialogue and crisp character interaction . \\nthat , however , is what happens when legendary screenwriter william goldman takes a pass at an otherwise brutally predictable conspiracy thriller . \\nthe punched-up punch lines are ever on the verge of convincing you the general\\'s daughter has a brain in its head , even as the remaining 75% of the narrative punches you in the face with its lack of common sense . \\nour hero is warrant officer paul brenner , a brash investigator for the u . s . army\\'s criminal investigation division . \\nhis latest case is the murder of captain elisabeth campbell ( leslie stefanson ) at a georgia base , the victim found tied to the ground after an apparent sexual assault and strangulation . \\ncomplicating the case is the fact that capt . campbell is the daughter of general joe campbell ( james cromwell ) , a war hero and potential vice-presidential nominee . \\ngeneral campbell wants to keep the case out of the press , which gives brenner only the 36 hours before the fbi steps in . \\nteamed with rape investigator sarah sunhill ( madeleine stowe ) -- who , coincidentally enough , once had a romantic relationship with brenner -- brenner begins uncovering dark secrets from the late captain\\'s past that make the case ever more sordid . \\nif only the sordidness were the worst of the general\\'s daughter\\'s problems . \\nscenes of sexual degredation do linger much longer than necessary , their negligible dramatic value overwhelmed by filtered-light sleaze . \\ndirector simon west likely thinks he\\'s covered himself by juxtaposing these images of violence with sweet flowers , but all he does is prove himself dependent on visual cliches , which is the film\\'s fatal flaw . \\nit\\'s a trend he continues for two hours , taking the story\\'s few virtues and slapping a coat of moron-proof obviousness over them . \\ncharacters who may ( wink wink ) turn out to be villains are photographed in ominous shadow ; cutaway inserts of the captain campbell\\'s still-living face after the corpse is uncovered insure against five-minute attention spans . \\nwest just can\\'t help himself from overdirecting every minute of the general\\'s daughter . \\nhe even turns a scene of footage shown on cnn into an excuse for slow-fade edits . \\nbubbling up from this overcooked stew are enough tasty lines to distract you from its smell . \\nthe slickest scene finds brenner squaring off with captain campbell\\'s mentor , a psychological warfare expert named moore ( james woods ) . \\nthere\\'s something invigorating about watching two smart actors playing smart characters firing honesty at one another . \\nindeed , travolta gets to sink his teeth into dozens of choice lines based on his delight at provoking authority figures ( to the local sheriff of the georgia county : \" shouldn\\'t you be out night-sticking the colored folk ? \" ) . \\neven the lame device of brenner and sunhill\\'s sexual history provides a few winning zingers . \\ngoldman\\'s dialogue can serve up a bigger laugh than you\\'ll find in most so-called comedies . \\ndialogue , unfortunately , just isn\\'t enough to make a quality script . \\nit\\'s difficult to take a movie about a criminal investigation seriously when the investigators are both too stupid to solve it sooner ( an idiotic inability to recognize the nature of the crime scene ) and too lucky for it to last any longer ( not one but two occasions where brenner catches a vital piece of evidence out of the corner of his eye ) . \\nby the time the general\\'s daughter wanders towards its over-wrought , psycho-in-the-rain finale , west\\'s heavy hand has obliterated most of what made the film occasionally fun . \\nit\\'s silly and pretentious film-making , but at least it provides a giggle or five . \\ngoldman should tear the 15 decent pages out of this script and turn them into a stand-up routine . \\n',\n",
+       " b'being the self-proclaimed professional film critic that i am , i am somewhat embarrassed to admit that i had not seen lawrence of arabia ( coming soon to dvd ) until only recently . \\nafter all , it\\'s considered by just about everyone to be the masterpiece epic of director david lean , who also directed films such as bridge on the river kwai , and doctor zhivago . \\nso one day , a friend of mine loaned me a copy of the video and i sat down and watched it . \\ni was initially skeptical that something made almost 40 years ago would be able to keep my attention for the butt-numbing 3 1/2 hours of its duration . \\nbut now i fully understand why this has become the film that other epic films are judged against -- the winner of seven academy awards in 1963 for best picture , director , editing , cinematography , art direction , music , and sound . \\nafter watching the film again , i am convinced that it is simply one of the finest works of cinematic genius to ever illuminate the big screen . \\nbased on the autobiographical writing of british officer t . e . \\nlawrence during world war i , lawrence of arabia depicts lawrence ( played by then-unknown actor peter o\\'toole ) as a lieutenant lacking any sort of military discipline whatsoever . \\nbored with his assignment of coloring maps for the british army in a dimly lit headquarters building , lawrence jumps at the opportunity to be re-assigned as an observer for an arabian prince fighting against the turkish army . \\nlawrence quickly sees just how caring and great these desert dwelling people can be and ends up rallying the various tribes together to fight the turks and help the british turn the tide of world war i . \\nshot in panavision\\'s famed super 70mm format , the film beautifully illustrates the definition of the word epic . \\nit is absolutely breathtaking . \\nusing stunning cinematography , costuming , and direction , shot in the most uninhabitable location on the face of the earth , i can only imagine what it must have been like to sit in a theater in 1962 and watch this story unfold before my eyes . \\nevery shot is choreographed as a portrait -- a living tribute to a great land . \\ndavid lean put his reputation on the line to get this film completed , and the fact that it was even greenlit in the first place says something about the ideology of the motion picture industry at the time , a far cry from its pathetic , uncreative existence today . \\nafter watching the film , the first thing that came to my mind was , \" i\\'ve got to do a remake of this film ! \" \\nbut then i thought about trying to pitch the idea to a modern-day movie executive : \" okay , it\\'s going to be almost four hours long and shot over three months on location in the sahara desert . \\nwe are going to need to blow up a full-size train because computer-generated effects probably wont do it justice . \\nand we are not going to use any big stars , and won\\'t have any female actors since there\\'s no love story . \" \\nyes , my friends , the velvet curtain fell on the golden-era of hollywood a long time ago . \\nbut at least we still have the proof to show all would-be producers and directors out there just how good a film can be . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" showgirls \" is the first big-budget , big-studio film to receive an nc-17 rating . \\nand its release last year came at a time when senator bob dole and other politicans chastised the entertainment industry for promoting sex and violence . \\nbut if \" showgirls \" is any indication of hollywood\\'s future , the folks in washington should focus their attack on a more dangerous threat to american values--bad moviemaking . \\n \" showgirls \" is a relentlessly exploitive look at the las vegas strip scene , and the film turns out to be just as trashy as its subject matter . \\ndirector paul verhoeven and writer joe eszterhas , who collaborated on another shock-value project , 1992\\'s \" basic instinct , \" follow the plight of a young woman ( teen tv star elizabeth berkley ) determined to make a name for herself as a topless dancer . \\nit\\'s a hackneyed premise to begin with , so not surprisingly , all of the stock characters are trucked out . \\nthere\\'s the demanding producer . \\nthe loyal friend . \\nthe bitchy competitor . \\nlest i forget the scummy club owner . \\nof course , any attempt at character development or a coherent storyline is just window dressing for the film\\'s main attraction--an endless parade of full-frontal nudity . \\nunfortunately , \" showgirls \" doesn\\'t satisfy in this department . \\nverhoeven\\'s slam-bang , in-your-face style of direction proves neither arousing nor erotic . \\nto make matters worse , you\\'ll be forced to sit through the movie\\'s clothed scenes , which don\\'t cover up for laughable acting and some of the most absurd dialogue ever spoken in film history . \\nverhoeven and ezsterhas deserve credit for trying to break ground , but if it\\'s adult entertainment you want , stay home and watch the playboy channel . \\nyou\\'ll be the wiser for it . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" through a spyglass , i could see everything . \" \\nking louis xvi was beheaded on january 21 , 1793 , but instead of visualizing this act of regicide , legendary auteur eric rohmer\\'s the lady and the duke observes from afar . \\nconsider it a view to a kill made abstract . \\na proper british ( yes , british ) gentlewoman , grace elliott ( lucy russell ) , and her loyal maidservant gaze from a lofty terrace in meudon at the glistening city of paris , where raucous crowds seem tinier than ants . \\nthe maid narrates what little she sees of the execution through her telescope ( often muttering , \" i don\\'t know , \" ) as the sound of cheering patriots and revolutionaries echoes through the air . \\nwhat we don\\'t see might not be able to hurt us . \\njust close your eyes and think of england . \\nduring times of revolution , the aristocracy may feel a false sense of calm in their parlor halls , discussing tumultuous events over glasses of sherry until the walls cave in on them . \\nadapted from elliott\\'s memoirs , journal of my life during the french revolution , rohmer\\'s latest artistic tour-de-force may seem far removed from his domestic comedies ( tales of the four seasons , etc . ) , a period film set during the most violent changes in french history . \\nresisting the temptation for grand-scale theatrics , much of the lady and the duke is about quiet , decisive moments between members of the cultural elite as they determine how to proceed as the world implodes . \\ngrace elliott makes for an unlikely protagonist : a headstrong , snobbish blueblood , one unprepared for the machinations of history that sweep her along . \\na foreigner who accepts the french king as her own , grace\\'s life seems defined by fancy attire and lively political debate with her former lover , the king\\'s hot-blooded cousin , prince philipe , duke of orleans ( jean-claude dreyfus ) . \\nthe times are changing , though , and the gears inch ever closer toward violence . \\nduring the september massacres of 1792 , she is encountered by a procession of rioters brandishing the head of the duke\\'s sister-in-law on a stake . \\nrohmer makes a harsh transition from tranquil , old fashioned , almost stagy parlor scenes to the swell of an angry mob . \\nin doing so , he achieves what braveheart and the patriot could not : the face of death . \\nwhen grace sees her friend\\'s disembodied head on a pole , rohmer\\'s attention drifts from the societal change to one woman\\'s reaction shot , laden with hot tears . \\ngrace finds herself taking in a fugitive from justice , sheltering him from the mob . \\nthrough her relationship with the duke , she seeks a passport for this one activist\\'s escape . \\ngrace doesn\\'t even understand her own actions ( and the duke reacts in stunned disbelief at how she places herself in such danger ) . \\nshe endures persecution from robespierre and his gang of thuggish equalizers , ceaseless police monitoring , house searches , even a brief imprisonment for harmless international correspondence . \\nmaintaining her stiff upper lip and pampered life ( her imperious attitude to the servants never changes ) , she becomes a heroine through circumstance . \\nthe events themselves are intrusions upon her person , her home , and therefore her values . \\naristocracy proves a glass house , one that can barely withstand the upheaval of stones . \\nthe duke is called to vote on the king\\'s punishment , and despite his hours of deliberation with friends and advisors , talk means nothing in the face of bloody action ( or futile inaction ) . \\nthe episodic structure creates a wobbly , jarring detachment from the events of the french revolution , which serves as metaphor but also disconnects potential audience identification . \\nlazy viewers ( and critics ) may also complain that knowledge of french history is required for enjoyment of the lady and the duke . \\nthat\\'s foolery , but brings up the valid criticism that rohmer\\'s characters occasionally become didactic . \\nrohmer\\'s imperfect but assured push toward the future remains staunch and notable for casting a cautious eye upon the past while taking bold steps forward into an uncertain future . \\nwhat may arouse interest in the lady and the duke outside of foreign film enthusiasts with literary and historical passions is rohmer\\'s use of cutting edge digital technology as a means of exploring the theme of artifice as safety net or coping mechanism . \\nthe actors were filmed against a bluescreen , then placed against painted backdrops recreating the vastness of 18th century paris . \\nthis recreation calls attention to itself in every shot , a technicolor dream of fanciful buildings and wide-open streets . \\nit looks as phony as titanic , but unlike james cameron\\'s debacle , the lady and the duke plays with the notion of false security in those walls of stone . \\nwhy ? \\nthey aren\\'t real . \\nthe very foundation rohmer\\'s characters stand upon is false , and in their groundlessness they must discover themselves , in all their insubstantial glory . \\nscreened at the 2001 new york film festival ( feature coming soon ) . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you know , i never really wondered what the tarzan films would have been like had tarzan been an old man . \\nwhile watching instinct , i couldn\\'t help but acknowledge the way the film carelessly rehashes the well-explored themes of those earlier movies . \\neven beside the tarzan comparison , instinct just isn\\'t a very good film . \\nit\\'s painfully idealistic , manipulative , and silly . \\ni didn\\'t hate it -- it\\'s simply impossible for me to hate any film starring anthony hopkins ; furthermore , most of the acting is quite good . \\nbut i can recognize instinct for what it is beyond my subjective admiration for the actors involved . \\ni can also recognize reasons for wanting to make instinct , and it\\'s pretty clear that this could have been a good film with a massive script overhaul and a director less interested in imitating movies like patch adams . \\nthings start off in the predictable way , as director jon turtletaub introduces us to our hero , theo caulder ( cuba gooding , jr . ) , an ambitious , young psychiatrist under the supervision of an experienced , old psychiatrist ( donald sutherland ) . \\ncaulder soon finds himself involved in the case of his life , the one he thinks will make him famous . \\nthe subject is ethan powell ( hopkins ) , an anthropologist who has been living among gorillas in africa for the past two years . \\npowell has been charged with the brutal murders of several men in africa , and it\\'s now caulder\\'s job to find out of he\\'s mentally competent enough to stand trial . \\nthrough a series of short sessions , caulder tries to put together the complex psyche of powell . \\neven though it really is an old man version of tarzan , much of this central idea is rather interesting . \\nas i said , hopkins is captivating for every second he\\'s on screen ; he has a way of convincing us that he\\'s not acting , that he\\'s actually a man who has just spent two years of his life living with a family of wild gorillas . \\nthe character himself isn\\'t very interesting -- he\\'s just an anthropologist who really likes gorillas -- but hopkins makes him interesting with subtleties both in speech and action . \\ngooding jr . does strong work opposite hopkins , playing caulder as an intelligent and flawed individual . \\nthe screenplay , written by gerald di pego and \" suggested by \" a novel by daniel quinn , gives us no background information on caulder , but that seems to be the point ( he has no time for friends because he\\'s obsessed with his work ) . \\nnonetheless , these two actors are essentially the entire list of things that are good about instinct . \\nunfortunately , filmmaking this inept can mangle the effect of even the best acting . \\nturtletaub and di pego are both guilty of instinct\\'s artistic failure , for they work together to make the dumbest , most cliche-ridden environment in which their characters are to live , and they do so by means of brainless subplots . \\nfirst , we have the prison warden subplot . \\nthe prison warden is evil and wants to stop caulder\\'s progress at any cost ; if this means taking caulder off the powell case , then that\\'s fine . \\nthere\\'s also the prison guard subplot . \\nthe prison guard is played by john ashton ; the prison guard seems to enjoy mercilessly beating upon the psychotics under his supervision , and he\\'s instrumental in helping the story along to its obvious conclusion . \\nthen there\\'s the daughter subplot , in which maura tierney ( playing the daughter ) must look very upset a lot of the time ; after all , she is the daughter of a deranged man . \\nif some of this stuff sounds familiar , that\\'s because they\\'re all devices that have been used and reused in countless other films . \\nthe evil doctor in patch adams is not unlike the evil warden here . \\nthe offensive caricatures of mental patients lack the depth that the similar portrayals in one flew over the cuckoo\\'s nest had . \\nashton\\'s evil prison guard pales in comparison to clancy brown\\'s in the shawshank redemption . \\nhopkins\\' performance will undoubtedly remind audiences of his turn in the silence of the lambs . \\nand then there\\'s the whole tarzan thing , which is more than a little bit obvious through the entire film . \\nperhaps what irritates me most about instinct is the half-hearted attempt at philosophical depth . \\nthe message powell brings back from the wild is not a subtle one : he thinks that humans are \" takers , \" that they expand and kill and that we should all just live like gorillas . \\ni can sympathize with that , but only when it\\'s in a compelling film . \\nthis is the kind of stupid movie -- just like patch adams -- in which a big group of characters ( psychotic inmates , in this case ) rise against the evil forces oppressing them by tearing up playing cards . \\nwhat does any of this have to do with a man who has just spent two years of his life with gorillas ? \\nif all the subplots of instinct had been left on the cutting room floor , we would have had a thirty-minute movie far superior to the two-hour one that i watched today . \\nif the central idea had been developed beyond the old man tarzan premise , then we would really have had something interesting -- a movie that doesn\\'t rely on the strength of its actors . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after the recent animated debacles of , \" a rugrats movie , \" and \" a bug\\'s life , \" i am seriously considering raising my highly negative rating on dreamworks\\' other insect film from october , \" antz . \" \\ni hated that movie , and yet , it is so much better than these latest two excursions . \\n \" a bug\\'s life , \" is the second animated insect film in the last two months , and i hoped for the best , considering it was done in the wonderful style of pixar\\'s last film , 1995\\'s \" toy story , \" but in no way does , \" a bug\\'s life , \" even remotely match up to that . \\nflik ( david foley ) , an ant , who along with his many comrades , has the job every year of gathering up the seasonal harvest , only to have to give half of it away to the dominating grasshoppers , led by hopper ( kevin spacey ) . \\nflik , however , feels all alone and unwanted in the world , especially after he accidentally loses all of their food , and the ants are threated by hopper to gather up a whole other season\\'s load by the time the last summer leaf falls from the trees . \\nbanished from ant island , flik leaves the colony in search of some strong reinforcement to help out , but through a misunderstanding , returns with a handful of helpless circus bugs , including a walking stick ( david hyde pierce ) , a dung beetle ( brad garrett ) , a gypsy moth ( madeline kahn ) , a male ladybug ( denis leary ) , and a caterpillar ( joe ranft ) . \\n \" a bug\\'s life , \" has one thing going for it . \\nonly one thing . \\nwith its glorious , bright colors , the computer-generated animation is a spectacle to look at . \\nthe film itself , unfortunately , is a lifeless , unamusing contraption without any of the flair or excitement of , \" toy story . \" \\nthe characters in , \" a bug\\'s life , \" are an assortment of either unlikable or dull insects without any charm or personality , other than to stand around and recite arbitrary and thoroughly unfunny one-liners . \\nthe thin story was also stretched out to a nearly unbearable 94 minutes , and it often felt as if they ran out of ideas throughout , and so they made up pointless scenes to pass as time-filler . \\nafter giving such scathing reviews to the animated films from this year , i was beginning to think that i had simply outgrown them , but then i realized this is just not so . \\ni still adore almost all of the older disney films , and many of the newer ones , such as 1989\\'s , \" the little mermaid , \" 1991\\'s , \" beauty and the beast , \" 1993\\'s , \" the nightmare before christmas , \" and yes , 1995\\'s , \" toy story . \" \\nmaybe this has just been a bad year for children\\'s films , and hopefully , the upcoming , \" the prince of egypt , \" will not be a disappointment . \\nas for , \" a bug\\'s life , \" i did not enjoy anything about it . \\nnot the story , not the characters , and not even the voiceover work , which was far more lively in , \" antz . \" \\n \" a bug\\'s life , \" goes down as yet another failure for disney , and it is a sad state of affairs when their best film in the last two years has been the minor jonathan taylor thomas picture , \" i\\'ll be home for christmas . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'films adapted from comic books have had plenty of success , whether they\\'re about superheroes ( batman , superman , spawn ) , or geared toward kids ( casper ) or the arthouse crowd ( ghost world ) , but there\\'s never really been a comic book like from hell before . \\nfor starters , it was created by alan moore ( and eddie campbell ) , who brought the medium to a whole new level in the mid \\'80s with a 12-part series called the watchmen . \\nto say moore and campbell thoroughly researched the subject of jack the ripper would be like saying michael jackson is starting to look a little odd . \\nthe book ( or \" graphic novel , \" if you will ) is over 500 pages long and includes nearly 30 more that consist of nothing but footnotes . \\nin other words , don\\'t dismiss this film because of its source . \\nif you can get past the whole comic book thing , you might find another stumbling block in from hell\\'s directors , albert and allen hughes . \\ngetting the hughes brothers to direct this seems almost as ludicrous as casting carrot top in , well , anything , but riddle me this : who better to direct a film that\\'s set in the ghetto and features really violent street crime than the mad geniuses behind menace ii society ? \\nthe ghetto in question is , of course , whitechapel in 1888 london\\'s east end . \\nit\\'s a filthy , sooty place where the whores ( called \" unfortunates \" ) are starting to get a little nervous about this mysterious psychopath who has been carving through their profession with surgical precision . \\nwhen the first stiff turns up , copper peter godley ( robbie coltrane , the world is not enough ) calls in inspector frederick abberline ( johnny depp , blow ) to crack the case . \\nabberline , a widower , has prophetic dreams he unsuccessfully tries to quell with copious amounts of absinthe and opium . \\nupon arriving in whitechapel , he befriends an unfortunate named mary kelly ( heather graham , say it isn\\'t so ) and proceeds to investigate the horribly gruesome crimes that even the police surgeon can\\'t stomach . \\ni don\\'t think anyone needs to be briefed on jack the ripper , so i won\\'t go into the particulars here , other than to say moore and campbell have a unique and interesting theory about both the identity of the killer and the reasons he chooses to slay . \\nin the comic , they don\\'t bother cloaking the identity of the ripper , but screenwriters terry hayes ( vertical limit ) and rafael yglesias ( les mis ? rables ) do a good job of keeping him hidden from viewers until the very end . \\nit\\'s funny to watch the locals blindly point the finger of blame at jews and indians because , after all , an englishman could never be capable of committing such ghastly acts . \\nand from hell\\'s ending had me whistling the stonecutters song from the simpsons for days ( \" who holds back the electric car/who made steve guttenberg a star ? \" ) . \\ndon\\'t worry - it\\'ll all make sense when you see it . \\nnow onto from hell\\'s appearance : it\\'s certainly dark and bleak enough , and it\\'s surprising to see how much more it looks like a tim burton film than planet of the apes did ( at times , it seems like sleepy hollow 2 ) . \\nthe print i saw wasn\\'t completely finished ( both color and music had not been finalized , so no comments about marilyn manson ) , but cinematographer peter deming ( don\\'t say a word ) ably captures the dreariness of victorian-era london and helped make the flashy killing scenes remind me of the crazy flashbacks in twin peaks , even though the violence in the film pales in comparison to that in the black-and-white comic . \\noscar winner martin childs\\' ( shakespeare in love ) production design turns the original prague surroundings into one creepy place . \\neven the acting in from hell is solid , with the dreamy depp turning in a typically strong performance and deftly handling a british accent . \\nians holm ( joe gould\\'s secret ) and richardson ( 102 dalmatians ) log in great supporting roles , but the big surprise here is graham . \\ni cringed the first time she opened her mouth , imagining her attempt at an irish accent , but it actually wasn\\'t half bad . \\nthe film , however , is all good . \\n2 : 00 - r for strong violence/gore , sexuality , language and drug content \\n',\n",
+       " b'driving miss daisy takes its sweet time to tell a small , intimate story . \\nit\\'s a quiet film , a slow film , a deliberate film . \\nbut if you\\'re patient with it , the movie offers innumerable rewards , such as a pair of self-assured performances by morgan freeman and jessica tandy . \\ndriving miss daisy is based on alfred uhry\\'s pulitzer-prize winning play of the same name , which first opened in new york four years ago . \\nthe play has garnered international acclaim with productions in chicago , los angeles , london , vienna , norway , and the soviet union . \\nuhry himself wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of driving miss daisy ; he also penned the wonderful sleeper , mystic pizza . \\nthe film , like the play , is set in atlanta , georgia , and it revolves around two people in their twilight years : a cranky , 70-something jewish widow who feels guilty about her wealth and a 60-something black man who becomes her chauffeur . \\nthe movie relies on character , rather than plot , to propel the action . \\nin fact , the movie has no discernible plot in the traditional sense ; it doesn\\'t present a linear story in which all the scenes flow together . \\nrather , driving miss daisy is made up of the routine activities of everyday life : shopping , listening to the radio , visiting the cemetery , eating fried chicken , and so on . \\nthe film also incorporates into the story line actual events in atlanta\\'s history , including the 1958 bombing of the temple ( the city\\'s oldest jewish congregation ) and a 1965 ceremony honoring the reverend dr . martin luther king , jr . \\nthe story begins in 1948 with daisy ( tandy ) crashing and wrecking her packard as she pulls out of her driveway . \\nthe insurance company cancels her insurance , and her son , boolie , decides to hire her a chauffeur . \\nfreeman , reprising his role from the play , plays the chauffeur , hoke . \\nthe film chronicles the warm friendship that slowly but surely blossoms between the chauffeur and his reluctant passenger . \\ndriving miss daisy is a movie about human nature , aging , prejudice , and a great many other things , but more than anything it\\'s about a relationship : one that spans 25 years , 4 cars , the advent of civil rights , and one gravely important 33 cent can of salmon . \\ndaisy is strong-willed and set in her ways , and , from the outset , she is utterly opposed to the idea of having a chauffeur . \\ninitially , she treats hoke with contempt , refusing to let him drive her anywhere . \\nonce she does get in the car , daisy is the ultimate back-seat driver . \\nto make matters worse , she is extremely self-conscious about what others might think if they were to see her being escorted around town by a hired hand . \\neventually , however , daisy is worn down by hoke\\'s good-natured charm and infectious cheer ; she softens and opens up to him . \\ntandy plays the part of daisy exceedingly well , but unfortunately this feisty , cantankerous character is just a smidgen too commonplace . \\nwe\\'ve seen this woman countless times before in other incarnations , from on golden pond to cocoon . \\nnevertheless , tandy manages to put enough of a personal stamp on the familiar character to make it her own . \\nfreeman , as hoke , on the other hand , gives the more distinctive of the two performances . \\nthere is something profoundly moving about the way hoke maintains his pride and dignity in a society which forbids him from using public rest rooms because of his skin color . \\nhoke is uneducated and illiterate , but freeman always suggests that there is something more to this man , an inner strength beneath the simpleton exterior . \\nboth freeman and tandy seem to be in their element , in full command of their natural charisma . \\nthey flirt with the camera and dominate scenes without overtly calling attention to themselves . \\nthey bring a light touch to their humorous banter and to the movie\\'s gentle humor . \\nat the same time , tandy and freeman provide more than a few moments of truly poignant drama . \\nin his first dramatic role , dan aykroyd is surprisingly chubby and unexpectedly effective as boolie , tandy\\'s loving and patient son . \\ndrama seems to agree with aykroyd ; taking a break from comedy seems like a good move for the actor , especially when you consider the wretched comedies he has made recently ( ghostbusters ii , the great outdoors , my stepmother is an alien ) . \\nthe only other significant characters in the film are daisy\\'s housekeeper , idella , marvelously played by esther rolle ( \" good times \" ) , and boolie\\'s pretentious wife , played by patti lupone . \\nunder the direction of bruce beresford ( crimes of the heart , tender mercies ) , driving miss daisy seems a bit stagey now and again . \\nbut fortunately , beresford never forgets he\\'s shooting a movie , and accordingly , he offers plenty of striking cinematic touches , such as gorgeous shots of flowers , trees , and tomatoes . \\nin adapting driving miss daisy from the stage to the screen , the filmmakers have achieved a delicate subtlety . \\nuhry understands that what his characters do not say can be just as important as what they do say . \\nberesford wisely exercises restraint in the film\\'s dramatic moments . \\nthe movie tugs at your heart , but it never goes for the jugular . \\nthe only sap in driving miss daisy is in the trees . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" shagadellic ! \" , \" groovy , baby ! \" \\n \" smashing ! \" \\nadorn the 1/4 page ad for this movie tabbed as \" the #1 comedy in america \" as of may 8th . \\ndid we attend the same movie ? ! \\nat 87 minutes it seemed overlong , like a snl skit on steroids , and at any length it seemed unfunny . \\nyes , the sets and costumes were an interesting exaggeration of 60s pop frills , and yes , the concept , dealing with a 60s secret agent/pop icon ( played by myers ) awakened from his cryogenic slumber to battle his arch enemy ( dr . \\nevil , also played by myers ) in the present day , had a great deal of potential . \\nfun costumes and scenery and potential do not a movie make so lets throw in a hefty dose of bathroom humor . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong , i like a good \" bubbles in the bathtub joke \" as much as the next person , but to have this type of humor be the funniest thing about your movie is a waste of yuor talent and my money . \\nbut , the way things work these days in the movie business , all a film has to do is call itself the funniest and people will believe it . \\ni do give this film stars because of the sets , costumes , and sadly , unmet potential . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after watching \" rat race \" last week , i noticed my cheeks were sore and realized that , when not laughing aloud , i had held a grin for virtually all of the film\\'s 112 minutes . \\nsaturday night , i attended another sneak preview for the movie and damned if i didn\\'t enjoy it as much the second time as the first . \\n \" rat race \" is a great goofy delight , a dandy mix of energetic performances , inspired sight gags and flat-out silliness . \\nhands down , this is the most fun film of the summer . \\nthe movie begins with zippy retro-style opening credits that look like they were torn straight out of a \\'60s slapstick comedy , featuring animated photos of the cast attached to herky-jerky bodies bounding around the screen . \\nthen comes the setup . \\ndonald sinclair ( john cleese ) , the extremely rich owner of the venetian hotel and casino in las vegas , enjoys concocting unusual bets for his high rolling clients . \\nto that end , he places a half dozen very special tokens in his slot machines . \\ngathering together the lucky token holders , he explains , \" today you have a chance to play a game where the odds of winning are one in six . \" \\nthe competition is simple : each contestant gets a key that opens a locker in silver city , n . m . , containing $2 million in cash . \\nthere is a transmitter in every key , so that sinclair and his cronies can keep track of who is ahead . \\nthe race has no rules ? whichever contestant reaches the locker first gets the money . \\nsince it would be wrong to spoil any of the jokes , let\\'s use the next few paragraphs to profile the racers . \\ndecked out in flashy , trashy clothing and sporting big hair , vera baker ( whoopi goldberg ) is in town to reunite with the daughter she gave up for adoption as a baby . \\nshe finds that grown-up merrill ( lanai chapman ) is erudite , conservative and more than a little bit wary of this stranger trying to jump into her life . \\nthrown together , it becomes clear that both women share a fierce competitive nature . \\nowen templeton ( cuba gooding jr . ) is currently the most hated man in america . \\nan nfl referee , he cost gamblers all over the country enormous amounts of money by blowing a call in a high-profile game . \\nafter escaping from a vengeful cab driver , owen gets to new mexico by masquerading as the driver for a busload of lucy ricardo impersonators heading to a convention . \\nmr . pollini ( rowan atkinson ) is a cheerful , odd little italian man on holiday in america . \\nhe also is narcoleptic and falls asleep at the most inopportune times . \\npollini hitches a ride with zack ( wayne knight ) , a hyper-tense ambulance driver carrying a human heart across country for a transplant operation . \\nrandy pear ( jon lovitz ) promised his wife beverly ( kathy najimy ) and two kids a fun-filled vacation in las vegas . \\nfearful that beverly will be angry over his involvement in the race , he claims that he must travel to silver city for a job interview . \\nbeverly insists the family stay together , so they hop in the mini-van and tear off into the desert . \\nbrothers duane ( seth green ) and blaine ( vince vieluf ) cody are young , crooked and stupid . \\nblaine has a speech impediment due to his poorly self-done tongue piercing , and duane is the only person who can come close to understanding him . \\nthe boys will stop at nothing to reach their goal . \\nfinally , nick shaffer ( breckin meyer ) is a no-nonsense lawyer-in-training who recruits helicopter pilot tracy faucet ( amy smart ) for the journey . \\nat first glance , they seem blandly wholesome , but all that changes when tracy buzzes the home of her boyfriend shawn ( dean cain ) and spies him swimming with another woman . \\ndirector jerry zucker ( \" airplane , \" \" ghost \" ) leaps from racer to racer , periodically returning to las vegas where sinclair and mr . grisham ( dave thomas ) , his personality-impaired right hand man , continue cooking up bizarre bets for the gamblers . \\nas with any zucker production , a few jokes fall flat , but the momentum of the comedy zooms past those missteps . \\nhigh points for me include a bit involving kathy bates as a roadside squirrel salesperson and an intricately set up gag that carries jon lovitz and family from a bizarre museum to an outdoor rally , with an utterly tasteless and screamingly funny pay-off . \\nhad i been part of the filmmaking team , i would have ditched a joke where a key is dropped into a baby\\'s clothes and instead had the key get lost in the cleavage of a dozing society matron . \\nit would have drawn the same laugh without the squirm-inducing hint of child molestation . \\ni also would have selected a different band for a concert sequence . \\nmy god , do we really need yet another movie with smash mouth performing \" all star ? \" \\nbut enough carping . \\n \" rat race \" is a riot , with terrific no-holds-barred performances from the diverse cast . \\nsee it , see it again and when the dvd comes out , buy it , because a movie this hilarious will surely have outtakes to die for . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if this keeps up , jane austen ( sense and sensibility , pride and prejudice ) may have to apply for posthumous membership to the screen writers guild . \\nyet another novel of hers has made the transition to the silver screen . \\nmansfield park is a turn of the century ( 18th century going on 19th ) story about love among the classes as well as an examination into proper society and family ties . \\nten year old fanny price ( hannah taylor-gordon , jakob the liar ) , taken from her mother and father and the poverty in which they dwell , is sent to live with her aunt and the privileged class at mansfield park , under the stern patriarchal hand of her uncle , sir thomas bertram ( harold pinter , mojo ) \\nspending her days reminded of her lower status , she also invents and writes fanciful stories during her private times . \\nfanny eventually grows to become a beautiful , intelligent , and engaging heroine ( quite unlike the original character which ms . austen originally penned in her novel . ) \\nwriter/director patricia rozema ( when night is falling ) is responsible for the textual changes . \\nfrom a purely dramatic perspective , the revision makes perfect sense and improves the film\\'s audience appeal . \\nwhat ms . rozema has done is to infuse the main character with much of ms . austen\\'s own personality by including excerpts from the author\\'s journals , giving that dialogue to fanny . \\nthe result is a central character that is immediately appealing . \\nas the grown fanny , australian actress frances o\\'connor ( all about adam ) does wonderfully textured work . \\nat times , ms . rozema has fanny address the camera directly to communicate many of the novel\\'s more introspective observations . \\nthis is a difficult device to work seamlessly into a period film and it is to ms . o\\'connor\\'s credit that it works as well as it does . \\nthe central theme which gives the story its legs in an old one . . . \\nwhether it is better to marry for love or for social standing ? \\nfanny has fallen in love with her cousin edmund ( jonny lee miller , plunkett & macleane ) who appears fond of her as well . \\nhis attentions are soon divided as the stylish and socially acceptable mary crawford ( embeth davidtz , bicentennial man ) enters the picture along with her equally acceptable brother henry ( alessandro nivola , inventing the abbotts ) who eventually sets his romantic sights upon fanny . \\nwhile mary and henry are evidently less than sincere in their affections , their presence does provide the movie and the main characters with the necessary conflict that keeps our interest until the film\\'s appropriately austen-like ending . \\nother thematic devices include a awkwardly inserted reference to the source of the wealth of mansfield park . . . \\nthe slave trade . \\nthere is also a hint of both lesbianism and incest but neither is carried very far and is soon forgotten . \\nthe motivation for marriage remains the primary thematic thrust . \\nfanny\\'s cousin , maria bertram ( victoria hamilton , persuasion ) is an example of one making a poor match , marrying a well-to-do fool who is able to make her comfortable , but never happy . \\nfanny\\'s own mother , trapped in her chosen life of squalor warns fanny by admitting that her situation is due to the fact that she \" married for love . \" \\nfanny , given those two terrible examples , and faced with the same choice is understandably indecisive as to which way to lean . \\nthe spiritual answer , of course , lies in the middle of those two extremes . \\nmarriage is not a cold , calculating decision based upon self-preservation . \\nneither is it a senseless decision made in the warm afterglow of a passionate embrace . \\nin the purest sense , marriage forms an insoluble union whereby two people agree to function as one . \\n \" and said , for this cause shall a man leave father and mother , and shall cleave to his wife : and they twain shall be one flesh ? \" \\nmatthew 19 : 5 [kjv] \\nlove and logic can be combined . \\ngod\\'s word contains both . \\nso does a marriage based upon his truth . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the andromeda strain is the greatest science fiction film ever made . \\ni know that is very sweeping statement , so i\\'ll qualify it by adding that the andromeda strain is one of the few films made that genuinely deserve the label of \" science fiction , \" stories in which speculative science is at the core of the plot . \\n2001 : a space odyssey is probably a better film , but it really only qualifies as science fiction if you consider metaphysics to be a science . \\nmost all other films we normally classify as science fiction , or sf , are really just fantasy , action or horror stories set in a futuristic setting . \\nthe andromeda strain starts out with two soldiers in a high-tech ( for 1970 ) van looking for a crashed satellite in a tiny new mexico town . \\nsomething bad happens to them . \\npictures from a reconnaissance plane show a shocking sight . \\napparently everyone in the town is dead . \\nthe authorities call a \" wildfire alert , \" summoning four scientists , all but one of them somewhat reluctant , to a super-secret underground germ warfare laboratory in nevada . \\ntwo of scientists , stone and hall , fly directly to the town in space suits and find a town where almost every single resident literally dropped in their tracks , their blood turned to powder in their veins . \\nsome went insane before they died and two of them , a baby and an old wino , are miraculously still alive . \\nthey take the survivors and the satellite back to the lab , where stone pressures the white house to call up a \" directive 712 , \" an executive order to cauterize the area around the town with a nuclear bomb . \\nwhat they find on the satellite when they get back to the lab is andromeda , an organism that defies all the normal rules of earth-like life and mutates as it grows . \\ntheir only hope to cure it is to find out what a perfectly healthy baby boy has in common with an old derelict . \\nwhat they find out is that organism feeds directly on energy and that detonating the a-bomb over the town would only spread it across the entire planet . \\nthey barely call off the bombing in time . \\nbut then the organism mutates into something that threatens to eat through the labs defenses and break out . \\nthis triggers the lab\\'s last-ditch defense mechanism , an atomic bomb . \\nto those raised on the brainless action fare that pollutes movie theaters these days , the andromeda strain will probably seem interminably slow . \\nmuch of the film is a lot of people standing around looking at video screens and computer readouts . \\nbut what the characters see on those screens ratchets up the tension with every turn of the screw . \\nthe performances are universally fine , with the actors keeping things low-key and restrained , just like scientists . \\nto me , the real appeal of this film is the fact that it shows scientists acting like scientists and makes it seem exciting . \\nwe follow the logic of their deduction step by methodical step , puzzling like they do every time andromeda behaves in a way we don\\'t expect . \\nthis film is only available on wide screen on dvd and that is the way to see it . \\nit was originally rated g when first released but it now carries the pg rating , mostly for very mild nudity and one scene in which a body\\'s wrist is slashed , spilling its powdered blood . \\n',\n",
+       " b'one of the sweetest tales to ever be made , it\\'s a wonderful life isn\\'t perfect , but its good natured charm and beautiful performances light up the screen with glorious results . \\nprobably the greatest \" feel-good \" film of all time , it\\'s a wonderful life aims for the heart , and strikes with a golden arrow . \\non christmas eve , george bailey ( stewart ) is being prayed for by many in the small town of bedford falls . \\nyou see , george is in trouble , and he has always helped others who needed it . \\nthis one time , however , god answers his prayers , and sends down the lovable guardian angel clarence ( travers ) to try and save george . \\nclarence has got his own problems , however . \\nclarence is an angel without his wings , and each time the bell rings , the wings pass him by . \\nthe bailey case is a way for him to earn those magical wings and become a true angel . \\nbut before clarence can save george , he first has to go through a cliffs notes version of george bailey\\'s life . \\nwe see george sacrificing his hearing to save his brother\\'s life , sacrificing his college education to save the family business , sacrificing his dream of living far away to support his brother , and even sacrificing his life to make sure his brother is happy working somewhere else . \\nwhen the bank his family owns is in trouble , george gives away his honeymoon money to make sure the bank isn\\'t sold to the evil mr . potter ( barrymore ) , who wants nothing less than to get the baileys out of bedford falls . \\none christmas , potter gets his chance . \\nuncle billy bailey ( mitchell ) loses $8 , 000 of the bank\\'s money . \\nwithout the money , the bank must close down . \\ngeorge is stuck in a tremendous bind , and contemplates suicide . \\nclarence , the faithful servant , is there just to pick him up , and to show him what bedford would be like without george . \\nthis is all a lead-in to the very famous last scene , where george finally sees what true happiness is about . \\nit\\'s a wonderful life does have its faults . \\nthe movie is beginning to feel dated in the details , especially in the treatment of women and men . \\nthe sex roles in the film are weirdly out of place in the 90\\'s , like something out of a revisionist look . \\nall the men drink too much and slap their wives too much during some portions of the film . \\nthere are , however , endearing moments in all of this . \\ncapra puts in just enough humor mocking the sex roles of the 50\\'s to make the movie remarkably enjoyable . \\nthe story is hackneyed , and the ending feels , well , a little too sugarish . \\nthere\\'s this uneasy feeling of sugar over everything , especially the sequences where george is either in trouble , or helping somebody . \\nit\\'s a little too nice for my liking , at times . \\nthere is , however , enough humor , enough wit , and enough of jimmy stewart to get the movie through the middle part , which would be the most difficult . \\nbut watching it\\'s a wonderful life is never boring or difficult : it\\'s always interesting , right until the finale , which , for all its sugar , makes delightful sense and is beautifully done . \\ncapra does have his monumental cliches , but the actors relish them and overplay everything to perfection . \\ndonna reed is perfect as the loving , obeidient wife , and lionel barrymore is gloriously grump as mr . potter . \\neveryone else is magnificent , including bert and ernie ( ward bond and frank faylen ) . \\nthere is a general sense of goodness , as if everyone in the film knows that they are making a great film , and they relish that . \\nstewart , however , is the king of all of this . \\nhe is sometimes awkward , especially when saying \" merry christmas \" to all objects , animate or inanimate . \\nbut he is james stewart , and he\\'s lovably delightful throughout the film . \\nhave i complained ? \\ni shouldn\\'t have . \\nthis is a really good movie . \\nno , this is a great movie . \\nbetter yet , this is a phenomenal movie . \\nthere is a reason classics are invented : to make sure that people will always have great movies to aid them in their quest for living life . \\nthis is one of those films . \\nit is a \" feel-good \" movie , something people complain a little too much about . \\nbut capra\\'s reworking of \" a christmas carol \" is the greatest christmas movie of all time . \\nthere , i\\'ve said it . \\ni have to admit , the first time i saw this , i saw it with my family , including my 11 year old kid sister . \\nthey all loved it . \\nthey loved george , his wife , his troubles , and the beautiful ending . \\nis it a little too sugar-coated ? \\nmaybe . \\nno matter . \\nthis is a film that should be watched time and time again , with families around a coffee table , and eggnog on the plate . \\nit is a film that just makes you feel good about life , family , and hope . \\nit is the perfect christmas film , flaws and all . \\nit is frank capra\\'s greatest acheivement , and that really does say a lot . \\nfor about 121 out of 129 minutes , this movie is flawless . \\nthe rest can be excused : no film is perfectly flawless . \\ni can\\'t get over how much i love this movie , and how much you will , after watching it , digesting it , and sitting with your family , appreciating how special life really is . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the premise of the new teen-targeted horror film `final destination' causes a recollection of a memorable `simpsons' halloween episode . \\nafter attempting to repair a malfunctioning toaster , lovably ignorant patriarch homer realizes he has created a portable time-machine . \\nafter a trek into the cretaceous period , homer observes that any minor alteration made there will erupt into a starling chain of events and seriously modify the present world . \\nagain and again , homer toys with the master plan and pays dearly for it . \\nthe characters of `final destination' have also tampered with the blueprint schematics of their existence - their `design' . \\nsomeone is after them with the strict intent of correcting the mistake . \\nthat someone is death . \\nyou see , alex browning ( devon sawa ) and six others have cheated the grim reaper . . . . \\nbut the dude has got some tricks up his sleeve . \\nfor a high school excursion , alex's french class is traveling to paris by airline transport . \\nalex , tense and neurotic , has a shocking premonition after boarding : he sees the plane , and every passenger on it , spontaneously explode in mid-air . \\nin a panic of sheer lunacy , alex charges his way through the aisle and demands removal from the aircraft . \\nafter a handful of others ( including one teacher ) follow and are denied admittance back onto the plane , the unwitting ? survivors' watch in horror as the plane actually explodes in the drizzling night sky . \\nthe loony vision alex experiences does actually materialize . \\nbut death won't be cheated so easily , and one by one , the survivors of flight 180 are offed in mysteriously gruesome circumstances . \\nthe grisly murder count baffles the local officials and fbi . \\nbefore i delve into the meat of the review , i'd just like to confer . . . . \\nis that one helluva premise , or what ? \\n`final destination' , creepy beyond rational comprehension , probably reads more like an unsettling `x-files' episode than `the simpsons' - therefore , the surprise is minimal when you discover the mutual creators behind both are glen morgan and james wong . \\non familiar turf , the task of establishing footing is not difficult for morgan and wong , and the opening 20 minutes of `final destination' reflects that . \\nunlike most thrillers , the set-up is crisp and cool . \\nyou just deeply , sincerely hope that the momentum won't unspool , leaving us with a second-string effort with nothing but cheap , derivative shocks . \\nyoung viewers have a palpable reason to expect this kind of formula deterioration , what with `i know what you did last summer' and sequel , `idle hands' and -- a movie with a nifty premise that just plunged like an anvil -- `urban legend' . \\nafter the set-up , when i remained slouched apprehensively in my chair , i started to really have fun with `final destination' . \\nlow and behold , a teen thriller that is actually unsettling , actually suspenseful and -- yes -- actually intelligent . \\nsome splotty logic and a heap of characteristic genre flaws aside , this film is among the most refreshing and all-out enjoyable horror movies to submerge since the cutting-edge `scream' in 1996 . \\n`final destination' stimulates the nerves and offers a exhilarating retaliation strike against all the blood-spattered slasher crap we've endured throughout the past few years . \\nnot that the characters are that good . \\nsawa is game as alex , a connect-the-dots personality that we never fully comprehend . \\nin addition , the survivors are endearing geek tod ( chad e . donella ) , jocky control-freak carter ( kerr smith of `dawson's creek' ) , carter's ditzy girlfriend terry ( amanda detmer ) , the none-too-subtly named billy hitchcock ( seann william scott , supplier of lukewarm comic relief ) and a lone teacher - the emotionally delicate ms . lewton ( kristin cloke ) . \\naside from alex , the primary center of interest is intended to be ali larter ( `varsity blues' ) , playing an abstract character named clear rivers ( what were her parents thinking ? ! ? ) . \\nthe personality of clear is written with such a vague , nebulous definition that she resembles a walking flash-card saying `hello , i am the offbeat character designed to identify with the main character's plight ! ' \\ntoss a few stereotypical fbi agents ( daniel roebuck and roger guenveur smith ) and a . . . . ummm . . . \\n`spiritual' mortician ( former `candyman' tony todd ) into the mix , and you have what could be another generic teenage frightfest with slicing , dicing and assorted disembowelments . \\nnot so . \\n`final destination' has no slicing and dicing , or at least none dealt by a human killer , and the thought of death itself as the unseen stalker is unique and frightening . \\nthe extra dimension of disconcerting irony rejuvenates the decaying ? murderer-on-the-loose' concept , with assistance from a shrewd , intelligently paced screenplay by morgan , wong and jeffrey reddick . \\nthe plot twists are fun and clever without toppling into utter absurdity ( listen up , `reindeer games' ) . \\nbut i suppose the most satisfying aspect of `final destination' is the murder scenes . \\ncreative , resourceful and breathlessly inventive , the death sequences involve an unlikely string of events leading to a character's demise . \\nwhat will trigger the accident ? \\nwill it be the john denver record , just put on to play `rocky mountain high' ? \\n ( yeah , sick humor ) . \\nwill it be the leaking toilet ? \\nthe falling fishing reel in the corner ? \\nthe murders are startling and largely unforeseen , including one surprise incident that made the audience jump out of their seats and giggle nervously for roughly a minute afterward . \\na sense of giddy unpredictability is added with this inventive approach . \\nit gets sorta tasteless and cheap sometimes , but who cares ? \\nit's fun . \\nin that simple regard , `final destination' is my cup of tea . \\nthis stylishly executed thriller , although tagged with laughable circumstances and the occasional snippet of lame dialogue , is an immensely entertaining jaunt to the dark side . \\nafter the show , it will also have an frightening impact on you . \\nwhen will your ? design' expire ? \\nis death waiting around the corner ? \\nthe `final' effect is a major case of the heebie-jeebies . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'well , i\\'ll admit when i first heard about this film ( which was before dante\\'s peak ) i could just smell what \\'twister\\' had started . \\nso now it seems that we\\'re in a full fledged return to the \\'70\\'s disaster film era . \\nwith \\'twister\\' , \\'dante\\'s peak\\' , \\'volcano\\' and soon \\'flood\\' and james cameron\\'s extremly expensive \\'titanic\\' \\ni\\'ll say first off i enjoyed \\'volcano\\' much more than i did \\'dantes peak\\' . \\npart of that is just being biased as i usually enjoy anything that tommy lee jones appears in . \\ni\\'ve been reading a lot about the movie being \\'cheezy\\' or \\'hokey\\' and really didn\\'t see or think that once during the entire film . \\ni get bored easily and this film didn\\'t bore me for a minute . \\nanother thing , and boy am i bitching today ! , that bothers me is when critics and such go on about \" well thats not really possible . \" \\nyou know what ? \\ni couldn\\'t give a bloody damn if it\\'s possible or not , really i couldn\\'t . \\nit\\'s a freaking movie and i don\\'t want reality thrown in my face . \\ni want to be able to see the impossible , the all might \" what if \" to many reviewers have seen one to many movies ! \\nthe special effects are the second star to this feature . \\nthey are so amazing that i found it hard sometimes to believe they were indeed fx and la was was not burning to the ground . \\nthey did an incredible job and come oscar time ( if they remember ) some notice better be thrown there way . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"lengthy and lousy are two words to describe the boring drama the english patient . \\ngreat acting , music and cinematography were nice , but too many dull sub-plots and characters made the film hard to follow . \\nralph fiennes ( strange days , schindler's list ) gives a gripping performance as count laszlo almasy , a victim of amnesia and horrible burns after world war ii in italy . \\nthe story revolves around his past , in flashback form , making it even more confusing . \\nanyway , he is taken in by hana ( juliette binoche , the horseman on the roof ) , a boring war-torn nurse . \\nshe was never really made into anything , until she met an indian towards the end , developing yet another sub-plot . \\ncount almasy begins to remember what happened to him as it is explained by a stranger ( willem dafoe , basquiat ) . \\nhis love ( kirstin scott thomas , mission impossible ) was severely injured in a plane crash , and eventually died in a cave . \\nhe returned to find her dead and was heart-broken . \\nso he flew her dead body somewhere , but was shot down from the ground . \\ndon't get the wrong idea , it may sound good and the trailer may be tempting , but good is the last thing this film is . \\nmaybe if it were an hour less , it may have been tolerable , but 2 hours and 40 minutes of talking is too much to handle . \\nthe only redeeming qualities about this film are the fine acting of fiennes and dafoe and the beautiful desert cinematography . \\nother than these , the english patient is full of worthless scenes of boredom and wastes entirely too much film . \\n , \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i didn\\'t realize how apt the name of this movie was until i called the mpaa ( the motion picture association of america - the folks who decide what\\'s g , nc 17 , pg , r or x ) to ask why the preview was rated r . so that we can make some sense of their response , let me tell you about the movie itself . \\n \" the celluloid closet \" is a documentary about how homosexuality has been portrayed in the movies over the past several decades . \\nit\\'s brilliant , funny , naughty and extremely poignant . \\nit tore at my heart to watch a gifted lesbian screenwriter explain that , as a rule , gay audiences hunger for any hint of homosexuality on screen . \\nregardless of how veiled - or how sordid - the presence of a gay or lesbian person allows others to lessen their sense of isolation and makes them feel as if they\\'re not quite so invisible as america seems to want them to be . \\nthe movie itself is rated r - and for good reason . \\nit contains scenes of bloody , violent gay bashing and graphic , uninhibited , sex . \\nas with any movie , i appreciate knowing about these things ahead of time , so i can decide for myself whether to see the movie with a friend , a date , my 11 year old niece , alone or not at all . \\nbut , that\\'s the movie . \\nnow back to the preview . \\nprior to this film being theatrically released ( it was originally filmed as a documentary for hbo ) i had seen the coming attractions trailer for it at least six times . \\nthere was no nudity , no violence , no bad language , nothing that i could see that would be offensive or inappropriate for a general audience ( okay , whoopi goldberg did refer to someone \" boning \" someone , but the last i knew that wasn\\'t one of the seven words you can\\'t say on tv ) . \\nexcept for a scene of two fully clothed men kissing . \\nhmmmmm . \\nwhen i inquired about the rating on the trailer , a very nice woman at the mpaa quoted from \" the handbook \" that a trailer approved for all audiences could contain \" no homosexuality or lesbianism and no going down on someone . \" \\nhello ? i was in the office and it was the middle of the day . \\nbravely , i pursued . \\n \" i\\'ve seen that trailer , oh . . . \\nprobably half a dozen times , \" i gulped . . . \\n \" and i don\\'t remember that scene . \" \\n \" well , \" she chirped . \\n \" it\\'s there . \\nour little eyes are trained to see that . \" \\nno really . \\nin the words of dave barry , \" i am not making this up . \" \\nthey are \" trained \" to \" see that ? \" \\nwhen someone who was shocked at the rating the first time and made a note to watch it carefully the following five times or so managed to let it slip past her ? \\ngosh , i certainly don\\'t mean to question the mpaa , or \" the handbook \" . \\ni would , however , like to suggest that it\\'s they who are in the closet on this one . \\nand the light ain\\'t good in there . \\nbut , having seen \" the celluloid closet , \" and being one of a handful of straight people involved in a primarily gay and lesbian weekly bible study ( email me and i\\'ll give you the details ) , none of this was any big surprise . \\nthe point of the movie was that homosexuality , even in the politically correct 90s , is ridiculously perceived as a threat to a mostly heterosexual society . \\na point well made in this candid and honest film . \\nnow , i could go off on the mpaa\\'s ruling that a trailer must contain \" no homosexuality or lesbianism \" and ask how that is defined , particularly in light of some of the things , both sexual and non-sexual , that i\\'ve watched straight people do in trailers . \\ni just don\\'t feel the need to go there , because it seems so obvious . \\ni\\'ll instead suggest that the mpaa re-evaluated their evaluation criteria . \\nlet the ratings reflect not subject content , like \" sex \" and \" violence \" . \\nlet them reflect attitude content . \\nin the future , i\\'d be interested in knowing whether the movie is rated d for disrespectful or s for stereotyped . \\nthen i\\'d truly be able to make an informed decision about how i spent my time . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it was with great anticipation that i sat down to view braveheart last week as it premiered on american cable . \\nthe academy award winning film had been highly acclaimed . \\nit also featured the music of one of my favorite film composers , james horner . \\nwhat i was in for was a disappointing and overlong film which was anything but the best picture of 1995 . \\nwhat drags braveheart down is its screenplay . \\nit abounds with high production values : john toll\\'s award-winning cinematography ( which also graced edward zwick\\'s 1994 legends of the fall ) , a gorgeous score by horner , and the sort of logistics that make you wish assistant directors were household names . \\nbut this does not save a misguided script . \\nthe film wishes to paint its central character as a hero , but the viewer\\'s only response to his \" heroism \" is intellectual : william wallace ( producer-director mel gibson ) is fighting for freedom and against tyranny , so we have to root for him . \\nbut wallace\\'s actions paint a different story . \\nhe speaks of freedom and acts of vengeance . \\nthough one intellectually realizes wallace is on the right side , the film paints an unconvincing emotional portait , in which wallace is just not as bad as the english king . \\nwallace speaks of freedom , but his acts point toward vengeance . \\nafter kicking the english out of scotland , he decides to invade england . \\nthis is evident of a \" spartacus complex \" , and this example applies both historically and cinematically . \\nthe historical spartacus at one point moved from liberating slaves to sacking roman cities ; the film spartacus , like braveheart , has high production values and competent performaces and is dragged down by an awful screenplay . \\nit is a shame that such an excellent score is part of such a terrible film . \\nhorner\\'s score tries to make emotional connection , but the performances and the script do not help . \\ngibson portrays wallace in such a way that the audience cannot relate to him or identify with him . \\nthis drags down any emotional connection to the film\\'s plot , and turns three hours into a total waste of time . \\n',\n",
+       " b'slavery is bad . \\nafter hundreds of years , we\\'ve finally figured that one out . \\nthis almost universal belief is the both the strength and weakness of director steven spielberg\\'s latest \" serious \" film . \\nduring the late 1830s , a portuguese slave ship carries a cargo of black men and women kidnapped from their home on africa\\'s west coast to cuba to be sold into slavery . \\nfifty-three of them are stuffed into the \" la amistad \" ( from a spanish word for \" friendship \" ) by their new spanish owners . \\nfreeing himself from his chains , senge pieh ( djimon hounsou ) , renamed cinque by his masters , leads a bloody revolt . \\nafter killing most of the crew , the africans force the remaining sailors to return them to their home - or so they think . \\ninstead the ship heads up the coast to the united states . \\nthe amistad is boarded by an american naval ship and the revolutionaries are put on trial in connecticut for murder and piracy . \\nthe legal question becomes are they free men fighting justly for their freedom or are they property . \\nif they are property , who do they belong to ? \\ntheir masters ? \\nthe spanish government ? \\nsalvage rights of the officers who captured the ship ? \\nthe us government ? \\nthe defendants are pawns in several games . \\nabolitionists theodore joadson ( morgan freeman ) and lewis tappan ( stellan skarsgard ) want to free them , but tappan sees them primarily as a means to further the cause . \\ntheir lawyer roger baldwin ( matthew mcconaughey ) views the case as a simple one of property rights and a chance to make his share of legal fees . \\nsouth carolina senator john c . calhoun ( arliss howard ) pursues the case for the political advancement of the southern states . \\npresident martin van buren ( nigel hawthorne ) is willing to force the result towards his own political ends . \\nwhen the verdict looks to free the africans , van buren replaces the judge with one more sympathetic to his wishes . \\neven that doesn\\'t work and the new judge frees the kidnap victims . \\nat the urging of calhoun , the president then appeals the case to the supreme court , populated by a majority of slave-owners . \\nthis little-known ( try finding it in any history text book ) incident from america\\'s past would have gone down a darker path were it not for former president john quincy adams ( anthony hopkins ) who is persuaded to argue the case before the supreme court . \\nthe slavery issue is easy pickin\\'s for spielberg . \\nmuch like his \" shindler\\'s list \" ( which followed \" jurassic park \" as this follows \" lost world \" ) , the moral sides are not difficult ones to choose . \\nnazis and slave traders : both treat groups of others as less than human . \\nit\\'s not hard to see who the bad guys are . \\nwithout that question to ponder , the director\\'s job is more difficult . \\nhe has to make the story interesting . \\nspielberg succeeds for the most part . \\nthe visual aspect of the film is beyond reproach . \\nwhere the movie falls down is a bit more subtle . \\nthere are very few _people_ in the tale . \\nin fact , cinque is the only character who is fleshed out . \\ntappan and joadson are \" abolitionists \" : symbols but not humans . \\nvan buren is a weak politician but nothing else . \\nthe rest of the \" slaves \" barely exist other than dressing for the set . \\nlike many other films about people of color , almost all the major players are white . \\nthe film\\'s salvation lies in the acting strength of everyone involved and the powerful presence of hounsou . \\nthe former model\\'s first major role is a winner . \\nwithout speaking more than five words of english , he conveys more emotion than most actors with a thousand lines of dialog . \\nthe other stand-out is hopkins who seems to be making a career out of portraying american presidents ( he also played the title role in \" nixon \" ) . \\nthe impassioned speech by the doddering old man who phases in and out of rationality is among the best court-room drama ever on the screen . \\nthere are some other great moments . \\nespecially impressive are the african\\'s struggle to understand what is going on in the strange land . \\ntheir interpretation of the bible based solely on the pictures and their own experiences is poignant . \\nas grand as the epic is , it would have more impact had it focused more on the experience from the point of view of the africans . \\nmore humanity in the fight for humanity would have made it a four-star film . \\n ( michael redman has written this column for a real long time and is just now getting around to seeing some 1998 films . ) \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" soldier \" , by director paul anderson , is a film in which any presence of originality is fleeting . \\nthe best moments of the film are in the opning scenes where kurt russel\\'s character todd is shown growing up under strict military supervision . \\nbrutality through the eyes of the innocent and stripped of it every single day growing up is something that has a lot of emotional potential power behind it , and the opening scenes tap into it a little . \\nthen it goes nowhere with that idea . \\nthere is perhaps one rather fleeting scene afterwards that deals with the potential trauma of this dehumanization , and the rest of the film is just some of the biggest action movie cliches i\\'ve ever seen . \\nthe whole idea of the inhuman , soldier-type character gaining some degree of humanity by defending a potential female love interest and family from his evil counterpart out to kill her is done , and it\\'s been done much better . \\ni was able to predict the plot of the _whole_ story , which wouldn\\'t be so bad if other aspect of the film somewhat interesting . \\nbetween the action sequences , it tries to deal with the aforementioned issues of humanity through the performance of mr . russel in the film and the tiny little window to his soul that is his eyes , since his dialog is extremely limited . \\nhis performance in that way isn\\'t all that bad , but certainly is not enough to carry this film . \\nother performances in this film are really not worth much mention at all , and they generally are about as weak as their characters . \\nbut enough of this stuff about plot and character , right ? \\nisn\\'t the most important part of an action film , well , the action ? \\neven in this aspect the film is a disappointment . \\nin mortal kombat ( 1995 ) , director paul anderson proved that truly engaging use and choreography of action in a film can override problems with plot and produce something entertaining . \\nhowever , he fails to repeat that in this film . \\nthe combat scenes , particularly the big one at the end , is incredibly unimaginatve . \\nfighting and combat scenes are supposed to bring about thrills in this type of movie , a point which even an otherwise unimpressive film like starship troopers seemed to realize . \\nbut instead of reaching for something truly interesting to end the film with , it goes for the old , shoot-em up , one guy vs . an army type of cinema that i thought died with the military action films of the 80s . \\nif the film went with some of the ideas it opened up with the introduction more seriously , it could have been a rather engaging science fiction film . \\nhowever , it utterly failed to go in any new directions after that , making the film a big disappointment . \\n',\n",
+       " b'capsule : earthy , experimental , difficult , shockingly frank ( even for 1997 ! ) , and ultimately refreshing story of a black man on the run from the cops . \\nthe first few minutes of sweet sweetback\\'s baad asssss song ( yes , i checked -- that\\'s the correct number of ss ) are without dialogue , just eerie montages of sounds . \\na young boy , obviously malnourished , is taken in and fed up by several loving mother-surrogate figures . \\nthen one of them takes the boy to bed for a sexual initation ( underneath the title credits ) that\\'s far more confrontatory and shocking than any ten basic instincts -- probably because it has the directness and clumsiness of real life , something we\\'re not used to seeing on screen . \\nthis is one tough movie to swallow , no matter who you are , but that probably reflects more on how pallid and unchallenging movies have gotten lately . \\n ( i suspect the sex scenes in movies like el topo and salo would probably melt the synapses of most modern audiences . ) \\nthe plot is simple but not simpleminded . \\nsweetback , hassled by two white cops who are apparently just looking for an excuse to beat up on a black man , breaks his bonds and runs like hell . \\nalong the way he moves through a good many of the kinds of environments that we are only just now being seen in a more serious light in the movies -- or at all , for that matter : the slums , the missions , the ghetto . \\nin other , lesser , movies , sweetback would be machine-gunning everything in sight and the end credits would roll over a pile of bodies ; in this one , we get taken on a kind of a tour of the depressing and anarchic world that sweetback takes for granted . \\nssbas first appeared in 1971 and was promptly rated x ( \" by an all-white jury \" , as director melvin van peebles crowed in his legendary ad campaigns ) , and it\\'s hardly surprising why . \\nthere\\'s a good deal of sex in the movie , but it\\'s handled in a way that\\'s unsettlingly frank -- a frankness that spills over into the rest of the movie . \\nin one scene , sweetback visits a friend\\'s house in the hope of getting sanctuary there , and the other man chats him up while on the toilet . \\nwe\\'re not used to coming this close to people in real life , let alone in the movies -- especially not people who are not made out to be glamorous . \\nthe movie is also full of experimental stylistics that are relatively unused today , but probably because of that seem curiously fresh and new in van peebles\\' hands . \\none scene , in which a man is interrogated by the cops , is loaded full of menacing energy as they fire off a gun inches from his ears , and suggest his deafness through a cleverly edited soundtrack . \\nanother note : ssbas is not so much anti-white ( that would be too easy ) as anti-authority , and as the movie goes on to demonstrate , authority exists in many forms -- governments , churches , and even the paranoid inside of one\\'s own mind . \\nssbas is ultimately about thirsting for freedom -- and it looks like we could use a little more of that in our movie diet , god knows . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"now , lets first look into the history of shark films . \\nthere was the unforgettable jaws . \\nthe exciting jaws 2 . the rather flaky jaws 3d and sometime in the late 90s another film of the same genre that i can't seem to recall ( about the son of jaws returning to wreak revenge or something like that ) . \\nnow , with the magic of cgi , one shark is simply not enough ; in deep blue sea , there are 3 big , mean and really smart ones ! \\nrussell frankiln ( jackson ) visits aquatica ( a sea-bound research center ) , where a research is being conducted on the extraction of a hormone substance found uniquely within the shark brain that can cure and reverse the effects of alzheimer's disease . \\nthe substance is small in quantity and because of this , lead researcher dr . susan macalaester genetically alters the shark dna and grows them twice the size with brains as big as humans , naturally producing more of the much treasured hormones . \\nas sure as the sun sets in the west , a shark breaks lose and wreaks havoc within the facility during a hormone extraction procedure . \\nwith the flexibility offered by cgi , the sharks get more full-length screen time as their predecessors did in those remote-controlled rubber suit days . \\ngone are the days of people getting pulled under the water with the water turning red right after . \\nthis time , we get to see the entire gobbling action , with floating limbs and all . \\nso-so acting , expected in most of your average action film . \\njackson ( fresh from his jedi master role in the phantom menace ) , takes on the dark-side force of a different kind and fits well with his wise-cracking lines . \\nll cool j's cook role as preacher , does for this film what steven seagal's cook could only dream to achieve in his two under siege films . \\ndeep blue sea does not offer any of the psychological thrills that jaws has to offer . \\nit does however , prove to be a refreshing follow-up within the genre , full of visual thrills , suspense and believe it or not \\x05 humour ! \\nits like jurassic park under water . \\nnothing too stressful , pure entertainment . \\nrenny harlin , you are forgiven ( for making cutthroat island ) . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" an intimate , character-driven drama about a troubled youth at a crossroads in his life , \" read the press notes for _reach_the_rock_ . \\ni\\'m not really sure what film that statement is describing because those words bear little resemblance to the slow , completely uninvolving bore i saw--at least , it certainly does not describe what goes on for most of the film . \\nalessandro nivola plays robin fleming , a troubled , directionless 21-year-old who has a penchant for breaking storefront windows in a small town . \\npolice sergeant phil quinn ( william sadler ) takes him in , and what ensues for the first 70 minutes is a tedious series of sneak-outs and sneak-ins where robin slips out of his jail cell , breaks a window , then returns , all without quinn ever noticing . \\nalso added to the pointless proceedings is some would-be humorous shenanigans involving quinn\\'s dimwitted deputy ernie attempting to engage in clandestine patrol car sex with his girlfriend donna ( karen sillas ) . \\nwith a half hour ( if even that long ) remaining , director william ryan and writer john hughes ( yes , john hughes of \\'80s youth films and _home_alone_ ) finally approach something close to a point . \\nturns out robin still pines for his high school sweetheart lise ( brooke langton ) , who has long gone on with her life , and hughes\\'s main concern at long last reveals itself as a tired \" live in the present and for the future \" message . \\nmost moviegoers , however , will likely be asleep by that time . \\nwide awake , however , is the cast , who individually tackle their showcase dramatic scenes with energy and skill--thus revealing the _real_ purpose behind this listless enterprise : to serve as a series of acting exercises . \\nsuch a glorified workshop may have its rewards for the actors , but it leaves audiences with a booby prize . \\n ( opens october 16 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b\"stendhal's syndrome : a condition where , in the presence of art , a person becomes engulfed in a painting and hallucinates and may afterwards suffer symptoms such as depression , suicidal behaviour and personality disorder . \\ngrim stuff , to be sure , but the subject of a remarkable film from italy's master of the horror thriller dario argento . \\nboasting an unforgettable soundtrack from the grandfather of film music ennio morricone , the stendhal syndrome is a quite magnificent return to form for argento . \\nit follows his disappointing american debut trauma ( 1992 ) , the patchy opera ( 1987 ) and several mediocre films he produced for young italian director michele soavi in the late 1980's . \\nbased on the novel by graziella magherini , the film stars argento's daughter asia as young roman police inspector anna manni in pursuit of a brutal rapist-killer . \\nvisiting florence to follow up several leads , she is lured by the killer alfredo ( thomas kretschmann ) to an art gallery , a favourite haunt where he hopes to identify exactly who is on his tail . \\nat the gallery anna is overwhelmed by a painting and faints . \\nposing as a bystander , alfredo briefly comes to her aid and having now identified his pursuer , a strange game of cat and mouse begins . \\na gripping story evolves , and a coherent one , too , which may surprise those familiar with argento's often lumpy narratives . \\nthe stendhal syndrome is not a simple cop-hunting-killer scenario . \\nit is a disturbing and often compelling study of the central character's psychological disintegration . \\nthe script explores its psycho-sexual themes with intelligence and candour , perhaps too much so for more sensitive viewers . \\nbut as dark as its themes are , the stendhal syndrome emerges as one of the most artful and effective european thrillers of the last ten years . \\nargento is once again working in his native italy , and he fully exploits the opportunities to use art and architecture for both symbolic statements and as departure points for several brilliant hallucinogenic sequences . \\neffects whiz sergio stivaletti serves his director well here , and the cinematography by giuseppe rotunno is consistently excellent . \\nthe film's opening 20 minutes segues between hallucination , flashback and real-time with tremendous style . \\nproof that , at his most inspired , argento remains one of the world's most exhilarating filmmakers . \\nthe cast is generally good , though marred at times by dubbing into english that renders speech all but emotionless . \\nasia argento's performance is by turns risky , awkward and fascinating . \\nit's a difficult role , and given her relative inexperience on screen she deserves applause for her efforts . \\nthomas kretschmann is chillingly effective as alfredo , and marco leonardi ( of cinema paradiso , and possibly the most gorgeous looking man in italy ) does okay as anna's work colleague and increasingly confused love interest . \\nbut perhaps the stendhal syndrome's single most striking element is ennio morricone's soundtrack . \\nactive since the 1960's , morricone has scored over 100 films in his career and this must rate as one of his finest efforts . \\nit's mostly a variation on the one theme : a slow circular melody for strings and wordless female vocal possessed with an extraordinary , haunting beauty that lingers long afterwards . \\nit's been three decades since argento and morricone worked together . \\nthis is a long welcome reunion . \\nif the film has a fault , it is that the last half hour drags a little and the film doesn't quite reach a completely satisfying climax . \\nbut by the closing scenes , the stendhal syndrome has already offered us enough to qualify as one of the very best films of dario argento's career . \\n * note : see the uncut print from japanese laserdisc if you can . \\ndubs of this version are available from various video dealers on the world wide web . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'barb wire , pamela anderson lee\\'s first foray into films , highlights the fact that her only talent lies in her silicone enhanced assets . \\nbeing the only notable member of the cast , the camera lingers lustily o n her body at every opportunity , making her character\\'s catch line , \" don\\'t call me babe , \" sound very ironic indeed . \\nfrom the very opening of the movie , we are treated to a striptease routine from anderson , ending in her hurling her stiletto smack between the eyes of a lusty male who happened to call her babe . \\nthroughout the movie , there is ample footage of enormous breasts and cleavage , if not of anderson\\'s , then at least of the female extras . \\nthis alone is enough to retitle the movie babe wire . \\nfor a plot , barb wire rehashes the casablanca storyline . \\nit is 2017 , the middle of the second american civil war , and barb wire , a former resistance fighter , runs a joint in steel harbour called hammerhead ( ! ! ) . \\nknown for attracting resistance fighters an d characters of all sorts , the bar attracts the attention of the government forces who appear dressed in nazi-style uniforms . \\nin between bashing up helpless males and showing off her trademark breasts , barb wire has to help a former lover and his wife get to the airport on the other side of the town , past the government-controlled areas , and to freedom . \\neven the airport looks like the one in casablanca , except that the plane in the background is a modern , private jet . \\nthere are hardly any significant moments in this film , and one gets the impression that it was designed for young teenagers familiar with the dark horse comics version of \" barb wire . \" \\nif anything , one leaves the film with the confirmation that anderson di d not do her own stunts . \\nwho could fight and jump in a skimpy , strapless leather top , and yet keep her breasts from spilling out ? \\nonly a stuntwoman . \\nnot pamela anderson lee . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it is easy to label something sentimental or tear jerking when one has not experienced the heartache of losing a child ? whether that may be in life or in death . \\nafter having said that , i will also say that this movie does all of the above very well . \\none gets that choking sensation in the throat ( because of grief ) when one brother forgives another for a costly mistake , or when a husband hugs his wife after a long estrangement . \\nthere is no ocean , no drownings and it does not conjure up memories of yet another ? ordinary people' . \\nin fact the only thing remotely connected to the ocean is probably tap water and the toilet flushing ( not that this literally happened in the movie ) . \\nso what are the lessons learnt : 1 . \\ndon't take your children to class reunions . \\n2 . don't leave them alone in the lobby , not even for a second . \\nmichelle pfeiffer once again plays the role of a highly-strung wife and mother , a trend that started with ? a thousand acres' and ? one fine day' . \\nmy comment is that she is exceptionally fine strung in this movie , so much so that when she has a nervous break down , the veins on her temples bulge impressively . \\nwhoopi golberg also puts in an understated performance , playing a lesbian cop , with a name that makes one want to reach for a lollipop . \\nlastly , who are the ideal companions for this sort of movie ? my grandmother comes to mind . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'there are those of us who think of leslie nielsen as the bumbling , hapless straight man from the hysterical \" naked gun \" films , crack an immediate smile and forgive him of whatever wavering movie spoof he\\'s committed himself to starring in since . \\nthe wavering movie spoofs , however , are less forgivable . \\nto be fair , \" wrongfully accused , \" the send-up in question and nielsen\\'s third parody since the last \" gun , \" isn\\'t quite as excruciatingly humorless as his \" dracula : dead and loving it \" or \" spy hard , \" which is a mighty good thing . \\nnielsen is still in tip-top comedic form , able as ever to deadpan his way through even the most horrible puns , but he really needs a screenplay that plays off his talents instead of relying on them , and he needs one very soon . \\n \" wrongfully accused \" meshes together the premises of \" the fugitive \" and \" patriot games , \" casting its always game star as ryan harrison ( get it ? ) , a master violinist who is drawn into an affair with a married temptress ( kelly le brock ) . \\nshe , however , sets harrison up to take the rap for the murder of her husband ( michael york ) - a crime actually committed by a one-armed , one-legged , one-eyed man ( aaron pearl ) . \\nharrison is arrested , found guilty and sentenced to death , but escapes from a prison bus , of course , and then is pursued by a determined u . s . marshal named fergus falls ( richard crenna , unnecessarily riffing off of tommy lee jones\\' already smirky oscar-winning role ) . \\nthere\\'s also a mystery brunette ( melinda mcgraw ) and an assassination subplot involving the u . n . secretary general , but like any of it matters . \\n \" wrongfully accused \" gets off to an assured start , with an in-concert nielsen , touted \" lord of the violin \" by bare-chested posters , pulling a jimi hendrix on his musical instrument as hundreds of tuxedo-clad mosh in front of the stage . \\nnice touch . \\nmost of the scenes that follow , however , never top the opener . \\n ( hysterical exceptions : the mentos and \" baywatch \" goofs . ) \\nmovie parodies are crammed in at an almost-subliminal rate , but most are empty . \\nwhen a giant snake lunges onto the screen and snatches a cast member a la \" anaconda \" or baseball players disappear into a \" field of dreams \" -esque cornfield , there\\'s really nothing to laugh at . \\nother moments , like an interlude in a fishing shop , are so unfocused that you\\'re not sure what you\\'re supposed to be laughing at . \\nthere seem to be more cheap references than frenzied send-ups here , so it\\'s possible that director/writer pat proft , by bombarding the viewer with a careless mixture of the two , guarantees something is sure to stick . \\nand what does stick sticks well , particularly the jabs at genre conventions like stylized flashbacks and hard-boiled dialogue , what those \" naked gun \" s ( which proft collaborated on ) did great ; these bits are so on-target that they allow you to remember \" wrongfully accused \" as an almost-halfway-there spoof instead of a lame-brained failure . \\nthe movie might have been cursed to begin with , opening fast on the heels of \" mafia ! \" , from proft colleague jim abrahams , and \" baseketball , \" from proft colleague david zucker , but it\\'s a strong possibility that nobody is going to be accusing \" wrongfully accused \" of being nielsen\\'s funniest . \\n',\n",
+       " b'romeo is bleeding wants to carry the unusual flavor of reservoir dogs or bad lieutenant . \\nwith director peter medak , whose previous credits include the good films let him have it and the krays , and top-notch character actors gary oldman and lena olin , they seemed likely to be a successful combination . \\nthose mentioned films , however , brought something to the screen that romeo is bleeding did not : a solid , well-written screenplay . \\ncall me cynical , but the jobs of writer and producer don\\'t seem to mix well . \\ngary oldman plays jack grimaldi , a good cop turned bad , selling information to the mob and cheating on his wife . \\nhis cheating is obvious enough to obtain his nickname , although the name doesn\\'t provide any insight or analogy to the shakespearean character . \\njack has become addicted to \" feeding the hole \" , a hole in the ground where he stores his payoff money . \\nwhen he realizes his colleagues are being shot , he feebly attempts to get out . \\ngary oldman\\'s performance is disappointingly weak ; he seems nearly bored . \\nin the process , he also gets tangled-up with mona demarkov , a russian mobsterette who wants to take over the territory from top boss falcone , played adequately by roy scheider . \\ndemarkov , played by lena olin , is a tough but tremendously sexy woman with seemingly no problems maneuvering within the mob world . \\nthis character is combination of both linda hamilton and arnold schwarznegger from terminator 2 . i can\\'t remember seeing a character quite like her . \\nafter being shot , handcuffed , and thrown in the back seat of a car , she still manages to cause an accident , kick out the windshield with her legs , grab a suitcase full of money ( plus some important documentation ) , climb through the rubble , land on her shot leg , and still succeed at running for safety . \\nwhat a woman ! \\nlena olin\\'s performance is the only glimmer in this dismal film . \\nanabella sciorra is wasted in her role as romeo\\'s wife . \\nthere is little insight into her character . \\nshe\\'s depressed , she makes obvious references , she mopes around the house . \\njuliette lewis , as romeo\\'s girlfriend , is treated with the same cliche attitudes , although ms . lewis\\' portrayal certainly didn\\'t improve it . \\nboth women were anything but sexy or attractive . \\npoorly developed characters aside , the screenplay also suffers from several logistical problems . \\nit is so discouraging to watch a film and want to shout at the main character ( not ) to do something . \\nfor example , jack and his friends attend a funeral to hang in the background to scope-out the mob scene . \\nfine . \\njack spots the big boss with his goons by the gravesite . \\nfine . \\nwhat does jack proceed to do ? \\nhe brushes his friends off by telling them he isn\\'t feeling well , then strolls over to the boss . \\nwhy ? \\nthe boss had all ready threatened him ; falcone simply takes the opportunity to issue more threats by ordering his goons to take off some of jack\\'s toes by the gravesite . \\ni guess they weren\\'t worried about any federal agents lingering around after the funeral . . . . \\nor here\\'s another : demarkov set-up her own death by cutting off her arm with a circular saw . \\nshe proceeded to set the place on fire . \\nwouldn\\'t the flames burn off the fingerprints ? \\naren\\'t dental records more important ? \\nas bright and resourceful as she was supposed to be , couldn\\'t she come up with a better plot ? \\n ( and it took her no time at all to get a good-fitting , functional prosthesis . ) \\nlack of attention to detail certainly adds up in a film . \\nthis film doesn\\'t even add up the large details . \\nthere is little or no consistency in the story-line . \\nnot much makes sense . \\nthe direction lacks cohesion , surprising from a director whose previous credits are impeccable . \\nthe moods shift , the styles shift , and no one can seem to decide if it is a serious film or satire of one . \\nso while it certainly isn\\'t reservoir dogs , it certainly isn\\'t diva . \\nthere\\'s plenty more to tear apart in this film . \\nmy advice to someone who hasn\\'t seen it to to wait until it comes on video . \\nthere are some quotable lines that would provide a campy evening if not taken seriously . \\nit\\'s not a boring film , just not a good one . \\nor an intelligent one . \\n',\n",
+       " b'absolute power , the new film produced and directed by clint eastwood , attempts to be a thriller set in the world of hypocritical presidents and their murderous political staff . \\nit is about as thrilling as a lecture on the mating habits of the south american grasshopper . \\none can only wonder how an utterly absurd script like the one written by william goldman could have ever interested eastwood . \\nnot only is the plot unbelievable and contrived , but even the writing itself lacks any consistency or intelligence . \\ncontinually underestimating the audience , the film gives us information we already know or dont even need . \\ndetails essential to the story are so improbably convenient they are annoying ( like why would two unprepared secret service men carry two night-vision goggles in their car ? ) . \\noddly enough , the initial setup for absolute power offers interesting possibilities . \\na masterful jewel-thief ( played by clint eastwood ) witnesses the murder of the wife of a powerful millionaire ( played by e . g . \\nmarshall ) . \\nwhile robbing one of marshalls mansions , he is forced to hide in the bedrooms vault . \\nthere , through a two-way mirror , he sees the wife and another man engage in passionate foreplay . \\ntheir game of love quickly turns into a violent struggle as the man starts beating the woman . \\nin self defense , the woman grabs a letter-opener and stabs the man in the elbow . \\nshe raises her arm to stab again when she is fatally shot by two secret service men . \\nthe man ? \\nhe is the president of the united states of america . \\nwhere does the film go wrong ? \\nit cannot be the acting . \\nclint eastwood , ed harris and gene hackman as the president give type-cast , but decent performances . \\nthe cinematography is sufficient ; wild and erratic during action sequences , dark and mysterious during psychologically suspenseful scenes , and calm and warm during dramatic dialogue . \\neven the music is not as bombastic as it usually tends to be in the thriller/suspense genre . \\nthe fault clearly lies in the screenplay , and the screenplay alone . \\nwhile setting up a story about misuse of power , about the true possessors of that power , and about intrigue and double-crossing , it does not resolve it . \\nnot one buildup of suspense is resolved by an exciting climax . \\nrather , the tense situations are left dangling at the end , giving the viewer an uneasy sense of incompleteness . \\nan example of this is a very promising and tense buildup of a scene : in an attempt to arrest clint eastwood , the police have set up a trap at a small restaurant . \\npolice officers are everywhere , incognito of course . \\nat the same time , not one but two hit men are preparing to kill clint eastwood when he arrives . \\nall three parties are unaware of each others presence . \\nthis scene is tremendously exciting and the audience is wondering how clint eastwood , who might suspect this is a trap , will get himself out of this difficult position . \\nhe will probably have a brilliant plan , involving ingenious preparations . \\nhowever , when he arrives at the trap , both hit men miss ( how convenient ) and in the confusion eastwood simply walks away . \\nthe buildup of this scene took about ten minutes . \\nten minutes of close ups of the hit men loading their weapons intercut with the police preparing for the trap . \\nthe scene was resolved in less than 20 seconds . . . \\nparallel to the story line of catching the real killer is a cliche emotional tale about the estranged relationship between father eastwood and his daughter . \\nthe daughter blames her father for never being there for her , because he was either in jail or robbing a house somewhere . \\nof course their relationship takes a turn for the better during the adventure and they end up a happy family . \\nagain , it is commendable that absolute power tries to deviate from the mainstream suspense film by giving room for a dramatic subplot . \\nhowever , trying is simply not enough ! \\nthe second story line should be subtle , original and preferably unpredictable . . . \\neverything this film is not . \\nhow could a screenplay like absolute power ever get the funding to be produced ? \\nhow could eastwood , who has successfully produced and directed many outstanding films such as the brilliant unforgiven , ever believe in a project like this one ? \\ni am sad to say that my respect for the actor/director/producer has diminished substantially due to this film . \\ndirector quentin tarantino once said : \" i can make a good movie out of any bad script . \" \\ndirector clint eastwood obviously cannot . \\n',\n",
+       " b'there have been merchant-ivory costume dramas with more of a pulse than \" the mod squad , \" a self-consciously \" hip \" cinematic rendering of the old tv series still looked upon fondly by so many baby-boomers . \\nwell , said \" squad \" certainly won\\'t be a pleasant viewing experience for them or anybody else , maybe even the teen target audience the movie has been geared towards . \\na contemporary take on this decidedly \\'70s show doesn\\'t exactly seem unwarranted , but one wonders if the mold it accumulated while waiting on the shelf didn\\'t transform into a full-blown case of botulism . \\nhow curious that the film begins by defining both mod and squad , insisting that the latter is a group of people working together and then contradicting this definition by keeping its titular trio apart for a sizeable chunk of the running time . \\nthey are julie , pete and linc , reformed delinquents working undercover for the lapd ( exposition put out of the way so fast that you\\'re likely to be lost from the opening moments on ) , and they are respectively played by claire danes , giovanni ribisi and omar epps , talented actors each deserving of better than this . \\ntheir plight involves standard cop-corruption stuff , as our would-be protagonists catch wind of an internal cover-up after their superior ( reliable dennis farina , one of the best things here and gone so quickly ) gets killed and framed for drug trafficking . \\nthey pout a lot and eventually get cracking to expose this convoluted conspiracy using surveillance tactics that would impress the hardy boys and linda tripp but few others . \\nwhen you\\'re supposed to be asking , \" what\\'s going to happen next ? \" , \\nyou\\'ll instead entertain thoughts like \" who are these people and why should i care ? \" \\nor \" aren\\'t thrillers supposed to contain thrills ? \" \\nnot that danes , epps and ribisi don\\'t give it a shot . \\ndanes can do the troubled teen thing in her sleep , as evidenced by \" my so-called life , \" but she\\'s saddled with a mysterious-boyfriend ( josh brolin ) subplot so see-through you begin to seriously question her so-called intelligence . \\nditto for ribisi\\'s ( \" saving private ryan \" ) looney loose cannon , though at least he performs with a wild-and-crazy vigor that occasionally demands attention . \\nbut epps - poor epps . \\nepps ( \" higher learning \" ) is so short-changed he\\'s reduced to literally waiting around for a bad guy to chase him . \\nall this sloppiness can be attributed to the screenwriters , one of whom , scott silver , is also the director . \\nthey must think that if they dress up their stupid story in such spiffy trappings ( the look of the film is really quite impressive ) , it\\'ll somehow pay off , but this \" mod squad \" plods anyway . \\ncharacters are non-existent ; present are just some good-looking young things modeling cool levis and cooler attitudes . \\nplot hardly escapes confusing convention . \\nand the one genre element you\\'d think would be show up in generous portions - a few nifty explosions , some fights , any kind of action whatsoever - only rarely makes it to this dull gabfest . \\nall those quick to put down last month\\'s inept but serviceable \" my favorite martian \" update need to take a step back . \\nhere\\'s a small-to-big-screen translation that really should\\'ve stayed in its former incarnation , \" mod \" or not . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"`the skulls' is a laughably bad thriller , a teen-orientated doppelganger of `the firm' so blazingly ridiculous that it caused me to drift into a hypnotic stupor . \\ncertain moments are so preposterous that i nearly herniated myself in an attempt to stifle laughter . \\ni chuckled incessantly , all the way home . \\nlet me share . \\nthe skulls is a secret society conceived inside the walls of yale ( designed , i'm sure , to mirror the actual skull & bones from the same college ) . \\nluke mcnamara ( joshua jackson ) , a townie and local varsity rowing championship victor for the third consecutive year , highlights the latest skull scouting report . \\ndespite some anxiety and caution from others , luke accepts entry into the organization . \\nsoon after , he finds himself surrounded by beautiful women , driving a new car and marveling at the $20 , 000 that somehow surfaced in his bank account . \\nyeah , dude , pretty good deal eh ? \\nbut luke soon learns that the membership is somewhat suffocating ; when circumstances become extreme , there is no way he can leave the society - except maybe as a drooling vegetable . \\nthe premise , although lacking in originality , certainly offers its share of potential intrigue and suspense . \\nunfortunately , `the skulls' is neither intriguing , nor suspenseful , nor anything else you would associate with fresh or exciting . \\nit's just another abysmal teen prototype that has the soundtrack , the stars . . . . \\nbut not the script . \\n`the skulls' is so bad it attains a certain level of entertainment value , with the screenplay , by jon pogue , immediately becoming the basis for a slew of unintentional howlers . \\nfirst off , upon their initiation into the skulls , each new member has to have a skull branded onto their arm . \\nafterward they are supplied with a wristwatch that conveniently covers up the scar . \\nwill they never take this watch off ? \\nand what if they forget it by their bedside ? \\nperhaps their ? secret' society was being a little too conspicuous when they decided to brand new members like cattle on an area of the body that is easily exposed . \\non top of this , they are each given a rulebook and a key to headquarters . \\ngee , why not member t-shirts ? \\nbut my favorite bit is this : the voting committee for the skulls does not bother with individual ? agree' or ? disagree' notions when making collective decisions . \\nthey are given official skull paddles . \\nwhen flipped to one side , they indicate the member agrees with the proposal . \\nfacing the opposite way means a disagreement . \\nwouldn't they merely express themselves verbally ? \\nhell no . \\nthey have to retrieve the paddles for a proper vote , and maybe afterward they can play ping-pong . \\ni'm still chuckling about these ludicrous details , but the humiliating dialogue is enough to send one into arrest . \\nthe cast , meanwhile , combines a pinch of veteran talent with a dash of the `dawson's creek' crowd , and fuses the two together , ensuring that the embarrassment will be a mutually shared union throughout . \\nbut not entirely . \\naccomplished actors like craig t . nelson ( as skulls chairman judge litten mandrake ) and william peterson ( as fellow board member senator levritt ) are dealt pathetic villain caricatures , and look suitably embarrassed handling them . \\nand then there's christopher mcdonald , who has the capacity to be a fun , exciting actor . \\nmcdonald's charisma is totally diminished here as he sleepwalks through another perfunctory bad guy role ( yes , pogue makes it a hat-trick ) . \\ni pray it was a `snatch-the-paycheck-and-run' exercise for all these actors . \\nthe young troupe of performers involved fair moderately better . \\nlet's cut the talented canadian lad joshua jackson some slack for maintaining believability within the confines of his character . \\npaul walker , the strapping quarterback from `varsity blues' , is bland but passable as caleb mandrake - the judge's son . \\nwalker preserves a straight face , even when dealt the silliest dialogue in the movie ( `dad , i just killed a guy in the ritual room ! ' ) . \\nsome actual spark is generated by leslie bibb , who plays luke's longtime chum chloe , and manages to successfully pull off some convincing dramatics . \\nit really boils down to the actors attempting to puncture the surrounding plastic bubble of absurdity that cages them from minute one . \\nor maybe not minute one , thanks to a decent set-up from director rob cohen , who films early sequences with a sense of atmosphere and style . \\nit makes you wonder why he didn't flee indefinitely from the project , because while enjoyable cheese like `dragonheart' and the moderate stallone thriller `daylight' aren't superior cinema , they belong on the afi top 100 list when compared to this degrading trash . \\naside from unintentionally humoring the audience , `the skulls' gets little accomplished . \\nthe thrills and action are lazy and mechanical . \\nthe story is stuffed with ridiculous , formulaic plotting that sheepishly overlooks the cool potential of a secret underground society flick . \\ninstead of gaining knowledge about the skulls as an organization , we are thrust into a lame video surveillance conspiracy that has developed barnacles from excessive usage . \\nwe've seen it all before , and better . \\n`the skulls' is a feeble little circus of stupidity , so miscalculated that -- while it would serve as a clever pun -- a term like ? boneheaded' seems just too generous . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" come on , silent bob ! \\nwe\\'re going to hollywood . \" \\nstarring jason mewes , kevin smith , will ferrell , shannon elizabeth , seann william scott , chris rock , jason lee , ben affleck . \\ndirected by kevin smith . \\nrated r . \\njay and silent bob strike back is a dumb movie disguised in a smarmy interior . \\nkevin smith , coming off the wonderful , challenging dogma , fills it with sub-road trip gross-out jokes and expects us to buy it because he\\'s just oh-so-ironic . \\nbut when a movie is so self-aware it becomes about nothing but itself , we can hardly be expected to pay for admission . \\njay and silent bob , two new jersey stoners who hang out at the doorstep of convenience store selling pot , have appeared in almost all of smith\\'s movies but , if i\\'m not mistaken , have not starred in one until now . \\nthey find out that there is a movie based on the comic book that is based on them being made in hollywood . \\nthis presents two problems : a ) they haven\\'t received a penny in royalties and b ) nerds on the internet ( \" what\\'s the internet ? \" ) \\nare talking trash about them . \\nwhat is there to do except go to hollywood and stop this movie from being made ? \\non the way -- they\\'re hitchhiking , because who knew you needed tickets to take a bus ? \\n-- they run into a group of hotties who pretend to be with an animal-rights group , but are really jewel thiefs who parade around in charlie\\'s angels-style outfits . \\nof course , they set jay and silent bob up to look like the thieves , so that there is a massive manhunt going on during the second half of the film . \\nwill ferrell , who again proves himself incapable of doing anything but sketch comedy , shows up as the wildlife marshal inspector who thinks the two have stolen a monkey . \\nthe movie will probably please only smith\\'s die-hard , undiscerning fans ; everyone else will be critical of this mind-bogglingly stupid effort following some the sophisticated cinema that he churned out in years past . \\nany appeal the movie has will come from the \" in \" jokes , most of which i think i understood , but the movie is \" in \" to the point of absurdity . \\nthere needs to be something holding it together other than its own smugness . \\nonce jay and silent bob get to hollywood , the movie abruptly switches gears from gross-out comedy to ridiculously broad hollywood satire . \\ncountless \" hot \" movie stars and personalities make an appearance , from smith veterans matt damon and ben affleck to wes craven , but jay and silent bob strike back resorts to such low-brow gags as another scream sequel with a monkey as the killer . \\nget it ? \\nthey\\'re so desperate for another movie , they ran out of ideas and used a monkey ! \\na monkey ! \\nas often happens with writers who are working below what they are actually capable of , most of the really good lines are throwaways , while the big , painstaking gags mostly fall flat . \\none of the funniest lines in the movie flies by : when asked to comment on the clitoris ( don\\'t ask ) , jay responds : \" the female clitoris ? \" \\nkevin smith is a talented writer ( though i agree that his films would be better off if he\\'d let a real director take the helm ) , and jay and silent bob strike back holds true to his promise to make a more facetious film . \\nunfortunately , it\\'s also shapeless , pointless and largely unfunny . \\nsmith\\'s \" verbal trampoline , \" as ben affleck once called his distinctive dialogue , takes a back seat to his dubious instincts as a populist filmmaker . \\nthis was supposed to be the movie that didn\\'t offend anyone , but it\\'s offensive because it\\'s terrible . \\n',\n",
+       " b'call it a road trip for the walking wounded . \\nstellan skarsg ? rd plays such a convincingly zombified drunken loser that it\\'s difficult to spend nearly two hours of screen time in his smelly , boozed-out presence . \\nyet this ever-reliable swedish actor adds depth and significance to the otherwise plodding and forgettable aberdeen , a sentimental and painfully mundane european drama . \\nplaywright august strindberg built his career on families and relationships paralyzed by secrets , unable to express their longings until the hour is far too late . \\nthat\\'s an accurate reflection of what aberdeen strives for , focusing on the pairing of an alcoholic father , tomas ( skarsg ? rd ) and his alienated , openly hostile yuppie daughter , kaisa ( lena headey , gossip ) . \\nthey haven\\'t spoken in years , and wouldn\\'t even be making the long trip from norway to aberdeen , scotland by automobile if it weren\\'t for kaisa\\'s mother ( charlotte rampling , under the sand ) rotting away in a hospital bed from cancer . \\nin a soap opera twist , mother has only a few days to live . \\n ( only in the movies , right ? ) \\ntoo blitzed to even step foot on a plane , tomas hits the open road with kaisa . \\nloathing each other all the while , they make periodic stops for tomas to puke on the dashboard or pass out -- whenever he isn\\'t muttering what a rotten kid she turned out to be . \\ndespite his sloshed viewpoint , tomas recognizes that the apple hasn\\'t fallen very far from the tree . \\nkaisa gets nosebleeds from snorting coke , sabotages her personal relationships through indifference , and is unable to restrain her quick and vindictive temper . \\nain\\'t they a pair ? \\nunable to find true notes of unspoken familial empathy in the one-note and repetitively bitchy dialogue , screenwriters kristin amundsen and hans petter moland fabricate a series of contrivances to propel events forward -- lost money , roving street hooligans looking for drunks to kick around , nosy cops , and flat tires all figure into the schematic and convenient narrative . \\nby the time they reach the hospital , it\\'s time to unveil the secrets from a dark past that are not only simplistic devices that trivialize the father-daughter conflict , they\\'re also the mainstays of many a bad strindberg wannabe . \\nthis revelation exists purely for its own sake . \\naberdeen doesn\\'t know where else to go . \\nweak , unimaginative casting thwarts the pivotal role of kaisa . \\nif lena headey were a stronger actress , perhaps aberdeen could have been able to coast on the performances and moody , haunting cinematography ( rendering norway into its own pastoral ghost world -- the reference to a certain superior american indie flick intentional ) . \\nheadey\\'s too busy acting , using her face and furrowed brow to convey every last twitch of insouciance . \\nif she were paying any attention to skarsg ? rd , maybe she\\'d figure out that doing less can reveal so much more . \\nit\\'s worthwhile to compare aberdeen to an earlier film released in 2001 , jonathan nossiter\\'s captivating signs & wonders . \\nit\\'s not just because skarsg ? rd and rampling played disturbed parental figures in both films ( they\\'re not bound by ceremonial wedlock in aberdeen ) . \\nthe differences in the way their characters were presented is significant . \\nin aberdeen , rampling is a luminous diva , preening and static in her hospital bed . \\ndespite skarsg ? rd\\'s solid performance as tomas , his pathetic drunk is never given much of a chance to emote anything besides catatonic sorrow . \\nthere\\'s genuine ferocity and sexually charged frisson during their understated confrontations in signs & wonders , allowing them to suggest a gray zone of complications that accompany torn romance and years of stifled curiosity . \\nnossiter\\'s film thoroughly explores this neurotic territory in addition to delving into the americanization of greece and the use of mysticism as an illusion to deflect pain . \\nif signs & wonders sometimes feels overloaded with ideas , at least it\\'s willing to stretch beyond what we\\'ve come to expect from traditional drama . \\naberdeen is never half so ambitious , content to sleepwalk through the rhythms and timing of other movies . \\nwhen did character driven stories stop paying attention to the complexities of real life ? \\nthe depressing answer can be found in lawrence kasdan\\'s trite but occasionally useful grand canyon , where steve martin\\'s hollywood mogul pronounces , \" all of life\\'s riddles are answered in the movies ! \" \\neven foreign films are taking that advice to heart . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"depending on your degree of cinematic acumen , last man standing is either a ) a prohibition-era remake of akira kurosawa's 1961 classic yojimbo ; b ) a prohibition-era remake of sergio leone's 1964 classic a fistful of dollars ; c ) a prohibition-era action drama with a completely original story-line . \\nnew line is certainly counting on the fact that there are far more potential viewers in category ( c ) than in the other two combined , much as the recent remakes of diabolique and the vanishing counted on avoiding such comparisons . \\nthe fact is that there is yet another way of looking at last man standing , which is as the first film version of the story which nods to the _real_ source material , the dashiell hammett novel _red harvest_ . \\nit also shows that kurosawa and leone knew better what to do with that material than hammett himself . \\nthis time around , the man with no name is played by bruce willis , a fellow with a shady history of an undefined nature who rolls into the texas border town of jericho one day on his way to mexico . \\nby all appearances , jericho is well on its way to becoming a ghost town , with the few remaining inhabitants generally belonging to one of two bootlegging operations fighting for control of liquor coming over the border . \\none is headed by an irishman named doyle ( david patrick kelly ) ; the other is run by chicago-connected italian mobster strozzi ( ned eisenberg ) . \\ncalling himself john smith , the man decides that there is money to be made from the conflict , and hires himself out as an enforcer to doyle's side . \\nbut smith's allegiance is as uncertain as his name , and he begins to play the two sides against each other while trying to stay one step ahead of both of them . \\nviewers familiar with both previous incarnations of this story will find virtually nothing radically changed from a plotting standpoint , and that alone should make last man standing somewhat more respectable than other recent hollywood remakes-cum-bastardizations . \\nthere is the happily ineffectual lawman ( bruce dern ) , the unhappily detained object of one of the bosses' affections ( karina lombard ) , the barkeep who becomes our anti-hero's only friend ( william sanderson ) , suspicious lieutenants ( christopher walken and michael imperioli ) to question the bosses' trust in smith , a brutal beating , and a big fire . \\ndirector walter hill gives the proceedings his usual injection of steroids , including a pair of guns for willis which have the ability to propel an assailant backward with sufficient thrust to achieve escape velocity , but at least he doesn't try to turn the story into a slasher film or a buddy picture . \\nwhat he _does_ do is nearly as big a mistake , and that is to provide a running voice-over narration by willis which rings of the standard hard-boiled style of pulp detective fiction . \\nyes , that narration is full of cliches , but those are are not particularly troubling . \\nthe problem is that both yojimbo and a fistful of dollars succeeded largely on the inscrutability of their lead characters . \\nthey were a mystery , to the other characters in the film and to the audience , their motives never entirely clear even after they have acted , and that quality contributed to their almost mythical status . \\nwith john smith's voice chattering on in the background and allowing us into his every thought , he becomes more mundane , just another tough guy trying to stay alive . \\nit feels like a hammett novel , all right , and hill can plead faithfulness to his text for his choice , but it simply doesn't work . \\nthe narration allows the man with no name to take us into his confidence , and the man with no name takes _no one_ into his confidence . \\neven if you walk into last man standing as a blank slate , i can't imagine it being much more than a heavily armed minor distraction . \\nwillis tones down his macho swagger as the taciturn smith , but there is still a level on which he always seems like he is counting on being tougher than everyone else rather than smarter than everyone else . \\nchristopher walken plays doyle's brutal henchman as a slight variation on his gallery of soft-spoken psychos , and there isn't another single character whom makes even the slightest impression . \\nwith no compelling antagonist for smith , there is no build-up towards the expected showdown , and when it does come , that showdown is over so quickly you wonder what all the fuss was about . \\ncinematographer lloyd ahern ( who also did the only noteworthy work on hill's 1995 flop wild bill ) creates some nifty sunburned vistas , but his work is only to keep the eye distracted between the spurts of gunfire and the next bit of counter-productive narration . \\nsometimes when someone sees a lackluster remake of a revered original , they'll wonder what all the talk was about . \\nin the case of last man standing , it is those who know the originals who will wonder what all that talking was about . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'after the average mouse hunt , the silly small soldiers and the entertaining antz , dreamworks try again with the children\\'s film market with this stunning adaptation of the moses story . \\nas the film warns us at the beginning , it\\'s not the full story , and some liberties have been taken , but generally this the bible story we all know and love , featuring burning bushes , the plagues and the parting of the red sea . \\nthe only thing missing is charlton heston . \\ninstead , we get val kilmer voicing moses , an hebrew who is placed in a river by his mother and rescued by the queen of egypt ( helen mirren . ) \\nwe flash forward several years to see moses and brother rameses ( fiennes ) all grown up . \\nmoses soon finds out from brother and sister miriam and aaron ( sandra bullock and jeff goldblum ) that he isn\\'t really the son of the pharaoh seti ( patrick stewart ) and that it his destiny to free the hebrews from the egyptians tyrannical rule . \\nhe soon sets about this , along with his wife tzipporah ( michelle pfeiffer . ) \\nrameses and his two wizard friends ( voiced by steve martin and martin short ) try to stop moses completing his task . \\nwhile the plot is familiar and somewhat exciting for adults , for children reared on aladdin and hercules , this film could be the most godawful thing they\\'ve ever seen . \\ngone is the quick fire humour and standard , easy to follow plot . \\nbut , spectacularly , and to dreamworks credit , nearly every child in the audience was captivated by the story and events happening on screen . \\njeffrey katzenberg , who produced this film , certainly knows how to keep a child interested . \\nhe\\'s included some songs in the film , plus some comedy , and a exciting chariot chase , to keep the children interested . \\nand somehow , himself and the directors still manage to get all the drama and intensity of the story across , without ever being boring . \\nit\\'s a remarkable achievement . \\nalso remarkable is the animation , which puts hercules , an almost \\'slap dash\\' effort , to shame . \\nrelying on hand drawn and computer animation , the backgrounds and characters are amazingly detailed . \\nthe film seems a little caught up with it\\'s amazing visuals by showing a lot of sweeping visuals and \\'moving\\' shots , but they _do_ look incredible . \\nthe final \\'plague\\' where god kills every first born child , and the parting of the red sea have to be seen to be believed . \\nkudos to the animators . \\nthe vocal talent is also very good . \\nval kilmer does a fine job as moses ( although he doesn\\'t sing ) and ralph fiennes is superb as rameses ( and he _does_ sing . ) \\nsandra bullock and jeff goldblum are great , and steve martin and martin short are very good , but not in the film long enough . \\nfinally , michelle pfeiffer does excellent work as moses wife . \\nkudos also goes to the voice of god , who instead of booming and bombastic is quiet and subdued . \\nsadly , he is uncredited , and i couldn\\'t quite work out who the voice was . \\n ( but e-mail if you do . ) \\nthe songs are good , ranging from the usual love sonnets to the traditional big production number . \\nthey don\\'t disturb the movie , and while not particularly memorable , they are nice to listen to ( they\\'re well sung aswell . ) \\nthe musical score is suitably epic , with some beautiful tunes . \\ncoupled with the superb visuals , the prince of egypt is a visual and aural treat , backed up with a great story . \\nentertaining both for kids and adults , this film is a must see . \\na david wilcock review ? 1998 \\n \" you know , for kids \" - norville barnes \\n',\n",
+       " b'city of angels is the kind of love story that i enjoy the most : thought-provoking , moving , and completely unsentimental . \\ni find it interesting that this film has been released the same day as my giant , which is a film that is undone completely by its wretched sentimentality . \\ncity of angels is a wonderful film , enhanced by interesting and well-rounded characters and some of the most immersive imagery of the last couple of years . \\nit\\'s a love story that takes the familiar angel themes and makes them new and necessary to the story , and avoids most of the cliches we\\'re so used to seeing in films like this . \\ncity of angels is an apparently loose remake of wim wenders\\' 1988 film wings of desire . \\ni have yet to see wings of desire , so i am , unfortunately , unable to make a comparison of the two . \\ni have heard , however , that city of angels is dissimilar from the original in numerous ways , which makes me glad that this film isn\\'t a rip-off of its source material . \\nnicolas cage stars as seth , an angel who , like all of his angel counterparts , is present to lead the dying to heaven ( or somewhere just like it ) . \\none day , he is forced to take the life of a patient of dr . maggie rice ( meg ryan ) , and his attention is called to her . \\nthe angels can make themselves seen to humans , but they can\\'t experience any of the senses ( most importantly , touch ) . \\nhe shows himself to maggie , and she falls for him , unaware that he is slightly unavailable because of his apparition status . \\nseth wants to become human so he can feel her . \\nthat\\'s when he meets nathaniel messinger ( dennis franz ) , \" former celestial messenger and recent addition to the human race . \" \\n ( as a side note , i found messinger to be the most fascinating character , for i can only imagine how incredibly liberating it must be to live knowing what lies beyond death . ) \\nmessinger explains to seth that it is possible for angels to become human . \\nseth manages to convince maggie that he is an angel ( i know , it sounds ridiculous , but the scene in which she finds out is exceptionally well-done ) ; after much deliberation , she tells him that she could only be with a man who can feel . \\nthis , of course , is when seth decides to take the plunge ( literally ) from a building ; when he wakes up from the fall , he is human , and happy to feel what it\\'s like to have a split lip and blood oozing from his forehead . \\nsince i love this film so much , i\\'ll make a minor note that it certainly isn\\'t perfect . \\nalthough it is original and mesmerizing , it does fall prey to a few of the cliches of the genre . \\nthe plotting of the story by writer dawn steel is rather formulaic ( though the details are what make the story excellent , and steel has done a great job with them ) . \\nthe ending , too , could have been more powerful and less predictable . \\nthese elements are minor , though , and barely detracted from my overall enjoyment of city of angels . \\nthe acting is superb from everyone involved . \\nthis is perhaps my second-favorite performance from cage ( my favorite being the rock ) . \\nhe\\'s quiet and pensive , and his eyes are engaging when he speaks his softly-toned words . \\nhe\\'s perfect for a role like this , and at the same time he reassures us he\\'s not bound by playing the psycho ( though he is good at it , as he shows in face/off ) . \\nmeg ryan is a powerful , enticing , and appealingly-chirpy actress , and her work here is some of her best . \\ndennis franz , however , steals all of his scenes as the energetic former-angel . \\nwhat i admire most about city of angels is its overall presentation . \\ndirector brad silberling is a talented man , and he knows that a story like this is driven by the characters , rather than forced sentimentality . \\nhis direction is steady , and he shows this in just about every scene : near the beginning , maggie has to tell a mother and her two children that their father is dead . \\nthere is no music or elaborate camera work ; we simply see the reactions of the characters to the information . \\nthis is the way stories should be told , and the strength of scenes resonates more completely when the emotions are real . \\nthe film also appeals to the senses in a way that few love stories do . \\ncinematographer john seale ( the english patient ) provides some of the most stunning images i\\'ve seen on the big screen : hundreds of black-clad angels stand on a dim beach in the early morning hours ( just as an example ) . \\nthe music , by gabriel yared ( also of the english patient ) , is perfect for this film : it\\'s quiet and moody music ( but not sentimental ! ) , and adds to the atmosphere and tone nicely . \\nthe visual presentation of city of angels is easily the best of 1998 so far . \\nall of this adds up to a film that is instantly set apart from other members of this genre . \\nit\\'s a film that relies on character development and imagery to get the story across--the excellent actors and the professional production values make city of angels one of those rare films that both entertains and instigates thought simultaneously . \\n',\n",
+       " b'will hunting ( matt damon ) is a natural genius . \\nfor a movie character , that\\'s usually a death sentence . \\nit\\'s a trait associated with what my brother calls \" too good for this world \" movies , like phenomenon or powder . \\nforgive me for spoiling the ending , but will doesn\\'t die . \\nthis is no formula movie . \\nin fact , it\\'s quite fresh and original . \\nit\\'s a character study more than anything , and that\\'s not surprising , considering it was written by two actors : damon and co-star ben affleck . \\nwill works whatever kind of job he can get . \\nfirst he\\'s a janitor , then he works construction . \\noff-screen he speed reads books on any academic subject that interests him . \\non-screen he hangs out with his friends , picking fights in robust , romanticized-hemingway fashion . \\nlambeau ( stellan skarsgard from breaking the waves ) , a math professor , learns that the janitor ( will ) is a genius with a special talent for advanced mathematics . \\nhaving confirmed he\\'s not a fluke or a savant , he does what he can to get will into the education system . \\nhe is firmly rejected . \\nfinally , will lands in jail for one of his fights . \\nlambeau can get him probation instead of prison time as long as will agrees to therapy sessions and to discussing mathematics with him . \\nwill ( barely ) decides to go for the therapy over prison . \\nlambeau treats will like a son . \\nhe\\'s proud of , and amazed by , will\\'s accomplishments in mathematics . \\nhe encourages will and tries to give him structure , knowing that , with a little discipline , he could be bigger than einstein . \\nwill isn\\'t really interested in academia . \\nhe knows he would be the best in his field , and therefore spend all of his time in an office , explaining math to people like lambeau . \\nhe would rather work construction , which breaks lambeau\\'s heart . \\nmeanwhile , will attends his mandated therapy sessions . \\nit\\'s not long before he shreds all the therapists on lambeau\\'s \" a \" list . \\nwill has read enough psychology to know the tricks of the trade , and how to keep them from affecting him . \\nshrink after shrink refuses to return after will\\'s mockery . \\nlambeau\\'s last hope is his old college roommate , now a psychology teacher at a small-time community college . \\nknowing that will is going to try to shred him too , sean ( robin williams ) agrees to take him on as a favor to lambeau and for the chance to meet this next einstein . \\ntrue to form , will finds sean\\'s emotional weakness and attacks . \\nbut unlike the other shrinks , sean knows what he is in for and continues the sessions . \\nlike a foster mother with a fussy child , sean knows that the attacks are defensive and is able to take them in stride . \\nlike the foster mother , sean knows that time and quiet patience is the only approach . \\nrobin williams is excellent in this role . \\nhe\\'s not an actor with a great range , but in the right roles he has great depth . \\nin this movie , as in awakenings , there comes a point when the quiet , shy man accomplishes something of great personal importance , and a smile of pure joy spreads up to his eyes . \\nwilliams is the only actor i can name who can make an audience cry just by smiling . \\ni have compared will to a foster child and that\\'s not entirely fair . \\nemotionally , he has a lot to learn , but he is not a child . \\nhe has thought about his life and made rational decisions about what he wants . \\nsean , his girlfriend , his pals , and lambeau all help him grow , but he didn\\'t start out asking for , or particularly needing , help . \\nhis exceptional gift singled him out , and those who love him kept pushing him in the right direction . \\nif i had to say anything bad about good will hunting is that it walks the line between drama and melodrama . \\nit\\'s too sentimental and uplifiting for a straight drama , but the emotions are too subtle for melodrama . \\nit is emotionally engaging , but it\\'s not quite larger than life . \\nthis isn\\'t a problem per se , but at times i didn\\'t know quite how to take it . \\nbut this is a relatively small complaint about a very good movie . \\na good movie allows its characters to learn and grow . \\nit doesn\\'t just happen ; it takes a good script , good acting , and good direction . \\ngood will hunting has all three . \\nif you are at all inclined to see it , by all means , go . \\n',\n",
+       " b'john boorman\\'s \" zardoz \" is a goofy cinematic debacle so fundamentally misconceived and laughably executed that it takes on a bizarre enjoyment quality all its own . \\nnot since the rampant bumblings of one edward d . wood jr . has a movie been so silly and so serious at the same time . \\nof course , wood\\'s career can be explained by two things : he had no money and he had no talent . \\nboorman , on the other hand , cannot court such excuses to explain \" zardoz \" ( or his follow-up film , the equally awful \" exorcist ii : the heretic \" ) . \\nboorman obviously had a sizable budget , a matinee idol movie star ( sean connery ) in the lead role , and although you wouldn\\'t know it from this film , boorman does indeed have talent . \\nthis is the man who made the slick modern masterpiece \" deliverance \" ( 1972 ) , as well as the autobiographical world war ii drama \" hope and glory \" ( 1987 ) , the slightly over-conceived arthurian epic \" excalibur \" ( 1981 ) and the father-son jungle adventure \" the emerald forest \" ( 1985 ) . \\nhis films all show that boorman is never lacking in imagination , but sometimes that comes at the cost of coherence and taste . \\nif boorman is anything , he\\'s ambitious , and when he succeeds , it\\'s in grand fashion . \\nunfortunately , the bigger they are , the harder they fall , and when boorman falls , the resounding impact can be heard for miles around . \\n \" zardoz \" is meant to takes its place among the grandest of mystical movies , an obsession of boorman\\'s . \\nhis screenplay tries to elicit the same mythological connotations of the arthurian legends or even \" the wizard of oz , \" a book which figures into the movie\\'s plot . \\nbut , despite all this reaching , the resulting movie is more unintentionally funny than intentionally enigmatical or compelling . \\nthe events take place in the distant year 2293 , but there is little of the typical futuristic movie-ness to be found . \\nin fact , things seems to have moved backwards , with people riding horses , shooting old-style guns , and living in large victorian mansions . \\nit\\'s more middle ages than space age . \\nthe world of \" zardoz \" is divided into two distinct hemispheres : the outlands , where all the poor , pathetic people live , and the vortex , where a select group of wealthy intellectuals live in comfort and everlasting life . \\nthese immortals never grow old , they never engage in sexual activity , they possess psychological powers , and they live in a sort of quasi-utopian marxist society where everyone is equal , and everyone contributes equally to the society . \\nhowever , if one breaks the rules , that person is punished by being aged so many years . \\nif someone breaks the rules enough , he or she is aged to the point of senility , and imprisoned to an eternal existence in a geriatric home with others aged criminals . \\none of the immortals , arthur frayn ( niall buggy ) , a squirmy man with a mustache and goatee tattooed on his face , is charged with keeping order in the outlands and forcing the residents to farm so the immortals can be fed . \\nlike \" the wizard of oz , \" he adopts a god-like status among the people by flying in to their part of the world in a giant stone carved like a menacing head . \\n ( this flying head is one of the movie\\'s opening images , and it\\'s a dead giveaway of the lunacy to come . ) \\ncalling himself zardoz , frayn gathers a bunch of outlanders and makes them into a group called the exterminators , whose purpose is to kill most of the other outlanders so they can\\'t procreate and take up more resources . \\nfrom inside his giant , stone head , zardoz bellows seriously laugh-inducting statements like , \" the gun is good . \\nthe penis is evil . \" \\nthat line alone is worth the movie\\'s cult following . \\none day , an exterminator named zed ( sean connery ) , sneaks into zardoz\\'s flying stone , pushes frayn out , and goes back to the vortex . \\nonce there , the immortals label him a \" brutal \" and study him like a lab rat , taking great , perverse care in exploring his sexuality , which is a mystery to them . \\nthey seem especially interested in his ability to gain an erection , and there is one downright hilarious sequence where a bunch of scantily-clad female scientists show zed erotic footage on a video screen in an attempt to determine what gets him worked up . \\ni say \" hilarious \" because that is exactly what \" zardoz \" is . \\nit is obvious that boorman did not intend it to be so ; he made this film with the straightest of faces , although i have a hard time believing that as production moved forward , he didn\\'t get even the slightest inkling of how patently ridiculous it was becoming . \\njust looking at connery is enough to give one the giggles - he spends most of the film running around in a red loin cloth that resembles a diaper , a mane of hair braided halfway down his back , a wyatt earp-style handlebar mustache , and a pair of thigh-high patent leather boots that would look more appropriate on a cheap hollywood hooker . \\nboorman made the film right after the critical and financial success of \" deliverance , \" which is the only reason i can imagine a studio would green-light this effort . \\nhe attracted some rich talent on both sides of the camera , including cinematographer geoffrey unsworth ( \" 2001 \" ) , whose striking visuals are about the only good thing in \" zardoz \" besides the inadvertent humor . \\nsean connery had made his last james bond film in 1971 , and perhaps he was looking for a change in pace . \\nhe got exactly that in \" zardoz , \" and it\\'s a wonder it didn\\'t end his career . \\ni\\'m sure boorman intended for this movie to make some grand statements . \\nis it a treatise about the infallibility of eternal life ? \\nis it a condemnation of those who consider growing old to be a bad thing ? \\nor is it a social statement , something about the inherent negativity of class distinctions and the violence it creates ? \\nkarl marx might like it if he were more like timothy leary . \\ncome to think of it , maybe boorman made it as an extended lsd trip . \\npeople high on illicit substances are the only ones i can imagine enjoying this asinine silliness as anything more than a completely unintentional comedy . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"when i was asked to see this movie with a friend , my initial reaction was ? not hugh grant ! ' \\ni was perhaps wrong to be so harsh , but after his insidious flirtation with a street hooker , i just could not picture him in any romantic lead . \\nwhat makes this movie a wonderful experience is not the fact it stars hugh , but because it stars julia and carries with it a brilliantly written script . \\nthis writer richard curtis , whose exceptional first work ? four weddings and funeral' shows us that he is a master in the domain of the romantic comedy , with splashes of drama thrown in between . \\nhugh and his hair , is almost identical to the character that made him famous in ? four weddings' . \\nhe plays an ordinary guy who is down and out on his luck . \\nunfortunately , he is type cast in this role , but fortunately it works well for him in this movie . \\nif only he would dither a little less . \\njulia knows this role well . \\nthe glamorous movie star who is searching for true love . \\nthere are moments in this movie , that you almost weep for her pain felt loneliness . \\nhow sad it must be to be so wealthy and beautiful , but to have no one to share it with . \\nthe writer deals with difficult issues of love and social class on various levels . \\nhow differences in social standing can make it almost impossible for love to grow in such a harsh environment . \\nhow the media can be as cruel as it can be attentive , and how fulfilment in life and love can be found in forgiveness and sacrifice . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'there was a huge crowd - so many over 100 people could not be admitted - at a premiere screening of \" the nephew \" ( first screening with a major general audience admittance ) . \\nthis was a movie premiere at the santa barbara international film festival . \\npierce brosnan ( 007 ) , produced his first movie with beau st . clair . \\nit was a constantly mind-moving and personal movie with lovely scenes of ireland . \\nchad ( hill harper , beloved ) is a cute 17 year old mixed race ( african american and irish ) nephew , who\\'s irish mother died . \\nhe comes \" back to ireland \" , living with the curmudgeon uncle , tony egan ( donal mccann ) . \\nhe meets pierce brosnan\\'s character , mr . o\\'brady ( or just brady ) , because he falls in love with the beautiful daughter . \\nthere are many scenes ( ah , character scenes ) to laugh at , others pull some tears . \\nthe three mentioned above were at the premiere in the flesh , with the director eugene brady . \\nafter the movie they took questions . \\nthe movie was very good , it not fantastic . \\nthe nephew has not been \" picked up \" in north america but has been in the rest of the world . \\nthe nephew is generation secrecy of a \" titanic \" proportion . \\nlet\\'s hope the rest of america will be able to see the nephew . \\ncontact given in the program guide : \" print source : irish dream source , inc . , tel : ( 310 ) 449-3411 \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'one night , during a torrential downpour that flooded the streets , we went to see -- what else -- hard rain . \\n \" so , are we all going to die ? \" \\nthe sheriff ( randy quaid ) asks in the story\\'s opening line as he evacuates his flooded town . \\nthe answer is pretty much yes , but not nearly soon enough . \\nand to add insult to injury , the supposedly dead , regretfully , often turn out not to be so . \\npopulating this bad tv-movie-of-the-week material are a host of talented actors . \\none can only hope they were rewarded handsomely for acting in this hopelessly muddled picture . \\nbesides the obvious hardships of acting most scenes while dog paddling in the water , they will all receive black marks on their records for appearing in this dismal movie . \\ngraham yost\\'s script serves up one cliche after another for the actors , who thankfully managed to mumble quite a few of the lines . \\ndirector mikael salomon\\'s staging is so confusing that you may have trouble figuring out what is happening . \\nthe befuddled presentation is exacerbated by peter menzies , jr . \\'s dark and ugly cinematography . \\nthe plot concerns an armored car that gets stuck in the raging water . \\nonboard are guards tom and his uncle charlie . \\nchristian slater , who is much better in his tender roles as in untamed heart , plays tom . \\nedward asner drops by briefly to take on the role of the soon to be dead charlie . \\ncoming to their \" rescue \" is a gang headed by jim , played on autopilot by the great actor morgan freeman . \\nhe views the loot , three million dollars worth , as his retirement plan . \\nthe entire movie is one big watery chase with the sheriff and his posse tracking jim and his gang , who are in turn after tom . \\nalong the way , tom picks up a love interest in the person of a crucifix-weapon wielding woman named karen , played in a totally wasted performance by minnie driver . \\nthe action sequences are repetitive and without much interest . \\nthey do feature lots of explosions and gunfire to keep you awake . \\nchristopher young\\'s emotionless score for the film has a single trait , ear-shattering loudness . \\nthe plot holes are as big as the ones in the dam that breaks , submerging the town . \\nthe characters have an infinite number of bullets and rarely do they have to bother reloading their guns . \\nthe weapons and the ammunition spend most of the time under water or being rained on but always fire perfectly . \\nwhen one of the bad guys drops a gun into the water , it stays in the same place until much later when tom swims to get it , even though the swift water is so strong it is uprooting large trees . \\ncounting these improbabilities is one of the more enjoyable ways to spend your time as you wait for the characters to kill each other . \\nthe show has a single , but unprintable , good line . \\nbetty white plays an incessantly bossy wife , and , when her hen-pecked husband finally told her off , our audience roared with laughter . \\nthe show concludes with a sickening set of twists . \\nthe best that can be said of the picture is that it is merely stupefyingly awful as opposed to laughably bad . \\nhard rain runs 1 : 37 . \\nit is rated r for violence and would be fine for teenagers . \\n ( the two families behind us shockingly had a half-dozen preschoolers among them . ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'many people dislike french films for their lack of closure . \\nwhile possibly shallow , i\\'ve often had a desire for a sense of epiphany , or at least a resolution , in the films which i view . \\nthere is no revelation in un coeur en hiver in the traditional ; however , the film is incredibly successful in its passionate dramatization of a passion-denying protagonist , stephane ( daniel auteuil ) . \\nstephane ( daniel auteuil ) is a master violin maker . \\nhe is passionless about all that which surrounds him except his craft and the music which his craft is responsible for producing . \\neven the relationship between he and his boss , maxime ( andre dussollier ) is a controlled , and almost manipulated association , highlighted by the fact that stephane permits maxime to win close squash matches . \\nin the beginning of the movie , stephane is a closed , solitary individual and the audience is carefully left to wonder about the depth of emotion behind this enigmatic man . \\ncamille kessler ( emmanuelle beart ) is a master violinist and the new love of maximes . \\nmaxime is so much in love with camille that he plans to and does leave his wife . \\nlike stephane , camille is outwardly very controlled and reserved , sacrificing all thought and emotion to her violin and the music which emerges . \\nwhen stephane and camille meet , there is a recognition of a bonding by both individuals . \\nhowever , whereas camille submits to the wild interplay of emotions which she now feels for stephane , stephane only admits that camille is attracted to him . \\nstephane ignores his feelings for camille , which the audience cannot help but to see is present . \\nas the movie progresses , the two characters become more and more polarized in their views and emotions for one another . \\nthese two people , with very similar approaches to life initially , react to their new circumstance very differently . \\nstephane becomes even more rational and controlled , while camille becomes more tempestuous , until she almost borders on suffering a nervous breakdown due to the inability to consummate their relationship . \\nhowever , their approach to each other is perhaps not surprising considering their vocation . \\nthe audience is led to believe that stephane may have been a genius as a violinist as well , due to his relationship with a master violin teacher . \\nhowever , apparently , he could not be a violinist due to his intolerance for flaws in his playing . \\nconsequently , stephane becomes a precision craftsmen with the instrument and no longer plays . \\nin contrast , camille had almost given the violin , years earlier . \\nhowever , with the aid of her manager , she has progressed to being almost one of the world\\'s finest , successfully submerging herself to her playing . \\nduring the course of the movie , we see both characters evolve as they struggle to meet the challenge of their new emotions . \\nstephane attempts to remain unchanged . \\nhowever , we do see subtle hints of his transformation . \\none of the most obvious is when he defeats maxime in squash . \\nthe development of all of the characters , many of which is not included in this synopsis , is incredible . \\namerican movies , with rare exceptions , have not and i would daresay cannot approach foreign films in character development . \\nin its essence , this movie is about the development and growth of the characters , camille and stephane . \\nthe portrayal of all the other characters in the movie , including a death , is to further the development of camille\\'s and stepahne\\'s characters . \\ni am not sure why berardinelli says , \" at times it becomes difficult to determine whether stephane should be pitied or vilified , and it is to auteuil\\'s credit that he manages to maintain this uncertainty . \" \\nthis movie is not about judging stephane\\'s actions as being right or wrong , but about viewing their growth and accepting the characters as who they are . \\ni find the ending appropriate ; unfortunately , i found the last ten minutes which led up to the final scene to be very unfulfilling . \\nthis portion of the film is where the \" sense of closure \" could have been successfully accomplished . \\nunfortunately , there is a hurried and almost a soap opera-type surge of emotions from all of the characters . \\nwhile ravel may not be quite as accomplished as schubert or mozart , ravel has his day in this film . \\nthe synergism of the tension of ravel\\'s music and tension on the screen is the best i have ever seen . \\nthe directing in this movie is wonderful . \\nthe actors and actresses are excellent , each playing their part with great sincerity and warmth . \\nemmanuelle beart\\'s personality is beautiful . \\nand needless to say , i must say that emmanuelle beart , herself , is beautiful . \\nbesides the near ending , the only other criticism of the movie which i have is that the movie is almost too cerebral . \\ni almost left with the sense little happened because almost all the changes which occur in the movie happen in deep in their psyches and little in their personalities or the situations which they end as part of . \\nthe one question which i am left with is while they have accepted their lot , has their attitude towards love changed ? \\ni have several possibilities which i believe the movie hints at , but i am unsure of which the director is espousing . \\nin summary , this movie is solely about the character growth of two characters who almost develop a relationship . \\nin the process , we see their attitude towards life and other people . \\nin itself , i do not believe un coeur is a complicated movie . \\nwhere it does become complicated is when we juxtapose the scenes of the movie into the greater walk of life where we , as americans , have preconceived american notions of relationship , love , and people . \\ni do wonder how the movie translates when viewed within its native french culture . \\nhowever , i , bringing my american preconceptions , enjoyed the film . \\ni would welcome any comments about this movie from any who have seen it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the happy bastard\\'s 30-second review \\nnotting hill \\na cute romantic comedy from the writer of the hit comedy four weddings and a funeral , notting hill stars julia roberts as anna scott , a very popular actress with a $15 million asking price for movies . \\none day she wanders into a travel book store owned by a simple london resident ( played by hugh grant ) , and sparks somehow begin to fly . \\nsure , there are points of turmoil , such as putting up with grant\\'s slightly disgusting ( but very hilarious ) roommate spike , anna\\'s pesky ex-boyfriend ( alec baldwin in a humorous cameo ) , and , on top of all that , those damn press . \\nit\\'s a fresh sort of complexity to see in a romantic comedy , very different from , say , a stubborn father or \" not the right time \" like as seen in usual flicks . \\nroberts is terrific as the astonishingly beautiful actress , and grant is surprisingly good as the straightforward guy still trying to get a hold of what has actually happened with this girl . \\nin short , a sweet romantic comedy that has a lot of good laughs , particularly provided by spike . \\none tee-shirt really says it all about him . \\nin an attempt to turn on a woman , he shows the front of the shirt , which says : \" you are the most beautiful woman in the world . \" \\non the back ? \\n \" fancy a f * * k ? \" \\n',\n",
+       " b\"jonathan demme's _beloved_ , based on the book toni morrison , is a study in skillful literary adaptation . \\non the one hand , the film manages to recreate key moments from the novel , evoking morrison's pragmatic narrative style without using her authorial voice . \\non the other hand , beloved omits the some of the finer details of the book , favoring an ambiguously defined back story upon which to build the story's main events . \\nthis choice is a smartly made one , for it creates an open space in which the story's wide range of emotions can gestate and grow . \\nindeed , the impact of the film is so protracted that much of it cannot be felt until long after the end credits have rolled . \\n_beloved_ takes place in the second half of the 19th century , during the so-called reconstruction era after the civil war . \\nfor newly-freed slaves , it is a time of confusion and turmoil . \\noprah winfrey is sethe , a slave who escaped a kentucky plantation and took her children to an ohio farmhouse , where she hoped the terror would end . \\nwhat she did not know was that it would follow her there , and remain with her long after the physical threat had vanished . \\n_beloved_ ultimately tells the story of sethe's search for forgiveness , one long-hampered by an unforgettable sin . \\nthe film starts off on a dreary day ten years after sethe's escape , as a violent , unseen energy rocks her dilapidated farmhouse . \\ninvisible hands terrorize her family , flinging objects across rooms , shaking tables , rattling floorboards . \\nsethe's sons run away , perhaps for good , leaving sethe and her daughter denver to fend for themselves . \\ndemme's matter-of-fact handling of this supernatural element is just one of _beloved_'s intriguing aspects . \\nall of the characters take for granted that ghosts are real . \\nwhen paul d ( danny glover ) -- a former slave who escaped kentucky along with sethe -- arrives at the house eight years later and is confronted with the ghost's hellish visions , he doesn't run in terror . \\ninstead , he asks who the ghost is . \\nas in morrison's novel , demme quickly establishes that the horror of the story will not come from the fact of the ghost itself , but from the terrifying past in which the ghost was created . \\nsethe is the one being haunted , but the ghost in the house is the least of her fears . \\nin fact , the ghost is one of the reasons she chooses to stay . \\nthe story takes an bizarre turn with the appearance of beloved ( thandie newton ) , a young black-clad woman who appears on sethe's front lawn , leaned christ-like against a tree stump . \\nsethe and denver immediately take to the rasping woman and try to nurse her to health . \\nthey know not who she is , but that doesn't matter . \\nonly paul d is suspicious of the stranger . \\nlittle does the family know that beloved will bring about many changes , and force sethe to release a guilt she has held onto so urgently for eighteen years . \\nwinfrey is arguably beloved's greatest asset . \\nshe inhabits the role of sethe so convincingly it is hard to believe this is the same woman who shines brightly on a tv talk show . \\nlisa gay hamilton does an impressive job in the emotionally demanding role as the younger sethe , whose appalling actions make her the disturbed woman we see eighteen years later . \\ndanny glover is affable as the sympathetic paul d , as is kimberly elise as denver , sethe's wanderlusting daughter . \\nas sethe's sage-like mother-in-law old baby suggs , beah richards authoritatively commands every scene in which she appears . \\nthe film's least palatable choice of casting is unfortunately that of the role of beloved herself . \\nthandie newton plays the glassy-eyed girl with a demented fervor which is endearing at first , but which becomes off-putting and unintentionally laughable by the end . \\ndeparting from the honed aesthetic he used in such films as _the silence of the lambs_ and _melvin & howard_ , director demme has used a bit of dramatic overstatement to get across the vivid descriptions in morrison's novel . \\ntotemic camera shots and color-saturated scenery are decidedly uncommon in demme's films , but the few he uses here work to the film's benefit . \\n_beloved_'s most memorable scenes are those of baby suggs' gatherings in a forest clearing , where the bright yellow-greens of nature entrance the viewer as much as suggs' words do . \\nfor the most part , though , demme maintains his trademark directorial neutrality . \\nthis , combined with morrison's equally frugal method of storytelling , may make _beloved_ somewhat of a challenge to watch , even to those familiar with the book . \\nthough the film compliments the book extraordinarily well , it falls short in allowing the sort of accessibility one usually expects from a film . \\nnothing is spoon-fed to the viewer . \\nmorrison's novel is just as enigmatic , but unlike a movie , a book can be put down to allow the various undercurrents and themes to churn and absorb . \\nthe movie begins like _poltergeist_ , and ends like _the color purple_ , with shades of _the scarlet letter_ and _little women_ somewhere in the middle . \\ntaken as a whole , beloved is a disquieting , one-of-a-kind experience , one to be viewed with guards down and spirits in abeyance . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'seen at the 21st portland international film festival \\nfilm title : supermarket woman director : juzo itami country : japan 1997 cinematography : yonezo maeda music : toshiyuki honda cast : nobuko miyamoto , masahitko tsugawa , shiro ito , yuji miyake , akiko matsumoto super features : typical itami film . . . \\nfunny and pointed in its own way . \\nif you don\\'t care how and what the food you buy goes through in your local supermarket , then this film is not for you . . . . \\nmaybe it is better to ignore it , as this strong and biting satire , as only juzo itami can deliver , will give you an insight as to what some foods go through . \\nhaving , in the past , made films that pulled every punch imaginable , from the family traditions ( the funeral ) , to taxes ( a taxing woman & a taxing woman returns ) , to the diabolical gangsters ( minbo ) , to hospitals ( the seriously ill ) , juzo itami , this time takes on the supermarkets\\' own war , to get the consumers . \\nand while this film has its funny side , in the crazy situations that it creates , it also shows another side , which is very much the attitude of a corporate structure that is more concerned with its profits than it is with any customer . \\ngoro has a supermarket . \\nand a competitor comes into the neighborhood , trying to take him out of business by providing less expensive prices for everything that is sold in the supermarket . \\nbargains galore , its name , has in mind the closure of goro\\'s humbler venue , so that in the end it can mark up its prices in any way it can . \\ngoro hires hanako , a housewife whose talents seem to be better suited to management , than they are in anything else . \\nhanako , as she gets familiar with the operation , discovers many of the tricks of the trade , done by many of the elders in charge of each section of the market . \\nand the procedures , are not always \" fresh \" food , but a new packaging and a new date , to try and convince the customers that quality is on the shelves . \\nhanako\\'s ideas take hold , starting with a few of the women that work in the supermarket , being that they do not even shop there at all . \\nand hanako discovers along the way that a few giveaways here and there make a bit of a difference . \\nif not cause some serious problems in the running of the store . \\na price error , forces them to give away eggs for very low prices , and causes the store a few hassles , but , it brought the people in , and everyone knows that these customers will buy a few other things . \\nas the operation gets stronger , the competition also has trickery up its sleeve , and it has been undermining much of the operation by paybacks to one of the store managers , as well as the meat and fish elder supervisors . \\neventually these people are found out , and hanako has to tread slowly and carefully , until in the end they all have a showdown . \\nand here , the truth and honesty win out , and even one of the elders decides to stay rather than go to work for the corrupt opponent . \\nin the process , they also find that \" freshness \" ( with some very funny jokes on this word as well ) becomes a much more important tool than they imagined . \\nwith some very nice performances , in this hectic , and fast paced film , this film gives us a sitting of two hours that is satisfying in many ways , although a failed love story between goro and hanako does not come off much , even though towards the end it is suggested . \\nbut this would take away from the satire and its strengths . \\nwith food gags all over the place , the film lets you have it . \\nand what fun it is . \\nworth seeing . \\n ( editorial ) the director of this film , juzo itami , died shortly after the film was finished , and he left behind a legacy of comedy and satire that is rare , and uncompromising . \\nwe would wish that he had been able to make one about film making , of which he must have had a few stories to tell , but we will have to do with much of the japanese society , and its many errant ways . . . . \\nnot to say that these things do not happen anywhere else . . . . \\namerica is no less guilty of any of these subjects at all , should anyone have the guts to tackle it . . . \\nwe could learn something along the way , too . . . . \\nworth seeing , specially , is a taxing woman and its follow up a taxing woman returns . \\nthe funeral is also good , although not as funny as the later films . \\ntampopo is also very enjoyable . \\nall four of these films are available in video , which means your best local site for foreign film may have them . . . \\nask for it . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" the fighting sullivans \" contains a major plot development in the last ten minutes that every movie guide has seen fit to give away . \\nthere was no dramatic tension for me while watching the film , as i knew exactly what was going to happen . \\nand that\\'s the worst thing that can happen before viewing a movie . \\nbecause of this , i will tread lightly so i don\\'t ruin it for anyone reading this review , and it would be very advisable to avoid all other material regarding this film until after you have seen it . \\n \" the fighting sullivans \" revolves around a family that consists of a mother , father , sister , and five brothers . \\nthe brothers are very close , despite the occasional disagreement . \\nthey are inseperable , and never stray from one another . \\ntheir friendship and loyalty is the foundation of this picture . \\nthe first half of the movie follows the brothers as young children , and their various adventures . \\nwhen four of them get into a fight with some local boys , the youngest sullivan , who is inside a church at the time , comes running out to assist , but not before properly exiting the chapel . \\nif i\\'m being awfully vague about details , it\\'s because what i have told you is essentially the first hour and a half . \\nall i can say is go watch this film , because it is a fine portrait of a family that sticks together , through the good and the bad . \\nand after you see the movie , you will understand why this review has been written the way it has . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"it's wednesday , march 27 , and a murder investigation is underway in charlotte , south carolina . \\nthe crime : a young prostitute , elizabeth ( renee zellweger ) , has been brutally slain . \\none half of her severed body was found in a bag at the train station . \\nthe other half was discovered in a trunk at the harbor authority , miles away . \\nthe police duo of braxton ( chris penn ) and kennesaw ( michael rooker ) are strapped for leads . \\nat the moment , they have only one possible suspect : wayland ( tim roth ) , a wealthy , unemployed genius who graduated summa cum laude from princeton and appears to be the least likely character to commit such a heinous act . \\nthat's the premise for deceiver , a new thriller from the pate brothers , jonas and josh , who made their mark on the film world two years ago at sundance with the movie the grave . \\ndeceiver plays out like a mind game between the intellectually superior wayland and the two not- so-bright cops ( captions early in the proceedings let us know that wayland's iq is 151 ; by contrast , kennesaw's is 122 and braxton's is 102 ) . \\nthe setting is a police interrogation room where a lie detector test is about to be administered . \\nover three days , as wayland returns to answer more questions , the drama and tension among these three characters gradually escalates until , inevitably , it boils over . \\nother plot elements are thrown in for good measure . \\nwayland suffers from a peculiar kind of epilepsy that can , in stressful situations , render him virtually catatonic or extremely violent . \\nbraxton , a compulsive gambler , is deep in debt to a local syndicate . \\nand kennesaw is haunted by a dark , abusive side that delights in terrorizing women , especially his wife ( rosanna arquette ) , whom he suspects of being unfaithful . \\nthe foibles and failings of these three are brought into the open as the mystery around elizabeth's death deepens and it becomes unclear who has the upper hand : the suspect or his questioners . \\ndeceiver , which mostly transpires in a dimly-lit room and involves a lot of smart dialogue , has the feel of a david mamet play : edgy , claustrophobic , and tense . \\nthe atmosphere is explosive , and some of pivotal moments of confrontation are riveting . \\ndeceiver has the power to grab an audience . \\nunfortunately , in the end , it succumbs to the need to throw in one last , unexpected twist , and this is its undoing . \\nfor , while this surprise will certainly shock most viewers , it also stretches our credulity too much , and raises more questions than it answers . \\nit's only an effective wrap-up if you don't think too carefully about its full implications . \\nof course , the film as a whole plays fast and loose with reality and logic . \\npolice procedure is totally ignored and it's almost impossible to accept that any criminal investigation would or could proceed in this manner . \\nbut the real focus in deceiver is on character interaction , not plot details . \\ndeceiver only occasionally gets out of the police station , and those instances occur primarily during flashbacks featuring the prostitute . \\nthe pates employ a number of interesting techniques to present vignettes from elizabeth's final days and hours . \\nthe most intriguing of these is to use an unreliable narrator while underlining the discrepancies in his voice-over by visually showing what really happened . \\nmoments like this are too effective to be dismissed as gimmicks . \\nthe movie , obviously fashioned in the manner of classic film noir , drips atmosphere . \\nthere are some fascinating stylistic touches ; for example , although the setting is contemporary , all of the telephones are old-fashioned , rotary models . \\ncinematographer bill butler is given an opportunity to use unconventional camera work to liven up deceiver's look . \\nsome of the things he tries ( mostly those that involve the contrast between light and shadow ) work exceptionally well , while others ( like any of several lazy susan shots ) seem more like unnecessary visual tricks . \\nas wayland , tim roth gives the film's top performance , despite occasionally treading the tightrope between acting and overacting . \\nroth makes us believe that wayland is both as brilliant and as troubled as he's supposed to be . \\nthe other two leads , chris penn and michael rooker , aren't as effective . \\nboth play their characters like familiar types . \\npenn's performance is uninspired ; rooker's lacks subtlety . \\nsome of the best work is turned in by the supporting actors . \\nrenee zellweger , in a role that's miles away from her star-making turn in jerry maguire , brings a note of vulnerability and humanity to a part that could easily have become a caricature . \\nrosanna arquette is solid as kennesaw's wife , and michael parks delivers several wonderful scenes as a psychiatrist who's entrusted with evaluating wayland's condition . \\none of the best things about deceiver is that it never talks down to the audience . \\nplot points aren't hammered home , and , although the ending has its weaknesses , everything isn't spelled out in bold letters . \\nthe pates give audience members credit for having brains , which is an increasingly rare characteristic for film makers . \\noccasionally gripping and never uninteresting , deceiver is a fine noir effort . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'phaedra cinema , the distributor of such never-heard-of classics as \" soft toilet seats , \" \" trailer : the movie , \" and \" the one armed boxer vs . the flying guillotine , \" has sneaked its latest release , \" the sculptress , \" into a few theaters this weekend hoping to cash in on a handful of halloween holidaygoers looking for a right good scare . \\n \" the sculptress \" is a scary proposition all right , but not in the way its producers intended . \\nfrom the outset it\\'s easy to see why some of the larger , more reputable chains aren\\'t carrying it : the film looks like a straight-to-video release from the early \\'80s that\\'s been dusted off ( not very carefully ) and re-issued in theatrical format . \\nthat staple of schlocky z-movies jeff fahey ( \" the lawnmower man \" ) plays a washed-up shakespearean actor lacking in some basic people skills . \\nwhen he\\'s not reliving his glory days in his ramshackle nob hill apartment , screaming scotch-induced \" hamlet \" soliloquies well into the night , he\\'s out and about on the streets of san francisco stalking loose women . \\nfahey\\'s dobie sizes up his victims ( actually just one , a peep show performer name of sylvie ) dressed like one of the guys from kraftwerk , and approaches them in the ridiculous attire of a bavarian count replete with a cane , dark glasses , and a false beard ( just in time for halloween ! ) . \\n \" do you have a castle ? \" \\nsylvie asks dobie seductively when he flashes the bulging contents of his wallet outside a coffee shop . \\n \" jah . \\nwith ze many turrets \" is dobie\\'s perplexing reply . \\nthe real \" star \" of the film ( and i use that term extremely loosely ) is katie wright , who plays the sculptress of the title . \\nsarah is new in town , studying at the prestigious sf art institute under the mentorship of a \" genius \" frenchman , played by the beret-wearing patrick bauchau . \\nthat\\'s convenient , because sarah would one day like to live and work in paris ( you won\\'t believe the film\\'s final shot , with its cheesy eiffel tower backdrop and \" rosemary\\'s baby \" -inspired imagery ) . \\nbauchau\\'s character criticizes sarah\\'s work publicly ( her clay busts keep turning into gargoyles--perhaps she\\'s possessed . . . \\nby an incubus ! ! ? ) but he still manages to talk her into dinner . \\nwhereas wright does a decent english accent , her talents pretty much end there . \\non the other side of the wall , dobie\\'s troubled past is succinctly summarized in a scene in which he thumbs through an old scrapbook of newspaper clippings with headings like \" actor delivers a stunning macbeth , \" actor courted by hollywood studio , \" \" actor renounces hollywood for priesthood , \" and \" prostitute fingers priest in sex scandal . \" \\nthe film\\'s plot could have been just as easily condensed . \\n \" artist moves in next door to shakespearean psychopath . \" \\n \" yawns ensue . \" \\nso dobie rants and raves and sarah chips away at large blocks of granite till way past their bedtimes . \\nlate in the film , their paths finally cross with mind-numbing results . \\nnobody else in the apartment complex appears to mind all the racket , but one old dear does go ballistic when sarah\\'s bathtub overflows . \\nno , we don\\'t see wright in the tub ( or fahey for that matter ) , and the gore quotient is virtually nil , so for a horror film \" the sculptress \" is surprisingly lacking . \\nthe only thing worth looking at is san francisco , and writer/director ian merrick manages to make even it look dreary , windswept , and deserted . \\n \" the sculptress \" isn\\'t even bad enough to be fun . \\nluckily , a limited release has made it easy to avoid . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"originally titled 'don't lose your head' , this parody of the scarlet pimpernel story was the first carry on to be produced by rank film productions . \\ntwo english fops , the 'powdered , be-wigged , be-ribboned' sir rodney ffing ( sidney james ) and his counterpart lord darcy pew ( jim dale ) decide to travel to revolutionary france in an attempt to rescue their fellow french royalists and aristocrats from losing their heads by the guillotine . \\ndue to a series of machinations and disguises , they are largely successful . \\nffing becomes known as 'the black fingernail' because he leaves a calling card behind which shows two fingers sticking up , one with a black fingernail . \\nafter the fingernail rescues a prominent royalist the duc de pommfrit ( charles hawtrey ) , citizen robespierre ( peter gilmore ) orders the head of the secret police citizen 'the big cheese' camembert ( kenneth williams ) and citizen bidet ( peter butterworth ) to follow the fingernail to england and do away with him . \\n ( in fact , darcy and ffing are their coachmen ! ) \\nonce at calais , the fingernail meets jacqueline ( dany robin ) and they fall in love instantly . \\nhe tells her his identity and gives her his locket . \\nwhen camembert realises that the fingernail is nearby , he searches the inn at calais and captures jacqueline , thinking that she is wearing a diguise and is really the fingernail ! \\njacqueline is imprisoned in the bastille and camembert , his love desiree dubarry ( joan sims ) , and bidet all travel to london in pursuit of the fingernail . \\nthey pretend to be of noble stock , calling themselves the duc and duchesse de la plume de ma tante ( with bidet their assistant ) and are invited by darcy to a ball held by ffing . \\ndesiree finds out that ffing is the fingernail by wearing the locket around her neck , but she ends up falling in love with him . \\nffing attempts to stall camembert so that he can return to the bastille to rescue jacqueline , camembert has her moved to the 'chateau neuve' , and a climactic sword-fight decides who will lose their heads at the end of the film ! \\na more complex story than most carry ons , this film enjoys good production values ( sets , costumes ) and an on-form cast . \\nsid james is excellent as the english fop and black fingernail , kenneth williams excels as the evil camembert , and peter butterworth expertly plays the substantial part of camembert's thick-witted crony . \\nother acting honours go to joan sims who is perfect as desiree and charles hawtrey who is excellent as the french aristo pommfrit . \\nalthough it suffers from a disasterously over-long sword fight at the end of the film , it is largely successful due to the performances of the main stars , its slick and professional production , and its better-than-usual script . \\ndefinitely one of the best of the series and a joy to watch . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'sometimes i find 19th century british costume dramas a little hard to relate to . \\nit\\'s not the time or the distance , it\\'s the rules and conventions of a social class that deserves resentment rather than sympathy . \\nyet somehow , the movies are all well made and i always get caught up in the story . \\nthe wings of the dove fits the pattern . \\nkate ( helena bonham carter ) and merton ( linus roache ) are in love . \\nmerton , a newspaper writer , would like to marry kate . \\nbut kate\\'s \" job \" , if you will , is to be a member of the british upper class . \\nher father lost all of her family\\'s money , but a wealthy aunt agreed to take care of her until she married a nice rich man . \\nnaturally , a newspaper writer\\'s wages don\\'t count as \" rich . \" \\nkate leads him on , but she always ends up giving him the cold shoulder , ultimately because he\\'s not marriageable . \\nkate\\'s american friend millie ( alison elliot ) stops in for a visit on her way to venice . \\nat a party , millie catches a glimpse of merton and likes what she sees . \\nkate realizes that if merton were introduced to millie , he might forget about her . \\nit appears that she is trying to spare him from the heartbreak of their inevitable breakup . \\nmerton sees what kate is doing and resents her for it . \\nhe is still in love with kate , and will accept no substitute . \\nthe three of them , along with a fourth friend ( elizabeth mcgovern ) end up on holiday in venice together , where their interactions are quite complicated . \\nlet\\'s sum up : millie has fallen for merton . \\nmerton has no feelings for millie because he is still in love with kate . \\nkate loves him but can\\'t marry him , so on the one hand she\\'s trying to match him up with someone who will make him happy , but on the other hand she\\'s jealous of them as a couple . \\na clear solution presents itself to kate when she realizes that millie is very sick - dying , in fact . \\nat this point she decides that merton should marry millie until she dies . \\nmillie will leave her money to merton , who will then be rich enough to marry kate . \\nshe lets merton know of her schemes and , since it will help him win kate , he reluctantly agrees . \\nkate leaves venice so that the two m\\'s can be alone together . \\nmerton finds that pretending to love millie is a lot like actually loving her . \\nhe\\'s not sure he can separate the two . \\nkate finds that she\\'s not so sure she really wants her merton falling in love with and marrying anyone else . \\nthe brilliant scheme proves to be painful to all involved . \\nwithout revealing the details , suffice it to say that the situation ends badly . \\nthe title refers to the object of merton\\'s vain hope that something might lift him from his predicament . \\none is left with feelings of regret and despair . \\nwhat started as such a promising relationship was damaged by greed , anger , and jealousy . \\nan interesting thought struck me after the movie was over , and that is that the wings of the dove almost fits the story line of a film noir . \\na couple conspires to cheat someone out of their money so they can live happily ever after . \\ntheir involvement in the deception makes each less attractive to the other , and after a few things go wrong , the whole idea seems like an awful life-ruining mistake . \\ni wouldn\\'t call the wings of the dove a film noir , but the comparison is interesting . \\nas i have acknowledged before , i am not a wonderful judge of acting , but i liked the performances from roache and elliot . \\nroache successfully conveyed his character\\'s ambivalence toward millie : near the end , he hugs her , at first staring into space , as if he\\'s thinking about his plan with kate , then giving that up to fully embrace millie . \\nmillie\\'s part didn\\'t require as much range , but elliot gave her the necessary bubbly personality that made her irresistible . \\ni will probably file away the wings of the dove in the same low-traffic corner of my mind as sense and sensibility and persuasion . \\ntheir settings are far removed from my personal experience - geographically , historically , and socially . \\nstill , the movies are well made and the stories inevitably win me over . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"warner brothers ; rated pg-13 ( mild violence , sexual situations ) ; 132 minutes \\ndirector : luis mandoki \\nscreenplay : gerald di pego ( from the novel by nicholas sparks ) \\ncast : kevin costner , robin wright-penn , paul newman , illeana douglas , robbie coltrane , jesse james , john savage . \\nreview by : geoff berkshire \\ni'm not an overly cynical guy . \\nthere have been many glossy hollywood romances that have carried me away with their romanticism over the years . \\nhowever , i have my limits and i also have standards . \\nthis brings us to the subject at hand : message in a bottle , the big ticket romance that warner brothers' unleashed upon the movie going public just in time for valentine's day . \\nthe story , what little of it that there is , involves boring chicago tribune reporter theresa osborne ( robin wright-penn ) dealing with her recent divorce and trying to raise her young son jason ( jesse james ) . \\nduring a brief stay somewhere in new england she finds the titular message in a bottle while on a morning run by the ocean . \\nthe letter , written to a mystery woman named catherine , instantly captivates her . \\nupon her return , theresa shares it with her best friend lina ( illeana douglas ) , her boss charlie ( robbie coltrane ) , and the entire city of chicago ( the newspaper publishes an article about it ) . \\nit turns out that the message was written by grieving widower garret blake ( kevin costner ) and so theresa travels to north carolina and tracks him down . \\nhe turns out to have a colorful father ( paul newman ) but is otherwise perfectly dull and overly obsessed with sailing . \\nthis is somehow attractive to theresa and the two begin their awkward courtship . \\nof course she doesn't tell him that she found his letter , she wants to but the rules of this type of film require him to find out later ( preferably right after they first make love ) . \\nthis way garret can get very angry and the relationship can be threatened . \\nthe discovery of the message and garret's discovery that theresa discovered the message are really the only two noteworthy events that happen during the nearly two and a quarter hour running time of this film . \\nthere's a truly lame subplot about garret's relationship with his dead wife's family ( he gets into a bar fight with her brother , played by john savage ) and then the necessary tear-jerking ending . \\na fun way to pass the time is to take bets on exactly who will die , although it becomes pretty clear by the second reel . \\nthe actual death sequence is one of the most ridiculously forced , and unintentionally humorous , sequences filmed since . . . \\nwell , since costner's the postman ( 1997 ) . \\nmessage in a bottle is one slow moving film . \\nlast year audiences were offered endurance tests such as the horse whisperer and meet joe black but both of those films resemble jerry bruckheimer productions next to this . \\nthey also had redeeming qualities in the form of quality performances and some stand out technical work . \\nmessage in a bottle has a decent enough cast but they're fighting the material all the way , and losing badly . \\ncostner and , especially , wright-penn are both likable and attractive enough to cheer for but their characters are simply too boring . \\nthey also fail to generate any kind of real romantic chemistry . \\nthe supporting players are given very little to do . \\nthe reliable douglas is particularly wasted . \\nold pro newman gives his all and occasionally threatens to kick some life into this dead horse of a film . \\na confrontational scene he has with costner near the end is especially well played . \\nhowever , too frequently he just reminds us how unexciting our lead characters are . \\nthe film is very polished on the technical side to be sure but it only works to undercut the story . \\ngabriel yared , who previously set the romantic moods of the english patient ( 1996 ) and city of angels ( 1998 ) with his scores , overdoes it a bit here . \\ncaleb deschanel's camera makes everything look a little too beautiful . \\ndo the offices of the chicago tribune really need to look heavenly ? \\nthe editing by steven weisberg is troubling not only considering all that could have been cut out but is also simply messy at times . \\nthe real offender here is screenwriter gerald di pego . \\nworking from a best- selling novel by nicholas sparks ( which i have not read but have been told is on the same literary level as the bridges of madison county ) , di pego creates one of the most uninspired scripts of recent times . \\nits strict adherence to clich ? s brings to mind such disasters as i still know what you did last summer ( 1998 ) . \\nthere simply isn't an original scene in this film . \\nthe dialogue is rarely better than laughable and this is only accentuated by the excessively long pauses every character takes while speaking . \\nthis is director mandoki's first film since when a man loves a woman ( 1994 ) , the solid meg ryan/andy garcia romance . \\nhe's simply going through the motions with this . \\nmessage in a bottle is easily the worst of the several romantic offerings available in theaters at the moment and vies with what dreams may come ( 1998 ) as one of the most misguided romances of the decade . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"john carpenter directed this stylish and gory vampire flick to which has it's good side and it's bad . \\nit's held up by some good performances and dazzling special effects leading up to an ending that's pretty satisfying . \\njames woods gives an outstanding performance that almost covers up the movie . \\nthe good side : some neat scenes of vampires and violence . \\nthe bad : no scares . \\nyes that's right , even though being directed by one of horror's most cherished directors , 'vampires' is the least bit scary , if not at all . \\njames woods stars as jack a vampire hunter out to stop the plans of the 'master' vampire valek played by thomas ian griffith whom wants vampires to walk in the daylight . \\ndaniel baldwin plays his sidekick montoya , a wise-cracking guy who really isn't that funny . \\nin the opening scene jack along with montoya and the team of vampire hunters , find an abandoned house to which vampire occupy . \\nof course we all know sunshine kills vampires , and that is just how they kill these vampires : hooking them to ropes and dragging them outside letting them burn to death . \\nafter throwing a party for what happened , the vampires that did not die come back to trash it . \\nthey kill almost all of jack's team , leaving only a few alive . \\nsheryl lee plays a prostitute katrina who was bitten by valek , but not yet turned into a vampire . \\nshe is rescued by jack and ? flees with them on their search for valek . \\nthey have to fight they're way against vampires , leading up to a finale that is well-done with great special effects . \\n'vampires' definately could have been done better . \\nthe make-up , special effects and story are first rate , but there is no scares or terror that the film could have had . \\nit to me had more humor than horror , almost being compared to 'fright night' with the mix of violence and comedy . \\njohn carpenter does a great job of directing this film . \\nhe eases through some tough times and saves the flaws , which are noticeable but forgettable . \\nthe script is clever and funny , with many lines that make us laugh out loud . \\ni much enjoyed 'vampires' with a few exceptions . \\nit's one of those films you see but don't take to heart . \\nyou enjoy the time you spent and go on . \\nthe recently released 'psycho' is the same way , it's not as good as you'd hope but it is fun and entertaining . \\n'vampires' is a good horror flick with no scares but plenty of other content to please the viewer . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'one of the first films of 1999 is this mtv pictures release which marks the first leading feature role for james van der beek , the star of the wb\\'s runaway hit dawson\\'s creek . \\nfollowing in the foot steps of mtv\\'s two other live action films , joe\\'s apartment ( 1996 ) and dead man on campus ( 1998 ) , varsity blues is a bad film and is unlikely to cause much of a sensation in the marketplace . \\nset in west cannan , texas , the film examines the small town obsession with high school football through the eyes of second string quarterback john \" mox \" moxon ( van der beek ) . \\nwe know he\\'s smart because he reads kurt vonnegut instead of the playbook . \\ncoach bud kilmer ( jon voight ) has been around so long there is actually a bronze statue commemorating him . \\nthe star quarterback , lance harbor ( paul walker ) , is a handsome , blonde , hero who has his own billboard in his front yard and dates the sexy head cheerleader , darcy ( ali larter ) . \\nalso on the team are an enormous guy ( ron lester ) with some health problems and the token african-american team member ( eliel swinton ) whose only real dialogue scene deals directly with the color of his skin . \\nwhen lance is seriously injured , mox gets his chance to shine and he runs with it , undermining kilmer with his unusual playing strategies . \\nhis relationship with his dutiful girlfriend , jules ( amy smart ) , is threatened and there\\'s a big game at the end . \\nguess who wins ? \\nnothing about varsity blues is inspired and the whole film simply moves through the sort of conventional motions that coach kilmer would love . \\nthere\\'s a chance for some smart satire on small town obsessions but the humor here is decidedly lowbrow . \\nvan der beek does a decent job of carrying his first film although a silly accent trips him up sometimes . \\nalso , the role isn\\'t very much of a stretch from his dawson leary character . \\nhe\\'s still a pseudo-intellectual , whiny , nice guy , except here he also happens to be a jock . \\nvoight is a terror as he chews up every single piece of scenery and spits it out . \\nthe other adults are all notably awful while the younger performers don\\'t fare much better . \\non the positive side , walker is a charismatic actor who is due for a breakout role following this and his supporting turn in pleasantville ( 1998 ) . \\nscott ( son of james ) caan has some lively moments as tweeder , the team\\'s wild man . \\nlarter , as a gorgeous seductress looking for a one way ticket out of texas , gets to show off the film\\'s most interesting costumes , including a very eye-opening \" whipped cream bikini . \" \\nit\\'s interesting to note that the film definitely earns its r-rating with a lot of harsh language , alcohol abuse and an unusually high amount of nudity ( including a gratuitous trip to a strip bar that reveals a not very surprising surprise ) . \\nall this is likely to come as a shock to the young female fan base of dawson\\'s creek , presumably the target audience for the picture . \\ndirector brian robbins previously helmed the kids feature good burger ( from nickelodeon films , a sister company of mtv ) and changes directions here a bit but still fails to make much of an impression . \\nthe look of the movie is as bland as the town and characters who populate it . \\nthe football scenes are generally unexciting and the entire film looks a bit washed out . \\nthere\\'s an ok soundtrack featuring music from collective soul , foo fighters , green day and aaliyah but it\\'s not as impressive as one would expect from a mtv film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i guess it\\'s a credit to jackie chan and the general likeability of the franchise that rush hour 2 could not be ruined even by the nauseating \" comedy \" of chris tucker . \\ni\\'m a fan of jackie chan in just about any medium , and this movie lets him not only do his impressive-as-ever martial arts schtick , but show off his comic timing as well . \\nit would have worked better if he was the only name above the title . \\nthe plot is your basic martial arts flick clothesline for stunts and special effects . \\nthis time around , the evil smugglers are led by ricky tan ( john lone ) , who makes his fortune by shipping counterfeit money into the united states ( i\\'m still not sure how you can make a fortune doing that : is there a place where one can exchange fake bills for real ones ? ) . \\nthe only way to tell the phony money from the genuine article is to set it on fire and see what color it burns . \\nof course , it\\'s up to hong kong detective lee ( chan ) and trash-talking lapd detective james carter ( tucker ) to take the bad guys out and the authorities , to the extent that they even exist , stay out of their way . \\nrush hour 2 turns the tables on the first film in that here it\\'s carter who gets the two of them into trouble and lee who winds up having to get them out . \\ni guarantee that my rating would have been at least a half of a grade higher had anyone other than chris tucker been cast as the foil for jackie chan . \\nhe refuses to shut up . \\nnot only did his voice feel like a jackhammer on my head , but his jokes just aren\\'t funny , a pathetic mixture of sub-par eddie murphy fasttalking blather and wannabe chris rock white-man-black-man jokes that wind up being more offensive than funny . \\ni realize that in a movie like this some of the biggest laughs come from letting the actors ad lib beyond what the script dictates , but didn\\'t anyone realize how irritating tucker\\'s incessant ranting and raving was ? \\nif this is all the comedian has to offer then i don\\'t care to see any more of his films . \\nfortunately , chan makes for a marvelous straight man , and he redeems the fledgling comedy completely . \\nit\\'s not often that one actor can so completely save a movie , but there is no other name for what he does ; whenever he\\'s on screen , rush hour 2 comes to nearly breathtaking , often hilarious , life . \\nmuch of it hinges on the dubious value of how cute it is to watch chan try to be a \" player , \" but who cares ? \\ni can think of few high concepts that are funnier . \\nthe movie ends with outtakes that , as usual , show that chan isn\\'t perfect , and that it does , indeed , take him a few tries to get some of his incredible stunts to look seamless . \\nchris tucker botches some lines as well , and his mistakes are funnier than anything he says in the whole movie . \\na lot of people have pointed out rush hour 2 isn\\'t very different from its predecessor in tone or style . \\nbut i liked the original , and i like the sequel , though a certain sidekick seems to have done his best to ruin it . \\ndirector brett ratner ( the family man ) keeps it moving at an entertaining pace and manages to keep the laughs coming despite the fairly miserable hit to miss ratio of the jokes ( i guess sometimes the shotgun approach works ) . \\nit\\'s not great jackie chan , but it\\'s jackie chan , and that\\'s enough . \\nup next : jay and silent bob strike back \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" it\\'s not good to know too much about someone , charlie , \" charles warns his niece , charlie ( margaret welsh ) , with a devilish grin . \\ncharlie is infatuated with her namesake uncle , her \" soul mate \" as she calls him since her mother gave her his name . \\nthere\\'s a lot to know about charles , not the least of which is that he strangled 3 widows back east . \\nmark harmon , who looks like anything but a killer but specializes in playing them , plays charles , the merry widow murderer in the 1991 hallmark hall of fame remake of the 1943 hitchcock film , shadow of a doubt . \\nand to avoid any questions about his guilt , we see charles in action in the opening scene with his last victim . \\nthe story takes place in the early 1950s in the small town of petaluma , california , where charles heads to avoid the police . \\njohn gay\\'s script uses most of the original screenplay by sally benson , alma reville , and thornton wilder . \\nkaren arthur\\'s direction is certainly no match for the great master , but on an absolute scale , the movie maintains a high level of suspense . \\nwhen supercilious and deceitful charles comes to pay a visit of indeterminate length with his sister and her family in petaluma , they don\\'t know about his nefarious activities . \\nhe showers them with elaborate gifts to buy the love they had already given him anyway . \\ntwo mysterious and exceedingly clean-cut writers for a magazine show up to take pictures of the family for a spread on the \" average american family , \" but their interest is focused on uncle charles , especially on taking his picture and learning about his background . \\ncharlie , who first welcomed her uncle\\'s visit , begins to feel more and more uncomfortable with him and suspicious of the disingenuous magazine reporters . \\nthe picture advances with a delicate power using small details such as the newspaper article that the uncle tries secretly to remove and that charlie discovers . \\nthe beauty of the story is the pas de deux between uncle and niece as they try to out psych each other . \\nshe wants him to leave , and he doesn\\'t want to go , what with a local , rich widow as a prospective victim . \\nwill charles kill charlie first , or will she get him out of town . \\nharmon is wonderfully creepy and smug , and welsh is tough but trapped . \\nwith a deft touch the director sets up each scene , several with thunderstorms , and tom neuwirth\\'s sepia-toned cinematography makes the movie feel as if it were filmed in the 50s . \\nmy only quibble is the director\\'s awkward staging of the final scene on the train . \\nis hitchcock\\'s version better ? \\nof course . \\nis this one worth watching as well ? \\nactually , yes . \\nshadow of a doubt runs 1 : 40 . \\nit is not rated but would be pg for adult themes and would be fine for kids around nine and up . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"with his successful books and movies , michael crichton is doing well . \\nwith early successes with westworld ( 1973 ) and coma ( 1978 ) , and recent films such as jurassic park ( 1993 ) , his films have been entertaining . \\nhowever , he seems to taken a wrong turn somewhere with sphere . \\nthis $100 million mess by good director barry levison ( disclosure ) is dull , long winded , and a huge disappointment . \\nconsidering the huge budget , the all star cast , and a story by crichton , sphere is majorly disappointing . \\nthe film opens with norman goodman ( hoffman ) , a psychologist who thinks he is visiting an airplane crash to console the survivors . \\nhowever , when he arrives , he his told by supervisor barnes ( peter coyote ) that he is actually investigating an spacecraft . \\nalong with goodman is mathematician harry adams ( jackson ) , biologist beth halperin ( stone ) and ted fielding ( liev schrieber . ) \\nthey investigate the spaceship , find a massive sphere inside , meet an alien intelligence called jerry , and basically weird crap happens . \\nunfortunately , something went wrong along the way with sphere . \\nthe film starts off entertaining enough , but throughout this very long movie , it just gets sillier and sillier . \\nthe film jaunts along from scene to scene , never fully explaining what is going on . \\nthe actors and directing don't help , either . \\nhoffman is on autopilot ( and almost seems embarrassed ) throughout the movie , churning out dull lines , and probably wondering what the hell he is doing in this movie . \\nstone is useless , displaying no emotion , and fails to convince the audience that she has any feelings for hoffman . \\nthe only person who seems to be having fun in this movie is jackson , who's funny as the mathematician who slowly goes crazy and entering the sphere . \\nbut he's hardly in it , and by the end of the film he is just as dull as hoffman and stone . \\nthe same goes for peter coyote , who hams it up as the officer , but is then killed off halfway through . \\nthe director , barry levinson , who directed the better crichton adaptation disclosure ( 1994 ) messes up with the drama and the action . \\nthe drama scenes are , quite frankly , boring , and the action scenes suffer from overkill , with levison throwing the camera all over the place ( much like the godawful speed 2 , 1997 ) \\nthe writing doesn't help much , either . \\nalthough crichton is great with plots , he's terrible with dialogue , and practically every line in sphere is a dud . \\nthe speech is too simple , i was hoping it would be a bit more intelligent . \\npractically every line is just stating the obvious . \\nnone of it is smart . \\nalso , where the hell did the budget go ? \\nthe sphere itself is impressive , and there's a few nice special effect shots , but where the $100 million went is anyone's guess . \\nthere's a giant squid attack in the picture , but not once does the audience see the squid , even though the film has a massive budget . \\ni assume the picture was trying to build up tension by not showing the squid , and if handled correctly it probably would . \\nbut the whole scene is done badly , and i was just hoping we could see the stupid squid . \\nfinally , the film has no idea what genre to be . \\nlevison can't handle his own plot . \\nit leaps from hokey sci-fi , to horror , and finally the shining/event horizon psychological thriller . \\nand , of course , the film is very much like the abyss ( 1988 ) , although in it's defense , crichton did write sphere before the abyss was released ( and is far superior to this rubbish . ) \\nit's not all that bad though . \\nthe plot is all right , there's a few jump scenes ( although nothing very scary ) and there's the occasionally interesting bit . \\nbut overall , sphere is a big waste of some fine talent , a lot of money , and a potentially good movie . \\nnot really worth seeing . \\noverall rating= review by david wilcock \\n\",\n",
+       " b'wesley snipes is a master of selecting bad action roles . \\nmurder at 1600 , u . s . marshals , money train , drop zone , boiling point , and the ultimate camp film - passenger 57 . \\nthe art of war is another entry in this very ugly and unique category . \\nultimately , it is little more than a ridiculous action film with a plot as believable as the warren report , ugly violence that would have made peckinpah cringe , and terrible acting by b-list actors like michael biehn and anne archer . \\noddly , it feels like the undiscovered sequel to another snipes \" masterpiece , \" rising sun . \\nthe movie revolves around the convenient story of a special un operative caught up in a secret murder conspiracy involving a chinese ambassador , the chinese triad brotherhood , a rich chinese businessman ( played by ? that bad guy from rising sun , cary-hiroyuki tagawa ) a chinese un interpreter , and , inexplicably , donald sutherland . \\nthe film ends with more confusion than a boatload of chinese immigrants trying to register at ellis island . \\nor should i say the film ends with the most blatant ripoff of both the matrix and all of john woo\\'s hong kong films combined . \\ni am really at a loss to figure out why wesley snipes had the gumption to not only star in this action dud but also act as one of the producers of the film . \\ni usually enjoy snipes\\' movies - though his dramatic roles better show off his creativity as an actor than the flashiness of his action films . \\nsimply , i am amazed by the how inane the script was , filled with terrible cliches and extremely violent action sequences . \\ndirector christian duguay ( screamers ) has a strange attraction to the viciousness of violent acts -- showing splattering brains , people impaled with broken shards of glass , and lots of gargling and gagging as blood sprays everywhere . \\nit also sickens me to know that oliver stone , one of the greatest directors working today , had his hand in producing this monstrosity . \\ni guess snipes sold stone on the conspiracy angle and stone chose not to read the script , watch the dailies , be involved in casting , or anything else -- or else he\\'d be filing a court order to remove his name from the credits . \\nit\\'s also seems evident that with the russkies as our new bosom buddies and the middle eastern terrorist angle being beaten to death in the last couple of years that the new international enemies in hollywood are the communist chinese . \\ni\\'m sure over the next couple of months , even more \" chinese conspiracy/martial-arts action flicks \" are going to be popping up in your local multiplex . \\nhopefully they won\\'t include wesley snipes . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"i must say from the outset that i have never been much of a kurt russell fan . \\ni've seen some of his films ( silkwood , backdraft , unlawful entry ) and while he gave adequate performances , i have never been impressed with his work . \\nbreakdown , then , is something of a surprise . \\nrussell gives a fine performance , as do most of the cast , one that is not upstaged by the action orchestrated in the second half of the film . \\nto say that he holds the film together would not be completely true , but he does it no harm . \\nrussell plays jeff , one half of a married couple travelling with his wife amy ( kathleen quinlan ) cross country to san diego to start a new job and a new life . \\nwhile journeying through the desert their car breaks down and , left helpless and stranded , jeff waves down a passing truck driver ( j . t . \\nwalsh ) who offers to take them to a nearby diner to call for a tow truck . \\nbecause of a nasty incident earlier with a couple of ruffians , jeff decides to stay with the car while amy gets help . \\nthat , it seems , is the last time jeff ( or anyone else ) sees her . \\nbreakdown has been compared to several movies : george sluizer's the vanishing ( the original , hopefully , not his appalling hollywood remake ) , steven spielberg's duel and any number of hitchcock films . \\nas with these , breakdown does not , for the most part , stray down the conventional path of the american action-thriller . \\njeff does not become a gun-toting vigilante on the hunt for his wife , but instead becomes a scared , confused everyman who has no idea what the hell is going on . \\nwhen we do find out what has happened to amy , it does come as a slight disappointment , if only because it's too early in the film ; i for one could have done with an extra twenty minutes or so of mystery and bewilderment , but this affects the film little . \\nrussell , as mentioned earlier , is very good in his role , and kathleen quinlan is nowhere near as annoying as she was in apollo 13 . \\nj . t . \\nwalsh , as the possibly evil truck driver , is terrific ; he is one of the best of the fine batch of character actors hollywood doesn't seem to know what to do with , but director jonathan mostow is on the right track here . \\nthe reason he makes such a great villain is that he actually looks like a real person , one anyone would be able to trust , which makes the plot that much more believable . \\nbreakdown is what hollywood doesn't make enough of , a great thriller with believable characters and scenes that do , indeed , have viewers on the edge of their seats . \\none of the most genuinely exciting films i've seen in a long time . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'for a film touted as exploring relationships and black sexuality , trois is surprisingly tame . \\ndespite it\\'s lurid subject matter and it\\'s passing nod to fatal attraction , it moves along with flat , uninspired dialogue as it sets up a surprising climax that tries mightily to overthrow the considerable dead weight of the rest of the film . \\nfreshly moved to atlanta , jermaine ( dourdan ) and his wife , jasmine ( moore ) , have the trappings of a perfect life . \\nthey have a beautiful house in suburbia . \\njermaine is a lawyer on the fast track at his firm . \\njasmine is his supportive wife , who is finishing up her college degree . \\nin an opening montage via a home video of the pair , we see the unremarkable story of their marriage and early marital triumphs . \\nthis is a couple that has it all . \\ninto this eden slithers the lure of lust . \\ndespite his outward appearance , jermaine reveals himself as selfish and covetous of his wife more as a possession than a person . \\na glimmer of his true nature peeks out during an early sex scene with his wife as he goes about his business , oblivious to jasmine\\'s concerns . \\nwe also find that he has been relentlessly asking jasmine to participate in a menage- a-trois , much to jasmine\\'s dismay . \\nas jermaine puts it , \" don\\'t you want to be sexually free ? \" \\njermaine shares his desire with co-worker terrence ( smith ) , who obligingly sets jermaine up with a woman who might be interested in just such an encounter . \\nthe woman , jade ( palmer ) is a direct counterpoint to jasmine . \\njade , at one point was a college student , too . \\nunlike jasmine , she found herself pregnant , dropped out of school and now struggles to make ends meet . \\nto further reinforce their differences , it\\'s revealed that jade is involved in a custody battle over her son . \\ninevitably , through liquor and a touch of duplicity on jermaine\\'s part , the forbidden act is consummated . \\nthe aftermath of the encounter sidesteps into fatal attraction territory as acts of violence are perpetrated upon jermaine\\'s property with the hint that the violence may escalate . \\nby this point , trois shows itself to be a soap opera without the requisite melodrama : a fatal attraction without the social significance . \\nthe exploration of relationships is strictly superficial and stereotypical . \\njermaine comes off as insincere , sexually driven and selfish . \\njasmine is bland and subservient . \\njade comes off a bit sympathetically , but that is negated by her moral bankruptcy . \\nyet another tale of a sexually aggressive \" dog \" of a man who imposes his will upon his accommodating , innocent mate . \\nthe last 10 minutes will undoubtly throw you a curve , but by this point , will you even care ? \\nif the rest of the movie was as dynamic as the ending , perhaps there could have been some freshness to it . \\nas it stands , trois is pretty standard fare . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i must admit that i was a tad skeptical of \" good will hunting \" , based both on the previews and the first fifteen minutes of the film , in which the main character will hunting ( matt damon ) , an mit janitor in his early twenties , is discovered to be an einstein-level closet genius when he solves two extraordinarily difficult math problems overnight . \\nthe only problem is that will is a tough street kid who\\'s had his share of run-ins with the law , and before long he\\'s being hauled in for assault after a parking lot fight . \\nprofessor lambeau ( stellan skarsgard ) , who had brought up the math problems in his lectures , tracks him down and strikes a deal with the police : will is to be released , provided he works with lambeau on his math research regularly and attends therapy sessions . \\nthis sounds like the formula for mildly charming fluff , but \" good will hunting \" rises above its fairly mundane premise to deliver a poignant and clever drama . \\na conflict gradually emerges between lambeau and will\\'s therapist sean mcguire ( robin williams ) - lambeau wants to get will to use his brain , while sean wants him to listen to his heart , both of which he has been largely neglecting . \\nwill finds that the former is much easier than the latter , so much so , in fact , that he gets bored with it and grows increasingly resistant to lambeau\\'s attempts to recruit him into the academic lifestyle . \\nhe also has his share of problems with his girlfriend skylar ( minnie driver ) , an mit student who is moving to california at the end of the school year and would like a reluctant will to come with her . \\nwhat makes \" good will hunting \" work so well , aside from the strong performances ( especially from damon and williams ) , is the depth of characterization and the representation of the conflicts in will\\'s life . \\nthe script\\'s sympathies seem to lie more with sean mcguire than with lambeau , but neither of them is presented as completely right or wrong . \\nlambeau , while he may seem a little cold at times , is still written well enough that we like him as a character even when we\\'re not sure if we like what he has to say . \\nand sean , for all his warm-heartedness , has , as lambeau and later will point out , not lived up to his full intellectual potential either ; the therapy sessions turn out to be just as revelatory for sean as they do for will . \\nwill\\'s reaction to this situation , and the way in which he slowly becomes more receptive to skylar and to sean , is presented in a believable fashion and in a way that forces the audience to consider all the characters\\' opinions , rather than setting up an obvious \" right \" and \" wrong \" side and beating them over the head with it . \\nfor a film with such an extraordinary character , \" good will hunting \" presents itself as remarkably ordinary ; it achieves the difficult task of making the next albert einstein into an everyman , a character to whom the audience can easily relate and who must make choices similar to those that almost everyone faces at one time or another . \\nthis film gives us real drama when it so easily could have given us merely melodrama , by having the government kidnap will to use him in covert spy missions or introducing some other equally far-fetched situation . \\n \" good will hunting \" also has its share of fun humor , such as when will , in an early therapy session , pretends to be hypnotized and smoothly parodies the alien abduction scenarios that have become so well known in popular culture . \\nand in the one scene in which government agents do in fact appear , will blows them off with a hilariously scathing accusation of human rights violations in africa . \\nwill\\'s relationship with his friends , most notably chucky ( ben affleck ) , is usually rather amusing , if somewhat crude ( the film has 100+ uses of the \\'f\\' word , which was most likely the reason for its r-rating ) , and lends itself well to the development of will\\'s character . \\nadd all this to the fact that \" good will hunting \" even manages to pull off an uplifting happy ending without getting excessively sentimental , and you might be wondering why i haven\\'t given this film four stars . \\nwell , for one thing , no matter how well damon and affleck , who wrote the screenplay , and director gus van sant pull it off , the story is still rather contrived and not particularly original . \\nthere are also a few scenes that did feel a bit formulaic , including one that was supposed to be emotional but really just seemed like the obligatory crying scene for any movie involving therapy sessions . \\nstill , \" good will hunting \" takes its premise a lot farther than i thought it would , and is definitely one of the better personal dramas i have seen in the last few years , and as of right now it stands as one of the top five on my list of \\'97 films . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the thirteenth floor , the third in what i would call \" the reality check movie series \" , is very similar to the other reality check movies released this year , the matrix and existenz . \\nall three made you think , made you wonder what is real , what isn\\'t , and if our world is just a huge game . \\nthe thirteenth floor doesn\\'t reach the level of originality , creativity , and curiosity sparked by the matrix and existenz , but it certainly gives a great shot at it . \\nin the matrix , we were told that the humans are simply a virus . \\nin existenz , we learned that our life could be just a game . \\nin the thirteenth floor , we learn that we are just electronic devices , living under another world of electronic devices . \\nthere is just one world on top of another , and everything in them are fake and electronically generated . \\nthe thirteenth floor took a huge , risky turn that i didn\\'t expect it to take , and i\\'m not very sure it was such a great turn to make . \\nrather than focusing just on the reality parts of the film , the thirteenth floor becomes a murder mystery that ends up tying in with the different worlds . \\nafter the mysterious murder of computer program designer hammond fuller , played by armin mueller-stahl , douglas hall , played by craig bierko , a man that worked under fuller for many years , must travel through an electronic computer device that fuller was using , to the year 1937 , which consists of computer generated characters only . \\nthe simulation of 1937 is just like it was back in the olden days . \\nall of the people involved are just characters , or are they ? \\ndouglas strongly believes that a character traveled through the transport from their world to ours , and killed fuller . \\nalong the way , douglas interacts with many different potential suspects , and a woman who claims to be the daughter of fuller , jane fuller , played wonderfully by a talented young actress , gretchen mol . \\nthe thirteenth floor is a plot driven movie from the time the film gets going , and doesn\\'t use spectacular special effects and big sound to keep the viewer\\'s interests . \\ni was worried that this film would be too much like the matrix and existenz , and i wouldn\\'t enjoy it , but there were enough twists and turns to keep me thinking and attentive to the film . \\nunfortunately , many potential would have been great scenes were thrown away with predictable content , letting the viewer know the outcome of the scene long before it happened . \\nthe scenes that aren\\'t original or interesting seem to go absolutely nowhere , leaving you wondering , \" what is the point of this ? \" \\nsometimes it was hard to believe that this story , with terrible dialogue , some bad acting , especially from craig bierko , and scenes that go absolutely nowhere , are actually true . \\ni know this isn\\'t a true story or anything , but a film should be able to make you think that it is . \\non the plus side of acting , we get to see the missing from main character action since the film masterpiece shine in 1995 actor , armin mueller-stahl . \\nin the thirteenth floor , he is back and is still giving believable and amazing performances . \\nanother plus is gretchen mol\\'s realistic performance , creating her character with depth , not just staying in the one-dimensional phase . \\ndon\\'t expect the intensity of the matrix or existenz to come out of the thirteenth floor , just expect another film that messes with your mind for awhile , and shuts you down like any other movie would . \\nthrills , chills , and spills aren\\'t what you will get in this film , but you will just get another trip to send your mind on , scrambling it until you\\'ve had enough . \\nthe bottom line- let\\'s hope this is the last of the \" reality check \" based movies for awhile . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the previews for the movie are pretty good . \\nthey show a little plot , all the characters , and the emotional highlights , all spliced together to give a general impression of the script . \\nunfortunately , the full movie adds nothing but 115 minutes . \\nthe residents of mystery love hockey . \\nmystery and hockey go together like texas and high school football . \\nthe townsfolk love hockey so much that they even acquit a player who\\'s guilty of shooting another man ( yes , that\\'s one of the movie\\'s jokes . ) \\nevery saturday , the best players pair off for a game , and the whole town comes to watch . \\nthe town\\'s prodigal son charlie ( hank azaria ) wrote an article on the weekly game for sports illustrated . \\nmystery\\'s national fame has the town abuzz . \\na week later , charlie actually shows up in person , and he brings with him an offer from the nhl . \\nthe new york rangers will come to mystery to play the locals . \\nthe mysterians see this as both good and bad . \\non the one hand , they\\'d love to have the fame and the money of such an exhibition . \\non the other hand , they don\\'t want to turn up as the butt of leno and letterman jokes . \\nthe movie follows a handful of lives that are affected by the proposition . \\nbiebe ( russell crowe ) has just been retired from the team and is asked to coach the boys , including his new replacement . \\nhe\\'s already resentful , and to top it off charlie has been making eyes at his wife . \\ncrowe is not given a lot of room to act in this film , so he\\'s just kind of stuck with constantly brooding . \\ncharlie , meanwhile , is resentful of having born in a town where hockey is the only measure of a man\\'s worth . \\nhis \" gift \" of the feature story , and of the new york rangers , was his way of compensating for not being a better skater . \\nhe hoped it would earn him some respect and merit , but the townspeople find reasons to continue disliking him . \\nburt reynolds could have been interesting as walter , the judge whose courtroom was befouled by a moronic jury of hockey fans . \\nwalter actually has some experience with collegiate hockey , but he actively tries to put it behind him . \\nhe wants his son to take the game more seriously , but he wants his community to just get over it . \\nreynolds could have been good , but sloppy writing and/or editing keep walter in the corner , and so reynolds never really gets to pull his performance all together . \\none character actually was interesting . \\nbiebe\\'s wife ( mary mccormack ) , like the judge , understood that there was more to life than hockey . \\nbut unlike him she has come to accept the skewed view of the community . \\nshe chose the town and her husband with her eyes wide open . \\nher unique insight is verbalized once , and it lasts only a scene before it is gone , but her performance carries the hint of some deeper wisdom . \\nmysterty , alaska follows a handful of other characters , but none are well developed or worth mentioning . \\nthe biggest problem with this movie is that there is no real heart to the story , no underlying thing that the movie is really about . \\ninstead , roach and screenwriters david e . kelley and sean o\\'byrne try to cram the entire human condition into this sports comedy . \\nthey try to make you laugh and cry , to feel outrage and pride . \\nthey present the framing and cadence for jokes , but there\\'s nothing truly funny . \\nthey show appropriately staged scenes of sadness , but they give you nothing to be really sad about . \\nas columnist molly ivins would say , it\\'s all hat , no cattle . \\nthe perfect opportunity arises for roach to say what this movie is really about . \\nthere is a funeral scene , played with appropriate gravity and somber music . \\nit is a chance for the characters to reflect on their lives and decide what\\'s truly important . \\nrussell crowe steps forward to speak , about to spell out the movie\\'s metaphor for us . \\nhe says that what really matters in life is \" community . . . . \" \\nthen adds \" and hockey . \" \\ni guess these mysterians really are as shallow as they appear . \\nonly mildly bad , mystery , alaska probably deserves 2 stars . \\ni even laughed out loud , genuine laughs in places . \\nbut i docked it an extra half star when mike myers , a friend of roach , turned up in a role that didn\\'t suit him . \\nmyers is a comic character actor . \\nhe puts on masks , becomes an outrageous caricature , and is funny . \\nhe\\'s great as austin powers , dr . evil , or any of his scottish characters . \\nnobody else in mysterty , alaska is a comic caricature . \\nall the other people have the feel of dramatic characters in semi-serious roles . \\nfor roach to bring in myers for a few cheap laughs shows incredible contempt toward the rest of his cast , toward his audience , and indeed toward the film itself . \\nit\\'s an acknowledgment by the director that the film is not worth taking seriously . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"keep cool , a chinese film directed by semi-accomplished filmmaker yimou zhang , was one of the kickoff films for this year's hawaii international film festival . \\non the day it premiered , lines of eager moviegoers stretched around the block , some anticipants having queued up well in advance to get a good seat in the theater . \\nthey need not have wasted their time . \\nthe movie is billed as a comedy , but is surprisingly bereft of humor . \\nthere are noticeable attempts at laughs , but very few tries actually click . \\ni wondered if there were jokes that i wasn't getting because i'm not from china , but unfortunately my conclusion was that this lack of humor couldn't be attributed to the cultural barrier either . \\nkeep cool just isn't very funny . \\nthe prelude to the film was a visit by keep cool's producer who , with the help of an interpreter , regaled us of how in order to get the print to the festival in time , an assistant hand carried it on the plane from china to hawaii . \\nalthough the print made it , the assistant's luggage was lost . \\ntoo bad that story wasn't in the movie , because it got a big laugh . \\nqu ying , the film's female lead , was also on hand to give a few comments . \\nhowever , whereas the producer politely made regular pauses in his dialog so the interpreter could bring us up to speed , ms . ying saw fit to say everything she had to say in one , fast-paced , incredibly long tirade . \\nit was dizzying ; good foreshadowing for the film . \\nyou see , keep cool is filmed almost totally with a camera handheld by a man with a bad case of the shakes . \\nat least that's the way it seems , since the camera is constantly moving . \\ncinema verite is one thing , but panning and shaking around until your audience has a headache is another . \\nalthough some might consider it a form which helps give the viewer an idea of the anarchic state into which chinese youth is slowly growing , i found it thoroughly distracting , and after a while , quite annoying . \\nheadache , as i said . \\nthe film is about a young bookseller ( wen jiang ) who is after a young woman ( qu ying ) . \\nthey used to be romantically involved , but the woman grew tired of him and left the relationship . \\nthe first half of the film is about the young man's plan to win her back . \\nof course the thing is , she doesn't want to be won back , and has a nightclub owner friend of hers rough him up a bit . \\nin the fight , the young man grabs a laptop computer belonging to a bystander and attempts to use it to fend off his attacker , but only ends up smashing it against a lamppost . \\nwe later find out that the laptop belongs to an older man who wishes to get his damaged computer replaced . \\nthere is a funny scene ( the only one in the film ) where the young man tries to use some twisted logic in order to get the older man to seek out the nightclub owner ( baotian li ) in order to recoup his losses . \\nthere is no sense to be made out of the young woman's behavior ; cold one minute , caring the next , so we feel no sympathy for her character . \\nthe bookseller would be better off without her . \\nalthough the second half of the film causes us to lose a lot of sympathy for the young bookseller as well , who is obsessed with chopping off the nightclub owner's hand as revenge for the beating he took , it also offers us some nice interaction between the bookseller and the older man . \\nwhile the bookseller is blinded by his thirst for revenge , the older man is the voice of reason and tries to rationalize each situation . \\nhis quest to end the dispute peacefully and equitably is the one we identify with , but it is frustrating to see that he seems to be talking to a brick wall half the time . \\na friendship develops between the two men , but it occurs too late in the film for the audience to appreciate . \\nalthough only an hour and a half in length , keep cool contains extraneous material . \\nthe whole plot of how the bookseller is after the young woman could have been taken out , since we don't see her from the midpoint on . \\na case of mistaken identity or some other device could have served as the point of conflict between the bookseller and the nightclub owner , and would have saved us from the bookseller's boring pursuit during the first half . \\nbut of course , this would have shortened the movie to less than an hour . \\nthere are a few things that keep cool does right . \\nas mentioned before , the interaction between the bookseller and the older man is generally pretty good . \\nalthough it grows tiresome , the reasoning with the unreasonable is a nice exercise in logic , and represents the differences in thinking between generations . \\nin one scene , for example , the bookseller quotes confucius to get his point across , but the older man claims the quote was misinterpreted , and that it means something entirely different . \\nalso effective is the way zhang sets up tension within a scene , such as when the bookseller is getting ready to cut off the hand of the unwitting nightclub owner . \\nthe nightclub owner is counting out money , slapping each bundle of currency on the table . \\nwith every shot of his hand , we can hardly stand the interminable wait before the bookseller is going to pull out his cleaver and exact his revenge . \\nunfortunately , these crumbs are not enough to overcome the rest of the film's shortcomings , and weren't enough to prevent that headache from lingering after i left the theater . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i read the new yorker magazine and i enjoy some of their really in-depth articles about some incident . \\nthey will take some incident like the investigation of a mysterious plane crash and tell you what happened in detail . \\nit becomes a real education in what agencies get involved and how theories are suggested , and what kind of pressure the investigators are under , and just about any other aspect you can think of . \\nfrequently i get the feeling that the article sounded exciting , but i am being told in more detail than i really wanted to know . \\noften i get to the middle of a story and say , ok , it sounded good but i now have invested more time than i am willing to spend on this subject . \\nfilm is a different medium . \\nit is a visual medium . \\nthat slows down the telling of stories much more than people realize . \\ni frequently am surprised to find out how short a film script is and how much of the pages are empty space . \\nthe magazine article and the film script are two very different media . \\nthe insider is a film adaptation of the vanity fair article \" the man who knew too much \" by marie brenner . \\nit is too much an adaptation of a magazine article slowed to the pace of a film . \\nit really verges on being tedious at least at times . \\nfor years the seven big companies knew that they dealt in an addictive drug that caused a host of unhealthy side-effects . \\nbut they pretended for the public that it was unproven and they did not really believe it . \\nthe business was incredibly profitable and the proceeds translated into the political power to squelch and discredit any political movements against big tobacco . \\nthe tide turned when a former vice-president of one of the companies was convinced by the cbs 60 minutes news team to tell the public how much the tobacco companies really knew about the health effects of smoking . \\nthe resulting pressure to stop the story created a small civil war at cbs . \\nwho were the major people involved , what were their motives , how was the story almost killed , how did it get aired anyway ? \\nthat is the story covered in surprising detail by the insider . \\nthis all could have been enthralling , but it is not the sort of thing that a stylist like michael mann would be likely to do well . \\nand in the end , he failed . \\nto make a long story short , the film needed a director who knew how to make a long story short . \\nthe film opens with the cbs 60 minutes team in iran with the assignment to interview a terrorist . \\nwe get a taste for their personal style and how they get the upper hand . \\nthey go from being one newsman blindfolded at the hands of the terrorists to the actual interview with mike wallace ( played by christopher plummer ) . \\nthere the news team under producer lowell bergman ( al pacino ) are ordering around the terrorists and getting away with it . \\nthis seems to have nothing to do with the main line of the story , but later when the tobacco industry is so much harder to manipulate than committed terrorists , we have a wry irony on who really has clout in the world . \\nterrorists can grab the headlines , but the tobacco companies have the real position of power . \\nincongruously intercut with the iran interview sequence we see jeffrey wigand ( russell crowe ) dejectedly returning from work to his home . \\nwe discover that he has been fired and his career brought to a complete halt unexpectedly . \\nhe had been a very profitably rewarded vice-president in charge or research and development at brown and williams tobacco ; now he was unemployed and needed money to support his family . \\nrather than support him his wife liane ( diane venora ) demands of him what are they supposed to do for income . \\nmeanwhile the 60 minutes team trying to do a story on fires started by cigarettes have obtained some data they do not understand . \\nthey offer wigand $12 , 000 just to interpret the data . \\nwigand\\'s severance agreement swears him to secrecy about anything he knows about tobacco dealings , but he is reluctantly he stretches the severance terms . \\nhe is willing to read some documents from another tobacco company and interpret them for bergman . \\nin spite of the secrecy , wigand\\'s former employers seem immediately to know wigand is talking to 60 minutes and he is warned off by former boss thomas sandefur played michael gambon in an all too brief but deliciously sinister role . \\nand so the game begins . \\nwigand is irate at his negative treatment for what he still considered continued to be loyalty to his agreement and his former employer . \\nmeanwhile someone is playing very rough with wigand and his family . \\nthe film examines wigand and the pressures placed on his family as they are caught between two powerful giants . \\nwigand has always wanted to make tobacco safer and has natural sympathies with getting the story out . \\nhe and his family are assaulted psychologically and financially by the giant tobacco industry that had never lost a legal fight . \\nal pacino is given top billing but the wigand family is the core of the insider . \\nthe story is told slowly and in just a bit too much meticulous detail . \\nthe film is 157 minutes and is an extremely demanding film for the audience . \\nthe musical score by pieter bourke , lisa gerrard , and graeme revell is one of the worst in recent memory . \\nit puts ominous chords under some scenes and using voice in ways that become a distraction that gets in the way of the storytelling . \\nalso disturbing is the casting of christopher plummer as mike wallace . \\nplummer and wallace are such different types and wallace is too well-known for even so good an actor as plummer to play him convincingly . \\nthis film might have been a really engaging experience under another director\\'s control . \\nmichael mann was the wrong person to helm this film and the insider lacks intensity because of his style . \\ni rate it a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n',\n",
+       " b'everyone knows someone like giles de\\'ath : stuffy , arrogant , set in his ways , and at war with anything that could in any way be associated with \" progress . \" \\ngiles is a writer , but the product of his typewriter is the kind of scholarly stuff that is immediately put onto library stacks where it can gather dust until some graduate student needs another reference for his or her thesis . \\nhis house looks like an immaculate museum ? with no television , microwave , word processor , or other technological gadgets , only the electric lights betray that he\\'s living in the twentieth century , not the nineteenth . \\nthis is the kind of role that could easily be turned into a flat stereotype , but john hurt , in what is certainly his best performance in a decade and possibly the most impressive of his long and distinguished career , turns \" erstwhile fogy \" giles into a three-dimensional human being . \\ndespite his tunnel vision , it\\'s impossible not to like the man , especially after his entire being is transformed by that singular affliction to which no one is immune : love . \\nand , as giles discovers during the course of this amusing , warm-hearted motion picture , it\\'s possible to find the object of one\\'s affection in the most unusual places . \\ngiles , who is a widower and a recluse , does not frequent the cinema , but when he learns that an e . m . forster film is playing at the local theater , he screws up his courage and decides to go . \\nwhat he doesn\\'t realize is that the movie house is showing two films : the forster adaptation and a teen exploitation flick called hotpants college ii . \\na nonplused giles ends up sitting in a darkened room watching buff male and female bodies in various states of undress . \\njust as giles is about to leave , however , he notices ronnie bostock ( jason priestley ) , and , suddenly , it\\'s love at first sight . \\ngiles is enraptured , and the moment hotpants college ii is over , he beings to scour stores for bostock memorabilia , including teen magazines and video tapes . \\n ( in order to watch those tapes , giles must buy a vcr , but he initially doesn\\'t realize that he needs a tv to use the vcr . ) \\neventually , not satisfied with being the world\\'s foremost authority on bostock , giles boards a plane and travels to long island , where his idol\\'s home is located . \\nbostock is away when giles arrives , but the wily englishman manages to befriend ronnie\\'s supermodel girlfriend , audrey ( fiona loewi ) . \\neventually , the actor arrives home and , impressed with giles\\' demeanor and intelligence , he begins to rely on the older man\\'s advice . \\nbut , while giles\\' affection runs deep , ronnie\\'s feelings are less constant . \\nlove and death on long island is a comedy , and a very funny one at that . \\nin fact , for its first half , the film is nearly-perfect . \\nit suffers a fall-off once giles reaches new york , and the ending , with its none-too-subtle homosexual overtones , is a little too overbearing for the lighthearted material that precedes it . \\nin his gently satirical approach to popular culture and movie stardom , writer/director richard kwietniowski , adapting from the novel by gilbert adair , is 100% on- target . \\nin the process , he not only creates a truly likable and memorable character in giles , but says a few things about the transforming power of love , even if it is unrequited . \\nfrom start to finish , this is clearly hurt\\'s movie ? he\\'s in almost every frame . \\nit\\'s a role that the veteran actor must have relished , because he makes giles an unforgettable motion picture figure , and does so by means of dialogue delivery , body language , and ever-changing facial expressions . \\njason priestley , cashing in on his beverly hills 90210 image , is surprisingly effective as the shallow ronnie . \\nhe is charismatic , and it\\'s not hard to understand why giles is attracted to ronnie . \\nmeanwhile , solid support is provided by the appealing fiona loewi and the always-reliable maury chaykin . \\nlove and death on long island is many things wrapped into one : a social commentary ( it tackles the thorny issue of film as pure art versus film as mindless entertainment ) , a buddy picture/love story ( ronnie and giles have one of the most interesting relationships found anywhere on a movie screen these days ) , and a \" fish out of water \" tale ( victorian relic giles forced into the modern world ) . \\nyet , despite the many laughs love and death offers , it never takes cheap shots . \\nit has a vibrant , beating heart ? and that makes the comedy all the more worthwhile . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'m not sure who the genius is who came up with the idea of comparing \" disturbing behavior \" with \" scream . \" \\nmaybe it\\'s because they\\'re both horror films ( kinda ) , both have hot young stars , both have an annoying alternative soundtrack , and both are aimed at the teenage crowd , which i guess includes me . \\nbut this is not the next in line with the \" scream \" flicks as well as the \" i know what you did last summer \" soon to be flicks . \\nit owes less to \" halloween \" and more to kafka and orwell , which , in my book , makes for a more interesting feature . \\nand it should have been . \\nthis is basically a rehash of \" the stepford wives , \" the great 70s film i never saw starring katherine ross and dealing , as i\\'ve been told , with a bunch of women who are programmed to be perfect housewives . \\nor something like that . \\n \" behavior , \" starring katie holmes of \" dawson\\'s creek , \" deals with a bunch of teenagers , deep in angst , who are being programmed to be perfect teenagers . \\nsuck-ups . \\npreppies . \\nit actually , at least to me , sounds like it would work , and with scott rosenberg , that witty penmen who has written stuff like \" beautiful girls \" and \" things to do in denver when you\\'re dead \" ( as well as \" con air \" ) , it actually sounds like it may be pulled off with the right amount of frights and satiric wit . \\nalas , it\\'s not , and it plumets into that little group of movies known as \" the movies with potential that blow it . \" \\ni remember a film called \" white man\\'s burden \" which dealt with a reversal of blacks and whites in society that did nothing with it\\'s potentially brilliant premise . \\nhere\\'s another one . \\nit could be a brilliant satire on how teenagers need to go through teen angst in order to find themselves . \\nit\\'s a stage , and this film does in fact realize that . \\nit gets its message across and it does it effortlessly . \\nnow it just needs to work as a film . \\nwhich it doesn\\'t . \\nit\\'s too sloppy and too contrived . \\nit paints a bleak portrait of high school life . . . then \\nlets it lie . \\nit brings us a bunch of scary monsters who are all a bunch of disgustingly icky kiss-ups who do food drives and hang out at a 50s diner drinking milk shakes . . . then \\ngives it a cheap twist : when they get horny , they become homicidal . \\nisn\\'t it scary enough that they\\'re like this , and can\\'t the real terror in the town be that you could be next to be just like them - not that you could be next to die ? \\nthe film introduces us two three different characters who , in the beginning , are considered outsiders because they\\'re not ( yet ) part of this clique : the new kid , steve ( james marsden - dull dull dull dull ) , who\\'s having trouble at home because he hasn\\'t gotten over his brother\\'s ( ethan embry , in quick flashes so you don\\'t recognize him - i did ) suicide ; the renegade girl , rachel ( katie holmes , from \" dawson\\'s creek \" ) , who\\'s chief personality trait is her prominent nose ring ; and by far the most interesting kid , gavin ( nick stahl , the kid from \" the man without a face \" ) , who\\'s the most interesting because he\\'s the only character who\\'s given some dimension . \\nin the film\\'s best scene , he introduces steve to every single clique , nailing each one\\'s fetishes and hang-ups , and it\\'s the best scene in the movie because it\\'s witty , satirical , and interesting - something the rest of this film isn\\'t . \\ngavin suspects there\\'s something awry with the preppie kids , known as the blue ribbons , and in the tradition of all conspirators , and even when he actually shows hard pure evidence to steve , he\\'s only treated as a typical raving conspiracy buff . \\nhere , we have another case of \" the idiot plot , \" where not only could steve had done something about gavin and what happens to him , but he may have saved this film from being the dreary , dull film that it is without gavin , who gives it life and humor . \\nthe only other half-interesting character is the school janitor , played by william sadler as a retarded , scary guy who may not be what he seems to be . . . but \\nreally , we don\\'t care anyway . \\ni probably shouldn\\'t mention that this was directed by david nutter , who\\'s works for \" the x-files , \" because that would probably tarnish his reputation . \\nlike the show , he\\'s good at setting up weird conspiracies , and creating a general creepy feel . \\nmost of this film is shot at night and with dark eerie shadows for the maximum creepy effect , and some of it works . \\nbut what this film is not so good at is coming out with a good payoff . \\nhe keeps too much inside , so much that when the characters journey to a mental institution in the third act , you wonder why they just don\\'t get the hell out of there . \\ni think what happens to gavin is proof enough that there\\'s something rotten in the state of teen angstdom . \\nwhat this film needs to be is a lot longer , a lot more colorful , and a lot creepier . \\nif the best villain they can come up with is a guidance counselor ( played by bruce greenwood , an atom egoyan regular obviously just trying to pay the rent ) who still thinks he can get away with it even when most is revealed , then they need to come up with a tougher , smarter villain . \\nif he\\'s so villainous , then why could two dense teenagers who couldn\\'t figure out there was something going on until it was way too late find information on him in a couple minutes ? \\nthe film , which runs about 80 or so minutes , just needs to work on these things , and become a lot less sloppy . \\nat such a short running time and with such lame , boring characters as these , it\\'s pretty much obvious that leaving this film leaves a horribly unsatisfied taste in one\\'s mouth , especially mine . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"warning : contains what the matrix is . \\nrated r for sci-fi violence . \\nstarring : keanu reeves , laurence fishburne , joe panteliano \\nsome may be disappointed with the matrix . \\ni'll tell you i was . \\ni sat there and sat there and sat there waiting for something to happen . \\nnow wait wait , i know most of you loved it , and i'm not saying i didn't like it . \\nwhat i'm saying is the first half was extremely slow . \\nnow seeing the trailer it makes you think the whole entire movie is one big special effects show . \\ndon't be fooled , this movie has a big story . \\nand big chunks of talky moments . \\nbut i will admit the special effects and the acting were above par , deserving the rating above . \\nok now to the story . \\nwell this may take a while . \\nok first of all , our world we live in now , is not the real world , actually we live inside a computer generated world known as the matrix . \\na man played by keanu reeves is about to find that out , when is kidnapped and almost coaxed to go into the real world . \\nhe does so , and finds out that he can do anything , be anything he wants to be . \\nbut he has to fight a 'matrix skipping' bad guy , who wants to send him back to his own world or destroy him . \\nlaurence fishburne , his guide of sorts plays his character well as does keanu reeves . \\nbut i sat in the theatre for over and hour wondering where all the special effects were . \\nyeah there were some in the first half but not enough . \\nthe trailer for this movie was really decieving making people think that this was a special effects laden movie . \\nnow for the second half , it is explosive , and saves the movie . \\nsome of the special effects and fighting were breathtaking . \\nthe sound , the music , and all the effects were effective , and the last hour kept us entertained . \\nbut with a running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes , this movie is at least 40 minutes too long . \\none would have wished for a better 'matrix' , but i do have to say , i did like it and i was entertained . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'one of kyle mclachlan\\'s earlier cinematic features , this movie has had an obvious influence on such films as the terminator ( 8/10 ) , species ( 7/10 ) and the more recent , fallen with denzel washington . \\nplot : a science-fiction picture set in modern times , this thriller follows the exploits of an \" entity \" from outer space , who likes to inhabit human bodies , use them up until they are completely worn out , and then switch over to the next available receptacle . \\nfbi agent ( mclachlan ) and local top cop ( nouri ) are charged with the capture of this \" thing \" before it\\'s too late . \\ncritique : this fast-paced , urban equivalent of the thing ( 8/10 ) , checks in on all cylinders for ultra-violence ( god knows how many people died in this movie ) , action and an overall rock \\'n roll attitude . \\nthen again , how can you go wrong with an \" alien \" that likes the ferraris , guns , heavy metal music and sexy girls ? ! \\ngranted , the plot isn\\'t the most elaborate of tales ( alien bad , find alien , kill alien ) , but i can honestly say that i was never once bored during the viewing of this entire picture . \\ni wouldn\\'t recommend it to those who don\\'t like car chases , murders , and bland acting , but for all the rest of you out there , those who enjoy putting away their brains every now and again , sitting back , slamming back some salsa\\'d nachos , and relishing in the cheeze some call film . . . \\nhave a blast ! ! \\ntwo scenes to watch for are both within the first ten minutes of this gore-fest . \\nthe opening sequence is one of the most rockin\\' scenes to open any action movie , and the subsequent extra-terrestrial \" transformation \" is another eye-catcher . \\neven the late 80\\'s special effects were okay . \\nfollowed by the hidden ii in 1994 . \\nlittle known facts : this film was kyle maclachlan\\'s first non-david lynch foray into the world of feature films . \\nhis first two movie appearances were in lynch\\'s wretched dune ( 4/10 ) and the sensational blue velvet ( 8 . 5/10 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b\"meteor threat set to blow away all volcanoes & twisters ! \\nsummer is here again ! \\nthis season could probably be the most ambitious = season this decade with hollywood churning out films like deep impact , = godzilla , the x-files , armageddon , the truman show , all of which has but = one main aim , to rock the box office . \\nleading the pack this summer is = deep impact , one of the first few film releases from the = spielberg-katzenberg-geffen's dreamworks production company . \\nfollowing = the rather dismal showing of their previous two releases ; mousehunt and = amistad , deep impact shines with elements which could just make it one = of the biggest movies of the year . \\ndeep impact begins with the discovery of an earth bound comet during a = school astronomy outing by leo beiderman ( elijah wood ) which = subsequently stirred up the political community of the world . \\nkeeping = the information under wraps to prevent widespread panic , president beck = ( morgan freeman ) took it upon himself and his subordinates to execute a = highly secretive space project to destroy the comet before it hits = earth . \\nwhile pursuing a sex-scandal story amongst the presidential = ranks , ambitious up and coming reporter , jenny lerner ( tea leoni ) = unfolds the wool that president beck has pulled over the citizens of the = world . \\nas if the knowledge of the imminent annihilation of mankind is = not enough , jenny has to come to terms with her father ( maximillian = schell ) leaving the mother for a younger woman . =20 \\npresident beck announces the discovery and preparations to destroy the = comet exactly one-year later , with so much confidence that it left no = trace of panic within the american community . \\nachieving fame from = announcement of the comet wolf-beiderman en-route to earth ( the name of = its discoverers ) , leo beiderman continues life in his small town as a = young celebrity . \\na team of astronauts , led by the ageing veteran = astronaut spurgeon tanner ( robert duvall ) , was secretly trained to carry = out the mission to land on the comet and create and explosion with a = nuclear device , with the hope of blowing it out of its current path = towards earth . \\ndespite him being the most experienced in the team , the = younger generation of astronauts in the team doubts tanner's ability due = to his age . \\nbut these are just problems of individuals . \\nlife on earth = goes on as any other day , confident that the comet will be destroyed . \\nwhen the attempt to avert wolf-beiderman's path failed and caused the = comet to split into two : comet wolf and comet beiderman , the president = unfolds his contingency plan to evacuate part of the population , leaving = the rest to die . \\ncitizens are randomly chosen to live underground for 2 = years prior to impact , when the dust due to the impact around earth have = settled , by then all life on the surface would have died . \\njenny and leo = were picked but many of their loved ones were not , only a handful of = earth's population will be saved from destruction . \\n=20 \\ndeep impact's moving moments occur in the least special-effect laced = scenes . \\nwhile the effects are fantastic , they only form a small part of = the film , which indulges itself in the development of its main = characters ; leo , lerner and tanner . \\nleo's struggle when he learns that = his girlfriend is not part of the population to be saved , lerner's = dwindling relationship with her father and her pain for the mother's = loneliness , tanner's strive to gain the respect he deserves from his = crew and his ultimate sacrifice , all form the backbone of deep impact's = moving moments . \\ndeep impact smells suspiciously like the previous year = release contact despite vivid differences . \\ni think its probably because = they both delve in a story of global proportions and indulges in the = premise of hope , faith and life itself . \\nboth do not depend heavily on = eye-candy in the form of cgi effects . \\ndirector mimi leder ( who won = numerous awards directing television series , and made her debut with = peacekeeper last year ) is definitely a director to watch . =20 \\ndespite this being the first of the two meteor movies this summer ( the = other being armageddon ) , i think there will be stark differences in the = approach to the subject matter . \\nwhile the premise of both may be the = same , execution and focus of the films will in fact show that deep = impact has more focus on human elements than armageddon , which is done = by the team which brought us bad boys , crimson tide and the rock . \\n=20 \\ndeep impact should be able to satisfy a variety of audiences ; from the = most action-craving to those who just want to immerse into its = manipulative but nonetheless dramatic premise . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'as african american detective vergil tibbs questions a suspected white murderer inside a jail cell , there is a wonderful , eye-catching shot which instantaneously presents the main message of the entire film . \\nthe shot has tibbs\\' face completely covered by the shadows of the prison bars . \\nto see these bars blocking his face , we see how separated tibbs is from the rest of the characters in the film . \\nas a black detective conducting an investigation in a southern town full of violent white bigots , no matter how innocent tibbs is , he is still seen by these bigots as a threat simply because of the color of his skin . \\nthe bars show that tibbs has not been given a fair chance to show exactly who he is , instead others have chosen him as different and dangerous . \\nthis one shot amazes me because it captures a whole theme in a matter of seconds . \\nit perhaps may be the most powerful image i have seen in a film . \\n \" in the heat of the night \" was the first and the best of the three films norman jewison directed concerning racism in america . \\njewison has a very keen style of displaying various cases of racism as he is neither pedantic nor overly sentimental . \\nin these three films he does an excellent job creating very detailed equal analyses of characters from the abused to the abusers . \\nhe is also not afraid to tell the absolute truth about how corrupt society was in the past and is in the present . \\npreceding the very original \" a soldier\\'s story \" and the recently released \" the hurricane , \" \" in the heat of the night contains some classic lines and some very memorable characters . \\nthe film , which won best picture in 1967 focuses on vergil tibbs , played superbly by sidney poitier as a fearless african american police officer from philadelphia who refuses to give up on an investigation in a white town where is he not wanted . \\ntibbs is a man who rarely loses his temper and that is worth mentioning because he is constantly facing abuse from those around him . \\nas a hero who is not afraid to face off against five men with chains , tibbs is the perfect protagonist . \\npoitier also gives an excellent , noteworthy voice to his character . \\nnever nervous and always commanding , his speech patterns are very manipulative as they range from stentorian to soothing . \\nhowever , unlike \" the hurricane \" where denzel washington dominated over the rest of the cast , poitier shares the spotlight with rod steiger , who won best actor for his excellent performance . \\nas a sheriff who helps tibbs and warns him of the dangers around him , steiger shows a great amount of skill in his role . \\nhe starts off as racist and blind as the other townspeople . \\nhe would refer to tibbs as \" boy \" and would always suspiciously keep an eye on him . \\nas the film progresses though , there is a very gradual change in the sheriff . \\nhe begins to see the hardships tibbs faces and he sees the foolishness of his own neighbors . \\nwhat i really enjoyed about steiger\\'s character was that he did not completely abandon his friends or connect with tibbs at the end of the film . \\nhe still could not refer to tibbs as mister tibbs or officer tibbs but rather settled for virgil . \\ninstead , it was apparent that he was eventually going to see the world differently in the future . \\nmost movies would have a character reversing all of his beliefs and influences in a matter of minutes . \\nthis action would not have been realistic at all since it is nearly impossible for someone to believe something one day and believe something else the next day . \\njewison\\'s determination to make this film as realistic as possible is very obvious here and also very appropriate . \\n \" in the heat of the night \" shows the difference between the north and the south or a major city and a small town in the united states during the 1960\\'s . \\nit displays this perfectly . \\nhowever , the actual investigation , although it is not the main focus of the film , lacks interest . \\nit seemed rushed especially towards the end as if jewison had given his message about racism and did not feel like giving a credible explanation involving the murder victim . \\nthere were way too many characters added during the last fifteen minutes and some of the scenes during this time period were inane ( police officer sam being a suspect was not needed ) . \\nalso , it is given that tibbs is a vigilant homicide detective who is the best at what he does , but some of his discoveries came out of nowhere and how he found out some of the important case details towards the end were never answered . \\nthe rushed ending was the only mistake of this otherwise memorable jewison classic . \\n ( a congratulations has to be given to actor scott wilson . \\nhe managed to be in the two best movies of 1967 , \" in the heat of the night \" and the even better \" in cold blood . \" ) \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" remember what the mpaa says : horrific and deplorable violence is ok as long as you don\\'t say any naughty words . \" \\nfeaturing the voice talents of matt stone , trey parker , mary kay bergman . \\nrated r . \\nfilmmakers jump on real-life controversies faster than austin powers on felicity shagwell . \\nthe debate on whether cinema is to blame for teenagers turning into hoodlums has only begun to heat up , and already someone\\'s made a movie about it , and it\\'s not , thank god , a tragic account of a family ripped apart by the effect violence in films had on a teenage boy . \\ninstead we get a sharp , biting satire that takes no prisoners and leaves no conservative point of view unscathed . \\nbased on a popular ( and controversial ) cable tv show , south park : bigger longer and uncut can finally break loose of the shackles placed on the show by television restrictions and take bad taste to brand new heights . \\nthe movie is about a group of kids who sneak into a canadian r-rated movie and learn some naughty words . \\nwhen they exhibit their new knowledge to their moms , they decide to \" blame canada , \" wage war against the neighbor country and execute \" terrence and phillip , \" the flatulent actors in the obscene film . \\nthe kids form an alliance they name \" la resistance \" ( with the accent on the third syllable of \" resistance \" ) to save their favorite thespians , in a hilarious spoof of ( tribute to ? ) \\nles mis ? rables . \\nin a subplot , one of the characters ( kenny , who else ? ) \\ndies and goes to hell where he meets satan . \\nsatan and saddam hussein are lovers , you see . \\nsatan is a benevolent soul , while our favorite eastern ruler can only think about sex . \\napparently , too , if terrence and phillip are executed it will be the final sign of the apocalypse and satan can emerge from the deepest bowels of the underground kingdom to rule the earth . \\naside from being a brilliant satire , south park is also an all-stops-out musical , with unforgettable numbers like \" shut your f * * * ing face uncle f * * * er \" and \" cartman\\'s mom is a big fat bitch \" . \\nalmost invariably it\\'s funny stuff : often juvenile but always funny . \\nthe same can be said for the rest of the movie : it\\'s intelligent but delivered in a sophomoric manner ( i . e . \\ntoilet humor , endless profanity , etc . ) . \\nnot that there\\'s anything wrong with that : vulgarity , when done right , is my bag , baby . \\ntrey parker and matt stone , the twenty-somethings behind the film and the show , paint a bulls-eye on the motion picture association of america and proceed to be the first to start trying to hit it . \\ncruelly mocking the fact that the mpaa\\'s rating system will allegedly tolerate grotesque violence as long as obscenities aren\\'t uttered , the auteurs throw some nasty one-liner insults their way . \\nthe ratings-a-plenty association isn\\'t the only target of this unsparing banter : people who favor censoring movies over gun control are equally fair game , with the \" blame canada \" plot being a not-so-cheap shot at them . \\nthe distinctively low-tech \" cardboard \" animation is oddly effective , even more so than the state of the art \" deep canvas \" technique aptly demonstrated in the recent tarzan . \\nit\\'s more pleasant to look at , less intimidating up on the screen , and most importantly it doesn\\'t detract from the film\\'s concept as much as disney\\'s admirably awe-inspiring work does . \\nthe show\\'s popularity has been waning as of late , and perhaps this movie is just the thing to boost its ratings . \\nperhaps not . \\nhaving seen the show on numerous occasions , i can say that it\\'s not nearly as smart or as funny as this movie . \\nthe series may be better off simply continuing on the big screen every couple years . \\nparker and stone have outdone themselves to the point where i am forced to ask : must the show go on ? \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b\"note : some may consider portions of the following text to be spoilers . \\nbe forewarned . \\nmilos forman's first film since the ill-fated valmont , columbia's the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , is a vastly entertaining ( if not particularly enlightening ) biopic of hustler publisher and self-made millionaire larry flynt , who became an unlikely champion of freedom of speech rights in the united states in the late 1970s and early 1980s . \\nthe film unweaves its tale in a chronological order : we open with young and dirt-poor larry flynt and his brother jimmy , peddling jars of water in true entrepreneurial spirit out in the rural outback of kentucky . \\ncut to forward in time , where the two flynt brothers , now young men , are running the struggling hustler go-go clubs in cincinnati . \\nthe strip clubs are in a dire financial state , and in a last-ditch effort to salvage the operations , flynt decides to go to a print shop and churn out a promotional newsletter . \\nthis evolved into the adult periodical _hustler_ magazine , creating larry flynt a vast financial empire , and the rest is history . \\nwhat sets flynt apart from other publishers is his struggles against those who would have him cease publication of his adult material , and who railed and preached against him - flynt spent time in incarceration and was paralyzed by an assassination attempt - and his driven , single-minded insistence to buck the system and fight for his freedom of expression , regardless of personal cost . \\nthe people vs . \\nlarry flynt also weaves in the bittersweet story of flynt's true love , althea leasure , whom he meets as a dancer in his club and later marries , and who devotedly stands alongside him throughout his trials and tribulations . \\nconsidering the serious nature of the film's theme - the importance of the united states' first amendment - the people vs . \\nlarry flynt is surprisingly and wonderfully light-hearted and humourous . \\nmuch of the comedy is elicited from larry flynt's outlandish stunts at his courtroom appearances - some of his chosen apparel is hilarious - and for the most part these elements of the film work far better than some of the more dramatic points , such as an uninspiring flynt monologue set at a free speech rally in front of an enormous american flag dealing with the subjectivity of obscenity . \\nthe film's focus is on the flynt's many battles over first amendment rights and freedom of speech , but the heart of the people vs . \\nlarry flynt is the touching love story between flynt and althea . \\nlarry flynt is shown as being occassionally gruff , harsh , and overtly aggressive with his friends and colleagues , but with althea , we see his loving , affectionate side . \\nthere's a scene where flynt tenderly takes his ill wife on a ride on his wheelchair that is heartbreaking . \\nultimately , the emotional power that the film hits at its conclusion comes not from his achievements from his battles against censors , but from the strength of flynt and althea's love for each other . \\nwoody harrelson is entirely engaging in what must be certainly a career-topping performance as the irrepressible larry flynt . \\nharrelson plays flynt with the right mixture of outrageousness and confident stubborness to make him endearing and entirely sympathetic to the audience , and a very compelling protagonist for the film . \\ncourtney love plays althea leasure in a startling turn , completely raw and impulsive . \\nit's a very solid performance , brash and naturalistic , and love is extremely compelling ; it's difficult to take your eyes off her onscreen , and her chemistry with harrelson is dead-on . \\nedward norton , as flynt's straight , level-headed lawyer is often upstaged by his flashier co-stars in the people vs . \\nlarry flynt , much as his counterpart lawyer alan isaacman was upstaged by flynt during many of the courtroom scenes , but norton shines in his big scene where he addresses the supreme court in the climactic scene of the film . \\none can sense the frustration that norton's character feels when harrelson's free-talking flynt sabotages trial after trial on him by openly speaking his mind , and this results in a heightened emotional punch when norton's isaacman has the opportunity to sway the supreme court judges . \\nmilos forman keeps the film moving - although it runs over two hours , it never drags - and his direction of the film is very effective , eliciting a great deal of empathy for a subject which could be construed by some as extremely sordid and unsympathetic . \\nthere's also a great visual technique which forman uses to indicate the passing of time in one shot , which is both clever and extremely entertaining . \\ntwo minor quibbles with the film - it certainly seems like the people vs . \\nlarry flynt is in a rush to get to its main theme , with flynt battling against authorities and the system for his freedom of speech . \\nconsequently , the first thirty minutes of the film , introducing and setting up the characters , seem unduly rushed ; perhaps it is merely due to the fact that these characters are so interesting , but i felt it would have worked better if this route was taken in a more leisurely fashion . \\nit also felt like there was a distinctive lack of insight into the inner workings of these characters - the film clearly shows what flynt , althea , isaacman , and rev . jerry faldwell did , and on a superficial level some of their motivations , but it never seemed like one could really understand the characters on a deeper level . \\nfor example , why larry flynt was compelled by ruth carter stapleton ( president carter's sister ) to be born-again is a mystery to me . \\nthen again , perhaps it was to him as well . \\nthese two points don't detract greatly from the film . \\nthe people vs . \\nlarry flynt is certainly among the very best studio-released films of 1996 , and works both as a ringing political statement about the importance of freedom of speech and the depths to which larry flynt would go to advance the cause of free expression , and as a touching love story . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the premise of the new james wong film , final destination , is that alex browning , the protagonist , prevents six of his friends from boarding a doomed airplane , thereby cheating fate . \\nhowever , fate is not so easily bested , and alex\\'s friends soon begin dying in unusual circumstances . \\nessentially , this premise is a clever-way to make a slasher-flick without the slasher . \\nunfortunately , this is practically the only clever thing about the film . \\nas far as teen horror flicks go , final destination is better than many . \\nthere is enough shocking death , graphic gore , and requisite black humor to provide the essential \" roller coaster \" type thrill at the heart of the average horror flick . \\nunfortunately , this film also suffers from the worst characteristics of this genre . \\nthe relationships between the main characters are tenuous and their motivations are meaningless except as excuse to set-up the next death . \\nthe scene where two of the characters break into a funeral home to view the body of their recently killed friend is suppose to be scary and dramatic but features some of the dumbest dialogue i have witnessed . \\nif you are looking for a saturday night thriller to scare your date , this film might do the trick . \\nother than that , wait until it goes into heavy-rotation on cable . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after sixteen years francis ford copolla has again returned to his favorite project , making the third installment in the godfather-trilogy . \\nthis new film has been underrated for no reason . \\nit is as intellectual and majestically made as copolla\\'s pervious films . \\nit is also more psychological , pessimistic and more tragic than the first two . \\nthe only regret is the unconvincing performance by the newcomer sofia copolla and some \" unfinished \" developments of some characters . \\nthe film elegantly begins with nino rota\\'s recognizable musical score , the beautiful skyscrapers of new york and michael\\'s voice as he is writing a letter to his children : \" the only wealth in this world is children . \\nmore than all money and power on earth , you are my treasure \" . \\nthe year is 1979 and michael corleone has used the time since the ending of \" part ii \" to make his father\\'s dream come true - making the corleone family legitimate . \\nmichael sold all his casinos and invests only in gambling . \\nconstantly haunted by the past , his only reason to live is his children . \\nthe family has amassed unimaginable wealth , and as the film opens michael corleone ( al pacino ) is being invested with a great honor by the church . \\nlater that day , at a reception , his daughter announces a corleone family gift to the church and the charities of sicily , \" a check in the amount of $100 million . \" \\nbut the corleones are about to find , as others have throughout history , that you cannot buy forgiveness . \\nsure , you can do business with evil men inside the church , for all men are fallible and capable of sin . \\nbut god does not take payoffs . \\nthe plot of the movie , concocted by coppola and mario puzo in a screenplay inspired by headlines , brings the corleone family into the inner circles of corruption in the vatican . \\nthere is a moment in \" godfather iii \" where michael says : \" all my life i have been trying to go up in society , where everything was legal . \\nbut the higher i go , the crookier it becomes . . \" \\n . \\nvisually this film is as spectacular as the first two . \\ngordon willis\\' rich cinematography , carmine copolla\\'s beautiful composition and alex tavoularis\\' wonderful art direction could not be better . \\nbut copolla\\'s first two godfather-films were more famous for their deep , intellectual plots , tree dimensional characters and incredible acting , than for their visual perfection . \\nthe third installment has only the plot and visuals . \\nsome characters could be much more developed and the acting , although good , never accomplishes to reach the same height of the first two films . \\nthe biggest miscasting is sofia copolla , who is so unconvincing and unemotional that she manages to ruin several scenes throughout the movie , that could have been grander and more emotional . \\nthe best performance comes unsurprisingly from al pacino , who should have got a nomination for best actor at the oscars . \\nandy garcia is powerful as sonny\\'s son , strong , focused and loyal . \\nviolence is natural to him . \\nhe suffers no pangs of conscience when he takes revenge on his family\\'s behalf , and in this he is supposed to be strong in the uncomplicated way don vito corleone was . \\nhowever both kay ( diane keaton ) and connie ( talia shire ) are useless . \\nand characters like vito corleone and tom hagen are really missed . \\nthe good part is that michael is again reunited with old friends , that you remember from the first and second films . \\nin the third film michael has become almost like his father , vito in the first film and vincenzo resembles michael when he was much younger . \\nthis parallel could be more interesting if vincenzo\\'s character was more developed . \\nmany have pointed out that making the third film , was unnecessary . \\ni disagree . \\nit is a beautiful film of great importance , completing the tragic saga of the corleone family . \\nthe first film showed some horrible results of corleone\\'s life . \\nit showed michael making a choice ; the second showed a man damning himself for his choices and feeling the impact of changing times . \\na man desperately trying to keep his balance , focus , family and sanity , while everything is crashing all around him . \\nthe third film is a terrifying conclusion - a result of michael\\'s life . \\nthe life he chose for himself is like quicksand - one wrong step and you are doomed . \\nthere is no turning back . \\nand no matter how hard you try to get out of it , to free yourself , no matter how powerful and wealthy you are , you are helpless - sinking deeper and deeper till it swallows you completely . \\nthe beautifully directed last sequence is also the powerful climax of the film , when michael is sitting alone in his chair , left by everyone , surrounded by emptiness and memories of his friends and family members long dead . \\nhere he dies - alone , miserable and unforgiven \\n',\n",
+       " b\"well i'll be damned . . . \\nthe canadians can make a good movie . \\nthe world is coming to an end . \\nwe don't know why or how , but apparently there is no way to stop it . \\nthe world has had this information for months , as most of the rioting and other assorted chaos has passed and governments have shut down operations . \\nyet for a handful of toronto citizens , life goes on . \\nthey aren't going crazy or attacking people in the streets . \\ninstead they are simply preparing themselves for the end . . . \\nsome engaging in activities they've always wanted to do , some gathering with family and friends , and others just seeking to be alone . \\nthese people's lives however all intersect during their final six hours . \\nwriter-director-star don mckellar has crafted a highly unique and emotional film . \\nall of the main characters are compelling as they try and do whatever it is they need to do on their last night on earth . \\ncraig ( callum keith rennie ) tries to fulfill all his sexual fantasies , a gas company employee ( david cronenberg ) calls every customer letting them know the gas will be flowing until the very end and thanks them for their business , and patrick ( mckellar ) just wants to be by himself but isn't having much success . \\neven minor characters keep popping up where you least expect them to , tying everyone even closer . \\nthings seemed a little hokey towards the beginning of the film , but ultimately everything comes together nicely ( although it's not a happy film . . . \\nsome moments are understandably gut-wrenching ) . \\nthe story is enhanced by some unexpected humor and very realistic performances , particularly from sandra oh , whose character is just trying to get home to her husband before the end . \\ni have absolutely no problem that the reason for the end of the world is never given , nor does it bother me that the world is ending at exactly 12 midnight ( in toronto anyway ) . \\nbut i do wonder why the sun never sets . \\ncome midnight , the sun is still shining brightly . \\nmaybe the sun is crashing into the earth . . . \\nwho knows . \\nalso , it's comforting to know that in mankind's final moments on the planet , people will still gang up on the street for the sheer purpose of pushing over a car or a bus ( that's not a shot at this film mind you . . . \\ni know people are just stupid and truly would be out in the street tipping over cars ) . \\nlast night is available on dvd from universal home video . \\nit contains the film in fullscreen format and includes the original theatrical trailer . \\n[r] \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the cryptic teaser trailer has been unspooling in moviehouses for quite sometime now : \" it mu5t be found . \" \\nso what , exactly , is the fifth element ? \\nafter seeing luc besson\\'s ambitious , much-shrouded-in-secrecy science fiction fantasy , i could not help but be let down by the actual answer , which is not nearly as exciting nor clever as one would think . \\nbut what is far from a letdown is the film as a whole , a wildly imaginative feast for the senses that does what all the best science fiction films do--create a universe unlike any other presented on the silver screen . \\nthe biggest irony of the fifth element is that the one thing that has been kept under such tight wraps--the actual storyline--is the most conventional , dismayingly so , element ( pun intended ) of the film . \\nspeaking in the vaguest possible terms , the basics of the plot are as follows : in the year 2259 , a great force of evil threatens to consume the earth , and only the four elements--earth , wind , fire , and water--united with a fifth element can stop it . \\nfiguring into all of this are new york cabbie korben dallas ( bruce willis ) ; a shady , southern-drawling entrepreneur by the name of zorg ( the hilariously hammy gary oldman , picking up where he left off in besson\\'s the professional ) ; a priest ( ian holm ) ; and a mysterious creature named leeloo ( milla jovovich ) . \\nall of the pieces come together in a tidy and somewhat underwhelming--and unsurprising--fashion , but there is no denying that this basic story holds some intrinsic interest . \\nwhat remains interesting and exciting , however , after brief glimpses is the fascinating world besson has created with production designer dan weil , director of photography thierry arbogast , visual effects supervisor mark stetson , and the crew at digital domain . \\nthe look is absolutely mesmerizing right from the opening moments to the last . \\nthe frenzied cityscape of new york , with its vibrant day-glo colors , tall buildings penetrating high into the clouds , and the swarm of cars , cabs , and other vehicles flying through labyrinthian skyways , is absolutely breathtaking to behold , especially in a wild car chase sequence early on in the film . \\nbut it would not have been a completely captivating vision if the people inhabiting the settings weren\\'t equally as interesting , and are they ever . \\nin addition to the exotic menagerie of alien creatures that populate this world , from bulky robots to dog-like mangalores , the humans are outfitted in costumes by eccentric designer jean-paul gaulthier , best known for creating madonna\\'s pointy bustier get-up in her blonde ambition tour . \\ngaulthier\\'s outlandish creations , such as a number worn by leeloo made entirely out of white straps , feel more at home in besson\\'s futuristic vision than on any fashion runway in the world ; they add to the sense of otherworldliness about the film . \\nwhile besson\\'s bold vision is the biggest virtue of the film , it also could be its biggest obstacle to reaching a mass audience . \\nfor all its imagination , certain things about the film may be a bit too quirky and bizarre . \\ni really do not know what middle america will make of the most outrageous character of the film , ruby rhod ( chris tucker ) , a flamboyant disc jockey who makes dennis rodman look conservative--he makes a raucous entrance dressed in an animal print dress , sporting a blonde hairdo in the shape of a hair dryer , speaking in high pitches at rapid fire speed . \\nat first this character\\'s hyper energy is funny , but the act wears out its welcome very quickly . \\nnot irritating , but just as strange , is a musical number by blue-skinned alien chanteuse diva ( maiwenn lebesco ) , who sings--and dances--an aria that is an unlikely blend of classical opera and techno . \\nthe tune , as with the entirety of longtime besson collaborator eric serra\\'s innovative score , is haunting , but it is also completely jarring . \\nthen there are the campy touches of humor besson and co-scripter robert mark kamen sprinkle throughout , which too often are silly and forced ; a comic sexual encounter between ruby rhod and a flight attendant is highly distracting and not very funny , to boot . \\nthe story\\'s weakness shines through in the climax and conclusion of the fifth element . \\nwhile still visually and aurally spectacular , the events detailed are not as exciting nor powerful as they should be . \\nthe big , serious dramatic climax was met with more than a few snickers , and it ambitiously strives for a profundity which the film had not even begun to work toward . \\nas such , at the end there is a sense that there was something bigger at work here , that there was still more left to be said about this story and these characters . \\nthis suspicion was confirmed by besson himself , who told me in the lobby following the screening ( imagine that , the filmmaker watching the film with the \" enemy \" --the critics ) that what had made it to the screen was really just the first half of the lengthy original fifth element screenplay and that the second half--now titled mr . shadow--is still waiting to be made . \\nstill , despite the story problems , the fifth element is an artistic triumph for luc besson ; rarely does a filmmaker\\'s original vision come to the screen in all its audacious , undiluted glory . \\nit is a fascinating example of how of one artist\\'s fervid imagination can transport an audience into an intoxicating fantasy world generally seen only in dreams . \\n',\n",
+       " b'every now and then a movie comes along from a suspect studio , with every indication that it will be a stinker , and to everybody\\'s surprise ( perhaps even the studio ) the film becomes a critical darling . \\nmtv films\\' _election , a high school comedy starring matthew broderick and reese witherspoon , is a current example . \\ndid anybody know this film existed a week before it opened ? \\nthe plot is deceptively simple . \\ngeorge washington carver high school is having student elections . \\ntracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) is an over-achiever with her hand raised at nearly every question , way , way , high . \\nmr . \" m \" ( matthew broderick ) , sick of the megalomaniac student , encourages paul , a popular-but-slow jock to run . \\nand paul\\'s nihilistic sister jumps in the race as well , for personal reasons . \\nthe dark side of such sleeper success is that , because expectations were so low going in , the fact that this was quality stuff made the reviews even more enthusiastic than they have any right to be . \\nyou can\\'t help going in with the baggage of glowing reviews , which is in contrast to the negative baggage that the reviewers were likely to have . \\n_election , a good film , does not live up to its hype . \\nwhat makes _election_ so disappointing is that it contains significant plot details lifted directly from _rushmore_ , released a few months earlier . \\nthe similarities are staggering : \\ntracy flick ( _election_ ) is the president of an extraordinary number of clubs , and is involved with the school play . \\nmax fischer ( _rushmore_ ) is the president of an extraordinary number of clubs , and is involved with the school play . \\nthe most significant tension of _election_ is the potential relationship between a teacher and his student . \\nthe most significant tension of _rushmore_ is the potential relationship between a teacher and his student . \\ntracy flick is from a single parent home , which has contributed to her drive . \\nmax fischer is from a single parent home , which has contributed to his drive . \\nthe male bumbling adult in _election_ ( matthew broderick ) pursues an extramarital affair , gets caught , and his whole life is ruined . \\nhe even gets a bee sting . \\nthe male bumbling adult in _rushmore_ ( bill murray ) pursues an extramarital affair , gets caught , and his whole life is ruined . \\nhe gets several bee stings . \\nand so on . \\nwhat happened ? \\nhow is it that an individual screenplay ( _rushmore_ ) and a novel ( _election_ ) contain so many significant plot points , and yet both films were probably not even aware of each other , made from two different studios , from a genre ( the high school geeks revenge movie ) that hadn\\'t been fully formed yet ? \\neven so , the strengths of _election_ rely upon its fantastic performances from broderick , witherspoon , and newcomer jessica campbell , as paul\\'s anti-social sister , tammy . \\nbroderick here is playing the mr . rooney role from _ferris bueller_ , and he seems to be having the most fun he\\'s had since then . \\nwitherspoon is a revelation . \\nit\\'s early in the year , it\\'s a comedy , and teenagers have little clout , but for my money , witherspoon deserves an oscar nomination . \\nand once campbell\\'s character gets going , like in her fantastic speech in the gymnasium , then you\\'re won over . \\none thing that\\'s been bothering me since i\\'ve seen it . \\nthere is an extraordinary amount of sexuality in this film . \\ni suppose that , coming from mtv films , i should expect no less . . . \\nbut the film starts off light and airy , like a sitcom . \\nas the screws tighten , and the tensions mount , alexander payne decides to add elements that , frankly , distract from the story . \\nit is bad enough that mr . m doesn\\'t like tracy\\'s determination to win at all costs , but did they have to throw in the student/teacher relationship ? \\neven so , there\\'s no logical reason why mr . m has an affair when he does . \\nthere\\'s a lot to like in _election_ , but the plot similarities to _rushmore_ , and the tonal nosedive it takes as it gets explicitly sex-driven , mark this as a disappointment . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the ultimate match up between good and evil , \" the untouchables \" is an excellent movie because it looks deeper into an already examined rivalry . \\nbased on the 1959 television show of the same title , \" the untouchables \" may be an exaggeration of the real life events that took place , but it fits together perfectly with some beautifully filmed action sequences , some excellent acting , a memorable score , and a clever script . \\nthe film takes place in chicago during the prohibition era where mobsters led by the ruthless al capone run an underground market of liquor to the demanding public . \\nelliot ness and a small force of men known as the untouchables attempt the impossible by trying to stop capone and trying to maintain peace and order . \\nhowever , as ness soon learns , in order to stabilize peace , you have to bend a few laws . \\nthe fact that capone is evil is very apparent from the first few scenes . \\nthe film begins with capone , played perfectly by deniro , declaring that he is not a violent man and he is a firm believer in following all laws . \\nthe film then quickly transfers to the next scene in which one of capone\\'s men bombs a restaurant that contains many innocent people including a little girl . \\nfrom this point we know capone is evil , not only because he kills without hesitation , but also because he is a lying bastard . \\nright from the first five minutes of the film , de palma has created a hatred towards capone and he shows that this man must be brought down at all costs . \\nthis developed hatred is before the film\\'s hero , ness , is even introduced . \\ni found this approach to be very clever because in a small duration of time there is a great amount of admiration for ness and an equal amount of hatred for capone . \\nthe film only gets better from this point . \\nwith the formation of the untouchables , there is a group of men wearing long , dark overcoats and hats . \\nthey walk in unison and they only look forward . \\nas they walk down the streets they are observed and feared by citizens . \\nholding shot guns and pistols in their hands to stop criminals , this image of vigilantes must have influenced future films . \\none that comes to mind is \" the matrix \" when neo , morpheus , trinity , and the rest of the gang first come into the virtual world . \\nwearing more futuristic outfits of the same 1930\\'s style , the similarities between these two are countless . \\n \" the untouchables \" has some of the hippest , bravest heroes in any action film . \\nthe four members were the only ones willing to go against capone\\'s army . \\neach member of this special group also had their own characteristics that separated them from others . \\nelliot ness , played with perfect ingenuity by kevin costner , is a character that surely grows during the course of the film . \\nhe begins as a man who is determined to follow all laws no matter how unfair they may be . \\nhowever , as the film develops so does ness . \\nhis beliefs involving the law are shattered when he realizes that those he trusted are actually members of the other side . \\nhe also begins to lose his stability when his adversaries begin to murder his friends . \\nhis anger becomes so thunderous that he can no longer hold it in . \\nsean connery , who won an academy award for best supporting actor in his role , plays malone , an aging cop who decides to make one final run as a member of the untouchables . \\nmalone acts as a mentor to ness . \\nhe teaches him \" the chicago way \" to do things ; when they attack with a knife , you attack with a gun . \\nconnery plays his character with the exact amount of wit and experience needed . \\nandy garcia does a wonderful job as george stone , a young man who is just becoming a police officer . \\nas ness grows , he begins to teach stone some valuable lessons that malone once taught him . \\ncharles martin smith is also fantastic as the final member who attempts to use an income tax offense against capone . \\nsmith is perfect for his role as he adds some valuable comic relief to the film . \\nthe action scenes are also some of the most beautifully choreographed i have ever seen . \\nalso very similar to \" the matrix , \" they are exciting and intense . \\n>from a western-like battle to the famous confrontation at the train station steps , the scenes are well thought out and well executed . \\nthe score during these scenes ingeniously adds to the excitement . \\nits pounding drum beats act as a rhythm for the actors . \\nthe combination of image and music is very impressive and also very effective . \\nalthough the real life untouchables may have been excessively glorified , this film is pure entertainment and contains a unique blend of great acting , great directing , and great action . \\nsome scenes ( capone and the baseball bat , the train station ) have stuck in my mind for years and seeing them again will only make them more vivid . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"in the series of the erotic thrillers that flooded the videoshelves in the early 1990s came this french-canadian co-production by max fischer . \\nthe movie is set in paris where its hero , struggling american author david mirkine ( judd nelson , at the time specialised in playing losers and people at the edge of sanity ) suffers a terrible writers bloc . \\nhe manages to overcome crisis after beginning romantic relationship with beautiful model anabelle ( laurence treill ) . \\nunfortunately , she hangs out in jet set circles , which gradually makes mirkine pathologically jealous . \\nher connection with powerful david caravan ( pierce brosnan ) would make mirkine step the line between reason and sanity and put in motion whole series of violent and tragic events . \\nalthough few pseudoerotic scenes and some elements of the plot do indeed make this film an erotic thriller , drama would probably be more appropriate genre label . \\npacing of the film is simply too slow to thrill the viewers , and those patient enough to sit through its entirety have to wait a long time between any interesting or significant developments . \\nlow budget also becomes painfully visible , and physical attributes of laurence treill are the only thing worth watching in this film . \\nunfortunately , this film has too little of those supposedly erotic scenes , so those who wanted to watch erotic thriller have all the reasons to feel disappointed . \\ninstead , they would have to settle with pointless , slow scenes involving nelson , brosnan and laurence treill's attempts of serious acting . \\nall of those definitely not worth spending hour and half of someone's precious time . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'when the mediums in question are video game and feature film , has there ever been a respective here-to-there transformation that achieved any ground higher than noodle-headed mediocrity ? \\n \" super mario bros . , \" \" street fighter \" and \" mortal kombat \" were silly stinkers all , and now the empty , execrable \" wing commander \" joins their lowly ranks . \\nenduring this spectacularly bad bit of sci-fi , easily the worst of its kind , is like watching someone futz around with a video game for 100 minutes - that is to say , there\\'s little fun to be had when you\\'re not the one holding the joystick . \\nthe movie , then , is a missed opportunity for director chris roberts , who created the original , groundbreaking pc incarnation of \" wing commander \" back in 1990 . \\nhow an interactive brainchild so revered could end up such a cinematic pile of junk under the helm of the same guy is a head-scratcher . \\n \" wing commander \" \\'s story , credited to roberts and screenwriter kevin droney , is clueless chaos melding incoherent narrative and unoriginal ideas . \\nit rips off the finest films of its genre , top gun and , in one scene , even those spiffy \" stereoscopic freeze \" gap commercials . \\nset in 2654 , \" wing commander \" stars freddie prinze jr . as a daredevil cosmos cowboy who hopes to be a great fighter pilot like his father before him . \\nalong the way , he plays kissy-face with his stoic superior ( saffron burrows ) at the new galaxy hangout where he\\'s posted , comes to terms with bigots who resent him for his \" pilgrim \" heritage ( don\\'t ask ) , and goes on a top-secret mission involving the \" jump coordinates \" ( what , no death star plans ? ) of a nasty alien race known as the kilrathi . \\nor something like that . \\ngiven the immensely confusing activity , it\\'s hard to tell . \\non the other hand , what\\'s easy to see is that \" wing commander \" is a big old mess . \\nthe lame dialogue strains , filled with such original lines as \" don\\'t you die on me ! \" , \\n \" battle stations ! \" \\nand repeated ( and frequently unanswered ) calls for a \" medic ! \" \\naction sequences fizzle . \\nthe character conflict garners unintentional giggles . \\nthe sole source of suspense here is what these kilrathi creeps look like , as they\\'re kept out of view until the concluding 15 minutes . \\nimagine bearded siamese cats crossed with something from a ? 50s roger corman cheapie and you\\'ve got a good idea . \\nlittle but techno-babble happens for an hour , and then it\\'s as if \" wing commander \" tries to do too much at once ; when it appears as though the movie\\'s about to show signs of a pulse , it instead provides a hilarious touch of human drama culminating with a use for a bulldozer that has probably never been seen in this kind of space camp before . \\nmatthew lillard , featured prominently in said sequence , is cast as prinze\\'s hotshot partner , and though the two are fine young actors - recently paired in the hit \" she\\'s all that \" - they\\'re fighting more than otherworldly evil here . \\nrumor has it that \" wing commander \" was slated as a later-in-the-year release , bumped up to capitalize off this hot casting coup as well as the premiere of the new \" star wars : episode i \" trailer . \\nbut in my audience , there were no females present to make goo-goo eyes at prinze or lillard , and many a member exited after the much-ballyhooed sneak peek . \\nsince most cineplexes won\\'t be granting refunds to the latter contingency , \" commander \" might rake in some dough , but be warned : the high wears off as soon as the coming attraction gives way to the feature presentation . \\n',\n",
+       " b'available in an all new video edition from arrow entertainment ( $29 . 95 ) , with an introduction by david carradine , written & produced by wayne j . keeley \\nf . w . murnau\\'s career ended sadly and prematurely . \\nthe german director of such classics as \" sunrise \" and \" the last laugh \" died in a car accident shortly after signing a deal to make american pictures at paramount . \\nmurnau was reportedly a giant man , well over six feet , a towering figure probably incapable of anything but a grand entrance . \\nwhich brings us to \" nosferatu : a symphony of horror \" : surely he felt a kinship with his title character , the looming vampire embodied by intimidating max schreck ; in one of the most indelible images in film history , silent or otherwise , schreck rises from his grave , gnarled hands outstretched , and he\\'s so big that part of his head is cropped by the top of the frame . \\nthe plot of \" nosferatu . . . \" \\nis lifted--unauthorized--from bram stoker\\'s \" dracula \" . \\nthe british hutter is an eager real estate man assigned to visit and discuss future living arrangements with count orlock of transylvania . \\nhe leaves behind girlfriend emily , only to discover orlock\\'s secret--he\\'s a bloodsucker--and struggle to return to england before the nosferatu reaches his lady love . \\nin addition to schreck\\'s performance , the cinematography and effects are outstanding . \\narrow video\\'s digitally remastered version of the classic is something of a mixed-coffin . \\nthe cover art features a red-tinted , hairy , goateed vampire staring straight at you , his fanged mouth agape , while the bodies of two sexy , writhing women entice you below . \\ntrouble is , murnau\\'s monster is pale-faced , bald , pointy-eared , and non-goateed , and there isn\\'t a single sexy , writhing woman to be found in his movie . \\nthis sort of misleading packaging makes little sense when one recalls the countless number of ghouslish scenes in the film from which cool cover art could have been extracted . \\nadditionally , notifying the viewer that this is in fact murnau\\'s film seems like afterthought since his name and the genuine title are written in small print below our goateed vampire . \\nthat said , a good mastering job has been performed on the film itself . \\nthe original elements are not in the best condition--non-studio silents were unlucky in their preservation-- so we\\'re still dealing with a slightly washed out , scratched , jittering image . \\nbut at least the day and night scenes are tinted sepia and blue , respectively , especially helpful to an audience who may question nosferatu\\'s waltzing around during what seems like sunlight ( it took a lot of light to expose stock in the twenties ) . \\nthe title cards have been redone , and they are legible , accurate , and digitally altered to flicker--a very nice touch . \\n ( even the opening copyright warning flickers ! ) \\nthe score has been replaced by music from type o negative , a hard-rock group , arguably gothic , and their songs underscore the film nicely-- certainly the coolest video a band can ask for . \\nwhen our hero , hutter , first steps onto the doomed carriage to count orlock\\'s castle , we hear a well-timed \" now you\\'re dead ! \" \\nfrom lead singer peter steele . \\ndavid carradine makes an appropriately vampiric host ; he fiddles with a blade and cane while introducing the film . \\nafter the feature , which runs about 63 minutes , is included a new music video from type o negative , the black-and-white fang-fest \" black no . 1 \" . \\nof course , \" nosferatu : a symphony of horror \" is the main attraction , and while my latest viewing raised questions ( why is the woman called emily in the title cards but \" mina \" --as bram stoker called her--in hutter\\'s letters ? , for instance ) , it made me realize how much this movie has inspired and been stolen from . \\ncoppola\\'s 1992 \" bram stoker\\'s dracula \" owes a great stylistic debt to murnau\\'s masterpiece , but the one thing it couldn\\'t thieve was the original\\'s abstract charms . \\nthis latest incarnation from arrow will probably- -like the rescored \" metropolis \" a few years back--turn a silent film into more palpable entertainment for the latest generation of film freaks . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i had been expecting more of this movie than the less than thrilling twister . \\ntwister was good but had no real plot and no one to simpithize with . \\nbut twister had amazing effects and i was hoping so would volcano \\nvolcano starts with tommy lee jones at emo . \\nhe worrys about a small earthquake enough to leave his daughter at home with a baby sitter . \\nthere is one small quake then another quake . \\nthen a geologist points out to tommy that its takes a geologic event to heat millions of gallons of water in 12 hours . \\na few hours later large amount of ash start to fall . \\nthen . . . . it \\nstarts . \\nthe volcanic eruption . . . . \\ni liked this movie . . . but \\nit was not as great as i hoped . \\ni was still good none the less . \\nit had excellent special effects . \\nthe best view . . . the \\nhelecopters flying over the streets of volcanos . \\nalso . . . there were interesting side stories that made the plot more interesting . \\nso . . . it was good ! ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'showgirls is the second major outing for the production team of pual verhoeven , director , and joe eszterhas , writer . \\ntheir last effort , basic instinct , played like the most sumptuous of classic hitchcock , with a dash of raw sex and sensuality that made it come across with a hit like curry-spiced tabasco sauce ; a dish not to everyone\\'s taste , but certainly a well-crafted movie . \\npossibly that movie\\'s greatest strength was that the most important events happened offstage , prior to the movie , during the movie , and after the movie . . . \\nand that , after bringing all the plotlines together neatly , it left the viewer with full knowledge of what * would * happen in the characters\\' future , so there was no need to film it . \\nthere was actually about four hours\\' worth of screen story there , but eszterhas found ways to get it all on-screen in two , by leading his audience into analyzing what was really going on ; and by still holding their interest with clever misdirection and false trails . \\nthe major elements that made basic instinct work so well are present in showgirls . \\nwe have attractive , sympathetic , but still highly repellent characters ; we have shows for the eyes and the ears , plotlines that play on several levels , we have beautifully delineated characters who are drawn from life and very believable , and we have a story of an innocent ( who may not be so innocent ) who\\'s trying to play straight , trying to improve her station in life , who slips into behaving the way those around her do . . . \\nbut recovers with a flourish , and quits a winner . \\nin this sense , the movie is a bit of a departure for verhoeven , who\\'s not known for treating his characters well ; but nomi , the part played by elizabeth berkley , definitely opts out of the game in a positive way , and we\\'re left feeling good about her future . \\nthis is not one of the great movies , but it\\'s far better than we\\'d been led to expect by all the negative pre-release publicity . \\nverhoeven got his first oscar nomination in 1971 , and in the last quarter-century has pushed farther and farther , experimenting with the socially-acceptable limits to movie-making . \\nhis most recent three movies , robocop , total recall , and basic instinct , have been a progression of back-door access to american culture , moving from the fantastic through the merely psychotic to the underlying basic drives ; and now he\\'s exploring the sleeze . \\nthis movie may be the first movie ever made for which the director\\'s contract contained a specific provision that he would not have to deliver an r rated movie . \\n ( verhoeven had to cut several parts of basic instinct to get an r rating , although his original version is available on video . ) \\nmany reviewers have taken the politically-correct stance that any movie which uses naked ladies as scenery is a bad thing ; but they miss the fact that this movie is not about naked ladies , it\\'s about people in an environment where naked ladies are common , and why such an environment should exist . \\nit\\'s about the scum who use other people as power-trip toys , and the need to escape their power . \\nit\\'s about a world where sex is nothing and normal human values don\\'t pertain ; and the lack of sexual excitement and passionate heat in even the most blatant scenes is something of an accomplishment . \\nan nc-17 movie which isn\\'t sexually exciting says a great deal about the phoniness and emptiness of a social stratum where sex has been robbed of any kind of beauty , power , or value . \\nthe one scene in the movie that * could * have been a good sex scene , berkley and maclachlan in a swimming pool , is not exciting , because by then we already know his character is a callous manipulator . \\nif anything , it\\'s a rape scene with a victim who\\'s been duped into cooperation . \\nyou don\\'t make a movie about the history of black people in america without using a few black actors ; you don\\'t make a movie about world war ii without a few guns going off and a few people getting killed ; and you don\\'t make a movie about las vegas showgirls without showing a few las vegas showgirls . . . \\nand in an awful lot of vegas shows , an awful lot of ladies wear very little clothing . \\nthis is a legitimate portrayal of a rather seamy side of the entertainment industry , in a town where sex is simply a negotiable commodity . \\nshowgirls de-glamorizes the las vegas show and sex industries with great effectiveness . \\nnomi is played , in a very good performance , by elizabeth berkley , who gives us a solid picture of a woman with limited talents who\\'s at the end of her rope , desperate to live a life better than the one she\\'s known . \\nshe has nothing to market except her body and her limited dancing ability , and is trying desperately not to to be a hooker , trying to be something better than she seems destined to be . \\nwhen nomi realizes she\\'s gone too far for too little , she catches herself just in time to save the most essential part of who she wants to be . \\ngina rivera plays molly , a dressmaker and costumer who befriends nomi , providing her with what may be the one solid , positive relationship in nomi\\'s entire life . \\nmolly is the one who makes the difference , and provides the role model and framework nomi needs to verify the value system she\\'ll be using for the rest of her life , and nomi\\'s feelings for molly are the spur that forces nomi\\'s decision . \\ngina gershon plays cristal , an aging , but still very attractive starring dancer , a reflexively competitive manipulator who\\'s become a villainess by internalizing the ethos of the crooks and scum around her . \\ngershon plays cristal as a cross between ava gardner and raquel welch ; a fading talent made bitter by self-awareness . \\nher character is very well drawn and performed ; in a major scene in a hospital room , she acknowledges what she is , and , in essence , passes the torch to nomi . \\nthe relationship between the two of them is the most honest one in the movie , and provides part of the impetus nomi needs to follow a different path . \\nit is no accident that the three important parts in this movie are women of different stripe ; molly is an honest , hard-working person who means well , and nearly dies because she confuses the glitter and the image with reality . \\ncristal is a talented dancer who\\'s compromised her ideals and sold herself to be a co-operating part of the system , exchanging self-respect for the species of stardom that can be had in las vegas . \\nnomi believes she can make it without selling herself , succumbs to a degree , and then realizes she can make it without selling herself , and doesn\\'t need las vegas or its brand of \" stardom . \" \\nthe male parts in this movie are simply props ; they exist only to demonstrate and explicate the cultural milieu against which showgirls exist . \\nkyle maclachlan , whose single best previous work was as an inhumanly emotionless cop in the hidden , gives us a nicely reptilian bit of pond scum on two legs , camouflaged as a nice guy . \\nglenn plummer plays a dancer who\\'s working as a bellboy , and provides a bit of alternate perspective . \\nplummer\\'s character is the only one in the movie who\\'s maintaining an interest in dance as a performing art , but even he\\'s succumbed to the cult of manipulation . \\nplummer\\'s character is the closest thing to a sympathetic male character in the whole movie . \\nsome of jost vacano\\'s cinematography is fantastic , and one particular delineation of nomi\\'s character alteration , a no-dialog scene using nothing but color changes in the lighting , is utterly terrifying . \\nthis movie is rated nc-17 due to language , sexual situations , full frontal nudity , violence , and probably the costuming as well . \\ni don\\'t see a way this particular story could have been told well without it , and i regard it as a legitimate exercise in movie-making . \\nbut don\\'t go see it if you\\'re not in a tough mood ; the only person it\\'s possible to like in this movie ends up in an i . c . u . \\non life support , and there is probably not one character in this movie you\\'d enjoy meeting in person . \\n',\n",
+       " b'at first glance , daylight would seem like your typical disaster movie . \\non second glance it looks that way too . \\nalthough , as typical disaster movies go , daylight isn\\'t that bad . \\nadmittedly , it seems to rip off a great deal of its plot devices from disaster flicks of days gone by ( think poseidon adventure ) . \\nbut the decent dialogue and surprisingly good acting make up for the \" haven\\'t i seen this scene somewhere before ? \" \\nfeeling that creeps up all too often during the film . \\nsylvester stallone stars as the recently fired head of new york\\'s emergency response team . \\nby sheer luck , he is in the right place at the right time when disaster strikes the unaware inhabitants of this little film . \\n \" what disaster is that ? \" \\nyou ask , as you inch ever closer to the edge of your seat . \\nglad you asked . \\nthrough a whole sequence of entirely probable events ( about as probable as hitting the lottery ) a large explosion takes place in the lincoln tunnel running under the hudson river in new york city . \\nthe explosion results in the tunnel collapsing at both ends , which causes not only massive loss of life , but traps a dozen people inside the wreckage of the tunnel . \\ngood old sly , who is only feet away from entering the tunnel when it collapses , offers his services to the rescuers , who gladly accept it . \\nsly then enters the tunnel through a vent shaft ( think judge dredd ) which he can only go in , and not out off , and proceeds to try to rescue those trapped inside . \\nso begins the fun , but the fun has to be quick , because this tunnel has started to spring a leak . \\nthe acting is about what you would expect of a stallone movie . \\nnot superb by any means , but far above some of his other films ( think judge dredd again ) . \\ndaylight\\'s acting is probably average , or a little above , in terms of this sort of genre , starring this particular star . \\namy brenneman is the only actor of any note , and she does a pretty good job as stallone\\'s reluctant helper . \\noh yeah , stallone\\'s real life son , sage , is in this too . \\nsage -- nice name . \\ni guess it could be worse , he could have been named nutmeg or parsley . \\nnote to sage -- you are still young . \\ngo to school and get a good education -- you don\\'t have a future in acting . \\nthe plot runs along the same lines as the acting -- interesting , but predictable . \\nmostly due to the fact that it was pretty well recycled from a dozen other action flicks . \\nthe biggest problem with a film of this nature is that they try to cram too many things into the movie . \\nas soon as the cast clears one seemingly impossible hurdle , another one seems to pop right up , even worse than the last one . \\ni realize that it wouldn\\'t be much of a movie otherwise , but it does make the movie a bit predictable . \\nadding to the predictability is the cast of characters , which of course , has to include at least one or two difficult people who want to do things their own way and think the qualified guy ( in this case stallone ) doesn\\'t know what he is doing . \\nwhy is it in disaster movies we can never have everyone agree with each other and all work together ? \\nwould this be too much to ask ? \\ncan\\'t we all just get along ? \\nspecial effects weren\\'t bad -- but i\\'ve certainly seen better . \\nsome of the scenes , while fun to watch , were such blatant rip-offs that you had to wonder if scripts from old movies were just copied verbatim . \\nespecially all of the scenes that involved anything underwater ( the tunnel , of course , starts to flood ) . \\ni really expected gene hackman , roddy mcdowell and ernest borgnine to appear at any minute -- i wasn\\'t sure if i was watching daylight or the poseidon adventure . \\ni suppose if you have to rip off a movie for good ideas , the poseidon adventure is a good one to use . \\nthe underwater sequences ( aside from the deja vu ) were very well shot and worked fairly well . \\nthey were the best part of the movie by a long shot . \\nbetter than average stallone flick . \\ni realize that\\'s not saying much when the man has judge dredd on his resume . \\nbut certainly not up to the standards of cliffhanger . \\ndaylight is a fun movie , and as long as you aren\\'t expecting a whole lot you might even be pleasantly surprised . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"summer movies are , by nature , dumb affairs that are usually made for some quick enjoyment and to make money . \\nwild wild west , the latest will smith affair , follows much the same formula , except that it is dumber and less enjoying than most summer movies . \\nwill smith plays jim west , a black sheriff with a nice line in sunglasses . \\nhe is called by president grant ( kline ) to go on a mission to find out why top government scientists are disappearing . \\nwest is paired up with scientist artemus gordon ( kline again ) and the two track the missing scientists to a legless mastermind , named dr . loveless ( branagh , with a zany moustache . ) \\nbefore i pile on with the many negatives in this sorry affair , i'll give it a chance with the positives . \\nthere's a nice credit sequence , the production design by bo welch is pleasing to the eye , and the special effects are decent enough . \\nthere's also a pleasant soundtrack . \\nburied deep in the dross are one or two amusing jokes . \\nand salma hayek pops up as the female interest , which is always nice to see . \\napart from these factors , though , nothing else in wild wild west works . \\nfirstly , there's little chemistry between smith and kline , who appears to be in it purely for the money . \\none would expect zingers passing between the two : none arise . \\nboth of them plod through the below standard plot , knowing that there is a pay cheque waiting at the end . \\nnot even kenneth branagh provides much entertainment : although he is over the top , the material doesn't present much opportunity for branagh to be truly crazy . \\ntherefore , he just comes across as loud as obnoxious . \\nthe only enjoyable performance comes from the sexy salma hayek , who is given so little screen time it's embarrassing . \\nshe appears to be in the film to merely show off her body , and be ogled at by kline and smith . \\nher character also changes at a whim to fit the mechanics of the script , and there is no sense of realism about the character . \\nthe 'humour' in the film is also very off . \\nwill smith put a little spin to his daft lines in men in black , here , not even smith could save the humour on display . \\nthe script largely boils down to insults that aren't very funny , and one-liners that barely raise a smirk . \\nit's also somewhat racist , although it doesn't intend to be , with one scene with jim west trying to wisecrack his way out of a lynching , and actually says slavery is good to save himself . \\nit's not a funny scene , and the whole thing comes off rather uncomfortably . \\nthe film also makes the tragic mistake that a man ( in this case kline ) in a dress is automatically unfunny , it isn't , but the wild wild west makes this joke even more painful to watch through pure ineptness . \\nthere's also problems with the plot . \\njim west and artemus gordon get caught up in all kinds of sticky situations , but the way they get out of them are always unsatisfying , and rely purely on luck , rather than audience pleasing skill . \\nplot elements are introduced into the film , and then thrown away just as quickly . \\nthe main piece of the story , a 80 foot mechanical , steam driven spider devised by loveless looks rather impressive , but there's no particular reason why it should be built . \\nwhy not loveless build a great big tank , instead of an ungainly , fragile piece of machinery that's just begging to be blown up ? \\ndirector barry sonnenfeld always has a breezy look to them , with some nice camera tricks , but even this is missing from this stilted affair . \\nwild wild west could have benefited from sonnenfelds whacked out style of directing , but not much of it is evident , making this film drag out even more . \\nit's a sad thing when _four_ ( credited ) screenwriters , a talented director and a willing star can't make a film work , and eventually wild wild west collapses under it's sexist , mildly racist , unfunny weight . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'now that \" boogie nights \" has made disco respectable again ( well , fashionable at least ) , we shouldn\\'t be surprised to see more films glorifying that dubious era . \\nthe latest art house interpretation is whit stillman\\'s \" the last days of disco . \" \\nstillman , who made \" metropolitan \" and \" barcelona \" using some of the same actors , uses disco\\'s final hours to highlight what is another conversation-heavy movie that benefits from typically astute writing from the director . \\nthe young , upwardly-mobile professional ( don\\'t call them yuppies ! ) \\nmen and women of \" the last days of disco \" frequent a prestigious new york city nightclub pulsating to the bass-pounding rhythms of earth wind and fire , amy grant , and andrea true connection . \\nhere they talk and talk and talk , intellectualizing about such things as dating , success , and being liked , accepted , and admired . \\nif talk is cheap , \" the last days of disco \" must surely have been an extremely inexpensive movie to shoot . \\nwhat makes the film so entertaining is that this preppie , harvard-educated jet set actually have something to say and say it with wit , perception , and style ( including , at one point , a riotously inventive deconstruction of \" the lady and the tramp \" ) . \\nna ? ve alice ( chlo ? sevigny ) and sophisticated charlotte ( kate beckinsale ) are recent college graduates who work as assistant editors for a new york publishing house . \\ncharlotte is confident and outspoken--perhaps a little too outspoken ; alice is shy and introverted , \" like a kindergarten teacher . \" \\nthe two friends often doll themselves up and head out to the nameless nightspot , looking good and looking for excitement ( and that ms . beckinsale sure looks good on a dancefloor ! ) . \\nhere they meet , or re-meet , a variety of eligible men , many of whom they knew in college . \\ndes ( played by stillman favorite christopher eigeman ) is one of the club\\'s managers whose job is on the line for sneaking his ad agency buddies in the back . \\ndes has reached a crisis point in his life : he just found out--last wednesday , in fact--that he\\'s gay . \\nwhether it\\'s true or not , it makes for a convenient excuse to dump his latest girlfriend ( jennifer beals in a small but soul-baring turn ) . \\ncharlotte observes cattily that the only gay thing about des is his mouth . \\njimmy ( mackenzie astin ) is the advertising exec who , by the end of the picture , winds up heading for a new job opportunity in spain ( visions of \" barcelona \" ? ) . \\njosh ( matt keeslar ) is an assistant district attorney who dreams of being able to say , just once , \" book this clown ! \" \\nand robert sean leonard plays another one of alice\\'s revolving suitors ; the two have an amusing exchange about the true definition of virginity . \\nany film that can make robert sean leonard palatable is worthy of respect in my book . \\nin fact , the entire ensemble is appealing in that well-spoken stillman way . \\nwhile the eschewing of \" ferocious pairing \" is a favored topic of conversation in the film , the protagonists tend to slip in and out of love , lust , and trouble with each other in an emotional merry-go-round that cleverly develops its characters through the \" preferred \" dynamics of social group interaction . \\nmore mature than stillman\\'s previous two films , \" the last days of disco \" is as consistently droll as it is stimulating . \\nit\\'s a movie you should definitely get on down to . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" take a number , fill out a form , and wait your turn . \" \\nstarring kati outinen , kari v ? ? n ? nen , sakari kuosmanen , elina salo ; written & directed by aki kaurism ? ki ; cinematography by timo salminen \\nit might be possible to call drifting clouds a satire or a black comedy , but that would imply a sense of anger , of vitriol , of energy ; drifting clouds is what you get when the rage and vitality are gone . \\nit is the sad , slow story of lauri and ilona , a married couple caught between the wheels of capitalism as it grinds inexorably onward . \\nhe loses his job as a tram driver , because everyone drives cars nowadays . \\nwithin a couple of months , she loses her position as a head waiter , when her restaurant is bought out by a chain and the entire staff replaced . \\na conversation early in the film reveals a lot about their situation . \\nlauri has surprised ilona by buying her a tv , which she greets with little enthusiasm . \\nshe notes that they haven\\'t finished paying for the bookshelves or the couch yet . \\nhe says that in four years the payments will be done and then they can buy some books for the shelves . \\nit would pass as deadpan humour if it wasn\\'t spoken with such resigned weariness . \\nthis sets the tone for the rest of the movie . \\nthere is humour and idiosyncracy at the periphery , but at the centre there is frustration and futility , and sorrow for the ways in which the logic of profit reduces people , until their worth is equated solely with their earning capacity . \\nthere is an element of political commentary in this critique of the mechanisms of capitalism and the stultifying social environment it creates , but in drifting clouds the political is subsumed by the personal : the movie is about two people and what happens to them , and nothing else matters . \\nlauri and ilona live lives starved for friendship , respect , culture , passion . \\nthey go to the movies , and walk out past old posters for l\\'atalante and l\\'argent , but the movie they have just seen is a pointless , violent , unfunny comedy . \\ntheir house and workplaces are uniformly unpleasant , painted and upholstered in lifeless colours ( ugly greens , dull reds , insipid blues ) , full of inelegantly functional objects and appliances . \\nthe art design is impeccable in its tawdriness , and director aki kaurism ? ki often matches the colour of characters\\' clothes with the background colour and/or lighting , so that it seems as if they are almost physically fading into the environment . \\nthere is no suggestion of sexuality in the relationship ; ilona and lauri sleep in separate beds and their gestures of affection lack the heat of desire ; their lives are now bound by something more complex and desperate than love . \\ntheir downward , downsized , downtrodden lives have a momentum that is almost comic , as one setback succeeds another , bottoming out when lauri stakes all their remaining money on the spin of a roulette wheel . \\nit must have been tempting to play the story for more laughs , more farce , more deadpan wit , but the film\\'s great strength is the sober , empathic manner in which it observes lauri and ilona\\'s misfortunes . \\nirony would be an injustice . \\nsituations and settings are broad and exaggerated--this is not realism--but they are not distorted . \\nthe emotions are authentic . \\nif it is difficult to laugh at anything that happens , despite the droll performances , the laconic humour , that\\'s because kaurism ? ki brings such compassion and understanding to the manifold indignities that are suffered . \\nhe shows us how humiliating it must be for a woman of thirty-eight , who has worked long and hard to win a respectable position , to be forced to accept a job as a dishwasher in a two-bit restaurant ; how humiliating it must be for a man nearing 50 to confront his wife\\'s former employer , demanding the rest of her wages , only to have the crap beaten out of him , unable to land a single punch , when the employer and his cronies refuse to give him the money . \\nall this is observed keenly , with great economy : every cut , every line of dialogue , is judicious . \\nif most films are novelistic in their telling , this one brings the focus and concentration of a short story to bear . \\nbut what is gained in nuance and acumen is rather undermined by the sense that the material barely accommodates the 96-minute running length . \\ni have seen many movies far less profound , less humane , less necessary than drifting clouds , but they filled me with an urge to watch them again , and this one did not . \\nit does not need to be seen twice : its every detail and implication can be absorbed in one viewing . \\nit is not a movie that will be seen by a large audience , because it cannot be pitched to one . \\nthere is no selling point . \\nit is all understatement , restraint , melancholy . \\nthe characters are unremarkable , their best years behind them , their dreams dissipated ; it takes all the effort they can muster just to pay the bills . \\nthis does not make them less fascinating , merely less marketable , which is a shame , because this is a movie which should be seen , precisely because it pays attention to people and emotions that most movies prefer to ignore . \\nit engages us and touches us and resolves--surprisingly , and movingly--into something resembling a happy ending . \\nthe only thing greater than the ill-luck that governs the characters\\' lives is their refusal to give in to despair . \\ntheir persistence is rewarded with what might be called a \" feel-good \" ending elsewhere , but not here , because this ending differs in kind from most such endings : this one has truly been earned . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it is often said by his fans that hal hartley movies are an acquired taste . \\nindeed . \\nwhile perhaps less dangerous than tequila shooters or bungee-jumping , they require no less amount of physical stamina and concentration . \\ni felt rewarded at the end of henry fool ; this movie creeps up on you-at a slow 139 minutes , i mean creeps-and despite the final shot\\'s ambiguity , i left completely satisfied . \\nhenry fool ( \" used to have an ? e\\' \" ) arrives at garbageman simon grim\\'s house , claims the vacant basement apartment , and almost instantly inspires simon ( urbaniak ) to take up writing-henry ( martin donovan look-alike ryan ) is an ex-convict , a once-great author who has been \" exiled and marginalized \" by the publishing community because of his criminal activity . \\nsimon\\'s poetry turns him into a local sensation , as it causes mute women to sing , high-school girls to swoon , and councilmen to rile against its \" pornographic \" content . \\nmeanwhile , henry seduces both simon\\'s dependent mother ( porter ) and immature sister ( sundance queen posey ) with philosophical babble ( which is by turns brilliant and inane ) and breathy animal lust . \\nthese story elements result in climaxes both inevitable and unpredictable ; the teacher-student relationship formed between henry and simon eventually reverses itself . \\nhenry fool is sprinkled with hartley-ian flourishes : simon drinks milk from \" udderley\\'s \" ; the big teen hang-out is called \" world of donuts \" ; simon wears his garbageman\\'s uniform throughout ; the editing style is decidedly elliptical . . . \\n ( which is key to the conclusion\\'s said ambiguity ) . \\nthe performances by the three leads are abrasive at first , self-consciously \" quirky \" ; the introductory scenes are a chore . \\nthese people do grow on you because they convey genuine passion , a belief in themselves , and because they have long-term goals ; henry and simon may drink a lot of budweiser and hang out on the streetcorner , but they aren\\'t pop slackers . \\nthe story is rather classical : the tutor is a better talker than a doer , raised on books ; the timid tutee has innate talent his master only dreams of . \\n ( shades of film school . . . ) \\nthe finished film is epic in its proportions for a story so small , and the final third does test one\\'s patience , yet henry fool is tight , hardly excessive in its length . \\nhow refreshing to see a movie this long in 1998 devoted entirely to character . \\nand unless i nodded off , not a single building exploded . \\nthis , hartley\\'s seventh feature , is contemplative about \" the artist \" ; fortunately , we never get a sampling of simon\\'s work , and it\\'s a testament to the actors and the screenplay that by the end we can surmise what sort of thoughts would pour from these writers\\' pens . \\n',\n",
+       " b'almost a full decade before steven spielberg\\'s saving private ryan asked whether a film could be both \" anti war \" and \" pro-soldier \" , john irvin\\'s hamburger hill proved it could . \\nlost in the inundation of critical acclaim that greeted oliver stone\\'s platoon , this excellent film was dismissed as \" too militaristic \" . \\nit\\'s hard to understand exactly why---unless irvin , in assembling his motley collection of young men who for predictable ( and often naive ) reasons \" chose to show up \" for the vietnam debacle , ---has refused to present us with the stone killer , drug-stoked psycho and ruthless opportunist who have become to vietnam war epics what \" the polack , the hillbilly and the kid from brooklyn \" became to wwii movies . \\nhamburger hill , based on a true story , is not an easy film to watch . \\nthere is a scene that will have graying anti-war activists squirming in their seats , or moved to genuine tears . \\nand the climactic final assault on the \" hill \" in question is visually confusing . \\ngristly realities are presented in brief flashes , as if the brain dared not acknowledged what it had encountered . \\nand in the mud and smoke officer and enlistee , veteran and \" newbie \" , black soldier and white , become almost indistinguishable from each other , as they do in the chaos of actual combat . \\nthe acting throughout is solid with an absolutely stellar performance rendered by courtney b . vance as doc--in a role that will have many flatly disbelieving that this is same actor they cheered as \" seaman jones \" in mctiernan\\'s red october . \\nif you\\'ve seen private ryan , you owe it to yourself to see hamburger hill--if only to determine that the all the valour and horror of spielberg\\'s vision was as present in the ashau valley as it was at omaha beach . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you\\'ve heard all the hype . \\nyou\\'ve seen all their faces - natalie portman ( the professional ) as queen amidala , liam neeson ( schindler\\'s list ) as qui-gon jinn , ewan mcgregor ( trainspotting ) as obi-wan kenobi , and jake lloyd ( jingle all the way ) as young anakin skywalker . \\nif you\\'ve read any reviews , you\\'ve also probably heard that this movie fails to live up to the magic and humanity of the first trilogy . \\nyou also may have heard that this one\\'s too kiddie-friendly , and doesn\\'t have enough content for adults . \\nbelieve the hype . \\nthe effects are stunning , the digitalized creatures are amazingly realistic , the lightsaber duels are amazing , and queen amidala\\'s sumptuous robes are fit to be worn by queen elizabeth . \\nbut there\\'s something missing here , and it isn\\'t budget or effects - it\\'s everything money * can\\'t * buy . \\nthe actors struggle as best they can to flesh out broad-stroked and flat characters . \\nthe most successful at this is liam neeson who , as qui-gon jinn , a jedi master to young obi-wan kenobi , has quiet dignity and a wise , commanding presence . \\nhe is the anchor to this movie , as he is the one character who george lucas apparently spent some time fleshing out . \\nportman\\'s queen amidala and mcgregor\\'s obi-wan kenobi don\\'t fare nearly so well . \\namidala , the future mother of luke and leia and the queen of a peaceful planet being invaded by the trade federation ( ? ! ? ) , comes off as stoic , stilted and caricatured ( it appears as though she was a vulcan geisha in a former life ) . \\nand obi-wan , although mcgregor makes him very endearing , has so little screen time that he\\'s nothing but a robin to qui-gon jinn\\'s batman . \\nhowever , mcgregor does struggle manfully to infuse this surprisingly small supporting role with a spark of genuine insight and humanity , and he does a good job . \\nhe also absolutely nails alec guiness\\' ( obi-wan in episode 4 - 6 ) scottish accent , and that really makes his presence in the film more profound than it might have been otherwise . \\nin fact , lucas seems to bank on that preexisting knowledge quite a bit , and that\\'s one of the problems with this film . \\ni would never call myself a \" star wars \" fan - especially not considering what it means to be a fanatic these days - but i\\'ve always enjoyed the films along with everyone else in america . \\nhowever , if you are the one person in america who * hasn\\'t * seen the films at all or even recently , or who doesn\\'t bother to brush-up on the names of obscure characters , you may be hopelessly lost . \\nfor example , one of the film\\'s main ( nefarious ) characters is senator palpatine . \\nfor those of you not recently steeped in \" star wars \" trivia , emperor palpatine is that scary hooded apparition who was darth vader\\'s master in \" return of the jedi \" and \" empire strikes back . \" \\nso , obviously , his appearance in \" phantom menace \" is meant to stir some echoes of his later role in the series , thus making his role here more meaningful . \\na lot of the movie is like that . \\nr2-d2 and c-3po make token appearances , and it\\'s obvious that lucas is banking on the audience\\'s pre-existing fondness for them . . . \\nbecause he doesn\\'t do much to add to it in any way . \\nsame goes for jabba the hutt , who doesn\\'t look as much mean here as he does corpulent and lazy . \\neven * planets * make foreshadowing guest appearances in this film - tatooine ( the desert world where luke grew up ) , coruscant ( the cloud city from \" empire strikes back \" ) , and alderaan ( leia\\'s home planet - which we never actually see - that gets blown up in \" star wars \" ) show up or are mentioned briefly in passing . \\nwhat\\'s the result of tying so many plot points and characters to future films ? \\nthe answer is that this one seems surprisingly empty . \\nthere\\'s no meat - no substance - that makes you want to love the characters as they are , not as they will be . \\nanother problem is that there are actually * too many * alien characters in the film . \\ni was distracted by the fact that two of the main evil characters - strange looking aliens who looked like gila monsters - had mouths that barely moved , making them look more like muppets than actual characters . \\nand jar jar binks , a silly roger rabbitish amphibious character , is intended as comic relief , but what he really becomes is annoying - and fast . \\nunlike chewbacca and c-3po , who got their humanity ( if you\\'ll pardon the expression ) from their interactions with the human characters , jar jar is often left to interact mostly with others of his kind , at times making the movie seem like nothing more than a very expensive \" teenage mutant ninja turtles . \" \\nfurthermore , the dialogue is often stilted and corny , and sometimes downright infantile , thereby rendering some characters into nothing more than bystanders to the plot . \\noddly , this isn\\'t just * my * judgment - lucas has said that he designed this film for kids . \\nwell , he\\'s done a good job . \\nthe hero of this film , of course , is young anakin , but it was very hard for me to feel any kinship or identify with an eight-year-old boy . \\nthat\\'s not jake lloyd\\'s fault , though - he does a good job of being a cute kid , which is apparently all lucas asked of him . \\nthat\\'s another mistake , of course , because the cute tyke becomes darth vader . \\nwarning : spoilers ahead ! ! ! ! \\nin my opinion , there was not nearly enough foreshadowing of anakin\\'s future evil in the film . \\nthe boy is all blond flowing hair and rosy cheeks , and there\\'s nothing more than a spark of aggression in him throughout the entire movie . \\nhe has a doting mother ( pernilla august , making her first english- language film ) and is a slave to a gross flying gnome on tatooine . \\nbut the only indication the audience gets that this kid isn\\'t all hearts and roses is yoda\\'s hesitation in allowing him to train as a jedi under qui-gon jinn . \\nhis explanation ? \\n \" his future is clouded . \" \\n ( warning : major spoiler ahead . \\nenter at your own risk . ) \\nof course , the noble qui-gon dies at the hand of darth maul , a scary-looking sith lord who excels at the jedi arts , but has turned to the dark side . \\nthis dude has maybe two lines in the entire movie , but he establishes his presence through his amazing moves with his double-sided lightsaber , and his scary facial makeup . \\nbecause qui-gon never gets a chance to train the young anakin in the ways of the force , obi-wan , qui-gon\\'s young padawan apprentice ( one level below knightdom ) , must take over the training himself . \\nso , at the end of the movie , we end where the saga actually begins - with obi-wan kenobi and his young apprentice , anakin \" darth vader \" skywalker . \\ndid this story need to be told ? \\ni would say no . \\nbut is it a worthwhile movie to see ? \\nabsolutely . \\nif you don\\'t enter the theater with jedi-size expectations , and you simply want to be treated to an enjoyable visual spectacle , then this is your movie . \\nthe tatooine pod races are a triumph of effects and computer animation . \\nthe digitalized backgrounds on some of the planets are an astonishing sight . \\nand yoda and young obi-wan are worth seeing for their origins in a simpler , happier time . \\nabove all , this is a fun movie . \\nnot deep , not meaningful , and not profound . \\nbut fun . \\nmaybe next time , lucas will hire lawrence kasdan to co-write the script , and the guy who directed \" empire \" will direct . \\nbecause if lucas does the next one himself , it will be lacking the one thing it needs the most - potential . \\n : ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'armageddon , in itself , symbolizes everything that is wrong in modern filmmaking . \\nstories have been replaced with special effects ; character development gets overshadowed by bad dialogue ; plotting consists of a bunch of shit getting blown up . \\narmageddon is as stupid , as loud and as shallow as any movie you\\'ll see come out this summer , or maybe even any other summer . \\nbut i loved every freaking minute of it . \\nbelieve me , i\\'m just as shocked as you are . \\nhell , i don\\'t even know why i went to see it in the first place . \\nthe previews were so annoying that i predicted this was going to be the worst film of the year , or at least in the running . \\ni\\'m sorry , but \" somebody dial 911 ! ! ! \" \\nisn\\'t quite the tagging that\\'s going to sell a movie . \\nit isn\\'t too wise either to market the film using the movie\\'s stupidest lines ( \" beam me up scotty \" - yeah , that sure is great writing . . . ) . \\ni mean , let\\'s face it ; armageddon\\'s previews rival the truman show\\'s as being some of the worst of the year . \\nneither of them even come close to doing their respective films justice . \\nof course , you all know the story . \\nwhen the earth is threatened with total annihilation via an asteroid the size of texas , nasa calls in the us\\'s top oil drillers ( ! ) to go into space ( ! ) and implant a nuclear device eight-hundred and someodd feet into the asteroid ( ! ) . \\nin the coarse of all this mayhem , we are introduced to some interesting - and not so interesting - characters . \\nbelonging to the former group is rockhound ( steve buscemi ) , a horny little womanizing genius who\\'s always full of wisecracks , even when flying into space at a huge amount of g\\'s . \\nalso , there\\'s the always cool-as-hell billy bob thornton as dan truman , the bigwig at nasa who recruits all the drillers . \\nhe kind of reminded me of ed harris in apollo 13 , only without the intensity and great lines to deliver . \\nthen on the flip side of the coin is the tired , contrived character of harry stamper ( bruce willis , who does the whole movie employing with annoying accent i can\\'t quite place ) , the leader of the pack as well as liv tyler and ben affleck as the token lovers you must have in any summer movie . \\nbasically , that\\'s about it . \\nas i said , this is hardly a film about plot . \\nit\\'s another summer blockbuster with plot points that are beyond unbelievable and dialogue and characters that are mostly completely wooden . \\ncase in point : nasa doesn\\'t know that there is even an asteroid on it\\'s way until eighteen days before impact - huh ? \\nanother example : at one point in the movie , two children are playing with toy space shuttles in front of a poster of kennedy . \\nhow pretentious is that ? ? ? ! ! ! \\nwant another one ? \\nokay ; before the oil drillers blast off into space , one of them starts singing \" leaving on a jet plane \" , and soon , all the rest join in . \\ndid michael bay attend the school of sappy filmmaking before he made this picture ? \\nbut naturally , all this sappiness , melodrama and special effects accumulate to one bitchin\\' time at the movies . \\nand don\\'t get me wrong - despite all of the things i found wrong with armageddon , i still very much enjoyed it . \\nso even if you don\\'t win one of mcdonald\\'s free tickets , it\\'s still definitely worth checking out . \\n',\n",
+       " b'gere , willis , poitier chase each other around the world \\nthe jackal a film review by michael redman copyright 1997 by michael redman \\nwhen the soviet union imploded , the western countries lost their shadow . \\nwith the united states friendly with the russians , we no longer had an entity to blame for the world\\'s problems . \\nthis showed up in hollywood films as the communist government was no longer the easy bad guy . \\nit\\'s time to rejoice because we\\'ve found our new villain . \\nnow it\\'s no longer the russian government who sends killers out into foreign lands , it\\'s the russian _mafia_ . \\na perfect solution , it combines the dread of organized crime and the still-present uneasiness with the former eastern block countries . \\nbest of all , the villains are still foreigners : fear of the other always plays best . \\nso it is a crime lord in moscow that sends legendary hitman the jackal ( bruce willis ) to assassinate a highly placed us government figure in retaliation for the death of his brother during a nightclub raid . \\nthe fbi is at a loss as to how to protect the target from someone they\\'re not sure even exists . \\ncoming to their rescue is former ira operative declan mulqueen ( richard gere ) who is temporarily released from prison to assist fbi agent carter preston ( sidney poitier ) and russian major valentina koslova ( diane venora ) . \\nmulqueen\\'s ex-girlfriend basque terrorist isabella ( mathilda may ) is the only person who has seen the elusive jackal . \\n ( presumably there is an exclusive international terrorist club somewhere where the three met . ) \\nthe film follows two parallel tracks as the jackal prepares for his $70 million hit and mulqueen attempts to locate him while preston makes sure that the irishman doesn\\'t slip away . \\ncrossing numerous borders and donning various disguises for both himself and his mini-van , the killer is always one step ahead of his pursuers . \\nbeing very loosely based on the same book the 1973 thriller \" the day of the jackal \" , comparison between the two films is inevitable . \\nthere is no doubt that the original is the better movie , playing the story for suspense rather than the current action/adventure . \\nas a mystery , \" the jackal \" has enough holes in it to ruin the tale , but if you can accept it for what it is , there\\'s entertainment to be had . \\nholes ? let\\'s see ? a pivotal clue for mulqueen is so obscure that he must possess psychic powers to pick it up . \\nfor a 20-year veteran that can command the big bucks , the jackal is an incredibly poor shot . \\nthe final scene between gere and willis occurs in a location that should be mobbed with police , but it\\'s just the two of them . \\nwillis\\' disguises usually look like bruce willis and are just as interesting as val kilmer\\'s in \" the saint \" . \\n ( and lest you misunderstand , that\\'s not a compliment . ) \\nbut the three stars are fun to watch . \\nit\\'s good to see gere in something other than a business suit . \\nwillis has a mixed history in picking projects , but his characters are always watchable . \\npoitier is by far the superior actor , but has limited screen time . \\nthe problems in logic are flaws , but don\\'t ruin the experience . \\noccasionally there are movies that transcend their blemishes . \\nthis is one of them . \\n[the appeared in the 11/20/97 \" bloomington voice \" , bloomington , indiana] \\n',\n",
+       " b\"let me start off by saying that leading up to the release of the latest bond film , i really wasn't looking forward to it as much as i have with some of the previous films . \\ni'm not sure if it was the fairly lackluster trailers or the ever-present dread that the next film will fall back into the miserable ways of the timothy dalton years . \\ni'm happy to report that any doubts were erased after about the first 10 minutes of the film . \\nby that point , it was evident that mr . bond was back with a vengeance . \\nall doubts would have probably been erased sooner except for the fact that the first ten minutes of the film weren't exactly a pleasant experience . \\nit seems that nobody told the geniuses working at the theater that the house lights are supposed to be turned off when the movie starts . \\nit took a reminder from an audience member to clue them in . \\ni guess they can be excused though , taking tickets and cleaning up popcorn between shows is extremely taxing on the brain . \\nanyway , after somebody remembered what the light switch was for , i settled in for bond . \\ni think the most noticeable aspect of this , the 19th film in the series , is that it really goes back to the almost tongue in cheek style of the roger moore films . \\nthere were probably more one-liners in this movie than in the last several combined . \\nand bond's last one-liner in the film is about the best of the series . \\nthe world is not enough also contained perhaps the most action of any movie of the series . \\neverything from wild boat chases to the usual assortment of cool bond gadgets trotted out just when there seems to be no way out for 007 . \\nfor the most part , the action sequences worked very well . \\nalthough , there were a couple of times that i thought some things were a bit over the top , even for a bond film . \\ni think some of the blame can be laid at the feet of director michael apted . \\nwhile he did a good job for the most part , there were points in the movie , specifically during action sequences , that he seemed to loose site of the fact that he was making essentially an action film . \\nmost noticeably sequences on a snow covered mountain and one involving bond getting through a closing door looked like apted thought he was filming some sort of high brow art movie . \\nhe almost seemed like he didn't know what he was doing . \\nbut they were brief scenes and really shouldn't take away from the otherwise solid job that apted did in directing . \\nif you have ever seen a bond film , you won't be shocked to learn that plot has never been their strong suit . \\nthe world is not enough is no exception . \\nthis time we have yet another over villain that bond has to stop for the good of the world . \\n007 matches wits with the terrorist renard ( robert carlyle ) , a man who has a bullet lodged in his brain that makes him impervious to pain . \\nwhy this point is included is beyond me . \\nthey took great pains to explain his condition , but it only came up later in the movie as a scene that can only be described as looking like an afterthought . \\nanyway , renard , like the typical terrorist that he is , is bent on some harebrained scheme involving a mid-east oil pipeline . \\ni guess world domination just isn't as attractive to terrorists as a money making venture anymore . \\nbond is brought in to protect the pipeline's owner , elektra king ( sophie marceau ) , who is the daughter of one of renard's recent victims . \\nalong the way , bond has to enlist the help of a nuclear scientist , dr . christmas jones ( denise richards ) , and his old rival valentin zukovsky ( robert carlyle ) . \\nlike all bond films , you basically just have to suspend disbelief over the plot , since it is ridiculous beyond words . \\nmy biggest complaint would be that it was about the most disjointed of any of the bond films . \\nthere was at least one point that i had to stop and try to remember why bond was where he was and why he was doing what he was doing . \\nthe buddy that i saw the movie with was completely confused over an earlier kidnapping of marceau's character . \\nit was alluded to earlier in the movie briefly -- although not included in the film . \\nlater , it became a big part of the story and left him with the distinct feeling that he had missed something . \\nbut because it is a bond film , the beautiful women and nifty gadgets seem to make you forget about script problems quite quickly . \\nafter all , it isn't shakespeare . \\nhow about the cast ? \\nbrosnan seems to get better with each of his appearances as 007 . \\ni grew up with the roger moore version of bond , so i really enjoyed the lighter style that brosnan brings to the character . \\njudi dench , as m , had a bigger role in this film than in her two previous appearances in the role . \\nshe brought the talent with her that one would expect from an oscar winner . \\nrobbie coltrane was easily one of the best parts in goldeneye , so it was nice to see his russian mobster character revived in this movie . \\ncoltrane gets more screen time , which simply leads to him stealing even more scenes . \\nthen there are the bond girls . \\nsophie marceau might be one of the most beautiful actresses working today . \\nthere is just something about her breathtaking eyes that makes her a natural to play the innocent victim . \\nthose that saw her in braveheart know she is more than just a pretty face . \\nmarceau may be the most talented actress to ever play a bond love interest . \\nthen we have denise richards . \\nthere was no doubt in my mind that she was cast exclusively for her looks . \\nand after you see the outfits she wears , you won't have any trouble guessing what part of her anatomy caught the producer's eyes . \\ni was pleasantly surprised to find that she really did a good job playing a nuclear scientist . \\nadmittedly , there was one point that the audience snickered a bit at one of her technical lines of dialogue , but other than that she stacks up ( no pun intended ) to her bond girl predecessors nicely . \\ni must say that the biggest disappointment was robert carlyle's character . \\nwhile carlyle did a fine job with the material that he had , his character just never worked for me . \\nthe producers tried very hard to add more complexity to his character , but it just never quite got off the ground . \\ni guess i was hoping for a bit more regarding the whole impervious to pain aspect of his character , but the writers decided to play up the emotional side of his character . \\nthis might have worked well in another movie , but i don't go to see bond movies for their deep characterizations . \\nlast , but not least , we have desmond llewelyn as q . this is the 17th appearance for llewelyn as bond's gadget guy , and he is as good as ever . \\nalthough his screen time has grown far more limited in the past few films , he is still a treat to watch . \\nrumors abound that this may be his last appearance in the role . \\nhe says future appearances are up to a higher power . \\nthe producers have introduced his protege and future replacement , a bumbling and somewhat pompous character played by comedy master john cleese . \\nwhile we don't see much of him in this film , i think it is fair to say that desmond llewelyn's legacy , whenever it is passed on , will be in very capable hands . \\nso how does it stack up ? \\ndespite some problems , the world is not enough is a very entertaining movie . \\nand , all things considered , what problems it does have are small compared to some that have plagued earlier bond movies . \\nthis is easily the best of the brosnan films . \\nit may even be the best of the entire series , certainly in the top 3 . \\none thing is for sure , even after 19 movies , there is still plenty of life left in the james bond series . \\nhere's looking forward to bond number 20 . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'after a successful run in australia last year , and with much critical praise heaped upon it , muriel\\'s wedding opens into medium release this weekend in north america . \\nmuriel heslop is a withdrawn , overweight young woman living in porpoise spit , australia . \\nshe is often the target of her father\\'s frequent rants at the family , and drowns out her feelings of inadequacy with abba music and fantasies of marriage . \\nher self-loathing is such that only being wed shall she prove herself to be a success ; marriage will transform her into a new person who is respected and admired . \\nafter her four cliquey friends dump her , muriel plots to follow them to a resort where they are celebrating the honeymoon of one of the girls , and muriel\\'s wedding unfolds from there . \\ntoni collette plays muriel in a winning performance , conveying both the sadness of her character and her desperate eagerness to be accepted . \\ncollette gained a frightening 43 pounds in order to play the chubby title character . \\nshe has a natural screen presence and exudes charisma , easily winning the audience over with an honest , painful performance . \\ncollette basically carries the film , appearing in almost every scene . \\nmuriel\\'s father , bill \" the battler \" heslop , is portrayed by bill hunter as a slick politician/developer . \\nwhile chumming around with young fans and crowing \\'you can\\'t beat progress\\' ( his slogan ) , bill labels his family as worthless and embarrassments . \\nrachel griffiths plays rhonda , who becomes muriel\\'s cheeky new friend in the film . \\nshe has good chemistry with collette , and the film suffers when griffiths is off-screen . \\nmuriel\\'s tormenters , played by pippa grandison , rosalind hammond , belinda jarrett and sophie lee , are two-dimensional caricatures , all saucy , vain and bumblingly spiteful , though that is probably due to hogan\\'s scripting \\nmuriel\\'s wedding is essentially a genre teen comedy with more intelligence and a lot of charm . \\nhogan\\'s use of abba tunes ( which virtually comprises the entire soundtrack ) is interestingly appropriate , although its repetitiveness tires after awhile . \\nhogan\\'s script is right on the mark in terms of proportionately mixing comedy with muriel\\'s earnest quest for acceptance , and the gorgeous scene with muriel window-shopping beautifully illustrates the wonder that marriage has for her . \\nthe glaring pastel colours worn by the performers is an interesting touch . \\nmuriel\\'s wedding features a fine performance by toni collette and a charming , if a bit too straightforward and conventional story by p . j . hogan . \\non my four star scale , i give muriel\\'s wedding three stars . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" deep rising \" gives you that sinking feeling both literally and figuratively : not only does the movie take place on a cruise ship slowly being immersed into the middle of the ocean by a squid-like menace , but the unfolding story is artificial , silly and almost completely derivative of countless other ( and , for the most part , better ) films . \\nwhile dumb monster movies can at least be decent guilty pleasures -- take , for example , the schlocky mountain highs of last spring\\'s \" anaconda \" -- \" deep rising \" has no tongue to put in its cheek . \\nfolks , we\\'re only a month into the new year , and already here\\'s a candidate for one of its stinkiest releases . \\nmost of the action takes place on the argonautica , a luxury liner in the middle of its maiden voyage ( uh-oh -- if these people had seen \" titanic , \" then maybe they\\'d have known to stay home ) when it\\'s attacked by a giant , tentacled sea creature . \\nthe only survivors are slinky jewel thief trilian ( famke janssen ) , argonautica owner canton ( anthony heald ) and a few other crew members . \\na mercenary team , lead by resourceful captain john finnegan ( treat williams ) , board the argonautica looking for assistance after their own boat breaks down nearby . \\nbut what their search of the ship uncovers is something blood-soaked , hungry and not very helpful . \\nthe main problem with \" deep rising \" is its overt familiarity ; the movie makes absolutely no attempt to differentiate itself from most sci-fi/horror films in recent memory . \\nthe concept is \" leviathan \" meets \" titanic , \" with a dash of \" speed 2 \" thrown in for good ( or is that bad ? ) \\nmeasure . \\nthis monster is equal parts \" 20 , 000 leagues under the sea \" and \" the relic , \" knows how to open doors like the raptors from \" jurassic park \" and even gets to expel a half-digested victim ( a neat effect , admittedly ) a la the giant snake in \" anaconda . \" \\nsome of the attack sequences are straight out of \" jaws \" and \" alien . \" \\na scene where the remaining survivors have to travel under water to escape death is right out of \" alien resurrection . \" \\nthere\\'s even a jet ski chase like \" hard rain . \" \\nand the list goes on . \\nwatching \" deep rising \" \\'s cast battle the beast is a murky chore in itself , because none of them have well-developed characters , nor do they seem to project even the slightest sense of fear when facing their enemy . \\nwilliams is affable enough , but his finnegan just isn\\'t believable . \\nan interesting supporting cast is thoroughly wasted ; pretty famke janssen , best known as \" goldeneye \" \\'s killer thighs , is trapped in a forced romantic interest with williams , while kevin j . o\\'connor , as finnegan\\'s mechanic , provides comic relief with screechy manic shtick that gets old fast . \\ndjimon honsou , who received raves for his performance as a noble slave in december\\'s \" amistad , \" pops up in a brief part . \\nhe needs to stay away from the water . \\nthe movie\\'s final shot is a groaner , as is the 11th-hour regurgitation of a subplot involving an on-ship saboteur . \\nas if a cast deserving of their snack food-fate isn\\'t bad enough ( when you taunt the monster , you\\'re really asking for it ) , \" deep rising \" is a slow , stupid slog through a story without a single bright spot . \\nand since we all know that the higher the casualty rate is , the closer we are to the end of the movie , rooting for this overgrown squid to swallow the whole ship isn\\'t out of the question . \\n',\n",
+       " b'mickey mouse had better watch his back -- there\\'s a new critter in town , and he\\'s the nameless animal attraction of \" mouse hunt , \" dreamworks skg\\'s clever first foray into family fare . \\nalthough it runs out of steam towards its end , this live-action comedy still boasts enough energized slapstick and inventive set pieces to best disney\\'s entire 1997 non-animated , kiddie-oriented catalog . . . \\nbut consider that list includes dismal tripe like \" air bud , \" \" flubber \" and \" that darn cat , \" and it\\'s really not such a difficult feat to pull off . \\nstill , throw the two rodents in a boxing arena , and i\\'ll be hoping that the mouse from \" mouse hunt \" knocks some sense back into mickey . \\nnathan lane ( robin williams\\' significant other from \" the birdcage \" ) and lee evans ( last seen as a nervous bellhop in \" the fifth element \" ) play ernie and lars smuntz , befuddled brothers who have just inherited two unwanted assets from their late father ( william hickey , in his last role ) -- a dilapidated old string factory and a dilapidated old mansion . \\nalthough lars made a deathbed promise to upkeep the former , he and ernie decide to sell the latter for big bucks after learning it was designed by a famed architect . \\nbut there\\'s a lone obstacle in their way -- a single mouse lives within the walls of the house , and he\\'s not about to give up his place of residence without a fight . \\nmovies aimed at young audiences are rarely this visually exquisite . \\nthe effects blending the talents of 60-some live mice , one animatronic mouse and one computer-generated mouse are pretty seamless . \\nthe splendid production design seems to be straight out of tim burton\\'s mind ; the smuntz\\'s architecturally-unsound mansion is like something straight out of \" the nightmare before christmas , \" and the vortex of bizarre machinery in their factory resembles some of vincent price\\'s warped contraptions from \" edward scissorhands . \" \\n \" mouse hunt \" is a pretty dark movie -- even some of the humor can be grim -- but it\\'s hardly ever mean-spirited . \\nthe star of the show is neither the top-billed lane nor the titular mouse . \\nit\\'s lanky british comedian evans , whose hysterical bodily antics suggest a cleaned-up jim carrey without the obnoxious overkill ( note a toned-down but nonetheless outrageous impromptu striptease ) ; evans\\' banter with the ever-affable lane is funny stuff , too , and holds its own against the movie\\'s more flashy physical shtick . \\nvicki lewis ( beth from \" newsradio \" ) is solid in a supporting role as lars\\' money-grubbing wife . \\nand in a nifty bit of novelty casting , christopher walken is a macabre delight as a spooky exterminator who takes his job a little too seriously , popping a dropping into his mouth and noting to his tape recorder that the mouse has a \" calcium deficiency . \" \\nblech . \\na basically one-joke idea -- a mouse outsmarts a couple of bumbling humans -- is given a rather engaging execution . \\ntheir sparring is imaginatively realized ( i don\\'t think i\\'ll ever forget the sight of that tiny little mouse making his getaway on a rolling wheel of gouda ) , and although you really never fully root for either side , that\\'s okay -- a warm-and-fuzzy union between the two parties is practically promised from the first frame they share . \\n \" mouse hunt \" may take a while to get going ( the rather lengthy set-up could test the patience of some of the younger children , although i rather liked it , much in part to lane and evans ) , and the climactic sequence is allowed to play out for a bit too long , but this appears to be one family movie that most members of the family will be able to find agreeable , not unlike the original \" home alone . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b\"synopsis : in this movie , steven spielberg , one of today's finest directors , attempts to spice up the 1800s story of a long courtroom battle over the fate of prisoner cinque ( djimon hounsou ) - - a young angry man from sierra leone who was kidnapped into slavery - - and his fellow prisoners . \\ncinque and friends have landed a ship on the shores of america after escaping spanish slave traders , but since the americans don't speak cinque's language , the black men are hauled into court to determine whether or not they are legally slaves . \\ntechnically , since the international slave trade was outlawed at that time , people like cinque couldn't be kidnapped into slavery ; one had to be born a slave to be legally considered a slave . \\nlawyers baldwin and adams ( matthew mcconaughey and anthony hopkins ) must prove cinque and the others were captured into slavery , rather than born slaves , in order to get them out of prison as free men . \\nthree lengthy court cases are portrayed with spielberg's trademark panache - - flashy beginning , lots of facial close-ups , big music , and dramatic imagery . \\na final speech by adams is followed by an anticlimax where subtitles show what eventually happened to the various characters . \\nopinion : making a fictional movie is easier than making one about real life . \\nin fiction , one invents purposeful , clear-cut good guys and bad guys , puts the fictional characters in conflict , and takes the tale to its exciting conclusion . \\nreal life , however , consists of long stretches of boredom with a few dramatic moments and characters who stand around , think thoughts and do nothing , or come and go before events are resolved . \\nspielberg gives us a visually spicy and historically accurate real life story . \\ndjimon hounsou and anthony hopkins turn in excellent performances . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'for those who associate italian cinema with fellini and \" high art , \" the son\\'s room is an inventive , subtle alternative . \\nwritten by , directed , and starring nanni moretti , it takes us through the slow , complicated path of bereavement . \\nslow is the best description for the film at first . \\nit takes its time in establishing the habits of what appears to be a normal , happy family . \\nfather and mother both work but still find the time to support their son and daughter through homework and after school activities . \\nthey laugh , spend free time together , and reprimand the kids for innocent wrongs with a sigh and soft pat on the shoulder . \\nyou get the feeling there is open communication and unconditional love amongst the foursome . \\nbut suddenly , the son is found to be dead after a diving accident . \\nthe family dynamics begin an unpredictable descent that gives the narrative strength when you least expect it , but can also be trying on the attention span . \\nthough the film drags and even repeats itself , this can be somewhat excused as influenced by the process of grieving . \\nthough nanni moretti wore several hats for this production , it doesn\\'t come across as a vanity piece . \\none might wish he hadn\\'t picked the profession of analyst for the father , giovanni ( which he stars as ) , if only because this makes his character\\'s reactions so predictable . \\nwhat saves it is a well written script , with spare dialogue and an eclectic variety of human interaction . \\nthe potency of the film lies in the recreation of the tiny details of everyday life that alter due to the death of a close relative , or that remind a depressed person of loss . \\nyou start to take notice of the cracked dishes , ignored when familial bliss was in full swing . \\nyou remember bonding during the routine jogs around the block , and not necessarily huge events like graduation . \\neven better are the role reversals that take place within the household . \\nwhile giovanni and paola ( laura morante ) do check up on their daughter irene ( jasmine trinca ) , there is a sense of being on autopilot . \\nnot only does irene begin to take care of her own needs more , she\\'ll make her parents breakfast in an attempt to crack their new shells to life around them . \\nthese scenes provide interesting portrayals of various coping mechanisms , frequently crossing a boundary as to how much you can help yourself versus others during drastic , unexpected change . \\nrespectfully , gender issues never enter the picture . \\nself-propelled isolation is universal in terms of dealing , so moretti intelligently uses this tool to separate the family . \\nthough giovanni does stop paolo from discussing andrea at a party with friends , there is never a sense that he or she is more stoic , or more correct in the search to restore a sense of a balance to their lives . \\nmost films that broach the topic of death utilize annoying melodrama , speeches , and conciliatory issues to get the waterworks flowing . \\nin contrast , the son\\'s room captures a more realistic depiction of the effects of death on a family by graciously flowing among the five stages of mourning ( denial , depression , anger , bargaining , acceptance ) through each of its main characters . \\nit\\'s not the most engaging 100 minutes , but it is certainly easy to relate to . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i have a confession . \\neven though i am a movie junkie-i saw eye of the beholder and yet i still watch movies-i\\'ve never seen any of the original godzillas . \\n ( note that godzilla 2000 is not a sequel to the u . s . godzilla released in 1998 ; it\\'s the american release of a 1999 godzilla flick called gojira ni-sen mireniamu . ) \\nso , part of me was excited as i drove to the local multiplex to see godzilla 2000-the latest entry in an almost 50-year old franchise . \\nthis was a long-awaited treat . \\ni was expecting a goofy good time , complete with bad dubbing , science fair level sets and a ludicrous plot line . \\nthe last thing i expected was for the movie to be so ? boring . \\ni can only imagine what the theatre full of kids i saw this with felt . \\nyou do get all of the \" so bad they\\'re good \" traits so normally associated with the franchise . \\nbut you have to sit through a snoozer plot that has the organization of a rorschach blot . \\nit\\'s a deal i wasn\\'t willing to accept . \\nhiroshi kashiwabara and waturu mimura\\'s script crams in way too many details , and in many cases , fails to follow up on them . \\nthe maneuver is not only disconcerting , but gives the movie a permanent logy , weighty feel . \\ngodzilla starts off destroying power plants and then just stops . \\nwas it a whim ? \\na bold political statement ? \\ni don\\'t know . \\nits foe , an ancient meteor that looks like prudential\\'s logo , doesn\\'t just fight the beast from the far east . \\nno , it\\'s got to have life-saving powers , a plot to erase \" the data \" from japan , a desire to clone and the ability to become a spaceship and then some kind of tentacled space creature . \\nthere\\'s a battle between the head of the godzilla prediction unit ( takehiro murata ) and a slimy government official ( hiroshi abe ) over the handling of godzilla , and personal issues . \\nand then there\\'s the plucky news photographer and blah , blah , blah . \\nit\\'s like watching magnolia all over again-except without the good writing , keen sociological insight and aimee mann songs . \\nwhat a waste . \\nwhen the talking and the plot points stop hurtling at you , godzilla 2000 does the job-it\\'s entertaining and goes down easy . \\nthe action scenes are cheesy in their grandeur though a little sluggish . \\nthe dubbing is nice and awful , with murata sounding like he\\'s in constant need of a cough drop . \\nas for the dialogue , one line summarizes the goofiness factor : \" did anyone see that flying rock go by ? \" \\nthis movie also marked the first time since the three stooges that i\\'ve heard the word \" imbecile \" used in casual conversation . \\nthough the summer movie season is drying up and godzilla 2000 has its moments , i wouldn\\'t take kids to see it . \\nthey\\'ll probably end up asking more questions than charlie rose . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"everything in the phantom you have seen many times before and there is nothing new presented here . \\nwincer displays absolutely no skill in setting up an exciting action sequence . \\nbilly zane is wooden as the hero . \\nkristy swanson is given very little to do , and does very little with it . \\ntreat williams , looking like rhett butler but sounding like mickey mouse , is one of the worst villains i have ever seen in a movie . \\nonly catherine zeta jones , as one of williams cohorts turns in a good performance . \\nshe has energy and spunk , which the movie needed much more of . \\noh yeah , the phantom also has a secret identity but this is so poorly played out you won't even care . \\nabout the only things i can recommend are a good performance by jones , and some colorful scenery . \\nhowever , if youre looking for a fun family movie , go watch the underrated flipper . \\nthis is not a good movie . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"ingredients : down-on-his-luck evangelist , church \\nsynopsis : sonny dewey ( robert duvall ) is a tireless texas pentecostal preacher who unexpectedly catches his wife ( farrah fawcett ) in bed with another guy . \\nin a regrettable crime of passion he takes a baseball bat to the guy's head , and suddenly finds himself a fugitive for murder , and estranged from his wife and two kids . \\nto atone for his sins , sonny flees to a rural bayou town in louisiana and baptizes himself as a new creature - - the apostle e . f . as the apostle e . f . sonny's main mission is to revive an abandoned church community and preach the gospel at the local radio station . \\nsoon he sets about resurrecting the one way road to heaven holiness temple . \\nbut sonny knows his time is short ; one day the police will find him . \\nopinion : this movie is a thought-provoking look at an evangelist in real life terms . \\ni believe that robert duvall ( who is the producer , director , writer , and main star of the apostle ) deserves an oscar for his performance as sonny the religious crusader - - a performance which is so complex and realistic it ranks as one of the finest acting performances on film . \\nduvall's portrayal of a true believer is authentic , superb , and inspired ; it offers the audience a completely honest look at southern religion , as well as a portrait of a fallible , complicated man driven by his beliefs . \\nincidentally , in real life duvall was just as 'driven' in getting the project underway . \\nsince no major hollywood studio wanted to risk financing a complex movie about an evangelist , the apostle as a project lay dormant for almost 13 years before duvall was able to get it done , paying for its production with his own money ( about five million dollars ) . \\nin terms of hard-hitting realism and character portrayal the apostle would rank as one of the best movies of this decade , and i emphatically recommend the apostle for connoisseurs of stage and fine acting on film . \\nsimilarly , those with a steep background in pentecostal christianity would find the apostle a thought-provoking experience . \\non the other hand , the apostle's main strength - - duvall's preaching - - is also what limits the apostle's target audience . \\nin terms of plot and pure entertainment value , the apostle is definitely not for everyone . \\nteenagers , action fans , comedy fans , and people who find church completely boring should stay far away from this movie , since three quarters of the film is watching sonny preach at church . \\nin other words , the apostle is a four star performance , but with a very limited audience . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" desperate measures \" is a generic title for a film that\\'s beyond generic . \\nit\\'s also a depressing waste of talent , with the solid team of michael keaton and andy garcia unthankfully thrown thankless lead roles , not to mention once-cool director barbet schroeder sadly continuing his string of not-cool flicks -- this thriller is more \" before and after \" than \" reversal of fortune . \" \\nthe movie is a big disappointment , and yet it\\'s somewhat easy to see what motivated such big names to attach themselves to it -- the premise is both promising and intriguing . \\ntoo bad the execution\\'s all wrong , though , because the set-up of \" desperate measures \" boasts some rather enticing elements that deserve to be put to far better use . \\nsan francisco cop frank connor ( garcia ) is a single parent with a troubling dilemma -- his son matt ( joseph cross ) is stricken with cancer which only a bone marrow transplant can push into remission . \\neven worse , the only compatible donor is violent sociopath peter mccabe ( michael keaton ) , currently serving a life sentence for multiple murders and other various crimes against society . \\nconnor tries his best to convince mccabe to go along with the surgery ; he\\'s at first reluctant , but reconsiders after he realizes he can plan his escape at the hospital . \\nwhen he does make a run for it , connor offers close pursuit , but for different reasons than his superiors ( including the crusty brian cox ) -- they want to take mccabe down , while connor needs to keep him alive , or all hope is lost for his little boy . \\none misstep \" desperate measures \" makes is in its underdevelopment of matt\\'s illness . \\nwhat\\'s needed are more details as to exactly why mccabe is the only bone marrow match that works ; there would seem to be other possible contenders somewhere in the country , and thus many of the ways that connor endangers the lives of himself and those around him by attempting to keep mccabe alive are just a little too hard to swallow . \\ntake , for example , a scene where mccabe is trying to make a getaway by climbing over an elevated passage tunnel connecting two sections of the hospital . \\nthe police have their spotlight and guns aimed right on him , and what does connor do ? \\nhe shoots the spotlight out so that mccabe can continue his flight . \\nconnor knows very well what dangerous deeds this guy is capable of , and yet never seems to think that mccabe will eventually get to and try to harm his son . \\nwhatever . \\nto be fair , though , the lack of story background is the least of the movie\\'s problems . \\nfirst and foremost is how cheaply \" desperate measures \" trades the potential of it\\'s opening scenes for the routine action ballistics of its final hour . \\nonce mccabe escapes , the film becomes the fugitive in reverse and with no thrills . \\nthere are countless scenes where the good guys catch up to keaton only to have him grab a hostage and get away . \\nalso , the movie is so intent on giving you a hoot-inducing , lip-smacking villain ( the ads have compared peter mccabe to hannibal lechter , natch ) that it completely casts garcia\\'s frank connor by the dullsville wayside ; \" desperate measures \" appears to like its antagonist so much more than its protagonist , and the movie\\'s head-scratcher of a send-off confirms this . \\nthere is some good to be found amongst this mess , particularly in the acting department . \\ncast against type , michael keaton\\'s understated menace is highly effective . \\nalthough he\\'s not given much believable to work with , andy garcia plays off a taut emotional chord . \\njoseph cross , as garicia\\'s ailing son , is surprisingly unsentimental , and marcia gay harden lends solid support as a doctor who becomes a major player in the unfolding chaos . \\nthis cast does its best to camouflage the sorry plot as it chugs towards an inevitably happy ending , but most is lost . \\nit goes without saying that \" desperate measures \" needs an operation of its very own . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"martin scorsese's kundun , which chronicles roughly the first twenty years of the life of the currently exiled dalai lama , has been criticized for its lack of narrative structure . \\npersonally , i don't think it needs one : it works perfectly well as a study of tibetan buddhist culture and how communist china . \\nscorsese views the dalai lama the way many tibetans probably do , as a larger-than-life symbol of buddhist spirituality and political leadership : the only glimpses into his head come from several interesting yet oblique dream sequences , but his portrayal is appropriate for a film that concentrates on the political and spiritual rather than the personal . \\nthe set design and cinematography are outstanding , and while scorsese occasionally seems to get carried away with the spectacle , it helps to augment the cultural contrast when the dalai lama travels to china to meet chairman mao . \\npolitical art sometimes succumbs to the temptation to start shouting slogans , kundun does not : it succeeds in delivering its message in an artistically interesting way and without being overly manipulative . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'yet another brainless teen flick , this one is about , surprise , drugs and sex . \\nstars katie holmes and sarah polly couldn\\'t look more bored . \\ntheir characters are cardboard cut-outs of every cliched teenager out there . \\none thing you need to know is i really hated this movie . \\neverything about it annoyed the hell out of me . \\nthe acting , and script , the plot , and ending . \\nthe director ( of the fluke hit swingers ) could have very well directed a bunch of no-name actors and had a watchabe film . \\nthe \" big \" stars of go pretty much drown the project of any originality . \\ni felt like i was watching dawson\\'s creek episode 200 . \\nalthough the film still would have stayed at red despite its cast . \\nthe \" surprise \" ending was sooo predictable . \\nsince when is a male character\\'s sudden outing of the closet considered a surprise in hollywood anymore ? ? \\ngo is dawson\\'s creek + varsity blues - she\\'s all that = go home and watch something else . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" it was not scary . \" \\nthese are the first words that came to mind after it was over . \\nwhen a movie is called _vampires_ , \" not scary \" aren\\'t words that should be associated with it . \\nbut that wasn\\'t my only gripe . \\njohn carpenter is a name associated with cutting-edge cinema , as in the intense scares of _halloween_ , _the thing_ and _the prince of darkness_ , or the offbeat action of _they live_ and _escape from new york_ . \\nunfortunately , the only thing that is cutting edge about _vampires_ is the level of boredom the movie is able to reach . \\nwith an anemic plot and not-quite-kosher special effects , _john carpenter\\'s vampires_ has barely enough substance to slake the thirst of even the least discerning genre fan . \\nthe film is at first concerned with a group of roaming vampire slayers , led by james woods , of all people . \\nlike some sort of holy a-team ( they even have their own souped-up van ) , the bunch invade and wipe out a nest of vampires in a new mexico shack . \\ntheir method is amusingly innovative : the blood-suckers are reeled out with harpoons so they can flare up in the sun like matchsticks . \\nto commemorate their victory , the loutish band decorates a motel room with hookers and parties the night away . \\ntheir celebration is short-lived , however , as a master vampire named valek ambushes and single-handedly destroys most of the team . \\nwoods\\' jack crow and buddy montoya ( daniel baldwin ) escape with their lives , along with a woman named katrina ( sheryl lee ) . \\nalthough the woman has been bitten , montoya and crow decide to keep katrina for her psychic link to the master vampire . \\nthe rest of the movie is concerned with the boys\\' hunt for valek ( thomas ian griffith ) , a freaky marilyn manson-type who\\'s on a mission that dates back 600 years . \\nalong the way they pick up a priest named guiteau ( tim guinee ) , a character who serves pretty much the same purpose as the jittery cpl . \\nupham in _saving private ryan_ . \\nsome stuff happens in the middle of the movie , but i can\\'t remember most of it , because i often found a twitching hair in the corner of the frame more interesting than what was happening on screen . \\n_vampires_ finally starts to pick up about 90 minutes into the mix , as crow , guiteau , and montoya assault an abandoned prison-turned vampire nest . \\nonly then does the film begin to even resemble a carpenter flick . \\nbut it\\'s too little too late . \\nwe get the inevitable final confrontation , but it seems tacked on and rather anti-climactic ( come on , we\\'re dealing with _the_ master vampire here ! ) \\ninterestingly , last summer\\'s vampire actioner _blade_ was derived from a comic book , and _vampires_ from a novel , yet the latter seems more steeped in campy cheesiness than the former , a more deliberate superhero flick . \\nwoods\\' jack crow spouts glib off-the-cuff one-liners and strolls away from exploding buildings with that oh-so-cool stride . \\nand his motive for killing vampires ? \\ntake a wild guess . \\n ( hint : a ______ killed his _____ when he was just a _____ . ) \\nat least _blade_ had decent action and slick stylishness . \\n_vampires_ lacks even cheap thrills to mask its gossamer-thin plot . \\nto make up for this , the movie resorts to other \" shocks , \" such as its generally condescending attitude towards women ( crow slaps them around for the fun of it ) and an overplayed contempt for religion ( crow teases guiteau incessantly about whether his vow of celibacy has made him prone to \" getting woodies . \" ) \\nit can be argued that maybe i wanted too much from this movie . \\nif not scary and gory , i wanted tense , relentless , and exhausting . \\n_john carpenter\\'s vampires_ is none of these . \\ni can only recommended it for the hardcore carpenter fan . \\nfor the rest of you looking for a good scare , beware : _vampires_ is a film with no teeth . \\n',\n",
+       " b'notting hill\\'s trailer is awful : a laughless , schmaltzy montage . \\nthe movie was desperately marketed to the anti-phantom menace crowd , the same lovelorn females who ignored the love letter . \\nand it apparently worked . \\nperhaps the presence of julia roberts-whose allure beyond those perfect teeth still escapes me-had a lot to do with notting hill\\'s opening weekend success , but the film\\'s staying power is based on word of mouth . \\nallow me to spread some more good buzz for notting hill . \\ngrant stars as william thacker , a travel-bookstore owner who works and resides in a tiny english district called notting hill . \\ninto his shop one day wanders famous actress anna scott ( roberts ) . \\na common thief , some spilled orange juice , and some stilted conversation leads to their first , highly impetuous ( or is that improbable ? ) , kiss . \\ndays later , william sneaks into her hotel suite under the guise of a magazine journalist , and so begins a passionate , albeit surreptitious , affair . \\n ( aside : notting hill\\'s portrayal of press junkets is deadly accurate . ) \\nonly anna\\'s celebrity-or william\\'s lack thereof-threatens to drive a wedge between them . \\nrichard curtis has tapped into fantasy we all have considered , and for at least its first half-hour the picture\\'s \" beauty and the beast \" -like scenario is ( romantic ) escapism of the highest order . \\nas with groundhog day or pleasantville , while watching the high-concept comedy notting hill one constantly imagines him/herself in the lead ; it\\'s william\\'s ordinaryness that entices the spoiled and bored anna . \\ncurtis ( who previously penned four weddings and a funeral ) is also smart enough to know that the unlikely couple\\'s situation is not enough to fuel two hours\\' worth of entertainment , so some of notting hill\\'s finest moments revolve around william\\'s eccentric friends and family . \\nby now , dear reader , you\\'ve probably heard a lot about rhys ifans\\' performance as william\\'s imbecilic welsh flatmate . \\nyes , he\\'s a crowd pleaser , a walking sight gag , but his character is not nearly as involving as the wheelchair-bound ( and appropriately named ) bella ( mckee , the anguished waitress of naked ) or max ( tom mcinnerny ) , her lousy chef of a husband . \\nin the movie\\'s best sequence , william , anna , and company sit around bloated from max\\'s latest concoction and hold a contest : the last brownie on the table goes to the diner with the saddest life . \\nthe scene ends only as a british writer would end it . \\nif anything , fantastic bits like these dull the main plot\\'s dramatic impact . \\nroberts and grant , especially , are appealing , but their relationship is convolutedly interrupted too many times ( four weddings\\' suffered similar flaws ) , and william and anna ultimately only have one thing in common : they\\'re lonely . \\n ( worth noting in roberts\\' and grant\\'s favour : the ubiquitous \" i\\'m just a girl , standing across from a boy , asking him to love her \" episode is not nearly so syrupy as it appears in clips , and it features some of the best emoting either actor has ever done . ) \\nnotting hill is nonetheless enjoyable ; on the visual side of things , i especially appreciated michell\\'s playful changing-of-the-seasons number . \\nif only ( and this is a surprisinly minor gripe ) he had lopped off the egregious epilogue ; for a story that thrives on what we bring to it , the filmmakers work too hard to tidy things up , leaving our imaginations in the lurch . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" with all that education , you should know what happiness is . \" \\nstarring sylvia chang , teresa hu , hsu ming , li lieh , mao hsueh-wei ; directed by edward yang ; written by yang and wu nien-chen ; cinematography by christopher doyle and chang hui-kung \\nevery country has , eventually , its new wave . \\nfrance had its nouvelle vague , brazil its cinema novo , china its fifth generation , and on and on . \\nsome waves just take longer than others , before they wash over us , cleansing us with the balm of discovery . \\ntaiwan\\'s new wave came in the 1980s , in the work of directors like hou hsiao-hsien , wan jen , and edward yang ; that day , on the beach--yang\\'s first feature--is central . \\nit created a new language for young taiwanese directors , even if the first attempts to speak that language were hesitant and faltering . \\nlater works refined the techniques that yang first explored here , giving taiwan a distinctive international presence . \\nthat day itself is long and frustrating , the document of a nation\\'s attempt to find a voice . \\nit does not lack ambition . \\nit anatomizes urban life in modern taiwan , in the manner of antonioni , elaborating the alienation that the westernized white-collar middle-class feel as their lives are shaped by old-fashioned roles--dedicated career men , loyal housewives--that they find unfulfilling . \\njia-li ( sylvia chang ) is the focus , but the film brings others into its compass--her husband , her brother , friends from her college days--as it charts her discontents . \\nno one is happy . \\njia-li married her husband , we-lei , at a young age . \\nat the time , her brother had been urged into an arranged marriage , despite his affection for another woman , and so jia-li\\'s marriage seemed , in comparison , a good one : she chose we-lei of her own free will , they loved each other . \\nbut it goes wrong . \\nthat day dutifully presents all the clich ? s : we-lei becomes absorbed in his career , indulges in an affair with a co-worker ; jia-li feels restless and trapped , bound by a choice she made while young , but which no longer seems wise . \\nthe film never redeems these clich ? s by conveying the feel of authentic experience , the intensity of lived pain , and much of it seems trite and belaboured . \\nit unfolds , awkwardly , as a series of flashbacks , told during a luncheon in vienna , where jia-li meets her brother\\'s old flame ( teresa hu ) , now a concert pianist , whom she has not seen since college . \\nboth women seem rather sad , and resigned to their sadness . \\ntheir circumstances ( and those of jia-li\\'s brother and a college friend ) suggest not so much that they have made the wrong choices--married the wrong man , chosen the wrong career path , etc . --but rather that the choices available to them were inadequate . \\nit is not that jia-li married the wrong man ; she didn\\'t . \\nthe problem is that she needed to marry at all--and that if she did not marry , she would still be just as unhappy . \\nfor a woman in modern taiwan , that day tells us , the cards are stacked , the dice are loaded : she can play the game , but the house always wins . \\nthe film\\'s sympathetic feminist implications are presumably the reason it caused such controversy upon its release in taiwan . \\nseen now , it does not seem provocative . \\nindeed , it\\'s hard to imagine anyone having felt passionate enough about the film to generate any controversy : it may be ambitious , it may be innovative , but it is also terribly , terribly dull . \\nand what was new for taiwan was not necessarily new for the rest of us : yang adopts methods established years before by antonioni and others , and his use of those methods is fumbling , uncertain , undisciplined . \\nnor does he bring anything new--other than the locale--to the material . \\nthere are moments when that day takes on some of the emotional richness it strives for--in a young couple\\'s first kiss , in the awkward meeting of a woman and her husband\\'s mistress--but they are brief . \\ntoo often , yang devotes needless time to mundane scenes--grocery shopping , flower-arranging--in which nothing happens , little is said , no emotion imparted . \\nperhaps , if the film were content to focus on such reflective , inward moments , leaving us to guess at thoughts and feelings , it might have been ambiguous , suggestive , insinuating . \\nbut jia-li and her disaffected companions do not only brood in silence : they talk about their problems , at length , in detail , redundantly , and eliminate all subtleties . \\nat two hours and forty-five minutes , it all seems exorbitantly long , indulgently long-winded . \\nconsider the defining moment for jia-li , the titular day on the beach . \\nthe thrust of the whole film explains , easily enough , what we are to think of that moment , what it means when she walks away from a particular situation . \\neven so , the film has not one but two characters explain it for us verbally , in case we may have missed the point . \\nneedless time is devoted to expressing what should have remained unexpressed , and that is the problem throughout . \\nthe look of the film is as tedious as the drawn-out narrative . \\nit was the first feature shot by christopher doyle--at least , it\\'s his name in the credits--who is now rightly regarded as one of the world\\'s leading cinematographers . \\nin the freewheeling expressionism of his work with directors like chen kaige and wong kar-wai , he seems incapable of fashioning a boring image . \\nyou would never know it from watching that day , which , due either to doyle\\'s inexperience or yang\\'s humdrum direction , is almost perverse in its insistence on making the physical environment seem as drab and banal as possible . \\nin scrutinizing the long decay of a marriage , that day manages to capture the ennui of the experience , but none of the damage , none of the heartbreak . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a number of critics have decided that it\\'s open season on freddie prize jr . , slamming the young actor as an utterly talentless pretty boy on career cruise control in sound-alike , disposable teen fluff like \" head over heels , \" \" boys and girls , \" \" down to you \" and \" she\\'s all that . \" \\nwhile the prinze oeuvre is hard to defend , his talent is not . \\ni first saw him in the independent dark comedy \" the house of yes , \" where he gave a subtle , impressive performance as the younger brother in one of america\\'s freakiest families . \\nprinze has the acting chops ; he just needs to take a few supporting roles in some grown-up movies to show the non-believers that he has what it takes . \\n \" summer catch \" certainly won\\'t help his case . \\ninoffensive , but utterly generic , the baseball-related romantic comedy does little more than kill time . \\nthe story deals with the love affair between tenley ( jessica biel ) , a wealthy cape cod girl and ryan ( prinze ) , a local boy from a working class family who dreams of becoming a big-time baseball star . \\nryan\\'s preoccupation with his new honey-bunny drives her elitist father ( bruce davison ) crazy and endangers his position as pitcher with a cape cod summer league team . \\nit\\'s a wonder the kid has any time to pitch , as his time is occupied with making out with tenley , fighting with her dad , bonding with his own dad ( fred ward , who deserves better than this ) , fighting with his brother ( jason gedrick ) and carousing at a neighborhood bar with his teammates . \\nthe filmmakers desperately want to make a quirky , character-heavy baseball movie like \" bull durham , \" but haven\\'t got a clue how to get there . \\nand so they glide from one clich ? to the next for 108 minutes . \\nthe only bit of originality comes from marc blucas in a minor role as a center-fielder from texas . \\nin an early barroom scene , blucas , best known as demon-fighting riley finn from \" buffy the vampire slayer , \" hears a young woman compliment a guy on his ass , then turns to teammate matthew lillard and states , \" he does have a nice ass . \\na bubble butt . \" \\nwhen lillard gives him an \" are you insane ? \" \\nlook , blucas calmly says , \" it\\'s nothing sexual , \" then goes on to evaluate the hind-ends of some other players , including lillard\\'s . \\nspeaking of asses , prinze does not bare his in the movie . \\nthe actor has a no nudity clause in his contract , so two stunt-butts were employed for a couple of semi-nude shots . \\nblucas , whose character secretly dates a large woman throughout the story , gets another unique moment late in the film . \\nsick of hearing teammates make \" fat chick \" jokes , he climbs on top of a table and loudly declares his love of amply-sized ladies . \\nwhile his speech still ends up objectifying women , it remains a nice change of pace in a numbingly ordinary movie . \\ntrivial tidbit : \" summer catch \" marks a scooby doo summit . \\nmarc blucas appears in \" jay and silent bob strike back \" as fred from the scooby doo gang , while freddie prinze jr . plays the same character in the upcoming big budget film version of the old cartoon . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"who knew that in 16 years eddie murphy , who made such a brash , raucous big-screen splash in _48_hrs . _ , \\nwould become . . . \\ncuddly . \\nthe disconcerting trend begun in this summer's cutesy , largely laugh-free _doctor_dolittle_ continues with this earnest-to-a-fault dramedy . \\nalthough he is top-billed , here murphy is merely support for jeff goldblum , who plays ricky hayman , the programming director at a home shopping network . \\nsales are way down , and ricky's job hangs by a thread until he meets g ( murphy ) , a mysterious spiritual guru whom a desperate ricky puts on the air . \\nwhile sales skyrocket and g becomes an overnight sensation , the reinvigorated ricky's greed grows , endangering his budding romance with a goodhearted media research consultant ( kelly preston ) . \\nwriter tom schulman has some promising ideas , satirizing home shopping and infomercials and the nature of instant celebrity . \\nbut these ideas would have more bite if stephen herek had invested any energy into the direction of the film . \\nthe sluggishly paced _holy_man_ is not only slow and overlong ( 113 minutes ) , but an unfunny bore , and murphy can do little to juice up the proceedings ; cleansed of both the attitude _and_ comic sensibility that made him a star ( g is , for the most part , a straight man ) , he is a curiously lifeless presence . \\ngoldblum is actually quite good , but it's hard for the audience to sustain much interest in his character and spiritual journey when the director doesn't seem to be much interested , either . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"this is the movie not the perfume . \\na slow moving , stylish psychological thriller in imitation of hitchcock's vertigo . \\nit is adapted from an original story by brian de palma and paul schrader , and is directed by de palma and scripted by schrader . \\nset in new orleans , 1959 , it shows the wealthy michael courtland ( cliff robertson ) sitting on top of the world , celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary with a party in his mansion , as his lovely wife elizabeth ( genevi ? ve bujold ) and young daughter amy ( blackman ) , both look up to him beaming with joy . \\nhis real-estate development partner bob la salle ( john lithgow ) proposes a toast to him and to their prosperous business , while his high society friends give him their best wishes . \\nupon retiring for the night , his daughter and wife are kidnapped in their bedroom and he is left with a ransom note to deliver $500 , 000 tomorrow or they will be killed . \\ninspector brie ( stanley reyes ) comes up with a plan to put in phony money and a transmitter in the briefcase exchange , as that will lead them to the kidnappers . \\nbut the kidnappers burst out of the house surrounded by the police , taking the two victims with them and in the pursuing police chase , the kidnapper's car explodes and goes over the bridge , where none of the bodies were found . \\ngrieving the loss of his wife and child , the guilt-ridden michael builds them a tomb on the expensive land they were to develop . \\nsixteen years later he goes with his partner bob on a vacation and he revisits florence , italy , where he met his wife . \\nwhen he goes to the church where they met , he sees a young girl who looks exactly like his wife . \\nher name is sandra portinari ( genevi ? ve bujold ) and she's working there restoring art that is decaying . \\nhe falls instantly in love with her and doesn't heed bob's warnings that she might be a gold digger and decides to take her back to new orleans and marry her . \\nsandra becomes his second chance to prove his love , as he thinks he can finally put the past behind him . \\nthe surprises to come weren't really all that surprising , as the beauty in the storytelling is almost exclusively in the understated acting by the soul stricken cliff robertson , the emotionally impactful performance by genevi ? ve bujold , and the competent acting of john lithgow . \\nit plays too much like a rehash of the master's work , to break any new ground , yet it is still thrilling in its own way . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i swear i have seen the edge before . \\nin fact , it reminded me of the bear , the river wild , and other various films mixed into an entirely different film . \\nhowever , the edge has done something that most action films should do , and that is add heart and characters we like to the plot . \\nin doing so , the edge draws many more suspenseful moments out of cliched scenes than , say , the peacemaker . \\nunfortunately , because of those overused moments , we can pretty much guess the outcome of the film . \\nbut leave it to screenwriter david mamet to add humor and a few surprises to mess with your head . \\none surprise , in particular , left me smiling just because mamet actually had the guts to add it to his script . \\naction films are a dime a dozen in hollywood , and while they are somewhat successful at entertaining us , they lack the one thing which would make them a more respected genre : intelligence . \\neven horror films have learned this , a genre which is probably the least respected of them all . \\nthe river wild was one of the best action/suspense films i have seen from the 90s . \\nthe intelligence of the screenplay , and the suspense drawn from the realistic characters is nearly unmatched to this day . \\nthe edge has the intelligence and smart characters , but this time the lack of originality is the downfall . \\ni must admit that it was very suspenseful , and had an original third half , but the first hour and a half is riddled with cliches and plot holes . \\nthis is an example of the final act saving the film , instead of the other way around ( as in the lost world ) . \\nif only the screenplay had maintained the final thirty minutes\\' intensity , it could have become a great action film ( and i use the term loosely ) . \\nthe edge is pretty much a survival-of-the-fittest film . \\nbut taking scream\\'s lead , the edge makes fun of the genre\\'s cliches , and then uses them ( though not quite as effectively ) . \\ncharles morse ( anthony hopkins ) is the main character , a rich and very intelligent man who wonders what the accumulation of all this knowledge has brought to him . \\nfor once , we don\\'t immediately care for the main character . \\ninstead , we like bob ( alec baldwin ) , a photographer who is going to take pictures of charles\\' wife , mickey ( elle macpherson ) , out in the wilderness . \\nthey board a plane and head to a cabin somewhere in the arctic . \\ncharles\\' birthday is the same day , and he receives a gold watch from his wife , and a pocket knife from bob . \\nas action films go , these items do have importance to the rest of the story , but quite a bit more than we first expect . \\nsoon , however , bob wants to find a native to shoot pictures of because of his \" personality . \" \\ncharles , bob , bob\\'s assistant steve ( harold perrineau ) , and the pilot head off to find him , and as shown in the previews , hit a flock of birds flying south for the winter . \\ndown the plane goes , the pilot is killed , and the three are left to survive in the wilderness . \\ndirector lee tamahori is aware of the silly plot which is about to follow , and therefore has to create original ways to approach the situations . \\nhe succeeds often enough for us to enjoy the film . \\ntake , for instance , the entire man-hunting bear plot . \\nthis has been done many times in films with different animals , and even bears . \\nbut given the charles\\' intelligence , and bob\\'s uncertainty , many of the cliches are given fresh twists . \\neven charles himself seems to have seen these action films before . \\nmy favorite line of the film comes from charles : \" most people die in the wilderness because they didn\\'t do the one thing that could save their life . . . \\nthinking . \" \\ndespite the predictability of the main plot , a subplot develops late in the film which took me by surprise , and made me smile when i realized that everything isn\\'t as it seems anymore . \\ni have to write cautiously as to not reveal this surprise , so instead i will avoid it entirely . \\nthe first two-thirds of the edge have many humorous moments to push it along , and some of charles\\' survival techniques seem possible , even making fire from ice . \\ntamahori is able to create a lot of suspense from the stalking bear , but whenever the bear is present , the characters lose all sensibility . \\ni have always wondered why characters in films walk over a log to get across water . \\nwhy not do what an intelligent person would and crawl across ? \\ni guess getting chased by a bear makes your thought process turn off for a while . \\nthankfully , we already have begun to care for the characters , and so we let this small detail slide . \\nbut some of the technical details are awkward , such as the nice stitching done on the fur coat that charles and bob make ( where did they get thread and needles ? ) . \\nthe acting of the film is highly above average for a film of this nature , and borders on phenomenal . \\nanthony hopkins gives a terrific performance , creating his most likeable and layered character since remains of the day . \\nhopkins usually brings greatness to his roles , but here he exceeds at gaining the audiences\\' sympathy , something he definitely did not do in silence of the lambs . \\nalec baldwin gives one of his best performances i have ever seen ( it sure is better from his fair game ) . \\nbaldwin can be a good or a bad character , and here he succeeds at both in a way . \\nyou can never quite guess if he is a nice or a vllainous character until the end , and baldwin is able to handle the double-natured photographer . \\nelle macpherson gives a good performance , albeit slight . \\nshe isn\\'t in the film all that much , but for the scenes she does have , she handles as an actress , not as a model . \\nharold perrineau is a good actor , and his scenes are nice and underplayed . \\nhe is eliminated early , and i reveal nothing by saying this because it is inevitable and predictable . \\nthe edge is rated r for graphic violence , some gore , and language . \\nsome of the violence is a little too disturbing , even for me . \\nthis film is a nice change from the mindless action most of us are used to , but too many cliches bog it down . \\ndirector tamahori has created a very smooth and suspenseful action film out of recycled parts . \\ndavid mamet\\'s script , though , has a lot of humor to keep the first hour afloat , and the acting is solid . \\nthe best thing about the script is the ending which doesn\\'t end with the normal high-strung action sequence , but with a small detail involving a certain gift . \\nit\\'s a nice touch considering what we have had to go through with the bear . \\nand by the way , most people laughed when the film faded to black due to a large credit to bart the bear . \\nway to go , bart . \\n',\n",
+       " b'this is the last carry on film with its almost intact regular cast and it is the swansong of hattie jacques and sid james . \\ndick turpin ( sid james ) and his gang which includes harriett/harry ( barbara windsor ) and tom \" doc \" scholl ( peter butterworth ) , terrorise the countryside by staging highway robberies : \" stand and deliver ! \" \\nowing to the increased occurrence of turpin\\'s robberies , captain desmond fancey of the bow street runners ( kenneth williams ) and his sidekick sergeant jock strapp ( jack douglas ) visit turpin\\'s area of influence to bring him to justice . \\nthey are under the express orders of sir roger daley ( bernard bresslaw ) . \\ntheir intellect does not count for much and when they increasingly become suspicious of reverend flasher aka dick turpin ( sid james ) , whom they confided in earlier , they still cannot believe that the rector has any part in these robberies . \\nhowever , once they catch harriett and put her in jail , and sir roger daley takes complete charge , it seems that there is no hope for dick turpin . \\nthen again , sir roger has assigned the dimwits fancey and jock strapp aswell as the old dithering constable ( kenneth connor ) to keep an eye on their prisoner ! \\nthere is no doubt that this is a \\'sid james\\' carry on movie . \\nhe excels in double roles ( as in \\'carry on- don\\'t lose your head\\' ) and his performance as flasher and turpin is hilarious . \\nbarbara windsor is also funny as harriett the sex mad housemaid and member of the gang , and hattie jacques\\' small but effective role as the rector\\'s housekeeper martha hoggett is played to perfection . \\njack douglas plays a milder version of his excruciatingly annoying on-screen persona and kenneth williams is given a rather mundane part . \\npeter butterworth is not allowed to shine in his boring performance as tom , and bernard bresslaw\\'s character appears only briefly in the film . \\nthe only notable performance from the support cast comes from joan sims as madame desiree , who is travelling around the country escorting her starlets the \\'birds of paradise\\' and sporting a fake french accent . \\nwhen her girls and her are robbed by turpin , she is determined to catch him and helps the reverend to find the culprit ! \\na carry on by the numbers , this movie is only notable for the great performance by sid james in his last carry on movie . \\nthe jokes are bluer , the script is poorer ( it is the last script written by talbot rothwell ) , but the music is a marked improvement . \\nalthough nearly all the regulars appear , they seem to be just going through the motions . \\nnone of the high spirits of the earlier films are apparent here . \\njust a selection of crude jokes and repititive double-entendres . \\n',\n",
+       " b'bad movies described as \" a swift descent into sinful pleasure , decay , and debauchery \" are hard to watch . \\nbad 2000\\'s movies that resemble bad 1980s films are even harder to watch . \\nshadow hours falls into the latter category , a mish-mashed train wreck of b-movie actors ( including michael dorn , aka star trek\\'s worf ) , an uninteresting plot , vain attempts at capitalizing on the \" underground \" scenes of seedy los angeles , and really , really bad directing and horrendous music video-esque ballistic editing that was taught to me in film school right before i decided to drop out . \\nthe film revolves around the life of michael holloway ( balthazar getty ) who is trying to restart his life with his one-dimensional wife chloe ( rebecca gayheart ) after a nasty bout of drug and alcohol addictions . \\nmichael takes a job of working the graveyard shift at the local gas station and is bombarded by the ugliness and weirdness of the nightlife of l . a . one night , he meets a strange gent named stuart ( mr . buckaroo banzai , peter weller ) . \\nhe drives a porsche , smokes french cigarettes , and drones on about life , eventually coaxing mike into exploring the \" underbelly \" of l . a . together , a tour of punk bars , s&m clubs , and bare-knuckle fights . \\nthe film then throws in a murder mystery with a cop played peter greene , acting like he wants to get the chance at a reprisal of his role in the mask 2 . the film then simply dissolves into a cheap rip-off of dante\\'s inferno mixed with an old stephen j . cannell television pilot . \\nthe pace of the film is jarring and utterly without focus . \\nother horrors include the endless montages of people pumping gas and the charlie sheen , johnny depp , richard grieco-esque acting of balthazar getty . \\npeter weller clearly knows his career is completely gone and doesn\\'t give two shits about it . \\nand after the cheap exploitation of bondage clubs , dance clubs , and brothels - damn , isn\\'t anyone safe any more from the ugly eye of hollywood ! ? \\nway back in 1984 , a great but crazy director named abel ferrara made his worse film and called it fear city . \\nshadow hours reminds me of an almost perfect sequel . \\ndirector/writer : isaac eaton producers : peter alevey , andrea mia , shon greenblatt , balthazar getty starring : balthazar getty , peter weller , rebecca gayheart , peter greene , frederic forrest , brad douriff , michael dorn \\n',\n",
+       " b'how do films like mouse hunt get into theatres ? \\nisn\\'t there a law or something ? \\nthis diabolical load of claptrap from steven speilberg\\'s dreamworks studio is hollywood family fare at its deadly worst . \\nmouse hunt takes the bare threads of a plot and tries to prop it up with overacting and flat-out stupid slapstick that makes comedies like jingle all the way look decent by comparison . \\nwriter adam rifkin and director gore verbinski are the names chiefly responsible for this swill . \\nthe plot , for what its worth , concerns two brothers ( nathan lane and an appalling lee evens ) who inherit a poorly run string factory and a seemingly worthless house from their eccentric father . \\ndeciding to check out the long-abandoned house , they soon learn that it\\'s worth a fortune and set about selling it in auction to the highest bidder . \\nbut battling them at every turn is a very smart mouse , happy with his run-down little abode and wanting it to stay that way . \\nthe story alternates between unfunny scenes of the brothers bickering over what to do with their inheritance and endless action sequences as the two take on their increasingly determined furry foe . \\nwhatever promise the film starts with soon deteriorates into boring dialogue , terrible overacting , and increasingly uninspired slapstick that becomes all sound and fury , signifying nothing . \\nthe script becomes so unspeakably bad that the best line poor lee evens can utter after another run in with the rodent is : \" i hate that mouse \" . \\noh cringe ! \\nthis is home alone all over again , and ten times worse . \\none touching scene early on is worth mentioning . \\nwe follow the mouse through a maze of walls and pipes until he arrives at his makeshift abode somewhere in a wall . \\nhe jumps into a tiny bed , pulls up a makeshift sheet and snuggles up to sleep , seemingly happy and just wanting to be left alone . \\nit\\'s a magical little moment in an otherwise soulless film . \\na message to speilberg : if you want dreamworks to be associated with some kind of artistic credibility , then either give all concerned in mouse hunt a swift kick up the arse or hire yourself some decent writers and directors . \\nthis kind of rubbish will just not do at all . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i remember seeing the trailer of the black cauldron on the pinocchio video . \\nit really scared me , and i didn\\'t want to go see it . \\nhowever , after i heard about how wonderful it was , i wanted to see it . \\ni didn\\'t get a chance to do so , until now . \\nthe film , disney\\'s 25th animated feature , opens with a menacing shot of a great black cauldron unshrouded by mist as a narrator begins to tell the tale : a long time ago in the land of prydain , there was a king so evil , that his spirit was captured in the cauldron . \\nit has been hidden for centuries , and whoever possesses it will have the power to conjure up an army of deathless warriors , and with them rule the world ? and destroy it . \\nthen , we meet a farmer-wizard , dallben , and his young apprentice , taran . \\ntaran dreams of being a warrior instead of being a `pig-keeper\\' ( they have a pig named hen-wen ) . \\none day , as he gives hen wen a nice warm bath , the pig goes crazy , and dallben then realizes , after watching hen wen\\'s thoughts through a bucket of water , that taran must hide hen wen in the forest . \\nan evil ruler known as the horned king is searching for the black cauldron , and only hen wen has the power to show its location . \\ntaran leads hen wen into the forest , but of course , he loses her , and tries to go find her . \\nalong the way , he meets up with a mischievous little creature named gurgi , who desires `munchings and crunchings\\' , much to his dismay ( besides , he stole an apple that taran was trying to use to bring back hen wen ) . \\nwhen he hears hen wen\\'s squeal from far away , though , he races to her rescue ? only to see her get kidnapped by dragonlike gwythants . \\ntaran chases after the gwythants and finds himself staring at the horned king\\'s castle from far away . \\ntaran climbs the castle walls , and brings himself into the castle , where he attempts to rescue hen wen . \\nhe manages to do so , but he is himself captured and thrown into the dungeon . \\nthere , he meets princess eilonwy ( and her magic bauble , another thing which the horned king was hoping to use to find the cauldron ) , and the two escape through the deep castle walls . \\nalong the way , taran finds a sword in a burial chamber , and they rescue a comic bard named fflewdurr flamm , who has a harp whose strings break whenever he tells a lie . \\nthe three manage to escape the horned king\\'s castle , but not before taran realizes that his sword is magic . \\nas they rest in the forest , gurgi reappears , claiming to have found hen wen\\'s trail . \\nhe leads taran , eilonwy and fflewdurr , by way of `pig tracks\\' , to a whirlpool . \\nsuddenly , they all get sucked under , and they meet the fairy-like fairfolk . \\ntaran is reunited with hen wen , and informed that the black cauldron is hidden in the land of morva . \\nhe then devises a crazy idea that if they can destroy the cauldron , it would prevent the horned king from destroying their world . \\nwith the help of a grumpy fairy named doli , the four travelers manage to find themselves at a mysterious cottage . \\nit turns out to be no ordinary cottage ; three comically strange witches inhabit the place . \\nwhen taran tells them that they are searching for the black cauldron , they agree to let him have it ? in exchange for his sword . \\ntaran agrees , much to eilonwy\\'s horror , but at least they get the black cauldron . \\nbut ? the cauldron can\\'t be destroyed , only its evil powers can be stopped . \\nthe only way to do so is for a living being to climb into it of his own free will ? never to return alive . \\nthings take a turn for the worse when the horned king\\'s henchmen capture taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr , along with the black cauldron , and lead them back to the castle . \\ntaran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr watch in horror as the horned king unleashes the supernatural powers of the cauldron to ressurect his army of deathless warriors ( this is the most horrifying scene in the film , because here , a dead army comes alive ? ) . \\njust when all seems lost , though , gurgi reappears , and rescues taran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr . \\ntaran is about to jump into the black cauldron , but gurgi stops him , not wanting him to throw his life away . \\ngurgi then jumps into the black cauldron , and the deathless warriors decay . \\ntaran tries to find a way to rescue gurgi , but he is forced to do battle against the horned king . \\nhe kicks the horned king away , who is then magically sucked into the black cauldron , where its powers immediately destroy him completely . \\ntaran , eilonwy , and fflewdurr manage to escape from the horned king\\'s castle just as it self-destructs . \\nthe witches then reappear and attempt to take the now useless black cauldron away , but fflewdurr stops them , saying that they `never give anything away , they bargain\\' . \\nin response to this , the witches offer taran his sword back , but taran instead has a new trade : the cauldron for gurgi . \\nthe trade is made ; gurgi\\'s seemingly lifeless body reappears before the heartbroken group . \\nas taran cradles him in his arms , though , gurgi stirs-he is not dead after all ! \\nthe happy group then returns home , where hen wen ( brought home by the fairfolk once the dangers are past ) , dallben , and even doli , await their triumphant return . \\nas spectacular as it sounds , the black cauldron really suffered a lot in its past times . \\nbefore ron miller was fired from his position as chairman of walt disney productions , he had bought a novel by lloyd alexander called the black cauldron , a sword and sorcery tale for the studio . \\nbringing this book to the screen was the studio\\'s fondest dream . \\nmiller , who entitled himself as the executive producer , promised that they would do so after they had proved themselves on other projects . \\nwhen micheal eisner and his executives arrived at the disney animation studio , the animators were struggling to complete the black cauldron . \\nby this time , things had gone really rocky for the animation department . \\nmany of the studio\\'s old men had retired or died . \\ntherefore , the animators suffered a hard time making this film . \\noriginally budgeted at $25 million , the costs raised to $40 million because of constant changes on everything ? and when it was finally released on june 24 , 1985 , the black cauldron was greeted by praising reviews from some critics , but somehow the film flopped . \\nthe film was rated pg and the film , although `disneyfied\\' from lloyd alexander\\'s chronicles of prydain ( which is what this film is based on ) , was much more scarier and darker than disney\\'s other previous efforts , such as the rescuers and the fox and the hound , which is probably why so many people considered it too scary and stayed away from it . \\nin addition , other critics rejected it for having `no heart\\' and `unmemorable\\' , compared to other disney animated features . \\nbut whatever the real reason , the black cauldron was a financial disaster , grossing only $21 million . \\nthe failure of the film grounded the studio\\'s animation department , and exiled the animation team to annex buildings in nearby glendale , and it seemed like animated features would no longer become a part of the studio\\'s reputation . \\nthe next two disney animated features , the great mouse detective and oliver and company , although a little more lighthearted than the black cauldron , didn\\'t do much better ( although oliver and company grossed much more than the black cauldron and the great mouse detective ) . \\nonly with the little mermaid did the studio regain its reputation for successful animated features . \\nas for the black cauldron , it was rereleased in some cities for a temporary time under the title taran and the magic cauldron . \\nfinally , the studio locked the film in the film vault and denied that it ever even was released . \\nbecause of all this , you might ask yourself , was the black cauldron really such a bad movie ? \\nthe people who had seen the film didn\\'t think so . \\nin fact , many people had calls to buena vista home video requesting for the film , but of course , they denied it . \\nfor a while , it seemed like the black cauldron would never be released to video ? until september 1997 , disney released the black cauldron to video in the united kingdom . \\nfew people imported the video from england and converted to ntsc ( including me ) and for those who hadn\\'t seen the film yet ( i am included here ) , they got quite a treat . \\nbut people who had bootleg copies of the black cauldron noticed that in the scene where the horned king raises his army of deathless warriors , about 12 seconds of ghoulish looking skeletons were slightly trimmed so that the film would get a u rating ( in the uk , the u rating means universal : suitable for all ages , kinda like their own version of g ) . \\nsomewhere online , a team of diehard the black cauldron fans signed a petition that said , `bring back the black cauldron ! \\' , and because of that , disney finally decided to release the video to the united states . \\nbefore that time , rumors online had been made that the video would be trimmed , like the uk video , so that it would get a g rating , and that they would add in songs . \\nthose rumors were put to rest when the walt disney company announced that the black cauldron * would * be released in its pg rated version . \\neven still , when it was finally released to the us , some reaction was mixed . \\nsome felt that it was indeed cut , but some felt that it wasn\\'t . \\nbut these where only minor criticisms which seemed laughable , since a film that was absent for thirteen years was finally available . \\nas for myself , when i saw the movie for the first time ( on converted ntsc video ) , i didn\\'t expect much at all . \\nin fact , i had heard so many mediocre things about it , that i didn\\'t think the film would ever be such a good film . \\nmuch to my surprise , when i saw the first few minutes of the film , i was asking myself , \" this is the same film everyone saw ? \\nthe one that flopped at the box office ? \\nthe one that critics and filmgoers alike called \" a bad movie \" ? \\nthis doesn\\'t seem like all of the above . \\ninstead , it\\'s a classic in its own right . \\nthe film has a wonderful cast of characters . \\nthere\\'s taran ( grant bardsley ) , an assistant pig keeper who would rather be a warrior than a pig-keeper , the story\\'s hero . \\nthe critics have said that taran is not likeable at all , but the opposite is true . \\nhe is brave , loyal , and eventually learns a lesson about friendship later on . \\nthere\\'s a likeable character here ! \\nnot that he\\'s the only likeable character in the film . \\nthere\\'s gurgi ( john biner ) , a lovable little , uh , thing who remains loyal to taran , even though they don\\'t quite hit it off at first . \\nbut another likeable character is the bad guy comic henchman , a dwarf named creeper ( phil fondacairo ) , who is loyal to the film\\'s imaginative and sinister villain , the horned king ( voiced gruesomely by john hurt ) , yet he also fears his neck . \\nthe other characters , including the sidekicks , a spunky , but sweet princess named eilonwy and the comic bard fflewdurr flamm , and three comically wicked witches who hide a dark secret , although pleasant and likeable , aren\\'t quite as well rounded as they should be . \\nthe story itself is an adventurous one , a quest involving the mystical pig , hen wen , the black cauldron itself , and an army of deathless ones with everything : a hooking opening to a spectacular finale . \\nelmer bernstein\\'s music also tells the story perfectly , in a dark , yet calming manner . \\nthe animation itself is surprisingly good considering that this film was created in the darkest time of the studios . \\neven though there are some occasional effects that are not quite good , like the ground opening when the black cauldron rises out of the earth , the animation overall is top notch . \\noverall ? this film is an entertaining endeavor . \\nfans unfamiliar to the lloyd alexander chronicles of prydain will get a kick out of this one , except young kids . \\nthere are some extremely scary scenes which are more darker than disney\\'s other films ( although some consider the stampede sequence from the lion king and frollo observing esmeralda in the fires of hell in the hunchback of notre dame are just as scary ) , which is the main reason why this film is rated pg . \\nfans familiar to the lloyd alexander series will recognize the differences between the novel and the movie . \\neven though it doesn\\'t have all of the ingredients of a true disney film , this film is a classic in its own right , and deserves a far better chance than what it has been given . \\nthat better chance has finally come . \\nwhatever reason about why the black cauldron was such a big failure seems to have disappeared , and the film has finally achieved its place among disney\\'s most proudest achievements . \\ni can\\'t help but think though , whatever would have happened if the black cauldron * was * a box office success ? \\n',\n",
+       " b'the rapid-fire formula that worked so well in airplane ! , the \" police squad ! \" \\ntelevision series , top secret ! , three naked gun films , and two hot shots ! \\nmovies has finally reached a desperate dead-end with spy hard . \\neven ezio gregio\\'s the silence of the hams is arguably funnier than this over-extended spy- and action-movie spoof . \\nleslie nielsen stars as secret agent wd-40 , who returns from retirement to battle his old nemesis , general rancor ( a cackling andy griffith ) . \\nthe jokes fly in every direction and with hardly a hint of restraint , timing , or tact . \\nmost the movie is comprised of recycled airplane and naked gun gags , recreated movie sequences , and soggy star cameos . \\nyeah , maybe we * do * need ray charles driving an l . a . bus bound for a speed bump , but did mr . t , hulk hogan , and dr . joyce brothers also have to appear in the same movie ? \\nleslie nielsen plays it straight with his usual dopey flair . \\nthere is something oddly inspiring about the sight of nielsen wearing a nun\\'s habit , even the resulting sister act spoof is silly . \\nas are the bits directly lifted from home alone , pulp fiction , true lies , etc . etc . ( adolescent males might enjoy this mess , tho . \\nthe butt shots , breast peeks , penis pokes , flatulence gags , and related innuendo are right up beavis and butthead\\'s alley . ) \\nbeyond the hilarious title sequence with \" weird \" al yankovich performing the theme song , spy hard is barely the stock that it\\'s printed on . \\nmy recommendation : duck in while you\\'re waiting for another movie to start . \\nstay long enough to see the camera dart inside of weird al\\'s nostril and then leave . \\nyou won\\'t miss a thing . \\n',\n",
+       " b'as we see the terrible events that unfold before our eyes in the middle east at the moment , hollywood doesn\\'t loose the oppertunity to get involved , by telling stories and expressing opinions . \\nthis film centers on a relationship forged throughout the adult lifetimes of two marine colonels , hays hodges ( tommy lee jones ) and terry childers ( samuel l . jackson ) . \\nthey fought side by side in vietnam , where childers saved hodges\\' life by shooting an unarmed pow . \\nthat\\'s against the rules of war but understandable , in this story anyway , under the specific circumstances . \\ncertainly hodges is not complaining . \\nyears pass . \\nhodges , whose wounds make him unfit for action , gets a law degree and becomes a marine lawyer . \\nchilders , is now a respected and much-decorated hero that has served his country with his life and sould . \\nbecause of his excellent record , childers is sent to yemen to rescue the american ambassador ( ben kingsley ) , cowering in the embassy under assault from violent demonstrators and snipers blasting from rooftops . \\nchilders does what he has to do : evacuate the family and protect the men under his command . \\nafter three marines die and the colonel thinks he sees ground fire , he orders his troops to shoot into the firing crowd . \\nmore than 80 yemeni men , women , and children are mowed down . \\nchilders is immediately accused of ordering his men to fire on a crowd and murder of unarmed civilians . \\nhe persuades his old friend hodges to represent him in the courtroom drama that occupies the second half of the film . \\ndid childers violate authorized u . s . military rules of engagement ? \\nor are there simply no rules in war ? \\nthe answers to these stereotypical questions are obvious , but the inconsistent plot immediately raises all sorts of other questions . \\nthe murder of 83 \" innocent civilians \" has to result into something greater than a simple trial in the u . s . where is the accusations from the arab leaders ? \\nwhere is the u . n . ? \\nthe film ends without even telling the most interesting story : what happens on the international arena ? \\nthis film ( in a way akin to films such as \" a few good men \" ) has already been accused of breaking the rules of morality and ethics and even of racism . \\nthese accusations are pretty heavy , but also unfair . \\nwhat director william friedklin truly broke was the rules of decent filmmaking . \\none of the earliest apparent problems with \\'rules of engagement\\' is its lack of credibility . \\nthe entire operation in yemen may remind us about what happens in the middle east right now , but is overdone , contrived and unrealistic - as if a chain of events had to happen in a particular manner in order for the plot to proceed . \\na lot of it is so cheesy that no one could possibly accept it as reality . \\nthat is precisely why it\\'s not offensive . \\nit is completely unobjective . \\nmany stories are started and never finished . \\nmany questions are asked , but never answered . \\na lot of parallels are referring to nothing . \\nit seems that neither the director , producers or the screenwriter can make up their minds about the contents of their film . \\nis it about arab mentality ? \\namerica\\'s foreign policies ? \\namerica\\'s role in the world ? \\ncorruption in the higher circles ? \\nit goes on and on . \\nit consists of countless stories , but not a definable plot . \\nit tries to be everything for everyone and ends up being nothing for no one . \\ni think that it is ironic , because director william friedkin\\'s probably most acclaimed film was \" the exorcist \" which had a silly story , but became a rather effective film . \\nin this case you have a strong story with many possibilities and the result is a silly film . \\nthough several scenes bare the mark of professionalism ( such as the impressive battle scenes ) , his latest film does simply not engage . \\ni believe that friedklin is a director that is absolutely depended on great scripts and talented producers in order to succeed . \\nit\\'s obvious that he has neither and the result is therefore a catastrophe . \\nthe characters feel designed , unreal , merely shadows , with no life outside the conflict . \\neven the actors can not save this film from going under . \\nthough both jackson and jones act admirably , with performances that are as good as you get with a script like this , it is not something that these great actors can boast of . \\nthey have roles that they could play blindfolded with their hand on the back . \\njackson is gray and jones uninteresting . \\nthe rest of the cast , including ben kingsly , blair underwood and guy pearce are simply waiting for their paychecks . \\nthe time has come for the verdict . \\non the charges of complete lack of objectivity , i find this film guilty . \\non the charges of breaking the rules of reasonable filmmaking , i find it guilty . \\nbut on the charges of racism i find this film not guilty , because of it\\'s inconclusive and often silly plot that lacks objectivity everywhere , not only when concerning the arab population . \\ni must admit that the film is dangerously near the line of being racially offensive and i do think that screenwriter stephen gaghan went a bit too far , portraying the yemeni people almost as stereotypical hollywood bad-guys . \\nthis is very sad , since in a time like this it is crucial to not lose objectivity and proclaim the truth . \\nhowever , it is absolutely necessary to remember that the muslim terrorists are responsible for most of the terrorist activity in and outside the united states . \\nand that it\\'s not a coincidence that u . s . residents in the middle east , including yemen are on constant maximum alert . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"on april 12th , 1912 , the most astonishing shipwreck in the history of the world occurred . \\non that fateful night , the titanic sunk . \\nnow , more than 50 years later , a film has been made . \\nand what a film that is . \\njames cameron's newest movie is a landmark in storytelling , emotion , and special effects . \\nit starts in the present , where bill paxton and his band of scientists explore the depths of the ship's wreckage . \\nexploring an old chest , paxton comes across a nude drawing of a young woman . \\nthe drawing is televised and the woman ( gloria stuart ) whose portrait the painting is of comes forward and slowly but surely , the ship's story is told . \\nleonardo dicaprio stars as jack dawson , a young man with a sketch book , a heart of gold , an intelligent mind , and not much else . he wins his ticket aboard titanic in a poker game , and is the perfect match for rose dewitt bukater ( kate winslett ) . \\nshe grows to love jack , but seems unable to escape the slimy clutches of her arranged fiance' , cal hockley ( billy zane ) . \\nthe film takes its time , and by doing so , makes us care about its characters , and shows us the full aspects of human emotion . \\nthe leads shine ; there is no bad performance ; in fact , these do not seems like performances at all , but genuine people , trapped on the doomed vessel , facing certain death . \\nwatching this film , i was amazed at how vivid and real these situations feel : the time rose and jack spend together at a third-class-party ; the naivety that jack feels when he skecthes rose nude ; the terror felt by all onboard , as certain doom turns people into both cowards and heroes . \\nthis , the most expensive movie ever made , $200 million , is destined to make its profit back , and then some . \\nit also has more emotion and warmth than any other film this year . . even this decade . \\nit is also yet another first : the first $200 million dollar romance , and every critic in this country will agree that it was indeed , money extremely . . very \\n . . well \\nspent . \\n\",\n",
+       " b' \" the world on land -- it\\'s just too big for me . \" \\nstarring tim roth , pruitt taylor vince , bill nunn , clarence williams iii . \\nrated r . \\nthe legend of 1900s is the year\\'s most absurd movie , a rambling , nonsensical piece of seafaring garbage that goes nowhere fast . \\nit stars thespian extraordinaire tim roth , looking wistful as ever , as a guy named . . . \\n1900 . \\nyou heard right . \\nhis name is , in all actuality , 1900 . \\nhe was born on an ocean liner on 1/1/1900 ( uh , hence the name ) , abandoned and adopted by danny , a ship crewman . \\n1900 spends most of his early years hiding in the bowels of the ship because of danny\\'s fear that he might be taken away from him because of \" visa matters . \" \\nwell , when 1900 is about 9 or so , he starts wondering all around the ship . \\none day , he discovers a grand piano . \\nhe sits down and starts playing . \\nmiraculously , what comes out is beautiful . \\na group of onlookers gathers to watch this stunning prodigy make such amazing music at such a young age . \\nwhen one of the people who knows 1900 tells him that his playing the piano like that without permission is \" totally against regulations \" 1900 replies \" f * ck the regulations ! \" \\nho ho ho . \\n1900 grows up never setting foot on dry land . \\nwhen he\\'s about 30ish and can play the piano like nobody\\'s business , onboard comes another musician . \\nhis name is max ( pruitt taylor vince ) and he plays the trumpet . \\nafter 1900 catches max barfing everywhere during a storm , he sits him down on the piano next to him , takes the piano\\'s braces off and plays while the piano flies all around the hall , taking them with it . \\nhow the chair they\\'re sitting on and the piano don\\'t separate , i don\\'t know , but this apparently isn\\'t the kind of thing we\\'re supposed to ask . \\nafter that , 1900 and max become friends . \\nmax is determined to get 1900 off the ship and discover what he is missing on land , but 1900 has no intention of doing so . \\nwhat\\'s more , he doesn\\'t even want his music to go anywhere without him : when a record company hears about his talents , they come on board to make a record of his music , but after finding out that -- gasp ! \\n-- they\\'re going to make millions of copies , he breaks the record . \\nthe conflict of the movie is that after max , unsuccessful in his endeavor to get 1900 off the ship , gets off himself , he stumbles upon a record of 1900\\'s music in a store . \\nthe record shouldn\\'t exist because a ) 1900 never stepped on dry land and b ) the one record that was made on the ship was broken . \\nladies and gentlemen , it\\'s a mystery ! \\nthe story itself is ludicrous and uninteresting and so are its elements . \\nwe\\'re supposed to be roused by a climactic . . . \\npiano duel ? \\nthere isn\\'t anything in this movie with the potential to compel . \\n1900 comes off as a whiny , brooding , extremely unlikable man : i can\\'t recall a single word he said that was not some sort of depressing pseudo- meditation on life . \\nditto for max , who doesn\\'t seem to have a life outside his friendship with 1900 . \\ntim roth plays 1900 with about as much panache as a fig leaf ; there\\'s no spirit , no gusto to the character . \\nhe insists that he leads a happy life on the ship , but to us he is dead . \\npruitt taylor vince is a little more palatable , at least providing a moment of comic relief here and there to liven things up a bit . \\nthe highlight of the movie would have to be the eminently amusing clarence williams the iii as the arrogant , leering \" king of jazz \" who challenges 1900 to the aforementioned piano duel . \\nthe legend of 1900 was made by giuseppe tornatore , whose 1988 cinema paradiso is considered a masterpiece by many . \\nthis effort is utterly limp and lifeless . \\nat once ridiculous , boring , narrow-sighted and pointless , this is one movie that should be -- and will be -- quickly forgotten . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the question isn't why has grease been reissued . \\nthe answer to that one is easy : to celebrate the movie's 20th anniversary and to make more bucks for paramount's coffers because john travolta is once again a hot commodity . \\nno , the question that ought to be asked is : should grease be reissued ? \\nthe answer is not an easy one . \\ngrease is a fun movie , an entertaining fantasy of the '50s , embodying all the cliches of that era . \\nthe music is lively and the dance numbers , choreographed by patricia birch , are energetic and high-spirited . \\ntravolta was at his pinnacle as a sexual icon , cool , but non-threatening . \\nbut grease didn't break any new cinematic ground . \\nit was not a milestone in movie history such as citizen kane or easy rider . \\nwhat grease is - or has become - is the highest-grossing musical in film history . \\nok , let's not be a spoilsport . \\ngrease is a fun and entertaining movie , even though it stretches credulity to see such performers as travolta , olivia newton-john , taxi's jeff conaway and the multi-talented stockard channing try to act like high schoolers . \\nit's nostalgic to recall how good a dancer travolta was , and it's sad to think of what could have been had not a few missteps sidetracked his career . \\nhe could have become a musical comedy star in the tradition of gene kelly . \\ncinematically , the musical comedy has basically gone the way of the dinosaur . \\nbetween grease and 1996's evita . , you can probably count the number of movie musicals on one hand . \\ntwo reasons have contributed to the demise of the genre : the first is that movie audiences have become more sophisticated , no , make that cynical and jaded . \\ntoday , if a character began to dance and sing with no orchestra in sight , he or she would probably be hooted off the screen . \\ntoday's audiences lack the innocence , that belief in movie magic that is required for a musical to succeed . \\nsecondly , a lack of talent . \\nperformers with the charisma , the style , the larger-than-life panache of fred astaire , gene kelly , ginger rogers and judy garland are gone . \\nmost singers and dancers remain on the stage , and those who do succeed in movies usually wind up in serious dramatic parts . \\na good example is gregory hines , one of the greatest dancers in the world . \\nhe danced a bit in the cotton club , tap and white nights , but those were essentially dramatic vehicles . \\nso , perhaps the reissue of grease can serve a purpose . \\nif audiences show enough interest , meaning if the re-release earns the studio enough revenue , it may spark a revival in movie musicals . \\nperhaps not original musicals such as singin' in the rain , an american in paris or seven brides for seven brothers , but for broadway properties that have been in the planning stages for film adaptations for several years . \\nat one time or another , according to the industry rumor mill , hollywood has been set to create an animated version of andrew lloyd webber's cats , a filming of the popular phantom of the opera as well as les miserables and chicago , the latter reportedly to star madonna . \\nso , let this grease be the forerunner of an armada of movie musicals . \\nlet grease be the word that sparks this revival . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'frank detorri\\'s ( bill murray ) a single dad who lives on beer and junk food with no apparent understanding of sanitation or hygiene , much to the dismay of his preteen daughter shane ( elena franklin ) . \\nwhen he uses the \\'10 second rule\\' to retrieve a hard boiled egg from a chimp\\'s cage at the zoo and downs it , he introduces a lethal bacteria into his system . \\ninside his skin , the city of frank is in turmoil thanks to the vote-pandering of mayor phlegmming ( voice of william shatner ) , so it\\'s up to one frank pd white blood cell ( voice of chris rock ) to save the day in peter and bobby farrelly\\'s \" osmosis jones . \" \\nthe city of frank is a brightly animated ( animation directed by piet kroon and tom sito ) cellular municipality where osmosis jones is a typical rogue cop looking for another chance . \\nhe\\'s inadvertently teamed up with drix ( voice of david hyde pierce , tv\\'s \" frasier \" ) , a cold capsule with 12 hours worth of painkillers to dispense . \\nthis quarrelling duo are about to go on a \" fantastic voyage \" in order to hunt down thrax ( voice of laurence fishburne ) , the virus intent on shutting down frank . \\nwhile the animation is certainly colorful to look at , osmosis jones\\' story is a hackneyed one . \\nthe story cries out for puny puns , but we only get occasional sprinklings of wit or bodily humor ( drix graduated phi beta capsule , he departs on a bus headed for bladder ) . \\nneither the hero or villain is particularly interesting ( thrax looks like an animated \" predator \" ) , although hyde pierce is a delightful sidekick . \\nadults can desperately keep their eyes peeled for small amusements the animators dot along the landscape . \\nmeanwhile , back in live action land , bill murray is reduced to nothing more than a walking gross-out joke . \\nthere\\'s no particular enjoyment to be found watching him vomit on molly shannon ( she plays shane\\'s teacher , mrs . boyd ) or hoisting his ingrown toenail onto a restaurant table . \\none must wonder how the climatic flatlining of a child\\'s father will play to the family audience as well . \\nrest assured , the whole enchilada is wrapped up with a fart joke . \\nwhile far less offensive than the farrelly\\'s last effort \" me , myself and irene , \" that film at least spiked some comic highs with jim carrey\\'s hijinx . \\n \" osmosis jones \" will probably be ok for the kids , but the farrellys playing for the family audience is like watching marilyn manson croon a phil collins tune . \\n',\n",
+       " b'plot : two sister witches have to live with a curse placed upon their family , which prevents them from ever enjoying a full life with a lover . \\nthe hex invokes the eventual demise of their loved one . \\nwhen one of their past loves comes back to haunt them , they have to figure a way out of their eternal dilemma . \\ncritique : i\\'ve been waiting for a good witch movie for a while now , but hold on to your brooms and incantations , cause this puppy is far from being it ! \\nfor a film that has the word \" magic \" in its title , this movie contains very few moments of magic . . . or \\nhumor for that matter , drama , suspense , or romance . \\nwell actually , there is some manufactured romance within a plot that is so muddled , it never lets you in on whether it\\'s a comedy , a drama , a horror show , or a murder mystery . \\nor maybe it\\'s a romance , eh ? \\nit doesn\\'t really matter , cause the characters in the film are so boring and uninteresting , that you have absolutely no basis on which to care for them , or the film as a whole . \\nif only the filmmakers had spent as much time on the plot as they did the sinfully obvious soundtrack , this film might\\'ve had a chance to be more than what it is now . \\nwhich is an unentertaining , crappy film that uses the witch angle as a diversionary tactic to weave us away from its grab-bag of stupid voice-overs , overdone songs , melodramatic romance , undeveloped story and uneven acting . \\ni only wish that i could make that one hour and forty-five minutes of my life re-appear , but alas , it is lost in the spiritual world of \" interesting ideas gone wildly awry \" . \\nlittle known facts about this film and its stars : this film is based on the novel written by alice hoffman . \\nco-screenwriter akiva goldsman also wrote the screenplay for 1997\\'s batman & robin . \\ndirector griffin dunne is known mainly as an actor in such films as an american werewolf in london and after hours . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the premise of this movie is , well , pretty far-fetched . \\ntom berenger plays shale , a mercenary who is temporarily out of work ( those fools at the cia have denied his existence just because he and his buddies botched a job in cuba ) . \\nfortunately , his girl friend ( diane venora ) , a teacher at christopher columbus high school in miami , gets her knee cap broken by a disgruntled student , creating a job opening for shale as a substitute teacher . \\nnot telling his girl friend , who might object on pedagogical grounds , he creates a number of fake higher degrees for himself ( from yale , harvard , princeton , et al ) and begins his tenure as a high school teacher . \\nthe students ( junkies , drug dealers , gang members , sleazy sluts , ice-pick wielders . . . you \\nget the picture ) don\\'t really take to him right away , so he hits one in the face with a can and breaks a few fingers . \\nthis gets their attention to a certain extent , so he tells them the story of the vietnam war : \" see , some homeboys from the north tried to muscle in on the turf of the homeboys from the south . \" \\noh yeah , now they can dig it ; the problem is just that nobody ever explained it properly before . \\nbut wait ! \\nthere are drugs being dealt in the school itself ! \\nand behind the whole scheme , in cahoots with the head gang , the kod ( no , not \" cod \" , but \" knights of destruction \" . . . really ! ) , is none other than . . . the \\nupright , ex-cop principal , played by the forgotten ghostbuster , ernie hudson ! \\nso shale does what any good teacher would do . \\nhe gets his buddies together , they gather together a bunch of bazookas and other major weapons , explosives , and cool stuff like that , and they have a big showdown against the drug dealers and kod at the high school . \\nok , so the premise is not just far-fetched , it\\'s downright dumb . \\nif this were a hong kong action comedy , we might just accept it , but it takes itself far too seriously to be truly fun . \\noh , it has its moments ; how one can truly hate a movie in which huge ( really huge ) amounts of cocaine are delivered in school busses ? \\nand to be fair , it is almost never really boring , as the action is interrupted by only short sequences of actual story . \\nbut over all , this is pretty much a made-for-tv movie with more ( and bigger ) explosions and more foul language . \\nin fact , it reminded me of \" miami vice \" without the production values , babes in skimpy bikinis , and pastels . \\nif you can sneak into the theater without paying , go for it . \\notherwise , wait for video . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b'annie wilson ( cate blanchett ) , a widow who struggles to raise her children in a small town in georgia is asked for help by local authorities in solving the case of a missing woman . \\nannie is something of a psychic , she has involuntary bouts with the supernatural where she can see the past and the future and physically feel the actions happenning to her she envisions . \\nher \" gift \" leads to the arrest of a nasty wife beater who may or may not have killed the pretty rich girl found in the swamp on his property . \\nin an ultra conservative backwoods town will her testimony based on her psychic visions hold up in court ? \\ndo they even have the right man ? \\nwhat\\'s good about it : \\naside from keanu reeves giving one of the best performances of his career as the loathable redneck donnie barksdale , there is little else going for the film . \\nwhat\\'s not so good about it : \\nlame , unoriginal screenplay . \\npredictable ending . \\nsuspense scenes that are just plain boring . \\nridicously trite characterization makes the entire south out to be ingnorant , hateful goobers . \\nrelentless in its emotional sensationaliztion . \\noverall critique : \\n \" the gift \" is one of those movies that makes you wonder where you\\'ve seen this story before . \\nit\\'s a collection of every cliche and stereotype of the south ever made , and coming from a yankee like me who dislikes the south that\\'s really saying something . \\nfor an established , talented director sam raimi is unable to provide any kind of originality to this film . \\nit\\'s predictable from the first scene , the screenplay is written like a rip-off of a photocopied bootlegged play . \\nyou know that as nasty as the murder suspect is he didn\\'t actually do it . \\nit\\'s no surprise either who the real villain turns out to be and what their motive was . \\nsigh , how trite . \\nfor a supernatural thriller this is neither scary nor intense because it\\'s so cliche . \\n \" the gift \" is basically a glorified b-movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"there must be some unwritten rule that states , one gets enlightenment not in the way one expects to get enlightenment but in the commitment given to seeking wisdom , even if it is a foolish road one is on and it seems to be leading nowhere . \\nin the exotic morocco of 1972 , a 25-year-old english hippie mother , julia ( winslet ) , of two sweet young girls , the 6-year-old lucy ( carrie ) and the 8-year-old bea ( bella ) , has arrived for a year's stay , with the self-absorbed mother oblivious to how her daughters might be adjusting to this foreign experience while she is searching for a change of life from her unfaithful poet husband ( she is not officially married to him ) and her cold one-room london flat , and is sort of looking for the eternal truth in the sunny climate of marrakech . \\nat least she says she is , as she is making some attempt to contact a sufi sheikh there who has all the answers . \\nshe has not planned things out too carefully , having no money , and the trip doesn't seem like it's much fun , more like a misadventure , with some romance with a local moroccan thrown in . \\ndrugs , a world-wide youthful phenomena during this period , where many westerners came to morocco to smoke the good hashish found there and to live the 'good life' cheaply , and to be in a spot where they did not have to worry about being hassled by the local authorities , even though drugs are illegal there . \\nbut this is not shown as one of her reasons for being here . \\nin this film , the subject of drugs is never broached , only hinted at in an off-handed but slurring way , as the hippie commune is shown in a negative light , strumming on their guitars and bragging about the hits of acid they have taken . \\neven the ones coming here for spiritual reasons , to follow the mystical sufis , seem lost following a culture that is far different from where they were coming from . \\nthe film is based on the novel that contained the autobiographical experiences of sigmund freud's grand-daughter , esther freud , who traveled here in the 1960s with her mother and sister . \\nit is written by the director's brother , who has previously directed regeneration , the playboys , and trojan eddie . \\nthe title of the film comes from the squealing giggles that saying hideous kinky gives the little girls . \\nwith julia strapped for cash and not receiving a needed check her husband often forgets to send her , she is prevented from seeing the greatest living sufi who is located in algeria ; so instead , she meets an acrobat street performer in the bazaar , bilal ( said taghmaoui ) . \\nhe becomes her lover , taking the place of her husband as a father figure for the girls . \\nthe girls readily accept him , and there is no big-to-do made about their openly sexual relationship , but the girls really don't know what to make of the relationship . \\nit especially bothers bea , who is embarrassed by her mother's loose attitude and wants to go home . \\nthings go surprisingly sour when bilal takes them to stay in his small village . \\nit seems only that bilal's charm is matched by his shiftlessness , as he has a wife who still lives there . \\nthis scene didn't make too much sense as to why he would take them there knowing the situation , unless the uneducated man was totally uneducated in the customs of his people , also . \\nbut i doubt that . \\nthe family is now stuck without money in a backward area trying to decide what to do next , as they hitch a ride away from there with a truck driver who nearly kills them when he falls asleep by the wheel . \\nlucy takes it all in stride and has a good disposition for travel , while bea just wants to go to a school and learn something and be a 'normal' girl . \\nthe beauty of marrakech is matched by the terrific performance of kate winslet , as the film accurately encapsulates the timeless city and its bustling street scenes , expansive views , illustrious mosques , and grand sunsets . \\nkate enacts the feel of what it was like to be a westerner , living out the countercultural experiences while awaiting to gather her sensibilities again and was fortunate enough to be able to go home the better off for her experiences , as many a drop-out reluctantly had to do after their stay ran out of money and purpose . \\nthe background music from groups like america and jefferson airplane , provided further nostalgia for this easy to look at and easy to grasp film . \\nthe only hope was that the two innocent girls would not be permanently harmed while on this sojourn , a venture that should be reserved only for those of college age or older who choose to go there for themselves . \\nthe family's travel , which is on the edge , has julia waking up screaming from dreams that are bleakly haunting ; but , when she gets up , all there is , is this splendid emptiness all around her and a vacuous life that is starting to bother her . \\nthat marrakech is disarmingly gorgeous and that london is old hat to her , is starting to wear thin in her thoughts . \\nit will dawn on her , when bea takes ill , as she reflects on what the sufi guru tells her , whom she finally meets and is driven to tears in his presence . \\nhe is the guru who replaced the one she wanted to see but who died before she got a chance to see him . \\nthe new guru is grounded in reality , something she is not grounded in , and seems to tell her what she couldn't comprehend from anyone else , even comforting her , by telling her that her tears are memories- a gift from god . \\nthe film's weakness was the empty feeling i got from watching the story unfold in its risk free tenor ( she was there basically to be just escaping from her situation ) and how unappealing the love affair seemed between bilal and julia . \\nthe storyline about a helpless single parent , detracted from the vibrant experiences many others of her same baby-boom generation had during their trip to morocco , who were taken in by the mystical culture of sufism , a teaching that has a lot to offer its followers , contrary to the impression the film might give , seemed to pass her by . \\nher knowledge of that trip is only surface deep , at best . \\nshe perhaps would have been better off not taking the kids along , smoking some hashish , and have been less assured of herself but to have behaved more like a hippie and she wouldn't have been so uptight all the time and had some fun on her journey . \\nafter all , the mystical trip is the journey . \\nthe film's strength is in how all the characters are shown for what they are , and no one is that good or that bad , or judged too harshly for their shortcomings . \\nbilal is unreliable but is capable of generosity . \\nthe little girls are precocious but they are lovable . \\njulia , the cornerstone the film is built on , is a mother who cares about the children but doesn't know how to take care of them without unintentionally harming them . \\nshe was trying to escape from reality and that by returning to london , she has another chance to see if she can find the key to this world or whatever world she is looking for and should no longer have nightmares about where she's at . \\nthis is a very freudian way to look at things , as this sudden realization , that things are not right puts an an end to her eastern hippie odyssey , at least , for the time being . \\nand , after all is said and done , who's to say if the children are also not better off for surviving their experiences , just like she probably was ! \\n\",\n",
+       " b'denzel washington is among the many actors this holiday season to give very impressive milestone performances . \\nthis perhaps may be washington\\'s very best to date . \\nhe joins matt damon and jim carrey in having the talent , this season , to become his character , copying mannerisms and personal styles perfectly . \\nhis very believable performance makes the long and uninteresting \" the hurricane \" a much better film than it actually is . \\nwhen his rubin \" hurricane \" carter feels pain and is tormented by racism , he creates for the audience a great sense of sympathy , disgust , and maybe even some embarrassment from the fact that this is our very own country that is breaking laws to support silly prejudices . \\nthe horrific true events carter suffered from all of his life are slightly more disturbing and terrifying because they only took place a few decades ago . \\nthe powerful expressions of denzel washington alone , as his tortured carter , sum up the troubles of racism in america\\'s history . \\nhe is that amazing . \\nthe problem with \" the hurricane \" is that when compared to washington , all of the other actors are not nearly as memorable in their roles . \\nmainly because the script focuses so much on carter , that it leaves little interest or room for the other actors . \\nthis is , without a doubt , washington\\'s movie but in order for any film to be completely satisfying , it must utilize everyone in the cast to their highest potential not just the stars . \\ndenzel washington is the only reason to see this film for his inspirational and very depressing tour de force performance . \\nas rubin carter , we see a black man whose existence has been a punching bag for the white american court system . \\n>from the age of eleven to twenty one he was sent to a juvenile prison for a crime he did not commit . \\nthen after a successful marriage and boxing career , he was harshly imprisoned again for life after being framed for a triple murder . \\ncarter\\'s second term in prison seemed almost inevitable when faced off against jealous , powerful white men who refused to let him succeed . \\nfrom these past experiences in jail , carter realized that he must make his case heard for all of america . \\nafter several court appeals , an autobiography , and many public marches for his freedom , carter remained locked in prison . \\nit was not until a young black boy from brooklyn being educated in toronto read carter\\'s book in the 1980\\'s , that a serious battle for freedom took place . \\nthe young boy and his three canadian guardians decide to dedicate all of their time to the case until carter is released . \\nthe greatest scenes in the film are when carter begins to lose his mind after spending three months in isolation . \\nwashington really shows the breakdown of carter when after swearing he would never go to jail again , he is unfairly framed at the height of his innocent career . \\nthe devastation in washington\\'s eyes show a man who has struggled to do the right thing his whole life only to be punished for it . \\nin the hole , carter attempts to maintain emotional balance but he cannot . \\nhis anger is heightened to a point of no control . \\nwe see multiple carters , a violent angry one , a silent passive one , and a mediator . \\nwe see an emotional boxing match inside carter\\'s head . \\nfrom this point in the hole to the end of the film , this fight continues . \\nit is very apparent at times which side is winning the battle and in some scenes there is a direct switch from angry to caring or the opposite . \\nwhen carter sees that white canadians want to help him get out of prison , the angry carter at first erupts . \\nwhite people have been trying to hurt him his whole life , this reminder leads to anger in his head . \\nhowever , as the film continues and the canadians continue to help carter we see the calm side him . \\nhe realizes that society is changing . \\nthat racism is decreasing and now carter wants to leave jail immediately and become a part of this world . \\nvery rarely have i seen such determination to perfect his role as washington has done here . \\nif only the other actors had this same determination . \\ndan hedaya , ridiculously plays the man who sends carter to prison twice by forcing witnesses to lie and switching evidence around . \\nit felt like his character was taken straight out of a \" scooby doo \" episode ; he would have gotten away with it if it wasn\\'t for those annoying little kids . \\n \" the kids \" in this film are the three canadians who are terribly underused making their relationship with carter underdeveloped and unbelievable . \\nthe lawyers who help release carter also are underused , as is clancy brown as a kind prison guard ( the complete opposite of his character in \" shawshank redemption \" ) . \\nthere is a great amount of talent in this supporting cast but it just never appears . \\nhedaya was superb in \" clueless , \" same for david paymer in \" get shorty , \" harris yulin in \" ghostbusters \" and liev schreiber in \" the daytrippers . \" \\nit is a mystery how this many actors signed on to such shallow roles . \\non the other hand , it is absolutely no mystery why denzel washington agreed to play rubin \" hurricane \" carter . \\nthis role is about as far off from shallow as you can get . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ingredients : james bond , scuba scene , car controlled by cellular telephone \\nsynopsis : warped media tycoon elliot carver ( jonathan pryce ) plots to start a war between britain and china in order to boost ratings by using a \\'stealth ship\\' to fire a captured british missile at the city of beijing . \\nsuper-agent james bond ( pierce brosnan ) uses trick gadgets , pluck , and charm in order to foil carver\\'s scheme . \\nthis time bond teams up with top female agent wai lin from china ( michelle yeoh ) . \\nthe film contains fights , chases , gadgets , and comedic moments . \\nopinion : it does not have a casino scene or a ski scene , but tomorrow never dies is nevertheless a solid , enjoyable bond movie . \\nit neither stands out nor disappoints . \\nin old bond movies bond sometimes teamed up with american cia agent felix leiter . \\ntomorrow never dies introduces a new character in the form of chinese agent wai lin . \\nlike leiter\\'s character , wai lin would be a sure bet for a cameo in a later bond movie . \\nstars : michelle yeoh was born a leo in the western zodiac in the year of the tiger on the asian astrology calendar . \\ni don\\x12t believe in horoscopes . \\nbut at an airport i once browsed an astrology book with a section on leo tigers ( lts ) . \\n \" leo tigers prefer enough solitude to grow at their own pace . \\nlts are unbelievably courageous when facing adversity . \\nthe lt is also classy , and has an excellent sense of refinement , but she sees herself as an adventurer , and prefers freedom of movement rather than flashy status symbols . \\nthis person loves family and friends with a fierce loyalty . \\nshe delights in siblings , nephews , nieces and extended family - - but she must have her personal freedom to come and go as she pleases . \\nsometimes annoyance at injustice drives her to take up one or two causes . \\nin love life , the lt has an unfortunate mental block against committing to any partner who is less powerful than she . \" \\nin real life , michelle yeoh is asia\\'s top female star . \\nlike jackie chan , she does her own stunts . \\nshe was born in malaysia - - a country of many languages - - and her primary language ( the language she speaks in her sleep ) is english . \\nshe was taught malay in school , and learned cantonese from bilingual parents . \\nas an athlete michelle represented malaysia internationally . \\nshe enjoyed squash , diving , swimming , and rugby . \\nshe studied ballet at the royal academy of dance in london , but switched to drama after a spinal injury . \\nin 1983 she won the miss malaysia pageant - - without really intending to , since a family member had entered her in the contest without her knowledge . \\nnotoriety from the contest led eventually to a movie career as an action heroine . \\nmichelle has survived a divorce with asian retail tycoon dickson poon ; a nearly fatal stunt accident falling from a freeway overpass which put her in the hospital for three months , and ; a retirement from the movies . \\nher comeback from retirement , supercop ( 1992 ) became the top grossing film in asia that year . \\nit is not clear what michelle\\x12s martial arts style is , but it may be a theatrical version of wing chun . \\nof her character wai lin in tomorrow never dies , michelle says , \" wai lin is the first bond girl who is on a par with bond , someone who can match up with him mentally and physically . \" \\nmy own opinion is that casting michelle yeoh as agent wai lin was an excellent choice . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"this was the last carry on movie ( if you discount 'carry on columbus' as a carry on movie ) and was made by a new production company . \\nbased in central london , this movie is about the attempts by emmanuelle prevert ( suzanne danielle ) to bed her husband emile the french ambassador ( kenneth williams ) . \\nwhen he seems unwilling , she is given his permission to bed anyone she likes , such as the prime minister and the u . s . ambassador . \\nher antics get her into trouble and the british press spread these rumours all over their front pages . \\nshe is invited to talk on television to set the record straight but only confirms the rumours instead . \\nmeanwhile , theodore valentine ( larry dann ) is in love with emmannuelle after a chance encounter in the toilet of the concorde and is determined to marry her . \\nhowever , she is only interested in restoring her husband's ardour which seems a little difficult after emile's accident with a church spire ! \\nthis film is the second worst carry on movie , the worst being 'carry on england' . \\nit is embarassing to see some of the remaining regulars struggle through this diabolical script by lance peters and try to pull off some of the crude and tasteless jokes that he has written . \\nnewcomers suzanne danielle and beryl reid ( as mrs . valentine ) are mildly funny , but larry dann as theodore is excruciatingly bad . \\nkenneth williams only appears in a few scenes and his lacklustre performance is warranted , given the script . \\nthe small parts for jack douglas as lyons the butler , joan sims as mrs . dangle , kenneth connor as leyland the chauffeur , and peter butterworth as richmond , are worthless and embarassing . \\nin fact , all four parts are surplus to requirements . \\nhowever , the only humourous scene in the film is when the four of them and emmannuelle talk about their most amourous escapades . \\nan awful script , a terrible collection of jokes , very poor production values ( especially the scene where emmannuelle takes her clothes off at st . james palace ) , a ludicrous and cringeworthy musical score , and a non-existent plot or storyline . \\nits just a succession of awful set pieces about who emmannuelle will bed next ! \\njack douglas is not so annoying but is more boring , joan sims and peter butterworth are wasted , and kenneth connor and kenneth williams put in some poor performances as leyland and emile . \\na complete waste of time , this movie was trying to catch up with the new sexually permissive seventies . \\nit was a certificate 15 film but by 1978 , there was little interest in this kind of film and it flopped at the box office and was only given its premiere on uk terrestrial television in april 1998 ! \\navoid at all costs ! \\n\",\n",
+       " b'defending your life is an imaginative vision of the afterlife from the twisted mind of writer-director albert brooks , who also stars in the comedy . \\nafter dying in a car crash , on his birthday of all days , brooks wakes up in judgement city , a satirical rendition of purgatory where higher beings evaluate the lives of newly deceased earthlings . \\nbrooks has five days to convince two judges that he\\'s worthy of passing on to higher plains of existence . \\nenter rip torn as the slick lawyer who defends brooks in court against prosecutor lee grant . \\nduring his \" trial , \" brooks must view episodes of his life on a movie screen , and these scenes are both hysterically funny and painfully poignant . \\nit\\'s impossible to resist chuckling ( and cringing ) at brooks as he and torn try to explain away his cowardly behavior on earth . \\ntorn , in particular , is in vintage comic form , and he walks away with the picture . \\nthe movie also features meryl streep , appealing as the love-interest , and shirley maclaine , who pops up in a hilarious cameo . \\nwhile the film is uneven , many of its gags are price less . \\ntake , for example , the food in judgement city : it\\'s always the most delicious you\\'ve ever tasted . . . \\nand it\\'s also calorie-free--so chow down ! \\n',\n",
+       " b'towards the middle of \" the sweet hereafter , \" a crowded school bus skids on an icy road surface as it rounds a bend , careens through the steel guard rail , and disappears out of sight . \\nthen , in long shot , we see the vehicle slowly sliding across what looks like a snow-covered field . \\nit pauses for a moment before the \" field \" cracks under the bus\\' weight and the bright yellow vehicle vanishes in an effortless moment , a single smooth second of time . \\ncompare that scene , if you will , to the last eighty minutes of \" titanic , \" when the behemoth sinks slowly and spectacularly to its watery demise , and you\\'ll appreciate the futility of comparing greatness in films . \\nthe scene in \" the sweet hereafter \" epitomizes all that\\'s right with independent canadian director atom egoyan\\'s film . \\nit\\'s not sensational . \\nwe don\\'t see the inside of the bus with its payload of screaming , terrified children being bloodied and battered about . \\nthe bus doesn\\'t explode or break into a thousand tiny pieces . \\nit simply leaves the road and silently slips beneath the surface of a frozen lake . \\nit\\'s a horrifying sequence made all the more so by calm and distance . \\nusing a non-linear approach to his narrative , egoyan shifts back and forward in time , connecting us with the inhabitants of the small british columbian town who have been severely affected by this tragedy . \\nfourteen children died in the accident , leaving their parents and the town itself paralyzed with grief . \\nthe catalyst at the center of the film is ambulance chaser mitchell stephens ( a wonderfully moving performance by ian holm ) , who comes to sam dent to persuade the townsfolk to engage in a class action suit . \\nstephens , who \" doesn\\'t believe in accidents , \" functions as a concerned , involved observer , scribbling details in his notebook and providing the parents with an opportunity to reach some kind of closure in the harrowing aftermath . \\nwhile stephens\\' initial drive may be financial ( one third of the total settlement if he wins ) , his involvement provides him more with an outlet to come to grips with his own loss . \\nhis self-destructive , drug-addicted daughter has been in and out of clinics , halfway houses and detox units for years . \\negoyan\\'s attention to detail and ability to establish mood are so impeccable that even the sound of a kettle boiling resonates like a plaintive cry . \\nmychael danna , who composed the shimmering music for \" the ice storm , \" contributes another memorable score that shivers and tingles . \\nequally impressive is paul sarossy\\'s cinematography , capturing the imposing canadian mountainsides and low-hanging fogs as splendidly as his shadowy interiors--in one scene a bright wall calendar serves to illuminate portions of a room . \\n \" the sweet hereafter , \" while undeniably grim , urges the viewer to grab onto life with both hands and not let go . \\nit\\'s a film of generous subtlety and emotion . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i\\'m currently accepting all future names for drew barrymore characters . \\nin _the wedding singer_ , she was julia gulia . \\nin _never been kissed_ , she\\'s josie grossie . \\nfuture db character names include : janet granite , janey grainy , and for that nc-17 project in the works , jo-jo . . . \\naw forget it . \\ni\\'ll stick to my day job . \\nthis is a teen movie , all right , except the main characters aren\\'t teens . \\ndrew barrymore is a copy editor at the chicago sun times who gets her big break as a reporter , only it\\'s very clear from the onset that she lacks the toughness and the pushy extravertedness that marks the best of reporters . \\nthe story she\\'s covering is not really a story , but a story in the making . \\nshe is to return to high school as a student and explain what\\'s really going on . \\nthe irony is that drew\\'s character , was such a dweeb first time around , that she is terrified at going back . \\nwhen she does , she says the wrong things , wears the wrong clothes , and projects the \" i know the answer \" in class that popular kids ( or at least popular kids in the movies ) reject . \\nat least she befriends nerdy aldys ( joan of arc\\'s leelee sobieski--watch for her ) , who turns out to be more beautiful than those who are \" supposed \" to be more beautiful than her . \\nwhat works : drew\\'s geeky old-self . \\nafter a start in films that was headline driven , and a nadir of roles that had her play the sluttish character , it\\'s a surprise to see her with bad hair , big glasses and braces . \\nit\\'s very funny . \\nwhat doesn\\'t work : drew\\'s geeky new-self . \\ncome on . \\nnobody dresses as bad as she does . \\ncouldn\\'t she just go to _the gap_ and take suggestions ? \\nhad she dressed like princess leia it would have been better . \\nthe comedy is supposed to progress when drew\\'s younger brother ( played with zest by david arquette ) reenlists to jump-start his baseball career . \\nnow , how in the world can somebody as nerdy ( but in a funny way ) as he can be the most popular kid in the school . . . \\nin a day ? ! \\nthe dialogue in the film is , well , an embarrassment . \\nher co-workers ( molly shannon , john c . reilly and gary marshall ) are in terminal hyper-drive . \\nher teenage peers ( except sobieski ) are so inept and stupid that there\\'s little bite from them . \\ncouldn\\'t the filmmakers watch _heathers_ first ? \\nlastly , i am proud to say that i caught a significant gaffe in the film . \\nif you see the film , you\\'d know what i\\'m talking about : \\ndrew walks into a bar , has her hand stamped , and over the night associates with some rastafarians with some delicious , um , cake . \\nshe goes wild , sleeps in late . \\nwhen she wakes , she rushes off to school , without showering , without noticing that her head , lying on her stamped hand all night , has transferred part of the stamp\\'s image to her forehead , spelling \" loser \" . \\nfunny , eh ? \\n . . . except that the hand would have transferred that image backwords . \\n',\n",
+       " b'glory--starring matthew broderick , denzel washington , and morgan freeman--is the true story of the 54th regiment of massachusetts , the first black fighting unit recruited by the north during the civil war . \\nbroderick plays robert gould shaw , the young white officer who led the black soldiers into battle . \\nshaw , the son of well-to-do abolitionists , hailed from boston high society . \\nthe letters he wrote home to his parents during the war are on display at harvard , and were , evidently , the inspiration for glory . \\nas the film begins in 1862 , shaw is a captain in the northern forces . \\nlike private eriksson ( michael j . fox ) in casualties of war , shaw initially is naive and idealistic about the war--that is , until his company is attacked by enemy forces . \\nshaw experiences first hand the horror and chaos of battle , witnessing mass slaughter and receiving a minor wound himself when a bullet grazes his neck . \\nsoon after his recovery , shaw is promoted to colonel and assigned to enlist and train blacks in the war effort . \\nglory is the story not only of colonel shaw , but also of the black soldiers who laid down their lives to free their brothers from slavery . \\nthe film periodically jumps between shaw\\'s point of view and the perspective of the black soldiers . \\nthe movie introduces us to a handful of black recruits , and we follow them from their enlistment through basic training and finally into action . \\nthe large black cast is uniformly outstanding , especially washington who is electrifying as a runaway slave with a big mouth . \\nhe is brash and pushy , always getting into trouble and always looking for a fight . \\nhis bitter , tough guy facade is really just a mask for his loneliness and vulnerability . \\nwashington provides much of the film\\'s intensity and emotional power . \\nin one heartbreaking scene , he is whipped for allegedly deserting the army . \\nwhen he removes his shirt to receive the punishment , you cringe at the sight of his back , which is riddled with ugly scars from his days as a slave . \\nit makes your blood boil . \\nthe humiliation of the beating is far more traumatic than the actual physical pain it brings ; a tear rolls down washington\\'s cheek--and will probably run down your cheek as well . \\nthe episode becomes even more tragic when we learn that washington wasn\\'t deserting the army at all ; he left camp to look for shoes because his feet were covered with oozing sores . \\nfreeman is , as usual , a strong presence , even in a small supporting role . \\nhe plays a grave digger who has buried more white soldiers than he cares to remember . \\nhe quickly becomes a leader among the black soldiers , holding the group together and serving as a liaison to the white officers . \\ncolonel shaw recognizes freeman\\'s leadership ability and promotes him to sergeant major , making him the first black officer in the army . \\nandre braugher makes an impressive film debut in the role of thomas searles , a free black who is one of shaw\\'s close childhood friends . \\nsearles is educated and refined , like a white man , prompting washington to nickname him \" snow flake . \" \\nthe burning question is whether searles is tough enough to survive basic training and to kill in combat . \\nthe road from marching drills to battle action is a bumpy one for the black regiment . \\nthe soldiers suffer innumerable hardships , but somehow they never lose their morale . \\nthe army treats the black soldiers like second class citizens , subjecting them to racism and discrimination . \\nthey are paid only $10 a month , whereas their white counterparts earn thirteen , and , for a long time , they have to go without shoes , guns , or uniforms . \\nto make matters worse , the white military hierarchy is extremely reluctant to allow the blacks into action , preferring instead to use them for manual labor . \\neventually , however , the regiment receives its boots , uniforms , rifles , and right to fight , thanks to the stubborn resolve of colonel shaw . \\nshaw has absolute faith in his soldiers , and he fights tooth and nail to get them what they deserve , even if it means threatening a general with blackmail . \\nbroderick , in fact , is most convincing in the scenes where shaw stands up for the regiment . \\nunfortunately , however , broderick\\'s uneven performance is , in many respects , the weak link in the movie . \\nin an effort to look more mature , broderick sports a mustache and a goatee , and throughout the film he slips in and out of a phony boston accent . \\nhe is never altogether convincing as shaw since much of the time his emotions seem forced . \\nthe film places too much weight on broderick\\'s character and not enough on the black soldiers , who are more intriguing . \\nglory regains lost ground with its harrowing depiction of war . \\nthe movie shows the devastation of war without resorting to the unnecessarily graphic gore which marred born on the fourth of july . \\nglory does not try to rattle you with nauseating blood and guts . \\nexcept for a few bullet wounds and one exploding head , the film , for the most part , leaves the gore to your imagination , which is not to say that the battle scenes in glory are timid . \\nto the contrary , they are chaotic and horrifying ; it\\'s just that director edward zwick ( the co-creator of \" thirtysomething \" ) films them with far more subtlety and restraint than oliver stone could ever muster . \\nthe key to glory is the group dynamic among the black soldiers . \\nthe movie depicts some of ( but not enough of ) their customs and rituals . \\nin one scene , for example , the soldiers motivate themselves by singing prayers around the campfire . \\neach man has a chance to relay a few words of inspiration . \\na couple of the movie\\'s most touching moments involve young black children looking up to the black soldiers with awe , disbelief and pride . \\nthe regiment\\'s greatest triumph comes when the soldiers distinguish themselves in battle , thereby earning the respect of their white peers and earning the honor of leading the climactic assault on fort wagner . \\nlike any war film , glory has its share of gloom and despair , but ultimately it proves to be a truly uplifting experience and an important history lesson , a valuable reminder that despite what the history books say ( or , more precisely , what they do not say ) , blacks played a critically important role in the north\\'s victory over the south--forever changing the evolution of america . \\n',\n",
+       " b'as bad as \" mimic \" was , it definitly scared me . \\n \" mimic \" continued the frightening hollywood trend of taking a foreign director who shows a lot of creative ingenuity and style , and completely flushing it when he comes to america to make a movie . \\ndirector guillermo del toro was recently imported from mexico after he made the award winning and inventive horror film \" cronos . \" \\nthat movie worked because it took an unconventional story , unique characters and well written plot and dialogue to create a truly scary movie . \\nin \" mimic \" , del toro doesn\\'t bother to give us anything original . \\nthe plot is a stupid combination of \" aliens \" meets \" species \" meets \" jurassic park . \" \\nthe characters have been recycled from a few hundred other movies . \\nthere\\'s nothing new in \" mimic \" . \\nit\\'s just a bunch of old tricks that rarely work . \\nat the end of the movie , you\\'re stuck wanting your money back . \\nmaybe the worst thing about the movie is that del toro followed another annoying trend of recent movies : he forgot to turn the lights on . \\ni don\\'t understand why suspense movies lately have to follow the \" seven \" trend and be set in dark , dank areas . \\nwatching \" mimic \" i was tempted several times to yell at the screen \" turn the lights on ! \\nthe switch is to your right ! \\nuse common sense ! \\njust do it ! \\nyou\\'ll be able to see the monster in the corner ! \" \\nthere\\'s a scene where mira sorvino is standing in subway station while the lights are flickering on and off . \\nit looked like the light operator was having a seizure , and sorvino didn\\'t even notice - she just stood there looking like she was having deep thoughts . \\n \" hmmm . . . . \\ni think bean soup would be good for dinner tonight . \" \\n \" mimic \" has a lot of incidental shock tactics ( boo ! \\njust kidding ! ) and follows them up with the real scare , but nothing in this movie scares you . \\nthe audience in the theater never jumped during suspenseful moments ; i think they were bored , too . \\ni shouldn\\'t blame del toro . \\nhe isn\\'t the first successful foreign director to come to hollywood and make a bad movie . \\nhong kong director john woo made two of the best action films of all time , \" the killer \" and \" hard boiled \" then came to america to make the stupid \" broken arrow . \" \\nfrench directors luc besson ( \" la femme nikita \" ) and george sluizer ( \" the vanishing \" ) followed woo\\'s lead and made dumbed down versions of those movies . \\nrobert rodriguez , who directed the terrific low budget \" el mariachi \" came to hollywood and directed the horrible , high-budget \" desperado . \" \\ni don\\'t know why a foreign director who shows such talent in his country can\\'t make a good american movie . \\nwoo finally broke through and made \" face/off \" , but it still isn\\'t up to par with his earlier films . \\ni get the feeling a hollywood producer sits in his office , chews on a big smelly cigar and says to the director , \" welcome to america ! \\ni bet you must be tired after being on that boat for so long . \\ndo you speak english ? \\nnow , i know you think you\\'ve made good movies in the past , but now you\\'re in america , so things are a little different here . \\njust remember what the american audience always wants , and you\\'ll be fine . \\nthey want to see at least one big breasted woman , characters that they\\'ve seen a thousand times before ( because change scares americans ) , and you always need a cheesy feel-good ending to wrap things up . \\nif you don\\'t make that kind of movie , you\\'ll be shining my shoes in no time . \" \\n',\n",
+       " b'time bandits , from director terry gilliam , is a very different fantasy action/adventure movie about a group of time-traveling dwarves , led by randall ( david rappaport ) , who have stolen a map of the universe . \\nthis map contains time hole , that , if exploited , enable the men to travel back and forth through time . \\nthe supreme being of the universe ( ralph richardson ) is the former employer of these treasure-seeking bandits , and he wishes desperately to regain the map . . \\nduring the travels , he appears as a ghostly face , demanding that they return the map that they have stolen . \\nbut , according to randall , they are just \" borrowing \" it . \\nkevin , a young boy who seems quite bored with his life , is unexpectedly brought into the schemes of the little men when they appear in his room , which has a portal for time traveling . \\nhe joins up with the men and becomes part of their gang , following them on their robberies . \\ntheir first victim is napoleon ( ian holm ) , whom they rob during a battle that he is commanding . \\nfrom here , the group travels to the middle ages , meeting up with robin hood himself . \\neventually , kevin is separated from the group and travels to an egyptian time where he is taken in by king agamemnon , played by sean connery . \\nkevin accidentally saved the king\\'s life , and the king wishes to have kevin as his son . \\nbut the group of bandits find kevin and transport onto the deck of the titanic . \\nmeanwhile , the evil genius ( david warner ) is watching the group from fortress of ultimate darkness , attempting to find a way in order to bring the men , and the map , to him . \\nwhen randall learns of the fortress of ultimate darkness , which supposedly contains \" the most fabulous object in the world \" , the dollar signs seemingly appear on his eyes , as he is convinced that they must travel there . \\nonce inside the fortress of ultimate darkness , it is unclear as to if any of the men will make it out alive . \\ntime bandits is a fantastically made film that caters to the imagination of anyone . \\nwith a terrific soundtrack , courtesy of george harrison , whom also was an executive producer , time bandits is sure to be a very surrealistic , time-traveling adventure with unforgettable characters that is sure to entertain anyone . \\nterry gilliam , however , does not utilize that greatly his trademark ability in moviemaking during this film , although this does not affect the film that greatly . \\nand finally , if you liked labyrinth , you\\'ll love time bandits . \\n',\n",
+       " b'your first clue that something isn\\'t gonna be quite right with the movie you\\'re about to see : it\\'s heavily christmas-themed and its release date is , oh , say , at the end of february . \\nyour second clue that something isn\\'t gonna be quite right with the movie you\\'re about to see : charlize theron , one of the movie\\'s dubious stars , makes an appearance on the daily show in which , when asked if her new movie\\'s any good , she replies with the equivalent of a verbal sigh . . . \\nassuring us that , yeah , it sure is a movie , all right ! \\nand there\\'s some scenes like those you\\'d expect to find in a movie , and there\\'s some action . . . \\nand there\\'s other . . . \\nstuff . . . \\ntoo . \\nhow to immediately grab my attention : open your movie with five dead guys in santa claus suits . \\nthen show a caption reading \" six days earlier . . . \" \\nya know , i was honestly interested to find out what killed all those poor santas . . . \\nhow to immediately lose my attention : follow your opening scene with a terminally dull nice-guys-who-don\\'t-deserve-to-be-in-prison scene . \\nwrite a line for the one of prisoners like \" i just want to go home and eat christmas dinner and watch some ball with my dad . \" \\nthen , have ben affleck actually say that line , on film , and forget to leave it on the cutting room floor . \\nfor good measure , throw in a poorly motivated prison riot and have affleck\\'s best buddy stabbed . . . \\naw . . . \\nand just two days before his release , too . \\nalready the cliches are piled on thick , and when it rains , it pours . \\nhow to take my attention , dash it violently against the rocks , and make it so that i\\'m contemplating my strategy for calling \" shotgun \" about an hour before i know the credits will roll : deny your characters the ability to think . \\nhave ben affleck , for some reason i\\'ll never understand , pretend he\\'s his dead prison buddy so that he can get his girlfriend , played by charlize theron . \\nhave gary sinise show up and force the two of them to participate in a poorly planned casino heist . \\nthe villains\\' big idea ? \\nkidnap affleck because he used to be a security guard at the casino , force him to tell you where all the doors in the place are , then dress up in santa suits , create some \" diversions \" and rob the place . \\non paper , it seems like the stuff of a potential caper comedy , but veteran director john frankenheimer wrongly picks up that piece of paper and thinks he\\'s looking at the makings for some sort of clever action-crime thriller . \\nit\\'s not like the man isn\\'t capable . . . \\nfar from it . \\nhe\\'s the man responsible for classic political thrillers like the manchurian candidate and seven days in may . \\nhe wowed me with some the most memorable car chases i\\'ve ever seen in last year\\'s ronin . \\nbut he\\'s certainly guilty of churning out some certifiable losers . . . \\nput reindeer games on the shelf of shame with his 1996 version of the island of dr . moreau . \\nstep one in making your movie as easily forgotten as possible : cast ben affleck in the role of the world\\'s most generic hero . \\nhe gets no good one-liners , he doesn\\'t get to shoot or implode anything in new and interesting ways , and all we know about him is that he regrets his past as a car thief and wants a cup of hot chocolate and piece of pecan pie . \\nhis name is rudy ( short for rudolph , in all likelihood . \\nsee , it\\'s called reindeer games . \\nget it ? \\nget it ? \\nshut up . ) \\nin the past , affleck has been at his best as a supporting actor , and reindeer games does nothing to further his viability as a leading man . \\nstep two in making your movie as easily forgotten as possible : gary sinise\\'s villain dresses and looks like the most standard movie crook a filmmaker could have some up with . \\nhe\\'s dirty and potty-mouthed , he\\'s got long , scruffy hair and a goatee , and i fully expected him to walk out of the casino carrying sacks with giant dollar signs on them . \\nhe\\'s also extremely inept at what he does . \\nhe thinks garish cowboy costumes and santa suits make acceptable disguises , and he trusts affleck\\'s character to pull through even after , time and time and time again , he tricks him and lies to him and nearly kills him . \\nbut instead of tapping into the comic possibilities of this role , sinise seems to think he\\'s playing some sort of tough , smart , and smooth criminal mastermind , rather than the complete moron that was obviously written into the script . \\n[on a side note , gary sinise wins this week\\'s \" title ! \" \\naward , as he\\'s the one who gets to awkwardly cram the name of the movie into one of his lines early in the proceedings . \\nlast week\\'s winner was natasha henstridge for the whole nine yards . ] \\nhow to take your bad idea and make things worse : include two or three plot twists that , instead of making the apparently stupidity of the plan seem suddenly intelligent , make the plan seem even more ridiculous and unlikely . \\nthis is a bad movie . \\nand what\\'s worse is that , except for a few moments near the not-so-stunning conclusion as the preposterous is replaced by the ludicrously preposterous , reindeer games never really gives us the satisfaction of being laughably bad . \\nif they\\'d done that much , at least i would have been entertained . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"seen may 31 , 1999 on home video ( rented ) . \\none of the best things about the movies is that they can make you really start to wonder and analyze things in your own , everyday life that you might not have thought much of otherwise . \\nwith some films it might be just a secondary issue , but with `dark city' what we get is nearly an entire film committed to philosophizing and theorizing about human memory and how it defines who we are , which is a poignant theme made through an absolutely beautifully-constructed film with the kind of story and setting that could only happen in a movie . \\nthere's an old role-playing computer game called `d ? ja v ? ' wherein the player takes on the role of a man who can't remember who he is , where he is and how he got there . \\nthe goal is to gather as many clues as possible to figure that out and along the way overcome a conflict . \\nthe premise to this film is not unlike that game , only this time we don't have control over the protagonist . \\nwe begin by meeting a seemingly ordinary man living in an extremely dark and dirty city ( actually , it's more than just the city , it's the whole reality ) that isn't just that neo-gothic look ( a la `batman , ' `blade runner , ' ) , but is so fully developed it's almost a different genre completely . \\nlater he will learn that his name is john murdoch ( sewell ) , but for now he has no idea what's going on other than the fact something is not right . \\nthe fact there's a dead body in the corner goes to enhance the feeling of paranoia and a mysterious , hurried call telling him to leave immediately is also very chilling . \\nthis opening scene alone goes a long way to define the setting of the film and its bizarre , horrific tone . \\nthe man doesn't know who he is nor where he's going and it's interesting to follow him since we the viewers have no idea either we can sympathize and identify with him . \\nin fact , this is the way all stories begin since it's impossible to know the history of a character , their feelings , values , morals , etc . until after we've observed them for a while . \\nbut in this case , the total feeling of amnesia is an excellent tool towards characterization , developing the mood and outlining the story . \\neventually , some semblance of a plot begins to unfold as it appears that john is a serial killer wanted by the police . \\nwe met inspector frank bumstead ( hurt ) , a quiet , unemotional , soft-spoken deadpan man who appears to have been on the trail of the killer for some time . \\ntwo other important characters are also introduced : dr . daniel p . schreber ( sutherland ) , a neurotic psychiatrist who claims to be john's doctor ; and emma murdoch ( connelly ) , a jazz singer dolled up to look like a caraciture right out of the old dick tracy serials or any given leading lady of the old film-noir movies . \\nit was schreber who contacted john for reasons that are continually revealed throughout the course of the film . \\nhe also contacts emma , which further helps the film reveal what is seemingly a complex , mysterious back story . \\nbut absolutely nothing is as it appears to be in `dark city , ' which is what makes it so fascinating throughout its continual scenes of confusion and vertigo . \\neverything the filmmakers want us to see has some significance - considering how intricate the detail is to every single shot , its lighting , art direction and overall production design , they don't seem to be able to afford any gratuities . \\nhowever , that might also be what's keeping it from reaching its maximum potential . \\nby continuing to follow john as he wanders around this strange place , so much unlike the real world we know , we come to realize that it's all a hoax . \\neveryone in the city is the subject of an experiment being conducted by a race of aliens to understand what makes humans tick in their efforts to somehow save themselves from extinction . \\nbut , as the film's tagline says , `last night , one of us went off . ' \\nfor reasons that are never clearly explained , it appears that john possesses telekinetic powers to can do pretty much whatever his mind can conceive ( a process known as `tuning' ) . \\nthe aliens , which look like very old bald human men with pasty skin , also possess the power en masse and use it to change the city every night at midnight . \\nat the same time all the humans fall asleep and after the changes are made , they awake and either continue where they left off or begin a new life they have no idea they did not have until then . \\nthis premise certainly is interesting and director and co-screenwriter alex proyas is able to keep the film consistently mysterious in this regard . \\nhe does provide some explanations such as that dr . schreber is an assistant to `the strangers' because he somehow could synthesize memory into chemical form . \\nthe aliens mix and match the memories of the city's population to see who will change and who will not . \\nin the process this creates for a good deal of deep , thought-provoking philosophies that could be applied to the real world . \\nhowever , where the film errs is by not playing up the idea of memory versus the human heart as to what makes a person who he or she is . \\nthe main characters are all closely intertwined within the seemingly complex murder mystery which never actually happened , yet when they start to go through some of the expected emotions it comes off as distant , static and cold ( mediocre performances by hurt and connelly don't help either ) . \\nfor example , john realizes emma is not and probably never was his wife so he does not feel an emotional bond to her , yet in some scenes crucial to the film's plot , we are expected to believe they do have a genuine love for each other , which is also part of the film's climax and ending . \\nand that's what proyas seems to be inferring with the film , but never quite manages to convey in its fullest sense . \\nironically , this is what made his first film `the crow' work so well , which had a similar theme of struggling to find hope and the human spirit within a nearly identical , dark twisted world . \\nwith `dark city' the messenger seems to be mistaken for the message . \\nstill , the film is by no means bad and is consistently entertaining and enjoyable . \\nthere's a lot to like here , most notably the sheer visual look and style of it all which accounts for at least half the reasons the film is able to tell the story it does . \\nthe story as a whole is one of the most original to come out of hollywood in years . \\n`dark city' is what the movies are all about - the escape from the real world . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" two can play that game \" ( screen gems ) \\nsince the success of \" waiting to exhale , \" there have been several romantic comedies about african-american professionals . \\nthis female revenge fantasy , vivica a . fox plays shante smith , a stunning ad exec who seems to have reached the pinnacle of success : a mansion , a sporty car and an idyllic relationship with a hunky , hot-shot lawyer , morris chestnut . \\nshe\\'s at a point in her life when she dispenses advice to her grateful girl-friends ( mo\\'nique , wendy racquel robinson , tamala jones ) . \\n \" when your man messes up , no matter how small it is , \" she smugly decrees , \" yuh gots to punish him . \" \\nso when she catches her hot man dancing at a bar with a smart and sexy rival , gabrielle union , she devises her own version of \" the rules , \" a 10-day \" tough love \" emotionally punishing plan to get him back . \\nunfortunately , writer/director mark brown ( \" how to be a player \" ) breaks the cardinal rule of romantic comedy : you have to like the protagonist - and shrill , self-congratulatory shante smith is a smirking , superficial , spiteful shrew who doesn\\'t realize that rational rules cannot always be applied to love . \\nhaving her talk directly into the camera gets stale very quickly and the \" day one , \" \" day two \" title-card device underscores the tedium . \\ncomic anthony anderson scores as chestnut\\'s boisterous best-friend , and singer bobby brown does a cameo as a scuzzy mechanic who\\'s given a smooth makeover by ms . robinson . \\nbut the out-takes over the closing credits contain more humor than the film itself . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" two can play that game \" is smarmy if slick 4 , filled with misogynistic attitude and blatant product placements ( coca-cola , miller genuine draft ) but little else . \\nin this r-rated ( for explicit sexual language ) , pseudo-hip battle of the sexes , the audience loses . \\n',\n",
+       " b'remember back in the mid 1990s when crime and macabre movies were all the rage ? \\n \" pulp fiction \" and \" fargo \" both managed to get oscar nominations for the best picture , and not surprisingly , a slew of rip-offs followed in the years thereafter . \\nthat fad seems to be over but here comes christopher mcquarrie writing and directing \" the way of the gun \" that at first glance looks like another of those wanna-be\\'s but upon closer inspection doesn\\'t look like anything comprehendable . \\nit\\'s a crime story so wrapped up in its own little world it has a claustrophobic atmosphere - a film that won\\'t allow the story much room to expand outside its handful of characters and somehow still manages to turn a simple premise into something so complex its ridiculous . \\ncomplexity should come as no surprise to anyone who\\'s familiar with mcquarrie , he wrote \" the usual suspects , \" which has become a cult favorite despite little critical acclaim . \\nthat film had a great story and was well directed but had such an elaborate , confusing screenplay it leaves many viewers scratching their heads after repeated viewings . \\nyou have to wonder if mcquarrie really had everything mapped out or if he was going for the hollywood idea that \" if it\\'s really confusing and about criminals and cops that makes it fascinating . \" \\nwith \" the way of the gun \" mcquarrie seems to be capitalizing on the same idea , but this time the story is far less commercial - a shame because maybe that would have helped . \\nthe film tells the story of two drifters with no ambition and barely a reason to live but aren\\'t hell-bent on death either ( played by ryan phillipie and benecio del toro ) . \\nthey get lucky when they hear about a scheme between a big-shot exec guy and his trophy wife who are going to have a baby through in vitro fertilization . \\nthey figure they can kidnap the surrogate mother ( played by juliette lewis ) and get a nice ransom . \\nalong the way we continually learn of the shady dealings between the exec , his wife , their hired goons and the \" bag man \" ( played by james caan - the only actor in the film who looks like he knows what he\\'s doing ) . \\nthe exec is some kind of money launderer so he obviously can\\'t call the authorities for help . \\nhis goons and the bag man are on the kidnappers\\' trail and each make different offers to get the mother back . \\nthe exec\\'s son is a doctor who also gets pulled into the fray and wants to make sure his patient is all right . \\nmeanwhile each of these characters has something hidden up their collective sleeves and the double-crosses , secret love affairs and torrid pasts come as no surprise even though little of it has any relevance at all . \\nmcquarrie doesn\\'t know the meaning of the word simple . \\nhe seems to be more interested in showing us how clever he is than making a good movie . \\neverything has to be complicated and confusing , so much so that it\\'s to the point of surrealism . \\nnothing is what it seems in this reality , it\\'s one of those movies where you get dropped right into the middle of the criminal world and are expected to know most of the industry\\'s rules and regulations . \\nevery scene with caan\\'s character exemplifies this perfectly - the kidnappers already know who he is and even chat with him , getting into conversations about \" the business \" and how it works and we\\'re hardly given a clue as to what they\\'re talking about . \\nthese characters are probably supposed to be great criminal sketches but they\\'re more like ideas ripped-off from sketches found in david mamet\\'s trash . \\nno one here really acts like a real person , and the story is even further removed from reality . \\nit\\'s like a dream without any appeal . \\ntake the opening scene for example ; the phillipe and del toro characters are in a parking lot across the street from a bar or a club counting their money and stuff . \\nthey sit on a brand-new mercedes and the car alarm goes off , the owner is waiting in line and yells at them to get away from his car but they don\\'t move . \\nthe guy and his loud-mouth , potty-mouth girlfriend and about 20 other people cross the street and gang up on them . \\nyou\\'d think phillipe ? and del toro are ? going to pull out guns and scare them away but they don\\'t , instead phillipe throws one punch and the two get beat down by a mob . \\nthere\\'s a lot of things i didn\\'t understand about this scene : first of all the owner of the mercedes isn\\'t some yuppie or old rich snob , he\\'s like a hippie straight out of the 60s . \\nsecondly , the two main characters seem to believe that they can actually take on the mob unarmed . \\nlastly , it serves no purpose in the long run because later in the film the two are packing more artillery than a small country\\'s army . \\nif they were suicidal they wouldn\\'t have gone on the kidnapping job in the first place ( and where they get all those guns is never explained either ) . \\nthere\\'s a lot more i could pick apart about this film but that would be an exercise in futility . \\nwhat it all comes down to is that nothing here is what it seems - which would be great if this movie were about pretty much any other story than what it is . \\nabsolutely none of the characters are likable or believable . \\nand it\\'s all coated with a thin layer of black comedy which is good for a chuckle here and there but this film is definitely not a flat-out black comedy and its use of such seems like a desperate attempt to kill screen time . \\nwith any film you see , whether you like it or not , you can at least understand what the appeal was to it , why someone would want to make it and why someone would want to see it . \\ni can\\'t say either for \" the way of the gun , \" because it has very little going for it and i can\\'t imagine anyone intelligently defending it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a movie that\\'s been as highly built up as the truman show , with reviews boasting , \" the film of the decade ! \" \\nand \" a breakthrough ! \" \\ncan only be leading up to letdown . \\nthat\\'s no doubt -- it seems any movie with critical acclaim makes you think you\\'re going in for the ride of your life , that you\\'ll end up changed on the other side , and you come out of the theater going , \" eh . . . \\n * that\\'s * what all the fuss was about ? \" \\nso , naturally , the truman show was building up to what was going to be a dissapointment . \\nand i convinced myself , as i nestled into my uncomfortable movie theater chair , actually to try not to enjoy it . \\nlet me tell you , that is an impossibilty . \\nthe truman show is truly \" the film of the decade \" and \" a breakthrough \" and more . \\nand you will come out changed on the other side . \\nsuch a movie comes around only once in a lifetime , where you find yourself feeling everything that the character is feeling , and this , friends , is it . \\njim carrey shows that he doesn\\'t need to talk out of his butt to entertain us ; that he can be as dramatic as any of hollywood\\'s leading men . \\nthe film has a difficult premise to tackle , trying to set us up thirty years into the \" truman show\\'s \" run , but tackle it it does , and perfectly . \\nwith flashbacks actually being flashbacks on the television show , you get the sense that you are viewing a * real * prime-time hit . \\nand the way the camera constantly takes the forms it would in the \" real \" truman show is clever and well-done . \\npeople , rejoice ! \\nthis is the first oscar-worthy film of not only this year , but of the last five years . \\nnot since \" schindler\\'s list \" has a movie captured human spirit and true despair so well . \\nthis is a classic in the making , and ( to borrow a line from esquire\\'s review ) it stars jim carrey . \\nnothing in his career to date and nothing he can do in the future will ever be able to top his role as truman burbank ; mark my word . \\nfor , as i said , this is the movie of a lifetime and the role is of the same calibre . \\nforget special-effect ladden summer fodder . \\ndrop your romantic comedies in the trash . \\ntoss your thrillers and teen flicks on the pile . \\nyou need nothing more than \" the truman show \" to carry you through the summer , or for that matter , the year . \\noh ! and in case i don\\'t see you , good afternoon , good evening , and goodnight . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if i were one of those arrogant critics who thinks his review has some great impact on the success or failure of certain films , i might say that i review movies that don\\'t look particularly good because i\\'m doing a service to my readers by warning them against seeing it . \\nif that were true , i could put a banner at the top of my site that reads : \" shay casey : seeing bad movies so you don\\'t have to . \" \\nbut i know that\\'s bunk-you\\'re going to see whatever movies you want to no matter what i say . \\nso i have to tell the truth : every once in a while i get a nasty , masochistic urge to see a bad movie . \\nyou know the feeling , when you\\'re sick of seeing all these damn academy award contenders and you want to see something you can have a ball trashing mercilessly . \\nsometimes i think that\\'s why anyone goes to see pauly shore movies , ever . \\nadmit it : sometimes you like seeing bad movies . \\nso do i . \\nso i saw \" supernova . \" \\ntruth be told , \" supernova \" wasn\\'t quite as bad as i thought it might be . \\nmaybe i just felt sorry for the actors , or maybe i thought it could have been decent if the studio hadn\\'t started tinkering with the director\\'s ( walter hill ) final cut , causing him to want his name removed . \\nmaybe i\\'m becoming a softy . \\nin any case , i didn\\'t find \" supernova \" as bad as the advance buzz would have me believe . \\nbut it\\'s still bad . \\nthe film takes place aboard the medical space vessel \" nightingale . \" \\nthe crew includes captain a . j . \\nmarley ( robert forster ) , his new second officer nick vanzant ( james spader ) , head medical officer kaela evers ( angela bassett ) , medical technicians yerzy penalosa ( lou diamond phillips ) and danika lund ( robin tunney ) , and computer technician benj sotomejor ( wilson cruz ) . \\nthere are some attempts at \" characterization , \" but all that means is that nick has a shady past involving a drug addiction , which puts kaela on edge , yerzy and danika have a relationship that requires them to make kissy-faces at each other every five minutes , and benj ( apparently gay ) is in love with the computer ( apparently female ) . \\ndon\\'t expect any more explanation , because you won\\'t get it . \\nanyway , the crew gets a distress call from a location deep in space to which a failed mining operation had been sent . \\nduring the dimension jump ( i think that\\'s what it\\'s called , but don\\'t hold me to it ) , the captain is killed and the man who sent the distress signal ( peter facinelli ) is brought on board . \\nhe calls himself troy larson , making him the supposed son of a man kaela once had a relationship with . \\nthen a bunch of really predictable stuff starts happening . \\nhave you seen \" alien ? \" \\nhave you seen \" event horizon \" ( a lame movie in its own right ) ? \\ngood . \\nthen you\\'ve seen \" supernova . \" \\npost-production cuts or not , there is nothing original about this screenplay , and nothing unpredictable either . \\nafter all , no one\\'s going to think for a second that troy won\\'t turn out to be a villain . \\nbut the bigger problem with \" supernova \" is that it can\\' t just stick to the simple plot it\\'s afforded . \\nnumerous re-writes ( the script may be credited to three people , but it\\'s a gross underestimate ) have crammed this lean 90-minute film with tons of extraneous plot threads that all remain underdeveloped . \\nwas there something about a limping robot shaped like a fighter pilot ? \\ndid the ship\\'s computer learn something about humanity ? \\nwhat was that glowing lava lamp artifact troy brought on board with him ? \\nand just what does the film\\'s title signify , if anything ? \\nas far as i can tell , it refers to a very small plot detail that isn\\'t developed , just like the rest of these unnecessary story elements . \\ncharacter relationships in this film also make very little sense . \\nfor some reason , every person in this film keeps having sex . \\nwe get an unusually early sex scene between phillips and tunney within the first 10 minutes . \\nbassett and spader\\'s characters start off hating each other . \\nfifteen minutes and one bottle of pear brandy later , they\\'re engaging in some hanky-panky . \\nwhen troy the creepy stranger shows up on the ship , of course both female crew members will fall in love with him . \\nevery single shift in character interaction happens extremely suddenly , which is only one of the many obvious clues to how much this film has been cut . \\nthe most prominent example , however , may be the fact that when the film starts , there are no opening credits ! \\nfurthermore , the end of the film looks like they took what were originally intended to be the opening credits and spliced them in right before the real end credits . \\nmaybe that\\'s why the film\\'s title is mentioned twice during the end credits , right between james spader and robert forster . \\nright after you get over the shock of not being told what movie you\\'re seeing ( lest you decide to walk out upon making that discovery ) , you might notice that the movie seems to have dropped you right in the middle of a scene , with little-to-no introduction to any of the characters or situations . \\nthe rest of the movie feels like they skipped over the middle stuff in the character changes ( you know , where they explain things ) and just went from point a to point b . point a : danika is thoroughly enamored of yerzy and is ready to have his baby . \\npoint b : tunney is now shagging troy and yerzy is unusually obsessed with the lava lamp thing . \\ndoesn\\'t make sense . \\nsince i didn\\'t understand anything about these characters\\' motivations , did i care when troy abruptly starts murdering them one-by-one ( and he does , knocking off three of them in about 10 minutes ) ? \\nnot a whit . \\nit\\'s a shame , because this cast contains a lot of talented actors looking for something to do . \\nthey don\\'t find it . \\nbassett and spader say every line in the same monotone voice with the same blank expressions on their faces . \\nsexual tension ? \\nmore like constipation . \\nmaybe they\\'re just embarrassed at having to utter such howlers as \" this thing was made by someone more powerful than god and a whole lot less nice . \" \\nnot that we ever find out who that is , mind you . \\nthe climax of their relationship ( taking place in a transport pod ) is probably the film\\'s biggest forehead-slapper . \\nas troy , peter facinelli inhabits the most obvious villain in history that no one ever suspected . \\nhe\\' s awfully one-note , but it\\'s not as if he\\'s given any more notes to work with . \\nthe rest of the cast does even less . \\ntunney stands around looking cute , then scared . \\nphillips broods . \\ncruz flirts with the computer . \\nthen they all die and a star blows up or something , but i really wasn\\'t paying much attention by then . \\n \" supernova \" is pretty awful , but i\\'m cutting it a little slack merely because i expected less than what i got . \\nthat\\'s it . \\nif you expect it to be good ( for whatever reasons you may have ) , you\\'ll probably hate it more than i will . \\neven the special effects are fairly unimpressive , nothing you haven\\' t seen before , and suffice to say the script isn\\'t going to save the film . \\nhonestly , though , what do you expect from a film with about a dozen writers and a director who had his name removed and replaced with a pseudonym ? \\nit usually results in a bad movie , and that\\'s what \" supernova \" is . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"books could be , and indeed have been written about the star wars trilogy , and rightfully so . \\nthis is a set of movies that shattered all expectations of what science fiction could be in the late 70s/early 80s , inspiring literally dozens of clones , from battlestar galactica all the way up to stargate and independance day , and one could argue revitalizing the whole science fiction genre . \\nthe special effects were groundbreaking , revolutionary for their day and still eminently watchable well into twenty years later . \\nliterally millions of people have seen the star wars trilogy and been touched by it . \\nand now , george lucas brings it back for a new audience to enjoy . \\nmuch has been and is still being made of the fact that mr . lucas has gone back and revised his trilogy for rerelease now . \\nsome fans are angry that he has dared to meddle with what they consider perfection , while others are thrilled by the idea of seeing yesterday's star wars updated with today's special effects wizardry . \\neither way , the special edition release means that star wars is back on the big screen , where it rightfully deserves to be seen . \\ncan there be anyone in the world who doesn't know what star wars is about ? \\nin a way , star wars is so much a part of our cultural heritage that it feels silly and almost artificial to try to summarize it . \\nit's a story about a young man's coming of age , a fight for freedom against an oppressive empire , a tale of swashbuckling and derring-do the likes of which haven't been seen on the silver screen in decades , strange new worlds with strange alien creatures and weird surprises around every turn , and the yearning within each of us to realize our dreams and make a difference in the world . \\nit's high adventure , incredible special effects , and . . . well , it's just an _experience_ . \\nsomething about this movie sparked the imagination of a generation . . . and \\nit's about to do so again . \\nthis new release of star wars comes as no surprise to many of the film's devoted fans , who have been trading rumors and bits of information about it for quite some time now . \\ninterviews , trailers , leaks from within lucasfilm . . . all of these have been collected , collated , and placed on webpages for people to see ( pages such as http : //www . islandnet . com/~corona/films/details/sw4 . html \\nor , my personal favorite , http : //leopard . cs . latrobe . edu . au/~koukoula/ \\n ) . \\npictures of before and after have been placed side by side . . . even \\nmonths before the movies were released , fans were making comparisons . \\nin some cases , the changes were nothing less than phenomenal , and this can be seen from the comparison shots even before you go into the movie theater . \\nthe digital matte effects that were little more than a toy in forrest gump are put to excellent use here , unnoticeably sprucing up scenes that that george lucas was unsatisfied with in the original . \\nfor instance , in my personal favorite example , the ancient temple on yavin that was formerly a flat stone edifice now has deep , moss-covered carvings and etchings . \\nand mos eisley spaceport is now a bustling , booming city , with more surprises and things going on in the background than you can notice on the first viewing . \\nall the starships and fighters are now computer-animated , getting rid of glitches and artifacts of the special effects processes used when the film was originally made--and they look _fantastic_ . \\nfour and a half minutes of new or missing footage have been added , including a scene with jabba the hutt that had originally been shelved because the state of special effects in 1977 simply couldn't do it justice . \\nhowever , much of the ten million dollars that was spent on the star wars special edition restoration went into restoring the quality of the film itself . \\nthe negatives , badly damaged by the ravages of time , were brightened and returned to their original splendor . \\nthe audio tracks were remixed and reprocessed , with reworked sound effects by effects maven ben burtt , into glorious , booming , theater-shaking full-thx dolby digital stereo . \\nand _that_ , more than the added scenes or new special effects , is where the real value of this new version lies . \\nit's really true what they say in the commercials : star wars loses _so much_ on the small screen . \\neven letterboxing doesn't make up for the decrease in size and definition . \\nin regard to the star wars special edition , and to the other two films of the trilogy which have yet to be released , i'll make this final recommendation : go and see it . \\ngo and see it more than once . . . it \\nmay be another twenty years before it comes back to the big screen after it's gone this time . \\ntake along the youngsters who've never had the big-screen star wars experience--you'll enjoy seeing it through their eyes as much as they will enjoy it for the first time . \\nthere's magic in this movie--special edition or no , there can be no denying that it's still star wars , and still has the power to thrill and enthrall children of all ages , from four to four hundred . \\nlet's all return to that time long ago , and that galaxy far , far away . . . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'the uncompromising nudity bared throughout petrice chereau\\'s intimacy has already garnered much notoriety , but it\\'s in the naked faces of fearless actors mark rylance ( angels & insects ) and kerry fox ( welcome to sarajevo ) that the tender ache of emotional resonance is discovered . \\nwith sharp , intelligent eyes that reflect experience and maturity , rylance and fox are refreshingly detached from the false glamour of hollywood idols . \\ntheir sex scenes together are bracing in their raw honesty , in the acceptance of flesh and messiness . \\nless apparent , but no less remarkable , are the astute observations of behavior revealed through those carnal beats of haste and hesitance , often without a single line of dialogue . \\nnot aiming for the spiritual poetry of in the realm of the senses or the philosophical transgressions of crash , chereau keeps his sexual odyssey firmly grounded in terms of straightforward character development . \\nthat may be the very reason why intimacy seems unerringly impressive but never particularly significant on more than a tactile , sensory level . \\nthe themes of human isolation are barren and obvious , a science project devoid of any especially groundbreaking hypothesis . \\nintimacy does manage to stand out from lesser portraits of \" human interconnectedness \" and pinter-esque rummages through psychological dirty drawers ( okay , kill me ) . \\nshallow though it might sound , it\\'s amazing how much is filled in through an inspired cast , perceptive camerawork , and imaginative ways of treating the love scene . \\nthose ingredients are too assured and confident to merely dismiss as icing on the cake , especially since they are the substance of the cake itself . \\nadapted from a pair of short stories by british novelist hanif kureishi , intimacy weaves desperate lovemaking between two strangers in london . \\nevery wednesday , jay ( rylance ) and claire ( fox ) meet in his cluttered , dank apartment for an hour or two of sexual release from their uninspired lives . \\nhe\\'s been head bartender at a posh restaurant for over six years . \\nshe\\'s a mystery to him but her glum workaday appearance reveals a similar dissatisfaction . \\nthey\\'re both married , but his relationship has curdled into an embittered separation . \\nas the weeks draw on , jay obsessively takes it upon himself to uncover claire\\'s personal routines . \\nin his attempt to gain a fuller semblance of who she is , he opens wounds that hadn\\'t existed before by single-handedly corrupting the fantasy . \\nif it weren\\'t for a few unnecessary subplots involving jay\\'s brother and his bevy of disgruntled co-workers , this minimalist premise might be described as a modern fable on the perils of wish fulfillment . \\nchareau\\'s restless camera ( once again wielded by superb and ever-attentive cinematographer eric gautier ) is less appropriate here than in his family transit-oriented those who love me can take the train . \\nthe scenes that linger are the still ones where rylance and fox separately , pensively attempt to carry on with their makeshift household routines . \\nthese are often captured in lingering , unblinking wide shots that view them stranded amidst their drab workplaces and homes . \\nseparation proves haunting in a melancholy series of intercut shots as rylance and fox undress on opposite sides of the room , crawling across the floor to meet in the center . \\ndespite being as restless as a fly during the hyperactive restaurant scenes ( all the better to blend in with a hustling crowd of gabby trendsetters ) , you\\'d be hard pressed to find a single uninteresting image . \\nintimacy takes an interest in its sordid world of the lower-middle class , with lonely pubs and busy shopping streets -- it also understands the people who inhabit those spaces , viewing them with sympathy scraped raw . \\nan evaluation would be incomplete without highlighting the great timothy spall ( the robust scene-stealer of many a mike leigh collaboration ) . \\nas claire\\'s cuckolded husband , this jocular heavyweight plays out his handful of bitter pill scenes with the unforced menace and self-effacing embarrassment of his imposing bulk . \\nbangs in his eyes , his mouth forming into quizzical pouts and dry smirks , he may seem the fool in his barroom encounters opposite a sarcastic , gleaming mark rylance ( whose jay has arrived on the scene looking to stir up some trouble ) , but spall is no one to trifle with . \\nhis overreaching best pal demeanor suggests a mind abuzz with secret passageways of guile , his pointed questions only na ? ve if you choose not to read into their crafty insinuations . \\nin his unassuming way , spall\\'s carefully etched interpretation of hostility buried under a mountain of surface propriety may become one of the most criminally underappreciated performances of the year , but maybe also one of the best . \\nhe\\'s that good . \\n',\n",
+       " b'let me begin by saying that this is easily the worst movie in the entire official ( and even unofficial ) james bond series . \\nit is so full of self-parody and silly characters that you would almost believe you were watching a spoof . \\nan omen of what is to come is provided by the pre-credits sequence , a dull affair featuring a confrontation between a man ( it\\'s difficult to give a better description since no mention of him is made elsewhere in the movie ) and the assassin of the title . \\na song with woefully terrible lyrics follows , and the rest of the movie is even worse . \\nthe plot might have been a pleasant change from the usual rule-the-world so often found in the james bond movies of the 70s , but here we get a confused mismash about a fabled assassin , francisco scaramanga ( christopher lee , putting in a performance which is one of the rare saving graces of this movie ) who someone has apparently payed one million dollars to in order to remove roger moore\\'s 007 . \\nthere is also a flimsy connection with the energy crisis and a missing solar cell with 95% efficiency . \\nit\\'s as much of a mess as it sounds . \\nbond is \" helped \" in his task by mary goodnight ( ekland ) , whose character couldn\\'t possibly be any closer to the stereotypical bimbo . \\nduring the course of the movie she gets locked in both a closet and a car trunk , blunders around a control room accidentally setting off a laser and serves no purpose in enhancing the plot whatsoever . \\nmaud adams ( later to star in octopussy ) is a much more stronger and useful character , but she hardly features in the movie . \\nscaramanga\\'s lackey is a dwarf called nik-nak , who rather fittingly is also possibly the silliest henchman in the series , serving up annoyance and weak dialogue in equal measures . \\nworse still is an almost total lack of action throughout the whole movie . \\nthere is but one fight sequence about fifteen minutes in ( not counting a ludicrous scene where two teenage girls beat up several dozen trained martial artists -- another misguided attempt at humour ) . \\nthe solitary car chase might have been a highlight , but the \" action \" is interrupted on a frequent basis by a redneck sheriff ( j . w . \\npepper , played by clifton james of live and let die \" fame \" ) yelling stupid comments out of the passenger window . \\nhe is easily the most irritating character in a james bond movie . \\neven his presence could have been made bearable by one of the most impressive car stunts in cinematic history , a 360 degree twisting loop jump over a broken bridge -- could have been , except somebody got the idea to dub a mocking whistle tone over the final print . \\non top of that debacle , the whole end of the film is an anticlimatic sequence in scaramanga\\'s \" funhouse \" . \\nthe only good thing that came out of this movie was that the producers had to make the next film in the series ( the infinitely superior \" the spy who loved me \" ) a great film in order for the bond franchise to survive . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"set in the wild west , this carry on centres around the arrival of the rumpo kid ( sidney james ) and his cronies in stodge city . \\nhis dodgy dealings and summary shootings aggravate judge burke ( kenneth williams ) so much that he asks sheriff albert earp ( jon pertwee ) to drive rumpo out of town . \\ninstead , the rumpo kid shoots the sheriff dead . \\ntherefore , judge burke sends for a law marshall to come in and clean up the city . \\ndue to a misunderstanding , an english sanitary engineer called marshall p . knutt ( jim dale ) is assigned , without knowing it , as the law marshall for stodge city . \\nhe arrives at the same time as annie oakley ( angela douglas ) who is seeking revenge for her father , the sheriff's murder . \\nwhen marshall arrives at stodge city , he soon becomes aware of the misunderstanding and due to his rather limited intellect , he is manipulated by the rumpo kid and always ends up getting things wrong . \\nin the end , there is a head-to-head between rumpo and marshall . \\nwith the rumpo's past experience , it would seem that marshall is out of his depth , but using his sanitary skills and learning the ways of the west from annie oakley , he at least stands some chance ! \\nsid james , with an american accent , is perfect as the rumpo kid , a part which suits him down to the ground . \\njim dale provides one of his best carry on performances as the stupid sanitary engineer , and angela douglas is very effective in her role as the revengeful daughter . \\nother regulars that appear in this movie include charles hawtrey and bernard bresslaw ( in his debut ) as big heap and little heap respectively . \\nbig heap is the local indian leader and the crazy casting of hawtrey for this part is very amusing , as is his performance : - he steals every scene he is in even though he does not enter the film until thirty minutes past . \\njoan sims provides useful and amusing support as belle , the local bar owner who takes a fancy to the rumpo kid . \\nhowever , the part of doc played by peter butterworth and sheriff albert earp played by jon pertwee are not really necessary , and pertwee's performance is rather poor . \\nkenneth williams uses a new voice but struggles with the weak part of the 'judge' . \\neven so , this carry on was sid james and kenneth williams' favourite . \\na very different carry on film , in that it is played more seriously by the actors and possesses more realism than any other carry on . \\nthe death count is the highest of any carry on film . \\nsets , costumes and action sequences are all very commendable . \\nthe songs that are included in the movie ( the title song and annie's song ) are very impressive . \\na strange but therefore very interesting carry on film . \\nnot the best of its kind but it is certainly the most distinctive film of the series . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'a movie laced with a good blend of action , comedy , and a heavy dose of musical celebrity guest appearances sounds pretty gourmet , but even the best ingredients can be thrown together in the wrong way , creating a dismal and unsatisfactory product . \\neighteen years after the blues brothers hit theaters , blues brothers 2000 is being unleashed , minus half of its original duo ( the late john belushi ) and nearly all of its original charm . \\ndan aykroyd reprises his role ( as well as his co-writing credit ) as elwood blues , the sharp dressed con man who wreaked havoc on a self-proclaimed \" mission from god \" along with his brother jake and their blues brothers band nearly eighteen years ago . \\nas we begin , elwood is being released from a state penitentiary along with the news of his brother\\'s death in prison years ago . \\ncompletely on his own , elwood decides to trace his roots back to the orphanage where he spent his childhood , only to discover that everyone he has ever known has passed away . \\nbut elwood isn\\'t completely without family . \\nit seems he has a half-brother of sorts - not a real brother mind you , just the illegitimate child of his bluesman pseudo-father curtis ( cab calloway from the first film ) , who has also passed on . \\ndespite inklings from mother superior mary stigmata ( kathleen freeman ) to do otherwise , elwood seeks out his only remaining family in an effort to start up an all new blues brothers band . \\nworking as a police commander , cabel chamberlain ( joe morton ) , has an immediate disliking for elwood , who nonchalantly fills cab in on his mother\\'s affair years ago and then goes on to steal his wallet . \\nfollowing elwood around is the lonely orphan buster ( j . \\nevan bonifant ) , who quickly learns to become a mini-elwood . \\nwhen bartender mighty mack mcteer ( john goodman ) joins the group , the blues brothers band is complete , and once again , the group travels the country , crashing cars , blowing things up , and obstructing peace with more than just solid blues rock . \\nmeanwhile , cab\\'s personal vendetta against elwood leads him on an impassioned manhunt for his next-to-next-of-kin . \\n>from this point , the movie turns into a series of music videos with a few bits of acting in between . \\nthose hoping for an interesting and/or funny yarn are given too many musical interludes while those heavily interested in the music are given too much of a story . \\nonly the extremely avid blues fans should attempt getting thru these two hours . \\nfor those people , it may be worth it , for luckily there is much more music than shoddy attempts at acting , but when the story does intrude upon the festivities , the film is heavily bogged down with unfunny jokes , musicians turned stiff actors , and the pointless 10-year- old buster attempting to add some sort of home alone cuteness to the whole thing . \\nappearances by musical legends such as aretha franklin , james brown , eric clapton , and a whole slew of others are the high points of the film , but they also confirm why these people are musicians and not actors . \\nblues brothers 2000 is deserving of one whole star simply because if you really , really love this kind of music , you might kind of , sort of like this movie . \\nmany , many scenes are nauseatingly unfunny , and if you don\\'t have a passion for very deep blues/rock , you\\'ll be bored out of your skull . \\nmuch of this film seems nothing more than aykroyd\\'s self-serving vanity project , but no matter how much fun aykroyd may be having with this , none of the excitement is passed on to the audience . \\nand seeing three guys in three-piece suits goofily dancing around with poker faces can only be funny for so long . \\nunfortunately , those two seconds are over about fifteen minutes into the film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in , \" the muse \" albert brooks plays steven phillips , a hollywood screenwriter who after winning a humanitarian award for his work is dumped by his studio . \\nthey claim that he\\'s lost his edge and his agent is quick to agree with them . \\nhe knows that he needs to write something fresh and original and quick or else his career will be over . \\nso he turns to his \" best \" friend , jack ( jeff bridges ) another screenwriter who\\'s enjoyed success after success . \\non the way over to jack\\'s house steven sees jack helping an attractive woman ( sharon stone ) into a cab and begins to think : is he having an affair ? \\nwhen confronted , jack relunctently tells him that this mystery woman is , in fact , a muse , a mythological figure who is believed to have inspired all creativity , and has helped him garner his success . \\n \" she doesn\\'t do any actual writing , \" he is told , \" but inspires you . \" \\nsteven is excited by what he\\'s hearing and asks jack to call her up to see if she\\'ll take steven on as a new client . \\njack arranges a meeting between the two and suggests that steven bring her a present , preferably something from tiffany\\'s . \\nafter the meeting the muse , sarah decides to take on steven , but at a price : she wants a suite at the four seasons and wants steven to perform odd tasks for her ( like bringing her salads in the middle of the night . ) \\nsteven\\'s wife ( andy macdowell ) sees him at a food store and questions him about why he has tampons in his wagon . \\nsteven confesses everything and , although at first suspicious , she later allows sarah to move into their guest room and eventually into their life . \\nthe only question for steven is if the muse is worth all the trouble he\\'s going through for her . \\nand that\\'s a question only time will tell . \\n \" the muse \" is albert brooks\\' sixth film as writer/director/actor ( he co-wrote with monica johnson ) and although it\\'s a good movie it\\'s not up to the level of his best works ( \" defending your life \" and \" mother \" ) . \\nthe problem lies in the script , and for a movie that relies on its dialogue for its humor , there aren\\'t nearly as many laughs as they are chuckles despite a few good one-liners . \\nit has a great premise but doesn\\'t deliver up to it\\'s full potential . \\nbut , i like albert brooks in this film and i think that we can all identify with steven phillips a little bit . \\nhe may whine and complain , but he just wants to support his family and be happy . \\nand i like sharon stone in this movie too ; it\\'s a nice change of pace for her . \\nand i also enjoyed the cameos featuring the likes of rob reiner , james cameron and martin scorsese . \\nand although \" the muse \" doesn\\'t have as much to say about hollywood as robert altman\\'s \" the player \" i still left the theater feeling good . \\nand that\\'s something i wish i got out of more movies . \\n',\n",
+       " b'whether or not i would be considered a trekker probably depends on whom you would ask . \\ni have been a fan of both the original series and its recently retired follow-up , as well as the even- numbered entries in the film series . \\nhowever , i have never been one of those folks who store away trek minutiae and get into debates over the relative merits of spock vs . data . \\nsomewhere along the line , the \" star trek \" film series began to seem more and more directed at those in the latter category , and star trek : generations may be the natural conclusion of this direction . \\nits production values may be high , but the writing is frequently appalling , and instead of a script has a collection of references , in-jokes and ill-defined characters . \\ngenerations opens in the late 23rd century , where members of the original enterprise crew , including captain james t . kirk ( william shatner ) , are present for the christening of the latest ship to bear that name . \\nno sooner is it out on its maiden voyage than a distress signal brings them to the nexus , a mysterious ribbon of energy . \\namong those rescued from the nexus is long-lived alien dr . soran ( malcolm mcdowell ) , but he is none-too-pleased at being back in the real world . \\nseventy-eight years later , soran is still trying to get back to the nexus , and again encounters an enterprise , this one led by captain jean-luc picard ( patrick stewart ) . \\nsoran\\'s plan involves destroying a star with an inhabited planet , and the only hope for saving 230 million people is the historic meeting of two enterprise captains . \\ni don\\'t think it is an insult to fans of \" star trek \" to suggest that to a certain extent , the particulars of a plot are not really the most important elements in a \" trek \" film . \\nit\\'s about a chance to visit with old friends , and if they are involved in a truly interesting story it can be considered gravy . \\nbut even that interpretation assumes that characterization has to be consistent , and in generations that just doesn\\'t happen . \\ndata ( brent spiner ) is particularly victimized by this sloppy writing . \\nin the film\\'s major sub-plot , data decides to use a chip which will give him human emotions , a chip he has had in his possession for over a year . \\nwhat is his motivation for taking this drastic and perhaps dangerous step ? \\nhe doesn\\'t get a joke . \\nonce the chip is in place , spiner gets to have a lot of fun with data\\'s new emotions , but the point is that he\\'s no longer the data we know . \\nif the rest of the \" next generation \" cast fares any better , it\\'s only because they\\'re on the screen so little that they\\'re simply window dressing . \\nbut then again , this story isn\\'t really about the new crew . \\nit\\'s about kirk and picard , the cowboy and the politician , sharing the screen . \\nthe huge surprise is that william shatner blows patrick stewart away . \\nperhaps because he knows this is his last go-round in the part that made him a legend , shatner looks like he\\'s having the time of his life ; stewart , on the other hand , borders on the deferrential , and is saddled with the same lackluster motivations as everyone else in the cast . \\nstewart\\'s edginess is indicative of what may be a very bad sign for paramount\\'s hopes to turn the new cast into the same kind of franchise the original cast was : these are clearly the not ready for big screen players . \\nby contrast , the prologue which features scotty ( james doohan ) and chekhov ( walter koenig ) is the highlight of the film . \\nthese characters have become part of the popular mythology , and when they take over the enterprise in a moment of distress , it\\'s a moment of high energy . \\nonly thirty years of history can create a moment like that , and that\\'s time this new crew doesn\\'t have . \\nit certainly doesn\\'t help that the plot they are stuck in is so convoluted and badly constructed that you need to leave a trail of bread crumbs to find your way out again . \\nit\\'s also loaded with little gags all aimed at those who are familiar enough with the series to turn to all their friends in a shared nudge of recognition . \\ni wonder whether anyone who is coming in cold to the \" trek \" universe at this point would be anything but baffled and bored by what is going on . \\nand what a waste of malcolm mcdowell , who could have been a great monomanical villain but should have been given a much more compelling reason for his obsession . \\nthere are plenty of details both scientific and of continuity to pick at , but to do so would be to ignore generations\\' major flaws . \\nhowever , i would like to make one recommendation : seatbelts . \\nnot just for the enterprise crew , although you\\'d think by the 24th century space travel wouldn\\'t involve rolling around on the floor during a battle . \\nno , i think the audience might need them more . \\nthis journey is one bumpy ride . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"well there goes another one . \\nsadly this like other movies this year wasn't good . \\nthis one being almost as bad as 'the omega code' but not quite . \\nfrom the opening credits i had a good feeling this would be bad , and well i guess i was right . \\nwith bad excuses for acting , a horrible screenplay and straight-out bad direction 'the bachelor' is a terribly unfunny movie that doesn't work on any levels accept that fact that rene zellwegar who does give a good performance . \\nthe two cameos by brooke shields and mariah carey are also good with brooke being the best . \\nthe movie is troubled from the start because chris o'donnell is hugely miscast and gives one of the worst performances to date . \\nhere is the stupid plot : chris o'donnell plays jimmie shelton a man who has just broken up with his girlfriend , he meets anne ( rene zellwegar ) they instantly hit it off and are together for three years . \\njimmie decides that he wants to bring their relationship a little bit up . \\nhe really doesn't realize that anne thinks he wants to marry her ( what he wants i never did catch ) . \\nso he proposes in a really bad way , and she shoots him down and is very mad . \\nhe of course tries to apologize but nothing seems to help any . \\nthen his grandfather dies and he learns that he has left jimmie 100 million dollars . . . . as \\nlong as he marries before the next day at 6 : 05 pm . \\nnow jimmie must find anne and try to marry her to get the money and because he loves her , or get married to someone else to get the money itself , leading to an un-funny and predictable ending that leaves a bad taste in our mouths . \\nok so maybe this could be one of the dumbest , cliched , silliest romantic comedy to date that has no real big laughs . \\neven the supporting roles of artie lange , hal holbrook and ed anser aren't even good . \\nthe plot was a good idea , but the script would have to have been written in less than five minutes and by a five year old . \\nthe choppy dialogue and bad directing don't help things any . \\neven though chris o'donnell gave an ok performance in the two batman movies , he does not give even a remotely good or funny performance here and i wanted to boo and throw my pop at the screen to get rid of him . \\nrene zelweggar is a different story and gave a charming , sweet and likable performance ( as usual ) and really was the only thing that saved this confused movie from being a total huge washout . \\nher sister played by marley shelton is also good and the two have good chemistry onscreen . \\nbrooke shields showed up in a funny little performance as a big-headed mogul who after a while became routine and old . \\none really can't help but think that we have seen this stuff before . \\nit's not like this is an original idea and in the end , everyone knows what is going to happen due do its cliches and typicalness . \\n'the bachelor' works on no good levels and in fact doesn't work at all . \\ned anser and hal holbrook were wasted in terrible roles and mariah carey can not act to save her soul , and this could be the only film of her movie career dispite her terrific music career . \\nchris o'donnell is not as bad an actor as casper van dien but that is not saying a great deal . \\nhe seems held back and really doesn't get into his character much and after even the first 30 minutes gets annoying and old . \\nartie lange just to me seems like he is trying to another chris farley and was completely unfunny and un-nerving . \\nwhy the filmmakers would want to waste such a cast in such a bad movie , with such bad acting and dialogue is a question only they will know . \\nmaybe they thought it would become a hit or a critical success , and sometimes i don't agree with other critics on movies , even from the trailers for this film they made it look bad and showed all the mildly funny parts . \\nits based on the 1925 silent film 'seven chances' which i am sure is very better than this mess . \\neven though some may think of this as a good date movie , most who see this will want to pull out thier hair and scream for thier money back . \\nbesides being a terrible movie , 'the bachelor' is well a terrible movie . \\nit has nothing worth recommending therefore i really can't recommend this movie . \\ni did not have a good time and i laughed only three times . \\nthe running time of the movie is 106 minutes which is wayyyy over time and needs to be shortened at least thirty minutes . \\nparts of it seems to go on forever and parts of seem to not last enough time . \\nbeing one of the worst movies of the year , we can be sure that i hope they will not make anymore stupid unfunny romantic comedies , and if they do they i give up on filmmakers . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'synopsis : a maniac , crazed by virulent microphage , slaughters more than twenty people , including a street gang and heavily-armed troops , with a small knife . \\neven with a handgun , however , he can\\'t take out the two cops who are after him , despite having shot one of them a total of seven times . \\ncomments : the most notable aspect of adrenalin : fear the rush is that it marks a striking career move for natasha henstridge . \\nnot only does she manage to keep all her clothes on ( her trademark in earlier films such as species and maximum risk was to strip naked as often as possible ) , but she actually puts on even more clothes as the film progresses . \\nthis will probably disappoint many henstridge fans , but i welcome the change because henstridge is an attractive , capable actress who deserves less exploitative roles ( though , i admit , it doesn\\'t show in this mess ) . \\nhenstridge , just like every other actor in the film , delivers a wooden performance in this monumental turkey . \\n ( the cast also includes christopher lambert , who has appeared in the highlander and mortal kombat films . ) \\nhow on earth this movie got two big-name stars to appear in it is beyond me . \\nadrenalin : fear the rush is set in boston ten years in the future ( 2007 ) . \\nboston has changed dramatically in those ten years . \\nit is now home to a bunch of interred foreigners and policed by cops who drive around in small cars with \" policia \" printed on their doors . \\nsome guy has a really bad virus , and he\\'s killing people because of it . \\nso , the brave good guys ( lambert and henstridge ) go after him . \\nthat\\'s it . \\n76 minutes never seemed so long . \\nthis is a drawn-out chase scene through dimly-lit abandoned buildings turned into an entire movie . \\nthe plot development is nil ; we learn absolutely nothing about lambert\\'s character and very little about henstridge\\'s character . \\nthe dialogue is littered with unnecessary obscenities and concerns mindnumbingly idiotic arguments over who will go down the next dark corridor/tunnel/airduct next and who will carry the flashlight . \\na subplot does exist involving henstridge\\'s character\\'s illegal attempt to get her son out of boston . \\nin her opening monologue , a monologue which sounds as though henstridge was reading from cue cards , we learn that she has gone to great lengths to secure a fake passport for her son . \\ntwenty minutes into the film , i wondered if the movie would have been better if it focused on this plot . \\nin a defining scene of the movie , however , i changed my mind . \\nthis fake passport drops to the ground . \\nlambert\\'s cop immediately recognizes it as a fraud from six feet away . \\nmust not have been a good fake . \\nthis emphasizes another fault with the film . \\nthings just defy common sense . \\nlambert\\'s cop , for instance , is shot seven times , yet he is still able to talk and slide about . \\nadrenalin : fear the rush ends in a trite manner that doesn\\'t seem to even fit the mood that the filmmakers were trying for . \\ni found myself rather bored with this film , which will disappoint both sci-fi/horror fans and fans of henstridge and lambert . \\ndon\\'t fear the rush . \\nfear the movie . \\nwatch something else . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i still can\\'t figure out why people went in droves to see this movie . \\nnow before you go assuming i\\'m some sort of high brow snob , who can\\'t appreciate a little dumb humor , let me say that i love cheap humor . \\ni thought there\\'s something about mary was one of the funniest films that i have ever seen and it was certainly one of the best films of 1998 . \\nlow brow adolescent humor can be a lot of fun , the problem with the waterboy is that it is just low brow and adolescent , there is no humor component . \\ni wanted to like the waterboy , i really did . \\ni think i only laughed maybe 2 or 3 times throughout the entire movie . \\nactually , i smiled a couple of more times on top of that . \\nnot a great record for a 90-minute film . \\nthe problem with the waterboy is the same as most other adam sandler movies . \\nthose responsible for this mess seem to think that the sheer fact that sandler walks around using a goofy voice and playing dumb the entire movie is a substitute for actual funny material . \\nnothing could be further from the truth , as matter of fact , sandler\\'s idiot voice started to get on my nerves at points in this film . \\nit\\'s really a shame too , because this film had the potential to be very funny . \\ni personally believe that sandler is probably a very talented comedian , it\\'s just that so far he hasn\\'t been able to find the right film to showcase his talents . \\nif his only talent is making goofy voices and playing morons , my guess is that his career in the movies will go down the same road as the vast majority of the former stars of saturday night live . \\nmost of whom are now happily no longer in the entertainment industry . \\nsandler plays a 31-year-old , somewhat mentally challenged , waterboy for a college football team . \\nthe team\\'s somewhat mentally disturbed coach ( henry winkler ) realizes that his waterboy has a great deal of pent-up rage , which , if harnessed properly , would make him a force to be reckoned with on the football field . \\nyou can figure out the rest from here . \\nsandler joins the team and this once lowly waterboy becomes a football star . \\nas i said , the film had a great deal of potential . \\nthe idea was a decent one , but the main potential of this movie is a result of the cast . \\nall of whom are very good , just hamstrung by really , really , lousy material . \\neven sandler , annoying goofy voice and all , has enough charisma and natural comedic ability to overcome some of his bad material . \\neven as unfunny as his character is , i still found myself rooting for him throughout the film . \\nbut it is the supporting cast that i feel most badly about . \\nif their material had been just a bit better , this film could have been such a funny movie . \\nfairuza balk plays sandler\\'s leather-wearing biker-chick love interest and does a great job playing sleazy and sexy at the same time . \\nwinkler is great as the coach who uses a \" coaching for dummies \" -style book to help him get through games . \\nthe real standout though , is kathy bates . \\neven with some of the worst material of her career to deal with , she is still a treat to watch in her role as sandler\\'s overprotective and overbearing mama . \\neven with the performances of bates and winkler , there is absolutely no way i would recommend this movie . \\nalthough i get the distinct impression that without them , this film would have ranked in negative numbers for me . \\nwhich is sad , because i can\\'t really put my finger on a particular element of the movie and single it out as the cause of the disaster that it became . \\nit\\'s obvious that those involved , specifically the actors , tried very hard to make what they thought was going to be a funny movie . \\nit\\'s just too bad that 99 percent of all of the jokes fell flat . \\n',\n",
+       " b'nosferatu the vampyre ( germany 1979 ) \\na film review by mike watson copyright 1999 mike watson \\nthis extraordinary re-telling of bram stoker\\'s \" dracula \" by german filmmaker werner herzog deserves the most prominent of places in cinematic vampire lore . \\ninspired by f . w . murnau\\'s 1922 silent film of the same name , herzog\\'s film is a work of exquisite bleakness , an oddly touching tragedy with a beautiful and uniquely haunting quality that lingers long afterwards . \\nthe original full-length english and german language versions of nosferatu have at last received a video release by u . s . distributor anchor bay entertainment , and in gorgeous widescreen prints . \\nuntil now only a shortened english language version of the film was available on video , and only in europe . \\nboth of these re-releases restore the film to its full length , but viewers should still be wary of the english version due to its often stilted dialogue . \\napparently the english dialogue coach herzog had on the set during filming was incompetent , and some of the voices also seem to be dubbed . \\nthe german version with english subtitles remains the definitive one . \\neveryone knows the story of dracula . \\nor do they ? \\nhis story has been so bastardised on film over the years that a brief reminder of the basic plot certainly won\\'t hurt . \\njonathan harker is a young lawyer sent to the gloomy castle dracula in transylvania to do business with a creepy count ( played by klaus kinski ) who wants to buy a house in harker\\'s hometown . \\nupon seeing a photo of harker\\'s wife ( the radiant isabelle adjani ) he instantly falls in love with her . \\nlocking harker up in his castle , he sets off on a long journey to meet this woman whose beauty so bewitches him . \\nupon divining his identity as a vampire , adjani seduces the count and lures him to his death one morning as the sun rises . \\nthat is a story familiar to millions , but herzog has elevated stoker\\'s tale into the realm of - and i use this term a tad reluctantly - cinematic art . \\nnosferatu is as much a meditation as it is a film , shot through blue-ish and white filters and peopled with characters who perform as if they were half hypnotised . \\nthe film\\'s surreal , dream-like quality is utterly mesmerising . \\nthere is much to enjoy , but i\\'ll limit my praise to a few key points . \\nholding the film together is kinski\\'s remarkable performance as count dracula . \\npast screen portrayals , including bela lugosi\\'s famous turn , have largely been one dimensional and tended towards camp . \\nbut kinski . . . oh boy , this is something far more compelling . \\naided by a startling make-up job , he portrays dracula\\'s vampirism not simply as pure evil but as some sort of loathsome disease . \\nthis man is dreadfully lonely . \\nhe lives in utter solitude , shunned by the locals for his hideous appearance and reputation for bloodlust . \\nkinski\\'s portrayal of the count is both creepy and deeply affecting . \\nwhen he dies , you almost feel as if this man\\'s tortured soul has been freed at last . \\nthen there\\'s the unforgettable soundtrack , largely composed by german group popul vuh . \\nit is so eerily beautiful and evocative that it\\'s quite impossible to imagine the film without it . \\npopul vuh are longtime herzog collaborators and play an ancient-sounding kind of spacemusic using piano , chants , and exotic instruments . \\nwhen i first saw this film some years ago i was so impressed i tracked down and bought a number of their albums . \\nthe one i still listen to the most is \" tantric songs \" , from which most of the music in nosferatu is taken . \\nit\\'s a testament to the music\\'s depth that it is as powerful without the pictures as it is with them . \\nthe album is still available on the highly respected ambient and world music label celestial harmonies . \\nthis is a timely re-release by anchor bay . \\nafter francis ford coppola\\'s unscary and woefully overblown version of bram stoker\\'s tale in 1992 , it is a joy to go back to herzog\\'s film and see the amazing things he has done with what is now a century-old story . \\nto some aficionados , nosferatu is quite simply the greatest vampire film ever made . \\nwithout a doubt , it is an unmistakable classic of the genre . \\ndon\\'t miss it . \\n',\n",
+       " b'wizards is an animated feature that begins with a narration of epic proportions . \\nover black and white drawings , we are told that the earth is destroyed in an apocalyptic nuclear exchange , sending the remnants of humanity through generations of radiation-induced mutation . \\nthe \" original \" inhabitants of the earth , fairies and elves , return to populate the globe , along with their evil , mutant counterparts . \\none day ( and i say \" one day \" not to be trite , but because that\\'s exactly how it happened - no advance notice ) , a fairy queen gives birth to twins , one good and one evil . \\nthe twins grow up to be powerful wizards , the good one embracing magic , and the bad one utilizing technology to attempt to expand his evil empire . \\nwe are given the notion that an ultimate battle must occur between the forces of magic and those of technology . \\nas unoriginal as the premise is , i was still somewhat interested in how this story would play itself out . \\nthere\\'s a lot you can do in an animated fantasy world , after all . \\ni soon learned , however , that the fantasy was the expectation of a decent film . \\nonce the transition was made from still art to color animation , an entirely different feel takes precedence . \\nrather than the epic saga promised by the narration , we get a goofy-looking world of a saturday morning cartoon . \\nnot just the look , mind you , but all the zany sounds like >honk boing \\nfor years , blackwolf has lost his battles against the magical forces of good , since his armies of ogres and other mutants would get dispirited or distracted soon after battle is joined . \\nhowever , blackwolf now has a secret weapon : nazis . \\nyup , adolf hitler , the luftwaffe and the wehrmacht . \\nokay , not the real things , but an archival film his minions dug up . \\nprojected into the sky for all to see , it inspires his own army while shocking the enemy into submission long enough for the ogres to hack them up . \\nbefore you know it , there are dead elves everywhere . \\nthis is just as well . \\nthe characters are so bad that the viewer doesn\\'t care about any of them . \\nthey\\'re either silly , sappy , or both . \\nthe dialog gets much of the credit for this . \\nan example is when avatar nonchalantly says , \" well , looks like my brother and i begin our final battle . \" \\nnot very formidable when he\\'s also the guy who says , \" this is the biggest bummer of a trip i\\'ve ever been on . \" \\nmy favorite line was from a sideline fairy who is asked by her child why good can\\'t fight back against the nazi-charged evil . \\nher response is , \" they have weapons and technology . \\nwe just have love . \" \\nsuffice to say , the characters are strictly two-dimensional , and we therefore don\\'t expect anything more than the obvious to happen . \\nwhich it does . \\nthe only unexpected occurrence is the way the final battle between brothers is played out , which is anticlimactic and disappointing . \\nplease note that it is the action that is unexpected . \\nthat it is disappointing is not . \\nthe film couldn\\'t settle on a particular mood . \\nit seems to move from dark to light with the cuts from scene to scene and even angle to angle . \\nscenes which are seemingly meant to contain deep meaning are ruined by acts of levity . \\nthe dramatics , which seem to occur at random , are overly staged and overly acted , detracting from any kind of value or even enjoyment which could otherwise be gleaned . \\nralph bakshi , the director , makes an obvious attempt to get a message across in this film : hitler and the nazis were bad . \\nso who doesn\\'t know this already ? \\nwell , maybe children . \\nokay , so you might say that this is a movie for children . \\nit\\'s not . \\nin the scenes where good fights evil , there\\'s a lot of violence and gore that children should not be seeing if they\\'re watching a cartoon . \\nso is the film for adults ? \\nif so , we probably don\\'t need to be bashed over the head to get the point . \\nwhy not have the bad guys be symbolic of the nazis instead of using old propaganda in a seriously disjointed attempt to show us something we already know ? \\nwizards gives us a lot of footage of nazi tanks and airplanes , and hitler giving speeches . \\nhowever , we don\\'t see any reason why they should be considered bad . \\nwe see no atrocities being committed , not even any real battle footage . \\nthere is absolutely no connection made between the armies of evil and the third reich , and we\\'re not even given a cursory explanation as to why this stuff is inspiring in the first place . \\nthis needed to be thought out much more thoroughly if a point were to be made , since subject matter such as this deserves better treatment . \\ni\\'d like to assume that bakshi was trying to say that the same nationalist movement that drove the nazis could happen anywhere , at any time , and we must therefore be vigilant . \\nhowever , i\\'m not sure if i want to give him that much credit . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"running time approximately 1hr 40mins \\nreviewed by jack choo \\nrating : \\nthe movie starts with a rather se7en-ish opening sequence , rather cool and sets the mood for things to come . \\nthe story propels the audience into a neo-reality ; somewhat very close to conscious reality but laced with weird tinges of blue and red . \\nexistenz is actually the name of a new virtual-reality game . \\nsupposedly , vr games are highly popular as is considered a legal-drug in this neo-reality . \\n * * * * ( leigh ) is the ultimate game creator and introduces her ultimate game-experience in the form of existenz . \\nplayers are required to have bio-ports embedded in their spine , which plugs to a game-pod in order to enjoy the immersive experience . \\nduring a secretive beta-testing-cum-teaser meeting for this new game , an assassination attempt on * * * life occurs and she runs off with fellow bodyguard * * * ( law ) . \\n * * * is more of a realists than anything else , afraid that he'll lose reality if he begin to play these games but * * * requires his help to immerse together with her into existenz to check if the program is still functioning properly after the assassination attempt . \\nas they soon discover , they are transported between realities within existenz uncovering more than they initially expected . \\nexistenz has all the cronenberg-gore that is expected of him . \\neven so , this film is no-where near his cult classics such as videodrome or scanners . \\nnot even half as suspenseful as the commercially successful the fly . \\nexistenz can probably be looked upon as his 90's version of videodrome , even so , it is a poor follow-up . \\nwhile in most of his famed films , his penchant for gore always hit the right note with theme of the film and plot . \\nin existenz , the gory sequences are no more attached to spirit of the film and seem to be an act of over-indulgence than anything else . \\njennifer jason leigh and jude law , both commendable actors , looked aloof and miss-directed throughout the entire film . \\nthe scripting and acting barely pulls the film out of the b-grade category . \\nit was obvious that cronenberg worked on a really tight-budget and it seems that he handled that pretty well in the production design and values created for this film ( the opening sequence , though , probably formed a considerable portion of the budget ! ) \\nwhich is actually quite good . \\nexistenz is too predictable and cliched in these times . \\n10 years ago , it would have been another classic for cronenberg . \\ncronenberg fans however , ( those people who enjoy seeing friends getting queasy over mutilation on film ) should not give this film a miss as some form of appreciation can still be offered by you . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'susan granger\\'s review of \" american outlaws \" ( warner bros . ) \\nthomas edison\\'s \" the great train robbery \" ( 1903 ) was the first western ever made and \" jesse james under the black flag \" ( 1923 ) first introduced the outlaw folk hero . \\nnow , more than 20 similarly-themed pictures later , jesse james and his notorious gang of outlaws ride again in a banal mtv spin on an american legend . \\nthe story begins as jesse ( charasmatic colin farrell ) and his brother frank ( gabriel macht ) , cole and scott younger ( scott caan , will mccormack ) and trusty comanche tom ( nathaniel arcand ) , after four years of fighting for the rebs in the civil war , return to liberty , missouri - only to discover union troops are occupying their hometown . \\nand an avaricious east coast railroad baron , thaddeus rains ( harris yulin ) , is forcing farmers to sell their land at less than true value , aided by allan pinkerton ( timothy dalton ) and his infamous detectives who , back then , were just thugs who provided security . \\nbut when ma james ( kathy bates ) becomes one of their victims , jesse and the rest of the guys ( gregory smith , ty o\\'neal , joe stevens ) form the james-younger gang to wreak revenge by attacking the railroad\\'s supply lines , sabotaging track and robbing the banks where the payroll is kept . \\nplus there\\'s romance - between jesse and a spunky hometown gal , lee mimms ( ali larter ) . \\nworking from a politically-correct , clich ? -drenched , sanitized and revisionist screenplay by roderick taylor and john rodgers , director les mayfield keeps the action fast-paced and goes for lightweight laughs when he can . \\nthe choppy editing hurts but russell boyd\\'s cinematography , luke reichle\\'s designer duds and trevor rabin\\'s music lend authenticity . \\non the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , \" american outlaws \" is a galloping , formulaic 3 . \\nit\\'s the wild west re-visited as a date movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'warning : this review contains some spoilers for the 1964 film \" fail-safe . \" \\nif you haven\\'t seen the film yet , proceed with caution . \\nnutshell : a relevant , intelligent , suspenseful drama . \\nstill powerful today , even after the end of the cold war . \\n-------------------- \" fail-safe \" ( usa , 1964 ) drama , 111 minutes \\nscreenplay by walter bernstein based on the novel by eugene burdick and harvey wheeler produced by max e . youngstein directed by sidney lumet \\nreview by jamahl epsicokhan -------------------- \\nthe most ironic aspect of nuclear war is that it doesn\\'t have a winning side and a losing side . \\nin a nuclear confrontation , everybody loses , and the aftereffects have devastating effects that impact the entire world--assuming the world survives . \\nthe idea--and perhaps the only real option--is to avoid war at all costs . \\nthis is the theme of sidney lumet\\'s \" fail-safe , \" a fictional drama based on the novel by eugene burdick and harvey wheeler . \\n \" fail-safe \" takes place during the heart of the cold war ( the actual film was released two years after the cuban missile crisis ) , when the united states and the soviet union were in static discord over an issue that can be summarized in a single word : communism . \\nthe premise centers around a combination of accidents and operation flaws . \\nfive u . s . bombers carrying nuclear warheads are ordered to set a routine course for moscow after an unidentified aircraft is spotted heading toward america . \\nthe unidentified aircraft turns out to be a commercial airliner , but a mechanical failure strikes the military base that commands the bombers . \\nsuddenly out of contact , and with standing orders to remain on course until receiving new directives , the bomber pilots cannot be recalled , and they proceed to moscow with the intention of destroying it with a nuclear strike . \\na great deal of \" fail-safe \" \\'s plot follows various characters as they attempt to devise ways of stopping the u . s . bombers from reaching russia\\'s borders--at any cost . \\nthe plot is compelling , and the story creates urgency and dread by painting the grimmest of worst case scenarios . \\nthe reality sets in quickly as one attempt to turn the bombers after another fails . \\ngeneral bogan ( frank overton ) , taking orders directly from the president of the united states himself ( henry fonda ) , is powerless--the fate of the world lies in the hands of an automated , pre-programmed system that may not be stoppable , simply because the creators of the war machines were too efficient in their task to make a no-win situation winnable . \\nthe events in \" fail-safe \" are fascinating because they\\'re anything but predictable , but the real reason \" fail-safe \" works is because it understands more about nuclear war than what exists within the confines of its plot . \\na key ingredient to the film is its ability to create an ongoing polemic about nuclear war , communism , the cold war , and the united states\\' role in all of it . \\nmost of this is through the film\\'s use of the character groeteschele ( walter matthau ) , an arrogant civilian theorist of nuclear weapons use who , incidentally , is on the president\\'s advising staff for analyzing the statistical plausibility of waging a nuclear war . \\nmany of the film\\'s most pointed messages arise from discussions where groeteschele is one of the key voices . \\nearly in the film , he hosts a dinner party where he explains the importance of \" strategy \" in a nuclear assault to \" minimize \" casualties . \\n \" what\\'s the difference between 60 million and 100 million dead ? \" \\na guest asks impatiently . \\n \" forty million , \" groeteschele responds wryly . \\nthe problem with groeteschele\\'s mindset is that he * believes * nuclear combat to be a viable method of war . \\nthe only difference to him between nuclear armageddon and conventional warfare is the raw data and the casualty totals . \\ngroeteschele realizes that these weapons can destroy the world several times over . \\nyet his answer to the arms race is not to slow down and try to cool the situation off , as general black ( dan o\\'herlihy ) has often recommended . \\non the contrary--according to groeteschele , that would lead to russia having * more * nuclear weapons than the u . s . , which would clearly put america at a disadvantage . \\nsuch a stance was perhaps the central paradox and misguided practice of the arms race . \\n \" fail-safe \" clearly sees it as one of the central issues of the cold war , and , likewise , it becomes a central theme in the film . \\nwhy continue to build such machines of mass destruction while already possessing enough of them to destroy the world several times over ? \\nis it wise ? \\nis it even logical ? \\nno , not really . \\nalthough \" fail-safe \" is more about the issue of nuclear weapons than it is about the political ramifications of communism , there is a scene in the film that deals with communism in an intentionally superficial , one-sided sort of way . \\nagain , this is achieved through groeteschele , who is easily the film\\'s most important character in terms of the larger-theme significance . \\nin addition to providing the central \" pro-nuclear war \" voice that the film warns against , he also makes key remarks about communists that show just how much fear and resentment people of the period were prone to when it came to communism . \\nthe context the film uses suggests that this hatred was often glib . \\none of groeteschele\\'s \" logical \" trains of thought ventures so far into fantasy theoretical prediction that it\\'s merely absurd . \\nhe labels the average marxist an \" unfeeling , calculating machine \" that will do whatever it takes to preserve itself . \\ngroeteschele takes it so far as to say that if the u . s . drops the warhead on moscow , the soviets will * instantly * surrender , for to retaliate would invite counter-measures that would further destroy russia\\'s home soil--which must be preserved at all costs . \\ngroeteschele seems to forget these people are human beings with emotions ; general black quickly reminds him that the soviets would attack out of revenge--as any normal person would . \\nthe irony here is groeteschele\\'s own mechanical theorizing . \\nhe is so quick to judge the enemy that he doesn\\'t even realize his own seemingly programmed thought patterns . \\nonce the film makes it evident that turning the u . s . bombers will be impossible , the question becomes what the * consequences * of destroying moscow will be . \\njust how will the soviet union\\'s leader react , and what can the president do to convey his best intentions ? \\n ( just * how * does one pass off the deaths of millions of people as an * mishap * ? ) \\nwith the help of his translator buck ( larry hagman ) , the president negotiates at length with the soviet leader , in scenes that prove amazingly taut and powerful in their simplicity , with lumet\\'s long takes of fonda and hagman in the same frame , exchanging the dialog between the president and the soviet leader . \\nwithout getting into too much detail , i will say that the compromise they ultimately reach is very costly , yet necessary and as sensible as possible under the circumstances . \\n ( that is , as sensible as a nuclear \" incident \" can probably be . ) \\nit does accomplish what it must : it avoids an all-out war , something that simply isn\\'t possible because of its all-too-real consequences . \\ndramatically , the ending is quite powerful , and the use of o\\'herlihy\\'s character as the symbolic \" matador \" ( providing a bookend to the film by ending the story while tying into his dream sequence from the film\\'s opening ) , is particularly appropriate . \\n \" fail-safe \" is a production of a major hollywood studio ( released by columbia pictures ) , and it has the structure of a high-tension suspense thriller that one might expect from a hollywood film . \\nnevertheless , under lumet\\'s direction and walter bernstein\\'s intelligent adaptation of burdick\\'s and wheeler\\'s novel , the film continues to have a lasting effect even after the events on screen have unfolded . \\nthe film often warns that the automation of war is something that may make nuclear holocaust an unintentional consequence of such mass arming . \\nbut it was the conscious , human choice to * initialize * this automatic arming that \" fail-safe \" also finds dangerous . \\nin retrospect , the arms race seems to be one of the most puzzling exercises in futility of the century . \\nit\\'s just fortunate that both sides were finally able to come to their senses and slow down , rather than continuing groeteschele\\'s dangerous approach of speeding up and causing a possible meltdown . \\n',\n",
+       " b'ok , i admit it--i find camp amusement with the spice girls . \\nyes , the same spice girls of the gimmicky individual \" identities , \" they of the annoyingly infectious bubblegum pop hooks and cheesy unifying mantra of \" girl power . \" \\nbut not even their guilty pleasure appeal isn\\'t enough to carry their big screen debut , a junky mess which would be more aptly named shite world than spice world . \\nthe film begins amusingly enough , with a cheeky 007-esque title sequence in which the british quintet-- \" scary \" ( melanie brown ) , \" baby \" ( emma bunton ) , \" sporty \" ( melanie chisolm ) , \" ginger \" ( geri halliwell ) , and \" posh \" ( victoria adams ) --are introduced one by one ( to , much to my surprise , excited and only slightly mocking cheers from the press audience ) as they croon the silky ballad \" too much \" ( a tune that would sound right at home in an actual james bond film ) . \\na few minutes and an elton john cameo later comes an introductory tour of the numerous plotlines that run through the film : ( 1 ) the spicy ones go on a european publicity tour leading up to their first live concert at london\\'s royal albert hall ; ( 2 ) a film producer ( george wendt ) and a screenwriter ( mark mckinney ) pitch various film ideas to the girls\\' manager , clifford ( richard e . grant ) ; ( 3 ) a documentary film crew follows the girls ; ( 4 ) a pregnant \" mate \" ( naoki mori ) of the group rapidly approaches her due date ; and ( 5 ) a tabloid publisher ( barry humphries ) attempts to destroy the group with the help of a sneaky shutterbug ( richard o\\'brien ) . \\ncapped off by a live rendition of the girls\\' bouncy hit \" say you\\'ll be there , \" a wealth of laughs and merriment is sure to follow , right ? \\nwrong . it\\'s all downhill from there as spice world collapses into a series of misfired comedy sketches . \\ni must give the girls credit for their refreshing willingness to make fun of themselves , but writer kim fuller and director bob spiers can barely come up with a funny joke between them , much less a organized framework for all the \" wacky \" goings-on . \\nspice world jumps from vignette to vignette , subplot to subplot with no direction and little sense , at one minute having the girls meet with aliens ( no joke ) and at another having them stage a daring rescue of two young fans who fall into the water during a boat ride . \\nwhile a decent joke slips through the cracks here and there--during a \" dance bootcamp \" scene , the girls sing the lyric \" we know how we got this far/strength and courage and a wonderbra \" --much of the material is not even funny on the chuckle level . \\nsome gags are just plain pointless , such as roger moore\\'s recurring role as the mysterious chief , who dispenses cryptic , metaphor-heavy advice to clifford . \\nthe only reason why i can think anyone would find that funny is the fact that moore once played james bond . \\nha ha . \\nas weak as the script is , i think there\\'s one insurmountable problem with even attempting to make a spice girls movie , and that is the girls themselves . \\nthe point is not that they can\\'t act ( and , for the record , they really _can\\'t_ ) but that their individual personas , which works as a gimmick over the span of a four-minute music video , are too thin to survive outside of the truncated , video bite mtv world . \\nposh ( who garnered the most enthusiastic cheers during the introductions ) comes off best by default because her persona ( rich bitch ) most easily translates into character in a film . \\nbaby\\'s persona ( young innocent ) , to a lesser extent , also works , but the remaining girls\\' identities are a little harder to flesh out . \\nthere really isn\\'t much to do with sporty besides having her exercise every so often ( which is _exactly_ what fuller and spiers do ) , and , after all , what exactly entails being \" ginger \" or \" scary \" ? \\napparently , just their wardrobes . \\nspice world manages to pick up some steam in the late going following a flashback performance of the spices\\' signature hit , \" wannabe . \" \\nthe song is as grating as ever , but the energy of the number gives the proceedings a much-needed shot in the arm , setting the stage for a wave of self-referential humor stemmed from the screenwriters\\' film ideas ( the film almost mirrors robert altman\\'s the player in the way the film snails into itself ) . \\nthis section of the film , involving all manner of derring-do involving a speeding bus , is perhaps its most effective , but it also points up how all the other storylines ( the publisher , the documentary crew ) lack a satisfactory payoff . \\nspice world is harmless entertainment suitable for the entire family , and it will please the spice faithful . \\nbut this sloppy enterprise surely won\\'t win them any new fans , which is what the group sorely needs to bolster its rapidly waning girl power in the states . \\nonce the hype disappears , spice world will likely serve as the the spices\\' final hurrah in america . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the kids in the hall are an acquired taste . \\nit took at least a season of watching their show on hbo before i became a believer . \\nmaybe after watching a half dozen kids in the hall movies , they would grow into the big screen . \\nmy recommendation is that , unless you are a big fan of the kids , skip the film . \\nas it is , their first--and most likely only--attempt at a full length film lacks the qualities that made their comedy work on tv . \\na big-budget and glossy production can not make up for a lack of spontaneity that permeates their tv show . \\nthe kids go through the motions , but you get the feeling that they arent really having fun doing so . \\nand this makes it more difficult for the audience to enjoy their antics . \\nbrain candy is a bunch of skits tied together by the story of a pharmaceutical company that develops a new drug to cure depression . \\nin typical sketch-comedy tradition , each actor plays several roles . \\ndoctor cooper ( kevin mcdonald ) and his team create the drug . \\nthen , under pressure from don roritor ( mark mckinney ) , founder and president of roritor pharmaceuticals , dr . cooper releases the drug into the marketplace . \\nthe ensuing distribution of the new happy pill throughout the populace drives the rest of the film . \\nat about 90 minutes , brain candy still seems long . \\nthe best thing about sketch comedy--and the kids are no exception--is the ability to quickly deliver the laughs , then go on to another quick skit . \\nbut with the additional set-up necessary in telling a longer , coherent story , the laughs just dont come fast enough . \\nstrangely , the show is even more tame than it was when on cable tv . \\nthe movie makes several attempts at risqueness--mostly by pointing up the gayness of one of scott thompsons characters--but they seem almost forced ; as if they have to live up to a pg rating . \\none of the best bits , though , does make use of thompsons naked buttocks ; we see him charging into battle--going to have sex with some guys taking a shower . \\nin the classic of this genre , monty python pulled off this delicate balancing act between plot advancement and punchline delivery for most of the holy grail . \\nthe kids , unfortunately , are not up to the task . \\nthere are some amusing moments , to be sure , but not enough to make the experience an enjoyable one . \\n',\n",
+       " b'this movie is based off the wildly popular video-game series of the same name . \\nbefore this film , the game had a few spin-off cartoons- which were ok . \\nbut the idea of doing a movie is insane . \\nit should have been animated , if it should have been done at all . \\ninstead the people do the best they can with a talented cast . \\nyet it still fails . \\nthe plot is completely different from the game\\'s plot- i\\'m not complaining about that . \\nthe story involves the mario bros . having a plumbing business in brooklyn and having to compete with a rival company . \\neventually they find a construction site by their nemesis , which happens to be enviromentally un-safe . \\nso , due to luigi\\'s ( john leguizamo ) girlfriend - princess daisy - they go and investigate . \\nthey get transported to a blade runner-esque world lead by king koopa ( dennis hopper ) . \\nsomehow a plot dealing with all the dinosaurs being mutated and transported to an alternate futuristic mega-city jumbles in . \\nthe plot is fine- better than the movie deserves . \\nthe acting is ok . \\nthis seems to be more of a visual film . \\nthe special effects are good , especially on the robotic yoshi . \\nhowever the film drags and is no fun . \\nand it leaves itself open to a sequel , which probably won\\'t ever be made . \\nthis movie begins sort of promising , but ends up leaving a weird taste in your mouth . \\nso if you want to watch a sort of odd movie starring the excellent dennis hopper , then watch super mario bros . : \\nthe movie . \\nyou could do worse . \\nbut you could definitely do better . . . \\n . \\nstreet fighter : the movie ( 1995 ) starring : raul julia and jean claude van-damme \\nthis movie was based off of a series of never ending sequels to a game called street fighter 2 . it has all the characters from the game in a reasonable plot . \\nit is more like a \" movie \" than it should be . \\nyes , it\\'s watchable . \\nraul julia does a good job , considering this was his final film . \\nwhile the game had non-stop fighting sequences , this movie is a hodge-podge of action scenes and flashy sets and costumes while trying to show off a plot at the same time . \\ndoes it work ? \\nsort of . . . \\nthe plot involves the evil shadowloo organization run by m . bison ( raul julia ) . \\nguile ( jean claude van-damme ) takes his troops to attack bison\\'s main base in an attempt to liberate the innocent villages he has taken over . \\nin a short amount of time , the movie introduces several characters well . \\nit catches your attention . \\nbut it ultimately seems like a showcase for fans of the game so you can point out things like \" there\\'s chun li ! ! \" \\nor \" look at that fire-ball ryu did at vega \" . \\nit hits the bases by presenting the characters in a plot with good sets , but goes no further . \\nthis movie needed more action in the first place . \\nthe action scenes that are here are short and not very exciting . \\nif you like light-hearted action flicks , or if you liked the game , watch this one . \\nit is even worth watching if you want to see raul julia\\'s last performance , or if you can\\'t get enough of van damme . \\nother than that , you could find better action flicks . \\n . \\n',\n",
+       " b'bruce willis and sixth sense director m . night shyamalan re-team to tell the story of david dunne ( willis ) , a stadium security guard who has been having some problems at home that are affecting his relationship with his wife and child . \\non a return trip from new york where he was trying to get a job , dunne is in a horrible train accident that he is the only survivor of . \\nto make things even stranger , dunne has also escaped the accident completely unscathed . \\na comic book art dealer named elijah price ( samuel l . jackson ) , who was born with a degenerative bone disease that causes his bones to be so brittle that they break constantly , has been seeking out someone like dunne his entire life . \\nprice felt that there had to be someone exactly the opposite of him . . . \\nsomeone whose bones would be so strong that they would never break . \\nprice contacts dunne and convinces him to come down to his gallery for a talk where he suggests that dunne could quite possibly be something akin to a superhero from the comic books price used to read when he was a child . \\ndunne doesn\\'t believe him at first , but price assists him in discovering his \" powers \" and helps him hone his craft until he discovers what his true calling really is . \\nwriter/director m . night shyamalan had a tough act to follow with his sleeper hit the sixth sense . \\nhow exactly does one follow up on one of the biggest and most popular thrillers in recent years ? \\nfor shyamalan , the answer must have come as easy to him as nuclear physics does to kindergartners . \\ndoes this new film measure up to his breakthrough box office smash , though ? \\nthe answer to that question is not a very easy one , either . \\nas far as pacing goes , the sixth sense seemed almost interminable . \\nit wasn\\'t until the surprise ending was revealed that i realized the film was actually intentionally ( and perfectly ) paced in order to give the audience ample time to re-connect all of the information they had seen once the climax had been reached . \\nfor unbreakable , shyamalan gave the film a much more satisfying pace which , in many ways , blows away the film that had come before . \\nthe story moves along at a steady pace and shyamalan\\'s direction is excellent , with the camera almost constantly moving . \\nthere are tons of great shots in the film , not least of which is a conversation that opens the film between willis\\' character and another train passenger . \\nthe shot seems as though it were filmed like we were watching the two talk from between the train seats and the camera steadily glides back and forth between the two actors as they speak . \\nalso very impressive is the film\\'s score by james newton howard ( who also scored shyamalan\\'s sixth sense and the similar film stir of echoes , as well as this year\\'s dinosaur ) . \\nseveral of the scenes are driven by a very catchy beat and help to increase the tempo of the film . \\none of the best examples of this is a scene in which dunne goes into a train station to \" exercise \" his powers . \\nthe music , in combination with the stellar visuals , really go a long way towards making this an incredible movie . \\nif there was any one soundtrack i would make a must purchase this year , this one would be it . \\nthe film also boasts some great performances , including a precocious child actor trying to vie for the oscar throne left vacant by haley joel osment . \\nwillis turns in a great performance as the sad sack dunne , who just can\\'t seem to figure out why he\\'s been depressed for the last few years . \\nhis character almost seems pathetic when we first meet him , but he eventually grows into his own under elijah\\'s tutelage . \\njackson is one of the better actors of our time , and here he turns in yet another great performance as the ever injured elijah . \\nthough his hairstyle is absurd , jackson seems to infuse such a great deal of pain into his role that the mortar board hairdo can easily be overlooked . \\nrobin wright penn\\'s role seems slightly underwritten , but she still manages to get across the intense hurt of her character\\'s need for love from her husband and her desire to make things work again . \\nspencer treat clark , as the dunne\\'s young son jeremy , shows that shyamalan still has a knack for picking young actors , and he turns in one of the most competent performances in the film . \\nout of all the characters , jeremy\\'s is perhaps the most emotional , and clark does a great job with the role . \\nwhere the film does lose points though , is during its \" surprise \" ending . \\nshyamalan has said in interviews that he was going to do an ending that blew away the one presented by the sixth sense , but i found myself saying \" that was it ? ! \" \\nwhen unbreakable revealed its own ending . \\nit\\'s not that the ending is bad , it\\'s just that the ending doesn\\'t quite have the emotional punch that the other film\\'s did . \\nplus , it almost seems like it sets itself up for sequels ( and i won\\'t reveal the ending here , but you\\'ll understand what i mean when you see it ) . \\nessentially , what all of this means is that shyamalan has made another good film with unbreakable . \\nthe only real problem is that the ending doesn\\'t quite fill the shadow left by its predecessor . \\nas long as it isn\\'t held to the standard that sixth sense set ( which it ultimately will be ) , it should be a remarkably well liked film . \\none thing seems clear , though . \\nshyamalan definitely has an affinity for comic books that he would like to share with the world and many comic book fans will also delight the vision he presents in this film . \\n',\n",
+       " b'we share the descent into darkness of a talented boy pianist . \\nyears later we see his subsequent resurfacing ; in the mid 80\\'s a damaged man walks out of a rainstorm and back into the world . \\nthe movie charts the causes of his mental breakdown . \\nbased on the life story of david helfgott , this australian film is a rich exploration of the pressures drilling in upon a child-genius , compounded by the looming shadow of a domineering father . \\nin the 1950\\'s helfgott emerged as a child prodigy . \\nthe film traces his relationship with his father , whose encouragement comes at the cost of demanding david have no life beyond that of the black and white keys . \\ndavid is offered places in the usa , but his father refuses to let him leave australia . \\nthe effect this has upon helfgott is cleverly told via a single reverse tracked shot ; david is sobbing on the front doorway of his music teacher\\'s house . \\nhe is well lit via the external house lights . \\nhis teacher isn\\'t home . \\nwe pull back and see that the dark front room\\'s window has it\\'s curtains open . \\nthere , in a pool of blackness , is a grand piano . \\ndavid\\'s fall over the dark cliff has begun . \\ninstead of being told in a linear mode , shine jumps around in time , ala \" pulp fiction \" . \\nthis narrative device works well ; we see david as a boy , teenager in london and mental-patient in various snippets . \\nthe film then neatly loops back for its uplifting conclusion . \\nadult-helfgott\\'s return to the light is told in linear fashion . \\nthe lead role is played by 3 different actors , with the teenage-david ( taylor ) and adult-david ( rush ) standing out . \\nwhilst rush is known for his tv work in australia , i think this is his first major cinema work . \\nhis david , whilst clearly damaged - he keeps quoting his \" daddy \" in a babbling word torrent , cuddles strangers and grabs women on the breasts - is both touching and funny . \\ntaylor\\'s teenage-david is the more sympathy producing role . \\nwe are mute witness to his gradual breakdown as the pressures just keep on building . \\nhis father wants him to play the very demanding rachmaninov\\'s 3rd , whilst his teacher wants to start him with a simple mozart . \\ntechnically this is a beautiful film and a lot of thought has gone in to the production . \\ni particularly like the use of slow motion and sound effects . \\none scene has adult-helfgott happily babbling in a car in the rain . \\nthe sound of the windshield wipers fades up over his voice . \\nwith a clever subtlety , the wiper sound appears to morph into a rhythmic thumping , but of the same beat . \\nthe image dissolves and we realise the thumping is the slow motion applause of a crowd . \\nbut it\\'s us being clapped . \\nwe are young-david walking up to the stage for our first public show . \\nthe music , as you would expect from a film of this subject matter , is critical . \\nand it works very well . \\nthe \\'miming\\' of the actors piano playing is faultless ( apparently rush didn\\'t mime ; he really did play ) \\nhelfgott\\'s life is certainly not without it\\'s sympathetic people . \\nindeed his return to the \\'normal\\' world is accelerated by his chance meetings with two very special women . \\nhis ultimately uplifting story is a magic piece of theatre craft . \\nit shows that with the \\'help of god\\' we can all find our way back home . \\n',\n",
+       " b'jerry springer has got nothing on \" wild things . \" \\njohn mcnaughton\\'s new thriller tackles more tawdry themes in less than two hours than springer\\'s notoriously sleazy talk show broadcasts in two weeks -- bisexuality , threesomes , poolside catfights , slutty rich bimbos , even redneck gator-wrestling , they\\'re all part of the movie\\'s raucous , complex storyline . \\nbut even trash tv topicality can\\'t drag \" wild things \" down -- this crazy campfest plays like something you\\'d find late-night on the usa network , only infinitely more palatable and with a solid ensemble cast . \\ndespite a smattering of needless scenes ( most of them sexual in nature ) , there\\'s wicked fun to be had here . \\n \" wild things \" would be a guilty pleasure , only there\\'s no guilty feeling involved in having a good time with it . \\nhigh school guidance counselor sam lombardo ( matt dillon ) is well-liked in the town of blue bay , especially by pretty , popular kelly van ryan ( denise richards ) , whose family name is among the florida yachting enclave\\'s most financially prominent . \\nhoping to take her crush to a physical level , kelly seductively slinks into lombardo\\'s house after washing his jeep for a fundraiser , but , the very next day , tearfully admits to her trollop mother ( theresa russell ) that she was raped . \\nbefore long , blue bay detectives ray duquette ( kevin bacon ) and gloria perez ( daphne rubin-vega ) are listening to similar allegations from kelly\\'s rebel classmate suzie toller ( neve campbell ) . \\nlombardo , who maintains his innocence , hires neck brace-sporting , opportunistic lawyer ken bowden ( bill murray ) to defend him in court . \\nthe previews give away the following revelations , so if you haven\\'t seen any of the movie\\'s spots on the television or in the theater , you might want to skip to the next paragraph . \\nwhile cross-examining suzie on the witness stand , bowden gets her to break down and admit that the alleged rapes never took place -- that kelly had concocted this entire scheme because she was angry that lombardo was sleeping with her mother and not with her . \\nto pay lombardo for the damages , kelly\\'s mother breaks her daughter\\'s trust fund and gives him $8 . 5 million . \\nbut lombardo , kelly and suzie are actually all working together , and plan to take the money and run as fast as they can . \\nduquette and perez , however , begin to suspect that there\\'s more afoot to the case than just false accusations . \\nif there\\'s a major drawback to \" wild things , \" it\\'s that it\\'s oversexed to a fault . \\nthe much-talked-about hotel room menage-a-trois between dillon , campbell and richards is a turn-off . \\nit\\'s also cut short ( sorry , guys ) , and should have been cut shorter -- the movie grinds to a halt for pure titillation once too often . \\nwhat we don\\'t see is far more effective than what we do . \\nanother example of this is kevin bacon needlessly going the full monty in a shower scene . \\ner , no thanks . \\nalso , bacon\\'s duquette feels simultaneously underdeveloped and overwritten . \\ndaphne rubin-vega , from broadway\\'s \" rent , \" tries to compensate for a superfluous character . \\ntheresa russell is just plain wooden . \\nand when , in the end , all is out in the open , ask yourself if certain scenes involving these three were really necessary . \\nbut what keeps the movie from being throwaway junk is an engaging chain of surprises ( some predictable , some not ) that never seems to end . \\n \" wild things \" has more twists than a crate full of corkscrews , and most are so gleefully , over-the-top nasty that you can\\'t help but be charmed by their absurd showmanship . \\na great deal of amusement also comes from watching bill murray in a supporting part that appears to have been written for his sly comedic talent ; murray\\'s a stitch , especially when pulling up beside the van ryan limo after winning lombardo\\'s case and flipping them off . \\nand don\\'t leave when the closing credits hit the screen , or you\\'ll miss the film\\'s best part -- four bonus flashbacks that smooth over plot holes while offering a few more tiny turns , plus a final scene that caps everything off with a great stunner of a bombshell . \\nspeaking of bombshells , denise richards , who plays almost every scene in a blue bikini top , does the teen tease thing with a malicious allure that she was never allowed to flaunt in \" starship troopers . \" \\nmatt dillon flexes his sleepy-voiced sex appeal , and pulls off personality changes with chameleonic precision . \\nneve campbell , lovely as ever except when sporting a blond wig , gives suzie a vengeful vulnerability that makes her the most interesting member of the conspiring trio . \\nre-edited and toned down a bit , the dynamics between these three actors could have carried the film to greater lengths . \\nbut what we\\'re given works well enough . \\n \" wild things \" is highly entertaining and , indeed , very wild . \\n',\n",
+       " b'do film critics have morals ? \\nare there any unwritten laws an ethical movie critic would or should follow ? \\nnaturally we don\\'t want to go into a film with any preconceived notions , which is pretty tough but something we all have to accomplish . \\nsecondly , and along the same line , we can\\'t prejudge a film because of it\\'s stars , director , etc . the difference ? \\nwell , in the first one , we\\'d go into a film thinking it\\'s going to be dumb or it\\'s going to be good , and that would affect our viewing ( that movie sounds and looks dumb , so i\\'m not expecting much ) . \\non the second hand , we\\'re simply assuming it will be bad or good because of a personal \" grudge \" against the film company ( it\\'s made by disney ? \\noh , it\\'s just a merchandising ploy then ) , the actors ( jim carrey\\'s in it ? \\nit\\'s gonna stink ! ) , or the director ( who ? \\ncan\\'t be that good ) . \\nthis is more of a biased viewpoint as opposed to a first impression viewpoint . \\nmake sense ? \\nok , but what about comparing ? \\nisn\\'t that kind of along the same lines ? \\nwhen we compare a certain actor or director or even composer\\'s credibility in one film to another they were involved in , is that really fair ? \\nsure , in sequels you can expect and accept comparisons a lot more , but what about jackie brown , for example ? \\nis it fair for me to take the review and turn it into a comparison of pulp fiction , just because quentin tarantino directed and wrote the screenplay for both ? \\ni think it is , and i\\'ll tell you why . \\na good critic should be able to view the film from the \" average joe ( or jane ) \" viewpoint , while still taking into account the artistic integrity behind the film . \\nsometimes that can be tough . \\n \" the acting was superb , but i was bored \" or \" i loved it ! ! \\nit was sooooo cheezy ! \" \\nmight be used to describe a film . \\nthese are contradictions , and a critic has to weigh both sides and come to a suitable balanced critique . \\nbut which is more important ? \\nand which is better ? \\nan extremely well shot and acted film that is boring , or a really amateurish film that you wanna go back to again and again ? \\ngetting back to the point , my philosophy on comparing films being fair works because we\\'re reflecting what the public wants to know anyway . \\nevery average person out there who\\'s interested in this film is likely to ask \" how does it compare to pulp fiction ? \" \\nand so , as a critic , i\\'m already responsible to ask that same question . \\njackie brown stars pam grier , the \" blaxploitation \" heroine from the 1970\\'s , who is likely to make a big comeback thanks to her role as the title character . \\ntarantino\\'s pulp fiction is in big part responsible for john travolta\\'s sudden revival in the movie industry , and with talks of an oscar nomination , the same is likely to happen for grier . \\n ( we\\'ve made it thru comparison #1 ! ) jackie is a 44-year-old airline stewardess who brings in extra cash , and probably her main revenue , by smuggling large sums of money into the united states for ordell robbie ( pulp fiction\\'s samuel l . jackson and comparison #2 ) . \\nordell is in the illegal firearms business and has enlisted the aid of louis gara ( robert de niro ) , a bank robber who just got out of prison after serving four years , to help him accomplish a scheme worth a half- million dollars . \\ntrouble arises when jackie is stopped by atf agent ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) and taken into custody for possession of narcotics , as well as having more money than is allowed in an airport without being claimed . \\nnaturally this proves an obstacle to ordell\\'s plans and , not as friendly intended as we\\'d hope , he posts jackie\\'s bail after she is put behind bars . \\nthe thing is , ordell is in this for no one more than himself , and as we learn from his previous actions , he\\'s willing to kill anyone who stands in the way . \\njackie finds herself in a tight squeeze . \\nordell won\\'t think twice about taking her out if she fails to help him as she\\'s always done , yet at the same time , a compromise with the authorities would be in order if evidence against ordell was provided . \\nit comes down to a simple question : would jackie rather face ordell or prison ? \\nwhat ensues is a rich and intriguing example of storytelling as we question who jackie is really out to help : the law , ordell , or maybe just herself . \\ncoming into play is another 70\\'s veteran , robert forster as jackie\\'s bail bondsmen max cherry . \\nmax\\'s obvious fondness for jackie will become a major benefactor in her fight to beat both sides of the system , and forster plays him with subtle charm that adds depth to unbrewed romance . \\nalso involved is ordell\\'s \" surfer girl \" girlfriend melanie ( bridget fonda ) , a ditzy sun- bleached babe who spends her time watching tv with a bong in hand . \\nfonda does the best she can with an essentially thin role , but there\\'s nothing more to her , and therefore , she becomes a tossable addition to an otherwise flourishing bouquet of characters . \\nde niro is also wasted in his role as a quiet nobody crook out to score a few bucks for himself . \\nde niro is a brilliant actor , but a character who hardly ever speaks doesn\\'t need a de niro to play him . \\ncompared to pulp fiction ( comparison #3 ) , the characters in jackie brown and very thin and replaceable . \\nin pulp fiction , even the small , seemingly irrelevant characters were wonderful , complete , and lifelike , whereas jackie brown has such common figures that it wouldn\\'t have suffered much with a lesser talented cast , the exception being grier . \\ntarantino wrote this script with grier specifically in mind , so to say that she is made for this role is a reversed truth . \\nsadly , grier too could have received a bit more attention , especially when the story is all about her newly-jarred perception of life . \\njackson teams up with tarantino again , but the chemical reaction isn\\'t as awesome as the first time . \\njules was the rambling , bible-quoting hitman in pulp fiction , and jackson is the only person who could have pulled it off . \\nand although jackson is really , really good in jackie brown , i don\\'t think he\\'s quite as irreplaceable . \\nin fact , maybe a new face would have been better . \\njackson could\\'ve remained tarantino\\'s jules , and a new guy could have become ordell , forever to remain so in our memories . \\nsadly , these characters are too much the same , except ordell just isn\\'t as impressive , and putting this in the hands of jackson once again is only going to deter from our fond recollections of jules . \\nanother problem is that ordell is way too focused on in the beginning . \\nthis is grier\\'s film , so why spend so long getting to know a man who will become more of a supporting character as the film progresses ? \\nit not only makes the movie feel a little too slanted , but it makes for a slow beginning because we have to take longer getting to the meat of the story . \\nit is likely that those pouring into the theater to see this film are going to be those anxious to partake of tarantino\\'s quirky dialogue and eccentric directing style , and not so much those interested in seeing a silver screen adaption of elmore leonard\\'s novel \" rum punch \" . \\nfor those movie-goers , don\\'t expect another pulp fiction and you\\'ll be satisfied , for the script oozes with the familiar brash qualities that has made tarantino an icon of 90\\'s film- making . \\nthe directing has toned down a bit , however , yet we\\'re still reminded that this is tarantino\\'s movie thanks to odd split-screen story-telling devices and scenes being replayed multiple times from different viewpoints . \\nso getting back to the question that i began with , this isn\\'t pulp fiction at all . \\nit\\'s good , but it isn\\'t anything that made pulp fiction such a revolutionary effort in the first place . \\nthis is a more conservative tarantino , but not one that won\\'t satiate true fans . \\nif you can realize that this isn\\'t going to knock your socks off , then you\\'ll be happy to at least let it massage your feet . \\nafter all , we all know how much tarantino loves that particular part of the human anatomy . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it rocks-actually , lots of rocks fly at us or from us , in slow or fast motion , at several points in the film . \\nthey seem like dangerous rocks because they kind of twirl through the air instead of just propelling forward , and when they land-once in a while , when we need a break from the space sequences-they cause damage enough to destroy the chrysler building and the like . \\n ( nary a mention of these apocalyptic events is made after they occur . ) \\nthey also just might be the most interesting element of armageddon , a steroid user\\'s answer to deep impact . \\nbruce willis stars as harry stamper , a famed oil-driller commissioned by the white house and nasa to stop a giant asteroid before it travels beyond \" zero barrier \" and destroys our planet . \\nwhy an oil driller ? \\nthey require someone experience with deep-core mining to plant a nuclear missile into said asteroid . \\n ( in one unintentionally ( ? ) \\nhilarious sequence , nasa asks harry to inspect a deep-core driller they built based on his blueprints ; it is poorly constructed-harry criticizes almost every aspect of it . \\nwe trust nasa to build space shuttles ? ) \\nharry assembles the obligatory \" ragtag \" bunch of \" cowboys \" , including a blond guy , a fat guy , a black guy , a wiseass , and the man who is sleeping with his daughter ( affleck ) . \\nonce they reach space , we experience sequence after sequence of something going wrong-perhaps the fact that they sent a bunch of nincompoops into outer space has something to do with it ; i cannot count the number of times they almost fail the mission on all my fingers and toes . \\nwhether or not they save the day , i will not reveal . \\nnor will you care . \\ni will say this : you know you\\'re in trouble when deep impact dwarfs your asteroid movie in terms of emotion and scope . \\nwillis has barely a chance to come alive ; ditto for affleck . \\ntheir big scenes are mostly reserved for the third act , in a last minute-and futile-attempt to inject warmth into the material . \\nsteve buscemi\\'s character-the wiseass-is exceptionally problematic . \\n \" rockhound \" , as he\\'s called , is sarcastic and foolish , so they tape him to a chair , where he spends most of the film . \\nso why did they bring him up there to begin with ? \\nrather , why write him into the film ? -give \\nhis almost-witty one-liners to serious willis , who scowls and mopes and demonstrates psychotic tendencies : at one point he chases after affleck with his shotgun for screwing his daughter , firing often and causing significant damage to his oil rig . \\ni\\'m guessing he qualifies under nasa guidelines as someone unfit for space travel , at least in my world where the sky is blue . \\nliv tyler is pretty and humourless , as always ; suspiciously , four of her father\\'s band\\'s ( \" aerosmith \" ) songs grace the soundtrack . \\ndirector michael bay lays the visual and sound effects on thick , like ketchup , eventually drowning the movie on-screen . \\n ( the middle hour is a non-sensical , pyrotechnic assault on the average primate\\'s brain . ) \\nwhenever someone dies in this movie , a crew member inevitably yells out \" we lost ( insert dead person\\'s last name here ) ! \" \\ni must admit that not once could i distinguish a dead oil-guy-cum-astronaut from a live one , and close-ups of the corpses\\' faces beneath cracked helmets provided little assistance , as their skin was often covered in fake blood . \\narmageddon is not as terrible movie as godzilla . \\nit looks nicer , and has fewer plot-holes within its equally ludicrous framework . \\nit has a vivid soundmix . \\nbut at almost two-and-a-half hours , i could not believe how little actually happened over the course of the story . \\nthe love story has been played up in the ads , perhaps hoping to catch people before they recover from titanic-fever . \\nbollocks ! \\nthe lovers in the film are miles apart throughout-erase all thoughts of nude sketching or car-sex and replace them with obligatory shots of liv tyler tearing up while ben affleck dicks around in a moon-crawler . \\nremember a little film called jaws ? \\nin this film , three independent-minded men suddenly found themselves on a fishing boat in pursuit of a deadly shark . \\nthey didn\\'t much like each other at first ; eventually , they started to respect one another . \\none of jaws\\' great scenes involved the would-be-ahabs drinking and singing songs and telling stories . \\nthis is the sort of male-bonding foreign to bay or his producer , jerry bruckheimer , who throw too many characters into the mix and expect we\\'ll care about them on the grounds that the world is about to end . \\nnot once do we get the feeling that these characters are even acquaintances-i\\'d be surprised if these actors bothered to introduce themselves to one another before \" action \" was called . \\na male friend who loved the film suggested to me that perhaps i cannot relate to a bunch of men who don\\'t bare their souls , who believe in dying macho concepts like heroism and a kind of chest-beating bravery . \\nto this , i will respond that the boys in armageddon are neither heroic , nor brave , nor smart , even : this team couldn\\'t build a birdhouse . \\nand if i get no respect for disliking a movie with all the synthetic feeling of a trailer-a trailer for a movie written by a team of body-builders and greeting card authors-i\\'ve never been a prouder wimp my whole life . \\n',\n",
+       " b'kirk douglas is one of those rare american actors who can say more with a simple glance than most can say with pages of dialogue . \\nall he has to do is look at someone with a raised eyebrow , and you instantly know what he\\'s thinking . \\n \" detective story \" features one of kirk douglas\\'s finest performances . \\nhe stars as a new york detective that has his whole world fall apart in one night . \\nthe film is based on a play , and this is quite evident , as most of the movie takes place in the one-room flat that the detective\\'s work in . \\nthe film opens with the douglas character getting ready to go home to his wife , but through a series of events , he never quite makes it there . \\nthe bulk of the movie follows the case of a man named schneider , a surgeon who routinely performs abortions with a high fatality rate . \\nhowever , this schneider character has a connection in the past of douglas\\'s wife ; a connection douglas himself is not aware of . \\nmany secrets are revealed in the last half hour of this film . \\nsecrets i would not dream of giving away . \\nwith a name like \" detective story \" , one would assume the film would resemble an episode of \" nypd blue \" , but it doesn\\'t quite work out that way . \\nhowever , we do see douglas at work on a few other cases throughout the running time . \\nlee grant ( virtually unrecognizable ) plays a meek jewish woman arrested for shoplifting . \\nher scenes with bendix , another detective , provide the movie with a few laughs . \\nthe performances all around are fantastic . \\ndouglas may be the leader of this ensemble , but he\\'s not the center of attention all the time . \\nwe get to catch a glimpse into other cases and other detectives working on those cases . \\nwhich brings me back to douglas . \\nhe has a really emotional scene towards the end of the picture that really makes you feel for him . \\nwe can see that this is a man who has spent his whole life trying to eliminate crime , but has finally realized that what he\\'s really done is gotten back at his criminal father . \\nhow he handles coming to terms with this is something really worth seeing . \\nkirk douglas is the kind of actor we don\\'t seem to see to much of these days : he\\'s a tough guy , but the human elements are never hidden too deeply underneath that gruff exterior . \\n',\n",
+       " b'every once in a while a movie comes along that completely redefines the genre : with dramas , it was citizen kane , with arthouse it was pulp fiction , and with comedy it was , well , that jim carrey guy ( okay , so he\\'s not a movie , but he did have a huge influence on the genre . \\nnot to mention an expensive one . ) \\nsometimes a movie even combines them all into a big , sprawling motion picture event , as did forrest gump four years ago . \\nwith action films , it was aliens , whic was released to much hype seven years after it\\'s equally-innovative parent , alien ( 1979 ) . \\ndirected and written by james cameron ( t2 : judgement day , the abyss , true lies ) , the authority on action films , it was a masterful encore to his sci-fi thriller the terminator ( 1984 ) . \\nwhile the original alien film was a dark , enclosed horror film that featured one alien slowly massacering a horrified crew , james cameron took the big-budget action film with aliens , which featured multiple aliens doing basically the same thing , although on a much-larger scale . \\nand boy , did he take that route ! \\ni\\'d say at about 165 mph or so . . . \\nthe film opens 57 years after the original , with lt . ripley ( weaver ) being found in her ship in a cryogenic state by a salvage vessel . \\nif you\\'ll recall , at the end of alien ripley , the only surviving member , cryogenically \" hibernated \" herself after expelling the rogue alien from her ship . \\nunfortunately , she thought she\\'d only be out for a couple of weeks . . . \\nonce she\\'s returned to earth , ripley is quickly interrogated by \" the company \" , who quickly dismiss her and her stories as lunacy . \\nin truth , they believe her , as they soon approach ripley with an offer to travel with some marines to a new colony planet as an \" alien advisor \" . \\nit seems that the colony planet was a once-breeding ground for the nasty aliens , and now all communication with the planet has been lost . . . \\nit doesn\\'t exactly take a genius to guess what happens next : ripley agrees , and before you can say \" big mistake \" , she and the half dozen marines , plus the slimy corporate guy ( reiser ) , who has more than it looks like up under his sleeve , are off to the colony . \\nwhen they arrive , they find the planet in ruins . \\nonly one survivor is found , a little girl , newt , who confirms that , yes , the aliens were here and that she only managed to survive by hidding in the ventilation system . \\nand soon enough , the marines come under attack from the aliens . . . \\nwhat happens for the next hour and a half or so is what completely sets this movie apart from any other standard alien sci-fi movie : the action scenes . \\ncameron directs them so skillfully , and so suspensefully , that you\\'re literally ringing your hands by the time the finale rolls around . \\nwhich features , in my opinion , the best fight scene ever recorded on film , as ripley straps herself into a huge robot and battles the nasty queen alien to the death . \\nmany people will tell you that this film , while being a great action film , has no real drama and is all cliches . \\nwell , they would be wrong , my friends . \\nif this film had no \" drama \" , then why was sigourney weaver nominated for best actress at the 1987 academy awards ? \\nthat\\'s right , best actress . \\nyou know that any action film that has an oscar nomination attached to it for something other than technical stuff like editing and f/x has got to be good . \\nin short , aliens combines all the right elements ( great action and f/x , drama , a good plot , good dialogue , and great villains ) into what could arguably be called the best action film of all time . \\nthen again , maybe not . \\nmovies rise and fall from glory and , sad to say , aliens was wrestled from it\\'s throne of best action movie by another cameron film , t2 : judgement day , in 1991 . \\nso who will be the next king ? \\nwell , let\\'s wait until december 19th and see yet another james cameron film-the highest budgeted film of all time-titanic to make that decision . \\ni can\\'t wait . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you always have to be careful with the first official studio release out of the gate each year . \\nthey\\'re obviously films for which the studios have no great hopes ( having missed both the deadline for academy award eligibility and the big box-office holiday season ) . \\ncombine that with howie long\\'s first starring action role , and you\\'ve got a doozy of a movie that , while not as bad as it could have been , isn\\'t a very good film . \\nhowie stars as an ace smokejumper ( a firefighter who parachutes into forest fires unreachable from the ground ) . \\nin the slightly contrived opening scenes , we witness his heroism in action , as he , and his mentor ( played by scott glenn ) attempt to rescue a small girl and her dog from an oncoming forest fire . \\nwilliam forsythe plays the bad guy , a mass murderer who has several million dollars tucked away to help fund his jailbreak . \\nhe ( and five convict cohorts ) manages to get selected for firefighting duty when a woodland blaze just happens to ignite nearby . \\nhis escape plan bets a lot on the laxity of the guards , but ( since there must be a movie ) luck is with him . \\nsoon the now-escaped convicts are masquerading as canadian firefighters . \\nwhy canadian ? \\nwho knows , eh ? \\nalong the way they pick up a pretty birdwatcher ( suzy amis ) to be their hostage . \\nenter howie long . \\nhe\\'s called in to help fight the blaze , and when he spots the group of \" ground pounders \" , apparently lost , he parachutes in to help . \\nwhen he discovers their true identity , he is the only thing standing between them and escape , and the only hope of help for the hostage . \\nlong\\'s acting talents are above those of , say , steven seagal , but not by much . \\nalthough his delivery is mostly flat and wooden , he\\'s a likeable hero , and there are some hints here and there that he may get better . \\nthe script doesn\\'t help him out any , however . \\nall too often , it veers into the realm of the unintentionally funny . \\nthe dialogue is strictly b-movie material , and the plotting relies too heavily on coincidences to be believable . \\nlong\\'s co-stars are a mixed bag . \\nat least they\\'re all comfortable in their respective roles . \\nforsythe has the scenery-chewing villain down cold , down cold , and scott glenn is always enjoyable to watch , even when he doesn\\'t seem to be stretching his talents ( as is definitely the case here ) . \\nsuzy amis plays peril pretty well , but isn\\'t given much more to do . \\nsome of the nature and wildfire shots are interesting , but many are rather bland . \\nyou\\'d think that the director , dean semler , a former cinematographer , would at least produce a film with interesting visuals . \\nthat\\'s not the case . \\nthere\\'s a lack of originality to nearly all the sequences . . . we\\'ve \\nseen this stuff before . \\nit\\'s not the most auspicious start to 1998 , but it could have been worse ( just think back to 1996\\'s debut , bio-dome ) . \\nhowever , after a month of oscar-caliber pictures , a movie like firestorm at least gives you some perspective on how good those movies really were . \\nin fact , there\\'s a good chance that some of them are still playing near you . . . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"best remembered for his understated performance as dr . hannibal lecter in michael mann's forensics thriller , manhunter , scottish character actor brian cox brings something special to every movie he works on . \\nusually playing a bit role in some studio schlock ( he dies halfway through the long kiss goodnight ) , he's only occasionally given something meaty and substantial to do . \\nif you want to see some brilliant acting , check out his work as a dogged police inspector opposite frances mcdormand in ken loach's hidden agenda . \\ncox plays the role of big john harrigan in the disturbing new indie flick l . i . e . , which lot 47 picked up at sundance when other distributors were scared to budge . \\nbig john feels the love that dares not speak its name , but he expresses it through seeking out adolescents and bringing them back to his pad . \\nwhat bothered some audience members was the presentation of big john in an oddly empathetic light . \\nhe's an even-tempered , funny , robust old man who actually listens to the kids' problems ( as opposed to their parents and friends , both caught up in the high-wire act of their own confused lives . ) \\nhe'll have sex-for-pay with them only after an elaborate courtship , charming them with temptations from the grown-up world . \\nl . i . e . stands for long island expressway , which slices through the strip malls and middle-class homes of suburbia . \\nfilmmaker michael cuesta uses it as a ( pretty transparent ) metaphor of dangerous escape for his 15-year old protagonist , howie ( paul franklin dano ) . \\nin his opening voice-over , howie reveals a morbid preoccupation with death on the road , citing the l . i . e . \\nhighway deaths of filmmaker alan j . pakula , songwriter harry chapin , and his own mother on exit 52 . \\nhe's both fascinated and disturbed by the l . i . e . , and those feelings are projected onto big john ( who follows howie around in his bright red car , but never makes a move to force the boy to do something he doesn't want to do . \\nthis makes him much more complex than the usual child molesters seen in movies -- he's a beast , but ashamed of it . ) \\nl . i . e . would have worked best as a half-hour short film about howie's ill-advised foray into big john's haven . \\nthere is unnecessary padding with howie's miserable dad ( bruce altman ) in the hot seat for a white-collar crime , degenerate youngsters who get their kicks from robbing middle-class houses , and some homoerotic shenanigans with wise-ass gary terrio ( billy kay ) , a handsome artful dodger . \\nrather than add to the themes of suburban ennui ( not that we needed another movie on that subject ) , these awkward subplots pad out the running time to adequate feature length . \\nconcurrently , the relationship between howie and big john is evenly paced and exceptionally well acted . \\ncox , sporting a baseball cap and a faded marine tattoo , is all bluff and bluster . \\ndano is quiet and at first glance seems so withdrawn as to be transparent . \\nwe're so used to child actors whose dramatic choices are broad and obvious ( calling haley joel ! ) , it's surprising to see one who actually listens throughout any given scene . \\nthe restraint is admirable . \\nbut l . i . e . 's screenplay doesn't always give them the best material . \\nwhen howie reads big john a walt whitman poem , the moment feels a bit too precious . \\ndirector michael cuesta lingers on an ecstatic reaction shot of big john , who may as well be hearing glenn gould performing bach's goldberg variations . \\nit's too much . \\nthere are also some obvious dramatic contrivances involving big john's other boy toy ( walter masterson ) , jealous over the newbie . \\nthis plot thread predictably leads to violence . \\nnot content to be a haunting , observational portrait of teen alienation in a royally screwed up world ( like terry zwigoff's superb ghost world ) , cuesta lacks the confidence in his own work to end on an ambivalent note . \\nit's typical of unimaginative cinema to wrap things up with a bullet , sparing the writers from actually having to come up with a complex , philosophical note . \\nin this regard , l . i . e . \\n ( and countless other indie films ) share something in common with blockbuster action films : problems are solved when the obstacle is removed . \\nhow often does real life work this way ? \\nto extend the question : if a movie is striving for realism , do dramatic contrivances destroy the illusion ? \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"steve martin shines but sgt . bilko \\nfails to impress \\nbased on the popular 50's sitcom , sgt . \\nbilko follows the string of old-sitcoms-to-movie conversion fever . \\nremember the brady bunch movie or the beverly hillbillies released sometime back ? \\n ( brady bunch was a moderate hit in in the us while hillbillies flopped ) . \\ni do not really know whether the hollywood minds are running out of good ideas or just being plain lazy , but the tv-conversion-movies are hitting our screens like wildfire , sad to say , with mixed success . \\nsuch movies are mostly targeted at us viewers since they are usually followings of such series over there and the larger the following , the more likely the sitcom will be made into a movie . \\nsgt . \\nbilko ( frankly , i have not seen any its original tv version ) , even with the charm and wild antics of funnymen steve martin and dan akroyd ; failed to entertain . \\nsgt . ernest bilko is the man behind the motor pool ( place of vehicle storage and repair ) of fort baxter . \\nthough totally unskilled in the field of work that he is supposed to be in charge of , he has an almost superhuman ability and zeal to sniff out money-making opportunities ; from running a gambling den in the military garage to 4-d pools . \\nthough materialistic in mind , bilko's methods has thoughtfully `enriched' the lives of the men of fort baxter , providing them with some form of real recreation within the camp and the people love him for that . \\ncolonel hall runs the entire fort and thanks to his inborn `blissfully-confused' state , bilko has managed to hide his operation , though nearly every living person in the fort knows about it . \\nbilko's state of ascent is suddenly under-fire when the pentagon sends major thorn , a tough cookie on army regulations , to check on the progress on the $70 million hovertank project , a new weapon under development within the fort's grounds . \\nto add to his problems , thorn is determined to bring bilko down in retalliation of a major `sabo' done on him by bilko during their younger army days . \\ndirector jonathan lynn , who directed my cousin vinny ( in which marisa tomei won an oscar for best-supporting actress ) managed to pull sgt . \\nbilko through with suitable pacing and some exceptional moments of laughter , but that is about it . \\nthere are really not enough laughter-packed-moments in sgt . \\nbilko to fully entertain the average movie-goer . \\nstill , steve martin's sgt . \\nbilko is played with finesse and full-force by the renowned comedian . \\nwithout him , sgt . \\nbilko would have just fell flat on its face . \\nsgt . \\nbilko did moderately well in the us box office early this year but i doubt it will earn much elsewhere around the world . \\nthe current trend in mixed successes in such tv-conversions may be a blessing in disguise , really ; at least it will force hollywood to re-think any of its initial intentions to turn another tv-idea into a movie or at the very least approach those ideas with more creativity . \\nunless you are a fan of the tv-series or love to watch steve martin in action , you can skip this one when deciding which movie to catch in the local theatres . \\ni'm sure there are better ones around . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'some critics , including siskel & ebert , are on the record stating that martin scorsese\\'s raging bull , the story of boxer jake la motta , is the best film of the \\'80s . \\nsince there are still a number of \\'80s films that i haven\\'t seen , i don\\'t feel qualified to make such a judgment , but i\\'ll say this without hesitation : raging bull is a great motion picture , and i would be surprised if more than a handful of films released between january 1 , 1980 and december 31 , 1989 come close to its level . \\nbio-pics often fall into one of two categories : overblown hero- worship or a dry , dull textbook account . \\nit\\'s rare that a movie with the moniker \" based on the life of ? \" comes across as anything more than sporadically energetic and marginally entertaining . \\nraging bull is the perfect counterexample , and a brilliant argument for film makers to continue to work in this genre . \\nthe picture takes the life of boxer jake la motta , a middleweight icon from the \\'40s and \\'50s , and develops one of the most compelling character studies ever to reach the big screen . \\nfor all 129 minutes , director martin scorsese and actor robert de niro ( in the title role ) have us mesmerized by this individual who is by turns sympathetic , sad , and horrifying . \\nhistorically , raging bull is said to be mostly accurately , with the lion\\'s share of the details culled from la motta\\'s own autobiography ( which was co-written with joseph carter and peter savage ) . \\nhowever , although la motta is credited as the movie\\'s \" consultant , \" he was reportedly unhappy with the final result , because it portrays him as nothing short of an uncouth , insensitive lout . \\nthe la motta of the movie is a man of extreme appetites who is driven by base , bestial impulses ? paranoia , jealousy , and blind rage . \\nsex and violence are inextricably linked . \\nthe title is apt ? la motta is a raging bull . \\nin the ring , he is a terror , not just beating his opponents , but destroying them . \\noutside of it , he is no less vicious or more easily controlled . \\nthe two people who spar with him on life\\'s canvas are his wife , vicki ( cathy moriarty ) , and his brother/manager , joey ( joe pesci ) . \\nthese are the two who mean the most to jake , and who , as a result of his inability to trust himself or others , he loses . \\nhe beats vicki mercilessly because he suspects her of infidelity , and , when he inaccurately believes that his brother betrayed him , his lets loose with an explosion of violence . \\nraging bull opens in 1941 when la motta , an up-and-coming fighter , is battling his way into the upper echelon of the middleweight class . \\nover the years , he wins several key bouts , including one against his arch-rival , sugar ray robinson ( johnny barnes ) , but his unwillingness to capitulate with the local godfather keeps him from an opportunity to participate in a championship match . \\nmeanwhile , away from the ring , la motta falls in love with 15-year old vicki , who he marries after discarding his shrewish first wife . \\nvicki becomes jake\\'s greatest prize ( a wife , in his view , is not a companion , but a possession ) and the source of his most extreme pain . \\nhis own insecurity is so great that he cannot accept that a woman as beautiful as vicki could be faithful to him . \\nhence , he is constantly haunted by a belief that she is sleeping with someone else ? perhaps even his brother . \\n ( this leads to the famous line parodied in waiting for guffman and elsewhere : \" are you f * * king my wife ? ? ? \" ) \\nin the late \\'40s , la motta gets his first shot at a championship fight , but with one huge condition : he must take a fall . \\nhe does it so badly that an investigation is launched and he is almost thrown out of boxing . \\ntwo years later , he wins the championship , only to lose it in a subsequent bout to sugar ray . \\nby the late \\'50s and early \\'60s , when the film ends , jake has become a pathetic figure ? a broke , overweight loser who has spent time in jail for corrupting the morals of a minor , has lost his wife and children , and is trying to earn a few bucks by doing a cheap standup routine . \\nraging bull is the other side of rocky . \\nsylvester stallone\\'s tale of boxing triumph was released to great critical acclaim in 1976 . \\nit won the 1977 best picture oscar , and a sequel arrived in theaters before raging bull went into production . \\nbut , where rocky romanticizes boxing , raging bull takes a cold , unflinching look at the violence both inside and outside of the ring . \\nwhile scorsese\\'s primary aim is to present a riveting deconstruction of la motta the man , he never backs away from showing the seedy , ugly underside of a sport where gambling , greed , and organized crime force fighters to throw matches to continue working . \\nrocky shows boxing at its noblest ; raging bull shows it at its most diseased . \\nthere\\'s little i can say here that hasn\\'t already said about de niro\\'s performance . \\nin a career that has included many fine roles , this is his most outstanding . \\nthe level of intensity de niro brings to la motta is unwavering . \\nand , although there\\'s a lot of travis bickle ( de niro\\'s character in taxi driver ) in la motta , scorsese and de niro go to great lengths to make sure that , if we never fully sympathize with him , at least we understand the forces that drive him . \\nthis is a complete characterization and a perfect example of acting . \\nas the younger jake , de niro is trim and fit . \\nas the fat , older man , de niro gained 50 pounds and turned his body into a grotesque parody of its normal form . \\nhow many actors would go that far ? \\nthe best oscar statue is only one testimony to the lasting power of the performance . \\ncathy moriarty and joe pesci both earned nominations for their supporting work ( although neither won ) . \\ntheir portrayals have the same raw energy that infuses de niro\\'s . \\npesci , who has basically re-created the same personality in two other scorsese films ( goodfellas and casino ) , presents joey as a slightly more intelligent version of his brother . \\nthe misogyny and violence are still there , only better concealed . \\nbut , when joey snaps , as he does in one scene where he pounds on a mobster ( frank vincent ) , it\\'s startling to behold . \\nmoriarty , on the other hand , must play the temptress with virginal qualities ? the only kind of woman who would ensnare jake . \\nlater , she\\'s called upon to portray the battered wife and mother whose love has turned into fear . \\nscorsese and cinematographer michael chapman elected to shoot the bulk of raging bull in black-and-white ( a few \" home movie \" segments are in color ) . \\nthe choice is perfect for the movie , giving raging bull a unique look in an era when a black-and-white approach is almost unheard of . \\n ( one important recent exception , schindler\\'s list , eschewed color for some of the same reasons that raging bull did . ) \\nin black-and-white ( especially considering scorsese\\'s choice of shots and use of slow motion ) , the violence is stark and disturbing . \\nthere\\'s no room for romanticism in the ring with inky black blood staining the canvas . \\nduring fight sequences , the director also uses a number of point-of-view shots designed to show the world , however briefly , from la motta\\'s perspective . \\nscorsese could have chosen to end the film with la motta\\'s loss to sugar ray , where he surrendered his middleweight crown . \\nafter that , his career was all downhill . \\nyet the director allows the film to run for thirty minutes after this pivotal moment , stretching more than a decade into la motta\\'s future . \\nthe reason is obvious : scorsese isn\\'t as interested in boxing as he is in the character . \\nfollowing his retirement , la motta is still as violent and volatile as ever , but he has lost the arena in which he can legally unleash those tendencies . \\nwe see the results of this beast let loose on society and how the consequences of his actions reduce him to a parody of his former self . \\nwho cannot feel a surge of pity for la motta as he quietly recites marlon brando\\'s speech from on the waterfront ? \\n ( \" i coulda been a contenda . \" ) \\nperhaps raging bull is indeed the best film of the \\'80s . \\nand , if not , it\\'s certainly perilously close to the zenith . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"well , what are you going to expect ? \\nit's a movie about a big snake that eats people . \\nthat's what i should have been thinking when i viewed this film , because maybe then i would have enjoyed myself more . \\ninstead , i ended up wishing a giant snake would come along and eat me , too . \\nanaconda is about a documentary film crew sailing down a south american river . \\nled by anthropologists dr . steven cale ( eric stolz ) and terri flores ( jennifer lopez ) , the crew is attempting to locate a lost tribe of natives . \\nalong the way , they find poacher paul sarone ( jon voight ) , and become unwillingly embroiled in his quest to capture the elusive anaconda . \\nto simply say that this is the world's largest snake wouldn't be doing it justice , since the anaconda in this movie is at least two feet wide . \\nif this isn't a good reason to avoid picking up hitchhikers , i don't know what is . \\nat the beginning of anaconda , we find that flores and cale have had some kind of relationship in the past , but that seems to be more or less over now . \\ni expected that fact to play a key part somewhere down the line , but it ended up being a set-up for nothing . \\ncale chokes on a deadly wasp ( don't ask me how that happens - i don't know ) and is put out of action , relegated to being the person whom the rest of the film crew must get back to civilization for medical help . \\nthis minimally helps to add a sense of urgency for the plot , since this goal now comes in direct conflict with sarone's plan to capture the snake . \\nhowever , this is negated by the fact that cale seems to get better by himself about halfway through the film , and in any event still results in zero payoff from the relationship angle . \\nmost bad characters are either annoying or stupid . \\nin this movie , they're both . \\nsince this description applies to all the characters except sarone , it's hard to find someone to root for . \\nyou're supposed to back the good guys , but you really end up cheering for sarone because he's smarter than everyone else . \\nor maybe he's just not as dumb as everyone else . \\nat times , i almost found myself rooting for the snake . \\nthere are no standout performances here . \\neveryone seems to be reciting lines written for stock characters . \\neven voight appears to be doing his best impression of christopher walken for some reason . \\nno matter , as in most monster movies , the snake is supposed to be the real star anyway . \\nin most of the scenes , the snake is computer generated , and the effects crew did a decent job of making it look real . \\nhowever , the realism is thrown off by some pretty unrealistic occurrences . \\nsometimes , for example , the snake just moves too fast . \\nit catches a guy jumping off of a waterfall , for crying out loud . \\nthen there's another scene where the snake eats one of the characters , and we see the snake's skin drawn so tightly over its prey that we can see the victim's pained expression from within the snake's belly . \\nabsolutely ridiculous . \\na testimony to the film's bad direction is the inclusion of a scene early on the in the film , where we get to see just how dangerous the mighty anaconda is . \\nin a scene totally unrelated to anything else , we are witness to the big snake winning a showdown with a panther . \\nthe anaconda wraps itself around the powerful feline as if it were a stuffed animal and squeezes it so hard , one of the panther's eyeballs pops out . \\neeeewwwww . \\nabove and beyond the sick factor , however , this scene surprised me because it actually showed the face of the snake before a quarter of the movie had even passed . \\nin films like these , a sense of mystery surrounding the monster must be maintained . \\nif the characters are reacting to something they fear more than see , we as an audience must experience that feeling along with them . \\nto show us the monster early on is to let us in on something the characters don't know about , and therefore allow us to get used to the danger before the pivotal moment when man and beast have their climactic showdown . \\nin a case like that , the showdown just ends up being a letdown . \\nwhen i saw the snake for the first time , i decided to give the film the benefit of the doubt and assume that the snake i saw wasn't the real danger . \\nthis one was just a decoy , and there was actually a bigger snake waiting to make its appearance just when everyone thought they were safe . \\nno such luck . \\nokay , maybe anaconda is actually a decoy , and there's really a better movie waiting to make its debut . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'with many big-budget science fiction films , great ideas are often wasted by bad scripts , cheesy plot twists , and , terrible acting . \\nthe fifth element , the abyss , and godzilla had great concepts squandered by bad acting , writing , or both . \\nat first glance , the matrix , larry & andy wachowski\\'s sci-fi/kung-fu/shoot-em-up spectacular , looks like a prime candidate to join the list of high-concept bad movies , especially with dopey keanu reeves in the leading role . \\nbut despite high levels of cheese and gaudy dialogue , the matrix works . \\nit\\'s an uncanny blend of action and surreal fantasy that borrows from dozens of other films ( most obviously the terminator films , star wars , and total recall ) , but remains refreshingly original and interesting throughout . \\nreeves plays neo , a computer hacker who stumbles into an initially bewildering set of encounters with \" trinity \" ( carrie-anne moss ) , a rival hacker who has supernatural powers and stunning good looks , a unseen , omniscient cult figure known as \" morpheus \" ( lawrence fishburne ) , and a trio of creepy men in dark suits who act like irs agents from hell . \\nneo quickly learns that the world he has known all his life is not what it seems . \\nmoreover , he discovers that the grim , bleak world he is introduced to has been waiting for him to save it . \\nneo is reluctant to assume the role of messiah , with grave doubts that he is actually \" the one \" prophesized to come and save the world . \\nreluctant or not , what follows is a mix of hong kong-style slow-motion shootouts , surreal dream sequences , high speed chases , and comic book kung-fu fights . \\nthe film also raises interesting philosophical questions about reality . \\nhow exactly do you know what is real and what is in your mind ? \\nand if the real world were much harsher and grim than a fantasy one you were living in , would you want to face the true world or continue to live in a more comfortable illusion ? \\nunfortunately , the matrix doesn\\'t provide many answers to the questions it raises , but at least it puts some ideas behind all the explosions , shoot-outs , and flying roundhouse kicks . \\nperhaps stealing the entire show in the matrix is australian actor hugo weaving , who plays agent smith , the leader of the creepy agents in sunglasses and suits who seem capable of being anywhere and doing anything to stop neo and friends from destabilizing the matrix . \\nweaving\\'s stony appearance , deadpan voice , and chilling comments put a grim human face on the haunting , evil technological force that controls the matrix . \\nlike robert patrick as the shapeshifting t-1000 terminator in terminator 2 : judgement day , weaving is more frightening than any monstrous alien or homicidal robot because , despite his power and seeming invincibility , he looks ordinary , even scrawny . \\nweaving embodies his role with a memorably chilling presence . \\nthe film features some truly breathtaking special effects and stylish cinematography . \\nit seems to be deliberately kitchy , with stylized fight sequences directed by hong kong stunt specialist wo ping that reportedly required months of martial arts training by the actors . \\nin a few scenes , the posing and posturing is unintentionally funny . \\njust seeing keanu reeves engaging in serious kung fu is a bit jarring . \\nhowever , with the comic-book style and tone of the film , you can sustain willing disbelief long enough to enjoy the ride without losing patience . \\nthe matrix isn\\'t a classic . \\nits open-ended and confusing conclusion raises more questions than it answers . \\nit fails to resolve many of its own plot twists and philosophical questions . \\nit also relies on some conventional sentimentality to save the hero - the kind of shmaltzy feel-good goo that most of the film avoids . \\nreportedly , the producers have high hopes for the film being the first in a trilogy and have already begun work on the story for the sequel . \\nunfortunately , audiences deserve a little more than a vague sense that the story will continue in the future . \\nthe matrix is an fun , enjoyable diversion , like a big puff of cotton candy at a carnival . \\njust don\\'t be surprised half an hour later when you still feel a little hungry . \\n',\n",
+       " b'dora ( fernanda montenegro ) sits behind a make-shift desk at rio+s major train station . \\nshe , in her colorful demeanor , offers a service that is unheard of in the states . \\nshe writes letters for the illiterate , who pass through , to try to find lost relatives , find love , or search after lost debts . \\nshe+s quirky , she+s elderly , she+s caring . \\ntotally trustworthy , right ? \\nnot a chance . \\nonce home , she never sends these letters , saving money on postage , and relishing in the drama contained therein with her neighbor irene ( mar ? lia p ? ra ) . \\none of the letters is sent by a young mother with her nine-year old son , looking for their father . \\nshortly thereafter , she gets hit by a bus , and the son is orphaned . \\ndays go by , and the boy , named josu ? , roams around the station , hungry , desperate , and somewhat clueless to his predictament . \\nthrough a series of circumstances too precious to elaborate upon , dora somehow takes a responsibility in trying to find josu ? +s father . \\nthis means leaving the security of rio , traveling to the outskirts of brazil , where unpaved roads , religious devotees and the poverty-stricken become commonplace . \\nfilms like this remind me as to what i enjoy about some foreign films . \\nit is an opportunity for me to get a fresh breath in another part of the world , so distant from my own . \\nit does so entertainingly , and so heart-wrenchingly . \\nand yet , it+s backdrop is merely that . \\nthe focus is on the minute transformation of dora , of how she learns to love this little kid , without being cloying or sentimental . \\nthe most interesting backdrop is the amount of religious dedication is in the film . \\ndora being an amoral scam-artist , could care less about the amount of bickering between the candle-lighting of the catholics versus the bumper-sticker mentality of the evangelicals . \\nbut neither side is trivialized . \\nshe even begins to develop an affection for a non-drinking evangelical , who sees the problems with dora , if not initially . \\nfernanda montenegro surprisingly got an oscar nomination for this very delicate performance , but the true marvel is that of vinicius de oliveira , who plays josu ? . \\nhe , like the discoveries of j ? r ? mie renier ( _la promesse_ ) and giorgio cantarini ( _life is beautiful_ ) , prove that the true acting discoveries may be outside of the united states . \\nhe is a natural , and never once grating . \\nsend a memo to jonathan taylor thomas . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i don\\'t expect much from eddie murphy these days . \\nfor the past four years , the gods of cinema--or the expansive payrolls of studio conglomerates--have allowed him to make one bad movie after another . \\nsuch films as metro , doctor dolittle , holy man , life , and bowfinger have reduced a once great comedic persona to a living and breathing washed-up hack performing as a studio puppet for 20th century fox and universal pictures . \\nthe biggest shame to fall on his shoulders is his newest film , nutty professor ii : the klumps . \\nthe klumps once again revisits the life of sherman klump , an overweight university science professor looking for love in all the wrong places . \\nsherman has just invented a new \" youth drink \" that enables man or beast to become younger for a short period of time . \\njanet jackson is the love interest who chooses the lovable sherman for a soul mate rather than excel at her career as a university professor ( and for the most ridiculous reasons ) . \\nwith love on his mind , sherman is determined to rid himself of his alter ego , buddy love from the first professor , who still resides with vigor inside his psyche and causes sherman to act like a bad imitation of vince vaughn from swingers . \\nwith some convoluted mumbo-jumbo about dna extraction , sherman extracts the \" buddy love \" link in his dna and smartly deposits buddy into a handy-dandy lab beaker . \\nbut one night , the beaker is knocked over and buddy love is regenerated . . . \\nbecause every movie like this needs an unnecessary villain to thwart the good guy . \\nthen the klump family , all played by eddie murphy , step in for some comedic relief involving old people having sex , flabby breasts , a slew of fart and dick jokes , and enough fat people jokes that i lost count after the first thirty minutes . \\nand did i mention the part where larry miller gets anally raped by an overgrown hamster ? \\nthe movie finally dissolves into a really bad hallmark family special about realizing who you are and what you can be in this world -- with enough soft lighting and people on the verge of tears in every scene . \\npure and simple , the klumps is a failure . \\nits script was handled by not one but five screenwriters , and it really shows during the awkward transitions between scenes . \\nany sense of story and plot were lost in the rewrite process . \\nit\\'s more discerning to learn that chris weitz and paul weitz , the team behind one of the funniest films of the last decade , american pie , have their names stamped to this trash . \\nhey guys - quick note - keep this movie off of your resumes . \\nthe characterization of sherman\\'s family , the klumps , is one of the most ignorant stereotypes of a black family i have ever seen in cinema . \\neveryone member of the family is a large person who wipes the bins clean at a local buffet restaurant like pigs at a trough . \\nthe grandma is an oversexed fiend who constantly talks of ways to pleasure her man and her sagging breasts . \\nthe father is gruff , is fired from a blue-collar job , is sexually inadequate , and cannot communicate with his family about his feelings . \\nthe mother is ignorant of all the negativity around her and seems to hold no opinion about anything or anyone . \\nthe brother is silent and brooding and resembles the ice cube gangster character from boyz in the hood . \\nsherman himself is terribly insecure and never conveys anything for the audience to become attached to . \\nbut the main problem with the film is its inability to create any type of convincing conversational or situational comedy . \\nthe family scenes from the first nutty professor worked so well because their conversations were short and direct . \\nand you got the feeling that these crass people couldn\\'t act like this all the time . \\nthe sequel does the reverse and drives the negatives of the klumps right in to the hilt , making the first five minutes of their interaction enjoyable and the last 55 or so unbearable and pathetic . \\nafter a while , their conversations just become a barrage of frustrated anger tinged with indecency and overworked premises that end up drawing energy away from any type of empathy one might feel for the central themes of the story . \\nits also a damn shame that the makeup magic of rick baker -- who worked on the original nutty professor and won an academy award for his work on an american werewolf in london -- and amazing digital special effects that enabled murphy to interact with himself in such beautiful motions are built around such a lame story line . \\neven the best effects can\\'t seem to save the most pathetic of movies these days . \\nnow that i think about it , the worst thing about this film has to be all the money that it will make . \\npeople will be lined up around the block for it . \\nthe studios will concoct the a sequel for release in the summer of 2002 . \\neddie murphy will be signed up to take not just one role or five roles , but he\\'ll play every character in the movie . \\ni just can\\'t wait to see eddie murphy in a love scene with himself . \\n',\n",
+       " b'clue is an unfairly ignored comedy , very similar to 1976\\'s murder by death . \\nthis big screen version of the classic board game ( what\\'s next . . . \\nchutes and ladders : the motion picture ? ) is filled with slapstick antics and silly dialogue . \\nthe plot , for what it\\'s worth , has all the characters from the game ( in this case , the names from the game are used as aliases ) meeting in an isolated mansion to confront mr . boddy ( lee ving ) , the man who\\'s been blackmailing them all . \\nwhen he turns up dead , everyone ( including the audience ) must figure out whodunnit . . . \\nand in what room , and with what object . \\nwhile not as witty as neil simon\\'s murder by death , clue definitely has it moments . \\nit has so many moments in fact that i use a lot of the lines from the film when i\\'m joking around with my friends . \\nto this day , whenever someone says the phrase \" well , to make a long story short \" i have the follow up phrase \" too late \" ready to go . \\nthe cast ( all very good comedic talents ) play well off one another , while the late madeline kahn ( as the dark and sultry mrs . white ) sometimes steals the film away from the rest . \\nand colleen camp , as the french maid yvette , displays some of her natural talents as well . \\nclue is available on dvd from paramount home video . \\nit includes the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 85 : 1 ( and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions ) and features the original theatrical trailer . \\na french language audio track is also available . \\nthe trailer holds up well considering most previews from that time do not , and it even includes a scene not in the film itself ( a scene that should have been in the film , as it\\'s a good joke ) . \\nalso , the trailer is scored to the music from airplane ! , which was an interesting choice . \\nwhen clue played in theaters , it ran with the gimmick of three different endings . \\nif you wanted to see all three , you had to go to the movies three separate times . \\nso when the film was released on home video , rather than releasing three separate videos , all three endings were included on one tape . . . \\nthe first two endings being \" what if ? \" \\nendings and the third ending being the actual ending . \\nnow for the dvd release you get two choices . \\nyou can watch the film as it was presented on home video or you can select to watch it with one of the three endings randomly chosen for you . \\n ( note : there\\'s an easter egg hidden in the disc pertaining to this . \\nafter watching the film with a randomly selected ending , when you return to the menu screen you will be able to highlight the large magnifying glass and select it . \\nwhen you do , a secret menu opens , allowing you to watch any of the three endings by themselves . ) \\nnow while i applaud the effort of paramount here , as they clearly tried to do something special with the disc , it just doesn\\'t work well . \\nfirst , why not give the viewer the choice of what ending we want to watch ? \\nmaybe someone like myself who\\'s seen the movie hundreds of times would like to sit down and show it to someone with the second ending only . \\ni\\'m no technical dvd expert , but i can\\'t imagine that being too hard to accomplish . \\nsecondly , the delay between when the film itself ends and one of the endings begins is too long and too obvious , thereby becoming a distraction right when you definitely don\\'t need a distraction . \\nfinally , the back of the dvd case states \" and now , with this special dvd version , you can see all 3 surprise endings \" . \\ni have no idea why they would word it that way , since that\\'s not a special feature in the slightest . \\nthe video has been out for fifteen years now ( good lord , has it been that long ? ) and it\\'s played on television with all three endings all the time . \\nthese are merely minor complaints however , seeing that i\\'ve watched the home video version hundreds of times and have no problem watching the film as such on the dvd . \\nthe picture and sound are wonderfully improved over my worn out vhs copy , and i\\'m thrilled that paramount agrees with me that clue is a film worthy of being preserved on this great digital format . \\n[pg] \\n',\n",
+       " b'ralph fiennes is carving out a nice niche for himself in the genre of period piece romances . \\nfor his followup to the academy-beloved the english patient , he has once again turned to a love story , this time directed by accomplished australian film maker gillian armstrong ( little women ) . \\ndespite some obvious overplotting , oscar and lucinda is a mostly effective and often affecting motion picture that touches our hearts while daring our minds to balk at its implausible coincidences . \\nthe film opens in the mid-1800s , with parallel storylines in new south wales , australia and devon , england . \\nas the helpful narrative voice of geoffrey rush informs us , lucinda leplastrier ( cate blanchett ) is a headstrong young woman being raised in the australian outback . \\nmeanwhile , half the world away , oscar hopkins ( fiennes ) has broken with his puritanical father over religious issues , and has gone away to school to study to be an anglican priest . \\nlucinda is fascinated with glass ; oscar is obsessed with theology . \\nlucinda is rich ; oscar is poor . \\nlucinda is forward and self-assured ; oscar is timid and uncertain of himself . \\nyet one characteristic unites these two diverse individuals -- the compulsion to gamble , whether it\\'s on horses , dogs , cards , or the flip of a coin . \\nand fate has decreed that they will one day meet . \\nthat day doesn\\'t occur until 45 minutes into the film , when oscar boards a ship bound for sidney , australia , where he hopes to change his life and minister to anyone in need of his help . \\nanother of the passengers is lucinda , who is returning from england where she was shopping for machinery to equip her newly-acquired glassworks factory . \\nat first , their relationship is that of a reverend and a confessor , but it doesn\\'t take long for both of them to recognize a kindred spirit in the other . \\na friendship is born , and , once they reach australia , it develops into something more potent . \\nbut oscar is uncertain of lucinda\\'s affection , and feels he must do something to prove himself worthy of her . \\noscar and lucinda isn\\'t beyond a little manipulation to get the desired emotional response , and there are times when the storyline curves in preposterous directions . \\non more than one occasion , it\\'s apparent that events are occurring specifically to funnel the characters into a position where there is only one possible route . \\ncoincidence is a crucial plot device ; without it , this movie can\\'t go anywhere . \\nthe voiceover narration ( never one of my favorite techniques ) is too verbose and breaks into the story at undesirable moments . \\n ( however , without it , the final twist , which i will not reveal , would not be as poignant . ) \\nyet , despite these quibbles , i enjoyed oscar and lucinda . \\nstoryline faults pale in the light of two such finely-realized characters . \\nthematically , the film is also strong . \\nthe unifying motif -- that everything in life is a gamble -- is successfully delineated . \\noscar and lucinda don\\'t just wager their money , they bet their hearts , minds , and souls . \\na card game they engage in shortly after they first meet could easily be considered a form of emotional \" strip poker \" where defenses are peeled away to reveal their shared , secret passion . \\noscar does not see gambling as a vice . \\nin fact , he believes that the greatest chance one takes in life is betting one\\'s immortal soul on the truth of a religious faith . \\nralph fiennes , who normally plays strong , confident men , is very much at home as the fumbling , insecure oscar . \\nthe actor brings a variety of nervous tics to the part , all of which subtly add to a vague sense of discomfort whenever oscar is on-screen . \\nas good as fiennes is , however , he is eclipsed by cate blanchett . \\nthe actress , who appeared earlier this year as one of the leads in bruce beresford\\'s paradise road , is mesmerizing as lucinda . \\nshe gives this liberated woman her flash , and feeds the chemistry between the two lead characters so that it sparkles rather than fizzles . \\neffective support is provided by ciaran hinds ( the male lead in jane austen\\'s persuasion ) as lucinda\\'s close friend , tom wilkinson ( the full monty ) as oscar\\'s mentor , and clive russell as a self-serving adventurer . \\nthere\\'s a real magic in the way armstrong develops the story , keeping things moving in unexpected directions without lingering too long on any one moment or sequence . \\n ( in fact , i wish she had devoted a little more time to the luminous middle act , which has oscar and lucinda together . ) \\nwith the skill of a consummate storyteller , she weaves romance , friendship , passion , humor , and tragedy together into a complete package . \\nthe characters , with all of their human foibles and neuroses , are wonderfully developed by fiennes and blanchett . \\nso who cares if the storyline is a little ripe and unwieldy ? \\noscar and lucinda still offers abundant pleasures to reward the viewer . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"review- peter jackson's the frighteners has received some notice for setting the record for most computer effects ever in a movie , and still coming in at the extremely cheap $30 million price tag . \\nbut for those who were dismayed by this year's blockbusters like twister and independence day , the frighteners has much more to offer than special effects . \\nand for those worried wether or not peter jackson would compromise to hollywood you can rest easily . \\nthe frighteners is as far removed from hollywood as a high-profile movie can get . \\nmichael j . fox stars as frank bannister , a con artist who can speak to ghosts . \\nhe uses this ability to set up a scam in a small town where his ghost buddies scare the hell out of people , then he comes and pretends to get rid of them . \\nthis is how he has made a living ever since his wife died in a car crash 5 years ago . \\nfrank's latest customers are a young couple , played by trini alvarado and peter dobson . \\nwhen dobson ends up dead , alvarado starts to take an interest in fox . \\nbut dobson's spirit is still around as he refuses to beleive he's dead . \\nthis leads to a very awkward and amusing dinner date between fox and alvarado , with dobson tagging along as a ghost . \\nthings start getting complicated for fox when he is accused for a series of murders taking place in the town . \\nfox sees someone named the soul collector crushing the heart of the victims , but noone else can see that . \\nso when fox shows up to try and save each victim , naturally people suspect he is the killer . \\nfox sees that alvarado is next on the soul collector's hit list , and the last half hour of the movie deals with fox's attempts to save her from this evil spirit . \\nthere are many wonderful twists and turns in the screenplay written by peter jackson and frances walsh . \\nthe movie starts off as a black comedy , and ends up a horror-action film . \\nthe mix between these genres are perfect . \\nno laughs are sacrificed in the name of horror , and vice versa . \\none point of contention might be a lackluster score by danny elfman . \\nbut that hardly seems like a flaw when you have such a diverse cast all in top form . \\nmichael j . fox delivers one of his best performances to date as a man who hides the sorrow of his wife's death , and then is forced to confront this later on . \\nalvarado , looking like andie macdowell , makes a great frightened , tough , and smart heroine . \\nand jeffery combs , as a paranoid fbi agent , is brilliantly bizaare . \\nthe frighteners never once feels like it is running long . \\nthe first hour is as funny as any comedy this year , and the last half hour is as thrilling as any of the big budget blockbusters . \\nthis movie is probably what casper would've looked like if david lynch directed it . \\nit's easily the best film of the year , so far . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'rated : r for strong violence , language , drug use , nudity , and some sexuality . \\nstarring : wesley snipes , anne archer , michael chaykin , donald sutherland , marie matiko . \\nrunning time : 117 minutes \\ndirected by : christian duguay \\ni\\'ve never fully understood wesley snipes\\'s career . \\nhe has his ups and downs , but mostly the downs . \\nhis best movie was one of the best of 1998 and that movie was entitled \" blade \" . \\nhe has had his typical action movies , \" boiling point \" , \" passenger 57 \" , but his new movie \" the art of war \" should just be called \" rising sun 2 : the art of war \" cause basically it\\'s a semi-remake of the same plot , with a different cast , and forced to be a ridiculously unbelievable thriller , that is high on style and low on substance . \\nwesley snipes plays a james bondish type secret agent working for the u . n . after a chinese ambassador is killed , he is on the track of the killer , trying to find out who it is , how it happened , where the killer was , and what to do . \\nanne archer plays his \" boss \" type person of the u . n . and she has hired snipes to track down the killer . \\nwell snipes is mistakenly framed as the killer , and is now an outlaw , kidnapping a chinese woman with him , and having her help him along the way . \\nall this leads to a finale that is so dumb , and so stupid that is it unbelievably dumb , and the stunts , dialogue and acting all ruin this movie . \\nwesley snipes isn\\'t one of my favorite actors because of the fact that the character he plays in every movie is the same character he plays in the movie before . \\nthe only good role snipes has really had was in 1998\\'s \" blade \" . \\ni walked into \" the art of war \" expecting a good , high octane thriller , and all i got was a pile of mush . \\nthe only real \\'good\\' thing the movie has is action , and plenty of it , but i noticed it is badly filmed , the camera is so shaky you cannot even tell what is going on . \\nthe ending finale is so worthless and pitiful , that it even tries to mock \" the matrix \" , laughably funny , it is undeniably stupid . \\nchristian duguay\\'s direction is also not that great . \\nhis camera angles and sense of style are all in place , but sadly his lighting and editing are all badly done . \\neven the whole \" matrix \" ending wasn\\'t even good . \\nthe stunts and action are badly filmed , and badly choreographed . \\nhis placing of the characters , and the assination of the chinese ambassador , and the plotting of the movie are so predictable and laughable , that it just takes all the fun out of the entire movie . \\nanne archer who is usually good in her roles , turns in a horrible job here . \\nshe is sour , downbeat , and dreadfully dull with her forced dialogue , and dumb moves . \\neven donald sutherland as a co-star can\\'t save this movie from being a bust . \\nso for an overall opinion : \" the art of war \" is a total waste of time . \\nit\\'s not entertaining , nor exciting , or even action packed . \\nit is a pointless movie , and makes absolutely no sense at all . \\nif you really want to see a good version of \" the art of war \" , rent the wesley snipes and sean connery action vehicle of the same kind \" rising sun \" , it isn\\'t a great film either , but at least it\\'s better than this . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i know that \" funnest \" isn\\'t a word . \\n \" fun \" is a noun , and therefore cannot be conjugated like an adjective . \\nbut that\\'s the word that came to me right after viewing \" chicken run . \" \\nno wonder : this is the kind of movie that reduces you to childish expressions , like \" that was the funnest movie i\\'ve ever seen ! \" \\nso to hell with webster\\'s -- \" chicken run \" is one of the funnest movies i\\'ve seen in a while . \\ni can\\'t remember the last time i\\'ve seen anything funner . \\nthe chickens at tweedy\\'s farm are up to something . \\nliving in a concentration camp-like atmosphere , they are led by one plucky hen called ginger ( voice of julia sawalha ) who continually comes up with plans for escape -- and always gets caught , subsequently spending day after day in the coal box . \\none night , a brash american rooster flies in over the fence , calling himself rocky ( mel gibson ) , famous flying rooster and circus performer . \\nrocky promises to teach the chickens how to fly , and the situation grows more desperate as the nefarious mrs . tweedy ( miranda richardson ) decides to abandon the farm\\'s egg-selling plan for a pie-selling plan . \\nshe orders a huge pie-making machine , cackling , \" chickens go in ; pies come out . \" \\nwhat sort of pies ? \\nchicken pies , of course . \\nco-director nick park and his studio , aardman animation , produced three oscar-winning short films : \" creature comforts , \" \" the wrong trousers , \" and \" a close shave . \" \\nthe latter two were the second and third installments of a trilogy starring the delightful team wallace & gromit , a man and his dog famous for getting themselves into increasingly peculiar adventures . \\npart of what made the \" wallace \" films brilliantly entertaining was park\\'s uncanny ability to make an old story seem new . \\n \" the wrong trousers , \" for example , pulled out a lot of old hitchcockian suspense tricks , and \" a close shave \" owed a great deal of inspiration to classic detective stories . \\nbut in the hands of park and his team , the stories felt fresh and inspired , and not the least bit contrived . \\nnow teaming with co-director peter lord , park has created a similar creature in \" chicken run . \" \\nthe plot is largely lifted from \" the great escape \" ( watch for a quick reference to the ball-bouncing scene ) , with some spielberg-inspired action sequences providing the excitement . \\nthing is , the film doesn\\'t feel like it\\'s been lifted from somewhere else ; \" chicken run \" feels fresh , alive , like nothing else ever done . \\npart of it is the original idea : who in the world came up with the idea to make a prisoners-of-war movie starring chickens ? \\npark and lord milk the incongruity for all it\\'s worth : the characters treat their situation as if it were dead serious , and to them , it is . \\nbut they\\'re * chickens * , so it\\'s funny to us . \\nanother thing that helps \" chicken run \" ( and most of park\\'s films ) succeed is the animators\\' subtle way of giving nods to the very films they\\'re cribbing . \\nthere are references to \" the great escape , \" obviously , and \" stalag 17 . \" \\nthe chase sequence inside the chicken grinder parodies both \" raiders of the lost ark \" and \" indiana jones and the temple of doom . \" \\nthere\\'s even a nod to \" the blues brothers , \" if you can believe it , and the filmmakers even get in a little light-hearted ribbing at the expense of their star voice actor , taking a couple of very subtle jabs at mel gibson\\'s nationality and film history . \\nthe \" braveheart \" reference is a hoot if you catch it . \\nwhen you consider just how fine a line resides between a funny parody and a redundant one , \" chicken run \" is downright brilliant in its execution . \\nconsider this : since july of last year , i\\'ve seen dozens upon dozens of \" blair witch project \" parodies , on television , on the radio , and online . \\nout of all those , maybe one or two were amusing , the rest tiresome . \\nwhy ? \\nbecause once you got past the thought that \" they\\'re parodying that&#8216 ; blair witch\\' movie , \" most of the parodies had nothing to offer -- no insight , no original idea , no greater purpose . \\nthey were only funny if you had seen the movie ; otherwise , you got nothing . \\nconversely , \" chicken run \" doesn\\'t lean on its parodies -- the film references are never the sole focus of any scene . \\nif you\\'ve never seen \" indiana jones , \" the chase sequence is still fun . \\neven if you have no idea who mel gibson is , rocky remains an interesting character . \\npark , lord , and screenwriter karey kirkpatrick realize that an audience does not need a parody shoved in their faces before it\\'s understood , and as a result , \" chicken run \" is filled with visual and verbal jabs that are never too obvious , but not quite vague either . \\nenjoyment of this movie doesn\\'t require knowledge of film history , but if you\\'ve got it , \" chicken run \" is that much richer . \\nthe voice cast turns in uniformly lively performances , and the characters they play are given so many subtle nuances that it\\'s hard not to fall in love with every one of them . \\nginger is perfect , spunky and opinionated , but with a soft heart that forbids her to leave her companions behind , and julia sawalha ( known as the cute mousy girl on \" absolutely fabulous \" ) nails it . \\nshe has warm , human chemistry with gibson , whose rocky hides his personal doubt under a brash gung-ho veneer . \\nthe characters\\' inevitable romance doesn\\'t feel contrived , but sweet . \\npoor mr . tweedy ( tony haygarth ) suspects the chickens are organizing in some way , but his limited intellect prevents him from figuring things out , and his overbearing wife certainly isn\\'t any help . \\njane horrocks delivers a lovely voice characterization as tragically optimistic babs ( a hen that runs away with most of the best one-liners , all while perpetually crocheting a sweater ) , and two supply-trading rats that seem to have walked straight out of a monty python sketch nearly steal the show during the lively central swing-dancing sequence . \\nthey even come up with an inspired riff on something that\\'s baffled scholars and theologians alike for decades : the chicken vs . egg dilemma . \\none might have expected this inevitable joke to come off as wearisome , but as with most of \" chicken run , \" it comes as a delightful surprise . \\nthe film manages to cross all barriers ; it should be accessible to both children and adults , brits and yanks , rats and chickens . \\nthe animation is first-rate . \\nremember that this was all done the old-fashioned way , with actual humans moving clay figurines around on a tiny set bit by painstaking bit , and you see just how truly remarkable \" chicken run \" really is . \\nthis movie possesses that same quality that makes pixar studios\\' animation great : precise and unwavering attention to detail . \\nas in such top-notch family fare as \" a bug\\'s life \" or \" toy story 2 , \" \" chicken run \" has something to offer in nearly every frame . \\ncertainly a passive viewer can enjoy it as a straightforward story with a worthwhile moral and some surprisingly touching scenes , but a active , attentive viewers will enjoy it even more because they\\'ll catch all the details . \\nanyway , the movie\\'s just a boatload of fun . \\nfunnest damn movie i\\'ve seen all year . \\n',\n",
+       " b'jackie brown entered theaters with little fanfare and a lot of expectation . \\neven though advance publicity on this one was fairly limited , the audiences waited for the showings with heightened anticipation . \\nthis is , after all , the first movie quentin tarantino has directed since the highly touted pulp fiction . \\nto say he has been inactive in between would be to tell a falsehood , since he has been involved in such projects as destiny turns on the radio , desperado , four rooms , and from dusk \\'til dawn . \\nhe was also called in at the last minute to help punch up the screenplay for crimson tide . \\n ( i\\'m willing to wager the debate over which silver surfer is the only true silver surfer was penned by him . ) \\ntarantino contributed on and off screen to these films , but never took the director\\'s helm . \\nnearly four years since gaining notoriety on the hollywood scene and making john travolta a star once more , tarantino returns with a film he can call his own . \\nthe film opens up with an homage to the graduate , with jackie brown ( pam grier ) on one of those airport people movers as the credits are displayed in front of her . \\njackie is a flight attendant for air cabo , which flies back and fourth between los angeles and cabo san lucas . \\nthis makes jackie a convenient cash courier for gun dealer ordell robbi ( samuel l . jackson ) who is currently keeping his money stashed in mexico . \\nhowever , while bringing fifty thousand dollars back into the u . s . for ordell , jackie is apprehended by fbi agent mark dargus ( michael bowen ) and atf agent ray nicolet ( michael keaton ) , who catch her not only with the money , but with a bonus of a couple of ounces of illicit drugs . \\njackie didn\\'t know they were in the package with the cash , but that\\'s of no consequence to the authorities , who threaten jackie with a couple of years hard time if convicted . \\nof course , dargus and nicolet are just using the sentence to get jackie to turn over the big fish , ordell . \\nordell uses honest bail bondsman max cherry ( robert forster ) to get jackie out of jail , but while max is immediately attracted to her , jackie is more concerned about her immediate safety , since ordell killed the last one of his operatives who got picked up by the police . \\nsure enough , ordell shows up at jackie\\'s apartment that evening and tries to silence jackie for good , but she \" borrows \" max\\'s pistol and manages to turn the tables on ordell . \\ninstead of closing the irony circle and relocating a bullet from the pistol\\'s chamber to ordell\\'s head , jackie proposes a deal . \\nsince ordell wants to get his money out of mexico , jackie will get back up to her old tricks and be a courier for him once more , but this time for a more substantial fee : fifteen percent of ordell\\'s half million dollars . \\nwith a gun in his face , how can ordell not agree ? \\nby itself , this premise might have been interesting enough to carry the film . \\nhowever , we are also introduced to a number of double crosses which make us pay attention and think . \\njackie claims to be bringing the money in for ordell , but she\\'s also making a deal with the feds as well as with max . \\nthe film throws us off every once in a while by leading us to believe the deal we thought was authentic is actually a sham , but it is in no way done to the extent that we feel jerked around . \\ninstead , it\\'s actually a nice departure from the predictability which is prevalent in so many of today\\'s movies . \\nat least this film has a little imagination . \\nmost of the performances in jackie brown are above par . \\npam grier , of whom i had never taken notice before , plays jackie with a mix of confidence and vulnerability which makes her character believable . \\nsamuel l . jackson has a kind of mesmerizing quality about him as he handles himself in situations where you know he is in total control . \\nrobert forster is thoroughly likable because he comes across as such an honest guy , trying to do his best . . \\nnever mind that he belongs to a profession where sneaking into a guy\\'s apartment to zap him with a stun gun is simply a matter of course . \\nhe\\'s just so down-to-earth , the nature of his job really doesn\\'t occur to us , even when we\\'re shown him bringing a handcuffed woman to prison , or when we see the tools of his trade . \\nin supporting roles are robert de niro as louis gara , a recently paroled friend of ordell\\'s , and bridget fonda as melanie , one of the girls ordell keeps around town . \\nunfortunately , de niro is basically wasted as his lines are few and far between , and then they are mostly clipped sentences . \\nin this film , he\\'s not really de niro , but stereotypical de niro , uttering things like , \" little bit , \" and \" pretty much . \" \\nfonda , on the other hand , plays the slightly spaced-out melanie with satisfactory relish and cuteness , such that even when she is annoying louis , we are taking her side . \\nas is characteristic of any film in which tarantino has had a hand , the dialog is quick and snappy . \\nit grabs our attention and is actually interesting , and in many respects , this makes jackie brown a film which needs few visuals ; the lines are a form of art in and amongst themselves . \\ndon\\'t count tarantino out when it comes to using the camera , however . \\nthere\\'s a scene where max is unwittingly watching a dry run of a money exchange , and he\\'s not really sure what\\'s happening , but by composing the scene just so , his realization of what\\'s going on is felt simultaneously by the audience . \\nwe look at the screen and think , \" gee , that\\'s clever , \" and then think the same thing about how the film induced us into that wonderful feeling of catching on . \\nalthough tarantino isn\\'t afraid to drag out a shot for dramatic effect , it unfortunately works to varying degrees in this film . \\nthere are shots where a character is simply driving , and we watch this person and somehow get an idea of what is going on in his or her head . \\nthis is a tribute to both direction and acting . \\nhowever , there is at least one other scene where we follow jackie through a mall , and she is looking for something ; desperately looking for something . \\nwe get the idea of the frantic nature of her search , but we follow her for so long that we end up not really caring about what she\\'s looking for , but instead hoping she\\'ll just stop . \\noverall , viewing jackie brown is time spent well . \\nsome flap has already been made about the language used in the film , but it\\'s really not much worse than many of the other movies out there today . \\nin fact , one might even be able to say that the way in which these \" offensive \" words are employed almost cause them to parody themselves and therefore transcend their own offensiveness . \\ngo see the film and see what i mean . \\n',\n",
+       " b'robert altman\\'s cookie\\'s fortune is that rare movie that does not depend on sentimentality to be uplifting and to make its viewers feel good . \\nit is a sunny , delightful , dreamy comedy , filled with lovely performances , skillful direction and topped off with an understated , clever , extraordinary script . \\nas this is an ensemble piece , it is forced to start of slowly as it introduces us to its characters , all of them residing in a southern town called holly springs . \\nfirst we meet willie ( charles s . dutton ) , an honest man with a slight drinking habit . \\nwe then see that willie takes care of an elderly lady nicknamed cookie , who is slowly losing her grip on sanity and is being filled with loneliness , despair , and want of her dead husband . \\nwe cut to camille ( glenn close ) who is obsessively directing a play with her sister cora ( julianne moore ) . \\nthen we briefly get acquainted with emma ( liv tyler ) , an apparent relative of cookie , who is a down-but-not-out teen outcast , still full of love and hope even though she has no real place to live . \\nwe also fleetingly see emma\\'s lover jason ( chris o\\'donnell ) , an ambitious but far too excitable young cop . \\nwe are now about one quarter through the two hour picture , and robert altman decides that it is time to set the plot in motion . \\nwe see the ecstatic cookie stare hopefully at a picture of her husband . \\nshe exclaims \" here i come ! \" \\nand then puts a pillow to her face and shoots herself . \\nsoon after , her niece camille stops by to get a fruit salad bowl , comes upstairs , finds cookie dead and flips out . \\nconvinced that suicide is a disgrace and that she will have none of that in her family , she eats the suicide note and convinces her slightly slow ( yet sweet ) sister that it was a murder . \\nshe makes sure that she stages it like a murder as well ; scattering jewelry all over the floor , breaking a few cabinets , windows and doors , and then throwing the gun out in the back yard . \\nthe only reasonable suspect is willie , who immediately gets taken into custody , and put in a jail cell ( they all know he didn\\'t do it , so the cell stays open and he plays scrabble with the sheriff and the faithful emma ) . \\nmeanwhile , the unperturbed camille continues her none-too-subtle manipulations trying to further cover up for the murder while at the same time making her easter play a success . \\nso begins cookie\\'s fortune , a film aptly described by critic scott renshaw as \" a southern spin on fargo , \" except that this one is far funnier and much more enjoyable than the coen brothers\\' darker , somewhat disturbing and slightly overrated escapade . \\nrobert altman\\'s slight picture is in some ways reminiscent of something like midnight in the garden of good and evil as well , in that both films focus ( on and off ) on the eccentricities of the residents in a southern us town . \\nindeed , most of the characters in cookie\\'s fortune are loads of fun to observe , and a portion of them are fascinating and surprisingly multi- dimensional . \\nglenn close turns in an insubstantial ( in terms of her career ) but magnificent performance as the conniving camille and is also the source of a good portion of the many laughs that we enjoy in this movie , and she is perfectly cast as the prolific \" aunt alexandria \" character , endlessly obsessed with family dignity . \\nthe equally essential role of willie is handled with an intangible grace by veteran thespian charles s . dutton ( mimic , a time to kill ) \\nthere is nothing like a movie which leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside hours , even days after the film ends . \\ncookie\\'s fortune is such a movie . \\ni loved the light , kindhearted approach altman ( whose last project was the dark , intense drama the gingerbread man ) took towards the tricky subject matter . \\ni enjoyed the talented ensemble cast . \\ni even liked the trite \" in the south everybody is related to everybody \" cliche that is inevitably employed by the time this movie draws to a close . \\ni\\'m not sure why cookie\\'s fortune had such an all-around pleasing effect on me . \\nperhaps it\\'s that good ol\\' southern charm . \\n',\n",
+       " b'when i first heard about scream in 1996 , i was told that it was a spoof of horror movies . \\nfrom the master of the horror himself , wes craven , it ridiculed the cliches of the genre by overemphasizing them , by making the teenagers do what they know they\\'re not supposed to do when a serial killer is stalking them ( don\\'t run up the stairs when you can easily go out the front door , never say \" i\\'ll be right back , \" etc . ) . \\nwhen i first heard this description , i figured that it was an easy way out of making a bad movie . \\nhow hard is it to make an extremely terrible film but claim it is actually a mockery of other bad movies . \\nwas this wes craven\\'s remedy from making \" real \" bad movies such as vampires in brooklyn ? \\nit just seemed cheap to me . \\nthen i actually saw the movie and the first twenty minutes , involving drew barrymore and a nail-bitingly intense phone conversation , completely changed my attitude . \\nscream is not only a clever parody of your standard horror flick , it\\'s also a pretty scary movie . \\nif you\\'ve seen a million of these kinds of films , you know exactly what is going to happen . \\nthis is part of the fun of watching scream . \\nthe movie reminds avid horror fans how similar and repetitive the genre is and it also reminds them how great a guilty pleasure it can be to watch pointless and predictable violence to innocent , attractive teenagers . \\nto those who rarely see these types of movies , scream is a thrilling unpredictable ride that could be mistaken as a serious slasher film . \\nthere\\'s nothing wrong with that misjudgment though . \\ni have witnessed viewers from both sides of the audience , the newbies to horror and the fanatics . \\ntheir opinions on the film were so different but both very positive . \\nfrom these varied reviews , i am convinced that scream has not only revived the teen horror movie and the normal teen romance movies but also the hilarious parodies of these and other categories . \\nfilms that both deride and celebrate genres like galaxy quest and the big hit would not have existed , in my opinion , if it was not for the outstanding success of scream . \\nthe low - budget 1996 gem may , alongside pulp fiction , be the most influential film of the 1990\\'s . \\nthis influence may exist to the chagrin of some moviegoers who despise movies like teaching mrs . tingle or television programs such as dawson\\'s creek but to others such as myself , we congratulate the movie that has opened new doors for excellent young actors , screenwriters , and directors . \\nscream is also an extremely funny movie thanks to its quickly-paced script by kevin williamson . \\nwithin the film are characters who tell other characters , as well as the audience , the basic rules and cliches of a horror movie . \\nmainly from the rants of randy ( jamie kennedy ) and stu ( matthew lillard ) , we are reminded not only of the obvious and hilarious rules but also some of the more subtle stereotypes that when thought over are mostly true as well ( the virgin always survives ; have sex and you\\'re dead meat ) . \\nnot only are we treated these rules on a plate but also the rules are referenced to a number of different films and actors . \\nthe script feels like an obsessive essay from a college film geek who has nothing better to do but find every little blunder from every little film for his own self-satisfaction . \\nin this case , williamson finds these errors for the audience\\'s satisfaction and amusement . \\ni hear there is a new movie coming out called scary movie which is a spoof of scream , which is a spoof of scary movies . \\ni will certainly see the film but i have the feeling that this parody will be more obviously ridiculing the genre rather than scream\\'s perfect subtlety . \\nhowever my last gut feeling about this stuff , scream , was dead wrong . . . \\nso who knows . \\n',\n",
+       " b'despite its exceedingly well-done visual effects , 1995\\'s original species was one big hunk of sci-fi cheese , from the writing to the feeble performances . \\nso , coming from such b-grade roots , its sequel\\'s stunning ineptitude is not terribly surprising , yet at the same time it is . \\nit would not have been difficult at all for the people behind species ii to top the hokey original , yet they have somehow managed to fabricate something just as bad , if not even worse . \\nsomething is clearly amiss when the back door left open for a sequel in species--a sewer rat becomes not quite of this earth after eating a body part from the exploded alien/human hybrid sil--is never entered into ( perhaps that was left for species iii--though i\\'m not giving away anything when i say that this installment has an open back door of its own ) . \\nthe alien fun and games begin this time when a three-person astronaut crew returning from mars inadvertently carries within their soil samples deadly alien dna that eventually infects the mission captain , patrick ross ( justin lazard , late of cbs\\'s short-lived soap of a few years back , central park west/cpw ) . \\nthis alien dna is not identical to that which created the original film\\'s sil , but it\\'s close enough , and upon arrival on earth patrick is mating like crazy , engaging in bloody sex with just about every woman he can find . \\nmeanwhile , scientist dr . laura baker ( the returning marg helgenberger ) has created a clone of sil named eve ( natasha henstridge again ) for research purposes . \\nit doesn\\'t take long for eve to sense another alien presence , which send her libido into hyperdrive . \\nit\\'s up to laura and her former partner , bounty hunter press lennox ( michael madsen , another returnee ) ; and patrick\\'s uninfected shipmate dennis gamble ( mykelti williamson ) to find patrick before the in-heat eve does . \\n \" this isn\\'t the x-files , goddammit ! \" \\nexclaims one character in the early going . \\nin terms of quality , he\\'s absolutely right , but he\\'s also wrong . \\nthe new alien first appears as an otherworldly oozing sludge that causes patrick\\'s pupils to dilate once he\\'s infected . \\nlooks and sounds an awful lot like the x-files\\'s \" black cancer \" to me . \\nbut that\\'s not the only source director peter medak and writer chris brancato steal from . \\nspecies was already a ripoff of alien , but medak makes the cribbing much more blatant than the original\\'s director , roger donaldson , did . \\nhuman patrick is given a tongue that also has a tongue within itself , and his alien form more closely resembles the alien than eve\\'s alien body ( which ironically was designed by alien designer h . r . giger ) . \\na large alien hive that our heros douse with a substance fired from large guns ? \\naliens sans flamethrowers . \\nthe visual effects were by far the best thing about species , and the sequel\\'s effects crew at steve johnson\\'s xfx inc . keeps that high-quality tradition alive ; no cheap-looking lost in space cgi here . \\nafter the effects , the original\\'s best asset was the fresh presence of henstridge . \\nhowever , medak and brancato have no idea what exactly to do with her for this installment . \\nat one point she\\'s called on to play alien \" empath \" ? la forest whitaker in the original , but for most of the duration she\\'s holed up in a glass cell . \\nby the time the big breakout so prominently featured in the trailer actually takes place , the film is well into its home stretch . \\nso the rest of the time we are treated to patrick , played with little zest by lazard . \\none problem with the first film was that the deadly , horny , but innocent-at-heart sil was too sympathetic ; no such problem with patrick , who comes off as a cocky pretty boy before the alien takes control . \\nthe rest of the cast also fails to add much , but the writing can be faulted for that . \\nhelgenberger and madsen go through the motions , but they are already hampered by the clich ? d development that somewhere between the two films , the once-linked laura and press stopped getting along . \\nwilliamson suffers the worst indignity . \\nhe tries his best to enliven the token african-american role , but how can anyone recite insulting , derivative lines such as \" i\\'m gonna get african on someone\\'s ass \" and not appear ridiculous ? \\nbut species ii\\'s worst crime is being a thoroughly uninteresting piece of work . \\nat least the original featured plenty to laugh at--unaccountably awful performances by the otherwise fine actors ben kingsley and whitaker , and the sight of helgenberger\\'s character performing fellatio on madsen\\'s , for a start . \\nbut the filmmakers do not display any discernable effort at all , let alone the misguided effort that is required for something to reach the camp level . \\nfor all the blood and gore , nudity , and sex thrown in , species ii is , quite simply , a vapid bore . \\n',\n",
+       " b'people who enjoy science fiction are often faced with unpleasant surprises due to the improper labelling of novels , stories , comic books or movies . \\noften science fiction aficionados find material , previously labelled as science fiction , to be pure fantasy or supernatural horror , or rather simple techno-thriller . \\nin such cases , mistakes are understandable - genre boundaries are never clearly marked . \\nbut , i believe there are really few cases when a movie labelled as science fiction actually happens to be straight historical epic . \\nsuch thing occurred in former yugoslavia some fifteen years ago , when national distributors gave such treatment to the right stuff , 1983 film directed by philip kaufman . \\nthe mistake of the distributors could be explained with the fact that the official poster of the film features men in space suits . \\nbut the right stuff film isn\\'t even fiction . \\nit was based on the non-fiction book by tom wolfe , covering the early years of american space program . \\nthe plot of the film begins in 1947 when few people heard of edwards air force base , major test site for experimental planes . \\nthe major aim of test flights is to determine ability of manned aircraft to reach 1 mach speed and thus break the sound barrier . \\nmany pilots tried to achieve that goal and many paid with their lives for such bravado . \\nbut one quiet pilot , chuck eager ( played by sam shaped ) succeeds and thus gives example for whole new generation of test pilots , determined to enter history books by breaking new speed records . \\nten years later , soviets have launched \" sputnik \" marking the beginning of the space age . \\nin order to regain national prestige , us government decides to be the first to send man into space . \\nbest air force , navy and marine pilots are recruited into program , but not yeager , because he lacks college education and desired all-american image . \\nin one of critics\\' polls the right stuff was named as one among top 10 films made in 1980s . \\nsuch high position could be explained with the fact that kaufman\\'s film looks quite atypical for its time . \\nwith more than three hours of length and epic scope it looked more suitable for 1950s and 1960s - age when hollywood used to make films larger than life . \\nbut the real reason lies in the fact that it was made by truly remarkable and talented filmmaker . \\nphilip kaufman created reputation in 1970s by using all the opportunities of that golden age in order to create original , memorable movies . \\nthe right stuff was the last of them , swan song of an era when producers allowed directors to spend big bucks on unusual , risk-taking \" artsy \" projects . \\nthe right stuff is unusual because it lacks many standard elements of hollywood film . \\nthe plot is almost non-existent and not very coherent ; the story , featuring many interesting incidents and anecdotes , shifts focus from the old generation of test pilots , embodied in yeager , to new generation of the astronauts . \\nthe film also lacks conventional protagonist - yeager ( who also appears in small cameo ) remains the true hero of the film , but equal time and exposure is also given to other astronauts and their wives , making this movie into ensemble piece . \\nthat gave opportunity for kaufman to use multitude of great acting talents , until that specialised only for bit or character roles . \\nsam shepard is great as yeager , war hero whose greatest achievement - breech of the sound barrier - remained obscured in history books , probably due to his own modesty . \\non the surface , he lacks personality compared with his hyped and more fortunate astronaut colleagues , but shepard gives texture to this character with subtle gestures and phrases . \\nshepard\\'s performance is followed with great acting by ed harris as clean-cut marine ( and future politician ) john glenn . \\nyoung dennis quaid is more than fine as arrogant fighter jock gordo cooper , and this arrogance is mirrored in his friend and most tragic figure of virgil grissom , superbly played by fred ward . \\nalways reliable character actor scott glenn provides some comic relief as navy aviator and ( arguably ) first american man in space alan shepard . \\nkaufman left room for female talents to excel too - barbara hershey , pamela reed , veronica cartwright and mary jo deschanel are great as pilots\\' wives . \\nroyal dano is also impressive as menacing figure of preacher , but the most memorable performances belong to donald moffat as vice-president lyndon b . johnson and jane dornacker as nurse murch . \\ngreat acting talent assembled for this film was mirrored with kaufman\\'s superb direction . \\nmost notable of all is the methods kaufman uses in order to suggest the passage of time . \\nthe beginning of the film shows test pilots living in the middle of desert , as virtual unknowns , far away from strict rules and discipline . \\neverything seems natural -yeager can indulge himself in horse riding just few yards away from the fastest and most precious aircraft in the world . \\nin that setting , it\\'s quite normal for important technical problems to be solved with simple chainsaw and for the test pilots not to report their ribs being broken before most important flights . \\nbut the times are changing ; ww2 alliance with ussr is replaced with cold war , and \" natural \" pilots like yeager must be replaced with more disciplined , conventional pilots . \\ntheir entire lives become focus of media frenzy , and their job is subjected to strict rules , meticulous plans and they must fight the bureaucrats , publicity-seeking politicians and uncaring scientists ( like former nazi rocket expert werner von braun , played by scott beach ) only to preserve their most basic human dignity . \\nthis contrast is underlined with the beautifully edited sequence - while yeager conducts his final and most spectacular test flight in absolute obscurity , \" mercury \" astronauts receive fame and fortune , although some of them even before going in the space . \\nthose contrasts and similar effects are achieved with kaufman\\'s superb use of poetic movie language . \\nediting is great , and photography by caleb deschanel provides many memorable scenes like the funeral in the desert or astronauts in their suits walking in slow motion ( the same image would be copied in many latter films ) . \\nalthough kaufman enjoyed support of nasa and american military , which provided authentic locations and period equipment , he still had to use special effects in order to simulate space flights . \\nthose effects are excellent and they can still fool the audience accustomed to cgi and real footage of earth from outer space . \\nanother fine contribution of this film is \" oscar \" -awarded musical score by bill conti ; i still tremble from excitement every time i hear it . \\nit is accompanied with the use of holst and debussy . \\nsome of the songs used in the background also provide authentic atmosphere of the historical period . \\nthis film is great , and its cult status is well deserved , but there are some minor flaws . \\nsome of the \" mercury \" astronauts aren\\'t fleshed out enough ( although being played by fine actors , like lance henriksen ) . \\nfilm also lacks proper closure . \\non the other hand , most logical conclusion of the film - landing on the moon - would require this film to be more than six hours long . \\nalso , some critics were prone to attack this film as too amerocentric and hard on russians , who were portrayed as evil monsters , just in line with most virulent cold war rhetoric of reagan\\'s america . \\nin some of contemporary interviews , kaufman defended that approach by claiming that he wanted to make film as authentic as possible , and in order to do that , he portrayed russians not as they were in real life , but as they were perceived by americans in early 1960s . \\ntime has passed ; now we don\\'t see astronauts as heroes . \\nin this age of widespread satellite communications and routine space missions , those men and women in space suits are seen as mere maintenance workers . \\nfew young boys want to be astronauts when they grow up . \\nbut this film , sentimental reminder of the times \" when future began \" , perhaps could encourage at least some of them to follow \" mercury \" astronauts\\' footsteps seek new frontiers in the sky . \\nand even if they decide to stay on earth , they could still appreciate the right stuff as an extraordinary piece of cinema . \\n',\n",
+       " b'contact is the 1997 movie i\\'ve seen the most - five times to be exact . \\nfour of those times were on the big screen , but even on a tv , it\\'s a very impressive film . \\nthe same can\\'t be said for films like independance day , but that\\'s because contact is a rare example in sci-fi filmmaking where the story is treated more importantly than the special effects , and all of us know looking back that id4 didn\\'t offer much outside of some one-time delightful eye candy . \\ncontact\\'s wonderfully presented story deals with ellie arroway ( jodie foster ) , a radio astronomer whose preference of study involves the outdated technique of \" merely listening \" to sounds out in space . \\nher interest in the field of astronomy developed at a very young age , encouraged by her loving father , ted ( david morse ) , who let ellie use a small ham radio to pick up on frequencies and communicate with people as far away as pensacola , fl ( that was , of course , before the days of internet chat rooms ) . \\nwhile everyone else uses modern technologies to aid them in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence ( of which the program seti is an acronym for ) , ellie prefers to pop on a pair of headphones and see what she can pick up on , keeping the youthful magic and intrigue strongly alive . \\nellie\\'s strong scientific basis essentially makes her an atheist , a belief likely influenced by the death of her father while she was still quite young . \\nin puerto rico , she meets palmer joss ( matthew mcconaughey ) , a writer examining the effects of technology on the world\\'s overall happiness ; a one- time seminary student who describes himself as \" a man of the cloth , without the cloth \" . \\ndespite the vast differences in opinion regarding a \" supreme being \" , ellie and palmer hit it off , and even take the time to sleep together . \\nit\\'s a weak and hurried relationship , but director zemeckis needs it to add to the plot later on . \\nmeanwhile , dr . david drumlin ( tom skerritt ) , who has authority over seti but finds the program a frivolous waste of time and money , is ready to pull the plug on any and all seti funding . \\nthis leaves the passionate ellie searching for new sponsors , eventually finding a setup in new mexico and leaving palmer with no explanation , and only a one night stand to remember . \\nit is in this nm city where , several months later , ellie finally picks up on a strong signal from outer space , perhaps the most profound discovery in the history of science . \\nwhen the signal is closely examined , many new developments spring up , and before long , drumlin is stepping in to take over the operation he once scoffed at . \\neventually , it is concluded that information in the signal may be blueprints for a transportation device used to teleport an earthling to vega ( where the signal seems to have originated ) . \\nthe media swarms , fanatics go further off the deep end , scientists clamor for new information , politicians huddle in discussion of appropriate actions to take , and presidents are morphed into a celluloid reality ( remember when zemeckis couldn\\'t get enough of this in forrest gump ? ) . \\nas if that weren\\'t enough , ellie\\'s discovery leads her to the nation\\'s capital where she again runs into palmer . \\ncontact is based on the novel by carl sagan and deals heavily with the subject of science vs . religion . \\nthe impressive thing is how well both aspects are presented , with no signs of bias . \\narguments for both sides are intelligent , solid , and thought-provoking . \\nwhen palmer joins a selection committee to choose an ambassador to vega ( of which ellie is a leading candidate ) , personal convictions play a more important role than love interests . \\nthe question is , can a person who doesn\\'t believe in god truly be the best representative of earth when 90% of the planet * does * believe in a higher power ? \\neven when the film wraps up , it\\'s uncertain whether it\\'s meant to play as an advocate for religion , science , both , or even neither , and in our modern day society where \" right and wrong \" is only opinion ( at least speaking \" politically correctly \" ) , the ambiguity is an incentive . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong . \\nas much as it sounds like it , contact isn\\'t merely a theology class rolled into a reel of film . \\nit\\'s a * highly * enjoyable two and a half hours . \\ndespite its seemingly heavy issues , it\\'s not a tedious undertaking to watch this film . \\nthe special effects are outstanding , though ( warning ! ) \\nhighly depreciated on the small screen . \\neven so , some of the subtle visual effects ( that will likely go unnoticed by many ) are even more impressive than ones more recognizable as \" sci-fi \" . \\nthe storytelling is rich and complete , and although there are moments in the film that feel quite pretentious ( and at times , even hokey ) , it\\'s easily one of the best 1997 films , and one of the best sci-fi films i\\'ve ever seen . \\nthis is zemeckis\\' best since back to the future , and for those of us who actually know that forrest gump was astronomically overrated , zemeckis now has real reason to boast . \\n',\n",
+       " b'robin hood : men in tights is another mel-brooks-produced film in the classic tradition of movies like blazing saddles and young frankenstein . \\nmel brooks is well known for his comic look at regular life , his fast paced dialogue and sharp wit . \\nunfortunately , robin hood : men in tights has none of the easy going humor of blazing saddles , none of the fun acting of young frankenstein , is devoid of the charm of spaceballs , and is even lacking the good , solid dialogue of history of the world . \\nit is , in short , one of the worst movies i have seen mel brooks , or anybody else , produce . \\nthe plot borrows heavily from the well-received kevin costner movie of last year , robin hood : prince of thieves . \\nthis is not surprising in and of itself , and could have been used to great comic effect , mainly by parodying scenes from the orginal movie . \\nmel brooks does not take advantage of this , however , and uses the film to launch several ideas into the air , none of which connect and none of which are explained later on . \\nthe movie\\'s scenes could be shuffled around in any order and one would be hard pressed to notice . \\ncary elwes , of princess bride fame , plays robin of loxley , a man who was captured in the crusades , fighting with king richard . \\nhe escapes and , joining with a man named achoo ( i am sure you can see the obvious joke ) , fights in england to reclaim his name and the throne for richard , which has been captured by evil prince john , played by funny comic richard lewis . \\nhe also tries for the love of maid marian and attempts to overthrow the evil \" sheriff of rottingham \" . \\na good adventure plot that is sadly unused . \\nelwes and lewis are both excellent comics , but the dialogue in the movie is simply excruciating . \\nneither actor has any good words to work with , and the lines simply aren\\'t funny , nor believable . \\nperhaps the worst example of this is when the group of merry men encounter a man playing a macaulay culkin clone from the hit movie home alone . \\nthis particular scene is so out of place and so badly acted , and followed by so many other scenes of equal miserable ideas , that i really felt like leaving the theatre . \\nmuch of the audience continued to look at their watches throughout , and some left the theatre . \\nchuckles were few and far between , and they mostly dealt with visual jokes ( such as an old , beaten up horse from \" rent-a-wreck \" ) then from any dialogue whatsoever . \\nscenes that could have been classics , such as the archery contest , are ruined by poor acting . \\nperhaps the largest problem with the movie is that it is simply offensive . \\nthe basic plot , that robin has received a key that will unlock the chastity belt of maid marian , is not witty nor funny . \\nmel brooks as a circumcision-giving rabbi is also offensive to me and others in the audience ( not all jewish , either ) . \\nthe movie simply tries to hard trying to be funny and by and large fails . \\nthe addition of a blind man who stumbles around , falling off cliffs , walking into ledges and being a general buffoon could have had some humorous potential , but is also made terribly offensive . \\nthe only reason to see this movie is the surprise actor at the end who plays king richard . \\nhe is well worth waiting for , if you can stand an hour and half of unfunny dialogue , excruciating visual humor , old puns , ancient jokes and bad acting . \\nif you can\\'t , don\\'t even bother watching this miserable film . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the second serial-killer thriller of the month is just awful . \\noh , it starts deceptively okay , with a handful of intriguing characters and some solid location work . \\nafter a baby-sitter gets gutted in the suit- ably spooky someone's-in-the-house prologue , parallel stories unfold , the first involving a texas sheriff ( r . lee emery ) , a gruesome double murder , and the arrival of a morose fbi agent ( dennis quaid ) on the eve of voting for the local lawman's reelection . \\nthe second pairs a hitch- hiker ( jared leto ) with a friendly former railroad worker ( danny glover ) . \\nthey're headed west , toward the rockies and away from the murder scene . \\nwhich one is the killer ? \\nwell , it doesn't really matter , 'cause when writer/first-time director jeb stuart ( die hard ) finally spills the beans , you won't take his choice seriously anyway . \\nthe whole thing goes south about an hour in , with the tale taking hairpin turns that i certainly couldn't follow . \\nand through the whole thing there's quaid , playing with the most intense monotony this side of steven sea- gal . \\ni guess i'm glad that i didn't walk out-- there's some nice train stuff at the end and a fun nod to dr . \\nstrangelove . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'topless women talk about their lives falls into that category that i mentioned in the devil\\'s advocate : movies that have a brilliant beginning but don\\'t know how to end . \\nit begins by introducing us to a selection of characters who all know each other . \\nthere is liz , who oversleeps and so is running late for her appointment , prue who is getting married , geoff , liz\\'s boyfriend , neil , her previous boyfriend , ant who has written a screenplay . \\nfor the first hour , we get to know these people through everyday activities , as they talk on the phone , go out to dinner , hang clothes on the line . \\nthe interactions seem so truthful and guileless that it is almost as if the film-makers hid cameras around the place and filmed these people unbeknownst to them . \\nat times , the events border on the ridiculous , like the screening of the film , but they still seem in keeping with the characters and their lives . \\nthis doesn\\'t sound like a brilliant premise for a film - \" we just follow a lot of people around who are vaguely related \" - but it\\'s the execution of the idea that makes topless women talk about their lives so engrossing . \\nunfortunately this level of honesty isn\\'t maintained . \\nwith about half an hour to go , a sense of impending doom invades topless women talk about their lives and from there is descends into melodrama . \\nsuch a disappointment after such a brilliant start . \\nthe actors are all quite good with ms . danielle cormack as liz being particularly impressive . \\nthe energy of her character is palpable and is a major reason the movie is so watchable . \\na lot of the performances are a bit rough around the edges but this suits totally the documentary feel of the film . \\nit seems like these are real people we are watching rather than actors playing roles . \\nthat is why the melodramatic turn of events comes as such a shock . \\nup till that point , i was transported to this world where these real but mildly insane events were taking place . \\nwhile the final half hour is not beyond the realms of possibility , it\\'s unlikely in a way that is jarring to someone caught up in the world of the film . \\nnot just the events , but also the tone of some of the end is wrong , clashing strongly with the sense of fun that has preceded it . \\nthis is not to say that topless women talk about their lives is not a good film . \\nas stated above , the first hour is superb and even the end is above average . \\nit just takes a turn which means that an otherwise brilliant movie loses some of its gloss . \\n',\n",
+       " b'stephen , please post if appropriate . \\n \" mafia ! \" - crime isn\\'t a funny business by homer yen ( c ) 1998 \\non a particular night when i found myself having some free time , i had a chance to either go to sleep early or to see \" mafia ! \" , a spoof of mafia and crime films such as \" the godfather , \" \" goodfellas \" and \" casino \" . \\nat 84 minutes in length , i thought that i could enjoy a few laughs before getting a good nights sleep . \\nbut by my account , i think that my laff-o-meter only registered a few grins , one giggle , and maybe one chortle . \\ni suppose that you could justify your time as homage to the venerable hollywood star , lloyd bridges , who just recently passed away and whose last performance was in this film . \\n \" mafia ! \" \\nchronicles vincenzo cortino\\'s ( lloyd bridges ) life . \\nseparated from his family when he was young , he escapes to america and tries to live an honest life . \\nbut as fate would have it , vincenzo grows up to be a powerful and klutzy crime lord . \\nfollowing in his footsteps are his two sons , joey ( billy burke ) and anthony ( jay mohr ) . \\nlike all siblings in powerful crime families , they squabble over power , the future of the family , fortune , and women . \\n \" mafia ! \" is co-written by jim abrahams , who also contributed to some gut-busting funny spoofs such as \" airplane \" and \" the naked gun . \" \\nbut these previous movies were funny because the jokes seemed more universally understood and there was more of a manic silliness at work . \\nas i write this , i also wonder how many people have actually seen the movies on which this spoof is based . \\ncrime movies in general contain a lot of profanity and violence . \\nit\\'s a tough genre to parody . \\ni was kind of hoping that they could somehow spoof the profanity used in all of those crime movies , maybe by having all of the tough crime lords say \" please \" as they decide which sector to take over , but this opportunity was never explored . \\nthere were one or two moments that made me smile such as the scene where vincenzo is dancing with his newly wed daughter-in-law . \\na gunman shoots him several times . \\nthe impact of the bullets cause him to make these wild contortions that force the wedding band to change music styles to keep up with him , from the samba to disco to the macarena . \\ni think that i just gave away the best part of the film . \\noh well , that just means that you can go to sleep a little earlier . \\n',\n",
+       " b'where do i begin ? \\nokay , how about with this : starship troopers is one of the worst movies to hit theaters in a long time . \\nin fact , it might even be the worst * major * release film to come out in years . . . \\nor even a decade . \\nthis is bad beyond belief . \\ni would * not * suggest paying money to see this . \\nthere\\'s a good chance you\\'ll regret it . \\nif you see it for free , you could still want to walk out . \\ngo right ahead . \\nthe movie starts off with cheesy 90210 scenes set in the future world of . . . buenos aires . \\nhere we meet the group of horrendously bad actors and actresses playing obnoxious , easy-to- * despise * -with-a-passion characters that have love triangles , love rectangles , and love hexagons screwing up their life . \\nbefore long they all go off and join the military , primarily in the interest of having sex with the other youngsters that joined . \\nthey train . \\nthey strut around nude for no reason whatsoever . \\nafter an hour of making the audience scream in agony , they start fighting bugs . \\nthe big bugs look nice , even though their design is only \" okay . \" \\nunfortunately , the fights are boring since we * want * all of the characters dead anyway . \\ncue more agony . \\nthen some characters have sex . \\nthen some more die . \\n * * * who cares ? ? ? * * * \\ncue more agony . \\nthe movie ends , the audience runs out to their cars , vomits over the pavement , and attempts to drive home . \\nunfortunately , after that torture , they can\\'t think straight , don\\'t pay attention to the road , and many are in ugly car wrecks . \\nyou remember how batman & robin was bad ? \\nwell , batman & robin kicked this movie\\'s sorry butt , people . \\nstarship troopers does not succeed as an action movie . \\nit does not succeed as a drama . \\nit does not succeed as a war movie . \\nit does not succeed as a comedy . \\nit does not succeed as a satire . \\nit does not succeed as a parody . \\nit succeeds as being horrible . \\nterrible . \\ngut-wrenchingly bad . \\ni wanted to run away from that movie every minute . \\nbut i paid my money and i owed it to others to see if the movie got any better . \\nso i stayed . \\nit never got better . \\nfrequently , it did the impossible , and got * worse * . \\nthe movie as written , acted , directed , and basically just feels as a whole like it\\'s about on the mental maturity level of a free willy 4 . the whole thing feels like a movie that only three-year-olds could enjoy . . . \\nexcept for the ridiculously gratuitous blood and gore , and pointless nudity . \\nit\\'s written for little children , but children should definitely * not * go anywhere near it . \\nof course , i recommend the same for everyone . \\ndon\\'t go anywhere near it . \\nverhoeven\\'s got a streak going now . \\nhis last movie was showgirls . \\nhe seems to be trying to see how bad his movies can get before people finally stop coming . \\nshowgirls was a failure , but it appears that , though it\\'ll be lucky to make near its budget , this movie will still do okay gross-wise . \\nis it really * all * bad ? \\nwell , no . \\ntroopers has about four or five lines of dialouge/short humorous scenes that are actually funny , mostly from the \" do you want to know more ? \" \\ncommercials that pop up throughout the story , promoting the joys of the joining the troopers . \\nso that adds up to about 30 seconds of entertainment and still about one hour , 59 minutes , and 30 seconds of miserable torture . \\ni\\'m totally confused as to the way that some people are really enjoying this movie . \\nbut i do admit it . \\nso , if you\\'re willing to possibly put yourself through torture , go ahead and see it , and decide for yourself if you love it or hate it . \\ni don\\'t know how anyone or any * thing * could love this movie , but hey , to each his own . \\nfeel free to give it a shot . \\nof course , in the interest of saving your souls , i don\\'t recommend it . \\nbut guess what ? \\nalien resurrection comes out november 26th , and , having already seen some of it and having read the script , i assure you that it will blow pretty much everyone away . \\nthough opinion on starship troopers is reasonably split , it\\'ll be difficult to find someone that * won\\'t * like alien resurrection when they\\'ve seen it . \\nthis is possibly the year\\'s best intense action film , or at least * one * of the best . \\nif you really want to see alien warfare that\\'s played out intelligently and seriously , see alien resurrection . \\nplease , avoid this . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i am starting to write this review before going to see strawberry and chocolate , cuba\\'s oscar nominee for best foreign film , directed by tomas gutierrez alea ( who also directed the sometimes and in some circles critically acclaimed memorias del subdesarrollo-- \" memories of underdevelopment \" . \\ni saw memorias as part of a cuban cinema class back in the late \\'70s ; it merged the politics of the cuban revolution with mundane elements of the human condition . \\ni knew then that memorias was probably a state-sanctioned political missive , and now expect strawberry will follow suit . \\nfellow internetters , primarily in the newsgroup dedicated to cuba ( soc . culture . cuba ) , have mentioned that strawberry is a harsh criticism of the revolution and its current state of affairs . \\ni have jumped to the conclusion that strawberry is nothing more than a veiled attempt at espousing the party line--it probably looks like political criticism , but it ain\\'t so . \\nhaving some first hand and extensive anecdotal knowledge of castro\\'s repressiveness , i can\\'t conceive of his tolerating honest and adversarial criticism of the revolution , and i can\\'t imagine his letting anyone even suggest his failure as a leader of a failed movement . \\nas kids say these days , duh ! , the revolution\\'s current state needs no criticism ; its physical and spiritual crumbling is self evident . \\nthe proper questions to put relate to castro\\'s legitimacy . \\ni bet the film takes castro\\'s power for granted , and that this or any other movie , produced under cuba\\'s state control , cannot question his right to run cuba\\'s political show ( ongoing now for more than 36 years ) . \\nthat\\'s why i just can\\'t believe strawberry is an honest criticism of the regime . \\nlet\\'s see what happens after the room goes dark and the screen lights up . \\ni saw the film--twice . \\ni was right ; castro remained intact . \\nstrawberry negotiates the relationship between a young \" dialectic materialist , \" as he describes himself , and a homosexual photographer ( diego ) in 1979 cuba . \\nthe young man ( david ) is the son of peasants ; a symbol of the revolution\\'s reason for being . \\ngrateful to the revolution for the opportunity to receive a university education , he studies political science instead of literature , his avocation , because he perceives it is his duty . \\ntherein lies a likely unintended irony , since cuba has no need for political theoreticians . \\ncuba\\'s government is castro . \\ndiego\\'s lifestyle is the antithesis of revolutionary life . \\nhe enjoys the finer things--tea , opera , art . \\nhe does not do \" voluntary work \" for the revolution . \\nhis small apartment is a sensual oasis . \\nthe moniker \" bourgeois \" figuratively hangs over his head during the early parts of the movie . \\nhowever , he is a \" revolucionario \" in his own way . \\nthe supporting roles are filled by : an aging busybody with a heart of gold and a troubled psyche ; david\\'s roommate , who rally takes the communist party line to its expected extreme ; david\\'s ex-girlfriend , who dumped him for another guy , yet wants to bed him before she leaves for italy with her husband ; german , a gay sculptor whose work diego is attempting to exhibit , and who strikes a faustian pact with the government . \\ngutierrez alea and co-director juan carlos tabio do a fine job at almost showing that homosexuals can be revolutionaries too . \\nheck , towards the end of the film you begin to think the guy deserves a medal for his patriotic fervor . \\nhe really loves the revolution ( as supposedly does everybody else in cuba ) and wants to make it better by exposing and correcting some of its flaws . \\nreal criticism is missing though . \\nthis movie is political window dressing . \\nluis aguilar leon\\'s op . \\ned . \\npiece on fresa in the miami herald ( 10 march 1995 , at 21a ) did not color my judgment ; it presaged my intuition . \\naguilar leon expressed my sentiment about this film\\'s political angle best : like many artistic manifestations in cuba , strawberry and chocolate sprang from a totally manipulated environment . \\nas art critic ivan de la nuez well states in the latest issue of the magazine postmodern notes , the silenced artists are those who refuse to accept \" the charade in which artists can provoke up to a point , while the institutions legitimize themselves by forbidding them to go beyond that point . \" \\nalthough terrible propaganda , this is otherwise a fine film . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"another 'independent film' , this comedy , which was brought by miramax for $5 million , is good fun . \\nfavreau and vaughn ( the lost world : jurassic park , 1997 ) play mike and trent , two everyday 20somethings on the lookout for women . \\nthe film just basically follows their plight on the lookout for lurve , and along the way we get to meet some of their friends , see their attempts at chatting up girls , and just basically get a insight into their lives . \\nand all of this is great fun . \\nswingers doesn't rely on huge special effects , or big name stars to provide entertainment . \\nno , it just has a great script and superb little known actors . \\nthe script , by favreau , is great . \\nmike is always missing is girlfriend , who hasn't called him for six months , and every time he meets a girl , he always end up telling her about the ex . \\nthe audience feels for this pathetic little man , thanks to the great script . \\nvaughn is 'the money' ( swingers speak for 'the best' ) as the womanizing trent , always on the lookout for a new girl . \\nsome of his chat-up lines are awful , but he always seems to get the girl thanks to his 'hard man' nature . \\nvaughns character also gets the best laugh in the film , towards the end in a diner . \\nthe conversations that go on between mike and trent are great , but it never quite reaches tarantino standards ( which i suspect the film was trying to reach . ) \\nthere are some excellent , laugh out loud jokes in the film , and some superbly funny set pieces ( such as favreau cringe-worhy battle with a answer machine that always cut him off before he finishes his sentence . \\nembarrassing to him , hilarious to the audience . ) \\nmike & trents friends are also good , although there characters seem a bit underwritten , and we never really learn as much as we would like about them . \\nalthough this is primarily mike and trents film , it would of been nice to learn a bit more about their friends . \\nthey just seem to wander aimlessly in the background . \\nbut again , the lines they say are usually pretty good , and they do have some funny parts . \\nit's just a shame that they didn't have more meatier roles . \\nthe acting is superb . \\nas said above , vaughn is superb as trent , he's definitely the best thing in the film . \\nfavreau is also good , acting as 'the little man' very well , and the way he always feels sorry for himself is very funny . \\ngraham ( boogie nights , 1997 ) has a small but good role as lorraine , a girl mike finally falls in love with . \\nshe hardly features in the film at all , but she still manages to make an impact on the audience . \\nswingers , then , is funny , but it does have some flaws . \\nfirstly , the running time is a bit too short . \\nthe film comes to an abrupt halt , and i actually wanted the film to carry on longer . \\nit never really comes to a satisfying conclusion , which is a shame , as most films are too long ! \\nalso , this type of film has been done too many times , such as sleep with me ( 1994 ) . \\nbut these small flaws don't really spoil what is a funny , entertaining comedy . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'in one of my many videos i have attained from the local library , casablanca was my third classic in some weeks . \\nthe others being citizen kane and vertigo ( yes , i am trying to see as many of afi\\'s greatest movies ever made as i can ) . \\nbut , casablanca stood out from the rest for me : it was actually watchable . \\nwhat most hail as the greatest american film ever , casablanca isn\\'t so much a love story as a political frenzy with a love triangle thrown in . \\nit seems that star humphry bogart spend about 85 percent of the movie with various leaders of the nation instead of with ingred bergman . \\nthat annoyed me , as did the ending . \\nwhy didn\\'t the plan turn around ? ! ? \\nsurprisingly , i enjoyed the film . \\ni liked bogart\\'s character and his acting ( not over the top as most actors in his era ) . \\ni once read about if you had a choice to be in a movie , which one would it be , and a women said casablanca . \\nat first i was thinking to myself \" why ? \" \\nthen , as i watched the film again , i understood why . \\nthe movie is very well done and the script top-notch , although i doubt i understood more than half of the political mumbo jumbo . \\ncasablanca is , in my mind , no classic ( like solaris ) , but it is a good film and stylishly shot . \\nhey , hollywood , how about this : a remake with harrison ford and anne heche ? \\nnow that would be a classic . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"here's a rarity : a children's film that attempts to tackle a weighty subject , is there a god ? \\ndone well , it could have been a gem among the wasteland of modern children's cinema . \\nunfortunately , it isn't . \\nwith jumbled messages , and an unclear audience , wide awake was better left asleep . \\nfifth grader joshua beal ( joseph cross ) is in the middle of a moral crisis . \\nhis beloved grandfather ( robert loggia ) has died , and joshua has begun a quest . \\nhe wants to find god , to discover why bad things happen . \\nthis religious quest is slightly disturbing for his parents ( dana delany and denis leary ) , but they do their best to cope with their son as he explores different religious faiths . \\nat his catholic school , his favorite teacher , sister terry ( rosie o'donnell ) , tries to give him guidance , but this is a journey he must make on his own . \\nmeanwhile , he is having the most momentous year of his life . \\nhe has several adventures with his daredevil best friend dave ( timothy reifsnyder ) , he gets his first crush , and begins to wake up to the world around him while he is on his spiritual journey . \\nit is somewhat confusing as to what the real audience for wide awake is expected to be . \\non its surface , it appears to be a kid's film . \\nhowever , it deals with serious issues , and is likely to be boring for today's instant-gratification kids . \\nand while it might seem heartening to see that someone is trying to produce something thoughtful for the kidvid audience , wide awake asks serious questions , but only delivers a cheap gimmick for an answer . \\nif there were a bit more meat in the story , adults on a nostalgic bent might get a kick out of the movie . \\nthe actors who might have created a great cast ( o'donnell , leary and delany ) are wasted in roles that amount to little more than cameos . \\nthe nostalgic elements ( best friend , favorite teacher , first crush , etc . ) have been done much better in other movies , and actually seem more like filler here . \\nthe film's strongest scenes are some touching flashbacks depicting joshua's relationship with his grandfather . \\nthey show more depth than is present anywhere else in the movie . \\nmaybe the film would have been better if , instead of playing the relationship through flashbacks , it were set entirely during joshua's last year with his grandpa . \\nit certainly would have been more entertaining . \\nwide awake can best be described as a failed experiment . \\nit starts out with noble aspirations , but never delivers on its promise . \\nparents who do take their children to see this one ought to be prepared to answer some tough questions . . . that is if their kids aren't bored to death first . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'in zoolander , the world\\'s most successful , influential and intellectually-challenged male model derek zoolander wonders , \" is there more to life than being really really really good looking ? \" \\nobviously , the film\\'s creator and star ben stiller asked a similar question when crafting a feature-length movie out of his hilarious vh1/vogue fashion awards short-film subject : can there be more to this film than being really really really silly ? \\nno , of course not , and it never aspires to be anything more . \\nmuch like derek , zoolander is a sweet simpleton of a movie . \\nit\\'s not complex in either its social commentary or its comedy , and it never produces any gut-busting laughs ( except maybe a scene when derek\\'s model roommates all die in a tragic \" gasoline fight \" accident -- a riotously funny take-off of tommy hilfiger ads ) . \\nbut it has a satisfying handful of strong chuckles , wild characters and performances , and mildly harsh potshots at the fashion industry to keep you amused . \\nbetter yet , this exaggerated version of the original three-minute skit is only blown out to an efficient 95 minutes -- just enough time to string together its goofball plot without exhausting the gag . \\nzoolander opens with several fashion bigwigs plotting to assassinate the prime minister of malaysia , since he wants to abolish child labor in his country and thus driving up their costs . \\nfashion designer and criminal mastermind jacobim mugatu ( will ferrell ) drafts a plan to brainwash the dumbest fashion model to carry out the evil deed . \\nenter derek , whose career is slumping as newcomer hansel ( owen wilson ) takes the spotlight . \\non the trail of mugatu\\'s plot is time magazine reporter matilda jeffries ( stiller\\'s real-life wife christine taylor ) , and she\\'s hoping to use mugatu\\'s pawn derek to ultimately foil the scheme . \\nmuch like the austin powers films , zoolander relies heavily on the strength of the talent involved , and this zany comedy features some of the funniest people in entertainment today . \\nwilson is hysterical as the young , vain hansel . \\nferrell nearly steals the show from everyone as the flamboyant , freakish mugatu in the same way dr . evil upstages everyone in austin powers . \\njerry stiller -- ben\\'s dad who\\'s best remembered as frank costanza of seinfeld -- makes a priceless turn as derek\\'s slimy agent maury ballstein . \\neven ben stiller show alum andy dick shows up as a deranged , large-assed masseuse . \\nas for ben stiller , it seems his derek has one gag : he\\'s stupid , which plays out in some uproarious one-liners . \\nunfortunately , taylor seems out of place and out of her league here . \\nmaybe it\\'s just because i can\\'t stop seeing her as marcia brady ( who she played in both brady movies ) , making her unbelievable as a dowdy , brainy plain jane who hasn\\'t had sex in two years . \\nshe leaves me pining for the cynicism of janeane garofolo , who would\\'ve added real comic substance to the flimsy role . \\nwhile zoolander is hardly highbrow , its screwball humor is welcome during these trying times , especially considering the gross lack of decent pickings in the theaters these days . \\nzoolander\\'s no masterpiece , but a very worthy distraction . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it seemed like the perfect concept . \\nwhat better for the farrelly brothers , famous for writing and directing comedies with offensive subject matter , than to make a movie about a guy with a split personality ? \\nit\\'s exactly the sort of thing the brothers relish : poking fun at something serious ( in this case mental illness ) , throwing all care to the wind to get a laugh . \\njim carrey\\'s signed on too ? \\neven better . \\nthe national alliance for the mentally ill even helped out by levying complaints against the brothers\\' new film before its opening , claiming it was misrepresenting the condition of split personality , labeling it incorrectly as \" schizophrenia , \" and so forth . \\nsuch a protest seemed like just the sort of thing that would , of course , only add more fuel to the farrelly brothers\\' fire , proving that some people just couldn\\'t take a joke , and that the farrellys would be helping the more enlightened viewers to yet another dose of their brilliantly subversive comedy . \\nyes , it all seemed perfect , but one thing went wrong : their movie isn\\'t funny . \\nit\\'s not for lack of trying . \\nthe farrellys utilize in \" me , myself & irene \" their most high-concept premise ever : carrey plays charlie baileygaites , a man who after being dumped by his wife for a midget limo driver , decides to bury all his aggressive feelings deep down inside and never release them . \\nthis , of course , means all his neighbors exploit his entirely too-forgiving nature , making his job as a rhode island state trooper increasingly difficult . \\nsoon enough , charlie\\'s repressed aggression manifests itself into a second , independent personality named hank , a deep-voiced , boorish ogre unafraid of taking the assertive actions his predecessor had been unable to muster . \\nthis guy isn\\'t above crashing a car through the wall of the barber shop in which he\\'s been insulted , or holding a little girl\\'s head underwater because she refused to stop jump-roping in the street . \\nthen things start getting lost in the most complicated plot the farrellys have ever attempted , and the film runs off its tracks . \\nsome have suggested that this isn\\'t a problem , because the farrelly brothers\\' brand of humor doesn\\'t require plot to work . \\nthey\\'re wrong , of course : plot was greatly instrumental in building up the kind of rollicking comic energy that infused the farrellys\\' last effort , 1996\\'s \" there\\'s something about mary . \" \\n ( 1999\\'s \" outside providence \" was technically an earlier project . ) \\nthe brothers\\' earlier film wasn\\'t funny merely because it contained outrageous gags ( despite what some newsmagazine articles would have you believe ) , but rather because its most outrageous gags were entirely unexpected . \\nin \" mary , \" the farrellys managed several times to pull off a neat sleight-of-hand trick : they\\'d have you thinking the story was going one way , then reveal its real direction in delightfully surprising fashion . \\n \" me , myself & irene , \" by contrast , seems to have been made by folks who looked at \" mary \" and saw only the surface grossness , missing all of the subtle machinations that really made it work . \\nhaving been produced by the same guys who made \" mary , \" \" irene \" seems like an even bigger disappointment . \\nthe brothers pile on the offensive humor , taking shots at race , midgets , albinos , mental illness , and all manner of bathroom jokes . \\nbut they haven\\'t come up with a way to make any of it fresh most of \" me , myself & irene \" comes off as rote , by-the-numbers , adolescent comedy . \\nthe plot , with carrey forced to drive alleged fugitive irene p . waters ( renee zellweger ) , who\\'s in more trouble than anyone knows , back to new york , has an ending that\\'s entirely predictable from the get-go . \\n ( think charlie and irene will fall in love ? \\nyeah , me too . ) \\nthe farrellys then introduce scores of different characters , and none of them ever manage to do anything you haven\\'t already expected them to do , no matter how outrageous their actions might be . \\ncompared to the curveballs the farrellys are used to throwing , this stuff is almost entirely soft-tossed , presenting an obvious problem : when gross-out humor loses its shock value , it\\'s no longer funny , merely gross . \\nthe jokes that do work are milked over and over until their effectiveness runs dry . \\ntake , for example , the subplot involving charlie\\'s three black sons ( anthony anderson , mongo brownlee , jerod mixon ) . \\nthe incongruity of it all is funny for a while , with three burly black men discussing higher math in ghetto language and white-bread carrey mouthing said language with an entirely too-pleasant smile on his face . \\nbut by the end of the film , they\\'re still doing the same schitck it hasn\\'t been elevated to another , funnier level , and it hasn\\'t been dropped either . \\nthat\\'s too bad , because it ceases to be amusing about halfway through . \\n \" me , myself & irene \" reeks of wasted opportunities . \\nthere ought to be more focus on how other people react to charlie\\'s new personality , and on how charlie deals with the consequences of hank\\'s actions . \\nthis doesn\\'t really happen nearly every supporting character learns about charlie\\'s condition early on , so they don\\'t have any opportunity to be surprised by it . \\nthe film throws what looks like a patented farrelly curve in a scene towards the midway point ( involving an albino companion charlie and irene pick up called , appropriately , \" whitey \" ) , but the script doesn\\'t go anywhere with it , instead leaving the thread twisting in the wind before awkwardly tying it up during the climax . \\njim carrey is a gifted comedian , both physically and vocally , but he\\'s left with nothing much to do here except contort himself in a manner similar to steve martin in \" all of me . \" \\nit\\'s a great showcase of flexibility and split-second role-shifting , but none of it is terribly funny . \\ncarrey doesn\\'t pull any stunts we don\\'t expect him to pull , and the farrellys\\' script doesn\\'t give him anything else to pull : the situations in which he must perform the role-shifting aren\\'t set up in any meaningful way . \\nperhaps carrey can take solace in the fact that his supporting actors fare no better . \\nzellweger\\'s irene is not a strong female lead mary in \" mary \" may have been part adolescent fantasy , but she was also intelligent and strong-willed . \\nirene is nothing in particular , as the film never makes clear whether she\\'s ditzy , clever , or neither . \\nas such , she gives us nothing to latch onto as the only \" sane \" person in the film . \\nchris cooper is stuck playing exactly one note as a corrupt fbi agent , and his character is entirely too straight-laced for a movie like this . \\nhe , like the others , does absolutely nothing unexpected . \\nafter viewing the shapeless mess that \" me , myself & irene \" eventually dissolved into , i was stuck wondering whether or not the farrellys had outsmarted themselves . \\nmaybe their kind of comedy can only work for so long until audiences get wise to it and stop being shocked . \\nbut i don\\'t believe it -- good filmmakers find ways of surprising their audiences even after people have grown attuned to their style . \\nif the farrellys are indeed good , smart filmmakers ( and i still think they are ) , they\\'ll rebound just fine . \\neven after that happens , though , i\\'ll still consider \" me , myself & irene \" to be a high-caliber misfire . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : a novelist struggling with his latest work buys a weird brain with a protruding eyeball encased in a jar . \\nthe brain exerts its evil influence upon the novelist and his secretary , while his wife disapproves . \\nmeanwhile , a loan shark in need of a shave tries to leave his profession . \\ncomments : why is this movie called possessed by the night ? \\nit\\'s hard to speculate . \\nmost of this film takes place during the day , and the only thing possessing anyone is an icky , pulsating , bubbling brain thingie in a jar . \\nin case you haven\\'t picked up on this yet , possessed by the night is a bottom-of-the-barrel \" thriller \" ( i use the term \" thriller \" loosely here ) which is really cheap and bad . \\nthe plot , which sounds like a cheesy pulp science fiction story from the 1950s , actually serves one purpose : to exploit nude women as often as possible . \\nwriting a movie review for a film like this proves oddly challenging . \\nthere\\'s really not much to say . \\nthe acting is lousy ; although , occasionally , the attempts at acting are so absurd that they garner a chuckle or two from the audience . \\nmost humorous is frank sivero , who plays murray , the novelist\\'s agent . \\nhe is so horrible in this role that one can\\'t help but be amused . \\nthe plot sucks . \\nnearly half the film is devoted to a loser loan shark who wants out of the profession , even though he has only limited relevance to the movie as a whole . \\nthe dialogue stinks . \\na loan shark , for instance , tells another how much he loves bimbos , which is something the audience really doesn\\'t need to know . \\neverything about possessed by the night is second rate , even the film credits . \\nas the names of the not-so-talented film crew scrolled by at the end , joseph scales came up , credited as being \" assistsant to foley artist . \" \\nsomeone could have used an editor ! \\nto be honest , the film is basically an excuse to flash frontal nudity and show some sex scenes . \\nplayboy playmate shannon tweed , after all , is the star here . \\ni suppose that if one wanted this sort of thing , he would like this movie . \\nwhy did i give this turkey two stars and not one ? \\nas a bad movie , it is unintentionally funny enough to keep someone passingly interested in the film . \\nif you feel possessed to see possessed by the night , however , i\\'d recommend you exorcise this impulse and watch something else . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" payback , \" brian helgeland\\'s inauspicious directing debut ( coincidentally , he previously penned the award-winning screenplay for 1997\\'s \" l . a . confidential \" ) , is a wildly uneven and thoroughly unpleasant revenge thriller that takes one idea---a movie with non-stop violence , death , and villains---and runs with it , or should i say , barely manages to crawl away with it . \\nmel gibson , in yet another disappointing picture ( \" conspiracy theory \" and \" lethal weapon 4 , \" anyone ? ) , stars as the reprehensible villain/hero , porter , a man who becomes determined to get his 50% share of $140 , 000 , which he stole in a robbery , back when his partner-in-crime ( gregg henry ) and drug-addicted wife ( deborah kara unger ) double-cross him , shoot him , and leave him for dead . \\nporter is not dead , however---not by a long shot---as he quickly rehabilitates and , along with his loyal prositute girlfriend , rosie ( maria bello ) , sets out to make everyone involved in the scam pay . \\nthe tagline for \" payback \" is , \" get ready to root for the bad guy , \" and sure enough , this is true , as pretty much every significant character who appears is crooked in some way . \\ni wouldn\\'t have a problem with this offbeat detail if the painfully thin story had been of any interest , but it wasn\\'t , and therefore , i found myself having an especially laborious time investing myself into a wide array of character that have absolutely no redeeming qualities whatsoever . \\nno attempt is made to flesh the roles into three-dimensional characters , and there are no vacant signs that anyone has any sort of humanity in them . \\njust because the protagonist , a \" bad guy , \" is played by mel gibson doesn\\'t mean i will \" root for him , \" and i didn\\'t . \\nquite the contrary , every person in the movie deserved to die a gory death ( although some of them did , anyway , just to spice up the dull proceedings ) . \\nsince none of the respectable actors in \" payback \" actually have human beings to play , only one performance managed to stand out . \\nlucy alexis liu ( of t . v . \\'s \" ally mcbeal \" ) , who plays a spicy s&m dominatrix , brightens up every scene she is in , and has a definite flair for comedy , something i would have liked to have seen more of , since most of the humor fell with a resounding splat . \\nmeanwhile , gibson , who is perfectly fine here , sleepwalks through a role that is not the least bit challenging . \\nunger , who made an impression in 1997\\'s \" the game , \" is surprisingly wasted and it is difficult to see why she took such a part since she disappears ten minutes in , and only has two purproses : ( 1 ) to get high on heroin , and ( 2 ) because she plays a key part in an early flashback . \\nfinally , kris kristofferson appears in a throwaway role during the climax , and this unnecessary plot development sticks out like a sore thumb ( tellingly , he didn\\'t appear in the original cut of the film , but was cast when extensive reshoots took place months later ) . \\nlike most action movies , the star often takes a licking but keeps on ticking . \\nin the course of the 102-minute running time of \" payback , \" porter is shot three times in the back , hit by a van , beaten up , and has his feet smashed with a sledgehammer . \\nand guess what ? \\nnot only does he survive the whole ordeal , but he is happy-go-lucky in the penultimate sequence ( and can still walk ! ) , \\neven though he looks like he had recently substituted for a punching bag . \\n \" payback \" is not , in any way , an entertaining film , even though i am sure the makers hoped it would be with all the graphic carnage that goes on , but take away that violence and what you are basically left with is a blank screen . \\nperhaps director helgeland would have been smart to consider this , so he could have at least added a few worthwhile elements , like a fresh storyline and characters whom you could even remotely stand to be around for a few hours . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"veteran actor clint eastwood has never looked as grizzled as he does in true crime , his latest directorial effort . \\nwhen steve everett ( his newest character ) gets angry at someone , he glares them down with those famous dirty harry eyes , furrows his brow and frowns like a grizzly bear who's just lost his cubs . \\neastwood has played some particularly despicable characters in his time , but everett could just take the cake . \\nhe gets my vote , at least , partly because `ev' is a drunken affair-a-week womanizer who has many relationship problems , very few of which are with his wife ( diane venora ) . \\nwhen his colleague at the oakland tribune is in an ugly car wreck and dies , everett must take over for her at a vital interview session . \\nthe interview is with frank beacham ( isaiah washington ) , a death-row inmate set to die at midnight for the murder of a pregnant convenience store clerk . \\neastwood furrows his brow . \\nas everett gradually finds information , he realizes that beacham could very well be innocent . \\nhe interviews a key witness ( michael jeter ) , who claims that he burst in the door at pocum's foods because his car had overheated , only to see beacham standing over the dead woman's body , blood on his suspenders , gun in hand . \\nbut everett protests : how could he have seen the gun , which was lowered by his side , with the potato chip rack in front of him ? \\njeter doesn't know what he's talking about . \\neastwood furrows his brow . \\ncrinkled expressions and all , clint is the centre of energy of true crime . \\nthe film is by no means a standard action/suspense yarn , but a thoughtful human story in which the characters come before the shoot-outs . \\nisaiah washington has a break-out performance as frank beacham , and scenes with him and his weary wife ( lisa gay hamilton ) are truly heartfelt moments . \\nbut the best scenes are ones that feature eastwood duking it out with those in authority over him . \\ndenis leary , as everett's editor and boss , has more than a few memorable moments of restrained anger ( you see , ev is sleeping with his wife ) . \\nbut hands down , the most enjoyable segments of the film are when james woods is on camera . \\nplaying the big boss alan mann , woods and eastwood create amusing chemistry and laugh-out-loud punchlines . \\nwhen true crime opts for a high-speed chase to the governer's house at the finale , the quality of film-making takes an abrupt nosedive . \\neastwood was so successful with colorful character portraits that he didn't need to switch lanes . \\ntrue crime is a tension-building , intriguing drama showcase for the talented director and star . \\nthis is a road block he could have easily dismissed ( i furrow my brow ) . \\n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . \\n\",\n",
+       " b\"the haunting , a film so confusing that it forgets the true meaning of a horror film : to scare us . \\nif you've ever seen a movie , which you probably have considering you are on this website , you should know about all of the trivia they post before a movie . \\nthey have things like illustrations and you have to guess the movie or facts about the film . \\nbut , the one i always like are the &quot ; other name&quot ; joke that try and rename a particular film . \\nfor instance , the one playing before the haunting had different titles for the film , small soldiers . \\nthey had titles like little infantry and can i get those fatigues in a smaller size ? \\nwell , after seeing the haunting , i had a few particular names for it as well . \\nunfortunately , i can only post one of them , otherwise , i'd be getting some pretty angry e-mails from overprotective mothers . \\nthat title would be the confusing . \\nok , that is a pretty bad title , but it fits this film perfectly . \\nit basically serves up no purpose , and combined with dry dialogue and a boring and confusing plot , it completes the formula for a cinematic bomb . \\nliam neeson once again gets wrapped up in a film without any depth , but at least the phantom menace was exciting and had some depth . \\nthe haunting is nothing but trash , but unfortunately , will still make a boatload of money . \\nbefore i rant and rave about how bad this film is , let me point out the few , and i stress the word few , bright spots in this film . \\nfirst , the house is great- looking . \\nit looks beautiful , but this is also a dark spot . \\nit looks so great that it is hard to be frightened by it . \\nthis is something that rears its ugly head at all points of the film . \\nthings look so great , that you are looking on in awe instead of being scared straight . \\nhaunted house films have to contain one element to even be slightly successful and that is being eerie . \\nthe hill house is not eerie . \\nit is beautiful , but not the least bit frightening . \\never heard of lili taylor ? \\nbefore this film i did not , but i am glad that i do now . \\nshe gives the only satisfactory performance in the film . \\ndespite the dry dialogue and boring/confusing concept , she manages to light up the screen every time she appears , but unfortunately , her co-stars are usually following right behind . \\nowen wilson , who plays luke , is the only other cast member even close to giving an admirable performance , other then taylor . \\nhe is basically there for the comic relief , and his character development is poor in all other areas . \\nall of the characters are desperately underdeveloped . \\nwilson had potential as luke , but it seems they just needed him to add a few laughs . \\nliam neeson and catherine zeta-jones suffer from the dialogue and plot and should not have been in this film . \\ntheir characters must suffer from wicked mood swings because in each scene they turn from ruthless to compassionate to scared to brave and whatnot . \\nthey just are not believable and this is the final nail in the haunting's coffin . \\nthe plot is terrible . \\nthe opening scene of the film is very important , but the director makes it too obvious by getting close-ups of all the things that will play a major role in the end of the film . \\nas i sat through the film , i kept wondering what this film was trying to accomplish . \\nnell , lili taylor's character , goes from the hunted to the savior . \\nit makes no sense and the director gives the audience no reasoning for the ridiculous changes that take place in the film . \\nhe forces the viewer to make various assumptions and does not give any in-depth information . \\nfor instance , the beginning of the film gives us a sense of why nell is getting involved in the program . \\nbut , we get zilch for the other four . \\nplus , two of them get wiped out in the first ten minutes . \\nand the worst part : most horror films have killings . \\nfor some reason , they kill off luke at the end of the film . \\nno reason whatsoever , just off with his head , literally . \\noverall , the haunting is the epitome of a bad movie . \\nbad plot , confusing storyline and a waste of good talent . \\nhopefully , liam neeson can rebound and get into a good film and be used to his full potential . \\nhopefully , lili taylor will be recognized for doing such a great job in such a bad film . \\nand hopefully , other horror films , such as the blair witch project and the haunting of hill house , will not be as bad as this one . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'this is the best british gangster film since the long good friday . \\njon bennet ( played by andrew howard ) is an extremely good assassin . \\nas such he is probably an evil man but it does not worry him . \\nhe has become an unquestioning weapon . \\nhe is in the employ of a kingpin ( david calder ) far more evil than he is . \\nbut even assassins have innocent pasts . \\nhe runs into an old from school days and he is married to a mutual girl friend from school . \\ncomplicating matters is that they live near where he had a recent job and their young daughter may have seen him at the crime . \\na big piece of what makes this film work is the depiction of the kingpin . \\ncalder is a familiar actor in britain , though not frequently seen in the us . \\nhe was seen in the world is not enough . \\nhere he creates one of the best screen villains in recent years . \\nhe is at once seductive and repellent like a beautiful venomous snake . \\nhis lair is underground , apparently in a sewer , where he lives like the king of sewer rats . \\nit is the kingpin who pulls the strings that will control bennet\\'s life . \\npaul sarossy who directs spent most of his career as a cinematographer and like the kingpin\\'s lair , he has molded images of class and style out of the darkness . \\nby using semi-darkness and letting the colors of deep blue and black dominate every scene he makes the film visually as ominous as anything in this nether world . \\nthis is a world that is cold and unfriendly . \\nsorossy creates a world of violence much more by what we hear than what we see . \\nthis is a film with a great deal of physical violence occurring just out of reach . \\nwe see very little but we hear a great deal more and we imagine more than that . \\nthe screenplay is by peter waddington based on the novel by neil cross , but it is sarossy\\'s film all the way . \\nit creates indelible images of evil . \\ni rate it an 8 on the 0 to 10 scale and a low +3 on the -4 to +4 scale . \\n ( i do hope they do not use the tagline \" don\\'t mess with mr . in-between . \" ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'like a good action film should , \" metro \" has action that keeps you involved . \\nsome action films have action sequences that are so conventional , our attention is detracted and diverted by other thoughts . \\n \" the ghost in the darkness , \" which opened a few months ago , is a film that s action was so bland and uninvolving , it not only invited my thoughts to divert me , it nearly put me asleep . \\nbut \" metro \" is one of the best action films in a while . \\nit is hip , sharp , nifty , and has nice little pieces of suspense and comedy . \\neddie murphy was in bad shape for a while . \\nand this invites me to mention last year s \" the nutty professor , \" which was his blessed revival back to the position at which he used to be . \\n \" metro \" happens to be a lot better than any film in the \" beverly hills cop \" series . \\nthat is because \" metro \" takes itself seriously , but doesn t prevent itself from having a little fun . \\neddie murphy is at his best in the roles of responsible , and controlled people . \\nthe \" beverly hills cop \" movies all featured eddie as a reckless , wild cop , always crossing the line by just an inch . \\nin \" metro \" he plays a hostage negotiator , so negotiation is his job , not his hobby or his preferred way out of trouble . \\nhis character in \" metro \" takes himself seriously . \\neddie murphy s mischievous trademark grin is hardly anywhere to be found in \" metro , \" and perhaps it is quite better off that way . \\nmurphy plays scott roper , and as i previously mentioned , he is a san francisco hostage negotiator . \\nin the first tense situation in the film , we are introduced to roper s kind of work , as he tries to calm down a confused , unkempt young criminal who has taken captive the entire capacity of the san francisco bank he is holding up . \\nmurphy handles the scene seriously , without his usual happy-go-lucky , misfit humor . \\nthe film develops when its villain is established , and the villain here is the beguiling michael korda , a jewel thief , and murderer who likes to let cops know of his hostage fatalities by giving them the ear of the victim . \\n \" metro \" takes different twists and slight turns , and there is one great , virtuoso chase scene , involving the a cable car . \\ncars flip . \\ncars crash . \\ncars turn over . \\nand it is done so good in this film , i was reminded of \" speed , \" and the speeding bus that couldn t go under fifty mile per hour for very significant reasons . \\nthere are also some other good scenes in \" metro \" that a lot of films would rather choose not to have . \\nscenes like the one with roper and his new partner are at the horse track roper is a gambler who knows all the tricks and roper teaches his partner a few little methods of betting and winning . \\nof course , the writers tried to disguise the scene as being insignificant by having roper draw parallels between hostage negotiation and gambling . \\nthe scenes between roper and his girlfriend are nice , too . \\nthose are the scenes that make up \" metro , \" which is mainly about eddie murphy s maturing as a personality . \\nthe actor that i most enjoyed seeing in \" metro \" was michael rapaport , who plays roper s new partner , a lip-reading , book-skimming genius , and a master of observation . \\nit was not the actor s presence that pleased me as much as the role he was cast in the role of a proclaimed genius . \\nrapaport is an actor who i usually see in the role of the dimwit the really , really dopey dimwit . \\ni hardly recognized him in \" metro , \" and it was quite a joy to be able to see him in a role like this i feel that i respect him more . \\nthere are two main types of villains in movies like this : the ones that are part of the story , and the ones that are devices . \\nthe villain in \" metro \" is no more than a device , but he is a darn good villain nonetheless . \\nhe is played by michael wincott , whose voice is pushed out in a abraded rasp , as if he smokes a cigarette between every take . \\nwincott makes his villain , korda , as mean as could be , the classic type of villain who would push an old lady down a flight of stairs just for kicks , like richard widmark in \" kiss of death . \" \\nand , in addition , wincott s physical appearance and mannerisms , in the film , actually reminded my of an arrogant friend i use to have , who is no longer on my good list . \\ni liked \" metro , \" and i do not think would have worked with any other actor but eddie murphy . \\nhis past roles were the great ones but they were also a precursor to the maturing that would later take place , possibly from murphy s growing as a person , now having a family . \\n \" metro \" is a no-nonsense movie . \\nit works as a buddy movie , which it does not overplay . \\nit works as a dry comedy , which it does not overplay . \\nit works as a suspense film , which it does not overplay . \\nand it works as an action film , where it does have a tendency to occasionally go all-out . \\nbut who cares ? \\nit still remains serious , and it does not overdo itself . \\noh , and there were plenty of explosions in \" metro , \" as well . \\nhow nice it was of the filmmakers to give us those . \\nif there is one major objection i had to \" metro \" , it was the length , an area where a lot of action films seem to wear out their welcomes . \\n \" metro \" is a film that lasted a little too long , but it was still entertaining , and it gave me something to do while i waited for it to end . \\npaul haynes \" > \\n',\n",
+       " b'i rented \" brokedown palace \" last night blind , having heard nothing about it beforehand , and i enjoyed it immensely despite some flaws . \\nfor anyone wishing to have the same experience i would suggest reserving judgement of the movie until viewing it in its entirety . \\nthat is no easy task . \\nsuperficially , it bears an unfortunate ( and not necessarily unintended ) resemblance to several other movies , notably \" return to paradise \" and \" midnight express . \" \\nas a result nearly every review of \" brokedown palace \" i subsequently read became hopelessly entangled in making the obvious comparisons . \\nthe consequence was nearly universal condemnation , which is a shame as this is a fine film . \\nfor those who have yet to view the movie , let me say that it is not an attempt to portray the nightmarish reality of the third world criminal justice system ( as was \" midnight express \" ) nor completely the moral dilemma and examination of the meaning of friendship and humanity that was the heart of \" return to paradise . \" \\nin my view , if this film is to be compared to any other source it would have to be joseph conrad\\'s acclaimed novel , \" lord jim . \" \\nproblematically , the basic storyline seems more than familiar : two american teenage girls on vacation are sentenced to spend most of their lives in a thai prison for drug smuggling in an obvious set-up involving a suave con-man , a shadowy criminal conspiracy and a corrupt third world \" justice \" system . \\nthe girls are alice ( claire danes ) and darlene ( kate beckinsale ) . \\nthey\\'re life-long buddies who planned a high-school graduation trip to hawaii , and then secretly changed their destination to the more exotic thailand without telling their parents . \\nonce there , they find a $6 hotel and go sight-seeing , which includes sneaking into a luxury hotel to sip expensive drinks poolside . \\nthey get caught trying to charge the bill to the wrong room , a minor transgression which will later come back to haunt them , but they are saved from hotel security by a charming , friendly australian , nick ( daniel lapaine ) , who takes care of the bill with a more polished execution of the girl\\'s scam . \\nhe then proceeds to separate the girls and make smooth moves , first toward alice , then toward darlene . \\nby now alarm bells are going off among viewers . \\nthe ever-present nick is too slick and his stories don\\'t add up ( to us ) --the girls , of course , are too naive to notice . \\nlong before it happens , we\\'re anticipating the inevitable disappearance of the fast-talking smuggler and the arrest of our teenaged sitting-ducks at the airport en route to hong kong caught holding the bag ( literally ) containing heroin . \\njust as predictably , the thai police and courts do their part in meting out injustice and our trusting tourists are prison-bound for a long stretch . \\nleft unanswered is the red herring issue of whether one or the other of the girls was a willing accomplice . \\nfor those in need of a ready answer , might i suggest closer scrutiny of the bell hop at the girl\\'s fleabag hotel . \\nas one door after another to their comfortable former life is closed , the girls and their families turn in desperation to the noiresque expatriate lawyer/fixer \" yankee hank \" ( bill pullam ) and his thai-born partner-wife . \\na recurring element of the movie is the tension between appearance and reality as expressed in one of the film\\'s tag lines , \" who do you trust ? , \" and hank is no exception although seasoned movie- goers and those familiar with pullman\\'s oeuvre will find few surprises . \\nmuch of the remainder of the movie is a smorgasbord of intriguing themes incompletely explored in short-hand fashion . \\nlou diamond phillips , for instance , plays a delightfully sinister and callous dea agent who , while appearing to be casually accommodating to hank , withholds vital information at crucial moments . \\nis he part of a wider conspiracy ? \\nwith an inherently powerful , if somewhat tired premise , the film offers by parts a riveting courtroom drama , a prison story , and a potential character study of american teens , their relationship , and what constitutes friendship between them . \\nthe result is reasonably engaging and suspenseful , with the girls\\' interaction , hank\\'s investigation , and the various trials and hearings , offering hope for their release , delivering tension--as does the foredoomed possibility of their escape . \\nif \" brokedown palace \" has a major flaw , it is its creators\\' tendency , like time-constrained tourists , to take frequent side trips down fascinating alleys only to reverse direction half-way down and return to the story\\'s main avenue . \\nand , if that were all there was to \" brokedown palace , \" it wouldn\\'t be a very good movie . \\nbut i believe the writers and director were after bigger game and , in this , they succeeded . \\nfor the main theme of the movie , like the proffered name of its location , is freedom--in all its permutations . \\nultimately , the other sub-themes may be considered window dressing . \\nyoung and pretty , alice ( danes ) is an old soul ; a wild , streetwise teenager with a thirst for freedom and adventure . \\npresented as a perfect blend of yin and yang , dark and light , is her cautious best friend , darlene ( beckinsale ) . \\nclear-eyed and straightforward , alice is more complex than her friend . \\nshe comes from a poorer background , has a reputation for getting into trouble and has lost the trust of everyone ( including her own father ) . \\nwhereas darlene\\'s life is \" on-track , \" aimed at college , marriage , kids , a career , a suburban home , middle age and \" fulfillment , \" alice\\'s is uncertain , unfocused , and yearning . \\none poignant scene in the film shows darlene shouting across an open moat to visitors--friends and relatives from home , whose lives continue while hers is in limbo . \\ntellingly , alice is present but not included . \\njust as revealing of their different personalities , when alice and dar first come to thailand , the openness and delight on alice\\'s face doesn\\'t read as simple naivet ? ; the way she stands up and stretches as she and her friend ride along in a small boat , reaching toward the sun , she really is drinking in what she believes to be freedom , while \" dar \" remains seated in the shade . \\n \" brokedown palace \" begins with an admission by alice of her guilt in a tape recording sent to hank . \\nhowever unintentional , it\\'s all alice\\'s fault . \\nshe\\'s responsible for persuading her friend to lie to her parents , to sneak away from the safety of hawaii to the perils of thailand , to try the petty scam which places them in the clutches of the evil nick . \\n ( in case one misses this point in the inevitable confusion of a film\\'s beginning , darlene obligingly reminds alice of her culpability in prison . ) \\ndar , of course , is the willing dupe which , in her view , confers innocence . \\nnever mind that it was her coercion of a reluctant alice to accompany her to hong kong which placed them in police custody in the first place or that her naive confession sealed their fate . \\ndar is innocent . \\nit doesn\\'t matter . \\nalice is the subject of this movie . \\nshe and her journey toward personal freedom . \\nalong the way we are treated to an unsympathetic portrait of the shallow american culture which created these girls with their half-baked sensibilities and materialistic goals . \\nin the end , that culture , like its representatives , \" yankee \" hank and dar\\'s father ( a \" man who knows how to grease the wheels \" ) , proves as impotent as its government in the face of the girl\\'s tragedy . \\nthailand\\'s culture , contrary to most opinion , comes off much better by comparison . \\nit amazes me that reviewers argued this point at both extremes . \\ni believe the filmmaker\\'s view was that thai culture is vastly different from the american but not necessarily inferior . \\nthe thai ( with the sole exceptions of a corrupt official and a spiteful prison spy ) were uniformly consistent in their behavior and true to their principles . \\nthe girls were shown to be treated no better but certainly no worse than the native-born . \\ntheir prison ( in stark contrast to the probable reality ) was no hellhole , being relatively clean and sunlit . \\nthe prison authorities demanded good hygiene , provided medical care when needed , and \" hard manual labor \" consisted of picking grass ! \\nthe thai guards were authoritarian ( what else ? ) but certainly not routinely sadistic . \\nas for the thai justice system , the reasoning of the thai judges , during both an appeal hearing and in the film\\'s penultimate scene was devastating in its logic and morality . \\n\\'freedom\\' has many faces and \" brokedown palace \" explores many of them . \\nin the extreme , we have freedom of the body and freedom of the spirit . \\nsome settle for the former alone while others remain imprisoned with an entire nation to roam without the latter . \\nbut freedom seldom comes without a price . \\nwhich is why the movie\\'s other tag lines are : \" what is your dream ? \" \\nand \" how far would you go ? \" \\ni believe i could make a good case for the interpretation that the person who attains freedom , incarcerated or not , by film\\'s end is alice . \\nshe finds redemption and salvation through the acceptance of personal responsibility . \\ni think the light bathing only her figure among the assembled prisoners in the final scene visually signals that fact . \\nkate beckinsale\\'s character might more properly be likened to the \" released \" temple bird referred to twice during the film , \" trained to fly back to its cage . \" \\nas the thai magistrate observed in the film\\'s climactic scene , the issue was always one of \" character ; \" and the jamaican prisoner made it clear that \" freedom \" is achieved within oneself . \\nif one thinks back over the movie , which character was transformed by their experiences ? \\nincreasingly , the cinema landscape seems to have become littered with endless permutations of \\'kung fu woman\\'--female characters virtually indistinguishable from male action figures . \\nhere , at last , is the story of a modern heroine . \\nin reading the many user\\'s comments , i was struck by what seems an unusual phenomenon : whether or not a person liked the movie , almost everyone praised the actors . \\nthink about that . \\nwhen was the last time you came away from a motion picture possibly hating it , but raving about all the performances in it ? \\ndo yourself a favor : rent \" brokedown palace \" and watch it with a open mind . \\nthere\\'s more there than meets the eye . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i have always been a fan of director neil jordan , from his early work , such as 1984\\'s \" the company of wolves , \" to 1992\\'s \" the crying game , \" and 1994\\'s \" interview with a vampire . \" \\nhis latest film , \" the butcher boy , \" is a return to his roots in ireland , but unfortunately , it is not a successful homecoming . \\ntold through the eyes of a 12-year-old irish boy , francis ( newcomer eomann owens ) , this peculiar film follows him as we learn a little about his decidedly unstable life . \\nhis father ( stephen rea ) is an indifferent alcoholic , his mother ( fiona shaw ) is mentally ill and always in and out of hospitals , and francis himself delights in terrorizing the mother of one of his friends after he is forbidden to see him anymore . \\nfrancis is the type of boy who always has a lot to say , but mostly fluctuates between sarcasm and frightening honesty , and it quickly becomes apparent that he may very well be a little psychotic , even capable of brutal murder . \\nthe premise of , \" the butcher boy , \" is one that could have very well been turned into a thought-provoking , disturbing motion picture , but somehow nothing works . \\nfrancis is in almost every scene , but we learn very little about him , as if the film was distancing itself away from him when , i suspect , we were actually supposed to sympathize with him . \\nthis is definately not young owens fault , however , because he gives a brilliantly accurate performance , and is able to also seem menacing as well . \\nthe fact that we don\\'t get close to his character is because of the sloppy screenplay . \\nthe supporting characters are no help , though . \\nrea is wasted , and has practically no scenes where he actually talks to his son , or to anyone else for that matter . \\nhe usually seems to just be sitting watching the television throughout . \\nshaw has a little bit more to work with , since she has one touching scene in which she talks to francis in a time of despair , but is out of the picture just as we are beginning to know her . \\nand singer sinead o\\'connor appears rather effectively as the virgin mary who occasionally gives francis advice . \\nthe pacing is all off in , \" the butcher boy . \" \\nalthough the story could have been dynamite , it moves at a deadeningly slow rate , and i found my mind wandering every once in a while . \\nit is also very episodic , because the developments in the story fly by with no satisfying payoffs . \\nat one point , francis is sent away to a juvenile prison , and an odd , possibly sexual relationship begins to develop between a priest and himself , but nothing comes of it . \\ni\\'d rather think of , \" the butcher boy , \" as a brief diversion for director jordan , rather than a total misfire . \\nhe has already proven to be a strong director , but he lucked out with this latest film . \\nwhat could have been a courageous , unsettling character study of an emotionally disturbed young boy , only manages to be an ineffective , uninvolivng bore . \\n',\n",
+       " b'synopsis : in \" sooner than you think \" america , the future of law enforcement resides in blade squad , a ragtag group of culturally diverse rollerblading cops with jetpacks strapped on their backs . \\na dangerous criminal , however , attempts to destroy blade squad after his brother dies while being chased by them . \\ncomments : so , what do an ex-gangbanger turned insubordinate traffic cop , a former prostitute with a substance abuse problem , and a junkie turned dennis rodman wannabe turned cop who crashed four police cruisers all have in common ? \\nwhy , they\\'re all members of blade squad , an elite new crimefighting unit wearing black uniforms , rollerblades , and jetpacks ! \\nthey also carry video cameras so they can communicate with one another a la the marines in james cameron\\'s aliens . \\nyes , it\\'s blade squad , the fox network\\'s wednesday night movie of the week . \\nthis \" movie , \" marking its dubious world premiere today , curiously has a number of guest stars . \\n \" how can a movie have guest stars ? \" \\nyou may ask . \\nwell , blade squad is not really a movie so to speak but a 2 hour pilot for a possible tv series packaged as a movie . \\nblade squad is dumb . \\nblade squad is loud . \\nblade squad is obnoxious . \\nblade squad will probably be a ratings hit and spawn a long-lived tv series . \\nwhy not ? \\nafter all , television has given its audience crimefighters with talking cars ( \" knight rider \" ) , fast helicopters ( \" airwolf \" ) , and super fast motorcycles ( \" street hawk \" ) , and viewers have eaten it up in the past . \\nso , why not crimefighters with jet-powered roller blades ? \\nto be honest , as a made-for-tv presentation , blade squad is at least watchable . \\nthe film has a relatively large cast of characters , a surprisingly intelligible albeit predictable script , and enough action sequences to keep one half-interested . \\ni\\'d imagine adolescent males , probably the target audience of this turkey , would get a kick out of it . \\ni tried to keep that in mind when i watched blade squad . \\ni can remember liking \" airwolf \" and \" street hawk \" when i was 10 or 11 . \\nand , although this isn\\'t saying much , blade squad is leaps and bounds better than the last fox network movie i had the displeasure of wasting time on : the insipidly awful generation x ( a huge disappointment considering the comic book\\'s terrific two-year beginning ) . \\nbut , i digress . \\ndespite its limited appeal , blade squad has a lot of kinks to work out if the movie is to become a tv series . \\none , it suffers from mtv syndrome : a lot of quick shots and weird angles continuously jar the viewer\\'s senses while a near nonstop generic rock soundtrack blares incessantly in the background . \\noh yeah , dylan\\'s \" knockin\\' on heaven\\'s door \" and bowie\\'s \" i\\'m afraid of americans \" are used here , in rather poor taste . \\ntwo , blade squad needs a new crew for the sound . \\nthe substandard sound editing irritated me to no end . \\ncharacters\\' dialogue , at times , sounded choppy and unintelligible . \\nduring one important scene , a song played loudly in the background . \\nwhen a character spoke , the song\\'s volume dropped but did not disappear . \\nas soon as that character finished speaking , the song\\'s volume immediately returned to its original level until the next character spoke . \\nthis sounds trivial , i\\'m sure , but it distracted me immensely . \\nfinally , this is commercial television . \\nfoul language is not allowed , typically , on commercial television . \\nthus , don\\'t use foul language in a made-for-tv production because that foul language has to be censored in some manner . \\nin an early scene of the film , for example , the lead good guy and bad guy have a minor confrontation in the streets . \\nwhen the good guy spouts out a bad word , a driver conveniently honks his car\\'s horn off-screen to muffle the word out . \\nin a \" seinfeld \" episode , this technique proved funny ; here , it seemed goofy and cut the dramatic tension considerably . \\nperhaps future writers , if a show is spun out of the movie , could take a cue from marvel comics\\' 2099 series of comics . \\nmake up a bunch of new bad words for the future . \\nthis way , you don\\'t need a bunch of honking horns or other silly devices to cover up foul language . \\ncompared to the usual crap broadcast tv networks have to offer in terms of movies , blade squad is a suitable exercise in camp . \\nwhen compared to , say , a movie studio film , blade squad has a lot in common with a term which shares its initials : bs . \\n ( review written august 12 , 1998 ) \\n',\n",
+       " b'ok , i admit i had a bad attitude about this film from the start . \\na romantic comedy about the trials and tribulations of single working parents ? \\nwith a couple of incredibly cute kids thrown in for good measure ? \\nyuck . \\nbut it\\'s not really too bad . \\nit has a lot working against it , for me at least . \\nin addition to the above , it is typical of a lot of recent movies in that it is really just a glorified made-for-tv movie , but longer and with bigger stars , and you have to pay to see it . \\nit does win you over , though , even if it is painfully predictable . \\njust think about it : two single parents , with their cute kids , are thrown together due to a missed field trip . \\nthrough a day of near disasters , they cont inually meet , get in one another\\'s way , cause trouble for one another , and generally insult one another at every opportunity . \\nin fact , they hate each other so much that we know that they are , or soon will be , in love . \\nthe only people who hate each other more than lovers are married couples . \\nso this film is predictable , just as the screwball comedies of the classical hollywood cinema were predictable ( and the screwball genre is obviously hoffman\\'s model for this film ) . \\nwill they get fired from their yuppie jobs ? \\nwill they make the big soccer game that is so important to their kids ? \\nwill pfeiffer realize what a jerk her ex-husband , a drummer for bruce springsteen , really is ( aren\\'t they all ? ) ? \\nwill they finally kiss ? \\nwell , what do you expect ? \\nbut there is a certain amount of satisfaction in having our expectations fulfilled , especially when it is done with as much humour , along with a lack of sticky sentimentality , as it is in this film . \\npfeiffer and clooney have a certain chemistry together that is surprisingly charming , and the kids are neither shoved into the background nor allowed to steal the show . \\none word of caution , though . \\nthis film is being billed in some places as a \" family \" movie . \\ndon\\'t let that stop you . \\nhowever , i think most kids , especially boys , would be pretty bored by this move . \\nafter all , nobody gets killed and there are no explosions . \\nall in all , a good , non-offensive date movie . \\nthe flying inkpot rating system : * wait for the tv2 broadcast . \\n * * a little creaky , but still better than staying at home with gotcha ! \\n * * * pretty good , bring a friend . \\n * * * * amazing , potent stuff . \\n * * * * * perfection . \\nsee it twice . \\n',\n",
+       " b' \" return to horror high , \" wants to be a couple different types of movies at once . \\nthe film tells the story of a low-budget horror movie being filmed at the closed-down crippen high , a school where a group of serial murders took place five years before . \\nbut what the cast and crew don\\'t know is that a real killer , maybe the same one that was never apprehended , is going into action again . \\non one level , \" return to horror high \" is a slasher movie , and it is at this level that it works the best on . \\nwatching the film , which was made in 1987 , i couldn\\'t help but take notice that the killer\\'s costume was almost identital to that of the ghostface in , \" scream , \" and \" scream 2 . \" \\non another level , the film wants to be a slapstick comedy , and there are many hints of this throughout . \\nunfortunately , most of these jokes fall flat . \\nand the last thing the film wants to be is a \" behind-the-scenes \" look at an exploitation film being made . \\nthe only problem is that , while much of it is supposed to be from the movie itself being made , no cameras are shown filming it , thus making it far more confusing than it had to be . \\nand to top it all off , the \" twist \" ending makes very little to no sense whatsoever , and so we are basically left with feeling as if we wasted our time . \\nthere are story developments that are beyond ludicrous , and plot holes you could drive a winnebago through . \\nif you see the film , or have seen it , you\\'ll know what i mean . \\nthe premise of \" return to horror high , \" is admittedly pretty crafty , and i liked the atmosphere of the school , which is where the whole thing takes place . \\nbut director froehlich , judging from this movie , is an incompetent director , except for being able to film the seldom suspeneful scene . \\nwell , come to think of it , there is only one scene that is actually scary , and it has to do with two actors being locked in a room as the killer tries to break in . \\nbut other than that two-minute distraction , \" return to horror high , \" is certainly no great shake . \\nnote : look for george clooney in a supporting role as one of the actors on the film . \\nand strangely enough , he is the first character to get the ax . . . literally . \\n',\n",
+       " b'if you\\'re debating whether or not to see _breakfast_of_champions_ , ask yourself one simple question : do you want to see nick nolte in lingerie ? \\nthe only people who would get much enjoyment from alan rudolph\\'s chaotic adaptation of the kurt vonnegut novel is the cross-section of the population with the unhealthy urge to see that unpleasant sight . \\neveryone else--and i\\'m hoping that\\'s most people--would be wise to steer clear of this excrutiatingly unfunny mess . \\nactually , though , the sight of nolte in high heels is one of the more amusing things about this muddle , which focuses dwayne hoover ( bruce willis ) , the owner of dwayne hoover\\'s exit 11 motor village in midland city . \\nnot only is he a huge success as a businessman , he\\'s also something of a celebrity , his face made recognizable by an ongoing series of television commercials . \\nwith a nice home and family to boot , dwayne appears to have it all the ingredients to be happy--yet he\\'s not . \\nhis wife celia ( barbara hershey ) is perpetually in a pill-induced haze ; his son george ( lukas haas ) is a flamboyant lounge singer who goes by the stage name \" bunny . \" \\nnot only that , the environmental protection agency is on dwayne\\'s ass over a building development project . \\nit\\'s enough to send dwayne on a nervous breakdown--that is , if he doesn\\'t succeed in blowing his brains out first . \\nmeanwhile , midland city is about to host a fine arts festival , and the guest of honor is one kilgore trout ( albert finney ) , a writer who is far from the renowned author the festival\\'s organizer ( buck henry ) was led to believe--in fact , he\\'s a penniless hack who writes second-rate sci-fi that appears in porn magazines . \\nhis trek to midland city is also a spiritual journey , one that reaches its apex after meeting dwayne , who for some reason thinks that trout will hold for him all of life\\'s answers . \\nthe above is already a longer plot synopsis than i usually give in my reviews , but , ironically , i have barely scratched the surface . \\ni haven\\'t yet mentioned wayne hoobler ( omar epps ) , an ex-con with an obsessive admiration for the similarly-named dwayne . \\nthen there\\'s the matter of francine ( glenne headly ) , dwayne\\'s devoted secretary . \\nnot to mention dwayne\\'s employee and old friend harry lesabre ( nolte ) , the one with the secret penchant for cross-dressing . \\nand so on . \\nthe film is essentially dwayne\\'s story , but too often rudolph goes on distracting tangents with the eccentric peripheral players that one often wonders what the point is . \\nrudolph does arrive at a point ( more on that later ) , but it\\'s blunted and obscured by his hyperactive approach to the material . \\nthe surreal visual style , complete with printed words flying through the air and into dwayne\\'s ears , is obviously meant to convey a sense of madness , but its bludgeoning nature is likely to make viewers mad . \\nthe actors are called on to act accordingly , resulting in some of the worst , most overdone work all of them have ever turned in . \\nwillis fares best of all--but that\\'s because his frozen expression of befuddled bewilderment mirrors that of the audience . \\nwith such an aggressively outrageous atmosphere for nearly all of its running time , it comes as a shock when things suddenly turn serious , and rudolph tries to make a statement . \\nunlike _american_beauty_ ( a film that _breakfast_ resembles in more than a few ways , to its great detriment ) , there isn\\'t any palpably earnest undercurrent that would prepare the audience for the big shift . \\nas such , the cartoony characters fail to win a sympathy that needs to be earned ; and the film attempts , to no avail , to reach a profundity that it doesn\\'t deserve . \\nvonnegut\\'s original novel is considered a classic , but it had been called unfilmable--the same that was said of hunter s . thompson\\'s _fear_and_loathing_in_las_vegas_ , which was disastrously committed to film last year by terry gilliam . \\nwith the similar failure of _breakfast_of_champions_ , will hollywood ever learn that books labeled \" unfilmable \" inevitably results in a film that is unwatchable ? \\nlikely not . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the first scene of operation condor has jackie chan preparing for a secret mission . \\nhe attempts to pop a couple of pieces of chewing gum into his mouth , but misses . \\nafter they ricochet off his face , he says , \" not a good start . \" \\nas it turns out , this line not only gives foreshadowing to the opening sequence , but to the rest of the movie as well . \\nin this , the latest of the jackie chan movies to be released in america after first runs in hong kong , chan plays an international operative codenamed \" condor \" , and is tasked by the united nations with finding a stash of gold hidden at a secret base by the nazi\\'s during their retreat across the saharan desert during the second world war . \\nfor some reason , condor is given his mission at the u . s . embassy in spain . \\ni think this may have been done so that in a chase scene , they could honor the time old tradition of knocking over a fruit cart . \\nwatch for it in any chase scene set in a foreign country , most notably in europe . \\nthe chase will take itself through a marketplace , and a fruit cart will be overturned . \\nit\\'s almost a guarantee . \\nanyway . . . . \\ncondor is given a key which is supposed to unlock a giant vault in which the gold is hidden ; the problem is that the key has insulators integrated into it , which may mean a booby trap might be electronically triggered if the key is used improperly . \\nto help him figure out where the gold is hidden and how to use the key correctly , condor is accompanied by a desert expert ( carol cheng ) and the granddaughter of the captain who was in charge of hiding the gold ( eva cobo ) . \\nthere aren\\'t supposed to be any relatives of the nazi captain living in spain , but condor finds the granddaughter by looking her up in the phone book or something . \\nalthough these two women are supposed to be integral parts of the mission , they prove no help at all except to get in trouble and provide an excuse for chan to jump into his martial arts . \\nin fact , most of the scenes are so ridiculously contrived that it seems everything is just a way to set up a fight . \\ni suppose this isn\\'t so bad , since chan\\'s action is really the best part of the movie , and the only reason you go to see one of his films anyway . \\nif you\\'ve never seen a jackie chan movie , don\\'t expect a great plot , but do expect to be entertained by his moves . \\nthey are so well choreographed and often so amazing that you wonder if this guy is human . \\nknowing that he does his own stunts , and knowing that this is the real stuff ( no computer-masked bungee cords here ) makes the action sequences all the more exciting . \\nyou\\'ve got to hand it to a guy who\\'s probably broken every bone in his body for the sake of his art . \\nalso of note in this , as in any jackie chan movie , is the humor . \\nas far as i know , none of his films take themselves too seriously , and even the dramatic parts have a certain tongue-in-cheek quality about them . \\nwhat is almost masterful is the way that humor is even integrated into the fight scenes . \\nunlike a martial arts film such as anything with jean claude van damme , where the fights get you on the visceral level , fight scenes in chan\\'s movies are simply entertaining . \\nyou marvel at both his moves and at the way he employs them in such a way to make you laugh . \\nunfortunately , even chan\\'s mastery can\\'t save this film . \\nthe plot and characters are so weak that they don\\'t hold the movie together at all , and the acting is terrible . \\ncarol cheng has apparently won best actress honors at the hong kong movie awards in the past , but since operation condor is a dubbed movie it kind of takes all bets off . \\nthis , combined with an obviously low production value made we want to turn away from the screen until i heard those kicks start flying . \\n',\n",
+       " b'written by alex cox , tod davies , terry gilliam and tony grisoni \\ndirected by terry gilliam \\ni\\'ve always preferred mushrooms to blotter acid . \\ndropping acid is like riding a roller coaster blindfolded ; you have no idea where the peaks and valleys are , no idea when the next terrifying decent will send your stomach into your throat , and no idea how long the ride will last . \\nthen there\\'s the hard knot in your gut and the clenched teeth that come with ingesting a strychnine-laced dose . \\nmushrooms , on the other hand , offer the psychedelic equivalent of a leisurely ride on a ferris wheel : a steady , reassuring assent , a short period of thrilling motion and color , and then a smooth landing . \\nacid is for daredevils ; mushrooms are for refined seekers of joy . \\nmy point is that in fear and loathing in las vegas , director terry gilliam has made an acid movie , when i wish he would have made a mushroom movie . \\nfull of shocking sight gags , aggressive images and grotesque comic performances , the film certainly offers something for those fans of hunter s . thompson\\'s book who want to experience its twisted pharmacological world-view from the inside out . \\nbut for those of us who just want to enjoy a well-made film , gilliam has produced a mixed bag . \\nfear and loathing tells the ostensibly true story of how self-professed \" gonzo \" journalist hunter s . thompson ( johnny depp ) and hispanic activist attorney oscar zeta actosta ( benicio del toro ) , came to las vegas to cover a motorcycle race and found themselves trapped in the middle of a district attorney\\'s convention while ingesting every conceivable drug available to a man of means in 1971 . \\noperating under the pseudonyms of \" raoul duke \" and \" dr . \\ngonzo \" , the two men careen into vegas on an acid and mescaline bender , then hole up in a hotel suite to binge on amyl nitrite , cocaine , tequila and a rainbow of multi-colored uppers and downers . \\nthey terrorize every one they meet , mostly because every one they meet terrifies them . \\nduke hallucinates giant bats on the way into town , then is attacked by horrifying lizards in the casino lounge . \\ndr . gonzo becomes enamored of a thick-bladed hunting knife and begs duke to throw the tape player into the bathtub with him just as jefferson airplane\\'s \" white rabbit \" reaches its climax . \\nand these guys don\\'t just trash hotel rooms - they rape them , humiliate them and leave them for dead . \\nthat neither of them ends up dead or in jail is testament to blind luck or providence , depending on your point of view . \\nthompson\\'s book , besides being a hilarious read , has stood the test of time as an important historical document . \\nit simultaneously exposed the 60\\'s drug culture for the sham that it was and exposed las vegas as the place where the american dream came to die . \\npontificate all you want about how the film illustrates thompson\\'s message , but the truth is that , stripped to its bare essentials , what gilliam has wrought is a drug comedy . \\nit\\'s a cheech and chong movie . \\nyou\\'re there to watch depp and del toro ingest a lot of chemicals and then laugh at the results : see johnny take drugs , see johnny fall down . \\nthere\\'s nothing wrong with this concept , but gilliam tries too hard . \\nthis is a frantic movie - all sweaty close-ups , wide-angle lenses , dutch tilts and other-worldly lighting schemes . \\nthere are times when gilliam really does put a convincing representation of an acid trip on the screen . \\nbut to what end ? \\nmuch of the dialogue comes verbatim from thompson\\'s book , and there are some priceless comic observations . \\nbut you\\'re hard pressed to hear or digest them amidst all the jumbled camera work . \\nthis brings us to the performances , which strike me as all wrong . \\ndepp plays thompson as groucho marks filtered through george c . scott in patton - a gimmicky performance which works against the biting satire of thompson\\'s dialogue . \\nin between his several puking scenes , del toro fares better as dr . gonzo , but he also mumbles and sputters so many of his lines that their weight is lost . \\nwatching these two made me wish that the movie had been made twenty years ago , with dan akroyd and john belushi as the leads - now that would have been something to see . \\nit\\'s interesting to note that alex cox , credited as a co-writer on the screenplay , was originally slated to direct before gilliam took over . \\nas much of a fan as i am of gilliam\\'s work , cox would have been the better choice . \\nsid and nancy , cox\\'s best work , covered essentially the same subject matter , but cox was able to pull back and allow the characters of sid vicious and nancy spungen to carry the film . \\ngilliam commits the compound sin of over-directing his film while being uncertain of his purpose . \\nwhat kind of movie was he trying to make , anyway ? \\nit doesn\\'t try to be a cautionary tale , and it doesn\\'t work as broad comedy . \\nif he had considered more carefully his purpose , the result would have been a much more interesting film . \\nbut i don\\'t want to be too hard on it . \\nthere are some truly funny moments , and if you\\'re in a good enough mood you might get a kick out of it . \\ni do , however , recommend watching fear and loathing in las vegas under the influence of your favorite controlled substance - i guarantee it will enhance the effect . \\n',\n",
+       " b'movies like six days , seven nights make me mad because talented people like harrison ford , anne heche , and ivan reitman put a lot of hard work in to a script worth about ten cents . ? \\nthe script was written by michael browning , and he decided that , instead of thinking up new ideas , he\\'d rehash a lot of cliches , omit even the slightest bit of character development , and then throw in drug-dealing pirates to provide for a few high-level action sequences and explosions . ? \\nthere are good scripts out there that high-profile actors can make ( see the truman show , for instance ) . ? \\nsix days , seven nights is simply a waste . \\nlet\\'s see . \\n . \\n . \\nwe have to get harrison ford and anne heche alone on an island . ? \\nso , how do we do that ? ? \\nwell , we\\'ll make her a feisty magazine editor , and we\\'ll make him a crusty old pilot . ? \\nbut wait , she has to have a fianc ? e ; that can be david schwimmer . ? \\nbut wait , if she has a fianc ? e , how will she and harrison ford crash on the island alone ? ? \\ni know ! ? \\nthey\\'ll get to their vacation spot , and then she\\'ll get called back ! ? \\nyessssss ! ? \\nso , they\\'ll crash on the island , and that will be funny for about five minutes . ? \\nshucks . \\noh , i\\'ve got it ! ? \\nwe\\'ll throw in a distracting subplot in which her fianc ? e has sex with a really attractive woman who acts like a bimbo , and then he can feel guilty . ? \\nthen , when anne heche kisses harrison ford ( they have to kiss , because otherwise nobody will want to see the movie ) , it will be a vindicated action , because her fianc ? e will already have cheated on her ! ? \\nthen , for no obvious reason , they\\'ll accidentally run into pirates who try to kill them . ? \\noh , yes ! ? \\ni feel so good about this story . ? \\ninstead of using characterization to propel the events , it will be completely random , and yet totally predictable ! ? \\nimagine that . \\ndon\\'t get me wrong -- six days , seven nights is not a boring picture ; ford and heche both do a great job . ? \\nthe sparks fly between them , and so most of browning\\'s inane dialogue is drowned out by the actors\\' sheer force of talent . \\n ? almost every scene between them has energy that the performers bring to the screen , and i found myself laughing pretty hard . ? \\nschwimmer is also funny , and manages to milk all of his scenes for whatever he can get . ? \\nand reitman , who has made some good films , at least tries to make things exciting . ? \\neven though the pirate subplot is profoundly dumb , i was prepared to be pleasantly sidetracked by the action sequences . \\nit\\'s just when i start to think about the story that my contempt for this film surfaces . ? \\nthe picture feels like it\\'s been hacked to pieces -- i wouldn\\'t be surprised if five or six inept subplots have been edited out completely . ? \\nthe ones that are here are as bad as they come ( i think i let out a very audible groan when they get the first glimpse of the pirate ships ) , and i\\'d just like to shake the producers by the shoulders and scream , \" why did you pick this awful script ! ? \" ? \\nthe film is outright stupid , but some of the elements are subtly horrifying . ? \\nfor instance , take the subplot in which the schwimmer character has sex with the bimbo , and then feels really guilty . ? \\nthis is a serious problem in real life , but six days , seven nights reduces any chance of complexity to a weak plot device : ? his actions are what makes it okay for heche to kiss ford . ? \\nin a script that lacks even a glimpse of intelligent subtlety , i find it odd that such a strangely insulting device ended up in the story . \\nthis is summer movie season , but that doesn\\'t mean our movies have to be dumb . ? \\n1998 so far has been one of the worst years in recent memory for summer blockbusters . ? \\nwhen i was in line for six days , seven nights , i heard the woman in front of me ask for \" two tickets to that new harrison ford movie . \" \\n ? why didn\\'t she know the name of the film ? ? \\ni suppose she just didn\\'t care . \\n ? what bothers me even more is that the people who make these big-budget pictures don\\'t realize that their films are becoming parodies of themselves . ? \\ngood actors should sign to good scripts , and if hollywood insists on making flicks to rake in cash , they least they could do is assume that we\\'d like to spend our money on a story worth more than ten cents . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a wonderful little movie that is really interested in its characters and in its theme . \\nthe scene of \" second best \" is laid in wales . \\njames ( chris cleary miles ) is a 10-year-old boy who must live in a home because his father ( keith allen ) is in prison and his mother committed suicide . \\njames is a mentally unbalanced child . \\nhe can\\'t forget what happened in the past , and he dreams of living a happy life with his beloved father . \\nin the home he feels sadly and lonely . \\none day , a social worker ( alan cumming ) tells him of a person who wants to adopt him . \\nthis person is graham holt ( william hurt ) . \\ngraham manages a post office and shop in a village . \\nhe is a single and hasn\\'t any real friends . \\nhis mother is dead , and his father is ill and will die . \\ngraham feels that he has been a disappointment to his parents . \\nthere has never been real love between his parents and him . \\ngraham\\'s monotonous life would get a new sense if he could adopt james . \\nbut graham has not only to convince the institutions , but must also win the love of james . \\njames and graham have to open theirselves . \\nthey must get to know each other and learn to understand and trust the other person . \\njames and graham aid each other to cope with their problems . \\nbut will their relationship really have a future ? \\n \" second best \" is based on a novel by david cook who also wrote the screenplay . \\nthe film was directed by chris menges who had made his directing debut with the very good anti-apartheid drama \" a world apart \" ( 1987/88 ) . \\nand maybe , \" second best \" is even a greater picture . \\nthis precise , richly detailed , sensitively and convincingly directed study about a special adoption treats its theme with great seriousness . \\nthe breathtakingly intense film shows the necessity of human contact and communication . \\nwilliam hurt delivers an outstanding performance as graham holt . \\nand chris cleary miles is remarkably convincing in the role of the boy . \\nthe supporting cast is also fine ( especially jane horrocks as debbie , a social worker who is charged to examine graham\\'s living circumstances ) . \\n \" second best \" is an underestimated masterpiece . \\nit\\'s a pity that films like this one are made so seldom . \\ni eagerly await menges\\' next directorial work , \" the lost son \" , which will star daniel auteuil . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s almost amusing to watch 21-year old christina ricci get drastically overshadowed in sally potter\\'s follow-up to 1997\\'s the tango lesson , the man who cried . \\nthe gen-y actress , with her cold stare and big , black eyes , has appeared in an impressive range of films ; but she doesn\\'t even come close to being the bold heroine the film , set against the historical backdrop of world war 2 , requires her to be . \\nricci , whose character is shockingly silent and blank , showing only the occasional smile or hint of concern , shares most of her scenes with the astounding cate blanchett : quite an amusing sight to behold . \\nblanchett\\'s lola , a paris dwelling dancer who befriends the aspiring singer suzie , is bold , interesting and layered ? everything our heroine lacks . \\nco-star of the upcoming lord of the rings trilogy , blanchett has a good seven inches on ricci , sports twice the makeup and dons a flashy wardrobe . \\nthe actress inhabits the role ? as she always so remarkably does ? with a fervor and life that makes you want her to hold the screen as the film\\'s lead rather than her dull companion . \\nimportant historical events involving hitler and his nazis scatter themselves across the film ; these landmarks serve as the film\\'s little conflict . \\nobviously , the tables are turned in the life of suzie by these events , whose jewish origin is unknown among her parisian colleagues . \\nthe man who cried has many aspirations , none of which come full circle by the film\\'s close . \\nthere are forced messages here and there : \" go forward ; always go forward , \" lola preaches to suzie ; there\\'s romance between suzie and a fellow target of hitler\\'s nazis , the gypsy cesar ( johnny depp , who , like ricci , barely gets to speak ) ; lola struggles with her character that desires above all things wealth and men who have it ; and at the core of all these devices lies suzie\\'s desire to travel to america , where her father journeyed after leaving her and her mother years ago . \\nthe film\\'s main problem is that potter isn\\'t skilled enough to tell the epic-sized story of suzie . \\nthe time period\\'s instability , the conflicting social classes , the prejudice against suzie from all those around her in her new life : serving as both writer and director , potter throws in some of each , but hardly an inch of depth is to be found in any . \\nby the time the sigh-inducing climax hits , the believability and complete absence of focus leave one ready to leave the theater . \\nthe film\\'s falling action is weirdly unsatisfying and unlikely ; are we really meant to believe any of this could happen ? \\ncontrastingly , in its moving final scene , the man who cried strikes a note that is made effective in its ties to the emotional beginning of the film . \\nalthough it\\'s apparent that potter can\\'t grasp what she reaches , i\\'m puzzled as to why she reaches for so much in the first place . \\nricci\\'s suzie is meant to be the film\\'s core : from the extended flashback at the film\\'s beginning to the quickly drawn ending , everything seen in the film , in some way , relates to her . \\nso why then does potter spend so much time on subplots involving other individuals ? \\nthe character of suzie is too present for the man who cried to work as an ensemble , but not present enough for the film to be ricci\\'s . \\nthe almost constant lack of flow and one-note tone with which potter depicts the man who cried are somewhat improved upon by sacha vierny\\'s beautiful cinematography that renders the film\\'s various locations wonderfully . \\nalso worthy of note are lindy hemming\\'s costumes that help to depict the area quite nicely . \\nand then there\\'s the music . \\nfrom minute one to minute ninety-seven , there\\'s hardly a moment when the wavering , skilled voice of an opera singer or the rhythms of the gypsy music don\\'t undercut the action ; the notes stricken both overwhelm ( particularly john turturro , portraying fictional opera singer dante dominio , whose money and reputation catch lola\\'s interest ) and accompany ( oftentimes , the perfect chords are captured to undermine the state of the film\\'s characters and reinforce that state ) . \\npotter obviously cares much about each and every musical note ; unfortunately , the same effort isn\\'t given towards ( almost ) everything else . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"tarzan chad'z = good ) 1999 , g , 90 minutes [1 hour , 30 minutes] [animated - adventure/drama] starring the voices of : tony goldwyn ( tarzan ) , minnie driver ( jane porter ) , lance henriksen ( kerchak ) , brian blessed ( clayton ) ; written by tab murphy , bob tzudiker , noni white ; produced by bonnie arnold ; directed by chris buck , kevin lima ; based on the story `tarzan of the apes' and characters created by edgar rice burroughs . \\nseen july 4 , 1999 at 7 : 15 p . m . at crossgates cinemas 18 ( guilderland , ny ) , theater #9 , by myself for free using my hoyts season pass . \\n[theater rating : * * * 1/2 : very good sound , picture and seats] \\ntitle : `tarzan' beautiful to look at , easy to follow . \\nreview : disney continues its trend of producing animated summer blockbuster movies meant mostly for children but with enough wit and charm for adults to be interested and at least entertained by the story . \\nthe basic premise is the same as every other `tarzan' story : a boy is raised in the african jungle by gorillas and becomes one himself never really understanding ( or even noticing ) that he's human and is a lot different from the animals he befriends . \\nthe first third of the film shows how tarzan comes to be adopted by kala ( voiced by glen close ) , a female gorilla who lost her own child in a classic case of darwanism . \\nher mate , kerchak ( henriksen ) , is a mean , conservative leader of the pack of gorillas who make up tarzan's extended family . \\nhe refuses to acknowledge tarzan ( voiced by alex d . linz during the childhood scenes ) as a son and often has to hold himself back from killing tarzan after he continually does dangerous , wild things that are the result of his own childish instincts . \\ni have a feeling children will quickly be able to identify with tarzan since all he really is is just a kid who wants to have fun and it's funny how the adults fail to comprehend this . \\nlater , as the story transitions from tarzan as a child to a full-grown man ( voiced by goldwyn ) , he is encounter by a party of three humans from england : jane porter ( driver ) , a beautiful woman who is something of a zoologist and an artist , her father prof . archimedes q . porter ( voiced by nigel hawthorne ) who is also a scientist ; and their slick and cunning , yet barbaric safari bodyguard clayton ( blessed ) . \\nit's easy to tell where the story is going at all times but the screenplay doesn't seem like it was written hastily nor dumbed down for children's enjoyment . \\nsure there's a lot of cliche stuff here , like clayton's smugness and diabolical manipulation of tarzan and jane ; the goofy supporting characters ( voiced by rosie o'donnell [in full brooklyn accent ! ] and wayne knight - `hello newman ! ' ) . \\nthere's also a lot of fun action such as tarzan's swinging through the jungle on vines and sliding down and around tree branches and trunks . \\nit's just like skateboarding really fast and doing all sorts of tricks ( those mcdonald's commercials really prove this point ) . \\nultimately , you get exactly out of `tarzan' what you expect . . . \\nand i mean that as a compliment , so have high expectations . \\npros : animation and sound are a feast for the senses , story is lighthearted , breezy and not dumbed-down , no stupid sing-along songs to get stuck in your head . \\ncons : surprisingly violent , should have been rated pg . \\nyoung children may not understand some of the more adult themes ( parents , be ready to have some heavy questions thrown your way ) . \\nrunning time is a bit short . \\nwould you recommend this to friends ? \\nnot to my friends , but to the movie-going public i would . \\nscore : or with no 0 rating ) . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'about an hour or so into \" the jackal , \" a character wandered around as people were being shot at in a big suspense sequence , and one of the audience members in the theatre i saw it in shouted out \" i hope she gets killed now ! \" \\nat that point it hit me : i didn\\'t care for any of the characters being played by actors i didn\\'t really like . \\nwhen the sole reason you care about a character being played by sidney poitier in a suspense film is because he\\'s being played by sidney poitier , you know something\\'s rotten in the state of denmark . \\nevery year , a couple films like this are released . \\nyou know : the cheap , action packed international espionnage film , featuring a semi-promising premise , some big-name actors ( usually bruce willis ) , and the hopes that some audience members will forget the cold war ended several years ago . \\nthis was the third one of \\'97 , following the very lackluster \" the saint , \" which featured an amoral costume changing bond wannabe ; and the surprisingly fun \" the peacemaker , \" featuring clooney and kidman trying to stop an almost untraceable villain . \\n \" the jackal \" tries to mix both elements . \\nand you thought \" the saint \" was bad . \\n \" the jackal \" is loosely ( very loosely , i hope ) based on the 1973 fred zimmerman classic that i\\'ve yet to see , \" the day of the jackal , \" which featured ( apparently ) a suave hitman called the jackal , played by edward fox , trying to assasinate charles degaule . \\nwell , welcome to the 90s , where a sorta suave hitman , also called the jackal ( bruce willis ) , trying to kill the head of the fbi . . . or \\nis he ? \\nafter being hired by a russian mob lord as a bit of vengeance for the murder of his brother ( killed in the opening scenes ) , the jackal romps all over the northen hemisphere , from helsinki to virginia , setting up an elaborate scheme wherein he\\'ll be able to assasinate this person and still get away to live in seclusion . \\nand like the saint , the jackal changes his look over and over and over again to elude people . \\nthe agent working on the case , cater preston ( sidney poitier - yes , that sidney poitier ) , working with a russian agent , valentina koslova ( diane venora - lady capulet from \" romeo + juliet \" ) , gives up early on and meets with an ex-ira man , declan mulqueen ( richard gere , putting up some tight competition between himself and brad pitt for worst fake irish accent of \\'97 ) who\\'s in a massachusetts jail , but who has apparently seen the jackal , who has been eluding the law forever . \\nsoon , he\\'s out working with the two untrusting agents , and trying to help them catch him . \\nthere are numerous problems with the film , and which one is the biggest one is pretty impossible to put a finger on . \\nthe film is supposed to be a big suspense thriller , but save a couple moments , the film never achieves suspense , or even a sense of intrigue . \\nsure , the big assasination attempt is a bit cool looking and even slightly tense , but every other scene in the film is too short and too dull to register . \\nthe film never picks up enough to become a thrilling experience , or even an entertaining one . \\nit doesn\\'t help that the plot is designed to be complex , but falls into so many problems , like plot holes and unbelievable circumstances . \\nthe script of \" the jackal \" is a complete mess , mostly because it can\\'t decide what it wants to focus on . \\nis this a film about a man trying to find redemption by catching a nasty killer ? \\nis it a film about a nasty , amoral hitman who\\'s in everything for the money ? \\nor is it a combination of both ? \\n \" the jackal \" aims for the latter , but never focuses in on either character . \\nthe connection between the two feels completely edited , so much that in a scene when the jackal turns around and notices declan , you wonder how he recognized him so fast . \\nthe worst part is the little past they try to give declan , most notably his relationship with an old girlfriend , isabella ( mathilda may ) , given so little screen time that you almost forget her character exists until she pops up every now and then . \\nthe supporting characters are worse . \\nsidney poitier is given a completely unplayable role , that of a man who is just stern sometimes , and other times more giving and likable . \\nwhat is poitier doing here ? \\nhe\\'s one of the best living actors ! \\ndoes he really need to waste his time doing drivel like this ? \\ndiane venora\\'s russian character is almost as bad , with a cigarette perpetually in her mouth , and a plastered on expressionless facade . \\nit\\'s not that anyone\\'s bad here ; it\\'s that they have nothing to do . \\nthe plot is a joke , feeling like it was pasted together by someone in post-production who dropped each scene on the floor and pasted them together quickly so it could be released on time . \\nthe jackal himself is not even much of an international villain . \\nthere are several times where he\\'s in a tight situation and makes things worse for himself , the only explanation being that the filmmakers wanted to toss in a cheap thrill . \\ntake a scene where he\\'s being followed by some agents into a parking garage : he quickly sprays his car another color , and adds a solvent that if touched kills the person who touched it . \\ndoesn\\'t killing someone attract more attention than it does distract ? \\nand does he think dying his hair bottle blond makes him fit in in a public place ? \\ngeez ! \\nis there anything good here ? \\nwell . . . a \\ncouple things . \\ni did like willis\\'s icy expressions ; he may not have been real suave or anything , but some of his looks are worth a chuckle . \\nrichard gere has a couple of good moments , making his character as likable as he possibly could have . \\nand a couple sequences are kicky in that kind of proposterous , completely inane but fun kinda way , most notably : a sequence where he tests out a new gun on an annoying gun builder ( jack black ) ; and a bit where he seduces a gay washington man , which has its share of a couple good jokes , most particular a kiss by willis . \\nbut none of these elevate the film any higher than it could go ; they\\'re just little distractions along the way to amuse us mildly then toss us back into the world of dullness and stupidity that is \" the jackal . \" \\ndirector michael caton-jones ( who directed the far superior \" rob roy \" ) has made a film that is made very couple months , one that is unentertaining , unintriguing , and pretty much cold , but will nevertheless make money because , hey , the trailers do make it look like it may be fun in that kind of retro-clancy kinda way . \\nevery now and then , the filmmakers get it right ( \" clear and present danger , \" which was enormous fun in that smart kinda way ) , but \" the jackal \" is an example of when they go completely wrong . \\n',\n",
+       " b'john carpenter makes b-movies . \\nalways has ( \" halloween , \" \" escape from new york , \" \" the thing \" ) and , by the looks of it ( \" they live , \" \" escape from l . a . , \" \" vampires \" ) , always will . \\ncarpenter\\'s latest horror opus with a science fiction bent ( or science fiction outing with a schlock horror bent ) is the aptly-titled \" john carpenter\\'s ghosts of mars \" ( in case , i suppose , you went looking for someone else\\'s \" ghosts of mars \" ) . \\nlike all those films prefixed by the very possessive \" john carpenter\\'s , \" \" ghosts of mars \" is an unashamed b-movie punctuated by a b-movie plot , b-movie actors , and b-movie special effects . \\nin category one , above , we have a storyline that borders on idiotic ( and , at times , chaotic ) . \\ndormant martians ( i . e . , swirling red gases ) awakened by meddling humans possess the souls of hapless mining colonists rendering them testy marilyn manson lookalikes . \\nall this explained ( in flashback ) to some grand pooh-bah counsel by martian police official melanie ballard ( natasha henstridge , from the sub- \" species \" films ) , the only returnee on a silly-looking train . \\nofficer ballard went in to bring back incarcerated felon james \" desolation \" williams ; what she found was not a pretty picture . \\nin the second category we have ms . henstridge , her blonde hair pulled back tightly and awkwardly into a ponytail , ice cube ( as the appropriately-named \" desolation \" ) , pam grier ( briefly , oddly--who wanted to work with whom i wonder ? ) , and a host of extras all assuming that the story and special effects were going to carry this film and therefore they didn\\'t need to try too hard . \\nin category number three we have , in addition to those swirling red gases and the silly-looking train , a couple of bird\\'s-eye-view shots of a sprawling martian metropolis ( reddish also ) . \\nstate-of-the-art special effects have never been a carpenter trademark and once again the writer/director ( who seems to have no problem finding work , however ) doesn\\'t waste any of the film\\'s budget in that department . \\n \" ghosts of mars \" is lock , laughing stock , and barrel all your standard carpenter fare : dingy interiors , cluttered exteriors , inane dialogue , lots of leather , scarred , crazed-looking aliens , and lots and lots of weaponry . \\nthe film often and always explodes into warfare without warning--spontaneously , stupidly . \\ncarpenter might like to think he\\'s made a western here but it\\'s a western without any real heroes , villains , or border conflicts . \\nit\\'s just the shootouts minus a hissing snake plissken . \\ni never thought i\\'d miss the guy but i do . \\nit\\'s not * all * the same , however . \\ndubbed the \" one-note wonder \" for his minimalist music soundtracks , carpenter seems to have graduated from simplistic ( yet effective ) scoring by highlighting his action with loud , screeching guitar work . \\nfortunately this drowns out a lot of the dialogue . \\nthe final exchange between henstridge and , er , cube though is both audible * and * priceless . \\nmars has proven an infertile breeding ground for hollywood in the last year or so , what with the stillborn \" mission to mars \" and \" red planet \" ( with val kilmer ) . \\n \" ghosts of mars \" sadly adds to those disappointing returns ( in its opening weekend it was overshadowed by a bunch of sequels , among them \" american pie 2 \" and \" rush hour 2 \" ) . \\nthe irony is that the mars in carpenter\\'s film feels sadly absent . \\nthere are occasional references to the red planet , of course , but the film might as well have been set in perth amboys than on earth\\'s closest neighbor . \\ntwo things keep \" john carpenter\\'s ghosts of mars \" from getting a huge slap upside the head . \\n1 . \\nhenstridge keeps her top on ( miraculously ) , and 2 . the film doesn\\'t pretend to be anything it\\'s not . \\nwhat that means , however , is that fans of superior , intelligent , grade a sci-fi/horror are singularly out of luck . \\n',\n",
+       " b'you know the plot : a dimwit with a shady past is seduced into committing a crime only to be double-crossed by a fatal femme . \\nin \" palmetto , \" the dimwit is harry barber ( woody harrelson ) , a reporter who\\'s just been released from prison ( he was framed by the gangsters and corrupt officials he was investigating ) . \\nenter la femme : rhea malroux ( elisabeth shue ) , the sexy young wife of the richest man in palmetto , florida ( rolf hoppe ) . \\nshe and her stepdaughter odette ( chlo ? sevigny ) have a plot to extort 500k from the old man : harry will \" kidnap \" odette . \\nafter groping both women , harry agrees . \\nas everyone except harry can see , he\\'s being set up as a fall guy . \\nsure enough , before long , harry has a dead body in his trunk and the cops on his tail . \\nhis brother-in-law ( tom wright ) , an assistant da , has hired harry to be the press liaison for the case , so harry gets a front row seat for his own manhunt ( and we get to watch him sweat-literally ) . \\nthere are several plot twists , of course-a couple of them even took me by surprise . \\napparently every woman in palmetto is a raving horndog , and they\\'re on harry like he\\'s the only bone in the kennel . \\nshue vamps so broadly that i expected tex avery\\'s wolf to show up . \\nher incredible performance in \" leaving las vegas \" seems to have been a fluke . \\nhere , she could easily be mistaken for melanie griffith . \\nshue\\'s character is supposed to be a savvy schemer but she comes off as a brainless bimbo . \\nin addition to shue and sevigny , the kennel includes gina gershon ( who filled the dimwit-with-a-shady-past role in \" bound \" ) as harry\\'s girlfriend nina ; when harry gets out of jail , she licks his face ( now there\\'s a horndog ) . \\nthe parts are so overplayed that with a little push \" palmetto \" could have been an over-the-top parody of film noir a la \" romeo is bleeding . \" \\nas it is , it\\'s best watched at 2am on showtime ( the love scenes seem to have been written for one of that channel\\'s soft porn programs anyway ) . \\n \" palmetto \" has a well-known director , volker schl ? ndorff , who\\'s best known for his adaptations of major literary works , especially \" the tin drum . \" \\ni suppose he must have been drawn to this plot-by-numbers script by the same admiration for classic film noir that led scorsese to remake \" cape fear . \" \\nschl ? ndorff tries hard-he makes an interesting motif out of the ubiquitous palmetto bugs-but nothing can freshen up this stale script . \\n',\n",
+       " b' ( note : there are spoilers regarding the film\\'s climax ; the election , of course ) \\nwe see matthew broderick , a man torn to a primal state ; he\\'s been unfaithful to his wife , lied to and manipulated his students , and by the same token they\\'ve demeaned his masculinity , his self-respect , his desperate attempt at changing the world . \\nand yet , he equates the cause of his pain , his torment , with tracy flick ( reese witherspoon ) . \\nno matter how many students have come and gone , and disappointed him as an educator , she\\'s the real threat . \\nabout to give in , and divulge that she\\'s won by only a lone vote , broderick\\'s mccalister turns in defeat , sees tracy\\'s euphoric celebration in the outside corridor and says , \\'no\\' . \\nthe fact that he simultaneously lusts after her ideologically further illustrates that freudian foundation of entitlement which all men , no matter how obscure , have in their relationships ; a traditional expectation of success , to usurp and surpass women as a proverbial industry . \\nshe can\\'t go higher than him . \\nhe won\\'t allow it . \\nand what\\'s amazing about \" election \" is that every word of that criticism is drawn from a rather opaque metaphor . \\nearly in the film we learn that tracy was romantically , and then sexually , involved with a now departed teacher . \\nit\\'s like payne and taylor , his co-screenwriter , have taken tracy , a girl desperate for friendship , loyalty , and almost perversely drawn the mythological pattern of kids who were so utterly rejected by their peers , that they found sitting at the teachers\\' lunch table more fitting , to an unlikely extreme with her as the protagonist . \\nand it\\'s amazing the compassion that we have ; it seems so real to us , and not merely because it\\'s happened before , splashed all over the front pages , but , because of the all around \" nice \" persona of these people , we easily dismiss the truly wayward deeds of the characters . \\nit\\'s with mandy barnett\\'s \" if you\\'ll be the teacher \" playing winsomely over the closing credits that payne skewers the tenets of his detractors most ; a final , viscous injection of bittersweet irony . \\nsexuality , though , is not the only basis for payne\\'s satire , or its success . \\nit also makes a telling point about politics , friendship , and class boundaries . \\nsatire is required ( or ought to be , anyway ) to take itself seriously , or act so , while the audience does not . \\nit\\'s a fine line to straddle , but some films ignore it altogether ( \" drop dead gorgeous \" leaps infuriatingly to mind ) . \\npayne and taylor hit the right chord ; their characters are real people : neither is perfect , but rather both of the leads are flawed , misguided individuals who retain , somewhat , noble intentions at heart . \\nwe sympathize with them , but still , as a satire , their idiosyncratic behavior , and their wrongdoing , is taken to an extreme for the audience to knowingly chuckle , but also reflect and meditate , about . \\nminus half a point , though , for payne admitting not to having seen \" ferris bueller\\'s day off \" . \\nwhatever . \\n',\n",
+       " b'george little ( jonathan lipnicki ) wants a little brother . \\nafter mr . and mrs . little ( hugh laurie and geena davis ) visit the orphange , they decide to adopt stuart , a talking mouse ( voiced by michael j . fox ) . \\ngeorge isn\\'t so fond of his new brother when stuart arrives at the little house , and neither is snowbell the family cat ( voiced by nathan lane ) . \\ngeorge and stuart eventually bond while preparing for a remote control boat race , but snowbell wants stuart out of the house ( he\\'s unable to live with the taunts of other neighborhood felines saying it\\'s ridiculous that a mouse has a pet cat ) . \\nstuart little is a mix of live action and computer generated imagery ( cgi ) . \\nthe character of stuart , while obviously a computer generated image , grows on you as the film progresses and you\\'ll soon see him as much more than a mere special effect . \\nthere is also a great deal of animal training involved with this film , as many of the \" supporting cast \" are actual cats ( with computer animated mouths so they can speak ) . \\nit\\'s fascinating to watch these cats give performances without an actual mouse to interact with . \\nstuart little is a charming family film . \\nthere are some great laughs in the movie ( with a script co-written by the sixth sense\\'s m . night shyamalan no less ! ) , \\nsome moments that can only be described as \" too cute \" ( the boat race sequence is what won me over ) and even the majority of the one-liners ( common nowadays in children\\'s films or films featuring nathan lane ) are tolerable . \\nkids and parents will love this one . \\nstuart little is available on dvd from columbia tristar home video . \\nthere are two different dvds on sale : one contains the film in full frame , and the other presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1 . 66 : 1 . \\nboth versions feature choices of either dolby surround or dolby digital 5 . 1 audio . \\nboth versions also contain the following extras ( and hang in there with me here . . . there\\'s a lot of them ) : a full length audio commentary track by director rob minkoff and animation supervisor henry anderson , a full length audio commentary track by the visual effects supervisors , an isolated score track , an interactive trivia game , an interactive featurette that goes step by step through eight of the effects in the film , a making of documentary that originally aried on hbo , and a stuart little read-along story ( which you can read yourself or have stuart read for you ) . \\nthere are also three music videos , and six theatrical trailers ( called thecatrical trailers . . . \\nget it ? \\nit\\'s funny ! ) for stuart little and five other columbia tristar releases : the adventures of elmo in grouchland , madeline , the nuttiest nutcracker , muppets from space , and baby geniuses ( the only bad thing about this entire dvd . . . \\ni did not want to be reminded of the awfulness that is baby geniuses ) . \\ndvd-rom features are also on the disc , including web links and a demo of the stuart little cd-rom game . \\nbut wait . . . \\nthere\\'s still more ! \\nthere\\'s a section called \" basement treasures \" where you will find the auditions of the film\\'s animators , six deleted scenes which you can select to view with or without commentary from the director , a visual effects gag reel , a production gag reel , and an incredible eight minute storyboard sequence detailing the original concept for the boat race scene ( with commentary from the director ) . \\nthe first commentary track features director rob minkoff and animation supervisor henry anderson . \\nthey give insightful and detailed thoughts about the film\\'s production . \\nminkoff likes to point out scenes where other screenwriters came in and polished up the script , namely writers like scott alexander and larry karaszewski ( who wrote the people vs . larry flynt and ed wood ) and lowell ganz and babaloo mandel ( who wrote splash and multiplicity , among others ) . \\nanderson is very appreciative of the animators who worked with him and often points out which animator worked on each scene as they occur . \\nthe second commentary track features visual effects supervisors john dykstra and jerome chen who discuss more specific details of the effects in the film . \\nmovie fans will enjoy the informative first commentary track , serious animation buffs will love the second one . \\nnow i know this is slightly off topic , but it is related specifically to this dvd so i must voice this now . \\none of the music videos on the disc is for a song called \" i need to know \" by a group called r angels . \\nthis video features four mid-teenage girls ( the singers obviously ) having a slumber party . \\nthe girls ask a ouija board \" i need to know . . . \\nwho to do , who to do , who to do \" as the song begins . \\nthey then sneak out of their house , and along the way they strike a pose and their slumber party pajamas are magically transformed into middle class streetwalker outfits . \\nthen they head to a party and dance suggestively with the guys while singing lyrics like \" i\\'ll be your pleasure all the time . . . \\njust say the words that you\\'ll be mine \" . \\num . . . \\nwhat the hell ? \\nwhat does this have to do with stuart little ? \\nhow is this in any way a song suitable for a kids movie , let alone a video suitable for a kids movie on dvd ? \\nwhen the video concludes , the words \" to be continued \" appear . \\noh i can\\'t wait to see who they\\'ve slept with when the toy story 2 dvd comes out . \\nkids won\\'t care about most of the special features on this dvd , but those of us who can sometimes be turned into a \" kid at heart \" thanks to a winning family film sure appreciate them . \\nthis is the way to do dvd , a good movie loaded with great features at a reasonable cost . \\nthe di$ney people could learn a lot from columbia tristar . \\n',\n",
+       " b'bob the happy bastard\\'s quickie review : \\nthe mummy \\nbrendan fraser\\'s stuck in the past again , but at least this time he has something better to do than to quote sitcom lines and try to woo alicia silverstone . . . \\nfraser is the lead star of the mummy , the second directorial effort from action director stephen sommers ( who also brought us the decent thrill ride that was deep rising ) . \\nit\\'s a rough adaptation of the 1932 film , and i say rough because it focuses more on special effects than on some guy in bandages , like boris karloff was engulfed in . \\nbut who cares , the movie has a sort of swashbuckling quality to it you can\\'t get from , oh , say , godzilla or armageddon . \\nfraser plays a soldier who gets a premonition during a battle with soldiers in an egyptian ground . \\nbasically , it\\'s a little sign from the mummy buried underneath- a priest named ihmoetep who was buried alive for taking part of murdering the king and making out with his mistress . \\nhis plan- wake back up and wake her up also , making him invincible . \\nof course , fraser returns to the site years later with a librarian ( rachel weisz ) and her brother ( john hanna ) , along with a former buddy of his ( deep rising\\'s kevin j . o\\'connor ) and some \" americans \" . . . and \\nguess what ? \\nyup , ihmoetep ( arnold vosloo ) awakens and wreaks havoc . \\nfire flies from the sky , flesh-eating beetles crawl about , and , well , ihmoetep\\'s plan begins to unfold . \\nok , so it\\'s not really all that new a story , but the way sommers tells it is entertaining enough . \\nthe special effects from industrial light and magic are top notch , and the acting from fraser and weisz isn\\'t half bad either . \\nthe action is pretty intense ( favorite scene : the sandstorm ) and there are a few shocking scenes just to jolt you horror-loving folks as well . \\nno , it\\'s no phantom menace beater , but if you\\'re looking for a solid warm-up to the summer movie season , you won\\'t find a better film under wraps than the mummy . \\nif this doesn\\'t give fraser forgiveness from blast from the past and encino man , then nothing will . \\n',\n",
+       " b'a backdrop of new year\\'s eve in 1981 would seem to lend itself to a great party movie . \\nthe decor possibilities are endless - disco balls had yet to migrate into the dark corners of the attic , big hair was worth its weight in aquanet , and the louder the fashion , the better the look . \\nbut despite this setting , these details and a soundtrack that includes some 40-plus irresistible hits from the early days of the me decade , something is inherently wrong with \" 200 cigarettes . \" \\na better title for this nostalgic mess would be \" 50 missed opportunities . \" \\nwhat is it that makes this retro-comedy such a downer ? \\nit\\'s certainly not the cast , which includes enough hot , young talent for several movies . \\nthere\\'s courtney love , cementing her reputation as a serious actress ; christina ricci , hot off her shoulda-been-nominated turn in \" the opposite of sex \" ; paul rudd , who gets even more appealing with every role ; kate hudson , inheriting some fine acting genes from mom goldie hawn ; and affleck brothers ben and casey , two of the best things about \" good will hunting . \" \\nperhaps the question is this : what drew these and other immensely talented actors to such a dreary project ? \\nmaybe it looked good on paper . \\n \" 200 cigarettes \" is composed of a series of vignettes , as various characters make their way through new york\\'s festively decorated east village to a holiday bash thrown by a jittery bundle of nerves named monica ( martha plimpton , all dressed up in her best cyndi lauper ) . \\namong the potential guests are likeable cad kevin ( rudd ) and his best friend lucy ( love ) , busy bickering over his recent break-up , and a clumsy but seemingly charming bartender ( ben affleck ) who opens his mouth only to spew forth bad pick-up lines . \\nmore subplots - _many_ more - dot the big picture , but those listed above are the only ones worth noting in a positive light . \\nall the other story tangents are as frazzled as a cokehead trying to solve a rubick\\'s cube . \\nricci and gaby hoffman grate as two ronkonkoma gals ( the kind that have trouble pronouncing hard consonants ) out to have a high time in the big city . \\ninfamously acerbic comedienne janeane garofalo is wasted in what amounts to a several-scene cameo . \\nhudson , as a pretty-in-pink klutz recently devirginized by a reprehensible ladies\\' man ( jay mohr ) , trips , pukes and gets smeared with dog poop . \\nare we laughing yet ? \\nthe film boils down to a mixture of the good , the bad and the gaudy , with the latter two overtaking the former . \\ngame performances - especially by love , rudd and plimpton - are almost shot down by the bizarrely colorful parts and a constantly roving focus , here a combination that mostly sputters when it should crackle . \\ntoo many sidetracks rate as uninteresting and have little payoff until a lengthy final montage where we find out many of the performers served as one night stands for each other . \\nif this is \" 200 cigarettes , \" then get me 200 nicotine patches . \\n',\n",
+       " b'the most common ( and in many cases the only ) complaint against francis ford coppola\\'s 1972 masterpiece the godfather is glamorising of mafia , which is presented as an institution guided by ancient tradition and virtues like honour , loyalty and solidarity more suitable for some gentler , kinder ages . \\nmartin scorsese , another italoamerican moviemaker , confronted that perspective with his own , more down-to-earth vision of mafia in 1973 mean streets , movie that dealt with lower echelons of organised crime . \\nunfortunately for scorsese , his film was unspectacular and too artsy to compete with coppola\\'s influence on mafia portrayals in the movies . \\nseventeen years later scorsese returned to mean streets of new york with another film that dealt with darker side of american organised crime . \\nthis film was goodfellas , epic black comedy which is today considered as one of the best and most influential films of 1990s . \\ngoodfellas owes some of its initial success and popularity to the fact that it was based on the true story , told in best-seller book wiseguy by nicholas pileggi ( who would co-write the screenplay for the film ) . \\nthe book , as well as the film , chronicled thirty years in the life of henry hill ( played by ray liotta ) , irish-italian criminal from new york . \\nat the age of 13 he gets recruited in the criminal organisation of paulie cicero ( played by paul sorvino ) , local mob boss , and gradually climbs up the ladder starting with small errands . \\nafter couple of years , together with his best childhood friend tommy de vito ( played by joe pesci ) , he joins the crew of expert thieves led by jimmy conway ( played by robert de niro ) . \\nthree of them spend years as best friends and associates , gathering enormous wealth from their criminal enterprises that would culminate with one of the most spectacular robberies in american history . \\nwealth , influence and privileges of men connected with mafia are enough for henry hill to seduce his future wife karen ( played by lorraine bracco ) , who would afterwards remain loyal to her husband despite infidelities , domestic abuse , arrests and would even be accomplice to his own private drug dealing business . \\nbut the perfect world of \" wiseguys \" gradually begins to fall apart - tommy\\'s unpredictable outbursts of homicidal violence , jimmy\\'s reluctance to share his part of the loot with partners and , finally , henry\\'s own drug habit would lead to his downfall and make him question his loyalty to the friends . \\ngoodfellas is an excellent example of a film that represents work of a film genius in his full glory . \\nscorsese managed to create a vision which is effective and complete despite being full of contradictions that would ripped the film apart in the hands of less talented filmmaker . \\nworld depicted in this film is both ordinary and fascinating . \\nscorsese spares no effort to show us all the violence , hypocrisy and inherent paranoia of organised crime , yet it manages to make it both seductive and funny . \\nafter being exposed to two and half hours of the film and three decades of criminal history ( based on some notorious real life events ) , the audience understands why the characters chose such dangerous life paths , trading the superficial and short-lasting glamour and prosperity of a criminal to the dullness and poverty of honest citizens . \\nscorsese also manages to break viewer\\'s moralistic inhibitions by showing truly revolting material - scenes that depict personal tragedies , broken homes , human depravity , violence , bloodshed and murder - in all their uncompromising reality , but in a manner that would make it amusing and funny to the audience . \\nwith the use of ironic soundtrack , manipulative shots , character\\'s dialogue or narrator\\'s commentary , goodfellas represents the new standards of black humour that would became very popular few years later during tarantino era . \\neven if we don\\'t pay attention to skills with which potentially disturbing material becomes eye pleasing and entertaining , we should admit that scorsese displays his talents of truly original and creative filmmaker . \\nfirst , we might notice unusual structure of the plot - relatively minor subplot is used as movie\\'s ironic prologue . \\nthen , instead of single narrator , scorsese switches to the second character as narrator in the middle of the film only to switch back to the original shortly afterwards . \\nthis multiple points of views , both in terms of narration and various subjective shots , only lengthens the ironic distance towards characters and their situation . \\nsame ironic distance comes with extremely effective choice of soundtrack . \\nnostalgia for good old times is illustrated with easy-listening 1950s pop songs , while depression , paranoia and bad times find their expression in more neurotic rock songs of late 1960s and 1970s . \\nbut the soundtrack is most effective when it is used as ironic comment - almost pastoral , easy listening tunes make strong and very ironic contrast to the scenes of violence and bloodshed . \\nhowever , thing most associated with this film is couple of continuos shots that feature characters moving through large rooms and interacting with dozens if not hundreds of people . \\nsuch scenes , although they require very great skill and patience during their shootings , became very popular among other directors in 1990s . \\nfragmentary character of the screenplay , which doesn\\'t have straight plot and instead bases film on series of loosely connected vignettes , gives another interesting opportunity for scorsese . \\nhe uses this structure of film to experiment , and most successful of such experiments is hilarious \" a day in life \" segment near the end of the film . \\nanother essential element of goodfellas is large but superb collection of great acting talents . \\nthe most respectable among them is robert de niro , but his character , who happen to be most quiet and business-like member of criminal trio , gets overshadowed by two of his friends and colleagues . \\njoe pesci deserved his \" oscar \" for supporting role of homicidal psychopath tommy , and his lines , including ad-libs , probably represent the most memorable element of the film . \\nray liotta , although equally talented , perhaps doesn\\'t look as the best choice for narrator and nominal hero of the film . \\nliotta\\'s henry hill looks somewhat too hollywoodised and glamorous among this bunch of low-level street thugs . \\nliotta , on the other hand , improves general impression by very realistic and menacing portrayal of drug addiction . \\nlorraine bracco is , on the other hand , very effective and believable as karen hill , wife who gradually descends into same moral cesspool as her husband . \\npaul sorvino is also very effective as patriarch mafioso , and among the supporting cast most memorable is chuck low as pestering small-time gangster who unknowingly digs his own grave . \\nas a combination of clever sociological study , black humour and innovative filmmaking goodfellas became something only the truly great films could do - work of art and excellent popular entertainment in the same time . \\nbecause of this achievement , and also because of the great influence on future filmmakers , this cinematic gem deserves its rightful place among the best films of 1990s . \\n',\n",
+       " b'go\\'s is a gloriously slick hip machine . \\ndirector liman ( who also photographed go ) and screenwriter august celebrate the drug/rave scene in l . a . , preferring to take ( comedic ) snapshots of troubled youth rather than critique them . \\nafter more than ninety minutes of pill-popping , tantric sex , car chases , and attempted murder , go even has a happy ending . \\nthis is the sort of film that gives members of the dove foundation splitting headaches ; as go wound down , i anticipated an anti-pill-popping-casual-tantric-sex-car-chase-attempted-murder sermon that ( blessedly ) didn\\'t arrive . \\na la tarantino\\'s pulp fiction , go is comprised of three separate but related stories . \\nthe basics are as follows : ronna ( polley ) is a bitter grocery store clerk facing eviction who turns to drug dealing for extra dough . \\nher co-worker , simon ( the improbably named askew ) , is a clubber from britain ecstatic about his first trip to vegas . \\nzack ( mohr ) and adam ( wolf ) are soap opera stars escaping a career-threatening conviction by assisting a peculiar cop ( fichtner ) in a drug bust . \\nperhaps because the innovative structure of tarantino\\'s non-linear masterwork is by now old hat , the id-fueled go delighted me but rarely surprised me ( with the exception of that mind-reading cat ! ) ; \\npulp fiction zigzagged down roads unforeseen , but we see go\\'s wheels turning from its first flash frame to the last . \\ntorontonian polley ( of the sweet hereafter ) refused to do publicity for this picture on the basis that she was \" not pleased with \" her turn as the ill-fated cashier . \\nin go , she delivers , hands-down , her best performance to date . \\nhere\\'s an ( overrated ) actress who agreed to appear on the poster , but not support her team at the junket or in interviews ; this sort of arrogance is commonplace for ms . polley , as anyone who has read of her political agenda in the canadian press will tell you . \\nif she doesn\\'t want to be the ingenue of the moment , she should have said \" no , \" not go . \\nbut i digress . \\ngo is a fun film , so chipperly depraved one can\\'t help but turn off his moral judgment for its duration and enjoy the ride . \\nin that sense , it\\'s a departure from liman\\'s last film , swingers , which at least lectured against self-absorption in the form of vince vaughan\\'s trent and his subtle comeuppance in the story\\'s clever epilogue ( which has been aped by mcdonald\\'s for their latest commercial ) . \\ni wish i cared more about go\\'s characters : like the techno music they listen to , the bands of anarchists on display here are at once absorbing and vacuous . \\nwhen the lights came up and stung my eyes , it was difficult to recall what about it entertained me . \\nyet entertain me it did . \\ngo is light and frothy , featuring compelling if not endearing work by polley , timothy olyphant ( scream 2 ) , and especially fichtner , whose homoerotic behavior is milked for effective laughs . \\nfichtner is a character actor best known for playing backstabbers ( in heat , armageddon , and others ) ; his previously untapped comic abilities shine in go . \\nunlike much of the film , fichtner is unpredictable . \\n',\n",
+       " b'it\\'s a good thing most animated sci-fi movies come from japan , because \" titan a . e . \" is proof that hollywood doesn\\'t have a clue how to do it . \\ni don\\'t know what this film is supposed to be about . \\nfrom what i can tell it\\'s about a young man named kale who\\'s one of the last survivors of earth in the early 31st century who unknowingly possesses the key to saving and re-generating what is left of the human race . \\nthat\\'s a fine premise for an action-packed sci-fi animated movie , but there\\'s no payoff . \\nthe story takes the main characters all over the galaxy in their search for a legendary ship that the evil \" dredge \" aliens want to destroy for no apparent reason . \\nso in the process we get a lot of spaceship fights , fistfights , blaster fights and more double-crosses than you can shake a stick at . \\nthere\\'s so much pointless sci-fi banter it\\'s too much to take . \\nthe galaxy here is a total rip-off of the \" star wars \" universe the creators don\\'t bother filling in the basic details which makes the story confusing , the characters unmotivated and superficial and the plot just plain boring . \\ndespite the fantastic animation and special effects , it\\'s just not an interesting movie . \\n',\n",
+       " b'after the press screening of \" moulin rouge , \" i stood in the lobby of the theater listening to the reactions of my friends and colleagues . \\neveryone seemed a bit numb , understandable after sitting through a barrage of often-incongruous sounds and images . \\na pal of mine simply said that he loved the film and could hardly wait to take his wife to see it . \\nanother enthusiast immediately began to analyze the production , while a woman who flat-out hated the movie gave him the skunk eye . \\nwhen one fellow quietly stated \" i\\'ve never really been a fan of musicals , \" the statement surprised me because , even though the story is told almost completely through song , i didn\\'t think of it as a musical . \\nthere is so much going on in \" moulin rouge \" that \" musical \" seems too small a term to cover it . \\n \" moulin rouge \" is the kind of creation that sends critics scurrying off to the big tub o\\' adjectives in search of proper words to describe the experience . \\naustralian director baz luhrmann , the man behind \" strictly ballroom \" and \" romeo + juliet , \" fills the heads of viewers with unique camerawork , opulent imagery and songs ranging from \" the sound of music \" to \" smells like teen spirit . \" \\nsumptuous and beautiful , vulgar and overdone , \" moulin rogue \" travels through the looking glass while an ethereal stereo loaded with 50 years worth of catchy tunes operates on the \" random \" setting . \\noh , and it has a story as well . \\n \" it was 1899 , the summer of love . . . \\n \" christian ( ewan mcgregor ) is a penniless young writer newly arrived in paris , \" to write about truth , beauty , freedom and love , \" where he encounters a group of bohemians , led by henri de toulouse-lautrec ( john leguizamo ) . \\nchristian meets satine ( nicole kidman ) , a courtesan from the legendary moulin rogue , and his world transforms from black and white to technicolor . \\nat once fragile and vivacious , the dazzling red-haired woman sweeps him off his feet without even trying . \\nchristian instantly falls in love with her and satine finds herself smitten with him as well , which is quite a hindrance for someone in her profession . \\nworking with the bohemians and moulin rogue impresario harold zidler ( jim broadbent ) , christian writes an opus modestly named \" spectacular spectacular . \" \\nzidler quickly finds a backer , the wealthy duke of monroth ( richard roxburgh ) , but there\\'s a catch ? the duke also wants the hand of the fair satine . \\nas if all that isn\\'t enough , satine has a cough , and while a cough in the real world probably indicates a cold , it rarely turns out to be anything that simple in movie land . \\nlike a teeter-totter , \" moulin rogue \" moves up and down between the ridiculous and the sublime . \\none of the loveliest moments comes as christine and satine commune outdoors at night , becoming part of a defiantly unrealistic parisian cityscape straight from a book of fairy tales . \\ntogether they dance , while serenaded by the man in the moon ( alessandro safina provides the vocals ) , apparently transported from the classic georges m ? li ? s silent film to guard the nocturnal sky . \\nother scenes merely traffic in everything-and-the-kitchen-sink overload . \\nthe cavorting of toulouse-lautrec and his comrades gets strained at times and some of their overt comedy , accompanied by cartoon sound effects , is overly reminiscent of the frenzied farce that sitcoms like \" bewitched \" beat into the ground . \\nof course , sensory overload was exactly what baz luhrmann had in mind . \\n \" we never heard from baz to turn it down , \" one of the actors told the los angeles times . \\n \" it was always , \\'more ! \\nmore ! \\' \" \\nthe director even sent a note to his cast reading , \" i dare you to make me say you\\'ve gone too far . \" \\nthe musical numbers reflect his attitude . \\none knockout piece , the \" elephant love medley , \" incorporates the beatles\\' \" all you need is love , \" u2\\'s \" in the name of love , \" dolly parton\\'s \" i will always love you \" and elton john and bernie taupin\\'s \" your song . \" \\nneed more ? \\nhow about \" diamonds are a girl\\'s best friend \" spiced with portions of \" material girl ? \" \\nluhrmann\\'s cast offers a wide variety of approaches that , together , add up to something messy , but often wonderful . \\newan mcgregor is extremely likable as christian , emphasizing the sincerity of the love-struck poet . \\nmcgregor\\'s singing voice is robust and adds vigor at just the right moments . \\nonce labeled the \" ice queen , \" nicole kidman melts that characterization with a sizzling , yet tender , performance . \\nshe handles the songs adroitly , although her voice sounds a bit thin in the upper range . \\nveteran character actor jim broadbent is suitably larger than life as ringmaster zidler ? wait until you see him perform \" like a virgin . \" \\nas the buffoonish duke , richard roxburgh proves to be the film\\'s weakest link , although i\\'m sure he was simply following instructions . \\ni suspect \" moulin rogue \" will be one of those love-it-or-hate-it films . \\nwhile i didn\\'t completely love it , i most certainly liked it a lot . \\nover the course of a year , i see well over 300 movies , and most of them look like xeroxes of each other . \\n \" moulin rogue \" is an original , and an original , even a flawed one , is a thing to be cherished . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"back in 1980s , chuck norris used to be synonym for the action films . \\nhe couldn't , of course , top the success and fame of big action names like sylvester stallone or arnold schwarzenegger , but sheer quantity of his films guaranteed that he was household name among shoot'em up and beat'em up genre aficionados . \\nthat quantity was mostly provided by cannon group , prolific production company that dominated the b-movie market in previous decade by flooding it with cheap , formulaic and , more often than not , unwatchable genre products . \\nthe hitman , 1991 action thriller directed by chuck's brother aaron , is one of the last among them . \\nchuck norris here plays seattle cop betrayed , shot and left for dead by his partner ( which shouldn't surprise anyone , considering the fact that the partner is being played by michael parks , specialised for roles of usually very mean characters ) . \\nsurviving the shooting , cop is pronounced dead and hired as deep undercover agent . \\nhe infiltrates the underworld circles in seattle and becomes their top hitman , using his abilities to start brutal war between three major crime organisations - italians , french canadians and iranians . \\nsince it is rather absurd to expect great acting ability from chuck norris , at least not in this kind of movie , the biggest attraction of this film should have been action . \\nwell , the action in this film falls flat - it is boring , repetitive and not at all exciting . \\nit is nothing more than monotonous series of scenes that contains violence too brutal even for this type of films . \\nwe know very little about norris' character while , on the other hand , gangsters are portrayed with more human dimension . \\nin the end we almost feel sorry for them , since they are shown totally powerless against norris and his unstoppable and bloody crusade . \\nduring the film , somebody obviously became aware of that problem , so the screenwriter introduced the subplot dealing with the black boy who gets adopted by norris . \\nthat caused another problem - any questions about nature of that relationship had to be quashed with another subplot - this one dealing with lady lawyer who sleeps with the hero and gets killed after fulfilling that screenplay obligation . \\nthe photography in this film is dark , setting is depressive and this forgettable piece of 1980s style cinema leaves viewers without any reason to justify the hour and half spent in watching it . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'it\\'s a shame the execution of this concept falls very short of its premise . \\nthe movie is lacking and most unsatisfying . \\nosmosis jones is crude , gross , disgusting , and was directed by the farrelly brothers - the twisted siblings behind there\\'s something about mary , me , myself and irene and a couple of other movies in which the humor is mostly targeted below the belt . \\nnot that there\\'s anything wrong with scatology . \\ni bet even cavemen appreciated bathroom humor - such as it was . \\nit\\'s merely that with osmosis jones , the farrellys humor is too juvenile , too predictable . \\nyou can almost foresee the puns just by viewing the part of the inner anatomy a sequence is drawn . \\nosmosis jones looks like one of those old health class movies gone psycho . \\nthe trouble is , the animation may please the very young , but the jokes may be over their heads , while the teen-age audience may find it too tame for their tastes . \\nadults ? well , let\\'s just say most will find it unappetizing . \\nosmosis jones plays like a 100-minute infomercial for the eat healthy foods lobby . \\nthe live action sequences revolve around frank ( bill murray ) , who seems to be the grungiest human being in the universe . \\nhe continually looks as if he needs a shave and a shower . \\nfrank , much to the consternation of his daughter , is a fast-food addict , eating anything - and everything - that can kill you . \\nhe works at a zoo where the animals look cleaner - and presumably smell better - than he does . \\nfrank\\'s body is invaded by thrax , a lethal virus , after frank eats a hard-boiled egg that had fallen to the ground . \\nit\\'s not gross enough that frank picks the egg up from the dirt and plops it into his mouth . \\nnope , the farrellys pile it on by first having frank wrestle a chimp for the egg , wresting it from the primate\\'s mouth . \\nlike i said , the gross meter tips the scales on this one . \\nafter ingesting the egg , the movie begins its animated sequences . \\nhere , osmosis jones ( voiced by chris rock ) , a renegade white blood cell is teamed with drix ( voiced by frasier\\'s david hyde pierce ) , a 12-hour , painkiller cold capsule to battle thrax ( smoothly voiced by laurence fishburne ) . \\nbasically , what we have is a cliched cop-buddy movie , rife with all the clich ? s of that genre . \\nand this is why osmosis jones doesn\\'t click . \\nit merely falls back on tired , familiar conventions instead of creating new and exciting situations . \\nthe jokes and puns are lame : osmosis searches out a snitch , a former flu virus . \\nafter pumping him for information , drix tells osmosis , \" funny , he doesn\\'t look fluish . \" \\nand the jokes don\\'t rise above that level . \\nthe live action scenes are no better . \\nfrank is such a slob , so unappealing that it is difficult to fathom how he ever married or even sired a child . \\nhe\\'s almost a bigger cartoon than the animated characters . \\nosmosis jones is a movie that may be too violent for young children as thrax burns and dissolves blood cells right and left . \\nthe animation is rather two-dimensional and flat . \\nit lacks scope and depth . \\nit is an unappealing movie that will leave you scratching your head , and maybe leaning toward a shower after you walk out of the theater . \\n',\n",
+       " b'i was anxious to see this for a long time . \\na friend of mine recommended this to me because he has a crush on neve campbell , and he wanted to prove that she\\'s as hot as he thinks he is . \\nhe proved it for me all right , but the reasons i enjoy this film go way beyond that . \\nscream treads on familar ground , horror movie with , as star neve campbell puts it , \" some stupid killer stalking some big breasted girl who can\\'t act who\\'s always running up the stairs when she should be running out the front door . \" \\nit\\'s very familar , your typical horror film . \\nso why , you may ask after watching it , does it seem so new and original ? \\nbecause it treats itself as if it hasn\\'t been done before , and thus the viewer is disilusioned into believing that it is not old , familar tired stuff . \\nthis raises another question : how does it do this ? \\nsimple : the characters . \\nthey\\'re not your typical stupid horror film victims who don\\'t know what the hell to do when being chased by a guy in a ski mask and a machette . \\nthey are horror fans , they know how stuff happens in a horror movie , they know what to do and what not to do , and that makes it scary , and even funny at certain times . \\nyou can tell this just by watching the opening scene where casey becker ( drew barrymore ) is making popcorn , getting ready to watch a video , and some guy who sounds like a killer calls her up to play a game with her that involves horror movie triva that , if she gets it wrong , will get her and her boyfriend killed . \\nshe knows what to answer when he asks her horror film questions , she just can\\'t answer his final question , \" what door am i at ? \" \\nand that gets her killed . \\nthat scene works because in a normal horror film , half the things that happen in that scene would never happen . \\nthe plot is typical horror stuff : sidney prescott ( an impressive neve campbell ) , an attractive young high school student who\\'s mother was killed a year ago tommorrow , is being stalked by a killer who\\'s previously murdered one of her classmates ( casey , naturally ) , and everybody in this small , california town is a suspect , including sidney\\'s boyfriend , billy loomis . \\nbut as i said before , these people know how horror movies work , and that\\'s what makes it so appealing . \\nthat and the references to horror movies , like when casey says , \" the first ( nightmare on elm street ) was scary , but the rest sucked . \" \\nwhich is obviously director wes craven ( who does a good job of poking fun of the genre that made him a legend ) patting himself on the back as he directed the first nightmare movie and none of the others , and when tatum , sidney\\'s friend , mentions the director , wes carpenter , which is obviously an homage by writer kevin williamson to not only craven , but also director john carpenter . \\nthe cast is well chosen , neve campbell pulls off a good heroine ( and unlike most horror film heroines , she * can * act ) , drew barrymore does a good janet leigh impression for what little time she has in the film , and david arquette is impressive . \\nalso good ( and funny ) in his role is henry winkler ( \" the fonz \" ) as the school principal . \\ni took half a point off for the unnecessary ( albeit limited ) appearance by friends\\' courteney cox as reporter , gail edwards , sidney\\'s rival because she covered her mother\\'s disappearance . \\ni hate that show , i hate those actors . \\nthey\\'re untalented , overexposed , and overpaid , imho , and i would think wes craven is smart enough to know those actors are overexposed enough , but i suppose he isn\\'t . \\n',\n",
+       " b\"the happy bastard's 30-second review \\nbig daddy \\nhappy gilmore as a father ? \\nof course ! \\nthat's the latest scenario presented by adam sandler in the new movie big daddy , a movie that's passable but isn't really considered some of sandler's best work . \\nhe doesn't actually play happy gilmore in the movie , but a variation of him . \\nhe's sonny coufax , a man who's living off a settlement he got for a cab running over his foot and his one-day-a-week gig as a tollbooth man ( tollbooth willie ? ) . \\nhis girlfriend ( kristy swanson ) is fed up with his lifestyle and demands a change before she leaves him . \\nenter a 5-year old kid , who's mysteriously dropped at his doorstep and intended for his preppy roommate ( jon stewart ) , who's off in china on a business trip . \\nfrom there , coufax basically acts as the kid's father , teaching him different things like peeing on the side of a building and tripping up skateboarders with sticks . \\nhe even manages to use the kid in a sort of con game to get the attention of a beautiful law office worker ( joey lauren adams ) , but , somehow , he also garners the attention of social services , who aren't particularly pleased with coufax's actions , as he pretends to be his roommate to keep the kid . \\nthe reason i say it's not really sandler's best work is because it gets really sappy towards the end of a movie , showing some odd feelings that somehow didn't really belong in a sandler vehicle . \\ni mean , it fits the movie's tone and everything , and sandler handles it well , but it's just oddly placed , that's all . \\nfortunately , it doesn't destroy the goofy glee path it's been following and it still makes you feel good . \\nsandler does a good job here , as he does in most of his movies . \\nrob schneider , however , is irritating as his friend , an immigrant delivery boy who can't read . \\nstewart , in his minor time on screen , is great , and adams remains a joy to watch . \\nlook for steve buscemi as well as a homeless bum . \\nhe's a hoot . \\ndirected by dennis dugan ( director of happy gilmore ) , the movie remains a good couple of hours to pass the time with . \\nagain , there are faults , but , hey , everyone needs to get emotional sometimes . \\n\",\n",
+       " b'i have nothing against unabashedly romantic films . \\nwhen done right , with at least slightly evident restraint , they can be engaging , sweeping , appealing . \\nbut it\\'s a hell of a shame when someone botches it as badly as nora ephron botched sleepless in seattle , a hollow , boring romance that should appeal only to the most gullible of viewers ; the ones willing to buy into ephron\\'s whiny views of life and romance . \\ntom hanks and meg ryan , two of hollywood\\'s most likeable stars play sam baldwin and annie reed , repectively . \\nbaldwin\\'s wife recently died and he moved to seattle with his son , jonah , seeking to get away from the familiar surroundings which remind him of his late spouse . \\njonah senses tension and calls a talk radio show to tell the world about their problems . \\nsam seems ready to strangle his son for calling the show , but when he gets on the phone he begins pouring his heart out . \\nephron has him do this so that annie reed ( meg ryan ) can hear it . \\nannie is a happy woman . \\nshe is engaged to walter , an allergy-prone working man and seems to be perfectly content . \\nbut after hearing sam the widower on the radio show , she becomes convinced that he is her destiny and is willing to risk her engagement for it . \\nfive years after this movie hit theaters , hanks , ryan and ephron would team up again in the far better , although still sub-par romantic comedy you\\'ve got mail , which is about people who hate each other in real life falling in love on the internet . \\nat least that movie had a sense of spontaneity . \\nhere it seems that the first one hundred minutes exist solely to set up for the last five . \\nthe fact that sam and annie will finally meet is so excruciatingly obvious that everything else is perfunctory . \\nsleepless in seattle is full of wonderful performers ; from its two leads to supporting stars like bill pullman and rosie o\\'donnell . \\nbut none of them can save the film from being a bore . \\nits characters are dull and empty , its script isn\\'t funny or particularly charming . \\nthe script has a fundamental problem : annie gives up , for little reason , her life with walter to pursue \" sleepless in seattle , \" whom she has never even seen . \\nit\\'s the kind of life decision that real people don\\'t make , and its a major , unforgivable plausibility sacrifice . \\nin essence , this movie\\'s purpose is to head towards a goal that shouldn\\'t even exist . \\nit\\'s a ten minute short film with ninety-five minutes of filler . \\nif you were to show me sleepless in seattle and i didn\\'t have to review it , you could just call me \" asleep in philadelphia . \" \\n ? 1999 eugene novikov&#137 ; \\n',\n",
+       " b'woof ! too bad that leap of faith was the title of a 1992 comedy starring steve martin and debra winger , because that\\'s what\\'s required to watch this incredulous howler starring bruce willis as--of all things--a psychologist . \\nnot since the reagan administration has there been an acting stretch of such magnitude ! \\nalas , mickey rourke , we hardly knew ye . \\nstory opens with a campy kick--willis is treating a patient who abruptly steps out of the window to take the best flying leap since charles durning dove in the hudsucker proxy . \\nshe goes splat , he goes ugh , and his character spends the rest of the film colorblind . \\nreally . \\nthe good doctor then moves to sunny l . a . , where he rooms with an old college chum ( scott bakula ) , a therapist who\\'s getting death threats from someone in his monday evening group . \\nbuddy bites it in the second reel ( no surprise there ) and willis agrees to take over both the group and the death threats . \\nfor his troubles as therapy man , willis gets to share some cut-from-nc17 love scenes with the lover\\'s jane march while dodging nails , cars , and rattlesnakes . \\nwhy\\'d it have to be snakes ? \\ncolor of night is the worst movie of the year . \\nperiod . \\nforget north , clifford , or , heaven help us , even on deadly ground . \\nhere is a movie misfire so audaciously awful that you can\\'t help but wonder how the actors all kept straight faces while filming . \\nfor starters , the \" group \" is a collection of mixed nuts better suited to bob newhart than bruce willis . \\nthese are realistic portrayals of the mentally unhealthy ? \\nplaying a prissy obsessive/compulsive , cuckoos nest alumni brad dourif , alone , may set the psychology profession back ten years . \\nthe plot\\'s a wreck with laughable dialogue , pointless pov shifts , and the one big secret solvable in the first fifteen minutes . \\ndirector richard rush , who once helmed freebie and the bean , doesn\\'t seem to mind . \\nunfazed by the nincompoop plot and cuckoo characterizations , he overfills the film with enough canny camera shots and zany set-pieces to make the effort almost worth watching . \\nhis token freeway chase is ok , but the director has more fun with a vertiginous ending ala ( most recently ) fatal analysis . \\nacting credits are across-the-board awful . \\nwillis can be forgiven because he\\'s filming die hard 3 as we speak . \\nbut what about ruben blades insulting presence as the cop ? \\nor lesley ann warren\\'s stereotypical sex addict ? \\nor worst offender jane march as a mystery-girl-who\\'s-no-real-mystery ? \\nshudder . \\nbottom line : how they all kept straight faces , i\\'ll never know . \\n',\n",
+       " b'melvin van peebles\\' \" sweet sweetback\\'s baadasssss song \" was a watershed moment in the history of american cinema and the black movement . \\nit was released less than a decade after the civil rights movement had begun and almost twenty years before the rodney king incident . \\nits violent and highly sexualized revenge tale of a macho black hustler fighting back against white oppression and winning was something that had never been seen on an american movie screen before . \\nin style , content , and how it was conceived and produced , \" sweet sweetback \" was a cinematic revolution , whether or not one agrees with its subject matter . \\nvan peebles , a black american who first gained recognition by writing novels in france , built \" sweet sweetback \" from the ground up almost entirely by himself . \\nbecause no studio would dare fund such a film , he was forced to raise all the money himself . \\nthe movie ended up costing about $500 , 000 , part of which was put up by none other than bill cosby . \\nvan peebles cut costs by hiring non-union labor and taking on most of the film\\'s responsibilities himself . \\nhe wrote the script , scored the music , edited and directed the film , as well as starred in the central role . \\nhe was also a brilliant entrepreneur who always found a way to make an extra buck . \\nfor instance , when the mppa slapped the film with a dreaded x-rating , van peebles not only threatened to bring a lawsuit against jack valenti and the mpaa , but he also developed a little marketing scheme : he coined the phrases \" rated x by an all-white jury , \" which he put on the movie posters to help advertise the film . \\nhe also printed the phrase on tee-shirts which he had no problem selling . \\nthe storyline in \" sweet sweetback \" is deceptively simple . \\nit takes place in los angeles , and van peebles stars as the title character , a tough male hustler of few words who grew up in a brothel , and makes money by doing what he does best : having sex . \\none day , he agrees to go with a couple of amiable white cops down to the station to make it look like they\\'re bringing in suspects on a politically-charged case involving murder . \\nhowever , on the way to the station the cops arrest a young black revolutionary named mu-mu ( hubert scales ) , who they proceed to beat viciously . \\nacting out of complete impulse rather than political motivation , sweetback fights back and beats the cops to the brink of death . \\nthe rest of the film follows sweetback as he evades the cops on his way to eventual escape in mexico . \\nalthough the repetition of watching sweetback run gets a little old by the end of the film , this plot allows van peebles\\' camera to roam the darker side of l . a . - the ghettos , alleys , and back-street whorehouses that other films had always overlooked . \\nvan peebles\\' entire point in making the movie was to secure on celluloid a vision of the black experience in america that other filmmakers had ignored . \\nat the beginning of \" sweet sweetback , \" he offers this epigraph , which is a traditional prologue used in medieval times when a messenger brought bad news : \" sire , these lines are not an homage to brutality that the artist has invented , but a hymn from the mouth of reality . . . \" \\nvan peebles wanted to make sure that his vision was one of reality , not of exaggeration . \\nof course , with today\\'s abundance of rap and hip hop music that sings the same ode to black inner-city life , as well as films by spike lee , john singleton , and the hughes brothers , \" sweet sweetback \" doesn\\'t seem all that revolutionary . \\nit is important to remember that this film must be viewed in the context and time period in which it was made . \\nat that time , \" sweet sweetback \" was so controversial that only two theaters in the entire united states would play it . \\ndistributors were petrified of a film that , in van peebles\\' words , gave the black audience \" a chance to see some of their own fantasies acted out - about rising out of the mud and kicking ass . \" \\nof course , once it caught on , it caught on big . \\n \" sweet sweetback \" is now considered to be the film that kicked off the blaxploitation era , although van peebles disassociates \" sweetback \" from other movies like \" shaft \" ( 1972 ) and \" the mack \" ( 1973 ) , because those were financed by big hollywood studios . \\n \" sweet sweetback \" is also the only film deemed mandatory viewing by the black panthers . \\nhowever , even if when viewed from an african-american perspective , \" sweet sweetback \" is certainly not without its controversies . \\nwhen it was first released , an article was published in \" ebony \" magazine denouncing the film , while at the same time the black panthers used an entire newsletter to praise it . \\nthere have been arguments that the victory for sweetback is really no victory at all - beating cops and then running away to mexico is nothing to be proud of . \\nothers have pointed out that sweetback has little to say throughout the film ; he has no political motivations , and therefore the violence and havoc he wreaks is not rooted in fundamental beliefs , but in personal and selfish motives . \\nstill others point to the clich ? black potency that stereotypes sweetback as being good at nothing but having sex , illustrated in a scene where he gains the respect of a white biker group by bringing their female leader to orgasm . \\nnevertheless , a movie like \" sweet sweetback \" cannot be made without conflicting points of view . \\nit is a revolutionary movie not because it\\'s about one man\\'s defiance , but because it put front-and-center black issues that had never been dealt with before . \\nuntil that point , american cinema was an almost exclusively white domain , and with the exception of sidney poitier , all black actors were relegated to specifically black roles that were important only in relation to whites . \\nthe fact that \" sweet sweetback \" was a movie by black about blacks , was something new ( in the opening credits , van peebles lists the starring actors as simply \" the black community \" ) . \\nvan peebles tells an interesting story that goes a long way toward defining the difference between \" sweet sweetback \" and all movies that had come before it . \\nwhen the movie first opened , he saw it in a theater next to an older woman . \\nnear the end of the film , when sweetback is wounded by the police and stumbling through the southern california desert , she kept saying to herself , \" oh lord , let him die . \\ndon\\'t let them kill him . \\nlet him die on his own . \" \\nit was so ingrained in her mind that death was imminent for any african-american in a movie who rebelled against white authority , that she couldn\\'t even conceive of the possibility that the film might end with his successful escape . \\nand , of course , sweetback does escape , and the screen fills with the message : \" watch out ! \\na baad asssss nigger is coming back to collect some dues . \" \\nbeyond the political aspects , \" sweet sweetback \" is an entertaining picture , which van peebles always intended it to be . \\nhe squeezed every drop out of his limited budget , and produced a film that , although dated now , was technically fantastic at the time . \\nhe shot in rough , documentary-like fashion , while also utilizing almost every visual and aural trick his technology would allow him . \\nhe makes good use of older techniques like split screens , freeze frames , reversed color schemes , and overlapping images . \\nthe only time the film ever looks bad is during the night sequences , because van peebles simply did not have the needed equipment . \\nwatching \" sweet sweetback \" more than twenty-five years after its initial release , one realizes that it still has bite . \\narguments can be made that race relations in the united states have made quantum leaps since the early seventies , but there are still problems that are reflected in this film . \\nbut there is more to the film than its racial aspect . \\nthe legacy of \" sweet sweetback\\'s baadasssss song \" is not only the plentiful amount of art and music told from the african-american perspective , but more importantly , the work of every artist who has fought to fund and produce that which is important to him . \\n',\n",
+       " b'in december of 1996 , a little movie called \" scream , \" was released , became a box-office smash , and resurrected films targeted at teens . \\nfirst , it was teen slasher movies that were the big fad ( both \" scream \" movies , \" i know what you did last summer , \" \" urban legend , \" etc . ) , but just recently , the popularity has switched over to the teen comedy genre ( a \\'la \\'80s john hughes ) , starting with last june\\'s \" can\\'t hardly wait . \" \\nit may be the first week of april in 1999 , but so far this year we have been given a movie aimed at the 25-and-under market almost every single week : \" varsity blues , \" \" jawbreaker , \" \" cruel intentions , \" \" simply irresistible , \" \" the rage : carrie 2 , \" and \" the mod squad . \" \\ncoming april 9 are two more of this type : \" never been kissed \" and \" go , \" and on april 23 , we\\'ve got the teen satire \" election \" and the teen horror-comedy \" idle hands . \" \\njeesh ! \\nout of all of these moves , however , the one that is most similar to the latest incarnation , \" 10 things i hate about you , \" is this past january\\'s mediocre , ho-hum \" she\\'s all that . \" \\nalthough similar in plotting ( ok , darn near identical ) , \" 10 things i hate about you , \" a modern-day version of shakespeare\\'s \" the taming of the shrew \" ( \" she\\'s all that \" got its inspiration from \" pygmalion \" ) , is an infinitely superior film in every department , from the smart direction by first-time feature director gil junger to the charming and well-written screenplay by karen mccullah lutz and kirsten smith to the striking ensemble cast , who give the best group of performances in a teen comedy since 1985\\'s \" the breakfast club . \" \\nand to top it all off , in the inevitable climax set at the prom , at least we didn\\'t have to once again suffer through a goofy , inappropriate dance sequence ( who could forget , or want to remember , for that matter , this ludicrous development in \" she\\'s all that ? \" ) . \\nthe day wide-eyed , shy new student cameron james ( joseph gordon-levitt ) starts school at seattle-based padua high , he is swept away at the sight of the beautiful and popular sophomore , bianca stratford ( larisa oleynik ) . \\nalthough he doesn\\'t know french , he purposefully learns some of it just so he can tutor her , but finds that her paranoid gynecologist father ( larry miller ) won\\'t allow her to date until her bitter , unconventional older sister , kat ( julia stiles ) , a senior , decides to . \\nkat , of course , has sworn off the likes of boys , but cameron sets out to find someone that will be the perfect match for her , which is exactly what he finds in the form of the rebellious patrick verona ( heath ledger ) . \\ncomplicating matters , cameron\\'s dorky friend , michael ( david krumholtz ) , decides to use a wealthy jock , joey ( andrew keegan ) , who also has his sights set on bianca , as a pawn so that he will pay patrick to get kat to go out with him , and then cameron hopes to steal bianca away from joey . \\nas you can see , \" 10 things i hate about you \" includes a huge number of characters , some of which i haven\\'t even mentioned , such as kat\\'s shakespeare-obsessed friend , mandella ( susan may pratt ) and bianca\\'s materialistic comrade , chastity ( gabrielle union ) . \\nat a short , but well-used running time of 98 minutes , all of the characters are perfectly handled , satisfyingly developed , and , for the most part , are not treated as caricatures ( another flaw of \" she\\'s all that , \" where the bad guys ( and gals ) ran around constantly saying , \" you\\'re vapor \" ) . \\nsince i could sympathize with the realistic depictions of the central characters , and since many of the comedic and dramatic scenes were surprisingly effective , i got completely caught up in all of the relationships and was thoroughly entertained . \\naside from a good screenplay , it\\'s the performances that can make or break a movie , and director junger has really hit the jackpot . \\naside from joseph gordon-levitt ( \" 3rd rock from the sun \" ) , who gives his strongest performance to date here , none of the actors are that well-known , but it is this aspect that brings a particular freshness to the proceedings . \\nas the main character of kat , julia stiles ( last seen in the miniseries \" the \\'60s \" ) is marvelous and always believable , and certainly has a bright future ahead of her . \\neven though it is her role that is initially the most difficult and hard-edged , it was easy to identify with kat\\'s way of thinking ( she is against the silly tradition of the prom and loves reading sylvia plath ) , and i completely admired her individuality . \\nno one , i think , could have portrayed her as perfectly as stiles does . \\nheath ledger , as the infamous bad-boy of the town , injects much life into patrick , and has a lot of chemistry with stiles . \\none other actor of note is larisa oleynik who , with the help of screenwriters lutz and smith , is able to turn bianca into a person with multi-dimensions , even though she is accurately self-centered at the on-set . \\nin one truthful scene , cameron angrily asks her if she has always been so selfish , and bianca grudgingly realizes that yes , she has . \\none off-beat element of the film , and a source of some hearty laughs , is the way that the school\\'s staff act , which is strikingly unformal . \\nallison janney , as the guidance counselor ms . perky , who is writing a trashy harlequin romance novel , is comic dynamite , as is daryl \" chill \" mitchell as the english teacher , who reads shakespeare to the class in rap and , at one point , sends kat to the office because , for once , she actually thinks one of his assignments is really good . \\nalthough there are a few cheap laughs that are thrown into the film near the beginning , most of it actually works , especially in the humorous and witty dialogue exchanges and quirks between the characters . \\nin one very funny scene , chastity asks , \" i know people can be overwhelmed , and they can be underwhelmed , but can people just be . . . whelmed ? \" \\nat another point , bianca and kat\\'s father ( a stand-out larry miller ) , who is constantly terrified that his daughters are going to get pregnant , only allows bianca to go to the prom on one occasion : before she leaves , she has to put on the heavy fat suit he has so she will get an idea of what it\\'s like to be pregnant . \\n \" 10 things i hate about you \" once and for all proves that there is still life in the teen comedy genre , and this movie is probably more reminiscent of the great john hughes than any other film of the \\'90s . \\nit also helps that the movie has a perfectly-assembled soundtrack , mixing indie-rock with new wave \\'80s songs ( and with , thank goodness , no rap ) . \\nby the film\\'s end , it actually had me rooting for certain characters to get together , and i was also quite pleased with how everything was wrapped up , especially in the final scenes involving kat and bianca , kat and her father , and a flawlessly-acted and moving sequence in which kat gets up to read the poem she has written for her english class ( this is where the title comes from ) . \\nluckily , i doubt i would be able to find ten things i hate about \" 10 things i hate about you , \" but the positive aspects of the film far out-number ten . \\n',\n",
+       " b'these days , we are witnessing the deluge of films based on old , cult tv shows . \\nmost of the times , the fans of these shows shudder thinking what could hollywood hacks of the present do with the memories of their past . \\nbut , some five or six years ago , there weren\\'t that many movies and the trend didn\\'t look that depressing . \\nso , the people who , like the author of this review , grew up watching flintstones , popular 1960s animated series about \" modern stone age \" family , weren\\'t particularly worried when the word came about live action remake . \\nafter all , the producer behind the project was steven spielberg and , if anything else , at least the special effects would be good . \\nthe plot revolves about flintstones , family set in fictious stone age \" town \" of bedrock , whose members enjoy the lifestyle of 1950s middle class america . \\nfred flinstone ( john goodman ) works in the quarry , and one day he helps his best friend and neighbour barney rubble ( rick moranis ) and his wife betty ( rosie o\\'donnell ) to adopt a baby . \\nto return the favour , barney switches his results of aptitude test with fred , and , based on that , fred gets well-paid job in management . \\nbut , of course , this is just a sham - corrupt official cliff vandercave ( kyle maclachlan ) and his sultry secretary sharon stone ( halle berry ) need a scapegoat for their embezzlement scheme . \\nin the meantime , fred\\'s wife wilma ( elizabeth perkins ) must face her mother ( elizabeth taylor ) who can\\'t stand fred . \\non the superficial level , the flintstones did the excellent job in bringing the animated series to life . \\ncomputer effects are flawless , and the costumes , settings and other details are authentic for all the fans of the show . \\nunfortunately , problems with this film start with inadequate casting - rick moranis is too thin for the role of barney , while the cartoon betty used to be much skinnier than rosie o\\'donnell . \\nbut the greatest problem of all is plot , or to be precise , the lack of plot . \\nsome thirty six screenwriters made sure that the plot of the film is lame , original characters one-dimensional , and many elements of the story , like embezzlement and inter-office politics , totally incomprehensible for the little children , the main targeted audience of this film . \\nresult is almost unwatchable mess , occasionally saved mostly by excellent acting ( elizabeth perkins was right on mark as wilma ) and one of the classic example of mortal hollywood disease known as \" high concept \" . \\nafter great hype , movie quickly sank into oblivion and the fans of the show returned to the animated version . \\nall in all , film isn\\'t that bad , but only the hard core fans and nostalgics can find more than guilty pleasure in it . \\n',\n",
+       " ...]"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 6,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "X"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 7,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "array([0, 1, 1, ..., 1, 0, 0])"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 7,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "y"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 8,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "documents = []\n",
+    "\n",
+    "from nltk.stem import WordNetLemmatizer\n",
+    "\n",
+    "stemmer = WordNetLemmatizer()\n",
+    "\n",
+    "for sen in range(0, len(X)):\n",
+    "    # Remove all the special characters, numbers, punctuation \n",
+    "    document = re.sub(r'\\W', ' ', str(X[sen]))\n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    # remove all single characters\n",
+    "    document = re.sub(r'\\s+[a-zA-Z]\\s+', ' ', document)\n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    # Remove single characters from the start of document with a space\n",
+    "    document = re.sub(r'\\^[a-zA-Z]\\s+', ' ', document) \n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    # Substituting multiple spaces with single space\n",
+    "    document = re.sub(r'\\s+', ' ', document, flags=re.I)\n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    # Removing prefixed 'b'\n",
+    "    document = re.sub(r'^b\\s+', '', document)\n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    # Converting to Lowercase\n",
+    "    document = document.lower()\n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    # Lemmatization\n",
+    "    document = document.split()\n",
+    "\n",
+    "    document = [stemmer.lemmatize(word) for word in document]\n",
+    "    document = ' '.join(document)\n",
+    "    \n",
+    "    documents.append(document)"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 9,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#Create bag of words"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 10,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#max_features = maximum number of words to use across all documents.\n",
+    "#min_df = the minimum number of documents that should contain this feature. \n",
+    "#   Only include words that occur in at least, for example, 5 documents. \n",
+    "#max_df = the fraction/percentage of documents where the word is contained. \n",
+    "#   Here 0.7 means that we should include only those words that occur in a maximum of 70% of all the documents. \n",
+    "#   Words that occur in almost every document are usually not suitable for classification because \n",
+    "#      they do not provide any unique information about the document.\n",
+    "#\n",
+    "#stop_words = words to remove from the curpos, stop words may not contain any useful information.\n",
+    "\n",
+    "from sklearn.feature_extraction.text import CountVectorizer\n",
+    "\n",
+    "vectorizer = CountVectorizer(max_features=1500, min_df=5, max_df=0.7, stop_words=stopwords.words('english'))\n",
+    "X = vectorizer.fit_transform(documents).toarray()"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 11,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "array([[0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],\n",
+       "       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],\n",
+       "       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 1, 0],\n",
+       "       ...,\n",
+       "       [0, 0, 0, ..., 1, 0, 0],\n",
+       "       [0, 0, 0, ..., 0, 0, 0],\n",
+       "       [2, 0, 0, ..., 1, 0, 0]])"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 11,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "X"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 12,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#The bag of words approach works fine for converting text to numbers. However, it has one drawback. \n",
+    "#It assigns a score to a word based on its occurrence in a particular document. It doesn't take into \n",
+    "#account the fact that the word might also be having a high frequency of occurrence in other documents \n",
+    "#as well. TFIDF resolves this issue by multiplying the term frequency of a word by the inverse document \n",
+    "#frequency. The TF stands for \"Term Frequency\" while IDF stands for \"Inverse Document Frequency\".\n",
+    "#\n",
+    "#The term frequency is calculated as:\n",
+    "# Term frequency = (Number of Occurrences of a word)/(Total words in the document)\n",
+    "\n",
+    "#And the Inverse Document Frequency is calculated as:\n",
+    "# IDF(word) = Log((Total number of documents)/(Number of documents containing the word))\n"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 13,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#The TFIDF value for a word in a particular document is higher if the frequency of occurrence of that \n",
+    "#word is higher in that specific document but lower in all the other documents.\n",
+    "\n",
+    "#To convert values obtained using the bag of words model into TFIDF values, execute the following script:\n",
+    "\n",
+    "from sklearn.feature_extraction.text import TfidfTransformer\n",
+    "tfidfconverter = TfidfTransformer()\n",
+    "X = tfidfconverter.fit_transform(X).toarray()\n",
+    "\n",
+    "#Alteratively, could have run the following, to replace above code and previous Vectorization code\n",
+    "# from sklearn.feature_extraction.text import TfidfVectorizer\n",
+    "# tfidfconverter = TfidfVectorizer(max_features=1500, min_df=5, max_df=0.7, stop_words=stopwords.words('english'))\n",
+    "# X = tfidfconverter.fit_transform(documents).toarray()"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 14,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/plain": [
+       "array([[0.        , 0.        , 0.        , ..., 0.        , 0.        ,\n",
+       "        0.        ],\n",
+       "       [0.        , 0.        , 0.        , ..., 0.        , 0.        ,\n",
+       "        0.        ],\n",
+       "       [0.        , 0.        , 0.        , ..., 0.        , 0.07349223,\n",
+       "        0.        ],\n",
+       "       ...,\n",
+       "       [0.        , 0.        , 0.        , ..., 0.05424743, 0.        ,\n",
+       "        0.        ],\n",
+       "       [0.        , 0.        , 0.        , ..., 0.        , 0.        ,\n",
+       "        0.        ],\n",
+       "       [0.1232798 , 0.        , 0.        , ..., 0.05277153, 0.        ,\n",
+       "        0.        ]])"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 14,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "X"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 15,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#Divide the data into training and test datasets"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 16,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split\n",
+    "X_train, X_test, y_train, y_test = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2, random_state=0)\n",
+    "#Train DS = 70%\n",
+    "#Test DS = 30%\n"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 17,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "data": {
+      "text/html": [
+       "<style>#sk-container-id-1 {\n",
+       "  /* Definition of color scheme common for light and dark mode */\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-text: black;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-line: gray;\n",
+       "  /* Definition of color scheme for unfitted estimators */\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-unfitted-level-0: #fff5e6;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-unfitted-level-1: #f6e4d2;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-unfitted-level-2: #ffe0b3;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-unfitted-level-3: chocolate;\n",
+       "  /* Definition of color scheme for fitted estimators */\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-fitted-level-0: #f0f8ff;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-fitted-level-1: #d4ebff;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-fitted-level-2: #b3dbfd;\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-fitted-level-3: cornflowerblue;\n",
+       "\n",
+       "  /* Specific color for light theme */\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-text-on-default-background: var(--sg-text-color, var(--theme-code-foreground, var(--jp-content-font-color1, black)));\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-background: var(--sg-background-color, var(--theme-background, var(--jp-layout-color0, white)));\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-border-box: var(--sg-text-color, var(--theme-code-foreground, var(--jp-content-font-color1, black)));\n",
+       "  --sklearn-color-icon: #696969;\n",
+       "\n",
+       "  @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {\n",
+       "    /* Redefinition of color scheme for dark theme */\n",
+       "    --sklearn-color-text-on-default-background: var(--sg-text-color, var(--theme-code-foreground, var(--jp-content-font-color1, white)));\n",
+       "    --sklearn-color-background: var(--sg-background-color, var(--theme-background, var(--jp-layout-color0, #111)));\n",
+       "    --sklearn-color-border-box: var(--sg-text-color, var(--theme-code-foreground, var(--jp-content-font-color1, white)));\n",
+       "    --sklearn-color-icon: #878787;\n",
+       "  }\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 {\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 pre {\n",
+       "  padding: 0;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 input.sk-hidden--visually {\n",
+       "  border: 0;\n",
+       "  clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);\n",
+       "  clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\n",
+       "  height: 1px;\n",
+       "  margin: -1px;\n",
+       "  overflow: hidden;\n",
+       "  padding: 0;\n",
+       "  position: absolute;\n",
+       "  width: 1px;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-dashed-wrapped {\n",
+       "  border: 1px dashed var(--sklearn-color-line);\n",
+       "  margin: 0 0.4em 0.5em 0.4em;\n",
+       "  box-sizing: border-box;\n",
+       "  padding-bottom: 0.4em;\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-container {\n",
+       "  /* jupyter's `normalize.less` sets `[hidden] { display: none; }`\n",
+       "     but bootstrap.min.css set `[hidden] { display: none !important; }`\n",
+       "     so we also need the `!important` here to be able to override the\n",
+       "     default hidden behavior on the sphinx rendered scikit-learn.org.\n",
+       "     See: https://github.com/scikit-learn/scikit-learn/issues/21755 */\n",
+       "  display: inline-block !important;\n",
+       "  position: relative;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-text-repr-fallback {\n",
+       "  display: none;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "div.sk-parallel-item,\n",
+       "div.sk-serial,\n",
+       "div.sk-item {\n",
+       "  /* draw centered vertical line to link estimators */\n",
+       "  background-image: linear-gradient(var(--sklearn-color-text-on-default-background), var(--sklearn-color-text-on-default-background));\n",
+       "  background-size: 2px 100%;\n",
+       "  background-repeat: no-repeat;\n",
+       "  background-position: center center;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Parallel-specific style estimator block */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-parallel-item::after {\n",
+       "  content: \"\";\n",
+       "  width: 100%;\n",
+       "  border-bottom: 2px solid var(--sklearn-color-text-on-default-background);\n",
+       "  flex-grow: 1;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-parallel {\n",
+       "  display: flex;\n",
+       "  align-items: stretch;\n",
+       "  justify-content: center;\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  position: relative;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-parallel-item {\n",
+       "  display: flex;\n",
+       "  flex-direction: column;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-parallel-item:first-child::after {\n",
+       "  align-self: flex-end;\n",
+       "  width: 50%;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-parallel-item:last-child::after {\n",
+       "  align-self: flex-start;\n",
+       "  width: 50%;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-parallel-item:only-child::after {\n",
+       "  width: 0;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Serial-specific style estimator block */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-serial {\n",
+       "  display: flex;\n",
+       "  flex-direction: column;\n",
+       "  align-items: center;\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  padding-right: 1em;\n",
+       "  padding-left: 1em;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Toggleable style: style used for estimator/Pipeline/ColumnTransformer box that is\n",
+       "clickable and can be expanded/collapsed.\n",
+       "- Pipeline and ColumnTransformer use this feature and define the default style\n",
+       "- Estimators will overwrite some part of the style using the `sk-estimator` class\n",
+       "*/\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Pipeline and ColumnTransformer style (default) */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-toggleable {\n",
+       "  /* Default theme specific background. It is overwritten whether we have a\n",
+       "  specific estimator or a Pipeline/ColumnTransformer */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Toggleable label */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 label.sk-toggleable__label {\n",
+       "  cursor: pointer;\n",
+       "  display: block;\n",
+       "  width: 100%;\n",
+       "  margin-bottom: 0;\n",
+       "  padding: 0.5em;\n",
+       "  box-sizing: border-box;\n",
+       "  text-align: center;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 label.sk-toggleable__label-arrow:before {\n",
+       "  /* Arrow on the left of the label */\n",
+       "  content: \"▸\";\n",
+       "  float: left;\n",
+       "  margin-right: 0.25em;\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-icon);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 label.sk-toggleable__label-arrow:hover:before {\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Toggleable content - dropdown */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-toggleable__content {\n",
+       "  max-height: 0;\n",
+       "  max-width: 0;\n",
+       "  overflow: hidden;\n",
+       "  text-align: left;\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-0);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-toggleable__content.fitted {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-0);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-toggleable__content pre {\n",
+       "  margin: 0.2em;\n",
+       "  border-radius: 0.25em;\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-0);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-toggleable__content.fitted pre {\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-0);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 input.sk-toggleable__control:checked~div.sk-toggleable__content {\n",
+       "  /* Expand drop-down */\n",
+       "  max-height: 200px;\n",
+       "  max-width: 100%;\n",
+       "  overflow: auto;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 input.sk-toggleable__control:checked~label.sk-toggleable__label-arrow:before {\n",
+       "  content: \"▾\";\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Pipeline/ColumnTransformer-specific style */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label input.sk-toggleable__control:checked~label.sk-toggleable__label {\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label.fitted input.sk-toggleable__control:checked~label.sk-toggleable__label {\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Estimator-specific style */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Colorize estimator box */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-estimator input.sk-toggleable__control:checked~label.sk-toggleable__label {\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-estimator.fitted input.sk-toggleable__control:checked~label.sk-toggleable__label {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label label.sk-toggleable__label,\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label label {\n",
+       "  /* The background is the default theme color */\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text-on-default-background);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* On hover, darken the color of the background */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label:hover label.sk-toggleable__label {\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Label box, darken color on hover, fitted */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label.fitted:hover label.sk-toggleable__label.fitted {\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Estimator label */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label label {\n",
+       "  font-family: monospace;\n",
+       "  font-weight: bold;\n",
+       "  display: inline-block;\n",
+       "  line-height: 1.2em;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-label-container {\n",
+       "  text-align: center;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Estimator-specific */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-estimator {\n",
+       "  font-family: monospace;\n",
+       "  border: 1px dotted var(--sklearn-color-border-box);\n",
+       "  border-radius: 0.25em;\n",
+       "  box-sizing: border-box;\n",
+       "  margin-bottom: 0.5em;\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-0);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-estimator.fitted {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-0);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* on hover */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-estimator:hover {\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 div.sk-estimator.fitted:hover {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-2);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Specification for estimator info (e.g. \"i\" and \"?\") */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Common style for \"i\" and \"?\" */\n",
+       "\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link,\n",
+       "a:link.sk-estimator-doc-link,\n",
+       "a:visited.sk-estimator-doc-link {\n",
+       "  float: right;\n",
+       "  font-size: smaller;\n",
+       "  line-height: 1em;\n",
+       "  font-family: monospace;\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  border-radius: 1em;\n",
+       "  height: 1em;\n",
+       "  width: 1em;\n",
+       "  text-decoration: none !important;\n",
+       "  margin-left: 1ex;\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  border: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-1) 1pt solid;\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-1);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted,\n",
+       "a:link.sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted,\n",
+       "a:visited.sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  border: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-1) 1pt solid;\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-1);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* On hover */\n",
+       "div.sk-estimator:hover .sk-estimator-doc-link:hover,\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link:hover,\n",
+       "div.sk-label-container:hover .sk-estimator-doc-link:hover,\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link:hover {\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-3);\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  text-decoration: none;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "div.sk-estimator.fitted:hover .sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted:hover,\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted:hover,\n",
+       "div.sk-label-container:hover .sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted:hover,\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted:hover {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-3);\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  text-decoration: none;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* Span, style for the box shown on hovering the info icon */\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link span {\n",
+       "  display: none;\n",
+       "  z-index: 9999;\n",
+       "  position: relative;\n",
+       "  font-weight: normal;\n",
+       "  right: .2ex;\n",
+       "  padding: .5ex;\n",
+       "  margin: .5ex;\n",
+       "  width: min-content;\n",
+       "  min-width: 20ex;\n",
+       "  max-width: 50ex;\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-text);\n",
+       "  box-shadow: 2pt 2pt 4pt #999;\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-0);\n",
+       "  border: .5pt solid var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-3);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link.fitted span {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-0);\n",
+       "  border: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-3);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       ".sk-estimator-doc-link:hover span {\n",
+       "  display: block;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* \"?\"-specific style due to the `<a>` HTML tag */\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 a.estimator_doc_link {\n",
+       "  float: right;\n",
+       "  font-size: 1rem;\n",
+       "  line-height: 1em;\n",
+       "  font-family: monospace;\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  border-radius: 1rem;\n",
+       "  height: 1rem;\n",
+       "  width: 1rem;\n",
+       "  text-decoration: none;\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-1);\n",
+       "  border: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-1) 1pt solid;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 a.estimator_doc_link.fitted {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  border: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-1) 1pt solid;\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-1);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "/* On hover */\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 a.estimator_doc_link:hover {\n",
+       "  /* unfitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-unfitted-level-3);\n",
+       "  color: var(--sklearn-color-background);\n",
+       "  text-decoration: none;\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "\n",
+       "#sk-container-id-1 a.estimator_doc_link.fitted:hover {\n",
+       "  /* fitted */\n",
+       "  background-color: var(--sklearn-color-fitted-level-3);\n",
+       "}\n",
+       "</style><div id=\"sk-container-id-1\" class=\"sk-top-container\"><div class=\"sk-text-repr-fallback\"><pre>RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=1000, random_state=0)</pre><b>In a Jupyter environment, please rerun this cell to show the HTML representation or trust the notebook. <br />On GitHub, the HTML representation is unable to render, please try loading this page with nbviewer.org.</b></div><div class=\"sk-container\" hidden><div class=\"sk-item\"><div class=\"sk-estimator fitted sk-toggleable\"><input class=\"sk-toggleable__control sk-hidden--visually\" id=\"sk-estimator-id-1\" type=\"checkbox\" checked><label for=\"sk-estimator-id-1\" class=\"sk-toggleable__label fitted sk-toggleable__label-arrow fitted\">&nbsp;&nbsp;RandomForestClassifier<a class=\"sk-estimator-doc-link fitted\" rel=\"noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://scikit-learn.org/1.4/modules/generated/sklearn.ensemble.RandomForestClassifier.html\">?<span>Documentation for RandomForestClassifier</span></a><span class=\"sk-estimator-doc-link fitted\">i<span>Fitted</span></span></label><div class=\"sk-toggleable__content fitted\"><pre>RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=1000, random_state=0)</pre></div> </div></div></div></div>"
+      ],
+      "text/plain": [
+       "RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=1000, random_state=0)"
+      ]
+     },
+     "execution_count": 17,
+     "metadata": {},
+     "output_type": "execute_result"
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "##### Import Random Forest Model\n",
+    "#Use RandomForest algorithm to create a model\n",
+    "# n_estimators = number of trees in the Forest\n",
+    "\n",
+    "from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier\n",
+    "classifier = RandomForestClassifier(n_estimators=1000, random_state=0)\n",
+    "classifier.fit(X_train, y_train) "
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 18,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#Now label/classify the Test DS\n",
+    "y_pred = classifier.predict(X_test)"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 19,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "name": "stdout",
+     "output_type": "stream",
+     "text": [
+      "Accuracy: 0.855\n",
+      "[[180  28]\n",
+      " [ 30 162]]\n",
+      "              precision    recall  f1-score   support\n",
+      "\n",
+      "           0       0.86      0.87      0.86       208\n",
+      "           1       0.85      0.84      0.85       192\n",
+      "\n",
+      "    accuracy                           0.85       400\n",
+      "   macro avg       0.85      0.85      0.85       400\n",
+      "weighted avg       0.85      0.85      0.85       400\n",
+      "\n"
+     ]
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "#Evaluate the model\n",
+    "from sklearn.metrics import classification_report, confusion_matrix, accuracy_score\n",
+    "\n",
+    "print(\"Accuracy:\", accuracy_score(y_test, y_pred))\n",
+    "print(confusion_matrix(y_test,y_pred))\n",
+    "print(classification_report(y_test,y_pred))"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 20,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#Save the model to use another time (without retraining) or to use in another environment\n",
+    "rf_model_file_name = \"/Users/brendan.tierney/Dropbox/4-Datasets/review_polarity/rf_model_file\"\n",
+    "with open(rf_model_file_name, 'wb') as picklefile:\n",
+    "    pickle.dump(classifier,picklefile)\n",
+    "    "
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 21,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": [
+    "#To load the model from the file and use it on a dataset\n",
+    "with open(rf_model_file_name, 'rb') as training_model:\n",
+    "    rf_model = pickle.load(training_model)"
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": 22,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [
+    {
+     "name": "stdout",
+     "output_type": "stream",
+     "text": [
+      "[[180  28]\n",
+      " [ 30 162]]\n",
+      "              precision    recall  f1-score   support\n",
+      "\n",
+      "           0       0.86      0.87      0.86       208\n",
+      "           1       0.85      0.84      0.85       192\n",
+      "\n",
+      "    accuracy                           0.85       400\n",
+      "   macro avg       0.85      0.85      0.85       400\n",
+      "weighted avg       0.85      0.85      0.85       400\n",
+      "\n",
+      "0.855\n"
+     ]
+    }
+   ],
+   "source": [
+    "#now use the model to make predictions\n",
+    "y_pred2 = rf_model.predict(X_test)\n",
+    "\n",
+    "print(confusion_matrix(y_test, y_pred2))\n",
+    "print(classification_report(y_test, y_pred2))\n",
+    "print(accuracy_score(y_test, y_pred2)) "
+   ]
+  },
+  {
+   "cell_type": "code",
+   "execution_count": null,
+   "metadata": {},
+   "outputs": [],
+   "source": []
+  }
+ ],
+ "metadata": {
+  "kernelspec": {
+   "display_name": "Python 3 (ipykernel)",
+   "language": "python",
+   "name": "python3"
+  },
+  "language_info": {
+   "codemirror_mode": {
+    "name": "ipython",
+    "version": 3
+   },
+   "file_extension": ".py",
+   "mimetype": "text/x-python",
+   "name": "python",
+   "nbconvert_exporter": "python",
+   "pygments_lexer": "ipython3",
+   "version": "3.10.9"
+  }
+ },
+ "nbformat": 4,
+ "nbformat_minor": 4
+}